Look Inside: A3 Hewitt Hall renovations to cost more than expected
Friday, Nov. 12, 2021 VOLUME LXXXXVI ISSUE VII SINCE 1935 www.oswegonian.com
Mask policy continues for indoor sports Giving Challenge raises $300k Mandate offers challenges, does not hinder attendance for SUNY Oswego Spencer Bates Copy Editor sbates@oswegonian.com
On Oct. 8 the SUNY Oswego Athletics Department updated the spectator policy for indoor events. Going into effect on Oct. 13, the policy states that “all spectators (ages five and up) at indoor events such as Commencement ceremonies, athletic competitions, performing arts and entertainment events must show proof of having completed a full COVID-19 vaccination series OR proof of a negative COVID-19 test.” However, despite vaccination status, masks are still required for all spectators. Head coach of the Oswego
State men’s hockey team, Ed Gosek, believes that getting vaccinated and wearing a mask is the right thing to do at this time. The only problem that may impact fan attendance in his eyes is children. “I just think the issue is with children,” Gosek said. “I’d say we average somewhere [between] 150 to 300 kids per home game and that usually brings parents with them.” Gosek praised the fan turnouts of their first two home games of the season as he hopes “students will continue to come out, the community will continue to support us like they always have.” According to Gosek, the unwavering support from the fans is the reason Oswego State hockey has been number two in the nation in attendance since
2007 when they moved into the Marano Campus Center Arena, now known as the Deborah F. Stanley Ice Arena. It’s also part of the reason the team has been able to continue having success year after year. “Our fans are [a] huge support,” Gosek said. “Our team gets motivated, it helps with recruiting when we bring student-athletes in to see our facilities, to see the crowd, to see the excitement, it’s all part of the program.” Gosek is hopeful that as the season progresses, fan attendance will also continue to increase. He noted that with the Canadian border opening on Nov. 8 the families of the Canadian-born players on the team will be able to come and support as well. Jump to EXTRA, A4
Kailee Montross | The Oswegonian
CONTENT
Face coverings ar still required for attendees aged 5 and up. Athletes and staff hope attendance cotinues to increase throughout the season.
Calendar...................... A3 Crossword................... C6 Contact Info................ A2 Laker Review.............. C1 News............................. A1 Opinion........................ B1 Sports........................... B3 Sudoku........................ C6
Image via SUNY Oswego
Donors accounted for alumni living in 38 states, including Hawaii, Alaska, California and Washington.
Annika Wickham Chief Copy Editor awickham@oswegonian.com The 1861 Giving Challenge raised over $300,000 for SUNY Oswego in addition to the $50,000 promised by 1976 alumni Al Roker. The challenge was from Sept. 30 at 8 a.m. through Oct. 1 at 3:01 p.m. and lasted exactly 1861 minutes to celebrate the founding year of SUNY Oswego. The event occurred during Founder’s Weekend, when the college held events in honor of its 160th anniversary. Founder Edward Sustin Sheldon’s birthday was Oct. 4, according to the SUNY Oswego Alumni and Development website. Roker is a foundation board member and is an active alum. According to Barbara Fike, the senior associate director of annual giving, he “readily agreed” to serve as the challenger this year. This is the most successful challenge to date, according to Fike, and she said she was surprised by the high turnout of donors. “Having Al Roker as the challenger was a great incentive,” Fike said. “People definitely open their emails because they see his name.” Roker issued the challenge to SUNY Oswego alumni and supporters that if 861 people donated during the set time, he would donate $50,000 on top of the total sum given. The target was met with over 1,000 donors who gave $303,925.41 during the event. Of the over 1,000 people, it was the first time 341 of them gave money to SUNY Oswego. “For our first giving challenge we had 605 donors altogether and for this one we had 1,543,” Fike said. “That’s been the biggest change, I’d say, is the number of donors who have given now. The buy-in from all of our alumni, faculty, staff, students [and] parents has been pretty neat. People are willing to give and are excited
about it and will repost on social media and tag their friends.” The Giving Challenge first started in September 2016 and has been held every year since then, except for 2020 due to COVID-19 because Fike said “we didn’t think it was the right time.” Fike also said for this year’s challenge she worked with a communications team to create an interactive map on the SUNY Oswego Alumni website that tracked where in the U.S. people were donating. “We had a whole giving page set up that had a tracker and a map,” Fike said. “The map showed what state you lived in and it would turn the map green if that state made a donation, so that was pretty cool.” Overall, 38 U.S. states including Alaska, Hawaii, Washington and California, had at least one person contribute. Another alum, Shane Facteau of the class of 1995, issued his own challenge in support of the Oswego State wrestling team. Anyone who donated to the wrestling program, he would match their contributions up to $25,000. His “challenge within the challenge,” according to the Alumni website, raised $50,081 for the wrestling team. In previous years, other SUNY Oswego alumni have issued their own mini challenges, including Michael Caldwell, class of 1970. During the 4.24 Challenge in 2018, he said that if 424 people gave a gift to the college in 24 hours, he would donate an additional $24,000. In total, that giving challenge raised $144,973, including Caldwell’s donation, according to the Alumni website. After the success of this year’s giving challenge, Fike said she hopes alumni will continue to spread the word about challenges in the future and create their own in support of SUNY Oswego. She encourages everyone to always post and share about these events to show their Laker pride.
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THE OSWEGONIAN FRIDAY, Nov. 12, 2021
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FRIDAY, NOV. 12 THROUGH SUNDAY, NOV. 14
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Isabella Guzman, 22, was arrested on Nov. 5 at 6:54 p.m. at the Ruby Tuesday in the City of Oswego for assault in the third degree. Nicole McKenna, 24, was arrested on Nov. 7 at 1:20 a.m. for disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and harassment in the second degree following an incident that was reported at the Best Western Hotel in the city of Oswego. George Todd, 75, was arrested on Nov. 8 at 4:36 p.m. for petit larceny after he was found stealing goods from Walmart. **Police blotter information is provided by the Oswego City Police Department**
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Joshua Castiglia, 33, was arrested on Nov. 4 at 9:01 a.m. for criminal possession of a controlled substance in the seventh degree, driving while ability impaired by drugs and aggravated unlicensed operator in the third degree after an investigation was conducted by the Oswego Police Department.
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NEWS
QUOTE OF THE WEEK The campus will be much greener and the building will be much brighter.”
THE OSWEGONIAN FRIDAY, Nov. 12, 2021
-Associate Vice President for Facilities Services Mitch Fields, from A3
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Campus renovations to exceed $170 million Hewitt Hall revival requires additional $15 million Tomas Rodriguez Assistant News Editor trodriguez@oswegonian.com
At first, records showed that the Hewitt Hall renovations would cost $65 million, a number that has now risen to $80 million, but what does this mean? Records obtained by The Oswegonian show the cost for the renovations will remain the same, but an additional $15 million would be needed to satisfy design and equipment costs $10 million will cover design costs while the remaining $5 million will satisfy equipment costs, officials said. All of that money will come through the SUNY Construction Fund, which allocates funds for big projects like this one across SUNY’s 64 campuses. The project, one of several happening around campus, will also bring 439 jobs to the college, records show. Out of those, 293 will be direct hires while the remaining 146 will be indirect. “Permanent jobs will be contingent afterward,” Associate Vice President for Facilities Services Mitch Fields said. “We are hoping for a big bump in communication and graphic design.” Officials said a one-year delay caused by the pandemic also had an influence in the costs associated with the project, although those costs actually went down rather than increasing, Fields said. “Everybody paused for a year, and it was probably a good thing because it has been really hard to get workers,” Fields said. “There’s a shortage of construction work-
ers, and by waiting the year we got decent bids.” The Hewitt Hall renovation is broken into two phases, Fields said. Phase one encompassed the demolition inside of the building and the abatement of hazardous materials. The counterpart will involve installing all the windows on the outside and the clear story on the second floor, he said. That first phase was estimated to cost $23 million. Its final cost came down to $18.7 million. The renovated Hewitt building will encompass an exterior performance area as well as a small restaurant venue with outdoor seating between Tyler and Hewitt. A new traffic circle will also be built between Hart and Hewitt halls. “The campus will be much greener and the building will be much brighter,” Fields said. “There’s going to be a lot more windows to the outside and the inside will look completely modernized.” In order to bring the ambitious plan to life, school officials visited Syracuse University and West Virginia University, among others, to get an idea of how to launch the plan, Fields said. “The thing we enjoy is knowing we built something that changes people’s lives and helps them reach their optimum potential,” Fields said. “I enjoy making a difference in people’s lives. I can affect thousands of students and better thousands of people’s lives directly by these buildings, and then every person they touch after that, it just goes out and out, and out.” One question, however, is what will happen to all the businesses that were once housed in Hewitt.
Upon completion of the project in the fall of 2023, some of those businesses will return to Hewitt. One of them is Artville. But Hewitt is not the only renovation underway at Oswego. There are four additional renovations happening across campus as well as potential projects in the coming months. Aside from the $80 million the school received for Hewitt Hall, the SUNY Construction Fund allocated $14 million to repair the Sheldon Hall exterior. Other upcoming projects include building a tunnel that would connect Penfield Library and Lanigan Hall. Then, Penfield and Lanigan will be renovated in multiple phases, Fields said. “We’re hoping that the state allows us to start designing [for the Lanigan project] next spring,” Fields said. Once approved, it will be in the process of design for about 12 months, Fields said. “We’ll be building just this one connector first,” Fields said. “But to do that, we have to know what the other two buildings will become.” Additionally, the school has ongoing renovations at Mary Walker Health Center, Tyler Hall and outside the Hewitt Quad. The construction costs for these other projects add up to $92.5 million, records show. Of those, $11.3 million would come from the university’s own funds. In total, the different projects bring 1,171 jobs to the college. Other discussions on the table involve upgrading Lee Hall as well as Laker Hall. Fields said they could also soon form a steering committee to upgrade Mahar Hall.
Budgeting and Personal Finance Support Group Friday, Nov. 12 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. MCC 145 Cookie Decorating Friday, Nov. 12 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. MCC 133 Mambo Kings Friday, Nov. 12 7 p.m. Tyler Hall, Waterman Theatre Turkey Bowl Charity Tournament Saturday Nov. 13 11 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. Romney Field House
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Kailee Montross | The Oswegonian
Hewitt Hall renovation has already had to adjust the cost of renovations shortly after construction began.
Student Association meets at 6 p.m. every Tuesday in Lanigan Hall, Room 103
SA President, Takayla Beckon provided the Senate with her excutive report stating that she and SA Director of Finance, Sunny Gauli will be working on the budget for the upcoming semester. SA Vice President, Alanna Hill, provided her executive report referencing the referendum and student activity fee. Hill indicated that students would be informed about how the Student Activity fee works during tabling.
During the Senators Issues Forum, Senator Fei Yang Gu reported an issue between the organization 2&half and SA President, Takayla Beckon in regards to a timing conflict with Oz Got Talent. SA Chief of Staff, Tristan Caruana, resolved this issue by altering the time of the program. In a second grievance, Senator Gu provided a message indicating a complaint from Her Campus CoPresident, Shannon Sutorious. Sutorious indicated that she did not feel support from Beckon and expressed her desire that Beckon be more transparent about communication issues. Addtionally, Senator
S’Cora Sneed presented an issue before the senate stating that Beckon came to programs to recruit her cabinet but has not been present at other events to show support. Sneed citied a number of miscommunication issues arising and expressed her desire for Beckon to listen more to her peers as opposed to pushing her own points.
The senate reviewed newlegislationbeginning with SLE.57.03, “Sharpening the Spearheads”. SLE.57.03 was tabled by a week and was refered to the finance committee by Senator Sugarmaa Feyling. SLE.57.04, “LSO Gala” passed by general
consent after debating the amount of money that would be provided to the Latin Student Organization. A total of $1,100 for the organization’s gala was agreed upon. SLE.57.05 “In These Trying Times,” failed by general consent due to issues with bylaws. SLE.57.06 “Call for Transparency” was declared null by SA VP Hill. SLE.57.07, “To Train a DOF” passed by general consent. SLE.57.08, “Fashion Forward,” passed by general consent.
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INDOOR MASKS from COVER
NEWS
THE OSWEGONIAN FRIDAY, Nov. 12, 2021
A4
SHOP holds donation drive across campus
Cram the Van replaces Pack the Patrol Car for annual event
Kailee Montross | The Oswegonian
Spencer Bates Copy Editor sbates@oswegonian.com
“That’s an extra 100 to 200 people right there,” Gosek said. “Between family and friends, their buddies who want to come watch them play and girlfriends and all the rest of it, so I think a lot of things are going in a positive direction that’ll help increase our attendance.” Over the holidays when the student body leaves campus, Gosek said that the team will have to rely on the community’s support but they will work to make the best of it and are overall happy to just be back to playing, mask mandate or not. Another aspect of indoor sports events that is facing challenges caused by the mask mandate is Auxiliary Services. Daniel Siddons, Director of Resident Dining for Auxiliary Services, has said that workers in the dining halls and concession stands have felt some struggle. “With a face covering it can get hot and it’s also difficult to communicate with a mask on,” Siddons said. “We have the plexiglass barriers up as well, so when you have two people trying to communicate both with masks on and a plexiglass barrier between [them] it makes the job difficult and makes everyone have to talk loud.” Siddons has noted that while some student employees have quit due to the stresses of the job, the obstacles have slowly been becoming easier to overcome. “Even this semester we’ve kind of reduced some of those roadblocks a little bit,” Siddons
said. “When we first opened in August, our staff was having to serve beverages, serve all the condiments, serve the desserts and as the semester has gone on and we’ve seen how the quarantine and isolation numbers have stayed down, we felt comfortable allowing students to serve themselves.” With the same student employees that work in the dining halls being the ones who run the concession stands during sporting events, the stresses have been felt there as well. Initially, Siddons and Auxiliary Services thought there would be a monetary loss due to several factors. “We figured there would be people who felt uneasy about taking their mask off to eat,” Siddons said. We thought we might have to change up the menu to be something that wouldn’t require you to be constantly eating, that you could just snack on it and put your mask back on, but what we’ve found was that nothing’s changed. I think that the fans are eager to get back to what they perceive as normal.” Like Gosek, Siddons doesn’t see the new requirements for indoor sporting events to decrease fan attendance. He believes that no matter the requirements needed to enter the events, people’s desire to support the team’s they love is above them. “What we’ve seen so far is that people are still willing to come, they’re wanting to support the teams that they want to get behind and it doesn’t seem to have affected attendance at all, people seem to be content to comply with the rules if they have to to be able to come and see sporting events again. They’re eager to be back in the stands.”
Image via SHOP instagram SHOP’s Cram the Van is meant to resupply the goods they offer for free to students after high demand during fall.
Annika Wickham Chief Copy Editor awickham@oswegonian.com
SUNY Oswego’s Students Helping Oz Peers (SHOP) is holding Cram the Van, a donation event meant to promote the organization and resupply the goods they offer free to students. SHOP was founded in 2016 and has served over one thousand people since. They provide “non-perishable food, toiletries, sexual health products and professional and winter clothing for those in need,” according to Helena Buttons, the SHOP Coordinator. “Our mission is just to support students, faculty and staff who may be food-insecure or struggling to get those basic items so that they can focus on other things instead of worrying about meals or toothbrushes,” Buttons said. Cram the Van is SHOP’s most recent event and is a “campus wide competition to see which building can donate the most food, toiletries or anything SHOP accepts,” according to Buttons. A donation box has been placed in every residence hall on campus and in some administrative buildings in which anyone can put items they wish to contribute. “We are trying to bulk up our stock,” Buttons said. “We have had a lot of people coming in, which is awesome, but that means we need to have a lot coming in.” The name ‘Cram the Van’ comes from the process SHOP workers will use to collect the goods, which is two rented Oswego vans, according to Buttons. On Nov. 12, the last day of the event, Buttons and others will drive to every building that has a bin and “measure out what they are donating” before
trying to pack it all into the two vehicles. The building that donates the most goods for Cram the Van will receive a celebratory banner. Buttons said they are hoping to make the event and the prize a tradition. “We are hoping to make this a yearly event so that whoever wins will have a wall of little banners if they continue to win,” Buttons said. “And, it gets SHOP representation in every residence hall.” In previous years, SHOP partnered with University Police for ‘Pack the Patrol Car,’ a similar event that put donation bins in only residence halls on campus. Coming back from COVID-19, Buttons said they wanted to “broaden” the event to include faculty and staff on campus and not just students. “We’ve received faculty that have said ‘I want to be involved,’” Buttons said. “So we wanted to include them this year, because why not?” Buttons also said that they usually do not have trouble getting students to participate in donation events and having SHOP partner with Residence Life and Housing and a few of the hall directors on campus should promote Cram the Van even more. “We do tend to see a lot of student involvement,” Buttons said. “I know that Johnson [Hall] has been preparing for this event for weeks, same with Onondaga [Hall].” SHOP also holds other events such as Fresh Food Friday, which allows students the opportunity to pick up fresh produce once a week instead of canned or boxed foods. They also partner with organizations around campus and the community including Auxiliary Services, Greek Life and Oswego Today, a free news publication for Oswego county. Buttons said that after SHOP
functions went completely virtual for over a year, their “strategy” moving forward is to plan more in-person events that are around campus. “We are trying not to do too much necessarily in SHOP because it is a little bit of a small space,” Buttons said. “With our Stop and Swap event that took place a few weeks ago, moving professional attire out of the basement of the library actually got it in front of students more effectively so they were able to utilize it more effectively.” Currently, SHOP has Thanksgiving baskets available for preorder until Nov. 19 and students can request one via an online form listed on their Instagram. There are four baskets available to choose from, including traditional Thanksgiving food, non-traditional, which has foods like mac and cheese and Ramen noodles and is “just enough food” for the couple of days, a vegan basket and a gluten free option. Moving forward with inperson meetings and ways for students and faculty to get involved with SHOP, Buttons said her focus is just to make sure everyone is aware of the resources they provide. “One of our main goals is just to make sure everyone knows about SHOP,” Buttons said. “Because we are basically coming back from three classes not being on campus, our focus this year is outreach and really making sure people know we are a resource that is available to them.” Next semester, according to Buttons, SHOP has “a lot of things cooking,” including an event that partners with the Office of the President and a reusable bag making session. They are also still taking applications for both their internship and part-time paid position for the spring, both of which can be found on Handshake.
Image via SHOP instagram Next semester, SHOP will partner with the Office of the President and other organizations for multiple in-person events.
NEWS COPE provides mental health resource Student-to-student group seeks to educate on campus resources
Abigail Connolly | The Oswegonian “Tea Talk” coordinator, Carolyn Gerstle, participates in the weekly activities inside the Penfield Library conference room every Wednesday from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Abigail Connolly Managing Editor aconnolly@oswegonian.com The Counseling Outreach Peer Educators, COPE, at SUNY Oswego are seeking to engage and empower students by promoting the mental health outlets on campus. COPE, formerly known as Peer2-Peer, is a branch of students working with SUNY Oswego’s Counseling Service Center, CSC, that are dedicated to teaching and promoting skills that help students reduce potential stress and resolve stress more quickly if it arises. The team, made up of six undergraduate students and COPE supervisor, Kyle Dzintars, assists the CSC in spreading information about mental health services and resources on campus. Senior English and public relations major, Carolyn Gerstle, works with COPE on the social media team, creating informational flyers for the social media platforms. Outreach is one of the biggest aspects of COPE, Gerstle said, the weekly “Tea Talk” is just
one of the ways the team works to spread information. “Each week we do a different selfcare activity, whether that’s making bracelets or coloring or painting or even just writing letters to ourselves,” Gerstle said. “It’s just to destress and to have people from the Oswego community come in and relax and hear about what we are and what the counseling services are on campus.” Gerstle and other COPE team members take a class weekly to develop knowledge in healthy habits, communication skills, presentation skills, healthy relationships, mental health challenges, self-care, teamwork and resources in the community. Junior Psychology major and COPE team member, Adriana Militello, said that the classes provide the team with valuable information to help their peers and people in need. “We have had classes in suicide prevention and recovery ally training,” Militello said. “Jane [LeBlanc] the counselor even came in to talk to us about counseling resources and stress.” COPE offers students another
outlet on campus as opposed to the traditional counseling setting. The counseling center on campus is currently running on a waitlist with 2-3 weeks before being able to book an appointment. “COPE is kind of the bridge to get people,” Gerstle said. “A lot of people are intimidated to go to counseling and have a lot of misconceptions about counseling. We are here to educate people and let them know that this is a safe place, there are people here to support you and even if you can’t get a counselor right away, you can come to us and talk. We’re not counselors but we are here to help.” The CSC offers a variety of services for those in need of advice or assistance. Aside from traditional counseling services, “Let’s Talk” is a Counseling Center Outreach Program for walk-in consultations and for students looking for more immediate help. The CSC offers a variety of activities and events throughout the week. For those looking for more information on the services provided, visit https://www.oswego. edu/counseling-services/ or call the center at 315.312.4416.
Photo Brief Alley Cat’s license
Image via Alley Cat’s Instagram
Brandon Ladd Editor-in-Chief bladd@oswegonian.com According to a press release on Nov. 10, the New York State Liquor Authority (SLA) suspended the license of Rehab Tavern Inc, doing business as “The Alley Cat” at 23 W. Bridge Street in Oswego. The suspension was ordered by Chairman Vincent Bradley, Commissioner Lily Fan and Commissioner Greeley Ford at a meeting of the Full Board on Nov. 10, 2021. Effective immediately, no alcohol may be sold or consumed on the premises. On Nov. 5, investigators from the SLA, the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), and officers with the Oswego Police Department (OPD) conducted a compliance inspection at Alley Cat. The inspection followed numerous recent complaints of underage drinking at the licensed premises. Around 11:30 p.m. that night, SLA undercover investigators entered the premises finding approximately 100 pa-
trons inside the bar, most appearing to be underage, with several observed drinking alcoholic beverages. Based on these observations, the multi-agency team consisting of the SLA, DMV and OPD entered and secured the premises to begin checking IDs. The investigation found that 85 patrons inside the premises were not of legal drinking age, despite the bar’s stated policy of not admitting anyone under 21. SLA investigators observed nine direct sales to minors, in addition to obtaining four statements from minors who admitted to consuming alcoholic beverages purchased from bartenders and four patrons who admitted obtaining alcoholic beverages from other patrons. Seven of the patrons observed or admitted to purchasing alcoholic beverages were just 18 years of age. DMV investigators and officers with the OPD issued 78 appearance tickets for possession of fictitious or fraudulent identification. In addition, SLA investigators found that one of the bouncers on duty was not registered as a security guard. The SLA charged The Alley Cat with
15 violations of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law, including thirteen counts for selling to a minor, failure to supervise and employing unlicensed security guards. The following quote from Commissioner Bradley was provided in the release. “Cracking down on underage sales is a priority and the SLA will not hesitate in taking immediate action against bars found in blatant violation of the law,” Bradley said. “We will continue to work with the DMV, the Oswego Police and our partners in law enforcement across the state to hold licensees accountable.” The SLA continued in its press release that, “Emergency Summary Suspensions are imposed when the SLA finds the continued operation of a licensed business threatens public health and safety. Suspension orders are served immediately and remain in effect indefinitely, with the maximum penalty including the permanent revocation of the license and fines of up to $10,000 per violation. Licensees subject to an emergency suspension are entitled to a prompt hearing before an SLA Administrative Law Judge.”
THE OSWEGONIAN FRIDAY, Nov. 12, 2021
A5
NEWS A6 Alarming season for students: SUNY Oswego dining impacted by shortage Has led to menu changes, subsitutions for time being Hart Hall's noise issue THE OSWEGONIAN
FRIDAY, Nov. 12, 2021
John Custodio | The Oswegonian
John Custodio Opinion Editor jcustodio@oswegonian.com SUNY Oswego’s Hart Hall, which is nine floors and can house 340 students in double and medical single rooms, has experienced 36 fire alarms in the fall 2021 semester alone, according to residents. Sophomore Samantha Cedeno, a resident of Hart Hall, has counted 36 to be exact, with five happening on the evening and night of Nov. 7 and the early morning of Nov. 8. Cedeno said she is tired of the alarms, as they are both annoying and disrupt her sleep schedule which has led to class absences. “There were five fire drills, starting from 7 [p.m.] until like 1 a.m., and then one in the morning of Monday at 8 a.m.,” Cedeno said. “I’ve missed class twice because of it, and I’ve emailed my teacher because I have an 8 a.m., and I have fire alarms at 1 a.m. and like 3 a.m.” Cedeno also says that the residence hall director (RHD) Lexi Booth and residence assistants (RA) have not been helpful, with no clear answer to the problem. “We have no kitchens now, because we had five in one night which is kind of stressful” Cedeno said. “They just closed them down, and that’s all.” Cedeno said the ResLife staff has not given a date as to when the kitchens will be reopened, and that she only learned they had been closed when she attempted to use one, and wished ResLife had sent an email about the closure and when they would be reopened. During an alarm, Cedeno said a fire marshal went around to people outside the building and talked about the importance of fire safety and proper handling of things that may set off alarms. Sophomore Jack Reardon agrees with Cedeno’s sentiments, and said what he thinks have caused the alarms. “From what I can gather, it has been a combination of people cooking poorly, like one guy set
it off twice in a day by [messing up] his cookies, and then he went back inside and did it again,” Reardon said. “Another guy put a fork in the microwave, hit on, and ran away.” Reardon said Booth explained the fire alarm system was updated, and the new alarms are much more sensitive to any particles that may set them off. “They got a new alarm system, and Lexi said that they are really sensitive to anything,” Reardon said. “And I know somebody that had accidentally set it off with their hairspray.” Reardon counted forty for the semester, and said there are only supposed to be a total of five drills. He said he would guess the average alarms per week would equal about one a day, with some happening multiple times a day. “[The alarm] literally went off three times, once at midnight, once at 2 a.m. and once at 3 a.m.,” Reardon said. “The 3 a.m. one I literally went to my car, got in and turned the heat on, and emailed my professor saying I was going to be late that morning.” Reardon also says they can narrow down the floor alarms were set off on, as his RA said his floor was the only floor to not set off the alarms yet. Reardon said that if the alarms continued so often, he would want to move to another dorm as he suffers from anxiety and the constant alarms are not helpful. He said many other students, including international students, have talked about moving out of Hart if the alarms continued. Cedeno also said she has also considered moving out of the building. “Me and my roommate were kind of pissed, and we’re like, is it too late to move out?” Cedeno said. “It is something we would consider if this was to keep going on. But I feel, and I hope at this point, that people have learned their lesson.” Hart Hall residence assistants, residence hall director Booth and ResLife did not respond when reached for comment.
Image via The Oswegonian file photos Mackin Hall has been closed since the beginning of the pandemic to undergo renovations, one of many changes happening on campus.
Mackenzie Shields News Writer news@oswegonian.com
SUNY Oswego dining hall staff are struggling to receive the food that they need in the face of national supply shortages, prompting menu changes and substitutions. The country has been facing these shortages recently for several reasons, Mihai Paraschiv, an assistant professor of economics at SUNY Oswego said. “Some goods are not coming in, intermediate inputs are not coming in, we’re experiencing a hot labor market where there might be some upward pressure on labor too,” Paraschiv said. “So you add all of these together, and in essence, you get yourself an economy that experiences shortages.” Paraschiv said that he would not be surprised if SUNY Oswego was affected by these labor and supply shortages. The director of resident dining Daniel Siddons confirmed that his office was indeed facing challenges. “We work with a variety of vendors, and a lot of times we don’t know whether we’re getting everything that we ordered,” Siddons said. “That puts us in a really tough situation.” Paraschiv said that one thing that consumers do when facing shortages is find substi-
tutes for the products that they typically buy. Tamara Cunningham, the purchasing manager, said that she has done this for some products, including some that may be allergen-free. She said that the school’s standard allergen-free cooking spray has not been available, and they have now needed to switch to one which contains soy. Cunningham said that the campus dietician has worked with students who may be affected by this. “When we do change a recipe or get a different product in, we run the risk of introducing allergens,” Siddons said. “Our staff is very, very aware of that.” Changes in supply have also made vegan or vegetarian options hard to order. Shortages have created problems for dining staff as well, both those in the serving line and those in the office. Cunningham said that “it’s concerning to me because I have a family at home, and there’s many days that I haven’t been able to leave nearly on time.” Siddons said that people sometimes confront line staff at meal times about menu changes, but that generally speaking, “people seem pretty satisfied with what we’re providing.” There is uncertainty surrounding when these shortages might come to an end. “The opinions [of economists] are divided,” Paraschiv said. “There are obviously folks who
expect these to be transitory, just a matter of months, but there are folks who believe that this would be a more prolonged situation.” Paraschiv added that even when the pandemic settles down some, there may still be “pressure on the supply chains and the availability of goods.” Uncertainty is a problem with suppliers as well. Cunningham said that suppliers have given her several different potential timeframes as for when things might be running more normally. “They’re telling me we may see some relief by March on certain products, but then they think it’s going to be between June and August before we see some of this stuff coming to an end unfortunately, so I think we’re in it for the long haul,” Cunningham said. Siddons said that in the face of these shortages, the staff now “has a better handle” on how to manage the situation. He said that understanding what products they may not have access to, menu and recipe changes, and reevaluation of their system have been part of how they have learned to adjust to shortages. In regards to the pandemic’s effect on dining, Siddons said “I think we were all expecting this to blow over, for COVID to be over, and everything to be back to normal. But we’re realizing now that normal doesn’t exist anymore.”
Brandon Ladd
bladd@oswegonian.com
John Custodio
jcustodio@oswegonian.com
OPINION FACEBOOK METAVERSE
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OPINION
VOLUME LXXXVI ISSUE IX
SPORTS B6
SWIM AND DIVE
Photo from Ben Grieco
“Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech or of the press.”
What are your plans for Thanksgiving Break?
FRIDAY, Nov. 12, 2021
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Trip to Ohio
Time to feast
Busy times
For Thanksgiving my family and I are making our bi-annual trip to Cleveland, Ohio, to visit my mother’s side of the family. I have not always enjoyed the eight hour trip from my hometown of Valatie, but this year I am particularly excited. This semester has easily been the best of all my time here at SUNY Oswego, but that bing said it has also been the most mentally taxing. Now that is not all bad, I have enjoyed my time here at the Oswegonian as well as with the other organizations and sports I participate in but I am looking forward to the week of relaxation and a beautifully Orthodox Jewish cooked Thanksgiving meal.
I will be decorating for Christmas because in my opinion, Thankgsiving and Christmas go hand-in-hand. I will be eating a lot of mashed potatoes, turkey and gravy. Moreover, I will be eating stuffing and pie, but not fruit pie because fruit pie is gross. I cannot wait to have my belly full and have a much-needed break from school.
My plans for Thanksgiving will be hanging out with family, eating lots of food and watching hockey. I will also continue the holiday tradition of making a coconut cream pie for dessert using my great-grandmother’s recipe. I will also be attending a “Friendsgiving” on Saturday, which is always a fun time! I also plan on making my family decorate for Christmas as soon as possible, I love Christmas. Sadly, I will also have some schoolwork to do, but I stil look forward to making fun Thanksgiving memories!
- Sydney Havens, News Editor
- Abigail Conpropst, Copy Editor
- Spencer Bates, Copy Editor
From my seat: The Editor-in-Chief’s Column Find spot to tune out distractions, focus on work There are plenty of spots around campus to get work done
Brandon Ladd Editor-in-Chief bladd@oswegonian.com It is that stressful time of the semester for SUNY Oswego students as finals approach and for a select few, the December 2021 graduates, a transition into the “real world” is looming. There is no way around it at times it seems, but there are strategies to fight against it. The best strategy I have found during my now seven semesters at SUNY Oswego is to find a spot both mentally and physically where you can “hide” from others. Put your phone on silent, grab your laptop and find the best spot possible to complete large chunks of work for a couple hours. The spot for me throughout the years has changed, the first two years of college here it was the observatory lounge of Shineman. The spot provided a great view of the lake and the freshmen walking on Lakeside of campus were entertaining to watch from up above. You could always tell when someone was late for class. The spot had limited foot traffic and had desks to do work at. I would be my most productive by spending two or The independent student newspaper of Oswego State since 1935 three hours a day up there when my course load got heavy. A spot like this is available all throughout campus, the lounges We want your thoughts on our coverage, campus and local issues, or any- in the dorm hall are a great spot to do work in throughout the evething regarding the Oswego State community. ning. The only issue is beating other students to the spot. So, it Email all letters as Word attachments to opinion@oswegonian.com or mail might be more worthwhile to resubmissions to 139A Campus Center, Oswego N.Y. 13126 serve a quiet space in the library or find a quiet corner in one of
the academic buildings like I used to. As I have gotten older, my spot has become the office at The Oswegonian, especially this year. During the day the staff is not usually in the office so it provides me with a spot to refocus and dive into work. Not every student has a spot like this though, but close comparisons exist. Computer labs are scattered throughout campus and usually have a set of hours to allow students to work on the computers as long as classes are not taking place. The whole point of this is not to prove that computer labs or the fifth floor of a building are the best spots to do work. Many have other spots that are completely different from those. The point is to get yourself out of your apartment or dorm room and force yourself to sit down and do work. When you are in your college
home, there are a certain set of distractions that can get in the way of doing your work. The television is tempting to turn on and the next thing you know, four hours have passed. I have run into that recently with just how binge-worthy the Apple TV show The Morning Show is. I will sit down to do work on my apartment couch and suddenly I am tempted to watch the show. The way to overcome this is to force yourself to go to a spot away from your home. This is important because it allows home to be a much more relaxing place. There is no association between where you relax and socialize with roommates and the stressful workload you have. Over the next few weeks, try to find the spot where you can shut out the world. Nobody needs you for those few hours. If they do, they will call you. Do not be paranoid about that.
THE OSWEGONIAN G UIDELIN ES
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Photo from John Custodio Shineman Hall’s top floor, with an observation deck and a greenhouse, is perfect for studying.
FINN AND RILEY
For publication, letters should be 250 words or less and submitted by the Tuesday prior to the desired publication date. The Oswegonian reserves the right to edit and reject letters and cannot guarantee that all letters will be published. Opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not always reflect those of The Oswegonian.
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OPINION
THE OSWEGONIAN FRIDAY, Nov. 12, 2021
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Facebook’s Youngkin win helps Republicans Couric broke Metaverse New Virginian governor shows Republicans how to win races journalistic dangerous ethics Logan Stolberg Staff Writer opinion@oswegonian.com
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Bradley Wiggins Staff Writer opinion@oswegonian.com Most people who do not live under a rock have heard about the name change of the company formerly known as “Facebook” to what CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced to be “Meta.” Zuckerberg announced in a Facebook status on Oct. 28 about the company’s name change and the future of social interaction for humans. In the status, a new term was used called the “Metaverse.” How profound. Zuckerberg summed it up, saying “In the metaverse, you’ll be able to do almost anything you can imagine—get together with friends and family, work, learn, play, shop, create.” Some might find this exciting, but I find it terrifying. It is like Zuckerberg forgot COVID-19 even happened. I do not know about Zuckerberg, but the countless Zoom meetings I had were no replacement for human interaction. However, in another sense, the technology Zuckerberg is describing is on another level above Zoom meetings. From his status, Zuckerberg describes “the Metaverse” as a replacement for our now social interactions. Zuckerberg said “Think about how many physical things you have today that could just be holograms in the future. Your TV, your perfect work setup with multiple monitors, your board games and more”. He also says “This isn’t about spending more time on screens; it’s about making the time we already spend better.” Again, I am terrified. Using the Metaverse is putting full trust in the hands of someone else and trusting them with your work, social experiences, and many things that matter to you. You are also handing over our real reality for an artificial, fake one! From the sounds of it, this technology Zuckerberg describes, is very realistic and must be almost indistinguishable from our reality. I say this in that if this technology was not an accurate portrayal of our reality, then no one would support the Metaverse. If anything, it would be like a video game that people use for fun and not serious matters or everyday social interactions. If the Metaverse is very realistic, then we will see people replacing their work in our reality for work in the Metaverse. Again, this is all pretty new to everyone and seems to be a trendy topic. I myself admit to not understanding this technology fully or its limits. I also know that if many humans adopt the Metaverse as the primary method of social interaction, there will no longer be excuses to not talk to somebody as anyone is one click away! Compared to the Metaverse, Zoom is very primitive, and I cannot stop thinking about the long Zoom meetings I used to have. I also cannot fully explain what I felt when I was on those Zoom meetings. There was a hole in me, a human connection that I was missing. And there is something about human connection that cannot be replaced no matter how technologically advanced we are. Maybe it is the smells, gut feelings, or facial expressions of reality. Or maybe all of it. And I know, sitting in my chair, in my reality, I have a certain level of control over my life and what is happening. My fear is that one day we will fully give up this precious reality we have, and never get it back. Sitting here thinking about how terrible Zoom meetings and Zoom classes were, I value the reality I have at this moment. And Zuckerberg is threatening that. This, however, is based on the assumption that the Metaverse can replace our current reality. But why try something new when what I have now is the realest reality I can have. For now, I am grounded to my chair in the real world, and I hope you are too.
Glenn Youngkin’s win in the Virginia Gubernatorial race on Nov. 3 came as a surprise to many Virginians and many Americans. This could be a crystal ball for what could happen in the 2022 midterm elections. It is pretty clear that for the 2022 midterms, the Democrats have a lot of work to do if they want to maintain both the Senate and House from Republicans, as it looks like Republicans have a good shot at claiming both next year. Youngkin’s strategy was strong and bold because he had successfully found a way to win a democratic state. Youngkin found a way to use the issue of critical race theory to rile up voters about education and it worked, even if critical race theory has been a controversial topic for over a year now. The GOP strategy to win against Democrats in the midterms is to focus on the poor performance of both the Democrats and President Joe Biden’s poor approval rating and Biden’s failed policies such as rising prices because of inflation, higher gas prices and increased taxes. The focus should not be on trying to appease Trump voters about the 2020 election being stolen, which it was not, rather they should try to appease them on education, crime, gun rights and border security. Republicans campaign slogans should go something like “elect me as a Republican if you want to see an end to Biden’s horrendous policies and his poor performance as a president.” If the Republicans spread lies about Jan. 6 and the lies about the 2020 election being stolen, then this could easily jeopardize their chances of winning the House and Senate.
Many voters had suspected that Terry McAuliffe would lose as he had said many controversial things during his campaign about education and about Youngkin. McAuliffe was on record saying parents should not have a right to their children’s education. This upset many Virginians voters, especially middle-class parents, who saw this insult. They showed up in the polls for Youngkin and it hurt McAuliffe badly. McAuliffe’s strategy was bold, but stupid and foolish. McAuliffe, during the campaign, tried to tie Youngkin to Trump but it had failed badly because during his campaign Youngkin barely ever mentioned Trump’s name, except for his endorsement and appeasing his voters. McAuliffe was previously the governor of Virginia from 2014 to 2018 and so some had a feeling that the former governor would not have a second term as governor of Virginia. McAuliffe should have also known the only way for him to win was to talk about his policies and not tie Youngkin to Trump. McAuliffe should also have thought ahead at least once that since Biden’s approval rating kept slipping, the only way for him to win over his supporters was to address Biden’s issues and come up
with his own solution to the problem. But unfortunately, we heard little of this from him. That would have been a smart decision for him but McAuliffe had thought it would have been better to take the easy road and tie Youngkin to Trump and talk about how parents should not have any rights to their children’s education. Every time McAuliffe had compared Glenn Youngkin to Donald Trump and had said bad things about parents getting involved in their children’s education the election had massively swayed in Youngkin’s favor. At the end of the day I am very excited and proud for Youngkin to begin his first term as Virginia’s new governor in January of 2022. I think if Youngkin can stick to his goals then Virginia can drastically change its trajectory. With Youngkin’s win the Republicans now have 27 elected governors compared to the Democrats’ 23. Youngkin’s win in Virginia is a clear example of how Democrats are in a position to fail in 2022’s midterm elections if they cannot find a way to recover from their bad policies in the Biden administration and Biden’s disastrous approving ratings and issues that are currently happening in his administration.
Photo from Flickr Glenn Youngkin beat former governor Terry McAuliffe, who was governor from 2014 to 2018.
Hunting nuanced debate, not black and white Education is essential to solve problems and understand sides John Custodio Opinion Editor jcustodio@oswegonian.com The fall brings apple picking, leafpeeping, comfy sweaters and a host of other fun activities. In North America, it also brings major hunting seasons, namely for whitetail deer in New York. I will preface this article with an important warning. I am a semi-avid hunter, and if my father happens to read this article I would like to hunt more this year. I grew up fairly immersed in the hunting culture of rural upstate New York, and have experienced both sides of the ongoing debate about hunting. For the sake of this article, I will focus on whitetail deer hunting in New York. People unaware of how good hunters act, or how responsible these people are, oftentimes view hunters as hillbillies blasting at anything that moves and mounting it on their walls. However, there is a greater nuance to the act. Hunters cannot hunt on developed lands, busy trails or wastes of green space like golf courses. Lands minorly cultivated like mixed farmland or woodlands are the ideal spaces, and good hunters work to keep these lands as perfect as possible for their craft. Apple trees are planted, food plots grown, damaging invasive species are eradicated for native species to thrive. Granted, the end goal is to kill something, but it has a purpose. Have you ever looked into a slaughterhouse? A beef farm? Animals born to die live in cramped conditions, stressed their entire pitiful lives, and die trapped in walls separated from the world they only see while plasticwrapped for $8.99 a pound. Deer, when hunted, are in their own world from the time they are born to the time they die. There are no butchers with boltguns shuffling them down a line, there are no automatic neck-snapping machines, no cries from other animals warning them of what is down the line. Only their home, and if the hunter is good, a single shot and a quick end in an area they have known their entire lives. After that, a hunter is rewarded with lean, locally sourced, organic meat with no added hormones or preservatives. Granted, the animals most likely fed on pesticide-full crops depending on the area they lived in, but that is not the biggest deal. While the saying about using every part of the buffalo might not be true with many modern hunters, no purposeful wastes are made. However, perfect hunters are rare, and bad hunters soil the entire group. Whether that be trophy hunters in Africa or people hunting from cars, they give every other hunter a
bad name. While some groups like the Quality Deer Management Association aim to keep whitetail herds healthy by keeping male populations high and not blasting every small buck that walks out, trophy hunters keep the public’s opinion of hunters low, and for a valid reason. Recall Cecil the lion, a 13-year-old lion killed by American dentist and trophy hunter Walter Palmer. It gained international attention and even led to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service adding lions to the endangered species list in a number of countries to limit American hunting. International travel just to kill an animal is often argued as beneficial for the local community, but some sources, including a study published in Environment and Natural Resources Research Volume 8, say ecotourism, with limited or no hunting, is more beneficial to the community and animal populations. Trophy hunting boils down to an issue all too prevalent in society. Rich people want to do something, no matter how poor it is for the environment. You do not need to travel to Africa to shoot an elephant, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., you want to because it is something you have not done before and an ultimate status symbol. Go, see the animals in their actual environment with as little human interference as possible. There is no need to put a bullet or arrow through them. If the local populations so desperately need the meat, let them harvest it themselves. The most effective conservation efforts involve local populations, and using locals to shoot their neighboring animals is morally and environmentally wrong. Now, not all bad hunting stereotypes come from rich trophy hunters or fox hunters mounted on horseback. Some valid criticisms come from uneducated or lazy people. I have seen firsthand someone try to shoot a coyote from a truck, with no intention of keeping the pelt or eating it. They were trying to kill the coyote so it did not interfere with the already overpopulated deer herds. Coyotes are technically an invasive species, having traveled from the plains and west coast after humans extirpated local wolves, but now they play an essential part in the ecosystem of upstate New York as the closest we can get to an apex predator. Deer are so overpopulated in farmlands because the resources are so available, and there are no natural predators left. Unchecked deer populations lead to higher levels of starvation and disease, with some deadly like chronic wasting disease. Blatantly poaching by trying to shoot a coyote from the road not only shows the lack of respect for
essential regulations, but lack of respect for the animal. If it was a truly damaging invasive like wild hogs in Texas, then sure, obliterate them by any means necessary. But for a necessary predator? That only paints all hunters in a bad light. Poaching is one of the worst acts a human can do against nature, and many hunters have the potential to do it. I myself have accidentally broken hunting tag limits, when I accidentally killed two turkeys with one shot. However, the intentional taking of extra animals or out-of-season is inexcusable and should be reported any time it is heard. Not only does it put a bad name out for responsible hunters, but it is just morally wrong. I do not care if you disagree with seasonal regulations, people with a higher education than you created them. Nobody is getting rich from you only shooting two bucks this year as opposed to 15. The Department of Environmental Conservation is not here to help people directly, it is here to conserve the environment. Listen to regulations and maybe then all hunters will not have such a bad name. Outside of the ethics of hunting, the cultures that supporters and opponents of hunting belong to are essential to understand the debate. As much as it sucks, the two-party American system of politics has polluted every debate and every walk of life. People living in cities are more often Democrats, just as people living in the country are more often Republicans. The hunting demographic is overwhelmingly rural white men, which is also the prime demographic for Republicans. Just like a common insult to Democrats or liberals is to call them snowflakes or just weak in general, a common insult against rural Republicans and conservatives is to call them stupid hillbillies. While both may be true in some cases, the separation of lifestyle from politics is essential, especially in nuanced topics of debate like hunting. There are good and bad hunters. Separate the good from the bad, the ones who care for the environment and the animals, from the poachers, trophy hunters and from-the-car coyote shooters. It is not just a hobby for many, but all hunters must be educated in proper ecology and animal behavior, just like opponents must break the divide of politics Of course, another method to quell the argument could be to go vegetarian, but I am not a vegetarian and that is a debate for another article. In the meantime, hunters should read up on their regulations and ecology textbooks, and nonhunters should read up on the benefits of sustainable hunting.
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Ariana St. Hilaire Staff Writer opinion@oswegonian.com Every journalist is expected to follow a code of ethics in order to maintain a public discourse that is accurate and fair. Veteran journalist Katie Couric failed to do this in her interview with late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Couric’s new memoir “Going There” details her decision to edit Justice Ginsburg’s response to NFL player Colin Kaepernick’s controversial decision to kneel during the national anthem. Kaepernick’s actions were in protest against the treatment of African Americans and other individuals of color in America. In the 2016 interview, Ginsburg called the protests “dumb” and “disrespectful”, a comment that many would find surprising considering the Justice’s generally liberal viewpoints. In her memoir, Couric reveals the full quote she edited out in which Justice Ginsburg said the protests showed “contempt for a government that has made it possible for their parents and their grandparents to live a decent life.” Regardless of opinions surrounding the content of former justice Ginsburg’s comment, the journalistic integrity of the interview is severely lacking. To put it simply, Ginsburg offered up a rather controversial opinion that Couric later edited out in order to keep the general public from getting the wrong impression. The Society of Professional Journalists (SJP) Code of Ethics notes that journalists should “take special care not to misrepresent or oversimplify in promoting, previewing or summarizing a story.” Couric wanting to “protect” Ginsburg by withholding her controversial statements is a direct violation of this. Ginsburg’s statement is no doubt surprising but her words are clear and it is safe to say that the Justice was fully aware of the context of the question she was being asked. Not to mention Ginsburg was a Harvard and Columbia educated Supreme Court Justice who was well versed in modern political topics. She was known for her dissenting opinions, Couric’s ‘protection’ was anything but necessary. Couric’s ‘protection’ also suggests her own personal influences affected her ability to report fairly on the interview. It is not her job to decide whether or not the public can handle an unexpected opinion. It is her job to report the news truthfully in order to allow the public to be completely and truthfully informed in order to allow the creation and exchange of their own ideas. In her TODAY interview with Savannah Guthrie, Couric said she “wasn’t sure what [Ginsburg] meant exactly, and [she] thought it was subject to interpretation.” Any journalist in this situation would be sure to follow up with their source in order to ensure clarity especially when dealing with such a high profile individual. The SJP Code of Ethics also includes a journalist’s task to take accountability for any mistakes made when reporting a story. Despite her lapse in judgement, Couric did eventually own up to her mistake and that fact should be taken into consideration. “Ultimately, I think I should have included it,” she said on TODAY. While this is not the most unforgivable of offences, it does pave the way for the integration of slightly more unethical practices into mainstream media. Plus, these kinds of seemingly minor instances continue to destabilize the relationship between media outlets and their consumers. Justice Ginsburg was a beacon of hope for many people and she brought forth a fiery and passionate spirit to an overwhelmingly male Supreme Court but she too had opinions that her liberal following would have questioned. Ultimately, Couric and every journalist owe it to the general public to report the complete truth regardless of its effect on public reputation.
SPORTS Clarkson meet wake-up call for Lakers swimming and diving Lakers down two meets in first three weeks, Holman, Potvin break down keys to success
THE OSWEGONIAN FRIDAY, Nov. 12, 2021
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Perdek’s Corner
Jack Perdek Sports Editor jperdek@oswegonian.com
Photos provided by Oswego State Athletics Sights from Oswego State men and women’s swimming and diving at their duel event victory over SUNY Oneonta winning 17 out of 26 total events at Laker Hall.
John Custodio Opinion Editor jcustodio@oswegonian.com
Oswego State men’s and women’s swimming and diving lost in its meet against Clarkson University on Nov. 6, but coach Mike Hallman is looking forward to getting back into shape after not being able to practice over the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Lakers lost 97 to 147, but as a blend of individual and relay competitions, according to Hallman, winning overall is not the end-all be-all of the sport. Hallman also attributes the loss to team illness and injuries, and thinks that in perfect health, the Lakers would have had a good chance. “I think if we were fully healthy, it would have been a much closer meet,” Holman said. “A meet that we possibly could have won, but it just wasn’t in the cards right now where we’re at, so it is what it is.” Hallman said it was a tough transition back into the season after not being able to practice for 21 months, with the last Laker practice in February of 2020. “I think the obvious is that we weren’t allowed to do anything last year, and that makes a year and a half plus out of the
pool for most of the kids,” Holman said. “And that is not an easy thing to do in this sport and I think we’re seeing the consequences of that.” Other SUNY schools such as Geneseo and Cortland were allowed to practice over the shutdown, and as a practiceheavy sport, Hallman believes it to be a major contributing factor to the Lakers’ performance so far. However, some Lakers stood out like Zach Brown, edging out the competition in the men’s 50 meter breaststroke by just under a second. In diving, Eric Dzierzgowski dominated the men’s one meter diving, scoring 173 over Clarkson’s 135.85 to bring home nine total points. Paralympian and senior swimmer Tomas Rodriguez potentially broke the para-swimmer S9 category record for the men’s 50 yard butterfly, beating the previous record time of 40.76 seconds with his time of 34.08. The confirmation process can take up to two weeks, but Rodriguez is confident that it will be accepted. From the women’s dive team, Laura Bornheimer scored 157.05 and Jessica Azoulay scored 140.10, receiving nine and four points respectively. The pair brought home four and three points respectively in the one meter dive. Twyla Nastasia won nine points in the 800 meter freestyle
with a final time of 10:18:51, and the relay team of Margaret Romano, Eva Potvin, Grace Parente and Alexia Lemus came in a close second in the 200 meter medley relay at 2:12.89 to Clarkson’s 2:10.44. The tight races could be attributed to the specifics of Clarkson’s pool being measured in meters, as the Lakers are accustomed to yards, which Hallman said may seem like a miniscule difference but can change the flow a swimmer is used to. “This is always a weird meet for us because Clarkson is a 25 meter pool and all of the other pools we swim in are 25 yard pools,” Holman said. “So a meet like that, the times don’t mean a whole lot because they’re not what we’re used to, and not that it’s a way longer distance but it does have an effect on you when you’re not accustomed to the extra strokes on each length.” Senior swimmer Eva Potvin agrees with Hallman, saying the change from yards to meters was a problem. “None of us really knew what a good time was because short course meters is swam so rarely that you just had to go in and try your best,” Potvin said. However, Potvin is proud of her team and is excited for the rest of the season. She said it has been a hard adjustment
coming back to the season after such a long time off, and the team has suffered a lot of illness and injury. “Swimming is really demanding so when you take that much time off, you just can’t expect your body to do the same thing,” Potvin said. “But we need it to, to get to where we want to be by the end of the season.” Potvin does not see the meet against Clarkson as a complete loss, as some swimmers and divers performed excellently. She also sees it as a necessary evil to get the team into high gear. “We had a really good home meet against Oneonta, and we got a wake up call against Clarkson,” Potvin said. “We got comfortable, then we got kicked in the butt.” Outside of the meet, Oswego State swim and dive participated in the “Hour of Power” relay on Nov. 9 in honor of the late Ted Mullin, a Carleton College swimmer who died in 2006 from sarcoma. Participants swim or exercise for one continuous hour in Mullins honor, and in the past 14 years participants across sports and organizations have raised $880,000 for cancer research. While the Lakers did not raise any funds this year, swimming the relay raises awareness about the event and honors Mullin.
JJ O’Connell retires after outstanding coaching career Laker’s volleyball coach steps down after 10 years coaching Oswego State
William Rogers | The Oswegonian Oswego State women’s Volleyball celebrate a kill in their most dominant set of the season hosting SUNY Canton Sept. 18.
Ben Diamond Asst. Sports Editor bdiamond@oswegonian.com On Nov. 4, the Oswego State athletics department announced the retirement of head volleyball coach, JJ O’Connell, who has served in the role for the past 10 years. Since arriving at Oswego, the Lakers have qualified for the State University of New York Athletic Conference postseason in six of his nine seasons, making semi final appearances in 2015 and 2018. Prior to his arrival, it had been 16 seasons since Oswego had been in the postseason. He has left a huge impact on his players with his upbeat attitude and belief that his players are capable of anything. “He’s done a lot for me in my last four years here, he’s been a big part of my life,” Skylar Bechard, a senior player, said. “He brought so much energy to the team, and worked very well with all the girls, me especially, he knew how to push me through everything.” Even for the younger players who have only played one season with O’Connell as coach, he still had an impact on them. He gave them the motivation to do better and showed them what
they needed to do to grow. Even though freshman Grace Taylor has only been on the team for one season, she will still feel the impact without O’Connell being with the team. “He taught us so much and he was always there for us so it’s going to be weird to not see him on the sideline with us,” said Taylor. To junior Emma Fiorentine, O’Connell was more than just a coach, but someone that was easy to talk to. That was important to Fiorentine because that allowed for her and her teammates to get a deeper connection with their coach which made communication much easier. She also believes that with easy communication between the coach and his players it allows for more trust and a stronger relationship. “I think the biggest thing that I’ll miss is just being able to talk to him as a person and not really as an authority figure,” Fiorentine said. “It’s nice to have a coach that really understands you and that you can talk about anything with.” O’Connell himself recognized how hard his team worked to improve themselves throughout the season. It made him proud to see how resilient his
players were even though they were not having the success they had hoped for coming into the season. With this resiliency, he also believes that no matter who their next coach is, they will put in the work so they can be at their best. “There was no doubt about the passion they have for the sport,” O’Connell said. “They were dedicated to improving themselves personally by setting high goals for themselves that they hoped to live up to, it was awesome to watch.” O’Connell also reflected on other teams he had coached over his tenure with the Lakers. One team that stood out to him was the team he coached in 2015, where they had a 25-10 record. O’Connell’s team from this season is very similar to his team in 2015 as they had a good mix of young talent as well as veteran players to help guide them. Some players that made an impact on that roster were Rachel Ruggaber and Kelsey Dillon who he saw as veteran leaders on that team. O’Connell found that the players on that team were fun to coach and their success made it all sweeter. “In 2015 we had a good team,” O’Connell said. “We had everything you would need to be a
really good team, from good veteran leadership to good players coming off the bench.” His final season with the Lakers did not live up to their expectations as the Lakers ended the season with a 12-14 record and a 1-8 record in conference matches. But, they did show signs of improvement towards the end of the season. A bright spot in the season was the strong performance throughout the season by sophomore Georgia Farry. Farry led the Lakers in kills with 186, points with 224.5 and blocks with 57. But even though she had a strong season, Farry knows that she can take steps to improve her game even further and that it takes the entire team to win games and she expects the team to be ready to show growth when the next season starts. “One of the big things I’m personally going to work on is improving my vertical jump and knowing when to use certain shots,” Farry said. “We have a lot to work on as a whole going into next year, but a major difference from this year and next year is now we know each other. We already have established a strong chemistry that will be a major factor in how well we work together.” O’Connell credits the bad season to rust, as the Lakers had not played as much over the last year compared to other teams in the SUNYAC. Even though the season did not go the way he and his team wanted it to go, he is proud of the improvement they showed throughout the season, especially with the young players on the roster. In retirement, O’Connell plans on hiking the Appalachian Trail after Spring break ends. O’Connell said that hiking is one of his passions and he plans on doing it more often during his retirement. But even though he is retired, he still wants to stay close to the game of volleyball. From the people at the Oswegonian, we wish JJ O’Connell all the best in his retirement and a joyful next chapter.
The Oswego State women’s ice hockey team remains undefeated through four games and I am here for the hype. After defeating Kings College and Neuman University in two exhibition games, Oswego State has blown the hinges off the regular season door sitting at 3-0-1. There were a lot of mixed expectations from colleagues and friends involved with covering the team considering they are coming off a year of no games, but thus far they are proving why they should be a top-ranked team on the Division three NCAA polls. I had an opportunity on Saturday to casually spectate their 8-1 dominant victory against Buffalo State in their first SUNYAC match-up of the season. It really put things into perspective sitting in the crowd and watching a live sporting event at my school for the first time in two years. Aside from broadcasting games on our school’s local television station WTOP-10, there is not always a lot of time for me to just enjoy rooting for my school’s team, which was really fun to do again. Aside from eating french fry poutine and cheering for their eight goals on Nov. 6., I seriously think this Oswego State women’s team has a shot to do spectacular things this season. Looking at the stellar contributions from their captain Philomena Teggart, she has been on a strong pace to lead the team in assists from the defenseman position. However, she is not the only reason this team’s having the success they planned on getting this year. The Lakers roster has depth at every position in 2021 and is making them look like one of the toughest opponents to play in the NEWHL. Led by sophomore Megan Teachout who is leading the team with 6 points, the Lakers are getting a ton of production from their younger players. In fact, 50% of their top 12 scorers are underclassmen which is impressive four games into the season with 34 total points. Their contribution can be the difference-maker in how far this Laker team goes this year. The key to success for the Lakers on their championship journey will be to play as soundly on both ends as they have the past two playoff matchups. The makeor-break factor for Oswego State in this championship battle from my perspective will be for this team to remind themselves that it is just another soccer game.
Shore Report
* - Indicates NEWHL Standings #- seed clinched x- playoffs clinched e- eliminated
SUNYAC Standings
Men’s Basketball Overall Brockport 1-1 Buffalo State Cortland Fredonia Geneseo New Paltz Oneonta Oswego State
Plattsburgh
Potsdam
Men’s Hockey
Cortland Oswego State Plattsburgh Brockport
0-1 0-0 0-1 0-1 0-0 1-0 0-0 1-1 0-0
Conference 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0
Overall 2-1-0 1-2-1 2-1-1 3-0-0
Conference 1-1-0 1-0-1 1-0-1 1-0-0
Streak W1 L1 L1 L1 W1 L1 -
Points 4 4 3 3
Buffalo State
2-1-0
1-0-0
3
Geneseo Fredonia
3-0-0 2-2-0
1-0-0 0-0-0
3 0
Morrisville Potsdam
0-4-0 0-2-0
0-3-0 0-2-0
0 0
Women’s Hockey (NEWHL) Overall
Conference
3-0-1
1-0-1
2-1
1-0
W2
Plattsburgh
2-0
1-0
W2
Potsdam Buffalo State
1-2-1
0-1-0
Tied-1
0-3
0-1
L3
Canton Cortland
2-0
0-0
W2
0-1
L1
Women's Basketball Plattsburgh Cortland
Potsdam Buffalo State Oswego State Oneonta Fredonia New Paltz Geneseo Brockport
Overall 1-1 0-0
Conference
0-1 0-1 1-1 0-2 0-0
L1 L1 W1 L2 W1
1-0
0-0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1-0 0-0
0-0 0-0
0-0 0-0
-
Streak W1 -
Women’s Basketball
4 1 POT: 0-2-0 (0-2-0) COR: 2-1-0 (1-1-0)
91
50:
Men’s Basketball 69
55
ROC: 1-0 (0-0) BUF: 0-1(0-0)
At the 50th minute of the SUNYAC playoff game versus SUNY New Paltz, Kieran Gilroy of the Oswego State men’s soccer team scored the game deciding goal that allowed the Lakers to move onto the SUNYAC championship. That goal was Gilroy’s second of the season and it was assisted by Ha Joon Lee, his third assist of the season. In the SUNYAC championship, the Lakers will face SUNY Cortland.
Men’s Hockey Friday, Nov. 5
2-1 OSW: POT:
COR:
Bloem: 1 goal Rose: 1 assist Clerc: 1 assist
OSW:
Saturday, Nov. 6
OSW:
6-0
Sleeth: 2 assists Andreacchi: 1 goal Bunka: 1 goal
Women’s Hockey
BUF:
Men’s Soccer
SUNYAC Championship Saturday, Nov. 6
Terra: 4 saves Young: 2 shots Gehnrich: 2 shots
Women’s Basketball Tuesday, Nov. 9
1-8
Cruzal: 1 goal Garrow: 1 shot Jackson: 1 shot
ALF:
Teachout: 3 assists Webster: 3 assists Shines: 2 goals
Rubio: 1 goal, 1 assist Coleman: 1 goal Aronson: 1 goal
OSW:
74-67 Ion: 12 PTS, 13 Reb Flint: 12 PTS, 9 Reb Rittenhouse: 11 PTS, 6 Reb Caivana: 22 PTS, 5 AST, 2 STL Pickett: 10 PTS, 15 Reb
Upcoming Events Men’s Hockey Friday, Nov. 12
Women’s Basketball Tuesday, Nov. 16
@
@
7:00 p.m.
OSW: 1-2-1 (1-0-1) COR: 2-1 (1-1)
5:30 p.m.
OSW: 0-1 (0-0) DEL: 0-1 (0-0)
Women’s Hockey
Men’s Basketball
@
@
Friday, Nov. 12
5:00 p.m.
COR: 2-1 (0-1) OSW: 3-0-1 (1-0-1)
Friday, Nov. 12
7:30 p.m.
ELM: 0-0(0-0) OSW: 0-0 (0-0)
Laker Athletes of the Week
W1
Around the SUNYAC Men’s Hockey
Oswego Scoreboard
Tied-1
0-0 0-0
B4
Streak
Oswego State Morrisville
2-1
THE OSWEGONIAN FRIDAY, Nov. 12, 2021
3:
BRO: 1-1(0-0) MOR: 0-1(0-0)
In the two regular season games played by Oswego State women’s ice hockey, Megan Teachout has scored three goals. In between the two games they have scored four goals total on two 2-1 victories over Adrian and Trine University. Teachout has put the team on her back to start the season and hopes to continue her goal scoring onslaught.
Charlie Grygas
Wrestling Junior | Delanson, N.Y.
Kyleigh Grugin
Women’s Ice Hockey Sophomore | Knoxville, Tenn.
G r y g a s o p e n e d t h e 2 0 2 1-2 2 campaign by going 4-1 at the Ithaca I nv itationa l a nd finishing in second place out of 27 wrestlers in the field at the 174-pound weight class. Grygas came in seeded second and recorded a 20-4 technical fall in his opening bout before an 8-3 decision on Day 1 of action. T he Dela nson nat ive won decisions in the quarterfinal (9-2) and
Grugin scored a pair of goals, including the game winner, in the Lakers’ 8-1 win over Buffalo State on Saturday to kick off conference action. In the Sunday contest, the Knoxville (Tenn.) native added a third goal to her weekend tally to pull the Lakers even with Potsdam in the team’s 4-4 tie with the Bears. The women’s ice hockey team is off to a 3-0-1 start to the season. The Lakers travel to Cortland on Friday for a 5 p.m. Northeast
In their final two games of the season in the Skidmore Invitational, the Oswego State women’s volleyball team got a combined 75 total kills. They totaled more than their opponents, Bard and Skidmore who combined for 73 kills, although they did drop the match against Skidmore 3-0 before beating Bard 3-1 in game two.
In his first game with the Oswego State men’s ice hockey team, Eric Green made 20 saves in the 3-1 loss to Hobart. Hobart is a team that has the chance to be nationally ranked among the top division three teams. Green’s 20 saves is more than what other Goalies, Richie Parent and Steven Kosikoski got in their split effort versus Elmira College. The two of them combined for 15 saves after Parent gave up 3 goals in the first period.
75:
20:
SPORTS B5 Men’s hockey looking to find winning record for Teal week THE OSWEGONIAN FRIDAY, Nov. 12, 2021
EIC’s view Brandon Ladd Editor-in-Chief bladd@oswegonian.com The month of November is setting up to be a treacherous journey for the Oswego State men’s hockey team if they can not right the ship on Nov. 12 against SUNY Cortland for the annual “Teal Game.” I found an interesting quote from an article that former Oswegonian Editor-in-Chief, and men’s hockey beat writer, Ben Grieco wrote the night of a tough Teal Game defeat for the Lakers in 2019. The team had just lost to Buffalo State by a score of 6-5, despite making a feverish comeback to tie the game at five during the third period. The mood after the game was quickly changed by a few simple words from head coach Ed Gosek. He told Grieco that his message to his team following the hard-fought loss was simple and he derived it from his late-wife Mary’s fight with Ovarian Cancer. The message was to “not feel sorry for yourselves, it is just a hockey game.” He described to his team and throughout the middle portion of Grieco’s article that Mary never felt sorry for herself throughout her fight with cancer and that life goes far beyond what happens on the ice of the then Marano Campus Center Ice Arena. This year the men’s hockey team is in a position to feel sorry for themselves after dropping two games to ranked opponents to begin the season and after tying Plattsburgh State on the latter half of its first true weekend away trip of the season. The road to weekend number three of the season has not been smooth and definitely did not have that new pavement smell. Instead, the path has been pothole-filled and probably has featured a squirrel or two running out in front of the team’s metaphorical vehicle. The mood cannot be of regret or defensiveness for the Lakers early this season. Instead, lessons learned from the early struggles and a spirited effort against SUNY Cortland is what the team desperately needs.
Gosek, Lakers prepare for SUNY Cortland in pivital SUNYAC ‘dogfight’
Kailee Montross | The Oswegonian (#23) Alex DiCarlo driving to the net for the first goal of the second period in Oswego State’s 6-4 exhibition loss versus Utica Oct. 16.
Jack Perdek Sports Editor jperdek@oswegonian.com On Nov. 12, the Oswego State men’s ice hockey team will hold their annual Teal Night to raise awareness of ovarian cancer. This game in the Deborah F. Stanley Arena will feature two SUNYAC foes in a conference battle rivalry set since 1976, the first time these two clubs met on the ice. In 2021, this match-up means a little more for Oswego State as they now host their annual teal night for the first time since the 2019-20 season. Teal night is a special Oswego State Athletics event where both the women’s and men’s hockey teams host a game to raise awareness for ovarian cancer. The fundraiser was inspired by head coach Ed Gosek’s wife Mary, who passed away from the illness in 2017 after years of raising awareness and funds to fight the disease. They call it the silent killer and is now an annual tradition and honor and memory of Mary Gosek. In an event that donates 2,000 teal shirts and raises awareness for ovarian cancer, Gosek said he is thankful for the school’s contribution to the program and what it meant for his wife. “Her ambition is to try to educate women, girls on campus, teachers, mothers, grandparents, aunts and to
understand the early signs of ovarian cancer because there’s no test for it was her fight,” Gosek said. “Her message is to raise awareness, raise funds, and develop research, that’s what the games are all about. I’m proud of the college and athletic department for the event. I’m grateful that people are talking about and reading of her legacy.” Gosek also attributed her hard work for the cause to the betterment of the community and the impact she had on many Oswego State locker rooms through the years. “She was an important part of the college community,” Gosek said. “Working here for 34 years, she was well known. She was arguably our biggest fan, she was like the mom to every guy in the locker room for a lot of years we were together. You learn to appreciate having a wife that supported my career and the sacrifices she made.” Fans and students around Oswego State’s campus will be with Gosek on Nov. 12 to hold “Mary’s Minute” a moment in the first minute of each period in which fans are encouraged to cheer for the hard work Mary Gosek instilled against ovarian cancer. For Gosek’s team, they will need the fans to be equally loud for the Laker’s 94th meeting versus SUNY Cortland in program history. A rivalry that has been heavily in favor of Oswego State with 80 of those games
ending up in the win column. Heading into this collision of western New York foes, lies a history of Gosek’s old assistant of the 2007 national championship team, Joe Cardarelli. “Coach [Cardarelli], was my former assistant, he works hard, his teams are well prepared, they’ve had some good recruiting classes,” Gosek said. “We had a tight game with Potsdam and they breezed by them, so going into this one it will be a dog fight, we have to bring our A-Game, we’ll have to check our emotions at the door in a positive way, but with the point system now winning in regulation you can make up some ground or even pull ahead. This is an opportunity at home, one game weekend, for us to have our focus and do our best to get the job done on Friday.” Keeping emotions in check will not only fall upon Gosek, but in captain Travis Broughman and Josh LeBlanc. These seniors are currently leading the team in points heading into this match-up and have been a large reason the Lakers were able to pull out a victory against SUNY Potsdam and gain a conference point in overtime against SUNY Plattsburgh. The two forwards have been scoring in breakaway opportunities and taking advantage of Oswego State’s speedy playstyle. As Gosek said, it is up to them to help instill Laker hockey into the 21 new players on this roster and
get better each and every day. “They’re senior for a reason,” Gosek said. “You need guys to step up and gain other guys’ confidence. Some guys aren’t ready right now, some guys are showing they are. Some guys are growing and getting better every day. You need the upperclassmen to lead by example. It’s tough decisions come up line time. A lot of guys are turning heads, new guys are making it difficult. On any given day you got new guys that you weren’t sure if they were going to be in the lineup. It’s been a good thing, making it difficult for our staff to make lineups.” Depth on this Oswego State roster is going to be paramount for success later on in the season if they hope to go on a run in the SUNYAC playoffs. The team currently stands 1-2-1 in this young part of the season. With the 2-1 Red Dragons coming into town, this will be a pivotal game considering point differential when determining seeding for the postseason. SUNY Cortland has just beat a Potsdam Bears team last weekend double the margin in score than the Lakers team did, so there is a likelihood that Teal Night will be a neck-and-neck affair. Regardless of the amount of competition this Laker team will face, Gosek said he is confident in the way he set this team up against teams like Hobart who are now nationally ranked in the NCAA polls. “A lot of people thought I was crazy for scheduling Hobart and Elmira but it is a good test and it exposes your weaknesses,” Gosek said. “I think that helped us prepare for Potsdam and Plattsburgh who are two good teams, they are much improved since two years ago.” This Friday’s game against the Red Dragons will be one for the books come “Mary’s Minute” at puck drop, Gosek said he is ready to see what this team can pan out to be after nearly two years of preparation with another home test. “I think all of us right now are trying to find our identity,” Gosek said. “We have a vision of how we would like to play, we recruit to that, once the players get here it takes time, I like the guys that we have, we have good team speed but I think we can play a tough physical game when we need to.”
Women’s hockey hitting stride after starting first four undefeated Teachout, Hiebert and Digby contribute season success to hard work, team relations
Erin Blank | The Oswegonian (#13) Ashlyn McGrath taking a wrist-shot in Buffalo State’s defensive zone in the Lakers 8-1 victory on Saturday Nov. 6.
Logan Stolberg Sports Writer sports@oswegonian.com
The Oswego women’s hockey team is currently 3-0-1 on the season so far. They had tied in their last game against SUNY Potsdam last Saturday after coming off a win against the Adrian College Bulldogs on Oct. 29 and then defeating the Trine University Storm on Oct. 30. Lakers’ head coach Mark Digby is in his first season in the position after spending 2010 through 2019 as the assistant head coach. In his first season, Digby has been impressed with the team already. “Over the last three years, we have been trying to build a deeper roster than we have ever had before,” Digby said. “What we saw this past weekend, we had scoring from Morgan Shines, Kyleigh Grugin, Sophia Krykostas and Morgan Teachout. So there were a lot of goals coming from different power play groups. I think anytime you can get that it’s a little easier because teams can’t match up against your top
lineup. I think that is what we should shoot for.” During the season, Digby has rotated between sophomore goalies Bryn White and Joanna Hiebert. Hiebert had played against Adrian College and had only allowed one goal during the game while having 31 saves. White had played the next game against Trine University, where she had 16 saves while only allowed one goal. The following game against Buffalo State last Saturday, she once again only allowed one goal and had six saves. With her two performances in those match-us, her total for number of saves during the season sits at 22. It will be interesting to see if Digby sticks with White, who had played well during her first two games of the season, or go with Hiebert again to give her another opportunity to match White’s results in her first two games. “Right now, we have to look at it that they are both first-year goaltenders,” Digby said. “We recruited them both here to play and until they both have enough opportunities, it’s going to be hard to determine who should be
in more regularly. We plan until after Christmas time of rotating them both into the lineup and giving them both opportunities. We also want to maintain a little bit of consistency there and I think one of the hardest things as a first-year goalie is the unknown of which games am I playing in and what am I not doing. I think the more balance that we have there will keep that consistent rotation going.” In Hiebert’s first start against Adrian College on Oct. 29, she had received the NEWHL Goalie of the Week for her performance in that game. She had done this against an Adrian College team who went 22-3-3 in the 2019-20 season. That is an impressive feat for any goalie in their first game. “It felt pretty good,” Hiebert said. “I couldn’t have done it without my teammates. We had worked together. It was a great game all around. Everyone working together made it meaningful and just the recognition by the NEWHL made it special.” Hiebert is very happy to finally be able to play hockey after the COVID-19 pandemic had ended their 2019 sea-
son but also thought the pandemic had brought an opportunity to help her improve her game and get to know her teammates more. “Last year with the COVID-19 pandemic was weird,” Hiebert said. “Being able to take that time and train along with getting to know my teammates and to get better, I think it had made the transition better.” Hiebert has been impressed with Digby so far this season and credits him with giving them challenges every day to help them improve their game. “Digby challenges us every day in practice and everything,” Hiebert said. “He keeps pushing us to our limits. I appreciate the way he coaches and how he pushes us as players and as a team because he wants the best from us.” Sophomore Megan Teachout has been one of the best players on the Oswego women’s hockey team since 2019. In her first season on the team, she had won the NEWHL Rookie of the Week award twice along with being recognized as part of the NEWHL Second Team. Her biggest award so far in her hockey career had been being named to the 2020 NEWHL Championship All-Tournament Team. Teachout has also led the team in scoring in her first two seasons on the team. This season already she had won the NEWHL Player of the Week against Adrian College. Teachout has been very proud of her accomplishments, but she says staying focused on helping the team is the most important goal for her. “It definitely gives me confidence, but I like to stay focused on winning as a team,” Teachout said. “I like having fun and definitely being in a good mood helps all of that. I think working as a team helps me to get to where I am.” Teachout had seen some good and some bad things from their last game against SUNY Potsdam last Saturday, which they tied against them at 4-4. “I think it was definitely a good game,” Teachout said. “We could have definitely been more focused and got after the loose pucks a lot more. I think it is still early in the season so we have a lot to work on and we can definitely work on and get better next time.” Teachout believes that getting after the loose pucks is a point of emphasis that they need to improve ongoing into
next week and for the rest of the season especially when it comes to the championship part of their season. “I think that definitely getting after loose pucks does win games and creates more offensive opportunities for us,” Teachout said. “It definitely helps us win battles.” Digby has been remarkably impressed with how Teachout has performed in her first two seasons on the team and said that Teachout does not let the awards phase her, rather she remains focused on how to get better and help her teammates. “I think one of the nice things about Meg is that she scores and gets a lot of accolades,” Digby said. “She gets all the attention, but rarely does she let that go to her head or to her ego. So, she is a good teammate and it’s always nice when you get somebody that is getting all of the accolades but at the same time she’s not letting it impact her behavior and her presence in the locker room. It’s nice as a coach because you want to make sure that the people who are getting all the awards by continuing to not let things drift away from what had made them successful. I think that has been one of the biggest positives of the last couple of years with Meg.” On a final note, a member of their team made the Slovakian Olympic roster this week, freshman Simone Bednarik. Digby was very proud of Bednarik making the team and had a hunch that she would make the team going into this season. “I am pretty impressed,” Digby said. “We knew in the recruiting process of last year that this was likely to happen. She played very well for them last year in prequalification stuff. That’s really when we were recruiting her when she was playing for them. Now with the opportunity to go and compete at a chance at the Olympics, it’s special. It will be exciting tomorrow when we get off the ice and practice and then when we get back here and then turn on the game to watch her play.” The Oswego women’s hockey team has two games this weekend. Their first matchup will be against SUNY Cortland at the Alumni Arena in Cortland, N.Y. Then they will host Plattsburgh State at home on Saturday.
Sports O’CONNELL
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RETIRES
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SPORTS THE OSWEGONIAN
NEWS Food Shortage
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VOLUME LXXXVI ISSUE IX • www.oswegonian.com
FRIDAY, Nov. 12, 2021
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Dream playoff run closes for Lakers, bested in SUNYAC Championship
Oswego State two game playoff winstreak kicked away by SUNY Cortland, offseason begins for green and gold
Photo provided by Oswego State Athletics Oswego State men’s soccer in a group huddle after a 5-4 shootout win sending the Lakers past SUNY Oneonta in SUNYAC quarterfinal round Oct.23.
Alexander Abramovich Sports Writer sports@oswegonian.com After an incredible season of hard work and determination, the Oswego State men’s soccer team’s season ended on Saturday against top-seeded SUNY Cortland. Even with such a heartbreaking 6-0 loss, this team should be proud of themselves for the many great accomplishments that they have had this season. Coming into the 2021 season, head coach Dan Kane and the Lakers had a squad full of new and inexperienced players, so there were definitely some question marks to start off the new season. This is something that many teams had to deal with, meaning the Lakers were not the only ones who had to glue the pieces together as a team, at a rapid pace. The Lakers had a shaky start
Around the Diamond
to their 2021 season after winning just one of their first seven games, combining for a 1-2-4 record. Obviously, not the start that they wanted but bumps in the road are expected when you have such a young team who has not established full chemistry yet. Despite the sluggish start to the new season, there were plenty of positive takeaways from those first seven games. The underclassmen stepped up in a massive way, contributing for six of their nine goals scored. Three of those goals came from sophomore Kyle Gehnrich, two from freshman Kyle Hanner and one each from freshmen’s Hajoon Lee and Nikola Kovacevic. Immediately after the rough start, they proceeded to win their next four games, all of which being against SUNYAC opponents. Those four wins right there were groundbreaking for this squad, not only did it boost their overall and conference records, but it was also a humongous confidence booster. The Lak-
ers had contributions from many of their big players throughout this run, and they stepped up in big spots as well. After a 0-0 tie at halftime, the Lakers found themselves trailing SUNY Fredonia 1-0 after allowing a goal in the 59th minute. In a huge game with an important three points at stake, the Lakers were staring a loss right in the face. That was the case up until the 82nd minute when sophomore Brendan Murphy scored to tie things up. There would not be another goal after that, and the game headed to overtime. Both teams were battling back and forth but the Lakers struck gold at the beginning of the second overtime when junior Slater Bushen scored to give his team a 2-1 lead, which eventually ended up as the game-winner. The biggest goal of the Laker’s season gave them their third consecutive win and Bushen went on to win men’s athlete of the week for his heroics that weekend.
With four games remaining in the season, the Lakers looked as if they had finally found their mojo and could even be a threat to earn a top seed in the SUNYAC playoffs. The remaining four games were all against talented SUNYAC teams who were also fighting for top seeding in the playoffs, so the Lakers could not afford to let their foot off of the gas pedal. Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse. The four-game win streak was certainly something that not many saw coming after the start that they had, but neither was what happened after the win streak. The Lakers proceeded to drop their next four games, all against SUNYAC opponents, a complete turn in the opposite direction. Even after things had seemed to come together for Oswego State, they came back down to earth and were now fighting for their lives to earn a playoff spot. After a senior night loss to SUNY Oneonta, nervous was one way to describe how most felt around campus. The Lakers playoff hopes were on the line and there were many questions surrounding whether or not they would be able to sneak in or not. Later that night, news broke that Oswego State had made the playoffs as a sixth-seed and were set up with a rematch against top seeded SUNY Oneonta. The Lakers were underdogs, there was no other way to put it. They were a sixth-seed, and they had just lost to SUNY Oneonta a week prior to this one, so the odds were stacked against them. The first half did not go the Lakers way as they were down 1-0 and were outshot 12-1. Motivation can play such an important role when it comes to sports, and what happened after halftime was something that you would see in a movie. The Lakers answered back with a big goal from Ha Joon Lee in the 63rd minute, and eventually forced the game into overtime. Even heading into an overtime period was something that many did not think the Lakers would have been capable of doing,
but they proved the doubters wrong. Neither team was able to score in overtime, which means they were headed to a shootout. Both teams were even at four goals each, that was until Murphy stepped up and blasted one into the back of the net to give the Lakers a 5-4 advantage and the upset win. This win would not have been possible without the stellar play from senior goalkeeper Brian Terra, who made six saves and had to face a SUNY Oneonta team that took 24 shots total. This was the first time Oswego State had beaten SUNY Oneonta since 1965, and what a way to do so. The Lakers advanced and took on SUNY New Paltz in the SUNYAC semifinals. SUNY New Paltz outshot Oswego State 4-3 in a scoreless first half, but the Lakers looked lively and hungry to score. Not long after the second half began, the 0-0 affair ended as sophomore Kieran Gilroy scored in the 49th minute to give the Lakers a 1-0 lead, which would also be the final score. The Oswego State men’s soccer team would head to the SUNYAC championship game where they would take on SUNY Cortland. The Lakers just could not find their mojo in this one as they found themselves down 2-0 at halftime, and eventually lost the game by a margin of 6-0. Sadly the season had come to an end for the Lakers. Obviously not the outcome Kane and his team wanted in the end, but this team should be extremely proud of themselves. They began the year as a new team, after losing out on a whole season due to COVID-19, and were able to mold into a squad that would eventually take down the number two and three teams in the SUNYAC and advance all the way to the finals. The seniors who played their final games this year should be extremely proud of what they accomplished here at SUNY Oswego, and without their help this team would not be where it is today, and now a new era of talent will look to continue the success of this fantastic 2021 Lakers team.
Agressive play of Lakers earns them home opener win
Women’s basketball rebounds after loss to Alfred University with win versus Hilbert
Ben Diamond Asst. Sports Editor bdiamond@oswegonian.com The start of the Oswego State men’s basketball season is finally about to get underway. In their first matchup of the season, the Lakers will go head to head against Elmira College. I think this should be an easy game for the Lakers to get their season off to 1-0. In their most recent season back in 2019-2020, the Elmira College Soaring Eagles finished 2-23. With the Lakers having almost won the SUNYAC championship before being taken down by SUNY Brockport, I think it is safe to say that the Lakers should have no trouble starting their season with a win over Elmira College. The Lakers do have a lot of new players that joined their team through the hiatus and this semester, but with talent like star guard Jeremiah Sparks, I do not think there should be any worry for this Lakers team. If anything, this game versus Elmira College is a perfect warmup game that could be used by coach Jason Leone to really see what talent his team has this year and work on different plays and play styles so the team knows what works. That will be very important for the season as a whole as it has been a while since the team has taken the court together for a real game. So, learning how to play with one another, with the team’s playbook will be a good first step in the young season. If everything goes according to plan versus Elmira College, the Lakers should be ready to take on the rest of the season. It’s going to be exciting to see what they can do especially after being so close to being the SUNYAC champions two seasons ago. This year, the Lakers are going to want to take away that almost, and become the champions, and it all starts Friday versus Elmira College.
Image via Oswego State Athletics The Lakers are looking to avoid another poor season of conference play by getting tune-up games in during Novemeber against non-conference play, they play six non-conference games.
Jack Perdek and Brandon Ladd Sports Editor/Editor-in-Chief jperdek@oswegonian.com The Oswego State women’s basketball team is back in action after a long hiatus from the COVID-19 pandemic. After a long time off, head coach Sean Pinkerton and his roster have two out of conference games to start the season, losing one to Alfred University and a tight fourth quarter matchup and rebounding with a season opener win against Hilbert College on Thursday. Forward Diamond Pickett led the way for the Lakers on Nov. 11 with 12 rebounds and 14 points and 22 minutes of play. This included seven of-
fensive rebounds This contribution is going to be important for the Oswego state women’s basketball team because of the loss of the 2019-2020 season’s leading forwards Sydney Eure and Rama Sy. The two combined for several double-double performances throughout the campaign and were a formidable force, especially early in the non-conference play that season. The team got off to a 4-2 start in 2019-20 before they entered conference play. Then Oswego State went 2-16 in conference play, plagued by injuries to key starters. Pickett has been helped in the early stages of the season by the sharp shooting of senior guard Danielle Caivana, who has made six three pointers thru
the first two games. Throughout two games this year Caivana has tallied 36 points leading the Lakers in three point shooting, field goal percentage and free throws made. In the Lakers first game on the hardwood against Alfred College, they were able to spread the scoring in all four quarters and stay consistent from the free throw line at 50%. As the game progressed Alfred State was able to pull away in the fourth quarter outscoring the Lakers 20-13 securing the win in the fourth quarter. Two days later Oswego State retaliated at home with a 72-58 victory going on a 17-5 run in the third quarter. Their success came from a balanced scoring attack from Chastin Giles, who scored 11 points, Logan Ny-
emchek, who scored nine points, Elaina Johnson and Shania Iglesias, who both scored eight points and helped the team pull away. The Lakers will run into four more out of conference opponents on the schedule before they start SUNYAC play in December. The way the calendar looks for the Lakers in 2021, they will play the bulk of their SUNYAC opponents in 2022, leaving a lot of time to prepare for the homestretch in the spring. The Lakers will pivot into a tournament on Nov. 19 and Nov. 20 in Morrisville following an early week matchup on Nov. 16 against SUNY Delhi. The team has four more non-conference games before SUNYAC play begins on Nov. 30 against SUNY Cortland.
INSIDE
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"Eternals" masters emotion over action
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New Netflix original C5 "These Violent Delights" contains top-notch action sequel to be released
FRIDAY Nov. 12, 2021
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LAKER REVIEW
FRIDAY, Nov. 12, 2021
‘Eternals’ clumsily introduces exciting new superhero team Ethan Stinson Laker Review Editor estinson@oswegonian.com
Rating: Following her historic win at the 93rd Academy Awards, director Chloé Zhao’s (“Nomadland”) next move was to bring her talents to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), helming its 26th film, “Eternals.” With Zhao’s visual scope and a talented, diverse cast at its disposal, the film was poised to be an epic origin story unlike anything seen in the MCU thus far. While its missteps prevent it from being a masterpiece, “Eternals” proves to be an exciting, emotional film that successfully breaks the franchise’s mold. Taking place after “Avengers: Endgame,” the film focuses on the eponymous “Eternals,” immortal beings created by the powerful celestials to protect Earth from the evil “Deviants.” Thousands of years after disbanding, the team reunites in order to face an ominous new
threat, while also overcoming personal demons and clashing ideologies along the way. A refreshing element which sets “Eternals” apart from past MCU projects is its willingness to prioritize drama over action. While fight scenes are featured, a majority of the run time is dedicated to character interactions, highlighting their struggles as a team and their disillusionment with their duties protecting Earth. Thus, the film takes a somber approach to the MCU formula, opting to analyze the hardships of hero work, rather than glorifying it. However, the film’s dramatic elements are bogged down by a slew of plot points which feel underdeveloped or unimportant, despite the emotional potential which they possess. The conflict surrounding Thena (Angelina Jolie, “Those Who Wish Me Dead”) presents the most wasted potential, serving only convenient plot purposes rather than posing genuine stakes. Despite recognizable names such as Jolie and Salma Hayek
Image from Marvel Studios via YouTube “Eternals” introduces a diverse team of heroes to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
(“Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard”) rounding out the cast, the film’s best performances come from its less recognizable actors. As the genius Phastos, Bryan Tyree Henry (“The Woman in the Window”) provides a grounded, world-weary performance which puts into perspective the high stakes of superheroes’ jobs, in addition to the sacrifices they make in their personal lives. Barry Keoghan (“The Green
Knight”), portraying the group’s outsider, Druig, displays a level of gravitas which may convince viewers to support his character’s extreme solutions to humanity’s problems. Above all, Kumail Nanjiani (“The Lovebirds”) shines in his role as Kingo, serving as the film’s comic relief, while also bringing a sense of tragedy which occasionally shines through the cracks of his action hero persona.
from the supernatural attack of the “Demogorgons.” Starting off like any other trailer, one of the main characters, Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown, “Godzilla vs. Kong”), provides a voiceover indicating that everything seems good and managable. The voiceover is understood to be a letter to Eleven’s loveinterest, Mike Wheeler (Finn Wolfhard, “It”). The letter promises Mike that she is
enjoying her time in school, making friends and having a good time. The letter ends with Eleven saying that she cannot wait to see Mike over spirng break, and that it will be the best break they would ever have. During the letter voiceover, viewers are given a glimpse into just how great things are going. Eleven is getting bullied in school, and the “great spring break” she had hoped
Though the film is a visual treat, fans of Zhao’s past works may be disappointed by what they behold. While her eye for nature and landscapes may enhance the MCU’s recurring visual style, Zhao herself is noticeably restrained behind the camera. This comes as no surprise, as Marvel Studios maintains creative control over its projects, despite allowing directors to show off their own unique approaches. However, seeing as Zhao managed to produce an engrossing film which ultimately stays true to her directorial style, her efforts should not be viewed as lesser compared to her prior films. While it is far from perfect, “Eternals” succeeds in introducing a compelling team that brings a whole new perspective to what it means to be a superhero, while reinforcing the idea that not all heroes share the same morals. Opening many new doors for the MCU with its characters, story and allusions to other properties, it will be exciting to see where the franchise will take the new team next.
‘Stranger Things’ trailer offers exciting glimpse into fourth season Abigail Connolly Managing Editor aconnolly@oswegonian.com
“Stranger Things,” the hit Netflix series from the Duffer Brothers (“Wayward Pines”), offered fans a promising look into its fourth season with the release of its first teaser. The sci-fi series first aired on the streaming service in July 2016, quickly gaining the attention of nostalgia and horror fans. The series’ first three seasons followed the adventures of a group of children living in 1980s Indiana as they navigated supernatural threats and government conspiracies. “Stranger Things” had the success it did in part with its ability to encapsulate a number of genres all in one. Fans of horror, sci-fi, teen romance and drama can all find comfort iin the characters, scenes and stories. Two years between the series coming back with a new season has left many fans anxious to return to the world of Hawkins, Indiana. Opening with the Beach
Boys (“Sloop John B”) song “California,” the teaser trailer picks up the spring following the completion of the third season. The promo promises yet another stellar soundtrack for the series. When the characters were last seen, they had been reeling from the loss of Jim Hopper (David Harbour, “Black Widow”), the fearless, rougharound-the edges, father figure, and attempting to recover
Image from Stranger Things via YouTube “Stranger Things” character Eleven struggles against two men in the trailer for the upcoming fourth season.
for seemed to result in gun shots and car chases. This follows the formula the previous seasons laid out. The characters are found, at first, attempting to grapple with loss and new environments, hoping for a better future, when something gets in the way of that picture. ”Stranger Things” has always delivered a compelling story, so the use of this “formula” is not as worrisome as it may be for other series. In previous seasons, there had been a larger emphasis on the introduction of new characters. This trailer did not hint there would be a new pantheon of characters, which may indicate a stronger focus on closing the series’ current storylines. Previous interviews with the series’ writers indicated the show had only an intended four seasons. If this remains to be true, the final season is already off to a good start with this trailer. “Stranger Things” season four is expected to be released in summer 2022 on Netflix.
LAKER REVIEW
FRIDAY, Nov. 12, 2021
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Action-packed 'The Harder They Fall' amazes in every way Annika Wickham Chief Copy Editor awickham@oswegonian.com
Rating: Netflix has done it again with “The Harder They Fall,” an original Western that was executed perfectly with the ideal cast, dry humor and plenty of twists and action. A fictional story based on real people, the movie follows Nat Love (Jonathan Majors, “Lovecraft County”) on his quest for revenge against the infamous Rufus Buck (Idris Elba, “Beasts of No Nation”). Love and his gang, who are known for pillaging and leaving no witnesses, eventually find their way to Buck as he is released from prison to end their mission once and for all, only for their plan to go awry. Love’s group is made up of sharpshooter Jim Beckwourth (RJ Cyler, “Power Rangers”) and his friend Bill Pickett (Edi Gathegi, “Princess of the Row”), until they are joined in their fight against Buck by his former love Mary Fields (Zazie
Image from Netflix via YouTube Though its story is fictional, "The Harder They Fall" depicts real-life characters portrayed mostly by people of color.
Beetz, “Deadpool 2”) and the rouge Cuffee (Danielle Deadwyler, “The Devil to Pay”). Together they make their way to the town Buck’s gang controls and meet a couple of people along the way willing to help their cause. After breaking Buck out of jail in the beginning of the film, his partners Trudy Smith (Regina King, “Ray”) and Cherokee Bill (Lakeith Stanfield, “Sorry to Bother You”), who has the fastest trigger in the west, are set
out to make back the money Buck has lost when he was caught. The gangs only meet when Love puts his plan into action and the real fight begins. The casting is perfectly done, as Elba plays the emotionless and ruthless Buck impeccably and makes the audience, though most of his past is never mentioned, fear him just as much as the characters in the movie do. Beetz and King bring the sass and strength to their roles as independent
women who can handle anything thrown at them. Cyler plays into his character’s role as the comic relief with witty tones and jokes that bring the tension back from an otherwise serious and death ridden movie. Deadwyler also is the ideal actress to play Cuffee, as she shows off intense facial expressions and a sharp tone. The cast is also almost all people of color (POC), with only very minor characters
being white. As it is based on real people, the movie shows a different side of the wild west and outlaws without just casting POC to play historically white people. The film is packed full of action and fight scenes, which use a tasteful amount of blood and gore that is never too much but still gets the point across. Set in the midwest, the movie also utilizes wide camera angles and plays into the beautiful landscape to bring depth and more reality to the plot, as it shows all the characters on horseback or a considerable amount of the runtime. Other creative uses of camera shots make the film stand out compared to other Westerns, as they have duels shown from all angles and a scene in a dye factory where colored strips of fabric change the lighting and shadows to the best degree. With an all-star cast, amazing sets and fantastic overall composition, “The Harder They Fall” is outstanding in all categories and proves that Netflix originals should not be overlooked.
Thrilling 'Army of Thieves' expands 'Army of the Dead' franchise Christopher Panighetti Contributing Writer laker@oswegonian.com
Rating: In "Army of Thieves," director Matthias Schweighöfer ("You Are Wanted"), reinstalls his favorite character Ludwig Dieter as a bank teller with a fascination for hacking into ominous locks. Perhaps, only in his dreams. In the film, Dieter follows the legacy of locksmith Hans Wagner, and his creation of impossible locks, as there are four that have yet to be opened. Within their walls are hidden vaults with legendary treasure. Only those who are worthy can absolve it. In "Army of Thieves," Dieter shows his audience what he was truly made of before the character's debut in "Army of the Dead." In the film, he was a Las Vegan
arcanist with the ability to slay zombies. Both movies are now streaming on Netflix, so grab the popcorn. Our character, Ludwig Dieter, is portrayed as an awkward and betrothed ‘little brother’ prototype. Instilled with a what-notto-do attitude, the film shows him screaming in a high pitched tone and definitely not consulting the zombie girl haunting his apartment hallway. As time goes by, Dieter does not alter his inner-joy to demonstrate a darker progression. However, he shows the audience an inner gusto that is both daring and teetering on elegance. Compared to "Army of the Dead," the film finds Dieter dealing with a new crew consisting of a club valet drifter, a street fighter, a ghost computer hacker and a slick pickpocket criminal to bring justice to
Image from Netflix via YouTube Actor-director Mattias Schweighöfer reprises his role as safecracker Ludwig Dieter from "Army of the Dead."
the world again. With this film, the audience can enjoy the thrill of an action movie that is spot on and timely, instead of the thrasher gore of the apocalypse, as seen in "Army of the Dead." Some of the action seen in the film includes Ludwig useing his nimble fingers to hop a train freight, turn a safe wheel and es-
cape the city cops. This is done in an effort to bring his crew to new ground as they find their true mission; something greater and beyond themselves. The film also features a score from musical royalty Hans Zimmer ("Dune"). Afte viewing this film, fans of the "Army of the Dead" series will definitely warm up to the idea of
Schweighöfer exploring more of the franchise's characters in future films, as well as pulling more out for yet another movie set in the Las Vegas chaos of the first. Perhaps the next film will find characters like Scott Ward (Dave Bautista, "Dune") and Kate Ward (Ella Purnell, "Maleficent") engaging in a family showdown.
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LAKER REVIEW
FRIDAY, Nov. 12, 2021
‘Our Violent Ends’ promises exciting ‘Romeo and Juliet’ retelling Caitlin Alicea Asst. Laker Review Editor alicea@oswegonian.com
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Is anyone a fan of the popular Shakespeare story “Romeo and Juliet?” If so, then pick up the TikTok sensation, “These Violent Delights’’ by Chloe Gong. Now is a better time than ever to check it out as its sequel, “Our Violent Ends,” is expected to be released Nov. 16. As many have probably guessed, this book is in fact a “Romeo and Juliet” retelling that takes place in Shanghai in 1926. Gong is a recent graduate of the University of Pennsylvania where she double-majored in English and international relations. She was born in Shanghai and raised in Auckland, New Zealand and is now located in New York. That is part of what makes this story so cool. While the journey remains fictional, it is set in a place very close to her heart.
Being a reader herself, Gong moved on to writing novels of her own starting at the age of 13. After her freshman year of college, Gong wrote her debut novel, “These Violent Delights” in May 2018. She became one of the youngest writers at age 21 with her book featured on the New York Times bestsellers list. A huge accomplishment and a dream for every author at some point in their life. The book features a 1920s Romeo and Julietesque storyline with a blood feud between two gangs in a city filled with chaos. In the center of it all, 18-year-old Juliette Cai, a former flapper, has returned to her assumed role as the proud heir of the Scarlet Gang. They are known to be a network of criminals far above the law. The rival gang in power, the White Flowers have fought the Scarlets for generations. Behind every strategic move is their heir, Roma Montagov who
Image from Chloe Gong via Twitter “Our Violent Ends” is an upcoming sequel to author Chloe Gong’s popular novel “These Violent Delights.”
was Juliette’s first love and first betrayal. When conflicts arise, both sides start to show signs of instability clawing at their throats and in response to it, the people start to whisper. As the deaths stack up, Juliette and Roma must set aside their differences, guns and grudges aside and work together. If not, there will be no city left for either to rule.
Readers who have previously enjoyed “The Last Magician” by Lisa Maxwell or “Descendant of the Crane” by Joan He will enjoy this heart-stopping debut. The end to the duology “Our Violent Ends” is expected to bring a stunning close to the story that will leave fans in heartbreak if the retelling stays true to its original source. Readers who love books that contain a fast-paced plot
on a forbidden romance that was once separated by the families and a long ago betrayal, this book is not one to miss out on. Please be sure that before reading this, to check for trigger warnings if any and see if this is a genre of interest. Retellings are stories that need to be given a chance. Remember that a retelling is what it is. It is not meant to follow the original word for word.
Suspenseful ‘Antlers’ brings new life to horror film genre Spencer Bates Copy Editor sbates@oswegonian.com
Rating: Described as a supernatural horror, “Antlers” breathes fresh air into the genre as it explores a wonderfully original concept and poses the question, what is real and what is just a myth? Directed by Scott Cooper (“Hostiles”), the movie follows Lucas Weaver (Jeremy T. Thomas, “Paradise Lost”), who finds himself amongst the Wendigo, a nightmarish creature straight from Native American stories. The story also follows school teacher Julia Meadows (Keri Russell, “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker”) and Paul Meadows (Jesse Plemons, “Jungle Cruise”), her brother, who is the new sheriff of the Oregonian town in which the film takes place. One of the many redeeming qualities of the film is its pacing. Nowhere at any point in the movie did scenes feel rushed or plot
points feel brushed over. The movie also deserves credit for how it hid the creature that was the main source of problems for the whole movie. In today’s day and age of reboots plaguing the horror genre, audiences know who the bad guy is going to be before walking into the theatres. “Antlers” does a phenomenal job leaving things to the imagination. Allowing the dark corners of viewers’ minds to create their own image of the creature makes for a much more tense and captivating film. With waiting so long to reveal the creature, in this case the fabled Wendigo, it was important that the movie did well with their use of CGI (Computer-generated imagery) and practical effects. “Antlers” did more than deliver on this front. While it does take a good amount of time before the audience sees the Wendigo for the first time in the film, the reveal is more than worth the wait. The CGI used to create the Wendigo is arguably flawless and makes for a jaw-dropping sight for audiences. This movie is worth watching for
Image from SearchlightPictures via YouTube
“Antlers” puts a fresh spin on the fabled Wendigo of Native American legend.
this reason alone. “Antlers” also deserves some applause for tapping into real life to find the inspiration for this movie. The Wendigo is a haunting legend that exists within several Native American tribes. The story goes that if a man is driven to cannibalism, they become eternally hungry, eating any man, woman or child that crossed their path. However, the Wendigo also has the ability to, instead of de-
vouring a person, choose to possess them and in turn, make them a Wendigo as well. The film uses this very real and terrifying legend that many tribes truly believe in to create a bone-chilling experience for audiences. The acting in the film is brilliant as Thomas, Russell and Plemons make for a likable and captivating trio for the audience to latch onto. The overall cast is small, however this does not in
any way hinder the movie. If anything it makes it that much better as the audience truly gets to know, care and understand the characters and the relationships between each of them. One aspect of the movie that could use some work is the dialogue. For the majority of the movie there is little to complain about, however in some scenes the words felt too on-the-nose and more as if the lines were intended to direct the story a certain direction as opposed to letting it flow on its own. This is only a minor problem with the movie as a good majority of the dialogue is very good and presented with raw emotion from a truly gifted cast. Despite the Halloween holiday coming and going, “Antlers” is a horror movie for any time of the year. Its genius acting, beautiful art design and original concept make the movie a must-watch for horror fans, as well as those simply seeking a truly suspenseful film that will send shivers down their spines.
LAKER REVIEW
FRIDAY, Nov. 12, 2021
C5
'The French Dispatch' introduces unique portrayal of journalists John Custodio Opinion Editor jcustodio@oswegonian.com
Rating: “The French Dispatch,” written and directed by Wes Anderson (“Moonrise Kingdom”), is weird, eccentric, wacky, zany, strange, disorienting and a whole host of other synonyms and descriptors for the 107 minutes of perfectly imperfect nonsense that is a modern Anderson film. Following a magazine publication called “The French Dispatch” based in the fictional French city of Ennuisur-Blasé, and modeled after the real-life The New Yorker’s editor and staff, the film followers Anderson’s usual allstar cast including Bill Murray (“Ghostbusters”), Adrien Brody (“The Pianist”), Tilda Swinton (“Snowpiercer”) and Owen Wilson (“Midnight in Paris”), along with too many familiar faces to count. The film is shot in three main segments, with the start and end set apart from the stories told and acting as bookends to the film. The first follows an imprisoned modern artist, the second focuses on a students’ revolution and the third follows a police station chef. Each of the three main sections is told through the eyes of the writer covering the event, and appears to be a different method of presentation. The three sections, in order, are arts and artists, politics/poetry, and tastes and smells. “The French Dispatch” is a masterfully written comedy, through Anderson’s signature directly symmetrical or heavily asymmetrical camera angles and plot oddities can be a bit much for the casual comedy fan. Each segment has a unique style, with the first plot being less direct, with more observational or provocative jokes than laugh-out-loud slapstick hilarity. A strange tour of Ennui-sur-Blasé given by Wilson’s character highlights Anderson’s usual set designs, with colorfully weird sliceof-life scenes that feel both miniscule and intimate, and grand and overwhelming in detailing and size.
Image from Searchlight Pictures via YouTube "The French Dispatch" contains a cast full of familiar faces and is shot in three main segments, told through the perspective of writers.
The first section is perhaps the strangest portion, with the journalist being an arts and life writer covering a prisoner creating modern art worth millions of dollars. Sex, money, addiction and depression are all major points to the story told in a direct story about the reality of the art trade, especially in modern art. Swinton’s character plays a small part, showing true journalistic prowess to observe and not interfere with the players. The story is told with jumps to Swinton presenting her writings at an art lecture. The second story appears to be more of a play, with the characters acting like they are performing for a live audience and the sets appearing much flatter than the previous story, especially when set pieces are physically moved off-screen by pulley or crew. Quick-witted retorts and fast dialogue are used as the main mode of comedy, and it is an excellent and unique story that shows the French stereotype of constant protests and revolution. However, the only downside to this story was a singular actor. Timothée Chalamet (“Dune”) plays an essential role. Chalamet is an excellent actor and is a very unique person to watch, but he always appears on screen as “Timothée Chalamet'' and not the character he is supposed to play. While some actors can
very easily be separated from their off-screen personas, Chalamet’s presence is a bit jarring. Anderson’s movies are always full of big names like Murray or Wilson, but Chalamet has yet to claim his place as an actor that can be seen as both on-screen and off-screen personality. His acting was fantastic and he sold his character well, but I could not help but see the actor instead of the character. Perhaps the wackiest segment of the movie, from plot to execution to the mix of media, was the third and final story. In the tastes and smells columnist’s story, a police station’s chef is followed, but the story is quickly derailed after interference from the criminal organizations of the city. Smart physical comedy, quick jumps from color to black and white to animation, strange sets and even stranger characters all sell this story as perhaps the best told in the film, if not only the funniest. This section feels more like a film than a presentation to an audience or a play like the first two, with close shots and quick jumps to animated sections that are used in place of liveaction car stunts. This soundtrack is perfect for the film, in many spots timed on-beat with events on screen to a T. While some Anderson films have iconic soundtracks, like “Moonrise
Kingdom” or “Fantastic Mr. Fox," the score exists to accentuate the film and not be as centerstage as other films. The score is still iconic to Anderson’s strange style, with clarinets, light pianos and clear rhythms dominating. The only song easily remembered from the film is “Aline” by Christophe (“Sur la route de Salina”), a French pop song released in 1965. Especially interesting in this film is the more modern portrayal of journalists and publications. Anyone in the journalistic field should watch the film, especially those working in a newsroom or publication. As an employee of The Oswegonian, it is especially endearing to see the similarities between a real, albeit student, publication and the on-screen personas. A tired, stressed but persevering editor-in-chief similar to our own Brandon Ladd, the eccentric writers popping in and out to work on their own sections including those that haunt the office to goof around, and the unique blend of interests all working in clockwork to produce the magazine. There are college classes taught on the image of the journalist in pop culture, with one by that exact name taught by the fantastic professor Eileen Gilligan here at SUNY Oswego, and the film shows an excel-
lent modern viewpoint. The diversity of characters, with two of the feature writers being women and the third being a gay black man show a more modern take on what the magazine, having been set in the 1950s through 1970s, was still a male-dominated field. Anderson’s take on a unique profession blends seamlessly with its real-life inspiration, albeit as an exaggerated take on it. The strange profession of journalism requires strange people, and Anderson’s satirical interpretation provides an excellent lens to view through. While other Anderson films like “The Royal Tenenbaums” and “The Darjeeling Limited” are all still comedy-dramas but have more central and mildly depressing themes, “The French Dispatch” does not make these the focus. Instead, the film presents the information like a magazine article or a reporter would, presenting the facts and leaving interpretation mostly to the viewer instead of long-winded monologues classic in drama films. However, while “The French Dispatch” does begin and end with an important death, it is not a depressing film. Instead, the creative paths each writer and the editor took only inspires future works, especially for viewers in journalism or broadcasting.
C6
FRIDAY, Nov. 12, 2021
Crossword Puzzle
Across
Sudoku Fill in the grid so that each row, column and 3x3 block contains 1-9 exactly once.
1. Beach toy 5. Entire amount 8. Top pilots 12. Moreover 13. MGM lion 14. “Star ____” 15. Fly alone 16. St. Louis’s state 18. Dissertation 20. City railways 21. Slackens 22. Watertight coating 26. Wanderers 28. Sandra ____ (“Gidget”) 29. Radio spots 32. Jargon 33. Poet’s “yet” 34. Grown boys 35. Show up 37. Summer drink (2 wds.) 39. Theater walkway
43. Before, to Shakespeare 44. Andean animals 45. Sit as on a horse 49. Bites 50. Ode 51. Fawn’s mama 52. In addition 53. Jedi master 54. Portugal’s cont. 55. Views
Down
1. Glue 2. Luau greeting 3. The British ____ 4. Make less tight 5. Gifts to charity 6. Hawaiian wreath 7. ____ Gatos 8. Lagoon’s boundary 9. Christian military expedition
10. Always, poetically 11. Enjoy the slopes 17. Not year-round 19. In quarantine 22. December visitor 23. Brim 24. Once called 25. Hamilton bill 27. Tick’s kin 29. French friend 30. Christmas mo. 31. Scoffed 36. Keaton and Sawyer 38. Serious play 40. Look happy 41. Slip-up 42. Curved letters 44. Sly glance 45. Double agent 46. Moreover 47. ‘50s monogram 48. Yankee ____ Gehrig
For this week’s puzzle answers ...Aykroyd 51. Rather or Go to Oswegonian.com and click on the Laker Review tab!
LAKER REVIEW
FRIDAY, Nov. 5, 2021
C7
Shea McCarthy
Jacob Fallat