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Friday, September 5, 2014
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THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF OSWEGO STATE UNIVERSITY • www.oswegonian.com
VOLUME LXXXI ISSUE I
Freshman influx raises questions Despite two years of large incoming classes, officials insist living conditions will not be effected Luke Parsnow | Justine Polonski News Editor | Staff Writer lparsnow@oswegonian.com news@oswegonian.com
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For the second consecutive year, a large number of freshmen are attending Oswego State. The 1,420 students that make up the freshman class is the second biggest freshman class since 2008, according to data from the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment. After last year’s unusually high amount of 1,506, the administration at Oswego State declares these numbers are closer to normal. “If you look back through the years there are always ups and downs,” said Dan Griffin, interim director of admissions. “We set our admission criteria in November, and most offers are made by February, but we don’t know the yield, the percent of admits who take us up on our offer, until May 1. Our acceptance rate has stayed right around 48 percent.” There has been some concern that two large lower classman classes, along with other returning students and the planned renovation of Waterbury Hall this winter, is causing an overflow of the college’s residence halls. According to the Office of Public Affairs, 1,872 new students, 2,390 returning students, 140 resident assistants and about 100 first-semester-only international students moved into residence halls and the Village complex for the start of the fall semester. When classes began, there were 87 rooms with triple occupancy on campus. This includes lounges housing three or four students each. In addition, there are currently 130 filled rooms at Waterbury. “Having 50 or so triples is not unusual,” said Richard Kolenda, associate dean of students for Residence Life and Housing. “What we do is put people in lounges. However, if you take a look at Seneca or Oneida, the lounges are the same size as two bedrooms. Square footage wise, each student has the same square footage as they would in a regular double room without the wall separating the two rooms. In Cayuga, there are three in a room. The rooms are a little bit smaller than two rooms, but square footage wise it’s the same or bigger than the square footage you would have in a double room, it’s just that you get three or four people, and they get the same furniture that everybody else gets, and so it’s comparable to a double room.” Kolenda said it is normal for triples to gradually decrease in number as the semester progresses. Allison Thayer, the hall director of Funnelle Hall, said that Funnelle started the semester out with eight triples in the building
See FRESHMAN, A4 Calendar...........................C2 Classified..........................C7 Crossword.........................C6 Contact Info......................A2 Laker Review.....................C1 News.................................A1 Opinion............................B5 Sports...............................B1 Sudoku.............................C6
David Armelino | The Oswegonian More students are opting to reside on campus rather than seeking off-campus living locations, which might lead to cramped housing situations.
101 surveilance cameras installed at dormitories JoAnn DeLauter Asst. News Editor jdelauter@oswegonian.com
Just before the start of the fall semester, University Police and Residence Life and Housing made a new addition of 101 surveillance cameras to the residence halls across campus. These cameras were installed outside every entrance, exit and in every elevator and main lobby in all residence halls with the exception of Waterbury Hall and Scales Hall, which will be going through major renovations in the future. Last week the cameras became operational and phase two in security measures was completed University Police expect improvement in student conduct. Before the newly installed cameras this semester, there were five cameras in the tunnel connecting Lakeside Dining Hall to Riggs Hall, four cameras in the tunnel between Seneca Hall and Cayuga Hall and four cameras in the tunnels connecting Oneida Hall and Onondaga Hall. Additional cameras are located in the parking office and the University Police Department to complete a sum of 134 cameras across campus. “Last year we had a vandalism problem in the tunnels between the dining halls on west campus,” said University Police Chief John Rossi. “Since cameras were installed there the incidents have dropped from dozens a month to about one every six months.” University Police emphasized that even the newly installed cameras are not on the floors or any private area. The intention of increasing the amount of surveillance cameras this semester is to make the residence hall a safer and more secure environment for students as well as reducing the amount of vandalism to school property. “It is a proven crime deterrent,” Chief
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Oswego State tries to appeal businesses with Start-Up NY Tax-exempt businesses to partner with college Luke Parsnow News Editor lparsnow@oswegonian.com Oswego State has been approved to participate in Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Start-Up NY campus initiative, a program designed to provide major incentives for businesses to relocate, start up or expand in New York through partnerships with colleges and universities. These businesses would be able to operate free of state and local taxes on or near academic campuses and their employees would pay no state or local personal income taxes for 10 years. Oswego State sent a draft of its plan for participation in the governor’s program to
the SUNY Chancellor’s Office last December. It was approved by SUNY on May 1 and by Empire State Development, New York state’s chief economic development agency, on July 25. The college can begin reviewing applications from businesses interested in partnering with the university. “I am pleased to have submitted a campus plan that we developed through a collaborative process involving review by faculty and staff and that complements our campus planning as well as the region’s overall strategic economic development plan,” said Deborah Stanley, Oswego State president. “Our campus plan aligns
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Lily Choi | The Oswgonian
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