The Quinnipiac Chronicle, Volume 92, Issue 3

SEPTEMBER 22, 2021 • VOLUME 92 • ISSUE 3

The official student newspaper of Quinnipiac University since 1929

Students demand shuttles to New Haven p.3 ILLUSTRATION BY CONNOR LAWLESS

OPINION P.4: STUDENTS UPSET WITH CXO Associate Sports Editor Peter Piekarski evaluates Chief Expereince Officer Tom Ellett’s first year at Quinnipiac

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A&L P.6-7: MUSIC REVIEWS The Chronicle reviews ‘MONTERO,’ ‘Long Lost,’ ‘By The Time I Get To Phoenix’ and ‘Melodic Blues’

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SPORTS P.10-11: MAAC SOCCER PREVIEW

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How the men’s and women’s soccer teams have performed heading into in-conference play

Quinnipiac charges $50-100 for Bobcat Weekend

By WILLIAM GAVIN Staff Writer

Quinnipiac University unveiled plans for Bobcat Weekend on Oct. 29-31, for parents and alumni, but with a brand new price tag of $50100, in a communication earlier this month.

Bobcat Weekend is a combination of events and presentations over a long weekend, featuring speeches, sports and food. In the past, Quinnipiac had two separate events, Alumni and Parents and Family weekends, but this year the university merged both into a single long weekend.

“We are all members of Bobcat Nation.

Alumni and families will have the opportunity to interact with each other and share experiences as one Bobcat family,” said Karla Natale, the associate vice president for university events and community partnerships at Quinnipiac.

For family and alumni to participate in Bobcat Weekend events, they are required to pay a fee. In the past, participants only would pay a fee for each individual event, according to Natale.

For families of up to four people, excluding students, the cost is $50, and for families of five or more the cost is doubled. The default fee for alumni is $100 per person — $50 for access to events and $50 as a “gift” to the university.

Instead of focusing on the presentations and activities Quinnipiac has planned, such as President Judy Olian’s State of the University address and sporting events, some parents are focused on the cost of attending Bobcat Weekend.

In an informal survey The Chronicle conducted, with 121 respondents, parents largely called the fees “ridiculous,” “frustrating” and “unnecessary.”

“I have heard of other schools doing this.

But (I) don’t think it is right,” said Chris Cantone, a parent of a sophomore student. “Given they did not host anything last year, they should have (the) budget available to welcome not only the freshmen class but the sophomore class that was robbed of the QU orientation and year-round events. It is almost like they forgot the class of 2024 all together.”

One common complaint among parents is being uninformed of what they’re paying for, with some alleging the fee is unnecessary due to the high cost of tuition. Some suggested that the fee should be on a personper-person basis, since not everyone could or would have more than one person attend.

However, some parents were more forgiving of the cost due to the toll COVID-19 has had on Quinnipiac and other institutions.

“While the fees were not explained which would have been nice, I honestly do not have an issue with them at this time.

This past year and a half has taken its toll on many businesses, and colleges are no different,” said Francine Sanger, a parent of a

first-year student. “I am sure there have been many expenses that were not planned for due to COVID. My fee was $50 which I do not believe is excessive.”

See BOBCAT WEEKEND Page 2

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2| News

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

Students enjoy food trucks despite fewer options

MEET THE EDITORS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Michael Sicoli MANAGING EDITORS Emily Flamme Toyloy Brown III CREATIVE DIRECTOR Connor Lawless NEWS EDITORS Nicole McIsaac Chatwan Mongkol ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR Melina Khan OPINION EDITOR Xavier Cullen ARTS & LIFE EDITOR Ashley Pelletier ASSOCIATE ARTS & LIFE EDITORS David Matos Neha Seenarine SPORTS EDITOR Riley Millette ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR Peter Piekarski PODCAST PRODUCER Kalleen Rose Ozanic ASSOCIATE PODCAST PRODUCER Brendan Samson COPY EDITOR Katie Langley

September 22, 2021

By KRYSTAL MILLER Staff Writer

After having daily food trucks on campus during the spring semester, Quinnipiac University students are disappointed with the lack of their return this fall on Mount Carmel campus.

“The food trucks were used significantly last year because of health reasons and spreading people out for COVID-19, so the decline (this year) is actually not a decline,” said Tom Ellett, chief experience officer. “It’s an increase from previous years (2019) if you take last year out.”

Ellett said he enjoys having the different food trucks on campus, but hearing student feedback on the options is most important.

“I think that it’s a monotony breaker,” Ellett said. “Students could feel like it’s a treat, it’s something different so hopefully students could recognize that’s not something you’d find on every college campus, I think it’s something unique to Quinnipiac.”

The food trucks on the Mount Carmel campus normally arrive around lunchtime on Tuesdays and Thursdays. However, other trucks alternate on Wednesdays around lunchtime at both theYork and North Haven campuses.

There are also some student groupssponsored food trucks that are not affiliated with Quinnipiac Dining, and they don’t accept meal points.

Glenn Leonard’s Uncle G’s Comfort Food truck was on campus for the first time Tuesday Sept. 21. He said he has received positive feedback from the Quinnipiac community and wants to keep coming back to “put the same smile on people’s faces.”

“These guys, they want something different, instead of the same old lady in there with an apron on giving out stale chips,” Leonard said.

“We come out here and we do good.”

Leonard also takes his business to other local universities, such as Fairfield University, because he enjoys interacting with students.

Olivia Mercado, a junior psychology major, said she got a pulled pork sandwich from Uncle G’s and enjoyed her meal and overall experience. She said she would rather go to a food truck instead of consistently getting the same food from the dining hall.

“It was definitely better than campus food,” Mercado said. “It had a lot more flavor, was fully cooked and it was better tasting.”

Teresa Cetrangola, a junior history major, got a chicken sandwich from Uncle G’s and gave it a positive review. She said the university should continue bringing in food trucks because she never gets food from the dining hall.

Casey McNichol, a sophomore 3+1 film, television and media arts major, said the change of pace from the dining hall and supporting local businesses are the reasons she loves the food trucks.

“I am a sucker for Spuds and Moon Rocks,” McNichol said. “I don’t eat a ton of comfort food, so Spuds is a huge help when I’m down, and Moon Rocks supports the local animal shelters, which I’m a huge supporter of. I wish this was more well known in the Quinnipiac community.”

Ellett said he also worked to allow students to use meal points directly from their QCards instead of solely cash at all trucks sponsored by Quinnipiac Dining for the past two semesters.

Marithsa Pierre, a sophomore finance major, said even though meal points usage is not allowed at all of the food trucks, she would still be willing to purchase food with cash.

“I would definitely still go,” Pierre said.

“It makes me happy that there’s more options than the dining hall food.”

McNichol said she would likely patronize the food trucks less often if she couldn’t use meal points.

“It honestly depends on the food,” McNichol said. “If I know I enjoy it, I would absolutely spend my money. I would definitely go less if I couldn’t use my meal points.”

Students like Pierre said the food trucks should park closer to the residential areas because the line tends to be “extremely long.” Quinnipiac Dining’s lack of promotion is also another problem students think should be addressed.

McNichol said she regularly checks Quinnipiac Dining’s social media to find the food truck schedule, but is often still confused about who will be on campus.

“I wish we had more variety in the food trucks, as well as a clear schedule for which ones are on campus, as well as where and when they are,” McNichol said.

On Facebook, the last time Quinnipiac Dining posted about the food trucks was April 26. There is only one post on Sept. 2, on Instagram. Last semester, there were posts at the beginning of each week.

Quinnipiac’s food trucks have changed the options for students and will continue for coming years. Ellett also invites students to the advisory board meeting every other Tuesday at 5 p.m. to give any feedback or suggestions.

ASSOCIATE PHOTO EDITOR Daniel Passapera THE QUINNIPIAC CHRONICLE is the proud recipient of the New England Society of Newspaper Editors’ award for College Newspaper of the Year in New England for 2011-12, 2012-13 and 2015-16.

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Natale: ‘We are not looking to earn money but rather to offset expenses’ BOBCAT WEEKEND from cover Natale said the fees Quinnipiac collected from over 500 families and alumni are going directly to cover operational costs.

“We are not looking to earn money, but rather to offset expenses,” Natale said. “The focus of Bobcat Weekend is to bring alumni, parents and families together while offering a variety of programming both academic and informative as well as entertaining and enjoyable.”

Parents Weekend was initially planned for the weekend of Oct. 16, before it was moved to Oct. 29, in an email sent in early August.

Many parents planned their accommodations weeks or months in advance, leaving them scrambling to change their reservations.

“I made my travel arrangements back in May, which includes Airbnb, car, and flights,” said Shari Dinnel, a parent of a first-year student from Bell, California. “It

is a really inconsiderate inconvenience to change it with such little notice and communication.”

Sanger said the uproar over Bobcat Weekend could be another symptom of a larger problem for the university while recommending the administration to be more transparent about its plans.

“I believe communication is key. Consequently, explaining the charge (especially if previously there wasn’t one) would have been prudent on the part of the university,” Sanger said. “Many parents were not happy with the charge but might have felt differently if they understood why it was implemented.”

Parents also expressed their concerns about the lack of access to big-ticket sporting events, such as Men’s Ice Hockey game against the American International College Yellow Jackets, which are not included in the fees. Tickets are only available through

Quinnipiac Athletics, which provides limited seating for families and alumni, while the remaining tickets are reserved for students.

Several parents, who answered the survey anonymously, complained about the lack of tickets, attributing the shortage to alumni.

Other parents, like Ru Jurow, said that they would just look elsewhere for activities.

“I actually think there could be more fun activities to do with our college students rather than presentations from faculty or a hockey game that most parents could not even scoop up tickets to attend,” Jurow said.

In response to parental criticism, Chief Experience Officer Tom Ellett announced last week that the university would launch the Parents Advisory Board, which would create a new medium for parents to raise their concerns alongside the Parents Council.

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

September 22, 2021

News |3

‘I’m definitely upset about it:’ Quinnipiac shuttle to New Haven remains inactive

By CHATWAN MONGKOL and JACKLYN PELLEGRINO

Quinnipiac University’s shuttle to New Haven remains out of service, despite the resumption of the loop to Hamden and North Haven on weekends.

“I’m definitely upset about it because it was a way for students to get out and to enjoy their college years, enjoy dinners with friends, or even someone like me who doesn’t drive to get to the train station,” said Jayda Robinson, a senior nursing major.

Robinson said she used to take the New Haven shuttle to get back to her off-campus home because it was close to Union Station. She said the service provided easy and safe transportation for students to the city.

Now that there is no Quinnipiac-provided bus, Robinson relies on her family to come to pick her up. She questioned whether the pandemic was the central reason for the New Haven shuttle’s suspension as well as why the university has not brought it back when campus life is “semi back to normal.”

Besides the loop that runs between the three campuses, the only other shuttle is the weekly route to North Haven and Hamden shopping areas.

An SGA survey of 475 students showed that only 45% of the students are currently using the existing shopping shuttles. When it comes to overall satisfaction with the off-campus services on a scale of -100 to 100, the average score is at -81.

Over 81% of survey respondents also said they would like to see the shuttle go to Union Station in New Haven.

SGA President Nick Ciampanelli said former Chief of Public Safety Edgar Rodriguez reduced the budget for transportation to New Haven in response to COVID-19, but the cut has continued to this academic year.

Chief Experience Officer Tom Ellett said he was not aware of the service to New Haven since it was not listed in the contract with the

provider, ProPark, when he came to Quinnipiac in 2020, after the budget cut was made.

“I didn’t know that (the contract) was any different than what it was,” Ellett said. “We copied what we had (in 2020), so that’s kind of the reality of why it wasn’t put in.”

Ellett said the university is looking into ridership information to potentially add a loop to the city twice a day on weekends. He said that could happen as soon as this academic year.

Grace Doyle, a first-year film, television and media arts major, said she and one of her friends took an Uber to New Haven once, costing them $40. Doyle said they also had to wait for the ride in the dark without knowing when it would arrive.

“I think adding a shuttle to New Haven would be a good idea because it would be safer and you would know the exact time it would be picking you up and dropping you off,” Doyle said.

Sarah Hardiman, a first-year advertising major, said providing a loop that goes to other towns would allow students to explore different communities and spend more “quality time” with friends outside of Quinnipiac.

“Having a shuttle that goes to New Haven would be helpful because it would be easily accessible, cheaper and you wouldn’t have to worry about splitting the cost among friends,” Hardiman said.

Ciampanelli and Ellett have been in communication about this issue after they received emails from students and parents, they said.

The SGA will submit its survey data to the administration to find a resolution.

“Given the cost of shuttles, there’s an inherent decision to be made as to where we will have to cut funding if we are to bring back the New Haven shuttle,” Ciampanelli said.

The SGA president said there is “certainly” the possibility of expanding more off-campus stops, including Bradley International Airport.

He said he has seen students’ demand for the services. According to the survey, 29% of students

would like a Quinnipiac-run ride to the airport.

Ellett said he has heard some of the calls for more off-campus shuttles but not to a great extent.

However, he said that doesn’t mean it is not an issue.

“I’m working with SGA to see, once we get the ridership information, what are the things we might need to reallocate to make a change,” Ellett said.

Ciampanelli said students should voice their concerns and complete any surveys from SGA because quantitative information can influence the administration’s decision.

Whether or not the New Haven shuttle will return, the university will dedicate a shuttle for the admissions team to facilitate campus tours

between Mount Carmel and York Hill campuses as one of the strategies to recruit more students.

This service will launch on Oct. 4.

“We had an opportunity to invest some additional funds from another source for showing the campus in York Hill because it’s not currently a part of the day-to-day admissions tours,” Ellett said. “It’s a way to show off (what) I think (is) a really vital part of our campus, the York Hill campus.”

Ellett said the funding for this came from a different source than what the university used for student shuttles to off-campus locations. He did not say which source it came from.

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Students lack other forms of Quinnipiac-provided transportation to get to nightlife venues in New Haven such as Toad’s Place.

Pi Beta Phi sorority returns to Quinnipiac

By KATIE LANGLEY and CORINNA PAZZANESE

Greek life welcomed a ninth panhellenic conference organization to its community this semester with the return of Pi Beta Phi to Quinnipiac University campus after two years of inactivity. The sisterhood will be recruiting new members this coming weekend from Sept. 24-26.

“We are excited to be in the Quinnipiac community and are thrilled to recruit new members into the Pi Beta Phi chapter this fall,” said TG Livak, marketing and communications director of the sorority. “These members will form a sisterhood grounded in Pi Phi’s core values and be servant leaders in their chapter, on campus, and across the entire Hamden community.”

Pi Beta Phi made the decision in communication with fraternity and sorority leaders to reorganize its chapter at Quinnipiac, the Connecticut Gamma Chapter, in spring 2019. This

led to their hiatus at the university, Livak said.

“WIth support from the panhellenic chapters on campus, Pi Beta Phi developed a reorganization plan for fall 2021,” Livak said.

Founded in 1867 and described as a “fraternity for women,” the organization’s mission statement highlights friendship, intellect, integrity and leadership, values that former members spoke about.

The sisterhood has had over 300,000 members, including Myriam Slattery, an alumni of Pi Phi, who said that the camaraderie of the organization was a memorable part of her Quinnipiac experience.

“I had such an amazing time in Pi Phi. One of the sorority’s biggest values is sincere friendship, and I couldn’t agree more with that,” said Slattery, who graduated with a bachelor’s in health science in 2020. “The bonds that I was able to make with all the girls in my chapter were definitely forever.”

When it comes to joining Pi Beta Phi, Slattery encouraged students to “go for it.”

“I wouldn’t have traded my experience for the world,” Slattery said.

Cassidy Spencer, a 2020 health sciences graduate and the former chapter president of Pi Beta Phi from December 2018 through its disbanding in spring 2019, agreed that some of her best college experiences were through the sorority.

“I joined Pi Phi because I didn’t feel like I needed to fit into a stereotypical role of being in a sorority, or to look or act a certain way,” Spencer said.

Spencer shared that the sorority gave her the chance to travel and partic-

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ipate in several conventions and organizations, such as the Undergraduate Interfraternity Institute in Indiana, Pi Beta Phi college weekend in Missouri and the sorority’s own convention in Washington, D.C., which she described as, “one of the best experiences a member could ask for.”

She said that these experiences allowed her to improve her leadership skills and leave an impact on her chapter and the greater organization.

Prospective members such as Victoria Russell, a sophomore microbiology and immunology major, hope to have similar positive experiences.

Russell is most looking forward to “meeting new people, joining a community and helping others that are in need” through the sorority.

Spencer’s advice to hopeful new members is to be their “true, authentic selves.” “(New members) will get so much out of this organization in terms of personal growth, leadership opportunities and lifelong friendship as long as they stay open, and put themselves out there and get involved,” Spencer said.

Livak said that resident leadership development consultants from the organization are in the process of meeting students to recruit as potential new members. They have been hosting events such as virtual and in-person information sessions and an ice cream social, held outside the Center of Communications and Engineering last week.

Students are encouraged to visit @pibetaphi on Instagram to learn more about the organization and upcoming events.

Liana DiMitri, an alumni of the sorority who graduated in 2020, said that some of her favorite memories included these events.

“Some of the most memorable experiences I have were events that Pi Phi hosted and the time when we were trying to recruit new members,” DiMitri said. “We went apple picking and hosted a game night which were both super fun ways to get to know more people and bond as students at Quinnipiac.”

DiMitri encouraged potential members to talk to members of the sorority to get a feel for the community.

“You may make some lifelong friends and experience unforgettable adventures,” DiMitri said.

The new generation of Pi Beta Phi members at Quinnipiac will go on to make their own traditions and experiences, Livak said.

“New leaders will create a strong chapter for future members of Pi Beta Phi and will contribute to the Panhellenic community,” Livak said.

Victoria Piszel, a member of Tri Delta, said she was excited to have a new addition to the Greek community.

“I think they’re a great addition to Greek life, and I can’t wait for them to be involved and make new friends because they all seem super nice and friendly,” said Piszel, a first-year business major.

President of the Panhellenic Council Sarah Johnson agreed that the new sorority will contribute much to sorority life on campus.

“I am so glad the decision to bring the chapter back to campus was made,” Johnson, who is a senior occupational therapy major, said. “At many schools, Pi Phi is known for its strong sense of sisterhood and dedication to philanthropy.”

When it comes to Pi Beta Phi’s philanthropy, the greek organization’s effort is “read, lead, achieve,” an initiative that works with students from pre-kindergarten through third grade on reading enrichment, distributes books to children in need and advocates for greater literacy.

“We believe that when one out of four children grows up unable to read, that’s one child too many,” the organization’s website states.

“Pi Beta Phi’s ‘read, lead, achieve’ philanthropy provides the chapter with so many opportunities to do good within the Hamden community, as so many potential local partners exist in the area,” Johnson said.

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

4| O p i n i o n

September 22, 2021

Opinion

Chief of limiting experience

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CXO Tom Ellett has not lived up to his role through his first year

BY PETER PIEKARSKI Associate Sports Editor

It’s no secret that Quinnipiac University has a constrained budget, especially with the impacts of COVID-19.

Hiring Tom Ellett as chief experience officer (CXO), the first at the university, was more than questionable from the start and has only negatively impacted the school and its students since.

The position of CXO, as defined by the school, is responsible for “overseeing all student-facing functions, including enrollment management, student affairs, registrar, bursar, public safety, veterans’ affairs and career services,” according to qu.edu.

That means whoever is in this position has a hand in all aspects of the Quinnipiac student experience.

Students and parents are unimpressed with Ellett’s first year as CXO by his decision making, his priorities, treatment of students and money management. A number of students the chronicle interviewed requested to keep their identity anonymous in fear of consequences from publicly speaking against him.

When Ellett was hired in August 2020, many students and faculty were not only shocked, but also aggravated. Quinnipiac was looking for a CXO, but right after making millions in budget cuts, entering a hiring freeze and furloughing or laying off 168 faculty members, it was a perplexing move.

Despite a constrained budget and lackluster enrollment, Ellett and the Quinnipiac administration found a way to spend an excessive amount of money to renovate The Commons so that he can live in a three-bedroom, three-bathroom apartment with his wife and dog along with renovating The Complex.

“Having more academic and intellectual presences in the residence halls, in role models and future letter recommenders to students is a very positive thing to have around students in this formative age in their development,” Ellett said.

Yes, Complex being renovated was part of the plan that Quinnipiac President Judy Olian put forth, but doing it now was not necessary. Money is tight for the school, so why was this a priority?

It’s also an uncomfortable move for freshmen living in The Commons. If I was a freshman living there, I’d be uneasy if a high-ranking university official moved into my residence as an 18-year-old who’s never lived outside of my own home, especially if the school did not ask me if I supported the notion.

Ellett mentioned he was unaware if Quinnipiac had in some way tried to assess whether or not students were comfortable with him moving in. That’s unacceptable for his role.

Secondly, why is Quinnipiac spending its money on a man receiving retirement benefits from NYU? Why is the school not allocating money to more important student situations such as the club sports budget?

Moving from one student issue to another, many have been fed up with the parking nightmare that Quinnipiac executives refuse to recognize as an issue. It all started with Ellett’s email about a parking fee being incurred to only offcampus residents and later requiring all incoming students to live on campus for a minimum of three years.

Ellett’s decision to only target off-campus residents and not all students was most likely a financially driven decision.

To say that the move was solely based on academics, which has been Ellett’s main point in his defense, is comical. While, yes, students that are non-residential have a lower cumulative GPA than residential students according to an email sent by Ellett in February, it does not mean that living off-campus is the reason for it.

I, just like thousands of other students at this university, have taken out student loans to attend here. This school is not cheap, and I recognize that. If I’m given the option of paying $72,300 to live on campus or $56,800 to live offcampus, I’m taking the latter with no hesitation.

Some non-residential students are upperclassmen who do things outside of their studies such as working part-time jobs, caretaking for family members, learning from internships, holding leadership roles in student organizations, playing on sports teams and participating in Greek life.

Priorities shift as students prepare to graduate and enter the workforce. Of course, a student’s GPA is important, but to assume that’s the only factor that’s impacted by the move is insulting.

If it’s really an academic issue for off-campus students, why doesn’t the school try to assist its 2,338 non-residential students instead of making their lives harder?

While that situation occurred, Quinnipiac knowingly neglected the need for main campus student parking by deciding to move the tennis courts to North Lot and then build a new recreation and wellness center.

For a school that’s supposedly strapped for cash, why is a $45 million recreational center a necessary move right now?

Why was there a need to inevitably eliminate 145 parking spaces from North Lot? The answer is there’s not. It’s a financially poor decision.

High school students don’t pick colleges because of the recreational center.

Has the parking on main campus been an issue for several years preceding COVID-19? Yes. Does that mean it’s OK for the school to not view it as an issue despite students being fed up with it? Not in the slightest.

I’ve talked to many students and have had many emails forwarded to me that describe how poorly Ellett has communicated about the parking situation as well as how demeaning and pretentious he and the new One Stop team come across as.

Ellett’s answers to student emails avoided answering questions and only gave information that he wanted to provide.

Most of them mentioned that he wanted students to use the parking lots that are off-campus or up on the York Hill campus.

Senior mechanical engineering major Zack Polak emailed Ellett with questions regarding the removal of parking spots.

When asked if students would lose 145 spots in North Lot as a result of construction, Ellett responded by saying there are spots on York Hill and Whitney lots that are not used on a regular basis. Following that, when Ellett was asked where the spots will be removed from, he did not even answer the

“Has the parking on main campus been an issue for several years preceding COVID-19? Yes. Does that mean it’s OK for the school to not view it as an issue despite students being fed up with it? Not in the slightest.”

– Peter Piekarski

ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR

question, rather responding with “sometime this summer.”

“Kinda obvious he didn’t put a lot of thought into the responses,” Polak said. “You can tell he didn’t really care.”

It further signifies that Ellett finds ways to dodge the answers to many student questions.

In a news piece The Chronicle published in May, Vice President for Facilities and Capital Planning Sal Filardi mentioned that the university didn’t anticipate that the tennis courts relocation would impact any of the students and that there’s plenty of parking campus-wide.

If you combine all of the parking lots Quinnipiac has (North, Hogan, Hilltop, Whitney, Westwoods, Whitney Village and York Hill) there are a total of 4,541 parking spaces.

However, three of those lots and the lots in York Hill are not attached to the main campus.

That’s fine. Those lots should be used more frequently, but they aren’t, and for good reason.

As previously mentioned, students are tight for time as is, so what would be the point of parking away from campus and then waiting for a shuttle service that has been an abomination for as long as I’ve been here? Even Westwoods is only accessible via call service.

In an email to a student, Quinnipiac’s Assistant Director for Auxiliary Services Sam Gougsa said, “If students can bike or walk, they should, and therefore be part of the solution to parking problems on college campuses.”

I think that’s hilarious.

Why should the students solve a problem they didn’t create in a situation where they’re the main people affected? Not only will some students have to spend money on a parking pass, which can’t even be properly used because of how limited parking is, but now they have to walk or bike there because it hasn’t been properly addressed.

Say I were to walk to class every day since I don’t have a bike, to avoid the parking situation., I’d have to walk 2.6 miles there and 2.6 miles back every day, which is roughly two hours of walking each day. What about when it’s 20 degrees in December and it’s snowing? Should I walk or ride my bike then?

I work two separate internships at the moment, one of them being over 40 miles away, on top of my classes as well as working as the associate sports editor for The Chronicle in addition to playing on the Quinnipiac club rugby team.

My time is tight as is, but now I have to find more time in my day so that I can find a parking spot?

That’s nonsense.

What’s even more frustrating about not being listened to, is how we as a student body are talked to.

Gabriella Colello, former Student Government Association multicultural and identity senator, has routinely displayed her displeasure with Ellett.

“Instead of giving me an answer he’ll just tell me he has a Ph.D. and that he knows better, but at no point has he actually been able to address this or pledged to solve this problem for true commuters,” Colello said. “For those reasons, I have very little respect for Tom Ellett and his position and I cannot say that he has improved my student experience since he’s been here.”

We are adults. We don’t deserve to be treated or talked to like children.

Dozens of students reached out to me about their experiences with Ellett. Not a single one was positive. Not a single person I’ve talked to appreciates the neglect Ellett provides to the student body.

They’re fed up with action not being taken – and so am I. Change is long overdue.

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

September 22, 2021

Opinion|5

Opinion Aim high, feel low

The tight grasp of perfectionism college students face

BY NICOLE MCISAAC News Editor

All or nothing. Perfect scores or failure. Stand above the rest or feel at the bottom.

This is certainly a standard that exists for many wrapped in the tight grips of perfectionism on a college campus, including myself. Whether you fight bouts of perfectionism once in a while or daily as a student or in your personal life, it is a challenge to give your all all the time.

It starts off as a simple wave of disappointment when receiving a low test grade or possibly getting rejected from a job. Maybe a situation does not quite exactly play out how it was intended to or how it was planned over a million times in your head.

Then the panic and regret takes charge.

You feel completely engulfed by every thought of criticism, finding ways to nitpick everything that could have gone better. It’s a constant refusal to accept anything less than perfection for any given aspect of life. You set unrealistic goals so high and continue to push yourself until you’re physically and mentally exhausted. All of the time.

To be honest, it’s crippling. It consumes every single aspect, making everything simply unenjoyable.

Even now as I write this, I sit in my bedroom analyzing every little detail and ensuring I say everything correctly, praying the article “perfectly describes perfectionism.”

Having this personality trait can be a self-motivating and helpful tool for some, but can become overwhelmingly toxic if taken too far. Perfectionism eats away at a person, slowly deteriorating someone’s mental and physical health.

Living your life by the standards changes you, and not for the better.

You strive for perfection, ignoring the possible negative outcomes. You procrastinate and avoid anything that seems like a challenge. You compare your success, body and personal encounters to others. You develop a new pattern of thinking, all while losing your creativity and spark in life.

I often feel like I fail at everything, procrastinate regularly, continuously compare myself to others, struggle to unwind, become obsessed with work and become controlling in any of my personal and professional relationships all

ILLUSTRATION BY PEYTON MCKENZIE

because of my battles with perfectionism.

A perfectionist mentality can simply come from pressures to succeed from family, maybe even watching others continue to strive in their personal endeavors and the comparison that directly stems from that. However, it is important not to glaze over how society plays a role in creating standards that depict failure as the most detrimental aspect of life.

In an online article titled “Truth About Perfectionism” on Ohio State University’s website, the heavy pressures to succeed that come from society don’t necessarily go away, but instead alter as one moves through different stages of their life.

“Thinking of our society, it is not hard to see how this epidemic of perfectionism has flourished,” the website states.

“High school students need great grades and impressive extracurricular activities to get in college, college students need great grades and real-world work experience to get a

job, employees need great records and performance in order to be promoted. It is a competitive world, so in order to succeed, we believe we must be perfect.”

College students facing hard deadlines, balancing coursework and trying to figure out who they even are illustrate the effects of perfectionism at an alarmingly high rate.

In an online study on depression in college students, roughly 30% of undergraduate students revealed symptoms of depression. Perfectionism is a common culprit in this.

While these findings are heartbreaking, it’s no surprise that the wrath of perfectionism poses a threat to the college student community. Doing your best and giving it your all sometimes just doesn’t feel like enough.

Take it from me, a person who is involved in multiple leadership opportunities in several organizations, working part-time, attending college, living on my own and trying to balance a healthy lifestyle. It is exhausting.

Sometimes I feel like I am trying to balance 50 things in my head, making sure that every single task is completed exceptionally. I give 110% to everything I am involved in, but constantly feel like I am drowning and never feeling like I am doing enough.

It continuously feels like the individuals around me don’t understand the challenges I am facing and become frustrated for every time I feel chaotic or “off,” every time I miss a gathering, every time I don’t get around to answer a text or even if I just don’t have time to be an ordinary 20-year-old.

It is an exceedingly hard lifestyle to live that feels lonely at times.

But believe me when I say I am trying to get better, for myself. So I ask you, if any of this resonated with you, please take the time to be kind to yourself. Mistakes will happen, missed opportunities will occur and you will be face-to-face with failure.

That’s OK. You are OK. Knowing when to stop and reevaluate yourself is important. You owe it to yourself to voice your feelings and speak up when you need to take a step back.

Whether you choose to recognize it or not, all you have is yourself and you can’t afford to neglect your needs.

We’re all overcoming our own pandemic trauma As the pandemic wanes, it’s not easy to shed a smaller life

BY MELINA KHAN

Associate News Editor

In March 2021, I reported on what a post-pandemic life would look like at Quinnipiac University. What I found was a myriad of ideas, but what has stuck with me since was something a psychology professor told me about learning virtually during the pandemic.

“I think many people may have gotten comfortable with a smaller life,” said Clorinda Velez, associate professor of psychology, earlier this year.

Now, as we resume in-person classes on campus, I’m learning exactly what shedding that “smaller life” means and how difficult that can be.

I’m only in my second year at Quinnipiac. Which, if you do the math, means I’ve only ever been in college during a pandemic. Before a few weeks ago, I didn’t even know what a full college classroom felt like.

Whenever people ask me about being part of the generation who lost the best part of their youth — senior year of high school — I always tell them I’m one of the lucky ones. I got to move into college and have a relatively normal experience, when I know people who got none of that.

But I would be lying if I pretended that relatively normal was just as good as regular normal.

Relatively normal meant I got to get involved on campus.

I got to join the school newspaper and meet awesome people because of it. But relatively normal also meant I never got to actually see those people in person.

The smaller life I have led for the past year isn’t holding up anymore. We have in-person meetings for The Chronicle now, which is still super weird to me. While I know everyone on

the editorial board, there are people I have only just met in person after knowing them from behind a screen for a year — which is extremely disorienting.

As someone who lives with social anxiety disorder, it would have been a lot easier to go on living a smaller life.

A smaller life made transitioning to college a year ago a lot easier, but having to shed everything I came to know about that smaller life isn’t easy.

On the first day of classes, I woke up not feeling even the slightest bit nervous. I’ve done this before, I thought to myself. But then, as soon as I entered the quad, I realized this was nothing like anything before.

I had never seen so many people on campus. I was overwhelmed. Suddenly, it felt like the campus I had grown so accustomed to was not at all what I knew it as. It still feels that way weeks later — parking is scarcer, lines are longer and crowds are larger.

I often think about pandemic trauma. I think we all have it in some way, shape or form, and I think this is mine. I opened a whole

new chapter of life that will permanently have an asterisk attached to it. That’s hard to grapple with sometimes. Should I have taken a gap year? Should I have stayed closer to home and commuted? There’s a lot that goes through my mind about this period of life. I don’t regret my choice to come to school midpandemic, but sometimes it’s difficult to process.

Whenever I think about the preceding year and its challenges, I feel guilty. I don’t have it bad by any stretch. There are families who have had to bury their loved ones because of COVID-19, and workers who have had to see that loss firsthand.

Though, the reality is that we’ve all lived through this pandemic. We all have pandemic trauma, whatever that looks like. Going off to college and starting a fragmented new chapter is mine. I try to remind myself that it’s OK to recognize that. It’s OK to recognize that your own pandemic trauma is just as valid as anyone else’s.

Moreover, we need to continue to remember that everyone has their own COVID-19 anguish. We need to remember to be compassionate about it. Everyone on this campus has had their own experience of this pandemic. There are freshmen with little memory of what it’s like to be maskless in a classroom. There are upperclassmen who long for what it once was. There are sophomores like me who are somewhere in the middle.

The more we move forward, the more we hopefully move closer to normal. But that doesn’t mean we should move away from what we’ve come up against.

Whatever your pandemic trauma looks like, I hope you show yourself compassion for it.

Your experiences are just as valid as everyone’s around you.

ILLUSTRATION BY SEAN FORMANTES

6|Arts & Life

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

September 22, 2021

Arts & Life

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‘By the Time I Get to Phoenix’ is Injury Reserve’s most emotional, experimental project yet

By XAVIER CULLEN Opinion Editor

Last year, when Arizona-based rap group Injury Reserve was nearly finished with its upcoming album, the group was struggling to find a title.

That’s when rapper Jordan “Stepa J.” Groggs, who was infatuated with Isaac Hayes’ 1969 song “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” called the other members, Nathaniel “Ritchie with a T” Ritchie and Parker Corey. He wanted to use the song’s title for the album to connect the group to its hometown roots.

With an album name selected and the tracklist completed, the group was almost ready to release its project — a glitchy, postrap album that pushes the boundaries of what is considered rap.

Shortly after, Groggs tragically passed away at the young age of 32 on June 29, 2020. Survived by his partner, Anna Ford, and their four kids, Joey, Jayden, Toph and Ari, Groggs was such a loving person whose death left a hole in so many people’s hearts, including mine.

Over a year later, the group finished the album in his memory and released it on Sept. 16. It feels like nothing else Injury Reserve made before. Compared to their 2019 self-titled album that has upbeat songs like “Gravy n’ Biscuits” and “Three Man Weave,” this is such a left turn.

That’s for the better, though. While the album may have been written before Groggs’ passing, every song feels raw and emotional, like they were made with his death in mind.

Take “Top Picks for You,” the seventh track on the album, for example. Ritchie raps: “I scan the room, I see bits and pieces of you scattered / It's those same patterns that gon' get us through the next chapter.”

It feels like Ritchie is talking directly to Groggs, especially later in the song: “Just workin' so that you can just / jump right back in / But you ain't jumpin' back here.”

With proper context, these lines might’ve been intended for Ritchie’s step-father, who passed away during the making of the album. Still, it’s hard not to see the parallels, which makes it that

much more heartbreaking.

These heavy lyrics with amazing production by Corey creates this chaotic feeling that shook my bones. Songs like “Superman That” and “Footwork in a Forest Fire” give me goosebumps even after several listens.

“Footwork in a Forest Fire” is especially chilling given the context of anti-police protests and riots that happened during the time the song was made.

Groggs raps, “Yeah, we down to ride / said, we down to riot / Sorry mama, I try my best / To no longer be polite / They tryna take my life / And they take my rights / Yeah, this the sign / Sign of the times.”

The most chilling part of it all is that, even a year removed from the context these songs were written in, they are just as contemporary and relevant.

However, even though I love this album as an Injury Reserve fan (I was lucky enough to see them live at the Middle East in Boston in 2018), I honestly don’t know how I would feel about this album if I didn’t know the context and meaning behind what I was hearing.

Calling this a rap album isn’t telling the full truth. Many songs take inspiration and samples from rock and punk works.

It’s something I rarely hear from a rap album.

This is far from their most approachable work as a group.

They have plenty of other great songs that many rap fans would love, like “S on Ya Chest” and “Jailbreak the Tesla,” that it’s hard to recommend this album to people who have never heard of Injury Reserve before.

If you’re at all interested in hearing more from these incredible artists, I recommend their 2016 album “Floss.” Although I’m not going to sing any of these songs in the shower, they are an emotional roller coaster of a project that will stay in my head for a long time.

3.5 /5 Suns

'MONTERO' delivers the complete Lil Nas X experience

By RILEY MILLETTE Sports Editor

Believe it or not, sports guys can have opinions about art, too.

Rapper Montero Hill, the 22-year-old better known as Lil Nas X, dropped one of the most anticipated albums of 2021 on Sept. 17. Since Lil Nas X blew up with his record-breaking single “Old Town Road” at the end of 2018, he’s successfully fought off the “one-hit wonder” label, as evidenced by the overnight success of his debut album “MONTERO.” In June 2019, Lil Nas X released his first EP, “7.” The record is, unsurprisingly, seven tracks long, but three of them were already released to the public. There were two versions of “Old Town Road,” the original cut and one remix, and “Panini,” his follow-up single.

Needless to say, Lil Nas X was lacking a solid, fresh release until this point. But Lil Nas X’s evolution since “Old Town Road” and even “7” is remarkable.

While there were some tracks on “7” that didn’t have the firepower that would have given it a longer shelf life;, “MONTERO” has all that and then some. With the album came the track “THAT’S WHAT I WANT” in which Lil Nas X describes his loneliness as a gay Bblack man.

Lil Nas X teased this track for seven months, as he did with hit singles “MONTERO (Call Me by Your Name)” and “INDUSTRY BABY.” Finally hearing the finished product, which is so polished, extravagant and peppy, is like a sigh of relief, and that’s the genius of Lil Nas X’s marketing.

The features on this album are perfect complements to Lil Nas X’s capabilities. Doja Cat and Megan Thee Stallion deliver decent guest verses on this album, but the most meaningful feature is Elton John on “ONE OF ME.” John doesn’t sing on the track, but rather delivers piano passages that soothingly wrap up the track.

The track is about Lil Nas X’s artistic creativity and how some have told him to “stick to what he’s best at,” meaning writing radio-friendly hits like “Old Town Road.” This track was extremely important to have on the album, because it’s not only a great song, but a fitting example of Lil Nas X’s growth since he first came to fame.

Another thing I like about this album is that it doesn’t overstay its welcome.

Don’t get me wrong, I could listen to anything that Lil Nas X puts out, but we’re in the middle of what I would call a musical crisis. Artists like Young Thug and Lil Baby are guilty of loading their albums full of nonsense just to increase the run time. No one wants to listen to albums that are north of 27 tracks and 90 minutes.

“MONTERO” has 15 tracks and is 41 minutes long. That’s a perfect album length, especially when artists stick to a constant theme, like Lil Nas X did on this album with his feelings of loneliness and heartbreak.

Although it can get tiring listening to the same sound over and over, Lil Nas X achieved his goal and didn’t try to run up the streams by releasing a bloated tracklist.

Overall, this album is very emotional and is a great window into Lil Nas X’s mind. Some of it we’ve heard before, but his lyrics about struggling to find love (“THAT’S WHAT I WANT”) and about where he came from before he was famous (“TALES OF DOMINICA”) but this is the fresh, complete Lil Nas X collection that fans waited nearly four years for. Nearly every track from this album will be in my rotation for months to come.

From the grand production, to Lil Nas X’s great vocal performances, to the lyrical substance that some thought he wasn’t capable of delivering, “MONTERO” is a contender to finish near the top of my year-end list of favorite albums.

4.5/5 Butterflies

September 22, 2021

DESIGN BY CONNOR LAWLESS

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

Arts & Life|7

Album Reviews

Baby Keem shows he’s not a child anymore on first studio album 'The Melodic Blue'

By MICHAEL LAROCCA Contributing Writer

4/5 Brooding Keems

The trendiest person in all of rap just set the world on fire.

Hykeem Jamaal Carter Jr., a 20-year-old rapper known as “Baby Keem,” had one of the best two-week stretches an artist could ever ask for. On Aug. 27, he released “family ties,” the lead single for his upcoming album, “The Melodic Blue.”

The single, recorded and performed with his cousin and rapper, Kendrick Lamar, earned its way up the charts, with many calling it the best track of 2021.

Two days later, on Aug. 29, Keem jumped back into the pool, being featured on the track “Praise God” from Kanye West’s album “Donda” alongside Travis Scott.

The two tracks combined with the resurgence of Keem’s 2019 mixtape “DIE FOR MY BITCH” set the stage perfectly for him to have all the attention when his album was released on Sept. 10.

Many listeners, including myself, were skeptical, yet hopeful for what the album would bring to the table. In the past, Keem’s music had lived and died by his sophomoric bars and somewhat squeaky voice. As a result, many were waiting to see if two years between his last release and this one was enough time for him to mature lyrically and vocally.

Even from the first track, “trademark usa,” Keem left no room for doubt. The opening track brings out a side of him that listeners had never seen. The abundance of flow and beat changes throughout is more than enough to keep the listener engaged and optimistic for the rest of the album.

We also see more mature lyrics from “The Melodic Blue.” In “trademark usa,” Keem discusses the adversity he has seen during his life and the position he found himself in at the age of 20, “I took the 'Lac then hopped on the flight/ I cannot look towards your jaded advice/ I took the torch, I quit being nice/ I took the torch, now I gotta fight.”

Over the course of the album’s 16-track run, we see Keem’s talent on full

display. Each song has an amazing amount of sonic variety, leaving at least one or two tracks for each person to like. Songs like “pink panties,” “south africa” and “durag activity” all have some of the catchiest hooks you will ever hear in a rap album.

“South africa” hasd by far the most catchy hook in an album full of great ones, “Catch a flight out the blue, South Africa/ Hit my plug for the juice, then I re-up/ Cancel me, I cancel you, we won't make up/ You get money, I do too, let's fall in love.”

While every song on the album has its positives, no song can match the raw emotion, production, and lyricism of track 11, titled “scars.” Keem uses this track to show how many important people in his life have left him, causing him to question his faith in God. The song itself has a soft, yet rhythmic style that gives off similar vibes to West’s 2008 album “808s and Heartbreak.”

It's fitting that the song would sound like that, as it happens to sample the drum line from the song “Love Lockdown,” from the same album.

“The Melodic Blue” also flaunts its conservative, yet efficient features. Popular artists Don Toliver and Travis Scott have excellent features on the songs “cocoa” and “durag activity,” respectively. After his performance on “family ties,” Lamar rears his head twice more, once on “range brothers” and again on “vent.”

The three total features from Lamar are a welcome addition to the album, especially for fans of his who have been starved of new music since his most recent album “DAMN,” released in 2017.

Overall, “The Melodic Blue” stands on its own as one of the best albums of 2021, standing up to albums such as Tyler, the Creator’s “CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST” and Olivia Rodrigo’s “SOUR.” It’s quality is made more impressive by the fact that Keem wrote and produced this album almost completely by himself, and at such a young age. With Keem showing this much potential now, music fans can only be ecstatic to see what comes from him in the years, and hopefully, decades to come.

Lord Huron isn't cowboying around with latest album 'Long Lost'

By CONNOR LAWLESS Creative Director

4/5 Tumbleweeds

“May you live until you die.”

That’s the tagline for Lord Huron’s fourth album, “Long Lost” which sets the tone for the somber, yet lively, album. It has a timeless sound that not only is a return to their earlier, more rustic work, but also serves as an homage to an era long lost. Although the album was recorded and released in May 2021 during lockdowns, Lord Huron has hit the stage once more for their fall tour starting Sept.9.

“Long Lost” starts with a short introduction of lead singer Ben Schneider crooning a single verse while strumming notes on a guitar reminiscent of music from an older, wilder West before fading out to the sound of a clapping audience. This quick minute sets the scene for the whole album, which plays out like a performance set at the turn of the 20th century. There’s a vaudeville-esque narrator appearing between songs with a joke or an introduction between songs that have a timeless quality that could’ve been made a century ago, even though they were made this year.

The themes of Lord Huron’s latest are nothing particularly ground-breaking for the band. Their standard lyrics of longing and failed love are there and are not subtle with song titles like “Love Me Like You Used To” and “Mine Forever.”

However, the idea of time is toyed around with more in this album than the others. This shows in many of the lyrics, and the album’s sound reminiscent of a lost time, and in other ways it is played within the songs. The album’s closer, a 14-minute instrumental bluntly called “Time’s Blur,” loops right back into the first song.

Some of the highlights of the album are the songs, “Love Me Like You Used To,” “Long Lost” and “I Lied” which features new and upcoming artist Allison Ponthier’s otherworldly singing. Like the rest of their albums, Lord Huron’s latest has a unified sound that ties every song to one another.

The most prominent instrument in “Long Lost” is a soulful, deep acoustic guitar that sounds just at home underscoring Schneider’s rich voice as it does in a Clint Eastwood film. Along with the guitar, the band uses a lot of unique one-off acoustic instruments in their songs to diversify an otherwise standard sound along with a lot of harmonizing in their vocals to add depth. This stands out in their live performances where over half the band members are singing and switching instruments nearly every other track to stay true to the sound of their songs.

Lord Huron’s music comes alive with live performances.

With six band members and a mountain of instruments, the diverse sounds between their albums are all covered with a lively and commanding stage presence. Although their music can be very subdued and, on some songs, sleepy, this could not be more untrue during their performances. With an attitude of getting through as much of their discography as possible, show-goers are sure to get their money’s worth as Lord Huron played an impressive 23 and 24 songs respectively at their shows at Pier 17 in New York City on Sept. 16 and 17.

Just like the album, “I Lied” is a highlight of their latest shows with Ponthier joining them on her first major tour as the opener and to join Lord Huron in singing her part in the song. The crowd at the show on Sept. 16, which I was a part of, never cheered louder than when the duo finished the song that combined Lord Huron’s warm instrumentation with Pontheir’s gorgeous vocals.

If you are a fan of indie music, or just feel like cowboying around, do yourself a favor and give “Long Lost” a listen and if given the opportunity, see them live. Tickets will fit right in your budget and you won’t regret it.

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

8|Arts & Life

September 22, 2021

Nostalgia’s enemy: moving forward

By NEHA SEENARINE

Associate Arts & Life Editor

When you get older, you often stop having the same interests as before. As you age, your imagination declines and adapts to the “real” world. Although facing reality can be sad, growing up is not a bad thing.

The magic from your youth fizzles out when reality smacks you. However, when you’re naive, you don’t think about the consequences that you can face. You consider your actions by wondering how it can affect others and your future.

When I was younger, I wanted to be the next pop sensation after Hannah Montana. A brown female that embodies Britney Spears, I would be a “cultural reset”’ in the music industry.

Unfortunately, I realized winning “American Idol” would be difficult considering a whale has more musical range than me.

It was OK for me to ditch my Y2K pop music influence and focus on a career that matches my skills.

Another reality that comes with age is the importance of financial stability, which can be a dream killer. In the U.S., you need money to survive. I dread every week when I have to fill my gas tank with my part-time job paycheck. I don’t think I could be capable of handling a full-time job working 40 hours a week in the future. It seems so exhausting to work only to constantly pay bills. However, I am strongly encouraged by my family to find a job so I would never have to face the financial struggles they did.

I often wonder if my ambition to write editorials professionally is worth my time. I also thought about other careers I could pursue. If I could be a briefcase girl on “Deal or No Deal” without worrying about if I fit their beauty standards, I would audition. I considered being a cruise director and making families smile on their vacation.

However, tourism is a worrisome industry through the pandemic. These careers seem like enjoyable roles, but I know it wouldn’t be long-term.

Having a passion that does not have a steady income can be discouraging. I consider my backup options if the writing industry does not give me the big bucks I need. There’s the old saying, “Choose a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.” However, it seems our dream jobs do not pay the bills.

PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY NEHA SEENARINE

Neha Seenarine aspired to be like pop sensation Hannah Montana at the age of seven.

Growing up happens without us realizing it. For example, when I look at a box of Twinkies, I want to gag. It’s not like I woke up one day and decided to hate Hostess snacks.

My palate matured, and I am thankful that my sugar intake decreased. When I was younger, I would grab countless snacks off the shelf. My father had to put me on a spending budget, but now he asks if I’m sure when I don’t want anything from the weekly grocery store flyer.

There is a difference between maturing and having an acquired taste. For example, I prefer citrus flavors in food and beverages. I stay away from anything cotton candy because it is too sweet. However, there are consumers who enjoy those flavors so much that products like cotton candy wine exist. There is nothing wrong with liking certain foods, but sometimes it comes to a point where it does not taste like the first time you ate it.

We tend to also grow out of relationships. We find ourselves creating friendships based on the same interests.

However, interests can change and we adapt to the environment we live in. We’re heavily influenced by the people around us, societal status and even the climate we live in. Sometimes we get annoyed when our friend comes back from a trip to Europe, and they claim it changed their life. Maybe it did.

“There’s no silver bullet theory for explaining anyone's taste,” said journalist Tom Vanderbilt in an interview with The Atlantic. “It's always a mixture of exposure, of culture, of a person's personality. And none of these are particularly static or fixed. The nice thing about tastes is that they are subject to change. We can kind of always be reinventing them and reinventing ourselves a little bit.”

It’s OK to change. We need to break away from routines that stop us from growing. There is no harm in venturing out and finding what you honestly enjoy. As the worst break-up proposal would say, “It’s not you, it’s me.”

PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY NEHA SEENARINE

Neha Seenarine ditched her Y2K dreams and now purues a career in the journalism industry.

Book of the Week Matthew McConaughey's memoir shares his life experiences

By BRENDAN SAMSON Associate Podcast Producer

The last book I read was in my high school English class, and to find the last book I read for pleasure you would have to go back a few years before that. But when Matthew McConaughey writes a memoir, you have to give it the green light.

Released in October 2020, McConaughey’s memoir “Greenlights” is the product of 52 days spent with no electricity and no distractions writing in the desert. He combined 36 years’ worth of journals and diaries into one book focusing around the idea of catching greenlights.

As he describes it, catching greenlights is something that sets you up for success in life. In his book, he explains his red and yellow lights and how they all become green eventually.

It did not take much convincing for me to sink my teeth into stories about McConaughey’s life. I try to consume every type of McConaughey-related media from magazine articles to YouTube videos, so a book written by him was only a skip and a jump away.

For those who do not obsess about the 51-year-old Oscar winner, McConaughey kicked off an extensive virtual book tour, informing everyone about his new project. The tour spanned for months and McConaughey stopped by what seemed like every talk show in the country promoting the book.

Now the reason I lay out the book tour, his story and my obsession, is to make it clear just how high my hopes were for this autobiography.

I had plenty of expectations about what I wanted it to be and it not only met my expectations, but it surpassed them and then some.

McConaughey is not just some actor fumbling over his words as he discusses his time in the limelight. Instead, he is an eloquent writer who spends most of his time transporting

the reader into experiences from his childhood and beyond.

The book takes you from his early years as the youngest child in a blue-collar Texas family to his journey in acting.

He talks about his first movie, “Dazed and Confused,” and how acting, which was a summertime hobby at first, turned into a career.

He does not just focus on his time in the spotlight; a majority of the memoir focuses on the stories that made him who he is today. Whether they are from his family, or his time traveling to acting gigs alone, they are all captivating.

The best part about the memoir is the way it is written.

As I mentioned earlier, McConaughey isolated himself in the desert with nothing but his journals when writing “Greenlights,” that means the product is written completely by the source.

Many celebrities who write memoirs have the assistance of a co-writer, someone who can take their thoughts and experiences and make them legible. In McConaughey’s case, he wrote the entire memoir alone and this is evident in his writing.

He writes how he speaks.

The book is riddled with entertaining stories that left me constantly asking, “is he the most interesting person on the planet?” I think the answer is yes.

This is shown in his travels after college. After having a dream where he is floating on the Amazon River in complete peace, he did what any young man trying to make it in Hollywood would do, he went to South America.

There, he put his career on hold to “find his frequency” and reset, ultimately gaining perspective on his life thus far.

Following his dreams and floating shirtless down the Amazon River is just a small taste of the impulsive travels McConaughey has embarked on. He toured the world in a van, an Airstream trailer and a car in his journey outlined in “Greenlights” and his unique perspective on life.

ILLUSTRATION BY AMANDA RIHA

September 22, 2021

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

Arts & Life|9

‘The Manifest’ finale and predictions for the final season This show is so good, time stopped for fi FIve and a half years

By ANYA GRONDALSKI Staff Writer

In June, all three seasons of the hit show “Manifest” were added to Netflix. The third season was the most shocking yet, leaving even more questions unanswered than its previous counterparts.

“Manifest” follows a group of plane passengers who were presumed dead for five and a half years after their flight disappeared. The show primarily follows the story of Ben Stone and his sister Michaela, as well as their circle of friends and family, and their struggle to adjust to their new reality. As time goes on, they realize that all the passengers have supernatural abilities and receive visions about tasks that they are destined to perform. They refer to these as “callings.”

Seasons one and two set the tone for how everyone would make up for lost time. It also demonstrated just how intense their supernatural abilities could be. Season three moves beyond the private sphere, as the government is now fully involved with studying scientific explanations for the passage of time and the passengers' return. *SPOILERS AHEAD!*

The best moment of season three I absolutely loved the meth dealers’ storyline from episodes two to six and the way that their redemption was connected. Olive Stone, Ben’s daughter, is finally falling into a helpful role in all of this. The callings’ connections to biblical scripture, ancient Egypt and old folktales makes everything seem more realistic rather than outlandishly supernatural.

Honorable mentions The respark in the Michaela, Zeke Landon and Jared Vasquez love triangle was just what I needed to get through this season.

Viewers watched Michaela come home to her boyfriend of 12 years, Jared, married to her best friend Lourdes. They ended up cheating together and since then, Jared has continued to believe Michaela is his soul mate. All the while, Michaela chose to get married to Zeke, who also came back from the dead but did so on a mountain after getting hypothermia.

I adored the addition of Tarik in episode two, Grace’s brother who she has a bad past with. Michaela and Zeke stepping up as Beverley’s caretakers in episode three brought the turmoil from season one full circle. Beverley is the mother of Michaela’s late best friend Evie, who she killed in a drunk driving accident.

Beverly suffers from dementia, so she constantly forgets her daughter and husband have died, and that Michaela isn’t with Jared anymore.

The worst Evangelical 828 passenger Angelina Meyer was the worst new character to join the show. Not only do I hate her for stabbing Grace Stone, Ben’s wife, to death in the finale, but her whiny attitude and creepy attachment to the Stones made her unlikable.

Her love story with Pete Baylor, one of the meth dealers, felt out of the blue and rushed. I don’t understand why Michaela would have been called to rescue Angelina from her parent’s prison if her destiny was to kidnap Michaela’s neice baby Eden and murder her sister-in-law Grace.

My predictions After public uproar followed its cancellation by NBC on June 14 “Manifest” was renewed for a fourth and final 20-episode season by Netflix. Thankfully, the bulk of series regulars signed on to join the cast. It was announced recently that Matt Long, who plays Zeke Landon, would in fact return for season four. There was confusion after Long signed on to NBC’s “Getaway” after “Manifest” was initially cancelled by NBC. Hate on me all you want, but I will take to my grave that Michaela and Jared belong together. Beverly said it herself to Zeke, albeit she was just channeling Zeke’s thoughts.

“She thought you would die in a day,” Beverly said. “Doesn't hold a candle to 12 years of being together.”

The romantic chemistry between them is still palpable, even though Michalela is married and Jared has seemingly moved on. And as we saw Jared cheat on his then-wife Lourdes with Michaela best friend upon the plane’s return, I think Zeke’s doubts in his marriage are setting us up for a Lourdes 2.0, and I’m completely here for it.

Moving on, Grace is definitely dead. I don’t see her character’s resurrection fitting into the progression of the storylines.

Additionally, Athena Karkanis, who plays Grace, has not signed on for season four. I think Grace has been Ben’s rock and only source of sanity. Think about all the times where he threw off those glasses, grasped his temple and bowed his head. Grace picked him up every time.

The most heartbreaking part too, is how many struggles they have overcome as a couple because of the whole 828 thing. Just this season, we saw Ben fall off the rails and Grace questioned if she could handle it anymore. With some support from Michaela, she assured herself that she could do it because a couple of bad years is nothing compared to a lifetime with her husband and children.

That is what broke viewers' hearts about their consistent marital struggles and her ultimate death. Ben has been so focused on him and his family member’s impending death date that he couldn’t live in the present. He was so concerned with not being around in a few years, that he didn’t realize he could lose his wife so easily.

For this reason, I predict he’ll blame himself for her death and fall into chaos. With Eagan’s mob forming against him, it’s likely that

Ben will be on high alert to protect his family, possibly even ready to commit murder.

In the last five minutes of the final episode, we saw that Cal had returned back home after disappearing via black lightning at Eureka, but he’s significantly older. My theory here is that in returning to an abyss to prove that the tailfin needed to be back in the ocean, Cal was rewarded by defeating his death date early. He kept saying that he knew what he had to do, with tears welling in his eyes. Maybe there's a chance that he knew his mother had to die for the greater good, and that’s why he peacefully stayed by her as she passed instead of frantically trying to save her life or call for help. He was also the one responsible for Angelina, his mother’s murderer and sister’s captor, sticking around in the first place. I predict he’s aged the five and a half years he’s been missing, plus the two years since they’ve returned and will not have callings anymore. Maybe he’ll develop some special skill like Zeke’s empathic powers.

In terms of the greater plot, I imagine we’ll get more information about the Noah’s Ark parallel and hopefully get answers to how a lot of things have become what they are. Why has Cal always had such a strong connection to the supernatural?

How has Ben become the natural leader of 828? How are they going to defeat their death date? Also, what the hell happened with Pilot Daley in the finale?

I cannot wait until season four is released. I’ve been watching since it debuted in 2018, and this show is a huge part of my life.

Normally, I dislike media that leaves questions unanswered. I don’t like having to draw my own conclusions about how a story has ended. However, “Manifest” masters this art by layering and intertwining a number of storylines. Just as one plot point reaches resolution, it joins an opposite trajectory that keeps you on the edge of your seat for every episode.

Another part of what makes this show so popular is its uniqueness. The plot and its supernatural nuances make this show so very strange, but the modern New York City setting and humane acting makes it feel raw and real. All the actors are consumed by their characters, never failing to add slight movements or quick looks that reveal their underlying thoughts and emotions. Although as a viewer, character decisions can be frustrating, every choice and reaction makes perfect sense once you’ve placed yourself in the scene.

It’s just good TV wrapped up in a confusing bow.

ILLUSTRATION BY CONNOR LAWLESS

Queer excellence at this year’s Met Gala LGBTQ representation and awareness were in full force on fashion’s biggest stage

By DAVID MATOS

Associate Arts & Life Editor

The Met Gala is back and gayer than ever after a year hiatus.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art hosted the muchanticipated night on Sept. 18. The theme for this year’s Met Gala is “In America: The lexicon of fashion.” The star-studded guest list typically works with designers who uniquely interpret the provided theme through their garments. Many guests, with the American theme in mind, chose to utilize the biggest stage for fashion to represent the LGBTQ community in their red carpet looks.

Beauty influencer Nikkie de Jager wore a blue tulle gown embroidered with floral accents by Edwin Oudshoorn. The makeup enthusiast came out to the world as transgender last year in a YouTube video titled “I’m Coming Out” and continues to use her platform to bring much-needed awareness to the LGBTQ community. Her gown pays homage to Marsha P. Johnson, a Black American, gender nonconforming activist. Johnson was one of the of the pivotal figures of the Stonewall Riots in 1969 that helped kickstart the gay liberation movement.

Jager’s floral accents on her gown are inspired by Johnson’s signature flower crowns made from discarded flowers found in the Flower District of New York City. The garment was also decorated with a sash that read, “pay it no mind.” The phrase was often used by Johnson when they were questioned about their gender identity. On the morning of the event, Jager went to visit and lay flowers on the location where Johnson’s body was found.

“When I got asked to join the Met Gala I knew I wanted to pay homage to a trans icon who was at the forefront of the Stonewall Riots,” Jager said in an Instagram post. “Masha P. Johnson paved the way for so many of us, and I hope I made my community proud tonight.”

American soccer player and LGBTQ activist, Megan Rapinoe, wore a blue top embroidered with white stars tucked into a red pantsuit by fashion designer Sergio Hudson. Her ensemble, made to clearly represent the American flag, is paired with an Edie Parker clutch that read “America” on one side and “in gay we trust” on the other, directly playing on America’s national motto, “In God We Trust.”.

Dan Levy, creator, and star of “Schitt’s Creek,” wore a high-concept look created by Jonathan Anderson and the LOEWE team. The garment is inspired by the American multimedia artist and LGBTQ activist, David Wojnarovicz.

His work is influenced by his struggle with AIDS. He was a member of ACT UP, an international political group whose goal is to end the AIDS pandemic. He died in 1992 from AIDS-related complications.

Levy’s outfit has the imagery of two men kissing. This image is taken directly from Wojnarovicz’s work, which is named after a homophobic cartoon the activist discovered.

“But rather than feed on the message of hate, we wanted to celebrate queer love and visibility – acknowledging how hard artists like Wojnarovicz had to fight, while also presenting the imagery in a way that offered a hopeful message,” Levy wrote on Instagram.

The look honors a queer American voice while celebrating the resilience and emotions of the LGBTQ community.

The background on the ensemble is of world maps, which demonstrate the arbitrary borders and divisions faced by the queer community. In honor of the collaboration, LOEWE donated to Visual AIDS, an organization supported by Wojnarovicz that promotes AIDS awareness and education.

Elliot Page, the star of “The Umbrella Academy,” wore an understated black Balenciaga suit paired with black sneakers.

This is Page’s first red carpet appearance since coming out as transgender in December of last year. Pinned to his chest was a green rose, which had more of a powerful statement than what meets the eye.

The flower is a reference to Irish poet and playwright Oscar Wilde, who was famously persecuted for his sexuality in the late 1800s. Wilde once asked his friends to wear green carnations to the opening night of his comedy “Lady Windermere’s Fan” in 1892 and has become a symbol for queerness ever since.

A green carnation on the lapel is an ingenious hint of one’s homosexual identity. The unnatural color of the flower is also symbolic of something that many close-minded individuals often view as unnatural, queerness.

The Met Gala has always been a safe space to express something important to the wearer through their garment.

Queer history and awareness have consistently lacked mainstream media attention. Whether the message is as subtle as Page’s green rose or as overt as Rapinoe’s “in gay we trust” clutch, any message or historic moment that is pushed to the forefront is a major progressive step forward for the LGBTQ community.

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

10|Sports

Scores & Schedules 9/15 Golf won by 12 strokes against Fairfield

9/17 MXC placed 7th of 10 against Iona WXC placed 2nd of 9 against Iona FH lost 3-2 against Temple

9/18

VB won 3-0 against Saint Peter’s MSOC won 1-0 against Harvard WIH won 3-1 against UConn

9/19

FH lost 2-0 against Hofstra VB lost 3-1 against Rider WSOC lost 1-0 against Columbia

September 22, 2021

Quinnipiac men’s soccer rolling into MAAC play

Bobcats are charging out of the gates after last season’s MAAC championship loss

By ZACK HOCHBERG Staff Writer

Following its 1-0 win over Harvard on Saturday, the Quinnipiac men’s soccer team is off to a blistering 5-0 start to its season. Quinnipiac is one of six Division I soccer teams that remain perfect, pending results against Tuesday’s game against New Hampshire, which is ranked No. 9 in the country.

The Bobcats have notched wins against Central Connecticut State, Boston College, UMass Lowell, Sacred Heart and Harvard. Quinnipiac is outscoring opponents 8-2, largely because of the stellar play from sophomore goalkeeper Antreas Hadjigavriel, who has only allowed one goal in four starts.

Last week, Quinnipiac received votes in the latest United Soccer Coaches Top 25 Poll, which recognizes the top Division I soccer teams in the nation. The Bobcats received two votes in the weekly rankings, finishing just outside the Top 25 for the second week in a row.

Additionally, Quinnipiac was ranked No. 7 in the most recent East Region rankings, finishing behind Georgetown, Tulsa, Seton Hall, Southern Methodist, Providence and Xavier. The first three of that list are nationally ranked, at No. 1, No. 10 and No. 19, respectively. Providence received four votes in the weekly rankings.

On Aug. 24, the MAAC announced that the Bobcats were named preseason title favorites, earning 115 poll points, seven of them for first place. Monmouth and Fairfield tied for second place in the poll with 96 points apiece.

Freshman forward Sam McCann raved about the team’s closeness.

“The culture’s been amazing so far,” McCann said. “We’ve been here since August 9th and since then we’ve grown into a family and sometimes I think it’s deeper than that.”

McCann scored his first goal of his collegiate career on Sept. 11 against Central Connecticut State.

“My goal is always to help the team,” McCann said. “... I’ve always thought that scoring at a high level was a great way to help the team win.”

Quinnipiac captain Paulo Soares is one of the Bobcats’ longest tenured players. As a senior last spring, Soares was a member of the All-MAAC team and the MAAC All-Academic team. Soares started all nine games for Quinnipiac, scoring one goal to go along with two assists.

Soares witnessed the Bobcats come up just short in last season’s MAAC title game and is using that defeat for motivation as the Bobcats search for revenge this season.

“It was unfortunate, but it’s something that we can use to keep us accountable this year,” Soares said. “It’s been like

that for a couple years now and we’re going to use that to push us the extra mile.”

Junior forward Brage Aasen was named MAAC Preseason Player of the Year. The junior scored five goals and added four during the spring 2021 campaign. Aasen scored his first goal of the season on Sept. 18 against Harvard. Aasen, junior forward Tomas Svecula, Soares, sophomore defender Luke Allen, junior defender Henry Weigand and graduate student goalkeeper Jared Mazzola were all selected to the Preseason All-MAAC Team, where the Bobcats earned six of the 12 squad selections.

The Bobcats are led by former Quinnipiac soccer player and current head coach Eric Da Costa, who is beginning his 17th season as squad leader. Da Costa is the longest tenured men’s soccer coach in Quinnipiac’s history.

Da Costa has the Bobcats scorching-hot out of the gates to a 5-0 start, which builds on their impressive spring 2021 campaign, where he led the team to a 5-1 in-conference record and their fourth MAAC title appearance since joining the conference in 2013. Da Costa boasts a 128-111-52 overall record with Quinnipiac.

Da Costa agreed with Soares, stating that it’ll be important to build off of last season’s tough ending.

“Unfortunately we came up three minutes short, but I think that’s motivated us coming into this year …” Da Costa said. “The boys are really motivated for the year, to have an opportunity to play again. We want to win a regular season championship, we want to have the opportunity to play in the final and we want to take it one step further.”

Since COVID-19 pushed back all of the fall sports last season, the soccer team was forced to play in the spring.

The Bobcats are now working with a shortened offseason, but Da Costa believes that was a blessing in disguise.

“It gave us the opportunity to take a little bit of a break and then start back up again,” Da Costa said. “Normally that’s not the rhythm, you lose a little bit of the intensity and mentality during those long offseasons. So, for us to have the opportunity to bring everyone back except one player, I think it has allowed us to move quicker.”

Quinnipiac will hit the road on Tuesday for their biggest test so far this season, traveling to University of New Hampshire to continue non-conference play. Quinnipiac and New Hampshire are two of the remaining six teams in Division I soccer who remain undefeated.

Quinnipiac will kick off its 10-game MAAC schedule on Sept. 29 at 3 p.m. against Siena.

Upcoming 9/24

MTEN Invitational FH @ Old Dominion 1 p.m.

WTEN @ Yale 4:30 p.m.

RUG @ Army West Point 6 p.m.

WIH vs. Maine 6 p.m.

9/25

MTEN Invitational WTEN @ Brown 9 a.m.

VB @ Niagara 1 p.m.

MSOC vs. Northeastern 2 p.m.

WIH vs. Maine 3 p.m.

WSOC @ Monmouth 6 p.m.

9/26

MTEN Invitational VB @ Canisius 12 p.m.

WTEN @ Columbia 12 p.m.

FH @ Wagner 1 p.m.

CONNOR LAWLESS/CHRONICLE

The Quinnipiac men’s soccer team has outscored its opponents 15-2 in seven games so far this year, including exhibition games.

September 22, 2021

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

Sports|11

Clark: ‘This is five years in the making’ Quinnipiac women’s soccer poised for historic season

MORGAN TENCZA/CHRONICLE ARCHIVES (2021)

By RILEY MILLETTE Sports Editor

The Quinnipiac women’s soccer team has started the 2021 season 5-1.

That sentence is a story in itself, but there’s plenty more to see when looking beyond the win and loss columns.

The women’s soccer team has been mired in a stage that some sports fans deem one of the worst forms of purgatory.

The team has been good — Quinnipiac women’s soccer head coach Dave Clarke holds a 62-61-18 record since joining the MAAC in 2013, and those numbers aren’t indicative of how well the team has played in recent years. That overall record is largely skewed due to 3-8-5 and 3-13-1 finishes in 2013 and 2014, respectively.

Despite the fact that the Bobcats have had much better seasons since those two years, the team hasn’t been quite good enough to be championship contenders.

The Bobcats have been to one MAAC championship game since they joined the conference, and couldn’t pull off a victory against the Monmouth Hawks. Since that game in 2016, the Bobcats have struggled to escape the clutches of the MAAC semifinal round, having lost in the final-four game three times in the last five seasons.

However, the team has been trending up for a long time and is ready to explode, as Clarke said.

“This is five years in the making,” Clarke said about this year’s team.

From top to bottom, underclassmen to upperclassmen, the 2021 squad is a mark of precision. Two essential parts of this team, sophomore forward/midfielder Rebecca Cooke and senior midfielder Selena Salas, are examples of how the coaching staff has molded this team.

Cooke was Quinnipiac’s leading scorer last year, scoring four goals in seven games. She’s already sailed past that figure with seven goals in six games this year. Cooke is important to the team not only because of her prolific goal scoring ability but also because of her versatility.

“She’s very tactical on the ball, so she can play those long balls forward,” junior goalkeeper Megahan Phillips said.

“And she’s even a great recovery run player, so she’ll go up and come all the way back, which is something that we need.”

Cooke serves as the engine of the team, facilitating ball movement through the middle of the field. She can also sit at the top of the formation and use her ball-handling skills to score the amount of goals that won her a MAAC Rookie of the Year Award in 2020.

This means two things for Quinnipiac. First, it’s injury support. Cooke primarily played as a forward as a freshman, but should the Bobcats find themselves thin at midfield as the season churns on, she can provide a vital boost.

“The reality is that the teams that stay healthy for the most part and are fresh will win,” Clarke said.

Cooke’s ability to play anywhere affords the Bobcats the option to do some shuffling with their lineup if players were to go down. Any team would jump at the opportunity

MORGAN TENCZA/CHRONICLE ARCHIVES (2021)

Senior midfielder Selena Salas (right) celebrates with junior defender Fleur Cordier (left) after scoring on April 6, 2021.

to slide a starting-caliber player to another position without that player’s productivity falling.

Scheme fit is also a part of the decision that goes into roster makeup. Salas, an attacking midfielder, fits perfectly alongside Cooke. Slot Cooke back into the central midfield, and her long-ball ability opens up new possibilities for Salas.

Put Cooke up top, and not only does it give Salas a partnerin-crime in the middle of the field, but it also diverts attention from the opponent’s center backs. The extra space that attention creates is an invitation to wreak all kinds of havoc.

It’s the classic strategy in sports: put the defense in a bind.

Make them choose how they get beaten. If the defense tries to take away Cooke, Quinnipiac’s most productive player, Salas and others is right behind ready to take advantage.

“Rebecca’s strength is not her ability, it’s her movement, and that’s harder to scout,” Clarke said. “That’s harder to negate. But if you stop Rebecca, it frees up (junior forward) Paige (Laberge) and Salas.”

The pairing ending up together was no accident. These two are on this roster for a reason, as can be said about several other players on the team.

“They’re all national team players and high-level players that we just happen to have together at the same time, but it wasn’t just by chance,” Clarke said.

It’s easy for most to view the signing/transfer window as a year-to-year event. One might think that teams approach signings with the intent to go out there and sign the best player available, then do it again the next year.

But careful consideration goes into how coaches construct rosters, and the 2021 Bobcats are evidence of that. Having players that are complements of each other turns a talented team into a team capable of threatening for a MAAC title.

The Bobcats have played exactly like that. Undefeated to start the season until Sept. 19, the Bobcats are playing with a chip on their shoulder. They entered the year ranked as the No. 2 team in the MAAC in the Preseason Coaches’ Poll.

It’s important to remember that the Bobcats have yet to play any MAAC teams, as all its games so far have come outside the conference. Teams like Monmouth and Siena, selected as the first and third best teams in the conference, respectively, have gathered intel on the Bobcats over the years.

These teams know what the Bobcats are looking to do on the pitch, and are thus better prepared for when game day rolls around. Monmouth, Quinnipiac’s rival on the soccer pitch, has had the Bobcats’ number. The Hawks knocked the Bobcats out of the playoffs last year in the semifinals, a stinging upset, as No. 3 Monmouth pulled off the 2-0 victory against No. 2 Quinnipiac.

Yet, this year feels different. The upperclassmen group of Phillips, Salas and junior midfielder Markela Bejleri, among others, is still performing at its peak while the young group of Cooke, sophomore forward Courtney Chochol and sophomore/midfielder Olivia Kudrikow is on the rise.

And given the Bobcats’ success so far this year, lots of teams will be visiting Hamden with the mindset that in order to be the best, you have to beat the best.

“We do have that target on our back,” Phillips said. “People do want to beat us, they do want to score on us. So we’ve just got to keep playing how we’re playing.”

12|Sports

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

Sports

September 22, 2021

@QUCHRONSPORTS

MORGAN TENCZA/CHRONICLE ARCHIVES (2019)

Pete’s pond: Inviting a challenge QU opts for stronger out-of-conference schedule as race to the national title begins

By PETER PIEKARSKI Associate Sports Editor

Strength of schedule is a fairly useful element to consider when examining a given team’s performance throughout the course of a season. The tougher the opponents are, and the better you do against them, the stronger your team becomes.

A difficult schedule gives teams opportunities to develop from playing tougher teams to help finish with a successful season. In that case, it makes sense to challenge your team frequently and allow them to handle growing pains.

That’s exactly the mindset Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey head coach Rand Pecknold used for this year’s non-conference schedule.

Having all of the ECAC Hockey teams back this season, rather than just the three (Clarkson, Colgate and St. Lawrence) from the previous season is enough competition for Quinnipiac. But following a year where Pecknold and his team had higher aspirations than a day one regional round bow-out, he planned for his team to face off against higher caliber schools.

With the roster adjustments and uncertainty around the strength of the ECAC Hockey conference, my prediction for Quinnipiac is a 13-6-3 record, finishing within the top three in the conference.

As for the remainder of the schedule, the Bobcats have 14 nonconference games, including four tournament-style games.

Among those games are No. 5 North Dakota, No. 6 Boston College, No. 15 AIC, Northeastern (who received top-20 USCHO poll votes), UConn (who also received votes), and Arizona State, who Quinnipiac beat in the regional round of the 2018-19 NCAA playoffs.

Adding to that, eight of these games occur within the first 12 games of the season. And in between those games, Quinnipiac heads to Yale for the return of the Battle of Whitney Avenue.

It’s going to be a grueling season for every team in the ECAC Hockey conference, and Quinnipiac did an excellent job of setting itself up for success. Whether or not they succeed will be determined throughout the season.

Overall, the expectation is for Quinnipiac to maintain a fringe top-10 ranking heading into conference playoffs. To do so, the Bobcats will need to maintain an 8-4-2 non-conference record, splitting wins in the Ice Breaker Tournament, then with North Dakota and later on with Arizona State.

That brings their seasonal total to 21-10-5, keeping them on pace with their 2018-19 and 2019-20 overall records.

This record is definitely doable for a school that intends on

competing for a national championship, and if that’s the case, then Quinnipiac needs to deliver. It’s a quick start and a lot of ground can be solidified or lost within those eight games.

Going back to the ECAC Hockey section of the schedule, Quinnipiac needs to make a statement. It cannot lose games to opponents that it’s expected to beat up on. The Bobcats have a history of not showing up in games they think should be handed to them.

Expectedly, Quinnipiac will split games with Clarkson, Cornell, Yale and Harvard. This is not due to Quinnipiac’s shortcomings but more so in anticipation of the strength of these opposing schools. Harvard is especially tough, since it is loaded with an outstanding freshman class.

If Quinnipiac builds on the success of its freshmen players and recaptures that ability to be hot right out of gates when that first puck drop happens, this team will be elite.

Establishing a relentless forecheck should be the identity of this team. Too many times over the last three seasons, Quinnipiac was invisible in the opening period. When the Bobcats show up to play and don’t allow their opponents to breathe on the breakout, they are one of the best teams in the nation.

The Bobcats exhibited how effective their play is when they swarm the opposition in the offensive end when they faced Minnesota State in the 2021 NCAA regional round. Quinnipiac took a 2-0 lead in the first because of that style of play.

Finding that balance of play will be the key to their success against top-tier opponents.

MORGAN TENCZA/CHRONICLE ARCHIVES (2019)

The Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey team is playing three nationally-ranked out-of-conference teams within its first 12 games.