Friday, November 3, 2023 Print Edition

The

TANGERINE

VOL. LXXVIl, ISSUE 5

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2023

UTICATANGERINE.COM

Changes Made to Bias Response Network

What’s next for the sub shop?

Gallery: Editor’s Top Picks

NEWS | PG. 5

FEATURES | PG. 13

SPORTS| PG. 15

Flex Work Program officially installed after year-long trial run ◊ MICKALE THOMPSON EDITOR-IN-CHIEF When Utica University announced the Flex Work Program in October 2022, it initiated a yearlong trial run phase that began on January 1, 2023. On Oct. 11, ten months into the trial, the university permanently installed the program that reduces the hours of full-time faculty members from 37.5 to 32 hours.

Christopher Specht, president of the Professional Staff Advisory Council (PSAC) who oversees the Executive Committee that collectively reviews and approves the work and proposals of the Initiatives and Nominating Committees, said though the idea was not proposed the committee it worked with the human resources department to formulate ideas and suggestions.

“We attempted to (over-)analyze every nuance we could think of,” Specht said. (From) time variances (to) when a week includes a holiday, handling open office hours during peak

The Utica University flag hangs on a pole in front of the Frank E. Gannett library. // Photo: Tangerine Photo File

periods like the start and end of the semester, and flexing around student events.”

After the pandemic and with talks of a four-day work week circulating professionally and in higher education, faculty were searching for a morale boost through a more flexing worklife balance. The Flex Work program, Specht said, was a “goodhearted” proposal by the university’s leadership.

“The intent is that there is no rigid formula for how this works,” Specht said. “There is an inherent morale boost that comes along with your employer allowing you to enjoy a little more time in the morning, take off at the end of the day to run errands, or work a little longer for four days to enjoy the fifth day off every week.”

The various offices and departments were encouraged to sort out a flexible arrangement

that worked best for their collective teams, Specht said. With that came positives such as offices reevaluating how to maintain coverages, shuffle office hours, cross-training staff and promoting interoffice collaboration.

However, at times there were difficulties with groups finding coverage due to limited personnel, according to Vice President of Human Resources and Professional Development Lisa Green.

“One of the biggest things that we heard is that department heads… have reported ‘I’m having a hard time availing myself of Flex (Work),’ ’’ Green said.

In keeping with the ordinance of making sure that the needs of students and the community are still met and ensuring faculty continue to work at a 40-hour work week level, the concept of “self-managed teams” was a crucial piece in the alternative work

CON. ON PAGE 4

PAGE 2

STAFF

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2023

Fall 2023 STAFF

@UticaTangerine @Utica_Tangerine @Utica_Tangerine

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Editor-In-Chief - Mickale Thompson Managing Editor - Diana Sidorevich Layout Editor - Chakradhar Palli News Editor - Selma Dizdarevic Features Editor - Charlie Buckley Online Editor - Emma Goodspeed Multimedia Editor - Kayleigh Sturtevant Special Assigments - Kayden Lamphere Sports Reporter - Nick Phillips Enterprise Reporter - Mariami Kentchadze Staff Photographer - Luke Reed Circulation Manager - Juan Garcia Circulation Manager - Michael Campbell Adviser - Mary Christopher

About The Tangerine is published biweekly during the academic year by and for Utica University students. To reach a member of the staff, email tanger@utica.edu or call 315-792-3065. All material printed in The Tangerine is copyrighted. The Tangerine was first published as the Utica College News on Nov. 6, 1946.

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NEWS

PAGE 3 FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2023

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Campus Safety Blotter

Date Of Incident Time Of Incident

Short Description

Building

10/20/2023

11:20 PM

Suspicion of Marijuana

North Hall

10/20/2023

11:58 AM

Noise Violation

North Hall

10/21/2023

1:15 AM

Noise Violation

North Hall

10/21/2023

4:55 PM

Suspicious Person

Ralph F. Strebel Student Center

10/21/2023

6:55 PM

Suspicion of Marijuana

South Hall

10/22/2023

1:28 AM

Suspicious Activity

North Hall

10/22/2023

1:36 AM

Noise Violation

North Hall

10/22/2023

5:00 PM

Fire Alarm

Pioneer Village

10/23/2023

8:00 AM

Alcohol Violation

Bell Hall

10/23/2023

12:30 PM

Harassment

Ralph F. Strebel Student Center

10/24/2023

5:50 PM

Odor of Marijuana

South Hall

10/24/2023

3:00 PM

Marijuana Violation

Alumni Hall

10/24/2023

4:00 PM

Marijuana Violation

Alumni Hall

10/24/2023

5:00 PM

Marijuana Paraphernalia

Alumni Hall

10/24/2023

5:30 PM

Alcohol Violation

Alumni Hall

10/24/2023

12:00 PM

Alcohol Violation

Boehlert Hall

10/25/2023

12:10 AM

Marijuana Violation

South Hall

10/25/2023

3:30 PM

Alcohol Violation

Boehlert Hall

10/26/2023

8:00 AM

Vehicle Traffic Violations

Roadway

10/26/2023

5:25 PM

Odor of Marijuana

North Hall

10/26/2023

10:40 PM

Odor of Marijuana

Alumni Hall

10/26/2023

11:04 PM

Noise Violation

North Hall

10/27/2023

5:48 PM

Fire Alarm

Bell Hall

10/29/2023

1:32 AM

Noise Violation

North Hall

10/29/2023

2:17 AM

Alcohol Violation

South Hall

10/29/2023

1:35 AM

Alcohol Violation

North Hall

10/29/2023

2:20 AM

Noise Violation

South Hall

10/29/2023

10:00 PM

Odor of Marijuana

South Hall

10/29/2023

11:55 PM

Fire Alarm

Boehlert Hall

10/30/2023

11:45 PM

Fire Safety Violations

North Hall

10/30/2023

11:55 AM

Fire Safety Violations

North Hall

10/30/2023

5:25 PM

Medical Assist

Pioneer Village

10/31/2023

11:11 AM

Medical Assist

North Hall

PAGE 4

NEWS

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2023

schedule that the program provided,” Green said.

“Rather than saying, every department in this institution (and) every single person here work 8-5 and nothing in between — no difference no variance what we’re saying by doing this is: we trust you — department head and your team to look at the landscape of all the work you have to complete and within your team come up with a way to make the schedule work,” she said.

To make the program an easier transition Green said the time system faculty use to track their work hours with a new category titled “flex hours” was added so individuals could log their times and see who’s flexing their hours and who’s not. In addition to that, last spring Green met with each department head to gain insight into what was working and

what wasn’t.

“I think people have appreciated, ‘I’m an adult, my team is full of adults, we have a department head — allows us to sit down and figure out how to make this work,’ ’’ Green said.

“So that students and the people we serve — each other even don’t suffer.”

According to Specht, the intent behind the Flex Work program was to permanently install it from its initial inception and that adjustments stemmed from a proactive approach “to do the right thing at the right time” rather than by data.

“Fostering a workplace where employee mental health and well-being are core values only leads to a more positive and proactive work environment for everyone,” he said. “The benefits of a positive workforce

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impact everything from daily productivity to employee retention and engagement, to selfmotivation and personal growth.”

Though minimal feedback from faculty and students was provided to human resources directly Green said another review will take place in the winter along with initial follow-ups if needed.

But productivity-wise, Green said the creativity amongst departments has increased.

“People like this and they don’t want it to go away,” Green said. “So you’ll do whatever it takes to maintain your level of service.”

According to Specht, continuous thought was put into process despite transitions in membership taking place with PSAC. However, though the program is official the

committee will continue to work with human resources to address what efficiencies may exist in the future along with encouraging department feedback from directors to guide strategies and optimizations to ensure constructive criticism was met with constructive solutions.

“This sense of pride in one’s own work, and flexibility to pitch in will only increase the notion that Utica University students, faculty and staff truly are a family,” Specht said.

“The cascading effects of that level of pride are as immeasurable as the value of time. The sense of belonging, willingness to do your best and be your best, will allow our students to have the best experience possible and bring this community closer together.”

CON. FROM PAGE 1

MVHS St. Luke’s campus officially closes - The Wynn Hospital opened in downtown Utica on Sunday, Oct. 29, closing the Mohawk Valley Health System’s St. Elizabeth and St. Luke’s campuses. Ambulances started lining up in front of St. Luke’s, located across the street from Utica University’s Champlin Avenue entrance, at 7 a.m. on Oct. 29 and began transporting patients to the new hospital. By the end of the day, St. Luke’s was officially closed, according to the MVHS website. The Wynn Hospital is now Utica’s only hospital. The main entrance is located at 111 Hospital Drive and the emergency department entrance is at 404 Columbia Street. // Photo: Tangerine Staff

NEWS

PAGE 5 FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2023

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Changes to Bias Response and Referral Network allow for greater efficiency ◊ SELMA DIZDAREVIC NEWS EDITOR The Bias Response and Referral Network (BRRN) at Utica University is a continually evolving resource that provides students, faculty and staff the opportunity to report conflicts and incidents related to bias, including but not limited to discrimination, graffiti or vandalism, harassment and microaggressions.

The BRRN team is composed of several staff members who convene regularly to review reports, communicate with complainants and collaborate with other departments on campus to investigate and resolve cases. Recently adjustments have been made to the network to improve the quality of communication and responses while upholding its overarching mission: to cultivate an inclusive and supportive campus community.

“Since the BRRN was formed, we have continually assessed and evaluated with the hopes of refining the process,” Vice President for Marketing and Communications and BRRN member Kelly Adams said. “We regularly assess whether we are achieving the broader purpose and we’ve regularly made refinements.”

Members of the BRRN themselves do not investigate or impose disciplinary action when incidents are reported.

After the initial reporting

and review, the network works with other offices such as Campus Safety and Human Resources where further responses and actions are taken.

“One area of focus that we’ve looked at is asking the question of how this network and its processes fit within other processes within the institution,” Adams said. “For instance, how does this fit in with our student conduct processes, employee conduct processes, [and] title IX processes.

[It’s] ensuring that our procedures support those other processes and don’t create any redundancy.”

In addition to reviewing the internal processes of the network, the BRRN team also assesses what types of incidents occur more frequently on campus.

“Our group also regularly monitors patterns of incidents on campus so that we can provide recommendations for leadership [and] continual improvement,” Adams said. “Sometimes that can be in the form of training programs.”

All of these efforts, according to Adams, function to support the values of inclusiveness and belonging within the BRRN and the institution.

“We want to provide a place where any member of our community student, faculty member, staff member, visitor [or] anyone who has been impacted by a biasrelated incident whether they’ve been the victim whether they’ve

Students and faculy walking along a pathway. // Photo: Tangerine Photo File

experienced it as an observer or a witness, we want to give people a place where they can be heard and supported,” he said.

Vice President of Emergency Management Shad Crowe, also a member of the BRRN team, said one adjustment to the network has been ensuring that responses to reports are fluid and timely, providing a resource that is “as efficient and as responsive as [it] should be.”

When a report is submitted through the university’s BRRN website, which can be done anonymously, an immediate notification is sent out to all involved parties, including the complainant and BRRN members.

“It’s really become a lot easier for us to glean the information that we need right out of the gate,” Crowe said. “We can start responding [sooner].”

Dr. Anthony Baird, vice president for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and student transitions, also a BRRN member describes it as a “support and

response space.”

According to Baird, the processes, goals and objectives of the network are continually assessed and evaluated due to the weight and importance of the work.

“It’s a system and a process that really has implications in the lives of the members of this community, faculty, staff and students alike,” he said. “We come together to belong or coexist and to dwell, [and] there are instances of disruption, missteps [and] mishaps based on ignorance.”

Ignorance, Baird said, can be a “lack of knowledge [or] a lack of understanding for each other or where we come from.”

While the BRRN exists as a platform where voices can be heard and injustices can be addressed, there is a concern that the network may be used haphazardly, causing a detrimental effect to the purpose and goals.

“Our greatest concern is that this process is not weaponized,” Baird said.

PAGE 6

NEWS

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2023

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Utica University holds Annual Fall Unity Walk ◊ KAYDEN LAMPHERE SPECIAL ASSIGMENTS REPORTER

Utica University held its annual Unity Walk on Oct. 25, with this year’s theme being “Choose Kindness.”

Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Dr. Anthony Baird played a major role in selecting and building this year’s message.

“We needed to find a message that would resonate with the community,” Baird said.

“It’s one thing to choose kindness, it’s another to spread kindness.

Choosing kindness, spreading kindness, that should be the mantra that we as pioneers uphold.”

According to Baird, the Unity Walk is a way for the campus community to consider and show support for the ongoing movement towards equity in the world.

“With what we hear about in the news, everything that is going on in the world,” Baird said. “There is always an eminent issue to rally around and push against for change.

Utica University, being intentional about this symbolic representation against those atrocities, says something about our visioning, our space and our mindset.”

Junior Briana Ajay participated in the event as a representative of the Kappa Delta Phi Nas

Participants of the Unity Walk marching from Duffy Plaza to the pathway leading up the Strebel. // Photo: Kayleigh Sturtevant

sorority.

“I walked with my sisters,” Ajay said. “We’re not just representing Kappa.

We’re representing LGBT rights, Black Lives Matter and women who can’t speak for themselves.”

Third-year psychology major Ash Tavarez, who also participated in the walk, said the event brings everyone at Utica together.

“It’s a way for the campus to show how inclusive and truly belonging we all are,” Tavarez said. “All of the sports teams, clubs, and

organizations come out.

Seeing all of these faces coming together for one cause is nice.”

According to Baird, the university is looking to make the Unity Walk a cross-campus event, timing the walk to occur at the same time as other university campuses.

“I’m happy to report that our St. Petersburg campus got their banner,” Baird said.

“They lined up and walked while we were walking. In the future, we want to connect all of the extended spaces, and this year we were

successful with one. It shows that diversity here is diversity everywhere.”

As for the future of the event, Baird wants to transform the Unity Walk into a rallying event, getting students even more involved in displaying togetherness.

“To me, it’s about making connections and building community,” Baird said. “We want to create a pathway for people on the outside, so you can see yourself here because you have been here, you have been a part of what we are a part of.”

NEWS

PAGE 7 FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2023

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Utica faculty tours Sovena aimed potential partnership terms of instrumentation here. So our students have familiarity with software, putting together samples and what it takes to do so,” Thomas said. “ It makes them adaptable, as even if they may not have used a specific instrument before, they have the problem-solving skills to work with it.”

Members of the group that toured Sovena sitting around a table. // Photo courtesy of Dr. Alyssa Thomas

◊ KAYDEN LAMPHERE SPECIAL ASSIGMENTS REPORTER Several Utica University staff members toured the Sovena olive oil facility in August, in hopes of establishing a potential internship partnership with the company based in Rome.

Dean of Natural Sciences and Mathematics Sharon Wise, who was one of the faculty members on the tour, said the company gave them an overview of operations and they were able to connect with Utica University alumni who work at Sovena.

“They sat down and talked about what they do, how big they are, what they produce,” Wise said.

“They gave us an olive oil tasting demonstration, too, along with a full tour of the factory.”

According to Wise, the tour ended with the group entering the laboratory,

where they saw the process of quality control headed by three scientists all of whom are Utica University graduates.

Alyssa Thomas, another attendee and cochair of the Chemistry Department, said the presentation was comforting to her as a former professor of the scientists.

“Students can be nervous in the power dynamic of professor and student,” Thomas said. “So it was really great to hear them talk about their day-today operations, show us the lab, talk about the instruments. They were the ones taking ownership of their field and showing us how things worked.”

According to Thomas, the former students were primed for success within their positions at Sovena due to their knowledge of the equipment.

“We are really heavy in

Isabella Lewis, a quality laboratory technician at Sovena, is one of the alumni. She said the tour served as a way to show off her success to her professors postgraduation.

“The tour with [Utica University] employees was a nice opportunity to show past professors and other school personnel what we alumni are doing out in an industry job,” Lewis said.

“It’s not something that I’ve experienced often so far in my time here, but I would love to continue to be able to do that.”

Lewis said her education at Utica was vital to her being in the position she’s in now not just due to getting a degree but because of the experience she gained from her classes.

“My professors provided me with knowledge about safe laboratory practices, and overall, how to work in a laboratory environment,” Lewis said.

“Of course, there are a handful of things that I had to learn on the job rather than at school, but my chemistry professors gave me the tools necessary to be able to easily pick up that information once I

got here.”

Aleha Malorzo, another Utica University alumni and quality analyst at Sovena, recalled her time doing lab work in college.

“A lot of our techniques that we do daily are techniques we learned in organic chemistry lab,” Malorzo said. “For example, if we’re looking for our cholesterol levels in a specific oil, we have a specific technique that will help us take out the cholesterol level in oil. We then use gas chromatography to determine what the cholesterol is.”

Kelsea Bates, the third alumni and quality control scientist, said working for Sovena has been a learning experience.

“I have been able to learn so much about oils as well as further my chemistry and instrumental learning while working here,” Bates said. “The company and all the people we work with are also great and make the experience fun.”

Bates, along with the other Utica graduates, recently presented to a Utica University chemistry senior seminar class and analytical laboratory class, aimed at heightening students’ interest in the sciences.

“We wanted to make connections with the UU students and be able to answer any questions they might have about what it is like to get an industry job after graduation,”

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NEWS

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2023

CON. FROM PAGE 7 Bates said.

As for the potential partnership building between Utica and Sovena, Kaliea Murray, director of the Center of Career Readiness, said faculty discussed how Utica could build a “proper” internship pipeline with Sovena.

“We would work with their human resources department,” Murray said.

“We’d get the word out [to Utica University students] about job opportunities,

whether it’s to shadow for a day or a full-blown internship.”

Alexis Racioppa, career coach for students majoring in arts, sciences, and education, said Sovena proposed sending samples to Utica University as one way the company could interact with students.

“That way, students could perform some of the handson testing for them, and gain practice in their field that they wouldn’t have otherwise,” Racioppa said.

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Regardless of the form the partnership takes, Sovena wants to have a healthy and collaborative relationship with Utica University students, according to Malorzo.

“I think one thing I’m personally looking to build is a great and comfortable relationship with chemistry students, as well as an ongoing relationship with the faculty,” Malorzo said.

“I think being able to have ongoing communication with each other is super important, especially because we are all

chemists and it is nice to keep in touch about new regulations and research!”

As the partnership continues to develop Lewis wants to make sure that students now in the position she was not too long ago know that success is possible.

“I was nervous about having to work in the ‘real world’ after school,” Lewis said. “Just know that you will end up where you have to be, and you will be successful in whatever you do as long as you work hard to get there.”

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FEATURES

PAGE 9 FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2023

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Utica alumnus pioneers food ordering app ‘Chula’ ◊ DIANA SIDOREVICH MANANGING EDITOR Originally from Nepal, Ujjwal and Grace Rai sought refuge in the United States and then settled in Utica. And since 2020, they’ve been sowing into the community.

Everyone has their own way of belonging in Utica, Ujjwal said, “But for me and my wife, this is a place we came to and a place where we feel welcome and we feel home. I want to make sure to do everything to better the community. That’s a place of gratitude and pride I come from.”

The couple opened Muju International as an online grocery store during the

COVID-19 pandemic. A year later, they opened the doors of their brickand-mortar shop at 1026 Champlain Ave. In July 2022, they opened a kitchen that serves fresh Nepalese and Indian food like momos, butter chicken and Nepali chowmein, all receiving rave reviews on Google.

Now they’re working on becoming a marketplace where vendors can sell their food products.

A Utica University alumnus and current student at the Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Ujjwal is on a mission to direct money away from chain restaurants and tech

giants like DoorDash and Grubhub to the local economy with an app called “Chula” he cofounded with developer Aayushi Batra.

Chula is a cook-toconsumer platform where cooks and farmers list meals they make and produce they’re selling directly on the app. From there, users can input their zip codes to order homemade meals or produce boxes in their area.

According to Ujjwal, the economic market was already there because everyone has someone in their circle of family or friends they call to make a specific meal for a party — they just need a platform to sell it. Starting in the restaurant business is impractical for some because overhead costs are a problem, he said.

“It’s like purposely, these policies are made to deter people from coming into the business,” Ujjwal said.

The app allows aspiring cooks to sell meals without facing the costs of opening a restaurant and also serves as a way to keep local money in the community. Apps like DoorDash charge almost 25-30% commission from restaurant owners per order, eliminating a lot of local money, he said.

Ujjwal Rai moved to Utica from Nepal in 2014.

// Photo courtesy of Ujjwal Rai

Muju is not a commission tree, Ujjwal said, as it does not claim percentages from cooks and farmers who sell their goods on Chula. He’s making the app free to benefit users and vendors in the community. He hopes the

app will spread from Utica to other cities in New York State.

“I want it to go out into Syracuse and Ithaca and say, this came from Utica, instead of saying a big company or restaurant is coming to us and taking our pride,” he said.

Ujjwal said the user’s dollar provides more value to the local cook or farmer than spending the same amount on delivery apps. Once a user has entered their zip code, people who are cooking in the area pop up and the user can select their profile to see what they’re offering and whether the meal is listed for pick-up, meet-up or delivery.

Inzi Shaik, a 29-year-old software engineer, was one of five cooks offering meals during Chula’s pilot testing.

“I’m glad I have a chance to be the first,” Shaik said. “I see the future for the Chula app now.”

For his first dish, Shaik made goat curry and said he’s figuring out what sells among diverse customers in Utica. Cooking is a passion for Shaik and he doesn’t have the money to set up an industrial kitchen and store. He looks forward to offering more Indian dishes on the app.

Cuisines during the pilot week included Indian, Puerto Rican, Nepalese, Jamaican and Dominican food.

CON. ON PAGE 10

NEWS

PAGE 10 FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2023 CON. FROM PAGE 9 “We want to be part of something that has value,” Ujjwal said.

“Buying from McDonalds doesn’t have a shared responsibility and community. We need to contribute to the community, for everyone to contribute for the community to be sustainable…it builds the community and brings a sense of pride. We’re

creating value sustainable.”

that’s

The pilot project was launched on Oct. 17, and six people beta-tested the app with the official version set to launch at the end of November.

However, in the current version, payments were in dollars, but in the latest update, dollars are converted into points which merchants can then reconvert into

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dollars as an incentive to keep users coming back to the app. The app is altruistic, Ujjwal said, so users will be able to read the bios of the cooks to learn why they are cooking and what they’re raising money for.

Besides trying to boost the community’s economy and reclaim its local food sovereignty, Ujjwal hopes Chula will

reduce the carbon footprint as a result of consumers buying local produce rather than produce traveling in trucks throughout the country to reach Utica.

Ujjwal added: “The solution to all of these problems is bringing these three stakeholders on the same platform.”

Awe-inspiring wildlife in Costa Rica’s Manuel Antonio National Park ◊ BREANNAN O’HARA GUEST WRITER

One of the main reasons I choose to study abroad in Costa Rica is because of its remarkable biodiversity.

Although this country covers very little landmass, it is home to a vast range of animal species each with its own uniqueness. From vibrant toucans, agile jaguars, mischievous monkeys, to prehistoric-like reptiles, it is an animal-behavior students dream.

Since conservation and preservation efforts have been made a national priortiy, the diverse ecosystems that hold these species can thrive, making it one of the countries with the highest biodiversity in the world.

Last weekend, I visited Manuel Antonio National Park, one of Costa Rica’s protected areas in which the land’s natural beauty is preserved and kept safe from exploitation. It is known to be a hotspot for wildlife viewing

because it holds a wide variety of habitats such as dense tropical rainforest, mangroves and remote marine environments. A wide array of species, many listed as endangered, coexist and flourish together in this beautiful park.

Being accustomed to seeing squirrels and crows back home, the thought of seeing these species in their natural habitat was truly a sight. The animals here bring a burst of color, captivating noises and unique behaviors that are exotic compared to the ones at home. It is bizarre to think that these animals are a part of locals’ everyday life.

I was able to observe animals in all layers of the rainforest.

There were sloths, iguanas, and macaws in the canopy. The forest floor was occupied by boa constrictors, agouti, land crabs and coati. Moving

Humming bird sits on Bird of Paradise plant.

// Photo: Breannan O’Hara

swiftly in the understory were anoles, geckoes and hummingbirds. The animals that intrigued me the most were the different species of monkeys.

In the beginning of my hike, I began to hear high-pitched chirps echoing throughout the forest. At first I put no thought towards it thinking it was a bird

singing. As I was looking throughout the treetops I caught a glimpse of a group of monkeys leaping freely around in the trees.

After observing for a few minutes, I couldn’t get a clear view but when I turned around, I CON. ON PAGE 11

NEWS

PAGE 11 FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2023 saw a squirrel monkey on an open branch in front of me. It was adorable with a small head in comparison to the body and a light brown coat.

It walked across the trees majestically, using its four feet and long tail for balance. I finally saw my first monkey in the wild.

Making my way farther in I saw a group of

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commonly known capuchin monkeys jumping around playfully. They had a silky white and black coat and human-like face features. I always saw them in movies but here I was within arms reach of these intelligent animals.

swung from branch to branch trying to snag food from peoples hands and brawl with each other, causing a ruckus in the quiet forest.

It was fascinating to see their curiosity and comfort among human presence.

It was a show to watch this group behave mischievously.

They

I was in awe of each animal’s beauty and uniqueness.

Being

among them gave me a new insight towards my future career field and the animal behavior major as a whole.

Breannan O’Hara is a junior majoring in animal behavior with a minor concentration in journalism. She is studying in Costa Rica for the Fall 2023 semester.

A Capuchin monkey on top of a roof. // Photo: Breannan O’Hara

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Go ‘Into the Woods’ with Utica’s Theatre Department next week ◊ ADAM LIEBERS CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Utica University’s Theatre Department will present “Into the Woods” as the fall semester musical from Nov. 9 - 12 in Strebel Auditorium. The show was written by James Lapine with music and lyrics by the late Stephen Sondheim.

“Into the Woods” was nominated for 10 Tony Awards and won three during its original Broadway production run in 1987.

The story intertwines plots from some famous Brothers Grimm fairy tales including “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Jack and the Beanstalk,” “Cinderella” and more. It involves a childless baker and his wife who go on a quest to start a family.

Dennis Clark is the show’s director and previously directed

“Company” and “I Love You Because” at Utica University. Many of the actors said they enjoyed working with him and looked like they were having a great time while performing.

In a recent rehearsal, there was constant movement in the theater. Clark said he strives to make a good scene even better and takes pages of notes when the actors run through a show to share and review with the actors later. He allows his actors creative freedom to figure out who their characters are, he said.

“Come in with whatever you want to do and I’ll steer it and I see what they come to the table with,” Clark said. “If they seem to be reticent and not really stepping forward with anything, I’ll try to outline it a little bit

for them and see what they come up with.”

Many of the “Into the Woods” cast members are not Utica students.

Some are from local elementary and high schools and a few are community members.

Sauquoit Valley High School senior Evie Flynn will play Rapunzel in her first Utica University show.

“It was super shocking and interesting with the whole auditioning and getting casted,” Flynn said. “It’s been a lot of memorization and getting to know everybody and it has been a really good experience.”

Utica University senior Derek Corsner will portray The Mysterious Man. He has been in many of the university’s productions and is familiar with the amount of work that goes into a successful

show.

“It is a very challenging score and act,” Corsner said. “It’s going to take a lot of repetition to get this show finalized and ready for the audience to see.”

The director, musical director, cast and crew have put a lot of time into the show to ensure it goes perfectly, including long rehearsals five nights a week. Each of them is dedicated to giving the audience a show to remember.

The showtimes are at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 9, 10 and 11, and 2 p.m. on Nov. 12.

Those interested can buy tickets online on Utica University’s website and at the door. General admission is $15 and $5 for Utica University students, plus online fees.

What’s next for the sub shop in Pioneer Cafe? It’s up to the students ◊ CHARLIE BUCKLEY FEATURES EDITOR

Phyllis and Frank’s Subs which once operated next to Pioneer Cafe has been closed for some time. Pioneer Cafe is one of the main places to get food on campus after the dining hall closes, so it’s one less option students have if they try to buy food on campus after hours.

The sub shop space has served several different food varieties

through the years, such as Subway and Mexican option Tres Habaneros.

Tres Habaneros turned into Phyllis and Frank’s Subs due to low sales and while the sub shop was popular at first, those sales also dwindled and caused its closure.

Dining services General Manager Damian Boehlert said part of the reason for the low sales was that the sub shop was opened during COVID-19.

“Our goal is to reopen the space hopefully very soon,” Boehlert said. “We’re planning to incorporate a lot of student feedback and maybe even run some events to see what students might like.”

Boehlert said one of the biggest ideas is a possible rotating shop, known as a “pop up,” meaning the space would constantly change and offer different food items from time to time.

“We have a food service committee meeting on the last Wednesday of every month and they said they would like to see something change a couple times a semester,” Boehlert said.

While this concept might be possible, it would have to work with the space available as the former sub-shop space is not equipped with typical CON. ON PAGE 14

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kitchen equipment such as stoves, fryers or a hood system to help with smoke and heat during cooking, Boehlert said.

“We want to make sure that we are incorporating students’ ideas into what we reopen the sub shop as,” Boehlert said. “At the end of the day, we want them to play a part since they’re the ones that will utilize it when it’s opened.”

Boehlert said that even with the feedback, it will still take a lot of time to finalize the next food option, the earliest being next year.

“Our main goal was just using this year to get an idea set in stone for next year,” Boehlert said. “This will require lots of preparation, hiring new employees along with training them, and obtaining products and properly advertising them.”

Boehlert said he recived large feedback from students when it came to Tres Habaneros and the sub shop. But though students liked it, they were not flocking to it every day as hoped with most students typically going to those shops once or twice a week.

The other big hurdle with that space is whatever was there was essentially

The former Phyllis and Frank’s sub shop was named after the first two students who registered for Utica back in 1946. // Photo: Tangerine Photo File

competing with Pioneer Cafe.

“Pioneer Cafe is always packed. It’s considered a staple for getting food during late nights,” Boehlert said. “So now we’re taking this time to find out what students want more out of Pioneer Cafe so that we can expand that idea into the open space that was once the sub shop. Think of it as an expansion to Pioneer Cafe instead of a completely separate area.”

Boehlert said some ideas they’ve come up with for possible pop-ups include a panini side to Pioneer

Cafe and possibly an acai bowl section. He encouraged students to reach out to him with any ideas on what to do with the space.

“I absolutely want to hear from students. I’m planning to even hold contests involving the future of the space,” Boehlert said. “Some prizes from winning these contests could be something like four hundred dollars in declining balance.”

Some students have already begun to think of ideas, like having the space being a spot where a meal exchange

program could be set up.

“It would allow students to exchange a meal from their meal plan for a specific set of items which includes pre-packaged meals, snacks, or beverages that can be consumed on the go,” said Connor Cannell, a senior physical education student. “As a result, this program would provide the students the flexibility in their dining options, when it comes to their schedules and not having enough time to go to the dining commons to get food.”

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Editor’s Picks: Photographed by Kayleigh Sturtevant

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Utica Women’s Gymnastics set to compete for the first time as head coach following her appointment last October. She also has owned and operated Valley Gymnastics, a class that teaches girls and boys of all ages and coaches gymnastics at New Hartford High School.

With over four decades of experience Cerminaro is well-known in gymnastics and recruited first-year and transfer studentathletes to join Utica’s gymnastics team.

The gymnastics team practice and competition Leotards. // Photo: Eleanor Berkhoudt ◊ ELEANOR BERKHOUDT CONTRIBUTING WRITER Utica University’s women’s gymnastics team will have its first meet during the upcoming 2024 winter season. The team has been preparing for competition since the institution announced the addition of women’s gymnastics to its athletic offerings last fall.

Over the past year, 17 athletes from across the country have joined the team and have been training at Valley Gymnastics near the Utica campus in preparation to compete this winter.

“I’ve watched them practice and work out a bit, admittedly I don’t know a lot about gymnastics, but I certainly know an athlete when I see one and they are

tremendous athletes,” said Utica University’s Athletic Director Dave Fontaine.

In collegiate gymnastics, schools sometimes compete together at the same meets. However, for this group, their first meet the team will compete against teams such as Oregon State and Southern Connecticut in a televised Division I meet on Jan. 13 at Rutgers University which will be broadcast on ESPN.

Todd, a New Hartford graduate who was coached by Cerminaro while at Valley Gymnastics, is one of the students she recruited. When Utica’s gymnastics team was announced, she came out of retirement and became the first gymnast to commit to the team.

“I couldn’t let myself stop doing the sport that I loved for so long, knowing that I still had one more chance to do it,” Todd said.

Freshman Grace Marra, a Long Island native, has been involved with gymnastics since she was

3 years old and has said she always dreamed about doing college gymnastics. But when the recruiting process became difficult for her she suffered an injury at a state meet during her senior year of high school.

But after the injury, Marra decided to commit to Utica after Cerminaro saw her potential and assured her that her gymnastics career was not over. From there Marra said she knew at that moment she would be happy here.

“I think we all support each other through everything and I feel like we’re a family,” Marra said. “I can call these girls like my sisters.”

The season gets underway in a home meet against Rhode Island College on Feb. 3 in the Clark Athletic Center Gymnasium. The community is welcome to attend and show support for the Utica women’s gymnastics team for the first time.

“I think we’re going to be ready for it,” said graduate student Jensen Todd. “We’re going to be prepared and kind of show D1 that D3 still matters, D3 is still relevant and it’s still growing, so I think that’s important.”

Alumnus Danielle Cerminario leads the team

The portable wall the team will bring to meets. // Photo: Eleanor Berkhoudt