Category: Quinnipiac

The United States is in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving Americans with a world that is unlike anything this generation has seen before. Public gatherings are prohibited, which means no sports, but what does that mean for the athletes? 

On March 12, the NCAA cancelled its remaining sports seasons due to the virus, followed by Quinnipiac closing university housing on March 18. Along with that, more of society began to shut down. Including gyms.

@QU_Softball players staying in shape during quarantine! pic.twitter.com/Hj5o6Q5xTz

— HQ Press (@hq_press) April 17, 2020

For these collegiate athletes, their respective seasons are over. But for many, there is still a lot of sport left to play throughout the rest of their careers. Many of them are finding ways to keep in shape despite losing all the resources once at their fingertips.

One place to go to find inspiration for a workout? Their fingertips. 

“Through Instagram my friend Brooklyn, who’s one of my teammates, she posted a workout she did and tagged a couple of us teammates,” sophomore second baseman for the Quinnipiac softball team Bridget Nasir said. “We’re like, ‘oh, let me see you do it, like you do this exercise do this workout like it’s really good.’ So we kind of stay entertained like that and connected through that.”

Sharing workouts using social media and trading workout ideas is key for athletes who now have limited resources at their disposal. 

For many collegiate athletes, odds are they aren’t going to have a home gym stocked with all the equipment that they would be having at a regular gym or back at their facilities on campus, so they have to improvise. 

Utilizing what’s available in the app store has helped sophomore catcher Lo Yarnall. Yarnall doesn’t have access to weights at home, and the Peloton app has been her go-to. 

“Running audios, bodyweight exercises, it’s just stuff that you can do at home,” Yarnall said. “That’s easy. On my off days I do yoga or something. It’s just basically to make sure I’m moving every day.”

The players aren’t the only ones putting in work during this newly extended offseason. Coaches, such as strength and conditioning coach Megan “Coach Meg” Kudrick.

“We made a point as a staff to reach out to all of our teams, offering our support for whatever they needed,” Kudrick said. “We sent out some workouts just in case. Our thought is, you know, that’s an outlet for a lot of people, especially athletes, to be able to move and train and do something.”

Yarnall uses working out and exercise as a healthy escape, and says that now she can use this time to focus on what aspects of working out she finds work best for her. 

“I guess it’s weird because we’re all trying to fill that gap,” Yarnall said. “We kind of rely on exercise to clear our minds and let us calm down and usually we get like four hours of it a day, but now that we don’t, it’s like we’re trying to fill that gap with whatever we can do.”

Kudrick interned with Quinnipiac from August to December, 2015 before coming on full-time in March, 2016. She works with Quinnipiac’s softball, baseball, track and field, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s soccer and acrobatics and tumbling teams. Previously working with tennis and golf until 2018.

Some of the workouts include a “one by twenty” program and a full body isometric program that can be completed without any equipment, making it good for those who don’t have equipment available at home. 

Something making this more difficult on Kudruck is that this graduating senior class was her first class as a full-time member of Quinnipiac Athletics. 

“It’s tough, I’ll be honest,” Kudrick said. “I mean I know it’s tougher for the sport coaches and for the athletes… to see it abruptly come to a stop and they don’t get to see all the hard work they put in all year. You don’t get to see them in their element and see them succeed and all the improvements that they’ve made and it’s really unfortunate.”

While utilizing these workouts can help give the athletes a sense of normalcy, it just isn’t the same as being in-season and really training hard with your team. 

“You put it in a good word, surreal,” Nasir said. “I kind of wake up and I’m like ‘I shouldn’t be here,

I shouldn’t be in California, I should be playing.’ I think the worst is on weekends. Saturdays and Sundays so I’m like ‘dang I should be playing a game right now.’ I just miss it a lot…it breaks my heart for the seniors.”

It is unknown when the sporting world will get back on track, but these athletes are staying dedicated to ensure that when it does, they’re ready. 

Quinnipiac University announced in an email Thursday it would be adopting a pass or fail grade policy for eligible courses for the remainder of the 2020 spring semester. 

On Tuesday, the faculty senate approved having pass or fail options for classes in a 16-0 vote. 

 According to an email sent out by Quinnipiac University to the students, there will be no limit to the number of courses or credits students may select as pass or fail for Spring 2020 and grades of “pass” will not affect financial aid eligibility. 

This new policy does not apply to School of Medicine or School of Law. Those schools will be administering their own, independent grading system for students.  

The eligibility of courses to become pass or fail was based upon the basis of accreditation requirements, academic program progression policies, and industry standards.

Undergraduate students in specific programs will also not be eligible to take pass or fail for specific courses in their programs, even if the course itself is eligible.

Students are pleased to know the University has adopted this policy. 

“I think it’s a good option because online learning is drastically different especially when you don’t have access to a library or study room to do your work,” said third-year Anna Buonomo. “Some people don’t have the proper area to focus so if your grades don’t turn out how they normally would in a regular environment, you now have the option for the grade to not affect your GPA.”

Students will receive a regular letter grade at the end of the semester and will have the option then to turn their grade into a pass or fail. A minimum of a C- is required for a “passing” grade, unless a higher grade is noted for a specific course. 

Students can then consult their advisor and download a pass grade request form from MyQ under the Registrar’s tab. Then, they can submit the form by emailing it to the registrar’s office. The deadline to submit is Monday, May 18, 2020 by 5 p.m.

“I think considering the circumstances the University did what was best for students. I think being able to have the option of pass or fail will be beneficial because we can decide at the end of the semester,” said third-year Kevin Higgins. “So it is not like we need to decide right now if we want a pass or fail for a specific class.”

Professors are also understanding of the choices the University is making in regards to its students. 

”We’re in new territory, an extraordinary semester. No question that faculty and the university as a whole has to respond with flexibility and understanding,” said Marc Wortman, part-time faculty.

But Wortman does not believe pass or fail should only be an option due to the circumstances. 

“Grading should be optional for all courses no matter what the circumstances. That will encourage students to explore and take courses outside their areas of strength. Not everything in life has to have a grade,” said Wortman. 

And some professors do not think implementing the pass or fail will be fair to all students. 

“Looking at it from my perspective, I would say pass or fail is either you come or you don’t. So pass or fail to me is what about that student if they are really doing everything and then you have one student who you haven’t heard from but you know they turn in their work on the last day possible,” said Zachary Smith, part-time faculty. “It is really taking away from the students, not the professors because you are giving a student who does nothing versus the student who does everything the same grade, a P or F.” 

But Smith also can see why the University made the decision.

“It is a reasonable understanding of what they have been thrown into. I am not saying it is bad or it is good,” said Smith. 

Even now with the option to have a course be pass or fail, some students do not think they will use it.

“Though I think it is a good option the University is letting us decide if we want to pass or fail a course, at the end of the day I think I would rather see a letter grade on my transcript, especially if it was a course pertaining to my major,” said Buonomo. 

Students can find a full list of eligible courses here.

A member of the Quinnipiac community died early Friday from complications from COVID-19. Marie Cusano worked in the People’s United Center as an usher. 

Those who knew Cusano described her as an avid sports fan, especially for Quinnipiac’s hockey and basketball teams. 

“To know Marie was to love her,” said Lori Onofrio, the men’s and women’s ice hockey secretary. “Whether you knew her from the hockey teams she supported, she was the most loyal friend and fan. Always a smile for everyone and a good word.” 

Students who attended the hockey games remembered her kindness. 

“Anyone who has gone to QU games on York knew Marie Cusano and Mike Cusano,” said John Opie, first-year health science major. Marie was so kind and definitely brightened up the arena.”

Hamden currently has thirty one cases of COVID-19 with the national total reaching 200,000. 

Pay cuts for faculty and staff at Quinnipiac University are another effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In an email sent by QU president Judy Olian, she announced that the university will be cutting all faculty and staff members’ pay.

“Because of the unprecedented magnitude of the impact,” Olian wrote in the email, “we will need to make budget cutbacks, and even sacrifices.”

Employees earning less than $50,000 a year will see a 3 percent reduction, while those earning more than $50,000 a year will see a 5 percent reduction. The reduction in pay is currently set to only apply through June 30, 2020.

The university management committee, which includes Olian and five vice presidents, are taking larger pay cuts. Vice President for Public Relations John Morgan, himself not a member of the management committee, would not disclose the extent of those cuts.

Olian wrote that the pay cuts are due to additional expenses caused by COVID-19, lost revenue from canceled events, and uncertainty over future enrollment numbers. 

Other universities and colleges in Connecticut are making similar decisions. In an email to faculty, staff and students, University of New Haven president Steven Kaplan announced pay cuts. These cuts were in $50,000 intervals. 

Employees, “will have the first $50,000 reduced by 3 percent; the next $50,000 reduced by 5 percent; the third $50,000 reduced by 7 percent; and all earnings beyond $150,000 reduced by 9 percent,” Kaplan wrote. His email did not include a scheduled end date to the pay cuts.

Professors at QU have mostly accepted the pay cuts.

 “I’m not actually too upset by them,” David Tomczyk, an associate professor of entrepreneurship & strategy, said. “I knew QU would need to ‘tighten its belt’ to accommodate the changes and loss of revenue. That’s understandable and expected. The fact that it affected pay was always a possibility, and I’ve seen other companies have to do similar things during this time.”

Students are somewhat concerned with the effect faculty pay cuts will have. 

“On the one hand it doesn’t seem fair,” Greta Stroebel, a fourth-year Quinnipiac student, said, “because teachers are still expected to teach and from home over video chat with likely a bunch of distractions so it’s probably really hard. But on the other hand these are crazy times and people gotta move money around.”

Students, administration, faculty and staff all agreed that they saw these changes as temporary. 

“This also isn’t an on-going thing,” said Tomczyk. “It’s for this year, and next year we should be back to normal.”

Due to the spread of COVID-19, Quinnipiac transitioned to online classes for the rest of the semester by using the application Zoom, giving professors and students only a few days to prepare for this change.

Initially, professors were shocked with the amount of time they had to change their entire course plan to an online version. 

“It was a shock at first. I knew that we were being asked to accomplish a very large feat in a short amount of time – to ensure that all of our classes would be online-ready,” said Katie Place, associate professor of strategic communications. 

For Place, transitioning her courses was easier due to her past experience with online courses. 

“I was grateful to have had the opportunity to teach an online class before – and so I was able to rely on what I had learned,” said Place. “For those who primarily teach face-to-face classes, I know that transition has been challenging.”

For professors whose in-class time is needed to ensure students are learning certain skills, rearranging their course was difficult. 

“The most difficult part was accepting that the online courses wouldn’t be perfect reflections of the on-grounds versions. There are things I wanted to do, and wanted the students to learn and experience, that they can’t in an online and social-distancing world,” said Ben Bogardus, assistant professor of journalism. “I had to go through each remaining lesson and assignment and tried to make them as valuable as they could be.”

And for Bogardus, teaching online is not as enjoyable as being able to interact with his students in the classroom. 

“I don’t find online teaching as enjoyable as in-person teaching. I miss the in-person interaction with students, and the ability to give and get the instant feedback,” said Bogardus. “But I understand that there’s no other option, so I’m making the course as valuable as I can to my students and looking forward to getting back into the classroom this fall.”

Even professors were unaware of the extent of the situation prior to the university making the decision to transition fully online, but they believe the university is making the best of the situation 

“We all assumed IF it happened, then it would just be for a week or two, and then we’d be back in the classrooms. So suddenly having to move seven weeks of course content online was jarring for everyone,” said Bogardus. “But the university has been very helpful in offering assistance with web tools and help with the technological requirements for online teaching.”

Yet, through the transition, professors are doing their best to provide similar learning experiences for their students. 

“I think the transition has been challenging and overwhelming, but it is nice to remember that we are all in this together: faculty, students, and administration,” said Place. “Each week it will get easier and we’ll get used to working together in this new online environment!”

For students, it is the professors making the transition easier. 

“I think the university did not handle it well. The only people who I thought handled it well were professors,” said junior, Olamide Gbotosho. “My professors are going out of their way to make sure this transition is easy and really wants to make sure we all succeed.”

Though some students using Zoom have not had too many issues with it yet. 

“So far zoom has been good and I enjoy it. Not all of my classes meet on zoom which is really convenient because I’m able to plan out my day as I want it,” said Gbotosho. “It is only difficult because some classes are not meant for zoom but I have to adjust to how everything is now. Learning excel has been really challenging for me.”

While other students are not a fan of their new learning environment. 

“So far I have had one class with zoom and it went fine, but it was a little weird being at home and “in class” because it was distracting,” said junior, Kaye Paddyfoote. “I couldn’t focus and I think it is going to cause a lot of students problems not being able to pay attention to what they are supposed to be learning.”

Between professors and students, Zoom is not an ideal learning situation, but is the best option considering the circumstances. 

 “I understand why the university had to do this. It is in the best interest for students, faculty and staff to be off campus right now,” said Paddyfoote. “I just don’t think any of us expected the entire semester to be moved online and that shock is why it has been a difficult adjustment.”

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 across North America several weeks ago, an era of uncertainty is beginning to form across the country. From major events like the Olympics, Roland Garros and Ultra Music Festival postponing/canceling, to events that hit more close-to-home, such as college commencements, no one knows what will unfold in the coming months.

One of the more universal changes  in the wake of COVID-19 is the cancellation of all in-person classes at colleges and universities, leading to a switch to online classrooms through the use of Zoom. However, the transition to Zoom can be frustrating for many professors and students alike. 

Senior sociology major Francesca Napolitano decided to launch a petition on Facebook last week to try and persuade Quinnipiac University to allow students the option to make their classes pass/fail due to the struggle of not having face-to-face classes for the remainder of the semester. 

“I first decided to write the petition on March 16 after talking to my sister who is currently quarantined in Italy,” Napolitano said. “I was stressing to her about having to do my last semester completely online. She had mentioned that other schools, like Fordham University where she did her undergrad, were petitioning to make certain courses have a pass/fail option.”

She thought it was a smart idea, and posted a petition for Quinnipiac to do the same on change.org, hoping it would get enough signatures to send to the administration.

So far, Napolitano’s petition has received over 2,100 signatures, with more coming in every day. Napolitano’s message that online classes do not provide an adequate enough learning environment is seemingly resonating with a multitude of students. 

“A major adjustment has been made to the way we are learning, so a major adjustment needs to be made to the way we are being graded. It is not fair for a multitude of students to be expected to be graded on their performance in online classes to the same standard as a face-to-face class.  It is simply unrealistic”, Napolitano said. “The online classes do not provide that same type of learning environment. Not to mention, there are difficulties it presents for international students, or students in a different time zone and those that require learning accommodations. There are things available online to help those with learning difficulties but it still is not the same or as good as being in person, on-campus”, Napolitano said.”

Napolitano’s idea has already been implemented at several universities across the country. One of those schools is fairly close to Quinnipiac at Sacred Heart University. Deborah Noack, the Executive Director of Communications for Sacred Heart, came to the same conclusion and Napolitano.

“Because the coronavirus epidemic has necessitated that our students complete the spring semester online, and because some students find online learning more challenging, we made the decision last week to broaden our pass/fail policy for the spring 2020 semester. Students have the option to take any undergraduate courses pass/fail. Courses taken pass/fail this semester do not count toward program maximums for pass/fail,” Noack said. 

Another petition circling around is one to postpone this May’s commencement ceremony, rather than having it canceled. The petition, started by Cristina Trainer, a Quinnipiac University parent, so far has gained over 1,200 signatures. Unfortunately, Trainer could not be reached for questions at this time. 

Overall, the ongoing rise of cancellations due to COVID-19 is going to lead to a rise of outcry and petitions by people to not cancel or suspend events. Whether they be concert goers, sports fans or college students, the rise to protect self-interests is only just beginning in this time of uncertainty.

Quinnipiac University has decided to postpone their graduation until further notice. 

Quinnipiac’s decision to postpone the Spring 2020 Commencement Ceremony was made aware to students Tuesday morning. The choice to move it back came down to the COVID-19 virus pandemic, the Center for Disease Control’s guidelines and Connecticut Governor Ned Lemont’s recommendation to limit public gatherings. 

Students will be contacted within the next few weeks regarding how they will be reviewing their diplomas. Quinnipiac will be acknowledging the successful completion of undergraduate academics for students. Many will need their transcripts and diplomas when entering the workforce or graduate school in the coming months. 

It is stated that the COVID-19 virus provides too many uncertainties to announce a new date for commencement. Although a date has not been tentatively set for students, Quinnipiac University President Judy Olian wanted to assure students that there will be a ceremony. 

“I want to provide you with clarity about our commitment to still hold an in-person event,” Olian said in her email to students.

Olian also went on to assure students that they will be notified with fair amounts of time to prepare. 

“We will give you adequate notice so that you will be able to plan your travel and schedule.” 

Quinnipiac senior Zack Brooks shared his thoughts on the postponement, “I am very sad, but not shocked by the outcome. I am happy that the school is assuring us it will be held in person at a later date.”

Brooks and others will be looking forward to an email regarding their updated commencement schedule in the future. President Olian hinted that a possible commencement may take place in the Summer or Fall.