President Judy Olian in a recent video explaining what to look forward to in the coming months and years at Quinnipiac. Screenshot via Quinnipiac University.
Students have complained about Quinnipiac’s tuition and where their money goes throughout most of their years at the university. However, on April 16, President Judy Olian posted a video to her personal Instagram and Twitter detailing new changes to residence halls and student center facilities.
“(In) Mid-May, we’ll begin updating our residence halls on Mount Carmel starting with Perlroth, Larson and Troupe and we will be adding air conditioning,” Olian said in the video. “We plan to upgrade the remaining halls in the next few years.”
Justin Ellis, a 20-year-old English major from King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, thinks this is some of the best news he has heard since coming to Quinnipiac two years ago.
“The lack of air conditioning in buildings has been one of the larger complaints of the student body and to see President Olian make strides to change that I’m sure is just a part of what she has in store for us in the coming years,” Ellis said.
Other changes include refurbishing the Rocky Top Student Center with new furniture, a pool table, television and a full functioning bar with food services. The Student Government Association has worked on the Rocky Top pub initiative for about a year with senior class president Allison Kuhn and senior representative Joe Iasso drafting the proposal that received Olian’s thumbs up.
“I’m thrilled that university administration took such quick action to add something students wanted on campus,” Iasso said. “I am so excited to come back as an alumnus and visit the campus pub, I think it will be a great place for us to draw connections to each other and our alma mater.”
Although these future plans have most of the student body excited for the future of Quinnipiac, Matthew Forcino, a 20-year-old finance major from Cranston, Rhode Island, noted one important detail in Olian’s announcement.
“President Olian did add in the caveat that these plans are subject to trustee approval, indicating that they are not set in stone,” Forcino said. “I hope that this is just a cautious statement rather than an indication that these plans might not come to fruition.”
With the timeline for the improvements set to begin at the end of the semester and into the summer, students are hoping to see their large tuition bill going toward significant changes at Quinnipiac.
“The residence hall updates are not so much a necessity as it is an expectation of a school where tuition is over $65,000,” Forcino said. “I’m glad to see that administration has listened to what the student body wants.”
A post on Facebook by UFCW Local 371 announcing that an agreement has been reached.
After an 11 day strike, Stop & Shop and local unions have reached tentative three-year agreements that will end the labor dispute.
“We are very pleased to announce Stop & Shop has reached fair new tentative agreements with UFCW Locals 328, 371, 919, 1445 and 1459, which represent our 31,000 associates in Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island,” the Stop & Shop statement said, “We’re also glad to have our associates return to work as the strike has ended.”
The statement also includes some details of what is included in the agreement including increased pay.
“The tenative three-year agreements, which are subject to ratification votes by members of each of the union locals, include:
Increased pay for all associates;
Continued excellent health coverage for eligible associates; and
Ongoing defined benefit pension benefits for all eligible associates.”
Stop & Shops official update located on its labor page.
The United Food and Commercial Workers Union also released a statement regarding the agreements.
“Under this proposed contract, our members will be able to focus on continuing to help customers in our communities enjoy the best shopping experience possible and to keep Stop & Shop the number one grocery store in New England,” it said. “The agreement preserves health care and retirement benefits, provides wage increases, and maintains time-and-a-half pay on Sunday for current members.”
UFCW Local 371 posted news about the negotiation on its Facebook page informing workers of the agreement and announcing information on the next steps.
“Members, as of minutes ago, we have reached a tentative agreement with Stop & Shop. For the time being, all department managers and regularly scheduled daytime full-time should report to their store at 7:30 a.m. Monday,” the post said. “For all additional full- and part-time members, you should receive a phone call from your store no later than 12pm tomorrow to get your schedule for the week. If you do not receive a call, please call your store for your schedule.”
Strikers will also receive some money for their efforts according to the post.
“Monetary benefits from the strike fund will still be coming soon for those who were on the lines,” the post stated.
In order to get back on track, Stop & Shop says it will focus on restocking its stores.
“Our associates’ top priority will be restocking our stores so we can return to taking care of our customers and communities and providing them with the service they deserve,” the statement said. “We deeply appreciate the patience and understanding of our customers during this time, and we look forward to welcoming them back to Stop & Shop.”
Union members are urged to attend their local ratification meetings in order to receive full details on the agreements.
“We strongly encourage you to attend your Local’s contract ratification meeting for a complete and detailed report of what is in the contract,” the UFCW Local 371 said. “We will send you immediate notices of when and where your Local’s meeting will be.”
The post ended with a thank you to all of those involved for their efforts.
“The message you sent by collectively standing up for yourselves, your families, and for good jobs, has resonated not only with the company, but all of America,” it read. “Thank you for everything that you’ve done.”
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.”
The university recognizes the need to advance inclusion initiatives in strategic plan proposal.
By Caitlin Fish
Abby Marton experienced a self-described culture shock when she arrived at Quinnipiac University in 2016 and found that the school did not reflect the world she understood.
“Coming here there was a culture shock on every level,” Marton said. “I noticed a lack of diversity right away. When I first got here I worried that I wouldn’t fit in. Everyone seemed tied together from home, there are mutual friends everywhere.”
Abby Marton, 21
Marton, a senior marketing major from Manhattan, New York, explained that she attended a diverse high school, The Bronx High School of Science, which exposed her to many different cultures and ways of seeing the world. Quinnipiac, in Hamden, Connecticut, did not reflect that diversity.
“I wouldn’t say white was the minority at my high school but it definitely wasn’t the majority,” Marton said. “I learned a lot about different people’s families and backgrounds, whether that be food, language or religion. It was just so immersive.”
Isaiah Nieves, a senior film major from Manchester, Connecticut, likewise noticed the sharp distinction between what he experienced in a high school teeming with racial and ethnic diversity and what he saw at Quinnipiac.
Nieves explained that he grew up around racial and class diversity and that he compares his experience attending high school to attending Quinnipiac as night and day.
“Considering that this school is a private school, it’s going to attract a certain crowd of people who can afford it,” Nieves said. “There is not much diversity on campus at all.”
Isaiah Nieves, 22
Marton and Nieves are not alone in describing Quinnipiac as an institution that is lacking in diversity. The school remains largely white despite efforts to shape the student body into one that reflects the changing demographics of the United States.
According to a U.S. Census Bureau report from 2018, the United States is projected to continue becoming a more racially and ethnically pluralistic society. By 2045 Non-Hispanic whites are no longer projected to make up the majority of the U.S. population.
“By 2020, fewer than one-half of children—49.8 percent—are projected to be Non-Hispanic white,” the report states.
Students find that the troubling lack of diversity extends to the people who teach them and keep the university operating.
An informal survey sent out by email to Quinnipiac students who belong to multicultural organizations on campus revealed that 70 percent noticed that lack of diversity in the faculty and staff.
“I think the professors are less racially diverse than the student body,” Issac Bauer, a junior communications major from White Plains, New York, said. “It makes me happy to see that there are a lot of women professors, but in education, it is important to have teachers of all different backgrounds.”
Isaac Bauer, 20
According to data on racial demographics cataloged on the university’s website, white students make up three-quarters of the undergraduate population, while data obtained by HQ Press from a faculty member who requested to remain anonymous reports that white faculty members make up more than three-quarters.
Pie charts outlining the racial demographics of the undergraduate population and fall 2018 full-time faculty at Quinnipiac.
Bar graph outlining the racial demographics of 2018 full-time faculty members by school.
Students have mixed opinions regarding the university’s attempts to increase diversity on campus. The informal survey of Quinnipiac students reports that 57 percent have noticed efforts by the university to increase diversity while 42 percent have not.
Quinnipiac President Judy Olian references diversity as a transformative element in her strategic plan proposal released in January to build what she described as a “university of the future.”
The plan recognizes that Quinnipiac needs to improve in that area.
“We are not yet where we need to be as an inclusively excellent institution–not in faculty or staff, not in students or alumni, not in programming,” the strategic plan states. “We aspire to be more.”
The university appointed Donald C. Sawyer III as chief diversity officer in 2018. Sawyer, a Quinnipiac sociology professor, is tasked with advancing diversity and inclusion initiatives and putting in place action steps to get there.
“My job is to create a plan that partners with other people on campus to do the work of inclusive excellence,” Sawyer said. “The role is to work as a community, that’s faculty, staff and students, to bring about a campus that is inclusive for all people. Some people assume that my job is just here for students of color. That’s not it. It’s for all people.”
According to Sawyer, one of the ways the university is planning to address this lack of representation in the faculty is by diversifying its applicant pools when hiring for a new position.
“We have to be looking at ways to diversify our applicant pools, he said. “Not necessarily telling people who to hire. But, how do we make sure that when we are hiring for a position that the pool is representative of the diversity that exists in that particular discipline.”
Sawyer explained that not every school has a chief diversity officer, but he expects the position to become more common as it is important for universities to increase diversity and inclusion in order to stay competitive.
“Universities see that diversity is not just about doing it because it’s a good thing and feels good, it is to make sure they’re going to be the universities that survive,” Sawyer said. “To prepare so that they’re not going to be behind the curve. If you look at the students that are coming, you have to prepare for that representative diversity that we’re seeing in the K-12.”
Sawyer explained that a big part of his job is educating students about the differences between the terms diversity, inclusion and equity because a lot of people use them interchangeably.
“When we talk about diversity, we’re just talking about the representative, the numbers,” he said.
Inclusion goes hand in hand, as it is the active engagement with that diversity.
“Getting people here is pointless if you don’t have anything in place to make people feel welcomed and a part of the campus community,” he said.
The equity aspect is more complicated, as it works to remove obstacles and improve access for underrepresented students, according to Sawyer.
Xi Chen, associate professor of sociology at Quinnipiac, said she believes a historical denial of education for underrepresented students and weak points in the U.S. education system both contribute to the lack of diversity at the university.
Chen explained that public schools are funded by local and property taxes, so schools in poor or urban areas do not receive as many resources or as much funding as they do from affluent neighborhoods. In order to become a college student, you have to have been prepared along the way to even be able to apply, and many under-resourced schools do not deliver in this aspect.
“Students from the under-resourced schools are competing against the students in resource schools for the same seats in colleges,” Chen said. “If you have those obstacles in the way the system is set up for some people to be more successful than others.”
Chen said that she believes even with financial aid and scholarships, the cost of tuition prevents a more diverse applicant pool.
“Tuition for this university is very expensive and is geared toward New England North-Eastern upper-middle-class,” Chen said. “There is a huge racial gap in terms of what type of family can afford it due to social inequality in class and wealth.”
Although the university lacks in representative diversity, some students believe it is beginning to make inclusion a priority.
According to the informal survey of Quinnipiac students, 73 percent of respondents said they believe the university supports an inclusive environment.
The university has 17 student-run cultural and identity groups on campus that frequently hold events, open to everyone, aimed at educating students about different cultures, religions and ways of seeing the world.
Christina Ojo, a junior biology major from Providence, Rhode Island, is involved in many of these groups, including the African Caribbean Student Union, Black Student Union, Latino Cultural society and the Asian Student Alliance. However, she said that she does not believe the greater population of Quinnipiac recognizes these organizations.
“I don’t think Quinnipiac does enough to even get at why these organizations are important,” Ojo said. “I appreciate that we are, at the very least, here. I think the responsibility of educating is left to the students of diverse realities. It’s gaslighting.”
Christina Ojo, 20
Chidi Nwuneli, a junior political science major from the Bronx, New York, has attended many university events put on by the multicultural organizations but does not believe many students respond to the invitations.
“Quinnipiac does try (to be more inclusive) but I feel like students aren’t receptive because it’s not something they grew up around,” Nwuneli said.
Chidi Nwuenli, 20
Diversity on campus is not just about having students of color, according to Nwuenli. It is also about having students who have grown up around students of color because then there will be more diversity in thought.
“Accepting of change is hard, so I think it more falls upon where they’re recruiting people from,” Nwuenli said. “I heard President Olian said she wants to recruit more people from Florida, Texas and California. When you have more people from urban centers mixing with people who are from mid-sized small-sized towns, people start to become more open-minded and friend groups become more diverse.”
According to the informal survey of Quinnipiac students, 64 percent of respondents said they do not believe the general student population is interested in learning about diversity and inclusion.
Anytime Quinnipiac wants to get something done, such as the Big Event or Qthon, it uses Greek Life, according to Nwuenli. He said that he believes the multicultural organizations should belong in this partnership.
“Greek organizations should work with the multicultural organizations, it’s something that I’ve been saying since freshman year,” he said. “That’s the only way you can have exposure for both of them. If there is an event hosted by a sorority and the African Student Union, both groups will be there and you get to meet new people and create those bonds.”
Julia Miles, a junior nursing major from Oakland, New Jersey, said she believes that a majority of the students at the university do not seek out information about diversity and inclusion because it does not affect them directly.
“I think the school could integrate this type of education into the academic experience because most students who are not underrepresented won’t pay attention unless it is put in front of their faces,” Miles said.
Julia Miles, 20
Miles explained that in her nursing classes aspects of diversity and inclusion are incorporated into many of her projects.
“It’s clear that our program wants to create nurses that are aware of the world,” Miles said. “When doing projects, there is a component that requires us to include some cultural or religious factors that may affect treating the patient.”
There are many benefits to a diverse atmosphere and the students at Quinnipiac may be missing out on opportunities to become more aware of the world, according to Marton.
“It’s a huge way for people to connect, to diversify your school of thought even, Marton said. “It’s so unhealthy and ignorant to think that the way you grew up and what you know and what you’re familiar with is the only way to do things. You’re missing out on literally an entire world of different experiences and it’s a shame.”
Increasing diversity on campus is not just about doing something for the greater good, it is necessary for an environment to thrive, Sawyer said.
“It benefits all who are involved,” Sawyer said. “When we have diverse teams we solve more problems. We can attack more issues that are facing us as a society. So it goes beyond just something that feels good. This is important for the future of our institution.”
The university is in the process of putting numbers to the strategic plan, developing a budget and a fundraising goal, according to Sawyer.
“We’re looking at creating different types of admissions and outreach programs to get Quinnipiac on the radar in different parts of the country,” Sawyer said. “We’re looking at different types of student populations, veterans, people who have been historically underrepresented in higher education, people who transfer from community colleges. Diversifying faculty and staff in order to attract more people.”
Quinnipiac has been criticized for catering to its white population while disregarding the needs of underrepresented students. According to Sawyer, the university is on a path to changing this.
“If you want to see if something is important to an organization you look at the budget. So, the fact that inclusive excellence is in the strategic plan is one of the first markers that let you know hopefully were serious about this,” Sawyer said.
Protestors from Hamden and New Haven are continuing to march for Stephanie Washington, a 22-year-old woman who was shot and put in the hospital by Hamden and Yale Police officers.
Protestors are demanding that the investigation of the officer-involved shooting be transparent, that the officers involved, Devin Eaton and Terrence Pollock, be immediately fired and that all body and dash cam footage be released to the public.
Protest sign
Hundreds of Hamden and New Haven residents gathered in front of Hamden Police Department Friday, April 19 as protests continue for the fourth day following a string of protests that began three days prior.
Protestors met at Hamden Plaza where they marched up Dixwell Avenue, about 1.6 miles, to Hamden PD to protest the Hamden and Yale PD officers’ shooting that put Stephanie Washington in the hospital.
This protest is a follow up to the one that happened in New Haven on Thursday night, which lasted from 5 p.m. until midnight.
Protestors shut down several streets, first marching from Elm Street to College Street and then lingering at the intersection of College and Crown Street. New Haven Police blocked traffic from the site and rerouted cars around it. Police closed Exit 1 off of I-91 South to keep vehicles away from protestors.
Police close exit 1 off of of I-91 South
Gabby Veron, a 21-year-old Yale student said that she protested all night and will continue to march against police brutality.
“We have to recognize the act of violence that was committed by police against a young black woman in our community,” Veron said. “I’m here tonight to make it known that we will not accept this, we cannot turn a blind eye and we want answers.”
Yale students and New Haven residents stand at the intersection of College and Crown Street in New Haven.
Hamden Officer Devin Eaton and Yale Officer Terrence Pollick fired 12 rounds into a vehicle of which Washington was a passenger of.
Washington did not suffer life-threatening injuries and continues to recover in a local hospital, while the driver, 21-year-old Paul Witherspoon, was not wounded, according to an article by ABC News,
The article states that the shooting unfolded after Hamden police responded to a call of an attempted armed robbery at a gas station in Hamden. Officers Eaton and Pollock blocked the vehicle that Washington and Witherspoon were in because it matched the description of the one leaving the scene.
Footage from a nearby surveillance camera, obtained by WTNH-TV, shows Officer Eaton jumping out of his vehicle and firing rounds into the driver’s side window.
Protests first started to break out on Tuesday, as dozens of community members and Black Lives Matter protestors rallied outside the Hamden Police Department, according to an article by NBC Connecticut. On Wednesday protestors gathered outside the house of Yale President Peter Salovey.
“I write this evening to assure you that Yale will cooperate fully in the investigation that the Connecticut State Police and the State’s Attorney’s Office are conducting, Salovey said in a statement issued Wednesday. “when they have finished, and we can have access to the evidence, we will also conduct our own investigation into this matter. As the primary investigation proceeds, we will share whatever information we can as quickly as we can about the circumstances of the shooting.”
In response, New Haven and Hamden mayors and police chiefs addressed the officer-involved shooting at a press conference on Wednesday night.
New Haven Mayor Toni Harp said she believes the incident is unacceptable, According to an article by WNPR,
“This incident portrays police activity gone horribly wrong,” Harp said at the press conference Wednesday. “And now Stephanie as well as many residents, her family, her friends, must live with the consequences and the resulting uncertainty of what was by every definition an unacceptable response.”
The article said Hamden Mayor, Curt B. Leng, said the state needs to complete the investigation to ensure justice is done.
“If there’s any resident or business that has any information regarding this incident, whether they’ve seen something, heard something, or most importantly, possibly, if they have any video evidence — please bring it forward,” Leng said.
With hometown roots grounded in Hamden, Jen Hudak has gone on to become an American freestyle skier. She is a two-time world champion and has secured five X-Games medals, four national titles and was an ESPY nominee. After several injuries, Hudak retired from her career as a professional skier and now serves as a life coach to help retired athletes in transition. In 2018, Hudak appeared on the 30th season of The Amazing Race with teammate Kristi Leskinen, finishing third. The two became the first team to place in the top three for all 12 legs of the competition and hold the record for the highest average score of any female team in all 30 completed seasons.
“I’ve been with the Hamden fire department 16 years, 8 years in the firehouse and 8 years in the fire marshal office. I was watching a documentary, after 9/11, on firehouses and FDNY and it seemed like a rewarding career. I like the comradery and decided that after I got my master’s I would enroll in EMT school and pursue this career. Any call we go on, we’re responding to a crisis situation and you’re trying to bring the most positive outcome possible. Something bad’s happening and you try to make the situation better than what it was before the call started. There was one (a fire) in my neighborhood, an old friend’s house I had been in plenty of times and I was new. I was told to go to the roof. We cut holes in the roof to vent out the heat for the crews going inside with the hoses. When you’re in the moment we all have a healthy fear and respect of fire. You’re also focused on the task at hand so you don’t think about, well it’s always in the back of your mind, that stuff can go bad.”
Three members of Quinnipiac’s senior management team will be leaving the university, according to an email from President Judy Olian to faculty and staff Wednesday, April 17.
Vice President for Public Affairs Lynn Bushnell, Vice President for Development and Alumni Affairs Don Weinbach and Vice President for Admission and Financial Aid Greg Eichhorn announced their intentions to depart from the university following Executive Vice President and Provost Mark Thompson’s decision to leave to become President of Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston.
Bushnell is retiring June 2019 after 25 years with the university.
Weinbach is retiring June 2020 after 24 years at the university.
Eichhorn is leaving June 2019 as well, but with intentions to continue admission efforts for the entering class of 2019/20.
“In the coming weeks and months, we will have many opportunities to express our gratitude to Mark, Don, Lynn and Greg for their dedicated service and impact at Quinnipiac,” the email read. “They have meant so much to our institution, and to our students, staff and faculty. We wish them the very best in the next chapters of their lives.”
President Olian came into her position in July 2018. Since then four total members of the senior leadership team have announced their leave from the university, but Bushnell said this is not surprising.
“I don’t know that it’s a total coincidence,” Bushnell said. “I think that people always expect a lot of turnover when a new president comes in. You know he or she always wants their own people in place. My good fortune is that it coincided with my own plan or that my own plan coincided with her arrival.”
While some of the other departures may have come as a surprise to Quinnipiac community members, retirement has always been in the plans for Bushnell.
“My plan has always been to retire this June,” Bushnell said. “My husband and I, when we first learned when John Lahey was intending to retire, I made the decision that I would see him out and see the new person in for a year and assist in that transition and then I would ‘vamos.’”
In her 25 years with the school, Bushnell has been accredited with advancing the university’s national visibility and overseeing the growth of key units of the school including the Quinnipiac Poll, amongst many other things. Reflecting on her time here, it felt only fitting to see out longtime President Lahey and welcome in President Judy Olian to Quinnipiac and her position.
“I think I’ve done a good job with that [the transition] and get President Olian inaugurated and get through all of the final commencements cause it’s such a crazy season,” Bushnell said. “Then I’ll go off into the sunset at the end of June.”
Before she can go off on her fairytale ending, Bushnell must see through one of her last major tasks – President Olian’s inauguration. Former President Lahey held the position for 31 years so for many, if not all of the administrators, this is the first inauguration they had to plan.
“I’ll feel better when we’re on the other side of the inauguration,” Bushnell said. “That’s a big deal and none of us have done one before cause John was here for so long.”
While Bushnell has spent a quarter of a century on campus, her Bobcat roots run deeper than administration.
“I love this place. I have three children, all three of them have attended at least part of their educational career here,” Bushnell said. “I have very fond memories, not just as an employee, but as a parent.”
With three weeks left of the semester, Bushnell is nostalgic wrapping up her time at Quinnipiac, but looking forward to retirement.
“I would like to travel a lot and I think I’ll probably move to Boston for a year,” Bushnell said. “I posted on Facebook today a memory that I had posted six years ago that ‘I will always be a bobcat.’ So, I will be.”
Protestors gather in front of the Hamden Stop & Shop at 2335 Dixwell Avenue as the strike continues for the eighth day.
Stop & Shop employees across New England began their eighth day of strikes today against the billion dollar corporation whose new contract proposal would significantly decrease their healthcare and retirement benefits as well as their take-home pay.
“They’re trying to double and triple what we pay every week,” Joe Renaldi, assistant grocery manager at the Hamden Stop & Shop, said. “They’re trying to double and triple our deductibles that you have to hit before they’ll cover it (medical expenses). They want to make Sunday a regular payday (as opposed to paid overtime).We can’t stand for it.”
Over 31,000 workers across 249 stores in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts took part in the strike.
Jorge Cabrera, The United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) representative for the striking workers said, “This strike is about basic dignity and respect. This is a multi-billion dollar company that made $2 billion in profits last year, and got a huge over $300 million tax cut,” Cabrera said. “All we’re asking is to make sure that they keep these workers with good health insurance, a decent pension so they can retire, and good wages so they can provide food for their families.”
Jorge Cabrera (Left) and Joe Renaldi (Right) pose for a picture in front of the Hamden Stop & Shop location.
Other labor Unions such as The American Federation of teachers (AFT Connecticut) and The American Federation of State, County, & Municipal Employees (Council 4 AFSCME) came out on Monday, April 15, and donated $2,500 each to a fund supporting the striking workers. Others have also brought food, drinks and other supplies to help those on the picket lines.
Jan Hochadel, the president of AFT Connecticut said, “We are proud to stand with the 31,000 members of UFCW on strike across New England. They deserve to maintain what they’ve worked so hard to achieve — a middle-class life for their families,” Hochadel said. “When a profitable corporation like Stop & Shop tries to rob its employees of their shot at the American Dream, our members will rise up in solidarity. That’s what the ‘U & I in Union’ is all about.”
Hochadel and Jody Barr, the executive director of AFSCME, both have said that their respective organizations will donate $500 per week to the strike fund. They will also reach out to other labor unions to solicit donations for the striking Stop & Shop workers.
“These union members are taking a bold and courageous stand for workers everywhere,” Barr said. “Their fight for a fair contract and for dignity on the job is our fight. Our union members stand behind them because we recognize that we are in this together.”
AFT Connecticut and AFSCME both donated $2,500 each to the strike fund in support of the protesting Stop & Shop employees.
The support from the unions collectively has been overwhelmingly positive and their contributions up to this point have not gone unnoticed, said Jessica Petronella, UFCW Local 371 organizing director.
“We are incredibly grateful to Council 4 and AFT Connecticut for their generous contribution to the joint strike fund,” Petronella said. “This flood of support shows New England is a place that values hard-working union families and believes workers have earned the right to build a better life and community.”
Despite the efforts of the unions to support the picket lines, the workers are hoping that the strike will end soon so that they can get back to doing their jobs.
Renaldi said, “We want to go back to work. Everybody wants to work. But we can’t afford to take the cuts and everything that they want to do. We just want a fair contract.”
The general public might not understand why these workers are protesting instead of working. But for many of these employees, the proposed changes will change the course of their lives for the foreseeable future.
Renaldi said, “It’s all the health care and the retirement and all that. They just want to kill it. I mean I’m going to be retired in like four years, five years. Its big for me. It’s big for a lot of people here.”
Stop & Shop released a statement on its website acknowledging the strike and admitted that it’s not “business as usual”. The grocery store chain went on to say that it is hopeful that the two sides can come to an agreement in the near future.
“Stop & Shop recognizes the valuable role our associates play in creating a great experience for you, our customers. They are a part of your lives, a part of our community, and key to our success. That’s why it is so important to us to provide a fair contract to our employees who are members of the UFCW unions currently on strike,” the statement said. “We are committed to resolving our labor negotiations as quickly as possible so that our employees can return to their jobs and we can get back to serving you and the community.”
Asked how long the workers would continue to fight for a new and improved contract, Cabrera said, “As long as it takes.”
Quinnipiac Public Safety stands by the suspicious individual in the cafeteria.
(Photo: Cait Fish)
A suspicious white male caused a scene in the Mount Carmel Campus cafeteria after attempting to sell bagged white powder to Quinnipiac students Tuesday, April 16. Matthew Allen, a New Haven resident according to his Facebook profile, was surrounded by Public Safety officers in a booth in the cafeteria where they confiscated and searched his bag, witnesses said.
Quinnipiac Public Safety confirmed that the powder was not an illegal substance, but rather an energy powder. Allen was arrested and issued a no trespass order by Quinnipiac that he signed.
“It wasn’t drugs,” Public Safety Officer Lieutenant Don Distefano said. “It was a substance called Bang Energy Powder that he put in different bags and tried selling at $80 a bag.”
A member of the Hamden Police Department Records Division said that the last he heard, the substance was not illegal, and a police report is currently being filed and will be available in five to seven days.
Allen posted Tuesday morning stating his intentions to head to QU and ‘pitch’ to students the substance.
“Getting banged up before heading to Quinnipiac College to “pitch” and con gullible coeds into sleeping with me,” the post stated.
Allen then followed his initial post hours later with visuals of the powder and of himself sitting in the cafeteria.
“If anyone at Quinnipiac University wants to try Bang Energy Powder for free I’m here waiting in the dining hall while everyone ignores me except the coeds in their skintight yoga pants who keep eyefucking me,” the post read. “I’m not actually looking for sex but I am looking to make money off a high quality product I invested in. I’m charging Yale students $80/bag not everyone, fwiw.”
Screenshots of Matthew Allen’s Facebook page in which he mentions attempting to sell Bang Energy at Quinnipiac and explains the substance.
The campus breach comes only months after Uber driver Sean Brozek was arrested with stalking, threatening and trespassing onto the Mount Carmel campus for following a female student to her dorm. At that time, the Public Safety Department issued a ‘timely warning’ regarding the ongoing investigation to students via the university alert system, forwarding students to their MyQ account for more information.
Distefano explained that this was not the case this time around because Allen did not serve the same kind of threat that Brozek had.
“Based on a person’s behavior we do a threat assessment and we determine, ‘Is this an isolated instance we have at this moment or is it a threat to the community?’” Distefano said. “The threat assessment [in this case] was very low. He wasn’t targeting anyone specific, was in one place, wasn’t violent, was very cooperative and clearly had mental health issues.”
The Quinnipiac Annual Security and Fire Safety Report breaks down the specifics of why a ‘timely warning,’ like the one issued last November, would be issued to students, faculty and anyone subscribed to the university alert system.
“The university does not condone actions that are detrimental to the school’s resources, facilities, community members or image, or those that violate applicable laws or school policy,” according to the 2017 Annual Security and Fire Safety Report of the Mount Carmel and York Hill campuses. “A ‘timely warning’ will be issued in the event that a situation arises, either on or off campus, that in the judgment of the chief of public safety or his/her designee, constitutes an ongoing or continuing threat criminal in nature.”
In Brozek’s case, Public Safety was unaware of the situation until after Brozek had entered campus, followed a specified student to her dorm, harassed her and then left without notice. Allen, on the other hand, was sighted and reported immediately by officers who responded with Hamden PD to remove and arrest him in a timely manner that, once detained, was no longer deemed a threat to the Quinnipiac community by Public Safety.
“The past instance he was focusing on a specific student, penetrated the campus in the form of a dorm and left before we were notified,” Distefano said. “This person yesterday wasn’t.”
In wake of these incidents, students have begun to question their safety at the university when it comes to intruders.
“It was odd because there was this older looking man sitting in the cafe, surrounded by public safety officers,” junior biology major Matthew Williams said. “Whether it ended up being cocaine or an energy powder doesn’t matter to me. What was concerning is the fact that this man easily obtained access to our campus, despite the fact that we have Public Safety.”
Allen has been contacted, but has yet to respond with a comment.
Stay with HQ Press for further updates and details as they become available.
