SUNY Plattsburgh’s independent student newspaper since 1997
VOLUME 104 - ISSUE 6
FRIDAY, OCT. 29, 2021
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Students speak out for arrested peer BY ALANA PENNY Editor in Chief
More than 30 students gathered Wednesday, to share their frustrations after a Black SUNY Plattsburgh student was arrested by University Police, Oct. 21. According to UP’s incident report, she was arrested for sub-standard lights and driving with a suspended registration and a false inspection certificate. She was later also charged with resisting arrest. Driving with a suspended license and resisting arrest are both misdemeanors. A two-minute video, that appeared to be recorded by a friend who was in the car with her, was posted to Instagram. It shows the student being held against the car by two officers, while a third stood nearby. The person recording the video asks repeatedly, “why are you touching her like that?” When the student being arrested was in the police car, the recorder asked, “what is this for?” To which the officers responded, “for resisting arrest.” The arrest occurred at 9:30 p.m. last Thursday. Friday morning, students received an email from President Alexander Enyedi, recognizing it as a “difficult day for our campus
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Students gather to share their thoughts about the video going around last Thursday of an arrest of a Black student at a traffic stop. community.” He said he spoke with the driver and reviewed the police report with the University Police Chief Patrick Rascoe, to “better understand the full context of what occurred and to determine next steps to be taken.” He also said he mobilized the campus Diversity Incident Response Education and Communication Team (DIRECT). He said the team reviewed the dashcam footage, provided integrated support to the student and
referred the matter to Human Resources. At Wednesday’s event, many students were not pleased with Enyedi’s response, prompting Michelle Cromwell, vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion and chief diversity officer, to organize this gathering in the H.U.B. Many students offered suggestions for just action that could be taken. Junior Justice Hall said there needs to be more transparent communica-
tion between faculty, UP and students. “I need reassurance that I won’t be put in a situation where I’m being pulled over for something minor and next thing I know, I’m being pushed up against a car, afraid of what’s going to happen,” Hall said. Hall, who is originally from New York City, said she had experiences like this with the police there and hoped Plattsburgh would be different. Senior Willie Corley
shared his own experiences with University Police. Corley, a biomedical science major, spends many late nights in the library. “I need an answer as to why the hell UP is following me home from the library, going two miles per hour,” Corley said. “I refuse to go to any late-night classes. I schedule all my classes for the morning because the sun is up and I know people will be watching. There are days I don’t leave my room because I’m scared of
what UP could possibly do to me.” Corley is set to graduate this spring and said he will not be shaking the president’s hand unless something changes because he will not shake the hand of his oppressor. “I have younger siblings that want to come here, and I tell them to run the other way,” Corley said. “You are losing us. And when you lose us, this campus is going to shut the hell down.” Freshman Andrew Payro attended as an ally. He is local to the area. “As a queer person, as a disabled person, I will never know what it’s like to be judged by my skin, but I know what it’s like to be marginalized up here,” Payro said. “If you’re not white, Christian, upper class, neurotypical, able bodied, you’re going to have a hard time here.” Payro worries that if the incident had not been filmed, it would not have been addressed. “I wanted to be here to listen to you all and let you know the other marginalized students see you and hear you and also demand justice and that something not be said, but done,” Payro said.
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Meme account owner revealed Preparing for Black BY ALEKSANDRA SIDOROVA Contributor
The identity of the owner of the popular Instagram meme account @burghys_sextape has long remained a secret, until a post appeared on the account Oct. 16, revealing the account belongs to Andrew Shelak — a senior history major. “I know you all have been waiting for this for a while, so here y’all go. Burghy unmasked,” the post read. The reveal was scheduled for the occasion of Shelak’s 22 birthday, which was Oct. 13. According to Shelak, it went exactly as planned. In the hours leading up to the reveal, he posted pictures of 10 different people, including himself, and encouraged followers to guess which one of them was him. He attributed this idea to his friend Zachary Knox, a junior English language arts major. Later that night, Shelak hosted the first ever livestream on that account, where he revealed his identity before confirming it in the reveal post. He shared that since the reveal, people started noticing him more. Although confusing, the sudden influx of fame to his person does not bother Shelak. “It’s Instagram. I run a meme account for a college that, like, no one has ever heard of,” he said. Despite being known as “Burghy” on the account, Shelak has no association with the mascot, has never worn the suit, and has no intention to. Shelak confessed to Knox, his friend of three years, that he managed @burghys_sextape a year ago, on his 21 birthday.
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Andrew Shelak, owner of @burghys_sextape, has almost 3,000 followers looking at his SUNY Plattsburgh-themed memes. “[Shelak] was like, ‘Hold on to something.’ I gripped the armrests in his truck, and he was like, ‘I’m @burghys_sextape,’” Knox recalled. Since that moment, Knox has been contributing many ideas for memes. He also suggested a mememaking contest to determine who the next owner of @burghys_sex-
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tape would be once Shelak graduates. Shelak and Knox plan to keep the tradition of maintaining the owner’s anonymity. Knox thinks of himself as “Burghy’s best friend.” While he admitted he enjoyed being one of the few people who knew “Burghy’s” identity, and intentionally misleading people for
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fun, he said that ultimately, the reveal was for the best. “I lost my mind when I found out,” he said. “And now everybody knows.” Madeline Taylor, a junior psychology major, had been following @burghys_sextape “probably since the beginning.” She likes the page for its relatable memes, the weekly interactive “Friday Tea” and Shelak’s personality. When she saw the reveal, she realized she had sat behind him in a class once — a fun fact she likes to share with her friends. “I couldn’t have guessed it was [Shelak] at all,” Taylor said. “I just thought it was some rando living on campus.” Taylor had expected the reveal to fall on the account owner’s graduation. Shelak himself had anticipated revealing himself after spring break. However, he made the decision to host the reveal now both in his own interests and the interest of his followers. “People were just figuring [the mystery] out, and I didn’t want it to get ruined by other people, so I figured I’ll just say it myself,” he said. According to Shelak, there had been attempts to blackmail him. “I did not want [the blackmailers] to win,” he said. “I did not want them to be the ones who would tell everyone, so I wanted to do it first. I did not want them to have that power over me.” Knox said the first attempts at blackmail succeeded and “extorted” Shelak out of $100. The reveal was met with the audience “losing their minds,” as Knox said.
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MEME l A2
Solidarity Day BY KATIE KALLAMNI Staff Writer
Black Solidarity Day is a cultural holiday created in 1969 with the purpose of recognizing the social, political and economical consequences that would ensue if all Black people were to disappear for a day. With its occurrence on the Monday before election day, the goal is to promote the role that the marginalized community voters have in the election process and the value community has in the economy. On this holiday, individuals tend to show their support for the event by wearing black in solidarity, remaining silent the entire day or wearing black tape over their mouth. The Black community is encouraged to demonstrate the impact that they have on society and create awareness of the discrimination against and students of any minority. While providing equal opportunities to help further them as professionals and young intellects across academics.
SOLIDARITY l A2
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