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SUNY Oswego ends the two-week pause, but restrictions remain. Surveillance testing will continue.
OSWEGO,NY- SUNY Oswego President Deborah Stanley says the campus can now transition back to in-person classes starting Monday. She says the campus has successfully slowed the spread of COVID-19. However, the only change permitted will be the transition to in-person classes.
This means students, on or off-campus, are still expected to limit their movements for essential purposes only. Student clubs and organizations cannot hold meetings in person. On-campus students cannot host visitors in their residence halls, including students from other dorms. The dining halls will still be takeout only.
All outlines in the SUNY-wide emergency directive will continue to be enforced at SUNY Oswego. The directive says a student’s card access can be revoked if a student fails to fill out their health screening or fails to take a mandatory COVID test, At a press conference today, President Stanley says no such issue has been brought to her attention where a student forgets to fill out their health screening or failed to take a test.
Oswego County Administrator Phil Church says the Oswego County Health Department approved SUNY Oswego’s decision to continue in-person classes. SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras praised the effort between the college and the community to contain the virus.
Oswego Mayor Billy Barlow says only one mass gathering was broken up during the two week pause.
According to SUNY Oswego’s COVID-19 dashboard, there are only 28 active cases of COVID-19 in the campus community and 30 counting towards the NYS-remote learning threshold.
Stanley says the school will continue surveillence testing which will take place every three weeks.
Oswego Sub Shop employee tests positive for COVID-19
OSWEGO, NY — On Thursday, September 24th, Oswego Sub Shop released information via their Facebook page about a part-time employee testing positive for COVID-19. The employee went on a camping trip to the Adirondacks last week before returning back to work on Sunday, September 20th for her shift from 3:45 pm to 10:35 pm, the post reads. During the shift, the employee was “experiencing allergy like symptoms” and was sent home early.
“She woke up Monday morning with a fever, went and got tested and was given the results that she was positive around 12:00 noon yesterday September 23rd, Owner William Greene stated in the post. “We worked closely with the Oswego County Health Department to determine what employees needed to quarantine as a precaution for 14 days, they have been contacted.”
The company notified all 40+ employees about the positive case prior to the announcement on Facebook, in cooperation with the Health Department’s protocols. This morning, the company had Sanitizing Technologies completely sanitize the store along with their delivery cars, which usually happens once a month along with this emergency treatment. Oswego Sub Shop will remained open under normal operating hours.
Oswego County Health Department released a press release this afternoon around 3:45 p.m. regarding the potential exposure. Oswego County Public Health Director Jiancheng Huang was quoted in this document stating, “any customer who visited the restaurant during that time should monitor themselves for symptoms of COVID-19 for 14 days.”
For more information on COVID-19 testing, call the Oswego County Hotline at 315-349-3330 weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Photo by Ben Grieco (@BenGriecoSports)
Team Spotlight: Oswego State Men’s Soccer
OSWEGO, NY — The Oswego State Men’s Soccer team, a squad surrounded by a lengthy but rather disappointing history in terms of success, has recently been on the upswing the past couple of years. This due to the arrival of Head Coach Dan Kane, who took over the Lakers heading into the 2017 season. A program that has transferred from being a doormat for the SUNYAC to a championship hopeful which showed just a year ago. The 9-7-2 team lost to SUNY Cortland in penalty kicks, a once nationally ranked team, in the opening round of the SUNYAC tournament. The squad’s first appearance in the bracket since 2014 was another step in the right direction for the Lakers.
The obvious common problem teams face across the nation comes down to retention of progress gained over the course of more than one season. For Kane’s Lakers, the group realized quickly what was expected of them before heading home last semester.
“The team realized that we got to make some advances individually and collectively,” Kane stated, “if we are going to sustain our kind of progression from the last few years.”
Of course, the return to Oswego has been much different for a team that usually starts games before the start of September. Kane spoke on the lack of team practices has made team cohesion difficult, something the head coach wished the group had similar to previous years. However, Kane found a positive in the situation as the coach touched on how this difference gave him the ability to work on a different subject, the incoming Class of 2024.
“We are way further along in terms of getting to know them as people because we have been having so many calls with them.” Kane said, “I know our freshman a lot better than I normally would which I am really thankful for.”
The push to the potential spring season gives the new members of the squad an opportunity to gain maturity before their first steps onto the Laker Turf. Kane explained the “grind of college and of the season catches up” and often saw regression through the course of a season from his first-year athletes because of this. Coach continued about his envy towards spring sports due to this trend, that may now be able to be tapped into due to this uncommon season.
Another plus for these Lakers is the return of the backline and starting goaltender Brian Terra. The defensive core that held conference opponents to an average of less than a goal last season will continue to be the backbone for the Lakers success. A defensive strategy that Kane plans to build on to improve the game at the other end of the pitch.
“It is going to look different.” Kane expressed, “[We] are going to play a bit differently but the more you can rely on your defense to win individual battles, the more freedom it gives our attacking players to take some chances and be creative and get more numbers forward.”
For now, the Lakers will have to remain on the sidelines before kicking off their season after the end of the calendar year. A group that got a taste of soccer together one week ago at their first team practice on the Laker Turf. The torrential downpour of rain did not take off the smiles that were found on every student athlete.
“We were in small pods.” Kane continued, “the energy and the positivity at practice was amazing. They were loving it.”
However, the Lakers will not be able to continue preparation for the 2021 season until next semester after the postponement of Athletics due to the recent spike of COVID-19. This added set pack could put the group at a disadvantage compared to other SUNY institutions across the conference, but Kane is taking a different look at the situation.
“To all the teams that are practicing, I wish them well.” Kane stated, “we hope to be back there soon in January, and we will make the most of the time we are given. We are not going to be the team that has excuses like that.”
For this team, the optimism shines from the head of the program. The Lakers seem to be in good hands heading into the most unusual season in sports history. Kane acknowledged the adversity that lies in front of the group but told his athletes to stay committed to the process.
“This is no question a time of adversity, so what kind of growth can we have in these moments and the second thing is even though we are not able to be together in a normal sense, we still have to be for each other.” Kane continued, “Those are kind of the two biggest messages, stay present and be there for each other. When the referee does blow that first whistle and lets us play, we will be ready for that moment.”
Photo Provided by Oswego State Athletics
SUNY Oswego suspends Athletic activities for remainder of Fall 2020 semester
OSWEGO, NY — On Sunday, September 13th, SUNY Oswego President Deborah Stanley released new guidelines and restrictions regarding on campus activity for the Fall 2020 semester. One of these restrictions regards Oswego State Athletics as the college announced in a campus wide email that all practices, meetings, workouts, and gatherings will be suspended for the remainder of the semester. Since August 31st, the fall sports of Men’s and Women’s Soccer, Field Hockey, and Men’s and Women’s Cross-Country teams have been conducting practices and team meetings. This past week, Men’s and Women’s Tennis started their “non-traditional” practice season. This coming week, Volleyball would have joined the spring sports teams of Softball, Baseball, and the Men’s and Women’s Lacrosse would have started their four-week practice period.
With this change in policy, winter sports teams will not be able to prepare for their season until January 1st, the date set by the SUNYAC conference back on July 20th. This developing situation will continued to be monitored by WTOP 10 as the 2020 calendar year wraps up.
SUNY Chancellor confident in Oswego’s testing strategies despite a rise in COVID-19 cases
OSWEGO, NY- After SUNY Oswego’s spike in COVID-19 cases sparked uncertainty, SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras says he is confident in SUNY Oswego’s testing and mitigation strategies.
“It’s under control here,” says Malatras. “[Oswego] has the testing and isolation in place. If it does get to the point where they have to use more mitigation efforts, they stand ready to do that.”
SUNY Oswego saw it’s biggest spike in COVID-19 cases this semester over the weekend. Cases continue to rise. As of Wednesday, there are 64 total cases according to the COVID-19 dashboard.
The campus opened Funnelle hall as new quarantine housing, in addition to Lonis and Moreland halls. The building can house 208 students.
In a statement Monday morning, SUNY Oswego President Deborah Stanley says the college will re-start testing across campus, identifying exposures in classrooms and testing students and faculty in exposed classes. The college will also work with the City of Oswego to test wastewater in the residence halls.
NYSPHSAA releases Return to Interscholastic Athletics resource for 2020-21 Season
OSWEGO, NY — On Friday, September 4th, the New York State Public High School Athletic Association released a lengthy document containing plans and guidelines for the 2020-21 sports season. The Return to Interscholastic Athletics resource was put together by staff of the association to give member schools aid on how sports should be handled during the COVID-19 pandemic. The NYSPHSAA worded with the New York State Department of Health to classify sports into three different categories, Low Risk, Moderate Risk, and High Risk. Each fall sport received a category based on the ability to social distance and the ability to avoid touching shared experiment during play.
With the prior announcement that the fall sports season would begin on September 21st, school districts now know what sports will be permitted to compete compared to just practicing. The Low and Moderate Risk sports of Cross-Country, Field Hockey, Golf, Gymnastics, Soccer, Girls Swimming & Diving, Girls Tennis will be permitted to begin play inside their section or league until October 19th. After that date, schools will be allowed to compete beyond their section. The High Risk sports of Cheerleading, Football, and Volleyball will be permitted to practice. However, teams will not be able to compete against other schools till approved by the NYSDOH, or after December 31st. There will be no regional/state championships for the fall sports season.
A few weeks prior, the NYSPHSAA announced that the Winter sports season will be pushed back to November 30th, previously November 16th. This change gave the fall sports season two extra weeks to account for the push back of that season. March 15th is now the official start date for Spring Sports. Both winter and spring still have State Championships scheduled, which may be subject to change.
The association has also determined that school districts can determine if junior varsity or modified teams will be allowed to participate in the 2020-21 season. WTOP 10 will continue to provide coverage on the ever-evolving high school sports situation.
SUNY Oneonta students will be sent home for the rest of the Fall semester
ONEONTA, NY- SUNY Oneonta will move to remote learning for the remainder of the Fall semester following an outbreak of 389 COVID-19 cases and counting.
The outbreak began last weekend when just over 100 students tested positive for the virus. This came shortly after Governor Cuomo announced that SUNY schools would close for two weeks if there’s a COVID outbreak of over 100 students or five percent of a given campus population. The number of positive cases has jumped significantly since last weekend.
According to SUNY Oneonta’s COVID-19 dashboard, 389 students and staff members have tested positive since the beginning of the Fall semester.
The same weekend, five students and three campus organizations at Oneonta were suspended for hosting parties, according to SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras.
After the initial two week temporary shutdown, the state deployed a COVID-19 SWAT team to SUNY Oneonta in an attempt to ramp up testing. Students were not required to be tested upon arrival.
Off-campus resident Grace Kinne says she had not been tested prior to her arrival in Oneonta. She left Oneonta last Saturday as a precaution for medical reasons.
“I have asthma that gets really bad when I am sick, so my Mom wanted me home right away,” said Kinne.
Full refunds will be issued for on-campus housing as well as additional allowable refunds for dining plans. Students who test positive will quarantine on campus until they are re-tested negative.
Winter sports pushed back as NYSPHSAA holds meetings
OSWEGO, NY — This past Sunday, the New York State Public High School Athletic Association (NYSPHSAA) COVID-19 task force met once again to create a plan for the return of fall interscholastic athletics. The group has been reading over documents from the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) which has guidance and recommendations on this ever-changing situation, created by the COVID-19 pandemic. This group has met five times so far and plans to release a comprehensive document containing information for schools across the state, which will be released this Friday, September 4th.
The newest news to come from the NYSPHSAA is the change to push the start date of the winter sports season from November 16th to November 30th. The association did this to allot time to schools and sections to complete this condensed fall athletic season. Currently, only low risk to moderate risk fall sports will be allowed to compete against other schools in their section. Football and Volleyball will be allowed to practice but cannot play due to the sports being categorized as both high risk sports. WTOP 10 will continue to update readers on the developing story as teams can begin practices on September 21st.
NYSPHSAA Press Release: http://www.nysphsaa.org/News-Media/Headline-News/Article/id/8643
Students rally across campus in a peaceful protest against the shooting of Jacob Blake
OSWEGO, NY- Students marched across campus Thursday in peaceful protest of the Jacob Blake shooting.
The Rally was led by Brandon Gonzalez, who read off a list of demands for the Oswego administration. One of the demands includes banning the use of chokeholds by University Police.
Oswego Sophomore Jacques Allrichnaugaus II was among the peaceful protestors who shared his story.
“As a black American, I can say it’s hard to live in a white society,” said Allrichnaugaus II. “If you don’t know the struggle and don’t know somebody that went through the struggle, I urge you to learn about it. Learn about our history.”
This comes as national Black Live Matter protests have resumed in a response to the shooting, and just a day after athletes across the country boycotted games in solidarity of the national movement.