THE HOFSTRA
HEMPSTEAD, NY VOLUME 88 ISSUE 8
CHRONICLE
TUESDAY December 6, 2022
KEEPING THE HOFSTRA COMMUNITY INFORMED SINCE 1935 NEWS
PHOTOGRAPHY
Resident safety representatives fear for residential safety
By Megan Naftali N EWS ED ITO R
Alexis Friedman / The Hofstra Chronicle The Unispan reopened to pedestrian traffic on Friday, Dec. 2. The announcement came as a surprise since there was no projected reopening date. Construction on the windows and the metal paneling will continue at night and may result in the closure of a section of Hempstead Turnpike. The Unispan will remain open to pedestrian traffic and the university will keep students informed of possible closures.
Resident safety representatives (RSRs) began fearing for the safety of the Hofstra University residential community – and their jobs, when the RSR program was shifted from being under the umbrella of Public Safety to being under Student Enrollment, Engagement and Success (SEES) in November. With the transition to SEES, the RSR program will undergo changes. RSRs have been told that no one will lose their jobs in the upcoming spring semester due to these changes; how-
OPINION
Protect students by taking Title IX allegations more seriously
students face shows that the university doesn’t take victim safety as seriously as it should. As detailed in the mission statement on Hofstra’s Title IX About Us page, the Title IX office handles allegations of harassment related to gender, specifically sexual harassment and Photo courtesy of Boston University sexual violence. One of School of Law Hofstra’s Title IX resources By Zoe Casselman is the Student Bill of Rights, SPEC IA L TO T H E C H R ONI CL E which details the powers a student has in dealing with a Every Hofstra student has case of domestic violence, datheard the term “Title IX.” ing violence, stalking or sexual Whether it is seen on posters assault. plastered around campus or In this bill, there are fortuheard while learning about the nately many protections for vicmost recent person accused of tims, such as making sure they sexual assault, students know are safeguarded from whomthe term. Although Hofstra has ever they have accused and detailed information available have to speak about what they describing the university’s endured with as few people as policies for victim safety and possible. The second of the 11 danger prevention, the few rights says all students have the repercussions that accused
right to “have disclosures of domestic violence, stalking and sexual assault taken seriously,” but based on the way in which Hofstra handles individuals who have been accused, this statement doesn’t feel entirely accurate. In the event a student does endure one of these traumatic incidents, they can report it either online or in person. On the online how-to-report sexual misconduct page, there is a bulleted list further describing victims’ rights, including the aid and assistance the university will provide to someone making a report. The last bullet point states, “The on-campus conduct process may result in sanctions including disciplinary probation, suspension or expulsion of an accused student found responsible for a violation.”
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ever, an email sent to RSRs on Nov. 11, from Liliana Hinojos Madrid, the resident success manager, and Beth McGuire, the executive director of campus living, stated that there will be no RSR coverage during the winter intersession from Dec. 19 to Jan. 29. In the email viewed by The Hofstra Chronicle, it states that they are actively working on “installing card swipe access on the RSR booth doors ... installing closed circuit TV screen monitors at the entrance of residence hall buildings hoping to complete by fall 2023 [and] touring all RSR booths to ensure
we have responded to the needs of our team.” Aside from cutting RSR coverage during the winter intersession, Jessica Eads, vice president for SEES, confirmed that the only decision made yet is to remove turnstiles from all of the residential buildings. All other changes to the RSR program will be made after thorough discussions that will be held in the spring semester with RSRs, resident assistants and resident directors. Overall, there are about 150 students working in the RSR program, 29 of which are inter-
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NEWS
Cast of ‘Aftershock’ speaks about maternal mortality rates
Photo courtesy of Women’s Diversity Network The cast of the award-winning documentary partake in a panel discussion led by Hofstra professor Martine Hackett.
By Moriah Sukhlal N EWS ED ITO R
Racial disparities in maternal and infant health are prevalent in the United States’ healthcare systems. Paula Eiselt and Tonya Lewis Lee’s passionate and award-winning documentary “Aftershock,” released in 2022, sheds new light on maternal health, as the movie addresses the alarming maternal mortality rate among Black women.
Through their documentary, Eiselt and Lewis Lee have reignited the examination of the Black maternal health epidemic and have sparked discussions among many activist groups and public health organizations across the U.S. One such organization, the Women’s Diversity Network (WDN), hosted a viewing and panel discussion of “Aftershock” on Nov. 28. The event was co-sponsored by Hofstra University and Planned Parenthood of Greater New York. “WDN has a maternal justice coalition that deals with making lives better and having better health outcomes for pregnant people and women,” said Shanequa Levin, founder and CEO of WDN. “Black women are four to five times more likely to die of pregnancy-related causes than white, Hispanic or Asian
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