The Oswegonian 4-5-19 by The Oswegonian

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.

CONTENT

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

Sports

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QUEST GALLERY

Maria Pericozzi | The Oswegonian

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THE OSWEGONIAN FRIDAY, APRIL 5, 2019

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NEW YORK STATE

WEATHER

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Potsdam 46°/38°

FRIDAY, APRIL 5

Oswego 45°/40° Buffalo 51°/41°

Brandon M. Schultz, 25, was arrested at 4:03 a.m. on March 29 for petit larceny, possession of a hypodermic instrument and two counts of seventh-degree criminal

Syracuse 45°/41°

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possession of a controlled substance. Kamille L. Loney, 24, was arrested at 5:43 p.m. on March 29 for second-degree aggravated unlicensed operation when he was operating a motor vehicle with a suspended

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license following a motor vehicle accident.

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Timothy M. Calderwood, 26, was arrested at 1:46 p.m. on March 25 on the charge of petit larceny after stealing a Monster energy drink from Paul’s Big M.

Extended Forecast Monday

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MONDAY, APRIL 8 THROUGH FRIDAY, APRIL 12

Wednesday

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Zachary A. Verdoliva, 27, was arrested at 2:13 p.m. on March 28 for assault with intention to cause physical injury with a weapon when he acted in concert with another in stabbing a victim numerous times.

H: 55 °

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100%

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40%

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March 28 for unlawful possession of marijuana following

50%

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NEWS

QUOTE OF THE WEEK 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.”

- Rodmon King, from cover

THE OSWEGONIAN FRIDAY, April 5, 2019

Student creates podcast on cold case

1994 abduction of Heidi Allen explored, researched Kassadee Paulo News Editor kpaulo@oswegonian.com Oswego State senior journalism major Ryan Zalduondo spent the past two semesters investigating a 25-year-old kidnapping cold case, working with NPR affiliate WRVO Public Media to produce a podcast and release the first of four episodes Wednesday, April 3. A fan of true-crime podcasts, Zalduondo got the idea in December 2017 to look into the case when he passed the gas station in New Haven, New York, that 18-year-old Heidi Allen was kidnapped from in 1994. He decided to pursue the idea in October for the 25th anniversary of her abduction. “[The podcast] spans from the morning she was kidnapped until present day and all of the people who got caught up in it in the years in between,” Zalduondo said. In October, he approached assistant visiting professor Catherine Loper, with whom he had taken three journalism classes, and explained his idea to her. Prior to working at Oswego State, Loper worked full time at WRVO as news director and still contributes to the station as a host for the health segment, Take Care. She encouraged him to pitch the idea to the radio station. Loper had covered the updates of the case when the second round of proceedings occurred a few years ago and she was news director, so she was better able to help guide him in revising his scripts. She said Zalduondo fully immersed himself in the research of the case, reading

every news article he could find and exploring every nook and cranny. “Ryan’s always been a good student, but he really dug into this project,” Loper said. “He really sunk his teeth into it and researched it in ways that we don’t in the normal course of a semester.” Loper said she believes Zalduondo has gained important real-world skills that he will be able to take into his professional career as a journalist when he graduates in May. WRVO News Director Jason Smith had wanted to do something for the 25th anniversary of the Heidi Allen case, and Senior Producer Mark Lavonier said it was “a match made in heaven” when Zalduondo pitched the idea. Zalduondo’s team for the podcast included Web Producer Leah Landry, Lavonier, Loper and Smith. “They all were very helpful from the beginning; they all believed in it, and now, it’s happening,” Zalduondo said. Zalduondo spent the past two semesters and winter break contacting those involved in the case, interviewing them and then putting it all together. “Ryan has worked extremely hard for anyone, not just a student, and how much of his life, he has dedicated to getting all the scripts done and doing all the research,” Lavonier said. Smith said he has not had many students work at WRVO with the same dedication to a project as Zalduondo, as Zalduondo used much of his free time away from classes to work on a story he volunteered to do. “It’s hard for anyone to do a proj-

ect over a period of months,” Loper said. “Momentum gets lost usually along the way, so the fact that he was able to keep going on this through two different semesters, over breaks and accomplish this podcast is really impressive.” Lavonier, who composed the music for the podcast, said he enjoyed teaching Zalduondo the technical aspects of reporting with audio equipment. Lavonier also recorded Zalduondo’s voice and pieced together the audio clips he had recorded during his interviews. The key challenge Zalduondo faced, according to Smith, was the transition from reporting for print media to radio production. “He doesn’t have what you would describe as a typical radio voice,” Smith said. “I’ve had a chance to listen to the finished episode one. I think he overcame that very well. Like Mark has assured me through this whole process, the quality of his voice isn’t going to bother you, and it doesn’t.” Both Lavonier and Smith grew up in the area of the kidnapping and agreed that revisiting the story is important for the community to remember what happened. “This is a very small community that was turned upside down for decades over this, and as the pain and the shock started to fade away, it all came back a couple of years ago when the supposed new evidence allegedly came out,” Smith said. “It’s an important story to tell that people need to know.” There will be an additional three episodes released April 10, April 17 and April 24, and all can be accessed on the WRVO website.

Rice Creek Ramble, 11 a.m., Saturday at Rice Creek Field Station

Oswego Softball vs. SUNY New Paltz, noon and 2 p.m., Saturday at Laker Softball Field

Oswego Women’s Lacrosse vs. SUNY Potsdam 1 p.m., Saturday at Laker Turf Stadium

Relei for Life: Surfing for a Cure, 6 p.m., Saturday at Marano Campus Center Arena

Oswego Baseball vs. SUNY Canton, noon and 3 p.m., Sunday at Laker Baseball Field

Planetarium Show: History of Telescopes, 7 p.m., Sunday in Shineman Center, Room 223

Inside “Making a Murderer,” 5 p.m., Monday at Marano Campus Center Auditorium, Room 132

Oswego Baseball vs. Clarkson, 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., Tuesday at Laker Baseball Field

Get Yourself Tested: STD Testing, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Wednesday in Mary Walker Health Center Photo provided by Ryan Zalduondo Ryan Zalduondo (left) interviews Richard Thibodeau as a part of his true-crime podcast investigating a 25-year-old missing person case.

NEWS

THE OSWEGONIAN FRIDAY, April 5, 2019

A5 NEWS Stanley shares campus updates, plans Speakers express need Students invited to discuss variety of experienced issues to show kindness to all THE OSWEGONIAN FRIDAY, April 5, 2019

SUNDOWN from COVER

ADMINISTRATION from COVER After Stanley’s address, campus administrators, UP representatives and other college faculty attended six round tables representing a different aspect of college life. Each table had a campus official responsible for some of the decisions made regarding that aspect. Topics included UP relations, academics, on-campus life, off-campus life and campus communications. The sixth table, labeled “Other,” went unused. “I appreciate the way it was structured, in terms of dividing our biggest problems into those five topics and allowing us to talk to the people who are the heads of these departments,” said Donavon King, a graduate student at Oswego who attended the meeting. “What was most enlightening about it was [how] my questions [weren’t exactly] being answered, but a solution was immediately made because now I know the intricacies [of the problem].” The work groups were done in two rounds, where students could shift to other tables between rounds. A student at each table would take notes during the discussions and would report the conversation they had to the entire town hall after each round. The table discussing UP relations talked about ways to bring UP and students together in a casual or non-confrontational manner and build community relationships, such as a cookout during the first week of classes in fall semester or a dodgeball tournament. The conversation on academic and classroom concerns focused on internship assistance. The table also discussed problems students face in program requirements, particularly when a needed class is irregularly offered or only offered by a single professor that may have an incompatible teaching style with some students.

Kassadee Paulo | The Oswegonian Administration gave students a platform to speak with them about specific topics on campus.

Table three discussed on-campus experiences, such as challenges during summer and winter sessions where sweltering heat and bitter cold cause obstacles. Also, during those sessions, students mentioned frustration that the only dining hall open is Lakeside rather than a central dining hall that would be better for students living on the west side of campus. On-campus concerns also included better access to kitchen facilities, allowing students to stay on campus during breaks cheaply or for free, as getting home for a week can be unrealistic, and allowing more space on campus for student organizations. The off-campus table expressed approval for a downtown student lounge and requested the college look into food accessibility for offcampus students, like a customizable meal plan for off-campus students to get a few meals on

campus every week or working with city of Oswego businesses for student discounts to help students afford food. The final table discussed campus communication and touched on D-bus issues with Title IX and bystander intervention, ways Oswego State can improve its social media announcements and an app for club events and fitness centers. The table also had a conversation about using Google Calendar to set up events. “When we hold events like this, it’s great to get student feedback based on what their experiences are,” said Dan Roberts, associate dean of students and interim director of Student Life. “It can confirm that what we are doing is on the right path, or more importantly, it can give us the feedback we need to improve. At the end of the day, we’re accountable for the needs of our students.”

Madvig recalled the Oswego vigil for victims of a Pittsburgh synagogue shooting last November. “There’s unfortunately a lot of hatred to go around, but by standing together, we’re able to combat that together,” Madvig said. Madvig spoke of a Jewish story about a bird whose name translates to “Kindness.” The bird, despite its name, is not considered kosher, according to Jewish tradition. Madvig explained that this is because the bird only shows kindness to its own species, not of those outside its group. “It’s all well and good and easy to be kind to those that are like you. But the real test of humanity is to be kind to those who are not like us, to those we might view as different, whether it’s based on their religion, their skin color, their gender, whatever it is,” Madvig said. “That kindness has to be exemplified to everyone.” Oswego State President Deborah Stanley shared her message of unity, acceptance and vigilance

against hatred. Stanley said people must look inside themselves and recognize the feelings they have that create division, but to see the parts that connect them. “I made a call for people to connect with the human anguish, to understand the pain and the misery that is being caused,” Stanley said. Yahya Ndiaye, an Oswego student from Senegal, spoke as a member of the Muslim faith. “We are from the same source. We are the same [humanity]. No one has the right to attack [another],” Ndiaye said. “Say every day to our brothers, ‘may peace be for you.’” Student Association President Omar van Reenen read the names of the victims, while Ndiaye placed pieces of paper with the names on a prayer rug and those attending the vigil lit candles in silence. “Fifty people died, and I wanted people to visualize that. I wanted them to see that, one life too many,” van Reenen said. “These people were killed in a temple of worship. With each name on a prayer mat, that was one person shot on their own prayer mat.”

Maria Pericozzi | The Oswegonian Students gather to pay respects to the victims of the New Zealand mosque shooting.

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NEWS A6 Dining hall options decrease Supreme court reviews grievance filed for commissary renovation Alleged campaign violation to be examined at hearing THE OSWEGONIAN FRIDAY, April 5, 2019

SA from COVER

Nirdishtha Raj Sapkota Contributing Writer news@oswegonian.com

Oswego State Auxiliary Services announced the temporary closing of the commissary starting April 15 for reconstruction and upgrades, affecting meal variety in the dining halls for the remainder of spring semester. The inventory will be downsized, and meal rotations will be reduced to a three-week cycle instead of a fiveweek cycle for the rest of the semester. Auxiliary Services will have limited space to hold ingredients for menu items. Food items will include finals favorites like chicken patties as part of the three-week rotation. The commissary, where the college stores most of its food items, is going to be upgraded to increase efficiency. Due to small freezer doors, tow motors with pallets do not fit through the doors, causing Auxiliary Services truck drivers to handload every case into the freezers and coolers. The renovation will include larger doors, allowing pallets to be placed directly into the freezer, making the process efficient and safe. The freezers and coolers will also be enlarged for storage space. There will be mobile coolers and freezers in use during the reconstruction period, which will be parked in lot 7 near Romney Field House. “The freezers are very outdated. A freezer should run below zero to hold food. …We’ve got some that get up to around 13-14 and stay,” said Ruth Stevens, director of Resident Dining. “They stay frozen, but optimal freezer temperature would be zero for us in

Maria Pericozzi | The Oswegonian

storage. The coolers run consistently around 40 degrees.” This change will affect items from the bake shop as well, causing alterations in some menu offerings. This includes the donuts, which will be bought premade but decorated inhouse. The bake shop will temporarily operate from Pathfinder Dining Hall for the rest of the semester and move into Littlepage Dining Hall for the summer. The bake shop will return to normal in the fall semester. Other changes include removing paper poster menus from the dining hall. “March was the last one for this semester … because of the changes cycling through the menu, but also time, we opted to not print April or May,” said Sandy King, administrative assistant of Dining Services. “We’re going to focus online, to the app.” The renovation is going to cost Auxiliary Services and Oswego State about $1.2 to $1.3 million or more, which will include a ramp and bathrooms that meet the standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The renovation should be complete in three months.

In anticipation of her increased duties as vice president, Strachan has prepared by stepping down from other extracurriculars. Whether as vice president or president, she said she hopes to make the small changes on campus necessary to keep comfortability in constant motion. Strachan said she plans to work toward making sure every textbook is available in the course reserves of Penfield Library, provide more vegan, vegetarian and non-pork options in the dining halls, allow clubs and organizations to achieve more awareness by students, build the SA website and social media presence and get a representative from each club and organization to sit in on SA meetings twice a month. While van Reenen is no longer in the running for another term as president, he said he is now focused on finishing the promises he made to the student body in the form of his Laker justice agenda. “I’m focused on completing my current term and making sure that we use this last month to accelerate all the great things we’ve done on campus,” van Reenen said. “I think it’s best for the organization if I pass on the torch for someone else and support new leadership for the organization. I believe I’ve served to the best of my capabilities.” Before the end of the semester, he said he wants to work to extend the hours at Penfield Library, change traditional bathroom signs

Samantha Flavell | The Oswegonian

to universal ones, renegotiate the school’s contract with the Centro bus system, expand the career fair to benefit more international students and bring to SUNY SA proposals to make the Period Act, University Police body camera use

and decreased plastic use to every SUNY school. Although it was canceled this week due to too few senators planning to attend, Student Association will continue business as usual while the investigation is conducted.

College political club leaders discuss prominent national issues Political Science club hosts, poses questions on criminal justice, immigration, Planned Parenthood Kassadee Paulo News Editor kpaulo@oswegonian.com Hosted and moderated by the Political Science club, representatives from three of Oswego State’s student political clubs debated a wide variety of issues during Quest on Wednesday, April 3. Connor Breese, president of College Democrats at Oswego State, Jason Harry, vice president of Oswego State Young Americans for Freedom, and Tyler Toomey, president of College Republicans, discussed the nature of debates, the criminal justice system, healthcare, immigration, funding Planned Parenthood and climate change. Political Science club president Emily Tepfenhart and vice president Ericka Solomon moderated the discussion, titled, “Yes, We Can All Get Along: Debating Political Positions,” posing questions to the panel of students. Starting out in general agreement, all three said debates now are mostly controlled by the person who can make the other angrier to make them look bad rather than being revolved around facts and a better argument. “I think we need to get to people that win debates with better arguments and better policy and better ideas, and less of who can throw that knockout punch and give them those media headlines after the next week,” Toomey said. They also agreed that people often view others in association with their political beliefs. Breese said, in some cases, it can be hard for people to be separated from their political stances. For many across the political spectrum, there is room for respectful argument. He said he personally tries to separate a person’s political views from their moral character. Harris referenced the discourse on campus a few weeks ago when he and other members of YAF set up a table advocating to build a wall at the southern border of the U.S. “There was someone who I was friends with that said, ‘I don’t want to associate with you anymore.’ And I went back a couple weeks later, [and] I texted her. I said, ‘Hey, it’s just a political view. I don’t necessarily think more or less of you,’” Harris said. “I think you can always separate it, go back and just see them as people.” Toomey, who is also president of YAF and sat at the Build the Wall table, said that kind of tabling and the social media attached to it effectively gets the message to the community. He said the first step is to get the information on an issue out there and get mass attention, and then people can engage in debate about it. “The tabling is what creates the attention and gets those conversations to happen,” Toomey said.

Upon Solomon’s question on the criminal justice system and what improvements can be made, Breese discussed police departments reacting to crimes during or after the fact rather than a more preventative approach to be in the right place at the right time. “Relying a lot more on data and relying a lot more on statistics can allow police departments to make more informed decisions about where they’re placing their police officers, areas that are being over policed or under policed, and through that, they might be able to build a better relationship with their communities,” Breese said. Toomey questioned this approach by saying the communities with higher police presence could backlash and claim the area is being profiled. Breese clarified it should not be the quantity of crimes in the area, but the level of the crime in terms of violence. Both agreed there needs to be reform in regard to the prison system. Breese expressed people facing prison can often have issues with paying bail, access to transportation and losing their jobs. He asked Toomey about his thoughts on education in prison. “We are paying a lot of money to be in school here, but if you go commit a crime and go to jail, you can in less than four years probably, get your degree,” Toomey said. “It’s obviously a lot tougher to get jobs, things like that, after prison, but you get that education for free, and there are some people who are using that. We need to correct that as well.” The next question posed asked the panels if they consider healthcare to be a privilege or a right. Toomey said it is a privilege and that universal single-payer healthcare is not a realistic approach for the U.S. because people need options. He also said he would not want to be forced to pay taxes that would fund others’ healthcare when, “in some cases, these healthcare issues are people who are putting themselves in these situations.” As for unpreventable diseases, he said, charities exist to help. “Healthcare is a service, and you don’t really have a right to a service, as much as that is unfortunate,” Harris said. “We lead the world in innovation in medical procedures. The reason the cost of healthcare is rising is because our innovation is just increasing exponentially.” Breese said he considers healthcare to be a right because it is not fair what happens to a person based on a condition, such as losing a job. He said he supports a single-payer system and thinks parts of the Medicare tax should be set aside for programs to help people prevent conditions based off poor lifestyle choices or poor access to better health options. Breese said making people healthier early on would use those taxes more efficiently. Shifting to the topic of immigra-

Kassadee Paulo | The Oswegonian (Left to right) Jason Harris, Tyler Toomey and Connor Breese represent their clubs in debate during this year’s annual Quest day.

tion, Harris said a common misconception he has noticed is the perceived crisis at the southern border of the U.S. “It is a huge waste of our time and money to be taking care of those illegal aliens because they aren’t Americans, and they take away from Americans who did immigrate here legally,” Harris said. “So I think it’s a misconception that there are swarms of people coming across the border when there’s a lot of immigrants who are here on overstayed visas who are now technically illegal immigrants.” Toomey said he believes there is a crisis regarding immigration and thinks securing the southern border with a fence or a wall is the first step. He also said the country needs to find a way to handle those who have expired visas before immigration reform as a whole. Breese said he believes one of the biggest misconceptions is in regards to taxes. He said, in reality, 4.4 million undocumented immigrants paid $23.6 billion in payroll taxes due to the Individual Taxpayer Identification Number form for the IRS. This allows people without social security numbers to file taxes in order to begin a paper trail to help in the process of achieving citizenship. In regards to building a wall at the southern border, Harris said undocumented immigrants cost Americans $116 billion in taxes, so the $54 billion wall would end up paying for itself. Harris said this would also stop about 1.5 million pounds of drugs from be-

ing smuggled across the border every year. Breese clarified with Harris that most of the drugs brought in are done so at ports of entry. Breese said the U.S. has tried to secure the border under the Bush administration but is still fighting expensive legal battles with private landowners. With this, he said there would be many more costs other than the construction of the wall itself. When prompted to discuss Planned Parenthood, Breese started off by saying he believes women have the right to choose to have an abortion or not. He said it provides women’s health services to women beyond abortion, such as cervical cancer screenings. “Planned Parenthood has a whole bunch of benefits of it that go beyond issues of abortion to actually make it an asset to our society more than a detriment,” Breese said. Toomey said Planned Parenthood is partially funded by donations and taxes, and he believes it should be a private organization that is paid for solely by donations and the people who use the services. He said people should not be paying for others’ treatments. “What we don’t hear about is that, every day, Planned Parenthood kills around 700 babies in the country,” Toomey said. Breese rebutted by saying it has to be the decision of the woman to choose whether to carry a pregnancy to term. “So can a woman in here choose to kill any of us?... My mother is still ‘stuck

with me,’ so to speak. Can she murder me today?” Toomey said. Harris asked at what point does it become unacceptable to abort a fetus. Breese replied that every state has different standards and views on the timeline of terminating a pregnancy. He said Ohio recently cut it off at the point when a heartbeat is detected. Breese said he believes a woman needs to be given enough time to make that decision. Switching to the topic of climate change and how to respond to it, Harris said, while people cannot stop burning gas and oil, it is important to advance solar and wind energy for a cleaner alternative. Breese said there would also be a need to provide options for those who would lose their jobs connected to gas and oil. “What’s the point in fighting climate change if you’re not also fighting for people that are going to be hurt the most by the changes?” Breese said. Toomey said a lot of the U.S. involvement in the Middle East stems from the oil resources there, so if cleaner energy is used on U.S. soil, it would take away from that military involvement. This discussion was the first time the three organizations met with the purpose to engage in civil discourse. They are the three Student Association officially recognized political clubs on campus, with the exception of the newly formed Socialist club, which is just beginning its process to becoming recognized and funded by SA.

OPINION ONLINE COURSES

B5 Photo via Pixabay

SPORTS THE OSWEGONIAN

SPORTS B3 Maria Pericozzi | The Oswegonian

VOLUME LXXXIV ISSUE VII • www.oswegonian.com

Editor’s Column Grading winter sports seasons, results

SUNYAC SCHEDULE

FRIDAY, April 5, 2019

Lakers’ season ends with NCAA loss to Hobart College Gosek, coaching staff will ‘soul search’ with players for more success next season

Ben Grieco Sports Editor bgrieco@oswegonian.com With the snow slowly leaving upstate New York, that can only mean spring sports are slowly getting into swing at Oswego State. The men’s hockey team was the last team in the winter sports season competing and was the latest to fall in its respective tournament, losing 3-2 in the NCAA Div. III quarterfinals to Hobart College on March 16 before students left for spring break. Here are a list of my grades, from highest to lowest, of each major winter sports team: men’s and women’s hockey, and men’s and women’s basketball. Men’s Basketball | Grade: A Following a run to the NCAA Div. III Sweet 16, the Oswego State men’s basketball team finished the season with a 24-6 record and 15-3 in SUNYAC play. The Lakers had a strong senior class, with seniors Quinn Carey, Tyler Pierre and Allen Durutovic. The three, along with Tim Marshall before his ACL injury, Brandon Gartland and Liam Sanborn, were able to capture the team’s third SUNYAC championship in five seasons, all under head coach Jason Leone. Oswego State also got some votes to be nationally ranked and hosted the first round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to Marietta College in the Sweet 16 in Rock Island, Illinois. Men’s Hockey | Grade: B+ The Lakers started the season with 34 players, including a couple key freshmen and transfers, looking to improve on their abrupt ending last year. This season was not without its ups and downs after losing some players to injuries, players leaving at the halfway mark and some close losses, like the overtime loss to Williams College. Oswego State had some big wins, including beating Plattsburgh State twice, once at Whiteout and again during the SUNYAC semifinals. But it eventually lost to SUNY Geneseo in the league championship. For the first time since the 20162017 season, the Lakers made the NCAA Tournament and received a bye thanks to the PairWise but lost to Hobart College in the quarterfinals, a team that Oswego State beat earlier in the season. Women’s Hockey | Grade: C+ After bringing in a couple transfers, including goaltender Rachael Farmer from SUNY Cortland, head coach Diane Dillon looked to improve on its secondplace finish in the NEWHL championships, even if the team lost to national powerhouse Plattsburgh State. Oswego State did not meet expectations, fell to fourth place in the NEWHL standings and eventually lost to Plattsburgh State in the first round of the playoffs. The positive is that the Lakers are only losing two seniors and are returning all of their scoring from last season. The 2019-2020 season should be big for Oswego State. Women’s Basketball | Grade: D In head coach Sean Pinkerton’s first season at the helm of the Lakers, he led the team to a 7-18 record. After returning and adding some key players, one could only hope the record would improve. With different injuries and losing players, it seemed Oswego State just could not catch a break. The team went 2-23 this season. This team is not without hope, however, because, in my opinion, Pinkerton is simply still trying to make this his team. Future seasons will be better.

Maria Pericozzi | The Oswegonian The men’s hockey season ended with back-to-back losses, one to SUNY Geneseo in the SUNYAC championship game and the other to Hobart College in the NCAA Tournament.

Ben Grieco Sports Editor bgrieco@oswegonian.com On March 16, Oswego State’s 2018-2019 campaign ended with a 3-2 loss to Hobart College in the NCAA Div. III quarterfinals. After the game, senior Devin Campbell was seen on the bench - no gear, no pads, just himself - to say goodbye to the place that had become home. He had a shortened career to reflect on. Campbell was with Oswego State for only 2 1/2 years but still had accomplished more than most ever will. He was a two-time SUNYAC Defensive Player of the Year, named alternate captain his junior year, and captain his senior year and is truly a fan favorite. “I sat there on my one knee and kind of took a mental picture because I knew this would be my last time playing on this ice,” Campbell said. “Right after people were done talking in the room, I went out to the bench without my gear on and sat there for about 10 minutes to say my goodbyes, so to speak.” In the dressing room, following the game that ended with the new tradition of players standing and tapping sticks to salute the Laker faithful at center ice, there was no extended conversation, head coach Ed Gosek said, but there were different points brought up about the season in general. More importantly, the team got to thank the four seniors - Campbell, Cameron Berry, Josh Nenadal and Kristoffer Brun - for their dedication and commit-

ment to the team, no matter how long they were part of the program. “When you don’t get the job done, and that point in the season’s going to come for all but one team, you don’t dwell on it as much,” Gosek said. “We’re going to miss the seniors, and we allow them to say a few words.” Despite not getting the final job done, the season does not come at a loss for Oswego State. The team won its annual tournament, the Pathfinder Bank/Oswego State Hockey Classic, in an exciting 6-2 win over SUNY Canton. The Lakers beat rival Plattsburgh State twice this season - once during Whiteout Weekend and again during the SUNYAC semifinals. Oswego State made it to the league championship but fell to SUNY Geneseo and eventually lost to Hobart College in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament. While there has been time to reflect on the season, for players and coaching staff alike, there are also thoughts about what the team needs to do differently for more success during the 2019-2020 season and beyond. Gosek and the rest of the staff look at all the aspects of the game - line combinations, depth, goaltending, special teams and so much more. “As we have our exit interviews with the players, and you don’t let the emotion get in the way of your brain and we think things through, we try to, intelligently, come up with our approach,” Gosek said. “Hearing every player out, including the guys that are graduating, on who they think are the right people, what is their reasoning, that’s an important process.”

Entering the season, Gosek brought in 12 new players - nine freshmen and three transfers - immediately addressing any depth issues from the previous season. Thirty-four players were on the roster at the end of October. Some players left the program during the semester break, but Gosek brought in Jeff Solow from Div. I Merrimack College. There were several scratches per game, and some players did not see a single minute of ice-time all season long, like Robert Clerc, who transferred midseason, while eight other players played in all 28 games. With so many different personalities on the team this season, it is now up to the coaching staff to determine which players will be relied on to lead the team in future seasons both on and off the ice. Gosek said he wants players that will be “above average” and needs to do some “soul searching” with some of the players. “When you can’t change the person, then you have to change the person, as we say. We have to have some guys step up,” Gosek said. “Right now, the focus is to select the right guys that are going to lead the team the right way with the personalities that we have. That’s the first order of business.” One of those players that will most likely be stepping up is Josh Zizek, who was named an alternate captain as a junior this season. While Gosek did not say if Zizek will be named captain next season or not, Campbell has high hopes for “Ziz.” “Josh Zizek will be an amazing captain next year, as he is a great guy and a

great hockey player,” Campbell said. “Ziz is one of my better friends on the team and is just an all-around great guy who is a dream fit to be a captain here.” Campbell may have finished the “heck of a ride” collegiate career he had, but he said he will feel a close connection to the team with future success it might have since he “spent an entire year with every guy in that [locker] room.” He said he hopes for national championships in the team’s future and that the players enjoy “every second” of their time on the team. But now, the team has to move on without those four seniors. Following the loss to SUNY Geneseo, Gosek said “life goes on,” but it might be a little harder with all of the leadership the Lakers are losing - between Campbell and Berry wearing the letters on their shoulder and the Div. I experience that Nenadal brought in his lone season with the team. “That part of it, that’s the hard part. You become friends with them and develop friendships,” Gosek said. But, with Gosek’s and assistant coach Mark Digby’s competitive personality, the year, as positive as it might have been, was “not good enough.” “What defines a good year from a great year? Well, having playoff success usually determines where you can use the word ‘great,’” Gosek said. “We have one playoff win, the semifinal win against Platty, which was a big win. But, lose to Genny in the finals, we lose to Hobart in the quarterfinals, so we’re 1-2 in the playoffs. By our standards, not good enough.”

Czerwinski leads both women’s hockey, softball teams

Sophomore enjoys challenge of being collegiate two-sport athlete Luke Owens Sports Writer sports@oswegonian.com For most Oswego State studentathletes, the season ends either shortly after winter break or toward the end of the school year, but not for two-sport athlete Leah Czerwinski. After posting a career-high five goals and three assists for the women’s hockey team and being among the top of the team with a .114 shot percentage, it was off to the softball diamond. “For hockey, it is fast pace, high intensity and creates much more fatigue on the body than many other sports I have played,” Czerwinski said. “Being in shape for hockey is extremely important to be able to perform at a high level on the ice. In softball, conditioning and strength are important but not to the extent it is for hockey. So, transferring from one sport to the next is always a struggle. It takes me about two to three weeks to be at my absolute best for each sport.” One thing her softball coach, Abby Martin, has noticed is her intensity that comes from a hockey background. “She’s super aggressive. She’s flying all over the place,” Martin said. “Sometimes she has to harness it so it works to our benefit. It’s a slowerpaced game, and so far, she’s done a good job with that.” But, if there has been any rust for Czerwinski, it has not shown. She is hitting .280 this season in softball and is a mainstay in the Lakers’ starting

Maria Pericozzi | The Oswegonian

lineup. Some of those hockey skills transfer well into softball season. As she describes it, the hand-eye coordination needed as a slap hitter is a skill learned from hockey. “The one skill from hockey that has helped me tremendously is my handeye coordination,” Czerwinski said. “You need good hand-eye coordination to be able to stickhandle and shoot the puck. Those skills from hockey have helped me at the plate my whole life. I am a slapper, so that means I run through the box while hitting the ball, trying to put the ball in a specific location.” Another adjustment Czerwinski has had to make is an entirely new set of teammates going from hockey to softball. But, with her outgoing personality, that has not been too challenging. “Having two different sets of teams is so amazing and makes each team

so unique in their own ways,” Czerwinski said. “The dynamic of each team is completely different in every way imaginable. Having two teams allows me to bring knowledge and experience from one team to the next, which I think is very beneficial to both teams.” That spark is something that Martin has noticed, something that reminds her a lot of herself. “Leah reminds me a lot of myself,” Martin said. “She’s a bulldog, and when I’m out recruiting, I’m looking for kids like her that are loud and running all over the field. She does it in such a positive way that I love it. I love every second of it.” Balancing academics and athletics is never easy for a student-athlete playing just one sport. But two sports makes it that much more difficult. However, Czerwinski was named to

the SUNYAC Commissioner’s Academic Honor Roll in 2017—2018 and has balanced her busy life well. “It is very tough being a two-sport athlete, but it is not impossible at all. It takes very good time management,” Czerwinski said. “Every day, I have to plan out when I am doing almost everything. That means I am planning exactly when I am eating and for how long, and when I am doing homework and for how long. And I am talking about this timing being down to the minute. It’s not easy, but I love it. I love being busy from the minute I wake up to the minute I go to bed.” Even with the juggling act, Czerwinski would not change a single thing about it. “Although my life is pretty stressful most of the time, I wouldn’t change my life and the way I live it for anything else,” Czerwinski said.

SPORTS B2 Sophomore goalie off to red-hot start to season THE OSWEGONIAN FRIDAY, April 5, 2019

Photo Briefs DIV. III WEEK

Photo provided by @OswegoWHockey via Twitter

On the week of April 1, Oswego State joined in celebrating NCAA Div. III week with the rest of the nation’s Div. III schools. During the week, different student-athletes took over their team’s respective Instagram accounts to show what it was like to live the life of a Div. III student-athlete. Oswego State decided to continue the tradition it started in 2018 by sending different coaches into classrooms with their student-athletes to see what their day is like but also see what the classwork is like. This year, coaches attended a multitude of classes, ranging anywhere from broadcasting to computer science; or a general education class to an upper-division, 400-level class. Featured in the photo was Oswego State women’s hockey head coach Diane Dillon with senior goaltender Mikaela Ditonto. The two attended

professor Mark Mirabito’s Psychology 201 class, Drugs and Behavior. Other coaches that were shown on social media included Heather Moore, who is the Oswego State field hockey head coach, and attended Intro to Mass Media with her student-athletes, Emily Conklin, Leah Romanowski, Abby Testo and Emily Hunter. Men’s basketball head coach Jason Leone was seen at a macroeconomics class with junior Joe Sullivan. Some professors did not go to an “easy” class, however. Men’s hockey head coach Ed Gosek took on the challenge of attending class with junior Cedric Hansen. The goaltender was named to the SUNYAC Elite 20, which recognizes student-athletes for their excellence both in their sport and in the classroom. Hansen and Gosek both attended Computer Science 445, Computer Networks.

EMERY WALKS AWAY

Gabe Dickens | Plattsburgh Athletics

On March 15, Oswego State alumnus Brady Farkas broke news that would shake all Div. III hockey. Plattsburgh State head coach Bob Emery retired after 30 seasons with the Cardinals, amassing 624 wins. Two weeks later, Emery confirmed the report via text, according to Press-Republican. Emery retires with a myriad of accomplishments and awards that are very impressive. Over the 30 years, he led the Cardinals to 16 SUNYAC titles, including a streak of six consecutive titles from 1997-2002. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of his resume is his recruiting ability. Under Emery, Plattsburgh State has always been competitive. They never finished a season under .500, with their worst record (13-12-1) coming in 2017-18. When Emery could not recruit an All-SUNYAC caliber player, he was able to coach his team up to standards. Plattsburgh State was always stout defensively and disciplined. Emery was named SUNYAC Coach of the Year on eight separate occasions, as recently as 2017. He led his Cardinals to the NCAA tournament 18 times and reached the Frozen Four in 10 of those appearances. He is the only coach in Plattsburgh State history to win a National title as he won in 2001 and 1992. All accolades aside, Oswego State fans can remember Emery as an in-

credible person. In the 2017-18 season, his players wore teal jerseys in warmups to honor Mary Gosek who passed away before the season. The small gesture was a sign of respect to coach Ed Gosek who has cultivated a friendship with Emery. Despite the rivalry with the Cardinals, Gosek believes the fans still have an admiration for Emery. “I think our fans will miss him. They love to hate him in a different way,” Emery said. “I think a lot of it, people got to see a different side of him in Oswego that other schools didn’t because of my wife Mary, because of the way that he treated her over her five-year battle. The things that he did behind the scenes that people don’t even know unless you’re associated with the program, the support that he gave my family and myself and Mary’s family, it’s a different side that people don’t see.” Emery prefers to keep things behind the scenes. Rather than a big retirement announcement with pomp and circumstance to start the season, he did it “true to his personality,” as Gosek described it. “He wouldn’t make it the beginning of the year speech where he’s retiring at the end of the year and have this farewell tour,” Gosek said. “That’s not him. Or wanting it be a distraction with the team. That’s not him.”

After being named SUNYAC Rookie of the Year, O’Donnell looks to improve Aaron Valentino Sports Writer sport@oswegonian.com Sophomore goalie Kevin O’Donnell has been red hot to start the season, as he is among the best in the SUNYAC in save percentage at .592. He has helped bring the Lakers’ lacrosse team to a 5-2 record to start the season, but attributes the play of his teammates to his early season success. “Strong defense all around me and especially our man down percentage,” said O’Donnell on how he is playing at such a high level. “Overall, I think it’s our offense possessing the ball as well, defense and man up man down.” As well as O’Donnell has been playing, head coach Drew Bezek thinks there are still ways to improve. “I think he has a lot of room to grow and a lot of room to get a lot better, as a ball stopper, as a communicator and also helping us clear the ball a little bit,” Bezek said. “He’s taken a lot of good strides this year, especially in the clearing game.” For Bezek, the biggest thing about Kevin is his consistency. “There is not a lot of highs, not a lot of lows. He shows up, does what he is supposed to. We can rely on him on a daily basis, and I think he’s continued to build on that and be a staple that we can have on our defensive end all year long.” For O’Donnell, the road to Oswego State was a rather easy one, starting back in high school. “I’ve always been a goalie,” O’Donnell said. “My freshmen year, I split time with a senior on varsity, and then my sophomore year, I ended up taking the starting spot. I really think that helped me become the person and leader I am now.” One of the biggest things that attracted O’Donnell to Oswego State was Bezek.

Shea McCarthy | The Oswegonian

“After meeting with him, I could tell he knew what he was,” O’Donnell said. “When I visited, he was the most honest coach I have ever talked to. He told how it is and he told me what he thinks I need to work on. He was very straight up that he believed in [me] and he preaches that and I can see that it has all translated to what he shows and coaches today.” For Bezek, it was a match made in heaven when he saw O’Donnell at an event on Long Island. “Obviously, we liked what we saw with the potential of what he was doing on the field,” Bezek said. “We were able to build a relationship and get him up to campus a couple times and felt like he would be the right type of person that we’re looking for our team. Everything matched with him academically, financially and [all] the pieces he was looking for [in] a school too.”

It was a great choice for O’Donnell, as he feels his teammates are like family. “I wouldn’t trade these boys for anything else,” O’Donnell said. “I think that our team chemistry is what makes us better, and that especially will lead us into SUNYACs and hopefully win our first SUNYAC championship.” O’Donnell expressed a similar sentiment for the city of Oswego. “I think the fact that how close knit this community is with the college is very interesting to me, and that’s actually also an aspect that lead me here to this school,” O’Donnell said. O’Donnell and the Lakers are once again off to a 5-2 start to the season and are fourth in the SUNYAC. O’Donnell looks to continue his great start on Saturday against The College at Brockport in the Lakers’ first conference game of the year.

Lakers prepare for extended non-conference stint

Following 24-7 win over St. Lawrence, Landers pleased with progress Ben Grieco Sports Editor sports@oswegonian.com With a 24-7 win over St. Lawrence University, the Oswego State baseball team continues one of its longest stretches of non-conference opponents. The Lakers host St. John Fisher College on April 5, followed by a game at the Cardinals on April 6. Other games include series against SUNY Canton, Clarkson University and the University of Rochester. Until the team’s next league matchup against SUNY Oneonta on April 12, Oswego State will play seven games in six days. “We’ve got a lot of games in a short amount of time,” head coach Scott Landers said following the win over St. Lawrence University. “We’re going to run guys out there. We’re going to get a lot of pitchers some innings.” The win was a strong one following a walk-off loss to Ithaca College on April 2. With a solo-homerun from Mike Dellicarri and a two-run homerun from Ryan Enos early in the game, the Lakers led 5-4 heading into the ninth inning. But, following a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly, the Bombers won 6-5. The loss was the start to the nonconference stint and ended the Lakers’ five-game win streak spanning back to a 12-3 win over The College

at Brockport on March 24. “We had a tough one [Monday] with Ithaca,” Landers said. “We had them beat and we let one slip away.” After a 17-run differential over the Saints on April 3, Landers said the team is getting on the right track, getting better as the season progresses. During the game, Oswego State was able to jump out to a 7-2 lead after two innings, scoring four runs in the first and three in the second. The Lakers consistently added runs, scoring at least one in all but the eighth inning, while shutting out the Saints in the second, third, fourth and eighth innings. Jake Jacobs, who started for the Lakers, got his first win of the season. “We’ve got to score early and often and keep it going throughout the game,” Landers said. “That’s what we want. We’ve got to win every inning. That’s our motto.” However, in the sixth inning, the Lakers would jump out to an even larger lead with nine runs, highlighted by a Dellicarri grand slam, despite 30 mph winds at the Laker Baseball Field on Tuesday. Enos also homered during the game. “They’re both hitting pretty good right now,” Landers said. “Those guys are our catalysts in the middle of the order and the top of the order.” Landers also said that, despite the heavy winds, the defense played well against the Saints, recording no errors and allowing 14 hits. The Saints

committed seven errors during the contest, resulting in the onslaught of runs from Oswego State. Dellicarri said the fast-paced games during the non-conference stint will help the team get back into a groove of things. “It’s nice to have a few more games right in a row to get some more at-bats and get us feeling good about ourselves before getting back into conference play,” Dellicarri said. The first game against St. John Fisher College will be the 20th game of the season for Oswego State. Heading into the game, the Lakers boast a 13-6 record, with an 8-1 SUNYAC record. At this time last season, Oswego State was 14-5 heading into its 20th game, which was against SUNY Oneonta. Before that game against the Red Dragons, the Lakers were on a ninegame win streak, including a sweep of SUNYAC rival SUNY New Paltz. “I think we’re fielding a lot better than we were at this point last season,” Dellicarri said. “We’ve been a lot more consistent in hitting, and we’ve been getting better hitting situationally.” But, for Landers, the biggest thing about this long non-conference stint is that it is a good measuring stick before tough conference series, such as SUNY Cortland or SUNY Fredonia. “We’re just trying to get better every day,” Landers said. “Everybody gets an opportunity to play. That’s a good thing.”

Maria Pericozzi | The Oswegonian Oswego State’s victory over St. Lawrence University was led by Mike Dellicarri, who had a grand slam and a triple, and Ryan Enos, who had three hits, five RBI and a homerun.

B B33 SPORTS Women’s lacrosse with 7 games left, 6 conference Campus Rec Report: soccer, Oswego State looking to turn page following 2 straight losses volleyball playoffs underway THE OSWEGONIAN FRIDAY, April 5, 2019

Photo provided by Campus Recreation The 1926ers won the men’s competitive soccer league over the Gentlemen of West Virginia by a score of 5-4.

Maria Pericozzi | The Oswegonian The Lakers have six conference games left, including SUNY Geneseo and Plattsburgh State, but have to focus on themselves, according to head coach Britt Howard.

Brian Rudman Contributing Writer sports@oswegonian.com Following two straight losses in the SUNYAC, the Oswego State women’s lacrosse team will look to work on itself and turn it around this weekend against SUNY Potsdam. The Lakers currently sit at 1-2 in SUNYAC play, after losses to both The College at Brockport and SUNY Cortland. After starting SUNYAC play with a 23-3 win over SUNY Fredonia, the Lakers dropped games to The College at Brockport, by a score of 169, and to SUNY Cortland, by a score of 18-10. While the losses may not help the Lakers in the standings, the team wants to build off of what it has already done this season. Junior goalie Elianna Sanchez talked about some things that the Lakers can learn from the losses. “I think we definitely have to pick up on certain things,” Sanchez said. “But a loss is an opportunity for us to keep growing.” Head coach Britt Howard also talked about how there can still be positives taken away from the previous two games. “We learned from our mistakes against Brockport and tried to transfer it to our game against Cortland to be successful,” Howard said. “Obviously, we didn’t come

out on the top, but I think that towards the end of the season, playoffs, I think [the experience] will be good for us.” In order for the losses to become a somewhat positive experience, the Lakers will have to improve upon their weaknesses. According to the team, the best way to do that is by focusing on the players. “That’s kind of been our biggest focus, just focusing on ourselves and not really worrying about the other teams,” Howard said. Senior attack Teresa Shattuck also spoke on how important this focus is for the team. “We need to stay together, play our game,” Shattuck said. “We’ve been going to other games trying to worry about [the opposing team], but we just need to focus on what we do well and just do that.” Along with building off their strengths, the Lakers have also looked to correct some of their weaknesses. In particular, their clearing attempts which they convert at a rate of 44 out of 62 in SUNYAC play, which is the second worst in the SUNYAC, only ahead of SUNY Potsdam. “Well, after our Cortland game, we were really out here working on our clears,” Shattuck said. “We were out here for an hour just focusing on that.” Howard also noted that the team needs

to improve on clearing the ball. “We obviously have to work on our clear,” Howard said. “That was one of our weaker points in the last few games, so really taking that and working that into Potsdam and obviously Geneseo.” Keeping the morale up on the team is also something that was mentioned. Sanchez talked about staying positive heading into the upcoming games. With these adjustments, the Lakers are still confident they can change their fates in the conference with six out of their last seven games coming against SUNYAC opponents. The team will look to begin this turnaround on Saturday, when it hosts SUNYAC opponent SUNY Potsdam. The matchup against the Bears will be the first of two SUNYAC games this week, the second coming on the road in SUNY Geneseo on Wednesday. The team is very aware that it needs to right the ship with wins this week. “Definitely very important,” Shattuck said when asked how important getting a win on Saturday is. “We need a win coming up, and I think we definitely want it and are going to get it.” That matchup with SUNY Potsdam will be the next time the Lakers take the field, which will be at 1 p.m. this Saturday on the Laker Turf.

Men’s tennis starts second half of season Lakers test themselves in South Carolina, results show early

Shea McCarthy | The Oswegonian

Matt Watling Asst. Sports Editor mwatling@oswegonian.com With the snow finally melting, the men’s tennis spring season is underway. After a one-game stint in Elmira, the Lakers spent their spring break in Hilton Head, South Carolina. The team struggled in the three contest, dropping two of them. While Stevenson University and Edgewood College defeated Oswego State by a combined score of 13-5, the competition was unlike anything they have seen in the SUNYAC. “It’s so much different,” senior Justin Scuderi said. “We played Edgewood, one of the best Div. III schools, and we definitely don’t play kids that high competition that often, so it was a good experience. I got a lot better from it.” Oswego State challenged itself in its out-of-conference play intentionally to improve its play. The benefits from playing tougher competition have already showed themselves, as the Lakers defeated Utica College 6-3 on March 31. In the six individual matches that Oswego State won, the Lakers were dominant, as they did not drop a single set. All three doubles units for the Lakers won their matches. Oswego State was led by its first doubles team of Christopher Gayvert and Daniel Maslowski, who defeated L.J. Nuzzo and Austin McGrain

8-3. Both Gayvert and Maslowski would go on to win their respective singles matches in straight sets. Gayvert won the first singles by a score of 6-0, 6-1, while Maslowski won the fourth singles. Prior to the spring break trip, Oswego State defeated Elmira College on March 9, a team it knows quite well. They have played each other every season since 2004, including twice this season. Back on March 9, the Lakers won 6-3 with a strong performance from Alex Mintz, who won the second doubles match with Gayvert as well as the fifth singles in a dominant fashion by a score of 6-0, 6-1. This was the first contest the Lakers competed in since Oct. 5. The team used the fall matches as somewhat of a preseason and way to gauge the final lineups moving into the spring. “It separates the first to fourth singles from the five and six because a lot of kids don’t play over winter break,” Scuderi said. “They have to practice at home on their own time. Coach isn’t there to tell us ‘you have to play today.’” Despite the large winter break, the Lakers showed up in the first match of the spring. They defeated Elmira College 6-3, and lineup was slotted well in terms of the singles, as Scuderi alluded to. Mintz was the fifth singles and defeated Frank Endieveri III 6-0, 6-1. The doubles pairs won all three matches and showed good chemistry, something head coach Shane Evans believes the fall season helped with.

“Usually, we use the fall matches to get a feel for teams in terms of doubles and chemistry on the team,” Evans said. “[There’s uncertainty] when you add a lot of new players to the roster, whether or not you’re going to play better higher up in the lineup, lower or who’s going to play better at first, second or third doubles. We always use those fall matches to get a feel for where the lineup needs to be for the spring.” The team brought in five new members to the team, three freshmen and two transfers. With the team consisting of 10 players total and half the roster new to the team, the fall games were vital for chemistry and getting the new players integrated into the team and the culture of Oswego State tennis. In two of the last three games, Brian Emigholz and Vlad Djuraskovic have played together as the number one doubles pair. Despite losing both of those matches, they played very well against the tough competition in Edgewood College and Stevenson University. The duo meshes well, and they have a good balance of experience and talent. With Emigholz playing in his fourth and final collegiate season, he is able to act as a steady force during competition. “[As a freshman,] being put in the starting lineup, I was kind of nervous,” Emigholz said. “I think the biggest thing is just to make sure they relax and aren’t too anxious in matches.”

Morgan Meaney Contributing Writer sports@oswegonian.com School is back in session, and Campus Recreation is back on. Playoff season in the volleyball and soccer leagues are in full swing, as these intramurals begin to come to a close. The dodgeball league also got its start this past week with games in a variety of different leagues. In the men’s competitive soccer league, games are still going, with the championship game taking place on April 2. It was a long way to the championship game, however. The 1926ers secured one of the first wins of the playoffs with a dominating victory over Los Pollos Lokos (5-1). Real Caholics also continued to move forward after a huge win over Oxford United (9-1). Also putting themselves on the map was FC Deportivo Oswego, who defeated Oswego’s Finest (7-4). Finally, the Gentlemen of West Virginia proved to be a force after a close battle with 5-star (4-3). To secure their spots in the championship game, the 1926ers came on strong and beat a very capable real Caholics in a final score of 12-2. The final championship game spot was handed to the Gentlemen of West Virginia with a huge victory over FC Deportivo Oswego (4-3). The championship was hardfought but ended with a 1926ers victory over the Gentlemen of West Virginia in a final score of 5-4. The men’s recreational league has come to a close with two wins by our champion, Halls & Balls, who defeated both Tuesdays are for Jon (8-4) and Give it to the italians (5-2) to take home the win. In the CoRec competitive league, the championship game is set, but let us recap the last week in playoff CoRec competitive soccer. About to Get Messi shut down We Have Pink Eye (8-4), while 1st Kicking & Screaming defeated We Destroy Audrey (6-5). Later in the week, Netkicks and chill took down Kick My Balls in a close game with a final score of 6-5. Let’s Get Messi continued their winning streak to secure a championship spot over 1st Kicking & Screaming (6-2). The second championship spot belongs to Netkicks and chill who, after a nail-biter, defeated

About to Get Messi in a final score of 6-5. The championship game, in similar fashion to the men’s competitive league, was won by one point by Let’s Get Messi in a final score of 4-3. Finally, in the CoRec recreational league, Shoot Your Shot secured the first spot in the championship with a semi-final win over Trash Rats (12-0), while Church group (remastered) picked up the second spot after a victory over team game canceled (8-2). The championship game was taken over by Church group (remastered), who defeated Shoot Your Shot in a final score of 4-2. In the CoRec recreational volleyball league, it has been quite the busy week. Playoffs are happening fast, and the semi-finals are already set. Scrambled Legz took home the first win of the playoffs with a 2-0 victory over the Waterbury Wreckers. Later in the week, Scrambled Legz picked up another win over Lil Bump (2-0) but was unfortunately eliminated after a loss to USA Volleyball (2-1). Following closely behind them was two wins in a row for Milwaukee’s Beasts, who defeated both Two Bump Chumps (2-0) and The Empire Spikes Back (2-0). Unfortunately, Milwaukee’s Beasts would follow the same fate as Scrambled Legz after falling to Popped AVolley I’m Settin (2-0). Sets on the Beach picked up a win over THE LAST HURRAH (2-1). The Village People have been having themselves a week with wins over Kiss My Ace (2-0), Halls & Balls (2-0) and I Dig It (2-1) to secure their place in the semi-finals. Karasuno was also able to pick up a win over Sets on the Beach (2-0) but later fell to Safe Sets in a final score of 2-0. In the men’s recreational league, OFC defeated Wheres my dad? in a final score of 2-0. Dodgeball leagues also got underway this past week. In the CoRec recreational league, Sole 2 Soul took home the first win of the season with a victory over Petri-dish Babies (3-2). Petri-dish Babies bounced back, however, with a win over Team Yeth (3-0). Sole 2 Soul continued on their winning streak with another two wins over both Mother Duckers and Team Yeth (3-0). The 5 D’s of Dodgeball took down The Village People in a final score of 3-1. The Varsity Barkers picked up wins over The Village People (3-0) and the 5 D’s of Dodgeball (3-0). Look for this sport to pick up very soon, along with some results in softball and flag football.

Shore Report

THE OSWEGONIAN FRIDAY, April 5, 2019

SUNYAC Standings

Baseball

Overall 15-8-1

Cortland Fredonia Oswego State Brockport Oneonta Plattsburgh New Paltz

9-10-0 13-6-0 8-13-0 10-12-0 4-13-0 8-9-0

Softball

New Paltz Geneseo Buffalo State Oneonta Fredonia Brockport Cortland Plattsburgh Oswego State Potsdam

Men’s Lacrosse

Cortland Oneonta Plattsburgh Oswego State Brockport Potsdam Geneseo

6-0 8-1 3-6 2-7 2-7 0-6

Overall 14-5 14-6

Oswego Scoreboard

Streak

Conference 6-0

L5 W1 L1 W1 L2 W1 Streak

Conference 3-1

2-2

W4 W3

8-8

1-1

6-10-1

1-1

6-10

9-5

1-1 0-2

9-8

2-0

6-8

0-0

5-11

0-0

5-11

0-2

Overall

Conference

Streak

6-4

1-0

6-5

1-0

4-5

1-0

5-2

0-0

4-4

0-1

3-5

0-1

3-8

0-1

Women’s Lacrosse Overall 8-1 Brockport Cortland 6-4 7-3 New Paltz Geneseo 6-4 Oneonta 6-4 5-4 Buffalo State Oswego State 4-3 3-7 Potsdam Fredonia 3-8 Plattsburgh 1-9

Conference

Streak

3-0 3-0

W5 L1

3-1

2-0

1-2

1-2 1-3

L2 W1

0-4

Around the SUNYAC Women’s Lacrosse

NAZ: 5-5 (2-1) COR: 6-4 (3-0)

Baseball

SIT: 9-12 (6-2) NPZ: 8-9 (0-6)

.602:

The women’s lacrosse team has a save percentage of .602. On average, it surrenders 11.83 goals per game, which is good for eight in the SUNYAC. A big part of the defense is junior goalie Elianna Sanchez, who has played all but two minutes of the season so far.

DYO: 3-11 (2-0) BPT: 9-5 (0-2)

Baseball

Friday, March 29

Rebecca Vilchez drove in four runs with a third-inning grand slam as the softball team swept Rochester Institute of Technology. The home run put the Lakers up 4-2. Vilchez was stellar on the mound as well, as she pitched four innings and allowed just two runs.

Women’s Lacrosse Saturday, March 30

NPZ:

Juechter: 1-3, 1 BB Stybel: 7 IP, 2 ER, 7 H

COR:

Procopio: 2 goals, 4 assists Stone: 5 goals Casey: 7 GA, 6 saves

OSW:

Tammaro: 3-5, 1 R Enos: 1-5, 2 RBI DeMarco: 7IP, 0 ER, 4 H

OSW:

Regin: 3 goals Sanchez: 18 GA, 10 saves

Men’s Lacrosse

Softball

Tuesday, April 2

Saturday, March 30

SLU:

Caffrey: 4 goals, 6 shots Donnelly: 2 goals, 1 assists Terry: 4 GA, 11 saves

OSW:

Hollfelder: 1 goal, 1 assist O’Donnell: 15 GA, 14 saves

RIT:

0 Sweeney: 2-4, 1 R Hewitt: 2-2, 1 RBI Harrington: 6 IP, 5 H, 0 ER Trumble: 2-3 Adler: 1 IP, 4 ER, 4 H

Upcoming Events Men’s Lacrosse Saturday, April 6

Women’s Lacrosse Saturday, April 6

2:00 p.m.

1:00 p.m.

OSW: 5-2 (0-0) BPT: 4-4 (0-1)

POT: 3-7 (1-3) OSW: 4-3 (1-2)

Baseball

Softball

Tuesday, April 9

2:00 p.m.

CLA: 8-6 (4-0) OSW: 13-6 (8-1)

1:00 p.m.

AU: 11-8 (3-5) OSW: 5-11 (0-0)

Laker Athletes of the Week

Sarah Yensan

Women’s Track & Field Junior | Lockport

Softball

Rocco Leone

Baseball Junior | Liverpool

The Lockport native had an excellent performance at the Danny Curran Invitational, hosted by Widener University. Ye n s a n f i n i s h e d i n t h e t o p five for both high jump and the long jump events, with an impressive result of 1.53 meters and 5.27 meters, respectively. Her 1.53 meter high jump was just .04 meters off her personal best.

Leone was dominant in last w e e k ’s c o n t e s t s f o r t h e b a s e ball team at the plate. In the two games he played against SUNY New Paltz, he contributed four hits off of seven at-bats. He recorded one RBI and scored twice. He was also stellar in the field at second base. Leone recorded eight assists and one putout. The Lakers return to action Friday against St. John Fisher College.

The men’s basketball coach Jason Leone is one of the 15 finalists for the Glenn Robinson award. The award is given to the best Div. III basketball coach in the nation, and the winner will be revealed on April 8 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, at the Div. I basketball championship game.

In nine conference games played, the baseball team has scored 72 runs. That number leads the SUNYAC by a wide margin as, SUNY Cortland has scored the second most with 61. The Lakers are led by Ryan Enos, who has 11 RBIs and a batting average of .421 in nine SUNYAC games.

15:

72:

OPINION

THE OSWEGONIAN FRIDAY, April 5, 2019

Online America experiences enough mass shootings Quality of courses not Shooting allows New Zealand to get stricter gun control laws clothing as helpful gender biased Shea O’Malley Staff Writer opinion@oswegonian.com

Photo from Free-Photos via Pixabay

Francesca Miesner Opinion Editor fmiesner@oswegonian.com Many schools, including Oswego State, have begun to implement online courses in their curriculum. Often, these courses happen over vacation periods, but they can also be held during the school year. They provide more opportunities for students to pick up classes they may have failed or are struggling to fit into their schedule, but online courses put a lot of additional pressure on teachers and students alike. Organizing and teaching courses are hard work. Professors slave over lesson plans and grading all semester long for not enough pay and plenty of extra hours. Then, when it is finally time for them to have a summer or winter break, they are expected to hold online courses. Not only are these courses often not the same as what they normally teach, but even if they are, they need to be taught differently. For example, taking an exam in person is a lot different than taking an online exam. If a student is taking an exam in class, chances are they are not accessing outside materials in order to help them answer questions. If a professor wishes to reuse the exams they use for their in-person courses for online courses, there is no guarantee that students are not cheating or letting someone else take the test for them. This already puts demands on the professor to completely change how they test their students and come up with a new way of teaching by using potentially unfamiliar pieces of technology, all for a course that lasts a few weeks.

others are creating easier access to gun ownership. President Trump reversed a regulation created during the Obama administration aimed at limiting gun ownership out of the hands of the severely mentally ill. Less than 72 hours after the Parkland School shooting, Trump tweeted of the man being mentally ill, suggesting that something should have been done. The double standard is sickening. America is besieged by the social and cultural acceptance that guns are useful tools instead of implements of destruction that are meant to inflict pain and kill. Individualism, militarism and nationalism have added to this idea. Unfortunately, American politics is littered with special interest groups whose sole purpose is to stop any significant gun safety reform. Lobbyists work hard to keep their intended politicians on very short leashes. American gun ownership is a type of carte blanche. The less restriction, the more American in ideal. The Constitution protects our right to bear arms as cited in the Second

Amendment. In 1787, when the Constitution was created, our nation had just come out of an eight-year Revolutionary War that included average citizens as part of its front-line defense. The Second Amendment made sense considering the needs at that time. Even now, Americans citizens should have the right to bear arms. They should also have the right to freedom of speech, worship, civil liberties and other forms of self-governance. No one wants the Second Amendment taken away. All America is asking for is the right to know they will not be murdered by assault-style weapons in their schools, synagogues, churches, theaters, concert halls, nightclubs and universities. Americans should also be celebrating birthdays, not making funeral arrangements after yet another U.S. shooting. Americans want what New Zealand has, a government that let its people know it cares enough to pass reforms diminishing the threat of gun massacres across their country. This should not be so hard. Americans are not as free as they think they are.

Fifty people were killed and 50 injured in two mosque attacks on March 15 in Christchurch, New Zealand. The country immediately imposed gun control measures three days after the incident. On April 1, New Zealand’s government introduced legislation that would ban most semi-automatic firearms, including the ones used in the Christchurch shootings. The legislation is supported by both party lines and, if passed, will go into effect April 12. In less than 30 days, the government of New Zealand let its people know it cared enough to pass reforms diminishing the threat of gun massacres across their country. The United States has had numerous mass shootings since 1949, resulting in over 500 fatalities and hundreds of injured victims. These statistics do not embrace the number of gun-related deaths happening across the country daily. Just this week, rapper Nipsy Hussle was shot and killed outside of his Los Angeles clothing store. Mass shooting, massacre, gun violence: These are words U.S. citizens have become shockingly accustomed to. Sandy Hook, Las Vegas, Stoneman Douglas, Pulse Nightclub and Virgina Polytechnic are only a few of the places that have been terrorized by gun violence in our nation. Many of the shootings were planned, the gunmen using a plethora of weapons including versions of military-style assault rifles. Most of the shooters were mentally unstable. The U.S. is slow in drafting legislation to ensure gun safety protections Photo from Bernard Spragg. NZ via Flickr for its citizens. A few states have created their own gun safety bills, while Candles and flowers placed outside of Christchurch Mosque in New Zealand.

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

School is stressful on both professors and students alike, Making profit off suffering unacceptable and in order for both to be Medication should be affordable to anyone who needs it doing their best, they need a break. Samantha Flavell Editor-In-Chief sflavell@oswegonian.com

Online courses are impersonal. Professors usually do not meet their students, so if a student is having issues, chances are they are more likely to reach out for help from someone online than the professor they do not know. They also might be more inclined to take the course less seriously than a class they must attend in person since there is no one to potentially disappoint and no question to answer wrong in front of a class. There seems to be a disconnect between students and teachers with online courses. Because of this, it makes actually learning something, instead of doing the required work and forgetting as soon as the class is over, virtually impossible. That is not to say that there are no perks to online courses. Often, the pressure of not having a designated meeting time or tests that students need to cram in the night before can help students learn better. The biggest problem is that students and teachers both need breaks. That is why there are summer and winter vacations. School is stressful on professors and students alike, and in order for both to be doing their best work, they need a break from school work. Online courses might help people pull ahead and catch up, but administration, students and teachers need to remember that it is important to take a break every now and again.

According to the Center for Disease Control in a 2017 study, almost 50% of the U.S. population takes at least one prescription drug. The pharmaceutical industry buys in bulk at a discounted price and uses patients’ need for the drug as leverage to sell for a profit. Healthcare in the U.S. has and continues to dramatically improve, as new discoveries and treatments are invented every day. While this improves the life expectancy of our citizens and lowers the fatality rates from different diseases, illnesses and birth defects, the medicine is only effective if our citizens have access to and the ability to afford it. When people go grocery shopping, they often use coupons, compare prices at different stores and use other tactics to ensure they get the best deal or the most goods for the lowest price. The problem with paying for medication is that the people taking the medication do not decide what you need or want to buy. Purchasing medication is like being given a grocery list and told they have to buy everything on it without having the option to bargain shop. The pharmaceutical industry thrives off the fact that their consumer base needs the medication. It is not like groceries where, if money is tight one week, you can

Photo from moakets via Pixabay Medication is overly expensive, and not everyone can afford the inflated prices.

forego the ice cream and chips and only purchase the essentials like milk and eggs. When people are given a prescription from their doctor, it is because they need it, and your life could very well depend on it. While there are programs, such as Good RX and insurance policies, which help to cover the cost and make buying the prescriptions people need more accessible, people should not have to depend on these. No one should have to worry that, if they lose their job and therefore their health insurance, they will no longer be able to afford their medication. It is sick to profit off the needs of others, especially those medically related that they cannot control. No one asks to be sick or

suffer from a condition that requires them to take medication daily. Taking the medication is not the worst part of the illness. Their lives only get more difficult having to worry about how they will pay for it as well. It is understandable that a business is a business and they are meant to make profits. However, there are some things that you just do not risk for the sake of money. One of those is the health and safety of others. Manufacturers should not punish those who need prescriptions by forcing them to pay abhorrent amounts. Their condition is out of their control, and adding to their stress by profiting off their prescription cost is inhumane and unacceptable.

Photo from Free-Photos via Pixabay

Safiya Christian Staff Writer opinion@oswegonian.com In a society where everything is catered to the likes of men, it is really easy to be swept under the rug if one is not male. The clothing industry is constantly demonstrating that. For years, the effort that has been going into the making of men’s and women’s clothes has been shown numerously. One of the questions that remain standing is: “Where the hell are the pockets?” It may seem to be a minor infraction on the part of clothing designers. But, if one takes into account that this is still a debate amongst both genders that has been happening for years, that opinion may change. Pockets: They are a convenient yet subtle accessory that avoids the problems of having to constantly lug a bag around while going about one’s day-to-day activities. They store anything - phone (reasonably sized, of course), keys, wallet, lip balm or even a charger if there is enough room. They will remain under tender watch and care for as long as necessary. But, unfortunately, women do not always have the chance to experience these comforts. Presuming that women worldwide enjoy the excessiveness that it takes to walk around with a bag that they pray no one tries to steal from them, clothing designers have made it visibly apparent that no thought was put into elongating or even adding pockets. When shopping, the experience to find clothing of good quality is what people spend the majority of their time on, not eyeing every piece in the store in hopes that we can someday afford it, like the men in our lives assume. For a society that places pressure on the females to look good, it surely does not take time to make sure the clothes are long withstanding months after purchase or being worn. It does not at all seem fair that women spend more to get less. However, for some companies, it all has to do with clothing patterns and a brand’s budget. Affordable clothing brands usually have a certain amount of money to spend on men’s clothing and women’s clothing. Men’s clothing involves fewer clothing templates with fewer style options. Women’s clothing is a different story. “There are templates for dropped-waist dresses, strapless dresses, tunics, A-lines, sheaths — and we are only talking dresses here! Since the templates can get expensive, there may be less money left over in the budget to invest in materials and men continue to shop their staples (coats, blazers, crew neck sweaters, etc.) that are made to last longer ... with better materials ... for less money,” according to Buzzfeed News. While it is understandable that far fewer options of clothes dictate the more money spent on making the clothes of good quality, it does not justify the “Pink Tax” placed on women’s clothing simply because women have more of a variety, when in fact the materials in their clothing are made cheaply to save money. As mentioned above, the “Pink Tax” is an actual thing. For those of who are confused as to what it is and how that affects the women, allow me to break it down. The “Pink Tax” is the phenomenon that charges womenbased products like hygiene, clothing, dry-cleaning, toys and haircuts simply because they are women. On average, women spend about $1,351 alone on the markup prices that brands place on feminine items. So, in their lifetimes, women have spent a couple thousand extra for some of the same things that both men and women spend money on. That does not sound fair now, does it?

NEWS POLITICAL DEBATE

A6 Kassadee Paulo | The Oswegonian

OPINION

VOLUME LXXXIV ISSUE VII • www.oswegonian.com

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

SPORTS NONCONFERENCE B2 STINT Maria Pericozzi | The Oswegonian

FRIDAY, April 5, 2019

LETTER TO THE EDITOR I believe that I speak for many Democrats when I tell you that I don’t like the overall direction that the national Democratic Party is taking. I would like the Party to be more like it was in the 1960s when it focused primarily on the bread-and-butter and kitchen-table issues that affect about 90% of Americans except for the wealthiest 10%. I want the Party to stand for enhancing the social safety-net programs such as Social Security as well as advocating for other social programs including a Canadian-style national health insurance program. I believe that the Party focuses too

much on fighting against Trump and the Republicans on the “identity-politics” and “cultural-war” issues. These issues are important to people like me, but I worry more, for example, about people who can’t afford to pay for and take their prescription medications that they need to be in decent health and often need just to stay alive. I would also like to see the Party have the courage and bravery to advocate for the passage of a “National Wealth Tax” of 15% on all individuals with a net-wealth of $10 million and higher to be able to pay for this new spending as well as to advocate for

eliminating the $100 billion/year that is spent on “corporate welfare” and “business subsidies” to help pay for it because we need to be fiscally responsible and not bankrupt the country or raise the national debt or add to the federal budget deficit by showing how we will generate the revenue to pay for the new spending we propose. Sincerely, Stewart B. Epstein P.S. I am a retired college professor of Sociology and Social Work. I taught at West Virginia University, Slippery Rock University, and SUNY-Brockport.

IN THE OFFICE

Gen-ed requirements not as helpful as they seem

Learning materials not relevant to life, wastes time It would seem to be a simple exchange: college gives students an education in a field of their choice, student gives college enough money to buy a house with, and all is right with the world. However, the field of study is not entirely up to the students. General education requirements supposedly serve to allow students to fully realize their potential in a given subject if that student is an undeclared major or is struggling to find what they are really good at. They also show that a college university is well-rounded and caters to all factions of study. The whole spiel is all well and good, but it just does not make any sense. For starters, why are students forced to pay for courses that do not correlate with their field of study? If student X wants to become an engineer, why must they be forced to take a poetry or music theory class to satisfy a humanities credit? If X wants to major in creative writing, why must they know meteorology? This sounds good on paper when universities claim they are trying to build up well-rounded individuals, but society

Brandon Fallat Asst. Laker Review Editor bfallat@oswegonian.com does not care about all that. If one were to go see “Hamlet,” the topic of calculus would surely not be a factor. If one were to go to the doctor’s office for a physical, the doctor is not tasked with knowing 19thcentury literature. Society breeds experts in certain fields, so why do our universities not do the same? Universities also claim that requiring students to take general education courses will help those who are undecided with their future get a better grip at what they are good at or passionate about. Sounds swell, but what purpose does high school have then? Kindergarten and middle school teaches kids the birds and the bees, but high school is

where kids begin to figure out what they are good at. Besides, if student X flunked history throughout high school, why would learning about America during the Civil War again make a difference? Furthermore, just because some students do not know what they want to do yet does not mean that everyone else needs to learn everything they learned in high school again. Besides, academic advisors, guidance counselors and parents are all tools in place to help place kids in areas where they can do the most good or develop the most skill and passion. Lastly, gen-eds are talked up a lot by universities and faculty, yet there is no passion in them when it comes to the student body. Gen-ed courses are regarded as less important than one’s concentration courses, the first courses students elect to skip and typically the courses that lower a students’ GPA the most. So, if gen-eds do not contribute to what a student wishes to learn about, are not echoed in society, do not apply to all students and are the courses no one seems to care about, why are they a thing? Asking for a friend.

Johnny Depp sues ex-wife for false abuse

Survivors should be believed unless more information presented Francesca Miesner Opinion Editor fmiesner@oswegonian.com “Cancel culture” has been rampant as of late. If someone makes a mistake in the past, they are forced to have it ruin their lives forever. In many instances, however, the situation is more complicated than a bad person doing a bad thing and therefore deserving no respect. “Canceling” someone who just made a mistake is an entirely different story. The most recent example of this was heartthrob Johnny Depp. There were rumors circulating that Johnny Depp had abused his wife, Amber Heard. Following this, many fans of Depp decided they would be unable to support someone who physically and emotionally abused his wife. Heard came forward with news of the abuse in May of 2016, where she was immediately praised for her bravery. She gained love and admiration, while The independent student newspaper of Oswego State since 1935 Depp was ostracized by his former fans. Many people went as far as to boycott his films, inciting outrage when he was not removed from his role in “Fantastic We want your thoughts on our coverage, campus and local issues, or anything Beasts: Crimes of Grindlewald.” He was, however, removed from the role Captain regarding the Oswego State community. Jack Sparrow in the “Pirates of the Carib-

bean” series. Heard went on to win the “Woman of the Year Award” from Glamour magazine for her activism surrounding domestic violence and sexual abuse. All was right in the world, with the abuser caught and the abuse “canceled.” That is, until Depp decided to sue his exwife for defamation in 2019. Depp not only stuck to his guns that he did not, in fact, abuse her, but also provided the courts with 40 pages of evidence proving that Heard abused him, instead. This, of course, sparks controversy. If Heard can lie, any abuse claim could be faked. Alternatively, Depp has not been proven to be telling the truth, but he and his

team seem excited to provide evidence. This begs the question: If someone accuses someone of abusing them, should we believe them without any evidence? In short, yes. The number of false claims that have been proven are microscopic. Any respectable person would not fabricate abuse to further their careers or to ruin another person’s career. Being brave enough to come forward, ignoring any potential social repercussions, is incredible. If evidence comes out later proving they did not, in fact, abuse their significant other, that is much more fixable than not believing an abuse survivor from the beginning.

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).

Photo from DAVE via Flickr Amber Heard was sued for defamation after accusing her ex-husband of abuse with little proof.

Oslo

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

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INSIDE

C2 James Gunn reinstated C3 Jordan Peele delivers C4 ‘The Beach Bum’ breaks

as ‘Guardians 3’ director

again with ‘Us’

conventional norms

FRIDAY April 5, 2019

FRIDAY, April 5, 2019

LAKER REVIEW

James Gunn back with Disney ‘Guardians’ In-demand director now helming two major superhero films

Disney-Fox m erge r officially goes thro ug h; Disney closes do w n Fox 2000, the substudio behind m any Oscar darlings.

Image from Looper via YouTube James Gunn returns to Marvel after being fired in June 2018 for offensive tweets and is now set to direct both “Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3” and “The Suicide Squad” reboot.

Brandon Fallat Asst. Laker Review Editor bfallat@oswegonian.com In July 2018, Disney made the controversial decision to fire writer/director James Gunn (“Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2”) over old, offensive tweets that had resurfaced online. However, in a shocking yet remarkable turn of events, Disney announced that Gunn was officially reinstated as director of “Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3,” causing comic book fans everywhere to go into a state of shock followed by gleeful tweeting regarding the move. Deadline was the first to report the news on March 15, 2019, followed by confirmations from The Hollywood Reporter, Polygon and even Gunn himself. As previously stated, Walt Disney Studios executive Alan Horn fired Gunn around the time of last summer’s San Diego Comic Con when a series of tweets emerged containing jokes regarding pedophilia and rape going back as far as 2009. Horn’s decision was made without consulting Disney CEO Bob Iger or Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, adding another layer upon the already-building mountain of controversy and divisiveness among film fans alike. One side’s position was that these tweets were indefensible and that Gunn should be

punished for making them and not simply continue to work as if nothing happened. The other side’s position was that these tweets were 10 years old and had been public on Twitter for the 10 years. Gunn even stated he had already apologized for the tweets, and society and Disney should both forgive him and move on. This debate raged online for weeks following the firing of Gunn. More fuel was added to the fire when the entire cast of the “Guardians of the Galaxy” series signed an open letter asking Disney to rehire Gunn. Dave Bautista (“Avengers: Infinity War”) specifically had been an outspoken supporter of Gunn, even claiming that he no longer wished to work for the company without Gunn. On top of all that, online petitions were signed, Marvel announced that it planned to use Gunn’s script after all, and the film was put on hold. The situation was a giant mess for all parties involved. Disney was criticized for rushing to judgment and caving into a small population of online trolls while Gunn switched teams to Warner Bros. Studios to write and direct the reboot of Suicide Squad titled “The Suicide Squad.” However, what fans did not realize was that, in the fall of 2018, Disney and Gunn quietly met and began making a deal. Accord-

ing to Screenrant, Horn was persuaded by Gunn’s apology as well as his handling of the entire situation - the firing and presumably not bad-talking Disney on social media. Apparently, the decision to rehire Gunn was made several months ago, having just been made public now. After getting rehired, Gunn issued a statement on Twitter. “I am tremendously grateful to every person out there who has supported me over the past few months,” Gunn stated. “I am always learning and will continue to work at being the best human being I can be. I deeply appreciate Disney’s decision and I am excited to continue making films that investigate the ties of love that bind us all.” What is truly commendable about Gunn is how he never deleted the offensive tweets or tried to hide from them. He carried the weight of his mistakes with him, owning up to his actions and never placing the blame on anyone but himself. Furthermore, no evidence ever emerged of Gunn partaking in the perverted actions he tastelessly joked about. Even after the initial decision to fire him was made, Gunn sent out a public apology on Twitter. “I have regretted them for many years since,” Gunn wrote. “Not just because they were stupid, not at all funny, wildly insensitive, and certainly not provoca-

tive like I had hoped, but also because they don’t reflect the person I am today or have been for some time.” The decision of rehiring Gunn is sure to spark outrage among the community of online trolls, hellbent on destroying people’s careers over past mistakes. However, Marvel, Disney and Gunn taught not only Hollywood but also society as a whole a message in all of this: forgiveness is real. Nobody is perfect, and everyone has a mountain of mistakes brooding over them. Choosing to own up to one’s mistakes, trying to learn and grow from them as Gunn has and never making excuses or passing the blame around is what everyone in society should strive for. On the opposite end, acknowledging that no one is perfect, recognizing the sincerity of an apology or attempt at bettering oneself, offering second chances and not simply agreeing with the largest crowd is what anyone on the outside looking in should strive for as well. To top it all off, Gunn has stated he will in fact direct both “The Suicide Squad,” starring Idris Elba, set for an Aug. 6, 2021 release date, and “Guardians 3” right after. So, just for today, even Marvel and DC fans can put down their pitchforks.

“Captain Marvel” passes $1 billion at the Box Office, while “Avengers: En dgame” pre-sale tickets crash the site and pre-sale ticket records.

John David Washington, Elizabeth Debicki an d Robert Pattinson jo in the cast for Christo pher Nolan’s untitled next film.

LAKER REVIEW

FRIDAY, April 5, 2019

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Jordan Peele follows up game-changer with ‘Us’

Image from Universal Pictures via YouTube Lupita Nyong’O pulls double duty as both the main character and her evil doppelganger, or “tethered,” in Jordan Peele’s “Us.”

Nathaniel Ahart Staff Writer laker@oswegonian.com

Coming off the heels of the critically acclaimed, box office smash hit and AcademyAward-winning film “Get Out,” Jordan Peele is back to follow up his directorial debut with his sophomore effort, “Us.” Peele already has a star-

studded cast from the likes of Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’O (“Black Panther”), Winston Duke (“Black Panther”) and Emmy winner Elisabeth Moss (“The Handmaid’s Tale”). All are great in their respective roles, especially Nyong’O, who many people are saying deserves an Academy Award nomination for her performance. Newcomers Shahadi Wright Joseph and Evan Alex also bring a lot to the table and

show much promise for the near future. The production was stepped up from “Get Out,” with not only a larger budget but also better lighting and cinematography and a score from returning composer Michael Abels that really kicks. While the plot is seemingly about a group of doppelgangers terrorizing the central family on their summer retreat, it is so much more than that, especially considering how well-

known Peele already is for putting social messages in his films. The best aspect of this film happens to be the ambiguity of its interpretation, with the internet buzzing about what certain frames in the film say in regard to the message and the fan theories that could be plausible. To back that up, Peele delivers genre thrills that will satisfy most audiences expectations. However, “Us” proves that even with a larger budget and better production design, a better follow-up film is not always guaranteed. Compared to “Get Out,” “Us” is lacking in brilliance and is overall a weaker film thematically. Perhaps this is because “Get Out” was more focused on one major theme as opposed to many of them and, frankly, because the humor and characters were stronger. There is also an exposition dump at the end that was not particularly interesting and held back the film from more levels of ambiguity beyond those it already possessed. The twists that Peele puts in

are not particularly new or interesting, as some people even guessed what they were without having even seen the film. While Duke delivers most of the laughs, they are lackluster compared to what Peele has done with comedy in the past, specifically with that of Lil’ Rel Howery’s (“Bird Box”) character in “Get Out.” These comparisons are inevitable, but that it is not to discredit Peele for trying something different. “Us” is undoubtedly an ambitious horror film, even if it is not executed perfectly and is ultimately somewhat disappointing. Audience members may also want to go back and see the film again to see how the events that unfold put things into context. Some will not like the way things play out and refuse to give it a repeat viewing. However, one thing is for sure, and that is that Jordan Peele is here to stay as a filmmaker and is someone who will most likely have a few classic horror films under his belt in the years to come.

‘Game of Thrones’ fourth season turns story in new directions

Charlie Shipley Contributing Writer laker@oswegonian.com

After the epic conclusion of season three of “Game of Thrones,” there were high expectations for the levels the show would reach. By this point, especially with the events of “The Rains of Castamere,” the show had pretty much made its mark as one of the greatest shows in television history, and in 2014, it had a new mission: find a way to ride the wave of excitement the last season started. This season more than others also began to centralize itself amongst three main characters: Jon Snow (Kit Harington, “How to Train your Dragon: The Hidden World”), Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke, “Solo: A Star Wars Story”) and Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage, “Avengers: Infinity War”). Smaller subplots still center a lot around Jamie (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, “Shot Caller”), Cersei (Lena Headey, “Fighting with my Family”) and their relationship struggles; Arya (Maisie Williams) and the Hound (Rory McCann) making their way north to the Vale; and the continuing storylines from our other pawns within the larger game. The larger events, though,

center around the big three. This series continues to deliver the same ferocity and vigor as the last three penultimate episodes within the series. However, now it seems as though these events are taking place every other episode, from the Purple Wedding, in which the war of the Five Kings ends with the poisoning of Joffrey (Jack Gleeson), to the events taking place in King’s Landing. It continues to fall like dominoes as Tyrion faces trial for the suspected murder of his nephew; Margaery Tyrell (Natalie Dormer) begins to work on Joffrey’s brother Tommen (Dean-Charles Chapman) as he is to be the next king; Cersei continues to accuse Tyrion of the murder; and Jamie learns to fight with his left hand as he resumes his duties with the King’s Guard. There is even room for Sansa (Sophie Turner, “X-men: Apocalypse”), who is smuggled out of King’s Landing by Littlefinger (Aidan Gillen, “Bohemian Rhapsody”), who announces he will be marrying her aunt in the Vale. Speaking of the Vale, after the events of the Red Wedding, the Hound and Arya also continue their adventure north so the Hound can sell Arya to her Aunt Lysa. Hot on their trail is Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie, “Star Wars: The Last Jedi”), who, after being en-

trusted with Jamie’s sword and Tyrion’s steward Podrick (Daniel Portman), must now complete her mission of trying to find and save Sansa and Arya for the now-deceased Catelyn Stark (Michelle Fairley). Other events going on up north include Snow trying to regain the trust of the Night’s Watch while simultaneously trying to warn them about Mance Rayder (Ciaran Hinds, “First Man”) and his army of wildlings approaching the wall. Also, beyond the wall, Bran (Isaac Hempstead-Wright) and his small party of travelers attempt to find the cave of the three-eyed raven as they must escape from wildlings and worse. This season lives up to the standards, with the last five episodes of the season each being better than the last. Episode six features Tyrion’s trial, in which Dinklage gives what might be the pinnacle of his performance on the show, as viewers see Tyrion finally crack under the stress of the last few years in King’s Landing. Episode seven acts as a setup for the last three episodes while also containing a human moment with Hot Pie (Ben Hawkey) and Brienne as he tells her that Arya is still alive. In episode eight, viewers see the first of the climactic episodes with Tyrion’s trial by combat between the titular Gregor Clegane aka The Mountain (Hap-

for Julius Bjornson) and Oberyn Martell aka the Red Viper of Dorne (Pedro Pascal, “Triple Frontier”), ending in one of the most lasting images within the whole series. Meanwhile, across the Narrow Sea, Daenerys discovers Jorah Mormont’s (Iain Glen) treachery as a spy back in the early days of their friendship. If there were one word to describe the ending of this episode, it would be crushing. Episode nine, the actual penultimate episode of the season, is “The Watchers on the Wall.” The entire episode follows the battle between the Wildlings and the Night’s Watch, with some of the greatest action sequences ever to be presented put on full display, as well as

some of the biggest heartbreaks. Finally, in episode 10, “The Children,” the fallout from episode eight and nine is presented as the Night’s Watch must now deal with the survivors of Mance’s defeated army. Tyrion escapes King’s Landing, but not without one last Father’s Day present (the day the episode aired) that reaches straight to his father Tywin’s (Charles Dance) heart, in the form of a crossbow. Not as nice as it sounds, but that was the conclusion the fans wanted, as this episode was one of the highest rated of the season according to IMDb, but as they say in “Game of Thrones,” “Valar Morghulis.”

Image from Mock Censorship via YouTube Oberyn Martell (Pedro Pascal), one of the new characters in season four of “Game of Thrones.”

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LAKER REVIEW

FRIDAY, April 5, 2019

Harmony Korine’s ‘The Beach Bum’ pushes every boundary available

Benjamin Greco Contributing Writer laker@oswegonian.com

Harmony Korine (“Spring Breakers”) is a polarizing filmmaker, to say the least. His movies are anything but conventional, and if one goes into one of his films with the wrong expectations, they run the risk of being severely disappointed. “The Beach Bum,” his latest film, is quite possibly his most lacking in story, providing a meandering ride around the Florida Keys, and it is amazing. The movie follows hedonistic poet and writer Moondog (Matthew McConaughey, “White Boy Rick”). Moondog is said to have the potential to write the next great American novel, but he would rather drink PBR, smoke weed and sleep around, living a semi-nomadic lifestyle in the Florida Keys. But, when he is cut off from his wealthy wife’s inheritance, he is forced to find a way to finish his book. Like any other Korine film, “The Beach Bum” works hard to

push the limits of cinematic language. It feels like a fever dream, full of jump cuts that somehow feel fluid. Scenes drift in and out of each other. Any other filmmaker, when shooting a dialogue scene, would place the characters in one location, shoot a few angles of coverage and edit it into a typical shot-reverse shot. That is too boring for Korine. A perfectly linear conversation will happen in four different locations, cutting constantly from one to another, yet it is all shot, acted and edited so seamlessly that the viewer can hardly notice. This gives the film a feeling of heightened reality while keeping it very grounded at the same time. Its unorthodox presentation makes the film feel like some kind of hazy recollection, which makes sense, as the events are presented to Moondog in a way that he would probably remember them. The movie could have easily felt like a series of vignettes in this character’s life, but Korine manages to weave it together into a cohesive experience. People have complained about this film’s structure, or lack thereof. This is typical of

Image from Rapid Trailer via YouTube Matthew McConaughey bangs some bongo drums and enjoys life as Moondog in Harmony Korine’s new film “The Beach Bum.”

Korine and very intentional. Real life does not have structure. Real life just happens, and that is the way Korine presents it. It feels like someone just followed Moondog around with a camera for a bit, and that is what the audience is watching. It makes for a very fresh and exciting cinematic experience. It is hard to decipher what this film is trying to say, if anything. On the surface, it seems to glorify unchecked hedonism and pushes an almost immaturely nihilistic

worldview, but there is more to it than that. Moondog is not a great guy; he does literally whatever he wants 100% of the time. But people love him for it, and he gets away with it all because he is able to create art out of it. This may be reflective of Korine’s own experiences. He achieved great artistic success when he was only 19 and went on to struggle with drug abuse and destructive behavior. But he continued to make movies that people loved. “The Beach Bum” shows that

Korine is still as creative and revolutionary a filmmaker as he was in the late ’90s. This movie is definitely not for everyone, and if it is a solid story or structure that tickles the fancy, then people might be better off waiting to watch this on streaming. But, for the efforts it makes to break cinema out of a now century-old form, it deserves all the praise, as Korine is one of the only mainstream filmmakers who is really experimenting with form. He is an anomaly, and we are extremely lucky to have him.

‘The Dirt’: What happens when ‘Jackass’ director tries Alex Kent Staff Writer laker@oswegonian.com

Netflix’s newest original film “The Dirt” opens with a deprecating line about the ’80s that quickly establishes the film’s artistic direction. This movie follows the rise and fall of the infamous hair metal band “Mötley Crüe.” The wild tales about Vince Neil (Daniel Webber, “Danger Close”), Nikki Sixx (Douglas Booth, “Gore”), Tommy Lee (Colson “Machine Gun Kelly” Baker, “Captive State”) and Mick Mars (Iwan Rheon, “Berlin I Love You”) are brought to life in a mediocre fashion. In a century filled with biopics, such as the critically acclaimed “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Straight outta Compton,” this one feels very rushed and lazy. To start with the good, the film pokes fun at the ridiculousness of the era it is set in. Rheon’s deadpan delivery as an older, more experienced musician is humorous. The emotional depth regarding the characters with their drug abuse and personal failures is done in a respect-

Image from Netflix via YouTube (From left to right) Douglas Booth, Daniel Webber, Iwan Rheon and Colson Baker star as the band members of Mötley Crüe in Netflix’s “The Dirt.”

ful manner. The script also tries to give all the band members equal time and not make it a one-man show. This allowed for a unique bond to emerge among the drug-fueled party animals. The fourth wall breaks were interesting in how they were used. There is no doubt there is entertainment value found here, but this does not make up for its numerous flaws.

The pacing of the film feels extremely fast with how the timeline flows. Characters are given no time to develop as one event leads to another. Cliché after cliché is presented to show how the Los Angeles-based musical group got discovered, and the audience is only given specific moments of their career with surface-level writing, to the point where

reading an article online provides the same information as presented on screen. The best biopics take a subject and give viewers a newfound meaning toward it. A great example of this is the 2015 film “Love and Mercy,” which tells the mental health struggle of Beach Boys frontman Brian Wilson. Instead of

showing his life in chronological order, the narrative is presented by alternating between two different periods of his troubled life. The creative process of the band’s material is ignored in this film with the members’ reckless lifestyle at the epicenter. Every female in the movie is flesh for the members to have romantic relations with. The real band members having a say behind the scenes of the film makes their terrible choices seem OK. These men constantly broke the law, violated women and abused drugs. Also, Pete Davidson (“Saturday Night Live”) as a record executive was laughable for the wrong reasons, as his bland delivery with equally corny lines shows why he was miscast. For die-hard fans of Mötley Crüe, this is not a bad film. The issue is that the best biopics do not require prior knowledge of the subject material; they educate and entertain with purpose. A positive outcome of the film is that the band has reunited once again. “The Dirt” is more about perceived personas of historical figures than embellishing the unknown about their inner beliefs.

LAKER REVIEW

FRIDAY, April 5, 2019

'Triple Frontier' delivers bland storytelling with blander action Stephen Novak Staff Writer laker@oswegonian.com

Rating: How many frontiers is too many? America can barely seem to manage one, two on a good day. Three? That seems like a recipe for disaster no matter how many walls we decide to build around it. Or at least that seems to be what director J.C. Chandor (“A Most Violent Year”) is trying to accomplish with his new Netflix original film, “Triple Frontier.” The less spectacular reality is that the name is likely only a reference to the area of South America that it takes place in, kind of like the tri-state area but for drug lords. Sadly, audiences will find it to be a very confusing and underwhelming experience. It is a film that cannot commit to what it wants to be.

This story about retired professional soldiers raiding a cocaine kingpin’s lair for his treasure quickly gets sidetracked with nonsense. It is a movie screaming for focus and discipline with what storyline it wants to tackle. The first half of the film is a slow-paced, gettingthe-band-back-together story about where all the characters’ lives have led them, before shifting to a cheesy crime thriller, then concluding with a Bear Grylls survival story and finally deciding it has earned enough goodwill to talk about the human condition. All five of the soldiers essentially act like the same person. They drink beers and make quips when they are allowed to have fun, and that is about it. Outside of the two main characters played by Ben Affleck (“Justice League”) and Oscar Wilde (“Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse”), the other

Image from Netflix via YouTube The film's all-star cast is led by Ben Affleck (far left) and Oscar Isaac (second from left).

three are unremarkable to the point where most audience members will not even be able to recall their names. The movie threatens to have side characters as well, but they do not seem to last long. The opening scene sets up a ruthless police captain sweeping favelas, executing and intimidating everyone he finds. One

might be fooled into thinking he would have played a larger part before he evaporates into the credits for the rest of the film along with the love interest. Unfortunately, the action does not fair much better. It is commendable for realistic depiction of tactical violence, but it does not toe the line between lifelike

and interesting very well. This is not like John Wick where a god among men disarms and dismantles a giant army of hitmen. The violence is more akin to watching people with guns hold angles before tapping the trigger on their magic wands to snuff out their fellow man. One of the stronger points of the movie is that it plays toward larger themes of violence and misery that these countries exist in. It is a shame it has to share space with all the other ideas vying for attention. In the end, for all of the talent they had on board, the movie got lost in translation. All the best parts are contained in the scenery. Other than that, the writing is one dimensional, the action is slow and uneventful, and all of the plot twists are predictable and silly. “Triple Frontier” is a movie that fails on all fronts.

'Captive State' adds fresh spin to classic alien invasion genre Dominic Rizzi Laker Review Editor drizzi@oswegonian.com

Ten years ago, “District 9” was released into theaters. It came out in a time prior to the internet, setting critics and average moviegoers at each other’s throats, and was lauded for its groundbreaking special effects and universal themes that reflected the Apartheid era. Since then, there have been a variety of different science fiction films that continued to try to break new boundaries, with some examples in the last couple years including “Ex Machina,” “Blade Runner 2049” and “Annihilation.” However, because it does not include superheroes and major franchises or generate another $1.5 billion for Disney, there are unfortunately not a lot of movies being made in the genre. This is why it is so refreshing when a new

science fiction film that is actively engaging comes out, which is the case with “Captive State.” “Captive State” is directed by Rupert Wyatt (“The Gambler”) and takes a look at the world if it were invaded by aliens who controlled everything in a very wellstructured totalitarianism system. The film revolves around two major sto-

rylines: William Mulligan (John Goodman, “The Connors”), a police commander who is attempting to neutralize the resistance group Phoenix, which is actively working to undermine the aliens; and Gabriel Drummond (Ashton Sanders, “The Equalizer 2”), a young kid who is attempting to get himself away from the city. Both storylines end

Image from Focus features via YouTube John Goodman headlines 'Captive State,' which is mostly filled by unknown actors.

up clashing together when it is revealed that Gabriel’s brother Rafe (Jonathan Majors, “White Boy Rick”) is one of the most active members of Phoenix, whom the Chicago police are trying to neutralize in order to placate the alien invaders. Wyatt utilizes a bleak, miserable-looking exterior to showcase overall human mentality during times of totalianist control from the past, evoking images of Nazi Germany, Communist Russia and Mussolinicontrolled Italy. Since this is not the first alien invasion film made like this, there are a few tropes to be found, but because it has been such a while since a film like this has been made, everything feels fun and original. The characters, while not the flashiest or the most engaging, all have a humble melancholy about them. Some may find that boring, but for the purposes of this film, it makes sense, all the characters possess inhibitor chips in

their necks for the aliens to track them, forcing them to keep themselves calm to avoid detection. Goodman in particular plays this role very close to the chest, continuing his streak of being amazing in low-key science fiction films that he started with “10 Cloverfield Lane.” The thing that stands out the most about this film, however, is that the story itself is interesting, and the attention to detail is astounding. This is the first film in a while where the twists and turns did not feel forced in order to generate a reaction but rather natural and part of the story. The casting of the supporting characters is also well done, and it is commendable to see most directors now going for so many new up-and-comers as opposed to acting legends. Some people may be turned off by this film’s apparent lack of pace and action, but for those who are looking for a good engaging science fiction film, this is the one.

FRIDAY, April 5, 2019

Crossword Puzzle

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

Down 1. The I in TGIF 2. ___ Howard of “Happy Days” 3. Pension plan (abbr.) 4. Narrow waterway 5. Howdy! 6. Wild attempt 7. Roman garment 8. Beasts 9. Tiny vegetable 10. Baltimore time zone (abbr.) 11. Once called 17. Kite feature 19. Plus 20. Speed contests 21. San Antonio shrine

22. Whole 24. Certain protest 25. Slack 26. Register 29. Nickname for T-shirt 30. Zeal 32. Umbrella 35. Space agency (abbr.) 36. Oddball (sl.) 39. Trotter’s kin 41. A la ___ 42. Take apart 43. Brewed drink 44. Lamb’s father 45. Historic period 47. Bustle 48. Brother’s sib 49. Put down

Across

1. ___ setter 6. RR depot 9. Writing instrument 12. Rich cake 13. 2,000 pounds 14. Wind direction (abbr.) 15. Growl 16. Stir up 18. Montgomery’s state 20. Proportions 23. Bride’s path 27. Great amount (2 wds.) 28. Breeding horse 31. Puma, e.g. 32. Equals 33. Small child 34. Radiated 36. Sage 37. ___ energy 38. First game 40. Japanese warrior 43. Traitor’s crime 46. Uncouth 50. Corn serving 51. Not even 52. ___ Murphy of “Beverly Hills Cop” 53. Doctors’ group (abbr.) 54. Author ___ Tolstoy 55. Bird’s perch

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

LAKER REVIEW

FRIDAY, April 5, 2019

contributed Photography

Flashback Friday

Photo contributed by Anthony Alves

This Saturday, the J.J. Abramshelmed reboot, “Star Trek,” turns 10 years old. On April 6, 2009, the film first premiered in Austin, Texas, and helped introduce the iconic science fiction franchise to a whole new generation of fans. “Star Trek” was received well by critics, who praised its grand spectacle, fresh take and the exhilarating action ride it took fans on. The film currently sits at 94% on Rotten Tomatoes. Photo contributed by Anthony Alves

Image from YouTube Movies via YouTube

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April 1, 2019 Edition

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THE BETTER THAN LAST YEAR ISSUE

Southern border obstacle course proposed

Winter storm strikes

Senator’s lunacy questioned, withdraws from race 100 mph winds rip roof off Shineman

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CONTENT

As the 2020 presidential race revs up, more names continue to drop into the race. However, there is one name that may have already closed the book on his victory chances. Senator Chuck P. Dewey of Maryland has decided to throw his hat in the ring and announced his bid for the oval office. As part of his rollout, the 38-year-old congressman declared his stances on several key issues and even announced a proposed soObstacle Course.......... D2 All Hail Hail................. D3 Trap Houses Yo.............. D4 Olympian Journalist.....W2 Comic Sans...is good?. ...69 We apologize..................A1 Why do you hate us?.....B5 Why are you still reading? Come Edit For Us!........C6 I don’t think there are even this many pages... tbh...bye.

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lution to two very popular and important issues: illegal immigration and environmental protection. While on a local news show promoting his campaign, Dewey announced the “Two Birds, One Stone” Solution, which aims to limit illegal immigration on the southern border of the United States by creating an obstacle course between Texas and Chihuahua, Mexico. The plan was met with immediate criticism from Angela Linden, the news anchor interviewing Dewey, who questioned whether Dewey knew what he was talking about. Dewey reassured that he “knew d*mn well” what he was talking about, and the two began a heated exchange regarding the proposed idea. “A border wall is immoral and too expensive. It goes against our country’s values.

We value overcoming obstacles and achieving greatness, and implementing a rigorous obstacle course would dissuade many from entering our country illegally,” Dewey stated. “For those that complete the course, they’ll be granted immediate citizenship.” Linden rebutted by stating that Dewey was “making a mockery out of a very serious issue.” The news anchor went on to state how his plan was also not sound and that people could easily make their way around the obstacle course. She ended by stating how shocked she was to even be arguing such an “absurd idea.” “That is where you are wrong!” Dewey shouted. “We would plant trees, shrubberies and bushes of all sorts around the course. This will help cover more ground as

See Dewey , π

Copy Edit Queen You’re Wrong OxfordComma.com Winds at speeds upwards of 100 mph and hard hailstorms whipped through Oswego State campus Tuesday, and President Steborah Danley said the effects have taken their toll on the campus and its students. Head of the science department, Martin Cinnamon, said the worst damage was the wind tearing the roof off Shineman Hall. “We lost the greenhouse,” Cinnamon said. “Which means our campus will be short on delicious

vegetables for a while.” Other damages include dozens of shattered windows, especially in Penfield Library. Some hail managed to break through the roof of Marano Campus Center, surprising the practicing Lakers with falling balls of ice. Jacob Fooder, a Laker defenseman, said the weather came out of nowhere, but it was not unwelcome. “It can be so boring, skating around the same ice over and over again,” Fooder said. “When that hail came through the ceiling, it was suddenly a game of dodgeball. Some guys even started throwing them around – hit one of the players right in the face, but I’m sure he’ll be fine.” That player is Frederick Waffle, and physicians at the Oswego General Hos-

See Hail , π

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THE OSWEONION Monday April 1, 2019

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QUOTE OF THE WEEK I figured I could make more money as a journalism major rather than all the super nice sponsorship offers I was receiving.” -Frandon Ballet

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Dewey claims border solution will solve global warming Senator drops from presidential race, apologizes for ‘kills two birds with one stone’ statement

See Southern , from cover well as increase vegetation, which will help against climate change. Right?” Linden stated it would not. Dewey has said that, by planting trees along the southern border, climate

change would decrease tremendously. Dewey cites his deceased uncle, Herbert Dewey, who taught him that “trees create wind, which makes it colder.” Since announcing this

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plan, Dewey was met with immediate support from far-right-leaning pundits, deeming the idea “super cool” and “badass.” Dewey claims the obstacle course will be modeled after his own high school football practices, equipped with hurdles, wall climbing, belly crawls and rope swings. Anonymous sources close to Dewey claim that he is dead serious about this plan and hopes that the current president will use the course instead of eating “so many happy meals.” One critic on an online news channel tagged Dewey in a post, asking what his plans

were for children who would not be able to complete such a rigorous course. Dewey then posted a response to the question, which created a swell of controversy surrounding the morality and overall IQ of the candidate. “We will set a ball pit in place for anyone not able to complete the task,” Dewey wrote. This comment garnered unanimous pushback from both sides of the political aisle, causing Dewey to withdraw his candidacy and apologize to all of humanity. Dewey, in a press statement, said the following:

“I am tremendously sorry to all ‘birds rights’ activists who were angered at the proposed plan being titled the ‘Two Birds, One Stone’ Solution. It was not my intention to incite or condone harm of any kind to any species of bird.” Democrats and Republicans alike have all united and agreed that clearly Dewey is not mentally stable and that he belongs in a facility equipped to treat his condition. So, for the first time in recent history, every single U.S. senator and representative has agreed upon one thing - an obstacle course is a bad idea.

Hail storm leaves hockey players dodging ice on the rink Despite injury, players found raining ice welcome challenge, other students were scared See Winter, from cover pital report he is in stable condition with a mild concussion. Coach Zed Zosek said he was just glad to see the players have some lighthearted fun for once. “I’m not a religious man, but it seemed like God just really wanted to spice things up,” Zosek said. “Sure, Waffle’s in the hospital, but that kid can take a beating. He’ll be back skating in no time.” Other students were not pleasantly surprised by the sudden onslaught of bad weather conditions. Sally Yenger, a junior biology major, said she was trying to study in

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the library’s 24-hour room when wind threw hail right through the windows. “It was scary,” Yenger said. “I knew weather around here could get bad – my friend told me that before I moved from Texas – but this, this is just brutal.” Danley has issued a formal statement to all students, faculty and staff that the situation is under control and repairs will begin shortly. Bringing the campus back to working order is not cheap, though. Financial director of Oswego State, Xavier Moneybags, said the cost could

be in the $10 million range, which will have to come out of students’ pockets. “I mean, we do have almost $5 trillion stored under campus, but that’s for something else,” Moneybags said. “Students love this school, so I’m sure they’ll be ready and willing to expect a little extra in their bill.” Senior dancing major Alexa Danger said she plans to complain to the campus president and demand the school pay for its own damages. “It’s ridiculous,” Danger said. “We come here and spend our money to learn

– and party and have sex in dorms, obviously – but not to pay for storm repair. The president should’ve gotten insurance a long time ago. Now, she should be the one taking responsibility.” Unconfirmed reports say parts of the campus buildings are showing up in town, with the roof of Shineman reportedly smashing through River’s Beginning Bookstore. Owner Bob Bookworm said he is remaining optimistic. “Well, at least I’ve got a bunch of shingles to sell as rustic bookmarks,” Bookworm said.

Big Cheese | The Oswegonian

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THE OSWEONION Monday April 1, 2019

New housing initiative embraces ‘trap house’ aesthetic

Administration, police working together using delinquent youths, child labor to complete project

The Big Cheese The Boss Leavemealone@bye.com After reviewing student feedback from Yik Yak of the desire to find “the trap house,” Oswego State is changing its housing options to make students feel more at home. “We have begun to realize that college students do not like nice things,” project coordinator Becky Marks said. “I mean, they willingly drink Nikolai for fun! Clearly, they do not want to chug that in a nicely furnished and structurally sound house. We want to appeal to their new aesthetic.” Part of the amenities, or lack thereof, that these new housing options will include are: leaking ceilings, black mold, marijuana tapestries and tall glass structures that you can place herbs in that Resident Life and Housing claim to be “vases.” There are mixed emotions from students on the introduction of this new program. One of the concerns is that all other

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housing options will be canceled and the college is strongly pushing students to get down with the new living environments. “I don’t like that they are taking everything I like and supporting it now,” junior botanical science student Breezy Mars said. “Like, now I have to start liking houses that pass health code and smell like a day at the beach instead of weed all because I don’t want to agree with them.” Other students are looking forward to the housing change, saying they have been waiting for the administration to come around to their style for a while. “I think it is pretty dope what they are doing,” Bryce Anderson said. “It is way more convenient for me now that it will all be on campus and that they are getting with the times. My only complaint is that they don’t include Natty to shotgun with the housing deposit.” The college administration is viewing the housing project as an opportunity to not only provide students with the living environment they want, but to also help campus faculty to get more in-tune with the younger student population. “I think it is a great learning experience for older faculty,” psychology professor Sigmund Freud said. “The best way to teach your students is to un-

derstand how they think and what they like. If we can better understand our students and give them what they want, I think it is a win-win for everyone.” The project is expected to be done for the fall 2019 semester. All current campus housing will be renovated by releasing delinquent teenagers into the spaces. “What better way to get the living spaces in the condition that students want than by letting people come in from around the same age group to be in charge of the project?” Marks said. The teenagers who are involved with the renovation project were brought on through a collaboration between city police and the college.

“These students were arrested for various vandalization charges,” Mike Breyer, the city police chief, said. “Becky came to me with the idea of having the students work off the community service by assisting with the housing renovations. That way, they can release their angst through destruction, but in a constructive way.” Marks is very pleased with the support Breyer has provided with the renovation plan, as well as for the accommodations he has made. “One of the renovation tactics that we are really excited about is having the volunteers shot gun. We are also looking into having keg stand areas and funneling stations to re-

ally get the foam spray and smell into the rooms,” Marks said. “I could not be more pleased with Breyer’s willingness to ignore the underage drinking to allow us to follow through on this.” While some techniques will be planned by the administration, they are largely going to leave it up to the experts and allow the mandatory volunteers to have creative reign. “I believe the best outcome will happen if we just let them do what feels right and just be there to provide any resources they need,” Marks said. “I am really excited about this project. We are really hitting the ground running with it so students can move into the spaces next fall.”

Image from Image-clip Vectors via Pixabay

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THE OSWEONION MONDAY, April 1, 2019

Olympian chooses journalism over fame, fortune Trades medals, sponsorship to compete at Div. III level, pursue education, live with parents

Not Benny Sports Guy Let’sOrderFood@hungry.com Frandon Ballet had it all: a chance to be the next U.S. Olympian discus thrower and represent his country at the Olympics. He was getting sponsorship after sponsorship. He was living the dream at just 18 years old. Reality then hit Ballet. An education would be much more important to him. So, he dropped all of his prospective sponsorships, fired his personal agent and decided to go to a Div. III school. “Really, it was all about the education for me,” Ballet said. “I figured I could make more money as a journalism major rather than all the super nice sponsorship offers I was receiving.” It was not the easiest decision for Ballet to attend Oswego State. During the first day of practice, he looked at his teammates in disgust. None of them were at the same skill level as him. “It was disappoint-

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ing,” Ballet said. “It’s almost like none of them were Olympic discus throwers.” Ballet comes from a long line of successful athletes. His grandfather, Marcus Ballet, was a professional chess player who just missed the international chess competition in the 1950s. His father, Frandon Ballet Sr., was also an Olympic athlete – but in the shotput. His father originally disagreed with his choice of choosing the discus event over the shotput. But after watching his son compete at such a high skill level in high school, he reluctantly allowed him to continue. “I originally started the discus in spite of my dad, actually,” Ballet said. “I still think he wants me to do shotput deep down in his heart. But I guess he’s cool with me doing discus. It’s really helped my ultimate frisbee game. My friends don’t stand a chance when I’m on the field.” Now that he is at Oswego State as a journalism major, he has found a sense of happiness – something that he did not have while competing nonstop in the discus while in high school. He said the stress of potential sponsors messed with his mental state. “I … I just can’t picture myself any happier at Oswego State,” Ballet said behind some tears. “Even if I am 110 percent better than my teammates.” Ballet’s talent has not gone unnoticed by head coach Steven Richards. He said that Ballet’s talent is

second to none not only at Oswego State but also in the SUNYAC and all of Div. III. “He might even be better than some Div. I athletes, but we don’t care about those people in Div. III,” Richards said. “I just can’t believe he came to Oswego State after potentially earning millions of dollars as an Olympian.” While Ballet is only a sophomore and still has a couple more years of collegiate athletics left, his goals are high: to work for his own personal blog about the “wonderful sport that is track and field.” His blog, which he started in June of 2017, has one subscriber – and the only subscriber is himself under a second email that he made, named “FrandonBalletNo1Fan@gmail.com.” Ballet said he hopes no one notices. “Wait. You found out? How? That was supposed to be the jumping-off point,” Ballet said. “Either way, someday that blog is going to be bigger than ESPN. Maybe I’ll come up with some stupid acronym for it too. Like, BITBDT – Ballet Is The Best Discus Thrower. Yeah. I like that.” While Ballet is trying to get his blog jumpstarted, he currently lives in his parents’ basement and has no plans on leaving. Ever. “Why leave when I can get free housing and food?” Ballet said. “My mom’s making dinosaur chicken nuggets. You want to come over later for some? Maybe if we are well-behaved she’ll give us some ice cream, too.”

By Ranchel Futterman | The Oswegonian

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THE OSWEONION MONDAY April 1, 2019

Comic Sans underappreciated, named best font of 2018 Committee of 45 citizens chosen by Counsel ruffle feathers by selecting controversial font

#1 Comic Sans Fan Not a Typographer FreeComicSans.com

The National Best Association (NBA) determined Wednesday that the Best Font of 2018 is Comic Sans. The Committee of 45 of the best U.S. citizens as selected by The Counsel last year chose the controversial font as this year’s best, and the public has been rather divided. The truth is that The Counsel knows what is best. They selected who they selected for The Best Committee for a reason, and the average citizen has no right to question that. The Council has always been reliable and made the right choices. Following last year’s controversial pick

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that Starbuck’s is better than Dunkin, then Dunkin revealing that it is actually run by evil lizards, we can only assume that The Counsel and The Committee know some dark truth about Times New Roman that we are not aware of. Perhaps Times New Roman, much like the now “canceled” coffee chain, is also run by lizards. There is no way for the average person to know. Besides, with knowing what we know, it is hard to argue that Arial or some other inferior font is even on the same tier as Comic Sans. Comic Sans was originally created to cure blindness, which is one of its lesser-known properties. In only two weeks of staring at a capital letter “C” written in the famed font, people who are hard of seeing gain not only perfect vision, but x-ray vision. Of course, the font is not perfect. In some extreme cases, “C” users have gained laser vision instead of x-ray vision. Thankfully, the only people who died from these horrible accidents were total jerks, which only adds to the reliability of the font. Many people think that Comic Sans is childish

just based on aesthetics. This is simply ignorant. As everyone knows, you must get a license to use Comic Sans. In order to take the exam to get your license, you must be over the age of 20. It cannot be childish, since children cannot use it. The moral of the story is that The Committee is always right. To question The Committee is not only to question The Council, but also to ignore history. The Committee knows what is going on, as they are the best. They have never made a mistake and they definitely did not start now.

The Big Cheese | The Osweonian

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THE OSWEONION MONDAY April 1, 2018

Blissney-Pox merger expands already-present monopoly I-stream, Blissney initiate bidding war over control of media domination, world control other Pox-owned Morbred characters, such as the C-Women and Grateful Eight, allowing for the full Morbred family to be united and destroy every other form of entertainment. Bliss-ney also now owns former Pox television networks, such as PX Networks and World Care Partners. Bliss-ney will also get Pox’s 30 percent ownership of Washamovie, Movie Lover giving Bliss-ney a controlI am IMDb ling share of 60 percent. Iknowitall@quizme.com The arms are officially up, however, as Bliss-ney This past week, Blisssets its sights directly on its ney’s $71.3 billion merger biggest competition when with Pox officially went it comes to online poputhrough, one year after it announced the merger. The larity and hoots: I-stream. The streaming giant has deal, which closed March been crushing the last 20 at 12:02 a.m. Eastern couple years, even finally time, reshapes the mebecoming qualified enough dia landscape and makes to win several Doscars, Bliss-ney an even greater and managing to pay entertainment behemoth. off Sleven Stielman into In bolstering its trove of characters and stories, the retracting his previous acquisition also puts Bliss- statements that I-stream ney in a stronger position movies should not qualify for Doscars. With the lines to take on I-stream and being drawn in the sand, other streaming compait is looking like an all-out nies when it launches its war in the media world. own service, Bliss-ney+, But Bliss-ney is not later this year. alone in this. Recently, Bliss-ney, which alBliss-ney CEO Rob Steiger ready owns the Pickkids, was spotted sitting down Morbred and the Space and having lunch with Artery brands, will now Hansel Slestberg, CEO of also get Mortapisce and

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Red Domineering Communications. Through a carefully placed microphone, it was discerned that Steiger was discussing a potential partnership with Slestberg. However, only a week before that, the same correspondent noticed Slestberg sitting down with Brandon “Big Bear” Salamanders, CEO of I-stream. This looks to be the start of a bidding war between two of the biggest corporations that currently control the media landscape. Bliss-ney wanting to merge with Red Domineering proves a working theory that many over at the offices of Speed and Time have been struggling to prove for years: Blissney is consuming every piece of technology capable of providing media to the naked eye in order to fully control the hearts and minds of the citizens of the world. Now that it has conquered the film market completely, driving every single piece of art that actually inspires thought to streaming services, it has set its sights on the one safe place that people have left to go in order to escape its control. While I-stream is not

that far above in terms of control over people, at the very least, it is giving people one thing that Bliss-ney is not: free choice to watch what they wish. When Bliss-ney launches its own streaming service, it will only be filled with its entire back-catalog, every single bit of franchise bait that people have already watched in theaters a million and a half times, along with all its animated efforts that have already been explored, viewed and discussed to the point of being uninteresting. While I-stream may not necessarily have a focus in terms of what products it advertises, the fact that it specializes

in variety is itself a must. It is the only thing keeping us stimulated. It is the only thing keeping us from completely descending into 1984. This statement has immediately been retracted due to the release of Bliss-ney ++, which promises to take people into virtual realities of their favorite Bliss-ney properties. I-stream and Red Domineering immediately hopped on board. The actual number amount in terms of profit has not been released because no one actually cares and because the numbers are too large to actually be processed by human beings.

The Big Cheese | The Osweonian

I think we stopped doing this... Also, do people ever read them?

Ranchel Futterman | The Oswegonian

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Ranchel Futterman | The Oswegonian