Issue 7

SUNY Plattsburgh’s independent student newspaper since 1997

VOLUME 105 - ISSUE 7

FRIDAY, NOV. 5, 2021

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President Alexander Enyedi released an hour and 14 minute dashcam video of a student being arrested by University Police after a two-minute video circulated on social media.

Enyedi releases dashcam footage BY ALANA PENNY Editor in Chief

A week after a two-minute video of a SUNY Plattsburgh student being pulled over by University Police went around on Instagram, President Alexander Enyedi shared the full dashcam footage and police report. The dashcam footage is an hour and 14 minutes. It began with the University Police car driving down Broad Street. They turned onto Rugar Street and drove by a red Hyundai Elantra, driving with it’s headlights off. UP turned around in the pull out in front of Harrington Hall and followed the Elantra with their flashing lights on. The student pulled over in the McDonough parking lot.

SA approves financial aid BY KATIE KALLAMNI Staff Writer

As the fall semester is nearly completed, the spring semester calendar is being made “with more events and trips planned for students,” Student Association Senator Linette Linares said. The SA Memorial Scholarship was approved f o r next semester for students in financial need, as well as the budget plan for the following year which greatly resembles the current just over a million dollar SA budget. Weekly painting nights are set to commence soon, more information will be posted accordingly. Coordinator for the Arts Pilar Baladar is working with the art committee for new additions to our campus. AID l A2

The officer knocked on the window, and the student rolled it down. The officer introduced herself and explained she stopped her because she doesn’t have her headlights on. The student responded that her lights were on. The officer explained that when she passed the student on Rugar she didn’t have her headlights or taillights on. “It’s not a big deal, I just want to make sure they work,” the officer said. The student assures the officer the lights do work. “OK, you probably just had them on ‘off’ instead of ‘auto,’” the officer said. “It happens a lot, and it’s hard to tell in the city because there’s so many street lights.” From the camera angle of the

video, the front of the car is not visible, but the officer notified the student only her running lights, the strip of lights below or around headlights, were on. The officer went back to her car to run the student’s driver’s license, asking her to stay in the car. Another officer arrived on the scene, and the first officer updated him, telling him the student didn’t have her lights on, but argued that she did. The second officer asked if she’s going to write the student up to which she replied, “no, it’s not worth it. Hopefully, this will be the one interaction with police she has that maybe will change her decision about cops.” After running the student’s plates, she found the Elantra’s registration was suspended due to the insurance policy not being

in effect. They also later determined the inspection certificate belonged to a different vehicle. The officers acknowledged insurance companies and the DMV can have clerical issues, but they had to go off the information they have. The officers explained the situation to the student and a family member the student is speaking with on the phone. The officers allowed the student and her passenger to gather their belongings from the car before they went to the station. They asked for the car key, because the car needed to be towed, and it would be easier and prevent damage to the car, if they can start the car. The student refused to give them the keys. The first officer offered to give the student a ride over to the

University Police station. “I just want to get things done and over with so you can enjoy the rest of your night,” she said to the student. The student asked to not go yet, until she finished her phone call. The officer said she can talk on the phone in the car, and explained they do not want to have to cuff her to transport her to the station. After about 20 minutes of asking the student to get into the car, the student continued to say she needed to wait for her friend to give her her phone, but she would come after that. They told her that her friend could come to the station to get it. She gave them the car key, but didn’t go with them to the police car.

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Vaccinated students remove masks in dorms BY ALEKSANDRA SIDOROVA

Contributor

An email sent out to the student body by Nikki LaBarge on the behalf of Director of Campus Housing Stephen Matthews and Rehnuma Wahab, vice president of enrollment and student success Oct. 25, announced changes to the mask mandate in dormitories. It stated that as of 8 a.m. that day vaccinated students were no longer required to wear masks in their residence halls, unless attending large gatherings or events. As neither guidelines from New York State nor the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) require the college to mask their students on-campus, all decisions regarding mask mandates fall on SUNY Plattsburgh’s COVID-19 Policy Group, which includes President Alexander Enyedi, Wahab, Matthews and others. According to Matthews, the decision was made based on feedback from students and community advocates (CAs) as well as data on vaccination and positivity rates from the

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Ashley Allen, Evan Hernandez, Julianna Heiland and Collin Bolebrunch relax in their dorm’s common area without a mask after the mandate was lifted. Student Health Center. Wahab added that another set of data the committee examines when establishing safety measures is the viral content level of the waste water both at the college and the wider community of Plattsburgh and Clinton County. “It’s a very data-driven process,” Wahab said. “We’re not just sitting there throwing spaghetti

and the wall and seeing, does it stick?” Matthews proposed the idea of a revised mandate as an acknowledgement of students’ efforts. At the time of interview, both he and Wahab reported a positivity rate of zero among students living on-campus. “You cannot have a better set of data than zero,” Wahab said. According to Wahab, all

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feedback about the changes has been positive. Students are happy with the adjustment, primarily due to its convenience: they no longer need to wear a mask to use the bathroom or kitchenette, or throw out trash. As CA of Moffitt Hall, Willie Corley said the revised mandate does not change the relationships he has with his own residents. While he men-

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tioned that masks can limit communication by covering facial expressions, there were “ways around” the need to wear masks that allowed him to get to know his residents better. According to the revised mandate, gatherings and activities — the primary means of building relationships between CAs and residents — must still remain masked, regardless of the participants’ vaccination status. With masking in residence halls left up to choice, some on-campus students, like Olivia Wolfe, a freshman nursing major living in Moffitt, continue wearing their masks in instances when they are in small spaces with people they don’t know, such as the elevator. She considers her dorm to be a safer space than classrooms. “I think we should still be wearing [masks] in classrooms,” Wolfe said. “Because, you know, we don’t live with those people.” Matthews refers to the on-campus housing as “a closed community,” and Wahab refers to it as “cohort living.”

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NEWS

News Editor Olivia Bousquet

Friday, Nov. 5, 2021

Memorial Hall undergoes phase two BY SYDNEY HAKES Staff Writer

Oct. 21 A student was stopped near MacDonough Hall for driving without headlights. The student was also driving with a suspended registration and fake inspection. The student resisted arrest and was transported to the station where they were released on their tickets.

Oct. 23

A student was stopped in Lot 16 for driving with a headlight out, and it was later determined the student’s registration was suspended. The student was arrested and released after the tickets were issued.

Oct. 26

An intoxicated person was involved in a motor vehicle accident by the Field House. The person was arrested, brought to the station, processed and released on tickets.

Oct. 28

Students reported to University Police of possible phishing emails. The investigation is pending.

Oct. 31

The central heating plant reported a damaged exit sign on the third floor of Whiteface Hall to University Police. The investigation is open.

Nov. 2

The janitorial staff of Macomb Hall reported graffiti in the mens bathroom on the first floor. University Police are currently investigating the incident.

Weekly Meme

The renovations within Memorial Hall are transitioning into phase two over winter break, marking the halfway point until completion. A project around five years in the making, the renovations at Memorial Hall will fully remodel the interior of the building. Financed by the New York State University Construction Fund, it was once intended to be a four-phase project. SUNY Plattsburgh faculty, along with contractors and the architects at HOLT Architects, whittled it down to two phases, both lasting roughly 18 months. When students return for the spring semester at the end of January, they can expect a change when returning to Memorial Hall. “The front doors will be open,” Director of Athletics and Recreation Mike Howard said. “The lobby and lounge will be ready for students to meet together, or plug in their laptops and work in a casual environment.” Fitness Center Director Matt Salvatore said that prioritizing the needs of current and future students and staff was a main focus when planning for the new layout. The pool and racquetball courts were chosen to be removed amongst complaints from the community, a decision made by reviewing the dwindling numbers of people re-

serving time slots over the years. “We see more of the community using it than staff and students. Community members have other options like the YMCA, and we wanted to focus on what will best fill the campus’ needs,” Howard said. Plattsburgh is one of the few SUNY colleges that doesn’t have a strength and conditioning gym for their athletes. That will be a main feature when completed, along with a new climbing wall and recreational multipurpose gym. The new rec gym and athlete strength training gym will be complete by the end of phase one, but will be used as a temporary space for the fitness center. “While the final fitness center will be almost double the size of what it is now, we need to temporarily house the equipment and machines in the new rec and athlete gym,” Salvatore said. “This will still be a new space for students to check out in the spring, but keep in mind it’s not the final layout.” Salvatore gives a look into what to expect once construction is complete, aiming for “a total modernization.” Virtual images by HOLT show a sleek space with tall windows reflecting white walls with accents of Cardinal red. The HOLT Architecture team said that, “while Memorial Hall had received some upgrades over the years, very little had changed to the build-

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ALEXA DUMAS/Cardinal Points

Campus COVID-19 Tracker Number of positive COVID-19 cases within SUNY Plattsburgh community:

4 CP Corrections There are no corrections to report this week. If you see an error in Cardinal Points, email cp@cardinalpointsonline.com

Because students are occupying the same space and thereby, in the words of Wahab, “share the same set of germs,” the environment community living creates is safer than that of the wider community. It is a major reason why it was possible for the COVID Policy Group to consider revising the mask mandate in dorms: cohort living is comparable to living in a single household. “We’re not seeing a big outbreak right now, and from my perspective, the students in our on-campus residence halls are doing the things that we need them to do,” Matthews said. “I thought this would be a nice gesture, and I really felt that our on-campus students deserved the opportunity to have the choice.” Aside from allowing students

Provided by Plattsburgh Athletics

A sneak peak inside of Memorial Hall’s renovation process. ing since its initial construction in 1962.” This includes updating plumbing and electrical, adding to the timeline of completion. The fourth floor of Beaumont Hall is a temporary home to many staff members of athletics and recreation. Howard refers to it as his “satellite office,” and that he spends time out of every day to visit the Field House and Memorial Hall. “I’m expecting to be here another two years,” Howard said. “But once it’s complete, it really will be a central space on campus. Athletics have a way of bringing people together. Most of us played sports when we were kids and support teams now.” Howard said that since he began at SUNY Platts-

a balance between freedom and safety, the revisions also encourage students to take responsibility for their own health. “While we want to shepherd [students] through this, we also want to maintain that as our students become more aware of what works and what doesn’t, they will personally take the responsibility of keeping themselves and each one of us safe,” Wahab said. “We have that trust in our students. We’ve seen it just by the numbers.” Matthews said that the campus has a 97% vaccination rate, “which is higher than anywhere you want to look.” However, he reminds students that the decisions made regarding the mask mandates on campus are situational, and may be subject to change at any time. “If things change and COVID rears its ugly head up again, then we will pivot, just like we have for the last two years, and as the world has pivoted for the last two years,”

burgh five years ago, his title of Director of Athletics changed to add recreation into it. “It’s much broader than athletics. With my job, recreation is equally important. I’m a big proponent of physical fitness, for mental and physical health. This project really provides an opportunity for everyone to find something they enjoy that will sustain that mental and physical health,” Howard said. As construction continues, Plattsburgh’s athletic and recreational faculty hope students will utilize the new space available in Memorial Hall and “stay tuned” for future updates.

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he said. There are currently concerns regarding the increased spread of COVID due to Halloween and the upcoming Thanksgiving break, but it is beyond the influence of Housing and Community Living. “I trust our students, and I think that they’ll do the best things that they can to try to stay healthy,” Matthews said. “They don’t want to get sick, I know that, but things happen.” Wahab said that in order to consider easing the mask mandate for classrooms, the wider community would have to see zero cases for four to five weeks. She estimated that for the next two years, masks would still be a safety measure the campus will “rely on,” as they are an important preventative measure for student safety even beyond COVID, extending to allergies, seasonal colds and other upper respiratory infections. Email ALEKSANDRA SIDOROVA cp@cardinalpointsonline.com

On Nov. 10 from 5 to 7 p.m., the Lambda Theta Alpha Latina Sorority will be hosting a recruitment gingerbread house building in the Cardinal Lounge. Students can attend the women’s hockey match against Continued from page A1 Norwich University at 7 p.m. on Nov. 10 at the Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena. The women’s basketball team On Nov. 1 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., there was a sit-in will be taking on SUNY Cobleskill Nov. 12 in Memorial in front of the ACC for Black Solidarity Day. This will Hall at 5 p.m. be the first event for Black Solidarity Day since SUNY Plattsburgh has recognized this day as a holiday. Kelci Henn, SA compliance officer, introduced herself and Email KATIE KALLAMNI gave a presentation on her connections and resources cp@cardinalpointsonline.com within the school.

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FRIDAY, NOV. 5, 2021

Conservatives blame Baldwin for accident BY CARLY NEWTON Associate Opinions Editor

It is easy to forget that celebrities are human — the public puts them on a pedestal, and for some reason, they are shocked when that pedestal inevitably comes crashing down. This was the case for wellknown actor Alec Baldwin Oct. 21. Baldwin was rehearsing a scene with a prop-firearm for the movie “Rust,” when he shot and killed director of photography, Halyna Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza. According to the New York Times, Baldwin and the crew were told the gun was cold, which meant it didn’t have any live ammunition in it. Evidently, the gun did have a live round inside and Baldwin unknowingly shot a loaded weapon. After the situation was made public, Baldwin released a statement on his Twitter account. “There are no words to convey my shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident that took the life of Halyna Hutchins, a wife, mother and deeply admired colleague of ours,” Baldwin tweeted. “My heart is broken for her husband, their son, and all who knew and loved Halyna.” What Baldwin is going through is incredibly sad, and it has unfortunately highlighted a larger problem in our country — the lack of gun safety. The “Rust” shooting could have been prevented had crew members been routinely checking the prop-firearm to ensure it was safe for Baldwin to use. It’s also confusing why a real gun would have to be used on

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a production set. It is surprising that more situations like this haven’t happened when the actors are more than likely inexperienced gun handlers. The only good that may come out of this situation is that potential future tragedies could be prevented. The investigation into the “Rust” shooting is ongoing, but all of the reports since have indicated Baldwin’s innocence in the situation. Yet, he is being ridiculed and mocked by public figures who want to see him suffer from this tragedy.

One of those public figures has been Donald Trump Jr., who began selling t-shirts on his website with “Guns don’t kill people Alec Baldwin kills people,” written on them. Trump Jr. has not liked Baldwin since he portrayed his father on Saturday Night Live. He is obviously taking advantage of this heartbreaking situation by mocking him publicly and kicking him while he is down. Not only is this insensitive, but it shows the lack of compassion he has for Halyna Hutchins and her family. Selling these shirts

not only continues to remind the family of the tragedy, but Trump Jr. has made a profit off of it. The shirts have since been removed from his website after receiving backlash, but it’ll be hard to forget what he did. Candace Owens, a conservative pundit, was also another person celebrating this terrible situation happening to Baldwin. She took to Twitter to politicize what happened, instead of showing compassion. “Alec Baldwin spent 4 years dedicated to painting Donald Trump and his supporters as evil

murderers. What has happened to Alec would be an example of poetic justice if it weren’t for the actual innocent people that were murdered by him. Pray for their families. So sad,” Owens tweeted. People like this don’t realize the impact of their words, and they should really learn to think before they speak — having compassion goes a long way. Hopefully everyone affected by the horrid shooting finds a way to heal and move on.

Email CARLY NEWTON

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‘Last Night in Soho’ looks to the past BY CAMERON KAERCHER Contributor

Edgar Wright’s cinematic debut “Shaun of the Dead,” released in 2004, predated the zombie genre explosion. The stoner layabout character played by Simon Pegg was a breakthrough role for the actor, and since then Pegg has appeared in the “Star Trek,” “Star Wars” and “Mission: Impossible” franchises. “Shaun of the Dead” is now a modern horror classic and a go-to when looking for something to watch around the Halloween season. Wright’s latest feature moves away from the humor that established his career. “Last Night in Soho” stars Thomasin McKenzie as Eloise, an aspiring fashion designer in modern-day London. When class is out and she is struggling to find a place to fit in, she mysteriously travels to the late 1960s. In this alternate timeline, Eloise encounters an enchanting lounge singer named Sandie, played by Anya Taylor-Joy. Their personalities start to blur together as a murder mystery starts to reveal itself. Wright’s horror film comes with a catalogue of influences. The most recognizable of which are the Italian Giallo

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slasher films that utilize heavy neon lighting. Films like Dario Argento’s “Suspiria” and Mario Bava’s “Blood and Black Lace” are beloved for their cinematography as the bright reds and deep blues wash the screen. Cinematographer Chung Chung-hoon brings the same scheme to this film with gorgeous results. Some frames from

“Soho” will end up being cell phone wallpapers soon enough. The overall story can remind cinephiles of cinematic greats like Nicolas Roeg’s “Don’t Look Now,” or Roman Polanski’s “Repulsion,” as well as some cult favorites like “Beat Girl” from 1960. Wright’s cinephilia cannot be underestimated.

With a script co-written by Krysty Wilson-Cairns, Wright is trying to tackle a lot. At one point, the film is about the dangers of romanticizing the past. The character of Eloise is in love with the sixties as she listens to music by The Kinks and The Who. Once again, Wright has compiled a perfect soundtrack and knows to embrace the

B-sides of great bands. Eloise then learns about the hardships that Sandie had to go through while trying to make it as a performer. In this old timeline, the story explores some power dynamics in the entertainment industry that were recently brought to the forefront by the #MeToo movement. Sandie is exploited by the men in

power while Eloise has to watch helplessly. This confrontation of the past is powerful, and in some ways is a realistic response to Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in… Hollywood.” Both films are about the entertainment industry in the 1960s, although each work has drastically different tones. To reflect back to 2017, the year in which Edgar Wright released his last narrative feature “Baby Driver,” the #MeToo campaign really came to fruition. One of the bigger stars to be exposed at that time was Kevin Spacey, who played the antagonist in “Baby Driver.” This latest feature feels like Wright is trying to atone for his work with the alleged assaulter. It is a good thing that Wright is willing to work through these issues. “Last Night in Soho” sees Edgar Wright becoming a more socially conscious filmmaker. As somebody whose career started with snappy action comedies, it is exciting to see the writerdirector step into a new stage in his career. It may take some getting used to for fans of Wright’s earlier works, but this film is one worth checking out.

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CARDINAL VOICE

Friday, Nov. 5, 2021

Editorial

Get off social media, Trump After four years of agony, most Americans thought they wouldn’t hear the name “Trump” again. Almost a year after the 2020 election, Donald Trump announced his new social media platform. TRUTH Social, an ironic name for the former president’s site, claims to “stand up to the tyranny of big tech,” which stands for any opinion besides the far-right. “We live in a world where the Taliban has a huge presence on Twitter, yet your favorite American President has been silenced. This is unacceptable,” Trump said in the announcement press release. Trump was banned from social media for a reason. While the First Amendment does guarantee the freedom of speech, insisting domestic terrorism gives him the right to lose those privileges. Following the United States Capitol riots in early January, Trump was banned from Twitter and suspended from Facebook NGHI TO /Cardinal Points for inciting the attacks. The new social media platform will debut violates licensing requirements. used to run a homemade soin the first few months of 2022. Mastodon is a free, open- cial networking site. Trump’s As for now, the media venture source software that can be TRUTH Social was created

using the website’s software. The creators have 30 days to make its source code public, which has not been done. If they do not comply with Mastodon’s licensing agreement, the whole project will be shut down. Eugen Rochko, Mastodon’s founder, issued a blog post Oct. 29 to warn Trump and his staff that their time to “stand up to big tech,” may be coming to a close. “On Oct 26, we sent a formal letter to Truth Social’s chief legal officer, requesting the source code to be made publicly available in compliance with the license,” Rochko wrote. “According to AGPLv3, after being notified by the copyright holder, Truth Social has 30 days to comply or the license may be permanently revoked.” Hopefully, TRUTH Social will never reach the app store. Trump and his cult-like followers have scary ideals that turn the love for America into hate. Their actions tear the country apart and divide the already divided nation. Keep Trump off social media, even the sites he creates.

‘Transformers War For Cybertron’ is power struggle BY JONAS WARD Staff Writer

Imagine a world encrusted with layers of metal and grime: A sentient robotic race amidst a nonsensical war over power and control. Enemies who were once allies kill each other because of past gripes that fuzed over into madness. “Transformers War for Cybertron” is the original, quintessential Transformers story prior to their arrival on earth. Developed by Highmoon Studios originally for the PS3 in 2010, “Transformers War for Cybertron” is a galactic ride full of energy and cannon fodder. Buckle up, because the story for “Transformers War for Cybertron” is sure to rev engines. There are two campaigns for this game. The do-gooders’ Autobot campaign and the tyranny fueled Decepticon campaign. Players can choose to play either campaign, which starts at different intervals throughout the story. Both of the campaigns intertwine with a story that is awesome in scale. In the middle of a civil war, players will start the story with three Autobots by the names of Optimus, Bumblebee and Ratchet. They are on a mission to figure out the fate of their commander in chief Zeta Prime, who had gone missing in the middle of a battle. Later in the mission, the trio discovers that their leader, Zeta Prime had been bested and killed in battle by the evil Decepticon leader Megatron. Megatron is completely mad, he was destined for glory and fame as a young gladiator, but shunned because of his self centered and violent tendencies. He started an uprising to completely take over their home planet of Cybetron and cleanse it for himself and his lunatic followers. After the death of Zeta Prime is made public to the Autobot forces, they decide to dub Optimus their new commander in chief with the Prime title. Optimus originally was a bookkeeper drafted into the war when his home city of Iacon was bombed and destroyed. He was a footsoldier who learned to become a leader during troubling times. Later in the story, Megatron and his army infiltrated an abandoned air base protected by the rogue scientist Starscream. Megatron and his army were there to obtain a highly volatile form of energy called Dark Energon. Megatron’s goal was to harness this energy to give him and his army the upperhand in the war he created. Starscream’s protectors could only do so much to keep Megatron and his army at bay from the Dark Energon he had been protecting for so long. Nearly all of Starscream’s protectors were killed by Megatron’s forces except for his two identical twin brothers named Skywarp and Thundercracker who are also rogues. The Starscream trio is known across the universe as the Seekers. Megatron was able to brainwash the trio into joining his Decepticon army after instilling fear because he noticed that Starscream was a valuable scientist. Later in the story, players realize that Starscream never wanted to join Megatron’s army. Starscream went back to his rogue ways later trying to defeat Megatron himself to take over his army for his own intentions. Starscream is easily one of the most interesting characters in the whole game with

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tremendous character development. Word was spread to the Autobot forces about Megatron’s raid for dark energon on Starscream’s air base. An Autobot flight soldier named Jetfire broke the news to Optimus Prime warning him that Megatron had attained a resource that was able to power weapons bigger than they can imagine. Optimus Prime and his allies decided that they needed to do something to help them in their favor. So they decided to travel underground on their planet to awaken an ancient Autobot protector named Omega Supreme. Omega Supreme is the gatekeeper to the planet’s core. He is a ginormous mountain sized being who has seen his fair share of battles protecting the core of the planet. Megatron ironically had the same idea. This was a notable point in the story and the campaign really takes off from here. Megatron and his army were able to beat the autobots to Omega Supreme, corrupting him with the dark energon and making him extremely weak. The Decepticon army later kidnapped the giant Omega Supreme in an attempt to hide him from the Autobots. While the Autobots were busy trying to rescue Omega Supreme, noticing he may be the only one able to help them win the war, Megatron was racing to the planet’s core. After this, the story climaxes into a whole string of events that are just too juicy to spoil for future players. The story of “Transformers War for Cybertron” is easily one of the best ever devised for a third-person fantasy video game. It keeps players wanting to know what happens step by step. It’s gripping, dark and intense. It makes players relate to the characters and the struggles they must endure. Upon its original release, fans have been jumping out of their seats for Highmoon Studios. Previous attempts by other developers to produce a Transformers game this substantial were subpar because of graphics technology. “Trans-

formers War for Cybertron” has fantastic graphics. Each character has their own movements, body language and interesting colors. The scenescape of their planet is some of the best fantasy landscapes ever created. Darks, lights and interactive materials are everywhere for players. Movements are amazing while watching characters morph into different vehicles to travel which is easily one of the most rewarding parts of this game. The sounds the player will hear are absolutely incredible. They are extremely sci-fi and entertaining while playing through the story. The controls and the gameplay are traditional for this third-person video game. The gameplay is fluid, full of action, guns, highspeeds and puzzles. While embarking on these journeys, the controls are what make it all at the end. The characters are easy to maneuver while walking, flying and driving. Fighting is one of the main parts in this game, mostly done with different types of guns. Aiming at enemies through an aligned crosshair is easy for the most part, unless the enemies are shooting back. All of these factors are bunched up into a really great and rewarding playing experience for anybody. If players are looking for a game that is incredibly underrated in the Playstation 3 library, “Transformers War for Cybertron” is an extremely good title worth sourcing. The story, gameplay and even online multiplayer aspects make it entertaining. Not only was “Transformers War for Cybertron” successful when it came out, the game spawned two other sequels and also a popular TV adaptation. A Netflix original titled “Transformers: War for Cybertron Trilogy” is now in its third season. The show gained a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which is spectacular for a show based on a video game. Email JONAS WARD cp@cardinalpointsonline.com

Editor in Chief Alana Penny

Managing Editor Olivia Bousquet

News Editor Olivia Bousquet

Opinions Editor Alexa Dumas

Sports Editor Garrett Collins

FUSE Editor Adeeb Chowdhury

Graphics Editor Nghi To

Photo Editor Olga Muka

Associate News Editor Mia Morgillo

Associate Opinions Editor Carly Newton

Associate Graphics Editor Zoe Nguyen

Web Editor Alexa Dumas

Public Relations Chair Erica Haley Faculty Adviser Shawn Murphy Advertising Manager Cody Bostinto

Contact CP: Editorial Board: 518.564.2174 Advertising: 518.564.3173 Fax: 518.564.6397 118 Ward Hall SUNY Plattsburgh Plattsburgh, NY 12901 cp@cardinalpointsonline.com

Award Winning

Cardinal Points has received the following awards from the Associated Collegiate Press (ACP): 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 2009, four Marks of Distinction Spring 2009, four Marks of Distinction Fall 2008, four Marks of Distinction Spring 2005, four Marks of Distinction Spring 2004, four Marks of Distinction Fall 2003, four Marks of Distinction Fall 2002, four Marks of Distinction Pacemaker Recognition Fall 2010, Honorable Mention 2006-2007, Newspaper Finalist

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Friday, Nov. 5, 2021

Platts students go bald for boobies BY MIA MORGILLO Associate News Editor

Every year, Alpha Epsilon Phi (AEPhi) hosts an annual Bald for Boobies event for its philanthropy, Sharsheret. Students at SUNY Plattsburgh signed up to have their heads shaved to raise money for the breast cancer education, support and assistance services Sharsheret provides for Jewish women. Last year, they were unable to put on the occasion due to COVID-19 and were thrilled to be able to recognize breast cancer awareness month again. Kerrie Miksch, a senior communication sciences and disorders major, is the head of philanthropy for AEPhi. She said finding a new barber after COVID-19 was the biggest challenge the sorority ran into this year. Luckily they found Chad Snyder, from Joe’s Barbershop in

Skyway Shopping Center in Plattsburgh. Four stations were set up around the ACC Ballroom including a raffle station with prizes for Hobie’s, Butcher Block, Sip, Starbucks and Texas Roadhouse. Additionally, an information booth about Sharsheret, darts game and “Boobie Ball,” a game of shooting pong balls into bras, were constructed. “It feels great to be able to give money to Sharsheret since we didn’t get to last year,” Miksch said, regarding the importance of this event to AEPhi. Over a dozen people signed up to get their heads shaved. Kamille Dawkins, who studies marketing, business administration and supply chain management, is the President of AEPhi. She said this event was “one of the best parts of being in AEPhi.” Partakers in the event lined up to get their heads

DASHCAM Continued from page A1 This is when the officers held her against the Elantra, restrained her arms and led her to the police car. This is also when the student’s friend began recording the video that went around on social media. They transported her to the station. She was charged with driving with sub standard lights, a suspended registration, a false inspection certificate and resisting arrest. The president said he released the video in response to students, faculty and staff requests. “Although the video is part of the public record, I wanted to be as transparent as possible and to allow the community to draw its own conclusions based on what they saw,” Enyedi said.

shaved with a crowd of supporters to cheer them on. One of these participants, Carson Fuller, who is studying for his Master’s degree in fitness and wellness, has done this three times. “I come here every year because my mom used to have breast cancer,” he said. He was excited to send her a picture after his new haircut. “I think it’s important because showing that there are people out there who are thinking of [those with breast cancer], lets them know they’re not alone and can make it through a fight as difficult as breast cancer can be.” After getting his head shaved, Fuller said he felt amazing and “about one pound lighter” than he did 20 minutes before. Email MIA MORGILLO cp@cardinalpointsonline.com

He said he received positive feedback for releasing the video because there was a campus-wide desire to see the entire traffic stop and better understand all that happened that night. Mac-Olivier Lalanne, a senior political science major, believed it was the right choice for the president to release the dashcam footage. However, he thought the administration could have released it earlier, rather than waiting until so many students requested it at events, like the Black Table Talk. “For most students, they just want that transparency from the president and the police department,” Lelanne said. When he initially saw the two-minute video, he thought it was disturbing, bizarre and controversial. “It didn’t have a lot of context for why the girl was under arrest and why it was handled that way,” Lelanne said. “That is why students wanted to see the dashcam: to see

OLGA MUKA/Cardinal Points

Carson Fuller gets his head shaved by Chad Snyder in honor of his mom. the full interaction.” Lelanne said the dashcam footage kind of changed his view of the traffic stop. “[The dashcam] showed University Police were going through their procedure, going through the computer looking for the license plate and all that, but it was a little bit off around the ending,” he said. Enyedi shared plans to launch SUNY Plattsburgh’s Campus, Community and Safety Advisory Committee, yesterday. “Together, they will evaluate policies, plans and procedures related to campus safety; make recommendations; facilitate communication across campus; and develop a mutual understanding of roles and expectations,” Enyedi said in his email. The committee is set to be formed by Nov. 18 and hold their first meeting by Nov. 29. “This collaborative partnership involving students, faculty, university police and others on campus, will work to understand and respond to the needs and experiences

of our diverse community and make recommendations to strengthen our relationships and practices,” Enyedi said. The committee is set to consist of UP officers and at least six additional members. One third of the members will be students. They will seek nominations from Student Association, Black Onyx, Fuerza, the Plattsburgh Association of Black Journalists (PABJ), the Student Diversity Council and other groups. One third of the members will be faculty, at least half of the members will identify as female and one third of the members will be selected by the president. “I see that they are at least trying their best to answer students’ questions and everything but I feel like more should be done,” Lalanne said.

Email ALANA PENNY cp@cardinalpointsonline.com

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News Editor Olivia Bousquet

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NEWS

Friday, Nov. 5, 2021

This Week in Photos: Trunk or Treat Photos By Olga Muka and Kayla Lester To the left: SUNY Plattsburgh women’s ice hockey players Erin Mcardle, Kendall Wasik, Holly Schmelzer, Hanna Rose, Annie Katonka, Nicole Unsworth and Ivy Boric dress up as Dr. Suess characters for Sunday’s trunk or treat event.

To the right: SUNY Plattsburgh women’s volleyball players Lily White and Shannon Fitzpatrick hide in the trunk to stay out of the rain and keep the candy dry.

To the left: Theta Phi Alpha members Taylor Mattison, Sophie Norton, Jaiden Varmette, Jeraya Kelly, Jordan Hakeem-Ali, Jenna Garcia, Nina Serafini, Elizabeth Veitch, Elizabeth Oser and Felicia Alicata volunteered to pass out candy at the Field House for the Halloween event.

CARDINALPOINTSONLINE.COM

FRIDAY, NOV. 3, 2021

Winning streak not enough to advance BY DREW WEMPLE Staff Writer

The SUNY Plattsburgh men’s Soccer team capped off their season Oct. 22, by beating Potsdam 2-0. ending the season on a five game win streak. However, the scenario the Cardinals needed to edge their way into the SUNYAC Championship tournament didn’t come to fruition and the team will miss the playoffs. The Cardinals ended the season with a record of 8-7-1, which placed them seventh in the conference standings. Going into the final weekend of games they were tied in points in standings with Oswego, yet the Lakers had a stronger record versus the teams ranked higher in the standings than the Cards. Earlier in the season when the two faced, it ended in a tie, had they beaten Oswego, they would’ve made it into the postseason tournament. Their turbulent weekend started that Saturday when they took on the Bears at home. The night before, Geneseo was at Buffalo State, and the Cardinals needed that game to end in a tie in order to set up a win-and-in scenario for themselves the next day. However, in double-overtime Geneseo was able to score a goal to win the game 2-1. That meant Plattsburgh’s last chance to make the tournament was if Buffalo State and Brockport tied their matchup Saturday night. But first Plattsburgh had to take on Potsdam. It was an afternoon game and, the Brockport-Buffalo St.

DAKOTA GILBERT/Cardinal Points

Even though the Cardinals won five games in a row, they were eliminated from the playoffs. game didn’t take place until that evening, so first the Cards would have to deal with the Bears. “We rallied together. Our seniors got the team together and said, ‘we don’t know what’s going to happen.’ We still have to wait for other results but we know that we have to give it 100% and end it [season] on a good note,” Sophomore Midfielder Jack Healy said. “Especially since it was senior day and we wanted to do it for them. So the team came together and we put out a pretty good win.” It was a solid game on

the pitch for the Cardinals, as they shut out the Bears 2-0. They were fueled by a first half goal from Jai Coker that broke a scoreless tie. Then again, Alex Graci put another one in the back of the net in the second half to help put the game away. Goalie Teddy Healy played a shutout game, saving six shots in the match. With that strong win, the team extended their win streak to five straight games. “We knew that if we dropped any more points we would be eliminated, so we had our backs against the wall,” Head Coach Chris Taylor said.

“Any mistake would see the season be over, so that’s where it [win streak] came from.” After they concluded with dispatching Potsdam, their fate was left to be decided in Brockport versus Buffalo State. The team was gathered together to watch their season’s future be decided. “You could literally hear a pin drop, everyone was just glued to the TV. We’re all in the same place watching it and it was just crazy,” Teddy Healy said. “All of us really wanted to get in because we had worked

hard for it all season.” However, Buffalo State scored a late goal in a 2-2 game, to put them up 3-2. The Cards needed a tie, and after the Bengals scored at the 78-minute mark, their season rested in those final 12 minutes. “It was emotional, but it was a roller coaster. It was just fun watching those games,” Jack Healy said. “But then at the end of the day, we’re just like, ‘alright, we’ve got to look forward. We had a great season. We had some great memories and some great times.” That late goal from Buf-

falo State, ended the Cardinals up and down season. The team’s fate was decided and they weren’t the ones to decide it, at the end of the day. “It was more like a shock. It was more like everyone was just looking at each other with their heads down like, ‘damn what are we gonna do now,’”Teddy Healy said. “You work so hard for all this just to come to an end like this was heartbreaking.” For the seniors and graduate students, this was their last collegiate game. They had just celebrated senior day hours before. “I’m extremely close with the seniors and I was devastated for them to be totally honest,” Taylor said. I can’t really put into words how badly I felt for them because they gave a lot to the program.” “They meant a lot to me and they meant a lot to the program.” Going forward, however, a streak like this is certainly something to build on. Especially combined with the determination to not have a season end like this again, the Cardinals should be coming out fiery next season. “It’s really important that the young guys and and all the retainers understand that missing the playoffs cannot and should not ever happen again,” Taylor said. “Because we just feel that we were one of the top teams in the league, but we didn’t prove that.”

Email DREW WEMPLE

cp@cardinalpointsonline.com

Women’s soccer burned by Red Dragons BY GARRETT COLLINS Sports Editor

On Wednesday, Nov. 3, the secondseeded SUNY Plattsburgh Cardinals took on the third-seeded Cortland Red Dragons in the semi-final round of the SUNYAC playoffs. The Cardinals were coming in hot, reeling off their last three wins of the season beating Clarkson, Potsdam and Canton. Earlier in the season,the Cardinals traveled and won a close game 1-0. The single score came with seven minutes left in the second half when Allison Siedmen scored her 3rd goal of the season. Since then, the Cardinals and the Red Dragons have been neck and neck all season, and it seemed like an inevitable matchup from the beginning of the 2021 season. The second matchup of the season saw the Red Dragons travel north to Plattsburgh for this playoff contest. The Cardinals were hit quickly by the opposition letting in a quick goal within the first three minutes of the match. The Plattsburgh defender was beaten to the ball by Cortland’s Jaden Galluzzo, and in that little time, she was able to get a shot off that got past the Plattsburgh goalie putting the Red Dragons up 1-0 quickly. Thirteen minutes later the Red Dragons would strike again when Galluzzo scored her second goal putting the ball right past the goalkeeper who was working to cut her off before she could shoot. The Cardinals were on the ropes so early in such a big game. The game would stay at that score until the 36-minute mark of the game when the Red Dragons would find the back of the net for the third and last goal of the game. Isabell Atuh got a feed from Galluzzo who had her fingerprint all over the game. Auth would score her first goal of the season scoring a goal in the top shelf of the net. Although the score of the game did not look close, the shot sheet told a different story. As the Cardi-

DAKOTA GILBERT/Cardinal Points

Number 8 Lauren Vellecca and the Cardinals will have to wait until Nov 8 during the Division III womes selection show.

nals would outshoot the Red Dragons in the first half, 12-4. The second half of the game potentially was a chance for the Cardinals to reclaim the lead, as well as an opportunity for the Red Dragons to continue to hang on to the commanding lead that they already had. The second half of the game saw Cortland’s defense clamped down and did not allow the Cardinals to do much on the offensive side. Although like the shot sheet would show again, Plattsburgh outshot Cortland this half, 10-4. While

Plattsburgh had more shot attempts than Cortland, they settled for shots that were not close and were easy for the goaltender to save. Out of all the shots taken by the Red Dragons, nine out of the 13 were on net compared to Plattsburghs 11 shots on goal for 22 total shots. Plattsburgh was attacked fast by Cortland’s offense, which was a departure from the last time they faced when both teams were able to muster up one shot combined. This game saw a combined 45 shots from both teams showing off the

fireworks that they have. Kristen Villemaire led Plattsburgh with 11 total shots and 6 shots on goal, and goalie Julia Ennis made 6 saves in the game. Although the Cardinals may have lost the SUNYAC tournament, they have to wait to see if their season continues during the 2021 NCAA Division III women’s soccer selection show Nov. 8. Email GARRETT COLLINS cp@cardinalpointsonline.com

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CARDINAL SPORTS

Sports Editor Garrett Collins

Friday, Nov.5 2021

NBA’s all 75 team BY DREW WEMPLE Staff Writer

The NBA officially unveiled their top 75 players of all time team, to kick off its diamond anniversary, however, there were actually 76 players named as there was a tie in the voting. This is the first, all-time top team since 1997, when the league celebrated its 50th anniversary.

It must’ve been somewhat difficult to pick the best 75 out of about 4,500 players to have ever appeared in an NBA game. But this “blue-ribbon panel,” as the NBA called it, attempted too. There are some gripes with the list, but some props must be given for putting their thoughts out there in the form of this list. The thing the selection committee got right was their decision to add so many current players. Out of the 76 players named, 11 were active players in the league right now: Giannis Antetokounmpo, Carmelo Anthony, Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, James Harden, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Damian Lillard, Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook. Some of them objectively don’t deserve to be on that list, but by putting that many active players on that list the league is taking the stance that this current generation of NBA talent has changed the way the game has been played. That is an extremely valid position to take; the way the game is played now is extremely different from the way it was played the last time the league released a list like this, and that group of players helped usher this new play style in. With that being said, there’s really not much else that can be said about

what the selection committee did well on this. All 50 of the players that made the NBA 50 team the last time around, made this list, so there were only 26 new additions, and 11 of those were the current players. There isn’t much else the league should really be patting themselves on the back for. Here’s what the league’s committee got wrong, starting with their decision to just carry over the entire NBA 50 team onto this list. Nobody asked for Paul Arizen, Dave DeBusschere, Dolph Schayes and Bill Sharman to be on this list. Those are just some examples of the NBA still trying to cater to the older generations, but the criteria for this list was to select pioneers that helped shape, define and redefine the game. A self-glorifying way of saying, “the best 75 players ever.” Schayes played in the first ever NBA All-Star game in 1951 and Arizen helped implement the jump shot in basketball, but if telling the story of the NBA’s 75 years of existence through the use of a list of players, that story can be told without those guys. There have been a whole 25 years of generational talent that had to fight for 25 spots, which is completely baffling to try and comprehend why it had to be that way. The biggest snubs rom this list all had their consist mostly during that 25 year gap in anniversaries. The biggest snubs were, in order, Dwight Howard, Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter. The biggest miss by the voters was Dwight Howard should’ve been on this list. Was he a pioneer that helped redefine the game? Maybe not necessarily, but Howard in his peak, was one of the most dominant bigs ever, next to Shaq. Now, he lacks the championships, but Howard is an eight-time All-NBA player, a three-

time Defensive Player of the Year and is top-15 all time in rebounds and is still currently playing. He should’ve been on it easy over DeBusschere or Sharman or any of those other old heads. The same goes for McGrady who was a two-time scoring champ, a seventime All-Star and seventime All-NBA. These two guys were just flat-out better basketball players than some of the guys on that NBA 75 team. As for Vince Carter, he’s more of a personal snub for me. If the NBA really wants to go by that criteria that they listed, Carter was one of the most inspiring athletes during his time in the league. Every kid, and even some current players, wanted to dunk like Vince Carter, and for good reason, he was electric. Vince Carter literally shaped a generation of players to want to dunk and fly like he did. Damian Lillard and Anthony Davis didn’t deserve to make this list. There is no offense meant by saying that, but Lillard just really only has the one All-NBA award to his name and just doesn’t meet the alleged criteria the league set. Davis has more All-NBAs and a championship, but once again, he doesn’t meet the criteria either. He probably will by the end of his career, but there were players stuck on the outside looking in that were more deserving than some of the guys that made it on. But usually that’s the case with any list or rankings, but as sports fans that’s what they love. Arguing, talking about, and advocating their own sides and opinions, and that’s one of the things that makes sports, especially the NBA so great.

Email DREW WEMPLE cp@cardinalpointsonline.com

Fall Sports Final

Men’s Soccer Volleyball Sat Oct. 23 @ 1p.m vs. Potsdam Sat Oct. 23 @ 1p.m vs Cortland . Wed Oct 27 @6 p.m At Castleton Women’s Soccer Sat Oct. 23 @1 p.m at Potsdam Tue Oct . 26 @6 p.m vs Canton

Men’s Soccer School Cortland New Paltz Oneonta Buffalo State Plattsburgh Geneseo Brockport Fredonia Potsdam

Record SUNYAC 12-2-1 6-1 11-3-0 6-1 9-2-2 5-1-1 4-2-4 4-2-1 8-3-0 4-2-1 7-7-1 3-4-1 7-6-2 3-4-0 6-6-1 2-5-0 6-9-0 1-6 2-11-2 0-8

School Geneseo Plattsburgh New paltz Oswego Geneseo New Paltz Oneonta Oswego Fredonia Potsdam

Record SUNYAC 8-2-0 6-0-1 10-3-1 6-2 -6-2-2 3-1 5-2-0 2-0 4-1-0 0-0 1-2-1 0-0 0-4-0 0-0 2-0-0 0-0 2-1-2 0-0 4-2-0 0-0

Oswego

Women’s Soccer Men’s Soccer Goals

Brian Coughlan Dylan Shalvey John Hayes Assists Dylan Shalvey Brian Coughlan Yusif Okine

Women’s Soccer 6 4 3

5 4 3

Save Percentage Teddy Healy .677

Goals

Emiy Frodyma Kristen Villemire Allison Seidman Assists Emily Frodyma Allison Seidmen Nora Fitzereld

9 7 5

5 4 4

Save Percentage Julia Ennis .817

Volleyball Kills

Jenn Braun Payton Zophy Meghan O’Brian

Assists

Emma Rivers Olga Muka Alexys Hawks

150 149 140

272 171 61

Digs

Payton Zophy Maddy Zophy Shannon Fitzpatrick

Aces

Emma Rivers Meghan O’Brian Payton Zophy

Tennis

School Record SUNYAC New Paltz 2-1 2-0 Cortland 3-1 3-1 Plattsburgh 1-1 1-3 Oswego 1-2 1-2 Brockport 0-1 0-1 Fredonia 0-2 0-3 Geneso 0-0 1-0 Oneonta 0-0 2-0

Volleyball

307 194 111

38 29 28-

School Cortland Geneseo New Paltz Plattsburgh Brockport Buffalo State Fredonia Oneonta Oswego Potsdam

Record SUNYAC6-2 1-0 3-5 1-0 4-5 1-0 5-3 1-0 8-2 0-1 2-4 0-0 3-4 0-0 1-6 0-1 4-5 0-1 2-3 0-1

Photo Provided by Gabe Dickens

The Cardinals tennis team ended the year with a 4-5 record and posted a 1-2 record in coference, the team posted three shut-out wins to finish the year.

DAKOTA GILBERT/Cardinal Points

The Plattsburgh women’s volleyball team finished the season with a record of 1015 and would finish the season 2-7 within their conference.

DAKOTA GILBERT/Cardinal Points

The men’s soccer team finished their season with a record of 8-7-1 and 4-4-1 in conference and finished the season with an astonishing five game winning streak.

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SPORTS

Sports Editor Garrett Collins

Friday, Nov. 5, 2021

Salo looks for growth in new season BY GARRETT COLLINS Sports Editor

The men’s basketball team is looking forward to taking the court for the first time in nearly two years. Since their last game, there has been a lot of turnover with new players coming in and older players leaving. For some players, they have seen the shut down of their sports as freshmen and are now seeing the light at the end of the tunnel as juniors. One of these players is communication studies junior forward Erik Salo. Salo started 21 of his 22 games and averaged 7.8 points per game shooting 69% from the field. Salo used the time away from the team due to the pandemic to work on his game and get better. “I felt like if I wanted to continue being a forward, I’m kind of undersized for the position at the college level,” Salo said. “I’m only 6’4”, so I felt like I had to play faster to continue playing that position.I couldn’t slow down and be an inside guy because those guys are like 6’7” 6’8”. I expanded my moves to slash and have a bit of a midrange and am still working on playing inside.” Salo started playing sports when he was really

Photo Provided by Erik Salo

Salo looks to build on his first year where he averaged 7.8 points from the field. young and played almost every sport at some level. And even from his earliest memories of basketball he always soared above the competition. “I was in second grade and I was playing with the fourth graders in my local basketball club and they kicked me out of the

game because they found out I was in second grade even though I was the tallest and I was scoring the most points,” Salo said. Plattsburgh gave Salo the opportunity to compete on a team and contribute while still enjoying the pluses of going away and having the “college

experience” “I knew that if I wanted to play basketball and actually contribute to the team at a high level I probably shouldn’t be playing D1 or D2,” Salo said. “I like the idea of being able to go somewhere and play and actually getting time and enjoying myself and

out works guys and is always going after guys who are taller than him but he works harder than everyone else. Especially on the rebounding side which is something I pride myself on.” Salo said. Salo loves the energy college basketball brings especially when it comes to the commitment of his team. “Once you get to this level, it’s just a different ball park. Everyone has a common goal to win and get better,” he said On what to expect this season Salo says to expect growth all throughout the season. “I’m excited to see how much we can grow,” Salo said. “We weren’t bringing back a lot of guys that played my freshman year in the first place, I didn’t even know what our team was going to look like until a couple days ago.” Salo said. “I’m just excited to see what we look like days and months from now.” Salo and the Plattsburgh Cardinals take on Western Connecticut state Nov. 6, and they make their home opener Nov. 17 versus Skidmore College.

still having a college atmosphere.” When watching Salo play this upcoming season,shades of Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love may be seen. Someone he compares his game to pretty closely. BY GARRETT COLLINS “I’m not nearly as good Position a shooter as he is but he

cardinalpointsonline.com

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FUSE

FUSE Editor Adeeb Chowdhury

Movie in the Green Continued from page B6 The Campus Housing and Community Living Office started its series of movie showings at the beginning of the semester as an opportunity for students to socialize and relax on Friday nights. It wasn’t the first event of its kind, however. Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the housing office used to take students to the Cumberland 12 Cinema and offer free admission to watch a movie with friends. However, given social distancing guidelines during the pandemic, the cinema was not open and taking students to watch films together was not a realistic option. Thomas Landon, the first-year residential program coordinator, said that the housing office began planning strategically to bring back the moviegoing experience during the Fall 2021 semester. “We realized we could implement that idea on our own campus,” Landon said. “We could rent a movie screen from a company that we already have a working relationship with, and we can provide that cinematic experience right here for students to enjoy.” So Friday, Aug. 27, the first Movie in the Green took place on Memorial Hall field at 8:30 p.m. Students flocked to the field, bringing blankets and snacks to eat while watching the classic film, “Jurassic Park.” “We chose Jurassic Park because that had been a theme for Community Living this semester,” Landon said. Various pictures in many dorms on campus show community advisors and community directors posing with photoshopped dinosaurs. The “Jurassic Park” showing was a “huge success” ac-

cording to Landon, with anywhere from 50 to 70 people gathering in the field to watch the film. Many students arrived in large groups and shared snacks and refreshments while enjoying the movie. The field was also lit up with large glow-in-the-dark rings and glowsticks that had been passed out by housing staff members before the film. Purple, white, yellow, red and orange lights cast a dim glow across the field with students wearing the rings around their necks and wrists. “The movie was an amazing chance for me to make new friends and meet new people, since the semester had just started,” Junior Rubaa Khan said. “I had just arrived and moved into my dorm, and my new friends and I got to go watch the film together and have fun.” The Movie in the Green series continued with other classic films. Among them were “Hocus Pocus,” “It: Part One,” and “Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl.” During the screening of “Hocus Pocus”, staff members dressed as witches handed out candy, and the decorations were set up around the screen to match the movie’s theme as well. During “It: Part One,” red balloons were distributed, and staff member David Mcdonough dressed up as Pennywise the demonic clown. “Being able to dress up as Pennywise was really unfortunate for some of our guests. Turns out they don’t like clowns as much as I do,” Mcdonough said. “I personally hate being scared, but this time the tables had turned, and I found myself chasing some very frightened students that ran away. I had an absolute blast, and was very appreciative of the opportunity given to me.” Landon said Mcdonough’s portrayal of Pennywise was one of the highlights and most popular aspects of the whole Movie in the Green series. “We discovered quite randomly that David can do the Pennywise laugh and dance really well,” Landon said. “So we decided to put him in the costume and set up

Friday, Nov. 5, 2021

a photo-op session during the movie. A lot of people stopped watching the film to come take pictures with him. They were really excited.” Students also noticed the interesting marketing for “It: Part One.” Posters were hung up around campus with an announcement about a missing child, fitting the movie’s theme of abducted children. “I really thought it was a real missing child poster,” Khan said, laughing. “It looked very real, and I thought UP hung it up. Then I realized it’s just an ad.” For the final film, the Housing office collaborated with the Office of Alumni Relations to show “A Quiet Place: Part 2” Oct. 15. This screening was a drive-in showing and took place in the lot behind Sibley Hall. Landon said one key challenge to screening the films was the weather. “We were blessed by the rain gods with clear skies on the nights we showed the films,” he said. “But even then, it got really cold sometimes. That’s one of the reasons we gave blankets to students at the beginning of the semester. Despite that, it would get so cold near the end of the showings that I saw people run off freezing.” Regardless, Landon described the event series as “100% a success.” “It did exactly what we hoped it would do,” he said. “It brought students together and gave them a chance to hang out, have fun, and get to meet new people. It worked out great.” Looking to the future, Landon said the Housing office is considering similar movie events, such as exploring the possibility of transporting students to the Cumberland 12 Cinema again. Email ADEEB CHOWDHURY cp@cardinalpointsonline.com

Photos provided by Student Association

Students relax with friends, enjoy snacks and lie on warm blankets in the Memorial Hall field during screenings of the Movie in the Green, organized by Campus Housing.

Ilgunas shares lessons from Keystone journey BY BRADLEY PROCITA Contributor

Author and journalist Ken IIgunas traveled to SUNY Plattsburgh Nov. 3 to give a speech about his journey walking over the Keystone pipeline. The debate regarding whether to build the Keystone XL pipeline, which would be an extension of the original Keystone pipeline, has spanned more than 10 years and three presidential administrations. Barack Obama was the first president to not issue a permit to the energy company TransCanada to construct the pipeline, Donald Trump reversed that decision and then Joe Biden rejected the permit during the first few hours of his presidency. Supporters of the Keystone XL pipeline, which would run from Hardisty, Canada to Steele City, Nebraska, say it creates jobs, strengthens the economy and brings more crude oil into the United States. Critics say that it will corrode, leak into waterways that people use as a source of drinking water and only contribute more to climate change. IIgunas loved hiking and writing and he wanted to have a voice in this controversial issue. He was anxious about climate change and wondered how people can fight a problem this vast. Ilgunas set off for his journey in late September 2012 after a revelation when working for an oil company in Alaska that he referred to as an “arctic labor camp.” At this point in his life, he was 28, broke and needed to find a purpose in his life. The idea to trespass the country by walking over the entire Keystone pipeline was the light bulb that went off in his head. “The soul must be caged before it can be set free,” Ilgunas said, describing one of his central philosophies in life.

IIgunas’s journey would require him to traverse from the Alberta prairie to southern Texas. He refers to his walk as trespassing because his route required him to trespass onto private property. He exclaimed, “this is how I’m going to escape Deadhorse,” the town he was working in at the time while living out of his van. The original plan was for him and his walking buddy, Liam to travel together, but Liam found out he wasn’t legally allowed in Canada. IIgunas set off on the journey himself. He wanted to travel as light as possible, so he prepackaged food and arranged for his friend, Josh, to send five days worth of food to various Post Offices along his route. His equipment included a smalltent, headlamp, compass, a bear spray canister and chlorine dioxide to purify water. He also brought an iPad and a notebook so he could document his adventure in real time. First, he began his walk through the Alberta prairie, which he describes as the best ground to walk on because it’s hard and relatively flat. He planned on wrapping up his journey by the beginning of winter, but things didn’t go according to plan. His goal was to walk 20 miles every day, but IIgunas quickly realized that he couldn’t handle that physically. Adding to his struggles, he broke his toe shortly before he was set to take off. His feet took most of the beating. By day three he had eight blisters, gashes on the back of his ankles and athlete’s foot. However, he pressed on, but not at the same pace he was planning on. Sometimes he’d walk eight miles, maybe twelve, even taking a day off when he felt it was necessary. He spoke about the beautiful scenery

he encountered and the wealth of wildlife he saw. He told the crowd about how he saw what looked to be 5,000 ducks swirl up like a twister and speedy pronghorns hop barb-wire fences with ease. He also described how he saw firsthand the destruction of the Boreal forest in the Alberta province. As a new way of acquiring oil, companies are now extracting it from tar sands, which are a mixture of sand, clay, water and oil. To get to the product, companies first need to cut down parts of the forest and after the oil is separated there is a by-product that gets discarded. He recounted flying over the forest beforehand and at times seeing “weird black fields” and “sulfur pyramids.” Sulfur isa by-product of the collection method. To stay well hydrated along the trip, he would drink out of cattle troughs, natural bodies of water and knock on strangers’ doors to ask for the essential resource. He tried to find cover from the extreme winds by camping out near abandoned houses, using them as shields. When a snowstorm hit, Illungas found a barn to stay in until it had passed. When in the province of Alberta he met a man named Carl, who described the Keystone pipeline as the best thing that happened to him. The pipeline netted Carl a handsome sum of money for letting the company build through and under his property. IIgunas said he didn’t find many naysayers until he hit Nebraska. “Climate change is a dirty word on the plains,” said IIgunas. Nebraskans say that the pipeline has the potential to leak into the Ogallala Aquifer, which supplies drinking water to 81% of the state’s population, according to IIungas. While in Nebraska, a man

named Rick chose to accompany him for four days. The media ate it up and it finally gave IIgunas the platform he was in search of. What started with local news appearances turned into phone calls from The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Huffington Post, all wanting to hear his story. IIgunas said that he advocates for freeto-roam laws, which would give anyone the right to peacefully walk across private property as long as they don’t come too close to private residences and are not exploiting the land by hunting, logging, or being disruptive. That is starkly different from the United States wherein some states people believe they can shoot someone just for being on their property, but there is a distinction between the lawful use of force and the lawful use of deadly force even in states like Texas, where Illgunas ends his journey. He experienced an America that is not as divided as the media make it out to be. Throughout his trip, he was the receiver of many acts of kindness. People offered him rides and cash and brought him meals from McDonalds. “I felt like a little girl picking blueberries,” Ilgunas said, describing feeling innocent on the hike although he was nervous at the beginning. Read all the details in his book, “Trespassing Across America: One man’s epic, never-done-before (and sort of illegal) hike along the Keystone XL pipeline.”

Email BRADLEY PROCITA cp@cardinalpointsonline.com

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FUSE

FUSE Editor Adeeb Chowdhury

Friday, Nov. 5, 2021

Local poet laureate writes about self-love BY SERENA GANESAN Contributor

Being autistic, Benjamin Giroux has always felt different. In a world where conformity is rewarded and differences are disregarded, it was hard for Giroux in school. When he was 10 years old, he wrote his first ever poem for an assignment about how he felt odd among his peers. However, he felt that his poem was not good enough. So, with his permission, his father Sonny decided to upload it online to receive feedback. The poem went viral and was shared by the National Autism Association. It was translated into more than 21 languages, used as song lyrics and resonated with anyone who exists outside of the “norm,” Giroux was interviewed by “The Today Show” and the Huffington Post. He even had his poem shared by the author, Anne Rice. He was named as the local Poet Laureate by the City of Plattsburgh and Beekmantown Central School District. “I didn’t know what to think when it went viral. It was very weird that something I wrote for school was being read all over the world,” Giroux said about his initial reaction after the poem went viral. “I was getting messages from people in Australia, all over Europe, Indonesia, everywhere. I hope kids learn that they are not alone in feeling like they don’t fit in. We are all different and that makes us unique and special.” The poem was picked by Schiffer Publishing and published as an illustrated book. It took them around two years to find their illustrator, Roz MacLean. The book was officially released on Oct. 26th and Giroux became one of the youngest authors to receive the esteemed Kirkus Review Star. In addition, Giroux was involved in the illustration process. “It was my idea to make all the airplanes different and to make mine a different color,” he said. “When it came to the cover I suggested putting the airplanes reflecting in the character’s glasses.” Giroux’s father has been a rock for him throughout the entire journey. His parents had countless meetings with teachers, principals and parents as a result of kids at school bullying him. Both of his parents clearly explained that other kids were mean to him as they felt bad about themselves and channeled those emotions onto Giroux. When he read his son’s poem, he was elated at his poetic talent but also sad that his son felt isolated and lonely. “We had such mixed feelings. Honestly reading it the first time my wife and I were so impressed at how amazing it was. His choice of words, the rhyming, even the

Photo provided by Sonny Giroux

Benjamin Giroux signs copies of his upcoming book, which willl be officially released Nov. 16. cadence of each line,” Sonny Giroux said. “Then we read it again and realized what it was he was saying and we were heartbroken. Our 10 year old just wrote down that he felt odd, and that he cried when he was laughed at and how he didn’t feel like he belonged. How else could a parent feel?” However, he noted the inspirational message in the poem. “Then you see the positive in the poem when Ben realizes that we are all different and that’s what makes everyone special,” Sonny Giroux said. “It’s pretty impressive that a 10 year old could understand that when a lot of adults still don’t.” Currently a junior in high school, Giroux has written two more books that are about his pet Corn Snake,

Monty, and dealing with body shaming, self-love and feeling different. He hopes that after reading “I Am Odd, I Am New”, kids learn that they are not alone in feeling like they don’t fit in, and that they realize that everyone is different and that’s what makes each individual unique and special. “I Am Odd, I am New” will be officially released Nov. 16. There will be a book signing at Booksburgh Books, Champlain Centre Saturday, Nov. 13 from 1 to 3 p.m.

Email SERENA GANESAN

cp@cardinalpointsonline.com

This week’s reading comes from the Good Karma Tarot deck created by Kerry Ward of Cosmopolitan Magazine. Game over: That’s the message of Write it off, Aries, because some ARIES LEO SAGITTARIUS March 21 - April 19 July 23 - Aug 22 the cutting Ten of Swords. It’s time Nov 22 - Dec 21 things just can’t be saved—and to put on your sneakers and get out. shouldn’t be. You’ve been pourSeriously, Leo, enough is enough. ing a lot of energy and effort into a You’ve tried and tried to make things leaky bucket, and it all just pours work, it’s not getting any better, and away into nothing. The situation it’s not going to. It is what it is. And isn’t going to magically improve, now, it’s time to withdraw. The relief so it’s time to cut your losses and and empowerment you’ll feel from move on. You’re too valuable to letting go will be worth the brief waste time on dead ends. Go look angst of cutting the cord. for the action, and you’ll soon be back in business.

TAURUS

April 20 - May 20

GEMINI

May 21 - June 20

CANCER

June 21 - July 22

The Star is the tarot’s cosmic pass, a wonderful omen of wish fulfillment, and a chance to make your most heartfelt dream a reality. Truly, it can start right here. The higher you aim, the better the outcome will be. Brighten, bolden, and enlarge your ambitions this week. The universe is backing you, and you’re bound for success. Don’t squander this energy on something trivial. Pick a meaningful goal and set off in its direction this week.

VIRGO

You’ve got to get out of your own way, Gemmy, and stop overthinking everything. Half the time you’re stuck catastrophizing, and it just prevents you from taking meaningful action. The Eight of Swords demands that you stop projecting your worst fears onto other people, places, or situations. Focus on your own circle of control.

LIBRA

It’s a philosophical kind of week for you, Cancer. You’re questioning what (or who) you truly believe in right now, and where you align on matters of ideology and justice. The Hierophant brings the ~big picture~ to the foreground and asks you to review what you think is right, moral, true, and just. Know yourself. This week might lead to interesting actions, because when you know where you stand, you can choose to take action to that position. You go, Cancer.

Aug 23 Sept 22

Sept 23 Oct 22

SCORPIO Oct 23 Nov 21

Decision time, Virgo. The Two of Swords is a direct order to make your mind up, take action, and move on with confidence—no looking back or second-guessing yourself. Sometimes we think that no decision IS a decision because things will happen anyway. But in this case, no decision means that everything will stall. You really do need to pick a side and make a move, otherwise things might start getting uncomfortable. You feel like you’re being tested this week, Libra, and although it feels a bit tense, it actually stirs you into action and brings out a powerful performance. The Knight of Swords is a reminder what a smart, shrewd operator you can be, and this is the week to bring all of your talents and intellectual strengths to the game. Play to win. You’ve got this. The Knight of Pentacles is the hardest worker in the tarot deck. He toils away, putting in the effort to make sure his world is safe, secure, and protected. He counts pennies, crosses Ts, watches the clock, and gets where he wants to go through sheer willpower and determination. That is YOU this week, Scorpio. Don’t give up on what you need (or want) to get done. Stick with the task, see it through, and the rewards will be worthwhile.

An opportunity for promotion, advancement, or broadening your horizons will emerge this week, and you should take it. You can go further than you currently think is possible, and you’re about to see this for yourself. The King of Coins brings opportunity, responsibility, reward, and recognition. It’s time to step up, lean in, and get what you deserve.

CAPRICORN

Don’t overthink it, Cap. Whatever you’re facing, please know that you CAN overcome it, and the task will be a lot easier and quicker than you imagine. So don’t delay—get to it. You’re ready to tackle this obstacle, and you’re going to blast through it in style. The Nine of Wands is a big reassurance that you can overcome whatever stands in your way this week. Face it head-on.

AQUARIUS

Hear them out, Aquarius, and then make up your mind. You can be quick to jump to a conclusion or position, and you might not have all of the relevant facts. The Five of Wands sees you in conflict with someone. Make sure you go into the disagreement with the right knowledge, the best questions, and a positive attitude.

Dec 22 Jan 19

Jan 20 Feb 18

PISCES Feb 19 March 20

Everything is a little chaotic and ~choppy~ ATM, and it’s making you feel on edge. The Page of Wands shows there’s a lot going on, but it’s all going in unexpected directions. Things are stopping and starting and changing on a daily basis. Take a deep breath, Pisces. Chill. Just do what you have to do, and let the rest work itself out. Don’t start anything new this week. Ride the waves of the current situation/s and see where you land. It’ll all turn out okay.

Haunted Maze B4 Poet laureate B5

‘Movie in the Green’ reaches final act BY ADEEB CHOWDHURY FUSE Editor

Over the course of the fall semester, several Friday nights saw the Memorial Hall field being paid visits by unusual characters — people dressed as witches handing out candy, spooky red balloons hovering in the wind and a dancing killer clown. But it wasn’t Halloween — it was Movie in the Green. (continued on B4)

NGHI TO/Cardinal Points