On November 12th, Disney has launched their new streaming service, Disney plus, and just by the results, many seems to love this new site.

As of November 12th, 10 Million people subscribed to Disney plus and the numbers kept on rising till this day. 

With endless content in the provider, more than 500 movies are inputted into the site, which includes many classics such as Snow White, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast and more and many of modern movies as well. This site also have included a multitude of many Disney’s original series, going all the way back from the early 2000s, like That’s So Raven, Wizards of Waverly Place, Hannah Montana, and more. Plus, they have also implemented their own new series, such as the Mandalorian (which is connected with Star Wars). 

Since Disney Plus also have content from Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographics, this attracts many different demographics and they are able to watch whatever they please. 

Now that Disney Plus is in the scene, major competition stirs within the streaming world, which includes Amazon Prime Videos, HBO GO, and on top: Netflix. With Netflix making new deals such as making a collaboration with Nickelodeon to produce various of their shows, Disney and Nickelodeon once again butt heads as to who should take the top spot.

As many students are satisfied with the nostalgic feeling from both Disney and Nickelodeon, they share their response to matter of the rivalry between Disney Plus and Netflix. 

“I think that Netflix has a lot more going for them than Disney. It may draw away a few people to watch a few Disney movies, you know on Netflix, but in the long run, I don’t think that Netflix should have much to worry about regarding Disney Plus. ”- Damon Fletcher

Others say otherwise,

“I think I feel bad for Netflix because I just feel that Disney owns a lot, it’s a huge conglomerate, so they have a lot more to offer right now I think than Netflix does.” – Ivanelis Fletcher

And some are in the middle

“Either people have Netflix or Disney Plus now. They are like watching monopolies like Disney get ESPN, Netflix gets a deal with Nickelodeon. Like it’s just crazy how they are just taking over on what people watch on regular TV anymore.”- Matthew Van Ihsem

With this new craze, Disney Plus is releasing more content and more students are subscribing. 

On November 20th, on a Wednesday, Oswego Theatre Department premieres their play “Dead Man’s Cell Phone” originally written by Sara Ruhl. 

This play, written in the early 2000s, focuses on the significance of human interaction and how technology plays a huge part in our daily lifestyle. 

Based on the playwright’s personal life, important topics such as mortality, interactions, relationships, technology, and more are all present in the show. 

With a small cast, in a total of 8 cast members and all in different years, they are putting on a absurdus play, which will put the topics in more of a comedic, interactive and exciting concept.

Ahmanee Simmons, Director of the play and senior tells her experience directing and the significance of the play. “Dead Man’s Cell Phone was definitely to highlight the human connection and the way we have kind of, sort of, lost that…And with the use of cell phones and technology, I kind of wanted to highlight that. But I also wanted to highlight the false perception of life that we get through social media and stuff like that. ” She said. “We have moved from that paper culture kind of society before and now, to this very digital, more efficient way to live our lives, and I think now it is about finding the balance between the two. Right now, everything is more digital, which is good as this does help us be more efficient as individuals in work, school, or social life, but there is also that boundary where we let it control our lives. This is also something that we address in Dead Man’s Cell Phone.” She also said. 

Giovanni Rodriguez, the assistant director of the play also commented about the production. “Working with the cast has been great. I enjoy working with my director, Ahmanee Simmons. With the play itself,  I believe the moral of the story is that we are all disconnected in our own ways and a simple ‘hello’ or ‘how are you’ can connect the most unlikely people in an instant. This is really about disconnection and what we don’t do due to technology. [In this play], I believe is going to open people’s eyes ” He said. 

“You should come see it!!”-Ahmanee Simmons

The play will take place in Tyler Hall’s Lab Theatre and will extend from November 20th to November 23rd.

To purchase the ticket online, you may visit https://oswego.universitytickets.com/w/default.aspx

For more theatre plays, you may visit https://www.oswego.edu/theatre/theatre-0

OSWEGO, NY— On October 1, 2019,  parking boots became effective as it is now used as a new method to regulate parking violations. With the collaborative decision of University Police and College Administrations, this has now become a new approach to handle parking issues. These issues include parking in reserved or handicapped areas or to drivers who have acquired more than 10 tickets or violations. It’s purpose is to encourage drivers to do the right thing and to urge them to pay their fines.

Kevin Velzy, Assistant Chief of University Police and staff member for 30 years, tells us the other reasons why the parking was implemented and why it is crucial for drivers to follow the rules. 

“Instead of towing the car, we are going to put the parking boot on the car and that will ensure that the fines are collected. It’s actually beneficial to draw backs of towing are the cost. Tow operators now charge over $200 for a tow, so the costs go away for the offender. And also for the hassle of getting your car back, your car will be where you left it; it’s just a matter of going online and paying the fines, calling us, and saying you know ‘this has been paid for’ and we will come and remove the boot.” Velzy said. 

According to Assistant Chief Velzy, about 8,000 parking tickets were issued last year and for annually, it is closely around the ballpark of that amount. Due to this result, this also weighed on the result of the decision. 

He also added on about the financial aspect of the boot.“We are not going to charge an extra or additional fee to have the boot taken on or taken off….. All you are paying for is the ticket basically…. I think it is effective in terms of eliminating those drawbacks to having your car being towed..this is going to save you money.” Velzy explains. 

If the boot was applied to your car, you may go online to pay or go the University police office to pay off your accumulated parking tickets and following from that, University police will remove the boot from the car.

Student drivers on campus had mixed thoughts when hearing the news as they stated that this is “A great idea”, “Unfair”, “Understandable”, “Harsh” and “Excessive”. 

As of right now, a boot has not been applied. 

For more information about this new parking enforcement, you can visit https://www.oswego.edu/police/new-york-state-university-police

On November 7th, on a Wednesday, Oswego Theatre Department premieres their play “Shape of Things” originally written by Neil Labute.

Students in all years participate in this production and it is all prepared for the showing of the new show. Students such as Cassandra Slough and Adam Sommer took on the lead roles of this play.

Mya Brown, Director of the play and Assistant professor of theater tells her experience directing and the significance of the play. “There are some special messages within the play I would the audience to reflect on those things, what they think there are, so I don’t want to give anything away but I think the audience will definitely be challenged in their perspective of what beauty is, what art is, and how far in creating art.” She said. “I love to direct and it was amazing working with the other cast/staff members.” She also said.

Shelby Gilbert, one of the assistant director of the play also commented about the production. “It’s a great show. It is. This cast has worked so hard on this show. They have really put their all into the show and done some amazing work and I feel like everybody can learn a little something from the show and they can relate to different parts of the show.” She said.

Based on the story of Neil Labute, it emphasizes on the topic of relationships, identity, choices, and morals. With the main characters, Evelyn (Cassandra) and Adam (Adam), they both will play out the theme of the play.

“You should come see it!!”- Mya Brown

The play extends from November 7th to November 11th at Waterman.

For more theatre plays, you may visit https://www.oswego.edu/theatre/theatre-0

On October 21st, Award winning and international pianist takes the stage as he plays multiple of well known classical melodies from impactful pianists/musicians such as Mozart, Bach Busoni, Carter Pann and much more.

Rob Auler, currently professor of music and chairperson of Oswego’s Department of Music, explains the significance of classical piano music in today’s society and the importance of the focus on faculty series in the community.

“I have to explain to my own two children that classical piano is terrific, it’s something that we should celebrate, we should listen to. I’ve designed these five pieces to be highly accessible for audiences who have never heard classical piano playing and in fact, I’ve actually got some of my soccer team kids coming to the show and I particularly want kids like that to come to a recital, see classical piano music that they have never seen before and leave with a very great experience.”  Auler said.

“One of the neat things that the music department does we provide public recitals. Not only for the college community, not only for our student, not only for our faculty, but just for the community at large. And not only we are an educational provider but we also provide cultural offerings for the entire community.” Auler also said.

For the students who are trying to get into the profession of music, Auler simply said “persistence and keep on trying new things.” Being in a profession like this isn’t easy but it requires practice and perseverance. Students who attended his concert simply said it was “incredible.” Later this year, the series will continue bringing in other musicians.

For more information, you can visit their website. https://www.oswego.edu/music/music-department-0.

The yearly distribution of free flu vaccine has ended on October 5th and in result, 350 plus students has received their shot. On this month of October, the coldness is coming near and this means that flu season is now in session.

Angela Brown, director of Student Health Services, explained the importance of receiving the flu shot and the ways to prevent catching or spreading the flu virus.

“So the flu shot is important because it prevents usually prevents the person from getting the flu; that is the goal of it. Um, once you get a flu vaccine, you can potentially still contract the flu virus, so one of the advantages of getting the flu shot has is that if you get the virus, it means that you’re sick for a shorter amount of days and usually less sick than someone who have never been vaccinated.” Brown said.

They are plenty of simple ways to stay clean and safe. Being active, eating healthy, staying positive and importantly washing your hands,  is the major way to prevent catching or spreading the virus.

“Make sure you wash your hands. Any mucus membrane, so your nose, your eyes, your mouth can be a portal for a virus to get in so if you are walking around campus, then go eat lunch and don’t wash your hands, you can the flu virus that way.”

Mary Walker Health Center are now trying to establish mobile flu shots and it might appear in many residence halls.

For more information, you can contact 315.312.4100 or email  whealth@oswego.edu or visit their website https://www.oswego.edu/walker-health-center/