Tor Echo Newspaper of the Pioneers

Alfred State Students Participate

in Democracy in Alfred Village

A political storm is a-

brewing in Alfred, as Al-

fred State students Kory

Shick (in photo on left)

and Nick Ferraro won

the Republican Party

nominations for Village

of Alfred Trustees. The

two students were

joined by Jason Rodd, a

1995 graduate of Alfred

University and a long-

time Alfred resident,

who won the Republican

nomination for Mayor.

“In a Village with over

4,000 residents, the Al-

fred elections are often

decided by a total vote of less than 200 voters,” said

Kory in a statement of his reasons for running. “This

year there are three candidates who offer an alterna-

tive to the business as usual that has created the cur-

rent state of the village.”

This sudden change in the political climate has

generated headlines in the local newspapers: Col-

lege Kids Could Take Over Alfred Village

Board (Evening Tribune), Stakes High as Alfred

Dems Prepare to Caucus read two stories. Vil-

lage resident Joe Dosch published a letter in the

Wellsville paper entitled, “Support qualified public

servants in Alfred,” implying that Kory (spelled

“Cory” by Mr. Dosch)

are “bound by a single-

issue perspective .” An-

other Alfred villager sent

an email to nearly 60

residents calling this in-

volvement of ASC stu-

dents in their civil rights

as “disturbing news of

the takeover of the Vil-

lage,” and he warned of

the “dire state what our

village faces.”

Kory, when asked

about how he feels about

the storm he’s initiated

said, “Over many years I

have developed a pio-

neering passion for Alfred which drives this cam-

paign.” He invites all students to join the campaign.

“We are presented with an opportunity to provide

equal inclusion for all Alfredians. As a student and a

Alfred resident, it is up to you to be part of this

monumental social change. We need as many citi-

zens as possible to realize that participation in gov-

ernment is an all-inclusive experience. Now is the

time to realize our own capabilities. Change is made

in incremental steps and those steps are yours to

take,” said Kory.

SEE PAGE 3 FOR MORE NEWS!

SPECIAL

ELECTION

ISSUE

Tor Echo

Report, Encourage, Engage

Issue 1, Spring 2015

Editor-in-Chief: Lynnette Lockwood / Associate Editor: Jordyn Riethmiller / Sports Editor: Morgan Franchina Treasurer / Student Senate Representative: Daniel David

Reporters: Lee Button, Karla Chun, Christy Dodd, Katie Dussing, Grace Franklin, Brianna Freeman, Anthony Grande,

Nichole Meehan, Don Schrader, Breanna Smith, Madison Szpaicher, Angel Torres © Tor Echo, 2015 T

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Welcome back, students, to Alfred State. I hope that the semester goes well for each one of

you. Have fun but don’t forget to study. A new exciting plan happening this semester is re-

ferred to on the front page. Kory Shick and Nicholas Ferraro, both Alfred State College stu-

dents, have been nominated for two town board positions. The election will be in March

but this event got me thinking. Will this encourage more voting among college students at

Alfred State? Getting these students elected into these positions will help the college and

the students be more respected into the community. Currently 1/2 of people between the

age of 18-29 are registered to vote in the USA. It’s sad to think that less than 1/3 of the half

actually vote in elections. Voting is a simple process that can be done anytime once a person

turns 18. The college has recently teamed up with Turbovote.com to helps students register

to vote, update voter registration, get absentee ballots, and get reminders to make sure they

don’t forget to vote. Get out there, get involved, and make a difference in your Alfred State

Community. We deserve to be respected. Don’t sit on the sidelines and let your college ex-

perience get ruined by not taking a stand to the community.

— Lynnette Lockwood

Editor-in-Chief

Will Students on the Town Board

Encourage More Voting?

SPECIAL ERGO READING Professor Jerry Fong will be reading from his newest works on Wednesday, February 4,

2015 in CDH. The event will be held in the Allegany Room starting at 6:00 p.m. Appetiz-

ers including pot stickers, sweet and sour meatballs, chicken kabobs and spring rolls

and tea will be served. Please join us! Bring your friends!

The Democratic caucus was held

last night, Monday, January 26, at

the Alfred Village Hall. There was a

tremendous turnout of people in-

terested in nominating candidates

for village mayor and board trus-

tees. Tons of students from Alfred

State, faculty and staff from both

schools, and community residents

showed up to show sup-

port. The race is now of-

ficially on for the nomi-

nated students and long

term residents.102 stu-

dents and residents were registered Democrats

voted in the caucus. The

nominees were given

three minutes to speak

and convince the popu-

lace to vote for them.

The first nomination

was for town mayor. Ja-

son Rodd and Justin

Griggs were nominated.

Some town residents

were of the opinion that

Jason Rodd was only run-

ning for the position be-

cause of a student con-

spiracy, but he assured

everyone that this was

not the case. He wants to

be a strong voice and

leader for students and

fulltime residents. He is looking for

the best in the two campuses. He

mentioned a noise violation law,

which states that a person can be

imprisoned up to 15 days. “This

law was created to help end parties

but there are better ways to do

that,” he said. Justin Grigg is the

current mayor of Alfred. If reelect-

ed he wants to expand his term so that the can form better partner-

ships with the outside communi-

ties. Justin Grigg. won

The next nomination was for

the town trustees. Nick Ferraro

and Peter McClain were the first

nominees. Nick Ferraro is an Al-

fred State student. He wants the

long term residents and short term

residents to be treated equally. Pe-

ter McClain is a graduate of Alfred

University. He is on the Hot Dog

Day planning board. The winner

was Peter McClain.

The last nomination was for the

second spot on the Alfred Board of

Trustees of Alfred. Kory Shick and

Tom McDowell were the second

nominees. Kory is an Alfred State

student and has been a town resi-dent for three years. If elected he

wants to promote economic stabil-

ity and an equal inclusion of all

community members. He wants

the community to come together

as one to solve the problems. "I

have a lot of different things I

would like to do. There are prob-

lems in Alfred, just like every-

where, and I have a creative and

strategic way of going about

them. Students, as well as

village members, have a

good opportunity to work

together and I'm doing my

part to make sure it hap-pens" said Shick. Tom

McDowell is a professor of

computer information tech-

nology. He has been actively

involved in the community

by being a coach on several

sport teams, and helping out

with Cub Scouts. The win-

ner was Tom McDowell.

The Democratic caucus

was held a week after the

Republican caucus, which

resulted in Jason Rodd, Nick

Ferraro, and Kory Shick de-

feating Justin Grigg, Peter

McClain, and Tom McDow-

ell. In Alfred, candidates can

– and often are – nominated

by both parties. Now that

candidates have been cho-

sen, the three positions will be up

for election in March, and a clear-

cut choice for the future of Alfred

will be presented. Current Mayor

Grigg admitted after the caucus last

night that the real winners in this

process are the people of the vil-

lage and democracy itself, since

many, many more people are now

participating in the elections.

Democratic Caucus Results

By Lynnette Lockwood

A portion of the hundreds of Alfred villagers who jammed into Vil-

lage Hall for the Democratic Caucus last night in an unprecedented

turnout. Page

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eport, E

nco

urage

, Engage

!

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