EIC bids farewell, graduates

When I transferred to Plattsburgh in fall 2021, I kept my expectations minimal. I wasn’t cynical, but methodical after the stresses of changing colleges. My plan was to compile a solid resume, get my degree and find a job I like.

The journalism program had a good reputation in the SUNY circle, being one of six colleges that offered the degree. That rep derived from the decadesold award-winning newspaper: Cardinal Points. I knew before stepping onto campus that I wanted to be involved, and after a few meetings and a couple articles under my belt, I was hooked.

Cardinal Points is an easy line to get tangled in. For all the stressful nights, interviews falling through and photos turning out blurry, no one seems to want to be anywhere else. I learned quickly that the passion of the staff runs deep.

This was evident after learning what the time commitment Cardinal Points would be. Editors dedicate almost 20 hours a week to it, which would end up being my norm for the rest of my college career. After my initial semester as a staff writer, then News

Editor Olivia Bousquet asked me to step in as arts and culture editor, a position I held for two semesters, along with taking on managing editor. For that collegiate year, I worked alongside editors who taught me so much, from successes to shortcomings. There were enough of both, as Cardinal Points has been a Petri dish for growth.

I learned how to take criticism and give it, adapting to an environment where I was part of a bigger ecosystem and having to coexist with other editors, writers and our readers. The most challenging moments are ones I’ll remember in my professional career. The other moments — midnight in the office laughing mind and the feed. too hard at dumb jokes, sharing sources for stories and making runs to Stewart’s for Red Bulls — are things I’ll remember all my life.

When it was Olivia’s time to graduate and I was voted on as editor in chief, it felt like shoes that were too big to fill. I learned so much from those who came before me that I didn’t know whether I could be that person for the new and younger staff.

They made it easy on me. Collin Bolebruch, Kiyanna Noel and Aleksandra Sidorova were constant supporters and passionate editors who helped facilitate an environment I looked forward to walking into every week.

Along with Jacob Crawford and Jayne Smith, the paper was able to gain strong traction in the wake of going completely digital in fall 2022. All of their tenacity was put into new ideas alongside upholding the old ones, and I look forward to seeing where they take the paper next.

Like many programs in numerous SUNY schools, the journalism department has its struggles. The current sole faculty members — Shawn Murphy and Jack Downs — have given countless hours to helping their students succeed. I wouldn’t be nearly as confident in my ability or my future without their guidance. I hope they — and every professor or faculty who has crossed my path these two years — can recognize even a small por- tion of my gratitude. Cardinal Points became the foundation on which everything else I gained in Plattsburgh was built up. I experienced countless “firsts” here. The first friends I made in Plattsburgh were the ones I met at the fall 2021 reception.

My first editor in chief, Alana Penny, became my roommate the subsequent semester. The first clips on my resume are bylines from the news section. I can only hope that by the time I reach my “lasts,” the memory of what Cardinal Points has given me will still be ingrained in my mind. I couldn’t be more confident in the editors that will remain after me. I find new reasons to be proud of them every week. They’re constantly pursuing diverse and engaging stories while innovating the paper’s design. I’ve watched them dedicate countless hours to reporting, writing, editing and designing — enough that I know they’ll be just fine after my departure.

I owe a lot to Cardinal Points and dedicate the start of my career to it. I thank everyone who has ever presented me with opportunities to show my worth, and appreciate the help that was given to me along the way.

In order to escape the almost uninhabitable Earth, Titus and his friends visit the moon. This concept is futuristic to contemporary readers, but it is almost mundane for Titus and his friends.

While on a standard visit to the moon, Titus meets a girl named Violet. She seems peculiar to Titus, as she is knowledgeable about history and the world outside of the feed. It is revealed that Violet had her feedware installed at a later age than normal, which affected the connection between her

Violet teaches Titus about the world before the feedware technology, which was told to her by her parents.

Violet’s parents are highly educated and wanted to distance their daughter from the dangerous technology. This was not realistic, as the feed connects everyone together.

If Violet didn’t have the feed, she wouldn’t be successful in her reality.

During the trip to the moon,

Titus and his friends have their feedware corrupted.

While the others recover, Violet doesn’t. Her feedware becomes disconnected from mind as she begins to face her own mortality. Due to the feed, Titus is disconnected from his feelings.

Readers watch him lose Violet without much emotion. It can be argued that the feed distances a person from feeling so one would become a consumer. This is clear when Titus views Violet dying: Instead of processing his deep emotions, he taps into the feed to purchase pants. Although the setting of “Feed” is distant, the adolescent audience can connect with the complexities of emotions during one’s teenage years.

These deep topics are complex, even for the young adult reader. This has made “Feed” a target for censorship. In 2012 and 2013, Anderson’s novel was challenged in Florida and Virginia, where parents and administrators deemed the novel unsuitable for the intended age group due to profane language and including sexually explicit content. These themes are not unusual for the young adult novels, but it seems as if the reader’s innocence is to be protected.

“Feed” gives readers a look into the possible future. The ideas around technology and the environment, as well as complex emotions, are all aspects of the world today. “Feed” is a must read. Like all other banned novels, Anderson’s ideas should be celebrated, not censored.

Said controlled every aspect of his daughter’s lives. Their room was barren. He controlled whom they spoke with, what clothes they wore and whom they could be friends with. This pushed Amina and Sarah to rebel in secret, trying more revealing clothing or makeup without their father’s knowledge.

“We don’t want police involved until we are totally ready,” Amina wrote in an email to her history teacher. “I am so scared right now.

It’s crazy. We’re not allowed to date, and my dad is arranging my marriage. My dad said I cannot put it off anymore, and I have to get married this year.”

On Dec. 25, 2007, Amina, Sarah and Owens fled with the girls’ boyfriends, Edgar Ruiz and Erik Panameno, from Texas to Oklahoma. Said quickly reported his family missing, but Owens reported to local police that she and her daughters were alive and well.

Despite escaping his abuse, the girls agreed to see Said again in person after his insistence. Owens believed her daughters would be safe, and it is speculated Sarah wanted to maintain contact with her father. The girls and their mother returned to visit Said in Texas on New Year’s Eve.

Ruiz testified in court that he knew Amina was going to die after leaving his home with Said.

The sisters would never be seen alive again. Said was a taxi driver and claimed he was going to take the girls out for a meal. Instead, he shot the sisters in the back of his taxi. Despite suffering nine bullet wounds, Sarah managed to call 911.

The 911 call lasted one minute.

“Help,” Sarah said in her final moments to the dispatcher. “My dad shot me. I’m dying. I’m dying. I’m dying.”

The bodies were later discovered in the back of his taxi cab. Said would then become a fugitive on the run, joining the list of FBI’s Most Wanted. Said evaded capture until Aug. 26, 2020.

Said denies killing his daughters, stating in court, “Definitely not, I did not kill my daughters.”

Said’s defense claimed he believed he was being hunted down, and so left his daughters inside his taxi for their safety.

However, due to the damning 911 call where Sarah implicates her father, the jury did not believe the defense.

It was documented he shifted in his seat as his daughter’s final words played for the court to hear. Yet, Said was mostly emotionless for the proceedings.

Said did not face the death penalty. Instead, he sits in the William G. McConnell Unit in Bee County, Texas, sentenced to life without the possibility for parole.

ACP Hall of Fame

Inducted in Fall 2010

All American

Spring 2018, four Marks of Distinction

Spring 2016, five Marks of Distinction

Spring 2014, four Marks of Distinction

Spring 2012, four Marks of Distinction

Spring 2011, four Marks of Distinction

Fall 2010, five Marks of Distinction

Fall

Runners, throwers and jumpers have the opportunity to qualify for higher competition every meet. Track and field athletes put in the hours yearlong, all motivated by something different.

The Plattsburgh Cardinals men’s and women’s team members’ hard work and dedication to improvement all come together in May — championship month. The Cards put it all on the line in the SUNYAC Championships at SUNY Oneonta last weekend, May 5 and 6, and walked away with a lot to be happy about.

Three Cardinals went home with bling. Aislyn McDonough earned the gold medal in the women’s 800-meter run with a time of 2:15.10. She also won gold in the indoor 800. Janyll Barber took home silver in the women’s 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:00.70, the school record, and at the time, the third-fastest time in Division III. Barber is expected to compete in the DIII Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships at St. John Fisher University in Pittsford, New York. On day one of competition, Barber recorded a 100-meter hurdles time of 14.97, a personal best and the school record. Brexton Montville won silver in the men’s 100-meter dash with a time of 10.71.

The meet featured eight other SUNYAC teams: Brockport, Buffalo State, Cortland, Fredonia, Geneseo, Oneonta, Oswego and Potsdam. The Cardinals women’s and men’s teams both place sixth with 54.5 and 29 points, respectively. Geneseo finished first in both men’s and women’s. Plattsburgh’s Noah Bonesteel and Aiden Masten were awarded with the SUNYAC Elite 20 Award, given to SUNYAC Championship competitors with the highest cumulative GPA.

Day One

The first day of competition featured several decathlon and heptathlon events; the first round of multiple sprint and middistance events; and the final in the 10,000-meter run and multiple field events.

Multiple Cardinals competed in first-round day one events, but did not advance to day two:

Mikayla Khadijah in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 17.10 and Morgan Thompson in the 400-meter run with a time of 1:03.44.

Plattsburgh had two runners compete in the 10,000-meter run: Michael Brockway, from the men’s team, finished 12th with a time of 33:39.47 and Sarah Smith, from the women’s team, finished 11th with a time of 41:36.82.

Plattsburgh Cardinals softball finished the 2023 season with its best record since 2017, standing at 22-11. The Cards went 11-7 in SUNYAC play and made the conference playoffs for the second year in a row. Head Coach Sam Van Dorn, in her third season, led the team to big wins over strong conference opponents, including sweeps of the Oneonta Red Dragons (18-21-1, SUNYAC 10-8) and the Cortland Red Dragons (24-11, SUNYAC 14-4).

Plattsburgh made the postseason as a fifth seed, slated to face Cortland in the first round of a double elimination tournament in New Paltz, a neutral site, Thursday, May 11. The Cards lost to Cortland 2-4 in the first game. With a loss, Plattsburgh faced Oneonta on the same day in an attempt to keep its head above the water. The Cardinals lost 2-3. Despite the 0-2 postseason outing, the 2023 campaign was an improvement for Plattsburgh.

The only jumping event of the day, the long jump, featured two Cardinals: Masten from the men’s team placed 18th jumping 6.21 meters, and Michaela Schaffer from the women’s team placed fifth jumping 5.39 meters.

Plattsburgh fielded two men’s team members and no one from the women’s team in the hammer throw:

Last Weekend

In the weekend leading up to the playoffs, Plattsburgh was fighting for favorable seeding, having already secured a postseason berth. The Cardinals played away doubleheaders on consecutive days. The Cards played the now third-seeded Geneseo Knights (22-14-1, SUNYAC 12-6) last Friday, May 5 and the team with the worst record in the conference, the Brockport Golden Eagles (5-27, SUNYAC 2-16) last Saturday, May 6. Plattsburgh lost both games to the Knights, 0-2 and 1-5, but swept the Eagles 6-2 and 12-2.

Geneseo was going to be a difficult opponent, whether or not the pressure of playoffs was a factor. The Knights have had a winning record in every season over the past decade and have won three SUNYAC titles in the last five seasons.

Plattsburgh has struggled against top teams this season, with a 4-6 record against playoff teams. Players knew their issue in the Geneseo series was

Jorge Cabrera’s best throw placed him ninth, measuring 41.82 meters and Spencer Trudo’s best placed him 15th, measuring 34.49 meters.

Kaitlyn Bjelko was the lone women’s team thrower on day one. She competed in the javelin throw, placing eighth and recording a throw that measured 29.41 meters.

Plattsburgh sent one athlete for the men’s decathlon and two for the women’s heptathlon. The men’s team’s Thomas Gilbo recorded numbers in five decathlon events on day one: the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.10, the 400-meter run with a time of 57.31, the long jump with a measurement of 5.76 meters, the shot put with a throw of 9.33 meters and the high jump with a measurement of 1.67 meters.

The women’s team members competed in four events on day one. the team’s hitting. Teams can’t win softball games with one run across two games. Pitcher and infielder Julia Golino provided the only score of the series, in the second game, when catcher and infielder Rebecca Diller singled down 0-3 in the fifth inning. In the same game, Golino earned a rare loss, just her second of the season.

Marissa DeLuc finished the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 17.93, the 200-meter dash with a time of 27.77, the high jump with a measurement of 1.41 meters and the shot put with a measurement of 8.91 meters.

Katie Bergé finished the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 19.11, the 200-meter dash with a time of 29.66, the high jump with a measurement of 1.41 meters and the shot put with a measurement of 6.17 meters.