Men’s hoops making conference waves, p. 16
QUChronicle.com BLACK HISTORY MONTH
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What’s Inside: Vigilanti settling in nicely, page 13 QU fires up electric initiative, page 2
News ................................2 Opinion ............................6 Arts&Entertainment ...........8 Scene..............................11 Sports..............................13
The QUINNIPIAC Victoria Vigilanti
Volume 79 Issue 15
February 11, 2010
‘Growing pains’ on the way
Alumni Hall to go following Student Center face-lift
Robinson sees new America
Charlotte Greene / Chronicle
By Amy Maciejowski Staff Writer
America is a much different place than it was when he was growing up, according to Eugene Robinson. Alumni Hall was filled to capacity with students, faculty and alumni as he took the stage on Feb. 3 to deliver his speech, entitled, “We’re Someplace We’ve Never Been: Race, Diversity and the New America.” Robinson, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his 2008 coverage of the presidential campaign, writes a column twice-weekly for The Washington Post. He is known to “pick American society apart and then put it back together again in unexpected, and revelatory, new ways,” as described in his bio on PostWritersGroup.com. Robinson has had experience during his 25 years at The Washington Post as a foreign correspondent, a city hall reporter, city editor, foreign editor and assistant managing editor for the award-winning Style section. “Mr. Robinson has firsthand experience and will be able to share with the audience an understanding of race relations and diversity as they stand today,” said Karla Natale, director of special events, prior to the speech. “He will be able to provide fresh perspective on our current political climate and the impact thus far of the Obama administration.” Throughout his speech, Robinson reROBINSON, continued on page 3
Alumni Hall By Joe Pelletier will be no more and Meghan Parmentier after renovations in the Carl Hansen Student Center will replace the northernmost corner of the building with a student lounge, Associate Vice President for Facilities Administration Joe Rubertone told students at the SGA forum in the Mancheski Executive Seminar Room last Tuesday. Without Alumni Hall, a space used nearly every weekend for student events, Burt Kahn Court in the Recreation Center will become the new home for events on the Mount Carmel campus. According to Rubertone, some of the bleachers will likely be removed to give the court less of a “gym feel.” Construction in the Student Center is expected to begin this summer and continue throughout the 2010-11 academic year. During construction, meetings spaces SC 207, SC 117B and the study lounge will be
out of commission. “There will be some significant growing pains,” said Daniel Brown, director of the Student Center and Student Leadership Development. “But when it’s all said and done, the Mount Carmel Student Center will accomodate students much better.” According to Brown, a more suitable suite for Greek life and additional space for student organizations will highlight the new Student Center. Louis Venturelli, Student Government Association president, was
“We went in thinking functionality over aesthetics. We want every inch of the new Student Center to be functional.” --Louis Venturelli, SGA President
equally pleased with the final blueprints. “We went in thinking functionality over aesthetics,” said Venturelli, who was involved with the new plans since initial meetings with architects. “We want every inch of the new Student Center to be functional.” Taking place of Alumni Hall will be a two-story student lounge, complete with fireplace. During the SGA forum, Rubertone gave students a 3-D Quicktime tour of the planned lounge, which would have space to showcase performers and student events. The lounge will be a welcome addition, Brown said, to a building where the largest amount of students are often found in the first-floor study lounge. “There’s nowhere to hang out right now,” he said. “The Student Center should be the living room of the campus, but there’s no way to do that right now.” According to Rubertone, the scheduled completion date in September 2011 is “ambitious, but doable.”
Alcohol Commission hops on Toad’s Place
Saturday night raid gives students wake-up call
What say you?
By Nicole Celli Co-News Editor Partygoers at Toad’s Place in New Haven were disrupted when the nightclub was raided by police on Saturday night. Officers from both the Connecticut Liquor Control Commission and the New Haven Police Department raided the club for approximately half an hour, after finding underage drinking and possible use of fake identification. “All of a sudden, the lights came on and the music stopped,” junior Tisha Parris said. “We didn’t know what was going on until we saw men with coats that had 'Liquor Control' on the back.” Penalties for the incident are currently unknown. However, the famous nightclub could face fines and possibly get shut down. This isn’t the first time that Toad’s Place has gotten in trouble for serving alcohol to
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minors. A raid in November 2005 resulted in a $90,000 fine and a 90-day suspension. Prior to that, a raid in September 2001 resulted in a $25,000 fine and a one-week suspension. Toad’s Place owner Brian Phelps said in a recent Yale Daily News article that the club may be safe from penalties if underage drinkers had used false identification. The article also said that under Connecticut State law, businesses that sell alcohol and use “transaction scan devices” to screen identification cards — as Toad’s does — may be exempt from state penalties as long as the
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devices read fake IDs as valid and employees who physically check the cards exercise diligence in confirming one’s identity. The New Haven club scene has been a major topic of discussion since a proposal out of City Hall last week suggested that anyone under the drinking age be banned from clubs that serve alcohol. “I’m sure Toad’s got a lot more business after becoming 19-plus,” Parris said. “If underage people were banned from nightclubs, I don’t think any of them would be in business for too long after.”
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