Oswego Hosts Super Dirt Week
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Reported by: Matthew Moran
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Reported by: Matthew Moran
Reported by: Kaitlyn Genari
Students, faculty and campus officials gathered in Marano Campus Center Auditorium, Thursday September 29th, for the first town hall meeting with Deborah Stanley of the semester. The town hall meetings act as a platform where students can bring their questions and concerns about the campus to President Stanley to be addressed. Many students came prepared with questions and concerns for President Stanley and officials pertaining to both on and off campus issues. After Student Association President Emily Nassir, introduced President Stanley, Stanley opened the floor to student concerns.
Plans to build a new staircase that leads to the lake on the west side of campus were brought forward by a student. The student expressed their and other students’ desire to have a proper staircase that leads down to the lake on west side of campus, so residents on west side can also enjoy walking down to the lake. President Stanley and officials confirmed that the plans have gone into effect. President Stanley said that her main concern for building the staircase was safety and she is working with campus environmentalists and professionals to make sure the new staircase meets accessibility concerns and respects the environment. Safety was also the concern of other students who questioned why Desk Attendants were no longer required to check student ids from 11pm until 3am. The new rule went into effect in the beginning of the semester as per request of Residence Life and Housing. Students feel taking away Desk Attendants’ ability to check ids during the late hours, decreases overall safety for students on and off campus. President Deborah Stanley expressed that she did not agree with the decision and wanted Desk Attendants to continue to check ids effective immediately until further notice.
Students also came forward on Thursday evening expressing their concerns over the banking change from Higher One Account to Vibe Account. Because there was a change in companies, the ATM for Higher One Account was taken out of the campus center and as a result, students can no longer take out money without being charged a fee. The university is currently negotiating with the new company to have them install a new ATM for customers to use. Not only did students have concerns over their bank accounts, but they also brought up concerns over their email accounts, as many SUNY Oswego emails have been susceptible to phishing and email scams. Students wanted to know what was going to be done about the problem as email is the primary source of communication on campus between students and faculty. Before addressing the student’s concern, President Stanley jokingly said, “I think it’s Russia. Don’t you think it’s Russia?” After getting a laugh out of those in attendance the Technology Department said they were aware of the problem and we addressing ways to fix the issue. They have been trying to cut down on the amount of LakerNet emails that are in the system by contacting alumni, recent graduates and past faculty members to verify they still want their account activated. In addition to verifying email activations, the Technology Department is also encouraging students to change their email passwords to decrease the chances of having one’s email account hacked.
Many concerns were brought forward at Thursday’s meeting. All concerns were addressed by President Stanley and/or campus officials. The town hall meetings are the time and place for students to bring their concerns forward to be addressed and solved. All students are encouraged to attend the meetings to voice their opinions and make an impact on campus. Town Hall Meetings are held every Thursday evening at 6pm, in the Marano Campus Center Auditorium. The meetings open to the public and all are welcome to attend.
In a Common Council meeting, Mayor Billy Barlow’s proposal to increase the rental permit fee was approved; after a 5-1- 1 voting result.
Mayor Billy Barlow says the proposal will make the “landlords accountable and pressure them into maintaining their property and treating their tenants fairly.”
According to the proposal, the new fee is $150 dollars for a three year period, which is five times more expense than the current $30 fee. This new fee will become effective as of October 1st.
The last time the fee was increased was back in August 22nd, 2005.
The Mayor says they will be adding a new code enforcer next year; saying that with all of the new expenses and upgrades in the code enforcement department; he believes that it will improve the department and the inspection process.
Some property owners in Oswego have spoken out against the new proposal, saying it would have made more sense if the penalties for landlords that were in violation of the city code; were increased.
Mayor Barlow says there will be more amendments added to the city charter regarding code enforcement. He says this proposal is only the beginning of his campaign to crack down against negligent landlords.
This past weekend, members of the Police Department along with investigators from the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles, SUNY Oswego police officers and local business owners; worked together to try and combat underage drinking and the use of fake ID’s.
Over 24 people were issued citations for attempting to use fake identification on Friday night. All fake ID’s were confiscated by DMV investigators.
The operation was conducted at three bars on West Bridge Street; Alley Cat’s on 23 W. Bridge Street, The Raven on 39 W. Bridge Street and The Sting on 49 W. Bridge Street.
This initiative is part of Governor Cuomo’s “No Excuses” Campaign which has conducted sweeps called “Operation Prevent” across the state to prevent underage drinking in New York State and keep New York Roadway’s safe.
Mayor Billy Barlow has been outspoken about the efforts made to prevent underage drinking, saying “The collaborative effort between local law enforcement, DMV investigators, local bar owners, SUNY Oswego and the city of Oswego, emphasizes the importance of these types of sweeps in our community.”
Now that we’ve gone over what exactly “going HD” means, let’s take a look at what’s going to happen once the conversion process is complete at the end of October.
Immediately after the upgrade is complete members will be putting on some of our biggest broadcasts of the semester. V.P. of Productions Ian Dwyer ‘17, is excited to have the opportunity to make these broadcasts happen in high definition as opposed to standard definition, “Getting a chance to debut our new HD studio to the campus and the community with these first big broadcasts is really going to be rewarding; they are the first HD broadcasts we are going to do here at WTOP!”
These broadcasts that Ian is talking about are the Media Summit Red Carpet Show, the Presidential Election, and Whiteout. The Media Summit Red Carpet Show will broadcast live October 27, 2016 right before the annual Dr. Lewis B. O’Donnell Media Summit. Last year the summit was hosted by WTOP alumni KSNT News’ weekend meteorologist Christina Reis ‘16 and one of NewsChannel 9’s producers, Robert Hackford ‘16. They had the opportunity to discuss the panelists and the year’s theme, equality and diversity in the media.

Christina Reis ‘16 and Rob Hackford ‘16, discuss the theme of last year’s summit with Senior Event Director Kalie Hudson ’16
Following the Media Summit Red Carpet Show, a little over a week later will be our Presidential Election broadcast. This broadcast is going to be massive- Ian Dwyer says that it will be the most involved production of the year, with the aim of pulling off a four hour live broadcast airing from 8 p.m. until midnight.
“[We hope to have] live guests in the studio as well as reporters doing live shots from each of the campaign offices locally in town and Syracuse,” Dwyer adds. This means all hands on deck with a full crew in the studio and additional members out in CNY reporting live to pull off this broadcast.
With the excitement building for a semester of new productions, Sports Director Morgan Rumpf ‘17 is most excited to see all the advancements the HD upgrade is going to give to WTOP-10 TV’s broadcasts. Rumpf added that the sports department is in a unique position because they are still putting on live sports broadcasts despite no other production going on, “Before the upgrade is complete the Sports Department has put on 11 broadcasts since September 1, 2016 using our mobile cart unit, with many more still to come.” “We are so fortunate that WTOP has allowed us a way to continue to broadcast fall sports; Volleyball, Field Hockey and Soccer while the upgrade takes place”, Rumpf says.
Whiteout weekend, which is happening a little later, February 3-4, 2017, will be another major broadcast happening in HD. This gives everyone a little break with the craziness that will ensue at the end of October and early November with two huge broadcasts happening. Whiteout is the biggest broadcast of the year for the sports department, it brings together the community and Oswego State students; even alumni come back to Oswego to watch the epic rivalry between the Oswego and Plattsburgh.

The Oswego State Lakers men’s ice hockey team prepares for last year’s Whiteout game
I think V.P. of Productions Ian Dwyer speaks for all members when he says: “I can’t wait to see the communities reaction to our new and improved HD station. The broadcasts that we will be putting on will be the best WTOP has ever seen.”
Hello future, current, and former ‘Toppers! Everyone here at WTOP hopes that you will enjoy our series of blog posts over the upcoming weeks. We will be giving you updates throughout the semester on our HD upgrade. Buckle up folks, it’s gonna be a fun ride!
Getting right into it- as many of you know over the summer we started our transition to high definition. So what exactly does this mean? Well, it means we are getting an infrastructure and equipment upgrade. This allows us to go from standard definition to high definition. We will be getting new HD cameras, a new Ross Xpression graphics system, Ross Carbonite 2ME switcher, along with new playout and automation servers. Eventually we will add a sliding door area in the control room in order to create a separate audio area for our A1.
Aside from that, we will also have wireless microphones and wireless IFB’s. All of this will mix with our new WSI meteorology graphics that were purchased last year.

General Manager, Justin Dobrow says this upgrade will benefit students that come through WTOP’s doors for years to come. “It [the upgrade] adds industry standard high definition equipment that really will improve our production quality and proficiency. That will follow ‘Toppers for years to come as they go on their journey”.
Dobrow also couldn’t help but comment on the remarkable situation that he encountered during the upgrade process. “One unique aspect of the HD upgrade is that a former GM (Peter Kurys, ‘98) who works for our integrator (the people who are designing and building our upgrade) was a previous GM of WTOP!”, he exclaimed.
One barrier that comes with the upgrade is that members have to learn all of the new equipment being installed. Installers will be running a training course to teach management how to use all of the new technology before everyone else get to start using it. None the less, it will be a transition for everyone; one that Dobrow does not see a problem with. “I believe the transition will take some getting used to, I don’t think we will struggle learning the new equipment. In our industry we need to be able to adapt to changing technology, and this gives us a chance to really hone in on those skills”, said Dobrow.
On September 12, 2016 we held our general interest meeting. The crowd got a chance to hear a little bit about how the HD upgrade was going to affect the production schedule. Public Relations Manager, Arielle Schunk says she doesn’t think the delay in production will affect involvement in the slightest. “After such a huge turnout at the general interest meeting on September 12th, I can already see how great of a semester it’s going to be even though we are starting productions a little late”. The turnout for the General Interest meeting was one of the biggest yet, filling the auditorium with over 220 toppers.

We would like to thank the Oswego Alumni Association, the Student Association of Oswego and all of the generous alumni who have helped to fund our transition to HD! In addition, we want to thank the support we’ve gotten from all of the faculty and administration during this whole process.
We all can’t wait to get to work!
SYRACUSE, NY >> The U.S. Department of Justice has awarded a grant for $117,888 to Syracuse. The grant is specifically geared towards the sole purpose of equipping the police with body cameras for a pilot program.
However, the city of Syracuse will only be using half of that grant to buy ten police cameras. Syracuse mayor Stephanie Miner held a press conference this morning and said that the city of Syracuse will be working with the Department of Justice on how to implement this batch of cameras.
Miner also talked about how the new equipment in the police department will be apart of a pilot program that could be used to justify more cameras in the future.
Miner compared this pilot program to the use of surveillance cameras in the city back in 2011. Those cameras had started to be implemented on the Near West Side for their pilot program.
“Stationary cameras also started off as a pilot program, and now people want more cameras and feel they’re very effective,” Miner said. “People will want more as long as we do it in a methodical and effective way.”
In the past the city has been denied from being able to equip its police officers with cameras. Rochester and Albany had received more than $700,000 in federal grants to equip their own police with body cameras at the time when Syracuse’s proposal got rejected.
These struggles led Miner to criticize Rep. John Katko last week for not offering more help to the city in its bid for the grant.
But with Syracuse finally accepting $59,000 from the feds they can finally look forward to new police body cameras. Miner says that the police in Syracuse should be wearing cameras by the end of 2016.
Reported by: Kristen Beyer
On Tuesday evening the Student Association held their weekly meeting of the Senate, making it the twelfth one of the semester. Quorum to begin the meeting was met and following the approval of the minutes and the agenda, the meeting was well under way.
Seeing as there were no guests to the Senate and no public comment, the meeting moved into executive reports. Emily Nassir, SA President was the first to deliver her report. Nassir announced that all of her Directors have been hired and their positions filled. The Directors were introduced during this evening meeting and include Jill Kranz incoming senior appointed as Chief of Staff, Sarah Wood appointed as Director of Student Advocacy, Alex George appointed as Director of Legislative Affairs, Xochitl Santamaria appointed as Director of Diversity and Inclusion, Allie Stango for Director of Graphic Design, Emily Stasko for Director of Public Relations, and finally Keith Jacobson appointed as Director of Academic Affairs. The directors have all been involved with the Student Association prior to accepting their position and they will continue to work next to Nassir in the upcoming 2016-2017 academic year. Nassir happily announced more tickets for OzFest have been purchased, though they would still like to see these numbers increase. The Oswego Food pantry was the focus of this semester’s “Miss-A-Meal” which was a great success and those who donated help to fund the food pantry begin developed on campus. Nassir stated that she is currently trying to request and receive more funding for SUNYSA to allow more senators the opportunity to attend the event.
Shelby Gallaro, Vice President of SA, was the next to deliver her executive report. Gallaro revealed that she is currently working on the budget for next year which may involve breaking up the pay scale for senators. Gallaro is also working on getting dinner for the senators for the last meeting of the semester. The focus then shifted towards Matthew Peters, Director of Finance for his executive report. Peters stated he is looking into increasing the student activity fee steadily each semester, however it would only be an increase of one dollar. The Senate voted on the idea of increasing the student activity fee and the proposal passed. Peters will begin working on the budget and proposal for that. Matthew Peters closed his executive report and was then reappointed to his position as Director of Finance for the 2016-2017 academic year.
Following executive reports, committee reports was next on the agenda. Rules and Judiciary presented the Senate with the referral binder they have been working on which will be handed out to the clubs and organizations on campus. Involvement Committee has been working on their Pageant event which will take the place of King and Queen during homecoming week. The pageant will be separated by gender, and those who wish to participate will be required to send in a video submission. From there rules and requirements will be drawn up to eliminate contestants following a series of rounds. The goal is to have this during homecoming week.
In Hall Council Reports, Johnson Hall is going over the final edits for their constitution and they also have new floor representatives. Cayuga is working on brainstorming ideas for prizes which will be raffled of at their end of the year raffel. Riggs Hall is hosting their laker night this Friday. It is a “Spring Fling” 5o’s themed event.
Due to the fact that there were no special orders, the meeting moved to general orders for the evening. The increase in Student Activity fee was referred to the Finance and Involvement committees for the week. They will discuss increasing the fee at their meetings and the matter will be voted on at the next meeting.
The meeting came to a close following the general orders for the evening. The Student Association holds their weekly meeting of the Senate Tuesdays in Lanigan 106 and 6pm. All meeting are open to the public and students are encouraged to attend to express any concerns or opinions they may have.
April is sexual assault awareness month. Reporter Jessica Mulder explains how the organization Two and A Half is spreading awareness on campus.
The Student Association held their eleventh meeting of the Senate for the semester on Tuesday evening, The meeting got off to an exciting start when SA President, Emily Nassir, was officially sworn in as the President of the Student Association for the 2016-2017 year. Following the swearing in of the new president, roll call was taken which indicated quorum was met. The meeting minutes and agenda were then approved which allowed the meeting to officially begin.
The first and only guest to the Senate for the evening was President of SUNY Oswego, Deborah Stanley. Stanley tries to attend at least one Senate meeting per semester to discuss with students the new things happening on our campus. At this meeting, President Stanley took the time to inform the Senate of the student demographics on campus, budget updates, and some of SUNY Oswego’s policies. SUNY Oswego students both undergraduate and graduate, come from all over New York state and beyond. SUNY Oswego has spent more time and resources recently, to recruit more students from downstate, which President Stanley feels they have been very successful in doing so. This past year’s group of first year students totaled to 1,500. Of those students, 30.5 percent of them identified as being culturally diverse. Stanley mentioned this to the Senate because she feels it is a very important part of our campus’s atmosphere. The number of students who identify as being culturally diverse, has increased in the past few years, but Stanley wants and expects that number to grow. In fact, in the group of 2016 first year students, 49.5 percent of students have identified as being culturally diverse. These statistics Stanley said, have not been and are not discussed much with students, but she feels students should be aware of these important facts that impact the dynamic of our campus. President Stanley also revealed some measure SUNY Oswego is taking to help better represent the diverse population of students on campus. Stanley is currently looking for a Chief Diversity/Inclusion Officer, who will make sure that all voices on campus are heard and that all students are represented. Students also expressed their concerns on increasing the diversity amongst the staff and faculty at SUNY Oswego and President Stanley said these concerns have been and are being addressed as the search for new faculty is underway. The President also mentioned the college wide commitment SUNY Oswego has taken to improve student success. Student surveys have indicated that students feel the college could improve on advisement for students. Stanley has been and will continue to review academic advisement planning for students to help provide them with all the tools and resources they need to ensure their success as students here at SUNY Oswego. Closing her presentation, Stanley mentioned some changes that are beginning to happen on campus. Tyler Hall will finally be reopening in the fall and renovations are expected to come to an end soon. Scales Hall is the next renovation taking place on campus which will be completed by August 2017.
Public comment was next on the meeting agenda following the special guest to the Senate, President Deborah Stanley. Senators were reminded that Miss-A-Meal is taking place tomorrow, Thursday April 14th. Students are encouraged to give up their meal at dinner time and doing so will help fund the SUNY Oswego food pantry that will soon be located on campus.
Emily Nassir, SA President was the first to deliver her executive report for the evening. Nassir announced that Director Position applications have been reopened and will stay open until April 15th. Nassir will be traveling to Syracuse to advertise OzFest on the radio station “Hot 107.9”. Nassir also reminded senator to encourage their peers and friends to purchase OzFest tickets, seeing as they are only $15 per student. Nassir stated that instead of focusing on the lineup/performer, students should see it as an opportunity to spend time with their friends for one of the last times before finals week begins and before going separate ways as summer vacation begins.
Director of Finance Matthew Peters, delivered the final executive report for the evening, Peters discussed the sales of OzFest tickets and his concern on the current number of tickets sold. He made it a major point that more tickets need to be sold in order for this to be not only a successful event, but also a financial success. Peters also mentioned his new project which is working on training sessions for the executive positions that are held in the various clubs and organizations on campus. Training sessions will be held and the executives from similar clubs such as sports and academics will meet separately and will be given training so they are prepared for the 2016-2017 year.
Following executive reports, the meeting moved swiftly to Committee Reports. Rules and Judiciary stated that folders containing records and guidance for senators and clubs are being designed. Involvement Committee revealed that the Student Assocation comment cards have been printed. They will available to students at the Welcome Desk in Marano and students can find the cards with responses posted outside the Point.
Senator Research Forum was next on the agenda. The Senate is looking to create a position for an Organization Liaison. One or two people would be available for student leaders of organizations and clubs, to talk to and seek advice from in many areas such as forming a proposal for a budget, how to request funding for their organization or what organizations can and cannot do in terms of funding events. The Liaison would be the point person for all things organizations.
The meeting came to an end following Senator Research Forum seeing as there were no general or special orders on the agenda for the evening. The Student Association holds their weekly meeting of the Senate Tuesdays in Lanigan 106 and 6pm. All meeting are open to the public and students are encouraged to attend to express any concerns or opinions they may have.
Reported by: Kayla Murphy
A brand new club has just started here at SUNY Oswego. Their name is Team One Love. On campuses all across America, groups such as Team One Love have begun the conversation that is set out to recognized and provide resources for victims of dating violence.
This issue is one that a lot of people are not aware of happening, when in reality, it is happening all around. 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men are going to experience dating violence in a relationship during their life time. 50% of those 1 in 3 women and 40% of those 1 in 4 men are going to experience it between the ages of 18 to 24. That is the age of your average college student.
I spoke to president and founding member of the Oswego chapter of Team One Love, Amanda Kenney to learn more about the group and their mission towards a dating violence free community. “Team one love is each campus becoming a team in this effort to end relationship violence… So it’s just people joining together to end relationship violence and to get the word out and raise awareness in hopes of changing the statistics”.
Team One Love was founded in 2010 in honor of Yardley Love, who was murdered by her former boyfriend. Yardley’s mother and sister started the organization to raise awareness about relationship violence in hopes to stop future women and men from being a victim. The Oswego chapter started just last week and already has upwards of 300 members on the team one love website.
Team One Love will be hosting an event “Yards for Yardley” on May 4th. Different athletic teams / Greek life groups and individuals will be competing to cover the most amount of “yards” to raise awareness about relationship violence. More information can be found on their website – JoinOneLove.org/Oswego.
Tuesday evening marked the tenth Student Association Meeting of the Senate this semester. The meeting was called to order and following the quorum begin met, the approval of the meeting minutes and agenda, the meeting was well underway.
The Outdoor Club and Ecology Club were the first and only guest to the Senate for the evening. Outdoor club is a student run organization focused on outdoor adventures and Ecology club is a student run organization focused on studying and preserving the ecosystem. Both clubs gave a joint presentation requesting funds to help purchase four to six kayaks for next semester. The kayaks will be stored at Rice Creek allowing both clubs to have access to them, which they feel would be very beneficial because the Outdoor and Ecology Clubs spend a lot of time there. After presenting their budget to the Senate, they were informed that the Student Association does not have enough funds in their account to fulfill the funds that the two clubs proposed. The Senate however, encouraged both clubs to request the funds needed through their club budget for next year. Although their demands couldn’t be met this semester, the Senate is willing to work with their budgets for next semester to ensure they have the funds for the fall.
Following the guest to the Senate, Executive Reports were next on the meeting’s agenda. Student Association President Emily Nassir was the first to deliver her report in which she addressed the student concerns on the choices of OzFest Performers for this year. Nassir stated that she is aware that some students are unhappy with the choices for performers which include, Dej Loaf, Rich Homie Quan and Flo Rida. Nassir reminded senators that it is important to present a positive image about OzFest. A negative image, especially when coming from a senator, can discourage students from purchasing tickets and attending the event. Senators should be aware that they are representing SA and should be cautious about projecting their personal opinion surrounding OzFest because it can affect the public opinion and how students view the event. Nassir also announced that Lil’ Duval will no longer be hosting the event and there is no intention of replacing him for the vent.
Shelby Gallaro, SA Vice President was the next to deliver her executive report. Gallaro announced that on April 19th, President Stanley will be attending the SA meeting to address the Senate. Closing her executive report Gallaro announced the starting plans of getting more involved in homecoming weekend. Senators wrote down various ideas on activities or ways the Student Association could participate in homecoming week. Gallaro will review the ideas and discuss them at the next meeting.
Closing out executive reports was SA Director of Finance. Peters discussed the prices for OzFest tickets and announced that student tickets will only cost $15 and tickets for the public will cost $25. If you plan to purchase tickets the day of, students will pay $25 and the public will pay $35. Peters announced that students can only purchase one ticket at the student price, any other tickets purchased after that will be the public price.
The meeting moved on to Committee Reports following the end of Peters’s executive report. Rules and Judiciary Committee announced they will be making folders for senators that will contain important information about the clubs/organizations and contact information for directors and those who would be of use on campus. These folders will be easily and readily available to senators and help new senators transition into their positions. Involvement Committee announced that their Miss-A-Meal beneficiary will be the Oswego Food Pantry. They also revealed that they plan to place SA comment card boxes in the residence halls and academic buildings by the end of next week.
In Hall Council Reports Johnson announced that they will be changing their constitution and the changes will be presented to the residents at their next hall Council meeting. Johnson will also be selecting floor reps for each floor in their building.
Organization Reports was next on the meeting’s agenda. The African Association will be holding their annual fashion show this Friday at 6:30pm. Students from all over the state, aspiring to work in clothing design, will be given the opportunity to showcase their work. Tickets can be purchased for $5 in the Hewitt Union Box Office.
There were no special orders for the evening, therefore the meeting moved onto General Orders. The first and only general order for the evening was the proposal and voting of the African Student Association budget. The organization requested funds to help with the costs of their annual fashion show. The fashion show aims to encourage diversity and allow students to show the pieces they have worked hard on. The funds would be used to help cover the costs for the designers attending showcasing their pieces at the event. The proposed bill passed by general consent.
The meeting came to a close following the general orders for the evening. The Student Association holds their weekly meeting of the Senate Tuesdays in Lanigan 106 and 6pm. All meeting are open to the public and students are encouraged to attend to express any concerns or opinions they may have.
On Tuesday evening the Student Association held their weekly meeting of the Senate making it the ninth meeting this semester. The number of senators required to start the meeting was met and following the approval of meeting minutes and the agenda, the meeting was well underway.
The first and only guest to the Senate for the evening was the Native American Heritage Association. The organization was active on campus up until a few years ago when the organization disbanded. The organization was however revived last semester and the Native American Heritage Association are looking to spread the word about them once again becoming an active organization on campus. They presented a budget proposal to the Senate to request funding to help with the costs of bringing a guest speaker to campus. Dr. Michael Oberg is the speaker they wish to talk at their meeting and they have requested funds to compensate Oberg for his time. Two senators offered to write the bill which will be proposed and voted on at a future meeting this semester.
Following guest to the Senate, was Executive Reports. Student Association President Emily Nassir was the first to deliver her executive report. Nassir has been working on several projects over the course of the semester including the SA Food Pantry, which will be receiving funding and will hopefully be up and running soon. Nassir stated that she is excited to be able to provide this service to students on campus. Nassir reminded senators that BidBon is this coming Thursday in the Sheldon Hall Ballroom. Students can bid on what is being auctioned off and all the proceeds made will go to the Johnson Scholarship, which will then be given to a student currently living in Johnson Hall. Nassir also revealed that the email which will contain all the information about OzFest is expected to go out this Friday. There will be 3 artists for OzFest and one celebrity guest.
SA Vice President Shelby Gallaro was next to deliver her executive report. Gallaro stated that she has been helping with the budget council who are in charge of creating the budgets for each organization on campus for the next academic year. SA Vice President and President elections were held before students headed off to spring break and the results were revealed the Tuesday prior to spring break. Nassir was elected President and Gallaro Vice President. Gallaro is working on the official resolution for the election year which will hopefully be passed soon. Following Gallaro’s report, Director of Finance Matthew Peters took the stage to deliver his executive report. Peters stated that budgeting for organizations is moving along. SA employees contracts are being worked on and the updates should be completed soon. Closing his executive report, Peters revealed that pricing for OzFest Tickets is currently being worked on.
Committee Reports were next on the agenda for the evening. Rules and Judiciary Committee is currently working on completing an election binder which will contain vital and important information that can be of use to senators and student executives. Involvement Committee proposed the idea of having comment cards located around campus in which students can recommend events they wish to see held on campus. They would then look through the cards and respond to them and see if the proposed events are possible. Concluding committee reports was Faculty Assembly, who met prior to spring break and revealed they have approved a Forensic Science Minor for SUNY Oswego.
In Hall Council reports Funnelle Hall revealed that their penny wars event is coming up and all proceeds made will go to Relay For Life. They are also working on their Mr. Funnelle male beauty pageant which is coming up soon. Johnson Hall is working on having a pool tournament in their hall. They are also updating their constitution.
With no special orders on the agenda the meeting moved to the general orders. There were five general orders for the evening. The proposed bills for the Oswego Muslim Association, Two and Half, and Strong and Healthy all passed by general consent. These organizations will now be able to use the funds provided by the Senate to fund their events taking place later this semester. The final general order was the approval and passing of the Resolution which states the results of the elections that took place mid-March. The Resolution states that 930 total votes were cast which elected Emily Nassir as President of the Student Association, Shelby Gallaro Vice President, and the passing of the Student Fee to be mandatory for all students.
The meeting came to a close following the passing of all general orders. The Student Association hold their weekly meeting every Tuesday at 6pm, in Lanigan 106. 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.
Oswego, NY — The world’s plastic pollution problem may now have a solution.
According to an article released in the academic journal “Science”, Japan may have discovered a plastic eating bacteria strain.
This bacteria strain can break down the most common plastic, called Polyethylene Terephthalate. It is often found in packaged bottled drinks, household cleaners, and beauty cosmetics. These items can be completely broken down by the strain.
The bacteria strand could mean good news for the environment because about a third of all plastic packaging does not end up in recycling; it ends up out in the environment. According to a report by the World Economic Forum, by 2050 more plastic will be in the oceans than fish.
Written By: Kirby Socker
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Manager of Public Relations, Chris Lewand
Chris.lewand@wtop10.com
Oswego, NY. March 11th, 2016 — WTOP-10 T.V. is scheduled to air the Sweet Sixteen round of the
NCAA Division III Basketball Tournament March 11. Two games will be on the schedule as
Christopher Newport will take on Keene State at 5:30 p.m. and Oswego State goes up against
Wooster at 7:30 p.m.
Each game will feature pre and post game coverage starting 30 minutes before tipoff. The
Oswego-Wooster pre-game time is subject to change based off the end time of the first contest.
The winner of each game will play against each other in an Elite Eight matchup on March 12.
WTOP-10 T.V. will also be airing the Elite Eight contest at 7 p.m. with pre-game coverage starting at
6:30 p.m. The Elite Eight matchup will air regardless of Oswego State’s involvement in the
contest.
The broadcast can be viewed on-campus at Channel 10.2 or http://oswegolakers.com/. Follow @WTOP10sports on Twitter for live updates.
Reporter Jessica Mulder explores alternative options in the dining halls with registered dietician Sarah Formoza.
Reported by: Jacob Vanderbroek
On Tuesday Evening the Student Association held its weekly meeting of the Senate. The meeting was called to order making it the seventh meeting of the Spring semester. Quorum to begin the meeting was met and following the approval of the meeting minutes and agenda, the meeting proceeded.
The first and only guest to the Senate for the evening was a new campus organization Strong and Healthy. This new organization is committed to teaching students aboudy body confidence as well as the importance of living a healthy lifestyle. On April 22nd in the Marano Campus Center at 6pm, Strong and Healthy will be joining another organization on campus, Pencils of Promise, to host an exercise circuit event. The goal of this event is to encourage students to formulate daily workout habits and routines. Students will be given the chance to participate in various events such as, push-up contests, dance competitions and more. Strong and Healthy requested funds from the Senate to help promote the new club and ensure the event’s success. The funds would help contribute to tee shirts, water bottles, healthy snacks, backdrop for pictures and prizes for the event. Two senators offered to help write the bill and proposal which will be voted on at a later date.
In light of there being no public comment for the evening, the meeting moved on to executive reports. Student Association Vice President Shelby Gallaro, was the first to deliver her report. Gallaro shared with senators that Laura Kelly, organizer for SUNY Oswego’s homecoming, was looking for three to four senators, who would like to become a part of the student homecoming committee. Any senator, freshman through juniors, are eligible to participate and if interested, they were encouraged to email Gallaro.
SA President Emily Nassir, was the next to deliver her executive report. Nassir revealed that plans for the new SA website are well underway and she is currently looking into the photography portion of the webiste, which would feature all senators’ pictures, that way students are aware of who their campus representatives are. Nassir also shared with senators that the discount app is currently up and running. Students can download the collegediscounts app to their phones and then search SUNY Oswego to see all the discounts offered at the various businesses the school has partnered with to provide this service. In an earlier meeting this semester, Nassir shared a project she was working on with auxiliary services, but little information could be revealed at that time. Nassir revealed updates on this new project at Tuesday evening’s meeting. She will be working with auxiliary services to bring students’ food favorites from the dining halls, to the small markets like Lake Effect Cafe and Ontario Bagel Company located on campus. This new plan is generated toward students who commute or don’t have a meal plan, that way they don’t have to pay for a full meal at the dining hall, they can just pick up their favorite foods at one of the stores on campus. To progress the planning process, Nassir plans to generate a survey, which will then be placed on all of the class pages on Facebook. Students will be encouraged to list their favorite foods from the dining halls, that they wish to be sold in the various markets on campus. Nassir plans to keep the Senate updated on this new project as progress is made.
Matthew Peters SA Director of Finance, delivered his executive report following Nassir. Peters revealed the plans to dive into the new organization budgets for next year, next week. The senators will be reviewing the budgets within the next few weeks and in the final weeks of the semester, organizations will be given the chance to attend the weekly SA meetings to dispute the budget if they disagree with the budget given to their organization. To finish off his executive report, Peters stated that OzFest is moving along and hopefully all preparations will be finished and finalized by next week.
Generally, there are only three executive reports at each meeting, however, SA Director of Legislation, spoke to the Senate about “Rational Tuition 2020”. Under the trustees and government body of SUNY, tuition can be raised for students at a specific amount allocated by the Rational Tuition Bill passed five years ago. The goal of this bill was to allow students to be able to predict the amount of tuition they will be required to pay during their undergraduate schooling period. Currently, five years later, SUNY SA is pushing to renew the bill to avoid the unpredictability of increased tuition costs. Failing to renew the bill would result in the government having control over tuition costs which could result in an increase in tuition at any time.
The meeting moved swiftly onto hall council reports seeing as the SA committees were unable to meet this week. Mackin shared that their laker life event “Mash Safari” will be taking place this Friday at 8pm. The event will include snacks and beverages as well as live animals including a kangaroo, snakes, alligators and more. Funnelle Hall announced that they will be holding their “pie your RA day” on pie day. Students can pay a small fee to throw pie in their RA’s face and all money raised will go back to their hall council.
Organization reports were next on the agenda. Senators revealed the Oswegonian, the campus newspaper, is looking to put together a Business Sales Team. Their job will included going to local businesses to encourage them to purchase as space in the paper. Any senator or student interested, are encouraged to contact the Oswegonian.
There we no special orders for the evening, there was however one general order on the agenda. The Adrenaline Hip-Hop Team on campus is a new organization who requested funds from the Senate, to help the team with promotions. The funds requested are to help with flyers, markers, posters and paints, all to be used to help with club promotions. The proposed bill and budget was passed by general consent, and the fundy will allow the Adrenaline Hip-Hop dance team to get their name out to students on campus.
The meeting came to a close following the general orders for the evening. The Student Association meets every Tuesday at 6pm, in Lanigan 106. All meetings are open to the public and students are encouraged to attend to express any opinions or concerns they may have.
Oswego, N.Y. – Local hotspot, River’s End bookstore, is located in downtown Oswego at 19 West Bridge Street. Housing a collection of approximately 12,000 books, the store has a variety of genres and can special order books for customers, or offer online purchasing options.
All of this is an effort to provide stellar service and “to make a life time customer” according to owner Bill Reilly.
River’s End Bookstore holds Story Time on Tuesdays, collaborations with other local businesses and the campus, and book release parties. They also sell large quantity books to places like the hospital, as well as carry items like apparel, colored pencils, and greeting cards.
The store is open seven days a week, Monday-Saturday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, you can visit their website www.riversendbookstore.com or you can call (315)342-0077.
Written By: Kristen Beyer
Oswego, NY — The Reagan’s journey from Hollywood to the White House has come to a close.
Former First Lady, Nancy Reagan passed away Sunday morning at 94-years-old. According to her spokeswoman, Joanne Drake, Reagan died of congestive heart failure in her Los Angeles home.
Former President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan met in Hollywood and were married March 4, 1952. During her years in the White House Reagan was the anti-drug campaign’s “Just say no” spokeswoman. Reagan was a fierce protector of her husband both during his presidency and after. During the attempted assassination of President Reagan, Nancy Reagan never left her husband’s side and took care of him during his battle with Alzheimer’s.
Former first lady, Nancy Reagan was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1987 and had a mastectomy. When asked in 2001 by CNN’s Larry King if she thought that fate had treated her badly, she said “No, no. When you balance it all out, I’ve had a pretty fabulous life.”
Reagan will be buried next to her husband at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California. According to a statement, in lieu of flowers, the former first lady requested for contributions to be made to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Foundation.
Written By: Kirby Socker
Reported by: Kristen Beyer