The Quinnipiac Chronicle, Issue 17 Volume 89

FEBRUARY 13, 2019 • VOLUME 89 • ISSUE 17

The official student newspaper of Quinnipiac University since 1929

OPINION: COLORISM CREATES DIVIDE P. 7

ARTS & LIFE: VALENTINE’S DAY GUIDE P. 8 & 9

Hear what administrators had to say to your questions

SPORTS: WBB SENIOR DAY P. 13

Hamden police officer under investigation for ‘concerning’ body camera video

By CHRISTINA POPIK Editor-in-Chief

See page 3 for full coverage

PHOTO COURTESY OF VICTORIA JOHNSON/SGA

Breaking barriers on the slopes

Students and faculty volunteer to teach children with disabilities how to ski

By KELLY RYAN Staff Writer

Our award-winning website since 2009.

PHOTO COURTESY OF DAVE ZAJAC/RECORD-JOURNAL

Quinnipiac students head to Mt. Southington to teach children with disabilities how to ski.

ulty members that spends her Fridays at Mt. Southington. She said Quinnipiac students have been a part of the ski program for the last 20 years, but participation has really grown in the last five years.

“Along with more seasoned volunteers, we take any kids and we progress them from

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Quinnipiac students and faculty are spending their winters teaching students with disabilities how to ski at Mt. Southington.

Skiers Unlimited is a program that started over 30 years ago when a nurse at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center (CCMC) decided to start a ski program modeled after one she found out about in Denver, Colorado.

Now retired professor of physical therapy at Quinnipiac, Richard Albro, was doing his sabbatical work at CCMC when he was approached one day and asked if he knew how to ski. Before he knew it, he was volunteering with other CCMC employees at the mountain. Albro was impressed and realized the program would be a great opportunity for students at Quinnipiac to get involved with.

When the nurse who founded the program left the medical center, she asked Stephen Balcanoff with Community Relations for CCMC to take over the ski program.

Balcanoff then worked with Albro to recruit students from Quinnipiac to volunteer, hosting recruitment sessions and orientations at the university.

Professor of Occupational Therapy Martha J. Sanders is one of the many fac-

not skiing at all to hopefully being more independent and going down the hill,” Sanders said.

Professor Sanders said the program really focuses on the kids, not on their disabilities.

Micah Cutler, a first-year occupational therapy graduate student, has volunteered See SKIERS UNLIMITED Page 4

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at the State of the QUnion

Hamden police officer Andrew Lipford is under fire after a body cam video reveals what appears to be Lipford displaying misconduct toward a man he tried to pull over in February 2018. Town officials have responded by initiating an internal investigation.

The altercation began when Lipford tried to pull over driver, Victor Medina, who allegedly fled. Police say Medina led them on a chase, ending in his driveway, according to a WTNH News 8 article. Once there, Lipford aggressively threatened to involve Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and to shoot him if he didn’t comply with police orders, according to the same article.

Hamden Police Chief John Cappiello told WTNH News 8 he is “initiating an internal investigation into this incident,” specifically referring to the “concerning” ICE comment and shooting threat in the video.

Hamden Mayor Curt B. Leng released an official statement on the Town of Hamden Facebook page on Wednesday morning, regarding what he calls “disgraceful” actions that occurred in the reported incident.

“Acting Chief Cappiello has launched an immediate internal investigation into this incident, and I will work closely with the Chief and the Hamden Police Commission to ensure that that the investigation is as thorough as the situation demands and deserves,” Leng said in his statement. “Appropriate action will be taken.”

Leng plans to meet with Cappiello to investigate and review the case under the Connecticut and Hamden law, policies and procedures, according to the statement.

“As many know, I am a strong supporter of our local law enforcement and respect so many of our public safety men and women that work tirelessly for our community every day,” Leng said in his statement. “Certain actions taken and words spoken in the video shown today have no business being part of Hamden law enforcement. Period.”

Medina was charged on Feb. 8, 2018 and later pleaded not guilty to illegally operating a motor vehicle under the influence, engaging police in a pursuit and failure to obey traffic control signals, according to Connecticut judicial records.

Stay with The Chronicle for further updates.

Interactive: 5 Opinion: 6 Arts and Life: 8 Sports: 13

2| News

MEET THE EDITORS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Christina Popik MANAGING EDITOR Amanda Perelli

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

February 13, 2019

A closer look at microplastics

Possible microplastics ban could affect QU ws a r st c er lasti p a p g p d of n i Us stea in

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Madison Fraitag WEB DIRECTOR Logan Reardon ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITORS Emily DiSalvo & Jennie Torres OPINION EDITOR Peter Dewey ARTS & LIFE EDITOR Alexis Guerra ASSOCIATE ARTS & LIFE EDITOR Jessica Simms SPORTS EDITOR Bryan Murphy ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITORS Jared Penna & Brendan O’Sullivan DESIGN EDITOR Janna Marnell PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR Morgan Tencza COPY EDITORS Garret Reich & Jeremy Troetti

By AMANDA PERELLI Managing Editor

On-campus and within the surrounding community people are taking a closer look at microplastics.

In Hamden, one bill, co-sponsored by Reps. David Michel, D-Stamford, and Josh Elliott, D-Hamden would ban goods containing microplastics.

This ban would include single-use plastic bags at the state level, according to The New Haven Register.

Jennifer Pope, a member of the town Solid Waste & Recycling Commission, said she thinks “it’s important that we take a step quickly. It’s already long overdue,” at a Legislative Council meeting according to The New Haven Register.

The proposed act would affect products that contain microplastics including the use of plastic straws, stirrers, single-use plastic bags and helium balloons. The purpose of the act is to reduce plastic pollution.

In the United States, California was the first state to enact a statewide ban single-use plastic bags in August 2014. This bill requires a 10-cent minimum charge for recycled paper bags, reusable plastic bags and compostable bags across certain retail locations, according to The National Conference of State Legislatures, state plastic

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and paper bag legislation.

Certain parts of New York State enforce similar bans, charging 10-cents a bag. Towns across Long Island encouraged seaside restaurants to switch to paper straws last summer, when local officials and environmentalists launched “Strawless Suffolk,” according to the Surfrider Foundation of Eastern Long Island.

For business owners, switching from plastic to paper could have a possible monetary impact. On-campus, Quinnipiac Dining has kicked off 2019 with a variety of environmentally focused initiatives.

Morgan Watson, QU Dining marketing manager said that any new state legislation in regards to single-use plastic would require the company to find alternative solutions.

“Quinnipiac Dining would have to find alternatives to some of the packaging we are using now,” Watson said. “We currently use plantbased biodegradable plates and bowls. The smoothie cups are made entirely of plants. Seattle’s Best hot cups, Starbucks hot cups, coffee sleeves, French fry cups, napkins and Greek yogurt cups are made from post-consumer fiber.”

Post-consumer fiber is paper that has been thrown away after someone has used it.

QU Dining’s new program, “Love Food, Not Waste” was developed this year to bring awareness to waste on campus.

It’s composed of four key areas of waste-related to food service: food waste, water, energy and packaging.

“Each area addresses ways that our staff and guests can impact the amount of waste they produce by encouraging them to change their behavior,” Watson said. “We have posted signage in the servery as well as on the TV screens to encourage students to use china instead of a disposable container when dining in. We are also encouraging our associates to reduce their waste too.”

Sustainability initiatives already in place include incorporating sustainable seafood, eating local, Stop Food Waste Day, QU Food Rescue and incorporating Fair Trade products, according to Watson. They also added a Waste Warriors campaign and are in the process of initiating a Carbon Footprint program.

The company is researching alternatives to plastic straws and stirrers and they hope to have a replacement plan soon. Starbucks in the Student Center has already incorporated a ‘redesigned lid’ which eliminates a use for a straw. Watson said Pepsi is developing a new design for strawless lids as well.

“Hamden should be a leader instead of just waiting for someone else to do it for us,” Pope said.

NATION TO CAMPUS

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

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More and more companies are making the switch from traditional plastic bags to paper.

State of the Union

By GARRET REICH Copy Editor

President Trump emerged from the recent government shutdown with “unifying” messages in his second State of the Union address on Tuesday, Feb. 5.

People across the nation “are hoping that we will govern not as two parties but as one nation,” Trump said.

This approach strayed from his customary message in speeches and on social media platforms.

“We can make our communities safer, our families stronger, our culture richer, our faith deeper and our middle class bigger and more prosperous than ever before,” Trump said.

Trump said several of these opportunities contain the potential for a political consensus.

These opportunities include his administration’s First Step legislation, the fight against the opioid crisis, criminal justice reform and the restoration of America’s infrastructure.

“Together, we can break decades of political stalemate,” Trump said. “We can bridge old divisions, heal old wounds, build new coalitions, forge new solutions and unlock the extraordinary promise of America’s future. The decision is ours to make.”

While the majority of his speech was dedicated to this central theme, Trump highlighted the most significant problems for harmony: partisan regulations and immigration.

“As we speak, large, organized caravans are on the march to the United States,” he said. “We have just heard that Mexican cities, in order to

remove the illegal immigrants from their communities, are getting trucks and buses to bring them up to our country in areas where there is little border protection.”

Trump challenged Congress to pass a bill to enforce the border against the “ruthless coyotes, cartels, drug dealers and human traffickers.”

To promote this point, Trump introduced a family whose grandparents were robbed and murdered by an “illegal alien” in their Reno, Nevada home.

“Not one more American life should be lost because our nation failed to control its very dangerous border,” he said.

Trump is presenting the Common Sense Proposal to Congress as a solution to this issue. This bill would include adding 75 immigration teams, 2,750 more Border Patrol agents and $1.6 billion for “urgent humanitarian assistance” and technology to prevent drugs from entering the U.S., according to the Business Insider.

Other guests included Alice Johnson, a former inmate who served over 20 years for a non-violent drug charge. In prison, she became a minister, inspiring others to choose a better path.

Trump explained that stories like this inspired him to sign the First Step Act. The legislation “gives non-violent offenders the chance to re-enter society as productive, law-abiding citizens,” according to Trump. Johnson’s sentence was lifted last June by the President.

He also invited Matthew Charles who, in 1996, was given a 35-year sentence for drug offenses. Like Johnson, Charles worked to im-

prove himself and other inmates while behind bars. Charles was the first person to be released from prison under the First Step Act. Some female senators took to wearing “suffragette white” on Tuesday as a testament to the suffragette movement in the early 1900s, including Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

Trump ironically recognized this political statement and said, “No one has benefited more from our thriving economy than women, who have filled 58 percent of the new jobs created in the last year.”

At the top of Trump’s priority list is the cutback on prescription drug prices and his intention to “protect patients with pre-existing conditions.” He said that 2018 drug prices reached the largest drop in 46 years and further proposed that Congress pass legislation to require drug and insurance companies “disclose real prices to foster competition and bring costs down.”

Trump focused the end of the address on military presence, both domestically and internationally.

He announced that the United States is officially withdrawing from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which limited our missile capacities.

Trump concluded the State of the Union as he started, by calling for unity from the members of Congress.

“This is the time to re-ignite the American imagination,” he said. “No matter the trials we face, no matter the challenged to come, we must go forward together.”

February 13, 2019

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

News |3

A state of change

President Olian and other senior administrators outline their vision for the year ahead

By EMILY DISALVO Associate News Editor

Quinnipiac University is in a state of change, according to President Judy Olian’s opening remarks at the State of the QUnion address on Wednesday, Feb. 6.

“The only thing that we can talk of as constant is actually change,” Olian said.

“And we need to be the university that is agile enough to not just keep up with the change but to actually lead it.”

The catalyst of change is the UniversityWide Strategic Plan. The plan was summarized by Olian again at the address, but the full version can be found on Blackboard.

Some students like freshman journalism major Isabel Agricola wished Olian’s address had given more specifics on a time frame for the changes.

“I thought it was very informative to hear exactly what the strategic plan does for the school, and it’s very exciting to hear,” Agricola said. “I would love to know more about the timeline for it.”

The State of the QUnion, which is hosted annually by the Student Government Association (SGA), provides an opportunity for Quinnipiac students to ask questions of President Olian and members of her cabinet.

This year in addition to Olian, the panel included Mark Thompson, vice president and provost; Salvatore Filardi, vice president of facilities and capital planning; Don Sawyer, associate vice president for academic affairs and chief diversity officer; Monique Drucker, dean of students and Annalisa Zinn, vice president for academic innovation and effectiveness.

Vice President of the Student Government Association, Luke Ahearn, moderated the discussion. Ahearn believes that the State of the QUnion is an important forum for students to interact with administrators.

“The State of the QUnion is a great event SGA has been hosting for a few years now,” Ahearn stated in an email. “The reason it is a great event is because it [holds] administrators accountable and gives a public forum for students to know what is being done to improve Quinnipiac University. It also is a way for administration to interact directly with students and often the questions students bring issues to the attention of administrators.”

Students were able to submit questions for the panel on an online platform called slido.com prior to and during the address.

Attendees were able to view the questions that their peers had submitted and vote for the ones they wanted to hear. Like Olian, the students’ questions demonstrated that they, too, were ready to see lots of changes in Quinnipiac’s future.

WQUN RADIO

Some questions were responses to changes that have already resulted from the strategic plan, such as the closure of Quinnipiac’s radio station, WQUN, and the student-led petition that has circulated to protest the closing. The question, which was submitted electronically, asked whether the outpouring of support will save the station.

President Olian expressed that in order for Quinnipiac to become “the university of the future,” it is important to reexamine priorities and realize that in order to grow, some things have to be cut.

“In the decision to change course, change is difficult,” Olian said. “When we think about our future strategy and the need to move and invest in new things, I don’t think any university, even the wealthiest university, can add on and keep adding things on without ever examining and reexamining what we’re doing.”

General Manager of the WQAQ student-run radio station, Emma Spagnuolo, is disappointed that President Olian has not backed down on her decision to close the ra-

PHOTO COURTESY OF VICTORIA JOHNSON/SGA

SGA Student Body President Ryan Hicks spoke to the Quinnipiac community on Wednesday, Feb. 6 at the annual State of the QUnion address. dio station.

“There are over 100 active members of the student-run station, WQAQ, many of whom plan to work in radio after graduation,” Spagnuolo said in a statement. “For administration to say that students aren’t interested in radio as a career is simply inaccurate. I’m also disappointed because the station serves as a tie between Quinnipiac and the larger Hamden community. Over 850 people have signed the online petition to save WQUN, so clearly the community sees value in the station.”

THE CENTER FOR RELIGIOUS LIFE Another question expressed concern that the religious center on campus appears to be relatively exclusive to Catholicism. It addressed whether the university would consider expanding the facility to include more religions as some students feel left out. Dean of Students Monique Drucker, took this question.

“First I think it is really important that everyone know that we are absolutely committed to creating a space that is welcoming to our students and the center for religion does do that,” Drucker said. “We have received requests from outside of the Catholic community to host events there. We are absolutely willing to do that. I think what I love to hear is ‘what would be more helpful?’ If you don’t feel that is a welcoming environment, what would be helpful to that?”

Freshman occupational therapy major, Sarah Bugbee, practices Protestantism and has grown up going to church every Sunday.

She expressed that not having a place to go to church here at Quinnipiac has been difficult.

“While I know everyone is welcome at the chapel services, I wasn’t raised Catholic so I’m not the most comfortable in that kind of church setting,” Bugbee said. “I would love to see our community expand their religious service opportunities to be more inclusive for people of varying denominations such as myself.”

THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE

Other inquiries expressed overall dissatisfaction with the value of a Quinnipiac education. The question stated that some students feel as though the cost of tuition “does not match the student experience” and asked what plans the administration had in store in addition to the strategic plan to solve this

issue in the future.

“You can see that the tough questions are coming down,” Thompson said, drawing a snicker from the audience. “I can’t accept the qualifier other than the strategic plan because I think that’s the whole point of the plan.”

Dr. Zin used statistics from her notes to counter the claim that the student experience is falling short of what students are paying for it. She cited the career success rate which is measured six months after graduation.

When we think about our future strategy and the need to move and invest in new things, I don’t think any university, even the wealthiest university, can add on and keep adding things on without ever examining and reexamining what we’re doing.”

– PRESIDENT OLIAN

PRESIDENT OF QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY

“For the class of 2017 it was 98 percent,” Zin said, “Which is one of the highest ever because nationally it was 81 percent.”

Zin also mentioned that competitor institutions such as Fairfield University have ranked no higher than 96 percent for the career success rates.

According to fairfield.edu, the Fairfield class of 2017 achieved 98 percent job placement six months after graduation as well.

INCREASING GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY Another focus of both the strategic plan and the questions that students had for the panel related to diversity. One main goal of the strategic plan is to increase the diversity of the student body geographically.

One student asked how the university plans to accommodate students who will be traveling

to Quinnipiac from outside of the Northeast.

“I personally would love to have a direct flight to the west coast from Tweed airport,” Olian joked.

However, Olian’s desire to diversify Quinnipiac’s geographic demographic is no joke. The university is making an effort to broaden the geography of its applicant pool, particularly in Florida, Texas and California.

“We brought a consultant in earlier this year and we recognized that for inclusive excellence reasons and for continuing the high quality of our student body we needed to diversify the geography of our student body we go to,” Olian said. “We created a real campaign to enter Florida. Florida, Texas and California are the most diverse and growing pools of applicants.”

Florida will be the most accessible of the three, but Quinnipiac is making an attempt to “dip our toe” in the Pacific Ocean and appeal to more Californians Olian said.

“We have created an approach strategy into Florida using social media,” Olian said.

“Texas, not so much yet because Texas as a state has policies that keep Texans in Texas.

We’ve talked about going into California and we’ve started to dip our toe into the water.”

SUSTAINABILITY The speech concluded with a session of myth-busting, which allowed students to hear the administration’s interpretation of some well-known Quinnipiac legends.

One questioned whether it was true that the recycling and trash end up in the same place after leaving the residence halls.

While the notion drew a laugh from the audience, Filardi did not deny that this occurs sometimes because much of what happens with the waste is out of Quinnipiac’s hands.

“Even when we separate and we bring it to the facility, they mix it together,” Filardi said. “Depending on where you are and what opportunities there are for recycling, sometimes that is the case where things are mixed together.”

Olian added that a desire to strengthen the sustainability of the university is one main piece of feedback she has received on the strategic plan. Like any big changes coming to Quinnipiac, it won’t happen immediately.

“We can do a lot on our own,” Olian said.

“We can’t do it overnight.”

4| News

FEATURED EVENTS WANT YOUR EVENT TO BE CONSIDERED FOR PUBLICATION IN THE CHRONICLE? Email tips@quchronicle.com

Wednesday, Feb. 13 Healthy relationships week tabling Alpha Chi Omega will host its Healthy Relationships Week tabling event on Wednesday, Feb. 13 from 11 a.m. to noon in the Carl Hansen Student Center. The event honor’s Alpha Chi Omega’s philanthropy, “The Fight Against Domestic Violence.” The event is meant to encourage having healthy relationships with both partners and friends. Students can define what love means to them through the “Love Is…” campaign that will be featured at the event.

Friday, Feb. 15 Apollo night The Black Student Union will host its Apollo night event on Friday, Feb. 15 from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Buckman Theater. The event is inspired by the Apollo Theater in New York City, and students are encouraged to show off any talents or interests they have–whether it be comedy, spoken word, song, dance or rap. There will also be raffle prizes and free food provided.

Saturday, Feb. 16 The Vagina Monologues Women in Support of Humanity (WISH) will be hosting a reading of the play The Vagina Monologues, which celebrates the experience, trials and tribulations of women on Saturday, Feb. 16 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in the Buckman Theater. The event is open to all at the cost of $5 per ticket. Proceeds from the event will go toward a local charity to benefit women in need. Light refreshments will be available at the event.

Sunday, Feb. 17 Best Buddies Valentine’s party Community Action Project will be hosting a Valentine’s Day party where students can make cards and crafts on Sunday, Feb. 17 from noon to 1:30 p.m. in Rocky Top Student Center room 210. Students can also come to dance and celebrate friendship.

Free food will be provided.

Rock climbing The Rock Climbing Club will be hosting its 4th event on Sunday, Feb. 17 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Rock Climb Fairfield. All skill levels are welcome to sign up. There are 40 spots available for the trip. To reserve a spot, students must either direct message @qurockclimbing on Instagram or text 203-830-9553.

Monday, Feb. 18 Shamrock the Rope tabling Kappa Delta will be hosting a signup event for its annual Shamrock the Rope philanthropy event on Monday, Feb. 18 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Carl Hansen Student Center. The event benefits Prevent Child Abuse America and The Children Center of Hamden. Pinwheels will also be sold at the tabling event.

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

February 13, 2019

Who caters to Quinnipiac?

QU Dining gets ‘first dibs’ for on-campus events

By LILY KEEFE Staff Writer

Quinnipiac Dining and the university have an agreement that states that QU Dining has the first right of refusal for all catered events on all three campuses. For some students, this agreement may be the reason that they aren’t attending food-related events.

“This does not mean that student groups would not receive approval to go off campus if Quinnipiac Dining cannot for any reason accommodate the request,” Associate Vice President for Public Relations John Morgan said. “It simply means that Quinnipiac Dining gets the first call.”

The Quinnipiac Chronicle conducted an informal poll with the question: “Would knowing that QU Dining catered an event oncampus affect your decision to attend?”

Out of 62 votes, 41 people said yes, it would affect their decision and 22 people voted no, that it wouldn’t affect their decision.

In the next poll, students were asked, “If you said yes, would you be more or less likely to attend?” Out of 74 votes, 25 people said they were more likely to attend, and 49 people said that they would be less likely to attend an event that was catered by QU Dining and not have outside food.

“The primary reason for this agreement is food safety. When student groups purchase food from outside vendors, there is no guarantee that the food will arrive safely and prepared for consumption,” Morgan stated.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that each year roughly 48 million people get sick; 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die of foodborne illness,” according to The University of Connecticut’s study on food safety.

“If students were to become ill from the food provided by an outside vendor, the university would have no recourse,” Morgan stated However, when Quinnipiac provides food that is not QU Dining all precautions must be taken.

“For example, when food trucks are at the university, the operator must provide copies of insurance certificates, health permits and complete an application,” Morgan said.

One of the student groups most affected by this rule is the Student Programming Board (SPB).

“The Student Programming Board has always attempted to use QU Dining as a food vendor as much as we can,” Sean Dacey, senior and president of SPB, said.

The switch hasn’t affected SPB’s events

QU Dining caters to food-related events on all three campuses. too much, except the organization must be more aware of the type of food they want to provide at events when going through QU Dining, because off-campus vendors tend to have more variety.

“If students were to become ill from the food provided by an outside vendor, the university would have no recourse.”

– JOHN MORGAN

ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT FOR PUBLIC RELATIONS

“I think the outcome depends on the type of event. If it is a food-themed event, I think the outcome would be better if the food came from an off-campus food source,” Dacey said.

However, if it wasn’t a food-related event and it more entertainment based, food is not as important of a factor for a better outcome.

In order to get food from off-campus vendors, approval must be given from QU Dining, according to Dacey. Even if QU Dining

CHRISTINA POPIK/CHRONICLE

can’t provide the food, SPB still has to reach out to them.

“We reach out to [QU Dining] to see if they would like to provide food for our events and if they cannot provide a certain type of food or stay within our budget, then we are able to use off-campus vendors,” Dacey said.

Sometimes for a specific food-related event SPB, can’t use QU Dining food.

“Sometimes we cannot [use QU Dining food] because they do not offer what we are looking for or what students want to see at our events such as various chicken nuggets from differing restaurants during our annual event, Nug Night,” Dacey said.

For some students, having an off-campus food source at an event would push them to go.

“If there is good food catered from a restaurant or any food that wasn’t from QU Dining I would be way more likely to attend that event,” freshman business major Mary DeNardo said.

Other students, including sophomore education major Samantha Williams, feel even stronger about QU Dining not being used as the main caterer for events.

“It would one hundred percent push me to go to an event if QU Dining was not catering,” Williams said. “QU Dining has a reputation that is bad, so no QU Dining at events would be good.”

Sanders: ‘We progress them from not skiing at all to hopefully being more independent and going down the hill’ SKIERS UNLIMITED from cover with Skiers Unlimited for the past few seasons. He said he saw a recruitment flyer lying around one day and decided it was something he would love to be a part of.

“We usually get paired up as two volunteers to one kid, and we teach them how to ski,” Cutler said. “Sometimes, the goal is just to get the kid out of the car and put their boots on then working up to going down the hill. Other times, you’re just skiing alongside of them and they’re able to do it all and just need a few pointers and reminders.”

About 20 to 25 children are a part of Skiers Unlimited. They come from all over Connecticut and all of the children have some sort of intellectual disability or physical disability, Cutler said.

“Common [diagnoses] are autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, general stuff like that,” Cutler said. “A lot of kids just need a little extra boost, a little help, but they are very capable of doing it on your own.”

Balcanoff said Mt. Southington is an incredible partner and they have a tremendous relationship with the medical center and the Skiers Unlimited program. They allow children and their families to ski for free on Fridays and have never asked for a dime. Mt. Southington staff even built a shed for Skiers Unlimited to use to store their gear with no charge, according to Balcanoff said.

Alpine Haus, a ski and snowboard shop in Wethersfield, has also been an incredible partner involved with Skiers Unlimited, according to Balcanoff.

The shop does boot and ski fittings for the children early in the winter. Used and rental gear from their shop goes to the children for free.

“They treat families as if they are royalty coming from (the) program,” Balcanoff said.

“I can’t get over the customer service aspect of it all.”

Skiers Unlimited has given students like Cutler the chance to be a part of something that reaffirms the fact that a lot of people are way more capable than their disability makes

them appear.

“Once they’re given a diagnosis of a disability, people really put them in a box,” Cutler said. “This just proves to the world what people with disabilities are capable of; almost anything that under the right circumstances and with the right support. With the right help, they’re able to break through the barriers that society puts up for them.”

While the majority of the Quinnipiac students who volunteer are from the School of Health Sciences and the School of Medicine, anyone is welcome to volunteer.

Balcanoff s aid what is really important to him is to get the students to appreciate what they are doing.

“The program would be half its size and half as successful if it weren’t for Quinnipiac,” Balcanoff said. “I try and make sure the impact and connection they have on the families can be life changing. It may be subtle at first, but later, there are those ‘ah-ha! moments.’”

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Vaccinate your kids. Seriously.

Owen Meech Staff Writer

The year is 2019 and measles outbreaks are popping up across America. Yes, measles.

If it feels like we’re living in the twilight zone, it’s because we are. In 2000, almost 20 years ago, measles was declared to be eliminated from the United States following extensive vaccina-

tion campaigns.

Despite this, cases have popped up in 11 states so far this winter.

Measles, which can be identified by a distinct, blotchy rash, is a highly contagious viral infection that can result in brain damage, deafness and, in rare cases, death. While health officials say that vaccination rates around 90 to 95 percent are generally enough to prevent an outbreak, rates have continued to decline across the nation.

The MMR vaccine, which protects against measles, mumps and rubella, is considered both safe and effective as a general scientific consensus, and is required for all school-age children. One dose of the vaccine is about 93 percent effective at preventing measles if exposed to the virus. Two doses are about 97 percent effective, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

However, 17 states currently allow for “philosophical exemptions,” which means that a parent can excuse their child from be-

ing inoculated for virtually any reason. Additionally, 47 states allow for religious exemptions from the vaccine.

Dr. Alan Melnick, director of public health for Clark County, Washington, said that the recent outbreaks, including 55 cases in Washington state, were “100 percent preventable,” in an interview with NPR. Before routine vaccinations became the norm, Melnick said 400 to 500 people were dying of measles each year in the United States in the early 1960s, and while he told NPR he didn’t “want to point the finger at anybody,” I have no problem doing so.

Parents, please educate yourself. Please vaccinate your children.

Anti-vaxxers continue to perpetuate the false narrative that such vaccines cause autism. Study after study has shown this to be untrue.

It’s time for this conspiracy theory to die an irrevocable death.

Your child certainly won’t develop autism if they succumb to a 19th century steamship disease first.

The lie started in 1998 with Andrew Wakefield, a British scientist who published a case series suggesting the MMR vaccine was linked to autism. What he conveniently forgot to mention was that he was working on developing his own competing vaccine.

Even though Wakefield’s research was unsupported and widely rejected by the scientific community, law firms saw an opportunity to begin suing drug companies on behalf of parents of autistic children, further fueling these invalid claims that the vaccination was to blame.

The bottom line is whatever recklessly illogical “philosophy” you may have against getting vaccinated is uneducated and perilous to society.

Immunocompromised children and children who are too young to receive the vaccine are dependent upon herd immunity and safety in numbers. You do not have the right put the lives of other people’s children in danger.

If you choose not to protect your own children (which is insane), understand that you’re also severely elevating the risk of contamination for children suffering from cancer and other compromising diseases.

The World Health Organization just recently declared vaccine resistance as one of the top 10 threats to global health in 2019, which means that we are heading in the wrong direction. Antivaxxers are an imminent and direct threat to public health, and must be treated as such.

The solution is simple: the government must act. Although I would normally advocate against increased institutional involvement, it is abundantly clear that our laws must change to curve this regression of medical progress before things get any further out of hand.

These are not archaic times. Outbreaks of measles in the year 2019 proves that we can no longer trust parents to simply do the right thing.

Revisiting our existing state laws is both a timely and complicated process, but it is essential to impose legal ramifications against actions that put other children in harm’s way. This most definitely includes refusing to vaccinate your child for a hazardous disease that should have long been eradicated.

Enough is enough. Before measles becomes an epidemic again, we must address the epidemic of widespread medical misinformation once and for all.

Giving the fans what they want

The NBA succeeded with first televised All-Star Draft Basketball is by far my favorite sport and the NBA is easily my favorite league.

Those two opinions do not necessarily have to accompany each other.

Basketball is a sport that I grew up playing at an early age and it has become my favorite pastime as I have gotten older.

Staff Writer At the same time, the NBA just so happens to be even more fun for me to watch and talk about. The league has the best basketball players in the world spread out into 30 teams, and fans, like myself, have a chance to watch them almost every night for close to nine months of the year. These are not the only things that set the NBA apart from other popular leagues like the NFL or the MLB. The reason is very short. Four words in fact.

It’s a player’s league.

The league knows why fans come to games, watch the NBA on TV and argue about it on all social platforms. They understand the main draw to fans is the players. Everything else is secondary.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and the league head office want players to have social media and athletic brands, sneaker deals, likeness in video games and much more. These are all features that do not solely concentrate on the game of basketball but are still a vital component of what makes the league the best.

In short, the NBA is in the business of giving fans what they want and the freedom the players need. This year the fans wanted a televised NBA All-Star Draft and the players had the freedom to have fun being a part of it.

On Thursday, Feb. 7 the 2019 NBA All-Star Draft took place.

At 7 p.m. ET, the draft was televised on TNT. This was the NBA’s second time having an All-Star Draft.

However, the first draft in 2018 was not televised mainly because of concern that the player who is picked last would feel embarrassed as possibly the “worst” player selected and the captains might be in an uncomfortable position to choose between teammates and better players. To many pundits, fans and myself, these were ridiculous worries because every player chosen is being recognized as one of the best in the world. There is no shame in being last or not taken by your teammate first. Since the NBA realized the errors of its ways, none of these criticisms were going to see

Toyloy Brown III

the light of day this year.

The two captains of the All-Star team like last year were the leading vote getters out of all the All-Stars. LeBron James, for the second straight year, and Giannis Antetokounmpo were named the two captains. Each of their teams would have 13 players that can be chosen regardless of conference affiliation. Team LeBron had the No. 1 overall pick for the starter pool, and Team Giannis selected first for the reserve pool. Commissioner Adam Silver made Dirk Nowitzki and Dwyane Wade special additions for a bonus draft round where Team LeBron will also get the first choice in that round.

As many expected, the NBA All-Star Draft was entertaining and well worth being televised. It provided funny moments between the TNT crew in studio and the All-Star captains. Also, there was great intrigue in trying to interpret if each player was drafted because he would give the team he’s on the best chance to win or if there were ulterior motives.

It is quite interesting that five of LeBron’s first six picks (Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, Anthony Davis and Klay Thompson) either have player options going into the summer, a free agency pending or recently demanded a trade.

The fact that LeBron James drafted Anthony Davis in particular while in the midst of all the rumors that he wants to play with the Lakers long term is very striking to everyone in the NBA community. After James selected Davis, Antetokounmpo sarcastically asked, “Isn’t that tampering?” After laughter, LeBron responded back by saying “Tampering rules [do] not apply on All-Star Weekend.”

Regardless of tampering, this was an incredible moment. Even host and former NBA player Charles Barkley got his chance to joke by saying, “The best way to do this is for Giannis to trade everyone on his bench for Anthony Davis.”

Another priceless moment was when Antetokounmpo drafted Ben Simmons because he knew James would want him since they share the same agent, Rich Paul. Later in the draft, LeBron proposed trading Ben Simmons for Russell Westbrook. After laughter and some contemplation, Antetokounmpo accepted the deal.

On Twitter, Simmons actually celebrated being drafted by Antetokounmpo first and then had to backtrack because he was traded to LeBron’s team. He then proceeded to voice his pleasure for being on LeBron’s squad. He also jokingly tweeted where famous trade news breaker Adrian Wojnarowski was when it came to his trade. LeBron replied on Twitter saying “He probably needed a nap after the deadline!”

The last memorable moment I’ll bring attention to was the bo-

PHOTO VIA NBA PRESS RELEASE

The rosters for the 2018-19 NBA All-Star Game, drafted by LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo.

nus round where the only players being drafted were Dirk Nowitzki and Dwyane Wade. Everyone knew that LeBron was going to pick his best friend and former teammate Dwyane Wade. Yet, James couldn’t help himself from pretending to say Nowitzki’s name and then actually choosing Wade.

There are many more moments that could be highlighted and stories that can be made from the 2019 NBA All-Star Draft. These are all possible because of the draft being televised. The draft was successful in giving the fans what they wanted. Besides the pure entertainment of watching superstars choose who they want to play with, the ultimate purpose for implementing the draft was to inspire each team to play competitively.

A close competitive All-Star Game is what the fans want and the players have the freedom to make it happen.

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The Quinnipiac Chronicle

Opinion|7

The divide within our kind

Colorism drives the black community apart A light-skinned black woman and a dark-skinned black woman walk along the streets of Portugal. One lives in New Jersey and the other in Mississippi, yet both become good friends in spite of their physical differences because they shared a common belief that those differences shouldn’t negatively define one another.

Associate News Editor One may say that is such an obvious statement to make, but judging someone based on the color of their skin is much more common than you think–especially among the black community. I’ve witnessed this sort of behavior growing up, but only recently did I truly recognize how colorism has entered all of our lives.

Colorism is defined as, discrimination against individuals based on their skin tone. It is different from racism in regard to who is discriminating who. Racism occurs when someone discriminates against a racial group that they are not affiliated with whereas colorism is discrimination from a person who is in the same racial group as the one they are criticizing.

I am the light-skinned individual that I was referring to in the beginning and at that time it was the summer of 2018 and I was in Portugal for a study abroad program. I met a student there who confessed to me about how being in that country intimidated her because of the looks she would get from the residents. I began to notice the looks too as I spoke with her on a casual stroll around the neighborhood; people would cock an eye at her or they would whisper to each other as if she was disrupting them simply by her presence.

“This happens all the time,” she told me defeatingly.

She wasn’t wrong. This does happen often to a lot of people who have darker skin. What makes this fact all the more upsetting is that this is known by many people but is accepted as normal.

This prejudice against dark-skinned people of color has been addressed in the entertainment industry, including when Matthew Knowles told Ebony magazine that his daughters, R&B artists Beyonce and Solange wouldn’t have gained worldwide popularity if they had darker skin. He followed up with a comment saying that the biggest black female stars all had lighter skin.

Between January 2017 and early June 2018, of the 68 female solo artists in the British Top 40, 17 were of black ancestry and majority of them had light skin, according to the BBC. Zendaya, Mariah Carey and Cardi B are just to name a few who have reached high mainstream status whereas it’s more difficult to find darker skinned women with that much popularity in the music industry, or any other industry for that matter.

One could chalk it up to that maybe it’s only a coincidence that lighter skinned females are popular because per-

Jennie Torres

haps they release better music, however there is evidence to support that colorism plays a hand into downplaying darker skinned people’s talents.

Grime artist Lioness said that she stopped making music because of colorism that was presented onto her, saying that, “A&Rs [talent scouts] would say things like: ‘she would be better if she was light-skinned’....if I was light-skinned I would get further...so I stopped doing something I love because people kept talking about my complexion,” according to the BBC. If you think that black men would collectively prove to women like Lioness that her skin tone doesn’t define her, then you’d be wrong. People like rapper Kodak Black are infamous for saying that they don’t like dating darker skinned women. Kodak Black said this himself during an interview at a charity basketball game in 2017.

“I love African-American women, but I just don’t like my skin complexion...my complexion we too gutter: lightskinned women are more sensitive…[darker skinned women are] too tough. Light-skinned women, we can break them down more easy,” Kodak Black said.

This type of treatment of darker skinned people is one of major reasons as to why the phrase, ‘light-skinned privilege’ was born, because it appears that the only way a black man or woman could stay in the limelight is if they have lighter pigmented skin. Thus, this has lead to prejudice against light-skinned people as well, just in a different manner.

At some point my new friend and I sat down near the beach at Portugal to discuss colorism as it had grabbed our attention and we simply couldn’t ignore it. I confessed to her that while I felt sorry for all the negative looks she got during our walk, I couldn’t empathize with her because I couldn’t relate on how it felt to be in that situation.

I didn’t want to insult someone by pretending to understand the pain that they were going through, but I did relate to the other side of colorism – the discrimination lightskinned people of color faced.

Light-skinned people of color who are public figures are often viewed as having transcended their race, according to theconversation.com. So figures such as the Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle and former president of the United States Barack Obama have been labeled as symbols of hope for people of color, but the fact that they are both of lighter complexion has lead some darker skinned audiences brooding with anger because light-skinned people are seen to be more accepted in society.

This privilege stems as far back as the days of European colonialism or transatlantic slavery, where there was special treatment given to people of color with lighter skin tones who were often the progeny of white slave colonisers. In modern times, colorism is exploited by companies to turn insecurities about skin color into financial gain, where there are videos of black women who use skin-bleaching products to drive home that having lighter skin provides greater advantages in the job market or romantic relationships.

So with all of that being said, there is certainly evidence to support that people of color who are darker skinned suffer under the weight of discrimination and lighter skinned

people are left to be gifted with more opportunities. So how could colorism possibly negatively affect light skinned people if they seem to have the upper hand? I explained how that was possible to my newfound friend as we went on for hours about our different experiences with colorism.

Although I was never told that I was ugly for how I looked, people implied that I did not act like a black girl. Although I was never called the N-word, I was accused of being afraid of black people by a classmate because that was easier to believe than just accepting that I didn’t want to talk to her.

Although I might have been favored more by others because I could pass for not being a part of the black community, I didn’t feel like some people from that community wanted to accept me as one of their own. Some people saw me as not black enough because I didn’t talk black or act black. I was never trying to talk or act white nor did I feel white. I never tried doing any of those things as a black person either. I only acted like myself.

I wrote this not feeling confident that what I’m addressing in this piece is being presented the best way. My full feelings on colorism are simply unable to be contained in these amount of paragraphs and yet, something compelled me to do it anyways.

I think that was my desire to reopen this topic to people that may have forgotten that colorism exists or to people who never even knew what it was, because colorism started with racism and therefore, if we as any reasonable human being recognizes this then we can change it.

Dark-skinned people are not unattractive because they are dark, and light-skinned people are not sellouts because they are light. Together we all have the same war against racism; different forms of battles probably, but our ultimate goal is to show that we are all the same as far as being living human beings. Any differences we have should be celebrated without needing to bring down other people to do so.

As disturbing as it is to notice the prejudice within the black community, there is hope. People have fought against colorism through various avenues, including art like filmmaker and photographer Francesca Andre who released her short film, Charcoal, in 2017. Andre presents the perils of colorism within the black community and thus, how selfhatred is taught, according to shadowandact.com. There has also been more black representation of every shade in recent movies and television shows like Black Panther and Dear White People. The more we show the beauty of our race, the easier it’ll be to take this poison out of our community.

By addressing this poison, my friend and I grew close in Portugal and gained a better understanding of our sides of the issue. We ended our conversation by heading to the beach where my friend still felt some discomfort with how people were looking at her, but I encouraged her to play in the ocean with me. That day, we played in the water and let the waves carry us off.

We were vastly different on the outside, but we built each other up in the face of adversity. That was the support we gave that day to one another as black people, as women, as humans.

We all have something we want to see change.

Utilize your resources and write an opinion.

Come to our meetings on Tuesdays in SB 123 at 9:15 p.m.

8 | Va l e n t i n e ' s D ay

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

Fe b r u a r y 1 3 , 2 0 1 9

Valentine’s Day can be great, but for many QU students it depends on who they’re spending it with. Find out how four Chronicle editors feel based on their relationship statuses. -M. Fraitag *Identities have been omitted for the privacy of those involved*

I feel like Valentine’s Day is almost like a Hallmark holiday, a day filled with buying products for a partner and exposing their worth, or maybe that’s just because I’ll be spending it alone this year. However, even when I was in a relationship, I did not feel as though Valentine’s Day needed to be extravagant. It is a day to appreciate love, but shouldn’t that be every day? Couples are already expected to buy expensive gifts for each other on birthdays, anniversaries, Hanukkah and Christmas, so why add Valentine’s Day into the mix as well?

I believe that Valentine’s Day should be spent showing love for a significant other, but why spend a ridiculous amount of money to do so? Women do not need more jewelry and men do not need more watches. A bouquet of flowers to brighten up a room and a home cooked meal should be enough to suffice. Any showing of love could work. The couples that are all loveydovey in public during this ‘holiday’ are what gives the day a bad reputation. It makes single people uncomfortable and lonely. Yes, Valentine’s Day is a day to show love, I do not doubt that but do so in the comfort of the home, not in front of other people. So what do I have in store for myself this V-Day as a single lady? Well, I am going to spend the day with people I love. That is the point of the day, right? Show compassion for the important people in you life, no matter if they are a significant other, family or even a friend. Couples, enjoy your day of love but do not ruin it for single people who aren’t so lucky. If you are single, spend time with those who are lucky enough to bring joy to your life and show them your love.

In a world where everyone seems to be showing off their relationships on social media and putting so much value on comments and likes, it can be difficult to remember what the point of a relationship should be. Because of this, I view Valentine’s Day as a time to take a step back and appreciate your significant other. It’s a day to reflect on the love in your life and to remind yourself to be grateful, since others haven’t found that special someone yet. It’s unfortunate that Valentine’s Day gets a bad rep since couples, especially ones I see online, seem to place such an incredible value on the material things. It’s annoying, whether you’re in a relationship or not, to see people posting the roses or jewelry they got for the holiday. Someone should be in a relationship because the person they’re with makes them happy, not for the social status or gifts. I also think that the best way to spend Valentine’s Day is doing something that caters to your relationship. For example, watch that movie that you both have been dying to see or stay in and order food. The only real “rule” that I’d stick to for Valentine’s Day is to limit distractions and be present during the time that you’re spending with your boyfriend or girlfriend. It’s also important to note that the idea of romance can vary from couple to couple.

There isn’t a right or wrong way to spend your Valentine’s Day. The bottom line to enjoying the holiday is to do what works for your relationship instead of trying to live up to the status quo. As for my boyfriend and I, we’ll be keeping it low-key by skipping the flowers and chocolates and going to our favorite Thai restaurant for Valentine’s Day.

Long distance relationships are hard. There’s no shock there. However, as a senior who has been in a long distance relationship with my “high school sweetheart” since I first became a Bobcat, I can say with confidence that one of the most annoying days to be in an LDR is Valentine’s Day. All throughout high school, I viewed this holiday as something that needed to be celebrated by giving gifts and flowers, mostly because that’s what everyone else was doing at the time. But coming to college and being away from my boyfriend definitely changed my viewpoint on Feb. 14. Every other day of the year, my boyfriend and I enjoy going for walks in nature, grabbing a beer, watching Netflix and honestly just being together, especially with those days being limited by the 684.1 miles between our campuses. Why should Feb.14 be any different? This year will actually be the first year that we will get to spend Valentine’s Day together in our five and a half years of dating, and I honestly hope it is no different than any other day of the year. With our situation, we’ve learned to appreciate any day we spend together, no matter what the calendar has to say about it. And even though this will be our first year technically spending the holiday together and despite my boyfriend’s sweet but unnecessary attempts to find ways to make the day special, all I hope and expect to do on Valentine’s Day is go for a walk, grab a beer, watch some Netflix and just be together.

Serious relationships aren’t a bad thing, they just aren’t for me, or my “significant other.” Although she is a romantic, they know I am not into the “lovey dovey” stuff. Being “complicated” always has a negative connotation, especially people in relationships. But being secretly in the LGBT closet, it is the best option. This is the age where we should be reckless and selfish, don’t just slap labels on things. Valentine’s Day is a Hallmark holiday, so make a day out of it with your friends or family, do not waste your time on this day to be wooed on one night. If you are in a “complicated” situation depending on the scale, just do take out and some Netflix. My ex-boyfriend never got me and went full blow extravagant last year. My mom taught me to love someone everyday, and not just on Valentine's Day. The little things once in a while are what really matters. Don’t feel pressured to do a big fancy day, but always show the appreciation.

Not sure how to tell your crush how you feel this Valentine's Day? We've got you covered. Cut out these cards that only a Bobcat could love and you're sure to find yourself a Valentine. -M. Fraitag

ARE YOU THE SLEEPING GIANT? BECAUSE I’M WAITING FOR YOU TO OPEN UP.

HEY GIRL, YOU REMIND ME OF THE GRASS ON THE QUAD, ‘CAUSE I’D NEVER WALK ALL OVER YOU.

TO: FROM:

TO: FROM:

I'M NOT CLUB HOUSE, I'D NEVER SHUT YOU OUT ON VALENTINE'S DAY.

WE'RE DEFINITELY NOT ON BOBCAT NET THIS VALENTINE'S DAY, BECAUSE OUR CONNECTION IS STRONG.

TO: FROM:

TO: FROM:

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

Fe b r u a r y 1 3 , 2 0 1 9

Va l e n t i n e ' s D ay | 9

GRAPHICS BY IAN BERKEY DESIGN BY MADISON FRAITAG

Take the stress out of planning your Valentine’s Day by checking out these five date options that every couple can enjoy! -C. Popik

THE ACTIVE COUPLE

THE FUN COUPLE

THE NOSTALGIC COUPLE

Your significant other doesn’t have to be the only thing making your heart beat faster this Valentine’s Day. If you are active or on the adventurous side, spend your date night checking out a trampoline park, ice skating or go-karting in the area.

If you want to have an extra special night out with your significant other, this is the date for you. New Haven has plenty of unique places to try out like Elm City Social’s rubber ducky cocktail (if you are 21+) or Geronimo’s to die for tableside guacamole. Go on, get dressed up and have a night on the town with your honey!

Need a little something to bring back that first spark? Recreate your first date. For anyone who has been dating for more than a year, this might be the perfect date night for you. Even if you did something amateur for your first date, there is nothing more romantic than reliving and remembering how it all started.

THE CHILL COUPLE

THE ARTSY COUPLE

THE FOODIE COUPLE

Keep it simple this Valentine’s Day by spending quality time with your loved one without the complication of making a reservation or spending tons of money. One date idea is to stay in and order take-out, throw on a Netflix movie marathon and that charcoal face mask you’ve been dying to try with your girlfriend/ boyfriend. Just relax! The best relationships are ones where you can just lay back and enjoy the company of the one you love.

Put your artistic skills to the test by checking out a local paint and sip or a pottery painting studio. If you are looking to relax, this artistic activity is therapeutic and more interactive than just grabbing dinner. Making and exchanging your artwork with your Valentine can also make for a meaningful homemade gift!

Do you and your lover enjoy trying out new places to eat?

Spend your date touring New Haven for the best pizza slice!

New Haven is one of the best cities around to get a good pie.

Among some of the top competitors are Frank Pepe’s, Sally’s Apizza, Modern Apizza and BAR. You definitely can’t go wrong with pizza and an adventure with your significant other this Valentine’s Day!

Picking out the perfect gift can be difficult, no matter what your relationship status is. Lucky for you, we’ve got you covered. Here are some gifts ideas for whatever your budget is this Valentine’s Day. -A. Guerra

UNDER $20

$20 - $50

$50 - $75

OVER $75

For him: DIY Homemade coupon book

For him: Bluetooth speaker

For him: Wallet

For him: Concert tickets

Even if you both have opposite For this DIY, all you need is some paper music, give him something he can and a pen. Write down on each page something favorite tunes from. Some speakers that he can redeem, whether it be going to his waterproof, which is perfect to use favorite restaurant or you doing the cooking. or in the shower.

tastes in Every guy could use a new wallet. Get him College Street Music Hall, Oakdale Theater blast his something that’s durable and that he’ll use and Mohegan Sun are all local venues that can are even daily. You could stick with the basic black or attract some big-name artists. Turn your gift into outdoors help him switch up his color palette by getting an experience he’ll never forget. a style out of the ordinary.

For her: Purse For her: Lush products For her: Polaroid camera Your lady could need a bag for her For her: Succulent or cactus Lush has variety of gift boxes for Valentine’s Give her a way to capture all the good essentials when you both have a night out Gone are the days of getting a girl a dozen roses. Switch it up by getting her a plant that Day including its most popular products, each memories you both can make together. After that won’t weigh her down. Get one that’s the she can keep with minimal effort. All it needs with a different theme so you can send the right all, a physical photo can be more meaningful perfect size for a handful of things that she is some sunlight and watering once a month. message for the holiday. Maybe a bath bomb than a post on the ‘gram. Be sure to stock up might not have the pocket space for. shaped as an eggplant emoji will do the trick. on film for the camera too.

On the day of love, show your girl (or guy) squad you appreciate them with a ‘Galentine’s’ Day celebration.

Here are some of the best ways to show your friends some love near QU. -M. Fraitag

BRUNCH

HAVE A PHOTOSHOOT

TREAT YO' SELF

What better way to start the day than with some french Naturally you’ll all be dressed your best for the occasion, If you don't have a significant other to spoil you today, toast, coffee and your best friends? Hop in an Uber and check why not document it? Head to scenic spots like Lighthouse you'll just have to do it yourself. Channel your inner Tom out local brunch spots like Woodbridge Social, The Breakfast Point Park or Bradley Point Park to take some group shots, Haverford and hit up your favorite stores. If your budget is Nook or (the OG) The Acropolis Diner. obviously for the ‘Gram. tight, visit discounted shops like Plato's Closet and T.J. Maxx.

PUPPY LOVE

MOVIE NIGHT

SWEET TREATS

Nothing screams love like a puppy. Make a trip to All Pets Club today to get all of the kisses and snuggles you'll ever need. Who knows, maybe one of them will agree to be your Valentine. Just try to resist taking a furry friend back to campus with you (good luck.)

After the excitement of the day is done, kick back in the oh-so-luxurious seats of the Cinemark North Haven theater and catch the latest blockbusters. We recommend “Isn’t it Romantic” for those embracing the holiday and “Happy Death Day 2U” for, well, those who aren’t.

You only need two men in your life today, and we all know how well they treat us. Ben & Jerry's in New Haven is the perfect final stop on your celebration of love and will only be made better by going with your closest friends. What's sweeter than that?

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

10|Arts & Life

Arts & Life

Fe b r u a r y 1 3 , 2 0 1 9

QUCHRONICLE.COM/ARTS-AND-LIFE ARTSLIFE@QUCHRONICLE.COM

An unexpected adventure JOHN ALLEN CREATIVE COMMONS

Quinnipiac freshman is running through adversity to help critically-ill children

By JASON SCHOELLKOPF Staff Writer

There are plenty of reasons for a college student to not fly to Europe and run a marathon right after finals. After tireless studying, most students want to relax—not run 26.2 miles in a foreign country. Having severe asthma and airborne food allergies would put a trip like that off the table for most students—but not for Emily Thompson.

Emily Thompson, a Quinnipiac freshman in the 3+1 biology program, leaves on May 23 to run a marathon in Edinburgh, Scotland to raise money for the Make-AWish Foundation. The trip is coordinated

by Choose a Challenge, an organization that allows college students to fundraise their own adventure travel trips while also raising money for charity. In the past, Choose a Challenge has taken students from different colleges to Machu Picchu, Mount Everest and Mount Kilimanjaro.

In order to participate in the Edinburgh Marathon, participants like Thompson must raise $3,000. Half of that money will fund the trip and the other half will go to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Thompson is currently trying to raise the money.

“I’ve asked family members, set up donation jars and put it out on Facebook.

I’m not looking for people to donate $50 or $100,” Thompson said. “I would prefer that a lot of people donate a small amount of money than a few people donate a large sum of money. I’d rather a lot of people recognize the cause than have a few people know about it.”

About 50 students from Quinnipiac University and the University of Connecticut are participating in this event. So far, their efforts have generated enough money to grant two wishes to children with critical conditions.

“Even though two wishes seem so insignificant because it’s such a small number, to those two people, it means the absolute world,” Thompson said.

One would think that only a very passionate runner would decide to run a marathon. But, that isn’t true for Thompson.

“I hate running!” Thompson said, laughing. “With asthma, I have an excuse to not like running. I have a lot of reasons not to run a marathon in a foreign country. But these aren’t really valid excuses when I have two working legs. The kids that I would be helping by raising money for Make-A-Wish have it way harder than I do. Nothing I’ve gone through can compare to how some of these kids are growing up. ” In addition to asthma, allergies to common foods like wheat and eggs pose another difficulty for Thompson. Because of this, her parents were not keen on the idea of her going to another country.

“My mom immediately said no,” Thompson said. “I’ve never traveled out of the country and the two times that I traveled out of state prior to coming to Quinnipiac, I had anaphylactic reactions.”

Despite her mother’s apprehensions, her aunt found a way to ease her nerves and let Emily go on the trip.

“Come Christmas time, my aunt had booked a flight for herself and my mom to Scotland,” Thompson said. “So they’ll be coming with me. My mom knows how much this means to me and I think she’s really proud and excited to see me complete a marathon.”

Thompson believes that her sympathy for the children who are part of the MakeA-Wish program comes partly from her childhood. As a child, Thompson’s health problems impacted her social life and gave her a greater understanding of what it’s like to be separated from other people.

“In second grade, my teacher was really worried about my food allergies,” Thompson said. “So I was told I could only eat lunch with one friend each day, and they had to make sure they had nothing I was allergic to. I hated it. I always wanted to sit with

other people and socialize with everybody.

If somebody was sitting alone, I wanted to go and sit with them. I’ve just always loved being around people, so when I was treated like something was wrong with me, I hated it.”

“When I was hospitalized for three days, my classmates made me cards and they were all delivered to me, that’s what I think of every time I think of the kids who will benefit from Make-A-Wish. I felt so happy when kids were sending me cards to make me feel better. So, I want to make other people feel better.”

– Emily Thompson

FRESHMAN 3 + 1 BIOLOGY MAJOR

When Thompson thinks about the hospitalized children she will be helping, she thinks of the first time she went to the hospital for her asthma.

“When I was hospitalized for three days, my classmates made me cards and they were all delivered to me,” she said. “That’s what I think of every time I think of the kids who will benefit from Make-A-Wish. I felt so happy when kids were sending me cards to make me feel better. So, I want to make other people feel better.”

Another influence on Thompson has been her mother, who helps to deliver babies as a labor and delivery nurse.

“I think just having grown up in such a medicine-minded family has impacted the way I think about going to the hospital and knowing the kind of stress that puts on somebody,” Thompson said. “I just really care about other people and I try to put their needs in front of mine. That’s why I forgot about the asthma and the allergies when I got the chance to help people.”

The Edinburgh Marathon won’t be the first time that Thompson will help a nonprofit organization. In her senior year of high school, she hosted her school’s Special Olympics, which had over 500 participants.

“I’ve always just loved kids and I want to help out in whatever way I can,” she said.

Thompson has been training for the Edinburgh Marathon since November. She is currently on a 16-week training schedule leading up to the event. Each week of practice, she adds an additional mile onto the distance she runs. By May 6, she’ll be running 20 miles for her practice routine.

In addition to the marathon, Thompson and other participants who signed up for the Choose a Challenge event will get to explore Scotland independently and on guided tours.

Emily, her mother and her aunt are especially excited to visit the Edinburgh coffee shop where J.K. Rowling wrote Harry Potter.

After the race, she will part with her family before she heads off to London as part of the program’s extension trip.

To help Thompson raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, visit: www.igiving.com/ fundraiser/emily-thompson

Fe b r u a r y 1 3 , 2 0 1 9

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

Arts & Life| 11

'Thank u,' more!

ALBUM REVIEW

Ariana Grande released her fifth studio album which is her best body of work yet

By TIM POWERS Staff Writer

Ariana Grande has released her much-anticipated fifth studio album only a few months after the release of her fourth studio album, “Sweetener.” This album, released on Feb. 8, is called “thank u, next.”

The “God is a woman” singer has referenced Greek mythology in her past music videos, often positioning herself as Venus-esque figure, the Goddess of love. However, a better comparison would be the Goddess of spring and Queen of the underworld, Persephone. Abducted by the god of the underworld and forced into marriage, she descended into hell for six months every year resulting in the inclination of winter, when she makes her grand return, spring arrives. Imagine a world like that. Forced to descend into the darkness then return on a never-ending cycle.

One minute so great, and the next so dark. For Ariana Grande, it’s not that hard to conjure. She has gone through these similar feelings in the past year.

After various bouts of darkness throughout the past two years, such as the death of her ex-boyfriend Mac Miller, the ending of her engagement with “Saturday Night Live’s” Pete Davidson and the tragic terrorist attack that took place at one of her concerts, Grande has been able to mix these troubled times with record-breaking success. One minute so happy and the next so sad. Grande emotes all these feelings and more across a grand beautifully majestic scale.

Grande begins the album with a tinge of melancholy and some low-key vibes, in a song called “imagine.” She contemplates the problems she has in her relationship and how her partner isn’t reciprocating her feelings, “Imagine a world like that/ We could lie until I’m ‘sleep on your chest/ Love how my face fits so/ good in your neck/ Why can’t you/ Imagine a world like that.” It is one of the singers most introspective songs she has ever released. In addition, her vocal performance is one of her finest, utilizing her whistle tones reminiscent of Mariah Carey’s “Emotions.”

From there, she explodes into many other branches of thought and perspective in regard to her love life and the tragedies she's

faced. One of the highlights includes the song “bloodline.” In the songs catchy chorus, she vibrantly sings, “Don't want you in my bloodline, yeah/ Just wanna have a good time, yeah/ And no need to apologize, no/ But you gon' have to let this shit go.” Grande explains her feelings about not wanting to feel down any longer, but she has an apparent inability to escape them. The song’s production is some of the albums best, featuring horns creating a thumping beat that keep the track lively while also representing the beating lack of assurance she is bringing forth.

One of the albums low points is the song “7 Rings.” The song concerns Grande flaunting her wealth and how she used that to make herself feel better. The story is that she bought seven rings for herself and one for each of her best friends in the time she was healing. On paper, the song sounds like it could be beautiful and self-empowering. However, that is not how the song came out. It sounds nothing like a song Grande would release. It sounds more like a caricature of someone else. When the song was released Grande received a lot of criticism for the song’s delivery. Many accused her of appropriating black culture. In addition, the track sounds very similar to other songs by Princess Nokia and Soulja Boy. The song feels very out of place on such a strong studio album by such a seasoned pop star.

However, Grande soon redeems herself in quality in the next track, the lead single, titled “Thank U, Next, which earned the singer first number one hit becoming an instant addition to the pop culture lexicon. Millions of memes were created using the songs self-empowering lyrics as well as the songs music video recreating scenes from such iconic movies as “Legally Blonde,” “Mean Girls,” “13 Going on 30” and “Bring it On.” The song is full of lyrics of self-empowerment and how her heartbreaks have turned her into a better person.

“Thank u, next” is Grande’s most cohesive body of work she has put forth yet. The production is slick and defining, while also exuding beauty. The album’s lyrics are Grande’s most personal yet. The talented singer is coming into her own. Through the struggles she has faced, she has come out stronger. She has come out as her own person, assure of herself and who she is. Grande

PHOTO TAKEN FROM REPUBLIC RECORDS PRESS

Grande's new album cover art was released Feb. 8.

is exiting the world of Persephone and evolving into something of her own making, saying in the the title song, “One taught me love/ One taught me patience/ And one taught me pain/ Now, I'm so amazing/ I've loved and I've lost/ But that's not what I see/ So, look what I got/ Look what you taught me.”

4 / 5 stars

'Everybody' laughs Raymond Ray Romano returns to the stage with new Netflix original

By RYAN MILLER Contributing Writer

Since the ending of “Everybody Loves Raymond,” Ray Romano has taken part in additional sitcoms such as “Parenthood,” “Men of a Certain Age” and “Get Shorty.” It wasn’t until now, 23 years later, that Romano has returned to his stand-up roots.

On Feb. 5, Netflix released the special “Ray Romano: Right Here, Around the Corner.” Viewers follow Romano walking through the Greenwich Village streets as he prepares to do standup at the Comedy Cellar, the club where he first began his career.

The special is split into two parts, the first half being a routine done in the original home of the Comedy Cellar, the latter in its sister building “The New Room,” which, as the title implies, is right around the corner.

Both of the two halves of the Romano’s appearances came as a surprise to the audience. Prior to his second performance, the emcee tells the crowd that a perk of attending Comedy Cellar owned venues is the surprise guests, as they then erupt in applause seeing Romano walk on stage.

Unsurprisingly, Romano’s material mostly involves spousal humor and stories about his kids. Of course, these are the stories that made him television’s highest paid actor in a sitcom for “Everybody Loves Raymond.” In the special, he also mentions his brother Robert, whom the series based a character on with the same name.

Other topics involved dealing with getting older and trying to get brownie points with his wife. There was plenty of material on his kids, with stories about his daughter moving into her first college dorm and his son who ran out of gas on a five-lane freeway.

Romano may have started doing stand-up in the Comedy Cellar but that isn’t where he caught his big break. In the spring of 1995, Romano appeared as a guest on “Late Night with David Letterman” as a comic following Mel Gibson. What an act to follow to try to jumpstart your career.

Romano delivered his routine for Letterman and a jam-packed crowd and absolutely crushed it. Following the performance, Letterman followed a tradition of Johnny Carson’s by inviting Romano to be interviewed for a moment after the commercial break. Traditionally, this was a high honor reserved for only the A- list guests (in this case Gibson) but it showed how impressed the old late night veteran was with the young comic.

Following Romano’s appearance on the show, Letterman

Ray Romano is best known for his character on 'Everybody Loves Raymomd.' made some phone calls to network executives at CBS and told them he wanted to back a sitcom starring Romano. As we all know, “Everybody Loves Raymond” was born and the rest is history.

Some of Romano’s other well-known work comes in the form of his voice-overs. Romano lends his talents to all five of the “Ice Age” movies as the main character Manny.

As far as upcoming projects, Romano is slated to appear in the film, “The Irishman,” later this year. The film tells the story of the murder of labor union leader Jimmy Hoffa from the perspective of a hitman. It is directed by Martin Scorsese and stars Robert De Niro and Al Pacino as members of a crime family.

It seems quite fitting Romano finds himself in yet another work about family. It's his calling card and he truly is at his funniest when he plays to his strengths. “Right Here Around the Corner”

PHOTO TAKEN FROM NETFLIX MEDIA CENTER

ends in a bit of a different way than most other stand-up comics would but it stays true to Romano.

After the second show, Romano is joined by his family who had just finished watching their respective dad and husband tell jokes about them for a half hour. He introduces them on screen the way he did on stage and they walk together down the street giving feedback on the show. Eventually, they settle down at a pizzeria and all begin eating together and laughing, the exact same way “Everybody Loves Raymond” faded to black on its finale fourteen years ago.

Although Romano enjoys poking fun at how he is getting older, somehow, someway, his jokes are still timeless. He can still use similar material and setups in his work, but as the Netflix special proves, he’s not going anywhere.

Fe b r u a r y 1 3 , 2 0 1 9

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

12|Arts & Life

Get clubby

All of New Haven's best spots to dance the night away New Haven is a city full of opportunities and is also full of different nightclubs. If you are sick of the same club you always go to or have absolutely no idea of where you want to go when you go out, here are some ideas made for everybody at Quinnipiac. – J. Simms

SAMI SALEH/CHRONICLE

**18 and Up**

Toad’s Place – 300 York St.

The infamous Toad’s Place. This is the place that Quinnipiac students flock to every Saturday night. With concerts and DJ nights, Toad’s is the perfect place for everybody. Students who are not yet 21 can get in with their Quinnipiac ID and students over 21 can get drinks at the bar. It’s a place for everybody and definitely a part of the QU experience.

SAMI SALEH/CHRONICLE

**21 and Up**

BAR

– 254 Crown St With four different rooms, BAR creates an experience for anybody that is 21 and over. Thursdays through Saturdays after 9:30 p.m., BAR turns into a nightclub atmosphere. During other hours, BAR uses its four rooms to serve brick oven pizza, serve drinks (especially the freshly brewed beer) and play pool.

SAMI SALEH/CHRONICLE

MORGAN TENCZA/CHRONICLE

MORGAN TENCZA/CHRONICLE

Gotham Citi Cafe

Sports Haven

Ordinary

Gotham is a place to go to for students who are under 21 to be able to party for college night on Thursday. Located in downtown New Haven, Gotham knows how to throw a great party for college students. With a bar, two dance floors and a big outdoor patio, Thursday parties will never get old at this club.

If you are hungry and looking for more of a laid back environment, Sports Haven Bar & Grille is a perfect fit. With many flat screen televisions and multiple pool tables throughout the restaurant, there is always something exciting happening. This is the perfect place to grab a burger, drink (if you’re over 21) and watch the game.

Ordinary is a historical bar that makes it unique to just New Haven. Founded in 1638 by English Puritans, Ordinary has been a part of New Haven since the beginning.

With a variety of food options and different types of wines for people 21 and over, Ordinary is an experience like no other.

MORGAN TENCZA/CHRONICLE

MORGAN TENCZA/CHRONICLE

– 84 Orange st

– 600 Long Warf Dr.

– 900 Chapel st.

SAMI SALEH/CHRONICLE

Barcade

Club Vandome

Box 63

Barcade is a very unique bar because it also is an arcade! The name was created to play off of classic arcade games and American craft beer. With over 50 different games, including childhood classics, you can drink and play some fun games. On top of having many options for pub food, students also can take advantage of college happy hour Tuesdays through Thursdays after 10 p.m.

Club Vandome has something for everyone in your group with options such as the main dance floor and a hookah lounge. Also, Club Vandome always has different events, like a Valentine’s party and DJ nights, so keep your eye out for that. You can even celebrate your birthday in a special way here if you apply online.

looking for some yummy food and a drink? Box 63 is the perfect place! Grab a drink with friends while watching the game or if you are there at night one weekend, join the DJ party. With a calendar of events for each month including happy hours and welcome back parties, there will always be something fun to go to. If you are not the type to party, there is also a very nice brunch menu you can always test out.

– 56 Orange St.

– 102 Hamilton Dr.

– 338 Elm St

Fe b r u a r y 1 3 , 2 0 1 9

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

Sports|13

GAME OF THE WEEK

Bobcats defeat Canisius 68-51 on Senior Day Quinnipiac women’s basketball honored their five seniors with a win on Saturday

KAYLEY FASOLI/CHRONICLE

Senior guard Brittany Martin contributed six points on her Senior Day.

By JARED PENNA

Associate Sports Editor

The Quinnipiac women’s basketball team (17-6, 12-0 MAAC) celebrated its Senior Day with a win in its Saturday game against conference opponent Canisius (9-14, 7-5 MAAC) by a score of 68-51.

Before the opening tip-off, Quinnipiac honored its five senior players as well as five other senior staffers with flowers and plaques at center court. It was a special moment for the seniors and their families, who accompanied them while they received their honors. This year’s senior class has racked up 99 wins and counting in their careers, including a 64-6 record in the MAAC. “We got to celebrate our seniors in style,” Quinnipiac head coach Tricia Fabbri said of the ceremony. “It’s the perfect send off to those individuals who collectively as a class have meant so much to the program.”

Once the game was underway, things looked fairly even early on. In the opening minutes the teams played evenly, and the score represented that as it was tied 4-4 before the first timeout was called. After that, the game was blown wide open.

Junior forward Paige Warfel continued her hot streak on the glass by recording four rebounds in just the first quarter, following a game where she set a new career-high in rebounds. She also led the team in scoring, recording 18 points on just seven shots.

“Just confidence,” Fabbri said of Warfel’s improved play as of late. “It’s incredible.

You cannot give it to anyone, but you can certainly earn it, and you just see her blossoming and earning it every day.”

Senior guard Edel Thornton ended the first quarter with a buzzer-beating, 3-point shot to energize the crowd that came out to support the Bobcats. However, the team’s

overall success from behind the three point line was far from impressive in the first half.

The Bobcats shot just 4-for-15 (26 percent) from beyond the arc in the first half, and shot the ball just 31 percent overall. Still, they led by a score of 29-17 heading into half time.

“I think today there was a little frustration that we thought we could have played a little bit better,” Fabbri said. “That’s been the challenge for us, seeing these teams for a second time.”

Nonetheless, Quinnipiac came out strong in the third quarter. Senior guard Brittany Martin drew a foul on Quinnipiac’s second possession of the half, and after hitting one of two free throws the team never looked back. Quinnipiac shot the ball a staggering 75 percent from beyond the arc in the quarter, and made 5-of-six free throws. At the end of the third quarter, the game was all but decided. The only thing left to do was get the seniors their last minutes on senior day.

To the surprise of many, senior forward Jen Fay checked into the game late in the fourth quarter despite a lingering bone bruise in her left leg. She only managed to play a total of 58 seconds in the game, but it still meant the world to the senior and her family, teammates included, to play in this game.

“It felt good coming off,” Fay said of her one shot attempt. “I knew I was going to shoot it, I didn’t hesitate at all, but I think my legs felt too good and it went a little long.”

Quinnipiac won the game by a final score of 68-51, leaving little to doubt about its performance on the day. This win kept the team perfect in the MAAC this season.

As the seniors’ final season comes closer to its end, they reflected on their time at Quinnipiac and spoke about the legacy they

hope to leave behind.

“Hopefully a winning one,” Thornton said. “We lost our first MAAC Conference championship game, and I think that built us up to never want to lose again. Just understanding that people have built it before you, and you should do it for the people who came before you and left it in a better place for the people coming behind.”

Easily the most emotional member of the team today was Fabbri. She expressed incredible gratitude for the seniors, and was even moved to tears when explaining how much they mean both to her and the program.

“The 10 of them have meant so much,” Fabbri said with teary eyes and a cracking voice, but most importantly with incredible pride. “Not only in the past but in particular this year. Looking at the banners out of the corner of my eye, it’s pretty good. They’ve elevated the program to a national level, and with the biggest target on their back every day they continue to handle the challenges and everyone’s best shot with such grace and ease. It was really impressive to see over the course of their careers.”

Their careers aren’t over just yet as they still have a good amount of season in front of them. The goal is to reach the NCAA tournament, but the mentality is to take the season one game at a time. Quinnipiac will play next against Manhattan College in Riverdale, New York on February 15 at 7 p.m.

FINAL CANISIUS QUINNIPIAC

51 68

New Quinnipiac softball coach looks to bring winning ways to Hamden

By SEAN RAGGIO

Sports Multimedia Coordinator

Quinnipiac softball hasn’t had a winning season in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) play since the 2016 season, and overall since the 2012 season. It’s safe to say that the Bobcats needed a change. That change came on Aug. 7, 2018 with the hiring of Hillary Barrow as the new head coach.

Barrow comes to Quinnipiac with a goal in mind for her Bobcats: to put Quinnipiac Softball on the map. That goal starts with changing the culture of a team that hasn’t seen a lot of winning over the last several years.

“I didn’t necessarily try to change who they are, I just tried to give them an identity,” Barrow said. “They’ve been great and completely buying in and I think we’re definitely changing the culture here...they just needed somebody to push them and believe in them.”

The team’s quick buy in is something that can be attributed to Barrow taking the time to get to know her team. She does this with teambonding events off the field. An example would be how the team is having a watch party for this week’s episode of The Bachelor.

“I think what’s important, that separates us as a coaching staff from other coaches is we care about these girls as people, not just as softball players,” Barrow said. “We try to make it different for them, we try to get creative and we try to have fun too.”

The Miami, Florida native has had a love of softball since she started playing at seven years old. Her grandfather taught her the sport and

coached her for much of her life. She knew she wanted to play college softball, and was recruited by the University of Central Florida. However, her dream was almost derailed.

In September of her senior year, she tore her ACL. All of the big schools that were looking to recruit her disappeared and gave up on her. She made a quick recovery, coming back in four and a half months, and then-UCF head coach Renee Gillispie watched her play at her first tournament back and made the move to bring her to UCF. Barrow knows what it’s like to have people not believe in her and to be looked at as an underdog. She learned to look past that and has conveyed that mindset onto her team too.

“I think we truly believe we’re one of the best teams in the MAAC even though they picked us seventh, it makes us laugh,” Barrow said. “We actually laughed about it because we know that we’re going to surprise a lot of people.”

Barrow graduated from UCF in 2010 after majoring in communications and minoring in digital media, then started her coaching career in 2011 as an assistant coach at St. Cloud High School in St. Could, Florida. In August 2012 she returned to UCF as an assistant coach.

“It was definitely a learning experience,” Barrow said. “We had some ups and downs that year, we were a .500 team, but it definitely made me hungry to win. I’m a winner, I don’t like losing.”

Barrow and the rest of the coaching staff went on to win the American Athletic Conference (AAC) Coaching Staff of the Year two years in a row and were the 2015 AAC Tourna-

ment Champions. UCF pitching led the nation that year with a 0.93 ERA. Barrow’s success with the bullpen carried over to her time with Florida International University (FIU). She worked closely with standout pitcher Shannon Saile who was named Conference USA Freshman of the Year. Seeing Saile’s growth as a person and a player through their work together is one of her proudest moments as a coach, according to Barrow.

The Bobcats are heading into the upcoming season having lost standout pitcher Casey Herzog to graduation, and with some questions about the returning pitching staff.

“I think the girls didn’t necessarily believe in themselves and how good they actually are,” Barrow said. “They needed to know that, ‘you guys are actually pretty good,’ and I think that they trust me and they know it comes from a genuine place.”

Herzog’s shoes will be tough to fill, but Barrow already has a No.1 starter in mind: senior Kendall Brundrett.

“I think the one pitcher for people to watch out for this year is going to be Kendall,” Barrow said. “I don’t think her stats correlate to how good of a pitcher she actually is and I think she’s going to be the sleeper here in the MAAC.” Barrow also helped recruit the team’s new assistant coach Brooke Scott. Scott had just taken a volunteer job at Texas Tech, but after talking with Barrow, she made her way up north. She knew the love that Scott had for softball, which is something she felt imperative for a division one coach.

The team starts its season with a return to Florida for Barrow at the Madeira Beach Invitational. The team returns home on Wednesday, March 20 for a double header against Central Connecticut State University.

“Come out and support,” Barrow said. “I think everybody’s going to be really excited to watch us play. We are going to be a team that’s full of energy, I think the crowd and our fans are really going to thrive off our energy, they’re going to love being there.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF QUINNIPIAC ATHLETICS

Barrow enters her first head coaching job of her career at Quinnipiac.

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

14|Sports

RUNDOWN

MEN’S HOCKEY QU 4, Yale 0 - Friday Nick Jermain: 1 goal, 1 assist Andrew Shortridge: 23 saves Brown 4, QU 1 - Saturday Brogan Rafferty: 1 goal WOMEN’S HOCKEY QU 2, Yale 2 - Friday Lexie Adzija: 1 goal Abbie Ives: 24 saves QU 4, Brown 2 - Saturday Zoe Boyd: 1 goal, 1 assist MEN’S BASKETBALL QU 66, Iona 65 - Friday Cam Young: 18 points, 5 rebounds WOMEN’S BASKETBALL QU 62, Niagara 42 - Thursday Paige Warfel: 12 points, 15 rebounds QU 68, Canisius 51 - Saturday Edel Thornton: 7 points, 6 assists MEN’S LACROSSE UMass Lowell 12, QU 10 - Saturday Jake Tomsik: 3 goals, 2 assists WOMEN’S LACROSSE QU 14, Stetson 13 - Saturday Allison Kuhn: 5 goals, 1 assist

GAMES TO WATCH MEN’S ICE HOCKEY QU at Union - Friday, 7 p.m.

QU at Rensselaer - Saturday, 7 p.m.

WOMEN’S ICE HOCKEY QU vs. Rensselaer - Friday, 6 p.m.

QU vs. Union - Saturday, 3 p.m.

MEN’S BASKETBALL QU vs. Marist - Friday, 8 p.m.

QU at Siena - Sunday, 2 p.m QU vs. Iona - Tuesday, 7 p.m.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL QU at Manhattan College - Friday, 7 p.m.

QU at Fairfield University - Sunday, 2 p.m.

BASEBALL QU at UNC Greensboro - Friday, Saturday, Sunday SOFTBALL QU vs. Holy Cross - Friday, 9 a.m.

QU vs. University of South Dakota - Friday, 11:30 a.m.

QU vs. University of Central Arkansas - Saturday, 4:30 p.m.

QU vs. University of Akron - Saturday, 7 p.m.

QU vs. Ball State University - Sunday, 9 a.m.

MEN’S LACROSSE QU at Brown University - Saturday, 1 p.m.

WOMEN’S LACROSSE QU vs. Brown University - Saturday, 12 p.m.

@QUChronSports Bryan Murphy

@Bryan_Murphy10 Logan Reardon

@LoganReardon20 Jared Penna

@JaredPenna1 Brendan O’Sullivan

@BOSullivan25 Jordan Wolff

@JordanWolff11 Peter Piekarski

@PiekarskiPeter Matthew Jaroncyk

@Mattt_j30 Peter Dewey

@PeterDewey2

Fe b r u a r y 1 3 , 2 0 1 9

Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey loses to Brown

After a Friday night win over rival Yale, the Bobcats come out flat on Saturday

By MATT JARONCYK Staff Writer

Despite an electric atmosphere at the Frank Perrotti Jr. Arena, the No. 4 Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey team was defeated by Brown 4-1 on a chilly Saturday night in Hamden.

“I thought Brown was great tonight,” Quinnipiac head coach Rand Pecknold said when giving his opening statement. “I thought Luke Kania was by far the best player on their team. He was outstanding and we couldn’t score, causing frustration and our players didn’t handle it well. Brown is a very good team tonight and we struggled defending. We didn’t have a good effort.”

Like Friday night, Quinnipiac (21-6-1, 10-5-1 ECAC Hockey) came out firing in the first period.

Though it outshot Brown (10-103, 7-6-3 ECAC Hockey) for all three periods, it was its defense that slowly fell apart throughout the course of the game, eventually falling apart in the third period.

Brown and Quinnipiac both had their opportunities in the first period, but were denied by the goalies who were behind the net due to outstanding goalkeeping by both Quinnipiac’s junior goalie Andrew Shortridge, who had 25 saves on the night, and Kania, who had an astonishing 47 saves on the night.

At the end of the first period,

MEGAN LOWE/CHRONICLE

Junior defenseman Brogan Rafferty scored the lone goal for the Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey team in Saturday’s loss to Brown.

Quinnipiac dominated the shot chart, putting 14 shots on goal, compared to Brown’s seven. Yet neither team was able to convert their shots into goals.

In the second period, it looked as if Quinnipiac’s momentum at the beginning of the game started to shift in favor of Brown, as junior forward Brent Beaudoin of the Bears fired a shot set up by sharp passes from freshman forward Justin Jallen and senior defenseman Max Gottlieb to shoot the puck right past Shortridge near the middle of the second period.

The Bobcats had their chance to tie the game at one, as sophomore

defenseman Joe O’Connor was in front of the net with the puck after trying to get the puck in the net, but was stopped short of doing so by the outstanding goaltending of Kania.

The third period was when the Bobcats started to fall apart.

At the start of the third period, it seemed as if last night’s game took a toll on the Bobcats. The Bears were able to score three times in the course of four minutes, with senior forward Alex Brink scoring his fifth goal of the season and the first of three Brown goals.

This was followed by sophomore forward Chris Berger scoring his fourth goal of the season, finished

off by junior Jack Gessert scoring his second goal of the season.

In the midst of the barrage of goals, the Bobcats were able to get a goal of their own to avoid the shutout, with the goal coming from junior defenseman Brogan Rafferty, getting his fourth goal of the season.

Pecknold talked about the collapse in the third being due to the poor preparation of the game and how they were lacking in scoring.

“I just think we prepared poorly,” Pecknold said. “Bad habits and lots of kids were playing frustrated due to the lack of scoring. We were dishonest and they deserved to win because of it.”

Pecknold went on to talk about how he would coach and improve his team because of the loss.

“We didn’t do a good job of taking away [his] eyes off the puck,” Pecknold said. “We need to do a better job of that.”

The Bobcats look to come with a vengeance as they play the Union Bulldogs on Friday, Feb. 15 at Messa Rink at 7 p.m.

FINAL BROWN QUINNIPIAC

4 1

MAAC Preseason Players of the Year

Senior outfielder Liam Scafariello

Senior attack Foster Cuomo

Batted .232 with 15 HRs and 45 RBIs in 2018

33 goals and 16 assists for 49 points in 2018

Named to 2018 All-MAAC First-Team

Named to 2018 All-MAAC First Team

Second in MAAC in HRs

Led MAAC in goals per game with 2.36

slugging percentage (5.12)

Seventh in MAAC in

Third in MAAC in points per game with 3.50

Tied for Quinnipiac DI

12th in Quinnipiac history with 105 career points

record for career home runs with 31

Named to 2017 MAAC First-Team

Named

to All-MAAC Second Team and MAAC All-Rookie Team in 2016

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The Quinnipiac Chronicle

CELLY SZN

Sports|15

Clockwise from top left: Fans cheer on the Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey team in the game against yale on Friday; freshman Michael Lombradi celebrates after his third-period goal; the team gathers together after a Quinnipiac score; senior defenseman Luke Shiplo pumps his fist after his second-period tally.

CJ YOPP /CHRONICLE

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Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey shutout Yale on Friday night in the Battle of Whitney Ave.

Quinnipiac women’s basketball junior forward Paige Warfel recorded a career-high 15 rebounds on Thursday.

The Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey team shot a seasonhigh 50 shots on goal against Yale on Friday.

Nick Jermain

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

BY THE NUMBERS

CJ YOPP/CHRONICLE

Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey junior forward Nick Jermain netted his first goal of the season and added his third assist of the season against Yale on Friday.

16|Sports

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

Sports

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QUCHRONICLE.COM/SPORTS @QUCHRONSPORTS

Let’s do that hockey CJ YOPP/CHRONICLE

An inside look on what it takes to be a Quinnipiac hockey fan for its biggest game of the year

By PETER PIEKARSKI Staff Writer

A rivalry like no other, Quinnipiac vs.

Yale hockey is one of the fiercest contests in college hockey.

A mere eight miles apart, the two universities boast excellent hockey teams as well as a passionate student body.

“The Quinnipiac vs. Yale games are ones that do not matter how the year plays out, but as long as you win the series, it’s like winning the Super Bowl,” Steven DeVito, a junior business management major from Long Island, New York, said. “Everyone gets hyped for Friday night and it really is not like any other game throughout the year.”

Dubbed the “Battle of Whitney Ave”, the rivalry has quite the history. The two teams have played a total of 33 games against each other, with Quinnipiac having the better record at 20-8-5.

However, Yale defeated Quinnipiac in the Frozen Four championship game in 2013, despite being swept in the regular season.

Part of this exciting rivalry is the “Heroes Hat,” which is the representation of the men and women that put their lives on the line to protect and save Americans during the September 11 terrorist attacks.

The tradition of the helmet began when Quinnipiac played in the Atlantic Conference.

The winner of the Quinnipiac vs. UConn game would receive the helmet, in remembrance of Joseph Mascali, a father of two Quinnipiac alumni, and Amy Jarret, the sister of former UConn letter winner Matt Jarret.

Now decided in the Quinnipiac and Yale games, the winner of the final game of the series wins the decorated helmet, a bit of extra

motivation for the teams.

Students break out all the Quinnipiac gear, from jerseys to hats, to the much-anticipated signs that are displayed at the game.

“Everyone seems a lot friendlier on campus,” Jack Main, a first-year journalism major from South Burlington, Vermont. “I like the energy and the constant emergence of the yellow Bobcat jerseys.”

One of the most important days leading up to the game is ticket sale day. The Quinnipiac ticket office added additional servers to the site to prevent any crashes.

In an email released to the student body, Quinnipiac increased the number of tickets for the student section due to high student demand, especially with a guaranteed sell out.

“Student tickets normally sell out in around 10 seconds,” DeVito said. “Getting tickets for the game, in my opinion, is harder than registering for classes.”

The day of the game creates a new atmosphere for the students on campus. There is a different sort of energy and excitement.

Last Friday’s game was evidence of that nature as students waited outside the People’s United Center as early as 8:30 a.m, according to the Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey Twitter account.

As the day continued, more people began to show up and line up outside. Some students skipped their 4 p.m. classes to get in line in pure hope of getting a good seat.

Quinnipiac head coach Rand Pecknold noticed the student body’s dedication to the game and the team. He headed outside the arena with boxes of pizza and gave it out to the waiting students.

SAMI SALEH/CHRONICLE

Quinnipiac fans with posters saying “Beat Yale” were scattered about the arena.

The Teletubbies have become a staple in the Quinnipiac student section.

Out in the bitter cold, students formed a line that began to circle the arena. To keep the fans entertained while the arena was being set up for the game, both the pep band and the Teletubbies (Quinnipiac’s spirit group) did everything they could to fire them up.

“Athletics did a great job getting the students more excited than ever,” DeVito said.

“Coach Pecknold bringing out the pizza, the band getting everyone rowdy or the Teletubbies hyping up the crowd, there were a lot more elements than normal.”

The moment the clock struck 5:30 p.m., the enthusiastic but bitterly cold fans stormed through ticket entry leading to a mad frenzy to find high-quality seating.

There was a constant buzz amongst the crowd, especially the student section, leading up to warmups. The tradition of Quinnipiac students turning on their flashlights when the lights come down is energizing.

Sgt. Dan Clark, “The Singing Trooper,” galvanized the already exhilarated crowd with his emphatic rendition of the national anthem.

Quinnipiac brought its ‘A’ game and it showed from the start as it fired shot after shot on net, registering 12 shots in the first five minutes. Each shot attempt drew a louder reaction from the crowd.

Quinnipiac’s senior forward Nick Jermain chipped the puck into the back of the net during the first period after a sequence of loose puck attempts in the front of the net. The crowd was deafening during the celebration.

The iconic “Seven Nation Army” chant ensued after Quinnipiac’s goal, which led to non-stop chants throughout the remainder of the period.

“It was a euphoric wave of Bobcat nation,” Alec Williams, freshman class president, and first-year PA major from Syracuse, New York, said. “That’s the loudest I’ve ever heard the ‘Frank’ this year.”

SAMI SALEH/CHRONICLE

Quinnipiac sustained its level of competitiveness in the second period, leading to two more goals.

Absolute domination by Quinnipiac, this game enticed the fans to dig in a little more with some random chirps, specifically when the game became chippy.

“I’m a very verbal fan at the Quinnipiac games, I like to throw anything that comes to mind out there and get a laugh or two,” Will DeBlis, a first-year public relations major from Milburn, New Jersey, said. “I love when our team throws the body, makes the rest of the crowd more animated.”

The third period was more of the same for Quinnipiac as it added a fourth goal. The celebration by freshman forward Michael Lombardi right in front of the student section capped off the night for the crowd as Quinnipiac would go on to shutout Yale 4-0.

This win continued the unbeaten streak at home for Quinnipiac against its rivals since the team’s loss to Yale in the national championship in 2013. This also gives the team a sense of pride, most notably for players such as senior defensemen Chase Priskie and Luke Shiplo.

“Before the game, when we were standing in line when they were doing the anthem and stuff, I looked over to Priskie and was like, ‘hey this is our last go,’” Shiplo said.

“We know we have the firefighter hat and we haven’t lost that since we’ve been here. It’s just unbelievable playing in the Yale game.”

The excitement of returning students motivates the newer ones to become part of such an enriched and emotional contest.

“It was so breathtaking to see how much school pride everyone has,” Nicole Mormando, a first-year advertising integrated communications major from Manalapan, New Jersey, said. “It really was an amazing experience and I can’t wait for next year.”