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Syracuse Police Receive Funds for Body Cameras
SYRACUSE, NY >> The U.S. Department of Justice has awarded a grant for $117,888 to Syracuse. The grant is specifically geared towards the sole purpose of equipping the police with body cameras for a pilot program.
However, the city of Syracuse will only be using half of that grant to buy ten police cameras. Syracuse mayor Stephanie Miner held a press conference this morning and said that the city of Syracuse will be working with the Department of Justice on how to implement this batch of cameras.
Miner also talked about how the new equipment in the police department will be apart of a pilot program that could be used to justify more cameras in the future.
Miner compared this pilot program to the use of surveillance cameras in the city back in 2011. Those cameras had started to be implemented on the Near West Side for their pilot program.
“Stationary cameras also started off as a pilot program, and now people want more cameras and feel they’re very effective,” Miner said. “People will want more as long as we do it in a methodical and effective way.”
In the past the city has been denied from being able to equip its police officers with cameras. Rochester and Albany had received more than $700,000 in federal grants to equip their own police with body cameras at the time when Syracuse’s proposal got rejected.
These struggles led Miner to criticize Rep. John Katko last week for not offering more help to the city in its bid for the grant.
But with Syracuse finally accepting $59,000 from the feds they can finally look forward to new police body cameras. Miner says that the police in Syracuse should be wearing cameras by the end of 2016.
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Mr Phi. Significant
Oswego, N.Y- An annual male beauty pageant, originally hosted by sorority Delta Phi Epsilon, was given to Phi Sigma Sigma this year for undisclosed reasons. The official name of event was changed to “Mr. Phi Significant.”
The event’s message remains the same each year. It honors former Oswego State student Jennifer Knighton, a sister of Delta Phi Epsilon who passed away in an alcohol related accident on Jul. 19, 2009. Her father, Joe LaPoint, organized the event in her honor.
“This is the way I make peace and make sense of it, and to keep her legacy alive so that all the huge enormous promise and potential that she had didn’t just end when she left us,” he said.
Phi Sigma Sigma sister Morgan Rumpf co-hosted the event and says she’s honored to have LaPoint’s support year after year.
“The strength that it takes for him to get up on stage and continue year after year to be here in support and fly across the country for this event is just anything we could ask for in him,” she said.
Eight contestants competed in four categories; swimwear, evening attire, talent and questions. Delta Sigma Phi brother Rich Yonkers was the overall winner and crowned “Mr Phi. Significant.”
All proceeds for the event will go towards the Jennifer Knighton Scholarship Fund and the Kids In Need Foundation. -
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.
