Reported by: Jacob Vanderbroek
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New Residence Hall Door Policy
OSWEGO, NY— Oswego Residence Life and Housing has registered a new door access policy. On-campus students are only allowed to enter their own residence hall. For students who live on campus, This has limited who can access the building, but that is just the beginning of the new policy.
“It’s just a first phase, so whether it be the student’s petition or students that have emailed, this won’t be the final change” said Shaun Crisler, Service Assistant Vice President of Residence Life and Housing. This step is to see the responses not only from students, but from the whole campus community.
Tylissa Cortis, who is currently staying at the Village responded, “Living in The Village I go from dorm to dorm to dorm with the tunnel system, so I’m less exposed to the elements when I miss the bus. Now I can’t do that.”
Residence Life and Housing is now working on the feedback and adjusting from it. Crisler is glad with the responses he’s getting, but he wants to remind everyone that not all policies are perfect. Crisler said, “Anytime you have a policy it is typically never perfect, but what you have to be open to is feedback”
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Oswego State Students Offer Free Tax Filing
by Jamie Aranoff
Oswego, NY- Students in Oswego State’s MBA program volunteered their time to do free income tax reports for both students and members of the Oswego community.
The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program (VITA) has been a part of the Oswego State campus for over ten years. The VITA program assists students who are new to doing taxes on their own as well as community members.
According to a press release, the Oswego VITA program received a score of 100 percent in quality site requirements in its IRS field audit.
VITA on-site program coordinator Kevin Kania says tax forms are sent by the students to the IRS electronically. If there are any questions or concerns about a form, the IRS will contact them.
“Last year we had over a 99 percent approval rating, which means over 99 percent of the returns we prepare were accepted by the IRS which means we did them correctly and there were no issues or questions for us,” he said.
According to City-Data, the median household income in Oswego was $39,632 in 2015. Many residents fit the requirement for VITA’s minimum income, bringing in many tax forms for student volunteers to file.
“Last year we preformed over 400 returns and this year we’re on track to get over 400 returns throughout the whole semester,” Kania said.
The last day to file taxes is Apr. 18.
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Resident Mentor Plans Never Before Attempted Overnight Trip
OSWEGO, NY — Students from Johnson Residence Hall at SUNY Oswego have recently embarked on an overnight trip to New York City. Johnson Hall resident mentor Jerimiah Butler says that this is the first time a member of campus residence life has organized an overnight trip with students.
“It’s an action-packed-like trip. We have no time for, you know, shenanigans here,” Butler said. “But we’re very excited, you know, it’s been a long planning process.”
The journey to New York had consisted of a concert from contemporary worship band, “Elevation Worship,” at the Playstation Theater in Times Square. The group had also made stops at Ellis Island, as well as the Statue of Liberty.
“It’s crazy how, like, it happened, because I wanted to see Elevation Worship for a long time,” student Amber Saint Joi said. “I was like, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to get here.’ And then this trip happened, so it’s like, ‘oh my god,’ so then we’re going to go see the Statue of Liberty, so definitely doing stuff for the residents, especially for all freshmen as well, it’s a new experience since people have never been to New York City.”
Resident mentor Butler hopes for this type of program to be held on an annual basis, with Niagara Falls possibly being the designated location for the next semester.
“We’re just dreaming big,” Butler said. “That’s one thing that my hall director here, Olive, really presses on us, it’s ‘think big.’ She’s been a huge help, as well as Linda, our FYRE coordinator. You know, a lot of meeting across this past month and a half or so, but this trip would not happen without their support.”
With a successful trip like this one, there’s no telling what amazing memories the RMs of SUNY Oswego will help make for students.
