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THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF OSWEGO STATE UNIVERSITY • www.oswegonian.com
VOLUME LXXXI ISSUE VIII
Race for 24th district heats up Maffei, Katko face in series of debates during final days
Luke Parsnow News Editor lparsnow@oswegonian.com
my entire career I’ve had nothing but working with various factions—putting together task forces in El Paso, Puerto Rico and back here, of all manner from gangs and drugs. You have to put together coalitions. Law enforcements have vastly different priorities on
Republican Congressional candidate John Katko has taken a sudden lead over incumbent Democrat Dan Maffei in the race for New York’s 24th congressional district, according to a new poll by the Siena College Research Institute and the Syracuse Post-Standard. The poll states that Katko now leads Maffei by 10 points, a surprise to some, as Katko trailed Maffei by eight points in the last Siena poll in September. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points. “Campaigns, political parties and outside groups spend millions of dollars to produce mailings and commercials aimed at educating, influencing and moving voters,” Siena pollster Steven Greenberg said. “The results of that effort can clearly be seen in the 24th congressional district, as voters have shifted dramatically and now support Katko – who had been trailing by eight points – giving him a 10-point lead against the incumbent, Maffei. Katko has effectively brought Republicans ‘home,’ increasing his lead among them from 44 points to 71 points. And he’s increased his lead among independents from seven points to 21 points.” New York’s 24th congressional district consists of all of Onondaga, Cayuga and Wayne counties, and the western part of Oswego County, and includes the cities of Syracuse, Auburn, Fulton and Oswego. “While Maffei continues to hold a commanding 32-point lead in Syracuse, down from 48 points, Katko has opened a 21-point lead in the rest of Onondaga County and a 13-point lead in the other counties. The areas outside of Syracuse had previously been
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See POLL, A4
Luke Parsnow News Editor lparsnow@oswegonian.com
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uring the last week before the midterm elections, Rep. Dan Maffei and John Katko faced off in a series of broadcast debates in the race for New York’s 24th congressional district. Voters were not able to see any kind of debate between the two candidates this entire election season. Democrat incumbent Maffei and Republican challenger Katko first debated on Oct. 17 on WRVO Public Media. They debated again on the same station on Oct. 26, then participated in a series of televised debates, first on Time Warner Cable News on Oct. 27 and then CNY Central on Oct. 28. In the debates, the candidates discussed a variety of both local and national issues, including the Ebola virus, the job market, negative campaign advertisements, Common Core, Social Security, the Affordable Care Act, ISIS and immigration. One of the highly political issues brought up time and again during the debates, one that Maffei and Katko claim to represent while the other does not, is bipartisanship in Congress. Currently, the Republicans hold the majority in the House of Representatives and the Democrats hold it in the Senate. Since the Republicans took back control of the House in 2010, the lack of bipartisanship has been a matter many Americans are upset about. A March 2014 poll from the Bipar-
Photo provided by Dan Maffei for Congress Photo provided by John Katko for Congress Democrat Rep. Dan Maffei (left) and Republican hopeful John Katko (right) are the two competing candidates for the local distrcit in the 114th Congress.
tisan Policy Center’s Commission on Political Reform and USA TODAY found that 77 percent of Americans disapprove of the job Congress is doing. During one of the debates, Katko was asked if he had any strategies to fix this problem. “I do. The very first thing I am going to do if I get elected, or when I get elected, is I
Campus safety measures revisited after SUNY Canton, high school incidents Kyan Peffer Contributing Writer news@oswegonian.com
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SUNY Canton authorities announced on Oct. 25 that the suspect involved in a shooting threat made against the campus had been apprehended. Alexis Vazquez, the primary suspect in the threat, had allegedly made threatening statements on the social media outlet Yik Yak that were reported to Canton University Police. Vazquez, of Brooklyn, was arraigned by the Honorable Gary L. Favro on federal charges in Plattsburgh. Vazquez is currently in the custody of the U.S. Marshall Service pending bond. The investigation into the statements is under the di-
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Katko leads Maffei in new Siena poll
rection of agents from Homeland Security Investigations, a branch of the Department of Homeland Security, in cooperation with the New York State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigations. If convicted, Vazquez faces a maximum sentence of five years, as listed under 18 U.S. Code Section 875. Additionally, a high school student in Washington State, Jaylen Fryberg, opened fire on his school cafeteria on Friday, Oct. 24, killing one person and injuring four others before turning the gun on himself. With both threats and shootings in school settings on the rise nationwide, especially over social media such as Twitter or Yik Yak as mentioned above, both Oswego State University Police and Residence Life
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want to call up the senators in the state, and I won’t care whether they are Democrats or Republicans,” Katko said. “I’m going to call Sen. Schumer and Sen. Gillibrand and say, ‘What can we do together to get these things done and get the gridlock moving?’ I think it will be a very strong symbol of me working across the aisle from day one. And quite frankly,
‘Distracted walking’ problem at colleges Campuses across nation affected due to frequent use of phones Stephen Borgna Staff Writer news@oswegonian.com The latest public safety issue at Oswego State and college campuses nationwide is due to the emergence of today’s technology. This issue involves many students walking around campus with their eyes zeroed-in on their cellphones or other mobile devices—completely oblivious to their surroundings—as they’re texting, checking their Twitter feeds or listening to music through headphones. It’s referred to as “distracted walking,” and it’s a concerning trend on campus to Oswego State University Police Chief John Rossi and his department’s officers.
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“With modern technology, it is pervasive throughout society these days,” Rossi said. According to Rossi, distracted walking is defined as “walking without being aware of your surroundings, especially while using an electronic device.” Since owning a cell phone has become very common, distracted walking has become frequent. At Oswego State and colleges nationwide, it has reached epidemic levels. “Every person, literally, every person is walking distracted, unless they’re [talking] on the phone and they can’t look at it,” said Simone Madlin, a senior public relations major. “It would be easier to count the times that I don’t see somebody walking and texting,” said Gregory Finger, a senior
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David Armelino |The Oswegonian Walking while looking at cell phones causes injuries.
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