Cardinal Points issue 11 - fall 2020

SUNY Plattsburgh’s independent student newspaper since 1997

FRIDAY, NOV. 13, 2020

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VOLUME 103 - ISSUE 11

BIDEN WINS

SUNY mandates testing before leaving for break

BY DREW WEMPLE Staff Writer

ADAM SCHULTZ/via Creative Commons

Joe Biden accepts the nomination for the Democratic party’s ticket for President of the United States in Wilmington, Delaware, Aug. 20.

SUNY Plattsburgh reacts to 2020 elections

BY CHANNING PRINS

Staff Writer

The 2020 presidential election left the country at a stand-still for more than five days, waiting for every vote to be counted between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden. In the end, Biden secured the nomination for the 46th president of the United States.

Although Trump has yet to concede the race, and while many are calling for Trump to do so, Political Science Professor Harvey Schantz said the president is well within his rights to hold off.

“Every person needs time to get used to the outcome. I think with some challenges left, and I think with some time, I think President Trump will concede, but I think he’s within his rights to take a couple of days,” Schantz said. “But I’m sure

once all the evidence and all the legal avenues are exhausted then he would concede the race. So it’s understandable given the President’s personality and given the closeness of the race.”

Schantz also said that despite younger voters be-

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tween the ages of 18-30 represented a smaller percentage of the electorate this year versus 2016, younger voters made the difference for Biden in key swing states.

“Younger voters determined the outcome of the election in two ways. One,

nationally, younger voters, those under 30, were more likely to vote for Joe Biden.

And secondly, in the crucial battleground states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona and Nevada, younger voters overwhelmingly voted Demo-

cratic and against Trump,” Shantz said. “And because the vote was so close, voters under 30 decided the election.”

SUNY Plattsburgh students have mixed reactions to the election’s results.

“I’m personally happy about the outcome,” computer science major Ezekyl Cabell said. “When Trump was in office, my family was losing money, even more during quarantine, and Biden’s plan on taxes will be helping my family. I’m just happy my family won’t literally be living from paycheck to paycheck.”

Social work major Olivia Rizzo was also happy with the outcome.

“I think it’s going to be a really good change for our country, and I’m looking forward to seeing the positive that comes out of it.”

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Things will look quite different this year when students depart for Thanksgiving break. Last week, the SUNY system approved SUNY Plattsburgh’s plan for fall departure testing.

What used to be a time of melancholy toward leaving friends at school yet returning to friends and family back home has now added the influence of another round of mandatory pool COVID-19 testing.

The SUNY system’s guidelines for required fall departure testing included instructions for when and how to test students, quarantine, isolation and leaving the campus.

“SUNY directed its campuses to develop a plan to test students prior to the end of the on-campus portion of the fall semester. With the guidance provided, campus leaders here developed a plan based on the ongoing process of pooled surveillance testing, isolation and quarantine protocols, food service requirements and more. The plan was submitted to the system and approved,” SUNY Plattsburgh President Alexander Enyedi said.

SUNY Plattsburgh submitted its plan before Nov. 5 and released it to the student body the following day.

According to the plan, all students taking at least one in-person class, utilizing services on campus, such as residence halls, the library, gym and dining venues, or working on-campus must receive a COVID-19 test prior to leaving campus.

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Sexual misconduct survivors share their campus stories

BY FERNANDO ALBA Editor in Chief

Almost anyone on SUNY Plattbsburgh’s campus can say how much of a problem sexual misconduct is on campus. But not many hear about it directly from survivors.

The Instagram account @shareyourstoryplattsburgh changes that.

It’s a page run by two survivors themselves who set up a Google form for others to anonymously share their stories.

The page is run by a junior and a sophomore, who asked to remain anonymous.

“I didn’t want to be the center of the account. I wanted it to be more survivor-centered. I don’t want to

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make it seem like it’s about me. Because it’s not about me,” the sophomore said.

The pair decided to start the account after seeing Cristal Garcia, another SUNY Plattsburgh student, detail her mental health struggles after her abuse on campus on her Instagram account.

“I’m very overwhelmed once again, but I promise something is going to come out of this for all of us at Plattsburgh, especially us black people,” Garcia’s December 2019 post read.

The students behind @shareyourstoryplattsburgh saw that post as a rallying call.

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EMMA VALLELUNGA/Cardinal Points Photo Illustration

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NEWS

News Editor Emma Vallelunga

Friday, Nov. 13, 2020

Nov. 5 A community advocate reported the odor of marijuana on the fifth floor of Wilson Hall to University Police. Two students were identified, and appropriate Student Conduct charges were filed.

Nov. 9 Janitorial staff in Hudson Hall reported the illegal dumping of cardboard boxes in the residence hall’s nearby dumpster. Two individuals were identified, but no charges were filed.

Nov. 10 The fire alarm went off in deFredenburgh hall.

The smoke was discovered as a result of marijuana smoke. Student Conduct charges have been filed.

AUDREY LAPINSKI/Cardinal Points Photo Illustration

Weekly Cartoon

TESTING Continued from page one To prevent the possible spread of the virus, students shall not leave campus until they receive a negative test result. A rapid antibody test will not suffice.

The campus began pool testing Wednesday for on-campus and commuting students, then continued until today, testing the rest of the oncampus student body and off-campus students who meet the criteria for testing. If an on-campus student tests positive in this batch of departure testing, they will be moved to an on-campus isolation room, and offcampus students will be required to isolate themselves per campus protocols. Students who are discovered through contact tracing to have been in close contact with someone who tested positive will be quarantined.

“When a pooled test sample

comes back positive, we have almost always been able to identify the individual,” Director of the Student Health and Counseling Center Dr. Kathleen Camelo said. “When someone tests positive, we contract to trace who that person has been in contact with.”

If a student tests positive, but their discovered contacts have already left for the semester, Camelo clarified they can contact trace to students back home.

There are some students, however, who feel like this plan is unreasonable in the fact that SUNY shouldn’t determine who leaves and who doesn’t.

“I don’t think it’s fair that the campus has a say on if we should be allowed to go home or not,” sophomore Grace Koetzle said. “It should be up to our parents if they want us home or not.”

“SUNY highlighted that its campuses take seriously the responsibility for the health and safety of

faculty, staff and students, and also for the communities within which campuses reside,” Enyedi said in response to these claims. “It is ultimately a health and safety issue for each of us.”

As for students who fail to comply with the departure testing procedures per campus protocol, their case will be referred to the Student Conduct Office. Director of the Student Conduct Office Larry Allen declined to be interviewed for this article.

There are many aspects to this fall departure testing plan, but Camelo said everything they do for the school is within reason.

“In the public health world, we do as much as we can that’s reasonable and practical,” Camelo said.

Email DREW WEMPLE cp@cardinalpointsonline.com

Pass-fail option granted for students’ courses ROBERT SANCHEZ/Cardinal Points

Campus COVID-19 Tracker

Total number of cumulative COVID-19 cases within SUNY Plattsburgh community:

Number of recovered COVID-19 cases within the SUNY Plattsburgh community:

74 40

Number of COVID-19 cases in quarantine oncampus and within SUNY Plattsburgh community:

41

Number of COVID-19 cases in quarantine offcampus and within SUNY Plattsburgh community:

73

CP Corrections There are no errors to report.

If you see an error in Cardinal Points, email cp@cardinalpointsonline.com

BY ADEEB CHOWDHURY sues that impede students’ academic performance.

Staff Writer Among these issues are safety and social distancFollowing recent efforts ing measures, financial

by Student Association strain, lack of face-to-face leaders, the Office of the Provost announced Tues- classroom interaction and day that a modified pass/ so-called “Zoom fatigue,” fail option for this semes- in which constant online ter and next semester, as classes lead to exhauswell as a course withdraw- tion and inability to pay al deadline extension, attention. In addition, nuwould be made available merous students unable to come to Plattsburgh to students.

Speaking at the SA ex- or even the United States ecutive council meeting encounter time zone difMonday, SA President ferences that create addiRudaba Ahmed described tional complications. Mether advocacy for a pass/ waly pointed out a number fail option, stating that of international students such a measure would be have to participate in onof enormous help to many line classes at very late or students struggling due to early hours of the day.

“It’s clear that a lot of COVID-related issues. Acastudents are struggling demic Affairs Coordinator with corona-related condiAhmed Metwaly agreed, tions this semester,” Metpointing out that this “was waly reiterated.

“The pass/ clearly not a regular semester” for the student fail option would greatly benefit a lot of people, and body.

Various conditions per- it’s very important to the taining to the pandemic SA that the student body created extraordinary dif- receives the help it needs.”

The SA had conducted ficulties for students, Meta survey through its Inwaly said. He compared stagram page regarding this fall to last semester students’ need for a pass/ and described certain is-

fail option. According to Ahmed, the survey ended with 500 votes and demonstrated considerable support for the measure.

Metwaly added that SA members’ everyday conversations with students on campus also pointed to the widespread need to make this option available.

Ahmed said she had conversations with Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Anne Herzog, as well as Faculty Senate Chairperson Gary Kroll regarding this issue.

In addition, Metwaly advocated the pass/fail option in front of the Faculty Senate and re-iterated the difficulties students were facing that necessitated this measure.

The day after the SA meeting, Herzog announced via email to all students that they will be permitted to select pass/ fail grading for one nonmajor course within 24 hours of grade submission this semester. She recommended that students consult with their advisors to discuss how exercising

this option may affect their graduation honors, graduate school applications, course transfer, GPA calculations and minimum grades needed for professional programs.

Herzog said certain concerns to making the pass/ fail option available for all courses, such as how it may result in students not learning content necessary for their degree completion. Therefore, courses that fulfill major and cognate requirements, as well as graduate courses and ENG101 College Writing II, are not eligible.

The announcement also stated students may choose to withdraw from one or more courses until the end of this semester.

The deadline for sending late course withdrawal requests to the student’s respective dean’s office via the Course Schedule Adjustment Form is Dec.11.

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News Editor Emma Vallelunga

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NEWS

Friday, Nov. 13, 2020

This Week in Photos: Culture Photos By Dakota Gilbert Students are performing in this year’s Night of Nations on the virtual stage. In order to comply with COVID-19 safety protocols, all performers were required to wear a mask, and only six people were allowed on stage at any given time.

Night of Nations 2020 presents “Rewind: A Global 360” SUNY Plattsburgh’s annual Night of Nations is being held virtually this semester due to the pandemic, but students were allowed to rehearse their acts in Giltz Auditorium in preparation for their recorded performance.

The show will air tomorrow at 6 p.m. on Zoom, PSTV Channel 10.1 and cable TV channel 194. Its theme, “Rewind: A Global 360,” is supposed to showcase different cultures during different time periods.

“This is an entirely new format for Night of Nations this year,” said Kelly Byrnes, one of the student event organizers. “We understand that many students may feel uneasy or confused about the process; however, the team is doing all it can to make this even go smoothly. We knew, despite the circumstances, that we wanted and needed to figure out a way to make Night of Nations happen.”

“This is definitely a big opportunity to have a lot of viewers,” Byrnes said. “Now, anyone will be able to stream the video and watch from the comfort of their home. It is vital to stay positive during the pandemic, and that is exactly what we have been doing.”

Helping with Night of Nations promotion is what Byrnes called “the greatest ally throughout the years,” Club International.

“Our club is very hyped up with this year’s event,” said Club International President Manasi Jadhav.

While none of the club’s board members are on campus this semester, she said “we are very excited and looking forward to this event and are ready to collaborate. We have already been promoting the event and will continue to do so.”

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News Editor Emma Vallelunga

SURVIVOR Continued from page one “We see that time and time again. We see how it just takes one person to share their story for other people to feel comfortable to share their story too,” the sophomore said.

“And that’s why the page was created. Not everyone wants to publicly say [their story].

Not everyone wants to put that on their personal account.”

Since the pair started the account before the fall semester, the sophomore said they’ve received more than 100 submissions. The amount of submissions caused the form to crash, she said. Some were even lost, but 22 posts are currently up on the page detailing experiences involving Greek life, community advocates in dorms, relationships and more.

The page also lists resources for survivors as well as information for others not familiar with sexual misconduct and how it can affect mental and physical health, among other things.

“If they’re a survivor, I want them to know that they’re heard. They’re seen and

believed and supported,” the sophomore said. “And for the non-survivors or just bystanders, I want them to understand that this is a real issue on campus. This is something that is affecting people all around you.”

The amount of submissions weren’t a surprise to the sophomore. Not even what was detailed was surprising for the most part, she said. What was surprising was the amount of drug abuse students mentioned in the submissions, especially with cocaine and heroin.

“It’s alarming to read how many people use drugs on this campus,” she said. “It’s not talked about enough, and we don’t have enough resources to address that.”

That’s the underlying problem, according to the sophomore; the college systematically fails at addressing the needs of its students’ health.

“What usually I see from these departments is everyone is blaming another department,” the sophomore said. “They never take accountability for their role that they’ve played in the problem to be honest.”

The counseling center seeing students

on a bi-weekly basis isn’t good for students, she said. And now, charging those students $60 a session for psychiatric help is hurting them.

“A lot of students don’t have that, especially in the middle of a pandemic. You would think they’d be more lenient and not be asking for more money. It’s shameful because it feels like no one cares,” she said.

Many would assume the Title IX Office would be the first stop for a survivor on campus, but the sophomore behind the account said it isn’t trusted. Many survivors’ abusers are left with the equivalent of a “slap on the wrist,” she said.

“Talking from experience, I truly feel like the Title IX process is more traumatizing than the assault itself, to some extent. Because when survivors are assaulted again, they don’t want to report it. They already know the outcome. What’s the point?” she said.

“At the end of the day, peoples’ mental health comes first above everything. It’s traumatizing to constantly see your abuser on campus. It’s traumatizing to fear for your life. But we see that once and once again and then wonder why so many people drop

Friday, Nov. 13, 2020

out, wonder why so many people transfer from Plattsburgh. It’s an issue so clear but just not talked about.”

Title IX Coordinator Butterfly Blaise Boire responded to Cardinal Points’ request for an interview by saying, “Due to FERPA and privacy rights, there may be much on this topic that I am unable to speak on in order to uphold law/policy/individual rights.”

Blaise Boire did offer to possibly talk with Cardinal Points but did not respond to a following email and phone calls.

The students behind the account both plan on transferring from SUNY Plattsburgh. Their advice to incoming students is to not trust the image the college presents itself as. They’re also demanding it takes action to better protect its students.

“What I want the administration to see is that there are students who are suffering,” the sophomore said. “What are you going to do? What are you going to do to change that?”

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News Editor Emma Vallelunga

ELECTION Continued from page one Not only was history major Savannah Guziczek happy about Biden and Harris winning, she also said it was probably the best outcome.

“There is a lot of work that needs to be done, and the country’s problems have not been solved,” Guziczek said. “Now we are several steps closer to solving them with Trump out of office. Kamala being the vice president is unprecedented and monumental. I have a lot of hope for the future.”

For Indian international student and junior majoring in psychology and minoring in French, Priyal Tare said she’s more excited about Harris, who has South Indian heritage, becoming the next vice president than Biden becoming the next president.

“It’s extremely exciting to see, first of all, a person of color and then someone from the South Asian region as well and a female [become vice president.]

That’s a big thing,” Tare said. “I can’t believe that the U.S.A. being a developed country and a firstworld country that there wasn’t a single female president or vice president before, so I think that’s a great, great thing.”

Some students at SUNY Plattsburgh had a neutral opinion about the election results.

“It’s very confusing,” mathematics major Grace Colwell said. “There’s so many opinions about it, but our president is our president, and we have to respect that.”

Not only are there students who are neutral in the outcome, but there are some who disagree altogether. Laureli Magnan, an undecided major, supports Trump.

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Friday, Nov. 13, 2020

“I’m not happy being a Trump supporter,” Magnan said. “But most students my age are Biden supporters. I believe the outcome isn’t going to be great for our country, but of course he’s our and my president now, so I have to be supportive and hope for the best.”

Other students are hopeful for what Biden’s campaign has promised for the U.S. “I feel really good about it because I know that Biden will take care of things that Trump didn’t take care of, things like climate change and women’s health,” English writing arts major Caroline Hoffman said.

Editor’s Note: This article had additional reporting done by Fernando Alba.

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FRIDAY, NOV. 13, 2020

Students cope with stress from election

BY OLIVIA BOUSQUET Staff Writer

Imagine walking down Rugar Street on a crisp fall day with leaves clinging to the trees. Upon passing by the Angel College Center, a crew of people are boarding up the glass doors with plywood.

There is no time to worry about the odd addition. There is homework, tests and essays waiting to be completed in Moodle.

What if you saw downtown Plattsburgh huddling behind boarded up windows and doors?

How would you feel receiving emails from President Enyedi asking students to bulk up on supplies and food for the upcoming week?

This is a reality for students at George Washington University in Washington D.C. According to The Washington Post, an email was sent prior to election day to on-campus students suggesting to stock up for “at least one week of food, supplies and medicine,” which included aspirin, toilet paper, paper towels and cleaning supplies. Students are being told to watch out for their safety but also need to continue completing their assignments.

The unknown of the election results, before Joe Biden became the President-Elect, had scared stores into locking up and boarding up. Stores in Portland, Seattle, New York City, Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago had physically prepared the exterior of the buildings for potential riots, regardless of the presidential winner.

Large and small companies, like Tiffany, Saks Fifth Avenue, CVS and Target, have all been cautious with the upcoming weeks.

The Insurance Information Institute estimated that retailers have lost $1 billion in insured losses from property damages and theft.

Many companies were heavily affected over the summer during the George Floyd protesting, which has led to the extra precaution for the election.

“There’s no need to [board up stores]. We’ve been in other elections that were important, and we

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haven’t seen a riot,” SUNY Plattsburgh sophomore Justin Mayo said. “I don’t think people are going to go out and bash windows.

I feel like that was more with the Black Lives Matter movement because there’s people losing their lives and still there is no change.”

Mayo doesn’t see many people being happy with either presidential candidate because he said many supporters are extremists.

The moderate right and moderate left are more likely to accept Biden as a president because he’s more centered on values, speculated Mayo. Many marginalized groups are afraid of losing rights if President Trump were to have another four years in office. The election results have more weight after the Supreme Court was stacked in favor of conservatives after Amy Coney Barrett was appointed.

Luckily, after Biden won the Presidential election, a shift in morality should be seen with his administration.

Marginalized groups like women, minorities and the LGBTQ community, were

able to breathe a sigh of relief Nov. 7 when Pennsylvania turned blue.

But will the Trump administration allow for a peaceful transition of power to Biden’s administration?

Will Biden uphold his promises to helping the environment, lowincome citizens and further supporting marginalized groups?

“I tend to forget male privilege, how stressful this election is for women to vote for two men who have sexual allegations against them. It’s kind of like voting for the enemy,” Mayo said about the importance of the election results.

SUNY Plattsburgh students were facing more anxiety than normal with the unknown results of the election, which added to the stress of all their homework.

As the country waited three days after election day for deciding states like Nevada, Pennsylvania and Georgia to turn blue at the last minute for Biden to reach 270 electoral votes, students awaited with anticipation. Women are worried about their rights, people of color are worried about their rights and

the LGBTQ+ community are worried about their rights – notice the scary reality for minority groups within the U.S. “The simple fact that none of these candidates are good, but one is better than the other, at least for me. As a woman of color, I know that from what I’ve seen over the past four years Trump has done a lot of things that are not going to help me,” SUNY Plattsburgh senior Ciarah Richmond said. “I stopped watching the news for three hours today and went to do community service instead of refreshing my news app every five minutes.”

Generation Z has been on social media platforms trying to make light of the tense political climate.

Some TikTok users claim that after the election, another civil war will break out. A TikTok video by @ jordanpretzel went viral with over 2.1 million views, which showed him in front of the camera with a text saying “wait, so do I still have to do my homework if we have a civil war or no?” Another viral 5

-million-view TikTok by @classicsparkle was captioned, “are we color coordinated by state or political party?” that joked about the attire people would wear if a war breaks out.

“A lot of people watched ‘The Simpsons’ — especially Gen Z. So they predicted a war in January 2021, and a lot of people think everything in The Simpsons comes true,” Richmond said laughing.

“Joking is a form of coping and not a lot of people have really healthy coping mechanisms. But if it works for them, then who are we to tell them they should change their coping for mechanisms?”

The Anxiety and Depression Association of American recommends several options for healthy coping strategies, such as eating well-balanced meals, talking to someone, maintaining a positive attitude and welcoming humor.

Students should be taking care of their mental health during a time with the stresses of school, COVID-19 and the election. Finding the positives in each day can help students relax during a stressful situation.

“I’ve been doing yoga and I have been coloring and using certain coping skills that I’ve learned.

The election has been affecting my mental health because it’s making me anxious, not because I’m worried about who’s going to win,” SUNY Plattsburgh junior Kaitlyn Bjelko said. “I’m worried about what’s going to happen when we know who wins with other people acting out on things that we’ve seen in the past.”

Students should stay safe, regardless of Biden’s victory as the new president elect. Clinton County was red for the presidential election, so many Trump supporters will be upset about the defeat. Celebrating Biden’s victory is understandable, however, maintaining social distancing is crucial to keep everyone safe. SUNY Plattsburgh students can enjoy Biden’s win by enjoying being outside in the oddly warm November weather.

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Restrictions out of control Abortion outlawed in Poland, U.S. may mirror regulations

BY JESSICA JOHNSON Opinions Editor

It is time that country leaders are held accountable for controlling basic human rights: a woman’s right to her own body.

Poland’s recent outlaw by the courts proves this.

In Central Europe, on Oct. 22, the Constitutional Tribunal in Poland introduced new restrictions on abortions within it’s borders — which held that abortions for fetal abnormalities violate the Constitution. The ruling was held by Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the deputy prime minister and leader of the ruling Law and Justice party.

Unlike Poland, the U.S. government gives citizens the option to appeal a case or enacted legislation, if “a litigant is not satisfied with a decision made by a federal administrative agency,” and may hold a review of the agency decision by a court of appeals. This is a U.S. law system put in place to ensure that our voices are somewhat heard, even if there is no guarantee of a change in that legislation/restriction.

However, this is a decision that even with peaceful protesting, cannot be appealed.

Protests began in Poland that same day, over the restrictions on abortion becoming even narrower. According to the New York Times, tens of thousands of Poles participated in a nationwide strike on the sixth day, and on the eighth an even larger, outraged crowd gathered in Warsaw. Some of the demonstrators dressed as characters from “The Handmaid’s Tale,” a dystopian novel by Margaret Atwood that portrays oppressed women in a patriarchal society, and the resilience they hold to the state (which treats them like property), in order to gain individuality and independence. Polish women have begun to also fight back

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against the Catholic Church, vandalizing churches and calling for their freedom from the ruling Law and Justice party.

The main reason behind the ruling stems from the amount of abortions resulting from fetal abnormalities.

Poland has previously permitted terminations in three scenarios: in the case of a threat to a woman’s health, in the case of incest or rape (something U.S. restrictions still have issues with) and for fetal abnormalities.

Last year, 1,074 of 1,100 of legal abortions performed in Poland resulted from fetal abnormalities.

However, it’s still not the government’s choice to decide whether a woman must look after a life that she may not have the resources to take care of. Especially, a child that may have fetal abnormalities, that may need special care once born. If a mother is aware of that be-

fore the child is born, or in the middle of the term, and they do not have the means, it’s better not to bring a life into this harsh world and let them possibly suffer or even end up systematically oppressed by the foster care system. Abortion is a case-by-case basis, and it’s not for anyone but the woman carrying a human life inside of her for nine months to decide.

This is the same issue that mirror’s the U.S. governments restrictions on abortions within state borders.

Polish protesters are demanding that the court reverse itself and are also calling for liberalization of the abortion law; this mirrors the future of the U.S. if we continue letting Supreme Court Justices like Amy Coney Barrett decide our future.

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CARDINAL VOICE

Opinions Editor Jess Johnson

Friday, Nov. 13, 2020

Students won’t continue COVID precautions

BY MATAEO SMITH Web Editor

SUNY Plattsburgh has done a great job enforcing COVID-19 regulations on campus during the most unprecedented semester of our lives. However, the issue at hand pertains to whether students continue to be cautious while at home.

The student attempts to party this semester have been interesting. There was the beach situation Aug. 21 which led to 43 suspensions. Additionally, the campus was notified via email Sept. 21 of 15 new suspensions issued to students who had a party in a residence hall the prior week. Several groups of students have been disregarding said rules to continue partying as college students.

With winter break approaching, President Alexander Enyedi has voiced concerns through daily emails to the campus about staying vigilant while at home, so they avoid carrying more cases to the campus in the spring.

“As we have said, cases are increasing across the region, state and nation.

As we enter the final two weeks of the on-campus fall semester, please

continue our focus on prevention, health and safety,” Enyedi wrote in an email to the campus community.

Additionally, SUNY Plattsburgh is conducting mandatory pool testing next week before departure in an attempt to contain any preliminary COVID-19 cases on campus. Students who have at least one in-person class or work on campus must be tested before departure.

Those who test positive will be quarantined on campus for two weeks before returning to their hometown.

The college appeared to be doing just fine until the first few cases surfaced during week four and five. We are now in the home stretch of the semester and 71 students are in quarantine.

“You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make them drink,” SUNY Plattsburgh junior Lucas Draffen said. “Next semester is going to be an interesting one. What is going to define it is how the state responds to COVID-19 and the guidelines put in place by Cuomo. If everyone buckles down, we could have a less-regulated semester.”

Draffen said he’s as frustrated with COVID-19

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as any other student, but acknowledges the importance of self-control in these times. It’s desolate to have little faith in SUNY Plattsburgh students to abstain from social gatherings, but what

do you expect? We are a party school after all.

The popular Instagram page called “Burghy’s sextape” holds weekly online Q&A forums to see what the campus has been up to for the week.

Sometimes it’s harmless shenanigans like going on a hike or roommates sharing a marijuana brownie. However, students know the owner of the page won’t report them, so they’re free to

admit guilt in breaking the guidelines.

Some students are even preparing activities during winter break with their friends back home.

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Sorkin brings drama with ‘Trial of the Chicago 7’

BY CAMERON KAERCHER Staff Writer

Aaron Sorkin’s first screen writing credit was for an adaptation of his own Broadway play, “A Few Good Men.” The four-time Oscar-nominated court procedural starred Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson. The film is best remembered for the argument that takes place between Cruise and Nicholson where the latter shouts, “You can’t handle the truth.”

In 2020, Sorkin handles a true story as a writer and director.

“The Trial of the Chicago 7” tells the story of the seven people who were accused of starting and exacerbating the riots around the Democratic National Convention in 1968, held in Chicago.

The defendants are a diverse group of people. Tom Hayden, played by Eddie Redmayne, was the leader of the Students for a Democratic Society. Ab-

bie Hoffman, played by Sacha Baron Cohen, and Jerry Rubin, played by Jeremy Strong, were the leaders of the Youth International Party. All of them had to stand trial against the prejudiced Judge Julius Hoffman, played by Frank Langella.

It’s a big cast, especially one that allows each player room to provide their own personal stamp to the ensemble.

Baron Cohen leaves behind his “Borat” character and plays a more articulate, anti-government protester who still has some humor in him. Mark Rylance plays the defense lawyer with a similar formality to his Oscar-winning supporting performance in 2015’s “Bridge of Spies.” Yahya Abdul-Mateen II gives an understated yet fiery performance as Bobby Seale, a defendant who was denied his own attorney multiple times during the trial.

This cast is a lock for this year’s SAG Award for Best Ensemble Cast in

a Motion Picture, which could lead to strong Oscar buzz as “Parasite” took the award last year.

Sorkin’s screenplay for the film is also a strong contender for Best Adapted Screenplay this year. While the actors should be commended for their work, it wasn’t all improvised. Sorkin’s dialogue is as sharp as ever. All of the characters feel like the smartest people in the world, with comebacks that flow with precision and speed. Being a previous nominee for his screenwriting work on “Moneyball,” “Molly’s Game,” and winning for “The Social Network” also does not hurt his chances.

The writing is also bolstered by the razor-sharp editing by Alan Baumgarten. With a runtime well over two hours, there is little to no dead weight.

It is able to set up the defendants, show the violence that surrounded the protests, and the four-month-long trial itself.

Sorkin plays around with the chronology by interspersing the event in question and the questioning that takes place during the trial. In this way, it is able to play with the issue that some of the defendants might be unreliable narrators as what they say is an exaggeration of what took place. Sorkin is then able to cross-examine the characters themselves with his structure.

Sorkin’s direction of the protests that led to violence after clashing with the National Guard is realistic and earns the R rating. Cinematically speaking, it is evocative of Ava Duvernay’s “Selma” and the similar peaceful protests that also turned violent after interacting with the police. More importantly, it reminds the viewer of the powerful protests against police brutality we all saw on TV and on social media over the summer.

HISTORY l A8

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CARDINAL VOICE

Opinions Editor Jess Johnson

Friday, Nov. 13, 2020

Editorial

FERNANDO ALBA/Cardinal Points

Long-time editor says goodbye I read an article by the Washington Post back in September on how student journalists across the country are reporting on how the coronavirus is affecting their campuses.

A lot of that article resonated with me, but one line stood out the most.

“College newspapers have long been filled with journalists who sometimes think of the school newspaper as their actual major,” Elahe Izaadi wrote.

I joined Cardinal Points my freshman year, and I did that because I wanted to know if journalism was right for me. I was hooked after my first story, and ever since then, I think it’s fair to say that I have majored in Cardinal Points. (Sincere apologies to all my professors.)

After seeing that line in the Washington Post, it was a little reassuring to read that I’m not the only one in this major with their priorities just a little out of whack. But it also confirmed what I’ve felt after spending three years on a college paper and attending a national college media conference a few times — journalism majors are some of the most passionate students you’ll find on a college campus.

And that’s because we all hope to enter a field that offers little pay, little job security and little praise. But we try anyway because we love it. We love how it connects us with our community, how it empowers voices that aren’t always heard and more selfishly, how we get to be in the middle of it all and report.

Being around people like that was a good enough reason to stay on Cardinal Points for as long as I did. But the paper also tapped into something more personal for me. It gave me my confidence, and it gave me my voice.

One thing I’ve held onto since I was a kid is that I love learning. I often compare my-

FUTURE Continued from page six Twenty-one states have signaled plans to ban all or most abortions should the court dismantle abortion rights, often without exceptions for rape or incest. Barrett already has demonstrated her willingness to let

self to my past self to see where I’ve grown, where I’ve fallen and where I can trace my next steps. I hated failing though. For every step up I took, it felt like I had to fall 10 first.

A lot of insecurity built up with a mentality like that. But the added responsibilities I took on from being a staff writer to the various editor positions I held before becoming editor in chief forced me to embrace failure as a part of the process.

And that’s where Cardinal Points shines the most I’d say. Every week I got the chance to try something new and to learn from the mistakes I made the week before. The culmination of all those weeks and issues since fall 2017 has taken me leaps and bounds from where I started as a freshman. Plenty of students before me and after have done exactly the same thing.

That was another thing about the paper I liked a lot; seeing younger majors join the paper and get attached to it just as I did was a joy to see.

Which is why I’m not worried in the slightest about leaving the paper in the hands of Jess Johnson, Alana Penny and everyone else on the editorial board next semester.

I’m excited to see where they take the paper next.

When I started writing this, I started to go through all the memories I had on the paper these last seven semesters, and so I wanted to give thanks to everyone on the paper who helped shape my experience here.

First and foremost, thank you to my first editor, Kavita Singh. When I first started, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing, but she was there to help every step of the way and was more than understanding.

I was not only able to look up to her as a staff writer and then later as an associate as someone who helped me push further, I was also able to look back at her time as EIC

state legislatures pass all future abortion restrictions. She has been publicly open about overturning Roe v. Wade, especially when she was nominated for a seat in the Supreme Court by President Donald Trump. The main reason he chose Barrett was because of his promise to reverse Roe — one of his biggest, publicly voiced, ignorant Republican beliefs.

According to NBC News, if

HOME Continued from page seven SUNY Plattsburgh junior Jacob Finn is from Clifton Park and said his hometown friends used a dilapidated house in their neighborhood to throw parties every day during the summer.

Who’s to say those social gatherings won’t continue throughout winter break?

It’s certainly not easy to abstain from partying while on your college campus, but I think everyone can handle themselves better while at home. However, unless we want to spend the next few months on our couches again, we have to suck it up and stay home.

Governor Andrew Cuomo’s executive order to close all dining establishments and bars at 10 p.m in which food has to be all takeout., which went into effect yesterday, doesn’t exactly make staying at home even worse. The governor also put restrictions on private

HISTORY Continued from page seven While the film was shot before the pandemic and there are never any explicit connections established between this moment in history and the modern-day, it is impossible to not think

as a model for what makes a good editor.

I’d also like to thank Reb Natale for always scaring the sh-t out of me in the office but more importantly, for being someone I could turn to for help, even well after she graduated. Big thanks to Ben Watson, Windsor Burkland, Mataeo Smith and Emma Vallelunga for shaping what Cardinal Points was for me, especially Mataeo and Emma, who joined the paper when I did and stood with me semester after semester.

A huge thank you to Kai Bing Ang, who reluctantly took on the sports editor position when we needed him the most and then flourished in the position. And thank you for taking on the public relations manager position and reinvigorating the paper.

He was one of the hardest working editors I had the pleasure of working with.

Thank you to Audrey Lapinski, Sareem Jabbar and Nghi To for their creativity and incredible talent. Without them and other talented artists on staff, the paper would just look absolutely terrible.

And thank you to Jess Johnson and Alana Penny. I really started to appreciate seeing younger journalism majors join the paper and grow when you two joined the staff.

You came on with a ton of interest and passion at a time when I was maybe just a tad overworked and overstressed. Seeing you two get better and better only rejuvenated my passion for the paper.

I’m seeing that same passion again as you two get ready to lead the paper next semester. I have no doubt you two will make this paper your own, and it’ll be better off for it.

For anyone else who I might have missed, thank you. All of you helped cement that journalism is something I love and will always be a part of in some way. I’m going to make sure of it.

the court’s conservative majority is skeptical about Roe, other autonomy-based rights, including contraception, could be at risk. Barrett may open the door to bans on selective abortion or birth control on a federal level, by actually voting to overturn Roe and pushing for tighter restrictions.

Polish people have been protesting for more than three weeks now, and nothing has

changed. Now that Barrett is officially appointed into the Supreme Court, if Roe vs. Wade is overturned and abortion is outlawed in the U.S., is this the same vain future we must prepare ourselves for? Will women still have the right to mold their futures?

Email JESSICA JOHNSON cp@cardinalpointsonline.com

gatherings to no more than 10 people. It’s going to be a rough winter break, but let’s make sure we can return to campus next semester.

“I am proud of our students and our campus community. The first seven weeks saw no COVID-19 cases. We then saw a rise of cases and falls over the three weeks that followed,” Enyedi said. “My own observation, shared by colleagues across campus and those in the wider Plattsburgh area, is we have collectively done a good job following the Cardinal Pledge and adhering to health and safety practices.”

Enyedi said the state had directed the campus to shut down if 100 new COVID-19 cases surface over a 14-day period. The first step to this occurrence is to pause all in-person activity for two weeks.

Don’t mean to be a debbie downer here, but there’s a good chance we’re going to see a larger spike in cases next semester.

about that connection. In a profile with GQ magazine, Sorkin said: “I wasn’t changing anything to reflect the world. The world was changing to reflect the screenplay.”

If Spike Lee were to direct this script, that connection would be guaranteed and very explicit. In some ways, being hyper-focused on just this story and time period opens up the door for

Email MATAEO SMITH cp@cardinalpointsonline.com

the viewer to make these connections on their own. While both styles are totally valid, “The Trial of the Chicago 7” is focused and effective. It may not be breaking the mold of filmmaking, but it fits it quite well.

Email CAMERON KAERCHER cp@cardinalpointsonline.com

72%

28%

Taken from 100 participants

Editorial Board Editor-in-Chief Fernando Alba

Managing Editor Jess Johnson

Opinions Editor Jess Johnson

News Editor Emma Vallelunga

Graphics Editor Nghi To

FUSE Editor Alana Penny

Multimedia Editor Sareem Jabbar

Photo Editor Audrey Lapinski

Web Editor Mataeo Smith Faculty Adviser Shawn Murphy Advertising: Maureen Provost Peter Taylor Luka Tsiklauri

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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FUSE

FUSE Editor Alana Penny

Friday, Nov. 13, 2020

Stacey serves community, pursues passion

BY NATALIE ST. DENIS Staff Writer

Emily Stacey is a senior criminal justice major born and raised in Plattsburgh.

She holds an associate of science degree in criminal justice and is attending SUNY Plattsburgh to further her education. Stacey is a single mother, works part time, is a full-time student and served as the chair for two committees for the city.

She has always had aspirations of becoming a lawyer, but COVID-19 has made her plans after college a bit unknown.

“It’s just been so hard with this virus making a projected path,” Stacey said. “Where you want to be, where you want to go.”

But one thing has remained constant: her passion for criminal justice.

It’s been a passion since she was 8 years old. Stacey said her mom has told her she is the type of person who can seek out an injustice from a mile away, and she’s always been that way ever since she was little.

“I wanted to help people, especially people who are economically depressed because I think that that population of people are more vulnerable to the justice system and their rights being violated,” Stacey said. “I just kind of wanted to be more than just a community advocate I wanted to be someone who instead of just saying ‘I know the law,’ ‘I have a degree that says I’ve worked hard to

JASON PARENT/Cardinal Points

Emily Stacey is a single mother, works part time and is a full time criminal justice student. She is also the chair of the Plattsburgh Public Safety Citizens Review Panel, the Landlord Tenent Committee and worked alongside Mayor Colin Read. know the law.’”

Stacey was elected as the chair of the Plattsburgh Public Safety Citizens Review Panel. The committee was created after Executive Order 203 was signed into legislation by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. This stated that all municipalities in New York had to have a committee to review their police procedures and policies. She felt she provided a fresh perspective on the panel, being the only Native American. Criminal justice professor Zakir Gul was happy to see his student on such a panel.

“As a citizen, she will try

to reflect the feelings of the people,” Gul said. “Being a student in criminal justice she’ll see things, I would say, from that perspective too.”

Stacey encourages other SUNY Plattsburgh students to express their concerns because they are often underrepresented.

“Bridging that gap is so important, that we’re not separate. We need to unify,” Stacey said.

Stacey chaired the Plattsburgh Public Safety Citizens Review Panel for three and a half months but had to leave due to other obligations. She admits

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it was a tough decision, but she had so much going on that she didn’t even have time for herself.

“If I’m no good to myself, I’m no good to anybody else either,” Stacey said.

Stacey is the chair of the Landlord Tenant Committee. As a tenant who sees a concern with rental prices, she understood the importance of having a safe place for landlords and tenants to voice their concerns on a balanced level.

She worked with the code enforcement officer to pass a law that all residents had to label their garbage and recycling bins.

the responsibility and importance of Stacey serving these panels, particularly the Plattsburgh Public Safety Citizens Review Panel, which became increasingly important after George Floyd’s death.

“As a student serving in these two committees, I thought was very special, to serve the committee, to help contribute to the people,” Gul said.

Stacey was the first Native American woman to chair a panel at city hall in the City of Plattsburgh.

“I will be forever grateful because I felt noticed,” Stacey said.

Stacey prided herself on making the dean’s list this past spring because the switch to online classes due to COVID-19 made her worried about wheater she would pass.

Stacey said she feels ready to graduate, enter the workforce and show what she knows. Read believes she is ready too.

“I think she’s constructed a degree for herself that’s consistent with her passion,” Read said. “It’s what she feels most strongly, and I think that’s the most important ingredient for when you choose your degree. So I think she’s gonna make a big contribution in an area where I don’t think there’s very many minority voices.”

Stacey worked alongside Mayor Colin Read while chairing the committees at city hall, and she said he was very supportive of her. Read said one of her greatest strengths is her tenacity.

Read said she has gone further than just investing a lot of time.

“She’s not one that simply goes to meetings and puts in her time,” Read said. “But she really devotes an awful lot of effort on the side to really understand the issues and make productive contriEmail NATALIE ST. DENIS butions.” cp@cardinalpointsonline.com Gul also acknowledged

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FUSE Editor Alana Penny

FUSE

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Friday, Nov. 13, 2020

My name is Nghi To, and I’m a junior BFA art major with concentrations in graphic design and printmaking. Art is really a way for me to have fun and to express myself, so I enjoy experimenting with vibrant colors and imagery in both my design and printmaking work. One of my favorite things to do is to create children’s books illustrations aside from classwork because they allow for so much creativity and expressiveness. I chose to do both printmaking and graphic design because I think the contrast between them is a good balance - printing is a deliberate and contemplative process, whereas graphic design is more fast-paced and dynamic.

Both of the skills helped me grow to be the artist that I am today.

Student Art Spotlight Nghi To

Junior BFA art major with concentrations in graphic design and printmaking

A11 ▪

BAND Continued from page twelve Puchalski played in the orchestra band, chorus and jazz band in high school. He also took piano lessons as a child.

Piper is a self-taught pianist and comes from a family of musicians.

Piper has music running through his blood. His father went to Juliard, playing the oboe and English horn. He played all across the world after college in places including Italy, Mexico and New York City for 10 years.

Piper and Puchalski are currently roommates in an apartment in Plattsburgh and have a studio set up in one of the rooms. They have recording equipment like a microphone, guitar and keyboard.

They still use an updated version of FL Studio as their digital audio workstation. Using this and other programs, they can draw other sounds in, like different types of drums.

“The good news is this software that we use can be used on

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FUSE

FUSE Editor Alana Penny a laptop or really any device it’s downloaded on. So if we’re on the fly or traveling, we’re always producing,” Puchalski said.

Piper said Puchalski has the mind of a producer with his background in computer science and is great at what he does.

“I would say Dan is way better at DJing. He’s been doing that for longer than I have and has more experience mixing different tracks together,” Puckalski said.

However, they both work on each together, and even though they might have strengths in either category, Cudos explained they divide the work evenly.

They plan to expand their horizons in the future sooner than later. When it comes to playing live, Puckaliski said they would like to incorporate live instruments and vocals with featured artists.

On top of that, they have also been working with other artists across the country. They are always looking to do more collaborations and network within the field to build up their name, Piper explained.

Their newest song “Take it

Slow,” Oct. 30, features vocalist James Delaney. Puchalski originally had the idea for the song on his laptop in 2019, Piper said.

“He sent it to me and I was like, ‘Oh, this is really sick, we should hold on to this for the future,’” Piper said.

When they started living together in early 2020, they fleshed out the original 30 second track into a full fledged song. After creating the original track, they then sent it out to many vocalists to see if one would bite. It just so happened that James Delaney liked their song enough to want to feature on it.

“The process of pitching to vocalists and trying to find someone to feature on the song is pretty lengthy because it’s a waiting game for the most part,” Puchalski said.

“When you’re starting off, it’s really difficult to get anyone to be interested in your song because you don’t have any reputation yet. But we got lucky with James. He was bigger than us at the time and still is more popular right now so that was good to get a feature from him,” Puchalski said.

Delaney currently lives in Los Angeles. They liked his style of singing because he has a jazz background, and they felt he was the perfect fit for this song.

He even played saxophone at the end of their song, Cudos said.

“Basically we were at two ends of the country, sending emails back and forth, had a couple Zoom sessions, and put it all together,” Piper said.

They both said one of the main musicians who inspired them to start making music was Louis the Child, an electro-pop duo.

“They were young friends just like us. They made some music that we really liked, and it was really inspiring to watch them grow,” Puchalski said.

The genre of music they create is distinctive to Cudos, but with that being said, it cannot just be put into one category.

“We have a wide range, and don’t just fit into one little box,” Piper said.

If he were to call it anything, their genre of music would be electronic indie pop music.

“The production can be kind of weird or wonky or somewhat

Friday, Nov. 13, 2020

different, but then we prefer to have a vocalist who is catchy and mainstream,” Piper said.

“In order to stick out, we were thinking, let’s do something where the instrumental is way different than then something you would hear anywhere else, but let’s make the vocal or the main thing they’re hearing something they can sing to or recognize.”

Puchalski said they have always appreciated obscure music, where the listener can tell it took a lot of time and effort to make but maybe is not mainstream.

They have several remixes coming out very soon and one coming out within the next few weeks. They also have two or three collaborations coming out with other producers, which will be released on other labels. Additionally, Cudos will be flying out to Los Angeles in January to work in sessions with other artists and wants to continue to grow.

Email NICKIE HAYES cp@cardinalpointsonline.com

DAKOTA GILBERT/Cardinal Points

Jensen Stan found that not having games has allowed him to focus more on his courses. He has kept up with his soccer training by practicing by himself and going to the gym.

Stan stays positive amidst pandemic

BY ANGELICA MELARA Staff Writer

With the school semester coming to a close, sports teams have had a tough time being able to train in groups and a hard time being able to hang out with one another. “[COVID-19] has affected me a lot personally,” Jensen Stan, a junior medical health and wellness major and defenseman on the men’s soccer team at SUNY Plattsburgh, said.

Fall 2020 was Stan’s first semester at Plattsburgh, and he did not get to have the “full Plattsburgh experience” due to most of his classes being online, his season being canceled and getting to practice with his teammates only two to three times a week.

Although it was Stan’s first semester at Plattsburgh, it was not his first semester playing soccer.

He grew up playing the sport and was encouraged by his father to pursue it.

“My dad pushed me throughout the years to get better and to keep pushing myself,” Stan said.

With the motivation that he got from his father,

Stan said that his father became an inspiration. Stan mentioned that he would watch and play soccer with his father, which made his love for the sport grow.

“I thank him all the time for making me the player and the person that I am today,” Stan said.

Like most athletes during the pandemic, Stan has kept up his training by practicing by himself and going to the gym. He goes to the gym on a regular basis and trains with teammates whenever he gets the chance.

“We train together every now and then and manage to have some pretty good sessions, but it’s hard with the pandemic,” Stan said.

Chris Taylor, head coach for the men’s soccer team, mentioned that in the time he’s gotten to know Stan as a person, “he’s been a pleasure to deal with.”

Taylor mentioned Stan’s calm demeanor and the fact that he doesn’t seem to stress about anything.

“He just gets on with things,” Taylor said.

According to Taylor, Stan is also able to make jokes with his teammates, but is also able to be serious when he has to be. Considering there are no games that the team has to prepare for at the moment, having a laugh here and there at practices is something

good to have.

“He is able to have a bit of a laugh, and I think that he’s a bit of a joker, and as we spend more time together, I think I will see more of that,” Taylor said.

Because Stan does not have to worry too much about games, he’s able to put more of his focus on school, especially because the change from in-person classes to online classes has created a shift in difficulty.

“I think [online classes] makes [school] a lot harder because you can’t get the full experience and the regularity of going to class and having a schedule.

So personally, I think it makes it a bit harder,” Stan said.

After his time at Plattsburgh is done, Stan would like to pursue a career in athletic training and still play soccer.

Stan said, “Soccer is a big part of my life, and I don’t know what I’d do without it.”

Email ANGELICA MELARA cp@cardinalpointsonline.com

Student art spotlight, A10

Local music duo releases Spotify single

BY NICKIE HAYES Staff Writer

A new music duo out of Plattsburgh is producing unique and inventive music. Daniel Piper and Alex Puchalski are the minds behind the electronic pop band Cudos.

Piper is currently a senior at SUNY Plattsburgh majoring in audio and video production. Puchalski was attending Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for computer science but decided it was best for him to work through the pandemic instead. He plans to finish his degree in the future.

Cudos will be releasing a seven track EP, going through their current label called Bonfire Records. They will release the first four or five songs over the upcoming months and then drop the entire EP in spring 2021.

Puchalski has lived in Plattsburgh his whole life, while Piper has lived in Plattsburgh for the majority of his life. They met in middle school and have been best friends ever since.

A mutual friend of theirs was interested in an audio workstation called FL Studio, a software program that can make electronic music, and Cudos was instantly hooked.

The duo started making music for fun back in 2015. They were excited to be able to start making electronic music because at the time, they were just starting to listen to that genre of music.

BAND l A11

NGHI TO/Cardinal Points