Spring16issue1

THE

Hudsonian

EDITORIAL SPECIAL

OFFICIAL STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF HUDSON VALLEY COMMUNITY COLLEGE Thehudsonian.org

Volume 69, Issue 1

FREE Extra Copies 25 cents

January 19th, 2016

Improving student life in 2016 Intiatives the Student Senate should strive for By: The Hudsonian Editorial Board

Matt Whalen | THE HUDSONIAN The original plan for the full complex will take out almost 100 parking spaces once completed.

Athletic complex construction set for March By: Tyler McNeil Managing Editor Student athletes are expected to plant their cleats on new ground by next fall.

“As soon as the ground thaws and the snow gets out of the way, we’d start [construction] in March if we could,” said Alex Popovics, vice president for enrollment and student development.

“We’re absolutely ready. The funding is secure and in place,” said Dennis Kennedy, director of marketing and communications.

Last April, the project was able to receive matching funding from the state and the Faculty Student Association bringing the total cost to $3.5 million.

The original project budget was based off a conceptual design

by Saratoga Associates in May. Once the college rendered the full design, the project’s budget

increased. “Halfway through the design process, we realized that we didn’t have enough money,” said Richard Edwards, director of the physical plant.

Funding for the athletic complex was voted by the Board of Trustees to be increased by $1 million. The college is currently trying to get funding from the state to match the $1 million increase. Additional funds for the project currently come from the FSA. Continued on page 4

The young and the restless

The path to graduating from a community college is a short journey, but the impact student leaders leave behind can prevail for years.

As the Student Senate is less than three months away from campaign season, it’s important for freshman senators to look into the future and organize fresh ideas. This semester, it should also be a high priority for senior Senate members to hone in on their contributions to student life for the upcoming class.

Increase transparency The Student Senate should strive harder to promote accountability online. Having weekly meeting minutes and annual budget information posted online will make information more readily accessible for students.

Donate to textbook sharing Having new textbook

editions published every year is unnecessary. Fighting outrageous textbook prices put on students every year is necessary. Unfortunately, pricing is largely out of student government control because much of the system revolves around college academic policy and federal financial aid.

This year’s class gift should go to one of Hudson Valley’s greatest gems -- textbook sharing at the instructional media center. Any student can borrow a textbook for an assignment in the Marvin Library without having to gut their wallet.

Use social media to spread awareness The ‘Hudson Valley Student Senate’ Facebook page currently has 18 likes and hasn’t had a new post since February 2014.

In contrast, SUNY Adirondack, home to nearly half as many students as Hudson Valley, has over 100 more likes and updated their page earlier this month.

Continued on page 8

Check out thehudsonian.org to see all the news online. You can now see all the full color versions of each issue on our website each week.

The men’s basketball team fight for their season with all players in their first year on the team. At 11-6 on the season, the team battles to stay on top and finish off strong.

See full story on page 9

Inside News

Inside Features

Inside Sports

Phishing

Dining guide

Concussions

Affordable eats well spent.

IT combats email scams.

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Page 8

Football spreading awareness about head injuries.

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January 19th, 2016

NEWS

New Year self evaluation The Hudsonian Hudson Valley Community College 80 Vandenburgh Ave. Troy, NY 12180 Phone: 518-629-7568 Email: hudsonian@hvcc.edu Editor-in-Chief Matt Whalen Managing Editor Tyler McNeil Business Manager Durgin McCue News Editor Rebecca Jordan Creative Editor Jenny Caulfield Sports Editor John C. Longton III Photo Editor Marison Topinio Copy Editor Dae-Jin Yuk Faculty Adviser Rachel Bornn 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.

Editorial Policy All views expressed in this paper are those of the author, and not necessarily those of the The Hudsonian or the College.

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.

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STUDENT SENATE PRESIDENT Greetings Students, Here we are starting another semester of college.

I hope you’ve enjoyed your break from the stress and are ready to get back to work.

As we grow and develop into adulthood, I think it’s important we take a moment every so often to evaluate ourselves. The start of a new year and semester can be a great time to do this.

One strategy I use to self evaluate is asking myself questions. Asking ourselves hard questions and giving honest answers can be a key to making spring 2016 a successful semester. Here are some of the questions I ask myself: What are my goals? I try to clearly and concisely

The final hurrah at The Hudsonian

January

Wed 20

Welcome Day 12:00 pm – 12:30 pm Siek Campus Center, first floor

Extended Hours for Service Offices 8:00 am – January 22, 2016 @ 6:00 pm

Thu 21

Extended Hours for Service Offices 8:00 am – January 22, 2016 @ 6:00 pm

HUDSONIAN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Greetings, Coming into the final semester here at Hudson Valley Community College, I must say my time here has been a wonderful experience.

Starting off as just a regular staff writer, I didn’t think much of how far I could go with this paper.

As I continued my time at Hudson Valley, I found my calling in design and photography. This led me to start laying out the student newspaper.

Every week, I would always look forward to Sundays, where I would have my time to design the paper how I wanted. With the support of other members, we started to see that we could achieve something great.

In the fall 2014 semester, we went to Philidelphia for our annual media convention. This was the first time we felt very confident in our chances of winning an award.

The Hudsonian has never placed in this prestiege competiton before Philidelphia.

We ended up placing fourth in the two-year tabloid category.

This was a huge accomplishment not only for the paper, but for the school as well.

10th Grade Mentoring Time 8:15 am – 9:00 am TEC-SMART. 345 Hermes Road, Malta, NY 12020

Winning this award gave us the belief that we could go even further with this paper, and that’s what we did.

As the year continued in preparation for the fall 2015 convention in Austin, we worked hard to tune up our writing, editing, photography, and design.

We went into the Austin convention last fall very confident.

Going into the competition, we were not aware that they condensed the categories. We would be competing against all the two-year college papers in the country.

When we heard our name and received ninth place, we

were very humble and felt very accomplished at what we have done. We were noticed as the ninth best two-year newspaper in the country.

Another big accomplishment has been being featured in Hudson Valley’s Valley View magazine. Having all the alumni see our work makes us work harder.

As our journey comes to an end this semester for most of the editorial board, we know that what our team did in the 2014, 2015 semesters will go down as the best two years in Hudsonian history so far.

Follow us:

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write down my goals in categories such as faith, family, health, career, education, and personal. I use my goals as the basis for other questions: Did I achieve or get closer to my goals last semester? What did I do well? What needs improvement? Over the next semester, what do I want to do differently in order to have a better outcome? What realistic and physical steps am I going to take every day to ensure I best pursue my goals?

Albert Einstein is credited with the saying, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” This break from school can be refreshing, and help us to come back ready for the next semester. This is a good opportunity to evaluate ourselves by asking the hard questions that ensure that we’re achieving our goals.

Have a successful semester, Everett McNair

Calendar of Events

Mon 25

Spring 2016 Off-Campus Classes Begin

Academic Senate Meeting 2:15 pm Bulmer Telecommunications Center, Meeting

Visit us at hudsonian.org facebook.com/hudsonian

@HudsonianHVCC

@thehudsonian

High/Low 29/18 The Hudsonian’s next publication will be Tuesday January 26th.

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January 19th, 2016

NEWS

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ARE YOU BEING

HACKED? IT Department reels in email phishing

By: Rebecca Jordan News Editor The Information Technology Services department is working to educate students and faculty on cyber security as email phishing attacks are on the rise.

“Unfortunately, it is the time we live in, and it’s just becoming more prevalent. The best measure against email phishing is to educate our users on how to identify an email phish and delete it,” said Sarah Garrand, interim chief information officer for ITS. Email phishing occurs when hackers send emails out from seemingly legitimate senders. The goal of these hackers is to collect personal information from people and use it to either get into the main companies where the users have accounts, or send links with viruses to other people while they pose as the stolen user.

There are different kinds of email phishing attacks that are categorized based on what hackers are trying to accomplish or obtain by the hack, but the most prevalent is the harvesting of the user’s credentials.

The most recent attempt students were alerted to via email was the CryptoLocker. This system encrypts computer files on a user’s device and then demands payment for the unlocking of these files.

The Phish Bowl is a webpage created by ITS for the purpose of education. The page lists all scams that they have been alerted to and have identified in order to prevent further lapses. “As we become smarter in technologies, [hackers] become smarter in their attacks,” said Garrand. “It’s just going to continue to be an ongoing battle.”

According to ITS, paying attention to email senders before clicking on links is an important step in keeping students and faculty

From Page 1

Athletic complex Less than two months ago, the Senate voted to increase the athletic fee. At the Nov. 23 meeting, Kristan Pelletier, director of athletics, mentioned raising the fee to assist the department with future costs of the athletic complex such as maintenance of the artificial turf.

“This amount will be finalized upon completion,” said Pelletier in an email. “There are fixed and variable costs which arise in the short and long term which we will

from falling victim to email phishing.

Unless the email was sent using a valid hvcc.edu email address, it should be brought to the attention of the ITS department. Hudson Valley will never ask for any account information, passwords, or personal information in an email, and do not click on URLs or attachments without knowing the sender.

Questionable emails can be forwarded to the information security email address found on the Phish Bowl webpage. ITS then reviews these emails and gets back to the user to say whether it is safe to proceed or if,

instead, the email should be deleted.

“It’s always better to stop and ask before clicking,” said Garrand.

In order to protect passwords, they should not be written down on sticky notes or books. Also, Garrand said that the ITS department is putting a pamphlet together as a resource of best practices when facing a phish.

If a faculty member or student clicks on the wrong link in a suspicious email, and if their account

account for each fiscal year.”

At the November meeting, Justin Hoyt, assistant director of athletics, mentioned the cost of having a track and field program with the new outdoor track. He said costs for the team could range from $15,000 to $20,000.

“We anticipate adding new sports, and it will help recruit and retain students at the college,” said Pelletier.

The 400-meter, eight-lane track will surround athletic turf, which will be used for sports ranging from soccer to lacrosse.

“When that field is complete, it’s going to bring Hudson

is compromised, the password must be changed immediately. Garrand also pointed out that because many people use the same password across multiple online entities, these accounts are also at risk once an email phish has been successful and should be changed as well.

“We have had a few instances where employees have clicked,” said Garrand. She mentioned that the employees were then asked to come speak with ITS so they could be educated on how

t h e email phish occurred, what exactly happened to their account, and how to prevent the same thing from happening in the future.

Email phishing is harmful to the security of college technologies and accounts, as well as the damage done on the Hudson Valley name itself.

Garrand said, “The bad part is that it negatively impacts the institution because it looks like thousands of emails going out to several other people in the world are being generated from a fake Hudson Valley email address.”

Valley Community College in competition regionally, across the state and across the nation,” said Louis Coplin, director of student life.

Women’s Soccer team head coach Jay Pokines mentioned that having the artificial turf will help future teams adjust to their competitor’s environment more easily. “Hudson Valley plays a number of schools with the turf, and we are always a step behind in the game until we catch up to the speed of the ball and the game.

I look forward to playing on the new surface this fall and in the future,” he said in an email.

Space occupied by the athletic complex will take up parking spaces in the E-Lot and K-Lot. About 90 to 100 parking spaces will be lost upon the

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project’s completion. According to Edwards, additional parking will not be replaced with the space lost.

Matt Whalen | THE HUDSONIAN

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January 19th, 2016

NEWS

Student housing bidders battle for property Developer of site to be announced next week

By: Tyler McNeil Managing Editor The future developer of student housing may be determined next Tuesday.

At next week’s Board of Trustees meeting, the college could contract Hudson Valley Stargreen or the United Group to lead student housing, expected to open by fall 2017.

The bid was originally scheduled to be awarded last month on Dec. 15, but was delayed.

According to Dennis Kennedy, director of communications and marketing, the push back will not impact the project’s expected completion date next year. “We don’t believe this would delay our timeline,” he said.

According to their requestfor-proposal, the United Group submitted a $268,000 bid to acquire the property. The offer is $42,000 higher than Hudson Valley Stargreen’s bid for the 40acre site.

Both bidders have competed for the property since November.

The bid opened on Nov. 23, several weeks after SUNY approved the sale of the Hy

Rosenblum Administration property, appraised at $840,000.

Demolition for the building is expected to cost $1 million.

Hudson Valley Stargreen, managed by David Mulinio, aims to continue Omni Development’s plan last year to create student housing called The Ironworks.

The company plans to secure a $20 million loan to finance the project.

While Mulinio hopes to use Omni Development’s plans, the United Group, owned by Michael Uccellini, aims to use a new design concept for the project if awarded the bid next week. Under the United Group, the facility, built by LeChase Construction, would be known as College Suites at Hudson Valley.

Design renderings for College Suites at Hudson Valley in the company’s request-forproposal response were provided in partnership with Architecture Plus. The Troy-based architecture firm maintains long-standing ties with the college. For over a decade, Architecture Plus has designed and redesigned five buildings across campus.

The United Group has developed student housing across

Matt Whalen | THE HUDSONIAN Two developers are currently looking to build student housing on the Hy Rosenblum Administration site. The building has been vacant since 2007. the state including suites near Hudson Valley. Three miles away from the college, the company operates the nearly $19 million College Station next to RPI. Along with Troy, The United Group has also developed student housing in Schenectady ($15 million) and Albany ($70 million).

Founded nearly two years ago, Hudson Valley Stargreen has never developed student housing, but the company’s

influence currently neighbors the college. Hudson Valley Stargreen is currently in the process of constructing 33,000 square feet of retail space and 48 townhouse units at the Route 4 corridor.

After the bid is awarded, it must be approved by the Rensselaer County legislature in order for the project to move forward. The county last came in contact with the college’s plans to move forward with student

housing about four months ago when they approved the Board of Trustees’ decision to sell the Hy Rosenblum Administrative Building property.

The building, a former Roman Catholic seminary, has been vacant since 2007 when administrative offices were moved to the Administrative Building.

The college previously owned the property since the 1980s.

Marison Topinio | THE HUDSONIAN

Where does your tuition go?

By: Rebecca Jordan News Editor Fees paid in addition to tuition costs can add hundreds of dollars to your tuition bill and leave you wondering where the money goes once it leaves your pocket.

Tuition payments are the most obvious payment that students make. The spring 2016 semester cost in-state residents $2,050 and out-of-state residents $6,150. In the fall, students are also required to pay a non-refundable $50 tuition deposit fee if they do not file the FAFSA with the college before the deadline set by the college.

Many extracurricular activities on campus are made possible as a result of the records and activities fee. This semester, the fee amounted to $128 per full-time student and is spent on campus clubs, athletics, student transcripts, and graduation. Without this fee, the paper you are reading

now would not be possible as all club budgets are taken out of the student activity fee.

The technology fee only applies to students taking three or more credits and costs full-time students $300 this semester. This fee cannot be waived, even for students who opt to use their own laptops or computers at home.

The money from this fee funds the upkeep of Blackboard and student email accounts as well as the maintenance of college technological equipment.

The Health Fee is a $30 fee that makes it possible for there to be a registered nurse available who can provide health counseling and assist injured students. This fee does not cover visits to the Dental Clinic, which charges an additional $10 registration fee for adults over 13 years of age who come in to have their teeth cleaned.

If students wish to drive themselves to school and park on college grounds, they have to pay the vehicle registration fee in addition to filling out the appropriate paperwork to

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get their parking sticker. This fee decreased from $86 in the fall to $72 this spring semester. This fee can be waived for students who do not want to park on campus. Parking violations are not covered under this fee.

The laboratory fee varies based on the lab course a student is taking, and if a student is not taking any courses that require lab time, this fee does not apply. The fee is $10 and up depending on the lab course taken. This fee pays for lab upkeep and materials, though some classes expect students to purchase additional supplies.

Other miscellaneous fees students may encounter include the $10 transcript fee for students to request their transcripts be sent to another school and the $9 ID card replacement fee to replace a stolen or lost student ID card.

There are other varying fees for broken or lost college property.

January 19th, 2016

NEWS

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Sexual violence experts train local workforce for sixth year By: Tyler McNeil Managing Editor Professionals in fields from healthcare to law enforcement entered the BTC last week to fight sexual violence.

“Luckily, we’ve been having this conference every year, and we’ll continue to sponsor it because we all need to stay on top of this information,” said Public Safety director Fred Aliberti.

Public Safety co-sponsored the sixth annual Rensselaer County Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) conference “Joining Forces”. “Unfortunately, none of it really surprises me,” said Lindsey Crusan, SART coordinator, about professionals having to attend the event to work with sexual offense victims in their fields.

Crusan mentioned local colleges such as RPI and Siena have attended “Joining Forces” years before new campus sexual assault legislation went into effect.

“It’s nice to know that we’ve been ahead of that, and it’s nice to know they’re still coming,” she said.

Skidmore College professor David Karp discussed continuing to reform the way colleges handle campus sexual offenses in the first workshop of the session. He believes that college sanctions, such as expulsion, fail to resolve conflict between victims and perpetrators. “If a place like Skidmore expels a student, it makes Skidmore a little safer, but that student could then just go to Hudson Valley because it’s an open access institution where it’s much harder to deny admission,” said Karp.

Marison Topinio | THE HUDSONIAN Skidmore professor David Karp discussed college campuses using restorative justice measures to handle sexual offense cases in the first workshop of the conference.

He mentioned the benefits of colleges approaching sexual offenses through restorative justice, a system that focuses around resolving conflicts in small groups to satisfy the needs of victims and offenders. “It’s thinking about how can we make things better for everyone involved,” he said. The system is modeled around circles of support and accountability (CoSA), intended to increase satisfaction with the justice system and reduce post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms for victims.

CoSA projects currently exist throughout Canada, parts of the United Kingdom and over seven states. “I see [restorative justice as] more difficult to implement in a small school rather than a big

institution,” said Michelle Day, clinician at Union College.

After Karp discussed problems on college campuses, the second workshop session centered around promoting education to males against gender-based violence. “We’re setting up our young men to fail in many ways,” said Christin Guilder, assistant director at the UAlbany advocacy center for sexual violence, about schools failing to teach students to avoid developing misogynistic behavior at an early age.

After retiring from the Cohoes Police Department, Michael Fonda teaches classes to eliminate rape culture at Hudson Valley and local high schools.

According to Fonda, the Mentors

in Violence Prevention (MVP), which was originally created for athletes, has had positive results reaching as far as the Rensselaer County correctional facility. “One inmate told me that he called up his first girlfriend and apologized to her,” he said.

Panelists and audience members mentioned a lack of training within law enforcement for handling sex crimes. “There’s such a human element in this, and that’s why you see police sometimes handle these [cases] in a way that doesn’t make sense,” said John Cooney, prevention educator for the sexual assault and crime victims assistance program at Samaritan Hospital.

In her experience working with sex crimes as former police

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officer, Rensselaer County detective Terri Hansen recalled officers struggling to handle male victim cases more than female victim cases. “I don’t see a lot of empathy sometimes because it becomes not about the victim, it becomes about the officer themselves. They’re uncomfortable,” said Hansen.

Kaylin Dawson, sexual assault nurse coordinator at Albany Medical Center, said her first victim this year, a male, was interviewed by police while he sat in the waiting room. “I said ‘Unfortunately, you probably were already stereotyped because no female we know is going to be interviewed in a waiting room’,” she said.

Along with exploring flaws within law enforcement, new advantages used by police to tackle sex crimes online were mentioned earlier in the conference during the plenary session “Computer Crimes 2016.” “Every time you do a tweet or post a photo on Instagram, somebody’s grabbing that data,” said Lieutenant Mark Brown, director of the New York State Police Computer Forensic Lab. Brown mentioned tracking criminals through searching geocode coordinates on Twitter and receiving voicemails after dialing a number without making a call. On enterprise. com, Brown was able to track vehicle information without a subpoena. “It’s important that while perpetrators are staying up on advances in technology, those of us who respond are up to date as well,” said Crusan.

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January 19th, 2016

FEATURES

$ave money on textbooks By: Matt Whalen Editor-in-Chief With textbook prices constantly on the rise, finding alternative solutions to cut costs on books has become important to students across campus.

Textbooks are a necessity for college students, but many don’t know the alternatives provided to them for avoiding high textbook prices. As college students, one thing we strive to do is save money wherever we can. By finding the alternatives to buying textbooks, you can save hundreds of dollars.

Textbook sharing has become a simple way for students to save money. Although textbooks come out in new versions every year, many students don’t realize that they can still use older versions of their assigned text and receive the same information.

Many students within their degree will share textbooks with others who need them which makes textbook sharing handy.

In my Digital Media degree, textbooks usually get passed down each semester to the new students that need them.

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Another popular way of saving money is buying books online.

A majority of the books we need are also available online, which can reduce the price. Whether you are getting them through Amazon or Ebay, you will likely find your books at a much lower price. Depending on the price, renting textbooks online is another method to cut costs for students. Textbooks can also be found in the form of an ebook for even an cheaper option.

If you don’t want to spend a dime on your textbooks, the Marvin Library is the place for you. Within the library is the instructional media center where you can borrow any textbook you need for your classes. The only downfall to this process is the availability of their textbooks. The library only has a select amount of textbooks per class, so there is always the risk of not being able to obtain your book when someone else has it in use.

Saving money is consistently on the mind of any college student. With so many options outside of Hudson Valley to obtain your mandatory textbooks, there is no reason for students to fear getting their supplies for classes.

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January 19th, 2016

FEATURES

Dine Hard: How to spring into savory deals By: Jenny Caulfield Creative Editor With the spring semester starting up, we need to discuss what is on all of our minds: food.

Food is expensive, especially for the hungry college student working to pay off their tuition.

With expenses tight and eating a necessity, here are some ways to feel content, as well as making the best bang with your buck on and off of campus.

With a Taco Bell practically next door to the campus, why not hit up that dollar menu? Treat yourself to a spicy potato soft taco, a beefy fritos burrito and a mini shredded chicken quesadilla.

An “elegant” three-dollar meal that will leave you feeling full, and keeping extra dough in your pocket.

If Taco Bell isn’t your thing but you’re still feeling Mexican, no worries! When you want a $5 meal, head ten minutes down the road to Moe’s Mexican Grill, which has $5 dollar burritos on “Moe’s Mondays.” Why wouldn’t you stop for a super stuffed burrito

and chips for only $5 dollars?

While you’re down there, why not check out Panera Bread or Five Guys? Although it’s over $5, it’s filling and satisfying.

Delicious broccoli cheddar soup bread bowls and double bacon cheeseburgers are only less than $10.

When you are in the mood for just about anything and don’t want to spend more than $10, right down the road is the perfect

place to be. Alexis Diner, a less than five minute drive from the campus, serves large portions for low prices. Alexis serves as my breakfast go-to for two eggs overeasy, toast, bacon and homefries for a mere seven dollars. I am lucky if I can finish my meal due to how much is on the plate, and being a diner, it is easy to order whatever you’re in the mood for.

For students that do not have a car on campus, do not fear! We

have Chartwells located in the Campus Center which serves up $6 dollar burritos in tortillas and bowls.

If you want something from outside the campus but close-by, there’s the Deli & Brew. If you are looking for a meal that will leave you ridiculously full and maybe even with some leftovers, this is the place for you. For less than ten dollars, you can leave your stomach happy with a double

Illustration by Tyler McNeil | THE HUDSONIAN

stuffed two to six foot sub or some specialty pizza slices.

When your heart is craving that beautiful, cheesy crust goodness that is pizza, Deli & Brew will not disappoint and is without a doubt the place to go.

With their specialty slices only two dollars a piece, why wouldn’t you give yourself something to smile about by grabbing a slice of their chicken bacon ranch pizza?

You can shake it up and have a slice of tomato bacon ranch or a slice of southwest chicken, or even barbecue chicken. Whatever you’re in the mood for, Deli & Brew will have it prepared behind their pizza counter.

With food being one of the most important parts of our lives, it is good to know where to go on and off of campus to get the most bang for your buck. If you need any assistance with food, twice a semester you can stop by the Student Senate’s food pantry located in the Student Activities office in the Campus Center for some dried goods. No matter what you do, make sure you find a way to feed yourself this semester!

Want to get your club noticed?

Have a good story idea you want to see published?

Want to write something of your own?

Tell the Hudsonian about it and we will make it happen!

For more information, stop by the office in the Campus Center (CTR 291), or email us at hudsonian@hvcc.edu

From Page 1

Student life On Twitter, the Senate is a little more active, but still hasn’t tweeted since October. It’s difficult to get the campus involved when the organization’s social media presence is negligible. Moving forward, incorporating a social media committee into the Senate could bring the organization to a new frontier.

Incorporate stronger student feedback Anyone who pays the student activity fee should be able to have their voice heard by student government without having to be directly involved in the Student Senate.

Continuing the all-club’s meeting and making a strong effort to get as many club leaders involved as possible should be a

high priority.

Leading focus groups and public forums is a smart way to form stronger opinions about what students really want. In 2012, the University of Illinois at Springfield started the “99 problems and you fix one” campaign which targeted listening to student’s complaints submitted online.

These complaints ranged from dining service to parking. Starting an initiative similar to UIS’s Student Government Association would bring more power to the voice of senate outsiders.

Change club information Students that wish to be involved should have every resource available on campus to do so. Having a list of club meeting dates posted around campus and online would be beneficial. It would be simpler for students to navigate where they wish to go without having to call or email club advisors listed in the student

handbook.

Choose heavily trafficked areas to host big budget events Throwing events at places like Joe Bruno Stadium and the McDonough Sports Complex will trash any chance at drawing in student crowds. Although college students are ravenous, they can’t smell barbecue chicken halfway across campus. It’s important to keep events in heavily trafficked areas like the Campus Center, BTC and the library (in plain sight).

Promote the food pantry Last year, promoting the food pantry was a hot topic among senate members.

This year, it’s fallen through the cracks.

Being one of the best services for students struggling to afford food, it’s important to put a stronger emphasis on marketing the food pantry in the future.

Reach further into the community Community involvement initiatives

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like the Copson House not only have put media attention on the Student Senate, but also have served as a networking mechanism for all students involved in the project.

Reaching out to collaborate with other student governments across the Capital Region is also worth pursuing. Local student government partnerships could have a far greater community impact.

The Student Senate can also work to promote the interests of Hudson Valley’s student body statewide. Last academic year, Student Senate involvement in the SUNY Student Assembly was nonexistent.

In order for this to be avoided, the Student Senate needs a regular pipeline of members to be involved with the SUNY Student Assembly among 64 campuses every year.

January 19th, 2016

SPORTS

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Men’s Basketball having growing pains By: John C. Longton III Sports Editor With only one sophomore and not a single second year player on the roster, the Men’s Basketball team is having a somewhat surprising season. Despite losing their last two games to FultonMontgomery and Mohawk Valley by a combined nine points, head coach Mike Long’s team is growing up before our very eyes.

They have an 11-6 record and are priming themselves for a regional run.

“We’ve achieved more than I expected at this point,” said the coach.

The team is averaging 87 points a game, which is currently 14th in the nation, and it’s not just one individual on the team that has led to their success.

“Everyone has been contributing and that has been the value of our team,” said Long.

Long has taken a team that has never played with each other before this season, made them buy into his system of playing as a team, and it is paying dividends.

Two players that have had an instant impact are the Palmer twins. John and Brandon

Palmer are freshmen from East Greenbush and have collectively averaged over 20 points a game.

John Palmer leads the team with minutes played averaging around 30 a game and his brother Brandon contributes about 22 per contest.

“They’re a big part (of the team),” said Long when asked about the duo. “Both can shoot the ball. Brandon’s a little bigger he rebounds the ball pretty well, but then John is pretty tough. He gets in and puts his nose in and rebounds the ball pretty well.

Both have three point range.

There are times where they are really exceptional on defense and that’s what I want to see all of the time from them.”

The Vikings are allowing 72 points a game which is 65th in the nation, but is still 15 less than what they are scoring. They started out the season with a 7-1 record and really have over performed for a team that didn’t have that many games under its belt.

Thier first loss came on Nov. 14 to the hands of fifth ranked Herkimer 91-84. In the game the Vikings were down 35-53 at the half, but would go on a run in the second half and even take the lead with five minutes remaining

in the game. Jordan Nelson, a freshman from Troy, went five for seven from three point range as the young team made a statement saying that that can play with anyone.

“We gave Herkimer a hell of a game,” said Long.

The Vikings have had a few heartbreak losses this season and could easily had a couple more wins under its belt. In the six games they lost, they were outscored by a combined 36 points. That’s only six points a game. Their biggest loss was an 11 point defeat to Onondoga. In that game the Vikings outscored their opponents in the second half, but it was not enough to dig themselves out of the hole they created at the half.

The Vikings have a tough test this week, and will be a pretty good gauge on where their season is heading. On Wednesday they are on the road at Delhi, then Saturday they play host to Herkimer as they try to avenge their first loss, and Sunday they are back on the road as they travel to Binghamton to play Broome.

Saturday game starts at 3 p.m. at the McDonough Sports Complex or at the conclusion of the women’s game.

Marison Topinio | THE HUDSONIAN Kevin Lenehan, #23, chipped in 15 points for the Vikings in a 72-70 loss against Mohawk Valley Community College.

Marison Topinio | THE HUDSONIAN Brandon Palmer, #30, led the team with 22 points in a close loss to Fulton-Montgomery Community College Saturday afternoon.

Sports writers wanted!

IF YOU LIKE ANY OF THE FOLLOWING, CONTACT SPORTS EDITOR JOHN C. LONGTON III @ J-LONGTON@HVCC.EDU - SPORTS FANATIC - ATTENDING GAMES - WRITING FEATURES AND GAME RECAPS - GETTING PAID

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SPORTS

January 19th, 2016

With a 1-13 record, the women’s basketball team looks for an answer...

Matt Whalen | THE HUDSONIAN

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January 19th, 2016

SPORTS

11

COMMENTARY

NFL Hot Topic: Concussions

By: John C. Longton III Sports Editor With the new movie “Concussion” released this past Christmas, head injuries have been cast into the spotlight. Is the NFL as dangerous as depicted? Or has the game changed in a way to protect the shield and its players?

The league has put measures into place that make the game safer in terms of head injuries.

There’s now a “strike zone” where you can and cannot hit a player.

You’re not supposed to hit a player above the shoulder pads and you also can’t lead with the crown of your helmet when making a tackle to protect both the tackler and the player being tackled.

If a player sustains a head injury during a game they have to pass a concussion test on the sidelines and there’s a certain protocol they have to go through.

The team doctor gives that player a concussion test and if they are even close to failing they are pulled from the game. A lot of times this will force players to get right up after big hits and act as if they are fine even if they are not.

During the week, there are certain things a player must do in order to be cleared for the following game. After receiving a head injury a player has to be monitored on a daily basis by their team’s medical staff. They need to show that their cognitive functions and balance go back to normal or they are not permitted to play in that week’s game. A lot

of times a player will keep getting a head injury a secret in order not to miss any playing time. This year it seems like the league has been a lot more strict in terms of monitoring its players.

Before this year, concussions have been decreasing at a rate of 20% per year and seemed like the league’s head injury problem was slowly going away. Last year there were 123 confirmed concussion - down from 152 the year prior. This year, the league as a whole has already sustained 199 concussions and there are still three more games left to be played. With the release of the movie “Concussion,” it seems the league is keeping a tighter lid on identifying a player who could possibly have a concussion.

Late in November, Rams

quarterback Case Keenum took a big hit and appeared to be discombobulated to say the least.

He was allowed to stay in the game and it left a lot of people watching at home and in the stands scratching their heads. The NFL has spotters put in place at every game to monitor big hits and notify medical staffs about the player, but Keenum didn’t draw a red flag. The league has been getting bad publicity in terms of how it’s handling the concussion issue. We all know how dangerous they are, but it’s hard to avoid them all together.

The long-term effect of concussions have a lasting impression on someone’s brain no matter how long ago they’ve had one. It can speed up the onset of Alzheimer’s, give a

player depression and give them irrational mood swings. There have been players that regret playing in the league due to this fact, but at the end of the day they know what they’re signing up for.

Concussions have been a part of a dangerous game since its inception and preventing them altogether is close to impossible.

The NFL has come under fire recently for the amount of head injuries that its players have had, but it comes with the territory.

With this electronic world that we live in it will always be a hot topic and mothers will continue to not let their kids play, but the league owns a day of the week and will not go anywhere.

Courtesy of apps.frontline.org

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January 19th, 2016

SPORTS

12 Vikings Sports Schedule Bowling

Wednesday 01/20/16 vs. Schenectady @ 1p.m. (Away)

Men’s Ice Hockey Thursday 01/21/16 vs. Broome @ 7p.m. (Away)

Women’s Basketball Saturday 01/23/16 vs. Herkimer @ 1p.m. (Home)

Men’s Basketball Saturday 01/23/16 vs. Herkimer @ 3p.m. (Home)

Bowling

Saturday 01/23/16 Blue & Orange Classic @ 9a.m. (Away)

Women’s Basketball Home vs. Herkimer Saturday Jan. 23 @ 1p.m.

Men’s Basketball Home vs. Herkimer Saturday Jan. 23 @ 3p.m.

Vikings Scoreboard Men’s Ice Hockey

WIN

Dec. 9 HVCC v.

Mohawk Valley 2-1

LOSS

Jan. 17 HVCC v.

Erie 2-5

Women’s Basketball

LOSS

Jan. 14 HVCC v.

Mohawk 30-78 Jan. 16 HVCC v.

LOSS Fulton-Mont 52-77 Men’s Basketball

Saint Rose accepts up to 70 credits earned at two-year colleges and up to 90 credits from four-year colleges. Merit Awards range from $8,500 – $14,500 and PTK scholarships are available.

All accepted transfer students receive a merit scholarship.

LOSS

Jan. 14 HVCC v.

Mohawk 70-72 Jan. 16 HVCC v.

LOSS Fulton-Mont 75-82

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