JANUARY 29, 2020 • VOLUME 90 • ISSUE 15
The official student newspaper of Quinnipiac University since 1929
OPINION: DEAR, KOBE P. 4
SPORTS: TENNIS PREVIEW P. 10 - 11
ARTS & LIFE: SPB P. 6
QU Dining brings changes
Some old problems still persist as QU Dining listens to feedback By NICOLE MCISAAC
Mobile ordering now offered at Starbucks and Au Bon Pain
Contributing Writer
The corporate food provider for Quinnipiac University, QU Dining, brought vast changes to the overall dining experience on campus into 2020. QU Dining revamped its menus by adding a FYUL station that serves cleaner and healthier foods, Starbucks coffee in Cafe Q with direct access to milk, creamers and sugar, fresher produce and meat at stations, a new grilled menu on the kiosks and a rotating menu at Bowl Life that will flip every three weeks based upon students votes. Mobile ordering for both Starbucks and Au Bon Pain is now available by using the Boost application, and there is more variety and cheaper prices of sushi with a new sushi vendor at Revolution Noodle. A new campus executive chef, Chris Molyneux, was added to the staff to help train fellow workers. “Chartwells has changed and evolved since I was a freshman,” said Chidi Nwuneli, a senior political science and international business major. “It’s only going to get better and the changes are really good to see.” The company focused on listening to student feedback regarding high prices of food offered on campus. Meal deals are now available for students to purchase more food for a cheaper price, as well as a decrease in the prices of products on campus such as bottled water, Pure Leaf teas and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream pints.
Price decreases on bottled water, Pure Leaf tea and Ben & Jerry’s
Starbucks coffee is now available in Cafe Q
FYUL, a health food station, is now open in Cafe Q GRAPHIC BY CONNOR LAWLESS
CONNOR LAWLESS/CHRONICLE
See QU DINING Page 3
Mobile ordering has been introduced in an effort to cut down on long lines.
Pandemic specialist speaks on coronavirus
Leading epidemic expert talks to School of Medicine about viral outbreaks
Our award-winning website since 2009
JANNA MARNELL/CHRONICLE
See PANDEMIC Page 2
Staff Meetings on Tuesdays at 9:15 p.m. in SB123
Dr. Daniel Bausch spoke about the stigmas surrounding viral outbreaks.
The Quinnipiac Chronicle
@quchronicle
@quchronicle
INDEX
SEE WHAT’S HAPPENING ON
QUCHRONICLE.COM
JOIN US
The Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine hosted a lecture on disease outbreaks on Jan. 24. More than 50 faculty, students and members of the press attended Bausch’s lecture. Dr. Daniel Bausch, director of the United Kingdom Public Health Rapid Support Team, spoke about disease outbreaks. The recent coronavirus outbreak has 4,515 confirmed cases in China, with 100 dead, and the United States has five confirmed cases at the time of publication. “I think it’s nice to hear somebody who is actually on the ground doing epidemic or possible pandemic management,” said Aaron Smith, a second-year medical student. “You don’t really hear from that set of people particularly often, and honestly it’s on everyone’s minds because of the coronavirus.” In response to the outbreak, the United States has decided to screen passengers who are flying in from China at major international airports. Bausch said that he felt that the screenings were not a necessary form of precaution. “There are some of those screening mechanisms that can be called for, it’s not entirely bad, but it’s not 100%,” Bausch said. “I mean, if you got infected the day before, you’re incubating, you will show up
with a normal temperature on an infrared camera, and pass freely, and not get sick until you’re back with friends.” The threat to Quinnipiac is low, but the university is taking some preventative measures. “We have already been in contact with local public health authorities to coordinate our efforts with the recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC),” the University said in a statement. Bausch, a physician and virologist, has served as the director of the United Kingdom Public Health Rapid Support Team since 2017. Launched in 2016 in response to the 2013-16 Ebola outbreak, the organization coordinates responses to outbreaks in low and middle income countries. Bausch discussed his experiences with diseases that cause outbreak in low- and middle income countries, such as malaria, Ebola, Lassa fever and diphtheria. He stated that these diseases mostly came from animals. There is always a potential for new viruses to be found as all the animals are still intermingling and mutating everyday. “Things are always ongoing and even if we could know, even if today we said we know all the pathogens that existed, all the animals
CONNECT
By EMILY FLAMME and CHATWAN MONGKOL
Opinion: 4
Arts and Life: 6
Sports: 10
The Quinnipiac Chronicle
2| News
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
Rocky Top fitness revamp
Gym-goers can expect new, high-tech gear By JARED PENNA Sports Editor
Quinnipiac handled and installed a shipment of brand new cardio equipment that now fills the Rocky Top Fitness Center on Tuesday, Jan. 14. The equipment is meant to offer a more immersive and entertaining workout experience for students. The 29 new machines include eight treadmills, eight ellipticals, six bikes, four adaptive motion trainers (AMT) and three steppers. The old equipment, which had been in the fitness center since it first opened in August 2010, was long overdue for retirement. “All of our equipment in this facility was original to when Rocky Top opened,” said Mike Medina, Quinnipiac’s director of campus life for recreation. “All the cardio, all the strength equipment and then all the spin bikes were original (machines).” Most gyms replace their equipment after three years of use according to John Somers, the coordinator of campus life for recreation at Quinnipiac. “This is a university investment in York Hill,” Medina said. “We know that they’re in-
vesting money downstairs, and the pub is the new, sexy idea that everybody is like, ‘I can’t wait for the pub to open,’ but the experience at York Hill is more than just a bar for people who are 21-plus.” Twenty-six of the of the 29 new machines, are considered “network equipment,” meaning they can link to the Preva application. The Preva application is where the new features start to come into play. Preva, which is available on the App Store as well as Google Play, can be downloaded to any smartphone or accessed on a web browser. Once a student registers for a free Preva account, they can keep a closer eye on their workout information. All workouts are documented and stored on students’ accounts, which can be linked to their QCards for quick and easy signins. With one tap, students are able to log into their account and start their workouts. “(The machines) have a new computer console that’s in a better spot so people can see their statistics,” Medina said. “We’re seeing the trend right now in fitness and wellness, everybody wants to know — between wearables and everything that they do —
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. MAILING ADDRESS Quinnipiac University 275 Mount Carmel Avenue Hamden, CT 06518 THE CHRONICLE is distributed around all three university campuses every Wednesday when school is in session except during exam periods. Single copies are free. Newspaper theft is a crime. Those who violate the single copy rule may be subject to civil and criminal prosecution and/or subject to university discipline. Please report suspicious activity to university security (203-582-6200). For additional copies, contact the student media office for rates.
Januar y 29, 2020
MORGAN TENCZA/CHRONICLE
Twenty-nine new cardio machines with Bluetooth capabilities were installed.
what’s my post-workout statistics.” The new machines offer such statistics on the go. Users can access past workouts whenever they desire, even comparing a current workout to a previous one. This way, progress can be tracked in real time during a workout rather than post-workout. “Say I were to pick one of the workouts on here, and the next time I log in I were to pick the same workout, it would show you where you are in relation to that workout,” Somers said. The machines also offer entertainment experiences while working out. The new consoles come with applications including Netflix, Live TV, Spotify, iHeart Radio and more. Students can link their Bluetooth headphones to enjoy a show or music while doing cardio. Medina noted that ideally, each machine will also add Hulu and ESPN+ to its list of usable applications by summer 2020. Spin classes are taking on new identities as well. “We’ll have a spin class, and we’re going to call it ‘Bikes and Brews,’” Medina said. “So you go (to class), you ride, then you go downstairs to the pub and you’ll be able to get a beer afterwards. We’re going to cater to some events with the pub.” The classes themselves should start seeing improvements in the near future as well. Tamarack Reilly, the director of fitness and well being, has ideas about how to make spin classes a more enjoyable and realistic experience. “Eventually I know one of (Reilly’s) goals is to do ride-alongs,” Medina said. “So you’ll have a screen up here in the front (of the spin classroom), there will be a picture that’s moving while you’re spinning … so it feels like you’re actually out there doing the workout.” The project is part of an ongoing effort to improve the student experience on York Hill. “We have to give more offerings for the students who are living up here, and this is a huge investment to help a student,” Medina said. “This is the university saying this is an improvement that we need to make to have our students have a better experience at York Hill.”
Bausch: ‘People used to say to me, you know, why do we even research this?’ PANDEMIC from cover in the world tomorrow, there’s still the potential for something new,” Bausch said. “And of course, the real risk is what we get.” He compared three outbreaks that happened in the past: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), Porcine and Ebola viruses. Bausch discussed how organizations typically go into a community that is experiencing an outbreak and tell them what to do, and how that is not the right approach. “The fundamental thing that stops outbreak is not any of us coming in from outside, it’s the community themselves,” Bausch said. “The question is: how do we help the community to do that?” The Ebola virus started in a rural area
in Democratic Republic of Congo. Bausch said that it likely started with a child playing in a playground with some bats on the trees nearby. The child became infected, so people thought that the virus was transmitted from the bats. For Bausch, looking for Ebola’s reservoir, which is the species that had Ebola and then transmitted it, was one of the most rewarding works he has done throughout his career. “People used to say to me, you know, why do we even research this? Is this worth the investment?” Bausch said. Bausch explained how new technology systems to detect viruses are important. He believes that in order to advance medical discoveries about outbreaks, people must look beyond the simplistic analysis of just a
number of cases. “I think, you know, how different would the world be perhaps if we could have detected the HIV virus when it was truly emerging in the earlier part of the last century,” Bausch said. “Then (we could have) dealt with it early on rather than finding out almost a century later.” Bausch pointed out the consequences from these outbreaks other than deaths that make this kind of research worth investing in, such as economic loss, unemployment, national security and school cancellations. “Investing in public health is something that we always need to be advocating for because it always costs much more to (an infected) country,” Bausch said.
ADVERTISING inquiries can be sent to advertise@quchronicle.com. Inquiries must be made a week prior to publication. SEND TIPS, including news tips, corrections or suggestions to Bryan Murphy at editor@quchronicle.com LETTERS TO THE EDITOR should be between 250 and 400 words and must be approved by the Editorin-Chief before going to print. The Chronicle reserves the right to edit all material, including advertising, based on content, grammar and space requirements. Send letters to editor@quchronicle.com. The opinions expressed in this paper are those of the writers and not necessarily those of the Chronicle.
GRAPHIC BY CONNOR LAWLESS
Coronavirus has spread to 14 different countries at the time of publication. It has not spread to Connecticut.
Januar y 29, 2020
FEATURED EVENTS WANT YOUR EVENT TO BE CONSIDERED FOR PUBLICATION IN THE CHRONICLE? Email tips@quchronicle.com
Friday, Jan. 31 2020 Vision Board Students can make a vision board to help stay focused on their goals this year. The Student Programming Board (SPB) will be hosting this event at 10 p.m. in the Lower Cafe.
Saturday, Fed. 1 Insomnia Fest Come enjoy a variety of cookies with a side of milk at SPB’s Insomnia Fest. Students can also play video and board games with their friends. The event will be in the Piazza at 10 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 2 Dance Fusion Spring Tryout Dance Fusion’s Spring tryouts are an opportunity for students to try out and potentially be a new member of the team for the spring semester. Tryouts will be held from 9 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. in Dance Studio A.
Hackathon Girl Scouts from Connecticut will participate in a hackathon from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Rocky Top Student Center. Participants will work with computer science majors from Quinnipiac to create technology for public good.
Kickboxing The Quinnipiac Mixed Martial Arts club will be hosting a weekly class taught by Head Instructor Marvin “MJ” Jones. This week’s class is on kickboxing and will be held in AC 207A from 1 to 2 p.m.
Monday, Feb. 3 Computer Information Systems Society Annual Professional Development Series The Computer Information Systems Society will host a week of professional workshops on a variety of topics within the industry. The first workshop will be held in Buckman Theater at 4 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 4 Killington Ticket Sales QU Snow will host ticket sales to provide students with the ability to go to Killington Ski Resort. Tickets will be sold at SC 114C from 9:15 to 10:15 p.m.
The Quinnipiac Chronicle
News |3
From long-time director to vice president Head of Quinnipiac poll promoted By WILLIAM GAVIN Staff Writer
Doug Schwartz, director of the Quinnipiac University Poll, was promoted to associate vice president of Quinnipiac University on Jan. 15, following 25 years of experience at the university. Schwartz’s promotion will increase his responsibilities with the university, primarily in regard to the poll. “I will continue to lead the poll, direct the poll, continue to seek out new ways to grow the poll,” Schwartz said. “I think of it more as like recognition of what I’ve done to help build the poll over the 25 years that I’ve been here,”. Schwartz will continue to devote his time to see the poll grow and become more well known. His main role at the institute is to oversee and direct the poll’s methodology and every aspect of the survey process, from the conception of each project until the ending analysis. Additionally, Schwartz is the chief spokesperson for the polls conducted about Connecticut and aids in developing new ways for the poll to grow. “We are going to do new things that will increase the national visibility of Quinnipiac. Whether that means focusing on national polling, or looking at the states that will be the most important in determining who will win the (2020 Presidential) election,” Schwartz said. In addition to increasing the focus of the Polling Institute on events that can increase the name recognition of the Quinnipiac Poll, Schwartz alluded to other methods of outreach. These include making more of an outreach and developing a presence on social media, primarily Twitter. Furthermore
“We are going to do new things that will increase the national visibility of Quinnipiac.” — DOUG SCHWARTZ ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT OF QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY QUINNIPIAC
Schwartz showed interest in developing a podcast for the Institute. “Doug’s leadership is really a big driver of the Quinnipiac Poll’s rise to national prominence and he has helped make it one of the most independent and accurate political and issue polls in the country,” said Daryl Richard, vice president of marketing and communications. “In addition to his deep expertise in polling and opinion research, Doug has a tremendous amount of pride for the university and possesses a ‘how can I help’ attitude as he’s always looking for new ways to support the Quinnipiac community.” Schwartz was recruited from CBS News by former President of Quinnipiac John La-
Doug Schwartz says that the promotion feels like recognition for his years of work.
hey in 1994, when he had been involved in its election survey unit and with the late “60 Minutes” correspondent Ed Bradley. Since then Schwartz has helped lead the Institute to immense growth over the past few decades, making Quinnipiac a household name — a feat he attributes to the support of the university and the numerous people behind the scenes. “Doug Schwartz is one of the nation’s most prominent pollsters, but he is also an important leader on the campus of Quinnipiac,” said Scott McLean, professor of political science. “It is long overdue that Doug Schwartz has become a vice president here, and I know that he’ll do a great job.”
Couture: ‘I wish more students would just come directly to us’ QU DINING from cover “Last semester, I ate at the dining hall maybe two to three times a week and still ran out of the 200 meal points earlier in the semester,” said Emilie Zocco, a sophomore political science major who is on the commuter meal plan. “I think coming into this semester with the new lower prices will allow me to stretch my meal plan for a longer period of time.” Changes were also brought to the other two campuses as well. York Hill will now have more variety in its menus, fresh ground burgers that are made at the grill, Chobani Bar and omelettes available all day, Express Pizza and new hot deli menu. The North Haven’s menu is currently being enhanced to improve on what is offered.
“Everything that we’ve done in the past four years has been a direct result of student feedback.” — CHARLES COUTURE
RESIDENT DISTRICT MANAGER, QU DINING
The Student Government Association (SGA) continued to work with QU Dining to further enhance the dining experience based upon student feedback. It helped set up a town hall meeting in November as well as set up an open table for students to come
talk to members in the student center. QU Dining and the Student Government Association (SGA) held a town hall meeting previously on Wednesday, Nov. 13, and gave students the opportunity to voice their concerns as well as give feedback. The issue of raw chicken was one main concern that came up in the meeting. “I think the changes were due to a culmination of the suggestions we had gotten over last semester,” said Sofia Marshall, the Vice President of SGA. “We’re progressing to a point where there’s more student communication between us and QU Dining.” After starting the semester off with great reviews on the modifications that appeared throughout the three campuses, an instance arose of QU Dining allegedly serving a piece of raw chicken in a student’s salad. This complication worried students as the problem surfaced on social media accounts, such as Barstool Quinnipiac. “I know it’s going to take a while for the changes to really make an impact but I was very disappointed by the post and to see that this problem is still occuring,” said Kasey Kelliher, a freshman occupational therapy major. “The raw chicken is the main problem.” QU Dining is currently trying to solve the problem and has not yet confirmed the incident that was posted online. QU Dining said it urges students to make them aware of problems as they happen so they can automatically be righted in the moment. “Barstool is challenging because it’s anonymous and there is no way for us to verify where it came from. I don’t even know what location it was in,” said Charles Couture, the resident district manager of QU Dining. “I believe in this case, it wasn’t even chicken. It was a piece of salmon, but I really don’t know that.” Couture expressed his frustration with the situation and hopes to find ways to better the overall dining experience. He encour-
ages all students to bring their issues with the food immediately to a QU Dining staff member so he or she can rectify the situation and investigate where it came from. “I wish more students would just come directly to us,” Couture said.“We are always trying to get it right.” QU Dining plans to continue to listen to student feedback for future advancements to better the university. “Everything that we’ve done in the past four years has been a direct result of student feedback,” Couture said. “Now every semester we will do new things. Something new somewhere on campus.”
PHOTO FROM BARSTOOL QUINNIPIAC
Barstool Quinnipiac’s photo depicted QU dining allegedly serving raw chicken.
4| O p i n i o n
Januar y 29, 2020
The Quinnipiac Chronicle
Opinion
QUCHRONICLE.COM/OPINION OPINION@QUCHRONICLE.COM
Bye, Kobe
Bigger than basketball Dear Kobe, Thank you for helping me love basketball as much as I do. I was born in 2000. You were drafted into the NBA in 1996. I don’t know basketball without you somewhere in it. You were my first basketball jersey. Some of my earliest memories of basketball is hearing your name shouted by my dad who rooted for your success late at night while I was
PHOTO FROM FLICKR
Kobe Bryant was an NBA legend and a father of four.
trying to get enough sleep for school the next morning. That is why the news of your death along with your 13-year-old daughter Gianna is incredibly hard for me to swallow. My deepest condolences to all the families of the nine victims who died in the helicopter crash on Jan. 26. Even after writing these words it still doesn’t feel real that this actually happened. The news left me speechless and shaken to my core. Losing you so early and so tragically has left me heartbroken not just as a diehard basketball fan but as a person who feels an immense amount of sympathy for your wife, Vanessa Bryant, your three other children, your parents and everyone that knew and truly loved you. To me, you are the epitome of hard work. For as talented as you were as a basketball player drafted straight out of high school, you are the personification of overachieving and never becoming complacent. While alive, you were a living legend. You had a reputation for practicing by yourself in gyms while other great players slept. You broke a bone in your right hand and that upcoming summer you made — not took, made — 100,000 shots in order to correct your shooting form. After tearing your Achilles — one of, if not the most, derailing injuries in professional sports — you managed to drill both foul shots and eventually play another 107 games after that. You scored 81 of your team’s 122 points to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a win and possess the record for the second-highest single-game scoring performance in NBA history. You scored 60 points in your final professional game. On the court, your work ethic is nothing short of legendary. You played and practiced like every game was your last. This is why it hurts so much as a basketball fan to know that you are gone forever. It would be expected that you would take a break after having an unforgettable basketball career for one of the marquee teams in all of sports because maybe your 20-year basketball career restricted parts of your personal life from blossoming sooner. This, as anyone can expect, was a silly concern because that was not the Kobe way, the mamba mentality. As one of the preeminent basketball players of your era, you turned out to be an even more preeminent human being. You were a husband, a son and a loving father to your four daughters. You founded the Mamba Academy,
a high-level training facility for adults and kids. You wrote children’s books meant to inspire the imagination and as you put it, “encourage children to develop their own inner magic and believe they can achieve the impossible and do so in a fun way.” Two years after stepping away from the game, you won an Oscar for Best Animated Short Film with “Dear Basketball.” You were never shy to motivate or provide mentorship to current NBA players like Kyrie Irving, Jayson Tatum, Giannis Antetokounmpo and many more. The last time the world heard your words was when you congratulated LeBron James on Twitter for passing you in all-time career points the day before your passing on Saturday, Jan. 25. “Continuing to move the game forward @KingJames. Much respect my brother #33644.” One of the final videos I saw was with you watching NBA basketball courtside with your daughter Gianna explaining to her the ins and outs of the game in a way only you can. I am heartbroken, not only because you are a huge part of why I love basketball so much or because watching your impossible shot making inspired me to say “Kobe” while practicing my fadeaways on the basketball court outside. I am devastated because the world lost an even greater human being that touched the lives of all who knew him personally and from a distance. I’m one of those distant onlookers who have been made better because of the example you set forth. I watched you move with class on and off the court. I indulged in listening to your almost infinite wisdom on not just the game of basketball but on life. You inspired me to never settle for less. You inspired me to use my talents and overachieve with them. You inspired me to share the little that I know to the people I can reach. Your life is unquestionably bigger than basketball. You will forever be missed. 41 years old is way too soon. Thanks for everything. Bye, Kobe With much love,
New app gives students a boost
Mobile ordering now available as a great solution to long lines By MAGALI AGUILAR Staff Writer
It’s the start of a new semester which means the halls are crowded with students going to class, going to the bookstore and, of course, going to Starbucks. However, most students know that with a new semester comes a Starbucks line long enough to reach the steps of the Piazza. This semester, there is a new and effective solution: the Boost mobile ordering app. Boost is a mobile ordering app for campuses. Often times, Starbucks stores located on campuses do not have a mobile ordering option, but the Boost app attempts to solve this issue. Quinnipiac became one of those schools this semester. When Starbucks reopened on Tuesday, Jan. 21, students who waited in line saw a sign promoting the Boost app. The app is free to download and once it is downloaded, you are prompted to create an account and choose your school from the list available. Once that is done, you can see the locations on campus that offer mobile ordering. Here at Quinnipiac, the spots where mobile ordering is available are Starbucks and Au Bon Pain. The app is a great addition to Quinnipiac because students no longer have waste an hour in line at Starbucks waiting for a drink. Students can spend more time studying and doing homework instead. As with any new features made available, there were some difficulties getting this new method of ordering up and running. However, once it started working, it allowed students to place an order without having to wait in a long line. One of the greatest perks of the app is that it allows students to use their meal plan to pay. All the app asks for is the student’s ID and email address. From there, ordering just takes a few swipes.
Some more great features of the app include the notifications it sends regarding the status of your drink. Before you order, you are given an estimate regarding how long it will take for your drink to be ready. This is perfect if you’re in class and want to avoid having to run to the line when classes are let out, or if you want to grab a quick pick-me-up in between classes. After you place an order, the app sends you a notification when your drink is being made and another when it’s ready. You no longer have to wait in line for that iced coffee that you need to keep yourself going for the rest of your day. This new process of mobile ordering is great, but it also has its downsides. One of those is that you can’t order Starbucks’ food on the app. The menu available on the app includes drinks only, so if you were looking forward to having a warm croissant or a protein-filled bento box, you’ll have to wait in line for it. Similarly, you can only place a food order at Au Bon Pain. If you want a drink from there, you have to wait in line for it. Another small downside is that the wait time for drinks can be very long depending on the time of day. Because people no longer have to wait in line, there’s never really a time where the wait isn’t an hour long or more. You can order a drink before class, and it will be ready by the time you’re out, but at least you won’t have to stand in line. Overall, the process of mobile ordering has been a great addition. For people who really love and need their daily coffee, this works great for maximizing time. Instead of trying to find the perfect time to go when the line isn’t too long, students can just order on the mobile app and know exactly when their drink is ready for them.
JANNA MARNELL/CHRONICLE
Students can order food from Au Bon Pain on the Boost app.
JANNA MARNELL/CHRONICLE
The Starbucks on campus is known for having a notoriously long line.
Januar y 29, 2020
The Quinnipiac Chronicle
Opinion|5
Downright disGRACEful
In Tyler Perry’s Netflix debut, he releases another faulty project DAMARCO WALKER Contributing Writer
Art is subjective. Only the artist knows what he or she is trying to convey to his or her audience. Now, how well his or her message communicates the message, concept and inspiration can be left for judgment. The same goes for movies. Often times, the general premise of the movie is solid, however, where directors usually lose the audience’s attention is the execution of the story. “A Fall from Grace,” released on Jan. 17, on Netflix, has had time to circulate around and be digested by the masses. It’s supposed to be an ominous, unsettling, slow-burn thriller made to keep you on the edge of your seat. It has a solid roster of actors: Crystal R. Fox, Phylicia Rashad, Mechad Brooks and a slew of capable others. However, you don’t have to look far past the first scene to realize anyone associated with the project was done a disservice. In Perry’s latest creation, a middle-aged woman named Grace is swept off her feet by a young, handsome artist named Shannon, giving her a new perspective on life. They love, live and eventually elope, and Grace is on top of the world. However, her bliss quickly morphs into misery after she learns her newly wedded husband is just a low-life scammer that preys on older women. Through a series of fraudulent legal transactions, Shannon takes everything Grace owns. Broke, facing jail time and constantly being subjected to mental and verbal abuse, Grace snaps and kills her husband with a bat. Grace’s lawyer fights feverishly against the clock and even her boss wishes to find out the truth behind what really happened. That plot screams classic Tyler Perry production, and that isn’t meant to be a compliment in any way. While watching “A Fall from Grace,” I found myself making a mental laundry list of things about the movie that were hard to believe or just poorly written. I noticed a bigger, overarching problem: All of his movies are like this. Whether it’s the underdeveloped scenes, poorly written dialogue or the stale characters that
lack depth, Perry is constantly being found guilty of lazy writing. Perry is a repeat offender of skimping on logic in an effort to weave together his over ambitious plot twists. His movies are crammed full of blunders that can’t be explained in any other way than laziness. His faulty props, poorly chosen wigs (sometimes actor’s hair change mid-scene) and there are even instances when the actor’s microphone is visible. There is no way to explain things like this besides negligence. It almost comes off as an insult to the viewers’ intelligence at times. Each movie he creates is uniquely bad for their own reasons. However, a central theme they seem to share is that the foundation of his movies is centered around black women suffering intense physical, emotional and mental abuse. All but three of his movies (“Precious,” “I Can Do Bad All by Myself ” and “Why Did I Get Married?”) have a woman tussling with a man for her mental, physical or financial liberation only to be saved by another completely different man in the end. He’ll constantly put them in the most dire and gullible situations. It’s evident that at no point in time during the writing process was there an actual black woman present with influence to alter the script or a character’s portrayal. I’m not the first person to come out against Perry’s productions. Social media is often quick and ruthless when giving feedback on his movies. However, none of it has swayed Perry from creating the kinds of movies he’s built his reputation on. “I speak to my folks. And I speak my language,” he said. “And how would I look, disassembling my machine because someone doesn’t like the stories I tell and how I tell them — when millions of people do?” While there is an undeniable number of people that loathe his productions, there is a legion of Perry’s faithful that demand his brand of movies. Masquerading around as Madea — Perry’s most notable character, he has earned over $1 billion. Perry’s roots are so entrenched in African American cinema that he’ll always have an audience. Since the 1990s, he’s been on
top of the modern theater scene, and he knows that. He’s been entertaining the same audience for 20 years now. Anyone that wasn’t an adult at the time of his inception probably isn’t going to like his movies. His melodramatic, hyper-stereotypical movies aren’t for the younger demographic. His stories that he’s so privy to and familiar with aren’t things that the current generation can relate to. Seemingly, more of today’s generation is liberal and progressive in comparison to when Perry first broke out as a filmmaker- illuminating women of color as strong characters of resolve is a direction Perry should try in the future. It’s for the same horde of patrons that have been following him since the beginning. If you can’t relate to the plot or consume them leisurely, you probably shouldn’t watch his productions at all.
PHOTO FROM FLICKR
In 2008, Tyler Perry was a Time 100 finalist for the first time in his career as a director and playwright.
The bland impeachment
If the president is impeached and acquitted, but nobody is watching, does it really matter? By STEPHAN KAPUTSKA Staff Writer
For only the third time in our nation’s history, the President of the United States has been impeached and is now on trial in the Senate. By any objective metric, this ought to be a historic moment. Why doesn’t it feel like it? NBC News ran a segment on Jan. 18, where it talked to voters about the process. What they saw was “impeachment fatigue.” It may not feel like it on social media, but many people don’t care about the process. They believe it’s just another partisan food fight, and a distraction from focusing on real issues. There is some empirical backing to this. A CBS/YouGov poll found that majorities of Americans disapproved of how both President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats were handling the impeachment process. According to The Hill, only 13.8 million people tuned in to watch the first day of the trial. That sounds like a lot, until you consider that is more than five million fewer who watched former FBI director James Comey in 2017, two million fewer than those who watched former Trump attorney Michael Cohen and 1.5 million fewer than those that watched the first Democratic debate. It falls vastly short of the impeachment proceedings against Richard Nixon which were watched by 71% of the country, according to Gallup. By Wednesday, only 8.9 million were watching. In other words, it seems like most people don’t really care about the story. Perhaps one reason for this phenomenon is that impeach-
ment is like a bad movie that’s been spoiled. There’s no intrigue or uncertainty. From the day House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the inquiry, there was never any doubt it would result in a mostly party line vote to impeach. And now, everyone knows that the Senate trial will result in a mostly party line vote to acquit. This will be news for about two weeks, and then something else will happen that will draw everyone’s attention. Aside from a small slice of Trump-district House Democrats and possibly Senators Doug Jones (D-AL), Gary Peters (D-MI), Susan Collins (R-ME) and Cory Gardner (RCO), who are up for re-election and represent states that voted for the opposing political party for president in 2016, impeachment will be a distant memory by Election Day 2020. Another reason is that it seems like this is something Democrats are doing for cynical political reasons, not genuine concern for the Constitution or anything like that. Of course, they say that they are only going down this path because of Trump’s actions. But in order to see what someone really thinks, you ought to look at what they do, not what they say. Using that method, we can deduce something about the impeachment proceedings that ought to be startling, but truly isn’t: Democrats are not seriously trying to remove the president from office. If they were, why did Pelosi attempt to hold the articles of impeachment in an attempt to get Senate Republicans to run the process as she liked? The case Democrats made was that the president was such an existential threat to the next elec-
PHOTO FROM WIKIMEDIA
The House of Representatives voted in favor of adopting the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump.
tion that he needed to be removed as soon as possible. Why, then, delay the process for a month in an obviously futile effort to get Mitch McConnell to cave? He and other Republicans would be perfectly happy to not deal with a trial and could caw about how the Democrats were too scared to prosecute their case because it was so weak. You can see a similar situation in the fight over witnesses. Democrats wish to have witnesses at the impeachment trial. Impeachment manager and House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) told CNN in December that the Democrats’ case “if presented to a jury would be a guilty verdict in about three minutes flat.” Yet during the impeachment trial this week, Nadler accused Senate Republicans of a “cover up” if they declined to call witnesses during the trial. Those two statements don’t square. Either the Democrats’ case is so strong that a jury would come back with a guilty verdict in three minutes flat, or it is so weak that not pursuing additional witnesses would be tantamount to a cover up. It cannot be both. Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) made similar comments. In December, Schiff said the evidence against President Trump was “overwhelming and uncontested.” Yet he too demands witnesses. Why? If the evidence against the president is indeed overwhelming and uncontested, why bother? Would a serious impeachment have named Nadler, who was in favor of impeachment even before the Ukraine scandal, as an impeachment manager? What about Schiff, who claimed repeatedly and without evidence that he had secret intelligence showing Trump colluded with the Russian government to steal the 2016 presidential election? If Trump really was an existential threat to America as we know it and a critical mass of Republican senators had to be convinced to remove him, it would be hard to find worse people to convince them. Why not name independent Rep. Justin Amash, a former Republican and the only non-Democrat to support impeachment in the House? Here’s the dirty secret: Democrats were always going to impeach Trump. Some have wanted to do so since the very first day he took office, according to the Washington Post. Many in their base demand it, leaving them vulnerable to primary challengers if they do not. They called several votes on the matter that failed while Republicans still held the House. But it seems to have been a strategy to appease their base, and little more. Understanding that Trump is not actually an existential threat to the country, at least in private, they have transitioned the process into political theater, hoping to damage the president in advance of the November election. Maybe that works, maybe it doesn’t. But the president will be acquitted, nobody will change their minds, and everyone will move on with their lives.
6|Arts and Life
The Quinnipiac Chronicle
Januar y 29, 2020
Arts & Life
Behind the ears
The Student Planning Board welcomed students back to campus this week with a series of Disney-themed events
Magician Joel Meyers took the stage during SPB's Welcome Week.
MORGAN TENCZA/CHRONICLE
Meyers performed many illusions and stunts during his magic show.
MORGAN TENCZA/CHRONICLE
ASHLEY PELLETIER/CHRONICLE
The event, Sleep-In-Beauty, allowed participants to make their own sleep masks.
QUCHRONICLE.COM/ARTS-AND-LIFE ARTSLIFE@QUCHRONICLE.COM
By ASHLEY PELLETIER Staff Writer
While Quinnipiac students were enjoying their winter break, the Student Planning Board (SPB) was planning a Welcome Back Week to celebrate the first week of the spring semester. The week, running from Jan. 21 to Jan. 26, consisted of several Disney-themed events such as free food, trivia and a professional magician. This week of events began when the SPB general board brainstormed ideas for a theme that would generate excitement from students. While Disney prevailed as the theme for the week, other themes that were considered included Harry Potter, Marvel and Star Wars. “Disney week was pretty unanimous,” said Tyler McNeill, a junior public relations major and SPB’s vice president of membership. “A lot of people were very excited for the week.” McNeill is in charge of running general board meetings, which take place on Mondays at 4 p.m. in SC 120. Other than attending general board meetings, students looking to get involved in SPB can contact executive board members to learn how they can get involved in committees such as the Late Night and Travel committees. The ideas for SPB events are typically created by the executive board, but the general board does get the opportunity to brainstorm ideas for events as well. “It’s always nice to have the two board meetings because the people in the meetings give us a chance to get different perspectives we might not have thought of,” said Annika Gustafsson, a senior public relations major and SPB’s arts and entertainment chair. “There’s only so many times you can pick the brains of 14 people.” The first event of the week was Walt Quiz-ney World, a trivia competition with prizes such as Funko POP figures, Disney hats and pins and $75 Amazon gift cards. Teams had to answer questions based on several Disney-themed categories ranging from theme parks to Disney songs. Wednesday night’s event was a performance by magician Joel Meyers, who has done private performances for celebrities such as Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp. He has also performed on television shows such as “America’s Got Talent” and “Wizard Wars.” Meyer’s performance involved several illusions and stunts involving members of the audience. To close his comedic performance, Meyers told a story from when he was a child and his father created the illusion of snow. He then recreated this illusion for the audience. On Thursday morning, SPB served breakfast from “Duke’s Diner,” which was based on the diner from the film “The Princess and the Frog.” Students could grab doughnuts from Whitney Doughnuts, bagels and other breakfast items. Friday’s event was the first bingo night of the semester. With a Bibbidi Bobbidi Bingo theme, prizes included tickets to see “Aladdin” and “Frozen” on Broadway, a record player with Disney records and a year’s subscription of Disney+. Other prizes included two sets of AirPod Pros, two Apple Watches and a Google Home. SPB used the night to introduce a new type of bingo round– paper bingo cards with Disney songs. Rather than calling numbers, a playlist was put on shuffle and players marked songs on their cards as they were played. The round was well received by people at the event with most people expressing that they would like to see it again. The Beauty and the Beast Feast held on Saturday night offered free food such as pie, mozzarella sticks and Panera Bread soups. Reusable utensil sets were given out to the first 100 people in attendance. Disney songs were playing and various board and card games were out for people to play. The Sleep-In Beauty event on Sunday afternoon was about relaxation and allowed participants to create their own essential oil diffusers with scents such as tea tree oil and peppermint while also customizing their own sleep masks. They also offered pastries, macaroni and cheese and soup from Panera Bread. All six of the events garnered a considerable turnout, with people being lined up in advance for Bibbidi Bobbidi Bingo, the Beauty and the Beast Feast and the Sleep-In Beauty event. However, turnout was not the most important factor of an event for SPB. “I think what really makes an event successful is the amount of thoughtfulness put into it and who you surround yourself with when planning it,” Gustafsson said. “I know for us, we all pretty much operate as one big family.” While the week had more events than a typical week on campus, SPB consistently provides activities, particularly on Friday and Saturday nights. These events provide free entertainment for those who either do not want to leave campus or do not have money to do something off campus. “It gives students another chance to experience something that they might not have had in high school, and they might not be able to access here in Hamden,” Gustafsson said. “It just gives them a nice way to kind of regroup and have time with their friends here.”
Januar y 29, 2020
The Quinnipiac Chronicle
Album
Arts and Life|7
Reviews
GRAPHIC BY JANNA MARNELL
‘Circles’ is a reminder of what Mac Miller had left to give The posthumous release is a bitter farewell to an artist who was eager to explore diverse musical avenues By PHIL AKRE Staff Writer
Mac Miller never had the chance to finish “Circles,” the companion album to 2018’s “Swimming.” His death in September 2018 marked the swift and sudden end to a career that was embracing new directions, something more than rap. Fans were left to grieve Miller’s passing without getting the chance to ever really say goodbye. That’s where “Circles” comes in. The 12-track album is the result of producer Jon Brion’s tireless work, who was left to put the remaining pieces of Miller’s musical puzzle together one last time. In doing so, he may have given the hip-hop and rap scene the closure it so desperately sought. More importantly, Brion has given fans a glimpse into where Miller was headed both as an artist and as a person. It’s hard to view “Circles” as anything but a fitting, bitter farewell to the artist who was so eagerly exploring new sounds. “Circles” is a triumph, a grand presentation of an artist who was conflicted, yet clearly aware of his ability to produce full-fledged artistic efforts. On posthumous releases, it’s often difficult to decipher how much of the final product is the direct result of the artist’s input or producer touch-ups. After giving “Circles” a listen, it’s apparent that the distinction was never really important. What’s clear is that Brion knew Miller had a vision. His job was to realize its potential, to interpret the lyrics left behind and the music left unfinished. That’s why “Circles” holds 12 full-length songs, nearly all of them distinct in their own ways. We hear influences from styles far and wide, ranging from soul, R&B and soft pop. “Circles” is Miller at a creative peak, a 12-song palette blossoming with creativity, a proclamation that his career was evolving. The mood is reflective, the tone somber. Lyrically, Miller paints a portrait of a man who is still calling for help, promising he’ll make it to the other side unscathed. Despite the melancholy elements, it’s clear that this was the music Miller was bound to create. While mixtapes such as 2012’s “Macadelic” and 2014’s “Faces” highlighted Miller’s lyrical ability over hip-hop beats, “Circles” represents his transformation as an artist, highlighting his willingness to experiment. “Swimming” contained a handful of terrific efforts, but “Circles” is a more complete product. At its
Mac Miller's album, 'Circles,' received a 7.4 out of 10 rating from Pitchfork. core, it isn’t really a rap record, either. The album's title track is a somber reminder of the demons that he so frequently confronted. His problems revolve in circles, a pattern he is unable to break out of over the low-key instrumental track, featuring keys, bass and chimes. Thankfully, he simplifies things on the following track, “Complicated,” an upbeat, playful tune that asks, “does it always gotta be so complicated?” One of the album’s shining moments comes through its fifth track, “I Can See.” Miller soars over the euphoric, spacy sound that utilizes keys, synth and background vocals (which the internet has rumored are Ariana Grande’s). In it, Miller sees the depths of his problems from an outside perspective, in the pursuit of ultimate clarity. Other key tracks include “Woods,” “That’s on Me” and “Everybody.” The album’s pure range painfully reminds that Miller won’t just be remembered as a gifted lyricist but an artist who was hungry for collaboration and exploration. “Circles” is already timeless, considering it’s the last thing
CHRISTIAN WEBER/MAC MILLER PHOTOGRAPHY
Miller gave to the world. It’s not too early to think it will likely be held as one of his defining works. It’s offered an optimistic farewell, a vital glimpse into the world that Miller was just beginning to fully absorb. He just never got the chance to do it. When we look back on this release, we’ll remember the artist who beamed happiness over the dark cloud that followed him. This is Miller at his musical best, matured and soulful. “Circles” is Miller in tranquility as he says goodbye.
5/5 stars
Halsey shows her true colors
Why you should be listening to Halsey’s new album, ‘Manic’ By MARIANNA RAPPA Contributing Writer
Halsey released her third debut album along with the dates of her Manic Tour on Jan 17. The tour will be kicking off in Madrid, Spain, on Feb.7, before heading off into a string of shows around Europe. The United Kingdom portion of her tour kicks off in Glasgow on March 7, followed by London, Dublin and Manchester shows. Halsey herself told us on Twitter that the album would be better than her 2017 release of her album “Badlands,” which hyped up many of her dedicated fans waiting for the album’s release date. Halsey gives us a completely different vibe in her new album “Manic.” The album itself puts us in the feelings with it, creating what it feels like to be angsty, lonely and struggling to live life as a young woman in this new decade while craving the love and tenderness that many people in this lonely world do not have. Halsey explores all genres, from a pop vibe to a song with a South Korean style rap, giving us multiple sides of the artist that we have never seen before. Many of the songs in the album from “Ashley” to “Graveyard,” show us how many of the things that the artist seems to love, hurt her more than help her. This shows us, as an audience, that people can be toxic and so can relationships. The more toxic a relationship is, we tend to “dig ourselves down deeper, I won’t stop till I get where you are.” “Graveyard” also seems to describe an emotional breakup for Halsey, as the song finishes off with “oh, when you go down all your darkest roads. I would've followed all the way to the graveyard.” Halsey makes no mistake by taking her fans on a thrilling quest through the mind of an angsty human being. She gives us no way of being close to finding peace of mind throughout the entire album itself, making it for one very long, emotional journey through the 16 tracks on the album. The song, “I Hate Everybody,” gives us
the feeling that everyone feels when going through anything in life at all that would cause us to hate everyone around us or even ourselves. Such as the lyrics that say, “I'm my own biggest enemy. Yeah, all my empathy's a disaster.” This song is extremely relatable to someone like me, who has experienced the feeling that Halsey is feeling in this song. In her song, “You should be sad,” Halsey calls out her past ex and the many flaws she had with him in their past relationship that seemed to be very toxic. But at the end of the song, Halsey seems to see past the fake apologies from her past relationship and move on with her life. The song finishes off with, “Won't see your alligator tears. 'Cause, no, I've had enough of them.” While Halsey’s other song “Without Me,” shows a harsher version of dealing with this past toxic relationship. In her song, “Killing Boys,” Halsey calls boys placeholders, saying that they come and go. She shows us through this song that relationships come and go, especially toxic relationships. Throughout the song, Halsey shows us that she doesn’t need to be in the toxic relationship anymore, and that she is happy to be out of it. As said through the ending lyrics: “When I don't need you anymore. And I don't need you.” This song and many other of her songs on her album are extremely relatable due to the fact that most people has experienced one toxic relationship, no matter who it is and what the relationship is. In her final four songs, “SUGA’S Interlude to 929,” Halsey gives us a glimpse into what it is like to be happy even if your struggling in life. This is shown through her lyrics in “929,” “And I've stared at the sky in Milwaukee. And hoped that my father would finally call me. And it's just these things that I'm thinkin' for hours. And I'm pickin' my hair out in clumps in the shower.” Halsey’s new album is a beautiful, emotional roller coaster.
PHOTO FROM TWITTER
Halsey's latest album, 'Manic,' was released on Jan. 17.
5/5 stars
8|Arts and Life
The Quinnipiac Chronicle
Januar y 29, 2020
KICKING OFF A NEW ERA This year’s Super Bowl has some new faces By MATTHEW TRAVIA Staff Writer
Super Bowl LIV will be quite a different scene compared to past matchups. The Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers are competing for the Lombardi Trophy this year. For the second time since 2003, a quarterback not named Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger or Tom Brady will represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. The only other quarterback who managed to get past the AFC in the same span is Joe Flacco, who led the Ravens to a Super Bowl victory back in 2012. Patrick Mahomes leads the Chiefs to their first Super Bowl in 50 years. The 24-year-old sensational quarterback will be in his first Super Bowl in only his second season as a starter. Veteran head coach, Andy Reid, brought this team to the championship. Reid has made only one appearance in the big game, but lost to the Patriots back in the 2004 season. This year is also special since this will be the first time there will be a female as a part of the coaching staff in the Super Bowl. Katie Sowers, the 49ers’ offensive assistant coordinator, is in her fourth season as a coach in the NFL and can become the first female coach to win a Super Bowl. She is one of the very few women involved in men’s professional sports. Alyssa Nakken became the first female coach in the MLB on Jan. 16. Meanwhile in the NBA, Becky Hammon became the head coach of the San Antonio Spurs’ summer league team back in 2015 and is currently an assistant coach on the Spurs. Hopefully, this paves the way for more women in male professional sports. This is the first time the Chiefs has made the Super Bowl since 1969, which is the largest gap between Super Bowls for any team in the history of the league. San Francisco, on the other hand, is a surprise entry to the Super Bowl. After being one of the worst teams in the
league the season before, it surged back to the top of the NFC, dominating all year and earning the No. 1 seed. There is a lot on the line for both of these teams. The Chiefs, who were in the very first Super Bowl, can start their own dynasty with the duo of Mahomes and Reid while the 49ers can strike gold once more and earn their sixth Super Bowl championship, tying the Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots for most in the league. But putting the two teams and their successes behind, there are a couple of other outstanding factors to Super Bowl LIV. This year, Demi Lovato will sing “The Star Spangled Banner” while the halftime performers are Jennifer Lopez and Shakira. Miami native, Pitbull, will perform at the pregame show. Something that always brings a smile to our faces when it comes to the Super Bowls are the commercials that are aired. There are some commercials that stand out the most and some that shouldn’t have been aired. We get to see if State Farm will air a commercial that features current partner, Mahomes. Unfortunately, we will not be able to see a State Farm commercial that features Mahomes alongside Aaron Rodgers, famous for his "Discount Double Check" commercials. Make sure to look out for the Doritos commercials, every year the company seems to come out with a new commercial that always makes us laugh. Nationwide might be coming out with something on its own that features Peyton Manning and Brad Paisley. One last commercial that brings tears to our eyes would be the Budweiser commercial. The commercials that feature the beloved Budweiser Clydesdales always warms up the hearts of viewers. PHOTO FROM TWITTER Super Bowl LIV will be held on Feb. 2, at 6:30 p.m. and Katie Sowers is making history by being the first female will be broadcast on Fox. coach in the Super Bowl.
. s v Yale c a i p i Quinn
0 2 0 2 , 9 2 y r a u r Feb . m . p 7 t a r e d Cent
e t i n U s ' e l p o Pe
The Quinnipiac Chronicle
Januar y 29, 2020
SUDOKU
Find us on social media.
Interactive|9
SUPER BOWL LIV WORD SEARCH
facebook.com/quchronicle twitter.com/quchronicle
CHIEFS DEMI LOVATO FIFTY FOUR HALFTIME SHOW MAZE
JENNIFER LOPEZ JIMMY G KANSAS CITY MAHOMES
MIAMI NINERS SAN FRANCISCO SHAKIRA
10|Sports
The Quinnipiac Chronicle
Januar y 29, 2020 DESIGN BY CONNOR LAWLESS
Spring Tennis Preview Spring Tennis Preview
Quinnipiac women’s tennis head coach Paula Miller has five MAAC titles in her time with the Bobcats. By JARED PENNA Sports Editor
Quinipiac’s women’s tennis team enters its seventh year under head coach Paula Miller with a bad taste in its mouth. After five consecutive MAAC Tournament championships, the Bobcats came up short in 2019, paving way for the 2020 season to be a revenge tour. The team kicked off its spring season on Monday, Jan. 20, with a loss to Harvard. After dropping the match 1-6, the Bobcats traveled to Yale where they lost again, this time by a score of 0-7. As the team continues to find its way back to form from the two one-sided defeats, it needs to reflect on the strong history of the program. The women’s tennis team has gone six straight seasons without coughing up a match in MAAC regular season play. The combined 43-0 record in the MAAC from 2014-2019 is the best conference record over any five-year span in the history of the program. Still, the unbeaten streak stands as the longest such streak in Division I tennis, and Quinnipiac looks to make it seven straight years without a conference loss. Seven straight. The team looks to do so on the backs of some solid young talent. Sophomore Kamilla Nella is coming off a freshman season that impressed plenty. She tied for the most singles wins on the team last year with 16, earning herself a spot on the All-MAAC First Team in No. 3 singles. She also performed well in doubles matches last year, going 4-5 overall with junior Payton Bradley, including a 3-1 record in MAAC doubles. This, too, earned her a spot on the All-MAAC First Team in No. 2 doubles. The biggest adjustment for Nella this season is going to be the move to No. 1 singles. Last year, she spent her time in No. 3 singles matches, but the boost in competition will present a new challenge for Nella this year.
How she performs under this new pressure is something to keep your eye on as the season goes along. To this point, Nella is finding similar success this year. She boasts a 5-4 record early on this season, putting her right on pace for her 16-15 record last year that earned her honors and awards. What gives this season so much potential is the boatloads of talent that her teammates provide as well. As one of two seniors on the team, Layla Rodriguez hopes to improve on her junior season in her final year under Miller. She currently leads the team in wins this season with an 8-3 overall record. Rodriguez’s play becomes even more valuable in doubles matches. Her 7-4 doubles record last year was the best record on the team in terms of winning percentage of all returning players. Her doubles partner last year, Jennifer Lu, has now graduated. Lu’s departure will certainly be felt. She tied Nella for most singles wins on the team last season, and it will be interesting to see how Rodriguez’s doubles play is impacted by her new partner. So far, she’s a team-best 3-2 with new partner and fellow senior Amy Zammarieh in doubles play. One of the most interesting storylines of this season could be how the team, and in particular Miller, responds to last season. 2018-19 was the first sub-.500 season for the team since 201112, when it went 10-12. Last year’s 11-14 record was a big step back from the seasons prior. If the Bobcats want to turn it around this season, they’ll need contributions from everywhere. The team graduated 25 singles wins between Lu, Proyfon Lohaphaisan and Alexandra Mircea, who all finished their studies and athletic careers at Quinnipiac in the spring of 2019. If the team wants to climb back above .500 this season, it’ll need to replicate those 25 wins and then some,
MORGAN TENCZA/CHRONICLE
counting on a multitude of players to do so. One player who has a good chance to help the cause is freshman Claire Koscielski, who spent this fall at the University of Cincinnati. Koscielski comes from a family of tennis players — her father, mother and two sisters all have played or are currently playing collegiate tennis. In high school, Koscielski was a perfect 101-0, deeming herself worthy of the No. 100 spot on TennisRecruiting.net’s ranking of players in her graduating class. At Cincinnati, she posted a 5-1 singles record and a 6-3 doubles record, proving her transition from high school to collegiate tennis to be a smooth one. Another player off to a hot start in her college career is freshman Andie Williams. In her short career to this point, Williams has racked up the second-most wins on the team this season, currently repping a 7-4 overall record. As the season continues, she and her doubles partner freshman Jordan Bradley are going to need to find ways to work together. They’re off to a lowly 1-4 start in doubles play, but given their individual talents and the guidance of seven-year veteran Miller, their luck is bound to change. The Bobcats aim for their sixth MAAC Tournament title and NCAA Tournament appearance in seven years this spring, and all the signs point to them doing so. The unbeaten streak in the MAAC still stands, and for as much talent as they lost, they brought in just as much in a hungry freshman class. With a challenging out-of-conference schedule, the young Bobcats may have a lot on their hands, but expect them to perform well nonetheless. The conference record should remain unharmed. My prediction for this season is a 14-11 record with another MAAC Tournament championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Januar y 29, 2020
The Quinnipiac Chronicle
Sports|11
As the men’s and women’s tennis teams start their spring seasons, Riley Millette and Jared Penna explain what to expect from each team and some key players due for a great year By RILEY MILLETTE Associate Sports Editor
The Quinnipiac men’s tennis team began its official spring season against Brown on Jan. 19, falling to them 5-2. The team followed that with a loss to Binghamton with a final score identical to that of the Brown match. Despite the back-to-back losses, the team started the year on a positive note, as its lone win of the season came way back on Oct. 5, a 4-3 win against Holy Cross. Sophomore Alester Magalit, reigning MAAC Rookie of the Year, participated in the ITA Regional Championship in October but was unable to pull off the victory. Also taking part in the tournament were senior Patrick Cachapero and junior Hielke Moore. Moore lost his only singles match of the day to Buffalo’s Matt Johnson, and both lost their doubles match in a close race with Fairfield’s Kaya Gore and Jonathan Olive-Blanco. After the ITA Regionals, the tables began turning in the Bobcats’ favor. Oct. 26, was Alumni Day for the team which included a dual matchup with Fairfield and Bryant. This is when the team started kicking it into gear. The Bobcats won four of their eight singles matches and took home wins in five of their eight doubles matches. Senior Axel Stern and sophomore Aleksa Martinovic were standouts on Alumni Day, muscling out two doubles wins and
one singles win each. Needless to say, the team is difficult to predict. It was trending up going into their season opener, but instead of continuing to warm up, dropped its matches against Brown and Binghamton. Standing at 1-2 officially on the season, it’s tough to tell what to expect from the Bobcats. Even though they were able to snag a win from a tough Holy Cross team that is 5-2 on the season, they dropped a match to a Binghamton team that got skunked by the same Brown team 7-0. When looking at a hot-and-cold team like Quinnipiac, the schedule is very important. It finished third in the MAAC last year, looking up at Monmouth and Marist. The Bobcats face off with those teams on April 4, and April 18, respectively. Quinnipiac will have an opportunity to pick up some steam heading into those matches, as it faces off against Fairleigh Dickinson, a 9-13 team last year, and Niagara, a 2-16 MAAC opponent in 2018-19. The Bobcats can expect to see growth from last year. Magalit is still rising into form and still has uber potential, guided by plenty of senior journeymen who have seen their fair share of wins. Looking for a dark horse breakout candidate? Look no further than Martinovic. Like Magalit, Martinovic is a sophomore and has already achieved plenty of success at the collegiate level. He and Stern, his frequent doubles partner, have rampaged through the MAAC together, collecting four wins to only one loss. After recently placing third in the Serbian national U18 tournament, Martinovic has flashed his stuff and is poised to explode at any point. Also, look for the MAAC’s most dynamic duo to continue bursting through competition. Cachapero and Moore finished last year
11-5 in doubles, including four wins out of their five MAAC matches. There is no reason to think either upperclassman will slow down, but in fact reason to think they will heat up even more, considering their 2-1 record at the Connecticut State Championships on Nov. 1. Both players also held their own in singles matches to start the season, as Moore went a perfect 3-0 at the state tournament. Cachapero went 2-1 at the tournament, and he was only outscored 16 sets to 14 in his only loss of the tournament. A game circled on Quinnipiac’s calendar this year is its matchup with Marist on April 18, the penultimate regular season matchup of the season. Quinnipiac finished one match behind them in the MAAC standings last year, as Marist was the No. 2 seed and Quinnipiac was No. 3 heading into the tournament. Cachapero, Magalit and Moore were all victorious in their singles matches, but the doubles matches were what sealed the win for Quinnipiac. Stern and Martinovic were their usual selves, as they won their match 6-4. Although the team lost its title match against Monmouth, the No. 1 seed, Marist will return to Hamden looking to avenge its early exit from the semifinals last year. The men’s tennis team has had its fair share of ups and downs, even this early in the season. However, in a conference that had just two .500-plus teams last year, the Bobcats are predicted to finish near the top of the conference with an overall record of 10-9.
Quinnipiac men’s tennis head coach Chris Pappas talks to sophomore Aleksa Martinovic after the match.
COURTESY OF QU ATHLETICS
12|Sports
The Quinnipiac Chronicle
Sports
Januar y 29, 2020
QUCHRONICLE.COM/SPORTS @QUCHRONSPORTS
Golfers go big COURTESY OF QU ATHLETICS
Freshmen Leeyen Peralta and Kaylee Sakoda took full advantage of their f irst pro tour event By MATTHEW JARONCYK Staff Writer
While attending high schools separated by just 20 minutes, Quinnipiac freshmen golfers Leeyen Peralta and Kaylee Sakoda formed their friendship on the green. The two faced off numerous times in high school, becoming closer and closer with each epic duel. This past weekend, the two took their friendship all the way to Sun City, Arizona, where they competed together in their first pro tour event. “It was really fun,” Peralta said. “It was good exposure and was really good preparation for the upcoming season.” Peralta grew to love golf through her family. Her grandfather is the reason she began and still plays today. “At his deathbed, (my grandfather) made my parents promise to start me in golf,” Peralta said. “When I was eight, my parents started me in a group class, and I have loved it ever since.” Similarly, Sakoda found her lifelong passion through her family. “When I was younger, maybe five or six, my mom wanted to try golf as a family sport,” Sakoda said. “I was the only one who just stuck with it.” With the event set and done, Peralta placed fifth, finishing as the second-highest amateur for the event, while Sakoda placed 11th in the event, the fourth-highest amateur placement. Not everything is easy the first time around, but it comes with time and experience. Sakoda mentioned how it felt to take part in her first pro tour event and how she is willing to take her game to the next level. “For me, it felt like a new challenge,” Sakoda said. “I’ve done high school golf,
and I know everyone else has, and it is a new way for me to conquer new challenges. I love challenges, and I can’t wait to see how I do playing at this level.” Peralta looked back at her performance and mentioned one aspect of her game that she could have improved on. “For me — for the tournament — it would have to be course management,” Peralta said. “I think if I placed my balls better to give myself a better shot for the next one, I would have gotten myself into a better position to make shots and give myself a better score.” For Sakoda, she said she wanted to eliminate extra shots that she left on the course. Though both athletes were hard on themselves, it should not be taken with a grain of salt. Quinnipiac golf head coach John O’Connor talked about how participating in pro tournaments can help athletes elevate their game. “It is important that they compete against the best competition they can,” O’Connor said. “It raises their game, it raises their preparation. They get prepared far better for the big events, and that was clearly a big event that they played in. Leeyen obviously did an unbelievable job in preparing for and competing in it.” Peralta learned how critical patience is at pro tournaments and spoke about improving her composure going forward. Patience can be a virtue, something Peralta spoke about when discussing what she learned while participating in the pro tour event. “To play with professionals, you have to have a certain level of maturity,” Peralta said. “Just seeing the other people on the course really taught me a lot.”
“I think they both will be battling for Conference Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year. They could easily be the top one and two players in the conference and as far as I’ve seen, they are the top one and two rookies of the year in the conference.” - John O’Connor, Quinnipiac golf coach Sakoda identified the cause of her stress and talked about how she uses it to get herself in the best position on the course. “I look at my thoughts that I am having and my thought process and then I tell myself what the next shot I want to play,” Sakoda said. “I want to put myself in the next shot or the next couple of shots and this really helps me get over my stress.” Stress is a problem that can throw off the momentum for almost any golfer. With all the stress Peralta faces, she finds a way to manage it by being one with nature, her favorite part of the game. “You’re with nature for four to five hours at a time you’re on the course,” Peralta said. “It is nice to enjoy nature and to take it all in.” Sakoda talked about improvement as a way to deal with her stress on the green, mentioning that there are so many things to improve in her game that it can be used as a benefactor in countering the problem. O’Connor has the utmost confidence in the two freshmen and their talent, and he expects them to be atop the MAAC by the season’s end. If participating in the pro tour event says
anything, it backs up O’Connor’s statement. “Kaylee’s game is very special around the green,” O’Connor said. “She is meticulous with her approach and her short game. Leeyen has a lot of distance. Off the tee, she is very long and accurate. She is also a really good putter, but really Kaylee’s game around the green is what makes her so special. “I think they both will be battling for Conference Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year,” O’Connor said. “They could easily be the top one and two players in the conference and as far as I’ve seen, they are the top one and two rookies of the year in the conference.” That confidence is accepted warmly by the freshmen, especially Peralta who values the athlete-coach relationship like none other. “It’s definitely really important. (O’Connor) is the best coach ever. He’s always there for me and the team and acts like a father figure for all of us. It definitely helps a lot to know that a coach will be there for you when needed the most.” With the beginning of the spring season inching closer by the day, Peralta and Sakoda will look to use their experience from the pro tour event with Quinnipiac in hopes