by Daniel Manou

Oswego, NY- Today Show TV personality and Oswego State alum Al Roker returned the college on Mar. 31 as part of Rokerthon Three. Oswego State was the last stop on Rokerthon Three, which sent Roker to four other colleges during the week to break a Guinness World Record.

Oswego State’s world record was to have the world’s longest conga line on ice. The original record was held by the Ice Rink Canary Wharf in the United Kingdom with 353 people. Oswego State broke the record with 593 people.

Having Roker’s final stop be Oswego State, the visit had a little more meaning than the rest.

“It’s very exciting to end up having a week in Oswego. It’s very exciting and the school came through” he said.  

In order to officially break the record students had to follow strict rules. The students must step in unison while holding the hips of the person in front of them for five minutes. If at any point the line broke, someone fell or messed up the moves, the attempt would be disqualified.

Organizing such an event took more effort than meets the eye, which Del Sarte President Allison Anthony learned when tasked with choreographing.

“It’s important that we all came together and found one pace and one way to communicate that works for everyone” she said. “Doing that with 500 plus people was challenging but we got it done”.

Before the conga line could even happen, Anthony and the school advertised the recruitment of skaters and held practices to teach them the moves. Making the decision to participate in the record breaking attempt was easy for most people but were based on several different motives.

For students like Ethan Magram, the thrill of being having a world record in his back pocket was enough.

“I can’t wait to look back and say I broke a world record with some of my best friends, met one of the most favorite news personalities, and I’m going to remember this forever” he said.

Others such as freshman Hannah Enigh, had a strong admiration for Roker. She saw him as a role model in her pursuit to become a broadcast meteorologist.

“I was very excited to want to be a part of something Al Roker was a part of because that was one of the main reasons I came to Oswego, to be a meteorologist and broadcasting major” Enigh said.

by Owen Marchand, WTOP10-TV

Each month, the SUNY Oswego Planetarium holds a different theme during its weekly shows. At Sundays at 7pm the Planetarium holds exciting shows hosted by Dr. John Zielinski of the Oswego physics department. The theme for the month of November is “Astronomical subjects in the works of Shakespeare, Tolstoy, and Mark Twain.”

During these shows Dr. Zielinski will discuss the astronomical topics in Shakespeare’s works such as Hamlet, Julius Caesar, Tolstoy’s War and Peace, as well as Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. He states that he will be giving a background on each of these pieces in order to connect them to the show in a way that is both interesting and educational. During this portion of the show, Dr. Zielinski will talk about important characters, and situations of each of the pieces of literature.

Throughout the show, Dr. Zielinski will also show many clips from films based on these novels and plays and incorporate them within the show. He says that a main part of the show is assimilating as many of these events as possible on the planetarium dome. Along with these clips, some other astronomical facts will be noted such as how all the stars seem to rotate the North Star and that all stars return to the same position in the sky every 23 hours and 56 minutes.

In order to witness this month’s show, one must sign up in advanced as the planetarium only has 35 seats but will allow and over-flow of people to sit on the floor. It is important to get there a little early in order to secure a seat! If the weather is good after each show, there will be a telescopic observation held after the presentation.