the
Charger Bulletin The official student newspaper of the University of New Haven since 1938. Volume 94, Issue 15 | February 13, 2013
36 Inches of Winter Wonderland
CAMPUS It’s that time of the year again: WPE season. Dust off your writing chops and start practicing for one of the most important exams of your college career!
PHOTO BY PATRICIA OPREA
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SEE PAGE 5 Have you scored a great internship, completed a service learning class, or done something awesome in general? You have? And you haven’t written about it on Charger Tales yet??? SEE PAGE 4
SPORTS Interested in the UNH Rugby Club? Turn to page 12 and learn all about the founding of the organization and how far it has come! SEE PAGE 12
ENTERTAINMENT Livewell’s Latest is back! And it’s here all the way from Prato, Italy! SEE PAGE 15
OPINION Did you purchase a Charger Bulletin Valentine’s Day Gram this week? Maybe someone special sent you one! SEE PAGE 7
Valentine’s Day is here... obviously. Do you hate it as much as our staff writer Elissa Sanci? SEE PAGE 8
Text message your news tips and comments to The Charger Bulletin! 1 (270) UNH-NEWS
time when many Californians question why they ever came –––––––––––––––––––––––––– here when they could be at the beach instead of struggling to walk to Bartels for dinner. “Three feet, I’m telling you Ironically, meteorologists they said THREE!” said a have dubbed this storm Nemo. student in Bartels, insistently This is quite the misnomer trying to convince his friend, because everyone must realize who scoffed in disbelief; the this all-destroying blizzard was time was about five in the no cute clownfish with a one afternoon on Thursday, Feb. too-small fin. It was ferocious, 7. By the same time 24 hours invasive and smothering. later, the inches of snow were Plowers stayed over in the progressively turning into feet, as layers and layers kept piling. German Club Friday night and police remained near WinLight flakes turned into bigchester because the weather ger flurries, which turned into conditions made it unsafe to hail, and eventually ice by late leave campus. A too-enthusiFriday night. astic undergrad could easily The time was 9:30 p.m. disappear within the mounds of on Thursday night, the long snow for days at a time. Acawaited message from Ronald cording to one of the cashiers in Quigliani had been sent— Bartels, as of Saturday evening school was officially closed a total of six ID cards have alon Friday. Facebook statuses ready disappeared in the snow. erupted with cheer for the Now for some, this may have cancellation. This is the time put a damper on the weekly of year when you can truly tell clubbing schedule, but others what coast students are from, a By PATRICIA OPREA STAFF WRITER
took advantage of the mounds of snow accumulating by the minute, either by cozying up and watching a movie, or braving the winds and doing snowrelated activities. These included the typical snowball fight and speeding down the hill near Harugari on makeshift sleds. Freshman Victoria Stearns and her friends were among the many spending time on Harugari; their sleds of choice were the tops of Tupperware bins. Freshman Liz Jaikes and her suitemates made sleds out of cardboard boxes and garbage bags and went sledding at midnight. Snow plows were found around campus at all hours of the day, yet they initially did not make too much progress, as the piles of snow seem neverending. Eventually, dump trucks had to be called to carry the extra snow off campus. Aleks Sharakov was one of See SNOW page 7
New UNH Res Hall Faces Dilemma
By SAMANTHA MATHEWSON COPY EDITOR
–––––––––––––––––––––––––– Previously approved polices for the University of New Haven’s educational facilities zone may now be reconsidered by the West Haven Planning and Zoning Commission after residents voiced their concerns. Last week, the rest of UNH’s latest expansion plan, which includes a new dormitory on the corner of Ruden and Isador Streets near the Dunham and Winchester Halls, , was tabled following the request of the college’s attorney. The planned 90,000 squarefoot facility will house 350 to 400 students. The University strives for the suite-style design to enhance the University’s living learning communities and provide for smaller communities within the residence hall. In addition to residential space, plans include a full-service, 300-seat dining facility, classrooms, student activity space, a multi-purpose classroom theatre space with state-of- the-art technology, and parking for UNH resident students, faculty and staff. “The University of New Haven has become very popular and we want to make sure those
PHOTO BY SAMANTHA MATHEWSON
students who want to live on campus can do so. As we build this new residential facility, we will insure that we have the students’ best interests in mind and develop a facility they will use to the fullest extent possible,” said James McCoy, vice president for enrollment management. However, new zone was only approved by the PZC earlier this month, and the decision from the Inland Wetland Agency concerning the building plan still has to be made. “I’m very concerned regarding the setback regulation, that it’s zero,” resident Gail Carroll said to the New Haven Register. “They could build a six-story building against someone’s property line.” In addition to residents’ concerns about the new zone’s lack of a setback requirement, they also said they were frustrated
the new zone does not require that buildings have special permits. With no special permits, no public hearings would need to be held during the approvals process. George Synodi, Vice President for Finance at UNH says that the steps being taken now are typical, and that it is reasonable to reconsider having a minimum setback requirement. Synodi explained it’s reasonable to expect a setback requirement if the educational facilities zone abuts a residential area. However, under other circumstances where the university owns both sides of the road, such as along Ruden Street where there are the apartments for freshmen residents and North Campus, there should not be such a requirement. John Panza, former PZC See DILEMMA page 5
UNH Names Former Congressman Christopher Shays a Distinguished Fellow
PHOTO PROVIDED BY UNH TODAY
By KAREN GRAVA
DIRECTOR OF MEDIA RELATIONS
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Former United States Congressman Christopher Shays has been named a UNH Distinguished Fellow in Public Service. A resident of the Black Rock section of Bridgeport, Shays represented the southwest region of Connecticut from 1987 to 2009 and was considered a moderate Republican who is socially progressive and fiscally conservative. During his 21 years in Congress, Shays rose to become a senior member of the financial services, homeland security, budget and oversight, and government reform committees. Shays was consistently recognized for his bipartisan leadership and had a strong record of reaching across the aisle to work on issues. He was the only Republican congressman from New England elected in 2006. “Chris Shays has a wealth of knowledge and experience to offer our students and faculty,” said UNH President Steve Kaplan. “I am delighted that he will work across program and college lines to share his background and experience with our campus and local community. He is a remarkable individual with an amazing commitment to public service. I am confident he will be a significant role model for our students.” Shays’ appointment is made possible with support from Philip Bartels, chairman of the UNH Board of Governors, and his wife, Susan, longtime admirers of Congressman Shays’ work. Shays initially will be teaching courses in the Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences and in the Colleges of Business and Arts and Sciences in both public policy and public administration. He also is planning to write articles on public policy and public service. After leaving Congress, Shays joined the board of North Highland, an international consulting firm based in Atlanta, Ga. He also was appointed co-chair of the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan, a bipartisan commission See SHAYS page 6