Domestic Violence Awareness Month 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
OCTOBER 25, 2017
QUCHRONICLE.COM
VOLUME 88, ISSUE 9
ARTS & LIFE: FRONT BOTTOMS CONCERT P. 10
OPINION: BASEBALL IS BACK P. 7
THE CASE FOR
SPORTS: BARSTOOL P. 16
CAMPUS CLIMATE DESIGN BY CHRISTINA POPIK By HANNAH FEAKES Managing Editor
Quinnipiac University conducted a series of focus groups last spring semester and used that data to put together a collective campus climate report describing themes in faculty and course diversity. The campus climate report assesses various ways in which the university can become more inclusive for traditionally underrepresented groups of students. The big organizers of the focus groups and the brains behind the idea for a campus climate report were Senior Vice President and Provost Mark Thompson, the IMaGinE
Advisory board, the Academic deans and Associate Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer, Diane Ariza. The university hired external consultants who came the spring semester of 2017 and conducted 15 focus groups. The consultants met with 134 students, according to a PowerPoint put together by MRW Consulting Group International, LLC. Some of the focus groups were smaller groups and some were larger, but these groups were representative of international students, Greek life, student government, African American community, Latino community, graduate students, Muslim students, Jewish students and the Gay Straight Alliance community.
The point of the focus groups was to get a sense of how these different groups think about their community. The consultants collected a lot of data, put together a report and released their findings, and that was the information discussed at the recent town hall meeting. “The findings were nothing completely new,” Ariza said. “Part of the newness were the themes around ‘how do students of color and underrepresented students and other students talk about this work?’ It seemed like there wasn’t a lot of collaboration when programs get planned around here, there is still a sense that underrepresented students feel they are the only ones coming to these programs
when it really should be everyone coming.” The campus climate reported that there were a variety of themes that were open for growth and opportunity. Those themes included: better leverage forms of engagement and student connections, strengthen diversity skills and knowledge through training, increase numbers of diverse faculty, staff and students and integrate diversity into the core curriculum. Some of the questions that students were asked during these focus groups included, ‘Given the definitions of diversity, equity, inclusion, climate, and QU’s cultural engagement See CLIMATE Page 4
Department of Public Safety hires and trains new officers
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Quinnipiac’s Department of Public Safety has about 70 officers, 21 of which are armed.
through,” DiStefano said. At this point, the officer-in-training will spend their final week with their Primary Training Officer, who they began training with. During this week, the Primary Training Officer will assess the progress and areas of improvement of the officer-in-training, according to Distefano. “We’re going through knowing where every fire panel is, all the mechanical rooms,” Bopp said, “(Students) know the names of the buildings. We have to know the ins and the outs.” All officers that carry firearms on campus have a separate application from unarmed officers, according to DiStefano. “All the officers we hire that are going to have a gun, that are armed, have to be retired cops,” DiStefano said.
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The Department of Public Safety is hiring three new officers to add to the staff of roughly 70 that patrols campus 24/7. Weeks of hard work go into becoming a Public Safety officer that many people do not understand. A lot of things go on behind the scenes, according to Training Officer Bradley Bopp. Public Safety’s Field Training Officer Program is modeled after a typical law enforcement training program. “Most of the job is done making your own decisions, and we want to make sure they make the right decisions,” Administrative Lieutenant Don DiStefano said. “That’s why we’re so serious about the training process.” Becoming a Public Safety officer begins like any other job on campus, with an application. Following the application process, accepted officers must complete a seven-week long field training program. During week one, or Orientation Week, officers-in-training are exposed to handcuffing, foam spray, use of force and a variety of campus policies. Orientation Week also includes becoming acquainted with the layout of the university and a newly added I.T. training session. “Things were falling through the cracks,” Bopp said. “(An officer’s) phone was working, and all of a sudden it wasn’t.” The I.T. training makes sure each officer can access the necessary networks. The next five weeks are spent training with three different Field Training Officers. “All Field Training Officers went through the same certifications a police officer goes
All armed officers are required to complete a psychological evaluation as part of the application process. Every armed officer on campus has between 12 and 40 years of experience in law enforcement. Out of around 70 officers, 21 are armed. Even after the intense seven-week program, Public Safety Officers are always training. Public Safety has recently made advancements by equipping each officer with a body camera. “We’re ahead of the curve,” Bopp said, “Our job is to protect (students) and the property of the university.” Public Safety also takes pride in the relationships it has with other local law enforcement. “We have a really good relationship with Ham-
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den Police and New Haven Police and North Haven Police,” DiStefano said. “We have a really good working relationship with them.” Hamden Police frequently helps Public Safety with traffic and crowd control, as well as security at big sporting events across campus. Students feel as though it is important for Public Safety to go through training. “If there’s an emergency, they have to know what to do,” freshman Lisa Ferrara said. Public Safety is on campus whenever the students are on campus. There are officers that work during the school year, when students are on campus. Then, there are officers that work while students are on break. Nevertheless, there is always a team of officers looking to keep Quinnipiac safe. Students say that having Public Safety officers on campus make them feel secure and safe. “I have night classes and I like knowing they are a phone call away when I get freaked out at night walking back to my dorm,” freshman Amanda DeSero said. DeSero feels that Public Safety does not interfere too much with student life. “I think they have a good balance,” DeSero said, “If it’s urgent, then you know they’ll be there, but if it’s not they won’t do anything unnecessary.” Public Safety officers will not hesitate to intervene when necessary, though. “We’re not here to ruin anybody’s time in college, (but) when we have to rely on our training and everything, that’s when we do it,” Bopp said.
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INDEX
By NICHOLAS SLATER & KIM KERREMANS
Interactive: 5 Opinion: 6 Arts and Life: 8 Sports: 13