Volume 89, Issue 6 by The New Paltz Oracle

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Volume 89, Issue VI

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Thursday, October 27, 2016

PHOTO BY WIKIMEDIA

CASE Local and Federal Authorities Bring Down Hudson Valley Drug Operation

- STORY ON PAGE 4 -

INSIDE THIS WEEK’S ISSUE OF THE NEW PALTZ ORACLE

• Highly Anticipated Rescheduled Debate Takes Place............Pg 3 • UPD Implements New Reward Program..........Pg 5 • Misleading Voting Posters Found Around Campus...............Pg 6 • Recap of the Presidential Race and Debate....Pg 7

Kristen Warﬁeld EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Jack O’Brien

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MANAGING EDITOR _______________

Melanie Zerah NEWS EDITOR

Amanda Copkov FEATURES EDITOR

Sam Manzella

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

Melissa Kramer SPORTS EDITOR

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Holly Lipka PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

Luke Benicase CARTOONIST

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Michael Rosen Jackson Shrout Jess Napp Erica Ascher Briana Bonﬁglio Anthony Orza Rachael Purtell COPY EDITORS

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Jackie Quaranto WEB CHIEF

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Meg Tohill Jake Berkowitz Matt Apuzzo Otto Kratky STAFF WRITERS

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About The New Paltz Oracle

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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.

Volume 89 Issue VI Index NEWS THE DEEP END

EDITORIAL

STUDENT VOICE

COLUMN

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SPORTS

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Date: 10/20/16 Location: Esopus Hall Incident: Subject found in possession of a weapon. Judicially referred. The Oracle urges students to avoid possessing weapons on campus.

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Rescheduled Debate Addresses Free Speech and Controversies By Jack O’Brien

Managing Editor | Obrienj2@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu

After nearly seven months, Cliff Kincaid finally got to debate at SUNY New Paltz after being disinvited by the college earlier this year. Kincaid, director of investigative journalism for Accuracy in Media, (AIM), has been at the center of a controversy on campus since last spring’s cancellation of a politics and media debate which he was scheduled to participate in. The initial debate, which was to include two speakers with opposing views, was cancelled by Mike Patterson, director of the Office of Student Activities and Union Services, (OSAUS), after a “robust dialogue” on the faculty email server objected to the inclusion of Kincaid. Outcry followed however, due to conditions in their contract which entitled each of the speakers to $7,500 for the sudden cancellation. Subsequently, SUNY New Paltz President Donald P. Christian assembled the “Free Speech Task Force,” a group comprised of six professors who “volunteered to explore these issues further and recommend programming for this fall about free speech with the goal of engaging in a thoughtful discussion focused on the value of free speech in our society, where all voices can be heard.” On Thursday, Oct. 20, Kincaid and Steve Rendall, senior analyst at Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR), participated in the rescheduled debate. The contract for the event, obtained by The New Paltz Oracle via FOIL request, signed between Campus Auxiliary Services and Gotham Artists, the agency representing Rendall and Kincaid, totalled $7,500. Coupled with the cancelled debate from March and Dr. Jonathan Haidt’s lecture about trigger warnings and intellectual diversity on Sept. 28, SUNY New Paltz has spent $25,000 this year on three programs addressing free speech, two of which were held. The debate filled the Multi-Purpose Room of the Student Union Building (SUB), and began with introductory remarks from Christian, who sought to reaffirm the college’s commitment to free speech. Christian said that he believed free speech was “essential to society,” before quoting Hank Bounds, president of the University of Nebraska, who had recently made a statement regarding free speech: “College campuses, as much as any space, must be places where robust, even uncomfortable, debate is welcomed and encouraged.”

PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIPEDIA After much anticipation, the debate was attended by many interested students and faculty.

The debate was moderated by Glenn Geher, head of the faculty task force and chair of the psychology department, who thanked both the administration for rescheduling the event and Kincaid for his willingness to return to campus. The format allotted each speaker an 18-minute introduction, then the two were allowed to offer rebuttals before finishing with a Q & A session with the audience. Rendall spoke about his background as a left-wing media watchdog, including his various run-ins with Fox News pundits that led to his eventual blacklisting from the network. He commented on the presidential race by comparing the amount of coverage during the primaries that Donald Trump received on “ABC World News,” (81 minutes), to the small amount (20 seconds) that Bernie Sanders received. He attributed this to fact that most of the major media companies are owned by a handful of corporations, which he said created a conflict of interests in some instances. He also criticized Les Moonves, chairman of CBS Corporation, for saying that Trump’s controversial presence in the primaries, “may not be good for America, but it’s damn good for

CBS.” Kincaid prefaced his remarks by addressing The Oracle’s Oct. 6 article which misattributed two claims to him and resulted in a correction and apology. Kincaid said that objective journalism was not being taught by the digital media and journalism department and compared his treatment to that of Trump, accusing the media of a “smear campaign.” In reference to the initial debate’s cancellation, Kincaid called it “a disgrace and black mark for this university,” and referred to Haidt’s lecture as “a counselling session.” Kincaid added that he was only invited back by the college in order for the administration to “save face.” “You’re spending $20,000 a year to go here and what’re you getting for your money?” Kincaid asked the audience. “You’re in debt, you’re getting useless degrees and you have no jobs.” Speaking about the presidential race, Kincaid said that the Wikileaks scandal, which included email hacks of the Democratic National Committee and the Clinton campaign, has shown unprecedented levels of corruption in the American political process. He added

Thursday, October 27, 2016

that the mainstream media has shown preferable treatment to Hillary Clinton as compared to Sanders during the primaries and Trump in the general election. Kincaid criticized media corporations donating to the Clinton Foundation, which Rendall argued were not used as campaign funds. During the Q & A session, Kincaid was the target of all three questions, including one from Anne Roschelle, Ph.D., a sociology professor who had been quoted in The Oracle’s March 31 article covering the initial debate’s cancellation. She contextualized her question by mentioning that in a video on his YouTube channel, Kincaid had identified her as the professor advocating for banning him from campus, which resulted in her getting hate mail, “for the better part of a week.” “My question is, why should we give credence to your views?” she asked. Kincaid responded by saying that nobody ever contacted him about the initial reasoning behind the debate’s cancellation or the ensuing controversy. Additionally, he said that the faculty wanted to have it both ways, arguing that they started a controversy but did not want to take responsibility for their actions.

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NEWS BRIEFS WORLD

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Drug Ring in Kingston Shut Down

RUSSIAN ENVOY ATTACKS UN OFFICIAL OVER ALEPPO The U.N. humanitarian chief is accusing Russia and Syria of using bombing and starvation tactics in eastern Aleppo to push people to surrender or to death, triggering an unusual attack on a U.N. official from the Russian ambassador. The verbal fireworks exploded after Undersecretary-General Stephen O’Brien briefed the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday on what he called “the apocalyptic horror” in rebel-held eastern Aleppo. FRENCH AUTHORITIES DECLARE THE CALAIS MIGRANT CAMP EMPTY The grim camp known as “the jungle,” a symbol of Europe’s failure to come to grips with its crisis over asylum seekers, is no more. French authorities declared Wednesday they had cleared out the camp after most of its thousands of residents were driven away on buses - an evacuation accelerated because some of the frustrated, departing migrants set fire to parts of the burgeoning slum. CANADIANS NOT TRAVELLING AS TIME RUNNING OUT EU TRADE DEAL A Canadian delegation would not be heading off to Europe late Wednesday to sign a landmark free trade deal with the European Union after Belgium failed to make decisive headway to lift a crucial veto of one of its regions. The statement from a spokesman for Canada’s International trade minister late Wednesday likely means an embarrassing cancelation of a special summit on Thursday. ADOPTED AND BROUGHT TO US, SOUTH KOREAN MAN TO BE DEPORTED A South Korean man flown to the U.S. 37 years ago and adopted by an American couple at age 3 has been ordered deported back to a country that is completely alien to him. “It is heartbreaking news,” said Dae Joong (DJ) Yoon, executive director of the National Korean American Service & Education Consortium, who had been in contact with Adam Crapser. Crapser waived an appeal during the hearing Monday because he is desperate to get out of detention. Compiled from the AP Newswire

PHOTO COURTEST Y OF WIKIPEDIA Cocaine is a schedule II drug, as defined by the United States Controlled Substances Act.

By Rachael Purtell

Copy Editor | Purtellr1@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu

On Thursday, Oct. 13 federal officials announced that they had brought down a Kingston-based cocaine trafficking organization that imported drugs from California via New York City for sale on local streets. A total of 28 members of the alleged drug ring were apprehended in the earlymorning raids in Kingston and Poughkeepsie on Thursday. Police seized 20 illegal firearms, illegally diverted pills, five kilograms of cocaine, and smaller quantities of heroin, crack cocaine and marijuana. Later that day, a press conference was held in the Kingston armory to make the announcement. The United States Attorney for the Northern District of New York Richard S. Hartenian, United States Homeland Security, Ulster County Sherriff’s Office, Ulster County District Attorney Holley Carnright, state troopers and U.S. Marshals were present for the conference. Det./Sgt. Abe Markiewicz of the Ulster County Sheriff’s Office said that the case began in 2014 and, after a brief interruption, resumed in April 2015. Markiewicz said that he is proud of his agency’s involvement and thankful to other organizations that participated in the investigation. “There were a lot of people putting in a

lot of hours, a lot of sleepless nights, working on your days off, staying late on short notice, coming in early on short notice,” he said. “A lot of people really put a lot of energy into making this happen and it’s nice to see that the fruit of that was able to be realized.” Also heavily involved in the investigation was Ulster Regional Gang Enforcement Narcotics Team (URGENT), a task force of members from sheriff’s office and local police agencies within the county. Carnright credits URGENT with spearheading the initial investigation. “My office is one of the heads of that task force, so I am a member of that task force,” he said. “That group was really the one that initiated that investigation based on information they had from work they were doing.” The drug ring was based in Kingston and Poughkeepsie and members obtained the cocaine from a source in New York City who imported it from California. They used a variety of methods to move the drugs including stashing them in karaoke machines and other electronic devices. “This case reaches beyond the tri-county area, this case reaches beyond New York State, so in that regard it [the operation] is fairly sophisticated because involves multiple states and potentially internationally,”

Thursday, October 27, 2016

Markiewicz said. Historically speaking, the Hudson Valley is a popular area for both legitimate and illegitimate business for several factors including its proximity to New York City and Albany, the availability of the thruway and the availability of metro North on the other side of the river. Markiewicz said that there have been sweeps and similar cases in recent years in Ulster, Dutchess and Orange counties, so these cases are not unheard of, but are rare given the amount of time and resources necessary to devote. “I think what separates this case from other cases is that this is probably the largest that I can think of in recent history as far as what I would call leadership of these criminal enterprises,” Markiewicz said. “Of the people arrested in this case, I would describe less of the people as street level or intermediate level people.” Poughkeepsie residents Marcus Fisher, 39 and Romell Hearn, 27 headed the ring and the Kingston operation was run by Recardo Langston, 31. At the press conference, Hartenian mentioned that the group moved much more cocaine than what was seized in the raids and the estimates of the amount distributed will play a role in the federal proceedings against them.

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BRIEFS New UPD Program Encourages Open Communication NEWS NATIONAL WHEN HISPANIC TEENS VANISHED, DID NEW YORK POLICE DO ENOUGH? Hispanic teenagers began vanishing last winter in Brentwood, a working-class suburb 40 miles east of New York City.Miguel Garcia-Moran, 15, disappeared in February. Oscar Acosta, 19, was reported missing in May. Jose Pena-Hernandez, 18, vanished in June. If police noticed the pattern, they said nothing publicly until September, after two girls at Brentwood High School, ages 15 and 16, were beaten to death in what investigators suspect was an attack by members of the violent street gang MS-13. 2 STUDIES POINT TO LACK OF CAMPAIGN SUBSTANCE ON NEWSCASTS

PHOTO COURTESY OF NEWPALTZ.EDU Above: Photo of New Paltz UPD officers in front of the University Police Station.

By Meg Tohill

Staff Writer | Tohillm1@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu

Despite the rift that has grown between the police forces national and the public as seen in the media, SUNY New Paltz’s University Police Department (UPD) has developed a way to inspire positive connections between citizen and law enforcement: the Campus Observation Police (COP) reward program. Making room for open dialogue and lessening any disconnect that takes place between UPD and the general population, the program aims to establish a strong communicative relationship between the two and provide rewards for those who are observed performing good deeds. The program, coming from Officer Lilah Carlaw, will proceed as follows: community members on campus who are seen acting in good character may be stopped by the volunteering officers and be rewarded for their good natured behavior. The only thing they ask? Talk to them. Ask officers about their day, just make conversation— in a day and age where communication is majorly based off of technology. A simple “hey, how are you?” goes a long way, and being courteous might just lead to receiving a coupon to a local establishment. As of right now, the COP Rewards Pro-

gram is intended to remain implemented until the reward coupons have all been distributed, but Carlaw voiced her hopes that “it will continue in fall 2017.” While Carlaw admits that she hasn’t necessarily witnessed any negative interactions between students and UPD, she feels that “students question [their] presence and there is a general atmosphere that [they] are not necessary.” Carlaw explained that her idea was inspired by the mass negative image that has been painted in the media as of late. Whether it be expressed in social media, newspapers, magazines, TV shows, police officers everywhere are taking a hit and Carlaw thought this might be the perfect solution in order to show that a police officer’s first duty is to protect and serve. After seeing a few similar programs being put in place, Carlaw thought that SUNY New Paltz could certainly benefit from opening “positive communication between the police department and the community.” With her idea, Carlaw hit the ground running and began asking for help to make her idea possible. Due to the generous donations from Reno’s Pizza, New Paltz Bagel Cafe, Delish and Campus Auxiliary Services, Carlaw was granted the means necessary for putting the COP Reward Program in place.

Carlaw is not the only law enforcement officer in the area interested in establishing a friendly rapport amongst citizens and police. New Paltz Chief of Police Chief Joseph Snyder is also actively working towards creating harmony and looks forward to “seeing how this program works out with SUNY PD.” Budgetary issues have prevented such a program from materializing in town. Despite this, Snyder has made efforts to maintain a friendly face for town member in order to assure the public that regardless of what has been aired in the media, police officers are people too. Snyder’s attempts at doing just this are very similar in what Carlaw has planned for the COP Reward Program: the New Paltz Police Department is known for handing out stuffed animals to children in town who openly make dialogue with the officers as well as meeting with students and patrons at events like “Coffee with a Cop.” Snyder sees the COP Reward Program as essential to “continue looking for positive interactions with the community and visitors.” For more information regarding the program, Carlaw can be contacted at carlawl@newpaltz.edu, Chief Joseph Snyder at chief@newpaltzny.org and UPD Chief David Dugatkin at dugatkind@newpaltz. edu.

Thursday, October 27, 2016

Two studies of U.S. news coverage suggest that this is a presidential campaign with little substance - unless groping women, tax returns and email servers are your idea of major issues. ADT Research, which monitors content of the ABC, CBS and NBC evening newscasts, said Wednesday that with two weeks before Election Day, there has been less issues coverage than for any presidential campaign the company has monitored, going back through 1988. TENSE STANDOFF AT DAKOTA ACCESS PROTEST ENCAMPMENT The prospect of a police raid on an encampment protesting the Dakota Access pipeline faded as night fell Wednesday, with law enforcement making no immediate move after protesters rejected their request to withdraw from private land. Unmarked aircraft that had been monitoring protesters were withdrawn late in the day, and some activists who had been on hand for a possible confrontation headed back to a larger protest camp on federal land. OHIO JUDGE: JURY CAN HEAR ABOUT POT IN SLAIN MAN’S CAR The defense for a white former police officer charged with murder can tell jurors about marijuana found in the car driven by the unarmed black man he fatally shot after a traffic stop, an Ohio judge ruled Wednesday. Hamilton County Common Pleas. Compiled from the AP Newswire

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Misleading Election Posters Found on Campus By Kristen Warfield

Editor-in-Chief | Warfielk1@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu

While both presidential candidates have shown a steadfast social media presence ahead of election day, there are only two approved ways to get your vote casted—and logging onto Twitter and Facebook aren’t part of the process. This was the claim made by fraudulent posters found on the SUNY New Paltz campus Sunday morning, urging students and faculty to use a social media hashtag to cast their vote in the upcoming election instead of heading to the polls or voting by approved absentee ballot. The fliers were reported to campus police that morning by a student who found them vastly distributed throughout Lecture Center, a hightraffic academic building on the center of campus. The fliers, approved neither by the Clinton campaign nor by the college, encouraged voting for Hillary Clinton on Facebook or Twitter by posting the message “Hillary #PresidentialElection” between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. on election day, Nov. 8. While the messages advertised were false, the fliers were designed to mimic an official advertisement from the Clinton campaign, complete with the candidate’s slogan, logo and website. The posters did not mention Clinton’s opponent, Republican nominee Donald Trump.

Aligned with college policy, University Police were directed to remove the false fliers as no individual campaign posters are permitted in public spaces on campus. A campus-wide email was sent that evening, alerting students, faculty and staff of the falsities advertised of the posters. Vincent Abukosi, the third year political science major that reported the posters, said his main concern with the faulty campaign materials was that they would misinform many new voters on campus. “When I saw it on Sunday, I felt that I had to do something,” Abukosi said. “Most new voters and even some old voters may not fully understand the election laws in New York, so many may have believed those fliers. Voters being misled would have affected the results of the election.” Abukosi also noted that the falsely-advertised social media voting option could have been be a clear way to mislead students as first-time voters. “Most college students like social media, and this option would have attracted them as it would have been an easier option,” he said. Request for comment by University Police was not returned in time for publication. It is not clear if the department is pursuing the person responsible for distributing the fliers.

PHOTO COURTESY OF VINCENT ABUKOSKI Photo of one of the many misleading fliers posted around campus

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2016 Presidential Election and Debate Recap oracle.newpaltz.edu

PHOTO COURTEST Y OF WIKIPEDIA According to an ABC News Tracking poll of the general election, Clinton is up 51 percent to Trump’s 43 percent.

By Matt Apuzzo

Staff Writer | Apuzzom2@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu

Republican candidate Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton took center stage at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas for the presidential election’s last debate on Oct. 14. Moderated by Chris Wallace of Fox News, the event reached 71.6 million viewers, making it the third most-watched presidential debate in television history. Clamor and cross-talk littered the discussion, both from the candidates and from the moderator’s beleaguered but resolute attempts to rerail the subject. The audience, asked beforehand to remain quiet, could not be contained during the debate’s most forceful moments. Ostensibly a chance for Trump and Clinton to criticize, discuss and win voter support, the event seemed only to air their mutual contempt. Fittingly for the final debate, both candidates escalated their rhetoric while keeping true to their established style. Trump opened by condemning a recent critic, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, before attacking Clinton’s

gun views to strengthen the appearance of his own. Later responses often used the same tactic to appear more substantial, but failed to shed further light on either candidate’s platform. Clinton’s speech, while more traditionally political and less aggressive, often showed little patience for Wallace’s chosen topics. Her insistence on calling attention to issues far removed from those at hand did not go unnoticed. Following one tangent, which leaped from open borders to blaming her opponent for Russian espionage, Trump sarcastically called Clinton’s speech a “great pivot,” to the audience’s amusement. As the debate continued, Wallace switched to questions regarding recent scandals. He asked Trump about the women accusing him of sexual assault, which the candidate blamed on Clinton’s campaign. Trump attempted to interrupt Clinton during her chance to speak on the matter, but Wallace cut him off and allowed Clinton to finish. Trump began his next response by saying,

“Nobody has more respect for women than I do.” Wallace moved to Clinton next, and cited evidence that wealthy Clinton Foundation donors were prioritized in her administration while she was Secretary of State. Clinton refused to initially address the evidence, instead praising the foundation’s humanitarian work. When Wallace reminded Clinton of the question, she stuttered and denied the evidence existed. In a later segment, Trump audibly shocked the audience when he refused to say whether he would concede if he lost the election. “I’ll keep you in suspense,” he told Wallace, after the moderator pressed him and cited the American tradition of peaceful transition of power. Clinton immediately called his response “horrifying.” Wallace’s final questions, on foreign conflict and federal spending, created little beyond cross-talk and segues into personal attacks. During the latter topic, Clinton coldly alluded to her opponent’s tax evasion, to which Trump responded by calling her a

Thursday, October 27, 2016

“nasty woman.” The debate ended with each candidate giving an impromptu speech about why they should be elected. The remarks, though civil in comparison to what preceded them, were unoriginal. Wallace signed off with a short speech of his own. “While millions have already voted, Election Day, Nov. 8, is just 20 days away. One thing everyone here can agree on: we hope you will go vote. It is one of the honors and obligations of living in this great country. Thank you, and good night.” Trump and Clinton did not shake hands at any point before, during, or after the debate.

This 2016 Presidential Election and Debate Recap was written from the perepective and research done by the reporter. Commentary does not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the Oracle or the univserity.

Opinion

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Student Voice

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“Your opinion loud and clear!”

The fight against heroin addiction is not an easy fight. It needs soldiers across the aisle. Articles and books have been written and published about it, but it seems like the war against heroin use will not be won anytime soon, and this leaves us to wonder, what is stopping us from winning this war? The answer is within our reach. We neither need the counterinsurgency strategy employed by the U.S. forces in the war against al-Qaeda nor a deco-

rated World War II general that helped the U.S. be the victor, we need our society. Heroin users have been stereotyped as being victims by choice and for that reason, they have been blamed for their condition. Heroin addiction is a health problem that should be medically dealt with and not criminalized. Our society needs to accept this fact for heroin addiction to be effectively resolved. How do you expect heroin users to come out for

treatment if they know that they will be blamed for their condition or even arrested by the police? We will talk about heroin problem and even write articles, books and journals about it, but heroin problems will not go away until we as our society recognize that heroin use is a health issue and be more willing to help those using it become clean. Imagine how much money our government can save if users freely came out and got clean. Also, with no

users, there will be no heroin traffickers, won't that be good for the society? Let us help the victims get clean, it has to start with us as our society encouraging them to seek treatment and being more accommodating of them, not blaming them. Vincent Abukosi Third-year, Political Science SUNY New Paltz

Letters In June of 2015, the New York State Attorney General’s Office issued a consent decree that prohibited peer-to-peer ride sharing in all areas of the state outside of New York City, due to a lack of appropriate liability insurance coverage. Assembly Bill 8195-B, which I sponsor, would remove this roadblock and would allow upstate New York and Long Island access to ride sharing, while affording localities the ability to regulate these services to fit their unique transportation needs. Our proposal is simple. It provides for insurance coverage at all times during ride sharing activity, grants drivers access to workers’ compensation benefits and establishes comprehensive consumer protections. I introduced a measure, drafted largely by the transportation network company (ride sharing) industry with the clear understanding that it was being sponsored as a “study bill.” Such measures are intended to spur investigation, discussion, debate and inevitable alteration. The final legislation my colleagues and I advanced represented a consensus view of stakeholders from across a broad spectrum and no longer just the wish list of industry insiders. It provided for “$100,000 - $300,000” personal injury coverage for the period when the operator engaged the application. That amount rises to $1.5 million once the

driver is en route to pick up a passenger, period two in their parlance, and continues until the end of period three, when the last rider exits the vehicle. It also allowed for a workers’ compensation equivalent for drivers. Most significantly, it affirmatively preserved community control of these services, a tradition in the commercial personal transportation industry that predates even the automobile. From the time that the initial measure was first presented, the Assembly has taken an all-inclusive approach to discussions. In the fall of 2015, my colleagues and I on the Assembly Insurance, Local Governments and Transportation Committees and the Task Force on People with Disabilities held roundtable discussions on ride sharing. Included in these forums were the transportation network companies Uber and Lyft, the insurance industry, the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission, taxi, livery and bus operators, disability rights advocates, the Conference of Mayors and Municipal Officials, the New York State Restaurant Association, the Business Council of New York State, the State Aviation Management Association, the State Trial Lawyers Association, credit unions, consumer representatives and other stakeholders. Throughout the 2016 Legislative Session, my office and our Insurance Committee central policy staff met and communicated with the groups several times sepa-

rately and together. One might not know from press accounts and the rants of some industry representatives and their sympathizers, but this open and fair process led to the resulting legislation in the Assembly. It is noteworthy that despite the claims of the insurance industry and ride sharing companies that the $100,000/$300,000 and $1.5 million liability requirements are “too expensive,” even after repeated requests, neither group has presented the actuarial data to justify this position. The truth is, however, our research shows that for literally pennies more per ride coverage in these amounts will ensure that drivers, riders and all New York State residents can be adequately protected at the levels we propose. We welcome Uber, Lyft and other such entities to do business in our state and to join public transit, private taxis and limousine services to meet the transportation needs of our communities, but to be part of this mix they must demonstrate responsible corporate citizenship. Indeed, the fate of the Assembly bill and its companion measure failing to advance thus far is solely because of the lobbying efforts of Uber and Lyft – the very industry seeking authorization. Though they were aware that to insist on only their view would block agreement or even further negotiations, they worked overtime to keep the consensus legislation

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from getting to the floor. Thwarting reasonable legislation that would grant the means to operate, shows that some do not want to assume an appropriate level of responsibility, that consumers or operators do not come first in their minds and that they fail to grasp when it comes to legislation that other interests equally deserve a place at the table. My colleagues and I are committed to advancing this common-sense measure and remain willing to negotiate responsibly with all parties to bring ride-sharing to our constituencies. With the regular session behind us, had our legislation advanced, upstaters and Long Islanders could have been using these innovative services within weeks from now. In the meantime, while we wait for these folks who like to call themselves “disruptive” to get over their tantrum, New Yorkers are left standing at the curb. Kevin A. Cahill D-Kingston 103rd Assembly District The views expressed in letters and student voices are solely those of the person who wrote and submitted it. They do not necessarily reflect those of The New Paltz Oracle, its staff members, the campus and university or the Town or Village of New Paltz.

flower housewife Story on page 7B

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FEATURES

Passion For Printmaking STUDENT PRINTMAKERS SHARE AND SELL DESIGNS

By Amanda Copkov Features Editor | Copkova1@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu Being a member of SUNY New Paltz Print Club is like having a taste of running a small business. This student-run organization has been around for decades, selling and printing their own designs and artwork onto shirts and patches, while also making and selling their own pins. According to Print Club president Emily Glascott, many more students know about printmaking and the Print Club thanks to the weekly farmer’s market on campus each Thursday. In the art of printmaking, the artists put an emulsion on a silk screen and wait for it to dry. Then, they put a black image or design on a piece of transparency and place it under an exposure unit, which is typically a UV light. The image gets burned on the screens so the emulsion leaves the print of the black image. Drying time for each step, according to Glascott, is generally around 15 minutes. Printmakers not only edit and create drawn designs, but can edit and create digital designs on the computer as well. In order to raise awareness of printmaking and Print Club around the area, they have held public events in venues on and off campus, showcasing the artwork of club members and printmaking majors alike. Last spring semester, Print

Club held a show at the ARTBAR gallery in Kingston. Additionally, they have also held live printing events at Bacchus, where they displayed their artwork on the walls of the pool room and live-printed shirts with their very own designs for anyone who brought their own materials. Glascott delighted in the club’s public events because a large part of what Print Club is about is bringing the community together and getting people involved, she said. She wants the community to become a larger part of Print Club because the department itself is so tight-knit. “In our major studio, everyone’s on top of each other all the time,” she said. “It’s a friendly environment to be in, whereas some other art departments have studios that are a little bit secluded and you have your own space. It’s nice for some other [art forms], like painting, but for printmaking, you really need to share tools and equipment so it’s nice to have a sense of community. I think that’s probably the best part, and that’s what printmaking is all about.” When tabling at the farmer’s market, Print Club has the opportunity to talk and collaborate with other clubs on campus. As part of their “small business,” they have recently collaborated with and printed shirts for Students for Sustainable Agriculture (Sus-Ag), who

joined the Print Club in their studio and helped with the process firsthand. Print Club made the shirts for Sus-Ag’s Fall Fest this Friday, Oct. 28, and will continue creating new ones over the next few weeks for the Outing and Equestrian Clubs. Members of the club also create their own designs and print them onto shirts and patches to be sold at the farmer’s market. Anna Corso, a fourth-year printmaking major and member of Print Club since December of 2014, created a personal design to be sold at the farmer’s market this year. Her design of a rat wearing a baseball cap with the caption “Rat Boiz” has been so popular among those who peruse the farmer’s market that many have continued to ask her if the club will be printing more of this particular print. “We bring a chance for people to support local art and artists in a way that’s more do-it-yourself,” Corso said. “And it’s been an awesome feeling to be able to put my work out there in a way that’s more accessible to my own peers and not just academics.” Because Printing Club has a long history at SUNY New Paltz, current members continue to find old prints, drawings and designs from students who were around in the ‘80s and ‘90s. The students use these “vintage” prints on

shirts that they sell at the farmer’s market and sell them for under $5. Along with farmer’s market-tailored merch, Print Club creates and prints seasonal shirts, patches and even Valentine’s Day cards. For this fall and Halloween season, the printmakers have created quirky designs such as that with the caption “Totally Witchin’” over a witch’s hat. In the couple of years that Glascott has been a part of Print Club, she said that now is the most successful it’s been in years. The money that Print Club makes from their commissions and sales goes toward raising money to go to their annual printmaking conference, which is hosted in a different city each year. This year, Print Club is travelling to Atlanta, Georgia for the Southern Graphics Council International conference. In years past, Print Club has traveled to Portland, Oregon and Knoxville, Tennessee. Glascott said that artists from all over the country and the world meet up at this conference, and it serves the students as a great source for networking with other artists and learning new techniques. “I’m really passionate about Print Club because I’ve seen it go through so many stages,” she said. “[The recent success] drives my motivation to keep making it better.”

PHOTOS BY JEANNETTE LAPOINTE The fine and performing arts department is hosting an open studio in the Fine Arts Building this Friday, Oct. 28, displaying students’ current work, including those in printmaking.

Thursday, October 27, 2016

The New Paltz Oracle

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A Look Into the Universe

COLUMBIA ASTROBIOLOGIST LOOKS FOR LIFE AMONG THE STARS By Jack O’Brien Managing Editor | Obrienj2@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu

If there’s a simple way to understand astrobiology, it’s by asking two questions: are we alone in the universe and where do we come from? On Tuesday, Oct. 25, Caleb Scharf, Ph.D., director of the Columbia Astrobiology Center at Columbia University, delivered a lecture entitled, “Astrobiology: The Science of Life in The Universe.” This was the second lecture of the academic year for the SUNY New Paltz Harrington STEM Lecture Series. Scharf broke down his presentation by likely candidates for life in the universe, including Mars, icy moons, exoplanets and other bodies. He said that while humanity’s primary fascination has been with the Red Planet, moons in the outer regions of the solar system may hold the key to understanding the inception of life. “We could be the first example of life in universe, even with thousands of other forms of life,” Scharf said. “But if you could find one independent example of abiogenesis, it would change the results dramatically.” In analyzing NASA’s explorations of Mars and Enceladus and Titan, moons revolving around Saturn and Jupiter, respectively, Scharf argued that the life present there might not fit with the public’s perception of life in space. Considering the case of Enceladus, which he referred to as a 300-mile “puzzle,” he cited information provided by the Cassini spacecraft mission, which has orbited Saturn since 2004. He pointed to

potential evidence of Enceladus having an interior global ocean, which scientists believe exists since the moon has an unusual orbit due to surface geysers that are visible in photographs. “We have evidence that suggests there is 15 times the volume of Earth’s oceans in these outer solar system icy bodies,” Scharf said. “However, there aren’t any plans to investigate them further, which has disappointed some in the community.” While addressing exoplanets, Scharf applauded the Kepler spacecraft mission as one of NASA’s best projects. According to data from the mission in 2015, Kepler has identiﬁed over 3,500 planets around other stars. This has al-

lowed for scientists to consider planetary candidates based on their measurements, size and orbital period. The relation between atmospheric and surface conditions on planets has intrigued scientists so much that they have begun to compute what conditions are necessary for life to exist. Scharf has been actively involved with the Goddard Institute for Space Studies, which is responsible for the atmosphere-ocean climate model named Rocke3d. The program, which relies on complicated code to calibrate its models, has dispelled previous expectations for life on planets. These include whether or not size or distance from the Sun can play decisive roles in the existence of life.

“We have to be careful about interpreting data from exoplanets. Climate is a difﬁcult thing to measure,” Scharf said. He concluded his talk by explaining the concepts of the ‘Great Filter’ and the Fermi paradox, which offers a possible explanation for why we haven’t found life in the universe. He said that ﬁnding life on Mars could be bad because maybe we haven’t gone through the Great Filter, which theorizes that something always goes wrong and life never gets past a certain point. In accepting this, humans essentially admit that life is not everlasting and that an event in the future will bring an end to life as it’s currently known.

PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIPEDIA Mars, like Earth, has polar ice caps and clouds in its atmosphere, seasonal weather patterns, volcanoes, canyons and other recognizable features, according to NASA.

Do you want to write for The New Paltz Oracle? Come to our story meetings on Sunday nights at 7:45 p.m. in SUB 417! Thursday, October 27, 2016

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SK E D Y COP KOFF: COO

Cereal-Crusted Chicken Thighs! By Erica Ascher

Aschere1@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu

One of the members of The Oracle shares their culinary chops with you. Bon appetit!

As a poor college student, I like inexpensive meals and chicken. My mom and I came up with this breaded chicken recipe that tastes delicious! Ingredients:

One package of chicken thighs One egg One cup of Corn Flakes cereal One Tbsp. of milk or water One Tbsp. salt (or to taste) 1/2 Tbsp. pepper (or to taste) Two Tbsp. paprika (or to taste) Two bowls Aluminum foil Sheet pan

Step One: Preheat the oven to 350oF.

Step Two: Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil. Step Three: Mix Corn Flakes, salt, pepper and paprika in a plastic bag. Crush them up into tiny breadcrumbs.

Step Four: Clean off chicken and pat them dry with a paper towel.

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The New Paltz Oracle

Green Thumbs Up

FIRST LADY PRAISES HIGH SCHOOL GARDEN By Briana Bonﬁglio Copy Editor | Bonﬁglb1@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu First Lady Michelle Obama praised the New Paltz High School’s Courtyard Gardens, the center of the school’s outdoor learning run by Cathy Law, an environmental science teacher at the high school. “I was so honored and certainly shocked that she had honored the garden,” Law said. “I felt so proud because she is someone I really look up to and have respect for.” Tom Dolan, New Paltz resident and proactive supporter of the gardens, brought it to the attention of the White House and delivered Michelle Obama’s letter in September. In the letter, the First Lady commended Law’s work and mission, which is to incorporate nature in learning, promote healthy eating and bring the faculty, staff and students closer together in the great outdoors. Law began the garden in 2007 and adopted it as part of the environmental club. What used to be a space full of bark and paving stone is now “jam packed with plants, trees and shrubs,” she said, excitedly noting that “the mess of color is very beautiful.” The 140 foot by 80 foot courtyard has 15 themed gardens, including medicinal, geol-

ogy, Zen, scented and culinary gardens that all lend themselves to “a whole variety of different learning adventures.” The garden holds opportunity for an entire wealth of knowledge to students, especially in Law’s favorite section: the medicinal garden. According to Law, students can’t believe it when they learn the plants they grow can be used to treat common colds and tension headaches. She also explained that the gardens teach students to identify a culinary plant, harvest it and cook with its spices. “It’s important to have this garden to get kids outside learning and eating healthily,” Law said. Along with the environmental club’s involvement in the gardens, Law said the space is used as an “extension of the classroom” in her biology, earth science and AP environmental science courses. Here, she is able to teach about rocks, insects, ﬂoriculture and even art, she said. Law believes that learning in an outdoor environment causes higher retention and higher test scores. “They are more charged by the process of learning because they are doing the real thing,” she said. “As human species we are meant to be outside. There’s a comfort zone sur-

Step Five: Take one of the bowls, crack the egg and add in milk or water. Mix together well. Take the other bowl and pour in the breadcrumbs mixture. Step Six: Coat the chicken thighs in the egg mixture, then in the breadcrumbs and place them on the sheet pan. Place any leftover breadcrumbs all over the pan.

Step Seven: Bake in the oven for 45 minutes to one hour, or until chicken is cooked through and breadcrumbs are crispy. Enjoy! Thursday, October 27, 2016

PHOTO COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS Michelle Obama breaks ground on the White House Kitchen Garden.

rounded by plants and nature that we don’t get surrounded by electric panels and lighting ﬁxtures.” Additionally the garden serves as a center for school events and activities such as snacks and tea in the courtyard, music in the courtyard, chalk drawing, making ﬂower arrangements, meet and greets and pot-luck breakfasts. Law encourages SUNY New Paltz students to contact her if they have any interest in working with her and the high school students in the gardens. “I’m always thinking of ways to get kids out there learning and try to initiate even more activities in the garden,” she said.

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Scaring and Staring

Humans BURLESQUE CLUB PERFORMS “TRICK OR TEASE” of New Paltz

By Erica Ascher Copy Editor | Aschere1@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu In the world of burlesque performance, one can never have too much glitter on their nipples. Alpha Psi Ecdysia (A.P.E.), or the Burlesque Club, is a neo-burlesque group dedicated to promoting body positivity and being comfortable in one’s own skin. Their show for this semester was Halloween themed titled “Trick or Tease” in Parker Theater on Thursday, Oct. 20 and Friday, Oct. 21. Lucinda Sans founded the club in 2008. According to their Facebook page, they are the only known undergraduate burlesque troupe in the Hudson Valley. “We like to say we were the first state-funded strippers,” troupe leader Finley Hartley said. Hartley, a fourth-year math major, has been part of A.P.E. since their freshman year. They described their personas “Polished Pearl” as Pearl from “The Scarlet Letter” all grown up, serious and sexy, and “Seymoar Buttocks III” as a college nerd. “I’m transgender and the female persona was my first persona and I was like, ‘I’m just going to put in all of the female that I have into that persona’ and then I got rid of it,” Hartley said. “Now I just have a masculine persona that’s still a nerd.” When members first join the group they are referred to as a kitten – walking and dancing through the audience in lingerie. They can also be used in other members’ performances and create their own persona. Members start out as kittens to help build up confidence to perform almost nude in front of an audience. “We help the new members come up with their persona by telling them to pick a flower and a cheese,” Hartley said. “They pick it up for the first show and usually change it afterwards.” After the first semester as a kitten, members can play a small part of someone else’s act or perform their own. A.P.E. calls this a “deboobie,” a play on the word début. A.P.E. rehearses, practices and hosts workshops in the dance studio. The senior leaders hold workshops,

such as how to make pasties and take off gloves and stockings. Erin Perullo, a third-year geography major, joined A.P.E. because of her sister, Christine, and because she loves to dance. Perullo learned that the club was very accepting and didn’t have her do anything that made her uncomfortable. For her “deboobie,” she chose to do something that makes her and others uncomfortable. Her act, titled “Institution,” stemmed from her struggle with scoliosis and used improvisation, screaming and creepy music. “My piece stemmed from my frustration of my scoliosis to everything that has caused me to go crazy: school, family, social life and so many other responsibilities that put pressure on me,” Perullo said. “All of these things have increased my anxiety and have caused waves of sadness to overcome me that I battle to rise above to keep breathing.” Perullo chose to wear skin-colored

clothes to avoid distraction during her performance. Her sister gave her the idea to incorporate her back brace as an extra weird factor. One of her sisters, who underwent spinal surgery, was used as a prop and sat off to the side with her back exposed to show the scar. “I played with the audience by making eye contact, getting close to them and breathing heavily to make them feel my frustrations,” Perullo said. “I felt like a caged animal conﬁned by the border of the stage, like my thoughts are contained in my brain.” Perullo’s act was an example of how the Burlesque Club likes to give their members the freedom to express themselves in different ways. “Since it was Halloween themed and I like contorting my body in interesting manners, I saw this as a fantastic way to release my inner self,” Perullo said. “My piece developed into something much more meaningful to me.”

Photo & Captioning by Briana Bonﬁglio Bonﬁglb1@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu

PHOTO BY BRIANA BONFIGLIO

“For the longest time I thought I would go into criminal justice, but I realized I was kidding myself. Reading and writing were the only things I really took an interest in. I didn’t like math or science or anything like that. I’m a senior majoring in English with a minor in creative writing. My overall goal is to be a short fiction writer. My parents supported me but there was definitely some hesitation, especially from my father. I had to disguise it as, ‘Oh, I’m gonna be a teacher’ because that’s the practical thing, but I knew early on I didn’t want to be a teacher. So now the pressure is mounting from them as it gets closer to graduation. You spend all this money, you gotta do something with this. Right now, I’m mostly figuring out what I’m going to do next while simultaneously trying not to catch senioritis. I have a PHOTO BY DANIELLE PASTORE Cassandra D’Accordo, under her persona “Peachy Keen,” undresses during her duo “de-boobie” performance entitled, “Love Died In the Fifties.”

Thursday, October 27, 2016

yearning to move on even though I’m not even entirely sure what that’s going to be. It’s scary.”

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Features

The New Paltz Oracle

Melodies For Maya

LOCAL ARTISTS AND STUDENTS COME TOGETHER FOR A CAUSE By Amanda Copkov Features Editor | Copkova1@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu Natalie Merchant and other acclaimed Hudson Valley artists and musicians sang beside students in the memory of the late Maya Gold and her eponymous foundation. Last October, after 15-year-old New Paltz High School student Maya Gold took her own life, her family created the Maya Gold Foundation. According to the foundation’s website, their mission is to “empower youth to access their inner wisdom and realize their dreams.” Their two main goals focus on supporting

existing

programs

and

developing new ones for teens in New Paltz and surrounding areas that will enhance emotional awareness and build mutual support and caring among teens and adults. In addition, they promote strengthening

inner

resilience

and

teaching mindfulness practice, as well

“[Maya’s] vision was to graduate

which focus around raising awareness

who was deeply affected by Maya’s death

high school early and volunteer at an

about suicide along with the pressures and

as someone very close to the family, felt

orphanage in Nepal,” said Mathew

issues that teens feel while growing up.

that this loss rang a little too true with

Swerdloff, Maya’s father and president

“Everything we do spreads the word

how she felt when she was in high school,

of the Maya Gold Foundation. “She was

and gets people talking and thinking,”

trying to balance social, academic and

really moved by the books she read and

Swerdloff said. “Adolescence is a really

familial pressures all at once.

the movies she saw about that part of the

tough time of life, as we all know as

“I think that even if they didn’t know

world, so we’re trying to carry out her

people who have already been through it,

Maya, a lot of people identify strongly

vision.”

and sometimes young people make bad

with the foundation because they have

choices because they don’t realize that it’s

children that are Maya’s age and they

a phase, that it’s going to pass.”

really want to teach their teens that there

With that in mind, Merchant and other local musicians such as Amy Helm, Daniel Littleton, Simi Stone,

Angela Zizzamia, a resident of

is another option,” she said. “You never

Elizabeth Mitchell and several others

Woodstock and psychologist at Health

really know what’s going on in someone’s

sang and played songs of joy, friendship

Alliance Hospital in Kingston, attended

life and it’s so important to be kind. In

and nostalgia alongside New Paltz High

the beneﬁt concert not only because she is

my life, being kind to people has become

School students Andersen Carroll, Caleb

a fan of all the artists who performed, but

so much more important than it already

Sheedy, Carmen Chu, Christina Rust and

because she feels very close to the spirit

was, and to just learn how to be there for

Klaire Branche at Studley Theater on

of the foundation as well.

people.”

Saturday, Oct. 22 as part of a Maya Gold

“I admire that the foundation gives

The Maya Gold Foundation has two

Foundation beneﬁt concert. Members

a voice and a [means of] expression to

more upcoming events on Thursday, Oct.

of the foundation’s teen advisory board,

the loss of their daughter, a memory of

27 at 7 p.m. in the Coykendall Science

Amelia Verderosa, Emilie Aebi and

their daughter, but also a keener sense

Building, entitled, “Emotions Matter:

Lianna Maley, also recited poetry.

of awareness so that we can help one

Creating More Compassionate Schools

another,” Zizzamia said.

and Communities Through Emotional

as partnering with carefully vetted non-

Swerdloff said that this weekend’s

governmental organizations (NGOs) in

beneﬁt concert raised over $25,000, with

Sarah Dukler, a New Paltz native and

Intelligence,” along with “You Don’t

Nepal to provide essentials, such as food,

people from all over the community, as

former babysitter of Maya and her older

Know Me Until You Know Me,” a

medicine and education, to children in

well as family and friends, coming out

brother Adin, said that the beneﬁt concert

one-man performance by Dr. Mykee

need and to provide opportunities for

to support the foundation’s cause. He

allowed members of the community to be

Fowlin on Thursday, Nov. 17 at 7 p.m.

cross-cultural exchanges between youth

added that all the money raised will fund

exposed to the foundation’s goals and to

at the Rosendale Theater Collective in

in New Paltz and Nepal.

the foundation’s educational programs,

bring awareness to teen suicide. Dukler,

Rosendale.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE MAYA GOLD FOUNDATION The Maya Gold foundation established the THRIVE grant, and has funded local programs such as Art with Heart: Expression with a Message at Roost Studios, and six others.

Natalie Merchant’s is known for her extremely emotional lyrics, which focus around women’s rights, childhood and innocence.

Thursday, October 27, 2016

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Flower Housewife’s June Amelia

THE ORACLE SITS DOWN WITH LOCAL INDIE ROCK TALENT By Sam Manzella

A&E Editor | Manzells1@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu

June Amelia meets me at Cafeteria Coffee House on a chilly Thursday evening. True to her stage name, flower housewife, the petite, 23-yearold musician and singer-songwriter sports a floral patterned dress, sheer tights and an enamel daisy charm choker. Amelia is shy and soft-spoken; in the crowded, noisy coffeehouse, her voice is barely loud enough for me to make out. However, Amelia assures me once we order some beverages, she isn’t afraid to delve deep. Her openness is her trademark, an essential part of both her brand as musician and her character as a person. “You’ve seen my Twitter, so you probably already know,” she says, sipping on a caramel iced coffee, “but I’m an oversharer.” The Long Island-born indie rock artist resides in New Paltz, New York, but music — Amelia’s selfprofessed “one true love” — has taken her throughout the country. As the one-woman act flower housewife, Amelia writes her own lyrics and music and performs at live shows with her guitar. In March 2016, Amelia released her most recent contribution to the indie music scene, “the false spring queen,” on her Bandcamp page, where she uploads her demos and albums. Amelia also plays bass for Long Neck, a four-person indie rock and pop-punk group who recently wrapped up an informal 2016 tour throughout the Northeast. Recently, she performed with Long Neck at different venues throughout the tri-state area, including SUNY Purchase in Westchester County. The ambitious singer-songwriter even has her own record label, Sundress Records, in the works.

Ever the multi-instrumental talent, Amelia can play guitar, bass, banjo, ukulele and piano. Music has been a part of her life since the age of 10 or 11, she says, when she first signed up for drum lessons. She quickly discovered that drums weren’t for her, only to point to a guitar on the wall of a music shop in her hometown and ask “to learn that instead.” She ended up learning guitar with the help of a neighbor — and, eventually, on her own. Her musical career began to blossom after she played at open mic nights at different bars and coffee shops in New Paltz. “I played at Snugs’ open mic nights on Thursdays a lot,” she says, grinning at the memory. Amelia loves punk rock bands like Against Me! and Bright Eyes, but the singer-songwriter takes much of her lyrical inspiration from “confessional poetry.” Many of her songs reference her process of coming to terms with her gender identity and sexuality. Things aren’t easy for queer trans women, something Amelia knows well. Her hormone replacement therapy has tightened her purse strings, putting a halt to projects like Sundress Records. Even so, a determined Amelia managed to scrape together a free digital compilation album under her in-the-works record label this past September, available via Sundress Records’ Twitter account. Amelia’s poetic, deeply personal lyrical style is “therapeutic” for the artist, simultaneously an outlet to cope with change and hardships as well as a way to connect with other people who might be experiencing similar things. In fact, that’s what Amelia loves about making and performing music: forging connections. “It’s that moment when someone finally gets it,” she says. “That’s what I love the most.”

PHOTO BY JEANNETTE LAPOINTE

The singer-songwriter grew up loving writing and poetry, but it isn’t quite the same as making music, she says. After all, books and poetry anthologies can intimidate even the most voracious of readers, but “anyone has three minutes for a song.” A refreshingly raw take on indie music, Amelia’s “the false spring queen” is a collection of down-tempo, highly emotional numbers detailing what the artist calls “an inherently flawed narrative of girlhood.” Tracks like “hampton pizzeria” and “faulkner novels” highlight the singer-songwriter’s musical chops; Amelia deftly brings her listeners right smack in the middle of different scenes with richly-detailed lyrics and her ragged, drawn-out croon. The album is a queer coming-of-age tale, something that rings painfully true to anyone who has been hurt or suffered while living their most authentic life. It’s a record best listened to “with headphones or on your shitty car speakers at a late night,” Amelia

Thursday, October 27, 2016

writes on her website. Right now, Amelia is sitting on some new releases that “aren’t quite done yet.” Some of her favorite works-in-progress are “self-med,” a track that explores Amelia’s own “dabbling in self-medicating,” and “mall goth,” a number she describes best. “It’s a banger,” Amelia says with a grin. “I’ll say that much.” Amelia and I spend much of our short time together in a comfortable, shared silence, admiring the smoothvoiced singer crooning and strumming chords on his guitar on the coffee house’s makeshift stage. During one such moment of quiet, Amelia’s phone lights up with a notification: it’s a Tinder message, she says, unlocking her phone to take a look. She reads her potential suitor’s message, smiles gingerly and giggles. “Oh no,” I whisper. “Bad?” “No,” she replies, still smiling. “It’s some girl from Potsdam. She says I look badass with my guitar.”

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Arts & Entertainment

The New Paltz Oracle

My Top 10: Notable Intersections in New Paltz By Jack O’Brien

Managing Editor | Obrienj2@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu

First off, let me say how much I love New Paltz. I’ve spent four transformational years here, I’ve met hundreds of new people and I’ve grown exponentially from my first day on campus. It’s a wonderful place, filled with unique restaurants and cafes and my beloved P & G’s. Additionally, the college is a great public institution for learning and academic development and I wouldn’t change my choice even if I could. That being said, I hate driving in New Paltz more than both of my heart surgeries. The congestion is unusual for such a small town with a seemingly never-ending line of drivers that always jam-pack Main St. to a standstill. Over the years, I have learned to not share my shortcuts with others because they’ll get overrun with traffic. So for this week, I decided to utilize my top 10 list in my ongoing crusade to rid New Paltz of traffic once and for all. 1. North Front St. and North Chestnut St. This stop has a very reliable light and it has access to two Mexican restaurants, remaining the easiest intersection around. That’s true whether you’re going to Huguenot St. or Main St. and the lower part of the village. Only thing that could make it better is if North Front St. was a two-way street. 2. Tricor Ave. and Mohonk Ave. It’s a small intersection right by van den Berg Hall, and it’s pretty steep coming down from Tricor. There are a few wannabe Speed Racers here or there that make it an annoying spot, but it’s one of the more tolerable crossings. 3. Cherry Hill Road and Main St. Going to the Tops Plaza is generally hassle-free but more times than not, it is impossible to cross. I often find myself wondering why getting groceries is this hard, or why my occasional trip to Dunkin’ Donuts or Pasquales has to take so long. 4. South Manheim Blvd. and Main St. Surrounding the parking lot that houses such iconic businesses like Convenient Food Mart, Dedrick’s and La Bella, it is the ultimate hit-or-miss location and can be great or terrible depend-

ing on the day or the direction you are going. Eight out of 10 cats say bet on it being terrible. 5. Plattekill Ave. and Hasbrouck Ave. Its weird, almost three-way design leading to Village Hall is typically very difficult for pedestrians, most of whom are students. It’s also hampered by too many abrupt stops and casual rolling stops, a.k.a California rolls, that lead to tickets from the cops patiently waiting nearby. 6. Southside Ave. and South Chestnut St. You could pay me to walk across the street here and I wouldn’t. Not a chance in hell. Too high of a risk of getting hit by a car as a pedestrian or getting t-boned or rear-ended while driving or stopping for pedestrians. People see that hill and immediately feel like Jimmie Johnson. 7. South Oakwood Terrace and Main St. Don’t get me wrong, I love Russo’s and brave this intersection for a great many sandwiches and cheap gas, but I hate that corner. There’s never enough parking and the traffic flow on Main St. is an unstoppable force of nature. Good luck turning left onto Main St. from that location. 8. Pencil Hill Road and Plains Road and Water St. and Mohonk Ave. I don’t even try with this warped four-way design, one that is equally dangerous for cars and pedestrians, since the roads are too tight and made even riskier with its many blind turns. Especially avoid at night or after dusk. 9. Plattekill Ave. and Main St. Trying to cross to North Front St. or P & G’s or turning either way onto Main St. is damn near impossible. Add in the numerous pedestrians, many more on the weekends, moving up and down town and you can be sitting there awkwardly for an extended period of time. 10. South Chestnut St. and Main St. This is the worst intersection in New Paltz. I cannot tell you how many times I have waited for an endless 20 minutes, slowly creeping my car up past Bacchus just so I can stare at the nowvacant Neko Sushi building. That light is why I have trust issues.

Thursday, October 27, 2016

PHOTO FROM PEXELS.COM

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Arts & Entertainment

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Escaping the Status Quo

MODERN ART EXPERT SPEAKS AT ART HISTORY ASSOCIATION EVENT By Jess Napp

Copy Editor | Nappj1@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu

Like any form of history, art history tends to focus on Western parts of the world. It is only when we choose to go beyond this status quo that we expand our consciousness of the art world. On Thursday, Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. in Lecture Center room 104, the Art History Association (AHA) hosted their fall speaker, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Asia Society Dr. Michelle Yun. Yun presented a talk entitled “Zao WouKi and the Avant-Garde” on the Chinese-French postwar modernist whoM the Asia Society is currently displaying a retrospective on. “There were a lot of contributions to the development of modernism from non-Western artists and cultures,” Yun said. According to co-president of AHA and second-year art history major Elizabeth Dragan, the organization exhibits a lecture each semester. Yun’s address coincided with the Art History Department’s yearlong celebration of Dr. Hugo Munsterberg, the founder of the department. Munsterberg found the study of Asian and African art to be a necessary part of the program. Dragan said that once they decided on this concept of dedicating the fall event to Asian art and the spring to African they then researched local figures. The association obtained a group of around five different professionals, but ultimately decided on Yun and her knowledge of Zao. “We found Michelle’s work to be the most interesting, and pursuing what our club members want to learn more about is one of our goals,” Dragan said. The evening commenced with introductions and a brief reception

PHOTO BY FLICKR USER THIERRY EHRMANN

A portrait of Zao painted by an anonymous street artist.

beforehand where guests got acclimated and perused a table laden with a fruit and pastry dessert spread. Yun then took to the podium and mentioned that the talk would focus on Zao’s practice, showing pieces along the way. “Zao was one of the first international superstars of the modern era,” Yun proclaimed. She proceeded to take us through the Chinese-French painter’s career and his relationship to the AvantGarde. Born in Beijing in 1920, Zao grew up in a wealthy family that exposed him to a worldly environment. He learned English early on and began his established artistic training at 15. From this young age he possessed a duality of reverence

for the past and Western pursuits. In 1948, Zao expatriated to Paris, but wouldn’t return to the mainland of China until 1983. His influences included Chagall, Matisse, Picasso and Cezanne. Yet, in the late ‘40s he began playing with Asian aesthetics. “If the influence of Paris in my artistic formation is undeniable, I must also say that I have gradually rediscovered China, along with my growing confidence,” Zao once said. According to the Asia Society’s website throughout Zao’s lengthy career he dabbled with oil on canvas, ink on paper, lithography, engraving and watercolor. Third-year student and AHA treasurer Rebecca DuBois attended the event and viewed it as a refresh-

Thursday, October 27, 2016

ing break from the Western artists she is usually bombarded with. A double major in art history and Spanish, DuBois is only required to enlist in one non-European art course. She is interested in learning more about other cultures’ impact on art. “Living in a Western society, it’s mostly focused in Western art,” she said. The Asia Society’s exhibit “No Limits: Zao Wou-Ki” will last until Jan. 8. A symposium considering Zao and other diasporic East Asian artists’ influences on 20th century art is set for Nov. 18 from 2:30 until 6 p.m. It is the closing event of Asia Contemporary Art Week in their Manhattan location.

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Arts & Entertainment

The New Paltz Oracle

Not So Gaga for Gaga

POP STAR’S LATEST RELEASE STRAYS FROM HER ORIGINAL SOUND By Jackson Shrout

Copy Editor | Shroutj1@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu

Lady Gaga isn’t as peculiar as she’d have you believe. Granted, being the first celebrity, to my knowledge, to wear a dress that doubles as a literal hovering drone is more than odd, and that meat dress she wore in 2010 was the biggest waste of beef since Trump Steaks, but as an actual artist, there’s little she does in her music that could be described as adventurous. Lady Gaga carved out her sizable slice of the pop culture pie purely with the power of showmanship, but “Joanne” displays a stripped-down aesthetic for the New York singer, that once razor-sharp performance sensibility noticeably duller. Like “Cheek to Cheek,” her banal duet album with Tony Bennett,

“Joanne” departs from the traditional dance pop soundscape of “The Fame” and “Born This Way,” wearing proudly its soft rock influence. In some cases, this influence lends itself to moments of real inspiration, like the larger-than-life stadium anthem “Diamond Heart,” which opens the album, or the basic but lovely acoustic track “Joanne.” At its best, the soft rock template allows Gaga to show off her impressive vocal range and a level of grit less present in past projects of hers. “Million Reasons,” an acoustic heartbreak ballad and one of the album’s singles, is the perfect example of this. The lyricism itself leaves something to be desired, with grade school rhymes like “You’re giving me a million reasons to let you go / You’re giving me a million reasons to quit the

show,” but the song banks everything on the raw humanity of Gaga’s voice, and it wins that gamble. At its worst, “Joanne” sounds like a cheap attempt to pander to whatever crowd will listen. The starry, glistening synth comprising the backdrop of lead single “Perfect Illusion” is pretty, but it sounds just too much like a slightly-improved variation of the “Just Dance” formula to stand out in any meaningful way, and “Dancin’ in Circles” is just “Alejandro” with an acoustic soft rock sheen. “Hey Girl” is more or less a royalty-free “Bennie and the Jets” despite some great guest vocals from the incomparable Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine. “A-YO” and “John Wayne,” meanwhile, host strands of obnoxious arena country DNA to the extent that they sound

like little more than the soundtrack of a NASCAR promo. Gaga tries to end the album on a somber note with “Angel Down,” but the cloying instrumental finishes off Joanne more plebeian than powerhouse. Lady Gaga has never been an inventive songwriter, but in the past she could get by on a sense of flair. Gone off “Joanne” is that flair, and its absence makes all of the little cracks and wrinkles in Gaga’s abilities all the more apparent. What we’re left with is an album that lacks any of the club appeal of Gaga’s earlier hits and isn’t good enough as a work of soft rock to make up for it. In the chorus of “Million Reasons,” Gaga sings, “I’ve got a hundred million reasons to walk away / But baby I just need one good one to stay.” Me too, Lady Gaga. Me too.

Leonard Cohen “Wants It Darker”

MUSICIAN SEES THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL By Jackson Shrout

Copy Editor | Shroutj1@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu

Leonard Cohen was born weary. It would be inaccurate to claim that “You Want It Darker,” Cohen’s fourteenth studio album, is somehow breaking new ground in this regard. His voice is as raspy and haunting as ever, and his songwriting embodies the same nuanced humanity that has made him such a renowned poet in his 50 plus years of musicianship. But unlike past albums, “You Want It Darker” possesses a bleak sense of finality, that of a man firmly at stage in his life at which to look forward is to peer beyond death. Cohen, who told The New Yorker earlier this month that he’s “ready to die,” may not have another album in him. Various health ailments have made touring difficult for the 82-year-old musician, but age and sickness have not dulled his poetic mind, and if “You Want

It Darker” truly is his swan song, he will have cemented his legacy with one of his finest pieces of art. “Hineni, hineni / I’m ready, my Lord” repeats throughout the title track, Cohen declaring in Hebrew his resignation to his mortality (“hineni” directly translates to “Here I am”). Cohen frequently uses his music to discuss his relationship with God, but never before has he been so close to his lifetime companion. “You Want It Darker” frames death as the fulfillment of divine command, and Cohen accepts his marching orders. Cohen’s submission goes beyond just mortality, however. When Cohen sings “I’ve seen you change the water into wine / I’ve seen you change it back to water, too” on “Treaty,” it is in service of the spiritual lens through which he views his own relationships. For Cohen, love given and received amounts to

a tremendously religious experience. His iconic “Hallelujah” — to which “Treaty” almost feels like a follow-up — cloaks itself in consonant Abrahamic metaphor, and similarly laments the degradation of the relationship in question. The instrumentals on “You Want It Darker” supplement the album’s theme of quiet surrender, with the same toneddown approach present on 2012’s “Old Ideas” and 2014’s “Popular Problems.” Much like those two albums, “You Want It Darker” can stumble into the pitfalls of sounding cheap and synthetic, but those moments here are a lot fewer and farther between than in the past, and generally restricted to percussion this time around. Even taking some of the weaker instrumental elements into consideration, “You Want It Darker” remains an effectively moody and gloomy listen, with haunting violins and somber pianos elevating Cohen’s gruff and tired whispers.

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Few artists with as long and illustrious a career as Leonard Cohen’s can maintain consistent quality so late into their careers, but Cohen has never missed a beat. He continues to mine his sorrows with a wit and delicacy that have kept his material from ever becoming too ingratiating. When Cohen mourns, his grief is never utilized in the service of emotional exploitation. In some ways, “You Want It Darker” may be his most heartbreaking project to date. One can’t help but reflect back to early January, when David Bowie’s “Blackstar” revealed itself to be Bowie’s departing letter following his death two days after the album’s release. It pains me to think that Leonard Cohen won’t be around forever. The world will inarguably be a worse place without him. But if “You Want It Darker” is at all indicative of where he is in his long life — and I suspect it is — then Cohen is at peace. And if Cohen is at peace, so am I.

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Editorial

#NiceTry

With Nov. 8 right around the corner, the campus community is gearing up for Election Day where many students will be casting their very first votes in a presidential race. While this election has been anything but ordinary—with ruthless, ongoing jabs shared between the candidates on and off the debate floor—an equally as odd campaign ploy reached our very own campus just last weekend. On Sunday morning, a student alerted The Oracle of fraudulent posters found hanging in the Lecture Center hallways that advertised a “new” way of voting: via social media. The poster urged people to post “Hillary #PresidentialElection” on Twitter or Facebook between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m. on Nov. 8 in order to cast their vote for the candidate. A campus-wide email offered a prompt response to the posters just hours later, reiterating that one cannot cast a vote in this manner. Regardless of whom someone is voting for, they should never be misled or urged to not exercise their right to vote—and we hope The insinuation of these posters, est voter turnout of any age group. that these posters did not misinform and whoever plastered them around Only about 46 percent voted in the any student nor faculty member in campus, is that Millennials are not last presidential election; compared the process. While it’s not explic- intelligent enough to be trusted with to 72 percent of the Silent Generaitly mentioned, we can assume the their own vote. Of course, we know tion, who habitually punch above target demographic of these postthat such a claim is untrue and care- their weight.” ers was the student body and that lessly underestimates our generaIf anything, these fliers should this was an attempt to undermine tion’s impact on the world. Most emphasize the untapped power that the student voting population. New may not realize this, but we are young voters have as a voting bloc. York does not have early voting, so it all comes down to who turns out quickly becoming one of the most Given that voting is the important on the second Tuesday in Novem- powerful generations in the history exercise in a functional democracy, of American politics. this should serve as a rallying cry to ber. According to the Pew Research go to the ballot box. We need more We at The New Paltz Oracle adCenter, an estimated 126 million people voting and more participamonish whoever is behind this fake flier scam. It was a bad attempt to in- Millennial and Gen X adults were tion from our generation. We need fluence the election and insulted the eligible to vote as of July. This was to prove our electorate gravitas and intelligence of Millennials. Though compared to only 98 million Boom- remind people that we are not ignowe hope that no one was misled by ers and older adults from prior gen- rant voters. Many of us voted in the primary this fraudulent document, the intent erations, young voters account for is just as malicious. Let us be clear, nearly 56 percent of eligible voters. back in April and we will most defiwe know how to vote, when to vote However, according to NPR, “Mil- nitely vote in the general in a few and we will vote. lennials continue to have the low- weeks. Rest assured that fliers that

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The New Paltz Oracle

Cartoon by Luke Benicase

patronize and underestimate our political opinions cannot and will not impede us from expressing our rights as Americans. So remember, Nov. 8, between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. is when you can vote. Be sure to confirm the location of your voting place, or fill out an absentee ballot, which you can apply for as long as it is postmarked before Nov. 1. If you are registered to vote on campus, you can vote in the Multi-Purpose Room in the Student Union Building. 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.

Opinion

The New Paltz Oracle

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Letters To the Editor: Corruption allegations surrounding Governor Cuomo crony Joe Percoco, former Competitive Power Ventures (CPV) Executive Peter Galbraith Kelly, Todd Howe, and SUNY Polytechnic President Alain Kalyoyeros are unfortunately business as usual. Howe, who allegedly funneled $287,000 in bribes to Percoco and his wife, was a lobbyist for the unneeded and unwanted CPV frack gas power plant in the picturesque black dirt region of Orange County. The plant would dump its effluent in the Wallkill River. State Senator John Bonacic received a $9,400 campaign contribution from CPV, and his son is an attorney for CPV. Tri States Unite for Safe Energy holds vigils every Saturday at the plant's site in Waywayonda demanding that construction stop pending a full investigation. Pramilla Malick, a passionate opponent of CPV, is challenging the entrenched Bonacic for his State Senate seat. As for SUNY, in the 1970's, SUNY New Paltz boasted an Environmental Site with eight student built solar tempered houses, and an Innovative Studies Department with some 40 courses, including several on renewable energy. In 1979, the

Advanced Solar Design and Grant Writing classes received funding from the Department of Energy (D.O.E.) and built a beautiful passive solar dorm with greenhouse. The SUNY Board of Trustees, headed by Gov. Nelson Rockefeller appointee Donald Blinken, sent a new President, Alice Chandler, to New Paltz. She eliminated the entire program, and bulldozed the solar houses, except for the Eccli house, which burned in a mysterious fire on a rainy November night a few years later; and the D.O.E. house, which languished unused until it was demolished in 2006. The Rockefellers earned their fortune in oil, and Blinken was on the board of Chase Manhattan Bank with direct interlocks to seven oil giants. Central Hudson, whose profits accrue mainly from sale of fossil and nuclear generated energy, was on the College Council, and energy conservation programs were consistently stonewalled. Check out Oracle archives for much more of this history, and especially "Energy Conservation at SUNY:A Bureaucratic Shell Game," 4/2/81. Incredibly, current SUNY New Paltz President Donald Christian is a paid board member of Central Hudson!

Apart from a few token solar panels, little has changed to address the college's $3 million annual dirty energy budget that tax and tuition payers fund. New Paltz came no where near a list of America's greenest campuses published by The Sierra Club. Why does this matter? Most climate scientists agree that adding carbon dioxide to our atmosphere traps more heat and leads to climate chaos. Apart from global warming, pollution from fossil and nuclear energy kills millions of people each year; an estimated 4,000 in NY State alone. According to TheSolutionsProject.org, we could replace all of it with clean renewable energy by 2050 using existing technology and save $33 billion annually. One way to help this happen is to get out and vote Nov. 8. It's time to flush corrupt fossil fools out of Albany by electing Pramilla Malick (42d State Senate District which includes New Paltz) and Sara Niccoli (46th District) Nov. 8! Zephyr Teachout, who was endorsed by Bernie Sanders when they both spoke in Hasbrouck Park last month, is running for U.S. Congress. Teachout is a staunch opponent of fracking and build out of new fossil infrastructure like pipelines and power plants, and an awe-

some advocate for clean energy and the environment and cleaning up corruption in Washington. Her Republican opponent has lobbied for fossil fuel interests. It’s time for SUNY to lead the way toward zero net energy use and sustainability. Technology is totally available to reduce the net energy consumption and carbon footprint of most buildings to near zero. There are "Net Zero" houses right here in Ulster County that actually produce more energy than they use. Just say “NO” to corruption hidden in plain sight. Join the College Environmental Task Force and New Paltz Climate Action Coalition! And get out and vote Nov. 8!

Edmund Haffmans SUNY New Paltz '81 Accord, New York The views expressed in letters and student voices are solely those of the person who wrote and submitted it. They do not necessarily reflect those of The New Paltz Oracle, its staff members, the campus and university or the Town or Village of New Paltz.

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BRIANA BONFIGLIO Copy Editor

bonﬁglb1@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu

Being quiet is not celebrated. Unless a tired parent or a fedup elementary school teacher just wants their kids to shut up already, then being quiet means you’re “the good kid.” But as children and young adults, we seek the approval of our peers more than our authorities. We want to be well-liked and make friends and be invited to parties. Growing up, I heard my fair share of “Why don’t you ever talk?” and “I’ve never heard you say one word!”. Hearing that my whole life, it is no wonder I have often felt so different from everyone else. The world had this one expectation of me, to talk more, that I just couldn’t meet. Parents and teachers, even close friends, all said, “You’ll come out of your shell!” So I started thinking that one day it would happen. I’d walk into the classroom and strike up a conversation with the person sitting next to me. All my buried humor and charm would emerge and I’d ﬁnally shine. I’d pop my head out, ﬂex my

OPINION

The New Paltz Oracle

COLUMN Let Your Introvert Flag Fly muscles, the shell would crack and Voila! rip right off. Then I’d sprout wings and be a free-flying social butterfly with nothing to weigh me down! Everyone would know who I really was and I’d never feel invisible again. No. That is not how temperament works, and it took me halfway through my freshman year of college here to figure that out. After a night of feeling down and comparing myself to all the extroverts around me, I searched the Internet for something to relate to. That’s when I stumbled upon Susan Cain, co-founder of Quiet Revolution and author of the New York Times bestseller, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in A World That Can’t Stop Talking. I listened to her TED Talk. I read her book. I laughed. I cried. At this low point I thought no one could else possibly feel the way I did, but I was so wrong. It is estimated that one third to one half of Americans are introverts. Cain argues that often, many introverts act extroverted because of

the “Extrovert Ideal,” which she deﬁnes as “the omnipresent belief that the ideal self is gregarious, alpha and comfortable in the spotlight.” The book goes into research on why extroversion is valued in our society, what it means to be shy and/or introverted and the need for introverted minds in the workforce and the world. I recommend it to a person of any temperament. I’ve found that the adults and peers who told me that I’d come out of my shell probably didn’t realize all the insecurities that go along with being, in my case, a shy introvert. Luckily, this book made me realize that “love is essential, gregariousness is not.” Cain explained the strengths introverts possess, including listening to others and making meaningful decisions, among many others. So I didn’t need to crack the shell. I needed to get comfortable in it. That meant reversing what the world had told me was the “ideal personality.” It meant playing toward my strengths instead of lamenting over who I am not.

After reading Quiet and continuing my journalism journey at SUNY New Paltz, accepting myself became easier and easier. I still have my moments where I wish I could just speak up, but Cain has taught me to be more at peace with quiet. Introverts may not be great at small talk or group work, but we do love our more personal, one-on-one conversations and I’ve learned to treasure those more than ever. I felt for so long that I couldn’t muster the courage to talk to strangers on a daily basis, but hey, here I am. I know now that I will always ﬁnd a way to do the thing I love. All it took was a little knowledge and a lot of faith in myself. It’s not about how the world sees me anymore, it’s about how I see myself in the world. Briana is a third-year journalism major. She loves pop-punk concerts, “How I Met Your Mother” and blasting music while driving around her hometown of Seaford, New York.

LETTERS Students at SUNY New Paltz have joined other students throughout the country and throughout the world to demand that their colleges and universities divest funds from fossil fuels. The burning of fossil fuel is the primary cause of climate change. We are already experiencing the effects of climate change in the form of increased flooding, wild fires, drought, and other weather extremes. But students and other

young people will bear the brunt of climate change as these conditions worsen in the decades to come. An international movement is underway to move away from fossil fuels by withdrawing investments in these industries. Several universities have already done so. New Paltz has long prided itself on its commitment to ecological sustainability and many measures have been implemented

to improve environmental performance. Now it is time to take the next step. The SUNY New Paltz Foundation has funds invested in fossil fuels. We cannot claim to be advancing the interest of students by investing in and profiting from an industry that directly threatens their well being. I applaud the students who are demanding that SUNY end all investment in the fossil fuel sector. Several faculty members

Thursday, October 27, 2016

have also voiced their support for this cause. I hope that the SUNY administration and Foundation board members will recognize the importance of this issue and join in the global effort to end support for fossil fuels by withdrawing all investments in this sector. Brian Obach Professor of Sociology SUNY New Paltz

SPORTS

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SPORTS

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PLAYOFF READY PHOTO BY HOLLY LIPKA

Hawks fourth-year midﬁelder Sam Wasser has registered a career high in games started this season.

By Jack O’Brien

Managing Editor | Obrienj2@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu

In the midst of drizzling rain and biting wind, the SUNY New Paltz men’s soccer team qualified for the 2016 State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Tournament — their first postseason appearance since 2012. On Saturday, Oct. 22, the Hawks shutout the Buffalo State Bengals 1-0 in the second annual Heinz Ahlmeyer Game on South Turf Field. The team donned blue camouflage-themed jerseys for the game, in honor of the armed services. The Hawks have now won both of their appearances in the Heinz Ahlmeyer Game, winning by a score of 4-3 over SUNY Potsdam in the initial contest last year. Cold, slick playing conditions made for a tight and physical game, with the Hawks ultimately outshooting the Bengals 9-6. Hawks third-year goalkeeper John Guzzo remained steady in the net, recording two saves and earning his fifth shutout of the season, while fourth-year midfielder Charlie Versen scored the game-winning goal in the

43rd minute. The goal came after the Bengals defense passed the ball back to their second-year goalkeeper, Andreas Queen, who missed the kick, allowing Versen to move around him and put the Hawks ahead for good just before halftime. The game’s namesake, Heinz Ahlmeyer, class of ‘66, was a Marine who was killed in action in Vietnam on May 10, 1967 less than one year after graduating. Prior to joining the armed services, Ahlmeyer was a member of the 1965 men’s soccer team that won the NCAA Atlantic Coast Regional Championship. Every year since his death, the Department of Athletics, Wellness & Recreation has given out the Heinz Ahlmeyer Award to a student athlete who best exempliﬁes “dedication, perseverance and service beyond self.” Jason Gilliland, coordinator for the SUNY New Paltz Ofﬁce of Veteran and Military Services, said that while the pregame ceremonies had to be cancelled, the event was still very much a success. Despite the weather, their fundraiser netted more than $1,000 for educational programs for

the 330 veterans, active duty personnel and dependents on campus, according to Gilliland. “It was a stellar game,” Gilliland said. “The [Hawks] really played hard and seemed motivated to win. But it was also great to see so many people, mostly parents, tailgating and offering recognition for the veteran community on this campus. The connection to Heinz [Ahlmeyer] really brings everyone together.” Gilliland said that the goal for next year will be to plan earlier for more pregame events and to incorporate more alumni, as the game has raised the profile of veterans issues in New Paltz. It was announced on Wednesday, Oct. 26 that the Hawks were ranked fifth in the East Region, announced by the NCAA. This season, the Hawks tallied a 2-1-1 record against opponents in the East Region. As for the Hawks, they finished their regular season with a record of 8-3-7, including a 4-3-2 record against SUNYAC opponents. The Hawks, who are the fifth seed will have their first round game against

Thursday, October 27, 2016

a familiar opponent as they visit fourth seed Buffalo State on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 3 p.m. If they win, they will advance to the SUNYAC semiﬁnals and travel to play SUNY Cortland on Wednesday, Nov. 2 at 1 p.m.

What’s Next? • The Hawks will face Buffalo State In the SUNYAC Quarterfinals on the Road on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 3 p.m. • The Hawks have a 1-0 record Against Buffalo State This Season • If the Hawks win, they will Play SUNY Cortland on Wednesday, Nov. 2 at 1 p.m.

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Sports

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Field Hockey Begins Quest for Fifth Title By Michael Rosen

Copy Editor | Rosenm2@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu

The field hockey team has finished State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) play for the regular season, going 5-1 in conference games. The Hawks will enter the SUNYAC Tournament as the No. 2 seed and will host No. 3 seed SUNY Geneseo in the semifinal round on Wednesday, Nov. 2 at 2 p.m. on the North Turf Field. SUNY Cortland, the No. 1 seed, will host No. 4 seed SUNY Oneonta that same day. This is the exact same bracket as last season’s tournament. New Paltz played their last two conference matches this past weekend, first defeating SUNY Oswego by a score of 6-0 on Friday, Oct. 21. “On Friday we had a great game,” Hawks head coach Shanna Vitale said. “We controlled the pace and scored early and capitalized on our opportunities. That was good momentum going into Saturday.” In the match, fourth-year forward Kayla McKeveny passed Dani Ackerman ’16 as the program’s all-time leader in goals and points. McKeveny scored two goals in the match, pushing her career total to 41 goals and 102 points. Ackerman previously held the mark with 39 goals and 98 career points. “Dani was a player I always looked up to,” McKeveny said. “She’s such an inspiring athlete and person, so it feels humbling to have been able to pass her in goals and points. For the three years we played together, we supported each other well. Neither of us would have had as many points or goals without each other, as well as the rest of our teammates.” The following day, the Hawks lost their first SUNYAC match of the season to Cortland by a score of 2-1. Both teams were undefeated in conference play before the game. The winner was going to earn the No. 1 seed, with the loser claiming the No. 2 seed. New Paltz led 1-0 at halftime as McKeveny scored her eighth goal of the season during the fourth minute. Red Dragons second-year forward Jessica Welsh tied the game during the 48th minute off a feed from fourth-year forward Gabby Stein. Thirdyear forward Anna Branch gave Cortland the lead at the 59th minute thanks to an assist by second-year forward Jess Gibaldi.

“We had some brilliant moments where we were pressing and coming up with the ball and we capitalized early,” Vitale said. “Then there were some moments where we just couldn’t get the job done, and that cost us the game towards the end.” This was the first meeting between the two teams since the Hawks beat the Red Dragons 4-1 in last season’s SUNYAC Tournament Championship. New Paltz has never beaten Cortland in the regular season, but have won all three of the teams’ meetings in the SUNYAC Championships. On Wednesday, Oct. 26 the Hawks fell to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 4-2 in a nonconference matchup. First-year forward Kaitlyn Gunter scored both of the team’s goals. Before the tournament, New Paltz will finish their regular season with a nonconference game against cross-river rival Vassar College on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 1 p.m. on the North Turf Field. The game will be the team’s regular season home finale, as well as senior day. McKeveny, fourth-year forward Erin Landy and fourth-year back Colleen Roemer will all be honored for the four years they have each spent on the team. “We are looking to improve on our weaknesses in our last nonconference game and really end the regular season strong,” McKeveny said. “It’s important for us to take our last game extremely serious in preparation for the playoffs.” Following that game will be the Hawks’ semifinal round matchup against Geneseo. The two teams faced off in last season’s semifinal round in New Paltz, with the Hawks emerging victorious by a score of 2-1 en route to their fourth-consecutive SUNYAC title. Earlier this season, New Paltz beat the Knights 5-1 in Geneseo. Including playoffs, the Hawks have not lost to the Knights since their 2-1 defeat back on Sept. 27, 2013. “We’ll be preparing for our SUNYAC semifinal game against Geneseo by being focused and disciplined in practice and working on the little things to ensure we’re fully prepared,” Landy said. “We’re all very focused on winning that game and we know the hard work put into practice this week and next will be crucial to ensuring the win.”

PHOTO BY HOLLY LIPKA

Hawks fourth-year forward Kayla McKeveny stands fourth in the SUNYAC goals category (12) this season.

PHOTO BY HOLLY LIPKA

Hawks third-year forward Justine O’Reilly’s 24 points this season is a career high.

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SPORTS

Women’s Volleyball to Host Quarterﬁnals Match

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ATHLETE OF THE WEEK: Tim Stanson SPORT: Rugby YEAR: Fourth MAJOR: Secondary Education HOMETOWN: Yonkers, NY

H OW DID YOU FIRST START PLAYING RUGBY? One of my roommates was on the team and I played football in high school, so I gave it a try during my sophomore year at New Paltz. I fell in love with it immediately. OUTSIDE OF RUGBY, WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO? I lowkey really like to sing and I love to play video games, especially Madden 08 of late.

WHO ARE YOUR BIGGEST ROLE MODELS?

PHOTO BY HOLLY LIPKA

Hawks third-year setter Maddie Zwickl leads the SUNYAC conference with 1,020 assists and 10.85 assists per set.

By Anthony Mitthauer-Orza

Copy Editor | Mitthaua1@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu

The women’s volleyball team clinched their 13th consecutive playoff berth over the weekend in conference pool play. In the process, the Hawks defeated SUNY Cortland 3-1 (25-17, 25-21, 16-25, 25-16) on Saturday, Oct. 22 to clinch the No. 3 seed for State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Tournament. The Hawks will host their quarterﬁnals matchup against SUNY Oswego on Tuesday, Nov. 1. The Hawks previously defeated the Lakers earlier this season by a score of 3-1 (25-17, 25-21, 23-25, 25-21) on Sept. 24. Hawks head coach Matt Giufre will look to add a third SUNYAC tournament trophy to his repertoire. He led the team to conference titles in 2009 and 2014, both being 30 plus win seasons. “You got to be in it to be able to win it,” Giufre said. “Our conference is getting tougher and some of the teams that you’d expect to beat back then are actually good now. We’ve seen a lot of close matches this year and a lot of evenly matched teams, so to be able to have a home playoff game is

something we’re happy with.” On Friday, Oct. 21, New Paltz defeated Buffalo State 3-1 (25-18, 25-15, 23-25, 2515) in order to reach the SUNYAC Tournament. Fourth-year outside hitter Morgan Roessler led the attack with 17 kills on 36 swings while providing two solo blocks and three digs and third-year libero Veronica Matedero led the defense with 18 digs. After the win against Buffalo State, the Hawks had a chance to clinch the No. 2 seed in the playoff tournament with a win against SUNY Oneonta on Saturday, Oct. 22. New Paltz suffered a 3-1 loss (17-25, 25-18, 2125, 18-25) in the match to go on for a battle for the third seed hours later. “We were a little sloppy with our play and we have to clean that up,” Giufre said. “We have some ﬁlm to do that and we’re gonna work in practice. I thought we did good stuff on offense, but our blocking and defense overall is not where we need it to be.” The matchup against SUNY Cortland saw the Hawks enjoy a 19 kill performance from Roessler, hitting .378 on 37 attempts while fourth-year middle hitter Brittany Tyack ﬂoored 11 kills. Third-year setter Mad-

die Zwickl distributed a match-high 52 assists to go along with 15 digs. Giufre noted that hosting the quarterﬁnals isn’t the biggest advantage for the team, but when it’s a “win or go home situation, it’s a matter of playing well.” “When you don’t have to get on a bus and go somewhere it’s a nice feeling,” Giufre said. “If there’s any advantage, it’s the comforts of your own gym. Over the years, we’ve seen that your home crowd can work for you and sometimes it can intimidate you, which has happened to us as well.” The Hawks also dropped a cross-river rivalry matchup against Vassar College 3-0 (20-25, 28-30, 23-25) on Wednesday, Oct. 26. The team will participate at the Skidmore Invitational on Friday, Oct. 28 and Saturday, Oct. 29 before participating in the SUNYAC Tournament. “We’re going to practice for the tournament and play for the tournament,” Giufre said. “We’re focused on the matches because they’re important, but we’re also going to clean up on the things we need to in general, speciﬁcally defense and blocking. If we can do those things well, we can certainly beat the teams we’re playing this week.”

Thursday, October 27, 2016

Marshawn Lynch has recently been a big person in my rugby life. The man ran harder and stronger than most players in a while. Personally, it’s deﬁnitely my parents. They are the best and always there for me.

ARE YOU A FAN OF ANY PROFESSIONAL TEAMS? I am a big New York Giants and New York Rangers fan. Also I’m a huge New York Mets fan. In rugby, the All Blacks are always fun to watch and I like the Western Force because of Nick “Honey Badger” Cummings.

DO YOU HAVE ANY SUPERSTITIONS? If I don’t listen to “X Gon’ Give It To Ya” by DMX before a game, I feel that there’s something missing in my game.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE SPORTS MEMORY? It has to be being part of an undefeated rugby team that has great connection and truly embodies our mantra “15 makes 1.” It continues as of now and I hope it never ends.

YOU WANT TO BE ...

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK? Contact Michael Rosen at

Rosenm2@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu

14 oracle.newpaltz.edu

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Swimming Makes Splash Into Season By Melissa Kramer

Sports Editor | Kramerm2@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu

Both swimming teams plunged into the 2016-17 season as they participated in the Union Relays on Saturday, Oct. 22. Both the men’s and women’s team each placed second out of a trio of teams, facing host Union College and Bard College. On both sides, multiple Hawks swimmers who raced, took part in at least five events, an unusual occurrence for a meet. “The point of the meet was to have fun and do a whole bunch of racing, and that’s what we did,” Hawks first-year head coach Tom Eickelberg said. “It wasn’t about the score, and it certainly wasn’t about analyzing performances against other teams’ lineup. It was just about going there, and any time there was an opportunity to race, we were getting in there and chasing it.”

On the men’s side, the Hawks won five relay events. The 200 medley event marked the debut of the foursome of first-year Cooper Knapp, third-year Colin Duell and third-year co-captain Caleb Treadwell along with fourth-year transfer Jeff Pietkiewicz, who took home the top time of 1:41.20, nearly a full five seconds behind the runner-ups of Union College. Additionally, the “A” team pair of Duell and Knapp tallied a top time in the 2x100 yard medley relay (1:44.90). Knapp, who swam in seven events, would also place first with Treadwell in the 2x50 yard butterfly relay. The first-year would place first in a total of four events on the day. Treadwell further topped the men’s 50 yard butterfly relay by .12 of a second with a time of 25.03. For the women, the Hawks placed first in four relay events. In the 2x100

yard medley relay, the “B” team of second-years Katie Donlevy and Kaleigh O’Halloran recorded a firstplace time of 1:58.53. Right behind them fell the “A” team duo of second-year Jaimie Kaefer and first-year Chelsea Angulas (1:59.71). Donlevy topped the rest of the competition in the women’s 50 yard breaststroke with a time of 33.43. Along with fourth-year co-captain Ann Fici, Donlevy also placed first in the 2x50 yard breaststroke relay 1:09.62. As he kicked off his first year as head coach of the Hawks, Eickelberg said the experience thus far has been “unbelievable.” “This team is so close-knit, and the way that they operate in welcoming new people is just really eyeopening,” Eickelberg said. “Having been part of many different college athletics programs through the years, it’s really been staggering just to see

how excited these people were to swim, how excited they are for the new faces that they see, myself included, and how willing they were to welcome new people in as intimate members of this family.” The Hawks will travel to Mahwah, New Jersey to take on Ramapo College for their first dual meet of the season on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 1 p.m. Last season, the women breezed by the RoadRunners 150-107, and the men dropped their 152.5-109.5 matchup. “This coming meet is pretty special,” Hawks fourth-year co-captain Luke Zenir said. “Now we’re in a position where we can really compete and have very close races with Ramapo, whereas in the past, sometimes we get beat pretty hard. I think this year’s going to be a special opportunity for us to show them what we got and scare them a little bit.”

Women’s Soccer Concludes Season By Michael Rosen

Copy Editor | Rosenm2@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu

The women’s soccer team concluded their season by dropping their last two matches against a pair of conference foes. The Hawks finish their 2016 season with a record of 1-15-2. This is the most losses in a season New Paltz has endured since their 2001 campaign, when they went a winless 0-18, in a forfeit season. First the Hawks fell to SUNY Fredonia 2-0 on Friday, Oct. 21 and then were shutout again 2-0 to No. 22 Buffalo State the following day. “The positive that came out of the weekend was that on Saturday they played amazing,” Hawks head coach Colleen Bruley said. “We gave up two goals in the first half but we held them scoreless in the second half. They just played really inspired and really fired up.” Fourth-year captain Sloane Lipshie

will not return to the team next season due to graduation. She served as a captain this season, as well as serving as a co-captain last season. Lipshie appeared in all but one game as a Hawk played during her collegiate career. Fellow fourth-years Sophie Constantino, Skye Kaler, Katie Mulry and Hannah Moran will also not be back next season. Kaler finished her collegiate career with seven goals, while Lipshie notched five during her four seasons. Mulry, Constantino and Moran finished their careers with four, two and one goals, respectively. “I’ll look back on my four years as a collegiate athlete with no regrets,” Mulry said. “I loved every second of representing New Paltz. A few years from now, I won’t remember the wins or the losses we had. I’ll remember the people I had the privilege of calling my teammates and best friends.” Although the Hawks are still seeking their first appearance in the State University of New York Athletic Con-

PHOTO BY HOLLY LIPKA

The women’s soccer team will graduate five fourth-years.

ference (SUNYAC) Tournament since 2012, Mulry sees a bright future for this team. “The future for the team can only go up from here,” she said. “We’re leaving behind a great core of players that know

Thursday, October 27, 2016

what a disappointing season feels like. I have full confidence that they will work so hard to make sure it never happens again. Every one of my younger teammates is extremely capable of making next season a very successful one.”

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Men’s Rugby Makes History By Jack O’Brien

Managing Editor | Obrienj2@hawkmail.newpaltz.edu

The men of New Paltz rugby made history this past weekend by capping off an undefeated regular season. On Sunday, Oct. 23, the New Paltz Rugby Football Club clinched an undefeated regular season in the Tri-State Rugby Conference by defeating Monroe College 38-15 at home. The Hawks, who entered the game as Central Division champions, finished the regular season with a 6-0 record, tallying wins over SUNY Maritime, Drew University, SUNY Oneonta, Vassar College, Monroe College as well as a forfeit win over Bard College. Featuring a team mostly comprised of veterans players, the Hawks were led by fourth-year inside center Kevin Menyhart as they overcame a stiff challenge from Monroe College, who finished their inaugural season in the conference. Menyhart attributed the program’s unprecedented level of success to the defense, which has allowed the least amount of points in the Central Divison, and the physicality of their offensive scheme.

“I’m extremely proud of the way we’ve played this year,” Menyhart said. “We were able to take what we had learned last year from our old coach and implement it this year with the help of our new coach.” In an interview on “The Opinionated Oracle” radio show on 88.7 WFNP The Edge, fourth-year 8-man Dean DeVitis and fourth-year fly-half Tim Stanson both reiterated the growth the team has made under head coach James Fryer, ‘16. They also said they look forward to the Hawks’ next match, which will be on Oct. 30 at 1 p.m., when they host SUNY Maritime for a rematch in the conference semifinals. Menyhart said that their next game will be challenging, considering that they only beat SUNY Maritime by five points in their previous match. However, he remains confident in his team’s ability to compete in the postseason. “Even though they have some big guys, I think our greater experience as a team and our willingness PHOTO BY AUDREY MALEK to strive for the conference championship will push The men of New Paltz rugby have allowed the least amount of points in the Central Division. us forward and past them,” Menyhart said.

THE SEARCH FOR MEANING IN THE MIDST OF LIFE A presentation by the Gurdjieff Foundation of New York - New Paltz Branch Saturday, October 29, 4:30-6 p.m. The Ron Steinberg Reading & Meeting Room Elting Memorial Library 93 Main Street, New Paltz 12561 Talk, film and discussion Free and open to the public Refreshments served For reservations and information, contact GurdijieffFdnNewPaltz@gmail.com

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Thursday, October 27, 2016

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WHAT’S INSIDE

Field Hockey to Face Geneseo in Semifinals PAGE 12

Women’s Volleyball Locks up No. 3 Seed PAGE 13

CLINCHED

ALL PHOTOS BY HOLLY LIPKA

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MEN’S SOCCER CLINCHES FIRST POSTSEASON BERTH SINCE 2012 : PAGE 11