Fall'16 issue 4

Hudsonian Students speak out Hud.against “Saint Ross”

THE

TECHNOLOGY PROBLEMS EXPLAINED PAGES 3 - 5

OFFICIAL STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF HUDSON VALLEY COMMUNITY COLLEGE

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thehudsonian.org

Volume 70, Issue 4

September 27, 2016

THE

What’s Inside?

Inside News All College

A run-down of the All College Meeting that occured last Monday.

accusations

OFFICIAL STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF HUDSON VALLEY COMMUNITY COLLEGE Page 2

Blackboard

Hudsonian

THE

The ITS department explains the trouble behind blackboard issues.

Page 3

ITS Complaints

By: Jenny Caulfield Managing Editor

Complaints, scrutiny, and observations about recent technology issues.

Page 4

Email Change

Hudson Valley switches email platforms from gmail to outlook.

Wi-Fi Rennovations

Student complaints about bad Wi-Fi have been heard! The changes going into effect soon.

Page 5

Inside Creative Where to park

Interviews with students about the parking at HVCC and how they deal with it.

Page 8

Mental Health

Health courses on campus offer mental wellness.

Page 9

Headphones

Students everywhere are always wearing headphones; why do they do it?

Page 9

VP Profile

An inside look at what made Student Senate VP, Stephen Pelletier who he is today.

Page 10

Inside Sports Soccer Dominating Women’s Soccer is destroyng this season, putting up a total of 32 goals so far.

Page 11

Tennis Coach

Coach Tom Bain has plenty of room on the women’s tennis team for the inexperienced.

Page 12

PHOTO BY DYLAN HAUGEN | HUDSONIAN

”Saint Ross” protected by first Amendment rights By: Rebecca Jordan Editor-in-Chief

“Saint Ross” Jackson’s controversial preaching has many asking questions about why he was allowed to speak on campus.

On Wednesday and Thursday of last week, students converged on the student pavilion where Jackson was openly expressing his religious views. All he carried was a jug of water and a placard with several messages on it, including one that stated, “You are going to hell,” which also seemed to be his main message.

The crowd around Jackson was made up of students, faculty and Public Safety officers. The officers and most of the faculty members were trying to keep

SEE FACTS PAGE 7

PHOTO BY MIKEY BRYANT | HUDSONIAN

Page 5

and he just did this over dramatic, pretending to vomit act, being suAn arrest, throwing per hateful,” said human services water bottles and stu- major Kathryn Legg.

Legg felt urged to speak with dents with tears in their eyes only begin to de- Jackson when she heard him exscribe the results of pressing his views that homosex“Saint Ross” on cam- uals are going to hell. Being openly pansexual, Legg decided to kiss pus last week.

“Saint Ross”, her friend in front of Jackson to actually named stand up for her beliefs.

“I feel like if he really wantRoss Jackson, left many students ed to go to a school to preach, he in emotional should go to one that’s not as didistress after verse as this. He would get a way preaching his better turn out and more support views of reli- if he was at a school that wasn’t gion on cam- as liberal as Hudson Valley,” said Legg. pus.

Tiana Miller, an individual “I feel like he has his own agenda, and studies student, found the manhe feels like it’s important to in- ner in which Jackson expressed form other people, but how he’s his beliefs offensive to many stugoing about it is toxic,” said me- dents on campus. “This whole chanical engineering technology homophobic environment is really aggravating. It’s extremely demajor Nick Meyers.

“I walked out of class and was grading to a majority of the popusmacked in the face with someone lation here,” said Miller.

Brittany Palmer, an individuyelling at people trying to speak their minds,” said Brittany Manor, al studies major, said, “Yesterday, an early childhood major. Going he was more attacking individuals in to give her opinion and listen and going after themselves rather than a gento the opinions eral stateof others, Manment, and it’s or found diffitoo screwed culty in getting up. If I saw her opinion anybody through to getting perJackson. sonally atBecause tacked again, Manor felt I probaJackson would Read about it on not listen to any bly step in page 7 students’ opinagain.” ions on what he After was preaching, Manor decided to Jackson referred to himself as leave shortly after speaking her “Saint Ross,” students began to mind. “My mind is willing to be question how he was a saint and changed, but he did not change began asking him to cure their my mind,” said Manor. diseases. HVAC technical ser“I pulled [my friend] over SEE ROSS PAGE 6 and kissed her in front of him

PHOTO BY ISAAC KAUTZ | HUDSONIAN

Student arrested on campus

PHOTO BY ISAAC KAUTZ | HUDSONIAN

PHOTO BY MIKEY BRYANT | HUDSONIAN

Public Safety watches over to keep “Saint Ross” and students safe.

PHOTO BY MIKEY BRYANT | HUDSONIAN

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September 27, 2016

NEWS

This Week’s Events

All College Meeting informs campus on the state of the college

September

Tue 27

Heart Beatz: Therapeutic Drumming 11:00 am – 11:50 am Siek Campus Center, Room 270

By: Zoe Deno Staff Writer The semi annual All College Meeting that occurred last Monday where President Andrew Matonak informed faculty and students on the current state of the college.

After an introduction by Emma Dillon, the student senate president, Matonak took the stand to talk about the issues of the college.

“This year, it would be an understatement to say we got off to a rough start. We were hit very hard by a variety of problems with information technology deployment and services, as well as our power supply from the cogeneration plant. The result was interrupted services to the college, college closure and immense frustration from our college community,” he said.

When Matonak addressed the staff in attendance, he thanked them for their hard work despite all of the problems they have been experiencing.

Matonak said, “All of you find a way to make it work and to serve our students, and I want to thank you so much for that… You guys are the best, and I appreciate it.”

Blackboard “It is an understatement to say that we are irate with Blackboard’s inability to resolve these problems,” Matonak said.

The failure of Blackboard came as surprise to the staff who had tested the program over the summer without a problem.

“I know that there has been extreme frustration and there has been no one more frustrated than

Yoga 12:00 pm – 12:50 pm Siek Campus Center, Suite 270 When Hating Mexicans and Muslims Wins Votes: Xenophobia and its Effects on the 2016 Presidential Election 12:00 pm – 12:50 pm Bulmer Telecommunications Center Auditorium

Wed 28

Transfer Advisor Visit: Siena College 9:30 am – 2:30 pm Siek Campus Center, Room 290 Wellness Fair 10:00 am – 12:00 pm Siek Campus Center, First Floor lobby

Thurs Meditation 10:00 am – 10:30 am 22 Siek Campus Center, Suite 270

A Meditative Tone Journey with Laraaji & Arji 12:00 pm – 12:50 pm Bulmer Telecommunications Center Auditorium Game Day: Can Jam 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm In front of Hudson Hall

PHOTO BY MIKEY BRYANT | HUDSONIAN

Matonak speaks at all college meeting.

our ITS staff and everyone working with students,” said Matonak.

“In fact they have done a remarkable job with regard to trying to respond to this issues. It’s not their fault.”

“The interruption of service that we experienced during the beginning of this semester is absolutely unacceptable and we are going to correct this,” Matonak concluded.

Blackout “As you know we had to close the college for a day due to a power outage during the first week. Our cogeneration plant has powered collage in environmentally-friendly way for over a decade, the facility is aging, and we continue to have temporary disruptions every so often.” President Matonak said.

Matonak described the massive blackout that forced all of the students off the campus as the “the perfect storm.” According to him, the cause of the blackout was all three engines of the cogenera-

October

Sat 1

NYC Day Trip

Weather TUESDAY

PHOTO BY MIKEY BRYANT | HUDSONIAN

Student Senate President, Emma Dillon, introduces Matonak at the all college meeting Thursday.

WEDNESDAY

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The Hudsonian Hudson Valley Community College 80 Vandenburgh Ave. Troy, NY 12180 Phone: 518-629-7568 Email: hudsonian@hvcc.edu Editorial Policy All views expressed in this paper are those of the author, and not necessarily those of the The Hudsonian or the College.

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Editor-in-Chief Rebecca Jordan Managing Editor Jenny Caulfield Business Manager Tyler Betzwieser Layout Editor Mike Schaefer Photo Editor Mikey Bryant

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Sports Editor Brandon Hladik Web Editor Richard Bonomo Staff Writers Julio Rodriguez Hunter Wallace Skylar Blankenship Zoe Deno Adam Whittet

tion plant giving out at the same time.

“As I mentioned last semester, we are in the process of reconnecting to National Grid for additional power. National Grid will not replace the plant, but add power to the campus to help stabilize and prevent these power outages,” said Matonak.

The system will not be tested until December because administration does not want to cause more disruption to learning.

Enrollment According to President Matonak, there has been a 3.8 % decline in admissions since last summer.

“We do need to be very conservative and diligent in managing our budget this year, as well as into our 2017 and 2018 budget.

However, I need to tell you if this downward trend continues, we will have to make the necessary budget adjustments going forward. In the college, enrollment is very, very important,” he said.

Matonak went on to explain that enrollment is counter-cyclical to the economy, which means when we are in a period of low unemployment our enrollment tends to drop, enrollment trends from the past six years show this.

SUNY schools have reported enrollment declines from nothing to 13 percent, with an average of a 5 percent decrease according to Matonak. Four-year colleges in this area and statewide, however, are stable and growing.

New Website “In June the office of commu-

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Staff Photographers Dylan Haugen Issac Kautz Adam Whittet Vinny Croce Faculty Adviser Rachel Bornn

nications and marketing and ITS issued an RFP for the design and development of the new college website. It will include streamlined and optimized content, including site search functionality, design that is responsive to those who use mobile devices and a content management system to provide improved info management and editing capabilities to certain offices,” Matonak said.

He announced that students can expect the initial launch for the new mobile-friendly design in fall 2017.

Outdoor Sports Complex “I’m sure you’ve noticed that we’ve made tremendous steps toward completion of the outdoor sports complex,” President Matonak said. “It will transform soccer football and lacrosse play, and the students love it. This spring, we began the construction of a multi-use field, an actual grass field and a track and field complex.”

The projects are almost complete now. The track and field complex will allow Hudson Valley to add men’s and women’s outdoor track and field opportunities which will begin function in spring 2018.

Matonak invited everyone to the dedication and the ribbon-cutting ceremony, which will be at Hudson Valley’s first home football game on Oct. 8. It will be accompanied with a full weekend of homecoming activities.

“Please come out and support our student athletes and take part in the tailgate party and the other homecoming events.”

Gene Haas Tech. Center The college recently announced its plans for a new building they are planning to construct behind the parking garage.

“We have drawn up more plans for the Gene F. Haas Center for Advanced Manufacturing Skills, which is a new, $41.5 million, 37,000 square-foot building,” said President Matonak.

He continued: “It will expand the opportunities for students in the advanced manufacturing technologies program. It will allow us to double the program’s enrollment and to develop other programs that will meet industry needs; jobs related to management, sales, marketing and procurement.”

While they are nowhere near the $41.5 million needed to complete construction the project is

SATURDAY High/Low 67/47

Letters to the Editor Letters can be delivered to CTR 291 or emailed to hudsonian@ hvcc.edu. Readers may have their letters published anonymously as long as their identity can be verified. Letters will be edited for grammar, style, libel and length.

SEE MEETING NEXT PAGE

SUNDAY High/Low 68/46

The Hudsonian is the exclusive student newspaper of Hudson Valley Community College. It is published every week. To join The Hudsonian, attend our weekly meeting on Mondays at 2 p.m. in ADM 107.

September 27, 2016 FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

3

Blackboard problems “out of our control”

MEETING

hoped to be completed sometime in 2019.

Social Issues “Maintaining and encouraging a diverse environment is another initiative of the college,” said Matonak. “A special SUNY task force issued a system-wide policy for diversity and inclusion last fall, and as a result, we are in search of a chief diversity officer who will assist this college in the development and implementation of diversity, equity and inclusion policies.”

Matonak briefly touched on the college’s new preferred first name policy, which will allow students and faculty to be identified by a name they choose. By passing this, the college hopes to protect individuals from discrimination based on gender identity and expression.

Matonak also mentioned the new general-neutral bathrooms.

The college is currently working to identify and appropriately assign all single stall bathrooms on campus as gender neutral. All information on where these stalls are located can be found on the college website.

Retirement Earlier this year, President Matonak announced his retirement.

At the meeting on Monday, he explained why he gave twoyear notice. When the college’s last president left in 2005, it took roughly 15 months to find and hire Matonak as the new president. The national search, if thorough, generally takes a year, and he wanted to make sure the board had enough time to find the best possible replacement.

“In the meantime,” Matonak concluded, “I know I can count on all of you to work very diligently to provide the best education and the best services to our students.

I will assure you that I am fully committed to making sure, until my last day here at the college, that we are improving the student experience at Hudson Valley.”

NEWS

By: Rebecca Jordan Editor-in-Chief A forced migration to Blackboard servers causes problems with online classes across campus.

“The Blackboard issues were completely out of our control; we’re at the mercy of Blackboard on that,” said John Brennan, the college’s new chief information officer.

According to Brennan, the Blackboard servers used to be hosted on campus in the data center located in Higbee. Whenever there was an issue, IT employees had easy access to the servers to find a solution.

“Blackboard told us that if we wanted to keep getting updates, which is important because

things break all the time and you have to make patches and security updates, we needed to migrate into their software as a service,” said Brennan. “It was definitely a forced migration... They were essentially like, ‘Hey, nice learning management system you got there. It would be a shame if something happened to it.’”

Blackboard would host the platform from their data center and manage all of the problems and necessary fixes. This migration would free up college ITS personnel to focus on technology on campus, such as the Wi-Fi upgrades and Windows 10 updates.

Once the migration was complete, however, Blackboard made some changes that were not advertised to the college. When ITS started feeding the files into

the Blackboard server before the start of the semester, they corrupted the database.

The system was configured in such a way that when it saw a record it did not recognize, including classes and student enrollment in online classes, that record was dropped.

“It has been a daily communication with Blackboard, and communication is phrasing it very lightly,” said Brennan.

All of this happened on the Friday before classes started. The first day of school, the problems with Blackboard still had not been resolved.

Though it wasn’t essential that ITS make the move to Blackboard servers at the exact time they did, they would have had to replace all the servers on

campus. The upgrade would have cost $250,000 as opposed to the $100,000 it took to migrate.

There has been some talk about transferring the college courses from Blackboard to another course platform, such as Moodle or Canvas. However, this migration would take a couple years of planning and research, including testing from all faculty members on an enormous scale, and would have to be planned for a summer break.

“It’s a very heavy lift to get onto one of those other companies once you’re entrenched in a vendor, and I feel like Blackboard knows that. They use that ‘Where else are you going to go?’ kind of mentality,” said Brennan.

PHOTO BY ISAAC KAUTZ | HUDSONIAN

PHOTO BY ISAAC KAUTZ | HUDSONIAN

Students and faculty alike have faced many errors with blackboard, wi-fi, and the switch to Windows 10.

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4

September 27, 2016

NEWS

“What is your opinion on the technology on campus?”

By: Rebecca Jordan Editor-in-Chief Students have expressed different reactions in response to the technological problems experienced on campus since the beginning of school.

“It makes it more difficult because we are more technology-based now. It’s kind of hard to be able to do your assignments or look up something if the technology that’s provided for us isn’t working to its fullest ability,” said Veronica Ginto, business administration student.

From Blackboard and Windows 10 being slow, to lost or missing Wi-Fi connections and teachers losing notes, students have been on a technological rollercoaster.

“I tried hooking my email up to my iPhone, my Outlook email, and it wouldn’t let me. The same thing, my personal computer won’t connect to the Wi-Fi. And the Blackboard is trash,” said Ralphie Soler, exercise science and fitness major.

Jake Potter, fine arts student, had a similar opinion. “The internet sucks, and the Wi-Fi is pretty terrible, too,” he said.

“My whole impression of this school so far is unorganized and unprofessional,” said digital marketing major Keegan Brunell. “Whether it’s my teachers not really showing up for class and not really giving us much warning, or the whole power issue and all of the Blackboard issues, it’s just been one thing after another with this school. I really don’t even have a very solid opinion of it anymore.”

“It’s been a mixed bag,” said John Brennan, chief information officer, about the reactions of people on campus to the technological problems. “Frustration has been high, and understandably so. Their instruction is starting to be impacted, and they have a right to be angry.”

According to Brennan, Campus Works, Strata Information Group and the Middle States accrediting body had all done studies before he took his position at the college. All of them consistently said that ITS is running on about half the staff they should be.

Brennan said that when he was employed at SUNY Delhi, their ITS department had 26 workers servicing 3,300 students. Hudson Valley has over more than triple the enrollment number at Delhi, but only employs about 24 ITS staff members.

“We are grossly understaffed in our department in technology in general, so everything that we do really needs to be done in a very carefully measured approach and not in huge chunks like we did this time,” said Brennan. “It was all too much; that is what it really boils down to.”

“I think they just really need to get their stuff together,” said human services student Savannah Bronson. I heard one of my professors say that they got this new Blackboard system two weeks before school started. They should have had more time to learn about it before school started, and I felt like the professors didn’t really know what they were doing either.”

According to students, their teachers have reacted in different ways as well.

“My teachers either reacted very professionally and kind of just went on with things, or basically acted like a kid who lost their index card right before they had to give a speech,” said Brunell.

Bronson said, “My teachers are always like, ‘What the hell?’ They always get really mad. Some of them start cussing or are like, ‘Are you kidding me?

This is ridiculous,’ or, ‘I don’t know what to do now.’

And then they get all frustrated.”

According to Ginto, teachers have been confused on how to operate the new technology as well.

“They are complaining that they didn’t have enough time to learn how to use it properly,” she said. “They say that the school should have worked out all the tweaks before school actually started.”

Students have noticed an improvement since the first week of school.

Soler said, “Nothing can get worse than blacking out, so it’s definitely gotten better.”

Patricia Brown, liberal arts major, agrees: “It seems like it’s getting fixed now. It was a little annoying, but I think it’s better now.”

According to Brennan, ITS is still working out the bugs. However, the major issues have been, for the most part, resolved.

He said, “There are sporadic issues here and there that we are aware of and are working on, but nothing on the level of what we saw during the first couple weeks of classes.”

“ The internet sucks, and the Wi-Fi is pretty terrible, too.

Jake Potter

Fine Arts Student

“

My teachers are always like, ‘What the hell?’ They always get really mad.

Savannah Bronson Human Services Student

“ It seems like it’s

getting fixed now.

It was a little annoying, but I think it’s better now.

Patricia Brown

Liberal Arts Student

“

Frustration has been high, and understandably so.

John Brennan

Cheif Information Officer

THEHUDSONIAN.ORG

September 27, 2016

NEWS

5

College attempts Hudson Valley switches Wi-Fi improvement from Google to Microsoft By: Rebecca Jordan Editor-in-Chief

By: Rebecca Jordan Editor-in-Chief There were many benefits the college experienced because of their switch from Google to Microsoft, including peace of mind regarding privacy.

“That was one of the problems with Google,” said John Brennan, chief information officer. “If they’re subpoenaed by anybody, they’re very likely to just hand over data to governments or police agencies… where as Microsoft fights it a lot more and will work on that institution’s behalf rather than just on the user’s behalf.”

There is also a program called AdWords that sends users ads based on what is found in their email accounts. Brennan said that there was no way to know who was looking at the information from the emails that was running through the databases.

“That did not sit very well with a lot of faculty about is it just a computer that’s scanning it, or are there people who are scanning it? They felt like there was a lot of privacy concerns there that were not present with the Microsoft agreement,” he said.

There are other major benefits in addition to the increased privacy. One of these was getting students and faculty on the same email platform. Previously, faculty and staff were all on the Zimbra email platform, while students used Gmail.

Another perk was that the college was able to provide Microsoft 2016 to students for free on up to six devices. Without the new contract with Microsoft, the college would have had to pay a significant amount if they wanted to purchase the license for students and faculty to use.

Most SUNY schools use Microsoft as well. Though Hudson

Valley does not lean on those schools for support, the state contract with Microsoft was already in place so there was no need to negotiate additional agreements.

Despite the perks, getting the system running smoothly after the switch took time. One problem was the computer asking users to log back in after they had already done so.

This is the result of a change in the way Microsoft does its licensing. In the past, if an organization bought a license for Microsoft products, it was given a software key code to pass on to its employees. However, this key code model is easy to pirate.

“If someone gives that sort of a key code to their friend and it gets posted online, now everyone on the internet is using Hudson Valley’s license,” said Brennan.

Microsoft switched to an authentication model where the licenses for individuals are validated by accounts and email addresses to a specific institution.

The second login screen is just confirming that the user is actually a member of the Hudson Valley community and, according to Brennan, is supposed to be more informative than it is.

“We’ve been beating it into people over the last few years that you must be wary of everything.

Don’t trust anybody that asks you for your password; we will never ask you for your password,” said Brennan. “That’s something we’ve

ITS has made several upgrades to the internet and Wi-Fi systems over the summer due to increasing student use.

“The more [devices] you allow, the more they want, and the more they want to bring. The more bandwidth you throw at them, the more they eat it right up. It’s a constant improvement cycle,” said John Brennan, chief information officer.

According to numbers provided by the ITS department, in a 24-hour period, campus experiences an average of 8,000 mobile devices connecting to its network. This figure does not include laptops, only devices running on mobile operating systems. And that number is only increasing.

This time last year, there was an average of 872 active connections at any given time. This year, however, that number is at about 1,358. Because of the ever-increasing need for greater Wi-Fi speed and saturation, ITS has been working on meeting the needs of students and faculty. been drumming into people, but we get to this, and it’s like shooting ourselves in the foot. Now we’re putting out emails that say, ‘Don’t worry, this one time it’s okay.’”

Despite students having to learn how to navigate a lot of new technology over the summer, including the new email platform, Brennan said that he has found students are very adaptive when it comes to getting used to such changes.

“They’re technology natives; they’ve grown up with this technology, and change is kind of ‘par for the course’ for technology,” he said.

He also said that the college needs to be better at providing training for teachers when new technology is introduced to campus.

“That’s partially a problem with the university providing training for the teachers and documentation in a timely fashion, and that is being addressed, though probably not as readily as it should have been,” said Brennan. “But with some user education and training workshops, we’ll hopefully get through any of those challenges.”

+ +

Adding and upgrading routers: During the fall 2015 semester, the college was in the process of doubling the bandwidth, or speed of Wi-Fi, across campus, increasing it from 2.4 to 5 gigahertz (GHz). Most devices made in the last four years or so can support the 5 GHz connection.

“The 5 ghz signals can penetrate walls and barriers a lot better than the 2.4 ghz can, so you get a lot more saturation with the same number of routers and access points,” said Brennan.

There were also an additional hundred routers installed to add to the over three hundred already in use as well as replacements to old routers. The new routers can support both 2.4 and 5 GHz connections so that the older devices can still connect on campus.

According to Brennan, that project is about 80 percent completed and should be finished by next month.

Dividing the internet path: During the last academic year, the college experienced two internet outages that were outside its control. One was due to an underground fire; the other was the result of a fiber cable that was dug up in someone’s backyard.

The college decided that it needed to have internet coming in from two different paths: one from the north and the other from the south. Both paths are capable of carrying the internet needs of the entire campus in the event that one goes down.

“If Farmer Joe digs up the cable again with his backhoe, we can switch over to the other connection and go the other way to get back to where we need to be,” said Brennan.

The switch from one path to another is not automatic yet, but will be in a few weeks. Until then, if the internet goes out, it is the simple matter of flipping a switch and making a few configuration changes. However, Brennan says that the switchover needs to be automatic in case the outage happens when no one is on campus to change the internet path.

Outdoor routers: One complaint students have about the Wi-Fi is that there is no seamless connection when they travel from one building to another. ITS has been working on giving students access to this wireless perk.

The entire outdoor network of access points is installed except for one router, but it is not fully lit up yet because there is need for more testing. However, the quads outside BTC and Brahan get a connection from outdoor access points right now.

These outdoor routers can handle up to 480 active connections at one time as opposed to the 316 that indoor routers can support.

“The indoor routers don’t need to support as many connections at once because there are more of them. We achieve the density we need just by adding more access points,” said Brennan.

ITS has added several access points in some outdoor locations as well because of the high concentration of students in those areas.

THEHUDSONIAN.ORG

6 FROM PAGE 1

ROSS

vices major Donald Ienco asked Jackson if he could cure his disease, and got no response from Jackson.

“I have cancer, Leukemia, and him saying [he is a saint] is falsifying proof and giving false hope to all the people around the world,” said Ienco.

Jackson, who kept a large portion of his speaking addressing homosexuality, was telling H u d -

September 27, 2016

NEWS son Valley students, “If I was the president of the United States, one segregation act I would do is I would quarantine all the homosexuals into northern California.”

Students like Meyers tried to listen to Jackson’s beliefs with an open mind, but left with his opinion untouched.

“No one’s opinion here has really been changed, all it’s done is really stir up anger.”

Besides stirring

up anger in students with his opinions on religion, Meyers felt that a majority of Jackson’s claims were factually wrong. “He doesn’t believe plants are living things and that Michael Jackson isn’t dead. He said that marijuana isn’t a living things it’s part of sorcery,” said Meyers.

Wyatt Carbonneau, a physical education major, is a Christian who was watching Jackson in the pavilion. “[He is missing] everything about love,” said Carbonneau.

“He never brings up God’s love, God’s sovereignty over things, anything like that. He never brings up the major points of the Gospel; he’s just generalizing and preaching nonsense.”

Destiny Pezzolla, a computer science major, decided to come out just to irritate Jackson by making remarks in favor of homosexuality. She also made a sign to be ironic that said, “Pray the gay away.”

“I figured whatever you say, he’s not going to change his mind, so there’s no purpose in getting

angry with him because that’s just going to be negative to yourself,” said Pezzolla.

On Thursday, the second day Jackson came to campus, Hudson Valley Peace Officers put up chains around Jackson. Students like Brittany Palmer, an individual studies major, found the addition of the chains unnecessary.

“No one’s gonna’ actually physically assault him. I know yesterday when him and I were having a conversation, he stepped

Arrest

ter gra comin preach “I you sh straigh name burka, Th studen on cam and o college “I pletely inappr

PHOTO BY ISAAC KAUTZ | HUDSONIAN

FROM PAGE ONE

By: Rebecca Jordan Editor-in-Chief Deborah Gary was arrested last Wednesday due to an altercation with Reverend Ross Jackson.

According to the Public Safety incident report, around 12:45 p.m., Gary was at the pavilion listening to Jackson preach. She verbally challenged the content of Jackson’s preaching and proceeded to move closer and closer

THEHUDSONIAN.ORG

too close to me and he backed away, so I don’t think anything would get to a physical level where there needs to be security here,” said Palmer.

Besides his comments on homosexuality, liberal arts major Fatima Hussain claims Jackson made comments to her about being Muslim.

“We asked him a question about what his thoughts on Muslims are, and he said when Muslim women go to the beach, they wear Halloween costumes or blankets,” said Hussain.

Hussain feels that someone should have a bet-

to where he was standing as she continued to engage him.

Gary picked up Jackson’s placard and gallon jug of water, causing a Public Safety officer to step in and move her back from where Jackson stood. Gary was then instructed not to touch Jackson or any of his belongings.

At approximately 1 p.m., Gary took his placard and ran out of the pavilion with it. She was apprehended, the placard was given

back to Jackson a taken to the Public by two officers.

Gary was arre orderly Conduct a appearance ticket fo Troy Court for Frid 8:30 a.m. She is not on campus again u tacted Vice Preside ment Management Development Alex vic’s office.

September 27, 2016

NEWS

7

PHOTO BY MIKEY BRYANT | HUDSONIAN

PHOTO BY MIKEY BRYANT | HUDSONIAN

Head of Public Safety, Fred Aliberi, escorts “Saint Ross” to his vehicle.

asp of information if they’re ng to a college campus to h or speak.

I feel like if you’re preaching, hould at least get your facts ht and actually know the of the clothing. It’s called a ,” she said.

The general consensus from nts about Jackson’s presence mpus is he was distracting overly offensive to be on a e campus.

I think [Saint Ross] is comy ignorant and completely ropriate,” said Ienco.

FROM PAGE 1

FACTS

the peace, as students, incited by Jackson’s words, shouted back at him.

Because of the controversial and to many, offensive nature of Jackson’s preaching, many questioned why he was even allowed to be on campus in the first place.

Ac-

cording to a statement by Scott Ely, college attorney, “The college, as a public institution, is obligated under both the state and federal constitutions to provide a forum for individuals to express their opinions, even if such opinions convey moral or political viewpoints that are repugnant to the college and to its student body.”

Guidelines for use of the forum space are outlined in the Campus Free Speech and Assembly statement, available on the college’s website. The designated public forum space is the student pavilion.

Any person or organization wanting to use the space must fill out the appropriate paperwork and submit it to the Vice President of Administration. He is also subject to the campus Code of Conduct.

There are certain “blackout dates” during which the public forum space is not open to public use, such as during Spring Break.

“On Sept. 12, he was granted permission to use the public forum space,” said Dennis Kennedy, director of communications and marketing, about Jackson. “He did

complete the necessary paperwork and complied with our policy to use the space.”

Administration is not allowed to ask about the content of the speech, charge any sort of application fees to use the space or impose insurance requirements when deciding whether or not to accept an application.

According to the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, Americans have the right to free speech, assembly and the press. They also have the right to express their religious views and petition their government.

Therefore, college officials could not censor Jackson’s words, no matter how they were received on campus.

“The college’s ability to regulate such speech is limited to time, place and manner in which such speech is conducted. It may not regulate the content of any expression pursuant to the First Amendment of the Constitution,” said Ely in his statement.

The only exception to the First Amendment is if the speech contains “threats” or “fighting words” that result in violence or a breach of the peace.

According to Ely, “Threats” are defined as: “Statements where the speaker means to communicate a serious expression of intent to commit an act of unlawful violence to a particular individual or group of individuals.”

Though Jackson was bound by the campus Code of Conduct, it cannot be used against a person exercising his constitutional right to free speech unless such discourse promotes physical violence of psychological intimidation.

“In this case, the speaker’s speech did not rise to the level where the college could legally prevent him from expressing his point of view without violating his First Amendment rights,” said Ely. “Thus, the type of speech as the college experienced the last couple days is constitutionally protected, and overrides the Code of Conduct and the intent of the College to maintain a bias-free environment.”

Jackson played football for Hudson Valley and graduated in 2002 with a physical education degree. He currently lives in North Carolina and is the leader of Revival Mission Ministries.

PHOTO BY ISAAC KAUTZ | HUDSONIAN

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PHOTO BY ISAAC KAUTZ | HUDSONIAN

“Saint Ross” barracaded in by chains in order to help prevent any confrontation between him and students.

September 27, 2016

CREATIVE

8

Students find ways around parking By: Skylar Blankenship Managing Editor Students are continuing to struggle with the morning traffic and parking around Hudson Valley.

The college constructed a parking garage, created new parking lots and restructured other parking lots in attempts to provide more parking for students. Hudson Valley also purchased property near the former Grove restaurant to designate as the overflow lot to further this goal.

“Parking is pretty bad, so I end up leaving an hour early again just so I can get here on time and and find a parking spot pretty easily,” said Kyle McMillan, a sophomore business administration major.

Hudson Valley has 10 parking lots labeled A-K, a several story parking garage and overflow parking across the street. There is also specific parking for employees, those who are handicapped and visitors. Despite the parking available, students still feel that isn’t enough for the amount of commuting students.

“I think that if you get here before nine, it is easier

to park then getting here after nine; then parking is really difficult to find, and I think people leave after noon and then again it is easier to find parking,” says Erin Wilder, a computer science major.

Students like Wilder find their way around the daily headache of parking by adjusting the times that they arrive and leave campus.

In 2003, more parking spaces were made available on campus to accommodate the number of students. During the 2016 spring semester, a separate area in parking lots J and K was set aside for those who prefer parking within their own lines. Parking spots specifically for motorcycles were also added.

With Hudson Valley being a large commuting school, many students do not live in the immediate area surrounding Hudson Valley. Although many students drive to school, there is also a large number of students that use alternatives transportation such as the CDTA bus system

or get rides from family and friends.

Students like psychology major Paul Lowry Jr. use CDTA daily and find that the commute is difficult despite not having to deal with parking. Lowry has to take multiple busses to get to Hudson Valley every morning which adjusts the times he needs to wake up.

“My morning routine kind of sucks because I live in Schenectady, so I have to wake up a half hour before sunrise,” said Lowry. “[I] walk about a mile from my house to catch the 370 and take that bus for an hour and a half all the way to downtown Troy, and wait another 10 minutes for the 85 or 2240 to take me all the way up here.”

Although Lowry dislikes the length of his trip, he does find it convenient and useful to have the free bus pass that comes with his Hudson Valley ID.

PHOTO BY ISAAC KAUTZ | HUDSONIAN

PHOTO BY ISAAC KAUTZ | HUDSONIAN

Public safety puts out signs to indicate when certian lots are full.

Students search for places to park in the overcrowded lots.

PHOTO BY ISAAC KAUTZ | HUDSONIAN

PHOTO BY ISAAC KAUTZ | HUDSONIAN

Drivers resort to parking in spots labeled “No Parking”.

Cars seem to go on forever in HVCC’s parking lots.

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CREATIVE

September 27, 2016

9

“Students risk hearing loss from earbuds”

Health classes offer mental wellness for students

By: Julio Rodriguez Staff Writer Anywhere you go on campus, you’re likely to spot a person or two with earbuds in.

Earbuds are used by a majority of students on campus to listen to their music and are also sold in the bookstore. As popular as they are, the detrimental effects that earbuds could have on hearing might lead students to reconsider their use.

“It helps me stay calm, listening to music,” said Zania Carter-Deans, a human services student. Carter-Deans stated that she uses earbuds at an average of five to six hours per day.

“I had a certain pair of ear buds that were really loud, and I didn’t realize it. I found myself not being able to hear certain things at different times,” she said.

Carter-Deans has experienced some difficulty hearing because of her headphones. If she continues to experience hearing loss, she said that she would only turn them down, but she would continue to use earbuds.

Some students like psychology major Lydia Waters choose to listen to music less to protect her hearing. “Maybe two hours a day at the most,” said Waters about how long she listens to music with her earbuds.

Mary Ann Gulyas, a professor of music history, stresses that duration of use and volume are important factors to keep in mind.

“Inside your ears are muscles, bones and different mechanisms which, when abused, will stop

working,” said Gulyas.

The short-term effects may not seem to be a pressing issue, but long-term effects should be taken into consideration. Due to how far the bud goes into your ear, the damage that can be done could have permanent implications on your hearing.

Gulyas also cites the isolation that can be experienced by earbud users. Students who are more guarded or new to campus may be inclined to isolate themselves with the use of earbuds.

“They are very isolated. Maybe there are people who want to be in their own little world and don’t want to interact with their classmates, but to me, college is a great time to meet people and make friends,” said Gulyas.

Students might believe that they’re too young to feel the effects of hearing loss, but Gulyas discovered that this is not the case after viewing one of the documentaries she shares with her rock and roll class.

“There are actually 12 to 14-year-old children who are already experiencing hearing loss, and you can’t take a pill for that because it is permanent.

There is no magic wand,” said Gulyas.

Hearing loss is a damaging problem that can be avoided. Gulyas recommends the 60-60 rule to her students, which involves listening to music at 60% volume for 60 minutes. Afterwards, students should give their ears a rest for an additional 60 minutes.

By: Shelby Collins Staff Writer

Students at Hudson Valley can take health classes that focus more on emotional wellness than physical strength.

There are a wide variety of health classes that can satisfy the health requirement needed for a majority of majors at Hudson Valley. These health classes are more than boxing or volleyball and focus more on mental than physical health.

“Some of the most beneficial health courses are Stress and Health, Healthy Relationships, Weight Management and First Aid,” said physical education professor Andrew Blanchard.

There are a large number of classes at Hudson Valley for health that can accommodate the interest of most students. Classes for health can be Drug Studies, Women’s Health Issues or Wilderness First Aid. Besides these classes, there are physically active health classes like Aerobic Dancercise, Basketball or Zumba.

Students find that the information they gain in these classes benefits them in their daily lives.

Kiera Oliba, a student in the fitness specialist program, said her health class assisted her in managing stress and organization.

“I thought it was relative to my life as a college student. I made my own improving wellness

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spreadsheet, and I try to use it in my everyday life,” said Oliba.

Even architecture and engineering majors require a health credit. Thomas Murray, an architecture major took a mandatory health credit to graduate.

“They covered sex ed and drug abuse mostly,” said Murray.

Students agree that the health requirement is reasonable for their major. Andrea Burke, an individual studies major, was impressed with how her health class helped keep her fit and active.

“Some people never take health and need to know what health is about,” said Burke.

Blanchard, who teaches health classes, feel they are necessary for any student’s education.

Although many colleges require health courses for students, some pay large amounts just to take a health or fitness class from a personal trainer.

“What students do not seem to understand is that if they are full-time students with at least 12 hours towards their degree, they can sign up for any health or fitness course at no additional cost.

This is a wonderful opportunity for them, but many are not taking advantage of it because they are unaware that they can do this,” said Blanchard.

September 27, 2016

CREATIVE

10

Vice President uses community service experience to benefit students By: Adam Whittet Staff Writer Stephen Pelletier prides himself on what he can give back to his community.

Pelletier, who graduated from Berlin High School, racked up a number of experiences that he felt would make him an ideal candidate for his goals at Hudson Valley. Pelletier is currently acting as the Student Senate’s Vice President with a major in criminal justice. Graduating from Hudson Valley this year, Pelletier plans to go on to law school after.

“Being Vice President right now will give me a foundation that I can later use in my plan to be a litigator,” said Pelletier.

Pelletier takes pride in his achievements being the youngest boy in his troop for the Eagle Scouts, which is a high rank in the Boy Scouts of America. In order to become an Eagle Scout, a person must do a service project to show that that person is willing to give back to their community.

“I always looked up to president Kennedy and his words, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what can you do for your country.” That’s what really kept me going, trying to do what I can for others on a day to day basis.”

With his drive to do well for others rather high, Pelletier did community service project for Eagle Scouts last year, by partnering up with Saint Catherine’s

Facility for Wayward Children.

Pelletier decided to do an entire remodel of a room for a boy.

For his project, Pelletier went to Saint Catherine’s facility for wayward children and remodeled a room for a boy. With a theme of sports for the room, Pelletier included in the room like a carpet going four feet up the wall to simulate grass of a football field, a PVC pipe field goal around the window decorated with sports memorabilia from local colleges

and a photo signed from a New York Yankees hall of famer.

“In my daily routine, if I can make someone’s day a little bit better, I go out of my way to make sure I can because you’ll never know what it’ll do for them.”

Pelletier received a letter from president Obama when he achieved his rank, as well as being awarded with the presidential volunteer service award from him as well.

Although Pelletier has these

awards and events to showcase his service, he doesn’t let it go to his head.

“To be frank, it’s not me that I want to be remembered, it’s my work to be remembered.”

Pelletier has many awards hanging in his office he takes pride in, but his favorite award is his Eagle Scout award, because he hopes that those who see it will look to him for leadership and advice.

While Pelletier has experi-

ence helping others off of campus, he uses these things as Vice President to make a difference on campus.

“I knew there was a lot of activities going on in the campus, and I wanted to make sure that I get involved to make the best out of my college experience, as well as everyone else’s,” he said.

With the change in catering on campus this year from Chartwells to Mazzone, Pelletier spoke with representatives from Mazzone to make sure the students this year received something similar to last year’s students. Pelletier worked out with Mazzone to give the students 20 cheese pizzas, eight topping pizzas, and infused water, as opposed to just plain water.

Pelletier, as well as the other members of the Student Senate were involved with the welcome week on campus at the beginning of the semester. All the activities, the food and music that was available was because of the Student Senate.

When it comes to making a difference and enjoying college, Pelletier urges students to find clubs or activities to join to make their experience as meaningful as his.

“I implore you to get involved in clubs and just groups in general.”

PHOTO BY DYLAN HAUGEN | HUDSONIAN

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September 27, 2016

SPORTS

11

Women's soccer shuts out opponents

By: Brandon Hladik Sports Editor

In their last four games, they’ve put up a total of 32 goals all the while holding their opponents to nothing.

Sophomore forward/midfielder Elisabeth Morehouse has accounted for 14 of the 32 goals on this streak and assisted on two other goals of her teammates.

Morehouse is tied for second in division three scoring with all scores coming from the past four games.

Fellow sophomore forward/ midfielder Danielle Sloan has offered her fair share of goals along

with freshman forwards Savannah Bezon and Susannah Frisch, as well as freshman midfielder Sydney Buhrke.

Frisch recognizes exactly what it is that makes this team function.

“I think that our passing, communication and everyone’s unique skills are what helps us be the best we can be. We all get along with each other, which is why we play so well together. I can honestly say this is the first team I’ve been on that I like every single girl on and off of the

field,” sad Frisch.

2013 and 2014 Conference Coach of the Year Jay Pokines looks poised to make another run at Regional Finals at this pace.

In these past four games, he has pushed his team towards full productivity.

“He is another main reason why we play so well together, because he took the chance to get to know each and every one of us individually, which is what makes a coach, a good coach,” said Frisch. “[He’s] definitely one of the best I’ve played for.”

PHOTO BY DYLAN HAUGEN | HUDSONIAN

PHOTO BY DYLAN HAUGEN | HUDSONIAN

PHOTO BY DYLAN HAUGEN | HUDSONIAN

PHOTO BY DYLAN HAUGEN | HUDSONIAN

PHOTO BY DYLAN HAUGEN | HUDSONIAN

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September 27, 2016

SPORTS

12

New women’s tennis coach calls for players

By: Zoe Deno Staff Writer

The new women’s tennis coach Tom Bain, describes the benefits of joining Hudson Valley’s tennis team.

“I’ve had a few women say, ‘oh jeez, I can’t do it, I’m a beginner. You don’t want me.’ No, we definitely want you. Our team is small right now, we need players,” Bain said.

After the previous coach left last semester, a few players on the team followed leaving the team with just four active members, three short for playing full matches. Regardless of your experience level, Bain emphasized that all are welcome to join.

Bain was clear, “we will be supportive of you, it’s not like: because you may not be that good and we will tell you to go get us water. My goal is to get you the best you can be, and maybe then we could win some matches.”

The coach went on to explain one unique aspect of the tennis team that is its pliable schedule.

“There is some flexibility to it because it isn’t a scholarship type sport, so it is what you can put

PHOTO BY VINNY CROCE | HUDSONIAN

PHOTO BY VINNY CROCE | HUDSONIAN

New women’s tennis coach, Tom Bain, oversees a team practice.

into it. If you can make a couple practices. If you can make half of our practices and matches that’s enough where you are involved with the team. Obviously a lot of women have jobs, understandable. It’s not like you have to drop

everything and play tennis.”

While this season of tennis will wrap up mid-October, according to Bain it’s never too late to get cleared by the Athletic Department and play a few matches. “If someone wants to just

get cleared and maybe just play one match, they are welcome. If they wanted to play next season it would give them some basis.”

Bain said, going on to explain that the round trip for matches is typically five to seven hours and that

tuition pays for transportation so members don’t have to worry about paying for gas or finding a ride.

“Our goal is to have fun.”

Bain said in conclusion. “I want to teach them not only the game of tennis but virtues that can translate into life, like sportsmanship, how to deal with stress and pressure wins and losses are nice, but my philosophy is to teach successful both on and off the court.”

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