news Inside the Security & Fire Safety Annual Report: How it Works and What it Means
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Sept. 23, 2014
Continued from Page 1 responsibly.” Another category that increased over the three years was forcible sex offenses. There were zero on campus in 2011, in 2012 there were two on campus, and in 2013 there were three. Director of Public Safety Juan Cerezo said the department actually expects those numbers to increase. “As far as the sexual crimes, we expect them to go up more, only because of all the publicity with the Violence Against Women Act,” he said. “So I think that people are going to report them more.” What’s in the Report? The security report, as required, documents three calendar years of specific campus crime statistics, security policies and procedures and information on the basic rights promised to victims of sexual assault. The report is divided into eight sections. Section one deals with the workings of the safety department and the security measures on campus, section two deals with the emergency notification system, section three covers the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013, section four specifies campus alcohol and drug policies, section five goes over fire safety procedures and rules, section six describes the fire safety systems in place, and sections seven and eight provide the three years’ fire and crime statistics. What Parts are New? The annual report has been published every year since the Clery law came into
effect, but much has been added since those original years. “Every few years they make changes to what we have to report,” Cerezo said. Cerezo said that after the deadly Seton Hall University fire of 2000, the government required schools to also report on fires. He also said that around 2011 or 2012 the government wanted clarifications made on burglary reporting and on reporting missing persons. “This year they [U.S. Department of Education] added a lot of policies we have to report on, specifically because of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act [VAWA] that was signed by the president in March of 2013,” Cerezo said. “They wanted us to make a good faith effort to put in place those policies and to report those incidents, so it went from a 12page document to a 37-page document.” Cerezo said he expects that there will be more changes made within the coming years. VAWA amended the Clery Act to require schools to collect statistics for incidents of dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking. In the 2013 chart of crime statistics in Manhattan College’s annual report, there were no reported incidents of dating violence or domestic violence, but there was one report of stalking on campus. VAWA also requires institutions to include its policies, procedures and programs that are explained in pages eight to 30 of the report. “They’re policies that really help the
Fordham University at Rose Hill is the local college with the most on-campus liquor law violations. Lehman College has the lowest, but also does not have on-campus dormitories. Infographic by Claire Leaden. student or victim with what to do,” DeRo Domenick Laperuta, director of pubsa said of the VAWA policies. “Something lic safety at Lehman College which is lohappened, now what do I do? Is it a crime cated about a mile and a half away from or not?—it tells you what the crimes are. MC, also said their report is aimed at pro“It also helps you with the decision spective students and their parents. making process—if you’re ever confronted “The intent was that parents, when by someone touching you, or saying some- they’re making decisions about where to thing to you that’s inappropriate, it spells send their children to college, and if they’re all that out and how best to respond,” he interested in crime or safety, there will be said. this document that every college and university has to post online so they can look Who is the Report For? at the statistics,” DeRosa said. “This is designed for our students, for “Maybe it’s a big factor to them in our employees, for anyone who is looking choosing a school, or maybe it’s not, but to work at this college, and for any po- it’s available.” tential students,” Cerezo said. “It is made The full report can be read at manhatavailable to everyone—whether online, tan.edu/student_life/public-safety/safetyfrom human resources or from admis- statistics. sions.”
Another Safety Incident Near OV
Continued from Page 1 guys were beat up by two others’?” Erosa said. The attack occurred outside of Fenwicks Bar and Grill on 432 W. 238th St. early Sunday morning on Sept.14. Two aggressors approached the victims and attacked them for an unknown reason. The four victims were transported to St. Joseph’s Hospital where three of them were released within hours.
At least one victim was able to provide public safety officers a statement of what happened on Sept. 14. Despite an overall downward trend of violent crime in the 50th precinct in the past year, the college community has been alerted to numerous safety incidents in the first four weeks of the semester. These incidents include a case of indecent exposure by an individual in a parked car, an open investigation into a shot fired at the popular
bar An Beal Bocht, and an incident where two female students were approached by a man attempting to lure them into his vehicle. In each of these three incidents, an email was sent out by the Office of Public Safety within 24 hours of the incident’s occurrence. Public safety’s decision not to alert the Manhattan College community of this most recent incident has left several stu-
dents concerned. “This is very concerning,” Cousins said. “Especially since nothing has been done about it, at least that I know about.” In the meantime, individuals are reminded that they can contact Public Safety about any incidents occurring near campus at 718-862-7500. “This is not a delicate subject. There needs to be a dialogue about it [the attack],” Cousins said.
Bathroom ID Scanners Implemented in Jasper and Chrysostom Sean McIntyre Social Media Editor
Manhattan College is taking more precautions to protect its students from outside intruders by installing ID scanners in Jasper Hall and Chrysostom Hall. This new security system follows an incident of an unknown person recording a female student while showering in Jasper Hall last February. The case is now closed with no suspects related with the crime. The precinct was unable to identify any specific persons since the victim did not see the perpetrator’s face, nor could identify a gender. “The system is not operational yet, but it is projected to start operating on Oct.17 in Jasper and Chrysostom,” Juan Cerezo, director of public safety, said. The system allows students to swipe their ID in front of the scanner to gain access to the entire bathroom. Cerezo said the scanners will only be placed on women’s floors, and eventually added to men’s floors when the budget allots for it.
“Only females in the residence hall can enter the bathroom with their ID,” Charles Lippolis, ID Office Manager, said. “The scanners are checked remotely daily and we are alerted by students saying if the scanners are malfunctioning.” Lippolis said that Heartland Campus Solutions manufactures both the new scanners and current ID related products on campus. The college began using Heartland in 2010. Since the company is based in Colorado, MC uses Blue Dragon, a local company, to install the scanners in both Jasper Hall and Chrysostom Hall. Each ID has a “swipe history” that documents each swipe used on the card. This allows Lippolis to retrieve the swipe history report. “I would feel safer with the scanners,” Grace Ostolozaga, Chrysostom Hall resident, said of the changes. Zhane Cardenas, a previous Jasper Hall resident, lived on the third floor where the crime occurred in the woman’s bathroom. Last year she described the situation as, “pretty unfortunate and definitely scary too.” Now she resides in Overlook Manor.
Bathrooms like the one pictured in Jasper Hall are outfitted with ID scanners. Photo by Kevin Fuhrmann. “It does make me feel better to know by patrols on all common areas including that the communal bathrooms will have a the recreation rooms, roof, and basement. scanner system,” said Cardenas. “It would If students should need to contact public make sense to also add a scanner system to safety for an emergency, they are asked to contact the office at 718-862-7333. the boys’ bathrooms as well.” The residence halls are still monitored
opinions & editorials
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True Life:
I Am In A Mid-College Crisis Lauren Carr A&E Editor What happens when you are halfway through college and find that you are unhappy with how everything seems to be turning out? You panic. You begin to question everything you had done up to that point and try to figure out if this is really making you a better person. Are the people you are surround yourself with positive people? Are your classes truly enriching you? Are you finding a passion for the things you are learning? If you have been asking yourself these questions recently know one thing: you are not alone. When I first entered college I had a completely different mindset than the one I have now. If you asked me two years ago how I would see myself by junior year I would have said a completely different answer. That is the one thing about college-things are always changing. Your interests, beliefs, friend groups, etc. What if you come to find that the major you have been working towards is not really enriching you or the group of friends you have been hanging out with the majority of your college years turn out to be not who you thought they were. You are going to start to have doubts about the decisions you have been making and that’s good. Have those doubts. Having those doubts will make you question what your next step is. College is a short four year time period where you can change things quickly if you aren’t happy. Don’t like a class? Drop it. Not happy in a relationship? No matter how hard it is, break it off. Not happy with the people you are living with? Move. Not sure about your major? Try something else. You will be happier if you are honest with yourself. Trust me. Every college student at one point or another is going to start questioning their decisions thus far and even though it’s a scary thought to have, its normal. We all started out as freshmen who believe that we had everything together and that we were truly going places. Sure we may still be going to said places but the route changes and its not necessarily a route you may have chosen originally. In a study done by The University of La Verne, 50-70% of college students change their major at least one. Some may even change their major three times before they graduate. So if you are someone who started off as Biology major and now wants to be a Communications major shift gears. Do it now because in five years you may be someone who is unhappy with a Biology degree and someone who is not doing something that they love. The mid college crisis is a normal situation to be in but its how you handle it that will get you through it. And how to get through it is to change something. It doesn’t have to be a huge change, but you have to start somewhere. And just remember: you are not the only one who has no idea where things are going. Embrace it and just ride it out.
Sept. 23, 2014
East Hill or Lee Hall, Does it Matter? Kieran Rock
Asst. Features Editor This past week, East Hill Hall was renamed to Lee Hall, in honor of Thomas O’Malley’s mother, and some students aren’t particularly happy. O’Malley is, of course, an alum and benefactor that has made many donations to Manhattan College. Most notably the campus library is named after O’Malley and his wife, in honor of their donation to that project. After the building name was formally dedicated, many students expressed annoyance at the name change. One individual went as far as to place a printed sign with the words East Hill on it, over the new sign that was installed on the front of the building that read Lee Hall. Why are we angry that a building name changed? Was any student so attached to the name East Hill that they
have legitimate reasons for being angry over the new name? I would assert that they were not and that they do not. Sure many of us have lived in what was East Hill and many of us have had a great time in the building, however the school isn’t closing the residence hall, and they are not changing the residence life experience, they are simply changing the name. Maybe the student body forgets that Horan Hall was actually called East Hill first. Maybe we don’t realize that students still call café 1853 Plato’s even though that name changed a few years ago. At the end of the day the name starts to seem irrelevant. A reality of college is that benefactors are necessary. Without the donations we would not have the ability to operate as a college. You may be wondering, is there anything wrong with that? Some within the MC community find issues with
this process when they have no control over the building names and they do not agree with the chosen name. This could be seen when student protested after the naming of the in the Ray Kelly Commons. Those members of the MC community were upset with this decision and expressed that disdain as Kelly’s career as police commissioner was considered controversial due to his implementation of stop and frisk laws. It is impossible to please everyone when it comes to changes on campus. However we must remember that the buildings we use could not exist without the money donated to the school. So don’t be upset that a Lee Hall sign has replaced an East Hill sign, because the student body won’t begin to call the building anything other than East Hill for at least a few years. Instead we must be sure that the building names reflect our values as an institution.
Professor-Student Interaction in a Digital Age Joseph V. Cusmano Senior Writer A new app, blog post, tweet or textwhatever it may be; more and more people are falling victim to their overly demanding electronic devices. So much of our day is spent responding to a text message or typing up an email. We often forget our communication with others extends far beyond what lies behind that of a computer screen. Each interaction we make serves as a form of communication. A handshake, gesture or even an unconscious movement or response that we may not think twice about can suggest a personal message of mood or attitude. So much of our time here at college is spent with professors or faculty members. It’s important to draw upon some of the pros and cons of professor-student interactions, since they are constant and inescapable during your collegiate years. In class, via email and Moodle or even all of those hours at the library- the work handed in serves as a representation of the student and how much effort was put into the assignment.
It is absolutely necessary to be comfortable with your professors in and outside of the classroom. Manhattan College prides itself on being a small, close-knit community. Anybody who has explored the college’s campus or surrounding area after work-hours may find that it is not too uncommon to bump into a professor or faculty member. With all of the available digital amenities these days, it seems as if professors (and students) can be accessed at almost anytime of the day. And with our generation’s constant demand for more, it’s not too far fetched for many to feel comfortable with a 4 a.m. email. Unfortunately, this is where the line can sometimes begin to blur. Just because somebody can be accessed, does that mean they should? It’s expected for young students such as us to complete the given task, regardless of when and how it gets done. Often, our work doesn’t get completed between the normal office hours of nine to five, Monday through Friday. Many of us know firsthand that our work sometimes demands that we compromise our weekends, late nights and even early mornings to making sure
the job gets done- whatever it may be. The same goes for professors and faculty members as well. The professionalism that was at one time both assumed and upheld between professor-student relationships is quickly depleting. This lacking is largely due to our generation’s digital craze. It’s slowly becoming the norm for more and more students to become friends with a professor on Facebook and to follow his or her [personal and professional] Twitter account(s). Emails and office hours are the two main forms of communication outside of the classroom between most students and professors- but for how much longer? Traditional, and seemingly more appropriate, means of communication are becoming a thing of the past. As the digital craze continues, electronics will continue to have an impact on the future of professor-student relationships. As we continue to foster these relationships, faculty and students need to remain aware of our generation’s demand for wanting more and more.
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Sept. 23, 2014
Autism Speaks: W Going and Where It Lindsey Burns Staff Writer
Photo courtesy of Dr. Arno Kolz.
Professor Chat Arno Kolz
Amber Calabro Senior Writer
This week’s “Professor Chat” is with Arno Kolz, associate professor of psychology. This semester he is teaching Roots: Psychology, Forensic Psychology, Organizational Psychology and Research in Psychology. Continue reading to find out a little more about your professor. Q: Why are you a professor in the subject you are? A: Well, I always knew I wanted to be a psychology major, even when I was back in high school I knew when I went to college, I’d want to major in psychology. I don’t know how I came to that conclusion, but I always knew it. However, while I was in college I was not sure whether I was going to go into psych or law school and it really wasn’t until it came time to apply for grad school or law school that I decided while law is interesting, I don’t think I’d want to be a lawyer. So I kind of went into psych and I went into industrial organizational psych. Originally, I had no interest in teaching really and I was going to do business consulting like team building kind of stuff. Then my second year of grad school I got basically a full scholarship and they paid me $5,000 to go to grad school there, but the catch was I had to teach two sections of general psychology. I had never taught before, so I did it and even though I felt like I was a nervous wreck and I was doing lousy, I guess I didn’t and I guess I did real well. My teacher evaluations were really high and people who heard me teach praised me. Some of the students were older than me. So, I was 21-22 years old at the time maybe. I discovered that I liked it and that I was good at it. In fact, the person who was in charge of monitoring and supervising the student teachers pulled me into her office at the end of the semester and said, ‘Arno, your teacher evaluations are the third highest in the whole psych department.’ That really encouraged me and I started doing my own thing in classes and I thought I could see myself doing that. Q: What is your favorite part about Manhattan College? A: Getting to know the students real well and getting to have these kinds of talks and all that kind of stuff. I think I’m
a decent classroom teacher, but I think I’m a better mentor. I think I’m better at this one-on-one stuff. If I can help a student do research or with life or jobs or whatever, you get to know people here. I’m not lecturing to 300 people in a room. And your colleagues too. It’s a small, friendly place. Q: What is your biggest student pet peeve (if you have one)? A: It’s not something that’s going to make me get angry, I very rarely get angry, but if something is clearly in the syllabus and we went over it and I said it three times and it’s still asked about, that can be a little bit like ‘c’mon,’ but it’s not a big deal. Q: Where can you be found on the weekends? A: Mostly at my house. Q: What is your favorite thing to read (book, newspaper, magazine, etc.)? A: In terms of books in general, I read two kinds of books. I read fantasy and sci-fi books to relax and chill and I read a lot of psych books like Steven Pinker stuff just because it’s relevant to what I do and I find it interesting. If I was to pick out one source that I really do enjoy reading, I’m a big fan of Nate Silver and his webpage FiveThirtyEight.com. He’s a statistician, his first claim to fame was that he was one of those guys who founded baseball perspectives. He used cutting edge statistical techniques to predict baseball player and team performance. Then after developing these really good models to predict how the baseball players were doing, he took the same kind of approach and applied it to politics. Starting, I believe in 2006, using these same statistical models he started nailing these elections perfectly. I think he got all 50 states right in both the last two presidential elections. His predictions blew away all the talking heads on TV and all the other pollsters. He’s really into using data statistics to predict things. Because of his success with the presidential elections, he got a big contract with ABC News and ESPN to develop this website where they do statistical analysis on everything from politics, to the Oscars to sports to just silly little life things. It is both serious and light and I love that whole approach. I’m very big into data driven rational decision making.
Three years ago, a Manhattan College senior had a vision of bringing an Autism Speaks U chapter to campus. Today, it is a thriving club with active members and a growing campus presence. “I thought it was important to shed light on autism and for our school to be a part of a cause that does so much good for people,” Becca Cook, the founder of the campus’s club, said. “The reality is that many people are ill-informed about autism. I wanted to open people’s eyes to what it is really like.” According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) website, autism spectrum disorder is a complex brain disorder that affects a person’s social interactions, as well as his or her verbal and nonverbal communication. The CDC has approximated that one in 68 American children are on the autism spectrum. Furthermore, the CDC states that the rate of the disorder has increased by 78 percent from 2007 to 2012. This makes it the “fastest-growing serious developmental disability in the U.S.,” according to the CDC. Cook wanted to bring the Autism Speaks organization to MC because this substantial increase in the amount of cases of autism makes autism awareness that much more important. “The cause and the disorder are near to my heart,” she said. “I have a few family members on the spectrum and I felt it was important to bring awareness about autism to our community because it is such a
prevalent disorder that people come in contact with each and every day.” A senior at the time, Cook needed to pass the presidency onto someone else who was equally as passionate about the cause, and luckily she was able to find just the person in Jennifer McNulty. “When she gave it [the presidency] to me, it was like she was giving me her baby because that was the first year it was on campus,” McNulty, a junior education major and current president, said. “At first it was really challenging and I was kind of thrown into a new thing. Being a sophomore I was like, ‘Oh, I have to go through Student Activities, oh, wait, what?’ I was just so confused. But now I’m so happy I did it.” A seasoned president at this point, McNulty has big plans for the club this year, including a walk for autism on Jones Beach on Oct. 5, participating in Safe Halloween, and various other fundraisers and awareness events. “I just want more people to get to know what autism is and what Autism Speaks does as a club,” McNulty said. McNulty also plans on bringing back popular autism awareness events that she put on last year as well. “We’re probably going to do the candy cane sale again,” she said. “We get blueberry candy canes, and they’re really good too, and we put autism facts on them and give them to everyone in the library studying for finals week.” One of the most well-known events on campus, however, is the lighting of the Quad with blue candles. “We light up the Quad blue with the puzzle piece and everything,” she explained. “I’m very excited for that this year, that’s one
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Spoon Manhattan founders Alyssa Rosello and Alicia Devaney recruit students on the Quad with made cookies. Photo by Gabriela Rem
Where It’s t Has Been
my favorite events in the entire world.” When Cook graduated, she knew she was passing n her baby to a more than capable successor. “I think I left the club in amazing hands,” Cook said. en has such a passion for the cause, which is exactly hat this club needs in order to thrive. I have no doubt at it will only keep growing from here.” McNulty certainly is planning on expanding the ub, as one of her major goals is to create a community treach program for students who have autism on mpus. “It’s going to take a lot of work, because they can’t ally give us the files on that, which is perfectly fine, viously that’s none of my business,” McNulty said. But I would just love for all of us to be a community. I el like our campus is so communal-based. I love that! ut I want the kids who have autism to feel welcome o.” McNulty and Cook both believe that the point of the ub should be about raising awareness for autism. “When we were at the activities fair, a lot of ople asked us ‘What is autism?’ And I told them s a developmental social disability where mentally ey could be really smart, but socially they could be wkward or they could just not understand the norms at we would understand,” McNulty said. While the club also raises money to donate towards e research of this disorder, they are making it a main al to increase the awareness of autism on the MC mpus. “I think when I started, my goal was to raise a gnificant amount of money for the organization,” ook said. “As I continued, I realized that it was more mportant to reach as many people as possible to get em informed. If that led to donations, great, and if t, that’s great too, because they were still learning mething about autism they may not have known fore.” “I really, by the time I graduate, want to raise wareness on campus,” McNulty said. “Just to make eryone feel like they’re on the same level.”
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Top photo: Autism Speaks club members at the activities fair. Bottom photos: Last year’s “Light It Up Blue” event to raise autism awareness. Photos courtesy of Manhattan College Autism Speaks Facebook page.
y at MC: A Publication to Feed You
homemache.
Gabriela Remache Staff Writer
While casually browsing the Internet one day this past summer, senior communication major Alyssa Rosello stumbled upon a new online movement called Spoon University and realized that if it were to be introduced to the Manhattan College community, the college’s student life would be taken by storm. Spoon University is an official online newspaper guided by the motto, “a food publication for the students by the students.” Through their own college’s chapter of Spoon U, students nationwide can write articles on their various food experiences, food preparations and budget conscious tips on how to eat well both at home and outside. According to the website, there is currently a “network of 1,000 students at 45 campuses nationwide” who are working together to help all college students “eat intelligently.” Rosello attended a weekend conference in Manhattan called “Brain Food” to meet the founders of Spoon University, as well as the lead representatives of other major food companies such as Buzz Feed and Bon Appetit, She then proposed the idea of
starting a campus chapter to one of her closest friends, senior marketing major Alicia Devaney. The girls immediately created an Instagram account where they announced their intentions to recruit students for the movement. On Wednesday, Sept. 17, the two senior girls with the same vision set out to distribute free homemade cookies and flyers about the Spoon Manhattan chapter to gather more support for their new project. “We’re looking for writers, photographers, marketers, event planners and videographers for a diverse team,” Devaney said when asked about the kinds of students they wish to add on to their chapter and the process by which students get selected. “And since we live in one of the biggest cities in the country, everyone has something to say about their eating experiences or even something as simple about ‘the perks of eating peanut butter.’” “Some think this is only for communication and English majors, but we’re also looking for the biology major to write about nutrition and health, so anyone can contribute in some way,” Rosello added. The online publication has allowed itself to be so flexible and influenced by the tastes of the students that it is now a
strong food resource for students with strict or limited dietary options. “The other day, I read an article titled ‘The Gluten-free College,’” Devaney said. Additionally, the young pioneers of the MC chapter said “Manhattan College is small enough and close enough to food locations of common interest and it is more reliable than any other source because you know who’s writing about the deals and experiences.” “There’s nothing like this at Manhattan College,” Rosello said when further questioned about their visions and goals for the chapter. “There’s the newspaper and the magazine, but something like this is different because food is a common interest. It brings people together to create a food community to unify the campus. We’re targeting the lower classmen because we hope that this project will continue for years to come.” “My goal also is to at least become an official club by the end of the year,” Devaney added. “It will be so much easier for people coming in because we’ll have more money to do things, will be recognized in a different way and more people will know about it, as the first ones, it’s the hardest to launch this project. But, there’s so much potential for
people to engage in this so everyone can grow.” “We’re just here to have fun and bring everyone together,” they said in unison. As they distributed free cookies and flyers again on Thursday, Sept. 18, many students expressed interest and even a freshman chemical engineering major, Gloria Bauman, rushed after them and inquired about the application process for event planners. “It’s a great idea, especially for people who are new to the area to learn about new hot spots that people their age like,” Bauman said when asked about her initial thoughts regarding the new chapter. The Spoon Manhattan chapter may take many by surprise, especially with the career advantages that come from being a chapter member, like connections to jobs or internships within the food industry for companies like GrubHub, Seamless or The Food Network Magazine, as well as more local advantages like free dinners or food discounts. Such perks are a reflection of Spoon University’s goal to fully invest in the college student’s eating experience. Only time will tell the success of the Spoon Manhattan online newspaper.
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Sept. 23, 2014
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F R I E N D S
at Central Perk
Lauren Carr A&E Editor If you ever dreamed of sitting on the iconic orange couch that Ross, Monica, Chandler, Phoebe, Rachel and Joey sat on then your dreams are about to come a reality. Now until Oct. 18, a pop-up version of Central Perk is now in lower Manhattan for fans of the show “Friends” to go to. If you are someone who can quote every line or even someone who watches the show here and there, you do not want to miss out on visiting the coffee shop. However, this is not an actual coffee shop. Rather, it is a sea of people looking at the different memorabilia from the show while drinking the fresh coffee that is handed out for free. The coffeehouse feels more like a museum than a place where you could go and write your English paper. After looking at the memorabilia, you then get in line to take your picture on the authentic orange couch. Yes, you will be sitting in the same place that Jennifer Aniston once sat. The pictures are free as well. After, you can stand by a huge flat screen TV and watch highlights from the iconic 90s show in high definition while drinking coffee and quoting lines with other “Friends” fanatics. The memorabilia includes costumes, props and other iconic staples from the show. Ross’s leather pants make an appearance, Phoebe’s guitar, the iconic white dog that Chandler and Joey had in their apartment, the Soap Opera Digest issue where Joey was on the cover and the actual Geller Cup-troll doll and all. Pictures from other moments throughout the shows 10-year-run are also posted around the coffee shop. Not a lot of TV shows have done these pop-up attractions in the past, but seeing as this is the 20th anniversary of the show, fans of all ages turned out in the masses to see Central Perk in real life. You are going to find yourself channeling your inner Chandler by asking the question, “Could there BE anymore people here?” However, this coffee shop is not located in the West Village underneath the “Friends” apartment, rather, it is located at 199 Lafayette St. in SoHo. We all know that the gang would never stand in line to get a cup of coffee. In 10 years they never even had to wait for the couch, but in this case everyone is waiting outside for a cup of coffee. Fans need to be prepared to wait well over an hour to get inside. The best time to get there is when they first open because by the early afternoon hours the wait could possibly be up to three hours long. If you decide to take the trip downtown to see what this place has in store make sure to bring some friends. Standing in line is never a fun thing, but if you bring people who are just as much of fans as you are then you are in for a great afternoon. Once you are inside you get about 15 to 20 minutes to hang out until ultimately you are told it’s time to go. The coffee shop has plenty of merchandise that you can purchase. Once you step back outside, there is another line to get back into the store to get into
the gift shop section where coffee mugs, t-shirts, DVDs and countless other items are available for purchase. This line is not long at all, but if you are planning on buying something bring a credit card because they do not accept cash. Central Perk is open Monday through Friday from 8 a m. to 8 p m. and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a m. to 8 p m. Fans line up to wait for hours just to get inside the pop-up Central Perk coffee shop. Photos by Lauren Carr.
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Film Review of “Ida”
Recycled Raps Sean Sonnemann Web Editor
Dropping bars. Spitting fire. Any music fan worth his or her salt knows that these are terms for that special moment when a rapper truly makes some magic on the mic. Every so often a rapper comes up with a line that makes you want to immediately hit rewind and hear it again. It could be for skillful entendre-laced wordplay, a timely cultural reference or something that is just plain funny. However, more times than you might think, rappers have been known to borrow a few verses from another rap song and repurpose them. Sometimes they tweak the lyrics in order to put a different twist on the meaning. At other points, they might keep the original as homage to the rapper who first came up with those lines. At worst, they might pass plagiarized lyrics as their own (especially those taken from unknown rappers who have yet to make it big) and hope that nobody notices the theft. Rap titans Kanye West, Drake and Kendrick Lamar are all expected to release new albums in the coming weeks that hopefully won’t disappoint both musically and lyrically. Yet even big names such as these have been guilty of repurposing others’ lines. There are plenty of cases of lyrical looting/borrowing in the
hip-hop world to choose from, here are a few interesting ones. 1) “Worst Behavior” by Drake and “Mo’ Money, Mo’ Problems” by The Notorious B.I.G & Ma$e The warm-up song (at least for last season) for our very own men’s basketball team features some lifted lines from one of the most iconic songs in rap history. When the tempo changes at 2:42, Drake spits nearly line for line Ma$e’s opening verse on Biggie’s posthumous 1997 smash hit. While there was no problem from Drake borrowing these lines, he was not so lucky this past summer. Drizzy reportedly paid 100,000 dollars after using bars from a 1994 Rappin’ 4-Tay track for his feature on YG’s “Who Do You Love?” 2) “Otis” by Jay-Z & Kanye West and “Top Billin’” by Audio Two The pairing of Jay-Z and Kanye on “Watch The Throne” produced several memorable records. On “Otis,” the two refer to another iconic rap track. At the 2:27 mark, they adapt a line from Audio Two’s heavily sampled and funky late 80s song. Give “Top Billin’” a listen and see if you can pick out other lines that been modified or reused over the years by artists other than Yeezy and Hova.
3) “Dr. Carter” by Lil’ Wayne and “Can’t Tell Me Nothing” by Kanye West While Lil’ Wayne blatantly steals a line from Kanye on “Dr. Carter,” at least he admits it in the very same verse. After taking a notable Kanye line that references Magic Johnson, Wayne continues, “And that was called recycling, or re-reciting something cause you just like it so you say it just like it. Some say it’s biting but I say it’s enlightening.” Even if you don’t accept Wayne’s artistic license defense, you have to give him credit for being honest about it his borrowing. 4) “The Ruler’s Back” by Jay-Z and “The Ruler’s Back” by Slick Rick “The Blueprint” was one of Jay-Z’s most critically-acclaimed and commercially successful albums—and for good reason. However, younger fans might not pick up on the nod that Mr. Beyoncé is giving to rap forefather Slick Rick in this track. Here, Jay interpolates numerous lines from the original “The Ruler’s Back” by one of hip-hop’s legendary storytellers. Many rappers have come after Jay-Z over the years, criticizing him for liberally reusing lines and styles from other rappers in his own music. Be sure to check online at mcquad. org for a Spotify playlist with these tracks and other web exclusive content for Jasper Jams.
Poet Jen McClanaghan Kicks Off MARS Season Daniel Molina Staff Writer
In an almost full Hayden Hall Auditorium, professor, poet and writer Jen McClanaghan kicked off the Major Authors Reading Series (MARS), presenting her latest book, “River Legs” in front of students and teachers at Manhattan College. In a very charming and familiar way, McClanaghan read her favorite parts of her book and shared the anecdotes in which the poems are based. “What should I do with this?” she asked to the audience with uncertainty about the place to put her bottle of water, showing that she was not the Edgar Allan Poe or Pablo Neruda that someone claimed her to be, just a simple and ordinary woman. McClanaghan began with poems such as “Miniature Pardons” that talked about the way she saw animals on a field trip. This showed in a perfect way what Dominika Wrozynski, assistant professor in the English department, identified in the introduction as the author’s personal signature of “taking the ordinary and converting it into extraordinary.” “My Lie” and “One Red Look” were also part of the initial set of texts that McClanaghan shared with the expectant group, emphasizing how coming though her forties is changing the way she sees life. Reading the poem that gives name to the book, “River Legs,” McClanaghan recalled her trip to the border between Mexico and the United States. She presented the atrocities she saw in a crude but sensible way. As a closure, she com-
Poet Jen McClanaghan talks to students about what inspires her when it comes to poetry. Photo by Daniel Molina. mented that her intention was to read new verses and receive the first feedback but, just as other authors, the inspiration that night was not by her side. After a successful and acclaimed lecture, McClanaghan answered some questions from students who were interested about her process of writing, the difficulties of a deadline and the pressure of meeting the expectations of her last material. “Authors are people too,” says Jasmine Parks, a student who attended to the reading. “They’re not someone to be ide-
alized, we can be like them, we can achieve the same things that they can achieve and, you know, it should take one time to sit down and write something and, to do it… and we can be over there [the podium].” McClanaghan stayed a few more minutes in the room to answer last questions, gave some personal tips and signed a few copies of the book. Giving space to some of the students that approached her proved a theme of her whole lecture, “Writers have a normal life and are people just as you and me.”
Amy Cardoza Guest Writer
On Wednesday, Sept. 17, the Film Society hosted a screening of the Polish film “Ida” in Hayden 100. Although the film was entirely in Polish with English subtitles, it didn’t detract from the sheer beauty of the cinematography and the powerful script. The film chronicles an orphan, Ida, who grew up in a convent in 1960s Poland. Her quiet, routine life is upset suddenly by learning she has an aunt outside her ordered world inside the convent. She journeys to find her last connection to a family she has never known. Ida and her aunt contrast sharply in personality and lifestyle, but together they fervently try to find the past and then deal with the repercussions drudging up the past can sometimes bring, especially if the past is a particularly painful one. Poland in the 1960s was a time that followed great tragedy in Poland’s history. World War II devastated the Polish people. Three million Polish Jews were murdered during the events of the war and for the time after the war Jewish relations hadn’t recovered. Poland was on the road to recovery at the time the movie was set, but the not-so-distant past was filled with intense grief and tragedy, a tragedy that has touched all the main characters in the film. The movie is filmed entirely in black and white. Although some people find that frustrating, it was essentially a beautiful choice by director Pawel Pawlikowski. The cinematic choice of filming in black and white brought a feeling of antiquity to the film. It allowed the director play with light and contrast that can emphasize the light and dark aspects of the two central characters, Ida and her aunt, Wanda. Ida is often portrayed as lighter and her aunt as darker, reflecting their outlook on life. The key thematic elements of the film are family, identity, memories, grief and choice. It is a brilliant movie that makes you think about family and what it means to be a part of a family, even if it’s not in the traditional sense of the word. It makes you think about love. It makes you try to understand how people can enter your life, touch it so deeply, change everything you believe in and then simply vanish. Pawlikowski’s story and the story of Ida reflect the same idea of returning home. This is Pawlikowski’s return to Polish film, the film of his homeland, after directing mostly English films. Returning home is a huge theme in Ida’s life as well, considering the whole movie is about learning where you came from to learn who you are. Her return to a home that she never knew she had and learning her family’s history changed her in paramount ways. “Ida” is a tragically beautiful piece on how people can change your life, but ultimately you decide what life you want to live. The power lies in you. Editor’s Note: “Ida” was the first film shown this year by Manhattan College’s Film Society in Hayden 100. The Film Society is a group of students that meet regularly to discuss cinema. This year the Film Society is examining movies that touch on the theme of memory.
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This Week In Sports On Sept. 19, men’s soccer tied Yale on the road, 0-0. On Sept. 20, volleyball traveled to play Quinnipiac and won 3-1. The men’s cross country team also competed Saturday and finished seventh out of eight Division I teams. The women’s cross-country team finished eighth out of nine Division I teams. Also on Sept. 20, the golf team finished last out of 18 teams at the Rutgers Fall Invitational. As of 10 a.m. on Sept. 21, the men’s soccer team is tenth in the MAAC before conference play begins in the coming weeks with a 1-2-1 non-conference record. The volleyball team (1-0 MAAC, 9-2) is in second place in the MAAC.
Tuesday, Sept. 23
Wednesday, Sept. 24
Thursday, Sept. 25
Friday, Sept. 26
Saturday, Sept. 27
Sunday, Sept. 28
Men’s Cross Country
Women’s Cross Country Golf
Tuxedo Autumn Invitational TBA
Men’s Soccer
La Salle 7 p.m. Marist 1 p.m.
Women’s Soccer
Women’s Tennis
Volleyball
West Point Invitational 9 a.m. Marist 1 p.m.
Siena 1 p.m.
Monday, Sept. 29