Penmen Press Volume XXVIII Issue VI

Volume XXVIII

Issue 6

Febuary 7, 2021

penmenpress.com

THE

PENMEN PRESS Writing SNHU’s Story

05

07

09

Global Cafe Serving up Global Opportunities

New Spider-Man Movie Hits Home With SNHU Students

Stroh Stays on Track with Two School Records

2 | News

MEET THE

STAFF Co-Editor-in-Chief Sofia Barassi

Co-Editor-in-Chief Stefan Karlberg

Business Manager

Events Manager

photo Manager

Online Manager

Senior Copy Editor

NEws Editor Taylor Posik

Devin Pouliot

Lifestyle Editor

Sports co-Editor

Sports co-Editor

Opinion Editor

Layout Editor

Faculty Adviser

Julie Armstrong

Ryan Barrett

Now Hiring!

Orlagh Skafas

Bailey Arnold-Fuchs

Adam Dufault

Christopher Kelly

Jack Drolet

Chris Tuut

Jon Boroshok

media Manager Hannah Black

A&E Editor

Joshua DiNapoli

The Penmen Press | 3

THINGS TO

KNOW

e 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. e Penmen Press will print any material found to be factual and in good taste by the editorial sta of the paper. e views published do not necessarily reect the views of Southern New Hampshire University. e 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

4 | News

News

The Penmen Press | 5

Global Cafe Serving up Global Opportunities Lillian Nelson Staff Writer The International Student Services hosted their first Global Cafe of the semester on January 25, featuring New Zealand for their Study Abroad Program. In the upcoming months, the International Student Services will also host several more Global Cafe events in the Green Center from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. on the following dates: February 15 for Ecuador, March 15 for Sweden, and April 12 for Denmark.

“They do fall or spring semesters.

[New Zealand’s] calendars are a little different from ours, [and] their fall is typically...just after the fourth of July until just before Thanksgiving, so early July to mid-November would be the fall semester, and the spring semester would be February to late June. The seasons are reversed, our fall semester is their spring season, and the application period is right now for the fall,” said Scott Snyder, Senior Study Abroad Advisor.

Summer programs are also

available and registration for the New Zealand trip is open. Students will need to have attained a minimum GPA of 3.0 to be eligible.

As stated by the School of International Engagement, “With a wide range of student activities and a campus located in the heart of the coastal town of Dunedin, Otago Polytechnic offers you the opportunity to make friends while experiencing everything that Kiwi culture has to offer. Major programs include business, communication, environmental management and sustainability, graphic design, informational technology, marketing, and sport management.”

Students can study abroad at any of the advertised locations of their choosing. “We have two different programs. There’s the semester program, and that would be the host university’s semester,” said Snyder.

An alternate program students

can look into is the Faculty-Led Program (FLP). The FLP provides students opportunities to study abroad during the duration of spring break. “We have short-term programs called Faculty programs, [which] are typically held over spring break or in May,” said Snyder. When signing up, students need to be aware that vaccine requirements and mask mandates will vary for each country.

“Any major can study abroad.

What’s important when planning study abroad is that your credits and classes you take in New Zealand, for example, have somewhere to transfer to [in] your SNHU degree program,” said Snyder.

Additional information on the Study Abroad program is available at the International Student Services office located in the Green Center.

Students can also email studyaboard@ snhu.edu or check out their website at snhusie.com.

Global Cafe Study Abroad Display (image courtesy: Lillian Nelson)

6 | News

SNHU Isolation and Quarantine Period Reduced to Five Days Taylor Posik News Editor SNHU’s quarantine and isolation guidelines have been reduced to a minimum of five days for positive cases, as announced in an email sent by Executive Vice President of Campus Transformation, Donald Brezinski, on February 1.

Unvaccinated students who have been exposed to students with COVID will also be reduced to a five-day quarantine period, while vaccinated students are not required to quarantine after exposure.

Students who have tested positive will need to be cleared by the Wellness Center before resuming in-person classes. Students in isolation will receive details from Wellness on their status in the coming days. Studentathletes will receive instructions from their coaches on their return to practice and matches.

“Due to limited quarantine/

isolation housing on campus, students who test positive will be sent home to complete their mandatory five-day isolation period. Exceptions may be available to students who live more than 3 hours away, have an immunocompromised person in their household at home, or don’t have a safe place to go,” said Brezinski in the email.

Surveillance testing will also encompass 25% of the campus population, beginning the week of January 31, an increase of 15% from last semester. Students that have tested positive within the past 90 days will be removed from the selection.

Testing will be located in room 201 of the Academic Center.

Unvaccinated students will continue to be tested weekly. Individuals experiencing symptoms are advised to notify the Wellness Center and

schedule a test.

“Even if your name is not selected for surveillance testing in a given week, you may voluntarily test through the SNHU program if you wish,” said Brezinski’s email.

Campus students and faculty are required to receive their booster shots by March 1, or within 30 days of being eligible. Students who fail to update their records and adhere to the requirement will be unauthorized to register for classes, beginning with the Fall 2022 semester.

Those that have not received their boosters will have the option to receive them in the Dining Center Banquet Hall on select days. Others can visit the City of Manchester Health Department or Convenient MD. Additional information on testing locations can be found at vaccines.nh.gov or vaccines.gov.

Hampton and Windsor (image courtesy: Taylor Posik)

The Penmen Press | 7

Lifestyle

8 | Lifestyle

Brewed Awakening and Pizza ‘32 Now Open Lillian Nelson Staff Writer The student-run café, Brewed Awakening, reopened in the Hospitality Center on January 24.

Hours of operation run Monday through Thursday from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and Fridays from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Brewed Awakening has something for everyone, from iced and hot coffee to delicious sandwiches. They even offer matcha, which cannot be found anywhere else on campus. They also offer items that are allergen-free. Those with gluten allergies can try the snickerdoodles, and gluten-free bread will be coming soon. Dairysensitive options are also being provided, including oat milk and almond milk.

Breakfast selections to order are cinnamon rolls or iced coffee with vanilla syrup. For lunch, guests can try the turkey bacon sandwich.

Recommended beverages are the house-made lemonade or the iced

matcha latte with oat milk. Guests can also check out their wide selection of teas.

Brewed Awakening has special days to look out for, such as scrambled egg day occurring Fridays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. On Tuesdays from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., Brewed Awakening offers crepes. They sell crepes at $5 for one and $10 for three. Optional fillings to add begin at $1. Choices in fillings include Nutella, peanut butter, cream cheese, blueberry, strawberry, banana, marshmallow creme, and brown sugar. All crepes are made fresh for every order.

Valentine’s Day will also be coming out with limited-time goodies, from red velvet crepes to raspberry mocha lattes.

Brewed Awakening takes Penmen Cash, not to be confused with dining dollars. They also take credit cards, debit cards, and regular cash. It is affordable as well as delectable.

Opening next to Brewed Awakening is Pizza ’32. Pizza ’32 is a space for catering events. Clubs and organizations can begin booking the space for events.

Representative for Pizza ‘32, Dawn Cerrato, said they “have the ability to customize space to meet the needs of the group.” Event planners work with the client to satisfy their event needs, like theme, amount of people and tables needed.

Pizza ‘32 also caters food from outside sources.

Due to COVID, services are limited to hosting 70 people maximum, and the dining selection is limited, but “the goal is to open all food options by fall,” said Cerrato.

For more information on both places above, check out their website: pizza32.squarespace.com.

Campus clubs and organizations can call (603) 629-4608 or email pizza32@snhu.edu for Pizza ‘32 event planning.

Sofie Wolders (‘22) and Cassidy Barcome (‘24) at Brewed Awakening (image courtesy: Taylor Posik)

The Penmen Press | 9

A&E & OPinion

10 | A&E and Opinion

New Spider-Man Movie Hits Home With SNHU Students Devin Pouliot A&E Editor The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) third installment of the Spider-Man series has found good reviews amongst SNHU students.

Spider-Man: No Way Home followed Peter Parker (Tom Holland) after the villain Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) posthumously revealed to the world that Peter is SpiderMan. The film primarily followed Peter and his friends navigating this new territory with half the populace believing he killed Mysterio, leading him to seek Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) for a spell that made people forget he is the masked hero.

After a problem occurred with the spell, villains from the previous Spider-Man movie franchises, such as Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina), Electro (Jamie Foxx) and the Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe), were pulled from across the multiverse and into Peter’s dimension. He was then forced to face the newly formed Sinister Six, like in the Marvel comics.

Holland’s Peter was not alone, as both Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield reprise their respective roles as Peter Parker from previous Spider-Man franchises and fought the villains.

The film made over $1.5 billion, earning a spot as one of the top ten highest grossing films globally, according to Variety. The movie also found great success amongst SNHU students.

“I absolutely loved the movie,” said Kayla Stickney (‘22). “It exceeded any predictions or expectations that I had for it.”

This sentiment was echoed by fellow senior, Caela McCartney (‘22), who shared many of the theories fans had about the movie, specifically on the return of Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield.

“I had a feeling that Tobey and Andrew would make an appearance, since the villains from their films appeared in the trailer,” McCartney said.

With the return of both Maguire and Garfield, many SNHU students felt a sense of nostalgia upon seeing the Spider-Men they knew as children return to the big screen.

“Seeing all three Spider-Men was so empowering,” said McCartney. “I grew up watching each film and felt very nostalgic for Tobey Maguire’s appearance as those were my first Spider-Man movies.”

Madison Hopkins (’22) agreed with this, saying it was great seeing all three actors in the same movie.

For Stickney, who is a more recent Marvel fan and did not watch the previous Spider-Man movies, she said she was still able to experience the nostalgia by talking with her friends about the movie. “Getting to see it and talk about the movie with friends who did grow up with the movies was such a fun experience to be a part of,” said Stickney.

With this movie, Tom Holland’s Peter Parker begins a new arc as his character grows into his role as a hero.

Meanwhile, rumors are circulating on how Peter will appear in future MCU installments. Theories on how this movie will impact the MCU with the tampering of the multiverse have begun to surface. Additionally, there have been speculations on if the other Spider-Men will make a reappearance, such as Andrew Garfield.

“I heard that Andrew Garfield said that he would do it again,” said Hopkins.

No one knows if these rumors are correct or not, but Peter Parker’s story will continue with the next few phases of the MCU.

Wallpaper: Spider-Man: No Way Home (image courtesy: giantfreakinrobot.com)

a r t

e d f c i e p m c r

a i p t s c i t n g

The Penmen Press | 11

What factors determine whether a class appears as a general education requirement as opposed to falling in the free elective category?

Courses eligible for general education credit fall within a diverse array of curriculum ranging from photography to English. The conversation surrounding what is included in this curriculum is an essential one to have as students partaking in studies at SNHU are mandated to take a variety of these courses to fulfill their educational requirements.

The director of general education at SNHU, Dr. Susan Cook, was interviewed to understand the process. There were three goals for the interview. Firstly, to know who sets the requirement for gen-ed curricula. Additionally, to determine if course offerings are flexible. Finally, to know the process for adding new courses to the already existing general education landscape.

Dr. Cook explained that for t

Sports

12 | Sports

Stroh Stays on Track with Two School Records Adam Dufault Sports Co-Editor SNHU sprinter Meghan Stroh (‘22) broke two indoor track and field program records on December 5, 2021, at the Art Kadish Elm City Challenge in New Haven, Connecticut.

Stroh’s first record of the day was during the 55-meter dash with an SNHU program record of 7.44 seconds, according to the SNHU Penmen Athletics site.

She later broke her second school record of the day during the 400-meter run, a one-lap sprint around the track. She placed second in the event with her recordbreaking 58.59 seconds, according to the Penmen Athletics site.

Stroh has experience running races that range from 55 meters to 800 meters but primarily focuses on shorter-distance sprints.

“In general, a lot of work goes into being a collegiate athlete….Each girl on the team puts everything they have into their session and workout,”

said Stroh.

“It was definitely a good feeling when my coach told me I had broken the record. In track, even though you are competing against girls in your heat, you are racing the clock most of the time....One of the biggest problems most of us struggle with is appreciating our races and being proud of our times. But many times, being able to see all of my hard work pay off ends in a nice surprise,” said Stroh.

A common source of motivation throughout track and field programs is the inter-squad rivalry. The competition between teammates is a massive push, considering teammates compete against one another at meets.

“Out of all of my years on the team, I have never felt more supported by my teammates and coaches….

During workouts, the small group of girls I run with continues to push each other while we are running and

on our breaks,” said Stroh.

She continued, “Going into my final season of indoor, I honestly had the goal to remain consistent and have fun. While breaking records is always a goal and a dream, I wanted to end my final season happy with my performances and enjoy the time I have left with the team,” said Stroh.

On January 30, Stroh placed first in both her 200m and 600m runs.

“Stroh ran a season and careerbest 1:42.01 to win the 600m after claiming the 200m in a season-best 26.68,” said Penmen Athletics. She continues to run for her best times as the season sprints on with a handful of meets to go.

Being fully committed to track and field, Stroh has weathered grueling workouts while forming close bonds with fellow members of her team. Ending her college track career gives her happiness, while also putting in some of the best races SNHU has ever seen.

Meghan Stroh (‘22) sprinting down the track (image courtesy: Jim Stankiewicz)

The Penmen Press | 13

Matt Becht Catches Fire Amidst Men’s Basketball Winning Streak Adam Dufault Sports Co-Editor With a score of 75-63 against Southern Connecticut State, SNHU men’s basketball won its fourth straight game on January 31 at the Stan Spirou Field House.

With victories over Saint Rose, New Haven, Pace, and Southern Connecticut State, the team is steadily climbing the NE-10 leaderboards.

Numbers don’t lie, and they also show that newcomer Matt Becht (‘22) is nearing the top of the scoring sheet on almost a nightly basis. He was named NE-10 Rookie of the Week following the week of January 18, according to Penmen Athletics.

“It felt good… but really, it’s just a testament to my teammates and my coaches,” said Becht. “I can’t win an individual award without them, so I’m just grateful to them to have put me in a position to succeed.”

He spoke about what the practice

experience is like here at SNHU. “All in all, we’ve done a lot of drills and we’ve done a lot of competitive stuff,” said Becht.

As a guard for the team, he understands his role as a scorer, but primarily a shooter. “I know that’s what I do best. It’s something that I kind of pride myself to work on in off-seasons and I kind of know that if I want to be out there on the floor and be effective, I have to make shots,” said Becht.

He continued, “I feel like this is a very connected group. We have a lot of talented guys, which makes it very competitive because practices are chippy....I think everybody wants to bring out the best in one another and I think that’s going to lead to success in the long run.”

The sharp-shooting guard went off for a career-high 35 points in a 101-81 victory over Pace on January

29. He also tallied 10 rebounds, notching his second career doubledouble. This also helped him earn NE-10 Player of the Week during the week of January 24, according to Penmen Athletics.

“I feel like going into a game like that… I knew I wanted to just focus on, you know, taking the right shots….Obviously, I made a couple and I started to get hot. Usually, when I see the ball go through the basket a couple times, it’s like I black-out,” said Becht.

When he’s not performing to his full potential, he says his teammates continue to support him. “If [my shot’s] not going, [my teammates] try to get me going,” said Becht.

With sights on much more than just scoring, Becht and company look to move ahead and use their winning streak’s momentum to stay hot the rest of the season.

Matt Becht shooting a contested 3-point shot (image courtesy: Jim Stankiewicz)

14 | Sports

SNHU Baseball Gains Multiple Preseason Accolades Chris Tutt Sports Co-Editor Going into the 2022 season, the SNHU baseball team is not only looking to defend their title as NE10 champions, but also as NCAA Division II East Region champions.

The team has gained some attention that suggests that they are the team to beat.

The NE10 Coaches Poll has the Penmen ranked first overall in the NE10. Adelphi is atop the poll in the southwest division, the team that SNHU defeated in last year’s NE10 championship game. Despite the similar rankings to last season, senior catcher Dakota Mulcay (‘22) is taking every team seriously.

“Each team we face is a new challenge,” said Mulcay. He continued, “You never know which team has it that day and which [team] doesn’t.

Our goal is to play every game to win.”

The Penmen are ranked as the seventh best Division II team in the country, according to NCBWA. With this high ranking, the team goal remains constant and Mulcay makes sure to spread this message as captain.

“The team’s ultimate goal, just like every year, is to win the final game of the year in Cary, North Carolina,” said Mulcay.

Cary, North Carolina is the site of the Division II championship, where SNHU has competed three times since 2012 (2012, 2018, 2021). Mulcay is optimistic that this team will return to Cary.

“The team this year has been awesome....The amount of work everyone has put in has been incredible. I think this group of guys is really close and we’re just putting the last pieces of the puzzle [together],”

said Mulcay.

With great team success comes a great coach. Coach Scott Loiseau has proven year after year that despite New England not being an ideal location for baseball, teams can still find success. Mulcay explains what is expected from Loiseau.

“Coach’s expectations every year don’t change....He provides us with the right tools in order to compete each and every day. It’s our job to compete and work harder than the other teams,” said Mulcay.

“SNHU baseball, to me, has meant family,” said Mulcay. “Every time [we] put on that jersey, we represent something bigger than ourselves.”

To Mulcay, and to many other players, SNHU baseball is more than just a team, and that bond is what gives SNHU an edge over the competition.

Dakota Mulcay (‘22) celebrates with teammate (image courtesy: Jim Stankiewicz)