As the Fall semester comes to a close, The Quadrangle continues its tradition of reflecting on the reporting and important events of the past months. In the Fall of 2016, the Manhattan College community saw a new college website, the reports of an explosion close to its campus, and a presidential election, among other things. The Quadrangle also continued its successful tradition of special issues with The Money Issue, reporting on the various ways economic concerns manifest on our college campus; from textbook prices to salaries. Here are some of the stories that The Quadrangle has covered this semester.
New College Website
In August, Stephen Zubrycky, reported on the new website that was completed over the summer months. The new website was visually very different from the old manhattan.edu, but the bigger change came in the split between the website as a tool for marketing and a tool for current students. inside.manhattan.edu became the new website for students looking for Self Service, Moodle, and their email, while manhattan.edu became a site full of campus photographs and student testimonial videos.
The change over to a new website was accompanied by a new mobile app for students, which was designed by current MC students. The app has since become an integral part of the MC student’s life, as the Jasper Card function allows students to scan into Locke’s Loft, pay with dining dollars at Starbucks, and now even scan into buildings like Horan Hall.
Explosion on 234th Street
In September, some students were literally awoken by the sound and shaking of an explosion only four blocks from Manhattan College’s Overlook Manor dorm. The explosion occurred on 234th street very early in the morning. As RikkiLynn Shields reported, neighbors began smelling and reporting gas around 6 a.m. and by 7:30 a.m. the house exploded. The house was allegedly being used to grow drugs, and police arrested suspects in relation to the case. The explosion killed Battalion Chief Michael J. Fahy who was on the scene directing efforts to respond to the explosion.
Public Safety sent an email related to the explosion on Sept. 27. The email read, “At this time, we cannot confirm that anyone affiliated with the College resided at 300 West 234th Street. Manhattan College has no reason to believe that any injuries were sustained to students due to the incident.” The next day, on Sept. 28, Public Safety followed up with an email that read, “To update you on Tuesday morning’s home explosion on West 234th Street and Tibbett Avenue, the NYPD has arrested the man who was living inside the residence. After an investigation conducted by the Office of Public Safety, we confirmed that no Manhattan College students resided at the residence, nor were any students involved in the incident.”
Presidential Election
The Quadrangle covered the presidential election of 2016 throughout the Fall Semster. Stephen Zubrycky’s column “Manhattan Caucus” offered students a voice throughout the closing months of the election. Zubrycky reported students responses to both the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees. After the election of Republican nominee Donald Trump, The Quadrangle continued to report the voices of a diverse set of political opinions. In a Voice on the Quad feature following the election one student, Brian Opfer said, “I’m happy with the results. I wasn’t sure what to expect, it was really close. I think if it went the other way it would be a very corrupt next four years.” Another student, Stephen Serrule said, “It’s spitting hatred. We should protest against the GOP and the party system. No one cares about the importance of voting. It’s frustrating. Trump is our president, but we need to protect our people. Hopefully we can go forward with love.”
After the election students received an email from the college stating its plans to hold various post-election forums and events. As Anthony Capote reported, in his email, O’Donnell provided a schedule of events that would provide students and faculty a forum to discuss their feeling on the presidential election. Since the announcement students have received an email from Michael Carey, Dean of Students, containing a message from faculty. The email read in part: “As members of this community of learning, with its long commitment to social justice, we also emphatically wish to express our opposition to any and all acts of racism, anti-Semitism, sexism, classism, homophobia, Islamophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, and any other discriminatory position that threatens the inclusivity and values that are central to our college’s mission.” Students also received an email from the Office of the President announcing that O’Donnell had singed a statement by the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities. In the email O’Donnell wrote: “I have joined with dozens of leaders of Catholic institutions in signing the statement, which reaffirms our collective commitment to educating and supporting recent immigrants and the children of immigrants, including those who meet the criteria for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy, issued in 2012.”
