By Walker Snowden
OSWEGO, N.Y.– This past recruiting season the SUNY Oswego laker swim team has brought together athletes from around the globe to build its program. With athletes from the southern and western parts of the United States, as well as from countries in Europe, the diversity of this years team goes far beyond the line of New york.
Oswego Men’s Swim team member Daniel Rodriguez said the men’s team is very diverse this season. “There is a guy from Columbia, there is two kids from Florida, there is a guy from Connecticut, there is a guy from South Carolina, my roommate is from Malaysia, and i’m from Spain, so it’s a very diverse team, at least from the men’s side,” Rodriguez said.
Swim team members said diversity is held in a high regard among the team and it has helped them form strong bonds with each other.
Luis Perez recently joined the team after moving here from Columbia. “I really wanted to change the culture in which I was living. I wanted to experience new things, and what is better than here, almost Canada. Like so far from where I was. I chose Oswego because it is a very new experience for me,” Perez said.
For more information on Oswego’s swim team, visit oswegolakers.com.
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Syracuse University offers mumps vaccine
by Josh Holfoth
SYRACUSE, N.Y.– Syracuse University is offering a boost in the m-m-r vaccine, as the number of mumps cases continues to grow. 4,000 more vaccines for mumps are being made available to students, after 27 confirmed cases of the mumps on the Syracuse campus.
Onondaga county health commissioner, Dr. Indu Gupta says that the outbreak is still spreading, as 2 other confirmed cases of the mumps have popped up in Onondaga County but the outbreak is mainly on the university campus. The vaccine is expected to help contain and eliminate the outbreak but officials that it is not a replacement for the everyday precautions people should take to avoid the disease.
Mumps is contagious and spreads through saliva and respiratory secretions, so people are urged to avoid sharing drinks or utensils and mouth to mouth contact. SUNY Oswego had a case of the mumps in September of last year but it did not lead to level of outbreak that Syracuse University is experiencing now.
Vaccines will be free for Syracuse students and the University is holding a 2 day vaccination event on Thursday and Friday this week.
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WTOP-10 T.V. Successfully Airs Five Hour HD Broadcast
The student-run television station aired their longest Election Night broadcast on November 8 with coverage reaching five hours
What was originally planned as a four hour broadcast airing from 8 p.m. EST until 12 a.m. EST, turned into five hours going off air at 1 a.m. EST. This turned out to be the longest Election Night in Oswego broadcast thus far for WTOP-10 T.V. The extended coverage not only brought viewers up to date polling information but gave those who participated in the broadcast one of the most valuable experiences of their time to date at WTOP-10 T.V.
The broadcast was stacked with polling results in the national and local elections, live interviews with guests, and live shots from campaign headquarters around Syracuse, NY. Hosts Justin Penman ’18, Lauren Toscano ’16, and Kirby Socker ’18 conducted in-studio interviews with special guests that included: Editor-in-Chief of The Oswegonian, JoAnn DeLauter ’17, political science professor Brandon Metroka, international student Lindsey Martin, and social media correspondents Kalie Hudson ‘16 and Arielle Schunk ‘17. Bringing viewers live coverage at various campaign locations in Syracuse were Oswegonian reporters Natalie Brophy ’17 at Colleen Deacon’s campaign, and Lydia Goerner ‘17 at John Katko’s. The broadcast would not have been possible without the hard work that was put in from the talent and crew at WTOP-10 T.V. Producers Hayley Prenatt ‘17 and Justin Penman ‘18, have worked tirelessly for the past month to ensure that Election Night in Oswego would be the best it could possibly be. Penman, who also served as host for the entirety of the broadcast, expressed how it felt to play a major role in such a lengthy live show.
“Hosting a five-hour broadcast was exciting, exhausting, and most of all rewarding. The fact that I know I am capable of something like this gave me a real sense of accomplishment”, says Penman.
Prenatt says herself, and night-of assistant producer Anthony Sagrestano ‘18 ended up scraping a lot of the content that was planned due to the polling results constantly coming in.
“The hardest part for sure was not knowing what we were doing block to block because we were waiting on numbers”, says Prenatt.
On social media, Lauren Toscano ‘16 shared a message about the experience she had co-hosting Election Night in Oswego 2016. “We made history last night at WTOP. I’m super proud of how successful the broadcast was and am floored with the support we received.” Toscano wrote.
With this year’s five-hour broadcast completed, general manager Justin Dobrow ‘17 added to the feedback, expressing how amazingly dedicated the talent and crew were.
“I could not be more proud of the incredible crew and talent that were apart of this broadcast. We [WTOP] originally planned for only four hours, but with the consistency of our passion we all decided to go for one more hour- that’s what I love- that’s what makes us ‘Toppers,” says Dobrow.
With overwhelming support on social media and in the WTOP-10 T.V. office, each person involved in Election Night in Oswego, especially those graduating, were able to make memories to look back on for years to come.
Check out some pictures from the broadcast all courtesy of WTOP-10 T.V.’s very own photography director, Tom Kasperowicz ‘17:
Hosts Justin Penman and Lauren Toscano minutes before the broadcast began
Director Taylor Ksiazek hard at work
Social media correspondents Kalie Hudson and Arielle Schunk discussed social media in this year’s election
VP of Productions Ian Dwyer pushed to extend the broadcast an extra hour due to the late polling results coming in
The control room was filled with beautiful HD quality as crew members worked tirelessly all through the night
Host Justin Penman interviewed international student Lindsey Martin, who gave a different perspective on the election
In the studio, crew members stayed focused throughout
Hosts Justin Penman and Kirby Socker discuss incoming results from local, state, and national elections
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Etan Thomas at OzSpeaks Diversity Series
Former NBA player Etan Thomas visited SUNY Oswego last Monday to lead a panel discussion and q&a about activism and media exposure within professional sports. The discussion was held at the Marano Campus Center auditorium as a part of the “I am Oz” Diversity Series.
“There’s this new surge of athletes using their voices and speaking out.” Thomas said.
Since Thomas’ retirement he has become a writer and a commentator, with a life devotion to advocating for social change on and off the court.
“I grew up admiring the athletes of the past,” Thomas said. “like Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Bill Russell, Muhammad Ali. Those were the athletes I have always admired (because of) the way they used their positions and platforms to be able to speak on different issues and create change.”
Several students attended the panel with many questions of discussion including players taking a knee during the national anthem, how athletes present themselves in the media, media criticism, and the evolution of social media use by players.
After the panel, students had an opportunity to purchase an autographed copy of Thomas’ book entitled “We Matter- Athletes and Activism.”
“I want them to read the stories of these different athletes who they admire seeing on the court or the field,” Thomas said, “by seeing the courage that they have and the passion that they speak with, and become inspired themselves to become activists in their own way.”
