FRIDAY, MAY 8
SPRING 2026 | ISSUE 11 WHAT’S INSIDE:
Arts & Culture
Photo Page Rugby Lights up TnT Tournament
Cardinal Creative
Student Association
ANYA KERN/Cardinal Points
The Student Association senate celebrates the approval of the 2026 to 2027 academic year budget.
SA approves next years budget BY SIERRA BABBIE AND GRANT TERWILLIGER Staff writers
The Student Association approved their 2026 to 2027 budget May 6, after the budget was turned down April 29 over disagreements on the arts block grant and travel funds. Senate meeting April 29 The Student Association currently expects approximately $775,000 in funding for the next two semesters, based on how many students are estimated to pay the SA fee and their current revenue. The annual budget drafted by the Finance Board determines what amount of this funding will be allocated to clubs, SA activities and other campus amenities such as the shuttle. The arts block grant has historically been given to the arts departments to fund on-campus events sponsored by the music, art and theatre departments. In recent years, the amount of funding the arts department has received has been reduced, and the amount pro-
posed in next year’s budget is $40,000, a 25% reduction from last year. However, the primary issue that senators addressed regarding the grant was that other departments on campus do not receive a comparable amount of SA funding. “Maybe if this budget had come across our desks a few weeks ago, we could do something about it, could have a more in-depth conversation, but I don’t think it’s fair to cut the arts because it’s so late,” Senator Ava Lavine said. “They’re relying on this to put on shows in the fall and the spring.” Jade Rosario Peralta, a double major in accounting and business, said that the SA funding currently reserved for the arts grant should be distributed across departments, such as the School of Business and Economics future trips to New York City and Boston. “It’s really hard for us to pay out of cost to go on these trips,” Peralta said. “You know, it really does benefit us as a whole. We go on these trips to network with alumni that have many other connections that land us jobs.”
Finance board meeting May 4 The two options that the finance board presented were to fund travel grants through College Auxiliary Services or to fund travel grants through the finance board. The board decided to fund travel grants through the finance board and the decision was then passed on to the senate to vote May 6. Funding the travel grants through the finance board will allow $5,000 to be put into secondary additional allocations. Requests of over $300 for travel will have to be approved by the senate. Clubs and organizations will still be able to get $2000 from CAS and about $3000 from the SA for travel. Travel grant funding is available to all organizations and clubs. Senate meeting May 6 After a week of deliberating over the arts and travel grant the SA decided to keep the arts grant at $40,000 and to move the travel grant to secondary additional allocations. The SA approved the 2026 to 2027 budget unanimously.
“We all worked tirelessly for the past week coming to a compromise and today we passed a budget that allows for funding for student travel without taking away from the arts,” Senator Sami Goodman said. “Art is for community and passion and love and heartache. Art is for all of us here at SUNY Plattsburgh, and if that’s not worth 5% of our budget I don’t know what is.” Members of the student arts community voiced their concerns regarding the lack of funding for the arts department, leading to several senators expressing the importance of student voice. “I appreciate everyone who spoke in the gallery today and as a senator next year your words will not be forgotten or ignored,” Lavine said. The SA passed Executive By-law #4 to reorganize the Legislative Review Board. The goal of the bylaw is to create a Legislative index that includes all legislation that is in effect to increase the efficiency of the SA. The Legislative Review Board will include Vice Presi
SA < 2
Three student speakers reflect on college BY GERIANNE DOWNS Contributor
More than 1,000 SUNY Plattsburgh master’s and bachelor’s degree students are eligible to cross the stage at the university’s spring 2026 commencement being held Saturday, May 16 at the field house with President Alexander Enyedi presiding and conferring degrees. Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Marcus Tye will present students earning their masters and bachelors’ degrees who are graduating from the schools of arts and sciences, business and economics, and education, health and human services at 9 a.m., noon and 3 p.m., respectively. And as is custom, student speakers representing each of the three schools will address their classmates before being
welcomed into the Alumni Association as new SUNY Plattsburgh graduates. This year’s student speakers are Amanuel Adefris, finance and economics major from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Eden McFarren, a social work major from South Glens Falls, N.Y.; and Olivia Powers, computer security major from Ticonderoga, N.Y. Amanuel Gezahegan Adefris Adefris said he chose SUNY Plattsburgh because he had family members and friends who attended before him, “and they had amazing things to say about it,” he said. “My priority was to have a good education and also opportunities outside of school that will help me develop my skills. SUNY Plattsburgh perfectly fit that description,” Adefris said. “In four years,
AMANUEL GEZAHEGAN ADEFRIS
Plattsburgh has felt like home and provided me with immense opportunities to grow.” Calling his four years at SUNY Plattsburgh the most transformational of his life, he said SUNY Plattsburgh also gave him many “lifelong friendships and had unforget-
table experiences.” A student in the School of Business and Economics, Adefris gave a shout-out to two of its luminaries — Distinguished Service Professor of Accounting Mohamed Gaber and Distinguished Service Professor of Marketing and Entrepreneurship Emeritus Nancy Church, who “had special impact on me in developing my career and providing extracurricular experiences that have truly been pivotal to where I’m going,” he said. “Their efforts to provide opportunities for students outside of the classroom is one of the reasons my time in this university has been great.” Adefris will be joining IBM as a financial analyst after graduation where he said he hopes “to use the skills I’ve gained in SUNY Plattsburgh on the big stage.”
Eden McFarren McFarren’s path to SUNY Plattsburgh was not what she had originally expected to take, she said. “I had initially planned to attend Syracuse University, but after my mother became ill, I made the decision to stay closer to home. At the time, it felt like a disappointment, but looking back, it became one of the most meaningful re-directions of my life,” McFarren said. That wasn’t the only career path that diverged from McFarren’s original concept. The social work major started out as a mortuary science major at Hudson Valley Community College “before realizing that while I was drawn to people in pain, I was far more passionate about helping the living COMMENCEMENT < 2