SUNY Plattsburgh’s independent student newspaper since 1997
FRIDAY, May 7, 2021
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VOLUME 104 - ISSUE 12
SA announces spring 2021 election results
Photos provided by Ahmed Metwaly and Kathleen Gill
Students Ahmed Metwaly and Kat Gill (left to right) were elected the positions of SA President and Vice President respectively May 4 following the SA election.
President
Ahmed Metwaly
Vice President
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Kathleen Gill
DEI office offers solidarity for Chauvin verdict BY JOHANNA WEEKS Staff Writer
SUNY Plattsburgh’s Diversity, Equality and Inclusion office offered solidarity following the Derek Chauvin verdict for the killing of George Floyd. Students could attend hybrid solidarity spaces or attend releasing spaces and counseling sessions from April 21-27. In addition, the H.U.B offered an in-person and virtual drop box for community members to anonymously share their feelings and perspectives. The H.U.B will print out the responses and include them with the notes from on-campus students. “Although I find hope in the verdict, I still feel that a guilty verdict cannot change the fact that George Floyd — and Breonna Taylor, Daunte Wright, Adam Toledo and too many others — should be alive today,” Michelle Cromwell, vice president for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, wrote in an email sent out to the SUNY Plattsburgh community. Listening sessions of-
fered students the opportunity to join members of the community and openly talk about their perspective. Students could freely join listening sessions via Zoom led by counselors Allsun Ozyesil and Kristina Moquin. According to Ozyesil, mental health counselor and student outreach coordinator, “Holding the space is symbolic. It’s meaningful to have permission to express yourself, to cry, laugh or get angry.” Ozyesil expressed that holding listening sessions is important for students because it provides a safe space. “Providing a space where students can feel secure and safe enough to express their feelings is something we strive for, especially when there has been such a tragic event.” The H.U.B, as well as the DEI office, was able to offer students multiple solidarity spaces and ways to express their feelings. “It was really important for any groups on campus to come together and offer spaces for students, so I was really happy to be
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Black Lives Matter and an LGBTQ flag hung in the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion office, as a sign welcomes in students. a part of that,” Moquin, licensed mental health counselor, said. The solidarity spaces have been encouraging white staff to offer spaces and show their support. “I think there’s been
this call to action for white staff to step up,” Ozyesil said. “The spaces I’ve attended have featured those really important conversations, it focused on the students and staff of color and their stories.
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It was also for white community members to show support.” Dante Greene, a SUNY Plattsburgh student, attended the listening session April 27. Greene expressed he realized the
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need for these spaces and understood that the community should come together to support each other.
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