For The QUlture Debut Issue

qulture For the

MÉLANGE EDITION

DEDICATED TO THE FUTURE

FIRST EVER ISSUE

CONTENTS April 2021

1

Multicultural Clubs

1 – Multicultural Student Leadership Council 2 – Black Student Union 3 – African and Carribean Student Union 4 – Muslim Student Association 5 – Indigenous Student Union 6 – Asian Student Alliance 7 – South Asian Society 8 – Minority Association for Pre-Medical Students 9 – NaturallyMe 10 – Latino Cultural Society

11

Fashion

14

Day in the Life

18

Activism Q&A

11 – Cultural Wear 12 – Street Wear 13 – Business Wear

14 – Mehreen Girach 15 – Kiara Tantaquidgeon 16 – Andrew DePass 17 – Petrina Robin

18 + 19 – Roundtable Q&A

20

Greek Life

20 – Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. 21 – Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. 22 – Lambda Theta Phi Fraternity, Inc. 23 – Faculty & Students

Credits Thank you to all those who contributed and made this vision possible. You are appreciated, valued and your impact is immeasurable.

This is credited to all those who feel a part of the margins, this is for the QUlture.

Executive Editor Toyloy Brown III Creative Directors Esau Greene Ja’Sean Johnson-Henry Financial Director Kodi Greenaway Director’s Assistant Derek Hernandez Videographer Kanayo Umelo Roundtable Facilitator Olivia Barrios-Johnson Photographers Crandall “CJ” Yopp Daniel Passapera Writers Emily DiSalvo Ashley Pelletier Kalleen Rose Ozanic Christiaan McCray Layout Connor Lawless

Multicultural Student Leadership Council Christiaan McCray

The Multicultural Student Leadership Council (MSLC) is made up of the cultural organizations on campus, spanning different races, religion and other underrepresented groups here at Quinnipiac. Andrew DePass, Executive Chair of the MSLC, explained how its central role is to support these organizations “Our goal is to provide a platform for these students, especially when it comes to creating change on campus, in addition to supporting these organizations, supporting the communities that they support and then fostering collaboration between all of them because we work better as a unit,” DePass said.

MSLC can support these organizations through funding if they do not get enough money for a vendor or an event. It also helps multicultural organizations get started if they are new. The MSLC gets involved in activism as well and trying to make changes within the university.

Last summer following the mass Black Lives Matter protests sparked by the deaths of people like George Floyd, the MSLC drafted and proposed a 10-page plan for change in diversity inclusion on campus at the faculty, administrative and student level.

“We do a lot of drafting of proposals, sort of getting the ideas of students. And then constructing ways in which we can find solutions and proposing that to you know bigger bodies like SGA and administration.”

“Our goal is to provide a platform for these students, especially when it comes to creating change on campus.”

Andrew DePass Executive Chair

Kodi Greenaway Finance Chair

Pratibha Thippa Programming Advisor

Anesu Mhene Student Organization Liaison

Tina Asfaw Community Outreach Chair

Helen Tran Director of Marketing

Multicultural Clubs 1

Black Student Union “I think our club makes others feel more comfortable if they’re coming out of, lets say, inner cities, or generally more diverse populations at home.”

Ja’Vielle Foy President

Deja Banner Student Liaison

Lydia Jones Vice President

Toyloy Brown III Secretary

Marley Marston Petrina Robinson Director of Public Relations Director of Programming

2 Multicultural Clubs

Ashley Pelletier

The Black Student Union (BSU) is a “home away from home” for students to celebrate and empower Black people and their cultures.

“I think because we go to a predominantly white institution, it’s really easy to just feel overwhelmed because you’re not seeing a lot of people that look like you,” said Ja’Vielle Foy, junior political science major and president of the BSU. “So I think our club makes others feel more comfortable if they’re coming out of, let’s say, inner cities, or generally have more diverse populations at home.

That’s what I think makes us so special and why it’s so important because it’s very easy to get overwhelmed and scared and transfer when you don’t have people who look like you” Previous events from the BSU include coffee-house-style readings and study nights during exam seasons. For Foy, game nights are a personal favorite.

“We really are like a family,” Foy said. “When we’re playing games, we tend to get very, very competitive and it always results in laughs.”

Not pictured: Tina Asfaw - Treasurer, Carissa Dorval - Parlimentarian & Community Outreach

African and Carribean Student Union Ashley Pelletier

Quinnipiac University’s African and Caribbean Student Union (ACSU) provides a community where learning about and sharing African and Caribbean heritage is key.

ACSU President Darian Duah strives for the club to create an “inclusive environment for QU students who want to learn, practice and indulge in African and Caribbean cultures” The ACSU holds meetings every other Tuesday night after Black Student Union meetings.

In past years, the ACSU has put on events such as Jollof Off (also known as Cultural Cook Off), where students made different rice and meat dishes representing different African and Caribbean countries. Participants tasted the dishes and voted for the best ones.

One event that the ACSU did in the Fall 2020 semester was a dance workshop, and Duah was one of the instructors.

“I had the opportunity to teach students how to do the Azonto, which is the popular Ghanaian dance that started the afrobeats dance movement,” Duah said. “It’s a blessing to teach students my culture as they have the ability to take it back home and show their families.”

“It’s a blessing to teach students my culture as they have the ability to take it back home and show their families.”

Darian Duah President

Toyloy Brown III Vice President

Kairyn Jimenez Secretary

Kodi Greenaway Treasurer & Public Relations Chair

Multicultural Clubs 3

Muslim Student Association

“(MSA is) a safe space for everyone who needs to be heard and feel comfortable being who they are.”

Irsa Awan President

4 Multicultural Clubs

Mehreen Girach Secretary

Ashley Pelletier

For over ten years, the Muslim Student Association (MSA) has given a solid community to Muslim students at Quinnipiac University.

The group holds events such as Rose Day, Eid Dinner and Hijab Day. According to Irsa Awan, senior health science major and president of MSA, these events are opportunities to inform the greater Quinnipiac community while also giving MSA members a group to celebrate their religion with.

“These events not only bring in those who are Muslim, but those of other faiths as well,” Awan said. “It’s a great way to spread what we stand for and gives those the chance who are not familiar with Islam to ask questions and understand.”

The MSA is open to all Quinnipiac students who are open to sharing. Meetings feature discussions about the Muslim experience in the Quinnipiac community and around the world. “(MSA is) a safe space for everyone who needs to be heard and feel comfortable being who they are,” Awan said. “You don’t have to be the perfect Muslim, you just have to be a good person.”

Not pictured: Uswa Hanif - Vice President, Abdulla Farid - Treasurer, Jasmin Jawaid - Public Relations

Indigenous Student Union

Emily DiSalvo

Quinnipiac University sits atop lands that formerly belonged to the Quinnipiac tribe and alongside a mountain with an indigenous legend associated with it, and yet, when junior Kiara Tantaquidgeon arrived at Quinnipiac, the school had no organization related to it.

Tantaquidgeon, the president of the Indingenous Student Union (ISU), is a descendent of the Mohegan Tribe and spent her childhood exploring the legacy of her ancestors.

“Being indigenous was a huge part of my life,” Tantaquidgeon said. “My last name is Tantaquidgeon so it was kind of hard to escape my native identity even if I wanted to.”

That’s why she set out to form the ISU at Quinnipiac — because this was a part of her life too important to leave behind when she got to college.

Now, the organization is working to make students more aware of the story of Quinnipiac’s land and the people who originally lived here. One way to do that is to challenge the university’s attempt to culturally appropriate Sleeping Giant with “The Legend of the Bobcat.”

“A personal goal of mine is that when every student steps on to Quinnipiac’s campus, they should take a breath in and think about what happened to the land.”

Kiara Tantaquidgeon President

Gabriella Colello Secretary

Emma Gatz Director of Public Relations

Christina Cardino Treasurer

Jeremy Gustafson Director of Event Planning

Multicultural Clubs 5

Asian Student Alliance Kalleen Rose Ozanic

The Asian Student Alliance, led by Co-Presidents Rachel Reyes and Carrie Zeng and Vice President Joshua Gorero, aims to offer education about Asian cultures through fun games and extracurricular activities in the Quinnipiac community. The Asian Student Alliance emphasizes community-building, and encourages any member of the community to join.

Reyes in particular hopes to increase the Asian Student Alliance’s saturation and membership in Quinnipiac culture by highlighting the diversity and fun within Asian cultures. The Asian Student Alliance does this by hosting trivia, bingo, educational speakers and general board meetings.Additionally, Reyes hopes to bring attention to recent racism against Asian people and increase advocacy.

Reyes says she is passionate about the inclusive efforts the Asian Student Alliance makes in the community. Previously, Reyes had not seen her Filipino culture represented at Quinnipiac, until she was able to do so through the Asian Student Alliance.

Moving forward, the Asian Student Alliance hopes to increase inclusivity of all Asian cultures to represent a more diverse culture.

6 Multicultural Clubs

“The ASA emphasizes community-building and encourages any member of the community to join.”

Carrie Zeng Co-President

Rachel Reyes Co-President

Helen Tran Treasurer

Joshua Gorero Vice-President

Gillian Chung Public Relations Chair

Not pictured: Ashley Hong – Event Coordinator, Dimytra Kowaleski-Pham – Secretary

South Asian Society

“The organization also seeks to strengthen student awareness about South Asaincultures and tradition.”

Dhruv Darji President

Pratibha Thippa Vice President

Kriti Patel Secretary

Megha Patel Treasurer

Kripa Patel Public Relations Coordinator

Kush Patel Events and Programming Coordinator

Kalleen Rose Ozanic

The South Asian Society (SAS) hopes to create a place for South Asian students in the Quinnipiac community by providing opportunities for members to make connections with each other. The organization also seeks to strengthen student awareness about South Asian cultures and traditions.

A safe space is created that allows members to engage in cultural expression through dance, dialogue and arts. Some specific events are movie nights, Diwali Dinner, Henna Night and Garba. The SAS aims for these events to increase knowledge of South Asian culture within the Quinnipiac community.

The SAS is led by President Dhruv Darji and Vice President Pratibha Thippa.

Darji appreciates the leadership opportunities the SAS offers its members and the ability to raise awareness of South Asian culture. Darji encourages any member of the Quinnipiac community to join the SAS so they may take advantage of the sense of home and belonging in the organization.

Multicultural Clubs

7

Minority Association for Premedical Students Emily DiSalvo

The Minority Association of Pre-Medicine (MAPS) is a space for students on campus to discuss and conquer the unique challenges that minority students hoping to pursue medical school will face.

“We want to create an environment where minority students who want to get into any medical field or healthcare field can come together to share experiences and find opportunities, resources and have a platform to come in and figure out what they want to do and where they want to be,” said Janki Patel, senior biochemistry major and president of MAPS. Patel hopes to go to school to become a dentist, so MAPS serves as a place where her and similar students can work collectively toward their individual goals.

“If we are holding a meeting we will have a raffle to help the students who want to take, for example, the MCAT exam, we put them in a raffle to win the test prep material of their choice,” Patel said. “It is a way to help them get the resources they need to succeed in the career choice they are aiming for.”

8 Multicultural Clubs

“We want to create an environment where minority students who want to get into any medical field or healthcare field can come together.”

Janki Patel President

Jewel Hu Vice President

Kairyn Jimenez Secretary

Pratibha Thippa Treasurer

Daniel Bocanegra Public Relations Chair

Helen Tran Event Coordinator

NaturallyMe “We are open to everyone. It’s not just for tightly coiled hair. It’s the hair that grows out of your head ... If you have questions we have answers.”

Asiyah Neal President

Petrina Robinson Treasurer

Kodi Greenaway Public Relations Chair

Briana Cobbs Programming Chair

Emily DiSalvo

NaturallyMe, which was founded four years ago, started out as a way to educate and unite women of color as they cared for their natural hair.

Since then, the organization has expanded to be a place to discuss and tend to skincare, overall wellness and mental health.

“That first goal changed to a bigger goal of taking care of yourself naturally in all ways,” said Asiyah Neal, senior health sciences major and president of NaturallyMe. The club, which meets every other Wednesday at 9:15 p.m., often hosts speakers and events to educate club members about new skin and hair products as well as ways to practice self-love.

Neal emphasized that the club is not just for minority women, but is instead for anyone who wants to improve their skin, hair or self care routine.

“Since we are run by a majority minority people, people on campus don’t really look to us as something that is open for everyone,” Neal said.

“But we are open to everyone. It’s not just for tightly coiled hair. It’s the hair that grows out of your head.

It’s skincare. It’s what is good for the scalp. If you have questions, we have answers.”

Multicultural Clubs 9

Latino Cultural Society Kalleen Rose Ozanic

Quinnipiac’s Latino Cultural Society (LCS) has a mission of educating the community about Latinx culture through fun events that are open to the Quinnipiac community. Each year, the LCS hosts Copacabana Night, Latin Dance Fest and many other events.

The LCS emphasizes community outreach through volunteering efforts and fundraisers to support underrepresented groups.

Led by Co-Presidents Andrea Reyes and Andres Baez, the Latino Cultural Society creates a support system for the Latinx community and aims to be a family and second home for Quinnipiac’s Latinx students. The organization tries to host inclusive events that support diversity, maintain a social media presence, disseminate information and maintain contact and communication with members.

Reyes is eager to reinforce this second home for members of the Latinx community both within Quinnipiac and the Greater New Haven Area. The club allows for freedom of expression and comfort in Latinx students’ identities.

10 Multicultural Clubs

“The LCS emphasizes community outreach through volunteering efforts and fundraisers to support underrepresented groups.”

Andrea Reyes Co-President

Andres Baez Co-President

Christy Valentin Secretary

Stephanny Perez Pinto Treasurer

Deja Banner Public Relations Chair

Ana Allen Event Coordinator

Cultural

wear

“I have never felt completely comfortable with

everyday fashion in American culture, but cultural clothes from South Asian culture feel natural. I have been wearing various cultural outfits my whole life and got used to the bright colors and prickly outfits”

- Pratibha Thippa

Fashion 11

street

wear

“Fashion is a form of expression. It is one of the first things people look at to interpret who you are.

It gives others a glimpse into the type of person you are and your personality. It is how you differentiate yourself from other people. Other people use writing, artwork, lyrics, makeup and more to express themselves – I use fashion. ” - Kayla Duncan

12 Fashion

Business wear

“Fashion is important to me. It’s a way to truly express yourself without even having to say a word, giving people a glimpse of your personality. It allows you to show your uniqueness differentiating you from other people. It’s not just about putting on the clothes but it’s how you wear it and why you wear it. It gives me the confidence to approach my everyday challenges..”

- Anthony Calder

Fashion 13

Mehreen Girach “I never used to consciously think about my own identity. I would just live my life. I would never really reflected at all. But recently, I’ve started to reflect on my own identity and my own experience.”

Toyloy Brown III

It is not uncommon to hear a cliché about how college is the time for people to discover themselves. As much as this phrase is overused, it does contain some truth. For Mehreen Girach, her college experience has led her to think more critically about herself.

“I never used to consciously think about my own identity. I would just live my life. I would never really reflect at all.

But recently, I’ve started to reflect on my own identity and my own experience more. I never thought of doing (that) when I was younger.”

Mehreen is a sophomore interdisciplinary studies major and is in the 4+1 elementary education program. She is the secretary of the Muslim Student Association, the youth co-chair for the Community Action Project and is a general member of the South Asian Society. Her involvement in these organizations have helped her feel comfortable at Quinnipiac.

“Joining those clubs made me feel a little more welcome and like I belonged at Quinnipiac,” Mehreen said. “Whereas before I joined those groups I didn’t feel like that at all.”

Mehreen is from Connecticut and went to a small Islamic school from Pre-K to eighth grade.

When she graduated eighth grade, she left her comfort zone and was accepted and given a scholarship to attend a high school in what she called “the rich side of town.”

“So that was the first time I felt out of place because it was predominately white and everyone was pretty wealthy.”

When she went to this high school, she also started going by the nickname Mimi.

“In the ninth grade, a girl on my soccer team didn’t know how to say my name,” Mehreen said. “So she asked if I had a nickname and I said no. And she gave (the nickname) to me. It just stuck, and I don’t mind it.”

Mehreen’s time at a predominantly white

14 Day in the life

and wealthy high school as an Asian student prepared her for what she would experience at Quinnipiac.

“When I came to Quinnipiac, it wasn’t as much of a shock to me because I had already experienced that feeling out of place,” Mehreen said. “But I still had hope that it wouldn’t have been as bad as it was in my high school.”

One huge difference that made attending QU more challenging as opposed to high school was the reality of not being able to go home each day after school.

“In high school, I would still go home and I would still have my Muslim community or my South Asian community, friends and everything,” Mehreen said. “But then in college, I’m living there, and I can’t just go home after school everyday and have that community still there.”

One thing that isn’t different at Quinnipiac is religion being a major aspect of her life.

“My religion is extremely important to me,” Mehreen said. “It’s something I was always brought up with. Something my parents never told me to shy away from or be embarrassed about. I’ve always grown up with religious faith and ties and (it) kind of dictates a lot of my everyday life.”

Since she grew up mostly around Muslims, she didn’t stand out in her environment and never had concerns about what people thought of her faith. But now at Quinnipiac, where the size of the Muslim population is the opposite of what she is accustomed to, she is more cognizant of how she stands out because of her religious background. She is also aware of the possibility of it being the reason someone could view her negatively.

“It has been tough, especially because (of) our increase of media and people’s portrayal of Islam isn’t always the best,” Mehreen said. “So it has been tough to stay true to my faith without feeling like, ‘Oh if I pray in front of my roommate, is she going to judge me,’ or if someone asks me about my faith and I an-

swer honestly, are they going to judge me, are they going to think I’m a terrorist or something because I believe in a certain God or prophet.”

Even with this type of angst, she doesn’t believe she has had any truly bad experiences because of her identity.

However, Mehreen still remembers when she was living in a quad dorm her freshman year and was in a situation where a roommate and their parents would act in a way that was off-putting.

“I don’t want to say they didn’t respect me because I don’t want to assume things if they didn’t outright say it but … Sometimes they would kick my stuff around or they would give me looks when I would talk on the phone in another language with my parents and my friends,” Mehreeen said.

“And just stuff like that. I was not comfortable around them.”

Even with an uncomfortable situation like this, the foremost reason Mehreen remains at Quinnipiac is so she can get an education that will allow her to be a teacher.

She wants to teach elementary school students and the program she is in is giving her the tools to succeed in that path. Her interest in wanting to be a teacher has always “brewed in the back of her mind” since her mom is a teacher. Mehreen’s own passion for teaching was realized in high school when she would tutor younger children.

Mehreen wants to be an educator like her mom, but that doesn’t prevent her from wanting to emulate her father, who she considers a great role model as well. She feels fortunate to have them as parents, and is grateful to them for the life she has today.

“My parents are immigrants (from India) and that has always pushed me to do the best that I can because I could be back home overseas and not have anything close to the opportunities I have right now,” Mehreen said.

“I feel like it’s my duty to take advantage of those opportunities.”

Kiara Tantaquidgeon “I was talking to a lot of people and every time me being Native American would come up, I was just realizing how uneducated the community was as a whole, especially at a school that’s literally named Quinnipiac.”

Toyloy Brown III

A lot of people doubt if Kiara is Native American until they hear her last name: Tantaquidgeon.

“They are generally surprised until they hear my last name because that’s kind of hard to deny,” Kiara said.

Kiara Tantaquidgeon is a member of the Mohegan tribe. She grew up in a town over from the Native American reservation in Uncasville, Connecticut, with her mom and two sisters and as the only person in the household with Native American roots from her father’s side.

Kiara spent a significant part of her childhood around her Mohegan great-grandparents at the reservation. They helped make sure she stayed connected to her Native American heritage early.

“It was the perfect situation,” Kiara said.

“I got to live with my mom and my sisters and we always had a roof over our head. And then I got to live this almost other life with my great-grandparents and learning about who I am. And now being able to merge the two experiences and make them who I am today.”

At Quinnipiac, Kiara is a health studies major with a minor in global public health and an independent minor in Indigenous cultures and diversity studies. She wants to one day have a career in public health policy, especially when it pertains to Indigenous populations.

“Growing up in a tribal community and meeting other Indigenous people, I have been exposed to health inequity in these communities and want to give back and one day make a positive impact.”

In the meantime, the biggest thing Kiara has done so far in making an impact at Quinnipiac is by creating the Indigenous Student Union (ISU) in September of last year. The organization is a big reason why she is still a student here.

For starters, Kiara did not plan on staying at Quinnipiac past her first year. Instead of going to a different school, she decided to stay near her home.

“I had a lot of family stuff at the time,

and I wanted to stay close to home,” Kiara said. “And of course, consequently, the only school I applied to in Connecticut ended up being Quinnipiac.”

While she was set on leaving Quinnipiac after her freshman year to go to a school with a bigger Indigenous community, she realized how much QU was lacking in its Native American presence. One example of the ignorance she had experienced are times when she’s asked what percentage she is Native American? “(Sometimes) when you tell someone you’re Native American it’s either like ‘well, how much, what percent?,’ which we don’t do. We don’t do blood quantum (anymore),” Kiara said. “So I don’t know, and I’m not going to tell you because it’s not important.

If it’s not important to my tribe, it’s not important to you. I’m who I am and it doesn’t matter what percentage.”

Kiara said this is a lack of education on colonization, when tribes were forced to reproduce with white men and women in an effort to assimilate. This is something she is very connected to as someone with a light complexion that allows her to be as she described as “white-passing.”

“I was talking to a lot of people and every time me being Native American would come up, I was just realizing how uneducated the community was as a whole, especially surprisingly being at a school that’s literally named Quinnipiac,” Kiara said.

The school’s namesake is the Quinnipiac people, Native Americans that originally encompassed the land university is on. The fact that this was not recognized openly in her first year discouraged her.

“If I stay here and I try and make this organization or I try and talk about my heritage and who I am, why are they going to care about me when they don’t even care about the people whose land they’re on,” Kiara said.

This concern was worrying, but she was motivated by something bigger than herself and knew these problematic ideas do not evaporate overnight.

“I knew that I didn’t want to just transfer and leave Quinnipiac without making some sort

of change because I thought about my family members,” Kiara said. “If they end up coming here, we need something. There needs to be something here. I can’t leave it like this, it just doesn’t feel right.”

When it finally came to creating the organization, it wasn’t easy.

“The whole process itself was quite painful” and “discouraging” initially,” Kiara said. “They all told me ‘you know this is going to take years to implement. Having an organization is this, this, and this’ and I was like ‘OK. But let’s think about the fact that we need this because y’all walking around with a native name and on native land and this doesn’t look good for you guys.’”

Kiara ended up having to independently write about seven different constitutions for the ISU. Eventually, faculty like Sean Duffy and Christina Dickerson supported her efforts in forming the ISU, along with student leaders of other multicultural organizations.

“So as hard as it was at first, ... it is definitely worth it now to see how much support we’ve gotten,” Kiara said. “And to finally start the conversations about Quinnipiac, in terms of inclusion and in terms of educating about the Quinnipiac people. And bringing light to what life is like as an Indigenous student.”

Kiara wants the ISU to not only advocate and uplift Native Amerians but also other Indigenous and diverse groups.

“I don’t do this just for the Native American students,” Kiara said. “I do this for the kind of advocacy of the inclusion and acceptance of diversity and celebration of diversity at Quinnipiac in general,” Kiara said Kiara, again, is deeply motivated by something bigger than herself.

“I’m a firm believer in all of the strength I have is from the people who came before me and I do everything I do today with their strength and so that I have strength to give future generations,” Kiara said. “That’s something that we’re taught a lot in my community … And that’s kind of how I lead every day.”

Day in the life

15

Andrew DePass

“Just because someone’s out here not wearing something that’s deemed normal by white society, doesn’t mean that you’re ghetto or raggedy or not as high achieving as someone else.”

Toyloy Brown III

The afro is the physical feature that distinguishes Anderw DePass from others in a crowd. As his hair grew longer, its symbolism grew as well. The hairstyle that was originally sparked from his middle school curiosity is now a symbol that embodies the saying don’t judge a book by its cover.

“You would typically associate (my afro) with being raggedy and ghetto, but then you hear me, you see what I do (and I debunk the stereotype),” Andrew said. “Just because someone’s out here not wearing something that’s deemed normal by white society, doesn’t mean that you’re ghetto or raggedy or not as high achieving as someone else.”

Andrew actively disproves these false notions as a senior double major in biology and computer science, with a minor in math at Quinnipiac University. Aside from academics, he’s the executive chair of the Multicultural Student Leadership Council (MSLC).

When Andrew graduates, he will have left an indelible mark as a student leader at this university. However, that wasn’t always in the cards. By the time his freshman year concluded, he had serious doubts on whether he belonged at QU. “I still wasn’t able to sort of find that place of belonging for me, even though … I was able to reach out to people, I still felt out of place because I didn’t have anyone that looked like me.”

Andrew is from Freehold, New Jersey, a predominantly white neighborhood. He decided to attend Quinnipiac because of his positive interactions with professors on his visit. The school was also what he was looking for from a size perspective.

Many who know Andrew are familiar with his accomplishments in the sciences.

As a sophomore, he received an award for his cancer biology presentation at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students in Indianapolis, Indiana. He was also named an American Association for Cancer Research Awardee for 2020-2021.

Despite his achievements, Andrew is

16 Day in the life

acutely aware that there are not a lot of Black people who progress in this field, which can be disheartening. Fortunately, he’s had childhood experiences that have prepared him for such a reality.

Before he delved deeply in biology, the first extracurricular activity Andrew got involved in was taekwondo back when he lived in Brooklyn, New York.

His Black instructor explained to his young students the context of being Black in this country.

“It was more than just learning techniques and moves,” Andrew said. “It’s like, ‘no, you got to be disciplined and learn how to act in this white society.’”

Andrew’s mentor at his first experience specifically in the sciences at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio was a Black doctoral student named Kimberly Wymberly. Her presence alone greatly helped Andrew.

“Having the opportunity to do my first experience under the direction of a mentor that looked just like me and that could relate to me, that carried me through all of this. It kept me motivated,” Andrew said.

Part of Andrew’s decision to attend Quinnpiac was also influenced by the reality of its majority white population.

“One of the things that I sort of feared going into college is having to deal with the culture shock again,” Andrew said. “I went from the predominantly Black community in Brooklyn to the predominantly white community in Freehold when I was eight years old, and I remember that was a horrible time for me.”

After having a hard time fitting into a dramatically different environment in New Jersey, Andrew eventually got accustomed to being a part of a community where he was one of few Black people. That is not to say he didn’t like or enjoy being in a mostly Black community. But at that point in his life, he was worried that the challenge of remaining in a place that wasn’t predominately white would bring another harsh wave of culture shock that he didn’t feel he was ready to experience again as an 18 year old.

“The thing that I really underestimated when considering demographics was that when I lived in Freehold, I had a Black family I would always come home to,” Andrew said.

Andrew overlooked the fact that at QU, he was not guaranteed to be around people he can relate to culturally on a daily basis.

“So it came to a point after freshman year where I was considering, ‘you know what, why don’t I transfer to an HBCU in spite of all that culture shock stuff,’” Andrew said.

“Black Student Union and African and Caribbean Student Union … made all the difference because if it wasn’t for those two organizations, I might not be here right now.”

These two clubs gave Andrew the community he was “starving” for since he stepped on campus.

“They gave me not only a sense of community, but an actual community, an actual Black community to talk to.”

On one hand, Andrew is glad to have certain experiences that have prepared him to face the reality of being one of few Black people in an almost entirely white setting. But on the other hand, he does think that in the process of adapting to these environments, he did lose some clarity as Black person.

“When I had that upbringing in Brooklyn, I had definitely a lot more of a sense of self,” Andrew said. “I had pride, for where I came from. And when I moved to a white community, a lot of that got washed away. There are a lot of things that make you feel inferior and lesser than. And that’s just one of the things that you deal with when you get into these spaces — a lot of things that make you feel like an imposter.”

Fortunately, the BSU and ACSU helped Andrew reaffirm his sense of self, continuing his growth and influencing his work as the executive chair of the MSLC. “Prior to college, I was just a person that was able to just exist in a predominantly white space and just deal with everything without making a change,” Andrew said. “What I’d say the big difference in college is that I know how to utilize the tools at my disposal to make spaces and communities for people of color.”

Petrina Robinson

“My freshman year, I felt really really lonely as a Black student. I just felt alone.

A lot of times I was doing things along (the majority of students’) culture and not my own ... I don’t know why I was trying so hard to accommodate and nobody ever tried to accomodate (for) me.”

Toyloy Brown III

Petrina Robinson is a sophomore entrepreneurship major at Quinnipiac University.

Besides being a student, she is a Resident Assistant (R.A.), a student worker at one of the school’s residential life desks, an intramural sports referee, the event coordinator of the Black Student Union, the treasurer for the club NaturallyMe and a member of Montage, the literary journal club.

For a student who has spent just over two years at Quinnipiac, Petrina clearly has made an effort to be an active member of the university’s community. However, the ability to get involved in multiple clubs and juggle various responsibilities was not something she could have predicted a year ago.

Prior to being an incredibly engaged student, Petrina was a freshman who had periods of loneliness and a difficult time forming meaningful connections with people at Quinnipiac.

“My freshman year, especially, I felt really really lonely as a Black student,” Petrina said. “I just felt alone, a lot of times I was doing things along (the majority of students’) culture and not my own. So the way I greeted, (even) the pitch of my voice was a little higher. I don’t know why I was trying so hard to accommodate and nobody ever tried to accommodate (for) me.”

Her unique upbringing, which was different from most Quinnipiac students’, is partly responsible for her confusion. Petrina was born and raised in Jamaica for 10 years before she moved to Hartford, Connecticut. Similar to her rocky start at Quinnipiac, she did not adapt immediately to living in the United States, but eventually settled in.

As a high schooler, Petrina continued progressing academically and discovered the value in engaging in programs and internships outside of school. In the 10th grade, she joined this program called Project Ready that taught her and other students essential skills, such as how to budget money and how to perform in job interviews.

Petrina eventually became a Project Ready intern, assisting the program with secretarial work, something she found great pleasure in.

“I was their intern and (it) turns out I really love organizing and paperwork, and just all that desktop stuff is exciting to me,” Petrina said. “A lot of people are like, ‘that is so boring,’ and I’m like, ‘I freakin love it.’ And that’s when I started working with students.”

After her experiences at Project Ready, Petrina continued interning elsewhere. She found a particular interest in getting involved with younger children when working at places like the local Boys and Girls Club. Having these experiences helped confirm her passion for helping young people after seeing how she can make a difference.

“I want to give people little skills that I know will take them further,” Petrina said.

“My goal is to be a social entrepreneur. And what I want to do is build a school program that helps kids.”

Along with her hopes of starting her own business and after-school program, Petrina dreams of possibly creating a school that is dedicated to giving young people life skills that prepares them to take on the real world.

Before this dream is realized, though, she had to find a place that could help her one day attain those goals.

Petrina chose Quinnipiac mainly because she was impressed with the school of business. She also found the campus “pretty” and after touring the university, she felt confident that it would be a place she can envision herself being successful.

Petrina does admit though that she imagined Quinnipiac to be a bit more racially diverse based on the statistics she found online.

Petrina realized how challenging it was for her socially to engage people in a meaningful way. This progressed to a level where she felt internal pressure to change the normal way she spoke. She would routinely engage in small-talk conversations with people because there wasn’t any common interest or experience she found with people.

“I was always in customer service mode when I was talking to people and it was just so uncomfortable,” Petrina said.

A specific example of an uncomfortable social interaction is when one of Petrina’s white male friends greeted her and without permis-

sion grabbed her hair explaining how much he loved it.

Although these varying forms of microaggressions are plausible to occur again, a huge shift happened when Petrina participated in the Students of Color Retreat in the second semester of her freshman year.

Petrina and several other students spent a weekend at Camp Jewell in Colebrook, Connecticut. There they developed leadership skills, had meaningful conversations and built bonds.

This was the experience that helped her form a real group of friends that she enjoyed spending time with and can be herself around.

“That was a big change for me,” Petrina said. “That helped me so much. (Before the retreat) I was like ‘man I don’t know if I could stay here.”

Petrina considered transferring prior to the retreat since she had not been able to build true connections with people. Fortunately for her, the retreat happened, and she steadily found her footing at Quinnipiac. “(After the retreat) I was like ‘OK, I have some ties to the community now,’” she said.

“I feel comfortable enough now to join these clubs and participate. That retreat was the happiest I’ve been my freshman year.”

Now a year later in the second semester of her sophomore year, she has a lot on her plate. It’s not only impressive that she attained these positions, but that she is able to handle all these things.

What helps her keep her sanity is scheduling things at least 30 minutes apart so she can rest a bit instead of doing things consecutively.

Petrina also is able to maintain her busy weeks by “keeping it pushing.”

“You just think ‘let’s just get this done because this is a part of the little things you have to do to achieve your bigger goal in life,”’ Petrina said. “I am pushing hard for something greater and you just run on that.

I always say that, just keep it pushing. If somebody asks me ‘what are you doing’ I’m like ‘just keeping it pushing.’

Day in the life 17

Panelists Joshua Gorero

Joshua is the co-president of the Quinnipiac Political Science Association, vice president of the Asian Student Alliance and director of the Website Committee of QUCulture, an initiative by SGA and MSLC. Career-wise, he would like to work in technology policy, human rights, and international diplomacy.

Jailynn Carballo

Jailynn is a senior double major in journalism and political science, She is the president of the school of communications’ ambassador program, the vice president of the National Association of Black Journalists on campus and the founder of York Me for Black Lives

Andrew DePass Andrew is a senior double major in biology and computer science with a minor in math. He is the executive chair of the multicultural student leadership council and president of the tri-beta biological honors society chapter at Quinnipiac

Olivia Barrios-Johnson Olivia is a first-year 3+1 journalism major. She also serves as the current First-Year Vice President of the Student Government Association (SGA).

She acted as the facilitator of this roundtable discussion

18 Activism

Q: What is activism and what does it look like to you?

Andrew: Activism for me, is noticing something wrong with your everyday life or society and taking the actions needed to first get attention to it and then two: make a change.

Joshua: Activism for me, is using your voice for good.

Andrew: Before to get a message out, if someone wanted to say and write a thesis and get a bunch of people behind something, they would have to go through some big organization that would have some competing works behind them. But nowadays you can just, over in the matter of a minute, send something that can get eyes from anyone and anywhere and have that be shared.

Q: What other ways than taking to the streets can you be an activist?

Jailynn: I think you can be an activist just in the way you speak to others and the way you address other people. I also think that activism could be seen through small organizations we have here on campus. For me personally, I realized that there was a huge issue here in Communications where there was not really any representation for students of color or students of marginalized communities so myself and some other students started the National Association for Black Journalism. Finding a way to make people’s voices heard that are not usually heard could be a really great way to start with activism.

Andrew: I think something that I’ve realized as I’ve occupied a space of representing others on campus is that sometimes the biggest thing you can do is provide someone with a platform.

Olivia: As people of color sometimes we need to educate ourselves on stuff that we may not know.

Joshua: I think having conversations like the intimate part of activism, having one to one conversations is good whether we agree or not. Over the summer, with everything going on with COVID-19 and how Asian Americans and other people of color being discriminated against during these times like our cultural organization (Asain Student Alliance) became one of activism.

Q: How did you feel about the way the world responded to the murders of Black people like Breonna Taylor and George Floyd?

Jailynn: Though these murders are not new and these things have happened before, this is the first time in which all Americans were forced and confronted with this and had to see this.

When I think about it, it’s sad that it took a global pandemic for people being home and forced to be stagnant for people to care

Q: What did you think about the events that occurred at the United States Capitol on January 6th?

Andrew: This is not a threat in some town, it’s a threat on a government building with all the people that we elected and I think that says it all right there.

Joshua: To storm the capitol, it was something symbolically bad.

Olivia: If people like us went and stormed the capitol, there would be dogs, fire hoses, gunshots, and rubber bullets.

Q: Where do you stand on the homophic harassment of the student who left Quinnipiac last semester and the way the community responded?

Andrew: With my position in the Multicultural Student Leadership Council, it is crucial that when a community is targeted on campus, we respond.

Personally, just the circumstances of it seemed absolutley ridiculous to me. Out of a horrible situation, we saw incredible activism and leadership. When you’re in a space that is made up predominently of people who do not have your same background, you learn to go ahead and work in a space where you’re the minority. Which is the same space that we are going to be going into in the future.

Olivia: It was really great for everyone to take the lead and say if we do not see the school doing anything for it, we are going to get it ourselves.

Activism 19

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.

Kalleen Rose Ozanic

Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., is the first historically Black intercollegiate fraternity. It was founded on Dec. 4, 1906 at Cornell University by seven men that are referred to as the seven jewels. It helps to create a space for men to foster growth and provide community service and brotherly love.

Although based out of Yale, the Zeta chapter, which was founded on April 10, 1909, invites Quinnipiac students and has goals of encouraging manly deeds, scholarship and a love for

20 Greek Life

all mankind. Alpha Phi Alpha’s purpose is to provide for college men a more perfect union, foster members’ personal growth and relationships, mitigate prejudice and create a safe community.

Alpha Phi Alpha’s motto is “First of All, Servants of All, We Shall Transcend All.” With a mission of developing leadership, encouraging brotherhood, academic excellence and community service.

Alpha Phi Alpha takes great strides in the personal growth and achievement of its members by creating a supportive space that encourages a challenging atmosphere towards personal betterment.

Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. Ashley Pelletier

Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. (KAP) is a traditionally Black fraternity that was founded in 1911 by ten students at Indiana University at a time when racism and segregation was rampant throughout the country.

KAP’s Nu Gamma chapter was chartered at Yale University in 1987. In recent years, the Nu Gamma chapter has started welcoming students from Quinnipiac University into the fraternity, including Myles Owens and Darian Duah.

“I have been able to meet so many brothers within the bond, who’ve taken me in as family,” said Duah, Quinnipiac senior political

science and finance major and Strategus for the Nu Gamma chapter.

“It’s one of the best parts about traveling because wherever (I go) there are achievers. There are brothers of Kappa.”

There have been several brothers of KAP who have gone on to have successful careers including Colin Kaepernick, Cedric the Entertainer and Marc Lamont Hill. KAP offers brothers the opportunity to connect with one another even after they graduate from college.

With over 100 years of history, KAP continues to emphasize Black excellence and “stimulate (Black youth) to accomplishments than might otherwise be realized or even imagined.”

“Kappa Alpha Psi is the crystallization of a Dream come true by our 10 founders at Indiana University” Duah said.

Greek Life 21

Lambda Theta Phi Fraternity, Inc. Emily DiSalvo

With only four members, many Quinnipiac students have never heard of Lambda Theta Phi Fraternity, Inc., but for those involved, it’s a crucial part of their college experience.

“I know everything there is to know about them,” said Derek Hernandez, vice president of Lambda Theta Phi. “They are the true definition of a brother.”

The fraternity formed a chapter at Quinnipiac in 2017 and while it was “Latin founded,” Hernandez said the brothers are not

22 Greek Life

“Latin bound.”

“Our founders were all Latino men, but the culture has changed and we accept any culture, race and creed,” Hernandez said. “We are very open-minded to everyone.”

The mission of Lambda Theta Phi is to “empower males through scholarship, brotherhood and opportunity and protection of identity and equality,” Hernandez said.

While the fraternity is currently very small, Hernandez said he and the other members are actively working to recruit new brothers.

Faculty

and

Students

(Left to Right) Brandon Woods - Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. Charles Collier - Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Daymyen Layne - Iota Phi Theta Fratnerity, Inc. Esau Greene - Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Derek Hernandez - Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity, Inc. Myles Owens Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. Donald Sawyer - Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. Christina Dickerson - Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Elicia Spearman - Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

Greek Life 23

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