MARCH 28, 2018 | VOLUME 88, ISSUE 21
The official student newspaper of Quinnipiac University since 1929
OPINION: 5 DOMINANT ATHLETES P. 7
SPORTS: WBB COLUMN P. 17
ARTS & LIFE: DORM DEBACLES P. 12
CANDIDATES CAMPAIGN FOR SGA ELECTIONS
Powered down By MATT GRAHN Staff Writer
Joseph Iasso Junior Class Vice President Junior higher education leadership major I am running for SGA President to bring Quinnipiac back to being a student-centered University. For too long, money has been pumped into our “future,” while current students are largely ignored. We have residence halls that are falling apart, literally. Power outages almost monthly due to old infrastructure. Increasingly limited programming space. Classrooms made for a different era of education. We also have essential student services that are lacking significant funding and resources- I would list them, but it would be almost all-inclusive. If elected, I will work with students and administrators across campus to create a strategic facilities and financial plan, outlining recommended steps to build a campus and university that better suits current Quinnipiac students. To pay for this, I hope I can work with our incoming president and the office of Development and Alumni Affairs to solicit donations and start using a portion of the interest and dividends of our endowment (a managed pool of money that we only spend the interest from) to cover operating costs. I hope you share my vision for the university we could be, and that I have your vote on a April 4th.
Ryan Hicks SGA Vice President for Finance Junior physical therapy major Hello Bobcats! My name is Ryan Hicks and I am a junior Physical Therapy major from Dedham, Massachusetts. I have been a member of the Student Government Association for three years serving as a Class Representative, Class President, and Vice President for Finance. Now, I am looking to take my diverse background of positions and apply them to the position of President of SGA. Quinnipiac University is going to be experiencing a massive transition within the next year. It is crucial that the student’s voices are heard during this time and I want to be there to help facilitate that communication. In addition, it is the perfect time to address the major initiatives Student Government Association has been working on so that the upcoming change in the administration results in a positive change for the students. Finally, there needs to be change within the Student Government Association. The structure of the organization must be changed to accommodate the expanding and diverse Quinnipiac community. The Student Government Association should be an organization that every student feels they are properly advocated for. If elected SGA President, I look forward to working diligently to achieve these positive changes. See ELECTIONS Page 4
A passive active shooter policy RUN
By SHAYLA LEE COLON Staff Writer
Our award-winning website since 2009.
HIDE
FIGHT
DESIGNED BY MEAGHAN DONAHUE
In an emergency situation there are three responses one can take: run, hide or fight.
and do not let others stop you. Do help others and warn anyone else about the area and situation. The alternative to running is to take shelter and hide. Find a safe place and create barriers by locking or blocking out doors, hiding behind large objects and being quiet. For a situation like this, the best way to stay safe is to be out of sight. The protocol designates the “fight” measure as a last resort, only to be taken if your life is in danger. In this situation, it is advised to try to incapacitate the intruder by using what is available to you even something as
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Run. Hide. Fight. Do Quinnipiac students know what these words mean as the active shooter protocol? When asked about what the active shooter protocol is sophomore physical therapy major Mike Stofko answered. “I have no idea.” Twelve other students were asked the same question, and none knew what the protocol was. These students were also asked if any professors had spoken about the subject and only one out of the 12 had some form of a discussion about it. “I work for public safety and they do send out an email whenever other campuses have issues, but to be honest I have not read them out thoroughly,” Siana Garcia, a student worker for the Office Public Safety office, said. “I feel like students want to believe that they’re safe. I want to believe that not everyone thinks that it’ll happen to them, until it happens to somewhere near here.” On Feb. 15, 2018, an email was sent to members of the Quinnipiac community from Chief of Public Safety, Edgar Rodriguez, containing emergency protocol. This message was sent out with an intention for members of the community to review the protocol and remember to always be on alert. This is what protocol calls for. If facing an armed intruder, the instructions indicate for someone to call 911 immediately and notify law enforcement. If and when one is able to do this, try to give a location, description of the intruder(s) and identify possible weapons. After calling for help there are three options in responding to the situation: run, hide or fight. The first option, to run, says that if there is a safe escape available, take it. While escaping, leave any belongings behind
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Wire problems caused power outages in the Hill, Village and Commons residence halls, leaving students stranded on March 19. During the outage, students were evacuated to the Carl Hansen Student Center, the Arnold Bernhard Library and the Athletic and Recreation center. The email also suggested that students “spend the night with friends in a residence hall with power.” This isn’t the first time that there have been outages this academic year. Mark DeVilbiss, director of residential life, said that there have been three other instances of power outages on the Mount Carmel campus this academic year. He also mentioned that other power outages this year were caused by the weather or situations “out of our control,” according to an email from QU News. On Nov. 10, 2017 there was an outage in Hill, Village, Commons, Student Health Services and the Bobcat Den, according to the QU News email. Students who were evacuated night were treated to pizza, handed out in the Cafe, for their trouble. This semester, there have been two other outages, one on Jan. 29, and another on March 8. The latter was a brief outage on main campus, which the QU Alert emails said was resolved in less than 2 hours, as they were able to get United Illuminating, Quinnipiac’s utility company, to come fix it. During the most recent outage, Nicole Uysal, a sophomore from Village, said that she ended up driving with her roomate, Kirsten Drakopoulos, to her home in to Shelton, which is 40 minutes away. Due to that night’s emergency, she didn’t get to sleep until 5 a.m. “By the time we got everything figured out, and got our cars from Westwoods and everything, it was so late. The professors didn’t care; it was an unexcused absence,” she said. Power was lost at 11 p.m. but the order to evacuate wasn’t given until 12:35 a.m., according to the QU News email. Drakopoulos thinks that the school could have been better about communicating what went on that night. “Obviously, we told our parents, and my parents think that it’s ridiculous,” she said. “So, obviously, word gets around and they’re giving themselves a bad reputation.” DeVilbiss acknowledged that the outages have become increasingly frustrating. “I’ve had some students that are upset. I’ve had parents that called that are concerned,” he said. Through all the incidents, DeVilbiss said that the response strategy has remained the same, utilizing Residential Life personel, organizing communication and evacuation and even creating temporary key cards for students. He understands that this was a team effort. “I’m just very grateful for my colleagues at Facilities and Public Safety for working alongside Residential Life, supporting students and getting the power back on as quickly as possible,” DeVilbiss said. In the event that another outage happens, DeVilbiss says that students should make sure that they are getting emergency text notifications, and also making sure they are following the orders of university officials.
Interactive: 9 Opinion: 6 Arts and Life: 12 Sports: 16