by Jamie Aranoff

Oswego, NY- Students in Oswego State’s MBA program volunteered their time to do free income tax reports for both students and members of the Oswego community.

The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program (VITA) has been a part of the Oswego State campus for over ten years. The VITA program assists students who are new to doing taxes on their own as well as community members.   

According to a press release, the Oswego VITA program received a score of 100 percent in quality site requirements in its IRS field audit.

VITA on-site program coordinator Kevin Kania says tax forms are sent by the students to the IRS electronically. If there are any questions or concerns about a form, the IRS will contact them.

“Last year we had over a 99 percent approval rating, which means over 99 percent of the returns we prepare were accepted by the IRS which means we did them correctly and there were no issues or questions for us,” he said.

According to City-Data, the median household income in Oswego was $39,632 in 2015. Many residents fit the requirement for VITA’s minimum income, bringing in many tax forms for student volunteers to file.

“Last year we preformed over 400 returns and this year we’re on track to get over 400 returns throughout the whole semester,” Kania said.

The last day to file taxes is Apr. 18.

By Victor Pusateri, WTOP-10 TV

Jacquelin White of the Oswego State Women’s Hockey team has been named the Eastern College Athletic Conference Women’s West Rookie of the Week for the second time this year. The first time she earned the award was three weeks ago.

White is a big reason the Lakers find themselves at 6-0 on the season and 4-0 in conference play. The freshman has scored a point in every game thus far, giving her a six game point streak to start her college career. This past weekend, White had two goals and one assist against Cortland.

The Lakers will return to the ice this weekend and head to North Country to take on the reigning Division Three National Champions, the Plattsburgh Cardinals. The Lakers and Cardinals face off at 3 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.