The Quinnipiac community stimulated its intellectual and philosophical side Wednesday evening at the university’s first Socrates Café.

The host of the evening was American author, speaker and originator of the Socrates Cafe concept, Christopher Philips. He is best known for his 2001 book “Socrates Café: A Fresh Taste of Philosophy,” which was the model and guide to form Socrates Cafe groups around the world.

Lesly Alvarez | The Quinnipiac Chronicle

Christopher Phillips makes a note while discussing the meaning of life with students.

Phillips has led and participated in Socrates Café dialogues since 1996. He told the audience that these dialogues stem from the idea that we all have something valuable to contribute when it comes to philosophical thinking. By creating these dialogues, Phillips hoped to generate “an alternative kind of discourse” modeled after the Socratic Method, which is based on proposing and answering questions to stimulate thinking and illuminate ideas.

Before beginning the dialogue, Phillips clarified to the crowd of students, faculty and guests at the Rocky Top Student Center that it would be an open discussion rather than a debate – and everyone would leave as a winner.

Philips said he found the discussions to be most successful when he left with more questions than he arrived with, thus instructing the crowd not to worry about finding answers.

To get the conversation going, Phillips asked the group to propose possible philosophical questions to debate. Questions such as, “Do people have free will?” and “Is teaching possible?” were brought up, among many others. The group then voted on which question they most wanted to discuss. Phillips emphasized to vote for questions that audience members were “most perplexed by and least expert in.”

The question: “What is the meaning of life?” won the vote.

Over the course of the next hour, audience members discussed, shared personal points of view and made thoughtful assessments in attempts to provide an answer. Building off the ideas of their peers, and with the aid of further questions from Phillips, many audience members came up with inspiring conclusions in response to the question.

The group discussed if meaning is something you have to give to life, or if life has meaning inherently just because we exist.

Professor of philosophy Anat Biletzki helped organize the first Socrates Café and announced that Quinnipiac will add a new philosophy major to undergraduates next September.

Professor Biletzki made the case for why obtaining a philosophy degree is excellent preparation for the real world, stating: “Education in philosophy makes people respond to challenges wisely and ethically. So we are actually preparing students for “real life” in the coming century, which promises to be challenging.” The Philosophy Program will offer a senior seminar, mandatory core courses, and several electives ranging from more historical courses to topical courses.

“If you want to look at things on an even more concrete level,” Professor Biletzki said, “Graduates in philosophy do amazingly well in law school, business school, and even medical school. So philosophy is a real training for life.”

“I thought the Socrates Café event was fascinating,” Biletzki said.

Biletzki said she was quite pleased with the turnout and that “people contributed reflective thoughts and the conversation developed into a structured, but in no way restrictive, give-and-take. [The discussion] was beautifully orchestrated by Christopher Phillips.”

Even after participating in hundreds of Socrates Café discussions, Phillips said that he still always learns something new about himself with each one, and finds Philosophical Discourse to be a process of self-revelation.

Professor Biletzki announced the plan to establish Socrates Café as a regular event on campus. It will be sponsored jointly by the department of philosophy, political science and Sophia, the philosophy club, as well as other student groups who have expressed interest.

Events would take place once a month during a sort of trial run this spring. More frequent meetings will be scheduled for next year if the trial run proves to be successful, Biletzki said.

Quinnipiac’s offense made their first 12 field goals to start the second half and the Bobcats used a huge scoring run to run past Saint Francis (Pa.), 77-44, Thursday at TD Bank Sports Center.

Ike Azotam dropped 18 points on the day, and also grabbed seven boards, while Dave Johnson knocked down 19 points, a career high. Johnson also shot 3 for 4 from beyond the arc.

Matt Eisenberg | The Quinnipiac Chronicle

“The last couple of games we’ve been finding each other, we’ve been building chemistry on offense,” Azotam said. “We’ve been working on it in practice more, and it’s all about being confident out there and knowing which shots to take.”

The Bobcats slowly began to pad their lead, taking a 35-20, 15-point lead going into the break. Garvey Young assisted on the defensive side of the ball, grabbing three of his four steals in the first half.

Quinnipiac (16-12, 9-8 NEC) came out of the gate blistering into the second half, hitting 12 straight shots from the beginning of the half, by Azotam, James Johnson, Dave Johnson, Ousmane Drame and Zaid Hearst. Quinnipiac also knocked down 21 points within the first 6:53 of the second half, which was good for a 30-point lead over the Red Flash, 58-28.

“At halftime we really emphasized not letting up defensively, and improving on our lead,” Dave Johnson said. “In practice we really work hard on defense, and try to keep their field-goal percentages down.”

The offense didn’t stop there, as the Bobcats continued to add to the lead, at one point forcing Saint Francis (6-22, 5-12 NEC) into a 38-point deficit, 69-31. Quinnipiac added eight more points over the final 8:21 to finish off the Red Flash.

“We defended very well, we rebounded well, and tonight we played very good offense too,” Quinnipiac head coach Tom Moore said. “I do think one of the biggest differences was the time to prepare for the match-up. Last time we played them, we never really found a rhythm. Tonight the kids seemed more comfortable with how we’re going to answer that match-up.”

The Bobcats shot 58.6 percent from the field, and 40 percent from beyond the arc, while Saint Francis shot 38.3 and just 11.1 percent from 3-point range. James Johnson also added eight assists on the day.

Quinnipiac will have a day off before taking on conference rival, Robert Morris at home at 11 a.m.

“We really hope it’s a packed house, it will get our guys even more excited,” Moore said. “You’ll really see our guys have a different bounce in their step, and the students have no idea how much they can just get us over the hump.”

Quinnipiac students who live off-campus and planning to attend any of Saturday’s games at the TD Bank Sports Center will not be permitted to drive to the arena and park there, according to Chief of Security and Safety Dave Barger.

“Commuter students will be directed to park in the North Lot and ride the shuttles supplied by the university to the Sports Center,” Barger said. “No exceptions.”

This policy was active for some of the more highly attended games last season, including the two men’s basketball home playoff games.

Saturday’s 7 p.m. men’s hockey game against Yale is already sold out, but Barger said the policy will be enforced all day, which includes the men’s and women’s basketball games against Robert Morris at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., respectively.

Students who live on York Hill will also not be allowed to have their cars parked in the arena parking lot.

“Seniors who live in Eastview and the Townhouses must park in the garage for the entire day,” Barger said. “Vehicles found in the Eastview Lot and in the area of the Townhouses will be ticketed and towed after 8 a.m. on Saturday.”

There will also be no tailgating, which is only allowed from Oct. 1 to Nov. 30.

If it was not for the yellow and blue “spirit week” banner hanging in the middle of campus, many Quinnipiac students would not know it’s spirit week. This issue may not matter to some, but it hits closer to home with members of organizations like the Student Programming Board.

Julianne Gardner, SPB’s novelty and week chair member, said SPB seeks to motivate students to get involved in programming. The organization tries to use the student voice to plan and provide entertaining events such as spirit week. This three-year-old tradition requires numerous hours of planning, but shows little turnout.

Fliers for Wednesday night’s “The Clash of the Classes” competition in Burt Kahn Court could be seen all over campus.

“We had extra fliers for this event but there is only so much you can do, it’s up to the students to come out,” Gardner said.

The night was supposed to focus on class spirit by having different competitive obstacles with the winning class receiving a prize. Instead, Burt Khan was left mostly empty except for scattered SPB members, a few students and a group of older men partaking in a karate class that was relocated to the open space.

“SPB does a lot of work to plan these events and they are great ideas,” junior and SPB member Katie Blakeslee said. “I feel bad that a lot of people on campus are missing out.”

The lack of attendance at these programs that are trying to bring students together was said by other SPB members to be especially disappointing during a week that is supposed to stand out and be more fun than the rest.

“To me it feels like it’s kind of a publicity stunt to make sure perspective students see that we are a united front,” sophomore Tamar Aroyan said. “It says it’s spirit week everywhere, even on the lunch table toppers but nowhere does it say what that entails. There wasn’t enough publicity about it. No one really knows what it is. There were emails sent out but who really checks their email? It just floods their inboxes until it gets deleted.”

SPB members expect a better turnout for future events and refuse to give up on their spirit and desire to motivate students.

“Spirit week has been a little bit of a disappointment but as long as the people at the event have fun, no matter how many people show up, that is what SPB is about,” sophomore and SPB member Jenna Mojkowski said. “The quality of the time people have when they are at our events is what matters most to us.”

The 100 fans who attended the most games at the TD Bank Sports Center this season have been rewarded with a ticket to the Yale game this Saturday. These students are:

Vincent Simone

Dennis Juhasz

Nicholas Dench

Dakota Wiegand

Olivia Skitromo

Andrew McDermott

Jason Rotell

Jessica D’Erario

Alison Scharr

Matthew Bloom

Jessica Ruiz

Emily Lamm

Taylor Massey

Peter Rossi

Taylor Popielarz

Molly Breen

Arthur Lane

Kevin Dougherty

Lauren Geary

Michelle Orsi

Caitlin Enright

Courtney Jipner

William Burton

Timothy Thompson

Russell Santiago

Nicholas Amador

Mikaela Wiegand

Makeda Sutherland

Melissa Melo

Kimberly Rizzitano

Jarrod Hines

Jillian Kelley

Christian Donato

Brianna Sweeney

Susan Gugger

Taylor Jacques

Victoria Vigilanti

Robert Hendricks

William Cavallo

Rachel Cantor

Stacey Kmill

Michelle Bennett

Melissa Dowers

Kevin Hart

Daniel Rogoz

Jordan Paolucci

Chelsea Beytas

Cassie Comeau

Christie Esposito

Alexander Gerber

Amanda Cornacchia

Thomas Dicampli

Stephany Griswold

Zachary Daly

Nicholas Sczerbinski

Nicole Siley

Ryan Bailey

Nils Von Der Heide

Scott Kramer

Stephanie Langan

Shawn McClory

Michael Messina

Michael Parlitsis

Linda Jamele

Michael Morrone

Jennifer Salomon

David Bowen

Joshua Greco

Daniel Grosso

Hannah Lindsley

Elizabeth Glynn

Hayden Dunn

Eric Lyeth

Jaclyn Plante

Daniel McGrath

Erin Morton

Hadley Colman

Alyson Dey

Anthony Palladino

Amanda Nagel

Alexander Rubin

Christa Gallivan

Brian Farrell

Anthony Rudolf

Conor Murphy

Brooke Clouthier

Nicholas Fouche

Shantia Hanna

Victoria Dic

Nicolas McCloskey

Stephen Pattavina

Samantha Giancontieri

Vanessa Scafe

Patrick Page

Victoria Graessle

Scott Rankins

Shane Doyle

Michael Levy

Megan Pettoruto

Matthias Gausz

For those York Hill residents who are frustrated with the limited hours of the Rocky Top Student Center, now is the time for students to voice their concerns.

Heidi Hitchen, a junior class representative for Student Government Association, would like for Rocky Top to be open 24/7, but realizes that asking for the student center to have those hours is not feasible. Hitchen said she hopes SGA can get the opening times extended a few hours past midnight.

“There are pros and cons to that happening,” junior Alyssa Greenstein said. “Students would be provided with a place to study without having the hassle of driving to campus to utilize the library, but at the same time, I feel like keeping Rocky Top open 24 hours a day could be detrimental in the sense that there is a potential that students could cause damage.”

On Monday, the junior class cabinet created a survey for juniors and seniors to determine how often they would use the student center after hours.

“We are currently working on a proposal to bring to administration, but we would first like as many people as possible to take the survey that we have created to demonstrate that there is a want and a need for this initiative to go through to administration,” Hitchen said.

Hitchen posted the survey on her Facebook with the message, “All juniors and seniors at Quinnipiac need to take this so that the rocky top student center can stay open later!”

The proposal addresses the issues of occupied study rooms in dorm buildings, limited printing services and shuttle service hours, leaving students to face the decision of studying in their rooms or traveling to the library on the Mount Carmel campus.

“Rocky Top is a great place to meet to work on group projects, but since it isn’t open late, that limits the availability to do so, and with the study rooms being so crowded, there is nowhere else for students to go,” senior Scott Topel said.

Are you tired of standing outside in the freezing cold, waiting for a shuttle? Well, wait no more. Quinnipiac will soon release its QU Shuttle Tracker application.

This smartphone app will run through the university’s mobile application, MOX, and will be available for the iPhone, Android and Blackberry.

Each bus will have a particular number, and using that number, the shuttle can be tracked, Chief of Security & Safety Dave Barger said.

Anna Brundage | The Quinnipiac Chronicle

Quinnipiac will release the Shuttle Tracker application soon to help students anticipate the shuttle’s arrival at the multiple campuses.

Assistant Chief of Security Edgar Rodriguez said that the University of New Haven has been using the same system on a smaller scale with three of its leased DATTCO buses.

With Quinnipiac getting this technology now, Barger said that the university is not behind.

“We’re still relatively new in the whole realm of things with York Hill, the parking lots and the Westwoods lot,” Barger said. “The demand has now caught up with us and we now have to move along with the demand.”

Quinnipiac has shuttles that run to Hamden, New Haven, York Hill, Whitney Village and Westwoods.

Rodriguez said that this new app with help alleviate student complaints.

“We have students who say the bus never showed up here, and they call me up and I track it, and the bus was there,” Rodriguez said.

Students’ complaints led to recent policy changes allowing juniors living at York Hill to park on the Mount Carmel campus at any time, according to an email sent to students by Manuel Carreiro, vice president and dean of student affairs.

Yet, even with this parking policy change, Barger encourages students to use the shuttle system when possible.

“The attempt is to alleviate any anxiety the students would have in getting here in a timely fashion from York Hill,” Barger said.

“You burn a gallon of gas only to go two miles round trip, so I would think looking at it like that, they would certainly want to use the bus.”

Sophomore Katie Foley said she is excited for the new app.

“There have been so many times that I’ve tried to log onto MyQ from my phone to find the shuttle schedule and it would never load,” Foley said. “So this will be awesome to actually know where the shuttle is and be able to see it on my phone.”

Still, some students have complained about the inconvenience of the shuttle system.

Pat Duffy, a junior living on the Mount Carmel campus, stopped using the shuttles to visit his friends on York Hill.

“There have been instances that I have had to wait 45 minutes to get the shuttle in the freezing cold,” Duffy said. “On the other hand, there have been moments that I just manage to grab it as it drives by.

“In almost all circumstances I use my car to avoid these situations.”

Said freshman Nicki Palmer: “The shuttles are always late, so even if you have a three-hour break in between classes you are not guaranteed to get back in time for class.”

While some students find the shuttle system to be inconvenient, others appreciate this service.

Marissa Maturo, a freshman, says that because she cannot have a car on campus, she is at the mercy of the shuttle system.

“I like to think of it as better than nothing. QU could chose to not provide us with any transportation so I think that it is a great perk,” Maturo said.

Despite the app holding promise for a more convenient means of transportation, Palmer said she still has some concerns.

“My only new concern is that everyone will try to get to the shuttle stop last minute and not everyone will be able to fit on the buses,” Palmer said. “Then, the app is essentially useless because you still have to wait around.”

For the second time in as many weeks, a member of the Boston Globe was spotted on the Quinnipiac campus.

On Feb. 11, Matt Pepin, the sports editor from Boston.com, held a workshop for students interested in sports journalism.

On Thursday, Bob Ryan, longtime sports columnist for the Boston Globe was on the York Hill campus at the TD Bank Sports Center.

Matt Eisenberg | The Quinnipiac Chronicle

Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan sits at press row during the Quinnipiac men’s basketball matchup against St. Francis (N.Y.) last Thursday. The Bobcats lost 64-56.

This was Ryan’s first visit to Quinnipiac and before the game, he was given a tour of the TD Bank Sports Center by Director of Athletics and Recreation Jack McDonald.

“This facility, it’s reputation is very vast. If you tell people that you are going to Quinnipiac, they say ‘Woo! Wait till you see it.’ I know I’ve been hearing about this place since they opened it,” Ryan said. “It’s got a very good reputation and frankly it’s the best facility I’ve seen in New England.”

Ryan sat on press row to watch the Quinnipiac men’s basketball team take on St. Francis (N.Y.) on Thursday night. Although Ryan was not covering a game story for the Globe, he was focused on his new preview for the Globe.

“I’m doing a project story in conjunction with the fact that the NCAA tournament is coming to Boston this year and so the Globe will be doing a preview section and feature stories on the idea,” Ryan said.

His plan was to visit every school in the New England area and see at least one basketball game from each of the 21 Division I schools, and Quinnipiac was the last stop on Ryan’s list.

His article is expected to be released in late March before the opening round of the NCAA tournament.

The Bobcats weren’t able to win in front of Ryan, as they fell to St. Francis (N.Y.) 64-56.

“I call them (games like this) ‘Sisyphus’ games. You’re pushing that rock up the hill and every time you get up, it comes rolling back up on you,” Ryan said. “You never get over the hill, it’s just one of those types of games. Usually once a year you get a game like this.”

Aside from Quinnipiac, Ryan saw schools in other conferences besides the Northeast Conference such as the American East, Big East and Ivy League.

“I’ve seen the best and the worst. I’ve seen Syracuse when they were ranked No. 1 and undefeated, I’ve also seen the team that Jeff Sagarin ranked worst in the country, Binghamton. So I’ve seen the two extremes,” Ryan said.

After writing for the Boston Globe for 44 years, Ryan plans to retire from his full-time job, but still wishes to work with them occasionally.

“I want to gain control of my life. I don’t wanna have to be responsible for anybody day after day after day after day. I want to be able to rearrange my life,” Ryan said. “Retirement is a technical term that means you are no longer an employer of a company you worked for for x amount number of years. In my case, 44. It doesn’t mean you’re not going to have an association with them. I will have an association with the Globe. But it’ll be much scaled back.”

Although he may be retiring from the Globe, he still plans to appear as a T.V. talent on shows like, “Around the Horn” and “Pardon the Interruption” for ESPN.