Students had the opportunity to raise money for their student organizations on 1842 Day. Courtesy of Graydon Paul/Villanovan Photography
Hannah Sweeney Staff Writer
Women’s XC Has Strong Start to Season
University Raises Over $9 Million On Sixth Annual 1842 Day
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the fundraising efforts. In the evening, there was an 1842 Day carnival complete with performances from the University’s numerous acapella groups and food trucks.
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After 1842 Day, funds will be deposited into each group’s account. 1842 calls members of the Villanova community together from everywhere across the country to donate to a campus organization of their choice. All donors can make a gift of any size.According to Kasia Jaworski, Associate Director of Annual Giving Campus Programs, last year’s 1842 Day donations totaled more than $11 million in just 24 hours. This money went to
Julia O’Keefe Staff Writer
On November 8, voters across the state will be heading to their local polls to vote in the midterm elections. Pennsylvania, a swing state, is in the spotlight, grabbing the attention of people all over the country. As Villanova students and part time residents, we have the privilege to be able to participate in this crucial election. In hopes to increase voter turnout during this pivotal election year, members of student government at Villanova along with teachers and volunteers started Let’s Vote PennsylvaniaNova.isnot only important because it is a swing state, but this election will also affect which party gains a majority in Congress. Right now, Democrats have the majority, but the results of a few states, Pennsylvania, included, will determine who takes control going forward. So, this election not only affects the people of Pennsylvania, but also citizens across the country.This year in Pennsylvania, citizens are voting for a new governor and senator to represent them, with no incumbent running for reelection. Republican Mehmet Oz is running against Democrat John Fetterman in hopes to win the senate seat, while Republican Doug Mastriano is opposing Democrat Josh Shapiro in the race for governor.Let’s Vote Nova is a “Student led initiative that helps students register to vote and on Election Day get them out to the polls,” according to student body president Jose Garcia-Orozco.
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Villanova alumna Marie Helen-Bertino wrote “Parakeet.” Courtesy of NYU Arts&Science
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the Head of the Communication Department Dr. Heidi Rose, the play is based on the
Helen-Bertino’s novel depicts the story of the Bride, the protagonist, who is visited by a parakeet before her wedding. The Bride believes the parakeet to be a manifestation of her late grandmother. Her grandmother comes with skepticism about the marriage and urges her to locate her estranged“Thebrother.idea for ‘Parakeet’ came from a few different
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“Parakeet”: a Play on Love, Loss, Trauma
organizations that included the Villanova Outdoors Club, Pastoral Musicians and Club Badminton.Jaworski spoke about the success of 1842 Day and what these donations mean to the Villanova community.
Over the next couple of weeks leading up to the election, Let’s Vote Nova will be tabling and spreading word around campus in
Have you ever wished you could have one last conversation with or receive one last piece of advice from a deceased loved one? Marie Helen-Bertino’s novel “Parakeet” explores what could happen when a loved one comes back in spirit.The Villanova Communication Department is presenting the world premiere of “Parakeet.” Adapted by
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First Lady Jill Biden Speaks at 9/11 Flight 93
Villanova TikTok Star
“The students get to use those dollars to really make an impact on their student group, their academic department, their club sports team, whatever they’re passionate about,” Jaworski said. “It’s a really fun way to bring philanthropy to the students themselves and emphasize the importance of giving back and the alumni giving back who are making their experience evenVillanovabetter.” Best
Helen-Bertino. The show runs for four days, from Sept. 29 to Oct. 2.
At the time of publication, altogether there had been 10,224 gifts that came to a grand total of $9,159,338. Student Performing Arts Groups was in first place regarding fundraising efforts with 812 gifts totaling
Safety Hazard: Check MicroFridge Rentals for Mold p.
Chloe Miller Co-Culture Editor
$46,683.11.While the ranking is in order of number of donations, several organizations raised more money than the Villanova Annual Fund, even though they received less donations. For example, men’s basketball was in the lead for dollar amounts, having raised $1,062,893.23.On1842 Day, Main Campus was alive with decorations, golf carts, lawn games and much more. Students lined up for a chance to ride Cat Cabs, in which questions are asked of the people on the golf carts to raise money. There were several tents decorated with balloons and lights, and Will D. Cat was at the Oreo all day to celebrate
September 20 marked the return of 1842 Day, Villanova’s 24-hour day of giving to raise funds for organizations on campus. This year is the University’s sixth annual 1842 Day.
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novel “Parakeet,” which was written by Villanova alumna and surrealist author Marie
Lydia McFarlane Co-News Editor
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Let’s Vote Nova has also made an effort to highlight important deadlines for students to be aware of so that students who want to vote do not miss the opportunity to. As men tioned on its website, the deadline for voter registration is Oct. 24, and applications for mail-in or absen tee ballots must be received by the county election board by Nov. 1 at 5 p.m. Finally, on Election Day (Nov. 8), voter ballots must be received by the county election office by 8 p.m.
Criminal Trespass/ Public Drukenness September 18, O’DWYER HALL
As well as spreading word about registration and helping on Election Day, Let’s Vote Nova also has a website with helpful tools and resources for students to use. Resourc es include registration forms with sample information filled out, FAQ’s, support services, links to registration and much more. There is also a section on the website where students can add their location in order to determine who their district repre sentative and senator is. This website offers students a centralized page for all things relating to the Election.
Staff member reported the ceiling and a paper towel dispenser had been vandalized inside the first floor men’s bathroom of Sullivan Hall.
Let’s Vote Nova is a student led initiative that helps students register to vote. Courtesy of Falvey Memorial Library
The team further stressed the importance of 1842 Day efforts to the Villanova community and how it connects students, family, staff, alumni and Nova Nation fans everywhere directly to campus. They emphasized their goals for this year’s fundraiser and beyond.“Our goal is 10,000 gifts,” the team said. “Since 2017, 1842 Day has raised more than $33 million for 300+ areas of campus from more than 20,500 donors. This year, we want to encourage everyone to give back, any amount to any areas of campus that have positively impacted their Villanova experience.”
A male resident student, under the age of 21, was observed intoxicated in public and evalu ated by Radnor EMS.
College students are extremely busy, and in the midst of all the tests and projects, it can be hard to find time to figure out the voting registration process. With a boost of encouragement from Let’s Vote Nova, the process is made much more efficient and accessible so that
Liquor Underage/ Public Drunkenness September 17, CAUGHLIN HALL
Students celebrated 1842 Day with Will D. Cat.
A female resident student, under the age of 21, was found to be intoxicated in a pub lic place. VEMS Ambulance responded, evaluated, and transported the student to the hospital.
One female resident student, under the age of 21, was evaluated for alcohol intoxication and released.
Factual errors are corrected as soon as they are brought to The Villanovan’s attention. Please send an e-mail to villanovan.eic@gmail.com to report errors.
RA on duty reported damage to the exit signs on the fourth floor of Hovnanian Hall near room 417.
1842 Day was once again a success, with multiple organizations benefiting from donations from fellow Villanovans. For more information on how to sign your organization up for next year, visit the University’s 1842 Day website.
COLIN BEAZLEY VIVI MEGHANNSARAHRACHELCATEMELKONIANTINAARONMcCUSKERREINIGERSARAHSWEENEYWISNIEWSKILYDIAMcFARLANEA.J.FEZZAELENAROUSECHLOEMILLERMATTHEWRYANMORHARDTMOLLYBAKEROLIVIAPASQUALEMICHAELBRADLEYDEENALEHCONTACT 2 | The Villanovan OpinionNewsCultureSports 1 6 8 12 VOL. 114 | ISS. www.villanovan.com15@thevillanovan villanovan.eic@gmail.comAdvisorAdvisorPhotographyCopySportsSportsCultureCultureOpinionNewsNewsNewsDigitalSeniorAssociateEditor-in-ChiefEditor-in-ChiefEditor-in-ChiefEditorEditorEditorEditorEditorEditorEditorEditorEditorEditorDeskChiefEditor PUBLIC SAFETY BLOTTER
The event took on a Carnival theme this year, bringing back the fan-favorite “Cat Cabs” event along with an “Oreo Dunk” Plinko-style game and a Student Giving Power Hour.
For more information on Let’s Vote Nova, please visit dent-life/student-involvement/vote.www1.villanova.edu/university/stuhttps:// html or contact the office of student involvement or student government association. For posts and updates, follow @letsvotenova on Instagram.
1842 Day Raises $9M+
Liquor Underage/ Public Drunkenness
A female resident student, under the age of 21, was evaluated for alcohol intoxication.
A male resident student, under the age of 21, was found to be intoxicated in a public place. Radnor ALS evaluated and transported student to the hospital.
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Criminal Mischief September 17, SULLIVAN HALL
Buddies, the Black Student Union, the Sports Analytics Club, Villanova Television, NovaRacing and VU Pride are a few examples of student organizations that benefitted from last year’s 1842 Day donations, according to the 1842 Day website.
all students feel they have support in navigating the election process.
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success this year than last. Duhamel and Jaworski expressed that to them, this 1842 Day will be a success not only if the goals are reached, but also if more people know about 1842 Day and its fundraising efforts.
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“If students know what 1842 Day is and they come out and par ticipate in any way, for me, that is the definition of success,” Jaworski said.
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Jaworski explained that she works alongside the Executive Direc tor of Annual Giving, Marci Paton, and Associate Director of Digital Fundraising, Nicole Duhamel, to plan for the day.“University Advancement, and more specifically the Annual Giving Team, starts planning for 1842 Day almost a full year in advance,” she said. “We work with all teams in our department—everyone from data reporting and major giving to stew ardship and gift processing—as well as a number of campus partners to make each year a success.”
Donations totals have grown exponentially since the beginning of the 1842 Day tradition, and the committee expected to see even more
Let’s Vote Nova attempts to get students involved. In addition, on Election Day, groups of volunteers will be directing and helping students determine their poll ing locations to minimize confusion among students. The University’s campus is divided into four local vot ing wards, so depending on residence halls, student’s voting locations differ. There will also be buses shuttling students to and from the various locations so that transportation is not a barrier preventing students from voting.
“This is a big year in Pennsyl vania,” Garcia-Orozco said.
Courtesy of Graydon Paul/Villanovan Photography
Criminal Mischief September 17, HOVNANIAN HALL
A male and female resident student, under the age of 21, were observed intoxicated in public and evaluated by VEMS Ambulance.
According to the US cen sus, in 2020, college students’ voting rates were at a record high. Sixty-six percent of college students voted in the 2020 presidential election, which was up six percentage points from the 2016 election. Let’s Vote Nova hopes to encourage and continue this civic engagement in students this year for the Pennsylvania midterm elections.
Villanova students have the power to make a difference in the community, so get out and vote.
Liquor Underage/ Public Drunkenness September 17, ST. MONICA HALL
An unaffiliated female, over the age of 21, was evaluated for alcohol intoxication after trespassing inside of a campus residence hall.
He hopes to use the funding to expand his research, not only to understand how a fusion power plant changes the properties of materials, but also how to inversely design materials that will be able to withstand the plasma facing interactions needed to make nuclear fusion energy possible
The award is extremely prestigious, with awardees accepted from only 47 U.S. universities and 13 national labs this year. The awardees were accepted from a large pool of applicants. Cereceda’s award is the first one received by a researcher at Villanova.Cereceda’s research throughout his career had always centered on materials for fusion energy application, experimenting with a wide variety of modeling approaches or techniques. Cereceda received his Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering from Polytechnic University of Madrid in 2015. His Ph.D. research, performed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and UCLA, was focused on the multiscale modeling of body-centered cubic metals like tungsten. He then became a Postdoctoral Fellow at Johns Hopkins University, within the Hopkins Extreme Materials Institute, where he investigated the dynamic fragmentation of brittle materials under extreme loading conditions.
Courtesy of David Cereceda
Junior Tiane Parris was on a similar wavelength. She reached out to BSU a few months ago and presented the idea for a kick-off event, which Lamothe excitedly adopted, as he already had plans in the works to provide a fun setting where everyone would feel included as soon as they arrived on campus.Asit continued with the planning process, the organization extended the goal to involve students from local schools
Awehkisob played in the 3v3 tournament and explained that while it was super competitive, players still exemplifi ed
Cereceda believes that nuclear fusion can be used to “bring the carbon-free energy of the sun to Earth, safely forNucleareveryone.”fusion is a naturally occurring process that powers the sun and stars. It is emerging as one of the most promising sources of clean energy. Unlike fossil fuels, it emits zero greenhouse gasses, yet unlike nuclear fission, it produces no long-life radioactive waste. Its power is also more dense than other clean energy sources, like solar, and is virtually limitless. Cereceda’s research piece, for which he won the DOE Award, deals with a specific challenge posed by bringing nuclear fusion power to Earth.
The most exciting part of receiving the DOE award, for Cereceda, is not simply the recognition of his research.“It’s about having the resources to do the research,” Cereceda said. “With the support of this award money, our research group can grow to keep generating exciting scientific advances in the emerging field of fusion energy materials.”
We are living amid a climate crisis. Although the effects of the crisis are blatant – the last four years were the hottest on record, and 26 million people are pushed into poverty each year because of climate related disasters – there is little action. When billions of tons of carbon dioxide are still being released into the atmosphere each year because of coal, oil and gas production, it’s easy to feel hopeless.However, there is hope. Thousands of scientists and researchers are working tirelessly to tackle these tough energy problems and power a clean energy future. One such researcher is David Cereceda, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Villanova. Cereceda’s most recent piece of research, titled “Unraveling transmutation effects in tungsten-based plasma facing materials: a computational approach that integrates nuclear transmutation, first-principles calculations, and Machine Learning,” was recently funded by the Department of Energy [DOE].For his research, Cereceda was selected by the DOE to receive approximately $750,000 over five years as a part of the DOE Office of Science’s Early Career Research Program. The program, which is in its 13th year, aims to enhance the nation’s scientific workforce by providing support to exceptional researchers early on in their careers. The DOE hopes the support will help “early career scientists…find the answers to the world’s most complex energy questions and solidify America as
ProfessorandCereceda Wins DOE Early Career Award
“If we want to bring the powerful fusion energy of the sun to Earth safely, we need materials to withstand such extreme environments,” Cereceda said. “In our project, what we’re trying to understand is the behavior of plasma-facing materials when exposed to the bombardment of energetic neutrons, which change the nuclide composition over time via transmutation reactions.”.
“I could not have made it without the support of Dr. Amanda Grannas’s office, Emily Carson and VIRS’ leadership, Martha O’Connor, Andrew Kunitskiy and their team at OG&C and of course, the continuous support from my Department and Department Chair Sridhar Santhanam,” heMakingsaid. the award even more impressive is that Cereceda does not do his research at a classified R1 (Tier 1 Research) university. Villanova is classified as an R2 (Tier 2 Research) university, yet it competes with universities with far higher funding.
Sarah Sweeney Co-News Editor
and the art’s vibrancy mirrors the event. Like the court, the cookout was upbeat, colorful and simply happy.
Just as important as it is to recognize the unique hardships that Black students face, especially at a predominately white institution, it is equally necessary to focus on the joy and strong community, both of which were embraced at the cookout.Thesevalues of inclusion and community are so integral to BSU that they are evident to people upon meeting anyone at their events. Freshman Bryan Awehkisob recounted how welcoming the cookout’s environment was and how he left knowing so many more people than he did before he came.
“It was easy to make relationships and nice to just see people who look like you,” he said.
sportsmanship and respect. He also said that many of his conversations were with upperclassmen with similar majors who gave advice on navigating Villanova and specifi cally various career paths within the business school. Additionally, freshmen mentioned that they learned a lot about opportunities and resources that exist for Black students—something that BSU is currently working on expanding. The organization is starting a Black mentorship program where upperclassmen get paired with lowerclassmen and help guide them and provide assistance with decisions and life at college.The incredible turnout at the cookout excites BSU, as it represents how it will start another year off with continued strength, support and an amazing atmosphere.
“When you think about it, there’s only a handful of us here, so we really have to stay together,” Lamothe said. “I’m glad to have found a way for people of color to come together and congregate in a space that allows us to be unequivocally Black.”Ifone wants to connect
with Villanova’s Black Student Union, members will be at the Oreo from 12 - 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 21, for its “Donuts for Diversity” initiative.
on Earth.Cereceda explained the crucial role of his team in his winning award.
areas. While the majority of attendees were from Villanova, BSU also hosted people from Rosemont College, Gwynedd Mercy University and greater Philadelphia. Also, aspiring to build an even larger community, the executive board invited members of the BSU organizations at Temple University and Saint Joseph’s University, and some Villanovans attended Temple’s NAACP Unity cookout two weeks ago.Everyone participating emphasized the importance of community, and its power was on clear display at the event. BSU explained how it could not have put on the production without the support, funding and aid of the many groups that worked together to make this event the success that it was. This team, along with BSU, included African Caribbean Villanovans, National Association of Black Accountants, Black Law Student Association, National Society of Black Engineers, Thirteen Percent, Delta Sigma Theta, Offi ce of Student Involvement, Offi ce of Intercultural Aff airs, Student Government Association, Diversity Equity and Inclusion Department and UnderneathUNITAS.guests’ feet lay the words “Unity, Diversity and Empowerment,” which leaders of Inclusion Week painted across the West Campus court last year,
Arden West Staff Writer
Late Saturday afternoon, the Black Student Union (BSU) hosted its Black-to-School Cookout to kick off the new year and celebrate the Black community at the University. Hundreds of students danced, ate and reconnected under the sunset’s pink skies that lit up West Campus. In classic Villanova fashion, the event was centered around the basketball tournament, which showcased 3v3 games that teams arranged and entered.BSU’s President, Jordin Lamothe, and the executive board began organizing the cookout in July so that they could coordinate the eff ort with numerous sponsors and fellow Black organizations.
Wednesday, September 21, 2022 The Villanovan | 3NEWS
“We’re the underdogs when we compete with R1 institutions and National Labs for these awards,” Cereceda said. “It’s exciting to be at Villanova, as we truly value teaching, and we are also trying to significantly grow in our research. I am thrilled to be part of an institution with the positive energy to catch that wave.”
the driver of innovation around the world.”
“Black people are sort of associated with the struggles that we’ve gone through in the past, which is unfortunate, but is also our history and our reality on campus,” Lamothe said. “The cookout allows us to be in our own world with love and care and the reminder that we are all looking out for each other.”
Black Student Union Hosts Black-to-School Cookout
Cereceda won the DOE Office of Science’s Early Career Research Program for his research.
Through training for this race, Johnson gained more confidence in herself and was feeling healthier. She noted that once race day came, she wanted to teach other women and pass on the feeling.
Johnson also had some powerful advice to share with students at the University.“Forthe Villanovans reading this, I would say own your power,” Johnson said. “I need you to understand that purpose is not something you find, purpose is something that is already inside of you, and that is a great starting point for connecting your purpose to whatever it is you want to Indo.”the future, Johnson is hoping to acquire more corporate sponsorships for Latinas in Motion. She is already partnered with Women Win and Puma, which not only helps provide the members of Latina in Motion with sneakers and running apparel, but also makes the organization free for everyone to join. She also wants to implement a Latinas in Motion training curriculum in schools for younger girls to help open the doors for wellness and confidence early.
Duringvictims.herremarks, Biden recalled her perspective on the events of 9/11, speaking about the weight of the tragedy and the courage of those on board Flight 93, and passed on a hopeful message before walking the field to lay a wreath in honor of the victims.
“It showed us that we are all connected to one another,” Biden said. “So as we stand on this sacred and scarred earth, a record of our collective grief and a monument to the memories that live on each day, this is the legacy we must carry forward: hope that defies hate.”
First Lady Jill Biden Speaks at 9/11 Flight 93
reported for AKSM Media on the events of the ceremony, which took place approximately three and a half hours from the Villanova campus. The media company, based locally in King of Prussia, has press, film, and photography branches and aims to give students opportunities to gain experience in these career fields.
“In Philly, we have different pockets of runners, and it’s a beautiful thing, but in 2012 there wasn’t a pocket, a circle or a space for Latinas,” Johnson said. “So, after doing tons of research and not finding what I needed, I decided to fill the deficit and start Latinas in Motion.”
On Friday, Sept. 9, the Anne Welsh McNulty Institute for Women’s Leadership hosted a dinner to welcome their Lorenzini Leadership Ambassadors back to campus for the fall semester. For this event, Elaine Gonzalez Johnson, founder and executive director of the wellness group Latinas in Motion, was invited to speak.“Anytime I’m asked to speak, I don’t take that lightly because I think that there is always an opportunity where you can change the mindset of somebody in the room,” said Johnson.Johnson’s wellness journey began after the birth of her daughter in 2010, when she had gained more than 50 pounds during her pregnancy and was experiencing postpartum depression. She had to adjust to a “new body, new baby and new season of life,” but she was not sure how to do that. She started running, and while working for the school district of Philadelphia at Lincoln High School, a colleague recommended that she sign up for the Broad Street Run, a 10-mile race in Philadelphia, which she did in 2012.
First Lady Jill Biden began her speech at the Flight 93 National Memorial. Courtesy of Olivia Pasquale/Villanovan Photography
Wednesday, September 21, 20224 | The Villanovan NEWS
To help push against any feelings of doubt or uncertainty, Johnson makes sure to affirm herself and the work she is doing each day, adopting the mantra: “can’t nobody do what I do like I do.” She also created a planner called “Plan, Pray, Slay” to help guide people toward their goals and feeling gratitude.
“For me, I just wanted to create a space for women of color to not only hold space for each other to say ‘Hey girl, I see you, keep it going, you got this,’ but also so that we can prioritize our own wellness in our lives,” Johnson said.
Three Villanova student journalists — seniors Olivia Pasquale, Tommy Lynch, and Zac Tipton — attended the memorial as members of AKSM Media’s White House CorrespondentsTheTeam.memorial honors the lives of 40 passengers and crew who died on United Flight 93 after they disrupted four hijackers, causing the plane to crash in the Shanksville field and thwarting an attack on Washington, D.C. The memorial site was designated a national park in 2002 and includes a Memorial Plaza, Wall of Names, Memorial Groves, and Field of Honor. The site’s newest addition is the 40 wind chimes of the Tower of Voices, completed in 2020.
“I think we have to address how old were we or when was the moment that we felt, as women, that someone clipped our wings,” Johnson said. “When did we feel that we had to be somebody else?”
The atmosphere in Shanksville, PA was somber last Sunday as First Lady Jill Biden began her speech at the Flight 93 National Memorial, marking the 21st anniversary of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Katie Lewis Staff Writer
sure there is space for everyone who comes after“Whenher.I say I want to break those glass ceilings, it starts with us, but you also have to be unafraid to help the person behind you,” Johnson said. “The same way my mentors are pulling me up, I have to make sure that I’m reaching back to make sure that I’m helping my girls who are right in back of me.”
Johnson spoke to the difficulties of being an entrepreneur, given the “you eat what you kill” mindset that comes along with it, not knowing where her next dollar might come from and not having a blueprint to follow. For most of her life, Johnson lived below the poverty line and has been working since she was 14, so she is familiar with these pressures, noting that all she knows is survival and working hard.
Johnson decided to name her organization Latinas in Motion because she did not want to exclusively be a running group. She acknowledged that although Johnson emphasizes that Latinas in Motion is a wellness group to empower Latinas, no matter what form that takes.
At Sunday’s ceremony, Biden was notably accompanied by her sister, Bonny Jacobs, a United Airlines flight attendant who lost colleagues and friends in the attack. The ceremony focused on honoring the lives and legacies of the
“If you are not telling yourself who you are and who you want to be, you’re going to believe the lies that society tells you of who you are and who you’re not going to be,” Johnson“Isaid.think the biggest thing I would tell my younger self is your voice is your power,” Johnson said. “When I realized I have a story to tell, when I realized that my story is my power, when I realized that I can walk into a room and I can own the room, when I am walking confidently in who Elaine is, life changed.”
Pasquale, Lynch, and Tipton
the first event I covered as a Senior White House Photojournalist,” Pasquale said. “It was truly challenging to maintain professionalism while also photographing the family members of the Flight 93 victims, and no photo could adequately capture the grief and heartbreak.”Forthe three student journalists, attending the memorial was more than a reporting assignment, as the speakers and solemn park atmosphere allowed all those in attendance to reflect on the tragedy and pay respects to the victims and their brave sacrifice, which potentially saved hundreds of more lives from the 9/11 attacks.
organizedNationalwerethealongsideWhiteera,journalismeoughofCorrespondentswhoquotesceremonyMemorial“Ispenttheentiretyofthetakingnotesandgettingformyarticle,”saidLynch,recentlyjoinedtheWhiteHouseTeamaftertheownerAKSMMedia,AndrewMcK-‘19,spoketohisbroadcastclass.Pasqualewasbehindthecam-andTiptonservedasSeniorHouseProducerforAKSMotherjournalistscoveringevent.ThestudentjournalistsalsoabletospeakwiththeParkServicerangerswhothememorialceremony.“The9/11memorialwas
More broadly, Johnson has personal goals to be an international speaker and transform the lives of one million women, which she is well on her way to attaining.
“All forty passengers voted on whether they should storm the cockpit or not. They also purposely waited until they were away from buildings and towns to fight back in order to limit the casualties to themselves,” Lynch said. “Everyone on that plane was and still is a hero.”
Johnson went on to talk about how one finds true freedom when one doesn’t feel like they have to code switch or act differently depending on who is around them.
At the event, Johnson also poignantly mentioned how she is always trying to break the glass ceiling in everything that she does to make
Latinas in Motion Founder Speaks at Villanova
“The most challenging thing about being an entrepreneur is having to believe that your idea is going to work,” Johnson said. “Even when it feels like the whole world is not set up for you to win, you have to know that your purpose, your gift,
your idea was assigned to you. That is what has helped me stay in the game.”
Katie Reed News Columnist
After the drain pan was discovered, Residence Life became involved and the non-emergency public safety number was called. Custodial staff arrived to aid in cleaning the minifridges because of the mold concern, and residents also cleaned their own.
“Residencedirectly.Lifeadvises any student who has a concern about a rented Microfridge to contact the company directly,” said Residence Life.
Wednesday, September 21, 2022
Students, faculty and locals were able to meet with and question the politicians. Representative Scanlon, a member of the Friends of Ireland Caucus, is hosting County Wexford Senator Byrne during his visit to the Philadelphia region. Senator Byrne has served in Seanad Eireann as Fianna Fáil’s Spokesperson on Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science since AprilScanlon2020.was happy to have Byrne in PA, and she noted the connection between Ireland and Pennsylvania.
we can continue to grow those.” Additionally, without the UK in the European Union, Ireland is now one of the few English-speaking countries in the EU.“For Americans who want to do business with Europe, it’s possibly the best gateway,” he said.
the cancellation fee and return the fridges. MicroFridge was reportedly pleasant to work with and willing to compromise. It was on campus Friday, Sept. 2 cleaning or replacing units for students who contacted them
Residents were informed that because they contracted with MicroFridge directly that they had the power to inform the student body rather than from the University itself. Residents attempted to spread the word as much as possible. However, it is nearly impossible to reach every single student who may have contracted with MicroFridge.Forany students who have rented from MicroFridge this semester, it is recommended that they check the back of their fridge for the drain pan that looks like a black removable tray. It is located on the bottom half of the fridge and should slide out. If there are any concerns, contact MicroFridge directly and take photo proof of the situation.
“She’s been very supportive around issues relating to Northern Irish peace protests and how we deal with Brexit,” he Throughoutsaid.the roundtable discussion, questions generally focused on Brexit, US and Irish relations and the war in Ukraine.
“Most people in Ireland wouldn’t see it as a problem to say I’m Irish and European,” he said. “Brexit, to me, was a victory for English nationalism. How that plays out long term, I’m not sure.”
“With the peace protests, when she came to visit Ireland, she helped forge new relations between Ireland and Britain,” he said. “From that perspective, she was a remarkable woman, and I think that has to be acknowledged.”
The University’s Center for Irish Studies held a roundtable with Mary Gay Scanlon. Courtesy of DELCO Today
On Monday, Aug. 29, residents of Stanford Hall were perplexed by the smell that had infi ltrated one of the rooms.
“One fifth of my constituents identify as being of Irish descent, and so do I,” Scanlon said.
In the days leading up to Aug. 29, the room had two visits from the Villanova Environmental Health and Safety Department, two visits from custodial services and a phone call with the supervisor of Public Safety. The source of the smell was not found. In a last ditch eff ort, one of the residents suggested checking the drain pan on the back of rental MicroFridge (combined microwave and minifridge for college residents).
“It’s an amazing campus, and Villanova is famous in Ireland,” Byrne said, agreeing with the connection. “For me growing up, I remember it as the home of Irish athletics, because of the very strong tradition of Irish runners who used to come Cate McCusker Senior Editor
fi dence.” However, that confi dence is beginning to dwindle after the discovery early this semester.
Chaos ensued as the tray was pulled out. It was fi lled with not only liquids of vibrant colors, but also apparent mold and a horrible smell. In a frenzy, the rest of the residents who had rented microfridges ran to check the drain pan on theirs, and although their rooms did not smell, nearly all contained some form of excessive dirt and dust and apparent mold.
Byrne noted that there is a challenge in the relationship between Ireland and Britain, but he touched on the Queen’s recent work in Ireland.
Wednesday, September 21, 2022 NEWS
“I would define myself as a republican, but in the European sense, so I believe in the concept of an elected head of state,” he said. “I don’t believe you should get to be
Although this was not the focus of the meeting, Byrne also spoke to The Villanovan on his thoughts on the Queen’s death and the new British monarch.
Safety Hazard: Check MicroFridge Rentals for Mold
Many described the smell as “musty” like “old potato chips.” Some even went as far as to say it smelled like “rotten milk.” The smell took over the lives of the room and hall residents as they played detective to fi nd the source.
According to Residence Life and Facilities, “Trained Villanova facilities personnel responded and disinfected the refrigerators according to the University’s Mold and Mildew Prevention plan.”
Scanlon discussed her work with the Irish and the British government on this topic.
over here.”Byrne thanked Scanlon for her work growing US and Irish relations and encouraged the room to support her in the upcoming election.
Jacqueline Frederiksen Staff Writer
“The fridges are old and they are supposed to be fully cleaned before being installed in the dorm rooms,” said a MicroFridge representative when called on Sept.The1. company was very
head of state because of who your family is. That said, Queen Elizabeth II was an amazing woman. She was still active in public service when most people would be well retired. That’s a phenomenal achievement.”
Many of the residents later contacted MicroFridge due to safety concerns and asked to waive
Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon Joins Roundtable Event
This past Saturday, the University’s Center for Irish Studies and the Irish American Business Chamber & Network held a roundtable conversation in Dougherty Hall on US-Ireland relations with US Representative Mary Gay Scanlon (PA 5) and Irish Senator Malcolm Byrne.
Students found mold in their MicroFridges. Courtesy of Pinterest
Residents were told there was no health threat and they were able to return the fridges to their rooms if they wished.
“There are things that are different, but there’s a lot more in common,” Byrne said. “There are already strong educational, historical and economical links between Ireland and the United States. I think
“The issues around Ireland and Brexit are solvable,” she said. “But we really need the UK to come to the table.”Byrne also encouraged US citizens to visit Ireland, pointing out about the strength of the dollar currently.
Byrne vehemently condemned Brexit as “short-sighted.”
kind and off ered to make a note on the profi le of any student who discovered the mold and/or dirt in the drainStudentspan. who wish to rent a mini fridge rather than buying their own can do so through the MicroFridge company. It aims to make the process less stressful by dropping off the fridge prior to move-in. On the company’s home page of its website, it claims that “Move-In day just got much easier,” and one can “Rent with con-
One can contact he company by visiting its website either through email or by phone.
The University hosts much biodiversity across its campus. Courtesy of A.J. Fezza / Villanovan Photography
John Barry’s Slave Ownership Means His Hall Must Be Renamed
As a university that prides itself on Caritas, Unitas and Veritas, it is important to not only talk about these characteristics but to act on them as well. Conversations are equally as important in talking about history, and until now, no one has talked about John Barry Hall. It is difficult to determine if this fact has simply never been brought to light or if it has been continuously ignored for nearly 75 years of Villanova’s history.
the first time next Friday, Sept. 23 at 5 p.m., location to be determined.
Grace Janofsky Staff Writer
There is no question that establishments, specifically universities, are struggling with the effects of naming buildings after something with a controversial history. In the wake of the initial Black Lives Matter movement, there has also been the argument of what to do with Confederate statues. Both names of slave holders and statues of Confederates aid in commemorating an era in which racism ran rampant. Many people who oppose changing the names of buildings like to argue that it is erasing history. However, there is a very important distinction between continuing to celebrate an offensive history versus acknowledging and teaching the wrongs of the past.
6 | The Villanovan OPINION Wednesday, September 21, 2022
OPINION
The University has issued the following response to concerns about the naming of John Barry Hall: “John Barry Hall was built to house Villanova University’s Naval ROTC unit and opened in 1949. It was named in honor of Commodore John Barry, the Irish-born naval commander widely known as ‘Father of the American
wife until she remarried or died.
John Barry Hall, which one may be familiar with as home to the ROTC or because it is where calculus class takes place, is named after Commodore John Barry. The hall was built in 1947 under then University president, Father Stanford. Barry was deemed the “Father” of the American Navy during the American Revolutionary War era. Commodore John Barry was a senior officer of the navy, a great war strategist and an owner of enslavedLocatedpeople. not only in Barry’s personal estate, but also in his will, is the statement of his ownership of “1 bound black girl,” and “1 bound black boy.” Their names were Judith and James Barry. In his will, Barry claimed that he would transfer the ownership of Judith and James to his
It is often difficult to recognize the trees that we see nearly every day. They are not as memorable as animals or insects, yet they are no less alive. Trees and plants are not just spectacles to look at as we navigate our way to and from class. They support entire ecosystems and bring balance to nature.
Villanova’s status as a Tree Campus USA School from the Arbor Day Foundation means that campus is home to a wide variety of impressive trees and plants. When I
Isabella Ledet Staff Writer
Dialogue’ and ‘Social Justice and Inclusivity Communitas’ that discuss the different identities we share and help broaden our knowledge about certain social issues. However, we are still ignorant of the culture and history of some of the buildings and people we idealize on our campus. The #RenameJohnBarryHall movement is about reflecting a change that embodies our Augustinian values of Caritas, Unitas and movementTheVeritas.”#RenameJohnBarryHallgroupwillbemeetingfor
John Barry Hall was built in 1947 and named after the now-controversial Commodore Barry. Courtesy of Olivia Pasquale / Villanovan Photography
Let us all – students, faculty and Villanova community members – take the advice of Father Peter and commit to making Villanova a more inclusive space for everyone.
Brethren for Squirrels: The Native Plant Crisis
“With Villanova shifting part of its focus to becoming a more inclusive and diverse campus, buildings such as John Barry Hall prohibits us from moving forward as a community and setting forth the change we want to see,” Walter said. “Here, we have classes such as ‘IGR: Intergroup
I found out in my Environmental Catastrophe in Literature course that chestnut trees used to be the staple of American forests. Now, they are almost entirely wiped out by a disease transported here with beautiful foreign trees in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It is incredible to think that millions of impressive, native trees were wiped out rapidly simply due to humans’ desire for unique landscaping from overseas.
Native plants are important to the welfare of our ecosystems because they are, well, native. They were designed by nature to grow in this part of the world, and the rest of the natural ecosystem was built around it. When foreign plants are introduced, they break up nature’s happy party.
Native insects that are important for pollination, like bumble bees or butterflies, can only feed on plants that are also native to their ecosystem. Wiping out native plants and exchanging them for foreign species breaks up and erases food sources for native pollinators, affecting other native plant species and the higher food chain.
toured the grounds of Villanova as a prospective student, I could not help but notice how beautiful everything was. The clean brick paths and the large, shady trees drew me to the natural beauty of campus. I must admit, the campus was one of the main reasons I chose Villanova as my home for four years. Since Villanova sits on nearly 260 acres of land, there is certainly a lot of room for landscaping, which the University has taken advantage of. Villanova’s website also states that it has taken initiatives to ensure an
environmentally-conscious campus, which is crucial, as a 260-acre tract of land with little to no native plant species would be a hard hit on the native ecosystem.However, there is always more room for native plants. Is it the University’s responsibility to have even more native vegetation around campus? As long as the University maintains its commitment to sustainability, Villanova can be a role model for other institutions with large properties by its cultivation of the natural habitat on campus. And, more importantly, is it our responsibility to recognize the plants around us and understand the importance of native species?I strongly answer: yes. This is the world that we have been given to live our lives in. It is the least we can do to help maintain its natural Ibalance.encourage anyone who shares this beautiful campus to walk around and take in the nature that lives with us. Wonder with curiosity about a tree, pay attention to a squirrel running or a rabbit hopping and see if there are any butterflies. Appreciating our natural world is an important step in preserving it.
In a message from University President Rev. Peter M. Donohue, O.S.A., Ph.D., on May 29, 2020, he discussed the then recent events of COVID-19 and the death of George Floyd.
All conversations from Villanova surrounding Commodore Barry are only in regards to the hall and celebrations of his achievements. There is an important way to acknowledge and teach the wrongs of history in a way that does not celebrate it with statues and commemorations. The University needs to take note of other universities’ actions and stop celebrating the history of buildings like John Barry Hall.There is a new movement on campus to #RenameJohnBarryHall. One of the founders of this movement is sophomore Marche Walter.
Navy.’ Commodore Barry has been commemorated across the country for his contributions and military service, including with a statue outside Independence Hall in Philadelphia and a bridge spanning the Delaware River. We have been made aware of questions about Commodore Barry’s history and are looking into it.”
“I call on all of us to look honestly at ourselves and see the times when our actions, interactions and reactions fall short of our best intentions,” he said. “We need to examine where we have succeeded, where we have failed and where we can actively work together to improve—and commit to improving. … We need to reach out beyond our comfort zone and engage in conversations on important subjects that matter.”
During Villanova Orientation week, my roommate, junior Ashton Rodriguez, was in a hungry mood. While he was out on a nightly stroll around campus, he was enthralled by the sounds of the annual Orientation carnival.
After an hour-long wait, we finally got a call from an older man waiting outside to give us our hardearned pizza. In the words of my
We discovered that not even Papa John’s pizza was tax-deductible in the United States. It was a modern tragedy, and I was at a loss for words. Rodriguez was not deterred. He had gone so far. He decided to suck it up and order the pizza, totaling $5.00 per pizza after the tip.
The Villanovan encourages all members of the Villanova community to voice their opinions. Letters to the editors may be submitted via e-mail to villanovan.eic@gmail.com. Letters must not exceed 500 words and must be signed. No anonymous letters will be published. All submissions become property of The Villanovan and are subject to editing for clarity and space.
“I really appreciates the fact that RIT has guest chefs throughout the week,” Thumser said. “It helps break up the monotony of dining hall food that can feel repetitive after a while.”“I think everyone should try it,” graduate student Julia Versteden said. “It is the best food on campus.”
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“Food trucks give students a chance to explore a whole new world of food,” said Villanova senior Christian Wade. “It’s an experience that the Villanova dining halls can lack at times.”
It is no secret that local restaurants enthusiastically compete to draw Villanovans’ business, whether it is accepting Nova Bucks or proudly waving a flag with the school’s signature “V.” Such busi-
Today, I am a senior with four years of meal plans under my belt. While I can still eat at a different location every meal for almost a whole week, I often feel restricted by available menu choices. Aside from the three halls, dining menus remain consistently rigid. Even dining hall regulars like Spit’s weekend tater tots or Pit’s inescapable edamame dumplings demand a facelift after a few years.
Villanova Dining Could Get a Boost from Guest Chefs
Is there anything better than free food? Okay, maybe the nine seasons of Seinfeld being on Netflix. But that’s for another day. This week, I want to talk about something that happened on Friday night. It was unexpected, thought-provoking and, dare I say, shocking.
Additionally, during the pandemic, the university rolled out food trucks many weekends featuring local vendors from Pitruco Pizza to Scoops ‘N Smiles. Near hour-long waits at times for these trucks is testament enough to their immense popularity.
Implementing this same general, popular concept to dining halls would be a definitive way to address the student body’s appetite for more extensive dining options. A brick-and-mortar setting would also invite a new array of local chefs and establishments excluded by current food truck events. Options like Bryn Mawr-based Lovebird or the wildly popular El Limon could serve as fresh, quality compliments to current dining options.Asidefrom addressing student demands, such a program would provide a premier platform for local business. For many underclassmen, constrained to the boundaries of campus and unfamiliar with its surrounding environment, guest chef appearances would provide significant advertisement and promotion for dining options in their vicinity.
The University and those who surround it depend on each other to thrive. Students should take explicit action to be active members of this community and make both it and ourselves stronger.
If a guest chef program has heightened student interest in dining programs and consistently bolstered local businesses in Rochester, who is to say it can’t in Villanova? We should implement this delicious winwin-win program and simultaneously increase that “C+” Niche score.
Wednesday, September 21, 2022 The Villanovan | 7OPINION
LETTERS TO THE EDITORS
POLICY
hanging on the fridge, I was very excited. Who wouldn’t get thrilled over the delicacy that is Papa John’s? As everyone knows, John makes a dang good pizzaNightpie.after night, I begged my roommates to redeem the free pizza vouchers. However, night after night, I was outvoted, and my idea for this delicious treat was shot down. But this past Friday night, everything changed.
11 o’clock at night, Rodriguez opened his laptop and got to work. With me watching closely over his shoulder to make sure he made the perfect order, all was going well. That was, until he entered the 12-digit promo code. And that was when everything changed.We did not read the mini card that held the promo code close
roommate Brendan Tierney, “Slower than on-campus food, but certainly worth the Rodriguezwait.” arrived back at our apartment and opened the fresh pies. He and I were to split the cheese pizza, while Tierney and our other roommate, Tom Dessoye, were to split the pepperoni. After exposing the pies to the stale apartment air, I turned around for a glass of water and turned back to see Dessoye grabbing a slice of cheese. “Disgraceful,” I thought to myself.
For reference, Niche.com, which extensively ranks and reviews thousands of American universities, grades Villanova’s “Campus Food” a measly “C+.” It is time for the University to look outwards for inspiration to reinvigorate a dining experience which ought to be comparable to its academicVillanovareputation.neednot look any further than Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in New York, which I visited the other week, for a program which not only bolsters dining options but supports local busi-
nesses are the backbone of an intertwined local economy and would likely jump on an opportunity to potentially expand their consumer base by Introducingthousands. guest chefs would by no means be a zero-sum game for Villanova Dining Services either. Expanded variety and newfound access to local favorites could entice more students to purchase pricey meal plans, which at the very least, would provide additional capital to hostInvitingthem.guest chefs would additionally be a significant step towards dismantling what I and many of my peers refer to as the “Villanova Bubble,” or the notion that Villanova can often feel like an insular community, disconnected from its external environment. Being a school which markets and prides itself on its vibrant community would make it foolish to exclude the people, businesses and other entities of the surrounding area which serve students on a daily basis.
CUP OF JOE: Orientation Pizza Vouchers Disappoint
“I was filming the Orientation video with Villanova Television,” Rodriguez said. “The carnival had sponsors, and Papa John’s was the biggest tent and caught my eye right away. They were giving out free pizza, and free coupons for it as well.”
Villanova University boasts its fair share of dining facilities, ranging from three residential dining halls to its six (soon to be seven) Holy Grounds coffee establishments, as well as everything in between. It was this variety of dining choices, as well as a mean Cova cheesesteak during my first visit, which contributed to my decision to #GoNova.
While I am glad Villanova sponsors are handing out free food vouchers, I wish the quality of the food was more satisfying. There is one thing that’s for sure: Papa John’s will never be hitting my mouth again.
Junior Sydney Thumser is one of many RIT students that is satisfied with RIT’s guest chef rotation.
Andrew Portas Staff Writer
I can not imagine reception on Villanova’s campus being any different. All three dining halls already plan special cultural or holiday menus which offer new, refreshing options.Occasionally, they will even reference local figures or chefs who’ve inspired or contributed to the menu. These are times when I feel most encouraged and excited to dine on campus.
On my knees, praying and asking to redeem these coupons, I hoped that this would be the night. After a bit of convincing, Rodriguez agreed to order two free pizzas from Papa John’s. What a thrill it was to finally have what we had all been longing
Joe Adams Opinion Columnist
COLIN
But this was nothing compared to the disappointment of the free pizza. I bit into a stale, flavorless piece of pizza that left me wishing I had air fried some chicken tenders hours ago. The residents of Rudolph 211 were left saddened and hungry.
Rodriguez took not just one, but two free pizza vouchers, and decided to save them for a later date. When I moved in and saw them
Dessoye put it best: “The Papa John’s tasted worse than the reputation of its namesake.”
enough. This coupon was not just for any pizza. We were limited to a single medium one topping pizza. Dreams crushed, and on the edge of tears, I wondered if it was even worth it to complete this pizza quest after weeks of looking forward to the large pizza with toppings that I had been dreaming about.
As of Sept. 14, “The Cafe & Market at Crossroads” features selections from local restaurants Just Chickn and Tandoor of India while “The Commons” offers fresh, chef creations from California Rollin’ Sushi. Even more guest chefs are featured across RIT’s campus today, with tomorrow bringing yet more local vendors. These chefs provide a rotating culinary alternative served right alongside typical dining food.
The unsigned editorial that appears is the opinion of The Villanovan as determined by the majority of the Editorial Board. Other columns, letters and artwork represent the opinions of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of The Villanovan. BEAZLEY
Alas, we decided to go through with the pizza order. But yet again, we had been bamboozled. This declaration of “free” pizza had been a bold-faced lie all along. When it was time to check out, the Papa John’s website asked us for our credit card information. Credit card? Why would the site be asking for this, given that this was free pizza?
OpinionAssociateEditor-in-ChiefEditor-in-ChiefEditor-in-ChiefEditor
nesses and integrates the university with its rich, surrounding community. RIT features “Visiting Chefs” at dining halls and cafes across campus, providing unique and fresh alternatives to regular dining menus daily.
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to our schedule, Bryn Mawr being one of them and bringing us much success.”Madi’s on a Roll has also won Best Food Truck by Main Line Today Magazine for the past two years, de spite lacking a food truck and selling via tent Mostsetup.of Madi’s on a Roll’s customers tend to be more “foodie” based, according to McShane. They welcome anyone interested in trying out their rolls, especially given their variety of flavors that includes chees esteak egg rolls and even apple pie.
“I really enjoyed going to the farmers market,” Mick said. “They had a lot of options to choose from, like breads, cheeses, fresh fruits and much more. The vibe there was also really relaxing, and everyone was super nice and welcoming. I definitely want to go back this year and buy more because I love that they sell fresh and clean products.”
Bryn Mawr is full of amazing restaurants and boutiques, yet this Saturday excursion could bring fresh products and a warm heart by getting out in the community, especially on an autumn morning.
CULTURE
Vendors such as Madi’s on a Roll sell at farmers markets to spread the word on their businesses and show the community what kind of talent lies in our neighborhood. The vibes of the farmers market are also immaculate, as it makes Villanovans feel home away from home. Villanova students shared their farmers market experiences, including senior Maggie Mick.
dance is a stream of consciousness.” Throughout this performance, Roche truly lived up to her reputation as a “restless artist.” “Yes and Yes” explores not only the story of Ulysses, but of home – the loss and rediscovery of it, whether it is within the friends we meet on the journey, a certain place or ourselves. The messages of “Ulysses,” even one hundred years after publica tion, ring true and are deeply felt across generations, even when communicated across mediums. Such an aid to clarity and self-reflection is a rare but pow erful gift, and to witness it in Roche’s work, knowing it symbolizes a raw and uniquely human experience felt even a century later is a privilege. As Lennon put it, “You helped us see it all.”
All the same, the students ex pressed a fascination with the execution of the show, noting the clear exhibitions and displays of love and loss. The au dience as a whole was caught off-guard many times throughout the experience, especially during an infamous brothel scene, in which the dancers contort around one another in various sexual positions while wearing floral morph suits, once again blurring lines between their bodies and their realities, this time playing into a larger dialogue of the natural beauty and magnificence of Ireland.
Courtesy of Maddie Schieder
8 | The Villanovan Wednesday, September 21, 2022CULTURE
Although the weather has been hot, fall sure is upon us. There is no better way to spend a Saturday morning than at the Bryn Mawr Farmers Market, located in the park ing lot of the Bryn Mawr train station. Every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., the market is home to many vendors selling products from fresh produce to hand-madeThosesoaps.looking for a new ac tivity to spice up the weekend should explore the farmers market, as they might find something new that they have never tried before. Just down the road, the market provides access to fresh, locally grown foods and prod ucts from around the Main Line.
The enigmatic and at times mind-bending imagery is an absolute wonder to behold, as the dancers mold their bodies around one another, blur ring the lines between body and body, boundary and boundary. Images and
The whole audience burst out laughing at such a statement, recog
Also featured at Bryn Mawr is Aaji’s Indian Cuisine, Amaranth Glu ten Free Bakery, Scrape and Scoop Ice Cream, Nether Providence Soap Co. and much more.
One of the vendors, “Madi’s on a Roll” spoke to The Villanovan on their experience and success on Saturday mornings in Bryn Mawr. Madi McShane and her husband Bri an are the owners of this shop, where they make homemade specialty egg rolls in Malvern, PA.
Bailey Quinn Staff Writer
“While we primarily sell our rolls at farmers markets, we also set up and sell our rolls hot at different events,” McShane said. “As we grow, we’ve added new farmers markets
When asked how she was ap proached for the project, Roche reflect ed, saying, “[They said], ‘How about ‘Ulysses?’’ and I thought, ‘Maybe not.’”
Along with Mick, senior Molly Carriero also enjoyed her time at the market.“Itwas a very happy and a positive vibe,” Carriero said. “There was a cool bread vendor along with a Mediterranean one, and I especially liked the classic farms. It is a nice way to feel a part of the community, get off campus and find affordable and fresh products.”
When the show ended, the entire audience was on their feet, cheer ing and applauding, and the majority stayed after for an introduction to and short interview with Liz Roche herself by Joseph Lennon, the Emily C. Riley Director of the Irish Studies Depart ment.
“Yes and Yes” premiered on Sept. 13. Courtesy of Liz Roche Performance Company
Families, students and pets shop at the Bryn Mawr Farmers Market on 9/17.
“I went last night and was hon estly confused,” Rachel Reiniger said. “I didn’t have any prior knowledge on the show or the company, and it defi nitely wasn’t what I was expecting. It was noticeably uncomfortable at times, but I think this is intentional.”
Review of Liz Roche’s “Yes and Yes” Performance
text flash overhead, many magnifying motifs of industrialization and biblical influences. Some parts of the story are bewildering to see on stage, particularly if you are not intimately familiar with “Ulysses.” Some students who attended expressed confusion and even discom fort in their lack of knowledge and how unmoored they felt during some of the particularly abstract or bizarre scenes.
When drawing up parallels between her work and Jame Joyce’s original text, Roche said,“A lot of the
As the lights went down in the Topper Theater this past Tuesday evening, the words “Sound of fans and gulls, traffic and sea,” trailed across a digital screen in a red font above the stage. A singular dancer walked into view, their feet planted on the ground in front of them and their careful breaths were the only sounds to be heard. One could hear a pin drop in the room as the full theater watched the dancer smack their own face, dance across the room and lap circles as if direction less yet determined to get somewhere, running late to a place they cannot remember. This is the beginning of the Liz Roche Company’s performance of “Yes andInspiredYes.” by the book “Ulysses,” which celebrated 100 years since its initial publication this year, this com missioned performance from Artistic Director Liz Roche follows Ulysses, a Northern Irishman, through his person al odyssey to get home, as though he is a Greek warrior and not an ordinary Irishman. Roche seamlessly shares the text through a vibrant contemporary dance featuring four dancers (Mufutau Yusuf, Sarah Cerneaux, Grace Cuny and Diarmuid Armstrong) not only in its entirety as a tangible text, but also as an experience of artistic vulnerability and a testament to the timeless nature and heart of Dublin, Ireland and its people.
Exploring Bryn Mawr: Bryn Mawr Farmers Market
nizing Roche is beaming with joy and pride in the production we have all just witnessed.“The book really supported you to take a risk,” Roche said during the interview.Roche went on to explain that this commissioned piece is a challenge, but one ultimately worth tackling. She delved into how much she marveled at the motifs they were able to translate from the text into movement, such as the constant dislocation movements of various body parts as a visual represen tation of disconnect and/or exile from the self and from the larger picture.
Maddie Schieder Staff Writer
eri.
character, who is in the story experiencing the events, played by Carly Isselmann, and there is the narrator/the Bride, played by Carroll, who tells the story to the audience.Carroll, an English major, was inspired to audition for “Parakeet” because of her admiration for Helen-Bertino.“Ihadmet Marie in one of my creative writing classes because my professor brought her in to talk with us,” Carroll said. “She’s obviously an inspiration to me as an
English major or someone who’s just interested in creating art in general. As soon as I found out it was gonna be ‘Parakeet,’ I was like ‘Yeah, I would love to do this.’”
“When I came to Villanova, I quickly realized that there were not a lot of men in nursing, and I found it odd that there was no community between the different grades, there is with SNAP and other organizations, but nothing specifically for men in nursing,” he said.
“The way it deals with trauma is just really authentic,” Jankowski said. “It’s an intense story, but it’s told with a lot of love. It captures the human condition in a really interesting way. It’s also like anything you’ve seen before.”
CULTUREWednesday, September 21, 2022 The Villanovan | 9
Being able to relate to people while sharing the same future goals is important in a university setting. This same value is seen in clubs like Women in Business, a club for women to gather and collaborate in a male-dominated field. Even though most fields seem to be male-dominated, such as business or engineering, nursing is one of the exceptions, and it is vital for male nurses to find the community that they need to Scarperithrive.also notes that other schools have provided a club of this stature for men in nursing,
Opening night for “Parakeet” is Thursday Sept. 29 at 7 p.m. Courtesy of Villanova Communication Department
“I actually have friends in the club that are just friends with a lot of the murses, and they just like to come to the events,” Scarperi said. “We even have a couple of members who are in CLAS but are trying to transfer into the nursing school.”This club was formed to help support a smaller group of people on campus and is super inclusive and laid back. For more information see @novamurses on Instagram.
Because of this lack of much-needed community, a group of men in the nursing program has formed the Men in Nursing Society, also known as PresidentMURSES.andfounder of this organization is junior PJ Scarp-
Emily Schoonover Staff Writer
Although Helen-Bertino has played a role in helping with the adaptation of “Parakeet,” she placed full trust in Rose’s artistic ability.
Villanova has one of the best undergraduate nursing programs in the nation, providing students with incredible resources. There is a variety of student organizations designed to help integrate nursing students into their field, such as Student Nurses’ Association of Pennsylvania (SNAP) or Nursing Without Borders. While Villanova provides so many great resources for nursing students, there is a lack of support and community for male nurses, a minority in a female-dominated field.
The group has had social events such as a back-to-school BBQ and has had outings to local restaurants such as Pho Street. This year, they are even working with CHOP’s Homeless Health Initiative to instill their caring values as nurses into the community surrounding Villanova.
Rose, Helen-Bertino and he cast members of “Parakeet” are eager to see the play in action. Helen-Bertino will be watching the adaptation for the first time on opening night, and she is excited to watch it play out.
“If I hear the audience around me laugh at all to those words, I will be the happiest person on the face of the planet,” Helen-Bertino said. “What an honor to have someone like it enough to put it on stage and then have all these actors embody it. I will be the luckiest person in that auditorium.”
Villanova Student Founds Men in Nursing Organization
“I think our first goal is community and I think a lot of that ties into membership and guid-
ance, that was something that I didn’t get as a freshman which also might have had to do with Covid,” Scarperi said. “We’re also trying to start service opportunities to build community.”Theclub has around 40 members, which is almost 100% of all male nurses at Villanova. However, people who are not male nurses are welcome to support and join the club and attend its events.
“Parakeet,” a Play on Love, Loss and Trauma
Anna Jankowski, another senior involved in “Parakeet,” plays the role of the Bride’s grandmother, who appears to her in the form of a parakeet. As a senior, Jankowski decided to return back to theater after not performing since highJankowskischool. appreciates the play for staying true to Helen-Bertino’s novel and for the way it handles sensitive themes.
Griff Scially, who plays the Groom, echoed Jankowski’s sentiments, as he said the audience should expect the unexpected.
Cont from pg. 1 “sources,” Helen-Bertino said. “I was missing my grandmother very much, and I wanted to write a really brutal and honest story about the expectation placed on women around the idea of marriage and watershed moments like marriage.”Rose was inspired to adapt “Parakeet” after her fi rst read of the novel during the COVID-19 shutdown.“Ifollowed Marie’s career and read her fi rst novel and her collection of short stories,” Rose said. “Then, I read ‘Parakeet’ in the beginning of the pandemic, and I just fell in love with it. I just loved it. I remember reaching out and saying ‘Wow. I love this book and congratulations.’”Althoughtheseed to adapt “Parakeet” was planted after her fi rst read, the moment was right this past Spring for Rose to undertake the project during her sabbatical. Her sabbatical gave her the free time she needed to write the script and lay out a plan for the play adaptation.DuringHelen-Bertino’s four years at Villanova, she took Rose’s fi rst performance art class. She describes her experience in Rose’s class as feeling like “coming out of a storm” and that her background in theater and the performing arts infl uenced the inherent theatricality of “Parakeet.”
“I got the idea for this club because other schools like Johns Hopkins have it and we were the last top nursing school without one,” heScarperisaid. and his fellow classmates and executive members of the club have worked hard to fill this void for murse community here at Villanova. As a team, they are working to provide different opportunities socially, through service and philanthropy, and with mentorship.
“Marie said she didn’t want to see a script,” Rose said. “She didn’t need to weigh in. We talked about casting and some of how I was envisioning this on stage. We even shared that in many ways if ‘Parakeet’ is going to have some sort of an adaptation, it belongs on stage.”The casting was crucial to adapting “Parakeet” due to the wide array of “wild” and “wacky”
Chloe Miller Co-Culture Editor
characters, said Rose, and the process of casting was far from easy. Auditions for the play were held in April of 2022, and 13 student actors were chosen. The play has had a quick turnaround, as students had just over a month to prepare and rehearse with their fellow cast members on campus. One stand-out cast member is senior Jackie Carroll who plays the narrator/the Bride. Carroll’s role is a result of Rose’s decision to split the Bride’s character into two. There is the Bride
“Parakeet” opens at 7 p.m. on Sept. 29, and has showtimes at 7 p.m. Sept. 30 and Oct. 1. The last performance will be held on Oct. 2 at 2 p.m. Tickets are free and can be reserved at tickets-383028507577.a-world-premiere-play-in-two-acts-www.eventbrite.com/e/parakeet-https://
while Villanova has not.
Scially plays the charismatic yet removed groom in “Parakeet.” To get into his role, Scially has spent time working on portraying someone who is likable, but also somewhat “one-dimensional” and unable to get deep in conversation.
Will Barrymore ever actually make an appearance on the “Legend Has It” podcast? Students will have to stay tuned to find out. “Legend Has It” airs a new episode every Thursday at 7 p.m. and is currently available on Tik Tok, Instagram, YouTube and Spotify.
10 | The Villanovan CULTURE Wednesday, September 21, 2022
filming an informal, improv-style conver sation.
is one close to Darling’s heart. She shared her own experience in refer ence as to why she felt so drawn to Rays of Sunshine at Villanova.
”Such an impactful experience is not uncommon among Rays of Sunshine members. Darling high lights that Rays of Sunshine tutors are not solely focused on improving the academic performance of their students. Rather, they serve as friends and role
Darling reflected that one of her most impactful moments from Rays of Sunshine occurred when she was paired with a notoriously difficult student who often misbehaved.
Noel Doherty is expanding on his social media fame with his new podcast. Courtesy of Noel Doherty
besides Drew Barrymore of course,” he said.
“We didn’t even really plan for this to be the genre of the podcast,” Doherty said. “We just sat down and were like ‘Hey what if we started a pod cast?’ and we naturally fell into this goofy, storytelling format. We ended up talking for 45 minutes doing these goofy stories.”
With temperatures dropping and cloudy fall days approaching, we are all clinging to this last bit of sum mer. Rays of Sunshine at Villanova is on a mission to spread that sunshine year-round throughout the greater PhiladelphiaVillanovaarea.Rays of Sunshine is a service and tutoring organization that works with five local schools, as well as two nonprofits around Phil adelphia. Tutors involved in the or ganization visit their students once a week for hour-long tutoring sessions, which is oftentimes one-on-one. Rays of Sunshine offers training sessions for new tutors to ensure their comfort and capability, and the club sends groups of tutors to these schools and nonprofits seven days a week.
“We were so close,” she said. “At the end of tutoring before winter break, he gave me a huge hug and told me, ‘I don’t want you to leave.’ I just thought to myself, ‘This kid is so loving.
“The concept is improv story telling, which is something that no one is really doing right now in social media,” Doherty said. “It’s the world’s most im provised podcast, and I love it.”
Looking toward the bright future of Rays of Sunshine, the organization is potentially adding two new tutoring sites. While nothing is set in stone yet regarding these sites, their needs were brought to Darling’s attention through a Villanova student. If they join the organization’s list of tutoring sites, Darling emphasizes that the students at these schools will need some strong support from the tutors at Villanova.The link to join Villanova Rays of Sunshine can be found in its Instagram bio (@vuraysofsunshine), so if one is interested in becoming a part of Rays of Sunshine, head to its Instagram, grab your sunglasses and get ready to catch some rays.
Lily Grace Staff Writer
According to Doherty, recording content for the podcast came easy to both hosts, because it is just an extension of the unique friendship that they already have.
Villanova Rays of Sunshine Service Group Spotlight
ACT prep course on Saturdays for high school students. The educational nonprofit that the group also works with serves students ages eight to 14. Groups ranging from 10 to 15 Rays of Sunshine tutors visit their various sites eachOnday.Villanova’s campus, Rays of Sunshine hosts general body meet ings once a month. At these meetings, members have time to consider the mindset that they bring to the club and evaluate their goals regarding working with students.
Shay McDowell Staff Writer
“I come from a struggling town, and education is not prioritized for kids because they are going to school without meals, and college is not in the forefront of their minds,” she said. “I used to work at a YMCA back home, and these kids just were trying to be kept off the streets at this point. It didn’t matter what grades they were getting in math.”
So far, the pair have pre-filmed all 16 episodes of the first season of the podcast, with new episodes scheduled to be released every week until right around Thanksgiving. Four episodes have been released so far. Each episode has a complex yet comedic storyline that could include references to anything from pop culture to ancient fairytales and the bible.
In the past few episodes, Doherty and Elder have teased the idea of hosting actress Drew Barrymore in the future. As far as special guests, Doherty doesn’t see them as a necessity for his podcast at the moment.“A lot of podcasts are centered on guests, but we decided to go with no special guests for the whole first season,
Rays of Sunshine serves weekly at local schools.
“We do a lot of reflecting just so that there’s intentionality still within what we do,” Darling said.
“Each episode is special,” Doherty said. “Sometimes we have two parallel stories going on, or sometimes Maggie and I are the main characters in the story, or sometimes there are fictional characters or celebrities that are doing weird things. The only thing you can expect is for it to be unpredictable.”
The club hosts a “Rays Day” every semester, during which all of the students from the tutoring sites visit Villanova’s campus. The fall event involves the club tutors and students attending a Villanova football game, with all expenses and transpor tation provided by Rays of Sunshine. Darling anticipates that this year’s fall Rays Day will take place in early No vember, though an exact date has not yet been set. The spring Rays Day is a larger event on campus, and Darling acknowledged the purpose and hard work which goes into planning such an occasion.“This past year, we had bounce houses, food trucks, a cap pella performances, the cheer team came out, and Dada (Dhamir Cos by-Roundtree) from the basketball team came out,” Darling said. “It was just a big way to celebrate all of their hard work through the school year and see them in a different place outside of their school and have them on campus to form positive experi ences on a college campus. It is really integral in their motivation.”
“It is inspired by the dynamic of our relationship that we already have,” Doherty said. “We are both really goofy and imaginative people, and we wanted to share that with the world.
The podcast was Doherty’s sum mer project. After he wrapped up filming other projects around the country, Doherty had some time to relax at home before the start of the new semester. Doherty shared that he had been think ing about the idea of starting a podcast for about six months, and he called on his best friend Elder to help him official ly execute the idea. Without a plan for the podcast, the co-hosts just started by
Courtesy of @vuraysofsunshine
The podcast is called “Legend Has It” and is co-hosted by Doherty and his longtime best friend Maggie Elder, a sophomore at Penn State University. According to Doherty, “Legend Has It” is unlike any project he has done in the past.
“They warned me about this when I started tutoring with him at the afterschool program,” Darling continued. “He turned out to be the sweetest kid ever. All he wanted, all he needed was just somebody to sit down and talk out his problems. When you are that old, you just need someone to believe in what you’re saying.”
The impact of tutors goes deeper than one semester. Darling fondly mentions the tight bond her and this student had formed.
“We always try to work around the savior complex idea, so we do reflections to talk about that.”
Whether he is knocking on doors to tour dorm rooms or interview ing students passing by the Oreo, soph omore Noel B Doherty always seems to be creating new project ideas. So, when he recently announced the launch of his new podcast, students and fans alike responded with much-anticipated excite ment.
“We go to five schools, multiple times per week,” Darling said. “You stay with the same student when you come back, so you build a relationship with them and can see their academicMembersprogress.”ofRays of Sun shine interact with students of all ages, ranging from elementary schoolers to seniors in high school. In addition to their work at elemen tary and middle schools, Rays of Sunshine tutors provide an SAT and
You have heard of Noel B Askin. Now, get ready for Noel B Pod casting.
Villanova TikTok Star Drops New Podcast
“Our main priority is to try to fill that gap in education that urban schools face,” Executive Director Anna Darling said. “Our primary goals are educational equity and service.”Tutors focus on fostering genuine relationships with their stu dents, an effort which is aided by the frequency with which students meet with their tutors.
Raysmodels.ofSunshine’s cause
It’s something we would have been doing anyway, but now we’re re cording it.”
Senior Tommy Lynch shared a similar sentiment. He shared how he will
The group left Villanova at 7 a.m., with Nachurski driving them up to Pocono Raceway, where the Tough Mudder was held. The trio met up with the rest of Na churski’s team at the location.
“Kelani and I thought we would just send it, so we held hands and sprinted into the dan
Looking for a challenge?
reason.”
Another athletic duo, seniors Maddie Scheider and Anastasia Galanou, met from being on the women’s volleyball team together.Scheider shared her favorite memories with her roommate, showing how supportive her roommate is to her.
Kelani Chandler (left), Sam Batchelor (middle) and Connor Nachurski (right).
During this time, students create bonds with their roommates that will last a lifetime. A lot of good can come from having a roommate who one is friends with, and the heartwarming stories that follow are examples of such. Strangely, some of the best roommates come from an unexpectedSophomorespair.
AnNa Hughes and Katie Stump are one of those pairs. Despite coming from very different back grounds, the two are the best of friends.
Picture springing to life at 6:30 on a Saturday morning. While this may already seem challenging enough, we’re just getting started. Now, picture hopping in a van to Pocono Raceway to run 15 km. For many, that would already be pushing my limits, but for some Villanovans on campus, it would still fall short. Fi nally, add in mud pits, rope climbs, ice baths, menthol gas and electri cal wires.On Saturday, Sept. 10, three Villanovans did just that. Ju nior Connor Nachurski and soph omores Sam Batchelor and Kelani Chandler, all members of Army ROTC at Villanova, participated in Tough Mudder, which is a traveling event that focuses on endurance, mental toughness and teamwork. The obstacles add to the fear factor, with the inclusion of fire, water and electrical hazards to name a few. Not to mention that the whole course is a 15 km mud run.
“I am an only child from Con necticut and Katie is one of four sisters from Tulsa, Oklahoma,” Hughes said. “Who knew it would have worked out so well?”
gling wires for maximum contact,” Batchelor said. “The jolt knocked me back and all my muscles tensed up. When I tried to get up, I got shocked again before I was able to clear theOtherobstacle.”highlighted obsta cles included a warped wall called “Everest,” and “Funky Monkey,” which involved inclined monkey bars. “Cage Crawl” required participants to crawl upside down underwater while holding on to a horizontal chain link fence that only provided a few inches of space toAnotherbreathe.article the trio remarked on was a low tunnel filled with menthol gas, which prevented the participant from seeing anything while they crawled and coughed. “Mudderhorn,” a rope wall standing three stories tall,
Kai da Luz Staff Writer
AnNa Hughes, left, and Katie Stump, right, are two roommates who became best friends. Courtesy of AnNa Hughes
Since rooming together for fresh man year last year, the two have formed an inseparable bond.
“I come from a military family, so teaming up with an orga nization like the We Defy Founda tion has been an awesome oppor tunity,” Nachurski said. “They promote veteran mental health and physical fitness, mainly through BrazilianNachurskijiu-jitsu.”explained that Tough Mudders has allowed him and his family to raise money for the foundation, which pro vides funds to help veterans work through military-connected disabil ities and scholarships to Brazilian jiu-jitsu“Beingacademies.able to run for such an incredible cause just gave me even more motivation to keep pushing through,” Chandler said.
“The odds were against us, but AnNa is not only my roommate, but my best friend,” Stump said.
Once they arrived, the trio donned red We Defy t-shirts and lined up to Theybegin.began the event at 10 a.m. and finished around 2 p.m.. There were 5 km, 10 km and 15 km portions of the course teams could opt for, but the Villanovans chose the 15 km route, which fea tured 30 obstacles in total.
Roommates are not just people you live with. They are friendships that will last the tests of time, from Villanova and onward.These roommates of Villanova are proof that inside a small dorm, big friendship blooms.
Tell Me Something Good Series: Roommate Love Stories
feel better,” Schieder said. Since Scheider and Galanou are seniors, this year marks their last year living together. Scheider will miss the experience of living with Galanou, who is one of her best friends.
miss his roommates, seniors Justin Manci ni and Bobby Heath, after graduation.
“My favorite moment was the Mud Mile,” Chandler said. “Our whole team worked together to boost each other up and out of pits of mud. Most of us tried it ourselves first and just ended up slipping and getting completely covered in mud. This was definitely the muddiest obstacle but also the one where our teamwork really showed.”Though Tough Mudders tests individual endurance and will, it is indeed largely team-focused.
Other roommate duos thrive on common interest. One example of this bond is sophomores Lauren Klein and Jane Maleady. The two are very athletic and share a love for anything involving being active.“We love to play soccer, tennis, flag football and go on runs together,” Klein said. “We even have a sports corner in our room, where we keep all our equipment like lacrosse sticks, tennis rackets andCurrently,more.”
The trio had an amazing time competing and supporting a great cause. They expressed that they would definitely do it again.
Many of the obstacles posed both mental and physical challenges.“My favorite obstacle was probably the very last one,” Batch elor said. “It was called ‘Elec tro-Shock Therapy.’ It was about 20 yards long with the finish line in sight, but between you and your end goal was a layer of water on the floor and electric wires hanging down.”
Klein and Maleady are on two intramural soccer teams together. The two look forward to the season and hope to win the champion ships this“Weyear.played on the same intra mural soccer team, the Trees, last year,” Klein said. “This year, we are playing on the same teams again, but now they are called Pitch Perfect and also ‘Wiz KhaFI FA.’”
CULTURE The Villanovan | 11Wednesday, September 21, 2022
Courtesy of Sam Batchelor
This was Batchelor and Chandler’s first Tough Mudder, but Nachurski had competed before with his family and friends. He in vited the other two to join his team this year.“There was a lot of friendly trash talk leading up to the event,” Nachurski said. “Getting to see my friends and family race was very entertaining, especially since the obstacles can be so physically demanding and difficult.”
Villanovans Take on Tough Mudders Race
“It is the little things, like the 2 a.m. discussions on meaningless topics, that I’m going to miss the most,” Lynch said.
Emma Cahill Staff Writer
“I will miss having someone to talk to 24/7 about anything,” Scheider said. “I will also miss cooking dinner in the kitchen and eating on the couch at night while we watch ‘New Girl.’”
“You start as a team and finish as a team,” Batchelor said.
Batchelor and Chandler charged forward anyways.
College provides the unique experience of living with someone for over the course of four years. Villanova students and their roommates more often than not develop a close friendship over the course of the college experience.
In the end, it all works out for a
stood as the penultimate obstacle, with “Electro-Shock Therapy” being the final.
The team ran with the We Defy Foundation, which Nachur ski’s family supported last year as well.
“Whenever I am having a rough day, she will come in my room and cheer me up, whether it is just a hug or some food she always knows how to make me
At the Coaching Tree Invitational, fifth year senior Lydia Olivere led the team, finishing in 14th place out of 100 runners, with a time of 20:38.8 in the 6000 meter
“For every other field player to get in I thought was fantastic, I just loved it,” Milhous said. “These girls have been working hard, and I wanted to show them that we see it and give them an opportunity.”
With a great atmosphere and the ability to draw a crowd, the Wildcats have been able to make home turf a “comfort zone.”
The Wildcats are set to face Temple at 5 p.m. Friday evening for their second Big East game of the season.
SPORTS
Field Hockey Goes 1-1 Over Weekend
hockey came out of this past weekend 1-1, falling to Providence on Friday, 5-2, but coming back to its home turf on Sunday to defeat Saint Francis, 4-1.
in Haverford, freshman Micah Trusty made her collegiate cross country debut as she led the team by finishing in fourth place, with a three-mile time of 17:56.0 out of 73 competitors.“Ididnot know what to ex pect, but [Trusty’s] time was really impressive,” Procaccio said.
The Wildcats had a strong start to their season and continue to train for their next meet, the Paul Short Run, hosted by Lehigh on Friday, Sept. 30 at 10:15 a.m.
A scoreless second quarter allowed the Wildcats to keep it to a one goal game, but the Friars went into the second half with a burst of adrenaline, scoring two quick goals just nine minutes apart to take a 3-0 lead.
In their first conference game of the season, the women struggled to keep up with the speed of the Friars, giving up a quick goal just four minutes into the game.
The Friars then scored one more to solidify their lead and end the game,Milhous5-2. described the loss as a “disappointing game.”
Courtesy of Villanova Athletics
The fourth quarter of the game was an exciting one for the Wildcats, as Milhous pulled all her starters besides Leppert, replac ing them with her entire freshman squad.
Four other Villanova run ners crossed the finish line all within 33 seconds of each other, as sophomore Madison Martinez secured sixth place, with a mark of 17:59.0, followed very closely by first year runner Kinsey Pogue, who secured seventh place with a time of 18:01.8. Sophomore Alex Stasichin came in 10th place, recording a time of 18:11.8, and sophomore Maya Dorer crossed the finish line in 12th place, with a time of 18:28.9. Kate Flynn closed out the race for the Wildcats, fin ishing in 42nd place with a time of 20.39.8.“I think the thing I am excited about the most is to see the improvement in the younger kids from last year,” Procaccio said.
After the Friday afternoon defeat, the Wildcats looked to revamp for their upcoming game against St. Francis, and immediately got back to work with an early Sat urday morning practice.
“We’ve been in the same boat before where we had a disap pointing Big East loss on a Friday,” Milhous said. “My whole goal was to get them back up and motivated for Sunday, so it wasn’t a total dip of a weekend. We agreed that Friday is behind us and we need to show our talent and get on the board early next game.”And that’s exactly what the WildcatsIndid.the game against Saint Francis on Sunday, Villanova played a scoreless first quarter but came out hot in the second, scoring three goals in just 15 minutes of play.
VillanovaWriterfield
The first goal came from graduate transfer Makenna Magu ire, assisted by a pair of sophomore midfielders, Anne Drabbe and de Ruijter, off a corner. Drabbe then followed up her assist by sending one into the back of the net herself. Less than two minutes later, Drabbe got herself on the scoresheet for a third time in the quarter, assisting senior forward Amanda Middleman in her goal.“She’s a key player for us,” Milhous said of Drabbe. “She makes sure to get something out of every possession she has, just always being deliberate with the ball and very competitive.”Drabbecontinued to show case her skills in the third quarter as well, assisting junior forward Meghan Mitchell for the Wildcats’ fourth goal of the “Consistencygame.isthe biggest thing with her,” Milhous said about Mitchell. “Whether she’s the play maker to start the goal, or the fin isher, her overall work rate is always 110%. She just shows up every day, whether it’s practice or a game.”
Heading into the matchup against the 7-1-0 Owls, Milhous said that the team is looking to work on details.
McGill is not the only runner who competed in her first collegiate race this weekend. Gra dizy and Arrieta both made their debuts, as Gardizy is a transfer graduate student from Penn, while
Lydia Olivere (above) placed 14th out of 100 in the 6000 meter race with a time of 20:38.8.
For the freshmen Wildcats, they got a chance to showcase their skills at home, which has proved to be a massive advantage for the team this season. Villanova remains undefeated on home turf, which Milhous considers to be “one of the best fields in the country.”
Junior Anna Helwigh fin ished in 50th place, with a time of 21:51.4, and sophomore Margaret Carroll marked a time of 21:58.7 in 53rdBackplace.closer to Villanova
race.“[Olivere] is a great kid to have around the team,” head coach Gina Procaccio said. “She is very helpful, and her experience is really good to help lead them and show them the Sophomoreway.”Emily Robin son finished with a time of 21:12.8 in 28th place. Graduate student Ariana Gardizy finished in 34th place, with a mark of 21:20.3. Freshman Amelia Arrieta followed close behind, placing 36th with a time of “Arrieta21:21.9.is really young in the sport,” Procaccio said of the freshman, who is only in her second season running cross coun
Catherine Browne Staff Writer
Women’s XC Has Strong Start to Season
12| The Villanovan Wednesday, September 21, 2022SPORTS
Only four minutes remained
in the game, so head coach Joanie Milhous made the decision to pull goalkeeper Emma Lepert from the net, giving the Wildcats an extra player. However, these tactics back fired as Providence earned a penalty corner and scored to further its lead to 4-2.
Arrieta just began her journey as a first year student at ‘Nova.
“We made some adjustments on our press, but they had a shift on us,” Milhous said. “We tried to shift a couple of our girls, and that defi nitely helped, but it was a little too late. We had dug ourselves a hole.”
“We are just looking to compete tough again,” Procaccio said. “Make an improvement to see how far of a jump we can make in two weeks.”
try. “She is very coachable...and a great asset for Redshirtus.”freshman Emma McGill finished in 43rd place in her first collegiate race, with an overall time of 21:42.7.
“It is always great to have the older kids on the team,” Pro caccio said. “[Gradizy] is learning the system, and I am learning her.”
In the second half, freshman forward Toni Minichello was tak en down with just five minutes left in the third quarter, awarding the Wildcats a penalty stroke. Junior back Sabine de Ruijter took advan tage of the opportunity and scored with ease, sending a laser in the top left corner to finally get ‘Nova on the board.The momentum from the late third quarter goal left the Wildcats fired up. Using their burst of energy, the women were able to capitalize again as sophomore midfielder Emma Schwarz sent the ball into play, allowing senior for ward Maggie Mick to redirect it past the Providence goalie to lessen the Friars’ lead to just one goal.
This Friday, the Villanova women’s cross country team be gan its season competing in both the Coaching Tree Invitational at Indiana University and the Main Line Invitational hosted by Haver ford College. The team secured fourth place out of 12 competitors in Bloomington, Indiana and had a strong finish in Haverford, coming in first out of eight teams.
“We are fine tuning our game, and it’s gonna be a great matchup,” Milhous said. “Temple is having a great season as well —they’re a strong team, they’re a physical team, but we are strong and we are physical as well, so it’s gonna be about fine tuning certain pieces to our game that’s gonna allow us to be the difference and be able to win.”
“There’s a comfort level in knowing okay this is our home,” Milhous explained. “This is where we’ve accomplished many goals, this is where we’ve worked really hard, and this is where we are going to win games.”TheWildcats will be able to take full advantage of their home field advantage this upcoming Fri day as they take on Temple.
Brooke Ackerman Staff
No Team Scoring
Field Hockey vs St. Francis 4-1 W
Villanova hosted three teams last weekend at the Invitational. Courtesy of Villanova Athletics
The ‘Cats opened the scor ing right before the first half came to a close, with senior defender Viktor Benediktsson finding the back of the net in the 45th. The goal is Benediktsson’s second in as many games.
SPORTSWednesday, September 21, 2022 The Villanovan | 13
Men’s Soccer Ties with Providence, 1-1
Men’s Soccer vs Providence 1-1 T
Saturday, September 17
Volleyball vs Fordham 3-1 W
Sunday, September 18
Owen Hewitt Staff Writer
Football @ Army 49-10 L
and what doubles combination, what pairings I’ll use for the lineups in the spring.”
No Team Scoring
The ‘Cats don’t see the field again until Friday, Sept. 23, when they’ll play their only Fri day night matchup of the season against St. John’s. The Red Storm started off conference play with a 3-1 win over Georgetown. They sit with an overall record of 2-4-1.
Women’s Soccer @ Colgate 1-0 W
No Team Scoring
Volleyball @ Yale 3-2 L
ning from the left, but Burns was able to make the save on MacKin non’s chance as well. Burns fin ished with three saves.
Men’s Soccer vs NJIT 3-0 W
Volleyball @ Sacred Heart 3-0 L
Viktor Benediktsson (above) scored the Wildcats’ lone goal on Saturday Christopher Taylor/Villanovan Photography
Monday, September 19 None
Villanova men’s soccer opened up conference play on Sat urday, playing to a draw with the Big East preseason favorite Prov idence Friars, 1-1. The ‘Cats led the game until the 75th minute, when the Friars equalized with a goal from freshman midfielder Brian Lopez. The draw takes the ‘Cats to 2-2-2 overall, 0-0-1 in Big East play.“I thought we carried out our approach fairly well,” Villa nova head coach Tom Carlin said to Villanova Athletics. “That’s as dangerous a group of attacking players as we’ll see in this con ference. They have a bunch of dangerous guys so we knew it was going to be tough. I thought we stood strong for the most part. I’m proud of our effort.”
The Friars outshot the Wildcats 12-7, but the ‘Cats held the advantage in shots on goal, 4-3. Graduate keeper Kent Dickey made two saves on the afternoon.
Outside of that I thought we were solid. Providence made it real hard on us but I was proud of the way we generated two or three more dangerous chances over the final 15 minutes.”There were some solid chances in the final minutes of the match for the ‘Cats. One came when sophomore forward Vincent Petrera applied pressure to the Friars’ junior keeper Lukas Burns, blocking a clearance and claiming the loose ball, but Burns was able to clean up his mistake and make a save to keep things level.
Senior forward Lyam MacKinnon also got a decent chance with time dwindling, run
Wednesday, September 14
Friday, September 16
Last season, the group went 3-9 overall and lost in the first round of the Big East Tournament to Con necticut. There’s no doubt Reiniger is hoping that what he’s seen so far with the team leads to an improved spring record and a further run in the tournament.This week, the Wildcats head up to New York to take part in the Army Tournament starting Friday, Sept. 23. Like the Villanova Invitational, these will be unofficial matches, so they do not affect the team’s record. Regardless, they look to play their best and string some wins together. The following Friday, Sept. 30, marks the beginning of the Navy Tournament in Annapolis, Maryland, which will be the final set of scrim mages for Villanova this fall.
fender Anthony Cousins Jr. whip ping in a ball that Benediktsson was able to redirect into the back of the net. The assist is Cousins Jr.’s second assist in the last two games, both of which were fin ished byTheBenediktsson.Wildcatssat back into their defensive positioning for the first portion of the second half, and were briefly able to withstand the Friars’ pressure. However, a failed clearance in the 75th minute led to a chance that Lopez was able to slot away.
“We got the set piece goal,” Carlin said. “We’ve got to ride that out. It was a little unfortunate how they scored. There was a mistake.
SCOREBOARDWEEKLYSept.14-Sept.20
“We told the guys to enjoy their Sunday,” Carlin said to Vil lanova Athletics. “We haven’t had a free Sunday in a while. We’ll get into our St. John’s prep on Mon day.”
Women’s Tennis @ InvitationalVillanova
Noah Lanouette Staff Writer
Women’s Tennis @ InvitationalVillanova
This past weekend, Sept. 16-18, Villanova women’s tennis competed against Drexel, Temple and Delaware at the Villanova Invitation al. The scrimmages, which consisted of both singles and doubles matches, were set up to prepare for the up coming spring semester season. The Wildcats earned at least one singles win each day of the invitational, with senior Amanda Rivera-González (6-2, 6-4), freshmen Maggie Gehrig (4-6, 6-3, 10-6) and Emi Callahan (6-3, 6-4) and junior Bella Steffen (7-5) all winning over the weekend. On Friday, Gehrig/Callahan (7-5) got the lone doubles win for Villanova at the invi tational.Head coach Steve Rein iger was “really impressed” with the team’s performance, especially considering that five seniors graduat ed this past spring, making for a very young team going into the match es. He also made sure to applaud the freshman duo of Callahan and Gehrig for their doubles performance together, despite the fact that many top high school tennis players do not play doubles.“Ithink as a whole, the team did much better, the doubles looked much better [than this time last year]” Reniger said. “There’s definitely a lot of room to improve, but to start off with the first tournament this fall sea son, it was good to see that we were doing what I stressed at practice.”
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Women’s Tennis @ InvitationalVillanova
“Some great chances,” Carlin said, “but they didn’t go in today.”
One thing he would like the team to work on to prepare for its tournament at West Point is continu ing to execute what it is working on in practice, improving its aggression at the net in doubles play. His wish for singles play was less specific, though, as he is just looking for added expe rience under the players’ belts before a tournament at Navy the following weekend. He knows that they have focused heavily on doubles in practice so far, but still hopes that they are playing their best tennis in singles and doubles by that Throughtime.allof these fall competitions, Reiniger wants one thing above all: a better picture for the spring.“I want to know the lineup for the singles and doubles heading into the spring season,” Reiniger explained. “So that’s always my goal: knowing who plays where in singles
Women’s Cross Country @ Coaching Tree Invitational 4th of 12
Women’s Cross Country @ Main Line1stInvitationalof8
Women’s Tennis Hosts Villanova Invitational
The game will kick off at 7 P.M. on Friday. It will be broadcast on the Big East Digital Network.
Men’s Cross Country @ Main Line Invitational1stof8
The first half was slow offensively for the ‘Cats. The only shot that the Wildcats were able to create in the entire first half was Benediktsson’s goal. The goal came off a corner, with senior de
Field Hockey @ Providence 5-2 L
Villanova took the second and third sets by scores of 2521 and 25-18, with a couple of well-timed aces by senior Maddie Scheider and four kills from junior Kiera Booth. There were 16 attack errors by Yale in those sets alone. Villanova started making mistakes in the fourth set before giving up nine kills in a row, including four by Yale sophomore Gigi Barr.
However, despite being good at all these phases in the Yale match, Villanova still lost in fi ve sets to the Bulldogs. Yale took
Villanova only made two attack errors in the fi nal set, but Yarich got six kills in the fi nal set to put Yale on top, 15-10. Villanova was not able to
The ‘Cats nearly allowed Fordham to take the fi rst two sets but fought back and won the second, which sparked enough momentum to dominate the fi nal two sets. Villanova forced Fordham into committing 30 attacking errors.
“It’s not that complicated of a formula,” Steinbach said. “We got to serve and pass better and we’ve got to stay together as a team.”
Kiera Booth had 17 kills in Villanova’s win over Fordham. Courtesy of Villanova Athletics
“He’s a local kid,” O’Sullivan said of Walker. “And I think finally he just started to get some work in over the summer, and is maturing and getting stronger, so he was very impressive on the Sophomoreweekend.”DevonComber
Cutter will also be available in the outdoor season in the spring.
to snap its losing streak with a four-set win over Fordham, 27-29, 25-23, 25-14, 25-21.
In the overall team competition, Villanova garnered the top position with a score of 20, blowing out the rest of the participating schools.
After sweeping the top five positions last week at the Lehigh Invitational in the 6,000 meter race, Villanova placed seven of the top 10 runners at the Main Line Invitational four mile event on Friday evening at the Alumni Course at Haverford.
His undergraduate teammate at the University of Chicago and now a fellow Villanova runner, Henry Myers placed 18th with a time of 20:09.8.
“He’s very, very talented,” head coach Marcus O’Sullivan said. “He’s in a redshirt phase, and we will race Paul Short in two weeks, and that will be with him running
Zac Tipton Staff Writer
Coach Josh Steinbach knew exactly what the team needed to do to get back this weekend.
“From freshman year, it struck me as he has a lot of prom-
Freshman normally do not get the opportunity to race with the team officially, but Langon is different.
“Rose and Riley are consistent attackers,” Steinbach said, “They can get a lot of kills, but that is all based on the premise of passing and setting well. A lot of teams we’ve played like Dayton and Illinois scout well, and know how to put Riley and Rose in uncomfortable positions, so we got to fi nd a way to work around that.”
Another unattached runner, Jack Tavagilone, placed 10th, with a time of 19:59.2. Like Langon,
keep the passing and serving up in the Sacred Heart match either. It lost in three sets (25-22, 25-19, 2522) to a Sacred Heart team that is consistently leading its conference, and Villanova struggled on a lot of those keyTheaspects.Wildcats made 11 service errors to only two aces. Villanova’s leading passer was sophomore Ellery Gray, who made her fi rst career start, with 17 assists. Morgan did not play in this match for unknown reasons. The lack of assists led to no Wildcat getting more than 10 kills, with Booth leading the team with nine. Villanova was fi nally able
Men’s XC Continues Stellar Start to Season
The official Wildcat score was paced by graduate student Jack Fredian, with a time of 19:25.2 in the four mile race. Fredian placed third overall in the field of 136 competitors.Fredian obliterated his personal best in the four mile course run. His previous personal best was a 20:02.9 at the same Main Line Invitational last year.
Tavagilone and Langon have the potential to be the next fast New Jersey duo.The Wildcats sat their top five for the Main Line Invitational, so everyone will run in two weeks. There will be two sections. The first will consist of the top seven to 10 runners, and the second section will contain the rest.
Tavagilone is another exceptional runner from New Jersey. He was a first team all-state runner.
redshirt again, and at that point, if he looks like he can make the transition, we could potentially roll him into theLangonteam.” showed why he was a highly coveted recruit from New Jersey. He was awarded the New Jersey Gatorade Player of the Year and NJ.com Player of the Year in cross country and track and field.
Villanova did this in the fi rst match versus Yale, getting six aces to eight errors, while also getting 31 assists from senior Belle Morgan. This led to both sophomore Rose Crist and junior Riley Homer each getting 10 kills in the match.
After losing all three matches in Dayton last week, Villanova was looking for some positive outcomes heading into conference play, but it was unable to capitalize on the opportunities at the Yale Invitational. It lost the fi rst two matches to Yale and Sacred Heart, before beating Fordham to snap a six-game losing streak.
Volleyball Goes 1-2 at Yale Invitational
Villanova runners swept the top three positions with only the third place finisher counting officially towards the final score because the top two finishers were running unattached.The competition was won by a Villanova unattached runner Marco Langon, who crushed the field by almost 10 seconds, with a time of 19:13.4. Graduate student Ryan Cutter placed runner-up in the event, with a time of 19:23.1.
Overall, Villanova got back to what it is good at, which is passing and serving. Good things happened throughout this tournament. However, injuries might be becoming an issue for the Wildcats.
Cutter is a graduate transfer from the University of Chicago. He brings a lot of experience to the Wildcats, earning two All-American nods. He also shattered his personal best in the four mile course. His previous best was 19:35.5 at last year’s Main Line Invitational.
This was the last weekend tournament for Villanova. It will start conference play this coming week, facing Xavier (7-3) on Friday and Creighton (8-3) on Sunday. Xavier is just coming off a big fi veset win over Cincinnati and also is home to the reigning Big East off ensive player of the week, senior setter Carrigan O’Reilly. Creighton, having just lost to Rice, is still a Big East favorite, especially after beating USC and nearly beating Nebraska earlier this season. It is home to the reigning Big East Defensive Player of the Week, senior Allison Whitten.
Jacob Artz Staff Writer
Andrea Campos started at setter and had 22 assists for the Wildcats. Booth had 17 kills, including the one to complete the comeback in the second set. After not playing in the fi rst two games due to injury, junior Taryn Whittingham had four aces for Villanova.
Sophomore Cole Walker was fourth, with a time of 19:26.1. The five runners who scored were separated by a mere 36 seconds. Sixth place finisher, graduate transfer Evan Addison, finished in 19:41.7 in his debut with the Wildcats.
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The Wildcats will travel to Lehigh in two weeks to run in the Paul Short Run, which will be on the 8k course.The goal is to shape the top 12 runners for the Wisconsin meet on Oct. 14, narrowing to 10 runners for the Big East championships on Oct. 29.The course will be a mile longer than Haverford at five miles, and the course is more sloping. Expect the Wildcats to dominate at Paul Short as the competition will be roughly the same, but the Wisconsin meet will be at a national level.
“Even he said, the difference between last year and now is amazing,” O’Sullivan said. “He’s so much stronger. I wish he had eligibility.”
Villanova freshman Marco Langon (red) won the four mile race as an unattached runner. Courtesy of Villanova Athletics
men’s cross country continued its blistering start to the 2022 campaign with another strong showing in the second meet of the season.
Fredian struggled with injuries during his career but when he is running well, he is hard to beat.
home the fi rst set, 25-14, off fi ve kills from sophomore Mila Yarich.
was seventh, with a time of 19:46.2, in his first official collegiate race. Junior Sean Dolan rounded out the Villanova top five with an 11th place finish, with a time of 20:01.4.
ise,” O’Sullivan said. “He walked onto the team after he came to Villanova, like came to a tryout, which is rare.”
14 | The
Wednesday, September 21, 2022SPORTS
ASK THE VILLANOVAN
Maybe it would help if you both planned a specifi c time to clean your dorm or apartment. Designating a time will ensure that the chores actually get done. It will also make the cleaning go by so much faster since you guys are tackling it Youtogether.canalso make a chore chart or bring up your roommate living agreement that you make with your RA. Things will resolve as long as you guys communicate and express how you both feel.
“My crush is taking a long time to make a move, but I know we are both into eachother. How do I speed up the process without having to make the fi rst move? ”
They probably just are nervous to talk to you and most likely a little awkward. Maybe you need to be a little more forward and clear with them rather than being sarcastic and fl irty.
THE BACKPAGE
The Villanovan | 15Wednesday, September 21, 2022 THE BACKPAGE
Make plans or fi nd an excuse to do work together to speed things up between the two of you. You may have to be a little more upfront with eachother to avoid the friend-zone.
The Villanovan staff is rooting for you.
“I feel like cleaning duties around the apartment are not evenly distributed. My roommates don’t care about cleanliness like I do, how should I bring that up to them?”
Communication is key. It’s your space too, and you should all be on the same page when it comes toUsecleaning.“we”statements and
While making the fi rst move might be scary, it might just be worth it to see where things go. Confi dence and being bold are attractive qualities that could help you in the Thislong-run.doesn’t mean you have to profess your deepest feelings to them, but maybe step outside your comfort zone a little bit in terms of reaching out.
ask very politely if there is any way to tackle the cleaning together. Both of you may have to adjust your expectations, but this is a problem that you both can overcome.
Villanova Dining Services VILLANOVA DINING SERVICES Rosh Hashanah St. Mary’s Dining Hall Tuesday, September 27, 2022Dinner Saturday, October 1, 2022 St. Thomas of Villanova Day of Service 2022 Please visit our website to view changes to hours of operation during St. Thomas of Villanova Day of Service activities.
