New activities and more for the students come with the new school year at Misericordia University. With new sports to additional classes, Misericordia now offers a wide variety of options for students to express themselves.
One of the most exciting new additions to campus are the ice hockey and wrestling teams that will be in action this fall.
Kevin Cole has been named the head coach for the men’s ice hockey team, while Josh Roosa will serve as head coach for the men’s wrestling team and Ken Chertow will be head coach of the women’s wrestling team.
Stunt Cheer is now an option for the cheerleaders at the university, as head coach Tara Sinclair takes on the new program for aspiring athletes.
With these three new additions, Misericordia now offers 29 varsity sports to students. If interested, log onto the Misericordia athletics website to learn more about the new teams.
Sunday Liturgies will now be held by Father Joe Pisaneschi, who was recently named as the new University Chaplain in succession to Father Roche.
Father Pisaneschi pastors at St. Therese’s Church in Shavertown and is excited to be here at Misericordia. He conducts Liturgies at 7 p.m. Sundays in the chapel located on the first floor of Mercy at the end of the hall to the left, if entering from the front of the building.
Last semester, first-year students were allowed to bring their cars on campus during the spring semester, but this year, first-year students can have their cars for both semesters.
This brings us the question, how bad will parking be this year? Are there enough spots for all the students? With a first-year class of over 400 students, do upperclassmen have to fight for spots? Will campus safety tighten its parking ticket policies? These questions can only be answered with time. If you have not obtained a parking pass yet, you can get one on the basement floor of Mercy Hall.
On a different note, a new food service for students called MU Bowls and more has replaced the former Chopping Block and Poblano’s. Here, students can order acai bowls, wraps and salads, which offer a healthier option. In addition to the new service, students can use meal swipes at MU Bowls, Chik-Fil-A, and Starbucks if they have the 195 or 200 meal plans. Only certain items are available with the meal swipes.
In addition, there are new classes revolving around music. The new Music Performance program offers classes for instrumentalists and vocalists, with private lessons counting as one credit, one credit for a fine arts course, or students can save their credits and participate for enjoyment.
Professor Marcinko now sits as the director of music performance. The new classes include FA 285 sec. 01, an instrumental ensemble, which meets from 6:30 to 8 pm.; FA 285 sec. 02, a jazz, pop, contemporary vocal ensemble, which meets from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tuesdays; and FA 285 sec. 03, a choral (a traditional concert choir), which meets from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursdays.
Finally, there is a change to Misericordia’s student mail. In previous years, students collected letter mail through assigned mailboxes and got a notification when a package had arrived.
This year, Misericordia leaves the mailboxes behind and students will receive notifications for both packages and letter mail, making it quick and easy for students to get their mail, and making it easier to know when something has arrived.