THE HOFSTRA
CHRONICLE
HEMPSTEAD, NY VOLUME 90 ISSUE 7
TUESDAY December 5, 2023
KEEPING THE HOFSTRA COMMUNITY INFORMED SINCE 1935 NEWS
Concerns of Islamophobia and antisemitism cause fear among students
By Sophia Guddemi
ASSISTA N T N E W S E D I TO R
After the escalation of the Palestine-Israel conflict in October with the beginning of the IsraelHamas war, both Muslim and Jewish students have reported an increase in discriminatory acts and feelings of fear both on and off campus. Zainab Mozawalla, a junior political science, economics and global studies triple major, expressed that after the Oct. 7 attack, she noticed a rise in hate towards Muslims. Mozawalla is a hijabi Muslim and a member
of the Muslim Student Association and the Middle Eastern North African Student Association, among other organizations on campus. In an instance off-campus shortly after the attacks, Mozawalla was approached by an unknown woman who yelled at her, “You support terrorism. Photo Courtesy of U.S. You are a terrorist. You are a News & World Report Hofstra students report facing murderer,” which was then and antisemitism on followed by a man repeatedly Islamophobia campus. saying, “Shut your mouth.” Mozawalla said. In the mo“As a 19-year-old, when a ment, she was frightened but grown man is being so aggresdidn’t recognize the severity of sive with you, you are scared,”
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SPORTS
A peek behind the benches
Photo courtesy of Alexis Friedman
By Michelle Rabinovich SPO RTS ED ITO R
Imagine a Division I basketball program. What public figures come to mind? Are they famous head coaches like Rick Pitino, Coach K or Kim Mulkey,
or larger-than-life players like Zach Edey or Caitlin Clark? While big names like these attract plenty of attention, there are plenty of people involved who aren’t so visible – like the folks who set up the whiteboards and chairs for coaches and players in the locker rooms for halftime debriefs. Enter the student managers. You won’t find them on the stat sheet after the final buzzer, but that’s not to say that they weren’t involved in every play of the game.
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NEWS
Bugs, plastic and critical violations in the student center campus. However, another important concern is what some students have found in their on-campus food, including but not limited to plastic, hair, an insect and a wasp. On Oct. 2, the Nassau County Department of Health conducted a food service establishment inspection at the Student Center Café in which three critical violations were found. Two of the violations included “ImPhoto courtesy of Tainaya White proper Cooling and Refrigerated Storage An insect discovered in a cooked chicken of Potentially Hazserved at the Student Center Café. ardous Foods” and “ImBy Lily Spinda proper Hot Holding of PotentialNEW S E D I TO R ly Hazardous Foods,” as labeled This fall semester, Hofstra on the Freedom of Information students have been outraged Act request which can be puband consistently voiced their thoughts on the high food prices licly requested. However, the Nassau County Health Departand quality of food served on
ment did a follow-up inspection on Oct. 17 in which no critical violations were found. On Nov. 18, Tainaya White, a junior pre-health major with a concentration in disability studies, found a dead insect in her chicken that she received from the Student Center Café. She sent a text to the Student Advisory GroupMe, a group chat where selected Hofstra students and faculty can communicate campus-related issues. She included a picture of her food along with her concerns over this hazardous issue. White explained that she went to the Student Center Café around 7 p.m. but wasn’t hungry at the time, so she waited until 10 p.m. to open up her food that she bought earlier. As she began to eat her food, she realized something was wrong. “Initially, I just assumed it was seasoning on the chicken, such as thyme or rosemary, but as I looked closer, I realized it
was a bug,” said White. “Utter disgust and shock was my initial reaction. Because how could something like this get missed?” Due to the incident, White said that she was paranoid and avoided eating from the Student Center Café. Instead, she started looking into alternative dining options. “I have now started eating back at the [Student Center Café] because I can’t spend money on DoorDash everyday, but I have been wary and paying attention even more to what I’m being served,” White said. When questioned about bugs being found in food at the Student Center Café and the violations they received, Campus Dining responded with the following statement: “Campus Dining has been the proud dining services provider on campus for the past 14 years. Chef Vince Picciotto and his team of culinarians take great pride in creating safe and exceptional dining experiences for the
Hofstra community and serve over 62,000 meals per week. “The health and well-being of the campus community is of paramount importance to our team. Rigorous quality checks, detailed production records, food safety logs and ongoing training are assurances inherent in our daily operations. In addition: “All Campus Dining Managers are trained and certified in food service safety with the Nassau County Department of Health as well as ServSafe. “All Campus Dining culinarians and back of house supervisors are also trained and certified in food service safety with the Nassau County Department of Health as well as ServSafe. “All Campus Dining team members must undergo regular food safety training. “All equipment is regularly cleaned, disinfected and sanitized at the end of each shift.”
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