The most-hated week of every semester, finals week, should be followed by a fun and relaxing event. If music relaxes you, head over to the Electric Daisy Carnival on May 17 and 18. After a successful premiere run at the Metlife Stadium in New Jersey last summer, the popular music festival will officially heat up New York soil this time around.  The festival will also make stops at Chicago for the first time before hitting the main grounds in Las Vegas. Expect to see some renowned DJ’s spinning, with the likes of Afrojack, Calvin Harris and R3hab.

Another festival in New York is this year’s Governor’s Ball that will take place on June 7 and 8 at Randall’s Island. Headlining the festival is Kanye West, Kings of Leon, Nas and The XX.

Let’s not forget about camping out in front of Rumsey Playfield in Central Park to catch a free show from Good Morning America’s Summer Concert Series. Kicking off on May 24, some of the artists that’ll take over the Central Park Mainstage this summer include Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez, Imagine Dragons, OneRepublic and Alicia Keys.

Other big-name artists and bands that will pay New York a visit on their tours include Bruno Mars, Jay-Z, fun., Justin Timberlake, Beyoncé, Panic! At The Disco and Fall Out Boy.

A summer is like no other without indulging some of the city’s best savories. This summer, welcome with open arms some new food hubs that can easily make people a “regular” customer. The Washington, D.C.-based pressed organic juice maker, Sweetgreen, will open its doors to New York at the NoMad Hotel, where pressed juice cravers will enjoy a refreshing juice after a hot summer day.

Also in town is, Big Gay Ice Cream, on 125 E. 7th St. Head over for a wafer, coconut of chocolate-dipped ice cream cone, topped over dulce de leche, sea salt or pretzels. The “Salty Pimp” includes vanilla ice cream, dulce de leche and sea salt topped with chocolate dip and is among the crowd favorites.

Summer in New York is quite affordable especially with the numerous free events that will take place. Some events are a must, no matter how scorching the heat is. Don’t forget to catch the traditional events, including Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July Hot Dog Eating Contest, Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks, Summer Streets and Bryant in Bryant Park.

Rev. Donald J. Harrington, C.M., President of the University, announced in an email to the University community Friday that he will step down effective July 31, ending his 24-year tenure.

“I write to inform you that I have today advised the University’s Board of Trustees of my intention to retire as President of St. John’s, effective July 31, 2013,” he said in the statement.

Robert Wile, senior vice president and chief of staff to the President, has resigned effective June 30, according to a University spokesman.
Moments after Harrington’s statement was released, Peter D’Angelo, Chair of the Board of Trustees released a statement through email stating that the Board had been notified of Harrington’s decision.

The news comes after the Board of Trustees announced on March 8 that it had commissioned an independent investigation led by attorney Frank Wohl to look into media reports, which focused on Harrington, Wile and former dean Cecilia Chang.

That investigation came toward the end of a school year that saw Chang’s federal trial for embezzlement come to a close after she committed suicide in her home in Jamaica Estates in the early morning hours of Nov. 6, 2012.

Harrington testified at the trial on Oct. 17, 2012 that he “wasn’t real comfortable” with the perks from Chang and only accepted them on Chang’s recommendation, according to a transcript of his testimony obtained by the Torch. He also said that Chang told him that accepting expensive gifts on trips to Asia was a cultural necessity.

“She explained to me that that was very critical, that this was a great sign of respect,” he said in the testimony. “If you did not do that, if you didn’t accept gifts in return, that was a sign of lack of respect.”

His testimony caused a stir, with the New York Daily News mocking the “vow of poverty” that Vincentian priests take. He met with the Torch in November in an attempt to clear his name and explain his relationship with Chang, but the worst for him was yet to come.

On Feb. 24 of this year, New York Magazine published a report outlining a deeper relationship between Chang and Harrington and Wile than had been previously implied.

The report detailed the lavish gifts, perks and vacations Chang had provided Harrington and Wile, including a trip to Turks and Caicos for Harrington after his father’s death. He brought Wile and Wile’s girlfriend, a sophomore undergraduate at St. John’s at the time. Chang also provided Wile with a Taishin credit card that Wile used at nightclubs, pro shops and restaurants – expenses that were all approved by Harrington. Chang allegedly covered expenses for the two, saying that they were paid for by donors. The expenses were, in fact, being billed to the University.

New York Magazine also reported in March that Wile had received interest-free loans from the University as well as loans from a Board of Trustees member and a contractor who worked for St. John’s. NY Mag also reported that Harrington and Wile had a business relationship that wasn’t reported to the Board.Harrington recommended that Wile receive a bonus in the form of a $100,000 interest-free loan from the University in 2006 – the same year the two purchased a property through their partnership.  The board’s audit and compensation committee approved the loan.

The retirement statement also follows the April delivery of a faculty petition to Harrington’s office asking for more transparency in the investigation process. The letter, written by five professors in the history department, included the signature of 66 faculty members from the Queens campus.
Neither the statement released by Harrington nor the statement released by D’Angelo directly addressed the controversies. The closest reference to the issues from this school year came from Harrington.

“The difficulties for everyone during the past year have convinced me, after much prayer and reflection that the time to leave the presidency has now come,” he said in the statement.

Harrington, 68, was born in Brooklyn and became a Vincentian priest in 1973. He went on to become the President of Niagara University in 1984, where he stayed until moving to St. John’s in 1989.

During Harrington’s 24-year tenure as President, St. John’s University underwent changes in both academics and development. The Queens campus was transformed from a commuter campus to one with a resident village and more students from around the country. Enrollment went up ostensibly due to the increase in international and students from outside the tri-state area. The University also expanded its footprint with campuses in Manhattan, Oakdale, Rome and Paris.

A University spokesman declined to address whether Harrington would hand out diplomas at this month’s commencement ceremonies, but he was present Monday for a ribbon-cutting ceremony outside the University Career Services Center in Chiang Ching Kuo Hall. The spokesman also declined to comment on the current status of the Board of Trustees’ investigation.

Rev. James J. Maher, C.M. had been tabbed by many as Harrington’s successor, but is leaving the University to become the President of Niagara University on August 1. The last two St. John’s presidents, Rev. Joseph T. Cahill, C.M. and Harrington, previously served at Niagara, but its current president, Rev. Joseph L. Levesque, C.M., announced his retirement in January.

Friday’s statement from D’Angelo and the Board of Trustees said that an announcement would be made in the near future regarding a transition to new leadership. When contacted for information regarding the transition, a University spokeswoman referred to the statement.

Several of the 66 faculty members who attached their name to a letter directed to the Board of Trustees last month requesting openness regarding its independent review of the alleged financial improprieties told the Torch they still stand by that message.

“I think transparency in this matter is of the utmost importance,” said Dr. Dolores Augustine, one of the five professors who created the letter. “The University should do everything it can to promote the trust of students, faculty and alumni.”

The letter was delivered to Harrington’s office on April 11.

The professors who spoke with the Torch in the wake of Harrington’s decision to retire signaled that their foremost concern hasn’t changed – they want clarity from the Board of Trustees’ investigation regarding all the events that led to the embezzlement trial of Cecilia Chang.

“I think we can respect Fr. Harrington’s desire to retire quietly at this point,” Dr. Jeffrey Kinkley, a professor of history, said. “The faculty is expecting to have some answers from the Board of Trustees about the whole situation that has developed.”

Dr. Gregory Maertz, a professor of English, said he is troubled by the prospect of Harrington’s retirement potentially allowing the Board of Trustees to terminate the investigation before it is completed. (A University spokesman declined to say what will become of the Board of Trustees’ investigation.)

“The only way we can prove any claims about the behavior of the Reverend Harrington or Rob Wile is if the whole report is released,” Maertz said. “There is concern that the University administration will take advantage of the Harrington/Wile resignations to sweep the whole matter under the rug.”

Dr. Robert Tillman, a professor of sociology, acknowledged that he is concerned with the possibility of the investigation being masked by Harrington’s decision to retire, but he made clear that one of the issues that he wanted the University to recognize is the culture that has defined St. John’s over the years.

“It appears to me that the problems go far beyond Fr. Harrington and reflect a much larger culture of corruption that has existed at St. John’s for some time,” he said. “I would hope that a thorough discussion of this culture and its origins would come out of the investigation. But I suspect that is asking too much.”

Maertz also shed light on what he believes has defined the University’s culture.

“It appears that under the leadership of the Reverend Harrington, there emerged a culture of theft at the highest level under the University administration,” he said.
The faculty members that spoke with the Torch also said that they have had little dialogue with the Board of Trustees since they submitted their letter seeking transparency.

“The qualities I would like to see with the new president of St. John’s University are honesty, attentiveness to the needs of the student body,” Irma Khawaja, a sophomore, said. “Commitment towards the St. John’s goals and acceptance of every belief and culture. I feel as though having these qualities set a good foundation for any leader.”

Many faculty members and students acknowledged the accomplishments of Harrington such as educational improvements and expanding the University. They expressed that they would like to see these qualities translate into the next presidency, but with other significant improvements.

“I think that it is imperative that the successor to the Reverend Harrington be an academic leader,” Dr. Gregory Maertz, a professor of English, said. “Who is committed to the process of higher education.”

Harrington, who took over the presidency in 1989 as St. John’s 15th president, was previously president of Niagara University. Rev. Joseph T. Cahill, Harrington’s predecessor, was President of Niagara University as well, before serving as president of St. John’s, like Harrington, for nearly 25 years, according to Cahill’s obituary from the New York Times.

The streak of presidents coming from the same position at Niagara University will likely be broken this time around. Rev. James J. Maher, C.M. will become Niagara University’s 26th president beginning August 1. Maher served St. John’s for over 20 years and most recently as executive vice president for mission and student services, according to the St. John’s University website.

When asked for information regarding the selection process for a new president, a University spokeswoman referred to the letter sent from Board of Trustees chair Peter D’Angelo following Harrington’s retirement announcement that said that an announcement would be made in the coming weeks regarding a transition to new leadership.

Khawaja, who is the President of the Muslim Students Association, said she hopes the next president is attentive to the concerns of students while noting the recent University decision to have Peter King speak at commencement.

“What I hope this new president will do is keep St. John’s values in mind when making decisions, “ she said. “As well as keeping the requests of students in mind when there is a problem presented by the general student body.”

Qualities that faculty members articulated were similar to those of students, some qualities generalized and others more specific.

“Willingness to work together with faculty,” Dr. Dolores Augustine, a professor of history, said. “That would be a wonderful thing.”

The majority of faculty members communicated they would like to see a president dedicated to academics.

Dr. Jeffrey Kinkley, a professor of history, being one of them. He said he would like to see a president who has strong academic leadership.

“So I think we need somebody who will bring us a blast of fresh air from the outside,” he said. “And a whole lot of sunlight to warm things up a little bit.”

Maertz reiterated his hope is for a president who is committed to higher education.

“And, who does not simply see himself as some kind of CEO,” he said.

Additional Reporting by Mitchell Petit-Frere, Managing Editor

There’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that Rev. Donald J. Harrington, C.M., President of the University, accomplished a great deal for St. John’s, but past successes, no matter how significant, cannot erase indiscretions that can tarnish the reputation of the University.

We at the Torch want to look toward the future of the University. Of course we want answers concerning the investigation of Harrington and his soon-to-be former chief of staff, Robert Wile, but at this point, we have to keep faith that the truth will eventually come to light.

As the University prepares to enter a new era of leadership, we thought it fitting to highlight what we, as students, believe our new President should stand for – both in terms of academics and community.

Father Harrington had a vision for St. John’s – he wanted to guarantee that the University stayed on an upward track of progress into the new millennium.

Now that the University is thriving in terms of maintaining a high-standing reputation among the community of institutions of higher education, it’s time that the administrative leaders of the University begin to steer their focus to making certain that the University community holds the same view of St. John’s as the public does.

We want a president to instill a culture into St. John’s where professors aren’t afraid to lose their jobs for speaking their opinions on matters that affect their profession, where a student government isn’t afraid to comment in fear of going against the views of administrators and where students don’t have to question the actions and morals of the individuals who oversee the University.

But none of the latter can truly be accomplished unless our new president embodies an ethos that is concerned with the intellectual and social growth of faculty and students alike in the modern times.

We want a leader who has the ability to think outside the box. We want someone who is not only willing, but desires to become a regular face to the eyes of the University community. But even more than wanting these things, we need them.

During the last decade alone, St. John’s made many advancements – expanding the campus in terms of buildings and facilities and increasing enrollment and improving the curriculum. The campus expanded internationally as well, inviting students from around the world to Queens and encouraging students from the University to study abroad.
In 1999, St. John’s acquired the Oakdale campus on Long Island, furthering its expansion in New York. Two years later, in 2001, the University extended further when it purchased the Manhattan campus.

Although the Staten Island campus was purchased by the University in the 1960s, the campus underwent many expansions and renovations during Harrington’s presidency, including the addition of the Kelleher Center and the DaSilva Academic Center as well as the renovation of Rosati Hall.

Athletics also went through mass transformations during Harrington’s presidency. In 2001, Jack Kaiser Stadium was erected on the Queens campus. The facility holds almost 4,000 spectators. In 2002, the men’s soccer team hosted its first game at Belson Stadium. In 2004, the stadium was completed. In 2005, the construction of Taffner Field House was completed; providing students with four full size basketball courts, while locker rooms and training rooms were built for the men’s and women’s basketball teams.

In September 2004, St. Thomas More Church opened its doors on the Queens campus. In 2010, the D’Angelo Center was completed on the Queens Campus and it became the new University Center.

During Harrington’s presidency, St. John’s has also seen an array of new community service programs implemented. In 2007, the Ozanam Scholars Program was launched. It is described as rooted in the themes of scholarly research, Vincentian service and global citizenship.

While changes were occurring to the New York campuses, things were also changing abroad. The University went international in 1995 with the purchase of the Rome campus, but it did not become a study abroad option until several years later. Between 2007 and 2008, the University officially made its mark internationally with the opening of the Paris and Rome campuses for undergraduates.

While St. John’s students now have the option to immerse themselves in foreign cultures all over the world, the University is now home to students from a large number of geographic regions. Students come from 46 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands and 110 countries.

St. John’s now receives over 50,000 applicants annually, according to the University website, and houses over 4,000 students on the Queens campus. Since 1989, St. John’s has increased enrollment to over 20,000 students.

In 1999, the Residence Village was constructed, transitioning the campus from dominantly commuter to partially resident students. It contains six Residence Halls where both suite style and traditional style living arrangements are offered.

Fundraising has allowed for the growth of the St. John’s community. The University is also able to provide students with over $90 million in financial aide annually, according to the website.

While the end of Harrington’s presidency was tumultuous, there is no denying the improvements and enhancements he made to St. John’s during his tenure.

Additional reporting by Shannon Luibrand,
Features Editor

“Cultures develop on a team,” Harrington told the New York Daily News in February 2004. “And I’m not talking about ethnic culture or religious culture. It’s the way people interact and what they think is acceptable or not acceptable.”

By Harrington’s definition, there’s a cultural problem in the office of the president at St. John’s – a culture of corruption. Harrington and chief of staff Rob Wile thought it was “acceptable” to leverage their relationship with Cecilia Chang to live the high life.

Harrington used his cozy relationship with the Board of Trustees to secure hundreds of thousands of dollars in reportedly interest-free loans for his protégé Wile.

The statement in support of Harrington issued by Cardinal Timothy Dolan shows that there’s another cultural problem – the tendency of Catholic clergy to circle the wagons when one of its own is facing allegations of wrongdoing. We’ve seen before that there’s very little accountability when priests, bishops and cardinals do wrong, and the situation with Harrington is no different.

Dolan had the chance to restore some faith in the institution that many at St. John’s have lost throughout this scandal. He had the chance to put his foot down, and say that this type of behavior is not in line with Catholic teaching, and not the way a priest should act. He could have said that although Harrington did a lot of great things, he exhibited extremely poor judgment when doing things like taking trips to Turks and Caicos with Wile and his then-girlfriend, or accepting fancy suits and watches from Cecilia Chang and her friends.

He didn’t. Dolan’s statement, like NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly’s and the Very Rev. Michael Carroll’s, neglected even to mention the appalling scandal that has plagued the campus all semester.

“I am delighted to learn that in his retirement Father Harrington will be available to the Church to continue to champion Catholic education” Dolan said. “I expect to call on him.”

Dolan, like everybody involved with this case, took the easy way out. Harrington’s corruption doesn’t even rise to the level of footnote in his biography as written by St. John’s office of external relations. Instead, look at our pretty new buildings! The dorms! Steve Lavin! That’s Harrington’s legacy to them, not the $350,000 that went from student tuition payments to Wile’s pockets, or the eyewatering figures lavished on Harrington and Wile by Chang, who billed it all back to the University.

There are a lot of lessons to be learned from this whole sordid affair, and I fear that the University won’t learn any of them. I fear that the next president will come in with the same mentality that Harrington did, and view his role as a CEO, rather than as a spiritual and moral leader. I fear that the new president will continue to refuse to level with students and faculty. I fear that the new president will see nothing wrong with driving an Audi, or wearing Patek Phillipe watches, or staying in five-star hotels on trips to Asia, with layovers in Hawaii (all things that Harrington decided didn’t conflict with his vow of poverty). I fear that while the actors will change, the institution will not.

And it needs to. As a Yale business professor told New York Magazine, you don’t see the kind of shenanigans that happened at St. John’s except in corrupt institutions.

Fair or not, that’s the perception of the University that Harrington leaves. The new president’s first priority should be to restore honor and integrity to the University, and save the reputation of St. John’s. That requires disavowing Harrington’s actions, publicly and explicitly. Nobody will believe that anything has changed until the University divorces itself from the man who has brought so much shame to the school.

The Board of Trustees needs to make a clean and decisive break from the Harrington Era with its investigation report and its new hire, or risk the University continuing to fall from its perch as one of the leaders of Catholic higher education.

That was before I had gotten involved with the Torch or pretty much anything at this University. Norm Roberts was the highest ranking person I could name, and he’d been fired. Harrington could have walked up to me, introduced himself and shook my hand and I still wouldn’t have known who he was.

To many alumni and long-standing faculty, he may be remembered for the immense changes in the University: adding residence halls, becoming an international university, expanding the national recognition of a traditionally regional university, etc.

But to many students of the modern era, Harrington will either be remembered for the fallout of the Cecilia Chang ordeal or simply, not remembered at all.

The fact is that many students at St. John’s have never met Harrington and for those seniors, they may only come in contact with him at their commencement ceremony (that is, if he still attends) on May 19th.

Harrington was not a name often mentioned by students around the University before this year. But as Cecilia Chang’s federal trial began in October, Harrington became the center of much attention – and not in the way he probably would have liked. The initial New York Magazine investigation, as well as follow-up reporting by the Torch, showed his personal business relationships with Robert Wile, his chief of staff and vice president of Institutional Advancement, as well as trips and gifts furnished by Chang on the University’s dime.
In recent years, his private nature has proven to be a problem for him. Even when things went well, he chose to remain as an unknown figure. When things have turned to the wayside, his public image – these reports, the testimony – are the only things the student body know of him.

While the results of the Board’s investigation have not been released, and may never, Harrington’s image problem was clear enough to the University that it felt the need to send the student body not one or two emails regarding his retirement, but four. The last email included praise for Harrington from both Cardinal Timothy Dolan and NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly.
What is possibly more depressing for Harrington than much of the student body believing he was a corrupt president will be the fact that after all of this, the good press and the bad, there will still be students who don’t know who he is or what he’s done at the University.

When we interviewed students for the Student Sparks question this week, many didn’t know who Harrington was and therefore couldn’t answer the question.

These aren’t the outliers at the University. They are the everyday students on campus to prepare for their finals on the Unviersity Study Day. Students who live in the dorms that didn’t exist 24 years ago at the beginning of his reign or those studying abroad on either the Paris or Rome campuses may not realize the lasting impact, good or bad, that he has had.
This entire situation has not been ideal for anybody associated with the University. However to the University community, the lack of a true leader in Newman Hall was the biggest disappointment throughout the year.

During Harrington’s tenure, a culture without transparency and accountability became the norm at St. John’s. At the end of July, Harrington will leave St. John’s the way he ran it, in the background, hiding behind other people’s statements.

Fr. Harrington and Student Government worked together to establish an annual Town Hall, which has provided a direct outlet for students to voice their concerns to administration.
In addition, Fr. Harrington has continuously met with each Executive Board of Student Government, in an effort to remain as connected as possible with student initiatives and to offer his assistance in addressing the student feedback that Student Government presents.

Throughout his time as University President, Fr. Harrington’s genuine interest in student concerns has been readily apparent. It is our hope that the new University President will continue the precedence that Fr. Harrington has set in actively working with Student Government to address the concerns of the STJ community and remain a valuable resource to our University.

-Student Government, Inc.

With all the things I have to get done in the next two weeks, I can’t think of a better way to spend my time than to reminisce on my last four years. I’ve decided there are some people I need to thank, some I need to apologize to and some I just want to give a shout out.

First things first, I would like to thank all of the well-meaning people of Donovan Hall freshman year who posted signs and inspirational quotes and “respect” blurbs all over the building. Our bathroom décor was definitely improved with all the pretty colors that you used.

I’d also like to thank a certain friend of mine for creating a collage that became our iconic piece of artwork for all our subsequent apartments. That 8.5” x 11” piece of paper has been the start of many a conversation and caused many a laugh.

Thank you to all those who have gone out to 7-11 for me over the years and a very special thank you to the ones who came back with a tube of chocolate chip cookie dough. There is no better feeling in the world than sitting on the couch with a tube of cookie dough and a season of trashy TV shows to watch. There’s also no better way to gain the sophomore 70. Okay, maybe it was 17, but that wasn’t what it felt like…

I want to send my sincere apologies to all those on the strip we tossed water balloons at from our second floor room. Though you have to admit – it was pretty funny!

But to the person who retaliated by throwing eggs at us, screw you. The egg caked on our window and left a disgusting streak that I understand was still there when the girls moved into the room the next year.

To the cheerleading team, thank you for not openly laughing at me when I tried out for your team sophomore year. Also, thank you for one of the worst days of my life. I have rarely felt as bad about myself as that day when I could do nothing right. I have a much larger respect for you and what you do on a weekly basis. Thank you also for suggesting that I could’ve improved and tried out again – we both know that wasn’t the case but it was still nice of you to say.

DJ Zeke… there are so many things I want to say to you, I don’t know where to begin. I guess I’ll just thank you for the ringing in my ears that told me I could wear shorts outside.

To the people who have lived below or above us for the last three years, I don’t know if you’ve realized this but we’ve been able to hear most of what you’re saying or doing. A sample of the priceless things we’ve heard over the years: a couple doing the dirty (over and over again), a full-on basketball dribbling contest, a rave, bowling, arguments with your roommates, working out to Tae Bo with Billy Blanks.

I’m sorry to every guy that has ever played against me in intramural sports and come up looking silly. I know it must suck when all your friends watch a girl catch a pass over you or hit the ball over your head. To the guy that accidentally grabbed my butt instead of the flag in football that one time, I forgive you. My teammates might not though.

I would like to request my letters (you know what I mean – the ones that spell NOLICE) and Snuggies back from my successors at the Torch. I’d also like to thank them for their patience with my long emails, their sense of humor and their love of pizza.

My predecessor deserves the ultimate shout-out. He has been nothing less than outstanding and I am truly lucky to have him as a mentor. Unluckily for him, I’m following him out to Texas so he’ll be stuck with me again soon.

Thank you to the professors who took the time to get to know me. I can truly say that I’ve met professors here who I will stay in contact with for years to come. They’ve not only taught me the subject material, but also how to be a successful person – personally and professionally. I will say, however, that I am very sorry for my penchant for tardiness and the occasional missed class.

To my friends, old and new, thank you for all the memories. You all hold special places in my heart and are the reason that I will look fondly on my time at St. John’s. Whether it was acting as the sorting hat or making our own sparkly team t-shirts, I never thought I’d find so many people as weird and fun as me.

My roommates are incredible people. Thank you for your patience, your laughter and your willingness to have cupcake shaped furnishings all over the apartment. These four years would not have been the same without any one of you and I’m so glad that I can come home at the end of a day and rehash all the reasons the world’s population sucks without any judgment.

Michael – thanks. You’re not as vile as I thought you were.

Very sincerely yours,

Nicole Valente