The Quinnipiac Chronicle, Volume 92, Orientation Issue

SUMMER 2021• VOLUME 92 • ORIENTATION ISSUE

The official student newspaper of Quinnipiac University since 1929

Welcome to Quinnipiac

2| News

MEET THE EDITORS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Michael Sicoli MANAGING EDITORS Emily Flamme Toyloy Brown III CREATIVE DIRECTOR Connor Lawless NEWS EDITORS Nicole McIsaac Chatwan Mongkol ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR Melina Khan OPINION EDITOR Xavier Cullen ARTS & LIFE EDITOR Ashley Pelletier ASSOCIATE ARTS & LIFE EDITOR David Matos Neha Seenarine

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

QU to provide gender-inclusive housing

By EMILY FLAMME Managing Editor

After last semester’s fight for LGBTQ inclusivity at Quinnipiac University, President Judy Olian and other administrators are fulfilling their promises in the form of genderinclusive housing.

In December, the university made several commitments to becoming a more inclusive campus for the LGBTQ community including creating gender-inclusive housing and gender-neutral bathrooms and completing the Campus Pride Index. The university also assembled different committees to focus on making these plans happen.

The gender-inclusive housing will be available for the fall 2021 semester for all students. Current first-year students will have the option available when they choose housing on April 6 and 7.

The Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) hosted a “roommate social” on March 25, to

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Summer 2021

provide students with information about gender-inclusive housing as well as provide students with an opportunity to meet other people who are interested in this type of housing.

For incoming first-year students who choose to live with a randomly assigned student, they can fill out the roommate survey, which will have questions regarding comfortability with living in a gender-inclusive environment.

Chief Experience Officer Tom Ellett said there will be gender-inclusive rooms available in every residence hall.

“To me, it doesn’t really matter if we serve one student then we have accomplished our goal, so numbers don’t really matter,” Ellett said. “It’s about the openness of the institution to provide this for somebody who may feel like this makes them feel more comfortable in our environment.”

Kayla Duncan, a sophomore media studies major who is in the LGBTQ+ Fellows program, said she met with Vice President for Equity and Inclusion Don Sawyer, the residential experience committee and the other fellows to discuss these new ideas for inclusion and revise old plans.

“It is very important that this school becomes more inclusive and accepting, not just for press and to put in emails but for students to come back to their dorm at the end of the day and feel safe and secure no matter what skin color, sexual orientation, religion, etc.,” Duncan said.

GSA President Athena Cuttle, a senior psychology major, was integral to the genderinclusive housing planning.

Cuttle met with Residential Life on Oct. 23, 2020, and began working to implement new ideas for LGBTQ inclusivity on campus. She said that she felt the housing changes were overdue.

“I don’t know why it took (the university) so long because there’s so many schools — when I was doing research for this — there are so many schools that have (gender-inclusive housing), and it’s not even like a second thought to these schools,” Cuttle said.

Since the university has recently made public statements regarding its plans for improving the environment for LGBTQ students, Cuttle said she thinks more students will want to come to Quinnipiac.

“I know plenty of students that weren’t coming here because they’ve heard stories about how non-inclusive it was for the LGBTQ community,” Cuttle said. “Now that all of this is becoming public, I feel like more people will start coming here.”

There are plans for a living-learning community (LLC) for the fall 2021 semester that will focus on LGBTQ studies. Ellett said the committees are still working on the plans for several new LLCs, and that they should be available for first-year students for the upcoming semester.

Duncan said these changes will hopefully create a more welcoming environment for students in the future, but the university needs to improve on an administrative level.

“I hope QU gets more people that come from different backgrounds into positions of power,” Duncan said. “It is very hard to hear and believe an all-white staff or board that says they’re trying to make the school more inclusive.”

MORGAN TENCZA/CHRONICLE ARCHIVES

Students will be able to choose gender-inclusive housing options beginning in the fall 2021 semester.

Diversity, equity and inclusion course offered at QU

By NICOLE MCISAAC News Editor

Quinnipiac University partnered with EverFi to establish a new online training course that centers around diversity, equity and inclusion as a part of the university’s 10-point plan to advance racial justice within the community.

“This course gives us a chance to create a baseline for students who might have never touched diversity training or concepts of identity, intersectionality and bias,” said Daymyen Layne, director of multicultural education and training at Quinnipiac. “It’s about broadening the scope in terms of cultural intelligence.”

The optional online learning module is structured to take students through exercises dealing with identity, implicit bias, microaggressions and interactive situations to help work through scenarios that students might encounter. All undergraduate students received an email on March 2, regarding the introduction of the course within the community. Prizes are offered to students who participate in it.

“If we’re trying to build this inclusive excellence driven community, why aren’t we trying to move that needle a little bit and push to the envelope in terms of what students are learning and how they’re thinking about these concepts of diversity, equity and inclusion,” Layne said.

“This is just one more tool to help us do that.”

Layne said establishing the training course was one of the many goals within the Department of Cultural and Global Engagement and has already been tested for over a year within different student leadership groups and organizations to see how students would react to the structure of the module.

“It was a really positive response,” Layne said. “Now we are at the point where we need to get this into as many people’s hands as possible.”

Joshua Delgado, a junior history major in the 4+1 MAT program for secondary education, said that although he has not taken the course yet, he finds it important for the Quin-

nipiac community to participate in it and fully intends to complete it himself.

“I really do believe this is a great stepping stone to talk more about sensitive issues regarding diversity, equity and inclusion,” Delgado said. “As a future educator and a minority student, I’m genuinely interested in what QU has put into this course.”

Delgado said that despite the course not being “the end all be all,” he hopes it will bridge the divide between the multitude of people that come to Quinnipiac.

“QU is seeing an even greater influx of BIPOC students, but we’re unfortunately seeing an even greater increase in issues surrounding race, diversity, equity and inclusion,” Delgado said. “Hopefully, the more we start talking about these issues and educate ourselves and each other on these matters, we can become the QU that the administration frequently emails and tells us that we are.”

Similar to Delgado, other students acknowledged the weight that this course has for students during their time at Quinnipiac and beyond.

“Everyone has their own personal background, culture, ethnic identity, sexuality and religion,” said Kimberly Janeczko, a sophomore nursing major. “It is important that we as a col-

lective society not only acknowledge our differences, but educate ourselves on them so that we can become a group of people that cherishes each other’s differences, rather than using them to categorize and discriminate against others.”

In addition to emphasizing the significance behind the education and discussion of this topic, some students said they wished more people on campus talked about the course.

“All students on campus need to realize that this course is not something that we just complete because we have to,” Janeczko said.

“However, if the administration does not emphasize its importance in more than just one or two emails sent out, then I do not think the student body’s mindset will change. And to me, that is quite disheartening.”

The goal is to make the course a cornerstone of the Quinnipiac educational experience for students moving forward.

“We’re looking at making this a natural part of the QStart checklist, and we’re looking at other pieces of how we can further engrain this into the Quinnipiac community, whether that’s different ways to interact with faculty, first-year seminars or writing,” Layne said.

“We are constantly looking at more ways to have these conversations.”

ILLUSTRATION BY CONNOR LAWLESS

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

Summer 2021

News |3

Entirely male SGA executive board emerges on a primarily female campus

By EMILY DISALVO Staff Writer

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

Additionally, all five of them are white.

Quinnipiac is 75% white. The majority of the students who voted, 81.92%, were white.

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

Of the five executive board positions up for grabs, all had at least one woman who ran for the position and lost. Even if some of the women had won, the executive board would have been entirely white.

Mello lost to Nick Ciampanelli, current vice president for student experience and junior political science and economics major.

Ciampanelli said the turnout for the election was low — 2,050 students. This accounts for only about 29% of the student body.

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

“Students don’t know about SGA and don’t know what’s going on,” Dynice said.

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

In the past, Ciampanelli has seen high female participation in surveys and other elections when compared to men. For example, a survey that went out about recreation garnered 336 responses, 259 of which were female, 73 males and four non-binary/nongender conforming students. Likewise, this election was dominated by female voters but still led to male victories.

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

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

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

Mello, and the other women who lost their races, affirmed that the men who won are all

qualified for the position. Karenna Downs, who ran for vice president for public relations, said despite the loss, she knows the executive board will continue to listen to her ideas.

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

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

The males on top are not reflective of the general board because it is primarily female.

Including the executive board, Ciampanelli said there are 13 men and 22 women on SGA. Jeremy Gustafson, who won the race for vice president for inclusion, diversity and engagement, a new position, said he has been having conversations with other executive board members about ways to include these voices.

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

In the past two years, the SGA has prided itself on a diverse executive board. Sophia Marshall, senior entry-level physician assistant major current study body president, said that while all five men are great fits for their positions, this election felt like a step backward.

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

tant major. “The first year I was on executive board we had two gay individuals, two people of color and a straight white man. This past year we had four women and one male.

Seeing that five white male executive board?

It really poses a unique challenge for them.”

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

He endorsed Mello for president this year.

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

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

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

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

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

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

PHOTOS CONTRIBUTED BY SGA

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

Quinnipiac’s top-paid employees in 2018

By CHATWAN MONGKOL News Editor

Quinnipiac University President Judy Olian made $524,436 during her first six months in office, according to the university’s 2018 Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax filing.

Associate Vice President for Public Relations John Morgan confirmed that the amount included her salary and all the benefits.

Morgan did not say how much Olian made in 2019 and 2020. The IRS 990 forms for those fiscal years are set to be released two years after each form was filed. They contain Olian’s and other administrators’ 2019 and 2020 salaries.

Prior to taking office in July 2018, Olian made $449,579 during her last six months as a school of management dean at the University of California Los Angeles and $599,833 overall in 2017.

However, the highest-compensated employee at Quinnipiac was not Olian. It was former President John Lahey who retired on June 30, 2018. He earned $1,419,800 in 2018.

Lahey has continued as a philosophy professor at Quinnipiac after his retirement from the executive position. Morgan did not respond to the questions about Lahey’s retirement benefits and his salary in 2019 and 2020.

According to the IRS 990 form, 38% of the university’s total expense of $473 million went to employees’ salaries. The following are the 10 employees who received the most salary at Quinnipiac in 2018.

Lahey recieved $1,419,800. Head men’s basketball coach William (Baker) Dunleavy received $822,425. Former Vice President and Provost Mark Thompson received $784,306. Dean of School of Medicine Bruce Koeppen: $586,063. Former Vice President for Development and Alumni Affairs Donald Weinbach received $575,122. Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Mark Varholak received $544,018. Head men’s ice hockey coach Rand Pecknold received $540,084.

Olian received $524,436. Head women’s basketball coach Patricia Sacca-Fabbri received $521,073. Former men’s basketball coach

Thomas Moore received $420,000.

Since the university’s finances were hit hard last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, employees’ salaries were also impacted. While faculty and staff took 3-5% cuts in their payrolls in April through the end of June, Olian took a 20% reduction.

All faculty and staff began receiving their original salaries after July 1, 2020, but Olian continued to take the cut for the school year.

Morgan said whether or not she will be taking any salary cut in the upcoming fiscal year has not yet been decided.

Quinnipiac president’s salary has been on the high side in the past decade. Lahey received $3.76 million in his 2012 total compensation, the second-highest among private universities’s leaders. In 2010, he received $1.8 million, which was the highest among university presidents in Connecticut.

The 990 form also revealed that the university paid $956,812 to architectural company Centerbrook in 2018 even though the university did not hire the company to develop the university’s

10-year master facilities plan. Morgan did not respond to questions about projects Centerbrook worked on in 2018 at the time of publication.

Quinnipiac paid web development company R2i Holdings $526,539. Morgan also did not respond at the time of publication to whether the amount was for MyQ redesigning that did not happen.

In the year an EF1 tornado hit Quinnipiac, landscaping company All Area Landscaping received $472,016 from the university.

Real estate company 91 Leffingwell Road also received $840,000, and law firm Wiggin & Dana received $466,489 from the university in 2018.

The university’s main revenue in 2018 was from tuition and fees from students, which made the total of $402,179,453, a 1.46% increase from 2017 despite its enrollment downturn. Tuition costs have been making its way up in the past school years.

Quinnipiac ended the year with $556 million in its endowment funds, an 5.6% increase from 2017.

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

4| O p i n i o n

Summer 2021

Opinion We need to honor the roots of environmentalism

As being ‘green’ grows more popular, we need to actively fight the whitewashing of the movement

BY MAHLET SUGEBO Staff Writer

When you think of a climate activist, what do you think of?

Come on, be honest and think about it for a second.

If the first thing that comes to your mind is a white vegan in their 20s who uses reusable straws and bamboo toothbrushes, then you have succumbed to the whitewashing of the environmental movement.

Growing up, I always knew to save plastic bags and stow them away in the designated drawer in our kitchen. I knew to reuse plastic, glass and metal containers rather than throwing them away. I knew to throw the leftover banana peels into the soil of our garden rather than in the trash. I knew to be especially mindful of my water and electricity consumption because not only were both necessities that could go scarce at any moment, but they were resources that not everyone had access to in my neighborhood.

These habits were second nature — practices you feel you were born with because you can’t even remember the first time your mom scolded you for not doing them.

I was 17 years old when my mother bought me my first at-home facial mask. Before that, we made our homemade versions for two main reasons — first, to counter the overconsumption that’s encouraged in the beauty industry, and second, to mindfully concoct mixtures that were safe both for our bodies and the environment.

That’s the first concept in the three R’s of sustainability: reduce. But we didn’t practice these thinking of the three R’s. We practiced them because we thought that it was what we were supposed to do — when you’re on this planet, you don’t do anything that might degrade and destroy it. Rather, you do everything you can to take care of Mother Nature in your everyday life.

These principles have been passed down from generation to generation in BIPOC communities. They only recently got the labels “The three R’s.”

We applied the second R here, reuse, by repurposing our recyclables until they were completely worn down. As for the third R, recycling, it was the absolute last resort. It wasn’t even a service that was readily available in my hometown of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

So, frankly, reducing and reusing were the only options.

Everywhere you go in Addis, you can see mini structures made out of plastic bottles in neighborhood parks, makeshift planters transformed from tin cans, bags made from plastic milk-bags, shoeshine boys reusing metal cans, plastic jugs and many more signs of an environmentally-friendly society.

Even at home, we reused the plastic and metal containers that contained butter, produce from grocery stores like Fresh Corner and plastic to-go cups and take-out containers from local café chains like Kaldi’s. At home,

they weren’t thrown out, but used to store spices like berbere, different flours that we use to make dishes like shiro, our homemade butter kibe and even used as Tupperware.

The plastic bags we would so dearly collect were used as shower caps, processing caps for hair masks and as shields from rain and mud for your hair, shoes or purse.

Throwing them away meant you would get judgemental looks from strangers or a lengthy lecture from your mom, dad or auntie about human waste. So, whether we liked it or not, we’ve always been environmentalists.

As I grew up and was exposed to Western culture, I was confused to learn that the principles that environmentalists protest for are principles that have long been practiced in BIPOC communities.

The “minimal” and “zero-waste” lifestyle environmental activists were seen as “radical” even though it was, and still is, part of the daily life of communities found in many countries in Africa, Asia and South America.

Being “zero-waste” was a given and being anything but “minimal” meant you were ungrateful for the abundant things you already had in your life.

Every year, my mom, older sister and I would sit in front of our closets as we sorted through what we wore and didn’t wear anymore. This wasn’t so we could figure out what we needed to buy, but to give it to those who needed it in our community and to reduce our consumption. Because of this, we were encouraged to wear our clothes until we couldn’t and to only buy out of necessity.

I later learned this is one of the foundations of sustainable fashion.

What was even more shocking was seeing mainly white faces as delegates of the environmentalism movement when all I saw growing up were Black people, my Habesha community, doing the work. And so, the white vegans that are widely celebrated for their environmentalism never represented me or my community.

I want to see the face of my older sister who spent her hours learning how to make shampoo, conditioner and body wash at home. I want to see the face of my mom who reuses plastic take-out containers and refuses to throw them away. I want to see the face of my dad who spends his Sundays returning glass bottles and plastic water jugs to stores to exchange them or refill and reuse them.

But to this day, their faces are replaced by people such as Greta Thunberg.

It’s something that, to this day, surprises me, and that I laugh about with my family over coffee, or known as buna in Amharic.

With environmentalists such as Rachel Carson being inaccurately credited for starting the environmentalist movement, it makes highlighting BIPOC voices in the sustainability movement difficult to accomplish.

BIPOC communities across the Global South have always reduced, reused and repurposed.

But those communities are the most underrepresented in modern conversations around environmentalism.

And when our voices are left out, our power, influence and history in taking care of Planet Earth get erased. It’s then replaced with a shell of what we started.

If your climate activism doesn’t include BIPOC voices, it can no longer be accepted as activism.

ILLUSTRATION BY CONNOR LAWLESS

Bobcat Buzz Welcome to The Qunnipiac Chronicle

BY XAVIER CULLEN Opinion Editor

Hey there.

You likely just picked up your first Quinnipiac Chronicle newspaper, and you’re getting a taste of what student media at Quinnipiac University is like.

First of all, thank you. I love it when people are interested in the things we write every week, especially an incoming freshman like you. Secondly, look at all the articles in this issue.

These are some of the best pieces we have published over the past year, and each one has a week’s worth of dedication and love put into it.

As opinion editor, I believe with all my heart that everyone has an opinion about something, and the only thing holding people back from putting their thoughts on paper is themselves. When I was a shy freshman in 2019, my mind was full of thoughts about politics and sports, but I didn’t know where to express them. The Chronicle gave me the perfect outlet.

I was able to put my opinions on paper with the help of

amazing editors to polish and refine my articles. With their guidance, I got to where I am today as opinion editor, and I thank that reserved freshman I used to be for his bravery in stepping out of his comfort zone.

But now, it’s your turn. College doesn’t hand you these opportunities on a silver platter, you have to go get them yourself. The clock starts right when you take your first steps onto campus, so make the most of your time.

I don’t want you to feel like you need to join every single club that you think will look good on a resume. I’ve seen people try to do that, and it didn’t go well for them. What I am encouraging you to do is to throw your hat into the ring of student media and try out a Chronicle meeting — and maybe even write an article.

Whether it’s a long, 1,000-word article about politics or a short Bobcat Buzz like this one, your first article will be something you look back on as the time your college journey truly began.

Bobcat Buzz is a column covering Quinnipiac’s smaller but important topics.

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

Summer 2021

Opinion|5

Opinion Questioning faith

Labeling same-sex marriage as sin shows how an antiquated Catholic Church hurts God’s image

BY MICHAEL SICOLI Editor-in-Chief

People who know me are well aware that my relationship with God has gotten me through some tough times. While I do not follow my religion to the letter of the law, I see the value in a close relationship to one’s religion and spirit. It’s a connection that I wish more people felt during stressful times — a pandemic, for instance.

To me, God is all-loving. He’s always there to guide you during a time of need, and he’s there when you feel lost.

That’s why this week it hurt so much when the Catholic Church let me down after denouncing gay marriage.

On March 15, Pope Francis approved the Vatican’s announcement that the Catholic Church will not bless same-sex marriages because God “cannot bless sin.”

The church is far from a progressive organization so perhaps this shouldn’t have let me down as much as it did. Every single person deserves a life of happiness. It is a human right, and it’s something that everyone wants for themselves. There is not and should not be a force in this world that has the right to keep someone from pursuing that life.

As Psalm 37:4 says, “Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

And I promise, I won’t toss any more religious verses at you. But believing in God has provided a trusted voice when I needed it most.

Last spring’s quarantine took a mental toll on me. I biked. I ran. I did my best to get out of the house and never thought for too long, because whenever I did, negative thoughts popped up.

What kept me going was my daily chat with God at the end of my bike ride. I’d sit at the Kings Park Bluff in New York, and have a chat, talking about whatever was on my mind. It was healing and personal. It’s something I wish more people had in their lives.

When the church comes out and disparages the LGBTQ community, it’s a sad reminder that God is so misrepresented in our society.

It was easy, even a century ago, to give the church so much power as the speakers for God. But we have seen an innumerable amount of examples that priests aren’t the endall-be-all voices for God. No one needs to be reminded of the church’s child molestation cases — priesthood and morality

do not always go hand-in-hand.

Far too many people associate the church and God as the same thing when that isn’t the case. Believing in God is believing in a higher power than yourself. It’s about believing in a greater plan where, if you push through the dark times, there will be light at the end of the tunnel. Organized religion should be seen as a branch off of believing in God. Regardless of how I believe religion should be viewed, the church possesses the greatest platform. Yet, its inability to empathize with people takes God away from life. According to barna. com, “by 2018, Christianity in the United States had witnessed a significant loss of followers, from 81 percent in 2003 to 72 percent in 2018. Meanwhile, the atheist / agnostic / none segment has seen the greatest increase of all groups analyzed, nearly doubling in size from 11 percent in 2003 to 21 percent in 2018.”

In no way am I discouraging atheism or any other belief system. Believe what you want to believe. But from my experience, a relationship with God is an unbreakable bond that keeps me moving on a daily basis. The Vatican gives God himself a bad name by

enforcing outdated ideals that hurt the same people that God made in his image.

It is discouraging to see an increasing number of people grow up without experiencing a relationship with God, and even more dispiriting when those people have misguided views on what it means to be faithful — not everyone who believes in God stands hand-in-hand with the church’s mouthpieces.

It’s these moments I step back and reflect how I have drifted from the church I grew up loving. I will always have God in my life, but the church? I’m not sure anymore.

This discrimination leads to hate crimes against members of the LGBTQ community. If there’s one thing this country doesn’t need more of, it’s hate.

That blame can be laid at the feet of the Pope and the Vatican.

God loves and cares for all. Be better and support the LGBTQ community who often need strength to overcome the obstacles society places in its way. The Pope was an unprecedented supporter of the LGBTQ community in the past — what happened?

Speak for God.

1,429LGBTQ-related hate crimes committed in the U.S. in 2019

Data from the FBI’s 2019 hate crime statistics.

INFOGRAPHIC BY CONNOR LAWLESS

Gender doesn’t determine a good TV show our other friends, they admitted they thought the shows would be “cheesy” or “dramatic.”

Something I’ve noticed nearly my whole life is how One of my male friends wanted a show recommendation people dismiss movies and TV shows with the word “girl” over the winter break, and I suggested “New Girl.” I’m pretty in the title. sure he rolled his eyes at me, but I told him the show was more This doesn’t apply to just men either — many of my fe- than the assumptions he was making. We agreed he could only male friends have said they avoided certain shows because make judgements after watching a couple episodes. they thought they would be too emotional since it has the I knew exactly how this was going to play out. It’s an word “girl” in it or if it starred a female actress. incredible show, and I knew that once he actually watched For example, my roommate and I love “New Girl” and it, he would enjoy it. He loved it so much, he sped through “Gilmore Girls.” We both talk about how funny and well- all seven seasons faster than I did. written they are, but when we have recommended them to I was right, proving my theory that people inaccurately judge female-led shows. I have tried to figure out why because it seems to be a decision many people make regardless of their gender.

Broadcasting Cable performed a study in 2013 that revealed that female viewers dominate the primetime show market. Shows such as “New Girl,” “Scandal” and “Grey’s Anatomy,” only lasted as long as they did because of their female viewers. Something to note is that they all have a woman as the main character.

Broadcasting Cable found that in its last couple of seasons, “The Office” was struggling, likely due to a decrease in female viewership.

PHOTO FROM GETTY IMAGES “The Office,” while it is an ‘Gilmore Girls’ is an example of a show that is too easily dismissed by viewers for having ensemble show, has two men as the word ‘girl’ in the title.

BY EMILY FLAMME Managing Editor

the lead characters and was one of the only shows in which male viewership was higher than female viewership.

It is no coincidence that one of the only shows with higher male viewership was struggling. Women are so used to things being directly marketed to them as “feminine” and “girly” that when something isn’t, it can feel like an unwelcome place.

As a woman myself, I know that shows marketed more toward men such as “Family Guy” or “Breaking Bad,” feel like places I don’t belong. I’m sure that’s not true, but it shows how influential gender bias is.

Another interesting point that explains the reason behind the bias in marketing TV shows is that men rate female-led shows very poorly.

“But the data doesn’t support the contention that femaleskewed programming is inherently worse: Women gave their top 100 shows, on average, a 7.8 rating, about the same score they gave the top 100 male-dominated programs, 8.0,” according to the FiveThirtyEight study.

Along those lines, men gave the top 100 male-led shows an average rating of 8.2 and a 6.9 rating for the top 100 female-led shows.

This is evidence that men have bias against female-centered programming, which stems from the internalized bias men usually have regarding female-related things.

It has gotten better though — a study by Samba from 2020 found that women comprised 45% of all characters in TV programs. Compared to the demographics in 2013, this study found that TV shows were more evenly split in terms of male and female viewership.

However, the study said that this was because female-led shows’ viewership was up in minority households, acknowledging that there was still a lot of bias in the white male demographic.

I was still pleasantly surprised by this fact. I didn’t expect it to be nearly an even split of male and female viewers for primetime TV. While marketing is still heavily gendered, it is important to recognize when things improve.

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

6|Arts and Life

Summer 2021

Arts & Life

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Lights, Camera, Women in Action

By NEHA SEENARINE

Associate Arts & Life Editor

Women can do anything a man can do — but better. If they had more opportunities in the film industry, maybe we would respect sequels.

The Quinnipiac Women in Film Coalition (QWFC) is a pending organization on campus supporting women involved in the film industry.

Zoey Metzner, a junior film, television and media major and president of QWFC, started the organization based on a random thought in quarantine. She thinks women are in a battle with the entertainment industry, looking for equality whether it is pay, recognition or being treated like a human being.

“Why don’t we have a group with female filmmakers with everything going on in Hollywood?” Metzner said. “I can take it upon myself to put a group of women together. I grew (the club) from film majors to having other communication majors. Males also started to join. It is important for guys to help us in the organization.”

The QWFC’s mission is to produce a safe space for aspiring women filmmakers at Quinnipiac. Talya Castonguay, a junior film, television and media and media studies double major, and vice president of QWFC, explained how they want members to connect and share support for their careers.

“We want to create a place that is comfortable,” Castonguay said. “Members can feel like they can talk to us with ideas. We’re open to all ideas and anything people have to say brings to us is valued. At the end of the day, we are men and women trying to make it in this challenging industry. We want everyone to make sure their voice can be heard here.”

In a remote environment, it can be hard for students to reach out to others and share their ideas. QWFC wants to reverse that.

“This is a safe environment for discussion,” Metzner said.

“You can have a classmate in this club and they will feel more comfortable talking to each if they need help. It’s getting ladies to talk to each other. It is hard with Zoom with everyone being shy. We’re trying to crack people out of their shells.”

The QWFC values networking. The media industry is a tough market especially with graduating students fighting for the same job.

“Just based off these two months starting this club, we have about 20 women at Quinnipiac with big dreams and aspirations,” Castonguay said. “There are a lot of Quinnipiac students and across the country that have big dreams. It is beneficial to work together instead of seeing each other as competition.”

Members of QWFC have different passions in the film industry whether it being editing, filming or post-production.

The people in the organization make an effort to get to know each other. It is encouraged that members connect with each other on social media and support their projects.

“A two-minute project is making a name for yourself,” Metzner said. “You’re putting yourself out there. We want people to lean on each other after graduation. I believe in

INFOGRAPHIC BY ASHLEY PELLETIER

people being able to help each other.”

The film industry is dominated by males. Females are a minority for production jobs.

Martha Lauzen, executive director of the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film, said women only accounted for 34% of all directors, writers, producers, executive producers, editors and cinematographers working on films. In 2020, women directors made up just 16%of the top 100 grossing films.

The QWFC emphasizes that being a woman does not restrain work ethic.

“Women are just as good as their male peers,” Metzner said. “Just because you don’t have a penis doesn’t mean you don’t deserve recognition. We need to stop doing what other people want us to do.”

Aside from networking, QWFC shares videos on empowering women filmmakers. In “What it’s like to be a woman in Hollywood,” actress Naomi McDougall Jones

explains the sexism issues prominent in film.

“For the most part, it happens casually – unconsciously, even,” Jones said. “It happens because people are just trying to get along within an existing system. It happens, maybe, out of a genuine desire to teach a young woman the way that the world ‘just is.’ The problem is that unless we do something about it, that is the way the world will always be.”

Women are so much more than catering to men and being hot. The film industry needs to improve on being more inclusive to women and skewing away from normative sexism practices within the industry.

“I want to see more women,” Castonguay said. “You know the industry is messed up with the rules of the Oscars being changed to have more women included. What does that say about the industry? If a giant ceremony has to make regulations to make films that aren’t about the straight male perspective.”

PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY ZOEY METZNER

President Zoey Metzner got the idea to found the Quinnipiac Women in Film Coalition (QWFC) as a place for women to work towards their dreams.

PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY TALYA CASTONGUAY

Vice President Talya Castonguay hopes that clubs like the Quinnipiac Women in Film Society (QWFC) will lead to gender equality in the film industry.

Summer 2021

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

Arts and Life|7

War. What is it good for?

The Quinnipiac University theater department puts on a stunning performance of 'An Iliad'

By ASHLEY PELLETIER Associate Arts & Life Editor

Performers from Quinnipiac University’s theater department brought the costs of war into vivid color in a pandemic-friendly production of Homer’s “The Iliad.”

The play, which was an adaptation by Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare, streamed live on YouTube from March 18 to 27.

The performance features seven actors, each playing “poets” who narrate the show through monologues.

While all seven actors performed incredibly in their roles, three in particular stuck out to me. Sneha Sakhare, an actor and singer from New York City, did ethereal background vocals as well as a great monologue. Sarah Gass, a first-year 3+1 journalism and public relations double major, nailed her Quinnipiac debut with her lively character and dynamic performance. Esau Greene, a senior sociology and political science double major, showed amazing skill as a conversational actor in his main stage debut. I point these three out, but the entire cast shined in the production.

What I liked most about the show is how Peterson and O’Hare modernized the “The Iliad,” particularly in the references to each major war in the past several centuries. These references allow the audience to feel the impacts of a story distinct from Homer’s version due to the length of time since the Trojan War. The play covers themes and costs of war, particularly through the character Hector. Hector is portrayed as a loving father to his infant son but a menace on the battlefield. When Achilles inevitably kills Hector out of revenge for Achilles’ friend, Patroclus, Hector’s father, Priam, begs for the body back. After a lot of pleading from Priam, Achillies gives the body to Hector’s family. However, once the peace for Hector’s burial was over, the Greeks slaughtered the Trojans, including Priam and Hector’s son.

These losses are portrayed as a waste of humanity as the war has been going on for years.

The minimalist set was also a great touch. The stage was bare, leaving only backlighting of blues, yellows, greens and reds.

The rare use of spotlights led to the creation of silhouettes of the actors onstage, which I thought was really interesting. To me, it represented how the victims of war often do not get represented.

I also think that Quinnipiac’s theater department did an amazing job handling a production while complying with social distancing guidelines. The end of the production shows each poet with their own closed off section during which they can remove their mask to give their monologues, which I think was ingenious.

It allowed the audience to get the full effect of the actors’ facial expressions while keeping the cast and crew safe.

CRANDALL YOPP/QUINNIPIAC UNIVERSITY

The set for the play 'An Iliad' was simple and involved changing spotlight colors to create silhouettes.

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

8|Arts and Life

Arts & Life

Summer 2021

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Local Art Corner With two identities, one Quinnipiac student manages to be both a poet and Bobcat

PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY HAKTAN CEYLAN

By ANYA GRONDALSKI Staff Writer

Haktan Ceylan, a junior political science and philosophy double major, lives a double life. Under the name Natkah Nalyec, he’s developed an identity as a well-known student poet at Quinnipiac University.

A self-proclaimed “eclectic” artist, Ceylan has been writing for the past three years. Poetry has been his therapy and over time, it has developed into a hobby and defining part of his identity. His work is nontraditional and musical.

“I try to stray away from the normal connotations of what you’d expect going to a library and picking up an old poetry book,” Ceylan said. “I try to fuse elements of hip hop and sort of like singer-songwriter elements into the poetry while also trying to keep true to the craft and true to the therapeutic components which found me writing in the first place.”

Spoken word became a safe haven for Ceylan, who developed a false front to protect himself from a teenage community in which he felt targeted. He kept a journal of dayto-day occurrences that he felt couldn’t be safely shared, even with those closest to him.

“That’s when I started realizing that some of the language that was put there was very romantic or even very artistic to my definition then … that’s when I really found a love for writing,” Ceylan said. “And that then translated to me watching a lot of like button poetry performances and deaf poetry jam and things like that. I became very inspired by some of these poets and started to try to imitate their art.”

His writer alter ego, Natkah Nalyec was born out of Ceylan’s darkest period.

“There was this one day where I was with someone who was very unhealthy, very toxic, and we were in a relationship,” Ceylan said. “And I felt like I had surrendered many parts of my fabric to not only them but to the surrounding factors that combined in the relationship.”

In dissociating from his own self in the mirror, Ceylan noticed the words on his shirt were reversed and decided that Natkah Nalyec, his name reversed, would become the most honest version of himself.

Ceylan’s artistic process is spiritual and often begins with the bleeding out of internalized emotions. One line quickly develops into 40 while Ceylan decorates and illustrates the story he envisioned.

“I will either see something or I’ll get an idea … I like to also grab a lot of inspiration from my own life,” Ceylan said. “Like things I’m going through, topics that are sensitive to me, things I want to get off my chest. These are all common symptoms of the works that I produce and I release.”

POEM CONTRIBUTED BY HAKTAN CEYLAN

"If I were anything but who you thought I were, would you still accept me for who I was, or for that matter, who I'd openly become?"

Stranger by Natkah Nalyec In late April, “Ineffable,” will be released online and potentially in a zine format. On the same day as its release, Ceylan will release its sister project "Lee's Farm Road." Ceylan drafted the two projects during the highschool era. Additionally, Ceylan will re-release a former project entitled “untitled, tacenda” which he wrote for a Quinnipiac contest.

“It (untitled, tacenda) was ignored entirely, and so I felt like there were a lot of things there that I wanted to get off my chest,” Ceylan said.

Art has been an inescapable form of expression for Ceylan.

Poetry has not been the limit to his creativity, as he often expresses himself in simple actions like hiking or even general writing like prose.

“It’ll always come out, one way or another,” Ceylan said.

Summer 2021

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

Arts and Life|9

‘Worn Stories’ shows the impact clothes can have

By DAVID MATOS Staff Writer

Netflix’s newest docuseries, “Worn Stories,” unfolds the diverse histories of treasured clothing from people’s closets.

This show is unique as it brings forth the common connection a person can have with an article of clothing they held onto due to its personal historical relevance.

The first season of “Worn Stories” premiered on Thursday, April 4. It is based on the 2014 New York Times bestselling memoir of the same name written by Emily Spivack, who is also one of the executive producers of the show. Her book is a collection of first-person narratives from real people ranging from celebrities to the everyday storyteller. Every person has a piece of clothing with a backstory, and her memoir includes a surplus of them told in relatable ways.

Each 30-minute episode takes on a different theme — community, losing and finding yourself, beginnings, growing up, uniforms, chance, survival and love. Every episode has a different group of unrelated individuals who tell their story about a specific article of clothing that relates to one of the eight themes. Similar to the memoir, the series has a diverse cast, ranging from Tina Turner’s ex-saxophone player to a New York City writer with a history in sex work to Charo, the Spanish American actress.

In order to include as many different stories as possible into one episode, each one is told in a unique way. Some of the tales are told through narrative voice-over animation, which are

usually shorter segments. Many of the stories, however, bring the audience into the physical lives of the cast members where we can get a better visual and understanding of their piece of clothing and how it relates to the person they are today.

While binge-watching this series, I started to think about the articles of clothing I kept. Many of the pieces that stood the test of time are ones that represent a monumental moment in my life such as a graduation, the suit I wore to my sister’s wedding or the last sweater I kept before losing over 100 pounds.

All of these pieces I kept also represent new beginnings, the general theme for the third episode of the series. The third episode features Spivack, who discusses the first outfit she’s ever worn as her mother has held onto a bunch of her baby clothes.

Similarly, my mother also kept much of the clothing I wore as a baby, like my Baptism outfit and first Halloween costume.

It’s intriguing how these simple pieces of fabric can represent so much, invoking a memory that would’ve otherwise been lost.

This show undoubtedly plays with your emotions as you witness the deep impact clothes have on people’s lives.

The must-watch docuseries shows that clothing truly can define us. I recommend everyone take the time out of their busy schedules to not only watch this show but to quite literally open your closet and take a trip down memory lane. Find those pieces of clothing you’ve been holding on to and reflect on how each piece has defined who you are today.

5/5 sentimental t-shirts

PHOTO FROM TWITTER @EMSPIVACK

'Worn Stories' is a Netflix series dedicated to sharing people's sentimental relationships with clothing.

Pump it up on Zoom or in person

Fitness classes are held both on Zoom and in person this semester to accommodate all students.

By LEXI PEPE Staff Writer

As the cold weather and ongoing pandemic confine students to their dorms, Quinnipiac University fitness classes are operating both virtually and in person so they can practice self-care.

Types of classes

Quinnipiac offers a variety of fitness classes to take whether you are looking for something fast-paced to get your heart pumping or something more relaxing to find your inner zen.

Yoga has many benefits as it improves balance, strength and flexibility whereas Ugifit can be considered as the complete opposite. Ugifit is an intensive class offered and taught in person

by Una Cooper, an occupational therapy graduate student.

Throughout the class, you carry a weighted ball and incorporate it into the entire routine for 30 minutes.

“Usually it can be six pounds, eight pounds, or 12 pounds,” Cooper said. “It doesn’t sound like a lot of weight but when you’re constantly moving with little to no break in between each exercise, it picks up quickly.”

Cooper encouraged students to try out this class as a fun way to stay active between classes.

Over the winter break, Ally Kochersperger, a senior in athletic training major, hosted a High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) Bootcamp via Zoom.

“I did a lot of cardio and mixed it with a body part,” Kochersperger said. “One day I would do cardio, chest and arms, another day I would do legs, another day, abs. I would try to make each workout a little different.”

Kocherspreger is also Athletics Fitness Association of America (AFAA) certified, which means she can teach group fitness and spinning classes. Now that the semester has started, she is back to teaching spinning classes at the Rocky Top Student Center.

Working out with a mask

Even though we all wish the world would just go back to normal, masks are required in all fitness classes to keep one another safe.

“It is difficult working with a mask but at the same time, I’m so used to it now,” Kochersperger said. “The people who take my class have respected the mask protocol. Luckily, I haven’t had any issues which is really good.”

Cooper said she makes an effort to project her voice through the mask as gym goers, student-athletes and even fitness instructors must comply with the mask rule due to health regulations.

“I try to make an additional effort to demonstrate what’s going on as best as I can because if someone is in the back of the class and they can’t hear me through the mask, at least they can see and carry on through the exercise as much as they can,” Cooper said.

Both Cooper and Kochersperger have found it easy to make a connection while teaching on Zoom. It creates a safe environment for those who are shy and may want to have their camera off but still participate. Kochersperger also has an Instagram account, @ justahungrygal_, where she posts information on maintaining a healthy diet or workouts to do in your spare time.

If wearing a mask while working out is uncomfortable or if you want to try out your first class, I recommend attending

CONNOR LAWLESS/CHRONICLE

virtually. Students can still take care of their bodies and minds from the comfort of their room and can even have their roommate join in to enhance their experience by finding a physical activity you both enjoy.

The importance of fitness

During COVID-19, Quinnipiac students have been asked to stay in their dorm rooms, social distance, wash hands and try to remain healthy. However, it is important to make sure you are taking care of your physical and mental health. Being trapped in a confined space can negatively impact one’s physical and mental health.

“Fitness classes are so important because it changes up the schedule a bit,” Cooper said. “It gets the body moving, gets those endorphins going.”

Whether you are in a dorm or bedroom, it is healthy to get out once in a while.

“A lot of students who are remote have classes back to back and that means you’re not getting that walk from one building to another,” Cooper said. “Those 10 minutes outside can be important when you are glued down to a desk or wherever they’re doing their work from.”

Kochersperger said she has always been a huge advocate for fitness as it can take care of the mind during these hard times.

“When I was younger I perceived fitness as more for physical activity and enjoyment,” Kochersperger said. “Now, it is such a mental clarity for me and especially now when everyone’s emotions (are) at an all-time high.”

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

10|Sports

Summer 2021

Quinnipiac alumni: NHL Edition An in-depth look at two former Bobcats emerging in the NHL

By PETER PIEKARSKI Associate Sports Editor

As the 2019-20 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs roll on, it would be suitable to look at two former Quinnipiac University hockey players that are currently making an impact on the league and its playoffs.

The first, and currently the most relative player, is New York Islanders defenseman Devon Toews. In just his second season with the Islanders, Toews has played a considerable part in its stride to its first Eastern Conference Finals appearance in 27 years. He’s the second Bobcat to reach the NHL conference finals.

After being a force offensively on the Bobcats’ blue line, Toews took his talent to the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, the Islanders’ AHL affiliate. After 130 games across three seasons, the Islanders called him up in December of 2018 to replace the injured Thomas Hickey.

The fourth-round selection accepted the promotion and delivered, producing 18 points in 48 games (four of which came on the power play) while averaging 17:54 time on ice (TOI). Once reaching the playoffs, his impact continued.

Toews helped the Islanders eliminate one of their Metropolitan rivals, the Pittsburgh Penguins, in the first round of the 2019 playoffs.

Toews experienced a slight increase in playing time, averaging just under two more shifts per game from his regular season totals. Additionally, Toews contributed two assists en route to a four-game sweep.

In Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Carolina Hurricanes, Toews became the first Quinnipiac alumnus ever to net an NHL playoff goal. Toews received the puck just a few feet from the blue line, turned and ripped a snapshot past the blocker of goaltender Curtis McElhinney.

However, the Islanders were swept by the Hurricanes, ending Toews’s first playoff experience. Islanders fans’ expectations for the 25-year-old’s sophomore season were astronomically high, according to an Islanders fan page “Eyes on Isles”.

Toews beat out veteran Thomas Hickey for a top-four defensive spot during the 2019 training camp. Multiple Islanders beat writers and fan pages assumed that Toews would receive more 5-on-5 playing time and quarterback one of the two power-play units.

Although Toews received more powerplay minutes, his offensive numbers took a bit of a dip compared to his rookie season. Part of the reason was power-play opportunities, or lack thereof, because the Islanders finished

last in the NHL in total power plays.

He also started 2% less of his shifts in the offensive zone as compared to the previous season, according to Natural Stat Trick. That part can be attributed to Barry Trotz, Islanders head coach, and his extreme demand for team defense.

The Islanders finished 24th in the league in scoring. They were also third-worst amongst teams that qualified for the 24-team qualifying round for the 2020 postseason.

Following a successful season, Toews was dealt to the Colorado Avalanche for two second-round picks in an attempt for the Islanders to cut cap space.

Joining an already remarkable list of defensemen, Toews fit right in with his new home for the 2021 NHL season. With just a handful of games left, Toews has 25 points in 46 games and has seen a significant rise in playing time as he’s averaging 24:42 TOI per game. Toews is playing a much stronger overall game to this point highlighted by his decrease in giveaways from 57 last season to just 16 this season.

Looking at the two most frequent advanced hockey analytics, Corsi and Fenwick, Toews was efficient with the Islanders and exceptional with the Avalanche.

Corsi calculates all shot attempts: on goal, missed the net, hit the post and blocked shots at even strength. Any chance attempted for is a plus and any chance attempted against is a minus. Any number above 50% is positive and any number below 50% is negative.

Fenwick is the same measurement as Corsi, except it disregards any blocked shots for or against.

With the Islanders, Toews finished with a team-high 49.79% Corsi For (CF%) and 49.78% Fenwick For (FF%). The next closest defenseman in both categories on the team is Toews’ most frequent linemate, Scott Mayfield. Mayfield posted a 47.25% CF and a 46.82% FF. In terms of Goals Above Replacement (GAR), Toews was the second most efficient blueliner for the Islanders. He finished the season with a 1.6 Even-Strength Offense Goals Above Average (EVO), and a 3.7 Even-Strength Defense Goals Above Average (EVD).

His 4.9 GAR stood as the second-best among defensemen on the Islanders, his 0.9 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) and his 1.7 Standing Points Above Replacement (SPAR) both ranked second on the team.

Comparing that to his debut season with the Avalanche, Toews finished with a 69.2 CF% and a 59.4 FF% bringing his career totals to 53.9

PHOTO COURTESY OF NHL PRESS

CF% nd 54.1 FF%. Additionally, Toews’ currently sits with a 4.9 EVO and a 4.5 EVD. His 12 GAR, 2.2 WAR, and 4 SPAR all rank fourth on the team right below superstars Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Cale Makar.

As for the first player to make an appearance in the NHL conference finals, Connor Clifton, a hard-hitting Boston Bruins blueliner. The former Bobcat has solidified a bottom-six spot provided he stays healthy.

After being signed to a two-year entrylevel contract in the offseason, Clifton was called up during November 2018, where he played a nine-game stint in the NHL. He was reassigned to Boston’s affiliate AHL team, the Providence Bruins.

Clifton had a solid 2017-18 AHL season, collecting 13 points in 54 games, but the Bruins decided he needed some fine-tuning before his return to the NHL. The small sample size of professional play lit a fire under Clifton, who proceeded to double his point totals from 13 to 27 and was then brought back up to be a third-line pair defenseman on a cup-contending Bruins roster.

He finished out the regular season with the Bruins and made his playoff debut during Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Clifton notched his first career NHL playoff points during the second-round, with assists in games 5 and 6 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Bruins then advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals in a matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes. During Game 2, Clifton came flying up the bench side, creating an odd-man rush. He passed the puck out front to forward Marcus Johansson and plotted himself on the weak side as he circled behind the net.

Johansson’s cross-crease pass didn’t make it through, but Clifton corralled the puck and fired it into the open net, notching his first career NHL playoff goal, merely 10 days after Toews netted his.

The Bruins then swept the Hurricanes and advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals, making Clifton the first-ever Quinnipiac alumnus to reach the finals. However, the Bruins were defeated in seven games, meaning Quinnipiac will have to continue waiting for an alumnus to hoist hockey’s most coveted trophy.

During the offseason, Clifton signed a threeyear extension deal.

As the 2019-20 season rolled around, expectations for Clifton were to continue the same

GRAPHIC BY CONNOR LAWLESS

level of production as a bottom-pair defender.

Playing time for Clifton was limited as Boston’s staple defenders Zdeno Chara, Torey Krug, Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo led the way.

Unfortunately, Clifton missed 28 games, spanning from late December to early March, cutting the COVID-19-affected season even shorter for the sophomore defenseman.

Through 50 career regular-season games played in his first two seasons, Clifton has not had many opportunities to grow at either end of the rink. However, his advanced statistics show he’s quite useful as a bottom-pair blueliner on a defensively loaded Bruins core.

When the 2020 NHL Playoffs eventually began, Boston rotated around the bottom-pair defenseman as players dealt with minor day-to-day injuries. Clifton saw some action late in the first round and four of the six matchups against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the second round.

Notwithstanding the limited games, Clifton collected three points in his six playoff appearances.

Coming into the 2021 season, Clifton had a much greater opportunity to play as veterans Krug and Chara both departed for free agency.

After a bit of a slump in his sophomore season, Clifton has returned to his rookie season form, averaging 18:10 TOI per game and is starting much more often in the defensive zone (53.2%) which is up from 46.5% in the previous season.

In 41 games this season, Clifton has seven points and has ramped up his defensive play.

He leads all Bruins in EVD with 4.7, and his GAR (5.1) WAR (.9) and SPAR (1.7) all rank seventh on the team. For his Corsi and Fenwick numbers, Clifton sits comfortably at 49.5 CF% and 50.7 FF%.

Through three shortened seasons, Clifton has been blocking shots and laying the body to ensure he remains consistently in the lineup.

Through their two short careers, both Toews and Clifton have proven that they will be solid players for several years.

A year removed from the university’s first alumni NHL playoff experience, Quinnipiac nearly witnessed the first-ever Quinnipiac alumnus matchup in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Had the Bruins defeated the Lightning, the Islanders and Bruins would have met in the conference finals.

Either way, Quinnipiac looks proudly on at its former Bobcats with pride, awaiting the next wave of Quinnipiac alumni to rise up the prospect list.

PHOTO COURTESY OF NHL PRESS

Summer 2021

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

Sports|11

‘I had no idea she was even coming:’ Elena Ybarra’s journey to Quinnipiac wasn’t without its hiccups

By BRENDAN SAMSON Staff Writer

For most 18-year-olds, college is the final step before the real world starts. It is a stretch of time when you can feel independent but are protected by the university from the outside world.

Going outside of your home state can seem daunting, but for senior and captain of the Quinnipiac women’s golf team Elena Ybarra, a drive across states would have felt like a visit to her next door neighbor’s house.

Ybarra’s journey is unlike most. After standing out as a high school golfer in her home of Madrid, Spain, Ybarra began to talk to recruiting companies whose jobs were to connect international students with American universities.

The companies are usually contacted by families, and they match up the top overseas athletes with coaches who then conduct interviews with the prospective athletes. As Elena’s parents, Borja Ybarra and Cecilia Navarrete recall, the interview with Quinnipiac golf coach John O’Connor made up Ybarra’s mind.

“She was very lucky because she really contacted a very nice coach there in Quinnipiac, and he encouraged her to go there,” Navarrete said. “I think we were courageous that it would go well, and it really has been very well.”

Once Ybarra decided on Quinnipiac, a place that she had never visited, her next step in her journey had begun. In early August of 2017, she packed her bags and headed to Hamden, Connecticut, for international student orientation but not without overcoming one more challenge.

Before Quinnipiac, Ybarra had made two trips to the states, once at age 14 to Hilton Head, South Carolina, home of the Professional Golfer’s Association’s Royal Bank of Canada Heritage tournament and once to Orlando, Florida, at age 16.

In both of these cases, she was met with a driver and a sign welcoming her and guiding her to the hotel. When she arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport on her way to Quinnipiac, she did not have that luxury.

“It was a typical airport shuttle that they booked for you, so they just booked that for me, and obviously I didn’t check the email,” Ybarra said. “I was looking for a shuttle university related, that wasn’t what was happening, so I was a bit confused with everything.”

The confusion that Ybarra felt turned out to be just the beginning as she was not even enrolled in the school when she arrived.

“When I got the email from her a week before classes saying, ‘I’m at JFK, where do I go?’ I had no idea that she was even coming,” O’Connor said.

Ybarra was far from detail-oriented when she arrived at Quinnipiac, O’Connor said. She just went with the flow.

She had a golf bag, a suitcase and no other information. Being from Spain, her phone chip was rendered useless, and she had to communicate through email with everybody at the school.

Fortunately, Abby Chase, another golfer at Quinnipiac who graduated in 2019, was also a Residential Assistant and helped sign Ybarra up for classes, find a dorm room and get all of the essentials for the college life at Target.

Now, however, details are of the utmost importance to Ybarra.

When prompted with the question, “what is Elena’s best part of her golf game,” the answer was simple for her coach, family and herself — her short game.

The short game features chipping around the green and out of bunkers. While many golfers just try to put the ball For most 18-year-olds, college is the final step before the real world starts.

It is a stretch of time when you can feel independent but are protected by the university from the outside world.

Going outside of your home state can seem daunting, but for senior and captain of the Quinnipiac women’s golf team Elena Ybarra, a drive across states would have felt like a visit to her next door neighbor’s house.

Ybarra’s journey is unlike most. After standing out as a high school golfer in her home of Madrid, Spain, Ybarra began to talk to recruiting companies whose jobs were to connect international students with American universities.

The companies are usually contacted by families, and they match up the top overseas athletes with coaches who then conduct interviews with the prospective athletes. As Elena’s parents, Borja Ybarra and Cecilia Navarrete recall, the interview with Quinnipiac golf coach John O’Connor made up Ybarra’s mind.

“She was very lucky because she really contacted a very nice coach there in Quinnipiac, and he encouraged her to go there,” Navarrete said. “I think we were courageous that it would go well, and it really has been very well.”

Once Ybarra decided on Quinnipiac, a place that she had never visited, her next step in her journey had begun. In early August of 2017, she packed her bags and headed to Hamden, Connecticut, for international student orientation but not without overcoming one more challenge.

Before Quinnipiac, Ybarra had made two trips to the states, once at age 14 to Hilton Head, South Carolina, home of the Professional Golfer’s Association’s Royal Bank of Canada Heritage tournament and once to Orlando, Florida, at age 16.

In both of these cases, she was met with a driver and a sign welcoming her and guiding her to the hotel. When she arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport on her way to Quinnipiac, she did not have that luxury.

“It was a typical airport shuttle that they booked for you, so they just booked that for me, and obviously I didn’t check the email,” Ybarra said. “I was looking for a shuttle university related, that wasn’t what was happening, so I was a bit confused with everything.”

The confusion that Ybarra felt turned out to be just the beginning as she was not even enrolled in the school when she arrived.

“When I got the email from her a week before classes saying, ‘I’m at JFK, where do I go?’ I had no idea that she was even coming,” O’Connor said.

Ybarra was far from detail-oriented when she arrived at Quinnipiac, O’Connor said. She just went with the flow.

She had a golf bag, a suitcase and no other information. Being from Spain, her phone chip was rendered useless, and she had to communicate through email with everybody at the school.

Fortunately, Abby Chase, another golfer at Quinnipiac who graduated in 2019, was also a Residential Assistant and helped sign Ybarra up for classes, find a dorm room and get all of the essentials for the college life at Target.

Now, however, details are of the utmost importance to Ybarra.

When prompted with the question, “what is Elena’s best part of her golf game,” the answer was simple for her coach, family and herself — her short game.

Senior golfer Elena Ybarra averaged a score of 80.5 per round as a sophomore.

COURTESY OF QU ATHLETICS

COURTESY OF QU ATHLETICS

The short game features chipping around the green and out of bunkers. While many golfers just try to put the ball close to the pin for a smooth up-and-down, Ybarra is more of a prime Phil Mickelson, trying to dunk it in the cup.

Ybarra’s detail-oriented mentality has even culminated in friendly competition between her and O’Connor.

“Sometimes after tournaments or on some trips we just practice around, and then once we stop doing serious stuff, we chip around the green, but he likes it because I use all of my irons,” Ybarra said. “Some players only use a wedge and that’s fine, but I like to use all my irons, like I could chip with a seven iron. So we always like to do small competitions.”

This unique way of chipping has not always been in Ybarra’s golf bag. She learned it at the camp she attended in Orlando. For her, it is a way to stay controlled. Instead of changing her swing to account for distance, she can simply club up and keep the same smooth swing.

This season will mark Ybarra’s second year as the captain of the golf team. Last season, which was cut short by COVID-19, the team looked like it had its best chance in a long time to secure the MAAC. Ybarra and fellow captain Queenie Lai set up a one-two punch that was devastating for opposing schools.

At the start of this year, Lai transferred, leaving Ybarra as the lone senior on the team.

“I’ve been here two months as the only senior,” Ybarra said.

“It was a bit different when I was back home. It’s been good so far, I’m very close with my juniors too, and one of them is also a captain with me, so communication with us has been good. But I tried to set the same example and kind of transmit to lower classmen what I’ve learned from the past.”

This lead-by-example mentality is what makes Ybarra such a great captain in the eyes of her coaches.

“Well, it’s obvious people look up to her,” O’Connor said. “I mean, she’s got the most experience, she’s the most familiar with how things happen. She’s competed in a lot of tournaments, and she’s very confident, having lived through three years of competition. Being confident as a team leader is critical, and she does a good job of being confident, she sets a good example for the kids and they know they can look up to her.”

Ybarra spent the fall semester at home in Spain, but both her and her family saw the academic, social and athletic advantages in a return to Quinnipiac this spring.

“She really needed to be with her team, and she needed to compete,” Navarrete said. “She needed to finish the year … with a feeling that she has done something there, not here.”

After Quinnipiac, Ybarra is planning to attend a business school in France, while continuing to compete in social golf tournaments with her family in Spain. Golf will always be a big part of her life, since her mother, brother and father golfed their entire lives. She credits them for where golf has taken her thus far.

“I would say my family and my dad, especially he’s been playing all of his life, and it’s a sport he taught my brother and I since I was probably like 5 years old,” Ybarra said. “So it’s been in the family, and we’ve been playing since we were very young.”

Now as a senior, Ybarra and the team have their eyes on the MAAC championship, and as Ybarra and O’Connor see it, their chances are high.

“We’ve had really good teams in the past and the reason we haven’t won conference is not because they were better than us, we just didn’t play good, and that’s a fact,” Ybarra said.

12|Sports

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

Summer 2021

Sports @QUCHRONSPORTS

It starts with the athletes If a buzzer goes off and no one is around to hear it, does it make a noise?

By RILEY MILLETTE Sports Editor

The stadium buzzer echoed through the empty seats in Orlando, Florida on Aug. 26. Not an unfamiliar sound, though, since the NBA had been carrying on without fans for weeks in a tightly-monitored bubble due to COVID-19. But this buzzer was different.

There wasn’t a single player on the court.

Game 5 between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Orlando Magic was scheduled to commence, but the athletes remained in the locker room when the game clock began counting down from 12 minutes.

On Aug. 23, Jacob Blake, an unarmed Black civilian, was shot in the back seven times by police. Three days later, the Bucks made the decision not to take the floor as a form of peaceful protest against police brutality. Many other teams followed suit, as several games were postponed. When the bubble came back to life, players voiced their opinions.

Players around the league, donned with messages across the backs of their jerseys like “Black Lives Matter” and “Say Her Name,” made sure that everyone watching knew that they were tired of the injustice, tired of the hate and tired of the murders.

And here in Hamden, 1,156 miles away from Orlando, the NBA players’ actions are rippling into the community.

The MAAC has announced a new program called MAAC United For Justice, in which it is promoting messages of racial equality. Players will be allowed to wear patches on their jerseys and messages across the back of their shooting shirts. Floor decals and jumbotron graphics will be provided to teams by the MAAC. Most importantly, the MAAC is assembling and promoting multiple committees and programs that aim to educate their respective communities about racism and celebrate diversity.

“The MAAC is committed to organizing diversity and inclusion programming to educate administrators, coaching staffs and student-athletes,” the MAAC stated.

Quinnipiac University women’s basketball head coach Tricia Fabbri has been an integral part of the program, as have many other coaches in the MAAC. “We were unanimous in our conversations in doing our part,” Fabbri said. “Having a voice in the movement culminated in a good call with the men’s coaches, and out of that sprung a great program.”

The MAAC planned a plethora of other initiatives, including an educational program for middle and elementary school

students in the community.

“We knew that was very important to all of us, we were just on a call yesterday with another in-depth reading program we’re pursuing,” Fabbri said. “The coaches have been very active for change and being consistent with our actions.

That’s where we’re taking big steps forward. These conversations will continue to evolve, and the target date is to roll out in February.”

Fabbri’s activism is about open conversation. She said that in order for all her teammates to be on the same page and to come to an agreement about how to convey their message, it has to start with continuous dialogue that allows everyone’s opinion to be heard. Their conversations have been stirring for a while and are ongoing.

The problem for the women’s basketball team is the distance between the players and coaching staff. Up until recently, they were all at home, speaking via Zoom.

“There’s been a lot of individual and team dialogue,” Fabbri said. “The challenge is not being in the same room. We’ve pretty much had good, constructive, hard conversations about the social injustice that’s happening in our country. We’ve also said we need to continue this conversation. It’s not just we hit on a topic and move on, we’ll pick it up.”

Fabbri believes that the most important aspect is the lon-

COURTESY OF MAAC SPORTS

gevity of the movement. She wants to make sure this isn’t just a fad that will get buried when something else comes along and takes away attention.

“We want to embrace and be really proud about the work that has been done, what the NBA and WNBA have started, seeing it on the floor,” Fabbri said. “We wanna make sure it’s not just ‘this was great for a time’ and it hasn’t gone away.”

This is a prime example of how sports can be a vehicle for social change. Instead of merely following a trend and turning a generational movement into a repetitive attention-grabber, the NBA and WNBA commandeered the conversation and influenced both major and collegiate sports into following in their footsteps.

The MAAC’s actions show appreciation, sensitivity and awareness of an issue that’s much larger than sports, as do Fabri and the other coaches actions in the conference.

“It’s about what we as a team can do with our voices, how we can be united,” Fabbri said. “It’s not just a poster saying, it’s about listening to people of color who have stories to tell and really learning the history of our country.”

So to answer the question, yes. If a buzzer sounds in an empty stadium with no fans or players around to hear it, it does make a sound. It makes a deafening sound. These players heard it first, the coaches heard it, the front offices heard it, and they’re leading the charge into a new day.

MORGAN TENCZA/CHRONICLE ARCHIVES (2020)

The MAAC has planned several intitatives, including education visits to elementary schools, to discuss racial inequity.