The official student newspaper of Quinnipiac University since 1929.
QUCHRONICLE.COM
FEBRUARY 3, 2016
VOLUME 86, ISSUE 15
Sophomore arrested for weapon possession
QU gives $400,000 to North Haven By JULIA PERKINS Editor-in-Chief
Fourteen students relocated after dorm leak Staff Writer
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“At first it wasn’t that bad, it was just a little bit of water and then the pipe broke ten minutes later and we had four inches of water and that is when it started coming into our rooms and stuff.” – BENJAMIN TZODIKOV
Sophomore Hill resident
Despite the water spilling into the rooms, Gonzalez and Tzodikov said their personal items were not affected by the situation. “Our stuff didn’t get...ruined as much as the room below us,” Gonzalez said. “We went down there after… The guys, they came up because it was starting to drip in their room and we all went down there and then it was literally [like it was] pouring rain [in their room]. Well, not rain–dirty toilet water.” Gonzalez said the damage to the room below the leak got the worst of the situation.
POLL
Fourteen Hill residents have been relocated after extensive water damage affected their apartments. Public Safety is investigating an incident regarding water damage to two apartments in the Hill residence hall on Friday, Jan. 29, according to Associate Vice President for Public Relations John Morgan. The incident is believed to have started with a damaged toilet leaking in an apartment and into the one below it, Morgan said. The 14 students who lived in the two apartments have been reassigned to other residence halls while repairs are underway. Sophomore public relations major Benjamin Tzodikov is one of the residents from the room where the toilet leaked. “I flushed the toilet and the toilet wouldn’t stop flushing and then the pipe broke–or something like that–and then water went everywhere and we literally had...four inches of water in the bathroom,” Tzodikov said. Josh Gonzalez, a sophomore health science major, also lives with Tzodikov. “The toilet kept flushing and flushing and flushing and the pipe behind it just, like, burst. So then once it was going everywhere, it started to...leak out into the room,” Gonzalez said. Tzodikov said their initial reaction was to call Public Safety and he said that soon after an officer arrived.
“It got worse...within ten minutes after it happened,” Tzodikov said. “At first it wasn’t that bad, it was just a little bit of water and then the pipe broke ten minutes later and we had four inches of water and that’s when it started coming into our rooms and stuff.”
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“It started to leak all over their room and their whole common room got messed up,” Gonzalez said. “I think they had more broken–more damaged–stuff than we had.” The next morning facilities was in the lower room trying to clean the mess, according to Gonzalez. “The facilities men were, like, ripping out all the insulation stuff and they were, like, trying to clean everything up,” Gonzalez said. “I kind of feel bad… It was so late in the morning–it was like three in the morning.” Tzodikov said it all could have been avoided if they knew how to turn off the water, because he said it only took one tool to turn the water off and stop it from leaking everywhere. Facilities has set up the floor driers that are usually set up in the cafeteria on rainy days, according to Tzodikov. But that’s not all. “There’s, like, two giant dehumidifiers, which are just in the hallways,” Tzodikov said. The flooding forced the students to relocate to different dorms while their rooms are fixed. “They were basically like... you guys are going to have to pack up your bag and...we’re going to relocate you somewhere for a couple of days,” Gonzalez said. “They weren’t sure how long it was going to take.” Gonzalez and Tzodikov have been relocated from their room in Hill to a room in Village and the students who live in the room below them are currently located in Perlroth until the rooms are fully repaired.
The Quinnipiac Chronicle
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PHOTO SET COURTESY OF SNAPCHAT
Above shows three separate shots from a Snapchat video, which featured sophomore Nicholas Pappas shooting a firearm from his car. Pappas was arrested for having other weapons in his car. . By STAFF REPORTS baton, an automatic switchblade knife and two Freshman biology major Jackie Schurick pairs of brass knuckles. Officers arrested Pappas said Pappas’ punishment from the university is Sophomore Nicholas Pappas was arrested on Jan. 29 at police headquarters. more than fair. Friday after Hamden police found weapons in The university issued Pappas a suspension, “It could have been so much worse for him,” his car, according to a police press release. according to Vice President for Public Affairs she said. “Just imagine a little kid sleeping [when Police say they received a complaint on Jan. Lynn Bushnell. he shot the firearm in the video], it’d be terrify25 about a social media post that featured the stu“The student has been suspended from the ing.” dent off campus firing a handgun into the ground. university pending the outcome of his student Pappas likely wanted to be filmed shooting The Chronicle obtained a video from a student’s conduct meeting,” Bushnell said in a statement. a firearm so he could look tough, Schurick said. Snapchat story, which shows Pappas driving a “We will always remove any individual whose But she said this wasn’t a good idea—especially car and shooting a firearm out the window while actions threaten the safety and security of our since it was recorded and could be used as evisomeone else was filming. In the four-second community.” dence against him. video, Pappas is seen driving by houses when he Pappas was released from police custody afBen Mucci, a sophomore in the physician’s fires the weapon. ter posting a $15,000 bond and is scheduled to The complaint led the police to search Papappear in court on Feb. 12. See ARREST Page 3 pas’ car and they found four weapons: a police
President John Lahey and the university gave $400,000 to the town of North Haven at a ceremony on Monday, according to a press release. Lahey presented the voluntary payment to North Haven First Selectman Michael J. Freda in Freda’s office. The university chose to give $260,000 to the town because this amount is 40 percent of what North Haven got in 2014 from a state program because Quinnipiac does not pay taxes on property that is used for educational programs. Quinnipiac then decided to give another $140,000 to the town for outdoor lighting for the North Haven girls’ softball program. “This voluntary payment represents an affirmation of the university’s ongoing support and appreciation for all that North Haven does for Quinnipiac,” Lahey said in a statement. Lahey remarked in the statement about how Quinnipiac’s presence in North Haven has grown since 2007 when the university purchased the land for what is now the North Haven campus. Five of the university’s eight schools, as well as the information services department, are located on the North Haven campus, 3,000 students attend classes there, 373 faculty and staff members work there and last semester the university added shuttles to the campus. “We truly appreciate how the leadership of the town of North Haven has supported Quinnipiac as the university has invested more than $300 million in constructing the North Haven campus,” Lahey said in the statement. Freda said in a statement that Quinnipiac is becoming an important asset to North Haven. “Quinnipiac continues to demonstrate an interest in the concerns and welfare of our community through its concerted and ongoing efforts to give back to the town,” Freda said in the statement. “This healthy relationship is dependent on maintaining an open line of communication between our town officials and the university. This communication allows for a strengthening of personal alliances and keeps our offices current on emerging plans and objectives.” This will be the first year Quinnipiac does not make a voluntary payment to Hamden in several years, Associate Vice President for Public Relations John Morgan confirmed. Connecticut passed a law last year requiring Quinnipiac to pay property taxes on houses it owns and rents to students. “In Hamden, the gifts we had made in the past were in lieu of taxes,” Lahey told the New Haven Register on Monday. “We have made a payment already for the overtime for the police — in particular for the athletic games — as we did last year. We also will be paying taxes on the properties we rent to students consistent with the bills that were passed this past year. Instead of making a voluntary contribution we will be actually paying taxes that I’m told will be in the $350,000 range and I think the amount we gave for the overtime was also in the $300,000-plus range.” This North Haven payment is less than the amount Quinnipiac voluntarily gave to Hamden last year. Last March, the university gave Hamden more than $1.2 million, after Lahey delayed the payment because he opposed a proposed Planning and Zoning amendment. In previous years, however, the university had given Hamden $100,000 each year.
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