THE HOFSTRA
HEMPSTEAD, NY VOLUME 93 ISSUE 5
CHRONICLE
TUESDAY November 4, 2025
KEEPING THE HOFSTRA COMMUNITY INFORMED SINCE 1935
Red Cross drive combats blood shortages NEWS
By Katelyn Buchalter STAFF WRITER
In partnership with the Office of Human Resources, the American Red Cross hosted a Blood Drive on Tuesday, Oct. 28, in the plaza rooms of the Sondra and David S. Mack Student Center. The event ran from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and offered snacks and beverages for any students who took the time to donate. Volunteers from Hofstra University’s Student Nurses Association also assisted in keeping the donation room organized. Volunteers and staff stayed stationed around the room to ensure a smooth process and safe environment for blood donors. “At the beginning of the setup, they check in with us,” said Edward Johnson, Red Cross donor relations associate. “We give them a donor ID, we then direct them to the computer where they do a self-health assessment. Then they see a donor
specialist where they get a quick medical screening to make sure that they are healthy enough to donate.” Stations were split across the room and included a spot for check-in, health screening, donation and post-donation monitoring. “It was a very straightforward process,” said Evan Wu, junior biology major. For the importance of donor and patient health, donors must fit a strict set of criteria. Some of these restrictions include being in consistent good health, not having donated blood in the past 56 days and weighing above 110 pounds. If interested participants fit all the stated requirements, they move on to the donation process. The pre-screening involves filling out a quick questionnaire on a touch screen to properly register. “It went pretty fast. Answering the questions was extremely efficient especially since [there is] a lot of stuff they have to
verify,” said Annabelle Brackett, sophomore filmmaking major . Posters and emails went out a few days before the event to advertise and raise participation levels. “I got an email about the blood drive, and I had never really done it before, so I figured, why not,” Brackett said. Blood only lasts for 42 days so [it is] important for hospitals everywhere to get a regular supply of fresh blood. “Every day people need blood at hospitals for surgeries, accidents, cancer treatments and all kinds of other illnesses that people have,” Johnson said. “Newborns need blood and new mothers very often need blood.” People who successfully donated receive a donor card in the mail. The card states their name, blood type and allows them to use it for a quicker process next time they donate.
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Club Feature: Leading Ladies FEATURES
By Emily Morrisette STAFF WRITER
Photo courtesy Haley Thompson Leading Ladies tabled during an involvement fair on Sept.1.
The Leading Ladies is more than just a club at Hofstra University; they are a safe haven that offers support to anyone having problems within any creative or performance-based industry. Meeting biweekly on Fridays from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., the club promotes freedom of expression through creativity, discussion and exploration. Co-President Adriana Toruno,
a senior theatre performance major, noted that this club is simply a creative space where people can share what they wish and feel empowered about it. Although the club consists of mainly female drama majors, the public relations chair, Haley Thompson, junior theater performance major, emphasizes that this club is open to all genders and majors despite the name of the club.
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Joe Orovitz / The Hofstra Chronicle
The Red Cross facilitates a blood drive at Hofstra University every semester.
A&E
‘Into Sunlight’ returning to Hofstra By Denivia Rivera FEATURES EDITOR
Robin Becker’s eveninglength piece, ‘Into Sunlight,’ will return to Hofstra University at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 13, in the John Cranford Adams Playhouse. Becker has been a dance professor at Hofstra for 35 years. Her piece, “Into Sunlight,” premiered here at Hofstra and at the University of Wisconsin in 2011. The performance of the piece, inspired by the Vietnam War, has been recreated with a new set of dancers, featuring eight Hofstra alumni and one current Hofstra student. The piece pulls inspiration
from journalist David Maraniss’ book, “They Marched into Sunlight.” Becker said she studied student protests that took place at the University of Wisconsin, speaking out against Dow Chemical. “Dow Chemical was this chemical company that made all these chemical weapons of war – like Agent Orange and Napalm,” Becker said. “Agent Orange was sprayed over lots of landscape and would ignite whole acres of land.” Becker said she felt the need to act as an artist after studying the violence and deaths that came with the Vietnam War.
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