QView #155 | May 16, 2023

The Queens College AANAPISI Project (QCAP) and the Asian American/Asian Research Institute (AA/ARI) marked Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month with a reception on Tuesday, May 9, at the Muyskens Conference Room in The Summit Apartments. Graduating AAPI seniors received gifts; everyone savored food from local Asian restaurants.

On Tuesday, May 9, Sophia McGee (History; Intercultural Student Engagement and Dialogue, CUNY) invited guest lecturers to a session of History 255: Mark Rosenblum (History, emeritus), director of the Ibrahim Student Leadership & Dialogue Middle East Program with Queens College, and Samir Al Taqi, a medical professional, political researcher, and activist. The discussion of the modern Middle East touched on topics including current events in Israel and the Palestinian Territories. 

From left: Samir Al Taqi, Sophia McGee, Mark Rosenblum

Ceramics students “threw” their wares on sale on campus May 9-10, giving members of the QC community the opportunity to acquire unique, handcrafted ceramics.

Three distinguished QC alumni—surgeons Richard Barakat ’81 and Amber Guth ’79, and investment banker Celeste Guth ’82—were feted when the annual Queens College Gala returned to Guastavino’s in Manhattan on the evening of Wednesday, May 10. The gala, the college’s biggest fundraiser, featured entertainment by people associated with the Aaron Copland School of Music.

From left: Richard Barakat, Amber Guth, Celeste Guth, President Frank H. Wu

Faculty member Ronald Land accompanied soprano Erica J. Fletcher and tenor Eduardo Pacheco.

Celeste Guth, a QCF board member, was presented with the Distinguished Alumni Award by Karina Chen ’21.

Gail Marquis ’80 served as emcee for the evening.

Photos by Dominick Totino

The federal COVID-19 Public Health Emergency ended on May 11; CUNY closed its COVID testing sites the next day. President Frank H. Wu and Assistant Vice President for Facilities Zeco Krcic visited the QC site to thank its workers and bid them a fond farewell. 

Two Students Win Salk Scholarships

Every spring, CUNY awards Salk Scholarships to eight senior college graduates who have been accepted by and plan to attend medical school or graduate school in the United States. It’s a tremendous honor for any of CUNY’s four-year colleges to have one Salk Scholarship winner; this year, remarkably, QC had two: Eli Berglas and Amanda Brand. QView congratulates these students and their respective research mentors, Richard Bodnar and Carolyn Pytte, both members of the Psychology Department.

From left: School of Mathematics and Natural Sciences Dean Daniel Weinstein, Eli Berglas, and President Frank H. Wu

Weinstein, Amanda Brand and President Frank H. Wu

CUNY Joins Campaign Against Antisemitism

CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez teamed up with Foundation to Combat Antisemitism (FCAS) Executive Director Matthew E. Berger at QC on Thursday, May 11, to “Paint the University Blue,” as captured in this video.

Part of FCAS’s #StandUpToJewishHate campaign, the CUNY initiative encourages faculty, staff, and students to wear pins or stickers with a distinctive blue square, or post or share the symbol on social media. The square, which occupies 2.4 percent of the screen when viewed online, highlights the fact that Jews are the target of more than half of all religious hate crimes in the United States, but represent only 2.4 percent of the U.S. population.

Félix V. Matos Rodríguez

Assemblymember Daniel Rosenthal

Matos also announced formation of an Advisory Council on Jewish Life, a university-wide body of prominent New York Jewish leaders that will first convene in June.

“We will not waver in our dedication to fighting antisemitism, and we want our Jewish students, faculty, and staff to know they are valued and protected at our university,” said Matos. “As we mark Jewish American Heritage Month, I call on our entire CUNY family to help us paint the university blue and stand up against intolerance.“

Pins and stickers were distributed at the “Paint the University” event, which was attended by students from Queens College Hillel and representatives from Hillel International; Rabbi Joseph Potashnik, CEO of the New York Board of Rabbis; and Gideon Taylor, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York. Assemblymember Daniel Rosenthal, whose legislative district includes Queens College, Student Association President Sristhi Bhatia, and Hillel Student Club President Avi Koenig were among the speakers on the program. 

“We are pleased that the City University of New York has adopted the Stand Up to Jewish Hate campaign to raise awareness and to empower its community to fight antisemitism,” said FCAS Executive Director Berger. “Our hope is that Jewish students and community members across campuses will see the Blue Squares and know that they are welcome and supported, and that CUNY is committed to addressing antisemitism, all hate and all intolerance.”

Queens College was proud to host the launch of “Paint the University Blue.”

“We are deeply honored to have hosted CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodríguez and the executive director of the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism, Matthew Berger, at Queens College, where vibrant Jewish student life takes place all year round,” said Queens College President Frank H. Wu. “Our college community is enhanced enormously by a fabulous Hillel and a renowned Center for Jewish Studies, on a campus where extraordinarily diverse ethnic and religious groups learn and work together. We are proud to be known as outspoken on the subject of combating antisemitism and reaffirm our support for the Jewish community and the fight against antisemitism and bigotry.”

“We applaud Chancellor Matos Rodríguez’s efforts to publicly mobilize the entire CUNY community to address the alarming spike in antisemitism,” said Mark B. Rotenberg, vice president of university initiatives and legal affairs at Hillel International. “Hillel also deeply appreciates the chancellor’s support for Hillel’s Campus Climate Initiative, which offers each CUNY campus the opportunity to learn how antisemitism impacts their students and adopt concrete action plans that provide real support for the Jewish community on campus.”

Baseball Captures First Conference Championship in 25 Years

The Queens College baseball team captured its first East Coast Conference Championship (ECC) since 1998 on Saturday, winning in dramatic fashion against two-time defending champion and top-seed Molloy University.

Having lost a game to Molloy earlier in the double-elimination tournament, the Knights needed to win two games against Molloy to knock off the defending champs. QC took care of business in game one, jumping out to a 10-0 lead after six innings before holding off a late Molloy rally to win 11-7.

In the deciding game, the Knights put up six runs in the first inning, only to see Molloy rally to take an 8-6 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth.

But the Knights fought back again, tallying a run in the bottom of the sixth and eighth to tie the score and send the game to extra innings.

In the bottom of the 10th, the Knights put runners on first and second base with one out. Knights infielder Juan De La Rosa came to the plate, and hit a ground ball to the second baseman that appeared to be an inning-ending double play. Molloy got the out at second, but the shortstop made a wild throw to first, which allowed the runner from second to come around to score, giving the Knights a dramatic, 10-9 walk-off victory. A clip of the final play can be seen here.

QC first baseman Anthony Fontana was named the ECC Tournament Most Valuable Player after an incredible weekend in which he batted .450 with three home runs and 10 RBIs over five games.

The Knights now receive an automatic bid into the NCAA East Regional Tournament. They will travel to Goldey-Beacom College in Wilmington, Delaware, this weekend. Their first game will be against Le Moyne College on Thursday, May 18 at 3:30 pm. The complete bracket can be seen on the NCAA website. Be sure to check queensknights.com for updates and for ways to watch the games.

Times To Hit the Books

To help students prepare for exams, Benjamin S. Rosenthal Library is once again maintaining extended hours.

Now through midnight Friday, May 19, the library is open continuously for 24 hours. Next weekend—Saturday, May 20 and Sunday, May 21—Rosenthal will be open from 8 am to 5 pm. Continuous hours will resume from Monday, May 22, at 8 am, through Tuesday, May 23, at 8 pm.

T-ing up for Summer Session

This summer, QC is offering hundreds of courses, in in-person, remote, and hybrid formats. Want to learn more? Look for Summer Session ambassadors—such as Sophia Rosales and Anna “Niko” Petrosyan—who can talk about students’ options for earning up to 15 credits in 4, 6, or 10 weeks. Or click here.

QC Students Earn Big Successes in Law School Admissions

It’s May, so law school admissions are rolling in, and Queens College students are doing extraordinarily well this cycle. Thanks to their wealth of experience and talent, and the outstanding support they receive from the Queens College Pre-Law Advisory Program and guidance from members of the QC community, students will be starting law school with hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships, allowing them to pursue their careers without fear of debt. Here are a few examples: 

Yael Simon is a political science major graduating with honors this spring. She will be attending New England Law in Boston in the fall. Simon made the difficult decision to take an extra year to really prepare for the LSATs before applying to law school. The time she invested was worth it. She received hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarship offers from law schools and will be attending New England Law on a full scholarship worth over $150,000.

“At the time, stopping my academics seemed like an inherent and personal failure,” said Simon. “It felt like I was giving up on everything I had been working toward, especially because I’d been adding stressors in order to pursue this idea that doing things quickly meant that I was doing it well. Only in retrospect can I see that taking extra time to slow down allowed me to regroup and move forward with a less insane—albeit still a lot—amount of determination. My time spent away from academic rigor allowed me to create and polish an application that awarded me with admission to New England Law | Boston with the Sandra Day O’Connor Scholarship that covers the full tuition.”

In addition to her studies and law school application preparation, Simon has spent the last four years working at a law office in Queens, dealing most closely with matrimonial cases of divorce, protection orders, and child support.

“I’ve learned an extraordinary amount through my exposure to this field, including the realization that I would likely find making small-scale community differences far more meaningful than a corner office in a corporate building,” she said.

Simon has also been an invaluable resource for the pre-law program during her internship this semester. She has worked with other pre-law students on their applications and helped Sari Kisilevsky (Philosophy) create a database of pre-law student successes.

Nathalie Ponce, a first-generation college student, took a while to find her feet at Queens College. But eventually she learned the ropes and graduated on the Dean’s List with a degree in political science in 2020. She played viola with the Aaron Copland School of Music String Ensemble and has sung all over the world, including for the Brooklyn Nets at the Barclay’s Center and for New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

Ponce used downtime during COVID to prepare for the LSATs and took advantage of free LSAC resources specially designed for Hispanic and underrepresented students, including LSAC’s forums, summer pipeline program, and study aids.

 “Professor Sari Kisilevsky helped me from scratch to write my personal statement. She would help me put everything together and organize it,” she recalled. 

Ponce also worked closely with the pre-law program and fellow pre-law advisee Yael Simon on her application, saying Simon “saved her life!” The QC grads supported each other through the application process and are now celebrating their successes.

Ponce will be attending Drexel University School of Law in Philadelphia on a scholarship worth over $100,000, covering 75 percent of her tuition. She has already joined LaLSA, the Latinx Law Students Association at Drexel University, and is getting a head start by enrolling in Drexel’s SummerStart, a program allowing 1L students to take law school classes in the summer. Ponce can’t wait to return to Queens with her law credentials so she can use them to help members of her community.

Nathaniel Ryan will be attending CUNY School of Law this fall with part of his tuition covered by the Arthur H. Kahn Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship is awarded by Queens College to a graduating senior accepted to CUNY School of Law with strong grades and who has contributed to the best interests of the college. Ryan plans on becoming a public defender, making CUNY School of Law a perfect fit for him; its focus on public interest law will provide him the foundation and network for a successful career. (Last year’s winner, pre-law alumna Phoebe Padget, is currently attending Temple University Beasley School of Law on a full scholarship worth over $100,000.)

Ryan is a double-bassist graduating from the Aaron Copland School of Music this spring. The liberal arts education he received at Queens College helped him achieve a well-rounded skillset that prepared him for law school and a life of public service.

“I found most of my professors very accommodating in every instance where I needed extra flexibility on my schoolwork in order to respect application deadlines, and I had ready access to timely guidance from Queens College, especially Professor Kisilevsky, the entire way from LSAT prep to application review, to school research, and even to my final school decision,” he explained.

Rolanda Coleman, a first-generation college student who transferred from LaGuardia Community College, graduated from QC with a Masters in History in Winter 2021. She is a passionate disability rights activist and a self-professed member of the “Black Nerd Delegation,” a name she made up for Black students like herself who love learning and being challenged.

“Queens College is just one of my favorite places because they make everything so easy,” she observed. “Despite having a disability, I've never thought of that as a reason to not be engaged or participate, or want more for myself.”

Learning to advocate for herself and identify her strengths was part of the process for Coleman.

“The first time I took the LSAT, I didn’t request extra time. So my score was not a good score,” she said. But then she requested the extra time she was entitled to and was clear about her needs. “I took the time to take the steps to get it approved and I got extra time and my score went up more than 20 points.” 

Coleman advises future QC students considering law to “feed their faith” and visualize themselves where they want to be. “You might be 99 steps away from your goal, but you have to take the first step. So just have faith and keep going because life is short, so you might as well.”

She is weighing over $100,000 in scholarship offers from CUNY Law School, Fordham School of Law, Brooklyn Law School, and Albany Law School, and is waiting to hear from other schools. She is eager to get started in 1L and achieve her ultimate goal of becoming a judge.

Dina Travis, a double major in history and economics who will graduate this spring, received an astounding number of full scholarship offers, including packages from Cardozo School of Law, Brooklyn Law School, St. John’s University School of Law, New York Law School, and Hofstra Law. She recently accepted a scholarship from St. John’s University School of Law and will be starting 1L in Fall 2024.

Travis began studying for the LSAT in January 2022. She spent months workshopping her personal statement while bolstering her resume by participating in campus and national clubs such as Phi Alpha Theta: National History Honor Society, QC Economics and Business Club, and the National Society of Leadership and Success. She also was fortunate to receive help from Queens College through letters of recommendation and advising.

“My classes at Queens College have allowed me to continually develop my research and critical thinking which I hope to utilize throughout law school as well as throughout my career,” noted Travis. “While I completed the application preparation and submission elements by myself, Professor Kisilevksy’s advice was very helpful in navigating the complex admissions process.”

After law school, she hopes to work at a national or midsize law firm with the goal of making partner.

"We are so very proud of our pre-law graduates who are going on to this next exciting chapter in their education,” said Patricia Price, interim provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs. “As Chief Academic Officer, I am confident that the foundation provided by the excellent academic programs and dedicated faculty mentorship at Queens College will serve them very well as they set out to make positive change in the world."

Daniel Boronico ’83, an entrepreneur, has tossed his hat into the next presidential race. He is running without party affiliation . . . . Cecilia McHugh (SEES) gave a talk, “Underground Earthquakes,” on May 9 as part of the Professor Martin Spergel Lecture Series at York College . . . . Rachel Short ’10 MA has a chapter in Here for the Hearing: Analyzing the Music in Musical Theater, just published by University of Michigan Press. Her open-access, peer-reviewed video article “Interactions Between Music and Dance in Two Musical Theatre Tap Breaks” was released by SMT-V, the video journal of the Society for Music Theory . . . .

President Frank H. Wu spoke at the symposium on Asian American Studies across CUNY, held at Borough of Manhattan Community College on May 12 by the Asian American/Asian Research Institute.