Humans of Hamden: Lauren McGrath


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Photo by Karli Regalbuto

By Karli Regalbuto

Lauren McGrath is a junior journalism major at Quinnipiac University. Her minor is creative writing and she is from Long Island, New York.

Upon first glance, McGrath is on the shorter side and has fair skin. She has medium length curly blonde hair, matched with a big smile and bright blue eyes. Just from that description alone, one may have already created their own version of who they think she is. However, McGrath revealed deeper parts of her personality as she spoke.

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I’m the editor of the Barnacle, which is like the satire newspaper on campus,” she said. “I really love creative writing and I want to go to into like comedy writing. That’s more ‘creative journalism,’ so I wanted to have that background.

She goes on to explain what she thinks makes her unique.

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I say a lot of stuff that people don’t expect me to say,” McGrath said. “I’m like a small little blonde girl and then I think people are surprised when I curse or make crude jokes and stuff, which is like one of my favorite things to do.

When asked about the world and what has surprised her, Lauren responded candidly about her feelings on the President.

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Surprised about?” she said. “‘Sad about’ is a better (term). Just basically the state of America and the world and I hate Donald Trump with every fiber of my being, and his supporters, which is terrible to say, but like the people that are like die-hard supporters that are like sexist, racist (and) I just can’t understand or agree with.

Connecting to some of the major stories affecting the area and the country, McGrath had a lot to say about the hurricanes as well.

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Oh, it’s so sad,” she said. “And I think another thing that is really sad is that I heard a lot of people, I don’t remember which hurricane it was, it was either Irma or Harvey, it hit Cuba instead of Florida and everyone was like ‘Oh thank god it hit Cuba’ and I was like ‘there are still people in Cuba.’ Like, you should still be sad about that. It’s really terrible and I feel like Mother Nature is kind of coming back and being like ‘f**** you guys’ because we’ve made so many problems in the world.

The last topic that Lauren touched upon was the paving in Hamden. She voiced her concern about the decision to pave right around when students began moving back to campus.

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Why would they wait until we came back to school?” she said. “Like, why would they not do it as soon as we left, it just didn’t make any…it’s just f***ing Quinnipiac…like they always do everything in the worst possible way. It’s good they’re paving the roads, but they just have to do it in the worst way possible, because that’s how Quinnipiac works.

This is a part of who Lauren McGrath is, a short, outspoken girl from Long Island. She is a human of Hamden and Quinnipiac.

 

Humans of Hamden: Phil Carola


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Photo by Karli Regalbuto

By Karli Regalbuto

Phil Carola is one of the maintenance supervisors at Quinnipiac University. He is 75 years old with a lot of life experience.

He is short to average height with olive skin, with some noticeable wrinkles on his face and his hands. The hair on his head is grey and his smile is more of a straight line. His eyes appear slightly opened. The interview gave a little insight into his life.

When asked what he was looking forward to in life, Carola responded with a bit of humor.

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What am I looking forward to?” he said. “I’m going to be 75 this summer and I plan on getting out, retiring.

Carola also made a bit of a joke about the hurricanes, Jose and Maria, that are approaching the United States.

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As far as the hurricanes, I hope Jose goes out to sea, we don’t want him here,” Carola said. “Then we got Maria right behind him and right now that looks like it may hit us (too). It may not, but I think we are prepared because we do have a preparedness team here.

He switched gears and began talking more about his personal life and not so much what is happening in the world. Carola went on to talk about his work and his family.

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I’m into my 23rd year,” Carola said. “(In) my first job I had…back when corporate America was getting bought out by a lot of other companies, I lost my job of 28 years. And then I was lucky enough to get in here to Quinnipiac. Started as a night custodian, worked my way up to a day custodian, worked my way to a supervisor. And that’s where I’m at right now. I’ve got a wife. I’ve got two daughters. I’ve got three granddaughters, which two of them are here right now, freshman and a junior.

This is a small look into the life of Phil Carola, the 75-year-old supervisor, father and grandfather. He is a human of Hamden and Quinnipiac.

Humans of Hamden: Kathy Ross


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Photo by Shauna Golden

By Karli Regalbuto

Kathy Ross is a retired nurse from North Haven, Connecticut. She is a mother of six middle-aged children: four sons and two daughters.

She is an older woman and has noticeable wrinkles on her face and hands. Her hair is a shade of white and her skin is fair. Ross wears glasses and has light blue eyes. One may create their own idea of who Ross is just by looking at her. However, the conversation dove deeper into the life of Kathy Ross.

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I’m still working, part time, at Health Tracks and I exercise 6 days a week,” Ross said. “I love to swim. I grew up in Wilson, Connecticut, a very small town. And I trained in New York City at St. Vincent’s Hospital. And then when I was forty-ish, I decided I wanted to go back to school, so I went to the University of Hartford and got my undergraduate degree in psychology and then went to UConn and got a degree in adult education. Because I love education. I did most of my career in hospital infection control, St. James’ for 20 years and then I retired from the VA in 2003.

When asked about what she considered to be her unique quality, Ross said her naturally curly hair. She followed up by saying, “I don’t know…I think I have a pretty good sense of humor. So yeah, I like people, I like what I do, and I have a very good life.”

Kathy briefly touched upon issues such as the hurricanes. She recalled the hurricanes during ‘her day’ by saying they were fun.

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What did I have to do?” she said. “Nothing. I was all taken care of and, you know, it was kind of scary, but I was very secure. Oh, I knew hurricanes when I was a girl, let me tell you.

She not only viewed the hurricanes in a positive light, but she also looked at the roads being paved in Hamden as a positive.

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It’s annoyed me…but in a good way,” she said. “It’s progress, it’s good. We get so used to having our own way and just being able to go where we want to go.

Ross, the retired nurse, the mother of six and the positive woman. She is a human of Hamden.

President Trump visits the United Nations

By Owen Kingsley

President Donald Trump made his first appearance at the UN in the morning on Sept. 19 when he gave a speech at the General Assembly. Trump laid out his global agenda and commented on many of the major topics he was predicted to.

Highlighted by his comments on North Korea and Kim Jong Un, Trump once again referred to the North Korean Leader as “Rocket man.” A reference to his development of nuclear warheads. Trump continued saying that he would “totally destroy” North Korea if he had to.

The President also gave his opinion on the current state of Iran.

“The Iranian government masks a corrupt dictatorship behind the false guise of a democracy, he said. “It has turned a wealthy country with a rich history and culture into an economically depleted rogue state whose chief exports are violence, bloodshed, and chaos.”

Iran’s foreign minister Javad Zarif took to Twitter in response. “Trump’s ignorant hate speech belongs in medieval times-not the 21st Century UN -unworthy of a reply,” he tweeted. “Fake empathy for Iranians fools no one.”

The President also referred to the Iran nuclear deal that began during the Obama administration as an “embarrassment.”

Trump throughout his speech also made it clear he has an America first attitude. He has the interests and concerns for the U.S. before those of the United Nations or the rest of the world.

Fellow politicians took to Twitter afterward and commented on his speech, California Senator Dianne Feinstein.

“The UN is a venue to promote peace,” he tweeted. “Today, the president used it as a stage to threaten war.”

Louisiana Representative Jeff Fortenberry, however, tweeted, “President Trump’s speech to the UN: clear, strong, principled.”

 

Humans of Hamden: an overview

 

In the world today, people are judged upon first glance. Some people create their own version of a person within the first few seconds of seeing them. However, a face cannot explain the full story; it may provide some context, but does not expose the whole truth.

HQ Press decided to find out more about the people that make up the Hamden and Quinnipiac community. The stories shared go beyond the what is seen and touch upon what is felt. The accounts range from personal stories to opinions on what is currently happening in the world. The people range from a college student from Long Island to a seventy-five-year-old custodial worker. 

These are the humans of Hamden and Quinnipiac.

Humans of Hamden: Sara Bacchiocchi


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Photo by Shauna Golden

By Karli Regalbuto

Sara Bacchiocchi works at a hair salon in Wallingford and at Eli’s on Whitney in Hamden, both towns in Connecticut. She lives in Hamden up the street from Eli’s Restaurant.

She is average height and has olive skin with dark hair and eyes. Bacchiocchi has a big smile on her face. People may have prejudged her, but this conversation goes deeper into who Bacchiocchi is.

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I’ve been here for about, I don’t know, six to eight months,” she said. “I grew up in Wallingford, so I just moved here. I started here, at Eli’s, in, maybe March, so right after I moved to Hamden, I got this as a second job.

Driving to work can be a pain for Bacchiocchi, but she has found a way around the paving projects.

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Oh, yeah. It’s been a complete nuisance coming off the highway, especially over at Route 40,” she said. “I take the Merritt a lot so I kinda avoided all that traffic, but there’s definitely a lot of traffic at night still.

Another issue Bacchiocchi touched upon was the hurricanes. Although she was not personally affected by them, she helped in the relief effort.

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I don’t know anyone off the top of my head (who has been affected),” Bacchiocchi said. “I know one person who lived in Florida but she lives closer to the south of the state so they were not affected by it at all, so that was good. I don’t know anybody in Texas. There was somebody I knew that lived on one of the islands off of Texas, but they’re okay.

She actually helped with the relief through her job at the hair salon.

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We did a fundraiser and sent that money to people affected by Hurricane Harvey,” Sarah said. ”The fundraiser was in (support) of the people (from Texas) salons. (We) gave that money to help them rebuild (the ones) that were all broken down and everything so that they could get their business back.

Sarah is a young woman, who works two jobs and helped the relief effort for Harvey and Irma. She is a human of Hamden.

 

What we are watching this week …

PRESIDENT TRUMP ATTENDS HIS FIRST UNITED NATIONS MEETING

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By Owen Kinglsey

President Donald Trump will attend his first United Nations meeting this Tuesday, since taking office and many are concerned as to how he will interact with other members and what type of impression he will leave. Trump will have the opportunity to meet and talk with many of the world’s most influential politicians and diplomats, many of which will try to create a relationship with who is considered to be one of the most unusual and unconventional world leaders in recent memory.

One of the main points of interest that will be asked of Trump will be about his decisions earlier in the year to withdraw from both the International Agreements of free trade and climate change. Decisions that some are worried may alienate the president from discussions and future agreements with other world leaders.

Other topics and questions for the president will range from his role on global leadership to his tensions and comments regarding North Korea to the uncertainty of what he will do about former President Barack Obama’s nuclear agreement with Iran.  While Trump has received much criticism over his first few months as president, both domestic and foreign, this will be his opportunity to explain and defend his choices and plans as president thus far.

Students to stand up for DREAMers


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By Anna Sackel

QUnited, a club on campus that identifies themselves as a group that is “working to make Quinnipiac a safer and more inclusive campus,” is holding a vigil on Thursday to show support for undocumented citizens at Quinnipiac.

The vigil will happen at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday in front of the Carl Hanson student center. For more information about DACA and what the Quinnipiac community is doing in regards to this issue, check out our story here.

 

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the race to pass a state budget 

By Anna Sackel

The Connecticut General Assembly agreed on new Republican budget for the state. While Democrats control the Connecticut legislature, the Republican produced budget passed in a 77-73 vote early Saturday morning. Governor Dannel Malloy still may veto the budget, which would leave the state lawmakers scrambling to prevent major spending cuts.

Malloy, who is not seeking a third term as governor, said on Friday that he would veto the budget if no amendments were made. The budget that was passed would cause major changes to the department of education, including a cut to the money given to the University of Connecticut.

New whispers of bipartisan negotiations may lead to a new budget being passed, with education being a large part of debates. If no new budget is passed, Malloy should make a decision on whether or not to veto the budget in the coming week.

 

Hamden mayor wants Amazon to consider his town

By Owen Kingsley

Mayor Curt Leng says Hamden could be a strong candidate for a new Amazon headquarters, according to an interview in the Hamden Patch, after the company announced earlier this month its intentions on building new headquarters in North America.

This news has brought a wave of candidate towns and cities coming forward including right here in Connecticut. New Haven, Danbury, Bridgeport and Hartford have already voiced their interests.

In the interview with Hamden Patch, Leng does not hide his excitement.

“I don’t think it’s far-fetched at all,” he said. “In fact I think we can most certainly make a push for it. There are a couple potential parcels that come to mind and we’re beginning to explore them. I’m personally going to try to reach out to their real estate folks at Amazon just to let them know we would talk to them for sure.”

The new headquarters would produce as many as an estimated 50,000 jobs for the surrounding area. This would give a boost to the Connecticut economy after the state has seen the loss of General Electric and Aetna’s Headquarters in recent years to both Boston and New York City respectively.

Leng cited a Yale Daily News article on Facebook last Thursday about the headquarters saying Amazon should consider this Hamden collaboration.

“Hamden and the Greater New Haven area has so much to offer and could be an amazing home for the new Amazon HQ,” he wrote. “Most certainly worth fully exploring what could be a wonderful opportunity for partnership for our region.”

Amazon’s main requirements for a new headquarters location are that they be in an urban or suburban area, within a metropolitan area of at least one million people, according to the New York Times. Hamden would certainly meet all of those requirements being a Suburban town with Union Station next door in New Haven that directly connects to New York City.

Hamden would join Seattle, Washington as the only other Amazon Headquarters in North America.

President Trump to make his first United Nations appearance Tuesday

By Owen Kingsley

President Donald Trump will attend his first United Nations meeting this Tuesday, since taking office, and many are concerned as to how he will interact with other members and what type of impression he will leave. Trump will have the opportunity to meet and talk with many of the world’s most influential politicians and diplomats, many of which will try to create a relationship with who is considered to be one of the most unusual and unconventional world leaders in recent memory.

One of the main points of interest that will be asked of Trump will be about his decisions earlier in the year to withdraw from both the international agreements of free trade and climate change. Decisions that some are worried may alienate the president from discussions and future agreements with other world leaders.

Other topics and questions for the president will range from his role on global leadership to his tensions and comments regarding North Korea to the uncertainty of what he will do about former President Barack Obama’s nuclear agreement with Iran.  While Trump has received much criticism over his first few months as president, both domestic and foreign, this will be his opportunity to explain and defend his choices and plans as president thus far.

 

President Trump ending DACA, thousands affected

By Owen Kingsley

President Donald Trump announced on Sept. 5 the decision to end an Obama-era program known as DACA that protects young undocumented immigrants from deportation.

Obama created and implemented DACA by executive order, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, in June  2012. The purpose of DACA is to provide protection against deportation for eligible youth who immigrated to the United States when they were children. The policy calls for deferred action for undocumented individuals that currently meet certain criteria outlined by the Department of Homeland Security.


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Individuals who meet these criteria can apply for DACA. If approved for the program, DACA provides undocumented immigrants with a work permit and protection from deportation. In other words, undocumented immigrants are not granted citizenship, but they are permitted to work and learn in the United States without fear of deportation.

However, as of last week, the Trump administration formally announced the decision to end the program. According to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, DACA had protected nearly 800,000 young undocumented immigrants across the country. The termination of the program now places pressure on Congress who, according to President Trump, has six months to pass a law to replace DACA.

The end of DACA has stirred up controversy from government officials, U.S. citizens and DREAMers across the nation. Connecticut Governor Malloy expressed his criticism of the termination in a statement featured in an article in the New Haven Register.

“President Trump’s wrong-minded decision to turn back the clock on DACA is completely nonsensical,” Malloy said in the release. “From elementary and secondary education, to post-secondary education, to supports for vibrant, safe communities – we have invested so much into undocumented children who have grown up in America. Denying these youths with access to work opportunities and affordable higher education goes against the very core of who we are.”

Governor Malloy was not the only Connecticut government official to express disappointment regarding the termination of DACA. U.S. Representative Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut also released a statement condemning President Trump’s decision.

“DREAMers have followed the rules, gone through the entire application process, and been approved to stay in our nation,” DeLauro said. “We should not betray them by threatening their ability to learn, work, and live in this country.”

Other members of the Quinnipiac community are standing up for DREAMers, urging Quinnipiac to take a stand against the termination of the program. Junior class president Jack Onofrio wrote an open letter to President Lahey urging him to sign onto the Pomona Statement. A letter signed by over six-hundred University Presidents in support of DACA.

“I just think it’s incredibly important, especially when you look at all of our peer institutes that have already done this that we make the statement,” Onofrio said when asked about the importance of this decision. “Because if we don’t we’re going to go down as that school that was silent, the school that didn’t take a stand, and I really think it’s going to paint us in a bad light in the future.”

Renee Redman, an Immigration Attorney in New Haven, is in absolute disagreement with the President’s decision to end the DACA program.

“I think [his decision] is horrifying,” Redman said. “Not only for humanitarian reasons but also because it just doesn’t seem very logical.”

Redman says that all of the President’s recent decisions are impacting her clients–especially cancelling DACA.

“People are afraid,” Redman said. “They don’t know what’s going to happen and what they have rights to do and what their future holds.”