By: Tomas Rodriguez

As the pandemic forced students to leave their residence halls coinciding with spring break, approximately 2,500 returned to campus in order to either check-out or retrieve personal belongings. They were allowed to do so stretching between May 8 and the 18.

University Police, along with Facilities and Residence Life and Housing outlined a plan that would help students move out safely by breaking down timeframes. The days were divided into two time slots –9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The number of students on campus averaged 250 per day.

Students had to choose from various options, which Residence Life and Housing then had to approve.

“We take the same precautions that we have since mid-March, including wearing face coverings when in close contact with other persons and disinfecting our patrol vehicles and equipment regularly,” University Police Interim Chief Kevin Velzy said. “As far as a college policy, we will continue to follow the guidelines of the CDC, and our government leaders.”

If the university was to outline a social distancing and face covering policy, students who did not comply would face disciplinary consequences.

“This is an interesting time for the entire world. We are all learning day by day how to adjust and move forward with caution based on the data we have, the research that is going on, and making the best decisions we can for the good of all,” Velzy said. “We hope that everyone, especially our students, are having a safe and productive summer, and we hope to have everyone back on campus as soon as practicable.”

An official statement from President Stanley as to what the final decision for the Fall will look like is expected to come in the following weeks.

BY: TOMAS RODRIGUEZ

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, SUNY Oswego will be transitioning all summer courses to distance learning, with some facing possible cancellations. A full updated schedule was made available to students May 1.

As a New York state institution and a member of the SUNY system, Oswego’s campus will have to comply with any mandates issued by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

 “While there are still many unknowns at this time, the leadership team and I are hard at work and vetting several possible plans for SUNY Oswego for the Fall 2020 semester, including face-to-face should government and health guidelines allow,” SUNY Oswego president Deborah Stanley said. “We will also institute all necessary health and safety measures.”

Due to the constant changing nature of the virus, Mary Walker Health Center will maintain its current appointment-only policy until the COVID-19 pandemic comes to a close, allowing for proper screening of students and added safety for both students and personnel. 

Telehealth will also remain available until the current threat is no longer existent.

Students will still be required to complete COVID-19 questionnaires and will be screened by a nurse prior to their appointment.

“There will be a separation of sick and healthy students in the waiting area for those students that are seen face-to-face,” Director of Student Health Services Angie Brown said.

Additional precautions will include requiring students to wear a mask or covering while present at Health Services.

Currently, Oswego Health has made a mobile testing site available, although Health Services may have the ability to test under some circumstances should test kits become more readily available.

Penfield Library has been impacted by the epidemic as well, providing about 95 percent of its services online.

“As we plan for the fall, we will continue to provide all appropriate services to our students, faculty and staff, and adapt library operations and use of the facilities in concert with the guidelines from the Governor on social distancing and limiting human density in our academic buildings,” Provost Scott Furlong said. “As an example, we may need to limit the number of students sitting at individual tables or in small group study rooms.”

Orientation for both first-year and transfer students, which were scheduled to stretch between the months of June and August, will become available online, still requiring incoming students to activate their email and complete their academic and health history information.

Summer orientation has been broken into two different steps. A portion of the information made available during the orientation programs will be moved to the online world, while the remaining information will be delivered face-to-face during the Fall Opening.

“In addition to online summer modules we are building, we are in the process of developing ways to engage new students with Laker Leaders through videoconferencing, social media and other platforms,” college Vice President Jerri Howland said.  

While aiming to build a quality first-year class this fall, the safety and health of the campus community remains the top priority, college officials say.

“Residence Life and Housing will adapt based on how many students are allowed back on campus following future guidelines received from the Governor on social distancing and limiting human density in our residential buildings,” Howland said.

In terms of sanitizing, SUNY Oswego has custodial coverage seven days a week that routinely disinfects residence halls, all rooms, offices and any spaces utilized.

Daily cleaning protocols also include door handles, light switches, faucets and door knobs, among others.

Dining halls will remain take-out or delivery only, pursuant to Gov. Cuomo’s Executive Orders.

Concerning study abroad programs, SUNY has canceled student study abroad for the summer session.

“SUNY Oswego and SUNY leadership are closely monitoring the evolving situation and have not yet made a determination about the Fall,” Furlong said.

When it comes to the Fall semester, SUNY Oswego plans on welcoming new and returning international students.

“We are proceeding as we normally would to recruit, enroll and retain our international student population and will continue to work within any new guidelines received from the state and SUNY,” Associate Provost for International Education and Programs Josh McKeown said. “It’s an uncertain time but staff in the Office of International Education and Programs is prepared, like the rest of the Oswego campus, to be flexible and adjust as the situation demands.”

In the event that SUNY Oswego returns to normalcy in the Fall, the college will have to adhere to CDC guidelines and in some cases those applying to the state of New York to ensure students’ safety.

New York State passed a law banning plastic bags on March 1st of this year. However, the state will not begin implementing fines on retailers until at least April 1st. Most stores are switching to paper bags, but these tend to come at a charge because they are more expensive than the previously used single-use plastic bags. 

Bosco’s manager. Theresa Himes, says the local grocery store has also began selling reusable bags to customers  “We discontinued the plastic ones. We’re using paper bags for some people that don’t have the reusable or don’t want to purchase them.”  

Customers are encouraged to bring their own bags when shopping, to not only reduce waste but money, as well. If anyone is in need of any reusable bags, they can stop by City Hall to pick some up for free.

Winter may not be over yet, but just by looking around you would think it ended weeks ago. The few signs that remain of winter slowly melted away last week as temperatures soared into the 40’s. According to Dr. Scott Steiger the local co-op observer for the National Weather Service, we’ve only received forty-nine point one inches of snow as of February 29th.

An alarming seven feet below the average snowfall for this time of year. Though it’s not surprising that we’ve seen so little snowfall, through the winter months Oswego ran 2.9 degrees above average temperature-wise. January saw the worst of the effects of the warm winter at an amazing 6 degrees above average.

Students, either way, have taken advantage of the spring-like conditions and have used the time to spend their days outside. While others were left waiting for the snow that never came like Florida native Bruno Rojas. Bruno had this to say about the past winter in Oswego “There weren’t that many lake effect events in Oswego so you never really got to see…big snow storms, where you could just sit down you know in the snow and just kind of watch the really big snowflakes kind of fall really gracefully. ”

Many have expressed similar views, asking constantly where was winter this year? The answer? There was a strong Arctic Oscillation or AO, that was in its positive phase. When it’s in a positive phase we oftentimes see a lot of the cold air trapped up in Canada. It’s when it enters its negative phase that it starts to allow the colder air to funnel down into the United States. and that’s what allows for those cold Oswego winters that we all know.

While this was certainly an anomalous winter, it is part of a longer-term trend of winter warming across upstate New York. The trend becomes obvious on this chart from climate central, showing how Syracuse’s average winter temperatures have warmed 2.8° since 1970. While this chart is only for Syracuse, the changes can be seen all across New York as our climate continues to change.

Oswego held its third annual Saint Patrick’s Day Parade this weekend. The parade started at Alex’s on the Water, continued down Bridge Street and ended at Gibby’s Irish Pub on West Second Street. The parade was put on by the Oswego Chapter of the Ancient Order of Hibernians.

The temperature outside was cold, but the bands were red hot. A highlight of the parade was the Buffalo Bills Drumline, the bagpipes and drum bands. Entry to the parade is free in order to encourage growth of the parade.

Patrick Chalone, coordinator of the parade and a member of the Hibernians, hopes that the Oswego Parade can compete with the Syracuse Parade. He was also glad that local business and the community of oswego enjoyed the parade! He said “Well you know I think after today’s parade,  I looked at it and my favorite part of the parade is seeing all of the smiling faces on the streets of Oswego in the crowd. I mean we had a great crowd today it justs makes me feel good knowing that we’ve done…made people happy and have done a good thing”.

Next year’s parade is expected to be even larger than this year and Chalone is hoping that more local businesses will be involved in the parade next year. If you are interested in attending next year’s parade be sure to talk to Patrick Chalone about signing up