QUChronicle.com November 13, 2013 Volume 83 Issue 12 Proud recipient of the New England Society of Newspaper Editors' award for 2012 & 2013 College Newspaper of the Year
ARTS & LIFE Managing your messy roommate, page 12
Full story, more photos, Pages 10-11
OPINION Prayer space for all faiths, page 8
MATT EISENBERG, BRYAN LIPINER, MEGAN MAHER/CHRONICLE
Last Saturday was the 12th edition of the annual Heroes Hat Championship between Quinnipiac and Yale. This year, the two teams played to a 3-3 tie.
Off-campus party hosts to face dismissal News Editor
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“One of the last things we want to do when we respond to a house party is arrest people. That’s not our primary mission,” -HAMDEN POLICE CHIEF THOMAS WYDRA
“You’re living off campus, you’re paying for a house. You're not on Quinnipiac’s campus anymore,” she said. “If you have a house party in high school they’re not going to kick you out of high school. You were at home.” Senior Michael Levene, who lives off campus, thinks the parties are part of a larger problem. “Right now we’re having an issue with the town even without parties going on,” Levene said. “I think a big issue is that the campus is running out of places to house the kids, so they’re moving off campus, but the town doesn’t really like the kids
POLL
The university will dismiss students who host off-campus parties broken up by the Hamden Police Department, Executive Vice President and Provost Mark Thompson said in a press release. “This semester has been a difficult one for us and the university,” Hamden Police Chief Thomas Wydra said. The Hamden Police Department broke up 14 off-campus parties two weekends ago where the Hamden police charged 22 students, according to a press release from Captain Ronald Smith of the Hamden Police Department. Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Monique Drucker emailed students Monday night, reminding them to act responsibly off campus. “We are equally committed to providing our neighbors in the towns of Hamden, North Haven and New Haven a pleasurable experience with our students,” Drucker said in her email. “Whether you reside in the surrounding community or are a resident student visiting the nearby towns, it is our expectation that you share in this commitment.” Drucker cautioned students they were “placing [their] student status in jeopardy” if they violated the Student Code of Conduct and the Good Neighbor Policy. The Good Neighbor Policy states the university has the right to reprimand students who behave inappropriately off campus.
“Quinnipiac reserves the right to address, through the Student Code of Conduct process, incidents which occur off campus that may endanger the health, safety and welfare of others and/or adversely affect the University and/or the pursuit of its objectives,” the Good Neighbor Policy says. Sophomore Marisa Raguso plans to live off campus next year and said the university should not be involved with off-campus parties.
Is Quinnipiac being fair with dismissing students for off-campus parties?
moving off campus, so here we are in a pickle.” Senior Kerry Richardson, who lives off campus, believes the university’s policy does not affect her as much since she is 21. “I understand why it has to be so strict, just because they want to hold a good reputation,” Richardson said. “But I think it’s also hard for students just because it’s really causing a negative effect on the social scene for students.” The majority of students who live off campus are responsible, Wydra said, but some have caused problems in Hamden. “There are some [students] who have caused major disturbances that have disrupted the quality of life in our neighborhoods, and jeopardized public safety overall,” Wydra said. The many off-campus parties may be the result of the New Haven police’s effort to prevent minors from going to bars and restaurants, according to Wydra. The increasing violence in New Haven may also be a contributing factor in keeping students in Hamden. “The Hamden Police Department will continue to work collaboratively with Quinnipiac University officials, and take swift action against those whose behavior adversely impacts the safety and security of the residents of Hamden,” Wydra said. However, the Hamden police’s goal is not to arrest students, Wydra said. See POLICY Page 7
ONLINE
By JULIA PERKINS
Check out our article on the Hamden zoning meeting.
BobcatNet to be upgraded by fall ‘14 By SARAH DOIRON Staff Writer
Students may see a faster campus network by the beginning of the fall 2014 semester, thanks to the freshman cabinet of the Student Government Association’s proposal to improve BobcatNet, according to freshman class president Chris Desilets. The plans for improving BobcatNet began Tuesday, according to Information Security Officer Brian Kelly. Kelly said improvements will continue to be made gradually throughout the spring semester and should not disturb students’ daily routines. Students should still be able to log onto BobcatNet, and can expect faster network at some areas of campus, according to Kelly. Most of the work involving construction in the residence halls will be completed during the summer of 2014, Kelly said, because adding and replacing access points is easier to work on when the residents are not there. Desilets, along with Anisha Manglani, a freshman class representative, worked as a team to pitch the idea. “As a student here I would like to have the WiFi connection here similar to the one that I have at home,” Manglani said. “When I got here I realized it wasn’t on that status, so I felt as though there should be an improvement.” During his campaign, Desilets said one of the major issues students complained about was BobcatNet.
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University tightens off-campus party policy
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SPORTS Comeback K.J., page 18-19
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“The ability to use Internet, especially for our generation, is so commonplace,” Desilets said. “Having a slow connection where you can’t complete online quizzes, or even watch Netflix, it becomes an issue.” Kelly said SGA has a good proposal for improving BobcatNet. “When we put [BobcatNet] up seven years ago, it was top of the line and in the best position to support the students,” Kelly said. Due to overcrowding on the network, Kelly said the wireless access points that connect devices to BobcatNet need to be replaced and improved to support students in the residence halls. “We are seeing on average three to five devices per student,” Kelly said. “The access points were designed to support each student only having one or two devices. The new and improved access points will add capacity to help make [the network] faster.” According to Kelly, SGA helped him gain administration’s support for this project, as he had originally requested for improvements on BobcatNet. While there is no exact price on how much this project is going to cost, Kelly believes it will cost “in the ballpark of $1 million.” “Because the improvements are going to be gradually implemented it’s hard to say all at once what the price is,” Manglani said. “As they plan it out and figure out what See INTERNET Page 3
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