A3 Vox editor inspires Journalist and Oswego alum shares diversity lessons
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Friday, April 22, 2016 VOLUME LXXXIII ISSUE X SINCE 1935 www.oswegonian.com
University Police continue marijuana arrests on campus Nyasia Elie Contributing Writer news@oswegonian.com The winds are brutal in Oswego and it’s 4:20, so a student decides to smoke marijuana in their dorm room. Ten minutes later, the hall director and the police are at the door. In panic, the student sprays cheap cologne to mask the smell, but it’s too late. Many Oswego State students face this kind of situation when they decide to commit illegal activities in student housing facilities. According to the Campus Safety and Security Data Analysis Cutting Tool, the Oswego State campus has a median of 46 arrests in student housing from 2012 to 2014. One Oswego State junior, who wished to remain anonymous, said he uses marijuana. “I smoke because I had the choice of drinking and smoking and I tried both and didn’t like drinking, plus the after-effects of marijuana aren’t bad,” the student said. Smoking in all forms is banned on campus. University Police Lt. Matthew Barbeau said the penalty for smoking marijuana can be severe. “A charge of criminal possession of marijuana more than 25 grams on a person, or if you’re found smoking in public, that would become a B misdemeanor,” Barbeau said. “It bumps up from a violation to a misdemeanor based on the amount of marijuana on you, or if you’re actually seen smoking it in public it would be bumped as an actual crime, where a violation technically isn’t considered a crime, it’s a violation of law.”
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Community prepares for BSR
Oswego businesses expect an increase in customers during Bridge Street Run this May
Mikala Thompson | The Oswegonian
Travis Clark Managing Editor tclark@oswegonian.com The Oswego State administration has implemented plenty of alternatives to Bridge Street Run (BSR), but according to some Oswego business owners, BSR will always be a welcome addition to the community. With the annual bar crawl along Oswego’s Bridge Street inching closer and closer—it always falls on the last day of classes for the academic year—the Student Association and the Student Association Programming Board have also been readying the on-campus alternate event, OzFest. According to SA President Emily Nassir, about 300 tickets have been sold, which is around the same amount sold at this time
last year. BSR was noticeably less crowded last year, as noted by Chip Tesoriero, the owner of The Ferris Wheel Supper Club and Hurricanes Dance Club. Tesoriero believes students were discouraged from participating in BSR last year because of tougher law enforcement practices and the newly introduced OzFest. However, he anticipates this year will be as crowded as previous years and will take the measures he always has to prepare, which includes staffing more people. “I would rather have to send people home than not have them there,” Tesoriero said. Julio Valenzuela, an assistant manager at Azteca Mexican Grill, also feels that students were afraid to participate in BSR last year but thinks more students will attend
this year because of the concert. “I think a lot of people left the concert early because it got to the point where it just tires you out because you’re coming down from your drinking buzz or whatever you want to call it,” Valenzuela said. “So I think this year not a lot of people will be going to the show.” Valenzuela also thinks that the musical acts this year will deter people from attending the concert. “Last year, the biggest name was obviously Big Sean, but any other artist that came along was big enough to make people want to go, even if Big Sean wasn’t there,” Valenzuela said. “I feel like this year more people are going to be going out for Bridge Street Run and we’re going to see the same amount of people going out as years prior
to the first OzFest.” One establishment that does not participate in BSR is the Clubhouse Tavern. Owner Robert McGrath explained that this is because of the size of his bar. “By the time I get my regular patrons in here, it would be disruptive because I’m so small,” McGrath said. McGrath used to participate in BSR by utilizing the deck outside the Clubhouse Tavern, but found it difficult because he was doing a lot of preparations by himself. Now, the only reason he does not participate is because of capacity. Otherwise, he is supportive of Oswego State students. “It’s a great affair,” McGrath said of
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Oswego State students cast their votes in primary elections despite obstacles New York State primary elections on April 19 found many young voters excited to become politically involved Lydia Goerner Incoming News Editor lgoerner@oswegonian.com
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Students were lined up before noon on Tuesday waiting for the doors to open at the Marano Campus Center polling place. April 19 was the New York State primary election and it was many students’ first time voting. Students wore hats and T-shirts to show their support of their preferred presidential candidate. Some posted to social media reminding their friends to vote. Erik Stehlar had “Feel the Bern” scrawled across his forearm in pen to announce the candidate he was voting for. “I’ve been following Bernie [Sanders]
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since he first started in April of last year and I have done a lot of research on Hillary [Clinton], so I know how she stands and how she has stood on everything,” Stehlar said. Stehlar has donated to Sanders’ campaign, participated in phone banking in six states and talked to his friends about the importance of voting. “I want to make a difference in this world and I want [Sanders] to help us,” Stehlar said. The polling place in the Marano Campus Center was open from noon to 9 p.m. Peggy Place, a poll worker who has done the job for 15 years, said an estimated 80 voters came on Tuesday, which is a good turnout for the area.
Voters ages 18 to 29 made up 17 percent of democratic voters at Tuesday’s New York primary election, according to the New York Times. Although Hillary Clinton ultimately won the election in New York, 67 percent of 18 to 29 year olds voted for Bernie Sanders. Many Oswego State college students, like Stehlar, were supportive of the 74-year-old Brooklyn-born candidate. Donald Trump was the Republican winner of the primary election. Some students choose to register to vote in Oswego, while others mailed in absentee ballots in advance. Students who were registered as independent in New York were unable to vote in the primary election.
Haofeng Deng | The Oswegonian
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Some students were not properly registered to vote on Tuesday as they attempted to choose a candidate.
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