By Stefanie Sciolaro

Baldwinsville, NY- – Since its founding in 2000, Crossfit has begun to grow in popularity. The sport combines high intensity with low durations. The workouts incorporate endurance, strength, and flexibility in order to exert the most out of participants in a shorter period of time.

Crossfit has grown to over two billion members and 10,000 gyms all around the world. This worldwide epidemic prides itself on the importance of a healthy community atmosphere. However, many individuals feel Crossfit is meant for only those of a specific age and body build.

“The uniqueness of Crossfit lies in how universal it is when it comes to who can do it. I have athletes ranging in ages from 14 to 64 with all different skill levels” Smokey Hollow Crossfit co-owner Tim MacConehey said.  

Members of the Crossfit community have the opportunity to compete year round in a series of competitions, in both team and individual divisions. Every year these competitions stand as the main qualifiers for the Crossfit Games. The Crossfit Games, is this sports equivalent to the Olympics. The best athletes in the world come together to compete for who will be crowned fittest woman and man on earth.

In the past, the Crossfit Games have been held in Carson, California. However, the venue has been moved to Madison, Wisconson. The Games will begin this August.

For more information, visit Crossfit’s website.

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

by Jamie Aranoff

Oswego, NY- 11 new lactation rooms are being added to the Oswego State campus this semester, providing nursing mothers a place to comfortably and privately pump breast milk for their children.

“It started with a nursing mother who had no official place to pump for her newborn,” Campus Planning Coordinator Linda Paris said.

The 11 lactation rooms are dispersed throughout campus and are located inside certain academic buildings, residence halls and rooms in the Marano Campus Center. “The rooms have been transformed from storage facilities and offer mothers a quiet environment with at least two different types of chairs and work surfaces,” Paris said.  

According to the New York State Department of Health, employees have the right to pump breast milk in the workspace, and should have a private place to do so. Prior to this year, there were no official spots on campus for mothers to pump their breast milk.

“Before having these dedicated spaces, you might be lucky enough to have an office where you could pump in, but if not, you might be pumping in your car,” Paris said.

The collaboration of working mothers and the Campus Facility Project was one that took over a year and a half. For working mother and professor Dr. Kristen Eichhorn, the project was more than just getting a lactation sign outside of a storage closet. The initiative was about taking the needs of mothers and working together to be part of something larger.

“Working together to create the spaces for women was more than just that, it was about working with a team to better the community,” Eichhorn said.

Scales Hall, Tyler Hall, and Wilbur Hall will be the next three buildings on campus to receive a lactation room in the coming months.