by Sabina Longo, WTOP10-TV

Port City Co-Op is an antique store that is hidden on West Second Street in downtown Oswego. The store celebrated its two year anniversary on Tuesday, November 1. Linda Demassi had the idea to open up Port City Co-Op and help bring more local businesses to Oswego.

Originally the store opened with ten vendors but now there are 37. With more vendors selling their items, the store needed to be expanded and that is when the owners of Port-City bought out the soap store that is located nextdoor.

Antiques and unique items are not the only reason why people shop here. Mary Waite is a regular at Port City and says she loves all the different items because it brings back nostalgic memories. It reminds her of her childhood.

Linda Demassi encourages people to shop local because, “it’s huge to shop local, for the economy, the city. Shopping local is huge to keep the small businesses”

Port City Co-Op is opened on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 11am to 5pm, Thursday to Friday from 11am to 6pm, Saturday from 11am to 5pm and Sunday from 11am to 3pm.

by Jamie Aranoff, WTOP-10 TV

German Virtual Reality Company, Crytek has announced a sponsorship with Oswego State providing virtual reality research opportunities and human-computer interaction graduate programs.

VR [Virtual Reality] First is an initiative to integrate virtual reality and create labs in higher education institutions nationwide.  The aim of VR First is to link schools to a global network of virtual knowledge and research.

The need for jobs in the virtual reality market is rapidly opening, said Dr. Jolanda Tromp, a visiting professor at Oswego State. “Experts are needed to help with improvements to the hardware and there are a multitude of application areas opening up, such as big data visualization, explorations of the microbiology world, medical training, health & safety training for hazardous environments, college education programs of all sorts, fashion, journalism, marketing, to name a few,” said Tromp.

Oswego has joined a partnership of schools including Purdue University, Oklahoma State University, University of Florida and many others spanning six countries.

The Academic initiative with Crytek has allowed for the creation of a virtual reality lab in the Shineman center, with five state of the art virtual reality headphones. In addition, all headsets will be complete with Crytek’s software development, CryEngine.  

Virtual reality is a computer-generated program that is viewed from specific headgear with a screen securely placed in front of users’ eyes. Virtual reality’s specific draw is that the program allows for users to feel as though they are in a three dimensional location, which is a dynamic shot allowing the image in front of a users eyes to move in sync with a user.  

“It’s becoming affordable, the technology is improving and the headsets are smaller and more comfortable to wear,” Tromp said in a press release.

Last Spring, students in Tromp’s graduate virtual reality course divulged into the myriad of opportunities that are presented with the technology.  It is applicable not only to the science and technology fields but medical, marketing, psychotherapy, space travel, journalism and more.

“There is a need for software development talent in this field,” said Tromp.

Many students of varying majors and studies are provoked by the new technologies, and their opportunities in the job field.  

“It’s becoming cheaper and more common to produce headsets and I really feel as though the ideology of being able to interact with interact with virtual technology paves a way to new technologies I can not even begin to fathom,” said Sophomore computer science student, Joseph McGee.

In addition to the practicalities among many different fields, one Oswego student has taken the technology and applied it to pain management.

Second-year graduate student, Ryan Kikta is using virtual reality to bring patients undergoing medical treatments to feel as though they were in a non-medical location.

“It’s a green technology, it saves resources and time. Its flexibility is incomparable” said Tromp on the ability to use the technologies in different settings.  

For students interested in the vast world of virtual reality technology, Tromp is teaching a graduate level virtual reality course again in the upcoming spring semester. The virtual reality lab is available for students to propose projects for, and to collaborate with companies off campus, some even providing opportunities for internships.

With the Media Summit just one week away, there are many reasons why students and faculty at SUNY Oswego are anticipating this year’s event. The Media Summit will return to the newly renovated Tyler Hall for its twelfth year. The Summit was founded by alumni Lou Borrelli and Al Roker in 2005, to give students the chance to network with professionals in the media industry.

In years past, there was mainly a focus on connecting students with professionals in broadcasting, but this year, that theme is going to change. This year’s theme is “Digital, Social, Mobile: How Media Trends Impact Theater, Art and Music.”The theme strives to bring the Schools of Communication, Media and the Arts together, to broaden the topics the Media Summit covers. With a more unique and diverse panel than ever before, the Media Summit is now an event that appeals to students not only in the School of Communication interested in media, but also the School of the Arts and the Theater department.

The moderator for this year’s Summit is alumni Sean McAllister, Class of 2001. After earning his bachelor’s degree in Journalism, McAllister joined the Fox5 team in 2005 as News Producer. He quickly moved into his role as Executive Producer in which he launched the Emmy nominated show “MORE.”  He has made a name for himself in Las Vegas as an entertainment reporter. While Sean McAllister serves as role-model for students in journalism, the panelists serve as role-models and mentors to students in the fields of music, theater and the arts.

Panelist George Nick Gianopolous, used his passion for classical music to launch his career as a composer. Now, a multi-award winning artist, Gianopolous travels the world, sharing his love for music with others. His passion for music and the arts is mutually shared with fellow panelist Diana Priesler, the star of the Lifetime Television series “Pitch Slapped”.

After Priesler earned her bachelor’s degree in theatre performance and directing at SUNY Oswego, she used her voice to make an impact in the world of acapella music. Priesler is not only featured on her own television show, but she also is a member of an acapella band Blue Jupiter. When she isn’t using her talent on television or in her band, she hosts “SingStrong,” an international music charity event.

Third panelist Mya Brown also shares a background with Diana Priesler in theater. Brown is an actor, director/playwright and current visiting assistant professor in acting/directing and voice/diction here at SUNY Oswego. She is using her experience and expertise from performing in over 30 regional and national productions to reach the students in theater and music. Her passion for theater and the arts is not the only thing that keeps her going, but her love for technology and incorporating the use of it into theater is something that inspires her to match the advances with technology to theater.

The final panelist for this year’s Summit is former marketing and communications coordinator for SUNY Oswego’s Department of Campus Life, Michael Yoon. During his time at Oswego, Yoon also earned his Bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design. With the skills he developed, Yoon found his passion for working with print and design. After graduation, Yoon moved on to become the communication manager for University Services at Princeton University.

This year’s Media Summit is devoted to including all schools that make up SCMA. The decision to involve all the schools was suggested by Dean Julie Pretzat, to unite all students from the schools at one of the biggest events on campus, the Media Summit. Co-event director Kalie Hudson describes the panelists for this year’s event as being heavily entertainment based, but is hopeful the discussion is something that will engage everyone in communications, music, theatre and art and will be a discussion all can find interest in.

While inclusion of theater and the arts was essential in choosing this year’s panelists, the goal was to have communication remain at the heart of the event. Although the panelists are from different fields, there are overlapping interests in the fields of communication, media and the arts, so the decision to include all three schools was not a difficult decision at all as Hudson states.

The theme of this year’s event, “Digital, Social, Media”, is something that affects all students whether it is in the School of Communication or the School of the Arts; it is a discussion that can engage all students and a discussion in which all students can take something away from and apply it to their own field.

On October 27 at 3:00pm, all students are invited to gather in the Waterman Theater in Tyler Hall for a discussion with current professionals in the fields of communication, the arts, theater, and music. Each panelist has made a name for his/herself in their chosen fields and are prime examples of what students can achieve beyond graduation from SUNY Oswego.