The Crusader

Author: The Crusader Staff Writer Ayanna Pompey

Have you ever thought about sitting in a police vehicle? There may be a free opportunity at your local department? 

I am honored to be a part of the criminal justice major. Part of the major requires a ride along with a police department. The ride along happens during a police shift which gives a hands-on experience on the job to gain insight into the force. The program allows students/citizens to engage in protocol training and ask questions about the system. 

The ride along also allows citizens to remove any stigmas placed on officers by participating in certain activities that they endure daily. Police officers have an enormous responsibility of protecting and enforcing laws throughout the community. Police men and women lay their lives on the line for citizens continuously. Officers have a difficult time in today’s society with the help of social media playing a role in police brutality. 

Participating in the ride along helps citizens recreate the stigma and hopefully recruit new members. The ride requires any volunteers over the age of eighteen to undergo a background check before boarding the department. The program is free of charge and helps provide citizens with a visual look of their community and the people in it. Become a part of the community by assisting your time in volunteering and internships to help build a resume and add value to the community.

This article was originally posted in the Spring 2023, Issue 3 of The Crusader Newspaper. Download the full issue here.

Author: The Crusader Staff Writer Iris Bertin

Sacraments and Supper is a new event held on campus once every other week in order for students to grow in community and faith by sharing a meal together, praying a divine mercy chaplet, and attending Mass as a community.

This idea of Sacraments and Supper is to share a home-cooked meal in order to grow in fellowship. This was formed by a group of sophomores here at the Abbey spearheaded by Regina Vehige. 

These Monday night dinners have been a hit among the students on campus that are craving a home-cooked meal while being able to grow in community through prayer and fruitful conversations with their fellow classmates. Leading a divine mercy chaplet before dinner and encouraging all the attendees to participate in Mass has allowed for an overflow of student leadership on campus and a greater desire to lead others more deeply into the faith.

I was able to ask one of our sophomores at the Abbey, Gemmy Hanley, why she felt the desire to help with this idea and she says: “I decided to help with Sacraments and Supper in order to build community on campus through a meal and the Holy Mass. It has become an opportunity to meet others and grow deeper in relationship with God and others.” Gemmy is just one example of a student leader on our campus so willing to freely give her time to lead others closer to Christ by offering her help in cooking and preparing these meals. We hope to see you at future Sacraments and Suppers and to spread the word of this amazing opportunity to grow in community.

This article was originally posted in the Spring 2023, Issue 3 of The Crusader Newspaper. Download the full issue here.

Author: The Crusader Staff Writer Christina Villanueva

The biology department is constantly striving to have a wider scope of subjects for new students and keep a rigorous course load. In the science building there is always a lot going on, from mixing chemical components to dissecting a sheep’s brain. While this can be sometimes overwhelming for new students pursuing a science degree, there is more to the biology department than just the building.

For a new biology major, a biology major sounds intriguing as well as demanding, and this is nothing but correct. From freshman year biology 101 to a senior anatomy class, the professors make sure the student is ready for any profession or graduate school the student might want to pursue. Accompanied with the lecture classes are laboratories once a week, this provides a hands on experience to apply the knowledge learned in lecture. There is also a wide range of classes so students can expand their interest in science. There are classes like ecology and environmental science to learn about the natural world. Some of my favorite classes included parasitology and embryology to understand life on a microscopic level and then apply it in relation to epidemiology.

With all of these levels of classes, there must be a support team of professors in charge of it all. The professors and advisors in the biology department are one of a kind. They are focused on the students learning to make sure they understand all the material. They make themselves available for students to ask questions as well as having a small class size so a student does not feel lost. They are also experts in their field giving them a wide range of knowledge in the classes they are teaching. With this combined effort of the professors as advisors and educators, students graduating from a field in biology will be fully prepared for the future after the Abbey. If interested in learning more about the biology department, contact the Chair Dr. Ayala at heatherayala@bac.edu.

This article was originally posted in the Spring 2023, Issue 3 of The Crusader Newspaper. Download the full issue here.