The Quinnipiac Chronicle, Volume 91, Issue 20

APRIL 21, 2021 • VOLUME 91 • ISSUE 20

The official student newspaper of Quinnipiac University since 1929

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ILLUSTRATION BY EMILY DISALVO

ILLUSTRATION BY EMMA KOGEL

NEWS P.3: COUNSELING DURING COVID-19 How Quinnipiac counseling services operate during the pandemic

p. 6-7 ILLUSTRATION BY CONNOR LAWLESS

OPINION P.5: ACADEMIC BURNOUT The lack of spring break contributes to students’ declining mental health

CONNOR LAWLESS/CHRONICLE (2019)

SPORTS P.11: PETE’S POND: TRANSITIONING Graduate transfers and incoming freshmen revamp the Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey roster

Entirely male SGA executive board emerges on a primarily female campus

By EMILY DISALVO Arts and Life Editor

Quinnipiac University’s undergraduate student body is over 60% female, but the group of five students leading the executive board of the Student Government Association (SGA) are all male. Of the 2,052 students who voted, 72.08% were women.

Additionally, all five of the executive board members are white. Quinnipiac is 75% white.

The majority of the students who voted, 81.92%, were white.

“One thing about student government is we can’t really control who gets elected,” said Caroline Mello, a junior entry-level masters physician assistant major, who ran and lost the campaign for student body president. “I honestly believe the women campaigned just as hard. It must have just been who the students wanted.”

Of the five executive board positions up for grabs — president, vice president, vice president for inclusion, diversity and engagement, vice president for finance and vice president for public relations — all had at least one woman who ran for the position and lost. Both vice president and vice president for public relations had two women who challenged the male candidate.

Even if some of the women had won, the

executive board would have been entirely white.

Mello lost to Nick Ciampanelli, current vice president for student experience and junior political science and economics major. Ciampanelli said that the turnout for the election was low — 2,052 students. This accounts for roughly 29% of the student body.

Bobbi Dynice, a junior occupational therapy major and unsuccessful candidate for vice president, said this campaign and the turnout exemplified the fact that many students are not aware of the SGA and its efforts.

“Students don’t know about SGA and don’t know what’s going on,” Dynice said. “Many of the students I talked to did not know any of the initiatives that were worked on in the past year. A lot of them didn’t know the structure of SGA ... The number of students who vote that don’t know anything about the candidates is slightly concerning.”

In the past, Ciampanelli has seen high female participation in surveys and other elections when compared to men. For example, a survey that went out about recreation garnered 336 responses, 259 of which were female, 73 males and four non-binary/non-gender conforming students.

Likewise, this election was dominated by female

voters but still led to male victories.

“There definitely is a level of sexism and patriarchy that comes into play here,” Ciampanelli said. “Something that is very common in social studies is that we often see men in positions of power rather than women.”

Research from the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern University confirmed Ciampanelli’s assessment.

“Women who want to be leaders, therefore, run into two problems,” the study read. “The first is the ‘double standard:’ A female candidate for a powerful role has to put her agentic side on display to reassure people that she can take charge, which is hardly ever an issue for men.

The second is the ‘double bind:’ When women in leadership roles do act tough, there is a backlash against them for being too tough.”

The United States House of Representatives is 27.4% women and the U.S. Senate is 24% women. There has never been a female president of the United States and Vice President Kamala Harris is the first female vice president.

Mello said that on the campaign trail she felt as though sexism did play a role in the loss, even if it was unintentional.

“There were times I was like ‘OK I can’t

campaign in the pink suit,’” Mello said. “I had to wear a more powerful color. I am also a 5’1’’ female. If I was standing behind a podium I don’t necessarily look as powerful as a 6’1’’ male. People want someone who has that confidence level that males traditionally get. I had to think about how I could counteract that stigma because it is present.”

Mello, and the other women who lost their races, affirmed that the men who won are all qualified for the position. Karenna Downs, who ran for vice president for public relations, said despite the loss, she knows the executive board will continue to listen to her ideas.

“I am always making sure my opinions are being heard,” said Downs, a sophomore nursing major. “I will not be afraid to vocalize my opinions to them when I don’t think they are going smoothly or there are some things we can advocate for for our underrepresented students.”

Both Downs and Mello will serve on the general board as senators for their respective classes.

The males on top are not reflective of the board as a whole. The general board is primarily female. Including the executive board, Ciampanelli said there are 10 men on SGA, plus See SGA Elections Page 2

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

2| News

QU shifts to ‘green alert level’

MEET THE EDITORS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Brendan O’Sullivan MANAGING EDITORS Toyloy Brown III Jessica Simms CREATIVE DIRECTOR Connor Lawless NEWS EDITOR Emily Flamme ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITORS Nicole McIsaac Chatwan Mongkol OPINION EDITOR Michael Sicoli ARTS & LIFE EDITOR Emily DiSalvo ASSOCIATE ARTS & LIFE EDITOR Ashley Pelletier SPORTS EDITOR Riley Millette ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR Peter Piekarski DESIGN EDITOR Michael Clement PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR Morgan Tencza PODCAST PRODUCER Xavier Cullen

By NICOLE MCISAAC and SYDNEY REYNOLDS

Quinnipiac University shifted back to a “green alert campus level” on April 13, in response to decreasing COVID-19 cases and as a result, loosened restrictions on campus.

“I think the attitude is we know a lot about COVID-19 now,” said Dr. David Hill, senior medical advisor of the COVID-19 task force.

“Even though COVID-19 is knocking at our doors in the community and in the state, we feel that if students haven’t gotten (the message) now then they’re never going to get it. And, it seems that they have gotten the message about avoiding COVID-19.”

Hill said that despite seeing the impact of already implemented rules and guidelines, students should continue to have a mindset of working in partnership with one another to contain the spread of COVID-19 on campus.

“Let’s really work with that, let’s work with the assumption that we’re all in this together and all really focusing on this, and we can get it done,” Hill said. “Despite COVID-19 around our community, we can do this.”

In alignment with Hill’s beliefs, some students on campus are recognizing the strengthened efforts to protect the university’s community and the benefits that have followed from doing so.

“I think overall Quinnipiac has done a good job with COVID safety in comparison to a lot

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of my friend’s colleges,” said Nicole Bruder, a third-year 3+1 media studies major. “Anything can be improved, but I think they’re definitely on the safer side than others. I’m happy with how they’ve handled this whole thing.”

With the university being more knowledgeable on how to operate amid COVID-19 as well as having more community members vaccinated, other students are optimistic that the shift in campus alert levels will not harm the current campus environment.

“The number of COVID-19 cases are at a decent amount, but I believe with the semester closing out soon and not as many people are hanging out inside, the cases will start to go down more,” said Rebecca Siegel, a junior psychology major.

“With more people getting vaccinated, hopefully the numbers will keep going down.”

However, on the other end of the spectrum, some students are more skeptical about the decision and do not feel that the Quinnipiac community is following all of the guidelines to combat COVID-19.

“The decision definitely makes me feel safer in the community, but I’m not sure if it was the smartest move,” said Frank Scott, a secondyear 3+1 film, television and media arts major.

“I do wish people still took the pandemic a little more seriously.”

Scott said he believes the rest of the semes-

ter’s safety is ensured with what little time there is left but is unsure that all students will continue to follow guidelines in order to do so.

“I get frustrated when I see students with their noses exposed or masks that clearly aren’t doing anyone any good, but that can’t really be helped,” Scott said. “For some reason, people think they’re immune now that vaccines exist.

That’s a lie.”

In correlation to community members’ fears of reopening aspects of the university’s community, Hill said he doesn’t believe graduation ceremonies will be put at risk due to COVID-19 cases.

“We will look, and we can pivot quickly,” Hill said. “I don’t think we’re going to get out of control because of the robust testing we are doing.”

Students are expected to work with the university by receiving their weekly COVID-19 test and follow university guidelines to protect the “Bobcat Bubble.” However, Hill said the students’ input never goes unnoticed.

“I hope the students have realized that we’re really working with you, together,” Hill said.

“We’re all going through this together and listening to each other. We certainly have listened to the student voice this semester about what’s important to you and tried to make our decisions based on that.”

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April 21, 2021

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Marshall: ‘Seeing that five white male executive board?

It really poses a unique challenge for them’ SGA ELECTION from cover three non-senator judicial members. There are 21 women plus the chief justice.

Jeremy Gustafson, who won the race for vice president for inclusion, diversity and engagement, a new position, said he has been having conversations with other executive board members about ways to include these voices.

“The motto I am going with for everyone no matter race, ethnicity or gender is to actively listen to everyone and actively reach out to people to set up meetings to talk about ways to make sure everyone feels included,” said Gustafson, a junior political science and economics major.

Next week, Gustafson will meet with multicultural student leaders on campus to get a handle on the issues facing the university when it comes to inclusivity. Many of these leaders are women. He said that he received endorsements from several female-led organizations such as Leading Women of Tomorrow and hopes he can put in the work to make their voices heard.

“I want to meet with administrators and see what is possible and holding them accountable for their actions and for their words they have stated in the past to make sure they are following through on stuff,” Gustafson said.

In the past two years, the SGA has prided itself on a diverse executive board. Sophia Mar-

shall, senior entry-level physician assistant major current study body president, said that while all five men are great fits for their positions, this election felt like a step backward.

“We have been making really great strides on our executive board,” said Marshall, a senior entry-level masters physician assistant major.

“The first year I was on executive board we had two gay individuals, two people of color and a straight white man. This past year we had four women and one male. Seeing that five white male executive board? It really poses a unique challenge for them.”

Austin Calvo, the student body president for the 2019-20 school year, led a diverse executive board in his time holding the position. He endorsed Mello for president this year.

“I worked more closely with Caroline during my time on SGA, and I just know she is a workhorse and she really went above and beyond with campaigning,” Calvo said.

Nonetheless, Calvo said Ciampanelli is a great candidate because of his prior experience as vice president for student experience. This position allowed him to interact with many student organizations and get a pulse on the needs of the community. He said he wished the executive board was more diverse but is hopeful it will succeed.

“It’s not the greatest look,” Calvo said. “It’s

about what they actually do with it that will determine how the year will go.”

Marshall said she knows the five white men already met and spoke about how they will be able to represent people with experiences they cannot relate to. She ultimately said that this executive board will be successful because they are qualified and because the student body chose them.

“The student body does have the final say on things,” Marshall said. “I do worry about the image that this has, but we can’t argue with the way the student body votes.”

INFOGRAPHIC BY AMANDA RIHA

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

April 21, 2021

News |3

J&J vaccine blood clot cases leave students unconcerned

The incidents occurred six to 13 days after vaccination in women between the ages of 18 and 48.

After the Centers for Disease Control and On April 23, the CDC’s Advisory CommitPrevention (CDC) announced a recommentee on Immunization Practices is set to meet to dation to pause the distribution of Johnson & discuss the future of the J&J vaccine.

Johnson’s (J&J) COVID-19 vaccine on April “If you’re in the first, let’s say, two weeks 13, Quinnipiac University students who received after receiving it, I would just be alert to some this vaccine said they do not regret getting it. of the symptoms — a headache, limb weakThe CDC’s announcement came after six ness, you can look up some of the other specifcases of a rare and severe type of blood clot were ics — but to be alert to those symptoms so that reported in people who received the J&J vaccine. you could get evaluated quickly and taken care of properly,” said Dr. David Hill, senior medical adviser of Quinnipiac’s COVID-19 task force. “And if you’re beyond those two weeks, I really wouldn’t worry.”

All Quinnipiac students became eligible to receive their COVID-19 vaccines on April 1. Due to J&J’s one-dose process as opposed to Pfizer and Moderna’s two doses, many students opted to receive the J&J vaccine to ensure they would be fully vaccinated by the end of the semester.

John Marsh, a junior finance major and New York native, chose to receive the J&J vaccine so he wouldn’t need to return to Connecticut after the semester ends to receive a second dose.

PHOTO FROM WIKIMEDIA COMMONS “I was indifferent at The Johnson & Johnson vaccine distribution has been paused first as to which vaccine I and is under review until April 23.

By MELINA KHAN Copy Editor

was receiving, however, I was very thrilled to hear that I would at least receive a shot before the summer,” Marsh said.

Marsh said he was startled by the news of the pause in distribution of the J&J vaccine at first, but after looking into it, he was not worried.

“There have been only six cases out of the total 6.8 million doses that have been (issued) throughout the globe,” Marsh said. “That is a very small percentage, and these blood clot cases may not even be linked to the vaccine. There may be other factors weighing in on why this is occurring, such as other medication that those individuals are dealing with, as well as what prior medical issues those individuals may have had.

The six people (affected) are all also women, so as a male, I am not as worried yet.”

Jennifer McCue, a first-year graphic and interactive design major, chose to receive the J&J vaccine in New Jersey, so she would not have to return to her home state a second time.

“I think if they do more research and the pause is lifted, the J&J vaccine would be more convenient for students so they don’t have to go back to get a second dose,” McCue said.

Due to experiencing side effects from the inoculation, McCue said she was initially worried when she heard about the cases of blood clots linked to the J&J vaccine. However, since it has now been more than three weeks since she has received it, McCue said she is no longer concerned.

“I don’t really regret (getting) it, I feel like the pause isn’t going to last for long because the cases are so rare,” McCue said.

Isabella Foley, a first-year film, television and media arts major, was scheduled to receive the J&J vaccine on April 14. After the news of

the cases of blood clots, Foley did not get it.

“I know it is a low number of cases for blood clots but it definitely didn’t provide encouragement to go through with the shot, so I decided not to,” Foley said. “I think that I would most likely not have experienced those risks, but since there are other, safer vaccines available I plan on doing one of those instead.”

However, Foley said if she had already received the vaccine before the pause was implemented, she thinks she would have been wary but not regretful.

“If I already had (received it) before the news came out, I don’t think I would necessarily regret it,” Foley said. “I just would be a little more worried for my health and watch how it affects my body.”

Hill said Quinnipiac originally planned to distribute the J&J vaccine at the on-campus clinic set for the end of the month. Due to the pause, the Pfizer vaccine will instead be available.

“I’m sure that people out there that have been vaccine hesitant who will say, ‘I told you so, we knew this would happen and these aren’t safe,’” Hill said. “So we just need to approach that and say, we do have a system that recognizes when adverse events like this happen and the public is informed, we’re not hiding anything and with the other vaccines, we have (distributed) tens of millions of doses, so we should feel very comfortable with that.”

Students like Marsh feel that there’s no use in being fearful of adverse effects since he has already taken the J&J vaccine.

“I’m not going to live in fear from something that already has been injected into me. No going back now,” Marsh said.

Counseling continues services despite primarily operating virtually To help students with that, philosophy professor Rebecca Bamford said she makes sure her students know of the mental health resources on campus, and that she is available for them.

“I encourage students to stay in touch with me about their individual academic and learning needs and work with my advisees on their individual advising needs,” Bamford said.

Management associate professor Julia Fullick-Jagiela also said her office door is always open for students who want to chat or vent, and she makes sure to learn what students want.

“I listen to the pulse of the class and pickup on cues — sometimes we just need a workday

during class time for students to catch up on assignments,” Fullick-Jagiela said. “I also emphasize the importance of asking for help when you need it — that asking for help is a strength, not a weakness.”

As final exams are approaching, Bamford said she is trying to help students manage their workloads.

“I am also looking into adjusting assignments where I reasonably can in these final weeks, while still supporting students’ academic development and learning opportunities, all within ongoing pandemic restrictions and requirements,” Bamford said.

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As students are heading toward their final weeks of the semester without a spring break, Quinnipiac University’s counseling center is ensuring that students can access mental health services despite some obstacles due to a hybrid setting.

Director of Counseling Services Ariela Reder said the counseling center has not been able to operate fully in person since COVID-19 hit in March 2020. It was fully online in spring and summer of 2020, but it has been hybrid since the fall 2020 semester.

While Reder said it was a steep learning curve for counselors during the transition, it posed more challenges for students seeking services.

“It took some time to get used to this different way of being where the counselor is because counseling is a very intimate process,” Reder said. “Some of the challenges have been actually for students, more than us, in finding private spaces to have their counseling appointments.”

Since students could not go in person, Reder said some held their sessions at different places like their cars, reserved study rooms or even when they were walking.

Even though many reports show that online instruction during the pandemic impacted people’s health and wellness, Reder said the number of students seeking counseling services in this academic year remains consistent with prior years.

However, there was a significant increase last summer when COVID-19 was new as the counseling center normally did not work with many students during the summer.

Although there have been students seeking counseling services as a result of mental health issues from the pandemic, the common reasons remain the same.

“The truth is, in that regard, most things haven’t changed meaning anxiety (and) depression are still our top two reasons why students are coming in,” Reder said.

While other colleges and universities such as Yale University, Columbia College Chicago and Salisbury University are facing problems with understaffing in their counseling centers, which led to difficulty for students to get an appointment, Reder said this is not the case for Quinnipiac.

Reder explained that last spring, the counseling center implemented a same-day-appointment policy, which gives students a good chance to talk to someone the same day unless they reach out near the end of the operating hours. Reder said it was rare for students to be on a waitlist because their schedules do not align with the staff’s.

Despite the university-wide budget cut last year due to COVID-19, the counseling center did not lose any staff, and the department’s cut did not impact its operation.

“We did have some concessions that we made,” Reder said. “But they were not studentfacing. It’s everything we could to make sure that whatever budget cut we had did not affect the services that we provide to students.”

Spring 2021 was the first semester without any spring break for students. With self-care days as a replacement, some students said it was not a good idea since the university placed those days during midterm and final weeks.

Others said it was not enough, and the lack of break could lead to academic burnout.

bad

Associate News Editor

failure

By CHATWAN MONGKOL

ILLUSTRATION BY EMMA KOGEL

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

4| O p i n i o n

April 21, 2021

Opinion SGA’s all-white male executive board is sad but common Lack of representation goes deeper than student government

BY MELINA KHAN Copy Editor

On April 13, Quinnipiac University’s student body elected an all-white male executive board to lead its student government for the 2021-22 school year.

Out of the 11 candidates for five Student Government Association (SGA) executive board positions, all were white and six were female.

Many students were disappointed by the lack of diversity in the students elected, including Olamide Gbotosho, the senior class’s first Black president.

“No way sga has an all male e-board,” Gbotosho tweeted.

“Wtf.” I wasn’t surprised.

Maybe it’s because I’m a minority student who comes from a place that’s predominantly white like Quinnipiac. Or maybe it’s because I don’t see why any students of color would want to represent this university when administrators consistently fail to adequately support us.

Quinnipiac is currently working on implementing its 10-point plan that is meant to advance racial justice. If administration has a genuine hope for our community to become more equitable, these grand, performative actions are not what the student body needs to see.

We need support on everyday matters of injustice and inequality, such as not having incident reports go ignored by residential assistants, orientation leaders, public safety, the administration and more.

According to Quinnipiac’s website, the class of 2024 is 74.6% white. Despite being a disgusting discrepancy, this also means there are barely any students of color to begin with, which has a domino effect onto campuswide leadership positions.

There were several reasons why I decided to attend Quinnipiac a year ago, but the biggest reason why I did not want to was because of a lack of diversity.

I knew, and still know, what I signed up for by coming to

SCREENSHOT FROM TWITTER

Senior class President Olamide Gbotosho expressed her displeasure of the newly-elected executive board.

Quinnipiac — a less diverse student population that leads to a lack in representation. If we want to address this issue, we need to get to the root of it — non-white students don’t want to come to Quinnipiac.

There are a lot of ways to begin trying to rectify this issue. First, we need to make Quinnipiac a place that isn’t scary for non-white students. Administration needs to do better to make sure we feel safe on campus through genuine concerted efforts.

What’s the point of developing a course on diversity, equity and inclusion if it’s not even mandated? Why release a statement standing in solidarity with Asian Americans without first standing with your own Asian students?

We need to give our students reasons to be proud of this university so they aren’t opposed from major roles like being a leader in student government. Maybe then, a multicultural or minority student will actually run for SGA’s newly formed vice president of inclusion, diversity and engagement position.

Diversity doesn’t end with race. It also includes gender.

The fact that roughly half of this year’s e-board candidates were female and yet none of them were elected has a patriarchal discomfort to it.

All of the female candidates were equally as qualified as their male counterparts, which begs the question: why didn’t more people vote for them?

This is a more complicated question to try to answer. At

a university with a female president and a primarily female student body, having the voices that don’t actually represent our students is the farthest thing from expected.

The reality is, though, most students don’t vote in SGA elections. Of the ones who do, many don’t research the candidates ahead of time and vote on a whim. This is often forgotten and echoes the importance of voting, even on a small scale like your university’s student government.

If you didn’t vote, I hope you reconsider when I tell you that only 29% of the student body did. You pay a ridiculous tuition price to go to Quinnipiac, so you deserve to have your opinions as a student considered — voting in SGA elections is how you ensure that happens.

Take the commuter parking fee, for example. The SGA was instrumental in fighting for what students wanted and in turn, convinced administration to postpone it a semester.

The other consideration in the lack of female representation is that there is a serious disparity between female and male confidence.

A 2019 study found that men are more likely to self-promote than women. Women are also more likely to face imposter syndrome — the experience of doubting your abilities and feeling like a fraud — according to a 2020 KPMG report.

I know how easy it is to fall into a trap of self-doubt because I’ve been through it myself. Luckily, I have women in my life who have called me out in those moments. But, a lot of women aren’t so lucky, and I am led to wonder how many women on our campus are unknowingly holding themselves back.

Regardless of feeling disappointed in the election’s outcome, I sincerely hope I’m proven wrong. I hope there can be a shift in our campus culture in the face of any injustice, whether it be on the basis of race or sex. I hope our elected students will rise to the occasion of representing our student body even though they don’t reflect everyone. I hope the rest of our student body is as hungry for change as I am.

PHOTOS CONTRIBUTED BY SGA

(From left to right): SGA President Nick Ciampanelli, Vice President Christopher Longchamp, Vice President for Inclusion, Diversity and Engagement Jeremy Gustafson, Vice President for Finance Cameron Davignon and Vice President for Public Relations Carmine Grippo.

Bobcat Buzz Shout out to the library

BY TOYLOY BROWN III Managing Editor

The COVID-19 pandemic has decreased how often students on campus are in a classroom — the fundamental place of pedagogy. It’s hard to feel like a scholar when you are handling the bulk of your academic responsibilities in non-traditional academic environments. For students, when half the battle of completing an assignment is going to a place that doesn’t have a TV or a bed to sleep in, the library can be the preeminent space of productivity.

Going to the library puts me in a frame of mind to focus on an assignment I may dread starting because of the assumption that it will be time consuming. If I were to take on these tasks entirely in my dorm room, I would certainly deliver subpar

work. The studious atmosphere the library provides isn’t surpassed by too many areas. The Arnold Bernhard Library has helped me in a pinch on numerous occasions.

It would be a poor omission if I failed to mention that the library doesn’t have to be a solitary place for intense work.

It can be used as a place to leisurely read, hang out with friends in a study room or get your tech issues resolved in the technology center.

The library isn’t for everyone. Some want some ruckus in the background, which is fine. But for those who need some quiet, let’s shout out the library for being there when we need to get in the zone to write a paper or want to chill on the cushioned chairs.

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

April 21, 2021

Opinion|5

Opinion Self-care days are not enough for our mental health

BY JESSICA SIMMS and NICOLE MCISAAC

There are only two more weeks left in this semester, but these next two weeks will feel like two months after not having a spring break.

This semester has been unlike any other. Students, faculty and staff have been back on campus since the end of January with no time off. Yes, there have been “self-care days,” but are they really doing anything to benefit our well-being? No, not at all.

For many schools, spring breaks were canceled to limit student travel during the pandemic. Like Quinnipiac University, Yale University also canceled spring break and implemented days off throughout the semester to make up for it, according to Vox. However, other institutions such as Michigan University, reduced their spring break to only two days. From an administrative standpoint, this makes sense to help curb the spread of COVID-19, but from a student’s perspective, this has created serious semester burnout.

Maybe you haven’t experienced this and are asking yourself just what exactly burnout is or what it looks like for a student. And while it may look different for everyone, it is quite easy and understandable to recognize individuals experiencing these emotions.

It has been over a year since schools transitioned to online learning. For many students, faculty and staff, a major challenge has been maintaining their mental health due to Zoom fatigue and more necessary screen time use.

According to a University of Michigan survey, 83% of students said their mental health negatively impacts their academic performance. Half of the surveyed students also said they struggle with depression, anxiety, loneliness or all of the above.

With most activities taking a virtual stance, it is necessary to note that mental health services are harder to access, especially since the majority of therapy appointments are lacking an in-person connection.

On a similar note, that same academic burnout can lead to other crippling symptoms and side effects that sometimes go overlooked. According to an online article from the University of People, burnout symptoms include extreme exhaustion despite the hours of sleep one gets, increased body pain or tension, loss in creativity or even an increase in the risk to become ill from high levels of stress and exhaustion.

Spring break usually helps with eliminating the amount of stress students and faculty members feel during the semester, allowing them to take a week off to let off some steam and step away from the busy semester. While a random day off during

ILLUSTRATION BY CONNOR LAWLESS

the week is nice, nothing compares to the week-long break. As college students, it is hard to not use our self-care days to just catch up on work, and that seems to be encouraged as two of our self-care days were scheduled to be during midterm and finals week.

I (Jessica Simms) am a graduating senior. For most seniors, the end of their spring semester is exciting, and a time where they come together to enjoy the many lasts of their undergraduate experience. But this year, these last few weeks feel unbearable. I am exhausted and feel as if the work keeps piling up even after I finish a major assignment. Being able to and wanting to spend a few hours with a friend is hard when I feel this way.

Whenever I step away to enjoy a few moments without staring at a textbook or computer screen, I feel like I should be in my room completing assignments. My final undergraduate semester should not have gone this way. I should’ve been able to have some days off to relax so I could feel energized these last few weeks. Selfcare days are not enough.

The worries and fears, however, do not fall short when it comes to other students who are not tackling the final days of their senior year.

Personally speaking, I (Nicole McIsaac) am extremely involved in both my rigorous academic courses as well as various student organizations on campus — leaving me little to

no time to relax and recharge my wants and needs. There have been countless times in the final stretch of this demanding semester that I have felt as if I had no more steam in my engine.

Where did that leave me? Sitting in front of my laptop visibly upset and crying while assignments piled up and the countless responsibilities on my to-do list grew exponentially. And while I am very much excited for the opportunities presented to me this upcoming summer, diving into my first professional internship while tackling a full-time job isn’t exactly the ideal situation after putting myself through the semester I went through this spring.

Like many other students, I am going to keep pushing myself, but it is crucial to take the time to recognize that these self-care days are deficient to the needs of college students right now.

With the final days in plain view, we understand the frustrations and burnt out feelings you might be experiencing right now. Whether you are preparing to enter the workforce or just the summer season, it is important that you try to take five minutes for yourself when needed — especially since we aren’t given the proper time to care for ourselves this semester.

Quinnipiac administration, we hope you are listening. Let this semester’s structure and the demanding needs of students who participated in it be a lesson to prioritize students’ mental health instead of leaving it on the back-burner.

Astrology is a baseless belief that people need to drop

BY BRENDAN O’SULLIVAN Editor-in-Chief

I’ve never been a fan of astrology. Ever since being introduced to it as a kid, I thought it was stupid. But to be fair, I didn’t fully understand it.

Almost a decade later, I will soon graduate college, and I can confidently say that I understand astrology.

And it’s still stupid.

For those who don’t know, each person has a zodiac sign based on when they were born during the year. As the Earth rotates, the sun will be located in a different constellation — this designates what is considered a sign. For example, those born between Jan. 20 to Feb. 18 are an Aquarius.

That’s me, if you cared. I don’t.

Anyway, those born in that time frame are generally characterized as progressive, humanitarian, shy, intellectual, independent, energetic, aloof and uncompromising. They are also able to easily solve problems, love to help others, are good listeners, dislike broken promises and hate being lonely.

On the surface, it may seem interesting. One could distinguish another’s features purely based on when they were born. It shows that the sun and stars have incredible influence over the world.

But try to prove it. Oh, right, you can’t because it’s pseudoscience.

The characteristics for each sign are widely generalized, grouping people who were born in a specific time frame. By the

ILLUSTRATION BY CONNOR LAWLESS

metric that astrology has in place, everyone born between Jan. 20 to Feb. 18 would have to have the same attributes.

I won’t act like I know everyone that was born as an Aquarius, but I can make a safe assumption that not every person has all of those traits. I don’t consider myself to be aloof or uncompromising nor am I energetic. But sure, I am shy and don’t like broken promises, and I would hope that others think I’m intellectual. However, these are common characteristics.

There are probably millions of shy intellectuals that don’t like when someone breaks promises, and a good number of them are probably not an Aquarius. Some may be a Leo or a Cancer or maybe a Capricorn — who knows?

It’s one thing to associate yourself with a constellation because you were born during it, but it’s a whole other issue if you generalize people’s personalities because they were born at a specific time.

Distributing personality traits based on the alignment of stars is not only foolish, but it takes away from the idea that each person is unique. By astrology’s methods, a person born at the same time as another person in the same location would have identical characteristics. For reference, twins aren’t identical — even if they look the same.

It doesn’t stop there, though. Because each sign is given a set of traits, people complemplate which zodiac signs are most compatible with another. As an Aquarius, I’m apparently best suited to date a Gemini or a Leo, and I should avoid a Taurus. This is a baseless matchmaker.

A zodiac sign doesn’t decide your characteristics, thus proving the dating “advice” to be preposterous. What does, though, is DNA. It’s important to remember that you’re unique because of your parents. The genes they gave you are the reasons why you have specific personality traits. The stars have nothing to do with that.

I know astrology disciples will read this and probably say, “This is something an Aquarius would write.” I’m sure they’ll also disagree with just about everything I wrote. Well, you’re entitled to believe in your wrong opinion.

6|Racism at QU

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

April 21, 2021

Arts & Life

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

ILLUSTRATION BY EMILY DISALVO

By TOYLOY BROWN III and CHRISTIAAN MCCRAY

Brief note: The writers of this article are two Black male students. They interviewed 11 undergraduate students of color and a Black administrator. The intent of the story was to examine the racial experiences of a variety of students. The story is not meant to provide a complete understanding of the racial climate of Quinnipiac University.

Being a minority on a primarily white college campus can be a difficult experience.

Racism is a constant fear and unfortunately, there are many unheard stories of these encounters that occur at Quinnipiac.

“He yelled at me to go back to my own country if I don’t like it (here),” said Ashley Cotto, a senior journalism major. “I’m Puerto Rican.”

Cotto had this confrontation with a white student who owned a flag supporting former President Donald Trump’s campaign in 2016 and lived on the same floor as her during her freshman year. This is one of many racist incidents students at Quinnipiac have experienced.

Quinnipiac is a Predominately White Institution (PWI). For reference, the racial makeup of the first-year students in the class of 2024 is 75% white and 21% underrepresented minority, according to the university’s website. The reality of being among a racial minority is an understanding many students of color have

before applying and choosing to attend Quinnipiac.

At a university that has approximately 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students from many different backgrounds, it is unsurprising that a racially biased act may happen to the greatly outnumbered students of color. The most ubiquitous kind of act are microaggressions, which the Harvard Business Review defines as “verbal, behavioral, and environmental indignities that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults to the target person or group.”

For students of color, harsh acts of racism do happen, but not as frequently as minor moments of discomfort experienced on campus. For example, there are times when these students are acutely aware of how distinct their presence is in a given space among mostly white peers.

Marley Marston, a junior psychology major who is Jamaican and Scottish, said she remembered a time feeling like she was being looked at in a different way while at her job in the fitness center.

“I had to confront a few white students about what they were doing wrong, and I don’t know what it was but I had the most gut feeling that I was being looked at in a different way,” Marston said. “I don’t know if that’s just me or if other people get that too.”

The suspicion that these situations of discomfort could be imagined is a fear that Genesis Iscoa, a sophomore political

science major and international student from Honduras, said is shared by many non-white students at Quinnipiac.

“I think for students of color who are from different backgrounds, there’s always this idea of ‘Am I overreacting, am I imagining it?’’’ Iscoa said. “I feel like that has happened a lot to me.”

Olamide Gbotosho, a senior management major and the class of 2021 Student Government Association (SGA) president, said that her first experience with racism at the university happened during her vice presidential campaign her freshman year.

“I went to a table of guys, and I was telling them about my campaign, what I was running for, things like that, and they told me they wouldn’t vote for me because they don’t vote for Black people,” Gbotosho said.

She said a similar experience happened a second time. Due to these occurrences, Gbotosho makes sure her hair is straightened when she is campaigning.

“Everytime I campaign, I don’t know if anyone has noticed that, I always have my hair straightened, … ever since that happened my freshman year, Gbotosho said. (It's) just to appeal to people who wouldn’t necessarily vote for me because of my skin color, so I don’t have braids in whenever I campaign."

Esau Greene, a senior political science and sociology double major and former SGA vice president for student experience, said as a Black student, other students see being Black as a

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

April 21, 2021

PHOTO FROM ASHLEY COTTO

A white student at Quinnipiac told Ashley Cotto to go back to her own country.

“monolithic experience” that is based in struggle. He said for those who are Black in positions of leadership, like SGA, it is assumed that they will only use their authority for Black issues.

“I would never forget this when I was at my debates for student government for e-board,” Greene said. “And the first question they asked me was like, ‘Do I think I’m able to advocate properly for people who don’t look like me’ and not just basically for Black kids … People think you’re (incapable) of doing things outside of being Black.”

Situations of racism are not divorced from the classroom either. Greene said that after he spoke up in classes, students would tell him that they did not expect him to be intelligent.

“If I’m too smart that means I can’t be Black anymore, like Black-ness has to somehow equate to being uneducated or dumb,” Greene said.

Darian Duah, a senior in the 4+1 dual degree program majoring in political science and finance and the president of the African and Caribbean Student Union, said he remembered a white male student during a classroom discussion saying he doesn’t understand why Black people are mad about something that happened centuries ago, referencing slavery.

“This shows how little Quinnipiac educates its students on Black and brown voices, and I’m not going to lie, truthfully after that I did not sleep for three days,” Duah said. “I was pissed.”

Duah said he was also cognizant that if he had an opportunity to honestly respond to the student’s ignorance, the student would likely have a reaction seeing how Duah fits the stereotype of the angry Black male.

Vice President for Equity and Inclusion and associate professor of sociology Don Sawyer gave his perspective as a Black administrator who often advocates for underrepresented students.

When asked if there are ways Quinnipiac can help stop these kinds of situations from happening, Sawyer said that Quinnipiac cannot stop biased acts because these are societal problems and that the school has to affirm its values.

“We as an institution, and others may feel differently, can’t prevent racism,” Sawyer said. “We have not solved racism in the larger society … Quinnipiac and any institution of higher learning is a smaller part of larger society. We don’t have a force field around us that protects us from these things … But what we have to do is to make sure that we state what we value, we have to state what we accept here at this institution and what’s not accepted here and move accordingly.”

Sawyer said the new diversity, equity and inclusion training that is optional for students this semester and potentially mandatory for upcoming semesters is not going to result in solving the bias issues at Quinnipiac.

“First and foremost, I don’t look at trainings as vaccinations,” Sawyer said. “I look at these trainings (as) a small piece of the work that needs to be done to transform campus climate and culture.”

In conjunction with the training, Sawyer said sessions that lead to “intentional interactions across difference” can be implemented both inside and out of classrooms to help educate the campus community.

Even though extreme racist experiences can be rare, they do happen. Junior psychology and criminal justice major Leilani Girard-Isaac said that her first experience with racism was during her freshman year. It involved a couple of white male students after leaving the library at night.

“I was walking back to my dorm and a couple of guys on the other side of the street … They were like catcalling me and when I didn’t respond, they resorted to calling me the N-word,” Girard-Isaac said. “At the time, it was the first racist experience I ever had directly. So I was kind of just in shock. I didn’t know how to handle it, I didn’t know what to do. I wasn’t sure what to do because you hear about those experiences all the time until it actually happens to you then you’re kind of just sitting there like,

PHOTO FROM OLAMIDE GBOTOSHO

Olamide Gbotosho faced racism during her run for class vice president her freshman year.

PHOTO FROM NAOMI GORERO

Quinnipiac's environment has not helped settle Naomi Gorero's paranoia as an Asian student who has been affected by the recent rise in Asian hate crimes in the U.S.

‘Well I can’t retaliate, but I can’t say nothing, like what do I do?’”

This experience significantly impacted Girard-Isaac’s state of mind.

“It took me a while to mentally recover from it and so I had a moment where I was genuinely thinking of transferring,” Girard-Isaac said. “Even after that, I dealt with a lot of moments (questioning), ‘Are they microaggressions … am I just reading into it too much?’’’

Another direct racist encounter happened to a female sophomore biomedical studies major who requested to remain anonymous. The student, who is half white and Puerto Rican, had a roommate that made racist remarks toward her and others.

The sophomore said that her freshman-year roommate said things such as the majority of people who come to Quinnipiac try to avoid Black people. The roommate called Black and Latino students the N-word and said that they look like monkeys.

“She thought that anybody besides white people was dirty and gross to her, that's how she described it to me,” the anonymous student said. “She didn't say anything like that until she found out that I was half Puerto Rican, that's when she started calling me the N-word.”

An overwhelming majority of students interviewed did not report their incidents, regardless of the severity. The reasons for not reporting varied.

Some people who had direct racist experiences didn’t report because they were still in shock and needed time to recover.

Others didn’t know the people that offended them or didn’t have any evidence.

When asked if they would report their incident if they hypothetically were able to prove what happened to them was true, an overwhelming majority strongly believed that the school would do nothing to the accused student or the student would receive a minor punishment.

However, Sawyer explained how the university's privacy laws can limit transparency when it comes to the punishments students receive for racially-biased acts.

“We have privacy laws. We can’t tell people what sanctions were (instituted) for any specific case” Sawyer said. “We do respond, we just don't post what happened to the student, and

Racism at QU|7

PHOTO FROM DARIAN DUAH

Darian Duah said he dealt with peers who were ignorant about race issues in some of his classes at Quinnipiac.

I think that's the part where there's some tension because if you don't see anything posted and you don't know what happened, then there's an assumption that nothing was done.”

People who have been on campus for at least one full year were divided on if the school has improved in terms of its racial climate. Some said they have seen improvements or acknowledged the school’s efforts in becoming inclusive, while others said that the university’s statements are hollow. Sawyer responded and said that he has seen changes since he came to Quinnipiac.

“One of the things with students, specifically if you look at the undergraduate student population, you have a very short time here,” Sawyer said. “This is my ninth year. I came here in 2012 and without any sense of doubt or hindrance, I can say that this is not the same institution that I came into … hands down I put money on it.”

Sawyer listed changes like the shifting of the administration, the student of color leadership retreat, the LGBTQ leadership retreat, different partnerships with community colleges and organizations in place to help diversify the student population and initiatives to aid in diversifying the faculty and staff along with individual hires of people of color in high ranking positions.

Sawyer said that he does think there is an area Quinnipiac has fallen short in when it comes to these issues.

“We haven’t done the best job at communicating to the general community what’s happening,” Sawyer said. “Some of the things I listed you probably didn’t know happened … If there's a place that I would say that we failed, part of it is on notifying the community on the initiatives that have been happening.”

Some students of color did not have a clear-cut racially insensitive experience. First-year sociology major Naomi Gorero has not had a racist experience directly happen to her on campus, but she said she feels a large amount of apprehension as an Asian student due to the rising number of hate crimes against Asian people in the United States.

“If I see one person looking at me, I’m just like, ‘Why are they looking at me’ or if they are going to do something,” Gorero said. “Because throughout the whole year, I’ve been very scared, and I’ve gotten to the point where I had to contemplate buying (things for) defense because I do not feel safe even though Quinnipiac says that they’re all inclusive and I have a support group in Quinnipiac. It still doesn’t negate the fact that I do not feel safe … I became very paranoid.”

Another overwhelming sentiment from the students interviewed was the desire for a more racially diverse faculty.

Sawyer said he “absolutely” agrees with the desire for more diversity among professors.

The percentage of diverse hires from January 2020 to January 2021 was 34.1% and from January 2021 to March was 58.8%, Sawyer said.

Sawyer stressed the importance of not only the data but also the policies in place.

When discussing how some upperclassmen interviewed do not believe the school has improved its racial climate, Sawyer said that he can’t invalidate their opinions, but he would ask questions to understand better. He also said that as a Black faculty member, he has experienced microaggressions as well.

“I do not blame the institution for the behavior of the people who violated my humanity,” Sawyer said. “The institution cannot control the choices the individuals made. In the instances where I have experienced these personal slights, I understood them in the larger context of white supremacy and racial oppression. I do, however, feel we need to have policies in place to proactively address these issues in our community.”

Racial encounters can be difficult to speak about due to the effect on the victim however, these events should not be unheard. If you have had any racial or discriminatory experiences while on campus, fill out the Bias Incident Reporting Form under the additional resources section in the diversity and inclusion page on Quinnipiac's website.

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

8|Arts and Life

April 21, 2021

Celebrate Earth Day for a whole week at Quinnipiac

By EMILY DISALVO Arts & Life Editor

For the first time, the Students for Environmental Action (SEA) organization at Quinnipiac University will be celebrating Earth Day, April 22, with an entire week of activities.

In a year when being outside is the safest way to operate, the SEA will be holding Earth Week events on campus and on the computer so no matter where you are, you can participate.

“Earth Week is going to be an event you have never seen before at Quinnipiac,” said Sofia Ciacciarella, a senior biology major and secretary of SEA. “There are going to be events every single day of the week. We have thousands of dollars budgeted into these events and buying prizes so lots of students will come.”

The planning for the event started back in September. Last spring, Earth Day festivities moved online, so SEA members are hoping this year’s celebration will be unforgettable.

“It’s important to realize the Earth that supports us,” said Victoria Ward, a senior English major and vice president of the SEA. “It is important to know our impact on it and what it does for us, what we do for it in return. It is important to know about environmental justice. While those issues may seem minor now, they are coming up a lot quicker than people seem to realize.”

The SEA created an Earth Week Committee with four subsections: community outreach, campus outreach, event planning and action and activism. The group has been meeting weekly since the start of the spring semester to divide tasks.

“The reason the week will be successful is because we are working as a collective,” said Anna Ciacciarella, president of the SEA and a senior English and environmental studies double major. “We are recognizing each other's strengths and working to those strengths. We really just work together as a group and try to incorporate everyone’s own visions.”

In past years, Earth Day has been a celebration of sustainable living. This year, Anna Ciacciarella said the events will be celebratory, while also promoting activism and inclusivity.

“The environmental movement has a lot of controversy with inclusion and diversity, and we have to recognize that there are environmental issues that are much greater and affect people of color and indigenous people at higher proportions,” Anna Ciacciarella said. “It’s been celebratory in the past. That’s great.

We should be celebrating the small successes and little changes we

make, but we have to look at the whole system.”

The event has over 20 sponsors from organizations spanning from Greek Life to the Student Government Association and the Black Student Union.

On Sunday April 18, the SEA invited students to participate in a nature photo contest with the chance to win a $100 Cheshire Nursery gift card. Also on April 18, students helped clean up Sleeping Giant State Park.

“It’s a nice way to get outside, clean up the local park and enjoy the weather,” Ward said.

On Monday, Dr. Morgan Pinkerton discussed farm to table sustainability initiatives, and the SEA gave away a prize basket with the Quinnipiac Political Science Association. In the afternoon, residential assistants on York Hill provided tips for sustainable living in college.

In the evening on Monday, the SEA held a Zoom bingo for Earth Week, and this is one of the events that the SEA executive board said it was most excited about.

“The prizes are bigger than normal,” Ward said. “We have Airpods, a (Nintendo) Switch, gift cards, stuff like that.”

The main event on Tuesday was a speaker series lasting from 12 to 4:30 p.m. which will feature faculty, staff, students and outside guests to talk about agriculture, composting and more.

Earth Week trivia will take place on Wednesday evening, and each of the five rounds will have a different theme related to environmental justice. One will be on cases of environmental injustice around the country and another will recognize BIPOC leaders in the environmental movement.

“In having an event like trivia, we are making sure we are able to give away really great prizes but more importantly centralizing conversations that aren’t happening on campus and making sure they are happening,” Anna Ciacciarella said.

The signature event will be on Thursday April 22, Earth Day. The Earth Day fair will take place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the Quad.

“If you come to the Earth Day fair, you get entered into a raffle to win an iPad,” said Isabella Vega, a senior biology major and public relations and marketing officer for the SEA. “I am just really excited to see everyone go because it will be pretty big this year.”

This year’s Earth Day fair will feature tabling from student

organizations. For example, the Community Action Project (CAP) will have a station where attendees can make craft kits for local elementary school kids and hygiene kits for a local women’s shelter.

The American Society of Civil Engineers will host a cornhole tournament with sets its members built themselves. NaturallyMe, an organization focused on promoting natural hair, will have a table featuring sustainable self-care products.

That night at 9:15 p.m., there will be an open mic event for students to share any work that follows the theme of the environment. The event will be on Zoom, so students who are remote and missed the fair on the Quad can still participate.

The week-long event winds down on Friday and Saturday with more speakers, a campus action day and the opportunity to help plant some blueberry bushes in the new rain garden at the Albert Schweitzer Institute.

“We are going to be planting the plants on the berm that was just created,” Ward said. “We created a rain garden and a berm at the Big Event.”

The berm will prevent extra water from the rain from flowing into the nearby Mill River.

Anna Ciacciarella said that in the past, it has been hard to have conversations about sustainability at Quinnipiac. She hopes this week will start to change all of that.

“The university released a sustainability plan and launched a sustainability section of the qu.edu website and while we did that, I am not really seeing a lot of change on the ground,” Ciaccerella said. “I am really excited our organization is doing this event. I am really happy SEA exists because we are a part of a lot of the changes. It’s not just a policy that needs to change or the campus culture, but the system of how the university functions as an institution.”

For those passionate about the environment, Earth Week is a chance to share that excitement with the whole campus community.

“Since high school I have cared about the environment and when I first learned about the club I knew I had to join,” Vega said. “I feel like everyone should care about the Earth because we are all on the planet so we might as well take care of it.

You get a sense of pride to do the right thing to help save the environment. I love teaching people about it because then they can do the right thing, too.”

INFOGRAPHIC BY MICHAEL CLEMENT

Not on campus?

How to celebrate Earth Day from the comfort of your couch

By DAVID MATOS Staff Writer

Though many of us are still homebound, there are still several ways we can partake in Earth Day safely from home.

Thursday, April 22, is Earth Day’s 50th anniversary. The COVID-19 pandemic has created a new way of life where many of our usual in-person experiences have to be enjoyed virtually, and unfortunately this monumental occasion is no exception.

Here are three ways you can celebrate the Earth from home.

Attend virtual events A multitude of virtual Earth Day events are planned for this week. The Environmental Film Festival is hosting a free movie marathon on its website. The films will only be available from Thursday, April 22, through Sunday, April 25.

The Hip Hop Caucus and its partners will be hosting a virtual event in the evening of April 20. The event will feature a number of talking points relating to environmental justice and the climate

crisis. Earthday.org is also hosting a live digital global affair on Earth Day beginning at noon.

The discussion will cover several topics like climate and environmental literacy, reforestation and the emergence of environmentally-friendly technologies to name a few.

Check out the virtual events that the Students for Environmental Action club at Quinnipiac University are hosting on its Instagram @qu_sea_.

Repurpose old household items If you’re feeling crafty, make an art project out of the waste you find around your home. You can use an old egg carton to make a DIY pot for your plants. You can turn a tissue box into a container to store your reusable straws. The options are endless on what you can do with seemingly useless waste. Another fun Earthconscious activity you can do is to upcycle your old clothing. With just the help of a needle and thread, you can transform that old pair of jeans into a fashionable tote bag.

Challenge yourself to be more environmentally conscious Partake in the Earth Day Ecochallenge. The program has you select an environmental action of your choice from a list of Earthrelated categories. Once you start the challenge you must commit to completing it within a 30-day period. Some of the categories you can choose from are wildlife, oceans, fresh water, people, food, forests and climate. You can join as a team or individually.

When you complete your goal you not only earn points, but you earn the experience of recreating a better Earth.

Earth Day is often an overlooked holiday. If we want to build a more substantial future for our planet, we must all do our part.

Whether you’re on campus or stuck at home, everyone must devote some of their time to learn new eco-friendly habits. It should be everyone’s mission to help rebuild our planet.

April 21, 2021

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

Arts and Life|9

Opening your heart is more important than opening your wallet

By NEHA SEENARINE Staff Writerr

Money is a stressor for most Americans. It is a strain on people’s romantic lives.

It seems that you cannot survive in this country without money. You have to pay bills, eat and use transportation. Once I step out of my front door, I feel like I have already spent $50.

My golden college years are overshadowed by loans piling up.

I cannot imagine supporting someone else, such as a romantic partner, when I cannot even afford five college textbooks.

When searching for a love interest, the goal is to find someone with a good heart, not with a big bank account. There is a mentality that money is not everything. However, there is a tendency to be materialistic when it comes to dating.

There is a societal expectation of going on dates and showering our partners with gifts. It can be hard to take your partner out for dinner when there are bills due the next day. It seems that we can only show appreciation to our significant other by spending money.

Love does not come with a price. A gift can represent how much a person pays attention to you. However, there needs to be value behind it. If a couple breaks up, the emotion goes away, and the gift becomes another object. Appreciation is so much more than purchasing an expensive necklace for your partner. There are alternatives to show your appreciation such as making a playlist of your favorite songs or making pasta from scratch together.

Financial status can alter the way we look at people. A person without an income can be perceived as someone who does not have their life together. There is a difference between being unemployed and not having ambitions. The job market is tough for college students when opportunities require experience they might not have. Just because someone did not get their big break in the industry does not mean they are not worth appreciation.

Many people looking to start dating take advantage of those who seem more financially stable. A potential partner can have heart eyes for their wallet and not their heart — more money, more gifts. However, when the financial factor is subtracted from the relationship, there is nothing left.

Societal standards have left it to men to be responsible to pay the bills. There is pressure for them to afford dinner dates and purchase gifts. It is nice when a man picks up the bill, but I understand that they do not have to. No one should feel obligated to spread themselves thin for another person.

A person should not be depending on another to satisfy them.

It is important to work for the things you want in life. At the end of the day, you are the only person you have. People can wake up one day and walk away. The artist, Cher, was told by her mother to settle down and marry a rich man. She replied, “Mom, I am a rich man.” We should be the person we want in a significant other. That way, we will not need one because we have ourselves.

ILLUSTRATION BY EMILY DISALVO

When looking for partners many people focus on material qualities like wealth rather than who they are as a person.

The Quinnipiac’s legacy

Students learn about the history of the land they occupy

By ASHLEY PELLETIER Associate Arts & Life Editor

On April 12, Quinnipiac University’s Indigenous Student Union (ISU) and Chi Omega sorority held an event to teach students about the history of the Quinnipiac tribe, the university’s namesake.

The Quinnipiac tribe inhabited around 300 square miles of land that make up several towns in southern Connecticut including Hamden, New Haven, West Haven, East Haven, North Haven, Prospect, Cheshire, Wallingford, Meredith and Branford.

In Quiripi, the language spoken by the tribe and several others in Connecticut, Quinnipiac means “long water land” for the nearby river that sustained them. When the Dutch, and later the English, made contact with the tribe, they deemed the land to be extremely desirable.

The English flocked to Connecticut to get access to Quinnipiac land. The Quinnipiac people made a treaty with the English that allowed them a 1,200-acre reservation, the first of its kind.

However, the English slowly forced Quinnipiac to sell their land, with the last 30 acres being sold in 1773. A majority of the remaining Quinnipiac moved to Farmington, where they slowly merged with the Tunxis tribe.

Today, the Quinnipiac tribe is all-but gone. It is not a federally recognized tribe, and all of its descendents have assimilated into surrounding tribes. However, there are people who are working to ensure that the Quinnipiac are not forgotten, especially at Quinnipiac University.

“It’s really important to understand where the name Quinnipiac comes from and the history of the land that we’re on,” said Kiara Tantaquidgeon, president of the ISU and a junior health science studies major. “It’s important to look around and recognize and appreciate and acknowledge the rich history and culture of the people that were once here.

The ISU is a part of the Indigeneity Initiative that is working to ensure the university is better at acknowledging and educating about Indigenous people, specifically the Quinnipiac. The Indigeneity Initiative is a group of faculty and staff who are working on instilling the history of the Quinnipiac at the university.

Tantaquidgeon decided to create the group after hearing about the Indigeneity Initiative, believing that Indigenous students should also be involved in these conversations.

“I thought that it’d be better to have a student-run organization because the faculty are kind of the spotlight of the Indigeneity

EMILY DISALVO/CHRONICLE

Sleeping Giant, an important spiritual landmark for the Quinnipiac tribe, overlooks the Quad of Quinnipiac University's Mount Carmel campus.

Initiative,” Tantaquidgeon said. “So we decided to create our own organization as students to be able to advocate for our own initiatives and push through our own goals.”

Since the inception of the Indigeneity Initiative, Quinnipiac University has committed to getting a land acknowledgement stating that the land once belonged to the Quinnipiac tribe.

The group is also pushing for the creation of a minor in Indigenous studies and a reevaluation of the “Legend of the Bobcat,” a fictitious story that explains the origin of the school’s mascot which is read at all orientation sessions.

Sleeping Giant State Park was of particular importance to the Quinnipiac. The hills were believed to be the resting place of Hobbomock, an evil spirit who changed the course

of the Connecticut River.

Quinnipiac University appropriated this story when it changed its mascot to the Bobcats in 2001. Prior to that, Quinnipiac University’s mascot was the Braves. It was among the first schools to change their mascots when Indigenous people began speaking out about how inappropriate the names were.

However, the work to make things right with Connecticut’s Indigenous people is not done.

“Quinnipiac (University is) taking the (Quinnipiac’s) spiritual significance out of Sleeping Giant or altering the significance to match the “Legend of the Bobcat” that we have now does contribute to erasure,” Tantaquidgeon said. “It is erasing an original, critical piece of the Quinnipiac culture.”

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

10|Sports

April 21, 2021

‘If you heard it here, it’s All Facts’

Former Quinnipiac basketball players Aaron and Andrew Robinson are covering sports their own way

By JOHNNY URICCHIO Staff Writer

When it comes to preparing for your future career, experience can be the best teacher.

Quinnipiac University prepared Aaron and Andrew Robinson, who graduated in 2019, before they went to Coppin State University. They gained valuable experience from being in an environment where you could make mistakes on camera and get constructive criticism from experienced journalists.

“I think me and Drew have been blessed to be able to kind of do everything in life together,” Aaron Robinson said. “We got to grow up playing on the same AAU team and going to all the same schools. We didn’t know if we were going to go to college together. It was always a goal of ours, but then we went to Quinnipiac together. Then when we left Quinnipiac, we ended up going to the same school for our fifth year and then we started this together. So I think it’s just a blessing when you can do anything in your life with your twin brother.”

The Robinson twins played basketball at Quinnipiac University for four years. They were involved with student media due to their passion for writing and covering sports. But, after transferring to Coppin State in Maryland, the brothers did not have that luxury.

“It was a great situation and school, but they didn’t have a communications program, so we wanted to figure out a way that we could keep our skills sharp and stay close to sports,” Andrew Robinson said.

There weren’t any student media outlets at Coppin State, so it was all about the Robinson brothers adjusting to the environment in order to keep their journalism skills sharp.

“When I was involved at Quinnipiac, I was already involved in Q30 (TV), and I was the beat reporter my senior year,” Aaron Robinson said. “I had the opportunity to do (shows like) Sports Paws, Bobcat Breakdown and filming games. When I transferred to Coppin State for my last year of eligibility, there was no newspaper, no Q30, no radio. There was no equipment closet where we could rent a camera out and go film a game.”

Since the Robinson brothers did not have a plethora of student media options at Coppin State, they started their own company, All Facts Media, in which they covered Coppin State athletics.

Their resources were limited, so they could only use their cell phones to film highlights to then post on social media.

The brothers started the company just to keep busy and stay close to the game, but it blossomed into something that they did not expect — a connection with the college basketball world.

They credit their former Quinnipiac teammates Rich Kelly and Kevin Marfo for allowing them to break the news as to where the two would transfer to. This gave All Facts Media the momentum to expand.

“Our former teammates Rich Kelly and Kevin Marfo were in the transfer portal, and they allowed us to cover their recruitment,” Aaron Robinson said. “At the time last year, they were probably two of the biggest grad transfers in the country last year, with Kevin, who led the country in rebounding and averaged a double-double. And Rich averaging like 16 points a game his junior year at Quinnipiac. So, both of those guys were probably top-20 grad transfers.”

Along with that, the brothers were successful at landing an interview with Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton thanks to their brother Billy Edelin.

Edelin was the reason why Andrew Robinson started playing basketball and wore No. 14.

Networking has been valuable in helping Robinsons company thrive. They were also able to interview Boston University men’s basketball head coach Joe Jones. He coached Dalen Cuff, who now works for the ACC Network. Through Jones, Aaron Robinson has been able to connect with Cuff, who he talks to on a regular basis.

Their dream has always been having their own show at ESPN, so starting this company has given them an opportunity to create content together. It has allowed them to develop their skills and voice together.

Aaron said he enjoys having his own company because of the freedom they have in making content they want to put out.

“I think having our own company is a plus because of the fact that we can control what content we put out,” Aaron Robinson said. “We can write any story we want and talk about anything on our podcast.”

Along with that, the Quinnipiac community has played an important role in growing their company. Aaron Robinson talks to about 30 Quinnipiac alumni, asking them how he can improve the company. He also praised associate professor of journalism Molly Yanity for giving him constructive criticism for their site’s first story.

“Molly was my capstone advisor my senior year, and she mentally helped me that year with becoming a better writer,” Aaron Robinson said. “I’ll never forget my first story I wrote for the All Facts website. I sent it to her to edit because she used to edit my stuff as a teacher at Quinnipiac, and she ripped it apart. Only Molly Yanity would do that, and I appreciate her because nobody’s going to give you the real, and you need it to improve.”

SCREENSHOT FROM ALLFACTSMEDIAINC.COM

Former Quinnipiac basketball players Andrew and Aaron Robinson have their own sports company, All Facts Media.

However, Yanity is not the only professor who helped Aaron Robinson at Quinnipiac. He is appreciative of associate professor of journalism Rich Hanley for helping him along the way.

“He’s probably edited 10-15 stories that I’ve written up this year and has given me feedback,” Aaron Robinson said. “And I remember my first job interview that I had early this year, and I talked to Rich Hanley for over an hour. He was helping me prepare for the job interview, things that they might ask and ways I can answer certain questions.”

Hanley complimented the Robinsons’ initiative and said that their endeavor is exactly what the industry needs.

“Aaron and Andrew hold a deep understanding of basketball and media from their athletic and academic experiences,” Hanley said. “The name of their venture All Facts shows that they are in the information and insight business, and that approach is refreshing amid a glut of hot-take nonsense in sports media. That’s why they attract top players and coaches to interview.”

Aaron Robinson also had high praise for former Quinnipiac student and former Q30 sports director M.J. Baird. Baird is now a weekend sports anchor and reporter at KFDX and Texoma’s Fox. When Aaron Robinson was making his first highlight reel last year, he talked to Baird, and Baird gave him tips on how he makes his own reel. Aaron Robinson said he is thankful for the Quinnipiac community because it is a major reason for why he has been successful “I think those people in the Quinnipiac community have been so good to me over the years, so I will always be appreciative of the time that I spent there and people that I met and the relationships I made,”Aaron Robinson said. “I think that’s a big reason why I have been successful because I have a lot of good examples to follow and a lot of good mentors to help me improve along the way.”

When it has come to getting players and coaches on their website, the brothers haven’t had much difficulty because they are former players and know what it’s like to to be on the other side of the locker room.

“For us, I think people can relate and trust because we know

what’s like to be a player and be on the other side of the microphone and had to answer a question,” Andrew Robinson said.

Playing college basketball was critical in growing the Robinsons’ company. It has allowed Andrew Robinson to find people to interview for their podcast, “The Auto Bid.” For example, Merrimack College men’s basketball head coach Joe Gallo came on the podcast and talked about watching him hoop and offering him a scholarship to the school.

In addition to playing, it’s been helpful that coaches and players recognize the brothers. Aaron Robinson emphasized that coaches remembering facing them has helped them encourage guests to come on to their podcast.

“The biggest thing college basketball has done is get guys in the pod,”Aaron Robinson said. “I remember last week when we’re interviewing (George Mason men’s basketball head coach) Kim English and he was like, ‘Where do I know you guys from? I’ve seen you guys before,’ and I was like, ‘Yeah man, cause we played against you guys when you coached at Colorado.”

Both the brothers stressed that for their company to be successful, they have to be selfless and not have an ego. Former Quinnipiac men’s basketball head coach Tom Moore said neither Robinson brother has an ego and is impressed they stepped out of their comfort zone by covering less popular sports.

“If guys had egos, they could say, ‘yeah man I’m not making the drive down there to watch George Mason versus Fordham,’ who was at the bottom of the A-10 this year,” Andrew Robinson said. “But at the end of the day, that grind that you put in now is going to pay off 5-10 years from now.”

The Robinson brothers hope to continue to have success with their company going forward as they accept any challenge that comes their way, and enjoy every moment of it.

“The seriousness-of-purpose that accompanied their studies at Quinnipiac is evident in their present media work, but that seriousness is balanced by the sense of joy that accompanies everything they do,” Hanley said. “The audience gets that, and their guests get that. It’s a rare combination that will carry Aaron and Andrew far in their writing, podcasting and other media work.”

April 21, 2021

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

Sports|11

Pete’s Pond: The next generation of Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey is on its way

By PETER PIEKARSKI Associate Sports Editor

Head coach Rand Pecknold and the Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey team are in a peculiar position as the offseason continues.

With the departure of former captain Odeen Tufto, assistant captain Peter DiLiberatore and most likely goaltender Keith Petruzzelli in the coming weeks or months, Quinnipiac has lost three of its core players from the last three to four years.

Tufto, who will go down in Quinnipiac record books for assists and points over his four outstanding seasons as a Bobcat, signed a one-year entry-level contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning to play on their AHL affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch.

During his tenure, Tufto tallied 160 points in 131 games, finishing third all-time in points among Quinnipiac Division I players and second all-time in assists among Quinnipiac DI players. Additionally, as a top-10 finalist for the Hobey Baker award which is given to the best player in college hockey, Tufto leaves a gaping hole down the middle for Quinnipiac as he was also among one of the best in the country at faceoffs.

DiLiberatore took a different path, opting out of his final year at Quinnipiac and signing his three-year entry-level contract with the Vegas Golden Knights who drafted him 180th overall in the sixth round of the 2018 NHL Draft.

The junior defenseman compiled 60 points in 101 games and was an important facet for the team’s breakout and power play. Seemingly, rising senior Zach Metsa will take over that role, but only having one of the two is not the most desirable situation for any team.

Petruzzelli is a wild card at this point. There’s no official word on what the Detroit Red Wings’ plan on doing with their third-round selection from the 2017 NHL Draft. Detroit is rebuilding, and it would make sense to see what it has in the 22-year-old goaltender.

As a top-10 Hobey Baker finalist as well as a Mike Richter finalist which is given to the best goaltender in college hockey, Petruzzelli dominated during his junior and senior seasons. Pecknold has a lot of questions to be answered and positions to be filled just on these positions alone.

The remaining roster is still in question as several players have entered the transfer portal. Logan Britt (junior defenseman), Daniel Winslow (senior forward), Tyler Ghiardhosi (sophomore forward), Corey Clifton (sophomore forward), Josh Mayanja (graduate goaltender) and Evan Fear (junior goaltender) are most likely departing the team.

Of those named, Britt’s departure causes the biggest issue as the sophomore solidified the back end, providing a physical defensive-minded presence alongside more offensivelyinvolved defensemen.

So far, according to the Quinnipiac Hockey Blog, five players transferred to Quinnipiac as graduate students, two of which are interconference players from both Brown University and Dartmouth University.

Starting with the most important transfer based on position, Dylan St. Cyr departs Notre Dame to likely become Quinnipiac’s starting goaltender. St. Cyr started as a senior, facing just north of 27 shots per game posting a respectable 2.44 goals against average (GAA) and a .923 save percentage (SV%).

St. Cyr will have to fill a massive hole in between the pipes with Petruzzelli most likely on the way out, and no official backup has been named with the remaining two goaltenders entering the transfer portal.

UMass transfer Oliver Chau will play a big role in the Bobcats’ offense next season. The 5-foot-9 forward collected 26 points in 28 games with the Minutemen, including an assist on the only goal in the Hockey East championship game. Not to mention, he tallied five points in three of the four NCAA playoff games UMass played en route to a Frozen Four championship.

Chau will most likely play top-six minutes consistently, including power-play ice time. That all depends on any newcomers whether they’re other transfers and or incoming freshmen.

On the blue line, Quinnipiac added both size and depth to an already loaded core. With Metsa starring on the top pair, senior Marcus Chorney, juniors Jayden Lee and C.J. McGee as well as sophomores Iivari Räsänen and Nick Bochen, the missing pieces are size and depth.

The Bobcats received both with University of Denver transfer Griffin Mendel to replace Britt’s style of play, Brown transfer Tony Stillwell and Brandon Less from Dartmouth to round out the blue line.

Mendel provides a much bigger and physical presence to the lineup as the 6-foot-4, 240-pound blue liner will be the tallest and heaviest player on the roster. During the 2019-20 season, Denver named Mendel the defensive player of the year and was subsequently named an assistant captain in the following season.

Stillwell and Less add a lot of experience to a fairly young roster, especially playing within the ECAC Hockey.

Pecknold has a lot of integration work to do in order to develop a new team identity for the upcoming season. There are several exciting pieces and potential breakout players already on the roster including Metsa, Lee, Bochen and Räsänen on the blue line and forwards Wyatt Bongiovanni

(senior) and Ty Smilanic (sophomore).

Not to mention, Quinnipiac has three freshmen forward commits joining the roster this offseason, two of which are wingers.

Quinnipiac is loaded on the wing, mostly with upperclassmen.

At the moment, filling in the eight winger slots, Quinnipiac has nine available forwards in Bongiovanni, Smilanic, Ethan Leyh (junior), Gus Van Nes (junior), Ethan De Jong (senior), Matthew Fawcett (junior), Joey Cipollone (junior), Christophe Fillion (sophomore) and Mike Lombardi (senior).

The only upcoming center, Christophe Tellier, who turns 21 in a month, has been a force in the United States Hockey League (USHL). With 21 goals and 51 points in 51 games, Tellier ranks ninth in USHL scoring. The previous year, Tellier potted 28 goals and 71 points in 58 games in the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL).

Liam McLinskey provides something that Quinnipiac has desperately needed for a few years. The 20-year-old speedy forward can shoot and score from anywhere. With the addition of Smilanic the previous year, the Bobcats continue to build upon forward size.

The 6-foot-3 winger leads the National Collegiate Development Conference (NCDC) in points with 67 in 44 games played.

His 24 goals also rank fourth in the NCDC. McLinskey also dawns some hardware as he was awarded the NCDC player of the year.

The other upcoming freshman winger, 20-year-old Connor Tait, provides more size, with a 6-foot-3 frame and a two-way style with offensive upside. Tait finished this season 24th overall in the NCDC, scoring 31 points in 40 games.

It’s a new generation of Bobcat hockey — the team is getting bigger, and the future is brighter.

MORGAN TENCZA/CHRONICLE (2020)

12|Sports

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

April 21, 2021

Sports

@QUCHRONSPORTS

Quinnipiac gets its heart broken again

MORGAN TENCZA/CHRONICLE

The Bobcats have made it to the finals four times since 2013 but only secured one championship title

By RILEY MILLETTE Sports Editor

This year seemed different for the Quinnipiac men’s soccer team. It has been a force for years. But this year, it couldn’t quite get over the hump.

Quinnipiac joined the MAAC in July 2013 after leaving the Patriot League. The men’s soccer team won the MAAC championship that season, defeating Monmouth in the finals. But ever since then, titles have been hard to come by.

The team has only made it to the big game four times since 2013, including the 2021 championship, and it lost every time. Quinnipiac men’s soccer head coach Eric Da Costa said that each loss hurts more than the next.

“We expect to be successful and we work hard for that, and that’s why these types of results cut deep,” Da Costa said.

Something about the 2021 MAAC tournament seemed different. Maybe it was the time of year, as the playoffs happened in the spring because of COVID-19 rather than the usual fall season.

The Bobcats were the No. 1 seed in the MAAC and lined up against the No. 6 Monmouth Hawks. It’s a warning as old as time — any team can win any game in the tournament.

But it’s not hard to feel confident as the 5-1 regular season champions when your title game opponent is the No. 6 seed who finished 2-2-1 before the playoffs began.

Nevertheless, the championship game still had Quinnipiac’s number. The team lost 1-0 against Monmouth on Hamden soil, as the heartbroken Bobcats could do nothing other than watch the Hawks pave their way into the NCAA tournament.

The way the team lost was especially heartbreaking. In the 86th minute, right on the precipice of a much-needed breather before overtime, the Quinnipiac defense just couldn’t keep up with Monmouth sophomore forward Julian Gomez, who was knocking on the door all game long. He racked up three shots on goal, easily the most from either side. Sophomore midfielder Nick Rogers took the ball at his feet, cut around a couple of Bobcat defenders, then lofted a cross to the far side of the goal from the right side of the 18yard box. Gomez dove and headed it home, just beating out senior goalkeeper Jared Mazzola, earning him the MAAC championship MVP award.

But the story of the game from Quinnipiac’s perspective was Monmouth’s shutout. The offensive system that had worked so well for the Bobcats in the past fell silent. Sophomore forward Brage Aasen, who led the team in both goals

(5) and assists (4), was subbed out at the 76th minute and did not come back until the 86th minute, immediately following the game-winning goal from Gomez.

The Hawks held the dominant Quinnipiac attack to only two shots in the first half, despite the Bobcats controlling the ball for a decent amount of time.

It all came down to the finishing for the Bobcats. Quinnipiac fired off seven shots in the second half, but only one of the nine total shots were on target. The Bobcats still compiled eight corner kicks, evidence that they controlled the ball in their offensive half, but they couldn’t quite make them count, and it cost them a trip to the NCAA tournament in North Carolina.

Da Costa was disappointed about the loss but made it a point to convey how proud he was of his players.

“Our guys have to hold their heads up high,” Da Costa said. “It’s an extremely difficult season that we had to endure. For us to make the sacrifices that we did and be able to come together as a group and have some success throughout

the entire season and have an opportunity to win a championship today is something they should be proud of.”

There are some important players for the team that are academic seniors at the moment. All seniors have the opportunity to exercise their extra year of athletic eligibility because of the pandemic. Mazzola, defender Griffin Scaglia, and midfielders Simon Hillinger and Paulo Soares are the big names set to depart Hamden barring an opt-in.

“You always want to give them something to move on with, and I think that’s the thing that hurts the most,” Da Costa said. “There’s certain guys that are not gonna have that opportunity again.”

With or without these players on the field, Da Costa recognized that it’s time to move forward.

“We’re not complacent,” Da Costa said. “We don’t rest on past successes. We’re just gonna let this feeling sink in for a while before we turn around and reevaluate, but trust me, we will turn this program upside down and inside out trying to figure out how we can get better or what we can

Sophomore forward Brage Aasen led the Bobcats in goals (5) and assists (4) this season.

MORGAN TENCZA/CHRONICLE