OCTOBER 17, 2018 | VOLUME 89, ISSUE 8
The official student newspaper of Quinnipiac University since 1929
OPINION: TAYLOR SWIFT P. 7
ARTS & LIFE: SLACKLINE P. 10
SPORTS: WOMEN’S RUGBY P. 14
Quinnipiac Dining responds to food complaints By AMANDA PERELLI Managing Editor
Quinnipiac Dining removed the food products in question after two different social media posts were shared last week, when students allegedly found a snail, and what appears to be a small worm, in the fruit they purchased from Quinnipiac Dining. Chuck Couture, resident district manager for Quinnipiac Dining, responded to The Chronicle, writing: “The health and safety of our guests are always our top priority. That’s why we immediately took action after we were made aware of two images that were posted to the @QUbarstool Instagram page. Although we cannot verify that the images are from our dining facilities, we pulled the products in question from service and launched an investigation with our third-party food safety specialists.” Freshman journalism major Lily Keefe found what appears to be a small worm in a piece of watermelon she purchased from the cafe on Oct. 6 and sent the photo to friends who encouraged her to send it to Barstool Quinnipiac, a Barstool Sports affiliate, a satirical sports and pop culture blog. Barstool Quinnipiac posted Keefe’s photo to it’s Instagram page on Oct. 6. Quinnipiac Dining (@qudining) commented on the Instagram post, “Quinnipiac Dining would like to address the post regarding the fruit.
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY LILY KEEFE AND JULIANNA JOHNSON
Keefe found a supposed worm in her fruit (left) while Johnson’s orange was rotten (right).
However we need more information. Would you please email quinnipiacdining@qu.edu so that we can get more details? Thanks.” Quinnipiac Dining emailed Keefe after it commented on the post and refunded her account. On Oct. 9, Barstool Quinnipiac posted a video of what appeared to be a snail on the side of a plastic berry container. The Chronicle does not know who submitted the video and has not confirmed whether or not the blackberries were purchased from Quinnipiac Dining.
Couture attached the responses he received from its produce vendor, Sardilli Produce and fruit distributor Driscoll’s, in an email with The Chronicle. Director of Quality Operations for Driscoll’s, Michael Moore, responded to Quinnipiac Dining in regards to the small snail found inside a Driscoll’s berry package. “We take implications of pests inside our packaging seriously, and appreciate you bringing this to our attention,” Moore said. “We have forwarded on the identifying data to the regional Quality and Production
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY @BARSTOOLQU
Barstool Quinnipiac posted a video of a snail found in a carton of berries.
teams associated with the ranches identified, who are working with this grower and ranch crew to apply added attention to these incidents going forward.” Driscoll’s provided a list of preventative measures it’s growers utilize to prevent insects from Driscoll’s fruit or packaging. These measures included pest management practices, monitoring fields to identify and control possible insect pest issues, See QU DINING Page 4
Testing their trust
New policy allows prospective students to self-report standardized test scores Staff Writer
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KELLY RYAN / CHRONICLE
Quinnipiac announced that prospective students will now be allowed to self-report their standardized test scores for admisssion. this summer. “The problem I think schools are seeing more and more is that they’re seeing students not able to complete their application, because they’re waiting on test scores to be released from testing agencies,” Eichhorn said. Freshman nursing major Mary Vidallon, thinks the policy has the potential to be beneficial, but also could lead to dishonesty. “I think that the new policy, while helpful, can be easily exploited,” Vidallon said. “In competitive programs where SAT or ACT scores are required like PA, scores can be manipulated.” Eichhorn acknowledged that a common
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Applying to Quinnipiac will now be a little cheaper and a lot simpler due to a recent change in policy. The university will begin allowing prospective students to self-report standardized test scores rather than sending official score reports. The change will allow students to type their scores into the Common Application as an entry instead of sending them separately. Greg Eichhorn, vice president of admissions at Quinnipiac, said the goal of the change was to make the application process simpler and faster for students so they will be able to get decisions earlier. “I just think it’s going to be easier for students to apply,” Eichhorn said. “It’s going to make it quicker in a number of cases, so they’re not going to have to wait to have test scores released. In some instances, they’ll save some money.” The new policy, which was trialed during the spring 2018 semester, was officially enacted this August for the Class of 2023 applicants. It allows students to self-report scores on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and ACT which previously had to be submitted through the College Board or the ACT website for a $12 fee. Additionally, it used to take about three weeks to process the scores. The policy, Eichhorn said, was not as much about saving money as it was about ensuring that students who want to apply can get their scores in before the deadline. Quinnipiac’s decision to accept self-reported scores is not an uncommon one. Schools across the country are gradually adopting this policy, including Yale, who ran a pilot program
concern is how they will check and see if students are telling the truth about their scores. He said that Quinnipiac will verify the scores once the student has committed to Quinnipiac. Eichhorn said he is confident that the majority of scores will be reported honestly. “The national research on it is that 97.3 percent of students indicated accurately,” Eichhorn said, referring to other schools who already have instituted this policy. “The majority that were incorrect, actually lowballed their scores.” Eichhorn said this is because students often take the SATs numerous times, and the score they report can end up being lower than a sub-
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sequent score. Eichhorn said this problem can be resolved by allowing students to email screenshots to Quinnipiac with more updated scores. If after verifying the scores for the admitted students, Quinnipiac admissions discovers a student who reported an artificially inflated score, there will be consequences. “The fear is it will happen at some point,” Eichhorn said. “Somebody will self-report test scores that are different, that will change their admission decision or their scholarship and that’s going to be the tough part.” While Eichhorn is confident in the integrity of college applicants, freshman occupational therapy major Sarah Bugbee has mixed feelings about the new policy. “Kids could potentially lie about the scores,” said Bugbee, whose class was the last one to have to send official score reports. “But it will also increase the number of applicants which could make the acceptance rate lower overall.” Eichhorn said that this change could continue to help Quinnipiac grow as an academically strong university, but did not mention a lower acceptance rate as a result. “We’re certainly always trying to improve our academic reputation,” Eichhorn said. Many programs and majors at Quinnipiac are currently test optional. Eichhorn believes the expedited score reporting process could encourage more students to report scores, even when they are not required. “My guess is that they’ll be a slightly higher percentage of students that submit test scores in See TEST SCORES Page 4
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INDEX
By EMILY DISALVO
Interactive: 5 Opinion: 6 Arts and Life: 10 Sports: 13