THE HOFSTRA
HEMPSTEAD, NY VOLUME 91 ISSUE 2
CHRONICLE
TUESDAY February 27, 2024
KEEPING THE HOFSTRA COMMUNITY INFORMED SINCE 1935 SPORTS
Strong start propels Pride to first series win of 2024 winning 12-6 to pick up their first series win of the season on Sunday, Feb. 25. The victory brings Hofstra’s record to 2-4 while the Flames now stand at 4-3. Carlos Martinez got the nod for his second start of the Photo courtesy of Keith Lucas season, allowing two Hofstra scored a total of 30 runs in three runs off one hit while games against Liberty. fanning three in 3.2 By Aaron Diaz innings of work to STAFF W R I T E R earn the win. Steve Harrington’s threeFor the Flames, Bryce Dolby RBI game and Santino Rosso’s got the start but had trouble out home run propelled the Hofstra the gate. Dolby surrendered University baseball team over five runs off six hits with only the Liberty University Flames, two strikeouts in 3.2 innings. In
the first, Dolby couldn’t put the Pride away with Dylan Palmer at the leadoff spot. With Palmer on base in the fiery first inning, Rosso advanced to second off a drop third strike, allowing Palmer to round home, Pride leading 1-0. Will Kennedy then singled to left, scoring Rosso and extending the lead 2-0. A Luke Masiuk sac fly ended the first with a 3-0 lead. Rosso led off the third inning with a home run and, subsequently, a 4-0 lead. Three outs later, Palmer and Harrington dropped singles to left field to bolster Hofstra at a 7-0 lead with Trey Cooper relieving Dolby in the same inning. The bottom half brought life
to the Flames with a Cam Foster single and a Brian McClellin sac fly to get two runs on the board, 7-2. Liberty continued to chip away at the score while Hofstra piled on a few more runs with Harrington’s three RBIs before the eighth. Back-to-back singles from Kane Kepley and Aidan Sweatt cut the lead down to six, 11-5. For the last five outs, Mike McKenna entered and closed the game, only letting up one run on three hits with four Ks. Hofstra nailed their final point in the ninth when a walk forced a run in during a bases-loaded situation, stamping their win at 12-6. After another weekend of ac-
tion in the books, the Pride have until Friday, March 1, when they head to the West Coast to face off against the University of New Mexico Lobos at 4 p.m.
NEWS
Dining Dollars policy change will require underclassmen residents to select higher options first-year students had to abide by these guidelines. The change will take effect in fall 2024. According to the email announcement, Hofstra University records showed that “when students choose a smaller Dining DolPhoto courtesy of Gabriel Prevots lars option in their As of fall 2024, both first and second-year second year, they often students will have to purchase one of the three highest meal plans. end up adding money to that plan or running By Gabriel Prevots out of Dining Dollars early in SPEC IAL TO T H E C H R O NI CL E the semester.” First-year and sophomore A memo released to adminisresident students will have to tration found that 65% of sophoselect a Dining Dollars plan more students added money to from options five, six or seven, their Dining Dollars account, according to an email announcewith the average sophomore ment on Wednesday, Feb. 7 by student adding up to $800. Jessica Eads, the vice president Despite what those records of student enrollment, engageshow, many students are apment and success. Plans five, six prehensive about having to and seven are the highest meal purchase a more expensive plan. plans residential students can Natalia Stornello, a freshman choose from. Previously, only
drama major and residential student, believes there is also an issue of students not running out of money but having too much left. “I already have a huge surplus of Dining Dollars left over from last semester,” Stornello said. “I tried to get rid of it as much as possible, and I still had a ton left over, so I really don’t want to go through it all again next year.” “When I was a first-year student here, I had the same problem,” said Chrisostomos Vitsikanos, a junior economics and business analytics double major. “I had too much money left. I had to donate it here at the university.” Tara Torborg, a freshman psychology and criminology major and resident, believes the policy change is unfair to those who are already budgeting their Dining Dollars well. “If a student gets to their sophomore year, and they real-
ize, ‘I blew through that plan last year,’ they need to buy a higher plan,” Torborg said. “But that shouldn’t affect the rest of the [sophomore] community as well.” Besides student spending patterns, the university implemented the change for financial and logistical reasons, according to Facilities and Operations vice president Joe Barkwill. “In totality, [the change] is [in place] because we have to look at everything in terms of modifications, renovations, operating costs and everything,” Barkwill said. When Hofstra University signed a contract with Compass Group in May 2017 to take over dining services, students raised concerns about issues such as high food prices, availability of healthy food and options for students with dietary restrictions. Many of those same concerns still remain prevalent among
students. Torborg, for instance, believes the food on campus is not worth what it costs. “The price of what you’re paying and the quality of the food that you’re getting is not on par with each other.” Although the stated reasons for changing the program are about more than just students, Barkwill reaffirms that they are the main reason for the decision. “We were looking at the safety of the students and … health concerns in terms of making sure they had meals, that they’re managing their meals properly, that they were not going hungry, and not running out of points and not being able to do something from a budgetary standpoint.” Since the change is not yet in effect, the actual impact on students and the cost of eating on campus remains to be seen. The controversy surrounding it, however, seems likely to persist.