APRIL 17, 2019 • VOLUME 89 • ISSUE 24
The official student newspaper of Quinnipiac University since 1929
OPINION: THANK YOU, QUINNIPIAC P. 5
SPORTS: SB DOUBLEHEADER P. 10
ARTS & LIFE: WAKE THE GIANT P. 6 & 7
Austin Calvo to lead diverse new SGA Executive Board By STEPHEN MACLEOD Contributing Writer
Junior political science major Austin Calvo has been elected President of the Student Government Association for the 201920 academic year. Calvo, the current vice president of student experience, ran on a campaign of student advocacy and calls for both administration and SGA to be more transparent with the general student population. Calvo defeated current Vice President Luke Ahearn, a junior marketing major, by 564 votes. However, the election was anything but contentious. The two were both at the SGA suite as the results rolled in and were talking most of the night. As they waited for results, both described feeling relieved that the entire thing was over. Ahearn has been public about wanting to continue to work with Calvo and SGA. He will be on SGA as a senior class senator and has no plans to abandon the objectives and promises he ran on. Calvo ran his campaign on making SGA accessible and transparent. In contrast, Ahearn focused on enhancing student ex-
perience, with an emphasis on bringing back a university-recognized May Weekend festivities. In an effort to meet his promise, Calvo spent the campaign season going to dorms and talking to students. He carried a notebook with him and within its pages, he wrote down the complaints he heard. Calvo says he plans to give the book to President Olian at their first meeting for her to keep. “I think a lot of [past presidents] ran on campaigns on ‘this is what I want to do,’” Calvo said. “And like I said over the past week, this position is not about me. It’s not about students buying into my vision. It’s about me buying into students’ vision. So, I think that, that really resonated with students because a lot of students here don’t feel like their complaints and concerns are heard.” Joining Calvo will be a new executive board including Vice President Sophia Marshall, a sophomore ELPMA major; Vice President for Student Experience Esau Greene, a sophomore political science and sociology double major; Vice President for Marketing and Public Relations Jamien Jean-Baptiste, a sophomore behavioral See CALVO Page 2
PHOTO COURTESY OF SGA
Austin Calvo, SGA president-elect, ran on a campaign of student advocacy and calls for administration to be more transparent.
EVP, Provost Mark Thompson reflects on 21 years at QU and plans ahead Managing Editor
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Mark Thompson (left), who has been working at Quinnipiac in various capacities since 1998, will be starting as president of Wentworth Institute of Technology in June. of the opportunity. He was contacted by a recruiter who he’s known for a long time. “At first, when I heard about Wentworth Institute of Technology, I was a little bit dismissive of it because I didn’t really know a lot about it,” he said. “But the more I looked into it, the more it made sense in terms of where I think my skills would be a good match for what they need right now.” Personally and professionally, the decision
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“It’s been professionally and personally fulfilling in so many ways. I’m just thrilled I’ve had this opportunity.” In 1998, Quinnipiac College was sparse. The then ‘Braves’ weren’t Division I and the School of Business was in the process of accreditation. Mark Thompson was hired in time to help finish off that process and began his role–the first of many, as associate dean of the School of Business. A ‘place that was on the rise,’ Thompson was drawn to Quinnipiac College, a growing school which sprawled across today’s Mount Carmel campus. What Thompson didn’t know, is that he would be a major player in assisting with this growth. But this May, along with thousands of students, Thompson will ‘graduate’ from Quinnipiac and say goodbye to a place he’s called home for the last 21 years. He will assume his new role as President of Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston June 1 and according to the Boston Herald, Thompson will be the institution’s first president without an engineering background. “I have to tell you it was a very difficult decision to make,” Thompson said. “I wasn’t actively looking for another position and it wasn’t a matter of just wanting to be a president for the sake if being a president. It had to be a very unique situation.” In February 2019, Thompson became aware
seemed like a good fit. Him and his wife plan to spend this next chapter of their lives closer to loved ones. They will be moving to Massachusetts, joining their two daughters, Elizabeth (’16) and Kathryn (’18) and family. “It started to check all of the boxes in terms of what makes sense,” he said. “It was a hard decision for me to leave a place that just has a lot of people that I love very deeply. So, it wasn’t a decision I made lightly.”
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Reflecting back, Thompson said he has experienced tremendous professional success throughout his years, from the School of Business, to senior vice president for academic and student affairs and now in his sixth year as executive vice president and provost. “It wasn’t a plan to rise up the ladders, just more of whatever I was assigned to do, making sure I was doing as best I could at it and then the promotions and opportunities would follow,” Thompson said. Raised in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Thompson didn’t dream of dedicating his life to education, but instead, like most young men, found joy in his hobby–cars. “It’s funny, there was a period of my life where I was 15 or 16 and I didn’t anticipate going to college at all,” Thompson said. “In fact, my freshman year was at a state school in Massachusetts, I didn’t do very well and I didn’t go back after my freshman year.” Thompson didn’t attend Bentley until he was 24 years old. At Bentley, he received his undergraduate degree in economics and finance. Attending one–not to mention three colleges and spending a lifelong career in education, wasn’t something he had anticipated. “Once I got underway, there was no stopping me,” he said. “I needed a period of time to mature and get my act together, which is why I am so focused on students success because I See THOMPSON Page 3
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INDEX
By AMANDA PERELLI
Opinion: 4
Arts and Life: 6
Sports: 10