Several Oswego State students and faculty gathered in front of the peace memorial for a candlelight vigil last Friday in honor of the victims of the Pittsburgh synagogue attack.

The vigil was held shortly after the suspect of the Pittsburgh attack, Robert Bowers, plead not guilty for the 44 criminal charges held against him in court last Thursday.

“We’re here to send a message of love and hope, and that hate is not welcome here,” Oswego Student Association President Omar van Reenen said. “Anti-semitism, gun violence, racism, and marginalization in all forms are not welcome on our campus, in our communities, or in our states.”

Van Reenen worked with the Student Association on campus to organize the vigil. Students and faculty held candles and signed a poster that read “Stronger than Hate.” Students gathered around the peace memorial for statements read by various members of the campus community including Sarah Nehama, vice president of Jewish Life on campus.

“I just want people to realize that anti-semitism is still a big thing,” Nehama said. “We had a 60 percent spike in anti semitism in 2017 which is crazy and this week we also had a synagogue defaced in California.”

The attacks in Pittsburgh and the defacement of a synagogue in California are just part of the growing problem with violence being expressed in America. The issue of gun violence in America continues to grow.

Reported by: Ilyssa Weiner

Oswego, N.Y.- With midterms rolling around, busy schedules as well as the winter weather has made things difficult for college students to achieve their desired fitness goals, especially losing the Freshman 15. Enter “Strong and Healthy”, SUNY Oswego’s newest fitness organization devoted to motivating students to not only stay active year round, but to think differently about how they work out.

“Strong and Healthy” Founder and President Autumn Caldwell started the organization in January. She suffered from depression after gaining 20 pounds during her first semester. A year later, Caldwell lost over 25 pounds and regained her confidence.

“I used to hate working out,” Caldwell said. “But working out has made me stronger as a person. Not just physically, but mentally.”   

Since launching in January, “Strong and Healthy” has gained the attention of over 150 SUNY Oswego students, including Secretary Erin Clegg, who was unhappy with her skinny body and cardio workout and eventually turned to strength training.  

“I really wanted to break the boundary between women and gaining muscle and lifting,” Clegg said.

“When a lot of people think of the word “strong”, they think of muscles and abs and a six pack,” Caldwell explained. “When they think “healthy,.” they think that means you have to be thin. That’s not necessarily the case. Being skinny does not necessarily mean that you’re healthy.”
“Strong and Healthy” will be holding a kick off event on April 22nd.

OSWEGO, NY— Earlier this week, students had the opportunity of meeting and speaking with Zully Ramirez. She is currently an investigative news reporter at Chicago Telemundo. The event was hosted by the PRSSA here at SUNY Oswego and was open to the general public.

Zully Ramirez originally hails from Guatemala, but she moved to Harlem, NY at a young age. Many students were intrigued by her success story and her honesty about being an investigative news reporter. 

After the event, I had the opportunity of interviewing Zully Ramirez and asked her what she would tell present and future students of SUNY Oswego. Her response was, “I would just say persevere. Persevere, listen to advice and put your heart and soul into everything that you do. Because when you persevere and listen to advice, and put your heart and soul into everything that you do, you can make it.”