Issue 2, Spring 2021 - The Quadrangle

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Volume CIII, Issue 2

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NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 9, 2021

New Mask Rules Implemented as Jaspers Face New Regulations and Changes: A COVID-19 Update As students and faculty continue to work against COVID-19 on campus, Manhattan College has implemented new rules to combat the spread.

In a recent email to students, Jaspers Return noted that as of the first week of February, the positive test average for students within the past two weeks was 0.48%. The seven-day positive test average for New York City was 5.1% on February 3rd in comparison.

The college also stated in this email their recent changes in order to ensure the safety of students and continue to minimize the percentage of cases on campus. Specifically, the college has ruled out the wearing of neck gaiters or bandanas as a form of face coverings.

“As you know, everyone on campus is required to wear a face mask. To increase protection against the spread of COVID-19, we are updating our guidance to prohibit the use of neck gaiters or bandanas as face coverings on campus.”

The email continued with informing students about surveillance testing that will take place regularly over the course of the semester.

“Everyone who will be on campus this semester is required to participate in regular surveillance testing. The only exception is if you have tested positive for COVID-19 during the previous 90 days,” stated the email.

The college is continuing to ensure that all students complete the Daily Symptom Tracker to receive their green pass when coming onto cam-

pus as well. Public safety officers will continue to ask all members of the community to show their green passes when entering the campus from either parking lots or the parking garage.

To get a grasp on the feelings of students during this tense time period, the college will also be distributing a survey for the campus to fill out about the current situation.

“We will soon distribute a survey to students and employees to gather a snapshot of the current climate at Manhattan College, as we navigate the pandemic. The answers provided will be confidential, but not anonymous,” the email continued.

Students should expect to find this survey in their email during the next week.

The efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19 on campus do not stop here, and Jaspers Return encourages all students to continue to work amongst their community during this time. Students and employees are again encouraged to apply to become One Manhattan ambassadors who educate and encourage other Jaspers to wear a mask and maintain healthy practices.

The email includes a link for members of campus to apply to volunteer to join the effort in keeping the community safe.

Despite these regulations, students and faculty are continuing to stay cautious and work as a community against the virus. Jaspers Return encourages students to continue to wear their masks in and around campus, follow the signage around campus, and complete their daily symptom tracker. Most importantly, staying home when feeling sick.

IN A&E:

IN SPORTS:

Nicole Fitzsimmons & Kyla Guilfoil News Editor & Asst. News Editor

Happy Snow Days!

Students at Manhattan College experience a new meaning to the term “snow day.”

BRIAN ASARE / THE QUADRANGLE

The Winning Play : Engineering Students Awarded for Cooling Data Centers Project in 2020 Virtual University Challenge Nicole Rodriguez & Kiersten Thompson Production Editor & Contributor

Four Manhattan College engineering students, Marvel Palatty ‘20, Dulce Ruiz ‘20, Andrew Benz ‘21, and Ryan Kushakta ‘21 were awarded for their presentation in the 2020 Virtual University Challenge by the 7x24 Metro NY chapter.

The University Challenge, sponsored annually by the 7x24 Metro Chapter, is a competition that invites regional universities to not only present their student projects to a large audience, but also compete for valuable scholarship awards.

Engineering students, with the help of their professors and mentor teams, must demonstrate an innovative idea about data centers, the facilities oper-

IN NEWS:

Jasper Move-in Program on p. 3

ations industry, enterprise information and communications technology facilities.

Mechanical engineering professor Mohammed Naraghi, Ph.D., and associate professor of the electrical and computer engineering department, Mahmoud Amin, Ph.D., supervised the student group.

Naraghi first heard about the competition several years ago. Initially, he was not working on a project related to data centers. However, after looking at the presentations from other schools, Naraghi visited the Chase Manhattan Bank data center, to get an in-depth understanding of data centers and their size.

“Many of our students and even faculty don’t know about the enormous size of these data centers, and the capability,” Naraghi said.

Naraghi added that these

IN FEATURES: Panel in Response to Capitol Riot on p. 7

data centers often hold important information and are not visible.

“We are so dependent on online shopping, communication through online, lectures through online, banking from online, you know, Facebook, all these organizations have huge data centers and they are not visible...the reason they are not visible is because they are called critical mission,” Naraghi said. “What happens if, for example, somebody sabotages a data center, a bank, you know Chase Manhattan Bank, they have used data centers, because financial information is there.”

Naraghi began working on the data center project from a mechanical engineering perspective and eventually sought __________________________ CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

MC Player at Annual Awards Festival on p. 8

Lady Jaspers Basketball Team Building on p. 10-11

Opinions & Editorials

2

the Quadrangle Volume CIII, Issue 2 February 2, 2021

The Editorial Board Anna Woods Editor-in-Chief

Maria Thomas Managing Editor

Jilleen Barrett Managing Editor

Nicole Fitzsimmons News Editor

Kyla Guilfoil Asst. News Editor

Jilleen Barrett Arts & Entertainment Editor

Kelly Cwik Asst. Arts & Entertainment Editor

Christine Nappi Features Editor

Caroline McCarthy Asst. Features Editor

Pete Janny Sports Editor

Colleen McNamara Asst. Sports Editor

Lauren Raziano Social Media Editor

Kelly Kennedy Asst. Social Media Editor

Brian Asare Photography Editor

Emily Hollar Production Editor Asst. Photography Editor

Nicole Rodriguez Production Editor

Adrianne Hutto Jocelyn Visnov Asst. Production Editors

Madalyn Johnson Katherine Heneghan Web Editors 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

THE QUADRANGLE

LETTER from The Editor Dear Reader, Last week we got a taste of a new reality: a world without snow days. My sympathies go out to every young child. Let’s hope that the days of flushing ice down the toilet, wearing your pajamas inside out, and gluing your face to the TV waiting to see if school was closed will not be a thing of the past.

Campus is more photogenic than ever and our talented Photography Editor, Brian Asare, captured it beautifully.

Our staff did a wonderful job this week covering a variety of interesting stories from updating students on new mask guidelines to highlighting how the Lady Jaspers are bonding during this time. We have some exciting new additions coming to the paper so make sure to keep an eye out for them.

I hope that those on campus can enjoy the snow before it turns into black slush.

As always, if you’re interested in what we do and want to get involved don’t hesitate to reach out at thequad@manhattan.edu.

Anna Woods

Sincerely,

Editor-in-Chief

Join our weekly meetings via Google Meet by scanning the QR Code.

SUBMIT YOUR OWN LETTER OR OP-ED Letters to the Editor or an op-ed may be submitted to thequad@manhattan.edu by Saturday at noon to be considered for publication. Profanity, vulgarity and hate will not be published. The Quadrangle reserves the right not to publish a letter.

Opinions & Editorials

FEBRUARY 9, 2021

3

NYC Indoor Dining Restrictions Shut the Door for Student Employment Adrianne Hutto

Asst. Production Editor After months of indoor dining being closed in New York City in response to the surge in COVID-19 cases this winter, Governor Cuomo announced that indoor dining will resume on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14th, with 25% capacity. However, the closure and restrictions have decreased the number of available jobs in the city. This general decrease also gives students less of a chance of finding employment near campus.

During the fall semester, I answered the phones at Salvatore’s of Soho on Riverdale Avenue. Before leaving New York for winter break, I spoke with my boss about the possibility of my returning to the position in January, and we made plans for me to do so. Unfortunately, at the start of this semester, I messaged my boss upon my return to New York, and was told that he would not be able to allow me back until indoor dining had reopened in the city.

Because many companies can maintain their businesses with smaller staffs, it is harder for

new, or returning, employees to get positions.

Recently, I looked into job availability near Manhattan College’s campus. I called nine different businesses near the school, all family-run restaurants, to see if any of them were hiring. Several delis, fastfood restaurants, and bars exist within walking distance of the school, and there are some grocery stores and pharmacies along the train line. One woman I spoke to suggested looking in Yonkers, since restaurants outside the city can allow indoor dining. While for some, this may seem out of reach, there is public transportation to Yonkers. The Bee-Line, which stops right next to Van Cortlandt Park, can take students from the Bronx to Yonkers on the BXM3 line route. This type of job opportunity might appeal more to students who brought their own cars to campus.

I also spoke with a woman at Asian Tokyo, the Japanese Restaurant on the corner by Horan Hall, who seemed surprised by my interest in applying. Other than those two interactions, however, the other people with whom I spoke told me they simply were not hiring

at this time.

As a last resort, I applied to two bookstores, a frozen yogurt chain, and Walgreens.

All of these jobs require online applications which are open seasonally. This means that even if the employers were not in need of employees, the businesses still took applications. I have yet to hear back from any of them.

While it is important to maintain restrictions for COVID, the closure of indoor dining has had an affect on job scarcity. Students who are in need of a job this semester are likely to struggle to find one.

Alas, this is not an unheard of result of COVID-19; the current national unemployment rate is at 6.7 percent.

One can only hope that indoor reopening will allow for more job opportunities for students. However, it is likely that we will not see a return to normalcy until at least the summer.

Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed in The Quadrangle are those of the individual writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board, the College or the student body.

Adrianne Hutto is a freshman communication major concentrating in journalism. She is from Charleston, South Carolina. Hutto currently serves as an Assistant Production Editor for The Quadrangle.

ADRIANNE HUTTO / THE QUADRANGLE

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THE QUADRANGLE

The Winning Play : Engineering Students Awarded for Cooling Data Centers Project in 2020 Virtual University Challenge __________________________ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 Four Manhattan College engineering students, Marvel Palatty ‘20, Dulce Ruiz ‘20, Andrew Benz ‘21, and Ryan Kushakta ‘21 were awarded for their presentation in the 2020 Virtual University Challenge by the 7x24 Metro NY chapter.

The University Challenge, sponsored annually by the 7x24 Metro Chapter, is a competition that invites regional universities to not only present their student projects to a large audience, but also compete for valuable scholarship awards.

Engineering students, with the help of their professors and mentor teams, must demonstrate an innovative idea about data centers, the facilities operations industry, enterprise information and communications technology facilities.

Mechanical engineering professor Mohammed Naraghi, Ph.D., and associate professor of the electrical and computer engineering department, Mahmoud Amin, Ph.D., supervised the student group.

Naraghi first heard about the competition several years ago. Initially, he was not working on a project related to data centers. However, after looking at the presentations from other schools, Naraghi visited the Chase Manhattan Bank data center, to get an in-depth understanding of data centers and their size.

“Many of our students and even faculty don’t know about the enormous size of these data centers, and the capability,” Naraghi said.

Naraghi added that these

data centers often hold important information and are not visible.

“We are so dependent on online shopping, communication through online, lectures through online, banking from online, you know, Facebook, all these organizations have huge data centers and they are not visible...the reason they are not visible is because they are called critical mission,” Naraghi said. “What happens if, for example, somebody sabotages a data center, a bank, you know Chase Manhattan Bank, they have used data centers, because financial information is there.”

Naraghi began working on the data center project from a mechanical engineering perspective and eventually sought interdisciplinary collaboration from Mahmoud Amin, Ph.D., to add his electrical and computer engineering background to the project.

“From the mechanical engineering, the efforts were more focused on how to design a new innovative and efficient cooling design from the mechanical aspect,” Amin said. “ What we try to add from the electrical engineering is the control aspect to make the system more smart, in terms of the monitoring and controlling of the operation of the data center cooling system.”

With their assistance, the student group representing the college developed the idea to have cooling data centers with a liquid-cooling system that integrated wireless communication using a smartphone app.

Andrew Benz further explained the concept as well as the team effort that was re-

quired for the project’s success.

“That was a team effort.

Our team focused on an advanced liquid-cooling system with bluetooth integration onto a smartphone app for advanced monitoring and user input that directly made contact with the processing units in order to more efficiently extract heat.

By measuring the heat being generated, we could change the amount of coolant flowing through the system, in order to more efficiently use energy,” Benz said.

Marvel Palatty explained why the team chose this particular topic for their project as well as the importance of their winning topic.

“Cooling is a critical factor in data center operation because power consumption accounts for 70-80% of operational costs and is expected to increase each year. Creating an engineering solution to such an important real world problem felt like a great challenge and interesting endeavor for our team,” Palatty said.

Although the college has participated in the challenge in previous years, the 2020 University Challenge participants were met with the additional challenge of going from participating in a live, STEM competition to a completely virtual program.

Dulce Ruiz admitted that presenting their topic virtually posed difficulties, but was grateful for the learning experience as it has greatly benefitted her in the workplace.

“It was definitely different since it was my first time presenting online. It took lots of practice since we had to have one person control the presen-

Mohammed Naraghi, Ph.D., is a Mechanical Egineering professor at Manhattan College and supervised the group.

MANHATTAN.EDU / COURTESY

Mahmoud Amin, Ph.D., is an associate professor of the electrical and computer engineering department at Manhattan College and supervised the student group.

MANHATTAN.EDU / COURTESY

Four Manhattan College engineering students, Marvel Palatty ‘20, Dulce Ruiz ‘20, Andrew Benz ‘21 and Ryan Kushakta ‘21 were awarded for their presentation in the 2020 Virtual University Challenge by the 7x24 Metro NY chapter.

7X24 EXCHANGE METRO NY CHAPTER / COURTESY

News

FEBRUARY 9, 2021

5

One Manhattan Completes Another Pandemic Move-in Program Madalyn Johnson & Victor Franco Web Editor & Staff Writer

The spring semester welcomed new changes to move-in policies as Manhattan College followed new COVID-19 guidelines for colleges made by the CDC and NY Department of Health, making this move-in more strenuous and difficult for students.

Abiding by New York state rules, Manhattan College took drastic measures when planning the return of the student body, which made the move-in process drastically differ from the fall.

Peter McHugh, director of Media Relations and Strategic Communications, explained that Manhattan College began by categorizing residential students into two different groups, group A and group B. “Group A students were international students and students from the 44 states that don’t border New York, and then Group B students were a large majority of our students which were from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania Massachusetts, and Vermont,” McHugh said.

For the spring 2021 movein, all students and employees were required to submit proof of a PCR test taken in advance

of their arrival on campus.

Group A was instructed to submit their test results 72 hours before they arrived in NY and afterward, they were required to quarantine for three days. On the fourth day of their quarantine, students had to complete a second test. If test results could not be submitted in 72 hours, a student’s quarantine period was extended to 10 days. Group B students were informed to submit a PCR test result seven days before moving-in and on their arrival date, required to take another COVID-19 test.

McHugh says the rules and protocols for move-in were more complex this semester in response to guidelines released by multiple organizations.

“We’re making sure that any resident student knows that they tested negative and that all their roommates have tested negative. So that was a big part of the testing protocol for this semester, and again that’s done in accordance with New York State guidelines, that’s done in consultation with higher ed, the higher ed consortium that we are part of, The Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities.”

Along with testing protocols, new health guidelines affected how many quarantine spaces Manhattan could offer for students on campus, with each individual now being re-

quired to quarantine in their room.

About 45 students stayed in hotels during the quarantine and at the beginning of movein dates, starting Jan. 20, 17 students stayed in Horan progressively as more students in group A were making arrangements for their flights and submission of test results, the number of quarantined students housed in Horan Hall.

Charles Clency, the director of Residence Life, talked about how updated guidelines from the CDC and NY Department of Health impacted how many spaces the college could offer to students during move-in.

“So we have well over 50 spaces available. Last year, or in the fall, we had 104 spaces in Horan available, but that’s because we were allowed to put two people in them, and now we only are allowed to put one person per bathroom. So that cut our spaces down in half,” Clency said.

Jacqueline Martin, who works as a coordinator for Campus Ministry and Social Action, joined the One Manhattan team in October and assisted quarantined students during the spring move-in.

Despite health guidelines limiting Manhattan College’s housing capacity, Martin shared that the new rules also helped One Manhattan’s move-

in process.

“During the spring move in we had students complete their travel quarantine on campus in Horan as well as off-campus at a local hotel to ensure we had enough spaces for everyone to complete their quarantine properly,” Martin said.

“The new guidelines from New York state also made it possible for some students to test out of their quarantine requirement early. This helped us get students moved into their spring assignments in a safe & more efficient way.”

During on-campus quarantine, Residence Life gave students a meal order form from Dining Services to select what they wanted to eat. Meals were delivered to students three times a day. Throughout students’ quarantine, Martin says she and the One Manhattan Team worked hard to ensure all students were satisfied.

“Our main goal is to ensure that students have as positive of an experience as possible while in quarantine. We know that quarantine can be a challenging experience for many of our students, and we do our best to ensure that all of their questions are answered and that they have everything they need during this time.”

Regardless of One Manhattan’s efforts, Clency admits Residence Life and the One

Manhattan Team could have been more efficient when sending out information to make move-in less difficult for students.

“I would say it definitely had its challenges because it prevented us from being more proactive, being earlier in getting out notifications about details about the changes. I think it ran extremely well, but I do know that parents and students were frustrated. Several of them were frustrated because the details about what to expect didn’t come out as early as it had done in the phone.”

Looking back at how successfully Manhattan College administered COVID-19 protocols and reduced the spread of the virus in the fall, Clency says these move-in rules were essential for safety and hopes that Manhattan lasts another full semester.

“Our COVID test percentages were much lower than most colleges, almost every college.

We had amazing success, actually, there was no perfection, there is no perfection in this time. So, we had our clusters, regarding students not feeling like it was necessary but, I think most of our residents, if not all, are going to be very grateful that we took that extra step in order to make sure they were safe and secure living in the residence halls.”

Due to CDC and NYS Department of health regulations, quarantine spaces in Horan Hall were more limited than in the fall semester.

MANHATTAN.EDU /COURTESY

Features

6

THE QUADRANGLE

Remote Students and Faculty Make The Switch To In-Person Classes Kelly Cwik & Megan LaCreta Asst. A&E Editor & Contributor

After experiencing a semester remotely, some students and professors returned to Manhattan College for their first in-person classes since March of 2020.

One of these students is Aubrey Lefkowitz, a senior philosophy major from Rockland County, New York, who returned to campus to complete her final semester before graduating.

“I just felt like I could handle it now and so I decided to come back and I feel really great about it,” Lefkowitz said.

Lefkowitz chose to stay home and take remote classes for the fall semester out of caution of the pandemic.

“I had a hard time feeling safe really anywhere,” Lefkowitz said. “And so I just felt like

it was the right call for me and my mental health to be with my family and be able to stay close to my parents if I needed anything.”

However, Lefkowitz was not new to remote learning.

She said that her experience with homeschooling in high school put her at an advantage when adjusting to online classes, compared to other students who may have been experiencing remote instruction for the first time.

One student who wasn’t as comfortable with remote learning was Molly McLoughlin, a sophomore civil engineering major from Connecticut. McLoughlin found the lack of separation between school life and personal life difficult to manage.

“I felt that school never ended, because my school is literally five feet away from my bed, so it was like it was always there, kind of like constantly nagging me to do something,” McLoughlin said. “But I think

being at school, there’s that kind of separation where I could go to the library to work and have my dorm room to be more of a relaxing zone.”

Similar to Lefkowitz, McLoughlin decided to stay remote to be with her family, and to see how MC handled its first semester in-person during the pandemic. McLoughlin made the choice to return to campus after seeing how the school kept the virus under control.

“I just felt more comfortable and I wanted to get some normalcy back in my life, to actually go into college and be able to see friends and everything,” McLoughlin said.

Another person who was happy to return to campus was Rocco Marinaccio, Ph.D. an English professor at the college. Marinaccio switched from teaching remotely to in-person in early November, and returned to in-person teaching for the spring semester. Marinaccio gave insight into the thoughts of faculty, who were

faced with the same difficult choices as many students.

“What influenced me to come back is, I mean, the same thing that probably every single faculty member feels, whether we are on campus or not,” Marinaccio said. “Every single one of us would much rather be on campus. There’s no doubt about that. So I wanted to be on campus. And I finally decided it was a safe enough activity to be on campus, you know, given the overall rate in the city.”

Marinaccio voiced concerns about how the administration had originally handled faculty’s unease about coming back to campus.

“In the beginning, I think that the administration was playing hardball with the faculty, and probably pushing a little harder then seemed legitimate to get faculty back in the classroom,” Marinaccio said.

“I think ultimately we worked everything out, but I believe it was probably a bit more of a battle than it should’ve been.”

Ultimately, however, Marinaccio was comfortable enough with the school’s numbers to return to teaching in-person.

He also commented on the struggles of remote learning for professors and students alike, combining the unique difficulties of everyone’s home lives, and the awkward rhythm of remote conversation.

Despite it all, Marinaccio said that he was proud of his students for being engaged in class. He lauded MC students for the way they have acted during the pandemic.

“You [students] have all behaved heroically, and I don’t think you’re getting enough credit,” Marinaccio said. “Because, for all the rules that the administration and the governor could have laid down, if you all decided not to be responsible, none of them would have worked. It’s all finally on the students for making it happen.”

Meet Laura Meoli-Ferrigon– the Artist, Author and Emmy Award Winning Filmmaker Teaching Students Storytelling Madalyn Johnson Web Editor

Laura Meoli-Ferrigon is a recent graduate of Manhattan College who has accomplished a great deal in film since her departure. Receiving a bachelor of arts degree in Film and Television at Brooklyn College and then a master’s degree in Instructional Design and Delivery at Manhattan College, Ferrigon took her educational experiences and became a teacher.

Before making a reputable name for herself in media production, winning a New York Emmy award, several Telly awards and scoring multiple festival wins, Ferrigon, like many communication students, was trying to figure out what she wanted to pursue as a career.

“I went to school for journalism at Baruch College my first year of undergrad, and I didn’t like journalism because there were a lot of rules to it,” Ferrigon said. “I felt that it didn’t resonate with me as much. So I wanted to be in something a little more creative but, where I still get to meet people and tell stories, so I transferred to Brooklyn College, which was really what I wanted to do, and once I got into those programs like TV studio production, it was really inspiring to me.”

Before going to college, Ferrigon pondered on the questions and concerns communication students commonly have.

“When I was in high school, I never thought I could be a filmmaker as a career,” Ferrigon said. “It’s just something you know, you think you’re going to be an accountant or something more traditional, so definitely my college experience helped me realize that I can make a career out of it.”

Ferrigon earned an internship with the New York City Transit (MTA), which launched her professional career in production. Afterward, Ferrigon jumped back to journalism, working for news stations, then lifestyle TV and even working for Manhattan College to produce high-quality video content to market the school.

Ferrigon’s experience with media and production has built up her business. Now Ferrigon shares her expertise on her website, LauraMeoli.com, where she posts instructional videos about filming, blogs about content creating and promotes her newest book, “Clarity for your Creative Career, Tips, Advice and Inspiration from Successful Artists to Quit the Job You Hate & Create a Life You Love.”

After graduating from Manhattan in the spring with a Master’s degree in instructional design and delivery, Ferrigon

started working as an adjunct professor at Manhattan College in the fall 2020 semester and taught the communication course, Digital Storytelling.

Graduating from Manhattan at the beginning of the pandemic and becoming an educator in the midst of it, Ferrigon had to adjust to teaching a group of college students, all while teaching them remotely.

Ferrigon shared the remote model helped her become comfortable with teaching at the college level, and her Master’s degree has taught her useful skills about how to teach students online.

“It’s actually been a big help for me,” said Ferrigon. “In Instructional Design, we learned a lot about e-learning, and I really connect with e-learning because I feel like everyone has a different learning style.

So being able to watch a video and pause it, I feel like it’s important for a lot of people rather than me just having a class where I’m showing you and then if you don’t catch it up, too bad. It gives everyone an equal playing field.”

Although Ferrigon hasn’t viewed the remote model as a setback, she acknowledges how her first time teaching as a professor has been during a time like no other, where educators and students can be distracted by current events and forced to shift their priorities.

She says her involvement in

Laura Meoli-Ferrigon got her Master’s degree from Manhattan College in 2020 and now works as an adjunct professor, teaching Digital Storytelling.

MANHATTAN.EDU / COURTESY the course has helped at times steer her away from the gloom so many felt in 2020.

“During COVID, there are so many important things going on in the world and then on top of that we had the election last semester, which was so stressful and draining,” Ferrigon said. “So, just keeping up with all that’s going on externally, it can be very detrimental to motivation. But I found that the class kept me focused in terms of connecting with the students and helping them with things. It kept me distracted

like in a good way from the bad stuff in the world.”

Ferrigon suggests to aspiring filmmakers and content creators that they must get used to constant changes in work, technology and other factors to be successful in the industry.

“Be open to change direction multiple times in your career because in our field, it’s all about keeping up with technology and if you don’t want to be a lifelong learner, if you don’t want to learn anything ever again, it’s not the field for you.”

Features

FEBRUARY 9, 2021

7

Holocaust, Genocide and Interfaith Education Center Hosts Panel in Response to Capitol Riot Caroline McCarthy & Adrianne Hutto

Asst. Features Editor & Asst.

Production Editor The Lessons of White Nationalism, Racism and Government Speakers Panel welcomed over 230 members of the Manhattan College community for a conversation stemmed in faith following the attacks on the Capitol on Jan. 6.

This event, hosted by the Holocaust, Genocide and Interfaith Education Center, aimed to spark conversation among students and faculty regarding our civic, religious and ethical duty in the fight for racial justice.

The panel consisted of four short presentations and a question and answer period that featured previously submitted questions from the audience.

Mehnaz Afridi, Ph.D., is the director of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Interfaith Education Center at the college.

Afridi has done similar work to the college’s interfaith education initiative in Los Angeles prior to being hired to run the center in 2011.

The center, founded in 1996, is meant to be a meeting place for students of all faiths to find a middle ground amidst social, political and religious discord.

“I think it’s so important that we have good conversations,” Afridi said. “Honestly, I think that branding someone as something– whether it’s Republican or Democrat, especially on a college campus, and not only a dialogue– is really sad because we are about education. So, I want HGI to be the spearheaded place that you can also meet with and challenge each other.”

Afridi explains how the center’s name changed in 2011 from the Holocaust Resource Center to it’s updated name creates a more complete resource for students.

“So now the Holocaust, Genocide and Interfaith Education Center focuses on the lessons of the Holocaust genocide, but also does a lot of interfaith education,” Afridi said.

This past Tuesday, the center continued this initiative by hosting a panel featuring prominent faculty members to address the religious, historical and political interpretations of the radical conservatives’ attack.

The event included four guest speakers: assistant professor of religious studies

Courtney Bryant, Ph.D., college Chaplain Rev. Thomas Franks, professor of history Jeff Horn, Ph.D., and assistant professor of political science Jonathan Keller, Ph.D. The panel opened with Franks, who hoped to utilize his background to give a Catholic perspective on the events of Jan. 6. Rev. Franks first showed an image of a Trump supporter and eventual insurrectionist praying before the riots.

“I raised this as my first image to be mindful of the ways in which the church and church life has supported implicitly and explicitly the realities of white nationalism,” Franks said.

In saying this, Rev. Franks called out the Catholic church as an entity in its handling of events such as these. He notes that churches and Catholic organizations have a tendency to offer their thoughts and prayers, rather than enact meaningful change. Franks ended his presentation by offering five points from Pope Francis that can resonate to people of all faiths.

These points included the importance of ending all forms of racism, finding instruments of peace, addressing racism in terms of immigration, recognizing the failures in our criminal justice system and embracing and accepting each other’s differences to combat white nationalism. Franks further highlights these points through a quote from Pope Francis: “‘I wish to emphasize that the problem of intolerance must be confronted in all its forms. Wherever any minority is persecuted and marganized, because of its convictions or identity, the well being of society as a whole is in danger.’”

Following Franks was Bryant, who explained that though she is a Black Christian, ordained reverend and a scholar of theological ethics, she would not be explaining to the audience the myth of American exceptionalism and its roots in Anglo-Saxonism, but rather how Anglo-Saxonism and Christianity are synonymous in American history.

“These virtues were to be tenants upon which the pilgrims and Puritans, who considered themselves direct descendants of Anglo-Saxons, would establish a city on the glory of God,” Bryant said.

Overtime, those who are considered to have Anglo-Saxon blood become synonymous with those perceived as white or Caucasian. This, coupled

with the belief that Anglo-Saxons are superior, is what Bryant believes has led America to the state it is in today.

“The riots were the climax of a story years in the making,” Bryant said. “Where poor White people who once believed their whiteness made them superior found themselves unable to achieve the American dream of financial stability and comfort, and needed someone or something to blame for not being able to take hold of the power to which they believed they were divinely entitled.”

Bryant was unapologetic in her examination of the profound oppression faced by people of color in the United States. She specifically targets her argument towards America’s government and its mistreatment and disrespect of minorities. Bryant uses this opportunity to indicate how the government has worked against Black people and communities throughout history, making clear distinctions between the treatment of white and Black people in America.

“Our leaders stoked these fires as America’s government looked out for corporations before people,” Bryant said.

“They stoked these fires when they allowed a narrative of illegal immigrants coming from blank whole countries with the wrong kind of biological stock, coming to steal American jobs and rape women. They stoked these fires when they failed to give citizens health care and a decent wage and work opportunities beyond coal. And when they would not hold those who have exploited the little guy accountable, so that they would pay their fair share...when people have nothing to hold on to, they will grasp at straws.”

Bryant notes how white fragility has led to a fear of integration and equality. It has also led to a lust for power and control of resources.

“This story is incredibly important to revisit because without a clear understanding of how we have shaped this identity, we cannot imagine anything beyond it,” Bryant said. “But if we do the work of revisiting the difficult parts, if we do the work of taking inventory of where this lust exists within us, then we can figure out the spiritual posture and ethics necessary to manage ourselves.”

Keller took the stand next and identified the battle for the “soul of America,” while he begged the question: ‘who do we want to be as a nation?

One riddled with antagony and dissent or a united front rooted together as a nation?’

“We want to live in this dystopian nightmare,” Keller said.

“With unhinged armed militias marching through our state capitals, with impunity in Lansing, in Salem, Oregon, three percenters and oath keepers and so on.”

Keller urged the audience to consider the ramifications of the events had a member of government been killed by the terrorists at the Capitol building that day.

“We oscillate between focusing on the buffoonery and the silliness of the theatre of it, and how serious of a threat it was to the seat of our democracy,” Keller said.

Keller claims the events of Jan. 6 were far worse than previous historical rebellions because it was not an attack on a specific law or reform, but rather the government system as a whole. Keller urges America not to extend an open hand to the radicals, but rather a clenched fist demanding justice.

“There can be no reconciliation without justice,” Keller said. “I’m not sure the Constitution, in a moment like this, is a place where you can really look for redemption.”

Keller educated the audience on the impeachment trials and how they were not to terminate Trump’s presidency before Biden’s swearing in, but rather to prevent him from running for future office because of his irresponsible neglect and apparent betrayal of the constitution.

To conclude the presentation segment of the evening, Horn explained that the events

of Jan. 6 reflect American History and trends taking place around the world.

“Based on lingering racist attitudes, as well as dissatisfaction with the evolution of our society and its economy, white nationalists have been committing a significant number of acts of what they termed resistance since the rise of the white power movement around 1970,” Horn said.

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, 948 white nationalist groups are currently operating in the United States.

These groups include organizations like the Proud Boys, Three Percenters, Oathkeepers, QAnon and Sons of Liberty, who openly practice White supremacy and racism.

Horn’s overall message was to not separate the events from Jan. 6 from the broader context of America’s history of white nationalists holding a place in government. These organizations run the country through terror and fear while blaming it’s ramifications on minorities.

“Disdain for democratic institutions, unwillingness to accept objective information, the desire by racists and nationalists to scapegoat people of color– Jews, Muslims, immigrants and other vulnerable populations– are international as well as U.S. issues,” Horn said.

The Holocaust, Genocide and Interfaith Center aspires to continue educating the the college community on important societal and political issues through conversation and events like this panel. A full list of their events for the upcoming semester can be found on their website, hgimanhattan. com.

The Holocaust, Genocide and Interfaith Education Center held à speakers panel on Lessons of White Nationalism, Racism and Goverment.

ADRIANNE HUTTO / THE QUADRANGLE

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MC Players Achieves Success at Annual Award Festival Shannon Gleba & Colleen McNamara Senior Writer & Asst. Sports Editor

After a year that brought many challenges to the world of theatre and arts, the Manhattan College Players were nominated for and won many awards at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival.

Led by their director James Ryan Caldwell, several MC students attended last week’s virtual festival, auditioned for a number of different honors, and attended workshops hosted by KCACTF. One of the awards several Jaspers were nominated for was the Irene Ryan Award, which is named after the esteemed American actress and comedienne. Among the students nominated for this acting scholarship were: sophomore Sophie Ryan, juniors Samantha Rini, Isabelle Campbell and Maren Kain as well as seniors Camryn Kidney, Ryan Danahy, Jennifer Bueti and Nick Chiofalo.

Among the nominees, two outstanding performers were chosen to move past the preliminary round of auditions and into the semi-final round. Ryan, who was nominated for her performance as Grandma Addams in the Players’ production of The Addams Family, was very excited to have received such recognition.

“I was really just so honored,” said Ryan. “I am only a sophomore and really just got

into theatre here last year. It’s just such an awesome community. I never really thought about getting recognized so early on, but it’s so humbling and such an amazing opportunity.”

In addition, Samantha Rini, who is the president of Players, also moved past the preliminary round and into the semi-finals for her role as Vera in the 2020 student-run production of She Kills Monsters. She shared similar sentiments as Ryan about being notified that she had been nominated for the Irene Ryan Award.

“It was really exciting,” said Rini. “You hope for it, but it’s obviously not your priority going into the show, you care more about the group and the show itself. It was almost a relief, I am glad that I did that part well, I am glad that somebody thought I did it justice.”

In January of 2020, before Players had to go fully remote due to the college’s closing, the troupe was able to attend the in-person KCACTF in Cape Cod, MA where two additional students achieved the same success as Ryan and Rini. Bueti and Kidney went through a similar process for the Irene Ryan award, although in person, and were able to move past the preliminary round after being nominated for their roles in Urinetown.

“That was crazy, that was so much fun, it never happened in Manhattan College history,” Bueti said of her promotion to the semi-final audition for the scholarship. “It was all that

more special to celebrate with everyone, in Cape Cod, where the festival took place.”

Players is founded on a strong bond between all of its members, and Bueti was even more thrilled for Rini and Ryan who have brought continued success for the program at the Festival.

“It means a lot to me that we are continuing to compete at that semi-final level, and shows that Manhattan College can compete with these major theatre schools,” Bueti said.

“Confidence we did not have before [James Ryan] Caldwell encouraged us the motivation to perform well. We already set the bar and I see the program doing even better in the future.”

Camryn Kidney, the Development Director on the board of Players, serves as the liaison between Players and other clubs, plus between Players and KCACTF this theatre festival. Kidney has been with Players all four years of college, noting that MC Players have been participating in the festival for years, but only recently had such success.

“I think a lot of that can be attributed to our amazing director, JR, who has been pushing for all members of Players to participate. Before JR was our director, probably between 0-5 students would attend the festival and participate in the Irene Ryans (as well as other programs within the festival) each year. Last year, for the first time, we took about 15 students to the festival, and this

year, we probably had around 25 students attend the virtual festival! Hopefully, more and more students continue to branch out and participate in these exciting opportunities,” Kidney wrote in an email.

Another name that attracted much attention at this year’s Festival was junior Joseph Bonaventura, who is the production manager for Players.

When the performances had to take place in a virtual setting, Bonaventura had to rethink what it meant to be in this position and make decisions that allowed the shows to go on.

Bonaventura was rewarded for this ingenuity with the following awards: Outstanding Stage Management of an NPP Play, USITT NE Design and Technologies Meritorious Award and Achievement in Allied Designs and Technologies. This transition took a look of work, but it was exciting for Bonaventura.

“It was a lot of research and watching webinars, 30 plus hours of webinars I was watching to teach myself how to make this conversion, make this switch,” said Bonaventura.

“To be able to put on a show that’s still to the quality that Manhattan College has always done but in this different format.”

Kain recognized how much of a help Bonaventura was, and knows that Players’ performances could not have reached the same level of success without him.

“A massive shoutout to Joseph Bonaventura, I really

mean that” said Kain.”He was a massive part of being able to even do The Laramie Project in the first place at Manhattan, and then being able to carry it over to the Festival.”

While multiple members of Players were honored for their individual successes, the entire cast of The Laramie Project was chosen to perform at the Festival because its organizers recognized how incredible it was when the Players originally performed it at the end of the fall semester. Kain was part of this production and recounted how thrilled the group was to learn of their nomination to perform and subsequent selection in mid-December.

“We were about two and a half weeks out of performing the show at that point, and then basically by the end of December, we were basically all back in rehearsals again,” said Kain.

“We rehearsed all throughout the break, through the entirety of January. Then on Saturday, we performed it just as we did when we did it for the school.

We were one of two live productions at KCACTF. Ten were invited but only two were live, and we were one of them.”

As this spring semester and a new year begin, the Manhattan College Players are starting to prepare their shows, and master their roles in hopes of more honors at the next Festival. In the coming months, they will be rehearsing the play Marcus is Walking, which will follow the same virtual format they embraced in recent months.

Misty Copeland Kicks Off Black History Month at Manhattan College Jilleen Barrett A&E Editor

Misty Copeland, the first Black principal dancer in the history of the American Ballet Theatre, spoke to students as the first speaker in the Student Engagement online lecture series for the spring semester.

The event was held on the first day of Black History Month and according to the @mcstudentengage on Instagram, it was co-hosted by the Jasper Dancers as well as the Black Student Union.

Copeland spoke about her personal history with dance having not started her training until she was a teenager, although most professional dancers begin their career at a young age. Her first taste of dance was through her school, where she auditioned to be captain of the dance team with no prior experience.

“I felt in control and I felt like a leader for the first time in my life,” Copeland said about

her initial reaction to dance. “...I made captain and I think everyone was stunned by that and within six months the drill team teacher was like, ‘Wow, you have a lot of potential’.”

Copeland was introduced to a ballet teacher who was seeking more diversity in her studio and offered free lessons to children through the Boys & Girls Club. The teacher realized Copeland was a prodigy and by her late teens, she was dancing with the American Ballet Theatre.

Once she was in New York City, Copeland realized the challenges of being the only Black dancer in a professional setting and she spoke to the viewers that night about what her teenage perspective was when she initially arrived.

“It’s a lot… you’re coming into your own and you’re trying to figure out who you are and it’s a really strange feeling when you spend, you know, eight hours a day with people who don’t look like you,” she said.

Copeland’s lecture was well received, particularly by Student Engagement employee Shannon Jiminez-Ortega and her 15-year-old daughter, Angie. Jiminez-Ortega explained that her daughter, also a person of color, loves to dance and was “glued to the laptop” as Copeland spoke.

“Misty shared (and I’m paraphrasing) how there were times when she felt like she didn’t belong in the world around her, as it relates to her professional career in ballet,” Jiminez-Ortega said. “I think we all experience that in some form or another, throughout our lives. Hers was a story of overcoming and persevering through those challenges and I really admire and respect that.”

Rachel Criss, a sophomore and a member of the Jasper Dancers dance team, was also excited to see Copeland speak.

She referenced Copeland’s Under Armour campaign when describing how she felt the lecture went.

“I’ve read Misty’s memoir

and am a big fan, so a lot of the things she said in the lecture I have heard before,” she said.

“However, it was still great to hear it from her live! My main takeaway from Misty Copeland’s lecture can be summed up by her campaign slogan with Under Armour: ‘I will what I want.’ If you want something, you will accomplish it.”

Copeland mentioned some of her ad campaigns during the lecture, saying that although she feels it is necessary to use her voice to educate the people viewing the advertisements she is in, she thinks more dancers should be recognized for their talent and hard work.

“I shouldn’t be the only dancer that’s getting endorsement deals and that you know is put next to athletes, I feel like every dancer should have this opportunity,” she said.

Copeland ended her lecture by saying that ballet gave her the opportunity to be stronger, in the way of being a better dancer and person.

“It’s definitely shown me

perseverance and patience and strength from every way you can imagine that word,” she said. “… It’s physical strength on another level but then this insane inner strength where you have to make all the hard technical feats look like nothing.”

The next lecture hosted by Student Engagement will be with Aly Raisman on March 25.

Misty Copeland was the first speaker in the Student Engagement online lecture series for the Spring semester. @MCSTUDENTENGAGE / COURTESY

FEBRUARY 9, 2021

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Jasper Jams: Grammy Nominees & Snubees JASPER JAMS Gabriella DePinho & Emily Rumsey Senior Writer & Contributor

Music is an integral part of so many people’s lives, from those who make a living from making it themselves to those who love it to even those who only listen when they’re forced to. As the world came to a stop due to the pandemic, the touring industry came to a halt for musicians. This changed the music game completely, as ticket sales were no longer a possible indicator for how well an artist was doing in the game. Additionally, more and more people were turning to music as a way to pass the time.

I mean, Taylor Swift wrote two albums in lockdown — and while she released and packaged them quickly, she has not been the only one spending the time off the road creating, so we should all be prepared for a huge boom in music in the next year or so. While the music industry looked different this past year, the Grammy Award nominees have come and gone and the award recipients will be announced in March.

For those who live and breathe music, the Grammy Awards have long been held as the award for an artist to win. The Recording Academy, which selects the nominees and then winners, often has tough choices to make as wide breadths of music are released each and every year and, while they usually do a good job of recognizing top performers and creators, every year there are musicians they either completely fail to recognize or do a great disservice to. Here are our picks of nominees worth checking out and artists who were unfairly skipped over by the Recording Academy.

Performance, Harry Styles is definitely a snub for this year’s Grammys as he did not make it into any of the general categories. “Fine Line” was definitely a contender for Album of the Year, and “Watermelon Sugar” had the popularity deserving Record of the Year. Either way, “To Be So Lonely” ranks high on my list off of “Fine Line”.

The folk-pop style and the light sarcastic tone of the lyrics makes it great for an “it’s not me, it’s you” situation, as well as a springtime picnic or a day at the beach.

“Kyoto” by Phoebe Bridgers Phoebe Bridgers collected nominations for her first Grammys. Nominated for Best Rock Song as well as Performance for “Kyoto”, she also was nominated in Best Alternative Music Album and Best New Artist.

Phoebe Bridgers makes music for the people you’d see in a coming of age movie. “Kyoto” uses an excellent guitar line and horn section to set the mood for long drives, subway rides, or nature walks.

“Dynamite” by BTS BTS took the world by storm and have only gone up since then. “Dynamite”, for Best Pop Group Performance, is their first and only Grammy nomination, and many see that as a disregard for everything BTS did in 2020. The song is upbeat and fun, utilizing synths and a funky guitar line to give it a disco vibe, making it great for dance parties with your roommates, singing in the shower, or a fast paced workout.

“Dior” by Pop Smoke Pop Smoke gets his first ever Grammy nomination posthumously for the Best Rap Performance category. Many feel this is too little too late

however, noting that his album “Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon” did not receive any nominations despite spending two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard chart. “Dior” and its dark, Brooklyn Drill sound makes it great for rides on the subway and feeling like a true New Yorker.

“Blinding Lights” by The Weeknd The most notable snub of the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards is The Weeknd and his failure to receive any nominations this year. “Blinding Lights” was No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for four weeks nonconsecutively, and his album “After Hours” spent the first four weeks after its release at no. 1 as well. The song “Blinding Lights” is another song with an 80’s vibe, a popular theme in recent years. The Weeknd’s vocals and the use of synths makes it perfect for night drives.

Gabs’ Picks “Savage” by Meghan Thee Stallion feat. Beyoncé If you were anywhere on the internet in the past year, then you’ve heard this song.

After this song (along with a dance challenge) went viral on TikTok, Meghan Thee Stallion’s career really took off as she rose to fame. Her debut album “Good News” came out in November of 2020 and was listed on “best albums of 2020” lists from Billboard, Pitchfork, Complex, Rolling Stone and a few others. This song is nominated for Record of the Year, Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song. Additionally, Megan Thee Stallion received a nomination for Best New Artist.

“The Steps” by Haim

While Haim — the music making sister trio — is only nominated for two awards, they’re up for a pretty prestigious one: Album of the Year.

It may be a somewhat snub that they managed to land that nomination but only received one other for Best Rock Performance with this track. Could they have received more recognition? I think so for sure. However, I might be biased because when their album “Women In Music Part III” came out last summer, I went out into my backyard, laid in the sun and soaked in track after track.

“3am” by Halsey One of the biggest snubs of the year was the complete exclusion of Halsey from the nominations. Her January 2020 release “Manic” featured chart topper track “Without Me,” debuted at number two in the charts, and garnered 75.6 million on-demand streams in its first week. The numbers are there: Halsey is well liked and making good music. However, she did not get one nomination, not within her genre and not overall. I loved this album when it came out so while “Without Me” would have been the most obvious pick for this column, I picked a deeper track, a non-single, so you can hear another track that the Recording Academy decided to pass over.

“XS” - Rina Sawayama Rina Sawayama, a British pop star, released her debut album “Sawayama” in April 2020 and that release received critical acclaim. With her large fanbase, her high-performing tracks, and her unique sound, Sawayama could have made quite the impression at the Grammys this year, however, she was completely denied recognition. This snub comes months after she was not eli-

gible for the Mercury Prize, which is presented to British or Irish artists, because the award administering body does not consider her British. While she is not a citizen, she legally lives in Britain and has lived there since she was five.

“Can I” by Kehlani Another artist who faced a complete snub this year was Kehlani, a 25 year-old American R&B artist. Her sophomore album “It Was Good Until It Wasn’t” came out in May 2020 and she was all over my social media feeds when it came out — whether it was through memes recreating her album cover or from fans singing her praises. It would have been an incredibly strong contender for R&B Album of the Year, but the Recording Academy decided to completely overlook it. ple

“Shameika” - Fiona Ap-

Fiona Apple’s 2020 release “Fetch The Bolt Cutters” was highly anticipated, after nearly a decade had passed since her last release. And for fans, the wait was worth it. The album brought an incredible freshness and comfort as the world hunkered down at home. “Shameika” was nominated for Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song. The album was nominated for Best Alternative Music Album, however, she was completely snubbed from Album of The Year, which she easily could have won had she been nominated. (For what it’s worth Coldplay was nominated for AOTY with “Everyday Life” which only saw one other nomination for Best Recording Package.” Make it make sense.)

Emily’s Picks “What You Need” by KAYTRANADA Nominated for Best New Artist, as well as Best Dance Recording and Best Dance/ Electronic Album, KAYTRANADA is one of the most popular DJs currently, known for the smooth and groovy vibes of his songs. He has a strong resume, boasting features from Kali Uchis, Estelle, and Masego, as well as production work for big names like Snoop Dogg, Kendrick Lamar, and Gorillaz.

This song particularly is great for long drives, kickbacks, and studying.

“To Be So Lonely” by Harr y Styles Only nominated for two categories, Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Pop Solo

Scan here to listen to The Quadrangle’s playlist!

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Lady Jaspers Are Team-Bu Lauren Raziano & Pete Janny

Social Media Editor & Sports Editor It’s not always easy to have service-related projects during the grind of the season. But in a time of great struggle in the world, the Lady Jaspers have grown more united by helping others.

Back in late January, the Lady Jaspers created gift bags for essential workers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to show their support amidst the ongoing struggles with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The inspiration for choosing Sloan Kettering stemmed from its close proximity in the community, as well as senior guard Lizahya Morgan’s status as an intern there.

Pam Miceus is a graduate student on the women’s basketball team and participated in the effort of giving back to the healthcare heroes in the community. Miceus took a break from blocking shots on the court by assembling some of the gift bags, which contained an assortment of small items.

Each helper even added their own personal twist to the bundles through the written word.

“Inside the gift bags we had personally written notes for our essential workers, our heroes, essentially,” said Miceus, who is seen as a leader on her team. “We put candles inside them, there was chocolate, There was a hand soap, a bookmark, and like a couple of different things.”

As an intern, Morgan knows the stress of being a frontline worker. As a result, her teammates wanted to do something that would impact the lives of essential workers without forgetting the immediate role Morgan is playing in the fight as well.

“She sees the problems they have in the hospitals and what they’re seeing on the front line so we thought of Sloan because we’re directly connected to them,” Miceus said of the team’s connection to the hospital.

Although the players have busy schedules, assistant coach Rene Wakama encourages the team to always remember that life is about more than devoting time to school and basketball.

“As coaches we make sure we instill in our players that it’s always bigger than basketball,” Wakama said. “So yes, our lives are crazy right now, our schedules are crazy. They’re always changing. But the bigger picture is life and things are going on outside of this campus, and how can we impact that.”

Because of the impact

COVID-19 has had on the basketball season, Wakama and the rest of the coaching staff have organized other activities to build team rapport and keep everyone engaged, knowing that they won’t be able to weather the adversity of playing during a pandemic without the support of one another.

“We have to find creative ways of keeping them locked in,” Wakama said. “Like reading a book and doing different things to try to keep them together, and let them know that they are not alone.”

Some activities have even been centered on therapeutic techniques so that the players don’t feel marginalized in any way. After all, the pandemic has taken just as much a toll mentally as it has physically, and thus the program wants to leave no stones unturned during this time.

“We’ve had therapy sessions because we’ve been trying to go above and beyond,” Wakama said. “You want to make sure that our core is tight and they really feel the trust and the support from everyone.”

The COVID-19 restrictions have given the basketball teams no choice but to live in “pods” and have limited interactions with other students. This has impacted the players’ friendships with each other, while also teaching them lessons on how to manage relationships

with others.

“We’re only really like in our own pods, so we’ve gotten to get to know each other a lot better, much closer than we’ve been in previous years so it’s been a great time,” Miceus said.

Wakama can also attest to seeing the relationships between players blossom thanks to all the time they spend together. It’s almost as if the players and coaches have another family outside of their blood families, and that’s what makes being a part of the program special.

“These girls spend a lot of time together, maybe too much time, but they love each other at the end of the day,” Wakama said.

This year is also special because of the number of seniors on the team who have been together for a couple of years already. Most coaches like Wakama would probably agree that there are few intangibles better than having veteran leadership in the locker room. They set the tone and the rest follow.

“We have seven seniors this year so these kids have been here from day one, so they know what to expect and it’s beautiful to see how much they’ve grown over this time and see how they’re pulling along the other girls,” Wakama said.

Miceus is grateful for the experience of being able to play

more continuously than many other teams around the country who haven’t been as lucky with their own set of preventive measures against the spread of COVID-19. The strangeness of this season is best seen by examples such as Duke women’s basketball and the entire Ivy League — in both cases they chose against playing a basketball season.

“One of the things not only tough physically, and everything but when you go on pause and you have to be quarantined for multiple days like it is mentally tough,” Miceus said.

Given that reality, Miceus is aware of how important doing team activities is since there’s little else to do with non-teammates thanks to the restrictions in place. As a result, the players are grateful for the coaching staff’s undying commitment to making this season as smooth as it can be. It’s been a total team effort in the truest sense possible.

“This season has definitely been one of the most mentally draining just from only having a plan of wanting to win and wanting to be great,” Miceus said.

“But also because there’s so much going on the outside and I feel like our coaching staff really has been there every day.”

By doing activities like the gift bags, the basketball players have the chance to take their mind off things while away from the court and in turn are

able to feel re-energized when they take the court.

“There’s so much uncertainty around this year and last year,” Miceus said. “Our approach is day by day, just controlling our controllables. I’m sure it’s similar to how our essential workers work, you don’t know what to expect every single day. Tomorrow, something can be put on pause or they can cancel our whole season so that’s also the approach that we bring inside the weight room and on the court.”

While they may not be literally saving lives, Miceus and her teammates can be proud of the influence they hold on campus. Like the essential workers, they are simply trying to play a role in making the world a better place.

“I don’t want to compare myself to the sacrifice that essential workers are making because that’s more like a life or death type,” Miceus said. “But I definitely have an understanding of my position as like, it’s always been a situation where student-athletes are kind of leading on campus and kind of setting the example.”

The Lady Jaspers hope to continue to lead by example on and off the court with their service, sacrifice and dedication to basketball, Manhattan College and New York City. Thanks to teams like them, the blueprint is set on how to win both on and off the court.

In January the Lady Jaspers made personalized cards and gift bags for the essential workers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to show their support amidst the ongoing struggles with the COVID-19 pandemic. @MANHATTANWBB / COURTESY

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uilding on and off the Court

The Lady Jaspers hope to continue to lead by example on and off the court with their service, sacrifice and dedication to basketball, Manhattan College and New York City. @MANHATTANWBB / COURTESY

The gift bags included items such as chocolates, a candle, bookmark, lotion, hand sanitizer, and a pair Manhattan Jasper socks. @MANHATTANWBB / COURTESY

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Ant Nelson Settling in as Jaspers’ Starting Point-Guard JASPER TALK Kyla Guilfoil

Asst. News Editor Ant Nelson is the starting point guard for the Manhattan men’s basketball team this season after transferring from Seton Hall where he spent his first two seasons coming off the bench in a limited role. At Manhattan, Nelson’s playing time and overall responsibilities have increased for a Jaspers team that is 4-8 in MAAC play. In 13 games, Nelson is scoring 13 points-per-game, highlighted by a 27-point performance in a 87-77 win over Rider on Dec. 12.

TQ: What drew you to Manhattan College when choosing to transfer from Seton Hall last summer?

AN: Back in April, I lost my grandfather due to COVID-19, and I went to school at Seton Hall, which is kind of close to the city, but I felt like I wanted to move closer so that way I could be able to see my family at least three, four times a week.

TQ: What was your reaction when you found out you were going to be able to get right back to playing after be-

ing granted the waiver?

AN: Honestly, I was ecstatic, I was so hype. I thought I was going to have to sit out, so that was just, like, going through my head the whole time. I put my name in the portal and I thought, am I ready to take a whole year away from basketball, not playing, just practicing? But, everything worked in my favor.

TQ: According to an article written about you in the New York Post shortly after your decision, you reportedly suffered a knee injury during your time at Seton Hall. How did that affect you and how have you overcome it?

AN: It kind of did something to my confidence, and I was real low on myself. I had zero confidence and I was kind of depressed. But throughout the year I was working on getting my knee strong, and now that I’m here everything feels a lot better.

TQ: Did you have to take a lot of time off for the injury?

AN: I was supposed to, but I didn’t. I think that messed it up bad.

TQ: Is there anything in particular about Manhattan head coach Steve Masiello that convinced you this was the right place?

AN: Yeah, I know there’s a lot of head coaches out there, but he’s like an uncle. That’s how I see him. I see him as like an uncle to me. You know, like he has a relationship with everyone on the team, it’s just a different relationship from other head coaches.

TQ: Have you been able to establish a strong relationship with Masiello since arriving at Manhattan?

AN: Since the first time he called me, I felt like we had a very good relationship, like we established something good.

TQ: Over the course of your basketball career, what are some special moments that have shaped you into the player Ant Nelson is today?

AN: I could say when I won the state championship in high school. I just felt like, after that, you know what to do to win so now you take that everywhere you go. That was a special moment to me.

TQ: How challenging was it for you to adjust to a new team?

AN: It was a little hard because I have a different role this year. Last year I was a role player and this year it’s kinda like I’m the dude, and everyone follows what I do, but I have to lead the right way. So it was kind of hard for me in the be-

ginning, but now that I’m running it’s gonna be easier.

TQ: And do you feel a responsibility to be a leader?

AN: Yeah, definitely.

TQ: What’s the best highlight, on or off the court, that you’ve shared with your new teammates at MC? AN: Definitely just us growing. You know, we were on a losing streak at the beginning of the season, and then we had a three-game winning streak.

I feel like that’s the best time we’ve had so far. Just to see how we grew in those three games, and just how we fight with each other in practice, we go to war with each other, the coaches try to go to war at us, but we just never back down, we just stick together.

TQ: Have you set any goals for yourself as a player at MC? AN: I don’t really have any goals for myself this year, but for the team I would like to win the MAAC championship and get to the NCAA tournament.

But, ultimately the goal, when I leave here, is to go to the NBA. But, as of right now, I don’t have any goals for myself to accomplish this year.

TQ: Is there anyone or anything that inspires you to be the best version of yourself?

AN: Yeah, definitely my

friends and my family. I have three nieces and nephews, and they’re basically like brothers and sisters to me, so, everything I do is for them.

TQ: Have you always wanted to be an NBA player?

AN: In middle school, I was heavy in basketball and track. I wanted to play football, but my mother didn’t allow it because she thought I was going to get hurt. So, it was just basketball from then on.

TQ: What are your thoughts on how the team has played this year?

AN: We started out rough, but I feel like we’ve gotten on track. The way we’re practicing is great, and I feel like we’re in great condition. I feel like as the season goes on, everyone will start to see how good we are.

TQ: What do you think the biggest key is for the team to improve?

AN: Everyone just has to share the ball, we have to play together. For those three games that we won, everyone shared the ball, we were all playing together, we were all locked in. We all have the same goals, so as long as we’re all locked into that same goal I feel like we’ll be fine.

Ant Nelson’s tenure at Manhattan is off to a solid start as the Seton Hall transfer is averaging 13 points-per-game this season while serving as Manhattan’s starting point guard.

GOJASPERS / COURTESY