The Quinnipiac Chronicle, Volume 90, Issue 19

FEBRUARY 26, 2020 • VOLUME 90 • ISSUE 19

The official student newspaper of Quinnipiac University since 1929

THE BATTLE OF WHITNEY AVE

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NEWS P.3: NEURON

Quinnipiac co-hosted the 33rd annual Neuron Conference last weekend.

ILLUSTRATION BY CONNOR LAWLESS

A&L P.6: QU Bananas An Instagram account posts QU students eating bananas.

The most anticipated game of the year is almost here — Quinnipiac vs. Yale P.12 CHRONICLE ARCHIVES

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OPINION P.4: Pop Smoke

The late rapper was murdered Feb. 19, in his Hollywood Hills rental home.

Activist talk focuses on community

Office of Cultural and Global Engagement promotes organization

By NICOLE MCISAAC Staff Writer

ILLUSTRATION BY CONNOR LAWLESS

Quinnipiac’s Office of Cultural and Global Engagement held an open discussion in SC 120 on Wednesday, Feb. 19, for students to come and talk about community organizing and the legacy of black activism.

“We wanted to do an event like this to get students geared up about their own student voice and to recognize their own power,” said Daymyen Layne, director of multicultural education and training. “It’s important for students to realize that they have a certain amount of power on campus.”

The event allowed students to hear the thoughts of two separate activists and to share their own ideas on the material. Layne made the decision to hold the discussion after being co-panelists with one of the activists at the beginning of the fall 2019 semester.

“We want to open student’s eyes about the legacy of black feminist activists and organizers, but also about the rich history that comes along with organizing in America,”

Layne said. “If we can help students realize this stuff a little sooner, we can start to see different changes on campus.”

Students of different majors and ages attended the discussion and each had various hopes of what they wanted to get out of the event. They were also able to share why they originally chose to be there before the discussion began.

“I came to this event because I wanted to stay abreast and not be blind to things that are going on,” said Alexys Small, biomedical sciences graduate student. “I wanted to see what Quinnipiac was doing towards problems for social injustice and race.”

Vanessa Liles, one of the guest speakers who is the co-project director at PT Partners, spoke about her involvement and work as community activist organizer.

“I work with people who are centered in the community to help them recognize that there are conditions that are created through institutional oppression,” Liles said. “I also

help work with other members of the community to help them recognize how it is formulated and how to use that understanding to create strategies to address it.”

Liles used the event as an opportunity to share her real-life experiences with students and to help them understand that they play a key role in creating change in the world and on campus.

“A college campus is the place where I learned to become an activist and to organize,” Liles said. “This is a great place to hone in your intellectual ability around it, so it can afford you space to start operationalizing some of that.”

One major element that was stressed throughout the event is how students can get involved. Students were able to listen to the activists talk about the importance of being personally connected to community organizing while also still being enrolled at the university.

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MEET THE EDITORS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Bryan Murphy MANAGING EDITOR Alexis Guerra CREATIVE DIRECTOR Janna Marnell NEWS EDITOR Stephen MacLeod ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITORS Emily Flamme Kalleen Rose Ozanic OPINION EDITOR Toyloy Brown III ASSOCIATE OPINION EDITOR Michael Sicoli ARTS & LIFE EDITOR Jessica Simms ASSOCIATE ARTS & LIFE EDITOR Ryan Miller SPORTS EDITORS Brendan O’Sullivan Jared Penna ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR Riley Millette DESIGN EDITOR Connor Lawless PHOTOGRAPHY EDTIOR Morgan Tencza THE QUINNIPIAC CHRONICLE is the proud recipient of the New England Society of Newspaper Editors’ award for College Newspaper of the Year in New England for 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2015-16.

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The Quinnipiac Chronicle

QU student activists call for change

Lack of student involvement is among chief concerns

By ASHLEY PELLETIER and WILLIAM GAVIN

Quinnipiac student leaders found that a lack of student engagement is among their greatest challenges, following a panel discussion on modern leadership on Wednesday, Feb. 19.

The panel included some of the most notable student leaders on campus and was moderated by Austin Calvo, president of the Student Government Association (SGA). Of the topics discussed at the panel, the lack of engagement among students was the most prominent.

“It’s an emerging problem, not just here at Quinnipiac, but at all college campuses,” said Leah Lavin, graduate assistant for the Department of Cultural and Global Engagement. “We’re seeing a lot of decreased numbers in study abroad involvement and engagement. We’re seeing it everywhere.”

Only 66% of college students reported at least one hour of participation in student organizations per week, according to data from the 2015 Project CEO Benchmarking Study.

“I am the president of the Muslim Student Association and people think that it’s solely for people who follow the faith of Islam, but anyone’s welcome,” said Irsa Awan, a junior health science major. “People are wary of putting themselves out there. I think it’s a challenge that we face of having students do that.”

Members of the panel agreed that a large part of the decreasing student engagement is the extensive variety of opportunities. Awan pointed toward the the Department of Integrated Marketing Communications and its promotion of certain organizations over others on Quinnipiac University’s Instagram, while others mentioned specific members of the university’s preferential treatment.

“We have President Olian promoting the Big Event. But we need to have more awareness for the multicultural organizations or like spirit club or club sports,” said Sophia Marshall, vice president of SGA and club soccer president.

While involvement in student activities can be demanding of the average student, participation is even more difficult for students involved in Quinnipiac athletics.

“It’s really difficult for all athletes to balance (clubs) because if we’re asked to go

ACTIVISM from cover “Even if you’re not from the area and you are just here for school, your local community still needs you in any way that you can as a student,” Liles said. “We’re not going to push you out because you’re not from here. We need people power.”

Another guest speaker, Addys Castillo, executive director at the Citywide Youth Coalition, spoke about her role in aiding young people involved with community activism in New Haven.

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Student leaders from across the university called for more student involvement. to a meeting at 9:15 at night, three days a week, we also have practice at 6 a.m. the next morning. It gets to a point where you’re stretched a little thin,” said Kaleigh Oates, senior advertising and integrated communications major and women’s volleyball team captain. “I think over-programming is an issue, but we just basically ended up doing the things that we get hounded the most to do.”

Students are overwhelmed with events on DoYou QU, a website in which all student-run events are posted by their respective clubs. Clubs often have events or meetings at the same time, leading to a choice from students who are engaging on campus.

“Not signing up for every little thing that we get asked do a has been a lesson that I learned after sophomore year,” Oates said.

“My team had a total community service burnout where we were doing two events every weekend.”

Chronic stress and intense workloads that the students experience can often lead to burnout. According to Sherrie Bourg Carter

of Psychology Today, burnout can lead to both physical and emotional exhaustion, detachment and feelings of ineffectiveness.

The panel members were very aware of the causes of burnout and what can happen when burnout is not addressed. Most of the panel members emphasized the importance of having a support system on campus to turn to when one is overwhelmed.

“Always check in with yourself when you get the chance,” said Sean Regan, president of Beta Gamma Sigma, the business honors society, and the Computer Information Systems Society. “It’s really important to take time for yourself and work on yourself and talk to those that are there to support you and know you need something.”

Panel members emphasized the importance of joining clubs based on passion despite the risk of burnout. However, they made it clear that one must take care of themselves first before they can put their time and energy into an extracurricular.

Liles: ‘We need people power’

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The talk stressed a need for organization.

“We organize young people by supporting and teaching them as much as we can about how systems work and how to have an anti-racist analysis,” Castillo said. “My job is to be the amplifier voice to them.”

Castillo also described the urgency for student involvement in order to make an impact on society. She explained to students how a problem that affects them will most likely affect other students around them as well.

“The only way to change anything comes from collective power. There is real power in numbers,” Castillo said. “When you think about what it’s gonna take for you as a student to create change locally or on campus, you need to think about who else is impacted and come together to create collective power.”

Several students who attended the event said they gained a new perspective on community organizing and black activism.

“I thought the event showcased phenomenal African American women activists in the greater New Haven area,” said Chidi Nwuneli, senior political science major. “I was persuaded by their thorough grasp and understanding of the subject matter pertaining to black activism and the contemporary American political scene. They were very persuasive in their comments about grassroots and youth-led activism.”

Both guest speakers ended the event with words of wisdom on the importance of student involvement in community organizing and black activism. They encouraged students to understand the current need for their participation in the movement.

“When I look at what our ancestors did, I see that they found their own liberation in their movement,” Castillo said. “I think it’s time for us to find ours. It’s our generation’s time now.”

“The only way to change anything comes from collective power.

There is real power in numbers.”

— ADDYS CASTILLO EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AT THE CITYWIDE YOUTH COALITION

February 26, 2020

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

News |3

Quinnipiac hosts 33rd annual NEURON conference Student researchers from across the Northeast present their findings

By CHATWAN MONGKOL Staff Writer

Quinnipiac University and the University of Connecticut cohosted over 30 universities across New England at a day-long neuroscientific conference.

Around 350 people attended the 33rd annual Northeast Undergraduate and Graduate Research Organization for Neuroscience (NEURON) conference on Sunday, Feb. 23, occurred at the North Haven Campus Center for Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences.

Dr. Geofrrey Tanner, assistant professor-in-residence of physiology and neurobiology at UConn, and co-chair of NEURON local organizing committee, said this is an opportunity for undergraduate students to get a sense of how a neuroscience conference looks.

“There is a lot of opportunity for undergraduate students networking to see all sorts of different presentations including our keynote speaker,” Tanner said.

This year’s keynote speaker was Dr. Dana Small, professor of psychiatry and psychology at Yale University. She spoke about her study on integration of mind and metabolism.

Guneet Burman, a junior behavioral neuroscience major, said she has been attending the conference since she was a first-year student. She said she enjoyed the keynote speaker this year.

“I knew something about diet stuff that people drink, I knew it wasn’t good but I didn’t know to what extent it was bad for you,” Burman said. “But with her research, it really opened up my eyes to see the real difference and how it affects us.”

Besides the keynote speaker, there were four workshops: a careers in science panel, Data Blitz, Detectives of Undiagnosed Disease and Surgical Neurophysiology.

Renee Rotolo, a Ph.D. candidate in behavioral neuroscience at UConn and co-chair of NEURON local organizing committee, said that the Data Blitz session was one of the new workshops that people were unexpectedly more interested in. It was a panel consisting of nine speakers who spoke about their studies for three minutes each.

“This is the first year we’re trying (Data Blitz session) out, and we weren’t sure how it was going to go but it was a huge success,” Rotolo said.

One of the speakers from the session, Tommy Lee, a Ph.D. candidate in behavioral neuroscience at UConn, also

CHATWAN MONGKOL/CHRONICLE

Students from over 30 universities across New England presented their research at the conference. said that he was impressed by how many people were interested in the panel.

“The Blitz room was completely packed, it was phenomenal,” Lee said. “They actually had to request some people to step out a little bit. I really hope it continues to grow.”

Tanner said one of the most engaging parts of the conference was the poster sessions. They were for both undergraduate and graduate students to present their research from their home labs.

Students from 31 different universities participated in the poster sessions. The topics included the effects of stress, Alzheimer’s Disease, effects of alcohol, olfactory discrimination and behavioral and neurobiological sex difference.

Burman was among one of the students who presented their research from Quinnipiac.

“In my freshman year, I went to the poster sessions and I wanted to present at the poster sessions,” Burman said. “Since freshman year, I joined the research lab and I worked to get my own project which happened this past summer. And this year, it was my turn to present.”

Kristina Shkuta, a senior neuroscience major, also represented Quinnipiac when she presented her research on the effects of

stress. She decided to present her work at this conference because she wanted to gain experience of presenting research and to listen to what other people think about it.

“It kind of makes you learn more about your own project,” Shkuta said. “Sometimes, we don’t think too much in depth, we don’t ask questions someone else could ask, but then when they do, you kind of like think about it from a different perspective and probably you get to know more (about) your own research.”

The NEURON conference has been going on for over 25 years. In 2010, Dr. Adrienne Betz, professor of psychology and medical sciences, and director of behavioral neuroscience, brought the conference to Quinnipiac. For the last eight years, Quinnipiac hosted the conference alone but as its interest kept growing, Betz’s colleagues at UConn jumped on board and helped co-hosting it.

Betz said that when Quinnipiac first hosted it, there were around a hundred students, but the number went over 300 this year. As this conference continues to grow, students will be able to experience what neuroscientific conference looks like before attending larger conferences in the future.

“I just think that it’s a great platform for sharing and networking about neuroscience,” Betz said.

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Opinion Hip-hop’s unfortunate trend

Pop Smoke is the latest to join an unfortunate list of rappers gone too soon

By TOYLOY BROWN III Opinion Editor

Any tragic death is horrible. When it is someone famous, the magnitude of the death is greater because of the countless lives he or she touched. When the person is young, we feel even worse because it is a reminder that tomorrow is not promised to anyone.

The hip-hop community has long felt the pains of losing phenoms as far back as the ‘90s when Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G were both murdered in their mid-twenties.

However, it feels like our contemporary stars’ deaths are happening far too regularly.

Pop Smoke, a 20-year-old, up-and-coming rapper, was fatally shot in his Hollywood Hills rental home on Wednesday, Feb. 19.

According to the latest reports from multiple media outlets, it is suspected that at least four men invaded the house, murdered the late rapper and fled the scene. The night before his death, he posted an Instagram story that accidentally revealed his home address. Nothing appeared to have been stolen from the house and no one else was hurt during the invasion. After the autopsy of Pop Smoke, whose legal name is Bashar Barakah Jackson, it was confirmed that the official cause of death was a gunshot wound to the torso, according to the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office.

Pop Smoke was a Brooklyn-native artist known for representing his city routinely and popularizing Brooklyn-drill, a sector of the trap music style that originated in Chicago. Pop Smoke was loved for more than that, though. As Briana Younger of the New Yorker put it, “He wasn’t a product of label dollars and marketing but a homegrown hero whose legend travelled the old-school way: word of mouth.”

Fans, critics and impartial listeners must admit that Pop Smoke merely scratched the surface of his talents. Not only were his songs the soundtracks to many New York City neighborhoods and rap fans around the world, but his sophomore mixtape, “Meet the Woo 2,” debuted at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 just one week after its release. The project was made public on Feb. 7, — 12 days before his murder. The early deaths of young artists who are beloved in the hip-hop community have sadly begun to feel like a calamity many are getting all too familiar with nowadays.

In the past few years, numerous rap artists have died under the age of 35 — although the majority in their 20s — by way of senseless violence or accidental overdoses. Los Angeles rapper Nipsey Hussle, 33, was shot and killed outside his clothing store in his hometown in March 2019. Rapper XXXTentacion, 20, was murdered outside a motorcycle shop in his home state of Florida in June 2018. Uncannily, rapper Jimmy Wopo, 21, was killed the same day as XXXTentacion in a drive-by shooting in his hometown of Pittsburgh. Pop Smoke is the most recent musician to die from violence so young.

There have also been too many rappers who’ve had their lives shortened from drug overdoses. Minnesota rapper Lexii Alijai, 21, died this year on Jan.1 from mixed fentanyl and ethanol toxicity.

Chicago rapper Juice Wrld, 21, who was best known for his prominent single “Lucid Dreams,” died in December 2019 from a seizure after he overdosed on codeine and oxycodone when his plane landed in his hometown. Rapper Mac Miller, 26, died from an overdose of alcohol, cocaine and fentanyl in September 2018. Rapper Lil Peep, 21, overdosed on fentanyl and Xanax in November 2017.

This exhaustive list of rappers includes only some more widely known hiphop artists who have received attention from mainstream media since their passing.

Aside from the fact that their lives were

all cut short within the past three years, they all have another single thing in common — the genre of music they are recognized for.

For some of these artists, it can be pointed out that other music genres influenced their music. However, it is practically indisputable what music category they were most synonymous with, hence their title as rappers. As rare as it is for a known musician to die tragically while under the age of 35, is it a coincidence that since 2017 these eight are all hip-hop artists?

There seems to be no direct connection between the aforementioned deaths since they are all separate cases. But to summarily dismiss these occurrences as coincidences from artists of the same genre and of similar age, feels flawed.

People who refuse to look more deeply at these stories are showing an unwillingness to take an important step in possibly finding an explanation to these frequent deaths. We should investigate if there is an underlying problem in the music world, if there is something that needs to change with this current generation of hiphop entangled in social media along with a bevy of other possible things.

Regardless of people not caring enough to speculate if an unfortunate trend is happening before our eyes, the reality is that onlookers globally are crestfallen each time they grow attached to a musician to only learn that he or she may be gone the following day. Just as Pop Smoke was a man who gave people from Brooklyn hope, the same can be said for people like Lexii Alija and Saint Paul, Minnesota, Jimmy Wopop and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and everyone else listed earlier. If it is painful for fans whose only attachment to these artists are through albums and concert performances, then imagine how excruciatingly painful it must be for a family member or a close friend to see someone they loved go down when he or she only just begun living his or her dream.

It is vital to understand that a long life isn’t a guarantee and that it is a mistake to take any day for granted. And as famous as someone can be, nobody is invincible. However, who wants to live in a world where young stars’ lives remain in imminent danger each year and their deaths begin to feel normalized? If we are some uncomfortable conversations away from preventing another tragedy from coming to fruition, then it is our responsibility to have these discussions about these artists.

A possible starting point to explore is the ubiquity of rap music that glorifies drugs, greed, violence and gangs among other things. Often times, these negative subjects are taken too lightly and are usually said with no level of expectation besides sounding “cool” for particular crowds. These topic matters are not new to the genre or isolated in hip-hop culture. This complaint — usually brought up by the older generation — is about there being a lack of balance in the art. In simple terms, the bad outweighs the good by too wide a discrepancy.

Are fans more culpable because they support their artists when they express how they use their vices to cope with their issues or simply have a good time? When rappers voice their aggression and talk about violence in a non-productive way, should fans continue to buy that music? Do we need to reconsider the lifestyles some popular rappers have that may prevent them from seeking help or encourage them to internalize their issues so as to attain commercial success. Should everyday hip-hop listeners demand that these acknowledgements of wrongdoing be used in a way that does not praise the behavior?

Should rappers and listeners place a greater emphasis on discussing mental health, meditation, therapy and making peace with your enemies?

This long-winded tug-ofwar of ideas are examples of where conversations for the future should be heading. At the very least, these theories will produce a more varied dialogue compared to what has been said prior.

Sadly, the danger of going into this kind of territory is the chance of being ostracized by some for sounding “soft” or not a “real” rap fan.

The tendency to embed damaging ideas and ideologies in our minds can seem to be inherent to the condition of being a participant in hip-hop culture. The real matter is that this detrimental mentality is perpetuated by fans, artists and the music industry for its ease, acceptance and proven profitability. The costs from these influences are the low standards it places on artists who remain stagnant in their personal growth.

Yet, it’s hard to expect much development when these artists are gone in their 20s.

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Bye, Biden

The former VP won’t win the presidential election

By STEPHAN KAPUSTKA Staff Writer

Joe Biden is still running for president, as easy as it might be to forget by now. After leading the Democratic primary field for all of 2019, the former vice president’s standing in national polls has cratered.

In the Real Clear Politics national polling average, he now trails Senator Bernie Sanders by over 10 points. It is now increasingly apparent that the former Vice President will not be the nominee, and for his own sake should get out of the race. Why? This isn’t the first time a run for president has gone haywire for Biden. During his first run in 1988, he was derailed by a plagiarism scandal. In 2008, he was crowded out of the field by then Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

Both times, he failed to win a single state. Biden once again considered running in 2016 but decided against it, reportedly because of his son Beau’s then-recent death from cancer and the prospect of not doing well. As Obama’s advisor David Plouffe told him: “Mr. Vice President, you’ve had a great career, you’ve been such an asset to this administration, and we love you ... Do you really want it to end in a hotel room in Des Moines, coming in third to Bernie Sanders?”

This was predictable. In 2020, Biden did not finish third in Iowa, the first voting state. He finished fourth, behind both the aforementioned Vermont socialist and the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, Pete Buttigieg. In New Hampshire, he finished in fifth, with only 8.4% of the vote. In Nevada, he limped into second while being trounced by Sanders among essentially every demographic aside from seniors and African Americans, which he only won narrowly.

After repeated losses, the outlook on Biden seems bearish.

What happened?

I predicted early in 2019 that Biden would not be the nominee, but I got the reasoning wrong. I thought what

The NFL has a discipline problem

Myles Garrett shows the NFL’s failure to punish

By MICHAEL SICOLI

Associate Opinion Editor

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

Opinion|5

would sink Biden was his record. I thought that with can- ers, Trump is a symptom of something wrong in the country didates like Senator Kamala Harris, former Representative and removing him won’t so much as fix the underlying probBeto O’Rourke and former HUD Secretary Julian Castro, lem, but just put a Band-Aid on it. Although I am politically the primary would devolve into a “woke-off.” The Demo- closer to Biden than then I am to Sanders as a conservative, cratic Party’s shift to the left would leave him not just out the latter is correct on this. of step but out of place. Among other things, his opposition So, when the candidate whose premise is everything on to taxpayer funding of abortion, opposition to forced bus- being able to win an election starts to lose elections, how sing, the Obama administration’s record of deporting illegal can that not fatally undermine him? Sanders has his own immigrants and his emphasis on being able to work with electability argument to be sure, but he also has a durable Republicans would damn him. And if Biden tried to change message which helped him cultivate a durable base that his positions, he would be punished for flip-flopping. will stick with him through thick and thin. Biden’s more I misjudged what t ransaction-based many Democrats see as candidacy collapses their priorities. Many Delegates at the first sign that he do wish to move to the as of Feb. 24 is not inevitable.

7 left, but their overriding On a human level priority is to get Presiit is difficult not to 8 dent Donald Trump out feel sympathy for the of office by any means former vice presi39 necessary. Biden made dent’s position. He Bernie Sanders 13 the requisite apologies clearly sees himself and seemed to be coastas presidential matePete Buttigieg ing to the nomination rial, and he has come on the back of the perabout as close to it as Joe Biden ception that he would is possible. Even from easily win the general the other side of the 25 Elizabeth Warren election. Sure, he made aisle, I can’t help but some errors, like when find Biden’s recountAmy Klobuchar he had the temerity to ing of his childhood say Vice President Mike struggle with stutterPence was a “decent guy” and then immediately apologized. ing to be inspiring. His life has undoubtedly not been easy, But Uncle Joe’s gaffes, if anything, just seemed to make him after suffering one personal tragedy after another. Even more relatable. considering the cynical political caucus that Biden was But no, what sunk Joe Biden was something more basic. probably right, that he was Trump’s strong general election His candidacy has no rationale at all, aside from the fact foe, it’s hard to take any joy from it. he thinks he could beat Trump. Once Trump is beaten, this But this presidential run is ill-advised, ill-conceived and line of thinking goes, everything will be great and back to does not appear to be going anywhere. For his own sake, Biden normal. But let’s be honest, every single Democrat run- needs to drop out now. He says Bernie Sanders would have a ning thinks they can beat Trump, or else they presumably difficult time beating Trump, but Biden is demonstrably not the wouldn’t be running. The question that must be asked is, person who can beat Sanders. Dragging this out any further is once Trump is beaten, then what? Contrast this with Sand- a sad exercise in futility. Disagree as we might, the former vice ers, who calls for a “political revolution” to change what he president deserves better, and he should not subject himself to sees as fundamentally broken systems in America. To Sand- this embarrassment any longer.

INFOGRAPHIC BY CONNOR LAWLESS

During Garrett’s interview with Mina Kimes on ESPN’s show, “Outside the Lines,” he continued to slander Rudolph.

“He called me the N-word,” Garrett said. “He called me a ‘stupid N-word.’”

Rudolph took to Twitter to defend his name once more.

“1000% False. Bold-Faced Lie. I did not, have not, and would not utter a racial-slur,” Rudolph tweeted. “This is a disgusting and reckless attempt to assassinate my character.”

But here we are in February — three months after the attack — with Garrett ready to play in the 2020 season even though he assaulted someone in a fit of rage on the field.

Garrett serves as yet another example of how the NFL has failed to address acts of violence by NFL players on and off the field in recent years. Players like running back Kareem Hunt received a 10-game suspension after he shoved and kicked a 19-year-old woman in a hotel. Hunt was signed last February with the charges levied against him and will enter free agency this offseason where he is expected to receive yet another contract.

Linebacker Reuben Foster is another prime example. Over the past three years, he was arrested for marijuana possession, making criminal threats and weapon possession, with only the latter charge resulting in a two-game suspension in 2018, the year after he was drafted as a first-round pick. Foster was also involved in a physical altercation with another woman, whom he slapped and pushed around in November 2018. This led to the San Francisco 49ers releasing him, although the charges were dropped. It is worth noting that this was his second arrest for allegedly committing domestic abuse, but the women recanted for the first accusation.

In spite of his history of domestic abuse, he was signed by the Washington Redskins just days after his release. Sure enough, the NFL issued a punishment with the might of a housefly.

Two game checks with no suspension. Seriously?

Meanwhile, quarterback Tom Brady got a four-game suspension for helping rig the AFC Championship during the 2014-15 season in a scandal known as “Deflategate.” Wide receiver Josh Gordon has been suspended time and time again, with multiple

Football may be a violent sport, but some players take it to the next level — and the NFL does not seem to care.

The NFL reinstated Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett on Feb. 12, after he savagely attacked Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph with a helmet in Week 11.

After a long game in which the Browns dominated, Garrett — probably frustrated with his one-tackle, zero-sack game, hurled Rudolph to the ground well after the ball was thrown.

Garrett held onto Rudolph while on the ground which prompted a scuffle as Rudolph tried to get Garrett off of him. This led to Garrett dragging Rudolph up by his helmet, ripping it off and infamously slamming the not-so-protective helmet on the quarterback’s head.

This action could have killed Rudolph. Garrett, a freak athlete weighing about 270 pounds, used a six-pound metal object to strike another person’s head. There was talk that this could lead to an assault charge at least. Forbes’ Eric Macramalla, who covers sports law, believed that Garrett would have been liable for assault.

“The problem for Garrett is that he appears to have been the aggressor,” Macramalla wrote. “And the physical contact was not proportional to the threat. So yes, while he may not be charged, it looks like criminal assault.”

I can hear Garrett defenders already. After all, Garrett claimed that Rudolph called him the N-word in the struggle.

But an investigation by the NFL found that there was no evidence supporting the claim. This accusation did not come while he was on the field or at a postgame press conference but rather during a private hearing a week later when his appeal was denied. This was nothing more than a last-ditch attempt to get himself off of an indefinite suspension.

Does anyone really think Garrett wouldn’t have taken to Twitter or to a press conference immediately after the game to defend his actions? That he would not take to the public to defend his name from the people who were dragging him through the mud?

Yeah, I thought so.

Garrett’s dishonorable accusation automatically and unfairly puts Rudolph in a bad light even with his acquittal after the NFL’s investigation. A stigma like this does not go away. It festers and remains in the back of people’s minds. When Rudolph inevitably takes a journeyman job as a backup quarterback, a simple allegation like this could be all it takes to not get that job, despite it being PHOTO FROM WIKIMEDIA Myles Garrett was reinstated after a six-game suspension. fictitious or at the very least unproven.

year-long suspensions for smoking marijuana. Kicker Josh Brown received a six-game suspension for “physically, verbally and emotionally abusing his then-wife, Molly Brown,” according to nfl. com. Running back Ezekiel Elliot received a six-game suspension for allegedly beating his girlfriend, but the police did not charge him with a crime.

What’s the standard? There is no pattern. There is no consistency. The NFL has failed over and over again to punish players in a sensible way.

Maybe it’s not worth comparing these. But the end result is that players receive the same type of punishment despite committing crimes that are entirely different.

It is also important to remember that these are exactly that — crimes. If these people were not granted the incredible gift that they possess, the ability to play in the NFL, they would be imprisoned instead of receiving millions. If Hunt were not making millions, he would be unemployed in nearly every other line of work.

And this is one of the biggest reasons these crimes continue to be committed. Players do not fear the repercussions because the punitive measures are temporary. A few game checks mean little when you will still receive millions of dollars.

But the NFL is a business. It ultimately does not care about the crimes its players commit. Sure, players may give the league a bad image, but as long as it dishes out a suspension or fine, no one seems to care. In fact, it is expected at this point to have cases like Fosters’ or Hunt’s.

Every offseason, a few cases emerge. Year in and year out.

The NFL cares about putting the best players on the field regardless of the situation. Players like Foster, Garrett and Hunt are incredibly talented football players. They make the games more entertaining because of their special abilities.

And so this will continue. A pointless, unpredictable cycle of suspending players for a few games and moving on like nothing happened. Future cases will continue to emerge as the punishment is pitiful at best.

Maybe one day the league will sharpen up its act. The new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) being proposed by the NFL has several rule changes that would help clean up the league’s problems if passed. Personal conduct cases would be dealt with a neutral arbitrator, someone who is capable of dealing out punishments. Commissioner Roger Goodell would be relegated to only having authority in regards to the integrity of game matters. The league would also decriminalize marijuana, with players only receiving fines instead of game-suspensions.

Both of these changes would affect the way the NFL conducts their investigations. And while there may be some controversy regarding the decriminalization of marijuana, adding an arbitrator to deal with conduct cases is a brilliant idea. Goodell is not qualified to be judge, jury and executioner.

There is no assurance that these new proposals come into play as the new CBA has not been passed yet. But adding these changes would mark a good step towards dealing with the issues before another major personal conduct case forces the league’s hand.

So get ahead of the curve, NFL. Make a change before a crime makes it for you.

6|Arts and Life

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

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Arts & Life goes Bananas Instagram account takes Quinnipiac by tropical storm

By CONNOR LAWLESS Design Editor

When the great American artist, Gwen Stefani, sang, “this shit is bananas. B-A-N-A-N-A-S,” she probably didn’t have Quinnipiac University in mind. However, her 2004 hit “Hollaback Girl” perfectly describes the school’s new social media sensation.

Over the past month, a certain social media account has been making a stir at Quinnipiac, bringing the student body and everyone's favorite berry (yes, it is a berry) together in an unexpected manner. This tropical fruit cocktail is known on Instagram as @qu_bananas.

“We were first inspired to start this page when we were in the caf, and we noticed how many unique ways there are to eat a banana,” said an owner of the @qu_bananas page, who did not want to be identified.

Since it launched in January, @qu_bananas has posted 95 times and built a strong following of 835 followers as of Feb. 25. The page’s popularity surprised the account owners.

“We assumed there would be a handful of supporters who enjoyed our content, but we didn’t think our fan base would be as large as it is,” the owner said.

The account gets about five submissions a day. These are typically pictures of students eating bananas, most of them taken unannounced along with humorous staged images and more.

“We appreciate the creativity of all of our submissions, but our favorites are definitely the ones that look candid,” the owner said. “The original intention of this page was to capture student’s natural banana-eating habits.”

The page relies on Quinnipiac students to send pictures of their peers eating bananas. Students are encouraged to direct message the account to submit pictures for the growing page.

“I think it’s funny,” said Lucky Plath, a first-year finance major. “I like to see my friends on it, and it's funny because you know, bananas.”

Often times, students are surprised when they see themselves on the page because a majority of the pictures are taken without the subjects’ knowledge. Callum Scott, a sophomore game design and development major, said he was shocked to see his image appear on the page.

“I didn’t expect to be on it at all,” Scott said. “My roommate Dan asked me if I wanted to eat a banana and I said sure. An hour later I was featured. It was a snipe and a half.

No idea it was ever taken.”

Although Scott was surprised to see himself featured on @qu_bananas, he recognized that the page is all in good fun, and he has taken a liking to the account.

“I think (@qu_bananas) is hilarious,” Scott said. “Every day, I’m seeing more funny banana pictures. It’s almost a part of the Quinnipiac culture now.”

Most importantly, the page brightens the days of students and brings friends together through light-hearted teasing and conspiracies about who the mysterious owners of the page are. Bringing people together is the purpose of the page after all.

“We wanted to give the people the ability to laugh and joke with their friends and give back to the world what they have given us — bananas,” the owner said.

"Every day I'm seeing more funny banana pictures. It's almost a part of the Quinnipiac culture now."

—Callum Scott

ILLUSTRATIONS BY CONNOR LAWLESS

Gotta go fast The ‘Sonic’ movie has finally arrived

By MATTHEW TRAVIA Staff Writer

After a long wait of edits and pushing back deadlines, Sonic is ready for the public. “Sonic The Hedgehog” is now in theaters.

The “Sonic” movie was supposed to be released in early November 2019 but was pushed back to 2020 since there was an issue with Sonic’s original design. Originally, Sonic looked much different than what fans were used to.

The issue was that this wasn’t the Sonic we are used to seeing, with small eyes and what somewhat resembled a human mouth. The design actually looked like a blue hedgehog, but thankfully after outrage from the public, the design was fixed. The new design looks like the Sonic we all know and love.

“Sonic” was released on Valentine’s Day, and what better way to spend the day of romance than watching a blue hedgehog run as fast as he can with your significant other?

The movie is based on the popular Sega series that Jeff Flower directed. Ben Schwartz does the voice acting for Sonic and does a nice job with it, too. Schwartz brings the fun and humorous side of Sonic to life.

At the beginning of the movie, we meet young Sonic on a planet that resembles his in-game model called Green Hills, but the name of the planet wasn’t specified in the film. Sonic is living with his owl protector, Longclaw.

But an ambush on Sonic causes an injured Longclaw to let Sonic go off on his own. She gives him a bag of rings that allows Sonic to travel to different planets.

The movie then transitions to Sonic while he is on Earth where he seems to be having a great time in a small town in Montana called Green Hills.

In the small town, Sonic gives an overview of the area.

Two people that stand out the most are Tom Wachowski (played by James Marsden) and Maddie Wachowski (played

by Tika Sumpter). Tom is the highly respected town sheriff while Maddie is a veterinarian.

PHOTO FROM PARAMOUNT PICTURES

The 'Sonic' movie was supposed to be released in November, but was rescheduled to February because of a design issue.

While Tom loves being in Green Hills, not much happens there, and he wants that to change. He wants to be the person people look at to make a change, he wants more action, and luckily, he catches his big break when he gets accepted to join the force in San Francisco.

Although it looks like Sonic is having the time of his life, there is something missing, and he expresses that one night on a baseball field. Sonic feels lonely and wishes for a friend, as he can’t show himself or else he would have to leave planets once again. So, he fears that he can’t befriend anyone, or they’ll take him for his powers.

After a massive power outage due to Sonic’s unreal power, the army is alerted, and they decide to send in a mad scientist

to get to the bottom of everything.

The army calls in Dr. Ivo Robotnik — an arrogant, yet very intelligent, scientist with superb technology — to track down the source of this energy. Robotnik is played by Jim Carrey, who does a great job playing the selfish and insane doctor.

Sonic knows he is being tracked and tries to leave but gets stuck and ends up in the Wachowski’s shed where they have their first interaction. Sonic attempts to leave but gets tranquilized and his bag of rings ends up in San Francisco.

This is where the adventure begins. Wachowski and Sonic retrieve the rings and make sure Robotnik doesn’t get to Sonic.

Make sure you go fast to your local theater to watch our favorite blue hedgehog in action.

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The Quinnipiac Chronicle

Arts and Life|7

New music Wednesday: recommendations and more

By IAN ADDISON and PHIL AKRE

2020 is shaping up to be a big year for music across genres. Based on its early returns, the new year is certainly off to an encouraging start.

January featured a heavy dose of rap/hip-hop releases, from Eminem, Lil Wayne and the late Mac Miller. February continued the production, as Tame Impala offered “The Slow Rush,” creator Kevin Parker’s first record since 2015’s hit, “Currents.” Rising rapper Pop Smoke released “Meet the Woo 2,” before being senselessly shot and killed in his Los Angeles home on Feb. 19. Lana Del Rayis also expected to release a project before the month’s end.

With all this being said, here’s a brief rundown of our pick for album of the week, top 20 songs and recent music news.

Album of the week: Tame Impala’s “The Slow Rush” In “The Slow Rush,” Parker manages to maintain his core psychedelic values while also exploring the limitless boundaries of his own pop sound. Eight of the albums 12 tracks run longer than four minutes, a testament to an unrelenting, precise vision that has guided the course of his projects. The record displays textured and ambitious pieces that cross multiple styles. You hear touches of Pink Floyd’s psychedelic innovation, a form of acid rock, mixed with prog pop and R&B. This album is a detailed slowburner that allows curiosity to wander freely. It’s fascinating to see how an artist like Parker plays his cards. Through all of his experimentation, style shifts and breaks, his artistic integrity is never lost. “The Slow Rush” showcases an auteur in total control of the music, from start to finish.

Songs for your playlists “Blue World” — Mac Miller: Miller’s posthumous album, “Circles,” will forever serve as a reminder of where the 26-year-old artist was headed. The album highlights a clear desire to experiment with a range of genres, including elements of hip-hop, soft rock and pop. “Blue World” is a brilliant song on an album full of them, in which just two songs are considered rap. The rest of it is Miller at a highly creative peak, opting for clarity and a gentle touch over careful melodies.

“Borderline” — Tame Impala: Following the success of 2015’s “Currents,” Parker’s next album became a highly anticipated one. After five years, he delivered “The Slow Rush.” The albums third track, “Borderline,” highlights his mastery of multiple genres, seamlessly blending psychedelic influences and 1970s disco feel with a modern approach. A subtle and effective bass part carries a groovy wave of synth and keys. It certainly feels like “The Slow Rush” was worth the long wait.

ILLUSTRATION BY IAN ADDISON

“No Time to Die” — Billie Eilish: Perhaps no pop star had a busier start to 2020 than 18-year-old Billie Eilish.

In late January, she swept the major Grammy Awards, highlighted by her Best New Artist and Best Album of the Year wins. Just a week later in February, she performed a haunting version of The Beatles classic, “Yesterday,” at the Oscars. Her next move? She earned the prestigious honor of performing the theme song for, “No Time to Die,” the upcoming James Bond film. In the process, Eilish became the youngest to ever write a Bond theme song. The tune itself morphs from slow ballad to an emotional, triumphant finish. In just two months, Eilish has done what some artists try to do in a lifetime.

“Delete Forever” — Grimes: “Miss Anthropocene” is the fifth studio album released by the Canadian artist, Grimes. Since releasing “Art Angels” in 2015, Grimes has released several singles from her 2020 LP, including “Delete Forever.” Reflecting on people she cares for, Grimes implies they are flying too close to the sun with violent habits and a lack of self-care. The singer notes in her acousticdriven ballad that everyone is going through his or her own struggles, whether or not those issues are acknowledged.

“Bad Decisions” — The Strokes: Aside from 2016’s EP, “Future Present Past,” The Strokes — an indie rock group — took the majority of the decade off. Having released two full LPs in the first half of the 2010s, “Angles” (2011) and “Comedown Machine” (2013), the band has returned to producing studio efforts. “Bad Decisions” is single No. 2 from the upcoming (April 10) nine-track release, titled “The New Abnormal.” Coming in at 45 minutes, fans of The Strokes will be happy to hear that “Bad Decisions” is a return to the cherished sounds from “Is This It” (2001) and “Room on Fire” (2003). Make good decisions and give this one a spin.

“Simmer” — Hayley Williams: When Paramore frontwoman Hayley Williams announced in January that she would embark on her solo work, fans were torn on what she would sound like without her bandmates (including drummer Zac Farro who returned to Paramore for the band’s 2017 LP “After Laughter). Williams came out with a video for “Simmer” which features the vocalist running through the woods from something ominous. The song feels both caressing as well as impactful, and through her airy vocals, Williams is able to form her own world on 2020’s “Petals For Armor I.” “Bad Habits” — Silverstein: The post-hardcore stalwarts remain prominent in the punk scene 20 years after their formation and 17 years after their debut album “When Broken Is Easily Fixed.” In the past five years alone, the Toronto five-piece has put out two studio albums, as well as a reimagination of songs from its first four releases. With album No. 11, “A Beautiful Place to Drown,” set to release on March

SCREENSHOTS FROM APPLE MUSIC

6, the band has featured several guests on tracks, including Aaron Marshall of Intervals. Confirmed by Silverstein lead guitarist Paul Marc Rousseau, the lyrics to this track feature callbacks to every entry in the band’s discography.

“Candy” — Holy Fawn: Arizona shoegaze/post-metal band Holy Fawn consists of four creatures with a knack for composing hauntingly beautiful melodies. Seen in the intricate structures of its 2018 debut LP, “Death Spells,” Fawn’s 2020 EP, “The Black Moon,” emulates a similar ethereal density.

The band howls through a personal piece about possible substance reliance, “burnt sage in my lungs where I find you, hiding in a draw like candy,” later continuing, “Can you hear me when you’re sleeping, I swear I can see you always.” The tune feels lighter and more experimental than its 2018 debut, but continues to show the megalithic chords and chilling vocal delivery it’s been honing.

Top storylines Rapper Pop Smoke was shot and killed after gunmen stormed his Hollywood Hills home on Feb. 19. The Brooklyn, New York, native was scheduled to start his U.S. tour on March 2, and perform at this summer's Rolling Loud festival in Miami, Florida. He was 20 years old.

Metallica frontman, James Hetfield, made his first public appearance on Thursday, Feb. 20, after checking into rehabilitation last October.

ILLUSTRATION BY IAN ADDISON

8|Arts and Life

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

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A day of giving back

The Big Event allows Quinnipiac to give back to the community

By ASHLEY PELLETIER Staff Writer

Quinnipiac University’s Big Event grants students, faculty and alumni the opportunity to give back to Hamden and the surrounding communities in a day filled with community service.

The Big Event began 37 years ago at Texas A&M University and is now the largest student-run service project in the United States. Quinnipiac held its first Big Event in 2010 under the leadership of Jen Walts, the former vice president for public relations of the Quinnipiac Student Government Association (SGA).

Community service projects done through the Big Event include anything from cleaning at an animal shelter to raking leaves. Each person completes around three hours of community service at his or her location. While three hours is not a significant amount of time, between 1,400 and 1,600 people participate in the Big Event annually.

“If we have like 1,500 volunteers and if we do three hours per person, that’s like 4,500 hours plus hours of volunteering done in one day,” said Shane Grant, co-director of the Big Event.

Each location, which can be anywhere within a 30-minute radius of the Mount Carmel campus, has a set number of volunteers for specific tasks agreed upon prior to the Big Event. Some previous locations include Camp Cedar Crest in Orange, Connecticut, senior centers and animal shelters.

Volunteers get assigned to certain locations by numbers and previous experiences. Each location only needs a certain number of volunteers, so teams with that amount of people are more likely to be assigned to that location.

Some volunteering teams also return to the same location every year, strengthening the bond between the volunteers and the organizations.

“It makes a difference to them, not even just the residents, but the organizations that these nonprofits help. They really feel the lasting impact,” said Alyssa Lawson, one of the chairs in the community outreach program. “So even though it’s only three hours for us, it makes a difference for them for their whole year.”

Alongside the community service, the Big Event executive board also organizes speakers such as the president

of the university, the president of SGA and other notable people on campus. Food is provided for volunteers as well.

“What (the volunteers are) doing is really helpful,” said Rebecca Vangsness, co-chair for event logistics for the Big Event. “They may not realize that raking is going to change someone’s life, but when you put 20 people in one site and have them do work for three hours, it does make a huge difference for these people.We get so many letters from the sites and from the people of these non-profit organizations and they’re just so grateful and they want us to tell the university how grateful they are from the service that we do.”

The 2020 Big Event will be on April 4. Registration forms for team captains, team participants and individuals can be found on the Big Event’s page on Do You QU and on its Instagram page: @QuinnipiacBigEvent. Participants must register prior to the day of the event for location assignments. Students can also get involved by joining the Big Event organization or applying to be a member of one of the executive board committees.

CONNOR LAWLESS/CHRONICLE

Shane Grant is one of the co-directors of the Big Event on April 4.

Alyssa Lawson and Rebecca Vangsness are chairs of different aspects for the Big Event.

MORGAN TENCZA/CHRONICLE

Waiting for The Weeknd

The R&B artist releases his third single ahead of March’s album

By RYAN MILLER

Associate Arts & Life Editor

PHOTO FROM FACEBOOK

The Weeknd has released three singles from the album, 'After Hours.'

It’s been four years since The Weeknd blessed his fans with the release of “Starboy,” his most recent full-length album. With the release of his latest single, “After Hours,” fans are one step closer to The Weeknd’s newest album that shares the same name.

The album, “After Hours,” is set for release on March 20, and will be The Weeknd’s first collection of new music since his 2018 EP “My Dear Melancholy,.”

The Weeknd, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, burst onto the scene in 2015 with his album “Beauty Behind the Madness” which featured hits such as “The Hills,” “Can’t Feel My Face” and “Earned It,” made famous by its inclusion in the film adaptation of “Fifty Shades of Grey.”

“Heartless,” the first single released off “After Hours,” in classic The Weeknd fashion, uses both his voice and the musical backing to create a suspenseful buildup of increasing loudness that explodes with a powerful belted note. About a minute into the song, The Weeknd proclaims, “I’m heartless, and I’m back to my ways ’cause I’m heartless.”

The song proceeds to reiterate that point several times and the inevitability of never becoming a better man or being able to settle down because of the money and fame.

Just two days after dropping “Heartless,” The Weeknd followed his opening act by releasing “Blinding Lights.” The song has an immediate 1980s feel, the instrumental backing giving off “Take on Me” by A-ha vibes. The Weeknd comes out swinging in this song for sure, as the fast pace allows him to thrive, raising the energy level through his voice. In moments when he’s not heard singing, The Weeknd chants “hey, hey, hey” to the rhythm of the music that honestly feels like a personal invitation to get up and dance.

Lastly, by releasing the title track “After Hours,” fans get one last glimpse at the direction the album is headed in. The song is a

trepidatious six-minute track that displays both the range of The Weeknd’s vocal talent as well as the new territory he is willing to enter with his music. The song centers around a failed relationship and the efforts to rekindle it.

Ironically, as The Weeknd sings about how he “turned into the man I used to be,” he also falls into his old habits. His desire for more of a techno vibe in the middle of his songs, something that fans had mixed reviews about on “Starboy,” also recurred. The saving grace of the song takes place in the final minute or so with The Weeknd lowering his voice and slowing down the pace to remind us of the artist we came to love from “The Hills.”

From the quarter of the album that’s been released thus far, “After Hours” shows all indications of The Weeknd finally releasing a project that is both cohesive and pleasing to fans of his entire range of style and ability. By singing about sex, money and fame, giving us an upbeat tempo track about his mission to go out and get what he wants and the plight of losing a relationship all in that order, the album already sets itself up with a great arc that covers all of what worked best with The Weeknd’s successes to date including “Beauty Behind the Madness,” “Starboy” and “My Dear Melancholy,.”

However, despite all the ways it feels the album has been set up by its singles, it’s never too easy to tell for sure which way things could be headed with an artist as unpredictable as The Weeknd. Be on the lookout for surprise hits on the album that aren’t released as singles until much later such as “Die for You” which emerged as a fan-favorite from “Starboy.”

The Weeknd also announced a tour to accompany the release of “After Hours,” beginning in his home country in Vancouver, Canada in June. In July, the tour makes its way to the tri-state area and New England making stops in Uncasville, Connecticut, Newark, New Jersey, Brooklyn, New York and Boston, Massachusetts.

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Arts and Life|9

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

Jeffree goes purple

Jeffree Star releases first makeup collection of the decade

By DAVID MATOS Contributing Writer

Jeffree Star is most commonly known for his Barbie pink aesthetic, but his newest makeup collection takes on a different shade. Star launched his first eyeshadow palette and matching collection of 2020 labeled “Blood Lust” on Friday, Feb. 21, at 1 p.m. Blood Lust acts as the successor of Star’s Blood Sugar collection, released in 2018, and his Blue Blood collection, released in 2019.

Star took to Twitter and Instagram to preview the third installment of his Bloodline series. Following his announcements, Star revealed the full collection on his YouTube channel. In the video, he discussed details regarding his new purple-themed collection including information in reference to the much-anticipated eyeshadow palette as well as the official launch date and time of the whole collection.

“We did red, we did blue, and to me, Blue Blood was very royal, like that was my royal moment,” Star said in his 30-minute video. “I did not want to call this palette Royal Blood, Purple Blood, I think that’s too easy. With Jeffree Star Cosmetics, we always want to take it to the next level. I want to invoke some feelings. I know its makeup, but I’d like to have a real theme. Almost like I’m launching an album every time. You know what I mean? So, from Jawbreaker to Thirsty to now Blood Lust, I want to bring you guys feelings.”

Unlike Star’s previous eyeshadow palettes, Blood Lust comes in a unique hexagon shape. The exterior of the palette is covered with purple velvet fabric and holds 18 brandnew shades for the brand, ranging from classic matte to his new metallic formula. Despite the unique color scheme, the collection still stays true to Star’s iconic aesthetic that bleeds through all of his releases.

The other products that were revealed were: five new lip gloss shades, a new Extreme Frost highlighter, Queen Bitch — an eight mini lipstick bundle featuring two new shades, three new hand mirrors, two new grinders, a fourpack of purple metal straws and various wearable accessories in the consistent purple theming of his new collection. The Blood Sugar, Conspiracy and Blue Blood palettes were also restocked on Friday, Feb. 21, in cohesion with his launch.

Star’s palette, however, faced some criticism after the official color story was revealed. Despite his collection mainly revolving around the color purple, there is a significant lack of purple shades in the palette, according to most fans. The abnormality of this choice shocked fans and many took to

PHOTO FROM JEFFREE STAR COSMETICS

Jeffree Star released his palette Blood Lust on Feb. 21.

Twitter to express their frustration.

Iesha Rose (@Iesha_Rose3) wrote, “I thought there were going to be lots of dark rich purples and golds to compliment them from the packaging. This looks like the jaw breaker pallets little sister.”

Star took to his Instagram story to express his feelings about many of his fan’s criticisms.

“I wanted to make a palette that could complement any pink, any purple, any magenta, and fuchsia look,” Star said.

“And I think maybe the photography is translating a little light on a few of the shades but when you see them all in person you touch them, and the shifts and the metallic and the lavenders … bitch, it’s everything I dreamed of.”

Star has had a very eventful start of the decade, to say the least. He announced in early January that he and his longterm boyfriend, Nate Schwandt, split after a five-year public relationship. Prior to his breakup, Jeffree moved into a $14 million mansion in Hidden Hills, California.

This launch marks Star’s first eyeshadow palette since his makeup collaboration with popular YouTuber, Shane Dawson,

that was released at the end of November 2019. Star and Dawson’s eye shadow palette, Conspiracy, and the collection was a monumental moment for Jeffree Star Cosmetics. The launch broke records and was the main focus of Dawson’s YouTube documentary-style series. The series showcased the creation of their makeup collaboration from start to finish and lifted the curtains on many of the details on what normally goes into creating a makeup line.

Despite previous criticisms, his Blood Lust palette, along with a majority of his collection, sold out online in less than 24 hours. Though his newest collection wasn’t as internet-breaking as his Dawson collaboration, many of his dedicated fans still continue to support and purchase from the brand. Star thanked fans on Twitter following the success of his launch.

“Goooood morning everyone!” Star tweeted. “Waking up and having almost the entire Blood lust Collection sold out is so insane!!! THANK YOU for all the love and support always.”

Hunting for a new show?

Amazon Prime’s new series gives the world another show about Nazis

By TIM POWERS Staff Writer

“Living well is not the best revenge. You know what the best revenge is? Revenge.”

Al Pacino said these words to Logan Lerman in the final minutes of the pilot episode of Amazon Prime’s new show “Hunters,” setting the tone for what’s about to transcribe in a tale about Nazi hunters in 1970s America.

The new show — executive produced by Jordan Peele and starring Pacino, Lerman and Jerrika Hinton — comes at a concerning time in America’s history. With a resurgence of alt-right ideology into public view in recent years, as seen with the white supremacist rally that occurred in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017 that resulted in the death of Heather Heyer, there is no shortage of Nazi hatred on display in the real world.

But make no mistake, “Hunters” is not a fantasy trip about a contemporary reign of Nazi power. Similar complaints have been leveled at another Amazon Prime series, “The Man in the High Castle.”

Instead of imagining what the world would look like if Germany had won World War II, like “High Castle,” Amazon has now decided to imagine what a world would look like if some Nazi officials had escaped to America, and who would be fighting against them. The result is a show that is often entertaining but also unnecessarily violent.

The first scene of “Hunters” opens with a murder at a family barbeque when a woman recognizes a Nazi official at the event. This is the first of many shockingly violent scenes that never feel like they are moving the story forward. It just feels as if the producers of “Hunters” want to grab the audience's attention but didn’t know any other way. Any point the more violent scenes are trying to make with their visuals can easily be shown in another, less horrific fashion.

CHRISTOPHER SAUNDERS/AMAZON

'Hunters' received a 62% from Rotten Tomatoes.

Another one of the more violent scenes of the show includes a game of chess in a Nazi camp using Jewish prisoners as the pieces. This is supposed to make up a metaphor for the ’70s timeline of the Nazis and the Nazi hunters being the players in a current game of human chess. In fact, the main title of the show is a walk through a chessboard with the various characters playing the plastic pieces. I find that this is never taken anywhere else beyond the main title, making it feel unbelievably pointless.

Often, “Hunters” feels like it never knows what kind of show it wants to be. At times, it feels like a prestigious drama similar to that of FX’s “The Americans.” But then there are some scenes that feel similar in style to that of comic books or campy ’70s films. The show accomplishes both styles with grace and expertise, but it does not seamlessly transition between each style. It feels like the show is trying to cater to everyone.

Thankfully, the show has a few hits among the misses with a great cast and an interesting story. Lerman does well in a role that feels natural for him, playing a guy who is thrust into a position of fighting after a devastating loss, similar to “Percy Jackson.” Pacino, a recent Oscar nominee for “The Irishman,” does well in this role that gives him a few great one-liners. Hinton has the most interesting storyline as a detective trying to solve a gruesome murder. She is able to give a subtle and affecting performance while also keeping the attention squarely on her. The rest of the ensemble shines bright, creating characters that feel real and natural.

“Hunters” is an entertaining piece of television despite its overuse of violence. There is a worthy story that is trying to be told here. The series has some great writing and an even better cast at its disposal. But it feels like there are too many different minds and ideas at work for it to really shine through. “Hunters” seems to be hunting for not just Nazis, but also a little bit of focus.

3/5 stars

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

10|Sports

February 26, 2020

WOLFF’S WIRE

Destined for more

Quinnipiac baseball eyes a potential second straight MAAC championship

CHRONICLE ARCHIVES

Former outfielder Liam Scafariello celebrates scoring a run with a football celebration.

By JORDAN WOLFF Staff Writer

A 30-win season, winning the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) for the first time and upsetting the No. 10 ECU Pirates in the NCAA tournament were all things the Quinnipiac baseball team accomplished in 2019. However, we’re in mid-February and it’s time for the 2020 team to carry on the program’s prior success.

The Bobcats are currently 0-6 and got swept by the University of Texas at San Antonio Roadrunners and the James Madison Dukes. But that’s just a small sample size for the squad that was projected to win the MAAC in 2020. Here are some things to look for as we dive deeper in the season.

PITCHING: FINDING DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH Last year’s Quinnipiac squad relied on its veterans to carry the pitching load. Those veterans were pitchers Chris Enns and Tyler Poulin. Enns had two complete games, a 7-5 record, a 3.47 earned runs average (ERA) and a 1.22 walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP). Enns finished second on the Bobcats’ pitching staff in total strikeouts (77) and opponent batting average (.250).

Enns also finished sixth in the MAAC in total ERA (3.47), sixth in opponent batting average (.250), fifth in total wins (seven), sixth in batters struck out looking (25), ninth in earned runs allowed (31) and sixth in home runs allowed (two). Poulin’s statistics lineup quite nicely with his former teammate.

The southpaw led the Bobcats in innings pitched (87.0) and had a 7-2 record in 15 appearances. He led the Bobcats staff in strikeouts (87) and had a .251 opponent batting average. Poulin finished eighth in the MAAC in total ERA (3.83), seventh in batters struck out (82), fourth in wins (seven), and fourth in losses (two). Poulin was also selected in the 29th round of the 2019 MLB draft by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

However, the Bobcats also lost Andrew Workman, their best overall pitcher. As a senior, Workman led Quinnipiac’s pitching staff in total ERA (1.61), hits allowed (33), runs allowed (12) and total opposite batting average (.189). In 27 appearances, Workman had a .98 WHIP.

As for his conference standings, Workman finished second in the MAAC in saves. However, all of this production is no longer of service. It looks as if the Bobcats’ 2020 pitching staff could be very top heavy, mainly relying on three pitchers: seniors Christian Nicolosi and Colin Donnelly and junior Arthur Correira.

Donnelly finished the 2019 season with a 3.79 ERA and 51 strikeouts in 29 appearances. Donnelly finished fifth in the MAAC in total hits allowed (62), led the MAAC in total runs allowed (27) and finished second in ERA (25). Correira finished the 2019 season with a 5.31 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 13 appearances. Nicolosi finished 2019 with an 8.07 ERA and recorded 35 strikeouts in 19 appearances. However, Nicolosi’s 2020 has seen him emerge as the likely number one starter.

In two starts, Nicolosi has 10 strikeouts, one earned run allowed and a 0.81 ERA. This is a small sample size which makes it uncertain how long Nicolosi can sustain this level of play and how the rest of the rotation fills out.

Quinnipiac has five new pitchers listed on its 2020 active roster, and has listed redshirt senior first basemen Kyle Horton as an active pitcher. Maybe freshman pitcher Brayden Garcia can step up, as Garcia pitched three scoreless innings in his only appearance against James Madison on Saturday, Feb. 22. It’ll be interesting to see how head coach John Delaney mixes and matches his pitchers moving toward conference play.

Vulgamore led the Bobcats in RBIs (55) and doubles (14).

Ostberg can set the tone, as he was second on the team in batting average (.321) and hits (72). Bender’s pop from the left side of the plate contributed to his team-leading batting average (.322).

Now, numbers obviously aren’t everything, but it’s important to establish the track records of these players and the expectations they set for themselves moving forward. But, I quickly want to mention something that numbers can’t define: team energy

CAN THEY KEEP THE BOBCAT BOUNCE? Often during games, announcers and fans would notice how loud and loose the Bobcats’ squad was during the 2019 season. A lot of successful teams like to carry that quiet confidence approach of letting the actions do the talking. The Bobcats weren’t afraid to engage with the opposing dugout.

Whether it was letting the pitcher know how badly he missed the plate, having a Bobcat receive a football at home plate every time they scored, doing a Fortnite dance on second base, seeing Donnelly or Workman lead the bench in synchronized dance or players goofily hijacking Delaney’s interview during the NCAA tournament, this method proved to be a factor in the Bobcats’ 2019 success.

With the same core of players around, don’t be surprised to see the Bobcats try to amp things up a step further in 2020.

However, they still don’t have a win and will attempt to get that win in Lexington, Virginia, on Friday, Feb. 28, in the first game of a three-game series against Virginia Military Institute.

OFFENSE: UPPERCLASSMEN LEAD THE CHARGE Quinnipiac’s 2019 offensive production was among the best in the MAAC. The Bobcats led in runs (380), hits (575), doubles (128), home runs (47) and RBIs (328). Despite 2019 home run leader Liam Scafariello (14) and on base percentage leader Brian Moskey each graduating, the Bobcats still have other core offensive players to rely on.

That core includes seniors outfielder Andre Marrero and infielder Evan Vulgamore, along with junior infielders Ian Ostberg and Colton Bender. As a junior, Marrero led the Bobcats in hits (74), games played (59), and on-base plus slugging percentage (.921) and slugging percentage (.538). Marrero was also third on the team in batting average (.316) and second in RBIs (48).

CHRONICLE ARCHIVES

CHRONICLE ARCHIVES

Senior infielder Dylan Lutz hits the ball to right field.

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

February 26, 2020

Sports|11

AT THE PLATE

Turning the tide

Quinnipiac softball looks to climb the MAAC standings in 2020 OUTFIELDERS Junior captain Kayla Jensen looks to provide some leadership in the inexperienced Bobcats outfield. Appearing in 49 of the 50 games, she was a team leader in categories including batting average (.339) and slugging percentage (.429). She also had one home run and 13 RBIs, with a team-leading 16 stolen bases. On the defensive end, she was near-perfect, having a .955 fielding percentage but accumulated six errors last season.

Look for her to be an integral part of the Bobcats’ lineup this year while mentoring the young Bobcat outfielders.

Freshman Sydney Tedim looks to make a lasting impact in center field her first season. In her first five games this season, she has a team-leading six hits in 12 plate appearances. She’s filling in a big hole in the Bobcats’ outfield that has lost three players coming into the season. She will get plenty of playing time this season in the outfield, as she looks to pair up well with Jensen and freshman Serena Fogg.

PITCHERS

Sophomore pitcher Lauren King pitched in 40 games last season.

MORGAN TENCZA/CHRONICLE

By MATTHEW JARONCYK Staff Writer

Quinnipiac softball looks to come back with a vengeance this season under second-year head coach Hillary Smith. The Bobcats finished 17-33 overall and 8-12 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) — eighth out of 11 teams. They are predicted to finish seventh in the MAAC this year according to the MAAC Preseason Coaches Poll.

The Bobcats welcome nine freshman to the team — all varying positions from outfielders Hannah Wickson and Sydney Tedim to infielders Katherine Rodriguez and Lala Pascual.

An immediate impact from the freshmen would add depth and firepower to the lineup.

CATCHERS Sophomores Lo Yarnall and Hannah Davis will likely split time behind the plate. Yarnall looks to build on her first season with the Bobcats, in which she appeared in 44 of 50 games with zero home runs and 15 runs batted in (RBIs). Behind the plate, she had 83 putouts while allowing seven passed balls.

Look for her to be more comfortable at and behind the plate, building off her first year.

For Davis, she looks to build on a subpar first season. In 39 games with the Bobcats, she had zero home runs and five RBIs. Defensively, she had 114 putouts and 12 passed balls. If she makes some minor tweaks to her game, she has the potential to make a substantial contribution to the Bobcats.

Senior Tiffany Kennedy-Cummings is a huge pickup for the Bobcats this season, as she will be playing her first season with the Bobcats. Cummings, who transferred from Fresno State, started seven of her 11 games, going 4-1 with a team best 2.45 earned run average (ERA). She also led the Frogs with a .250 opposing batting average and was third on her team with 28 strikeouts. Look for her to be the No. 1 starter for the Bobcats and one of the top pitchers in the MAAC, making an immediate impact in the pitching rotation.

Sophomore Lauren King projects to be the second starter in the Bobcats’ rotation this season. Appearing in 40 games last year, she made 15 starts, going 8-8 with a 2.51 ERA, the fourth-best ERA in the MAAC. She also tallied 60 strikeouts and 71 walks while allowing 58 runs, which ranked eighth in the MAAC. When not starting, she is one of the top relief pitchers in the MAAC. She came in relief 25 times, the most of any pitcher in the MAAC. If she is dominant this upcoming season, she may be one of the most feared pitchers in the MAAC. Sophomore pitcher Brooklyn Maguire looks to make an impact in the Bobcats rotation. Appearing in 15 games with the team, she went 1-4 with a 5.95 ERA. With her slated as the third starter in the rotation, look for her to work with King, Smith and assistant head coach Brooke Scott to elevate her performance to the best it can be. This extra work mixed with additional exposure in more starts will help bring her confidence level up and produce wins for the team.

PREDICTION Looking at how young the Bobcats are, they are going to have trouble competing with experienced teams in the MAAC, some being Cansius and Monmouth — who have 18 and 15 sophomores respectively, juniors and seniors, respectively. Based on the Bobcats’ reliance on youth, expect them to place sixth in the MAAC, going 22-29. The team may struggle early on but should surge in the standings as the season progresses.

MORGAN TENCZA/CHRONICLE

INFIELDERS

Sophomore infielder Alexis Otero dives for the ball.

Junior utility Brighid Douglas keeps getting better season after season. After being named to the MAAC AllRookie Team in her freshman year, she showed no means of slowing down. Appearing in 46 games, she hit two home runs and had 23 RBIs which each ranked second on the team. In the field, she is effective, having a .921 fielding percentage while committing seven errors in each of her first two seasons. Look for Douglas to continue producing solid numbers as she has in the past.

Senior utility Rachel Marchuk was shaping up to have a decent junior year before her season was cut short to an injury.

Prior to the injury, she played 30 games, recording one home run, eight RBIs and a career-high in batting average (.325). Additionally, she had one of the best slugging percentages on the Bobcats last year (.438) and the second best on-base percentage on the Bobcats (.400) — only trailing junior captain Kayla Jensen. In the field, she was spectacular, having a fielding percentage of .915 last season. If she comes back healthy and continues the production that she was putting up prior to getting injured, the Bobcats’ lineup will be more potent than before.

After being named to the All-MAAC Rookie Team her freshman year, sophomore Alexis Otero looks to build off her successful first season. Appearing in all 50 games — playing one game at designated hitter — Otero hit two home runs and knocked in 24 runs while attaining a .232 batting average and .333 slugging percentage. Defensively, she was lights out with a .987 fielding percentage. Coming into her second year, she looks to build off her numbers offensively and be a rising star for this Bobcats team.

Senior utility Rachel Marchuk fields a ground ball.

MORGAN TENCZA/CHRONICLE

12|Sports

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

February 26, 2020

Sports

@QUCHRONSPORTS

Murphy’s Law: Learn from your mistakes

MORGAN TENCZA/CHRONICLE

Game 2 of the Battle of Whitney Ave is more important than ever

ished for that. That hurt us and then we just didn’t play well either night (against Brown).”

The most anticipated time of the year for Quinnipiac So why bring this up? The past is the past, and there’s no men’s ice hockey fans is almost here. point in reflecting on it.

Well, yes, the playoffs are almost here as it is the last The thing is, Quinnipiac needs to learn from its mistakes last weekend of the regular season. season and make sure what took place doesn’t happen again.

But I’m talking about the Quinnipiac vs. Yale game.

Yes, Quinnipiac got the win against its rival. Yes, it even Which boy, oh, boy is always boatloads of fun. locked up the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament that Now, the two teams have already faced each other once night. But it basically cost the team the conference playthis season. Quinnipiac came out victorious in a 3-2 over- offs. No one will come out and say it, as the team could — time win after junior forward Odeen Tufto jammed in a and probably should ­­— have still won without Priskie and loose puck to send the Bobcats home happy.

Shiplo. But there’s no denying the correlation between the But let me remind you of the shenanigans that took place suspensions and the early exit from postseason play. in game two of last year’s Battle of Whitney Ave. And once again this year, there is a lot riding on the line.

There were three ejections, 91 penalty minutes and three Quinnipiac could have sealed a first-round bye and prosuspensions as a result from the 4-1 win for Quinnipiac. vided itself with a little bit of relief coming into this final Yeah, if that doesn’t equal rivalry, then I don’t know weekend of the regular season. what does.

But that would’ve been too easy, right?

The problem was that those two suspensions cost QuinThe Bobcats were shut out by RPI on Friday, Feb. 21, nipiac two defensemen in the first round of the playoffs. and then squeaked out a 3-2 overtime win against Union on Luke Shiplo was suspended for one game, and former cap- Saturday, Feb. 22. All in all, the weekend did not go great, tain and one of the top scoring defensemen in Quinnipiac but it could have been worse. history, Chase Priskie, was suspended for two games.

Quinnipiac remains in the third spot in the ECAC HockIt was speculated that it would be a big loss, but that ey standings, one point ahead of Harvard and three points Quinnipiac would still be able to get by No. 8 seed Brown ahead of RPI. So, what does it have to do this weekend in in the ECAC Hockey quarterfinals. order to lock up that first-round bye?

Well, if you remember, things did not go that way. In fact, Easy. Just win.

Quinnipiac was stunned and swept out of the conference playoffs.

That’s really all the Bobcats have to do is win just one “In the end, I think we got what we deserved,” Quin- game, and they will lock up a first-round bye. Even if RPI nipiac head coach Rand Pecknold said after being swept by sweeps its weekend with Harvard — which is an absoluteBrown. “We took major penalties against Yale in the last ly huge matchup for this current discussion of first-round game of the year, we deserved our guys to sit, we got punbye — and Dartmouth, RPI wouldn’t be able to catch Quinnipiac if the Bobcats get at least one win.

Not only that, but a sweep would also enable Quinnipiac to guarantee itself the No. 3 seed in the tournament. It obviously depends on the outcomes of Harvard’s games, but I imagine Quinnipiac would just like to get the wins.

Finally, Quinnipiac is in a position where it most likely won’t have an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.

The loss to RPI on Friday essentially closed that door for Quinnipiac, as it now has just a 14% chance of receivMORGAN TENCZA/CHRONICLE ing an at-large bid, accordSophomore forward Ethan de Jong battles for the puck on the ice.

By BRYAN MURPHY Editor-in-Chief

History of the Battle of Whitney Ave. 2017-18 to 2019-20

3-2

02/07/2020

4-1

03/02/2019

4-0

02/08/2019

4-1

03/03/2018

5-1

03/02/2018

02/09/2018 3-0

3-2 11/18/2017 GRAPHIC BY MORGAN TENCZA

ing to College Hockey News’ Pairwise probability matrix. So, it absolutely cannot afford to slip up in the conference playoffs if it wants to make the Frozen Four.

The point of all this is that there are going to be emotions running high during the game on Saturday. Yale will be fighting for a more favorable matchup in the first round. It’s the last game before playoffs and both teams will want to build momentum.

The rink is going to be rocking. The anticipation and energy will be pumping during the game. Emotions will be running on both sides.

If you’re Quinnipiac, play a hard, physical game. It’s a rivalry matchup, and that’s going to be expected.

But it’s important to remember — there is a lot more at stake here.

Quinnipiac won the battle, but lost the war last season.

The team does not want to see that repeated.