SA TALKS ABOUT ITS INVOLVEMENT IN DIVERSITY WEEK A5
WRITER TALKS ABOUT TAKING CHANCE AT LOVE B5
PLAYOFF WEEKEND IN PLATTSBURGH B1
Friday, March 4, 2016 • Volume 94, Issue 5 • cardinalpointsonline.com • 50 cents
JOB OUTLOOK
PERSONALITY PROVIDES OPPORTUNITIES IN FINDING WORK
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Alliance fights heroin overdoses By Marissa Russo associate news editor
Across the street from Plattsburgh State’s Ausable Hall, at 202 Cornelia St., there is a small building with a sign with “Mind Tuning,” printed on it with a list of various health offices the building has to offer. However, one service inside the building is not listed on the sign — the Alliance for Positive Health. The Alliance offers several services to its patients, including HIV and STI testing and care management for chronic diseases, such as diabetes and asthma. It also provides naloxone — commonly known by its brand name, Narcan — training to anyone over the age of 16 to prevent opioid overdose. The center also provides a service that few are aware of: the Syringe Exchange Program. The program, which provides safe, clean syringes to patients on a confidential basis, began in January 2015, and the Alliance Center has enrolled 113 patients and helped in 26 opioid overdose reversals with their Narcan kits as of July 2015. The program helps patients suffering from drug addiction or chronic illness receive clean medical supplies in order to prevent disease caused by dirty needles. The program, founded by Plattsburgh Regional Director of the Alliance Center Diana Aguglia, was originally created to prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS, as well as hepatitis C. Aguglia said there has been an in-
Photo Provided/Diana Aguglia
A Narcan kit offers essential materials for trained overdose responders to use in case of an emergency. The Center advises responders who administer Narcan to call 911 immediately during overdose. crease of both hepatitis C and opioid overdoses, and the Alliance Center is looking to help “tackle the problem.” “It is one of the very few spots close to campus that really focuses on prevention,” PSUC Alcohol and Other Drug Educator Janis Krug said of the Alliance Center. She said that in the 2014 Core Survey, which measures drug and alcohol use and perceptions among students at PSUC, students had a low percentage of opiate use, with 1.2 percent of the students surveyed having reported using drugs in the opioid category
Judaic Studies program arrives By Markiesha Thompson staff writer
Plattsburgh State Students can gain historical perspectives and earn college credit at the same time. Jewish history and culture classes have been offered at PSUC for years. Now, students have the option to take a minor and have the opportunity to learn about Judaism, its history and its contributions to Western culture. Students can learn about Jewish culture in the introduction to Judaism class. Reading the Jewish tradition and the adolescent self: Anne Frank’s diary teaches students about Jewish traditions, the story of Anne Frank and adolescent journal writing. Students can also take Jewish history topics courses, such as Israeli culture, Jewish art, Holocaust in history, and American mass media and the Jewish experience. Course requirements can be found on PSUC’s website. The campus also offers a time to observe and honor those who died in one of most recognizable genocides in human history.
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The Days of Remembrance is the annual Holocaust commemoration on campus, and it takes place in the Douglas and Evelyne Skopp Memorial Gallery in Feinberg Library. The gallery lets students view artwork from Elizabethtown Community Hospital Doctor of General Medicine Herbert Savel, who has created wood carvings of children who were killed in the Holocaust. While students are visiting the commemoration or doing classwork, they can find a collection of books about Jewish history. The program also offers other ways for students to learn about Jewish culture. The Douglas R. Skopp Visiting Scholars on the Theme of the Holocaust, part of the Days of Remembrance, features speakers who tell their stories of survival. The Douglas R. Skopp Creative Competition offers students a chance to submit a creative work toward the contest and win $250 for first place. For second place, $100 will be given in two See LEARN, A2
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within the last year. “There’s a lot of normalizing that happens at the college age,” Krug said. “You see other students that are drinking or using drugs, and it kind of makes it feel like it’s OK to do.” A patient wishing to enroll in the Syringe Exchange Program participates in the intake process, which assesses the patient’s needs based on their situation and medical standing. While the patient is not required to present their name, they must provide the substance or medication they in-
ject and how often to ensure they are given the right-size syringe as well as correct medical supplies and treatment options. Aside from the syringes, the center dispenses all of the necessary supplies to aid in injection, with the exception of the substance or medication itself. Patients are given access to plastic water bottles, saline and various health supplies. The Alliance for Positive Health Harm Reduction Supervisor Taylor Gibbons said the center gives patients “hospitality kits” that contain items such as tissues, cot-
ton swabs and other necessities “a lot of the patients do not have.” Gibbons said patients can sometimes be hesitant to come in for help but are “always very honest and very appreciative.” After enrolling, the patient receives a personalized identification card. Gibbons said the cards do not include personal information, but it does give the cardholder a unique ID number. Gibbons said the center does not encourage patients to use or abuse illegal substances, and they do not allow patients to receive those substances on the premises, as that can “jeopardize the integrity of the program.” The Syringe Exchange Program does not only provide clean syringes, but it also helps in retrieving and discarding used needles as well. Since the program began, the Alliance Center has removed 52,000 syringes off Plattsburgh streets and grounds of surrounding areas. Aguglia said retrieval sweeps are conducted throughout the community in “high-risk” and “high-traffic” areas. Those wishing to discard needles can safely do so at the Alliance Center. They do not need to be enrolled in the Syringe Exchange Program, and it is free of charge. Gibbons and Aguglia said patients are more likely to seek treatment after enrolling in the program. The Alliance Center helps participants find rehabilitation facilities and assists
See SAFE, A3
Graphic by Nickolas Cavaliere
$4M deficit looms over campus By Tim Lyman news editor
The college plans to cut $550,000 from its budget due to a declining student population, and although other SUNY campuses face this trend, budget cuts also affect the student body. Student Association President Michael Kimmer said that while the SA hasn’t felt the effects of budget cuts yet, he has thought about raising the mandatory SA fee any-
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where from $10 to $25 per semester per student. He said no choices have officially been made, but this would result in more funding for events, clubs and organizations on campus, and the college could then allocate its existing resources to other areas on campus. Kimmer said the current SA fee of $87.50 per student per semester is more affordable than the college’s semesterly technology and intercollegiate athletic fees — $178.50 and $205.50,
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respectively. He also said a modest raise would not financially burden students. “I’m putting myself into quite a significant amount of debt,” Kimmer said. “We represent the students, and we provide some of the most enriching student experiences through our funding of clubs and organizations and the events we put on.” He said if the SA fee were raised, currently enrolled students would pay current fees without any change
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to student expenses. This change, if it is finalized and approved, would apply only to incoming freshmen and transfer students. Vice President of Administration for Business Affairs John Homburger said PSUC tuition revenue is deposited locally and then transferred to Albany. PSUC received more than $500,000 in interest from deposited tuition revenue in 2006, and after
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See MONEY, A8