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THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF OSWEGO STATE UNIVERSITY • www.oswegonian.com
VOLUME LXXIX ISSUE VII
Pride Alliance uses month to spread awareness
ALANA controversy Missed deadlines, conflicts between students and supervisors hamper ALANA Week’s fashion show production Moraima Capellán Pichardo A&E Editor mcapellan@oswegonian.com
O
n stage, everything at the 27th Annual ALANA Fashion Show appeared effortless, on point and on time, but behind the curtains, a mix of chaos and excitement was present, as the models of ALANA Fashion prepared to perform. Part of the ALANA Student Leadership Conference, the fashion show is often seen as the event’s highlight. To some, however, the conditions in which the fashion show was arranged this year took the students out of the equation. Created in 1986 by Tyrone Holmes, the former assistant director of Hewitt Union, and Howard Gordon, the executive assistant to Oswego State President Deborah Stanley, ALANA (African, Latino, Asian and Native American) week began as the Multicultural Leadership Conference. Today, it continues under the supervision of Maggie Rivera, the student involvement coordinator at The Point and operated as a collaboration of various student
organizations, faculty and staff. The purpose of ALANA is to bring awareness to underrepresented cultures on campus with a series of educational programs, workshops, speakers and entertainment. The major student organizations involved are the African Student Organization, the Black Student Union, the Latino Student Union, the Asian Student Association and the Caribbean Student Association. The theme of ALANA week changes each year, and the theme of this year’s conference was “Nature’s Essence.” Each organization is not only in charge of presenting an educational program of its choice and creating a 10-15 minute scene for the fashion show, but is also assigned a specific duty, such as to clean up after the show or host the banquet. The fashion show, held in Waterman Theatre on Saturday, Sept. 21, also had participation from the Gospel Choir and Image Step Team. Comedian Talent Harris hosted the show, and Oswego State alumnus DJ Tumbo provided the music.
See ALANA, A5
Daniel O’Connor Copy Editor doconnor@oswegonian.com October is LGBT History Month and Oswego State’s Pride Alliance is taking full advantage of this time to promote LGBT+ events, holidays and compassion for students who need support. During the month of October, many students, staff and members of the local area take time to honor the historical and prominent members of the LGBT+ community who have made steps toward LGBT rights and advancements. Oswego State’s Pride Alliance takes this month to celebrate students’ pride, individuality and to showcase LGBT+ events. Senior Marian Holmes, the president of Pride Alliance, looks positively at LGBT History Month and feels that it is a very important time because it brings the campus together. She said the month highlights past and current LGBT efforts for equality. “It’s really important because it’s a public display of support beyond and I think on top of that, it’s a way to celebrate those who have come before and have helped pave the way to allow us to exist,” Holmes said. “I
See PRIDE, A4 Taylor Clock | The Oswegonian A scene at the ALANA Fashion show Saturday, Sept. 27. The management of the show upset participants.
Inexperienced SA senate struggles through first term
SA senate of 14 senators contains 13 newcomers; several senators unable to write legislation Seamus Lyman News Editor slyman@oswegonian.com In an Oct. 8 senate meeting, Anthony Smith, the president of Student Association, addressed the SA Senate with a request: to go online and read the SA constitution. The request, made to a senate whose 14 members contain 11 fresh-
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men exemplified the uphill climb SA faces as it breaks in an inexperienced group of senators. Oswego State’s Student Association Senate is the student governing body on campus. It passes bills and resolutions involving the entire Oswego community,
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yet not as many people are involved as would be expected. The 14 members of senate meet every Tuesday at 6 p.m. in Lanigan 103 and committees, which each senator is required to be a member of at least one of, meet sporadically throughout the week. To become a member of the senate one must be an enrolled student at Oswego State with a GPA of the college minimum for academic standing (2.0). According to the SA constitution, senators become members once their constituency elects them. However, the current senators have been elected through gathering signatures of their constituency. For residents, 50 signatures are required and 100 signatures for At-Large senators. The number of senate seats is apportioned as such per the SA bylaws (Section Two, Article III, Subsection A, B and C): -For every 200 on-campus residents in a residence hall, one seat is apportioned -For every 270 off-campus residents, one seat is apportioned -For every 500 enrolled students, one At-Large seat is apportioned
Under these terms, according to the senate roll call, the seats are apportioned as follows: - 24 seats from residence halls - 3 for Cayuga - 2 for Funnelle - 1 for Riggs - 2 for Hart - 3 for Seneca - 2 for Oneida - 2 for Mackin Complex/Sheldon - 1 for Scales - 1 for Waterbury - 3 for Onondaga - 2 for The Village - 7 from off-campus - 8 At-Large senate seats - 3 Faculty Assembly seats
Devon Nitz | The Oswegonian
Of these senators, the only returning member is Francisco Perez, a senior political science major. Perez has been a member of senate since his sophomore year. “When I first joined, I was in the same position that they are in,” Perez said of the 11 freshman senators. “I didn’t know what was going on. Senate had a lot of rules and there’s a lot of processes that happen and I didn’t know what they were.” Perez said back then there were older senators in the senate who did not help newer senators learn much. Perez said he had to learn a lot on his own.
See SENATE, A5
Common App glitches cause student woes Ryan Deffenbaugh Editor-in-Chief rdeffenbaugh@oswegonian.com Glitches to the Common Application system, a college application service that allows students to submit to dozens of schools at a time, are gumming up the application process and being monitored by admissions officials nationwide. The Common App is used by 500 universities, both public and private, throughout the country. The current set of issues stems from a system upgrade in Common App launched in August. The system requires users to create a username and password, but applicants attempting to submit to universities have found themselves locked out or receiving an error message when attempting to log in. Problems with the credit card payment system have also been reported to universities nationwide and addressed by Common App in a press release, in which it noted that payments have occasionally taken several days to process.
See APPLICATION, A4
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