SUNY Plattsburgh’s independent student newspaper since 1997
FRIDAY, FEB. 26, 2021
VOLUME 104 - ISSUE
CARDINALPOINTSONLINE.COM
PSUC starts weekly testing BY JOHN CHURCH Contributor
The fourth week of the Spring semester at SUNY Plattsburgh is in full swing, and so is COVID-19 testing. Just last Wednesday, 987 students were tested for COVID. However, things have changed since last semester and students can expect COVID testing to be a bit different for the spring semester. Similar to fall 2020, SUNY Plattsburgh will be conducting COVID-19 testing throughout the entire semester. This time around testing will be held each week rather than biweekly. Testing is mandatory for all faculty, staff and students who will be on campus. “We believe the test is very safe,” says Cathleen Eldridge, director of Environmental Health and Safety at SUNY Plattsburgh. “There have been very few problems with testing students and there is almost no wait at all to get the test. The process is much smoother and much more effective this semester.”
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Alumnae speak out about hackers BY OLIVIA BOUSQUET Co-News Editor
Former SUNY Plattsburgh students Michael Fish and Nicholas Faber pleaded guilty Feb. 8 for hacking into social media accounts to steal nude images from women. Faber admitted that from 2017 to 2019, he worked with Fish to access the school email accounts of women college students and then used the information to gain access to the victims’ social media accounts. Faber pleaded guilty to computer fraud and aggravated identity theft. He has agreed to pay $35,430 in restitution to SUNY Plattsburgh, which was allocated when trying to identify compromised accounts, reviewing computer servers access logs, resetting passwords and notifying students and parents. Fish pleaded guilty to computer hacking, aggravated identity theft and child pornography offenses. According to University Police Chief Patrick Rascoe, he received a complaint last year from TESTING l A3 the Library and Information Technology Ser-
vices (LITS) about suspicious activity on an unnamed student’s account, which showed her account’s IP address being accessed from Canada. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and State Police cyber crimes unit took over the investigation Mar. 4, 2019 and was concluded about a week later thanks to the extensive help at LITS staff, Rascoe expressed. “We set up Duo on the student’s account, it wasn’t widespread here at that time here on campus, but that was what really prompted us to finally change over to Duo,” Rascoe said. There was no hacking into email accounts, but Fish and Faber socially engineered their way into accounts by guessing password reset questions. They were then able to reset the victims’ social media accounts. Katie Lein, a 2016 SUNY Plattsburgh graduate, received one of these calls from University Police in spring 2019. They asked her if she changed any of her social media account passwords during certain times and helped her set up Duo.
According to Rascoe, the FBI left University Police tasked with contacting the victims who had been hacked to get general information and help them set up Duo. Despite some challenges of Duo, like repeatedly having to login or student’s not having cell phones nearby, Rascoe believes everyone is “well-protected” now. An anonymous SUNY Plattsburgh alumna, who was contacted by University Police about being hacked, knew Fish from greek life events when attending her undergraduate program in 2015. She also lived near Fish during her graduate program from 2017 to 2018. She did not know Faber. “A University Police officer told me if the FBI finds any incriminating photos that they could see me in, they would contact me. They never did,” the anonymous source said. The source did notice her email account kept getting login errors, but she never noticed getting logged out of Snapchat.
Shine On! gets NASA downlink BY Mataeo Smith Co-News Editor
The cancellation of the SUNY Plattsburgh Shine On! Program’s 2020 conference featuring a NASA astronaut inspired the editorial board to “go big” for 2021. Following a 30-page proposal to NASA containing 18 letters of support from politicians, local meteorologists and SUNY Plattsburgh professors, Shine On! was approved to host a downlink with the NASA international space station during mission 65 as a part of its virtual 2021 conference: “Look To The Stars” Shine on! decided to name science, technology, engineering and mathematics jobs the theme of its conference last year with an impetus to address the gender gap within the STEM field. Given the unexpected commencement of the pandemic, Shine On! decided to continue its mission pertaining to STEM for the 2021 conference with the inclusion of a young male audience. Keeping the theme was important for Shine On! Chairwoman Chrysa Rabideau because it speaks to the organization’s mission of teaching young women how to pursue their dreams and become successful. The
organization received exuberant support from the community with letters of support coming from local figures like SUNY Plattsburgh President Alexander Enyedi, New York Representative Elise Stefanik and WPTZ Meteorologist Gib Brown. The conference date is currently undecided given the unpredictability of NASA’s schedule. Participants would be able to communicate with NASA only when the astronauts’ time available. The estimated date
is set between March and April of this year. Planning the conference without an official date proved to be difficult according to Rabideau. However, she said with the confirmation from NASA tightly woven under her belt, it’s easier to step back and have a sigh of relief because the worst part is over.
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The STEM field pertains directly to the values of Shine ON! interest to inspire young minds surpass the bare minimum in life. “STEM takes character,” Rabideau said. “It takes problem solving and that’s one of our core values. We wanted the North Country to learn more about STEM and we wanted to do that by showing them what kind of character it takes to be part of the STEM industry.” “Look To the Stars” will include workshops like “Beam Me Up Scotty,” a look into the technology behind NASA’s space suits facilitated by Pearl Physical Therapy Owner Elizabeth Pearl and “Communication and the Weather,” with NBC-affiliated television station WPTZ meteorologist Caitlin Napoleoni—one of the 18 people to write a letter of support to the Shine On! proposal. “There’s a ton of super smart people working up there,” Shine On! Committee member Emily Slattery said. “That’s what we want to showcase. We want to show that it’s not easy to get people in Space, but you can use character strengths and apply them to a stem career.” Email MATAEO SMITH cp@cardinalpointsonline.com
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SA discuss student activity BY ADEEB CHOWDHURY Associate FUSE Editor
The SA meeting on Feb. 17 saw the appointment of three new senators: Laman Hanifayeva, Amy Imbaquingo and Carter Mosher. The freshly approved leaders took the oath of office and officially joined the Student Association. Each expressed their eagerness at being able to represent the student body. “It’s honestly amazing to be able to lead and support the student community here at Plattsburgh,” Mosher, a freshman majoring in marketing and international business, said. “I’m looking forward to helping my fellow students in whatever way I can.” “Every semester comes with new changes and challenges and I will work with the rest of SA to find solutions that best fit the needs of the community,” Imbaquingo said. SAREEM JABBAR/Cardinal Points
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