Penmen Press Volume XXVII Issue XVII

Volume XXVII

Issue 7

April 2, 2021

penmenpress.com

THE

PENMEN PRESS Writing SNHU’s Story

06

11

13

SNHU Announces Virtual Commencement

SNHU Baseball is Sliding into 2021 Season

Simpler FAFSA Will Make Life easier

2 | News

MEET THE

STAFF Co-Editor-in-Chief Grace Mage

Co-Editor-in-Chief Daniel Hopler

Business Manager

Events Manager

Marketing Manager

Sports Editor

Senior Copy Editor

News Co-Editor

News Co-Editor

Lifestyle Editor

Layout Editor

Online Manager

A&E/Opinion Editor

Faculty Adviser

Julie Armstrong

Bailey Arnold-Fuchs

Hailey Tremaine

Eliza Fandel

Stefan Karlberg

Ryan Barrett

Kyle Griffin

Andrew Wilson

Now Hiring!

Sofia Barassi

Now Hiring!

Jon Boroshok

The Penmen Press | 3

THIS MONTH’S

EVENTS

Tuesday, April 6

Saturday, April 17

Thursday, April 22

CAPE Late Night Podcast

Women’s Lacrosse vs. Bentley

Transition Summit: Greek Organizations Think Tank Session

10:00PM - 11:00PM

Come join CAPE’s first student Podcast! With your host Leo, Nick and Justin introducing themselves, why they chose SNHU and their SNHU experiences.

Wednesday, April 7 CAPES Weekly Bingo 8:00PM - 9:00PM

Come to Bingo for a chance to win some awesome prizes!

Friday, April 9 Virtual Paint Party with CAPE 7:00PM - 9:00PM

Grab yourself a drink, a snack, your paintbrushes and join CAPE and SGA for a Virtual Paint Party.

Tuesday, April 13 CAPE Late Night Podcast 10:00PM - 11:00PM

Come join CAPE’s first student Podcast! With your host Leo, Nick and Justin introducing themselves, why they chose SNHU and their SNHU experiences.

Wednesday, April 14 CAPES Weekly Bingo 8:00PM - 9:00PM

Come to Bingo for a chance to win some awesome prizes!

12:00PM - 3:30PM

Men’s Lacrosse vs. Franklin Pierce 3:00PM - 6:00PM

Monday, April 19 Transition Summit: EDU Related Clubs and Organizations Think Tank Session 6:00PM - 8:00PM

Tuesday, April 20 Transition Summit: Liberal Arts Related Clubs and Organizations Think Tank Session 6:00PM - 8:00PM

CAPE Late Night Podcast 10:00PM - 11:00PM

Come join CAPE’s first student Podcast! With your host Leo, Nick and Justin introducing themselves, why they chose SNHU and their SNHU experiences .

Wednesday, April 21 Transition Summit: Governing Boards Think Tank Session 6:00PM - 8:00PM

CAPES Weekly Bingo 8:00PM - 9:00PM

Come to Bingo for a chance to win some awesome prizes!

6:00PM - 8:00PM

Saturday, April 24 Spring Open House 2021 7:00AM - 4:00PM

Tuesday, April 27 CAPE Late Night Podcast 10:00PM - 11:00PM

Come join CAPE’s first student Podcast! With your host Leo, Nick and Justin introducing themselves, why they chose SNHU and their SNHU experiences.

Wednesday, April 28 CAPES Weekly Bingo 8:00PM - 9:00PM

Come to Bingo for a chance to win some awesome prizes!

4 | News

News

The Penmen Press | 5

Guided Tours Return to Campus Taylor Posik Staff Writer Tours on campus have begun to return after a mandatory shutdown due to the ongoing pandemic. As SNHU continues to plan for the fall semester, protocols during tours have been modified to better suit the current world condition.

Prior to COVID, tours were offered two times a day throughout the week along with select weekends. One-on-one meetings with admission counselors were offered to prospective students before they’d embark on an hourlong group tour across campus, in which groups had no limit to the number of students and guests that attended.

During remote learning, a virtual link to a campus video was put up in place of in-person tours. Moving into the 2021 spring semester, tours are slowly coming back.

“Tours are certainly different now. Whether it was last year or now, safety and wellness is always paramount, however, in light of the pandemic we certainly have added many procedures to ensure we are intentional with the experience for students,” says Rob Cuzzi, Senior Assistant Director II. Groups will now cap at a total of ten people, including five students and one guest per student. In addition, meetings with admission counselors will be temporarily replaced with presentations that will take place in Alumni Hall.

Where there are typically 35 to 40 tour guides, there are presently only four - one per group - due to safety protocols.

“What I love most about being a tour guide is meeting so many different people and getting to share my love of SNHU with others.

Coming to SNHU was probably the best choice I have made my whole life, so taking part in that process for others and potentially seeing them around campus in the future is so rewarding,” says SNHU tour guide Amber Dee (‘23).

The tour route has also been reduced and will only make five stops per tour. Kingston hall lobby, CETA building lobby, the dining hall, student center and library will be seen. Tour shuttles, as well as dorm room viewings, the green center, and the athletic complex will be excluded from the list of locations. Everyone will be required to wear a mask.

Admission staff, which include counselors and guides, will need to take a COVID test each week and utilize the Envoy app. This application allows for staff and students on campus to answer health and safety protocol questions in order to be allowed access to campus for that day. The app can be downloaded for free in the App Store on a mobile device or Google Play.

Currently, tours are being offered on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday during time slots 9 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.

Starting in April, options will

include Wednesdays along with select weekends.

As of now, only accepted students for the fall 2021 semester are being offered tour schedules.

“I am encouraged based on the current numbers and we continue to monitor the pandemic while working with our campus partners about best practices. We are going to continue to offer experiences that are student-centric and cater to the guest experience to the best of our ability. I am hopeful that as we continue to move forward we will be able to grow our event opportunities,” says Cuzzi.

“I hope students get clarity on where they want to go to college.

Whether they pick SNHU or not, trying to find a college you want to go to is tough, let alone in a pandemic. I just want to give students the opportunity to see and understand what life on campus is like, as well as the opportunities they will have,” says Meagan White, (‘22).

People walking on SNHU Campus Green. (image courtesy: Southern New Hampshire University)

6 | News

SNHU Announces Virtual Commencement for Classes of 2020 and 2021 Stefan Karlberg and Taylor Posik News Co-Editor and Staff Writer SNHU has announced that the Commencement ceremonies for the classes of 2020 and 2021 have been scheduled to take place virtually Saturday, May 8. Joining the ranks of universities like Saint Anselm’s College and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, SNHU has decided to err on the side of caution and postpone in-person Commencement ceremonies. In an email sent out to both graduating classes, the SNHU Commencement Team notified students of the decision, saying, “All Southern New Hampshire University 2020 and Spring 2021 graduates will be recognized and celebrated in a virtual commencement ceremony on May 8. In-person celebrations have been postponed until we can safely gather all of our graduates and guests from around the world.”

Assistant Vice President of

Ceremonies & Events Deanna Zanella elaborated on this decision further, saying, “We are absolutely committed to holding in-person ceremonies once it’s deemed safe to do so. Just one Commencement Weekend usually brings over 30,000 people to Manchester and we cannot safely do that just yet.”

However, this does not rule out a future in-person ceremony.

Zanella states, “We hope to celebrate all of our postponed ceremonies in-person as early as later this year and are in the process of looking at multiple options. Remember our graduates not only live in New England but all over the United States as well as in other parts of the world.”

Traditionally Commencement has fallen at the end of Senior Week, so many of the graduating seniors would already be in the area. The

majority of graduates would have to travel and find accommodations, meaning SNHU has to take the Greater Manchester community into account as well.

This decision has been in the works for quite a while. Zanella says, “When it was clear that we would have to postpone our first Fall Commencement planned for the end of 2020, we surveyed our eligible Spring and Fall 2020 graduates and asked if they’d like to participate in a virtual ceremony while they await a rescheduled in-person ceremony.

Overwhelmingly, they said yes.

They also offered suggestions for what aspects of a virtual ceremony would be meaningful to them (the most important was having their name read and including a photo on screen). So, we began to research options and examples

2020 Graduate. (image courtesy: Southern New Hampshire University)

The Penmen Press | 7

Commencement 2019 at SNHU Arena. (image courtesy: SNHU President’s Corner) of virtual ceremonies that other universities have held this last year and came up with a plan.”

This experience seeks to improve Commencement for years to come. In prior years many students were unable to attend the Commencement celebrations in person, so this year can help find solutions for future students to be able to attend their ceremonies.

Zanella explains, “Each year we hear from a number of graduates that can’t attend in-person ceremonies due to military or work commitments, financial or family obligations, or health concerns. We hope the ceremonies this Spring will help us learn the best way to offer an additional virtual option for graduates in the future and will welcome feedback from this year to help shape that experience going forward.”

In response to the decision, members of the SNHU community have taken to social media to express their complaints. Some students felt that SNHU had not communicated properly throughout the entire decisionmaking process. A petition has been

created by Richard Pulisciano, ‘21, urging Paul LeBlanc and the SNHU administration to reconsider holding an in-person ceremony.

“We are upset with the fact we can’t have a real graduation as most colleges are doing it now.

Graduation is [memorable] and something that other colleges are giving the students, [including] surveys and the option to have a graduation or not. We the students of SNHU are outraged. We didn’t have any inputs,” writes Pulisciano.

In addition, there are concerns that holding graduation at a later date will create conflict for those that have new obligations.

Although some have shown their outrage over the postponement, graduates such as Christina Ryan, ‘20, have turned another leaf. “[It’s] been basically a year since I ended my time at SNHU, I’ve kind of gotten over the whole situation,” says Ryan.

Supporters of an in-person Commencement continue to sign the petition in hopes for the classes 2020 and 2021 getting the in-person ceremony they worked toward. The hashtag #LetSNHUWalk has also

begun to circulate to express unity.

In that hashtag, some students express confusion as to why SNHU has chosen to postpone in-person ceremonies while other universities have held similar events with successful safety measures.

Every year, seniors are asked to pay a graduation fee of $150.

However, students from the classes of 2020 and 2021 are questioning why they are being asked to fulfill this requirement. SNHU clarifies what this fee goes towards, saying, “The fee covers not only your regalia and diploma but the degree conferral process, including the final degree audit, processing and mailing of the diploma and your official transcript.”

The SNHU Student Government Association (SGA) has recently sent out a memo encouraging students to send their questions and concerns to them. SGA will compile and submit these comments to the University Administration. In addition, students who are looking for more information regarding the 2021 Commencement celebrations can go to https://www.snhu.edu/ student-experience/graduation.

8 | News

How has SNHU mitigated COVID on campus?

Joshua Dinapoli and Magdalena Hubickova Staff Writers

AMasked Student. (image courtesy: SNHU Global Education Movement) Looking back on its first post-COVID academic year, the SNHU administration and wider community have reflected on what they have learned and how effective their protocols have been in mitigating the spread of the virus. The fight to stop COVID’s spread is one that involves all departments, and a lot has been learned from the hardships faced.

At the center of SNHU’s plan is the COVID taskforce, a committee of representatives of various departments that coordinate college-wide policy and response procedures to COVID. “We’ve been consistent about anchoring our decisions first and foremost on the safety of our students,” said Amelia Manning, the Chief Operating Officer of the task force. The task force started in late February of 2020, even before a global pandemic was declared as outbreaks in Europe became a

concern to study abroad students.

Conversations then began about what circumstances would make a closure of campus a necessity. As soon as the campus was closed, the task force immediately began to realign their priorities in order to determine how a smooth transition to online can be accomplished and how future semesters as far forward as Fall 2021 would be coordinated.

Now a year later, the task force is trying to make sure athletes who arrived on campus as early as March 1 are being acclimated to a vastly different living experience.

“This is a group that did not get to play [in the] spring. It would’ve been two years...lost,” said Manning explaining why the teams were brought back this March.

With the increase in campus population, various departments have expected roles in ensuring the continued mitigation of positive cases. While the Wellness Center

coordinates testing and ensuring athletes have campus resources, Public Safety is responsible for contact tracing. In the case of athletes, the Wellness Center has mandated that they are tested twice a week and have their health checked via the app Envoy. To ensure that students are updated with relevant news, they are constantly receiving emails and calls. Besides testing, wearing masks and social distancing, the Wellness Center helps students with their mental health. “We are putting information out on how to take care of yourself on our Instagram page. Counseling is still going on remotely. We are also touching base with people that are in isolation or quarantine.”

Karen Estabrook from Wellness stated. The Wellness Center can be followed on Instagram @ snhu_wellness.

With the crisis involving all

The Penmen Press | 9

departments, Res Life has taken on emergency housing provided to students. “We have learned that having access to housing is critical for some SNHU students, and we are grateful that SNHU created a safe plan for students...at the height of the pandemic,” said Shannon Brown, a representative of Res Life.

With the return of more emergency housing students earlier this year along with athletes this March, it has become especially important that students are being properly cared for. Res Life has tried to increase student engagement on campus through online platforms such as Teams and The Scoop, a weekly newsletter.

While SNHU has attempted to effectively carry out its protocols, changing knowledge of the virus and reaction to case numbers have reshaped policy the last couple of months. “Flexibility is needed when those plans have to change because of new guidelines from the state, for example,” Brown said reflecting

on how the policy was realigned to match government guidelines.

Manning made it clear that SNHU was constantly communicating with the Governor of New Hampshire and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). The Wellness Center is specifically in contact with DHHS to make sure their testing protocols are updated and effective. On a local level, SNHU is dedicated to making sure they follow guidelines proposed by the city of Manchester.

If a student tests positive for COVID-19 he or she will receive a call, which will provide all information needed – for example how to order food. Public safety will then begin public tracing and the student will quarantine in the Lincoln dorm. The Wellness Center will make sure that students are in good health and that the student is capable of safe isolation.

Res Life will inform the roommates of the isolated student and they will have to go into quarantine. It

should be noted, that no student on campus has tested positive or had to be quarantined as of March 21. Students can see the number of cases on campus, as well as the active testing numbers, on the SNHU COVID-19 Dashboard website.

Overall SNHU has had a long but successful adjustment to COVID. While there were initial challenges such as the three-month-long process to build the surveillance center, the project was ultimately successful with testing students on campus and employees. Right now, the main priority for the taskforce and SNHU is adjusting current protocols for a larger population once all campus students return in the Fall. While Manning anticipates that everyone will still be practicing social distancing and wearing masks, she is confident that the suite of protocols set these last couple of semesters will give the university the foundation needed to transition to a full return.

SNHU Library. (image courtesy: SNHU External Affairs)

10 | Sports

Sports

The Penmen Press | 11

SNHU Baseball is Sliding into 2021 Season Steven Covey Staff Writer SNHU’s baseball team began their season on March 25 at Stonehill College and finished with a 2-0 record after beating the Skyhawks 10-2 in the first game and 3-1 in the second game.

With new COVID regulations in place, the baseball players are excited to hit the field again after not having a 2020 season.

“I’m pretty excited. Seeing other schools practicing together in the fall and winter hurts, while we haven’t seen each other since last March,” said Joshua Goldstein (‘21), captain and infielder. “Not being together has been especially tough on us for the most part because we’re so close. I wouldn’t say I’m nervous; it’s more of a learning experience for everyone.

Hopefully, we just do the right thing, stay COVID free, and we’ll be all set for the season.”

Even after their first practice, Goldstein was happy to be back.

“Our first practice went well. It was great to be back out there with the guys, and everyone brought great energy. We met all the new guys and got into a rhythm. We had to wear masks the wholetime and we were split up into smaller groups when we went inside to hit, but other than that it was a pretty normal practice,” said Goldstein.

Some players think the team should focus on recreating the bond they had before SNHU closed due to COVID-19 in order to be a cohesive group.

“It’s more about bonding as

a team that’s important because we haven’t built a lot of team chemistry yet,” said Idelson Taveras (‘21), outfielder. “I feel like team chemistry is something we need to work on, not because we lack it but because there’s a lot of new guys, and we just have to get used to being together again. I think it should be one of the main goals due to the limited time we have.”

With the National Collegiate Baseball Writer’s Association (NCBWA) ranking SNHU’s baseball team as number 11 nationwide and the NE10 Coaches’ Poll ranking the Penmen at number 1, the baseball team has a promising season ahead.

SNHU Tennis Takes a Swing at Spring Christopher Kelly Staff Writer After a year off, SNHU Men's and Women's Tennis has finally returned to campus to play an abridged spring season in the NE10 conference. This is all occurring with new rules and restrictions in place to ensure the safety and health of the players, such as weekly testing and wearing masks during daily practices.

Everyone involved is excited to resume their seasons, which were cut short last year due to Covid-19.

Head Coach Gregory Coache is very enthusiastic about the season returning and getting to work with his athletes. “We’re just excited to get the players back…I would say I want them to really enjoy their experience, [to] please be smart and be healthy. If they are, both my men's and women's teams could go very far as they have in years past,” said Coache.

The women’s games are on

Sundays and Wednesdays. The season began with a winning streak, beating Saint Anselm (4-0), Saint Michael’s (7-0) and Assumption (7-0). However, in the next game, SNHU lost to undefeated Franklin Pierce (2-5). The game against Saint Michaels was postponed, but on Saturday the 27, SNHU played Saint Anselm (). Co-captains Liz Dwyer ('22) and Alexa Etienne ('22), when asked about how they feel about the season, said, “It’s definitely looking promising for the future since everyone came back and they're fitting pretty well.” They are hoping to win the NE-10 this season and get the ring that comes with it.

The men’s season began on March 27 with a [win/ loss] to Bentley. This follows postponements for the first two games on the schedule due to testing complications. Games

will proceed on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

As explained by Willem van Biezen ('22), a grad student from Sassenheim, Netherlands, “We always get Covid tested on Tuesdays in the morning, but if we have Tuesday matches, we would need that negative result before we start the match, so we are now testing on Monday. They were afraid that we couldn’t get that result on time Tuesday, so...they postponed it for this time.” Despite the delay, van Biezen remains positive that men’s tennis will be able to do well this season.

Because of health and safety concerns, spectators are not allowed to be in the stands.

However, viewers are able to watch live-streams of the matches or can email Coach Coache for full recordings of them.

12 | Lifestyle

Lifestyle

The Penmen Press | 13

Simpler FAFSA Will Make Life easier Elizabeth Lemieux Staff Writer For years there have been discussions in the US Capitol on how to improve the financial process for higher education. This year the country finally has something to work with, as elements of the proposed FAFSA Simplification Act have been signed into law.

On December 27, 2020, a crowded bill titled “The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021” was approved. Elements of the FAFSA Simplification Act of 2019 are present in this bill and will take effect July 1, 2023. This means SNHU’s current

freshman enrolled in a four-year or longer program may get to experience the new FAFSA first-hand.

Justin Draegar, President of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA), admits there are a few issues with the bill, but applauds the bipartisan support which led to its ratification because it has been twelve years since any big changes were made to the financial aid process.

This law will certainly change the FAFSA in several different ways.

First, the FAFSA is often considered

an arduous, lengthy task similar to the chore of doing taxes. The Simplification Act will shorten the form and provide fewer questions. There are currently 108 questions, and it is planned to reduce that number to a maximum of 36. Two questions they plan to pull from the form ask about selective services and drug-related convictions, says NAFSAA and NerdWallet.

Second, the FAFSA will be translated into more languages.

Currently English and Spanish are the only options provided, isolating those who speak other languages.

Game Jam, What’s That?

Julie Armstrong Business Manager Game Jam, created by SNHU’s Game Design Club, is an event that brings together Gaming and NonGaming majors to work together to build an interactive game based on a theme.

Like other SNHU events, Game Jam has been altered due to the pandemic.

In the past year, the Game Design Club has made it a priority to keep its members entertained. They aim to bring challenges as well as comfort to their members through what is currently a weeklong event.

Since the Game Design Club keeps the themes “pretty open-ended,” according to Laura Ducran (‘22), Social Media Manager of the SNHU Game Design Club. “There are a lot of different games that come out of it.” Using the theme One, club members created “a multiplayer game that each player could only control one character, and in another game...players had to complete each level in one minute.” The main idea from these thematic challenges is to generate imaginings and ideas into virtual reality. Although the games are made differently in relation to each creator’s ideas, each game encourages users to find fun in simple things.

Held outside of weekly meetings, Game Jams are, “typically 24 hours or 48 hours over the weekend [when] on campus,” says Joshua Reid, Event Manager of SNHU’s Game Design Club. When Game Jams took place on campus, it would be a “lockdown” situation, during which all of the members would create games while socializing and eating (snacks included).

Due to the recent shift to online, the club struggled with how to recreate the event virtually. This led club leaders to initiate longer Game Jams by taking advantage of the blackout weeks. The event currently lasts for 11 days, which spans the beginning of black-out week, ending on the Tuesday after black-out week. Prizes are awarded to the winners of the best games, as decided by the judges.

Although the theme of the last Game Jam of the semester is still being decided, it will lead the club into the SNHU Convention in April. This convention, hosted by the SNHU Game Design Club, gives members a chance to show off games they’ve designed to an outside audience; the game will be available for people to play as well.

The convention aims to give local game developers the chance to present their games, in addition to hosting guest speakers from the industry who can answer questions about what the game design industry is like.

The Game Jam also prepares club members for a larger convention, PAX East. Normally held in Boston, the Game Design Club participates in the convention. Reid explains this further, saying, “SNHU has their booth and we go there and show off games that our students made and we get people interested in the school. SNHU Con is like a much smaller scale thing that is kind of our convention that we put on, whereas PAX is a huge video game convention in Boston that the school pays to have a booth there. So, a couple professors and a bunch of students just go set up the booth and we display the games that we made and people can come and play them.”

The Game Design Club can be contacted through many social media platforms such Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter in addition to their SNHU email. Meetings are held at 6 p.m. every Tuesday on the SNHU Game Design Club Discord.

14 | A&E and Opinion

A&E and Opinion

The Penmen Press | 15

Yeek Shines on Genre-Bending Record, Valencia Stefan Karlberg News Co-Editor Two years after his EP IDK Where, Filipino-American singer, songwriter and producer Yeek has released his third studio album, Valencia.

Known for genre-defying music and captivating visuals, Yeek lets his creativity shine on the 10-track, 23-minute record.

None of the tracks last longer than 3 minutes, but Yeek is still able to captivate his audience with his seamless transitions and beautiful instrumentation. Yeek’s vulnerable lyrics about love, heartbreak and his struggles with anxiety, combined with his unique instrumentals create an immersive and powerful listening experience.

Valencia is far from a somber record, though.

Songs like “Overthinking” and “M.H.” make it impossible for listeners not to bop their heads to the heavy drums and melodic synths. The record was almost entirely self-produced, save for a collaboration on the title track.

His poppy synths and rap-inspired drums pair with indie rock-style guitars to create a musical space that is all his own.

Yeek refuses to stick to one sound and mood; the use of piano and guitar on “This Time,” a collaboration with Los Angelesbased R&B artist Rolls Rome, allows the listener to slow down and become fully immersed in Yeek’s lyrics surrounding his uncertainty that his romantic feelings are reciprocated. On this track, he sings, “Sunny days are better/Ride or die together/Don’t run away this time.” His echoing vocals complete the track and give the audience an intimate glimpse of his feelings of love and fear that said love is unrequited.

Yeek brings Valencia to a beautiful end on the final track, “Dirty Pillow.” Even with strong themes of anxiety on the record,

Yeek. (Image courtesy: Zatoon Blogs) he seems to find a resolution on “Dirty Pillow.” The last words the listener hears on the entire record are, “You my twin/You my slime/ You my partner/Light it up when I feel it getting darker/Who knows what I’m going through?/You know what to do.”

While he still struggles with anxiety, he has found a love he no longer doubts and in turn, is able to tackle his anxiety with his partner.

These lyrics paired with trippy

synths, sturdy drums, and beautiful piano melodies send listeners on their way with an air of happiness.

The record is accompanied by a music video for the title track “Valencia,” as well as a short film, “h.a.w.a.i.i.,” both written and produced by Yeek himself. The bright and captivating visuals go perfectly with the music. Both videos can be found on Yeek’s YouTube page, and Valencia can be streamed on all major platforms.

16 | A&E and Opinion

SNHU Community Reacts To WandaVision Conclusion Devin Pouliot and Elizabeth Lemieux Staff Writers

WandaVision Ad. (image courtesy: WandaVision Official Twitter page)

Earlier in the semester, the Penmen Press interviewed SNHU students and alumni about their general reactions to “WandaVision,” a Marvel television series on Disney+, and their theories for how the show would end. With the completion of the series, the Penmen Press surveyed and interviewed several SNHU students again to determine if their theories came true and how satisfied they were with the series finale.

Expectations for “WandaVision” were high. It’s not hard to see why, as Marvel Studios is world-famous for their characters, stories and action sequences. Fans look forward to every glimpse into the cinematic universe they can get and many expect every related project to come with that thrill of watching a Marvel movie.

Excitement grew when one of the main actors in “WandaVision” teased a big moment in the show.

In several interviews, Paul Bettany, who plays Vision, told viewers to watch out for a huge cameo from someone he’s always wanted to work with. Elizabeth Olsen even added that this special appearance was like a certain recent cameo in “The Mandalorian.” Of course, this led to speculation, thousands of theory videos and excitement for the big reveal.

SNHU students were among those excited fans, and they have a lot to say about the show and how it ended.

Of the students questioned, 55% stated they were completely satisfied with WandaVision. The rest stated they were mostly satisfied with the series. Some SNHU students commented how the series did a good job of depicting Wanda’s journey through the stages of grief.

However, less satisfied viewers cited many reasons why they did not enjoy the series as much. Hannah

The Penmen Press | 17

Wanda and Vision. (image courtesy: Marvel Studios) Rabitaille, (‘23), stated how the show felt cliché, and the character of Dr. Darcy Lewis, an astrophysicist known for her inclusion in the Thor movies, could have been used better.

“I think Darcy was so important and didn’t get as much credit as she deserves,” Rabitaille said.

Some SNHU students also thought the viewers who were dissatisfied with “WandaVision” could have had high expectations that weren’t fulfilled.

“Too many people set their expectations too high and were asking for too much to be done in a short season,” Jerlin Quinones, (‘18), said. “What the show was really about was Wanda and her grief and having to move on and we see her conquer that by the end.”

Many SNHU students theorized

about who the main villain would turn out to be. The popular opinion was that Mephisto would make an appearance in the show.

Mephisto is an extra-dimensional demon in the Marvel Universe that rules a pocket dimension that he calls hell. Since West View, NJ lies in a pocket dimension in the show, Mephisto was a likely candidate for the main villain and was believed to be putting Wanda through psychological torment.

Some students theorized about the return of Ultron to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), after seeing SWORD scientists disassembling and studying Vision’s body.

Other students, like Alyssa DeGruttola, (‘23), were not surprised by the main villain reveal,

having theorized it before the finale.

“I was not surprised that Agnes was the villain,” DeGruttola said, adding that the old witch was her favorite character in the show.

DeGruttola says she hopes there is a spinoff series about Agnes, known as the witch Agatha Harkness, and a teacher of Wanda’s in the Marvel comics.

Though “WandaVision” is over, the Marvel Universe is not slowing down. Their newest Disney+ show, “Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” released its first episode on March 19. Now fans will be able to focus their energy and conspiracy theories on the content and mysteries of Falcon’s journey as the next Captain America.

All episodes of “WandaVision” are now streaming on Disney+.

The Penmen Press |18

The Southern New Hampshire University Penmen Press is a news publication produced by Southern New Hampshire University students and funded largely by the Student Government Association of the University. It is our responsibility to inform the SNHU community about events on and around campus. The Penmen Press will print any material found to be factual and in good taste by the editorial staff of the paper. The views published do not necessarily reflect the views of Southern New Hampshire University. The Penmen Press is published monthly during the academic year and is printed on campus by Copies Plus. To contact the newspaper, please email us at penmenpress@snhu.edu