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News
the Racquette
Potsdam Swim
Police Blotter
—Continued from page 1— “We came back to school a couple days after Christmas to get into the peak of training, [with] really intensive workouts,” Van De Valk said. “I think practices went really well this year, Ken [Coach McLaughlin] did a lot of work over the summer preparing for this season. He changed it up this year.” While on campus over winter break, the swim team made time to practice and bond as they prepared for the SUNYACs and the closing of the season. “You come together and experience the pain as a group,” Yeager said. The goal of the swimming and diving team was to make it to SUNYAC and improve on their personal best and Potsdam swim records. “Swimming is a lot harder than you might think,” Yeager said. “It takes a lot to be a swimmer.” Though swimming is a lot of hard work and making it to SUNYAC is a great achievement, the bears still managed to have fun and enjoy themselves as much as possible. Yeager said that the team participated in on deck dance parties, where the teams would do the cupid shuffle and other dances in-between competitions. “Potsdam is a very fun team,” Yeager said, “definitely the favorite at SUNYACs.”
Feb. 26, 2016
February 17-23
The Week of Odd Car Incidents
February 17-18
February 20-21
10:58 – Drug complaint – Knowles Hall – Unfounded 12:15 – Drug complaint – Bowman Hall – Unfounded 20:41 – Assisted student with gaining access to his vehicle, at Upper Bay Street 22:48 – Motorist assist – Lot 19 – Assisted motorist get their vehicle unstuck 23:53 – Vehicle unlock – Lot 25A – Successfully unlocked vehicle and assisted motorist get unstuck
14:57 – Student reports his vehicle being damaged while it was parked & unattended in Lot 25A; by unknown suspect. Investigation continues 18:15 – Unknown student reports being stuck in Knowles South West elevator. Student gone prior to Patrol’s arrival & elevator in working order. 02:57– Assist Potsdam PD – Medical emergency – Bay St
February 18-19
February 22-23
9:00 – Ticketed various lots for parking enforcement 9:40 – Assist Outside Agency – Provided Potsdam Police information on student who is a suspect in a Petit Larceny 19:31 – False report – Bowman Hall – Investigation continued
13:45 – Residence Life staff requested UPD assistance in seizing marijuana found during room fire checks. Police unable to seize marijuana because residence life staff had exited room and shut door prior to police arrival 15:03 – Animal complaint – Maxcy Hall – Bat removed from Third floor Domestic- Lehman Dining Center- Male/Female parties interviewed and DIR issued
February 19-20 10:47 – MVA Leaving the Scene – Lot 19 11:43 – MVA Leaving the Scene – Lot 22 13:22 – Draime RA reports odor of marijuana at Draime Extension. Marijuana remnants seized. Student will be referred 13:58 – Petit Larceny Case – Backpack and all items recovered from Maxcy first floor locker. Victim does not wish to pursue further action 2:03 – Traffic stop – Barrington Drive – Motorist warned for passenger side headlight out
February 23-24 10:40- Delivered paperwork to Potsdam Town Court 11:40- Parking enforcement – Lot 10 – 15-minute parking and other various lots 16:25- Confiscated items returned to owner 03:00 Assisted PPD with search for suspect – Maxcy HallNegative findings
Six Girls, One Line and One Home Jean-Michael Huallanca Staff Writer
On Nov. 7, SUNY Potsdam campus welcomed the Sigma Lambda Gamma Sorority Inc. into the Greek life community. Those present at the probate, which showcases a multi-cultural Greek chapter’s newest members, witnessed six females break out of silence and claim their new “shocking pink” and “majestic purple” identities as sisters of Sigma Lambda Gamma. This marks the first multicultural sorority to bring a chapter here to SUNY Potsdam, and the first Greek organization to have expanded here in more than 20 years. According to their official website, Sigma Lambda Gamma “is a sisterhood of women who have chosen this affiliation as a manner to achieve personal development and awareness to the responsibility of community involvement for the betterment of our community, country and the world.” They are a Latina-based sorority priding themselves in being a multicultural organization that welcomes all cultures. According to the SUNY Potsdam website, a growing percentage of what seems to be more than 40 percent of first-year students from the class of 2019 self-identified themselves as students of color, making it a great time to receive the first multicultural sorority.
For a group of six girls, they have done the impossible by marking themselves as historic female leaders for the multi-cultural communities that they represent on this campus. Finding a home here at Potsdam was tough for a few of these girls, assimilating to a culture not so similar to their own. Founding sister and senior Jully Gomez said that the transition from her home in the Bronx to SUNY Potsdam was difficult. “I think it was really hard — my high school was predominantly white, but I got to go home to my [Colombian] culture and my parents,” Gomez said. The Sigma Lambda Gamma Sorority had its set of trials and tribulations along the way, being denied not only once, but twice, essentially leaving them to be an interest group for four years. Gomez said she had been interested in Greek life since her freshman year, but none had appealed to her culturally. Wanting more for herself and her peers who shared the Latino culture with her, she said she looked into Sigma Lambda Gamma, as a tool to involve multi-cultural women on this campus as well as to encourage multicultural fraternity opportunities. — Continued on page 5 —