Issue 6

Homecoming makes return

BY ALEKSANDRA SIDOROVA News Editor

Homecoming, a tradi tion spanning over half a century, was hosted inperson for the first time in three years last weekend.

Kerry Chapin-Lavigne and Paul Leduc, the two people working in the Alumni Relations office, faced not only the respon sibility of continuing the Homecoming tradition, but also the challenge of educating a generation of students who, due to CO VID-19, do not know what a college Homecoming is.

Some feedback an nounced at the Student As sociation Executive Coun cil Meeting Oct. 17 said students felt that Home coming weekend “wasn’t very inclusive” and “fo

cused on alumni.”

“The definition is right in the name — coming home,” Associate Director of Alumni Relations Leduc said. “It’s a time when our community gathers to celebrate Plattsburgh but also welcome back alumni and friends and also peo ple that haven’t been back in awhile.”

“Simply put, everybody is welcome, but the cen ter focus is welcoming our alumni back to campus,” Chapin-Lavigne added.

Chapin-Lavigne said the office of Alumni Relations succeeded in its goal to edu cate SUNY Plattsburgh stu dents, the majority of whom joined during the pandem ic, on Homecoming.

“This is in fact probably the first Homecoming for the majority of our stu

Fuerza hosts Mardi Gras celebration

BY JESSICA LANDMAN Staff Writer

The Warren Ballrooms at Angell College Center were decked out in green, purple and gold for the Mardi Grasthemed banquet hosted by Fuerza: Black and Latinx Student Union Oct. 13.

This is the sixth annual banquet hosted by the club. At the event were performers, speakers and a catered buffet.

Fuerza is a club that focuses on unifying African American and Latin American cultures under one net work in an effort to abolish the ignorance, prejudice and racism against and between African Americans and Latin Americans within our communities according to the SUNY Plattsburgh website.

Leah Sweeney, the director of the event management office, said, “It took about five hours yesterday to do the bulk of it, and then we had to come in today to do a cou ple more hours.”

The lighting and sound systems alone take a lot of practice and training.

Jeidy Aloi and Isabella Rodriguez are students who are members of Fuerza and helped organize the event. The club always has a week of events in honor of His panic Heritage Month, which spans from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. This year, some events besides the banquet were His panic Heritage Jeopardy and Guerra de los Sexos.

dents that they’ve experi enced,” Chapin-Lavigne said. “It’s not common that they have questions, and it’s wonderful that they recognize that we’ve had Homecoming, because to me, we’re making progress on the fact that it exists and that something differ ent is happening on cam pus. They should know that, they should want to be a part of it, so I love the fact that it’s being talked about at the Student Asso ciation because if it’s not, it means they didn’t even know it happened.”

Some students have been referring to Homecoming as “alumni weekend,” which, according to Chapin-Lavi gne, can help students bet ter understand the purpose of the event.

“It used to be called

alumni weekend,” Leduc said. “I think we’ll proba bly continue hearing peo ple call it alumni week end, but I don’t think we brand it that way, and we never have.”

“We don’t,” Chapin-Lavi gne confirmed, “because we love the all-inclusive Homecoming word.”

Leduc noted that with the criticism the office received of Homecom ing being too alumnicentered, “we’re actually the ones that don’t call it alumni weekend.”

SA Coordinator of Activi ties Marileana Rodriguez said calling Homecom ing “alumni weekend” could help clear confusion among students.

Doubt befalls SA work ethic

The Student Associa tion Senate discussed two large topics at its meet ing Oct. 12, the first be ing work ethic, brought up by SA President Taiba Azeem, and the second on Black Solidarity Day.

Azeem’s presentation on SA’s work ethics began with a refresher on the goals of the senate and executive committees. Some of these goals were for increased involvement and visibil ity, challenging the norm and welcoming students.

She noted how the semes ter has just hit the halfway point, yet the “how” as pect of these goals is not being discussed.

The big point of the presentation was to high light the importance of ac countability. Azeem asked the senators to raise their hands if they missed more than two office hours, and a few did. However, she said many more were miss ing hours. According to their bylaws, senators can be impeached if they miss more than two office hours.

Senator Aissatou Lo pointed out that while they are senators, they are also students. Academics can come into play when miss ing hours for meeting with groups or professors. Vice President Saran Kaba coun tered with the point that sen ators were asked for avail ability at the beginning of the semester to work around their academic schedules.

“This was not randomly

assigned,” Kaba said to the senators. “You made a commitment to show up to these office hours, and if you do not show up, you won’t be getting paid.”

Azeem pushed the point further by saying that when she can’t con tinue, she remembers why people voted for her. She wants the “SA to be perceived better.”

“If you said you would be there and you’re not, you failed that student,” Coordinator of Activities Marileana Rodriguez said. Michael Casey, vice pres ident of the SUNY Student Assembly and also an SA legislative review board member, echoed Azeem and Kaba by saying “im peachment is something to be taken seriously.”

Azeem’s goal to com bat the missing hours is through the acronym RACI, which stands for re sponsible, accountable, consulted and informed. Through this method, senators can communicate better with each other and push toward accomplish ing the goals set at the be ginning of the semester.

The second big topic of discussion was Black Solidarity Day, which will be celebrated Nov. 7. The legislation came forth last year and was celebrated, but it was difficult to do so because of COVID-19. This year, the planning committee has a day filled with activities, workshops and presentations.

BY OLIVIA BOUSQUET Editor in Chief SA l A2

SUNY Plattsburgh’s independent student newspaper since 1997

ALEKSANDRA SIDOROVA/Cardinal Points

SUNY Plattsburgh students, alumni and staff pose together at a networking event in Macomb Hall.

HOME

OLIVIA DAVIS/Cardinal Points

Fuerza: Black and Latinx Student Union hosted its sixth annual banquet celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month.

University Police responded to a report of burning cannabis in Moffitt Hall. Upon arrival, they discovered a different scene:

Four students were invited to a room on the fifth floor, where cannabis was allegedly being sold. Once they were inside, the students quickly grabbed property off of the room residents’ beds and fled to the stairwell. In the chase, a student bruised his arm.

The other student chasing perpetrators threat ened an a student who was not involved in the larceny with a knife. The suspect received an in terim suspension and was removed from campus for the duration of the investigation.

Weekly Meme

BANQUET

“We’re doing a Mardi-Gras theme because in Latin American culture, it’s referred to as carnival, so that’s what we decided on this year,” Aloi said.

Aloi also said that the entertainment provided at the event came entirely from student-run organizations. The student-run dance teams Spicy Island Tings and High Voltage performed. Also at the event were a pianist named Evans D’Pulpit and a DJ.

Spicy Island Tings is a Caribbean dance group at SUNY Plattsburgh. Originating from Club Caribbean, it was founded in 1985. Spicy Island Tings decided to per form at the banquet to support the Hispanic members of their dance group.

The choreographer of this group, Thoneisha Belle, is a senior majoring in psychology and minoring in criminal justice.

“Performing at an event like this celebrates our differ ences because a lot of people don’t celebrate the Hispan ic side of the Caribbean as well, like Puerto Rico and [the Dominican Republic],” Belle said. “I really think this means a lot to celebrate our culture and supporting our dancers that are from those Caribbean Islands as well.”

The club also dedicates time at the banquet to teach attendees about Hispanic heritage and culture, as well as to explain the significance that Mardi Gras holds.

“Overall, our goal with this year’s theme was to cel ebrate who all of us are as individuals — our different backgrounds — and celebrate life,” Rodriguez said.

An event as large as Fuerza’s annual banquet takes collaboration from the lighting sound technicians, the catering crew, the moving crew and many other people who put a great deal of time and work into setting up and executing an event such as this one.

The hard work of everyone involved in this event al lowed Fuerza to host a successful banquet to honor Hispanic Heritage Month.

Email JESSICA LANDMAN cp@cardinalpointsonline.com

SA

The day will start around 8 a.m. with a couple of speakers, including Platts burgh Mayor Christopher Rosenquest. There will be over 50 breakout sessions that will happen during the morning for students, faculty and staff to partake in. In the afternoon, there will be food trucks and po tentially some dance per formances. The day will conclude in Yokum 200 with a keynote speaker and presentation.

[events] for extra credit, do you see it as an is sue that the students are not willing to go on their own?” Lo asked.

Heard believes that sometimes students just need some incentive to go to things, and if extra credit works, students will still be learning while attend ing. Heard said the day isn’t only about recognizing the struggles of the Black com munity, but a day for advo cacy and mobilization.

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One of the concerns raised was that classes are not canceled for the day. Diversity, Equity and In clusion Vice President Alli son Heard said, “The con sensus was that if classes were completely canceled, people would take it as an opportunity to take a long weekend instead of using the day for education, like it is meant to be.”

Some discussion sparked around professors allow ing students to miss class to attend workshops. Heard does not have a number of professors agreeing to this, but has heard in conversa tions that some are offering extra credit to attend events.

“If a professor were to tell their students to go to Black Solidarity Day

Some students will also be involved with present ing workshops and perfor mances. The committee is also inviting Black-owned businesses to campus for the community to support. There will be a more de tailed schedule of events released soon, and the committee hopes to record many workshops to put on their website.

In other SA news, two representatives wanted to create a chapter of Young Life College at SUNY Plattsburgh for provision al status. Young Life is a Christian outreach orga nization. According to the website, Young Life’s goal is to “build relationships with college students, showing up in their lives daily and offering weekly events, small groups, trips and service opportuni ties, ultimately inviting students to take their next steps in following Jesus.”

Young Life has chapters at over 230 colleges across the United States. The club would focus on more event-based activities, which makes them differ ent from the other Chris tian-based club LEGO.

These events could be something like barbecues, movie nights or dinner to gether. They welcome any one to attend the events. The representatives did say the event may not center around faith, but the end of each event would have a testimony from either a local pastor or Young Life club member. A testimony highlights how they came to the faith.

They anticipate funding would come from Young Life and local churches.

he said that the board is open to welcoming any one to join. He also ad dressed some controversy by saying that nothing is perfect, but there is more accountability now.

The club was approved.

The SA also approved of six new members for various positions. Heard became the adviser to the coordinator for student affairs and diversity. She recently worked closely with student government, and she is excited to take on this role. Deasha Gilm ore was approved as cochair of special events. She will be helping with execution of event plans.

Cristal Perez became cochair of FENT, and has expressed interest in com ing up with ideas for the committee. Kaela Deleon was approved as co-chair of Coffeehouse. She was vice president last year.

There has been some controversy surrounding Young Life, and Casey wanted to know the stance of the club if some one in the LGBT commu nity wanted to take on a leadership role.

“Young Life has its own stance on that,” the repre sentative said. However,

Yolin Barton became cochair of ACB athletics. She was vice president of Red Zone, which encourages students to attend athletic events, last year, so she was promoted based on these qualifications. Last ly, Azeem became a voting member of the legislative review board.

Email OLIVIA BOUSQUET cp@cardinalpointsonline.com

CP Corrections

A

TIP?

ALEXA DUMAS/Cardinal Points

A Sundowner employee reported stolen food.

OLIVIA DAVIS/Cardinal Points

Above and below: Attendees take commemorative photos at a professional photo booth set up at the event. See more photos on A6.

Asexual Awareness Week approaches

BY BRYN FAWN Opinions Editor

Asexual Awareness week takes place this year from Oct. 23 to Oct. 29. Asexuality is de fined as an individual who experiences no sexual attraction. They do not find any per son, any body nor any characteristic sexu ally appealing. However, what many fail to realize is asexuality is in fact a spectrum, with many different sexualities under neath its umbrella. Some of these include: demisexual, greysexual, cupiosexual and lithosexual. Each of these labels have their own definitions and parameters.

Allosexuals, often shorted to “allo(s)” and are the counterpart to asexuals, often struggle to understand asexuality. Some describe asexuals, or “aces,” as loveless, cold-hearted or cruel. None of these are true. Aces can still love, even if it is not sexual. Not every ace refrains from sex, ei ther. Some enjoy it, some are repulsed by it and some are indifferent. Enjoying sex and experiencing sexual attraction are two en tirely different things.

Asexual Visibility and Education Net work is a great resource for aces and allos.

AVEN’s website states: “[AVEN] was founded in 2001 with two distinct goals: creating public acceptance and discussion of asexuality and facilitating the growth of an asexual community. Since that time we have grown to host the world’s largest asexual community, serving as an informa tional resource for people who are asexual and questioning, their friends and families, academic researchers and the press.”

AVEN provides general information on asexuality, and also provides other sourc es to turn to. There are a lot of articles writ ten by members of AVEN hosted on the website, many of which show the perspec tives of an ace in society. AVEN is a great starting point for anyone curious about asexuality or if they have any questions regarding the orientation.

Another organization, while relatively recent compared to AVEN, is Ace Week. Ace Week, in 2019, reported that the state of Washington formally recognized Asexu al Awareness Week. Since then, the states of Colorado, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Oregon have followed suit. Ace Week also

provides ways for people to participate in the community, even if they are not asex ual themselves. Some of these methods include: following ace creators, donating to asexual nonprofits, reading asexual lit erature and volunteering.

The largest obstacle for asexuals is rec ognition. Some within the LGBT commu nity believe that asexuals do not belong. Their argument is that asexuals are not “oppressed enough” as other identities.

They also argue that asexuality is much newer than other sexualities, which somehow makes it invalid. That is false.

Karl-Maria Kertbeny, a Hungarian human rights activist, is accredited to coining the term “homosexual” and “heterosexual.”

In 1869, Kertbeny also created the term “monosexual,” someone who does not partake in sexual activities and solely masturbates in Kertbeny’s definition.

While this term is inaccurate for asexuality today, it is evidence that even then people of that time had an inkling that there was such a thing as asexuality.

Asexuality has been included in scientif ic papers, even. 1979 is the first document ed event when asexuality was included in “The Sexually Oppressed” by Myra Jonson. Furthermore, asexuality and bisexuality have had a long intertwined history.

The scientific paper “‘I Didn’t Know Ace

ZOE NGUYEN/Cardinal Points

Was a Thing’: Bisexuality and Pansexual ity as Identity Pathways in Asexual Identity Formation,” published Jan. 2022, states: “Non-academic asexual sources have not ed a shared bi-ace history in which asexual individuals were included in the bisexual umbrella. As with asexuality, bisexual ity has multiple definitions and manifes tations. Generally, however, bisexuality is understood as an orientation defined by attraction to more than one gender, as op posed to monosexualities that are based on attraction to one gender.”

Asexuals do experience oppression too. “House,” a wildly popular medical drama television series, released an episode in 2012 where they “cure” a patient with asexual ity. In the real-life medical field, asexuality is often still seen as a disease that needs to be cured. Excuses such as “you just have a low libido” are common occurrences. Out side the doctor’s office, friends and family can chime in with “you just haven’t met the right person” or “you’ve never had sex, are you sure you don’t like it?”

With non-queer individuals and queer individuals both squeezing asexuals out of their spaces, aces had to resort to make their own. They confide in each other, mak ing jokes about loving cake, dragons and garlic bread. There is even a signal within the community: the ace ring. The ace ring

can be as simple or as extravagant as the wearer wishes, there are only two condi tions: it must be black and it must be worn on the wearer’s right middle finger.

Jacob Brant, who is in a relationship with a student on campus, identifies as an asex ual and aromantic — an individual who does not experience romantic attraction. Brant does have a partner, despite being ace, and is happy in his relationship.

In regards to aphobia, bigotry targeted to asexual and aromantic individuals, Brant stated: “I’ve experienced a lot of it passively, but mostly my experience with aphobia has been on the internet. Some people say they feel sorry for me, but some people say that I’m lucky I don’t have to deal with anything like that. I don’t really care though, I have my friends and fam ily, and everything else I could ever need.

Occasionally I’ll get weird questions about my private life. I do wish [allos] would know that asking me about my pri vate life is just as weirdly personal as walk ing up to a stranger and asking them what things they do to spice up their sex life. That and just because I’m asexual and aroman tic doesn’t mean I’m an unfeeling, robotic or distant person.”

Brant shared more about his life as an asexual, sharing that he’s happy with his friends and family even if he may not understand things like sexual and romantic attraction.

“I want allos to know that they don’t have to be in a relationship to find hap piness or to not be lonely. You’re all com plete people on your own, with or without a partner,” Brant said.

Since learning about the week, Brant shared his hopes for the future.

“I think it’s important to spread knowl edge of different identities and communi ties, and to soften the barriers between them so that people questioning their identity can freely explore themselves and find other people that share similar experiences,” Brant stated. “I think it’s a good step to a greater understanding and acceptance of humanity as a whole.”

Email BRYN FAWN cp@cardinalpointsonline.com

Kanye West exhibits antisemitism, hatred

BY BRYN FAWN Opinions Editor

Kanye West’s name has been unable to escape headlines these last few weeks. It has not been this way since his endorse ment of Trump in the 2020 election. West was unable to escape the view from onlookers, watching his every move. People spec ulated if he was undergo ing a mental health crisis, if he was bigoted or if this was simply his nature.

Fall’s unreasonable expectations, outcomes

BY ROCCO GOLDEN Contributor

The season of fall is seen as a magical time of year. Across the weeks, almost everyone finds time to enjoy the colors, the seasonal food or even some extensive decorating for the scariest time of the year. With that being said, it seems preposter ous to even think that Fall is overrated. The truth is that fall is overrated.

To most people in and around our coun try, the fall colors of the trees and shrubs are the poster child of the season. One place that is widely considered the best in the country for fall foliage is Vermont.

According to The Travel, an online trav eling guide website, more than 1 million people visit the state of Vermont during the month of October. That’s almost dou ble the state’s population. Also, according

to Vermont Business Magazine, visitors contribute hundreds of millions of dol lars to the state in tax revenue. It is also said the Vermont economy depends on a healthy tourism industry.

The state government, along with hun dreds of small businesses, depend on the fall colors and publicity for continued suc cess. Businesses, and especially a state government, should not try to rely on a short time of the year for so much revenue.

Relying on tourism too much can have con sequences. If there are more lockdowns or travel bans in the future, the business from tourism goes away. Increasing prices due to inflation as well as increasing government restrictions can also take a toll on tourism. Without the actual tourism, there will not be actual revenue.

West’s latest scandal began Oct. 7 when West posted to Instagram claim ing the musician Sean “Diddy” Combs was being manipulated by the Jew ish population. This post has since been removed, and Meta locked West’s ac count. West then moved to Twitter, where he tweeted “When I wake up I’m go ing death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE.” Oct. 8. The tweet itself is hard to defend, threatening death upon the Jewish population, but West continues with, “the funny thing is I actu ally can’t be antisemetic because black people are actually jew also.”

Twitter ignited with re sponses to this tweet. Many users, on and off the platform, noted that West has more followers than there are Jewish individu als in the world. There

are an estimated 15.2 mil lion Jewish people in the world, according to Jewish Agency. West has 31.5 mil lion followers on Twitter, as of Oct. 17. There is an argument to be made that a portion of his follow ers are bot accounts, but there is not enough to be able to claim his following does not out number the Jewish population.

There were inklings of West’s antisemtic behav ior before this social me dia outburst. In Nov. 2021, West guest-starred on the podcast “Drink Champs.”

Before diving into the con tent of the clip, hosted by The Brew Report on You Tube, many of the com ments beneath the video agree with West’s view point. Some treat him like a prophet, almost.

They clarify he isn’t ex actly correct, but that he has time to grow, and god will show him the way. It’s reminiscent of conspiracy theories or cults, even.

West begins with com menting on the changing of our times. West states that his mother was dic tated what fountain she could drink from, due to segregation, while now Black individuals are a “vote,” specifically the “Black vote.” He also con tinuously remarks that Black individuals are from the blood of Christ, and

that all Black individuals are inherently Christian.

“We blood of Christ. We blood of Moses,” West stated. “We not just a col or in a crayon box, and if we knew that, who we re ally were, we would treat each other differently; we would treat ourselves differently. ‘I’m Black and I’m proud.’ like, but [proud] of what?”

West then criticized how Black history is pre sented. West claims the African History Museum starts history too late claiming it should begin with the Bible and how slavery was a punishment from god for disobedi ence, rather than a cruel chain of commerce by Eu ropeans.

“It has to deal with the Bible. It has to deal with [Black individuals] being disobedient to god. That’s why we farm land that isn’t our own,” West said.

West then explained how god has given him this opportunity to lead, how none of this was by chance and how he is the Moses of today.

“I’m the leader. Let’s open up this bible. God pointed at this man and said I’m worth nine mil lion dollars,” West said.

ZOE NGUYEN/Cardinal Points

Editorial

Loan forgiveness begins, students save

President Joe Biden has finally re leased the student loan debt relief ap plication after making promises back in August. The relief program will relieve up to $20,000 for students who receive Pell Grants, and up to $10,000 for those who do not. This action from the federal government is life-changing.

The White House released a graph ic, on their own government website, demonstrating how the cost of high er education continues to increase, but support from sources such as the FAFSA and Pell Grant have remained stagnant. The Pell Grant is based on income, including the student’s parent or parents’ income if they are legally a dependent, to determine how much funding is given to the student, but even then there are limitations.

According to the Education Data Initia tive, students graduate with about an av erage of $31,100 in debt to student loans. Graduates also tend to owe more than un dergraduates due to high-interest rates.

The Education Data Initiative’s web site also states: “The average total stu dent loan debt-to-income ratio for a new graduate is 54.6%. Before adjusting for inflation, the average student loan debt at graduation has increased 2,807% since 1970; after adjusting for inflation, the average debt increased 317%.”

With the cost of education so high, it is nearly impossible to afford getting a degree of any kind in the United States.

Even if one were to graduate and get their desired degree and desired job with relatively moderate debt, start ing salaries are not enough to handle the upkeep of interest plus the already owed funds.

The application process is simple. The applicant provides their legal name, so cial security number and email. Then, they must agree that they make under $250,000 for the 2021 tax year. That is the entirety of the process. The website warns to be wary of scams. Never give out your social security number unless you trust the source.

Many conservatives were originally outraged by the proposition to relieve student debt, claiming it would cost too much and that it would be a burden on taxpayers. The White House responded by sharing how many GOP politicians benefited from Paycheck Protection Pro gram loans and their relief.

Republican Congressman Mike Kelly tweeted in disagreement with the loan forgiveness program, calling it a “bad policy.” The White House tweeted in re sponse, “Congressman Mike Kelly had $987,237 in PPP loans forgiven.”

Congressman Markwayne Mullin had over $1.4 million forgiven, Congress man Kevin Hern had over $1 million forgiven and Congresswoman Majorie Taylor Greene had $183, 504 forgiven ac cording to the White House. All of these congresspeople tweeted their disdain

ZOE NGUYEN/

for the policy, while having millions of dollars forgiven in PPP loans.

If these politicians are comfortable using taxpayer money to forgive PPP loans, then why is there an issue with using roughly $20,000 per student? It could just be a ploy to continue the gap between the upper class and lower class, gatekeeping higher education from those who simply cannot afford it and must work menial jobs to live pay check to paycheck.

This policy is a step for the future. A future where knowledge is not locked behind a paywall. A future where edu cation is free for all who are willing to learn. A future for the better. Hopefully, legislation will continue to follow this direction, and there will be a time when parents do not have to worry how they will pay for their child’s education.

mented on how antisemitism has been on the rise online. Katz also commented on how this behavior is not un usual for West. Katz shared how West has a history of prejudice against women, other people of color, and those who do not support his own political views. Klutz concluded that West had his “chance” a while ago, but removing him from social media is not the perfect so lution.

Katz also shared their feelings toward people online excusing West’s behavior as just a mental health crisis or outburst.

community in Southern Israel.

they sent a cease-and-desist to West.

“I’m gonna be the Moses of the situation because that’s what God anointed me [with] the skill set to do that.”

West did include a twist ed statistic that “50% of all black death is abortion.” The definition of death be ing used here is weak. It does not point toward death in the legal sense or moral sense. Legally, it is currently up for debate if the termination of a fetus means death.

The clip concludes with West discussing creating a kibbutz, a settlement that is unique to the people of Israel.

“Where we need to live,” he said. “Where the grand parents can take care of the kids. It’s better to have a grandparent taking care of the kids than a nanny. As a community, we will not fail. I think there is a community that didn’t go into slavery, like I think it’s Masada.”

Masada is a small agricultural

The entirety of the clip leans toward the notion that Black individuals are Israel ites, and need to “return to their roots,” in a sense, re turn to Israel.

West has also caused more issues, dragging his name through the mud. He plans to purchase Parler, a right-wing social media site commonly associated with President Donald Trump. Parler is dedi cated to providing free speech for its users, and is a competi tor to Twitter, just without the userbase. Yet, Trump has ap parently called West “crazy” according to two sources from The Rolling Stones.

West is also now facing a lawsuit. West alleged that George Floyd, the man who became a martyr for the Black Lives Matter move ment back in 2020, had not died from asphyxiation from the knee pressed against his neck and was instead a fentanyl overdose. Floyd’s daughter has since an nounced a $250 million law suit, and the attorney rep resenting the case admitted

Kay Harper Williams, one of the three attorneys, said, “Free Speech Rights do not include harassment, lies, misrepresen tation, and the misappropria tion of George Floyd’s legacy. Some words have consequenc es and Mr. West will be made to understand that.”

Ezhra Katz, a Jewish stu dent on campus, was inter viewed for their thoughts on the matter. When asked about how Judaism related to their identity, Klutz stat ed: “I am part of a commu nity that has time and time again overcome near extinc tion. It interplays with every facet of my being. It reminds me that the way I love is holy, my body is holy and I belong somewhere.”

Katz also shared how Ju daism is based in social jus tice, and how there is a say ing in the community to look at what atheists are doing, for they have no fear of god looming over them.

When asked about West’s tweets, Katz said they were not surprised. They com

is a massive publicity stunt. Like many other holidays and times of the year, all the trendy activities and commodities are excessively marketed to consum ers. It’s all about the pumpkin spice and the spooky decorations.

Board

“That upset me, as a per son who deals with mental illness. Furthermore, as a person who is disabled, men tal health isn’t an excuse. Es pecially in the case of Kanye, that is a freebie we have been tossing him for quite some time,” Katz said.

Katz shared their fears for the future after this entire incident, that they fear “the usual.” They shared that they refuse to wear their kippah outside of Temple, and how they fear to be come another news head line by being a victim of an other bigoted shooting.

It shouldn’t be usual for someone to fear being at tacked in their place of wor ship. Church, Temple, one’s home or anywhere for spiritu ality should be a safe haven.

Katz also shared what they want to see come from this situation: “SUNY Plattsburgh isn’t a place where I feel safe to be Jewish. I want non-Jews to understand that Jewish people are more than the Holocaust, more than the Shohah. We are a real living breathing people. Every Jewish voice matters in the conversation.”

LETTER

THE

The issue that surrounds fall foliage is that it’s overrated. Peak foliage only lasts for a week or two in most spots in Northern New York and Vermont, if that. Once it’s over, it’s over until next year. One windy day is all it takes to put those beautiful colors to rest. That is, if it isn’t raining for those two weeks.

Besides a typical sunny fall day, most of the weather is rather overcast, and what would be described as gloomy and depressing. Although October is more on the drier side compared to other months, it sure doesn’t seem like it. Be ing a resident of the area, this month is one of the more mediocre ones.

Another issue with the fall season is that it is too trendy. The whole season

Now, there’s nothing wrong with business, but the extent of fall and Hal loween related marketing is just plain ridiculous. To those that live in the area, and are used to the fall conditions every year, the trendy tourists are an noying to an extent. Many people come up north just for the sake of their In stagram and Facebook posts, trying to make a more appealing and attentiongrabbing online footprint. Many need to learn to appreciate fall for what it’s worth, instead of performing publicity stunts for themselves.

It’s true that an abundance of fall ac tivities are taken for granted by the av erage consumer or tourist. Things like

fresh apples, which are without ques tion one of the best things about fall, are not truly appreciated by people. In stead, precious times and goods’ true value are overlooked, tossed aside for that “#fall” self-esteem boost.

Award Winning

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 Fall 2001, four Marks of Distinction

ACP Hall of Fame

in Fall 2010

Points has received the following awards from the Associated Collegiate Press (ACP):

ROLNARDY NORELUS/Cardinal Points

BRYN

“I just think that if it’s going to be so alumni-based, it should be called alumni weekend, because even though Homecoming talks about how past Cardinals are coming here, there are still Cardinals here, still here trying to repre sent, still not understanding what it is that we’re supposed to do,” Rodriguez said.

“Homecoming” is also a more inclusive term, as the event’s purpose is to welcome back “whoever calls this place home,” Leduc said. That can include retired faculty and staff, such as Phoebe Sturm, SUNY Plattsburgh’s first woman coach of the women’s basketball team. A sum of $25,000 was raised by the Plattsburgh community to ded icate to a space in her honor.

“‘Alumni weekend’ isn’t not-accurate, just not as inclu sive as we want it to be,” Chapin-Lavigne said.

The Homecoming weekend consisted of over 25 events hosted in collaboration with various academic and athletic departments, Housing and Community Living, the Student Association, Greek life organizations and clubs. Events in cluded a picnic, sports games, a formal networking event, a movie viewing, panel speakers, conferences, a bonfire and others.

“The more, the merrier,” Chapin-Lavigne said. “We will build our schedule as vast as we possibly can, but we don’t necessarily always know what’s of interest to these specific student groups or academic departments. If they tell us, we’re willing to work with them.”

Another criticism shared at the SA Executive Council meeting was that there was little opportunity for stu dents, particularly clubs, to engage by planning their own activities.

The office of Alumni Relations starts planning Home coming in spring and throughout summer to secure ven ues for large events, allow returning alumni to book flight tickets and hotels, while fulfilling the office’s other respon sibilities serving over 72,000 SUNY Plattsburgh alumni. Chapin-Lavigne and Leduc have been planning Homecom ing together since 2008. Sometimes alumni plan their visits as early as four years in advance, Chapin-Lavigne said.

Chapin-Lavigne acknowledged that “time flows differ ently for students,” but said student organizations may have better luck hosting events during Homecoming week end if they communicate their plans with the office of Alumni Relations in the spring, summer or early into the fall semester.

“The best way to go about it is to start organizing in the spring,” Chapin-Lavigne said. “I mean, really, our Home coming just ended, we’re going to start to plan for next year’s within a couple of months.”

Rodriguez said students should be voicing their concerns directly to the institutions coordinating Homecoming events.

“A lot of students are expressing their concerns, but they’re not expressing their concerns to the Alumni Asso ciation,” Rodriguez said. “I think if they did that, they’d be able to get the results that they’re looking for.”

Rodriguez said she wondered what “Homecoming” on the SA budget was for when she was looking it over at the beginning of the semester. When she questioned it, she found out that all the SA did for Homecoming was issue a check to Alumni Relations, without working with the office directly.

This year, Rodriguez approached the office of Alumni Re lations and proposed a collaboration of two student-cen tered events, Trick-or-Trivia and a Zombie Escape Room, which alumni were welcome to join. Rodriguez noted that Trick-or-Trivia was more popular with younger alumni who graduated more recently, whereas the Zombie Escape Room saw more older alumni with their children.

Rodriguez tabled at the Fall Festival held at Hawkins

pond Saturday, Oct. 15. She gave coloring sheets to the chil dren of some alumni present, which she said helped the turnout to her two events.

In the future the SA will work more closely with Alumni Relations while planning Homecoming events, starting in the summer, Rodriguez said. She said she hopes to bring students and alumni closer by hosting more mingling events open to everyone, such as a “big party.”

“I definitely think that keeping Homecoming away from alumni is going to be nearly impossible, especially if [Alum ni Relations] has been doing this year after year after year,” Rodriguez said. “They already know what they’re doing, they already know who the target audience is. I think it’s just we have to work amongst ourselves to figure out how to elevate that status so students can participate.”

Chapin-Lavigne echoed Rodriguez’s sentiment, say ing she would “love to work with the Student Association in the future to collaborate earlier on a full schedule of events” for the entire Homecoming community.

Rodriguez also said she will work toward strengthen ing students’ school spirit with Aubrey Bresett, who is in charge of the “Rock the Red” campaign that encourages students, faculty and staff to wear red or SUNY Plattsburgh merchandise on Fridays.

Chapin-Lavigne and Leduc have high hopes for next year’s Homecoming.

“I do think for the first year post-pandemic having an in-person Homecoming, that we probably needed this year to kind of kickstart it again, although we were very pleased with the way Homecoming went,” Chapin-Lavi gne said. “There was a lot of celebrations, a lot of happi ness, a lot of tears when people were being celebrated or honored, and I think next year we’ll be even bigger and better because we’re back in the momentum of having an in-person Homecoming.”

Homecoming is meaningful to alumni because they can reconnect with the peers they studied together with, remi nisce and make new memories at their beloved campus.

“I want to pay it forward,” said David DeCancio, a town board member for the Town of Bethlehem, New York and a ’94 SUNY Plattsburgh alumnus. “I love the idea of com ing back because I want to support students. I want to start building a network, mentor them, bring them along — whatever I can do to help them thrive, because I want to see fellow Cardinals grow and thrive.”

For alumni, coming back to their alma mater is a way to give back to the community.

“I probably would not be where I am today had I not had those hands-on experiences that I was provided here, so now I want to give back,” DeCancio said.

“We really care about the college and our students,” Col leen Lemza, a ’90 and ’01 graduate and now chair of the public relations department, added.

Some alumni, like Matthew Veitch, like telling students stories about succeeding in life regardless of their chosen area of study. Veitch graduated in 1993 with a degree in secondary education and teaching, and now has careers in technology and communication, as well as politics.

“My lesson, somewhat, is that even though I didn’t do [what I majored in], my degree in Plattsburgh has helped in many ways as far as getting me to where I am profes sionally,” Veitch said. “Just having the Bachelor’s degree, or just having that experience of going through college, it automatically helps you in your career going forward. It’s valuable, no matter how you look at it.”

Both DeCancio and Veitch maintain a connection with the Plattsburgh community. Veitch said he visits the North Country “all the time, a dozen times a year.” He comes here with his family to hike, fish and “decompress from life.”

DeCancio returns to Plattsburgh every five years to reunite with his brothers from the fraternity Theta Kappa Beta, which no longer has a chapter on the SUNY Plattsburgh campus. Together with his fraternity brothers, DeCancio celebrates the anniversary of the founding of the chapter, going on 65 years, and performs community service.

DeCancio and Veitch are both members of the Alumni Association. The Alumni Association is the “face of alum ni” representing the college, but also works to recruit and retain students. DeCancio said he builds rapport with pro spective students in his area, writing them letters about why he loves Plattsburgh.

“Those four years [at SUNY Plattsburgh] to me— I can’t even put into words how much I love this campus,” DeCan cio said. “It’s very near and dear to me, and I want people to know that. And I’m hoping that helps attract people to come here, and hopefully they have the same experience I do.”

Even if not directly involved with the Alumni Associa tion, alumni share memories and interact on Facebook.

At the start of Homecoming weekend, DeCancio posted a picture of Pizza Bono’s “cold cheese pizza” on the Face book group “You know you went to Plattsburgh if…” and received almost 600 likes and over 100 comments.

“That’s the stuff that connects us all, that’s what Home coming is about, right? The old and the new,” DeCancio said. “It’s little things like this that make us.”

Email ALEKSANDRA SIDOROVA cp@cardinalpointsonline.com

ALEKSANDRA SIDOROVA/Cardinal Points

Students patiently wait for the screening of “Top Gun: Maverick” to begin on the foggy Friday night.

This

Photos by Olivia Davis

Hall of Fame inducts four athletes

BY COLLIN BOLEBRUCH Associate Sports Editor

The Plattsburgh State Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and Recreation and the Office of Alumni Relations wel comed four new members to the Platts burgh State Athletic Hall of Fame Oct. 14. The department elected Lindsey Douglas nee Keyser, class of 2012; Mike Figliola, class of 2007; Stephanie Moberg, class of 2010; and Ellen Turkel, class of 1976 to be the newest alumni bestowed with the honor in the 37th class.

To be eligible for the Hall of Fame, for mer students must have graduated from Plattsburgh and be graduated for at least 10 years. Coaches, administrators and other non-player inductees are not re quired to meet the same qualifications.

The 2022 induction ceremony comes after a delayed 2021 ceremony that was held this past April. The 2022 class was smaller than 2021’s with four to its six.

The ceremony featured cocktail hour, a buffet dinner, video resumes produced by Plattsburgh senior Julia Ennis and speeches from each inductee.

Douglas, from Keeseville, New York, was inducted in recognition of her play for the women’s soccer team as a mid fielder. She played in all four of her years at Plattsburgh, starting in all 74 of her games. On learning of her induc tion, Douglas was “thrilled,” “shocked” and “honored.”

She was named to the SUNYAC All-De cade Team for the 2010s, despite play ing just two seasons in the decade. Over her career, she notched 17 goals and 12 assists and finished with a 45-19-10 overall record. On her career, Douglas said it goes by so fast “you don’t even realize it’s happening,” but when “it’s over it’s over.”

Douglas played once in the SUNYAC Championship, finishing as runner-up in 2010. The team reached the NCAA Di vision III Tournament twice in 2009 and 2010. She earned Cardinals women’s soc cer’s first All-America honor when she was named to NSCAA Third-Team AllAmerica in 2010. That same year, Douglas was named to the NSCAA First-Team AllRegion. Douglas was twice a First-Team All-SUNYAC choice.

She is now a special education teach er at Keeseville Elementary School and head coach of AuSable Valley’s girls’ soccer team. Douglas led the team to two regional finals in 2018 and 2019 and a NYSPHSAA state championship and Section VII title in 2021. The accolades followed her to her coaching career, as she earned Section VII Girls’ Soccer Coach of the Year in 2019 and NYS Girls’ Soccer Class C Coach of the Year in 2021.

“I think it’s important to have high energy in my profession,” Douglas said.

“Showing up for those students every day is important. Showing up for my team mates every day and my coaches and making sure that I’m giving it my best.

I always try and live by that mentality. I don’t have to do this, I get to do this.”

The men’s soccer team was recognized as well. Figliola, a forward, stands atop Plattsburgh men’s soccer all-time goalscorers with 65 and single-season goalscorers with 25 in 2003. He also holds the record for career-best points with 145 and single-season points with 56 in 2003.

Figliola ended his career with an overall record of 68-17-3. He was a member of the 22-2 2005 Cardinals, who won the SUNYAC Championship, hosted an NCAA Division III Elite Eight game and played in a Final Four game. He said the induction was something he “wanted for a long time.”

During his career, he earned a NSCAA First-Team All-America nod, two NSCAA First-Team All-Region honors, three All-SU NYAC distinctions and a Plattsburgh State Men’s Athlete of the Year. Figliola said he got “emotional” during his speech.

He now lives back home in Ontario, working as a Catholic elementary school teacher and coaching soccer in Burling ton, Ontario. Figliola believes the honor was a long time coming.

“We’re overdue but it is happening,” Figliola said. “It was a nice surprise to come back here and tie a nice little bow on my career.”

He’s used everything he’s learned dur ing his career at Plattsburgh as both a stu dent and athlete in his life since.

“I try to instill into my children and even my students to strive for greatness and do what you can and whatever obsta

cles are there, face them full force,” Figli ola said. “Do your best and love what you do and everything will work out.”

Moberg played forward for Plattsburgh women’s hockey for four years. Her ca reer statistics feature 59 goals, including 17 game-winners, 74 assists and a 97-11-7 overall record. Her best season statisti cally, 2009-10, was highlighted by 25 goals and 18 assists. Moberg “definitely laughed” when learning of her induction.

“I didn’t realize how much time has passed since I left here. I was definitely humbled, appreciative. There are so many Plattsburgh greats that have been inducted into the Hall of Fame and to be a part of that, or even associated with that, was pret ty wonderful,” Moberg said.

Highlighting her career are two NCAA Division III national championships in the 2006-07 and 2007-08. The titles were the first in program history, setting a winning precedent. The Cardinals are 5-0 in national championships since her departure.

“I came in as a freshman and may have been a little wide-eyed to the ex perience altogether,” Moberg said. “I was just happy to be a part of that ex perience. All the other defenders on the team were older than I was, so playing that kind of role was definitely one that I valued and was happy to contribute in whatever way possible.”

HOF l B3

Men’s hockey wins first exhibition game

Women’s soccer one win from playoffs

It was a long awaited re turn to Ronald B. Stafford Ice Arena for the Platts burgh Cardinals men’s hockey team as it played the first exhibition game of the season Oct. 15. While the game does not count toward the team’s official statistics or record, it was a good opportunity for the players to compete in a game-environment, along with introducing the newcomers to the team’s style of play.

“I told [the team] before hand, our systems are be ing implemented, week by week. We don’t know

all of them yet,” graduate student and captain Matt Araujo said. “What we could expect is a 100% ef fort out of everybody.”

The Cardinals’ oppo nent was the Castleton Spartans, with these teams playing twice last season. Firstly in an exhi bition game Oct. 16, 2021, where Plattsburgh won 2-1 on the road. In the second match, a regular season game Oct. 30, 2021, the Cardinals scored eight goals en route to winning 8-1. Plattsburgh looked to keep this success going.

The Cardinals played 26 out the 28 players on the team’s roster, including all nine of the newcomers

to the team, as the coach ing staff tinkered out the roster before the start of the season.

BY LIAM SAMPLE Sports Editor BY LIAM SAMPLE Sports Editor

“It was good to get to see how [the new players] handle themselves out [on the ice], what their strengths and weakness es are, and what we need to work on with them,” Araujo said. “It was excit ing [to see] new faces in the locker room and on the ice, it was fun.”

The team’s last appear ance at home was in the 7-6 playoff loss to the Brockport Golden Eagles in the first round of the SUNYAC Playoffs Feb. 26.

Despite beginning the conference season winless through four games, it is now win and you’re in for the Platts burgh Cardinals (9-5-2) women’s soccer team. Last weekend, the team traveled to Fredonia Oct. 15 to play the Blue Devils (2-8-4) in a crucial matchup to help determine placings in the SUNYAC heading into playoffs.

Fredonia was winless in conference play coming into the game, with the road game bringing an opportunity for Platts burgh to grab three points in the confer ence standings in the Cardinals’ second to last SUNYAC game of the season.

“I think getting [to Fredonia], we all knew that we had to win this game to make sure we were getting into the playoffs. Losing three games in the beginning [of the conference season]

definitely changed our mindset on the season,” graduate student Allison Seid man said. “This game just was like, ‘we need to get this win in order to secure a spot and then we will deal with the other games after that.’”

Plattsburgh came into this game on a three game conference win streak, all of which have been shutouts, and being 4-1 overall on the road this season.

The graduate students Kirsten Ville maire and Seidman, who are the first and second highest in goals on the team, again came to play and did not waste any time trying to put the team ahead. Seidman attempted to score 4:10 into the game, but had her shot saved.

Before the 12-minute mark, Seidman con trolled the ball in the offensive zone and passed it to Villemaire, who made a dribble move to open up space.

Photos provided by Brian Savard

Left to right: Stephanie Moberg ‘10, Ellen Turkel ‘76, Mike Figliola ‘07, and Lindsey (Keyser) Douglas ‘12 were inducted into the Plattsburgh State Athletic Hall of Fame Oct. 14.

RYAN NISTA/Cardinal Points

Allison Seidman (2) sets up a corner kick. She scored and assisted against Fredonia.

RYAN NISTA/Cardinal Points

Sophomore Jack Ring (22) hugs junior Carson Gallagher (28) as the team celebrates a goal.

Quickly, she took a long shot from outside the penalty arc that was placed perfectly, as it snuck into the top left corner of the net.

Seidman said that as center forward, one of her jobs is to position herself be tween the opponent’s defender when in the attacking third of the field and de cide whether to “hold or check.” While doing this, she got the ball and said she “opened up” to find the play.

“I saw Kirsten [Villemaire] in that spot she always hits. That shot from that angle, it is her sweet spot and al ways has been since [our first year,]” said Seidman. “I saw it and I was like, ‘all right, we’re going to try it.’ I trusted her and she just hit it.”

Following the goal, Plattsburgh’s of fense was commanding and finished the first half with a 15-2 lead in shots.

“We had a really good first half, where I felt like we possessed the ball a lot,” sophomore Sophia Hatziyianis said. “The whole game throughout, we were just very calm and calm on the ball.”

Hatziyianis, a midfielder, spoke of the cohesiveness of each sector of the team. She said how the defense, midfield, and forwards were able to connect passes during the game. Hatziyianis tallied a shot on goal late in the second half.

Plattsburgh traveled without junior defender Kayla Myers, who made the decision to attend her sister’s high school soccer senior night.

“It was important to me that I was a part of it for her,” Myers said in a text mes sage. “It was definitely a tough decision, but Coach [Whitney Frary] told me it was one I had to make for myself.”

This caused the team’s formation to be shifted, as junior Nora Fitzgerald, who transitioned from defense to of fense midway through the season, was moved back to her former position for the game. She was later named SUNYAC Offensive Player of the Week despite playing both positions during the week.

Senior Anna McDuffie started the game at forward, where she registered two shots of her own.

The Cardinals kept the same spirit into the second and did not let up a single shot during the half. Seidman scored one of her own with 5:30 remain ing in the game to seal the win, she spoke of a couple opportunities she had to score on her own before the goal and began to start “taking people on and trying to shoot.”

“I didn’t find much success and I’m not going to blame it on the grass, but I kept getting stuck and rolling my an kle,” Seidman said.

The play started with Villemaire pass ing to Fitzgerald, who attempted a shot.

Seidman, who was in “perfect position” according to Fitzgerald, was able to fin ish the goal. This was her sixth of the season which put her in the team-lead.

“After the goal happened, I was just like, ‘Nora [Fitzgerald], do you think you could’ve got there.’ She was like, ‘no, thank god you were there because there was no way I was getting there.’” Seidman described. “It was just a good feeling to be in the right spot.”

Plattsburgh hung on to win the game 2-0, which moved them into solo fourth in the SUNYAC Standings. Sophomore goalie Lauren Haley picked up her fifth shutout in her last six games, making two stops. The defense, which Seidman said is the “best in the SUNYAC,” put up another strong performance.

The Cardinals next played against Union College (8-4-2) Oct. 19 in a nonconference matchup on the road. Fitzgerald stayed hot, as she got Platts burgh on the board before the 30 min ute mark, but it was Union who led by a goal after the first half. A second half goal from junior Avery Durgan tied the game and led to a 2-2 final score. This was Durgan’s first score of the season.

Plattsburgh goes on to play its SUNYAC Finale against Buffalo State Oct. 22 (6-63), where a win would solidify a postsea son appearance and a home game dur ing the first-round of the playoffs.

This is also Plattsburgh’s senior day, where they will recognize three gradu ate students and four seniors, who have the option to return with the extra year of eligibility due to COVID-19.

Last year, Plattsburgh earned a bye during the first round of the conference playoffs and lost 3-0 to SUNY Cortland in the semi-finals at home. Fitzgerald said that she is excited to potentially not have a first-round bye because last season the team discovered that a week without a game is a long time compared to the regular season. She thinks it will be beneficial for the team to have that first round matchup, if the team makes the playoffs.

With the conference schedule only be ing nine games, it became a hard road to the playoffs for the team after beginning 0-3-1. For the first time this season, Platts burgh is now over .500 in the SUNYAC.

This comeback from the rock bottom has been a true coaching display from Frary, who is in her first-year at Platts burgh. The team is now in strong posi tion to potentially qualify for its eighth straight playoffs, with the team last winning the conference in 1998.

“I’m definitely proud. We’ve been working extremely hard and it’s been showing in our results. We just have to finish strong on Saturday,” Fitzgerald said. “Playoffs are a whole new ball game that we won’t have to worry about what we did in the [regular] season.”

Email LIAM SAMPLE cp@cardinalpointsonline.com

Scoreboard

Schedule/Results

Men’s Soccer Tennis

10/15 2-3 loss vs. Fredonia* 10/7 4-5 loss vs. Geneseo*

10/18 4-0 win @ Canton 10/8 7-2 win vs. Fredonia*

10/22 @ Buffalo St. @ 1 p.m* 10/12 5-4 win vs. Russell Sage

10/25 @ St. Lawrence @3 p.m. 10/14 7-2 win vs. St. Micheal’s

Women’s Soccer Volleyball

10/15 2-0 win @ Fredonia* 10/14 1-3 loss vs. Brockport*

10/19 2-2 tie @ Union 10/15 0-3 loss vs. Geneseo*

10/22 vs. Buffalo St. @ 1 p.m.*10/21 @ Potsdam @ 6 p.m.*

10/25 @ Canton @ 6 p.m. 10/22 @ Canton @ 12 p.m.

Cross Country

10/15 Men Placed 7th @ Connecticut College Invitational

10/15 Women placed 12th @ Conneticut College Invitational 10/29 @ SUNYAC Championships @11 a.m./12 p.m.*

* = conference game

Cardinal Stats

Women’s Soccer

Standings

Men’s Soccer

School SUNYAC Record

Brockport 6-1-1 8-2-5 Cortland 5-1-2 11-4-2 Oneonta 5-2-1 10-2-2 New Paltz 5-2-1 8-4-3 Geneseo 2-3-3 8-5-3 Plattsburgh 2-4-2 7-6-2 Oswego 2-4-2 5-7-2 Fredonia 2-4-2 3-8-3 Buffalo State 2-5-1 4-7-4 Potsdam 0-5-3 5-6-4

Women’s Soccer

School SUNYAC Record Cortland 7-0-1 11-1-3 Geneseo 6-1-1 9-4-2 New Paltz 6-2-0 10-3-1 Plattsburgh 4-3-1 9-5-2 Oswego 3-3-2 8-5-3 Potsdam 3-4-1 7-8-1 Brockport 3-4-1 4-7-3 Buffalo State 1-5-2 6-6-3

Oneonta 1-6-1 3-9-1 Fredonia 0-6-2 2-8-4

Tennis

School SUNYAC Record New Paltz 7-0 7-1 Oneonta 6-1 7-2 Cortland 4-2 6-3 Geneseo 4-3 4-5 Plattsburgh 3-4 7-5 Brockport 2-5 2-8 Oswego 1-6 1-8 Fredonia 0-6 0-11

Volleyball

Tennis

Volleyball

School SUNYAC Record

Cortland 7-0 15-4 Brockport 6-1 16-5 New Paltz 6-1 17-2 Buffalo State 4-3 11-7 Geneseo 4-3 9-9 Oswego 4-3 16-8 Fredonia 2-5 4-16 Oneonta 2-5 10-11 Potsdam 1-7 11-10 Plattsburgh 0-8 4-13

Athlete

Quote of the Week

“I would do anything to put a Cardinals jersey back on.”

Men’s soccer collapse before alumni crowd

BY COLLIN BOLEBRUCH Associate Sports Editor

The Plattsburgh Cardi nals men’s soccer team (76-2) lost to the conference opponent Fredonia Blue Devils (3-8-3) by a score of 2-3 in front of a packed venue Oct. 15. Generations of Plattsburgh alumni were on campus this past weekend to celebrate Homecoming, coinciding with men’s soccer’s Senior Day. The influx of Cardi nals on school grounds resulted in the team’s larg est home audience in four years, with an estimated 203 fans in attendance.

Fredonia entered the game facing playoff elimi nation, as a loss would have mathematically kept the Blue Devils out of the SUNY AC Playoffs. Plattsburgh and Fredonia now stand even in the conference standings with eight points apiece.

The Cardinals are now in a five-man race for one the two remaining conference playoff bids. The Geneseo Knights have nine points, Plattsburgh, the Oswego Lakers and Fredonia tie with eight points, then the Buffalo State Bengals stand behind with seven points The Potsdam Bears are the only team in the conference to have been eliminated from contention. Each team has one SUNYAC game left.

Before the match kicked off, Plattsburgh honored

its 10 seniors and graduate students with a pre-game celebration. The class in cludes seniors Jimmy Alex ander, Rocky Bujaj, Ethan Gaboff, Christian Garner, Alex Graci, Juan Velez and Cole Weiner and graduate students Joseph Ditillo, An drew Braverman and Trey Ekert. It’s unknown yet which seniors will return for a fifth season granted to them by the NCAA because of COVID-19.

Sophomore John Hayes was the lone goal-scorer of the match, recording two scores in five shots on goal.

Velez and sophomore Brian Coughlan both had multiple

shots, but no player other than Hayes had more than one shot on goal. Braver man, Velez and Coughlan were credited with assists.

Sophomore Teddy Healy saved four goals and al lowed three.

Plattsburgh started the game fiery on offense. The Cardinals shot five times to the Blue Devils’ zero in the first 12 minutes. Coughlan once and Hayes twice sent shots off target.

Coughlan tested Fredonia sopho more Tanner Stutzman in the bottom center of the net and was denied.

Twenty-five seconds later, Velez did the same in the

bottom left and was met with the same result.

A Cardinals corner kick allowed for the offense to set itself up. Hayes put Plattsburgh on the board at the 18:25 mark, assisted by both Coughlan and Braver man. The crowd rallied as the Cardinals celebrated on the field.

Plattsburgh regained pos session quickly after the subsequent kick-off. Hayes scored a second goal, as sisted by Velez, just over a minute after his first. The Cardinals were putting on a show, making quick work of the Blue Devils.

Plattsburgh didn’t record

a single shot for the last 25 minutes of the first half.

Fredonia had two of its own, but could not record a score either. The once red-hot Car dinals offense fizzled into stagnancy. Plattsburgh led 2-0 headed into halftime.

“I think after two goals we got too comfortable. We had a big enough lead to be comfortable, and we got comfortable, and they pun ished us for it,” Hayes said.

Fredonia began the sec ond half with three succes sive corner kicks. The third kick set up the Blue Devil offense for a shot attempt by senior Robert Aboagye.

The ball, sent to the bottom

center, was rejected and the Cardinals were credited with a team save.

An Ekert foul minutes later put the Fredonia of fense in position to score its first goal of the day. Ju nior Markus Johansson, assisted by sophomores Cameron Walsh and Kaleb Steward, beat Healy for the first Blue Devil goal of the day. The score, 2-1, still fa vored Plattsburgh.

The Cardinals responded with its first shots in 40 game minutes. Velez fired a shot out right of the goal, his second attempt of the game. Plattsburgh was re warded with a corner kick almost two minutes later. Coughlan took the kick. Hayes connected, sending the ball to the bottom right, but was blocked and Fredo nia was credited with a team save. Another Velez attempt proved fruitless.

The teams traded shots over the next 15 minutes with no score. Both squads put a shot on target only once. Yellow cards were handed out to Coughlan and Walsh and a total of five fouls were called.

Fredonia’s Steward, as sisted by junior Dylan Ange, scored the equalizer with 13 minutes remain ing. The Cardinals failed to score in almost 60 game minutes, and the Blue Dev ils took advantage.

Lindsey (Keyser) Douglas, 2012 graduate, four year soccer player and 2022 Plattsburgh State Athletic Hall of Fame inductee

COLLIN BOLEBRUCH/Cardinal Points

The team comes back on the field after halftime at the Field House Athletic Complex. It has a 7-6-2 overall record.

During her time at Platts burgh, the team also won the 2006-07 ECAC West champion ship following an undefeated season. Moberg was named First-Team All-America twice, ECAC West Player of the Year and Plattsburgh State Female Athlete of the Year.

“I think that if you come to Cardinal Country and experi ence this for four years, it’s tough to culminate in a hand ful of minutes what that time meant to you,” Moberg said. “There’s so many wonderful things that happened during my time here.”

After graduating, Moberg im mediately began her coaching career. She spent time as an assis tant coach at Division III schools Colby College and Connecticut College and Division I schools Merrimack College and Dart mouth College. She also spent two years as the head coach at Division III Castleton University.

“One thing I look back on that’s super unique about Plattsburgh is that out of every other place that I’ve worked, the people and how the mind set of winning and champion ship culture exists here and everyone is so greatly apprecia

MHKY

The attendance num bers have not been of ficially released, but the players were happy with the environment.

“It’s good to be back. It was six months from last playing, and then I thought we had a pretty good atmosphere for a preseason game, ” junior Paul Bryer said.

His linemate during the game, junior Carson Galla gher echoed the sentiment.

“It was definitely great to be back and I thought for an exhibition game, we had amazing fans,” Gallagher said. “[It was] an amazing group of fans that came out and sup ported and we had a lot of [fans] too. Which is great to see not just students, but locals too. That makes us play a lot harder.”

Gallagher, a Division I Transfer from Sacred Heart University, is in his second year as a Cardinal. He said that Plattsburgh has a tighter community feel compared to his former university.

Coach Steve Moffat tried many different pairings in the game, including sub stituting three defenders into the game during the second period. Araujo was one of those defensemen.

“It was weird because I came in 10 minutes into the second period,” Arau jo said. “I was definitely thrown into a burning fire a little bit, just not being pre pared or warmed up at all.”

Araujo said he felt bet ter once he took a couple shifts and got his legs “un derneath” him.

MSOC

tive of what they receive here on a day-to-day basis and it’s real,” Moberg said.

She now works with the Chi cago Windy City Storm, a youth hockey organization, as a col lege adviser and coach. Moberg also hosts independent skills training programs.

Turkel has been acknowl edged as a pioneer for sports at Plattsburgh as the first woman to run cross country and track and field on campus. She came to school in 1972, the same year Title IX, which prohibited sexbased discrimination at schools, was passed.

“I felt that I did something,” Turkel said. “And it’s worth be ing recognized.”

During her speech, Turkel re counted an experience during a track meet Plattsburgh competed in. She claimed that Head Coach Howard Hammonds alerted her of a note in an opposing team’s locker room. The note, from the opposing team’s coach, said that if any man on their team lost to Turkel, they’d be in trouble. Turkel beat a few men that day.

“I love it here, and this is a special place,” Turkel said. “I became a grown-up here and there were so many challenges and so many wonderful things. This gave me the opportunity to become a person. A real person with confidence, and to know what I wanted to do in life.”

Since Turkel’s graduation, Plattsburgh has introduced a

One of the lines Moffat deployed was Gallagher, Bryer, and junior Bennett Stockdale, who led the team in goals last season. Gallagher and Stockdale played together for large parts of last season, with Gallagher saying the ad dition of Bryer has been “nothing but great.”

“It’s always nice playing with guys like that, they’re very skilled players. They’ll always find you the puck,” Bryer said. “We practiced all week together. I think we work well together.”

Throughout the first period, Plattsburgh led in shots, and broke the standstill near the final minutes of the frame, as this line put the team on the scoresheet. During a power play, Bryer had the puck near the red line and sent a pass to the other side of the net, where sophomore Jack Ring at tempted to put a one-timer on net. The goalie came across to make the save, but did not control the re bound, where Gallagher shot it into the net.

“We were in the power play and I was the bumper guy,” said Gallagher. “Our defenseman shot it and I just crashed the net and got the rebound there.”

Araujo said he was im pressed with this line throughout the game, but was more worried about the defense.

“I’m not really paying at tention out there, I’m star ing at my [defense] partner, probably yelling at him,” Araujo said while laughing.

The Cardinals played all three of its goalies through out the game, with sopho more Jacob Hearne start ing. He did not give up a goal, with the team leading 1-0 after one period. In the

women’s cross country team and both men’s and women’s cross country teams are led by a woman head coach Jordyn Naylon.

“It’s about time. We need to be equal and anything less than that just isn’t fair,” Turkel said.

According to a program at the ceremony, she ran in the 1975 Boston Marathon, finishing 12 out of 52 women. In marathon times, she ranked as high as 16th in the world, recording a time of 2:58:37. She ran in and qualified for the first Olympic women’s marathon trials in 1984, when she ran a 2:47:13 time.

Turkel finished her educa tion as a graduate student at the University of Arizona. She has taught at San Diego City College as a professor of health and exer cise science for the last 30 years, volunteer assistant coached its women’s cross country team for the last five and co-coordinated its Fitness Specialist Program.

Turkel has also worked as a holi day alpine ski instructor at Mam moth Mountain in the Sierra Ne vada mountain range and a USA Track and Field official.

“The five Ds” was a core message taught to Turkel by

Hammonds. It stands for “dis cipline, determination, dedica tion, desire and distance.”

The Hall of Fame committee meets over the upcoming win ter break to begin the selec tion process for the 2023 class. Anyone can nominate a SUNY Plattsburgh athlete for consid eration as long as the athlete meets the aforementioned cri teria. To nominate someone, visit gocardinalsports.com.

about anything else other than that,” Alavery added.

The Cardinals tallied an other goal with less than a minute left in the second pe riod. First year forward Riley Sutherland took the puck over the offensive line and bounced it off the boards to himself. He attempted a shot, which redirected to senior Adam Tretowicz in front of the net, where he one-timed it for the goal.

The third period followed a similar pattern to the first two, but this time it was first year Eli Shiller in net. Shiller made his first col legiate appearance and played strong, as he held on to the team’s shutout.

goals in a strong pre-sea son appearance.

Alaverdy spent the time after the game interacting with his former teammates. He said they were all friend ly interactions, and he still has a lot of good friends on the opposing team. He mentioned how it was really good to catch up with senior Spartan Goaltender Bran don Collett and wished him the best over the remainder of the season.

In a game where Plattsburgh had control early on, it was now trying to avoid a third straight opponent score.

“We got too comfortable and lazy, in cluding myself,” Hayes said.

Head Coach Chris Taylor disagreed with the notion that Fredonia’s come back can be attributed to Plattsburgh getting “too comfortable” and “lazy”

“I don’t know if it’s a comfort thing, but we knew what was going to happen in that second half. We talked about the wind, we talked about their despera tion,” Taylor said. “We wanted to use their desperation against them and play with poise and professionalism. We

second, graduate student Kyle Alaverdy came into the game. Alaverdy transferred from Castleton University, where he spent four years, playing three seasons with the Spartans.

Alaverdy entered the transfer portal at the end of last season, as he said that Castleton does not have any graduate school options for science majors and he still wanted to use his final year of eligibility. After speaking with the coaches at Plattsburgh, he committed to the team.

“Coach Moffat, [Assistant] Coach [Reid] Lesswing, have done a great job making me comfortable with the team and allowing me to focus on what I have to do to make the team better and help us win,” Alaverdy said.

Alaverdy played in the New England Hockey Con ference, which had six teams represented in the top 20 of the final Pairwise Ranking last season. He av eraged over 34 saves a game last season, while the Cardi nals, as a team, gave up an average of 27 shots per game

never got going, when we needed big leadership we never got it. We needed guys to really take control of momen tum and it didn’t happen. I’ve probably got to take responsibility as well.”

Coughlan took another corner kick at the 81:55 minute mark. A Cardinal made contact with the ball and a whistle was blown. The ball enters the net but no goal is counted. Stutzman was on the ground and his teammates called for a trainer. The referees conferred for a few minutes, Stutzman got to his feet and Fredonia Head Coach P.J. Gondek re mained on the field. Play resumed and Stutzman stayed in the goal.

Fredonia’s Aboagye, assisted by sopho more Milkias Aregawi, scored the gamewinning goal in the 87th minute to save it self from playoff elimination. Plattsburgh recorded no shots in the last 15 minutes

last season. He said that at Plattsburgh “you’re expect ed to win” and “expected to make the saves that the team gives you,” even if it is a “lighter workload.”

“I saw it firsthand [against Castleton], when I just kind of stood there for 12 minutes and then I had to react to make a couple saves,” Ala verdy said. “I’m confident it’s another challenge that hopefully I can rise to and be okay with.”

Alaverdy stopped all the shots he faced and said it was different being on the other side of the team he used to play for. He did not feel like he had any type of inside scoop on Castleton, despite his success during the game.

“I saw a lot of familiar faces before and after the game, guys I had lived with for three years,” Alavery said. “At the same time, once the puck drops, it’s just a game right? There are no faces to anyone and I just got to stop the puck. I just made sure I was squared to the puck. I was seeing it well and I didn’t really think

of the game.

Plattsburgh struck with 5:36 remaining in regula tion. On a five-on-three opportunity, Sutherland led the offense and made a quick pass to the front of the net for first-year forward Ryan Bonfield. Bonfield sent it to the other side of the crease, where junior Trey Thomas scored on a one-timer. Plattsburgh held a 38-19 lead in shots and led 3-0 at the end of regulation.

Midway during the third period, it was announced that a five minute three versus three period would be played immediately af ter the third period. This was presumably for both teams to get practice in this format of hockey, which is used during overtime in the regular season.

With exactly 1:00 remain ing in the three-on-three period, Plattsburgh scored once again on the man ad vantage. First year defender Spencer Bellina attempted a long shot, which trickled in with the aid of junior Ryan Butler screening the goalie.

Plattsburgh ended the game with a 65-minute shutout, scoring four

“We had more than enough chances to win that game and make it safe, just lack of execution in both boxes,” Taylor said. “We’re not putting teams away when we should and then the pressure mounts, that’s the issue.”

Velez echoed Taylor’s comments about being a better team.

“We could have done better, we should have been more connected, more hungry, and Fredonia came out to play,” Velez said.

When the siren signaled the end of the game, Coughlan and Hayes headed di rectly to the locker room. Taylor yelled for them to return and shake hands with the other team. Cardinals and Blue Devils had some exchanges at midfield.

“They’re only college kids, their matu rity, emotional. That’s positive develop

Plattsburgh plays one more exhibition game Oct. 21, as they take on the St. Micheal’s Purple Knights on the road. The team begins its official season Oct. 28 taking on Plymouth State and then Castleton once more Oct. 29, both games on the road. The team will begin its SUNYAC Season on the road against the Oswego Lakers and the Cortland Red Dragons Nov. 4 and Nov. 5. Araujo said the team needs to focus and learn on how to win on the road during this stretch of games. It will return home Nov. 11 to take on the Brockport Golden Eagles in a highly anticipated matchup, where the Cardinals will look for revenge for last season’s playoff loss.

“It was preseason first game, so there’s a lot of things that are going to go wrong. Going forward, I just think the team needs to kind of clean up our act a little bit, passes, penal ties, stuff like that,” Araujo said. “We were a little bit all over the place [during the game] with linemates, once we get started with the regu lar season, the expectations are definitely going to grow week by week.”

Email LIAM SAMPLE cp@cardinalpointsonline.com

ment. I’m not a big fan of showing big emotions after a game, especially when we’ve had 90 minutes to do that,” Taylor said. “We’ve got to stand up in the moment instead of reacting after the moment.”

Plattsburgh’s playoff status is now up in the air and the last week of games will determine if the Cardinals earned a spot.

Plattsburgh plays one more SUNYAC game this season, taking on the Buffalo State Bengals (4-7-4) in Buffalo Oct. 22

Playoff scenarios include but are not limited to a Plattsburgh win and a Fredonia loss or tie or a Plattsburgh win or tie and a Geneseo loss.

“[Buffalo St.] is a playoff game now,” Tay lor said. “It pretty much has to be a win.”

COLLIN BOLEBRUCH/Cardinal Points

The four inductees pose together with Athletic Director Mike Howard (right) following the ceremony.

Email COLLIN BOLEBRUCH cp@cardinalpointsonline.com

RYAN NISTA/Cardinal Points

Junior Kevin Weaver-Vitale (7) gets set up for a faceoff.

Film forum features student, guest films

BY KENNEDY TAVARES Staff Writer

As a tribute to the late Dr. Isabel Arredondo, SUNY Platts burgh’s Center for Interdisci plinary and Area Studies is putting together “Viewpoints: The Plattsburgh Film Forum,” a collection of short films created by students and special guests. The showing will be Oct. 22 at the Strand Theater. Tickets will be free to all attendees.

Arredondo was an associate professor of foreign languages and literature at the college who died in August. Arre dondo, with the help of SUNY Plattsburgh’s English professor Michael Devine, helped bring the Interdisciplinary Film mi nor to campus seven years ago.

They became good friends dur ing that time.

Kodak Super 8 film is a popu lar camera film used for motion pictures. Arrendondo took par ticular interest in independent filmmakers from around the world who used Super 8 for their projects. Arrendondo inter viewed artists in over 20 coun tries worldwide, thus inspiring the film forum in her honor.

The event was curated by Devine, who also runs the Cen ter for Interdisciplinary and Area Studies.

The film forum is an exten sion of the Center for Interdis ciplinary and Area Studies’s “HUMAN (viewpoints)” proj ect. The “HUMAN” project is about exploring the world as a collective and attempting to bring together not just campus, but community in a new way.

In 2021, the Strand Center had a project titled “HUMAN (flow),” which featured events with professionals, students and faculty.

ZOE NGUYEN/Cardinal Points

Panel addresses student voting

BY KIYANNA NOEL Staff Writer

The Political Science Department hosted a conference to discuss vot ing in the midterm election in the Alumni Conference Room at Angell College Center Oct. 13. There were four SUNY Plattsburgh alumni pan elists ranging in professions at the front of the room. Chair of the Po litical Science Department Dr. Da vid Lake started the discussion by asking each panelist to introduce themselves and then proceed with the discussion of the hostile envi ronment behind voting and politi cal freedoms to an audience of 18 students and faculty.

On the far left sat David Rodri guez DeCancio. DeCancio graduat ed from SUNY Plattsburgh in 1993 and has now become the Special Assistant Speaker to the New York State’s 100th Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and works on the Town of Bethlehem Board. He ran last year and was successful in flip ping a seat to the Democratic side.

He got involved in politics on be half of his family because he want ed to give back to his community.

Next to him was Kimberly Davis, who graduated in 2006. Davis has been the appointed Clinton County Treasurer for nine years now. Davis grew up in a Republican household and expressed the difficulties in be ing the only Democrat in her family as well as the struggles of being a woman in politics. Her father was the town Republican chair who hadn’t spoken to her about politics, but she is a representative of wom en in politics. She also co-found ed North Country Women United which is a committee dedicated to getting democratic women into of fice at State and Local levels in Clin ton, Essex and Franklin Counties.

To the left of her was Matthew Veitch who graduated in 1994. Veitch is now the Saratoga Springs Supervisor. In 2007, he was elected to the board of supervisors and has been in this position and he was elected to the chair of the board

in 2015. Veitch flipped a seat onto the Republican side. His family has gone back generations in Saratoga Springs since the 1920s. His grand father served in city hall, his broth ers served in the police force and his father-in-law was a state sena tor, so it was always instilled in him to give back to his community through politics.

The last seat on the far right was Christopher Rosenquest who graduated in 2000. Rosenquest is the 29th mayor of the City of Platts burgh as well as the first Black mayor of Plattsburgh.

He ran for office in 2013 and came in second before officially be coming mayor in 2021. Before this he had served for five years on the Clinton County Legislature.

The discussions for the night stressed the importance of each vote as well as being expressive without being defensive or disre spectful of others political beliefs. The death threats and messages sent with malicious intent be cause someone is representing a certain political party. Davis then explained the difference in adver tisements depending on the level of government and how after a cer

ROLDNARDY NORELUS/Cardinal Points

tain point it is best to stay off your social media. She also told a story about how she felt threatened and was followed.

“As you go up into different lev els of government it gets uglier and uglier and uglier, so I certainly experience it more as a woman,” Davis said. She went on to say the safety of politicians shouldn’t be at risk because of their political be liefs. This was one of the examples as to why it is preventing people from running for government.

DeCancio spoke about the im portance of knowing the difference between having good policies and having good politics. He used an example of how he was campaign ing for better roads and how this idea was lost because of control is sues on both sides.

“Good policies help people, but good politics doesn’t always help some people. It might actually hurt some people,” DeCancio said.

Rosenquest brought up gun control policies and how one’s stance on it shouldn’t be a determining factor of if they are Republican or Democrat.

The forum will feature 20 short films created by students, past and present, as well as people in the community and special guests.

Eve K. Tremblay is a special guest whose work will be shown at the forum. Tremblay is a film maker who has had their work featured in popular museums in Canada. Museums including, the National Museum of Fine Arts of Quebec, The Museum of Contemporary Art in Montreal and the Bergen Kunsthall.

A film from recent SUNY Plattsburgh graduate of 2019, Anthony Scalzo, will be played at the event. Scalzo, a TV and Video Production major, has be come an independent filmmak er and writer since graduating.

Devine isn’t the only one looking forward to the show. Fine arts senior William Tene zaca has already marked the date on his calendar.

“I heard about the forum in class and I thought it was inter esting. I always try to support artists on campus, from one art ist to another,” Tenezaca said.

Devine is hoping that attend ees can gain more than just dis covering new filmmakers.

“The Forum is about open ing our eyes — open not only to film, but to what students can do and to Plattsburgh. It’s important to know where you are in life, in every sense of the word. Will you live in a town and never truly see it? Film, I think, can help,” Devine said.

Email KENNEDY TAVARES cp@cardinalpointsonline.com

Club promotes entrepreneurs

BY KIARA MAPP Contributor

The Collegiate Entrepre neur Organization is reach ing out to new members looking to learn about en trepreneurship in a handson learning environment.

The club meets Fridays at 2:30 p.m. in the Hermes Conference Room in Au Sable Hall. They feature guest speakers such as lawyers, local business representatives and alum ni. For more hands-on ex perience, they also partic ipate in competitions.

A Collegiate Entrepre neur Organization Busi ness Plan Poster Compe tition will take place in the Angell College Center Alumni Conference Room Nov. 17 from 5 to 7 p.m.

“Students will come up with a basic idea for a product or service, create a poster that includes a basic design or illustration, and explain the product or ser vice’s features,” CEO Presi dent Vladamiere Perry said.

Students will be able to experience what the begin ning stages of entrepre neurship can entail. A prize pool of $500 will be divided among all three winners.

CEO Club will be setting up a table at the Angell Col lege Center Nov. 7 to adver tise this event and provide those who are interested the opportunity to meet with Perry regarding developing ideas for the event. At ta bling and around campus, there will be fliers with a QR code that students can use to sign up to compete in the poster competition.

The CEO’s president and adviser are not only dedi cated to getting students involved in creating posters that accurately portray the kind of entrepreneur they would like to be, but Rich ard Gottschall, a current professor in the entrepre neurship department, will also help in the creation of posters as he will be hosting “Pitch with Rich.”

“Pitch the Rich” will give students the chance to cre ate a PowerPoint presenta tion and video conference with Gottschall to iden tify strengths and improve ments that will address the weaknesses of the student’s five-minute pitch. Posters for the Collegiate Entrepre neur Organization Business Plan Poster Competition can be developed, as “Pitch with Rich” will be hosted before competition time. The pitch should include a product or service, and a customer problem this product or service is ad dressing that you may want to use in the poster competi tion. A $25 gift card to Zuke’s Corner Store will be given to all participants.

For more information, comments or concerns regarding the Collegiate Entrepreneur Organiza tion Business Plan Poster Competition or “Pitch with Rich,” students can stop by the Entrepreneurship suite 307 located in Au Sable. Perry can be reached at vperr006@plattsburgh.edu.

“The events were in art mu seum spaces, with immersive multimedia environments. Five speakers, five minutes each. The idea is fresh perspectives,

cool locations like the Strand and something that brings to gether depth, fun, and togeth erness. The Film Forum contin ues that,” Devine said.

CLIMATE

After serving as a city councilor for six years, Rachelle Armstrong saw a void to fill in the local government’s environmen tal action. She learned about the New York State Climate Smart Community Program which is, from their website, “an inter agency initiative administered by the DEC that provides a comprehensive framework for local governments to lead community action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change.”

While COVID-19 slowed down the ini tiative, since April the Climate Task Force has been undergoing project after project, working with local government bodies and organizations to “promote a healthy, safe and sustainable future in Plattsburgh.”

These projects were explained, along with a talk by Curt Stager, an author and bi ologist who works at Paul Smith’s College, followed by an open discussion with the audience at the end.

Elizabeth Gibbs, a current city councilor and English teacher at Peru High School, began the event by introducing important individuals in the room and acknowledging the importance of those who showed up. She then went into detail about the work they’ve been doing the past months.

Working with Jennifer Perry, a member of Compost for Good, and the Clinton County Health Department, a policy was enacted that all organic waste accumulated in mu nicipal buildings will be hauled out and composted instead of taken to landfills. They’re underway to do this in households

VOTING

“If I say I am a concealed cart carrying Black mayor who car ries a gun, which I do have my concealed gun carrying permit, I do, Democrats would be like ‘What the hell is wrong with

if they can obtain another grant.

The task force has also worked with Water-Smart Landscaping to urge the city to plant more native species in typical lawn and grass environments, hoping to create more habitats for birds, insects and small mammals.

Stager took to the front of the room after being introduced by councilor Jennifer Tal lon, saying “he is a gift to the North Country and a gift to you today.”

Stager could have pages upon pages written about him and his work. His web site titles him as “an ecologist, paleocli matologist and science journalist.” He has researched and taught all over the world be fore finding residency in the North Country.

He established a tone with his opening statements, that climate change is real and it’s here right now.

“Looking back at 20 years of work I did studying climate change in the North Coun try, looking at temperature, wetness, rain storm frequencies and ice records, we’re [the North Country] warming faster than the global average,” Stager said.

Many facts he explained garnered reac tions from the audience, murmurs of agree ment or surprise could be heard across the room. He went on to compare ice records on Lake Champlain from 200 years ago to now, giving a few anecdotes from interviews he conducted with ferry operators.

Besides the surface level environmen tal struggles, Stager stressed a deeper loss if climate change continues down the path it’s on.

“Winter defines the North Country,” Stager said. “Animals can survive, they can go north into Canada. But humans have to abide by those borders. Our culture can’t survive if this continues.”

you? You belong on the Republi can side.’ But if the Republican side said we actually need com mon sense gun control laws, he’s going to face the same backlash as I am,” Rosenquest said.

“Run to your party when you’re running, but then gov ern from the middle right be cause you have to represent ev erybody,” Veitch said.

He zeroed in on fossil fuel as one of the biggest issues, that “polluters, politicians and Putin.” He clarified that Putin was a general name for anybody who wants to in vest in fossil fuels.

“You ask yourself, ‘What can I do as an individual?’” Stager said. “Don’t be an individual. Join. Educate, organize and activate a plan.”

The event had an unexpected moment when an audience member asked a ques tion to Stager regarding local politicians and their relationships to environmental issues. Stager looked to the back of the room and asked if Matt Castelli wanted to “take this one.”

Castelli, the Democratic nominee for New York’s 21st congressional district, said he was campaigning and heard about the event and decided to stop by. He took the opportunity to speak on his own views of the value of environmental conservation in the North Country.

“People like to recreate. Enjoying outdoor activities is something that crosses party lines,” Castelli said, echoing a thought Stager touched on right before. “We need to recognize the very real threat to that, espe cially the threat to our winters. Lake Placid has hosted two Olympic Games, Old Forge has the Snodeo Snowmobile Fest and the century old Saranac Lake Winter Carnival. These are community staples that need our support to continue.”

The type of support Castelli refers to is clean energy, which can then create “good paying jobs.” Castelli, recently endorsed by the New York League of Conservation Voters, said he stands by tackling climate change and pushing forward with clean energy.

In a crowd of mostly older individuals,

When it comes to governing, the panel agreed that it wasn’t about who is right and who is wrong, it’s about what is right for the community, not which politi cal belief is in control.

Davis brought up the statistic of how many times a woman would have to be asked to run for office as opposed to how many times a man would have

the few younger people stood out. Arm strong noted the relationship with SUNY Plattsburgh being essential. Rachel La Mar, a sophomore environmental science major, was there with classmates from Curt Gervich’s sustainability class to talk about that relationship.

Gervich, a member of the City Task Force, added a project to the class curriculum where students volunteer in various com mittees within the task force. They compare the cities climate plan to the organizations, and determine what actions could have more positive impact. The students also handle social media to get the word out about the group.

“We’re really just getting started with this project, that’s why our advertising hasn’t hit the younger people yet,” LaMar said, looking around the room. “But I’m actu ally surprised to see a lot of older people here. There’s that stigma that maybe they wouldn’t care about environmental issues, that it’s a problem for the next generation. A lot of people in this community care about what happens to it.”

For anyone interested in getting in volved with the Climate Task Force, meet ings are held the third Wednesday of the month from 5 to 6 p.m. in the upstairs of the Plattsburgh Public Library. Rachelle Armstrong can be contacted at rachellec. armstrong@gmail.com.

Building a sustainable future begins at the local level. Plattsburgh students are a part of the community and are encour aged to do their part in conserving what is around them every day.

Email SYDNEY HAKES cp@cardinalpointsonline.com

been asked to and what the rea sons behind those may be.

“In general, a man needs no ask or one ask to run for office, but it takes a woman in general five asks before they run, most of the time because they don’t think they are qualified,” Davis said. Davis ex pressed different ways to increase women’s presence in politics by advocating for one another and

making sure that their voices are heard in each room.

There was also paperwork at the back of the room for absen tee ballots and to register for the 2022 elections if students hadn’t already.

Email KIYANNA NOEL cp@cardinalpointsonline.com

ARIES

March 21 - April 19

The Five of Crystals card represents being confused. Remember to keep a level head and avoid being overly negative and self critical.

LEO

July 23 - August 22

The Emperor card represents lead ership and being strong mentally. Make sure that you stand tall in your decisions.

SAGITTARIUS

November 22 - December 21

The Child of Cups card represents being raw about your emotions. No matter what you feel, you are allowed to express them, so try not to hide them or bottle them up.

TAURUS

April 20 - May 20

The Hermit card represents getting wisdom and receiving guidance. Listen to all information that you receive and remember the value of your goals.

VIRGO

August 23 - September 22

The Moon card represents your intuition and secrets unfolding. You might have a gut feeling about a situ ation or someone, listen to it.

December 22 - January 19

The Woman of Crystal card repre sents being a protector of yourself. Your peace of mind matters, so pro tect it in the best way possible.

GEMINI

May 21 - June 20

The Three of Crystals card represents being creative and having new ideas. Remember to be open to new ideas and that it’s OK to think differently than others.

LIBRA

September 23 - October 22

The Hanged Man card represents tem porary defeat of a circumstance and letting go. Remember that some things that are not meant for you today could be meant for you tomorrow.

AQUARIUS

January 20 - February 18

The Child of Worlds card represents maturing and responsibilities. You may be getting more responsibility than you are used to, but have faith in yourself. You are capable of great things.

BY KIYANNA NOEL Staff Writer

CANCER

June 21 - July 22

The Three of Crystals card represents being creative and having new ideas. Remember to be open to new ideas and that it’s OK to think differently than others.

SCORPIO

October 23 - November 21

The Five of Worlds card represents having a setback. Remember that setbacks are a reminder to look back and evaluate, so you can change and better yourself.

February 19 - March 20

The Two of Wands card represents having influence or power over a situation. Be bold in your situation, but don’t be overly confident in un known circumstances.

CAPRICORN

OLIVIA BOUSQUET/Cardinal Points

The audience is welcomed by Rachelle Armstrong at the beginning of the event.

OLIVIA BOUSQUET/Cardinal Points

Curt Stager gave a short talk about climate change’s effect on the North Country.

Local task force tackles climate change

BY SYDNEY HAKES Managing/Arts & Culture Editor

In an effort to inform and involve the commu nity, the City of Plattsburgh Climate Task Force held an event to address current environmental concerns and solutions in the North Country.

The event took place Saturday Oct. 15 at the Plattsburgh Farmers Market on Green Street. Metal chairs created three rows in the ware house, with booths representing local organiza tions lining the walls.