OCTOBER 2, 2019 • VOLUME 90 • ISSUE 6
The official student newspaper of Quinnipiac University since 1929
OPINION: RACIST TIRADE P. 4
ARTS & LIFE: FALL TV PREMIERES P. 6
SPORTS: DYNAMIC DUO P. 10
Quinnipiac’s 2018 safety report released Clery report shows increase in hate crimes, rape and burglaries
By STEPHEN MACLEOD Associate News Editor
Austin Calvo participated in a debate for Student Government Association (SGA) president last spring in the Carl Hansen Student Center mere feet from where he says a poster of his had been defaced with crude imagery and homophobic slurs just hours before. He hid away his water bottle covered in stickers and opted for a much plainer one. “I was planning to just have my water bottle with me on stage, but I ended up buying a clear Aquafina water bottle from the cafe,” Calvo said. “I didn’t want to have it on stage and have people think that I was, like I’m very open, and proud of who I am. But in that moment, it was just like, I didn’t want to. I felt intimidated. I didn’t want to do anything that was going to make me seem too gay.” Calvo’s story is becoming increasingly common.Quinnipiac’s annual safety and fire report, also known as the Clery report, was released on Sunday, Sept. 23, showing an increase in hate crimes in 2018. Calvo decided to not report the 2019 incident, mainly because he wanted to focus on campaigning. He says that in 2017, someone had vandalized one of his posters while he was running for class president. Calvo says that he did report that incident, although it does not appear in the university’s Clery report. SGA has not taken up a formal opinion on the rise in hate crimes. The report also shows a steep drop in liquor law violations, but an increase in reported burglaries, rapes and drug arrests.
Statistics go back three years, allowing readers to see trends. Liquor law violations dropped from 436 in 2017 to 327 in 2018. Drug law violation referrals dropped slightly from 172 to 170, but drug arrests rose from seven to 17. Reports of other serious crimes increased. There were three instances of rape in 2018 compared to two in 2017. Burglaries increased from nine to 13. There were five total hate crimes in 2018, which is more than 2017 and 2016 combined. The report defines a hate crime involving vandalism as, “To willfully or maliciously destroy, damage, deface or otherwise injure real or personal property without the consent of the owner or the person having custody or control of it.” The hate crimes included three acts of vandalism relating to sexual orientation and two acts of intimidation against someone based on race. They all took place in student residences on the Mount Carmel campus. Karoline Keith, Quinnipiac’s Clery compliance officer, said that there are a wide variety of reasons as to why some reported incidents, such as Calvo’s reported 2017 incident, do not make it into the Clery report. She said that mistakes can be due to a lack of coordination between departments, where the incident was originally filed or a misidentification by someone. She also swore to look into the incident. The Clery report defines intimidation with a hate crime bias as “To unlawfully place another
HATE CRIMES
BURGLARIES
ALCOHOL REFERRALS
DRUG ARRESTS
See CLERY Page 3 INFOGRAPHIC BY JANNA MARNELL
Connecticut in change
Connecticut’s minimum wage and tobacco purchasing age both increased Oct. 1
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Changes to Connecticut law went into effect Tuesday, Oct. 1, and some of these changes will affect students. Two of the biggest changes in the law include an increase in both the minimum wage and tobacco purchasing age. The minimum wage in Connecticut is raising from $10.10 an hour to $11 an hour. Each year the minimum wage will continue to increase until it reaches $15 an hour in 2023. “This is perhaps one of the most impactful pieces of legislation for working families that a governor can sign, and I am proud to place my signature on this law because it is the right thing to do,” Governor Ned Lamont said. “With this new law, thousands of hardworking women and men – many of whom are supporting families – will get a modest increase that will help lift them out of poverty, combat persistent pay disparities between races and genders, and stimulate our economy.” For Quinnipiac students from the surrounding states, this increase brings working students’ income closer to the rates they make at home. “Mainly everyone here is from Massachusetts, New York, different states which have [a] higher minimum wage which is where we live so it is what we are used to,” Stephanie Morrow, sophomore marketing major, said.
Coming to Quinnipiac from Massachusetts, Morrow said she is used to a minimum wage of $12 an hour, so going down to $10.10 is a jump for her. The new law is meant to help close the pay gap for different races and genders. However, not everyone sees the raise as a completely good thing. “I think there is a bit of a negative side to it because it probably means that the cost of living is going up which is a little bit concerning as a lot of things are getting expensive,” Avery Daly, freshman journalism major, said. While Daly saw the downsides to the minimum wage raise, she said that she thinks it will be beneficial for the most part, leaving Connecticut workers some extra pocket change. The Connecticut tobacco purchasing age raised from 18 to 21. This includes cigarettes, cigars, vaping pens and other tobacco products. While the change is meant to limit the number of youth that can purchase tobacco products, not everyone agrees that the law will improve things. Morrow said that she thinks changing the age is unnecessary, knowing that the youth will find ways around it. “If you are 18, you are going to know someone who is 21 and you can easily access it and that’s just going to provide more problems,” Morrow said. “I think it will just put tobacco in a black
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Governor Lamont said the new law is an important piece of legislation for working families. market lighting,” Daly said. “People will still find ways to do it even though it might just be a little bit harder.” However, Daly said that she thinks the increase in the minimum age is a good precaution. “I think it is better for the younger kids because there were a lot of kids that were already juuling,” Ryan O’Connor, sophomore nursing major, said. “I’m talking like 14, 15 years old so it will be harder for them to get.” Lamont says that the laws will help the state of Connecticut get in line with modern medical data.
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“Many decades ago when most of our laws surrounding tobacco products were written, the medical evidence on the impact the substance has, particularly on young people and the ongoing development of their brains, did not exist. Continuing the enforcement of outdated laws just because that’s the way it’s always been is not a good enough reason for why they should continue to reflect outdated perceptions,” Governor Lamont said. “With the rising use of e-cigarettes and vaping products among young people, we are seeing a growing public health crisis and it’s time that we addressed it.”
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By ALYSSA NAUMANN
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