The Oswegonian 3-1-19 by The Oswegonian

Look Inside: A3 Kenny Belvin runs for Congress

Friday, March 1, 2019 VOLUME LXXXIV ISSUE IV SINCE 1935 www.oswegonian.com

Author explores identity, gender, sexual orientation Jessica Wickham Chief Copy Editor jwickham@oswegonian.com “Beyond Binaries: Identity and Sexuality,” headed by author Robyn Ochs on Feb. 26, led Oswego State students and other attendees through interactive presentations and activities to explore traditional and nontraditional expressions of gender, sexuality and sexual orientation. Ochs said she has used her experience as a bisexual woman in her 60s to educate students and others around the world and to increase awareness and understanding across identities and social movements. Her presentation focused on the evolution of gender identity and sexual orientation labels with the aim of showing how labels are as complex as the individuals who choose to use them. “Identity is complicated,” Ochs said. “It’s hard sometimes to know

what to call yourself or how to label yourself or which of many options to use. I personally believe that people are too complicated to fit neatly into simple classification systems, except for maybe ‘human’ and ‘not human.’” Through her work, Ochs has helped to reform the traditional Kinsey Scale, the sexual-orientation categorizing system developed by Alfred Kinsey in 1948, to include numerous and fluctuating gender identities and orientations. “If you don’t fit neatly into someone else’s frame, the limitation lies with the frame, not with you,” Ochs said. To demonstrate how complex even new labels can be for people and how simple numbers of classification do not tell the whole story, Ochs had students fill out an anonymous survey and participate in an interactive activity.

See OCHS, A4

SA passes flag resolution Senators vote on individual additions, amendments Kassadee Paulo News Editor kpaulo@oswegonian.com After much debate, Oswego State’s Student Association voted to pass the resolution to request the Flag Policy Committee add five new flags to the Marano Campus Center when the other flags return from being cleaned and renewed. While not nearly as many community members attended this week’s SA meeting as they did the previous meeting, a few members of the public spoke to the senate as to why they do or do not support the bill. Rabbi Yossi Madvig spoke on behalf of concerned people in the Jewish community of Oswego in regards to the addition of the Palestinian flag. Madvig said he does not oppose hanging the flag itself, but rather the wording used in the resolution about why it was chosen. According to the original resolution, “the Palestinian flag (Appendix F) represents Pan-Arabian heritage and

Kassadee Paulo | The Oswegonian SA voted to pass all five proposed flags, including transgender, Philadelphia pride and Black Lives Matter.

is a symbol of hope for a people’s group whom in a modern society face secondclass citizenship status and are subject

to brutal Apartheid oppression based on religious affiliation.”

See SENATORS, A5

UP advisory board searches for members

Representatives to connect with University Police Peter Humpfreys Contributing Writer news@oswegonian.com

Jessica Wickham | The Oswegonian

CONTENT

Author Robyn Ochs discusses the evolution of gender, sexuality and sexual oritentation.

Calendar...................... A3 Crossword................... C6 Contact Info................ A2 Laker Review.............. C1 News............................. A1 Opinion........................ B5 Sports........................... B1 Sudoku......................... C6

Oswego State University Police are seeking to expand their current community policing strategy through the introduction of an advisory board. This board is a new way for students to connect with UP surrounding any arising issues around campus communication. The first meeting is scheduled to take place in March. The newly instated advisory board will consist of one representative from each residence hall, one representative from the Student Association and numerous members of any student organization on campus that would like to participate. The board will also include a representative from

Shea McCarthy | The Oswegonian

the professional staff and a faculty representative. This group will meet on a monthly basis to discuss recent concerns between the

connection of students, faculty, staff and UP.

See ADVISORY, A4

Sports

Opinion

Laker Review

Oswegonian.com

NCAA TOURNAMENT

TWO PERSPECTIVES

OSCARS SURPRISES

WIND AND WAVES

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Greg Tavani | The Oswegonian

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Dustin L. Ernestine, 24, was arrested at 2:11 a.m. on Feb. 23 for criminal mischief when he intentionally

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Eric J. Scoville, 28, was arrested at 10:43 p.m. on Feb. 19 for petit larceny after he stole merchandise from Byrne Dairy in the city of Oswego.

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protection, and stole the victim’s debit/credit card and used said card to withdraw $180.00 from an ATM

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK If you don’t fit neatly into someone else’s frame, the limitation lies with the frame, not with you.”

THE OSWEGONIAN FRIDAY, March 1, 2019

- Robyn Ochs, from Cover

Oswego State alumnus runs for Congress

Belvin aims to focus on student debt, climate change Kassadee Paulo News Editor kpaulo@oswegonian.com Kenny Belvin graduated from Oswego State fall semester 2018 and now, at the age of 24 going on 25, decided to help solve the issues in the U.S. by running for Congress next year. Belvin, a Democrat from New Rochelle, has put his name in the race for NY-16 U.S. House of Representatives against long-time incumbent Eliot Engel. Some of the most important issues for Belvin are climate change, the $1.5 trillion student debt and the large income gap of people in the U.S. “Climate change is definitely, I would say, the biggest issue that faces us right now,” Belvin said. “The intergovernmental panel on climate change says that we have now 11 years left to solve the problem before we do irreparable damage to the planet. … Anyone who runs for any office and doesn’t take that seriously is doing a disservice to their constituents.” In regards to the massive student debt that affects 45 million Americans, Belvin said it is necessary to have bold ideas to solve the problem. He proposes to cancel student debt altogether. He said reports say if that is done, it will generate up to $100 billion in economic activity every year, paying for itself within 15 years. This plan would release generations of young people from needing to live with relatives because they cannot afford to live on their own, ac-

cording to Belvin. Belvin also does not agree with the current income inequality present in the U.S. “There are so few people at the top who have almost all of the money,” Belvin said. “No one could ever spend $1 billion in their lifetime, and we have up to half a million people sleeping homeless on our streets every night. That doesn’t make sense to me, and in the wealthiest country in the history of mankind, we can do better than that.” Belvin said 27 percent of people who vote are millennials, but only 6 percent of Congress is from that same generation. The minimum age to run for the House of Representatives is 25, which is how old Belvin will be by the time he would enter office should he win, and the minimum age for the Senate is 30. “I think we lose perspective when we have a gap so severe,” Belvin said. “Decisions that are made now in Washington are ones that I’m going to have to live with and [my generation is] going to have to live with basically forever, so I think we need to give ourselves a seat at the table. Running for Congress is a way to do that.” Given his young age in comparison to much of the government, Belvin said he wants to break through the challenging stigma of being young in Congress. “It almost puts a bit of a weight on young people across the country, and while I don’t ever want to claim myself to be a standard bearer of millennials, I think it’s time for us to step up,” Belvin said.

Belvin said Eliot Engel has been in office for 30 years and that can cause detachment from “people on the ground.” Should he win, Belvin said he will be able to provide a fresh perspective and a proper representation for a very diverse district. NY-16 is a largely Democratic district, but Belvin said 220,000 registered Democrats, which is 90 percent, did not vote in the last election. “Giving people a choice on the ballot so that there can be a free exchange of ideas is definitely necessary in my district,” Belvin said. When Belvin attended Oswego State, he worked in the admissions office all four years of his undergrad and changed his major four times before he landed on political science. He said his internships for campaigns in Oswego and Westchester, and the work his professors and other students did to help him, was instrumental in his path to running for office. “I got to see the best of what this campus has to offer and I think it shaped my view on a lot of things in life,” Belvin said. “When I made the decision to run, I thought about [Oswego] a lot. It’s so far from where I live, but it was such a fundamental part of me becoming who I am. The students I met here, the faculty that I know - I think part of me is doing this for them.” Belvin said at graduation, students hear encouragements, such as they can do anything, and he wants to show professors and students that it is true. “The sky is the limit,” Belvin said.

SUNY’s Got Your Back, noon to 8 p.m., Tuesday in Sheldon Hall

Women’s Lacrosse vs. St. Lawrence, 4 p.m., Tuesday at Laker Turf Stadium

Effective Studying Workshop, 7 p.m., Tuesday in Penfield Library, Room 215

The Good Doctor Preview, 7:30 p.m., Tuesday in Tyler Hall, Waterman Theatre

Spring Career and Internship Fair, 4 to 6 p.m., Wednesday in Swetman Gym

Men’s Lacrosse vs. Ithaca, 4 p.m., Wednesday at Laker Turf Stadium

Sportsmanship Day Symposium, 2:20 p.m., Thursday at Lanigan Hall, Room 105

“WTF? Profanity Under FCC” Lecture, 7 p.m., Thursday at Marano Campus Center, Room 114

Photo provided by Kenny Belvin Oswego State alumnus Kenny Belvin enters the 2020 Democratic primary race to represent U.S. district NY-16 in Washington D.C.

ed to reflect the floor debate over the wording of the bill, to change the rationale for the Palestinian flag from “apartheid” to “religious oppression.” Ashley Edwards, president of Habitat for Humanity Club, clarified that their request for funding last week was due to a problem with their original funding for the semester. The club was led to believe they were included in a funding bill, which they were not. President van Reenen thanked Edwards for bringing this to SA’s attention and said he would look into the matter of the club’s funding.

The Amandla Awetheu! Power to the People resolution passed by a vote of 11-1, with Senator O’Donnell dissenting. Senator Worrell abstained. The resolution was amend-

Victoria Furlong, vice president for finance and budget, presented factors for why student fees need to increase next academic year. With total fees needing an increase of $44 per student, Furlong introduced representatives from the offices needing the increase in order to explain the change. Increasing costs associated with continuing current services was a common factor for the increase, with some funds needed for an expansion of services next year. Of the $44, $18 would go toward the athletics fee to support college sports, $14 would go to the technology fee for the expansion of campus internet and tech

Pajama Jam Open Mic Night, 7 p.m., Thursday in Penfield Library, Lake Effect Cafe support costs, $10 would be for the health fee to manage health service costs, and $2 would go toward the transportation fee to support the college’s bus lines. Representatives from the campus services included Susan Viscomi, director of athletics at Oswego State, Sean Moriarty, chief technology officer, Angela Brown, director of Walker Health Center, Katherine WolfeLyga, director of Counseling Service Center, and Michael Flaherty, general manager of Auxiliary Services.

New senators Asheem Calixte and Devon Ruckdeschel took the oath of office and were sworn in to Student Association as senator at-large, representing the entire student body. This brings the total senate body to 16, with 12 needed to meet quorum.

New directors were confirmed at Student Assembly. Kimberly Solorzano was confirmed as director of graphic design and marketing, Brandon Fallat for associate director of videography and filmmaking, Diana Newman as director of videography and filmmaking. All three new directors were referred to the Involvement Committee. Solorzano said she will be a voice for the students on campus and wants to see change made on campus. Fallat said he is qualified due to his familiarity with several editing suites and his involvement with several organizations on campus show his time management ability. Newman said she was qualified from her time as associate director of videography and she is working on the video newsletters on campus.

A4 NEWS Ochs, students discuss identity complexity Advisory board to allow for Author expresses validation of not using identity labels student communication THE OSWEGONIAN

FRIDAY, March 1, 2019

AUTHOR from COVER Students were given a different survey from their own and asked to move around the front of the auditorium according to their person’s answer to each question about sexual experience, romantic attraction, gender identity and other areas exploring gender and sexual orientation. The results showed that nobody had the exact same meaning for any label or identity. Ochs said her presentation shows how labels do not tell the whole story. “I like to think of labels not as the information but rather the doorway to the information,” Ochs said. “It’s almost like a sign on a door, and if you really want to understand someone, you can’t just stand outside and look at the door. You have to knock on the door politely and ask for permission to come inside and learn more.” A notable change Ochs made to the Kinsey Scale is the addition of off-scale answers, like “?” for not sure and “N/A” for not applicable, which she said validates people’s right to an ever-evolving sense of identity that does not have to have clear labels. “Identity is a journey,” Ochs said. “There may be many points in your life where you don’t have all the answers, and that’s fine, and you’re certainly not the only one.” That sentiment was appreciated by many of the students who attended, including junior human development major Bailey Perry. “I really liked what [she] said about having the right to be confused,” Perry said. Other students expressed similar appreciation for Ochs’s unique take on gender and sexuality, such as junior business marketing major Antonio Pallotta, who said the presentation helped him think about identity in new ways. “It’s very complex, and I [have] got to admit, my brain hurts a little bit because … there’s way more to it than what you think,” Pallotta said. Matthew Waack, a sophomore adolescent education major, said Ochs’s activity was unlike any-

thing he had experienced before. “I thought it was pretty eyeopening how many people change from what they identify as versus maybe how their friends perceive them or how their family perceives them, and that’s something just along with how confusing and complicated sexuality can be sometimes,” Waack said. Ochs said she has done similar activities at many other universities and never received the same results, demonstrating the complex nature of attraction. “Attraction is so irrational. It’s so strange. It’s so fickle,” Ochs said. “Because sexual orientation is based on attraction, and attraction

is not simple, that sexual orientation becomes even more complex.” That message resonated with junior music major Nicholas Radford, who said he appreciated Ochs’s approach. “Even when someone may say something is like one thing, it might mean something else,” Radford said. “It may come off as being binary or simple, but it can be a lot more complex.” Robyn was recently named by Teen Vogue as one of “9 Bisexual Women Who are Making History.” She has written three books about bisexuality, including “Getting Bi: Voices of Bisexuals Around the World.”

UP from COVER “The goal of this endeavor is to help the department build a closer relationship with those that we serve,” said Officer Kelly Thompson, UP head of community programs. “We are looking to receive input or concerns of all facets of public safety, both on campus and in the surrounding community.” Thompson said the advisory board will facilitate a better understanding of the duties, function and administrative operations of the police department. She said monthly meetings will build a sense of community and promote public awareness of issues taking place on the Oswego State campus. This will allow groups on campus that have formed for a specific purpose to have an outlet to directly connect with those whose profession is safety and community building on the Oswego State campus. “Any communication mechanism between constituents and interested parties is usually a positive development if carried out in an environment of openness and respect,” said Chair of the Department of Criminal Justice Roger Guy. Campus radio personality Oreal

Vernon said there could possibly be unwanted tension between the student population and UP. “I love the idea of putting people in the forefront of this issue that can properly represent us and the college at large,” Vernon said. With the introduction of a campus-policing initiative, it may leave those students who reside off campus to question if their concerns are being taken into account by the Oswego City Police Department. Students with off-campus housing make up a large percentage of the student population at Oswego State. “I feel that if we have an outlet to speak with University Police, that the city police department should also be present on the board,” local music DJ and student Shay Daniels said. “As off-campus students, we typically have interactions with the city police, and it would be beneficial to have some transparency with them.” As for the current information release from the UP, the Oswego City Police Department will not be in attendance for the first meeting in March. UP said they are striving to be as transparent as possible by creating new methods for students to voice their opinions and bring campus policing issues to light.

Jessica Wickham | The Oswegonian Students participate in an anonymous interactive survey to represent different identities in the room.

Shea McCarthy | The Oswegonian

A5 NEWS Student account holds policy changes Senators debate, amend Financial holds no longer bar students from class registration word choice of resolution THE OSWEGONIAN FRIDAY, March 1, 2019

Alexander Gault-Plate Managing Editor aplate@oswegonian.com

The Oswego State student accounts office has updated their policies, and students with financial holds may now register without first clearing the hold from their accounts. Victoria Furlong, the vice president of finance and budget for Oswego State, said while certain parts of the change have not yet been decided on, the issue of registering while under a financial hold has been settled. “Financial holds no longer prevent students from registering for classes,” Furlong said. “Senior administration continues to discuss the handling of diplomas and transcripts.” As of now, college policy on diplomas and transcripts will remain the same, where students are not permitted to receive their diplomas or request transcripts from the college registrar’s office with outstanding account bills. Furlong said this change came as a result of an internal push in the administration to reevaluate registration hold policies. Financial holds placed on a student’s account can be placed due to a failure to pay the semester’s bill and, depending on the balance remaining on a student’s account, may even lead to deregistration. If a hold results from the charges, in the past, students needed to address the issue in full before being able to register, something that could prevent the student from registering for necessary classes. “The administration aims for all students to have a seamless path-

SA from COVER

Samantha Flavell | The Oswegonian

way to continuing their academic progress,” Furlong said. “By allowing students to register during the standard registration period unimpeded, they are able to gain access to courses they need to successfully persist here at Oswego.” This change extends to all financial holds processed by student accounts. Furlong said “any outstanding financial obligation” will no longer prevent registration, including Penfield Library and parking ticket fines. Incoming freshmen will still receive an incoming student or orientation hold on their accounts before their first semester begins. With the parking office, fines are charged when students receive parking tickets and are managed by the parking office for the first 10

days, according to Cindy Trombly, a parking office employee. “If a current student incurs a parking fine, after 10 business days if the parking fine is not paid, we then transfer that over to student accounts, and they add it to the students bill,” Trombly said. A student may view what holds exist on their account from their MyOswego page, under the registration tab, where one or more of four different holds can be listed. The change to how holds at Oswego State work is ongoing, and certain details, including what effect they have on transferring or graduating, have not yet been finalized. “I am not exactly sure how [student accounts] holds are affecting students at this point,” Trombly said.

Swetman gym hosts late-night parties

Student organizations, groups can congregate on campus Colin Hawkins Asst. News Editor news@oswegonian.com Oswego State extended the hours student organizations can reserve Swetman Gym for social events, such as dances or parties to 3 a.m., in order to give students a venue on campus for socialization past regular hours. “Students love to have a party, love to come together. They like dancing. They like music,” said Jerri Howland, vice president of Student Affairs at Oswego State. “So, we wanted to make sure we provided that opportunity for students on campus.” Starting this semester, Swetman Gym has been added to the list of areas approved for student organizations to host late-night social events. The college already had a “Late-Night Party/Dance Policy” in the student handbook, where student organizations could arrange for on-campus dances or social events extending until 3 a.m. if they followed a procedure. The process includes a timeline starting 40 business days before the planned party where the organization would meet with Campus Life to plan and assess the needs of the event. The policy also outlined approved locations for social events on campus, but Howland noted there was a problem - too few venues were approved for the policy. “When that policy was originally drafted, the student union was in Hewitt,” Howland said. “When we started getting requests from students looking for places to have parties, the [Hewitt] ballroom was no longer an option because it was stripped out [to be converted to a theater.]” This led to town hall meetings and requests from students last semester for a place to hold their social events. “They asked [President Deborah Stanley] to help them find a solution. The president heard them and wanted to accommodate them on campus,” Howland wrote in an email. “Swetman Gym was identified as the most suitable location to meet the needs for student organizations.” Howland said Swetman was chosen because of factors such as high capacity, existing sound system, easy exit and entry, nearby parking lots and ability to secure the building. “We had the policy. [Students] just weren’t coming on campus,” Howland said. “From what I understood, it’s been like 10 years since they’ve had a late-night party.”

Madvig said the use of the word apartheid is incorrect and in order to be a second-class citizen, one must be a citizen in the first place. Palestinians hold refugee status and are not Israeli citizens. He said non-citizens do not have access to services that citizens get because they are not citizens themselves. By saying there is apartheid in Israel, Madvig said it is like a “big middle finger” to Jewish people. “Words have specific meanings, and it’s extremely insulting, and somewhat of a lie - it is a lie, an outright lie,” Madvig said. “Arab Israelis and Muslims in Israel have the exact same rights as everyone else. … Yes, there are problems, and there’s certain room for criticizing the Israeli government.” Madvig proposed three different possible compromises: to split the resolution up and vote on the flags individually, to change the wording of the proposal or to switch the Palestinian flag with the Pan-Arabian flag. Student Kieren Guy spoke about how many flags which have already been hanging up are of countries with dark histories, the U.S. included for its history with slavery. “We’re not proud of that,” Guy said. “What we’re supporting is we have this idea of freedom, liberty and justice, and that’s what we represent - the people of the United States. We don’t represent the government.” Later in the meeting, SA moved into debating the resolution, when Senator Matthew O’Donnell made a motion to amend the resolution to make it so the flags would not be “permanently” hung in case there should be any reason in the future to take them down. The amendment passed by general consensus. Senator Shareese Worrell proposed to split the resolution to separate bills per flag because having all of them in one bill was like asking a double-barreled question. “We can give each one of these flags the same amount of attention, but we do not need to put them all in the same bill to get to push that diversity and inclusion,” Worrell said. As a response, Vice President Edward Kelly recommended voting on keeping the same bill, but splitting the question and debate and vote on each individual flag. Professor Allison Rank abstained from voting for every motion. The senate voted by general con-

sensus and passed the Iroquois Native American flag and the Philadelphia pride flag, which is the gay pride flag with the addition of a black and brown stripe in solidarity of people of color in the LGBTQ+ community. In regards to the transgender pride flag, O’Donnell asked the senate if adding this flag would be necessary because the Philadelphia flag also represents the transgender community. “This is us making it very clear that we are supporting our transgender population on our campus because there are a lot of organizations and legislators in the United States that [do] not support them,” Senator Jade Laplante said. Following the debate of the flag, the senate voted in general consensus to pass it, with O’Donnell voting no. When the Black Lives Matter flag came into debate, O’Donnell said since the resolution states it does not endorse any outside organizations or platforms, “there is no way on God’s green earth that this political message can be dismissed just because you say so.” President Omar van Reenen responded by thanking O’Donnell for voicing his opinion and then said the Black Lives Matter flag does not represent black extremists. Before the senate voted on the flag, Senator Sabrina Shortall reminded the senate it is their job to vote based off of the needs and wants of the student body, not their own opinions. The senate voted and passed the Black Lives Matter flag on general consensus. On matters of the PanAfrican flag, this was not debated and moved straight into a vote whre it passed by general consensus. Senator Khalia Hepburn proposed to remove the word apartheid in the section of the Palestinian flag in the resolution. After debate among the senate on the word’s intended purpose and impact, Laplante recommended changing the word apartheid out for the word segregation. The amendment passed by general consensus. As for the flag itself, the senate voted to pass it by roll-call, with O’Donnell and Shortall voting no and Worrell and Rank abstaining. The senate then voted on the resolution as a whole by roll-call, which passed 11-1-2, with O’Donnell voting no and Worrell and Rank abstaining. The resolution will now be sent to the Flag Policy Committee to be considered.

Maria Pericozzi | The Oswegonian Swetman gym is used during the daytime for basketball and available for events at night.

Student organizations previously reserved venues off campus for social events, but according to Howland, may not be an option this semester. “We have reserved Swetman Gym in the past for basketball tournaments, for roller-skating events. We can use Hewitt Union for stuff like that,” said Tenaja Smith-Butler, president of the Black Student Union on campus and a senior zoology student. “It’s been a long time, I think probably more than 20 years since those places have been used for parties.” Smith-Butler said the previous options of using off-campus student housing and bars for social events came with challenges. “If you think about Oswego itself, there’s no place [for] people our age, from like 17 to 22. If you’re not 21 yet, you can’t go to the bars. You can do stuff with organizations on campus, but Friday to Saturday, where are you going? What are you doing?” Smith-Butler said. “You don’t have somewhere to just have fun and dance and do stuff like that.” Omar van Reenen, president of Student Association, said the greater issue is the relationship between Oswego State and the city of Oswego. “It baffles me that our campus had to allocate a safe space on campus for students of color to feel welcomed, included and to not feel harassed while having their club events and enjoying their time with

their fellow students,” van Reenen said. “We should not be making the city feel uncomfortable for our growing diverse population because that is not inclusion.” The clubs finding difficulty reserving venues off campus, according to van Reenen, were largely ALANA organizations, which stands for African, Latino, Asian and Native American. “A lot of the ALANA orgs, which are home to a lot of students of color, hold a lot of the events offcampus,” van Reenen said. “President Stanley has taken definitive and decisive leadership to help us advocate for this.” Student organizations are already taking advantage of Swetman Gym for social events. The African Student Organization and Caribbean Student Association have already held events at Swetman, and there are four more currently scheduled according to Howland. “In the future, there may be other areas that come online. They’re finishing a space under Swetman that might be an option too,” Howland said. Having a place to party is important for Smith-Butler, even for non-partiers. “I’m not much of a party person. I would rather just be in my room and watch Netflix,” Smith-Butler said. “But for some people, that’s not how they de-stress. They need to be somewhere they need to be able to move and be around people.”

Photo provided by Omar van Rennen SA President Omar van Reenen (front middle) signs in the resolution at a Black Student Union meeting.

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VOLUME LXXXIV ISSUE IV

SPORTS THE OSWEGONIAN

SPORTS B3

SEASON RECAP

Maria Pericozzi | The Oswegonian

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FRIDAY, March 1, 2019

They are dancin’: Lakers host first round of NCAA tournament at Max Ziel Men’s basketball takes down Brockport in championship game, faces Salem State for next game

Ben Grieco | The Oswegonian Quinn Carey (center, shooting), scored 14 points, including four three-pointers, and seven rebounds against The College at Brockport in the SUNYAC Championship on Feb. 23 for a season-total of 300 points and 71 rebounds.

Mamadou Tall Sports Writer sports@oswegonian.com The Oswego State Lakers defeated The College of Brockport Golden Eagles 55-50 in the SUNYAC championship to win the conference title for a second time in three years. The Lakers came out victorious in a hard-fought game where the Lakers had to crawl from behind for a majority of the game. The Lakers and Golden Eagles played through a grit-and-grind type of game, with the Lakers having a rough night shooting from the three-point line and from the field altogether. It is very rare that a team shoots less than 27 percent from the three-point line and less than 37 percent from the field and come out with a win. The Lakers somehow did just that to grab the SUNYAC championship.

The Golden Eagles came out in attack mode catching the Lakers off guard for the majority of the first half. The Brockport guards Danny Ashley and Chris Atkinson both led their team scoring, contributing 14 points and 12 points respectively. The Lakers looked out of it during moments of the game, but they never stopped believing. Seniors Quinn Carey and Tyler Pierre both stepped up when they were needed the most down the stretch. Pierre ended the game with 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Carey added 14 points. The main trait the team has shown according to coach Jason Leone, was resilience, and that was clearly evident in that game. The Lakers did not get their largest lead of five points until the last 12 seconds of the game, where it all mattered the most. Leone heaped praise on his players and their impressive play down the stretch of that game. “Anytime you come from behind and win a game serves as a testa-

ment to the guys on this team,” Leone said. “I don’t know how, but these guys reached back and pulled out this win after playing and winning a hard-fought double-overtime game against Oneonta.” The Lakers ended that day on the right side of the win and loss column and ultimately cut down the nets in Max Ziel, their home court. The SUNYAC championship served as a test for the Lakers as they won two games that went down to the wire. Through the double-overtime win against the SUNY Oneonta Red Dragons and the come-from-behind win against the Golden Eagles, the Lakers have proven they know what it takes to win in crunch time. When reflecting on their season so far, Leone emphasized the fact that the team deserved the SUNYAC championship due to their hard work throughout the season. “I was really happy seeing them celebrate and hug each other. They

really deserved it,” Leone said. “They really deserved that moment of euphoria.” Although they won the SUNYAC, their season is not over, and they have a chance to keep their season going. Through winning their conference, the Lakers have made the Div. III NCAA tournament and are now in the battle for winning the national championship. To start off the NCAA tournament, the Lakers will be playing the Salem State Vikings home at Max Ziel gym. This is the biggest stage of the Lakers’ long season. They will be playing some of the nation’s best teams in Div. III basketball and the players and coaches all want their season to keep on going. “Around this time of the season, it’s sometimes hard to get the players to focus in practice, but these guys are hungry and want to play well this weekend and keep their season going,” Leone said. The team have been riding on a

four-game win streak, and with the positive vibes going around the locker room after winning the SUNYAC, it serves as no surprise that the team is eager to make their mark in the NCAA tournament. “We have been watching film and pretty much know what [the Vikings] like to do, but there is only so much you can tell through film,” Leone said. The Salem State Vikings team is a very well-coached team and have been in the NCAA tournament 25 times, so they are not to be underestimated. The Lakers have also earned the chance to host their first game in the tournament at home and with a 14-2 record at home the stats lean heavily toward a win for them. The chance to host the game is more than just home court advantage according to Leone. “When you host these NCAA games, it’s an opportunity to bring the student athletes and the people of Oswego together,” Leone said.

Men’s hockey ‘underdog’ as it travels to Geneseo for SUNYAC final

Oswego State with ‘nothing to lose’ for championship game, team looking for 60-minute effort

Kyle Hurley | The Oswegonian The last time Oswego State beat SUNY Geneseo at the Ira S. Wilson Ice Arena was in 2015.

Ben Grieco Sports Editor bgrieco@oswegonian.com On Saturday, March 8, 2014, No. 3 Oswego State upset No. 1 SUNY Geneseo in the SUNYAC Championship at the Ira S. Wilson Ice Arena in Geneseo. Now, nearly five years later, the Lakers have the chance to repeat history. The Lakers will face the Ice Knights in the 2019 SUNYAC Championship in Geneseo. In 2014, Oswego State won 7-6 following the game-winning goal from Shawn Hulshof with just 28.7 seconds to go in the game on the power play. The win was the Lakers’ 10th league championship and eventually led to a NCAA Div. III Frozen Four appearance. “It was an exciting college game,” head coach Ed Gosek said. “Let’s hope history can repeat itself.”

Oswego State is entering the championship game, once again, as the underdog against the Ice Knights, who enter the game No. 2 in Div. III hockey. SUNY Geneseo is also ranked No. 1 in goals per game, goals allowed per game and power play percentage. It also has the top two scorers in the nation: Andrew Romano, with 47 points, and Conlan Keenan, who has 46. The Lakers only have one advantage over the Ice Knights: shorthanded goals. Oswego State has nine, compared to SUNY Geneseo’s four. Gosek said with the game being at Geneseo and a lot of fans for the Ice Knights being present, the pressure is on them since they are the favorite in the game. “If people are going to underestimate us, that’s fine. We’d rather be the underdogs…” captain Devin Campbell said. “We’re going to come in there and play our hearts out and not play afraid.”

No one on the current Oswego State roster, except for some of the coaches, have raised the SUNYAC Championship banner. Some players, like Campbell, have had league championship success in junior hockey, however. While with the Carleton Place Canadians in the CCHL, Campbell won the league championship twice, and the Fred Page Cup twice. “There’s a lot of guys in there who have never won a championship,” Campbell said. “It’s an awesome feeling, and it really makes you grateful for everything you put into it.” Against SUNY Geneseo this season, the Lakers went 0-1-1. They tied at the Marano Campus Center Ice Arena on Feb. 9 but lost 3-0 at the Ira S. Wilson Ice Arena. It was the Lakers’ fourth conference game of the season, compared to the Ice Knights’ eighth. Following a quick goal, only 1:17 into the first period from Dan Bosio, Oswego State could not respond at even strength or on the man advantage. “We didn’t play well enough to win that game. But, at the same time, I thought we grew a lot as a team,” Campbell said. “The last time we played them, honestly, if you get rid of that first period, I thought we really took it to them and played a better game than they did.” This game will be a true battle of the special teams. During the season, Oswego State has gone 0-4 collectively during both games and has allowed four power-play goals on eight total chances. SUNY Geneseo, coming into the championship, has a power play percentage of 28.46, eight-tenths better than St. Norbert’s secondranked power play. “Our penalty kill has been very good. That speaks volumes to how good their power play is,” Gosek said. “It’ll be a hell of a challenge for our penalty kill.” Going to the SUNYAC championship is the goal for any team in the league, and it is a major reason why players compete every weekend, Gosek said. After the abrupt finish last season in the SUNYAC semifinals against SUNY Fredonia., the Lakers are ready to turn over a new leaf. Win or lose, Gosek is just hoping for a 60-minute effort from the team. “We hope that we can compete and play our game and have no regrets at the end of

the day,” Gosek said. “They’re a great group of guys. I’m sure we’ll get our best effort.” After the game against Plattsburgh State on Feb. 23, Campbell said in the press conference that hearing about all the hype that SUNY Geneseo has brought this season has annoyed him, especially coming into practice every day and seeing the standings and rankings. “They are a very highly skilled team. They have a lot of weapons, but so do we,” Campbell said. “We’re trying to make sure we emphasize the fact that we’re not scared of them.” But, either way, after spending nearly six months together as a team, Campbell has been proud of what the team has accom-

plished this season, no matter the outcome of the championship game. The Lakers still do have a chance at the NCAA tournament, win or lose, due to the PairWise rankings. But as is Gosek’s mantra, it is all about focusing on the game at hand. With nothing to lose, Campbell said the team was glad to have beaten the Cardinals for the semifinals but was even happier to have another crack at taking down the powerhouse that is SUNY Geneseo. “I’m happy if we go out and play our butts off and, with the way we played this year, I’m happy with these guys,” Campbell said. “I love all of them and I’m very proud of what we’ve done so far.”

Shea McCarthy | The Oswegonian

SPORTS

THE OSWEGONIAN FRIDAY, March 1, 2019

New ranking system utilized by Div. III hockey, provides teams with clarity PairWise, developed in Div. I, set to 2-year trial, avoids committee bias from previous seasons Matt Watling Asst. Sports Editor mwatling@oswegonian.com Around this time last year, the Oswego State Lakers came together to watch the NCAA Div. III Selection Show to see if the committee selected them for one of three at-large bids to the national tournament. As Oswego State fans already know, the team was not selected to the tournament. Despite being ranked in the top 10 for most of the season, the Lakers fell out of favor with the committee after losing their last three games. This season is different. The Lakers are set to face the No. 2/2 SUNY Geneseo Ice Knights in the SUNYAC finals, and even with a loss, the Lakers will have to face a much more objective deciding factor: the PairWise Ranking. Starting this season, Div. III hockey will have a two-year trial run for the same system that D i v. I u s e s . T h e s y s t e m c o m pares every single Div. III team with a record above .500 based on five categories. Whichever team wins more of those headto-head categories receives one point for that “battle.” After all

the teams have been compared, they are ranked by the number of points they have. Currently, the Lakers sit in fourth according to the PairWise rankings, with 79 PairWise points. This means the Lakers are better than 79 teams that qualify. One of these categories used is quality of wins index. Formerly known as strength of schedule, this index assigns point values to wins and losses against teams with varying winning percentages. For example, a road win against a team with a winning percentage above .667 is the best possible outcome at 15 points. A win at home against the same caliber team is 14 points, and the scale continues down to zero points for a home loss against a sub-.333 team. The total number of points received is divided by the number of games a team plays, yielding a strength of schedule average. Although Oswego State has the best strength of schedule, it seems that a slightly easier schedule may actually help mediocre teams in the PairWise. For example, a road win against the putrid 4-19-2 Morrisville State Mustangs is worth eight points. On the other hand, a loss to SUNY

Geneseo, one of the best teams in the nation, is only worth seven. For elite teams that can find a way to win against other good teams, the big point boost is huge for their PairWise case. “We have the No. 1 strength of schedule in the country, and really, for us, it’s just based upon c o n s i s t e n c y o v e r t h e y e a r s ,” head coach Ed Gosek said. “You look at our non-league schedule, and this year, it worked out. We played Salve [Regina]. We could have elected not to play them ... but we knew it would help our s t re n g t h o f s c h e d u l e . We h a d Utica at home. We had Hobart at home. Those are two teams still in the mix.” The other criteria used in the new selection process are m u c h s i m pl e r i nc l u d i ng , w i n ning percentage, head-to-head record among the two teams being compared and record against common opponents. The fifth and final piece is record against ranked teams. Now, teams that go into this must be ranked at the end of the season, not at the time a different team had played them. P e rh a p s o n e o f t h e b i g g e s t d i s c u s s i o n p o i n t s o f t he Pa i r-

Wise Rankings is the fact that it does not take recency bias into account. Saturday’s playoff game against SUNY Geneseo is just as impor tant as the game in December, according to the PairWise system. While an automatic bid to the national tournament is at stake, a loss counts just as much as it did at the beginning of the season. Another benefit to this system is the objectiveness that it provides in comparison to last year’s selection committee. “[Last year] there was a committee, but you don’t know how much emphasis they put on a c a t e g o r y,” G o s e k s a i d . “ T h e r e were many variables and how much emphasis the committee put on [that]... There was a lot of debate where those should be weighed more, which, with the PairWise, it is all laid out there.” The PairWise system has been laying out its requirements over the last month, as that was when the first official rankings were announced. Bec a us e of t h is , t he re is a l eve l of transparency that has never been present before. “ I t h i n k i t ’s g o o d f o r t h e s p o r t ,” G o s e k s a i d . “ I h o p e i t

Shea McCarthy | The Oswegonian

goes beyond the two-year [trial]. That would be my recommendation. It takes out any of the so-called perceived bias. In my own opinion, having served on the NCAA committee twice, I think the transparency is good for college hockey.”

Shea McCarthy | The Oswegonian

Zal’s Thoughts: comparing 2 years of Laker hockey with PairWise rankings Ryan Zalduondo Sports Writer sports@oswegonian.com The 2018-19 NCAA Tournament in Div. III men’s hockey will have different criteria for at-large bids than in years past due to the implementation of the PairWise Rankings that have been imported from Div. I. One team looking to benefit from this move away from a selec-

tion committee is Oswego State, who went on a three-game skid to end the 2017-18 campaign, did not win the SUNYAC and missed the NCAA Tournament. “With the committee, how much they chose to weigh each of the areas, there is no guidance,” Oswego State head coach Ed Gosek said. “It was up to the committee to determine what percentage each of the criteria would account for.”

Ryan Zalduondo | The Oswegonian

For context, Gosek’s comments are explaining the five main categories that are used to determine which team deserves a bid over another: win percentage, quality of win index, head to head, common opponents, and record vs. ranked opponents. Examining Gosek’s comments leads to another clue, suggesting that the committee did not consider all five of these things equally, whereas the PairWise gives all five categories equal weight. On selection day in 2018, the last at-large bid looked like it was coming down to Oswego State or Utica College, with Marian University having longshot odds. Much to everyone’s surprise at the time, Marian University ended up being the team selected, with the Lakers on the outside looking in. At the time, the thought was that Oswego State fell victim to recency bias from the committee due to its SUNYAC semifinal exit at the hands of a lesser opponent in SUNY Fredonia. With the implementation of the Pairwise, there is now a definitive blueprint to decide how these teams get into the tournament. As the accompanying graphic depicts (lower left corner), the Lakers were deemed lesser than Marian University. Despite having a stronger

win percentage, they still managed to lose out or not get a point on the rest of the categories. The Lakers found themselves in an identical position to where they were last season heading into the SUNYAC semifinal with a record of 18-5-2. The team has been firmly entrenched in the top five of the PairWise every time the weekly rankings have been released this season, so their chances to make the tournament despite a semifinal loss last week against Plattsburgh State would have remained high. Now that the game against the Cardinals is out of the way and they have come out victorious in two of their last three games compared to the zero wins in the same games last year, the road to the NCAA Tournament is much clearer. Because the SUNYAC is eligible for an automatic bid, if the Lakers are able to manage an upset in the conference final on the road against SUNY Geneseo, they will get into the tournament. But if the underdog Lakers fall this weekend, the likelihood for the Lakers to receive one of the four atlarge bids is very high. Outside of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, which is not eligible for an automatic bid for winning their conference but is un-

doubtedly the best Div. III team in the country, is a lock to get an atlarge bid even if they lose this weekend to the University of WisconsinEau Claire. The one contest that affects the Lakers’ tournament chances is the NCHA Harris Cup Championship between No. 5 St. Norbert College and No. 7 Adrian College, who both sit behind No. 4 Oswego State in the Pairwise. The winner of the Harris Cup will receive an automatic NCAA bid, meaning the loser has to compete for one of the three remaining at large bids. Presuming higher-seeded St. Norber t College wins its conference, that leaves Adrian College and Oswego State as the two highest-seeded non-conference champions in terms of the Pairwise. To sum all that up, the SU NYAC semifinal win over Plattsburgh State was enough to push the Lakers over the edge. Based on the numbers, Oswego State is in the driver’s seat to receive the second of four at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament. If this prediction comes true, the Lakers will see their second NCAA Tournament bid in the last three seasons.

Each week, The Oswegonian Sports beat writers give you their thoughts on each team's upcoming weekend schedule.

SPORTS Lakers end season at Plattsburgh in semifinals Dillon wants to add offensive presence with new recruits, add to established defense

THE OSWEGONIAN FRIDAY, March 1, 2019

B B33

Each week, The Oswegonian Sports beat writers give you their thoughts on each team's upcoming weekend schedule.

Men’s hockey vs. SUNY Geneseo

Men’s basketball vs. Salem State

Ben Grieco Sports Editor bgrieco@oswegonian.com

Luke Owens Sports Writer sports@oswegonian.com

For the SUNYAC Championship game, Oswego State is the clear underdog. Its competitor, SUNY Geneseo, has taken the national stage by storm. Better yet, the game will be played at the Ira S. Wilson Ice Arena, giving the Ice Knights the home-ice advantage. The Lakers are coming off a tough 3-2 win over rival Plattsburgh State on Feb. 23, while the Ice Knights had a 5-2 win over SUNY Fredonia the same day. Perhaps Oswego State has the advantage of momentum after defeating a tough rival at home, especially after coming off a loss to the Cardinals just the weekend prior. But SUNY Geneseo has all the statistical advantages. The Ice Knights have the nation’s top two scorers and best goaltender in Div. III hockey. Team-wise, they are also No. 1 in goals per game (4.92), goals allowed per game (1.12) and power play percentage (28.46). On the other hand, Oswego State does not even have a player in the top 50 for points in Div. III. Joseph Molinaro is No. 29 for goals. David Richer is the No. 22 goaltender in the nation. The only major statistic in which the Lakers are above the Ice Knights is short-handed goals with 12, compared to SUNY Geneseo’s four. The Lakers will have an uphill battle at SUNY Geneseo to say the least. However, Oswego State has nothing to lose in the game. Head coach Ed Gosek said the pressure is all on SUNY Geneseo because it is expected to win. He is not wrong. The Lakers still have a solid chance at the NCAA tournament due to the PairWise rankings, but going into the tournament with an automatic bid would be even better. Upsets in sports are fun to watch, and Oswego State has the possibility to do so this weekend.

The Oswego State men’s basketball team clinched its sixth NCAA tournament appearance with a 55-50 SUNYAC title win over The College at Brockport. The win put the Lakers at 22-5 for the season, good enough to host a section of the national tournament this weekend. The last time the Lakers made the tournament in 2016-17, it ended with an 82-77 heartbreaking overtime loss to Scranton University in the first round. In fact, the Lakers have been met with heartbreak a few times in their NCAA tournament history. In 2015-16, it was a Sweet 16 loss in the Max Ziel Gymnasium that sent the Lakers packing. The game ended 66-65 in favor of The College of Wooster, with the Lakers committing a foul with just four seconds left up by one point. The College of Wooster buried both free throws to advance to the next round. That Sweet 16 run was the deepest in program history to date. In 2011-12, it was another one-point loss, coming in double overtime against Eastern Connecticut State University, once again at home. In half of the Lakers’ NCAA tournament appearances, they have lost by just one point. Two of those games came in overtime. The Lakers have been no strangers to close games this season. Their last two wins in the SUNYAC tournament were come-from-behind victories. However, it will have to be two complete-game efforts if Oswego State wants to win its host bracket. Two home wins this weekend would match the Lakers’ deepest tournament run yet. The Max Ziel Gymnasium is sure to be rocking on Friday night as it was throughout the SUNYAC tournament. Oswego State will look to avoid yet another heartbreaking NCAA tournament loss in front of their home fans.

Maria Pericozzi | The Oswegonian Women’s hockey finished the season as the No. 4 seed in the NEWHL, eventually falling to Plattsburgh State in the semifinals to finish the season.

Luke Owens Sports Writer sports@oswegonian.com Oswego State’s season came to an end last Saturday after a 7-1 loss at the hands of No. 2 Plattsburgh State in the semifinals of the NEWHL playoffs. The Lakers ended with a 10-13-3 overall record and went 5-9-2 in NEWHL play. “I’d be lying if I didn’t say we were disappointed,” head coach Diane Dillon said. “Our goal was to make the playoffs, which we did, but I think what was so frustrating for us was the month of February. Dealing with injuries and sickness, we never really hit our full stride like we had hoped.” The month of February proved to be tough for the Lakers. They finished with a 2-7 record in the month, battling both injuries and the flu that went around the team. It was a tough ending to a season that began 5-0-1. “I will admit, our schedule was much easier in the first half,” Dillon said. “We were a little bit better prepared than the rest of the league just for that first set of games. But everyone gets better throughout the season or gets banged up.” The beginning of the season gave little time for Oswego State to prepare, especially with a roster made up of nine freshmen and two transfers. But Dillon gives all the credit in preparation to her veteran leaders. “Our captains did a very good job getting everyone ready for the season,” Dillon said. “We had very little prep time before we start, and I’ve got to give credit where credit is due, and I’ll give that to Kate [Randazzo] in terms of getting the team ready and in shape.”

The hot start Oswego State got off to was fueled by high scoring outputs, scoring 18 goals in the team’s first four games. However, the offense slowed down a bit during its stretch run, and there were several missed opportunities in the scoring department. “We really struggled on the offensive side of things, and our power play was non-existent,” Dillon said. “That’s a big problem and something we have to address for next year.” Oswego State finished the season averaging two goals per game and converted just 6.2 percent of their power play opportunities. However, from a defense and goaltending standpoint, the Lakers were solid. They allowed just 2.2 goals per game and did it with the help of two solid goaltenders. SUNY Cortland transfer Rachael Farmer finished with a 1.80 GAA and a .942 save percentage. Freshman Cassie Shokar ended the season with a 2.93 GAA and a .918 save percentage. Both players will be back next season for Oswego State. “Rachael is a seasoned player coming from Cortland, so she’s been around the league. She knows what it takes; that’s why her number was called for the playoff game,” Dillon said. “Cassie as a freshman got more playing time than I’ve ever given a freshman before. We have two extremely solid goaltenders – very different goaltenders, but both very solid.” The good news for Oswego State is that there is a lot to look forward to in the future. The Lakers only lost two seniors and found production even from their freshmen core. Three of the Lakers’ top six scorers were freshmen, with Sara Cruise leading the way with six goals and eight assists.

“For me as a coach, it’s gratifying to see them develop,” Dillon said. “Seeing these kids start to really mesh as a team and as a group of young women enjoying each other, that was very gratifying.” But it is not just Dillon who is excited for what is to come. It is also captain Kate Randazzo and assistant captain Victoria Rankin. “It’s going to be exciting next year to see where we’re at because we have so few people leaving,” Randazzo said. “It’ll be interesting to see how this year’s freshman do, but I think it will be more exciting to see how this year’s sophomores do as an upperclassman with two years under their belt.” It will also be much easier for the Lakers knowing there will not be half a roster of new faces to mesh with from a chemistry standpoint. “Next season is going to be a flip of this year,” Rankin said. “We have a ton of people returning, and now that everyone knows how to play with each other, I think the main point is going to be capitalizing on our opportunities, which is something we didn’t do this year.” One way Dillon has addressed these issues is on the recruiting trail. Last season consisted of the Lakers adding three defensemen and two goaltenders, a clear focus on defense. This upcoming class is all about stressing one thing. “Offense, offense, offense,” Dillon said. “Right now, we have five forwards committed and a goaltender, bringing in some scoring touch hopefully and adding some power up front.” Although this season may not have ended the way the Lakers would have wanted it to, this young core has the ability to turn that around in a big way next season.

Swimming, diving cap off season at SUNYACs Men’s finishes second, women’s finishes third; Synan breaks school record

Matt Watling Asst. Sports Editor mwatling@oswegonian.com The Oswego State Lakers will be fighting for a SUNYAC title. However, this season more than ever, the automatic bid to the national tournament appears to be less important. This season, Div. III has implemented the PairWise ranking system in order to seed and qualify teams for the NCAA tournament. This takes out several biases, including recency bias, which was on full display last season. The Lakers were a dominant team for a majority of the season as they entered the final weekend undefeated in conference play. After dropping three straight games, they were still the same team as the first half of the season. Despite this, the selection committee deemed the Lakers unsuitable for the tournament. This season, there will not be an emphasis placed on the final handful of games because of the PairWise process. From what we have seen in the past this season, one loss does not really affect the Lakers. Oswego State dropped a game which, in the past, could have been debilitating against Buffalo State on Feb. 2. However, in terms of PairWise, the Lakers did not even fall out of the top-10. This plays to the Lakers’ advantage because a loss to SUNY Geneseo on the road is far better than a home loss to the Bengals. As a result, the possible loss this weekend will not drop the Lakers too far behind. While head coach Ed Gosek would like to control Oswego State’s destiny with an automatic bid and a SUNYAC championship, if the chips fall the way they should, the Lakers will be in the NCAA Div. III National Tournament for the first time in two seasons.

Ben Grieco | The Oswegonian The men’s swimming and diving team finished in second place at SUNYACs by only one point.

Aaron Valentino Sports Writer sports@oswegonian.com Despite the weather outside, winter is slowly coming to end at Oswego State, and with that, so are winter sports. The men’s and women’s swimming team’s seasons finished up last week, went at the SUNYAC Championship meet in Buffalo. The men’s team went 9-1 this season, with the only loss coming at

the very beginning of the season to Rochester Institute of Technology. In the SUNYAC championship meet, the Lakers placed second and were led by Laker Athlete of the Week J.J. Alaniz, who finished first in the 200-yard backstroke with a time of 1:55.98. The women’s team went 6-4 overall but swam strong in the SUNYAC, finishing third overall. In the SUNYAC championship, the team was led by Female Laker Athlete of the Week Riley Synan, who broke the school record in the 200-yard fly with a time of 2:07.88

and finished third overall in the event. “They did great,” head coach Mike Holman said about the team’s performance this year. “I certainly had some goals coming into the season, and I absolutely think we exceeded them. I think both teams placed higher than I thought we probably would.” Holman said the journey to the SUNYAC Championship has been a long journey. “Not too long ago we were at the bottom,” Holman said. “It’s been a lot of work, a lot of effort and a lot of trying to get the right people together.” Synan said the team’s effort was clear. “I think, for each meet, we did as well as we could of,” Synan said. “Our overall record was pretty good going into [SUNYACs], and then at SUNYAC’s, we did so much better than I was expecting ... To beat two super good teams like Oneonta and New Paltz was really exciting.” Synan said she has thoroughly enjoyed her time on the team. “I love the team,” Synan said. “When I came here as a recruit, I was like, ‘wow the team is really fun,’ and so, I wanted to come here and join. And I feel like every year, we’ve just got more and more people that fit into the team vibe, and this year, … this was one of the best groups of people and I feel like we worked really well together as a team.” Synan will graduate in the spring and has definitely left her mark as a Laker. Sophomore swimmer and diver Ryan Kreuser is happy but not satisfied, as he wants to see the team improve upon what they did this season. “I want to see a good record as we did this year and try to get first again at Hamilton and do better than we did this year at SUNYACs,” Kreuser said. “Break some more records, and ... I think something we could go for is try to get to nationals.” It has been an overall fantastic season from the Lakers.

Mamadou Tall Sports Writer sports@oswegonian.com The Oswego State Lakers will be playing their first game in the NCAA Div. III tournament on March 1, against the Salem State Vikings. The Lakers, who recently won their second SUNYAC championship in three years, ended their season with an amazing overall record of 22-5 and dominated their conference with a 15-3 record. They will be facing the 18-9 Salem State Vikings in the first round of the tournament. While the Vikings’ record is not as impressive as the Lakers’ record, the Vikings dominated their conference, the MASCAC, with an impressive 10-2 record. In addition, the Vikings’ basketball program has made it into the NCAA tournament 25 times and has more experience compared to the Lakers’ six times making the tournament. The Lakers having won their conference, earning the chance to host the first and second round of the NCAA tournament at home. The Lakers will be hosting the Baldwin Wallace University Yellow Jackets, the Salisbury University Sea Gulls and, of course, the Salem State Vikings. The Lakers have shown the ability to display excellent shooting from beyond the arc, play hard-nose defense and bounce back from tough stretches. The Lakers players want to keep their excellent season going and are not satisfied with just winning the SUNYAC, according to head coach Jason Leone. With senior center Tyler Pierre taking the leadership role for the team and stepping up his play to whole new level, and the consistent play of guards Quinn Carey, Liam Sanborn and Brandan Gartland and forward Joe Sullivan, the Lakers are bound to make some noise in the tournament.

Shore Report SUNYAC

Playoffs

Men’s Hockey

THE OSWEGONIAN FRIDAY, March 1, 2019

Oswego Scoreboard Men’s Basketball Saturday, Feb. 23

Shea McCarthy | The Oswegonian

Women’s Hockey NEWHL

Saturday, Feb. 23

Pierre: 12 pts, 3 blocks Gartland: 11 pts, 2 steals Carey: 14 pts, 7 rebs

PLA:

Unsworth: 2 goals, 9 SOG Katonka: 1 goal, 1 assist Abbot: 17 saves, 1 GA

BPT:

Ashley: 14 pts, 6 rebs Atkinson: 12 pts, 4 steals

OSW:

S. Byrne: 1 goal, 2 SOG Famer: 23 saves, 3 GA

Men’s Hockey

Men's Basketball

Women’s Hockey

OSW:

Saturday, Feb. 23

Shea McCarthy | The Oswegonian

Swimming and Diving Saturday, Feb. 23

OSW:

Sullivan: 1 goal, 2 SOG Zizek: 1 goal, 1 assist Richer: 23 saves, 2 GA

MS&D: 2nd Place out of Nine

PLA:

Egan: 1 goal, 1 assist Poreda: 22 saves, 3 GA

WS&D: 3rd Place out of Nine

Upcoming Events Men’s Basketball Friday, Mar. 1

Track and Field Friday, Mar. 1 Saturday, Mar. 2

@ 7:30 p.m.

SAL: 18-9 (10-2) OSW: 22-5 (15-3)

Men’s Hockey

Women's Basketball

Shea McCarthy | The Oswegonian

11:00 a.m.

Baseball

Saturday, Mar. 2

7:00 p.m.

OSW: 19-5-2 (11-4-1) GEN: 23-1-2 (13-1-2)

11:00 a.m.

OSW: 0-0 (0-0) SBY: 0-0 (0-0)

Laker Athletes of the Week Shea McCarthy | The Oswegonian

Around the SUNYAC Men’s Basketball

Men’s Hockey

Women’s Basketball Riley Synan

Women’s Swimming and Diving Senior | Belchertown, Massachusetts

BPT: 17-11 (11-7) PLA: 20-6 (14-4)

ONE: 16-11 (10-8) OSW: 22-5 (15-3)

BPT: 11-16 (8-10) NPZ: 23-4 (17-1)

Following a third-place finish in the 200-yard butterfly, t he B l e c he r to w n , M a s s a c h u setts native was named to the third-team all-conference and broke the 16-year-old school record for the event. She finished with a 2:07.88, missing second place by a full second. Synan also finished fifth in the 100-yard butter fly at the SUNYAC Championship.

Alaniz won the 200-yard backstroke at the SUNYAC Championships with a time of 1:53.98, t h re e - t e n t h s a h e a d o f s e c o n d place. He went two seconds faster in the finals heat than in the preliminaries. The San Antonio, Texas, native was also part of the 200-, 400- and 800-yard freestyle relays, as well as the 200-yard medley relay, which all came in second place.

Five seniors on the Oswego state wrestling team finished topeight in the NCAA Mideast Regional Contest hosted by The College at Brockport. Rocco Russo, Bryan Coll and Jeff Lombardi finished sixth in their respected weight classes. Seymour and Christian Gramuglia both finished fifth in regionals.

In the three games at the men’s basketball SUNYAC championship tournament, 418 points were scored. The Lakers scored 128 of those points en route to their fourth SUNYAC title in eight seasons. The Lakers will host the first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament this weekend.

There were 2,663 fans in attendance for the SUNYAC semifinal matchup between Oswego State and the Plattsburgh State Cardinals. That is the second largest crowd of the season, only trailing the 3,000 fans who packed the Marano Campus Ice Arena at this year’s Whiteout on Dec. 8.

FRE: 15-8-4 (8-6-2) GEN: 23-1-2 (13-1-2)

PLA: 13-12-2 (10-5-1) OSW: 19-5-2 (11-4-1)

Ramatoulaye Sy of the women’s basketball team was named to the All-SUNYAC third team. The freshman was dominant in the paint as she led the Lakers in rebounds (229). Her 229 rebounds rank her fifth in the SUNYAC conference. She was second on the team in points, averaging 10.5 per game.

JJ Alaniz

Men’s Swimming and Diving Sophomore | San Antonio, Texas

FRE: 12-15 (8-10) GEN: 23-4 (15-3)

418:

2,663:

OPINION

THE OSWEGONIAN FRIDAY, March 1, 2019

One issue, Potentially falsified attack used for fame One issue, two two One actor’s mistake should not discredit all survivors perspectives perspectives No 2020 party divisiveness

Photo from Pixabay

Peter Wendler Contributing Writer opinion@oswegonian.com

The 2016 presidential election will be remembered as a turning point in American history. Between the surprise election of President Donald Trump, the popularity of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and the unusual interest taken in third-party libertarian Gary Johnson, voters in the United States have made it clear they want a candidate who is not the two-party poster boy they are so used to seeing. The American people felt their views were not being represented in 2016 and responded by supporting political outsiders. Going into 2020, many Americans still have those same feelings of misrepresentation. In 2020, people will still be looking for a different kind of candidate, but not a political outsider. The American people want a genuine person who does not have extreme views or a “screw you” attitude and has the will to put the American people above their party’s platform. The American people are tired of change only existing as the tool to gain support for status-quo politicians and want to see true change in the U.S. government. If the 2018 midterms elections are a sign of how the Americans will vote in 2020, there will be more support for politically moderate presidential candidates. Although many news sources touted the “Blue Wave” as the main storyline to come out of the 2018 midterm elections, there is a more interesting story to take away. The midterm elections showed, regardless of political affiliation, candidates who expressed more moderate or centrist views were elected in greater numbers than their hardleft or hard-right peers. The popularity of moderate politicians is a direct response to the political extremism that has come to characterize American politics. There are already several Democratic politicians who have announced their candidacy for president, including Sanders. There are no Republican candidates thus far who have declared their candidacy besides Trump. As far as independents go, Howard Schultz, the former CEO of Starbucks, has declared a potential presidential bid, but his theoretical candidacy has not been met positively by the public. In the end, the American people are looking for a moderate candidate who will keep the United States out of gratuitous foreign affairs and, most importantly, fix the many domestic issues Americans face daily. Universal health care, often called Obamacare, is not efficient and nothing has been done to fix or repair the program since its rollout at the end of Obama’s second term. The digital divide is still affecting millions of poor and rural Americans, who are lagging behind the rest of the country because of their inability to access the internet. Companies are no longer incentivized by the government to provide pension programs, and there has been no government action to correct this. Additionally, the United States is still suffering from an epidemic of heroin abuse. In 2020, the American people want a presidential candidate who represents the people first and their political party second, a genuine person who wants to save their country before they try to save the world.

Alexander Gault-Plate Managing Editor aplate@oswegonian.com

On Jan. 29, “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett reported that he had been targeted in an apparent hate crime in Chicago, where two men had shouted racist and homophobic slurs at him before beating him, dousing him in a chemical substance and putting a noose around his neck. Since the incident, Chicago police have seemed to suggest that Smollett falsified the police report and had actually organized the alleged attack. This entire fiasco has done nothing but damage cultural conversations about hate crimes directed at people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals in this country. It has put groups that are at higher risk of hate crimes in a heightened state of fear that their reports will be ignored and that people will question their accuracy. If it is true that Smollett lied, as the case has not yet gone to court, then he was in the wrong, for sure. But that does not mean all hate crime reports are false or that victims should be examined more closely. A few inconsistencies have risen up in the fallout of this situation. First, why did this story specifically get so much attention? Was it because Smollett was a celebrity? Perhaps, but celebrities have been accused of filing false reports before. Famously, Ryan Lochte, an Olympic swimmer for the U.S., alleged that he had been the victim of an armed robbery in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, during the 2016 Olympic Games. While that story did get some headlines, it did not prompt a message from then-President Barack Obama on the topic, as President Trump

has done with the Smollett case. And it certainly did not dominate news cycles for weeks on end. So the story must have gotten so much attention because of the brutality of it, right? Again, that seems inaccurate. While the alleged attack did draw on some viciously hateful concepts, people across the country are tortured and killed in hate crimes fairly often. On Feb. 16, Indiana University graduate Mustafa Ayoub was shot and killed in Indianapolis in a hate crime based on his Muslim faith. On Jan. 6, Dana Martin, a black trans woman, was killed in her vehicle in Montgomery, Alabama, because of her gender identity. In May of 2013, Gabriel Fernandez, an 8-year-old boy, was killed by a man because he thought the boy was gay. Fernandez had his skull fractured and 12 ribs broken and was forced to eat cat feces. When Fernandez went to sleep, he was tied up, gagged and shoved into a closet for the night. Clearly,

the brutality of the alleged attack is not what is driving the conversation. If it is the combination of the falsehood, the celebrity and the use of hateful marks that is driving the interest in Smollett’s story, that can be forgiven of the public. People love a spectacle. But people need to ask themselves, honestly and truly, is this what we want our era to be known for - to laugh at someone for apparently using a horrible sign of our times in a failed attempt to elevate their own career, while people who actually experience this kind of violence every day go unheard? And then, in the ultimate insult to a society, use that one person’s poor judgement as an excuse to call them liars? Smollett seems to have used hate as a possible avenue to fame. Do not allow him to have the final legacy of making people doubt the true victims of hate in this country.

Photo from ABC News via YouTube Jussie Smollett speaks with ABC News following allegations that his attack was faked for attention.

SPEAK YOUR MIND, TWITTER! POLLS POSTED EVERY FRIDAY TO @gonianOPN

Marijuana legalization on correct path States without ban face complex issues that need solving Shea O’Malley Staff Writer opinion@oswegonian.com Legalized marijuana is causing some buzz, marching its way through various states, including New York. Colorado, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, California, Alaska, Michigan, Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts and the District of Columbia have legalized the recreational use of marijuana, with 30 states legalizing its medicinal use. To many, this means additional freedom. Canada recently legalized marijuana, becoming second in the world behind Uruguay. An article from The New York Times noted that Canada is in the beginning of a national experiment. With legalization come rules, and those rules include not driving under the influence of marijuana two hours after smoking it. Fines will be placed if two nanograms of THC are found in their blood. Criminal charges will occur if more than five nanograms are found. Police now have a roadside saliva test called the Drager Drug Test 5000 that they can force people to take. Here in America, certain states say people can smoke marijuana freely. However, federal laws say marijuana use is still very illegal and criminal charges can be implemented, if decided. Plus, the laws get very murky from state to state. Someone could be a card carrying medical marijuana user and still get arrested, charged and thrown in jail in a different state. Mississippi, Alabama, South Dakota and Louisiana remain outliers

Photo from WeedStreetware via Pixabay Marijuana, in addition to its recreational popularity, has many postive health benefits as well.

in the war on drugs, with Mississippi being the most-strict. In a weird twist of fate, marijuana possession arrests have risen since the inception of its legalization with African Americans targeted the most. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, “Black people are almost four times as likely to be arrested for marijuana possession as white people, despite comparable usage rates.” Marijuana remains on the Schedule I drug list, which means it has not been deemed safe, has a high potential for abuse and has no identifiable medical use. If compared to cigarettes and alcohol, one might argue hypocrisy. There is a difference in decriminalization and legalization. Findlaw. com states that “to be clear, decriminalization of marijuana is not the same as marijuana legalization. Decriminalization means that a state

repealed or amended its laws to make certain acts criminal, but no longer subject to prosecution.” Thankfully, some states have passed legalization that now reduces and reclassifies prior convictions. Decreasing penalties for nonviolent drug crimes is a game-changer. Felony convictions are being dropped to misdemeanors and violations. This means a different world to those who could not otherwise find employment, housing or funding for school. This is a good thing, but we still have so far to go. There are some states that refuse to pass laws expunging prior convictions. Controversy still surrounds what legalization would mean, the parameters swimming darkly in a vast grey area. If cigarettes and alcohol, known dangerous substances are legal, then it only makes sense that a less dangerous one is as well.

Americans want hatred rejected

Photo from Pixabay

Kenny Burnham Staff Writer opinion@oswegonian.com

The past two years have been a great test of the strength of our democracy, perhaps the greatest test we have ever faced. Perhaps the greatest accomplishment the president has made in that time is the successful division of people, by race, gender, religion and ideology. The embodiment of the divisiveness is the border wall, which is a symbol of hate. Furthermore, it is ineffective in its stated goal, as tunnels, ladders, planes and boats all render a border wall pointless. On top of that, a clear majority of the country has rejected the hatred and bigotry that has come out of the last two years, as evidenced by the midterms last November. In 2020, people have the opportunity to complete the process of getting rid of sources of hate in our government, putting a stop to the emboldening of extremists it creates. Many policies that are seen as “partisan” are, in fact, supported by majorities of both parties. Most Americans, for example, support a form of universal healthcare and allowing the government to negotiate drug prices, a feature of just about every other developed country. Other such policies include increasing taxes on the rich, ending partisan gerrymandering, legalizing recreational marijuana and reinstating net neutrality. The significance of having these types of issues that most Americans can rally behind cannot be overstated, especially when the country seems so divided. Issues that bring people together are how we can get to a point where people from one side no longer see the other as their enemy, and vice versa.

With new supermajorities, Social Security was passed and is now one of the most used programs in America. However, we must go further if we want any of this to last. We must also not be afraid to embrace bold policies in order to preserve and improve on our way of life. It may be controversial at first, but what was at one point radical can become precedent. Roosevelt’s New Deal was bold for its time. However, in the first midterm after his election, Democrats were actually able to gain seats, which is incredibly rare when your party controls the White House. With new supermajorities, Social Security was passed and is now one of the most used programs in America. Most recently, though, Democratic presidents have tried to play to the center, and all it has done is create a cycle of resentment and disillusionment. We have an opportunity to break the cycle. Proposals like the Green New Deal, while clearly only in its infancy, are the kinds of bold policy goals that would be a signal to the American people that the government will once again care about the needs and wellbeing of its people - all of them.

NEWS SWETMAN HOSTS

B5 Maria Pericozzi | The Oswegonian

OPINION

VOLUME LXXXV ISSUE IV • www.oswegonian.com

“Congress shall make no law... abridging the freedom of speech or of the press.”

SPORTS B2

PAIRWISE PRIMER

Kyle Hurley | The Oswegonian

FRIDAY, March 1, 2019

OP-ED FROM SUNY CHANCELLOR Food insecurity should never be part of college experience Albany – Today, Democrat & Chronicle published an op-ed by SUNY Chancellor Kristina M. Johnson on the importance of combatting student food insecurity and SUNY’s efforts to do so. The text of the op-ed is available below. No college student should ever have to choose between a textbook or groceries, laundry or dinner. Sadly, as many as half of all students routinely wrestle with these decisions, often opting to forego food. The result is a hunger crisis in higher education, a growing problem that demands a collective, proactive and quick response. Food insecurity on college campuses pits the aspirations of low-income students striving to better themselves against their ability to afford basic necessities such as food. Students suffering from food insecurity are at risk for decreased academic performance, depression, anxiety and leaving college altogether. Academic success is more achievable when we are satiated, not ravenous. Ensuring that college students get the nourishment they need is a moral imperative and responsibility we all share. Our society cannot afford to lose the next generation’s talent pool to a problem for which we so clearly have the resources to address. SUNY began aggressively tack-

ling student hunger last year when Gov. Andrew Cuomo launched the “No Child Goes Hungry” initiative. SUNY established a system-wide Food Insecurity Task Force, made up of students, faculty and campus and system leaders as well as community stakeholders. By the fall of 2018, well ahead of schedule, all 64 colleges had established a food pantry on campus or a stigmafree resource in the affiliated community. We are not done yet. Acknowledging the problem and having a food pantry is only the beginning. To ensure qualified students participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), SUNY partnered with the New York State Office of Temporary and Disability to raise awareness of student eligibility for food benefits. According to a recent report by the Government Accountability Office, of the 3.3 million students who were potentially eligible for SNAP in 2016, less than half reported participating. Working together with Hunger Solutions New York, OTDA is currently dispatching staff to SUNY campuses to help students learn more about the federal food assistance program. Next month, the SUNY task force will gather data from last year’s efforts to uncover additional needs to combat hunger at each

campus. SUNY will also host an Inaugural Food Insecurity Conference on Student Basic Needs in June at Monroe Community College that will bring together campus and community stakeholders with regional food banks, leaders in the field and global food service companies to work toward a comprehensive solution. SUNY will also continue to forge new partnerships – and not solely around the provision of food. Our partnerships with the Gerstner Family Foundation and the Heckscher Foundation for Children, for instance, provides micro-grants to cover unexpected expenses such as medical bills, thereby alleviating students of competing financial pressures that can spur food insecurity. These combined efforts are getting food to students now while preparing us to meet the needs of any student facing hunger in time for the next school year. Ultimately, combating food insecurity is about protecting our nation’s future and safeguarding the $122 billion investment in federal student aid programs. Eliminating hunger ensures the promise and viability of that investment, while guaranteeing that the pursuit of higher education never supplants proper nutrition. Food insecurity should never be part of the college experience — for any student. At SUNY, we are working to make sure it never is.

Comments on social media forgivable Social media has longer memory than most people Alexis Hanna Staff Writer opinion@oswegonian.com Social media has changed our lives immensely in both positive and negative manners. It has allowed us to engage with others, learn about political issues and familiarizing ourselves with celebrity gossip and drama. It allows children and adults alike to utilize what social media has to offer. That being said, teenagers enjoy it into their adult lives, through various stages, unfortunately including the arrogance and ignorance that comes with young ages. High school kids are often not yet individually minded and are influenced by others with extreme ease. Social media allows kids, teens and adults to see each other’s content - and not always those from one’s friends and whom they follow. It is easy and habitual to log onto a social media site and express one’s opinions, frustraThe independent student newspaper of Oswego State since 1935 tions and excitements. Young social media users are easily influenced, gassed and opinionated. While everyone should be We want your thoughts on our coverage, campus and local issues, or anything opinionated and open to share, not everyone is going to be easiregarding the Oswego State community.

THE OSWEGONIAN G UIDELIN ES

Email all letters as Word attachments to opinion@oswegonian.com or mail submissions to 139A Campus Center, Oswego N.Y. 13126 All writers must provide their real name, address, academic year, major and phone number (which will not be published).

ly influenced and swayed. As we grow older and become individuals, our opinions, outlooks and stances on topics and problems grow and change. Teenagers and young adults may speak out on social media with an opinion considered controversial, only to grow out of unacceptable biases as they learn and expand their horizons. Employers use social media as a tool to narrow down and screen potential hires and interviewees. Checking out social media sites and profiles to ensure employers do not hire felons, thieves, terrorists and other people that would cause potential harm is one positive aspect. People share personal information that may prevent negative hires and terrible situations. Recently, employers and other social media users have been digging through profiles to extract posts that are considered controversial, unacceptable and utterly offensive from years ago. People are getting in trouble, fired and shamed for things that were said and thought during a whole different stage of life, before growth and while they were ignorant and influenced by those around them more so than

anything else. More than likely, these people have changed for the better and would no longer speak or think the way they may have when said post was posted. Old tweets should not affect present day, as the person may have changed and grown. For example, Blake Shelton was tweetshamed after winning 2017’s Sexiest Man Alive for having compared Dakota Fanning and Amanda Seyfried (both beautiful, talented women). Shelton apologized immensely for his seemingly racist comparison after opposers of his award dug up a tweet from 2011. This was a 6-year-old tweet, something never seen from Shelton today. Shelton’s tweet was one of controversy and had little effect on his career. However, a lot of celebrities who have shared on social media as well as people just finding jobs have had tweets from their past that they do not agree with anymore resurface, coming close to or completely ruining their careers and chances. Most apologize for their posts sincerely, and considering they are old posts that they have likely grown out of, those who have should not be penalized for the past.

Teru

Members of organizations should include their title if their letter addresses an issue pertaining to the organization. For publication, letters should be 250 words or less and submitted by the Tuesday prior to the desired publication date. The Oswegonian reserves the right to edit and reject letters and cannot guarantee that all letters will be published. Opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not always reflect those of The Oswegonian.

See web exclusive Opinion articles at www.oswegonian.com/opinion

Photo provided by @mariapericozzi8 via Twitter

INSIDE

C2 ‘No host’ Oscars proves C3 Catching up on ‘Game C4 Counting down Oscar’s

to be pleasant surprise

of Thrones’ season 1

biggest moments

FRIDAY March 1, 2019

FRIDAY, March 1, 2019

LAKER REVIEW

Oscars 2019 recap: controversy, snubs, surprises

Nathaniel Ahart Staff Writer laker@oswegonian.com

The 91st Academy Awards concluded on Feb. 24, and big surprise, there is much controversy circling it. “Green Book” pulled the upset of the night and wound up winning Best Picture over the likes of critical darling “Roma” and Queen biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody.” This buddy road trip movie has generated a lot of controversy these past few months, due to its supposed historical inaccuracies and past actions of people involved, but somehow, it still landed on top. Why, might one ask? Because it is a great feel-good movie. Contrary to popular belief, people still do love a great crowd-pleaser, however safe it may be. “Green Book” no doubt struck a chord with the general public and Academy voters, also winning for Best Screenplay and Best-Supporting Actor for Mahershala Ali’s (“True Detective”) portrayal of Don Shirley, winning him his second Oscar in the span of two years.

Another big upset was when Olivia Colman (“The Night Manager”) won Best Actress in a Leading Role for her role in “The Favourite” over the supposed favorite Glenn Close (“The Wife”). Will she ever win an Oscar? After seven nominations and an illustrious career, Close still has not won and is not getting any younger. But considering how great of a turn her per-

formance in “The Wife” was, no one should count her out just yet. The African-American community really showed up last night, with the likes of the aforementioned Ali, Regina King (Best Supporting Actress for “If Beale Street could Talk”), Hannah Beachler (Best Production Design for “Black Panther”), Ruth Carter (Best Costume Design for “Black

Image from Universal Pictures via YouTube Mahershala Ali won Best Supporting Actor for “Green Book,” which also took home Best Picture.

Panther”), Peter Ramsey (Best Animated Feature for “SpiderMan: Into the Spider verse”) and, of course, Spike Lee (Best Adapted Screenplay for “BlacKkKlansman”) getting their dues. Rami Malek (“Bohemian Rhapsody”), who is of Egyptian descent, also took home the statuette for his performance of legendary Queen frontman, Freddie Mercury, proving that the Academy has become much more diverse since 2016’s “Oscars So White” controversy. Besides “Green Book” taking home Best Picture, some may be irked by the awarding of Best Film Editing to “Bohemian Rhapsody,” a film considered by many to be very sloppy in that department, as well as Live Action Short Film going to “Skin,” which makes 2005’s Best Picture winner “Crash” look slightly better in comparison. Sure, the general public will have their own personal debates, but the film community seems on board with most of the awards. The no-host debacle somehow helped both the show and

ratings, with the show moving at a brisk pace and 29.6 million people tuning in. The performances left little to be desired, with Bette Midler doing a strange take on “Mary Poppins Returns’” “The Place Where the Lost Things Go,” sliding from note to note whenever she got the chance, and Jennifer Hudson struggling to get to and maintain the pitch at the climax of the “RBG” song, “I’ll Fight.” Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings’ take on “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs” song, “When a Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings,” however, was very welcome, and Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga’s performance of “Shallow” was one of the talks of the night. If one was questioning whether Gaga is in love with Cooper before, they would be crazy not to question it now. While many may sneer at this year’s Best Picture winner, the overall consensus for almost everything else is pretty solid. Hopefully, next year, the Academy will have better films to vote on and perhaps vote on one that will change its narrative.

‘How to Train Your Dragon 3’ meets expectations, ends trilogy

Image from FilmSelect Trailer via YouTube Hiccup Haddock III and Toothless return for one final adventure in “How to Train your Dragon 3: The Hidden World.”

Jessica Wickham Chief Copy Editor jwickham@oswegonian.com

Nearly a decade ago, “How to Train Your Dragon” introduced audiences to the fantastical world of Berk, with a lovable, underdog protagonist that made everyone want an adorable dragon of their own. Nine years later, and “How to Train Your Dragon 3: The Hidden World” wraps up what has become a rather suc-

cessful trilogy for the studio that brought us “Shrek” so long ago. As sad as it is to see these characters for the last time, the film is a fun, adventurous tale that ties up all loose ends and maybe even pulls at a few heartstrings. At this point, any “How to Train Your Dragon” fan knows the characters and has seen them grow in positive, realistic ways. This is no small accomplishment for a trilogy, considering the temptation to erase all progress and send the characters on the same emotional journey

over and over again. Instead, protagonist Hiccup (Jay Baruchel, “Goon: Last of the Enforcers”) has gone from timid and anxious to trying to fit into his role as new chief, struggling with missing his father and feeling inadequate as his dragon, Toothless, grows more independent. What is the ultimate strength of this film is the connections between characters, particularly between Hiccup and his girlfriend Astrid (America Ferrera, “Superstore”), who is supportive but not afraid to give Hiccup the

wake-up call he needs to conquer the movie’s villain. Speaking of bad guys, this film’s antagonist veers away from a man bent on conquering the world with a dragon army (like in the second film), in favor of an experienced dragon hunter, still stuck on the preHiccup ways of life. Grimmel the Grisly (F. Murray Abraham, “Isle of Dogs”) is ruthless, calm and cunning, almost like he jumped from Slytherin house in the Harry Potter franchise to Berk just to hunt down night furies. As chilling and charming of a performance as Abraham does, the cookie-cutter antagonist can make audiences long for the days of 2010, when Hiccup was only fighting against his stubborn father in a much less predictable adventure flick. That leads to the major problem that this film has. It pales in comparison to the first film in the franchise because there are little to no surprises. Dreamworks did a good job of creating a finale that did everything it was supposed to do. Tie up loose ends? Check. Make the charac-

ters grow in a way that makes the audience smile? Check. Have a final scene that leaves viewers feeling satisfied? Check, check, double check. For kids, this is not a problem, but for adults, the pattern is obvious, and the film throws nothing out there to impress astute viewers with something they have not seen before. Every plot point is predictable, which can make the film boring and repetitive at times. That is not to say the movie is not a fun watch. There are plenty of cute antics with Toothless and his new light fury love interest. Fans also get to see the characters grow up physically and emotionally, and the visuals are absolutely stunning. The fight scenes are funny and exciting, just like what any good animated family movie should have. In the end, “The Hidden World” is enjoyable to watch, meeting expectations and checking every box for a good animated screenplay. Though it is a bit predictable and not as strong as its predecessors, it is still a fun adventure story fit for all ages.

LAKER REVIEW

FRIDAY, March 1, 2019

C 3 C 3

‘Game of Thrones’ season one, how the legendary show began Alex Kent Staff Writer laker@oswegonian.com

It has been almost eight years since the cultural phenomenon known as “Game of Thrones” premiered on HBO. Adapted from George R. R. Martin’s fantasy book series “A Song of Ice and Fire,” the show has endlessly taken the world by storm. Along with “The Sopranos,” “Breaking Bad” and “Mad Men,” it is a key component of the new golden age of television. The iconic story will come to a climactic conclusion later this year. The fight for the Iron Throne began on April 17, 2011. Showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss perfectly understood the massive landscape they were given and successfully fit it into a television format. They knew the best way to draw in viewers was introducing the houses (families) with precise details. Understanding the characters’ re-

Image from GameofThrones via YouTube Sean Bean headlines the first season of “Game of Thrones” as Eddard “Ned” Stark.

lationships and their historic backgrounds is the foundation for most of the conflicts in the Seven Kingdoms. The first noble house audiences are introduced to are the Starks of Winterfell. The wise warrior and patriarch, Eddard Stark (Sean Bean, “The Oath”), rules the North with his strong-minded wife Catelyn (Michelle Fairley, “The Feed”). The rest of the family is quickly introduced, which includes eldest son Robb (Richard Madden, “Bodyguard”), avid climber and

second youngest Bran (Isaac Hempstead Wright, “The Boxtrolls”), oldest daughter Sansa (Sophie Turner, “X-men: Apocalypse”) and youngest daughter and tomboy Arya (Maisie Williams, “The New Mutants”). Also introduced here is Ned’s other son born out of wedlock, known in the world as a bastard, Jon Snow (Kit Harington, “How to Train your Dragon 3: The Hidden World”). Bean’s performance as the honest patriarch during a fraudulent time is one of the most captivating in recent memory.

The actor’s track record helps bring a positive reputation to the highly risky story. On the opposite side of society lies the Lannisters, helmed by Lord Tywin (Charles Dance, “Ghostbusters”) of Casterly Rock. His daughter, Cersei (Lena Headey, “Fighting with My Family”), is married to King Robert (Mark Addy, “Mary Poppins Returns”) of House Baratheon solely for political gain. The simultaneous amount of charisma and vulgarity that Addy possesses as the ruler of Westeros is baffling. Fellow Lannisters include Cersei’s twin brother and knight Jaime (Nikolaj Coster Waldau, “Shot Caller”), youngest sibling and dwarf Tyrion (Peter Dinklage, “Avengers: Infinity War”) and Cersei and Robert’s eldest son and heir to the throne, Joffrey (Jack Gleeson, “All Good Children”). Dinklage won an Emmy for his work on the season as the intelligent and sarcastic black sheep, and the role became a career-definer for the veteran actor. When the opening theme by Ramin Djawadi played for

the first time, the audience did not realize how special and iconic the theme they were in for would be. Djawadi’s decision to use the cello as the main instrument is a microcosm of the show’s unorthodox nature. The innovative title sequence that goes along with the beautiful composition introduces viewers to relevant locations in the episode, using a graphic to simulate cities popping up throughout the landscape, almost like a board game. The first season relies heavily on deception and dialoguedriven conflict rather than straight-up warfare. This is due to the less grandiose budget the developers were granted. The ending of the ninth episode, “Baelor,” is arguably one of the most well-shot scenes in the history of television. Many elements from the beginning still echo in the present state of the series. Everyone involved with the series is dedicated to delivering a cerebral experience as shown by the initial standards they set in the beginning.

‘You’ makes incredible debut, creating sympathy for stalker protagonist Stephen Novak Staff Writer laker@oswegonian.com

When Caroline Kepnes’s first book, “You,” was released, its polarizing, disturbing tone kept readers interested in its story of a Manhattanite stalking an attractive up-and-coming author. Those same readers will find the story makes a fairly graceful transition to the big, or in this case, small screen, even if some things have been tweaked in translation. “You” revolves around Joe Goldberg (Penn Badgley, “The Paper Store”), the manager of a sleepy New York City bookstore, who finds himself captivated by Guinevere Beck (Elizabeth Lail, “The Good Fight”), an attractive MFA Student at NYU. One would think this sets up a classic love story, until Joe begins digging into Beck’s life. Breaking down

her personality and gathering details into his massing hoard of data, he finds her dreams, friends, lovers and address. He gazes into her windows at night and reads her texts, among other disturbing hobbies. This would certainly fall apart if the writing and acting was not as sharp as it is. Badgley pulls off an amazing performance, trailing a thin line between rational and homicidal to the point where audiences find themselves taking pity on him. This, of course, turned to spectacle when Badgley’s Twitter feed got flooded by fans asking him to kidnap them. While some people might be disappointed that the narrative only rarely slips into the stalkee’s point of view, keeping the viewer ensnared in that madness ironically helps to provide that sense of sympathy. A nice bonus of the writing is a slow reveal of the protagonist’s view of the world, showing that even the most deranged people

Image from Netflix via YouTube Penn Badgley and Elizabeth Lail star in “You,” a Netflix Original Series.

have parts of normalcy in them. As Joe juggles stalking Beck and tending to his basement, he also makes an effort to connect with his neighbor Paco (Luca Padovan), a young child whose poor parenting constantly makes the audiences wish that he would intervene and show a more humane side to his psychotic persona. The visual medium does take

away some of the strengths of experiencing the story as a novel. For one, the book is constantly told through Joe’s narration. The unreliable narration was a selling point of the book that simply could not be moved over to the show with the same intensity. While his smarter-than-thou style of commentary is still present, it is reserved for asides and mono-

logues. That is not to say that it is not funny or even bad, it is just not the main priority anymore. The show has almost a picaresque style when new villains present themselves, each one of which threatens Joe’s love life. Watching him interact with them reflects how these people are probably in the right if they were not overwhelmingly smug or obnoxious to be around. But the real treat comes from Joe and Beck, as they bounce back and forth with nuance and a satisfying humor that shows how they were almost made for each other in a sick, twisted way. Through knowing Joe’s warped view of the world, at times it can feel like the show is going 80 miles per hour toward a brick wall. Audiences know this is not their average romantic comedy, but the desire to know just how a story this evil could end is enough to keep viewers glued to their seats from beginning to end.

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FRIDAY, March 1, 2019

LAKER REVIEW

Moment #1: Queen’s surprise opening proves Oscars did not need opening monologue. In a surprise move, the Oscars opened with Queen performing songs “We Will Rock You” and “We are the Champions,” fronted by former American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert, who has been performing with the band for the last several years.

Image from Oscars via YouTube

Moment #2: Ruth Carter becomes first AfricanAmerican to win Best Costume Design, for “Black Panther.” After nearly 30 years working in the industry, Ruth Carter made history by finally winning Costume Design for “Black Panther.” Her previous nominations included “Malcolm X” and “Amistad.”

Image from ABC via YouTube

Moment #3: Spike Lee wins Adapted Screenplay for “BlacKkKlansman.” Spike Lee finally won his Oscar, alongside fellow writers Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz and Kevin Willmott. His speech included references to his first film “Do the Right Thing” and a story about how his grandmother saved up to send him to NYU Film School.

Image from Variety via YouTube

LAKER REVIEW

FRIDAY, March 1, 2019

Moment #4: Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper heat things up with their performance of "Shallow." Before "A Star is Born" won its only Oscar of the night for Best Song, stars Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper performed the winning song, "Shallow." Their chemistry radiated across the entire theater, and the ending stare the two stars gave each other made the entire internet go crazy.

Image from Lady Gaga via YouTube

Moment #5: Olivia Coleman wins Best Actress over frontrunner Glenn Close. In quite possibly the biggest surprise of the night, Olivia Coleman won the Best Actress prize for her role in "The Favourite." Up until this point, Glenn Close was the presumed frontrunner, with Lady Gaga slated as a potential surprise. However, no one was as surprised as Coleman herself. Image from ABC via YouTube

Moment #6: "Green Book" wins Best Picture, controversy follows. "Green Book" won Best Picture over frontrunners "Roma" and "Black Panther." The film tells the story of Tony Vallelonga and Don Shirley's friendship and has been criticized for handling the issue of race too safely, while also not reaching out to Don Shirley's family for correspondence.

Image from ABC via YouTube

FRIDAY, March 1, 2019

Crossword Puzzle

Sudoku Fill in the grid so that each row, column and 3x3 block contains 1-9 exactly once.

Down 1. Cul-de-___ 2. Self-esteem 3. Guys 4. Preface 5. Navigate 6. Staff officer 7. Idealist 8. Make unhappy 9. Conducting contact 10. Flaring star 11. Stair part 16. Gun owners’ org. 20. Tree juices 21. Depart 22. Essential

24. And so on (abbr.) 26. Auto 27. Fruit drinks 28. Fasting period 30. Tennis team 31. Relate 34. Legally responsible 37. ___-tac-toe 38. Sports ring 39. Honeydew, e.g. 40. Needle openings 41. Soup vegetable 43. Fir or poplar 46. Curious 47. Once named 48. Mule’s father

Across 1. Large trucks 6. Classified ___ 9. Naval rank (abbr.) 12. Contract negotiator 13. Savings plan (abbr.) 14. Large amount 15. Asserted 17. Christmas ___ 18. Peruse again 19. Baseball hat 20. Spanish title 23. Get together 25. Chopping tool 26. In the middle 29. Movies, for short 31. Average 32. ZIP ___ 33. Pittsburgh footballer 35. Cozy retreat 36. Bustle 37. Least wild 40. Overhead trains 42. Apparel 44. Favorable vote 45. Seaport in Spain 49. Always, in verse 50. Recline 51. Lymph ___ 52. Cloud’s locale 53. WSW’s opposite 54. Peruvian range

For this week’s puzzle answers... Go to Oswegonian.com and click on the Laker Review tab!

ARTWORK

LAKER REVIEW

FRIDAY, March 1, 2019

Flashback Friday

Artwork contributed by Jacob Fallat

Image from YouTube Movies via YouTube

On March 2, 1965, one of Hollywood’s most renowned movie musicals, “The Sound of Music,” was first released. Based on the real-life story of the Von Trapp Family singers, this heartfelt film starred Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer and was directed by Robert Wise. It won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture (1966), and currently sits at 86 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

Oswego Cinema 7 Fri. March 1 - Sun. March 3 Greta

11:55 a.m. 2:30 p.m.

5:00 p.m.

Green Book

11:15 a.m.

2:10 p.m.

7:15 p.m.

11:05 a.m. 1:40 p.m.

6:40 p.m.

11:50 a.m. 2:20 p.m. 11:30 a.m. 2:00 p.m.

Spider-Man: Into The Spiderverse Fighting With My Family How To Train Your Dragon: the Hidden World

7:30 p.m.

9:55 p.m.

4:50 p.m.

7:20 p.m.

9:50 p.m.

4:30 p.m.

7:00 p.m.

9:30 p.m.

TO SEE ALL SHOWINGS, GO TO OSWEGO CINEMA 7'S WEBSITE