Y Bar & Grill opens as first gay bar in Livingston County

The Y Bar and Grill officially opened its doors on Aug. 5. Located at 4262 Lakeside Rd. on the outskirts of the town of Geneseo, it is Livingston County’s first LGBTQ-friendly bar. Until a few months ago, the Y Bar was a meat and seafood restaurant known as the SeaCow Grill, owned by Keith Provo. Over the summer, Provo decided to reopen the restaurant as the Y Bar.

“I was tired of the food business and I wanted to get into the bar business,” Provo said. “I had a bar in Florida that was similar to this, which was gay friendly. I know [the business] very well and decided to give it a shot here—there was nothing in Livingston County like it.”

Associate professor of English and co-chair of Geneseo’s LGBTQ Working Group Alice Rutkowski described the new bar as a necessary social outlet for LGBTQ students.

“The SA group ‘Pride’ is an extraordinary organization, but for the life of it, it’s always had to be everything for all queer students,” she said. “It’s had to be both a support group—folks might be wondering how to come out if they weren’t out in high school—it does advocacy work, but then it’s also been forced to be the social group. The idea that there’s something that Pride doesn’t have to be responsible for—that people of all identities might want to go to find someone to date—is so fantastic.”

According to bartender Tom Moag, due to their relative proximity to Geneseo, the bar has professed interest in being an accessible nightlife option for students who are 21 and older.

“Thursdays are college ID nights, so [students] get a dollar off all their drinks, which we found out would be the cheapest place to get a drink in town for the college kids,” Moag said.

Besides the specific appeal to students, Y Bar has a number of other events.

“We have our Drag shows on Friday and Saturday nights, which are at around 10:30-11 [p.m.] and 12:30 [a.m.],” Moag said. “We also do special events on one Sunday a month. Our first one will be Sept. 18th and it’s going to be a Hawaiian Luau, from 3-7 [p.m].”

Beyond those events, the establishment is looking toward other possible promotions and community outreach. “We’re working on a karaoke and trivia night too,” Provo said.

Moag added: “We have other things planned, it’s just working them into the schedule.”

With only two weekends in the term so far, it’s unclear whether the bar is popular among students. Sophomore Claire Sigal was receptive toward the opening.

“What I think is really cool is that it’s very inclusive,” she said. “It’s not just for one group of people, it’s for everyone. What I don’t like as much is that there’s only one night for [students under 21] and it’s on a Sunday.”

According to Provo and Moag, there has been at least some student traffic, with students coming on Aug. 29 and a few drag queens visiting from the campus as well.

Rutkowski expressed the importance of LGBTQ bars as safe places for social interaction. “There are basically no social opportunities for queer students at Geneseo,” she said. “Certainly they’re welcome at other places, but if they want to meet a romantic partner there’s no way to know. So the idea that you could go to a place that is a safe space … [with] folks who might be interested in you is so exciting for our students.”

Geneseo redesigns website, boosts mobile efficiency

The College Communications Department and Computing and Information Technology are in the process of upgrading and redesigning Geneseo’s website. The departments are currently looking for feedback on prototypes of the new website. Geneseo’s website has not had a major update since 2008. Digital Communications Manager Kristy Barkan said the website has needed to be reworked for a number of years, especially because of how other websites have changed. “It’s something that our department has been working on for a long time,” she said. “Being mobile friendly is really important now, especially for Google search results and the ease of use for everyone. We wanted to take it to a place where it would be simple, visually compelling and easy for everyone to use.”

Barkan explained the focus on mobile device compatibility by citing how technology use has evolved. “It’s really becoming more and more important as people view the world more and more through the lens of their mobile devices,” she said. “It becomes a part of us and the way we see things. It’s becoming increasingly important and we want to move forward, not just to catch up.”

According to web developer Jack Bechdol, changes to the current website are twofold. “There’s the technical content management systems side and the web design side,” he said. “Like WordPress, we use [a program] called Droople which allows users to easily manage their content. We’re upgrading from an older version to a newer version and it seems like the right time to do a whole fresh look for our website, so that’s where we’re going with the project.”

Bechdol works more with the developing side of the website through CIT, while Barkan is focused on the design side through the Communications Department. Both faculty members were hired during the 2015 fall semester and have primarily focused on this project so far.

CIT Assistant Director and Manager of Information Systems Paul Jackson said developments will be made to improve the website’s mobile performance. “There’s this design technique called responsive design, and this website will be implemented using this responsive design technology so that it will look better on a mobile screen,” he said. “It’s a direction most websites have been using, so Geneseo is kind of following best practices and standards.”

A draft of some parts of the newly designed website was sent out to the college community on Thursday April 21 by Interim Assistant Vice President for Communications David Irwin. The email asked for feedback and critiques on the design aspects.

Barkan said that by Friday April 22 “120 people [had] responded. We are really looking at everything you say. It’s not my website, it’s your website.”

Irwin estimated that the new website could be launched over the summer. “We’re getting a lot of really good feedback, and we really need that feedback from students to continue,” he said.

According to Jackson, there are two approaches the College Communications Department and CIT can take in launching the website. “One of the things we’re trying to figure out is whether we can switch the whole site at once or whether we need to do it incrementally, subsite by subsite,” he said. “We’re trying to figure that out right now as to which way to make it work. Unless we get that answer, we can’t have a better feel of a timetable.”

Regardless of considerations on when or how the site would be launched, the designers and developers seemed confident it would benefit the school. “The website is the virtual front door to Geneseo,” Irwin said. “That’s how people see who we are, what we are, what we offer and those sort of things, so it’s extremely important that we cover all of the bases that we possibly can through this upgrade.”

Club generates discussion on local migrant workers

A new club geared toward bridging the gap between the Geneseo student population and migrant workers on nearby farms hosted a movie and discussion forum on Thursday March 31 in Newton 204. Senior Ariana Lippi arranged the viewing in order to garner attention for the club.

The event featured a showing of the 2014 documentary Cesar’s Last Fast—which chronicles the events of Cesar Chavez’s 36-day water-only hunger strike in 1988—and two migrant farm workers—both of whom work on farms in the area—as guest speakers. Chavez was a farm worker turned advocate and leader of the National Farm Workers Association.

The film highlighted issues that farm workers typically face, including underpayment, poor living conditions and the fact that farm workers are one of only two labor groups who do not have the right to collectively bargain.

After the film, the event became an open forum for students to ask José and Victor—who asked that their last names be omitted—questions about their work experiences. The two men spoke only Spanish and an interpreter translated their answers to the audience.

“It’s very nice to see so many young people here. You guys are the future. I think it is very important that we need to start valuing the people who bring us our food—everybody has to eat,” José said. “Before the job I have now, I worked on a farm where I wasn’t getting paid for my hours. They would demand more and more work and pay me an amount that had nothing to do with how many hours I worked.” José is originally from Mexico and came to the United States to find work.

Hailing from Guatemala, Victor is a former dairy farm worker and has lived in the U.S. for 10 years. According to Victor, the abuse of farm workers—as seen in the film—is not an issue of the past.

“A lot of things we saw happening in the film are happening on dairy farms today. Many times, farm owners don’t respect it when workers call in sick,” Victor said. “We came here to work and sometimes people are forced to work so hard, they lose their lives.”

Lippi noted that she was pleasantly surprised by the student turnout. An international relations and Spanish double major, Lippi was able to organize the event through her internship at the Worker Justice Center of New York. The WJCNY is an organization that advocates for the rights of farm workers and other low-wage workers who are often denied liberties.

“Part of my internship is to work with the Geneseo community, with the main goal being to make what goes on in the farms in the surrounding areas like Mount Morris and Perry—which are only 10 minutes away—apparent,” Lippi said. “Issues these farm workers face are even closer because they pick a lot of the food that gets sold on campus. Just go into Fusion Market and you’ll see signs for products from Upstate Farms—a lot of that stuff comes from right around here.”

Political science major junior Danny Ruiz found out about the new club—which he tentatively referred to as the Geneseo Coalition for Migrant Workers—via one of the “WhatsUp Digest” emails. Ruiz emphasized that migrant worker issues hit home with him.

“I’ve grown up with all the issues of migrant workers; my parents were migrant workers,” Ruiz said. “As soon as I saw this in the email, I contacted Ariana [Lippi] right away … Our main goal is to create awareness for the issues migrant workers face—like the working and living conditions—and to get students involved.”

International relations major junior Anna Biuso also got involved when she saw the email. At her Campus Auxiliary Services job, Biuso explained that she is constantly around the merchandise displayed as products of Upstate New York.

“As a CAS worker, I’m always seeing the Upstate Farms posters, which show a white male as the dairy worker. Once I saw the emails, I started to wonder if the advertisements really show who the dairy workers are,” Biuso said. “I felt that it was a problem and immediately wanted to get involved.”

The club is still in its developing stages. According to Biuso, the next step for the club to take is to work on its organizational structure.

“At our meeting next week, we’re going to discuss what to do for next year,” Lippi said. “I think a club like this and the internship I currently have are important because I think it’s important for students to be able to have a leadership role and make a difference.”

Students volunteer in Day of Service to give back to Geneseo community

Alpha Phi Omega hosted Geneseo’s fifth annual Day of Service on Sunday April 3. Geneseo students, students from various other universities and community members gathered together to work on various service projects throughout the day.

President Denise Battles gave a keynote speech to all of the participants before the Day of Service began. In her speech, Battles emphasized the positive impact community service continues to have.

“We all owe a great deal of debt to the caring, motivated individuals who chose to give back and make a difference in the lives of others,” she said. “And that’s really what you’re doing here today—making a good and lasting difference on the campus and in our local communities.”

Battles commended the amount of volunteer service that APO does for the community, citing the organization’s 8,800 hours in total service last year that amounted to a monetary value of $203,000.

Co-Chair of Day of Service Committee senior Amanda Armbruster said that 150 individuals participated in this year’s Day of Service. Organizations such as APO, Golden Key, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, American Red Cross Club, Geneseo Pride Alliance, Sigma Delta Tau, Dumbledore’s Army and Hippies for Hope hosted projects in Bailey Hall or in the MacVittie College Union. Participants could also go off campus to Temple Hill Cemetery to help clean the area.

According to senior Gina Suriano—who also served as Co-Chair of the Day of Service Committee—students from other colleges such as the Rochester Institute of Technology and SUNY Fredonia attended this year’s event. She added that she hopes that participation will continue to grow, with hopes that more organizations and individuals from all over will attend next year.

R.I.T. junior Brian Coren worked with Pride to design anti-bullying posters, which will be given to local schools. The posters included facts about bullying, consequences of bullying and methods to advocate for someone experiencing bullying. Coren noted that believes the project will raise awareness of bullying.

“I think it will encourage people to rally behind the common problem,” he said. “So, you’ll have more encouragement for people to stand up for each other; to stand by each other.”

The American Red Cross Club’s event had participants create care packages, which will be donated to Chances & Changes, an organization for people who have been affected by domestic violence. Junior Cailin Sofko said she hopes that the project will educate individuals on the organization’s important cause.

“Before we had done this last year, I didn’t even know about Chances & Changes, so I’m hoping it will make people know that they’re there and so if people are interested in that kind of thing—and I know we have a lot of women’s studies minors and stuff like that—then maybe they’d be interested in volunteering there,” she said.

APO hosted multiple service projects throughout the day, including “A Healthy Kitty is a Happy Kitty,” which had participants make toys and blankets for sheltered cats. Project coordinator senior Stephanie Newman explained that these toys will help improve the health of the cats by fostering social interaction and play that can also improve their physical health.

Students from SUNY Brockport also came to Geneseo’s Day of Service. Brockport junior Alex Williams helped with APO’s PB&J sandwich drive and noted that he loved the variety of service projects this day provided.

“I came here last year for this and fell in love because it was just so much service all at once and I got to meet a lot of cool people, including other brothers in my APO chapter,” he said.

Additionally, APO hosted “Cranes for a Cure,” which had students make paper cranes that will be donated to Cranes for a Cure and cancer patients. Project coordinator junior Amber Ho expressed hopes that APO’s Day of Service could continue to improve by attracting outside organizations and individuals.

“We struggled getting more people other than in our organization to participate. So, we definitely have been trying to reach out to other Greek organizations or even just clubs on campus, whether it’s to have them come in and do projects like this or actually run their own project,” she said. “We’ve just been trying to get more involvement, pretty much, and that’s always been the hardest part every year from what I’ve seen.” 

Student arrested with controlled substance, other charges pending

The Livingston County Drug Task Force arrested a Geneseo student on Monday March 28 at 3 Center St. Apt. 201 after a search warrant led to the discovery of narcotics, drug paraphernalia and over $2,800 cash.

Junior Thomas H. Troge of Oyster Bay, New York faces charges for criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree—a class B felony. Troge was arraigned and held in the Livingston County jail on $25,000 bail or $50,000 bond.

According to Geneseo Police Chief Eric Osganian ’91, it is “more than likely” that a tip given to the Livingston County Drug Task Force jumpstarted the investigation, although Osganian said he does no know case details. “The task force applied for a search warrant because they had information that there was drug activity at the address,” he said. “The County Court Judge Robert Wiggins signed the search warrant and while effecting it, they located the drugs.”

Various quantities of Adderall, Xanax, marijuana and  tetrahydrocannabinol food items were discovered during the search. In addition, the task force seized upwards of $2,800 also present in the vicinity.

“We believe that he was selling these pills to other people,” Osganian said, although he emphasized that Troge has not yet been charged for selling prescription drugs. Rather, his arrest focused on his possession of a controlled substance—an alleged hallucinogen. The district attorney’s office may opt for a grand jury to see if there are other charges that might be applicable.   

The Livingston County Drug Task Force monitors Geneseo and the surrounding towns for the uses of illegal substances including, but not limited to, marijuana, heroin and cocaine. Osganian said he believes the county has seen a rise in the use of class A drugs resulting from a greater accessibility and cheaper prices. Last year, the Village Police dealt with two cases of heroin overdoses.

“Heroin is cheap to get and the prescription pills are increasing,” Osganian said. He added, however, that he does not see prevalent use of the drug in the student population.

Village Trustee-elect junior Matthew Cook said he believes the rise in drugs around Livingston County is reflective of a bigger issue. “It’s something that hasn’t been given due attention. One case is too much,” Cook said. “When dealing with it, it should be pointed toward rehabilitation rather than flat out punishment.”

Cook pushed for students to educate themselves about the effects of hard drugs—and more so to just avoid them entirely. “I can’t think of any cases where they have made someone’s life better,” he said.

Cook did not seem worried about the use of drugs around campus, even with Troge’s arrest and the rise in use in the surrounding community. “I think Geneseo students are smart to stay away from them,” Cook said.

The felony hearing for Troge’s arrest is scheduled for Friday April 1—unless he decides to waive the hearing, in which case an adjournment will lead to a new court date. Due to the severity of a class B felony and potential additional charges, this case could be lifted from Geneseo and passed to the County Court.

Two additional students present at the time of Troge’s arrest received unlawful possession of marijuana tickets and will appear in court.

Students elected to Geneseo Village Board of Trustees

For the first time in village history, Geneseo has elected two students to the Village Board of Trustees. Spanish major freshman Mary Rutigliano and political science and history double major junior Matthew Cook—who each ran under on an independent ticket—beat Republican Leslie Carson, incumbent Democrat Bob Wilcox and Democrat Phil Jones with votes totaling 685 and 553 respectively.

Political science major senior Sean Perry and biochemistry major junior Sam Larkin managed both campaigns alongside approximately eight student volunteers who acted as agents in distributing and collecting absentee ballot forms to students across campus. The March 15 election fell during Geneseo’s spring break, during which many students traveled away from campus.

“We successfully changed the electorate of who was going to vote in this election,” Perry said. “We knew exactly what we needed to win—we knew we needed to mobilize the student vote.”

The influx of absentee voter ballots pushed the student candidates to the top of the polls, but both received votes in person on Election Day as well. Rutigliano added 173 to her count and Cook received 55.

Although the campaigns catered largely to students, both Rutigliano and Cook went door-to-door throughout the Village, canvassing to townspeople directly in order to further connect with the community.

“Our whole idea was to bring together two parts of Geneseo. Geneseo has a high ceiling and we really want to make it the best that it can be,” Cook said. “Both parts separately are great, but when you put them together, who knows what could be done?”

A Geneseo native, Rutigliano emphasized that canvassing helped her and Cook address the concerns of the community regarding their commitment to the positions. Village Trustees serve four-year terms and both have said they plan on fulfilling those duties.

Mayor Richard Hatheway appeared to respond positively to the election of two Geneseo students. “These people were elected by the voters of Geneseo and we look forward to working with them,” he said in a phone interview.

Wilcox said he hopes it “doesn’t change anything at all,” although he noted that this election could potentially change the dynamic of local governments across the state where SUNY campuses could dominate those electorates.

“I have no idea how things will go,” he said in a phone interview. “But I hope the students stick with it. I hope it works out well.”

Rutigliano and Cook will be sworn into office on April 4.  Both plan to address issues regarding “brain drain” over the next few weeks, combating Geneseo’s consistent failure to attract new residents and keep recently graduated students in the Village. Cook also expressed a desire to continue a conversation regarding the Social Host Law and its potential danger to students without a Good Samaritan clause.

Wilcox expressed concern that the law dominated students’ reasoning behind their support for Rutigliano and Cook and that the vast majority “don’t care” about other aspects of the local government. His fear extends to the candidates’ motivations as well.

“I’m not mocking or against the students,” he said. “It just has to do with experience.”

Cook remarked that no matter the election result, four of the five people were going to be new at legislating.

“The only person without this problem would have been Bob Wilcox,” he said. “You don’t have to be an expert on everything, but you have to do your research, your homework and talk to people to see what they want. That’s how you make your decisions and move forwards.”

The concern regarding students’ incentive to vote sparked criticism from both Wilcox and residents of the Village. The Livingston County News reported that Judy Devries, a first-time voter as a Geneseo newcomer, questioned, “Do [the students who voted with absentee ballots] have the right to vote here? Most of them are probably on their parents’ tax return and they really should be registering where they live. I question the legality of their votes.”

Rutigliano addressed the concerns head on, explaining that students are a part of the community, spending as much time here as a senior citizen who winters in the west or Florida.

“[The students] spend their money here. They make their decisions here. They bring a lot to the Geneseo community,” she said. “I think that makes them just as legitimate as a member of the community [as a resident]. That’s the law and if you have a problem with the law, talk about that, not how students aren’t legitimate.”

Both Trustees acknowledged the importance of keeping students politically involved in the future, encouraging the establishment of a student voice in the local government. “Hopefully, in the long term, we can organize where voting locally is a thing that Geneseo students just do,” Rutigliano said.

Other election results include incumbent Republican Bradley Janson’s win against Bill Brennan for Village Justice. Johnson received 409 votes to Brennan’s 387.

CAS to implement changes following forums

Partnering with Campus Auxiliary Services, Student Association held forums in order to address the student criticism of CAS practices beginning in early February. These forums were maintained in order to create a platform for CAS to address issues that were raised on social media rather than complaints brought straight to management. Despite a relatively low student turn out—approximately 22 students, according to SA Director of Inter-Residence Affairs and forum moderator senior Tyler Sherman—the forums were apparently successful in initiating changes.

The biggest changes brought about by the forums are healthier “grab-and-go” options, increased value offerings and bundles, a renewed focus on “Priority #1” for employees, the establishment of a new position—operations excellence specialist—more off-campus meal plan offerings and a re-established student advisory board.

The changes that CAS is making regarding food and food choice are expanding by the creation of healthier foods for the “grab-and-go” and “heat-and-eat” options. The other food-related target is to bring value offers and bundles to the forefront.

“A question parents often ask me during orientation is if the meal plan will last the student through the year. The way our meal plan is set up ensures it will,” CAS marketing manager Becky Stewart ‘04 said. “There aren’t limits on the time when you can use your meal plan or any on-campus restaurant restrictions, so it really falls on the students to budget their money. We hope bringing the value offers and bundles at Southside Café and Max Market will help students do just that.”

To address the concerns of students who fear the food may be ill prepared, CAS has renewed a focus on what they call “Priority #1.” Priority #1 is the duty that CAS has to “provide safe food for every occasion.” It is posted on fliers and posters all over CAS kitchens in order to ensure that neither full time workers, nor part-time students, forget it.

The position of Operations Excellence Specialist has been created to ensure that the food is prepared safely and procedures are followed correctly. While the position is a new one, it does not use new money. Instead, the money the person occupying the position will make was at one time allotted for different positions.

“One complaint we received at the forum was about the off-campus meal plans CAS offers,” Stewart said. “The off-campus express meal plan—our lowest offer—is about $250. One student felt that was too much, so we’re looking to create newer options with that one being the midpoint.”

In order to get pertinent feedback more quickly, CAS and the Inter-Residence Council are preparing to re-establish a student advisory board that will have student representatives—from each residence hall and a representative of off-campus students—giving CAS feedback.

“When one-fourth of your customers leave every year and a new group comes in with different tastes, feedback is very important,” Stewart said.

“When I asked how many meals CAS serves Monday through Friday, they said it was around 9,000 and there are only five–10 issues a day. I really think that speaks to the efficiency of CAS, but if you have an issue, confront them about it,” Sherman added. “It may be uncomfortable, but that’s the only way it’s going to change.”

GEO, SASI panel addresses environmental racism

Geneseo Environmental Organization and Students Against Social Injustice partnered to host a panel on environmental racism on Thursday Feb. 11 in light of the water crisis in Flint, Michigan.

The discussion included an introduction of the crisis by SASI president junior Sasha Miller, GEO president senior Julia Mizutani and GEO webmaster senior Ty Matsushita, as well as presentations from professor of geological sciences D. Jeffrey Over, associate professor of history Jordan Kleiman and Director of Sustainability Dan DeZarn. According to Mizutani, over 80 attendees were present at the panel.

At the beginning of the discussion, Mizutani defined environmental racism as “a term primarily referring to the disproportionate exposure of ethnic minorities to pollution as a result of poverty and segregation that has relegated many blacks and other racial minorities to some of the most industrialized or dilapidated environments.”

According to Mizutani, residents of Flint were complaining about the water quality months before blood-lead levels were found to have increased in children. Matsushita added that emails gathered by Progress Michigan show that Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder’s office knew about the unsafe water in March 2015, despite Snyder’s claims that he was only informed this past January. 

During the presentation, Matsushita also emphasized the impact that the water has had on children in Flint, citing it as a possible cause for the outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease that has affected 87 people, 10 of whom have died.

Miller added that high lead exposure can cause children to perform more poorly academically and can increase cases of Attention Deficit Disorder. She explained that once these children become adults, they are more likely to commit crimes, go to prison and become unemployed or underemployed and dependent on government services.

Following the students’ presentation, Over explained the scientific cause of Flint’s contaminated water. He explained that all pipes are either made of lead or contain a lead solder. According to Over, when Flint stopped receiving water from Detroit, it neglected to add a noncorrosive agent to the water that would prevent it from removing lead from the pipes.

After Over’s presentation, Kleiman discussed the history of environmental racism. He described the first national toxics protest by African-Americans in Warren County, North Carolina in 1982, which occurred after North Carolina Gov. James Hunt attempted to place a massive toxic waste dump in the primarily African-American town of Shocco. The county lost the battle, but Kleiman focused on the idea that out of the struggle came a major push to fight environmental racism.

DeZarn closed the panel with a discussion of similar cases that have happened outside of Flint, including the prevention of a radioactive waste dump in Allegany County, New York, the storage of natural gas and byproducts of fracking at Seneca Lake and the spraying of brine on many roadways in the United States.

“If you can take nothing else away from what I have to say here, I would like to stress that what’s happening in Flint is not an anomaly,” he said. “It’s something that is happening all over the place.”

After the panelists spoke, attendees had the opportunity to ask questions.

Junior Matthew Viglucci asked about how students could get involved in what is happening in Flint and in environmental issues in the Geneseo community. In response, Dezarn urged students to become involved in local government and call politicians and representatives.

Attendee and Coordinator of Residential Education Meg Reitz advocated for student attendance at town meetings.

“There’s also a lot of things that actually do pertain to and impact students’ lives on a daily basis; it’s interesting just to hear the Village and the town talk about it,” she said. “Also, they miss that college voice. They would love to have college students and hear out where you’re coming from because they don’t have your perspective otherwise.”

Mizutani said she hopes that as a result of the panel, attendees now have a better grasp on the many facets involved in the Flint water crisis.

“There is such a strong intersectionality between these topics and these issues that I wanted environmentalists in the room to understand the social justice part,” she said. “But I also wanted people who were heavily involved in social justice issues to understand the environmental aspect of their fight, too.” 

Students run for Geneseo Board of Trustees

Rochester native junior political science and history major Matthew Cook and Geneseo native freshman Spanish major Mary Rutigliano are running as independents for trustee positions on Geneseo’s Board of Trustees. Cook and Rutigliano are running against Democratic incumbent Trustee Bob Wilcox, Democratic former Chair of the Livingston County Democratic Committee Phil Jones and Republican Geneseo resident Leslie Carson. The election will be held on March 15 and polls will be open from 12–9 p.m. According to Mayor Richard Hatheway, the trustees’ main concerns are that of public safety and public works. The trustees meet with the public safety committee—which includes the fire and police departments—and the public works committee, which includes the street department and dealings with water and sewer systems. Additionally, trustees are in charge of the court and administrative offices, as well as collecting taxes.

Both Cook and Rutigliano’s campaigns are managed by junior Samuel Larkin and senior Sean Perry. According to Cook, the students decided to run together so that their campaigns appeared more professional. Both students noted that they have not been able to attend trustee board meetings, but have been reading the minutes to remain informed.

The candidates described the lack of student participation in the town’s government as their main reason for running.

“What I’ve noticed is that there’s basically a wall on Main Street. A lot of what you won’t see are students from the campus going up the hill and members of the community coming back down,” Cook said. “There’s no dialogue; there’s no discourse between the two. So what I wanted to do was put the two together and really form one Geneseo.”

Rutigliano expressed her optimism that her experience living in the town of Geneseo can serve to help break down this wall.

“I lived in Geneseo my whole life and I think I can see issues from both sides of Main Street,” she said. “This is both my home and my college.”

Hatheway, however, said that he believes that the collaboration of the College and Village has never been an issue.

“The collaboration between the Village and the College has always been excellent. We have regular meetings with officials of the College; the Village is included in a lot of the College responsibilities,” he said. “There’s a lot of communication that goes on already. I would say that of all the college towns that we’ve ever heard of, this is the closest village-college community that’s around.”

Trustee Bob Wilcox cited such collaboration with regards to his position as co-chair of the Healthy Campus Community Coalition, which works with the college and the community in regards to issues concerning alcohol and other drugs. According to Wilcox, this is where the Social Host Law came from.

Cook and Rutigliano both agreed that the issue of the Social Host Law is something that they hope to tackle if elected as trustees. Rutigliano—who attended last week’s panel—noted that she believes that there has been a lack of effective dialogue between the community and the college about the law, citing the recent Social Host Law panel discussion on Feb. 2 as a clear example.

“What struck me about the forum was that it wasn’t necessarily dialogue-based,” she said. “The village, college administration and students need to come together as advocates and equals for public health and safety.”

Wilcox and his campaign manager Chairperson of the Geneseo Town Democratic Committee Susan Bailey said they consider the Social Host Law as an effective deterrent of underage drinking.

“The heavy fines are really designed to deter people because apparently before the Social Host Law, when people got arrested for underage drinking, they just sort of flip over their credit cards,” Bailey said. “So the idea behind the large fines—and it’s $250 first offense, $500 after that—was to get attention but not to make it part of the criminal record.”

Wilcox added that the student candidates have neglected to seek support from the town’s Democratic or Republican organizations. “Let’s say that a student wanted to run and our caucus nominated them and they ran,” he said. “They would have a body of 12–15 older, more experienced people who would serve to guide them and help them.”

Cook, however, said that he does not have faith in the capabilities of these organizations.

“What we’ve noticed in the last few years is that those organizations really haven’t represented the majority of what the Village is feeling,” he said. “They’ll pass things and they’ll initiate programs that people don’t really feel are the big things that they should address.”

Cook and Rutigliano added that in order to gain the support of fellow students and civilians, they have created a Facebook group, met with a variety of student organizations and knocked on townspeople’s doors.

Hatheway emphasized that during the election, he hopes that everyone keeps in mind that the position of a trustee is serious.

“Serving as a trustee is not a frivolous thing … As long as people are willing to take it seriously and accept responsibility and offer their thoughts, that’s good,” he said. “If people are interested in being in a collaborative environment where we work together, we welcome them no matter who they are or what their age. But again, it is serious.”

Social Host Law panel receives varied response

Geneseo’s Student Association organized a panel discussion on Tuesday Feb. 2 about the Village of Geneseo’s Social Host Law. Held in response to student outcry over the regulation and its enforcement during Halloween weekend, the forum featured a number of Village and school officials. Enacted in April 2015, the Social Host Law “holds persons responsible for knowingly allowing underage drinking to occur on their property.” Repercussions include fines of up to $500 or up to 15 days in jail and all offenders must complete a court-approved drug and alcohol awareness program.

After an introduction and brief presentation from SA President senior Andrew Hayes and Inter Greek Council president junior Julia Mackey explaining the law and its effects, chair of the College Senate associate professor of physics James McLean began the panel as moderator. Mclean noted that “it was really the Student Association that put this all together, so [the students] have them to thank.”

The panel consisted of six members: Geneseo Attorney John Lockhart, Geneseo Justice Thomas Bushnell, Geneseo Police Chief Eric Osganian, Alcohol and Other Drug Program Coordinator Sarah Covell, Village Mayor Richard Hatheway and Dean of Students and Director for the Center of Community Leonard Sancilio. Before answering audience questions, the moderator conducted a discussion of example situations that could result in execution of the law.

Described as a gathering where “underage drinkers come to the party, but are already intoxicated,” this scenario garnered what Osganian called a “simple solution:” telling students to call the police. He further implied that the host would not be punished in this scenario. “We can remove them from the party for you and ascertain where they were drinking ourselves,” he said.

Lockhart, however, disagreed. “I think the question is whether the police can write a [Social Host] citation in this scenario and I think the answer is definitely yes,” he said.

For the remainder of the forum, McLean directed discussion among panelists using a predetermined list of questions. Audience members were required to submit any additional questions through an Internet submission form. Students were not allowed to directly ask questions.

The moderator began by inquiring whether the Social Host Law conflicts with the Good Samaritan policy, wherein a student could call 911 for an intoxicated person and not have to face the repercussions of his or her own intoxication.

“The Good Samaritan policy itself doesn’t pertain to the Social Host Law in how I read it,” Osganian said. “It seems silly to me that someone would die because of a ticket.”

Hatheway explained the reasoning behind the passage of the law as a means to better serve Geneseo as a whole in terms of curbing underage drinking. “It was passed after looking into means of improving the lives of people in the community,” he said. “The police have difficulty in some instances figuring out who gave the underage person alcohol. This gives the police another tool in trying to prevent alcohol consumption.”

Subsequently, the panel was asked whether they believed the Social Host Law would cause a rise in drinking.

“It’s too early to know whether this is going to affect anything in Geneseo,” Covell said.  “There is some research in California … where there was a 9 percent decrease in driving while intoxicated in those areas [with social host laws].”

“I don’t think people are drinking more because of this law,” Bushnell added.

When asked whether or not it would be better for students to “just drink on campus,” where the Social Host Law doesn’t have effect, Osganian answered, “You should drink on campus then. There are more resources on campus [for students].”

Sancilio made sure to correct Osganian, noting that students can still suffer consequences for underage drinking on campus. “If you are an underage person and you drink on campus, you will still be found in violation of our code of conduct,” he said.

Approximately 110 people attended the forum with the majority representing their sororities, fraternities and sport teams. Mackey required two members of every Greek organization to attend the event.

Mackey noted that she perceived students to be frustrated with the forum due to the way answers were presented. “I think the panel was observed as mainly neutral, although a lot of the information presented seemed to be received negatively by the audience,” she said. “I think people thought their questions were danced around.”

Junior mathematics and adolescent education major Oliver Kane reiterated this sentiment. He attended the panel with fellow Alpha Chi Rho fraternity brothers in order to get a better understanding of what is expected of students.

“I thought they missed the mark in whatever they were trying to do,” he said. “They seemed to preach the idea of fostering a better relationship between our campus and the town but I think they did the opposite of that.”

Kane expressed specific concern with the panel’s approach to a question-answer session.

“They tried to use questions that they thought students would ask, but it wasn’t actually questions students wanted to ask,” he said. “It was easier for them to answer questions the way they want to.”

At the conclusion of the panel’s discussion, Vice President for Student and Campus Life Robert Bonfiglio gave closing remarks.

“I think we heard a lot of different things tonight that underscore the complexity of this,” he said. “We can only improve this situation by continuing a dialogue.”

Geneseo community mourns after unexpected deaths

Seniors Kelsey Annese and Matthew Hutchinson were killed in the early morning of Jan. 17 after Colin Kingston—a former Geneseo student who was enrolled as recently as spring 2013—broke into Annese’s home at 18 Wadsworth St. Kingston fatally stabbed Annese and Hutchinson before taking his own life. Since then, the college has responded with remembrance events and walk-in counseling sessions. “The Livingston County 911 Center received a call at approximately six in the morning from a father here in Geneseo—Mr. Kingston [Colin Kingston’s father],” Geneseo Police Department Public Information Officer Jeffrey Szczensiak said in a press conference on Jan. 18. “Mr. Kingston indicated to the 911 dispatcher that he had apparently received a call from his son—Colin Kingston—at which time he apparently indicated that he had brought harm to his ex-girlfriend—Miss Annese.”

According to Szczensiak, Kingston arrived at Annese’s residence in Geneseo between 5:30 a.m. and 6:21 a.m. with a knife he had purchased beforehand and found “Hutchinson in the company of Miss Annese.” Szczensiak added that there was no apparent sign of a struggle and that all three individuals were dead upon police arrival. Annese was a point guard and co-captain on the Geneseo women’s basketball team and Hutchinson was a defenseman for the Ice Knights.

After Szczensiak spoke, President Denise Battles read a prepared statement. “We realize that all of those in our campus community will experience this tragedy differently,” she said. “The Geneseo we know is a strong community and, together, will pull together in dealing with the aftermath of this tragedy.”

In response to the double-murder-suicide, the college held campus-wide events, which will culminate with a “Pack the Ira” event on Friday Jan. 29 for the Ice Knights’ hockey game against SUNY Morrisville at 7 p.m. Other events included men’s and women’s basketball and Ice Knights games occurring from Thursday Jan. 21–Tuesday Jan. 26.

Throughout the slate of events, tables have been set up in the MacVittie College Union for members of the college community to write supportive messages for the families and teammates of Annese and Hutchinson.

Chief of University Police Thomas Kilcullen emphasized the importance of the healing process after an event like this. “The village police are focusing on the healing process in their community and that is what we are doing here,” he said. Kilcullen also noted that UPD brought in officers from the University at Buffalo and Alfred State University as extra support.

“When something like this happens, anxiety will run high,” he said. “When that occurs, the police department has to respond and be highly visible.”

Opportunities for support for students, faculty and staff have also increased. “The counselors in Lauderdale [Center for Student Health & Counseling] offered counseling every day last week—and I know that was taken advantage of and even into this week, I know students are coming in and scheduling appointments in specific reaction to what happened [on Jan. 17],” Clinical Director for South Village Counseling Services Dr. Beth Cholette said. Cholette added that sessions specifically for student athletes and faculty and staff were held during All-College Hour on Wednesday Jan. 27.

Cholette also emphasized that Kingston’s behavior indicated that “something was wrong” with his mental health. “We know that he and Kelsey were dating and that he was distraught. But whatever the additional circumstances were, we don’t know. This is not a normal response to a relationship breakup,” she said. “I’ve seen reports in the media that on Saturday night, he made some suicidal statements. If that is true, maybe there could have been some intervention somewhere along the way. And that’s the part that, unfortunately, is overlooked in this: that it also involved a suicide.”

Cholette added that Lauderdale is still available as a mental health resource for students affected by the events or otherwise. “If students are really reluctant to get into counseling, to take a free, anonymous screening, sometimes, that’s a way,” she said. “It might be that the important need for services might be one thing that helps to get the message out; the fact that people are available right as the tragedy happened, maybe that will help students be more aware.”

News editor Emma Bixler contributed reporting to this article.

DK brothers charged with third degree assault

Three Geneseo Delta Kappa Tau fraternity brothers were arrested and charged with third degree assault for an alleged assault of a Geneseo student outside their fraternity house on Franklin Street on Friday Dec. 4. Offenders were senior John Wolff, junior Perry Neci and senior Yagizan Balta.  According to the Genesee Sun, Neci was rearrested on Sunday Dec. 6 for third degree assault and fourth degree criminal mischief based on an earlier assault.

This is the second assault investigation at the DK fraternity house that has occurred within three weeks; the first occurring on Nov. 13. According to President Denise Battles’ email to the campus community, Geneseo has temporarily suspended the fraternity until the investigation and results of a conduct review are completed.

Village of Geneseo Police Chief Eric Osganian explained that the assault on Friday Dec. 4 occurred as the victim walked by the fraternity house after some insults were exchanged.

“Allegedly, victim’s walking by and a slur is used” Osganian said. “And I guess there’s an altercation with one DK member, it becomes then physical and then other DK members come out of the fraternity house and they help the one member and it becomes a possible three to five on one—we’re still looking at the number.”

Geneseo police received a complaint of the assault through a 911 call.

“When we arrived on scene, the victim is on the ground needing medical attention and then we hear some voices in the woods, the officers go into the woods and then a chase ensues and we end up catching the individuals,” Osganian said. “We brought them back to the scene and the victim positively identified three of being involved and hitting him and kicking him. There was also a fourth that we did apprehend that the victim said, ‘No, that person was not involved.’”

According to Osganian, the police believe the victim lost consciousness due to the beatings and was continually beaten while unconscious. The victim was sent to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester with head injuries.

“The victim has a cracked bone eye socket as well as a broken nose,” Osganian said. “I think—depending what else is medically there—that might be enough to make it called a serious physical injury, which may bump it up to an assault second—which is a felony—and because there was more than one person involved in the assault, it would probably lead to a gang assault charge, but we’re still not there yet.”

Assistant Dean of Students for Fraternal Life and Off-Campus Services Wendi Kinney said that when an incident like this happens, it’s time to evaluate the education element within the Greek community.

“Those educational pieces are there but there’s always an opportunity when something like this happens to reflect and see if there a gap, to see if we can be doing more to educate the community, to be upstanding citizens and to make good decisions,” Kinney said. “And, most importantly, looking out for one another. I think that’s one of the values of the Greek community—that they’re there not just for their organization, but other organizations as well.”

Kinney said she believes that while this incident is upsetting, not all Greek members and organizations should be penalized for a few members’ behavior.

“Certainly, at a national level with fraternities and sororities, there’s a heightened awareness with looking at their activities … We always have to keep in mind the perspective that my office oversees 32 organizations, which comprise 27 percent of our student body—so approximately 1500-1600 students,” she said. “So to expect that every single one of them is always making the best decisions is kind of unrealistic given the size. So, unfortunately, situations are likely to occur where students are going to make poor decisions.”

In regard to the assault on Nov. 13, Osganian said that there have been some difficulties in getting information from the Geneseo campus.

“We had to get a subpoena for the first DK assault. That subpoena took us a little while to get the roster of names … We weren’t asking for racial information. I wasn’t asking for gender information, I was just asking for a roster information no different than if you ask me who are the officers that work here,” he said. “I didn’t feel like we were asking for specific, private information. College considers that private, which you know did delay us a good two weeks before we got that subpoena back.”

Osganian voiced his support for the temporary suspension of the DK fraternity.

“We’ve had two assaults there within three weeks. To me, it’s a pattern, there’s a problem,” he said. “It would be great if we got some help from the college to try and solve that problem or stop it. So yeah, we’re all for them getting involved, absolutely.”

DK president senior Bryce Wiley did not return The Lamron’s interview request.

According to Osganian, in addition to the two assault cases by DK members, Geneseo senior Colin Dahlberg was arrested for aggravated driving while intoxicated, possession of stolen property second and an added obstruction charge for delaying a patient’s care who needed the ambulance to take them to the hospital.

Osganian suspected that the rise in alcohol-related crimes is related to the decreasing amount of bars available.

“So we’re seeing more parties than we had years ago. You know people want to go out and they want to drink, so you know they’re hitting the parties instead of the bars,” he said. “But it’s hard to control some of these parties ... We hope with a bar atmosphere, at least you know the bar owner or bouncer would call if someone needed medical attention … So what we are seeing is a spike in the party as opposed to going to the bars.”

Undercover police conduct raids, make first Social Host arrests

Two Geneseo students—junior Jack Eisenberg and senior Paul Michael—were arrested for Social Host Law violations on Oct. 31. According to a statement released by the Geneseo Police Department, undercover police Officer Dylan DiPasquale—accompanied by “underage youth[s]”––entered parties at 11 Orchard St. and 86 Court St. and were provided beer. These are the first arrests made under the Social Host Law. Kappa Sigma member senior John Otruba characterized the use of undercover officers as “fucked up in principle.”

“Do they think this is the cartel? It’s perplexing to me,” he said. “We need better communication with the town—they need to talk to us and we need to talk to them.”

Village of Geneseo Board of Trustees member Bob Wilcox—who was one of the main advocates for the Social Host Law—said that he thinks the use of undercover police officers is appropriate. “The use of undercover people has been going on for decades and I have no problem whatsoever with it,” he said. “We have bars that won’t let our police come in there.”

Village of Geneseo Police Chief Eric Osganian ’91 agreed with Wilcox, adding that he had been an undercover officer in the past. “I used to do it when I got hired. I went to school here and they put me in at the parties,” he said. “We’re more comfortable liability-wise with an officer. So it’s normal for us to do that.”

Wilcox was one of the main advocates for the bill when it was first passed and chaired the Geneseo Healthy Campus Community Coalition—which was instrumental in the bill’s passing. He emphasized that the law serves as a serious deterrent to underage drinking.

“The Social Host Law is a law which was designed to cut down on underage drinking and drugs without damaging the people for forever because it’s a violation,” he said. “[Violators would get charged with] an open container or something, you might get a $50 fine and kids walk out the door of the court room laughing.”

Otruba noted that while he agrees that there is a need to slow underage drinking, he believes the Social Host Law is the wrong way to go about it.

“I understand that there’s a very serious desire on the part of the town and the Village to curb underage drinking,” he said. “But these police actions over the past couple of weekends and the Social Host law itself, I think they constitute an abrogation of our right to privacy. It’s bigger than just our desire to hold a party; it’s about principle.”

Wilcox said that he thinks the law will “absolutely” slow underage drinking in the long-run. “I think it already has,” he said, adding that the college environment has changed since he was in school.

“I certainly did a lot of underage drinking as a college student and it’s just a reality, but nobody in my college ever died—we’ve had a couple of deaths and it’s gotten out of hand down at The Statesmen,” Wilcox said.

Otruba argued that Village Board members are out of touch with the needs of contemporary students. “One of the Village Trustees—Bob Wilcox—chaired [GHCC]. To be blunt, I wonder how realistic the people on that board were when they drew up the law,” he said. “They personally don’t have a relationship with the school … They don’t know the people that work in Greek affairs. I think they’re positing a solution to a problem that’s very complex and their solution is not comprehensive enough.”

According to Osganian, the police response is largely reflective of spikes in the number of ambulances responding to alcohol poisoning, particularly among underage students. He cited an email from the Geneseo Fire Department reporting 15 emergency medical service calls over Halloween weekend. “Our business is mostly reactionary,” he said. “If there’s more parties coming up this following weekend and we have more ambulance calls, then I guess we’re going to have to address that and go back out.”

Osganian added that he expects the court to be forgiving with sentencing, but emphasized the need to send a message.

“The court here has generally been very lenient with students,” he said. “If we could make the point that, ‘Hey, let’s be reasonable with the parties, be careful what we’re doing,’ that, I think, is goal.”

Eisenberg, Michael and a third student—who may qualify for Youthful Offender status as they are under the age of 19—were arrested for Unlawful Dealing with a Child. This is different from a Social Host Law violation—which both Michael and Eisenberg were also charged with. According to the New York State Penal Code, Unlawful Dealing with a Child involves a person giving or selling alcoholic beverages to anyone under 21. The law also includes similar language regarding controlled substances, marijuana and sexual activity. It is a class A misdemeanor and carries a maximum sentence of one year.

The Social Host Law reads, “No person having control of any residence shall allow an open house party to take place at said residence if such person knows or has reason to know that any alcoholic beverage or illegal drug is being unlawfully possessed, served to or consumed by a minor at said residence.” It continues to stipulate that, “Such person must take reasonable corrective action to ensure that the possession or consumption of alcoholic beverages or illegal drugs by any minor on such premises is prohibited.”

Alcohol & Other Drug Program Coordinator Sarah Covell said in a phone interview that the Social Host Law is not making criminals out of innocent students. “It’s not intended to create criminals out of anybody,” she said. “It’s not going to go on anybody’s permanent record. It’s not going to prevent anybody from getting into grad school, law school or med school. It’s not going to have a long-term effect.”

Wilcox agreed with Covell, calling Social Host Law violations “exactly the same thing [as a parking ticket].”

“It is neither a misdemeanor or a felony. It’s a violation,” he said. “I don’t, frankly, see any reason to mug shot somebody for a violation.”

Kappa Sigma member senior Matt Liriano emphasized his disappointment regarding details of the Social Host Law. “I shouldn’t be responsible for somebody else coming over super drunk to my house,” he said. “The problem with the Social Host Law is that you’re just going to accuse the people providing alcohol, but what if the people were already drinking before they showed up? How do you gauge that?”

“It’s frustrating that in a college town, the Village doesn’t want to have an honest discussion about underage drinking,” Otruba added. “If you can’t have an honest discussion about it, all you’re doing is further complicating it and making it more dangerous. You’re putting more kids at risk … as opposed to establishing practices and policies that have reasonable limits and are reasonable in general and not so Draconian.”

News editor Justine Talbot and managing editor Megan Tomaszewski contributed reporting to this article.

GEO, Facilities respond to recycling contamination issues

Facilities Services removed the majority of the recycling bins in Milne Library due to cross-contamination between Oct. 8–Oct. 14. Members of Geneseo Environmental Organization are now working alongside the Office of Sustainability to educate the campus on proper recycling in an attempt to get the bins replaced. GEO began tabling in Milne on Oct. 26 and will continue to do so through Friday Nov. 6. The table includes information regarding correct recycling methods and there is also a short survey that students can take online.

“Basically, we want to find out how everyone else thinks we could help the campus recycle better,” GEO member sophomore Samantha Martin said. “So we want people’s feedback—so why do you think people don’t recycle? How do you think we could help recycling happen better and more often?”

According to Geneseo’s website, Geneseo has recycling guidelines in place that apply to items including paper and plastic as well as computers and other electronics. These guidelines are not always followed, however.

Coordinator of Residential Education and Co-Chair of the Sustainability Commission Meg Reitz expressed her belief that this is a campus-wide problem—particularly in residence halls like Jones Hall where there is a lack of recycling bins.

“My guess is that in a lot of the residence halls—at some point in the past few years—facilities got annoyed that the [recycling bins] were being contaminated continuously and thought, ‘Well, never mind. We’ll just take them out … and we can count it all as trash and not have to worry about it,’” Reitz said. “And I know that in lots of dorm rooms there is just a recycling bin and no trash can and people just throw everything in there.”

According to Head Custodial Supervisor of Academic Buildings Laura Canfield, however, Milne is the main problem with the vast majority of bins being contaminated “on a daily basis.” This comes largely with food and drink from Books & Bytes.

“In Milne specifically, it happened because that was where we were having our main issues with trash being mixed in with the recycling stream,” Canfield said. “A lot of times, we would have coffee and sodas and food trash mixed in with our paper and plastics. For a while, our custodians were trying to salvage what they could but when half the bag is contaminated with sticky liquid, it was fruitless to continue to use our time to do that.”

GEO president senior Julia Mizutani has spearheaded her organization’s involvement in campus recycling initiatives.

“Once we figured out that issue, that’s when we talked to the library and talked to facilities about how to ameliorate the situation,” Mizutani said. “Because clearly just taking away recycling bins isn’t going to make recycling better—or possible.”

Interns at the Office of Sustainability have also been trying to educate students on proper recycling techniques by making signs illustrating which objects can be recycled and how.

“It would be nice if things were structured better where these things were already happening fluidly and Facilities was taking care of this … but at the same time, it is not their responsibility to check on students and make sure they are recycling,” Mizutani said. “That’s not their job; their job is just to pick it up.”

According to Canfield, “Facilities will remove anything that’s put in the appropriate recycling container.”

Though the “bottom line” for Mizutani and GEO is getting students and faculty to place recyclables and trash in their respective bins, composite materials as well as the presence of food can complicate this.

“People are putting paper plates and paper cups in the paper recycling, which sounds right—that sounds intuitive,” Mizutani said. “But actually, we’re trying to help people understand that those are contaminated—first of all—with food, but second, paper plates and paper cups have a waxy layer on top and those can’t be separated from the paper.”

“We found out, actually, that the people who really want to recycle are kind of the problem because they’re trying to recycle everything like their paper plates and their cups, but those actually can’t be recycled if there’s any remnants of food,” Martin added.

Canfield emphasized that it only takes one item to contaminate an entire bin. “A soda or an iced coffee or something like that … it goes all the way through and then the whole unit is contaminated. And not only do we have to throw away all the paper that’s in there, but we also have to take the time to clean the receptacle and make sure everything is ready for use again,” she said.

She added that there were about 50 paper recycling containers in Milne. “When you have a staff of three trying to maintain a building that’s open so many hours during the day, to take the time during those hours, to pull out contaminants is not a very good use of their labor hours,” she said.

After GEO’s two weeks of tabling are over, Mizutani expects that Facilities will begin monitoring the situation beginning on Monday Nov. 9 and replace the bins if they see an improvement.

Canfield said she was open to a trial period. “I’m kind of taking direction from the sustainability office as far as how they would like to proceed,” Canfield said. “We would like total participation.”

Reitz noted that she is hopeful that the bins will be replaced in Milne. “There are concrete steps,” she said. “Students know where to go, know what venues to reach out to; to make those sort of structural administrative changes in the college and there’s communication between the facilities and the students.”

Mizutani explained that she is still concerned, however. “I don’t know what will happen. It’s kind of scary actually,” she said. “I’m hoping we can prove that students can step up and change things through education and then Facilities will—in the future—be more optimistic about things changing for the better.”