Student’s hanging out at English Meet & Greet photographed by
Dr. Bridget Chalk. NATALIE SCHMITT/ THE QUADRANGLE
By Natalie Schmitt, Contributor
With students and faculty starting to settle into the semester, the English department held a meet and greet on the Jasper Lawn earlier last week. The event provided delicious local pizza from Salvatores of Soho, live music by the Manhattan College jazz band and a variety of lawn games to choose from for students and professors to get to know one another.
The event was an excellent opportunity for freshman students to familiarize themselves with their professors and peers.
Maeve Adams, Ph.D., director of digital arts and humanities worked with other faculty members to arrange a successful opening event that ensured newer students of the English department’s lively environment here at MC.
The Quadrangle had the opportunity to talk with Adams, and find out that her favorite part of the department is the people she interacts with daily, even beyond the classroom.
“It’s about the faculty and the students and the relationships we have with one another,” Adams said. “I see my students as my students and also my friends. I was just in my office hours today for two and a half hours with a new English major, and we were just hanging out chatting about our favorite books!”
Karie Alvarez, a first-year English major, was excited to talk to other English students about their favorite novelists and genres.
“I always really enjoyed reading literature, so I figured for a major, it would be a great pick,” Alvarez said. “I really enjoy fantasy fiction and all the magic aspects in literature.”
Cornelia Eboh, a senior majoring in education with a concentration in English, spoke to The Quadrangle about the English department and why it’s so special for her as an upperclassman to continue to hang out with her peers and faculty.
“The fact is that we’re still holding on to what I think people consider to be dying, but it’s not; we’re keeping it alive here,” Eboh said. “I mean, look at us, we’re just here outside on Jasper Lawn with music playing, and you can just tell that the love for literature is strong here.”
Eboh stresses the importance of studying English, sharing what she says is a common thing said about the department.
“I feel like I always hear so much talk from people saying, ‘Oh we should get rid of English’ or ‘Why would you even want to do English?’ but every time I go to my English classes, I remember just how important English and literature is to our MC campus,” said Eboh.
The English department faculty looks forward to putting together more events like this throughout the semester as a recent spark in the department has lit up with the announcement of the creative writing concentration. Anyone interested in keeping up with future events should stay tuned to the English department’s Instagram page @mc_englishdept.