*Photo provided by Alex Simone

OSWEGO, N.Y. – The City of Oswego is asking for city residents to vacate all street parking for the next 48 hours.

Oswego Mayor Billy Barlow is calling for all vehicles to be removed from city streets, while the Department of Public Works works to clear the roads of snow and ice. The inclement weather and combination of snow and rain has caused many of the city’s drainage systems to clog.

“The significant weather event we are experiencing calls for the cooperation of all our citizens,” Barlow said. “In consultation with DPW Commissioner Tom Kells, I am requesting that all vehicles park off the road over the next 48 hours as the DPW works on snow removal and freeing the storm sewers from overflowing water.”

In addition, the Oswego City Police will continue issuing tickets and towing vehicles that are violating the city’s already existing parking ban from 1 a.m. to 6 a.m.

Several municipal lots are open and free to park in and for more information you are recommended to contact the Mayor’s office at 315-343-8140.

by Ilyssa Weiner, WTOP10-TV

Moderated speak-out series “Oz Speaks” held the most recent talk in their series on Oct. 25. The topic was on the issue about Blue Lives Matter.

Students, faculty and members of the community were encouraged to speak about their thoughts and feelings about the situation without it being a debate. Some participants shared stories of family members in law enforcement while others discussed the impact of both the Blue Lives Matter and Black Lives Matter movements on their personal lives.

Sophomore Keonna Wren was one of the participants of the event. One of the issues she spoke about was her identity as a black woman and how the two movements, [Black Lives Matter and Blue Lives Matter] shaped her life.

“I absolutely love events like this because it’s not a debate,” said Wren. “I’m happy I got to spoke my truth and that’s what I came here for.”

Associate Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students Jerri Howland is one of the organizers for “Oz Speaks.” She says this speak out is different from the others because of the structure for how Blue Lives Matter came about and how this movement contrasts to Black Lives Matter.

“It’s not only important for students, but it’s important for everyone in our society to make sure we listen to all points of views,” Howland said. “I think it’s when we don’t listen to others and don’t understand their point of view that we don’t really get to the heart of what diversity is.”

Howland says the goal of the “Oz Speaks” series is to create a space for the SUNY Oswego community to freely speak about their thoughts on issues. She believes the series has successfully done that so far.

The next “Oz Speaks” talk will be Nov. 1 at 6:30 PM in the Campus Center Auditorium.

By Micah Pasinski

OSWEGO, N.Y.– The Oswego Opera Theatre presented a special performance of the Gilbert and Sullivan comedic opera, “The Mikado” on November 11th and 12th. The Mikado was the ninth of fourteen operatic collaborations written between the famous musical duo, Arthur Sullivan and W.S Gilbert. It has remained incredibly popular to this day since it’s 1885 opening in London with many professional theatre companies still performing it.

Gilbert and Sullivan’s comedic opera is a British piece set in Japan. This was done because the creators thought Japan was a far enough place away from their homeland of Britain to give them the freedom to satirize Victorian British politics and institutions of the time, by disguising them as Japanese.

The Oswego Opera Theatre took inspiration from the play’s original satirical nature and used the production as a way in which to poke fun at a lot of what has been dominating our political news lately. They even went so far as to having jokes pertaining to the Trump-Russia Scandal and a character in the show who was strikingly similar in appearance to 2016 Democratic Party Presidential Nominee, Hillary Clinton.

SUNY Oswego Orchestral and Artistic Director, and Conductor of “The Mikado” Dr. Juan Francisco La Manna said that the political aspect is all a part of what makes the show still relevant and enjoyable for audiences to see today.

“The great thing is that it can translate into today’s politics and world very well, so we took probably ninety percent of the substance of the script and adapted it so it would become really relevant,” said La Manna.

“The Mikado” is known as one of the most played musical theatre pieces in history. It was even estimated that before the end of 1885, its premiere year, 150 companies were already producing the opera.