QUChronicle.com November 9, 2011 Volume 81 Issue 11
sports
Opinion
arts & life
Dynamic duo to graduate, page 13
Candidates plan student debt relief, page 7
Sexpert speaks, page 9
A class divided
Split 2012 commencement ceremony details revealed By matt busekroos Publisher
The class of 2012 will be separated at the commencement ceremony in May, according to updated information released from Karla Natale, director of special events at Quinnipiac. The College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Business will graduate Sunday, May 20 at 10 a.m. Meanwhile, the School of Communications, School of Health Sciences and School of Nursing will hold their ceremony at 3 p.m. Commencement is traditionally held on the Quad with the entire graduating class. This is the first year a split ceremony has been planned. “With the number of people coming to the event and overall just the scheme of the event, it wouldn’t be possible for us to do one com-
mencement on the Quad,” said Dan Scott, SGA senior vice president. Senior Shannon Fitzmaurice said she wishes everyone could graduate in one ceremony. “I was at the graduation last year and it wasn’t unbearable at all,” Fitzmaurice said. “Also, I have been to other graduations that are twice the size of Quinnipiac and the graduation wasn’t split. We started QU together, we should leave it together.” Likewise, senior Ladonis Gaillard said she thinks the entire class should be together. “I think it’s unfair for the students who have friends who are in another commencement because then they will have to wait, and their family may not want to wait around for them to go to another commencement ceremony,” Gaillard said. On the other hand, senior Anissa
Holness said she likes that the ceremonies are split. “Most of my close friends are communication majors anyway, so I would rather be in a ceremony with people I actually know and care about instead of waiting around for a bunch of people I don’t know,” she said. Ruben Rodriguez, a senior accounting major, also said he does not mind the split ceremonies. “While graduation is important, I don’t really care if I miss out on someone’s name being called to get their diploma. Senior week will be a good time to spend some of my last days with my friends here,” he said. Scott and Natale said they are looking at potential commencement speakers now. See Commencement Page 5
photo illustration by samantha epstein
Parking Juniors react to extended housing process limitations to start Monday By katherine rojas Staff Writer
By kim green Staff Writer
Starting Monday, all students without senior parking decals will no longer be allowed to park in the Mount Carmel commuter lots prior to 3:30 p.m. on weekdays, according to an announcement on MyQ posted by Assistant Chief of Parking & Transportation Ed Rodriguez. Students who park in the commuter lot without a senior parking decal will be ticketed and towed at the expense of the owner. “Security strongly encourages all senior residents to use the shuttle as the commuter lot is often full and the shuttle provides more convenient drop-off locations for classroom access,” the announcement said. “When the commuter lot is full, all students, including resident seniors, will be directed to the Hogan Lot.” Sunny Mariyani, a junior living on York Hill, feels he is being penalized for Quinnipiac’s inability to get See Parking Page 3
Despite changes made to make the senior housing process easier and less hectic, juniors, who began choosing their housing selections for next year at the end of October, are still unhappy with the results. “I sat in Rocky Top for three hours waiting for them to call my number,” junior Christine Siu said. “There are so many seniors living on campus this year that it fills up so quickly. They didn’t have anything left by the time I went to pick, it was last choice.” Students selecting alternatives once their desired selection was taken slowed down the process, according to Melissa Karipidis, associate director of residential life. After Eastview and most off-campus houses were taken, students were given Whitney Village apartments or the Westview dormitory as an alternative. “Since I got Westview it’s three singles and a double,” Morse said. “So now I’m stuck in a double and I don’t get a single out of my entire four years here, that kind of sucks because I’m a senior, shouldn’t I have some privileges?” Junior Matthew Gall is also unhappy about the options he was left with during his housing selection.
stephanie osmanski/Chronicle
Eastview houses 178 students, leaving Westview as the alternative for seniors to live on campus. “It would have been nice if we got to live in Townhouse instead of Westview,” Gall said. “Townhouse and Eastview are comfortable. Between Eastview and Westview, everyone wants Eastview, so we got the short end of the stick.” According to Karipidis, more seniors applied for housing this year compared to last year. The university didn’t guarantee senior housing until just a couple years ago, requiring instead that seniors live off-campus. “I think there are always students that want to live off-campus and go out into the world,” Karipidis said. “But I will say this is the place
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to be, I think we offer a variety of options that are appealing to seniors. We have tried to make sure that what we’re offering is what the students are looking for.” According to Karipidis, the process was changed to combat students who began the search to rent houses off campus for next year. “We were trying to bring them back to campus, but we know students who were getting places off campus, renting houses in particular, make those plans in the Fall for the next Fall. So in order to be competitive with that process, we had to change the timeline of what we’re doing.”
When housing selection opened up on Oct. 24, residence hall directors were located at tables specifically for Eastview, Westview, Whitney Village, and houses. The housing staff was also available at 10:30 a.m. for students with questions. Some students were not impressed by the help. “They should give us time slots where we can do it online, like we’ve done every year so far,” junior Kiriana Morse said. “I don’t understand why the process should be changed just because it’s senior housing.” Staci Canny contributed to this story.
MULTIMEDIA: Check out photos from the men’s basketball team’s season opener Friday night