Mackenzie Campbell

Town vs. gown battle: QU students living in residential neighborhoods test university-Hamden relations

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Quinnipiac University dominates the town of Hamden, Connecticut, and as the students transition into the Quinnipiac community they also transition into Hamden. While Quinnipiac University provides housing for students from freshman year to senior year, many students choose to move off campus into residential areas after finishing their sophomore year.

Friends who met freshman year in residential halls such as Irma, Dana, Mountainview and Troup join larger groups to move into off- campus properties. The students begin to intermingle with the residents of the Hamden community, but sometimes the mix is more like oil and water.

Hamden townie, Michele Veiga, 52, Hamden, signed the petition in hopes to make a change to the town she once knew. “Student housing is an issue that will cause us to leave the home we have loved and living in for over 18 years,” said Veiga. “The town needs to realize and appreciate the long term residents, not the four -year ‘here-today-and-gone-tomorrow’ attitudes of the students that is obvious with student housing.”

“Unkempt properties, disregard for family neighbors, pressure should be put on Quinnipiac to provide and enforce student housing,” said Veiga.

The relationship between Hamden and Quinnipiac University has run hot and cold for years and there is now hope that there is a chance to fix it. As the University plans to build a new dormitory on the York Hill campus, the main focus before this groundbreaking addition is finished is to rehabilitate the sometime sour relationships between Hamden and Quinnipiac students living together in these townie neighborhoods, and it won’t be easy.

Hamden residents such as Tony Pereira have created petitions on change.org in hopes of creating reasonable regulations of student housing in residential neighborhoods.

The goal of the petition is to have 500 residents sign in order to get the attention of Mayor Curt Leng. As of December 12th, 295 residents have signed the petition requesting reasonable regulations for the Town of Hamden.

The regulations that Hamden townies are hoping to pass include imposing strict limitations on the number of permits for student regulations, “A permit will not be provided when the proposed property is within a 1,000 foot radius of an existing student occupied house,” said Pereira. Hamden residents signing the petition want their neighborhoods back and are looking to require stricter rules regarding student activity.

Past Hamden resident Sheila Wallace, Hamden, signed the petition saying, “I was born and raised in Hamden, as a result of Quinnipiac Universities encroachment into Hamden neighborhoods the towns charm has been diminished and Hamden is now negatively unrecognizable,” said Wallace. “I once thought of coming back, no more.”

Tony Pereira updated his statement on Change.org stating, “Thank you everyone for signing, a Quinnipiac person reached out to me, but I’m not getting talked out of this” said Pereira. “We need regulation to protect taxpayers. Keep up the good work and keep sharing and encouraging friends, family and neighbors to sign, share and help make Hamden a town of family neighborhoods again.”

Senior, public relations major Heather McCluskey lived on York Hill during her second semester of junior year after returning from the QU in LA program. She made plans with her closest friends to move off campus into a property that has been passed down over the years to successive members of her sorority, Alpha Chi Omega.

Her house is off of Whitney Ave and is one of two houses, each housing six sorority women, on a single lot. Their relationships with their neighbors on either side couldn’t be more different. To the right side of the house is the landlord’s mother who is said by McCluskey to never to have a problem with the individuals who have lived in the house over the past years. But the same cannot be said of the neighbor to the left of the houses.

Heather McCluskey’s house off of Whitney Ave

“We have a really mean neighbor who loves to call the cops on us,” said McCluskey, 21, of Scituate, Massachusetts. “Sometimes he watches us from his backyard and if we have a few friends over he tries to bust us when we aren’t even doing anything wrong.”

McCluskey said that she and her roommates mind their own business and try not to cause issues with their townie neighbors.

“We had a larger party in the day time and even notified the Hamden police and they gave us the ‘okay’ as long as we were being respectful with the music level and make sure we were not littering,” said McCluskey. “It wasn’t until the party was almost over that the police showed up and they said it was our neighbor who called over 20 times for different complaints,” she added.

Over the past five years there have been over 2,000 “loud party, loud music”calls made to the Hamden Police Department, said the Hamden Police Records Department. Student occupied houses in residential areas such as washington ave, whitney ave, evergreen, and dixwell are among the call list.

Some students such as McCluskey take precautions, such as notifying the police before they have large gatherings or introducing themselves before the school year starts. They have attempted to build relationships.

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McCluskey believes that with communication and stopping yourself from prejudging a person the relationship between Quinnipiac students and Hamden residents could be strengthened.

“I think that there is a negative stigma with Quinnipiac students living in residential neighborhoods because since we are in college everyone thinks that we want to have loud parties and disrupt everyone around us,” said McCluskey. “If you live in a residential neighborhood you have more responsibilities to be courteous to your neighbors, and the second you break the relationship with your neighbors they have the right to not be happy with you.”

Professors who live in Hamden and teach at Quinnipiac experience another kind of conflicted relationship. As professors they are capable of forming deep and lasting relationships with students. Hamden residents can not form these relationships when Quinnipiac students become their neighbors.

Professors such as Kenneth Venit, who teaches first year seminar, know first hand what it is like to form unbreakable relationships with students while at the same time wanting to avoid being their neighbors.

“We had a Quinnipiac house on our block years ago, all coeds, there were lots of parties and loud music,” said Venit. “ Hamden Police Department was familiar with that house.”

While Venit has had conflicts in the past with his student neighbors, his daughters have Quinnipiac students living in their Hamden neighborhoods, said Venit, and they have not experienced any problems.

“I have attended a citizens association and two town planning and zoning meetings where Quinnipiac was the topic, attending as a taxpayer and as a Quinnipiac employee,” said Venit. “There was clear hostility present.”

“Some years back we were looking at houses in Hamden for a possible relocation,” said Venit. “We found a nice ranch but a house occupied by Quinnipiac students was too close for comfort.”

Senior journalism major Kirby Paulson, 21 of Boston, Massachusetts. is also among the thousands of Quinnipiac University students that choose to live off campus their senior year. His relationship with his Hamden neighbors is untarnished.

“Our relationship is seemingly pretty good,” said Paulson. “We don’t really interact too much beyond occasional small talk and waves via passing by, but they seem like good people.”

He believes that living in the Hamden community has prepared him for living in other residential areas after graduation. After leaving the hustle and bustle of campus life he enjoys the calming environment that his Ferguson Road house provides him.

“I actually love living in the neighborhood that were in,” said Paulson. “It’s really quiet and low key, we haven’t had any issues with the neighbors and its nice to be in a place where we feel welcome.”

While other students such as McCluskey struggle to keep a healthy relationship with their neighbors, Paulson believes that you can’t say that the relationship between Hamden and Quinnipiac is completely bad.

“The relationship between students and residents runs on a case-by- case basis,” said Paulson. “Some pairs get along well, maybe others not so much. I’m not sure there’s a cookie cutter mold for that.”

Senior Gianna Vassallo, 21 Monroe, New Jersey, lives in a Aspen Glen an apartment complex in Hamden that is populated by majority Quinnipiac University students.

“I feel like most Hamden residents aren’t fond of Quinnipiac students even though I personally think that we respect Hamden and try no to disturb the peace,” said Vasallo. “In my apartment complex it doesn’t seem that Hamden residents have a problem with living in the same complex as Quinnipiac students.”

Senior Marketing major, Sydney Kenyon, 21, Lynnfield Mass, does not have a relationship with her neighbors.

“They have called the police on us once for being too loud”, said Kenyon. “We just try to make as little of a disturbance as possible.”

“I can see how Hamden residents could get frustrated with college students, especially if they have children,” she said. “ It may be hard to implement but if there was a designated area of Quinnipiac off campus for student housing that could be away from resident houses, things could be different.”

It is clear that Quinnipiac University and the town of Hamden need to become better dance partners. Relations with other universities and the town they reside in have taken time to grow, for example the relations between Penn State and State College.

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In 2017, Bloomberg named State College as the #2 destination to live in the US with the upside of Silicon Valley. Part of easing the struggle between the two meant breaking the tradition of only hearing from one another when something went wrong.

Resident Assistant Abby McCarthy, comes from a college town back in Massachusetts. “At home the relationship between the town of Westfield and Westfield State University is not as bad as the relationship between Hamden and Quinnipiac,” said McCarthy. “I think in general most of the residents are thankful to have the university in our community because it offers so much to the town.”

“There is a lot of collaboration between the two and that cannot be underestimated,” she said. “If Quinnipiac where to focus on more collaboration with the community of Hamden I think relations would change for the better.”

Saying goodbye to a Hamden hero

By Mackenzie Campbell

When an officer dies unexpectedly after six years of active service, it’s difficult to forget the impact he or she made on those that work within their police station.

That can be said for K-9, Viking, who died on Saturday, Sept. 15.

Hamden police officers say they will remember Viking for helping them arrest violent offenders.

But for Sergeant Jason Venditto, Viking’s memory will live on differently.

The journey started when Sergeant Venditto became an officer with the Milford Police Department in 1999. After spending a year and a half in Milford he relocated and joined the Hamden Police Department.

Sergeant Jason Venditto with his partner Viking.

“I have been in Hamden for eighteen years now,” said Venditto. “In September of 2003 I became a K-9 handler.”

Before he picked Viking, Venditto worked with another K-9 for ten years on the Hamden Police Force.

“I picked Viking and I trained him myself,” said Venditto. “ It took me about seven months to get him trained and on the road.”

Through training, the relationship between the two partners grew stronger as they learned how to work together as a cohesive unit.

“It is constant maintenance training,” said Venditto. “Once you finish your initial training you have to continue the training, you have to do something every day if you want to be a good team and succeed.”

While the K-9 worked closely with Sergeant Venditto, he became part of the Venditto family.

Venditto’s son, 14, and daughter, 18, began to cultivate loving relationships with Viking after a short time.

“Both dogs lived at home with myself and my family,” said Venditto. “For fifteen years we have had a police dog living with us in our home.”

Venditto spoke of the close relationships his children shared with Viking. “My children were wonderful [with Viking] , especially my son.”

“Viking just ended up taking to him,” he said. “He is the one person I could trust with the dog besides myself.”

The week leading up to Sept. 15, Sergeant Venditto attended a K-9 training seminar in Kansas City, Missouri.

“I put Viking in a kennel while I was away, thinking that he would be safer there,” said Venditto.

Sergeant Venditto left on a Monday and got home late on Friday, Sept. 14., later than he expected and unable to pick up Viking from the kennel.

Early Saturday morning Venditto unexpectedly woke up to a phone call.

“I got a call from Cheshire emergency vet on Saturday morning saying that the kennel brought Viking down because he didn’t look right,” Venditto said.

Overnight, Viking had developed stomach bloat – when a dog’s stomach twists and then fills with gas. If the condition goes unnoticed it is life threatening and requires surgery.

“I was told they were doing emergency surgery on him and I rushed down to the vet,” said Venditto.

After moving Viking into surgery, the veterinarian informed Venditto that there was too much organ failure and there wasn’t much that they could do to help Viking.

“I never even got to say goodbye to him,” said Venditto. “I had to tell them to euthanize him while he was in surgery.”

Weeks after the loss of his beloved partner, Sergeant Venditto is still grieving and finding ways to work through his loss with his children.

“They both took it tough, “ said Venditto. “My son was very upset because he loved Viking.”

“I think my daughter was more upset because she knew how much I loved Viking and she didn’t want to see me upset.”

Sergeant Venditto and his family were not prepared to say goodbye to Viking but his memory will not fade away.

“I am doing better,” said Venditto. “I appreciate all of the support and condolences we are receiving after the loss of Viking.”

Checking in: the importance of mental health on college campuses

Six weeks into the academic semester, it was time to check-in on the Quinnipiac student body.

Quinnipiac is just one of 180 campuses around the country that participates in Fresh Check Day, a signature program of the Jordan Porco Foundation.

The Jordan Porco Foundation’s mission is to prevent suicide, promote mental health and create a message of hope for young adults.

In 2011, Ernie and Marisa Porco lost their son, Jordan, to suicide when he was a freshman in college.

Within their grief they were able to learn about the high level statistics surrounding mental health and suicide in young adults.

Fresh Check Day, campus wide, includes uplifting mental health promotion and suicide prevention that provides students with interactive booths, peer-to-peer conversations and a chance to communicate with campus departments and groups.

There is a lack of dialogue about mental health, Fresh Check Day works to bridge the gap between students and mental health resources available to students on campus.

Mary Pellitteri, a university counselor, became involved with Fresh Check Day after hearing Jordan Porco’s mother speak at a conference.

Students were asked to write motivational thoughts on the mirrors to remind them that they are more than their insecurities.

In 2015, Fresh Check day was held for the first time on the Quinnipiac campus, starting slowly with a few tables and progressing later into a large event.

“Fresh Check Day is something that students look forward to every year,” said Pellitteri.

“The real main point, other than the education, is to help people feel comfortable when they speak about mental health issues, anxiety, depression or suicide because a lot of times people don’t do things because they feel uncomfortable.”

Pellitteri hopes that Fresh Check Day will educate students on the Quinnipiac campus about mental health and come to an understanding that they do not stand alone.

“There is some shame people feel and we want to take that away,” said Pellitteri. “There is too much shame and that keeps people quiet. When people address it, they see what improvement can be made and it is worthwhile.”

During Quinnipiac’s fourth annual Fresh Check Day, Bobcat lawn was full of informational tables encouraging students to unwind for a moment and focus on their mental health.

A student wrote, “Smiling and laughing all the time so she must not be depressed.”

The elephant in the room table, which the Psychology club ran, encouraged students to express secrets or stigmas that they carry around with them every day that others may not know about. Paper elephants were provided for students to anonymously share what was on their mind.

Angela Walker, professor of psychology, shared the importance of reminding students that they do not have to face their burdens alone.

“We are hanging the elephants up so students can see how many people have these secrets and it becomes visible that we all have burdens,” said Walker.

Among the many informational booths stood Gender Sexuality Alliance, a club on campus providing a safe space for LGBTQIA+ students.

Members of GSA, such as John Ferraro, spoke to students at Fresh Check Day about what it means to be an ally on the Quinnipiac campus.

“We are focusing on promoting positivity between all communities,” said Ferraro. “We are inviting students to write positive messages and what it means to them to be an ally on pieces of paper and linking them in a chain to show how everyone is connected in our community.”

On college campuses, there is a stigma that follows around the topic of mental health. That stigma promotes an environment of fear and shame, and groups on the Quinnipiac campus such as NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, help to combat the stigma.

Celina Carreiro, President of NAMI at Quinnipiac, works to put on events that celebrate everyone’s differences and share mental health awareness on campus.

With the Porco family in mind, Quinnipiac students were invited to sign the 9 out of 10 pledge. Senior Residential Assistant, Emma Downes, tabled to encourage students to be the change and to know the warning signs of suicide on college campuses.

“Each year, one out of ten college students contemplate suicide,” said Downes. “That means nine out of ten students have the opportunity to help and learn the warning signs of suicide.”

Whether students spoke about their insecurities, stuffed bags full of supplies for the homeless or took a moment to meditate, they were spending time focusing on their personal mental health.

As Fresh Check Day drew to a close, Senior Resident Assistant Cynthia Clement emphasized why mental health awareness is so important on campus.

“People are away from home for the first time and as you progress throughout college the stress of everyday life begins to build up,” said Clement. “Fresh Check Day provides students with the education they need to realize it is important to take care of themselves and always realize that they are never alone.”

Students are encouraged to reach out to the counseling center at Quinnipiac for help managing difficult time or if you or someone you know is thinking about suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800- 273 TALK (8255)

Resident Assistants table at the 9 out of 10 pledge table.

A look into the Quinnipiac Polling Institute

By Mackenzie Campbell

With 40 days until the midterm elections, the director of the nationally respected polling institute at Quinnipiac University gave an inside look into the most critical times during an election period.

Every four years, the United States holds midterm elections, general elections near the midpoint of a president’s four-year term of office.

Federal offices that are up for elections are seats in the United States Congress, and all 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives.

While the participation is not very high during the midterms, they can be very important.

Midterms are capable of changing the political landscape and these changes impact the president’s ability to pursue an agenda during the second half of his term.

Source: VOA News Created By: Mackenzie Campbell

Students, faculty, and staff were invited to join in on a conversation on Tuesday afternoon to discuss what the Quinnipiac University Poll can tell voters about the 2018 midterm elections.

Douglas Schwartz, PhD, director of the Quinnipiac University Poll, and Mary Snow, polling analyst and spokesperson for the poll, presented their work to the students.

They shared a behind-the-scenes look into the nationally acclaimed organization and discussed what students can learn from polling data in the upcoming election.

Dr. Douglas Schwartz and Mary Snow speaking to Quinnipiac students.

Mary Snow is a polling analyst that joined the Quinnipiac University Poll in July.

“I first learned about the Quinnipiac poll when I was a reporter at CNN,” said Snow. “Our political unit had strict guidelines about polls that could or could not be used in our reporting.

“Quinnipiac University was on the select trusted list, and while I am no longer reporting I am still interested on why people make the decisions they do when it comes to electing leaders and voting on issues.”

“As you can imagine there is no shortage of topics for us to ask about in these tumultuous times,” Snow said.

After sharing a personal experience with her first poll, Snow summed up her findings. “The moral of the story is that races don’t always fit neatly into a single narrative or a single tweet. They are complicated.”

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Dr. Douglas Schwartz shared his experience of the 2016 presidential election with Quinnipiac students.

“There were several forecasts giving Hillary Clinton high chances of winning, calculating the odds of someone winning an election is not what we do,” said Schwartz. “Polls are considered more of a snapshot in a certain window of time that provides indicators.”

Schwartz believes that another issue is the sheer amount of polls on the scene and who is most reliable. The Washington Post recently reached out to the Quinnipiac University Poll to help determine the reliability of a poll.

Schwartz advises students and the media to look to see how an organization conducts their polls.

“Most surveys conducted online are not scientific. They are based on people who volunteered to participate and therefore the results are not representative to the population, the way a random sample is.”

“While polls are giving indicators, what we can’t know is what will happen between now and November,” said Schwartz. “What headlines may sway opinions but also what the turnout will be and that will be closely watched among you, young voters who are a coveted group for campaigns.”

Schwartz opened the floor to the students and asked why they were motivated to vote in the midterm elections.

“I am motivated to vote [in the midterm elections] because I think that we need change,” said senior Rachel Beaulieu.

Another student added, “I consider voting a civic duty that we all should strive to achieve.” When asked what issue was most important to him going towards the ballet box he said, “I couldn’t tell you an important issue, I am not a one-issue voter.”

In a recent national poll, voters were asked how motivated they were to vote in the 2018 midterm elections.

“Sixty-five percent of the people we polled said that they were extremely motivated to vote in the midterm elections,” said Schwartz.

Some students believed that there are barriers in place that make them unmotivated to register to vote in the midterm elections, such as living in Connecticut and the difficulty registering to vote while at college.

Professor Scott McLean, a political science professor, reminded students that it isn’t too late to register to vote in the midterm elections.

“If you have a cell phone and go to the secretary of state’s website, you can fill out a form on your phone today,” said McLean.

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Mary Snow stressed, “It is so important because it is a referendum on the Trump administration’s policies.”

“One thing that I would convey to all of you is to hold off on any predictions,” said Snow. “Use your best judgement.”

Snow thinks that the midterms are important because it is the first time we’ve seen elections to congress after President Trump was elected.

“What about all of these policies that have been put into place, now you, the voter, has the opportunity to weigh in,” Snow said.

“On of the things that we do to reach young people is we call back at least five times over separate days,” said Schwartz. “Because young people are hard to reach and their opinions matter.”

The Quinnipiac University Poll has a standard question asking if voters support or oppose stricter gun control laws in the country. Their experiment simply changed the language used in the question by changing one simple word, control.

“The word control has a negative connotation,” Schwartz said.

“We found that it was different, that if you ask people about gun control they have a more negative reaction,” Schwartz said. “If you ask them about stricter gun laws it is a more positive reaction.”

“Just one word could affect how people feel about an issue.”

Schwartz stressed that when creating questions for polls it is always a team effort, “No one person can write questions for a survey, we all have our own biases and we do our best to keep them out.”

Whether you follow polls such as Quinnipiac’s, Schwartz reminds students that their votes matter. Across the country, 36 states are holding elections for governor, local politicians matter, making students votes in local elections matter.

“There are different issues in different states,” said Snow. “It is a very complex picture.”