Look Inside: A6 Discover the new outdoor sculptures on campus.
Friday, Sept. 7, 2018 VOLUME LXXXVIII ISSUE I SINCE 1935 www.oswegonian.com
Dining facilities switch to paper Auxiliary Services makes strides toward sustainability Kassadee Paulo News Editor kpaulo@oswegonian.com Oswego State Auxiliary Services has implemented new changes in the dining facilities on campus in an effort to move toward a more sustainable establishment. The changes within the dining facilities include replacing plastic souffle cups with paper ones, replacing plastic straws with paper ones, replacing plastic stirrers with wooden ones, allowing customers to use reusable mugs when taking out beverages rather than using disposable cups and eliminating polystyrene plastic materials from resident dining locations. Student Association President Omar van Reenen worked with students to advocate for sustainable practices during his then-position as director of diversity, equity and inclusion. At the time, the bill to eliminate plastic cups from the dining halls and to make sustainable changes was voted down. “Fighting for the environment is hard to do because it is a face-
less fight… That’s why it was a hard movement to bring about,” van Reenen said. “I want the students to know it was worth it.” Students voiced their thoughts on sustainability in the dining facilities last year in Student Association and during a town hall meeting with Oswego State President Deborah Stanley. As a result of their grievance, the president’s advisory group on sustainability
in dining services was formed. The committee consists of Tim Braun, Director of Facilities Services Maintenance and Operations Mary DePentu, Auxiliary Services General Manager Michael Flaherty, biological sciences major Linden Merrill and recently retired Executive Assistant to the President Howard Gordon.
See SUSTAINABLE, A4
Maria Pericozzi | The Oswegonian Student Association and Sustainability Office work to encourage sustainable practices.
Scales Hall stairs redone over summer
Oswego State students volunteer in Puerto Rico Julia Tilley Asst. News Editor jtilley@oswegonian.com Fifteen Oswego State students, along with 29 other SUNY attending students from New York, traveled to Puerto Rico on June 17 to participate in the first round of relief efforts following hurricanes Irma and Maria. This past summer, SUNY and CUNY schools across New York joined Gov. Andrew Cuomo and other volunteer organizations to participate in his “New York Stands With Puerto Rico Recovery and Rebuilding” initiative, which is focused on working with nonprofit organizations to rebuild areas demolished by the recent hurricanes. Both SUNY and CUNY schools sent students to Puerto Rico to help in the efforts. New York has been continuously working to aid Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, which hit the island in September 2017, by issuing tasks like sending utility personnel and damage assessment experts to the island. However, plenty of work still needs to be done to restore the island to what it once was. According to first session group leader and Oswego State faculty member Joanne O’Toole, in the Puerto Rican culture, it is not uncommon for homes to be built informally by
family members and then inherited as generations grow. For that reason, homes are not always built according to codes, and there are not always official paperwork or deeds involved, meaning the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, cannot offer a large amount of financial compensation or support. It would need paperwork to do so. “The people we were helping were vulnerable,” O’Toole said. “One of the people we helped was an 83-year-old widow, whose granddaughter lived with her, but she was studying at the university at night and working by day. She had been offered $500 by FEMA, but it would require much more than $500.” This was a common occurrence. Many of the people the volunteers helped were elderly and unable to fix the damage on their own. “We were able to sit with homeowners and hear their stories,” O’Toole said. “The emotional element of that for people to be heard and feel like their needs were being heard was equally important as anything else.” For some volunteers, the damage caused by the hurricanes in Puerto Rico affected them personally.
See SUNY, A4
Incorrect initial installation leads to additional project Alexis Santos Contributing Writer news@oswegonian.com
CONTENT
Construction projects were in full swing on Oswego State’s campus this summer. Some refurbishments are easier to spot, such as the sidewalk in front of Cayuga Hall that was dug up and redone, the $250,000 paint job in Mackin Hall and the center staircase in Scales that was reinstalled. Just as critical as the aesthetic restorations were the projects that dealt with infrastructure. “There was a wall on the northeast side of Hart that had a water leak that had to be repaired,” said Richard Kolenda, assistant vice president of Residence Life and Housing.
Calendar...................... C2 Classifieds................... C6 Crossword................... C6 Contact Info................ A2 Laker Review.............. C1 News............................. A1 Opinion........................ B5 Sports........................... B1 Sudoku......................... C7
Maria Pericozzi | The Oswegonian As part of summer contruction projects, one of the stairwells in Scales Hall was redone.
The Village got a $450,000 Wi-Fi update along with refinished countertops, which was a project that was three years in the making. “Residence Life and Housing gets
no funding from the state,” Kolenda said. “The only money we can use is the money that students pay in room rent.”
See RESIDENCE, A5
Students from SUNY and CUNY universities traveled to Puerto Rico this summer to volunteer.
Sports
Opinion
KANE PART 2
PAPER VS. PLASTIC
Laker Review Oswegonian.com 2018 SUMMER WRAP-UP KELLY TAKES OVER VP
Photo provided by Diana Aguaro
B1
B5
Austin Dearborn | The Oswegonian
C4
Image from Pixabay
Image from Marvel Entertainment
Web Photo provided by Edward Kelly