The Quinnipiac Chronicle, Volume 96, Issue 8

e o cial student newspaper of

Quinnipiac University inaugurates Marie Hardin

as the 10th president

‘We're going to write the next chapter of this story to serve a purpose, lead with heart and always lift others higher’

By AVA HIGHLAND News Editor

In front of a crowd of students, staff, faculty, alumni and family, Marie Hardin was sworn in as Quinnipiac University’s 10th president. During the ceremony at the M&T Bank Arena on the York Hill Campus, a series of speakers and formal traditions offcially welcomed Hardin to Quinnipiac.

“Thank you for the welcome y’all,” Hardin said to the crowd in Texas-fashion.

Hardin shared her visions for the university and its community, noting ambitions to have unity and overcome challenges.

“We’re in the dream making business,” Hardin said. “Our impact is infnite.

Hardin began her tenure on July 1 and has since made a strong impression on the Bobcat community, as noted by Provost Debra Liebowitz in her welcome to open the ceremony.

“She brings a deep commitment to academic excellence, to innovation, and I think, as we’ve all seen already, to the community,” Liebowitz said. “These are values that have long defned Quinnipiac spirit and purpose. And I’m sure all who have had the opportunity to interact with her also have realized that she brings the inquisitiveness of a journalist, an infectious energy.”

Liebowitz closed her welcoming remarks by noting the purpose behind the ceremony.

“A university inauguration is a formal time to formally welcome our new president, to hear more about their vision, but also to kind of show them the Quinnipiac spirit,” Liebowitz said. “Give them the proper welcome into our Bobcat family.”

Following Liebowitz’s remarks were students Ava and Sophie Gambardella singing the National Anthem and later The Legends A Cappella performed a rendition of “Finesse” by Bruno Mars.

A sequence of speakers were called to the stage for greetings — speaking on behalf of various groups within the Bobcat community. Student Government Association President Zachary O’Connell, speaking for students, expressed his excitement to work with Hardin.

O’Connell also noted Hardin’s presence on campus and evident focus on making students feel heard.

“Students are the heart of Quinnipiac, and that’s because of the incredible energy, passion and commitment my peers bring to campus every single day,” O’Connell said. “Today, I have the privilege of welcoming someone who shares that same passion from day one, Marie has been

present and engaged across campus. She’s not just leading from her offce, but she’s out here with us, listening, connecting and making sure our students feel seen and supported.”

To represent the 74,000 Quinnipiac alumni across the country was Jeanna Doherty ’94, former president of the Quinnipiac University Alumni Association. Doherty welcomed Hardin with enthusiasm and nodded to Quinnipiac’s upcoming centennial in 2029, noting the exciting time for the university.

On behalf of all the former Bobcats, Doherty shared their eagerness to work with Hardin during these milestones and highlighted several things students gain from Quinnipiac — life-

long friendships, community and a discovery of one’s purpose.

Sierra Whitfeld, assistant director of legal operations and a member of the staff council executive committee, then took to the stage on behalf of Quinnipiac staff. Whitfeld’s remarks refected on commitment and support throughout the campus and the anticipation for that shared purpose with Hardin.

“We’re eager to support your vision and work together to continue building a university where every member of our community feels valued, included and inspired to contribute their very best,” Whitfeld said.

Closing the greetings and speaking for faculty was Caitlin Hanlon, associate professor of biology and chair of the faculty senate. Hanlon shared a warm welcome to Hardin, highlighting her scholarship as well as her “capacity for listening, her interdisciplinary vision and her belief in small, steady turns” — noting a confdence regarding these aspects as she leads the university.

Alexander Clark, chief executive offcer of Technolutions Inc. and a member of the board of trustees, then delivered the keynote address. Clark shared his perspective on higher education, giving anecdotes both personal and professional.

“The future of education is written anew,” Clark said. “We are moving away from education as a transaction and toward education as a relationship, a relationship that lasts across a lifetime. Learning no longer ends with a diploma. It becomes a companion through every reinvention of one’s self and one’s career.”

In the latter half of the ceremony were two formal traditions. President Emerita Judy Olian

Quinnipiac University since 1929

TYLER MIGNAULT/CHRONICLE

President Marie Hardin addresses the crowd during her inaugural address at the 10th Presidential Inauguration on the basketball court at the M&T Bank Arena on Oct. 16.

TYLER

MEET THE EDITORS

EDITOR- IN - CHIEF

Alexandra Martinakova

MANAGING EDITOR

Gina Lorusso

MARKETING DIRECTOR

Emily Adorno

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Tyler Mignault

NEWS EDITOR

Ava Highland

OPINION EDITOR

Lillian Curtin

SPORTS EDITOR

Claire Frankland

ASSOCIATE SPORTS EDITOR

Michael Petitto

DESIGN EDITOR

Katerina Parizkova

ASSOCIATE DESIGN EDITOR

Emily Katz

SOCIAL MEDIA EDITORS

Elisabeth McMahon

Quinn O’Neill

COPY EDITORS

Vivian Gage

Neve Wilson

The views expressed in The Chronicle’s opinion section are those of the respective authors. They do not refect the views of The Chronicle as an organization.

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INAUGURATION from cover

presented the chain of offce, then President Emeritus John Lahey presented the founding documents. Chairman of the Board of Trustees Chuck Saia followed the presentations with the introduction of the president.

Saia recalled his time leading the search committee for the new president and the frst time he met Hardin — noting that it was clear Hardin was the one to lead Quinnipiac.

Sitting front row was Hardin’s family as well as her dog, Tator — named after cofounder of Quinnipiac Samuel W. Tator — who was dressed in a cap and gown too.

“Grit means being driven by purpose and fueled by ambition,” Hardin said in the words of American academic and psychologist Angela Duckworth. “Now the purpose of this great university is clear, transforming the lives of every learner who joins this community, helping them to learn how to think, how to discern, how to collaborate and how to succeed.”

As Hardin embodies ambition, she also noted two strivers in the Bobcat community during her address — Saia and men’s basketball senior forward Amarri Monroe, welcoming him to stand for recognition during the ceremony. Both of which found their place at Quinnipiac.

and purpose and our values, but to feel that immediately was really, really powerful. And also, when she talked about the dreams for the university and for the dreams of our students, that we really believe in our education, we believe that it can transform lives. And it was really beautiful that we were united among that purpose.”

Liebowitz echoed this sentiment.

“It’s a real privilege, honestly, to be in a moment where we get to bring all parts of the Quinnipiac community together in celebration of our past and excitement about the future, and I think Marie really embodies both of those things,” Liebowitz said. “She’s going to be the right president for the right moment, and I’m

Staff Meetings on Tuesdays in SB 262 at 9:15 p.m.

ed the sense of community — something she

“What I’ve learned is that this institution has a kind of community cohesion that is truly remarkable for its size,” Hardin said. “It’s not a tiny place. So to have the kind of community

New student organization aims to empower women in sports

By MADELYN DURKEE Staff Writer

Quinnipiac University’s new club for women in sports, Women’s Sideline Society, was created this semester to empower Quinnipiac students and promote a safe space for women interested in sports and sports media.

Maria Keegan, a sophomore advertising 3+1 major, created the club.

“I just started to realize one day that we didn’t have a club that was strictly for women who wanted to pursue a career in this field, especially since this field is pretty male dominated,” she said.

Earlier this semester Keegan bounced the idea around with her friends who felt the same way. They gathered a group of girls interested in creating this club and got the ball rolling. Their first meeting was held on Tuesday, Oct. 21.

“Maria came to me with the idea and I thought it was amazing,” Vice President Sofia Troscianecki, a sophomore media studies major, said.

Troscianecki noted the club’s goal.

“We really want to engage our girls to have that sense of community and just make them feel empowered so that they don’t feel like they’re in someone else’s shadow when they go into the sports world,” Troscianecki said.

Their goal is to create a space for women interested in sports to connect and share experiences, something that is lacking at Quinnipiac.

However, this is not the frst time that Quinnipiac had a similar organization. The Association for Women in Sports Media is a national organization that supports women in sports media, as both students and professionals.

Quinnipiac’s chapter of AWSM disbanded in 2024 after the advisor for the organi -

zation — former Chair of Journalism department Molly Yanity — left Quinnipiac.

“We didn’t really have the bandwidth to keep going,” Brianna Trachtenberg, former vice president of AWSM at Quinnipiac said.

When asked about Women’s Sideline Society she said, “I think it’s awesome that they are trying to bring something back to Quinnipiac.”

Trachtenberg agrees that Quinnipiac is missing a space for women in sports media to connect with each other.

“It is definitely a space that is needed at Quinnipiac. For me especially, my first years provided more of a support group of AWSM that I could go to and talk to and meet other women in sports, because there are only so many of us,” she said.

Even though participation of female students in student sports media have in -

creased in the last few years, they are still experiencing difficulty in the classroom as they enter a male dominated field.

“I’m kind of intimidated about speaking up in class when it comes to referring to sports, even though it’s what I love doing,” Troscianecki said.

Keegan agreed with this sentiment.

“You start to get this feeling where you feel like your opinion isn’t as valued, or you feel like you can’t speak up during certain conversations because they think; ‘what does she know?’” Keegan said.

These feelings are what motivated the creation of the Women’s Sideline Society.

“I want to create that safe space for girls who feel the way that Sophia and I had felt since freshman year,” Keegan said.

They hope this club will give female

students a place to express themselves and form connections within the sports industry. They have the support of older students who are hoping to see the new club pick up where they left off.

“I just hope that they are able to be successful and able to bring back this space to Quinnipiac,” Trachtenberg said.

Keegan and Troscianecki want to fill the space left by AWSM and expand on what they were able to offer.

“We want to include media in our club, but also business, fnance, literally anything that has to do with sports,” Troscianecki said.

They plan to reach out to other student organizations, interested professors, as well as female athletes at Quinnipiac as valuable resources to support the club.

The new club is not just for students in sports media programs. It is designed to support interest in sports “as fans, athletes, or future professionals,” Keegan said.

They plan to host networking and resume building workshops as well as interviews with professionals working in the sports industry. They hope to become a resource to make the sports industry accessible for students.

“We want to eventually bring some of our girls to arenas around us, or stadiums and possibly talk to women professionals or maybe even get the chance to shadow women in the field.” Troscianecki said.

They are excited to grow the Women’s Sideline Society and are looking forward to the future of women in sports media at Quinnipiac.

Students interested in joining Women’s Sideline Society can follow their instagram @wssquinnipiac and fnd them on Bobcat Central.

School of Communications celebrates 25th anniversary with three Hall of Fame inductions

By

Quinnipiac University’s School of Communications (SoC) celebrated its 25th anniversary by inducting three new members into the Hall of Fame.

The SoC Hall of Fame was started in 2020, with inductions occurring every two years. However, Dean of the SoC Nadine Barnett Cosby decided to push back the 2024 induction.

“With me coming in June of 24 that only gave me a few months until it was time to have the 2024 induction… I hadn’t even really met a lot of our alumni yet,” Barnett Cosby said. “So between that and also fnding out that we were about to hit a historic year, 25 years, it made sense to me to hold off… and wait to have an induction in 2025 in conjunction with our 25- year celebration.”

Those inducted were SoC alumni Ike Ejiochi, Mercy A. Quaye and Tim Beach.

Ejiochi graduated from Quinnipiac in 2015, as part of the sports broadcast journalism graduate program. Ejiochi has continued his relationship with Quinnipiac by teaching at the university as an adjunct professor.

Ejiochi currently works as a correspondent for ABC News.

Ejiochi said he frst learned he was being inducted during lunch with Dean Nadine Barnett Cosby.

“I was surprised because, when you think of the word Hall of Fame, it’s almost like a big top down look of everything you’ve done in your life so far… I was like, ‘What have I done to even be considered for such an honor?’” Ejiochi said. “Then it was more of a

really just an immense feeling of gratitude.”

For aspiring SoC students, Ejiochi advises, “If there’s one skill that I can tell you to cultivate and strengthen every day, is your writing skills. I cannot tell you how important it is, especially now in the time of AI,” he said.

Quaye graduated from Quinnipiac in 2013 with her undergraduate degree in journalism. Then earned her graduate degree in public relations in 2018 with a focus on applied social media.

This is not the frst time Quaye has received an award from Quinnipiac. In 2023, she was the recipient of the MLK Dream Award, hon-

oring her work as a justice advocate.

However, Quaye fnds her hall of fame induction “huge and different, because it recognizes me, not just as a justice advocate, but a communications professional,” she said.

Quaye teaches at Southern Connecticut State University and Quinnipiac, focusing on digital journalism, public relations and branding.

When Quaye frst discovered she was being inducted into the Hall of Fame, she was away in Paris for work.

“It was a complete surprise. I think that something about print journalists that is somewhat different than broadcast journalists is we’re not used

to being in front of the camera, and we’re not used to getting the attention on ourselves,” Quaye said.

For SoC journalism students, Quaye advises them to “think of a new angle. Anytime you’re able to think of a new angle, you are challenging your brain to be a problem solver as much as you are challenging your brain to be a storyteller,” she said.

Beach graduated from Quinnipiac in 1990 as a mass communications major.

Beach currently works as director of business development at D3 LED, a computer and electronics manufacturing company.

This is not the frst time Beach has been inducted into a Hall of Fame, having been inducted into the Information Display & Entertainment Association Hall of Fame in 2018.

Beach has continued his working relationships with Quinnipiac by serving on the SoC advisory board.

Much like Quaye, Beach’s experience feels different from the last.

“My Information Display and Entertainment Association Hall of Fame induction in 2018 was being honored by my industry and come back to Quinnipiac and receive this, this honor for representing the school that I started at, where it all started, is certainly an honor,” Beach said.

When Beach learned of his induction into the Hall of Fame, in August, he was “overjoyed with emotion,” he said.

Beach’s advice for SoC students is “to always say yes,” as they go through their career.

Each of the Hall of Fame inductees attributed their successes to Quinnipiac SoC staff and faculty.

TYLER MIGNAULT/CHRONICLE

From left to right Women’s Sideline Society eboard members: PR & Marketing Jordyn Yaroshyk, Vice President Sofa Troscianecki, President Maria Keegan, Secretary Melina Fricchione and Treasurer Anya Horne.

NATHAN ROJAS Staff Writer

TYLER MIGNAULT/CHRONICLE

From left to right School of Communications Hall of Fame inductees: Tim Beach, Ike Ejiochi and Mercy Quaye.

By ALYSSA SCHNEIDER Contributing Writer

Would someone like to tell me why I, a flm, television and media major, am taking a math class next semester?

Ironically, let’s do the math. According to Quinnipiac University’s offcial website, the yearly cost of attendance is $57,700. Some of you probably narrowed your brows at that sentence, because we all know it’s far more than that. If you factor in housing and meal plans it comes to about $75,600, not including hidden fees and graduate programs.

Thousands of students sign up each year at the age of 18 to willingly put themselves into a lifetime of debt, just to graduate and get a job that won’t even pay back half of it.

College is a scam, fabricated to appear as a meal ticket to wealth and prosperity, when in reality, those two things could be achieved without a meal plan that doesn’t carry over.

I think it’s really strange that I am typing this right now surrounded by the four walls of what I’ll call “my room” for the next seven months. Why do we dorm? Seriously. Some may say it’s for the classic “college experience” and to those some I’d have to agree. I mean, I’m here aren’t I?

But if we take a moment to think about it, couldn’t everything be a trade? We have trades, for people who want to be plumbers or electricians, but why not for people that want to be lawyers or teachers?

Why is it so normalized to attend a four year institution that requires you to take four Gen-

Opinion

Education extortion Charlie Kirk's ‘revival’ Memorial service or MAGA rally? College is a fnancial scam

eral Education classes, covering all the basics that you have learned over the past 12 years, as well as a fne arts credit or two that’s used solely to stop the Art History department from having to host a tag sale to pay its electric bill. I know the answer. It’s a money grab. An-

ILLUSTRATIONBYLILLIANCURTIN

cause it’s the university’s to spend.

To make matters worse, meal points don’t even transfer to the next year, only the next semester. And Quinnipiac is not the only school to have these strange requirements; most schools do. For example, the University of Connecti-

to simply buy food on campus when they need it, instead of being held to a couple of hundred dollars they are never going to spend? Well, be-

topic of student loans? Odds are you have, but you’re still here.

Why? I’ll tell you why I am. Because what choice do I have? It’s not always about getting

the slip that says you’re qualifed after four years, because we all know that the majority of our education in college is not coming from our classes, especially when fnance majors are taking english and media studies majors are taking math.

Community college is always an option for those interested in non-trade felds, however what community college doesn’t offer are the hands-on clubs and experiences that a traditional college does. If I wasn’t here right now, I would not have the privilege of building my resume by writing this article, or contributing to all of the other clubs and organizations that I am a part of.

It’s not right, but when you make the intelligent choice to pay less, you are unfairly getting less. A degree is a degree that will always be true, however, experiences are not covered in a diploma.

When you stop to think about it, everything should be a trade. Want to be a nurse? Go to school for nursing, not english. Not history, but nursing.

We should be able to go to school for exactly what we want, have experiences along the way that align with our specifc feld and graduate with a diploma of equal value.

We are all unknowingly partaking in the masquerade, paying more to graduate with less. College and the experiences it offers should be reasonable and accessible to all fnancial statuses, not just those willing to go into a lifetime of debt.

Because at the end of the day, college is a scam, education is not.

By CHLOE GRANT Sta Writer

On Sept. 21, a service was held in Glendale, Arizona gathering thousands of mourners to honor late conservative Charlie Kirk. The question is, was this so-called “memorial” a tribute to the political activist, or a form of political propaganda?

While I do not condone political violence and will advocate for stricter gun regulations, I was certainly no fan of Kirk’s. Kirk was a prominent conservative political activist. He preached Christian nationalism — advocating against abortion access, LGBTQ+ rights and often making racist and hateful remarks. Kirk was also a known advocate for the Second Amendment claiming that, “It’s worth it to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other Godgiven rights,” according to The Guardian.

Photos capturing the event depict a sea of red hats for as far as the eye can see, with the majority of attendees draped in Make America Great Again (MAGA) merchandise. An article published by BBC compared the crowds to “a raucous political rally” with upwards of 90,000 of Kirk’s supporters in attendance.

Much of the service was spent eulogizing Kirk and discussing the work he conducted alongside Turning Point USA, the right wing nonproft association which he co-founded. However, many speakers took the service as an opportunity to preach topics such as religion, marriage and conservative traditional ideals.

It became a trend amongst President Donald Trump and right-wing speakers, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to refer to the service as “a revival,” suggesting that Kirk’s death provided opportunity for political uprising. On several occurrences throughout the service, Kirk was referred to as a hero and a martyr for the MAGA agenda.

“Most, though, focused on Kirk’s legacy as an avenue to usher in a way to reintroduce and redefne the political right, perhaps a new wave of MAGA,” recounted an article published by NCB.

At the memorial, Charlie Kirk’s wife Erika Kirk spoke on his behalf, saying how she forgave his assassin and claiming that, “It was what Christ did and what Charlie would do. The answer is not hate. The answer we know from the Gospel is love and always love, love for our enemies and love for those who persecute us.”

Contrary to Erika’s words, when Trump took to the stage, he began on a hateful tangent criticising the left and how he “can’t stand his opponent,” referring to the Democratic party. He then proceeded to discuss his upcoming administrative policy initiatives, making comments about Jimmy Kimmel and his alleged lack of talent and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker’s “incompetencies.”

Videos circulating the internet capture Erika, as she delivers a speech memorializing her husband. This part of the service was especially frustrating to me. I watched 2012’s Miss Arizona dab her “tears” repeatedly staring up at the ceiling

trying to stop them.

I cannot begin to imagine the extreme grief she and her two children are feeling in response to Charlie’s passing. The pain of losing somebody so near and dear to your heart is not one I would wish on anybody, that goes for all of his supporters in mourning. However, I know I’m not alone in saying that her speech felt performative.

An image later captured Trump embracing Erica as she sobs into his chest. He then kisses her on the head and the two link hands and momentarily stand before the crowd. Charlie was a very

close ally of Trump’s. He used his affliation with Turning Point USA to gain the support of young conservative voters and advocated for him at universities across the U.S. While this remains true, the interaction between the two almost resembled that of a father and daughter.

This “memorial” was a blatant attempt to preach the MAGA agenda. Instead of honoring a man who was brutally killed by gun violence, speakers and attendees took it as an opportunity to rally against Democrats. As much as I disliked Kirk, his memory deserved better.

GAGE SKIDMORE VIA FLICKR

President of the United States Donald Trump and Erika Kirk speaking with attendees at the Memorial for Charlie Kirk at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona in September.

Opinion

SeaWorld needs to die like its orcas

By VIVIAN GAGE Copy Editor

SeaWorld is like a cockroach; no matter how hard people try to kill it, it just won’t die.

SeaWorld is a marine life theme park chain with four locations in Orlando, Florida, San Diego, San Antonio and Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. The parks combine animal performances with thrill rides and educational zoological displays. Innocent right?

Wrong. SeaWorld is a theme park, not an aquarium. SeaWorld’s purpose is to amuse, not preserve. According to Merriam Webster, theme parks “are based on a central theme.” Its main theme, apparently, is the continued abuse of intelligent creatures for human enjoyment and subsequent cover-ups.

When you look up SeaWorld, nothing negative comes up. Most articles focus on the sheer size of the marine life parks and their many conservation/rescue efforts. I can only imagine that is why people still attend, because they don’t know any better.

However, once you do some light research, their animal abuse becomes obvious.

Orcas, sometimes called killer whales, are only kept in captivity in three locations across America. Can you guess what those three are?

To no one’s surprise, SeaWorld theme parks are the only place where orcas are held in captivity in the U.S.

As of July 2025, there are 17 orcas across the three parks, all of which have tragic origin stories. Some were captured from the wild, but many were bred in captivity. One such orca, named Corky, was captured off the coast of British Columbia in 1969, moved to SeaWorld in 1987 and has lived in captivity for 56 years.

All of these orcas have been deprived of the lives they deserve and instinctually desire. According to National Geographic, wild orcas swim an average of 40 miles per day, covering vast distances. For orcas in captivity, forced to circle cramped, concrete pools, that’s impossible.

SeaWorld pools range from only 8 to 34 feet deep and are about 170 feet long.

To put that in perspective, the length of a bowling alley is nearly double the depth orcas can dive in SeaWorld’s deepest tank. The lack of space alone should be enough to prove these tanks are inhumane. To go from an entire ocean to a bathtub is simply unacceptable.

Orcas at SeaWorld live extremely uncomfortable and shortened lives. In the wild, orcas spend up to 95% of their time submerged in the depths of the ocean, but at SeaWorld, its tanks are too shallow to escape the sun’s rays, they have perpetual sunburn.

All the adult male orcas at SeaWorld have collapsed dorsal fns. These occur for many reasons, including dehydration and overheating of fn tissue, stress due to captivity or diet, reduced activity or lack of space to swim and maintain the fn’s integrity.

A 2017 study in the journal “Archives of Oral Biology” found that a all orcas in captivity in the U.S. have severe tooth damage due to persistently grinding their teeth on tank walls, often until nerves are exposed. This behavior is not, obviously, observed in the wild, and is a clear sign of boredom and distress.

Fisheries. Of the 45+ orcas that have died at SeaWorld since 1961, the average age of death was around 14 years old. Many died before even reaching year one. Their lifespans are less than half of what they should be.

Just this past June, the youngest killer whale at SeaWorld in Texas died at only 11 years old after contracting an undisclosed illness. She should have made it to 50. cannot thrive in captivity, period. They are intelligent, social animals meant to migrate vast distances, and being kept in artifcial social groups in suffocating tanks with no stimulation leads to stress. Stress causes retaliation. to court records, SeaWorld has documented over 100 instances of their orcas being aggressive towards trainers

The average lifespan for wild male orcas is about 30 years old, while females typically live to about 50 years. Some females have been known to reach 90 in the wild, according to NOAA

Feb. 24, 2010, one orca named Tilikum (better known as Shamu), with a history of violence, grabbed his trainer, Dawn Brancheau, during one of their shows together and dragged her into the pool. He shook her, drowned her, scalped her, ripped off one of her arms and killed her, all while are four recorded cases of people being killed by orcas in captivity. In case you’re wondering, no orca has ever killed a human in the wild. Tilikum’s response was one of stress, and Brancheau’s resulting death could have been avoided.

In 2016, SeaWorld ended its orca breeding program, meaning those currently in captivity will be the last. That is a step in the right direction,

but now those orcas will live the rest of their lives in SeaWorld’s depressing, concrete cages, despite having other options.

Seaside sanctuaries, like the one being created by The Whale Sanctuary Project, do exist. They are large netted enclosures in the ocean off the coast. They are semi-natural habitats which allow free movement of water, fsh and wind. In the sanctuaries, orcas would be fed and receive veterinary care without having to perform tricks for entertainment or interact with the public.

The sanctuaries are around 100x larger than SeaWorld’s largest orca tank and allow the animals to experience real ocean conditions and interact with other marine life.

The company refused to consider seaside sanctuaries as an option, instead opting to keep their orcas performing until their untimely deaths.

SeaWorld claims it implements the highest standards of care. Holy airball.

It does not care about the well-being of its orcas. They should not even have them. It needs to move their orcas to sanctuaries, or, at the very least, massively upgrade their orcas’ tanks and stop running performances.

When rollercoasters exist in the same space as “rescue centers,” I cannot truly believe that animal welfare is at the heart of this company, and neither should you. When SeaWorld continues to make Instagram posts of their orcas ‘smiling’ and doing tricks for food, I cannot believe those creatures are being treated with respect.

Do research before putting money into the pockets of corrupt organizations. Understand that 99% of the time, if you can touch or ride an animal, it’s unethical. If you see an animal performing circus tricks, it’s unethical. If you see an Orca jumping onto the stage at SeaWorld with a foppy fn and rotten teeth, it’s unethical, even if you think the orca ‘looks happy.’

It is time, fnally, for SeaWorld’s orca encounter to sleep with the fshes.

Bring back pre-teen shows

By NICOLE GEMMATI Sta Writer

As kids, we were often told “don’t grow up too fast.” Like most kids, we didn’t listen and were instead desperate to get to a point where we’d have more autonomy. But as we are in the midst of that stage, nostalgia often holds us back from the events and milestones we envied.

Our childhood shaped who we are, with the media that we consumed playing an integral part. Unable to fnd the same feeling that we may have felt in years past, it’s not uncommon to revisit old shows or movies to relive our childhood. But we may fnd things we didn’t catch before.

While we may laugh at the hidden adult jokes now, there’s no doubt they went over our heads when we were younger, leaving us wondering what our parents thought was so funny. Despite a stark divide between children and adults in terms of comedy, a select few PG sitcoms have jokes that all ages can laugh at.

“Drake & Josh,” “Victorious” and “6teen” are among few teen sitcoms that are specifcally geared towards teens, who actually act their age. Unlike teen dramas of the time, they focused on realistic coming of age moments and included references to some PG-13 scenarios such as serial dating and make out sessions.

Nickelodeon and Disney were among two of the most widely frequented channels geared towards kids, with the former taking them more seriously. While Nickelodeon and its subsidiary

TeenNick housed two of the three previously mentioned shows, Disney was more strict.

If a TV show required a scene at the beach, Nickelodeon would often go the realistic route and put the teenagers in bikinis, although this may have been a risky choice. On the other hand, Disney would dress their teenage characters in conservative swimsuits to avoid their young viewers raising questions. Along with this, Disney would avoid its on-screen couples kissing, usually blocking it with a prop.

Despite these ill attempts to keep children as young and innocent as possible, they’re accustomed to the real world and are smarter than people give them credit for. Sheltering them from everything will only make it harder to adjust into the real world. Having them avoid introductions to kissing may give them negative viewpoints on romance, whereas

guarding them from realistic bodies may serve as an inability to understand their own.

Though writers and costume designers take a risk with these decisions, they’re letting children learn about growing up, while still allowing them to remain in a safe environment. The transition from shows geared specifcally towards kids, which they may deem as too babyish, is seamless. the rise of social media, kids are able to gain access to a wider range of celebrities and infuencers than previous generations. These can lead to unrealistic body images, and often lead them into facing the same problem that we did: growing up too quickly. Compared to our childhoods, they barely have one, skipping the preteen stage through use of makeup and the latest trends, and going straight into teenagedom.

“Euphoria” is a newer teen drama

chronicling the lives of high schoolers and has gained massive viewership in its run. While the show deals with heavy topics, such as abusive relationships, abortions and sexuality, it primarily focuses on Rue (Zendaya), a recovering drug addict, a stark difference from Rocky, Zendaya’s character on Disney’s “Shake it Up.” Despite being the same age, Rocky’s main problems are that of the typical teenager, such as fghting with her best friend or dealing with grades, each of which are easily and quickly resolved.

Around the time pre-teen shows aired, teen dramas were also wildly popular, though they focused more on the dramatic aspects rather than unnecessary nudity. While these dramatized worlds proved for interesting television, they weren’t realistic, leaving teens to wonder what the actual teenage experience was like. Coupled with a show such as “6teen,” it’s apparent which one is more truthful, while still allowing for fun and nerves.

Nostalgia is a mainstay in our lives, but what happens when there is barely any nostalgia to look back on? There’s no childhood to fawn over, only dramas involving sex and drugs, two things that are considered normal for adults, but not so for those younger. While we may have photographs or memories of playing outside, screens are dominant for generations after us. At the very least, we can make sure something pleasant is portrayed on them.

Arts & Life

Former QU student involved in domestic abuse scandal

By LILLIAN CURTIN Opinion Editor

On Oct. 8 and 10, content creator Camilla Araujo posted a two-part podcast on YouTube titled “Mckinley’s Story (The Truth of Jack Doherty).” It was a complete exposé on the person that content creator and manager Jack Doherty really is.

Content creator McKinley Richardson and Doherty were together until May 2025. Now, Doherty is dating Christiana Sansone, a former Quinnipiac University student.

Sansone started at Quinnipiac in fall 2023 as a nursing major, after graduating from Seymour High School, also in Connecticut. She was a member of the sorority Kappa Alpha Theta until she randomly left the university at some point.

She’s practically deleted any evidence of the life she had before starting a career in content creation on social media.

When she left Quinnipiac, she traded Boomer for an alleged groomer.

Richardson and Doherty had a fake wedding in November 2024, where he gave her a prenup at the altar and said, “So, shawty gets absolutely nothing when I divorce her, even if I cheat…” but followed it up with the fact that if Richardson cheated, she’d have to pay him $10 million. He’s an entitled brat.

Thankfully, Richardson has friends that she can rely on, including Araujo, who supported her throughout this mess and abuse. When I watch Araujo speak to Richardson in the video and in other videos that have been released, I can’t help but envy that level of loyalty and care.

Araujos made it clear there wasn’t going

to be any profit from the video, but instead, any money made was going to be donated. A girl’s girl through and through.

Araujo’s very frst part of the podcast starts with “happy” clips of Richardson and Doherty, to “The Smallest Ever Lived” by Taylor Swift. These videos were followed by raw videos of their conficts, with text messages from Doherty calling Richardson a “whore” and a “bitch.” He also told her he hated her while threatening to hurt himself if she didn’t do what he said.

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Throughout the videos, we can clearly see Doherty’s narcissistic behavior, which involved name-calling, gaslighting and overall manipulation. There was one video specifcally where Doherty is pointing to her breasts while she silently cries, saying, “her tears went right between her tits, look at that.”

His behaviour is disgusting, and he shouldn’t be around any women, let alone manage those

who produce sexual content like McKinley.

To him, women aren’t equals, but opportunities to make money. He doesn’t care how they feel as long as he can use them.

He put Richardson through hell by just being himself and now, Sansone isn’t making it any better.

Towards the end of the second part of Araujo’s video, she gives Richardson a chance to “talk about the new people involved.” That would include Sansone, the previously mentioned former Quinnipiac student.

Richardson goes into detail about Sansone and other women harassing her online. Sansone has claimed that McKinley wasn’t telling the truth.

Like I said, Richardson and Doherty split in May 2025 after over a year of him draining her and bullying her publicly online. He and Sansone

began dating in the same month. In fact, they’ve even hinted at the relationships overlapping. Sansone said, happily, “Maybe I was the side chick. Maybe he was cheating on McKinley with me.” It’s not something to be proud of.

From the looks of all of the screenshots and videos that include a police call and a restraining order, and a new girlfriend who is claiming that they may have been unfaithful to Richardson isn’t exactly convincing anyone that Doherty’s a saint.

For someone who hates Richardson so much, Sansone is seemingly trying pretty hard to shift into a copy of her. It’s not even just appearance, but the videos they’re making are exact copies. I’m not exaggerating. There’s a video of Doherty “proposing” to Richardson, and a video of him doing the same to Sansone. It’s a replica, right down to the skyline in the background.

Araujo was graceful enough to point out that Sansone may be in a similar situation that Richardson was in. It changed my perspective a bit on the situation.

I feel a little bad for Sansone, as does Araujo. Araujo and Richardson know the extent to which Doherty is a liar and manipulator, and they recognize that Sansone may be getting treated horribly behind closed doors, or even on camera.

One day, if Sansone comes forward with her own story, hopefully, she’ll have someone like Araujo to have her back. I just hope she isn’t so caught up in being a mean girl that she’ll push any of her true friends away.

But for now, Araujo and Richardson have made one thing clear: the truth will come out eventually.

How food brands convinced us more protein is better

By SOPHIE MURRAY Staff Writer

According to MyPlate, the average adult should consume between fve to six and a half ounces of protein foods per day, with the exact amount varying by age, gender and activity level. Yet in a world where more is assumed better, that guideline is largely ignored.

Protein is undeniably essential to a balanced diet. But how many people are actually sticking to their recommended intake? The answer is very few and there is one big reason why.

If you slap the phrase “high protein” on a label, consumers automatically think it is healthier for them, and food brands have caught on.

Suddenly, protein is not just whole foods like chicken, beans or peanut butter, it is now being artificially pumped into any food imaginable.

I don’t know about anyone else, but I can not go to the store without getting ambushed by protein. It is everywhere added into random products you would never expect: popcorn, Pop-Tarts, cereal, foods that were never meant to double down as gym fuel.

Somewhere along the way, protein went from being a nutrient to being a solution to everything. Want to lose weight? Eat more protein. Want to gain muscle? Eat more protein. It has been marketed as the universal fx and people are buying it.

You cannot go on social media without seeing recipes for “high protein pancakes,” “high protein pasta” or even “high protein ice

cream.” People are turning basic meals into science experiments, dumping protein powder, cottage cheese or greek yogurt into it, because apparently every dish needs to be qualifed as a gym supplement.

To be clear, protein is important. It supports muscle growth and repair, bone health and immune function. But it gets to a point where high protein becomes too much protein. That is where the problem starts.

I realized society has a protein obsession when Starbucks released their new protein drinks and cold foams.

Vanilla Protein Latte. Protein Matcha. Banana Cream Protein cold foam. Chocolate Protein cold foam. Each drink ranges from 29 to 36 grams of protein per serving and that is before adding the extra serving of

protein cold foam on top.

Out of curiosity, I looked up a few video reviews on the drinks. I just could not imagine something that is supposed to be sweet and indulgent possibly tasting good with loads of added protein. And I feel like most people agree that artifcially added protein just does not taste good. There are countless articles online devoted to why protein products, especially protein powders, taste so unpleasant and why everyone hates the taste of them. However, all of the reviews I saw said it was great, especially the Iced Protein Matcha with the Banana Protein cold foam, so I decided to give that specifc one a shot. And it tasted exactly how I expected: like straight protein powder.

I love matcha and I like bananas. However, with all the added protein, every recognizable taste was completely lost. No matcha or banana, just a chalky artifcial aftertaste.

Starbucks is not the only company looking to jump on the trend. More brands are reformulating their products to earn that high protein badge.

We even have celebrities like Khloé Kardashian who launched her own protein popcorn brand called Khloud. They have three different favors: Olive Oil and Sea Salt, Sweet and Salty Kettle Corn and White Cheddar, with each serving containing seven grams of protein.

It is not that eating too much protein is going to destroy your health overnight. The real issue is that the collective protein obsession is distracting us from a much bigger question: What are we sacrifcing in the process?

When everything becomes protein packed, we stop paying attention to the fact that many of these foods are ultra processed. If it has the protein label on it, there is no concern whatsoever.

At the end of the day, popcorn does not need protein. Popcorn can be an enjoyable snack without having to justify itself as a fuel source. Food does not have to earn a place in our diet by promising muscle growth or weight loss.

Maybe the real mark of health is not just about how much protein you can cram into a latte or popcorn bag, but how often you can eat something just because it tastes good.

ILLUSTRATION BY SOPHIE MURRAY

By EMILY ADORNO Marketing Director

Life after the curtain falls

It’s silly to think that I’ve spent much of my third year at Quinnipiac wondering what to do with all my time. My roommates feel it too.

Usually, we turn on “Glee” for the third year in a row, only to stall out before season four. The curtain just drops somewhere in the middle and we don’t bother pulling it back up.

This year we’ve added reading into our routine. One roommate tore through “Verity” by Colleen Hoover, then we all swapped Frieda McFadden thrillers and romance novels. Reading feels better than endless TikTok scrolling, because at least we’re inside a real story and not a stitchedtogether montage.

But even reading has made me notice something that unsettles me: I still feel like I’m on a stage.

For so much of my life, and for many of us, we’ve been acting as students. Grades, GPA and assignments were all there to be perfected like delivering lines.

There is a structure with this, and it often gives people direction. With applause, you knew you were succeeding, and with a stern glare, you knew you were failing.

Now almost through my undergraduate degree, that script feels shakier. I look around and realize the curtain is starting to fall on that old role. It offers

a harder question for us all: What does success look like when no one is handing you a report card?

That’s not a question we’re trained to answer. From elementary school through college, success has been external, measurable. We chase the next test, the next grade and often the next milestone. Then, suddenly, you’re sitting in a dorm room with your roommates, trying to decide if rewatching “Glee” counts as “productive” or not.

Social media gives us a new stage to perform on.

Day-in-the-life TikToks look like perfectly choreographed one-acts: the iced latte, the tote

bag swinging just so, the cozy desk setup. They’re supposed to reassure us: this is success, look how put-together I am. But watching them feels like sitting in the audience of a play. Beautiful, yes, but staged. And when I try to follow the script myself with the neat bed, the coffee in the nice mug and the perfect desk set up, I realize how fragile it is. One spilled coffee, one bad day and the whole

as planned. When the curtain falls, you’re left staring at yourself, unsure of what role you’re supposed to play next. So what does success look like offstage? Maybe it’s quieter than we expected. Maybe it’s the fact that my roommates and I can laugh our way through reruns, even if we never finish the series. Maybe it’s trading TikTok scrolls for Target’s selection of paperbacks. Maybe it’s learning to sit with the messy, ordinary days without trying to rewrite them into something more dramatic.

That doesn’t mean giving up ambition, because after all, we’re built on that here at Quinnipiac.

performance cracks. That’s the danger of living only for

Whether it’s grades or aesthetics, it leaves no space for the days that don’t go

Letting go of the idea that growth has to be graded or rehearsed can bridge the gap from college to life when there is no syllabus or rubric. If I’m honest, I think that’s the real fear so many of us carry here. We’ve spent most of our lives performing as students. We know how to succeed in that role. But when the curtain closes and the grades no longer defne us, we’ll be left with the harder work of fguring out who we are without the script. That moment isn’t failure. It’s the start of something else. We’re being given the chance to build our own definition of success, and it's one that isn’t handed back to us with a number or a letter at the top. And maybe the truth is that life offstage won’t always earn applause. But it will be real. And that’s the point.

‘Deadbeat’ delivers a new and improved Tame Impala

By COOPER WOODWARD Staff Writer

On Oct. 17 Australian singer and multiinstrumentalist Kevin Parker, better known for his stage name, Tame Impala, released his fifth studio album “Deadbeat.”

The album consists of 12 tracks with a run time of 56 minutes, all of which is produced, written and performed by Parker. This follows a similar trend as his previous projects, with “The Slow Rush,” “Currents,” “Lonerism” and “Innerspeaker” each having a runtime under an hour.

This album is also his first as a father, as his daughter was born the year after his previous project. Parker sneaks in paternal references in “No Reply” and “Dracula” to “Family Guy” and Pablo Escobar respectively.

When you think of Tame Impala, you think of a unique kind of psychedelic pop unlike anything else in music. It’s quirky and it’s weird. But for Parker, it just works.

Now, a decade after the release of his magnum opus “Currents,” Parker has ditched that formula in exchange for a project that feels a lot more like a dance record than a pop one.

A perfect example of this is the album's lead single, “End Of Summer.”

When the promotional post for this song hit Instagram on July 20, fans rejoiced. It had been five years since his previous project, “The Slow Rush,” and fans began to speculate if this finally meant Impala's return to music.

Five days after that post, the single was

officially released. On first listen, I had a very mixed opinion of the track. I thought the experiments Parker was trying on this song were an uncomfortable adjustment compared to his previous album.

However, when I re-listened to this song in the context of the album, I loved it. The dance themes of the track and the overall message in the lyrics fit the project well and it is a great choice for a closer.

The biggest highlight from this album is the third and fnal single, “Dracula.” In a word, the song is addictive. Sonically, there are heavy infuences from Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” with synthesizers being the dominant instrument in the mix and a simple but effective alternate drum beat.

Another highlight for me is the fifth track “Oblivion.” The song opens with a classic dance beat, only to switch after 10 seconds to a synth-heavy melody under lyrics that are nothing short of masterful.

The lyrics tell a story of Parker loving someone so hard that he would rather be dead than exist without her.

However, this project does have its flaws. One of its biggest is the nearly eight-minute-long ninth track “Ethereal Connection.” Parker has his fair share of songs with lengthy runtimes, but in each of them, he’s able to keep the listener entertained for the full duration.

It’s that very objective that he fails to achieve on this song. The opening two minutes and 30 seconds are dull and boring. When Parker finally enters 15 seconds

later, the lyrics feel stale and bland. This isn’t even mentioning the other multiminute gap he takes in the second half of the song, which is also anchored by a dull and boring instrumental.

Overall, Tame Impala’s return project is very solid. It’s taken him a while to get back into music, but it’s because Parker is meticulous and picky, and wants to put his best foot forward in every single album he releases. “Deadbeat” is a perfect example of that fact and a great entry into the legendary catalogue of Tame Impala.

You can't humanize a monster

Netflix's ‘Ed Gein’ tells a sob story rather than an accurate one

By REX NAYLOR Staff Writer

Netfix's show, “Monster: The Ed Gein Story,” tells the life of Ed Gein, the man who killed two women and inspired characters in media such as Norman Bates from “Psycho,” Leatherface from “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and Buffalo Bill from “Silence of the Lambs.” What Netfix gets wrong is their attempt to dramatize, humanize and romanticize him.

The show comes after previous Netfix hits like “Dahmer,” based on serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” and “Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes.” These shows give an inside look into the men’s lives, along with the lives of those they hurt.

The Ed Gein show — to put it simply — is disturbing and fake. It differs from “Dahmer,” “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” and “The Ted Bundy Tapes,” which are highly accurate depictions of what the men were like and what they did regarding their crimes.

The show depicts Gein killing two men with a chainsaw: his brother and a babysitter, for which he was never convicted of, but heavily suspected of. He never received letters from Richard Speck, a mass murderer in Chicago, and he did not assist in the capture of Ted Bundy, both events that the show depicts him doing.

Rather than explore the unspeakable crimes he committed, the show chooses to dramatize him, painting him as someone who isn’t aware of the atrocities he commits because of a mental disease. The show makes him commit murders he was never convicted of to bolster the kill count and dramatize him further, despite him already being a bad person.

In the last episode of the show, a dance number occurs in the mental hospital where Gein spent his life post-arrest. In the scene, people such as Charles Manson, Jerry Brudos, Ed Kuemper, Richard Speck and Ted Bundy all seem to congratulate Gein for “inspiring” them to commit crimes of their own.

The scene highlights the mental state he’s in, showing absolute absurdism, but also puts him on a pedestal, almost like a god. The show tries to emphasize the people and media Gein infuenced, rather than Gein himself. There is more than enough information on Gein to create an eightepisode series without adding in false details.

What Netfix got right with “Dahmer” and “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” is that they painted Dahmer for what he was: a monster. They showed the treatment of the Menendez brothers and the pain they endured, humanizing them for the right reason. Ed Gein does not need to be humanized. The show is called “Monster,” which is what he was.

Yet despite the crimes he committed, they show him in a light where the audience is meant to feel bad and sympathize with him. His mother was devoutly religious and his father was an alcoholic. However, many people have a similar upbringing, where the family dynamic isn’t safe for children. He isn’t the only person who experienced this, especially in the 1910s.

Certain instances and events in his life act as an excuse for his actions rather than a reason. Many scenes end with a saddish look on his face, as if he fell short of completing something moral, or feeling disgusted with himself for doing something bad.

For all of his life he had an undiagnosed mental

illness, a common denominator for many serial killers. The show highlights his struggle to form relationships with others, depicting one of his murders out of heartbreak rather than cruelty and revenge.

The show gives Gein a mild-mannered personality and soft voice. This is seen most while he’s in the mental health institute, treating everyone kindly and being treated kindly back.

This choice paints him as timid and vulnerable, further making the audience feel sorry for him. His upbringing, failed relationships and undiagnosed mental illness all act as excuses rather than contributing factors for his actions. The show doesn’t depict him as evil, rather as someone who is misunderstood. The title of the show is simply inaccurate. Rather than a monster, he’s depicted as a victim.

McLaren turns its drivers into rivals

By RYLEY LEE Staff Photographer

The McLaren Formula 1 team has recently dug itself into a bit of a hole.

It started during the 2024 Hungary Grand Prix when driver Lando Norris passed Oscar Piastri because the team messed up Piastri’s strategy by letting Norris pit frst. McLaren then told Norris to let Piastri pass him because it was the team’s fault he gained the lead. Norris was reluctant to let Piastri pass, but he eventually did so with some convincing from the team.

This race would become Piastri’s frst win, with Norris fnishing second. Norris wasn’t extremely happy about the outcome of the race, but he understood the team thought it was best.

“It’s tough, but I know what Oscar’s done for me in the past,” Norris said. “I think this is a little bit different but, yeah, at the same time I got told to let him pass and I did. It’s always tough when you’re fghting for a win, and a win means so much to me and also to him.”

This controversial strategy would be a thing of the past until the 2025 Italian Grand Prix, when the team told Piastri to let Norris pass him due to a slow pit stop.

However, they had set a precedent in Hungary that if the team were to make a mistake, causing one driver to lose a position to the other, they would let the drivers have their positions back. And although slow pitstops are a part of racing, so are poor team strategies. McLaren did not need to let Piastri pass Norris, just as they did not need to let Norris pass Piastri, because now, everytime something similar happens, they will have to do the same. They have shown that this is their team strategy, and now

the moment. This made Piastri even more upset.

“If he has to avoid another car by crashing into his teammate, then that’s a pretty shit job of avoiding,” he said.

However, the race continued and Norris did not face any repercussions. Norris and Piastri finished the race third and fourth respectively, and gave McLaren the points they needed to win the Contructors’ Championship. On the radio after the race,

shame,” Piastri said after the race.

Many people are comparing this situation to when Norris hit Piastri in Singapore. Both situations were caused by driver error, but the cars were only damaged enough to force a retirement in the United States. However, the sprint race does not offer as many points as regular races.

Neither Piastri nor Norris gained any points from the sprint, keeping their overall standings the same. However, Verstappen closed the gap to Norris to 55 points. It is still mathematically possible for Verstappen to win the Drivers’ Championship, especially if the McLarens continue to get knocked out of the race.

Before this race, Piastri was 34 points ahead of Norris in the driver championship and he was looking to extend his lead in Monza. However, Norris qualifed ahead of him in second, Piastri in third. Throughout the race, both Norris and Piastri stayed in relatively the same order, until Norris’ slow pit stop, allowing Piastri to gain a position. The team told Piastri to let Norris through, and he did so reluctantly.

“Is a slow pitstop part of racing?” Piastri asked his engineer when he was told to let Norris pass. This move by the team was also controversial.

Championship throughout the season, with Piastri currently in the lead.

In the opening lap of the Singapore Grand Prix, Norris tried to pass Piastri and Redbull’s driver Max Verstappen, but ended up bumping into his teammate. Piastri was annoyed by this and didn’t think it was very teamlike.

“So, are we cool with Lando just barging me out of the way?” Piastri asked his race engineer over the radio.

His engineer told him since Norris had to avoid Verstappen, there would be no repercussions at

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the race winner.

Both McLaren racers did not fnish the sprint race, a shorter race that provides less points, in the U.S. due to a collision. Piastri turned into the Kick Sauber or Nico Hulkenberg, which caused him to then crash into Norris. Norris was immediately knocked out of the race, and while Piastri tried to continue, the damage to his car was too great, and he was forced to retire.

“I tried to cut back on Lando – I mean, we were both very far from the apex and then got a hit, and he obviously sent me into Lando, so (it’s) a

In the actual race on Sunday, both McLarens fnished the race, Norris in second and Piastri in ffth. Max Verstappen won the race, with further closed the gap in the divers’ standings. Now, Norris is 14 points away from Piastri and Verstappen is 26 points away from Norris. If it were any other driver, it would be tough to close that gap, but for Verstappen, it might just happen.

McLaren has been favoring Norris throughout the season. It has been especially apparent in the past few races, and although Piastri still has the lead in the Drivers’ standings, Norris is gaining on him. Both Piastri and Norris have been extremely consistent throughout the season, but Piastri has converted more points.

Will McLaren continue to favor Norris or will they realize they have a better chance with Piastri? Either way, if they continue to pit their drivers against each other, they will have much bigger problems to deal with than winning the Drivers’ Championship.

Jaxson Dart seems to be the quarterback who fnally revitalizes the Giants

By ANTHONY ANGELILLO Staff Writer

Being a New York Giants fan has meant living through more frustration than celebration. I grew up watching seasons where hope faded by Halloween. There was no consistency at quarterback with an offense that never seemed to belong.

That history shapes how I see Jaxson Dart now. When the New York Giants selected Dart with the 25th pick of the 2025 NFL draft, I hated the decision.

I did not see why we needed to draft a QB when there was a much better QB class next year, that included Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza, Oregon QB Dante Moore and pre-injury Penn State QB Drew Allar, who had a season ending left ankle injury.

Then you add the NYG signing QBs Russell Wilson and Jameis Winston and it made no sense to me. We could have drafted another defensive player, especially in the secondary, to strengthen our defense even more. Nope, we drafted a QB that no one believed was even a frst-round pick to begin with.

However, the front offce of the NYG knew something that I did not. General Manager Joe Schoen traded back into Round One after landing outside linebacker from Penn State Abdul Carter at pick No. 3. to take Dart at No. 25, giving up the No. 34 and No. 99 picks and a 2026 thirdrounder to Houston.

A four-year, $16.9 million fully guaranteed contract with the team, which included an $8.9 million signing bonus, is all that was needed to show that the Giants were all in

on their young QB.

Now fast forward to October 2025, and all my doubts look stupid, and I can admit that I was wrong.

In his frst three starts, Dart went 56 of 85 for 508 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions, plus 167 rushing yards and two scores. He ran for at least 50 rushing yards in each of those starts.

He delivered a debut for the ages with a win over the 3-0 Chargers, which was then followed by an awful loss to the New Orleans Saints, where the NYG turned the ball over on fve consecutive drives in a 26-14 loss.

Then Dart and the Giants answered three nights later by upsetting the defending Super Bowl champions, the Philadelphia Eagles, 34-17 on Thursday Night Football. Dart threw for 195 and ran for 58 with two total touchdowns.

I was watching that game live and I could not believe we were dominating the Eagles. It felt like a completely different team. I mean, we just lost to the Saints, and then we came off a short rest to beat the Champs — that’s probably why millions of NYG fans and I were going totally nuts.

I say that as someone who lived the quarterback roller coaster after Eli Manning’s retirement, my generation has watched the likes of quaterbacks like Daniel Jones, Colt McCoy, Mike Glennon, Jake Fromm, Tyrod Taylor, Drew Lock, Tommy DeVito and this fall, Russell Wilson grace our screens to see them make a joke out of the position.

None of this ignores the reality that Dart now faces. The Giants lost wide reciever Malik

Nabers to a torn ACL in Week four, which stripped the passing game of its top receiver.

When your WR1 is on the shelf, the quarterback must be the problem solver. Dart has taken that on, and the front offce has reportedly explored receiver options because the best way to evaluate a rookie is to give him real help.

What convinces me now is his connection to head coach Brian Daboll. This is the same offensive mind that gave us QB Josh Allen, and he has not been able to work with a QB from the beginning.

Scouting reports of Dart

execute Daboll’s vision.

If you have watched this team since 2012, like me, you know the failures that have defned the last decade. So many players and coaches have come and left, and we have missed out on the primes of so many of our past and present players. Dart’s arrival does not fx every issue, but it gives New York something to build around.

I acknowledge that I was quick to hate the NYG for drafting Dart, but after seeing so many bad picks and going all in on the wrong players, just for it to backfre in the worst ways, can you blame me for thinking the same things with Dart?

Remembering John Candy

Now, having seen frsthand what this team has become over the last couple of weeks, I have confdence that Dart is a rookie who owns the ball, moves the chains when the frst read disappears and competes even if he puts himself in harm’s way. That is why I believe Dart is the future, and that belief comes from the heart of a lifelong fan who wants nothing more than to see his team reach the fnish line.

A gentle soul whose heart was as big as the laughter he inspired

By ANTHONY ANGELILLO Staff Writer

Amazon Prime Video released “John Candy: I Like Me” on Oct. 10, directed by Colin Hanks and produced by Ryan Reynolds.

John Candy is not as well-known now as he was back in the ’80s and ’90s. I really did not know much about Candy myself, but I knew he was a famous comedian and movie star who was tragically taken from us too soon.

The documentary takes never-before-seen home videos with new interviews from Bill Murray, Steve Martin, Tom Hanks, Catherine O’Hara, Eugene Levy, Dan Aykroyd, Dave Thomas, Macaulay Culkin and more, with participation from the children of Candy, Chris and Jennifer, with wife Rose, who all serve as coexecutive producers.

This is not just a flm about a comedian — it is a portrait of a man who gave everything to make others happy, even when he struggled to fnd that happiness for himself.

The title comes from a defning moment in “Planes, Trains and Automobiles.” After Steve Martin’s character, Neal Page unleashes a cruel rant, Candy’s character, Del Griffth, responds with: “I like me.” That line becomes the heartbeat of the documentary. It reminds viewers that Candy’s humor came from a place of empathy, not ego. It is a statement of self-worth from someone who often doubted his own.

“He carried the weight of his father passing almost every day. Those things were in his mind, in his heart, and he carried them,” says Dave Thomas, who was an actor and a close friend of Candy, in one of the most emotional interviews. That fear of running out of time drove Candy

to work relentlessly, but it also fueled anxiety that never fully left him. Hearing that made me see his performances differently. Behind every laugh was a man racing against something he could not control.

Candy’s father's death is mentioned frequently throughout the flm because it shaped Candy as a person.

Having your father die on your ffth birthday, and your family never talking about it, is something that no person should ever experience, and Candy dealt with it every day. His son Chris said it best: “If he was fve when his father died, and then you grow up with a group of people who do not for a second want to even acknowledge it? Well, yeah, no shit, I’d have anxiety, too.”

me most was how much love surrounds this story. Candy’s children, Chris and Jennifer, share memories that feel very different when you

understand that they have lived a majority of their lives without their father.

Candy gave so much of himself to the world that he sometimes forgot to save enough for home.

His children cherish every moment with him, and he truly was an amazing father who tried to be involved. After all, he was trying to be the father that his father never had a chance to be.

The flm does not shy away from the darker side of fame. Archival clips show interviewers who fxated on Candy’s size, turning his

moments, his resilience is why he remains so beloved.

Candy died in 1994 at 43 while flming “Wagons East.” The documentary handles that moment with honesty but not despair. It honors his legacy without letting grief overshadow the joy he brought.

It was also revealed that Candy continued to be overweight because that’s what people wanted him to be. That constant scrutiny pushed Candy toward

That really pissed me off. He deserved better and yet even in those

As someone who grew up loving Candy’s movies, this documentary felt personal. It reminded me why his work mattered then and why it matters now. He was not perfect, and the flm does not pretend he was. But it shows a man who cared deeply, who made people feel seen, and who believed — at least sometimes — that liking yourself is enough. That message feels more important than ever.

This documentary does John Candy justice. If you don’t know him, I couldn't give a bigger recommendation to watch this flm — this documentary will introduce you to the heart behind the humor.

After two hours, you will cry happy tears, knowing that you have experienced the warmth, joy and happiness that Candy provided so many people throughout his life.

“I Like Me” does not just tell John Candy’s story; it lets him tell it one more time in his own way. It comes from countless home videos where John looks into the camera and beams at the people he loves.

This heartfelt tribute to Candy is a powerful and emotional farewell to a truly irreplaceable talent. This flm lets Candy say, one more time and without apology, “I like me.”

This is a beautiful tribute to a legend whose legacy of love, laughter and kindness continues to inspire us all.

ILLUSTRATION BY MATTHEW NATOF

ILLUSTRATION BY KATERINA PARIZKOVA

By MICHAEL PETITTO Associate Sports Editor

Quinnipiac baseball adds two assistant coaches

Two new assistant coaches will be joining Quinnipiac baseball for the 2025-26 season, according to Quinnipiac Athletics.

Former Bobcat Robbie Hitt ‘17 will be joining the coaching staff as the pitching coach, and Alex Denoyelle will join as the recruiting coordinator, after spending three seasons serving as recruiting coordinator for Bryant University baseball.

Denoyelle will be replacing recruiting coordinator Trey Stover (2022-25) and Hitt will take the place of pitching coach Rich Ceseca (2021-25).

Currently, Ceseca and Stover are listed as coaches on the Quinnipiac Athletics website, but this is due to the rosters not being updated yet, according to an email from Assistant Director of Athletic Communications Patrick Kraemer.

“Once the roster gets updated to this year’s team, the new coaches will be on the roster page,” Kraemer wrote.

Hitt spent three years with Quinnipiac as an athlete, before making a brief professional stint in the MLB. The former Bobcat pitcher was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers as the 217th pick of the 2017 draft.

Hitt served as a “crucial part of the Bobcats pitching staff” during his freshman year. He also set the single-season saves program record, with eight saves in his

sophomore campaign, before that record was broken by Mike Davis ‘18 (nine saves) the following season.

Hitt bounced around in the minor leagues, where he played for five different affiliate teams (Glendale Desert Dogs, Milwaukee Brewers, Carolina Mudcats, Nashville Sounds and San Antonio Missions) until 2022. He then landed in the Frontier

League, playing for Sussex County Miners for two seasons. In his second season with the Miners, Hitt garnered 53.2 innings pitched, 65 strikeouts and 26 saves, which earned him a spot on the All-Star team.

In 2024, Hitt landed his first coaching job as the pitching coach for Westfield State University. According to his profile on Quinnipiac Athletics, Hitt was in charge

of every single aspect of the pitching staff.

“Hitt developed and executed performance plans and throwing programs for over 40 student athletes,” Quinnipiac Athletics wrote. “Hitt also prepared scouting reports based on video analysis, led in-game defensive/pitching strategy, and was responsible for pitch calling and running the bullpen.”

Denoyelle comes to Quinnipiac through the Bryant Bulldogs. During his time in Smithfield, Rhode Island, Denoyelle oversaw the development of Bryant players, including sophomore catcher Cam Papetti, who last season earned an America East All-Rookie selection.

The now Quinnipiac coach got his knack for developing catchers during his time in college, where he served as a catcher for Springfield College for four years. Denoyelle gained experience as a hitter as well during the back half of his collegiate career, hitting two home runs during his senior year.

While serving as an assistant for the Bulldogs, Bryant won back-to-back America East regular-season titles. Before his time at Bryant, Denoyelle served as an assistant coach at Keene State College from 2021-22.

As for Ceseca and Stover, it is currently unknown if they are staying with the organization in a new or similar role or moving on to a new program.

QU Alum CJ Willis continues baseball career into MLB Draft League

By CAYDEN STEWART Contributing Writer

Deadlocked 1-1 entering the bottom of the fourth inning, Quinnipiac graduate first baseman CJ Willis steps to the plate as the leadoff hitter for the Trenton Thunder, taking on the visiting State College Spikes.

Having lined out in his first at bat, Willis wastes no time and rips a first-pitch cutter off the inside of the plate and sends it out to center field. It’s the first of six doubles for the former Bobcat in his MLB Draft League season and it comes in a big moment, providing the Thunder with a runner in scoring position.

About three hours southwest of Quinnipiac University, Trenton’s Arm & Hammer Park serves as home for the Thunder. The club was previously in the Yankees farm system, and is now in the MLB Draft League.

Created in 2021, the Draft League provides players such as Willis, with the opportunity to continue their baseball careers post-college. While the first half of the season is dedicated to collegiate players who are still MLB draft-eligible, the second half is for college graduates who are no longer eligible to play in the NCAA, and have gone undrafted. However, they can be signed by pro teams at any time.

Willis highlighted the benefits playing in the Draft League brought him and others.

“For players like myself who run out of eligibility and don’t get drafted or signed, it’s a good place to show off your skills against others in your same situation,” Willis said.

Willis, a transfer from Western New England University, arrived at Quinnipiac

ahead of his junior year. He was a driving force behind Quinnipiac’s stellar 2025 campaign. The Bobcats’ 17 conference wins were second most in a season in program history. Bouncing back after an underwhelming 2024 season, they qualified for the MAAC playoffs for the sixth time, and second in three years.

Willis carried a ton of personal momentum into his Draft League stint. After a slow start to the preceding Quinnipiac season, the first baseman batted an impressive .370 from March 1st on, resulting in First Team All-MAAC honors. A lot of praise

went to Coach John Delaney.

“I would give a lot of credit to my head coach at Quinnipiac, coach Delaney, for believing in me the whole time,” Willis said. “It was really just a mental block. I just had to change my approach in the box. Coach Delaney is a great leader and he makes men along with good baseball players. I owe him a lot.”

Willis described the changes he noticed between the 2024 and 2025 teams.

“The culture really just changed. It started in the weight room, and last year it didn’t really seem like anyone wanted to

be there,” Willis said. “This year everyone was bought in. We got a lot stronger and a lot faster, and I think we just played our tails off for each other.”

While Willis was not one of the 35 players across the Draft League to sign with an MLB franchise as an undrafted free agent, his experience in the Draft League and at Quinnipiac proved extremely benefcial.

“My dream was to play professional baseball, and I did that,” Willis said. “It was a great option to face top notch competition and I felt like I belonged and could still play further.”

Building from his playing experience and the lessons learned at Quinnipiac, Willis is continuing his baseball journey, while entering a different chapter. Now an assistant coach at Curry College in Milton, Massachusetts, Willis has geared his attention toward coaching.

“I am bought in to the coaching side of baseball. I think that’s what my future is,” Willis said. “I do think I could still play anywhere. I just don’t know if the desire is still there. For now I’m going to coach and it is what I want to do long-term.”

Willis’ 39-game stint in the Draft League culminated with a .286/.372/.353 slash line. This helped power him to MLB Draft League “Data Darling” honors for week 11 of the season. If this is the end of Willis’ playing career, he ended both his collegiate and Draft League stints on high notes.

“Quinnipiac and baseball in general did a lot to prepare me for life,” Willis said. “The game itself shows you how to deal with failure and to keep going. I think that’s the most important lesson there is.”

COURTESY OF QUINNIPIAC ATHLETICS

Robbie Hitt ‘17 played for Quinnipiac from 2014-17, as a right-handed pitcher and infelder.

QUINN O’NEILL/CHRONICLE

CJ Willis ‘25 drawing the walk against Canisius on April 4, 2024.

Men's ice hockey grits out a weekend win over ranked UMaine

By ALEXANDRA MARTINAKOVA and CLAIRE FRANKLAND

HAMDEN — No. 10 Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey faced off against No. 7 University of Maine twice during Bobcat Weekend.

In two hardfought games, Quinnipiac led a jaw-dropping comeback to tie in one contest, and dominated in the other.

OCTOBER

17

Head coach Rand Pecknold likes to use the word “buy-in” when it comes to his team’s identity.

But after Friday night’s home opener 4-4 tie with the UMaine Black Bears a different word comes into mind.

Resilience.

It was almost a win. But it was also almost a loss.

The Bobcats struggled in the frst period to do basically anything. Sloppy passing with disorganized communication are not how you score goals and the Bobcats were the prime example of that.

“Sloppy, lack of buy-in,” Pecknold said. “Really disappointing.”

The Black Bears opened up the score early in the frst period, freshman forward Will Gerrior shooting one past junior goaltender Matej Marinov three minutes into the game.

On paper, the Nitra, Slovakia native had a pretty bad game. He allowed four goals, saving 18 shots and some of his saves could only be considered pure luck.

But a goal isn’t just the goalie’s fault, even though it might sound ironic. A goalie can only do so much when there is virtually no defense in front of him.

“He found a way and he gritted it out,” Pecknold said. “I thought we hung him out to dry on really all four goals. We really need to play better in front of him.”

The game seemed like a no-brain win for UMaine at the end of frst as the Bobcats were trailing 0-3.

But clearly Pecknold lit a fre under his players in those 15 minutes between the periods, because the Bobcats came out of that locker room swinging.

“Literally two words — buy in,” Pecknold said. “We know what our identity is, we strayed a lot in the frst period. They wanna try to do too much. We gotta make plays, which you know we will.”

Wyttenbach netted Quinnipiac’s frst goal of the game right out of the gate. Quite literary, it was 14 seconds into the period.

For a second it looked like Quinnipiac could crawl from the deep hole it dug itself. But after

junior forward Andon Cerbone lost the puck after being slammed against the boards, a UMaine breakaway allowed its senior forward Thomas Freel to shoot one past Marinov.

And the morale shifted.

It wasn’t until less than three minutes before the end of the game, after almost everyone in the crowd made peace with the loss in the home opener, that sophomore defender Elliott Groenewold found the back of the net.

There it was. That one goal difference with a little over two minutes left on the clock. And Pecknold did his trick that seems to be working for him exactly when it needs to be — he pulled Marinov out of the net.

Somehow senior forward Jeremy Wilmer is at the right angle in the left circle. His shot makes it past Boija and the student section blows off the roof in the M&T Bank Arena.

All tied at 4-4 with 1:50 left on the clock.

Then some real college hockey started to show.

Seven seconds before the buzzer sounded, freshman forward Antonin Verreault grabbed the puck and started sprinting towards Boija. His shot was stopped by Boija once again a second before the overtime ended.

“We battled,” Pecknold said. “This is the short term, long-term we need to get better as a hockey team.”

So on paper, this game ended in a 4-4 tie.

However, the Bobcats and the Black Bears ended this game unoffcially in a shoot-out, where Marinov stopped every single attempt from UMaine, and Wyttenbach’s shot made it just past Boija, giving Quinnipiac at least a taste of a home win.

OCTOBER 18

Quinnipiac concluded its weekend series gainst Maine with a 4-0 win.

With the win, Quinnipiac fnishes the series with one win and one tie, claiming an unoffcial shootout win in Friday night’s game.

“I thought that was a great win tonight… I thought good team effort,” Pecknold said. “Buy-in was there, you know, really, really happy with how we played, had some new guys jump in the lineup.”

The Bobcats came out the gate strong, dominating play throughout the frst period, a drastic difference from how both teams came out in Friday night’s matchup.

Quinnipiac outshot the Black Bears 11 to four in the frst 20 minutes of play, holding Maine to only one shot on goal for a majority of the period.

“I thought we battled and I thought we kept it simple,” Pecknold said. “You know, we’re moving pucks north, and did a better job with our f3.”

Senior defenseman Charlie Leddy stood strong for the Bobcats on the blue line, reading plays. Leddy’s read allowed him to make timely step-ups, keeping the puck in the offensive zone and giving Quinnipiac the opportunity to put more pressure on the Black Bears.

And with great defense comes great offensive movement and opportunities, allowing Quinnipiac to get so many chances on net during the frst frame.

Prior to this weekend, the Bobcats were one for 11 on the power play, while also going one for three in yesterday’s matchup.

However, the Bobcats didn’t let their man ad vantage chances go to waste, scoring three of their four goals on the power play.

Maine let the pressure from the Bobcats get to them, committing 10 penalties in the game, accumulating 42 penalty minutes. Additionally, committing major penalties, resulting in two game misconducts and losing freshman for ward Jaden Lipinski and junior defender Bodie Nobes.

The Bobcats would capitalize on Maine’s frst fve minute major, with a pass from senior forward Jeremy Wilm er to senior defenseman Will Gilson, who sniped it past freshman goalten der Mathis Rousseau.

This marked Gilson’s frst goal as a Bobcat, being the only transfer on this year’s squad.

“It feels great,” Gilson said. “We played really well. It’s been really, really great. So that was good, and the crowd was great too.”

Quinnipiac’s crowd showed up for Bobcat Weekend, packing the stands for both matchups and bringing the energy into M&T Bank Arena.

And Quinnipiac was able to capital ize on this energy and momentum to get the upper hand on the Black Bears.

Quinnipiac would look to carry its energy into the second period; how ever the frst half of the period was met with dominance from the Black Bears. The Black Bears, only getting four shots on

goal in the frst period, would outshot the Bobcats in the second period.

Yet, the Bobcats relied on Marinov, stopping all 11 shots from the Black Bears in the second period, and making 19 saves in the game to secure the shutout.

Quinnipiac was able to secure its second goal of the game from senior forward Mason Marcellus on a chip up the boards from sophomore forward Aaron Schwartz. Marcellus would put on the wheels, taking it behind the net and shoving it backdoor before Rousseau could get to his far post.

Heading into the fnal 20 minutes of action, Quinnipiac was able to truly carry its momentum

The Bobcats would once again capitalize on the man advantage, with a pass from Schwartz to Marcellus, followed by a centering pass to Wilmer, sending it over the left shoulder of Rousseau. This goal would give the Bobcats a three-goal lead, and the momentum to fnish

Schwartz had a stellar game for the Bobcats, assisting on Quinnipiac’s frst three goals, to extend his assists to six on the season, after missing the Bobcats’ frst game of

“I think we had all the momentum… and just carried on,” Schwartz said. And he was absolutely right, Quinnipiac did have that momentum. Freshman forward Ethan Wyttenbach would seal the game for the Bobcats off of another committed Maine fve minute major, adding his fourth goal of the season.

The Bobcats were able to connect in a way they struggled to early on in Friday’s matchup, giving it the energy and momentum it needed to succeed.

After the weekend series, Quinnipiac moved to the No. 6 spot in national rankings, currently with a record of 3-1-1, while Maine fell to No. 10.

Former Bobcat goes bananas

By CLAIRE FRANKLAND Sports Editor

Post-collegiate career, many athletes seek alternative ways to continue playing the sport they dedicated money and years to. Many athletes look to play professionally or in minor leagues, while others switch their focus to their careers.

Yet former Quinnipiac pitcher Jack Kabel sought a different route post-graduation, trying out for the Savannah Bananas.

Quinnipiac baseball wished the former Bobcats luck via Instagram, saying, “This week, former Bobcat, Jack Kabel, is down in Nashville for a tryout with the Savannah Bananas. Good luck Kabel!”

For those unfamiliar with Banana Ball, the Savannah Bananas are a professional baseballinspired exhibition team, playing a unique, fastpaced style of baseball enjoyable for a wide range of audiences. The Savannah Bananas embed choreographed dancing, modifed rules and a two-hour time limit, bringing an interesting style of baseball to fans.

“We are not your typical baseball team.

We take chances. We bend the rules. We challenge the way things are ‘supposed’ to be. We are Fans First and We Entertain Always,” The Savannah Bananas wrote on their website.

The Savannah Bananas compete against fellow Banana Ball teams, including the Party Animals, Firefghters and Texas Tailgaters. These teams travel to different MLB Stadiums around the country, selling out many games.

Banana Ball has grown increasingly popular throughout the country, with tickets becoming very costly due to the high demand and popularity of the baseball variant, as written by the Los Angeles Times.

Before coming to Quinnipiac, Kabel played Division III collegiate baseball at Nichols College in Dudley, Massachusetts.

Kabel’s collegiate career started to gain traction during his junior campaign, where he appeared in 20 games, tying the program record for third-highest total. During his junior season, Kabel recorded a 7.01 ERA, a 1.91 WHIP and 40 strikeouts.

In his senior season at Nichols, he ap-

peared in 14 games, starting in seven of them. The East Haven, Conn. native led the team with 54 strikeouts in 39 innings pitched, with a 6.92 ERA.

undergrad, Kabel opted to go to Quinnipiac for his graduate years. As a graduate student in 2024, Kabel made 13 appearances for the Bobcats with of 6.67, striking 30 batters in 28.1 nings pitched.

graduate year, Kabel was named to the 2025 All-Ac ademic Team, making 17 appearances in 2025, striking out 22 batters. Additionally, he recorded a 5.01 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP.

process of trying out for the Savannah Bananas, with no offcial roster informa tion released.

TAYLORHUCHRO/CHRONICLE

COURTESY OF JACK KABEL

Winning on the court and in front of the camera

Spence Wewe's online presence highlights the importance of expressing yourself Sports

In the digital age, where anyone can post anything about themselves with the push of a button, the title of content creator gets mentioned all the time.

As for Quinnipiac, men’s basketball sophomore forward Spence Wewe posts about his basketball journey on social media for anyone to see, and his journey has certainly come a long way.

Wewe took an unconventional route, picking up a basketball for the frst time at 17-years-old. By that age, most athletes are deciding which college to take their talents to, or coming to grips with the fact that their best days are behind them.

But most of all, a lot of people would say it’s too late to start that old, and that it would be time to think realistically. But not Wewe.

Wewe, who grew up in Bristol, England, joked about his motivations for getting on the court so late.

“I heard this myth about this thing called Division I basketball,” Wewe said. “And these Americans get free education and everything to play basketball. I’m like ‘That’s crazy.’”

But his journey is no laughing matter. In fact, it almost didn’t happen at all.

During the 2023-24 season, Wewe decided to take the trip overseas and follow his hoop dreams. But it almost never came to fruition, as he was already enrolled in school in the United Kingdom and knew that if he failed at his dreams, he’d have to start all over and be behind everyone else.

“When they offered me the chance to go to Toronto, (at frst) I declined it. I turned them down,” Wewe said. “But it just kept staying in my mind. If I fail, then I just come back, I’m behind in life pretty much. It just kept on wearing my mind, and I decided to bite the bullet. I said, ‘If I’m gonna go and do this, I’m gonna give everything.’”

And everything he gave. During his time with Toronto Terror Prep, Wewe averaged 11.9 points, 13.9 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game. His performance on the court led to an opportunity to become a Bobcat, where the next chapter of his story is still being written.

Wewe describes himself as an introverted person, but his time at Quinnipiac has helped him to open up and that’s where the content creation starts.

“Coming to the States has been an opportunity for me to try and rebrand myself and try to be more outgoing,” Wewe said. “I’ve always struggled with doing things like that, putting myself online. Even though it’s something I do enjoy, the process of creating and having it out there. But I think I go to a point where my want to do it kind of overshadowed the thoughts of ‘what are people gonna say.’”

Wewe posts all types of content on social media, including this past summer, where he participated in a 30-day challenge. The goal of the challenge was to put on as much weight as possible in preparation for the upcoming season. At the end of the 30 days, it turned out he lost a little bit of

weight instead.

“The fnale for the 30-day challenge, I found it funny, but at the same time, it was kind of frustrating,” Wewe said.

But fun challenges aren’t the only thing Wewe posts about online. The forward has been open about his struggles during his basketball career, something he’s proud to talk about.

During mental health awareness month this year, Wewe posted a video to Instagram featuring several Quinnipiac students with an audio playing, talking about the silent mental battles many have to go through on their own.

For Wewe, it’s important to him to balance dealing with the physical tolls of being an athlete with the mental side that may go unnoticed sometimes.

“I think the mental side is very important.You can forget about it sometimes, especially if things

are going well, and then it kind of just sneaks up on you,” Wewe said. “For me that manifested in different ways. I just think it’s not spoken about enough, I think it’s important to bring awareness to that, whether you’re an athlete or not.”

Everyone has a different story, and as it turns out, Wewe isn’t the only player on the men’s basketball team who posts their basketball journey online.

Junior forward Akintola “AK” Akinniyi has been posting videos on social media for the past two years; his reason for posting ties back to his family history in Nigeria.

“Being a son of Nigerian immigrants, people from overseas, especially Nigerians will see my page. Kids in Nigeria will be like, ‘Oh I want to play basketball in America, how’d you do it?’ Just kids like me, trying to get into it,” Akinniyi said. “So whenever I saw that that interest was there, I fgured I should feed the audience, I should let people in on my journey. I should let people know what fuels me, let people know about my face, let people know about what I’m doing outside of court, and just, like, what makes me, me.”

But AK couldn’t do it alone. Akinniyi jokingly said he couldn’t say it to his face, but it was actually Wewe’s videos that inspired him to start posting.

“Honestly, they inspired me to start my own web series of AK tries,” Akinniyi said. “Seeing how he was really just marketing himself really inspired me to want to take the next step as well. He makes great content, he fnds a great balance and it’s something that I’ve picked his ear about. I talked to him about it, and he’s somebody that I honestly see as a guided mentor whenever it comes to this content creation.”

Both Wewe and Akinniyi show that there’s more to being a basketball player than just basketball.

Everybody has their own journey, their own successes and struggles and their own story. Wewe’s online video series shows how important it is to express yourself and prove you can have a little fun while doing so.

Sophomore forward Spence Wewe and junior forward Akintola Akinniyi with freshman forward Sam Nosakare during practice.

COURTESY OF SPENCE WEWE

By MICHAEL PETITTO Associate Sports Editor