SUNY Plattsburgh’s independent student newspaper since 1997
FRIDAY, FEB. 25, 2022
VOLUME 106 - ISSUE 2
CARDINALPOINTSONLINE.COM
Rep. Student receives research funding speaks to SA senate BY ALEKSANDRA SIDOROVA
Staff Writer
BY OLIVIA BOUSQUET News & Managing Editor
A representative from the SUNY Student Assembly Michael Casey presented two resolutions to the Student Association Senate Feb. 16. Casey was not asking for verbal support from the SA, but to bring aware-
ness to the two resolutions that the SUNY Student Assembly was working to put into action. The first resolution proposed establishing a system-wide review board for public safety and university police on all 64 campuses. The second resolution proposed peerto-peer counseling across all SUNY campuses to help combat the increase of mental health problems caused by the pandemic. STUDENTS l A2
SUNY Plattsburgh junior Lindsay Guzzetta, a fitness and wellness major, received $1,500 from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) to fund her research project. Guzzetta is the first in the department to receive research funding as an undergraduate student. Guzzetta’s mentor, Dr. Andreas Stamatis, the fitness and wellness leadership program coordinator, approached her with the opportunity due to her good academic standing, interest in studies and high GPA. “When you want to work with somebody, you want to work with the best,” Stamatis said. Funding is difficult to receive for a variety of reasons, including the sheer number of other applicants and Guzzetta’s inexperience in conducting research as an undergraduate student. She also has additional responsibilities as a student athlete that would make it difficult to pursue a research project. “A lot of the time, you submit and you get nothing, which is fine. So this is really big for us, really huge,” Stamatis said. “[Guzzetta] proved herself as a superstar, and we got [funding].” ACSM approved the initial project proposal in November 2020 to research the impact of COV-
Photo Provided by Lindsay Guzzetta
Lindsay Guzzetta, a fitness and wellness major, works on continuing research about student-athletes. ID-19 on the mental health of student athletes. However, pandemic restrictions made it impossible to conduct research until now. Guzzetta and Stamatis have since revised the topic of research to instead focus on further researching the correlation between mental tough-
ness and mental health. According to Stamatis, mental toughness is “skills that can help you face adversity in pursuit of your goals.” This includes problem-solving skills, decision-making, emotional and attention control, and confidence. The concept of mental health refers to
students’ psychological well-being. The research is based on the idea that the more mental toughness athletes have, the better their mental health is. “Everything takes a lot of time and you have to learn to manage yourself well enough,” Guzzetta said in regards to student
athletes’ mental health. “This is only the first three weeks [of the semester]. I’m definitely feeling it already, and games haven’t even started yet. Everybody’s feeling it — we’re just exhausted,” Guzzetta said.
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Zeta Phi Beta discusses stereotypes Students study across country
BY LARAIB ASIM Staff Writer
Throughout American history, the Black community has endured hardships and continues to face hardships. This hardship was the topic of discussion spoken with Zeta Phi Beta sorority’s “When They See Her” event held Feb. 26 in Yokum 202. The event looked at the stereotypes surrounding Black women and girls. “This event is meant to highlight the experiences of Black women and when people see Black people, what they think,” said Erolyn Leitch, a SUNY Plattsburgh senior who hosted the event. The events provide an opportunity for students to immerse themselves in understanding culture in the Black community and discussing important topics relating to their experiences. “It’s good to hear other peoples experiences and it’s good to share [our experiences],” said Sherlese Stephen, a SUNY Plattsburgh student. The event kicked off with an entrancing 5-minute video clip of Ernestine Johnson’s poetry called “The average black girl.” The poetry highlighted harmful stereotypes that affect Black women. Common stereotypes about Black women is that they can be aggressive, loud and promiscuous. Those present at the event unanimously agreed that this is a huge misunderstanding that
BY ALANA PENNY Editor in Chief
OLGA MUKA/Cardinal Points
Sisters of Zeta Phi Beta and attendees smile together after an event discussing the hardships and stereotypes Black women and girls face in society. stems from misinterpreting women when they stand up and passionately advocate for themselves. An attendee stated that throughout history, Black people were subjected to discrimination; women had to learn how
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to stand up for their rights unlike white women who did not have to struggle the way a black woman did. Leitch mentioned that girls are over-sexualized from young ages and told to cover up in the pres-
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ence of males. Many women expressed the difficulties of dealing with uncomfortable and aggressive advances that men would often make toward them. SORORITY l A2
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Nickie Hayes, a fitness and wellness major with a minor in journalism, got a taste for travel as a young child when her parents started taking her on vacations across the East coast. Now, a junior, it’s all she wants to do. “As an adult I want to make traveling an even bigger part of my life,” Hayes said. This year she is studying 3,014 miles away at Western Oregon University. She had this opportunity through National Student Exchange, an exchange program through the Global Education Office (GEO). This program allows students to go on exchange anywhere in the United States, Canada and some territories such as Puerto Rico, Guam and the US Virgin Islands.
STUDY l A2
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