the Racquette
SUNY Potsdam’s Student-run Newspaper since 1927
Pointercounts Place Second at ICCA Quarterfinals Katie Daloia Staff Writer
Potsdam’s all male a cappella group, The Pointercounts, competed in the ICCA —International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella — quarterfinals last month. According to the ICCA website, the competition took place in the Centennial Auditorium at Somerville high school in Somerville MA on Feb. 20. Nine other groups competed for the top two spots with hopes of advancing to the semifinals, which are held on Sunday, April 17 at Boston Symphony Hall. The Pointercounts finished in second place, right behind Harvard University’s team, the Veritones, according to the ICCA official website. Although they were just shy of first place, the Pointercounts received points for their outstanding arrangement and style. Musical director of the pointercounts, Mike Rosenberg, a senior majoring in musical studies with a minor in music business, expressed his opinion of the group’s hard work so far. “On reviewing the tape, we definitely gave a second place performance to the best of our abilities,” Rosenberg said. “We still have a lot of room to improve.” Rosenberg, who is also their music director said that he has been a member of the pointercounts for nine semesters.
Long hours of practice and composition foster strong bonds among the SUNY Potsdam Pointercounts Johnna Bernard both inside and outside of rehersal.
“There is a lot of time and focus that goes into creating our arrangements,” Rosenberg said. “We have to take an old tune and make it slightly original at the same time, from there we take instruments and make them into voices. It’s definitely a thinking process.” SUNY Potsdam’s Pointercounts are sponsored by college life said
Brian Schuh, a junior majoring in music business with a minor in composition, and hold auditions each semester for new members. Schuh also said that the group has been around since 1993. Though the Pointercounts are strictly an audition based group, they still have many students who are interested in joining each year.
Sekayi Williams, a freshman with a double major in business administration and communications, joined the pointercounts during the Fall 2015 semester. Williams said it was one of the best decisions he ever made. “We are all our own best friends,” Williams said. “We definitely have a strong brotherhood.”
It is no surprise the Pointercounts are so close, as they practice four or five nights a week for an hour each time, Rosenberg said. With the weeks leading up to the quarterfinals the group practiced for almost two hours each time they meet. “Even when we don’t have practice, we are together,” Williams said. “We get together on weekends and listen to our old CDs and just start singing.” The 23 years of alumni associated with the group also add to the strong bond the members have with one another. Each semester, the Pointercounts go on tour to neighboring high schools as well as the high schools where alumni teach, to perform for their students. Schuh said that it’s a great way to get the word out about the group. “When you meet an alum it’s very natural,” Schuh said. “There is this of sort or aura that all Pointercounts seem to have.” Despite their busy tour schedule and semifinals coming up in just a few weeks, Schuh said that the Pointercounts also plan on releasing a CD for the Fall 2015 semester. Additionally, the group will also be showcasing their talent on SUNY Potsdam’s campus on April 2, at Hosmer Hall.
Muslim Community Comes Together as Ummah in Potsdam Jean-Michael Halluanca Staff Writer
The Ummah in Potsdam, the new Muslim club, has been approved by SGA as a new student group on campus. Comprised of ten members and five executive board members, they will be one of the newest additions to the Center For Diversity family, which has just recently undergone its latest renovation. The Ummah of Potsdam translates to the Muslim community of Potsdam, which represents a small population of students who identify as Muslim, practitioners of the Islamic faith. According to the SUNY Potsdam website, SUNY Potsdam prides itself in the many facets of diversity, supporting those of different ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientations, and faith.
“With an abiding sense of responsibility to our region and to the world beyond, SUNY Potsdam fosters an appreciation of and respect for the variety of human experience,” said the SUNY Potsdam Mission Statement. In the midst of campus changes regarding racial tensions that transpired from a hate-letter last semester, the college is witnessing a time of unprecedented diverse improvement on the SUNY Potsdam campus. The Center for Diversity was given its rightful reintroduction on Feb. 23, and has since been thriving with students of all backgrounds. Admitting more than 30 percent of students of color, the Center for Diversity outgrew its resources last year and students had called for a larger space to better suit these underrepresented groups, according to “North Country NCPR.” The
initial makeover took over two months bolstering the second floor of Sisson Hall with a new computer lab, offices, work stations and a student lounge. SUNY Potsdam SGA Vice President Erika Plaza said that she worked very closely with the group to ensure that their formal introduction was secured for the 2016 Spring semester. She also said that this group opens the eyes of those on the SGA Board in how they deal with cultural or religious groups. “Groups like this is a wake up call to start revising regulations and policies because there are more students up here of different backgrounds and [religions] that may need special requests,” Plaza said. With these new changes taking place, the CFD has also set aside a prayer and meditation room for those who share spiritual convictions in their respected faith, said
Kareem Attia, the president of the Ummah in Potsdam. The Ummah in Potsdam will be using this space for prayer, allowing them to fulfill their religious duties as needed. CFD has also taken the liberty of providing a generous service to those in the group with van rides to the Mosque in Potsdam on most Fridays in order to pray along with others in the community. Friday is the day of the Jumu’ah, or congregational prayer in the Islamic faith. Attia said that he hopes that this group will provide a necessary home to those who share his faith, and to spark inquiry about what it means to be Muslim. “My goal is to reinsure that feeling of community amongst the Muslims that are on campus and pushing those to learn about our religion, while setting a foundation of growth and education with the time I have left here,” Attia said.
Four years ago, the idea was brought to him by Professor Azad Islam, a professor in the Physics Department. Attia said that he had seen this as a difficult feat with very few Muslims on campus at the time. Attia said that he was also approached by several Muslim members of the Mosque last year about starting a four-college Muslim group because they felt the numbers of Muslim students were increasing. Dr. Islam, Associate Physics Professor and the group’s advisor, said he has spent his past 31 years here at SUNY Potsdam passionately teaching physics, a department that he said struggles to keep diversity at the forefront. — Continued on page. 6 —