THE HOFSTRA
CHRONICLE
HEMPSTEAD, NY VOLUME 88 ISSUE 9
TUESDAY December 13, 2022
KEEPING THE HOFSTRA COMMUNITY INFORMED SINCE 1935 NEWS
OPINION
Argue with your peers By Makenzie Hurt
By Ahjané Forbes
ASSISTA N T O P I N I O N E D I TOR
College classrooms seem to be quieter than they used to be. The same few students participate in discussions, and there’s an obvious lack of open discourse. The cause of this phenomenon is a looming specter: the fear of judgment. The classroom environment should be treated differently than a social environment; debating different opinions, whether widely accepted or not, is a key feature of education that has been lost in the sea of prudence. Many students claim they are fearful of voicing their honest opinions for fear of being
N EWS ED ITO R
Photo courtesy of Laura TrujilloJenks/ FacultyFocus The classroom environment should be different from the social environment.
targeted or labeled, which they believe may lead to ostracization outside of an educational environment. Professors encourage students to participate and engage in debates, but they seem to forget that the classroom is linked to our social lives.
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FEATURES
Campus needs a little TLC
Photo courtesy of Laura TrujilloJenks/ FacultyFocus “HofCats” inspired Hofstra student, Claudia Cannam, to create the Tender Loving Cats Campus Initiative.
By Ahjané Forbes NEW S E D I TO R
Delta Chi illegally returns to campus during four-year suspension
Imagine that, on your first day of school, a little black-andwhite cat welcomes you, extending his paws out for a handshake and making you an unexpected mom to many more felines to come. Claudia Cannam, a thirdyear law student and creator of Tender Loving Cats Campus Cat Initiative (TLC), came to Hofstra University for her studies but found herself saving the cats after meeting the black and white cat named Harvey. “I went to get my student
ID over at the [David S.] Mack Center, where they have the sports arena. This adorable little black-and-white cat came running up to me,” Cannam said. “I wasn’t really educated in Trap, Neuter or Spay and Return (TNR). At the time, I really just wanted to be a foster parent.” During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Cannam said the cats were taking over campus. Cannam estimated that there were approximately 200 on campus at the time. If Cannam had not gotten involved, she said about 2,000 cats would be calling Hofstra their home. Working alongside former Hofstra president Stuart Rabinowitz and the Town of Hempstead, Cannam and members of TLC were able to TNR many of the kittens. TNR is a process in which feral and stray cats are taken to the vet to be treated and then ear-tipped once the process is completed.
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Hofstra University suspended the Delta Chi chapter after hazing allegations. The chapter was suspended over the summer after the university removed the fraternity, placing the organization on an unrecognized list, citing disciplinary reasons. Reasons for an organization’s removal for disciplinary reasons can “include but are not limited to hazing, alcohol and drug abuse, risk management violations and failure to comply with university policies and expectations,” according to the Fraternity and Sorority Life webpage. Investigations into an organization are conducted by Community Standards, the dean of students and Public Safety. Regarding Delta Chi, the university cannot comment on the status of the investigation or the details regarding it.
Paul Ferrante, assistant director of Student Leadership and Engagement for Fraternity and Sorority Life, explained that hazing is prohibited on and off campus. “We have a zero-tolerance policy for hazing,” Ferrante said. “We do a lot of education related to hazing prevention. For example, we just implemented National Hazing Prevention Week in September. We also provide education throughout new member education about hazing.” The university has placed other fraternities on the unrecognized list for the same amount of time. For example, Sigma Alpha Mu was placed on the list in December 2019 after a student reported multiple occurrences of hazing, which led to their departure from the fraternity, according to a previous article written by The Hofstra Chronicle.
Delta Chi’s suspension will last until August 2026, or when all former members have graduated, according to the university. Ferrante noted that not all suspensions are for four years; rather, the university determines the proper course of action based on what occurred. “Typically, it varies based on the outcome and what happened through the investigation that was conducted by Public Safety, Community Standards and the dean of students,” Ferrante said. “It really depends on the investigation and what is deemed appropriate by Community Standards and the dean of students. So there’s no set timeline.” The Chronicle reached out to many former members and alumni associated with Delta Chi for interview requests.
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NEWS
Bye Bye Blackboard, Hello Canvas
Photo courtesy of Moriah Sukhlal Hofstra plans to switch its learning management system from Blackboard Learn to Canvas starting in spring 2023.
By Moriah Sukhlal N EWS ED ITO R
Hofstra University will say goodbye to Blackboard Learn as
it welcomes Canvas as the new learning management system (LMS). Following a successful two-year pilot program during
the spring 2021 and spring 2022 semesters, Hofstra will fully adopt the cloud-hosted Canvas LMS created by Infrastructure, Inc. in the fall 2023 semester. “Back in the fall of 2019, Hofstra learned that the current version of Blackboard would no longer be supported within the next few years, and that triggered a few faculty, [the] provost and [the] vice president of technology at that time to start exploring other LMS,” said Mitch Kase, the interim director of educational and research technology services (EdTech). Hofstra’s current LMS, Blackboard Learn, has been in use
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