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THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF MANHATTAN COLLEGE | SINCE 1924
Volume CVIII, Issue 8
FREE
NEW YORK, OCTOBER 31, 2023
Local High School Students Settle into Hayden Hall Fall Has Arrived to MC
Fall is offically here as the Manhattan College campus is donned with leaves of red, yellow, orange and brown. ADRIANNE HUTTO/THE QUADRANGLE
President’s New Initiative Could Potentially Cancel Your Class - Is Your Class Next? Mack Olmsted
Asst. Arts & Entertainment Editor Manhattan College students and faculty have raised concerns about a new initiative at the college to raise class minimums to 15 students, essentially canceling classes with not enough students registered. The initiative has not been announced publicly yet, but some faculty members have told The Quadrangle for the incoming plans. Arshia Anwer, chair of the communication department noted that before the current
IN NEWS:
Local HS Students Settle into Hayden Hall on pg. 3
semester began, the provost met with faculty to discuss what this new initiative would look like, and how it will affect departments. The initiative will begin in the spring. However, this past fall the requirement was to have classes with at least 10 students, but for next semester it will be raised to 15. If it is essential for the course to run, for example, a senior needs to take the course to graduate, the course might run as a tutorial. With no official announcement from the office of the president, students only heard news about this through faculty and peers. This led to many students being confused and
upset over the lack of communication. Nayelis Minaya, a junior in the O’Malley School of Business, explained how the lack of communication was frustrating. “I just think it’s very telling that the school is not telling the students this when a lot of them are not aware that maybe some of the courses that they were thinking of taking next semester are not happening,” Minaya said. “That’s obviously very unfortunate that the school is not communicating that.” President Milo Riverso, Ph.D., did not provide a com__________________________ CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
Kyla Guilfoil
Managing Editor Manhattan College students in Hayden Hall have welcomed new neighbors this semester: high school students from Atmosphere Academy, a charter school just down the block from the college’s campus on 242 Street and Broadway. As the college did not make any announcements or clarifications to its students at the beginning of the semester, some MC students have told The Quadrangle that there has been confusion and some disruption due to Atmosphere’s presence on campus. A Manhattan College administration official told The Quadrangle that Atmosphere Academy is renting the second floor of MC’s Hayden Hall to accommodate their students in grades nine through 12. According to the college, Atmosphere is currently unable to use their usual building, and therefore reached out to MC for a temporary arrangement. The Atmosphere students began using Hayden in September and are set to use the building until December. It is a short-term arrangement and will not impact long-term use of the building, the college said in a statement to The Quadrangle. “As a neighbor and friend of the school, the College assisted it with this very temporary arrangement as a swing space while its building across the street from our main entrance was being completed. It was our understanding that the
school had few if any options due to the unavailability of its building,” the college stated. The college’s administration said that they apologize for any confusion regarding the arrangement with Atmosphere. “Given the short-term nature of the agreement and that the arrangement was never intended to be permanent, there was no formal announcement,” the college stated. “By offering this three-month rental to the charter school, we are providing important support to our community partners. Atmosphere Academy is a valuable asset to our neighborhood, and the College is pleased to be able to assist them in this way.” A Manhattan College administration official told The Quadrangle that Atmosphere students also have access to other facilities on campus, such as Locke’s Loft and O’Malley Library, when with a chaperone from the Academy. Atmosphere Academy did not provide a comment to The Quadrangle. Hayden Hall has primarily been used by the Kakos School of Science. The dean, Marcy Peteroy-Kelly, Ph.D., told The Quadrangle that she does not feel the arrangement has caused any issues for students so far this semester. “We’ve been able to effectively move things around as needed and are happy that we can help out our neighbors,” Kelly said. However, some Manhattan students believe the arrangement has caused some disrup__________________________ CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
IN FEATURES:
IN A&E:
IN SPORTS:
Photos from Manhattan Madness on pg. 7
MC Players Perform the Secretaries on pg. 9
MC Volleyball Makes a Comeback on pg. 11
News
OCTOBER 31, 2023
Volume CVIII, Issue 8 OCTOBER 31, 2023
The Editorial Board
Jocelyn Visnov Editor-in-Chief Kyla Guilfoil Managing Editor
Lauren Raziano Multimedia Editor
Angelina Persaud News Editor
Grace Cardinal Asst. News Editor
Angelica Niedermeyer Features Editor
Angelina Perez Asst. Features Editor
Karen Flores Arts & Entertainment Editor
Mack Olmsted Asst. Arts & Entertainment Editor
Isaiah Rosario Sports Editor
Andrew Mannion Asst. Sports Editor
Adrianne Hutto Production Editor Rebecca Kranich Social Media Editor Zoe DeFazio Angelina Perez Web Editors
Ivy Jaep Maizy Swift Asst. Production Editors Mary Haley Asst. Social Media Editor Nicholas Gilewicz Faculty Advisor
About The Quadrangle A tradition since 1924, The Quadrangle is a news or ganization run by the students of Manhattan College. 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 College or the student body.
Join The Quadrangle The Quadrangle’s staff holds weekly open meetings on Tuesdays at 4 p.m. in Kelly Commons Room 412. All are welcome to come and join the club.
Connect with The Quadrangle mcquad.org @mcquad @mcquad mcquad
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LETTER from the EDITOR Hello and happy Halloween! I hope everyone has enjoyed their Spooky Season! This week we’re wrapping up October with some spooky themed content including an article on Safe Halloween and a feature piece on the staged reading of The Secretaries. Also in this week’s issue we have a photo spread of last week Manhattan Madness pep rally! We’re looking forward to covering men’s and women’s basketball games this season and we hope you’ll follow along for recaps of the games. This past sunday MC held the annual fall Open House event! I personally enjoyed talking to prospective students and families about The Quad. To those who visited, I hope you enjoyed your time here. Two weeks from now The Quad will be publishing our annual Special Issue where all articles are centered around one theme in addition to our usual weekly articles so stay tuned for that! Thank you for reading The Quadrangle and we’ll see you next week! Sincerely,
Jocelyn Visnov
Editor-in-Chief
News
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THE QUADRANGLE
Local High School Students Settle into Hayden Hall
__________________________ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
tion and confusion. Derrick De Los Reyes, a junior sound studies major, told The Quadrangle he wishes the college gave an announcement to students at the beginning of the semester. As Reyes takes three classes in Hayden this semester, including two music courses and one science course, he said there is an impact on having the Atmosphere students around. “I have never noticed there being that many classes, because [this semester], I did hear a lot of ruckus coming from that section and I didn’t understand why at first,” Reyes said. Reyes said it would have been important for students to
be notified, as there are recording rooms for sound studies and music students in Hayden, and the added volume of students on the second floor has made recording music on the first floor more difficult. “That noise and ruckus is going to be kind of distracting for us, so it kind of hinders our ability to be productive,” Reyes said. Reyes said he was never given any information about the arrangement, and had to slowly figure out what was going on after noticing certain doors would be locked, there were security guards on the second floor and the stairwells would be crowded with younger-looking students at certain times of the day. Jackie Lubarsky, a senior digital media art major, said she also noticed a lot of disruption
in Hayden Hall this semester. Lubarsky takes a senior portfolio class and a photography class in the building, and said she spends a lot of extra time working in the digital media art lab for her coursework. Lubarsky told The Quadrangle that she and her classmates have been confused as they were not informed about the arrangement by the college. “We just noticed more noise if we were presenting. We would have to either pause the presentations and wait till the noise slowed down, or just speak louder than normal,” Lubarsky said. Lubarksy said it has been a disruption to her classes, especially when she and her classmates would go into the halls or around the building to complete assignments for their
photography class, as they would often encounter crowds of students in the hallways.
“Just [having] more clarification on it would have been a lot of help,” Lubarsky said.
High school students from Atmosphere Academy are using Hayden Hall. ATMOSPHERE ACADEMY/COURTESY
President’s New Initiative Could Potentially Cancel Your Class - Is Your Class Next? __________________________ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 ment on the matter. Associate professor in the Division of Education, William M. Furey, explained how the Division of Education will be changing and adapting their department due to the initiative. He explained that some classes can not function the same with more than 20 students participating. The methods class in particular has to undergo numerous changes. Before the initiative, a student was able to give a mock lesson for grades K-12, with the class being participants, but now he can’t teach under the same conditions. While Furey said it’s not his ideal way of hosting the class, he ensures that he will put many hours into helping his students. “I can’t guide the future teachers through different scenarios like a coach might do in a scrimmage,” Furey wrote in an email to The Quadrangle. “I will have to watch hours of video outside of class time to provide feedback. As a department, though, we are figuring this out. We will definitely still make sure our students are prepared to pass their performance assessments that lead to certification.”
Before the fall semester, there was an email sent out to all the schools’ deans which led to multiple meetings with deans and department chairs discussing the situation. Arshia Anwer discussed how these new changes and initiatives will affect the department. Anwer explained that in some classes it will be likely that they have less than 15 students. “In terms of the class sizes, a lot of our classes are based on the equipment that we have and the students use,” Anwer said. “So for example, for a class in post-production that runs in the lab, we only have 15 computers. And so we have to have a class size that is 15 students that we can move through. Sometimes those cohorts might not be 15 students exactly. So we do have to run those classes anyway to move students towards graduation.” Anwer mentioned that the most significant impact this spring will be the fact that they had to cut some of the planned special topics classes that they were hoping to run. Anwer talked about why the president wants to begin this initiative in the first place. “But in order to make the best use of our resources efficiently, the president has said that we want to move towards maybe not running class sizes
that are five-six students,” Anwer said. “It will be a little bit more helpful and efficient in terms of how we can provide a good quality education plus how we can provide resources for all the students to do the best that they can.” Anwer shared how the Communication department will adapt in the foreseeable future. “I mean, it is something that has made us think and look very closely about how we are serving our students even within the department,” Anwer said. “We have had to sort of look very closely at what we’re doing and how we’re doing it, rather than just relying on the things that we’ve been doing in the past.” Furey wanted to tell the Manhattan College community that the institution is trying to give students the best possible experience that they can have. “This is a teaching institution, the type of faculty member who works here prioritizes their students’ experience, success, and well-being,” Furey wrote. “That won’t change. We will, to the best of our ability, do everything we can to maintain the excellent classroom experiences that are part of an MC education.”
President of Manhattan College, Milo Riverso. MANHATTAN.EDU/COURTESY
News
OCTOBER 31, 2023
Newly Renovated Floor in De La Salle Hall is Open for Business
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Brooke DellaRocco and Anna Segota Staff Writers
Manhattan College celebrated the opening of the newly renovated third floor of the O’Malley Business School in De La Salle. Manhattan College announced that these renovations have helped students and teachers alike, with the hope of placing Manhattan College at the forefront of the highly competitive business scene of NYC. Donald Gibson, Ph.D., dean of the O’Malley School of Business explained the necessity for these upgrades at this point in the semester. “To compete with top business schools, we need to look like a top business school,” Gibson said. “I also wanted to improve the learning environment for students. We then renovated the third floor over the last two to three years or so. Now, not only new technology and new furniture to the classrooms, but we also added a new student lounge and student work rooms.” The three different student collaborative spaces consist of the new business analytics/ customer information system (CIS) lab, new student lounges with individual study rooms and the Capalbo room. Within these facilities there are also new technologies such as Bloomberg Terminals for students to get Bloomberg certified, allowing Manhattan College students to stand out when applying for jobs and internships within the industry. In the midst of the current budget crisis, Gibson initially turned to Thomas O’Malley, namesake of the business school, as one of the major donors to provide the funding for this necessary upkeep. After about four years of reaching out to multiple donors to raise enough money, the school was able to start working on the spaces over the summer. “Not all donors want to give to buildings, but some do,” Gibson said. “We also have an advisory board for the O’Malley School of Business; a group of business leaders, so they took it on as their goal as well.
With many changes underway, and potential changes in the future, The O’Malley School of Business is thriving.
MANHATTAN.EDU/COURTESY
So a lot of them gave funding to it.” Gibson also consulted with a student advisory board, to make sure they were serving and meeting the needs of both current and future scholars of the business school. Kathleen Connelly, a senior, spoke about her experience being a part of the student advisory board and the planning process for O’Malley’s renovations. “He [Dean Gibson] runs ideas by us about all things across the business school,” Connelly said. “Since I’ve been on the board, the renovations have been a topic of discussion pretty much each meeting. He was really trying to create the best space for us and what we needed and what would be accommodating.” Dimitri Mihelakos, a sophomore finance major, spoke about the benefits and uses of some of the student spaces. “It makes me want to go there just because of how comfortable and private [it is]... I’ve never wanted to go into a lounge area and sit but even the student lounge looks professional and clean,” Mihelakos said. Another potential benefit of these spaces is the appeal to
incoming students and applicants. “For prospective students this is now a place we can show them to expand beyond the second floor,” Gibson said. “Students like to see the spaces that they would like to visualize themselves in. That’s a key element as well.” Mihelakos reflected on his own experience as an incoming freshman when he toured campus. “I know when I was going to my orientation, or going through the tours on campus, seeing the new facilities really appealed [to me],” Mihelakos said. Amir Masoumi, Ph.D., associate professor of management and marketing, spoke on the importance of modern amenities with the overall declining student populations pursuing higher education across the country. “I think it was absolutely necessary and the timing was perfect,” Masoumi said. “In this country, [there is a] downward trend of the school and college student populations, almost 50% of all high school seniors don’t quite get the value of higher education and getting a degree…I think for that purpose and for enrollment
purposes, the shrinking pool of prospective students is becoming more fierce.” With many changes underway, and potential changes in the future, The O’Malley School of Business is thriving. Masoumi conveyed gratitude and expressed his excitement to keep expanding and growing
as a school. “I’d like to thank our generous donors, who have united the School of Business, and Manhattan College,” Masoumi said. “I want to ask them to keep the donations coming, there are a lot of projects that can be done in the School of Business.”
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Features
THE QUADRANGLE
MC Halloween Welcomes Back the Children of Riverdale Mack Olmstead
Asst. Arts & Entertainment Editor If it’s Halloween, then it’s time for Manhattan College students to provide a safe and happy event for the children of Riverdale at the college campus. MC Halloween, a long-running tradition at the college formerly called “Safe Halloween,” continues the same traditions as its predecessor before Covid. The event ran for two hours
last Friday, with over 400 event goers. Kappa Delta Pi (KDP), MC’s Education Honor Society hosted the event with over 30 clubs participating “I think every kid enjoyed it,” said Victoria Pascale, the co-vice president of campus and community for Kappa Delta Pi. “A lot of parents were complimenting and saying the kids were going to talk about this for weeks. Nobody wanted to go home, they just wanted to stay here and play.” Many of the Kappa Delta Pi members are student teachers,
Children and students gather on the Quad to play lawn games. ANGELINA PEREZ/THE QUADRANGLE
MC Students gather outside of their room, dressed for he occasion. ANGELINA PEREZ/THE QUADRANGLE
Local children at Manhattan College’s Safe Halloween. ANGELINA PEREZ/THE QUADRANGLE
with some of the children who went to MC Halloween being students of the KDP members. The KDP members were happy to give their students a safe and exciting recreational event outside of their school. “I would just turn around and see some of my kids [students] and they would be so happy to see me outside of school,” said Maeve Ammirati, the co-vice president of campus and community for Kappa Delta Pi. “I was really glad that we could give them a fun time.” The event was so popular that lines stretched from the quadrangle arches and beyond the public safety booth. KDP plans to turn the safety registration forms completely digital next year to try and avoid this from happening again. KDP held MC Halloween in De La Salle Hall, the quadrangle and Miguel Hall where students of the Riverdale community got to experience different Halloween-themed educational activities while engaging with the variety of organizations MC campus has to offer. “I helped oversee the event and it was great to see kids go from room to room,” said Victoria Pascale, the co-vice president of campus and community for Kappa Delta Pi. “Seeing the kids excited and doing all the
Children participated in coloring activies. ANGELINA PEREZ/THE QUADRANGLE activities really shows all the hard work we put into it.” Children escorted by their parents went from room to room and participated in various activities like coloring and Just Dance that Manhattan College students had prepared. After completing the activity, the
Children dressed up in all kinds of costumes for event. ANGELINA PEREZ/THE QUADRANGLE
children received treats to get in the Halloween spirit. Outside on the quadrangle, there were athletic games for the children to enjoy brought by the athletic teams such as the men’s basketball and golf team. Funding for the event’s decorations and treats came from all the clubs’ own fundraising efforts. Every classroom had its own theme ranging from classic Halloween characters like Frankenstein, and the Mummy to movie themes like Spider-man, Wizard of Oz, Disney and much more. Also at the event, there was a book drive where event goers could see the donated children’s books given by the college community, and choose to take home anything they liked from the books at the station. Ammirati noted she feels the educational benefit is an especially important aspect of the event. “MC Halloween is great, and it’s very fun, but I think the book drive just adds like a perfect mix,” Ammirati said. “We do want to keep it as an educational benefit for them. I think helping to support their education by doing the book table is one of the best ways to do that.” Advisor of Kappa Delta Pi, Ruth Zealand was proud of the event’s turnout and participation. Zealand expressed why the event is a treasure to the college community. “It’s a way of celebrating the fall and having fun and engaging activities that families look forward to every year,” Zealand said. “It’s the highlight of activities for some of the parents, one of the faculty members told me recently that it’s a real highlight for the family to come.”
Features
The Air Force ROTC at MC Aims for Excellence and Leadership
OCTOBER 31, 2023
Karen Flores
Arts & Entertainment Editor The Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) at Manhattan College strives to help qualified students become leaders both on campus and within the US Air Force and Space Force. According to the MC website, students have multiple options to join and complete the AFROTC program. There is a four-year program in which students may join as freshmen and a three-year program, which may vary depending on the time of enrollment. “[One can] enter the fouryear program as a college freshman. The three-year program allows sophomore students, junior college transfer students, and other students with at least six academic semesters remaining (five must be full-time), either in undergraduate or graduate status,” states the website. The website explains that these two programs allow students to compete for full academic scholarships. Students are to meet at least a 2.5 GPA and satisfy Air Force/Space Force physical, fitness, medical and lifestyle qualifications in order to get an Air Force/ Space Force commission while completing their studies. Lieutenant Colonel Bernard King, commander of the Air Force ROTC Detachment 560 and department chair of air
and space studies, explained to The Quadrangle that there is no specific degree requirements to join AFROTC. Additionally, a student may enroll in AFROTC without an initial military commitment. “You can study and track any major you so desire and have to be a full-time student,” explained King. “There’s no initial military commitment, enroll in AFROTC. You can come in, learn and see if that’s something you’re interested in. At the second year mark of AFROTC is when you would need to make a commitment to serve in the military upon graduation. However, any student can take an Air & Space course at Manhattan College as an elective without military commitment.” King explained what the AFROTC students usually spend their Fridays together as a cohort. “There’s going to be classroom instruction that you’ll sign up for within the department of aerospace studies,” said King. “We also instruct every Friday morning, freshman, sophomore, junior senior classes. We also do what we call leadership lab which is typically a three-hour block. This is where students engage in hands-on leadership development. We conduct physical training every Friday afternoon.” Students involved in the AFROTC have the opportunity to connect with people of different career paths and backgrounds and may also have the
chance to travel as well. “We have students who have done a language and cultural immersion over the summer internationally,” said King. “Last summer, we had four cadets selected from our AFROTC program. Two of them went to Taiwan, another went to Kazakhstan, and a fourth went to Jordan in the Middle East. We have a ton of symposiums and conferences across the country that cadets have the opportunity to attend. There are internship opportunities as well.” Liv Abrahamsen, a junior civil engineering major, expressed that being in the AFROTC creates a community that expands past MC and keeps her motivated when they are all together. “We have cadets from all different schools that come here and we all do PT training,” said Abrahamsen. “We are either on campus or Van Cortlandt. It’s very fun when we’re doing it all together, the morale is very high and it’s motivating.” Lauren Underwood, a junior psychology major, believes that being in the AFROTC helps her sharpen skills that translate into her academic life. “It has helped me stay organized and get better at time management,” said Underwood. “For me specifically, it’s taught me how to communicate with others, whether that be an email or public speaking. I noticed a lot in my other classes when it’s time to do presentations it comes more naturally
occasions.” Pfister then gave a brief overview of each of the pieces in the exhibit. She noted that the different pieces were inspired by Day’s life and her work. “Glass and marble mosaic represents the iconography of Dorothy Day as an activist and spiritually,” Pfister said. “I call the four pieces called convergence of this is a really good time to really evaluate the water the earth in the air at the time she hadn’t conceived your child can also basically embrace Catholicism and lead her on the path to become a follower of Catholicism.” Pfister explained that Dorothy Day has long felt inspired by Dorothy Day’s work as an activist. “I admire her for her strength, her power, her leadership, her feminism, her intellect, like her devotion to cause she’s not a hypocrite like some people,” Pfister said. “So she’s just been a muse of mine since the early 2000’s really.” Pfister came to curate the exhibit after she met Ahern at
an art show of hers which took place on Staten Island. The pieces showcased previous pieces Pfister had created inspired by Dorothy Day’s work. “These works [on display in the library] have appeared in different ways in other exhibitions,” Pfister said. “But it made sense when I met Kevin Ahern to kind of put them together here.” Ahern discussed his hopes for having the new exhibition open as a permanent part of campus. “I think public art can tell a story of a college in a lot of ways, and we have a lot of public art that’s older,” Ahern said. “So it’s nice to have newer art.” He mentioned he hopes the constant reminder of Day and commitment to activism and academic excellence can inspire MC students to do the same. “I think art has the potential to communicate messages, not just not just beauty,” Ahern said. “So this I hope communicates a message of the need for students to be involved in action, and needs for peace, the needs for students to pay at-
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Liv Abrahamsen and Lauren Underwood in their Air Force uniforms LAUREN UNDERWOOD/COURTESY because we’re constantly doing briefings and presentations in front of our AFROTC instructors.” Underwood hopes to see the AFROTC more involved in MC activities, such as at the pep rallies and athletic events. “Maybe if our honor guard can present the colors during madness, or some type of sports game in terms of having more campus involvement,” said Underwood. “Perhaps [we could have] more marketing about our fundraisers, the Jets games where we get the chance to hold the US flag so that people know more about us and what we do.” King hopes that students and faculty members at MC
can see AFROTC as a place where one can come and learn more about the opportunities around them. “I would just encourage students and faculty members to ask questions,” said King. “We’re very approachable and we want to share the opportunities that the Air Force and the Space Force provides everyone. If they’re interested in learning more, our doors are always open, come by anytime we’re in Leo Engineering 246 and we will happily help you.” For more information about the AFROTC, visit www. Det560.com or reach out to their email, afrotc@manhattan. edu.
New Art Exhibit Featuring Dorothy Day Opens in O’Malley Library Jocelyn Visnov Editor-in-Chief
An all new art exhibit featuring work inspired by journalist and activist Dorothy Day has recently become a permanent fixture in the O’Malley Library. Artist Kristi Pfister, the creator of the artwork, came to campus for a reception to discuss her work and the inspiration behind it. Located by the main entryway of the library right inside the doors, you’ll notice Pfister’s artwork consists of several different mediums including colorful mosaics, hanging fabric columns and a large painting on a scroll. Dr. Kevin Ahern, Ph.D, gave brief opening remarks to begin the event, noting that Dorothy Day has a unique connection to the college. According to manhattan.edu, “On May 19, 1975, Day received the De La Salle Medal from then-College president, Brother Gregory Nugent, FSC, and had visited the campus on numerous
All new art exhibit featuring work inspired by journalist and activist Dorothy Day is avaliable for view in the library. JOCELYN VISNOV/THE QUADRANGLE tention to the poor and the oppressed. And I think the importance of journalists, writers and creative thinkers, but I think Dorothy and one person sums up all these really cool creative things that I hope can inspire one or two more students.” Senior Kathy Radko is currently interning with Ahern, working in the Dorothy Day Center on campus. “I thought it was wonderful,” Radko said, referring to the exhibit. “I think it just feels
so light and airy. And like how Dr. Ahern said it’s usually so dark, some of the art we have in the office feels very harsh and stern, but this feels so beautiful and airy and more light hearted. And really gets the other spirit of her work like she’s known for like, not aggression, but like sternness and power but this really gets the softness of her message and the care she had for certain people.”
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Through the Jasper Lens: Manhattan Madness Features
THE QUADRANGLE
Every year, Manhattan College puts on Manhattan Madness in Draddy Gymnasium to highlight the men’s and women’s basketball teams with performances from our cheerleaders and jasper dancers. This year, the MC student government decided to kick off the event for the first time with a tug-a-rope contest between grades, with MC’s seniors taking home the victory. Alumni and students wore their madness t-shirts, designed by junior Matthew Schule, in pride as music filled the gym and lights illuminated the stands.
Compiled and written by: Angelina Perez
OCTOBER 31, 2023
Arts & Entertainment
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Jasper Jams: Fall Vibes Only Adrianne Hutto Production Editor
Fall is officially here with the leaves turning shades of red and brown and the temperature is dropping. Even though you may dread the cold, Fall brings Thanksgiving and Halloween and is the harbinger of the Christmas season. In honor of the best time of year, here is a list of songs to get you into the spirit of the season. Amas Veritas - Alan Silvestri That song you like from Practical Magic but don’t know the name of, that is this song. Listen to it and imagine that you are a witch enjoying the beauty of the Fall season.
and hitting up farmers markets. This song is the ultimate good vibes song and is a must listen to first thing in the morning to put you in the right mood. Stormy Weather - Etta James If you’re looking for a moody, slow-paced song to get you into the Fall sprint, this is the song. Listen to this song while you study to get you through the gloomy days. We’re Going to Be Friends - The White Stripes “Fall is here, hear the yell.” This song is about the return back to school post summer, the fun times you have and all the new things you learn. A perfect fit for back to school autumnal vibes.
Signed Sealed Delivered I’m Yours - Stevie Wonder The vibes here are You’ve Got Mail, Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks wandering the Upper West Side together, falling in love while eating Gray’s Papaya
September - Earth, Wind & Fire It wouldn’t be a Fall playlist if this song weren’t featured. Though September has already passed, you can enjoy this song
Lauren Raziano
sity of Massachusetts Amherst and a Ph.D. from Brown University. She was a postdoctoral fellow in Tübingen, Germany and a research fellow at Brown University before joining the faculty at Harvard University in 1989. “We are very pleased to have the opportunity to host Dr. Cynthis Moss this year,” Maust-Mohl said. “She visited two classes and participated in an interdisciplinary conversation with students and faculty in sound studies, environmental studies in psychology as well as this public lecture.” Moss presented her lecture to over 100 students and faculty from departments in biology, psychology, music, and health sciences. “Thank you for the invitation to be here, it’s really an honor,” Moss said. “Today, I’ll give a little history on the discovery of echolocation and an overview of echolocation signals used by different species of bats as well as humans and then I’ll talk a bit about the reception and processing of sound. With a brief review of acoustics, particularly what makes certain signals well suited for echolocation and the advantages of particular high frequency sounds.” There is a common misconception that you can be, “As blind as a bat,” but Moss wants to state that there are bats that can see so well that they do not have to use echolocation. “First, bats are animals that rely on sound processing
any Fall month to get in the mood. Dreams - The Cranberries Another song with that dreamy quality, this song gives you a strange dose of nostalgia. Plus it has the added benefit of always scratching that itch. Scan here to
There She Goes - The La’s Who doesn’t love a song that makes you feel like you’re in a 90s teen drama. There She Goes gives back to school, angst and has all the right qualities of a good Fall song. Stranger - The Kinks Continuing with the movie references, this song was featured in The Darjeeling Limited which doesn’t take place in the Fall but the Wes Anderson orange and yellow hue fits it among the others nicely. Mellow and peaceful, this song will put you in the Fall spirit.
listen to The Quadrangle’s playlist!
Play with Fire - The Rolling Stones An underrated Rolling Stones song, Play with Fire has that mellow, dreamy quality to it that makes you feel like you’re living in a film. Like a Rolling Stone Bob Dylan Listen to this song any time of year really, but especially
Fall, as it’s one of Bob Dylan’s greatest songs of all time. Need I say more? Be My Baby - The Ronettes Be My Baby has that old school, played on a record vibe that fits in perfectly with the Fall aesthetic. It’s also your plug to watch The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina this October.
Using Sound to Navigate the World: Cynthia Moss Explains Echolocation
Multimedia Editor
As part of the Phi Beta Kappa (PBK) visiting scholarship program, Cynthia F. Moss, Ph.D., came to Manhattan College to present her research titled, “Using Sound to Navigate the world: Echolocation by Bats and Blind Humans.” President of PBK and director of environmental studies, Maria Maust-Mohl Ph.D, shared the history of PBK on campus. “The Manhattan College chapter was established in 1971, over 50 years of history here and we are one of the 290 chapters at college campuses across the nation,” MaustMohl said. “Since 1956 the Phi Beta Kappa visiting scholars program has been offering undergraduates the opportunity to spend time with some of America’s most distinguished scholars. The purpose of the program is to contribute to the intellectual life of the campus by making possible an exchange of ideas between the visiting scholars and the resident faculty and students.” Maust-Mohl introduced Moss by listing her recent accolades, she received the Hartmann Prize in Auditory Neuroscience in 2017, the James McKeen Cattell award in 2018, and the Alexander von Humboldt research prize in 2019. Academically, Moss received a B.S. from the Univer-
to navigate the environment,” Moss said. “There are actually over 1400 species of echolocating bats and about 1200 of those species use echolocation. So there are some bats that just rely on vision to navigate. No bats are actually blind, but they do differ in the extent to which they rely on their vision. The bats are also the only animal mammals that are capable of powered flight and specialized memory that stretches across the five fingers, known scientifically as Chiroptera.” Sponsored by the Music and Theatre Department and the Psychology Department, Dr. Moss also gave a talk titled, “Pizza and Sound.” Brandon Zuniga, a senior sound studies major, was able to attend this discussion. “I thought she gave an interesting look into echolocation,” Zungia wrote to The Quadrangle. “It’s cool to see how sound, besides in music, is used for various situations like helping bats understand their surroundings. What is even more fascinating is how some humans, mostly those blind, are learning what bats do to see and are implementing it into their life.” Moss’s lecture covered topics such as how auditory processing systems can be used to navigate not only bats’ surroundings but also how blind humans can use their sensory system to track their environment. Moss refers to the sounds blind humans make as
a lingual tongue flick. “Except for the frequency content, the echolocation signals of this bat species is actually similar to sounds used by blind people who use echolocation,” Moss said. “I like to refer to it here as a lingual tongue flick. Blind humans use echoes from their “click sound” to perceive the presence of objects. Bats, for the most part, use their voices instead of their tongues to produce high frequency sounds that result in Echoes.” As a sounds studies major, Zungia, appreciates how animal research can be applied to helping humans understand frequencies and sound perception. “It is good to see how we, as a species, are finding new ways to improve our lives by improving our senses, like hearing, and as a musician and sound studies major it is great to see the work and research being done by people like Cynthia F. Moss,” Zungia wrote. Moss also included her research on behavioral studies of vocal feedback in different bats that highlighted the call frequency adjustments that some bats made in order to represent the world music sound and other adjustments in direction and timing that some species use. Senior biology student, Alyssa Kumar, listened to Dr. Moss’s lecture during her Animal Physiology class. “As a biology major it was fascinating to see various bi-
As part of the Phi Beta Kappa visiting scholarship program, Cynthia F. Moss, Ph.D. came to Manhattan College to present her research titled, “Using Sound to Navigate the world: Echolocation by Bats and Blind Humans.” PHI BETA KAPPA/ COURTESY ological concepts applied to such a fascinating experiment,” Kumar said. “The connections between bats and humans really opens a door that can aid blind people in navigating their world. The similarities in the ear structures and the techniques used for echolocation in humans was truly amazing to learn about and see.” To keep up with Moss’s research she is currently a professor of psychology and brain at Johns Hopkins University, where she works with graduate and undergraduate students to continue researching spatial perception and sensory coding of natural stimuli.
Arts & Entertainment
9
THE QUADRANGLE
MC Players Bleed The Secretaries:
A Lumberjack-Feared Staged-Reading
Angelica Niedermeyer and Jocelyn Visnov Features Editor and Editor-in-Chief
The Manhattan College Players performed a bloody and hilarious staged-reading of “The Secretaries” by The Five Lesbian Brothers, a satirical ‘period piece’ about a cult of five secretaries in a mill town that gather monthly to murder lumberjacks. The audience sat in Hayden 100, intimately facing the cast of eight in folding chairs, with music stands and their script books on Friday night. All came together to share some spooky and sapphic moments of live theater, just in time for the Halloween season. Directors Teresa Nunan, senior English major, and associate professor of English Deirdre O’Leary Ph.D., and stage manager Annie Brennan, managed the cast and crew during the two weeks of rehearsals leading up to their one night
show. “The Secretaries”, which was first performed at MC 7 years ago, is Nunan’s directorial debut. Nunan pointed out to The Quadrangle that “The Secretaries” was included in the syllabus of her freshman English class, the intersectionality of feminism, taught by O’Leary. “Out of everything I read as an English major, it just stood out… like out there,” said Nunan with a laugh. “It’s a timely and genuinely really funny show. Obviously it’s unique that they murder people when their periods sync up.” According to Nunan, the show represents LGBTQ+ theater that really matters. She emphasizes that it has also been fun to play around with well known women in horror tropes. She shared some insights learned during her independent work study on subversive parody theater. “The Secretaries” is in this realm of plays from this time that took stereotypes of different groups and put them on stage so people could see how ridiculous their ideas are– like
The 6 students took the stage on Friday, Oct. 27 in Hayden 100. ANGELICA NIEDERMEYER/THE QUADRANGLE
Collin Sweeney who played Buzz Benikee meets his demise towards the end of the play. ANGELICA NIEDERMEYER/ THE QUADRANGLE
saying women are monsters on their period.” The staged reading included a cast of all women plus English major Colin Sweeney who read for Buzz Benikee and Ron Kembunksher. After rehearsing for only three weeks prior to the performance, the group read their lines on stage with just props, blocking, sound effects, occasional music and of course, lots of fake blood accompanying them. Junior Annie Brennan was asked to be stage manager for the production, running lights, music and sound. “It’s a staged reading about secretaries at a lumberyard, and when their periods sync up, bad things happen,” Brennan said. “I’m basically just kind of running the tech side of it, and being able to support the actors and make sure everything goes
smoothly.” The dramatic reading concluded with an abundance of fake blood, blood curdling screaming and a murderous ritual to Taylor Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do”. After the show, The Quadrangle spoke with lead secretary ‘Patty’, sophomore Maggie Knapp digital media art major, to hear about her exciting role and what it’s like to be in a stage reading. “It was so fun,” said Knapp. “This is actually my second staged-reading. Last fall semester, I was in The Five Betties, so I am familiar with it. But, it’s just so exciting and it’s a low maintenance way to still be able to participate in theater for everyone.” Among the packed auditorium was MC alum Christine Nolan, class of 2016, who di-
rected a staged reading of “The Secretaries” while she was a senior herself. “I was doing an independent study with Dr. O’Leary and I got really into it,” Nolan said. “I was actually exploring my own coming out. So like, The Five Lesbian Brothers were something I really gravitated towards.” Nolan noted that when she was director, it was the first time the play had ever been performed for an audience at MC. “In 2016 it hadn’t been done before on campus, so there was a lot of red tape but it’s really progressed well,” she said. Overall, the reading was very well received by the audience. The cast met for a bloodstained photo at the conclusion of the performance.
Sports
October 31, 2023
11
Jaspers Games of the Week Isaiah Rosario Sports Editor
Men’s Soccer: Manhattan men’s soccer closed out road MAAC play against Quinnipiac on Oct. 25. With little action in the first half, the score was tied 0-0 at the end of the half. The scoring opened in the second half when Ziv Dahan passed the ball to Gunnar Studenhofft who scored in the lower left of the net in the 47th minute. The 1-0 lead for the Jaspers did not last long as Quinnipiac scored goals in the 69th and 70th minute to go up 2-1. The Jaspers defense stepped up to keep Quinnipiac at two goals as Henry Hamilton scored on a penalty and Studenhofft scored the game-winning goal for the Jaspers in the 82nd
minute after a double assist from Tony Yeboah and Ayoub Boumelala. The final score was 3-2 in favor of our Jaspers. “I am proud of the team’s resilience and determination to go on the road and come from behind to win,” head coach Jorden Scott said to GoJaspers. “We continue to show that we can win in different ways, which will prepare us for the next few weeks where the games only get bigger.” The next game for the Jaspers is Nov. 1 against Iona at Gaelic Park. Women’s Soccer: The Lady Jaspers’ season came to a close on Wednesday with a tough matchup against Quinnipiac. Quinnipiac got the scoring done early in the 21st minute as Emily Vloet recorded a goal
from a deflection of a save. In the 24th minute, Olivia McMaster and Sami Derrico were able to find Nicolette Caneda in the center of the field for a goal to tie the game up at one. The game remained tied at one until the 57th minute when Lily Schnieders of the Bobcats was able to find the net to put the Bobcats up one. The Lady Jaspers would only be down 2-1 for about 24 minutes as Derrico recorded her second assist of the game to Arancha Antunes which got the game tied at two. The game ended in a tie at two. This game was a must-win for the Lady Jaspers to keep their season alive. “Though we fell short of advancing, we couldn’t be prouder of how our team stepped up against the best team in our conference,” head coach Lawl-
The Lady Jaspers celebrate after a goal from Arancha Antunes in the 82nd minute. GOJASPERS/COURTESY er said to GoJaspers. “It was a great performance and we are already looking forward to next
year. It will be difficult without Kaitlyn and Izzy but they will always be with us!”
MC Women’s Volleyball Makes a Comeback After a Rough Year Angelina Perez
Asst. Features Editor & Web Editor After three consecutive wins, the Manhattan College women’s volleyball team sat down with the Quadrangle. It reflected on their past season of losses and how they plan on taking their recent wins against Marist, Siena and Stonehill to finish the season stronger than ever. Sophomore political science major Sarah Emmons has played the setter position since she was thirteen. The adjustment of coming to play at college has brought development in both her skills on the court and her personal life. “Freshman year was a complete adjustment coming from high school and club volleyball to the big leagues with adults who have more of a drive and a more competitive environment,” Emmons said. “It was an adjustment period and I think I’ve grown a lot in the past few years.” Emmons was able to reflect on not only her progress throughout her volleyball career but her team’s as well, as they entered a new season with a different roster and mindset. “We struggle a bit with the roller coaster effect, which is just highs and lows of energy competitiveness and aggression,” Emmons said. “I think that definitely shows how close and supportive we are of one another which contributes to our strength as a team and our mentality.” Dominique Velarde is pursuing her MBA in organiza-
tions markets and sustainability here at MC after previously playing at Southern California during her undergraduate. She said she instantly found a family and connection in the MC volleyball community. “I’m originally from Northern California, specifically the Bay Area region, and I moved to southern California for college,” Velarde said. “When I was looking at schools for my grad season, I really wanted to venture out of California and look at different regions elsewhere and really just find a program that was focused specifically on culture and just building a legacy within, so I think that’s where I was drawn to Manhattan.” Emmons and Velarde agreed on their game against Qunipiac being the kick-off of their season. “Quinnipiac was a very transformative game that helped us believe we can win and that we’re capable of taking down teams that are at the top of our conference,” Velarde said. “It was a very important game for our growth and just recognizing how far we’ve come as a team from preseason to now.” Assistant coach Sarah Atai shared her history with head coach Mauro Miletic and their journey from coaching the same travel volleyball club to coaching at a collegiate level. “Last year, when [Miletic] was offered the head coach job, and I was working remotely, he asked me if I wanted to be the assistant coach, and I was like, ‘Sure, he’s funny, we’re going to have fun and coach volleyball,’” Atai said. “We entered into a little bit of craziness, but honestly, it’s been nice having a friend
as the partner of coaching.” Miletic started as the assistant coach of the men’s volleyball team of Baruch College when he moved to New York from Puerto Rico 10 years ago. He was hired as an assistant coach in 2014 and left in 2017. In 2023, he was offered the head coach position here at MC. “I lived in a building next to Manhattan College when I was working with Baruch College, and back then, I didn’t even know we were division one. Where [Atai] and I are coaching, we had a coach who played for Manhattan College and informed me they did not have an assistant coach and scheduled a meeting with the head coach at the time.” When asked what the most significant turning point from last year to this for the volleyball team, Miletic told the Quadrangle it all revolved around their team numbers. “Last year when Sarah and I joined, we had nine players on the roster with a bunch of positions not having players,” Miletic said. “We had to borrow basketball and lacrosse players so that we could play the game. I think we might have had one or two games that we had six volleyball players on the court at all times.” “We were finding our identity at the beginning of the season,” Atai said. “We had so many new people and just adjusting. If you compare where we are now to the beginning of preseason, it’s so much calmer, and that’s how we want them to play volleyball. Yes, we want them to have high energy and be excited when we get those awesome kill blocks. Still, if
we can continue just to be level-headed and everyone knows their role, then that’s when I think we’ll be successful as coaches, and that is not necessarily for this season.” “Our first win was at home against Central Connecticut and was just what we needed,” Miletic said. “Leading up to that first win, I was telling the girls how easy it can be to go down on yourself and feel bad when you don’t get a win.” Emmons brought home the win for the women’s volleyball team during their match against Central Connecticut, with her final serve bringing the score to 27-25. “We want to build the infrastructure around volleyball,” Miletic said. “Up until now, volleyball never had a locker room ever since the program started in the 70s. We have one
now we are trying to fix so the girls have a place where they can watch TV, read a book and reconnect with alumni to install a program that eventually they can help us out.” Miletic and Atai both hope the MC community will continue to support them throughout their journey for more wins throughout the remainder of the season. “Process, not outcome,” Miletic said. “Regardless of the wins and losses, we’re always on an upward slope of getting better within the years to come even not specifically just the season.” “Every time we win, we keep that feeling alive in our mindset and just remember how that felt and that will carry us on for the rest of the season,” Miletic said.
The Volleyball team has a three game winning streak. GOJASPERS/COURTESY