Cayuga Community College Auburn & Fulton, New York
Collegian cayugacollegian@gmail.com
VOL. 68 ISSUE 6 OCTOBER 26, 2021
CAYUGABRIEFS
ONE-ON-ONE WITH DURANT
CAYUGA STUDENTS: YOU’RE INVITED TO PARTICIPATE IN
By Caitlyn Major, Editor-in-chief
Dr. Brian Durant, President of Cayuga Community College, sat down to discuss the latest news as to what is happening at the college.
Coalition Against Domestic Violence and started at the “Day of Unity” in October of 1981. Over the years awareness of Domestic Violence has increased, but it is still a major problem in the United States. “Wearing purple to support DVAM is a great way to bring awareness to an issue CONTINUED PAGE THREE
CONTINUED PAGE TWO
PERFORMANCE PERFECT FIRST CAYUGA STAGE PERFORMANCE SINCE PANDEMIC IS A HIT By Allison Smith, contributing writer Cayuga’s Harlequin Productions was very pleased to present their first stage performance since the pandemic hit last year. The performance was called a Five Pack of Frivolity. Directed by long time theater professor Robert Frame, live performances were on the
Ida Bisgrove Theater stage on the Auburn campus from October 21 through Sunday, October 24th. Carefully following pandemic restrictions, this performance was staged for only four days. Normally, Harlequin CONTINUED PAGE THREE
PHOTO BORROWED FROM CCC FACEBOOK PAGE
CAYUGA BYTES!
Members of the Auburn campus staff and faculty join students by wearing purple to build awareness.
CAYUGA PURPLE PEOPLE POWER Students, staff, and faculty wear purple to show support for domestic violence awareness.
PHOTO BY CHRISTINA BENTLEY
CAYUGA BYTES
RECORDING TIME 4:30 PM WEDNESDAYS The independent student media production called Cayuga Bytes is a fun way for students to share information creating watchable content shared on the Cayuga Bytes YouTube Channel. All students majoring in any area of study are invited to join the production. SIGN IN WITH YOUR COLLEGE EMAIL ENDING IN CAYUGA-CC.EDU.
ZOOM ID NUMBER
899 6977 5480 JOIN US ON WEDNESDAYS AT 4:30 PM!
Fulton campus shows their support for Domestic Violence Awareness by wearing purple last Thursday.
By Kyle Weisman, staff writer There was plenty of purple on both campuses last Thursday as students, staff, and faculty participated in National Wear Purple for Domestic Violence Awareness Month. It was one of many events in the overall Domestic Violence Awareness month of October. Domestic Violence Awareness Month was first established by the National
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF He started off by talking about the new programs that the college has implemented, and will be implementing in the near future. He said, “It’s really exciting progress, during this uncertain time and this time of the pandemic, to have major projects be able to move forward to support the curriculum of the college and new programs.” He discussed that the Culinary Institute Cayuga President Dr. Brian Durant, (right), has been instituted in Auburn. It’s located recently hosted the SUNY Chancellor on at 161 Genesee St. in the Plaza of the Arts campus. building. He relayed that it’s a program for students who want to pursue a career in the culinary field, and it goes over the most up to date information regarding food preparation, presentation, and culinary arts. He also talked about how there will be a new building opening later this year on the Fulton campus, which will be called ‘The Fulton Advanced Manufacturing Institute.” He said that it will be a facility that focuses on manufacturing focus programming for both credit and noncredit courses; and he stated that CCC has collaborated with local manufacturers to create the best design for the building, as well as a curriculum that will be most beneficial to the students. He also discussed the fact that CCC has seen a decline in enrollment in recent years, as have most community colleges across the state. He talked about how demographics in the area have been shrinking, which plays a huge part in the decreasing enrollment. However, he said that the school is realistic when it comes to their expectations regarding this subject. “Even though enrollment is down, we anticipated it to be down,” said Dr. Durant. Through this decline, he said that the school is doing everything in their ability to support their programs. He also informed that they are mindful of the future when making current decisions, and that it all comes down to programming, finances and strategic planning. He talked about how the school is currently in the process of creating a new strategic plan, which they will be working on over the course of the next year. Dr. Durant discussed that they’re always open to exploring new partnerships and programs in an effort to support program growth and possible enrollment growth. Also, he said that partnerships with k-12 communities have helped out a lot. He marveled that it allows local high school students to be exposed to college
Laurel Elliott (left), Allison Smith (center), and Tessa Higgins perform in Cayuga’s Harlequin Production’s first stage performance since the pandemic hit.
DON’T MISS THE NEW EPISODE OF
In episode 35 of CAYUGA BYTES, host and editor-in-chief of The Collegian, Caitlyn Major, gets a sample of Cayuga students Robert Preza and Ethan Abelgore’s sports talk from their podcast ‘The Yard.’ 52 people have already viewed it on the CAYUGA BYTES YouTube Channel at https://www.youtube. com/channel/UCp_EfoJl3k3RUn6L-KZqrtw
Caitlyn Major
PHOTO BORROWED FROM THE CITIZEN
Cayuga Child Care Director Amanda Gould would like to extend an invitation to the college community, (not the public), to participate the Cayuga Child Care Center’s Trunk or Treat event now to be held in the parking lot on the Cayuga Auburn campus. “I know a lot of you miss us coming around for our Halloween parade now that we are not on campus anymore, so I figured this would be a fun opportunity for everyone to be involved,” said Gould. The event will be for families of the childcare center on Friday, October 29 from 6:30 - 7:30 PM. Parking spots will be designated for vehicles participating. You’re encouraged to decorate your trunk/vehicle and hand out treats to children as they go from car to car. Set-up will begin at 5:30 PM on Friday. Gould would like to have advance notice of those who would like to participate so go to this link to sign up your trunk! https://forms.gle/2M781kLE3zwUdXu28 Gould says the event is outdoors with significant spacing between vehicles. Be sure to register your trunk full of treats before Friday at the above link.
PHOTO BY PROFESSOR ROBERT FRAME
TRUNK OR TRE T
THE OFFICIAL STUDENT-RUN NEWSPAPER OF CAYUGA COMMUNITY COLLEGE
WALK TO PREVENT SUICIDE PHOTOS BY NATALIA BRILLATI
OPINIONS
On Saturday, October 09, 2021, there was a Suicide Prevention Walk in Syracuse located at Long Branch Park. This event was sponsored by the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention.
Natalia Brillati
HOW I SEE IT...
Books vs. Movies
There’s been a long running debate over which is better: the book or the movie? Of course, they both have their appeal. Books allow you to create your own image in your mind,whereas movies provide you with an image that may be even cooler than anything that you could’ve thought of. While I do enjoy movies, and often make a point to see
Caitlyn Major EDITOR-IN-CHIEF a movie after reading the book, I prefer the book versions in almost every scenario. Reading a story for the first time is such a unique experience because you have absolutely no idea what’s going to happen next. When you read, you get to create something out of nothing more than words on a page. Different people can read the same story, but have completely different images in their mind. Often I’ll find myself setting a story in my childhood home, or inside of a place where I’ve been before. I love how personalized that makes the story, and how it allows me to fully immerse myself into what’s happening to the characters. Movies are entertaining, and I enjoy watching them. However, it’s sometimes a little bit harder for me to put myself in the character’s position because I’m simply watching what is put in front of me. Being able to create that personalization makes the story more intense, and allows the reader to become more engrossed in what is happening.
HAVE AN OPINION YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE?
STAFF WRITER
It was truly magnificent how many people attended and how many ways people were raising awareness.
This past Thursday afternoon was the first Student Senate meeting. In attendance were the SGO Executive Board, as well as representatives from SAGA, Phoenix, PTK, and Art Club.
Kyle Weisman STUDENT TRUSTEE
The challenge faced this semester is how few students are attending classes on campus. This has decreased club membership and the number of active clubs. That being said we are trying to encourage clubs to be as active as possible and send representatives to the Student Senate. If you are interested in becoming active in a club, or have an idea for a club please come down to the SGO office and talk with us. The next Senate meeting will be November 17th at 3:30 pm. If you are an Officer or an Advisor to a club please attend.
CAYUGA CLUBS!
FULTON AND AUBURN CLUBS Please share your meeting times, events, and fund-raisers with The Cayuga Collegian We want to publish your news!
Email: cayugacollegian@gmail.com
ONE-ON-ONE WITH DURANT CONTINUED FROM FRONT PAGE
There were two powerful speakers who spoke to everyone before the walk. One of them was a writer who shared some of her personal experiences about the walk. A few main concepts that I think are critical to acknowledge are that you are not alone. I was able to ask a few people who attended why they attended and what the event means to them. Everyone I spoke to unfortunately lost someone to suicide. It was inspiring to see how they were reaching their goal to raise awareness. One woman said “We walk in memory of our friend. We do it to help get it out there and it’s
Mary G. Merritt
level courses, and gain credit; while also increasing the school’s overall enrollment. He also stated, “Regardless of the state of enrollment, the college is always committed to the success of our students and supporting our students through their educational journey.” The biggest issue he discussed was the pandemic, and how that’s impacted the college in numerous ways. Of course, he admitted that there was a financial strain; however, the school was able to make the necessary budget adjustments. He also said that they were fortunate to receive CARES funding, which allowed for the school to recover a lot of the lost revenue. The most prominent impact of the pandemic, according to Dr. Durant, has been the irregular student activity. He stated, “It’s unfortunate that some students have had to engage and learn in perhaps a different way than they’d prefer. We know that that’s not the college experience that all may want.”
Dr. Durant went on to say, “Getting people back on campus and engaged in and out of the classroom is a priority, and we’re hopeful to get that vibrancy back on our campus.” He stated that currently the college is fully vaccinated, unless there has been a religious or medical exemption. He was proud to say that they were able to achieve compliance with the SUNY mandate regarding vaccinations. This is a huge step in becoming more open. In the meantime, the college proudly offers highflex learning, online, and in person classes so that students can make choices that are individual to their lives, responsibilities and goals. Dr. Durant said that the college will continue to make strides towards opening the college more and more as health and safety allows. —Editor’s Note: I invited Dr. Durant to appear on The Collegian’s new media show, Cayuga Bytes. He agreed to come on the show, so stay tuned for that episode!
21 STUDENTS WITHDRAWN
THE STUDENTS DISMISSED FROM IN-PERSON CLASSES FOR TESTING NON-COMPLIANCE By Kyle Weisman, staff writer
Caitlyn Major EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Nicole Lamphere Natalia Brillati Emma Deloff Alexander Chapman Kyle Weisman Tim Donovan
STAFF WRITER STAFF WRITER STAFF WRITER STAFF WRITER STAFF WRITER STAFF WRITER
... FACULTY ADVISOR
We are looking for more staff members!
OCTOBER 26, 2021 PAGE TWO
—Natalia Brillati, staff writer
Hundreds and hundreds of people were there. Thousands of dollars were donated to support the American Foundation of Suicide Prevention.
Send your qualified submission to cayugacollegian@gmail.com. Your submission must include the writer’s full name, college year, area of study, phone number, and hometown. All submissions must have an email domain of ‘cayuga-cc.edu’ to be published. Anonymous letters and letters written under pseudonyms will not be published. For verification purposes, submissions must also include the writer’s home address. The staff of The Cayuga Collegian reserves the right NOT TO PUBLISH without an explanation.
The Cayuga Collegian welcomes letters from its readers. Submissions must be from a ‘cayuga-cc.edu’ email domain. Contact us at cayugacollegian@gmail.com. Submissions must include your name, address and daytime phone number. All letters to the editor do not reflect the viewpoint of the Collegian office, its staff or advisor. All letters are simply the opinions of the writers themselves. All letters may be edited for content or length. We reserve the right NOT to PUBLISH.
important to know.” One guy told me that “I lost two friends to suicide.” Someone else mentioned “To raise awareness and show support for families. Means a lot to bring a lot of people together.” Another guy told me “We have our own group called say yes to life. Their organization is a combination for prayer and sacrifice to fight against suicide. Prayer is one hour a month in the place where you worship, and the sacrifice part is climbing to the highest peak in the state. Here in New York, it’s Mount Marcy. We are trying to promote that.” One thing to remember is that you are not alone. This day was truly special.
SGO SENATE MEETING
Last week 21 students were withdrawn from their in-person classes due to COVID testing non-compliance. This is in addition to those students who had previously been withdrawn from in-person classes due to not getting their COVID vaccine by the September 27th deadline. “These testing requirements are in place to protect our entire campus community, and apply to all members of our on-campus population. Protecting the health and safety of our campus community is an essential responsibility of the College. We regret having to withdraw students from classes, but it is unfortunately a necessary step in this situation to protect our campus community,” Dr. Cathleen Dotterer, Cayuga’s Vice President for Student Affairs. On August 20th of this year, Kathleen Chaykosky, who is the COVID-19 Response Administrator, sent out an email to all students informing them that they had to continue to test weekly if they are not vaccinated and are going on campus for any reason. Those who are fully vaccinated only needed to test every other week. “… since the start of the Fall 2021 semester, the college has communicated with students regarding COVID-19 testing guidelines. The College used several methods to
communicate these guidelines in an effort to reach as many students as possible,” said Dr. Dotterer, Students who have been withdrawn from in-person classes can begin to fulfill the testing requirement on or off campus. Lab results can be emailed to kchaykos@cayuga-cc.edu. Students can also reach out to the Office of Student Engagement and Academic Advisement to get back into classes or identify available online courses, if that is preferred. Dr. Dotterer says they have already worked with several affected students to get them back into their in-person classes. It is very important for all students to get tested every other week if you attend in-person classes. As we can see from the recent student withdrawals, the school administration is taking non-compliance very seriously. They also advise students that it is extremely important to check their Cayuga email daily not only for important information like COVID testing requirements, but also vital class information, campus activities, club information, and more. If you are not receiving emails regarding COVID testing please contact Cathleen Chaykosky to make sure that your email is correct in the system.
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CAYUGA PURPLE PEOPLE POWER
Grace Wiseman and the sock puppet, Xocko, in the short play “The Stand-in”
PERFORMANCE PERFECT CONTINUED FROM FRONT PAGE
Productions holds six performance across two weekends. Participating students needed to follow social distance rules whenever possible and were able to adapt to a full-face view while on stage by using clear masks.
Allison Smith CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Cayuga students Grace Wiseman and Dylan Bianco as the ninja.
SGO Vice President Corey O’Connor
Cayuga students Logan Tomaszewski and Laurel Ellison and lighting; the result was a true night of fun performing five unique skits. Four of the featured short plays were written by Brett Hursey, who is known for creating short productions for college venues nationally. Each skit was produced to run between 10 and 15 minutes. The comedy, “The Stand-in,” featured a sock puppet named ‘Xocko’ who competes with an aspiring actress for a part during an audition. “Tough Cookies” explored the deterioration of a couple on a date who are guided by a waitress who delivers them fortune cookies. “Pumps” centers around a woman’s love for her high heels with a hilarious plot twist. “Kung Foolery” snapshots the moments before a woman’s mother visits her daughter’s husband who at the time is convinced he is actually a ninja warrior. The full cast were on stage for the final skit called “A Case of Anxiety,” is by playwright Mark Harvey Levine and showcases a man whose repeated death features a bear and a trio of pirates. “Some of the days take everyday situations — a bad date, an audition — and turn them into something extreme. Other plays will start with an absurd situation,” said Frame. “But all of them capture the weird, funny ways people can act. They’ve each been written that way, and will be performed to highlight that absurdity.”
PHOTO BY KYLE WEISMAN
Everyone involved agreed despite the COVID restrictions, the preparation and staging of the performance was an enjoyable opportunity they were happy to have. Beginning at the end of September, after continual pleas for student interest from Professor and award-winning director Robert Frame, just a handful of students gathered to answer the call for auditions. The ensemble included Dylan Bianco, Laurel Elliot, Tessa Higgins, Allison Smith, Logan Tomaszewski, and Grace Wiseman. “The small group of cast members were able to become better friends and all worked together well,” said cast member Allison Smith. “After the challenges of the past year-and-ahalf, I think all of us could use a night of laughter, and these plays offer that opportunity,” said Frame. “It’s great to see the students back on the stage this semester. We’re all excited to have this opportunity to perform again, and we’re looking forward to this semester’s show.” Under the expert direction of Robert Frame and the support of a number of people working behind the scenes on props, design,
that is sometimes hidden and goes unaddressed worldwide. Wear your purple and be sure to share why you are doing so for the day, proactive awareness is key,” said Norman Lee SGO Advisor. According to the United Nations, domestic violence or “intimate partner violence”, can be defined as a pattern of behavior in any relationship that is used to gain or maintain power and control over an intimate partner. Abuse is physical, sexual, emotional, economic or psychological actions, or threats of actions, that influence another person. This includes any behaviors that frighten, intimidate, terrorize, manipulate, hurt, humiliate, blame, injure, or wound someone. Domestic violence does not discriminate and can happen to anyone regardless of their race, gender, economic status, sexual orientation, or age. Domestic violence also includes violence of any type towards children or other relatives, like a brother or a sister. For example, in the NYPD’s recruitment screening an applicant is disqualified if there is a report of violence between the person and a sibling. The NYPD has zero tolerance for any form of domestic violence. The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence is a key player in the fight to eliminate the conditions that lead to domestic violence. They do not only have programs to support domestic violence victims, but seek to prevent future cases of domestic violence by striving to eliminate “patriarchy, privilege, racism, sexism, and classism.” The NCADV reports on their website that: · • 1 in 4 women and 1 in 9 men experience severe intimate partner physical violence, intimate partner contact, sexual violence, and/or intimate partner stalking with impacts such as injury, fearfulness, post-traumatic stress disorder, use of victim services, contraction of sexually transmitted diseases, etc. • Intimate partner violence accounts for 15% of all violent crime.
PHOTO BY KYLE WEISMAN
PHOTOS BY PROFESSOR ROBERT FRAME
CONTINUED FROM FRONT PAGE
attention to this important issue, the many survivors who are brave enough to share their stories, and the voices that were tragically silenced before their stories could be told. The many helping professionals who render help daily to those in need of escaping this vicious cycle of violence and fear. The wounded warriors who endured their own tragedies only to triumph and dedicate their lives to serving others. This is the beauty of the day; the purple that shines hope! However, we must always be reminded that to make this flower grow, we must be ever vigilant of the soil. The same earth that allowed injustice to grow and the weeds of inequality to creep forth must be recognized and removed. Wearing purple on this day marks a commitment to addressing the past and looking with hope toward the future.” Student Government Secretary Grace Wiseman expressed it well when she said “…it is important to spread awareness of domestic violence so we can help others get out of their situations and get the help that they need.” Domestic Violence Awareness Month extends to the end of the month. Even though Thursday was officially a day to wear purple this should not stop anyone from wearing purple on any day for the rest of the month. Expanding awareness of Domestic Violence and the aspects of our culture that propagates Domestic Violence is something we need to do all year round.
Norman Lee and Karen Wheat Dr. Jerimy Blowers, who organized the recent Pinwheel event in front of the school, expressed his thoughts on the importance of DVAM. “The purple that we see today is the manifestation of many years of growth and work to recognize partner violence in all its forms. Like a flower whose seed must permeate the hard earth to make its appearance, the purple here is symbolic of many hands working for decades to bring
SERVING THE STUDENTS OF CAYUGA COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOR MORE THAN 68 YEARS!
OCTOBER 26, 2021 PAGE THREE
ASSIGNMENT ART 106:
“Fall Still Life”
INSTRUCTOR: Janie Darovskikh “Variety of techniques required for this project including sighting to accurately portray scale and proportions, value blending, cross hatching, directional line, and imagination.”
Sophomore Sadie Coleman’s “Fall Still Life”
Freshman Madison Caza’s “Fall Still Life”
Freshman Jahzaya Lafluer’s “Autumn Still Life”
Jada Smith’s “Autumn Still Life”
Freshman Shawn Smith’s “Autumn Still Life”
CAYUGA CLUBS! FULTON AND AUBURN CLUBS Please share your meeting times, events, and fund-raisers with The Cayuga Collegian We want to publish your news!
Email: cayugacollegian@gmail.com
Jada Smith’s “Autumn Still Life”
SOMETHING FUNNY
SHARE YOUR FUNNY MEMES WITH US: CAYUGACOLLEGIAN@GMAIL.COM OCTOBER 26, 2021 PAGE FOUR
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