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Preacher Disrupts SUNY Oswego
OSWEGO, NY— Last Wednesday, a man named Saint Jesse Morrell unexpectedly visited the quads delivering his religious opinion. For roughly 20 minutes he was aggressively yelling to students his ideas of the LGBT community, targeting their lifestyle, calling it a sin. The students didn’t agree with what he was saying, retallying back in an argument until the police showed up. Since he did not have a free speech permit from the school, he was asked to leave.
“He has freedom of speech,” Oswego student Sarah Novak said after he targeting her and her girlfriend. “So we also have freedom of speech, so we choose to kiss and fight hate with love”
The full video of the event was uploading by Jesse Morrell – Open Air Street Preacher on YouTube. The campus still has not responded on the situation.
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ESPN writer Kate Fagan shares inspiration for ‘What Made Maddy Run’
by Kerry Ryan
OSWEGO, N.Y. — On Tuesday, October 10th, the Sheldon Hall Ballroom was filled with members of the oswego community; all waiting to listen to ‘I Am Oz’ speaker and ESPN writer, Kate Fagan. Fagan shared her stories of coming out as a gay woman, working for ESPN, and her inspiration to write the book What Made Maddy Run?. What Made Maddy Run? is the story of University of Pennsylvania freshman track star Madison Holleran, who died by suicide at the age of 19 years old after secretly struggling with anxiety and depression.
Fagan originally wrote Holleran’s story as a piece for ESPN. After receiving numerous emails written by high school and college students, as well as their parents, Fagan said she knew that she needed to dig deeper into the story.
“I realized that we had really only touched on a certain piece of the story in the magazine piece and that there were other roads to travel down to make the story more fleashed out for the rest of the college students and young people who saw themselves in her,” Fagan said.
This isn’t Fagan’s first non-fiction story, however. The Former WNBA player previously released a book retelling the story of her own struggles. The Reappearing Act: Coming Out as Gay on a College Basketball Team Led by Born-Again Christians explains the background of Fagan’s difficulty with her identity and how it would affect her and those around her.
What Made Maddy Run? was an instant New York Times best-seller. This is a first for Fagan, who said she has always wanted to be a writer.
“Basketball was like the pursuit,” Fagan said. “I guess I’ll be a writer when I’m done. And so when i was done playing basketball, that’s when I moved the writing to the front burner.”
Fagan said her next goal is to get some of her fictional work published. She said that, unlike non-fiction, there’s a different way of storytelling in fiction and it allows writers to have more creative freedom.
What Made Maddy Run? by Kate Fagan is available online and in bookstores now.
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Local Business Lookout: River’s End Bookstore
Oswego, N.Y. – Local hotspot, River’s End bookstore, is located in downtown Oswego at 19 West Bridge Street. Housing a collection of approximately 12,000 books, the store has a variety of genres and can special order books for customers, or offer online purchasing options.
All of this is an effort to provide stellar service and “to make a life time customer” according to owner Bill Reilly.
River’s End Bookstore holds Story Time on Tuesdays, collaborations with other local businesses and the campus, and book release parties. They also sell large quantity books to places like the hospital, as well as carry items like apparel, colored pencils, and greeting cards.
The store is open seven days a week, Monday-Saturday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, you can visit their website www.riversendbookstore.com or you can call (315)342-0077.
Written By: Kristen Beyer
