The Student Association held its eighth meeting of the Senate for this semester on Tuesday evening. Following the meeting being called to order and quorum being satisfied, the meeting began swiftly. The meeting and agenda minutes were approved allowing the meeting to move to it’s first order of business, guests to the Senate.

The first guest to the Senate for the evening was the student organization Two and a Half. They have existed for nine years on campus and their main goal is to combat and raise awareness about sexual violence and assault. Two and a Half will be hosting their “Raise Your Voice” event, which has been taking place annually for the past nine years. The event will be taking place at the end of April corresponding with Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Although the organization does have funds in their budget, and they have paired up with SAPB, they requested funding to help with the costs for the rest of the event. Two senators offered to write the bill which will be voted and presented at a later meeting this semester.

The discussion of Broad Based Fees which include fees for health, technology and athletics, were presented so students were fully aware as to where their money was going. The Broad Based Fee for this upcoming school year will be $25, split three ways to cover the health, technology and athletics fee. The health fee includes everything from counseling services offered on campus, to the clinic/nurses office at Mary Walker. This fee in particular also allows the lifestyles center within Mary Walker to operate. This fee allows things such as toilet talk, open mic night, student health surveys and condom deals on Wednesdays to exist.  The technology fee is also essential to campus because of the prominent presence of technology in students’ daily lives. They are looking to increase the technology fee, but that doesn’t mean there wouldn’t be any additional benefits that comes along with the increase. The increased technology fee would allow SUNY Oswego to increase network bandwidth and add close a million wireless access points around campus. The technology fee is put in place to ensure that all students have the best access to internet and assistance at all times. Finally, the athletics fee is also expected to increase. Since SUNY Oswego has had the second highest number of teams in the conference for the year, there is a greater need to help fund/support the various sports teams on campus.

The meeting moved smoothly onto executive reports seeing as there were was no one for public comment. Student Association President Emily Nassir was the first to give her executive report. There were no new updates on OzFest, however Nassir has been very busy with meetings to get the SA Food Pantry up and running. Nassir has attended several meetings and has another one coming up to discuss the plans and budget for the pantry. Nassir also stated that SA is currently in the process of working on the new contract with Centro, the bus that allows students to travel from one side of campus to the other as well as from campus to in town and vice versa.  Nassir will continue to update students and senators and new information arises.

Shelby Gallaro, SA Vice President was next to deliver her short and sweet executive report. Gallaro revealed that over 900 students voted in the elections on Monday and Tuesday. The election included the voting on the referendum to determine if the student registration fee should be mandatory or not, as well as the election of the new offices for President and Vice President of SA. Matthew Peters shortly followed Gallaro in executive reports, in which he informed senators he started to go through budget requests for the clubs and organizations. There will be more meetings throughout the week to work on and approve the budgets. So far, the process has been a success.

Committee Reports was the next order on the agenda for the evening. Rules and Judiciary revealed that they will now be meeting bi-weekly for the duration of the semester. Finance Committee did not meet this week, however they will meet next week with the several clubs and organizations whose budgets need to be written in order to be proposed and voted on. The Involvement Committee closed out committee reports by revealing that they are currently working on the “Miss-A-Meal” project for the end of the semester.

Hall Council reports were delivered after committee reports, there were however fewer reports. Johnson Hall has reviewed and made changes to their constitution which will then be put to a new vote to see if it passes or not.

The short and sweet hall council reports led to the adjournment of the meeting seeing as there we no general, nor special orders for the evening. The Student Association meets every Tuesday in Lanigan 106, at 6pm. The Senate meetings are all open to the public and students are encouraged to attend these meetings to voice their opinions and express their concerns.

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.

Reported by: Jihad Yarber

SUNY Oswego holds many events to promote student wellness and to motivate students to live a healthy lifestyle. WTOP 10 reporter, Jihad Yarber went to one of these events to find out

Reported by: Kayla Murphy

With the summer quickly approaching, it is time for SUNY Oswego students to start applying for housing for the upcoming semester. This is a four step process that ensures an efficient way to establish housing for the upcoming semester.

The first of the four steps was an in person mandatory meeting. This took place in the Hart Hall lounge from March 1^st-8^th. This meeting was to inform the potential on campus students to the rules and guidelines for enrolling in on campus housing. Then the students signed a form stating they had indeed gone to the mandatory meeting.

The second of the four steps is to submit the 100 dollar deposit and agree to the terms of room and board. This step must be completed by Tuesday march 8^th. This secures the students spot on campus in a residence hall.

The third of the four steps is submitting housing preferences. This includes roommate(s) / suitemates as well as residence hall and room preference. The forth step is to simply choose from the available space and select the final choices.

This process is currently underway and the deadline for step two, the hundred dollar deposit it this Tuesday march 8^th. So if you plan on living on campus the fall of 2016 make sure to complete these steps.

The Student Association held their weekly meeting of the Senate on Tuesday evening making it the sixth meeting of the Spring semester.  The number of senators required to begin the meeting were met and following the approval of the agenda and minutes, the meeting was well under way.

The National Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE), were the first and only guests to the Senate for the evening. NABSE is a community service driven organization, working to bring awareness to inequalities of education. Their first project will be shipping school supplies to underprivileged children in Haiti and will be tabling every Tuesday in the Marano Campus Center to raise money and collect supplies. They are also looking to hold educational programs that shed light on the mission of their club, but NABSE do not currently have the funds to support the programs they wish to hold. They presented their budget to the Senate asking for funds to help with funds the organization needs. Two senators will be writing a budget and bill, which will be voted on at a later time and date.

Following the guest to the Senate, the meeting moved swiftly to executive reports. Emily Nassir, SA President was the first to deliver her executive report in which she shared updates on current projects she has been working on. Nassir said that the website for SA is currently being worked on and she will have more updates as there is more progression in the making and launching of the new SA website. SA has paid for the student discount app which will be renewed shortly and will give students access to partnered businesses in town, who provide discounts to students at their place of operation. Nassir also revealed new ideas that she wishes to begin working on such as, getting more involved in opening week on campus in the fall, as well as homecoming held in October.

Shelby Gallaro, SA Vice President was next to deliver her executive report. Gallaro shared with Senate her current project. She is working in a new Pay policy for senators which could potentially go into effect in the fall. This new pay system would allow senators to directly earn money as opposed to the current system which is done through dock pay. Following Gallaro’s report, SA Director of Finance, Matthew Peters took the floor to deliver his executive report. Peters stated that all of the requested budgets for next semester have been submitted by the clubs and organizations on campus. SA will begin to look through the requested budgets and will be working on them starting the beginning of next week. There were no new updates on OzFest, but Peters assured that he will be updating the Senate as new information comes in and planning progresses.

In Hall Council reports, senators shared success of programs their halls held this past week as well as plans for new programs in the future. Cayuga Hall had a great turnout for their movie themed laker night. Funnelle hosted a recycling event “Going Green for Green”, in which they collected many recyclables which will be used to help future programs in their hall. Johnson is currently working on their event with all four lakeside dorms, where students will be able to participate in intramural sports as a friendly competition between all the halls. Johnson will be bringing new updates as planning for the event advances.  

There were no special orders for the evening, so the meeting moved to the first and only general order for the evening. Rules and judiciary proposed a bill that would amend the vacancy protocol in the constitution that SA is required to follow. The bill to amend the vacancy protocol passed by general consent.

Following the only general order for the evening, the meeting was adjourned. SA meets every Tuesday in Lanigan 106 at 6pm. If students, organizations or clubs have any questions, concerns or proposals, they are encouraged to attend these meetings, as they are all open to the public.

Reported by: Kaitlyn Genari

WTOP-10 Reporter Kaitlyn Genari talks about the inner workings of Girl Scout Cookies.

Reported by: Brian Doolittle

Tyler Hall, the home of the Theater and Art Departments at SUNY Oswego, has been closed for the past two years for remodeling. Shifting from Tyler Hall to Hewitt-Union was definitely a challenge for the Theater Department.

Theater student Taylor McCown spoke about how the Waterman Theater was the main theater where plays and musicals were at. She spoke about how shifting to the Hewitt-Union Ballroom was a challenge because they had to build their own stages when performing shows in there compared to Waterman Theater that had the stage set; just needing to set up the sets.

Instructor Greg Brewster has been associated with Tyler Hall ever since he was a student at SUNY Oswego. He spoke about how he went there as a student with lighting and sets in shows and he returned to Oswego with teaching in the same field.

Brewster also had some involvement with the remodeling of Tyler Hall. He spoke about where different things were going to go, such as lighting, and speakers in the theater itself.

Everyone in the departments are definitely interested in seeing the different changes that Tyler Hall’s going to offer. Taylor spoke of how there’s supposed to be an extra row in the Waterman Theater as well as different extensions to make shows a lot more interesting. She said that although most of the Theater Department will be returning to Tyler, the Costume shop will be temporarily remaining in Hewitt-Union for a while.

Tyler Hall will be reopening this summer to begin the Fall 2016 semester.

WTOP10 Reporter Jihad Yarber discusses with SUNY Oswego Professors and Students what exactly the death of Supreme Court Justice Scalia really means.

SUNY OSWEGO, N.Y. – Tuesday evening marked the 5th Student Association Legislative Session of the spring semester. The number of senators required to begin the meeting was met and following the approval of the minutes and agenda, the meeting promptly began.

The Hip Hop Dance team was the first and only guest to the Senate for the evening. The new dance team, Adrenaline, was just started by students on campus here at SUNY Oswego and they presented to the Senate to request funding for next year. Adrenaline is a dance team dedicated to performing at campus events and eventually they wish to compete in competitions within the state. Their budget currently only supports the new club with advertising funds. Adrenaline turned to the Senate to propose that they receive more funds in the upcoming budget term in order to support the organization. They believe the Senate’s help will allow them to grow in number and allow them to get the word out about what Adrenaline is and the goals of the new organization. The funds request from the Senate are to help with advertising costs and bringing in choreographers to work with the members of the organization. Two senators offered to write a bill for the requested funds which will be voted on at a later date.

In executive reports Student Association President Emily Nassir, shared with senators that new applications are currently being accepted for executive positions within the cabinet on the Student Association Programming Board. Nassir encouraged anyone interested to apply, but also reminded them that they would be required to give up their seat on the Senate if and when accepted for the position. To finish her executive report Nassir also revealed that as of now, it appears that 4 students will be given the opportunity to travel to Saratoga for the SUNY SA conference. This number however does depend on budgeting, which she will keep senators updated as she receives new information. Following Nassir’s report, Matthew Peters, Director of Finance a short report in which he reminded senators that budget proposals for clubs and organizations on campus are due Monday.

In public comment, former senator Jillian Kranz spoke on behalf of SA and their goal to inform as many students as possible about the referendum coming up. This referendum gives students the chance to determine whether the student activity fee should mandatory or voluntary. SA will be tabling in the Marano Campus center for two weeks encouraging students to vote yes for a mandatory student fee, seeing as the student fee funds a great deal on campus. Kranz encouraged all senators to sign up for at least one tabeling time slot to help spread the word about the upcoming voting process for the referendum.

Committee reports followed public comment and The Involvement committee gave an update on Miss-A-Meal for this spring. Students have the opportunity to give up one of their meals for the day (lunch or dinner), and that meal will be donated to help those less fortunate in Oswego. They are currently contacting local businesses in order to gain sponsors for the event.

The meeting then moved swiftly on to Hall Council reports, where senators updated the Senate on events and programs taking place in their halls. Johnson just created and put in place a new constitutional committee who will be present during their Eboard and hall council meeting to ensure that the code is being followed. Waterbury held a “Pie Your RA” event to help raise money to fund programs and events for the hall. Cayuga will now be hosting movie night on a weekly basis, the first one being this Thursday at 7:30pm in the main lounge where they will be showing “Straight outta Compton”. Funnelle updated the Senate on their Male Beauty Pageant event which received an official date and will be held on Thursday April 28th. Closing out hall council reports, Riggs also revealed their plans to host a male beauty pageant called “Mr. Riggs”. The date and time for this event, along with it’s details will be revealed as planning progresses.

General orders for the meeting included four different budgets and bills to be voted on by the Senate.  Men’s Rugby Club was the first general order of the evening and their proposed budget included funds for entry fees that are mandatory in order for them to play in competitions and for the tournament they will be hosting here at SUNY Oswego, with the help of the Women’s Rugby team. The original budget also included funds for new jerseys and equipment, but was later taken out, seeing as the club can request funds for it, in the upcoming budget year. The proposed bill passed by general consent and the Men’s Rugby team will be receiving their requested funds.

The second general order for the evening was the National Broadcast Society, who requested funds to help them send three members to a convention in LA this month. They requested funds from the Senate to help with the travel and hotel costs for the students attending the event. While in debate on the bill, many senators expressed concerns with the budget in the proposed bill. Many senators felt that the amount of funds being asked for was too high considering only three students were attending the conference and those three students have already attended the conference last year. The goal of helping organizations with funds is to impact as many students as possible, yet the funds for the National Broadcast Society would only be helping three students. Other senators expressed concerns over the need to be mindful over the budget SA has to help fund organizations and many felt that due to the fact that the National Broadcast Society had stated that they would attend the conference whether they received the funding or not, was off putting since there are other organizations who don’t have the ability to fund their own events. Following the debate of the bill, the voting process began and revealed that the bill had failed, therefore the National Broadcast Society will not be receiving the funds they requested.

American Sign Language Club’s proposed bill and budget was the third general order. ASL Club requested funding to help with an event taking place in April, featuring a comedy show by comedian Keith Wann, the son of two deaf parents. The goal of this event is to teach students about the deaf culture in a fun and friendly way. ASL Club requested funds to help with ticket costs to ensure that event is not overbooked, and interpreters for the event to ensure that each audience member has the same experience. The proposed bill and budget passed by general consent and the club will be receiving the funds to help with the event.

The fourth and final general order for the evening was the proposed bill and budget for PRSSA, Public Relations Society of America. PRSSA requested funds to help purchase shirts and tie-dyeing supplies for their event taking place during “Comm Week”. Students will be given the chance to tie-dye their own tee shirt, in hopes to encourage more student involvement and promote the School of Communication. The bill also passed by general consent and they will receive their funds to help with their tie-dyeing event.

The meeting came to a close following the passing of three out of the four proposed bills and budgets. SA meets every Tuesday evening at 6pm, in Lanigan 106. All meetings are open to the public and students are encouraged to attend to express their views and concerns.

Reported by: Kayla Murphy