Issue II Fall 2022
President Bergh ‘Empathizes’ with Students Over College’s Financial Uncertainty By Madison Lee and Abigail Wilhelm
Cazenovia College’s president said he
and the board of trustees are working hard to resolve a $25 million debt that could threaten the college’s future. “The college finds itself in a similar situation to many institutions of our size and type,” David Bergh said Oct. 16 in an interview with The Quad. “Nationally, small colleges are really in a pinch at the moment financially and we’re a college that fits that profile.” News of the college’s financial challenges became public Oct. 14, after Bloomberg published that the college last month defaulted on a $25 million bond given to them in 2019. “Three years ago, when it was already struggling with the declining enrollment, the college borrowed $25 million in the municipal-bond market, in part to update its campus,” Bloomberg reported. This was the second time the college failed to repay the bond, Bloomberg reported. Bergh confirmed the Bloomberg story and described the college’s financial situation as facing “unprecedented eco-
nomic volatility.” According to Bloomberg, the college said in a filing that it did not have “sufficient liquid resources” to make the payment. The original Sept. 1 maturity date was extended to Oct. 1, but the college was unable to obtain new financing by then, either,” The Post-Standard/Syracuse.com reported. Bergh said he could not provide further details, citing legal restraints. “What I can confirm is that the conversations are ongoing,” he said. Bergh said he understands students’ concerns that the college might merge or close before they graduate. “I feel and understand their concerns,” he said. “The college leadership and the board of trustees has been working extremely diligently over a period of years, but particularly in the last year, working very hard with a primary focus being to avoid those outcomes. I fully empathize with those who have anxiety about the current situation,” Bergh attested that the college’s inten-
tions has been in the best interest for the students. “We have always maximized our resources and supported student learning experience,” he said. “It’s challenging work and it has become more challenging in the environment we’re in.”In addition to financial pressures, Cazenovia College’s student enrollment also took a significant hit in recent years. Current enrollment is 746 students: 560 full time and 186 part time, according to the college website. Enrollment was about 1,100 in 2014, Bloomberg reported. COVID-19 further impacted the college’s enrollment issues. “It affected enrollment negatively for two-plus cycles, which poses challenges to our ability to meet our goals that are connected to the financing,” Bergh said. Students received no notice of the news before the Bloomberg and Syracuse.com articles were published. Bergh said that going forward the college will better communicate developments to students through email or campus
Opinion: Title IX’s success overshadowed by abortion setbacks By Carrie Farmer
This summer, Title IX of the Education Amendments Act celebrated its 50th anniversary. President RichardNixon signed Title IX into law on June 23, 1972. The law is succinct; it’s only 37 words: “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any educational program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” Though short, sweet and to the point, Title IX brought about broad and sweeping changes. Women’s collegiate athletics and extracurricular programs blossomed. Conversations about how to address sexual harassment on college campuses and protect victims became current. For all of its successes, however, Title IX is not without its downsides. The Donald Trump administration made changes that gave the accused the right
to retain a presumption of innocence, have access to all the evidence collected against them and cross examine their accuser during live hearings through their representatives. The Biden administration has expressed goals to undo those changes, and even expand the protections of Title IX While the landmark law stands strong even after facing adversity under former President Trump’s administration, Roe v. Wade on the other hand, was overturned just shy of its 50-year anniversary. With midterm elections close on the horizon, recent KFF Health Tracking polls indicate that at least half of voters are motivated by the overturning of the Supreme Court case. States with abortion bans are seeing even higher percentages of voters in favor of abortion. With women’s rights at the forefront of the minds of many voters, midterm election turnouts areexpected to be significant. Historically, midterm election results have favored the party not in the White House, but for Democrats in
Photo Courtesy of Cazenovia College
forums. Sudent Govenment Association president Ibrahim Maalim, a senior, said he did not have enough information to comment on the news. “It’s a difficult situation, I’m not going to sugarcoat that,” Bergh said. “I wish we were not in the position we are in. It [the College] is such a special place, and it’s near and dear to all of us. So, we’re going to keep fighting as hard as we can.” David Bergh said that updates will be shared with the campus as soon as possible.
Staff Abigail Wilhelm Co-editor Carrie Farmer Co-editor Haley Shattuck Layout designer renee K. Gadoua Adviser
Poster Courtesy of Kaitlyn White
states where abortion has become illegal since the June 24 Supreme Court rul ing, the motivation to vote is at an alltime high. For many, the overturning of Roe v. Wade has been a disappointing setback for women’s rights. Midterm elections have the potential to impact abortion laws federally. Although many are mourning Roe v. Wade amid rising con-
Miranda Hamilton Madison Lee Melissa Place Seirra Lester Ryan Jones Andy Hansen Scott Jensen Chayse Griffen Gabrielle danyew Kristin Duval Kinsey townsend Kaitlyn White Other Contributors cerns for the future of women’s rights, we have something to celebrate. Title IX has stood the test of time and continues to be a pillar of civil rights for all.
Around Campus
ISSUE II Fall 2022
Page Number 2
THE QUAD
Opinion: Don’t ignore protests in Iran By Ryan Jones
With the whirlwind nature of media,
sometimes really important events fly by us at a moment’s notice and monumental historic events go by in a blink. While there are several important events unfolding right now, the one that has shocked me the most for its overall lack of media coverage is the current wave of protests in Iran. The protests in Iran started after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. Amini was arrested Sept. 13 for “improper attire” in reference to how she was wearing her hijab. Specifically, her hair was sticking out. Three days later, she was declared dead in a hospital. This rightfully sparked massive outrage across the country, as women and
women’s rights supporters took to the streets en masse for protests. For weeks, women and girls have burned and removed hijabs, and cut their hair in Mahsa’s honor and to protest oppressive government policies. The retaliation from the Iranian government has been horrific to witness, with many men and women dying, going missing without explanation, and receiving terrible injuries. The Iranian government has completely cut internet access across the entire country and has used lethal force on protesters, such as incredibly excessive force or live ammunition. I think it’s incredibly jarring that Iran is doing this all without facing much consequence from the outside
Voting is ‘the right thing to do’ By Kinsey Townsend
Two members of the Cazenovia College community are preparing to vote in the Nov.8 midterm election, calling participation a civic duty. Voting is “our responsibility as citizens,” said Maureen Louis, communication studies professor at the college since 1993. She said she has voted in every election she has been eligible for since she turned 18. Carrie Farmer, a senior communication studies and English major, said that “voting is something everyone should do.” The 2020 presidential election was the first time Farmer was eligible to vote. She said she “felt compelled especially in the 2020 election to have a say in what was going to happen.” Louis said that everyone should keep in mind “preservation of the integrity and process of voting and participation is a key way that we can insure a good representative outcome.” Election decisions are based on the premise that people have exercised their right to vote. There are several important issues on the ballot this November. One of those issues is abortion rights. Farmer said that she has “really strong feelings about the overturning of Roe v. Wade,” and that issue is motivating her to vote in the midterms. Louis said that she believes the overturning of Roe v. Wade will result in an increase of voter registration by women, which she believes may impact the outcome of the midterms. Louis said that she was unsure about the results of the midterm elections, adding that this is a very unusual time in U.S. history. “This particular year I have been really
world, or even media coverage about the event. It feels dystopian how little this excessive violence toward their own citizens — especially women and girls — is being swept under the rug. I think it’s important to draw attention to these ongoing protests and question the Iranian government. Watching this unfold is disheartening in the worst kind of way, as no progress seems to be made and the world seems to move on past it even while it is still happening. I know that bad news can be draining, and that it seems that sometimes that’s all there is, but this is news and information that if not shared is going to be forgotten, just as the 2019 protests in Iran have been. Known as Bloody November, more than 1,500 Iranian citizens were killed
by their own government for protesting skyrocketing fuel prices. The government had turned off the country’s internet during that civil unrest as well. Iran is showing a pattern of vio lence against its own citizens that it seems to want everyone to forget about. I hope that these protests are not as easily forgotten and that some change in the right direction occurs.
Photo Courtesy of Unsplash/ Mostafa Meraji
Your vote matters By Abigail Wilhelm
Voting is important. As students
Photo Courtesy of Unsplash/ Parker Johnson
concerned about just the health of our democracy and that will be very much front and center on my mind as we go into the midterms,” she said. Over the past two years this country has seen a change in president and party. On Nov.8, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives and 35 out of 100 seats in the Senate are open for contest. Louis expressed uncertainty about the future and the direction of the nation; despite her uncertainty, she is confident that she will vote this year. Farmer is also committed to voting in the midterms. “I’m going to go and vote because I feel like it’s the right thing to do and it’s the important thing to do,” she said.
we are told this frequently, but often we forget exactly why. Our democracy is obviously flawed, but one of those flaws is lack of participation. If we want to improve our country, it has to start at the voting booth. Not to mention, as college students, we have some of the best resources available to us now as an additional benefit of being involved in higher education. Frequently in classes we hear about decisions made by the government. Forexample, the horror of the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Looking back, in 2016 the mentality of Democrats seemed to be that Hillary Clinton was going to win the presidency, no questions asked, but clearly the results did not match that mindset. What we saw as a result was one of the most terrifying and volatile presidencies that any of us have seen in our lifetime. If the 2016 election had gone differently, would the body of Supreme Court justices still look the same? Would our right to abortion have been overturned had Clinton supporters turned up to vote? This is just one example of how a failure to vote could result in detriment to our democracy, as well as our society. Elections to congressional seats and statewide positions are just as important, especially to your own community. The presidency is obviously
important, but the government is made up of far more representatives, many of whom will make decisions that will impact your life more directly. The midterm elections are just a few weeks away — Tuesday, Nov. 8 — and it‘s just as important to vote in this election as it is every four years for president. Given the current intensity of societal issues, it is crucial that we participate in our democracy. Every decision of who we vote for, or to not vote at all, makes a difference. When you choose not to vote, whatever potential poor decisions are made by the winning official is partially caused by your lack of participation. Those who didn’t vote in the 2016 election are partly responsible for the resulting chaos of the Donald Trump administration. Even if the election does not go the way you wanted it to, at least you participated and made your statement. In addition, you’ll benefit from having researched and participated in the election. That will help to build your understanding and knowledge of our government, thus preparing you for future elections and making you a participating member of society. If you’re not registered to vote, make plans to do so before the next election. If you are registered, take your civic duty seriously and vote in the midterm elections.
The Arts
ISSUE II Fall 2022
Page Number 3
THE QUAD
College Cartooning Professor Wins Award for Best Greeting Cards By Abigail Wilhelm
Scott Jensen, professor and direc-
tor of the Visual Communications Program received the Silver Reuben award for Best Greeting Cards at The National Cartoonist’s Society annual awards show Sept. 15 and 16. The Reuben awards, named after artist Rube Goldberg, the organization’s honorary president, are held each year to honor outstanding cartoonists. Jensen, from Hobart, New York, has been a member of the Cazenovia College faculty since 2008. He received the award at a ceremony in Kansas City, Missouri. Jensen has been illustrating greeting cards for Oatmeal Studios for more than 35
years. He is also the illustrator and writer for Digby’s Hardware comic strip in the trade magazine The Hardware Connection. “It was a thrill and a surprise to win this award,” Jensen said. “I enjoyed meeting the other cartoonists, and I look forward to bringing their advice and examples into my classes here.” Jensen also teaches a first year seminar called Humorous Cartooning, in which students learn different techniques to create funny and entertaining comics. Included below are some comics by students in that course, VC 101, taught by Jensen with master stu-
dents Chloe Goodnow and Melissa Place. These comics are from Project 2. The assignment was to create a single panel cartoon on the subject of “college life.” Students are currently working on Project 3, which is “comic strips.” They’ll be introduced to six forms of humorous cartooning during the course of the semester.
Photo Courtesy of Scott Jensen By Chayse Griffen
Comic Strips By Melissa Place
By Gabrielle Danyew
By Kristin Duval
How the Leaves Change By Seirra Lester
Through the cold weather and late night games, the leaves change. Going to late night after a long day, to starting duty a quarter after nine, the leaves change. Schoolwork piles on desks, as students just want rest from the cold chilly day, and as you lay you watch how the leaves change.
By Haley Shattuck
Midterms start to creep up to you to scare you during spooky season, to catch you watching how the leaves change. Young mindsets start to change, as they start to follow the leaves, progressively falling slowly. As the leaves change, mindsets renew, and remember that around each change, comes new possibilities. Oh, for how the leaves change, and change how we view and feel about the color of autumn falling upon us. The leaves always come back new and grown.
Caz Experience/Media
ISSUE II Fall 2022
Page Number 4
THE QUAD
My Cazenovia Experience By Andrew Hansen
My name is Andrew Hansen but
around campus everyone just calls me “Andy.” I am currently the president of the Campus Activities Board (CAB) and this is my second year as a Resident Advisor (RA). I am in my third year here at Cazenovia College majoring in Visual Communications: Graphic Design with a minor in Social Media Production. I have not always been a student leader nor the “goody-goody” in class. While in high school, to simply put it, I was a menace to society. I will always remember the look on one of my supervisors’ face when I had shared with them that
I wrote my CommonApp essay on my 14 high school suspensions. Because of my experiences, at every open house that I have had the opportunity to speak at, I shared that if incoming students thought they knew who they were, they simply did not. Additionally, I encourage students to be more open and try new experiences because had I not been open-minded, I may not be in the position that I am today. It’s possible that I am in the position that I am in today because a student leader came up to me my freshman year and told me about CAB. They told me how they thought I should think
Movie Reviews ‘Don’t Worry Darling’ By Kinsey Townsend
Director: Olivia Wilde Cast: Florence Pugh, Harry Styles, Olivia Wilde, Chris Pine Runtime: 2h 3m Year: 2022 Rating: R
‘Don’t Worry Darling’ is a psycho-
underwhelming story and her acting was one of the better performances in the film. Styles struggled to show emotions nonverbally and relied heavily on Pugh to carry their scenes which shows he was unfit to be the male lead. Chris Pine acted very well and had more chemistry with Pugh than Styles did which made me wish there was more of him in the film. It was set to be an empowering feminist film however it fell short of accomplishing that. Only at the end were we able to see women take a stand against societal norms. Also, the film was a very slow burn and at times it dragged and became very repetitive. I thought the over 2-hour runtime should have been cut down. Overall, I did not think this movie was awful but also probably not worth going out of your way to see. I think the drama surrounding the film impacted its performance. It had potential to be an excellent and new story, but it was not executed well , and I left the theater with many questions and disappointment.
logical thriller about Alice (Florence Pugh) who is a devoted housewife to her husband Jack (Harry Styles). Against the backdrop of the 1950’s, the couple seems to be living a happy and normal life. However, when Alice begins to question her life in Victory, California, chaos ensues. Olivia Wilde made her directorial debut in 2019 with the movie, Booksmart, and it was met with positive feedback. Despite this, it was not my favorite. When Wilde was announced to direct another movie, anticipation and curiosity ensued as the first movie she directed was a comedy and ‘Don’t Worry Darling’ is a thriller with serious tones. When the trailer was first released in May, I was very excited to see this movie. I was especially excited to see By Miranda Hamilton Florence Pugh, who had found success Director: Zach Cregger in films like ‘Little Women’ and ‘MidCast: Georgina Campbell, sommar’. I was also excited to see Harry Bill Skarsgård, Justin Long, Matthew Styles act in a main role, as he showed Patrick Davis some acting talent in a small role in the Runtime: 1h 42m 2017 film, ‘Dunkirk’. Unfortunately, my Year: 2022 excitement for the film was quickly diminished as drama surrounding the cast Rating: R overshadowed the film itself. omedy troupe member, Zach CregI went into this film thinking about the ger, is probably one of the last people drama and anticipated to see a film full you would expect to direct a shocking of people who dislike each other. Their and vile movie and execute it with such dislike was made apparent throughout poise and mastery. Cregger has made the film and made most of the connechis writing and directorial debut with tion feel disingenuous and unauthentic. the 2022 film ‘Barbarian’ which has a The acting was far overshadowed by the plot that is best to just watch and find visuals that the movie had to offer. I was out. This film supplied a variation to the pleasantly surprised with the cinemahorror genre that we have been lacking tography and directing. The 50’s style in recent movies. It does not rely on was done very well, and the colors were cheap jump scares, sound effects or bright and eye-catching. Wilde did a tropes. Instead, it gets its message great job at directing this unique, yet across with tension and terrifying re-
‘Barbarian’
C
about attending the first meeting. I went from becoming Vice-President by the end of the semester to the current president for two consecutive years. Being a club leader spiraled into other positions too. With supervisors and other college officials being mixed alongside each other on this small campus, my name got out there and I soon became an RA. I have had the opportunity to give campus wide tours, speak at open houses and even have had the opportunity to speak with the president of the college alongside the board of trustees to share what my thoughts about campus.
Photo Courtesy of Abigail Wilhelm
FUN THINGS TO DO FOR FALL AND HALLOWEEN THIS YEAR! By Madison Lee
Cazenovia College’s Students of
5. Go apple picking
Ethnic Diversity, also known as SOED, is throwing its annual Halloween Party on Friday, October 21. Ticket sales start at $5 for Cazenovia students and $10 for non- Cazenovia students with a student ID. Tickets can be bought starting October 13 outside of the dining hall. Until then, here are some activities that can be done to enjoy the fall and Halloween season!
6. Go pumpkin picking
1. Decorate for fall and Halloween
14. Have a bonfire and make smores
2. Bake cookies with your friends
15. Go for a hayride
3. Wear matching Halloween pajamas
16. Watch a football game
with a loved one
17. Go out for a bike ride
4. Watch scary movies
18. Dress up for Halloween
al-life situations. The movie starts off with the accidental booking of two people, Tess (Georgina Campbell) and Keith (Bill Ska rsgård), in the same Airbnb, much to their disappointment. As the night goes on, we see Tess and Keith establish a connection despite the lingering distrust Tess and the audience still feels towards Keith. It is not long after this bonding that we being to see the dark truth that lies within the walls of this temporary home. The casting is what truly sells this movie. Georgina Campbell perfectly portrays someone to root for and has a genuine heart of gold as well as common sense (which is hard to find in most horror movies). Bill Skarsgård is probably ingrained in almost everyone’s minds as a villain from It and Hemlock Grove fame, which makes us not trust his character from the second we see him, even though we want to. Lastly, the first word that comes to mind when I think of actor Justin Long is “sweetheart”, so naturally, he has to be on in the movie...right? The cast and crew manage to make a movie with multiple deep, underlying messages. The lighting and tone added suspense with a rich and unexpected
feeling. The themes of feminism and integrity made this movie emotional for the viewers who could look past the gore for two seconds and see just how representative this movie is, especially to women who are victims of the system. As any movie, there were things that could have been improved. The pace could have been a little faster and certain parts could have been executed with more emphasis. The characters had limited depth to them which made them almost seem as they were meant to be symbolic and not actual characters in a story that we are supposed to care about. But, for a directorial and writing debut, my expectations were far surpassed. If Zach Cregger managed to make me leave the theater feeling every emotion under the sun with his first movie, I cannot wait to see what he does next.
7. Visit a haunted house attraction 8. Watch the leaves change 9. Cozy up and read a book 10. Carve pumpkins 11. Visit a farmer’s market 12. Drink fall themed drinks 13. Go through a corn maze