Quinnipiac – Page 10

Social media – good or bad for mental health?

Exploring a mixed effect fueled by filters and realities

Alissa Parker ‘s social media feed masked the horrific reality of her life as a college student mentally abused by an ex-boyfriend.

But she never discussed it because social media clouded her judgment.

“I never talked about it because in social media you look good, you don’t want to show that you’re having difficult problems,” said Parker, now a senior nursing major at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut.. “So instead of dealing with my problems, I posted all the time on social media how happy I was, look what I’m doing because I thought that was a good way to kind of cope with the situation for lack of a better term.”

Parker, then a sophomore, knew she had to confront reality and do so without delay. She turned to her resident assistant for help and got the support she needed. She is an RA herself now, works in Quinnipiac’s admissions department as a tour guide and is a member of the Gamma Phi Beta sorority.

Parker’s use of social media as a mask to hide her personal pain is just one example of how the apps that seem to dominate the lives of the young can work to harm them while seeming to offer endless connections to good times.

“Yeah, it may look like I have my life together on paper and on social media because I’m posting with my boyfriend and I’m posting with my sorority sisters and I look like I’m doing great, but there are times inside I feel for a lack of a better term again, dead,” she said.

She’s not alone.

Nick Calderaro is a senior finance major who works in Quinnipiac’s campus life office, runs an organization on campus, serves as a first-year seminar peer catalyst and is an orientation leader, among other things.

He too has seen social media used as a mask.

“So it’s just so artificial in the sense that you can put whatever you want out there and you know, just make things out to be what they’re not at all,” Calderaro said.

An informal survey of Quinnipiac students in class Facebook groups yielded some telling results about social media and its effect, with a lean towards it having a mix of both a positive and negative effect.

Participants were asked how many social media accounts they use and if they believe their usage has a positive effect, a negative effect, a mix of both or indifferent.

Social Media and Mental Health: Survey Results

Some 150 respondents participated in a Google Forms survey posted in Quinnipiac Facebook groups. One question posed was: do you believe that social media has had a positive effect, negative effect, a mix of both or indifferent on your mental health or personal judgment?

Some 117 students responded to a Google form posted on Facebook that asked questions about the number of accounts they had and whether or not social media generated positive or negative mental health effects, a mix of both or indifferent.

A startling 89 respondents reported that social media generated a mix of positive and negative impacts on their mental well-being.

The idea of social media presenting unrealistic expectations and perhaps seemingly perfect lifestyles is no secret and fires up the idea that it may have an adverse reaction on someone’s mental health.

Quinnipiac counselor Kenneth Wenning, who holds a doctorate in clinical social work, said social media creates an environment of unrealistic expectations among individuals who believe their top goal in life is to be happy.

“I think it does give some people an unrealistic sense of what life is all about because life is always a mixed bag,” Wenning said. “It’s good stuff and it’s tough stuff and it’s drudgery and it’s boredom, it’s not always you know, what’s going on.”

Kenneth Wenning PHD, LCSW

Quinnipiac Counseling Center, Counselor

He also referenced an example drawn from a recent conversation with a patient.

“So, I had a graduate student tell me the other day she was done with social media, she stopped all of it and she said to me ‘and I discovered, I still have a life’ but it’s like life is now being lived vicariously almost in a way,” he said. “When you look at what’s going on with these people, and these people and all of the monitoring and you know, thinking about everybody else’s life and I think that is a real problem.”

But social media is not the evil that some may think.

After the Super Bowl ended on Feb. 3, 2019, content featuring the “world_record_egg” aired on Hulu. The storied egg had been posted on an Instagram account that wanted to break the record for being the most liked post. Through a series of multiple posts, the egg cracked a little bit more each time. When it finally did crack on Super Bowl Sunday, it revealed a message about cracking due to the pressure of social media.

The World Record Egg, now the most-liked photo on Instagram, teamed up with @hulu to raise mental health awareness after #SuperBowlLIII. #EggGang #TalkingEgg #WeGotThis pic.twitter.com/bPBcoHs5JY

— Early Today (@NBC_EarlyToday) February 4, 2019

Mary Dunn, an assistant teaching professor of advertising and the instructor of the Strategies for Social Media course at Quinnipiac, said the campaign worked in unexpected ways.

“They didn’t truly think it was going to turn into what it was and it wasn’t until they had the audience like of ten million that they sat down and decided what they were going to use it for and I think it’s a happy story, a charming story, an inspiring story that they’ve decided to use it as a platform for social messages and campaigns like mental health awareness,” Dunn explained.

MaryDunn copy.jpg — Mary Dunn

Quinnipiac School of Communications, Assistant Teaching Professor of Advertising

Dunn said social media can drive powerful narratives but not all social apps are on-board with that idea.

“So platforms like Twitter resisted this for a really long time,” Dunn said. “They wanted the character limit, they wanted to force people to be succinct in their messages but when you’re succinct in your messages and you limit yourself, it can lead to misunderstandings, to oversimplification and so Twitter had to expand as well, right, and so I think that’s part of why they’re still alive and now they’re actually doing well this year, go figure.”

She also talked about the method of “scrubbing your social,” which involves unfollowing accounts that might be harmful to an individual. Olamide Gbotosho is a sophomore and one of Dunn’s students. In high school, she dealt with depression and said social media had a big influence in that.

Gbotosho has “scrubbed her social” before and finds it effective. While she has unfollowed some accounts of famous individuals that have an “ideal of perfection,” she has also followed others that play a more positive role.

“Sometimes I follow some positive Instagram accounts, so I do have that also,” she said.

There’s also the opportunity for social media to be used as a community builder of sorts for those suffering from mental illness. John Naslund, who holds a doctorate in health policy and clinical research, is a Harvard Research Fellow and has been doing studies on the benefits of peer-to-peer networking and support on social media.

“So we know that this peer-to-peer support is happening naturally online, it’s happening in forums, it’s happening in all kinds of places, well how can we kind of tap into that, tap into these positive interactions to actually support the delivery of some kind of services or programs that can be really helpful,” Naslund said.

While this research has promise to possibly provide support, he made it clear that it should not be replacing the care from a professional.

“This isn’t something that would be a replacement for existing mental health care, it’s most definitely not, it’s not a replacement,” Naslund said. “But what we see across the United States and especially in other parts of the world, the vast majority of people who have mental illness don’t have access to adequate care or don’t have access to adequate services and don’t have access to adequate support most of the time and this is consistent across the entire country where people really, the vast majority of people with mental illness don’t have the support they need.”

Naslund said that despite its negative associations, social media could be used to support mental health.

“Where we really need to think about this going forward (is) just thinking of the future of how social media can potentially be used for promoting mental health is I think really making sure that people who live with mental illness or have mental health issues are informed about how they can use social media in a positive way,” he said.

While social media may be a potential support network moving forward, Gbotosho believes that the best source of comfort may be in the form of the people in your respective circle.

“If you’re looking for comfort, social media isn’t the best place to find it,” Gbotosho said. “Rather finding it through the people that you surround yourself with.

The future of social media as it pertains to mental health and society in general might be uncertain.

But Allissa Parker, Nick Calderaro and Olamide Gbotosho may be able to sleep soundly tonight, knowing that hope may be on the horizon and that they are not alone.

Quinnipiac and Hamden locals surpass QTHON goal

By Michaela Mendygral

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Quinnipiac University students and local families came together Saturday, March 23, for the Miracle Network Dance Marathon, known as QTHON. Surpassing its initial goal of $323,000, QTHON raised a total of $332,567.12 for the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center.

“It means a lot to families like ours for you to put together something like this,” said Bill Stratton, the father of Nicholas Stratton, who receives treatment from Connecticut Children’s Medical Center.

Children who receive treatment from the hospital and their families had an opportunity to partake in video games, coloring, basketball and other activities with students in Quinnipiac University’s Athletic Center from 2 p.m. – 12 a.m.

“My favorite part of QTHON is I like hanging out with all the girls,” said Emma, a patient of Connecticut Children’s Medical Center.

For many of the children, QTHON is an opportunity for much needed fun.

“Having a kid with medical issues you get stuck in a routine so it’s good to get out,” said Stratton.

March Madness sweeping through Hamden

By Logan Reardon

March Madness is upon us, which means brackets, food and drinks are the three most important things for a few weeks – both nationally and across Hamden.

The first NCAA men’s basketball tournament tipped off in 1939, but it has evolved into a bigger spectacle than its founder – Harold Olsen – ever could have imagined.

The tournament has expanded from eight teams to 68 over the past 80 years. The “First Four” play-in games begin Tuesday and Wednesday night, followed by the first round on Thursday and Friday. With 16 games on both Thursday and Friday, the games are essentially non-stop from noon until after midnight. The second round is played over the weekend before teams finally get a break until the following Thursday.

Throughout the country, billions of dollars in bets are placed annually during March Madness. This year, Americans bet a combined $8.5 billion – yes, billion – on the tournament, according to a report from the American Gaming Association.

In Hamden, local bars must prepare for the uptick in business as the madness ensues.

Side Street Bar & Grill, a Hamden hotspot known for its chicken wings and beer, is one business that adjusts in March.

“We have to make sure we have enough staff members to accomodate for the people that come,” said Sylvia Pinon, a Side Street employee. “We sometimes double all the servers and we have people come in earlier. We have to make sure that’s OK with our staff members first and that they have availability.”

Part of the battle is having extra staffers, but the bar also needs to be sure it has enough food to serve all the extra mouths. In 2015, The Food Network named chicken wings as one of the seven essential foods for March Madness viewing parties.

Side Street is notorious for its wings, which makes it a prime spot in March.

“As far as food goes, we do inventory every Monday, so we make sure we have enough wings and bleu cheese, because that’s what we’re known for,” Pinon said. “We make sure we have our prep guys every morning making things fresh for us. We just try to do our best. There’s only so much you can prepare.”

While you could easily just watch the games at home, many enjoy going to a bar like Side Street throughout the first weekend.

“I just enjoy the social feel during the games because as you know some of them can get very intense and nail-biters,” Quinnipiac junior Matthew Skiba said. “When (the games are) close, the environment of the bars gets up there and I like the energy that it brings.

“I enjoy the energy more than if I was just sitting on my couch at home.”

Skiba is a huge fan of March Madness and is easy to find at Side Street during the tournament.

“I like how it’s make-or-break for everyone, especially when I have competitions or am making bets with friends about certain games,” he said. “There’s also a bunch of upsets in this first weekend, the first 32 games, and that’s exhilarating.”

The upsets are a key part of the tournament. It’s a single-game elimination tournament, meaning one bad game can end a team’s season.

The make-or-break aspect of the tournament makes every game a must-watch. In an anonymous poll sent to Quinnipiac students, 27 of 50 respondents said they have watched tournament games on their laptop during class and eight said they’ve even skipped class to watch the games.

In the same poll, 35 of 50 respondents said they made a bracket this year, and of those 35 brackets, there were 11 different champions picked.

Skiba believes Duke, led by freshman phenom Zion Williamson, is the favorite to win. Ten of the 35 brackets in the poll also picked Duke, which was the highest percentage of any team picked.

Regardless of who wins, it’s clear that March is predicated on madness. Between chaos at bars like Side Street to students eagerly watching games during class lectures, the NCAA Tournament has everyone’s attention for the next few weeks.

Bringing the Frozen Four to Hamden

Quinnipiac University prepares to host national women’s ice hockey tournament.

Quinnipiac will be hosting the Women’s Frozen Four for the second time in the last five years.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Women’s Frozen Four has returned to Hamden. Quinnipiac University will host the national women’s ice hockey championship for the second time since its original debut at bobcat nation in 2014.

Although the Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey team didn’t qualify to make an appearance in this year’s tournament with their regular season performance, the staff at the People’s United Center is gearing up to make this year’s Frozen Four one for the books.

Quinnipiac is one of only four collegiate institutions to ever host the Women’s Frozen Four according to Assistant Director for Athletic Communication Maggie Pruitt. The other three hosting institutions are the University of Minnesota, Boston University and the University of Minnesota Duluth.

“They could’ve asked anybody to host this championship and we were fortunate enough to be able to have the opportunity, the privilege and the honor of hosting it,” said Mary Alice Limperopulos, assistant director for marketing and fan engagement.

“We want fans, teams, administrators, media to leave saying ‘Wow, Quinnipiac did such a great job’ and I think especially since we’ve hosted previously… the expectation, the standard we’ve hit, we want to exceed what we did for ourselves before,” she said.

Quinnipiac athletic department officials began the process of becoming a host facility about five years ago, Pruitt said. She also said when it comes to deciding where the tournament will take place, having an arena that is the right size is key.

“It’s a bidding process, you have to have a certain number of seats available in your arena,” she said. “The aesthetic part of it is you want an arena thats big enough, but it can’t be too big. Just because you want to appeal to the audience of women’s hockey and a 15,000 seat arena is too big.”

The Frank Perrotti Jr. Arena at the People’s United Center comes in at the perfect size with the ability to hold a maximum of 3,386 spectators. Though Quinnipiac is used to holding high-profile games, such as the famous “Yale game” (that features the rivalry of Quinnipiac and Yale University), the Frozen Four brings a new level of prestige.

“(This is) definitely bigger than the Yale game–it’s a national stage. These are the four best teams that have come through the ECAC and the WCHA (Western Collegiate Hockey Association)… this is like the grand finale of the entire season,” Pruitt said.

Though the NCAA dictates most of the operations and branding of the tournament, bobcat fans can still expect to see their favorite in-game events such as minigames in between periods and the infamous dance-cam.

The marketing department in conjunction with NCAA will also feature official “fan zones” in the arena. These zones will feature brackets, photo props, past tournament winners and even give fans the opportunity to see and take pictures with the championship trophy.

“We want it to be the best product it can be and when people come here and they see Quinnipiac, see the People’s United Center, we want them to leave having a great experience, having a great game experience whether that’s fans, teams, athletes, media,” said Pruitt.

The tournament will take place March 22 through 24 at the People’s United Center located on the York Hill Campus of Quinnipiac University. The semifinal round March 22 will feature a faceoff between top ranked Wisconsin and No. 4 Clarkson as well as No. 6 Cornell against No. 2 Minnesota. The winners of the semifinal round will then advance to the championship March 24, at 2 p.m. EST.

Quinnipiac in Hollywood

HQ Press sits down with QU grad David Rabinowitz as he reflects on his Oscar win and looks down the line for his next job.

Kevin Wilmott, David Rabinowitz, Spike Lee and Charles Wachtel with Brie Larson pose backstage with the Oscar® for adapted screenplay during the live ABC Telecast of The 91st Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre in Hollywood, CA on Sunday, February 24, 2019. Credit: Matt Petit / ©A.M.P.A.S. — Kevin Wilmott, David Rabinowitz, Spike Lee and Charles Wachtel with Brie Larson pose backstage with the Oscar® for adapted screenplay during the live ABC Telecast of The 91st Oscars® at the Dolby® Theatre in Hollywood, CA on Sunday, February 24, 2019.

Credit: Matt Petit / ©A.M.P.A.S.

Ten years ago, David Rabinowitz was just an ordinary Bobcat. Like most Quinnipiac seniors, he was finishing his last months of college – walking the Quad, eating Chartwells in the café while physically and mentally preparing himself for the “real world” after graduation.

The ‘09 graduate had no idea what the “real world” had in store for him.

A decade later, Rabinowitz became the first Quinnipiac University alumnus to win an Oscar on Feb. 24, 2019. Rabinowitz co-wrote the nominated film for Best Adapted Screenplay, “BlacKkKlansman,” with his longtime friend and writing partner, Charlie Wachtel. The film, directed by Spike Lee, follows the true story of the first African-American detective to serve on the Colorado Spring Police Department as he goes undercover as a member of the Ku Klux Klan.

“When they mentioned our names (at the 91st annual Oscars ceremony), I think I blacked out a little bit,” Rabinowitz said. “I sort of remember walking to the stage, going up and standing up there. I didn’t really want the responsibility of having to say something on this live telecast that’s going out to millions of people around the world.”

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Hollywood is known for bringing people up from all walks of life, then placing them on a grand stage in front of millions to acknowledge and celebrate their successes. But, Hollywood is also known to make people pay their dues to get there – working their way up the ladder rung by rung into the spotlight. Rabinowitz never imagined in the mere six and half years he spent climbing that ladder that success would happen so quickly for him.

“It’s been pretty crazy over the past year,” he said reflecting on how, in a year’s time, he went from struggling screenwriter to award nominee and Oscar winner. “A year ago, I was in the middle of this process of meeting people, being full time, but not having a job technically.”

Many aspiring writers, directors, actors and actresses make the move to Los Angeles to begin their careers, yet Rabinowitz’s started in New Jersey, creating content with Wachtel in high school. He continued his passion for media production in Connecticut at Quinnipiac before making the transition to the Big Apple after graduation. Working as a multimedia producer for The Wall Street Journal, Rabinowitz couldn’t resist the allure of the industry out west.

“I had a number of friends who had already moved out to LA [Los Angeles] before me, including Charlie and so, at a certain point you just feel like it’s your time to leave – I reached that time,” Rabinowitz said. “There was stuff coming out of LA – the LA bureau, about entertainment, and I’d rather be the one doing the thing, not covering it.”

Ambition flew Rabinowitz to the Golden State, but came quickly to a halt upon arriving when the reality of breaking into the industry wasn’t as easy as in the movies. He had experience in news, however entertainment was an entirely new beast. Rabinowitz freelanced motion graphic projects and corporate videos to keep active and continue honing his skills after the initial move. It wasn’t until he reunited with Wachtel, who had connections as an assistant for WME [William Morris Endeavor] that they got the ball rolling.

“Up until that point, my writing partner and I had day jobs, and when we sold (the script) we were able to quit the day jobs,” Rabinowitz said. “We were simultaneously full-time screenwriters, but we were also unemployed. It’s such a long process, especially when you’re starting out and you end up doing so much work for free before getting any sort of job.”

Being an aspiring scriptwriter isn’t easy, Rabinowitz said. It requires time, patience and endless repetition. At one point the writing duo pitched their work to 35 different production companies over the span of three weeks, five or so a day, hoping that someone would option (a temporary contract for an exclusive right to purchase a screenplay) or buy their script. Even still, this pitching process alone is not enough to get many writers in the door and definitely not enough to pay the bills.

“In order to get the job, typically, if you’re a new writer, they want you to go off and basically work out the entire movie: first act, second act, third act, all the beats there and then come in or over the phone pitch it to them,” Rabinowitz said. “You’re not getting paid for that. It’s basically an audition to get the job.”

For six and a half years, Rabinowitz struggled with the insurmountable hurdles of getting a job and getting out of the free-labor business. But, in due time, their persistence did pay off.

“Handing the final draft off to him to edit that was a crazy moment,” Rabinowitz said. “I was just sitting in my kitchen, checking the formatting and the style, being super self-conscious about this thing I was going to send to Spike Lee.”

Rabinowitz, Wachtel, Lee and Kevin Willmott accepting their Oscars for Best Adapted Screenplay on stage with presenters Brie Larson and Samuel L Jackson. Photo courtesy of 91st Oscars® Press Kits. — Rabinowitz, Wachtel, Lee and Kevin Willmott accepting their Oscars for Best Adapted Screenplay on stage with presenters Brie Larson and Samuel L Jackson.

Photo courtesy of 91st Oscars® Press Kits.

The duo adapted the novel, hoping that they were developing a story that would one day be directed by Spike Lee. Over a year later, they joined Lee onstage as they all accepted their first Oscars from presenters Brie Larson and Samuel L. Jackson.

“[Brie Larson] was giving me advice like ‘This isn’t going to make sense for a long time so just try and enjoy it,’” Rabinowitz recalled after receiving his award and heading backstage. “I’m just looking around and it’s just like Sam L. Jackson, Frances McDormand, Guillermo and next to him is Amy Adams and Charlize Theron and then James McAvoy and Michael Keaton and Sam Rockwell and Michael B. Jordan and it’s just very overwhelming.”

Rabinowitz admitted that a win on the biggest night in Hollywood does have its perks. The shiny statue may literally and metaphorically have some weight within the industry, but it doesn’t guarantee any future handouts.

“When you have a movie come out and things are good it doesn’t mean that automatically you’re going to be offered jobs,” Rabinowitz said. “But it does mean that the process is easier and faster.”

Despite the attention Rabinowitz has been getting recently, Stephen Bisaccia, a senior film, television and media arts major who met Rabinowitz while studying with the QU in LA program, praised the writer for taking the time to help guide him onto the right career path.

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“I think that when people find success it can be easy for their ego to inflate and become a person that only talks and doesn’t listen,” Bisaccia said. “David listened when I tried talking to him about my own ideas or goals, and it wasn’t self-aggrandizing. That shows in ‘BlacKkKlansman,’ too. He’s just a good guy and a true artist.”

Even before the nominations, Quinnipiac worked aspects of the film into its own curriculum. Professor Raymond Foery of the film, television and media (FTM) arts department teaches the course, “Spike Lee’s America,” highlighting some of the director’s best work. With the critical acclaim and success of Lee’s new movie, Foery intends to use “BlacKkKlansman” as an example for future students to look up to.

“I am delighted and thrilled for both Mr. Lee and our very own alum,” Foery said. “When the course is next offered (perhaps spring 2020), I will include ‘BlacKkKlansman’ as one of the films to be shown.”

Left to right: Rabinowitz, Wachtel and Willmott with their awards. Photo courtesy of 91st Oscars® Press Kits. — Left to right: Rabinowitz, Wachtel and Willmott with their awards.

Photo courtesy of 91st Oscars® Press Kits.

The big win at the Oscars might have been a landmark for Rabinowitz and his future career, but the win also underscored his educational roots. While the major may have been called “Media Production” during his time at QU, Rabinowitz’s path to the big screen has set a precedent for future FTM students to follow.

“I think the QU film program’s success is very dependent on the students and their willingness to push themselves,” Bisaccia said. “The staff is knowledgeable, creative and open; it’s just a matter of being willing to make the most of that opportunity. Hopefully David’s win can inspire myself and my classmates to continue to push ourselves and fulfill similar heights of achievement.”

To future film students, as well as anyone else with a pen, paper and a dream, Rabinowitz’s biggest advice is simply to accept criticism and continue writing.

“Show your stuff to people, to friends, to people you respect, show it to people whose opinions you don’t respect, listen to their feedback very seriously, embrace their feedback and don’t keep writing the same project over and over and over again,” Rabinowitz said. “Keep writing – quantity reads to quality.”

In the wake of their big break, Rabinowitz and Wachtel have kept themselves busy writing. The duo currently has two feature scripts at different stages of production and are set to develop a drama series titled “Madness.” “Madness” is the first piece the two ever wrote together about the world of college basketball. They are also working on a spy series in development with a French production company.

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“Simultaneously, all of this stuff is right in front of us and then you have to be looking, three, six months down the line trying to get your next job,” Rabinowitz explained of the endless process. ”

While their work on “BlacKkKlansman” may have been finished after submitting their final draft, Rabinowitz described that the road to continuous work and success is never-ending.

“I kind of describe it as Whack-a-Mole. You have all of these projects, but you’re not necessarily working on all of them at the same time,” Rabinowitz said. “Every project has a start, stop mechanism. At the same time, I could get an email right now from the producer with notes and suddenly that starts up again and I have to whack that mole.”

Rabinowitz may keep his golden statue tucked away in his closet for now until he claims he can find a more suitable spot, but that does not mean he will be closing the door on his writing career anytime soon. While he jokes that his success is “all downhill from here,” he knows he hasn’t quite yet reached his peak.

“I don’t see success as getting an award necessarily,” Rabinowitz said. “Yes, that’s a marker, but not necessarily for me. Success is career longevity and being able to do this for a living. So, the fact that the award helps that, that’s the good thing. If I never make it back to the Oscars, but I end up having a long career, I’ll be just fine.”

Hamden´s Clubhouse Cafe for sale

by Michaela Mendygral

It has been an unusually quiet month for Clubhouse Cafe on Whitney Avenue. On Friday, March 1, a ‘For Sale’ sign was posted outside the bar and the cafe is officially on the market.

“We just put it on the market last week,” Lindsey Carnage of Colonial Properties said.

The Clubhouse, located just a little over a mile from the Quinnipiac University Mount Carmel campus, was a convenient hangout for students of both legal and underrage status.

The local bar has been closed for a little over a month after it was raided. Its doors are covered with notices regarding the cafe´s liquor license, deeming it indefinitely suspended.

“On Jan. 25, 2019, after receiving numerous complaints, Hamden Police again conducted a liquor compliance check at Clubhouse Café. Officers issued 131 infractions for ‘Simple Trespass’ to patrons that were under 21 years of age,” captain Ronald Smith of Hamden Police stated in a press release on Jan. 30. Most of the underage patrons present were Quinnipiac students, according to Hamden Police.

Consumer Protection Commissioner Michelle H. Seagull also released a statement on Jan. 30, issuing a summary suspension for the establishment.

Seagull cited an inspection by Hamden Police in the statement.

“We are deeply concerned as our officers have noticed that Quinnipiac students from nearby are walking intoxicated in the road coming to and from the Clubhouse Café,” acting Police Chief John Cappiello said in a press release from the Department of Consumer Protection. “Due to the repeated offenses and risk that this establishment is causing to our young residents and area college students, any assistance in mitigating the obvious dangers posed to minors who patronize the establishment would be greatly appreciated.”

Clubhouse’s license has been suspended before, most recently within the past year.

“On April 20, 2018, approximately 100 people, under 21 years of age, were on the premises. Police seized 42 fraudulent identifications during the liquor compliance check,” Smith stated.

The compliance check in January could be the last straw for the Liquor Control Commission, who would not lift the suspension until a hearing, according to Smith.

“We don’t take the issuance of a summary suspension lightly, but feel it is warranted in this instance. Serving underage patrons is a very serious offense, and our partnerships with local police, other state agencies, and community organizations are all needed to keep this from happening in our communities,” Seagull stated in the release.

According to the New Haven Register, director of communications for the Department of Consumer Protection, Lora Rae Anderson said Clubhouse Cafe was barred from opening while under summary suspension.

“The permit remains under the summary suspension, and the matter is still pending,” Anderson said.

Permittee Anthony Danonoli could not be reached for comment.

Student Programming Board cannot afford ‘top-tier’ artists for Wake the Giant

By Marissa Davis

Although the Student Programming Board (SPB) did not suffer a budget cut this year, it is missing a significant donation from former Quinnipiac President, John Lahey.

The donation, specifically intended to be used for the spring concert known as Wake the Giant, allowed SPB to obtain contemporary R&B artist, Khalid, as a headliner last year.

“SPB did not experience a budget cut this year from SGA, last year they did receive a donation from President Lahey specifically to use for the concert,” said Hannah Pancak, the SPB faculty adviser and assistant director for Student Centers and Student Involvement.

Many students such as Quinnipiac senior, Julia DeLutrie, were disappointed to learn that Blackbear would headline this year’s spring concert, “I don’t plan on attending Wake the Giant this year because I think it’s a waste of money to pay $20 for an artist that I’ve never even heard of and I really just have no desire to attend,” DeLutrie said.

The Wake the Giant stage has hosted many notable artists such as Jason Derulo, Fetty Wap, Tiesto and Kesha.

“In past years I have liked the Wake the Giant performers…their track record has been pretty good. It’s really disappointing that as a senior this is the concert we get and it’s just kind of disappointing,” said DeLutrie.

Some students seem to believe that SPB has paid hefty fees for artists to perform at Quinnipiac, and this year’s concert will be much more inexpensive.

“I don’t know why people think that SPB’s budget got cut,” said Student Government Associations vice president of Finance, John Khillah. “It seemed that people believe that to reserve Tiesto it’s actually a more expensive concert. That’s not true.”

Killah said that every year, the artists for Wake the Giant are usually around the same price range. He said SPB does their best to find an artist within the $50,000-75,000 range.

SPB has a number of things to consider when it comes to selecting an artist for Wake the Giant, like artist availability and the genre the university voted on via a survey put out by SPB.

“There are other factors that go into what creates our list of artists to choose from: 1. Tour date conflicts 2. Coachella (an annual music festival held in California) is the same weekend 3. Some artists do not perform on college campuses,” said Pancak.

SPB is able to provide a number of different programs for the student body through the budget it is provided, but Killah says it does not have enough to book an extremely well-known artist for Wake the Giant.

“So overall SPB has an operating budget of $380,000, they also then keep and utilize the ticket sales for Wake the Giant and that adds on top of their budget, so they’re roughly around $420,000 for the year,” said Khillah. “Do they have enough to be able to effectively program for the student body? Absolutely. Do I think that they have enough to be able to get the top tier artists for our spring concert? Um, probably not.”

If SPB was allowed a slightly higher budget, Khillah thinks it could be used to improve Wake the Giant.

“They don’t have enough money to get a ‘great’ artist but I do think that with a budget increase they can effectively allocate a little more to be able to get someone who’s in a higher tier,” he said.

Quinnipiac winter sports programs wrapping up successful seasons

By Logan Reardon

This winter? Cold. Quinnipiac’s winter sports programs? Hot.

At this point in the year, most collegiate winter sports programs are starting to finish up their seasons. For Quinnipiac, it’s the opposite. Three of the four teams (men’s basketball, women’s basketball and men’s ice hockey) are still alive and well as they look to win their conference tournaments in the coming weeks.

The Quinnipiac men’s ice hockey team finished its regular season on Saturday with a convincing 4-1 win at Yale. The Bobcats’ record was 25-7-2 as they now move on to postseason play.

While a big win on the road against a rival is thrilling enough, Quinnipiac also clinched the No. 1 seed in the ECAC Hockey Tournament. The Bobcats finished tied with Cornell for first in the conference and got the top seed based on a tiebreaker (1-0-1 head-to-head vs. Cornell).

“It was awesome,” Quinnipiac junior forward Nick Jermain said on finding out the team won the Cleary Cup (winner of ECAC Hockey). “We didn’t really know what was going on and then (Quinnipiac associate head coach Bill) Riga was like ‘We got it’. Everyone just freaked out and it was an awesome feeling, still being on the ice and being able to celebrate with everyone.”

The Bobcats finished the year on fire, winning four of their last five games and outscoring opponents 20-10 across those games. Still, securing the No. 1 seed and an all-important first-round bye in the ECAC Hockey Tournament was pivotal.

“It’s huge, we have a couple guys who could use a week off,” Jermain said after the win. “I mean, we all can this time of year. It’s going to be a big advantage for us to be able to rest up, lick our wounds and then be ready to attack the rest of season.”

The rest of the season might not seem like much, but there’s still a lot of hockey to be played. The bottom eight teams in the conference will begin the tournament on March 8, with the higher seed hosting a best-of-three series on their home ice. The top four seeds get that weekend off.

The following weekend (March 15-17), No. 1 Quinnipiac will host the winner of No. 9 Princeton vs. No. 8 Brown at the People’s United Center for a best-of-three series. The winner of that series will head to Lake Placid, New York for the ECAC Hockey Semifinal on March 22.

After wrapping up the ECAC Hockey Tournament that weekend, Quinnipiac will learn its fate for the NCAA Tournament as it hopes to get back to another Frozen Four.

The Quinnipiac women’s ice hockey team wasn’t on the same level as the men’s team this season, as the Bobcats were eliminated in the ECAC Hockey Quarterfinals on March 2 after Clarkson swept them in two games.

Quinnipiac finished the season 12-18-6, but a solid 9-9-4 record in ECAC Hockey earned it the No. 6 seed. But facing No. 3 Clarkson on the road proved to be a challenge. After playing Clarkson to a 1-1 tie in the season finale, the Bobcats couldn’t get it going in the playoffs. A 3-0 loss in the first game and a 4-3 loss in the second game ended Quinnipiac’s season.

Unfortunately for the Bobcats, next season might be another tough one. Quinnipiac is losing its top three leading point-scorers, in seniors Melissa Samoskevich, Kenzie Lancaster and Randi Marcon. On the bright side, the next 12 leading point-scorers after those three were underclassmen, so the expectation is that they will all step up and fill the void.

On the other side of the People’s United Center, the Quinnipiac women’s and men’s basketball teams have been two of the strongest teams in their respective conferences.

The women, as usual, have dominated the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). For the fifth straight season, the Bobcats won the MAAC regular season championship. But that’s not all. For the second straight season, the Bobcats finished a perfect 18-0 in the MAAC. They have won 49 straight MAAC contests heading into this weekend’s MAAC Tournament in Albany.

“Going into the MAAC, any team has to be as confident as possible,” Quinnipiac senior guard Brittany Martin said. “Every team, even the last team in the conference, they’re coming in wanting to win. You have that energy coming in, you never know what could happen. There could be an upset, but that’s not what we want. We’re coming in hungrier than ever.”

Quinnipiac travels to Albany looking for its third straight MAAC championship (and NCAA Tournament appearance). The Bobcats have won an NCAA Tournament game in each of the past two seasons.

As good as the Bobcats have been on the national stage, their dominance in the MAAC cannot be overlooked. Nine of Quinnipiac’s 18 conference wins this season came by 20 points or more and 16 of 18 came by at least 10 points. Pure dominance.

The Bobcats had a few “close” games down the stretch, including an eight-point win at Fairfield on Feb. 17 and a six-point win at Rider on Feb. 21, but they’ve again been largely unchallenged this year. Look for that to continue in Albany.

While the women’s team is a perennial powerhouse, the men’s basketball team has been anything but that. Things might be starting to change, though.

After four straight years finishing below .500, Quinnipiac finished the 2018-19 regular season 16-13. While this might seem like a modest step, it’s actually pretty huge for a program that won 12, 10 and nine games in the past three seasons.

More importantly, the Bobcats finished 11-7 in the MAAC, good for a No. 3 seed in the upcoming MAAC Tournament. Quinnipiac will face the winner of No. 6 Monmouth vs. No. 11 Niagara. The Bobcats swept Monmouth in two games this season and split two games with Niagara.

The season was Quinnipiac’s best in years, but it could’ve been better. Heading into Sunday, Quinnipiac just needed a win over Manhattan, who was 7-10 in the MAAC entering the game. A win over Manhattan and Quinnipiac would’ve been crowned co-MAAC regular season champions and entered Albany as the No. 2 seed. The Bobcats disappointed, though, losing 62-58.

“Disappointing day for us,” Quinnipiac head coach Baker Dunleavy said. “We’ve been playing good basketball on the road, with two straight roads wins and I feel really good about where we are.”

Still, for the first time in years, it seems as if both the women and the men have a realistic shot to win the MAAC Tournament. The men have never done it in program history, but this year they’ve got as good a shot as ever.

So while people are begging for this long, cold winter to end, these teams are praying it never does.

Quinnipiac will spend estimated $135,000 to replace faulty soccer and lacrosse field

By Ross Lager

Quinnipiac lacrosse and soccer teams haven’t always enjoyed a home-field advantage over the last year — in fact, they haven’t always had a home field to play on at all.

When the university built the $28 million lacrosse and soccer stadium two years ago, it chose to use a crumbly cork material to cushion the field and help the field’s artificial grass to stand up.

According to the Vice President of Facilities and Capital Planning, Sal Filardi, the university chose cork because it thought the material would have less impact on the wetlands bordering the field than the crumb rubber alternative. What it didn’t count on was that the cork would freeze in the wet winter weather, rise above the grass and create a slippery, unplayable surface.

“When the field freezes, the teams are not able to practice,” Filardi said. “Last year they missed roughly two dozen days of practice. Several games have also had to be rescheduled or moved to a different site.”

Quinnipiac Soccer and Lacrosse Stadium turf

The setbacks didn’t affect the soccer teams during their season (which took place in the fall). In October, the men’s soccer team hosted the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) finals on their home field. The issues with the turf are affecting the teams in the spring.

Now, the university wants to replace the cork material with synthetic rubber at a cost of $135,000, Filardi said.

“The cork infill gets wet and freezes,” he said. “The rubber doesn’t absorb water and the black color absorbs the heat of the sun even on below freezing days.”

The work must be approved by Hamden’s Inland Wetlands Commission, which is concerned about the impact of the potentially toxic runoff from the rubber on the wetlands to the south of the facility.

Filardi acknowledged the negative impact the field has had on Quinnipiac’s teams.

“Coaches have clearly expressed their dissatisfaction with the frozen field,” he said.

Sophomore soccer defenseman Simon Hillinger agreed.

He said when the team came to school in January, they practiced for two weeks inside because they couldn’t practice on the turf — it was too icy and slippery.

“I still think it affects us a lot,” Hillinger said. “Now in spring season, you can work on the details but when you practice inside, it is smaller and all we can do is play five on five, we can’t do any tactics.”

The wetlands commission has voted that it will approve the change, but only under three conditions.

First, Quinnipiac must pre-wash the rubber in a way that meets the approval of the commission.

Second, the university must provide an annual inspection report about the level of synthetic rubber particles in the wetlands and to ensure proper drainage from the stadium.

Finally, the university must change its snow plowing procedure so that snow is pushed to the northern side of the field, opposite the wetlands to the south.

Filardi said the biggest condition is that the infill needs to washed before it gets installed.

“The thinking is that washing removes some of the chemicals that may leach out over time,” he said.

In any case, Filardi said he did not think the work could be done until spring at the earliest.

“We are still identifying the process to wash the infill and determining next steps,” he said. “I don’t believe we will address the field until after the current athletic seasons are over in April.”

School of Communications Dean Mark Contreras leaves QU

By Hannah Feakes

Outgoing School of Communications Dean Mark Contreras says he “had no intentions of leaving” the job after only 18 months, but the position offered at Connecticut Public Broadcasting was just too tempting to resist.

“The opportunity to lead Connecticut Public is to me one of the great opportunities in media today,” he said. “It’s both NPR and PBS and there is a lot of opportunity with digital. I am replacing someone who has been there for thirty some years,” he said.

Connecticut Public is a media company creating diverse Internet, TV, radio and print content for the state’s local communities, according to their website.

Contreras is leaving campus only a year and a half after being dean. He says that this is the shortest amount of time he has ever spent at a job.

Terry Bloom will take over as interim Dean for the School of Communications (SoC) at Quinnipiac University in March.

Although journalism professor Richard Hanley has a close professional relationship with Contreras, he says that it would not be productive for the school if a person who is unhappy in a leadership position stuck around just to adhere to the academic calendar.

“There’s a saying that states: once a person decides to leave a leadership position, that person should leave because the focus on the job will be lost even if appearances are maintained,” Hanley said.

Hanley said that when Contreras accepted the dean position he announced that he wanted to raise money for the School of Communications and assemble an advisory board of executives from the communications industry.

According to Hanley, Contreras achieved those goals.

Contreras was able to get the Hearst Foundations to donate half a million dollars for scholarships, to help promote diversity within the school and connect the university to notable executives from top media companies.

This Hearst Foundation scholarship grant will help the School of Communications attract and recruit students who otherwise could not afford to enroll.

“That alone will make for a truer reflection of the national community and serve as a catalyst for continuing efforts to make sure Quinnipiac’s stated goal to diversify its student body is not an empty gesture,” Hanley said. “That will have a lasting effect on students and faculty.”

Contreras and Hanley agree that Contreras’ most important accomplishments include the advisory board and the $500,000 scholarship granted to SoC by the Hearst Foundations.

The advisory board was created to help students and faculty connect with leaders in industry on closer level.

Hanley emphasized that the SoC will continue to grow during the process of hiring a new dean.

“We are fortunate to have a strong administrative team and exceptional faculty department chairs in place to shoulder the additional leadership burdens as the search for a new dean gets underway,” Hanley said.

Communications student Stephanie Ambrosio, a member of the 3+1 program, wishes that Contreras would have made himself more visible to all SoC students.

In her opinion, students would have valued more opportunities to meet with Contreras and get to know him and his connections.

“I hope that the new dean will make it a point to formally introduce his/herself to the students and be a greater presence in their time at QU,” Ambrosio said.

Contreras said that the timing of these things are never convenient and that he has always had a love for public media.

“I wouldn’t say I am running away from anything at Quinnipiac, it’s just that this opportunity to lead Connecticut Public is so compelling,” he said.

As a previous board member for Cincinnati public radio, he says he has gotten to know many people in the public radio world, which he says could benefit Quinnipiac students in the long run.

“I don’t want to say goodbye because I think there are lots and lots of ways that both QU, particularly the School of Communications and Connecticut Public, can continue to work together far more closely than we have in the past,” Contreras said.

Contreras already has plans to bring Connecticut Public and Quinnipiac together. He says spoke of putting together a strategic plan and will deliver that plan to the board of Connecticut Public in November.

Hanley said that Contreras had no experience in higher education leadership roles upon his arrival at Quinnipiac.

Hanley and Contreras had many discussions on both the practical and philosophical levels as to how to approach issues with transparency and a sense of inclusion among faculty, staff and students, according to Hanley.

“It wasn’t an easy transition from corporate executive to academic dean by any stretch,” Hanley said. “Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.

Hanley plans to stay in touch with Contreras in order to explore the possibilities of a collaboration between Connecticut Public Broadcasting and Quinnipiac. Hanley believes that such a collaboration would help SoC students achieve their goals.

Contreras said his favorite part of working at Quinnipiac was engaging with students. He expressed how moved he was by the dedication of faculty to their students.

“I am still struck by how most of the faculty have had some experience in their lives in the world of media and I’d say the vast majority of them could be out doing that today,” he said. “The fact that they are dedicating their lives to helping develop the minds of the next generation in media speaks to their character and to me, that is very inspiring.”