Invasion of Privacy: Romania native brings international history to Geneseo

Junior Alexandru Matusz spent his senior year of high school in Idaho after spending his entire youth in Romania and based his decision to come to Geneseo solely on the school's page on the College Board website. In his undergraduate search, Matusz wanted to see more of the East Coast for his college experience after being in Fruitland, Idaho. Matusz first came to Geneseo from 2007 until 2010; after taking a break at home in Romania, he is now back to complete his majors in international relations and history.

“I heard that New York has a better education system,” he said. “Geneseo was a totally new experience, like going into a new world.”

His host family in Idaho, he said, was like his own family, so Matusz's first semester was more emotionally challenging than expected.

“I was used to being with family, like mine in Romania is very caring and very friendly,” he said, adding that he struggled at first with living alone and balancing his studies and activities.

“One thing that's distinct about the Romanian education system is that, in the classes, you don't get separated,” he said. “Here, students go to classes, but in Romania, we have the same class with the same people all day long.”

But Matusz is sociable and open-minded, something that he attributes to his many travels over the years. The city where he was raised, Timisoara, is on the western edge of Romania, nicknamed “Little Vienna,” where he was surrounded by other countries, cultures and backgrounds. He said this location helped him develop into who he is today.

“It starts with diversity, and you get to know and understand people from different viewpoints like ethnic and religious,” he said. “I don't ever regret having the opportunity to travel.”

Timisoara “has a rich history of over 1,000 years, beginning with the Roman Empire, where I can trace my ancestries,” he added. The city was part of the anti-communist revolution in 1989, and out of all of the countries where communism fell, Romania was the only place where blood was shed. Matusz said it makes his hometown a “martyr city.”

When Matusz was one year old, he “lived a period of time that was a transition toward democracy and the integration of that.” Living in a city with such history is one of the reasons he pursued his major, and he hopes to continue into international law after he graduates.

“I like history because it's a study of the past and helps people not to repeat things. I like learning all about the past,” he said, adding that history helps him to “set a foundation for studying international relations.”

Through international law, he said, “you can see the world; you can meet different cultures.”

While Matusz has traveled the world, and pinpoints some of his favorite locations to be the forts and castles of Germany, the Valley of the Loire in France and his medieval favorites like Florence, Italy, he said, “I must say I like very much the 'Wild West.' I think that's the real American experience to be there.”

Invasion of Privacy: Diego Droguett confesses story behind Facebook page

After spending most of his adolescence moving from different towns, cities and countries, junior Diego Droguett made a name and home for himself in Geneseo as the mysterious creator of “Geneseo Confessions.” It was during last spring when Droguett took a semester off for personal reasons and created the Facebook page after fearing that he would lose his connection to Geneseo.

“I was missing Geneseo and I was going through personal issues, so I felt that I could really benefit from a page like that, and I thought others might too,” Droguett said.

According to Droguett, the page slowly grew a fan base. At its peak, the group had acquired over 1,500 fans and Droguett had received around the same number of confessions.

“It's really cool, I think, to see people coming out and people opening up to this anonymous page and then having the Geneseo community comment,” he said.

While Droguett said he appreciated the encouragement from the student body, maintaining the page involved time-consuming work. He had to create a schedule to help make the page run smoothly.

“I would check it multiple times a day, and when I felt comfortable that there were enough confessions, I would post them in bulk. So I would post four or five, sometimes up to 10 confessions,” he said. “I would do that once a day.”

On Sept. 17, Droguett logged on to Facebook to find that “Geneseo Confessions” had been deleted, and his personal account had been banned for 12 hours. Droguett said this was due to one of the posts on the page violating the terms of service. After the 12-hour ban, Droguett made a conscious decision not to make another page.

“It was a lot of work, and I didn't want to set up another page. It took a while to get the large following it did,” Droguett said. “I've noticed the Geneseo Facebook groups have been dying down lately, so I decided to just kind of leave it in my memories.”

Another “Geneseo Confessions” page has since been created, though Droguett claims no involvement.

Without “Confessions,” Droguett said he is now more focused on completing his degree in biology. He hopes to follow in his parents' footsteps - both are heavily involved in the sciences - and do pharmaceutical research.

Droguett was born in the Bronx, N.Y. After his father received a job offer, Droguett and his parents relocated to Concepción, Chile for four years. According to Droguett, the move wasn't too difficult.

“I was raised with the same customs as they were, so I adapted really well there,” he said.

While constant movement helped define his adolescence, Droguett said this helped him make the most of college when he eventually started his studies at Geneseo.

“I've never really started off with a fresh, clean slate like everyone else,” Droguett said. “So I definitely took opportunity of that and just met a whole bunch of new people because we were all in the same situation.”

Ultimately, Droguett said that all of his travels and experiences - from the Bronx to Chile to Geneseo - have taught him invaluable lessons.

“Being in the Bronx, I grew up and I learned to just fend for myself,” Droguett said. “In Chile there were huge family connections I made that I still keep today. Everywhere I go, I just take something in and keep it.”

Invasion of Privacy: Junior Wendy Xia crowns top chess title

After a two-year break from the chess scene, junior Wendy Xia returned to the game that brought her many successes both in addition to her choice in major and independent lifestyle.

Xia started chess at age 8, which in China “is not so early like other child prodigies,” she said. Her dad pushed her to play chess after speaking with someone at her town's local chess center.

“I didn't like chess at first … but my dad heard that it is really good for your brain development, spatial abilities, analysis reasoning,” she said. “He really wanted me to do it. He asked me, 'Do you want to learn chess?' I said no, but luckily he didn't give up on me.”

To motivate her to play chess, her dad bought many chess books and a new chess set so the two could practice together.

“He would lose to me on purpose, and I would say, 'Yeah, I beat my dad,'” she said. “After half a year he couldn't beat me anymore.”

Xia said her dad continued to spark her interest in chess to the point at which she entered various chess tournaments around China and eventually went to a junior high school in Beijing that focused on academics for the first part of the day and chess for the second part.

By attending this junior high school to be on the National Junior Chess team, Xia said she gained a lot of her independence, living almost three hours from home.

“I had been constantly involved with chess tournaments [around China],” she said. “I got used to it - it helped me apply to American colleges and motivated me to live away from home.”

At the end of junior high school, Xia had the option to become a professional chess player but declined the offer to stay in high school because she said she enjoys chess but enjoys many other things as well.

Through chess, Xia found her love for psychology and added it as her second major in addition to biology.

“Chess has a lot of psychology in it,” she said. “It has a rational side … but there's a less rational side, which is psychology. Sometimes top players intimidate people by making pretty aggressive moves and looking confident when, really, they aren't that confident.”

While she still played chess recreationally, Xia didn't return to chess tournaments until the Geneseo Chess Club hosted a tournament last semester. She won first place. She also attended the New York State Championships in Albany over Labor Day weekend and won for her under 2,100-points group.

Xia said she attributes much of her success in to her persistence because she “doesn't easily give up” regardless of the skill level of her opponent.

“I think I actually play better against really good players,” she said. “It brings out potential in me to play really well. Sometimes when I play someone worse than me … I make reckless moves. I tend to make a lot of chances in those games because I assume [my opponent] is not as good as me.”

Xia is now waiting on her national rank but knows she will be in the top 100 females in the United States.

Xia said chess has been “a blessing and a curse” in the ways in which she thinks in both academic and social settings.

“After you're really good at chess, how you think is kind of different,” Xia said. “I tend to overanalyze stuff in social situations. I tend to think a lot and not just speak whatever I think. It's part of how I play chess - before every move, I have to think, even if it's obvious. I like to think deeply.”

Invasion of Privacy: Cuckoo Gupta

Campus was buzzing in the spring with mention of an Indian reality  TV show, which featured current Geneseo freshman Cuckoo Gupta. “College Hunt USA” features college-bound high school students  in India who choose between three colleges in the U.S., according to  a press release from the U.S. Consulate  Mumbai.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln initially invited Gupta on the  show as an opportunity to tour the Midwest campus. After completing  her application, she went through a few Skype interviews and a camera  audition.

But initially, Gupta said she and her family were skeptical of the  show and even coming to the U.S. to attend college.

“I had given up on coming [to] the U.S. and studying,” she said.  “I had applied to 11 universities. I got into 10, but I did not get  scholarships. That was the worst feeling.”

Around the time she was preparing to attend the University of Dublin,  Gupta received a call from the show's director asking if she was interested  in being on “College Hunt USA.”

“In a month's time my bags were packed and I was in the U.S.,”  she said. “I learned a lot through these three universities, but the  best part was I loved meeting new people.”

While the show was in production, Gupta had the option of picking  from six schools. The UNL, Ohio Wesleyan University and Geneseo made  the final roster of colleges to visit.

Gupta, now a self-proclaimed proud Geneseo student, was drawn to rural  Western New York due to the friendliness of the student body and a liberal  arts education.

While it is commonplace for most Indians to stay in the country for  college, some do not. Out of Gupta's class of 24, 21 attended college  outside of the country.

“In India, everyone has to go to college … There it is not about  your resume … or who you as a person; it's all about grades,” she  said. “It's extremely, extremely competitive.”

As a communication major in the journalism track, Gupta said she is  looking to go into film and TV. Though she said she is fairly certain  she wants pursue the field, she wants to be able to explore her interests.

“You know, again, it comes back to the culture. In India, everyone  is very committed to what they do,” she said. “Of course, I am sure  that I want to do film studies; I want to work in TV shows … but at  the same time there is this back voice saying, 'What if I change my  mind?'”

So far, Gupta has been adjusting well to her new environment.  Though this is the first time she has been away from home for an extended  period of time, she said she is enjoying taking in the names, faces  and sunsets that Geneseo has to offer.

“Usually, when I don't have class, I come two hours before the sun  sets, but I don't mind sitting alone,” Gupta said. “Half of the  time you actually meet people.”

“It's been two weeks [since I moved in], and I haven't had a day  where I feel lonely,” she said. “Everybody is always ready to help  you. I just love the people here.”