the Quadrangle
ManhattanUniversityHostsAnnual
President’sDinner
PresidentFrederickBonatohostedhisfirstPresident’sDinner overtheweekend, followinghispermanentappointmenttotheposition.
Student-FacultyResearch PublishedinTheJournalof FinancialCrime
Mary Haley
Marketing Chair/Assistant Features Editor
The Journal of Financial Crime has two new Manhattan University bylines, Amanda Sanseverino, Ph.D. and senior Daniela DePrizio. Together for a year and a half, the pair worked on their research pertaining to, “extraterritorial laws and the accounting profession.”
The research focused on understanding the legal landscape related to corporate social responsibility issues, examining bribery and human rights issues like human slavery and their legal implications globally.
Additionally, they dove into the extra-territoriality of these laws and how different countries enforce them, with a particular emphasis on understanding the legal and social aspects of these complex international issues.
Sanseverino, an accounting, computer information systems and law department professor, became interested in anticorruption research during her doctoral studies around 2017, when she discovered extraterritorial laws that applied to companies doing business in different countries. She was drawn to researching how these laws could help curb corporate misconduct, particularly bribery and corruption, by applying regulations to multinational companies
regardless of the location of their headquarters. Her initial research focused on the UK Bribery Act and its impact on U.S. companies’ operations in high-risk corruption countries.
“[This research] is kind of a culmination of what I’ve been thinking about and trying to bring this more to light for accounting practitioners,” Sanseverino said. “Of course, not to suggest that people in the field have no clue what’s going on, but there are just so many, even indirect kinds of effects that [these laws] could have. So that’s where we landed, and it ended up working out really well.”
DePrizio, an accounting and management student,
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Editor
On Sept. 16, Lieutenant Governor of New York Antonio Delgado made an appearance at Manhattan University, where he spoke to students and several faculty members about the importance of Constitution Day, as well as self-correction. The event was sponsored by the political science, international studies and history department.
Delgado first ran for Congress in 2018 with no prior experience in electoral politics. He was initially elected to represent New York’s nineteenth district, where he served two terms. In 2022, Delgado was appointed as the lieutenant governor of New York. Delgado spoke about his upbringing, what’s brought him to where he is today and how it ties back to the Constitution.
“The march towards perfecting our union is baked into the literal design of our founding document and we should never lose sight of that,” Delgado said. “We can tie that to personal narratives and how we all go about our own lives. I’ve had to do a lot of selfcorrections or amendments over time. We all do, and the moment you’re in right now in
life, I would argue, is probably one of the most instructive.” Delgado spoke about his background, coming from a middle class family, and later attending Colgate University to pursue a medical degree in hopes to please his father. He mentioned how selfcorrection is what allowed him to come to the realization that he did not want to be a doctor, and wanted to live life on his own terms instead.
“I realized I needed to self-correct because I was not meant to be a doctor,” Delgado said. “I had a freshman seminar class that was called, ‘What is Real and What is True’. The professor changed my life. We wrestled with questions on faith, philosophy and power. I was hooked and could not get enough of it.”
Delgado emphasized the importance of college students figuring out what they want to do for themselves, and staying true to their own personal identity.
“The essence of college is figuring out who you are on your own accord, not divorcing yourself from your parents or your loved ones, but figuring out where you stand, separate and apart from them,” Delgado said. There’s so much change that happened during my time in college, more than any other
Laili Shahrestani Features
Volume CXII, Issue 4 SEPTEMBER 23, 2025
The Editorial Board
Grace Cardinal Editor-in-Chief
Emmanouel Sofillas Managing Editor
Laili Shahrestani Features Editor
Leyla Mercado Arts & Entertainment Editor
Barbara Vasquez
Maizy Swift Production Editors
Amy Forster Asst. Production Editor
Mary Haley Marketing Chair
Brooke Della Rocco News Editor
Mary Haley Asst. Features Editor
Andrew Mannion Sports Editor
Owen McWalters Asst. Sports Editor
Barbara Vasquez Web Editor
Maizy Swift
Elaina Batista Asst. Social Media Editors
Thom Gencarelli Faculty Advisor
About The Quadrangle
A tradition since 1924, The Quadrangle is a news organization run by the students of Manhattan University. We strive to cover news around campus and the greater community, publishing weekly in print and daily online. Our goal is always accuracy, relevancy and professionalism.
The opinions expressed in The Quadrangle are those of the individual writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board, the University or the student body.
Join The Quadrangle
The Quadrangle’s staff holds weekly open meetings on Tuesdays at 4 p.m. in the Charter Room of Memorial Hall. All are welcome to come and join the club.
LETTER from the EDITOR
Dear Readers,
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
I’m going to be transparent with you all – this week is one where I struggled with what to write in this letter. At a moment in history where there’s much discussion and concern about freedom of speech, particularly in relation to news media, it begs to be addressed in forums such as this one. My goal as editor of this paper, and as a journalist, is to always address important issues such as these with clarity and balance, so that’s where I’ll attempt to begin.
The Quadrangle itself is no stranger to challenges. Throughout our 101-year history, there have been multiple instances where student journalism on this campus has not been seen or treated as equal to our protections under the First Amendment. There have been moments when people hesitated to speak with us out of fear. Despite this, we have always persevered, in part due to the constitutional powers we, and every newsroom across the country, are afforded.
Today, new proposals from the Federal Communications Commission raise serious concerns about the future of media in the United States. There is a precedent being set with lasting implications for the future of American freedom: the freedom of information, the freedom of education, and simply put, the freedom to exist in a healthy democracy.
With constant breaking news alerts and what can feel like tragedies everyday, we’ve become united in our desensitization to news. Day to day, it can feel hard to know what notifications to pay attention to and what can be swept underneath the rug without any damage caused. Pay attention to this one.
For more on the FCC and the development of recent events, I encourage you to read this week’s Manhattan Caucus column, which provides an excellent overview of these issues in further context.
As for the rest of Issue 4, in news we bring you Lt. Governor Antonio Delgado’s talk on campus, student/faculty research published in the Journal of Financial Crime and a new face in the recreation and wellness department at MU. In features, we bring you the expansion of MU’s Jasper Safe program and Sanctus Artem on the quad. In A&E, we bring you an overview of the first-ever Sixth Borough Film Festival, premiering this April and the debut of a film focused on the untold stories of Jews in Pakistan. Lastly, in sports, we bring you more on women’s volleyball’s electric win against Rhode Island and a Games of the Week overview. We hope you’ll check it all out.
Stay safe and stay informed. We’ll see you back next week.
Until next time,
LieutenantGovernorofNewYorkAntonioDelgado SpeaksonConstitutionDayatManhattanUniversity
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
point in my life. I realized that the four year period of my life ended up being the most significant amount of change in any four year period of my life.”
Delgado expressed how finding out where you are meant to be takes time, and that the journey is not always linear. He spoke about his experience studying at Oxford University, then Harvard Law School and eventually ending up working as a hip-hop artist post graduation.
“After Oxford, I came home, took a year off, and then went to law school, not because I knew what I wanted to do, but I wanted to figure out what to do,” Delgado said. “I went in there believing that I would become a lawyer and do something in law. That was what I went into law school initially thinking, but after I graduated from law school I moved to Los Angeles and became a hip-hop artist for five years. So again, more selfcorrection.”
As the event carried on, The Quadrangle had the chance to ask Delgado what Constitution Day means to him, and why it is important.
“Constitution Day is remembering that we are a grand human project that is
committed to perfecting our union, knowing that we’ll never be able to fully perfect it,” Delgado said. “The way we allow for ourselves to grow, evolve, become more fair and more just is by anchoring ourselves to the ideals and values that have been laid out in the Constitution, and just trying to adhere to those structures that decentralize power and protect humanity against the self.”
Margaret Groarke, Ph.D., chairperson of the political science, international studies and history department, added onto the importance of Constitution Day. She highlighted how many students may not know much about the day or what it is all about.
“In terms of Constitution Day, unless you’re taking Political Science 203 with me, you probably don’t spend a lot of time thinking about it,” Groarke said. “But you know, this is the foundation, whether it’s good, bad, flawed or perfect, it’s the foundation of the rules of the game for our system.”
Groarke went on to speak about how understanding what is in the Constitution is crucial to keeping our democracy alive and protected.
“If we don’t defend it
[the Constitution] and say, ‘wait a minute, that’s not constitutional,’ then it can all fall apart,” Groarke said. “Realize, just like other democracies fall apart, we can also fall apart. So we have to know, ‘what are our rights? How is this supposed to work? Who’s supposed to be deciding what - Congress or the president or the governor?’”
At the event, there were a number of student attendees, who came out of interest in hearing what Delgado had to say. Paul Fevrier, a sophomore and electrical engineering major, attended the event for the opportunity to personally
meet someone who works in politics.
Fevrier went on to speak with The Quadrangle about the concept of democracy, and how he thinks young voters usually have the most impact on elections.
“A lot of times, college students or young voters have the loudest voices and impact on the future elections more so than older voters,” Fevrier said. “I think that’s important to remember when thinking about our democracy.”
Similar to Fevrier, there were a number of attendees who were majoring in disciplines
outside of political science and philosophy. Groarke went on to speak about the importance of attending these guest-speaker events, even if they have nothing to do with one’s major.
“It was a big part of my college education to go to different speaker events with different people,” Groarke said.
“Even if I wasn’t taking a class on the subject, I wanted to go hear people talk and become exposed to something new. I think that’s a big opportunity that you have in college that you don’t have that often in real life.”
Student-FacultyResearchPublishedinTheJournalofFinancialCrime
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
was drawn to this project because of the social issues at hand and an interest in a career in law. She helped research the laws that deal with bribery, built a guide and wrote a rough draft of the research paper that was then presented at the American Accounting Association (AAA) by Sanseverino and published in the Journal of Financial Crime. The journal
describes it as a collection that, “publishes authoritative, practical and detailed insight in the most serious and topical issues relating to the control and prevention of financial crime and related abuse.”
“I was so happy that [the editors] saw the value in the article and for the journal to be so well aligned with the scope of our article and what we were focused on,” Sanseverino said. “That leads me to think the readership will have a particular interest
in the article. So it gives me more confidence, because it seems like that publication outlet is so well suited for our article that readers of that journal will be the ones who it will benefit most, and that it’ll get into the right hands.”
DePrizio, on the other hand, presented the research to MU, as a part of the Thieke Fellowship.
“I wasn’t really nervous, because I felt really prepared for it,” DePrizio said. “Dr. Sanseverino and I worked on
the presentation beforehand. I was presenting with three other students and we all had 15 minutes. I will say, what got me a little nervous was during question time, because I was nervous someone would ask a question that I would not know how to answer, but I was able to figure it out and talk myself through it.”
The project naturally came with challenges. Spanning a year and a half, it even continued while DePrizio studied abroad in Prague. Time differences made collaboration difficult, so much of the work during that period happened individually or over email. Classes DePrizio took while abroad added a new perspective to conducting this research.
“I took a course that touched on [responsibility], so they were doing it from the American perspective, looking [at] America being the outsiders,” DePrizio said.
“The way that Dr. Sanseverino and I approached it was like, ‘What do other countries require American countries to do?’ So it was just very different, hearing the other perspectives.”
Beyond the publication itself, DePrizio credits the experience with shaping her professional direction, as well as giving her insight into a field outside of her major.
“I would say this experience taught me how to research, which sounds kind of ridiculous, but that was so helpful for me,” DePrizio said. “Research is also an opportunity to explore something that maybe isn’t your major. I’m not [political science] or law, and so that was my chance to kind of explore something in that realm, and it just solidified for me that that is what I want to do.”
Antonio Delgado pictured speaking at Manhattan University. @MANHATTANEDU / INSTAGRAM
Daniela DePrizio and Amanda Sanseverino, Ph.D. along with other students and professors who presented their research.
DANIELA DEPRIZIO / COURTESY
news
AntoineOrrBeginsPositionasAssistant
DirectorofRecreationandWellness
Andrew Mannion Sports Editor
Manhattan University recently hired Antoine Orr to serve as the University’s assistant director of recreation and wellness. With an extensive background in collegiate athletics, Orr brings a lot to look forward to for Jasper students.
Orr started his career in athletics as a player for St. Peters University, playing through his undergraduate career as a guard for the team. Now in his new position at MU, Orr has made it clear that he wants to bring a new energy to the recreation and wellness department.
“I am definitely looking to bring excitement, some innovation, some energy to campus that no one has really ever seen before,” Orr said.
Being just a few months into his time at MU, Orr has noted how great the department has been thus far. He mentioned how supportive the staff have
been for him to do his job and reach his goals of making MU’s student athletics environment sensational.
“I love what I’m doing,” Orr said. “The thing that stands out the most are the people. I have really good work colleagues. Nicole [Brosnan] is just awesome, and she’s been guiding me through the process and helping me figure out all the in’s and out’s of internal processes. Our Vice President, Kristell Lowe, is incredible. It really gives us a runway to creatively be who we want to be and create moments for these students that are memorable.”
The feeling is shared amongst the department of recreation and wellness. The director of the department, Nicole Brosnan, had only positive sentiments about the job Orr has done so far.
“In Student Engagement, and more broadly student life, we are working to create a culture of care and help be roadblock removers for our Manhattan University students,” Brosnan said.
“Antoine not only supports that vision but wants to be part of it. As a former MAAC basketball player, he loves fitness and has already been seen by multiple students in the fitness center. Whether it’s shooting hoops in Draddy, playing flag football in Gaelic, or working out in the Fitness Center, he wants to see our campus moving.”
Student Engagement is a large part of the campus community and aims to improve the lives of students on campus. One of the many events hosted under Student Engagement is intramural sports. One student who takes part in intramural sports, Tadeo Quellet, spoke to The Quadrangle about how he is excited for the improvements Orr hopes to make.
“Intramural (sports) are a great part of Manhattan,” Quellet said. “I have a lot of fun in the sports that the school provides for students. I’m really excited to see what Mr. Orr can add to a department that I already find pretty fun to be a part of.”
In just a few short weeks at MU, Orr has already built
Antoine Orr joins Manhattan University with plenty of collegiate sports experience. LINKEDIN.COM / COURTESY
the basis of a club basketball team for the university. With more details to come soon, Orr is making his impact at the school felt by extending his love for basketball out to students at a competitive level.
“We’re going to start a club basketball program, to be the first time it’s ever been at the
school,” Orr said. “We’re going to compete in the National Club Basketball Athletic Association, so it’s in an actual league. We’re going to host tryouts in the next couple of weeks, and the students should be on the lookout for something really unique and special when we get this thing off the ground.”
ManhattanCaucus:Trump,CarrandtheFCCSee ClashOverMediaOversightandFreeSpeech
Elaina Batista Asst. Social Media Editor
Following the removal of Jimmy Kimmel Live from the air this week, President Donald Trump has suggested that the federal government may revoke the licenses of broadcast television networks that have a liberal bias and that do not serve the public interest. With the assistance of Federal Communications Commissioner Brendan Carr, Trump and his administration would be able to revoke the licenses of broadcast organizations who give him “bad publicity.” ABC pulled Kimmel’s late night talk show off the air after he had made comments about the death of right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk. Brendan Carr was named chairman of the FCC by President Trump in November, and since his appointment, has
launched investigations into ABC, CBS and NBC News. The FCC regulates broadcasting, telecommunications and broadband.
On Wednesday, just hours before it was announced that Kimmel’s show would be put on hold indefinitely, Carr appeared on conservative commentator Benny Johnson’s podcast and stated, “They [ABC] have a license granted by us at the FCC that comes with it an obligation to operate in the public interest.”
While pulling Kimmel’s show, Carr cited that the show was in violation of the FCC’s public interest obligation. In exchange for a license to operate a broadcasting station, each radio or television program must operate its station in the “public interest, convenience, and necessity,” meaning that the programming must be responsive to the needs and issues of its local community, according to the Federal Communications
Commission website.
In an interview with Reuters, Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, stated that the FCC lacks constitutional authority and the ability to control broadcasters for speech that the government disapproves of. Gomez continued by accusing Carr of unlawfully attempting to apply the “public interest” test.
In light of these latest developments, particularly among late-night shows, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, have called for Carr’s resignation. They stated that Carr has reneged in “the corrupt abuse of power.” In the statement, the Democratic leaders claimed that canceling performances or censoring artists was “an act of cowardice” that signaled a “war on the First Amendment.”
These conversations have raised questions about specific First Amendment protections. While some First Amendment
experts, as discussed in an article from PBS News, believe that the law permits the FCC to control some aspects of broadcasters’ behavior, others contend that using its power to pressure private media companies to censor comedians’ speech on public issues goes beyond those bounds.
Looking at Jimmy Kimmel’s case specifically, Carr acted on his own without formal action by the five-member board of the FCC. The only member of the board to speak out against Carr’s action was Gomez.
On top of this news erupting into debate on the domestic side, Sir Keir Starmer and Donald Trump delivered a joint press conference during Trump’s second state visit to the U.K. last week, where they both continued to put an emphasis on their countries’ long and close ties. One of his “few disagreements” with Starmer, Trump admitted during the press conference,
was the U.K.’s anticipated endorsement of a Palestinian state.
Trump has said that he is more than willing to implement “major sanctions on Russia” as soon as NATO nations cease purchasing oil from Russia, but neither party committed to any fresh penalties, despite agreeing that greater pressure is required to end the conflict in Ukraine.
These conflicts highlight the complex relationship between international diplomacy, media regulation and politics as they unfold both at home and abroad. The controversy surrounding broadcast licensing at home highlights long-standing conflicts between constitutional guarantees of free speech and governmental regulation. On the international scene, Trump’s meetings with Starmer are proof of continuous attempts to strike a balance between different policy priorities and allied cooperation.
Manhattan University’s Jasper Safe Program Expands Network
Brooke Della Rocco News Editor
Manhattan University has announced the continuation and adaptation of the Jasper Safe program for the fall semester, originally created in January of 2025.
Jasper Safe is a program that focuses on establishing a network across small businesses surrounding the
university to make students feel safer and more comfortable outside campus grounds. The program aims to create safe havens, letting students know by the green Jasper Safe sticker in the entryway of businesses that they can get the help or care they need there.
According to Inside Manhattan, “Upon entering the business, the individual can inform the business staff that they are a member of the Manhattan University community and need Public
Safety’s assistance. The staff will contact the Department of Public Safety to either escort them to campus or ensure their safety by contacting NYPD for further assistance.”
The list of businesses involved has expanded significantly over the summer.
The new list includes An Beal Bocht Café, Artizen NYC, Blackstone Bar & Grill, Broadway Joe’s Pizza, Bronx Ale House, Claudy’s Kitchen, Goodfellas Pizza, Jake’s Steakhouse, Jasper
Deli, Jerry’s Barbershop, Kingsbridge Social Club, Lava House Café, Lloyd’s Carrot Cake, New Kam Sheng, New Riverdale Gourmet Deli, Parkview Sports, Riverdale Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram, Santa Fe Grill & Bar, Shamrock Wines and Liquors, Studio Delaj and Tortoise and Hare.
The program was established by Director of Public Safety William Cook and Associate Director of Public Safety Issan Rodriguez, who took inspiration from their own undergraduate years in New York City. Their respective alma maters had similar programs that they aimed to emulate.
Gerarda Shields, Ph.D., senior associate vice president of student life, dean of students and the organizer of the Jasper Safe program, spoke about the response the program has received from the Riverdale community.
“As you can see, it was overwhelmingly positive,” Shields said. “By presenting it in that way of saying ‘we want to continue to engage, and also will you help us promote the safety and welfare of our students?’
I mean, it’s kind of a win-win conversation for everybody, so it was pretty much always very well-received.”
There is no cost associated with signing up for Jasper Safe as a business. However, some businesses have incorporated new discounts specifically for students. Lava House Café just announced a 15% off deal for all MU students with a valid student ID, while Studio Delaj is offering 20% off for students on weekdays. Through the program, Goodfellas has announced weekday specials for students as well.
Shields spoke more about how this program will help foster the relationship between the school and the broader community.
“As part of the outreach for the program, it was ‘how can we better engage with you and how can we better make our students aware that you’re in the neighborhood?,’” Shields said. “That starting of the conversation was the Jasper Safe program, but in many ways, it’s morphed into ‘how do we create a culture of community?’”
Dave Lindsay, owner of Kingsbridge Social Club, a Riverdale restaurant staple, spoke about why he chose to be involved in this strategic partnership.
“Manhattan University is a neighbor of ours,” Lindsay said. “I have always looked at my restaurant as being a place [where] anybody can come and feel safe. So it’s a partnership that kind of happened naturally.”
The Jasper Safe program has officially become a selling point for MU’s Office of Admissions as well, incorporated into orientation and Welcome Weekend programs. Shields mentioned how she took students on a neighborhood foodie tour during Welcome Weekend, highlighting Jasper Safe businesses and trying some of their food.
Lindsay left the conversation with a call to action for businesses around the Riverdale community.
“I think that all bars and restaurants should open their doors for people that are possibly in trouble at the time and offer a safe place, at a place that they can know they will be taken care of,” Lindsay said.
Features
SanctusArtemHolds CollageontheQuad Event
Sarah Rolka Contributor
On Sept. 16, Manhattan University’s art club, Sanctus Artem, held their first event of the semester called Collage on the Quad. The event acted as a space where students could express themselves creatively through collages made from magazine clippings and other art supplies.
Sanctus Artem is a club where there is emphasis on no judgement for expressing yourself. Members of the club and those who trickled in have, on multiple accounts, said that it is a place to meet new people, express yourself through different mediums and most importantly, make art.
The event encouraged students to come together and showcase their artistic abilities.
Lucas Haas, senior and president of Sanctus Artem, was one of the main organizers of the event. He spoke with
The Quadrangle about the inspiration behind hosting the afternoon.
“Our vision behind this is just to bring people together and collaborate, because it’s a group event in a way,” Haas said. “And, it’s just a good way to showcase what clubs we do have here on campus.”
Students came and went as they made their collages. They were able to take some time out of their day to relax and focus on their art, as well as meet new people with similar interests. This experience has been one of Haas’ favorites with the club throughout the years, which he also touched upon.
“I love how it’s a nice space where everyone can come for a good two hours every week and just get in the zone, and kind of let all their worries go away for a little bit,” Haas said. “It’s a place to make friends, just like I made friends here at the art club throughout my four years of being part of it.”
Denise Robles, a sophomore digital media art major, has
been a part of Sanctus Artem since last year, and is currently serving as their social media coordinator. When speaking
with The Quadrangle, Robles was in the midst of making her collage. She touched on the individual vision for her piece.
“I’m just putting a lot of colors and different things, and in the end, I’m trying to make it look like a heart,” Robles said. “I’m trying to add more color just because I like colors. I’m a very colorful person!”
Robles also mentioned how individualized each person’s piece was and how it was intriguing to see everyone else’s finished creations.
“Everyone is doing something different,” Robles said. “If you see how each mind thinks and works or how everything goes down for each person, you’ll see we’re all not the same. It’s just cool because you see how each person had their own vision and how they used it.”
Jacob Medina, a sophomore civil engineering major, was also taking part in the collage making event. While he mentioned that he’s usually on a busy schedule, he does his best to attend these events whenever he has the time, and that art is something
he enjoys to do for fun.
“I’ve always been an artist, so I had to check this out,” Medina said. “Even going into engineering, I still never dropped my passion for art. Hopefully they [students] can see how we express ourselves, you could do whatever you want, there’s no judgement.”
For more upcoming events over the semester, be sure to check out Sanctum Artem’s Instagram @sanctusartem.
Sanctus Artem holds their first event of the semester, Collage on the Quad. @SANCTUSARTEM / INSTAGRAM
MU Introduces First-Ever Film Festival
Maya Angelina Grate and Grace Cardinal Contributor and Editor-in-Chief
Manhattan University’s recently-announced Sixth Borough Film Festival is set to take place this April 10-12, and is currently accepting submissions. This new event is intended to bring people together to appreciate film and establish a fun and creative community.
The film festival will take place over three days and is accepting submissions across eight categories, including Best Student Film, Best Narrative Short Film, Best Narrative Feature, Best Documentary Short, Best Documentary Feature, Best Horror, Best Music Video and Best Bronx Tale.
Chair of the communication, sound studies and media arts department, Mark Pottinger, Ph.D., spoke with The Quadrangle about how the idea for the event came to be.
“Michael Grabowski and Bob Cole, who is the Director of Marketing, came up with this idea of a film festival,” Pottinger said. “The whole goal is to continue to advertise the school to the larger community and to see us as a destination, not only for New York cultural events, but also for opportunities for our students to tap into what’s actually happening in the city and internationally and how New York is constantly a magnet to engage in all that.”
Senior communication student Billy Walker came up with the name for the event after being approached by Grabowski, the program director of the festival, and Cole, executive director.
“I’m not sure why or how the event came to be, or why they had the idea to do it,” Walker said. “Dr. Grabowski and Bob Cole, who is our director of marketing for Manhattan, they came to me asking if I had any ideas on what the name could be for it, because they were going back and forth. Since our student section is called the Sixth Borough, I feel like in headlines that would turn heads being like, ‘why is it
called the Sixth Borough when there is no sixth borough?’ So that’s how I came up with it.”
The festival began accepting submissions on Sept. 3, with an early bird deadline set for Nov. 20 and a regular deadline set for Dec. 22. After being open for just over two weeks, the festival has already received submissions from around the world.
“As of right now, we’ve got entries from Argentina, India, Kazakhstan,” Grabowski said. “We have an entry from France. So we’re getting a lot of global attention…There’s a big attraction to being able to screen a film in New York City.”
In addition to this being the first ever Manhattan Universitysponsored film festival, the Department of Communication, Sound Studies and Media Arts has plans to offer a class in the spring semester that will allow students to be hands-on in the event’s planning and execution.
“I’ve just gotten permission to set up a special topics course called Film Festival Management, and that’s going to run in the spring semester,” Grabowski said. “My plan for this course is to bring in some guest speakers who run festivals and talk about the process, to get students input and to have students in the class reach out to other students about about what’s going to be most useful and interesting to students, because I really want this to be something that we’re not just celebrating film, but we’re having our students come back together to celebrate this fall with us… I want the students to have a lot of involvement in planning this and so during the festival, they’ll assist in the managing and running of the festival as well.”
Two of the categories those involved are most excited about are Bronx Tales and music videos.
“We have a category called Bronx Tales,” Grabowski said. “This category is any films that are either about the Bronx or set in the Bronx, or that are inspired by the Bronx. We want this festival to do two things. We wanted to have an international participation, so that we’re seeing films from around the world and seeing films from different cultures and different voices.”
Walker spoke to The Quadrangle about how having unique, modern categories like that for music videos can pique student interest.
“I would say it just automatically makes interest at a higher level,” Walker said. “With a music video, it’s so much more creative. You can’t just make a random music video for a song that’s already out and you don’t own the copyrights to it. So it allows collaboration between students here, and outside of the college or university, who are actually making music. I think you’re not just confined anymore to ‘here’s a documentary, and it’s 10 minutes long’ about this certain thing, like, how can you make it fun for yourself as well at the same time?”
The festival will give students and aspiring filmmakers a place to exhibit their work and receive feedback from a wide audience.
“I think festivals like [this] give an opportunity for you to get feedback and guide your creativity in ways that you just aren’t able to do on your own or with friends who just give you the compliments that you’re just looking for,” Pottinger said. “You want people to challenge you. You want to see how you compare to other people, and really put yourself in that stress space where you know, ‘let’s see what I got’. I think everyone who’s in the creative industry needs that.”
Many faculty judges have already been selected to join the panel. So far, judges include Deirdre O’Leary, Ph.D., Jeff Cherubini, Ph.D., Laura Redruello, Ph.D., Evelyn Scaramella, Ph.D. and Carol Ciancutti. Also joining the judging panel is Margaret Groarke, Ph.D., who will be heading Bronx Tales judging, as well as Thom Gencarelli, Ph.D. and Mark Pottinger, Ph.D., who will be in charge of music video entries.
As for the logistics of the festival, films submitted to the short film category will be 40 minutes or less, while feature films will be between 80 minutes and three hours long.
Grabowski discussed with The Quadrangle that these particular time limits were chosen so that the festival is able to screen as many films
Sixth Borough Film Festival logo. MANHATTAN.EDU/ COURTESY
as possible, and will allow audiences to view multiple projects in one sitting.
“I’m planning on having about four to five slots per day of screening. So we’ll start around noon and we’ll continue through the evening,” Grabowski said. “And we have three venues booked right now. We might shrink that down to two or one venues, depending upon the time of day and the number of entries we have, but it’s really going to be determined by what the judges think are worthy of showing at the festival and how many entries we get.”
In addition to making the film festival accessible to students with both free submission and tickets for admission, the program plans to facilitate professional development opportunities as well.
“I’m just in talks right now, but I’m talking with different community leaders in the Bronx about having presentation sessions, in addition to short film screenings about artists in the Bronx, different communities in the Bronx, that are engaging in art,” Grabowski said. “And I’m hoping that as we firm up those plans, I’ll be able to make some announcements on our Instagram page and elsewhere about those special events. So we’re working on that.”
This film festival may be in its inaugural year, but it marks the beginning of what Walker and others hope to be an annual
event for years to come.
“I hope it does become an annual event,” Walker said. “I think this is great, not only for Manhattan [University] and the Bronx, I think it’s great for the school, especially coming out of years where there really wasn’t a lot happening, and they weren’t really thinking of students first. I think this is a great event, especially for a department that has been overlooked in the last few years.”
Pottinger also expressed his hopes for the event to become a yearly tradition, adding that this is a year for mistakes and growth for the festival.
“We’ll obviously do things wrong, and we’ll try to correct those, but the hope is to make this the start of many,” Pottinger said. “That’s the hope. And like all film festivals, they start from something, and from there, people review it, it’s in newspapers, it’s in discussions, it’s on Time Out. You start to see it in different places, and more and more people get involved, and then you get sponsors… It has to start someplace. We’re hoping that it’s least successful in this first run, and we’ll correct the things that we did wrong and improve the things that we did right and move forward. Hopefully there’s more to come.”
To stay up to date with the newest information regarding the event, follow @ sixth_borough_film_festival on Instagram.
“Salam Shalom” Premieres at Manhattan University arts & entertainment
Brooke Della Rocco News Editor
With a packed audience, the Holocaust, Genocide, and Interfaith Education center (HGI) hosted a film premiere of “Salam Shalom.” Director and producer Hina Ali, focused on the untold story of the Jews in Pakistan, following Hazel Selzer Kahan and her family’s history.
Mehnaz Afridi, Ph.D., director and professor of religious studies at Manhattan University, director of HGI and advisor to the film, hosted the introduction and questionnaire following the conclusion of the first premiere.
Kahan takes audience members alongside her family’s story throughout the 30-minute documentary. Pakistan was a traditional place of refuge for Jewish peoples fleeing from Nazi Germany in the early to mid 1900s. Both of her parents, Jewish physicians, decided to leave Germany and Italy, finding a safe space in Pakistan. While her parents established their medical
practice, Kahan grew up in the Muslim city of Lahore.
Kahan and Ali were both present at the screening and spoke about why they felt this story was so important to tell.
“I told you when we first connected that I’ve never really met anyone like you before,”
Ali said, speaking to Kahan. “I thought I was just a Muslim woman from Pakistan trying to tell a Jewish family’s story, and it felt a little odd…I was fascinated by Hazel’s story, her connection to Lahore and her father’s journey, because I came to the U.S. from Pakistan alone.”
As attitudes abroad started to change, Kahan and her family no longer felt safe at their home in Lahore. They were forced to flee to Israel when Kahan was 32-years-old. The film compares Kahan’s memories from the past while exploring how the attitudes between Jewish and Pakistani people twisted, with her now returning to the place of her upbringing. She discovered that her family was a large part of Lahore’s history despite all the attitudes she had experienced long ago.
Kahan spoke in more
Hazel Selzer Kahan and her family in Lahore, Pakistan (1952). SALAMSHALOMDOC.COM / COURTESY
depth about the contemporary relationship between cultures that she found through her friendship with Ali.
“I think once you start having these conversations with a Muslim and a Jew, you realize just how politicized we are and how oppressed we are by the government and the media and their views of our identities,” Kahan said. “We are oppressed and distorted so we, the two of us, and people like us, break them out of that [by] just asserting ourselves not in relationship to each other. We’re not contrasting each
other.” Afridi added onto why these conversations are so relevant for our political world today.
“We just exercise this cognitive, rational thing where we want to categorize people,” Afridi said. “We are not giving people room, you know, for Jews to disagree with jews and Muslims to disagree with Muslims…I think that is the problem. We’re thinking about issues that are out of our control and bringing them home to our own communities where we isolate people and we
forget to listen.” The conversation and questionnaire wrapped up on a positive note, with Ali expressing why art is necessary in today’s society and what she hopes to accomplish with this film.
“I made this film because as an artist, you make art,” Ali said. “No matter what kind of art you make, you want to say something, right? And through this film, my first realization was I wanted to preserve this small part of Pakistan’s history.”
Women’s Volleyball Stomps Rhode Island, Wins in Straight Sets
Manhattan University’s women’s volleyball team faced off against the University of Rhode Island (URI) Rams on Saturday afternoon.
The first set was all Jaspers to start, taking a 4-1 lead off of the kill from Fiona VanDyke. This three point lead was the closest the set would be for the rest of the game. With the teams taking turns winning points, the score came to 16-13. The Lady Jaspers then scored four unanswered points with Emilia Kuzniar serving the ball. After the score landed at 20-13, Manhattan closed out to take the first set, 25-18.
The second set was incredibly close through the first 18 points. With URI up 2-1 to start the set, Manhattan worked to string together points to bring their lead to 9-5. URI also strung together multiple points, and crawled back to take their first lead of the game when Ryleigh Powers aced her serve, bringing the score to a 15-14 Rams lead.
The Jaspers close to the second set was defining for their game. With URI holding a 17-16 lead, the Jaspers dominated the back end. They won nine of the next 10 sets, including the final seven points.
With Theresa Garza delivering the serve, she saw two service aces and set up two more attack errors on the Rams. Manhattan once again won the set 25-18.
The final game was the most dominant from MU. With URI up 5-4 early, the Jaspers delivered four unanswered
points, and won 11 of the next 13 points, giving them a 15-7 lead over the Rams. With a slight back and forth over Manhattan’s final points of the game, they finally closed out the third set with a win of 2515, sweeping the Rams in three straight sets.
One of the most noticeable features of the Jaspers’ crushing win was the energy they played with. It was rare to find a play without the team clapping with smiles and motivating each other. The Jaspers’ leader in kills for the game, Emma Francesconi, spoke on how the energy the team played with was a huge factor in the result of the game.
“We were always saying ‘We got this. Let’s go. Keep it up and reset,” Francesconi said. “We’re working on [motivating
each other], and you see the change in that. We are really proud of that today.”
Before the electrifying celebrations on the court after point wins for MU, attendees saw a game of sound and confident play. There were few errors made throughout the game, which made it all the more difficult on Rhode Island.
The Jaspers outside hitter, VanDyke, spoke on how they played well throughout.
“We did the simple, basic things all game,” VanDyke said. “I think we executed on everything we needed to… It was really good.”
Being able to celebrate the monster win for the next six days, Manhattan will also be looking forward to their first game of MAAC play. With a game against Niagara, the
Jaspers will begin conference competition next Friday.
Head Coach Mauro Miletic spoke on how the Jaspers will need to play to continue this success against the MAAC.
“Definitely keep the energy,” Miletic said. “The serve/receive today, as I told our players, it was fantastic. Once you have a serve, receive a good serve, receive, then everything else is easy. Just keep working on the service team, making it better. One thing that we need to work on more is our block defense. Once you fix the block, the defense is going to get better because they can work around it.”
The Jaspers will look to build off this win in Niagara Falls next Friday, Sept. 26, as the season continues.
Emma Francesconi takes a swing for the Lady Jaspers. ANDREW MANNION/ THE QUADRANGLE
Andrew Mannion Sports Editor
Games of the Week
Emmanouel Sofillas Managing Editor
Men’s Soccer
Manhattan University men’s soccer dropped a 2-0 match to Columbia on Monday night at Rocco B. Commisso Soccer Stadium.
Columbia struck first in the 11th minute to take control early. Manhattan’s first chance came in the 25th when captain Henry Hamilton put a shot on goal.
Head Coach Tom Giovatto made three substitutions in the 31st minute to spark the offense. James Lucas stepped on and created an attempt less than a minute later. He later forced a corner kick that nearly turned into something for the Jaspers. Max Asplin-Rowley and Giovanni Rivera also added energy off the bench but the Lions defense held firm.
In the second half, William Fagerberg pushed forward with two attempts, including one on target. Columbia added a second goal to close the door.
Goalkeeper Ludvig
Malberg was the highlight for Manhattan. He faced 23 shots and made a career-high nine saves. Lucas finished with three shots in 59 minutes. Hamilton, Fagerberg and Rivera each added one shot in the loss.
Women’s Volleyball
Manhattan University women’s volleyball fell in straight sets to Fairleigh Dickinson on Friday night inside the Bogota Savings Bank Center. The Knights took the match 25-14, 25-21 and 2516.
The Jaspers spread the offense early with their first five points coming from five different players. Helenn Montilla, Fiona VanDyke, Hanna Kaczynska, Abby Morreale and Emma Francesconi each chipped in a score to open the match. FDU answered with a pair of long runs to secure the first set.
In the second, the Knights went on a 7-0 stretch, but Manhattan punched back with six straight points capped by a kill from Katie Powers.
VanDyke gave the Jaspers their lone lead of the night with a service ace before FDU closed
out the frame. The Knights then controlled the third to finish the sweep.
Manhattan won the block battle with seven compared to three for FDU. Powers and Montilla tied for the team lead with five kills each. Emilia
Kuzniar set the tone with 17 assists, marking the third time this year she has recorded more than 15 in a match. VanDyke added a team-high 12 digs.
Women’s Soccer Manhattan University women’s soccer dropped its MAAC matchup to Sacred Heart on Saturday afternoon, falling 4-0 at Park Avenue Field.
The Jaspers came out firing with junior midfielder Olivia McMaster testing the keeper inside the first five minutes. Sacred Heart struck back on the counter in the 15th minute and doubled the lead just five minutes later. McMaster added two more chances before halftime, but Manhattan went into the break trailing 2-0.
In the second half, the Jaspers pushed forward with five shots in a four-minute span. McMaster, Amaya Hill, Kaylee Stowell and freshman Scarlett Smith all challenged the Pioneer defense, but Sacred Heart extended its lead with two more goals by the 75th minute. Freshman Eryn Primus delivered the final look for Manhattan in the 81st, forcing another save.
Goalkeeper Molly Brunk matched her career high with nine saves. Defender Talia Omer went the distance, playing a full 90 minutes for the fourth straight match. Manhattan also earned seven corner kicks, tying its season high set against Central Connecticut State.
The Jaspers (1-3-4, 0-2 MAAC) return to action Wednesday at Iona.
