Male Gentile Artwork Craze

Kayla Mancuso

It’s Family Weekend at Manhattan, family and friends are overflowing the resident halls. Now imagine going to visit your loved one and seeing male gentile artwork everywhere. This was the case on the 7^th floor of Horan Hall.

On October 16^th family members of the 7^th floor residents were shocked to see a gross display of male gentile covering the floor. There was a wide range of artwork, from penises drawn in sharpie mark on the door or the quiet room to an elaborate depiction of a penis made out of acorn name tags. 

Dorm pranks are a run of the mill kind of thing for college life, but the contexts of these pranks were unacceptable especially when Manhattan College is hosting so many guests. On top of that, most of the guests are family members of students. 

October 21^st a mandatory floor meeting was held to address the issue. Meg Donnelly, area coordinator of Horan Hall and Chrysostom held the meeting with the help of Elizabeth Gibbons who is the RD of Horan Hall. Both RA’s of the 7^th floor, Timothy Corini and Deena Sena, also assisted with the meeting.      

All the residents sat in a circle around the conductors of the meeting. The scene resembled a kindergarten class getting reprimanded for not sharing with one another. 

“I work with seven year olds all day and I don’t even have to deal with this kind of behavior from them,” exclaimed Elizabeth Gibbons who works full time as a teacher. 

RA Deena explained her morning of having to take down the acorn penis before any parent could see. “I scrambled to get them all down and by the time I got back from mass it was back up again,” says Deena.

By the end of the meeting one this was establish, if an event like this were to happen again serious consequences would be take. “I will write you up if I have to,” explained Meg Donnelly.

Gabriella DeRossi, a sophomore at Manhattan College, had both her brother and sister visit her for family weekend. Neither of them saw the display but Gabriella how she would have felt if they did: “If they did see them, I definitely would've been embarrassed by it, you would think college students would be more mature then middle schoolers, but I guess not.”

She also explained that she feels that the meeting was not as effective as planned. “People are going to do what they want to do, regardless of who tells them otherwise,” says Gabriella.

Later on in the interview, she expressed to me how she felt about the situation on a whole. “Frankly, I'm not surprised. People do stupid things that they think are funny or that will make other people laugh, but seriously, it gets tiring having to go to meetings because of immaturity, and walking by seeing vulgar and inappropriate graffiti and such displayed in our home and where our families can see,” declared Gabriella.

On the other hand, a guest that weekend just took it as a humorous event. Danielle Morrone, a junior at Minisink Valley High School, was visiting a friend for family weekend.

“I honestly thought that it was a little disturbing at first but extremely hilarious,” said Danielle.

When asked if this event tarnished her image of Manhattan College, this was her response: “No I feel as though this is a typical college atmosphere and you have to expect something of this nature to occur when visiting any college. I think it was just kids having fun and getting a good laugh. I like to be around people with a sense of humor so it did not take away from the image of the College.”

Dom a con or a Commuter

By Mihaela Anton

MC’s COMMUTERS LOUNGE – Just like every college whose tuition is rudely going over $35,000, Manhattan college makes no exception and has a community of commuters summing up to a quarter of the population.  To better accommodate them the college is fully “equipped” with an obscure located commuters lounge. No big was the surprise than in the sixth week of college some anonymous prank decided that it’s time for it to get new decorations.

No, no! There was no trace of seamless paper, confetti, piñatas or matching napkins just a regular nonchalant condom hanging from one of the outside windows.  It was probably the most hilarious thing ever for the person who put it there, but the last thing you probably want to see on your way to a rushed lunch in Plato’s Cave.

Firstly seen on October 7^th it managed to literally receive the title for the most intensively used decoration.  Reportedly the Inaugural Tent was on the quad for less than 24 hours, or any other decoration for in school events, which get to be taken down in less than 5 hours.  
When asked what she thinks about this not so funny joke, student Marita Keane said “That was the most repulsive thing I have ever seen in my life. Personally it was inevitable not to observe because it’s on my way to my dorm, but I am sure somebody else must have seen it too. Why didn’t they take it down sooner?”

Last year right about this time there was the case of the homosexual kiss poster, posted by Horan Hall bridge entrance.  The poster was showing Batman and Robin kissing, and it was located on a floor which made it really easy to be seen by students and not only. In this case the outcome was simple, people and the school saw it, the second party decided to take it down, the Quadrangle, covered the case and that was it. Who decides what and when it gets censored?
This is the season when all the high school seniors submit their applications for college or start considering them as future options.  And whets the best way to do so than to visit the college and get a firsthand experience to what you might see, or live if your here.  As far as I remember parents and kids are encouraged to use the elevator in front of Hayden to reach admissions as a route from the outside parking lot, but in the case a courageous family decided to pick the said over it, then I guess that was their first hand experience. No matter how nice the school is, how spacey the cafeterias are, the parents can be set aback by that inappropriate decoration.

According to Bridget Gerstel, senior and tour guide in Admissions office said: “This weekend the number of people in a tour was ridiculous! I never had so many people in one tour and I wasn’t the only one!” When trying to contact Admissions Office regarding their policies of preparing the campus before a big tour or tours in general, I was made aware of the impossibility of such a task because of the upcoming open house weekend.

Funny is that like in fairytales where miracles last for three days so does Manhattan College Open House.  Most relevant proof happened on Friday 22^nd October, when all mc students mail inboxes got a stream message sent by Dana Rose Sr. Associate of Admissions Office and Financial Aid who said “This is to inform you that due to Manhattan College's Open House on Sunday, October 24th the Gym will be closed from Friday, October 22nd to Sunday October 24th for the setup and event. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.” And the very prompt and well worth reply coming from Joseph Dooley, also an MC student who said “Why does it take 3 days to set up the Open House?”

Conclusion? Well this time there is none because obviously there are different priorities. And while students are charged for every single mistake, we sometimes afford making fun of the “system” by giving everything a “human touch”.  Currently not there anymore, the condom actually brought a clean window for the Commuters Lounge, too bad Windex doesn’t clean really everything.  

Bronx Bus Brawl Draws Ire of Commuters

Bronx Bus Brawl Draws Ire of Commuters

 by Pablo Kay

            Two Bronx men exchanged verbal blows in a bizarre exchange that broke out on the Bx6 New York City bus in the South Bronx last Tuesday. Although the altercation did not draw any police attention, commuters riding the bus proved to be fearless in their willingness to take matters into their own hands.

            The fight began between two African-American men standing next to the bus’s rear door as the vehicle passed in front of the Bronx courthouse, located on 161^st Street in the borough’s business sector. The Hunts Point-bound bus was jam-packed with commuters during the rush-hour period of the cold, overcast fall day. The first man, a large athletic type wearing a beanie, began shoving a smaller man wearing glasses who could be heard muttering something under his breath seconds earlier.

            “What you looking at son? What do you want?” asked the large man.

            “You got a problem? You really got a problem?” replied the other, who was already taking a defensive stance against his more physically imposing rival.

            “I think you got a real problem. You better keep that little mouth of yours shut!” responded the man with the beanie with a raised voice that could be heard even by the driver all the way in the front of the bus.

            By now people on the bus, mostly women, were becoming increasingly aware of the conflict playing out before them.

            “Leave him alone! Who do you think you are?” yelled out one woman at the man with the beanie.

            The shoving continued, even as the bus turned into a cacophony of hushed tones all focused on the rear door of the vehicle. With the tension in the air mounting, riders watched the man with glasses refuse to respond to the aggravation. Instead he stood firmly planted but motionless, perhaps realizing he had no chance against his larger adversary. Several male straphangers began to advance towards the two men with the intention of the breaking up the fight.

            Their attempts, however, did not come soon enough. As the bus grinded to a halt in front of the Morrisania Apartments building, the man with the beanie punched the smaller man forcefully across the face and immediately jumped off the bus as the rear doors opened and the bus’s riders gasped in unison.

            “What a coward!” yelled one woman.

            “It ain’t worth it, man. Just let it go,” another man advised the stunned victim, who was holding a broken pair of rimmed glasses with a look of disbelief.

            One elderly Hispanic woman on the bus even stood up from her seat and began to shout at the larger man as his large figure evaporated into the busy sidewalk, yelling out insults in Spanish and providing much needed comic relief to the situation.

            Noteworthy is the jam-packed bus’s embodiment of the reality of the South Bronx: an overly crowded, impoverished area of New York whose poor living conditions suggest a subtle yet tangible impact on crime rates. While the South Bronx is commonly known as a relatively dangerous area prone to violence and considerable police attention, such a scene seemed out of place on a public transportation vehicle, judging by the reactions of many of the bus’s riders.

            “Come on. There are school kids on this bus,” remarked one man, who got off a few stops later at 3^rd Avenue. “We don’t need this on our ride home.”

            

Color Coordination to Help Stop Hate.

By: Jen Orlando

A simple color can do a lot. Wearing a bright color makes you seem happier and more approachable. Schools tend to be dominated by specific colors and show school pride. Sports teams use colors to designate who is on their side and who is against them. An international sign of wearing purple on October 20, 2010 was to stand up against hate.

Around Manhattan College that day, a Catholic College with an accepting, LaSalleian outlook, purple was the color of choice for most. Whether it was in the form of a T-shirt, jacket, or even a scarf, the color stood out in a normally sea of green, the color of school sweatshirts donned by those rushing to class.

This symbol against hate was manifested by those in the LGBTQ community, in response to the tragic suicides of seven homosexual teenage boys. The color purple, on the LGBTQ flag, represents spirit and that’s what this call to action needed. Many college students heard about this from Facebook events, calling people to “Wear Purple in Honor!” and to show support in any way possible. Just one event alone had about 30,000 people “attending” and many more than that joined the event.

Popular microblogging website, Tumblr.com, was also a major factor in spreading this cause. The high levels of LGBTQ support on the entire site allowed this message to be reblogged, which is reposted by other people, around 30,000 times.  Users of the site also called for the page itself to turn purple on that day, which happened at exactly 12:00am that day.

In an attempt to spread the word on campus, everyone received a JasperNet email from the Standing Together group. Calling to “never again” let this happen, and to show increased support for the community and cause.

As students sat in class, they could look around and see a sea of purple. On those who were not wearing purple, many of them apologize to those in the color, saying that they just “did not own anything purple.” It was apparent that the community at Manhattan College supported this cause, but it was even more widespread than colleges making news stations and causing a stir everywhere.

Manhattan College sophomore, Kerry McNulty, described her reason for wearing purple that day as “to support those who are bullied and made fun of for their lifestyles and choices.” McNulty, like many other students, were outraged when they heard stories, such as Tyler Clementi’s, the Rutgers student who committed suicide after his roommate allegedly invaded his privacy and recorded him in a sexual act with another man.

When talking about gay rights in general, sophomore, Moira Bence, declared that “people should be able to do whatever the hell they want to” and that no one has a right to judge other people based on who they are.

The LGBTQ community was standing up against hate, and standing up for their own rights. So many people support this cause and the other ones that have started. The “It Gets Better” project was founded by Dan Savage, writer and pundit, who wanted to support LGBTQ youth. The pledge on the website starts with: “Everyone deserves to be respected as they are.” The “It Gets Better” project is a compilation of videos created by people to give the message that things are not so good now, but they will get better. Those who have created videos include everyone from Barack Obama, to Tim Gunn, to normal everyday college students who need help just as much as the rest.

The videos tell stories of hope. These messages are heartfelt and emotional, sometimes even telling their own attempts at taking their life. No one wants anyone to feel like they need to take their own life, and no one wants anyone to be bullied.

In addition to just standing together against bullying, the LGBTQ community has also been pushing for the right to gay marriage. Having Prop 8 recently overturned in California, there is a group known as FCKH8. On their website is a video explaining their message with a few vulgarities, but the shirts on their own are to make a statement. A statement is exactly what they make reading: “Some chicks marry chicks. Get over it.” And the equivalent: “Some dudes marry dudes. Get over it.”

The tragic loss of those seven boys has ended up creating such a huge movement throughout the country and the world. Now more than ever, people realize that the hate needs to stop and that we all have to be in this together. We wore purple that day to show our support. It was a way to show those struggling that there is hope, “it gets better,” and that they are not in this alone. Just wearing a certain color can feel so empowering, especially with a strong message behind it.

Greek Express or Greek Distress?

By: Lynette Perez

“We’re interested in what you’re interested in,” said Heather Muhlenbergh, district manager of Manhattan College’s sodexo office, but is that really true?

The recent establishment of Jasper Dining Dollars has been popular among students interested in eating well without having to pay for meals with cash. Dining dollars are “convenient because I live in Overlook, so I can cross just walk across the street to have dinner,” says Junior, Colleen Fallon.

In spite of her happiness, Fallon did not fail to mention that some of her favorite restaurants (and campus-wide favorites) such as Salvatores, Greek Express and River City Grill are not included in the dining dollar list. Leaning over her art history textbook, she disappointedly stated “we try at some places but they haven’t set up the swipes yet. I don’t know if they’re going to, but I really hope so.”

Colleen Fallon is not the only person disappointed in Sodexo’s choices.

Manos Orfanopoulos, owner of Greek Express, on 238 and Riverdale avenue expressed his discontentment about the meal plan process over a bowl of lentil soup on a cloudy Wednesday afternoon.

The older Greek man, wearing a blue apron and a pair of oversized eyeglasses, between blows to cool his soup said “Sodexo is so big. The little fish in the big pond don’t matter to them.”

His small, clean restaurant is constantly overflowing with people, making it hard to get a word in with him. And that seems to be what happened when Sodexo officials attempted to induct Greek Express into their meal plan.

Orfanopoulos, clearly interested in a personal, traditional business relationship stated that throughout the first week of September, two men whom he had never seen before came to his restaurant and dropped off a brochure. “I was busy busy” he said; also mentioning the fact that he “had to read it and talk to [his] neighbor (Salvatore’s)."

After reading the brochure, he claims to have called the business and sodexo office here at MC “over a dozen times. All I get is the message machine. I complied with the requests and kept leaving messages, but no one has yet to call me back.”

In an interview with Heather Muhlenbergh, she mentioned that “Greek Express wasn’t interested... maybe they changed their mind.” However, when I mentioned this to Mr. Orfanopoulos, he slammed his hand on the table and exclaimed “they are all lying. What they are telling you is big big lies.”

In both interviews they explained that ten percent of the sale goes back to sodexo, in addition to a ten cent charge along with every swipe.

Orfanopoulos explained how all restaurants “have to pay commission but [sodexo is] charging way too much... It hurts the operator. Credit card companies only charge two to three percent.” Nevertheless, he is “willing to accept it.” 

The approachable business owner ended the interview by saying “I believe in a good neighborhood. It’s important to me. I want to accommodate the market and you’re the market. A business relationship is good for everyone, but the bottom line is they never came back and they never called back... I bluntly refuse to call or contact them anymore. If they choose to come, I’d be more than happy to serve the students. I will be here and ready to participate.”

Missing Three Credits? Expect to Stay in School Another Three Months

Students in the Communication Department at Manhattan College may be in for a rude awakening when they go to register for classes next semester, as a lack of course offerings may delay their graduation date for longer than expected.

Out of the eighteen courses that are required among the Advertising, Broadcasting, Journalism, and Public Relations concentrations in order to graduate, only seven are offered next semester.  In addition, out of the 300 required courses among students in the School of Arts, Business, Engineering and Science, and all of their concentrations, only 107 are offered.

Rich Baxter, a transfer student and Public Relations major, had been eager for the release of available courses, as he was anticipating graduating in the spring. “There are no communications courses,” he over-exaggerated that same day, clearly frustrated. “They don’t even have the classes I need to take before I graduate. As of now I’m stuck taking two electives.” Even though his eyes were hidden from behind studded shades, they were obviously being rolled.

His only hope to fulfill his requirements would be the school’s Winterim courses, which oddly enough have not been released yet.

“Students already know when they come to the school that there’s a chance their graduation may be delayed if they don’t complete all their courses in time,” says Communication department secretary Melanie. “There’s nothing the school can do, the course are what they are.”

The fact that Manhattan College does not offer each one of their courses per semester is troubling. Why make a course mandatory for graduation if a student is unable to take it?

With only 132 professors campus wide, there is simply no way to offer the staggering 1324 classes listed in their course catalog each semester, especially if their popularity is dwindling.

The school’s website claims that “while Manhattan College will make every effort to offer courses in the semester and year listed, it reserves the right to do so depending upon a sufficient enrollment in each course.” In the communications department in particular, because of a diminishing amount of students enrolling in the program, classes such as Intro to Journalism are only being offered once a year, simply because there aren’t enough students to fill it.

Besides lack of interest, technological inadequacies have made it impossible for students to register for some required classes.

Manhattan College’s ‘Self-Service’ program is hated among all undergraduates especially when the dreaded registration period rears it’s ugly head.  On the days when registration is open, student’s set their alarms for the crack of dawn, where they then scramble to log onto the server and register for their desired classes before each is filled, if they’re lucky.

Without fail, each semester the server gets “overloaded” and students are unable to log in, helpless behind their computer screen as their courses fill up. Once the classes are filled its simply ‘tough luck’ for these students, who are then forced to take courses that are unnecessary just so they can fill their schedule.

For students facing the possibility of having to stay an extra semester at Manhattan College, there are very few options. Like Baxter, students may have to rely on winter courses to fulfill their requirements, or take courses at another college and transfer the credits (if Manhattan College will accept the other school’s credits).

It is more than unfair though. Because of Manhattan College’s failure to offer a fair amount of courses and a server capable of accommodating it’s users, a student must pay for courses out of pocket just so they can graduate in time.

-Samantha Fox

Maya Little

Rapid Disturbance Interrupts MC during Midterm Week

MC’s librarians and students engage in a busy day in O’Malley due to midterm testing, but was later disturbed by a loud scream, an alarm and running.

The student walked up the steps to the fifth floor of O’Malley carrying a black duffle bag. Once the student reached the top of the stairs he shouted.

“Stop that!,” said the boy while stretching his arm toward the back of the library and pointing his finger.

The student looked to be Caucasian and a bit tall. He wore blue jeans, a black jacket and sneakers of some sort while carrying a big black duffle bag on his shoulder. His name was never identified.

“I was puzzled when he said that,” said MC freshman Malin Schaemkie

“The library was so quiet and he was so loud,” said MC sophomore Andrea Nyback

After shouting and pointing, the boy walked through the turnstile without taking one look around and continued walking.

“Excuse me?,” said Melinda Creaney, the librarian who was sitting at the circulation desk behind the computer.

The boy continued walking. Once he reached the detector the alarm sounded. Looking confused, the boy hesitated.

“Excuse me! Excuse me!,” said Creaney.

After hearing the alarm sound and the tone of the librarian voice change, the boy no longer looked confused. He ran towards the door and never looked back while gripping the black duffle bag.

The entire fifth floor stood in shock at what just happen.

“It was like something off of a movie,” said MC sophomore Tyrek Barney. “Everything just happened so fast.”

Creaney came from behind her desk and addressed the reference librarian on duty, Heather Dodge. According to Dodge, minutes before the incident she was helping him find a religion book and that he entered the library with another boy who she was “never able to identify”.

John Banta, a MC student who was walking pass Hayden Hall , stated that he saw the boy kick and take off both of his shoes. The boy ran down the steps while MC security chased him down to the subway.

“They didn’t catch him,” said Creaney. “Once he is off school property they don’t care”.

According to Creaney, the student did not take his medication for the day and consequently heard voices throughout the day.

The boy always goes into O’Malley, but this was his first time stealing a book.

“He always gets agitated,” said Creaney. “Once he was agitated about waiting in line to get help at the reference desk. I wasn’t concerned that he stole a book; I just didn’t want him to hurt himself. I wanted to calm him down”.

Assistant Director of Counseling and Health Services, Jennifer McArdle looked to be concerned and stated that she did not know who the boy was and did not hear about the incident. After asking for more detailed information on the student McArdle said, “We can’t force people to take medication, but we have to make sure everyone has good experiences here at MC. If we hear about students who need our help we try to get them in”.

Some MC students showed concern for the boy, while others fear  for their on-campus safety.

“I hope he is alright,” said MC student Alvin Porter.

“He needs help. I hope the school is giving that to him. He could not only hurt himself, but possibly other people. This is serious stuff,” said MC student Yardley Keshinover.

MC security did not bother giving information about the incident and the shoeless student who dissolved into the subway has not been seen in O’Malley since.

And Then There Was 5… Tripods

By: John Banta

When Thom Gencarelli, the head of the Communication department, called a meeting of for all the student workers in the department it made all the workers there nervous, what exactly were we being called in for?

The meeting took place on a Friday afternoon at 1:00pm exactly, It turns out that the meeting was about a missing $1,500 tripod and a $600 dollar zoom that are stored in the supplies closet and can be rented out by the various broadcasting student in the department that need them for classes. The tripod was one of 6 (one of which was supposed to be strictly for faculty use only) and the zoom was the same.

During the meeting we were reminded what the correct way to sign out the equipment is. But more shocking then that would have to be the fact that “if it were to happen again, then the student workers would have to be let go” said Gencarelli, His reasoning behind this drastic declaration was “how could I justify paying 7 student workers if simple mistakes like this were to keep happening”.

During the meeting someone asked if a student rented the Tripod and Zoom then why couldn’t we look at the check out sheets to see checked it out who had it last. Another student worker named Katherine Schnell had the answer “I spent a few hours looking through the check out/in log book, and that tripod isn’t in there, so we don’t know who checked it out.”

Sadly it still unknown who took out the Tripod and the zoom, which means that the Department has to eat that $2,100 expense, which is not a small amount of money. But even though we do not know what happened to the tripod, that does not stop us from guessing to what has happened to it, which range from Thom’s sad hypotheses that a member of the department stole it, to my own which is that a student simply left the tripod while out getting footage for a class. But even with all our guessing I feel that this will go down in history as another great unsolved mystery along with The Bermuda Triangle and Jack the Ripper. 

Standoff between Cablevision and News Corp. continues

By Matthew Rocco

Talks between Cablevision Systems Corporation and Fox’s parent company, the News Corporation, remain stagnant as the two companies have yet to reach an agreement on a new contract. News Corp. pulled its Fox programming after their latest contract with Cablevision expired at midnight the morning of October 16.

“No material progress was made and we remain far apart,” a News Corp. statement read. The company declined to comment, and deferred to a prerecorded phone message.

Cablevision, which serves over three million subscribers in the tri-state area, has stood by its claim that News Corp. wants $150 million for Fox programming. According to the cable company, it currently pays News Corp. $70 million for Fox 5, My9, Fox Business Network and NatGeo Wild. News Corp. denies that it is seeking $150 million.

News Corp. remains opposed to arbitration despite calls from legislators to come to an agreement. Cablevision made a timely announcement Tuesday that it has put arbitration on the table during talks with the DISH Network over two stations, MSG and MSG+. Cablevision and Madison Square Garden, Inc. are both owned by the Dolan family.

“By now it should be clear even to News Corp. that binding arbitration is the fastest and fairest way to return Fox programming to our customers,” Cablevision said in a statement. Cablevision did not return a phone call seeking comment.

“This is the first time MSG has ever suggested being open to binding arbitration with DISH Network or anyone else,” News Corp. said in a separate statement. “This position is totally inconsistent with their own filings to the FCC and inconsistent with their own actions in denying hundreds of thousands of viewers access to Knicks, Rangers, Nets and Devils games.”

During this standoff, both News Corp. and Cablevision have placed advertisements in newspapers. In an effort to put the cable company on the ropes, News Corp. is urging Cablevision subscribers to switch to alternative pay-television companies.

The Federal Communications Commission has maintained the perspective of a third party, as opposed to getting directing involved in the negotiation process.

“I am deeply troubled that Cablevision and Fox are spending more time attacking each other through ads and lobbyists than sitting down at the negotiating table,” FCC chairman Julius Genachowski said in a statement. “I have called the CEOs of both companies and reiterated the importance of reaching a deal, as many companies have done before. We will continue to scrutinize their actions very closely.”

The FCC did, however, become involved in a passive-aggressive way on Wednesday when the official Twitter account for the commission provided updates to the third game of baseball’s National League Championship series between the Philadelphia Phillies and the San Francisco Giants. The entire series was broadcast on Fox, which will also carry the World Series starting this week.

Manhattan Madness: A Pep Rally?

Jeanette Settembre

With exceptionally cold winds blowing, huddles of students stood standing together in anticipation. It was as if they were waiting in line for a concert of some sort. The college atmosphere however, would say otherwise. 

 Outside of Draddy Gymnasium students waited for Manhattan’s annual “Manhattan Madness” neither a concert, nor sporting event, which may leave a non-Jasper pondering what all the hype was about. 

As the MC jazz band played modern day tunes such as Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi,” and the standard fight chant, students began shuffling inside where they collected a free camouflage T-shirt laced in Jasper pride. Some students however, waited in line merely for the free t-shirt and did a complete turn around exiting the gym after they obtained their polyester prize. 

 It is the second annual year of the “Jasper Jungle,” a crowd of students, primarily freshman, cheering on the winter men and women's basketball teams. Since there was no actual sporting event occurring in the gymnasium, the gathering served more as spirited event. 

It felt almost as if students were attending a high school football game with a perhaps too peppy DJ belting out phrases like, “Lets of Bonkers!” Aside from watching the sweat of the announcers through a superfluous amount of fog, there was no legitimate athletic event occurring. 

Manhattan Madness essentially is a pep rally to kick off the winter basketball season. The teams are now legally allowed to practice on the court according to MAAC rules. The coaches and team captains made brief speeches to welcome in the new season and announce the first home game. 

Bleachers filled, with fog machines in full throttle, the lights darkened, illuminating an excessive amount of glow sticks. Each player from the men and women's basket ball teams were announced and paraded in a rather repetitive procession through lines of  Jasper cheerleaders and dancers. There was a brief ceasing of music from a technical difficulty where the jazz band picked up the lack of sound until the music returned.

Sophomore and basket ball player Kevin Laue said, “I thought Manhattan Madness was sick. It really pumped us up and got us excited about the season. Student activities put a lot of time into the event and the whole team really enjoyed it.” 

Following the welcoming introductions of the sports teams was a very brief cheerleading routine to get fans in a more spirited mood. Proceeding the cheerleaders, the Jasper dancers preformed a more intricate hip hop number. 

“I enjoyed the music selection and the event was fun, but the performances from the cheerleaders and dance team made me leave,” said sophomore, Olivia Fernandes. 

Freshman, Nicole Bullard, states, “I felt like the school made a good attempt to hype Manhattan Madness up but towards the middle it started to die down and it was time to go.” 

The remainder of the event included contests in which students had the opportunity to win prizes such as $50 in ACDs, an iPad, and the more elite prize, a white Jeep Grand Cherokee that was displayed on the quad. A number of students were picked to compete to win the prizes by shooting half court baskets, and playing games of knockout (a game in which students line up to shoot baskets until they miss a shot, and are eliminated) against their fellow competitors. One lucky student, who was actually celebrating his birthday, won the iPad after competing in a game of knockout.   

Sophomore and contestant in the running for an iPad, Ashton Parson, stated, “The only reason I went to the event was because I wanted an iPad. When I didn’t get it I got my things and I left with the only prize being a glow stick...which has already died out.”

A raffle was drawn for lucky students to get the chance of winning a white Jeep Grand Cherokee. For the second year in a row no one won the grand prize, and the vehicle was sent back to the dealership. The method used for winning the Jeep however, is a bit farfetched. Contestants (with no basket ball talent or background) were chosen to make a half court shot in order to win the prize. A female student was chosen, but she had a medical boot on her right leg which made it nearly impossible for her to make the shot. 

A new twist was added to the madness this year. There will now be a king and queen selected at each basketball game based upon the amount of school spirit they have. At the event there were two Lazy Boy black recliner chairs revealed. Every game a lucky king and queen will have the opportunity to sit in the best seat of the house; an honor almost as good as being king and queen of a homecoming dance.

Other colleges feature similar events, but are a bit more extravagant, especially depending on the size of the college or university. October generally marks the time when the madness begins. Georgetown University in Washington, DC for example, calls their event, “Midnight Madness” they actually had the familiar rapper Wale perform at their celebration. A number of other schools also call the event “Midnight Madness” as it became a recruiting tool and celebration to kick off the start of the basketball season. Normally, at the stroke of midnight programs around the country have their very first official practice. 

When asked about why MC’s event starts a bit earlier John Bennett from student activities states, “Originally the event formed nationally as a pep rally in which teams could start practicing at 12:01 am that day...overwhelmingly, the majority of colleges don’t hold “Midnight Madness” at midnight though (surprisingly enough!), except for the pep rallies found on ESPN for instance. Fordham’s was the same night as ours for instance, and theirs started at 9pm. Iona’s is this Friday, and theirs starts at 7pm.” 

On the contrary, a few smaller universities actually do hold midnight madness at midnight.  East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania celebrates the basketball sports teams and has a dance routine all beginning at midnight. Keene State College in New Hampshire also has a midnight ceremony with an actual basketball game. They have similar prizes and giveaways, as well as dance and cheerleading performances.

Bennett stresses that the school administration has no issues with the event starting at midnight, and says that if that is what the students would like to have happen for next year it can be done, “Personally I’d love for the time to move back to the original midnight.” 

Sophomore and Jasper dancer, Jessica Poulin, states, “I think Manhattan Madness was a great experience for the freshman to start off the year. It allows them to get involved in on campus activities going on in the Jasper community.”

Although the event may be targeted to freshman as a welcoming induction into a jasper tradition, Manhattan Madness still brought together a gym full of spirited students. 

Communication’s Drama!

By Mihaela Anton

Tension in the Communications Department was palpable when Melanie assaulted Marek in front of an entire class.  What started as a minor interruption degenerated into an ugly confrontation?  Who would have thought it was over a froggy key chain?

            The Journalism class started like any other class, with articles being read or drastically analyzed by novice students.  There was something particularly strange in the professor’s attitude today; he was agitated, and rather anxious while holding on to a frog key chain.  Was that a cute present from his son?         

            As the class went by, all of a sudden we notice the door opening and Melanie Morales, the secretary of the Communications department, innocently interrupting the class.  What happened after this surprised everybody. “I need the key for the room! I know you have it!” Who would have thought that the lady with delicate kitten heels, brown pants, elegant pony tail and brave red lipstick would get so aggravated after a small exchange of words? 

            “I told you and I also told them that I don’t have it! I don’t know why we are having this conversation now” said Marek.  That was actually a reaction nobody expected from preppy professor Fuchs.  Why was he so harsh and suspicious?  His body language wasn’t on his side either, giving away his feelings without the need for words, all his agitated hand movements and his attempts to step back, while she was progressing towards him, where more than obvious.  Suddenly the froggy key chain he was playing with was nowhere to be seen because he was hiding it behind a few sheets of paper.

            When we thought that the conversation will reach a friendly agreement there was the drop that filled the cup and made everybody freeze when Melanie said “Don’t make me call security on you”.  Was this just because of a key or is there something more in between the lines we don’t know about? 

            What we all don’t know is that recently the department of communications had faced a rather strange situation when one of the tripods mysteriously disappeared.  There was no sign of forced entrance, so the only suspected cause was internal theft. While the tripod was never retrieved there are still questions concerning its suspicious disappearance.   Seeing two people within the department fighting over a key inevitably made everybody think whether Mr. Fuchs would probably be involved in it and Melanie is using the class as an excuse for free witnesses.   

                 By the end of the class the conversation was settled and the key was retrieved but there will still be the question of an actual involvement.  Is the communication department slowly breaking apart?

Marek vs. Melanie

Marek vs. Melanie

Classroom Confrontation a Sign of Dark Days at Comm Department

                                                   By Pablo Kay

Mounting tension in the Communications department recently spilled over into conflict last Thursday when Melanie assaulted Marek in front of an entire class. What started out as a minor interruption quickly degenerated into an ugly confrontation that even turned physical.  And who would have thought it was all over a Froggy key chain?

            The 11:15 Comm 209 journalism class started out normally enough: Marek, the class’s instructor, was ranting about the effects of the painkiller Oxycontin and trying to get his students to commence a 10-point takedown of an article he wrote during his glory days at The New York Times about Knicks ex-coach Dan Brown. As he was bragging about his impromptu roadside interview with the coach himself, Marek was suddenly interrupted by Dr. Gencarelli’s secretary Melanie Morales. At that point no one in the room, including the professor himself, could possibly imagine the mayhem that was about to ensue.

            The routine disruption began like any other. Melanie came to the door of Room 322 and asked Marek for the key to the office of Dr. Grabowski, the Comm department’s rookie broadcasting professor.

            “I don’t have the key, I’m sorry,” responded Marek calmly.

            “Look, I really need this key.”

            “I don’t have the key,” repeated Marek indignantly while his class of young journalists began to chuckle nervously at the bizarre scene playing out before them.

“It’s right there, in your hand! Look, I need the key to get into Grabowski’s office!” exclaimed Melanie, pointing angrily at Marek’s hands, which held a large green Froggy keychain, presumably holding the infamous key itself. 

            “Grabowski who? Tell him to come up here and get the key himself!”

            “Do I need to call security?” threatened Melanie, who by now wore a furious look on her face that betrayed her usually friendly demeanor. Before Marek could take any measures to defend himself, Melanie lunged at the former Wall Street salesman shouting “Give me the key!”

            After wresting little Froggy from Marek’s hands, Melanie concluded the encounter by planting a mean slap on Marek’s shoulder, presumably meant to exacerbate the professor’s upper back pain. Melanie then ran out of the class triumphantly with the key finally in hand.

            Amid the bewilderment caused by the incident, Marek continued the class as if nothing had happened—even giving his students a dreaded homework assignment to do over the weekend.

            Speculation has linked Thursday morning’s encounter with the recent and equally bizarre theft of a camera tripod from the Comm department’s office on the first floor of Leo Hall. What left people scratching their heads after news of the theft broke was the fact that the culprit took only the tripod, which should logically have been taken with the camera.  

            “That girl fight in journalism class was definitely a sign of the distrust among the Comm faculty. No one trusts each other anymore. It seems that even when it comes to asking someone else for a key, everyone automatically suspects the worst,” said a Comm 209 student who asked not to be named in this article for fear of receiving an F in Marek’s class.