Look Inside: A6 Poltical clubs debate views during Quest
Friday, April 5, 2019 VOLUME LXXXIV ISSUE VI SINCE 1935 www.oswegonian.com
Sundown vigil honors victims in New Zealand
Maria Pericozzi | The Oswegonian
Colin Hawkins Asst. News Editor chawkins@oswegonian.com Students and faculty of Oswego State gathered on Friday, March 29, for a sundown vigil dedicated to the victims of a mass shooting in a New Zealand mosque earlier last month. “With the recent mass shooting of 50 innocent people dying, I thought it was only fitting that we memorialize the victims from the shooting,” said Lauren Fitzgerald, one of the organizers of the event and a sophomore at Oswego State. About 40 students attended the event to show solidarity to the victims and hear a message of unity and love from the speakers. “We in this community, across this country and across this world do not have to surrender to darkness. We do not have to capitulate to fear. We can stand together,” said Rodmon King, chief diversity and inclusion officer at Oswego State. “Those that bring fear will not succeed. The power we have in this community, the strength we have together, can quiet this storm.” The messages of unity continued, with Rabbi Yossi Madvig speaking on behalf of the Jewish community standing in solidarity with victims of hate killed in a place of worship.
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See SPEAKERS, A5
Calendar...................... A3 Crossword................... C6 Contact Info................ A2 Laker Review.............. C1 News............................. A1 Opinion........................ B5 Sports........................... B1 Sudoku......................... C6
SA election under investigation Administration hosts town hall, van Reenen steps down from candidacy, Lawson unknown Kassadee Paulo News Editor kpaulo@oswegonian.com Although Oswego State students voted for next year’s Student Association president in the beginning of March, the result still has not been released. Senator Baldwin Lawson and current President Omar van Reenen ran against each other in the race for president during the next academic year, but due to a grievance filed to the SA supreme court against the whole presidential election, the court is withholding certifying the outcome. van Reenen announced to SA that he has decided to step down from the election to continue his position as president. Lawson did not comment, so his intentions are unknown while the grievance is reviewed. “I have decided to rescind my candidacy from the Student Association election,” van Reenen said. “I believe this is best for the organization to step aside as the courts carry out the investigative process with those that are involved.” The grievance filed was in response to campaign violations tak-
en on Election Day when students voted on the Laker Life website for president, vice president and a referendum on plastic cup use. It questions whether election law was violated during this time. The court is investigating the parties involved in the alleged violation. According to the SA bylaws Election Law, “There shall be no campaigning or campaign publicity material within 20 feet of a polling site during the day of an election. … It shall be the responsibility of official candidates to guarantee that all campaign publicity material has been removed from the polling site and the surrounding 20 feet.” The official polling site was located outside Marano Campus Center, room 132. SA provided laptops for students to vote on Laker Life. Students could vote anywhere using the Laker Life website. The grievance is in the process of being reviewed by the court and has yet to set a date for the hearing. Depending on the court’s decision during the hearing, a trial of the accused parties could result, according to Chief Justice Brian Monahan. “I know time is not on our side,” Monahan said. “We are looking to
have this hearing as soon as possible and, if it goes to a trial, as soon as possible as well. If we go to that trial phase, there needs to be enough time between for both sides to prepare their cases.” While the court will not confirm the results of president, current Director of Civic Engagement and Legislative Affairs Takeena Strachan, who ran unopposed, will be next year’s vice president and a referendum on plastic cup use in the dining halls passed. Should the court prevent Lawson from becoming president, the line of succession would lead to the vice president stepping up to president, according to the SA bylaws. The court could also make a different decision as to how to go forward. “There are things that I’ve seen that need to be changed on campus and from what I’ve tried to push, just through my agenda as a director through the off-campus housing fair, making sure off-campus students aren’t being put off, voter registration,” Strachan said. “As long as you set yourself up, it’s possible to make change.”
See SUPREME, A6
Maria Pericozzi | The Oswegonian Baldwin Lawson (left) and Omar van Reenen ran against each other for SA president, and now there is a possibility that neither wil be president.
group discussion
Kassadee Paulo | The Oswegonian
Colin Hawkins Asst. News Editor chawkins@oswegonian.com Members of Oswego State administration met with students and Student Association members on Monday for a town hall meeting to discuss the concerns of the student body. The meeting began with an address by President Deborah Stanley, when she explained Oswego State’s commitment to hearing students’ voices and addressing student concerns on campus. Stanley listed actions the college has taken after students’ comments from previous town hall meetings. Actions taken by the college, according to Stanley, include sensitivity training and body cameras for University Police, diversity oversight in the faculty hiring process, removal of registration and housing holds, opening Swetman Gym for student social events, exploring a downtown Oswego student lounge and increasing the communication between students and administration. “[These meetings] have been an important piece in getting to know students and what their real concerns are,” Stanley said. “A safe forum where someone can stand up or sit in a group like this and say what’s really on their mind and what their experience has really been … is very important to us.”
See STANLEY, A5
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