Download pdf - Tor echo fall 2014 issue 1

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By Britteny L. Monahan

Today I was able to enjoy a friendly chat with the new president of our college, Skip Sullivan, in the

Tor Echo suite in SLC. While we had scheduled an interview for the newspaper, we kept the conver-

sation informal and comfortable. Relaxed in one of our suites armchairs our president was all smiles

as I asked my questions. I asked him how he liked the campus so far, including the beautiful weather

we'd been having, said with all intended sarcasm. He laughed, and said he'd lived in Michigan for

some time and was used to cold weather and icy walkways, but sadly disclosed we would not be hav-

ing a snow day in the near future. I asked what he'd been doing since he'd been hired and he went

through his schedule, booked with meetings and events which he would attend. "I am very interested

in getting to know the students..." he said, "Without the students there would be no reason for me to

be here! They are the determining factor of a college campus." Although he is very new to Alfred,

President Sullivan is well aware of the current struggle with the village and the new zoning laws they

are attempting to pass, and agreed the students should become more involved if they wish to see

change or be heard. He went on to say that his intention was to get to know as many people on cam-

pus as he could. He has frequently been going to dinner at the Terrace with students and faculty in the

hopes of getting to know the student body better as well as learn more about the campus itself and the

many activities we host. His schedule is full of events such as Tunnel of Oppression, faculty senate,

the Greek community and even upcoming sports events for our school's athletics department. "It's

good to know where the school stands before we can go forward," he stated. I asked if there were any

future plans he had in mind for our campus, and while he could not admit to any such goals he did

warn of a possible '"Storm front" in the works. President Sullivan has also been in regular meetings

and contact with Student Senate's president, Josh Altemoos, in regards to keeping up with the work-

ings of the students and organizations. Overall my talk with our new president was a pleasant one,

and I even learned about his favorite kinds of music, which he calls the three C's: County, Classical

and Classic Rock!

President Sullivan Outlines His Vision for the

Future of Alfred State College of Technology

President Skip Sullivan

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Tor Echo / Spring 2014

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RA Spotlight!

Aaliyah Seelall

AALIYAH SEELALL is a second year accounting major and Resi-

dent Assistant in Mackenzie East. Aaliyah hails from Brooklyn, NY,

and loves dancing, singing, drawing, playing tennis, and is proud of

her African American and Indian heritage. When asked to disclose a

fun fact about herself, Aaliyah says she has two baby teeth that will

never fall out!

What her RD says…

“Aaliyah designs creative and engaging bulletin boards, as well as acts

a mentor to the Track I RAs. The area where she really shines is in her

community building and interactions with residents. She is trusted and

respected by her residents and creates programs based on their wants

and needs. Aaliyah is an excellent role model, both for RAs and her

fellow staff members.”

Why she became an RA…

“I personally felt that being an RA would help me "come out of my

shell". It wasn't just a great opportunity but a life changing event that I

personally believe has helped me in many aspects of my daily life.”

What she has gained from the RA experience…

“I have been able to gain confidence and step out of my comfort zone.

Being an RA has shown me responsibility, yet has helped me embrace

college life and show my residents all that there is to enjoy. It has al-

lowed me to show more sympathy to others when I have not previous-

ly understood their circumstances, and has taught me many valuable

lessons such as how to help and direct those around me while creating

friendships.”

Her most memorable experience…

“One time some students completely destroyed my lounge. The posters

were ripped down, garbage was thrown everywhere and furniture was

flipped upside down. I felt very overwhelmed and no janitors were

available to clean it up. My residents had come to me and told me that

they had found the mess and before even telling me, cleaned it up. It

was so generous, kind, thoughtful (I'm sure I could use many adjec-

tives) but the only word that truly felt correct for the situation was

community.”


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Tor Echo Staff Editor-in-Chief: Britteny L. Monahan

Treasurer: Karla Chun Reporters: Ingrid Amaya, Kaylie Cytrowski, Tyreek Davis, Tony Grande, Sarah Jastrzab,

Lynette Lockwood, Ali Q. Moore, Stephanie Pembleton, Angel Torres. Advisor: Dr. Brian Quinn

Copyright Tor Echo 2014

Editorial

THIS IS OUR VILLAGE, TOO

For all of our faithful readers and for all of the students of Alfred State, I hope you read this and I

hope you take this matter to heart. For some time now the Village of Alfred has been trying to pass

zoning laws making it impossible for students to live in certain areas in town: students who cannot

afford to live on campus or students who wish for privacy and independence. Even students who have

been living off campus for years are in danger of losing their homes due to the zoning laws and their

restrictions. As a college town it is a well-known fact that the town thrives on the income the students

provide for local businesses, and without the students there would be no town, or at least the town

would not be as successful as it is currently. The Students also provide services that benefit the vil-

lage, such as cleaning and community service. Local fairs and festivals sponsored by the college and

the students also provide entertainment for the local residents and their families. While it has not been

said out loud, it must be said here within this paper, the village of Alfred's residents are attempting to

segregate its residential students, forcing them into pre-determined zones, taking away their right to

choose where they are able to live. There is no true reason why there should be such a law, which vi-

olates our civil rights, and the village board has yet to give a satisfactory reason for the law. The vil-

lage has tried to placate us, the students, with the promise of twenty available houses for the student

residents to reside; however, it was recently revealed by a local landowner that only six of these

houses are suitable to live in. The students of Alfred State College have always had a hard time find-

ing a way to live off of campus, having to go through paperwork and strict regulations. Many stu-

dents do this in order to afford both school and living expenses, since they do not earn enough in stu-

dent loans to pay off the expenses of living on campus and in the dormitories. Unfortunately, many

students remain unaware of the current situation regarding the new zoning laws, and while a handful

of student organizations have attempted to get the word out and rally student support, the struggle has

been hard and our future remains uncertain. Jason Rodd, a former student of Alfred University, has

helped lead the fight against the village board and the new zoning laws since 2013 and while his in-

formation and passion for the cause is solid, it is up to the students to stand up and take charge. We

cannot remain silent while others take up our fight, because it us, the student who are affected and

who should take responsibility and raise our voice in objection to these unjust motions against our

rights as fellow residents of Alfred.

A—Britteny Monahan, Editor-in-Chief

CELEBRATION OF SERVICE

On January 23rd, 2014 in Alfred's Village Hall, a group of five individuals were awarded the

Spirit of Service for their excellent service to the community. Following in Martin Luther King

Jr's footsteps these students, faculty members and members of the community of Alfred have

gone above and beyond to serve others and their causes, encouraging equality, social justice,

community and service. Tor Echo congratulates these compassionate individuals for their self-

lessness and hopes that their acts of kindness have paved a road for others to follow in their

footsteps, for the future benefit of the community and all of Alfred.

Winners of the Fourth Annual Alfred Spirit of Services Awards were Miguel Torres De Le-

on, Alfred University student; Nancy Kohler, Alfred University Equestrian Center Director;

John Ninos, owner of the Jet and Terra Cotta in Alfred village; Dr. Brian Quinn, Alfred State

College; and Josh Stellrecht, a student at Alfred State SUNY College of Technology.

The Spirit of Service Award recognizes and celebrates those in the greater Alfred community

that demonstrate a strong commitment to serving others. This award is intended to honor those

who are actively living out the principles that Martin Luther King, Jr. stood for including

equality, social justice, community, and service. Eligible nominees include students, faculty,

and staff at Alfred State and Alfred University as well as community members.

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Editor’s Note: With Tunnel of Oppression starting this week, it seemed like a

good time to re-visit a proposal submitted by the Commuter Council last se-

mester.

Help the Homeless Here!

By Stephanie Pembleton

Head of the Emergency Homeless Assistance Plan

For many college students, the rising cost of tuition and the

tough economy have rendered students helpless as they struggle

every semester when the college bills come in. For students who

are stressed financially, this time becomes even more difficult, as

they struggle with hunger and sometimes homelessness. With

this being said, there are not very many places available for stu-

dents who are homeless or may become homeless at some point

throughout the school year.

For students, it is very hard to find housing in a rural com-

munity such as Alfred. Students who cannot afford off-campus

housing or do not have the requirements to get a housing waiver

from the school are stuck with an unfair decision. Unless they

can get loans or grants, they are forced to come up with the mon-

ey to live in the residential halls. There is no option for a student

who cannot pay this fee or may be listed as a commuter and

needs a place to stay, even if it is only for a couple nights at a

time.

When discussing this topic with Commuter Council, we dis-

cover an amazing opportunity and a new cause. I attended

D’Youville College in Buffalo, New York before coming to Al-

fred State College and they had a concept fairly similar to ours.

Every semester, the college has extra rooms that are not being

used by students. On Alfred State College’s website, the cost of

Room and Board with an 18 meal-plan is $11,580 per year. This

means that per day, students with this plan pay less than $60 a

day for these services.

If we implemented some method in which the school could

rent out the extra rooms throughout the residential halls for rea-

sonable prices, we might be helping out some of our fellow peers

who have nowhere to turn to. In addition, Allegany County is

one of the poorest counties in the state of New York. At Alfred

State, we pride ourselves on our community service and leader-

ship activity and this could be the next step forward!


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Whether it be the act of trying to connect to the lists of

possibilities of things that could be going on on cam-

pus to simply trying to find the time to see it and keep

interest, Student Announce seems to be at the center of

the student disposition when it comes to figuring

things out. Having been here for a few years, I've

come across this message in my student inbox multi-

ple times, more so than I can count personally, and

have found myself contemplating the list of possibili-

ties as I tried to iron out what my weekend was going

to be. But as the years began to pile up on top of each

other and my stay in Alfred has become more and

more lengthy and event filled, I found myself drifting

away from what used to be a haven for my event op-

portunities, finding myself acting on a whim and play-

ing it by ear.

To check the issue of Student Announce, I per-

formed a survey that took my adventure to the voices

of the students who use the Student Announce email.

Time and time again, I found that the perspective view

of the students was that Student Announce wasn't

something that they would use primarily to get a grip

on events that go on on campus. Ultimately, people

have expressed that there is a bunch of glitches and

knick knacks that come with using Student Announce,

ranging from their inability to keep interest in the re-

petitive source of information to simply not being in-

terested in using the alternative means, finding it bor-

ing, not quite so eye catching, and a range of other

thoughts about the email. There are some people who

even stated that they click the email to get it out of

their Inbox Active Messages, and in that, they never

even look at the list.

It goes unsaid that the idea of Student Announce

has the potential to be the greatest means of infor-

mation to be given to the students of Alfred State Col-

lege, but how it is executed is serving as a hindrance

to its growth. Of the people I surveyed, many of them

expressed views and ideas of how they could make

Student Announce better for the campus as a whole.

One perspective was that Student Announce should be

shifted to social media sites, like Facebook and Twit-

ter, where instead of receiving the seemingly repetitive

emails, you would receive a post or update about an

event that is coming up in a timely manner, and could

make it more exciting or interesting to use. With this

perspective you could advertise digitally with the ut-

most efficiency, using pictures and video in your

events as well. Another perspective that was put forth

for the enhancement of Student Announce is to liven

up the email in and of itself. The way that it stands at

the moment, every student receives a list in bold blue

lettering over a plain white screen, which isn't eye

catching, and to a few people who were surveyed it

hurt to read. If the designers of the email made the ac-

tual email stand out from a design standpoint, people

may be more inclined to actually use the email.

All in all, Student Announce is our campus' way of

getting out its information. Organizations across the

campus utilize this means in hopes of bringing people

into their events. But without consideration of people's

response to the email, how can we truly use this email

to its greatest potential. And so, I pose this analogy:

“Why travel a thousand miles on a bicycle when you

could have the same journey in a car?”

A Student Takes a Serious

Look at Student Announce

By Ali Q. Moore


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Counselors Say Communication Is the Key to a Solid

Relationship

Valentine’s Day is

coming faster than

you realize. And how

much do you really

know about that spe-

cial someone in your

life? How will you be

able woo and win him

or her without know-

ing more than “Nice

smile.”

Come to the Small

Event Space in SLC

and learn all about

what makes her/him

tick (or tick you off!)

The fun begins at

11:00 pm on Friday,

February 7.

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Local Students Earn High Honors

in

the


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ALFRED, Jan. 17, 2014

- November of 2013,

marked the celebration

of a 75th anniversary of

the most recognizable

fraternity at Alfred

State College. Recently,

this Greek organization

was on the brink of ex-

tinction and mired in

troubles. However,

from the tireless hours,

days, months and years

of hard work put forth

by many brothers, this

Fraternity was able to

change its fate. The 75th

celebration was a cul-

mination of years of

hard work by many and

enjoyed by all that at-

tended.

Psi Delta Omega

Fraternity owns a home

at 10 West University

Street in Alfred, which

is a stunning 7,252

square feet. In 2011,

due to several benefac-

tors, the Fraternity in-

vested well over

$100,000, into the sec-

ond and third floors of

the house, completely

renovating those floors

of the house. The Fra-

ternity is currently fi-

nalizing plans to invest

another $150,000 on a

state-of-the-art first

floor. This will include

heated floors and a

completely transformed

front entrance.

In addition to the

house going through a

transition, so too did the

Fraternity. The active

brothers of Psi Delta

Omega Fraternity par-

ticipate in well over 400

hours of community

service per semester

while still maintaining a

cumulative GPA of a

3.0. With multiple

brothers in recent years

that have earned a per-

fect 4.0, “We’re really

proud of how the few

generations of active

brothers have embraced

the new Psi-D and are

putting in a great effort

to elevate the stand-

ards” Said Tom Tortora

Alumni Active Presi-

dent.

Psi Delta Omega

held their 75th anniver-

sary at the Pearl Street

Brewery in Buffalo,

NY. There were nearly

150 brothers and ABX

sisters in attendance,

with involvement da-

ting back to the 1970’s!

“This was a great op-

portunity for the active

brothers to see brothers

from all over the coun-

try re-united with old

friends from many dif-

ferent decades. It really

gave me an understand-

ing of the bonds that

were forged before

me,” said Ryan Dontoh,

Active President.

Psi Delta Omega

Fraternity works dili-

gently in trying to

change its reputation by

staying true to hard-

work, philanthropic ef-

forts, pride, and most

importantly brother-

hood. 75 years of broth-

ers helping brothers

both with direction, em-

ployment and even their

personal lives is impres-

sive. The focus now is

greater than it’s ever

been, when helping

young gentlemen be-

come very successful

leaders. With an active-

ly involved alumni base

of nearly 1000, spanned

across the country, Psi

Delta Omega has an

immense amount of

support, knowledge and

history. With no inten-

tion of slowing down,

this almost extinct Fra-

ternity will most cer-

tainly be going strong

in another 75 years.

Psi Delta Omega

would like to personally

thank Alfred State Col-

lege, especially, Dr.

Steven Tyrell for his

vision of what the

Greek society could be-

come. He worked dili-

gently with our Alumni

in forming the relation-

ship and providing us

direction, as well as,

expectations of his vi-

sion. His job has been

transitioned to Spencer

Peavey, and we’re

thankful to Spencer as

well for his efforts,

guidance and leader-

ship.

If you have any

questions or would like

more information

please go to

www.psideltaomega.co

Psi Delta Omega Fraternity Celebrates 75 strong years of

Brotherhood, Academics, Philanthropy & Leadership

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Speaking of

Outdoor Sports…

A few comments heard about

Super Bowl XLVIII

“That was pathetic.”

“Not only were the commer-

cials better than the game,

the Muppets could have

beaten the Broncos.”

“Okay, so you go into

halftime losing badly. It’s

time to man up and play a

solid second half. And the

Broncos allow an 87-yard

touchdown run on the sec-

ond half kickoff???”

“The worst Super Bowl ev-

er.”

“When did the NFL decide

it was okay to let a Pop

Warner team play in the

Super Bowl?”

“How much is XLVIII?”
