It’s that time of year again at Quinnipiac University. The weather is warmer so students are on the quad, flowers are blooming, and May Weekend was upon us.
Some of the Bobcats knew right away what they were doing to ring in this anticipated weekend. Jensen Coppa, a sophomore at Quinnipiac said, “I’m planning to go out with my friends just during the day and then probably out for my friends birthday at night.”
Although the weather was looking like rain all weekend, students weren’t going to let it rain on their parade.
“The weather isn’t going to stop me from enjoying another successful end of the year,” said Matt McAuliffe, a junior at Quinnipiac University.
May Weekend is a weekend where students can have some fun around this busy time that is the end of the semester. However, with the fun comes some safety concerns around campus too.
Students realize the issues that can occur over the weekend, and some students hoped Public Safety would also do what they can to keep the university safe.
“I think public safety should handle it by checking the QCards,” Coppa said. “Sometimes they’ll stay on Hogan Road and they’ll ask and I feel like they should do that just to be safe because there are a lot of instances where people are just walking on.”
If you ask some of the Bobcat’s they’ll say it’s just like any other weekend, but others believe students should be allowed to enjoy themselves.
“If kids are having fun and it looks like a safe environment, try not to interfere,” said McAuliffe.
May Weekend may be a stress reliever to some, but McAuliffe was looking forward to one thing for sure.
“Just enjoying the company of my friends,” said McAuliffe. “Because a lot of times it is about the company and not the location.”
May Weekend is even seen as a way to celebrate as the school year comes to a close.
“It’s a great way to get students to come together and celebrate another successful end of the year,” said McAuliffe.
Quinnipiac Spring Concert took place this Saturday at the Quinnipiac People’s United Center. The 3-hour concert was presented by the Student Programming Board and hosted Blackbear and Bryce Vine as the artists.
Even though SPB’s intentions to bring people into the concert were good, not too many students attended the event.
“I wasn’t really interested in Blackbear, he’s just not someone I want to see perform, and I know two of his songs and stuff like that so it just didn’t appeal to me,” Quinnipiac student Sarah Boulanger said.
“I didn’t know who they were, I was like who’s Blackbear? I’ve never heard of him…” Quinnipiac senior Tommy Yang said.
Although some of the students that went to the concert had a good time, they felt bad for the artists due the lack of audience.
“I mean I thought it was quite sad at first to walk in and only see half of the audience and no one sitting down,” Quinnipiac student Anna Walmsley said.
Students also mentioned last year’s artist Khalid as a huge success. “When Khalid came it was completely packed, and there was a line outside the door to get in whereas this year there was no line or anything, it was just easier to get in” Walmsley said.
“I was kind of expecting more people going, apparently a lot more people went to last’s year concert Khalid, but it’s also Khalid, everyone knows who Khalid is,” Yang said.
Students like Boulanger hope that next year’s artist will be more appealing to Quinnipiac: “hopefully someone that appeals to Quinnipiac more, Blackbear is someone that was top chart once in 2017 or 16, or something like that, he hasn’t really being around since then, so hopefully someone a little more hipped up I guess.”
Quinnipiac undergraduates made their voices heard Wednesday April, 10 as they selected the next group of leaders in the Student Government Association (SGA) elections.
Austin Calvo, President Elect and Luke Ahearn, Class of 2020 Senator
After a tight race, Austin Calvo was the biggest winner of the night, beating out Luke Ahearn to become the new SGA president. Calvo ran on a platform of transparency and advocacy, and vows to represent all students.
“I am prepared to fight for you and give you the Quinnipiac that you deserve,” Calvo said, addressing his constituents in his first interview as President Elect with Q30. “We deserve a Quinnipiac where we feel our experience and our opportunities reflect the price tag.”
Over 3000 students casted their votes from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday on Quinnipiac’s Do You QU system. Vice President for Public Relations and Marketing, Victoria Johnson, sent out a press release via email to share the election results with the Quinnipiac community just after 10:30 p.m.
“Student Government would like to thank all who participated in the election and encourages all students to find what they enjoy being involved in on campus during their time at Quinnipiac,” the statement read.
Making up the rest of the SGA executive board will be Vice President Elect Sophia Marshall, Vice President for Finance Elect Glenn Adams, Vice President for Student Experience Elect Esau Green, Vice President for Public Relations Elect Jamien Jean-Baptise, and Chief Justice Elect Lille Gaeta.
Quinnipiac students such as Ambar Mercedes, junior advertising major, say they are hopeful and eager to see what changes are brought about by the new group of elected leaders.
“I think a lot the leaders who the student body chose are going to really be able to represent us as students,” Mercedes said.
Other notable victories include Julia Suesser, Class of 2020 President, Meghan McNulty, Class of 2021 President, and Alec Williams, Class of 2022 President.
Below are the full results of the 2019 Student Government Elections:
2019-2020 Student Government Association Executive Board
President: Austin Calvo
Vice President: Sophia Marshall
Vice President for Finance: Glenn Adams
Vice President for Student Experience: Esau Greene
Vice President for Marketing and Public Relations: Jamien Jean-Baptiste
Judicial and Ethics Board
Chief Justice: Lille Gaeta
Justice: Matthew Forcino
Justice: Kyra Angileri
Justice: Mel Lugo
Specialized Representation Senators:
Multicultural and Idenity Senators: Sierra Cornelison and Tina Asfaw
Ska-punk band Reel Big Fish will make their way to Burt Kahn Court this coming Saturday.
The band will be performing as the headliner for WQAQ’s Springfest concert along with opening act Asceral Envictus.
This year, WQAQ decided on their performers differently than in years past. Sophia Alfieri, the radio station’s Public Relations manager, said this year was more focused on what the students wanted,
“This year we did things a little differently, we sent outa poll” said Alfieri, “they vote in the poll, we get the results back, we look at the top and then we reach out.”
Rapper Flipp Dinero headlined last year’s Springfest concert, but students are showing excitement for the change in genre.
“I like the rough, I like the little things, the stank notes” said Quinnipiac student Sean Raggio, “I just feel like I can connect to it more.”
The concert will precede Student Programming Board’s Wake the Giant concert featuring rappers Blackbear and Bryce Vine, but students are still excited to see the 90’s ska band.
“I feel like there will be different crowds,” said Raggio, “but I think Springfest will be a better show.”
Students enter free with their Q-Card and doors open for the event at 7 P.M.
Three NCAA women’s basketball tournament wins. Three NIRA rugby championships. One NCAA Women’s Frozen Four appearance.
All after one Title IX case.
Quinnipiac University’s women’s athletic teams have thrived in the aftermath of the case that is now 10 years old. It stemmed from a decision to cut the volleyball and add competitive cheer, an activity a judge later ruled to be not a sport for Title IX accounting.
Under federal Title IX provisions, schools must offer equal opportunity for men and women to compete in sports as determined by the gender ratio. In other words, if Quinnipiac women stand at 65 percent of the school’s enrollment, then 65 percent of athletic rosters must consist of women athletes.
In 2009, the University cut women’s volleyball for a cheer team. However, with the cheer team lacking competition, a federal judge ruled that it could not qualify as a sport.
Five volleyball players and the coach at the time, Robin Sparks, refused to back down and filed a federal lawsuit claiming that Quinnipiac had violated provisions of Title IX. The university reinstated the team pending the lawsuit’s outcome.
This on-going case led to a consent decree, which by definition is an agreement or settlement that resolves a dispute between two parties without admission of guilt or liability. This decree ultimately led to the building of the new soccer, lacrosse and field hockey stadiums at Quinnipiac.
Even though the outcome has been positive, female athletes have felt adversity since the case. The women’s volleyball team just fired its two coaches after another losing season. Even women’s rugby has struggled to gain recognition from the university, being forced to play on a field smaller than regulation for the last few years. With these situations to consider, this case has been a driver for success.
Because of these leaders in our community, women’s athletics have been responsible for some major growth at Quinnipiac. They have brought the Bobcat faithful new stadiums, national recognition and plenty of winning.
I interviewed three athletes who either attend or attended Quinnipiac to get their perspectives on Title IX, the court case and how the drive of equality continues.
John Franklin: In your time at Quinnipiac University, the Title IX lawsuit was a prevalent situation. How do you remember it effecting your career and the athletic department as a whole?
Elizabeth Kloos: I did read through all the court documents before my freshman year so I knew what I was headed into, but honestly so many of the lawsuit requirements had been taken care of before I arrived that it wasn’t talked about much.
Elizabeth Kloos playing middle hitter during her senior year at Quinnipiac University.
We did have meetings with the lawyers to ensure that the details of the settlement were still being followed, which I genuinely think they were, and it emphasized that we knew who the Title IX coordinator was if any issues arose. But otherwise it never really crossed my mind.
I do want to say that I do not feel that there were any negative repercussions towards the team because of the lawsuit, which says a lot about Quinnipiac. I think in some places a lawsuit like this could create a lot of tension between the volleyball team and other coaches, admin, etc. but I never heard anyone talking poorly about the lawsuit or the settlement requirements. Maybe because in the end it kind of benefited all athletes? Still impressive.
JF: How can you say athletics has shaped you to become who you are today?
EK: Athletics has forced me to have relationships with so many different people. I think that is what I am most thankful for. The people you meet in athletic environments are so driven and brilliant in their own inspiring ways, you can’t help but take a little piece of each person with you when you move on.
Athletics has also forced me out of my comfort zone and I don’t think anything else could have done that to that extent. I would have never moved across the country twice if it weren’t for athletics. But I did, and I learned and experienced so much good and bad from it!
And to reemphasize, I met so many great people! I look back and cannot believe the amazing people I would have never known. I still keep in contact with so many people that athletics connected me with- way more than people I met outside of athletics. So yeah, so thankful for the special people that have shaped me into me, and thankful for athletics for bringing us together!
JF: All things considered, the Title IX case came out in a very positive direction for the volleyball program. Looking back, would you change how it all went down or would you keep it the same?
EK: Because so much of the lawsuit/settlement had been taken care of before I got to Quinnipiac, I wasn’t really in the “hot seat” of it. I just happened to benefit from it. BUT I am so appreciative of and inspired by those that were involved throughout the whole process.
Having the courage to take on an entire University for something as controversial as Title IX is so impressive to me. Plus, they had to know that the entire process would take so long that it was unlikely that they would even benefit from the settlements (if they won). What an awesome group of females that stood up for the girls that would be following in their footsteps, again, the people!
JF: Other athletes must look up to you for the path you forged. What do you say to young girls everywhere trying to live their academic and athletic dream?
EK: I think being involved in athletics at any level is such an awesome opportunity. You don’t have to be the best player to reap the rewards athletics offers. Be a good teammate, and have a positive impact on those around you.
Those are the people that make it big in life. No one is going to look up your stats once it’s over, trust me. And it is hard to practice those skills outside of athletics, so stick with it.
JF: Being a former athlete at this school, was there ever a time you thought female athletics were treated less than men’s?
Jessica Bracamonte: In terms of equipment, supplies, training facilities, and coaching/support staff I believe that both the women’s and men’s team were treated equally. Typically, we trained on the same fields and lifted in the same weight rooms. We all received apparel and all equipment necessary to play the sport.
The only aspect in which I would have considered the women’s team to have been treated less than men’s would be the popularity and fan base at the games. There is always a larger fan base and turn out for men’s athletics than at female’s. It’s sad because female athletes are truly exceptional and very fun to watch.
Jessica Bracamonte signing her letter of intent to play for Quinnipiac University.
JF: How well were you made aware of the Title IX lawsuit QU went through just a couple years before you arrived to play on campus?
JB: I was not aware of the Title IX lawsuit QU went through until Junior year when I was joining the club lacrosse team. They informed me that the team was not affiliated with Quinnipiac as a result of the lawsuit.
JF: Do you know what Title IX is, what it does, and who it protects?
JB: I believe Title IX is used to protect groups of people against inequality in sports? For example, it ensures that a female athletic team receives the same support, gear, and budget as a male athletic team. Beyond that I’m not that sure. I know they educated us on it while I was playing.
JF: What do you tell girls who are trying to move on in their careers and play college sports?
JB: You have to have strong time management skills. Be prepared to sacrifice a lot of social events and late night hang outs. Also be prepared to meet your best friends, have the time of your life, and work harder than you ever have.
It’s beautiful to have a whole team of people you can rely on. You just need to be disciplined in both your academics and athletics. I would say follow your heart and trust your gut. You’ll know within a month or two if playing a college sport is what you truly want to be doing. The sport should always be something you love even when it gets hard, if it’s not it might be time to say goodbye to it.
JF: Being a female athlete, throughout your entire career did you ever feel like women’s sports have taken a back seat to men’s?
Allison Roethke: I have always felt that women’s sports have “sat in the backseat” to men’s. My parents actually had me play boys hockey growing up. They thought that it would be better for my future because of the lack of attention women’s sports was receiving in my town at the time.
JF: Female athletes maintain such an inspirational stature in the sports world. When you step on the ice, who would you say you “play for”?
Quinnipiac Junior Allison Roethke
AK: It’s so cliche but we all play for the little girl watching us from the stands. We see that little girl and it reminds us of where we started. We want them to see us, and think “Wow, I can do that!”, and they can. We are powerful people in a very important time for women.
JF: When you were growing up, was there a big inspiration you had to get you to play sports at the D1 level?
AK: My older sister. I always wanted to do everything that she did. She ended up committing to UConn and I ended up following in her footstep out to the east coast to play as well. She always showed me that it’s worth it to try and make a change.
JF: QU is set to host the women’s Frozen Four this year. Something that ten years ago during the Title IX case seemed impossible. How proud are you of this establishment and its ability to grow around talented and popular female athletics?
AK: I can’t even put into words how incredible it is for Quinnipiac to be hosting the Frozen Four. We have the best of the best facilities and resources.
I am proud to be a part of this program and its journey to grow the women’s game. We strive every day to not only be the best hockey players but the best people.
The End All
From then to now, female athletes have been forced to make a change. Elizabeth Kloos was part of the first group of trailblazers to suit up for the Bobcats. She was part of the first effort to drive Quinnipiac out of the throws of the consent decree.
Fast forward two years, and Jessica Bracamonte was made minimally aware of the case as a whole. She didn’t know much about it when we talked, and didn’t really grasp Title IX until she was three years into her college career. There needs to be more education on this topic, and transparency between the university and its athletes.
Look at what Allison Roethke said. She sees this university trending in the positive direction, especially with hosting the Frozen Four this year.
If the establishment continues to push forward, and make strides for female athletics, it will leave the Title IX case in the dust. However, the women who started it all can’t be overlooked.
Because of the strong fight those athletes had, the university has brand new facilities, plenty of trophies and will host a Frozen Four.
It is truly a turn of the tide, and should build excitement for Bobcats fans moving forward.
It’s the season of giving at Quinnipiac University. This semester, Quinnipiac students have organized many philanthropic events to give back to the local community, including QTHON, The Big Event and this past Monday’s St. Baldrick’s event.
This annual event, hosted by the Student Programming Board (SPB) and the Irish Club, is an event to raise money and awareness for childhood cancer research. This year, seven Quinnipiac students “braved the shave” and shaved their heads to stand in solidarity with children diagnosed with cancer.
Emma Shipton, one of the event coordinators, was one of the shavees. She explained what makes the St. Baldrick’s event so special compared to other cancer awareness events.
“It’s showing your support by more than just providing a donation,” said Shipton, “It’s changing something about yourself that you’re so used to having that these kids are losing that you have the opportunity to reach out to them besides just giving them money.”
Event coordinators, Luke Ahearn and Emma Shipton, “braved the shave” on Monday night.
This year, the goal was to raise $10 thousand as Quinnipiac celebrated its tenth annual year of working with St. Baldrick’s. Despite falling short of their goal, event coordinator, Luke Ahearn, was still happy with how it all played out.
“I think everybody really gets behind this event,” said Ahearn, “Everybody really loves coming to it. It’s a good event even for people who aren’t shaving, just to donate or even show up and watch their friends get their heads shaved for a good cause.”
Around 100 Quinnipiac students attended the event, including many supportive friends, like Ahearn suggested. It’s no surprise that on this ten year anniversary, Quinnipiac students once again continued to show they care about the local community.
Quinnipiac University Office of Facilities will soon take over day to day facilities management of all University-owned off campus properties.
In a statement Feb. 13, Associate Vice President of Facilities Operations Keith Woodward announced that effective April 1, 2019, management responsibility will transition from Palmer Property Management to Quinnipiac University’s own team.
A Quinnipiac owned off campus home on New Road.
Although the University provided no explanation for the switch, Woodward assured students via email that no complications would arise.
“I am optimistic that this will be a seamless transition as providing excellent service to students remains a top priority for the Office of Facilities Operations and the University as a whole,” Woodward said.
But despite Woodward’s promise of a smooth turnover, students have had mixed reactions to the news. While some students are embracing the change, many remain wary of Quinnipiac’s decision.
Residents of Quinnipiac owned off campus properties have noted a discrepancy in care and maintenance between off campus housing and on campus dorms, such as Julianna Pliskin, who lives on Ives Street.
“When we moved into the house, there was mold on multiple walls in our laundry room,” Pliskin said. “Housing inspections work both ways. Quinnipiac should’ve taken care of that before anyone even moved in.”
Additionally, Pliskin said she has a broken microwave, multiple stove burners that don’t work, and broken kitchen cabinets, including some without knobs. She hopes that the switch from Palmer Properties next month will make things easier, as her and her roommates have had to fix many problems on their own.
“I’m actually happy about the switch because I think by Quinnipiac using their own service, it makes it a little bit easier to put in our work orders,” Pliskin said.
New Road residents Amanda Perelli and Christina Popik concur, and said their home also has no shortage of issues.
“A couple of weeks ago, we noticed that the floor in our downstairs bathroom started to crack, and if you push down on the toilet it starts to push down on the tile and appears to be pushing down into the basement,” said Perelli. “Eventually I have a feeling that our toilet is actually going to fall into the basement.”
A toilet at a New Road home that appears to be sinking into the bathroom floor.
Palmer Properties employees came to Perelli’s house and told her and her roommates that they were very concerned with the situation. They instructed her and housemates not to use the toilet until a new one is installed over spring break.
Although Perelli’s home also has rusted drains, an outdated shower and broken kitchen cabinets, she says she is most upset that she doesn’t have a dishwasher.
“When we moved in we noticed that our dishwasher had been taken out, so there’s just an empty space in our kitchen,” Perelli said. “Other QU owned houses along this road have dishwashers and we pay the same price, so it’s weird that they didn’t replace it or give us an explanation.”
Popik echoed Perelli’s sentiment, and calls her home “pretty gross.”
“We had a moth problem last semester. They were honestly flying from everywhere, they were inside of our food,” Popik said. “Last week I found larva in a cup that I had, there were three little nests.”
A broken cabinet located in one of Quinnipiac’s off campus properties on New Road.
Cameron Silver, another New Road resident, said his home has a major drainage problem.
“The sink hasn’t been working, and when we take a shower the water is up to our ankles,” Silver said. “With all that drainage being stuck in the house, it also affects the basement downstairs. It’s leaked through the ceiling and there’s mold. You can smell it, it’s not safe.”
Silver said he has put in multiple work orders, but the sink was the only problem that was addressed.
“Everything else is still the same. It’s been taking a while,” Silver said. “It’s been happening pretty much the entire school year.
Quinnipiac’s decision comes only a few months after Palmer Properties employees installed deadbolts on all exterior doors of Quinnipiac owned off campus houses. Residential Life informed students in Dec. 2018 of the additional safety measures following a string of burglaries at Quinnipiac owned houses on New Road.
In addition to the management change, students learned Feb. 5 that Danielle Demers, former residence hall director for off campus properties, had accepted a position at another university.
“If you need assistance for the remainder of the year, please contact your CA (community assistant) and they can help you directly or connect you to the proper resource,” Demers wrote in her departing email.
A replacement residence hall director has not been announced.
Two people with ties to Connecticut have won an Oscar at the 91st Academy Awards.
Hamden native Anthony Rossomando took home an Oscar for Best Original Song for “Shallow.” He co-wrote the song with Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson and Andrew Wyatt.
Receiving this Oscar was the third award the four of them have won from the popular song from “A Star is Born.”
Rossomando was raised in Hamden and is the son of Quinnipiac University music professor, Fred Rossomando.
“I also had Anthony Rossomando’s as a professor and he was a really cool guys,” Sean Raggio, a junior at Quinnipiac University said. When talking about “Shallow” Raggio said, “I think the beauty’s in how it’s simplicity. Not saying it’s simply written. Just how you can take a simple strong structure and make something so intricate.”
This win shows students that even growing up in a small town can lead to success.
“It’s very, I should say securing, because I’m not from a big town either. I’m from a very small town in New Jersey and I go to school in Hamden which is a small town as well,” Taylor Sniffen, a film and journalism double major at Quinnipiac University, said. “You don’t have to be in LA or be in New York City to be big.”
Another Oscar winner, who happens to be a Quinnipiac University alum, is David Rabinowitz. He won Best Adapted Screenplay for Spike Lee’s “BlacKkKlansman.”
These Oscar wins come from people who started out in similar positions as Quinnipiac University students, which sends some inspiration to the bobcat nation.
“If you want to go do something make it happen, if you have an idea pursue it,” Raggio said. “I’m sure they both had many ideas that were shot down and they got one that worked.”
As National College Decision day quickly approaches, high school seniors are scrambling to make the big decision: where they are going to spend their next four years.
Last week, Quinnipiac University hosted many admissions events, including the Communications Preview Day, to give prospective students a taste of what life is like here.
One prospective student, Dylan Wojdyla, from Byram, New Jersey, was most excited to get a look at student life on campus.
“I was able to see people in classrooms and people casually hang out with other people in their major,” said Wojdyla, “It just looked like a good atmosphere.”
Many faculty members and students in the Quinnipiac School of Communications worked to put this day together, including Kirby Paulson, who is a student and the co-founder and coordinator of the School of Communications Peer Mentoring Program. He explained why the university holds value in these admissions events.
“What kids really want to hear from is students that have done it before,” said Paulson, “Parents want to hear that these students are having a positive experience.”
Emma Robertson and Dan Bahl showcase all that the Quinnipiac Bobcats Sports Network has to offer to future students.
Prospective students were given the opportunity to tour the School of Communications, the student media suite and WQAQ, the student-run radio station. They were also able to meet and talk with current student media leaders to get their questions answered about all that Quinnipiac has to offer.
Paulson expressed the importance of taking into consideration the entire student experience before high school seniors make their final decisions.
“The value of your degree is beyond what your GPA [is,]” said Paulson, “It’s the extracurriculars that you have, it’s the experiences and the skills that you’re able to gain and everything that you’re able to bring in as a whole. By getting to know some of these leaders, you can almost see your future a little bit.”
Although Wojdyla hasn’t made his official decision yet, he is still excited about the possibility of becoming a future Bobcat.
“I’ve always been excited to come to college, but seeing this college, I like the atmosphere and I’d be excited to come here.” said Wojdyla.
Hamden residents have won a hard fought battle against plastic bags. The town council met on Tuesday to whether a ban for plastic bags should be approved or not.
Connecticut towns and cities continue to push towards a ban on single use plastic bags. The latest it’s Hamden where the town leaders voted in approval for the ban on Tuesday night.
“A lot more people are becoming more environmentally conscious, a lot more people are trying to save the Earth, and I myself already don’t really use plastic bags unless I absolutely have to, so it’s a good thing that now Hamden is forcing me to not use plastic bags,” Quinnipiac student Nhung An said.
Some council members say the ban will save the town money from cleaning up plastic bags and help the environment at the same time.
“Everyone starts to do it, especially is forcing people instead of making them make the choice so if everyone starts to get rid of the plastic bags it makes for better environment,” Quinnipiac student Kyle Gaughan said.
“Just in general plastics are very bad for the environment, plastics in any kind of way, and we also use a lot of plastics bags…” An said.
The ban applies to plastic checkout bags of any thickness or size. Some stores in Hamden started this initiative like Tyme & Season Natural Market which stopped using plastic bags six months ago. They offer paper, but encourage customers to use reusable bags.
Most stores have 6-9 months to ditch plastic bags and Quinnipiac students see this as a step forward in the community.
“I think it’s a good idea, I think that it’s a step in the right direction towards going for more green and environmental process and I think that it’s a good start because if Hamden does it then who knows maybe some towns around Hamden would start to adopt the same idea,” Gaughan said.
