OSWEGO, N.Y. — Beloved “To Kill a Mockingbird” author Harper Lee was laid to rest Saturday afternoon. Lee’s ceremony was small and private, with just her family and close friends present.
Lee’s longtime friend Wayne Flynt gave the eulogy at the ceremony. The eulogy Flynt gave was from the speech he wrote in 2006 when Lee won the Birmingham Pledge Foundation Award for her work with racial justice. Lee requested to Flynt that he read the speech as her eulogy.
Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird”, published in 1960, was an American classic dealing with race in a small southern town. A part of Lee’s book was pulled from her childhood. Her book won the Pulitzer Prize.
Many people have been moved by the loss of Lee, including author John Green and Apple’s CEO Tim Cook. Harper Lee was 89-years-old.
Written By: Kirby Socker
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Oz Speaks Series: ‘Blue Lives Matter’
by Ilyssa Weiner, WTOP10-TV
Moderated speak-out series “Oz Speaks” held the most recent talk in their series on Oct. 25. The topic was on the issue about Blue Lives Matter.
Students, faculty and members of the community were encouraged to speak about their thoughts and feelings about the situation without it being a debate. Some participants shared stories of family members in law enforcement while others discussed the impact of both the Blue Lives Matter and Black Lives Matter movements on their personal lives.
Sophomore Keonna Wren was one of the participants of the event. One of the issues she spoke about was her identity as a black woman and how the two movements, [Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter] shaped her life.
“I absolutely love events like this because it’s not a debate,” said Wren. “I’m happy I got to spoke my truth and that’s what I came here for.”
Associate Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students Jerri Howland is one of the organizers for “Oz Speaks.” She says this speak out is different from the others because of the structure for how Blue Lives Matter came about and how this movement contrasts to Black Lives Matter.
“It’s not only important for students, but it’s important for everyone in our society to make sure we listen to all points of views,” Howland said. “I think it’s when we don’t listen to others and don’t understand their point of view that we don’t really get to the heart of what diversity is.”
Howland says the goal of the “Oz Speaks” series is to create a space for the SUNY Oswego community to freely speak about their thoughts on issues. She believes the series has successfully done that so far.
The next “Oz Speaks” talk will be Nov. 1 at 6:30 PM in the Campus Center Auditorium.
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The Beginning of Parking Boots
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
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MLB Award Winners
By Seth Prevratil, WTOP-10 TV
The season may be over, but it’s Awards Week in Major League Baseball, where the Baseball Writer’s Association of America recognizes the top performers over the past season.
Both the Rookie of the Year and Manager of the Year awards have already been revealed. Winning Rookie of the Year for the American League is Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Michael Fulme. For the National League, the winner is Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Corey Seager. For the Manager of the Year award, Terry Francona of the Cleveland Indians won the award for the American League while Dave Roberts of the Los Angeles Dodgers won the award for the National League.
Earlier this evening, this years’ Cy Young Award recipients were announced. For the American League, Rick Porcello of the Boston Red Sox takes home the hardware. Max Scherzer of the Washington Nationals takes National League honors.
The Most Valuable Player for each league will be announced tomorrow night on MLB Network.
