The Statesman Volume 57 Issue 12

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The Statesman informing stony brook university for more than 50 years Monday, November 18, 2013

Volume LVII, Issue 12

sbstatesman.com

Southampton sued for water violations By Giselle Barkley Assistant News Editor

ERIKA KARP / THE STATESMAN

Students protest the closing of SUNY Southampton in September 2011. Now, another controversy surrounds the campus, which is being sued by environmental groups for violating three different, federal laws.

Science Fiction Forum looks back and into the future

By Brandon Benarba

Assistant Arts & Entertainment Editor

The past met the present in the Stony Brook Union Ballroom Friday night as the Science Fiction Forum celebrated their 45th past alums meeting. Nearly 100 members came out to join in the celebration, many of whom were returning forum members who came back to see how the club is doing. “It was really awesome to see and hear stories about how the forum use to be from past members and then to tell them our own stories from the present,” James Bylicky, a junior mechanical engineer student and twoyear forum member said. At 45 years old, the Sci-Fi forum is one of the oldest clubs on campus. To help highlight the club's changes and history the celebration included logs and a photo wall that allowed members to look into the past. One of the biggest changes over the years is the move into a new room. Before and during the celebration, returning members traveled to see the new home of the organization, which is bigger than previous rooms. A few years ago, the forum had a fire that resulted in a lot of damage to the organization. While no one got hurt, there were only two items

that survived the fire, an unknown pair of underwear and a copy of the movie “Fahrenheit 451,” which is one of the prized possessions of the forum. The copy of the film is signed and protected in lamination, but was on display for members to see during the celebration anniversary with current members. “Having people come down really helped show the evolution of the forum,” Bylicky said. “The older forum used to be a lot smaller, but they had more power and recognition on campus. Now though we are a lot larger, but also are more lenient.” Moving into a bigger room has allowed the forum to continue to grow their library. Currently the SciFi Forum is the largest free lending library of comics, books and graphic novels of horror, fantasy and science fiction on the east coast with more than 18,000 books for members to look through. “It is just like any other club on campus where you can go and hang out with people who share similar interests with you,” Tristan Catalano, a junior geology major said. “We play games, watch TV and just enjoy all the things we have at our disposal, but it does help that we have this long history to look through.”

SBU to host storm research hub

By Hanaa’ Tameez Assistant News Editor

Stony Brook University will serve as one of two home bases for the New York State Resilience Institute for Storms & Emergencies (NYS RISE), Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced on Friday, Nov. 1. At his Conference on Emergency Preparedness in Albany, Cuomo revealed that the new facility will be a research hub for analysts, government officials and emergency first responders to analyze previous storms and collaborate on ideas to improve the way the state will address future extreme weather events. “Superstorm Sandy, Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee taught us many lessons from the last three years,” Cuomo said in a press release. “But the biggest lesson of all was that we have much more to learn about today’s changing and unpredictable climate. “We are gathering top academic leaders, policy makers, emergency experts and first responders from across the nation to develop strategies to meet one simple goal—and that is to better protect New York’s communities in natural disasters,” he continued.

News

Arts & Entertainment

However, according to the Associate Dean of Stony Brook’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences R. Lawrence Swanson, who will be co-directing the institute with SOMAS Dean Minghua Zhang, the project started last February, soon after Superstorm Sandy. When the researchers at Stony Brook were ineligible to receive federal government funding for their work, they turned to the state for aid. “Some of our contacts [suggested] we apply directly to the state because FEMA was not only giving money for restoration of homes and property but a certain proportion of that money was to go to research,” Swanson said. But Stony Brook was not alone in their efforts. Along with SBU’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, the Resilience Institute will also be housed at the Polytechnic Institute of New York University in Brooklyn, where Construction Engineering and Management Professor Fletcher H. (Bud) Griffis will head the institute on his end. “I guess in somewhat of Continued on page 3

Opinions

Two environmental groups—The Peconic Baykeeper and the Long Island Soundkeeper—are suing SUNY Stony Brook Southampton for discharging polluted wastewater into local waterways. Peconic Baykeeper President Kevin McAllister claims there were permit violations regarding the cesspool and septic systems at Southampton and five state parks in Suffolk County. Southampton and the five state parks—Robert Moses, Heckscher, Belmont Lake, Sunken Meadow and Wildwood—have violated three federal environmental laws including the Clean Water, Safe Drinking Water and Resource Conservation and Recovery Acts. On Nov. 8 and 11, 2013 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Southampton and the five state parks were sued by the Peconic Baykeeper and The Long Island Soundkeeper. Lauren Sheprow, director of Media Relations at Stony Brook University, told the Times Beacon Record that the university could not comment on the issue. The state parks and Southampton operate large capacity septic systems, according to McAllister. The wastewater, which enters rivers and estuaries via groundwater, contains excess nitrogen that triggers toxic algal blooms, like red and brown tides. Red tides, a harmful algal bloom, release biotoxins that are taken up by shellfish during filter feeding, making them inedible. It can also kill both shellfish and finned fish based upon nitrogen levels in the water. “Even if it’s not killing the shell fish the levels can be high enough where they pose public health risks," McAllister said. “For instance the state of New York last year, when either a red tide or rust tide appeared in Shinnecock Bay, issued a closure where people were not allowed to harvest recreationally or commercially for bivalves.” According to McAllister, various plants in Riverhead has disclosed 1200 water violations that extended over “year periods” that the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, was not aware of. He expanded upon this saying that the DEC had the reports that disclosed the violations, but they never took enforcement action. “We are seeing a number of areas in [Suffolk County] where drinking water is no longer safe to drink because the levels of nitrogen have exceeded the 10 mL threshold,” McAllister said. Sports

Anna Lubitz experienced a shift in public opinion

Interview with violinist Midori Goto

Renowned violinist returns to Stony Brook University.

SOLAR problems need a resolution

Seawolves fall to No. 23-ranked Indiana

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The presidency of Anna Lubitz

SOLAR’s problems show it is in need of an update.

Carson Puriefoy has 22 points in the 90-74 loss.


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