Quinnipiac Public Safety located in the Irmagarde hall on the Mount Carmel Campus
Quinnipiac Public Safety responds to hundreds of arrests, referrals and offenses over each year. This past Saturday, they released their annual security and fire safety report.
One statistic that stuck out to students were the three counts of rape on the Mount Carmel Campus.
“It’s a little shocking,” senior, Jacob Resnick said. “You hear about that happening at other places, you’re not really aware that it’s going on where you’re living, going to school.”
Recorded in 2016, there were a total of two rapes on the Mount Carmel Campus. In 2017, there were a count of two rapes as well. Making this past year the highest count of rape in the past 2 years.
“It could happen to anyone,” senior, Christina Vittas said.
Vitta’s works as a Residential Assistant on the York Hill Campus. She said Residential Assistances make an effort to limit crimes on the three campuses.
Statistics in the 2018 clery report
“It is definitely a big focus and like we try to help our students as much as possible, and it’s so unfortunate that those things happen,” Vittas said.
Other students say although the number is small, three peoples lives have completely changed.
“It’s three too many, if you ask me,” junior, Will Fowler said.
Other than the three rapes, the annual security and fire safety report showed 13 counts of burglary and three counts of aggravated assault.
If you have an incident to report you can find the Quinnipiac Public Safety office in the Irmagarde hall or call Quinnipiac Public Safety at 203-582-6200 for assistance. In any life-threatening emergency call 9-1-1.
Sept. 23 marked the first day of fall and with the recent reopening of the Sleeping Giant State Park, many Quinnipiac students and nearby residents are back hiking.
“The campus is a lot more lively now, it’s not as humid so people are enjoying the time outside a little more,” senior, Mike Reiley said.
Sleeping Giant State Park closed in May 2018 after a Tornado swept across the area. Despite the devastation, hundreds of trees still have a home on the Sleeping Giant.
View of Sleeping Giant State Park from the Quinnipiac quad on the Mount Carmel Campus
Devastation has cleared following the May 2018 tornado
“Sleeping Giant in the fall, there is nothing like it,” Reiley said. “I mean you see the colors changing and all the foliage coming in, it’s just tremendous.”
With the fall season here, many students look forward to hiking the sleeping giant.
“I have not yet hiked the Sleeping Giant in the fall, definitely on my bucket list,” senior, Jack Main said.
The park is open everyday from 8 a.m. until sunset.
Eastern Equine Encephalitis, known as the EEE virus has been found this season in 21 Connecticut towns.
Connecticut mosquito
Two people have died after contracting EEE in Old Lyme and East Lyme. State health officials are urging residents to be cautious of this mosquito-borne virus.
Quinnipiac’s Emergency Management Team sent out an alert on Friday following statewide concern. The alert read, “As a precaution, Quinnipiac is rescheduling all athletic and university-sponsored events that are scheduled to take place from dusk to dawn until further notice because of public health alerts regarding Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE).”
On Monday, Student Health Services will provide mosquito repellant for students.
Testing in labs for EEE
The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES) tests bugs across the state for EEE.
The Academic Advising Council hosted the Majors and Minors Fair on Wednesday.
The event was held in the Piazza and went from noon to 4p.m.
Students were welcome to discuss their academic goals and speak with academic advisors. Pamphlets were given from each school with a breakdown of each major and minor.
The goal of this event was for students to feel comfortable in selecting a major or minor.
Student’s who have more questions can reach out to academic advising representatives from each of the schools.
Hamden Regional Chamber of Commerce presents Hamden restaurant week
A number of Hamden restaurants are taking part in the towns 9th annual restaurant week.
The event started Monday and will end on Sept. 28. Participating restaurants are offering $9 to $15 fixed lunch prices and $20 to $35 fixed dinner prices.
In the beginning of the month, the Hamden Chamber of Commerce announced Bankwell as the event’s sponsor.
This week on QNN, how safe do you feel on campus? We have new numbers that may surprise you. Plus, a look at the state of Hamden’s roads and Sleeping Giant gets ready for fall. Those stories and more are in this week’s QNN newscast.
McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts gave customers plastic straws at the drive through window on Friday, Sept. 20, and Common Grounds left plastic straws near the milk station, in violation of a new ordinance. Stores must keep straws behind the counter and may give to customers only when they request them.
Under the rules, which went into effect on Sept. 12, Hamden businesses may not offer or sell plastic checkout bags to customers and should only offer single-use drinking straws upon request by a customer.
A survey of more than a dozen restaurants, coffee shops and retail stores showed that most have switched to paper and reusable bags, but some aren’t following the rules on straws.
For example, reporters observed on Sept. 20 that the McDonald’s near Hamden Plaza and Dunkin Donuts on Whitney Avenue are still giving straws with iced coffees in the drive throughs. Common Grounds on Dixwell Avenue and multiple Dunkin Donuts are keeping straws by the milk and napkin station, but the ordinance states that businesses are supposed to keep straws behind the counters.
And some stores, including Krauszer’s, are still charging 10 cents for plastic bags, which is also in violation of the ordinance..
Leslie Balch, director of health at the Quinnipiack Valley Health District, confirmed that these actions do not comply with the new rules. Businesses not in compliance will be notified by a Hamden Litter Enforcement Officer on potential citations and fines..
However, Balch noted that most retailers and restaurants have cooperated so far.
“From what we’ve been able to observe within a week, we’ve seen a lot of really good compliance,” Balch said. “We have the advantage of the state law, and the idea which we like to promote of bring your own bag and decrease single-use items. So, we’ve seen a great acceptance of it, without a lot of complaints.”
Quinnipiac businesses such as the bookstore and Starbucks also have to comply. A reporter noted that the bookstore is promoting paper and reusable bags and that Starbucks employees will only give plastic straws if asked by the customer.
Yet some Hamden business owners say they feel the ordinance won’t have any resounding changes, and worry that it has upset many customers.
“The ridiculous ban, it doesn’t make sense to us,” Karen Brown from Glenwood Drive-in said. “It was rushed.”
One of the biggest complaints is that customers don’t want to purchase reusable bags, or pay for single-use bags if they choose to use those.
“Single-use bans are not going to have any effect other than annoying people who have to now buy bags,” said Kim Taldridge, co-owner of KayCee Farms.
Hamden isn’t the only town that has enacted the ban in 2019. With a 2021 state-wide ban looming, 15 towns have decided to act right away.
Balch knew it was only a matter of time before Connecticut officials addressed the issue of plastic waste.
“It is my belief that the state has entertained the possibility and looked at the idea for the past couple of years,” Balch said. “Many of the towns in Connecticut decided rather than wait to see what happens, they would embark on the research and everything involved with doing it on their own. That’s what Hamden did.”
The Hamden ordinance was passed in February due to the efforts of Hamden Councilman Brad Macdowall, who has a strong focus on conserving the environment.
Many business owners are in favor of the ordinance.
“We’ve always been using only paper, it just makes more sense,” Venice Bakery cashier Katie said.
Venice Bakery isn’t alone.
“We only use paper bags, brown and white,” Linda DiSorbo of DiSorbo’s Italian Bakery said.
Hamden Scuba employee Kevin O’Sullivan believes that both paper and plastic bags will always present a challenge
“We need to find a balance. The reason we went to plastic in the first place is because we were chopping down too many trees to make paper bags. Single-use is the problem, and for most people that is plastic.”
Despite not being allowed to purchase plastic bags, the QVHD clarified that residents can bring plastic bags into stores.
Map by Kristen Altmeyer
Moving forward, Balch wants residents to understand the environmental purpose of using plastic bags and straws.
“What we want to do, is not for the enforcement but for the value of seeing a change in our habits,” Balch said. “As soon as the state law came in, we’ve already seen a change and I think we’re going to be fairly successful.”
HAMDEN – Hamden is taking an initiative to get rid of plastic bags at checkouts in all stores.
Starting in 2021, businesses are not allowed to offer plastic bags to shoppers. This doesn’t include plastic bags for meat, seafood, bakery goods, and flowers.
If you don’t have a recyclable bag, it may be time to invest in one. Besides, you are helping the environment by using one moving forward.
“I’m a supporter of it. Anything that we can to get rid of excess plastic. I got my reusable bag. Everyone else can get theirs,” Josh Gudelski said. “It’s the same shopping experience. I’m just not using plastic bags.”
HAMDEN – Quinnipiac University is a great college to work for, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. Quinnipiac was one of the 85 colleges that were acknowledged for this achievement.
Quinnipiac earned top honors in categories such as collaborative governance, compensation and benefits, confidence in senior leadership, job satisfaction, respect and appreciation, supervisor-department chair relationship, teaching environment, and tenure clarity and process.
This is the first time Quinnipiac has been recognized in the Collaborative Governance and Confidence in Senior Leadership areas.
HAMDEN – Roberto Casillas was on his way to playing professional soccer in Mexico before a serious injury changed everything.
Casillas would train hard every day, skipping the parties with his friends to focus on his soccer career. A broken patellar tendon would sideline Casillas for two years, and cut his soccer career short. Since then, he’s come to Quinnipiac to pursue a career in becoming a soccer journalist.
“I want to be a soccer journalist or be in sports media covering soccer,” Casillas said. “That’s a part of sports media in the US that is not as competitive, as say, Mexico would be.”
This is only the beginning for Roberto, and he’s excited for what lies ahead.
“Who knows where life’s gonna take me,” Casillas said.
