On November 20th, on a Wednesday, Oswego Theatre Department premieres their play “Dead Man’s Cell Phone” originally written by Sara Ruhl. 

This play, written in the early 2000s, focuses on the significance of human interaction and how technology plays a huge part in our daily lifestyle. 

Based on the playwright’s personal life, important topics such as mortality, interactions, relationships, technology, and more are all present in the show. 

With a small cast, in a total of 8 cast members and all in different years, they are putting on a absurdus play, which will put the topics in more of a comedic, interactive and exciting concept.

Ahmanee Simmons, Director of the play and senior tells her experience directing and the significance of the play. “Dead Man’s Cell Phone was definitely to highlight the human connection and the way we have kind of, sort of, lost that…And with the use of cell phones and technology, I kind of wanted to highlight that. But I also wanted to highlight the false perception of life that we get through social media and stuff like that. ” She said. “We have moved from that paper culture kind of society before and now, to this very digital, more efficient way to live our lives, and I think now it is about finding the balance between the two. Right now, everything is more digital, which is good as this does help us be more efficient as individuals in work, school, or social life, but there is also that boundary where we let it control our lives. This is also something that we address in Dead Man’s Cell Phone.” She also said. 

Giovanni Rodriguez, the assistant director of the play also commented about the production. “Working with the cast has been great. I enjoy working with my director, Ahmanee Simmons. With the play itself,  I believe the moral of the story is that we are all disconnected in our own ways and a simple ‘hello’ or ‘how are you’ can connect the most unlikely people in an instant. This is really about disconnection and what we don’t do due to technology. [In this play], I believe is going to open people’s eyes ” He said. 

“You should come see it!!”-Ahmanee Simmons

The play will take place in Tyler Hall’s Lab Theatre and will extend from November 20th to November 23rd.

To purchase the ticket online, you may visit https://oswego.universitytickets.com/w/default.aspx

For more theatre plays, you may visit https://www.oswego.edu/theatre/theatre-0

Oswego NY— Today is Election Day for towns and cities across the country. Oswego residents voted on City and Town positions such as Mayor, Ward Counselors, and Town Clerks. A major topic in Oswego politics is Billy Barlow’s uncontested re-election. This will be his second term in office. 

There are 7 Ward Counselors positions available across Oswego City. The following lists the different positions and the candidates running for that office. Winners will be stated in bold.

• 1st Ward Councilor: 
  • Susan McBrearty (D)
  • Andrew J Hall (R)

• 2nd Ward Councilor:
  • Maureen A Wills (D)
  • Shawn Burridge (R)

• 3rd Ward Councilor:
  • Jonathan Ashline (D)
  • Kevin Hill (R)

• 4th Ward Councilor:
  • Diane Zeller (D)
  • Shawn P Walker (R)

• 5th Ward Councilor:
  • John B Gosek (R)

• 6th Ward Councilor:
  • Matthew Fleming (D)
  • Ronald Tesoriero (R)

• 7th Ward Councilor:
  • Robert Corradino (R)

Oswego Town offers 4 positions open for elections; Supervisor, Town Clerk, Councilman and Superintendent of Highways. The following states the positions and their candidates. Winners will be stated in bold.

• Supervisor
  • Richard Kaulfuss (R)

• Town Clerk
  • Nikki Fowler (R)

• Councilman
  • Margaret A Mahaney (D)
  • Richard J Tesoriero (R)
  • Jonathan Fowler (R)

• Superintendent of Highways 
  • Robert Malone Jr. (R)

OSWEGO, NY— Earlier this week, students had the opportunity of meeting and speaking with Zully Ramirez. She is currently an investigative news reporter at Chicago Telemundo. The event was hosted by the PRSSA here at SUNY Oswego and was open to the general public.

Zully Ramirez originally hails from Guatemala, but she moved to Harlem, NY at a young age. Many students were intrigued by her success story and her honesty about being an investigative news reporter. 

After the event, I had the opportunity of interviewing Zully Ramirez and asked her what she would tell present and future students of SUNY Oswego. Her response was, “I would just say persevere. Persevere, listen to advice and put your heart and soul into everything that you do. Because when you persevere and listen to advice, and put your heart and soul into everything that you do, you can make it.”

OSWEGO, NY—On Monday, October 27, Mayor Billy Barlow and City Hall officials unanimously voted to ban the use of styrofoam and smoking on public properties. 

A concerned member of the community took the opportunity to speak about the effect of smoking on the community. 

“Discarding cigarette butts constitute the majority of litter on beaches, playgrounds, etc. The reduction of use results in reduced clean up costs for the community,” said the woman. 

Cigarette filters, e-cigarette pods and plastic wrappers all contain toxic chemicals that can leak into water supplies and are non-biodegradable. These products can also pose a major threat to children and small animals. 

“That’s the bottom line for me is quality of life. There will be improvement for us, as current residents as well as the future residents,” said Council Member Robert A. Corridino. 

SUNY Oswego students also expressed their support for the ban, but adding more can and should be done. 

“To have them all be more encompassing and have a more robust ‘Keep Oswego Clean Initiative.’ I feel like besides just banning styrofoam products they should too expand it to ban other single use plastic products as well…” said former Student Association President, Omar van Reenan. “Then we also have to take that responsibility to heart and act on that responsibility to protect not just the people but the environment of the city of Oswego as well.” 

Now that it has been passed, the initiative will go into effect on April 22, 2020, which is also Earth Day.