School of Communications announces new major
By AVA HIGHLAND Contributing Writer
Quinnipiac University’s School of Communications announced a new Bachelor of Arts in Sports Communications next fall, opening a wide variety of sports media careers beyond journalism.
Within this major, students will explore how they can work for sports teams in public relations, advertising, film, social media or television.
The major will not only attract students already in the communications program, but it can overlap with other majors and disciplines as well. While the idea has been in discussions for a while, the process was fast tracked this past spring in the curriculum to have it ready for fall 2025.
A committee of faculty members, led by Associate Dean Terry Bloom, gathered to hit the ground running this past spring. Assistant Professor of Journalism Nick Pietruszkiewicz is eager to present students with opportunities that they may have not known were possible.
“I think people see that there are so many opportunities in sports and it doesn’t just have to be journalism, it doesn’t just have to be PR, like all these things are available,” Pietruszkiewicz said. “I think watching the light bulb go off on a student, them saying, I
Tim Wise speaks on Critical Race Theory
By ANDREW ALLISON Contributing Writer
Prominent anti-racist author Tim Wise visited Quinnipiac University’s Mt. Carmel Auditorium as part of the Office of Inclusive Excellence’s “Critical Conversations” series on Thursday, Sept. 26.
“The objective of the Critical Conversations series is to foster an inclusive and intellectually stimulating environment at Quinnipiac, promoting inclusivity of thought, respectful dialog, empathetic engagement and open mindedness among students, faculty and staff,” said Claude Mayo, director of inclusive excellence, prior to Wise’s speech.
Wise’s message to Quinnipiac students was that they should be open to discussing systemic racism and their role in preventing it.
“Number one, just being open to hearing someone talk about how the system is marginalizing them, rather than getting defensive about that,” Wise said, in an interview with The Chronicle. “(Be) open to having it pointed out.”
During his speech, Wise discussed many points regarding critical race theory and its recognition.
“It’s the kind of conversations that about half the states in this country are not allowing schools to have at least not in the way that they would like to have them, or been having them over the years, about half the states in this country that have essentially prohibited discussions on systemic racism at the K-12 level,” Wise said.
He claimed some schools and institutions are intimidated by state governments into not discussing critical race theory in their classrooms.
One of Wise’s main points was that people should be open to accepting that systemic racism still exists.
“There’s a lot of things we don’t know and that we don’t understand because we’ve never
had to look at them,” Wise said.
According to Wise, critical race theory was developed to explain how racism still exists today, even after the Civil Rights movement.
“So they developed this body of thought to sort of explain that maybe this problem of racism is much more deeply ingrained than we thought,” Wise said. “...you still need to engage it in order to know if you can revise a theory,” Wise said.
He emphasized that critical race theory can be “revised,” and to be revised it has to be exercised.
“You still need to engage it in order to know if you can revise a theory,” Wise said. He emphasized that critical race theory can be “revised,” and to be revised it has to be exercised.
Wise described critical race theory as an attempt to explain something that we see and don’t understand. “I think the most important thing to know is that, just like any theory, it tries to explain a phenomenon, right?”
He used a metaphor of “whack-a-mole” to describe how racism is hard to defeat because it is removed from one place and “pops up” somewhere else.
Wise has spent over 30 years visiting and speaking with various audiences and institutions about dealing with racial inequity in their organizations.
He is also the author of nine books and his memoir, “White Like Me.”
The Office of Inclusive Excellence plans to invite additional speakers, including one within the next few weeks.
“The events are designed to empower participants to be better prepared to embrace inclusivity of thought by actively listening to and engaging with concepts and ideas that may challenge their personal values without dismissing or silencing different viewpoints,” Mayo said.
Students and faculty watch as Tim Wise, anti-racist writer and educator, speaks during the Critical Conversations event on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024.
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Wise, author of “White Like Me,” talks during the
event.
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Quinnipiac’s 990 Form shows increase in officials salaries
By ALEXANDRA MARTINAKOVA Editor-in-Chief
Quinnipiac University’s 2022-2023 fiscal year 990 tax documentation obtained by The Chronicle showed an increase in salaries and a return of study abroad opportunities investments. The Internal Revenue Service requires all tax-exempt organizations to file Form 990 to provide the IRS with their annual returns — including non-profit universities like Quinnipiac.
The documentation reveals information about the period from July 1, 2022 until June 30, 2023.
Here’s what the document revealed:
EMPLOYEE SALARIES
The most notable change from the 2021 2022 fiscal year is in the top employee’s salaries, each of which still earned more than $270,000. Unlike other reports on the form, salaries are measured by calendar not fiscal year.
President Judy Olian crossed back over the 1 million mark, earning over $1,160,000 in her fifth year as the university’s leader — an over $180,000 increase since the previous year. Olian has announced her retirement at the beginning of this academic year.
Olian wasn’t the highest-paid university leader in the state, as a comparison, Fairfield University’s President Mark Nemec earned almost $858,000 and Yale University’s President Peter Salovey’s paycheck totaled over $2,318,000, according to their respective 990s.
Quinnipiac’s total enrollment for the fall of the 2022-2023 academic year was 8,918 undergraduate and graduate students. Fairfield had 6,019 and Yale totaled 14,776 students.
The second highest earner for Quinnipiac was once again former men’s basketball head coach Baker Dunleavy, who resigned in April 2023 after accepting a position at Villanova University. In his last year at his post, Dunleavy earned over $800,000 — over $30,000 more than the previous year despite the team having a worse record.
Even though the position of the Dean of
SPORTS COMMUNICATIONS from cover
didn’t think of that.”
The program will present students with career options in sports in addition to journalism that may have been otherwise unknown to them.
“What I’m mostly excited about is offering a new path for students who do love sports to really explore it and explore all the different ways you can communicate sports within the communications world,”
Associate Professor of Journalism and Chair of Journalism Ben Bogardus said.
The curriculum includes basic communications requisites as well as a wide variety of new courses. Several electives offered in the graduate Sports Journalism program will now be offered as courses for Sports Communications.
“It’s really designed for students who have a love of sports, and it’s designed to teach them that sports is more than just sports reporting,” Bogardus said. “There are a lot of things you do in the communications field with sports, and we’re going to offer a lot of different electives so that they can explore what they’re interested in.”
School of Medicine has always appeared in the top earners for the university, it fell out of it for a year after a leadership change. In July 2021, Phillip Boiselle took over the position from the founding dean Bruce Keoppen.
Boiselle earned almost $640,000 in his second year.
And in the year of the national championship title, men’s hockey head coach Rand Pecknold saw an over $50,000 raise.
The top four highest paid University employees is closed out by Elicia Spearman, former general counsel and vice president for human resources. Spearman resigned in April of this year to become the Girl Scouts of Connecticut’s next chief executive officer, despite being in the top five for the last two reported years.
Chief Financial Officer Mark Varholak and Provost Debra Liebowitz both saw an increase in their paychecks as well.
Former President Emeritus John Lahey was the only one from the top earners who actually lost a small amount from his previous earnings.
EXPENSES, REVENUE AND ASSETS
Quinnipiac’s expenses rose 2.04% from the previous fiscal year, with 0.3% reported as executive compensation and 27.6% as other salaries and wages.
The university’s expenses steadily increase with the years, at least for the last 10 reported years.
But so have its total assets — with the exception of the 2021-2022 fiscal year — sitting at $1.89 billion.
Total assets are things that companies possess and that have or create value, which can include cash, short-term investments, long-term investments, property and equipment. Revenue is money flowing into a company for providing goods and services to its customers, according to The Motley Fool.
Speaking of which, Quinnipiac’s filing also indicated that the university’s net revenue was just above $41 million. So while its revenue increased from the previous fiscal year where it fell
New classes will also be added along the way. In particular, Bogardus hopes to bring in a course on play-by-play announcing.
“I think they’re also going to be very focused on preparing students to do jobs in sports, so that they’re ready once they get out into the world and are prepared to do those jobs,” Pietruszkiewicz said.
Though they did not face any challenges in getting the degree approved, there was a long process of getting approval from several committees. Once the committee created their plan, they first went through the School of Communications. The committee needed to ensure everyone in the school was on board and all the majors could contribute to classes.
The faculty in the SOC expressed immense support.
“I think that that was very heartening in the sense that everyone came together in the School of Communications for this, they saw the value of it, and also across the university,” Bogardus said.
This idea was then moved on to a Faculty Senate Committee which approves new programs. This committee is made up of representatives from all the schools at Quinnipiac.
by 8%, the university actually earned less this fiscal year.
To stay with the comparisons, Fairfield reported an income of just under $40 million while Yale was out there with over $700 million.
FOREIGN INVESTMENTS
Quinnipiac once again reported over $50 million in foreign investments in Central America and the Caribbean. The university also invested almost $1,100,000 in study abroad opportunities for its students across the globe, a significant increase from the previous year that was still plagued by the COVID-19 quarantine rules about travel. Quinnipiac University officials have not responded to The Chronicle’s attempts for a statement.
Though it is a long process, it was crucial to create the new program.
“It’s something that we really take a lot of time to do, because we want to make sure that the curriculum is solid, that the courses are something that students would want to take, but also that something the university could stand behind,” Bogardus said.
Students currently applying to the university have the opportunity to select Sports Communications as their major as the program will be available starting next fall. The new program is expected to increase interest in prospective students.
“You always want to be an attractive option for students that are picking where they want to go to school,” Pietruszkiewicz said. “I think this absolutely positions us to be even more attractive then we’ve already been.”
There is still uncertainty, however, regarding current students switching to or declaring their major as Sports Communications.
Currently the committee behind the program is still in the process of hiring a full time faculty member to teach in the program. They are set to begin looking at applications later this month.
Staff Meetings on Tuesdays in SB 123 at 9:15 p.m.
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The courses include Introduction to Sports Communications, Writing for Sports Communication, Sports Audiences and Fandom, Sports Analytics, Sports Law and Ethics, Presenting and Producing Television Sports and Crafting the Sports Feature.
“Everyone gets to see if there’s anything that they could do with it, if there’s any conflicts that they see with existing programs,” Bogardus said.
The plan is then seen by a Faculty Senate with representatives from all over the university to get the final approval before moving to the provost and through the state.
As the program gets closer to being launched, the committee is eager to present these new opportunities to students.
“It’s a great way for students to do something that they love, but still get a valuable skill that they can apply to other jobs in the workplace once they graduate,” Bogardus said.
INFOGRAPHIC BY KATERINA PARIZKOVA
New rankings, experiential learning and more for Quinnipiac’s School of Law
By GENEVA CUNNINGHAM AND CARLEIGH BECK
Quinnipiac University’s School of Law achieved new rankings in PreLaw Magazine‘s honor roll, emphasizing its experiential learning offerings.
The School of Law puts an emphasis on their “support and inclusive environment.”
Kathy Kuar, the associate dean of students, believes this is reflected in the way the school promotes leadership.
Quinnipiac has steadily received an A+ in health law since 2017, with an exception of an A- in 2018. It is one of eight health law programs nationwide ranked by PreLaw magazine.
Health law collaborates with the Frank H. Netter MD School of Medicine. This partnership exposes future attorneys to policy and advocacy issues regarding the healthcare industry with this collaboration.
The family law program benefits from extensive clinic and externship course opportunities. The program’s Center on Dispute Resolution hosts conferences, workshops and training sessions that introduce future attorneys into innovative and alternative dispute resolution methods.
“It really is uplifting to our culture to be recognized this way,” said Brian Gallini, dean of the school of law.
Five days after the school of law rankings were announced on Quinnipiac Today, more information was released about the school’s experiential learning opportunities, such as the externship courses.
“This is a law school that has historically taken tremendous pride in offering experiential learning opportunities,” Gallini said. “One of our core goals is to graduate practice-ready lawyers and so having a ranking that recognizes our considerable efforts in that space is really rewarding.”
In addition to externships, the School of Law also includes simulation courses and clinics to help develop students’ skills as future lawyers.
The School of Law builds on students’ skills by inviting speakers, such as alumni, to act as mentors.
One speaker, alum Brooke Goff, JD ‘14, founded the largest woman-owned and managed personal injury law firm. Goff committed $500,000 in the name of a scholarship for LGBTQ+ students.
The scholarship stands as one way the School of Law encourages students to lean into the resources that will prepare them for their legal education and their future careers.
“We are here, after all, for our students,” Gallini said. “We hope that it gives them more confidence through our program of legal education to graduate ready to actually practice law.”
More potential students are applying to Quinnipiac’s School of Law.
This year, the school’s applications rose by 11.1%, despite applications being down in the region by 0.9%. Quinnipiac University’s School of Law received 1092 applications in
the most recent cycle, 2024. This was the second highest in a decade, beaten only by 1106 applications in 2021.
“It really is incredible,” Gallini said. “It speaks volumes to the sorts of things that are happening in and around our law school.”
There will be additional updates to the School of Law in the next academic year, including hiring two or three new faculty members.
“We are hiring open-rank, open subject areas, but we have particular needs in procedures and commercial law,” Gallini said. “The goal is to strengthen our core offerings.”
Connecticut and 16 other states are ex-
ploring new ways for students to achieve their attorney license other than the traditional bar exam. There will be a new bar exam adapted in Connecticut in 2026. The state is the first of the 17 who have agreed to adopt the new exam.
“We’ve got to support our students in taking this new exam here in Connecticut and then all of the other states that have said ‘We’re not going to adopt that exam yet,’” Gallini said. “So we simultaneously have to get our students ready for those jurisdictions as well.”
Two professors host book reading and discussion
By CARLEIGH BECK Associate News Editor
English professors, Jason Koo and Bessie Flores Zaldívar, hosted a book reading and discussion as a part of the Creative Writing Series on Thursday.
The Creative Writing Series brings in two-to-three speakers per month, allowing students to meet authors from different backgrounds and experiences.
Koo, an associate professor in
English, read his book “No Rest,” his fourth full-length poetry collection.
Zaldívar is a professor teaching professor of English and read from their first novel, “Libertad.”
Ashley Witkowski, a first year marketing major, is a student in Zaldívar’s fiction writing class.
“Her book seemed interesting to me when I was reading the prologue about it,” Witkowski said. “So I thought I should come to learn more.”
TYLER MIGNAULT/CHRONICLE
Koo and Zaldívar during the Q&A portion of the Quinnipiac Creative Writing Series.
TYLER MIGNAULT/CHRONICLE Koo addressing the audience before introducing Zaldívar
TYLER MIGNAULT/CHRONICLE
Jason Koo and Bessie Flores Zaldívar at the Quinnipiac Creative Writing Series on Sept. 26, 2024.
TYLER MIGNAULT/CHRONICLE
“No Rest” by Koo and “Libertad” by Zaldívar for sale at the Quinnipiac Creative Writing Series.
Quinnipiac
AIDAN SHEEDY/CHRONICLE
Quinnipiac University School of Law received new ranks from the PreLaw Magazine and is recognized for its experiential learning programs.
Opinion
Add streaming to your fall cleaning
By MORGAN KOLOMER Contributing Writer
Streaming has exploded in the last 15 years, slowly diminishing the cable TV we all once knew. It may be time to clean out and eliminate the streaming platforms you don’t use anymore. Many people have accumulated a great deal of platforms they forgot they were paying for.
My family recently looked at all of our streaming platforms and realized we barely use half of them. Unsubscribing from the ones we don’t use frequently really cuts down the bill.
The introduction of streaming networks such as Netflix and Hulu initially sounded great. Being able to binge new seasons of shows and go back to re-watch your favorite episodes in a series became uncomplicated.
Streaming brought more content than ever, and streaming companies attempted to catch up with their competitors, who have been in the business for over a hundred years.
Accessing this video media in your own home was thrilling and a gift. Watching blockbuster movies that major film studios produced at home was inconceivable. Simply using your laptop to watch a movie did not happen until streaming came along.
Despite that, the excessive amount of platforms and overcrowded streaming space make it, frankly, overwhelming.
The services are pumping out new shows on TV, but they are rarely quality TV, and most lack strong storylines. Streaming service’s original shows often run for one season and get canceled shortly after because of criticism.
Besides a few shows that have become ultrapopular, such as “Squid Games,” most plummet in popularity after a week or two.
Many streaming services are following traditional TV footsteps and creating release schedules for new shows. This is frustrating for consumers because the streaming layout has always made it so that shows are binge-able.
Flipping back to releasing episodes each week isn’t stimulating for viewers nowadays who have very short attention spans.
The rise in social media has changed people’s attention spans, and with the new slow-release schedules, many viewers need to be more engaged.
Movie studios are now switching back to releasing movies in theaters as they’ve seen it draws more attention and money to the movie. They won’t make a deal with a streaming service until much later af-
ter the movie hype has died down.
Once these movies dispersed to different platforms, they weren’t as enchanting because you didn’t have everything on a single service.
Movies are typically licensed to a specific platform for a few years and bounce around, platform to platform.
Each platform holds the right to a unique selection. If you only have one service, you cannot access a full range of movies whenever you want.
Streaming services are also becoming less accessible with the crackdown on password sharing.
Like others, I’m sure you share passwords for streaming platforms with your friends and family, but that isn’t possible anymore as many platforms won’t let you log in to specific devices if you’re not close to home.
Many people living away from their homes can access the streaming on their TVs, but when it comes to their laptops and phones, it won’t allow them to watch.
These barriers make it frustrating and even more of a reason to focus on one platform at a time.
All of this being said, what do we do about all of these services and how can users pick the ones to get without trying to break the bank?
Start by buying bundles and packages streaming services offer. It’s a bang for your buck and gives you more options if you’re still looking to concentrate but want a good collection of content.
The Disney+, Hulu and Max packages are some of the best ones.
These bundles sometimes include music streaming, such as the Spotify Premium bundle with Hulu. This is a great way to stream your video and music in one deal.
I would recommend using college discounts or discounts that apply to you, such as a senior discount. Currently, Peacock and Hulu offer $1.99/ month for students, Max offers $4.99/month and Amazon Prime offers $7.99/month.
These are just some of the countless student discounts. They are often forgotten, but they can be a great bargain.
Switch platforms when you see something you want to watch. This may seem tedious, but canceling a plan and starting another one is simple and saves you money because you never use the platforms you have to your advantage when there are so many. So when you see a show you want on one platform, ditch another service.
Like the fall cleaning I just did in my apartment, I recommend you do the same and go through the streaming platforms you’re paying for because it may surprise you what the bill has stacked up to over time.
Oprah Winfrey: Always at the scene of the crime
By GABRIELLA VILAS BOAS Contributing Writer
The bright lights of Hollywood distract consumers from the ugliness that hides within.
Oprah Winfrey is no stranger to this darkness, as she always seems to be caught at the scene of the crime.
Winfrey’s name has been interlaced with numerous criminals. Such as Harvey Weinstein, Sean “Diddy” Combs and Jeffrey Epstein.
Weinstein was a close friend of Winfrey’s for years, and he used this friendship to gain the trust of his victims. Actress Kadian Noble claimed that Weinstein used
Winfrey “swinging off his arm” to dupe her into going back with him to his hotel room, according to Entertainment Weekly.
However, once Weinstein’s crimes became public knowledge, Winfrey distanced herself from the situation without directly addressing her relationship with him.
“If we make this just about Harvey Weinstein, then we will have lost this moment,” Winfrey told CBS News.
This statement was an attempt to shift the focus from Weinstein’s crimes and victim stories to a bigger picture. Winfrey was desperate to paint herself as a hero once again. However, this time, not everyone
was convinced.
Winfrey’s former friend, Seal, took to Instagram to call her out for suspicious behavior.
“You have been part of the problem for decades, but suddenly they all think you are the solution,” Seal said. “Oh I forgot, that’s right … you’d heard the rumors, but you had no idea he was actually serially assaulting young starry-eyed actresses … my bad.”
The post was accompanied with a photo of Winfrey kissing Weinstein on the cheek.
Weinstein is only the first of many abusers tied to Winfrey’s brand. She has also attended Diddy’s infamous parties and is featured five times in the files from the Epstein trial.
Another issue that follows Winfrey wherever she goes is the controversy of her school in South Africa — The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls.
This school was built as a safe haven for disadvantaged girls in grades eight through 12, however, it has proven to be anything but that.
Multiple students accused dormitory matron, Virginia Makopo, of abuse and assault. She was arrested in November 2007 and released on bail according to Reuters. CBC claims that Makopo faced 14 charges involving indecent acts with the underage students.
Following this trial, Winfrey was sued by the headmistress of the South African girls’ school, Lerato Nomvuyo Mzamane, for defamation. Mzamane alleged that Winfrey defamed her by implying she was cov -
ering up the abuse going on at the school. However, this case was later settled outside of court before the arranged trial according to CNN.
However, the controversy of Winfrey’s South African school does not end there. Speculation of numerous missing girls from the academy spread like wildfire across social media. However, the validity of these statements has not been confirmed or denied.
Winfrey and her team have remained silent on the matter, and it seems that any articles raising concern over this situation are scrubbed from the internet.
A fair share of scandals have been attached to Winfrey recently, yet media coverage criticizing her for all these instances somehow always disappears.
Winfrey’s name is constantly tied to trafficking, whether it is due to her relationships or the instances at The Oprah Winfrey Academy for Girls. Still, the only sources talking about this are concerned consumers on social media and small newspapers.
No major outlets have discussed Winfrey’s suspicious behavior, instead they continue to praise her. Winfrey has yet to deny any allegations.
Selective media coverage plays a large role in maintaining the image of high-profile celebrities such as Winfrey. Power is used as a scare tactic to prevent reporters from bringing controversial topics to light.
ILLUSTRATION BY KATERINA PARIZKOVA
Opinion
The case against the Electoral College
By THOMAS POTTER Contributing Writer
The Electoral College — everyone knows it and everyone has an opinion on it.
Some think it’s a key feature of our republic that keeps the voices of those who live in less populated rural areas from being outshined by those who live in the big urban areas. Others believe it to be an old defunct undemocratic system that disproportionately benefits certain regions and groups over others. While opinions on this system vary, only one is backed up by actual facts and evidence — the belief that it is an outdated relic of a long-gone era of our nation’s past.
One of the main issues people have with removing the Electoral College is the belief that the urban centers of America will dominate the political scene. Candidates will only spend their time campaigning in places such as New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles while ignoring the rest of the nation, according to sources such as the Heritage Foundation in their online article “The Benefits.”
This could not be further from the truth. If we add up the population of all 100 cities in the U. S. from the largest, New York City, all the way to Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, you get around 63 million people (or about 19% of the U.S. population).
Now, unless there is an unknown city somewhere in the U. S. with over 100 million people, cities cannot dominate the American political scene by population alone. This belief also does not make sense because candidates only campaign in the same places with the Electoral College, instead of only campaigning in big cities they only campaign in swing states.
There’s an overemphasis on swing states.
Prior to the 2020 election, 95% of all campaign stops were held in just 12 states, according to the “Nation Popular Vote.” Most of these states can be categorized as swing states, which are states that can go either way in an election.
Due to the nature of our electoral system, there is no difference in winning a state by one vote or one million votes. It is a winner-takes-all system in which if you win only 51% of the states’ votes, you get every single electoral vote. This means that candidates don’t campaign in states where they have wider margins because it is an already assured victory.
This system makes candidates only care about issues that a handful of states emphasize, ignoring
the vast majority of our nation. This also leads to opposition parties not campaigning in states they know they will lose, ignoring vast amounts of their voting base. This is seen in the 2020 election when Democratic candidate Joe Biden made zero campaign stops in the solidly Republican state of Wyoming, and Republican candidate Donald Trump made zero campaign stops in the predominantly Democratic state of California.
It’s also undemocratic. Votes from less populous states are counted as more than votes from more populous states. A few examples include the following: A North Dakotan vote is 2.7 times more than a New Yorker, a Rhode Islander has about 2.5 times more voting power than a Penn-
sylvanian, and an Alaskan has three times more voting power than a Floridian.
This can be applied to any state using a simple math formula that calculates the population per electoral vote of a smaller state/population per electoral vote of a larger state. The Electoral College in simple terms pretends more people are living where they do not, and fewer people live where they do. Why should people from smaller states have more representation than those from larger ones?
When Electoral College defenders run out of baseless arguments to defend this system they default to a variation of the following: “The founding fathers created this system to defend against mob rule! Do you know better than the founders!?”
The founding fathers were smart and bright individuals for their time, there is no denying that. But it has been 236 years since the Constitution was written, the world has changed more than they could have imagined.
Try explaining to James Madison that he could step into a flying steel tube, travel across the continent, watch a moving picture with sound and contact his buddies in Philadelphia instantly from there. Our world is completely different than theirs was, and it is time for Electoral College defenders to step out of the 1790s, and move into the 2020s. There have been four times the winner of the popular vote has lost the election, two of which occurred in the last 30 years.
If we are the shining city on a hill, and the land of the free, why are we the only nation in the world that does not listen to the will of the people when electing our head of state? Democracy means fairness, and this system is anything but.
Stop arguing, start learning
Bobcat Buzz
By LILLIAN CURTIN Opinion Editor
I constantly engage with controversial topics and opinions. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be doing my job right.
College classes are not immune to the side effects of our divisive country, especially in this upcoming election year.
You can have your opinions, everyone does. But taking over a class that’s supposed to discuss strategies like campaigning and marketing just to express your hatred for one candidate is not helping anyone. It may be a release to you, but it’s interrupting valuable opportunities to learn about tactics used by candidates that we may use ourselves one day.
If you want to argue or state your opinion about politics, we have plenty of clubs and classes that you could register for instead of misusing a class that’s supposed to be about strategy.
It’s an abuse of that space if you’re using it to attack people who have
different beliefs, who are just there to learn. There’s also no need to make side comments, snide remarks and scoffing when someone brings up something a candidate that you don’t like did well. Going as far as to call someone a name is unprofessional and if you can’t keep your emotions under control during a class discussion where a candidate’s name is merely mentioned, leave the classroom and start a podcast where you can talk all you want.
It’s hypocritical to get annoyed at someone else explaining why they feel a certain way, when they let you ramble about something totally unrelated to class. Yet, the moment they bring in a different viewpoint about something we are actually discussing, there’s audible moans of disagreement and annoyance.
Being in politics means having to play devil’s advocate sometimes, even if you truly believe your opponents are the devil themselves. You don’t have to like
the person, but you have to be able to identify the strengths and weaknesses of both sides.
In debates, both ends are looking at each other, and predicting what the other one will say. To do this, they have to acknowledge their opponent’s strengths. When Vice President Kamala Harris’ team is telling her what former President Donald Trump is doing well, she most likely isn’t scoffing and laughing. Maybe Trump is doing that. But, when you’re shouting out how much you hate him in the middle of class, maybe reflect, because you’re acting just like him when you refuse to acknowledge his strong points.
As a political science major, you must be prepared to hear disagreements and debate. That said, if you can’t speak academically in a college class about politics, you need to take a step back and question if you’ll be able to work in this career.
ILLUSTRATION BY TRIPP MENHALL
ILLUSTRATION BY TRIPP MENHALL
Arts & Life
The monster behind 'Monsters' Producer Ryan Murphy misguides audience in true crime drama
By LILLIAN CURTIN Opinion Editor
As someone who had a TV show made about a crime that happened in their town by a big-name star, I know to take every adaptation with a grain of salt. Writer and producer Ryan Murphy has successfully added to the list of poor attempts of recounting traumatic events through television.
When I saw the trailer for “Monsters,” an adaptation of Erik (Cooper Koch) and Lyle (Nicholas Alexander Chavez) Menendez and the murder of their parents, I was taken aback by the portrayal of the brothers. And that was just the trailer.
I had hoped the word “Monsters” would be up to interpretation based on the title alone, but after watching, I was proven wrong. The show depicts both the parents and the brothers as such.
Lyle and Erik may have killed their parents, but they were nowhere near the monsters their parents were. They killed out of necessity, their dad abused them out of pleasure while their mom just let it happen.
The series starts after the murders, with flashbacks every couple of scenes, and very few of the events leading up to it.
We see the murder scene in the first episode. It was extremely graphic. The whole topic is uncomfortable and triggering to some. No one wants to see it, but if Murphy was going to be detailed about the murder, he should’ve been equally detailed about what led to the murders. It was disappointing to see the victimization of the parents in the murder scene when the abuse scenes were barely shown in defense.
Of course, it’s understandable that the moments of childhood abuse where they were
children should never be shown for the sake of child actors, but it felt as though Murphy was trying to get the audience to sympathize with their parents.
The abuse isn’t even revealed until the third episode, and yet, it wasn’t the full truth at first.
Erik tells his attorney, Leslie Abramson (Ari Graynor) that Lyle sexually abused him. A few moments later, Erik reveals that his father was sexually abusing both him and his brother, and
through the whole show, especially in cases like this where episodes are nearly an hour long. So, if the audience doesn't make it to nearly the end, or even the fourth episode, they are left with the impression that these boys are sociopaths with no reason for killing their parents, missing the whole point of their case.
The actors did an amazing job and should receive recognition during award season. The seventh episode is Erik’s account of the abuse, it wasn’t a flashback like the other tellings of what
dialogue and acting made the audience feel the same way all over again. I had to take a break from watching after her arguments and closing statements because it felt so real and upsetting.
The show did go into detail about how the media inaccurately portrayed the brothers.
Dominick “Nick” Dunne (Nathan Lane), a writer for Vanity Fair is shown exaggerating details and adding false information to his story about Lyle and Erik. The battle between the defense and the media was a good addition that I’m grateful Murphy decided to add, especially with his track record of depicting true-crime stories.
happened, it was Erik going into detail with Leslie in silence. Koch did an
they didn’t believe she met their standards. Jose went to the door and blew air kisses at the girl. If this were any other type of show, the interaction would’ve been funny. But this was distasteful.
The last 10 minutes of the third episode is when the heaviness of the situation starts to set in. We don’t get the accounts of abuse from Erik until the seventh episode. The issue with waiting this long for the truth is that many people don’t sit
incredible job acting in this episode in particular. I felt like I was Leslie, listening to all of the gruesome details for the first time. It’s one thing to act with the script given to you, but his mannerisms and demeanor made it eerily realistic.
Graynor did a great job portraying Leslie Abramson’s fight for the brothers, specifically Erik. In a show where we already know the ending, and there’s so much outrage about it, her
Murphy is known for shows like “Glee,” “American Horror Story” and even other portrayals of true crime like “Dahmer,” about prolific serial killer Jeffery Dahmer. He also faced backlash for “Dahmer,” mostly from the victims’ families.
When “Monsters” was released, it didn’t take long for backlash to pour in. This time, it was also the Menendez brothers and their extended family who took to the media to express their disappointment.
Murphy’s response to the criticism was tonedeaf and apathetic.
“The family’s response is predictable at best,” Murphy said in an interview with Variety. “I have no interest in talking to them.”
The actors were brilliant, and the show was entertaining, but it would’ve gained so much from an interview with the brothers. Murphy needs to take this show and “Dahmer,” and learn from his mistakes. If I were in his shoes, I would start by donating some of the show’s revenue to causes that help victims like Lyle and Erik Menendez. While I’m at it, I would also stop using other people’s pain for fame.
A year of reckoning: Drake's image and reputation at a crossroad
By MICHAEL PETITTO Staff Writer
It’s safe to say 2024 has not been Drake's year. The industry titan has found himself stuck between a rock and a hard place following his feud with Kendrick Lamar earlier this year.
It seems Drake has moved on from the conflict after releasing “The Heart 6” in May, which has been slammed by critics and the public alike for questionable lyrics and lack of meaningful substance.
Following his beef with Lamar, the rapper released his “100 Gigs” EP, which features four songs and features from the likes of Young Thug, 21 Savage and Latto.
But the “hits” just aren’t hitting the same for Drizzy, as his latest tracks only managed to reach No. 28 on the Billboard charts. The Toronto rapper — who’s tied with Michael Jackson for 13 No. 1 solo hits — taunted Lamar throughout their beef, claiming he will always have better numbers.
“Numbers-wise, I’m out of here, you not fuckin’ creepin’ up,” Drake rapped on his song “Push Ups.”
But Drake couldn’t have been proven more wrong, as Lamar's smash hit “Not Like Us” has broken nearly every streaming record Drake has set throughout his career. From most single-day streams for a solo rap song, fastest rap songs to reach 500 million streams, most song streams in any week for a rapper … you name it, Lamar broke it.
With a reputation smeared by Lamar’s scathing allegations earlier this year and records that aren’t topping the charts like they used to, it begs the question: Where does Drake go from here?
Honestly, Champagne Papi should consider taking a break from music altogether. In the past six years alone, Drake has released seven projects, some in the same year. He has nothing left to prove, and the shadow of Lamar still looms large over him.
It might be best to take some time to reflect. Time heals all wounds, and the damage inflicted by Lamar will fade away.
The oversaturation of Drake has also become a problem for the rapper in recent years. As more time has passed and the Toronto native continues to pump out more and more music, the general public has grown tired of hearing the same music constantly.
Taking an extended break from music might benefit Drake in the long run, no matter how oversaturated his music currently is, the man is just too popular to never drop music again. Eventually, fans would start to miss his music and it might set up a massive comeback that could see the rapper top the charts once again.
It just seems like the time is right, if Drake continues down the path he’s currently on, who knows what will happen. It’s time for the rapper to take a step back while his image and reputation begin to heal.
Canadian rapper Drake is feeling the repercussions from Kendrick Lamar's hit diss track "Not Like Us."
ILLUSTRATION BY KATERINA PARIZKOVA
Talkin' 'Tuah' much: The sad attempt to prolong viral fame
By BEN BUSILLO, JAMES NOLAN AND QUINN O'NEILL
Three months ago, Haliey Welch was just another girl, out clubbing with her friends in Nashville, Tennessee. Today, she sits at 2 million followers on Instagram and another million watches of her initial podcast episode.
The catalyst for her overnight rise to stardom? Stumbling upon a vox pop, one of those on-the-street interviews where tons of people are asked the same question, and using her southern drawl to exclaim about fellatio.
After initially hiding in her house out of embarrassment, Welch began to embrace her newfound fame, and eventually signed a deal with Betr, social media tycoon Jake Paul’s media company, to produce a podcast. She is continuing the trend of influencers who don’t have anything of value to say, thinking they deserve a platform to preach to the masses. The first episode debuted on Sept. 10 and featured comedian Whitney Cummings.
Welch appeared as a guest on “Off the Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe,” which debuted two days afterward, on Sept. 12. Bristowe came into the media spotlight after being a contestant on the 19th season of “The Bachelor,” followed by being featured in the 11th season of “The Bachelorette.”
Bristowe asked Welch if she wanted to lean into the “Hawk Tuah” or if she would rather separate herself from the catchphrase. Welch emphatically replied she would “want to do something to get away from it.”
Despite these claims, her own podcast would be named “Talk Tuah with Haliey Welch.” The podcast miraculously generated 821,000 average views in the first three episodes.
One of the promises Welch makes in the podcast’s YouTube bio is to have “celebrities from all walks of life” in each of her episodes, yet she has already failed at doing so. Despite only hosting three episodes, only two of the three include celebrities— Cummings and Bristowe. The
other episode included three of her friends as the focal point and Welch’s grandmother, who despite being tagged as the feature in the thumbnail saw just 15 minutes of screentime.
The point of podcasts is to make the listener think and be intrigued by the topics the hosts are diving into. However, “Talk Tuah” lacks any kind of substance when it comes to the conversations that are included in the podcast. Out of the three episodes, there has been only one conversation that hasn’t included grotesque language with no punchline.
There was only one conversation not containing grotesque language; when Welch and Cummings discussed fostering pets and animal shelters. Other than that, Welch and her guests talk about the infamous “Hawk Tuah” incident and other sexual conversations that ultimately go nowhere.
The best way to describe listening to this podcast is: Imagine your friend that you sort of know invites you over to hang out with a bunch of their friends whom you
never met before. Then when you get to the house you kind of just sit on the couch in awkwardness while the people you just met get overly personal and talk about subjects of which you have no context nor prior knowledge.
Sounds like fun? No. It’s a situation that anyone would try and avoid.
They ramble on and on, changing the subject so many times to the point where if you zone out for just a moment, you’ll have no choice but to rewind it to see how the conversation somehow jumped ship in 15 seconds.
While the contents of this podcast may interest people, the quality of the production certainly won’t.
The first two episodes struggled heavily with camera angles and lighting. The first episode has the camera abruptly moving around the room to capture the other two guests, who are sitting in the dark corner of the room. In the second episode, the production team struggled trying to visually emphasize the sponsor of the episode.
Toward the end of the second episode, the production value truly went off the rails. It is unclear if the girls’ shock when Welch’s grandmother arrives is real, but if that was planned, it shows poorly. The shots of “Granny” are dimly lit, poorly composed as they have another camera and Granny’s car within the frame, and are just plain jarring when the rural street behind her has random cars driving by. To add onto that, the audio suffers when the cars pass as Granny is not given a microphone, so the ambient noise of the street is put straight into the listener’s ear.
Welch is not the first person to gain overnight internet fame, and she surely will not be the last. In a few months, when the impact shock subsides, this podcast will slip out of the public view.
Today’s media landscape has made it possible for uninteresting people with no talent to be thrust into the spotlight. With all of these social media platforms,
it’s never been easier to gain a following. It’s not Welch’s fault however. She is not the first, nor will she be the last person to shamelessly surf the wave of virality when given the chance. The criticism should not lie with the player in this case, it should lie with the game.
It’s the short-form content era we live in that creates the constant pipeline of social media zombies, who are unoriginal and regurgitate the same malarkey over and over again. Whether you’re bringing the boom, doing Fortnite dances with your backpack on, catching me outside, flexing wads of cash in our faces as a nine-yearold, or in this case, boasting about your “oral abilities,” everyone tries to cash in on a viral hit.
Listen, if you saw the original “Hawk Tuah” video and chuckled, that's fine. People across the internet thought it was a funny clip. So be it. The problem lies when those who are in these viral clips, attempt
to hang on to every last bit of their 15 minutes of fame.
It’s pathetic.
There is no reason that Welch, or any other one-hit wonder should have a podcast or even a platform. Today’s internet culture encourages people to desperately cling to their fame, turning what should be a brief, funny moment into a prolonged and often forced attempt at stardom. This desperation leads to an undignified scramble for relevance. In actuality, there is more grace in enjoying the short-lived attention and returning to normal life rather than stretching fame unnecessarily.
But people’s motivations in these scenarios always point back to “How famous can I get?” It’s easy to understand this modern-day obsession, but it doesn’t make it right. Those who are willing to sacrifice their privacy, family time, and dignity for a little bit of clout embody what is ultimately wrong with today's digital world.
Originality is hard to come by today. All of these want to be celebrities echo the same garbage over and over again. It all feels so forced. Which is exactly what you’ll feel when you’re listening to “Talk Tuah”— that this is forced.
Not everybody needs a following. Not everybody needs to be in the spotlight 24/7. Not everybody needs a podcast, especially those who have no thought-provoking substance to be contributed. It doesn’t even have to be thought-provoking. Let’s go with mildly listenable to start.
Listening to a podcast when you're cooking dinner, cleaning your room or going on a walk is a great way to make everyday activities more enjoyable while learning something new or staying entertained. However, if you decide to turn on some “Talk Tuah” while on your morning jog, you’ll be tempted to turn around and walk back “Tuah” house.
ILLUSTRATION
Moo Deng and Pesto: Even the internet's most adorable stars are subject to harassment
By GINA LORUSSO Associate Arts & Life Editor
The latest thing to take the internet by storm isn’t a new trend or the hottest celebrity gossip — it’s a pygmy hippo and a baby penguin.
Unfortunately, it’s not all glitz and glamor for these little guys. Like human celebrities, they’re experiencing some harassment from visitors.
Moo Deng, translated to “bouncy pork” in English, is a two-month-old hippo making waves in Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Si Racha, Thailand. Her fame stems from viral memes that captured the hearts of people across the globe. My social media has been flooded with her antics, and I can’t get enough of her charm.
In September 2024, Moo Deng’s zookeeper, Atthapon Nundee, began posting videos of her lounging with her mother, sleeping and playfully “attacking” him. When the world caught wind of her, she became an internet sensation and the zoo saw a large influx in visitors — raising the usual 3,000 to over 10,000, according to The Independent.
Her fame isn’t just attracting crowds, it’s drawing aggressive people to her home.
In videos Nundee posts, he often pokes at Moo Deng and records her reactions which include nibbling and charging. While this seems a little cruel given her reactions, it’s simply preparing her for the constant attention she’ll receive from her caretakers as she grows older. After all, hippos need check-ups too.
Consequently, visitors to the zoo have begun mimicking Nundee’s actions to an extreme extent. They’ve thrown water and other objects at Moo Deng in hopes of her doing something cute in return. It’s inhumane to provoke an innocent baby
hippo for a few likes on social media. In response, the zoo has threatened legal action against visitors who violate Moo Deng’s safety and well-being.
However, Moo Deng isn’t the only adorable animal to grab the world’s attention.
Pesto, a nine-month-old king penguin, resides at Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium in Australia. His feathers make him weigh more than both of his parents combined at a solid 50 pounds. When Pesto grows into his adult feathers through a process called fledging, he’ll weigh about 33 pounds, according to AP News.
Marine biologist Jacinta Early, told BBC that Pesto has a “very healthy appetite” and gets hand fed up to 30 fish per day — a hefty amount for a penguin chick.
Celebrities have even jumped on the bandwagon to show their love for Pesto.
Sea Life Melbourne posted a TikTok video that features Pesto waddling to Katy Perry’s new song “LIFETIMES.” The caption says, “From one icon to another — @katyperry come meet pesto. Catch this VIP (Very Important Penguin) at Sea Life Melbourne.” Perry replied in the comment section, “Ok I will come by and get a blessing before I take the stage at the @afl.”
Yet, like Moo Deng, Pesto also faces disruptive visitors.
Early explained that although there are measures in place to keep the penguins safe, people will do just about anything to get their attention.
"If we do have people banging on the acrylic and using flash photography, or trying to make a penguin follow their finger, that can stress them out," Early said in an article by the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
While viral content is showcasing Moo Deng and Pesto’s adorable habits, it’s inviting problematic behavior from visitors who want to provoke them for the sake of social media clout.
Their fame not only highlights the fascination humans have with wildlife, but also the ethical boundaries crossed in pursuit of that fascination.
Social media enhances the connection we feel with animal icons like Moo Deng and Pesto. Even though we primarily encounter them on a screen, it doesn’t diminish the emotional connections we form — much like the bonds we make with our pets in real life.
Platforms like TikTok and Instagram have
become powerful tools in elevating these animals to celebrity status, creating a strong sense of community of fans who rally together to swoon over these precious zoo animals.
As much as I love this online duo, it’s crucial to remember that their well-being should always come first. While these animals provide us with daily lighthearted content, we must ensure that we engage with them with responsibility both online and in real life.
The joy these animals bring us should never come at the cost of their safety.
Even though they aren’t human, they still deserve respect and care.
Saying goodbye to a timeless talent, Dame Maggie Smith
By GRACE CONNEELY-NOLAN Associate Arts & Life Editor
Last week, we lost a performer of a generation.
Actress Dame Maggie Smith passed away on Friday, Sept. 27, at the age of 89. A formidable presence and a true trailblazer, Smith stole every scene she was in and left much behind to be admired.
Smith’s sons, Chris Larkin and Toby Stephens, said in a statement to BBC that she died peacefully on Friday in a London hospital: “An intensely private person, she was with friends and family at the end.”
Many mourn her loss; Smith touched many lives and was frequently rated the
preeminent British female generational performer.
Prominent members of British society have paid tribute to the legendary actress.
King Charles described her as a “national treasure,” Prime Minister Sir Keir Star noted she was “beloved by so many for her great talent.”
Her seven-decade career on stage and onscreen left quite a legacy.
Smith's list of honors and awards is impressive, to say the least. She has won two Oscars, four Emmys and a Tony for her many roles, according to Vanity Fair.
She began her career in 1952 as Viola
in Shakespeare's “Twelfth Night,” making her Broadway debut in 1956 and playing several roles in “New Faces of 1956.” She began as an aspiring star, making her way as a household name.
Smith never failed to astound audiences. Throughout her career, she changed the meaning of aging in Hollywood and helped redefine what it means to grow old and become famous later in life.
One of her most famous roles was as Professor Minerva McGonagall in the “Harry Potter” saga. In eight films, Smith embodied the role of a strict but caring professor guiding her students through their magical education.
A fierce inspiration and a true legend, she worked her way into our hearts, becoming an immense presence to a younger generation, myself included.
“Harry Potter” co-stars paid tribute to the former Head of Gryffindor House. Her favorite students commemorated her presence across social media, not realizing then how lucky they were as kids to share the screen with the legend that is Maggie Smith.
“Harry Potter” star Daniel Radcliffe remembered her “fierce intellect” and “gloriously sharp tongue.”
Emma Watson, who played Hermione Granger, fondly acknowledged, “I shared the screen with a true definition of greatness.”
Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley, shared that he is “heartbroken” but “incredibly lucky to share the set and particularly lucky to have shared a dance.”
Smith truly made an impact on all who
worked with her.
Unfortunately, this is not the first loss the “Harry Potter” franchise has experienced. Smith’s death is precisely one year after her co-star, Michael Gambon, who played Dumbledore, died at 82 in September 2023. In her legendary roles, Smith found her specialty in playing older matriarchs. She holds audiences in the palm of her hands with her poignancy and quick wit with iconic scenes and lines.
Every time she was on screen, my eyes were glued to the scene. She always had a way of putting everyone in their places with her sharp tongue.
She was known to be challenging to work with, impatient at times and sometimes upstaging others, according to AP News.
“It’s true I don’t tolerate fools, but then they don’t tolerate me, so I am spiky,” Smith said. “Maybe that’s why I’m quite good at playing spiky elderly ladies.”
Her second most notable role as she worked well into her 80s was the “Downton Abbey” series. Smith played Violet Crawley, the Dowager Countess of Grantham, the grand matriarch able to conquer anyone with withering one-liners. She immediately became a fan favorite.
The creator and writer of “Downton Abbey,” Julian Fellows, told Variety, “Working with her has been the greatest privilege of my career, and I will never forget her.”
A beloved and unique presence in the entertainment world, Smith’s one-of-a-kind talent is featured in everything she's in; there is no one quite like her.
Actress Dame Maggie Smith dies at 89 years old on Sept. 27, 2024.
Two top-five finishes start golf’s fall slate
By RYAN JOHANSON Associate Sports Editor
Quinnipiac golf hasn’t fallen below fifth place in a tournament in 366 days. As of Sunday, the streak is still alive and well, with the Bobcats finishing second at the Red Bandana Invitational and fifth at the Navy Fall Invitational.
Four golfers moved on from Hamden last spring, leaving large gaps to fill. With half of the roster consisting of freshmen, five tournament spots are up for grabs.
“The people who were usually on the team throughout the years have graduated, and so it leaves a lot of spots open,” senior Meg Yoshida said. “It opens up a lot of opportunities for people who may not have been able to play a lot last year to be able to prove that they deserve to be on the team.”
In a tournament, each team has five golfers who score and contribute to the final total. Teams are able to play more than those five but they are classified as individuals, their scores aren’t added to the final team score.
With a roster split between freshman and returners, there needs to be a way to decide
who will be the five for placement. That’s where head coach John O’Connor jumps in.
“My plan is to do (qualifying) for every tournament,” O’Connor said. “The more they compete, the better off they’re going to be, the more relaxed they’re going to be … many of them were more nervous today than they are for golf tournaments.”
With five freshmen on the roster, the qualifying for each tournament helps acclimate them in a competitive space before the spring season.
RED BANDANA INVITATIONAL
For the fourth-straight year the Bobcats participated in the Red Bandana Invitational. In last year’s rendition, Quinnipiac finished in fourth place with Leeyen Peralta ‘23 winning the tournament.
The freshmen who participated in this week’s invitational were Sophia Fujita, Marisa Flores and Amy Goddard, who competed individually.
Flores tied sophomore Natalie Spiska — who had six birdies — for 21st overall, shooting 18-over-par with five birdies, while Goddard shot 43-over-par with one birdie.
“The first-years are (doing) really well,” Galantini said. “They’re all like a big family, no matter who comes in and who goes out. So we’re all really close. And they’ve been doing good.”
Fujita — the highest finisher for the Bobcats — finished in a tie for ninth place shooting a 231 — 15-over-par — with five birdies. As a freshman, Fujita scored the Bobcats’ lowest score in one round of the tournament, shooting even par in round two.
“(During) our first day of qualifying today, Sofia Fujita played very well,” O’Connor said.
Junior Fuge Zhang joined Galantini and Spiska as the returners from last year’s squad.
“My sophomores this year, Alexia, Natalie and Samantha, they’ve come a long way,” O’Connor said. “They’re like upperclassmen now, and I expect a lot from all three of them.”
Zhang tied for 40th and shot 25-over-par with two birdies. Galantini finished in a tie for 25th shooting 19-over-par with three birdies.
NAVY FALL INVITATIONAL
After shipping down to Annapolis,
Maryland, Fujita led Quinnipiac for the second tournament in a row. The Torrance, California native, shot a 151 — six-overpar — with three birdies.
Two new Bobcats made their season debut in Annapolis — freshman Vaidehi Shah and junior Sandhya Vaikuntam.
Shah finished in 32nd place shooting 13-over-par with two birdies in round two. The Bridgewater, New Jersey native, had the biggest improvement between the two rounds — for Quinnipiac — shooting 11-over-par in round one and two-over-par in round two.
Spiska —12-over-par with four birdies—, Flores and Zhang—12-over-par with three birdies all returned and equalized in scores to finish in a tie for 26th.
Vaikuntam, who played as an individual, matched Fujita’s score with seven birdies.
The first two tournaments have shown that roster turnover might affect results but Quinnipiac’s goal is always the same.
“This year we have a good chance to win the MAAC again,” Galantini said. “I think the team’s really gonna work hard this year and be extra motivated.”
Men’s lacrosse adds Logan Tousaw to coaching staff
By RYAN JOHANSON Associate Sports Editor
Quinnipiac men’s lacrosse added a new member to its staff for the 2025 season in defensive coordinator Logan Tousaw from Onondaga Community College in Syracuse, New York.
Tousaw was at the helm of the Onondaga men’s program for two seasons — 2023 and 2024 — in which he led the Lazers to consecutive NJCAA National Tournament Semifinals. The Syracuse, New York native, earned an overall record of 20-7.
“The past two years have been some of the most rewarding of my life. I have learned so much about the game, myself, young men,
and what it takes to run a successful program,” Tousaw wrote in a press release.
In his tenure with the Lazers, he coached 2023 MSAC Player of the Year and Region III Player of the Year, Gregory ElijahBrown, who transferred to Syracuse University after the 2023 season along with the 2024 Region III Player of the Year which went to Tehokwirathe Barreiro.
Tousaw also had the highest-scoring team in NJCAA Region III with 549 goals in two years.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Lazers finished top three in the league in goals allowed.
Tousaw’s success made him a two-time Mid-State Athletic Conference Coach of the Year and a two-time Region III Coach of the Year.
Tousaw was no stranger to Onondaga, as he played for the Lazers from 2012-2013 as a defender.
He was a NJCAA First Team All-American in 2013 and NJCAA Second Team AllAmerican in 2012, winning consecutive national championships in those seasons.
Following the 2013 season, Tousaw transferred to Marquette and played through 2014-2015 for the Golden Eagles.
After college, he became an assistant
coach at SUNY Cortland in 2015 before becoming the defensive coordinator at SUNY Oswego in 2017.
Tousaw got his first taste of being a head coach at Mercyhurst Northeast College for two seasons (2019-2020) until the program abruptly ended.
Before returning to his alma mater Onondaga, he was the defensive coordinator at Ohio Wesleyan University.
With Tousaw on the sidelines in 2025, he can play a pivotal role in strengthening the Bobcats’ defense and making strides in the conference.
PEYTON MCKENZIE/CHRONICLE
Sophomore Natalie Spiska hits the ball in the Quinnipiac Classic on Oct. 9, 2023.
MEN’S HOCKEY from 12
Moore then, and now it’s sophomore Minnesota Wild’s 2021 draft pick Nate Benoit.
The New Hampshire native had a decent run in his first year, but a team like Quinnipiac has far more use for a young defenseman. With ample NCHC play under his belt, Benoit could flourish in a smaller environment the same way Moore has in Hamden.
On the outskirts are sophomore Chase Ramsay and freshman Braden Blace. Last season, the seventh defenseman was sophomore Jake Martin, who is no longer with the program. With little playing time to his name, Ramsay will have to fight Blace for that final slot.
BETWEEN THE PIPES
The likely candidate in the net will be sophomore Matej Marinov, who started 10 games and earned his first college shutout against AIC on Oct. 14, 2023.
Marinov is a dark horse who spent most of his rookie year on the bench to Vinny Duplessis.
It’s not unrealistic to suggest that the position is up for grabs. Freshman goaltender Dylan Silverstein is a product of the USNTDP, who decommitted from Boston College last season to play another season of juniors.
DISSECTING THE SCHEDULE
Quinnipiac is one of the lucky ones, plain and simple.
“I don’t love the travel that we have, but it’s better than most,” Pecknold said. “I think a lot of the teams out west have to fly every other weekend. For young kids, they get excited about that early on, and that grows old fast.”
NON-CONFERENCE
With a predominantly East Coast slate yet again, the Bobcats kick off non-conference play at home against Northeastern in an exhibition game on Oct. 6.
The week after is one of Quinnipiac’s
“We’ll figure it out”
most anticipated matchups of the season when Penn State enters Hamden on Oct. 12. It will be both programs’ first meeting, and a sure test to see how Quinnipiac’s green lineup matches up against a Big 10 team, a conference that is yet to show up Pecknold’s squad.
Quinnipiac then gets two weeks of Hockey East play, traveling to Maine (Oct. 18-19) and hosting New Hampshire (Oct. 25-26) for the second consecutive season. These middle-of-the-pack teams wreaked havoc for the Bobcats last fall when they split both series.
Matchups against Atlantic Hockey’s Holy Cross and AIC in between ECAC play should serve as an ego boost for Quinnipiac — and with a practically brand new roster, it might need it.
In between these games, Quinnipiac will face Cornell in the Frozen Apple at Madison Square Garden in a high-stakes nonconference battle.
“It’s the most famous arena in the world, for sure, right?” Pecknold said. “It’s a great way to promote your program. We’re very appreciative of Cornell for the invite. I think Cornell is a top-five team in the country this year.”
To ring in 2025, the Bobcats open the doors to Northeastern again on Jan. 4 and Stonehill on Jan. 6. Stonehill shouldn’t be an issue, but the Huskies sure are. Quinnipiac fought Northeastern to a brutal tie in early January, plagued by rough defensive miscues and unnecessary penalties.
Rounding out non-conference play is CT Ice (Jan. 24-25) at Sacred Heart’s state-ofthe-art $70 million Martire Family Arena, accompanied by the two remaining Connecticut teams in Yale and UConn.
CONFERENCE
Quinnipiac has been a dominant force in the ECAC the last decade, despite hoisting just one Whitelaw Cup in 2016. Now the Bobcats have a chip on their shoulder, ranked
No. 2 in the ECAC Preseason Poll below reigning conference champion Cornell.
“No matter if we’re one or two or wherever, you know, we go about our business the same way, I think it’s almost in a good way,” Treloar said. “They put us there, if they’re doubting us, you know, we’re not really bothered too much about it.
It’s also head coach Mike Schafer’s final year at the helm for The Big Red, who returned all but one of their 2023-24 roster and is tabbed No. 9 in the USCHO’s first preseason poll. Cornell will undoubtedly be
Its most daunting challenge will be replacing the vacancy of Cooper Black between the pipes. In the offseason, the 6-foot-8 starting goaltender — who held a .910 save percentage in 2023-24 — signed an entrylevel contract with the Florida Panthers.
The black sheep in the top four ECAC clubs is the budding Clarkson — whose stunning upset on March 1 is something Quinnipiac would rather forget.
The Golden Knights are a consistent middle-of-the-pack program, but their incoming freshman class deserves the No. 4
Women’s ice hockey to participate in women’s inaugural Friendship Series
By RYAN JOHANSON Associate Sports Editor
On Sept. 24, Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey was selected to play in the firstever women’s Friendship Series in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 2026.
The Bobcats will travel with Boston University, Harvard University and the University of Minnesota Duluth.
“I am very proud to announce the return of both the Friendship Four and Friendship Series in 2025 and 2026, and I look forward to welcoming both new and returning teams to The SSE Arena,” Martin McDowell, chair of The Odyssey Trust wrote in a press release. “For nearly a decade, the tournaments have provided unique opportunities for North American student-athletes to have a cross-Atlantic experience in Belfast, using ice hockey as a tool to educate
and create a spirit of mutual understanding, friendship, solidarity and fair play.”
The Friendship Four and Friendship Series were founded by the Odyssey Trust in 2015, and are the first NCAA men’s and women’s ice hockey tournaments to occur outside of North America.
In 2022, Quinnipiac men’s hockey competed in Northern Ireland, defeating Dartmouth and UMass to claim the Belpot trophy.
The Odyssey Trust has held two other two-game women’s hockey Friendship Series’ at SSE Arena in the past.
In the first Friendship Series, Northeastern took on Clarkson in 2019. The next season, Quinnipiac had its opportunity at the SSE Arena to sweep Merrimack — 4-2 win followed by a 3-1 win — and last season Princeton swept Providence.
Men’s hockey season preview
and analysis
By AMANDA DRONZEK Sports Editor
No doubt that Easter Sunday is a bitter memory.
A calamitous 5-4 overtime loss to Boston College in March’s NCAA Regional Finals became 14 players’ last game in a Quinnipiac jersey.
Ten members of the Bobcats’ starting lineup have signed with the AHL or NHL, transferred or hung their skates for good.
The focus for Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey as it enters a new season is replacing what’s been lost — and living up to expectations that very few can put a price on.
LINE PROJECTIONS
Head coach Rand Pecknold put it best: “We got cleaned out.”
“We wanted it … it’s disappointing right now,” Pecknold said on March 31. “I love this group.”
No surprise there — 11 of the 14 who left the program this spring have a Frozen Four victory to their name. Only two of the original team remain — junior center Victor Czerneckianair and third string goaltender Noah Altman.
“We only have one returning player (Czerneckianair) that played in the national championship game, which was 18 months ago,” Pecknold said. “So that’s a crazy stat.”
What’s crazier is predicting this season’s starters.
FORWARDS
Pecknold opts to play four lines that are equally capable of doing damage. Once again Quinnipiac rosters 14 forwards, leaving little wiggle room to crack the top 12.
“Numbers wise, you know (we) lost a lot of top guys, but I’m expecting myself and other guys to take a step this year,” captain and graduate student forward Travis Treloar said. “Obviously we have some very exciting transfers and young talent coming in.”
The easiest to predict is Quinnipiac’s first line. It’s also the most difficult to replicate, as the ‘big three’ — (Colin Graf ‘24, Jacob Quillan ‘24 and Sam Lipkin) are Bobcats no more. Deemed one of the NCAA’s most dangerous lines, the trio combined for 270 points in two seasons.
Graf made his NHL debut with the San Jose Sharks on April 6 and saw time in their last seven regular season matchups.
The two-time Hobey Baker Award finalist was one of the nation’s most coveted free agents, and his absence may be Quinnipiac’s biggest gut punch.
Quillan — who achieved his magnum
‘It’s
chaos’
that fateful night — inking a three-year entry-level contract with the Arizona Coyotes whose franchise transferred to the newly established Utah Hockey Club.
On paper, the Bobcats’ top line is in hot water. But look further down the page and see the likes of sophomore wingers Mason Marcellus (left) and Andon Cerbone (right) with junior Boston University transfer Jeremy Wilmer in center.
“We need (Marcellus and Cerbone) to be better,” Pecknold said. “They were great last year. We did take a step. And they both put on a little bit of muscle, a little bit of size and I think a little bit of maturity.”
Wilmer — who notched 67 points in two seasons with the Terriers — was scratched from the Frozen Four semifinal matchup against Denver. No sooner did his name pop up in the portal where he fell right into Quinnipiac’s lap.
“Jeremy looks great, obviously, you know, a former 100 point kid in the USHL, put up nice numbers at BU having a little different role here, but he’s been great, buying into our culture and our system,” Pecknold said.
Marcellus and Cerbone were a dynamic duo in the 2023-24 season, both finishing top five on the team in points. They lived up to and even exceeded expectations as rookies, with Marcellus being named to the All ECAC Preseason Team on Sept. 25.
lead this team and put the best foot forward.”
Ricketts comes with an impressive resume from Atlantic Hockey, dawning the ‘C’ for the Crusaders, snagging a Hobey Baker Award nomination and accumulating 87 points in four seasons. In Quinnipiac terms, his role as a two-way center should remind opponents of T.J. Friedman ‘23 or Skyler Brind’Amour ‘23.
And of course, there needs to be a freshman breakout on the wing to simulate Marcellus. Pelosi, a 2023 Boston Bruins third rounder totaled 74 points in 99 games with the USHL’s Sioux Falls Stampede, and his 6-foot-1 frame gives him a serious physical advantage in the o-zone.
Only one line mirrors last season’s, and that’s Quinnipiac’s third of Czerneckianair, sandwiched by Anthony Cipollone on the left and Alex Power on the right.
It’s entirely possible for Czerneckianair to slide into the second line if he continues his offensive dominance. The Southington, Connecticut, native has been a solid starter in two seasons and sent Quinnipiac to the 2024 Regional Final with a clutch overtime game-winner against Wisconsin. If that scenario plays out, sophomore forward Matthew McGroaty could be the missing piece.
Here’s where things get weird.
it’s hard to kind of get used to a partner and get comfortable. But I mean, anyone that we play with on our back end I have confidence (in).”
The most intriguing pair lies with Boston College transfer and 2022 New Jersey Devils draft pick Charlie Leddy and UMass Amherst grad transfer Aaron Bohlinger. Leddy’s height and skillset is comparable to former defensemen Charles Alexis-Legault, who signed an entry-level contract with the Carolina Hurricanes at the conclusion of the season.
Graf may have been the biggest offensive blow for Quinnipiac, but losing Legault’s stoic presence and leadership in the back hurts more than most.
Bohlinger was a perfect snag for the Bobcats, a seasoned veteran with NCAA Tournament experience and a national championship in his pocket. Defense seems to be Quinnipiac’s largest hole to fill, especially when its main qualm last season was the penalty kill. And although Bohlinger is likely a second liner, he has the talent and ability to step up when necessary.
Down to the third.
Freshman Elliott Groenewold has shown nothing short of strength and aggression. The 2024 fourth round Bruins draft pick represented the USHL Cedar Rapids RoughRiders in 57 games, earning All-Rookie Second Team honors.
ed about getting my cardio up so I can play more minutes,” Marcellus said. “And for me, one thing is focusing on the little details, where last year I didn’t really
line is
struct. Treloar was a natural center
rently in the mix, the captain may work better alongside Holy Cross grad transfer Jack Ricketts and freshman right wing
“There’s so many other leaders that aren’t wearing letters,” Treloar said. “And you know, (it’s) nothing I take lightly. I’m excited to
The fourth line is entirely up in the air, but the cards are pointing toward a freshmen trio: Noah Eyre and Ryan Smith on the wings with Aaron Schwartz in center. Eyre is also a Sioux Falls alum, and Smith comes from the familiar Tri-City Storm — Czerneckianair and Wilmer’s USHL team. To round out the three is Schwartz who to taled 135 points in 102 games with the BCHL’s Surrey Eagles.
DEFENSEMEN
Determining who plays where for the back line isn’t exactly sim there’s less room for error when the Bobcats only dress eight defensemen.
“I think that’s our biggest thing in our identity, is competing hard, and all the new guys have come in and run with that, and you know, they’re really starting to buy into our systems,” graduate student defenseman Cooper Moore said.
Moore and senior Davis Pennington should assume the first line slots, no ques tion. Both appeared in all 39 games in 2023-24, and have been a lock for the Bob cats on defense.
“You know, you never really know who you’re gonna play with,” Moore said. “So
