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With the majority of students returning home, Quinnipiac University has laid off workers in areas like dining and custodial services.

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Shaquita Alston has been an employee of Quinnipiac Dining for the past eleven months. She describes the current situation as overwhelming, as it is something nobody has ever experienced before.

“Now that the school is closed, we have to collect unemployment,” Alston said. “I haven’t heard anything yet as far as financial support. All they did was give us a pink slip to collect unemployment.”

Antoinette Orr, a seven-year Quinnipiac Dining employee, described that the months of lost work are going to take a toll. 

“Even though we were going to be going out of work in May, we make use of working full time to save up so we won’t struggle during the break period,” Orr said. 

Many Americans find themselves in the same boat. According to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, the United States could see unemployment rates rise to 20%, which is double the rate documented during the Great Recession. He warned Congress of this potentially disastrous outlook in a closed-door meeting on Tuesday night.

The sweeping coronavirus pandemic has shut down schools nationwide, cancelled countless concerts and events, and halted travel almost entirely. With the closing of so many businesses and institutions, many Americans now find themselves without a job. 

President Judy Olian announced on Sunday that the remainder of the semester will be delivered online due to the pandemic. The university urged students living on campus to move essential belongings out of their dorms by Wednesday night. With students no longer allowed on campus, dining services are suspended.

“Students are not permitted to return to any of the campuses,” Olian said. “We will provide information at a later date on when and how students can retrieve their belongings from residence halls and other buildings.”

In an email sent to faculty Friday morning, Quinnipiac Dining outlined how it’s going to perform services going forward for the few students remaining on campus.

“As you are aware, we have significantly reduced our on-campus services and facilities now that students are remaining home for the rest of the spring semester,” Quinnipiac Dining said. “Quinnipiac and Chartwells have made special arrangements for the small number of students who received permission to remain in university housing to ensure they have access to daily meals.”

Newly unemployed Americans are facing yet another frustration. State unemployment websites are crashing due to the volume of traffic. In order to avoid this, some states including New York and New Jersey have decided to stagger applicants based on their last names.

“I believe a lot of the workers here would say it was unexpected, to say the least,” Orr said.

A Quinnipiac University graduate is making a name for himself in North Carolina. 

Buddy Bengel, a graduate of the class of 2004, recently ran for Lt. Gov of North Carolina. The election, which took place on Tuesday, March 3rd, had Bengel come up short as a republican primary candidate. However, despite receiving less than 10 percent of total votes, Bengel isn’t discouraged about his future in politics.

“We’ll see what tomorrow brings,” Bengel said. “For the immediate future, I’ll be focusing on my companies and making sure they are running smoothly.”

Bengel, who attended Quinnipiac on a scholarship to play Division I baseball, now owns a restaurant called Baker’s Kitchen in New Bern, North Carolina.

He can also be found on the baseball field mentoring players of the Morehead City Marlins, a collegiate summer baseball team Bengel founded in 2010. The Marlins are a dream that became a reality after his college business plan came to life. 

“I actually wrote the business plan for the Marlins in a class at Quinnipiac,” Bengel said. “It was really where I made a blueprint for everything during my senior year.”

Bengel acknowledges that he wouldn’t have this professional success without his experiences at Quinnipiac.

“Overall, it was a wonderful experience. From the classroom to the baseball field, it taught me a whole lot of things and I wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for Quinnipiac.”

John Arcangelo, a 2002 Quinnipiac graduate, serves as the Senior Director of Alumni & Parent Relations and Annual Giving at the university. He shared his thoughts on what it means for Quinnipiac to have such influential alumni.

“We’re very proud of our alumni who demonstrate their commitment to uplifting their communities by running for elected office,” Arcangelo said. “Working to improve our local and global communities is one of the four pillars of our strategic plan.”

Arcangelo also says that Bengel’s success can have a positive impact on alumni-related goals.

“Fostering lifelong connections and success with our alumni is at the heart of everything we do in alumni affairs,” Arcangelo said. “Celebrating and connecting with alumni such as Buddy will inspire other members of our Bobcat family to get involved with not only the QU community, but in their local communities as well.”

Bengel says he has been in touch with Quinnipiac about helping to build new baseball and softball stadiums. 

“We’ve formed a booster club, where we have been raising money to help the baseball and softball programs,” Bengel said. “We’ve been raising money every year to support those programs. It’s important to us and we want to see baseball and softball get a new playing facility on campus there.”

On the Rocks opened its doors to the Quinnipiac community this past weekend with two events, followed up by a third one this past Wednesday night. 

The weekend kicked off with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Friday, Feb. 28, followed by an event on Saturday evening for students 21 and older to watch the Quinnipiac vs. Yale men’s ice hockey game.

“I thought it went really well,” third-year management major Glenn Adams said. “I thought it was very well managed, and it was really easy for people to get in and out, and for people to get drinks. It was a great opening night experience. I think it is really important because it’s not just opening a pub, it’s opening a programming space that is at times open to the whole student body.” 

With the pub being a brand new addition to the campus, it’s safe to say that there was a lot of excitement built up. 

“The reason I think there’s a lot of buzz around it, I want to believe, it’s because students were involved in the process,” Director of Campus Life for Student Centers and Student Involvement Erin Provistalis said. “This was something that they really were vocal about, and they believed in, and they pushed for and found ways to show that there was a need for.”

Wednesday, March 4 was the first opportunity since its opening that all students could experience an event at On the Rocks. Comedian Shayne Smith performed with Katie Boyle as an opening act. 

The event had food such as quesadillas, pretzels, loaded tater tots and chicken wings. No alcohol was served at the event. Students were able to play billiards and shuffleboard while the comedians were performing. 

“It was a great turnout, more than we were expecting,” On The Rocks manager Danielle Herman said. “I know people really wanted the food, and a lot of people ended up staying. We counted around 80 people. I like how it was an event to incorporate people who are under 21.”

Several of the remaining events in March will be centered around March Madness, according to Provistalis. In addition, On the Rocks will be open for both the men’s and women’s Final Four. 

With all of the hype around On the Rocks prior to its opening, students had expectations going into its opening. 

“I think also the layout … they put a lot more into it than we thought they were going to, the TVs were very nice,” Adams said. “The pool table, shuffleboard area…it just screamed school spirit. I think in the realm of spirit and tradition, it definitely exceeded my expectations.”

Having a pub on campus can also improve the safety of students when they decide to go out on weekends, which is an important factor for some when considering plans for a night out. 

“I think that the biggest thing is the fact that people are now able to go somewhere and socially drink on campus,” senior Steven McAvoy said. “It isn’t like going to New Haven and forcing yourself to get an Uber and other things like that.”

While On the Rocks is located on the York Hill campus, it isn’t exclusively for Quinnipiac students. 

“It’s a space where the community can come together,” Provistalis said. “Whether that’s students or faculty, staff, alumni, families…it’s a gathering place and it feels like that.”

On the Rocks will have five more events throughout March, and will have an April event schedule being released following spring break. 

While On the Rocks is currently only open during specific events, the long-term goal is for standard business hours to come into effect in the fall. 

The pub can be found on Instagram @ontherocksqu .

Quinnipiac students received an email late Monday on how the university is handling the coronavirus outbreak. 

Students studying in Italy were forced to return home, as the partner institutions have suspended the programs. They’re required to stay in their home for a minimum of 14 days to prevent spreading the virus. 

“Our partner institutions in Italy have suspended their programs and/or are offering the remainder of their coursework online,” Interim Provost and Executive Vice President Jennifer Brown said. “As a result, students studying in Italy are returning to the United States and are required to return home, not to campus, and remain at home for a minimum of 14 days as a self-quarantine.”

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued a  “Level 3” advisory recommending that people avoid all nonessential travel.

Other universities including Fairfield University, Sacred Heart University and the University of New Haven have pulled their students out of study abroad programs. 

Quinnipiac, however, is not making any changes to other study abroad programs scheduled for later this year. Quinnipiac junior Ryan Breitzka has already made plans to study abroad this summer. 

“I’m going abroad to the Czech Republic over the summer in Prague for now, unless told otherwise by the program people,” Breitzka said. “I am concerned if the surrounding areas are contaminated by the time I get to Prague, and I’m talking with my advisor to go over a plan B because this is nearly the last time for me to go abroad. As of right now to travel, I feel relatively safe.”

Students traveling within the United States are also concerned about the risks. 

“I have an internship set up for this summer in Los Angeles, and it’s something that I have been looking forward to since my first semester,” junior Julianna Coscia said. “The program in Los Angeles was one of the reasons why I chose to come to Quinnipiac.” 

The university has established a coronavirus task force with various members of the university and medical professionals. 

A new web page was created including regular updates from the members of the task force. It was also announced that the group will be meeting with state and federal health officials over spring break. 

According to Donald G. McNeil, a science and health reporter for the New York Times, making a vaccine will take around a year. 

The CDC is recommending washing your hands often, and to stay away from people who are coughing or sneezing. 

Thirteen states have confirmed cases of the coronavirus with over 90,000 worldwide. 

There are currently no confirmed cases of the coronavirus in Connecticut.

May 18 will be the two year anniversary of the partnership between People’s United Bank and Quinnipiac University, announced back in 2018. Since then, Quinnipiac and People’s have presented a variety of opportunities to connect entrepreneur students with bank executives. 

“It’s been two years almost, and [this relationship] has wildly exceeded our expectations in terms of the collaboration and the partnership,” Jeff Tengel, president of People’s United Bank said. 

On Wednesday afternoon, Tengel spoke in the Lender School of Business to bankers and students alike. He was one of several speakers in the weekly People’s United Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship Spring Speaker series, running from February to April.

“[The Speaker series] is probably less important than some of the other things we do that are maybe more personal, like the mentor-mentee thing we just did, which is a chance for [students] to talk one on one with a bunch of executives,” Tengel said. 

Students were given the opportunity to have a discussion with professionals working in the field.  

Last September, People’s United Center invited students to pitch their business ideas for monetary prizes to help get their entrepreneurship ideas off the ground. The center awarded $5,000 in cash prizes to three Quinnipiac students with the best pitches. 

“We had 60 Quinnipiac students participate in that pitch competition…People’s played a very instrumental role in that,” Fred McKinney, director of People’s United Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship said. 

“I think any way that we can get out and interact with the students, it’s gonna be a good thing,” Tengel said. “And so I think as we go forward, it’s going to be more of the same. I don’t see any reason why that would change.”

The next guest speaker for the People’s Speaker series will be Will Ginsberg, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, held on March 18.

Connecticut state archaeologist Nick Bellantoni believes the human remains found in Ridgefield, Connecticut last fall are likely the remains of Revolutionary War soldiers. At a presentation given in Quinnipiac University’s Center for Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences on Monday, Bellantoni discussed the remains, which were discovered in a cellar. 

“The thing I should preface right off the bat is I don’t have a lot of conclusions to give you,” Bellantoni said. “It’s probably going to take a good year to get a handle on what we have.” 

However, if the remains are from soldiers, this is considered a major find. The remains were found in situ, or in place, meaning they hadn’t been disturbed prior to the archaeological research. According to Bellatoni, this is very rare.

“It will put revolutionary Connecticut on the map,” he said. 

The discovery began as a police case. On Nov. 25, 2019, construction workers were renovating a basement in Ridgefield, Connecticut when they found some bones underground. The workers called the police, who then called the medical examiner’s forensic anthropologist.  Once the anthropologist discovered just how old the bones were, the state archaeologist was brought in.

“The law in the state of Connecticut is that whenever bones are 50 years old or more, the state archaeologist is notified,” Bellantoni said. 

Bellantoni knew there had been a Revolutionary War battle in Ridgefield with some dead from both sides of the conflict buried in the town. He’d looked for remains in the past, but never found anything. 

Bellatoni hoped the finding was Revolutionary War soldiers, but he didn’t have the highest hopes at first. Farming families often buried their dead near their homes, so the bones could be linked back to that.

However, when he got to the site, Bellantoni found soldiers were most likely buried there. He said the remains were from strong men between the ages of 25 and 35. 

Then came the most important piece of evidence.

“We started to find buttons,” Bellantoni said. “These buttons were a strong indication that the remains weren’t from farmers..In the colonial period, clothing was expensive. You didn’t bury someone with something so valuable that could be passed down to brothers and sisters.” 

However, Bellatoni still had his doubts.

“One of the things we have not found yet in the field is trauma,” he said. “If the remains are from soldiers, they would have been killed by some sort of trauma.” 

Dr. Eddy Rosenblatt, a radiology consultant for Quinnipiac University, validated that nothing found on the bones can be considered trauma. 

“We can come up with all kinds of exciting speculation that this guy took a headshot and that’s why he’s buried,” Rosenblatt said. “However, more likely it has to do with the burial.”

Still, Bellantoni believes the remains are from Revolutionary War soldiers. 

“I’m still calling it a hypothesis, but really I’m struggling to come up with another explanation for three healthy guys together on a battlefield,” he said.

Bellantoni also mentioned Quinnipiac’s effort in this investigation. 

“Quinnipiac has been so helpful with the diagnostic imaging of those remains,” he said. “This is only the latest of a number of collaborations we’ve had. The collaboration has been so marvelous.”

Bellantoni and his team will continue to analyze the remains. The bones were not allowed to be photographed at the presentation.

Quinnipiac celebrated Black History Month on Tuesday night, with a dinner that featured Connecticut Supreme Court Chief Justice, Richard A. Robinson.

Robinson, who is Connecticut’s first black Chief Justice, spoke in front of over 200 people at the event about the amazing changes that have occurred throughout his life as it relates to racism. However, he acknowledged that there is still an extremely long way to go.

“I think these kinds of events are very important,” Robinson said. “We need to have dialogues about race, history, ethnicity, and culture. These are conversations that aren’t going on enough in our country.”

Robinson believes that this event sets a great tone for the university, but would like to see more diversity at next year’s event. Afterward, many students and professors spoke one-on-one with Robinson.

“I don’t think people expressed any concerns that were unexpected,” Robinson said. “People are concerned about what’s going on today, but mainly people came up to me and said that they were glad to have been there for the conversations that took place that night.”

Quinnipiac’s vice president for equity and inclusion, Don Sawyer, joined Chief Justice Robinson on stage at the dinner. Sawyer believes that this event is an important part of promoting inclusivity at Quinnipiac.

“When we talk about inclusive excellence, we want to make people from different cultures feel welcome on campus,” Sawyer said. “This event aimed to do just that.”

Although Quinnipiac has previously honored Black History Month with public speakers, this is the first time it has been celebrated with the dinner format. Although he considers it a successful event, he acknowledged that one event doesn’t create the change that is needed. He elaborated on some of the other ways in which Quinnipiac tries to promote diversity and inclusion.

“Last semester we had an open forum on inclusion,” Sawyer said, “where faculty, staff, and students were able to express any concerns that they have on campus, and also the things that were going well.”

Sawyer said that the issues discussed will be compiled and released in a public document in the near future, and mentioned that inclusive excellence is the second pillar in Quinnipiac’s strategic plan. 

Despite Quinnipiac’s efforts to increase inclusivity and diversity on campus, there are still obstacles that need to be hurdled. Sawyer mentioned that some professors shy away from difficult topics in the classroom. 

“Students have mentioned a need for diversity programs where everyone can learn from one another,” Sawyer said, “so I think it’s important for us to create spaces where we can have an intentional dialogue.”

One student who attended the Black History Month dinner is junior Andrew DePass. DePass is the executive chair of Quinnipiac’s multicultural student leadership council, which aims to advocate for minorities and students of color on campus. He is passionate about creating a more inclusive environment at Quinnipiac.

“The overarching theme is that there are instances where people don’t know how to interact with people of certain cultures,” DePass said. “Oftentimes misconceptions and misunderstandings occur. Another thing we feel is that when students try to bring up incidents, oftentimes there is a quieting of those concerns. They aren’t handled as seriously by the administration as we’d like.”

As it relates to the Black History Month dinner, DePass is glad that the event took place and that there were notable people of color honored and in attendance.

“When you are on a campus where the professor doesn’t always look like you, you can start to doubt whether you have a place in a particular career field,” DePass said. “Having the Chief Justice there was very beneficial. I saw lots of students speaking with him afterward, and having interactions that were positive so that we can all continue to persist.”

As it relates to the administration at Quinnipiac, Sawyer is the only person of color on Quinnipiac president Judy Olian’s cabinet. He does not believe that this is concerning, however.

“President Olian understands that our cabinet is not the most diverse, and so we work to diversify the pools of positions that we’re hiring,” Sawyer said. “I think over the next year or so, we might see some shifts.” 

Sawyer added that the university has also made great strides in diversifying staff as it relates to gender, but there is still a long way to go in the journey of creating more overall diversity.