The Oswegonian 5-3-19

Look Inside: A3 Farewell staff seniors

Friday, May 3, 2019 VOLUME LXXXIV ISSUE X SINCE 1935 www.oswegonian.com

Faculty discuss virtual reality, human impact Jessica Wickham Chief Copy Editor jwickham@oswegonian.com Virtual reality - its benefits, consequences and future - were on center stage at a faculty panel discussion on virtual reality, held at 5 p.m. on May 1, where professors in the philosophy and cognitive science departments at Oswego State discussed the rapidly growing technology.

The panel, hosted by the cognitive science and philosophy clubs on campus, brought together five Oswego State staff members: David Vampola, visiting assistant professor of computer science; Damian Schofield, professor and director of the Human Computer Interaction (HCI) masters level programs; Caglar Yildirim, assistant professor and director of the VR lab on campus; Jared Peterson, visiting assistant professor of philosophy; and Mark Zelcer, assistant professor of philosophy.

Yildirim and Schofield primarily provided a technological perspective to VR, discussing the

ways it is growing and expanding to become an increasingly larger part of people’s lives.

“Nowadays is a great time to be involved in VR because we have access to commercial headsets that are affordable or relatively affordable and accessible to many people,” Yildirim said.

Schofield, who has worked with VR for many years in the judicial, academic and health fields, said he has seen technology come a long way through cellphones and similar products, and soon, VR will be the next step to even more advancements.

“We connect to all the knowledge in the known world through these devices, and it’s just a thin layer of plastic between us and this device, but that thin layer of plastic is going away,” Schofield said.

Peterson and Zelcer, who both work in the philosophy department on campus, took a more philosophical approach to the subject, posing questions like what VR means for free will, the realness of experiences and human identity expression.

See PANEL, A4

Activities budget debated

SA wrestles with budget cuts after previous overspending

Colin Hawkins Incoming News Editor chawkins@oswegonian.com Oswego State Student Association heard club budget appeals on Tuesday, April 30, after SA revamped how it allocates club funding for the 2019-2020 academic year to correct the $200,000 budget deficit.

One of the responsibilities of SA is to allocate the Student Activities budget, which is the campus’ fund for student programs, such as clubs and events.

The 2018-2019 fund was about $1.8 million with a significant portion of this money drawn from the Student Activities fee charged to Oswego students every semester. The fee was $116 per semester for the 2018-2019 academic year.

The budget cuts arose due to a $200,000 annual budget deficit, according to SA Finance Director Miranda Kryskow. This deficit means SA annually spent about 10% more money than it took in for the past several years.

See SA, A6

William Rogers | The Oswegonian SA senators hear budget appeals from student organizations at April 30 meeting.

Student Association: year in review

Laker Justice Agenda, bylaws, bills passed by Senate Kassadee Paulo News Editor kpaulo@oswegonian.com

Jessica Wickham | The Oswegonian

CONTENT

Experts from technology to philosophy gathered to offer expertise on diverse aspects of VR.

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

Over the past academic year, the Oswego State Student Association has proposed and passed several changes to the campus in regards to social justice, as part of President Omar van Reenen’s Laker Justice Agenda.

The goals on van Reenen’s agenda included diversity, inclusivity, sustainability and transparency. The first thing he achieved was appointing a diverse president’s cabinet, consisting of 70% women, 55% people of color and 30% open members of the LGBTQ community.

“I wanted to make sure the cabinet actively represented the student body, so that, when advocating for issues at the heart of Lakers, they are advocating on issues that they understand, that they can find a solution for, to be a better voice for the students,” van Reenen said.

See OVERVIEW, A5

Maria Pericozzi | The Oswegonian SA President Omar van Reenen signs Equal Pay for Equal Play bill, March 12, 2019.

Sports

Opinion

Laker Review

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Alexis Fragapane | The Oswegonian

B5

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Nicole Hube | The Oswegonian

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NEWS

QUOTE OF THE WEEK We, the students set the standards for sustainability and we have to understand that fighting for that understanding is hard because it’s a faceless fight.”

THE OSWEGONIAN FRIDAY, May 3, 2019

- Omar van Reenen, from A5

A3

Oswegonian staff seniors say farewell

Organization members move on to workforce after graduation Colin Hawkins Incoming News Editor chawkins@oswegonian.com With the end of another year at Oswego State, The Oswegonian must say goodbye to another group of seniors as they graduate and transition from the classroom to the workforce.

The Oswegonian is losing 12 seniors on its staff to graduation.

Samantha Flavell, the editor-inchief from Berne, New York, is graduating with a degree in journalism and graphic design and hopes to work in the magazine industry.

Cole Parzych, co-social media director at The Oswegonian and a former editor-in-chief from Syracuse, is graduating with a broadcasting degree. Parzych said he is interested in working in the sports industry, especially focusing on his passion, hockey.

News editor Kassadee Paulo is from Saratoga, New York, and is graduating with degrees in journalism and French.

Dominic Rizzi, the Laker Review editor at The Oswegonian, is a Wappingers Falls, New York, native completing his degrees in cinema and screen studies and broadcasting. He is looking to follow his passion in the film industry after graduation.

Maria Pericozzi, photo director at The Oswegonian, is from Lancaster, New York, and is finishing her degrees in journalism and creative writing.

She is looking to either stay in print journalism or work in marketing.

Jessica Wickham is a Syracuse native and chief copy editor at The Oswegonian. She will be graduating this spring with a degree in journalism and would like to stay in the journalism industry in New York state.

Evelyn Sokolowski is a copy editor at The Oswegonian and a psychology and public justice major from Massapequa, New York. She is finishing her degree this spring. Sokolowski said she will be pursuing a Masters degree in mental health counseling in the fall.

Alexandra Candela, a Holbrook, New York, native, is the business manager at the Oswegonian and graduating this spring with a degrees in business administration and public relations.

IGE Year of Korea: “Dramaticizing Precarity: The Public Cultures of Labor Protests in South Korea,” 1:50 p.m., Friday in Marano Campus Center, Room 132

Color Oswego, 4. p.m., Friday at Glimmerglass Fitness Center Nicole Hube l The Oswegonian (Left to right) Samantha Flavell, Maria Pericozzi, Kassadee Paulo, Alexandra Candela, and Dominic Rizzi.

Alexis Acevedo, from Monroe, New York, is the advertising manager at The Oswegonian and finishing her degree in marketing this spring. She is interested in working in the fashion industry after graduation.

Beatriz Pascual Fernandez joined The Oswegonian as the Event Coordinator and is from Madrid, Spain. She is graduating this spring with a degree in business administration, advertising and public relations. She is looking to study for a Masters degree in California after graduation.

Other staff graduating as seniors include Dominic Lioto, co-social media coordinator.

The common sentiment from the senior staff is the connections and friendships they made.

“My core group of friends are from here ... and they’re from different majors too,” Flavell said. “I think it’s just a really cool opportunity, where we have a shared interest, but it’s still very different.”

With the opportunity to work so closely with a wide range of students, some of this year’s seniors formed bonds across majors and class standing through their time in the office.

“My sophomore year, when I was the news editor, I really connected with the seniors that year. I remember being here [late] with a couple of them and we would literally just start laugh-

William Rogers l The Oswegonian (Left to right) Evelyn Sokolowski, Jessica Wickham and Beatriz Pascual Fernandez.

During public comment, 13 Oswego State student organizations and clubs stood in front of the senate to appeal the yearly budgets approved for the next academic year. Student Association cut about $200,000 from all club budgets for next year.

Del Sarte Dance Club, which has more than 200 members, requested an additional $600 to be added to their budget.

After having its budget cut by 45% over the past three years, Wind Ensemble asked for an extra $1,000.

The international collegiate community service organization, Circle K, requested an addition to their budget of around $1,000.

Brothers and Sisters in Christ (BASIC) wished to compromise with Student Association by giv-

ing,” Pericozzi said. “I met my best friend here, Sam. She’s great.”

Despite the late nights and extra time spent on writing articles for the paper, some seniors reflected on how The Oswegonian helped them in their classes.

“Learning in class wasn’t enough for me. I needed to step out of my comfort zone and be a part of this organization because I would not have gotten the experience I needed,” Paulo said. “Becoming a journalist and being in this position has helped me become more confident as a person.”

The leadership positions took a lot of responsibility, but the staff reminisced on the lessons they learned.

“I didn’t really realize how much responsibility the job would entail or how much I would love it, but The Oswegonian really is the place to be,” Rizzi said. “A message to my younger self: never stop because there’s going to be a lot of people that doubt you along the way. Just keep true to it and you’ll eventually come up with something.

[It] might not necessarily be good, but it’ll be something.”

They shared how rewarding their positions were at the paper. For many, this was the first time they had to lead a team.

“It was the best feeling ever to be chief copy editor,” Wickham said. “This is the biggest leadership role I’ve ever had, and I really like working with other copy-editors and being able to educate people.”

Even if their time at The Oswegonian was only one part of their hectic college schedule, some talked about how their experience helped get them through the semester.

“I’ve been having a pretty rocky semester. Schoolwork, graduating so soon, figuring out my life … I realized coming to The Oswegonian was a big stress-relief,” Sokolowski said. “I love listening to everyone interacting with each other.”

While each had a different take on what the transition from student to graduate would feel like, they all agreed their time at The Oswegonian was a big part of their Oswego State experience, a time they said they will remember fondly.

“My best memory was just the freedom that was allowed within the media organizations to fine-tune my skills how I wanted to,” Parzych said. “I don’t think I have any regrets.”

ing up the total of their budgets for materials and events, but are requesting an additional $1,734 for their annual conference. Each year 30 to 40 students attend this conference and pay $50 out of the $119 of costs in tickets as well as food and transportation out of pocket. The organization received $3,000 less than what they requested for their budget.

Fencing Club requested an additional $550 for the updated equipment they need for safety and tournaments.

Pride Alliance had their budget cut by almost $10,000. They hold three major events each year.

They need $5,392.50 to have shirts made for Coming Out Day, about $1,500 for their drag show, and about $1,000 for their grad/ awards ceremony. They also attend a conference and hold a clothing drive for transgender people. They requested to add about $5,200 to their budget.

Public Relations Student Society of America had a budget of $2,535 this year, but were approved a budget of $564 for next year. They requested to raise their budget to $3,000 to $4,000 to go toward expenses for their next conference, which will be held in San Diego next year.

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

Performance: “Fun Home: A New Musical,” 7:30 p.m., Saturday in Waterman Theatre

Oswego College Community Orchestra Concert, 3. p.m., Saturday in Sheldon Hall Ballroom

Planetarium Show: On the Moon! The Story of the Apollo 11 Mission, 7 p.m., Sunday in Shineman Center, Room 223

The American Marketing Association Cats and Snacks Event, 7 p.m., Tuesday in Shineman Center, Room 132

Stress Free Zone: Free massages from Integrative Healing Spa, 11 a.m., Thursday in Marano Campus Center, Room 133 Writing Fellows Workshop: “A Scaffolded, Community-Based Podcast Project,” 11:10 a.m., Thursday in Penfield Library, CELT Conference Room

Accounting Society asked the senate to bring their budget up to $2,500 to sustain the events it does each year, such as Meet the Accountants Night and its volunteer tax assistance program.

Blackfriars Theatre Organization’s budget went from $17, 527 this year to $12, 626 for next year.

To sustain the club’s activities, it requested a total of $3,450 to be added to its budget next year.

E-Sports Association’s events budget was cut by $900. They requested an additional $200 to $300 for events to be added to their budget.

Pagan Association’s funding went from $1,194.38 to $799.

Since the organization has doubled in size, holds two weekly meetings, holds five workshops each semes-

ter, and goes on a religious retreat in the fall and a spring trip, they requested to return to their same budget from this year to continue their events.

Video Game Development Association’s budget this year was $4,000, but will not be receiving a budget next year. Director of Finance Miranda Kryskow later said this was because she never received a budget request from them. They asked for $500.

The budget for Enactus went from $11,456 to $2,162. They requested their original budget to pay for competitions.

Muslim Student Association came in to speak about Ramadan, a month of fasting from dusk to dawn, which begins the evening of May 5. They asked the senate to support a bill that would benefit muslim students who eat on campus to find halal options and to have food be prepared by Auxiliary Services for them to eat after the sun sets.

A4 NEWS Oswego State Equal Pay policy: first year Panel of interdisciplinary Men’s and women’s club sports receive equal funding experts consider VR, tech THE OSWEGONIAN FRIDAY, May, 3 2019

Maria Pericozzi Photo Director mpericozzi@oswegonian.com

This academic year was the first year in Oswego State history that each men’s and women’s club sports received equal funding from the Student Association, after an Equal Pay for Equal Play resolution passed last year.

When setting up budgets for this academic year, Miranda Kryskow, the SA finance director, averaged the budgets of the men’s and women’s club sports to come up with an equal number. The women’s teams got huge increases to their initial budgets, and men’s teams got decent cuts in their budgets. “[Women’s teams] have made the best they could out of a new opportunity,” Kryskow said.

The men’s teams were pretty upset with what was going on, according to Kryskow.

“A lot of them were like ‘Yeah, this sucks. It’s a lot tighter for our belt, but we know that we have to help our female counterparts in getting them to where they need to be, to a more equitable spot with us,’” Kryskow said. “There was a lot of mumbling and grumbling, but ultimately, we all knew we have to suck it up for the year and get through to help each other.”

Many people were involved in starting the movement at Oswego State, including the director of Campus Life, the vice president of academic affairs, the SA president, Kryskow and Campus Recreation. The goal was to create a system where women’s teams could request enough money to have the same opportunities that men’s teams do.

Previously, SA used a system where each organization requested a certain amount of funding.

They would look at what the organization had spent in the past, and it led to legacy funding.

“If you could find a way to spend $10,000, then you could get $10,000 plus some, which was detrimental to our budget and detrimental to the opportunities of men and women’s sports,” Kryskow said.

Part of the problem is that women’s club sports felt like they could not request as much money, according to Kryskow.

“That’s where the idea came from and where this problem arose,” Kryskow said. “We wanted to make sure that women’s club sports felt like they could ask for exactly what they needed to provide them with

the same opportunities that we’re giving men’s sports.”

For the 2017-18 season, men’s club rugby had a budget of $18,950, and the women’s club rugby had a budget of $7,300. For the 2018-19 season, both organizations had a budget of $13,775.

For the 2017-18 season, men’s baseball had a budget of $11,250, and the women’s softball had a budget of $1,500. For the 2018-19 season, both organizations had a budget of $8,231. For the 2017-18 season, men’s club volleyball had a budget of $4,200 and the women’s club volleyball had a budget of $2,000. For the 2018-19 season, both organizations had a budget of $5,795. For the 2017-18 season, men’s club soccer had a budget of $4,500, and the women’s club soccer had a budget of $2,650. For the 2018-19 season, both organizations had a budget of $4,286.

Men’s club ice hockey took the greatest hit, with a budget cut of $8,101. For the 2017-18 season, men’s club ice hockey had a budget of $37,500, and the women’s club ice hockey had a budget of $7,200.

For the 2018-19 season, both organizations had a budget of $29,399.

The budget cut caused players to pay more out-of-pocket and fundraise for expenses, such as ice time and paying officials, head coach Christopher Timmons told The Oswegonian in March. Timmons declined an interview in late April, stating that he has decided to no longer comment on the budget changes, as the organization is looking to move past it and continue forward in their progress.

“I think we also need to shed light on the fact that there may be clubs that are in different phases in terms of structure, organization, community outreach and participation,” Timmons said in an article from The Oswegonian on March 15, 2019. “I agree that each club should have equal opportunity to grow and prosper each year, but that also needs to be earned through progression and results, not just given.”

The women’s club hockey team budget gained $22,199 this year, which gave them an opportunity to purchase desperately needed new equipment and jerseys, said Madeline Block, the current vice president and incoming president of women’s club hockey.

“We ordered new gloves [because] all the gloves were gross,” Block said. “Some of the girls had to use past gloves that had been used for four years, so they were moldy.”

Block said they also spent

money on new helmets. Hockey helmets have expiration dates and are supposed to be replaced when the player gets a concussion.

The women’s club hockey was also able to go on overnight trips, paying for a hotel and a bus. Last year, the team members would pile into their own cars and get gas cards from SA. Also, the women’s club hockey team was able to use their funding to join the ACHA Div. II league, where they play against more competitive teams.

“In previous years, we were winning 10-0 against teams, so it wasn’t very fun and got kind of old for us,” Block said. “It’s nice being in a competitive league and being able to afford the dues for that league. That was the whole point of why we needed more money.”

The increase of budget has had a positive impact on the team, Block said.

“People, like incoming freshmen, aren’t feeling like they’re less than others because now they have new gear just like everyone else,” Block said. “It makes them feel part of a team and now everybody matches, which is nice.”

As of the end of April, the women’s club hockey team has around $30 left in their budget, which they plan to spend on tape for the next season.

Next year, the team plans to spend their budget updating their jerseys, which can cost thousands of dollars, Block said.

“Equal pay for equal play brought a lot of us together, because we went to different marches and it was good team bonding,” Block said.

Kryskow said, this year, all of the women’s club sports feel a little more secure with the amount of funding they have received.

“They spend what they have to spend, and they know they have room to buy whatever they need,” Kryskow said. “They haven’t spent all of it yet because they’re not used to that funding.”

Kryskow said she hopes Oswego State can get to a place where men and women’s club sports and all organizations feel like they are getting a fair treatment.

“I hope all of this brings about a culture where SA is willing to support and help all of its clubs and everybody we can,” Kryskow said.

“But we need to be more financially responsible and realize that we can’t pay for every single part of every single club of everything that you’re doing.”

FACULTY from COVER Peterson spent much of his portion discussing philosopher Robert Nozick’s experience machine, a thought experiment wherein a person can live their lives in an experience machine – a device where all experiences, while simulated, feel very real.

The experience machine is a less active version of the reality VR provides, one where the real and virtual is blurred together.

Zelcer said this blending has already been happening for a while, with things like advertising tricking people into a false reality in much the same way VR does now.

“This technology fools our brain in every possible way,” Zelcer said. “The better we can trick people, the scarier virtual reality comes in terms of what we’re susceptible to.”

All panelists considered the possible consequences of VR, as some students who attended raised concerns about the technology growing too fast and leading to possible abuse. Schofield said there are many issues surrounding anonymity in the virtual world, with players behaving in ways they would otherwise not if they could not be anonymous.

“People hide themselves behind their virtual avatars and these cloaks of anonymity,” Sholfield said.

But that does not mean disaster is the next step, Schofield said, as most players still maintain their ethical codes in gameplay. Peterson said he sees a great potential for VR in a learning capacity.

“We’re going to have to face up to the fact there’s going to be people who misuse this technology,” Peterson said. “But I definitely think it’s

already served great purposes.”

Other panelists echoed this mentality and Yildirim said he remains optimistic that humanity is not headed for a dystopic future like in Netflix’s “Black Mirror.”

“I’m very optimistic that, as human beings, we are not going to be so dependent that we’re going to use it for everything,” Yildirim said.

“We still have our friends, family – that’s going to prevail in the end.”

Vampola, who moderated the panel, said he was happy to see such a pertinent topic be discussed on campus.

“It’s an appropriate time for us to actually be getting together to talk about this since there is a critical mass of people on this campus who are interested in virtual reality, using it as both a research agenda and in the classroom as well,” Vampola said.

Several attending students shared that sentiment. Max Mozes, treasurer of the cognitive science club on campus, said it was a rewarding experience to help host the event and educate students in a unique way.

“We’re a pretty small club, but this is the most people we’ve ever had,” Mozes said. “It’s really the core of the cognitive science club, to have actual experts talk about their fields that are related to cognitive science.”

Justin Driscoll, a sophomore cognitive science major, said he appreciated the multiple perspectives the panelists offered, and he would like to see more discussions in the future.

“I really liked there was this combination of interests that attracted everybody … [and] the fact that five professors from different fields showed up,” Driscoll said.

Jessica Wickham | The Oswegonian Patrick Higgins | The Oswegonian

Panel included experts from fields of technology, computer human interaction and philosophy.

A5 NEWS OzFest: tragic beginning of annual event Overview: SA track record, Four years after first OzFest, history of celebration lost legislation passed this year THE OSWEGONIAN FRIDAY, May 3, 2019

Alexander Gault-Plate Incoming Editor-in-Chief aplate@oswegonian.com Traditionally, the last Friday of classes at Oswego State has been a time of celebration. It is a day when students can choose between two events to mark the end of another year. One of the events, OzFest, the school-sponsored day of campus-wide celebration with a Student Association-sponsored concert in the evening, is a relatively recent addition.

The other is Bridge Street Run, shortened to BSR. It is a pub-crawl down the main street of Oswego that has been around for decades.

OzFest began four years ago, in the spring of 2015, as a response to a tragedy during BSR. Three Oswego State students overdosed on heroin on May 10, 2014, during the end-of-year-celebrations, according to reporting done by The Oswegonian at the time. One student, who was found on campus, died, while two students who were in a house on Bridge Street at the time were sent to the emergency room but ultimately survived.

At the time, the college released an emergency alert that warned people, “Danger: Oswego heroin may be lethal. One person dead; two hospitalized. Please beware.”

These overdoses hit the Oswego State community especially hard, as they came just two weeks after another student had overdosed in his off-campus home.

Two men, Brian Tumolo and Gabriel Gonzalez, were arrested in connection to the heroin the students had taken.

Also that night, two people got drunk and were injured by the trolley, operated by the same company that drives the “D-Bus,” and the community overall was angered. That year had been especially rowdy, and city property was damaged as students flocked between different bars downtown as early as 4 p.m.

The Common Council for the City of Oswego voted to bill the school for the police overtime costs, the fire department costs from responding to health-related calls that night, as well as the re-

pair costs incurred by the Department of Public Works, and later banned BSR for 2015.

When students returned to Oswego State in the fall of 2014, many of them remembered the events of the previous year. President Deborah Stanley spoke to the Student Association that year, and Jerri Howland, vice president of student affairs and enrollment affairs for Oswego State, remembers what she said.

“When I started in the fall, the president came to speak to SA in October. She talked about how it was time for the campus to pledge to redouble their efforts to discourage excessive intoxication and overindulgence in alcohol,” Howland said.

Former SA president Tucker Sholtes began talking to the administration about sponsoring an event on campus that would give students an option besides BSR. Howland said he described the event as an “attractive, alternative celebration on campus.”

Howland said the event was never expected to stop BSR totally, but that the hope was an alternative option would be attractive to a large number of students. It turns out they were correct.

The first annual OzFest was put on with the collaboration of multiple campus offices and groups.

Auxiliary Services had been holding an annual event called May Day, where they would put up food stations for free around campus.

They offered to move that to the day of OzFest, to make it a part of the event itself.

Howland said Resident Life and Housing came to offer to roll in their own event, called CasaPalooza, into OzFest as well. The Resident Life program involved games and inflatables. The Student Affairs office offered funding for the event as well, in line with their usual donations to student events at the end of the semester.

Finally, SA proposed to fund the biggest part of OzFest: the concert. Howland said Sholtes and SA offered $150,000 from the SA reserves to sponsor a concert with a “big name artist,” to be held alongside the combined May Day and Casa-Palooza events.

According to the original SA

resolution, from the third Senate meeting of the year on Sept. 30, 2014, SA actually entered a spending deficit of $150,000 to sponsor the concert but proposed that all ticket sale income would go toward a Certificate of Deposit to accrue interest and fund another event the following year.

Howland said that this, unfortunately, never happened.

The event, however, was a huge success. The Marano Campus Center Ice Arena filled with students as Time Flies, B.o.B., Mac Miller and Big Sean performed a concert that began at about 7 p.m. Photos taken by The Oswegonian’s photographers at the time show many students still wearing the traditional white shirts for BSR, with signatures in sharpie all over them.

Things at Oswego State have changed. Almost all of the students who were present in the spring of 2014 graduated in the spring of 2017 or earlier, and many faculty members have moved positions or left since then. Howland said even the book of resolutions passed by SA for that year is missing now.

Howland said this coming year, the Student Association Planning Board, the entity that funds and organizes all of the SA-sponsored events, is facing a budget cut.

“The senators in SA were considering cutting the funding for the concert,” Howland said.

Howland said SAPB is being faced with a budget that will force them to decide between hosting SA-sponsored events throughout the year or hosting the concert, but they will not be able to afford both. This comes as SA attempts to grapple with years of overspending by reducing their spending, cutting club budgets and reducing financial commitments in an attempt to balance the books.

Whichever route Student Association takes, Howland said she would caution them to evaluate the things they are cutting when they reduce costs.

“Sometimes, when you’re making a decision to reduce spending, some aspects of what you provide shouldn’t be cut if they have a high value, and I think that sometimes decisions aren’t made with value in mind,” Howland said.

The Oswegonian file photo Photo from 2014: Oswego State students crowd Bridge Street as they partake in the bar crawl that would see muitiple students in the hospital later that day.

Student from COVER Over the past two semesters, SA passed resolutions to give equal funding opportunities to club sports, extend fitness center hours, hang flags to show support to Palestinian, Iroquois Nation, LGBTQ+ people of color, transgender, black and Pan-African students, provide free menstrual products in public restrooms on campus, outfit University Police with body cameras and remove plastic straws, condiment cups and plastic cups from dining facilities.

After passing the Equal Pay for Equal Play resolution, all men’s and women’s club sports received equal funding, typically giving women’s teams an increase to their budget and taking a chunk out of the men’s teams.

The budget process was then changed for the upcoming academic year to make sure the club sports teams receive only what they need and to avoid legacy funding, where a club’s budget is based off what they received in years past.

“On our campus, we cannot flourish if women and men on our campus don’t have equal opportunity,” van Reenen said.

To accommodate students who have busy schedules throughout the day, SA requested for the Cooper and Glimmerglass fitness centers to extend their hours, so gym members could work out later at night. This year the fitness centers piloted this program and added six hours per week to both of the fitness centers’ hours.

Several community members attended an SA meeting to either support or advocate against the request to hang six specific flags when the flags in Marano Campus Center return from cleaning and review. The flags that were debated included the Palestinian flag, the Black Lives Matter flag and the transgender pride flag. The Iroquois Native American tribal flag, Pan-African flag and Philadelphia pride flag, which is the gay pride flag with the addition of a brown and black stripe, passed without debate. Senators voted for each flag individually and each passed by general consensus.

“All students were asking for was to be recognized and made visible, for our underrepresented and marginalized students to know that we stand in solidarity with them and our campus does not only see diversity as a number … but as inclusivity,” van Reenen said.

SA, in collaboration with the Women’s Center, passed and signed in The Women’s Center Period Act: Free and Equal Access to Menstrual Products.

Starting in the fall semester, this resolution will provide free tampons and pads to all women’s restrooms, gender-neutral restrooms, and a third of all men’s restrooms on campus. Menstrual dispensary waste bins will also be installed in those restrooms.

To avoid potential discrimination, SA passed the Social Justice Act, which asked for the implementation of body cameras on University Police officers. The body cameras record any interaction the officers have while on duty. This is meant to provide more accurate accounting when reporting an incident.

The issue of plastic use was introduced to the senate last year with Plastic Action for Commitment to Sustainability Affirmation, but was voted down. It called for the restriction and then complete removal of plastic cups in the dining halls.

PACSA was reintroduced this year and students voted on it as a referendum during the presidential and vice presidential election. The referendum passed with 52% voting to remove the plastic cups, 32% voting to keep them and 15% voting to abstain. The effects have already been put in place as dining halls removed them, eliminating more than 324,000 plastic cups per semester.

“We, the students, set the standards for sustainability and we have to understand that fighting for the understanding is hard because it’s a faceless fight,” van Reenen said. “If we can model our campus as a way society can reduce its carbon footprint, then what better way to celebrate our campus as a [leader in] sustainability?”

With the success of some referendums, SA brought them to the SUNY SA conference in Albany to propose their implementation to all 64 SUNY schools in the state. The referendums that were passed include PACSA, Social Justice Act, Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System Reporting Initiative, which gives a public report on each school’s sustainability efforts and accomplishments every two years, the Period Act and the Social Justice Act. These will now be made policy in every SUNY school.

For the remainder of this year, van Reenen is focusing on extending library hours, changing the signage for gender-neutral bathrooms, ensuring

Photo provided by Omar van Reenen

Muslim students have access to halal foods and prepared food during the month of Ramadan, taking international students into consideration during career fairs, food waste recovery for food insecure students and reducing the school’s carbon footprint.

Most recently, SA evaluated the school’s contract with Centro and changed it to provide for transportation during summer and winter sessions along with increased hours to the Blue Route and the bus into Syracuse. van Reenen said the transportation fee will not increase even though the contract increased from about $72,000 to about $90,000 because they budget for about $105,000. van Reenen said he will sign the contract next month.

“Now their SA fee will be used to maximum potential and the contract will fulfill its maximum potential to provide a service to our students,” van Reenen said.

Vice President Edward Kelly said one of the accomplishments he is most proud of is revamping the budget process. He said he was originally not in support of changing the budget process last year but has since found it to be necessary.

“It was definitely something that was important to change because there were a lot of issues that went with it, including club sports [budgets] being compliant with Title IX, and making sure that equal opportunity funding was there,” Kelly said.

Kelly was appointed as vice president at the beginning of the academic year when Catherine Millington stepped down from the position after winning the election for VP against Kelly. Next year, Kelly will be Chief Justice for the Supreme Court during his senior year.

“I’ve always been about holding people accountable; that’s one of my values I hold near and dear to my heart,” Kelly said. “I think I’m going to carry that with me to the Chief Justiceship because I think that’s important for the college to hold people accountable for their actions, for us as SA to hold organizations accountable for their actions and for organizations to hold themselves accountable for their actions.”

Kelly said the court is a lesser known branch of SA and wants to work to make it more visible to students as a resource on campus.

SA also made changes to its bylaws, budget proposal policy and contingency fund policy. After the investigation of the presidential election, SA changed its bylaws in regards to campaigning and elections. These changes made it so campaign material only within 20 feet of the official physical polling place needs to be removed, and if a candidate is already an executive, they cannot use their official SA email to campaign.

After a grievance against the presidential election, candidates van Reenen and Baldwin Lawson rescinded their candidacy. Takeena Strachan, the current director of civic engagement and legislative affairs, ran for vice president unopposed, but became president due to the line of succession.

Strachan is the first black woman to be SA president at Oswego State.

“It baffles me how women of color are still making monumental changes in society - it’s 2019,” Strachan said. “I think it’s an honor … it shows future generations to come that even in our timeline right now, anything is possible if you put your mind to it and hard work never really ends, but there’s a benefit to working hard in life.”

Strachan said, as president, she hopes to have a cabinet of eight or nine people, maintain student involvement and reach out to different disciplines to get involved. Since she joined, she said she noticed an increase in the variety of students’ topics of interest.

“I really wish we could have done more with parking and more with all of the organizations,” Strachan said. “I would like for everybody to have their own little spotlight.”

NEWS A6 SA debates future of activities budget THE OSWEGONIAN FRIDAY, May 3, 2019

Photo Briefs Taco Bell

ACTIVITIES from COVER

Nicole Hube | The Oswegonian

The empty lot at 147 George St. in Oswego next to Price Chopper Plaza is the future location of the first Taco Bell restaurant the city has seen in over a decade.

The Taco Bell will occupy the former Ponderosa restaurant lot, which has sat empty after the Ponderosa structure was demolished.

City of Oswego Mayor Billy Barlow announced the construction of the Taco Bell at the George Street location on Twitter, with the date to break ground set as this past Wednesday, May 1.

The George Street lot is in close proximity to Price Chopper Plaza, as well as J.C .Penney and McDonald’s.

The new Oswego location is planned to open at the end of this summer and be ready for fall

Student clubs have been overfunded by $200,000 annually

2019, according to Oswego city officials and Hospitality Syracuse Inc, the company that will operate the new restaurant.

Plans to build a Taco Bell restaurant at the George Street location were announced by Barlow in Feb. 2018.

Traffic patterns are not expected to change at this time, Barlow told the Palladium-Times, due to the lot previously housing another restaurant.

This restaurant comes weeks after the Friendly’s restaurant location in Oswego abruptly closed.

The Oswego Taco Bell location joins the Taco Bell restaurant that recently opened in Fulton.

The Fulton location is also owned by Hospitalilty Syracuse.

SA has a cash reserve, but these consistent deficits have depleted those reserves to the point that SA will likely be about $96,000 in debt over the summer and will have to take loans to cover costs, according to SA fiscal advisors presenting at the April 23 meeting.

“I’m worried about [SA’s] financial position,” Kryskow said in her executive report to the SA body during the April 30 meeting as senators considered club budget appeals.

According to Kryskow’s April 23 presentation, the SA budget council was able to reduce the deficit next year to about $60,000.

This would be a 70% cut of the deficit and a 7% cut in total if the $200,000 annual deficit is added to the $1.8 million fund.

The budget council consisted of Kryskow, two student financial assistants working with the SA finance office, SA President Omar van Reenen, SA Vice President Edward Kelly and two members from SA finance committee including Sen. Baldwin Lawson, the committee chair. Budget council met for three hours a week for seven weeks, according to Kryskow, to review every budget request made and determine how much to allocate.

In the past, according to Kryskow, clubs would generally receive budgets based on their “legacy budget” or the amount a club has historically received.

“This year we’ve done something a little different,” Kryskow said. “We look[ed] through every single budget we were given and we sat down and we talked all of it out. What exact information did

they give us? What is reasonable for us to support?”

Allocating funds this way was an effort to shift the culture of how clubs felt they should be funded and an effort to shrink the budget deficit in order for student activities to continue, according to Kryskow. She emphasized that some club expectations were too great given the budget SA has, especially regarding requests for certain categories.

“Lots of things that were cut were things like travel money, food, pizza, clothes. Apparel got cut 50% across the board because you’re now expected to pay 50% for your apparel,” Kryskow said.

“That’s where a lot of those cuts were made.”

From the debates during SA meetings over the last few weeks, many senators agree the culture around the activities budget needs to change.

“We have to understand that even though we manage so much money as Senate, we don’t get all that money at once. It’s [paid in] installment[s],” Sen. Asheem Calixte said. “We have to be very careful in terms of the amount of debt that we rack up next year.”

This comes from information provided by Michael Flaherty, general manager of Auxiliary Services and a fiscal advisor for SA, during the April 23 SA meeting.

Flaherty explained that the $1.8 million expected for the activities budget is paid by installments as students attend Oswego State for the semester. Typically, SA has a cash reserve to cover the gaps in funding between these installments. A comparison would be a savings account SA could draw

on if its checking account did not have enough money to cover needed costs between paychecks.

After more income, SA could replenish this savings account and avoid going into debt. However, the trend of deficit spending has depleted this reserve, and SA is in real danger of going into debt.

With some required costs like fees and professional salaries for SA support staff and club sports due in July, according to Flaherty in April, SA would have to take out a loan until a majority of students return for the fall semester and the activity budget can receive its first substantial installment in October to begin paying off that loan.

While many senators agree the cuts are necessary, there is some disagreement on exactly how the budget should be approved and if it would be better to give funding to smaller clubs that may gain more value-per-dollar or to focus on large keystone events like OzFest.

“I believe that if we were going to go into the red … let’s give [some of the money] to 12, 15 clubs rather than just one club,” Lawson said.

Other senators wanted to look closer at the larger clubs, with some budgets numbering in the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“I was not in support of going into the red; I was in support of cutting the over-budgeted clubs,” Sen. Maryjay Olaleken. “I feel like some [club’s] budget can pay a mortgage.”

A common sentiment among many students involved in SA is that clubs need to contribute financially to their own programs.

“You have to fundraise,” Olaleken said. “If you can fundraise for charity, you can fundraise for yourself.”

Arcon

William Rogers | The Oswegonian Several clubs on campus attended Student Association’s April 30 meeting to appeal their 2019-2020 student activities budget allocation.

Nicole Hube | The Oswegonian

Located in the Chu Atrium of the Marano Campus Center, Arcon is Oswego State’s annual gaming convention organized by the campus’ Story Tellers’ Guild and co-sponsored by the Story Tellers’ Guild Alumni Association, according to the official website.

Current members and alumni of the Story Tellers’ Guild ran various event at this year’s convention.

This past Friday through Sunday was the 18th annual Arcon.

The convention featured local vendors, artists, LARPers, tabletop games, role-playing games, miniatures, collectible card games and video game events in various rooms across Marano, as well as the campus center’s Chu Atrium.

Each gameslot lasted four hours in duration, in addition to a 24-hour area.

Some games and booths were hosted by club members, local and regional businesses and game publishers.

The event ran nearly continuously from Friday evening to Sunday evening.

Games included AFFLICTION: Salem 1692, a board game designed

by Dan Hundycyz and published

by DPH Games. The game is based on the historical period surrounding the Salem Witch Trials, when hysteria and paranoia gripped a small isolated community.

AFFLICTION uses this setting for a game where players act as ambitious Salem residents, useing the opportunity presented by the hysteria to further their own goals by placing their limited pieces to set schemes in motion or foil their rivals.

Shirts were available for purchase and distributed by registered members and participants, as well as Arcon XVIII tote bags.

Donations were collected in support of the Story Teller’s Guild scholarship, awarded annually to a single-student guild participant.

OPINION VOTING IN

B5

PRISON

Image via Pixabay

VOLUME LXXXIV ISSUE X

SPORTS THE OSWEGONIAN

SPORTS B3 Nicole Hube | The Oswegonian

• www.oswegonian.com

Editor’s Column Oswegonian Sports: A year in review

FRIDAY, May 3, 2019

B1

Lakers return to Cortland for SUNYAC championships No. 2 Oswego State baseball confident, want to celebrate on Red Dragons’ field

Ben Grieco Incoming Managing Editor bgrieco@oswegonian.com The sports section for The Oswegonian is a unique and special one. It is not like Syracuse University’s Daily Orange, which has numerous writers and photographers covering each and every sport that it offers.

The Oswegonian sports section has approximately five writers every week, two of which are the editor and assistant editor. Sometimes, the photographers are also the writers, and sometimes, file photos are the necessary ones.

The section does not cover every sport every week. Writers and space are limited. We try to cover every sport at least once during its season. If we are lucky, we can get a general-season article and a feature-like story, but we do not hold our breath.

This does not even include the club sports teams that we try to include – men’s and women’s ACHA hockey, the club roller hockey team, the men’s and women’s club rugby teams and some others. We, as students and journalists, can only do so much every week.

And all of this is why I have loved to hold the title of “sports editor” for a year. We may be a student-run newspaper, but we produce quality content that could be used professionally week after week. Every week, Matt Watling, the incoming sports editor, and myself are proud of each issue that we produce. Together, we produced 22 issues – not including the 2018-2019 Hockey Guide and the 2018 Whiteout Weekend guide – the best that we could.

Some of my favorite memories with The Oswegonian – despite this only being my second year here – have happened within those 22 issues and beyond. These include covering the NCAA Div. III Oswego State men’s hockey team as the beat writer, getting to write numerous features on some really cool student-athletes and, most of all, being able to work with Matt, who is a close friend.

Even though I have left the sports staff, that does not mean I have left the sports section overall, as I will be the beat writer for men’s hockey next season. I will still be contributing every week to the sports section during the fall and spring, covering whatever is necessary.

But I feel I am leaving the sports section in the best hands possible: Matt and new assistant sports editor, Luke Owens. Both have covered Oswego State athletics with a drive and passion that cannot be matched easily. I am excited to see what they will do with pages B1 to B4 to make them even better than they were this year.

As I officially relinquish the reigns of the sports section to Matt and Luke, it has been a great time to reflect on the year that was, and I would not have traded any of the opportunities for the world.

To everyone that has followed along and helped this past year, from the readers to the writers that we brought in, to the athletics department, coaches and student-athletes and to the rest of The Oswegonian staff – thank you for your support all year long.

I could not have completed this year without you all.

DYNAMIC DELLICARRI

Maria Pericozzi | The Oswegonian The Oswego State baseball team will return to SUNY Cortland to play in the SUNYAC Championship, looking to defend its title.

Brian Rudman Sports Writer sports@oswegonian.com The Oswego State Lakers baseball team will head to SUNY Cortland this weekend, starting May 3, looking to defend its title at the SUNYAC championships.

Following last season’s SUNYAC tournament, the Lakers find themselves in a similar situation. They

will once again travel to SUNY Cortland for the four-team, double-elimination tournament and will enter, once again, as the No. 2 seeded team.

The team has had a successful 2019 campaign, boasting a 14-4 record against conference opponents. Despite the four losses, head coach Scott Landers is happy with the success.

“We’ve played great,” Landers said.

“We’ve only had the Cortland hiccup

Patrick Higgins | The Oswegonian

that weekend. But, other than that, we are 14-1.”

That “Cortland hiccup” came back in April, when the Lakers got swept in a three-game set on the road. But, despite being 0-3 against SUNY Cortland this year, Landers was still confident that if they played well, they could still get the job done.

“We just have to play good baseball in all facets of the game,” Landers said. “We have to play defense.

We have to pitch. We have to do a lot of things offensively that we didn’t do the first time.”

Even with the three losses to SUNY Cortland, there is still a reason that the Lakers are in the position that they are. It has been the pitching and defense that the players have credited as an improvement from years past that has helped get the team into the position they are in. Senior outfielder, Mike Dellicarri, was pleased with the pitching and defense.

“Our pitching and our defense has been a lot better than its been in the past,” Dellicarri said.

Dellicarri was not the only one talking about the pitching and defense. Senior pitcher Nick DeMarco also had high praises for them.

“Our fielding has been very well this year, our pitching as well too,” DeMarco said. “Great guys out of the bullpen, obviously our conference

starters are very strong this year.”

The numbers back up the strengths listed by the players as well. This year, the Lakers’ pitching staff currently boasts a 2.90 ERA against conference opponents, which is good for second in the conference, only behind No. 18/15 SUNY Cortland.

DeMarco, a starting pitcher for the squad, holds a 1.80 ERA against conference opponents himself. He explained that his few struggles this season were due to small mistakes.

“I just try to take it game by game honestly and not look back,” DeMarco said. “When I look at my numbers on the year, its kind of been a couple bad pitches that have ended up getting myself in sticky situations, but going on a pitch-bypitch basis. Just throw, just go out there and throw as hard as I can and locate, hit [my] spots.”

With all of these strengths that have been on display throughout the season, it has led the Lakers to have one goal in mind when returning to the SUNYAC championship: repeat as champions. When asked what his expectations were for the team heading into the tournament, Landers said he is focused on victory.

“Win the tournament,” Landers said. “That’s about it.”

To do so, there is an approach that the coach, and the team would like to employ. Staying relaxed during these high pressure moments seems to be the focus.

“Loose, confident, those two words kind of sum it up,” Landers said. “Loose and confident, and we can go win the thing.”

Landers was not the only one who wants to stay cool in the big moments. DeMarco echoed his coach’s sentiments.

“We need to play like coach said: very loose and confident,” DeMarco said. “We can get kind of nervous in certain situations.”

The team would like that attitude to lead them to victory, but they may need some leadership to do so. Dellicarri spoke on how he will try to accomplish this.

“I’m going to just try to lead by example,” Dellicarri said. “That’s just how I’ve been throughout my career.

I’m not much of a vocal guy, so I just to set the example for the younger guys on the team.”

With any luck, all these factors will result in the goal that Dellicarri has set for the team in the upcoming tournament.

“I want to dog pile on Cortland’s field,” Dellicarri said.

Men’s lacrosse bows out in first round to No. 1Cortland Lakers reach postseason in back-to-back years for first time in program history

Ben Grieco Incoming Managing Editor bgrieco@oswegonian.com The Oswego State men’s lacrosse team made program history but fell short of its expectations for the 20182019 season, after losing to SUNY Cortland in the SUNYAC Championships on Wednesday, May 1.

After making it to the SUNYAC playoffs in 2018 for the first time since the 2009 season, they became the first team in program history to make back-to-back postseason appearances. This season, despite a lower overall record of 8-6, the Lakers matched the .500 conference record after defeating SUNY Oneonta in the final regular season game.

“It was a playoff game. That’s how we thought of it and that’s how the game went,” sophomore goaltender Kevin O’Donnell said.

The game also determined who would make the SUNYAC Championships: SUNY Oneonta or Oswego State, who both entered the game with a 2-3 conference record.

“We basically explained to them, and everybody understood, that last Saturday was a playoff game for us,” Bezek said. “For us to continue play and be able [to work] together as a group, last Saturday was crucial.”

During the game, Oswego State jumped out to an early 3-0 lead, with the first goal coming less than three minutes into the first quarter. After a Red Dragon goal got them on the

board, Oswego State went on another five-goal run and another fourgoal streak.

All this season, O’Donnell said the team did not do a good job of “burying” teams once the team has a lead. He also said keeping the offensive pressure against SUNY Oneonta was a big key to the game.

“We took a lead early and kept pushing our foot down,” junior Evan Hollfelder said. “Normally, we let them hang around too long and then it gets sketchy.”

While the mindset was different for the team, Bezek said the team “focused and … bought well into the game plan.”

“I think we were pretty efficient with the game plan that we had going in, and I think that’s what helped us with our quick start and being able to continue to progress throughout the game,” Bezek said.

In practices before the game against SUNY Cortland, both Hollfelder and O’Donnell said practices focused more on the basics of lacrosse, rather than “the weaves” used for different plays. Before the SUNY Cortland game, Bezek said the team wanted to “throw the whole kitchen sink” at it.

“It [was] more focused on certain aspects,” Hollfelder said. “[We] focused on six-on-six and clearing.”

Another key to practice was focusing on the other team.

“It [was] more about knowing the scouting of the other team and making sure we [knew] what their tendencies [were], especially a team that we’ve al-

ready played,” O’Donnell said.

Against SUNY Cortland, the game was tied at halftime with five goals each. The Lakers limited SUNY Cortland to only one goal in the first quarter, with only two minutes left in the quarter. During the game, Oswego State jumped out to an early four-goal lead but could not match the Red Dragons’ offense in the second half when they scored four goals in both quarters.

“Putting together an offensive and defensive full game [was an issue],” Hollfelder said. “Not just a half here and a half there.”

With the loss, the Lakers’ season ended in the same exact way the 20172018 season ended: a loss in the SUNYAC semifinals against No. 1 SUNY Cortland in Cortland after squeaking into the playoffs as the No. 4 seed.

O’Donnell and Hollfelder will both be back for their second and third seasons with Oswego State, respectively.

O’Donnell will likely be the starting goaltender for the third season in a row, after starting and playing all 14 games this season. Hollfelder will try to stay atop the points leaderboard for the Lakers, after leading the team with 46 points and a team-leading 36 assists.

Either way, all sights for the team will be set on making another stride in the SUNYACs next season.

“Moving the program in a different direction than where it’s been in the past is something that we’re really paying attention to,” O’Donnell said. “We’re the first Oswego team to make SUNYACs two years in a row. It is taking a step in the right direction, but I think we’re better than one game at a time.”

Alexis Fragapane | The Oswegonian The Lakers men’s lacrosse team defeated SUNY Oneonta April 27 to clinch a playoff birth.

SPORTS B2 Streaking women’s lacrosse team win SUNYAC playoff first round THE OSWEGONIAN FRIDAY, May 3, 2019

Winners of six straight have ‘grown every game,’ build chemistry with transfer players Matt Watling Incoming Sports Editor mwatling@oswegonian.com On Tuesday, April 30, the Oswego State Lakers extended their winning streak to six games and advanced to the SUNYAC semifinals with a 17-15 victory over the SUNY Oneonta Red Dragons.

Unlike the last game against SUNY Oneonta, this one was very defensive early on. About midway through the first half, Oswego State’s head coach, Britt Howard, took a timeout with her team down 4-2. In the following 10 minutes, the Lakers rattled off three consecutive goals to take the lead. From that point on, Oswego State was fully back in the game as its biggest deficit was one goal, a deficit that would last for less than three minutes. For Oswego State, its regular season game against SUNY Oneonta proved to be very beneficial. The Lakers defeated the Red Dragons 14-13 back on April 20 in overtime.

The team’s resilience stood out as they were able to battle back and tie the game with 2:06 remaining. Early in the game, the team struggled with poor play.

“We were a little sloppy here and there, just because of the jitters from senior day,” Howard said. “[We need to be] patient and kind of lead the way by taking control of the clock.”

Oswego State was able to control the clock, like Howard alluded to, as it was able to lead in the shot department during the first round of the SUNYAC postseason. The Lakers outshot SUNY Oneonta 31-29.

One of the biggest contributors for the Lakers was Elianna Sanchez, the junior goaltender. In the regular season matchup, she failed to make a save until late in the second half.

On the other hand, she made seven crucial saves to lead the Lakers to the SUNYAC semifinals. Howard has noticed Sanchez’s better play throughout the six-game winning streak, as it has been a part of the bigger improvements coming from the defensive end.

“We game plan differently for every game … which is key in the defensive end,” Howard said. “But Ellie’s been playing well.”

The Lakers as a whole have improved over the course of the season as three of their four losses came in the first half of the season.

Oswego State is playing some of its

best lacrosse, as it has gelled well as of late. Senior midfielder Toni Laneve echoed these sentiments as she attributes the winning streak to the chemistry of the team.

“The team atmosphere and how close we are [has been crucial],” Laneve said. “We are always hanging out after practice, before practice, on the weekends. Us being so close off the field makes us even more close on the field.”

With so many new players on the roster, it makes sense as to why it took time for this team to hit its stride. Entering the season, the Lakers had 12 new faces, making up 44% of the 27-women roster. Many of these new players have made significant contributions to the roster, including Molly Beck, who is fourth on the team in points. Senior midfielder Brigid Regin recognized the better play as of late since the players began to develop better chemistry on the field.

“We know how to work off each other better now,” Regin said. “In the beginning of the season, we had so many new people transfer from OCC. We finally got it down, how to work together and what we were comfortable with and confident with.”

Stephen Novak | The Oswegonian Oswego State huddles around head coach Britt Howard during a timeout, a game in which The Lakers would go on to win.

Campus Rec Report: champions crowned Flag football, softball, dodgeball seasons come to an end Morgan Meaney Contributing Writer sports@oswegonian.com Intramurals have officially come to a close this week, with the six final champions being crowned.

The final leagues, flag football, softball and dodgeball are over for the semester.

Flag football, though only a tournament, had its final two games this past weekend. Rona Szn, who dominated from the very start, was crowned victorious in the men’s 7v7 tournament against Townies in a final score of 24-14. In the corec 8v8 tournament, the last two teams standing, Powder Hounds and Les Ch’tis, battled hard in their final game. Powder Hounds emerged victorious in a final score of 27-18.

Dodgeball has also come to a close, with victors in both the corec recreational league and men’s

competitive league. In the first game of the night, Varsity Barkers defeated The 5 D’s of Dodgeball (3-2) but were later eliminated by Sole 2 Soul (3-0). Sole 2 Soul put on quite the show, shutting down Varsity Barkers and Petri-dish Babies (3-0) to land themselves in the finals. Hot Dawg Smoothies was able to take home a win over Mother Duckers (3-1) before inevitably falling to Ballsagna in a very close matchup (3-2). Ballsagna was pit against Team Yeth (3-0) and Prestige Worldwide (3-1), but nothing could stop them from making their way to the championship game against Sole 2 Soul.

In a very close battle of best four out of seven, Ballsagna snagged the shirts in a 4-2 victory over Sole 2 Soul.

In the men’s competitive tournament, there was a huge upset in the championship game, which

saw No. 4 ranked Team Phoenix fall to No. 7 ranked OZ Golf in a massive 4-1 victory.

In the final tournament of the year, corec competitive and men’s competitive softball ended this week. After some crazy weather mishaps, our semifinals saw Washed Up Seniors pit against Storm in a very close 23-17 game.

The second team making it to the finals was Horns Up, who defeated ALL RISE with a 4-1 victory. In the championship game, the teams seemed to hold each other off with the final score of only 4-2, with Washed Up Seniors coming out on top. In the men’s tournament, The Bueller Boys defeated How’s That Fair? in a close final score of 9-7 to land themselves in the championships. In the final game of the season, The Bueller Boys came out on top over Brew Crew in a final score of 14-6.

Stephen Novak | The Oswegonian Lakers forwards Kamryn Sherman (10) and Kassidy Myers (12) attack the net.

Of the 12 new players, seven played for Onondaga Community College last season, where the Lazers participated in the NJCAA National Tournament. Combining this with the SUNYAC playoff experience returning Lakers have from last season, Oswego State has a glut of experience. This experience is crucial for a team that needs to lead seven underclassmen who may not be as familiar with the postseason as the others on the team. Entering the postseason this time around, Regin understands the importance of her role as a leader.

“I bring [the underclassmen] to the side if they look nervous, [and] I just tell them to calm down,” Regin said. “I understand you’re nervous but just play your game because you are better than that.”

While playoff games can be perceived as just another game, to a certain extent, they are different. The intensity of the postsea-

son slows the game down as well as the stouter defensive play. This typically results in fewer shots on goal and goals tend to come at a premium. It is harder to score, but teams have to remain confident in their offensive abilities.

“We have to know that the defense is going to be up on us,” Regin said. “But we have to be able to keep our composure, pass the ball, make the correct passes and take our time with everything.”

Despite the ups and downs of the season, the Lakers are right where they want to be. They have accomplished most of their goals from the start of the season, including reaching the playoffs and have improved consistently.

“We’ve grown every game,” Howard said. “It is a totally different team from the beginning of the season to now … our whole team atmosphere is different when it comes to the sideline as well as on the field play.”

Photo Brief ‘WHAT’S IN THE BAG’

Ben Grieco | The Oswegonian

After three seasons of collegiate golf at Oswego State, senior Sean Paul Owen has had his fair share of success under head coach Mike Howard. Most recently, Owen won the Empire 8 Conference Championship, scoring a fourday total of 292. His score was also the second-lowest in Empire 8 history.

In the spring portion of the tournament, Owen shot a 147, which was tied for first, but his fall total of 145 was able to secure the victory.

In the most recent weeks, Owen was a part of the squad that earned first place at the Elmira College Spring Invitational, shooting an 82 in the one-day tournament. He was also the medalist for the Oswego State Spring Invitational, where Oswego State claimed the top three finishers for the tournament.

Owen finished with a two-day total of 147, shooting a 76 then a 71 at the Oswego Country Club.

Out of the 10 matches and tournaments that Owen played this season, he led the Lakers for seven of them. In the Potsdam Fall Invitational, Owen, Corey Marshall and Ryan Fecco all led Photo provided by Campus Rec the team with an even-par 72. Fecco As the spring semester comes to a close, champions for three leagues were crowned, with the competitive divisions earning t-shirts. ended up winning the playoff on the

second hole to claim the individual medalist honors.

In a video that was recorded on May 2, managing editor Ben Grieco – who is a self-acclaimed golf junkie – with the help of sports editor Matt Watling, talked to Owen in a video about his bag.

The two followed the “What’s in the Bag?” that many popular golf magazines or websites, like Golf Digest or GolfWRX, have done in the past. Grieco was able to ask different questions about the specifics of his clubs and other small things – like the head cover he has for his driver – in the video.

Owen said his favorite club was his Scotty Cameron putter, and talked about his Mizuno irons and Cleveland wedges. He also carries a special ball-marker from his teammate, Nick Gramuglia, that has his favorite NCAA Div. I men’s basketball team logo on it.

The video will be posted on the website by next Friday. Both Watling and assistant sports editor Luke Owens hope to do more videos like this in the future, highlighting certain student-athletes at Oswego State, looking at their equipment and other special things about their sport.

B B33 SPORTS Softball enters SUNYAC playoffs Senior standout leaves legacy on baseball diamond strong, splits day one games, 1-1 Despite career accomplishments, right fielder hungry for more THE OSWEGONIAN FRIDAY, May 3, 2019

Luke Owens Incoming Asst. Sports Editor lowens@oswegonian.com

Nicole Hube | The Oswegonian Jessica McCarthy (left) and Erin Sweeney (right) have combined for 25 hits, 28 runs and 13 RBIs.

Aaron Valentino Sports Writer sports@oswegonian.com The Oswego State softball team is heading to the SUNYAC playoffs for the second year in a row to take on the No. 2 seeded SUNY Geneseo Knights, after going 9-3 to finish the season.

It was not a great start to the season for the Lakers, as they started 8-16 overall and 3-5 in the conference before going on a nine-game winning streak that put them in real contention for the SUNYAC playoffs. The Lakers did lose their final three games of the year against Alfred State and SUNY Cortland to finish their season 17-19 and 11-7 in conference play, which was good enough for the No. 5 seed and a spot in the playoffs. Despite losing those last three games, head coach Abby Martin does not feel as if the team lost momentum.

“What snapped was the AllAmerican pitcher from Alfred,” Martin said. “We put some really good at bats together and lost 1-0.

Then, [at] Cortland, we went without our two best pitchers and a big part of our offense, so we are best at our full staff. So it’s really those challenges that set us back, but looking to the tournament, we have no excuses.”

Despite the three-game skid, senior catcher Emily Knowlden is still confident.

“It wasn’t ideal, but I think we learned a lot about ourselves,” Knowlden said. “Obviously, with Rebecca [Vilchez] out and [Brianna] Harrington with her back injury, I think we lost a little bit, but not mentally.”

The Lakers were here last year in the same spot before losing to SUNY Oneonta and SUNY Geneseo in the first round, but they hope for a different result this time around. Despite a slightly better record last year at 19-15, they had the same conference record at 117. Although the situation is not ideal, senior Angela Frampton is not making excuses.

“We have [to] take what we are given and make it work,” Frampton said. “We are put in a tough position, but we just have to do what we can to overcome [what] comes our way and just keep rolling with it.”

Although the team struggled last year, losing both its SUNYAC playoff games, Martin will have her team focus on this year.

“We just have to play our game,”

Martin said. “We are not worried about what happened last year, we are not worried about who we are playing, we just have to play our game. If we pitch the ball well, and we make plays, and we hit the ball the way we can, then really kind of everything else is out of our hands, so just control the controllables and whatever happens from there is what is meant to be.”

In the first day of the SUNYAC playoffs, the Lakers went 1-1 to advance to day two. The tournament is two-game elimination, and the Lakers lost their first game to the No. 2 seed SUNY Geneseo by a score of 5-0. SUNY Geneseo’s Ashlyn Kersh pitched a complete game, no-hitter. In game two, the Lakers battled back from a 3-1 deficit with three runs in the sixth inning.

We have really good chemistry this year ... we have faith in everyone on the field that they are going to get it one.”

As the senior year of Oswego State’s baseball star Mike Dellicarri comes to a close, it is safe to say he has been one of the best to ever put on a Lakers uniform. The numbers alone speak for themselves.

He currently ranks second in Oswego State in career at-bats (530), third in hits (178), fourth in doubles (33), first in triples (15), second in home runs (23) and third in RBIs (142). With the SUNYAC tournament ahead, as well as a potential NCAA tournament berth, he has even more opportunities to climb the career ranks ladder. Dellicarri truly has done it all in his time at Oswego State. But as head coach Scott Landers says, it is more than just the numbers when it comes to Dellicarri.

“Accolades wise? Those speak for themselves,” Landers said. “But with Michael, it’s more than just a baseball player. He’s a great kid, now a grown adult, and he does everything right. He goes to class and gets good grades. He’s working hard in the weight room and on the field.”

All that hard work has certainly paid off. Dellicarri is a notorious gym rat and is never satisfied with the results. But what sets Dellicarri apart is something that just comes naturally, according to his head coach.

“Raw ability,” Landers said.

“He’s 6 foot 3, left-handed, with a lot of power. Mentally, he’s gotten a lot better over the four years, but he’s always been physically gifted.”

Consistency is the name of Dellicarri’s game. He hit over .300 in all four seasons for Oswego State and drove in more than 30 runs in each of his last three seasons. His approach at the plate may seem unorthodox to some, but for Dellicarri, it is just second nature.

“I don’t really think when I’m up there,” Dellicarri said. “That helps me when I’m up there. I’m just reacting to pitches. I work hard in the cages, and I try to hit every day.”

Even with all the success Del-

Photo provided by Casey Stone Dellicarri has recorded 40 hits, 7 home runs and a batting average of .317 in 38 games.

licarri has had, there is always room for improvement. The senior had a career-best 11 stolen bases this season. His aggression on the bases has further groomed Dellicarri into a true five-tool player.

His career .984 fielding percentage in right field ranks him ninth in Oswego State program history.

Dellicarri also set a career best in walks his senior year, drawing 25.

“I’ve just been trying to be more selective at the plate,” Dellicarri said. “I used to swing at the first pitch a lot and pop it up. I’m just trying to be a little more patient.”

Although Dellicarri’s approach has become less aggressive and more selective, it is also the fear opposing pitchers have when he steps into the left-handed batter’s box. In SUNYAC play especially, Dellicarri has seen his walk total rise significantly. These teams have seen him do damage time and time again and would rather put Dellicarri on base rather than let him hurt them with his bat.

“His plate discipline has gotten a lot better each year,” Landers said. “But a lot of that has to do with the fear factor. With what he brings in the middle of our lineup, other teams just don’t want to pitch to him.”

Dellicarri’s individual suc-

cess has also helped with Oswego State’s team success. The Lakers have reached the NCAA Tournament each of Dellicarri’s first three seasons, including NCAA College World Series appearances in 2017 and 2018. With SUNYAC tournament play set to begin this weekend, Dellicarri has his eyes set on a third consecutive SUNYAC title.

“I want to come out on top,” Dellicarri said. “I want to beat Cortland on their home field again and have some fun with my friends.”

Dellicarri is focused on the present, but with graduation just around the corner, it is hard to not look ahead. The senior is not ready to give up baseball just yet.

“I definitely want to keep playing,” Dellicarri said. “I don’t think I’m ready to be done playing. If nothing comes about, I’d like to get into coaching or at least do something with the game.”

As his playing career at Oswego State comes to a close, there is no doubt Dellicarri’s legacy will leave a mark. He has become a blueprint for what Landers looks for in recruits.

“He means a great deal to our program because that’s how we want our players to be,” Landers said. “He’s one of the model guys we try to recruit.”

Emily Knowlden -Oswego State softball catcher

Despite having a worse overall record this year, this is a different team from last year, and the Lakers feel they are better. They are confident in this offense, outscoring their opponents 64-34 over the past 12 games, which is good for five runs a game and a team ERA of 2.83, which is well below league average. Regardless of the numbers, Knowlden senses a difference in this year’s team.

“We have a really good chemistry this year,” Knowlden said.

“This year we have each other’s back, and we trust that we have each other’s back, and we have faith in everyone on the field that they are going to get it done” Martin feels the team is hungrier than last year which will help in SUNYAC playoffs.

“They want it a little more,” Martin said. “They are playing together more. With all the adversity we faced, it has made us a stronger more mentally tough team, which is going to help in the postseason. We are just going in [with] no excuses, play hard with what we got and we will see what happens.”

Patrick Higgins | The Oswegonian

Shore Report

THE OSWEGONIAN FRIDAY, May 3, 2019

SUNYAC Standings

Baseball

Overall 29-9-1

Cortland- 1 Oswego State- 2 Fredonia- 3 Oneonta- 4 Plattsburgh- e Brockport- e New Paltz- e

Oswego Scoreboard

Streak

Conference 18-0

W11

26-12-0 12-21-0 17-18-0 12-20-0 16-20-0 13-19-0

14-4 8-10 6-12 6-12 6-12 5-13

W4 W1 W1 L1 W1 L1

Cortland- 1 Geneseo- 2 New Paltz- 3

25-13-0

15-3

W3

31-8-0

14-4

W2

26-10-0

12-6

W4

Oneonta- 4

16-20-1

11-7

L1

Oswego State- 5 Fredonia- e

18-20-0

11-7

W1

13-23-0

8-10

L3

Plattsburgh- e Buffalo State- e Brockport- e Potsdam- e

13-19-0

7-11

L3

17-19-0

6-12

L8

14-20-0 8-28-0

5-13 1-17

W2 L2

Softball

B4

Men’s Lacrosse- SUNYAC Playoffs

Baseball

Women’s Lacrosse

Sunday, April 28

7 OSW: FRE:

Tuesday, April 30

3

17

15

Gruarin: 3-5, 2 RBI Dellicarri: 3-5, 2 R Terrill: 4.1 IP, 6 K

OSW:

Shattuck: 3 goals, 4 assists Beck: 2 goals, 3 SOG Sanchez: 7 saves, 15 GA

Sanborn: 6.1 IP, 4 ER Mistretta: 2-4, 1 RBI, 2 R

ONE:

Calabrese 4 goals, 1 assist Marry: 6 saves, 17 GA

Men’s Lacrosse

Softball

Wednesday, May 1

Thursday, May 2

13

5

10

0

COR:

Haggerty: 5 goals, 1 assist Panariello: 2 goals, 7 SOG Esposito: 16 saves, 10 GA

GEN:

Elmer: 3-3, 1 RBI Persich: 2-4, 1 Run Kersch: 7 IP, 0 hits, 3 K

OSW:

Doolan: 3 goals, 10 SOG O’Donnell: 18 saves, 13 GA

OSW:

Harrington: 4.1 IP, 5 ER Frampton: 1.2 IP, 1 K

Upcoming Events Women’s Lacrosse Friday, May 3

Track & Field Friday, May 3

@ 12:30 p.m.

3:00 p.m.

OSW: 11-4 (6-3) GEN: 13-4 (9-0)

SUNYAC Championships @ The College at Brockport

Baseball

Saturday, May 4

Patrick Higgins | The Oswegonian

Friday, May 3

@ 1:00 p.m.

Women’s Lacrosse- SUNYAC Playoffs

Softball

FRE: 12-21 (8-10) OSW: 26-12 (14-4)

1:30 p.m

SUNYAC Championship Game @ SUNY Cortland

Laker Athletes of the Week

Patrick Higgins | The Oswegonian

Kyle Bacon

Around the SUNYAC Women’s Lacrosse

8

17

NPZ: 8-8 (4-5) BPT: 13-4 (7-2)

Men’s Lacrosse

11

10

GEN: 8-9 (4-2) PLA: 7-9 (4-2)

2.59:

The ERA posted

by Rebecca Vilchez in 2019, which led the way for the Oswego State softball team. The junior also tallied eight wins and 41 strikeouts pitching. Vilchez started 18 games for the Lakers, five of which were complete games. At the plate, Vilchez batted .307 while adding two home runs and 17 RBIs.

Men’s Lacrosse Junior | Montgomery

Softball

0

7

FRE: 13-22 (8-10) COR: 25-13 (15-3)

29:

The number of runs scored by the Oswego State baseball team this season against SUNY Fredonia. Oswego State has won 44 of the 68 all-time meetings with SUNY Fredonia. The Lakers and Blue Devils will meet this Friday to begin the SUNYAC baseball tournament. It will be the fourth meeting this season

Carly Vreugde

Women’s Track and Field Junior | Lake George

In a must-win final game o f t h e s e a s o n a g a i n s t S U NY Oneonta, Bacon tallied five goals on 14 shots. This was the second time Bacon scored five goals in a game this season, the other coming against SUNY Geneseo.

His play helped the Lakers advance to the men’s lacrosse SUNYAC playoff tournament. Bacon finished the 2019 season with 18 goals and seven assists.

The junior from Lake George won the 400-meter dash at the St. John Fisher Cardinal Classic on Saturday with a time of 58.38 seconds. This was the third fastest time in Oswego State history for the event. Vreugde already owns the Oswego State record for the outdoor 200-meter dash, finishing in 25.62 seconds. She also owns the school record for the 400-meter dash.

The time it took for Lakers runner Carly Vreugde to complete the 400-meter dash at last weekend’s St. John Fisher Cardinal Classic Outdoor meet. 58.38 seconds is the third-fastest time in Oswego State track and field history. The top mark was set last May by Vreugde herself, timing in at 57.48 seconds.

The career point total for Oswego State men’s lacrosse senior Bobby Emerson. Emerson also set his career-high with 31 goals this season. Five of those goals came in a March win over St. Joseph’s (L.I.). The Lakers finished the season with an 8-5

58.38:

107:

record and qualified for the 2019 SUNYAC tournament.

OPINION

THE OSWEGONIAN FRIDAY, May 3, 2019

B5

Queerbaiting Editor-in-Chief explains hiring process Anti-vaxxers bad for spread Diversity in news content as important as those reporting LGBTQ fans illnesses Alexander Gault-Plate Incoming Editor-in-Chief aplate@oswegonian.com

Photo from Free-Photos via Pixabay

Francesca Miesner Opinion Editor fmiesner@oswegonian.com Film and shows are created by whoever owns a camera, an imagination and a motivation to create. The difference between a student project and a high-grade professional production is the talent involved and, most importantly, the budget.

Not every film that is pitched in Hollywood is created, obviously. There are countless screenwriters and aspiring filmmakers who have ideas to be created to film. The people who live in the LA area for film are diverse. However, a disturbing amount of films pumped out

by Hollywood are lacking in diversity.

This is not for a lack of trying, either.

What big producers are looking for are films that are sellable.

With “Avengers: Endgame” destroying the box office this past week, that is more than enough evidence to show that films the world wants are action films and superhero films. The American public love horror films and cheesy, predictable romance films.

That is not to say these films are not impressive and beautiful in their own right, but this leaves for less films of more diverse ideas or cast to get made.

The issue is that a lot of films produced through Hollywood are more concerned with being accessible to the majority and marketable to those who are hateful than giving those who are not in the majority to feel included. This, from a business standpoint, makes sense. If someone who is violently homophobic finds out that a major film that they would have seen has LGBTQ representation, they may rethink seeing the films. I have a simple solution to this problem: stop censoring media to pander to people who are hateful.

Enough people would see the movie for the LGBTQ representation that would counterbalance any people that chose to pass on this film for the same reason. All Hollywood executives are doing by not including this representation is further proving that most mainstream art is censored in diversity based on who will consume the media. They need to stop pandering to people and censoring what might upset them, even though it is appropriate for screen. Losing potential hateful viewers is much less damaging than not allowing for diversity in the same formulaic films that Disney cranks out every few months.

In a lot of films and television, creators try to implement “queerbaiting.”

Essentially, the writers and actors plant hints toward LGBTQ representation between two characters and then either have no actual establishment of the relationship or have one of the two characters get into a heterosexual relationship. Some of the time when this happens, the creators might not realize the chemistry that so many see between two characters on screen. A majority of the time, however, they do understand this. Almost everything done in film is intentional, whether it be choice of color or the placement of a cup. Each line is carefully crafted by the screenwriter, and each delivery of that line is rehearsed countless times by the actors. The creators who queerbait know exactly what they are doing.

Why is queerbaiting harmful? It gives some LGBTQ people false hope that favorite characters could be like them. They gain the trust and hope of fans for the attention of potential representation and then yank it away so that the non-LGBTQ fans do not feel uncomfortable that their favorite characters are unlike them. There are infinite non-LGBTQ people in film and television. Using queerbaiting to gain views or popularity is cheap and disrespectful to fans.

Filmmakers lately have been more concerned with the potential profits from films than the actual quality of the film. Obviously, bills have to be paid and films cost money to make, but sacrificing quality writing for the viewers is incredibly cheap.

As the semester comes to an end, The Oswegonian is going through a staff change. This year, 12 members of staff are graduating, as well as a handful of our regular volunteer writers. As they leave, it is my job as the incoming editorin-chief to find their replacements.

Each year is an opportunity to bring fresh faces and fresh perspectives into the newspaper. As an institution at Oswego State, dating back nearly 90 years, we know that we have an important role to fill. Representation is important. Especially in media, the representation is of our culture itself.

But we have to ask ourselves if we are doing everything right when it comes to representing our communities.

The Oswego State community is a fairly diverse place, with many ethnic-, gender- and sexuality-based identities represented on campus and in our student body. We are about 75% white, while New York state, at large, is about 63% white. While African-American people are represented almost at an equal level to their statewide percentage, Asians are overrepresented, and Hispanic and Latino people are underrepresented. Admittedly, there are still steps to be made in the school’s goal toward a more evenly representative student body.

Whether you agree with the school’s goal to increase diversity in the student body, the reality is that Oswego State has become a more diverse place in recent years, and we need to accommodate that. Something that I

have not seen much of as I hire members of next year’s newspaper staff is a diverse set of applicants.

Student media these days is not quite as popular as it used to be. This paper struggles to find people interested in writing for us, and when the time to hire a staff comes around, it is a struggle to find applicants for some positions. The other media organizations on campus, WTOP and WNYO, may have experienced something similar.

I went into this year’s hiring process looking for anyone I could find for the positions the newspaper had open. That was partially a mistake, because as a white man, I was looking in all the places I could think of in my own world: clubs I knew about and people I recognized.

Unfortunately, the majority of people I know are white because a majority of people at this school are white. It was not a conscious decision, but it limited my search.

Fortunately, I realized my mistake, but I was a little later than I should

have been in that realization. The Oswegonian has an incoming staff I am confident in, excited to work with and filled with opinions and experiences that are different and fresh. But I could have been more inclusive in my hiring search earlier on and found even more interest and a more reflective view of the Oswego community.

I caution all club presidents, media organizations, student leaders and students in general to be more aware of where you are looking for friends, colleagues, staff members or points of view.

For students in general, meeting more people with different points of view is an important part of learning how to operate in the world today. This is especially true for our media organizations. Representing the Oswego State community accurately in staffing and in reporting is an important part of our role here. For students in general, meeting more people with different points of view is an important part of learning how to operate in the world today.

Alexander Gault-Plate | The Oswegonian The Oswegonian is excited to welcome new staff for the upcoming school year.

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

Incarcerated voters still deserve to vote Only prisoners who were arrested for non-violent crimes should vote

Photo from Skitterphoto via Pixabay

Alexis Hanna Staff Writer opinion@oswegonian.com Vaccinations against diseases, including measles and polio, have been instrumental in the eradication of said diseases around the world. These diseases took lives in a multitude of numbers. An increase and acceptance of receiving vaccinations helped extinguish these diseases. These vaccinations are now required in a number of colleges and institutions for enrollments, in attempt to continue prevention of the illnesses. Parents are required to get their kids vaccinated and provide reports that they got vaccinations at specific ages, hoping to prevent diseases including tetanus and HPV in growing children.

Not everyone agrees with vaccinations. Some parents refuse to vaccinate their children, for reasons varying from religion to fear of side effects of the vaccinations.

In recent years, the refusal to get children vaccinated has gained attention. There has also been an increase in sick children and the reappearance of deadly diseases.

Vaccinations could rid the world of polio and measles, and anti-vaxx parents are responsible for the reappearance of these diseases humanity worked so hard to eradicate.

A disappointing and surprising number of parents would rather risk their children get deadly diseases than raise a child with autism and be loyal to a religion. The argument that vaccinations cause autism has been proven incorrect. Parents still hold to it, using it as a reason to refuse to vaccinate their children.

...the ban is appropriate and necessary for the good of the majority.

Athena Lamicela Staff Writer opinion@oswegonian.com On April 27, Sen. Bernie Sanders stirred the pot of American debate with a divisive claim: convicted felons should be allowed to vote. This was not a unanimous decision across the party line.

Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris and Pete Buttigieg are among the Democratic presidential candidates that disagree with his views. Some, like Buttigieg, outright rejected his views, claiming that “when you have served your sentence, then part of being restored to society is that you’re part of the political life of this nation again.” Others felt that it was a more complicated issue than a sweeping statement could hope to cover, put succinctly by Warren with a simple, “I’m not there yet.”

Immediate public backlash centered around figures like the Boston marathon bombers, who were used as an example when the question was first posed at the CNN town hall event.

“Those individuals should never vote in America again,” California Rep. Eric Swalwell said.

Alexandria Ocasio Cortez attempted to redirect the conversation in a tweet: “’Should the Boston Bomber have the right to vote?’ Try, ‘Should a nonviolent person stopped w/ a dime bag LOSE the right to vote?’”

This issue is shaping up to be a key one for the Democratic Primary. Currently, the most common practice among states is to restrict voting rights while an individual is incarcerated but restore them upon the completion of their sentence (New York allows probationers to vote, but not inmates or parolees). While there are clear concerns about giving convicted felons a voice in government, debate raises concerns over who

Photo from DanielVanderkin via Pixabay

Those imprisoned for acts of terrorism or violent crimes should not be granted the right to vote.

is labeled “too dangerous” to vote. With African-Americans being incarcerated at disproportionate rates for low-end crimes, there is reason to be skeptical of a candidate that would suppress a significant demographic over minor crimes that relate in no way to national security.

Most seem to agree that the ideal solution would be to only restrict voting in more dangerous and violent prisoners, hence invoking the Boston bombers.

Applying this punishment subjectively holds its own issues, as it could potentially open the door for biased sentences that favor certain groups over others, which would tilt the vote even more than the current system.

What happens if we do allow all incarcerated citizens to vote? It may feel wrong when contextualized with the most shocking examples, but it makes more sense when viewed objectively.

It seems like a stretch to say that all or even a significant number of prisoners would vote for a candidate that actively

seeks to worsen the country. Most people do not commit crimes with the intent of undermining democracy. More often, it comes out of personal conflicts, business disputes or poverty. It may, in fact, be a benefit for people who have experienced the failings of society to have a voice in changing it.

According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, offences related to homicide, assault, sex offenses, weapons, explosives, arson and national security combined account for 18.5% of the prison population, making up about 53,000 individuals out of the country’s 327,200,000 citizens.

Of these, only 54 individuals are currently incarcerated for issues of national security, hardly making up a fraction of a percentage. If all prisoners were given a vote the same as free citizens, the vote would include historically disenfranchised communities and very little risk would be posed by the boogeymen used to justify withholding the rights of thousands of people.

In correlation with the increase of anti-vaccination advocates, there has been an increase in exclusion of unvaccinated children and families into public places.

In an effort to reduce the cases of diseases once eradicated, schools, universities and even some spaces that are open to the public require attendees to have had vaccinations and ban those who have not. In retaliation, anti-vaxx advocates claim this impedes on the freedom and equality of them and their unvaccinated children. Some do not think it is fair to ban them from public spaces, especially those who claim their religion is the reason they do not vaccinate.

Despite the feelings of excluded unvaccinated citizens into places, the ban is appropriate and necessary for the good of the majority. Vaccinations helped to reduce and get rid of deadly diseases and increased life expectancies. Those who choose not to vaccinate are only putting the rest of the world in danger.

Foreign countries do not want or need polio or American-native diseases destroying their populations. Colleges and elementary schools do not need to admit people if they are a threat. Public spaces are meant to be safe to those who decide to go to and enjoy them. Bringing an unvaccinated child to a public space, admitting them into a college or even letting them visit a foreign country offers immense threat to the population and health of citizens. America has seen a rise in measles and polio cases in the last 20 years - diseases which we eradicated in the 20th century. This is strictly the work of anti-vaxx parents and advocates. Reducing risk reduces cases and saves the population.

NEWS FACULTY DISCUSS VR

A5 Jessica Wickham | The Oswegonian

OPINION

VOLUME LXXXIV ISSUE X

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

SPORTS B2

FIRST ROUND WIN

Stephen Novak | The Oswegonian

FRIDAY, May 3, 2019

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

To the Editor: Earth Day is observed on April 22 and many people will be taking part in Earth Day activities over the next several days.

The Oswego County Green Team encourages residents to celebrate Earth Day year-round, and help keep Oswego County clean and green.

We are blessed with beautiful lakes, rivers, parks and wilderness areas that provide year-round recreation for residents and visitors alike. Unfortunately, too many people have the impression that it’s ok to litter because someone else will be there to pick it up.

Have you ever thrown an apple core

from your car window onto a roadside with the thought, ‘It will decompose’ or, ‘the birds will eat it’? In fact, organic litter can take months to break down in the environment and as well as attracting animals to the dangerous roadside, ingesting decomposing rubbish can be harmful to pets and wildlife. Litter degradability depends on a range of factors including climate and conditions.

Here’s how long it takes for typical waste products to break down in the environment: - Cigarette butts - Up to 12 years - Plastic bags - Up to 20 years - Plastic bottle- 450 years - Aluminium cans - 80-100 years

- Tin cans - 50 years - Orange peel - Up to 2 years - Apple core 1 - 2 months - Banana skin 3 - 4 weeks - Paper bag - 1 month - Cardboard - 2 months - Glass - 1-2 million years Please stop and think before leaving litter on the ground. If you would like to help in the effort to reduce litter in Oswego County, please consider supporting the Oswego County Green Team.

Contact Bob Green, Chairman, at BobGreen@windstream.net.

Thank you!

Dick Drosse & Bob Green

IN THE OFFICE

Film criticism valid as major in college Self-made businesses on internet bettered through programs Oswego State is one of the top schools when it comes to film. Besides producing some of the most talented and innovative people when it comes to production and editing, it also has a very dedicated core chunk of film theorists, historians and writers. They produce top caliber content that deserves to get into film festivals, hosted the 2019 SUNYWide Student Film Festival and recently got back from their third trip to Tribeca Film Festival. The staff goes out of its way to make sure that the students get the best experience and as much knowledge as they can when going into this completely insane, crazy ever-changing business.

However, there is one area that has been growing rapidly over the last decade and cinema and screen studies definitely needs to consider, and that is the history of film criticism. Film criticism is something that has become largely diluted in the modern-day pop culture sphere, to the point where some might consider it obsolete. But with how much social media has changed in terms of the business, it has allowed

Dominic Rizzi Laker Review Editor drizzi@oswegonian.com direct revenue streams to spring up through online advertising. The social media landscape has changed the way that certain platforms legitimize certain people. People who started off as young up-and-comers on a brandnew video-streaming software are recognized icons, with people like Logan Paul, PewDiePie and Honest Trailers becoming internationally recognized symbols. This new platform has created a completely new outlook on all the different landscapes, with media occupy-

ing a massive focus. The term “Film Twitter” is very real and is not going away anytime soon.

The point is that certain ways people view film criticism has changed immensely. People no longer have to work at magazines in order to gain legitimacy when it comes to reporting news, breaking scoops and other things that traditional news organizations were responsible for. The fact that so many people have successfully launched their own businesses thanks to the online business sphere is something that should be noted and studied as a means of gearing certain people toward success. The Oswego State cinema and screen studies major has been successful in its turnout of people who have gone on to work for good projects.

With the amount of talented spokespeople, writers, editors, camera people, actors and many others who have gone on to work and have successful careers in the internet space, the odds are astronomical when the right people start to legitimize it.

Rejection hurts, lying equally unfortunate Oswego State plans to introduce Admission Promise Program Dominic Rizzi Laker Review Editor drizzi@oswegonian.com Instead of sending Oswego State applicants letters of rejection, the school is instead considering an “Admission Promise Program.”

What this means is that instead of people getting a “no” from the school, they get a letter saying that they do not have the room for the many students who deserve to get in, and that they should consider applying again in the future. This seems like a good idea, at first. Rejection letters, be it from a school or a job are tough. They are awful.

They can cause all sorts of emotional trauma and sometimes result in a severe drop in self-esteem for a period of time.

The problem with this solution: The independent student newspaper of Oswego State since 1935 it is an idea that justifies lying to hopeful prospects and potentially causes them more emotional and mental damage. The explanation We want your thoughts on our coverage, campus and local issues, or anything the school comes up with - that regarding the Oswego State community. the students cannot attend due to limited space - is ridiculous and, Email all letters as Word attachments to opinion@oswegonian.com or mail ignoring the fact that it should not

be a pressing problem. For starters, if the school really had a spacial issue, that would either place them in jeopardy for perjury or would be a situation that they would be currently trying to remedy. But regardless of whether space at the school is an actual issue is besides the point. The fact that the school would even consider using this as a substitution for rejection letters is a stupid idea that would end up causing more damage in the long run it is a little white lie that ends up causing a lot of men-

tal damage and feelings of impunity when revealed.

Rejection is hard, which comes from someone who has already dealt with rejection letters from several jobs. The difference was that sense of preparation, because knowing that rejection is a very real possibility can actually sometimes serve as the best kind of motivation. The idea of it may not be very nice, but the long lasting positive effects it can have on the right people, presented in the right climate, can make all the difference.

THE OSWEGONIAN G UIDELIN ES

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 Free-Photos via Pixabay Replacing rejection letters will only lead to more problems in the future.

Apollo

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 Top 10 must-see movies C3 ‘Avengers: Endgame’ ends C5 ‘Game of Thrones’ recap

of Summer 2019

iconic era of Marvel films

so far of final season

FRIDAY May 3, 2019

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LAKER REVIEW

FRIDAY, May 3, 2019

Top 10 summer movies worth seeing over summer break

Image from Walt Disney Studios via YouTube The Lion King will be remastered in CGI, with Donald Glover voicing Simba.

Dominic Rizzi Laker Review Editor drizzi@oswegonian.com “Avengers: Endgame” has come and snapped its way to the top of the box office, raking more than $1.2 billion worldwide. But, now, the time has come for the textbooks and schedules to go away and for the bonfires, summer jobs and beach tans to come out. With the summer fun comes the summer movie season. For what feels like the first time in years, an interesting panel of movies is lined up, both blockbusters and more hits from acclaimed directors.

1. “Once Upon A Time in Hollywood” The ninth feature film from critically-acclaimed director Quen-

best animated effort to date, “The Lion King.” Featuring another ensemble cast, with the likes of Donald Glover, Beyonce Knowles, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Seth Rogen and rounded out by James Earl Jones returning to voice the epic Mufasa, Simba’s father. Slated for a July 19 release, here is hoping the film ends up adding something new to this familiar story the way Favreau was able to do with his previous effort “The Jungle Book.”

2. “The Lion King” Jon Favreau returns to Disney yet again to direct the next “live action” stop motion green screen recreation of arguably Disney’s

3. “Spider-Man: Far From Home” “Avengers: Endgame” has come and gone, but the Marvel Cinematic Universe is far from being over, with “Spider-Man: Far from Home” set to pick up from where the character left off after the cosmic craziness of “Endgame.” The film is set to kick off the new phase that Marvel will enter in 2020.

The film will see Peter Parker, portrayed again by Tom Holland, attempting to take a break from the costume by going on a school vacation to Europe, only to get forcibly recruited

by Nick Fury in order to deal with a new emerging threat.

Samuel L. Jackson returns as the eye-patch-wearing Director of something now that Shield is gone. Jake Gyllenhaal comes in

ideals of stardom. Becky’s mood swings throughout the narrative are shown effortlessly by Moss.

This creates a character who is one of the most unpredictable in recent memory. Eric Stoltz (aka original Marty McFly) was also brilliant as the record label executive in charge of monitoring the deteriorating Becky.

Director/Screenwriter Alex Ross Perry (“Golden Exits”) meticulously frames his scenes with tension and uncertainty.

In a way, his style of storytelling for the work feels like the 2015 film “Steve Jobs” because of the minimal amount of locations used. Perry uses about 30 minutes per scene before transitioning to another eventful moment in Becky’s life. Without a knowledgeable director, this technique might be hard to pull off.

The score is haunting as it encourages the viewer to not defend the protagonist’s wrongdoings. Even in parts that seemed

somewhat peaceful, there was an inevitable sense of dread looming. The original songs contained a Courtney Love-inspired vibe to them. Moss’ voice went from rugged to angelic, and it all correlated to the story being told. The most notable use of music in the film was the mesmerizing version of Bryan Adam’s song “Heaven.”

“Her Smell” features relevant themes that need to be discussed more frequently. The idea that an entertainer is living in “paradise” is flawed, and the filmmakers do not hide from this notion. Artists are often troubled individuals who are trying to escape from their demons. By doing so, they can cause further harm with substances or neglecting loved ones.

Finding our personal weaknesses and trying to fix them is what Perry tries to convey in his screenplay. Perry’s approach at presenting the

tin Tarantino turns to a favorite time period of the director’s 1969 Hollywood. Focusing on an aging actor and his respective stunt man, portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt, the film will take the two of them on a journey through Hollywood. The film will include a colorful cast of characters and an even larger supporting cast, including Kurt Russell, Al Pacino, Damon Herriman as Charles Manson and rounded out by Margot Robbie as the infamous Sharon Tate, as the film will chronicle the brutal Manson murders.

to portray main villain Quentin Beck, aka Mysterio. Other returning players include Marisa Tomei as Aunt May, Jon Favreau as Happy Hogan, Michael Keaton as Adrian Toomes, Jacob Batalon as Ned, Tony Revolori as Flash Thompson and Zendaya as Michelle or M.J. The film opens July 2.

4. “John Wick 3: Parabellum” After two forced first attempts, this new R-rated addition to the action franchise is not to be messed with John Wick 3: Parabellum” seeks to end this crazy, globe-trotting, gun-toting franchise with the explosive climax it deserves.

Fresh off his continental kill from the previous entry, Wick (Keanu Reeves) and his new pup are now on the run, having to outwit every assassin belonging to the mysterious global organization. Ian Mcshane, John Leguizamo and Laurence Fishburne return respectively as Winston, Aurelio and the Bowery King, while newcomers Anjelica Huston, Asia Kate Dillon and Halle Berry help fill out the screen as well as this crazy insane, stylish world. Wick will have to quite literally escape from New York and hopefully

go on a globe-trotting adventure in order to give audiences one last amazing action thrill ride. The film opens May 17.

5. “Rocket Man” Music Biopics have certainly become something studios have been lusting after for certain box office hits, and while “Bohemian Rhapsody” had many negative things, the one thing that can be said about it is that it currently sits as the highest grossing film of its genre at $902 million. So it was a safe bet to say that, when Disney bought Fox and started canceling half the releases, for the rest of the year, they had set one of the movies they kept, which is “Rocket Man,” the next music biopic surrounding an icon, the one and only Elton John, who will be portrayed by Taron Egerton. This movie exists because of how much fun Elton John had filming with Egerton on “Kingsman: The Golden Circle.” Dexter Fletcher will fully handle the reins this time around, with the film slated for a May 31 release date.

For numbers 6-10, visit Oswegonian.com under our “Laker Review” tab...

‘Her Smell,’ uncomfortable yet well executed dip into stardom Alex Kent Staff Writer laker@oswegonian.com

“Her Smell” is the epitome of how to masterfully execute an uncomfortable story through a realistic script and high-effort performances. This film tells the story of an all-female punk band led by the troubled Becky Something (Elisabeth Moss, “Us”).

The surname, Something, is a brilliant creative decision because Becky could have easily had the last name of Hendrix, Joplin or Morrison (all members of the infamous 27 club) due to the abundance of entertainers who fall to drugs or alcohol abuse. Moss’ dedication to the role is very evident by the interviews she gave on the promotional tour. The self-destructive path she takes during the movie is brutally honest to the negative

Image from Gunpowder and Sky via YouTube Elizabeth Moss stars as Becky Something, a soon-to-be wash up.

story is like VH1’s “Behind the Music.” The hardships of songwriting are not at the forefront; this is just another catalyst toward Becky’s downfall. Becky’s relationship with her daughter, ex-husband and bandmates bring the most out of Moss.

By no means is “Her Smell” perfect, but this instead adds to the grittiness of the subject

matter. The biggest issue is it feels a little long in length, running at 135 minutes. Another side of this argument is that Perry wants the audience to endure every second of struggle his characters have to face. “Her Smell” is well worth a watch and would not be shocking if Moss is an early frontrunner to receive her first Oscar nomination.

LAKER REVIEW

FRIDAY, May 3, 2019

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‘Avengers: Endgame’ takes sharp turn with beloved characters

Francesca Miesner Opinion Editor fmiesner@oswegonian.com

“Avengers: Endgame” opened this past weekend and smashed box office records for opening weekend with $1.2 billion dollars spent on tickets. This is almost double the highest opening weekend number by almost double. Second place was last year’s “Avengers: Infinity War.” The hype around superhero films is intense, and despite the title of this most recent film, there is not an end in sight.

There is an end for the Avengers, though. The end of “Avengers: Infinity War” is pretty bleak, with Thanos having gained all of the infinity stones and snapping away half of the universe. The next film has a dark tone. Half of humanity has been extinguished, so if viewers enter this film expecting to leave with a perfectly happy ending, they have not been paying attention.

This film is the end of an era.

This is the last movie with all the modern Avengers: Iron Man, Cap-

Image from FilmSelect Trailers via YouTube Chris Evans’ nine film arc as super soldier Captain America concludes surprisingly in “Avengers: Endgame.”

tain America, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Thor and Hulk. Therefore, a lot of the characters in this film had to be written off, either through finding a new path or through death. After 11 years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), watching beloved characters having their stories end is not something that would be easy to watch.

Showing up to “Avengers: Endgame” with no prior knowledge of previous films is impossible. Unlike seeing any other film with no

prior knowledge, the MCU is almost episodic in nature. Viewers could not watch the most recent episode of “Game of Thrones” and expect to know exactly what is going on.

Some of the characters were introduced in their own movies, then “The Avengers” was released.

Then a few more solo films with character development and lorehinting toward “Avengers: Endgame” were released, but then “Avengers: Age of Ultron” came out. Through this format, in order

to fully understand the plot and love each character, all of the previous films need to be watched.

The biggest issue with “Avengers: Endgame” was that the creators did not seem to watch the previous movies. Or they thought that, just because Taika Waititi’s movie gave Thor really good character development and allowed for him to be more than his hammer Mjolnir, this means that they did not need to as filmmakers.

The problem with this mindset, besides the obvious ignoring

of characterization, is that both Captain America and Iron Man are different characters from film to film. Obviously, they are still played by Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr., respectively, but the way that each writer or director interprets the character dictates how the actor will portray the character in that given film. This discord in characterization was most apparent in “Avengers: Endgame,” as each character was supposed to be given a proper sendoff or farewell from the future of the MCU. The send-offs were beautiful and emotional but, for the most part, were completely out of character from the previous interpretations of the characters.

That is not to say that “Avengers: Endgame” was a horrible movie. There was the same witty humor, exciting action and loveable characters. Despite the bleak tone, the film was not sad and anxiety-inducing. The films in the MCU are diverse in tone and themes, which is well captured in “Avengers: Endgame.” However, the different characters and how they would behave was something that could not quite be agreed on.

‘Under the Silver Lake’ crushes self under weight of own subtext Stephen Novak Incoming Asst. Laker Review Editor snovak@oswegonian.com

Andrew Garfield has taken a bit of a fall. He went from being passive aggressively accepted as the third best Spider-Man to being cast as a miserable drug-head. Thankfully, he plays the roles he is been given with such passion that fans cannot help but find him a little bit charming. Sadly, that is not enough to save his newest film “Under the Silver Lake.” It is a film about an unhygienic despot weaving through conspiracy theories to try to track down his next-door neighbor, not because he is worried about her but because she promised she would hook up with him.

Just like it is protagonist, the film does not have a lot going for it. It is drenched in metaphorical symbolism about a variety of things, but none of them are connected to the plot at large. Sex, drugs and conspiracy runs through the film without any real stop, but

the pacing is probably symbolic of something to do with youth.

It would not be that much of a drawback, but the overall beats of the film are poorly defined. It quickly becomes unclear what the film’s major plotline is. The most prevalent seems to be the case of “The Dog Killer,” an enigmatic force throughout the film.

This ends up taking a backseat for much of the film though, which seems to try to zoom in on the protagonist’s struggles. All of which seem to begin and end with his miserable personality.

Sam, the main character, is not someone that makes it easy to root for: he is a pervert, beats up kids and seems kind of stupid. He seems content to spend his time masturbating, smoking and watching his neighbors through a spy-glass. While he does seem to be given a reason to do what he does, the combination of terrible acts, one after the other, makes it hard to root for him, no matter how much we try to rationalize his actions.

The only credence he adds

is a sense of an unreliable narrator. His vivid hallucinations are set straight at the start and can provide an interesting visual metaphor for how he views the world. Women bark at him, things that are unrelated have meaning and overall the viewer is welcome to question reality whenever they want.

Granted, what the madness does for subtext often ruins every-

thing else. Many scenes are dedicated to watching him ramble off numbers, trying to find a pattern he noticed and attempting to decode one of his various conspiracies.

The first time it happens has a bit of charm, but it quickly runs dry during the two-and-a-half-hour runtime. Fans who do not enjoy that kind of bumbling nonsense will quickly find themselves bored.

For all of the hard work and

intrigue the movie puts out, the stumbles make it a lot harder to beckon a closer look. Whenever one thing is working, something else is not up to shape.

When the acting is good, the writing is not working. When the plot is building up intrigue, Sam is there to remind us that he sucks. Whatever is under that silver lake should be left there undisturbed.

Image from A24 via YouTube After releasing a trailer in early 2018, “Under the Silver Lake” was put on the shelf until recently, when it was finally released.

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LAKER REVIEW

FRIDAY, May 3, 2019

‘Avengers: Endgame’ treats fans to worthy conclusion Garrick Groover Staff Writer laker@oswegonian.com

The end has come. After 21 films, the “Infinity Saga” of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has finally come to a close. “Avengers: Infinity War” left our squad of supers in utter despair as the intergalactic despot Thanos (Josh Brolin, “Sicario: Day of the Soldado”) decimated half of all life in the universe. It was an ending that resulted in many of our favorite heroes reduced to piles of ash as audiences sat in stunned silence. How could the Avengers (the remaining Avengers anyway) defeat this foe that has proven to be nigh invulnerable? Not only does “Avengers: Endgame” answer that inquiry, but it is also one of the MCU’s finest outings that should leave every Marvel fan satisfied.

The trailers for “Avengers: Endgame” were intentionally vague, this review will be as

well, as the majority of the fun comes from going in with a blank slate. The tone of “Avengers: Endgame” is more somber and melancholy than previous entries, as we find the remaining Avengers trying to pick up the pieces in a shattered world. It is a situation that is definitely dire, and “Avengers: Endgame” pulls no punches in presenting a world devoid of joy and certainty. Think of the HBO show “The Leftovers” but with a firm explanation for the disappearance of people.

As always, the performances here are solid. Chris Evans (“Superpower Dogs”), Robert Downey Jr. (“Avengers: Infinity War”), Chris Hemsworth (“Bad Times at the El Royale”), Mark Ruffalo (“Avengers: Infinity War”), Scarlett Johansson (“Isle of Dogs”) and Don Cheadle (“Avengers: Infinity War”) have become so synonymous with their characters that they themselves are totally invested in the roles they play.

Seeing our favorite superheroes work together is a thing of sheer beauty as one of the

Image from Marvel Entertainment via YouTube Scarlette Johannson (left) and Robert Downey Jr. (right) get ready to give “Whatever it takes.”

best aspects of these films is the interactions and dynamics shared between team members. “Avengers: Endgame” flourishing in these moments.

The digital effects of “Endgame” should also be praised.

Very much like “Infinity War,” the CGI found in the depths of “Endgame” are top notch from the whiz of a spaceship to the beads of sweat on Thanos’ forehead. It is truly a marvel to behold and complements the

direction of the Russo brothers (“Avengers: Infinity War”).

“Endgame” is not without its faults. These faults cannot be explained in great detail for risk of spoiling key points in the story, but it can be said the plot of “Endgame” leads to numerous coincidences and plot holes. These are used to further the plot and lead to the most epic finale in superhero film history, but flaws are flaws.

In the end, “Avengers: End-

game” is the most satisfying film in the MCU canon thus far. After a build-up of 10 years, the payoff is indeed worth the price of admission, as Marvel Studios concocts a resolution that offers modes of resonance and vindication. Marvel fans do not need a recommendation on this one as they will see it anyway but “Endgame” is the best superhero film of the year so far.

Image from Virtual Reality Oasis via Youtube

first-person shooters with a lot of gun mechanics that do not vary too much from game to game. One game that stuck out to me was “Robo Recall.”

It is a game where you play as “Agent 34” and are tasked with taking down defective robots throughout the city.

The game controls were fairly simple: grab a gun and shoot.

You can also grab the enemy robots and use them for a shield or throw them at their friends. This game is easy to lose track of time in and is a lot of fun for those who want to relieve some stress on some robots. But some games come with too much realism.

BBC helped make an Astronaut walk simulation called BBC Home. This simulation lets you walk through a day at the International Space Station and investigate damage to one of the panels. However, everything is thrown into chaos when you, as the player, get knocked off of the space station and into the dark void of space. You can

try to get back to the space station, but you die before that and get sent to the title page of the simulation.

After taking the VR set off, it was not too hard to readjust back to the real world after only an hour of play. The toll it takes on your body and eyes will get worse the longer you use any VR set. It does, however, offer a good amount of exercise. The required movements involved with games can be challenging and be a workout for some people. The other setback for some is the price. Although the price has decreased in recent years, the average VR kit can still cost up to $599, not including the computer tower required to run most games, which can land someone into thousands of dollars. Virtual reality is becoming an increasingly popular medium and is backed up by the endless fun it offers. By the next decade, it should be a regular use for almost everyone who can afford one.

Virtual reality offers exciting new experiences from home Zakary Haines Staff Writer laker@oswegonian.com When people are presented with a new piece of technology, it may take them a while to adjust to it and incorporate it into their daily lives. Virtual reality is not a new concept, but the execution behind the headsets and the handles are.

Oculus, HTC Vive and SONY have all been able to put VR on the market for people to enjoy. So far, VR has mostly been for games and some simulations, and the products have been limited in its recent years. Although more titles have been released for VR, it is still far away from being on the same level of the average video game console or computer. The experience engaging with VR is mind blowing and can make you feel like the lines are blurred.

The experiences I have had with virtual reality have been limited, but I have had enough opportunities to have

Mark Zuckerberg unveils his plans to enter the virtual reality market.

a good grasp on what the platform is and offers. The headset is kind of bulky and not the most comfortable.

The hand controls are easy to use once you know where your buttons are and joysticks can be used without thinking about it. After getting adjusted, using the equipment becomes second nature. The games offered were not necessarily big name titles but smaller titles that are enjoy-

able for what is offered. The biggest title I played was “Beat Saber,” a game where players must hit blue and red blocks in certain directions to the beat of the music, having to avoid obstacles as well. The excitement from the music, getting combos and earning a high score makes for a thrilling game for those who want a “Guitar Hero” type of game.

Some of the smaller titles I have played were mostly

LAKER REVIEW

FRIDAY, March 3, 2019

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'Game of Thrones' halfway through final season, recap so far

Image from GameofThrones via YouTube The infamous Night King proves immune to Daenerys' dragon fire in climatic "The Long Night" episode.

Dominic Rizzi Laker Review Editor drizzi@oswegonian.com It is hard to believe that after 23 years, George R. R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” series will soon be concluded. HBO’s pinnacle ratings giant will conclude its juggernaut run when it begins its final three episode run on Sunday, May 5.

When “Game of Thrones” began on April 17, 2011, nobody could have possibly anticipated what a giant it would become. There have been critically-acclaimed shows, there have been shows with massive followings, there have been shows that were canceled too soon, but there

really have not been any other shows like “Game of Thrones.”

Kicking off with the debut episode “Winterfell,” the eighth and final premiere sees a majority of our heroes gathering in the titular castle for their final showdown with the army of the dead, who were last seen breaking through the Wall with the Night King riding on the resurrected corpse of Daenerys’ dragon Viserion. The episode was meant to invoke spirits of the pilot when Robert Baratheon was introduced to us the first time, riding through the gates of Winterfell. Similar to that, the first meeting between Daenerys

Targaryen and Sansa Stark is simmering to say the least, but the amount of character interactions that occur in this episode is legendary to say the least. That being said, there really is not much that happens plot-wise, but that is fine, as it is not needed. “Thrones” premiere episodes usually get hit with a lot of criticism concerning the fact they feel the need to be more expository than plot driven, and while this one may fall into that camp, the character meet-ups and feeling of dread concerning the true endgame is in sight.

The cast of “Thrones” has always been spectacular, but the award for acting goes to John Bradley, who as Samwell Tarly had to learn from Daenerys herself about the death of his father and brother at her hands last season before revealing the truth of Jon Snow’s parentage to him. The episode was somber and quiet but also went fast when it needed to, as audiences were also treated to a little bit of King’s Landing, with Cersei Lannister rewarding Euron Greyjoy

to the bed he always wanted, while Theon Greyjoy frees Yara before heading north himself.

The second episode, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” does not contain that much substantial material, outside of two major events: the arrival of Jaime Lannister in Winterfell, with the revelation that Cersei is not sending the Lannister army as she promised. After Brienne vouches for him, the two’s ever burgeoning friendship is rewarded when Jaime officially knights Brienne. This episode was also remembered for the controversial scene of Arya Stark losing her virginity to Gendry, drawing criticism from people who apparently forgot that the character of Arya Stark was over 18.

But the major bulk of the discussion returned with the third episode, and arguably the next major battle episode of the season, “The Long Night,” which finally sees the much anticipated White Walker attack on Winterfell.

The episode is once again directed by Miguel Sapoch-

nik, the director of such incredible battle episodes as “Hardhome” and “Battle of the Bastards," and as far as the positives go, it is certainly another incredible feat of filmmaking to be placed on the small screen. Sapochnick arguably outdoes himself, combing the claustrophobic feeling of Jon being crushed during the Battle of the Bastards with the insane terror and non-stop zombie feel of “Hardhome,” with a little traditional horror thrown in for good measure. Surprises came non-stop with dragon fire rage, but the biggest surprise? Apparently, nobody at home could see what was going on.

Despite the intense darkness generated by the episode, the first three episodes of the final season of this epic fantasy has certainly measured up to everything the fans have wanted, and the only reason is the creators are keeping true to the story that best suits these kinds of characters. Stay tuned to see what will happen in the last three episodes in the coming weeks, new episodes are released on Sundays at 9 p.m.

'Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice,' offers new style of FromSoftware Brutality

Stephen Novak Incoming Asst. Laker Review Editor snovak@oswegonian.com

FromSoftware has something of a reputation, known for its highly-acclaimed “Dark Souls” series and the spin-off “Bloodborne.” Anyone who knows anything about those games knows that they are kind of hard. The big deal with “Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice” is just how normal the game actually is.

It feels like something to ease new players into FromSoftware’s brutal gameplay loop of die, retry, die again, leading to some controversial opinions on the game needing an “easy mode.” Despite that, it seems to hit a bizarre midpoint in difficulty that might disappoint hardcore fans but still give rookies a good wedgie until they find themselves at the trade-in line.

For those who are not familiar with “Dark Souls” or FromSoftware’s signature style, most players will go

through levels getting constantly ambushed and demolished. You die. A lot. However, death is not the end, as you respawn at the nearest bonfire, having lost all of the money and experience you gained before your last hurrah. The goal is to finally memorize all of the traps, level up and break through. Not only that, but the player is given little to no direction on the actual plotline.

Instead, they need to piece together bits and pieces via environmental details and item descriptions.

The biggest change comes in the form of the storyline, which again will be good for some and bad for others. Instead of having a silent knight (like in “Dark Souls”), the player takes on the role of Sekiro, the Wolf, meaning that the story is told in a traditional manner, losing that brand of subtly that drew fans into the world of Lordran. Sekiro’s feudal Japan setting just cannot compare.

This is not to say that all the changes fall flat. The new mobility system is a lot more manageable.

Dark Souls games would mostly have players wandering down narrow hallways hwoping they do not slip off a cliff and into the next bonfire. Here things have a lot more nuance. The levels are decorated with a ton of grappling points for players to attach their new hook-shot arm onto and silently catapult themselves around the map.

This plays into the new stealth mechanics, which can be hit or miss. The Wolf does not seem to handle fights against multiple opponents as well and must constantly readjust his positioning if he wants to survive. Using stealth is almost a guaranteed instant kill, so hiding in tall grass (because of course it is tall grass) and sticking to rooftops can help assure that the player never has to face the brunt of the hoard all at once. Even when caught, Sekiro can use his mobility to run away and suck his thumb while the player revaluates their tactics.

Memorizing these levels is crucial to success, more so than other

Image from Gamespot via YouTube One of the many difficult bosses that await players trekking through Japan

FromSoftware games, considering that leveling up is not as crucial to one’s success. Instead of being able to upgrade one’s health or damage by defeating enemies, these can only be improved by coming across secret areas, which are incredibly abundant. Experience points only allows players to purchase new skills, which still need to be found in the environment, but these still

require razor sharp skill to pull off.

So, the only thing that will get players through is their prowess.

Overall, it is certainly an interesting creation and has this visceral fun factor that does not go away even after players die 50 times. The improvements will either excite or deflate people on an individual basis, but the strength of its gameplay will keep it afloat for most.

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FRIDAY, May 3, 2019

Crossword Puzzle

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

Down 1. French preposition 2. Before, to Shakespeare 3. Puppy supplier 4. Flaming 5. Dixie general 6. According to 7. Assumed names 8. Transmitted 9. More sensible 10. All 11. Concise 16. Pub missle 19. Give in 20. Honest ___ Lincoln 21. Bad grade

22. Hidden gunman 23. Fire alarm 28. Unspecified person 29. Hillary Rodham ___ 30. Wager 31. Speak 33. Falling sound 34. Untamed 35. Moved upward 36. Florida City 38. Maxim 40. Observes 43. Joan of ___ 44. Expected 45. Compass reading (abbr.)

46. Morning Moisture

Across

1. Society girl 4. Swiss Mountain 7. Desirable Quality 12. Mess up 13. Service charge 14. Depart 15. Sleazier 17. ___ tube 18. Corn Unity 19. Evaluators 20. Speaks to 24. Bread choice 25. Sugar Source 26. African river 27. Always, poetically 28. Fathers 28. ABC rival 32. Honest 33. Earnest request 34. Plump 37. Outlook 39. Pencil Rubber 41. ___ Quixote 42. Juliet’s beloved 43. Modified 47. Type of poplar 48. Carpet 49. Single 50. Rental agreement 51. Third letter 52. Recent

For this week’s puzzle answers...

Go to Oswegonian.com and click on the Laker Review tab!

LAKER REVIEW

FRIDAY, May 3, 2019

Student Artwork

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Flashback Friday On this day, May 3 2002, Marvel Studios debuted their first Spider-Man film to audiences worldwide.

Starring Tobey Maguire and directed by the legend Sam Raimi, Spider-Man received critical acclaim, spawning two sequels and even more spin-offs and reboots.

Even today, the series is still enjoying time on the big screen.

Artwork contributed by Shea McCarthy

Image from YouTube Movies via YouTube

Oswego Cinema 7 Fri. May 3 - Sun. May 5 Avengers: Endgame 10:05 a.m. 10:35 a.m. 11:45 a.m. 1:55 p.m. 2:25 p.m.

6:15 p.m.

7:25 p.m.

9:35 p.m. 10:05 p.m.

Ugly Dolls

11:35 a.m. 2:15 p.m.

4:40 p.m.

6:50 p.m. 9:00 p.m.

Long Shot

10:50 a.m. 1:40 p.m.

4:50 p.m.

7:40 p.m. 10:30 p.m.

Dumbo

11:55 a.m. 2:50 p.m.

5:25 p.m.

5:45 p.m.

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

3:35 p.m.

Shea McCarthy

Jacob Fallat

Jacob Pavoldi Karly Wright

Zach Ericson