The New Paltz Oracle

New Paltz Oracle The

Volume 87, Issue XIV

HIGHEST

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Thursday, February 19, 2015

RANK PHOTO BY LIZZIE NIMETZ

SUNY New Paltz Ranked No. 1 For Nation’s Highest Rate of Campus Drug Arrests Story on Page 3 | Editorial on Page 9

INSIDE THIS WEEK’S ISSUE OF THE NEW PALTZ ORACLE

• Early Morning Fire Sparks On North Chestnut St. ............Pg 4 • New Paltz School District Holds Fiscal Stress Designation.....Pg 6 • New Paltz Provost To Resign, Return To Faculty In Fall....Pg 5 • Senate Looks To Work On Persistent Problems..................Pg 7

Abbott Brant EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Kristen Warfield MANAGING EDITOR

NEW PALTZ ORACLE THE

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Anthony DeRosa NEWS EDITOR

Jennifer Newman FEATURES EDITOR

Russell Hartman

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

Melissa Kramer SPORTS EDITOR

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Maxwell Reide Lizzie Nimetz

Theresa Mattia PHOTOGRAPHY EDITORS

Mike Sheinkopf CARTOONIST

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Nate Sheidlower Sam Manzella Karl Evers-Hillstrom Melanie Zerah Amya Pinka Michael Rosen Amanda Copkov

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About The New Paltz Oracle

Jackie Quaranto WEB CHIEF

Dylan Sheppard MULTIMEDIA EDITOR

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BUSINESS MANAGER

Anthony Muth

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STAFF April Castillo, Nick Fodera, Sally Moran, Eileen Liebler, Jahna Romano, Kaycia Sailsman, Dana Schmerzler, Shelby Seip, Kelly Seiz, Jack Sommer, Ryan Walz, Sage Higgins

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The New Paltz Oracle is the official student newspaper of SUNY New Paltz. Our circulation is 2,500. The New Paltz Oracle is sponsored by the Student Association and partially funded by the student activity fee.

The New Paltz Oracle is located in the Student Union (SU) Room 417. Deadline for all submissions is 5 p.m. on Sundays in The New Paltz Oracle office and by email at oracle@hawkmail. newpaltz.edu.

All advertisements must be turned in by 5 p.m. on Fridays, unless otherwise specified by the business manager. Community announcements are published gratuitously, but are subject to restriction due to space limitations.There is no guarantee of publication. Contents of this paper cannot be reproduced without the written permission of the Editor-in-Chief.

The New Paltz Oracle is published weekly throughout the fall and spring semesters on Thursdays. It is available in all residence halls and academic buildings, in the New Paltz community and online at oracle.newpaltz.edu. For more information, call 845-257-3030. The fax line is 845-257-3031.

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Incident: Making Graffiti Date: 2/11/15 Location: College Hall Persons unknown making graffiti. Area was canvassed with negative results.

Incident: Petit Larceny Date: 2/12/15 Location: Deyo Hall Fire estinguisher stolen. Brackets and screws taken off the wall. Surveillance checked with negative results.

SUNY New Paltz University Police Department Emergencies: 845-257-2222

Five-Day Forecast Thursday, Feb. 19

Partly Cloudy/Wind High: 17 Low: -4

Friday, Feb. 20

Partly Cloudy High: 19 Low: -4

Saturday, Feb. 21 Cloudy High: 30 Low: 24

Sunday, Feb. 22 Ice To Rain High: 40 Low: 27

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SUNY New Paltz Ranked No. 1 In Drug-Arrests Per Capita PHOTO BY LIZZIE NIMETZ

By Melanie Zerah

Copy Editor | Zerahm1@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu

The Huffington Post recently released an analysis of data from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Postsecondary Education on statistics of on-campus drug arrests at colleges across the nation. SUNY New Paltz ranked No. 1 for the nation’s highest rate of on-campus drug arrests per capita for 2013.

The information was derived from the “Drugs On Campus” report by Project Know which is, according to The Huffington Post, a website which provides information about drug addiction help and drug and alcohol arrest statistics on college campuses annually. SUNY New Paltz received the No. 1 rank with 105 on-campus drug arrests in 2013, averaging 13.9 arrests per 1,000 students.

In 2012, the college was ranked No. 107 with only 24 on-campus drug arrests.

“The numbers definitely spiked in 2013. There’s no arguing that,” University Chief of Police David Dugatkin said.

“There are certain reasons for this spike that we know of and several that we just don’t. My officers are out there taking a proactive stance when a call is received about marijuana use. There is marijuana out there to be gotten and it’s on every campus.”

The drug policy at SUNY New Paltz uses a system where a student arrested for marijuana possession will be expected to attend drug awareness seminars and put on probation. Additionally, said students will be subject to appear at court at a later date before a judge, should there be a full judicial process involved.

According to Dugatkin, the University Police Department (UPD) receives calls reporting the smell of marijuana in residence halls on a daily basis. Dugatkin said that often times an officer may be in the hall on patrol or doing a program for students and will smell marijuana and have to investigate.

“We are permitted to patrol inside the residence halls but not inside the rooms. You still have your right to your privacy. The only way we can enter is by law or if a college official believes there is a true health and safety risk,” Dugatkin said. “We as officers patrol our community just as any other police department anywhere else in the world. We patrol because part of our job is to ensure safety.”

SUNY Police Commissioner Bruce McBride said in the Huffington Post article the campus is fortunate to have UPD forces exclusively patrolling on campus and that SUNY drug-arrest numbers may not be “a true reflection of the amount of drug use happening on our campuses in comparison to others nationwide.”

“We looked quickly at our 2014 data and there are less than half as many arrests in 2014 than there were in 2013,” SUNY New Paltz President Donald P. Christian said. “There’s just no indication that this is an upward trend, as much as a blip. We have no idea what produces it.”

Christian said that from looking at the police reports, most of the calls about alleged marijuana use that UPD receives originate from other students, indicating that it is the students who want to live and study in a safe, drug free environment. Christian added that when the college was ranked No. 107 in 2012, “[the

college] did not make big news, nor will we on the 2014 statistic when we [fall back lower].”

According to Dugaktin, one year’s data does not show a trend and that in next year’s data, on-campus drug-arrests rate will be back down to the 50s.

“I truly do not think there is a drug problem on campus. SUNY New Paltz is no different from any other SUNY out there or any other college in the country when it comes to marijuana use,” Dugatkin said. “I believe that it shows that we have a zero tolerance and that we take this very seriously. We want to make this place safe.”

Students such as third-year studen Sen. Adriana Dulmage, do not share the positive opinion Dugaktin has on the matter.

“The war on drugs has been an obvious failure — criminalizing [marijuana] use only exacerbates the problem and ruins people’s lives,” Dulmage said.

Thursday, February 19, 2015

“SUNY New Paltz should focus their ‘zero tolerance’ efforts and resources towards rehabilitation and treatment for drug abuse and addiction.”

Dulmage agrees with Dugaktin concerning the opinion that SUNY New Paltz is no different from other college campuses when it comes to drug usage among students. According to Dulmage, the Huffington Post article is a reflection of how over-policed the campus is and how poorly UPD is utilized.

“More cops means more arrests,” Dulmage said. “Marijuana is not as serious of a drug compared to harder drugs like heroin or cocaine, but it is much easier to detect if someone is using marijuana. The administration is wasting our resources and tuition on complete nonsense.”

Statistics from the report from the Huffington Post as well as additional information can be found on projectknow. com.

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NEWS BRIEFS WORLD

The New Paltz Oracle

Gas Fire Destroys Two Local Businesses

ISLAMIC STATE MILITANTS FIND A FOOTHOLD IN CHAOTIC LIBYA Libya, virtually a failed state in recent years, has succeeded in one way: It’s providing a perfect opportunity for the Islamic State group to expand from Syria and Iraq to establish a strategic foothold closer to European shores.

Extremists loyal to the group have taken control of two Libyan cities on the Mediterranean coast, have moved toward oil facilities and are slowly infiltrating the capital, Tripoli.

CONTROVERSY OVER NEW LIVES OF GITMO REFUGEES Controversy is flaring over the six Guantanamo detainees taken in by Uruguay for resettlement, with even the man who pushed through the plan, President Jose Mujica, seeming to criticize them for lacking a work ethic. The men were locked up for more than a dozen years before they were brought to Montevideo in December.

EMBATTLED DEBALTSEVE FALLS TO UKRAINE REBELS Government soldiers pulled out of a ferociously contested railway hub in eastern Ukraine Wednesday, ending a siege so intense the retreating troops said they couldn’t get water or food amid relentless shelling by Russianbacked separatists. At least six soldiers were killed in the withdrawal and more than 100 wounded.

LIBYA TO EMBARGO

UN: LIFT ARMS TO FIGHT ISIS

Libya’s foreign minister on Wednesday demanded that the U.N. Security Council lift an arms embargo so his country can fight the Islamic State group as it establishes a presence in north Africa and moves closer to Europe. The Islamic State group over the weekend posted a video of the beheadings of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians in Libya.

Compiled from the AP Newswire

91 N. Chestnut Street was destroyed in a gas leak fire on Feb. 7.

By Melanie Zerah

Copy Editor | Zerahm1@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu

At 2:48 a.m. on Feb. 7, the New Paltz Fire Department (NPFD) received a report of a structure fire at 91 N. Chestnut St. This was the location of an STS Tire & Auto Center franchise.

According to the statement addressing the incident, prior to the arrival of the NPFD, the New Paltz Police Department (NPPD) received a call for an intrusion alarm. Upon arriving, the NPPD saw heavy smoke and immediately called the NPFD, realizing it wasn’t an intrusion alarm, but rather a structure fire. The first person on the scene was Chief of NPFD Kevin Maguire, about five minutes after the call and found extremely heavy fire conditions venting out onto the street. Soon after, the firetrucks arrived to extinguish the fire.

“It took about 90 minutes to bring the fire under control. We then remained on the scene for about five hours,” Ma-

guire said. “We were also assisted by the Highland, Modena and Gardiner fire departments. Also assisting at the scene was the New Paltz Police Department as well as the New Paltz Rescue Squad.”

According to the report, the fire was deemed accidental and was attributed to a gas leak from an overhead heater in the rear storage area where the business stores tires. One of the overhead gas heater’s pipes had broken for unknown reasons.

“The Ulster County Fire Investigation Team determined that there was a broken supply line to a gas heater which apparently found its ignition source,” Maguire said. “So it must have been leaking gas for X amount of time and once the fire got into the overhead storage of the tires, it was pretty much over, as tires burn exceptionally well.”

Assistant NPFD Chief Scott Schulte said in an article in the Poughkeepsie Journal that there was no one inside

Thursday, February 19, 2015

PHOTO BY KRISTEN WARFIELD

the building and no firefighters were injured.

“There was absolutely no suspicion of foul play,” Maguire said. “The fire was investigated by the county fire investigation unit, which is a county team of fire investigators.”

According to an article in The Daily Freeman, the fire also destroyed the New Paltz Climbing Cooperative, an indoor climbing gym, located in the same building as STS Tire & Auto Center.

Maguire, who has served as fire chief for about five years, explained that the NPFD is busier with fires in the winter because of heating issues such as wood stoves, furnaces, chimneys and gas leaks. Maguire said that the NPFD receives about 800 calls per year reporting fires. According to Maguire, the building was a total loss, but has yet to be demolished because the business’ insurance company wants to investigate further.

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New Paltz Provost To Resign; Will Return As Professor

By Anthony DeRosa

News Editor | N02385288@hawkmaiil.newpaltz.edu

Provost and Vice President of Academic Affiars at SUNY New Paltz, Philip Mauceri, has announced his intention to resign as provost, returning to the faculty as a professor of political science come the Fall 2015 semester, according to a letter from the Office of SUNY New Paltz President Donald Christian. The resignation will go into effect as of July 31, 2015.

Mauceri has served as provost since Aug. 1, 2012.

“Provost Mauceri has brought stability to our academic leadership following a period of four different provosts in four consecutive years,” Christian said in his letter. “I am grateful for his many contributions in this role that have continued to advance the academic reputation and success of SUNY New Paltz.”

Christian cited Mauceri’s accomplishments during his tenure as provost, including the establishment of a Provost Fellows program to increase understanding of key issues and to introduce mid-career faculty to institutional leadership opportunities,

instituting an Academic Advising Council to address perennial concerns about advising as well as restoring full salary support for single-semester academic sabbaticals.

Christian said the administration will appoint an interim provost as early as possible this semester to begin Aug. 1, 2015, while they formulate plans to search nationally for potential candidates to fill the position long-term.

“This spring, we will identify and contract with a search consultant, name a search committee and develop a position description so that we can announce the position and launch the search as early as possible,” Christian said. “Consultants work with individuals who are maybe on the market. Sometimes the consultant will have worked with a candidate who has been in a dean position for five or six years and they know that person is interested in looking for new opportunities, so the consultants help identify candidates for positions like this.”

Christian said that while working with the consultants, administration will draft the specifications they hope to find

in provost candidates.

“We’ll look to the future for the next five to eight years and ask what the biggest challenges are that we face, what the biggest opportunities are that we have and that will help frame the type of person we are looking for for [the provost] position,” Christian said. “One of the things that we’ve talked about, but haven’t been able to make as much movement on as we would like, is we would like to develop more programs for department-head leadership orientation. We were very attentive to the governor’s executive budget, which if passed will include a requirement that every SUNY and CUNY graduate have an applied learning experience. This is no small order. If that happens it will be a challenge for the next provost — working with the career resource center and academic departments to create those research experiences, internships and community based learning for every student.”

Provost Mauceri declined to be interviewed for this article.

New Paltz Study Abroad Program Recognized With Award

By Sam Manzella

Copy Editor | Manzells1@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu

SUNY New Paltz has won the Heiskell Study Abroad Award, a top honor in the 2015 Andrew Heiskell Awards for Innovation in International Education (IIE). The award recognizes outstanding study abroad programs at institutes of higher learning that make study abroad opportunities available to a wider range of students, according to the IIE’s website.

According to the SUNY New Paltz Dean of International Studies Bruce Sillner, this is the first time the college’s study abroad program has received such a high honor. “[This] is one of the highest-level awards in international education,” Sillner said. “It means that our peers recognize New Paltz as an innovator in the area of international educational exchange.

We are deeply gratified that the Institute of International Education, while spearheading a national initiative to increase study abroad participation, has recognized New Paltz as a leader in that ef-

fort.”

Sillner explained that New Paltz’s unique groups target a wider range of students, including underrepresented students, to involve them in study abroad programs. According to Sillner, since 2012 there has been a 30 percent increase in student participation in the study abroad program at New Paltz.

“A long-term strategic partnership between our Center for International Programs and our Educational Opportunity Program has enabled New Paltz to develop a ‘best practices model’ for international educational exchange,” Sillner said.

Looking forward, Sillner said he plans to further expand the study abroad program. Sillner said he wants to increase overall student involvement in study abroad at New Paltz from 20 percent to 30 percent as part of the SUNYwide Generation Study Abroad Initiative.

Sillner said he also hopes to continue to make study abroad a feasible option for students who may have previously considered study abroad impossible during

their undergraduate education.

Study Abroad Program Director Christian Wilwohl detailed some of New Paltz’s current strategies to achieve these goals.

“The study abroad staff at the Center for International Programs has developed integrated outreach and programming to expand study abroad participation and prepare students for the experience,” Wilwohl said. “As part of our efforts, we have also increased our social media presence and updated our web and print materials.”

Sillner, like leaders at the IIE, believes that study abroad is a valuable experience for all students. Wilwohl agreed, citing multiple benefits students gain from their time abroad.

“Having a study abroad experience as part of one’s education gives students the opportunity to develop skills such adaptability, problem-solving, crosscultural understanding and the ability to communicate in another language, which are all assets for the 21st century global economy and job market,” Wilwohl said.

Thursday, February 19, 2015

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NEWS BRIEFS NATIONAL

OBAMA: US AT WAR WITH ONES WHO HAVE PERVERTED ISLAM Muslims in the U.S. and around the world have a responsibility to fight a misconception that terrorist groups like the Islamic State speak for them, President Barack Obama said Wednesday in his most direct remarks yet about any link between Islam and terrorism.

DENTIST CHARGED IN DEATH OF PATIENT GETTING 20 TEETH PULLED A dentist has been charged in the death of a patient who became unresponsive while having 20 teeth pulled and several implants installed. Rashmi Patel turned himself in Tuesday at the Enfield Police Department and was charged with a misdemeanor count of criminally negligent homicide and a felony count of tampering with evidence, police said.

MAN WITH BODIES BURIED IN HIS YARD GETS LIFE IN PRISON

A jury on Wednesday spared the life of a man convicted of strangling a pharmacist and his girlfriend in 2002 and burying their bodies in his yard, granting a defense request to show mercy despite the brutal nature of the crimes. Hugo Selenski, 41, was convicted last week on two counts of first-degree murder in the killings of Michael Kerkowski and Tammy Fassett during a robbery at the pharmacist’s home.

OREGON COUPLE ACCUSED OF LETTING THEIR BABY STARVE TO DEATH An Oregon couple involved in online pornography was arraigned Wednesday on murder by abuse charges alleging they let their baby starve to death.

Stephen Michael Williams Jr., 26, and Amanda Marie Hancock, 21, of the small timber town of Glendale, are accused of causing the death of their 7-week-old son.

Compiled from the AP Newswire

NEWS

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The New Paltz Oracle

New Paltz School District Faces Fiscal Distress

By Kristen Warfield

Managing Editor | Warfielk1@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu

The New Paltz Central School District has been named as one of three institutions in the Mid-Hudson Valley to be under moderate fiscal stress in 2014, according to reports from the New York State Comptroller’s Office.

The state Comptroller’s Office measures school district’s fiscal state each year by conducting an audit monitoring a blend of the district’s financial information — operating deficits, complete budget, debts, employee benefits and fund balances. They are then able to assess the fiscal conditions of each district in the state.

Auditors who checked in on the New Paltz Central School District for their 2014 report found that the district had depleted the majority of a fund balance that’s intended purpose is for emergency use. The district received a 50 percent fiscal score, 20 percent worse than last year’s ranking.

According to District Assistant Superintendent for Business Richard Linden, the root of the district’s fiscal stress classification for 2014 can be found in a combination of a tax cap on their budget and the lack of state aid that they have received in the past few years, causing them to spend this emergency fund balance down to preserve student programs and teachers’ jobs.

“The problem is the state law doesn’t allow us to propose that luxury of a budget increase anymore because of the tax cap,” Linden said. “The option that we have always had to provide programs in New Paltz just doesn’t exist and we’re stuck. Because of the tax cap, the board has chosen intentionally to use more of its fund balance than you normally would use in order to save staff — otherwise, we’d have to cut teachers. [Spending fund balance] was an intentional decision by the board and I agree with it.”

The comptroller’s fiscal stress monitoring system is what provides an early warning to school districts about their budget utilization, according to the office’s website and also gives feedback to taxpayers about fiscal stress conditions to help them prioritize the needs of their community, un-

derstand trade-offs and follow through with budgeting decisions.

New Paltz School District Superintendent Maria Rice said in a phone interview with The Daily Freeman that the district had expressed concerns that taxpayers would claim overtaxation if there were large reserves of money their taxes had supported that necessarily weren’t being used by the district.

“During those difficult times we

oyer said. “We’ve been lucky that the taxpayers in our district have always put a high value on educating our students and routinely approve our budgets. I also think they understand that having a ‘rainy day fund’ for unforeseen events is a fiscally prudent course to take.”

This concern of the district having a low fund balance is not the first time that it has been addressed by the audi-

The problem is, the state law doesn’t allow us to propose that luxury of a budget increase anymore because of the tax cap. The option that we have always had to provide programs in New Paltz just doesn’t exist and we’re stuck.

RICHARD LINDEN [spent down the fund balance] because they were concerned that if we had a fund balance then we were overtaxing the taxpayers,” Rice said.

In the 2014 financial condition report obtained by The Oracle, auditors noted that the expending of fund balance in efforts to lower taxes would not prove sufficient if the district were to be faced with an emergency.

“District officials told us that the Board has tried to recover from previous decisions to use fund balance to offset real property taxes,” auditors wrote. “While a reduced tax levy benefits taxpayers in the short term, fund balance should not be depleted to the point that there is insufficient cash available for managing potential unforeseen events.”

Board of Education President Brian Cournoyer said he believes the taxpayers of New Paltz recognize the importance of the fund balance to the district.

“Although restoring the fund balance is a priority, I think that in times like these, taxpayers are watching every dollar; and rightfully so,” Courn-

’

tors, according to their 2012 report. In the 2011-2012 school year, the New Paltz School District’s fund balance totaled in at a dangerously low .01 percent of their general fund; any number lower than 3.33 percent is considered to be at a maximum stress level. This contributed to the district’s 2012 fiscal score of 51.7 percent — only 1.7 percent worse than the most recent 2014 audit.

According to Cournoyer, the low fund balance in 2011 had to do with the tax cap then as much as it does now.

The cap gave the district little option but to cut preschool programs as well as fire 42 staff members that year, Cournoyer said, and they decided to use cash from the fund balance to potentially save other programs for the students — which is what they are currently doing.

“When the tax cap was first introduced, the board was faced with the prospect of having to make deep cuts to the programs the district offers to students [and we] attempted to override the tax cap budget — but lost by 18 votes,” Cournoyer said. “That board

Thursday, February 19, 2015

chose to expend the fund balance in order to alleviate any further impact to the students.”

Auditors provided recommendations in their 2014 report, suggesting that the district sets a minimum fund balance level that is not to be utilized for anything else besides the case of emergency.

“Although the district does have a fund balance policy, it does not address the minimum amount of unrestricted, unappropriated fund balance that the district should maintain to remain stable in case of unanticipated events,” the auditors noted. “The board should revise its current fund balance policy to specify the minimum amount of fund balance that the district retains to provide for a financial cushion in the event that unforeseen expenses should arise.”

Unless state aid is restored back to a manageable level, Linden said the district will have no choice but to spend down their fund balance once again this year to make up the differences.

“We will almost certainly try to use as much fund balance as we have available again this year to minimize staffing cuts,” Linden said. “We may be able to bring teaching positions back and cut class sizes down again if our state aid is increased. We could bring back a lot of positions that we cut and have a lot more choices for students to take classes in the high school level and a lot smaller class sizes in the lower level.”

Although the board has faced difficulty in securing an appropriate fund balance throughout the past few years, they are looking to improve the current state of the fund balance while simultaneously ensuring that the students of the districts are provided adequate programs.

“We take our responsibility to the taxpayers very seriously,” Cournoyer said. “Both the State Comptroller’s Office and our own external auditors have recommended that we work to restore the district’s unassigned fund balance to a level between two percent and four percent our total operating budget. Our board agrees with that recommendation and we have committed to working toward that goal.”

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PHOTO BY LIIZZIE NIMETZ

Senate Moves To Resolve Lingering Issues

By Nathaniel Sheidlower

Copy Editor | Sheidlon1@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu

The 59th Student Senate met for their third meeting of the spring 2015 semester on Wednesday, Feb. 18, to hold elections and discuss future events, legislation responses, elections guidelines and the president’s cabinet.

After the approval of minutes and officially announcing the new student association website, newpaltzsa.com, the E-board members each gave a report.

Vice President Jesse Ginsberg reported that he will meet with Village of New Paltz Mayoral candidate Amy Cohen to discuss her platform. He said this discussion will contribute to the possibility of the senate endorsing a candidate for Village Mayor.

Vice President of Academic Affairs Jordan Taylor talked about his meeting with Peter Brown, head of United University Professions. He indicated an interest in creating a senate committee to maintain connections between students and the union.

Sen. James Auer is meeting with Mi-

chelle Combs, director of student development and Robert Moysey, transfer student engagement coordinator on Feb. 23 to discuss transfer orientation. He is interested in shortening speeches given at orientation to leave more time for advising and possibly personalizing the transfer student advising to include one-on-one advising.

Senators Kelsey Ryan, Nicole Strifforlino and Alex Miller were elected to the three senate seats on the Environmental Task Force committee. Sen. Matt Gill was elected to the senate seat of the Student Association Productions committee. The election for the Alumni Affairs committee was tabled until next week.

The senate then moved on to discuss a declaration addressing administrations response to their legislation. This declaration began with the clause, “Whereas the administration has historically been unresponsive to the legislation and or declarations passed by the student association senate.”

The declaration would require the college president and the most qualified mem-

ber of the president’s cabinet to respond to senate legislation within 30 days of passing.

Sen. Manuel Tejada said that this legislation would, if accepted by administration, open a channel of communication between administration and the senate that the senate could fall back on if the administration declined to respond to their legislation.

Sen. Zach Grossman said the faculty is in favor of this declaration and will back the senate up if administration does not reply to it within the allotted time.

Student Association President Osato Okundaye pointed out that although the administration’s response may come within 30 days, it may not be the desired response.

“Their response may be that the department qualified to respond is not yet in a position to do so,” Okundaye said. “That is a legitimate response.”

The vote for the declaration was tabled until next meeting.

The senate continued a discussion on student association election guidelines.

They talked about the issues that arise

Thursday, February 19, 2015

when candidates use their own money to print flyers and campaign in other forums such as social media. They also expressed a concern in candidates approaching students to campaign in a “tabling” manner. This is where candidates get uncomfortably close to students to promote their platforms.

A new discussion on “institutional memory” was started this week. This would provide ways, such as databases and webpages, for incoming students interested in participating in student government to learn about past achievements and legislation so they may be more prepared and make more educated decisions.

Upcoming dates include: on Tuesday, Feb. 24, existing club charters are due for approval and there will be a screening of Citizen Koch at 6 p.m. in the CSB auditorium; on Monday, Mar. 2 all new club charters are due and the “Know Your Rights” lecture will be held at 7 p.m. in Lecture Center 100.

Senate meets again next Wednesday, Feb. 25.

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FEATURES Writing To Cope Gives Hope

PROFESSOR PRESENTS HER NEW BOOK TO CAMPUS

By Amanda Copkov Copy Editor | Copkova1@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu

Valentine’s Day isn’t just for lovers. With the recent passing of the commercial holiday, we realize that it’s for those who are alone too.

Those who are alone are sometimes hit with the harsh reality of what it is to experience unrequited love, which can ultimately be defined as a love that is not reciprocated or returned.

Lisa Phillips, assistant professor of journalism at SUNY New Paltz, wrote of her own harsh reality – an obsessive, deeply personal experience – in her second book, “Unrequited: Women and Romantic Obsession,” which she presented on Tuesday, Feb. 17 at the Honors Center in College Hall with a reading, book signing and Q&A. “I wanted to help people feel less shame and open up to different ways of connecting,” Phillips said.

With open ears and eyes focused on Phillips, the crowd listened closely as she read two chapters from her book – “Intro: The Unwanted Woman” and chapter five, “Falling from the Stars: Losing Yourself to the Narcissism of Unrequited Love.”

In the intro, she writes of how she was in love with an unavailable man, along with the stigma that is attached to women in these types of obsessive situations.

“There is nothing that says that women suffer more from this than men; female rates rival male rates,” Phillips said. “[But] women are more likely to be judged for this kind of love obsession, and less likely to be understood.”

In “Falling from the Stars: Losing Yourself to the Narcissism of Unrequited Love,” she writes of the impact on “the beloved” when the unwanted woman loses herself in the narcissism (the “why are they ‘doing this’ to me?”) of being unrequited and inevitably breaks down before his eyes.

Honors Program member Megan Rooney, a fourth-year cultural communications contract major, attended the event and thought that the passages Phillips read captured the essence of the story she wanted to tell.

“Her voice spoke through,” she said. “This topic is so relevant for a college age crowd. We are constantly thinking about the validity of our relationships and the future.”

Back in 1998, Phillips was also unsure of her future. She had no idea that the 25 pages of release she had written about the character she calls “B.” would eventually turn into a book. At the time, it was simply a way to get her feelings out on paper.

Over a decade after her fabricated love affair with B., she still wondered, “What happened to me?” Phillips knew there had to be more scientific evidence behind her experience.

It was her journalistic instinct to go out of her comfort zone and write, report and research in a variety of fields ranging from psychology to cultural history.

In her studies, she found that a main contributing factor in this type of situation is having recently suffered a loss.

“It was the year after grad school and I had gone through a seemingly sudden breakup,” Phillips told the crowd.

It seemed as though everyone she knew was moving on and making families while she was at a standstill, fantasizing over a love that was never possible.

“I was lonely and vulnerable,” Phillips said.

In her book she writes of how she would stalk B. such as ride her bike around his neighborhood in hopes of seeing him, frequent the coffee shop she knew he liked to go to and wait outside his Pittsburgh apartment building pretending to be a tenant who misplaced her key until she was let in.

“The most disturbing part of the whole experience was the feeling of losing myself,” Phillips said. “My focus on my writing and teaching dwindled.”

To anyone going through this kind of obsessive experience, Phillips advises that if it interferes with one’s ability to function or is intrusive to the desired person, it needs to stop.

“It’s a serious matter and you don’t want to be self-destructive,” Phillips said. “You have to cut everything off. And that’s what the last chapter is about: letting go.”

Throughout her research, Phillips was a selfproclaimed “walking unrequited love magnet.” In order to get sources for her novel, she needed to network – a lot.

“There was a lot of outreach and I sent out emails to everyone I knew,” she said.

Starting to conduct her research at the time when Facebook was just becoming popular, Phillips decided to buy an ad, which she linked to a survey on unrequited love.

About one person out of every 10 or 20 would respond to the narrative response, which would then lead them to a question: “Do you want to be contacted?”

Over 260 women responded to the online survey and over 30 of those women went on to be-

Lisa Phillips discusses her second book in the Honors Center.

come “the heartbeat” of her book.

Throughout the course of her interviews, she found herself constantly relating to women’s stories, no matter how different they were from her own.

“I felt like I was building a community of people,” Phillips said. “They got a lot out of it by being listened to, and I got a lot out of it from hearing them.”

Though unrequited love can be deeply unsettling, Phillips also said that there are powerful benefits from enduring the experience.

“It can move us in unexpected and important ways,” she read from her intro chapter. “Unrequited love can be a highly meaningful state of mind, offering us insights into what we really want in life and love.”

Thursday, February 19, 2015

PHOTO BY KRISTEN WARFIELD

Miriam Ward, a fourth-year digital media production and history double major, found that Phillips’ presentation was fascinating and said that she had created “an incredible piece of work.”

Zachary Wahl, a third-year psychology major, agreed with Ward. “[Phillips] took the bull by the horns,” he said. “[Unrequited love] is a relatable issue. Everyone has gone through it in some form or another.”

Though Phillips described her experience writing the book as very challenging, she also said that it was rich and rewarding.

“I hope people feel comfort from [my book,]” she said. “The experience still bothers me but I hope I’m a better person for it. Growth comes at the expense of something – I grew from my mistake.”

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Legacy of Truth Lives On HUGUENOT BLACK HISTORY MONTH LECTURE HONORS LOCAL PIONEER

By Amanda Copkov Copy Editor | Copkova1@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu

Ulster County, home to towns like New Paltz, Saugerties, Woodstock, Kingston and several others, is also home to some important historical figures honored during Black History Month.

That is why on Saturday, Feb. 7, Ulster County Historian Anne Gordon graced Historic Huguenot Street with her lecture entitled, “From Isabella to Sojourner: A Slave In Ulster County.”

Dedicated to the noble life of Sojourner Truth, Gordon informed attendees of the travesties and triumphs Truth faced throughout her lifetime.

Gordon explained that Truth had been born in the hamlet of Esopus and lived there the first 30 years of her life.

After escaping a youth of slavery, Sojourner Truth went on to become a nationally-known abolitionist speaker who traveled around the country giving speeches to attack slavery, according to Gordon.

“We want to keep reminding people that Sojourner Truth was here and she had a message, and the message was human rights,” Gordon said in an interview with Candace Dunkley of Time Warner Cable News of the Hudson Valley.

In an article written by Harriet Beecher Stowe — the author of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” and a fellow abolitionist — featured in the April 1863 edition of The Atlantic, Truth prepared to leave

The lecture highlighted Ulster County-native, Sojourner Truth.

PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIPEDIA

New York City in 1843 after 14 years of work with the Methodist church as a missionary and domestic worker.

According to Stowe, Truth “took her belongings in a pillow case and took to the road as a traveling evangelist.”

In a continuing conversation with Stowe, Truth (at the time) said she had “asked the Lord

for a new name and he gave her Sojourner, since she was going to travel up and down the land,” — and thus she went from Isabella to Sojourner.

She would later ask for another name, “since everyone had two names.”

“And the Lord gave me Truth, because I was to declare the truth to the people,” Truth said to Stowe, according to the article.

now, according to Manager Amber James. However, it has not been very popular. James said that besides herself and the owner, only one customer has used Dash so far.

“We are the test market and I’m hoping it will gain popularity with the college kids soon,” James said.

To use the app, one must inform their server upon entry that they intend to pay with Dash, and then “check in” on the app itself to allow the server to sync their bill with their account. Then the customer can pay when ready.

James said new tabletop advertisements arrived recently offering $5 off the bill for first time users and she is expecting labeled soda cups soon as well.

Co-founder Gennady Spirin said the app can

only work with restaurants running the proper POS (Point of Sale) system whose API (Application Program Interface) is compatible with Dash.

Other local establishments that may see Dash in the future include The Gilded Otter, Murphy’s, McGillicuddy’s and Oasis, according to Spirin.

With Dash it is easy to split the bill or add a tip. The app comes with a built-in tip calculator that lets the user choose the percentage they would like to leave and also allows for multiple users to share equal portions of the bill.

Spirin said an itemized split addition, where each user only pays for their food and drinks, is on its way along with other new features. Currently, through a part of Dash called “Venue Vibes,” users can check to see if a venue is more or less crowded as indicated by one to four peo-

Sojourner Truth is still honored all over the country today — some examples include her bust in the United States Capitol Building, a statue of Truth as a child in Port Ewen, New York, which Gordon raised the funds for and a library named after her at SUNY New Paltz.

“Sojourner Truth is an icon in Ulster,” Gordon said. “The statue reminds people that there is still child slavery today all over the world, and that needs to be pointed out and fought against.”

During her lecture, Gordon talked about the origins of slavery in the United States, Truth’s life in Ulster as a slave to a tavern owner, how she was the first black woman to successfully sue a white man in court and of her death in Battle Creek, Michigan in 1887.

“The lecture was in honor of Black History Month, but it also portrayed a piece of Ulster County history that’s not always told,” said Kara Gaffken, director of public programming at Historic Huguenot Street. “Something that’s very important to Huguenot Street is telling those untold stories.”

Based on the large turnout at Gordon’s lecture, Gaffken said that Historic Huguenot Street will need to do more lectures on Ulster County Black History.

Gordon has been giving lectures since she was appointed Ulster County Historian eight years ago and will be speaking again at Historic Huguenot Street on March 7 and April 4.

Dine In And Dash Out NEW APP SPEEDS UP PAYMENT PROCESS AT LOCAL RESTAURANT AND BAR

By Nathaniel Sheidlower Copy Editor | Sheidlon1@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu Waiting for their waitress to bring them their check after having brunch on New Year’s Day of 2011, Gennady Spirin and Jeff McGregor developed an app to help move things along.

The app, Dash, has finally arrived in New Paltz. This smartphone application allows patrons of affiliated restaurants to pay their bill or bar tab from their phone without having to flag down a server or wait for the bartender.

Dash has been in service at locations throughout New York City and Chicago, as well as other venues nationwide, since its launch in November of 2013. It has now made its way to local bar and restaurant P&G’s.

P&G’s has had the app for three months

Thursday, February 19, 2015

ple icons; one for not busy and four for very busy.

According to Spirin, this addition was created to help users make decisions on where to go.

“If you’re going on a date you probably want to find a quieter place,” Spirin said. “Whereas if you’re looking to party you’ll want to find one of the more lively venues.”

Soon users will be able to see how many drinks are being ordered and even get a sense of the girl/boy ratio at affiliated establishments, according to Spirin.

Spirin said after waiting some time for their bill, he and McGregor realized many people must have the same problem and since so many people use their phones for so much already, an app allowing you to pay from your phone just made sense.

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Features

The New Paltz Oracle

Jamaican Me Hungry

REVIEW OF NEWLY RELOCATED AND REVAMPED RESTAURANT

Some food options served at the new location of Jamaican Choice.

By Sage Higgins Staff Writer | Higgins1@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu Looking for late night eats but tired of resorting to pizza or the diner?

Jamaican Choice, located at 45 Main St. next to the New Paltz Post Office, is the place to go for delicious Jamaican cuisine at a great price.

Dalmain Grant, owner of Jamaican Choice, gave me the scoop on what his restaurant has to offer the New Paltz community, especially its students.

The restaurant used to be located in the Stop & Shop plaza, but is now on the other side of town.

“It was closer for the students to reach us,” Grant said. “The new location just

PHOTOS COURTESY OF JAMAICAN CHOICE

opened this past November and as a result, business has been much better.”

Their menu has gone through slight changes during the move including a few new pasta dishes, but their signature beef patties and jerk chicken still remain a staple on the menu.

Along with the diverse menu at Jamaican Choice, they also offer great deals for your late night cravings until the doors close at midnight. After 10 p.m., beef patties are only $1.75 and “Quick Bites,” which include meals like jerk chicken and fried dumplings are $5.

The restaurant also has a lineup of events and new additions coming in the next few months.

Events include karaoke on Wednesday nights starting in the spring, open mics on Tuesday nights starting in March and live music on Saturday nights.

Happy Hour will start on Fridays in the spring from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., which will include beer on tap and the signature Jamaican beer, Red Stripe. Other additions include a juice bar coming in the spring. A live dance room — comparable to Oasis in New Paltz — will be opening in the summer.

When I went to Jamaican Choice, I got chicken with plantains and mac and cheese. Although they’re a Jamaican restaurant, their mac and cheese was surprisingly delicious. The portion was large

for such a great price, only $9.50, but the chicken for me didn’t have enough flavor.

Overall, for anyone that wants a change from campus cuisine, I would definitely suggest Jamaican Choice as a great place for good food and cheap eats. Next time I’m feeling something different than pizza for those late night cravings, I know where I will be going.

Jamaican Choice’s next event is a Spring Break Party on March 7 which is open to the public. This event will include great drink specials and a DJ. For more information on the restaurant and the events that are being held, call them at 845-2554700.

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Here Come The “VideoFreex” THE DORSKY MUSEUM OF ART SHOWCASES NEW EXHIBITS

By Karl Evers-Hillstrom

Copy Editor | Kevershillstrom@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu

The Samuel Dorsky Museum opened its doors to four new exhibits on Saturday, Feb. 7, including a large-scale display of the work from some of the biggest video innovators in U.S. history.

These include “Grace Hartigan: Myths and Mails,” “The Maverick Festival at 100,” “Edward Sheriff Curtis and Native Americans” and the headline exhibit “Videofreex: The Art of Guerilla Television.”

Some of the earliest pioneers of portable video, the Videofreex were a group of 10 hippies who created countercultural film projects from 1969 to 1978. They were originally hired by CBS in 1969 to create a television pilot titled “Subject to Change” that documented the counterculture movement happening in the U.S. at the time. Although they were fired and their footage never aired, the group was allowed to keep the video equipment and footage, which CBS assumed was useless.

They couldn’t have been more wrong as those 10 hippies would go on to film over 1500 tapes and document many of the 1970s crucial cultural events. The Videofreex used the portable Portapak video camera to film all kinds of events and conduct interviews and broadcast much of their content on their underground television station Lanesville TV. On Saturday evening, nearly all of the original Videofreex members were in attendance at the Dorsky, welcoming visitors to their exhibit during its opening reception.

Although they never intended to have their work showcased in a museum, Videofreex were happy to have their work and equipment featured at the Dorsky.

“Don’t let them put us in the museum, it’ll finish us off,” said Skim Blumberg, a prominent member of the Videofreex. “But yet, here we are.”

Mary Curtis Ratcliff, one of the founding members of the Videofreex, echoed Blumberg’s statement.

“We would never have believed 40 years ago that we would be welcoming you all to this show,” she said.

Members of the Videofreex and others honored the late Chuck Kennedy, an impor-

The Videofreex filming Lanesville T.V. in 1973

tant member of Videofreex.

“He was curious about everything,” said Dave Jones, a video artist and engineer. “It drove him in a manic direction to understand video and electronics. It set him apart.”

The exhibit features many of the videos taken by the Videofreex, including famous clips such as their interview with Fred Hampton in 1969. Also featured is an installation titled “Contraband,” which contains a guitar case with video tapes inside it. In 1969, the Videofreex were worried that CBS would give their footage of activists Fred Hampton and Abbie Hoffman to the FBI, so Blumberg snuck into the CBS corporate office and smuggled the tapes out in his empty guitar case. Also featured in the exhibit is all of the equipment used to create the videos, as well

as old promotional posters and flyers.

“Videofreex: The Art of Guerilla Television” exposes just how grassroots their initiative was, and how they attempted to change the television landscape that was dominated by three news stations.

The Videofreex have a documentary coming out this spring titled “Here come the Videofreex!” The exhibit documenting the iconic filmmakers runs until July 12.

“Grace Hartigan: Myths and Malls” features the work of the late Grace Hartigan, one of the prominent New York abstract expressionist painters in the 1950s. Most of her work being oil on canvas, Hartigan’s paintings are inconsistent by nature. Half of “Grey Eyed Athena” (1961) was done with a heavy brush and no liquid, while the other half

Thursday, February 19, 2015

PHOTO COURTESY OF VIDEOFREEX

looks like a watercolor. Hartigan’s paintings are collections of things we see in nature and everyday life, organized and painted in an abstract form.

“The Maverick Festival at 100” is a collection of vintage photographs, oral histories and documents honoring the 100th anniversary of the Maverick Festival, an outdoor carnival based in Woodstock. Students in the Spring 2014 Museum Studies class researched and wrote the labels for the photographs.

“Edward Sheriff Curtis and Native Americans” is a collection of photographs depicting Native American tribes in the early 20th century. Curtis took over 40,000 photos from approximately 80 tribes. This exhibit highlights his best work.

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Music Professors “Jazz It Up”

SUNY NEW PALTZ MUSIC FACULTY SHOWCASES THEIR TALENT

By Russell Hartman

A&E Editor | Rhartman@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu

On Tuesday Night, Feb. 10, the SUNY New Paltz Jazz Faculty performed a number of jazz standards at 8 p.m. in the Julien J. Studley Theater.

The group featured professors Mark Dziuba on guitar, Teri Roiger on vocals, Vincent Martucci on piano, John Menegon on bass, Jeff Siegel on drums, Rebecca Coupe-Franks on trumpet and David Savitsky on alto saxophone. The nine tunes that were going to be performed during the evening were not listed in the program; the performers themselves announced each tune individually before the group played it.

Once the lights dimmed the group (minus Roiger) took the stage to thunderous applause and Menegon introduced the first song, “Blue Monk” by Thelonius Monk. “Blue Monk” featured guitar, trumpet, saxophone, piano, bass and drum solos from Dziuba, Coupe-Franks, Savitsky, Martucci, Menegon and Siegel respectively. With almost every member of the band taking a solo, it was a great opener that showcased all the talent the crowd was going to hear during the night.

The second song of the night, introduced by Coupe-Franks, was “Dig” by Miles Davis. It featured trumpet, saxophone, piano, and drum solos. After the drum solo by Siegel, Roiger finally took the stage and had scatted along to a trumpet solo by Coupe-Franks. The first two songs had a great feel to them and were great openers for the concert.

The third song, “Living Room” by Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach, took the tempo of the concert down a bit.

The ballad was a nice change from the bop and swing tunes that opened the concert and gave the show a nice sense of variety. Coupe-Franks and Savitsky left the stage for this song and Roiger showed her great vocal chops along with solos from Martucci and Dziuba.

This song had a great feel to it.

The fourth song, “Detour Ahead”

by Herb Ellis, was another ballad and

once again featured Roiger on vocals.

The whole group was on stage for this one and it featured solos from Martucci and Menegon. Throughout the song, Coupe-Franks played very tasteful fills behind Roiger’s vocals which made the performance of this song that much better.

Roiger left the stage after the fourth song and Martucci announced the fifth song, “Eternal Triangle” by Sonny Stitt.

The tempo of the concert rose once again with this song and left the ballad feel of the previous two behind. This song once again featured solos from every one of the instrumental performers in the group and was another nice showcase of the talent of the faculty at SUNY New Paltz.

The sixth song, my personal favorite of the evening, was “Interplay”

by Bill Evans and was announced by saxophonist David Savitsky. Roiger and Coupe-Franks did not participate in this song and thus featured one of the smaller incarnations of the group. This song was a great showcase of professor Savitsky’s talent and the solo section of the song featured guitarist Mark Dziuba and Savitsky going back and forth for an amazing trade solo. As a saxophonist myself, Savitsky’s solos and playing were the highlight of the night for me.

Before the seventh song, “The Blessing” by Ornette Coleman, Mark Dziuba formally announced the members of the group. “The Blessing” featured one soloist, professor Jeff Siegel on the drums and it was easily one of the best solos of the night. It was a great showcase of the rhythmic talent of Siegel. The fifth, sixth and seventh songs of the evening were all great up-tempo songs but the concert was about to take one final slow turn before the big finale.

The eighth song of the evening once again featured Roiger on vocals and was a balled entitled “I Don’t Stand a Ghost of a Chance With You” by Billie Holiday.

Before Siegel announced the final song of the evening, he thanked ev-

SUNY New Paltz jazz faculty at a previous performance.

eryone for coming out to the show and re-introduced the group. The final song of the evening was “Simone” by Frank Foster. Each instrumentalist had a solo to themselves and the last solo section featured every instrumentalist trading with Siegel for a rocking ending to the show. The group received a huge ovation during their bows at the end of the show.

Third-year engineering major Dante Peluso enjoyed his first jazz concert experience.

“The music was really soothing and was a great way to relax from the rigorous hours of work that we all have,” he said. “I would definitely attend more jazz concerts in the future.”

Second year digital media management major Heather Handler echoed Peluso’s thoughts.

“I thought the concert was great overall, especially the soloing from all the musicians. I don’t normally attend jazz concerts but it was really a cool show and there wasn’t a boring moment,” Handler said.

Thursday, February 19, 2015

PHOTOS COURTESY OF NEW PALTZ JAZZ SOCIETY

John Menegon slaps the bass at a prior performance.

Arts & Entertainment

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Keeping Classical Current

MCKENNA THEATER HOSTS UNIQUE CONTEMPORARY PERFORMANCE

Singer Courney Budd graced the stage at McKenna Theater alongside Innisfree.

By Amya Pinka

Copy Editor | Pinkaa1@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu

On Tuesday, Feb. 17, McKenna Theater was filled with audience members to see soparano singer Courtney Budd join Innisfree in a performance titled “Bernstein to Brahms.”

Innisfree is an ensemble that was formed over 15 years ago and consists of SUNY New Paltz professors. Their goal is to perform great piano trio literature as well as less known and contemporary music. According to the program, they have collectively recorded and performed many works of living American composers and in 2005, released a CD of music by composer Henry Martin.

Professors Sylvia Buccelli on piano, Carole Cowan on violin and Susan Seligman on violincello were joined by soprano singer Courtney Budd, who has graced the stages of very well known theaters such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln

PHOTOS BY KEADY SULLIVAN

Center and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. According to Buccelli, in recent years Innisfree has developed into “Innisfree Plus” where they invite a guest artist to join them on stage.

The addition of a soprano to the piano trio is what made this concert so exciting.

Buccelli enthusiastically reported that working with Budd was delightful.

“Her artistry is always convincingly projected through the combination of exceptional vocal expertise and sparkling personality she brings to her performances,” she said.

The show opened with “Three Songs for Voice, Violin, Cello and Piano” by composer Amy Beach by the trio and Budd, followed by compositions of Johannas Brahms from the Romantic Period of classical music performed solely by the trio. Budd joined the trio

again to close the show with a theatrical performance of some well known tunes that brought some audience members to their feet to applaud.

Other pieces that were performed include “Fever” by Eddie Cooley and John Davenport, “Georgia” by Hoagy Carmichael and “Glitter and Be Gay”

by Leonard Bernstein.

“We put together the program thinking (and hoping) it would have a lot of variety, be challenging to learn and play for us, as well as enjoyable for the audience to listen to,” Cowan said.

Noura Kavlaoui, a Kingston resident, and her children went to the concert to see her friend, Budd, perform because their children go to the same school.

Kavlaoui was very enthusiastic about the performance. She said the show was “just so marvelous.”

This was the first time she saw her

friend Courtney perform and recalled “Fever” as her favorite song performed of the night. “‘Fever’ was just so marvelous, full of passion and a sense of humor. I never expected this,” Kavlaoui said.

Yasmen Kavlaoui, 10, said she thought the concert was really good. “I loved the fever song the best,” she said.

According to Buccelli, what made this concert unique was the nontraditional aspect, which involved adding soprano voice to the piano trio. She said although there is not the breadth of repertoire, the sound combination was lovely and that it takes some searching to discover the lesser-known works.

Buccelli said she hopes students were able to get the chance to experience a wide variety of styles through the construct of a traditional chamber music experience.

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The Deep End

The New Paltz Oracle

THIS WEEK IN

THE DEEP END Max Narotzky

Major: Secondary Ed. Social Studies Year: Fourth “My work is an amalgamation of many parts of my childhood and adolescence. As a kid I was obsessed with Saturday morning cartoons like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Mummies Alive. I would constantly be playing with action figures and Legos.

I would even make my own creations out of everything from clay to pipe cleaners to aluminum foil.

As I went through high school I started getting into graffiti and street art. Since the legality of graffiti is somewhat ‘questionable’ I turned to making watercolor, ink and silkscreened images. However, the boldness of these mediums helped me keep that cartoony style I loved.”

Photos courtesy of Max Narotzky | Captioning by Maxwell Reide

The New Paltz Oracle

Editorial

blowing smoke

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9

CARTOON BY MIKE SHEINKOPF

SUNY New Paltz has recently been ranked No. 1 on Project Know’s list of oncampus drug arrests per capita among colleges nationwide in 2013, as reported by The Huffington Post on Feb. 2.

As a school perceived as having a “stoner” or “hippie” stigma attached to it, it is apparent to see why some may believe that this ranking indicates our campus has and has always had a prevalence of illegal drug usage. Others may perceive this data as the campus being overly policed – as we do actively have a vigilant University Police force situated on the outskirt of our campus.

Despite these ideas, we at The New Paltz Oracle do not believe that this ranking is an indication of a drug problem on our college campus, nor the result of an excess of police presence. In part, this ranking has little to do with police officers on campus and a huge amount to do with the choices that the students who attend this college make concerning drug usage.

Because New Paltz garners a two-strike policy regarding drugs, students who go here should know better than to try to get high in their residence halls. If a student is caught twice using drugs on campus, they will be expelled. It is very surprising that despite this strict policy, the number of drug arrests is so large.

According to University Chief of Police David Dugatkin, reports of marijuana odors in residence halls are the majority of drug calls that the department responds to. This odor is easily detected and they are required by law to investigate any evidence of it being kept or used on our campus. Those who are negligent in recognizing the risk they take by using drugs on this campus should consider that UPD is only enforcing state law.

We at The Oracle believe that UPD are to be commended and not scrutinized for doing their duties to the campus. If they are receiving a call, they are required by law to respond to it and potentially investigate further

on the matter. Sometimes it could be drugs, or sometimes it could be an assault or another dangerous situation. It’s apparent that some college students want their freedom during their time here, but it is important to recognize the potential risks that they may be taking by getting involved with drugs either on or off campus.

We acknowledge marijuana is becoming a socially acceptable drug and is legal in some states, but our campus still has a zero tolerance policy for it and any other illegal drug. Regardless of what changes we as students may want to make to our campus drug policy, it is still illegal to be using drugs on campus.

Being that the college has just received this ranking, administration would not want to further increase the stereotype of SUNY New Paltz students being associated with drug usage. Even if we do actively press a policy change, it would most likely not prove effective in the slightest.

Thursday, February 19, 2015

It is possible that other, more dangerous drugs are being used on campus as well – the sensationalism of this ranking underplays the severity of a greater and more serious problem that could potentially be present on our campus. Instead of investing time focused on changing university policies or how we compare to other colleges, more time should be allocated to programs that could help students battling substance abuse or addiction.

Editorials represent the views of the majority of the editorial board.

Columns, op-eds and letters, excluding editorials, are solely those of the writers and do not necessarily represent the views of The New Paltz Oracle, its staff members, the campus and university or the Town or Village of New Paltz.

10 oracle.newpaltz.edu

RUSSELL HARTMAN A&E Editor

Rhartman@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu

Everyone has that one thing from their childhood that has stuck with them and for me, that’s my first hero: Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

Ever since I first heard the trademark phrase “IF YOU SMELLLLL WHAT THE ROCK IS COOKIN’!” I looked up to him. He was funny on the microphone, fought with a certain type of charisma and power in the ring and had control of the audience like no one else.

I’ve watched hours upon hours of The Rock’s matches and when he won the WWE Undisputed Championship back in July of 2002, I listened to it live through my cousin’s static filled TV I’ll never forget jumping for joy when I heard that my favorite wrestler had successfully won the WWE’s top title and disturbing my parents and cousins while they were trying to sleep. Another one of my favorite moments watching him live was the episode of Monday Night RAW right after WrestleMania 27 when he stared John Cena down and agreed to wrestle him a year from then at WrestleMania 28. It was truly a moment that spaned generations of wrestling fans.

It wasn’t just his moments in the ring that I was excited about but the moments where he made me burst out laughing. Whether it was torturing his boss, Vince McMahon, Owner

NATE SHEIDLOWER Copy Editor Sheidlon1@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu

Everyone always considers there to be two types of people: optimists and pessimists.

I hear it all the time. When someone points out the bad or doubts the truth, they’re a pessimist. And maybe they are. But the real question is what kind of pessimist are they: a cynic or a skeptic?

Optimists are optimists, period. They always see the glass at least half full and life is joyful and great and all is well and dandy, blah, blah, blah. But pessimists are a whole different breed.

According to dictionary.com, a skeptic is worth 15 Scrabble points and is defined as “a person who questions the validity or authenticity of something purporting to be factual.”

A cynic, worth only 12, is “a person who believes that only selfishness motivates human actions and who disbelieves in or minimizes selfless acts or disinterested points of view.”

OPINION

COLUMNS

The New Paltz Oracle

What The Rock Is Cooking of WWE, making fun of other superstars such as Chris Jericho, Triple H, The Undertaker or Stone Cold Steve Austin or saying some of his famous phrases, The Rock was and still is golden on the microphone. He could make the audience cheer, boo and yell profanities no matter what city or country he was in.

He was a mainstay in the WWE from 1996 till 2003. He is a third generation superstar. His father, Rocky Johnson, was a wrestler as was his grandfather, High Chief Peter Maivia. In his time within the company he pushed it to new heights during the famed attitude era of the late 1990s and early 2000s. His feuds with Stone Cold Steve Austin, Triple H. The Undertaker, Mankind and others are the epitomy of what wrestling feuds strive to be. His segment with Mankind, titled “This is your Life,” is one of the highest rated segments in the history of Monday Night Raw. The WWE show, SmackDown is named after one of The Rock’s most famous phrases where he tells an opponent he will Layeth the Smackdown on their Candy Ass. During his WWE career The Rock dabbled in acting, appearing in movies such as “The Mummy Returns,” and “The Scorpion King” as well as making appearances on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.” He also appeared in rapper

Method Man’s music video for his song, “Know Your Role.”

After 2003, The Rock began to fully focus on his Hollywood career but made sporadic appearances in the WWE. He’s gone on to star in blockbuster franchises such as “G.I. Joe,” and “Fast and Furious” and other movies such as “The Game Plan,” “Gridiron Gang,” “Walking Tall,” and “Hercules.” He’s also starring in the upcoming disaster film “San Andreas.” He returned to the company for a three year time period (2011-2013) where he feuded with wrestlers John Cena and CM Punk.

He is considered to be one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time. In his time with the company, The Rock won 17 championships. He is a ten-time world champion, winning the WWE title eight times and the WCW championship twice. He was the first man to hold the WWE title on seven separate occasions. The Rock is also a two-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, five time WWE Tag Team Champion and won the Royal Rumble Match in January of 2000. He has also headlined WWE’s signature event, WrestleMania, five different times.

Not many wrestlers have had success anywhere close to The Rock’s.

Even though The Rock has fully moved on to movies now, I’ll never forget the impact

he had on my childhood and the moments that made me smile. He was my first hero, the first person who taught me never to take shit from anybody and to always approach a situation without fear and to do all you can to come out on top. Whenever he makes appearances now, the child in me still smiles and I “mark out,” which in normal terms means I act like a maniac and jump up and down and yell uncontrollably.

Now, as a 21-year-old young adult, I still hope to meet him someday and tell him all he’s done for me, thank him for being the first person I looked up to and for entertaining me like no one else has. I know the chances are slim and I know it’ll most likely never happen but hey, a guy can dream, right? If you ever read this Rock, I just have one simple thing to say: Thank you.

Russell is a third-year journalism major who still watches the WWE whenever he can and enjoys going to live events with his crazy friends. If he ever meets The Rock he’s pretty sure he would cry tears of joy and take the greatest selfies with him. When he was younger, the tattoo he always wanted was The Rock’s Brahma Bull tattoo which he thinks is pretty damn cool.

Emptying The Glass So in reality, both are pessimists, but more importantly, both are realists. They understand that in the end everything that we human beings hold true in this world is only true because we as human beings say it is.

Now although we do back up our “truths” with logic, sometimes, that logic only makes sense and only applies if one can understand it and accept it.

A skeptic is the simple pessimist. Much like the simple son in Jewish tradition, he asks, “What is this?” Most often the answer is not an explanation, but just a restating that what he is asking about exists. Therefore, he is led to believe that there is no logic or reason and will come to a conclusion of doubt.

In other words, skeptics don’t take anything on faith.

A cynic however, understands the deeper logic – or at least they think they do. The

cynic believes that all actions are done for the benefit of the one doing them. Therefore, any reason or logic given for their motivation or purpose is in turn given toward their benefit.

This makes perfect sense, if you believe the basic belief that everything is done selfishly.

The true difference is that a cynic is a skeptic who got fed up with their doubts and half-certainties and committed themselves to the belief of nothing ever being done selflessly.

So which is better? Which is worse? Are both bad? Are both good?

I believe that neither is good nor bad, better nor worse; both are necessary. In any situation there needs to be one person who can point out the bad. One person who realized the potential disaster that can come from anything no matter how grim that may be.

Great achievements are made after the most

Thursday, February 19, 2015

unfortunate outcome is realized and prevented before it must be overcome.

Ultimately, it is best to be a realist. A realist understands the value of skeptics and cynics but also understands the need for optimists, because without optimists to see the good, there is no way for pessimists to see the bad. Because after all optimist, like cynic, is worth 12 Scrabble points.

Nate is a third-year journalism major who understands that you are unlikely to find true solace until you stop seeking it. The glass may be half full or half empty; but either way it is only because you haven’t drunk the rest yet. But you will. He knows you will because he is certain that the most tempting thing in the world is to see the bottom of the glass. He knows you can’t go very long wondering what it may look like when you see it.

The New Paltz Oracle

SPORTS

SPORTS

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The New Paltz Oracle

HAWKS STAY

HOT

PHOTO BY LIZZIE NIMETZ

The Men’s volleyball team won both conference games last weekend.

By Michael Rosen

Copy Editor | Rosenm2@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu

The Men’s volleyball team won both of their matchups this past weekend at the United Volleyball Conference (UVC) Crossover in Erie, Pennsylvania.

This was the Hawks first of three UVC Crossovers of the season.

First the Hawks defeated No. 12 Massachusetts Institute of Technology 3-0 (25-14, 25-19, 25WW-15).

Hawks first-year outside hitter Anthony Bonilla led the team and match with nine kills and posted a hitting percentage of .333. Fourth-year setter John Lutjen led the Hawks with 14 points and 19 assists. Third-year co-Captain Kevin Nardone also contributed to the victory by leading the Hawks with 12 digs.

Later that day the Hawks beat host Penn State Erie, The Behrend College 3-1 (25-21, 24-26, 25-18, 25-18).

Bonilla again led the Hawks with

19 kills and 21 points, as well as hitting .400 and chipping in eight digs. On Monday, Feb. 16, Bonilla was named Corvias Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) North Rookie of the Week for the period ending Sunday, Feb. 15. This is the second time this season that Bonilla has earned this honor. He previously earned it on Tuesday, Jan. 27.

Bonilla currently ranks seventh in kills (3.14 per set) and fifth in hitting percentage (.366) in the United Volleyball Conference (UVC).

Other standout performances for the Hawks included second-year opposite hitter Jake Roessler, who was second on the team with 14 kills and 14 points.

Nardone again led the team with 10 digs.

“It was an awesome way to kick off conference play,” Nardone said. “We play in the most demanding conference in Division III and we have to be ready for every opponent.”

One of the biggest keys to the team’s success this season has been their ability to win on the road. The Hawks have only played one game at home this season, a 3-0 (25-13, 25-23, 25-18) victory against Ramapo College on Wednesday, Feb. 11. This puts the team’s record at 5-2 away from the Hawk Center.

“I don’t think there is much of an impact on players if they play home or away,” Head Coach Radu Petrus said.

“The conference is very intense and competitive. It doesn’t matter if you play the top or the bottom, home or away, you have to give everything and stay focused.”

Third-year co-Captain Christian Smith also credits the team’s ability in general to the success the Hawks have had so far.

“It starts with our team chemistry and our ability to serve tough while playing quality volleyball,” he said. “We

Thursday, February 19, 2015

have covered very well throughout the rallies in these matches and that starts with our libero Kevin Nardone, who has been rock solid for us this year so far.

Our team as a whole has been playing good volleyball and has been really focused about maintaining focus on the task at hand.”

On Tuesday, Feb. 17, the American Volleyball Coaches Association released their Top-15 Week Four Poll, and SUNY New Paltz remains in the No. 3 spot.

The two teams ranked above New Paltz include Kean University at the No. 2 spot and the Stevens Institute of Technology ranks in the No. 1 spot, who the Hawks played on Wednesday, Feb. 19 and were defeated 3-0 (24-26, 12-25, 22-25).

The Hawks currently have a 6-2 record and next host Springfield College on Wednesday, Feb. 25 at 6 p.m. at the Hawk Center.

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The New Paltz Oracle

Women’s Basketball Clinches Playoff Berth

The Women’s basketball team prepares for final games of the regular season.

By Melissa Kramer

Sports Editor | Kramerm2@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu

After sweeping a five-game homestand and dropping two out of three on the road, the Women’s basketball team is in third place in the SUNYAC standings.

The Hawks beat both SUNY Potsdam and SUNY Plattsburgh to conclude their fivegame homestand sweep from Friday, Feb. 6 to Saturday, Feb. 7. In the first game, first-year guard/forward Laura Stuart scored a careerhigh 12 points off the bench for the Hawks and grabbed six rebounds as well. Two other Hawks finished the game in double-figures, including second-year guard/forward Kit Small and second-year forward Courtney Irby who each scored 10 points. New Paltz forced 26 Potsdam turnovers, scoring 34 points off those mistakes, and held a 58-41 edge on the glass.

Fourth-year co-Captain Shannan Walker scored a team-high 18 points for the Hawks against SUNY Plattsburgh the following day. Three Hawks finished in double-figures against SUNY Plattsburgh including Walker (18), Small (17) and Irby (15). Irby also led

PHOTO BY LIZZIE NIMETZ

the Hawks in rebounds with nine. Turnovers were key to the Hawks’ success, as they scored 18 points off of 20 Plattsburgh turnovers.

Three days later, the Hawks began their three-game road trip at SUNY Oswego, where they were defeated 72-49 on Tuesday, Feb. 10.

Second-year guard/forward Kit Small scored a team-high 13 points for the Hawks. Two other Hawks finished in double-figures for the Hawks as Irby scored 12 points and third-year co-Captain Christine Rivera scored 12.

The Hawks next traveled to SUNY Geneseo on Friday, Feb. 13 to take on the number one seed in the conference and were defeated 74-61. Small scored a team-high 18 points and tallied six assists for the Hawks.

The following day, Head Coach Jamie Seward recorded his 150th career win in his ninth-year at the helm as the Hawks defeated The College at Brockport 72-69. With the win, Seward moved to 150-88 overall, with a 107-47 record in SUNYAC play. Four players finished in double-figures for the Hawks, including third-year guard/forward Colleen Ames who scored 13 points off the bench, Small (12), first-year guard Sydney Pinn (11)

and Walker (10).

Seward said the team made a couple of big plays in the last minute of play.

“To get out of there and salvage a win was big for confidence sake and moving forward and getting a positive-mindset going into this last weekend of the regular season,” he said.

With an overall record of 15-8 and 11-5 record in SUNYAC play, the Hawks will host a pair of SUNYAC matchups to conclude their regular season at the Hawk Center. On Friday, Feb. 20, the Hawks will take on Buffalo State at 7:30 p.m. In their previous matchup, the Hawks lost in a one-point game. Buffalo State is the only conference team the Hawks have not defeated at least once this season. The following day, the Hawks will play SUNY Fredonia at 4 p.m. Earlier in the season, the Hawks defeated the Blue Devils 73-67.

Seward said the team has struggled with defensive strategy, which they will be working on to prepare for the final two regular season games and the conference tournament, in which the Hawks will be playing a home game in the first round. If the team wins one

Thursday, February 19, 2015

of the two games this weekend, they will clinch the third seed in the conference. The worst they could finish is fourth.

“It would be nice to get that one and know that there’s nobody we’re going to play that we haven’t been able to beat at some point,” he said. “But we know we’re going to have to play well. You want to be playing your best at this time of year. I think more importantly, we want to get some things righted that we’ve had some issues with in recent games and get everything firing on all cylinders heading into the conference tournament.”

Walker said even though the team did not do as well on the road last week, they learned a lot about what they need to work on to finish the season strong.

“We’re more motivated than ever to make the right adjustments and play our best basketball going into the conference tournament,” she said. “We love defending our home court so it’s really important for us to finish the regular season with two great home wins. Our goal is to finish the regular season playing the best basketball we have all season and to win the SUNYAC Championship.”

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Swimming Teams Seek SUNYAC Success

By Melissa Kramer

Sports Editor | Kramerm2@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu

The Men and Women’s swimming teams will compete in the 2015 SUNYAC Championships at Burt Flickinger Pool in Buffalo, New York from Thursday, Feb. 19 to Saturday, Feb. 21.

Last season, the Men’s team finished sixth out of nine teams. Thirdyear co-Captain Ethan Cooke flirted with the program record in the 200 butterfly twice and he ended up placing sixth with a time of 1:57.88. Cooke qualified for the championship final of the 100 butterfly and ended up taking seventh (52.86).

With a 4-3 finish to the regular season, Head Coach Scott Whitbeck said this year’s Men’s team is deeper and more talented.

“The team should compete with the best of the conference,” he said. “We have a whole different set of swimmers this year. We’re looking for people to step up.”

Whitbeck said a challenge of preparing for SUNYACs was cutting down his roster from 26 swimmers on the Women’s side and 25 on the Men’s side to 18 each. His SUNYAC roster is based on a combination of who he thought performed the best all season long and who has the best potential to score for the Hawks.

For the Men’s team, this season is the first time since 2010-11 that the team will have a full SUNYAC roster. Last year’s roster had a total of 15 Men’s swimmers.

Fourth-year co-Captain Jack Spader said the full roster is important because it means the team can swim more races, especially relays which are worth quite a few points.

Spader was named to the 2014 SUNYAC Second Team due to a secondplace finish in the 1,650 freestyle and a third-place result in the 500 freestyle at the 2014 SUNYAC Swimming & Diving Championships.

The Women’s side placed third out of nine teams in last year’s Championships with 472 points. This season, the Hawks finished 6-1 during the regular season.

Last season, current fourth-year co-Captain Samantha Granan and third-year Cassidy Griger each made

the 2014 All-SUNYAC Second Team as a result of their second and third place finishes, respectively.

Granan placed second in the 100 breaststroke (1:05.68) and the 200 breaststroke (2:26.23). She achieved an NCAA “B” cut in the 100 breaststroke, and set a program record in the event.

She also placed fourth in the 200 individual medley (2:10.85) and competed on the Hawks’ fifth-place medley relay (1:50.52), fourth-place 400 medley relay (3:59.77) and fourth-place 200 freestyle relay (1:38.53).

Griger placed third in the 200 freestyle (1:54.49). Individually, she also placed fourth in the 100 freestyle (53.65) and sixth in the 200 individual medley (2:11.77). She contributed to the Hawks’ second-place 800 freestyle relay (7:48.36), fourth-place 400 medley relay (3:59.77) and fourth-place 400 freestyle relay (3:35.99).

Whitbeck said there are always slight variations to preparing for SUNYACs. This season, the Women’s strength training regimen was changed to try to get the swimmers’ legs wellrested.

“At the end of the season, I like to think there’s a little bit of magic to resting,” he said. “I think it’s more about if you put in the work and if you rest up you’ll be fine, so that’s pretty much where we are.”

With a three-week gap between their final regular season matchup against SUNY Geneseo and the first day of SUNYACs, third-year coCaptain Ryan Lindgren said the Hawks taper in to repair muscle and reach peak performances.

Third-year co-Captain Maggie Heaton said the Women’s team prepares for SUNYACs by doing something they call, “secret psych.” This is where each team member decorates another’s locker each day for a week before the championships to get the team excited, she said.

“We have also been working hard, swimming doubles and lifting all season to prepare for this meet,” Heaton said. “[On Saturday, Feb. 7], we simulated a meet by suiting up and setting up the timing system. The team performed very well and it got us all extremely excited to compete.”

.

The Men’s swimming team has first full SUNYAC roster since 2010-11.

The Women’s swimming team seeks to top last year’s third place finish.

Thursday, February 19, 2015

PHOTOS BY LIZZIE NIMETZ

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The New Paltz Oracle

Men’s Basketball Seeks Strong Finish

The Men’s basketball team looks to win both home games this weekend.

By Michael Rosen

Copy Editor | Rosenm2@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu

The Men’s basketball team’s struggles on the road continued this past week, as the team lost all three games they played away from home.

To start off their road trip, the Hawks lost by a score of 71-47 on Tuesday, Feb. 10 against SUNY Oswego, who currently sits in second place in the SUNYAC standings.

Fourth-year co-Captain Taylor Sowah led the team with 15 points, while third-year forward/center Alex Perlman was second on the team with 10 points off the bench. The Hawks shot 82.4 percent from the free-throw line (14-of-17), but that was not nearly enough, as the Oswego Lakers held the lead the whole game.

The Hawks next played SUNY Geneseo on Friday, Feb. 13, losing by a score of 76-65. The team previously defeated Geneseo by a score of 75-62 on Saturday,

PHOTO BY LIZZIE NIMETZ

Jan. 10.

Sowah again led the Hawks with 22 points and third-year co-Captain Kevin Roach was second on the team with 16 points. Hawks fourth-year co-Captain R.J. Rosa and second-year guard Eric Regenbogen each chipped in with 10 points.

The Hawks were behind by five points after the first half and were unable to grab a lead in the second half.

The team finished off their road trip with a 61-57 loss against The College at Brockport on Saturday, Feb. 14. The loss dropped the team’s record to 10-13 and 8-8 in conference play.

Sowah scored a game and seasonhigh 25 points to lead the Hawks. He added a game-high 16 rebounds as well as recording his tenth double-double of the season. Rosa was second with 13 points and Roach was right behind him with 11 points and seven rebounds.

The Hawks finished the first half with

a 29-27 lead. The team remained ahead by two points with 6:42 left on the clock.

Brockport’s third-year guard/forward Patrick Modzelewski scored a threepointer with 6:22 left in the game to put the Golden Eagles up for good.

Despite the fact that the team lost all three of their games, Head Coach Mike Rejniak believes his team still played well for the most part.

“Outside of Tuesday’s game against Oswego, I thought that the Geneseo and Brockport games were a matter of possessions rather than us executing the games, he said. “It was a turnover there, a three point shot there, that really made the difference.”

The team finished their season with a 3-6 record on the road in conference play.

They will finish off their regular season with two games at home this weekend.

They will play Buffalo State at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 20 and take on SUNY

Thursday, February 19, 2015

Fredonia the next day.

The Hawks are currently tied for seventh-place with SUNY Oneonta. The top six teams in the SUNYAC division advance to the playoffs, and SUNY Cortland currently sits in sixth-place with a 9-7 conference record. The Hawks must win both games to clinch a playoff berth.

Buffalo State currently has a 10-6 record in conference play and they sit in fourth place in the SUNYAC standings. The Hawks lost to them earlier this season by a score of 95-89 on Saturday, Jan. 24.

Fredonia sits at the bottom of the SUNYAC standings with a 1-15 record in conference play.

Rejniak said he is looking for his team to accomplish one thing this weekend: “Win both,” he said. “I don’t care how we get it done. I think eliminating our turnovers and fouls will lead us to victory.”

SPORTS

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Home Isles Advantage Kramerm2@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu

Even top teams lose once in a while.

The Isles have bounced back after hitting a roadblock which included a three-game losing streak against the Bruins, Red Wings and Panthers from Thursday, Jan. 29 to Tuesday, Feb. 3.

I have to give a stick tap to Isles forward Ryan Strome for picking up his play with the absence of Kyle Okposo. As of Thursday, Feb. 19, he is third on the team in points with 37, more than doubling last year’s total of 18. There is still half a season left to play. Strome is growing to become an elite player for the Isles for years to come. I am enjoying watching him develop and find ways to contribute every game. He has been a key piece of the power play as well.

Anders Lee is another young gun who is continuing to fire on all cylinders.

Lee is second on the team in goals with 18 behind Captain John Tavares. He is proving to be a legitimate contender in the rookie goal scoring race, only two goals behind for the first place label. Just like Tavares, Lee is not only becoming a goal-scorer, but a playmaker as well. He tallied four assists against the Columbus Blue Jackets in a 6-3 win on Saturday, Feb. 14.

Another stick tap to Frans Nielsen, who played in his 500th NHL game against the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday, Feb. 8. “Fransy” has been a crucial part of the Isles success and a leader. He is the longest-tenured Islander. Nielsen is an

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Isles Face February excellent two-way player and shootout wizard as well.

Forwards Mikhail Grabovski and Nikolay Kulemin are resembling Michael Grabner. They have the speed and can help the team kill penalties. Unfortunately, Grabner keeps moving back-

always use.

In order to become a Stanley Cup contender, they are going to have to improve on the penalty kill. Being secondto-last in the league is a problem. Either that, or continue to score goals to bail out the penalty kill. Having the third-highest

Captain John Tavares guides the Islanders to winning ways.

and-forth to the injured reserve list. His latest placement was on Saturday, Feb. 7.

I can only hope this year has just been one of bad luck for Grabner and that he can return healthy and play to his full potential and speed, something the Isles can

PHOTO COURTESY OF FLICKR USER DINUR

goals for average in the NHL is helpful.

The fourth-line continues to show why they are the toughest in hockey. Matt Martin broke his nose in a fight against Flyers’ Ryan White on Thursday, Feb. 5. You would think that after that blow,

he would have been out the rest of the game. Not Matt Martin—he remained in the game. Martin is arguably the toughest player in the league. Cal Clutterbuck has even had a goal-scoring touch lately, including a goal in the second period and game-winning shootout goal against the Flyers in the same game. Fourth-liner Casey Cizikas was placed on the injured reserve list on Monday, Feb. 16. Colin McDonald has done a decent job filling in on the line, but I am looking forward for Cizikas’ return.

The four-game homestand last week was a huge motivational boost for the team. Despite the road block two weeks ago, they won three out of four games on the homestand. This includes their first loss of the season against Metropolitan Division rivals New York Rangers.

With the most compact and toughest schedule in the month of February, the Islanders are playing seven games in 11 days and 15 games in 26 days. Stamina and focus will be an important factor this home stretch of the season.

If anyone was weary of how legitimate this team is, they should not be now.

Yes, having a game every other night for the entire month of February will bring obstacles and adversity. I am also crossing my fingers that with such a tight stretch, everyone stays healthy. If every Islander continues to contribute on any given night, they are going to be one of the league’s top forces come playoff time.

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WHAT’S INSIDE

Women’s Basketball To Host First Round Home Game PAGE 12

Swimming Focused On SUNYAC Championships PAGE 13

DIGGIN’ THE WINS

ALL PHOTOS BY LIZZIE NIMETZ

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL WINS CONFERENCE MATCHUPS : PAGE 11