Wojciech Milewski, an undergraduate student and the conductor of the Lab Orchestra explained what motivated him to found the new ensemble. “I was applying to grad schools for conducting this year, and the really big thing about grad schools is whether or not they have a Lab Orchestra that their students can use as their instrument to practice on.” Milewski said.

“The more time you spend on the podium the better.”

Milewski decided to try to create his own Lab Orchestra here at Oswego State before going to graduate school. He approached the music department in late November of 2011 with his idea where he found the support he needed. “It was really easy to do; the department was really on board and helpful with it,” Milewski said.

There are 23 students in the orchestra, most of whom knew each other before Lab Orchestra. There were not enough students in the music department to warrant auditions, so Milewski personally recruited each member by hand. The ensemble is relatively diverse with only about half of the orchestra consisting of music majors.

The Lab Orchestra has chosen relatively difficult pieces for themselves, both from an instrumental and conducting standpoint. “The ‘Magic Flute Overture’ is highly debated in conducting circles. ‘Beethoven’s First Symphony’ is huge. Same thing,” Milewski said, “I think I just wanted to do some of those for my own benefit to get experience rehearsing these pieces that supposedly really hard for conductors. It’s really helped me personally.”

The pieces are not any easier for the orchestra though. “Then you have pieces like the Moldau [Smetana] which are a literal nightmare for string players. They actually voted for that piece,” Milewski said. Unlike most orchestras, Milewski gave the players the choice of which pieces they would like to play.

Milewski, who began his musical career on the piano and clarinet, was drawn to conducting after being invited to be the assistant music director for the musical “Grease” that the theatre department put on. He conducted all the performances for “Grease” which was well-received by the actors. At the time, Milewski had already been accepted to a graduate school where he planned to study business and international relations. He decided to defer his acceptance, re-applied to Oswego State as a musical theatre major after graduating, and began to study conducting in depth.

He is now planning on attending the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque next year to study conducting at a graduate level.

As for his future, Milewski sees himself attaining an artist diploma after graduate school, and a PhD after that. Afterwards, he would like to conduct a professional orchestra and teach at a college.

“In ten years, my goal is to have an original orchestra somewhere and also be able to teach at a college in the same location,” Milewski said. “I still want to keep playing in church, giving lessons, and also keep playing clarinet and piano.”

Milewski said that he would hope that this Lab Orchestra would continue in the coming years and become the precursor to a conducting program here at Oswego State.

“It’s been a really great experience, and I hope someone else gets to have it,” Milweski said.

“It’s been really fun to watch the students motivate themselves,” Milewski added. “It’s really been a learning process for me and for the group.”

Timothy James | The Oswegonian

Timothy James | The Oswegonian

It is the largest planned gift in the school’s history and will affect the lives of generations of students who otherwise might not have been able to afford a college education.

By supporting math and science education for New York state students, the gift will potentially provide a lift for the whole area economically.

At the donor’s request, his identity will remain anonymous and the money will not be donated until after the donor has passed away. He wants to avoid the maximum 55 percent estate tax. “I would rather give a dollar than pay 55 cents to Uncle Sam,” he said.

“This is a transformative gift that will make individual dreams come true and can help boost the economy of our state,” said Oswego State President Deborah Stanley in a statement. “With this gift, our generous donor is opening the door to a college education and a better life for many of our future students.”

Possibility Scholarships provide students from New York state, who generally live in urban areas and want to study in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields, with the financial help they need to attend Oswego State. They cover all tuition fees and room and board, in coordination with any other grants or scholarships awarded, for four full years.

Possibility Scholars travel to one of several Global Laboratory partners that Oswego State has around the world to study and work on science projects with researchers in their fields.

The donor wants the money to support the study of math, which he believes is a critical aspect to most fields.

“Math is a universal language and supports every other subject,” the donor said in a statement. “Regardless of what career path one takes, a strong math background is important to excel.”

The donor used his skills to determine which troops to bring home at the end of the Vietnam War while working with the Pentagon. So as a Vietnam War veteran, the donor wants to keep America more competitive in the global economy, he said, by reversing a trend toward the acceptance of poor math skills in this country’s students.

According to the donor, the Possibility Scholarship’s tuition benefit will help students with schoolwork. “Most people, when they have problems in life, it is usually financially originated. Remove that element and it makes people’s lives more stress free.”

The donor knows how important such aid can be. A Regents Scholar, he scrubbed kitchen equipment in the dining hall, was a resident assistant and also bartended at a local establishment in order to pay for his college education.

“It all starts with an education. That’s the foundation of any life,” he said. With his biased bequest, he will provide that foundation for countless students who follow in his footsteps at Oswego.

The alumnus said he wants to give back to Oswego because of the great experience he had at the college, and he wants to help others who might not otherwise be able to afford higher education to have the same great experience. “You have to give back, especially if Oswego’s been good to you,” he said.

“The bus is empty except for him,” said Jody Fiorini, counseling professor, president and director of CreekSide Counseling Services. “I’m on the phone begging, ‘Just bring her, just bring her. I’ll pay you whatever it is.’ It was hard enough to get them to come in. What are you going to do? Leave her on the curb? That’s what they did.”

Transportation to mental health counseling is one of the insurmountable challenges facing areas like Oswego and the North Country, where residents do not have the same access to public transit that urban residents do.

There are local agencies that will bring patients to the counseling center, if their insurance covers it.

“With gas prices and a lot of people in my area, in the North Country, they have serious transportation issues,” said Brenda McAuslan, a child protective services investigator and graduate student. “Even if they have a car or access to a car, now gas is so expensive if they don’t have a job to try and go to counseling on a regular basis is really difficult.”

This will often result in many patients having to miss appointments.

“They cancel appointments all the time, but the caseworkers go and get the medication and drop it off at the house,” said counseling graduate student Lisa Augustus.

Many counselors try and give the benefit of the doubt to the patients in these situations, but that is hard at the same time as well because there are often long waitlists.

Among the adult population, one in four adults have a mental illness, according to statistics from the Center for Disease Control. At the Lifestyles Center at Oswego State, Health Promotions Coordinator Shelly Sloan works with many students, many of whom she does not know their medical background.

“There are so many mental illness with such a range from mild to severe, you kinda have to assume that everyone has one,” Sloan said.

In Oswego and the North Country, depression, anxiety and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder are common, Fiorini said.

Socio-economic issues like unemployment and domestic violence cause many of these mental illnesses. The depression and anxiety that arise can often perpetuate the problem.

“It’s a chicken and egg thing,” Fiorini said. “Whenever you have areas of high unemployment, when people don’t have jobs, they have a lot of time on their hands. They get on each other’s nerves.”

Often, people feel depressed because they are not providing or do not have the necessary resources for their family. This is a common issue in Oswego County, which has the second highest unemployment rate in New York state at 12.2 percent in February. The only area with higher unemployment is Bronx County at 14.1 percent.

The tension that arises from not being employed and being unable to support family members has a tendency to create friction in households. Domestic violence rates have been rising steadily.

“It’s tough,” Sloan said. “Because when someone falls in love with someone else, it’s about who they are. But control issues, abuse, it evolves as their relationship evolves.”

From 2009 to 2010, there was an increase in domestic violence incidents by about 100 incident in the county, according to a report released by Sen. Chuck Schumer’s office. Domestic violence arrests continue to appear on the Oswego County Sheriff’s daily police blotter, many of the charged individuals are women.

“I’ve seen an increase in trend last year, it got to the point that where I had more male victims than female victims,” McAuslan said.

“If you have been socialized as a man not to hit a woman, they will hit you and hit you and hit you, and they won’t hit back,” Fiorini said. .” I applaud that, but I see that. They’re just as victimized.”

Victims of domestic violence often struggle with PTSD, which triggers the patient to feel afraid even when there is no present danger, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. There are a lot of survivors of sexual abuse and domestic abuse, Fiorini said.

In the North Country, PTSD is still a major issue, but for different reasons. Near Watertown, Fort Drum has many of its soldiers returning from the Middle East. Many of the soldiers have undergone extensive trauma and have difficulty readapting to civilian life.

“The problem is when the soldiers come home, they have to reintegrate after a year or more away into a family structure that has been set,” Fiorini said. “They also have issues from their experiences there so you get a lot of violence, domestic violence, alcohol and drugs.”

Fiorini said that Fort Drum has been actively seeking counselors to come talk to a few of their soldiers. But, because of the government support, it is easier for soldiers to get counseling.

“The veterans are getting primary support when they get back, but [for] the average Joe like you and me, it’s even harder,” Fiorini said.

It is also harder because of a shortage of mental health counselors in the region. There were 150 mental health counselor positions in 2008 in Central New York, which includes five counties. By 2008, the New York State Department of Labor estimates that it will grow to 180, an increase of about 20 percent.

“It’s a small job title, I mean, 150 to a 180. But it’s a growing job title,” said Karen Knapik-Scaizo, a labor analyst Karen from the New York State Department of Labor. “It’s small in that sense, the Central New York includes five counties,”

Knapik-Scaizo said that a 20 percent increase sounds like a lot, but it isn’t when you look at how small the title is.

As a result, sometimes patients are only able to see a general practitioner, or the family doctor. The doctor cannot really do anything but prescribe medication and refer the patient to a mental health counselor, if they know of one to refer to.

“It doesn’t get to the root of what was making you down in the first place, it doesn’t give you a job, it doesn’t help your relationship with your significant other,” Fiorini said.

The job of the mental health counselor is to get to the root of the problem, to talk about the issues causing the mental health illness, rather than having a patient feel better merely physically.

Some of these issues have been evolving since the patients were children, however, the lack of mental health counselors available to speak with children is low as well.

“The North Country is tough,” McAuslan said. “There’s no providers, there is no one there.”

Fiorini said that she believes her practice and one other in the area are able to see children.

“I think if we could have intervened with some of my adult clients when they were younger, and really they are working through a lot of a pain when they were children and I feel bad for every child I have to put on a waiting list because we don’t know what the impact of that will be later down the road,” Fiorini said.

The situation has reached such a critical stage that the government is intervening by providing incentives for graduates to come to the area and counsel. Fiorini recently became part of a Loan Forgiveness Program.

“Because it is such a high needs area, the Federal Government has loan forgiveness,” Fiorini said. “So anybody who works for me can have up to $80,000 paid off of students loan, that’s how bad it is, when the government is stepping up like that.”

Of the 117 cases that were investigated, eight of the offenders were arrested and charged with third-degree welfare fraud, third-degree grand larceny and offering a false instrument for filing, all of which are felonies.

Investigator McCann of the Oswego County Department of Social Services said that “99 percent” of those arrested for welfare fraud are charged with those three felonies.

The eight arrested are Mary J. Stone of Mexico, Trisha M. Nash and Diana E. Sacco of Hannibal, Jessica L. Myers, Edward L. Schroeder, Howard S. Fellows, Margaret A. Fellows and Derrick R. Williams Jr. of Oswego.

McCann said that these types of welfare fraud have a wide range.

“You see abuse of food stamps, cash assistance and medical assistance,” he said. “Somebody could be working and not tell us or under report their income as well.”

According to a press release, the total money saved by the investigations by the DSS was $566,916.

“[The money] is not strictly from cases that result in arrests, that’s an overall total,” McCann said. “We also conduct investigations that result in case closings or case denials.”

The cases that result in closings or denials end with the beneficiary’s welfare cut off.

The DSS has many different ways of investigating fraud, including the use of a fraud hotline and internal auditing.

“Our examiners are well-trained,” McCann said. “They make a few background checks to make sure your information is accurate, and they will refer it.”

The DSS also works closely with the Oswego County Sherriff’s Department in investigating and making arrests related to fraud.

“[The DSS] does most of the leg work on the welfare fraud-related investigation,” McCann said. “We do all the background; we gather all of the evidence against someone. We then accuse them of committing a criminal act and turn over the investigation to the sheriff’s investigators.”

The DSS gives the investigation to the sheriff’s office due to the fact that the DSS cannot make arrests, McCann said.

Due to the massive amount of welfare cases over the past year, many changes have been made to prevent fraud from happening in the future, including the reduction of benefits from $3,000 to $1,000, McCann said.

“We created some new regulations and changed some of the ways we do our business,” McCann said. “There’s a new assistant district attorney who is working with us on welfare-related fraud cases to make them happen a little quicker.”

McCann said the DSS is now looking to take criminal action against welfare fraud offenders more than in the past.

Throughout the four-day long event there will be tribute bands to Jimmy Buffet, Billy Joel, Journey and Dave Matthews, as well as a jazz showcase on Sunday, July 29th.

At the conclusion to Thursday’s events, fireworks by Grucci will be displayed above Breitbeck Park.

Photos provided by the Beit Hatfutsot Museum

“Sometimes things just stay with you,” Mary Hess, a professor in the history department, said in her office last week. “And I think this has stayed with some of my students.”

Hess was referring to the students in her History of the U.S. since 1865 (HIS 203) class. Her class has been examining the American experience since the Civil War, and they have been paying particular attention to efforts made by the U.S. after World War II to assist European refugees.

In 1944, as the Allies continued to gain ground in Europe and the atrocities committed by the Nazis came to light, President Franklin D. Roosevelt needed to make a crucial decision. Roosevelt decided that the U.S. would accept 1,000 displaced refugees into the country as personal guests. These guests would be staying at Fort Ontario in the city of Oswego.

Refugees came from Italy, Germany, and many other countries throughout Europe and eventually 982 of them would make it to Oswego. They lived in the old Army barracks around the fort from 1944 to 1946. These refugees went to the Oswego schools, including the college. Many would go on to leave the fort, once it ceased to be a refuge for them, and go on to become American citizens.

While these events took place over 60 years ago, the Oswego community and the college have worked hard to preserve the memories of the refugees. The prime example of this is the founding of the Safe Haven Museum in 2002. Located on East 7th Street by the fort, the museum is dedicated to telling and preserving the story of the 982 brave souls who came to escape the horrors of war.

This week, some of Hess’ HIS 203 students will be interviewing people with stories of the refugees. This assignment was designed to examine the tradition of oral history. Other professors from the college have discussed the museum and the refugees in their classes as well. Gwen Kay, associate professor in the history department, speaks of the refugees in her classes.

“I do often mention the story in classes, especially when I teach the 1940s, or social movements, or women’s activism,” Kay said.

The museum is completely run by volunteers, so they are often looking for student help from the college and surrounding area. Kay says that a large number of students have done internships with the museum, especially those studying history or museum studies. Interns are not limited to these majors though. Annie Syso, a senior cinema and screen studies and broadcasting double major spent the past semester interning at the museum.

“I’ve been making DVDs from a reunion they had at the fort this September and I help the other interns out any way I can,” Syso said.

The next event that the interns and volunteers are working on is an art exhibit the museum is hosting on June 10. The exhibit will be featuring Miriam Sommerburg, Eric and Marc Finzi. Sommerburg was one of the refugees that stayed at the fort back in the mid-1940s.

Safe Haven is currently looking for student interns and volunteers for the summer and fall to promote museum events and draw in new visitors.

“The museum brings a piece of Oswego’s past to the town, and to the college, as we house the archives,” Kay said. “There are school trips to the museum, which is good as a museum without visitors is pretty ineffective. More than that, though, the museum serves as a reminder of what the town once did, and how small actions can make profound differences.”

Oswego State University Police Lt. Kevin Velzy coordinates nationwide “Click or Ticket” campaign on campus to enforce seatbelt safety awareness.

“We want to first educate students on the safeties, before we enforced the policy,” Velzy said. “We’ve had tons of flyers around campus about the initiative.”

The nationwide “Click it or Ticket” campaign generally starts in May. However, UP was allowed to begin educating the student population in April, prior to summer break.

Seatbelt safety has been an issue in the U.S. for quite some time, and was put into law in 1985.

In 2008, UP started participating in a law enforcement contest involving several other university police departments to increase the enforcement of three laws: speeding, driving while intoxicated (DWIs) and occupant restraint (seat belt safety).

“The challenge is a friendly competition highlighting a police departments’ enforcement and educational efforts in the areas of DWI, speeding, and occupant restraint,” Velzy said.

This year University Police at Oswego placed second in the college and university category for New York State for activities during the 2011 calendar year.

At the start of UP’s involvement in the public safety contest, Oswego State accumulated a total of 45 seatbelt violations. In 2011, the number increased to 140 violations.

“Nighttime enforcement is what is fairly new,” Velzy said. “People are 12 percent less likely to buckle up at nighttime.”

Police enforcement for the “Click it or Ticket” campaign is funded through a grant Velzy applied for. The grant funds the overtime pay of patrolling officers at night.

Senior Cinema and Screen Studies major Nathan O’Brien was recently ticketed for neglecting to wear a seat belt while driving on campus. Rushing from the Village complex to Lanigan Hall, O’Brien forgot to buckle up.

Velzy stressed that many drivers may feel as though it is okay to refrain from buckling up when driving short distances, but most traffic collisions occur within three miles of the driver’s home.

Low speed accidents are also underestimated. But according to the Coordinated Highways Action Response Team (CHART), a 200-pound individual driving at approximately 20 mph would have to endure 4,000 pounds of impact if faced with a collision. Velzy said that a 10-pound baby would endure 200 pounds of impact in a car traveling 20 mph.

In New York state, 90 percent of drivers buckle up, slightly higher than the national average of 85 percent. Twenty-one percent of New York highway deaths occurred because of unrestrained occupants.

Velzy said that an additional issue is the incorrect use of the restraint.

“I see that many people wear their shoulder belt behind their back,” Velzy said. “This can lead to even greater injuries in case of an accident.”

When the shoulder strap of a seat belt is placed behind the occupant’s back, their upper body is no longer restrained, which can lead to head and chest injuries. Wearing the waist belt over the stomach can also lead to serious injuries.

Velzy said that vehicle occupants should not rely on an airbag to protect them in place of a seat belt, because being rapidly thrown into an airbag can lead to harmful results, including death.

Although backseat passengers age 16 and above are exempt from wearing seat belts, Velzy said that unrestrained passengers can affect the safety of restrained passengers. In some accidents, unrestrained back seat passengers have induced injuries upon restrained occupants.

Velzy said that seat belt safety is a primary law and that there is zero tolerance for violations. If vehicle occupants are caught in violation of this law, they can be penalized with a minimum fine of $50, in some cases costing up to $100.

“Nothing like that has actually happened [at Oswego State] where violence has occurred to that degree,” Oswego State Police Chief Cynthia Adam said. “It is more frequent that we have cases of bias-related graffiti.”

According to Oswego State’s University Police 2010 Security and Fire Report, 15 bias-related offenses occurred on Oswego State grounds between 2008 and 2010. Of those offenses were destruction or damage to property, and two were intimidation. At Oswego State, a school of about 7,400 undergraduate students, 1,100 post-graduate students and about 250 academic staff members, the total number of offenses between 2008 and 2010 occurred in less than 1 percent of the entire academic population.

Adam said it is important to address all types of bias-related crimes constructively.

“We have zero tolerance for hate crimes and violence-related issues,” Adam said. “As a campus community, we value diversity. Every student, visitor, faculty and staff member needs to feel accepted and safe on this campus.”

Bias-related crimes are dealt with in three different ways at Oswego State: through the criminal justice system, through the local district attorney; redress through the Office of Judicial Affairs and the Dean’s office, or through the Title IX investigator on campus. Redress through the office of judicial affairs and the Dean’s office is educational in nature. It attempts to have the offender or suspect learn a deeper understanding of his or her actions. Consequences may involve community service, prevention education and even suspension.

Adam said especially in an academic setting, it is important to talk about racism, sexism, homophobia and other biases or preconceived notions people might carry with them.

“People need to get out of their comfort zones and address these issues in a direct way,” Adam said. “We need to have proactive, educational conversations so that people can form opinions and understand that we really are all more alike than we are different.”

“It is important to note that many hate crimes and bias-related offenses go unreported,” Adam said. “Police departments are only made aware of a fraction of offenses that occur, she said, but with education, people are more likely to report hate crimes or bias-related incidents. “People become more aware of their rights and thus can understand when something is wrong or when someone is violating a policy. The more incidents reported, the better chance we have of providing services to victims and identifying issues.”

Chief Ann Burns, of SUNY Fredonia University Police Department, collaboratively developed a program, Silent Witness, which hopes to increase reporting of bias-related incidents. SUNY Fredonia University Police Department’s 2008-10 Crime Statistics Report showed no hate crimes or bias-related offenses were reported between 2008 and 2010.

“It’s those terrible, hurtful, painful incidences of homophobic and racist comments or actions which are happening on campus that are not being reported,” Burns said. “Silent Witness makes it easier and more comfortable for a victim to report these kinds of incidents.”

The Silent Witness Program, which was given a top priority by SUNY Fredonia’s president, changes the crime reporting form to include incidents that do not rise to the level of a crime but still need to be addressed. Any form turned in is reviewed by University Police, and if it is determined that a crime has not occurred, the Title IX coordinator and Office of Judicial Affairs will investigate the incident and follow up with the victim.

“We thought we really needed to get at the heart of the matter—feelings. The damage someone’s words can cause a person is intolerable,” Burns said. “Silent Witness allows you to report anything that’s meaningful to you.”

Since Silent Witness was enacted in January, one student has used it to address a bias-related incident where a Student Association representative used Facebook to express hurtful, demeaning and degrading feelings toward another on-campus organization. After thorough investigation, University Police determined this was a case of free speech, not a crime. A representative from Judicial Affairs, the Title IX coordinator and SUNY Fredonia’s vice president spoke with the offenders to let them know that bias-related behavior will not be tolerated on campus.

Fredonia also participates in other diversity-learning initiatives, including “Dialogues on Diversity,” which in 2012 featured Dr. Maura Cullen, a diversity educator. All students received a copy of her book, “35 Dumb Things Well-Intended People Say: Surprising Things We Say that Widen the Diversity Gap,” a guide to becoming more effective in communication with others and “diversity-smart.”

“Sticks and stones can break my bones but words can scar a lifetime,” Cullen said. “Say what you mean, mean what you say and don’t say it mean.”

Sarfraz Mian, a professor in the School of Business, was award the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities. Mian completed two national studies for the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, which is active in more than 60 countries, as the principal investigator.

Tracy Lewis, a foreign language professor, has translated books from Paraguayan and Chilean authors. Coupled with his teaching skills, Lewis, has been named a recipient of the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.

John Belt, a technology design professor for 37 years, has been named a recipienct of the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. Belt has developed groundbreaking methods of teaching technology.

Malachi Reardon is responsible for three departments, building trades construction, building trades finishes, and the furniture shop. He received the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in the Classified Service.

Photos provided by Public Affairs

Seamus Lyman | The Oswegonian

With finals week quickly approaching, students are searching for the perfect place to study in a quiet environment. The library is one of the most popular choices for its large space, with plenty of room for students to quietly work. They also have access to the extensive collection that Penfield Library has to offer. What other choices do students have when looking for a nice quiet place to study?

The 24-hour room in the library is a resource that provides computers and work space for students. It usually fills up quickly, especially once the library closes at 11 p.m., and can sometimes not provide the quiet setting that most students seek.

“If it’s too loud and crazy I find a quiet spot in Campus Center,” said Kim Miranda, a biology major. The Campus Center has plenty of open space for students to work on their schoolwork as well as quiet places. The Atrium, where Freshens is located, is one such quiet location within the Campus Center. There are many places for students to sit, as well as tables at which students can work. It is a good location to sit and buckle down to do final semester work.

“I go to the library for at least an hour every night to study,” said Ryan Longo, an accounting major. Longo enjoys utilizing the library as a resource.

“I go to the 3rd floor study rooms. I use my individual study room that I reserved at the beginning of the semester too,” Longo said. Penfield Library offers the opportunity for students to reserve individual rooms. Students receive their own key so that they can come and go as they please.

“I like to go to the library when I can, it’s quiet there,” said Ross Insalaco.

“We have individual and group spaces, quiet spaces, the 3rd floor is quiet, and we keep the reference room quiet for students preparing for finals,” said Barbara Shaffer, the Interim Library Director at Penfield Library. The individual student rooms are, “carrels, most students get them for the semester, others get them for a day,” Shaffer said. Keys for the carrels are located at the Periodicals Media Desk, located on the second floor straight through the doors at the top of the stairs.

“They don’t all have outlets, so it’d be best if students charged up their laptops before they come to use them,” she added.

The library will also remain open until midnight Sunday through Thursday starting next week. On Saturday they will begin opening earlier on the weekends. For those who enjoy working at Lake Effect Café, extended hours will begin next week and are posted in the building. More information on extended hours can be found at oswego.edu/library. The library will also provide earplugs while supplies last at the reference desk.

It seems that the only problem students have with the library is that it fills up quickly.

“I like to study at my desk in my room,” said Branden Jones, a public justice major.

“I study with my friends that are in my classes,” said Brad Mayville, also a public justice major. He continued to discuss how the lounges in his building, Oneida Hall, were also useful.

Staying in the dorms is great if you are the type of person that can handle the distractions of neighbors and friends who may not be studying. On April 29, the 24-hour quiet hours go into effect and last until the last test is given on campus.

“People need to buckle down to study,” said John Lauro, a resident assistant in Oneida Hall. “Quiet atmosphere, no Xbox sounds spilling into the hall.” Students will be written up if they are blasting music like any other day in the dorms. This provides students in the residence halls with the opportunity to study and get their last bits of work done.

“I go to review sessions, get a proper amount of sleep and eat a good breakfast,” Phil Jenkins said. Studies suggest students sleep at least eight hours a night, and eat several small meals rather than three large ones.