The Statesman 03-09-20

Volume LXIII, Issue 22

Monday, March 9, 2020

sbstatesman.com

Students petition to temporarily close campus

By Alek Lewis

Assistant News Editor

More than 800 Stony Brook University students are backing a Change.org petition to close campus after coronavirus cases were confirmed in New York.

The petition, created Wednesday, was posted to the SBU subreddit and is directed to Stony Brook officials, State University of New York officials and Interim President Michael Bernstein. It was created by financial management graduate student Tianyou Huang and acquired its first goal of 500 signatures in 15 hours.

The petition calls the virus a “pandemic” — the World Health Organization still considers the outbreak an epidemic — and argues that the population density of the Stony Brook University campus could increase the risk of student exposure to the coronavirus.

As of Sunday, March 8, there are 105 reported cases of

SAMANTHA ROBINSON / THE STATESMAN

The University Orchestra perfoming at the annual Family Orchestra Night on March 3. This year's theme focused on "contrasts" to highlight the difference between sounds, dynamics and musical styles. the coronavirus in New York.

There are currently 12 cases in New York City, and the first case on Long Island was confirmed on March 5. A 42-year-old man with the virus is hospitalized in Nassau County. There is one case in Suffolk County.

Currently the way to prevent contracting the virus is to avoid exposure, according to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“As students of Stony Brook University, we should put our personal health and our close family's well-being in the first

place,” the petition reads. “Actions should be taken before [the] crisis not after. Self-isolation has been proven to be the best way of preventing the spreading of the virus. It is up to us to protect ourselves.”

The most recent New York City planning report shows that

in 2017, 1.4 million people who work in the New York Metro Area live on Long Island. In an email to The Statesman, Huang wrote that the petition highlights a preemptive measure to prevent the virus from spreading through

Jubaed, who transferred from Hunter College in the fall, said she “found it really interesting that all the physicians were talking about all these issues in the health care field that they were discovering once they became doctors.”

When she transferred to Stony Brook University, she discovered there was no bioethics club. “[There are] so many people here trying to be pre-health, and it’s a great opportunity for everybody to have those resources, have exposure to that, and really learn more so that when they do get to their careers, they already have experience with this,” she said.

Bioethics, according to the Center for Practical Bioethics’ website, is the question of morality “in the context of modern medicine and healthcare.”

Bioethics mixes together fields such as history and philosophy with other fields like health policy and medicine to explore questions about how to ethically handle issues in healthcare worldwide, what the goal is for life sciences — and even the meaning of life and death.

Stony Brook University lists several graduate courses in bioethics on their website such as HCB 511 Bioethics, Disability & Community, HCB 502 Landmark Cases in Bioethics and HCB 514 Global Bioethics.

Caroline Gallager, a freshman electrical engineering major and the club’s vice president, said she hopes to help members become better speakers and debaters.

“One thing that I’m going to be doing [as the Vice President] is teaching everybody argumentation and public speaking,” she said. “I think that it’s really important if you want to be an advocate for change that you actually know how to express your idea [and] engage in meaningful and thoughtful discussions with people who might disagree with you.”

Gallager also touched on the importance of discussing bioethical topics such as CRISPR and GMOs. CRISPR, according to the Jackson Library’s website, stands for

By Alek Lewis

wrote in an email to The Statesman.

All the students held at Brockport are currently asymptomatic. SUNY University at Buffalo was also prepared to host quarantined study abroad students but none were ultimately sent there, according to reports by The Buffalo News.

According to a news briefing on the Stony Brook University Southampton website, the students are being kept isolated from the rest of the campus in individual rooms, with no more than three students to a suite. The students are undergoing mandatory medical surveillance for both COVID-19 and unrelated conditions.

“As a preventative measure, they are undergoing this 14-day precautionary quarantine period, as would any traveler returning from Italy,” Stony Brook University officials wrote in the email. “We have taken measures to ensure these students are provided with every resource needed to make their precautionary quarantine period at Stony Brook Southampton as comfortable as possible.”

Continued on page 4

New campus club focuses on bioethics SUNY quarantines students

By Daniel Pariseau Contributing Writer

The SBU Bioethics Society, a new club this semester at Stony Brook University, held its first-ever general body meeting on March 2 in the Frank Melville Jr. Memorial Library.

According to SB Engaged, the Bioethics Society allows students to explore a diverse range of subjects in bioethics. Students, regardless of whether they are familiar with bioethics, are encouraged to visit the club to learn about ethical issues faced by the scientific community.

“The Bioethics Society is a club that provides a safe space for students to talk about controversial topics in bioethics in a fun and engaging way,” Lamiya Jubaed, a sophomore biology major and the club’s president and founder, said. “It’s more of discussing the facts [and] really getting a feel of different opinions and perspectives.”

She added that Stony Brook University students from any major can join the Bioethics Society.

Multimedia

Arts & Culture

The concert featured differences in orchestral music.

Students enjoy art, music and more on Friday night.

University Orchestra performs.

MORE ON PAGE 4

Continued on page 4

Assistant News Editor

Twenty-two students from State University of New York (SUNY) study abroad programs are undergoing mandatory quarantine for the coronavirus at Stony Brook University’s Southampton campus, school officials confirmed in a March 8 email to The Statesman.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo named the Southampton campus a location for potential quarantine in a press briefing on Saturday, when he also declared a state of emergency in New York.

“As part of the SUNY family, we welcomed 22 study abroad students to the Stony Brook Southampton campus last night,” Stony Brook officials wrote in the email. “The students have been screened and show zero symptoms of COVID-19.”

Eighteen SUNY study abroad students are undergoing the same 14-day precautionary quarantine at SUNY College at Brockport, Director of Communications, John Follaco Opinions

Sports

Primaries are more popular for voters.

Team is one game away from the NCAA Tournament.

LGBTQ* Center hosts open mic.

Primaries over the caucuses.

MORE ON PAGE 7

MORE ON PAGE 8

WBB advances to A.E. Championship.

MORE ON PAGE 12

The Statesman

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The Statesman

NEWS

Professors told to prepare for online classes New club debates bioethics Continued from page 1 commuters from the city to Long Island.

“I hope at least the SBU official has enough ‘caution’ to

“As students of Stony Brook University, we should put our personal health and our close family's wellbeings in the first place.”

-Tianyou Huang

Financial Management Graduate Student

let the students know how serious the Coronavirus is,” he wrote.“The closure does not mean everything is done, we still can do online classes or online midterms at home.”

In an email to The Statesman, Stony Brook University officials wrote that closing the campus has not been recommended by any of the guidance they’ve received from health professionals.

“Stony Brook is continuing to follow guidance from the CDC, U.S. Department of State, New York State Department of Health and Suffolk County Department of Health Services related to the 2019 novel Coronavirus,” the email read.

“SUNY administration in Albany has also convened a SUNY COVIDs-19 Task Force charged with relaying the latest guidance and information from the NYSDOH to its 64 campuses. Among the guidance offered, closing the campus has not been included.”

In a coronavirus update on March 6 that discusses the integration of the 61 soon to be quarantined Stony Brook students evacuating from study abroad programs in Japan, Italy and South Korea, the administration advised professors to accommodate quarantined students.

Minghua Zhang, interim provost and vice president for academic affairs, suggested in the message that faculty prepare to potentially teach online courses.

PUBLIC DOMAIN

The COVID-19 virus. A petition is circulating to close campus after coronavirus was confirmed in New York.

“Since COVID-19 is a rapidly changing situation, circumstances may require you to make alternative teaching arrangements for your courses,” Zhang wrote. “I encourage you to start exploring whether and how your classes may be temporarily offered online.”

Ruibing Liu, a senior psychology major who signed the petition, wrote in an email that she saw panic amongst her Chinese friends on campus after the wake of the disease in China. She is worried that the university’s population might potentially be at risk due to unknown contact or communal infection, especially with New York City only hours away.

“Due to the long incubation period of this virus, many people are infected without noticing and can still live normally within 14 days,” Liu said. “If one of our students unfortunately gets infected during that time, the consequences will become horrible and uncontrollable on Stony Brook campus.”

ChengYao Jiang, a sophomore business management major who also signed the petition, wrote in an email that he believes the number of people exposed to coronavirus is more than those accounted for due to the incubation period.

He also said that the university should shift to more online classes.

“The daily population flow in the school is very large, so I think this situation needs to suspend school immediately and change all courses to online courses; that's the safest way,” Jiang said. “Don't underestimate the infectivity and power of COVID-19.”

Continued from page 1 “Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats.” A video on the website by the McGovern Institute explains that CRISPR is a form of genetic editing that utilizes bacteria to alter DNA. The Jackson Library states that one of the ethical concerns that comes with this technology is that it could be used to alter human embryos.

The Purdue University’s College of Agriculture explains that GMO stands for “Genetically Modified Organism.” As the name implies, GMOs are living organisms that were genetically changed in some way. A lot of people have raised questions about the ethics and impact of genetically modifying organisms, especially crops, out of concern about potential harm to human health, the environment and even the “unnaturalness” of playing with DNA. The Bioethics Society meeting on March 2 focused on welcoming new and potential members to the club.

Students were encouraged to participate in a multitude of games, such as a trivia game where students

answered a series of questions about the club’s e-board and a debate game in which students briefly explained why they supported a certain topic. Students also voted on potential names for the club’s mascot, a blue teddy bear knitted by Gallager.

Beia Fulgencio, a senior health science major, is a new member of the SBU Bioethics Society. She is studying to become a cardiologist and believes the club will provide her with new knowledge about the scientific world and ethics for her career.

“I took a professional ethics course … and I really wanted to continue it after the course,” she said. “Now that I have finished the course, I feel like this is gonna be an interesting continuation of it.”

Sophomore electrical engineering major, Brandon Banarsi, is considering joining the SBU Bioethics Society. He became interested in checking out the club after his friends suggested he look into it.

“The group looks fun, so maybe every day will be an enjoyable experience,” Banarsi said. He hopes to learn more about bioethics at the next club meetings.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE BIOETHICS SOCIETY / THE STATESMAN

The Bioethics Society during their first GBM. The club allows students to explore a range of bioethics subjects.

History jobs begin to stabilize as fewer students go for their Ph.D.s

By Sam Lauria

Assistant Opinions Editor

Job stability in the history field is beginning to normalize after “steep declines” for the past couple of years, according to an article published by Inside Higher Ed on Feb. 13.

The normalization is pushed by fewer students trying to earn Ph.D.s in history, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Since the recession of 2008, the number of students looking to pursue careers in the humanities, specifically history, has decreased. According to occupational employment statistics by the U.S. Department of Labor, 3,700 people were employed as historians in 2008. That number dropped to 3,040 in 2018, a nearly 18% decrease.

The American Historical Association (AHA) reported in its newsmagazine that “the timing of the trend strongly suggests that students have changed their expectations of college majors in the aftermath of the economic shifts of 2008.” The continued decline in history majors since 2008 indicates that it’s not just a response to a tighter job market, but rather “a longer-term rethinking

of what majors can do for students,” AHA wrote.

The decline could also be linked to the fact that many universities have redesigned their curriculums to cater to a large number of students looking for jobs in a science, technology, engineering or math (STEM) related field.

At Stony Brook University, former president Samuel L. Stanley slashed funding for humanities departments after revealing a $35 million budget deficit in 2018.

Many saw downsizings — such as the Writing and Rhetoric department — or were merged or suspended. Some of these cutbacks included a “[three] percent decrease in academic personnel, a [six] percent decrease in administrators and a 10 percent spending cut across other areas.”

Other universities — such as the University of Wisconsin, which cut several humanities majors — have also decreased funding for the humanities.

These cutbacks mixed with the fact that history-related jobs do not prove to be that lucrative, with salaries ranging from about $40,000 to $60,000 a year, motivates many

students to look for degrees in other fields.

Paul Zimansky, an archaeology and history professor at Stony Brook University, said he believes that the decline in history-related jobs over the past couple of years is a national trend that not only affects history, but other humanity related fields, such as the social sciences or English.

“Part of the issue is that undergraduate degrees in history do not translate directly into jobs, and many students are too burdened by the debt to have the luxury of pursuing intellectual adventures that are not particularly remunerative,” he said.

Brooke Franks, a postdoctoral student and teaching assistant for history classes at Stony Brook, thinks that having a history degree is valuable.

“That being said, the continuous supply of history Ph.D.s without the job market to support them often leaves graduates disappointed and often in considerable debt,” she said.

Eric Beverley, an associate history professor at Stony Brook, said that the decline in the number of students going for their Ph.D.s in history has to do with “bad choices made by university administrations on a national level to promote STEM

discipline at the cost of maintaining investment in the humanities.”

Beverley also said he believes that universities, including Stony Brook, are putting renewed emphasis on the “importance of a well-rounded liberal-arts education.” Valerie Strauss wrote in an analysis published by The Washington Post that “[a] liberal education is a cohesive collection of experiences, each providing its own unique contribution to the enlightenment of its practitioners.

Both Zimansky and Beverley said that students looking to pursue a career in history should be aware of the challenges that they will eventually have to face. They said that they believe that in order for a student to succeed in the history field, they have to figure out what they are passionate about studying, then select a graduate school that best reflects their interests and budget.

“Consider it on one hand as a career choice but also a lifestyle choice,” Beverley said.

BRIANNE LEDDA / THE STATESMAN

The history department in the Social and Behavioral Sciences building. History jobs are starting to stabilize.

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Photos from Family Orchestra Night on Tuesday, March 3 at the Staller Center for the Arts main stage. The event featured the Stony Brook University Orchestra. This year's theme revolved around contrasts, which aimed to show differences in sounds and styles.

Photos by Samantha Robinson

ARTS & CULTURE

LGBTQ* Center celebrates 2-year anniversary with open mic event gles in high school with race and sexuality. “Growing up in a primarily white area, I struggled to find my identity. I realized I wasn’t being truthful. Here [at the LGBTQ* Center] people can share similar experiences.”

By Claudia Motley Contributing Writer

Stony Brook’s LGBTQ* Center hosted “Queer Grounds: Open Mic and Coffeehouse” on Friday to showcase the artistic talents of the university’s LGBTQ+ community.

The night was marked by music, art, laughter and fun as the Center celebrates its second anniversary since opening March 8, 2018.

“I was blown away,” second-year grad student and LGBTQ* graduate coordinator, Alexander Remey, said.

Remey was one of the night’s many talents, taking the stage to play three original songs.

It had been six years since Remey’s last performance. “I hadn’t performed for a very long time, and this center provided access for me.”

This event was held only days before students at Yeshiva University in Manhattan filed complaints against the school, which claim that the university refused to authorize the establishment of a gay-rights organization.

Another school in Utah saw protestors rally outside their student center when a statement was released by a school official labeling same-sex behavior as ‘not compatible’ with the school’s Honor Code.

Prior to the night’s beginning, the Center’s Assistant Director, Chris Tanaka, announced that the floor was open to anyone looking to exhibit their skills. Tanaka also reminded the room that this was a safe space for everyone — no matter their association — to feel comfortable.

“It was my first time performing, so I had a lot of nervous energy.”

-Jeriann Ramilo

Junior Biochemistry Major

CLAUDIA MOTLEY / THE STATESMAN

On Friday, March 8, Stony Brook's LGBTQ* Center celebrated its 2-year anniversary hosting the event, “Queer Grounds: Open Mic and Coffeehouse.”

“It was my first time performing, so I had a lot of nervous energy,” Jeriann Ramilo, a junior biochemistry major, said following her singing performance. “But everyone was warm and welcoming, and we all had a lot of fun.”

Along with individual performances, the night also featured a few acts from one of Stony Brook’s acapella groups, The Vocalists, as well as SBU student and rapper, Myke Rook, a junior Psychology major.

“I’ve never been here before, but I heard my friend was performing and I had to come,” 21-year-old junior biology student, Miranda Jacobsen, said. She attended the event alongside Ramilo to support her performance. “It wasn’t just singing, there was art, comedy, poetry … it was a good representation of [the community’s] diversity.”

Many performances spoke on the personal battles faced by members of the LGBTQ+ com-

munity, as well as experiences with race, gender and sexual orientation. Through art, individuals were able to discuss the realities of being underrepresented and misunderstood.

“My act was about my experience with assimilation,” staff member and 22-year-old senior biology major, Marvin Paul, said.

His performance incorporated spoken-word with improvisation to communicate his strug-

Each performance was finished with ecstatic cheers and encouragement, and food and beverages were provided throughout the event for all attendees.

Performers were given rewards for completing their acts, including a notebook and an LGBTQ* t-shirt.

The center also hosts several affinity group meetings weekly, which provide safe spaces for the gender-queer/nonconforming.

Although closed over spring break, group meetings at the Center — located above West Side Dining — resume March 23.

“Onward” disappoints and falls short of Pixar’s high standards

By Alexander Bakirdan

Assistant Arts and Culture Editor

I’ve never been disappointed by a fun and enjoyable movie like this before, but the entire time I was watching “Onward,” it felt like Pixar was holding back on me.

We didn’t really get to see much of the world or the people/creatures that populate it, and I can’t help but compare it to Disney’s “Zootopia,” where the world felt alive and fully fleshed-out.

Parts of “Onward” felt like they were missing, how do all of these people live together in society? Why do the centaurs and the trolls use the same vehicles as the pixies?

These are the types of questions that “Zootopia”’s creators thought to answer, with things like the different biomes and doors and towns of all shapes and sizes.

Meanwhile, “Onward”’s creators seem to have stuck magical creatures straight into our modern world without giving a ton of thought to how it might be different than ours.

It almost felt as if Pixar intentionally tried to leave room for a sequel. That’s not to say that the movie isn’t without charm though.

The movie’s main plot, which focuses on the relationship be-

PUBLIC DOMAIN

Pixar's “Onward” was released on March 6, The film stars Tom Holland and Chris Pratt.

tween brothers Ian and Barley, voiced by Tom Holland and Chris Pratt, is full of Pixar’s trademark heartwarming material.

The studio does a phenomenal job of telling the story of a siblings’ bond as they desperately quest to see their father again one last time.

Perhaps the most magical thing about this Pixar movie is the way it got me to feel an emotional attachment to a beat-up old van named Guinevere.

The movie’s charm came out in the moments when Pixar stopped trying so hard and truly just let their creation breathe.

I also feel the need to address the openly lesbian cop that Pixar was so proud to announce, whose character turned out to be so irrelevant in the film that I actually had to turn to google to find out her name was Officer Spector.

Spector, voiced by Lena Waithe, is such a small role that the only scene she’s in can easily be cut out for international markets, a move that seems to be becoming typical of the film industry these days. We saw the same thing with Billie Lourd’s kiss in “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.”

Newsflash to Hollywood: a brief LGBTQ+ moment with a token character isn’t representation.

Real representation wouldn’t be removable.

It’d be an integral part of a main character’s identity.

Instead, we’re stuck with a forgettable cop telling us that “it gets better.” But Disney and Pixar aren’t interested in getting better representation and frankly, that isn’t enough.

“The movie's charm came out in the moments when Pixar stopped trying so hard and truly just let their creation breathe.”

Looking at the movie’s main storyline alone, it’s a very fun experience that does a great job of capturing the magic of both a D&D (Dungeons and Dragons) campaign and a sibling bond.

The problem is, watching it, it’s so obvious that this movie could be so much more in so many ways.

It’s not a bad movie by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s clear that “Onward” just isn’t as good as it could be.

OPINIONS We

should

leave

caucuses

behind

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An “I voted” sticker on a newspaper. The Democratic National Committee encourages all states to follow primaries in exchange for abandoning caucuses.

By Anya Marquardt Staff Writer

Anya Marquardt is a freshman English major and journalism minor.

Before the general elections this November, two types of preliminary votes are taking place: primaries and caucuses. Over the past few years, primaries have gained more popularity, and caucuses have been left in the dust by many states. Since 2016, multiple states have made the switch from caucuses to primaries.

The best move for political elections in the United States is to get rid of caucuses entirely. It is counterproductive to have two different types of preliminary votes, especially when one is already being used more than the other — the majority of states using primaries instead of caucuses.

Primaries are a method used by political parties to narrow down multiple candidates to the most favorable candidate in the state.

They mock a general election where voters go into a booth, vote for the candidate they desire and step out.

As long as the lines are short, voters can be in and out in a matter of minutes. They can show up at whatever time they want within the margin given on the day of the primary.

Precincts easily report their results at the end of the day. Of course, like any type of polling, there can be errors. Voting machines are used in primaries, so while a technological malfunction is possible, this type of malfunction would not cause a breakdown even close to the severity of the issues with the Iowa Caucuses a few weeks ago.

These primaries are much simpler due to the fact that they fol-

low the same procedures as the elections in November do.

Caucuses, however, are much different, and more complicated.

Caucuses have the same goal as primaries — to choose the state’s top candidate for a respective political party. Voters will gather in a room and will go to different parts of the room depending on which candidate they support.

If the candidate does not reach a certain amount of support (usually around 15% of the vote), they have to realign them-

“. . . primaries have gained more popularity, and caucuses have been left in the dust.” selves with another candidate who reached the threshold.

The results are then recorded by the respective state party, and then the results are sent to the state party. As you may be able to tell from the summary of this process, it is much more complicated than just checking off a box. Hence, they should be abandoned in favor of primaries because of how long and tedious the caucuses’ process is compared to a primary’s process.

It has also been statistically proven that more people show up to primaries than to caucuses. On average, primaries have a turnout rate 19% higher than that of caucuses. The point of these events is to poll which politicians hold the most support.

It seems quite clear and simple to choose the method in which political party committees will have a bigger turnout, and to choose a method in which voters can vote for their first choice without worrying about changing their vote based on a threshold.

Caucuses only run for a few hours, and do not occur in local precincts, while primaries take place at local precincts and run for a longer stretch of time.

Having these elections can make it easier for people to vote, as voters have jobs and other obligations. Also, voters cannot even choose their top candidate in a caucus setting if they don’t get enough support from other people in the same room as them, whereas in a primary, you choose your top candidate regardless of other voters’ opinions.

The Democratic National Committee has also been encouraging all states to follow primaries, as they are specifically run by the national government, whereas individual state parties decide their own rules for their caucuses, which could lead to consistency issues.

These problems can occur because the differences in rules can keep results from matching up.

For example, in most states with caucuses, including Iowa, only one candidate can be decided on. However, in Wyoming, voters rank the candidates instead of having to compromise on one candidate. Therefore, it is difficult to compare the results of the different caucuses.

Overall, simplicity can easily be chosen in the form of primaries, which are proven to do a better job in multiple vicinities, while caucuses only complicate the voting experience.

Corrections News

An article in the last issue (Volume LXIII, Issue 21) of the paper, titled “Brookhaven National Lab to host new particle accelerator,” mistakenly stated that Brookhaven National Lab declined to provide comment. Stony Brook physics professor Abhay Deshpande has a joint appointment at Brookhaven National Lab. The caption also said that “The U.S. Department of Energy has given Brookhaven National Lab billions of dollars for a new EIC.” It should have reflected the fact that the funding, which is subject to annual congressional approval, will be distributed over the next 10 years.

Readers can send an email to editors@sbstatesman.com regarding any errors made in articles.

Opinions

The Statesman

Monday, March 9, 2020

9

We need more minors to study at Stony Brook Univeristy

By Xenia Gonikberg Staff Writer

Xenia Gonikberg is a freshman journalism major.

Going to college prepares you for adulthood and the real world.

A major part of college is exploration — the chance to pursue subjects that you are interested in until you can finally narrow down your focus.

This was the thing I was most looking forward to when coming to college. But once I got to college, I was essentially limited to one area of study — my major. I found out that the subject I wanted to pursue wasn’t offered as a minor.

“But once I got to college, I was essentially limited to one area of study — my major.”

Many students wonder about majoring in multiple subjects.

At most universities, if you have multiple interests, you can add on another area of study to your degree.

When I came to Stony Brook University, I was hoping that would be an option for me. Sociology is a subject that I have wanted to explore for some

SARA RUBERG / THE STATESMAN

The Student Activities Center. The lack of minors at SBU has caused less opportunities for students who want to explore more careers, according to Gonikberg. time and trying to pursue it has been difficult.

My current major, journalism, has a lot of coursework that comes along with it, and trying to add another subject would be very overwhelming. Adding sociology as a minor seemed like the best option, but after talking to advisors and exploring SBU’s academic programs — I realized that was not an option.

The lack of options isn’t a coincidence. Over the last year, a large portion of Stony Brook’s faculty was cut. The humanities department was the most affected, and the entire College of Arts

and Sciences felt the loss. As a result, there aren’t enough professors to teach certain subjects like history.

This means that all of the social sciences classes, including sociology, don’t have enough resources to provide more classes for their students. Most schools have psychology and sociology available as minors, but Stony Brook does not. It prides itself on being a premier research university, yet it doesn’t provide two of the most universal subjects of study as minors.

There aren’t enough options for students, plain and simple.

We should be able to pursue what we want without having to declare these subjects as majors and adding the stress of wondering if they will fit in our already hectic schedules.

Instead of cutting specific programs, Stony Brook should focus on establishing itself as more than just a STEM school, and focus on its ever-growing population of students in other programs like the humanities and social sciences. That way, it will be more well rounded and can cater to more interests.

“I don’t think Stony Brook has a lot of minors available,” Nikky

Morett, a sophomore journalism major said. Popular programs such as sociology and the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS) should be more widely available for students in non-science related majors.

Senior journalism major, James Bowen, echoed this sentiment as well. “For someone — particularly myself — interested in weather, the meteorology major makes this dream achievable. A less intense minor would level the playing field for people interested in participating in [SoMAS], but not necessarily pursue a career in the meteorological field.”

For students like Bowen, the driving factor for adding on a minor is curiosity and a willingness to learn. The purpose of adding a minor to a degree is to be able to learn more about a subject you’re interested in without the commitment required of your major.

Allocating funding for programs that were previously cut will help expand currently struggling programs. This can be done by using some of the endowment money for funding or hosting events with the purpose of raising money for humanities and other programs.

Lastly, hiring more staff will make more class options available to students, which will increase options for students.

These are just some solutions that can help increase the number of programs at Stony Brook. Having more minor options would be a major bonus for many students.

SPORTS

Baseball takes first series win in home opener against CCSU

By Ryan Pavich Sports Editor

The dormant offense that the Seawolves carried through the South traveled up home with them. The team struggled to get going in the early stages of their home opening series against the Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) Blue Devils, but they managed to break through when the opportunities came.

After winning the opening match and dropping the middle game, the Stony Brook baseball team secured their first series victory of the season by winning a rubber match on Sunday, March 8. The team improved to 4-8 overall, shaking off a tough road stretch on the backs of their pitching staff, some timely hitting and capitalizing on key errors from their opponents.

The opening game of the weekend on Friday, March 6 was a pitcher’s duel, as senior pitcher Jared Milch and senior pitcher Andrew Braun held off the bats for the Seawolves and Blue Devils, respectively. Only one run came across home plate for either side through the first five innings of the game, and it was an unearned run on a sacrifice fly in the first inning for the Seawolves.

Milch in particular was dominant on the mound. The left-hander had a no-hitter going through the fifth, and wound up pitching seven innings of 2-run ball. Milch picked up seven strikeouts in the afternoon, while walking two and allowing two hits.

He earned his first win of the season after four tries, but for a moment it looked like it might elude him again.

The Seawolves entered the sixth inning with just a one-run lead, and surrendered a leadoff single to senior outfielder Chris Kanios. Milch struck out the next batter, but senior infielder Chandler Debosse crushed a double down the left field line that scored Kanios. Two batters later, redshirt-junior infielder TT Bowens knocked a single out into centerfield that allowed Debosse to come home and briefly give the Blue Devils the lead.

The Stony Brook offense has been struggling to get going so far this season, but they managed to answer right back and pick up their starter.

Sophomore infielder Evan Giordano led off the bottom of the sixth with a walk, and promptly stole second base. Junior catcher John Tuccillo also worked a walk, and both runners advanced into scoring position after a ground ball from graduate outfielder Cristian Montes.

The stage was set for freshman infielder Stanton Leuthner, and he delivered a base hit—-just over the outstretched arm of senior infielder Matt Bertochi— that scored both runners.

“I’m just trying to get the barrel out, and hit something hard,” Leuthner said of his at-bat in an interview with The Statesman. “Put it in play and it just worked out. I hit it hard in the at-bat before, didn’t really work out that way, but that’s just baseball.”

Back in control of the lead, the Seawolves pitching guided them through the final frames. Milch worked a clean seventh inning, throwing 101 pitches total in his outing, before handing the ball over to senior pitcher Adam Erickson.

Erickson allowed a leadoff single to Kanios before retiring three straight, and walked the leadoff man to start the ninth.

Senior pitcher Brandon Bonanno was brought in to close the game out, and immediately induced a ground ball double play. Senior infielder Buddy Dewaine attempted a bunt with two outs, and Tuccillo threw him out at first to end the game.

The second match of the series on Saturday, March 7, turned against the Seawolves quickly. Both sides struggled to get their offenses going, but the Blue Devils managed to break through first against senior pitcher Sam Turcotte.

Turcotte had cruised through the first three innings, but allowed three consecutive singles to open the fourth. Junior infielder Jay Devito knocked the third hit, scoring the runner from second base for the first run of the game. A fielder’s choice and a sacrifice bunt allowed two

more runs across, and the Blue Devils suddenly had a 3-0 lead.

Stony Brook got one back in the bottom of the fourth, but that would be all they could manage against senior pitcher Brandon Fox. The run was unearned, as Debrosse dropped a pop-up just beyond the infield that allowed freshman infielder Shane Paradine to reach base and advance to second. Leuthner singled to left, and sophomore infielder Brad Hipsley grounded a ball to first that brought Paradine home.

Fox managed to keep the Seawolves off-balance for the rest of the afternoon, however. The righthander used 119 pitches to go eight innings for the Blue Devils, striking out six and allowing six hits without any walks.

The Seawolves found some life in the ninth inning when Fox was replaced by freshman pitcher Dominic Niman, who gave up a 2-run double to senior outfielder Chris Hamilton, but couldn’t close the deficit. Junior pitcher Dylan Sabia entered the game to record the final out, and earned the save in the Seawolves’ 5-3 loss.

The series finale looked like it was going to be troublesome early on for Stony Brook. Freshman pitcher Josh O’Neill wasn’t able to make it out of the third inning, allowing two runs in 2.1 innings pitched. O’Neill avoided major damage in the first inning, loading the bases but giving up just one run on a single from senior outfielder Dave Matthews.

Bowens jumped on O’Neill in the third, launching a solo home run to left with one out. A double from Matthews in the next at-bat ended his day.

Head coach Matt Senk went to his bullpen, bringing in freshman pitcher Brendan Disonell. Disonell had thrown just two innings this season prior to Sunday, but he turned in an impressive performance by going the distance and pitching the remaining 6.2 innings. The right-hander allowed just three baserunners in his outing, holding the Blue Devils scoreless and giving his team the chance to complete a comeback.

Stony Brook’s bats were lifeless through the first three innings, but their fortune changed beginning in the fourth. Hamilton led off with a single, and sophomore infielder Evan Giordano hit a ground-rule double to right field that put both of them in scoring position.

Tuccillo walked on four pitches to load the bases, and freshman infielder Brett Paulsen lifted a sacrifice fly to score the team’s first run of the afternoon. Paradine followed up with a fly ball to center that should have ended the inning, but Kanios dropped the ball and two more runs came in.

The Seawolves ended up scoring insurance runs in the fifth and sixth innings, thanks to some more hardhit balls. Freshman outfielder Ellis Schwartz led off the fifth with a double and came around to score on a wild pitch from freshman pitcher Jack Carraturo.

Leuthner got on base in the sixth via a fielder’s choice and advanced all the way to third, setting up Schwartz to score him on a single shot to the gap in left-center.

The opportunities finally came through for Stony Brook, and they made use of enough of them to get the win. The offense isn’t in full gear still, but Senk believes that the weekend’s results were a good turning point for his team.

“Another tough day, we’ve had a tough start offensively,” Senk said in an interview with The Statesman. “But to just keep their confidence up and think about what it is that they’ve been doing well or not well … We talked about that this morning, I asked them to take that into batting practice. Probably the best batting practice we’ve had all year, and it translated into the game.”

The pitching staff has carried a heavy load for the team so far, and it’s done so with some significant injuries to the starting rotation. Senior pitcher Brian Herrmann has been sidelined since the beginning of the season recovering from Tommy John surgery, and sophomore pitcher Nick DeGennaro has missed the past two series with what Senk called “something in his arm.”

DeGennaro has been shut down while seeking a second medical opinion on his injury, but the team is optimistic that both pitchers will be ready to go in about three weeks.

The Seawolves will host a pair of midweek matches, playing Iona on Tuesday, March 10 and Merrimack on Wednesday, March 11.

Both games will begin at 3 p.m.

Looking ahead, the Seawolves begin conference play on Saturday, March 14, with a series on the road against Hartford.

SARA RUBERG / THE STATESMAN

Freshman infielder Stanton Leuthner throwing out a runner during a game against CCSU on March 6.

Kennedy, Arline help No. 6 Women’s Lacrosse take down No. 11 Princeton

By Ryan Magill Staff Writer

Off the back of a great day for senior midfielder Ally Kennedy and a career day for junior attacker Jesse Arline, the No. 6-ranked Stony Brook women’s lacrosse team defeated the No. 11 Princeton Tigers by a final score of 18-12 on Sunday, March 8 at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium.

The game marks the Seawolves’ second win over a ranked opponent, third win at home and fourth win of the season.

“I'm happy for our team,” head coach Joe Spallina said in a postgame interview with The Statesman. “Our team deserved this. This is a game that we won today, but we started winning throughout the week with preparation. Our kids stepped up. I thought we had good diversity in our scoring and our defense and goalie play was off the charts.”

The Seawolves scorched the Tigers early, as freshman attacker Kailyn Hart’s goal 36 seconds into the game helped kick off a 7-goal run for the Seawolves where six different players scored a goal to go up 7-0.

Princeton managed to end the drought over 10 minutes into the game with a 3-goal run of their own. Kennedy already had a hat trick 20 minutes into the game, scoring two goals in a row to extend the lead back to 9-3. From there, the Tigers and Seawolves would trade 3-goal runs until Hart’s second goal ended the half with a score of 13-7.

Kennedy’s fifth goal of the game came 57 seconds into the second half, followed by two goals from Princeton. After sophomore midfielder Mikayla Dwyer scored her second goal of the season, another two goals from Princeton ensued. Shortly after, Arline recorded her hat

trick followed by her career-best fourth goal of the day. By the time junior midfielder Rayna Sabella got her second goal, the game was all but finished.

“This is a game that we won today, but we started winning throughout the week with preparation.”

-Joe Spallina

Head Coach, Women's Lacrosse

“I'm super proud of the team,” Kennedy said in a postgame interview with The Statesman. “It's

hard to play two games in one week. We turned the page after Thursday and shifted our focus to Princeton and I'm really proud of the younger players for showing their maturity.”

As for what helped the team perform at their peak during the game, Arline was quick to mention the help of scouting.

“I think we did a really good job of preparing and embracing the scout,” Arline said in a postgame interview with The Statesman. “We worked really well together. Everyone played their best game today.”

Having successfully defended Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium against Towson and Princeton, the Seawolves will now travel to Los Angeles, California to face the No. 8-ranked University of Southern California (USC) Trojans.

“They’re a bear, they’re undefeated,” Spallina said about USC. “They’ll be Top 10 this week, so

that’ll be another Top 10 matchup. But it comes down to us doing a lot of the same things that we did today: handling pressure.”

The Seawolves defeated the Trojans last year at home, 12-10, with USC ranked No. 14. The series will now turn to the West Coast, presenting a challenge for a 4-1 Stony Brook team.

“Now we shift our focus to USC,” Kennedy said. “They play more of a zone defense, so we’ve got to work on our offense. Both Princeton and Towson played man, so now we shift our focus to zone offense and we keep our defense that’s been the staple of our team so far.”

For Arline, who had a career afternoon, the junior emphasized the importance of teamwork as the team travels to California.

“We’ve got to keep working for each other,” Arline concluded. “If we play for each other, we will be fine.”

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Monday, March 9, 2020

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Sports

The Statesman

Monday, March 9, 2020

12

Women’s Basketball handles Binghamton, advances to AE Championship

By Ross O'Keefe

Assistant Sports Editor

The Stony Brook women’s basketball team said goodbye to rival Binghamton and America East Player of the Year senior guard Kai Moon. More importantly, they said hello to a berth in the America East Championship game. A resounding 57-42 win over Binghamton at Island Federal Arena on Sunday, March 8, will send the Seawolves to their first America East Championship game in head coach Caroline McCombs’ tenure.

Early, the Seawolves would not be pushed around as much on the scoreboard as they were in their last game against Albany. Throughout the first quarter, when Binghamton pushed, the Seawolves pushed back in a quarter where offense was hard to come upon. Neither team surpassed double digits in points and both shot under 30% from the field.

The second quarter saw Stony Brook come alive on offense. Four points from sophomore guard Anastasia Warren and junior forward India Pagan’s first three points

SAMANTHA ROBINSON / THE STATESMAN

Sophomore guard Anastasia Warren in the quarterfinal game against Albany. Warren led her team with 18.

back from injury injected confidence into Stony Brook, entering halftime up 22-16.

Stony Brook sprinted out of the break like the team that managed a historic win streak earlier this season. The Seawolves shot 50% from the field and jumped to a double-digit lead with the help of a pair of free-throw makes from Pagan in the waning minutes of the third quarter. From there, Stony Brook would cruise to victory riding the double-digit lead to seize an appearance in the America East Championship game. “[I’m] really proud of our team today,” McCombs said in a postgame press conference. “Holding a team to 42 points is a great defensive effort. That’s who we are and [we were] really locked in today to what we need to do defensively. We had a lot of balance on our team. Offensively, with players stepping up, it was great to have India back for the first game in a few.”

Moon scored just 11 points, her second-lowest scoring output in a month. In both of the last two matches between the teams, Moon scored 20 or more points.

The defensive effort against Moon was a key reason why Stony Brook won by double digits compared to the team’s normal close outings.

“I think so,” McCombs said when asked if she was satisfied with how her team guarded Moon.

“You try to limit her touches, limit her opportunities. I think that we did a pretty good job. We didn’t get her to the free-throw line and she does a great job of getting to the free-throw line.”

Moon herself was impressed

by Stony Brook’s efforts on defense as well.

“Today I saw a bit more intensity on defense,” Moon said. “[Stony Brook has] always been a great defensive team and I get face-guarded consistently throughout conference play.

Every time I touched the ball it was difficult. I saw help-side [defense] immediately and every shot that I was gonna get I had to work extremely hard for.”

Stony Brook benefited immensely from improved shooting (42.% from the field) compared to shooting under 30% in their last two outings.

“Yeah, I know, hopefully, we never shoot as bad as we did the other day,” McCombs said. "I think it was a little bit more back to normal. Having India back helps us out to have a little bit more balance and I think it gives our team a bit more confidence.”

Warren led Stony Brook in scoring with 18 points and Pagan

scored 14 points in her first action since Feb. 23 against Maine.

Pagan played 25 minutes, but McCombs was unsure if Pagan will start in the championship game. Pagan, however, was decisive in her opinion on the matter.

“I’m just ready for any game,” Pagan said. “The end of the season, I’m gonna give it all I have.”

Stony Brook punched their ticket to face the Maine Black Bears in the America East Championship at Island Federal Arena on Friday, March 13 at 5 p.m. on ESPNU. The game marks the first time the Seawolves have advanced to the America East Championship since 2014.

“They’re a very good three-point shooting team,” McCombs said about Maine. “[Junior forward] Maeve Carroll, she’s one of the best players in the league. [Probably] doesn’t get enough credit for the things that she does.”

The winner will earn an NCAA Tournament berth that will be seeded Monday, March 16, at 7 p.m. on ESPN. This will be the third America East Championship Game appearance in program history for the Seawolves, but the team has never won it all. They previously lost by three points in 2002 and 24 in 2014.

Stony Brook dodges Albany, moves on to America East semifinals

By Ethan Tam

Assistant Sports Editor

Great Danes sophomore guard Cameron Healy tried as hard as anyone could to avoid going home in the first round of the conference playoffs. He single-handedly put his team on his back, exploding for 21 points in the second half in an attempt to will his way into an upset of the No. 2-seeded Stony Brook men’s basketball team.

Healy couldn’t do it. When all was said and done, and Danes sophomore guard Antonio Rizzuto’s heave at the buzzer bounced off the rim, Stony Brook (20-12, 10-6) held on for the 76-73 victory over the Albany Great Danes (14-18, 7-9) in a tug-ofwar battle on Saturday, March 7, at Island Federal Arena.

“We tried the whole second half to deny [Healy] the ball and beat him through screens,” head coach Geno Ford said in a postgame press conference. “He was able to just second and third cut [us], he just was constant movement and he was able to wiggle by us on the bounce a couple times late in the shot clock …

We actually, a couple times, tried to catch him off guard with a quick trap, and he had no issues.

He saw it, sensed it and made the right pass. He was great tonight.”

The Seawolves’ offense in the second half was as alive as it had

been all season, shooting 59% and going 7-for-9 from beyond the arc. It was matched by a 50% performance by the Great Danes, who were carried by the hot hand of their wing after falling down by eight with 11 minutes to go in the game.

In a losing effort, Healy led all players with 28 points. Redshirt-junior guard Makale Foreman was Stony Brook’s top scorer at 23, the Chattanooga transfer’s second straight 20-point game.

Five different Seawolves scored in double digits for the first time since Nov. 11.

“I’m feeling pretty good,” Foreman said in a postgame press conference. “Credit to my teammates for finding me. I know I went through a little slump, but they always trust me.”

Foreman hit the shot of the game for Stony Brook, a quick 3-pointer off a dime to tie the score at 70. Albany sophomore center Brent Hank was sent to the line on the next possession but made only one free throw.

Although the Danes rebounded his miss, Hank committed a behind-the-back foul trying to corral a missed three.

Sophomore guard Miles Latimer hit both free throws, putting Stony Brook up 72-71. The Seawolves were clutch at the charity stripe late, making all six of their attempts in the final minute of the game.

“Stony Brook's good,” Albany head coach Will Brown said in a postgame press conference. “I think physically and athletically, they’re the best team in the league.

They have length at center that no one else has, and they have two of them. They’ve got size and athleticism at every position.”

Both teams had what appeared to be commanding leads in the second half only to watch the other one climb right back into business. The Seawolves used a 22-7 run to turn a 7-point deficit into an 8-point advantage; in the stretch, Stony Brook hit on nine of their 10 field goals and all five of their attempts from downtown. Junior guard Elijah Olaniyi sank a left-wing three before grabbing a steal and feeding the ball to junior forward Mouhamadou Gueye, who slammed it down to get the crowd roaring up 54-46.

It was then that Healy came alive. With just seven points on the night, he converted on all of his next five 3-point attempts, the last of which tied the game up at 66. On the Danes’ ensuing possession, he weaved his way through the paint for a layup to cap off a personal 8-0 run that gave Albany a slim 68-66 lead.

At that point, Healy had scored 17 of Albany’s last 19 points.

The sophomore did not even earn the start on Saturday night

you could pick it up on the way to class... ...but sometimes that’s just too much effort.

www.sbstatesman.com Stony Brook’s only weekly paper also available online

as injuries sapped his effectiveness over the last month, but the performance snapped a string of seven straight single-digit scoring games for a player who averaged 16.4 points per game prior to the hip/back ailment.

“I knew that I was going to be aggressive,” Healy said in a postgame press conference. “Shots hadn't been falling for me recently. I just tried to get out of my own way in my head and just stick to my game plan. I wanted to win for the seniors, and I wasn’t ready to go home.”

Stony Brook advances to the America East semifinals, where they will face the Hartford Hawks (17-15, 9-7) on Tuesday, March 10 at 7 p.m. — the only team to

have swept the Seawolves in the conference regular season. The Hawks defeated UMass Lowell 89-75 in their quarterfinal matchup. For the Seawolves, the Hawks present a formidable challenge for a team that stands two games away from the NCAA Tournament.

“We're going to have to remember that we're wearing white jerseys on Tuesday night because the last time they were here, we threw them the ball 16 times,” Ford said when loking forward to Hartford. “Hopefully we get a nice big crowd on Tuesday. I know it's a weeknight, but we need another good turnout and a lot of buzz in the building because we’ve got our hands full.

They're a really good team.”

ETHAN TAM / THE STATESMAN

Redshirt-junior guard Makale Foreman on March 7 against Albany in the America East quarterfinals.