Quinnipiac unveils first ever comprehensive fundraising campaign, hopes to raise $160M
By ALEXANDRA MARTINAKOVA and CARLEIGH BECK
Quinnipiac University and Office of Development and Alumni Affairs announced Saturday “For the Ambitious: A Campaign for the Next Century” — the first comprehensive fundraising campaign in the school’s history — aiming to raise $160 million for the university and its students.
“We are heading into the next century of what Quinnipiac wants to become,” said Nick Wormley, vice president for development and alumni affairs. “Always looking at students and determining what their needs are is the No. 1 priority, so if we look at the campaign it really stemmed from the last five to six years of (President Judy) Olian being here and really talking about this ambitious campus that we have.”
The university hopes to allocate the goal amount across four different sectors — $55 million for building students’ scholarships and financial aid, $30 million for advancing faculty excellence and leadership, $50 million for launching innovative programs and $25 million for investing in capital projects.
For scholarships, there are three options so far. The first is the Endowed Scholarship, starting at $100,000, Current Use Scholarships starting at $25,000 and the option to contribute to an already existing scholarship fund.
Several school programs will also get an allocated amount. The Critical Conversations Speaker Series will get $1.5 million to continue bringing in esteemed speakers. The School of Computing and Engineering will get upgrades in regards to AI, 3D printing and much more, worth $15 million. Some funds will also go towards the recruiting and retaining faculty across all Quinnipiac schools.
For athletics, $23 million will be allocated to “continue to recruit the best student-athletes and to upgrade several athletic facilities,
all of which offer naming opportunities,” according to the campaign’s handbook.
That includes the $6.5 million that went towards the new men’s and women’s hockey suites, $5 million towards the baseball field, $2 million towards tennis facilities, $2 million for soccer/lacrosse field lightning, $5 million for basketball suites and $500,000 in Recreation and Wellness Center upgrades.
The school will also focus $3 million towards the 23 recognized club sports.
Wormley said that these numbers are just ballparks, something to reach for but hopefully will get surpassed.
“We certainly engage alumni, parents, students from California to Boston in that philanthropic process,” said Wormley, who is a Class of 2000 undergraduate and Class of 2002 MBA graduate. “College tuition is not cheap, what we are trying to do is make sure that our alumni and our families and even our community members can provide an experience to the students and we don’t have to raise costs.”
$78 million was already raised according to the campaign’s website.
Quinnipiac had the second-best retention rate since 2012 in Fall 2023, at 89%, according to John Morgan, associate vice president for public affairs.
“Just over 60% of incoming students said that Quinnipiac was their first choice, so knowing that students want to come here is what really is driving the campaign,” Wormley said.
The campaign was announced during the Quinnipiac and University of New Hampshire men’s hockey matchup Saturday, as well as before the game at a watch party at the Mount Carmel Campus.
The watch party was held at the Recreational and Wellness Center. Jeanna Doherty ‘94, a member board of trustees and former president of the Alumni Board,
spoke on the campaign.
“(This) will grow Quinnipiac for generations to come,” Doherty said. “The momentum is building, the moment is right now … and it is my honor to share what it all means in this exciting announcement.”
The university created this strategic plan in 2018 when Olian became president. This plan included renovations to the Recreational and Wellness Center and the creation of the South Quad and the “University of the Future.”
“We have built so much together, but there is one more thing we have to do together,” Olian said in a speech during the announcement. “This afternoon, I am asking each of you to join us as we continue to build our future. With the support, assistance, engagement and energy of all of you, we will take Quinnipiac into our next century.”
The watch party featured a photo wall with the campaign name and slogan, as well as lawn chairs given to attendees with the name and slogan on the back.
“I think it’s great to hear that they’re trying to raise money to better the school, and hopefully add new programs (to) modernize and progress everything,” said Isabella Barret, a junior health science studies major. “I think it’s really important (to get) local food into cafeterias throughout all campuses, improving transportation with the shuttle … I think it’s really important for students, especially those without cars.”
In August 2023, students lost 145 parking spaces in North Lot due to the construction of tennis courts.
“I feel like (parking) is a big thing,” Barret said. “Juniors, I know, we don’t have a lot of spaces to park, so just making sure that everything is accessible for everybody, no matter if you have a car, or anybody with a disability too.”
Anyone can easily donate through the link at the campaign’s website, with pre-set
The official student newspaper of Quinnipiac University since 1929
This campaign hopes to raise $160 million for Quinnipiac University students, faculty and staff by 2029, the 100-year celebration of the school.
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Baseball Hall of Famer Tim Kurkjian featured in ‘What’s Your Story?’
On Oct. 24, Assistant Professor of Jour-
By AVA HIGHLAND Staff Writer
nalism and Co-Director of Sports Studies, Nick Pietruszkiewicz, welcomed ESPN MLB reporter and Baseball Hall of Famer Tim Kurkjian to his video series, “What’s Your Story?”
Kurkjian joined Pietruszkiewicz to discuss the industry, detailing his experience and allotting advice to students who plan to enter the journalism field. Having grown up with teachers in his family, Kurkjian is always eager to help students.
“Anytime I can work with kids, help kids, talk to kids, I think it’s really, really, important,” Kurkjian said in an interview with The Chronicle. “I didn’t get to go to a college and have somebody come in and speak to us. It just wasn’t done. So I always said, ‘If I ever get a chance to do this and get things that I wasn’t exposed to at age 18-22, if anyone wants help I’m going to help.’”
This event marked the third episode of “What’s Your Story?” Pietruszkiewicz created the series to bring professionals in the sports journalism and communications field to Quinnipiac. The series allows students on campus to learn more about working behind the scenes in sports.
Pietruszkiewicz and Kurkjian have a long history of working in the industry together — both are graduates from the University of Maryland and Pietruszkiewicz was later Kurkjian’s editor for ESPN.
While at ESPN together, Pietruszkiewicz played a vital role in Kurkjian’s writing career.
“We had a couple of sports editors at ESPN, baseball editors who were not that interested in what some of us did, and Nick came along, and said, ‘You should write more,’” Kurkjian said. “So the connection between Nick and I really revived my writing career.”
Kurkjian never stopped writing, however, he knew he could improve. With Pietruszkiewicz’s encouragement and their teamwork, Kurkjian delved deeper into writing stories.
Pietruszkiewicz began the episode by discussing Kurkjian’s induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2021. Kurkjian received the news while in a Harris Teeter grocery store.
“I literally started to cry in the middle of the grocery store,” Kurkjian said.
Kurkjian later traveled to Cooperstown, New York, to present his speech. He practiced his speech 200 times by himself, to memorize it before stepping on stage.
It was a weekend he would never forget, meeting icons in the baseball world including fellow Baseball Hall of Famers Johnny Bench and Paul Molitor.
“There will never be anything like it that
I will ever experience for the rest of my life,” Kurkjian said.
Similarly to previous guests Jimmy Roberts, a golf analyst for NBC Sports and SportsCenter anchor Matt Barrie, Pietruskiewicz asked him, “What was your ‘I want to do this moment?’”
Kurkjian found his passion for baseball at a very young age and knew he wanted a career centered around it.
“I grew up in a house where the primary language spoken was baseball,” Kurkjian said.
He later wrote for his high school’s newspaper but was not a strong writer at the time. This inspired him to improve and push forth with a career in sports.
“I realized maybe I stink at this, maybe I gotta get way better at this,” Kurkjian said. “That was one of the epiphany moments where I said, ‘all right I’m not good at this. I gotta get better because I have to make a career out of this.’”
Kurkjian shared several things he learned along the way. One of the most vital lessons he learned was the importance of being well-rounded.
“I should have been more worldly. I should’ve been more well-rounded. I should know more about history and geography, politics and religion and frankly, I don’t,” Kurkjian said.
Kurkjian also discussed several other key tips for telling a story.
“First off, you gotta show up and you gotta try. You gotta prepare. If you don’t do that, you’re not going anywhere,” Kurkjian said. “You really have to be curious about
what you’re watching, no matter what you’re watching.”
Kurkjian’s biggest pieces of advice pertained to interviewing and asking questions. At age 55, he took a course on how to ask the proper question at ESPN. Initially believing he could teach the course, Kurkjian soon learned valuable information that would further improve his skills.
In addition to asking the proper questions, another one of Kurkjian’s biggest pieces of advice is to form a connection with the interviewee.
“Some connections are hard to find, but that’s the first thing you want to do, is find some common ground between you and the person you’re talking to, and that’ll take you a much longer way,” Kurkjian said in an interview with The Chronicle.
This makes the interviews more of a conversation, which in turn creates trust between the subject and journalist.
With hundreds of stories under his belt, the one that stands out as his favorite is a piece on Cal Ripken, a now retired MLB player. Having built trust with Ripken, he let Kurkjian into his life for a week. Kurkjian went to his home, rode with him to and from the ballpark, and met his wife and children.
“I wanted to see what he’s like driving to the ballpark,” Kurkjian said. “Is he listening to music? What music is he listening to? Is he listening to a talk show or in this case he has the radio turned off and it’s total silence.”
Out of the seven days he spent with Ripken, Kurkjian spent only five minutes sitting down to interview him. He spent the rest of the week observing Ripken and wrote a 15-page story for Sports Illustrated.
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Kurkjian and Pietruszkiewicz collaborate on many projects together, including “Tim Kurkjian’s Baseball Fix.”
During the height of the pandemic, Pietruszkiewicz and Kurkjian wanted to give baseball fans something while sports went quiet. Kurkjian wrote for 101 consecutive days, and created a video to go along with each piece.
“It’s something that only he could have done, only him,” Pietruszkiewicz said in an interview with The Chronicle. “Only he has that kind of knowledge and that kind of commitment.”
“The Baseball Fix” became an outlet for baseball fans as well as Pietruszkiewicz and Kurkjian during a time of stress and fear.
For over an hour in the Open Air Studio, Kurkjian shared knowledge with students, staff and faculty to guide them through a career in the communications world.
“You’re not getting anywhere unless you’re prepared and you work hard,” Kurkjian said.
TYLER MIGNAULT/CHRONICLE
MLB reporter Tim Kurkjian (left) and Associate Professor of Journalism Nick Pietruszkiewicz at the “What’s Your Story?” video series recording on Thursday, Oct. 24.
TYLER MIGNAULT/CHRONICLE Quinnipiac School of Communications students asks Kurkjian questions at the event.
Nursing professor receives prestigious award
By ANDREW ALLISON Staff Writer
Laima Karosas, the chair of Graduate Nursing Programs at Quinnipiac University received the U.S. Fulbright Scholar Award for the 2024-25 academic year.
The $28,300 award will be used to teach and conduct research at the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences.
Karosas needed to apply for the award, and she was one of four recipients. She described it as “very competitive,” and she needed recommendations from people in the U.S.
“Fulbright Scholar Awards comprise the bulk of awards offered and include opportunities for professionals, artists and scholars at all career levels. Location and eligibility vary across all awards, and some awards may be restricted to certain career levels or types of scholars,” according to the Fulbright Scholar Program website.
“(My project) is specified as 75% teaching 25% research,” Karosas said.
The research conducted by Karosas will be on scope of practice for advanced practice nursing.
Karosas says there are not enough positions for graduate students to work in advanced practice nursing, and she wants to investigate what is closing those doors.
“So we’re going to be looking at that like how this (was) implemented. What are the barriers … Or what exactly is preventing them from doing this?” Karosas said. “So that’s the piece of research that I’d really like to get done. And they’re and they’re looking forward to that too, because there’s a lot of people
(who) want to know that answer, yeah.”
She will be in Lithuania for six months, beginning on Jan. 28, according to Quinnipiac Today.
“I’ve taught there before, but never, like for this long of a time,” Karosas said.
Karosas’s parents are Lithuanian, and she speaks the language fluently.
“It makes it much easier to teach when you are fluent in English and the native language,” Karosas said.
Though most students speak English, Karosa says people have a hard time comprehending what she says.
“(Sometimes) I speak too fast, and I need to slow it down for them and they’re used to the British pronunciation, so there might be a little bit (of) difficulty, because I’m American,” Karosas said.
Karosas said that, opposed to the U.S., a lot of teaching in Lithuania is lecture based where students don’t participate as much.
“When I teach, even when I lecture, I do want students to participate, which is different for them,” Karosas said. “They’re used to sitting there and listening, yeah? So when I ask them a question or whatever, they kind of look at me like, ‘Are you really asking us?’ Like, yeah, I’m really asking you. I want somebody to answer this.”
Prior to her arrival at Quinnipiac, Karosas worked as a nurse practitioner and later taught for a few years at Fairfield University. She continues to work as a nurse practitioner, but now in Telehealth.
During her time at Quinnipiac, Karosas taught at the School of Nursing.
“I was the track coordinator for the
Adult Nurse Practitioner track, and then became the chair, and then became the director of both tracks and then became the chair,” Karosas said. “So I was a chair for graduate nursing for like, nine years. Now I’m back to faculty again, which is great.”
Karosas described how Quinnipiac has changed over the time she’s been teaching. She said that it has grown “tremendously,” and neither the York Hill Campus or School of Medicine existed.
“I mean, when I came to Quinnipiac, we had less than 50 nursing students, I think 13 graduate students, and that was it. Now we
have over 1,100 graduate and undergraduate students,” Karosas said. “When I came to Quinnipiac, I think there was a total of 12 faculty … and now we have over 50 for faculty and staff.”
Karosas also noted the U.S. and Lithuania have historically exchanged knowledge relating to nursing, especially in the aftermath of World War I and World War II. She is a fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners and is certified as an adult nurse practitioner and family nurse practitioner.
Mobile Mammography Unit offers free screening to students, faculty and staff
By TYLER RINKO Associate Photography Editor
Quinnipiac University partnered with Hartford Healthcare to bring a Mobile Mammography Van to the Quinnipiac campus on Nov. 22. Students and faculty were given the opportunity to get screened for breast cancer, without the inconvenience of leaving campus, in Quinnipiac’s Mount Carmel Campus North Parking Lot in front of the Recreation and Wellness Center.
As with all cancers, breast cancer is most effectively treated when it is detected early. Convenient screening
locations such as this go a long way toward reducing the harm that breast cancer can cause to our community. Events like bringing mobile mammography machines to campus also show Quinnipiac’s commitment to the well-being of its students and surrounding community.
In 2024, an estimated 313,510 people will be diagnosed with breast cancer and 42,780 more will lose their lives to the disease, according to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Every preventative action we can take in the present has the chance of saving lives.
PHOTO COURTESY OF LAIMA KAROSAS
Laima Karosas, clinical professor of nursing, hopes to use the money from her award to teach and conduct research at the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences.
TYLER RINKO/CHRONICLE
Quinnipiac University and Hartford Healthcare bring a mobile Mammograph Van to campus on Oct. 22.
TYLER RINKO/CHRONICLE
Almost 43,000 people are predicted to pass away from breast cancer in 2024, the Digital Mobile Mammography helps screen people earlier to help prevent this.
TYLER RINKO/CHRONICLE
Digital Mobile Mammography gives students, faculty and staff free screening for breast cancer.
Don’t cheat your way through college
By LILLIAN CURTIN Opinion Editor
I’ve been around a lot of doctors and nurses. I’ve spent a lot of time in hospitals. I trust them, a lot more than I trust some of my generation going into the workforce now as doctors, nurses and lawyers.
So many high school and college students use AI, Chegg and other platforms to get their homework done. I’m not saying certain professions are more important than others, but a music major isn’t going to get the chance to perform surgery on me without knowing where my kidney is because ChatGPT told them the wrong location.
If you’re studying to be a doctor, just for the money or the title, and you cheat your way through college, you’re going to end up getting someone hurt, or even killing them.
I’m not just saying this as a member of the Academic Integrity Board. I’m saying this as someone concerned for the future health and safety of our world.
Of course, there are always going to be good people who really just want to help oth-
ers. The same people who sacrifice a weekend of partying for the sake of knowing the correct formulas and calculations.
Even if you simply just try, I will not hate my doctor if they failed their first BIO 101 exam. They’ll learn from it.
It will also come back to bite you. An “A” will feel good in the moment, but you won’t learn anything from it. You may end up getting imposter syn drome later in your aca demic career or even dur ing your professional life.
If you’re surrounded by people who took col lege seriously, and learned things that you thought
weren’t important enough to spend your time learning, then you will always be at the botprofessional food chain.
A nurse who can’t insert an IV is a scary thought, but a very real possibility because of easy ways to get a quick good grade, instead of putting in the
It’s great to have a balance. I’m all for partying, but don’t do it at the expense of learning. I’d rather my nurse know facts about the body, instead of just how to do body shots.
There’s always the risk of getting
If you get kicked out of school, and end up becoming a doctor later in life, that reputation will always follow you. People talk. You’re not going to get patients or clients when you’re the doctor who didn’t want to study, so you cheated using some random online platform.
With college, professors are the key to connections. If you want them to help you network, not taking their class seriously, and getting caught cheating isn’t the way to do it. You’ll lose a lot of respect and will never be their first choice when it comes to recommending students for something.
There are so many ways you can use the materials you use to cheat with to help you study. If you’re going to use online tools, use them to actually learn the concepts and vocabulary. Instead of just using Quizlet flashcards as a cheat sheet, use it for what it’s meant for: learning.
Pay attention, learn and study. Don’t half-ass college when your career involves holding someone’s life in your hands.
Join Greek life as a first-year
By OLIVIA MASTROMARINO Contributing Writer
Entering college is one of the most thrilling yet overwhelming experiences. First-years – like me – arrive on campus, eager to make new friends, find their place and get as involved as possible.
One of the most dynamic and rewarding ways to jumpstart this journey is by joining Greek life.
Greek life provides an instant community. For many first-years, adjusting to the newness of college life can be very difficult and daunting, especially if you are dorming like I am. Being away from family, thrown into unfamiliar environments and trying to make friends in classes with students you don’t know can be isolating.
By joining a fraternity or a sorority, students are immediately plunged into a group of peers who have the same interests and are similar to each other. These organizations have long-standing traditions that create a deep sense of belonging on day one.
I felt skeptical and scared. I felt worried that I would not find my “people.” My parents mentioned Greek life and how my mom was a part of a sorority. They told me to take the big leap, go out of my comfort zone and join Greek life. I came into college not knowing what organizations I wanted to join.
I am a person who loves having fun with friends but still wants to be busy and involved. Beyond social bonds, Greek life offers incredible leadership and networking opportunities. College is just as much about personal growth as it is about academics,
and Greek organizations are designed for fostering leadership.
Whether it’s holding an executive board position, planning philanthropy events or managing the logistics of running a chapter, Greek members are often entrusted with significant responsibilities that teach valuable life skills. First-years who dive into Greek life get a head start on building leadership experience, which can be a huge advantage when it comes to applying for internships or jobs down the line.
Another overlooked benefit is the long-
term network Greek life provides. Alumni connections are strong and members often gain access to a vast professional network. This can be invaluable when navigating post-graduation career opportunities. Firstyears who join have three or four years to build relationships within this network, which can give them a leg up when they’re job hunting after college.
This is so important because having connections before you graduate is one of the biggest things you can do. Being involved in Greek life gives you that oppor-
tunity. You are not just a family with your specific fraternity or sorority, you are family with all of them. I have made so many close friends being in Gamma Phi Beta, and I have only been here for a couple of months. I have met so many girls who have the same beliefs and interests that I do. Philanthropy is one of the core reasons I joined a sorority. Gamma Phi Beta’s philanthropic partner is “Girls on the Run.” It stood out for me because “Girls on the Run” is a national non-profit organization that provides physical activities to enhance girls’ social, emotional and physical skills, helping them navigate life experiences. This means so much to me because I feel like empowering women is very important. Every fraternity and sorority offers a different philanthropy. Everyone who joins has an opportunity to raise awareness for all different kinds of things going on in the world. Greek organizations place a huge emphasis on charitable costs, hosting events and raising funds for various philanthropies.
For first-years who want to make a positive impact, this is a great way to get deeply involved. Being in Greek life has honestly built my character while fostering a sense of purpose. I am so happy my parents pushed me to join a sorority my first year. I have made so many friends, been to so many events that raise awareness for important things in the world and made so many connections across campus. Do not be afraid to take a step forward and join a sorority. You will find your family, friends and your people.
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY OLIVIA MASTROMARINO
A group picture of Eta Pi chapter of Gamma Phi Beta at “Mac n’ Cheese with GPhiB.”
ILLUSTRATION BY KATERINA PARIZKOVA
Opinion
Polarization is becoming irreversible
By OLIVIA CAMPBELL Contributing Writer
The upcoming presidential election has caused an increase of controversy within the public; extreme polarization within American society threatens the solidarity of the nation by highlighting the rivalry between political parties.
Political polarization is defined as a conflict between major social groups and political systems; this division emphasizes the rivalry between political parties, which only encourages further controversy.
The U.S. political system has entered a new era of corruption, where division is implemented into the nation’s values. Political alienation is changing the discourse of our democratic society, as it restricts the representation of political ideologies to prioritize the Democratic and Republican parties.
Political polarization has obstructed the development of personal beliefs, as countless Americans base their opinions on onesided news sources. Both ends of the political spectrum feel superior, and portray their opinions as the facts.
The recent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump is a prime example of how political polarization is impacting the structure of our nation.
On July 13, 2024, a shooting occurred at Trump’s rally in Butler County, Pennsylvania, which left several people injured and one dead. Despite being the target of the at-
tack, Trump was only shot once in the ear. The injury caused severe bleeding initially, but ultimately required minimal treatment.
Trump blames the Democratic party for the attack, and overtly claims that criticism in the media is what incited the violence.
Countless left-leaning sources claimed that the Republican party was over-exaggerating in terms of the magnitude of the attack. Many believed that Trump was not shot, but rather hit by shrapnel from a camera that was shot.
New information was released to the public in the midst of the conflict. An article for AP News reported that the FBI confirmed that Trump was shot in the ear.
The Democratic party displayed intense
polarization in denying the extent of his injury, as well as forming opinions on the basis of no real evidence.
Another example of polarization occurred after the 2020 presidential election, when Trump demanded a recount of the votes.
On Jan. 6, 2021, Congress held a session inside the Capitol to certify the results of the 2020 election. During the meeting, Trump held a rally close by, protesting the outcome with thousands of supporters by his side.
NPR has a complete transcript of Trump’s speech from that day. “All of us here today do not want to see our election victory stolen by emboldened radical-left Democrats, which is what they’re doing,” Trump said.
“We didn’t lose.”
It wasn’t long before a violent mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol; they raided the building with the intention to ruin election results. The attack caused about $1.5 million in damages, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
The storming of the Capitol building changed the discourse of American society; thousands of Americans simultaneously defied the concept of democracy as they attempted to reverse a democratic process.
The issue of extreme polarization in America has caused members of the public to shy away from the true ideals of the nation, all to promote personal beliefs and certain political ideologies.
Don’t let us go hungry
By NEVE WILSON Staff Writer
During my first weekend at Quinnipiac University, I rolled out of bed and headed to the dining hall, not paying much attention to the time. When I got there I was surprised to see that the entrance was barred with a metal curtain; as a self-proclaimed “night person,” I knew it wasn’t early. This was my first experience with an issue that would inconvenience me all semester: the dining hall doesn’t open until 10 a.m. on the weekends.
I was there at about 9:45 a.m., and I wasn’t alone. Several other students were counting down the minutes until they could purchase any food for breakfast. When an employee came out to open we all eagerly swarmed the turnstiles.
The next weekend I went through sorority recruitment and we had to report to our meeting spot at 8 a.m. Many of us ended up skipping breakfast because there was nowhere for us to get it. Or we would have to bring granola bars that barely carried us to lunch.
This wasn’t simply the excitement of a new semester starting either. Nearly every weekend I go to the dining hall
around opening and there are always students like me who are awake and hungry. Some may believe that as college kids, we all like to sleep in. But the reality is that not everyone does. And yet there are no options for us to purchase food.
I’m not saying that the dining hall needs to open at 6 a.m. I’d wager very few college students, myself included, are up at 6 a.m. on a Saturday, but opening just an hour or two earlier would benefit many of us.
Breakfast is often referred to as the most important meal of the day — and for good reason. It helps replenish your blood sugar and kickstarts your metabolism.
The gym opens at 9 a.m. on weekends. Yet the smoothie and shake bar in the Recreation and Wellness Center, ShakeSmart, doesn’t open until noon these days. Fueling up on food is crucial to having energy, building strength and recovering better from a workout.
This is a big problem for Quinnipiac’s 538 Division I athletes as well, many of whom have morning practices on the weekends. They don’t have anywhere to purchase food either. At other Division I universities, such as the
University of Virginia, there is an entire separate dining hall for athletes to ensure that they get the nutrition they need when they need it.
The lack of food availability is not limited to the Mount Carmel Campus either. On York Hill, the dining hall also opens at 10 a.m. When my mom came and visited me, she wanted to see York so we ended up waiting half an hour before we could get breakfast.
The dining hall runs on pretty limited hours in general on the weekend. It opens at 10 a.m. and closes at 7 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. For dinner, this isn’t as much of an issue, as The Bobcat Den (The Rat) is open until midnight. But there are no breakfast alternatives — Starbucks doesn’t open until 10 a.m. either and The Rat at 3 p.m.
One potential solution to this issue is offering grab-and-go breakfast items, or pre-packaged breakfast foods and fruit that wouldn’t require cooking. This way there would only need to be a few dining hall workers coming in earlier.
There are enough hungry students like myself who deserve a place to get breakfast on the weekends.
Bobcat Buzz
ILLUSTRATION BY TRIPP MENHALL
Arts & Life
Reliving an ALCS I didn’t watch
'The Comeback: 2004 Boston Red Sox' reminds
By AMANDA DRONZEK Sports Editor
I wish I could say I’ve been alive for four of the Boston Red Sox's most recent World Series wins, but sadly I’m a 2005 baby — no 2004 championship for me.
That being said, I have a baseball-crazed father who wore a ‘04 World Series t-shirt the day I was born; I’m more than educated on how the Sox reversed the “Curse of the Bambino” — the 86-year World Series drought the club went through after selling Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees, thus creating the infamous rivalry.
So the answer is yes, I giggled and kicked my feet when I heard Netflix was releasing “The Comeback: 2004 Boston Red Sox.” The series, directed by Colin Barnicle, is a threeepisode documentary detailing the team’s incredible comeback after being down 3-0 against the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series.
Part I of the series recounts Boston’s 2003 rebuild. Think “Moneyball,” not just because Billy Beane was nearly hired as the team's general manager, but because ownership took a ragtag group of ballplayers based on specialized stats. Newly appointed 28-year-old GM Theo Epstein needed to prove the Sox weren’t a second-place team.
As first baseman Kevin Millar said, “You guys need to cowboy up.”
The episode features interviews with players, journalists, owner John Henry, Epstein and former manager Grady Little. Let me tell you, if Little wasn’t already despised for putting Pedro Martinez back on the mound in the eighth inning of ALCS Game 7 against the Yankees in 2003, he’s hated now.
Luckily that decision was his death sentence. And yes, the Red Sox blew Game 7 of the ALCS and reaffirmed the curse for another offseason. But the point of this episode wasn’t about how Yankees closer Mariano Rivera was lights out to send his team to yet another World Series.
It was the rising action to a 2004 World Series-caliber club. The Sox entered Yankee Stadium for Game 1 of the ALCS with shaved heads, sweatshirts turned to muscle tanks and a degenerate attitude your parents would send you to your room for. They didn’t care about how they looked or acted, they cared about the game.
But seeing this — the way fans found a sliver of faith in Boston again despite the outcome — gave me that familiar feeling in my stomach I had during Game 2 of the 2021 ALCS. Minus the gut-punch of late knuckleballer Tim Wakefield giving up the goahead home run in Game 7 to current Yankees manager Aaron Boone.
That one stings. Love you, 49.
It’s funny. When the credits rolled in Part I, I was defeated. We just lost, there was nothing left for the Sox, for the city. I can only imagine how my dad felt. Because guess what, it was the furthest thing from over for Boston.
Part II opens with Martinez restating that ownership needed to win the arms race, buy-in to the organization and trade for pitching ahead of the 2004 season. I shivered when pitcher Curt Schilling appeared on my screen, and not because he was a monster on the mound. Just
read the tabloids.
He did say one thing I didn’t hate. “Fuck the curse. It was a curse of talent. They were just never talented enough to win it.”
True, anyways. I applaud Barnicle for snagging Yankees players to give another perspective. You can’t create a documentary on a team’s journey to victory and not include the opponent, no matter how much you dislike them. I’m also a sucker for the footage used throughout; those grainy, low-quality videos bring a sense of nostalgia.
Hearing radio announcer Joe Castiglione and late broadcaster Jerry Remy call games they’ll never call again, reading newspaper
fans to believe
question if Boston could really flip the script in 2004.
In Sox fashion, the offseason was bleak. Ownership came oh so close to putting shortstop Alex Rodriguez in a Boston uniform — in exchange for shortstop Nomar Garciapara and pitcher Jon Lester no less — but it was New York who snagged baseball’s best.
So Henry and Epstein needed to reevaluate, starting with who would be managing the squad. Enter, Terry Francona.
Boy, did the first half of that season suck. And tensions kept rising. Garciapara, already bitter from nearly being traded, was sidelined by an Achilles injury. But the world didn’t
before the first pitch, so drilling Rodriguez in the second inning wasn’t entirely his fault. A-Rod lost it, plain and simple.
And catcher Jason Varitek — dubbed the captain for a reason — had enough. I don’t know a single baseball fan who hasn’t heard of the infamous benches-emptying brawl.
“Every bar room and household used to be Cardinal Cushing, John F. Kennedy, now it’s Jason Varitek stuffing his mitt into Alex Rodriguez’s face,” Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy said.
Boston went on to win that game on a walk-off two-run homer by third baseman Bill Mueller, off of none other than Rivera. Castiglione said that the game was the first time he called the phrase, ‘Can you believe it?’
There are so many moments in this documentary that could have been the turning point for the 2004 Red Sox. “This is when we
What I adore about Part III is how Barnicle designed the episode like it was the World Series. People don’t realize, ‘04 wasn’t historic for Boston because the Sox won it all. It was historic because these idiots finally eliminated the Yankees in a playoff scenario.
“Long live the idiots, bro,” left fielder Johnny Damon said. “We’re a bunch of frickin’
And there it was, déjà vu. A Yankees-Red Boston got hosed for three straight. News flash, no team in the league has ever battled back from a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series and then gone on to clinch the World Series. “Don’t let us win today,” Millar said before
The Red Sox didn’t lose again. The hero? Hall of Fame designated hitter David Ortiz whose bat sent Boston to Game 5 and 6 respectively.
That’s the best part of “The Comeback.” It was the anticipation, the will-they-won’t-they, the culture that the 2004 Red Sox fostered, idiot and all. I mean, Schilling’s bloody sock in Game 6? Disgustingly iconic. Nobody was doing it like Boston. My favorite cinematic element from Barnicle? When it looked like the Yankees had the Sox by the throat and a montage of Boston’s past failures
That’s when it forced ALCS Game 7. Damon has a two-homer game. New York is down, and the offense is utterly paralyzed. Champagne boxes fill the Red Sox’s clubhouse. Bottom of the ninth, ground ball to second baseman Pokey Reese. Pennant, Boston.
Epstein, Millar, Martinez and Ortiz sitting in the interview,
And I sit on my couch eager to believe in Boston again.
Look, the 2013 World Series DVD is a treasure. But my version skips because 9-year-old me watched it 5,000 times and now I can recite the entire thing for you.
It was time to expand my horizons with “The Comeback,” and it’s about time for baseball fans in this generation to know what went down in October of 2004 — the Yankees.
Tyler, The Creator, removes his mask: 'CHROMAKOPIA' details his life story
By CARTER KANE Contributing Writer
Tyler, The Creator gifted listeners an early holiday present with a surprise album, “CHROMAKOPIA” on Monday, Oct. 28.
The album marks his seventh solo record. With this brand new album being announced just a couple of weeks ago, fans had very little information on who or what the album was about — considering Tyler stated he wouldn’t release any music in 2024.
Monday morning, he posted on his social media platforms urging fans to listen to the album before going on social media or looking at reviews to ensure fans could develop their own opinions.
The album has 14 tracks, featuring artists such as Childish Gambino, GloRilla, Sexyy Red and Lil Wayne, creating a strong set list for listeners to enjoy.
Tyler has many songs on the album with no features besides some background vocals — like “Judge Judy” and “Tomorrow.” Tyler’s mother, Bonita Smith, is also featured on the album as a guiding voice for her son as he expresses his internal struggles. She even opens up about some of Tyler’s most defining moments in life.
This album is a very different take than Tyler’s projects, with several slow songs for listeners to focus on what he’s saying and read into a bigger message. The story of the album deals with the nature of maturity and wanting to settle down but thoughts of self-doubt or knowing he can find better stop him from doing so.
“Hey Jane” goes through a conversation between Tyler and a woman only known in the
song as “Jane.” They talk and Tyler opens the conversation about how he got her pregnant and is scared but willing to support her.
Tyler then tells the story from Jane’s perspective and she opens up to him about being a mom, feeling guilt and fear but also letting him know she can raise the child by herself if need be and he shouldn’t feel guilty.
The song ends with Jane saying “T, no matter the decision of day, I just want us to be cool either way/ No pressure.” This shows a mutual understanding, but the question of what happens next still lingers.
Another great track on the album that conveys so much emotion is “Noid.” The single came came out on Oct. 21 just a week before the record’s release to promote the album.
Due to the topic of the song being how paranoid Tyler is, the song created a lot of buzz. He sings about driving around town, being on the phone, being in his own house and being followed by paparazzi. The repeated outro of Tyler saying “Leave me alone, what you want?” and lyrics talking about his shadows keeping watch emphasizes how on edge he is.
Even though this album takes more dark turns, there are still songs that hype up listeners like “Sticky,” featuring GloRilla, Sexyy Red and Lil Wayne. It’s one of the most upbeat songs on the album with very diverse features that allow any fan to connect with some of their other favorite artists or even connect with an artist they don’t know that well.
Tyler has written about a lot of who he is as a person and a lot of his personal experiences
— and when it comes to his emotions he doesn’t hold anything back as a lyricist. For “CHROMAKOPIA,” he once again deals with the ever-lingering thought of maturing, growing old, starting a family and even the death of people in his life and himself.
With “IGOR” being my favorite project by him, I enjoyed the storytelling and pacing this album delivered to my ears. I highly recommend listening from start to finish and forming your own ideas about the stories and themes and seeing how you can connect and relate to the music.
'Smile 2' outshines as sequel
Casting a brutal, bloody spotlight on horror
By GRACE CONNEELY- NOLAN Associate Arts & Life Editor
Going into the theater, all I knew about “Smile” were the cringy, creepy smiles the characters make when possessed. It's not known for being too scary, so I wasn't worried.
After the two hours and 12 minutes that made up “Smile 2,” I vowed to never see a horror movie in theaters again.
I was in no way prepared to see the sheer amount of bloody gore and jump scares. I’m going to be honest: once I realized this movie would be nothing like the first, I permanently had my hands over my ears and was readily available to close my eyes.
The movie stars Skye Riley (Naomi Scott), a troubled pop star who a year ago got into a horrible accident that took the life of her boyfriend Paul Hudson (Ray Nicholson). Struggling to stay sober after intense substance abuse while dealing with grief, Skye is also handling the stress of preparing for her comeback tour.
Skye turns to an old high school classmate, Lewis Fregoli (Lukas Gage), looking for drugs to relieve old pains from the crash but has a run-in with the smiley demon. Possessed by the entity, Skye witnesses a horrible, gruesome “suicide” where Fregoli smashes his face in repeatedly with a weight plate right in front of her.
The demon attaches to those who have tragic pasts, something to manipulate and control before moving on to another victim. It’s an entity, a parasite that subjects its victims to psychological torture for seven days before forcing them to kill themselves in front of another person to latch onto a new host.
The demon survives through lines of people. Throughout the movie, I kept thinking about how
to kill this thing; it seemed never-ending.
Skye becomes the next victim and experiences the horrors of the monster; she becomes an unreliable protagonist. She deals with this haunted entity, often taking the form of her overzealous fans. But on the outside, it just looks like a substance abuse relapse.
This movie ties in the pressures of being a public figure, performing and smiling through the pain when so many people depend on you for your talent.
Skye misconstrrues reality and perceives hallucinations as genuine events. The audience can’t trust anything happening on screen,
making the movie unpredictable and all the more terrifying.
After Fregoli's death, Skye receives texts from a mysterious number who seemingly knows what she’s going through and sends her a location pin to meet up. Being the only person who validates her pain, Skye decides to take a chance.
The mysterious number came from Morris, who explains his brother was tortured by the same monster and eventually killed. We learn that the only way to escape the smiling demon is to temporarily kill the current host, depriving the monster of another host to latch on to.
However, it’s never confirmed whether he’s
real. He could have just been a hallucination created to generate a false sense of hope and control so the demon could scare Skye even more. Scott’s performance as Skye was incredible. She made the movie with her range and embodied all of the internal anguish and trauma of a torturous downward spiral. She threw her all into this role with horrible screams and unhinged contortions.
Skye slaps her face to try and convince herself that it’s all in her head and chugs water to feel some control when craving drugs. She even periodically pulls her hair out in clumps to get some grip on reality and we see her fall farther and farther into the demon’s power.
The longer this movie went on, the more I lost hope that Skye would survive this.
The final straw of Skye's succumbing was facing the smiley demon in the last scene. Skye is on stage facing a reflection of herself, the demon wearing her skin. Her jaw cracks open to smile as her scar from the car crash that runs across her abdomen is ripped open and a bloody monster emerges from her body onstage.
While the audience can’t see what's really happening, they see Skye collapse on stage.
Skye stands up after a few moments after choking on the floor and faces the crowd with a creepy smile. The camera pans to the crowd as they watch Skye mutilate herself onstage and moviegoers are forced to listen to the crunch of a microphone being shoved in her eye.
Paving the way for a third movie, the demon could latch on to anyone. This storyline keeps the creature’s origin mysterious and leaves room for future horror.
Honestly, this movie is one of the best horrors of the year. I just won’t be around to see the next one.
Zach Bryan and Brianna 'Chickenfry': The impact of social media fueling celebrity breakups
By GINA LORUSSO Associate Arts & Life Editor
Celebrity breakups have evolved into something much more than a personal matter — they are now monitored and analyzed by fans across social media.
Over time, social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram and X have turned the highs and lows of celebrity relationships into a situation where fans become actively involved in the drama.
Every post and comment is torn apart by the public trying to understand why a relationship ended and who ended it.
On Oct. 22, country singer Zach Bryan announced his split from internet personality Brianna “Chickenfry” LaPaglia via Instagram story.
“Addressing something: Brianna and me have broken up with each other and I respect and love her with every ounce of my heart…,” Bryan wrote. “Please respect Brianna’s privacy and space in this and if you have it in your heart, mine too. With everything I am and to anyone I let down, I am sorry. I try my best in everything. I failed people that love me and mostly myself.”
Chickenfry took to social media soon after to express her surprise at Bryan’s post, which she said they hadn’t discussed prior.
“Hey guys I’m feeling really blindsided right now. Gonna hop off social media for a while and attempt to heal privately, when I’m ready I’ll be back and ready to talk … Remember you are so loved and everything’s always gonna be okay,” Chickenfry wrote.
Contrary to her post stating she was taking a step back from socials, she posted a YouTube video explaining she had no idea Bryan was going
Zach Bryan publically ends his relationship with Brianna "Chickenfry" Lapaglia through an Instagram story on Oct. 22.
to make that announcement just one day after they ended their year-long relationship.
Whether it’s an attempt to seem transparent with their fan bases or for the mass amounts of media coverage they’ll inevitably get, celebrities have been doing this for years.
This specific celebrity couple, however, has drawn even more attention because of Bryan’s complicated dating history.
The couple, who first met at the Academy of Country Music Awards in May 2023, made their relationship public two months later.
Rumors of Bryan and Chickenfry’s split
started circulating earlier in October when Bryan’s profile was discovered on Raya, a dating app for celebrities. Although Chickenfry debunked these breakup rumors at the time, that didn’t stop speculation of Bryan “dating around.”
Known for his songs about heartbreak, love and dreaming big, Bryan’s fans aren’t exactly surprised by this turn of events.
After his divorce from ex-wife Rose Madden in 2021, allegations emerged on social media that Bryan cheated on her while she was deployed, later mailing her divorce papers and ending the year-long marriage.
Crumblgate
Though unconfirmed, these rumors have prevented many from being sympathetic toward Chickenfry, claiming Bryan’s dating history should have been a dead giveaway that their relationship would eventually end and it wouldn’t be pretty.
In a recent episode of “Talk Tuah with Haliey Welch” also posted on Oct. 22, Chickenfry warned the hosts not to date celebrities.
“I think it’s better for the mental to not date someone famous,” Chickenfry said.
“It’s a lot.”
In the episode, Chickenfry shared her experience on how dating a celebrity adds pressure to the relationship, especially concerning privacy.
For any celebrity, a public breakup is emotionally difficult to deal with, but it also walks the line of turning the situation into content.
The Bryan-Chickenfry breakup is the most recent example of how social media has the power to amplify every aspect of celebrity relationships. Even when celebrities request privacy, that doesn't stop harsh comments and criticism from appearing on their feed.
Dealing with a breakup in private is difficult as is, but when there are outsiders commenting on a situation they aren’t involved in, it makes the process much harder. Fans aren’t entitled to know all the details, but the nature of celebrity culture makes them feel like they are.
In a society where privacy is constantly being challenged, the emotional toll of a public breakup reveals the costs of living in the spotlight. And apparently, Zach Bryan doesn’t like his chicken fried.
The marketing genius behind thousand-calorie cookies
By GRACE CONNEELY-NOLAN Associate Arts & Life Editor
A social media sensation, Crumbl Cookies is the ideal late-night sweet treat. With the iconic bright pink packaging and ever-changing menu, customers line up to experience the fresh lineup of cookies each week.
Founded in 2017, cousins Jason McGowan and Sawyer Hemsley now own the fastestgrowing cookie company in America, with over 1,000 locations — a thriving franchise with a global footprint.
But these cookies aren’t exactly renowned for their taste. They are often described as underbaked and over-sweetened, with portions as big as your hand.
The question is: how do you build a successful business selling such a simple dessert that anyone could easily make at home?
In an interview with CNBC, McGowan and Hemsley admitted they had no baking experience when creating Crumbl. They set out to test recipes, but instead of focusing solely on the food, they redirected their energy to marketing.
What makes Crumbl unique and stand out is its branding. The co-founders' background in tech and marketing is attributed to their marketing strategy, influencer partnership and well-crafted customer experience.
Crumbl’s business-to-consumer relationship is strong, as the bakeries are structured to resemble an open-concept kitchen. Customers can watch firsthand their cookies being made and packaged.
Another one of Crumbl’s tactics is investing in technology early on. There is no doubt that if you want your business to thrive, social media is essential and can not be overlooked.
Crumbl’s current social media following is 16
million across all platforms, with the most popular being TikTok with seven million.
Crumbl’s rotating menu of different flavors builds anticipation and gives influencers new content every week to profit from and engage with the brand. The company is flourishing and remains relevant with viral content in partnership with influencers.
Mukbang influencers broadcast their meals to fans, pre-order cookies and film videos of themselves trying them and rating them by taste and texture. They often order a complete six-pack of cookies to try each flavor.
Crumbl’s brilliant marketing tactic sets up a schedule of surprises that drive addictive behavior.
The company’s first corporate hire was Brye Redd as CTO, a former Facebook software employee. He worked toward creating a loyalty rewards point system for customers and KPI tracking that allows franchise stores to measure their cook time, delivery time and product availability.
On Crumbl’s mobile app, customers can order delivery, pick up, book catering and buy digital gift cards. These features encourage buyers to follow them on social media in exchange for “crumbs” or points earned through the loyalty program, which can be redeemed for free cookies and other promotions.
Crumbl’s limited edition merchandise expands the brand beyond the bakery and gets fans excited about the sought-after collection of available items.
Image is key to public perception. Crumbl captures photos of each week’s flavors on its website and social media, setting high standards for delivery. Even though the taste isn’t the main draw of Crumbl, people feel the need to try the new cookies each week to see if they’re
worth it. And if they look so good, how bad can they really be?
Well, they’re definitely bad for you. The average Crumbl cookie has 700-800 calories, equivalent to a McDonald’s Double-Quarter Pounder with Cheese. The recommended serving size for these treats is one-quarter of a cookie.
Crumbl’s cakes and ice cream sundaes have introduced a new level of caloric intake. Crumbl’s $4 brownie sundae comes in at 1,130 calories, containing 110g of sugar, three times the CDC’s recommended amount for an adult man.
This is not just a late-night sugary snack; it’s an unrealized indulgent experience.
Crumbl is a perfect example of how viral content can guarantee business visibility and success regardless of food quality. Putting expensive price tags on less-than-average food for an overhyped brand.
But part of Crumbl’s charm is the journey to get it. The experience with friends is to taste and test the weekly flavors. Because the cookies are so unique with big sizes and excessive toppings, the mini-adventure is all the more special, amplifying the experience beyond the sweets.
KAITLYN SNYDER/FLICKR
Love and loss through 'We Live in Time'
By CHARLOTTE ROSS Copy Editor
I have always been a fan of romance movies. From fluffy rom-coms to deep dramas, I have seen my fair share. So of course, seeing the ads and promotions for “We Live in Time” immediately intrigued me.
Described as a “decade-spanning, deeply moving romance,” by IMDb, the film follows the love story of Almut (Florence Pugh), an up-and-coming chef, and Tobias (Andrew Garfield), a cereal salesman and recent divorcee.
movie was produced by A24, an indie film production company known for its artistic style and thrilling plots, specifically for horror movies. I was highly skeptical of their ability to pull off romance, especially one as deep as “We Live in Time” was expected to be.
The storyline seems like any simple run-ofthe-mill romance tale, with two very different individuals meeting, instantly falling in love and living happily ever after. But very early in the film, we learn this is not the case. Almut has stage three ovarian cancer and decisions need to be made that are going to hurt her
Perhaps the most devastating part of the whole movie is that we know how it ends from the very beginning. Almut is going to die, and all Tobias can do is really stand by
I am proud to admit I am a longtime Pugh fan. I adore her emotional versatility in every performance she delivers and think she was the perfect cast for a role this demanding and impactful.
Pugh’s devotion to her role both emotionally and physically is very clear throughout the entire film. From
shaving her real hair for her character's various rounds of chemotherapy to wearing a heavy prosthetic belly suit during Almut’s pregnancy for several hours of shooting.
Garfield’s performance was just as, if not even more spectacular. His ability as an actor to portray such raw and real emotions is what allows him to truly captivate audiences. His character had such a deep and beautiful dedication to his co-stars, and his delivery is part of what made the couple’s chemistry feel so real and meaningful to an outside viewer.
The film follows a crazy zig-zag-like pattern, constantly jumping between times and places in the couple’s lives, both good and bad.
There are some lighthearted comedic highs, from the couple’s chance meeting when Almut accidentally hits Tobias with her car, the couple’s beginning stage of falling in love and even a date spent celebrating at the fair when Almut is initially declared in remission.
But as expected there were some painful and heartbreaking lows — following the couple’s struggle with infertility and IVF treatments, Almut’s journey through chemotherapy and treatment options and of course their battle with Almut’s diagnosis and the deep toll it takes on her career and their family.
But despite it all, Tobias stands by Almut, and her final decision to stop any further chemotherapy when her tumor recurs. She instead lives out the last six months of her life filled with doing things she loves.
The film battles with the obvious themes of tragedy and loss, but it also is so much more
complex in giving us a firsthand look at the impact grief has on both victims and supporters. Almut grapples with her projected lifespan and her “unfinished” place in her career. She feels desperate to prove her worth and success to her colleagues, her daughter and most of all herself. The development of her character outside of just her sickness is what made her reality that much more devastating. We were able to see her ambitions and abilities, and her strong stance as both a partner and a mother, yet we knew it was all temporary.
Though romance stories can often feel so cliche and meaningless, I found the film extremely refreshing, despite the heaviness of its themes. Films like these are so important, as they remind us of the true beauty of love and its ability to change and bring out the best in people.
Tobias and Almut butt heads a couple of times throughout the film because of her more stubborn nature and his more reserved one, but they truly did bring out the best in each other even throughout such hardship.
I think the most gut-wrenching movies are the ones that really stay with you. Love and loss exist all around us, and it is up to us to find ways to continue to see the beauty and find the strength to continue despite it all every day.
In a reality where life is so difficult for many people, we often so easily focus on all the things we can’t do or all the factors working against us. “We Live in Time” reminds us that life is a privilege. You still owe it to yourself to focus on the things you do have, while you have them. And the people who stand by you through it all are perhaps the greatest things of all.
Behind the success of Deftones
By RYAN BRENNAN Contributing Writer
During spring semester of my first year at Quinnipiac University, I would spend three hours a night doing album reviews with my best friend from Bates College on the phone.
We would each pick out two albums listen to and rate the songs on all four of them. This helped us have a more subjective outlook on music while broadening our perspective to include more than just rap and pop.
One day, I decided to pick an album my friend from home had been dying for me to listen to and review. This album was none other than “Around the Fur,” by hit metal band Deftones.
My best friend and I reviewed it and it was nothing short of greatness.
Oct. 27 marks the 27th anniversary of Deftones' second studio album, “Around the Fur.” The album kicked the band’s career into overdrive. It introduced specific sound and rhythm to better highlight their unique style of music, allowing for a more constructed and deserved fanbase.
“Around The Fur” is one of the most influential albums made by Deftones, as it allowed the band to be considered mainstream in the nu-metal/ alternative metal genre. Their fanbase was evergrowing due to the initial exposure of fans to their debut studio album "Adrenaline," making the fans crawl back to their doorstep for more.
But how did they get to this point?
Deftones started in Sacramento, California, with vocalist Chino Moreno, lead guitarist Stephen Carpenter and drummer Abe Cuningham. Since high school, the band has practiced in Carpenter’s garage.
In 1988, the band began performing with their new bassist, Chi Cheng. To get themselves out there, they
would perform in small and local clubs and bars. Their style was more influenced by pop, punk and rock, as they were still discovering themselves.
Personally, my favorite songs are “Hump” and “Some People,” as they remind me of Deftones' current style, except with a less eerie feel to it compared to some of the songs in “Around The Fur.”
After playing on a local level in Los Angeles, the band had hopes of getting a record deal after an audience member watching the performance showed the band’s demo tape to a personal contact: the pop queen, Madonna.
Deftones would immediately get signed to Maverick Records, which, through affiliation,
Pantera, White Zombie and most notoriously, KISS. In 1996, KISS appeared at a concert for the first time since their breakup in the 1980s.
Many fans wanted nothing more than to see KISS, so the fans weren't too happy when an upand-coming band with a recent debut album and a small fan base entered the stage.
This small moment in Deftone's history brought a massive fanbase to their doorstep. The pairing of these two bands challenged the landscape of rock, metal, and alternative. Hearing a band claiming to be metal in the 90s against a band whose metal has been around since the 70s had a huge cultural impact on the way people saw these genres.
To touch upon “Adrenaline” briefly, it’s
distinct style to their music following the release of “Adrenaline,” which prompted the release of “Around the Fur” in 1997.
Chino explained that the album was meant to feel ugly on the outside yet beautiful and oddly soft on the inside, like fur.
The album solidified Deftones's style, giving each song a rock, metal and grunge-like sound. Songs like “My Own Summer (Shove It)” and “Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away)” both hit the top ten in the Billboard Hot 100.
If I had to choose my top three songs on this album, it would be "MX," "Lotion" and "Be Quiet And Drive (Far Away)."
Everything about the latter is just amazing. The guitar riff is extraordinary, not only on the album but overall. I’ve never heard a riff similar to the one in this song. When I saw it live a couple of years back with my father, hearing everyone scream, “And I don’t care where just far!” was just an amazing experience overall.
Because of this album, Deftones also gained opportunities to promote their song on the "Late Night Show with Conan O’ Brian," where they performed “Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away).” They performed over one hundred tours all around the world. The record would go platinum over a decade later, selling over a million copies in the last 20 years. It later won a Grammy in 1988 for Best Metal Performance with its song "Be Quiet" and
This album helped to further kickstart the band’s success. It’s not only the bands’ favorite but also many of their fans listened to it. If you ever have the chance, I would definitely recommend giving “Around The Fur” a listen.
ILLUSTRATION BY KATERINA PARIZKOVA
ILLUSTRATION BY KATERINA PARIZKOVA
‘We just want to finish and leave a legacy’
FORWARDS
In 2023-24, Balanc won MAAC Player of the Year. In preseason, another Bobcat was named by coaches for this season’s award: Monroe.
“I’m extremely grateful. Kind of caught me off guard a little bit,” Monroe said. “I have to do it, and I feel like it puts more pressure on me being that the whole conference knows.”
After transferring from Wofford before his sophomore year, Monroe started every game except one. His contributions on both ends of the court, finishing second in points for the Bobcats with 12.9 PPG, and setting the Quinnipiac Division I single-season record with 62 steals — earned him a spot on the All-MAAC Second Team.
“(I want to) get better with defense. I love defense,” Monroe said. “No one really likes defense growing up, but that defensive award, I wish it was mine last year. So another reason I came back (was) because I got to get that one. You know, I’m dying to get the (MAAC) Defensive Player of the Year award.”
Following a dominant first year, the Newburgh, New York native was one of the most sought-after mid-major players during the transfer period. But, despire serious interest, Monroe was happy to return to Hamden.
“It was a no-brainer,” Monroe said. “The support system around here is great. You know, I love Coach P, the coaching staff, my teammates and I had a pretty decent year last year, and I’m just dying to build on that because I know I can do way better than I did last year.”
Otieno, playing the five, averaged 11 PPG — third on the team — and led the Bobcats with 6.9 RPG. As an under-sized center standing at 6-foot-8, Otieno made up for his height with his effort, averaging 3.4 offensive rebounds per game (ORPG), best for second in the conference.
In the MAAC quarterfinals he got a double-double — 19 points and 12 rebounds — en route to a 76-52 win.
The fourth starter from last year, Reyes, did not put up the biggest stat line compared to the other starters, but he filled the scoresheet. The Roxbury, Massachusetts native succeeded in any role that Pecora had for him. The senior forward scored 7.8 PPG — a career-high — to go along with 4.2 RPG, also a career-high, in a heightened role for the Bobcats.
Springs — in his second season at Quinnipiac — hails from UConn where he played 32 games in his four years in Storrs. After only playing eight games per season, the former three-star recruit appeared in all 34 for the Bobcats as a backup big to Otieno, showing some “rust” according to Pecora, but had flashes to become a key factor this season.
Alongside Monroe, Otieno, Reyes and Springs, Pecora brought in three freshman forwards to bring in a new strategy of players. While many teams are dipping into the transfer portal for talent, these three first years are turning heads.
“These kids are not freshmen. Their work ethic, you know, their attention to detail, how much they want to work, how much they want to learn,” Monroe said. “I can tell you now, when I was a freshman, you know, I wasn’t in the gym as much as they are. I wasn’t watching as much film as
they are. Wasn’t asking as many questions as they are.”
The coaching staff has similiar opinions.
“They are just long and athletic, and they can play multiple positions, which is something I love,” Pecora said.
Let’s look at three-star recruit Braylan Ritvo. The top-rated prospect, via ESPN, averaged 14.6 PPG and 5.8 RPG en route to a First Team All-CHSAA “AA” at Archbishop Stepinac in White Plains, New York. To complement Mabrey, the Harlem, New York native is another sharpshooter shooting 42% from behind the arc for the Crusaders.
While he may not have the resume Ritvo has, Grant Randall is somebody to look out for. The Queens, New York native has the height to become a threat in the MAAC. Randall stands at 6-foot-9 but can play as a guard. Known for his athleticism and explosiveness, Randall’s ability to drive the lane has turned heads.
“(Grant) Randall has done some things, we scrimmaged against Seton Hall the other day, and he gets a steal and goes down and his head’s above the rim, throwing the ball down,” Pecora said.
Lastly, Spence Wewe, a 7-foot center, is expected to slide into the backup five behind Otieno and will provide a height advantage not seen for Quinnipiac since the 2020-21 season with 7-foot-1 Seth Pinkney. Wewe averaged a double-double at Toronto Terror Prep where he set a single-season program record for blocks and rebounds.
“He was playing at a small school up in Toronto, he had come over from England, we got him here for a great visit,” Pecora said. “And he’s a great young guy. He’s really impressive as a person, and he just gets better every day in practice, he just keeps getting better.”
Wewe averaged a double-double in a friendly tournament for the U-23 Austrian national team in Portugal over the summer.
SCHEDULE
After a record-setting year, the Bobcats have a non-conference schedule with top teams in bigger conferences. To start, Quinnipiac travels to its Whitney Avenue counterpart in Yale on Nov. 4 to open the season.
“We’re going to try to open the season every year with them. I think it’s great for the basketball community in New Haven, greater New Haven area,” Pecora said.
The Bobcats then go up against Division III Worcester Polytechnic Institute — assistant coach Jeff Robinson’s previous gig.
The season’s most anticipated game follows, as the Bobcats head to Queens, New York to face St. John’s.
“I’m really excited for that game, obvi - ously, playing in New York (Pecora’s)
from there. Bunch of our guys are from there. So definitely excited for the St. John’s game,” Reyes said.
The St. John’s matchup is the first Big East opponent Quinnipiac has faced since it played Villanova in the 2018-19 season. With former Iona men’s basketball coach Rick Pitino at the helm, the Johnny’s were a top contender for an at-large bid for March Madness until bids started to be stolen by unlikely conference winners.
Quinnipiac’s next major opponent is Saint Louis in the second game of the 314 Classic — a multi-team event with UMass Lowell. Saint Louis has a top forward in junior Robbie Avila who gained stardom last year for his performance — scoring 17.4 PPG — along with
competition for the Bobcats will come from Merrimack and Marist.
Merrimack joins the MAAC after excelling in the NEC, winning the conference in 2023. Sophomore guard Adam “Budd” Clark is one player to look out for on the Warriors. In his first year, Clark scored 13.5 PPG shooting 46.7% from the field while dishing 3.9 APG. Marist, a semifinalist in the MAAC, returns top players in sophomore guards Josh Pascarelli and Jadin Collins-Roberts. Marist plays with a slow tempo making it hard for their opponents to gain an advantage. In both of the games last season, the Bobcats scored under their average, which can cause a concern for the Bobcats.
Quinnipiac’s season is about redemption, fueled by last year’s missed opportunities. With veteran leadership and a young mix of talent, the Bobcats are ready to chase the MAAC.
wearing goggles while playing during his time at Indiana State.
“We played down (at) Alumni Hall that first weekend. It’ll be a great challenge because they’re good, talented, and as always, well coached, they’re going to go after you,” Pecora said. “And then a game out of St Louis right before Thanksgiving. It’ll get us ready for conference play.”
The toughest MAAC
From defender to center
Maddy Samoskevich’s graduate season is unlike most
By CLAIRE FRANKLAND Staff Writer
Each position in hockey is unique in its own way. Defensemen are presented with challenges specific to the position, different from forwards’ intense skating and the mental focus of goaltenders. Players typically specialize in one position, allowing them to improve in that particular style of play.
However, going into the 2024-25 season, graduate student defender Maddy Samoskevich brought some changes to her game — changes rooted deeper than just a simple decision to switch things up.
Samoskevich changed positions, moving from defender to center. Despite defense and center being completely different spots on the ice, Samoskevich’s switch is not as drastic as it sounds.
“She’s always been an offensive defenseman and the nice thing about playing center is there’s so many similarities, especially how we defend,” head coach Cass Turner said.
Turner said that the decision for Samoskevich to move upfront was mutual, due to her offensive defender playing style.
Samoskevich also decided to change her positions in honor of her family, as both her siblings were forwards. She grew up in a hockey family, with both her older sister Melissa and twin brother Mackie playing with her.
“I think I just wanted to be like them and try it out for a year,” Samoskevich said. “Watching my siblings and the love they had for the sport … they were so hardworking because of hockey and seeing all the traits they gained from the sport, it was cool for me to see how hockey took
over their lives.”
Additionally, Samoskevich decided to change her number for her graduate season. She previously dawned the No. 7 jersey but now the No. 11 sits below her name.
“It holds a lot of personal significance to me,” Samoskevich said of her decision.
Samoskevich’s siblings and her nephew all wore the No. 11. With her nephew just getting into hockey, she felt it was the perfect time to switch her number since she was also changing positions.
“Playing with this number and how meaningful it is to me, it’s been making the game a lot more fun,” Samoskevich said.
Samoskevich’s route to Quinnipiac is significant to her family history. She originally did not want to come to Hamden, as her older sister Melissa was also a Bobcat. Melissa skated from 2016-2019, graduating in the top five in program history for goals, assists and points. She also served as the Director of Player Development and Operations during the Bobcats 2022-23 season.
After graduating from Quinnipiac, Melissa has stayed involved in hockey, serving as an assistant at both Penn State and Princeton. Next season, she will be an assistant coach as the University of Delaware kick-starts its Division I program.
“My sister begged me,” Samoskevich said. “‘You need to visit Quinnipiac. There’s no other school like this.’”
So she gave in, and decided to take a look at Quinnipiac. Samoskevich recalls feeling at home the second she stepped on campus, falling in love with the school. Once she met the coaching staff, it was clear to her that she wanted to play for the Bobcats.
“We wanted it to be about Maddy and give her the opportunity to be her own person,” Turner said. “She’s such a confident person and has really come out of her shell, and to see her as a leader in our program is really cool.”
Maddy’s brother may also be a familiar name to NHL fans. Mackie Samoskevich was drafted 24th overall by the Florida Panthers in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, playing seven games with the Stanley Cup Champions and 62 with the Char-
lotte Checkers in the AHL. He is currently entering his second season with the Panthers.
As Samoskevich and the Bobcats begin conference play, she is confident in the team’s ability to go far this year.
“I’ve never been on a team like this,” Samoskevich said. “Everyone’s so hard working and wants to win, so I’m really excited for this year, and I think this team is going to do great things.”
Leadership carrying women’s soccer into postseason
By TYLER PLATZ Staff Writer
The time is now for women’s soccer.
As of publication, Quinnipiac is leading the MAAC standings with a 10-1 conference record and a 12-3-1 overall mark. It’s riding a two-game winning streak with recent closely contested victories over Manhattan (1-0) and Iona (2-1).
Before this recent win streak, however, Quinnipiac suffered its first MAAC loss in two years. A 2-0 defeat at Mount St. Mary’s on Oct. 19 marked the teams first conference loss since falling 1-0 at Iona two seasons ago.
“I do feel like it came at a good point where we kind of needed a reset,” graduate student forward Courtney Chochol said. “It’s so easy to get complacent, not that we were complacent, but I mean, everyone is due for a loss.”
With one game remaining on the schedule against No. 2 Fairfield, Quinnipiac aims to build momentum heading into the postseason, led by its core of upperclassmen.
“We just want to win the games,” Chochol said. “Taking it one game at a time like we have the whole season, and just getting the job done.”
To get the jobe done, Quinnipiac must rely
on strong leadership from its older players, and Chochol has been an integral part of the team’s success. This season, she leads the team with six goals, ranks second in assists (6) and tops the roster in points (18).
In addition to her offensive production this season, Chocol has made her mark in the record books for women’s soccer, currently sitting at No. 2 all-time in assists in program history with 29.
“It was something that I didn’t really know that was going on,” Chochol said. “Then in our last home game, they said I surpassed it in one of the assists on a goal. I feel like it’s pretty cool, it’s a great accomplishment.”
Chochol isn’t the only record holder on the team. Goalkeeper and fellow graduate student Sofia Lospinoso has also etched her name into program history. She currently holds the top spot for all-time wins and shutouts in Quinnipiac women’s soccer.
“Having her at the back is so huge for us, I’m always so confident in her whenever there’s a oneon-one situation,” Chochol said. “I’ll bet on her eight or nine times out of 10 for her to make the save, which I think is really big for us.”
As important as Chochol and Lospinoso
are to the box score, they are also proven leaders for a team that features a strong upperclassmen presence, with eight seniors and three graduate students.
“They know their experience has to take over, and if you look top to bottom, it’s not just about one player, it’s the collective,” head coach Dave Clarke said. “So if you’ve got four seniors, it’s four times four years, 16 years of experience.”
The Bobcats aren’t lacking experience when it comes to postseason soccer. This core of seniors and graduate students has won the MAAC tournament for two consecutive years.
In 2022, Quinnipiac entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed after finishing the season with a 9-1 conference record. After defeating No. 5 Canisius 1-0, Quinnipiac secured its first MAAC Tournament win by overcoming No. 3 Niagara 4-0.
Last fall, Quinnipiac once again earned the top seed in the tournament with a 9-0-1 record in conference play. The Bobcats outlasted No. 6 Rider before defeating No. 2 Fairfield in the MAAC Championship game, securing their second-consecutive title.
With this recent success, Quinnipiac women’s soccer dominating its conference has become water cooler conversation, but it’s not the only contender in the MAAC.
Following Quinnipiac, the remaining conference playoff teams are Fairfield, Canisius, Siena, Merrimack and Manhattan. If the standings hold through the end of the season, here’s how the matchups would shape up.
Quinnipiac and Fairfield would receive first round-byes as the top two seeds. In the quartefinals, third-seeded Canisius would face sixth-seeded Manhattan, while fourth-seeded Siena would take on fifth-seeded Merrimack.
As the top seed, Quinnipiac would face the winner of the Canisius-Manhattan matchup, while second-seeded Fairfield would play the winner of the Siena-Merrimack game.
It seems iron sharpens iron in the MAAC, but Quinnipiac hasn’t achieved the same success with its NCAA tournament bids.
Both MAAC championship teams came up short in the first round of the NCAA tournament; in 2022, the Bobcats fell to Penn State 4-1, and in 2023, they lost to Brown 3-0.
For a team that has been there and done that, the time is now for this experienced roster to break the proverbial glass ceiling created by the previous two season endings.
The takeaway from the two NCAA tournament losses? The opportunity to learn.
“We learned a lot from the first year of going to the NCAA that we took into the next year even, and I feel that our performance against Brown was definitely a lot better than our performance against Penn State,” Chochol said. “I think that that definitely comes from the experience of having been there before in that situation. So hopefully we make that point again, and we’re able to take the experience that we’ve gotten from the last two years and be able to take it into this year.”
How the MAAC tournament’s seeding plays out comes down to Quinnipiac’s final game against Fairfield. A win or loss could determine whether it enters the tournament as the top seed, securing home-field advantage, or as the second seed behind the Stags.
If the Bobcats win, they’ll finish with an 11-1 conference record and 33 points, while Fairfield will conclude with a 9-2-1 conference record and 28 points.
With a loss on Wednesday, Quinnipiac would end the season at 10-2 against conference opponents, remaining with 30 points, while Fairfield would secure the top seed, with a 10-1-1 conference record and 31 points.
“The advantage for us is that they have to beat us,” Clarke said. “I’ve said to the players since last week, they’re in sort of playoff mode, every game has ramifications.”
If Quinnipiac is to advance further than in the previous two seasons, securing a win in its final game is crucial. And if this group of leaders wants to make noise in the NCAA tournament, the time is now.
TYLER RINKO/CHRONICLE
Graduate student defender Maddy Samoskevich takes a shot from the point in a 4-1 win against Syracuse on Oct. 19.
TYLER MIGNAULT/CHRONICLE
Women’s soccer huddles before a 1-0 win against Siena on Sept. 21.
Men’s basketball season preview
Redshirt junior forward Mouhamed Sow ing ball and laid it in as time expired, sending
on Lewis, senior forward Alexis Reyes, graduate student forward Paul Otieno and junior forward Amarri Monroe (then Tice) tered down the court toward the Quinnipiac Quinnipiac’s quest for its first-ever conference championship and first NCAA appearance was over just
It was the best season in Quinnipiac men’s basketball history; garnering the regular lying 24 wins and eclipsing 2,630 points — the most in program history. But they never finished what they
“I mean, people tell us we got a target on our back,” Monroe said. “We had a great season, tory, but at the end of the day, we didn’t win anything other pionship, so I don’t really see
ter being named No. 1 in the MAAC Coaches’ Preseason Poll. If the Bobcats can’t live up to expectations, it’ll be another painful memory
ish and leave a legacy, leave something behind and leave it better than we came,” senior guard Doug
Here’s a look at who 25 roster, and who Quinnipiac must go through to get back to Atlantic City.
Point guards are the maestros of any basketball team, with the ability to scan the whole court to find the open man. They’re the No. 1 priority in creating a top program,
Now in his seventh year of eligibility, Lewis has his name all over Quinnipiac’s
“He’s more than a teammate,” Monroe said. “He’s definitely one of my favorite teammates, just because his work ethic shows up every day.
body and he handles it well. So seeing him do that and seeing how hard he works definitely pushes
er for assists in a season, recording 248 — beating the previous record of 211 by Mike
gram-record 17-assist night against Rider
His presence on the court and patience in finding the open man has been a major asset to the Bobcats’ roster. Not to mention
However, he almost wasn’t named a
tal after being granted that extra year to play. But ultimately, he didn’t leave Hamden.
“This is my last year and (I didn’t) want to gamble that on what ifs,” Lewis said. “Knowing we had a great opportunity and there is unfinished business, when you taste that type of success it’s so tough to walk away from.”
Head coach Tom Pecora places Young in the backup point guard position, who was a top bench option for the Bobcats last season. The Houston, Texas native brings the total opposite playstyle of Lewis, presenting a quicker option as a point guard. Though he did dish out 1.2 APG, he can get you double-digit points off the bench, which he did seven times in 34 games.
“I think my voice is growing a lot,” Young said. “I had to just play a role, and just go with the flow. Now I’m more just leading with my voice, like, you know, just leading.”
Young has the skills to be a force off the bench with how he complements Lewis. Once Young is on the court, opponents have to keep an eye on him as he can score on all three levels.
“My game is similar to (Dion Waiters, nine-year NBA veteran), just growing up as a kid, watching him, I could say a couple of other players too, but just like him, probably Dwayne Wade, a slasher, scorer, defender, getting (into the) lane and pass,” Young said.
Pecora went out and got five freshmen before the season starting with guard Samson Reilly. The Manchester, Connecticut native is a quick and energetic guard. He brings shifty handles, strong outside shooting and on-ball defensive tenacity to Quinnipiac, with the potential to grow as a passer behind Lewis this season.
GUARDS
SHOOTING
With Balanc — who signed for Horsens IC in Denmark on July 30 — missing from the starting lineup and five others leaving Hamden, the transfer portal was the place for Quinnipiac to fill holes. Pecora and his staff, however, only brought in one transfer.
That was junior guard Ryan Mabrey from Miami University of Ohio. The Belmar, New Jersey native is a natural sharpshooter with 62.4% of his field goal attempts coming from behind the arch, striking on 35.9% of them.
“I really felt it home right away,” Mabrey said. “And I’m close to home here, only, two, three hours away, so it was a big come for me when I came here and loving it so far. They had four returners back who all played serious college minutes. When you have that, you have a real chance to win. So I really want to be a part of that.”
Mabrey’s three-point touch will demand attention from defenses. With Lewis’ ability to find his teammates in open spots, Mabrey should excel in the offense. With Monroe and Reyes able to attack their defenders one-on-one and Otieno down low, Mabrey will need to hit his shots when called upon.
“(Mabrey’s a) crafty basketball player, he can really shoot the ball, but he’s an exceptional passer as well. He’s got a great feel for the game.” Pecora said.
The singular freshman among the shooting guards is 6-foot-5 guard Jaden Zimmerman from the Bronx, New York. His high energy and ability to shoot the ball makes him a solid recruit for a growing Bobcats program.
“(He) has definitely stood out to me. He’s really athletic, has got a nose for the ball, just plays hard,” Mabrey said.
Sophomore Khaden Bennett rounds out the shooting guards, giving quality performances across 16 games, with 22 points and 30 rebounds in 111 minutes.