The Quinnipiac Chronicle, Issue 10 Volume 88

Page 1

The official student newspaper of Quinnipiac University since 1929. Proud Recipient of the New England Society of Newspaper Editors’ Award for 2015-2016 College Newspaper of the Year

NOVEMBER 1, 2017

QUCHRONICLE.COM OPINION:EMBRACE CHANGE P. 6

VOLUME 88, ISSUE 10

ARTS & LIFE: REPLAY RECORD STORE P. 10

SPORTS: CROSS COUNTRY P. 16

censur ed

Controve rsia Sophomo l remarks result in re Class Presiden impeachment f or t Chris M ontalvo

PHOTO BY VICTORIA SIMPRI DESIGN BY CHRISTINA POPIK

Monday, Oct. 23: Your Voice our Quinnipiac: My Culture is not a Costume

see what’s happening on

Our award-winning website since 2009.

JOIN US!

On Monday, Oct. 23 the Student Government Association invited members of the community to speak at its event, “Your Voice, Our Quinnipiac,” in the Carl Hansen Student Center Piazza. The purpose of the event was to promote the “My Culture is not a Costume” campaign. The event was going smoothly in the beginning, according to Vice President for Student Experience Tatyana Youssef. “Everyone was feeling comfortable,” Youssef said. “It was going just as planned. People were saying they were enjoying it.” Individuals spoke on personal experiences with racism, sexism and exclusion. Amongst the speakers was Sophomore Class President Chris Montalvo. He approached Youssef, who was facilitating the event, in order to sign up for a spot on the list at the open-mic style event. “He said (to me), ‘I’m just going to share my life story...but I think you’ll appreciate it,’ and I trusted that,” Youssef said. However, Montalvo’s speech challenged the claims of the first individuals who spoke, and he stated that he disagreed with everything that had been said. “I am here to stir the pot...I’m here to cause controversy,” Montalvo said. Montalvo ended his speech by talking about his tactics to ignore racially-biased individuals. “I’m just not going to surround myself with that,” Montalvo said. “And if I see it, I’m not going to think anything of it...those people are so irrelevant. It hurts me that [these views] hurt people.” Many were shocked by Montalvo’s statements, as acknowledged by the sophomore class president when he concluded his speech. “I definitely shook some heads a little bit, but that’s just how I feel,” Montalvo said. The future of his career in student government was challenged when senior Class Representative Ian Zeitlin drafted a petition to

“When speaking at an event where vulnerability and moments of pain were shared, that is a slap in the face to inclusivity,” Lemos said. “That is the exact opposite of what Quinnipiac stands for. What we allowed on Monday, because he continued to speak, was a discussion on how the experiences of a white male could mirror the experiences of people that have faced racial bias their entire life.” Professor of philosophy Joo-Hwan Lee read a prepared statement after Lemos spoke, and succinctly reprimanded the premise behind the impeachment. “A university is not a safe place, nor should it be. A proper university, this place is a most dangerous place where you should be challenged and shaken to your core by your professors and peers as you learn to articulate and defend your views,” Lee said. “A university is a place of terrifying vulnerability where you learn to question all of your assumptions and presuppositions and subject them to logical scrutiny. Why? Because the unexamined life is not worth living, and you should know thyself.”

“I am here to stir the pot... I’m here to cause controversy.” – CHRIS MONTALVO SOPHOMORE CLASS PRESIDENT

“First of all SGA represents the student body, and as we know, there are people who think like that on the student body,” Gandhi said. “It may even be necessary to have that voice on (SGA) because when you have a group of people who all think the same, nothing really productive comes out of it, regardless of which side it’s on.”

Wednesday, Oct. 25: SGA General Board Meeting During SGA’s Open Forum portion of its general board meeting on Wednesday Oct. 25 senior political science major Camilo Lemos,presented the issues with the statement Montalvo made at the event to the 41 members in SGA.

Staff Meetings on Tuesdays at 9:15 p.m. in SB123

Making judgments about other people without knowing them first hand as individuals, based on nothing else but the color of their skin is definitionally racist, according to Lee. “And let me be absolutely clear; there is nothing virtuous or noble about organizing a petition to silence a fellow Bobcat just because you disagreed with or discovered some unintended offense in their opinion,” Lee said. Lee took a similar stance as Gandhi in stating that one should not be removed from their position because of differing opinions, especially when others may share the same opinion. “Stop buying into the lie that you’re some hapless, fragile and perpetually-weak victim

The Quinnipiac Chronicle

@quchronicle

whose feelings must be protected at all costs; who must never ever be offended or challenged even slightly because God forbid you’re just too weak and pathetic to handle it,” Lee said. “That’s a lie. And you know it. You have it in you to be so much more than that. But if you swallow that lie, hook, line and sinker, you won’t just ruin your own life, you will destroy this place and take it down with you, and that will be the end of the university.” Lee concluded by urging this student body not to set the wrong precedent for the next generation of Bobcats. Many students and representatives throughout SGA spoke both for and against Montalvo’s statements from Monday night. “The first person that I reached out to talk to yesterday about what happened was Ali (Munshi),” Montalvo said. “I personally went up there because, like Ali said, we go to these events and we hear the same thing. So I thought I have a difference in opinion, however, I sit in the corner at every one of these events and say absolutely nothing; even though I don’t necessarily agree with what’s behind everything, I would like to discuss things.” Montalvo opted out of speaking for a long time, but rather chose to open up his schedule, give out his personal email address and telephone number, in order to speak one-on-one with those he had offended. “I will give you the opportunity to educate me and I will give myself the opportunity to show you the kind of person that I am, and why I might have the beliefs that I do,” Montalvo said. Montalvo publicly gave his email and cell phone number at the forum to allow those offended to contact him directly. Junior class president Jack Onofrio motioned to censure Montalvo as a response to his comments made on that Monday night. A censure is an official showing of disapproval from SGA. “I wanted to stress the need for action from SGA,” Onofrio said. “...I conveyed to the student government that this is our opportunity to take action. When this many students show up and share their concerns, there needs to be some sort of response.” At the forum, Onofrio also said that there needs to be a dialogue between the opposing sides in order to make this debate a producSee IMPEACHMENT Page 3

@qu_chronicle

INDEX

Sophomore Class President Chris Montalvo was censured and impeached due to his comments at the “Your Voice, Our Quinnipiac” event sponsored by the Student Government Association and the Multicultural Student Leadership Council.

impeach Montalvo for the views he expressed that evening. “I think that, although we should never silence a voice in a room...I don’t think someone who holds those opinions should be put in a position of power such as sophomore class representative,” Zeitlin said. “We’re here to represent our students.” Senior education policy major Nisha Gandhi spoke directly after Montalvo on Monday night, with the intention of giving a statement strong enough to invalidate what he has just said. “(Montalvo) was trying to place less importance on racialized issues,” Gandhi said. “I understand his sentiment, but it’s hard enough to get up there and share something that intimate with somebody and then when somebody else invalidates what you’re saying, it’s discouraging.” While Gandhi is opposed to the statement that Montalvo made on Oct. 23, she does not believe that removal from office is the right route to take.

CONNECT

By DAVID FRIEDLANDER & VICTORIA SIMPRI

Opinion: 6 Arts and Life: 10 Sports: 14


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.