On Monday, SUNY Oswego students were subjected to some unusual surprise when a “preacher man” took over their quad and said what some students claimed were “offensive remarks and beliefs”.

Jim Deferrio, a middle aged man, was seen holding a sign preaching on the SUNY Oswego quad a variety of different ultra-religious phrases other remarks unpopular on a liberal public campus.

Students grouped around Deferrio and gave their input before he was asked to leave by University Police, but soon was allowed to come back on campus as it is considered a public university.

Many students expressed their displeasure to the man and on various sources of social media, calling the man “homophobic” and claiming that his messages were “hateful”.

According to several different sources, Deferrio has been known to go to different colleges and university preaching a similar message.

Whatever his message may have been, he certainly raised a stir on the quad and on the SUNY Campus.

Originally Reported By Chelsey Moore

A new SUNY Oswego Assistant Professor introduced herself to campus in a special way: by enlightening students with her violin.

Ahreum Kim, the campus’s new assistant professor in high strings and musicology, performed with Professor Robert Auler in front of an audience in Sheldon Ballroom.  The sonatas consisted mostly of classical and romantic times in music.

Professor Kim not only had to perform the music, but also make sure that her movements accurately portrayed the specific emotions of the songs.

Reporter David Hermanovitch talked with Kim, who told him that to portray the emotion, she had to change her expressions at the same time, which is very tiring during the performance.

Overall, the performance was a creative way for Kim to begin her tenure with SUNY Oswego.

Students, faculty and campus officials gathered in Marano Campus Center Auditorium, Thursday September 29th, for the first town hall meeting with Deborah Stanley of the semester. The town hall meetings act as a platform where students can bring their questions and concerns about the campus to President Stanley to be addressed. Many students came prepared with questions and concerns for President Stanley and officials pertaining to both on and off campus issues. After Student Association President Emily Nassir, introduced President Stanley, Stanley opened the floor to student concerns.

Plans to build a new staircase that leads to the lake on the west side of campus were brought forward by a student. The student expressed their and other students’ desire to have a proper staircase that leads down to the lake on west side of campus, so residents on west side can also enjoy walking down to the lake. President Stanley and officials confirmed that the plans have gone into effect. President Stanley said that her main concern for building the staircase was safety and she is working with campus environmentalists and professionals to make sure the new staircase meets accessibility concerns and respects the environment. Safety was also the concern of other students who questioned why Desk Attendants were no longer required to check student ids from 11pm until 3am. The new rule went into effect in the beginning of the semester as per request of Residence Life and Housing. Students feel taking away Desk Attendants’ ability to check ids during the late hours, decreases overall safety for students on and off campus. President Deborah Stanley expressed that she did not agree with the decision and wanted Desk Attendants to continue to check ids effective immediately until further notice.

Students also came forward on Thursday evening expressing their concerns over the banking change from Higher One Account to Vibe Account. Because there was a change in companies, the ATM for Higher One Account was taken out of the campus center and as a result, students can no longer take out money without being charged a fee. The university is currently negotiating with the new company to have them install a new ATM for customers to use. Not only did students have concerns over their bank accounts, but they also brought up concerns over their email accounts, as many SUNY Oswego emails have been susceptible to phishing and email scams. Students wanted to know what was going to be done about the problem as email is the primary source of communication on campus between students and faculty. Before addressing the student’s concern, President Stanley jokingly said, “I think it’s Russia. Don’t you think it’s Russia?” After getting a laugh out of those in attendance the Technology Department said they were aware of the problem and we addressing ways to fix the issue. They have been trying to cut down on the amount of LakerNet emails that are in the system by contacting alumni, recent graduates and past faculty members to verify they still want their account activated. In addition to verifying email activations, the Technology Department is also encouraging students to change their email passwords to decrease the chances of having one’s email account hacked.

Many concerns were brought forward at Thursday’s meeting. All concerns were addressed by President Stanley and/or campus officials. The town hall meetings are the time and place for students to bring their concerns forward to be addressed and solved. All students are encouraged to attend the meetings to voice their opinions and make an impact on campus. Town Hall Meetings are held every Thursday evening at 6pm, in the Marano Campus Center Auditorium. The meetings open to the public and all are welcome to attend.