Pace Heating- A "Hot" Topic

Alumni and Elm Halls

Staff and students alike have expressed their irritation towards the current sporadic-heating issue surrounding Pace University’s Elm Hall.  

The liberal arts school completed construction of the residence and office building, Elm Hall, in fall of this year. It was not long before an issue arose in the dormitory, specifically in reference to the heating system.

Alec Nord, a resident of Elm Hall, expressed his frustration with the issue surrounding the temperature.

“It is a brand new building, we are the first people to live here and there are already issues and it just seems like no one is looking into it. My room is just uncomfortable; I don’t want to be in there. I just wish we could control the temperature,” Nord said.

The Danbury native recalled waking up in the middle of the night to a room of over 80°, forcing him to go home for the rest of the night.

Residents in Alumni Hall, a freshman residence hall which was built last year, shared similar sentiments. As freshman Nahilla Larry put it “There’s definitely a heating problem here, because sometimes we need heat and we don’t get it, but when we don’t need heat, we get it. I feel like I always have to have my window open to cool down.”

For some, they say the issue has been going on all year. “I leave my window open every night now, but at the beginning of the year I would go to bed feeling cold but wake up sweating. I feel like we should be able to control the heat and AC in our own rooms, because everybody has different preferences,” said Alumni resident Tess Petreycik.

At Pace University, there is electrical heating in residence halls, with a chilled water air conditioning system. The heating circuits between Alumni and Elm Hall are actually connected, so it’s not surprising that the issues are the same in both of the buildings. Having this affect a number of students has made it more of a well known problem among students living on campus.

Still, the issue isn’t just limited to dorm rooms. Walking past many of the lounges in Alumni at almost any given time, you’ll find the thermostat reading around 81° with the doors open just to cool it down. Similarly, the classrooms located on the first floor of Alumni can often be seen with their doors propped open to keep the cooler air flowing in.

Tiffany Bermudez, Residential Director of Elm Hall has felt the blunt force of the heating issue in her own living quarters, giving her incite as both one who was affected and as well as a staff member.  

“I didn’t know at first because not many students complained…before I thought it was just separate rooms… it was just brought to my attention that this is on a larger scale and an issue with the whole building,” Bermudez said.

The Dominican College alumni went further to express the minimal understanding she had of the heating system and how she believed the temperature outside regulated the temperature inside.

“It is unfortunate, but it is normal in new buildings for there to be issues like this. So obviously there are going to be a few bumps along the road,” Bermudez said.

Alerie Tirsch, Director of Residential Life and Housing, has ironically had her own personal issues with the heat in her office and expressed her frustration as well as her knowledge of the situation.

“The heating is a big problem in the building. We are getting calls everyday with complaints… We contacted the contractors some rooms are worse than others,” Tirsch said.

Residence Director of Alumni Hall Alyssa Caffarelli called the problem an “unfortunate, seemingly unnecessary but difficult evil of having a new building.” Luckily, she says, “Maintenance is really on top of reporting and fixing it.”

Many are hopeful that it will be fixed soon, because as freshman Rachel Berga put it, “I don’t want to have my window open in the middle of a blizzard just so I don’t overheat.”

Students and faculty alike can take solace in the fact that the University is doing something about the issue, but there still begs the question as to what should be done in the mean time to deal with the almost unbearable heat. The Oneonta graduate had an answer.

“My office is very hot, too. I understand and empathize with people’s frustration but I would tell people to open their dorm room doors because it is cooler in the hallway,” Tirsch said.

Caffarelli also directs students who are having a problem to call in to security so they can go out and fix the issue as soon as possible.

Halloween Happenings

While for some Halloween doesn’t feel as exciting because they’re not young enough to do things like trick-or-treating anymore, Pace is giving them a reason to be excited this weekend.

With Halloween right around the corner this coming Monday, October 31st, the University is putting on a few different events this weekend to get students in the spirit, starting this Friday. With events ranging from Wilcox parties to haunted houses, there’s sure to be something for everybody.

The first Halloween event will be put on this Friday from 10:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. by Lambda Upsilon Lambda in the Wilcox Multipurpose Room. The event will be full of people dancing in their best Halloween costumes, with the best costume being awarded $100 in cash at the end of the night. Tickets must be purchased for this event, and can be found online. Following this event, there will be a movie night in Kessel Multipurpose Room from 11:00 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Saturday night. Students looking for their fulfillment of Halloween movies, food, pumpkins, and other things will be sure to find it at this event. The final event will take place on Sunday night, with a trip for students to Horseman’s Hollow Haunted House in Sleepy Hollow, New York. Students looking to participate can go online to reserve a spot, and will have a night filled fun and scares at the haunted house.

Make sure to lookout for the information on all of these events, and reserve a ticket or spot if you’re interested in attending!

Getting to Know Carrie Cody

Anyone who wants to know what it’s like to work in the field of communications needs to only do one thing, and that is talk with Carrie Cody about her experiences.

This past week, Pace University’s Introduction to News Media class had the opportunity to talk with Cody, the Digital Communications and Strategy Manager for the New York Power Authority. Talking with students, Cody gave a description on different things like her work experience, and what it’s like to be a woman in the workplace.

Starting off her career in politics, Cody worked for Communications in the state Senate, using things like websites and Facebook to get the word out about policy, jobs, and other things. She expressed her thoughts that while social media has its cons of not forcing people to talk to one another anymore, it does allow them to cover stories, give information out while something is happening, and can allow you to develop marketable skills. Having a career in politics, however, made Cody realize she didn’t want to do that for the rest of her life, and eventually left and found her footing with the New York Power Authority, a self funded company not run by the government.

While she has had a successful career in the field, unfortunately, she has also had to endure some challenges because she is a woman. Cody described that being a woman in politics is brutal, and that the pay gap isn’t a mythical thing. To combat the challenges, she suggested to young women students to find mentors and advocates who can vouch and look out for you, because it makes a difference. Similarly, she suggested not to burn bridges with people, because this won’t help you in the long run.

While there are some struggles, Cody says she loves her field not only because it is always going to be necessary and useful, but also because it allows her to do what she loves doing. Giving her advice, this was also the most important thing she advised for students to do- find something you love doing, because it makes your job a lot easier and better.

Pace Crowns a Deepher Dude

This Saturday night, Pace University students had the opportunity to see something out of the ordinary- a male beauty pageant.

From 9:00 p.m. to around 11:00 p.m., seven different male Pace students strutted their stuff down the runway competing to win the title of “Deepher Dude”. Held in The Gottesman Room in Kessel Student Center by the sisters of Delta Phi Epsilon, the audience sat at tables cheering on their friends and enjoying the different food and candy provided.

For the two hours that they were on the runway, the participants took turns modeling outfits in three different categories- formal wear, swimsuit, and costumes. Participants took their own different spins on these categories, with one wearing sweatpants during the formal section, one wearing a bikini top during the swimsuit section, and one dressing up as Donald Trump in the costume section. Throughout the night, they were also interviewed, being asked questions like “If you were a color, what would you be and why?” and “If you knew tonight were your last night on earth, how would you spend it?”, amongst many others. After the three rounds, the judges deliberated, and ultimately the top three were participants Tyler, in third place, Carlos, in second place, and Lee, taking the top prize and being crowned the new “Deepher Dude”.

The event gave an opportunity for students to have fun while also raising money for one of their philanthropies- cystic fibrosis. Cystic fibrosis is a disease that causes mucus buildup in the lungs, often resulting in respiratory infections. Charging $5 admission, the money collected went towards treatment and research for curing this disease.

Smashing Stereotypes With Pumpkins

Students and staff members alike had the opportunity to relieve some stress while also doing their part to take down stereotypes today at Pace.

Today on Miller lawn from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., Hillel, POWER, MADP, and Residential Life joined together to put on “Smash Stereotypes”. For this, 100 small pumpkins were provided to participants who wrote stereotypes that they have experienced or felt needed to be taken down on them. From there, participants used all their strength with axes and sledgehammers to smash the stereotypes on the pumpkins. Some of the different stereotypes people included on them were “privileged because I’m white”, “art isn’t a career”, “feminists are b****es”, “being black means you’re ghetto", "all Jews are rich”, along with many others.

Participant smashing her chosen stereotype

The event sponsors also provided free sunglasses (for eye protection), t-shirts, donuts, and apple cider for participants. The whole point of this event was to bring attention to the fact that almost everyone has either been stereotyped, or feels that we need to address certain stereotypes. Through smashing these stereotypes, the student body and faculty were brought together to realize we need to do our part in taking them down as a campus community.

Missed the event but interested in doing something similar? Keep your eye out for similar activities put on by campus groups directed towards social justice!

P4K- Coming Your Way

Get your dancing shoes and donations ready, because it’s time for P4K.

Pace 4 Kids, better known as P4K is a dance marathon put on by Pace University at the Pleasantville campus, which raises money for the Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital at Westchester Medical Center. The money raised goes towards funding and research for the kids and families at the Medical Center who are, unfortunately, going through the experience of their children having cancer. This is the fourth year that Pace has put on this event, and in the past they have raised more than $85,000 for the cause.

P4K sign from past event

For this dance marathon, there is eight hours of dancing and entertainment, from 3:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. for students, faculty, community members, and some of the kids and families the event is fundraising for. This year, the event will take place on November 19th in Kessel Student Center. P4K is a great way to have fun with your friends for an evening, while also giving back to your local community.

Interested in becoming involved with or donating to P4K? You can do this by going to http://events.dancemarathon.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.search&filter=participant&eventID=1143&searchTerm=pace+university and logging in with your Pace ID. You can also do this by signing up at one of the P4K booths that is run during common hour.

Pace Printing Options

While Pace students have already been in school for over a month, many freshman are still unaware of some of the services provided to them. One of these is the different printing options and services that students can take advantage of.

While many schools do not allow students to have printers in their dorm rooms, luckily, Pace University is not one of them. Some students choose this as an option because while they have to buy their own ink, they do not have to pay the $0.06 per black and white page or $0.12 per colored page that Pace charges on school printers. Each semester students are given $30.00 on their account for printing. Still, some freshman students who do not have their own printer are unaware that they have different options to print.

One of these options is to just go to Mortola Library and use one of the computers to print off a document, and then log in to the printer to retrieve it. Many freshman use this option because it is all they know. There is another convenient option that students can take advantage of. With the Pace Print Client Download, students can install a print application on their personal computer, print documents from wherever they are, and then retrieve them at any designated Pharos Printing System location. In order to do this, the computer must be connected to the Pace WiFi network.

The Print Client Download is specific for Mac and Windows computers, and can be downloaded at http://www.pace.edu/its/it-services-and-support/printing-and-graphics-services/student-printing/print-client-download.

Meet the Candidates

Ali Boak talking to voters

In just a few short Tuesday's, voters all across the country will be exercising their right to vote in both the national and local elections. This Tuesday, Pace students, faculty, and some locals had the opportunity to meet and talk with some of the candidates in these local elections.

The event, called “Meet the Candidates” took place from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the Kessel Multipurpose Room. During this time, the attendees were urged to register to vote if they hadn’t, and were urged to make sure they actually get out and vote come election day. Following this, candidates for positions including District Attorney, State Senate, and the State Assembly took their time to talk to the voters about important issues that they want to focus on if elected.

The first candidate to speak was State Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D), who is seeking reelection. Cousins reinforced the importance of getting out to vote after speaking of her own experience of losing her first election by just 18 votes. Following her, first time candidate Bruce Bendish (I) who is running for District Attorney of Westchester spoke of how he believes it is important that we try and combat the drug problem, specifically heroin, in New York.

Bruce Bendish speaking to attendees

Current Assemblywoman Sandy Galef (D), who is seeking reelection, told attendees about her ideas on campaign and fundraising reform needed in Albany. Following her, candidate Ali Boak (D) running for State Senate spoke about the need for programs like Planned Parenthood, and how the state needs to address subjects like human trafficking. Current Assemblyman Thomas Abinanti (D) who is also seeking reelection told attendees about his ideas on what we need to do about access and services for students with disabilities. Lastly, Tony Scarpino (D) who is also District Attorney for Westchester spoke about fairness and justice in legal system, specifically for victims of sexual assault.

Tony Scarpino ending the night speaking to voters

Students and others interested in learning more about these candidates can visit their websites online, and can exercise their right to vote come election day on November 8th, 2016.

Peppin' It Up at Pace

The homecoming celebrations were in full swing this past weekend here at Pace University.

After the events kicked off with Thursday’s Step and Stroll Show, the real “fire” event came on Friday night with the bonfire and pep rally in Parking Lot D. After attending the Women's Volleyball game against Adelphi (which Pace won), students made their way over to celebrate and show their Pace pride.

With an enormous bonfire blazing in front of them, protected by the Pleasantville Fire Department, students spent their time mingling with one another. Lucky for them, there were also many free things being given away, including Pace gloves and t-shirts. Continuing this theme, there was also three food trucks with baked goods, pizza, burgers, fries, and cotton candy being given to students.

Once they were fed, many students took to the “dance floor” in front of the D.J. to dance the night away with their friends. Before this, there were performances put on by the Pace cheerleading squad and dance team to get everyone in the spirit. After, the winner of the banner decorating competition was also announced, which was won by freshman dorm Alumni Hall, who was awarded $500.00 for their victory.

Did this first big event live up to the hype? “It was awesome,” said Theresa Egesan, who attended her first homecoming as a freshman, “it was as lit as the bonfire.” So, that can be considered a “yes”.

A Noble Man- Getting to Know Marty Noble

Whether or not you’ve read some of his work, Marty Noble has definitely left a mark on the world of sports journalism over his decades-long career. Last week, Pace students in the “Introduction to News Media” class were lucky enough to talk to Marty Noble and learn more about his life and career.

Starting off with writing at the school newspaper, The Echo, at Waldwick High School in New Jersey, Noble was unaware at the time that this was just the beginning of his career. Initially, Noble started writing because his sister did, and eventually became editor of the paper. While at school, someone told him he had a gift for writing, so he decided to go into it. From here, Noble went on to work in the sports department for the Lyndon State College Critic from 1966-1969. Following this, he went on to briefly write for the Caledonian Record in Vermont reporting on stories like town hall meetings, community events, and other things. Eventually he went on to claim a spot in the sports department, but left after less than a year.

Still, this stint with the sports department was just the beginning for the next step in his sports writing career. After writing for the Herald News and Bergman Record in New Jersey, Noble began writing at Newsday, a daily newspaper that is widely sold throughout the New York City and Long Island areas. Discussing this job with Noble, it is extremely clear that he is proud of and enjoyed his 25 year career there. He suggests that this, perhaps, was because Newsday was considered a “writers paper” at the time because the writers had more influence than normal. Throughout his time there, he mostly covered baseball, which he has no regrets about. According to him, it’s the best sport to cover because there are 25 different players, which means you have 25 different stories to write. One thing he does regret? He says sometimes he couldn’t balance working and his personal life, which he regretted a little bit. Still, Noble enjoyed his time there, because he had a really good boss, and because he thought it was fun. He enjoyed getting to know who he was writing about, which also helped him get stories.

From 1970-2015, Noble spent his time reporting for the Mets, where he had a number of career highlights and special opportunities presented to him. As a journalist, Noble says it’s a highlight anytime you get a correct story no one else has. He was fortunate enough to have this happen at the 1986 World Series when he made a deal with the manager of the Mets that if Noble could find what hotel he was at, the manager would give him two stories that no one else had. Lucky for Noble- he found the manager, who kept his promise. Another career highlight? Noble was fortunate enough to become friends with one of his heroes, Mickey Mantle, before he passed away in 1995. Noble is extremely happy that this happened, which is visible in the way he lights up when talking about his experiences with Mantle. Following his time with Newsday, in 2004, Noble started writing for MLB.com, until he retired.

So now that he’s retired, what has Noble been up to? Nowadays, he says, he focuses on his three passions- music, baseball, and his granddaughter. He still focuses a lot of his time on baseball, but don’t try and catch him reporting on it on any social media site (he despises it). Recently, he has also focused his efforts on a new book he is writing, which will include lists of four people, dead or alive, that different baseball players want to have dinner with, including his own. Noble also focuses a lot of time on his passion for rock and roll music, which is the only other thing he would have written about if he weren’t writing about baseball (but only “the good pre-Beatles rock and roll made from ‘55-’62”, he clarifies).

So, given all of his experience in the journalism field, what is Noble’s advice to up and coming journalists? One simple answer- “Work for magazines, newspapers are crap.”

Shining a Light on Human Trafficking

This Tuesday Pace University’s women’s group known as POWER held a special event to shine a light on the horrific topic that is human trafficking.

The Department of Homeland Security's website defines human trafficking as “modern-day slavery and involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act. To get a better idea of what human trafficking is, POWER leader Rachel Simon brought in Rebecca DeSimone, the director of My Sisters’ Place. My Sisters’ Place is an organization that works to provide support and services to victims of “domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, stalking and human trafficking…”.

During her visit, DeSimone educated the attendees on what human trafficking is, and how it is not always like it is portrayed in movies like Taken. Students who were there were educated on how human trafficking does not just happen in other countries, but also happens right in the United States. Students also took place in an interactive activity by being presented with a human trafficking scenario that started off as not seeming concerning, but then developing into an all too real situation. The point of the activity was to teach the students who were there about how people get forced into human trafficking.

This event was just one of many of POWER’s social justice activities. The group meets on Tuesday’s at 3:30 p.m. in the Center for Unity and Equality in Kessel.

Pace, Pop Culture, and Prison

Students who are a fan of the many prison centered shows on TV nowadays had the opportunity to discuss them with their fellow fans this past Monday night in Alumni Hall.

The event, called “Prison Break or Not?” was put on by Alumni Hall RA Karen and Professor Paul Ziek for the Pop Culture and Media First Year Interest Group (FIG). Other first year students who are not a part of this FIG were also allowed to attend the event at 7:00 p.m. in the fourth floor lounge.

For the next hour and a half, the students who attended engaged in a rich discussion about all of the different movies and television shows that are based on prison life and how some of them glorify prison life. Movies like The Shawshank Redemption and TV shows like Orange is the New Black, Prison Break, and 60 Days In were all popular talking points of the night. Some of the different things students talked about were how shows like Orange is the New Black doesn't accurately depict prison life because it puts a lighthearted spin on it sometimes, while shows like 60 Days In gives a raw and intense view into real prison life.

“I think we watch a lot of these shows because we want to know what that life is like while not actually experiencing it. It’s interesting to see the different ways the media portrays it.” said one participant.

“Prison Break or Not?” was just one of many FIG events that will be put on throughout the year. If you’re a first year student interested in attending one, keep your eye out for flyers!

Here's What's Happening: Homecoming Weekend

Pace University students certainly won’t be able to use the “There’s nothing to do here.” excuse this coming weekend.

This coming Thursday, October 6th, the school’s Homecoming celebrations will kick off with the “Step and Stroll Show” at 9:30 p.m. in Goldstein Fitness Center. This is just the first of many school sponsored events/activities that will be taking place this weekend. With a wide range of these different events/activities happening, it’s sure that there will be something for just about everyone.

Interested in showing your artistic side? This Friday, the day's events will start with the “Crafts with Pace Pride” event where students can make Pace and Homecoming centered crafts. Interested in this weekends sports events? Those will kick off with the women’s volleyball game at 6:00 p.m. in Goldstein Fitness Center, followed by the football game at Pace Stadium on Saturday, and the women’s soccer game on Sunday. Want to show off your school spirit? The pep rally at 8:45 p.m. in Parking Lot D on Friday is just for you. There will also be different events like the illuminated jack o’ lantern walk through with the “Trip to Blaze” event on Saturday at 8:00 p.m. in the North Hall parking lot.

All of these events are a part of the Pace University Homecoming Weekend, which is supposed to be one of the most exciting weekends of the school year. Homecoming has become a popular event among high schools and colleges across the country as a way to welcome students and faculty back to school.

Students can keep an eye on updates for this weekends upcoming events through their Pace emails and through flyers posted around campus!