The Quinnipiac Chronicle Issue 19, Volume 83

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QUChronicle.com February 19, 2014 Volume 83 Issue 19 Proud recipient of the New England Society of Newspaper Editors' award for 2012 & 2013 College Newspaper of the Year

SPORTS Small town to top program, page 12

Marijuana most common drug on campus

OPINION ‘Sochi Problems,’ page 6

ARTS & LIFE A breath of fresh air, page 10

Financial aid website clarified after investigation

‘A BORN LEADER’

By LOVANDA BROWN Staff Writer

Public Safety was called 24 times to deal with drug violations in the fall semester and nine times this semester, according to Chief of Public Safety David Barger. Over this academic year, Barger has received 111 disciplinary, drug-related referrals from Residential Life, a number he says has improved since last academic year. Students who have illegal drugs or drug paraphernalia will be disciplined by the university or local law enforcement, Barger said. “We could handle it dependent upon the level of violation here within the Quinnipiac community,” Barger said. “Or we can involve local law enforcement, and with involving local law enforcement of course we’re [suggesting] an arrest.” Marijuana is the most commonly used drug on campus and the easiest to detect, according to Barger. Prescriptions drugs are the second most commonly misused drugs, he said. Vicodin, Oxycodone, Ritalin and Adderall are the most popular prescription drugs, he said. Sophomore English major John Mitchell said the most sought after drug on campus is “definitely marijuana.” “Everyone around me uses it, talks about it and it’s even more prevalent than alcohol now,” Mitchell said. “Weed has more of a cultural acceptance.” Some students said they feel marijuana does not have negative health effects. “Personally, I don’t really find [marijuana] to be dangerous,” senior Anthony Altilio, a health science major, said. “The fact that it’s being legalized in some states says a lot. There are worse drugs out there.” Sophomore diagnostic imaging major Megan Pinciak agrees. See DRUGS Page 4

By JULIA PERKINS News Editor

Full story, more photos page 16

MATT EISENBERG/CHRONICLE

Teammates and coaches say senior forward Cory Hibbeler’s attitude, after overcoming adversity off the ice and working hard, makes him a great captain.

Quinnipiac and more than 100 colleges may have violated the Higher Education Act, according to a Feb. 3 letter from a Maryland congressman to the Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. In a Democratic Committee investigation led by Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, the committee found 111 colleges’ websites make it seem like students are required to fill out forms other than the FAFSA to apply for federal aid, according to the letter. Students must fill out the CSS Profile to get aid from Quinnipiac, not the federal government, according to Dominic Yoia, associate vice president and university director of financial aid. “Not a single one of [the colleges in Cummings’ letter] said you had to fill out a profile form to get federal aid,” Yoia said. “But he was inferring that by not specifying that, you were in violation of some regulation, which is just untrue.” The financial aid office clarified the university’s website as soon as it found out about the investigation. “We went through our website with a finetoothed comb,” Yoia said. “Nobody’s trying to mislead anybody, and while we might not agree with the allegations made in Congressman Cummings’ letter, like I said, every one of us wanted to remove anything that would possibly present any question.” The Higher Education Act states the FAFSA is the only form colleges can use to determine federal aid, according to the letter. This statute is based on the idea that students should not have to pay a fee to apply for federal financial aid. See WEBSITE Page 4

Service trips provide new outlook on life By NICOLE HANSON Associate News Editor

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PHOTO COURTESY OF LINDSEY MAZZONE

Senior Lindsey Mazzone plays with two Guatemalan girls on a service trip last academic year.

When making plans for spring break, students may be quick to book a trip to Cancun or schedule shifts at their part-time jobs back home. But instead, students can choose to help others on service trips to Guatemala and Nicaragua. The university has offered the option of alternative spring break trips to students for 10 years, according to David T. Ives, executive director of the Albert Schweitzer Institute. “The vision was to have students get out of here and understand what poverty is like in other parts of the world,” Ives said. “So many people have not experienced poverty and don’t know what the majority of people in the world live like.” Although Ives’ motivation was to inform

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students about poverty, he said he also aims to provide sustainability with these service trips. “Whatever projects that we do are asked for by the community,” Ives said. “We try to [go to the same villages each year]–that’s part of the philosophy of sustainability.” Ives said there is a heavy student involvement when choosing who will be going on upcoming alternative spring break trips. “We have representatives from all of our trips [at the Involvement Fair], then we have an information session probably toward the end of September, and then the application process,” Ives said. “The student leaders do a lot of the work–they read all the applications and decide which ones they want to come in for interviews.” See SERVICE Page 4

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