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the Quadrangle
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THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF MANHATTAN UNIVERSITY | SINCE 1924
Volume CXI, Issue 4
Jasper Dancers Hold Kid’s Clinic The Jasper Dancers, in collaboration with men’s basketball, held a kid’s clinic at Saturday afternoon’s basketball game against St. Peter’s. @MANHATTANDANCETEAM / INSTAGRAM
Friendly Fridge Partners With MU CMSA For Campus Volunteers And New Pick Up/Drop Off Location Manhattan University’s Gourmet Dining along with Campus Ministry and Social Action (CMSA) have partnered with Friendly Fridge BX to address food insecurity in Riverdale and spread the Lasallian mission of serving the community. Friendly Fridge was originally founded on May 21, 2020 with the mission to “normalize reducing environmental waste and harm while also reducing the stress of many. We accomplish this by developing and strengthening partnerships within our community to redirect good food from the landfills and instead, sharing this food with anyone who may need a little extra help,” according to the organization’s website.
To date, the Fridge has partnered with more than 25 universities and local businesses to create a pipeline of 65,000 pounds of food to those in need. Additionally, the mission of Friendly Fridge BX is to evaluate food waste’s “impact on the environment around us and the power it holds to alleviate hunger for so many. The Friendly Fridge BX is all about community-based solutions,” according to the Fridge’s website. The partnership initially started from the efforts of Christopher Fidanza, a sophomore baseball player at MU. He was seeking a way to collaborate with Gourmet Dining to donate leftover food items and consumables to the Friendly Fridge, so that they could be distributed to people in need. Fidanza eventually contacted CMSA to find a
IN NEWS:
IN FEATURES:
Angelina Persaud Senior Writer
MU Launches Webinar Series pg. 3
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SDT Begins Spring Recruitment pg. 4
more direct approach to spreading the word about Friendly Fridge’s mission and how to encourage students to volunteer their time and efforts. Once the partnership was underway, one question that remained was where the food items would be collected for pick-up by Friendly Fridge volunteers. It was soon determined that Zaro’s Bakery in Thomas Hall would be the distribution center and pick-up location for food donations. Rev. Robert Joerger, C.P., and Rev. Edward Beck, C.P, co-directors of CMSA, spoke to The Quadrangle about the initiative and how it is currently operating from Zaro’s Bakery, which is also making donations of their own pastries to the Friendly Fridge. “They’ve committed Monday to Friday at 2 p.m. __________________________ CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
Manhattan University Launches New Webinar Series on Student Resources Laili Shahrestani Features Editor
Manhattan University has officially released a new webinar series that is designed to inform incoming Jaspers and their families about various student resources available to them. Some of these resources consist of financial aid, career services, on-campus housing, academic support services and how to navigate choosing your major. The program made its debut on Feb. 6, where individuals were able to tune in virtually to discuss the first topic of the series - financial aid. More meeting dates and future webinars are scheduled to be held within the upcoming months. Stephen Pugliese, Ph.D, is the vice president of enrollment at MU and served as an important figure in the creation of the new series. He spoke about his motive behind the development of this program, and how he hopes it can benefit incoming students. “When I took over a position in enrollment management last fall, one of the things that I wanted to do is provide more opportunities for prospective students and their families that will help them in learning about the programs and services that our university has to offer,” Pugliese said. “Looking at the webinar series, it is just another avenue to reach a
IN A&E:
V-Day Performances Return for DV Awareness pg. 7
larger audience, and the topics that we will be discussing, they’re the critical things that help make a student’s decision about whether or not to attend an institution.” Pugliese’s main goal with the creation of this series was to spread informative messages about the resources MU has to offer, and why individuals should consider enrolling at the university. In addition, Pugliese advocated for the information to be spread through a virtual platform such as a webinar, rather than an inperson event, hoping to cater to a larger audience. Pugliese discussed how MU is hoping to maintain the enrollment trends that are moving outside of the tri-state area, and how an online platform to discuss campus resources can be beneficial to those who reside further away. “We decided to create a virtual platform because we know that students may not always be able to come to campus, maybe their families can’t or maybe they live somewhere not as close to the university,” Pugliese said. Michael Mulrooney is the executive director of Jasper Central and a keynote speaker for the first financial aid portion of the webinar, which took place last Thursday. Mulrooney discussed how prospective students can fill out their FAFSA, how scholarships are awarded and a multitude of other resources in relation to financial aid. __________________________ CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
IN SPORTS: Jasper Dancers See Success at Regionals Competition pg. 9