The Statesman 9-23-19 by The Statesman

Monday, September 23, 2019

Volume LXIII, Issue 5

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Stony Brook marches for suicide prevention

Stony Brook plans to loosen hiring restrictions

By Samantha Robinson

By Gary Ghayrat

Salvatore Fratto stood in front of a crowd of more than 100 people waiting to hear him play with a broken guitar. The Center for Prevention and Outreach (CPO) asked him to play a song at a rally in the Student Activities Center before the second annual Walk of Hope. Fratto, a senior English major and jazz minor, wrote the song himself based on his own personal experiences. He titled it, “Who’s Got It Better Than You?” after something his dad used to tell him when he was upset. He was only a few chords into the song when a string on his guitar broke. “It just broke. The string broke,” Fratto said into the microphone. He attempted to keep playing, but without the string, his strumming was stilted, so the crowd took over from there. They began to clap along to the beat while Fratto strummed lightly and sang.

handed them out to students with sayings such as, “Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem” and “Stop suicide.” “I believe that removing stigmas and those sorts of negative connotations with suicide prevention and awareness is important,” Ferrara said. “There’s no reason for it. There’s no purpose for it. It’s the 21st century. We’re here to be active.” Richard Gatteau, the vice president of Student Affairs and Dean

The university will be loosening its hiring restrictions after “substantial progress” was made towards stabilizing the university budget, Interim President Michael Bernstein announced during a University Senate meeting on Monday, Sept. 9. Departments that have approved and balanced budgets will now go through fewer layers of review and a more speedy hiring process, though ones without will continue to be scrutinized, Bernstein said. Bernstein didn’t specify which departments those might be. “We’re starting to, quote, ‘liberalize’ the hiring process, but we’re not unleashing it completely, not just yet,” Bernstein said. Since stepping in after former president Samuel Stanley announced his departure to

Continued on page 4

Editor-in-Chief

Assistant News Editor

EMMA HARRIS / THE STATESMAN

SBU football team runs onto the field at the opening of the game on Saturday, Sept. 21 at the Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium. The Seawolves took down the Fordham Rams 45-10. The walk — which took place on Wednesday, Sept. 18, during National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month — was meant to promote suicide prevention. It was created last year with the goal to generate a productive conversation about mental health, Danielle Merolla, the assistant director for CPO, said. “We need to be able to communicate about this,” Merolla said. “We need to make sure people don’t feel alone. They need to feel educated, knowledgeable and know their resources. We know that the body and mind are

connected. If we truly want our students to do well, we need to make sure they’re taking care of their minds as well.” Tables at the rally held boards with information on Stony Brook’s mental health resources and whiteboards that read, “I walk because … ” Students were able to complete the sentence; some responses included: “Every life matters” and “I care.” A volunteer from the Student Health Advisory Committee, junior health science major Gina Ferrara, stood behind a table with pins scattered across it. She

New York announces emergency ban on flavored electronic cigarette liquids By Alek Lewis

Contributing Writer

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced an emergency ban on flavored electronic cigarette liquids on Sunday, Sept. 15, following a rash of lung illnesses linked to vaping in teenagers and young adults. With seven deaths and the number of reported illnesses and hospitalizations growing to around 530, organizations such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are warning against vaping, especially products that contain tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). Most vaping products that contain THC also contain vitamin E acetate, according to samples tested by the FDA. The vitamin E acetate is present in topical consumer products or dietary supplements, and the agency is unsure of its effects when inhaled. Though the FDA isn’t sure if the substance is connected to the mysterious illness leaving its victims fatigued, nauseous and short of breath, it urges consumers to “avoid buying vaping products on

the street, and to refrain from using THC oil or modifying/adding any substances to products purchased in stores.” New York is also raising the age required to purchase vaping products from 18 to 21 starting Nov. 13. Additionally, Cuomo plans to introduce legislation to stop the marketing and advertising of products toward young people. “Vaping is dangerous,” Cuomo said in a press conference on Sunday. “It’s addicting millions of young people to nicotine at a very early age, some would argue even earlier than cigarettes.” In addition to the New York State emergency regulations, the Trump administration announced on Sept. 11 a potential federal regulation on the tobacco market that would ban flavored e-cigarettes and vaporizers — an attempt to deter teenagers and young adults from using tobacco products. A clinical associate professor at the Renaissance School of Medicine who’s researched e-cigarette

use among youths, Rachel Boykan, agreed with the government’s warning. She explained that the vapor from an e-cigarette is actually a powerful aerosol that is technically a gas. “People call it vaping, and those of us who work in this area, we do refer to it as vaping to communicate with people, but if you talk to people who do research on it, they really call it an aerosol,” she said. “The aerosol has things in it that we are just learning about.” Boykan suspects the components of aerosol’s nano-particles in combination withb vitamin E oil could cause respiratory irritation. “I don’t think it’s safe to say it’s only modified vaping products (and many of the “regular” products can be modified),” she wrote in an email. “There are plenty of potential explanations from regular products – including [toxins like] nanoparticles, heavy metals such as copper, polyethylene glycol and vegetable glycerin (implicated in some animal studies), and the flavorings – many of which are known respiratory irritants.”

Multimedia

Arts & Culture

Students and their families enjoyed games and crafts.

Charles B. Wang Center hosts Korean Culture exhibit.

CommUniversity Day photo gallery.

MORE ON PAGE 10

Football dominates at home. MORE ON PAGE 12

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Monday, September 23, 2019

NEWS

Stony Brook hosts its second annual Walk of Hope Stony Brook "liberalizes" the hiring process Continued from page 1

of Students, attended the rally. He urged the Stony Brook community to speak openly about the topic in hopes that it would encourage people to step forward about their mental health. “Suicide is a very real and a growing problem in our society and also on our college campuses,” Gatteau said. “It is the second leading cause of death among college students. We can and must work together to support each other. We know that mental health matters, and it is essential to our Seawolves’ overall success and well being here at Stony Brook.” Fratto was the last act at the rally before the march started. With his broken guitar, he sang, “I waste all my time thinking maybe tomorrow things will change for the better. Well I know I better get out of my head. Maybe my father was right all along when he said, ‘who’s

got it better, who’s got it better than you?’” With an enthusiastic round of applause for Fratto and a quick rehearsal of the chants, “Walk of Hope” participants took to the academic mall to promote suicide prevention. Students and faculty raised signs with sayings like, “Tomorrow needs you,” “You can and you will” and “Be the one to follow up,” while marching through campus after the rally. They chanted: “We are valued, we are loved, we are not alone.” A large section of the crowd was composed of members of Stony Brook Athletics. Teams like Football, Women’s and Men’s Lacrosse, Tennis and Swimming and Diving were present. Margaret Ross, a sophomore sociology major on the cross country and track and field teams, said SBU Athletics felt moved to come. “We all tried to come out because it’s such an amazing cause,” Ross said. “This past weekend, we [SBU Ath-

letics] had a talk from Tyler Hilinski’s family, who was a quarterback at Washington State and took his own life last January. So I think it’s a really fresh and raw idea for all of us.” Following the march, all attendees were invited into the Sidney Gelber Auditorium, where they were met with another performance. Swallow This!, a student improv group who portrays real student experiences, performed “messages of hope and care” that the CPO has been collecting from the Stony Brook community, Merolla said. The group read some of the messages: “You are brave, and you are worth it,” “I’m going to be good to me, so you can be good to you” and “Please know there are people who genuinely care. I may not know you, but I do care.” The performers then took turns reading off their own messages of hope. Emily Pulver, a senior anthropology major, said,

“The fight is not over, so keep on fighting.” Jessica Saley, senior programmer/ analyst for the Division of Information Technology, told the crowd she lost her husband to suicide in July of 2016. She was left a widow and a single mother. “I’m here to tell you what I tell my son: His daddy had a sick brain,” Saley said. “Just like when someone has a sick heart, they have a heart attack, and your dad had a brain attack. There is help out there for both, especially on this campus.” Merolla encouraged the crowd to be active in the fight against suicide. She said it could save someone’s life. “This is Suicide PreventionMonth; we are reaching out to those who are struggling and remembering those who we have lost,” she said. “It takes one person who could change the trajectory of someone’s day, week and even life. We all matter in this.”

Continued from page 1 Michigan State University in late May, former provost Bernstein announced “modest investments” in multiple campus initiatives and departments in an email with a budget update sent out on Aug. 1. Stanley first announced the hiring freeze in March of last year in part to grapple with an $18 million budget shortfall, according to his budget message in 2018. A series of budget cuts also swept through departments, and some part-time faculty members were let go as the university faced mounting pressure to balance its budget and pay down what was once a $35 million deficit.

“It’s a step back towards normalcy. We have to see that his [Bernstein] action matches his rhetoric for over the next year.” -Frederick Walter Senate member and astronomy professor

BERNARD SANCHEZ / THE STATESMAN

Students participate in the Walk of Hope on Wednesday, Sept. 18, along the Academic Mall. The walk occurred during National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, which was meant to promote suicide prevention.

Growing number fall ill from mysterious vaping illnesses Continued from page 1 The ban of flavored e-liquids will directly affect Stony Brook University students who vape. Hannah Johnson, a sophomore biology major, has been using a vaporizer with flavoring since high school. She prefers fruity flavors such as mango, she said. “Everybody at my high school had them — a lot of people in my friend group — and I got one just because they did,” she said. Johnson can’t keep count of the number of hits she takes during the day. She was upset that flavored e-liquids could see tighter restric-

tions, but understood that this will help people quit. She said she never expected that vaping would kill people. Lenny James, a sophomore biology major, only started vaping last week. James said he takes a few hits a day. “I just wanted a quick buzz every now and again,” he said. “It’s better than getting high all the time.” James said that the six deaths doctors believe are associated with vaping-related illnesses seem inadequate for the government to act on. “I just feel like so many people die from so many other things, like the opioid crisis, which has claimed a whole bunch [of lives],

and other issues that aren’t health related at all, such as bullying and mental health,” James said. “I don’t think that’s a big enough number yet.” Vincent Termini, a senior political science major, started vaping in high school with a JUUL. He has started using a STIG vaporizer after JUUL stopped making the flavors he likes. “Honestly a few of my friends had it,” he said. “I wasn’t about it. I thought it was stupid at first, and then I was out one night, I tried it and said ‘this is kinda cool,’ and then it snowballed from there,” he said. Termini said that he understands why the government might ban flavored e-liquid and

that the flavoring is the reason why he started vaping. “I 100% would have never touched a cigarette or any nicotine stuff if it wasn’t for a mango flavored JUUL,” he said. “Me personally, I’m hooked on this because of the flavored stuff.” Termini said it would be hard for him to keep vaping after the regulation was implemented. He pointed out that the government hasn’t banned cigarettes, even though it has been known that they cause lung disease for decades. But for now, Termini admits he’s hooked. “I do want to stop,” he said. “I’ve tried to stop multiple times. It’s harder than it looks. It’s easier said than done.”

“One of the more painful parts of our process has been the hiring hold,” Bernstein said. “And this position control process has been very difficult and challenging for all the units, -both academic and administrative.” Frederick Walter, a member of the senate and professor of astronomy, said he was “cautiously optimistic” about the announcement. “It’s a good thing, even if it’s not across the board,” Walter said. “It’s a step back towards normalcy. We have to see that his action matches his rhetoric for over the next year.” Joanne Souza, director of Biology Online and a lecturer in the Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology at Stony Brook, was also pleased with the announcement. “You know exactly what’s going in and out of your budget,” Souza said. “The planning now has become much more on our side than on the administration side. But [we also have to] keep our budgets in line.”

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MULTIMEDIA

The second annual Walk of Hope took place on Wednesday, Sept. 18. The Walk of Hope is a march dedicated to suicide prevention. The event was put on by the Center for Prevention and Outreach on campus. Photos by Bernard Sanchez

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CommUniversity Day took place on Saturday, Sept. 21 during Stony Brook Universityâ€™s annual family weekend. Students and their families enjoyed games, crafts and food throughout the day. Photos by Amaya McDonald and Emma Harris

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Monday, September 23, 2019

ARTS & CULTURE

“Korea: A Land of Hats” exhibition comes to Charles B. Wang Center By Anna Correa Staff Writer

The “Korea: A Land of Hats” exhibition opened on Sept. 10 at the Charles B. Wang Center, displaying over 500 years of culture through the works of several living master artisans from South Korea. Attendees were encouraged to wear hats to celebrate the opening ceremony. The hat exhibition was created for foreigners in a contemporary perspective. It is based on the perspective of a foreigner in Korea in the late 19th century, Seung-Hee Yoo, the Museum Director said. It is supported by the “Traveling Korean Arts” project of the Korean Foundation for International Cultural Exchange and the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism of the Republic of Korea. Hats used to be essential items in everyday Korean wardrobe during the Choson dynasty (1392-1910). The size, shape and color of the hat can reflect the social status, age, marital status, season of the year, class, gender and occupation of the individual. Wearing hats was a practice of those from authoritative figures to merchants. “Korea was occupied by Japan in the early 19th century and because of the occupation, Korean culture like this almost disappeared, but if the government stepped in when Korea was all

BERNARD SANCHEZ / THE STATESMAN

People attending the art exhibition "Korea: A Land of Hats" opening on Sept. 10, 2019 in the Wang Center. freed and liberated, it would have disappeared altogether,” artisan Park Hyung Park said. “They thought it was important to establish Korean traditions.” Prints and journal entries by Paul Jacoulet and Elizabeth Keith complement the exhibition. They were travelers who visited Korea in the 20th century and showed the Western perspective on Korean hat culture. There are also written publications from the collection of Young-Dahl Song and photos from the collection of Norman Thorpe that are on loan, used to supplement the gallery. The exhibit was first displayed in 2010 at the Coreana Cosmetics Museum, South Korea’s largest museum specializing in cosmetics and preserving cosmetic

culture of ancient Korean women. It was a temporary exhibit which lasted for six months. The display is split into several categories: women’s hats, court official’s hats, men’s indoor caps, horsehair hats, top hats and hats from people of various classes and social statuses, such as those of noblemen, government officials and commoners. History and context are also provided. The four artisans who make up the exhibition are considered cultural assets. “The artisans here, we don’t have an American concept of it, but in Korea, there’s something called intangible cultural asset,” Rachel Kim, student assistant and translator for the evening said. “The peo-

ple themselves are national treasures. They’re super important. They receive funding from the government just to make these hats.” According to a display called “Preservation of Cultural Heritage,” Park Chang Young is the master artisan and horsehair hat maker. He’s been passing down his skills to his son Park Hyung Park, continuing the hat-making tradition that has been passed down for five generations. Park Sung Ho, a master of formal headgear, displays his royal court hats for both men and women. Yu Seon Hee, a certified trainee for traditional Korean quilting, specializes in women’s headwear. The type of materials used in the hat-making process can be silk, horsehair and bamboo with tools made out of wood and metal to shape the hat. Making a hat is a labor intensive task. Two artisans make a top hat, known as the Gat. The two month process consists of one person working on the crown of the hat, and the other person working on the brim. The exhibit says that the top crown is made of horsehair and the brim is made from thin strands of bamboo fiber. The artisans in the Gat part of the exhibit are in charge of creating the crown and putting the hat together. The hats displayed are mostly used by middle-class individuals.

“I like the more high ranking hats, what the officials would wear, the high ranking officers,” Michael Buckley, junior mechanical engineering major, said. “They looks [sic] pretty neat. [I like] the culture and how it represents status.” The opening reception was popular with both students and locals. The men’s hat-making workshop was sold out. “The jeweled hats, of which the current one is used by the brides, is really pretty,” Fran Carpten, a retired teacher from Massapequa Park, said. The women’s ceremonial cornet was adorned with vividly colored embellishments in flower and fan shapes. She wanted to see what pertained to status in Korean society because she was interested in cultural anthropology. The exhibition ends on Dec. 15 and is being displayed in the Skylight and Zodiac Gallery. On the wall, visitors to the exhibit could appreciate an inscription that highlights the cultural importance of hats to Korea: “Korea seems to be the land of hats: all sorts of hats are made there, and nowhere have I seen such variety: from the golden cardboard worn by the provincial governor to the most humble headband of the peasants,” French explorer Charles Varat wrote in “Deux voyages en Corée” (1892).

Staller Center brings Shakespeare's "Hamlet" to Stony Brook University

By Patrick Tuminski Contributing Writer

This weekend, the Staller Center for the Arts brought the Royal National Theatre’s performance of “Hamlet” to Stony Brook University. One of William Shakespeare’s most well-known tragedies starred Benedict Cumberbatch as the titular character and Lynsey Turner as the production’s director. The production was rebroadcast to the Staller Center in order to celebrate the National Theatre’s 10 years of programs. The event coincided with Stony Brook University’s CommUniversity day and the theater was packed with families coming to enjoy Cumberbatch’s performance in this timeless play. Cumberbatch gives an incredibly emotional performance as Hamlet, which teetered on the edge of passion without crossing into something over the top. He has an incredible supporting cast, including stars like Game of Thrones actor, Ciaran Hinds; Lawrence Olivier Award Winner, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith; renowned British television actress, Sian Brooke and British Academy Television award nominee, Anastasia Hills. Karl Johnson also shows his range both in an incredibly powerful scene as the ghost of King Hamlet and later as a lowly gravedigger who provides excellent comedic relief to the grim final act of the play. The National

PUBLIC DOMAIN

Poster of the Royal National Theatre’s production of "Hamlet," starring actor Benedict Cumberbatch.

Theatre displayed an impeccable set design that allows the audience to get lost in its detail. The powerful musical and lighting cues set the tone for the performance. The fiery light that fills the dining hall during the beginning of the play, the ghostly glow that follows the dead king and the aura of light which surrounds Hamlet during his monologues are just a few examples of excellent uses of light. Christopher Shutt’s excellent score plays an equally important role, highlighting the tone of the play with beating drums or harsh silence. They accompany the eerie and frantic movement of the transition scenes which further add to the tension of the story. These transitions build to a stunning set change just before the intermission wherein the stage is flooded with ashes in what was perhaps the darkest scene in the play. The intensity of this scene is present for the rest of the performance — a feeling of desolation and loss which only grows until the final climax. Lynsey Turner’s direction and choice of scenery set the play ambiguously in the early 20th century, giving the play an industrial setting. The choice of setting allows interesting innovations to the centuries-old play, though the

interview-shy director has not offered a public reason as to why. The aesthetic, however, complements the dark themes of the story.

“The fiery light that fills the dining hall during the beginning of the play, the ghostly glow that follows the dead king ...” Coming into this play as a relative novice to Shakespeare, I had very little idea of what to expect. I was assuming the old bard’s play, first performed over 400 years ago, to be dense and hard to follow. The performers of the Royal National Theatre, however, were able to transform the play into something easy to follow. The powerful topics of the play, which deal with ideas of abuse, disillusionment and suicide, are still relevant to our modern existence.

The Statesman

Arts & Culture

Monday, September 23, 2019

"Borderlands 3" nails the chaotic fun of the first two installments By Alexander Bakirdan

Assistant Arts and Culture Editor

Anarchy is in again. “Borderlands 3” is back, and it brought with it all the things that made the series’s first two installments so beloved. Loot, jokes and great characters bring enjoyment and heart to the series after seven long years without an installment in the main series. This review won’t spoil any of the games’ main stories, so if you haven’t had a chance to play it much — or at all — there’s no need to worry. Loot is almost in every corner in the game and there are hidden treats for the player to find littered all over an enormous map. Be prepared though: some of these secrets are quite hard to find. I spent over an hour with a friend trying to figure out where the last hidden checkpoint (called a “Typhon box”) was on one map to unlock a hidden loot crate. The game is clearly designed to make you explore the map. As a completionist, this is an absolute dream come true. I enjoyed being able to explore freely, feeling like I had made a good chunk of progress only to check on the map and see it read something like “53% complete.” This time around, the humor is somewhat a hit or miss. There are some very funny moments, but some of the jokes completely miss their mark. The problem with this is that some of the jokes are long and it takes a while to arrive at the punch line. Sometimes they land and the reward is

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"Borderlands 3" official poster. The video game's third installment is chaos incarnate. It comes with a lot of anticipation and excitement, seven years after the release of the second part in the series. a good bit of laughter, but when they miss, the groan is made more painful by the amount of time you’ve spent waiting for it. The gameplay, however, is incredible. Shotguns have been significantly revamped since “Borderlands 2;” a well-placed shot will send enemies flying backward. It’s comical at first but becomes pretty useful as a crowd-control strategy later in the game. All of the gunplay feels improved, and there are a variety of new features as well. Some guns can switch elements; a corrosive gun can become an incendiary gun with just the press of a button, making the weapons at your disposal more versatile than ever before and giving you a variety of ways to approach enemies. The enemies have been redesigned too. The game’s trade-

“... Psychos are still around, but now they can be both male and female.” mark Psychos are still around, but now they can be both male and female. This — along with an assortment of new enemies — makes the world feel more alive and immersive. On top of this, the boss design has improved as well. The main villains are intriguing, but other bosses stand out more, with designs that are sometimes incredibly bizarre in the best possible way; Gigamind — like the name suggests — is

essentially a giant brain with a robotic suit. I haven’t had a chance to play all the new vault hunters yet, but I latched onto FL4K particularly hard on the game’s release. They get a choice of three different pets, so how can you not want to play as them? FL4K, like all of “Borderlands 3”’s playable characters, has three skill trees. Their skill trees open up three distinctly different play styles for them, and each of their pets gives FL4K a nice attacking bonus to help keep their enemies at bay in one of the Borderlands series’s most creative character designs yet. There are flaws of course. In split-screen, the game struggles with frame rate drops, especially when one of the players opens the menu to organize loot or use a skill point. This can get frus-

Another hilarious critique of politically correct culture

Burr takes his physical comedy further in this special than in any other he’s ever done, emulating his jokes on stage with a highest form of mockery.

By Alek Lewis

Contributing Writer

On Sept. 10, Bill Burr’s sixth hour-long stand-up special, “Bill Burr: Paper Tiger,” debuted on Netflix, sporting the streaming service labels “provocative” and “politically incorrect.” Following in the footsteps of Dave Chappelle’s latest special “Sticks and Stones,” Burr looks through a lens of unbridled frustration to critique today’s society, brilliantly satirizing the illogical intricacies of controversial topics such as postmodern feminism and the #MeToo movement. Filmed over two sold out nights at the Royal Albert Hall in London, the live audience reactions seemed mixed in the first half hour, unsure if they were allowed to laugh at Burr’s controversial statements. Burr recognizes his material is controversial, but he also recognizes it succeeds in its criticism. He knows what statement he’s making. “By the way, this is gonna be my last show ever by the time this f***ing thing comes out,” Burr interjects in the middle of a joke. However controversial it might be, the material is hilarious. Burr’s trademark style is consistent throughout the special. He is the epitome of the phrase “fiery redhead,” even though he is now bald. His aggressive tone

“His aggressive tone shines throughout his comedy; it complements his material like peanut butter to jelly.”

PUBLIC DOMAIN

A poster for comedian Bill Burr's Netflix standup special. It is his sixth hour-long special. shines throughout his comedy; it complements his material like peanut butter to jelly. Aside from the controversy that takes up the first half of the hour, Burr jokes cleverly about robots, physicist Stephen Hawking and pregnancy.

He focuses largely on his own issues with anger and burying emotions. These stories give a glimpse into Burr’s personal life that allow his audience to empathize and connect with him while also enjoy his comedy.

This gives Burr an energy that — along with his volume — keeps our eyes and ears glued to him at all times. Burr’s comedy is aging like fine wine, to me anyway. If you get offended easily or are not in the mood to discuss controversy, I would shy away from this special. As for the audience with a thicker skin who would love to enjoy some risqué, merciless comedy, I would highly recommend “Bill Burr: Paper Tiger” on Netflix.

trating at times, but it didn’t stop me from having tons of fun throughout my playthrough. I only encountered a crash once in the twenty hours or so that I played, and the game autosaves so frequently that it didn’t affect my progress at all. It should be noted, however, that the base versions of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One will have a harder time running the game consistently at 60 FPS than their more advanced counterparts. I still haven’t managed to search every nook and cranny of the game and I still have plenty of missions to complete, so it looks like “Borderlands 3” is going to keep me coming back for quite a while. I can’t wait to see how Gearbox expands upon the story with the content update coming for the Halloween season.

Need a Break?! Unwind and play these fun video games! Nintendo Switch: • "The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening" Sept. 20 • "Luigi's Mansion 3" Oct. 31 • "Pokémon Sword and Shield" - Nov. 15 • "Doom Eternal" Nov. 22 PS4, Xbox and PC: • "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare" - Oct. 25 • "Death Stranding" (PS4) - Nov. 8 • "Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order" - Nov. 15 • "Doom Eternal" Nov. 22 • "Life Is Strange 2: Episode 5" - Dec. 3 iOS Releases • "Mario Kart Tour" Sept. 25 • "Gwent: The Witcher Card Game" - Oct. 29

OPINIONS Editor-in-Chief....................Gary Ghayrat Managing Editor..............Karina Gerry Managing Editor..........Chris Parkinson News Editor..............................................................Brianne Ledda Arts & Culture Editor..............................................Melissa Azofeifa Sports Editor.................................................................Ryan Pavich Opinions Editor...........................................................Gabby Pardo Multimedia Editor........................................................Sara Ruberg Copy Chief..........................................................Alexa Anderwkavich Assistant News Editor..................................................Maya Brown Assistant News Editor......................................Samantha Robinson Assistant Arts & Culture Editor..........................Alexander Bakirdan Assistant Multimedia Editor.....................................Emma Harris Assistant Opinions Editor...........................................Cindy Mizaku Assistant Sports Editor..................................................Ethan Tam Assistant Sports Editor.............................................Andrew Zucker Assistant Copy Editor..............................................Donovan Alexis Assistant Copy Editor.....................................................Karla Rios Assistant Copy Editor..............................................Michelle Wong Advertising Manager ............................................. Kaylee McAllister

Contact us: Phone: 631-632-6479 Fax: 631-632-9128 Web: www.sbstatesman.com To contact the Editor-in-Chief and Managing Editors about organizational comments, questions, suggestions, corrections or photo permission, email editors@sbstatesman.com. To reach a specific section editor: News Editor.....................................news@sbstatesman.com Arts & Entertainment Editor.............arts@sbstatesman.com Sports Editor..................................sports@sbstatesman.com Opinions Editor..........................opinions@sbstatesman.com Multimedia Editor..................multimedia@sbstatesman.com Copy Chief.......................................copy@sbstatesman.com The Statesman is a student-run, student-written incorporated publication at Stony Brook University in New York. The paper was founded as The Sucolian in 1957 at Oyster Bay, the original site of Stony Brook University. In 1975, The Statesman was incorporated as a not-for-profit, student-run organization. Its editorial board, writers and multimedia staff are all student volunteers. New stories are published online every day Monday through Thursday. A print issue is published every Monday during the academic year and is distributed to many on-campus locations, the Stony Brook University Hospital and over 70 off-campus locations. The Statesman and its editors have won several awards for student journalism and several past editors have gone on to enjoy distinguished careers in the field of journalism. Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat @ sbstatesman. Disclaimer: Views expressed in columns or in the Letters and Opinions section are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Statesman. The Statesman promptly corrects all errors of substance published in the paper. If you have a question or comment about the accuracy or fairness of an article please send an email to editors@sbstatesman.com. First issue free; additional issues cost $1.

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Students in Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium at the Stony Brook Football 2019 home opener on Aug. 29. This year, students cannot tailgate in the stadium lot for Homecoming.

Homecoming tailgate location should not move By Eric Wagner Contributing Writer

A common criticism of Stony Brook — from students, faculty and outside observers alike — is our lack of school spirit. We’re a prestigious school, academically ranked 91st in the country, with Division I sports teams. Despite this, our campus life is often quiet — receiving a B- in student life from Niche — and our stadium and on-campus events often have low attendance. As an Undergraduate Student Government (USG) Senator, these are some of the concerns I hear regularly from students. Homecoming is one of the few campus events with high attendance and genuine school pride. It’s a time when we come together as one campus community to tailgate and watch our D1 football team play to victory. Yet this fall semester — in a bizarre change — our usual tailgate could be at risk, as rumors of plans to cancel or move the Homecoming tailgate spread this past week. At this past week’s USG Senate meeting, I learned that students will not be allowed to use the usual location — the Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium Parking Lot — for tailgating. This year, we’re being forced out of that lot to make room for the Homecoming BBQ, an alumni barbecue with no benefit to the student body; the Homecoming Committee is currently

determining where to move the tailgate to. The decision was made by the Homecoming Committee, a small body comprised of different departments like Stony Brook Athletics and the University Police Department, which put out no official statements and sought no undergraduate student input. On Friday, Sept. 20, a select group of USG senators was allowed into a meeting to express their concerns. Although some student input is now being considered, it is two weeks until Homecoming, and there has been no public announcement to the student body about what is going on. The administration is looking for a place that would be sufficiently large enough for both students and cars, and is close enough to the game to make attendance actually worth it. Let’s be perfectly clear: there is no other spot on campus that meets this description. The Gym Road parking lot is too small to support tailgating. The North P and Railroad lots are too narrow and too small in general, while the South P and Student Activities Center parking lots are too far from the game. Tailgating makes Homecoming more than any of the other low-attended football games (unduly low, they’re actually a really good team); it lets the Stony Brook community come together and have one giant gathering before the game. Last year’s

homecoming game broke records, with the most attendance ever recorded in LaValle Stadium of 12,701 people. of having the most It’s one of the few events that every student can enjoy and show school spirit. For many students, it’s the motivating reason why Homecoming is the only game they come to all season. Students have made their opinion clear, recently circulating an online petition to keep tailgate in its usual location. It has already received over 1,100 signatures, gathered from concerned students spreading it through social media. Yet, the university still appears to prioritize the wants of everyone other than the student body. Despite what some on the Homecoming Committee may think, any attempts to move the Homecoming tailgate from its usual location will guarantee low attendance at the game. The alumni barbecue has been held for years in various locations, so there are other workable places for it to occur. The LaValle Stadium Parking Lot is a sacred ground for Homecoming. As undergraduate students who will someday decide whether to give back to our alma mater, we should call on the Homecoming Committee and the university to keep the tailgate in its usual location. Furthermore, we are owed full transparency going forward and tangible student representation on the Homecoming Committee to ensure undergraduate voices are heard for many graduating classes to come.

Corrections News The last names of Geoffrey Girnun were misspelled as “Ginrun” in the eighth paragraph of the article “Stony Brook professor charged with stealing cancer research funds” in the last issue (Volume LXIII, Issue 4).

Arts Photo caption in the article “Stony Brook Art Crawl 2019 is back with bigger art and bigger crowds” in the last issue (Volume LXIII, Issue 4) misstated that the event was the fourth annual art crawl. It was the 14th art crawl, which has been hosted since 2015, twice a semester. The article also misstated the number of people that showed up to the event. It should have been 50, not 30.

Opinions The article “SBU fails to go ‘Far Beyond’ with students” in the last issue (Volume LXIII, Issue 4) misstated that an indoor atheletic facility was a soccer stadium. To further clarify, the money used for the construction came from donors and not the university. The sentence “In other incidents that took place on campus, Title IX and other university authorities took no effective action,” in the article “Misandry in feminism is real and needs to be acknowledged more” in the last issue (Volume LXIII, Issue 4) should have read “In other incidents, which took place on campus...” to avoid the possibly wrongful impression that the previously stated incident happened on campus.

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SPORTS

Seawolves blow past Rams for final non-conference victory

By Andrew Zucker Assistant Sports Editor

From the opening kickoff to the final whistle, the Stony Brook University football team was in control of the game on Saturday, Sept. 21 versus the Fordham University Rams. The Seawolves, who took down the Rams 45-10, have now won 12 straight games at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium and moved to 3-1 on the season. The first play from scrimmage foreshadowed how the night would go. Fordham sophomore quarterback Tim DeMorat scrambled to his left and was forced to throw the ball out of bounds rather than get sacked by Seawolves redshirt-sophomore defensive lineman Casey Williams. From that play on, the Rams offensive line was unable to hold back the Seawolves’ defense. “Defensively, we dominated the line of scrimmage and stopped the run game early. If you stop the run, you normally control what goes on,” head coach Chuck Priore said in the postgame press conference. “So overall it was a good day.” The Seawolves defense continued their trend of not allowing opposing teams to gain many yards on the ground. The Rams garnered a mere 38-rushing yards.

Not only did Stony Brook cut off Fordham’s access to an open field, but they were also able to penetrate the Rams offensive line numerous times, leading to five sacks on the day to go along with 11 tackles for loss. Redshirt-freshman defensive lineman Makye Smith and redshirt-junior rover Augie Contressa had the biggest impacts on the defense Saturday night. Smith had two sacks for 12 yards, including a forced fumble and recovery late in the fourth. Contressa added three tackles for loss including a sack for a nine-yard loss. “We definitely emphasize as a team to set the rules. The mentally toughest teams set the rules, and we have been emphasizing on that a lot,” redshirt-junior defensive back TJ Morrison said in the post-game press conference. “If we all do our job, we’ll minimize the mistakes and be able to play to the best of our abilities as a defense.” While the defense was busy keeping the Rams off the scoreboard, the Seawolves offense had no issues keeping their rhythm going and putting points up on the board. In his first appearance since the week one victory versus Bryant, redshirt-freshman running back Ty Son Lawton got the ball rolling

with a five-yard touchdown run midway through the first quarter. The Seawolves quickly followed up with a career-long 44-yard field goal by redshirt-senior kicker Nick Courtney with 1:09 left in the first. By the time halftime arrived, Stony Brook was up 31-3, thanks to two touchdown receptions by redshirt-freshman tight end Isaiah Givens — which came less than three minutes apart — and a nine-yard touchdown run by redshirt-sophomore running back Seba Nekhet. Coming out of halftime, it appeared as though the Rams had finally figured out how to stop the Seawolves, following a third quarter in which Stony Brook lost a fumble, had a field goal blocked and punted. The Seawolves quickly regained their form in the fourth quarter following a 55-yard touchdown pass from redshirt-junior quarterback Tyquell Fields to graduate-transfer wide receiver Jean Constant. The Seawolves added insult to injury when Nekhet ran for a 35-yard touchdown with 7:27 left in the fourth, bringing the score to 45-3 Stony Brook. Fordham finally crossed the pylon with 5:51 left in the game when DeMorat slipped a 33-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Fotis Kokosioulis.

“Once again we are defined by our practice week. It was the best practice week we’ve have since we started preseason. We were the healthiest we were since the start of preseason too. Seba (Nekhet) and Isaiah (White) really stepped up tonight. Tyquell (Fields) was extremely accurate early, especially with the long ball and our kids made some plays,” Priore said in a press release. Fields finished the game completing nine passes for 232 yards including three touchdown passes, while the run game exploded for 368 yards led by Nekhet and redshirt-senior run-

ning back Isaiah White. Stony Brook ended the night with 601 yards of total offense on 68 plays while Fordham had 223 yards of total offense on 68 plays. Stony Brook has now completed their non-conference schedule, and their remaining eight games will be against fellow Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) foes. The Seawolves will begin conference play next Saturday, Sept. 28 on the road at Rhode Island, with kickoff set for 7 p.m. and will then return home to Long Island for Homecoming on Oct. 5 versus No. 2 ranked James Madison.

EMMA HARRIS/THE STATESMAN

Redshirt-sophomore running back Seba Nekhet during the game against Fordham on Sept. 21.

Volleyball takes one at Yale Invitational Lee’s goal lifts Stony Brook

By Ethan Tam

Assistant Sports Editor

Having just won their first home game of the season on Tuesday against St. Francis Brooklyn, the Stony Brook volleyball team played their final tournament to start the season in New Haven, Connecticut from Friday, Sept. 20 to Saturday, Sept. 21. In the Yale Invitational, the Seawolves dropped matches against host Yale as well as Army but notched their fourth victory of the year by defeating Sacred Heart in five sets. “[Saturday] was a mixed bag,” head coach Kristin Belzung said in a press release. “We were the most disciplined we have been defensively against Sacred Heart and gritted out a win. We turned around and lacked effort and care for our basic shot responsibilities and the consequence was an ugly loss to a smart and physical Army team. With America East play starting next week, we will look to tune up with a week of training before heading to Hartford.” Stony Brook currently stands at 4-10 with conference play in front of them. At this time last year, the team was 6-8 and two games deep into the 17-game winning streak that would send them to the NCAA Tournament. In Friday’s contest against the Yale Bulldogs, Stony Brook played close to begin the first set but saw Yale slowly slip away after three straight

kills put the Bulldogs up by six. An attack error from Pulver gave Yale the set, 25-17. Set two was more of the same, where the Bulldogs scored six points in a row to lead by nine and ultimately win 25-14. The third set was the most competitive of all, where the Seawolves used a 7-2 run to erase a five-point deficit and tie the score at 19. Two consecutive kills from Yale junior outside hitter Kathryn Attar would prove to be the dagger, giving the Bulldogs the set 25-21 and the sweep. Regrouping for Saturday morning’s bout versus the Sacred Heart Pioneers, Stony Brook quickly scored the first six points of the first set and never trailed. As the team’s lead was whittled down to two, the Seawolves secured the frame with four straight kills to end it 25-19, with three coming from freshman outside hitter Amiyah De’Long. Stony Brook appeared to be heading for a 2-0 match lead, having led Sacred Heart for almost all of the second set and holding onto a 23-21 advantage. The Pioneers managed to rack up four in a row to even the match up, utilizing two Seawolves attack errors and two kills from redshirt-senior outside hitter Makayla Dole. In set three, the Seawolves had to play from behind, staring down a 14-8 Pioneer lead, but narrowed it to one after a Pulver kill made the score 20-19. Sacred Heart ultimately took

the set 25-20 on a kill from sophomore setter Sarah Ciszek. With the Seawolves one set away from another disappointing loss, Sacred Heart jumped out to a 12-6 lead in the fourth set and appeared to be in the driver’s seat. Stony Brook refused to go down easily, stringing together four points in a row to force a Sacred Heart timeout. It was the start of a 10-2 run that put the Seawolves in the lead. Junior middle blocker Nicole Jones, who missed all of 2018, recorded the decisive kill to give Stony Brook the 25-19 win and force the winner-take-all fifth set. The fifth set was closely fought, and both teams found themselves with eight points apiece after after a back-and-forth struggle. Two Sacred Heart attack errors turned the tide in Stony Brook’s favor, and two more kills gave the Seawolves a sizable advantage. Facing match point, senior middle blocker Kendra Harlow got the kill and gave Stony Brook the 1511 win. Coming back hours later to take on the Army Black Knights, Stony Brook struggled to put up a fight as the Seawolves were swept handily. Pulver’s 26 kills throughout the tournament were a team high, and she leads the team with 133 on the season. De’Long returned to action and picked up where she left off by earning 24 kills, including a gamehigh 13 against Sacred Heart.

you could pick it up on the way to class... ...but sometimes that’s just too much effort.

www.sbstatesman.com Stony Brook’s only weekly paper also available online

By Ryan Magill Staff Writer

The Stony Brook women’s soccer team prevailed in overtime against the Fordham Rams on Thursday, Sept. 19 by a score of 1-0. With less than a minute remaining in overtime, Seawolves senior defender Francesca Lee scored her first ever goal to win the game, snapping Stony Brook’s two-game losing streak and bringing the team’s record to 5-3. The game was a fight to the bitter end, as both teams were physical throughout the matchup. The teams combined for a total of 36 fouls in 99 minutes and 45 seconds. Despite the physicality, the Seawolves controlled the possession with 55% of total time to the Rams’ 45%. The Seawolves outshot the Rams 17 to 6, including 10 corners to the Rams’ four and eight shots on goal to the Rams’ two. Despite the Seawolves’ offensive attack, Rams junior goalkeeper Kelly LaMorte kept her team in the game with seven saves. In the end, however, it was Lee who put the Seawolves up for good off an assist from freshman midfielder Paula Petri and junior forward Rachel Florenz. The goal, which came with 15 seconds left in the first overtime period from No. 15, was Lee’s first ever point as a Seawolf in four years on the team.

“It means a lot to me,” Lee said in a postgame interview with The Statesman. “Especially my senior year and senior season. A lot of memories and a lot of mistakes. I’m just glad I made it.” The game returned the Seawolves to their winning ways after losses to Hofstra and West Virginia, and the win marks the third overtime victory for the team this season. Despite this win, head coach Tobias Bischof believed he and the team could have done better. “We thought that we had a good game plan,” Bischof said in a postgame interview. “To be honest, it didn’t work that well today… [Fordham’s] a good team. They just tied Syracuse, who’s a Power 5 team. They came here and they were confident, well coached and organized. They made it really hard on us.” “We’ve got to look at film,” Bischof said. “We’ve got to see where we can tweak things. I’ve got to do a better job in preparing the girls. We’ve got to move on from there.” “Honestly, we talked about it in the locker room earlier,” Lee said. “Just keeping up with what we’re doing. We’ve played some really great teams, and not every win has been a win, but we’re gonna build on it and we are gonna keep going. I think we have a really great shot to go all the way this year.”