The Special Olympics New York Central Region is hosting their third annual Polar Plunge in Wrights Landing, Oswego.
The event will take place on March 28, and involves participants jumping into the lake at Wrights Landing regardless of the weather conditions of the time.
By registering, participants will have the opportunity to raise money for the athletes of the Special Olympics, and those who raise $100 or more receive a Polar Plunge Sweatshirt.
To register or for more information on other forms of involvement visit polarplungeny.org.
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Oregon Shooting: Remember the Hero
Chris Mintz.
That is the name of the student at Umpqua Community College who was shot five times in his attempt to save others from a gunman who went on a shooting rampage on the school’s campus. During the aftermath of the horrific shooting at the College, participants on social media have called for the widespread recognition of Mintz while stressing the importance of not popularizing the shooter.
The shooter has been identified as 26-year-old Christopher Harper Mercer, and the father of one of the victims said that during the shooting, Mercer intentionally targeted Christians. While it is unclear why he targeted the college specifically, it was reported that he went into at least two different classrooms.
A total of ten people were killed during the incident, with seven others reported as injured. The father of one of the victims stated that the gunman went into the classroom, and said (to the professor) “I’ve been waiting to do this for years” and then shot the professor point blank. Other reports say that he ordered “Christians” to stand up and then would shoot them when they emerged.
The gunman was reported dead earlier Thursday.
Chris Mintz is a 30-year-old military veteran and student of Umpqua Community College. According to claims, he attempted to block the door to prevent the gunman from coming into the classroom, and was shot three times. He then looked up at the gunman and stated “It’s my son’s birthday today”, to which he was shot at least two more times. While it is still unknown exactly how many times he was shot, it is reported that both of his legs are broken. He remains in stable condition at Mercy Medical Center.
President Barack Obama released a statement after the incident in which he indirectly pushed for stricter gun control laws, stating, “Somehow this has become routine,” he said. “The reporting is routine. My response here at this podium ends up being routine, the conversation in the aftermath of it. We’ve become numb to this.”
This incident is just one of the many that continue to seem more and more common in the United States.
In situations like this, it is important to publicize not the gunman, but the heroes like Chris Mintz.
*Quotes recorded from CNN.com*
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Chancellor Malatras announces a $3 million nursing emergency training fund
Jim Malatras recently announced a three million dollar emergency fund that will allow more students to enroll in nursing degree programs across the SUNY and CUNY system.
This comes as nursing shortages reach all time highs across New York State, and the need for healthcare workers becomes more prevalent. The fund will expand nursing programs on campuses throughout the state, and train hundreds of prospective healthcare workers.
“You need 11 million more nurses to meet the demand in the United States of America. At the current rate we’re going, we’re going to be short 40 thousand nurses,” Jim Malatras, the SUNY Chancellor said after analyzing statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor.
SUNY Chancellor, Jim Malatras Engaged at the SUNY Cayuga School of Nursing. Photo provided by Jackie Orchard, the Deputy Press Secretary of SUNY. The U.S. Bureau of Labor also projected that employment opportunities for nurses are expected to grow at a rate of 15%. This is much faster than any other occupation through 2026.
Malatras said the fund is going to fill in the gaps, coming at a time when U.S. nursing programs are turning away applicants, now reaching full capacity, and unable to continue proper training.
“We need to hire more instructors, one of the things we’re finding out is there’s not enough nursing instructors to actually teach these programs,” Malatras added.
SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras engaged at the SUNY Orange nursing program. Photo provided by Jackie Orchard, the Deputy Press Secretary for SUNY. In addition to this initiative, Governor Kathy Hochul also stepped in, announcing a new scholarship program called “Nurses for our Future.” That will cover tuition for over one thousand new registered nurses.
For SUNY Oswego, while there is no accredited nursing program for students on campus, Malatras explained that the program is going to act as a “pipeline” for students to get involved in healthcare if interested.
“There’s all sorts of associated programs, I know there’s some allied health programs that Oswego has as a transition to get into healthcare,” Malatras began. He said it’s colleges like Oswego that can benefit students, and serve as a direct path into healthcare. “It’s an all hands on deck thing, we want to leverage every part of this system that we have and make it a pipeline where it’s appropriate.”
SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras engaged at the SUNY Orange nursing program. Photo provided by Jackie Orchard, the Deputy Press Secretary of SUNY. As things start slowly returning to normal amid the pandemic, Malatras also said the SUNY system is working hard to combat the pandemic in a number of ways. Since the vaccine mandate was set in place in September, and now booster shots have been made available to adults, Malatras said schools like Oswego may see more relaxed restrictions come this spring.
“It’s been great to be back up at Oswego this semester, it’s such a different feeling,” Malatras said. “It’s great to go to an ice hockey game right now, and it’s great to see friends on-campus, it’s great to see a lecture in person, it’s great to see a musical performance, and we want to keep that up.”
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Syracuse Dining Weeks
Reported by: Conor Halton
