The Oswego Women’s basketball team improved to 3-0 after a thrilling 76-72 non-conference victory over Hamilton. Heather Hebert scored the go-ahead layup for Oswego with 52 seconds remaining in the game. Jenn Robbins had a team high 21 points on the evening. Hebert finished with 20 points and 9 rebounds for the Lakers.
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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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International Students’ View on Election Day
by Daniel Manou, WTOP10-TV
President Trump or President Clinton, words that not just Americans will have to get used to this November.
With election day less than a week away, international students studying this fall in the U.S. have been able to witness this year’s election from the inside. Watching the political debates between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, students have been able to compare their prior knowledge and opinions to what they have seen firsthand.
Regardless of how far away the states are from their homeland, Lindsey Martin says the results will be felt even after the semester ends.
“As an Australian, I find it really daunting. I feel a bit helpless because I feel like the eventual outcome will affect not only Australia but most of the world because America is a such a super power,” said Martin.
Martin has followed the debates and empathizes with Americans who are frustrated with the current political landscape. Looking at the two candidates Martin said she doesn’t feel confident in either of them but for completely different reasons.
“He [Trump] lacks any kind of depth in his policy statements and any real contentious factual information,” said Martin. “Hillary Clinton might be a seasoned veteran but she is completely uninspiring in my opinion, especially contrasted against Obama.”
For some Americans, frustration has become too much and have decided not to vote. Beliz Atalay actively follows politics in Turkey and she does not understand how Americans can decide not to vote.
“I wouldn’t feel comfortable about it because it’s about my country and even though people may not think one vote will not change anything, it can,” said Atalay.
For Atalay and Martin, voting is mandatory in their country. Australia follows a compulsory vote system which means any resident over the age of 18 is required to register and vote. If someone does not vote and do not have a valid excuse, they can be subjected to a fine and court date, which in some cases has led to jail time.
As the election on November 8 nears, both wish they had a vote but will have to wait to see what the United States Voters decide and how it will affect their countries. Trying to guess what life with either candidate would be like as the next president is something both Martin and Atalay don’t know, but are hoping voters look closely at the policies and personalities before casting their ballot.
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Excelsior Scholarship
by Ilyssa Weiner
OSWEGO, NY — Governor Andrew Cuomo’s recent Excelsior Scholarship is the first program in the United States to offer free tuition to four year public colleges. The program, however, has its setbacks, critics say.
SUNY Oswego Financial Aid Director Mark Humbert says the hard part for students who receive the scholarship will be keeping it.
“You have to successfully complete 30 credit hours per year and most of our students don’t do that,” he said.
SUNY Oswego currently has a 48% acceptance rate. Humbert says the Excelsior Scholarship will cause the rate of all SUNY schools to decrease.
“It’s going to make SUNY more selective, which in some way goes against our mission which is affordability and access,” he said.
The initial cap for students who qualify will be an annual family income of $100,000. By 2019, the cap will rise to $125,000. Humbert says many students will still need loans despite the qualification.
”The cost of college is more than just tuition,” he said. “The same students that might be eligible for this still are going to need their loans to help pay for room and board.”
Students eligible for the program must stay in New York State for four years after they graduate. If they move out, the free tuition turns into a loan.
SUNY Oswego student Asha Bey is a broadcasting major and is concerned if she ends up with a job outside of New York.
“I know there’s plenty of job opportunities in other states other than New York,” Bey said.
While she is hopeful about the scholarship, Bey believes the kinks need to be worked out.
“I just want a group of people to just go through it so we can see what is there or what we can expect,” she said.
The Excelsior Scholarship program will take effect Fall 2017.
