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Spring 2014
SA update
Student Association holds second meeting of semester
Friday, Sept. 27, 2013
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INFORMATION SESSIONS Wed., October 9th Thurs., October 10th 7:00 p.m. Room 103 Lanigan Hall
12:30 p.m. Room 133 Campus Center
THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF OSWEGO STATE UNIVERSITY • www.oswegonian.com
VOLUME LXXIX ISSUE IV
UP, Lifestyles combat drug abuse on campus
#BEER
Oswego bars experiment with social media to bring in customers
Corey Sheen Contributing Writer news@oswegonian.com
Olivia Ugino Contributing Writer news@oswegonian.com
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According to the annual crime reports for Oswego State, the amount of incidents on campus involving drug possession/ abuse has neither increased nor decreased. But, with this stabilization in the trend, along with a crackdown on drug abuse and distribution in the city of Oswego, something beyond judicial action has to be done to chip away at the issue. Marijuana and binge consumption of alcohol continue to be the leading substances abused by people under 24. In New York State, 6.9 percent of the population currently uses marijuana, and 23.3 percent currently binge drink. In the 18-25 age group, more than 50 percent of the U.S. population has tried marijuana, and nearly 17 percent currently use it. On the other hand more than 41 percent of the age group consume alcohol on a regular basis, according to Census data. This means that a majority of the nation’s substance abusers are around the age of an average Oswego State student. A recent poll by College Prowler, a website that reviews colleges based on what student’s write, asked Oswego State students what substances they think are used the most on campus. Alcohol remained the most popular, with marijuana running a close second. The newest problems authorities have to deal with on campus are prescription pills, closing in, according to the poll, as the third most popular recreational drug.
See ABUSE, A4
Devon Nitz | The Oswegonian
‘Worst Hard Time’ ORI book author Timothy Egan visits Oswego State Amanda Bintz Chief Copy Editor abintz@oswegonian.com
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Perry Kennedy | The Oswegonian Timothy Egan speaks to creative writing students
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weeting out nightly specials and new drinks on tap, bars around Oswego have started to use social media platforms to draw in customers, attracting thousands of likes and follows. Hurricane’s, a bar located on Water Street, uses a Facebook account run by Oswego State senior and bar employee Jordan Harmon to boast about specials such as dollar shots and musical guests, but Harmon says the accounts were not always positive. “The owner’s ex had the passwords, so after they broke up, she bashed the bar,” Harmon said. The 21-year-old was responsible for cleaning up the account. “I had to call Facebook and restart the page, but it was great because they had never had a student who knew what students wanted.” When the new account was first created, the bar saw a major increase in sales, particularly on nights with specials. Some students over the age of 21 did not know bars have accounts on Twitter and Facebook, and many who do know said they did not feel the need to follow bars on Facebook or Twitter. “Everyone already knows the specials; there’s no need to follow bars,” senior Cassandra Genua said. The only exception for Genua, she said, is Hurricane’s. “I follow Hurricane’s because their specials would actually sway me to go. I don’t follow bars such as The Shed because
I don’t go there.” Bryan Kastelan, senior and broadcasting major, agrees, adding that he prefers The Gaslight, a bar located on West First Street, so he is more inclined to follow it on Twitter. Kastelan said that even though he prefers The Gaslight, its Facebook account does not affect whether or not he goes to the bar, despite the specials. “The only bar whose postings really affect me is Greene’s,” Kastelan said. “I’ll go to their concert series sometimes because of their accounts.” Greene’s Facebook page posts multiple times a day about future sports events and specials. Similarly, The Raven, a tavern located on West Bridge Street, uses its Twitter and Facebook accounts to post about specials, as well as to plug new beers on tap or in bottles that week. Chris Dinnocenzo, who runs The Raven’s Twitter account, said the bar decided to start the account last year after realizing it could provide a free opportunity for direct marketing and a way for customers to provide feedback. “Primarily students and graduates are the bar’s followers,” Dinnocenzo said. Some students, such as senior broadcasting major Omy Melo, have been followed by bars on Twitter, and, in turn, returned the favor. “They followed me, so I just figured I’d follow them back,” Melo said. Melo added that he likes the information offered by The Raven’s Twitter
See SOCIAL MEDIA, A5
Meth arrests bring attention to Oswego The discovery of a mobile meth lab Sept. 15 in the Lowe’s parking lot in Oswego is the latest incident in a string of meth related problems in the region. Methamphetamine incidents have also been reported in Mexico, Williamstown, Hannibal and other towns across Oswego County over the last year, according to a YNN News report. “Meth is so easy to make now that you can go on the Internet and of course get the recipe, that we’ve made numerous arrests and have numerous people awaiting trial for
it,” Oswego County Sheriff Reuel Todd said. According to the Drug Enforcement Agency, there were 147 reported meth incidents in New York State in 2012, an increase from just 46 in 2011, much higher than any other state in the Northeast. “It makes me wonder whether it is related to the economy or it is reflective of something else in our city that’s going on or county overall,” said Amy Tressider, an Oswego County legislator for the city of Oswego. “I think that you have to ask yourself ‘Is it better law enforcement?’ That we’re actually pressing down on people that were not being discovered before?” The incidents in Central New York in 2013 have gotten statewide attention. Sen. Chuck Schumer stopped by Oswego
last Tuesday to discuss with city and county officials about the causes of sudden growth of the drug. “The bath salts that we were seeing last summer and the summer before became more difficult to find and the quality of those bath salts, as far as the addicts were concerned, is less,” Oswego City Police Captain Charles Tonkin said. “It’s not as good as the original stuff. And a lot of them switched to methamphetamine because it has a similar high.” During his visit, Schumer said the area was a high-intensity drug area and Oswego County is eligible for applying for federal funds to fight the
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Timothy Egan, author, journalist, recipient of the Pulitzer Prize and opinion columnist for The New York Times, visited Oswego State on Wednesday to speak about his book, “The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl.” “The Worst Hard Time,” winner of the 2006 National Book Award for nonfiction, chronicles the stories of Americans who stayed in the Dust Bowl during the Great Depression. The book was selected for the 2013 Oswego Reading Initiative and has been used widely across campus in disciplines as
See EGAN, A5
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David Armelino | The Oswegonian
Luke Parsnow Asst. News Editor lparsnow@oswegonian.com
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See METH, A6
OPEN MIC SPOTLIGHT
WEB Riley Ackley | The Oswegonian