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Q&A With Mayor Curt Leng

By Adrianna Lovegrove

Mayor Curt Leng is running for re-election against Councilwoman Lauren Garrett in the Democratic primary. The primary will determine who is going to run against Republican candidate, Jay Kaye. Find out where you can vote here. This article was originally published on Sept. 10, 2019.

Q: What was it that made you want to run for a third term?

A: Serving as mayor for four years seems like a lot longer term than it actually is and it gives you the chance to get a lot of things started and a lot of things moving but you need more time to really see them through. A third term would allow us to continue the financial stabilization we’ve been working on, some of the major buildings and infrastructure investments that we’ve been doing, and then some of the changes to the police department that have been really proven successful.

Q: What were some of the projects that you wanted to see through to the next term if you were re-elected?

A: Two of them in particular, that we’ve got grant applications in the state and we’ve gotten word that we’re in the running and we’re very hopeful would be: Fire Station 2 and the Keefe Community Center. We’ve got about $4.5 million grant request in for renovations to add reconstruction to one of those buildings. And those buildings haven’t been touched in decades and are desperately in need of repair.

We have paved 45 miles of road in the last four years but we have a lot of roads that still need attention. I want to continue that paving schedule and sidewalk improvements to go along with them. So that our neighborhoods have more walkability with the sidewalks and we can save a few axles, where people are hitting our potholes.

On the financial end, we’ve been successful in negotiating every single union contract to include cost savings in health insurance Everyone in the entire town has switched over to a high deductible health savings account, HSA. It’s proving to save money. They’re actually showing medical costs savings. Medical in the budget is ⅕ of our town budget. So slowing the rate of increase of medical insurance impacts the towns annual budget by millions of dollars. And usually, for the past decade plus, the increases in our health insurance account that we expect each year, has been anywhere from 8%to 15%. This year it was 3 percent to 5 percent. So we’re finally actually seeing that impact of all the different unions moving forward with the health insurance program and showing some serious savings.

Q: What has been your biggest challenge so far?

A: Probably the same as any campaign. Just working to get your message out to as many people as you can and trying to be the actual person that directly talks to as many people as possible in town. And there is never enough time in the day to accomplish all those things.

Q: Do you think that during your two terms that you have been financially irresponsible?

A: No. We have very tangible improvements in our town finances and I’ll give some specific examples.

So, we talked about the union contracts. The union contracts are some of the largest drivers of your budget. The town’s pension plan, 10 years ago, was down to 9% funded. It was almost broke now, after a lot of reform efforts, and those reform efforts included some borrowing but the borrowing happened eight years ago and we’ve made eight payments on that borrowing. But beyond that we’ve been contributing higher amounts into the fund. In the last four years alone, we put in $64 million, which is more than double the length of time in the town’s history. So we’re putting more money in, the employees that we’ve negotiated with, that was the second part of the contract negotiations that was a big impact driver was the pension. We’re still working with the public safety union, but every other union on the town and the board of education side agreed to additional contributions into the pension fund and a reduction of the cost of living adjustment in retirement. Those two changes had an impact on our pension liability as a town, saving us approximately $25 million.

We look at our finances on a daily basis and that’s always the focus. The town’s mill rate is already too high and we need to do everything we can to hold it back. I did four budgets and in one of the budgets we did no increase, the first no increase budget in a decade. This year, I recommended a mill rate increase of three quarters of a mill and the council voted for an almost 2.5 times higher tax increase this year. Which would have pushed Hamden to 50 mills, 49.99. That would have been harmful to our residents. It was not necessary and it would’ve sent a bad message to anyone that might want to invest here, whether buying a home or investing to bring a business here. It would show that the mill rate is already high and yet you see excessive increases. It’s not a good way to market the town as a sustainable entity and we are a sustainable entity.

Q: Quinnipiac and Hamden have always had a rocky relationship. Why do you think that is?

A: It’s been up and down. There is a very small percentage of students that don’t behave like the rest of the students do and don’t behave in a way that a typical neighbor would on a typical neighbor street. You buy a house and you don’t expect there to be loud parties and a lot of people and a lot of traffic on any given night into late hours. I want to really stress that it’s a small percentage of the students and a small percentage of the off-campus housing. But it makes it very difficult for certain residents and certain neighbors in certain streets and it gives everyone that has an off-campus house a bad reputation. I know it’s not fair but that’s what tends to happen. So then because of that a lot of residents end up being very vocal in their opposition in different things that the university brings forward to our planning and zoning and other approvals.

So we’re really working hard. President Olian and I have developed a relationship. We actually went to Mikro like 15 days ago and just had a very casual, friendly, really productive conversation and we’ve had other, more formal meetings as well. And it’s bringing really fruitful things forward. The university is assisting us in addressing these off campus housing issues in a way I don’t think we have seen before and that’s very appreciated. The university is even more dedicated to putting resources into the town to help programs in three areas. They help kids, so after school programs that we’re working on that help our schools and last but not least, a program that we’ve been really expanding on that helps people that are in financial need.

Q&A With Republican Mayoral Candidate Jay Kaye

By Alexis Guerra

Jay Kaye, a manager for a private commercial company, is running against Democratic Mayor Curt B. Leng. Kaye doesn’t view himself as a “run-of-the-mill party candidate.” The general election is on Nov. 5, which will determine the next mayor of Hamden.

The Quinnipiac Republicans invited Jay Kaye to campus on Oct. 30, as an opportunity for students to ask him questions. (Credit: Alexis Guerra)

Q: Why did you want to run?

A: I personally felt that having been a registered Democrat for so long, I would always vote for who I thought was the best candidate. I didn’t necessarily just vote Democrat and usually, it turned out to be Republican because I’ve strong fiscal conservative ideals. As days went on and more people started to get involved, that’s when I made the commitment that I felt that I would be a very good candidate because for Hamden, in particular, I’m very centrist. I have very moderate social views. And strong fiscal, conservative views. And I thought that would be a nice blend to be able to relate to people in Hamden, particularly to people that weren’t Republicans.

Q: I read on your campaign page that you switched political parties. Can you speak about that decision?

A: I had to do that in order to run as a Republican. I certainly knew the ramifications of it, but I wasn’t concerned with that because I felt that my concern for Hamden far outweighed what party I was running for. I knew Lauren was gonna challenge Curt. And we had really looked at the political climate in Hamden and we knew that he was going to be challenged. Going to the legislative council meetings, you can see the displeasure with Democrats that were seated on the legislative council with the Democrat administration.

I do get a little frustrated when people try and use the party against me as opposed to doing what’s right for Hamden. I certainly am not trying to overthrow the Democrats. If every other person there was a Democrat, I would work just as well as if it was a Republican. Because that’s really not the point. The point is to do what’s right for Hamden, to use my experience to help Hamden.

Q: If you’re elected, what are you hoping to change about Hamden?

What I really would like to change at the very core is the relationship between the mayor and the legislative council. The legislative council is the fiscal authority for the town. They ultimately make almost all of the decisions as to where the money goes and where it comes from. So if you can’t cooperate with the legislative council, you’re already at odds. You’re already doing a disservice to the town. I’ve been to plenty of meetings where the administration being the mayor’s side and the council, they just argue — they don’t cooperate. And that’s one of the most important things that I would fix is letting know that the legislative council has someone in the administration that actually wants to work with them.

Q: Quinnipiac and Hamden have an inconsistent relationship. Why do you think that is?

Quinnipiac grew up here in Hamden just like I did and it was a very small, rural college. The (previous) president of Quinnipiac made a whole lot of progress growing the college very quickly. And I’ve kind of used the analogy of it’s like when a kid goes from being a kid to a teenager. You have those growing pains and you see all this rapid growth and all of a sudden they seem out of control and you’re fighting with them and you’re trying to hold them back. But in reality, you need to let them grow because that’s your job as a parent.

I’ve met people from the new administration, I’ve talked to them. What they did at planning and zoning the other night was really well received. The people on the Planning and Zoning Commission were almost speechless at how thorough, how honest, how open, the presentation (was). There were people on that committee that had been there for planning and zoning for 30 years, and they were like, ‘We’ve never seen this.’ So I think Quinnipiac deserves a lot of credit for taking that first step, even though it’s not the first step, but for delivering on what they said they would deliver.

Q: How do you plan on improving that relationship?

Just coming to campus, talking to students and talking to the administration. I know part of that plan is to have kids come on the campus, get kids to go to the games, just do whatever you can do to build that relationship. Specifically, I really would just want to be on campus more, have Quinnipiac kids be more in Hamden. Have them come to come to events, whether they’re volunteering, shopping, anything. It’s going to take a little bit at a time, but just getting it started is so important. And I have to thank the Quinnipiac administration for doing that.

Why they love the damned

The new trend, urbex, has people finding joy in exploring abandoned treasures left forgotten by society.

By Taylor Sniffen

Sweat was dripping from the three students’ brow as they waded through the woods in search of the remnants to a decrepit train station. As they pushed through the final clump of bushes, they fell into a clearing and found a 300 foot tall rusty light tower. One of the explorers immediately started to climb and as she scaled the ladder it began to creak and sway. The higher she got the more it moved, but despite the dilapidated state of the tower she continued to climb. When she finally reached the top her view was spectacular. Everyone there was completely entranced by the abandoned world around them, and the group stayed silent as they admired the forgotten treasure.

These three urban explorers from Quinnipiac University, Emma Shipton, Amelia Griffin and Josh Sprague climbed through the old abandoned Cedar Hills rail yard. It was once one of the largest rail yards on the east coast but now it has rotted away and become the perfect place for urban explorers to investigate. While many people find it strange that someone would risk their own safety to look at what most people see as condemned, their story isn’t uncommon.

“I like to learn about different things.” Sprague said. “There’s definitely an area of curiosity that leads me into wanting to go into these buildings.”

The exact definition according to Google is, “a person who explores man-made structures as a pastime, especially in areas not generally open to the public.” They want to know what’s inside a decaying building and the rush of adrenaline that comes with exploration is very popular among many people. This large network of people who spend their free time going into these abandoned places, call themselves urban explorers.

Brendan Hurley, a senior film major at Quinnipiac, has been exploring abandoned places for years.

“You’re going because you appreciate the history,” Hurley said. “You’re not looking for a place to do sketchy things … when we go in, we take pictures of everything, like we’ll find really cool things from the 1920s and 1910s cause some of these places are that old and just seeing this history in such a decrepit state and being able to preserve it then, like in its current state forever is fascinating.”

But what else drives these people to go into these buildings? Why do they seem to look past the health and safety risks each time they go exploring?

“I am so curious and I just want to learn,” Shipton said. “There is so much we don’t know and I’ve got so much time, I just want to see what I can, and somebody left something in there for us to find.”

A 360 image of the left side of Holy Land U.S.A. in Waterbury. It shows a completely ruined temple and other small cracked structures.

The Dangers

Some of the biggest safety issues that come with these decaying buildings are their structural integrity and hazardous environmental issues.

“I understand the allure that people have for these things, but some of them are pretty dangerous,” said Quinnipiac Civil Engineering Professor John Greenleaf. “I’ve seen walls collapse, because the mortar is no good between the stones that holds the stones together. Floors could cave in, so people could experience falls. Things like termites, eat the wood and the steel will rust and then decay.”

The U.S. Fire Administration has also listed many other structural issues that come with vacant and abandoned buildings. A few of these things include trip hazards lying on the floor, standing water in the basement, hazardous waste that’s been left behind and criminal activity which can further damage the building.

One example of crime creating a large issue is at Holy Land U.S.A. in Waterbury. This old rotting catholic theme park had been shut down since 1984 and closed off to the public since 2011. Just this past year was it finally opened back up to the public. News outlets over the years have detailed rapes, murders and vandalisms that took place on the property.

“When we were here last year it was closed you couldn’t even come up here,” said Donna Brady, a long time resident of Waterbury and frequent visitor to Holy Land when she was young. “Somebody had told me there was a possible rape and I knew there was a lot of riff-raff and destruction so they closed it.”

On the other hand, a less dangerous but still detrimental issue is that most of the buildings were built before or in the 1950s, meaning there is a high probability they were made with lead paint. Over time the paint rots off the walls and becomes lead dust, which can easily seep into the ground and make the water toxic for people to drink.

“Many factories built around that time and before were also built along waterways,” said Associate Professor of Biological Sciences, Courtney McGinnis. “This means that as the building decays rain, snow melt etc. carries the chemicals into the waterway which is in close proximity.”

She also explained that asbestos, which is a mineral that can cause lung diseases like mesothelioma or more commonly known as lung cancer, can become a huge issue when buildings decay.

“It has contaminated soil, water and air,” McGinnis said. “Asbestos was used very often in building materials, for example cement pipes as they erode and water passes through them contaminates the drinking water.”

Many explorers also stress the dangers to newcomers to warn them that it’s not the easiest hobby to get started in.

“It is an extremely dangerous thing to do and not always legal,” Rich Gugs, a veteran urban explorer from Connecticut said. “I try to seek permission before I go anywhere whenever possible, and although I have not gotten hurt myself I have seen and heard of a lot of people being hurt over the years, we even lost a local Urban Explorer about 2 years ago in a tragic accident. She had slipped and fell down into a storm drain and was tragically killed.”

But possible beams collapsing, floors giving out, and toxic inhalants doesn’t stop most avid urban explorers. The past pushes them to continue to explore.

“I’d say it’s definitely more so the adventure aspect,” Shipton said. “With this one school I went in you’d find these old textbooks and you could go through them and see kids notes and stuff like that. So kind of like seeing what it’s like and seeing what gets left behind.”

Another 360 image depicting the entrance and front of Holy Land U.S.A. If you look closely you can see a manger locked up in a cage in the front.

The Newest Trend

Over the last 10 years the want to explore abandoned places and venture into the unknown, has become an extremely popular trend.

After searching urbex on google trends, the results show that the number of searchers has been on a steady incline since 2004 and that out of the top five subregions that search the term Connecticut is number four. Subreddits, which are forums specifically dedicated to specific topics on the social news website Reddit, show that the terms urbex and urban exploration have anywhere between 11.5 thousand and 964 thousand followers on each channel.

These large groups of people that have created the name “urban explorers” for themselves, spend their free time going from one abandoned treasure to the next. While they’re there they take photos and videos, find little pieces of history, and try to uncover the mysteries of the past.

For Sprague, exploring to understand history is his favorite part.

“The most interesting part for me, is looking for artifacts of what it used to be, because now it’s obviously this old beat down building, but then just to kind of look for hints of something that might have happened in the building before, cause like you kind of see that contrast of like, oh yeah this is just an old decrepit building, but it used to be something else,” Sprague said.

The urbex community, as they call themselves, has created blogs and Facebook groups, where some have close to 1,600 members. With in these platforms people can post pictures, videos and interesting facts about the places their exploring. Examples of these sites are Abandoned CT and Damned Connecticut and some of the facebook groups for this area are Abandoned Tri State and Abandoned Connecticut.

Gugs is also a frequent sharer on Abandoned Connecticut and his own personal YouTube page, as well as an advocate for the hobby. He said he loves being able to connect with so many different people from so many different places.

“I really like the communities because not only do I get to share my locations with other enthusiasts, but I can see locations from around the world without even leaving my house,” Gugs said.

The members in each can network and message each other to learn more about abandoned places near them.

“There are communities of people that don’t post the locations to anything,” Hurley said, “because no one ever posts a location. If you want to find out where a picture was taken, you have to get in touch with the person who took it directly … and that’s what makes it almost a community in itself too because the way you find everything is by who you talk to.”

In the 360 image above you can see the top of the hill and all of Waterbury surrounding Holy Land. The camera was set up in the middle of a crumbling sanctuary, and the image also captures the damage the structure has withstood over the years from unwanted trespassers, like the graffiti.

Darmon Richter, a popular travel writer and photographer and frequent urbexer wrote about location posting on his blog.

Richter writes, “Some visitors are less ethical in their interactions than others are – and so greater visibility means a higher chance of places getting trashed and looted.”

He also discusses other important rules the urbex community tries to uphold.

You’ll likely have come across the popular mantra, “take only pictures, leave only footprints,” said Richter, “I believe the catchphrase was originated by the administration of national parks in the US, or something like that. Anyway, it has been frequently adopted by urban explorers, some of whom will identify these as the core words defining the implicit codes of engagement with abandoned, disused or restricted urban spaces.

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When the rules are broken the user is typically tossed from the group and no longer allowed to share there, but the system isn’t perfect. People still share locations, steal from the sites and ruin large abandoned relics because they abuse the area, instead of just admiring it.

Many examples of photographers not respecting the rules and sport of urbexing can be seen all over the internet.

Photography Blogger Steve Cullen writes on Fstoppers about one such case, saying, “An unidentified photographer made headlines when a fire broke out on the SS Point Reyes shipwreck in California. The boat is a local landmark and a favorite destination for photographers. One too many photographers it would seem. The fire on the abandoned vessel was apparently caused when embers from a wool spinning photography session ignited the stern’s dry wood a day or so afterward.”

This kind of callousness forces the explorers to have to find new abandoned hideaways and the cycle continues. The urban explorers find new abandoned places, enjoy them for as long as they can until they become too unsafe and they move on to discover the next one.

“I guess I just love everything abandoned I really don’t have an absolute favorite,” Gug said. “As long as it’s something historic, something from the past or a window into our past then I love it and I love to explore every inch of it”

The final 360 image was taken at the top of the hill past the original Catholic themed attraction on the opposite side of the hill. The two different areas with crosses shows, the new massive steel cross with LED light that was very recently created and the three white crosses are where the original crosses were first placed.

Fortune Magazine’s CEO says facts matter

Fortune CEO Alan Murray spoke at Quinnipiac University’s Mount Carmel Auditorium about the future of journalism, and how Fortune Magazine is raising its journalistic standards going forward.

Chief executive officer of Fortune, and journalist since the age of 9, Alan Murray, came to Quinnipiac University on Friday to discuss the future of journalism, the importance of facts in a functioning democracy and old ladies on Facebook.

“Look, I do believe that facts are the most important building blocks of a successful society,” said Murray, “The discovery of facts is the first step in our legal process, and an understanding of facts is critical to the democratic process. A common basis of factual knowledge is the key to our ability to work together in our communities, and in our nation.”

The event titled “The Death of Truth: The Future of Journalism in the 21st Century” began around 2 p.m. at The Center Communications and Engineering, in a three-quarters full Mount Carmel Auditorium, for a discussion between Murray and School of Communications Dean, Chris Roush.

Murray, who says he’s been a journalist since the age of nine, gave an introduction to the crowd expressing the need for facts in society “Unfortunately, we live in a time when facts are under attack in lots of different ways,” said Murray.

From the beginning, Murray expressed he wasn’t interested in talking about the president and politics, but what he calls the ‘disturbing’ trend of the devaluation of facts in America.

“Unfortunately, we live in a time when facts are under attack in lots of different ways,” said Murray, “Let me say right up front, this is not going to be about President Trump. Yes, he has a peculiar attitude towards facts, but I think the problem we have as a society predates the election, and will continue long after he’s gone.”

Roush, the dean of the School of Communications, lead the discussion with Murray and asked him what things Fortune Magazine is doing to address issues of accuracy. “I think understanding that the values have to change somewhat and that people need to know that Fortune Magazine, like People Magazine, is committed to being right, more than it is to being first.”

What is Fortune magazine doing to address this issue? What are the standards that Fortune has, and what are they doing to make sure its readers understand that this is a credible news organization?

There are a couple of ways to answer that question.

One is just that in the age of 24/7 news organizations, all of us, have had a shift in priorities, and we explicitly tell our reporters it’s more important that you be right, than you be first. Because somebody who doesn’t care about right is more likely to be first. And then that’s a change from the days of print newspapers when you have a 24/7 news cycle, and you had enough time to do the adequate checking to make sure what you’re putting out is accurate. Sometimes you’d be on deadline and there’d be a lot of pressure, but it’s not the pressure you have now where every minute is madness. I think understanding that the values have to change somewhat and that people need to know that Fortune Magazine, like People Magazine, is committed to being right, more than it is to being first.

The second thing is one of the things that’s happened in the move from print publications to online publications is that there’s been a desperate search for eyeballs, because eyeballs are the way you get more ad dollars. I think that’s had a negative effect on all of journalism because the kinds of things you do to get eyeballs aren’t necessarily the things you would do to ensure the quality of the coverage. Being first helps you get more eyeballs. The google algorithm will treat you better, if you’re first. Having a sharp edge point of view will always get you more eyeballs than giving the straight take on the story. I think the desperate chase for eyeballs has caused a deterioration in journalism, including at Fortune.

What we are doing, in the midst of right now, is changing our business model. We will, in January, put up a paywall, we’re going to focus more on premium journalism, we will depend more on those who read us to pay for the journalism we do. That’s a good thing in terms of our focus because we’re going to be focused on producing news of a quality people are willing to pay for. I’m not sure if it’s a good thing for democracy because the only people who are going to get that news are going to be the people that pay for it.

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“That’s a good thing in terms of our focus because we’re going to be focused on producing news of a quality people are willing to pay for. I’m not sure if it’s a good thing for democracy because the only people who are going to get that news are going to be the people that pay for it.”

— Murray

Tell the Audience a little bit about what’s been happening at Fortune the last couple years, you’ve had three owners in the last two years, is that correct? What does that mean for the magazine?

Its been pretty wild. I joined five years ago just as Time Inc., the magazine company, was being spun out of Time Warner. That actually at the end of the day was a good thing, because what Time Warner had done is said ‘You, Time Inc., will continue to publish magazines, but we will let CNN handle online.’ so Fortune until five years ago, didn’t have a website. The Fortune web presence was part of CNN Money, and they said ‘We’re going to let Warner Brothers be our video outlet. So you can’t do video, you can’t do online, all you can do is print magazines.’ Which is effectively a death sentence. So it was essential to get Time Inc. out of Time Warner. That happened five years ago.

That was about the time I joined Fortune. We spent a lot of time building up our online presence, and when I became chief content officer I really focused on that. One of the things that had happened is there were 24 magazines at Time Inc. They didn’t talk to each other, so there were days, in 2017, I think it was 2017, Adele was at a concert and revealed that she had been asked to perform the Super Bowl, and she said ‘no.’ which was a huge story. We thought ‘How could somebody say no to performing at a Super Bowl?’ and at Time Inc. there were eight different stories written by eight different publications, on that Saturday, largely identical stories. So we weren’t taking advantage, at all in the digital world, of the scale of publishing a bunch of different magazines.

There was another day that same year when two different websites, that were part of Time Inc., published an avocado banana nut bread recipe on the same day. Different recipes. They all had different technology platforms, and it was just crazy. So I spent a lot of time unifying the digital platforms of the 24 magazines, which helped get them a larger digital presence.

But then very shortly after I took the job, Time Inc. was up for sale. We spent a year in investment banking meetings talking to potential buyers of Time Inc., but most of them after closely looking at it said ‘Nah, this is a print magazine, see ya later!’ Finally at the end of that year, Meredith, which publishes Better Homes and Gardens, AllRecipes, and a number of service magazines largely aimed at women, purchased time Inc., and then very quickly said we’re not interested in Henry Luce’s most favored babies, the first publications of Time Magazine. Which were Time, Fortune, Money, and Sports Illustrated, so we’re gonna sell all those. Then we went back into the investment banking process for another year to sell Time, Fortune, Money, and Sports Illustrated.

Murray spoke to the crowd at Quinnipiac about the changing journalism landscape. He talked about how journalists face the constant threat of job loss, and media outlets tanking or being sold. He said “I don’t want to discourage anybody here, but if you can find any place in journalism that isn’t in the midst of constant disruption these days, applause to you. I think what happened among journalist was ‘Yeah, wow. Is this place even gonna be here in a year? But is any other place going to be here in a year?’ It's no more disrupted than any other media organization.” — Murray spoke to the crowd at Quinnipiac about the changing journalism landscape. He talked about how journalists face the constant threat of job loss, and media outlets tanking or being sold. He said “I don’t want to discourage anybody here, but if you can find any place in journalism that isn’t in the midst of constant disruption these days, applause to you. I think what happened among journalist was ‘Yeah, wow. Is this place even gonna be here in a year? But is any other place going to be here in a year?’ It’s no more disrupted than any other media organization.”

Fortune was ultimately bought in December. It’s a long story, I’ll finish up soon, I promise. Fortune was finally sold last December to a Thai billionaire by the name of Chatchaval Jiaravanon, who asked me to be the CEO, and we’ve spent the last eight to nine months carving ourselves out of the company we were in for 89 years, and setting ourselves up.

Big step towards independence on Monday. We moved into new offices.

Because of that uncertainty around Fortune and its future, how do you keep journalists from leaving to go to greener pastures and how do you attract journalists to work at the magazine?

I don’t want to discourage anybody here, but if you can find any place in journalism that isn’t in the midst of constant disruption these days, applause to you. I think what happened among journalist was ‘Yeah, wow. Is this place even gonna be here in a year? But is any other place going to be here in a year?’ It’s no more disrupted than any other media organization.

I mean, think about what we’ve been through in the last couple of years with the rise and the collapse of MIC, the millennial news organization, which a year before it collapsed was seen as the kind of answer that everybody should follow. I mean BuzzFeed has had its ups and downs. I think for those of you who want to go into journalism careers you need to have good seat belts because it’s not a smooth ride.

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“I mean, think about what we’ve been through in the last couple of years with the rise and the collapse of MIC, the millennial news organization, which a year before it collapsed was seen as the kind of answer that everybody should follow. I mean BuzzFeed has had its ups and downs. I think for those of you who want to go into journalism careers you need to have good seat belts because it’s not a smooth ride. ”

— Murray

How can I get my 79-year-old mother to stop reading Facebook for her news?

Yeah, I know what you’re saying. It’s really tough. I think you need to sit and have a conversation with her about the importance of facts and the importance of truth.

She doesn’t want facts she just wants to read what she wants to read.

If we’re going to survive as a society, I think we need to get beyond that, but I think your mother will probably be okay at this point, but the rest of us need to figure out a way to get beyond that.

Dean Roush sat down next to Murray to lead the discussion on the future of journalism. Roush amused the audience when he asked how he can stop his 79-year-old mother from reading her news on Facebook. “She doesn’t want facts she just wants to read what she wants to read,” said Roush.

Roush then opened the room for discussion,

Attendees picked Murray’s brain for approximately 30 minutes on everything from paywalls, to the possibility of there being one central organization everyone believes as factual,

Though Fortune is pursuing standards to improve its story’s truth and accuracy, some feel larger solutions are still out there blowing in the wind.

“People have certain beliefs, so anything that supports them, it makes them more comfortable,” said Don Everett, Milford, “I’m not sure what can be done about it. How do you reach people who are so involved in social media today?”

What Everett expressed relates to the issue Roush raised with his mother. No matter how much quality journalism is out there, they feel people will continue to go on social media and be surrounded by a bubble of information they find to be true.

Everett believes this creates problems.

“They don’t have time to even think about checking what they hear, they’re processing and going on to something else,” said Everett. “I’m not sure what can be done.”

People in the Mount Carmel auditorium sat as Murray gave an introduction highlighting everything from how he got started as a journalist at 9, and what he believes the solutions are to keeping journalism accurate and safe in the future.

Although Everett felt some questions were left unanswered, one audience member was impressed by Murray’s appearance.

“I didn’t expect him to be so capable of answering questions,” said William Dean, freshman journalism major, Quinnipiac. “He was very quick on his feet, and I appreciated his ability to answer questions thoroughly, and interestingly. He kept the audience engaged, and you don’t normally expect that from a CEO of a big company.”

Avoiding a ‘trick’ this Halloween

While students are putting the finishing touches on their costumes for Halloween, those at the Health and Wellness Center are making sure that everyone has a safe holiday.

As part of Wellness Wednesdays, the Health and Wellness Center tabled outside of Starbucks in the Student Center to educate students on the importance of bystander intervention and the alcohol content within common drinks.

This week’s Halloween theme brought awareness to the alcohol content in drinks.

“We’re focusing on National Alcohol Awareness Week,” Carisha Moore, a graduate biomedical science student, said. “This one is called ‘Don’t Get Tricked’ and about bystander intervention. So really just learning more about what you can do to look out for your friends and figuring out what are risky kinds of alcohol.”

The table was lined with a beer can, a bottle of wine and red solo cups to illustrate how the physical amount of liquid doesn’t represent the strength of that type of alcohol.

Carisha Moore (left) and Tami Reilly (right) host Wellness Wednesdays weekly in the Student Center.

“Often times you think that a shot isn’t that much, so it’s not going to impact you that much,” Tami Reilly, director of fitness and wellness, said while at the table. “But you realize how much alcohol is in it and even things like getting a drink from someone you don’t know is risky behavior.”

Along with candy, those who stopped by the table also could pick up handouts with information on alcohol awareness. According to one of the sheets, a typical red solo cup can hold two standard-sized beers or filling it halfway with 80-proof liquor can be five standard drinks.

“These (handouts) remind us that if you’re going to drink, take care of yourself,” Reilly said. “Know what you’re drinking, know how much so you don’t get tricked. It happens to so many people. They’re not aware of what’s in their drink. Someone keeps refilling their cup and that’s when a problem happens.”

Each Wednesday, the Health and Wellness Center tables with a new theme with the goal to help students become more proactive about their health. In the past, they’ve hosted, “Take Back the Juuls” for students to hand in their vaping and nicotine products. The department plans to focus on de-stressing during exam week.

“We have a calendar that we put out at the start of the semester,” Reilly said. “And every week has a different theme related to wellness that can help students tune in to be more aware of their overall wellness.”

From head chef to hostess

Discovering the steps involved in creating a dish that goes beyond the recipe

By Alexis Guerra

You’re sitting at a table in a restaurant. Your stomach is growling. You’ve had a long day at work. And you have just enough energy left to chow down on your food. That is, when it finally arrives. For the past several minutes you’ve been teased by platters of burgers, sandwiches, drafts of beer, you name it. Finally, the server pushes open the heavy double doors of the kitchen, with a tray in hand. You lock eyes, hoping that one of those white plates contains your next meal. To your satisfaction, they set the plate of steaming hot wings right under your nose.

Dig in.

Side Street Grille has been in business since 1996.

We’ve followed the journey from waiting to receiving your meal, but what happened before that and what separates the good from the bad in the restaurant industry?

If you were to pose these questions to Hamden’s Side Street Grille owner Dave DeNicola, he’d tell you it takes time and massive amounts of preparation.

Read the full story here.

Nests underwater

Why the salt marsh sparrow is going extinct, and how rising seas and climate change are sealing its fate.

The salt marsh sparrow, a song bird found in coastal marshes from Maine to Virginia, is losing about 9% of its population each year. Sea level rise and a transforming environment are predicted to seal the bird’s grim fate. The sparrow is projected to join the likes of the dodo bird and passenger pigeon within the next 51 years. Photo courtesy of Patrick Comins, Executive Director, The Connecticut Audubon Society.

As sea levels continue to rise, conservationists work hard to ensure the future of Connecticut’s 98-plus miles of coastal marshes.

Connecticut’s coastal marshes help protect communities from ravaging storms and battering waves, and many species, including the salt marsh sparrow, call them home.

To safeguard marshes Sacred Heart University has positioned large Swiss-cheese-like concrete balls in front of a section of a marsh at Stratford Point, where Audubon Connecticut now manages them. Scientists call them reef balls, and they reduce the impact of slapping waves.

A scientist who helps manage the site says salt marshes and their inhabitants are better off thanks to the hollow concrete orbs.

Above: The reef balls at Stratford Point in 2014 compared to 2017. Over the three-year course there’s a noticeable increase in reef balls. In 2017, the marsh behind the balls appears to be more lush.

“There’s some hope for salt marshes, and salt marsh sparrows. Instead of killing a marsh, we actually grew one,” said Genevieve Nuttall, conservation programs associate at Audubon Connecticut.

A conservation project started by Sacred Heart University and managed by Audubon Connecticut involves concrete spheres called reef balls in front of a portion of the marsh at Stratford Point to protect it. Photo courtesy of Genevieve Nuttall.

Reef balls provide moderate optimism for Nuttall, but the researcher leading the charge on salt marsh sparrow research says current conservation projects may not be enough for salt marsh sparrows that nest in these salt marshes.

“It’s positive that people are starting to pay even a little bit of attention and try to experiment, but given that these birds have as little as 20 years, not 50 or 60 years, it’s just not clear we can solve the problem fast enough to be able to prevent the extinction,” said Dr. Chris Elphick, an ornithologist at the University of Connecticut.

Due to more frequent nest flooding the salt marsh sparrow, which nests exclusively in salt marshes on the Atlantic coastline from Maine to Virginia, is predicted to join the likes of the dodo bird and passenger pigeon within the next 51 years.

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology currently lists the sparrow as a priority bird, and sea level rise fueled by climate change is drowning it out of existence.

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“Our model suggests somewhere around the middle of this century we expect this species to go extinct,” said Elphick, “It could be as early as the 2030s, or it could be as late as the 2060s. ”

— Elphick

Population Decline

Elphick says that if we started 20 years ago, maybe the outlook for salt marsh sparrows would be better.

His data projects somewhere between the 2030s and 2060s the point of no return will be reached, meaning that nest flooding will occur every two weeks. Two weeks is too frequent for the nests and their delicate contents. Though this critical point hasn’t been reached yet, scientists are seeing the destruction taking place.

A former student of Elphick’s has witnessed the population decline.

“I’ve worked on marshes where in 2007 I could go out and capture 50 salt marsh sparrows in a day very easily,” said Jennifer Walsh, a researcher with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. “I’d return to the same marshes in 2015-2016 and maybe see four birds on the whole marsh.”

Populations are dying fast.

Elphick says 75% of the global population of salt marsh sparrows has disappeared since the 1990s. That’s roughly 9% of the population dying every year.

“If you can assume that the rate of decline continues, that suggests that the species is on a very rapid trajectory towards extinction,” said Elphick.

Nesting

Sea level rise is making it difficult for the species to nest successfully.

Their nesting territory is in the high marsh and they build their nests right above the high tide line in the grass. Walsh says looking down into the opening of her 12-ounce coffee cup reminds her of looking into a sparrow’s nest.

The rapidly disappearing salt marsh sparrow nests in the tall grasses of coastal salt marshes. Walsh says looking down into the opening of her 12-ounce coffee cup reminds her of looking into a sparrow’s nest. Elphick says the sparrow is a unique songbird because the fathers are promiscuous, and nests often contain eggs from multiple fathers. Unlike other song birds, the fathers do not protect the nesting territory. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

High marsh areas are used to flooding occurring about every 28 days.

“Salt marsh sparrows have a nesting cycle that’s about 26-27 days long,” said Walsh.

But tides are getting too high.

“Historically this (26-27 days) has been enough to get them through these high tides, but tides are getting higher due to sea level rise, and we’re having these more unpredictable storms, and the frequency and duration of storms is cutting into their nesting cycle and making it harder for them to fledge offspring.”

Where the species is adapted to living is no longer safe.

“Basically the places that are safe within these marshes that these birds have evolved to be able to use are becoming less and less safe even though they are specialized and are able to identify these good spots, these spots are getting worse, and worse, and worse,” said Elphick.

The tides are changing too fast.

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“If they had thousands of years to evolve new habitat selection behaviors, then they could probably handle the changes, but these changes are happening too fast. The population is already so small that the likelihood they could evolve to those changes on a reasonable timeline is very, very, very low.”

— Elphick

Photos courtesy of Patrick Comins.

Rising Water

Sea level rise shows no signs of stopping.

Data from NASA shows sea levels rising at 3.3 millimeters a year. If rise continues at this rate, then 100 years from now water levels will be over a foot higher, and this will mean more devastating high tides. Levels a foot higher are impactful for coastal locations like Miami, New York City, Bridgeport and New Haven.

The city of New Haven is one of the cities in Connecticut that’s expected to be affected by sea level rise. Nasa data suggests rise at 3.3 millimeters a year. In 100 years a foot of water will be encroaching on New Haven and coastal cities across the globe.

Connecticut’s communities are already taking on water.

“All of our coastal towns, not only in this state, but across the Atlantic seaboard are realizing that the sea is rising, their infrastructure is getting flooded on a much more constant manner, and during high tides a lot of roads are underwater where 20 years ago they weren’t,” said Min Huang, a migratory bird program leader at the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection.

Sea level rise is flooding towns, diminishing salt marshes, and expected to cost Connecticut a pretty penny.

According to SeaLevelRise.org, “There are already over 7,000 properties at risk from frequent tidal flooding in Connecticut. The state is planning over $2 billion in sea level rise solutions, which include restoration projects, catastrophic flood prevention, and building seawalls.”

With sea level rise, coastal wetlands across Connecticut and the U.S. are disappearing.

According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service, more than half of all of America’s wetlands have been lost since the 1780s. Connecticut is one of ten states that has lost over 70% of its wetland acreage since the 1780s.

If Connecticut and other areas lose their coastal marshes, they lose the benefits that come with them.

The Value of Marshes

With dwindling wetlands Walsh says we lose important biodiversity and natural storm barriers.

“I think preserving salt marsh habitats should speak to everyone because salt marshes provide barriers from coastal storms, and it’s been shown that places with active and healthy salt marsh ecosystems have saved millions, and millions of dollars,” said Walsh.

Research suggests she’s right.

“We estimate that coastal wetlands saved more than US $625 million in avoided flood damages from Hurricane Sandy across the northeastern USA,” wrote Siddharth Narayan and others in a 2016 report, “Coastal Wetlands and Damage Reduction.”

Lost coastal marshes means communities inland lose a natural barrier from clobbering storms and thumping waves.

“If you think of salt marshes as a buffer, the storm will hit the marsh instead of the house, which will help prevent an insurance crisis,” said Nuttall.

On top of that, Nuttall says marshes are responsible for absorbing and storing greenhouse gases.

Less marshland results in less protection, and storms hit local communities harder, causing millions more in damage.

Mass Extinction

We’re not just losing marshes though. According to scientists, fading coastal wetlands, and the extinction of the salt marsh sparrow are emblematic of a larger issue: climate change and the degradation of Earth’s ecosystems.

Elphick says the salt marsh sparrow is the proverbial “canary in the coal mine.”

“Humans are decimating wildlife habitats across the globe right now and whether people want to believe it or not, we’re going through the greatest mass extinction in human history,” said Huang of the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection.

There have been a number of mass extinction events throughout geological time. Elphick says that since humans have been on the earth, we’re now facing the fastest rate of extinction across species since the death of the dinosaurs.

“The current number of species that have been lost is nothing like as severe as those previous mass extinctions, but the rate at which species are starting to go extinct, or predicted to go extinct in the next century or so is equivalent to during those mass extinction events,” said Elphick.

This has big implications for humans.

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“If the animals can’t live here, then ultimately the humans won’t be able to live here either. Again, humans are really just animals as well.”

— Huang

Current climate change and extinction trends boil down to toxic human activities.

“The fundamental problem is that we’re very massively changing the climate on the planet, and if we don’t get serious about doing something, then it will not just affect the sparrow, it’s going to affect hundreds of different species of birds and other things, as well as having very serious repercussions for people,” said Elphick.

A plastic spoon among seashells and seaweed on a beach at Lighthouse Point Park, New Haven, Connecticut. Humans are changing the natural environment by putting things into it that are not meant to be there. A couple examples are trash, and gaseous emissions.

Where Humans Fit In

Scientists agree, humans are destroying the environment. The things is that humans have the ability to change this. Elphick says the the planet hasn’t reached the point of no return yet, but it will if people don’t take action.

Scientists say if you want to help, reduce your individual carbon footprint, get involved in your community, and vote for politicians that prioritize the environment. To preserve marsh life, a video by Coastal Resilience says to ask your congress members to support natural and coastal infrastructure projects, and to support the expansion of the Coastal Barrier Resources Act.

Humans play a major role in helping fight against climate change and destruction of the environment. Actions such as reducing individual carbon output can help in combating climate change. Made with Pablo.

Researchers say the sparrow likely can’t be saved.

“A single species like a sparrow is not terribly important,” said Elphick, “The trouble is we’re taking this attitude with hundreds of species, if not millions of species. That continuous erosion of biodiversity does have repercussions on how the ecosystem works, and it impoverishes the variety of life on the planet, and has aesthetic, ethical, as well as economic consequences for us.”

Humans are degrading the environment, and wiping species off the face of the earth. People alive and soon to be alive will no longer be able to see some of the precious wildlife that exists now.

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“One way to think about it is if you took one Van Gogh and burned it, would that really change anyone’s life? Probably not, but it would be one less bit of beauty in the world and one less thing of interest in the world.”

— Elphick

Hamden plans to crack down on blighted properties

Residents voiced concerns while Mayor Curt Leng was on the campaign trail

By Peter Dewey

Hamden Mayor Curt Leng is planning a new initiative, “Hamden fights blight,” to clean up abandoned and unsightly properties in town.

Leng, who mentioned this idea in a radio interview with the New Haven Independent on Oct. 3, said that he found blight was a common theme among resident concerns while campaigning door-to-door for the Democratic primary this fall.

“Residents talked about quality of life issues and improving the neighborhoods,” Leng said. “That ranged from street paving sidewalks, trees, traffic and blight. It is something that I have been interested in since I was on the council.”

The town has compiled a “hot-list” of seven properties that need immediate attention.

The locations given to the planning and zoning department include: 37 Stevens St., 922 Winchester Ave., 2038 State St., 293 Goodrich St., 891 Dixwell Ave., 635 Wintergreen Ave. and 560 Newhall St.

The old Hamden Middle School, located at 560 Newhall St., is one of the seven blighted properties on the town’s hot list. Mayor Curt Leng is making renovation of the property a priority.

While Leng said that the “hot-list” includes these seven properties, he said there are about 20 to 25 properties in Hamden that he believes will need attention.

“In the zoning world, we’re going to try something called ‘Hamden fights blight,’” Leng said. “It means that we’re going to be a little more aggressive attacking the blight list that we have, that we know about.”

Of the seven properties, Leng said there are five residential, one commercial and one town-owned.

The town-owned property is the old Hamden Middle School, located at 560 Newhall St.

“Leaving the school like that lowers the property value,” Shanelle Rudolph said. “The neighbors are upset.”

The middle school has been abandoned for several years after it was found to be built on top of a former toxic waste dump.

“I can’t remember how long its been (since the middle school has been abandoned) but it has been a very long time,” Mike Ortega, a member of the parks department, said. “I heard the talk of the town was turning the property into elderly housing or low income housing.”

Residents in the area have expressed concern with the fact that the abandoned property doesn’t represent their community well.

“I would like the town to hire people and come clean (the old middle school) up,” Anne Marie Cruz, a Hamden resident, said. “When (graffiti on buildings) happens at Yale, they clean it up the next day, because they don’t want to offend anyone.

“That’s the way we should think. There are very nice people from all walks of life living around here. There’s a lot of diversity and that’s what I think makes it nice.”

Cruz, who lives on Sheffield Street, said that she knows of another house abandoned there after the owners passed away. She said someone still cleans the property, but that it hasn’t been lived in for a while.

Leng was adamant that the crack down on blight will be used for places that are empty household or abandoned properties.

He also said that this will occur after attempts to contact and get the property owner to clean the property are not successful.

Hamden residents are also eager for the town to clean up a property on 922 Winchester Ave. (shown below).

“It looks bad in the area,” said resident Veronica Gram, referring to 922 Winchester Ave., another hot-list property. “If they could fix it or break it down or sell the lot or something. It looks terrible, it’s not good at all.”

According to Leng, one of the properties on the list, located on Goodrich Street, is partially in Hamden and partially in New Haven. It used to be a three-family house, but the town now has new plans if they are able to seize it from the previous owner.

“The one on Goodrich is 40% New Haven, 60% Hamden,” Leng said. “It is being foreclosed by the City of New Haven and (Hamden) is already in the process of doing it on our side as well. Once we get a hold of it and control of the property, we are going to hand it over to the Hamden Economic Development Corporation.”

“When we get control of it we are going to knock it down,” Leng told the New Haven Independent. “This has been an eyesore for a long time. It’s been empty. There was a fire many years ago and I believe it is something that you can’t occupy anyways.”

The Department of Planning and Zoning states on its website that residents with complaints about blight need to fill out a form in order to trigger an inspection.

If a violation is found, the staff will work with the property owner to resolve the problem.

“The goal of ‘Hamden fights blight’ is to be more proactive,” Leng said. “Right now, we receive the complaints. What I would like to see us do is to do two streets per week of proactively going out and inspecting. It’s a really simple concept, but we haven’t done it up until now.”

Eat fat or go home

Two customers enjoying wings and a fat sandwich.

It was a typical Saturday night at Rutgers University when one college kid stumbled home in need of a late night snack. After randomly combining unique ingredients into a sandwich, he realized how delicious this “fat sandwich” was and decided to share it with other college students.

This started a fat sandwich wave that hit Hamden in November of 2018 when Mario Nicolaides opened Fat Wedge U on Whitney Avenue.

The concept for Fat Wedge U began when Nicolaides took a trip to New Jersey with his friends for a fat sandwich. After a few years and various jobs, Nicolaides opened a fat sandwich shop in Connecticut.

“My partner and I grew up in the restaurant business and we saw this concept and we added our own flare to it and took it a step further,” Nicolaides said.

The handwritten specials at the entrance of Fat Wedge.

Wedged in between a liquor store and a nail salon, the restaurant has a seemingly ordinary external appearance.

However, when customers pull open the door, they are met with a vibrant red interior with aesthetically hand-written specials written by Nicolaides’ wife.

Nicolaides can be found behind the counter helping customers and making food. With each new customer to pull open the door, he greets them with a smile and a friendly conversation.

The menu, while containing some seemingly normal plates like burgers and fries, primarily consists of sandwiches, wraps and burgers that are loaded with ingredients like mozzarella sticks, chicken tenders, onion rings and mac & cheese bites.

“As far as the ingredients, we sample around and see what goes good with each other even if something sounds crazy, it might end up being really good,” Nicolaides said.

Besides the widespread toppings, each sandwich also has a distinctive name.

“Most of the names are from people that went to school, the different locations we went to,” Nicolaides said.

There are some interesting names for these subs like the Fat Crispy Cozz, which was named after a girl at Southern Connecticut University, while others like the Fat Blunt and the Fat Bitch are simpler yet outrageous names for a sandwich.

While most locals don’t seem to mind the quirky sandwich names, it has proved to be a possible roadblock for Nicolaides and Quinnipiac University.

Q-cash, which is a way for students to pay for laundry and supplies at the bookstore, started expanding to local restaurants and stores in Hamden popular with students. However, the university isn’t interested in doing business with Nicolaides.

“They didn’t really give us a reason,” he commented. “We assume it’s because of the names of the sandwiches and we told them we would change them but they don’t want to do business with us.”

Nicolaides working the register at Fat Wedge U.

When the university was asked about why it was reluctant to do business with Nicolaides, the university said it had no comment.

Despite this slight setback, students and locals seem to enjoy the sandwiches, according to Nicolaides.

“One sandwich could easily fit two meals, and for what you get it’s a decent price,” Andrew Dixon, junior international business major, said.

Around lunchtime, first-time customers casually stride through the door and Nicolaides smiles and hands them a menu. “First time here?” He asks a daughter and her dad excitedly.

They both nod and he smiles. Here comes his favorite part of owning a fat sandwich shop: customer’s reactions.

“Seeing people’s reaction is probably the most rewarding part of it all,” he said.

What you should do about preventing the flu

As flu season approaches, Quinnipiac University is being proactive again this year by offering free flu shots to students, faculty and staff.

As a part of the Quinnipiac nursing program, senior nursing students administer the vaccination to the university community. Nursing student Julia Johnson thinks students should think beyond themselves when deciding whether to get the vaccine.

“What I often tell people who are reluctant to get their flu shot is to think of their grandparents. The older we get, the more immunocompromised we become, meaning our bodies are less capable from fighting off infection.”

Senior student Kristen Altmeyer getting her flu shot at Quinnipiac on Thursday. Photo: Leah Sutherland — Senior student Kristen Altmeyer getting her flu shot at Quinnipiac on Thursday.

Photo: Leah Sutherland

The CDC reported that between 70% and 90% of seasonal flu-related deaths have occurred in people 65 years and older.

“Our healthcare works on the basis of herd immunity, the idea that those whose immune systems are strong enough to fight off an infection are vaccinated to protect those who aren’t,” Johnson said.

Quinnipiac is offering free flu shots for all students and faculty at the university who have a QCard. The flu shot is also being offered at many pharmacies and doctors’ offices around the country.

“Being able to offer that service to Quinnipiac students, free of charge, creates more awareness and a community effort toward eliminating cases of the flu,” Johnson explained. “And we’ve had record breaking numbers getting their flu shot so far this year.”

Used vaccination containers used throughout the day at Quinnipiac. Photo: Leah Sutherland — Used vaccination containers used throughout the day at Quinnipiac.

Photo: Leah Sutherland

Although the CDC recommends everyone over the age of 6 months gets their flu shot, it’s estimated that over half of the adults in America do not get the vaccination.

Senior Kayla Hoesly has never gotten the flu shot.

“I don’t get it because I’ve never gotten the flu before, so I just feel like it’s not necessary.”

According to the CDC, last year’s flu season was the longest in 10 years. As a part of the 2018-2019 US flu season report, the CDC reported that the flu season started October 1, 2018, and ended May 4, 2019.

The CDC also reported that there were 42.9 million cases of flu, up to 647,000 hospitalizations and up to 61,200 flu deaths last year.

Health professionals say that influenza is unpredictable from season to season. The flu is recurring every year but the timing, severity and length of the season vary from one season to another.

Vaccinations prepped for students at Quinnipiac. Photo: Leah Sutherland — Vaccinations prepped for students at Quinnipiac.

Photo: Leah Sutherland

The CDC recommends people get their flu shot by the end of October. Students who missed the clinic can attend the second round of free flu shots on campus next Tuesday October 15, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. or Wednesday October 16, from 12:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Students can also receive a flu shot at local pharmacies like Walgreens located at 1697 Whitney Ave. and CVS located at 2045 Dixwell Ave.