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Interested in hearing about the best new events to hit the Ryan Center? Want details about what's going on in Rhody Nation? Check out The Good Five-Cent Cigar! The Good Five Cent Cigar is the University of Rhode Island's weekly, student-run news organization. The Cigar gives the university's readers the latest information about on-campus issues and events, as well as editorial, sports and entertai

nment content. The Cigar is published every Thursday during the academic year and copies can be found in the Memorial Union and most academic buildings or online. We are always accepting new writers and photographers! Stop by our meetings, Thursdays at 7 p.m. in room 125 of the Memorial Union for more information.

04/24/2025

For the first time in the University of Rhode Island history, two Greek life chapters, Phi Gamma Delta and Sigma Pi, will be sharing a house on campus.

The situation worked out well for both fraternities, according to Stephan Simo, the assistant dean of students.

“There’s not too much mystery to it,” Simo said. “[Phi Gamma Delta] didn’t have enough members that were willing to live in from this past year and Sigma Pi had been interested in trying to find some kind of suitable housing.”

Read the full article by Katelyn Drenga on rhodycigar.com

04/22/2025

Spring is in the air and faith-based organization, Sojourn Collegiate Ministry, hosted a flower pot painting night on April 9 in the University of Rhode Island Ram’s Den.

Sojourn exists to give students a place to go, make friends and participate in different planned activities, according to Tyler Nobis, the chaplain of Sojourn at URI.

“We are a group that focuses on community,” Nobis said. “We want people to come; we want to learn a name and story.”

Students gathered in the Ram’s Den to give their own personal touch to flower pots and started growing flowers in them that same night. The organization provided paint and soil.

Sojourn’s next event is a graduation celebration for seniors in their organization. The celebration will be hosted on Wednesday at the SouthPointe Christian Church in Warwick.

Read the full article by Stephen Russo on rhodycigar.com

04/17/2025

The Good 5 Cent Cigar is holding elections on April 21 at 6pm in Memorial Union Room 125. All positions are paid, no experience required. Send in your top three choices to [email protected]!

04/09/2025

Third-year swimmer Rylee Kelly learned that she had been selected by the Greater Providence YMCA as one of six 2025 Y Heroes after giving a tour of women’s athletics to a group from the YMCA in January.

Kelly’s internship with People’s Credit Union led her to connect with the South County Y. She has served as a liaison between women’s athletics and the Y since the start of the academic year, connecting the youth with student-athletes who serve as mentors and role models.

“I’m a big believer that we could always be doing more to give back to the community that gives back so much to athletics,” Kelly said. “That was definitely some motivation, but the People’s Credit Union helped me facilitate that.”

As part of Kelly’s time with the Y, her swim and dive team, alongside URI women’s lacrosse and softball, took a trip to Peace Dale Elementary School in South Kingstown and played kickball with students in December 2024. Kelly learned that a kid went out of their comfort zone to join the game thanks to encouragement from URI athletes.

“It’s the things like that, that we don’t necessarily realize are big things,” Kelly said. “We’re just happy to be there and hanging out, but it makes such a big difference to them.”

Read the full article by Charlie Adams on rhodycigar.com.

04/07/2025

PETA2 visited campus last week to showcase a controversial virtual reality experience where students experienced what PETA2 claims it is like to be a prey animal, prompting outrage from some students.

The virtual reality experience to promote veganism, called “When They Came For Us,” was a seven minute VR video game where students were abducted by an alien, and had to argue with her for their life. This video game was created using Open AI, so each person’s experience was unique. There were three outcomes to this; you were freed early, freed at the end of the experience, or the alien let you go to reconsider her choices in eating humans.

PETA2 clarified that regardless, the students would not die or be eaten at the end.

“I asked to take it off and they made me do the entire simulation even though I was uncomfortable and honestly scared,” third-year student Grace Gagner said. “It was a monster making me beg for my life.”

Simulation participants can remove the headset whenever they want, according to PETA Media Relations Manager Catie Cryar. PETA2 has never forced anyone to continue with the simulation; the simulation is timed and will eventually end regardless of what the participant chooses to say, Crayer said.

Read the full article by Kat Sheridan on rhodycigar.com

04/06/2025

University of Rhode Island’s President Marc Parlange and a panel of faculty hosted a town hall to address issues and concerns around current executive orders that could affect federal funding, student financial aid, and diversity, equity and inclusion policies.

“Today we know our universities are under strain,” Parlange said. “Years of disinvestment on both state and federal levels, growing public distrust and attacks on academic freedom are testing our institutions.”

The university has put together a Leadership Team on Federal Action that monitors federal orders and legislation coming from the Trump administration, according to Parlange.

Panelists addressed the issue of federal research funding cuts for graduate students and faculty. URI will still accept graduate students, according to Bethany Jenkins, vice president for research and economic development at URI.

Read the full article by – on rhodycigar.com

(Photo Credit: Nora Lewis/URI Photos)

03/30/2025

University of Rhode Island housing officials are closely monitoring a structural crack in Brookside Hall’s north tower, determining the issue is cosmetic and not a safety concern, according to Tim Valton II, associate director of facilities for housing and residence life at URI.

The 15 to 20-foot crack was discovered in early March in a fifth-floor room in the North Tower of Brookside Hall, according to Valton.

A structural engineer confirmed the crack resulted from a fabrication error during construction and does not compromise the building’s structural integrity, according to Valton. The crack is not a load-bearing issue or a result of the building not handling stress.

“It’s more of a fabrication problem or mishandling during installation,” Valton said.

The crack extends from a student’s bedroom through the hallway and will be monitored using a specialized computer system to follow the crack’s progression during the summer, according to Valton.

Read the full article by Stephen Russo on rhodycigar.com

03/22/2025

Jazz voice students, studying under University of Rhode Island professor Atla DeChamplain, accompanied the URI Standard Combo in the second Jazz Combo event of the semester on March 4.

The voice students were asked to sing at the combo, according to DeChamplain. It was short notice, so students only knew they were going to be on stage two weeks prior. However, they had been practicing the repertoire since the first week of the semester.

Some voice students highlighted female composers in jazz music, according to fourth-year Louis Shriber. His song was “Twisted” by Annie Ross, which is a bebop classic. Unlike the sultry songs, “Twisted” had an upbeat tempo and charismatic emotion.

After each student performed their pieces, the URI Standards Combo came out to play three Charles Mingus songs and one Burt Bacharach song. The pieces by Mingus were all fast but unified as one voice.

“[The pieces I choose] are all hard because I think most music — to do it correctly, to do well and convincingly, even songs that are really simple to do —is hard to execute,” DeChamplain said.

Read the full article by Casey Chan-Smutko on rhodycigar.com

03/21/2025

The W. Alton Jones campus, the third University of Rhode Island campus, in West Greenwich, Rhode Island, is looking to reopen its research and education purposes since its closure during the COVID-19 pandemic due to financial troubles, according to Abby Benson, the vice president for administration and finance.

The campus has been part of URI since 1964, according to a Request For Information Solicitation issued on Nov. 4, 2024. The RFI requests that the campus return for usage proposals that support URI’s mission as a land grant institution.

Before the campus closed, it allowed for hands-on research opportunities for nursing, biology and wildlife ecology students, according to Anthony Burnett Testa, a computer teacher at Archie R. Cole Middle School. He runs promoting reopening the campus. At the campus, students learned leadership and communication skills for real-world experiences.

“With [the campus] being shut down, it limits opportunities for students at URI,” Burnett Testa said. “I think that [students] are missing out because it’s a beautiful area to learn about the environment.”

Read the full article by Casey Chan-Smutko on rhodycigar.com

03/10/2025

Whether he was setting up craft nights as a hall director, taking photos around campus or working as the house manager of the University of Rhode Island’s theatre department, the impressions Michael LaPointe made on students and staff over his 50 years at URI are everlasting.

LaPointe began his career at URI as a student, graduating in 1993. He would go on to become a residential assistant, a hall director, a part-time theatre professor and the house manager of the theatre department.

“He was Rhody until the end,” Brenda Celone, the owner of Total Image Hair Salon said. “He went to school here and just never left.”

The theatre department will hold a celebration of life sometime in the spring.

“It was never himself first, it was always someone else,” Paula McGlasson, chair and production manager of the theatre department said. “His heart was big enough to hold many, many, many people in it, and he did.”

03/09/2025

Demonstrators lined Wakefield’s Main Street on March 4, protesting the Trump administration, Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency. The protest was organized by South County Resistance, a local Facebook group.

Photo credits: Sully Cummins - 1, 3, Abbie Chipps - 2, 4, 5

03/07/2025

The University of Rhode Island men’s track and field team scored 178.5 points en route to its fifth-straight Atlantic 10 Indoor Track and Field Championship.

Rhode Island started strong, scoring 18 points in the long jump, after being projected 11 based on seeding. Fourth-years Matt Santy and John Santos claimed first and second place; it was Santy’s first A-10 title for the long jump, leaping 7.19 meters. For Santos, his jump of 7.14 was a new personal record. These performances gave the team an immediate confidence that this meet was theirs for the taking.

“I felt after the long jump got off to such a spectacular start for us, it was pretty much over,” URI Head Coach Trent Baltzell said. “There was just not really any way that [the other teams] were going to be able to score enough points by the end of the meet to beat us.”

The high jump and the shot put were the Rams’ most successful events, scoring a combined 45.5 points. In the high jump, Santy defended his title as he cleared 2.07 meters, which earned him Most Outstanding Field Performer.

In total, the Rams won five events and reached the podium 17 times. It wasn’t just the Rams fifth indoor title in a row, but also the ninth consecutive A-10 title when you include their outdoor dynasty as well.

Read the full article by Justin Theriault on rhodycigar.com.

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