Geneseo Village Police proposes policy for interacting with undocumented residents

Geneseo Village Police created a policy that sets standard operating procedures for how police handle identifying undocumented immigrants. The policy would decrease reliance on federal agencies. (Annalee Bainnson/Assoc. Photo Editor)

Geneseo Village Police issued a new policy proposal concerning identification of undocumented immigrants. The policy comes after backlash from local community over a traffic stop with an undocumented Guatemalan immigrant family. 

The policy outlines procedures for officers to follow in the case that they pull over a vehicle with undocumented immigrant drivers. Specific rules of procedure involve contacting the Sheriff’s 911 Dispatch Center for assistance in communicating with non-English speakers and including further instructions on how to handle situations without contacting federal authorities or organizations, such as Border Patrol.  

“We modeled it after [state agency policies], which basically states that if you stop somebody who doesn’t have a license, you make every best effort to try to find out who they are, Village Police Chief Eric Osganian said. “If we can’t find out who they are, we would contact another local, state or federal agency in help determining the identification part.” 

“[Geneseo Police Department’s] insurance carrier has approved [the policy],” Osganian continued. “If we get into a lawsuit, they would represent us and our insurance has no problem with the policy.” 

An illegal alien is someone who enters the country legally but remains longer than they are supposed to, which is considered a civil violation, according to the proposal. 

While the proposed policy provides instructions for officers on how to handle these situations, members of the community and local organizations still have problems with certain stipulations outlined in the proposal. 

“It still leaves room for police, if they believe that a criminal offense is taking place, to act as immigration officers,” English major senior Evan Goldstein said. “I think it’s still unacceptable given the current situation and what happens to immigrants when they’re investigated and put in detention centers.” 

Despite his other reservations, Goldstein said that he does think that the proposal to use interpretation services is a positive signal. 

“There’s a good faith effort from the police to establish a procedure for contacting interpreters and using an interpretation service for people who don’t speak the same language,” Goldstein said. “It seems like there’s still a lot of ambiguity regarding when the police can act as immigration officers.” 

The Village Board of Trustees has yet to officially approve the policy, but the policy is expected to pass, according to Village Board Trustee Matthew Cook.

Cook additionally said that he predicts the policy will be successful in placing the Village Police in the right direction.

“Officers aren’t acting as immigration officers; you know it’s really just to identify a person,” he said. “They’re not trying to ask people about the legality of their status in the United States. The police are pretty aware of what they’re doing—a lot of things they’ll be doing are going to be under a microscope for really up to a couple of years.”

Goldstein said that he believes the policy proposal is not sufficient and leaves room for issue to arise. 

“I’m glad that they’re establishing a policy for calling an interpretation service and not calling border patrol if they don’t understand someone’s language, but it seems like there’s still some issues with the immigration law,” Goldstein said. “Ultimately, whether or not the police department passes a policy, it’s up to individual people. It’s up to groups to get together with these workers and defend their rights against whomever might come and take them away.”

SA reformats concert system, plans to send students to local venues

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Outgoing Student Association Director of Student Programming senior Molly Downey presents spring concert policy changes at the Wednesday April 26 SA meeting. The policy will break spring concert funding up into individual concerts that SA will transport students to in the area.  The changes were made after students expressed dissatisfaction with the current system, believing that the $80,000 concert budget was being wasted on artists that didn’t appeal to most students. (Ash Dean/Photo Editor)

Geneseo’s Student Association approved a proposal to change how the college organizes the annual spring concert.

Up until now, Geneseo Campus Activities Board had issued surveys throughout the duration of the year to gauge student interest in genres, artists and musical interests before eventually selecting an artist. After the changes, however, the annual concert is no longer; now, students will be transported to various concerts by different artists throughout the course of the year.

The decision was finalized at the SA meeting on Wednesday April 26 as a part of GCAB’s move to listen to student feedback regarding the current model of selection of an artist for the spring concert, according to outgoing SA Director of Student Programming senior Molly Downey.

“If we can adjust the model to give more options and more variety to students, then it’s worth the time to try and figure out to see if that’s going to be a better model,” Downey said. 

There were issues with SA’s original model resulting in student dissatisfaction and higher expenses for the school, according to outgoing SA President senior Michael Baranowski. 

“Some students are upset by the choice that we’re making and it’s getting quite expensive to try and even bring in some decently known act,” Baranowski said. “There’s an $80,000 budget and this year we spent almost every dollar of that in order to make a concert happen.” 

This move is not only meant to be cost-efficient; it is also meant to serve a wider array of student interests. The school will continue to issue surveys to gather information regarding what artists and genres students prefer as well as what days work best for students to attend a concert. Afterward, the school will purchase tickets at various concerts at different local venues that reflect those varying musical preferences. 

 “It will be first-come, first-serve basis; students will pick up tickets at the SA ticket office, and then we’ll get busing for them to leave from the Union,” Downey said. “We’ll be able to serve students in smaller groups, but for a variety of different options.”

Student feedback has been positive so far, according to Baranowksi. 

“It seemed like people were pretty responsive,” he said. “Hopefully this will be something that can just revamp the concert idea at Geneseo.” 

Geography and anthropology double major senior Sarah Kowalski said she thinks that the ability to appeal to multiple, distinct groups makes it a better system.  

“I think that it would be a good idea because it would provide a greater variety of groups with different musical backgrounds and genres for students,” she said. “My friends can be in slight disagreements over the genre that’s chosen every year. So it would be nice to use that local opportunity.” 

Childhood special education and piano performance double major sophomore Taylor Chiola voiced her support after learning that it would help manage the expense of the concert.

 “When I first heard about it, I didn’t even realize it was going to be more cost-effective. At first, it sounded as if it was going to be more expensive to transport students, but now that I’ve realized the way scheduling works out, I think it’s probably a good idea,” Chiola said.

GCAB will continue to work throughout the summer and during the fall semester to finalize details. SA hopes to better serve students and to see student interest in the selection process for the spring concert rise, according to Downey. 

“We want to be able to give students a variety of dates, a variety of artists and a variety of options on how they can see musical acts,” Downey said. “Our point is just to enhance the musical connections that students can build while at Geneseo.”    

Working group examines proposed winter intersession

President Denise Battles introduced the establishment of a working group to potentially restore a winter intersession term at Geneseo. 

The president made the announcement on March 23 in an email sent to the campus community. In the email, the president outlined the goals of the intersessional working group, which includes various members of the college community. 

With Assistant Provost for Curriculum and Assessment Savi Iyer serving as the working group chair, other participants include associate professor for Francophone studies Kodjo Adabra, professor of education Katie Rommel-Esham, Assistant Vice President for Human Resources Julie Briggs, Assistant Provost for Budget and Facilities Enrico Johnson, adjunct lecturer in English and languages and literatures Wes Kennison, Director of Student Life Chip Matthews, Campus Auxiliary Services Executive Director Mark Scott and physics major sophomore Corey Wilkinson. 

With this collaborative and “transparent process,” the working group hopes to not only identify and to outline the possible positive and negative outcomes of reinstituting a winter intersession term at Geneseo, but also to provide potential solutions to mitigate those issues. In addition, the working group will examine the college’s academic calendar to assess the need for any required changes, as well as to look at any and all factors involved in approving this decision. 

The winter intersession term at Geneseo had previously been terminated in 2003, according to Wilkinson. The increasing need for a winter intersession term has prompted the college to reconsider this previous decision, according to Battles. 

There have been multiple considered benefits that would come as a result of reestablishing a winter intersession term, according to Matthews. 

“Having those two weeks to recover would be beneficial because it allows you that mental health and physical health break so that you can rest, you can do some leisure events, you can visit your family and friends, and you can come back to campus renewed and ready to hit the semester,” Matthews said. “Geneseo’s rigorous. It requires a lot of work, so a little bit of a break would be good.”

An intersession term would also serve to benefit students that remain on-campus during winter break, according to Wilkinson. 

“Right now, we already have students that are staying over winter break,” Wilkinson said. “There’s people like the athletes, international students, so they’re kind of here and they’re not doing anything.”

Students would also have the option to take additional courses during the intersession on campus, as well as to participate in study abroad programs.

Some of the challenges of a winter intersession include potential changes to the academic calendar. Additionally, student interest in the intersession would have an impact, along with the quality of the courses being offered over a shorter amount of time and the availability of professors to teach the courses. 

“If you’re going to provide a course, you’re going to need a time that still is rich, robust and still in keeping with other courses,” Matthews said. “We don’t want to have to do anything that would mean we’re offering less of a product just because it’s a little bit shorter.”

Student input has helped contribute to shaping some of these concerns and changes, according to Wilkinson. Students have had issues with how changing the academic calendar will impact clubs, Wilkinson said. Some students also believe, however, that an intersession has the potential to help them take general education requirements during this period and to take less credits during the fall and spring semester. 

The working group will continue to discuss these issues and to work to solve them throughout the rest of the spring semester, and the campus community can expect to be notified of the group’s findings during the middle of May, according to Battles. 

“I think it really is an opportunity to look at how we can utilize a time in between semesters to give another educational opportunity, whether that’s taking a course for a student or maybe a study abroad kind of thing,” Matthews said.

Prior crashes prompt fountain safety dialogue, controversy

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Paul Stevenson, the driver who crashed into the bear fountain and Village Café & Catering, is looking to file an insurance claim against the Village of Geneseo as a result of the fountain accident. Stevenson wants to file this claim because he believes that the fountain is a road hazard due to its location. (Jenna Harbus/Staff Photographer)

The operator of the vehicle that crashed into the bear fountain and Village Café & Catering in November 2016, Paul Stevenson, hopes to file an insurance claim against the Village of Geneseo as a result of the accident.

In the insurance claim, Stevenson will cite failure to comply with state guidelines for obstructions in the road and the safety hazard that the fountain causes due to its location. The Village of Geneseo has received a notice of claim from the driver’s insurer, according to Village Mayor Richard Hatheway. 

“It’s not a claim, it’s just his rationale for it,” Hatheway said. “It’s his decision that the village is at fault.” 

The initial claim was submitted to the insurance company on Feb. 14, according to Hatheway. The insurance company will make the final decision on approving the validity of Stevenson’s claim. 

Depending on the initial response from the insurance company, Stevenson can then decide on whether or not he wants to move forward with the claim and file a suit against the village. Stevenson’s old insurance company will cover the damage to his vehicle, according to the Hatheway; Hatheway said, however, that they’re in a defensive position at this point. 

This is coming around a time where the fountain is undergoing a restoration process, which is expected to be completed this summer, according to Hatheway. One of the focuses of the restoration processes is accident prevention to avoid situations like this one as well as previous collisions. 

Geneseo’s Department of Public Works has been working to adjust methods of lighting to lessen the fountain’s presence as a traffic hazard and to allow incoming traffic to divert from the path of the fountain, according to Village Board Trustee Mary Rutigliano. 

“A few years ago, the street lighting situation consisted of street lamps that came down and over and lit the street with yellow light, so it was less jarring and your eyes could adjust better,” Rutigliano said. “Lighting the street from up above definitely gave you some more visibility, and so when they changed to the traditional street lamps—that being like a white-blue light and lighting across as opposed to down—it definitely changed the way that people interact with the infrastructure on the street.”

The village has also been considering adding such fixtures as fire hydrants around the fountain to prevent damage to the fountain in case of future car accidents after the restoration, according to Hatheway. 

“The fountain is going to be much more visible. And yes, we have talked a little bit about additional lighting surrounding the sidewalk,” Hatheway said.

Additional discussions have mentioned lighting around the sidewalks for the purpose of considering pedestrian safety, according to Hatheway. The village and the community are anticipating a celebration upon the completion of the fountain’s restoration. 

“We’re anxious to have the fountain back; hopefully this summer,” Hatheway said. “We’re hoping to have it when it’s nicer.”

Scholarships to commemorate Annese, Hutchinson

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Geneseo now offers two new scholarships to honor Kelsey A. Annese ‘16 and Matthew G. Hutchinson ‘16. Annese and Hutchinson were killed last January, resulting in the creation of the #ONEKNIGHT in order to unify the campus community. Two students will be awarded these scholarships during the upcoming spring and fall.

Two incoming Geneseo freshman will be awarded the Kelsey A. Annese ‘16 Memorial Scholarship and Matthew G. Hutchinson ‘16 Memorial Endowed Scholarship Fund in the upcoming spring and fall, respectively.

The scholarships were established in remembrance of the former Geneseo students who were killed in an off campus incident in January 2016, and they will be awarded to two individuals who exemplify the characteristics embodied by both students, according to the respective websites for Annese and Hutchinson’s scholarships. Both scholarships will be renewable for all four years.

The college and community hopes these scholarships will serve to honor Annese and Hutchinson, according to Vice President for College Advancement and Executive Director of the Geneseo Foundation K. Johnson Bowles.

“There was so much outpouring of love for both of them and the community wanted there to be an action,” Bowles said. “They wanted there to be something that said how important they were to our community and to their families.”

College Advancement oversaw the process of creating the scholarships, as well as obtaining the funding necessary to support them. The college held fundraisers, received donations from sponsors including alumni, faculty and students, in addition to a donation by Student Association, according to Director of Special Development John Linfoot. Students also helped fundraise $9,541 for the scholarships at a T-shirt sale and bowling event fundraiser, Linfoot said.

A total of $47,539 is available for the scholarship in honor of Annese and $45,001 for the scholarship in honor of Hutchinson, according to Linfoot. 

“Other funds will be in endowments, which will build up and last ad infinitum,” Linfoot said. “We’re continuing our fundraising efforts and there are other things that will happen in the future that we’ll be planning.” 

Linfoot believes the scholarships allow Geneseo to continue to attract the best students to the college. 

Both Annese and Hutchinson were deeply involved in the college community and beyond, according to Bowles. Annese was the captain for the women’s basketball team and Hutchinson was on the hockey team and also served as a volunteer for the local fire department. 

Donor Mike Grammatico ‘87 contributed funding to Annese’s scholarships because he believed it was important that the college commemorated the students in some manner. Grammatico played on the men’s basketball team while attending Geneseo with Annese’s father. 

“When I went to Geneseo, we referred to it as ‘Happy Valley’ because it’s a special place and because it’s a special entity, but it’s also a special community and there’s a lot of special people,” Grammatico said in a phone interview. “I think that these two people touched a lot of people’s lives in the college and in the community, and I think this is a positive step toward keeping Geneseo a special place.” 

Bowles also believes that the Geneseo community at large is a generous and close-knit one. 

“We’re all grateful to our community and the ways in which we come together and are supportive of each other, in good times and bad,” Bowles said. “And I think that this was a very meaningful and moving example.”

Zimpher proposes initiatives at her final SUNY address

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SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher highlighted two new programs in her last State of the University Address. These programs include the Impact Foundation, which will secure private sector investment, and the SUNY Center for Systems Change, a new data analysis initiative.

SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher delivered her final State of the University Address on Monday Jan. 23 and introduced two new initiatives for the SUNY system. 

Zimpher highlighted the accomplishments of SUNY in various areas, from affordability to degree completion. One of the new initiatives she spoke about was the Impact Foundation, a measure created for the purpose of sustaining SUNY’s affordability. 

“SUNY has never had anything like this until now—a system-level repository that allows us to actively seek private-sector investment in programs proven to expand access, drive completion and prepare students for success,” Zimpher said. 

This opportunity will allow SUNY to gain funding from foundations and private investors, in the hopes of expanding its affordability and reaching a greater number of students in need. 

President of Student Association senior Michael Baranowski said he believes this initiative will provide increased funding for costs not covered by Gov. Cuomo’s proposed Excelsior Scholarship. 

“There’s still close to $20,000 for someone who is living on campus that the scholarship does not help. So though that is great at opening the door for a lot of people, there’s still a lot of costs that will have to be covered by students,” Baranowski said. “Probably every SUNY school would be happy to have this initiative because it will go back to the students.” 

This initiative comes with Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s recent proposal for free tuition for SUNY and CUNY students. A concern about decreasing costs of attendance has developed, but proposals such as these are difficult to put into effect, according to the Vice President of Student and Campus Life Robert Bonfiglio. 

“SUNY is a big organization with lots of moving parts and it’s hard to get all those parts in alignment for something like this,” he said. “I’m not saying it’s not possible, it’s just difficult.”

Zimpher also announced the creation of the SUNY Center for Systems Change, a data-driven approach with the goal of implementing greater standards and an improved system for education. 

“We have not yet systematically prepared all of our people—our faculty, students and staff who are the lifeblood of our system—to tackle these challenges more effectively,” Zimpher said. “And if we don’t prepare ourselves now, it will only get more difficult as technology races ahead.”

This change comes with the desire to increase the ease of degree acquisition for students and to enable students struggling in the education system to successfully obtain their college degree. 

Zimpher also mentioned the FAFSA Outreach Initiative in her speech, which was created for the purpose of encouraging students and their families to apply for financial aid. One hundred and seventy four million dollars of federal financial aid available for New Yorkers goes unused each year due to the lack of awareness regarding eligibility, according to Zimpher. This outreach program will establish meetings for students and their families to educate them. 

Student Assembly President Marc Cohen said in a phone interview that Zimpher’s work on these initiatives further shows her commitment to bettering the lives of students. 

“Her dedication and devotion to shared government and in involving students in decisions, in giving students a seat at the table was evident throughout her tenure,” Cohen said. 

These will most likely be the final initiatives Zimpher will establish, as she is set to step down from her position as chancellor in June 2017.

Musical mixtape serves as social commentary

The Hamilton Mixtape premiered on Friday Dec. 2 to great anticipation and fanfare. The album consists of songs from the Broadway phenomenon “Hamilton,” as written by the show’s creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda, but sung by our favorite musical artists. Miranda began the mixtape that eventually led to the creation of his famous musical in 2009. The album features 22 songs from the original score, featuring artists including Usher, Sia, Alicia Keys, Jimmy Fallon, Kelly Clarkson, Chance the Rapper, Andra Day, John Legend, Ashanti, The Roots and many more. Miranda has suggested that this is only Volume I, with a second volume expected to release shortly afterward.

The album’s songs are similar in style to the original score, which drew a widely positive reception from both critics and audiences for its unprecedented and unique portrayal of a common historical narrative. The experience of The Hamilton Mixtape does not just come with the music itself, however; with it also comes its place in the current political and social atmosphere of the country.

While most of the album is composed of covers, there are also a few uncut versions of songs that are not featured in the musical. This includes “Immigrants (We Get the Job Done),” which is performed by a diverse group of artists, comprising of Somali-Canadian rapper K’NAAN, Mexican-American singer Snow Tha Product, British-Pakistani actor and rapper Riz Ahmed and Puerto Rican rapper Residente. This song deviates from the rest by rooting itself in the present, referencing the current status of immigrants in the United States.

“It’s really astonishing that in a country founded by immigrants, ‘immigrant’ has somehow become a bad word,” the song says.

The song also tackles issues of border security, discussing the contributions immigrants have made to this country: “We’re America’s ghost writers, the credit’s only borrowed.”

The foundation of “Hamilton” itself lies in its ability to redefine the role of immigrants and minorities in the whitewashed landscape of American history. The story of Alexander Hamilton is told using a fusion of various musical styles popularized by minority groups, including R&B, rap and other combinations of hip-hop with ballads and show tunes.

The cast is also made up of many diverse performers. With members of the LGBTQ+ community, African Americans, Hispanics and Asians—in combination with the musical’s current role in pop culture—reassurance is provided to marginalized people living in fear of the current issues surrounding society. This includes everything from police brutality to hate crimes.

In terms of the lyrical content, Miranda’s creative genius shines through with the inclusion of his early demo songs, “Wait For It,” featuring Usher, and the new take on “Satisfied” with Queen Latifah, Sia and Miranda himself.

Miranda’s combination of modern American musical sound with a retelling of the classic white dominated story of this country’s origins sends an important message about the changes that have since transformed the face of this country. The new face of America is a diverse melting pot of brown, black and white faces that embody the true American values of freedom and liberty.

The Hamilton Mixtape serves to show that our history and our present don’t have to be mutually exclusive; rather, the two serve as two pieces of a puzzle that complete each other and paint a bigger, more important picture. The Hamilton Mixtape embraces change and addresses the diverse America, establishing its connection with the past and its continued presence in the future.

SUNY allocates $2.5 million to combat substance abuse

Geneseo hopes to receive a grant from New York State to combat a potential increase in heroin and other substances. Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the allocation of $2.5 million to go toward 20 SUNY and CUNY schools in order to help combat substance abuse. The state and colleges around New York have seen the rise in heroin usage lately, in addition to other drugs commonly used by college students, according to Alcohol and Other Drug Program Coordinator Sarah Covell.

While Geneseo has not seen an increase in heroin usage, the possibility exists, especially as it affects the surrounding area, Covell said.

“We haven’t actually noticed it, but we know that it’s all around us and we want to be prepared and be proactive about it,” Covell said.

There has been an increase in heroin usage all around the state, Covell said, but only 0.2 percent of students at Geneseo reported using heroin, according to a survey taken last spring.

The most common drugs used at the college include alcohol, marijuana, nicotine, cocaine and amphetamines, according to the same survey. In addition, there has been an increase in the misuse of highly addictive prescription drugs, according to Covell.

“Heroin is extremely addictive ... they’re linking it to the over-prescription of opioid painkillers, so opioid painkillers were being prescribed very readily,” Covell said. “People were becoming addicted: oxycontin, oxycodone, vicodin, percocet—all of those were causing people to become dependent upon them.”

While there have been restrictions placed upon the amount of prescription drugs being distributed readily, the rapid rise in levels of addiction remains a problem. With the lack of access to prescription drugs, which can become very expensive, people look toward other alternatives, according to Covell.

“Heroin becomes cheap and readily available, and so they switch to heroin. And that’s pretty much how the heroin epidemic has occurred,” Covell said.

There has been an increase in heroin usage in the Village of Geneseo and the area surrounding the college campus, according to Village of Geneseo Chief of Police Eric Osganian.

“We’ve seen more arrests associated with heroin possession and we’ve responded to more heroin overdoses than we have in the past years,” Osganian said. “For the last five years, we’ve seen a large increase; it wasn’t as noticeable 10 to 15 years ago, but we’re seeing more of it in the last number of years.”

Heroin was involved in the recent drug overdose of 21-year-old Colin Murphy, a transfer student at Geneseo. While the coroner’s office has not officially sent in the toxicology report, reports reveal that the student overdosed by using a combination of heroin and Xanax, according to Osganian.

While Geneseo has reportedly not been dealing with an increase in the use of heroin, the school is still preparing to handle a potential increase, according to Vice President for Student and Campus Life Robert Bonfiglio.

“There’s a real increase in the use of heroin and—while we haven’t addressed that specifically in the coalition before—I would say that it’s likely we will in the future,” Bonfiglio said.

The school is preparing a proposal to receive the grant that Cuomo and New York State will give to 20 SUNY and CUNY schools to help combat substance abuse.

“The grant is to encourage greater collaboration between college campuses and the communities in which they exist,” Covell said.

If the school receives the grant, there will be $125,000 available every year for the next five years to support initiatives and programming for the purpose of drug prevention, according to Covell.

These initiatives will include hiring personnel dedicated to dealing with only alcohol and drug prevention, establishing new programming and implementing education catered specifically for students and staff for alcohol and drug prevention, as well as media outreach and more, according to Covell.

“It would really be helpful to have a person who is a link between the students and the college and the community, because so many of these issues require what is called an Environmental Management Approach. To address the source of the alcohol that underage people are obtaining, this approach requires identifying the places where binge drinking might be occurring or other unsafe conditions,” Bonfiglio said. “The county has its own office of alcohol and substance abuse services and the college has its own office, but to have someone who is working to unite them with the local community Geneseo would be a good thing.”

Common issues that arise as a result of alcohol and drug abuse include binge drinking and overdose, blackouts leading to long-term memory loss, academic difficulties, sexual assaults, fights, injuries and more, according to Covell.

“People’s rate of serious consideration of suicide has risen considerably while under the influence of alcohol,” Covell said. “We know that people’s impulse control is impaired when alcohol is onboard, so if somebody is seriously considering suicide, they might be more likely to actually act on that.”

On average, 25 percent of arrests or transports for suicide attempts since 2005 have been by Geneseo students, according to data from the Village Police.

Covell hopes that by implementing a substance abuse program, the campus will become safer.

“The ultimate goal is to keep people safe. The ultimate goal is to keep our students safe,” Covell said. “We also hope to help them develop healthy habits, so they have balanced lives and so they’re having fun, but also so they’re able to succeed in college, careers and their lives.”

Harry Potter prequel: same magical world, new spellbinding story

The highly anticipated prequel to J.K. Rowling’s wildly successful Harry Potter series, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, premiered on Nov. 18. The movie was met with overwhelmingly positive responses from critics and audiences alike. Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne expertly plays the film’s main character Newt Scamander, wizard employee at the Ministry of Magic and future author of the Hogwarts textbook for which the movie is named. The movie also stars Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, Samantha Morton, Jon Voight, Carmen Ejogo, Ron Perlman and Colin Farrell in supporting roles, with a special cameo from Johnny Depp.

From the outset, this prequel is different from its famous predecessors. Unlike the Harry Potter series, which takes place exclusively in England, this movie opens up in New York City. It follows Newt as he lands in New York en route to Arizona and accidentally swaps bags with Muggle—or “no-maj”—Jacob Kowalski, played by Folger. The catch? Newt’s bag isn’t your typical luggage, but an expanding suitcase full of magical creatures. Jacob accidentally releases several of the creatures into the city and they work together to help track the missing beasts.

Newt was often mentioned in passing in the Harry Potter books and movies because his book, which details different types of magical creatures, was a staple Hogwarts textbook. This movie, however, is an opportunity to delve deeper into a tiny facet of the magical world of Harry Potter, forming Newt into a fully developed character with his own adventures, missteps and sidekicks.

The film is refreshing in its ability to avoid classic slip-ups often taken when popular movie franchises attempt to continue their success by drawing out the series. This can often result in poor direction, lack of audience interest and subpar storytelling.

With a series as widely renowned and successful as Harry Potter, this is an issue that could have easily come up in Fantastic Beasts. The charm of the original series is one that simply cannot be replicated, and this fictional world continues to enrapture audiences around the world today. The magic of the Harry Potter series lies in its novelty, and any attempt to recreate that may take away some of the enchantment.

But this is absolutely not the case in Fantastic Beasts. The prequel manages to avoid falling into these typical Hollywood sequel/prequel tropes.

Its stunning visuals and rich mythology come together in a way that makes the franchise entirely its own, but at the same time brings along with it the familiarity of a world many people around the globe have come to regard as a second home. The fundamental essence of the Harry Potter world is present, but this movie manages to stand independent of Harry and his circle of friends.

Newt was never a central character, or even supporting character in the original franchise; rather, he was a background figure. By giving him his own movie and by exploring the different facets of Harry Potter’s magical world—which so many long to be a part of—Rowling and her team are able to bring joy to magic lovers everywhere, all without exhausting a story that has already been told.

Village plans to improve Main Street visibility after recent fountain accident

The Village of Geneseo is planning on continuing reconstruction efforts for the Main Street fountain following a car accident on Sunday Nov. 27, the second car accident that has occurred at the fountain this year. The operator of the vehicle, 62-year-old Paul Stevenson, was driving down Main Street and crashed into the fountain’s east side. The left side wheels knocked the fountain off its base slightly before the vehicle veered off and spun straight into Village Cafe at around 9:01 p.m., according to first responders.

There were no pedestrians at the time of the incident and the driver remained unharmed, according to Village Chief of Police Eric Osganian.

“As far as an accident goes, it was the best case scenario, nobody got hurt,” Osganian said. He said that the driver received a citation for a failure to obey traffic control advice and that any compensation to help restore the fountain would come from the driver’s insurance company.

The crash itself did little to hinder the restoration process and it is expected to be fully repaired by the summer of 2017, according to Mayor Richard Hatheway.

“It sustained very little damage. It was moved off its foundation a few inches, but didn’t really sustain any further damage and it really wouldn’t have made much difference anyway since the whole basing was going to be replaced,” Hatheway said.

The fountain already suffered damages as a result of a milk truck accident last semester. A major focus for the project currently includes prevention methods to avoid traffic issues with the fountain in the future.

“If you look at pictures of the fountain in the 1940s, in the 1950s, it was covered in street signs. It was a traffic hazard, has been a traffic hazard in the past,” professor and Chair of the History Department Joseph Cope said.

“Even before the one this summer, you would see some nicks and small scrapes along the fountain. It periodically does get hit,” Osganian said. “I mean, it’s a large granite item in the middle of the road.”

The Department of Public Works and the Village are looking into installing light fixtures around the fountain or in the streets to signal incoming drivers of its presence.

“They did put some blue reflective markers around the fountain. Most of us—we all know it’s there, so we try to avoid it,” Osganian said. “But you’re not paying attention, if you don’t move off that lane you will run right into it. So they are looking at that to try to prevent another accident.”

The fountain is considered a historical landmark and was commissioned in 1887 by Herbert and William Austin Wadsworth as a tribute to their mother, according to Cope.

The Wadsworth brothers commissioned Richard Morris Hunt—the architect responsible for a variety of famous pieces, including the base of the Statue of Liberty and the Façade at the Metropolitan Museum of Art—to design the fountain. Hunt’s design started with the bear holding the lantern and the fountain continued developing afterward.

Various changes have been made for the preservation of the fountain after it was initially constructed. In 2009, the Association of the Preservation of Geneseo worked to redesign the lamp held by the bear on the fountain, according to Hatheway.

Funds for the restoration and for this particular change came through a fundraising drive in 2010.

“A good portion of that funding came from SUNY Geneseo alumni,” Hatheway said. “They were exceptionally supportive of fixing the fountain and there was enough money left over at the end of that project that they ended up getting a 3D image—or digital image—of the fountain, which has turned out to be very important, as the fountain is now being rebuilt.”

The digital 3D picture of the fountain is being made into a Styrofoam model and will help to facilitate the current restoration process.

The fountain has an important historical significance in the village and community, according to Cope.

“The fountain has been a really important landmark in the village for a very long time ... if you go through historical photographs of the Village of Geneseo, you go through memoirs of people who have lived in the village—the fountain is really kind of an anchor to the community,” Cope said.  “It’s a really important symbol in a lot of respects of the village and the entire community of Geneseo, so it seems like a really important component of our local identity in a lot of ways."

News Editor Annie Renaud contributed reporting to this article.

Sexual assault policies’ vigor evaluated

Geneseo’s procedure for reporting sexual assault has been criticized for its failure to promote an active involvement of local law enforcement. The national average for women who experience sexual assault on college campuses as undergraduates is 23.1 percent and the average for men is 5.4 percent, according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network. Of these sexual assault incidents, only 20 percent of females report the assault to law enforcement compared to the 32 percent of non-student females of the same age, according to RAINN. In addition, members of the LGBTQ+ community are at higher risk of sexual assault and are less likely to report the assault cases, Director of Student Care Services & Title IX Coordinator Tamara Kenney said.

The procedure for reporting sexual assault that has occurred on campus consists of a series of steps influenced by the victim’s personal requests and is in coordination with a variety of individuals and services offered on campus.

These services include organizations like RESTORE, Chances and Changes, as well as the University Police Department, Health & Counseling Center and Title IX offices. Students have a variety of options, including access to mental and physical health care, academic accommodations, support services, in addition to the option to launch a Title IX investigation, according to Kenney.

“The student who’s been harmed—the victim—has the right to participate or not participate,” she said. “That person has the right to tell us any information that they want to, so if they just want to report to us to get the services, then we’ll give them the services and if they don’t want to tell us any more than that, then we have to make a determination as to if we have danger to campus or are we able to just stop the investigation at that time, based on what the person wants.”

A sexual assault crime is anything stated under Article 130 of the New York State Penal Law, according to Livingston County District Attorney Gregory McCaffrey, who encourages involvement of local law enforcement immediately following sexual crimes.

“A lot of the students here at SUNY aren’t really from the area and obviously they might have the same friends, but they may not have the same family support, or they may blame themselves and not want to confide in their parents,” McCaffrey said. “Sometimes those cases aren’t referred to law enforcement—whether it’s to the university police or the sheriff’s office or the state police or the village police.”

McCaffrey believes it’s important to gather evidence immediately following a sexual assault incidence in order to secure the victim’s right to follow any path they may choose.

“Our biggest thing is that if someone discloses a sexual thing to us, we are here trying to assist the victim,” McCaffrey said. “Gathering the information, gathering the evidence and then having that allows the victim time to choose when they’re more comfortable to testify or to confront their accuser, or to cooperate or not cooperate with our investigation because the evidence is there.”

The cooperation between local law enforcement and the campus in sexual assault crimes needs improvement, according to McCaffrey.

“Evidence can’t wait. The victim’s ability to testify and willingness to testify—that’s stuff we can work through and talk about,” he said. “I think the college does a fantastic job with counseling services, with support services and everything else, which is good; it really is all up to the victim at that point. But again … to get the physical evidence that may be there, I think a higher priority needs to be put on that from the college’s standpoint.”

McCaffrey added that “it’s somewhat rare that these cases actually get to my office. I think a lot of times disclosures are made by victims and they are dealt with internally on campus. I think if people actually came down and saw my office and met with me or my assistants or victim coordinator and all the sheriff’s deputies, it’s really not that scary of an experience.”

McCaffrey encourages college students to reach out to law enforcement because of the long-term benefits.

“I think that’s the thing I want to stress to college students and to everyone else—that we’re not going to make you do anything, we’re here to help and we’re not going to re-victimize you,” he said. “But getting us involved, we have great subpoena power, great investigative power—there’s stuff we can do. This is what we do for a living.”