A3 Freshman international student elected as SUNY SA representative
Friday, April 21, 2017 VOLUME LXXXV ISSUE X SINCE 1935 www.oswegonian.com
Senate violates election bylaws
Oswego State alumna cares for April, calf
Potential candidate unable to run for SA President
Maria Pericozzi News Editor mpericozzi@oswegonian.com
Alexander Gault-Plate Assistant News Editor aplate@oswegonian.com
The world followed the pregnancy of April the giraffe and millions watched her give birth to a male calf on Saturday. Allysa Swilley, an Oswego State alumna, is one of the few who cares for April and the new calf. Swilley graduated from Oswego State in 2015 as a Zoology major. She currently works at Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville, New York, taking care of giraffes April, Oliver and their calf. Caring for the giraffes has put Swilley in the national spotlight, gaining a following of people who admire her love and dedication while caring for the giraffes. Junior Russell Cox said seeing an Oswego State alumna taking care of one of the most famous animals right now is inspiring. “One day I want to work with animals and seeing someone who graduated from here get as famous as she is, is incredible,” Cox said. “It makes me want to work even harder than I do now.” Millions of people watched April give birth to her fourth calf via a live webcam that was installed in her pen. The Animal Adventure Park Giraffe Cam that captured the moment April’s
See GIRAFFE, A4
On April 18, junior Emily Stasko informed the Student Association Senate that a violation of their bylaws regarding the elections process had prevented her from running for SA President this semester. All potential candidates for SA President are required to collect 500 student signatures on an official SA-provided petition. According to Title IV, Chapter 2, Part A, Section 203 of the SA Code, “A sheet of instructions stating the necessary dates and rules of the election shall be included with each packet of petitions.” Although this is stated in the bylaws, none of the candidates who received a petition from the SA offices in The Point had the required instruction sheet included in their packet or were made
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A study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that the rate of deaths from opioid overdoses has nearly quadrupled from 1999 to 2014. The CDC also found that more than 165,000 Americans have died from opioid overdoses during the same 15year period. In 2015, 2,457 people died in New York State due to an accidental opioid overdose. According to the Texas Opiate Detoxification Specialists’ website, opioids are any drug made from the opium poppy. This includes prescription painkillers such as morphine, oxycodone, hydrocodone and methadone, as well as street drugs like heroin. Oswego County has not escaped the opioid overdose epidemic. According to research from the Oswego
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The code that is found online says one thing about how you run for president, and in person it seems to be a little bit different.” -Emily Stasko Oswego State student
Stasko petitioned to get her name on the SA election ballot for president, but was told that not only would her petition be rejected if she turned it in, but her job
as the director of public relations for SA was in jeopardy due to the way she had her petition filled out. “I had heard there were people saying that now I was at risk of losing my job, which to me, the two don’t really correlate,” Stasko said. Stasko was unable to run for president and Dalton Bisson, the other presidential candidate, was only aware of the bylaws regarding elections because of his current position as SA vice president. “I was not actively made aware [of the rule], but I knew,” Bisson said. According to Stasko, she was informed that her method of collecting signatures was against SA bylaws the night before the petitions were due and was not officially informed by anyone in SA. A concern she had was that even as a member of SA she was not officially
See SENATE, A4
President, vice president election results posted Bisson, Bancroft to be sworn into positions on May 2 Alexander Gault-Plate Assistant News Editor aplate@oswegonian.com
Rachel Futterman | The Oswegonian
Oswego County sees increase in treatments for substance abuse Natalie Brophy Chief Copy Editor nbrophy@oswegonian.com
aware of the rule by SA. “When I had the petition, nowhere on it did it say I couldn’t canvas, so I then had my teammates out there to help me get the signatures,” Stasko said.
County Prevention Coalition, three addiction treatment centers, Farnham Family Services, the County of Oswego Council on Alcoholism and Addictions, COCOAA and Harbor Lights Chemical Dependency Services, have seen an increase in the percentage of people treated for heroin and opioid addiction. The percent of all patients treated for opioid abuse rose from 18.8 percent in 2011 to 38.4 percent in 2015. According to the coalition’s data, heroin use by people of all ages in Oswego County is on the rise. From 2011 to 2014, heroin use among those under age 25 has increased 201 percent and heroin use for people over age 25 has increased 325 percent. “Back when I first got into the field, about 10 years ago, it tended to be more alcohol and marijuana,” said Andrew Long, the program director at the
See ABUSE, A5
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Cole Parzych | The Oswegonian
On April 6 and 7, Oswego State students were able to vote on the LakerLife website for both Student Association president and vice president. Running unopposed for the office of president was Dalton Bisson. Running against one another for the office of vice president were Daisie Bancroft and Robert Taglia. Bisson won the presidential election with nearly 85 percent of the vote, or 368 votes. A little over 15 percent of voters opted to not vote for Dalton and chose the “abstain” option on the ballot. Bisson, the current SA vice president, said when he first announced his candidacy, he felt he was best equipped for the president position due to his experience in the vice presidency and his experience under the current SA president, Emily Nassir. Bisson said, when he first announced his candidacy, some of his plans for the coming academic year include expanding shared governance of Oswego State between students and faculty, which includes placing more students in committees with administrators and faculty. Bancroft won the office of vice president, with approximately 72 percent of the vote or 312 votes. Taglia had a little over 22 percent of
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Photo provided by Manhester City Library via flickr
Maria Pericozzi | The Oswegonian
Photo provided by Daisie Bancroft
Dalton Bisson, sophomore, is the new SA president.
Daisie Bancroft, junior, is the new SA vice president.
the vote or 98 votes. Twenty-three votes were abstentions. Bancroft said, when she first announced her candidacy, she feels that her two years of service as a senator, as well as her last year in the position of pro tempore, has prepared her for the position of SA vice president. Bancroft said, when she first announced
her candidacy, that she plans to introduce “Meet Your Senator” days, which would allow students to meet the senators that represent them to SA and would foster more communication between students and their senators. On the week of April 9, SA posted the results to the billboards in their offices in The Point, in Marano Campus Center.
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