Quinnipiac University announced the availability of a new short summer school program in Warsaw, Poland last week. The 12-day program will run from July 9-21 at Kozminski University in Warsaw, and will include students from all around the world.
The program is called “Law and Business in the Globalizing World,” according to Kozminski’s academic website. It includes multiple business and law courses. There is also an official visit to three different Polish corporations, including Polsat, a commercial television station in Poland. Students are able to register for one or two courses, which will total as three credits and transfer back to Quinnipiac as a business elective.
Courses will be taught in English, and students are required to show proof of English proficiency upon submitting applications, which are due April 15. The cost of the program is 500 euros, or roughly $600. The price includes the actual program and the necessary course materials, daily lunches at the university, and social activities such as sightseeing tours and the company visits.
Travel and housing are not included in the overall price, however the university encourages prospective students to seek room and board with Polish families near the school. According to Kozminski’s website, a number of families in the area have housed students in the past for no charge. Living with a family offers an opportunity to learn and embrace the Polish culture at a greater degree.
Students with any questions regarding the program should contact Quinnipiac representative Hanna Hejmonski at the Quinnipiac Central European Institute.
On May 10, 2016, the life of Hamden resident Sue Higgins changed forever. She received news that she prayed would never come, but always lingered as a harsh possibility, like a dark cloud hovering over her suburban household. No one wants to believe a family member can be lost to drug addiction, but Higgins was faced with that devastating reality when her son Jack passed away at age 23 after a long fight with heroin addiction.
Jack Higgins passed away from an accidental overdose at age 23
Jack Higgins is one of many victims of accidental overdoses as a result of drug addiction, and is part of a number that is growing at an alarming rate in Hamden and other neighboring towns. However, thanks to his determined mother, Jack will never be confined to a statistic. His memory lives on with every bit of light that is shined on his story, now told through his healing parent. Sue Higgins refuses to hide her truth, because there is no shame to that truth. There is only the possibility to help other parents avoid her tragedy, and be spared the excruciating pain she endures every day.
“Shortly after Jack passed, I was seeing a doctor to help me grieve, the same doctor who Jack used to talk to,” Higgins remembered. “The day after Jack passed, he told me to turn my pain into passion, and turn it into something positive. That really stuck with me.”
Higgins’ passion is centered around a determination to get the word out to Hamden residents about the fatal nature of addiction, and how nobody is immune to its effects, regardless of how much they try to avoid it.
“The challenge is getting people to realize that it can happen to you,” Higgins explained. “But it’s everywhere, and kids are dropping like flies.”
The numbers support Higgins’ statement. Drug overdoses claimed just one Hamden resident from January to June of 2015. It has claimed seven in that window of time in 2017, according to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. The rise of opioid abuse in Connecticut has led many addicts to heroin, a cheaper and more potent drug than what they can find in a prescription bottle. Heroin alone claimed 174 lives in the state of Connecticut in 2016. Based on the numbers so far this year, the projected number of deaths by year’s end is currently 516.
Despite the staggering numbers and reports, Higgins insists there is a deathly silence over Hamden, and a reluctance to spread the word. Why is such a serious and dangerous issue not being addressed more openly?
“People just think it will never happen to them,” Higgins responded.
It happened to Higgins, who faced a crossroads after burying her only son at far too young an age. She wanted no parent to have to feel that pain. So she took her doctor’s advice and decided to do something about it.
Higgins family, left to right. Jack, sister Courtney, Sue and her husband John
Higgins began leading panels and forums throughout Hamden to warn parents and family members of the dangers of addiction, taking meetings into places like Hamden Town Hall and Hamden Middle School. She has met multiple times with Hamden Mayor Curt Leng and Chief of Police Thomas Wydra to help spread the word to kids and their family members. Higgins believes awareness needs to be spread beyond just the suffering addicts.
“It’s a family disease,” Higgins said. “And it can take you down pretty quickly.”
Higgins has gotten to work quickly, picking up the pieces and putting panels together just a year after Jack’s death. Despite her painstaking efforts and honesty, many of her words are falling on deaf ears, or absent ones.
“I personally went and taped informational signs everywhere, and it was on the Facebook page for the town,” Higgins said about a panel she put together at Hamden Middle School. “I would say probably about 75 or 80 people showed up, half of whom were my friends there to support me, the other half were my partner Margerie’s friends. That’s it.”
Despite the disappointing attendance, Higgins organized another panel to speak at Hamden High School shortly after. Once again, she posted signs and sent out notices of the meeting in school progress reports and report cards. There would be a morning session to speak to the kids about the dangers of using, and an evening panel for the parents. Not one parent showed up.
“Getting the attention of other adults has proven to be very challenging,” Higgins said. “Everybody wants to read the paper and see it on the news, but how many people actually want to take the time and listen? I don’t know how else to get people’s attention. In my own experience, people say it’s a disease but don’t understand how easy it is to become addicted.”
Higgins isn’t alone in her fight to open the eyes of the public to what they are reluctant to look at. Hamden resident Maxine Wallace wrote a letter to the editor in the New Haven Register to try and spread the word about Nar-Anon, a private group designed for family members of addicts who are hurting due to the loss of a loved one or the damage caused by a using addict. Like Higgins, Wallace sees a resistance in coming to terms with the true nature of addiction.
“Nobody talks about it,” Wallace said. “It’s such a hidden secret. Nobody knows that your neighbor is going through the same crap that you’re going through. If only people would just talk about it instead of it being a stigma and thinking something is wrong with you.”
Nar-Anon is a private organization that offers help for family members affected by the destruction of addiction
Wallace uses Nar-Anon as a way to help family members achieve the same freedom she experiences in the program. Her husband and brother have both been sober for over a decade, but the freedom she experienced has been through opening up to others and acknowledging her truth. It is a relief that Higgins is able to share through accepting her situation and using it as a vessel to help others, as long as others are open to accepting it.
“I remember when Jack was alive and in school, going into Stop and Shop I wanted to wear a mustache and glasses,” Higgins remembered. “Now I don’t care. There is no stigma. I learned through this experience that every family has something in which they’re a little embarrassed, but some people don’t want to talk about it and others do.”
Higgins can relate to the hesitation for families to open up about their struggles. There has been a stigma of shame wrapped around addiction for years, and getting the conversation started is a difficult task. Higgins empathizes with the fear and embarrassment, but has broken through her own fearful restraints for the greater good.
“I am very open and honest about it,” Higgins said of her grieving journey. “It’s a disservice to Jack to lie about it.”
The strength of Higgins to use the most painful experience of her life for the benefit of others has captivated those around her, particularly those who watch her work tirelessly to do her part to end addiction in Hamden.
“She is a powerful vehicle to the message,” said Ana Gopoian, who is over two decades into sobriety herself and has spoken on two different panels with Higgins. “She lost Jack, and to keep his memory alive, you have to give it a purpose. He didn’t pass in vain.”
The duo of Higgins and Gopoian present multiple perspectives on the effects of addiction, from the pain of family members watching their loved one self-destruct to the addict themselves who can’t stop using, despite the best of intentions. Gopoian believes their struggle can help others avoid their own in the future.
“Experience is where we can change the stigma of addiction,” Gopoian said. “People with these experiences help create smarter people.”
Gopoian has joined Higgins on panels around Hamden, including their appearance at Hopkins school, while Higgins has joined Gopoian on her own program, “The Paraphernalia Project.” The movement is Gopoian’s effort to alert parents and family members of signs to look out for that may tip them off to drug use by their kids.
“The project is meant for adults, teachers and officers,” Gopoian explained. “When parents are knowledgeable of red flags, they can intervene.”
Higgins was eager to jump on board with Gopoian’s project, and echoes her statement on the importance of family knowledge.
“Parents need to be aware of the signs and red flags,” Higgins added. “They need to know what tiny pupils are, and things that are so obvious but you don’t want to see them.”
Hamden, Connecticut and cities throughout the United States are in the midst of a deadly epidemic when it comes to heroin and opioids, and concerned citizens like Higgins are fighting hard to make others aware of the warning signs of drug use before it’s too late. An added danger with heroin use has been the recent introduction of fentanyl, a powerful opioid that is normally used in a patch to apply to the body to manage pain. However, heroin is now being laced with fentanyl for added potency, and leading to deadly results.
According to the Connecticut Chief Medical Examiner, there was one overdose death in Connecticut in 2012 in which heroin and fentanyl was in the victim’s system. Given the current pace of related deaths this year, 2017 is projected to end with 354 deaths within Connecticut as a result of this lethal mixture.
Many parents who have lost children to overdoses due to laced heroin have been calling for heavier sentences for the dealers who distribute those drugs. Higgins wasn’t pleased with the outcome of the case that involved the loss of her son, but other factors interfered with Jack’s dealer getting a harsher sentence.
“The kid who sold the drugs to my son got 18 months in jail,” Higgins says. “Is that enough? No, but in this case my son had other drugs in his system and it couldn’t be proven which one killed him.”
It was reported that Jack Higgins had heroin, cocaine and Xanax (or alprazolam) in his system on the day of his untimely death. It’s hard to prove the other drugs were mixed in with whatever heroin he purchased, so his dealer was sentenced to a time in jail that seemed to be more of a slap in the wrist than a punishment fitting of the crime, according to Higgins.
“I feel like whoever is dealing drugs needs to have maybe a mandatory sentence,” Higgins said. “It’s too light. There was just something in the paper yesterday about a couple dealers in Hamden who were out on a $10,000 and $20,000 bond. Any drug dealer worth their weight in salt is going to have that much money under their bed.”
Helping Higgins through the court proceedings after Jack’s death was Ines Cenatiempo, victim-witness coordinator for the Connecticut Department of Justice. Cenatiempo has worked with countless families looking for justice in the past, but the Higgins family had a lasting impact on her.
“Ms. Higgins and her husband were wonderful to work with,” Cenatiempo said. “I wish I did not have to meet them under such tragic circumstances, but despite the loss of their son, they were both passionate about being involved in outreach and awareness concerning the opioid crisis. I admire them for the courage it takes to keep going, and to speak out about this epidemic.”
Cenatiempo runs panels of her own which seek to shine a light on the horrors that addiction wreaks on families, and has hosted one in Hamden. She asked Higgins to speak for her group, but it came at a time that Higgins was not ready to speak about her tragedy in public. Cenatiempo hosts such panels not just because it is part of her job description, but she also is a primary witness to the alarming trend that is happening around her.
“I have worked on almost every overdose case our office has prosecuted, which is over 100 cases,” Cenatiempo said. “The past two years have seen a dramatic increase in these types of cases.”
As the fatalities continue to rise, the battle in Hamden rages on for Higgins. Despite a lack of attendance at her previous panels, she still continues to hold these types of meetings . As she struggles to find a niche that will attract parents to learn about this fatal issue, she continues to work to give herself a sense of helpful purpose.
“I just don’t want it to be my identity,” Higgins says. “I don’t want to be seen as that woman who lost her son. I want to be the woman that lost her son and is fighting really hard to raise awareness and wake people up.”
Painting of Jack Higgins, which is displayed in the Higgins household to keep his memory alive
Jack’s memory is everywhere in the Higgins household. His friends still come to visit regularly and check on the family. His pictures are littered about the house, bringing a warm smile to Higgins’ face every time she walks by. She remembers the good times with her son, but is also reminded of his painful truth. She stumbled across 10 bags of heroin while retrieving something from Jack’s room just weeks ago, now almost a year and a half since his passing. The reminders are not a reason to be ashamed. For Higgins, it is a reason to emerge from the shadows of addiction and spread the word so it doesn’t have to devastate another Hamden family.
The Quinnipiac rugby team took down undefeated Dartmouth 29-20 in the 2017 National Intercollegiate Rugby Association Championship by scoring 24 unanswered points and capturing its third straight national title. The trio of national championships remain the only ones in school history.
The third title was anything but a sure thing. The Bobcats had lost to Dartmouth earlier in the season, and eventually surrendered their top-ranked position to the Big Green. The Bobcats fell behind 15-5 early in the championship game and needed a momentum spurt if they were to hoist the crown for the unprecedented third straight time.
Of course, they turned to senior Ilona Maher.
The eventual tournament MVP scored a big try to tie the match and send the Bobcats on their way. She would finish the game with two tries and two assists, and finished the season with a team-high 23 tries. The backbone of the most successful team in Quinnipiac history, Maher now rides into the shadows of Sleeping Giant with a resume that makes her the top candidate for the best athlete the school has ever seen.
The string of success was something even Maher could not have imagined when transferring from Norwich prior to her sophomore season.
“Sometimes it feels unreal,” Maher said. “To win three just shows all the work we put in throughout these years. I came here and winning a champ wasn’t really on my mind. I just wanted to keep playing rugby. Each year we got better and do what we said we were going to do. We completed our mission.”
Head coach Becky Carlson has witnessed Maher’s profound impact on the Bobcats since she courted Maher from Norwich three years ago, before altering the course of Quinnipiac rugby history.
“Her work ethic is magnetic,” Carlson said. “She’s the type of player that a lot of people look to as an example of what they want to achieve. Not just physically, but also in terms of being a good teammate and leading by example.”
If Maher’s personal mission was to win it all during all three of her seasons as a Bobcat, then she accomplished her goal with flying colors, while earning plenty of personal honors along the way. She took home the MA Sorensen Award last season for the best women’s rugby player in the country, and followed it up by leading the Bobcats to the pinnacle of college rugby once again.
Maher and the Bobcats have made a living off conquering obstacles during their remarkable three-year stretch. The team didn’t have a home pitch all last season. They were able to host the NIRA Tournament this season, but needed to take down a Dartmouth team that looked poised to take Quinnipiac’s spot on top of the rugby world. Maher believes their struggles against Big Green were exactly what the Bobcats needed, and reminded her group that resting on their laurels was a death sentence for a chance to repeat as champs.
“To have that first game against Dartmouth and to lose was kind of a wake-up call,” Maher said. “We realized these other teams were here to play. When we do get beaten, we know it’s not who we are and we’re much better than that.”
The Bobcats woke up from their brief early season snooze and rolled to their third championship, making Norwich the only team in the past four seasons to beat the Bobcats in their final game of the season. That was when Maher was playing for Norwich, before becoming a Bobcat and igniting a national powerhouse.
Maher leaves the new pitch in Hamden with an undeniable legacy of winning, and plans to carry that legacy to wherever she finds herself next. Wherever it is, she plans to have her rugby cleats on.
“I want to go on and play more rugby,” Maher said. “This isn’t the end for me. It’s just the beginning.”
For Maher, her Bobcats career ended the way it began: with a championship trophy.
“The only regret I have is I wish I had more time. I was far behind in money. I was far behind in days. While everyone was announcing their candidacy in January, I was still teaching school, and I had no idea this was coming.”
Salman Hamid’s classroom at Wintergreen School.
For Wintergreen Social Studies teacher Salman Hamid, running for mayor was a pipe dream. Hamid is someone who stays active in his community by doing charity work and maintaining his position on the cleaning green commission, so all he wanted was to see Hamden be the best it could be.
“I ran because I love my community, and I want the best for it,” Hamid said. “Mayor Leng and I had different visions of doing that but we both shared that ideal.”
A Hamden resident since childhood, Hamid grew up loving his town. He saw the opportunity to run for mayor as a way of continuing to grow his community.
“I just wanted to see the town that raised me become the best version of itself. I thought I had some good ideas in which to do that,” Hamid said.
Hamid’s Social Studies class’ schedule.
His efforts, however, came up short as Mayor Curtis Leng was re-elected for his second term for the town of Hamden with 74 percent of the vote on November 7.
“At first, it was a bit of a shocker. Then you realize it’s fine, it was an uphill battle from day one no matter what,” Hamid said. “People tend to forget that everyone had started across Connecticut in January, and I had started in late July. So, here’s a guy who walked off the street running on a very unpopular ticket, because, unfortunately, people associate a Republican with being a Trump supporter.”
“By the time I was relaxing over the summer, my opponent already had $40,000 in the bank, and I was still relaxing. So I was completely behind the 8 ball. So of course I knew I was the underdog, but I played to win. I was aggressive as I possibly could be.”
After the results came out, Hamid mentioned he did speak with his opponent afterward.
“We talked briefly on election night. I congratulated him on a good run…on a well run campaign,” Hamid said. “I do plan on being actively involved in community events, and I’m sure I’ll see him there. And at the end of the day, we both live in town as we had spoken of, and we had different visions, but we both want the town to do well in our own ways.”
Hamid reflected on his campaign for a while, reiterating his only regret being his slow start. When asked about what was next for him, Hamid discussed his current job and the possibility of a future in politics.
Salman Hamid, left, greets voters on election day.
“I love my job, It’s a great school and I have great colleagues to work with. Good kids, you know, and, like I said, I wouldn’t trade teaching for the world. I do enjoy it a lot,” Hamid said. “But no matter what I do next, I was told do not stop. Because people who were politically and non politically affiliated said I did very, very well given everything that went against me. You also have to understand there were no republicans running in districts one through eight. They went unopposed. So no one was out there either promoting my name, and I was still able to get that many votes.”
Through his Campaign, Hamid gained recognition and opportunities in ways he would have never expected. He is keeping his promise to work with the “Gimme Shelter” foundation that gives shelter to homeless pets. He has been asked to join the League of Women Voters to help assist groups of women who traditionally have not voted to participate.
“A lot of people from South-East Asia and muslim-affiliated women voted for the first time in their lives this past election, which was impressive.”
Hamid also continues to work with various elderly homes. He has even had a few businesses grab his attention.
“When I was campaigning, I had a lot of interesting opportunities – I won’t say the names yet – that I could venture into part-time because people liked how I spoke. They felt I was confident,” Hamid said. “So, some opportunities came up that I might be interested in doing while I’m still teaching. I’m actually really good at sales, but my passion is teaching.”
Considering everything that Hamid went up against, I asked him what his thoughts are about a potential future run at Mayor again. Of course preparedness was the key to any possibility of that.
“It’s going to be top secret until I know what’s going on with the playing field,” Hamid said. “I’ve learned how to become a political animal and so I’ll sit and watch and observe the environment, the culture, what’s going on, the economics and I’ll make a calculated decision come January 2019. So, I guess, hold tight onto your seats and wait for the ride and we’ll see come that time.”
In 2017 alone, there has been more than 320,000 crashes in the state of Connecticut, according to the Connecticut Crash Data Repository.
Both police and the Connecticut Department of Transportation (DOT) are trying to crack down on unsafe drivers.
“I think drivers should be more careful because they are not only impacting their lives but other people’s lives as well,” Afsha Kasam, a senior public relations major, said. Kasam was involved in a three car accident in Cheshire earlier this year and suspects one of the drivers was distracted by their phone.
Screenshot from Connecticut Crash Data Repository
Reckless driving and distracted driving can indeed have severe consequences. Statistics from the Connecticut Crash Data Repository show that of the 320,000 crashes in Connecticut this year, 254 were fatal. In 2016, there 268 fatal crashes, in 2015 there were 246 and in 2014 there 248.
“The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has 2015 Distracted Driving distracted-affected crash data which states that: 10% of fatal crashes, 15% of injury crashes, and 14% of all police-reported motor vehicle traffic crashes were distraction-affected (for 2015),” Judd Everhart, Connecticut Department of Transportation Director of Communications said.
Last week, Connecticut State Police implemented increased security patrols for the Thanksgiving holiday week beginning on Wednesday, Nov. 22 and ending on Sunday, Nov. 26. Troopers patrolled highways and roads throughout the state and focused on drunk driving as well as aggressive drivers.
During this time frame, there were 524 accidents investigated. Seventy of them involved injuries and two of them were fatal. One of the fatal crashes happened in Cromwell on Interstate-91 northbound. Fifty-year-old Michael Rogers veered off the highway into the right shoulder and hit some trees. He was pronounced dead on scene.
As police were responding to the crash in Cromwell, a drunk driver struck a parked police cruiser.
Connecticut State Police tweet photos of police cruiser hit by drunk driver
The other fatal crash during this enforcement period took place in Killingly. Twenty-six-year-old Hope Butler traveled left off the Providence Pike and struck a tree. She was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
Over the course of the Thanksgiving holiday enforcement period, there were 1,010 speeding violations, 363 seatbelt violations, 51 drunken driving violations.
Numbers from the Connecticut Crash Repository Data show that most crashes in Connecticut this year occurred on Interstate-95 and Interstate-84. More than 16,000 crashes on Interstate-84 and more than 12,000 on Interstate-84.
Most crashes occur between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Fridays.
Screenshot from Connecticut Crash Data Repository
“Defensive driving is something that most drivers have learned and is a vital tactic for being aware of potential dangers on the road – including distracted drivers,” Everhart said. “For those who consider using their phones, eat while driving, check their GPS for directions, it is important to rethink those actions and get into the mindset of driving without distraction.”
The Connecticut DOT Office of Highway Safety has been implementing aggressive yearly safe driving campaigns that consists of high visibility enforcement, public outreach and education campaigns and educational programming for high schools and young drivers.
August is National Distracted Driving month and during that month, Hamden Police relaunched the “U Text, U Drive, U Pay” campaign in which police cracked down on distracted driving. This campaign included partnerships with 51 police agencies in 2016.
“At the Highway Safety Office, Distracted Driving is one of many challenges that we work to address and it is a top priority. People go to work here at Highway Safety with the goal to save and protect lives on our roads from death or injury,” Everhart said. “We partner with all levels of law enforcement agencies, universities, schools, and the media to get this message out in all forms including education, enforcement, and greater public awareness.”
While police in Connecticut have conducted enforcement periods and distracted driving campaigns, the number of crashes within the state is still high and some are questioning whether law enforcement officials are doing enough to ensure people’s safety.
Faith Watkins is an employee at the Modell’s sporting goods store located on Dixwell Avenue. Watkins has just started working there and has really enjoyed her time. It has only been a total of 3 weeks but she feels she is at the right place.
With the combination of her passion for sports and wanting to give back to her community, Watkins wanted to help out while things are bound to get hectic with the holiday season shopping.
“ I like it here, I am very interested in sports and that’s why I applied for this job and this is my second job,” Watkins said. “However, I also applied here to do the holiday time and also I know they needed the extra help.”
The store is seeking business and during the holiday part of the year with everyone looking to buy great gifts for each other, sports gear will always be something that is needed and Modell’s will be expecting people to walk through its doors.
“Business has been really good” Watkins said. “It’s very busy. The Hamden Plaza is a busy area so we tend to see a lot of business. Especially around the holiday time with having very good sales around the store will be expecting it to be very busy in here.”
What makes Watkins happy is seeing that people are happier getting the things they need. That is why she loves when the store has things on sale because it makes things easier for the people.
“It’s great place and we definitely look forward to seeing a lot of people for the holidays and making our customers satisfied with prices that could help them,” Watkins said.
Jennifer Fontaine has been working at Bob’s Stores located Dixwell Avenue for 10 years. She is currently the supervisor at the store and really loves her position. She looks at Bob’s Stores as not just a place of work, but a place of learning.
“I have been here ever since high school, so it’s been a long time and I have learned so much here and this place has really given me a lot,” Fontaine said. “I learned how to work and communicate with other people something I was not the best at when I was younger.”
It was recently that the store had a lot of people come in for the Black Friday deals and is one of the store’s busiest days of the year.
“It is just expected at this point and is no surprise to me by now,” Fontaine said. “We know how well to plan for this and things ran very smoothly at the store.”
The holiday season is here and from what she knows from the past and being there for so long, she expects the store to be “epic.”
“It is going to be epic in here and that’s just the way it’s been, but we’ll do well like we always do.”
Parking and shuttles. These are some of the things that unite Quinnipiac students. Even international students. Yes, even parking. You would think that someone who traveled thousands of miles from home would not be as concerned with where they can park their car as a freshman. Most don’t because they are focused on one thing, the American experience.
America is the end all be all for those who live outside the country. If you can make it here, you have made it in life. Many want to go but very few actually make it here. Due to the political, economic, military and cultural clout America wields over the rest of the world, most of the narrative surrounding the country revolves around the American dream and American heroism. On top of that, American pop culture is more or less world culture. Movies like “Pitch Perfect,” TV shows such as “How I Met Your Mother” and “Friends,” inform the opinion of many people in other countries on what American life is like.
“You know how in shows like ‘Friends’ or ‘How I Met Your Mother,’ they live in an apartment that’s really pretty?” asked Nhung An, a Quinnipiac junior from Vietnam. “I wanted those things, and I liked that people looked different and not the same, like in Vietnam.”
There are 1,043,839 international students enrolled in American schools. Here at Quinnipiac, international students make up 3 percent of the Quinnipiac student body. According to Abbie O’Neil, specialist for student engagement, there are between 200-250 international students at Quinnipiac during any given semester.
There are different types of international students. There are those who are studying abroad for a semester, those who are new to studying in the US, and those who went to high school in America and are now in university. Before they arrived, some of their biggest fears had to do with making friends, finding food they liked, not fitting in, gun laws, being able to communicate and actually getting into the country.
“My biggest fear was a new environment,” explained Jiseok Hyun, a senior from South Korea. Hyun first came to America with his mother in 2008.
“I’m just restarting my life here. I didn’t have anything when my mum and I came here,” he said, “we only came with a backpack… I was just afraid of whatever was going to be in front of me.”
Once they get here, international students face a different reality. There is an even stronger language barrier than what some expected. There is culture shock to food, social cues and everyday things that they never dealt with in their country. On top of that, if they are a person of color, they face the added pressure of racial stereotypes, ignorance and microaggressions that are never really talked about outside of the context of slavery, the Civil Rights Movement and social media. If most American students don’t know the scope of under-representation and discrimination that students of color have historically faced, many international students are even more unaware of the history of America.
On February 2017, the Hechinger Report published, ‘Explaining America’s segregated history to international students and staying the course,’ by Daniel Gifford, a term assistant professor at George Mason University. In the article, he mentions “college students who have been brought up in the American education system at least have a baseline understanding of segregation and the myth of ‘separate but equal’ from which to begin that conversation.”
“I’d have wanted to know a little bit about the social life here and the culture,” explained Warren Webb, a computer information systems major from Jamaica. “I didn’t really take that too much into consideration because I was thinking, ‘I’m just going to school.’”
On top of learning new cultural cues and historical contexts, international students are susceptible to discrimination. In a 2005 study that examined the international student experience of racism and discrimination, Jenny Lee, a professor of educational policy studies and practice at the University of Arizona, established a new term for the discrimination international students face: neo-racism. The term refers to a form of racism that justifies discrimination on the basis of cultural difference or national origin rather than by physical characteristics alone and appeals to “natural” tendencies to preserve group cultural identity.
“Almost everything is racial. Even when it’s not, it kind of is,” said Priceless Wilkie. “I’m used to the first thing people seeing about me is that I’m either female or my first identity being Nigerian. When I came to America, that wasn’t it. As soon as you leave the airport, the first identity suddenly becomes black, and it affects the way people relate to you.”
Wilkie is a senior diagnostic imaging major, she lives both in the UK and Nigeria. According to her, she had probably faced microaggressions and racism before but not as overtly as in America. One incident that stands out in her mind was the summer before her junior year at Quinnipiac when she was taking extra courses. She was living with a girl who said she spoke ‘good English’ for an African when they first met. She would also leave the room or make faces when Wilkie was cooking. At first, Wilkie thought she was simply imagining a bias toward her or a problem but it all came to a head when she made the typical college student meal: pasta and sauce.
Before and after she cooks, Wilkie likes to clean the stove. She distinctly remembers cleaning the stove on that day. Her roommate came back and asked her to clean the stove because there was “red stuff” on it and Wilkie was the only one who ate “red stuff.” The “red stuff” was the result of a mess a different roommate had made. Since they were allegedly clearing the air, the girl mentioned to Wilkie that she did not like the smell of cut-up onions in the pantry. Wilkie tried to explain to her that she had grown up putting onions in the pantry. She responded with, “I know you’re not from here, but around here, in America, we put our onions in the fridge.”
“I remember going to my room and actually having a panic attack because this was the first time that someone had been so visibly racist to me,” Wilkie said.
It is likely that many international students have faced similar problems but simply don’t know where or who to go to after such incidents. Schools offer international student orientation, but it is jam-packed into two days and they touch on everything from visa information to getting accustomed to life on campus. Even Helen Dong, a sophomore from China who went to high school in America, has faced moments of discrimination, but she points out that she would know where to go while other international students may not know or want to go and report and or talk about the incident. The Department of Cultural and Global Engagement tries to let as many students as possible know that they are a resource for them, but there are always some that fall through the cracks. It has various programs and ways of reaching out to international students to let them know they are not alone during times of difficulty.
“We try and reach out when natural disasters happen to students to let them know that if they need something [we’re here],” O’Neill explained, “We catch a few that way – by reaching out at certain times of the year – and we get students that come in that are experiencing one thing or another. But, I try and catch it if the student doesn’t come to us.”
But, is it enough?
International students are on the fence about it. Some feel as though they are doing as much as they can while others feel the department and the school can do more and do better. The complaints against Quinnipiac range from simply not putting enough effort on programs such as Global Living to not doing enough to prepare international students for the outside world. As graduation draws near for students like Wilkie, she feels that the school can provide more information sessions and advice for students who want to work in the US by putting them in touch with companies that are willing to sponsor visas. This issue was one that came up during the recent campus climate survey Quinnpiac students took during the 2016-2017 academic year.
“I know the people in DCGE try to, they really try,” An said. “The rest of the school, though, is not really trying. For me, a lot of my friends have left the school and they were all international students. They come here, but they don’t want to stay so I think [the school] can do something about that.”
Following the results of the racial climate study, Provost Mark Thompson sat down with a portion of international students to find out their thoughts and what they would like from him. Most of their requests were similar to those of domestic students but catered to the needs of international students. For instance, if an international student went to high school here and got a car during their time, they would either have to sell the car or find a parking garage and pay exorbitant fees to keep the car there for their freshman year. Students would also like an option similar to the shuttles that transport students home for Thanksgiving. When an international student is preparing for their arrival and does not have transportation to the school, they are offered a shuttle ride from JFK in New York to Quinnipiac. Some international students would like that as an option for the rest of their time here and not only for when they first arrive here.
“They sell you dreams to come here. They make it seem like it’s this huge community of international students like it’s an established community, and then you get here and as soon as orientation is done…that’s it,” said Wilkie.
Courtesy IIE
Like other minority groups on campus, international students would like to see themselves represented in the faculty and material taught in their classes. International students not only add to the diversity on campus, but also contribute significantly to the economics of the school: In the 2015-2016 academic year, international students contributed $10.9 million to Quinnipiac. This effect is not only evident in the school but also in the state and the nation as a whole. A NAFSA: Association of International Educators study found that in 2015-2016 international students contributed $32.8 billion and 400,000 jobs to the US economy. In Connecticut, there were 13,564 international students and they contributed $518.3 million.
For a number of international students, their concern is not how much they contribute in terms of diversity and economy. It’s about the recent election of President Trump and the changes he will bring to visa requirements for international students.
It’s not easy getting a visa to come to America and even when you do get the visa, there is the fear that you can easily get kicked out or be denied entry. When Nhung An first came to America as a 16-year-old, her biggest fear was whether she would be let into the country. Even for those who are already here and are getting ready to graduate, they must think of whether they will be able to find a company that is willing to sponsor their stay in America once they are out of school.
“[The current political climate] is not really friendly to international students because of the H1B stuff,” explained Xinyu Xu, a senior from China. “I remember when I went to the career fair… the first rejection they gave me is they don’t sponsor for H1B.”
Some issues are far beyond the scope of Quinnipiac and the Department of Cultural and Global Engagement. For instance, the recent visa bans the Trump administration has been trying to put into effect and this past October both the United States and Turkey mutually decided to suspend visa services between the two countries. There is only so much that the school can do and for now, they will be focusing their efforts on dealing with parking, housing for all students and the issues brought up during the campus climate survey.
“They sell you dreams of equality and when you get here…there’s no equality. They sell you dreams that everyone who gets here makes it,” Wilkie said, before laughing and adding, “When you get here you realize not everyone who gets here makes it. They sell you this thing that all figures are equal, that as long as you put in the work, you’re going to get it. That’s not true.”
The holiday shopping season is in full swing with millions of people expected to participate in Cyber Monday.
According to the National Retail Federation, 69 percent of Americans – 164 million – planned on shopping during Thanksgiving weekend. About 78 million of those people plan on shopping on Cyber Monday.
Cyber Monday has been increasing in popularity in recent years. According to Adobe Analytics, it is expected to have the highest growth in revenue (16.5 percent since 2014) of the five-day major shopping weekend including Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Super Sunday and Cyber Monday. It is also predicted to have the highest revenue of the entire weekend with $6.6 billion. The day with the second highest revenue is Black Friday with $5 billion.
Cyber Monday, and the rest of the weekend’s popularity, stems from discounts and traditions. According to the NRF, 66 percent of Americans say they shop during this weekend because of the deals while 26 percent say they shop because they consider it a tradition.
For those who shop because of the deals, Cyber Monday has great discounts on toys. According to Adobe, the average discount for toys will be 19.1 percent. Meanwhile, Black Friday has better discounts on televisions, tablets, jewelry and appliances and Thanksgiving’s best deals are on computers, sporting goods, apparel and video games.
The National Retail Federation’s expectations for Thanksgiving weekend shopping show Cyber Monday as the second most popular day.
These deals are popular among most Americans, but they can be especially enticing to college students who do not have a lot of money.
“It’s great because I don’t have much money to spend on gifts for my family,” Julia Brown, a Quinnipiac sophomore said. “So, if I couldn’t get these kinds of deals, I wouldn’t be able to get them that much.”
The convenience of online shopping that Cyber Monday offers can also be very appealing.
“Black Friday is way too crazy for me,” Brown said. “The stores are always so nuts and crowded. It’s just so much easier for me to buy things online.”
But Black Friday is not limited to in-store shopping. Many people got their online shopping done on Friday as well.
“I’m not really shopping (on Cyber Monday) because I got all of it done on Friday,” David Rivera, a freshman, said. “I didn’t go to the mall or anything, though. I just did it all online.”
Rivera explained that the deals he sees on Black Friday and Cyber Monday are virtually the same.
“So, in that case, I’d rather just do all of the shopping before I have to come back to school,” Rivera said. “My Mondays are busy, so I don’t have much free time to shop, but I’m sure that won’t stop other students from shopping in class.”
It was a mild Thanksgiving across the Northeast, with temperatures in the mid-forties across the board, but what kind of weather should we be expecting over the next several months?
According to the Farmer’s Almanac, the Northeast and New England will be seeing cold and snowy weather.
This prediction includes New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Washington D.C.
map via Farmersalmanac.com
To break it down, the Almanac has also posted weather predictions for three to four day spans through the end of January. These predictions report light snow in the beginning of December, with significant snowstorms expected in mid-December and the end of January. Unfortunately, a white Christmas isn’t looking likely this year.
