OCTOBER 21, 2020 • VOLUME 91 • ISSUE 7
The official student newspaper of Quinnipiac University since 1929
Students advocate for gender and sexuality inclusion
ILLUSTRATION BY CONNOR LAWLESS
By EMILY FLAMME News Editor
A first-year student at Quinnipiac University decided to withdraw from the university this semester after facing weeks of targeted homophobic acts. Peter Jordan is moving home within the next four days but has not decided yet what his future at Quinnipiac is. Jordan said his experiences began four weeks ago when his small pride flag was removed from its location and stuffed under his blankets after leaving his room for 20 minutes. “I asked my roommate at the time if he moved it and he said ‘No,’” Jordan said. “No point in arguing.” The first day after Jordan got a new roommate, he heard banging on the door at random hours for two days. One day, he found a pile of trash when he opened the door. Then, over the course of the next four weeks, Jordan said pouding on the door continued along with trash and baby powder being left outside the door. Even though Jordan reported the incidents to his resident assistant (RA), he said the only action taken was extra attention in his hallway. Jordan said he had an anxiety attack the first night his door had baby powder thrown on it. That same night, he missed a Fourth Wall, a Quinnipiac theater company, rehearsal for the production of the production “4 AM,” and was removed from the show because of it. “It hurt,” Jordan said. “I didn’t find the energy to fight my way back into the production as they had already made up their minds. All the bridges collided and led me to decide QU was not the place for me.” Jordan said he eventually was connected to Mike Guthrie, assistant director of residential life, in which he had more serious discussions about how to handle these incidents. After meeting with Guthrie, Jordan’s mother, Lauren Jordan, wrote a post on the Quinnipiac Parents Facebook page on Oct. 18, about the hateful acts. “I started getting messages from other freshmen, friends, upperclassmen I’ve never met or talked to and staff, all offering support,” Jordan said. “Knowing I wasn’t alone has helped me push through the final days here living at QU.” In response to Lauren Jordan’s Facebook post , the Gender Sexuality Alliance (GSA) called for a more LGBTQ-friendly environment at Quinnipiac. The organization released a statement and a petition, which has over 1,380 signatures. “Unfortunately, attacks like this are far too common at Quinnipiac and are often met with inadequate action,” the See GSA Page 3
Facilities stressed out amid COVID-19 pandemic The facilities department is stretched thin during a hiring freeze By EMILY DISALVO Arts & Life Editor
Facilities workers at Quinnipiac University perform the necessary cleaning and maintenance tasks to keep the community safe while facing staff shortages and the fear of losing their jobs if the university closes. According to John Morgan, associate vice president for public relations, administration at Quinnipiac implemented a hiring freeze for the 2020-21 academic year for all faculty and staff. This means that those that retired, left or no longer work at Quinnipiac facilities for any reason were not replaced. A source in facilities, who chose to remain anonymous for job security reasons, said the hiring freeze is forcing workers to step up and perform tasks outside of their assignments. “Everyone is trying to become as irreplaceable as possible,” the source said. “People are doing more than just their day-today jobs. They are working more out of their classification.” A second anonymous source in facilities described the “additional work” created by the hiring freeze. “The burden of their job falls on everybody else to pitch in which then makes it more difficult,” the second source said. “In the past, we have been able to cover when other people are out, but now with the extra sanitizing we have to do in the morning,
it is pretty difficult to do when you are short staffed.” The facilities team has always been committed to keeping campus clean, but Morgan said the expectations are greater this year. “Quinnipiac’s facilities team is performing regular intense cleaning of all public spaces to disinfect classrooms, common areas, workspaces and dining areas to minimize transmission,” Morgan said. Morgan would not confirm whether the facilities department is short staffed this year due to the hiring freeze. Facilities managers went through training through the Global Biorisk Advisory Council so that they can become “Microbial Warrior” certified, according to Morgan. “They brought back to us what they got from (the training),” the second source said. While both sources said that they feel as safe on the job as they would in the grocery store or any other location, the job still isn’t without daily concerns. The first source said facilities workers have “daily conversations” about what will happen to their jobs if the university closes due to the COVID-19 outbreak. “We play out different scenarios as to what could happen based on the timing for a potential closure,” the first source said. See FACILITIES Page 3
ALENA DELUISE/CHRONICLE
OPINION P.4: Long lines for COVID-19 testing The lines while waiting for tests contradict social distancing guidelines.
ILLUSTRATION BY AMANDA RIHA
A&L P.6: Breast cancer awareness Access to breast cancer detection saves lives.