2 0 0 6 • VOLUME XL • NO . 1

The CHIMESThe CHIMESMorrisville State College • October 2009 • vol. xxxvii i • no. 2

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MSC blackout inspires students to ask, “can we ease off on our reliance on technology and electric-ity?” Most think not.

Outdoor Recreation Club’s fundraising haunted barn was shut down after initail debut for fire code viola-tions.

The women’s volleyball team is close to making Morrisville State history. The Mustangs are current-ly undefeated in confer-ence play.

InsIde

Sports

Campus

Editorials

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Monica Bonneau, ‘12 Associate Campus News Editor

Morrisville has officially con-firmed its first two cases of the Swine Flu, also known as H1N1. With the virus spreading, it’s important to take precautions, and know exactly what H1N1 is all about.

According to flu.gov, a web-site managed by the U.S. Depart-ment of Health and Human Services, H1N1 is a new strain of flu that originated from swine. It has different types of genes that allow it to spread through pigs, primarily in Europe and Asia, and also through humans. The symp-toms range from mild to severe. About 70 percent of the most severe cases are accompanied by one or more medical conditions.

Ben Domingo is the Director of the Health Center at Mor-risville. He explained that if a student is confirmed with the “A” type influenza, it’s more than an 80 percent chance they can have H1N1. Type “A” is the most common among the influenzas “A”,” B” and “C”. Although type “B” can cause epidemics, it milder than type “a” which causes serious epidemics. When testing for the flu we test for type “A” influenza and “B” influenza,” said Domingo. “I see many students

H1N1-positive MSC students are quarantined

with the type “A” influenza; even though I can’t test every student positive for the H1N1 it’s almost positive they have it,” Domingo added.

Domingo has confirmed two actual cases of the H1N1 virus, along with 18 other possible cases. The reason these remain as just possible causes is because here at Morrisville, Domingo is only allowed to test for the virus twice a week due to the heavy costs of testing.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Swine Flu is a respiratory disease that is caused by type “A” influenza found in pigs. It was first recognized in pigs back in 1930. The current outbreak of the Swine Flu first occurred in April, 2009. It started along the Texas and Mexican borders, and the first confirmed case was in Mexico City.

Symptoms of the virus are closely related to that of the regular influenza. They include

coughing, sneezing, a mild fever, nausea, muscle aches and diar-rhea. It is possible to catch it from someone as close as six feet away from you just by coughing.

Morrisville is using a method of isolation to those who have been confirmed to have H1N1. “If you have it we take your dorm room key away,” Domingo said. “We then give you a key to a suite in the commons,” he continued.

Infected students are trans-ferred to one of two apart-ments in the commons 2. Ursela Herz, Director of Resi-dence Life, commented on the situation. “The Commons 2 was chosen for the reason that the air circulation system in

there is not shared,” Herz said. Students must stay there until their fever has cleared for a full 24 hours.

Domingo strongly advises students to take precautions to try and prevent from getting this virus. “It’s important to wash your hands before you eat, espe-cially,” he said. He also suggests eating healthy choices of food and dressing appropriately for the weather.

“It’s multiplying very rap-idly,” said Domingo. With it spreading quickly, it leaves con-cern for people here on campus, and even has some wondering if fatality is possible. “It’s very hard to know if it’s fatal because it’s a very individual virus,” said Domingo. “We should just focus on the fact of it spreading right now,” he added.

Dean of Students Geoff Isabelle said students should use preventative methods and social distancing to keep from spreading the virus. “Plan for the worst and hope for the best,” he said. Isa-belle said he encourages students to visit the college’s Web site for day-to-day updates.

Isabelle is providing hand sanitizer for those attending the ASUBA sponsored Halloween dance Saturday. He is encourag-ing students to think proactively when interacting at social events. Information on what exactly H1N1 stands for can be read at youthradio.org.

Athena Lazo, ‘11Campus News Editor

The State University of New York Student Assembly represen-tatives were welcomed by mul-tiple keynote speakers at their fall conference Oct. 23. Students and alumni attended a weekend of business meetings, workshops and entertainment in Binghamton, NY. Most activities promoted financial progress in the SUNY system.

SUNY Board Trustee Linda Sanford spoke of the current economic recession she said she believes began here in New York State and has rippled around the world. With 6.5 percent of the na-tion’s higher education enrollment in this state, Sanford said 20,000 employees throughout New York State come from SUNY. Sanford said SUNY can create more suc-

SUNY students hear of mid-year budget cutscess stories with two important attributes: Adept collaborators and “T-shaped” people. She said with our interconnected world, leaders need to share ideas. “We should be looking for the best of everyone’s thinking,” she added. Sanford said SUNY has the technologies to begin collaborating.

Sanford described “T-shaped” people as people with “a depth in one area of expertise, but a breadth across many areas.” She said SUNY needs to show students how to create core skills with a broad understanding of many other subjects in order to create flexibility and communi-cation.

The fall conference was built around the quote, “Give us the tools, we lead for a day; Teach us the tools, we lead for life.” Sanford said, “This is our home state,” and

said she believes SUNY has what it takes to create leaders that will make a difference.

New York State Higher Edu-cation Committee Chairperson Debra Glick acknowledged that in the first two months of the fiscal year, SUNY has been cut $90 mil-lion. She said she is working to “at least stop the bleeding.”

SUNY Board of Trustees Chairperson Carl T. Hayden told assembly representatives what they can do as students to make a difference. “Describe where you are, and describe where you want to go,” he said.

Hayden advised students to attend regional planning meetings. “Ask your legislature to give us the freedom to keep our own money; to keep our own tuition,” he said.

Hayden told students to use Generation SUNY, a social media

initiative run by System Adminis-trator David Belsky. Generation SUNY combines Youtube.com, Facebook and Twitter into a way of communicating through our technological world. The system development is still in progress.

Hayden said he believes SUNY is the key to “turning this thing around.” He said there’s discussion of another $100-200 million cut for the next fiscal year. He advised assembly representatives to spread the word: “When you cut SUNY, you are taking a shot at the infra-structure of your community.”

“We’ve been way too shy about asserting out greatness,” Hayden said. “We deserve more invest-ment.” He ended the welcome gathering by reassuring students that the SUNY budget is still worth fighting for, and “we’re going to do that this year!”

page 2 October 2009 - THE CHIMESEDITORIAL

Kendra K. Spenard, Co-Editor In ChiefKayla L. Santoro, Co-Editor In Chief

Jeffrey Costello ---------------------------------------- Editorial Page EditorAthena Lazo ------------------------------------------ Campus News EditorMonica Bonneau -------------------------Associate Campus News EditorMeghan Dewinde -------------------------------------- Lifestyle Co-EditorBenjamin Drew ----------------------------------------- Lifestyle Co-EditorKristin Clark -----------------------------------------------Sports Co-EditorGretchen Cramer -----------------------------------------Sports Co-EditorJeff Witherow --------------------------------------------------Photo EditorHeather Foster -------------------------------------------------Layout EditorAsst. Prof. Brian L. McDowell -----------------------Editorial, Layout, &

Photography AdvisorT h e C H I M E S i s a p u b l i c a t i o n o f s t u d e n t s i n t h e J o u r n a l i s mDepartment at Morrisville State College. The CHIMES office is located at Charlton 101, or by phone at (315) 684-6247. Letters and columns appearing on the editorial page re-flect the opinions of their authors. Letters to the editor are subject to editing for length, clarity, and standards of decency. Letters to the editor and other communications can be sent to chimes@morrisville.edu.

Religious extremists believe America is ‘hell-bound’

Wendy Vair, ‘12Staff reporter

“Welcome Deprived Sons of Adam. 2,539 reprobates have split hell wide open since you loaded this web page.” And the number continues to rise every second you remain there.

With their highly offensive homepage godhatesfags.com, the Westboro Baptist Church has been preaching their distorted interpretation of the Bible since

its first Sunday service in 1955. The extremely prejudiced church was founded by Fred Phelps, an independent Baptist priest from Topeka, KS. He is known for such phrases as “God hates fags,” “Thank God for dead soldiers,” “America is doomed,” and “Priests rape boys.” Their Web site depicts photographs of people of all ages holding signs of Phelps’s slogans, peo-ple standing on the American flag, and signs calling President Barack Obama the Antichrist.

These people are what you call extremists when it comes to religion. They believe that God is America’s enemy. Calling the 5,000 deaths in the Iraq war and our $11-trillion debt God’s punishment to the United States.

On Jan. 22, 2008, The Syr-acuse-Post-Standard ran an article saying that eight or nine members of the WBC planned

to protest the funeral of John Sigsbee, a fallen solider from Waterville. Shirley Phelps-Roper, daughter of church founder Fred Phelps, said that these protests spread the message of the group: God is exacting retribution on the United States. She said God caused the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 because of this country’s tolerance of homosexuality and other sins. Sigsbee’s aunt, Donna Weeks, however, said she agreed with what John was doing for his country.

The WBC is not seen by other Baptist churches as part of their denomination. Phelps leans more toward the side of Calvin-ism. According to reformed.org, Calvinism is the belief that God is the one who chooses the people for salvation. The power lies only in God’s hands to de-cide who’s free from an eternity

in hell, not man. But many other churches consider the WBC to be only a cult. And really, that’s what they are.

The WBC brainwashes its followers to believe that America is hell-bound, and the only way to escape a fiery death is to join their religion. Who wouldn’t want to escape the fiery cham-bers of hell? All you have to do is protest soldiers’ funerals, discriminate against Jews, perse-cute homosexuals and brainwash your children. That seems like an easy enough trade to be relieved from the Devil.

These people are teaching their children that homosexuals are the main cause of God’s “ha-tred” of the world. Children are brought up calling homosexuals fags and evil bastards. These children have no idea what they are saying or what they are sup-porting. One of the seven com-

mandments is honor thy mother and thy father, and that’s all these children are doing.

Two of Roper’s own children were interviewed and asked what some of their favorite songs were. They responded with the song titles “Fags Doom Nations” and “God Hates the World,” but when asked what a fag was, they had no idea.

In 2007 the church created a music video of their members singing a song called “God Hates the World,” a parody to the song “We Are the World” by Michael Jackson. The video was posted all over the Internet and was used to attract people - especially children - to the ideas of the church by using a simple song even they could learn. There are videos all over the Internet, and even on the WBC Web site, of young children singing lines

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Blackout brings dependency on technology to light

Jeffrey Costello, ‘12Editorial Editor

When the power went out on Wednesday, Oct. 7, I never felt so isolated before. Without my laptop and video games, I was forced to stare at a dark wall, listening to music on my iPod, making sure my cell phone didn’t lose power.

After witnessing RA’s escort-ing students across campus and hearing of the strong-armed rob-beries, I began to wonder: Have we become so reliant on technol-ogy and electricity that when we lose it for 14 hours, we act so differently and feel so helpless?

“We assume it will always be there,” says Dr. Kurt Reymers, associate professor of social science in the School of Liberal Arts, in regards to electricity and technology. He suggested that we take technology for granted: that people pay their electric bills but many never think about what they’re paying for.

Reymers warned that de-pendence on a system is bad, because if it breaks down we’d be lost. In that regard, he be-lieves that a blackout helps us in that we can “focus on our

dependence on electricity.”From a sociological perspec-

tive, “all of our social institutions are now linked to the electrical grid,” Reymers explains, “It’s that important.” When you think about it, it’s true: our Internet access, online social network-ing, even our lighting, record-keeping systems and a large portion of our entertainment; nearly everything we take for granted depends on electricity to function.

The lack of power can also be linked to an increase in crime. When speaking about the two strong-armed robberies that occurred on campus, Reymers explains that the loss of elec-tricity not only creates chaos, but it “limits the efforts of law enforcement.”

Reymers reflected back on a past blackout in which he had to budget the amount of time he spent on his laptop so he could prepare his dissertation without running out of power. Since then, he has taken measures to avoid being too dependent on electricity.

This begs the question: could the students at MSC have sur-vived without power or technol-ogy for longer than it was out? Assistant Professor Roberta Sloan of the CIT Department says she believes “everyone would have survived.” She re-called thinking something was happening when she couldn’t ac-

cess her e-mail that night. Sloan, living outside of the area where the blackout occurred, didn’t find out until the next day what had happened.

“You would lose a tool, that’s a good way of putting it,” Sloan says, explaining that the blackout would have affected how she would have to teach classes or assign tests without WebCT.

She added that she believes that there’s a little bit of a gen-erational difference when it comes to technology depen-dence. Sloan remembered that back when she was growing up, they didn’t have cell phones or instant messaging, just home phones. To that end, she believes that every generation would miss technology if a blackout occurred.

“It’s dangerous to assume you’re always going to have it,” Sloan says regarding technology. She also believes that the black-out demonstrates the need to plan ahead or to have a backup plan. She encourages students to not be completely dependent, but at the same time to “not try to live without it because it makes our lives easier.”

If there’s one thing we can take from the blackout, it’s that maybe we need to ease off on our reliance on technology and electricity. But as Sloan reminds us, “It’s too much work to not be dependent.”

CAMPUSOctober 2009 - THE CHIMES page 3

Outdoor Recreation Club’s Haunted Barn shut down after debut

Jessica Mosher watches her younger bother Howie Mosher pre-pare to scare at the Haunted Barn Tuesday. Howie was helping ORC raise funds for their 10-day trip to Alaska tentatively sched-uled for Spring 2010. Photo by Athena Lazo, ‘11

- continued from page 2 -such as “God hates the world, and all her people,” along with “serving all your idols, fag beasts and bloody flags. Fires of hell are waiting there for you.” Is the most well known verse in the entire bible, John 3:16, not “for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that who so ever shall believeth in him shall not perish?” But the WBC calls this passage a lie, putting their own twist on the interpretation of God’s word.

These people are very convincing with their in-formation. They provide countless Bible verses to support their arguments that God hates the world, but there is nothing in the Bible that says God hates the world or will ever hate the world. They have taken the words of God and interpreted them in a way that says they are right

and everyone else is wrong. But is this not one of the problems with religion, try-ing to prove everyone else wrong?

These people truly be-lieve they are the only ones who are safe from the wrath of hell. Many churches do not agree with the idea of homosexuality, but this group of people has taken it to a whole new extreme. Until the church is brought down, these people are go-ing to continue to try and change the world.

It’s crazy how just one church in Topeka, KS can cause such an uproar in the world for so many years. It’s extremists like these who make so many people hate the culture of religion. I may be a religious person, but I do not think that God hates the world and I do not think homosexuality is a sin.

I do not believe that heaven is only filled with the members of the West-boro Baptist Church.

Kendra K. Spenard, ‘10Co-Editor in Chief

The Outdoor Recreation Club’s first annual Haunted Barn was abruptly shut down after their initial debut Tuesday evening.

Bob Fletcher, the campus’ codes coordinator, e-mailed ORC’s Vice President Anthony Gianti Wednesday morning to inform club members that the barn would be shut down early due to fire code violations.

The barn was in violation of New York State fire codes, which Fletcher identified in an e-mail to Gianti. Violations included: • Extension cords and “zip

cords” in use.

• No emergency lighting in the building.• No exit signs.• No secondary exits.• Hay was piled over six-feet-

high to form corridors and direct traffic flow.• The width of the corridors

was minimal.Fletcher suggests that any-

one planning a haunted house, or like activities, should consult the Office of Fire Prevention and Control’s regulations before they build.

Gianti said he had first de-veloped the idea of a fundrais-ing haunted barn last year, but was unable to put his plan into action until the beginning of this month. “We put over 200 hours of labor and nearly $200

of the club’s money into this,” Gianti said.

The hay barns near the Ice Plex had been originally pro-posed for a potential “haunted” site, but due to the fact that the hay barn is located right next to the construction site, Dean of Agriculture and Resources Christopher Nyberg suggested the heifer barn.

“The dean told me to get permission to use the barn from (Instructional Support Techni-cian) Doug Trew,” Gianti said. “After I got permission, I didn’t think to talk to anyone else.”

Nyberg said everyone was too excited for the event to think of calling for a health and safety inspection. “You don’t think of all the regulations on a state campus when you’re a student planning an event,” the dean said. “Next year we’ll have to do a better job planning collectively.”

The revenue generated from the Haunted Barn was going toward ORC’s trip to Alaska. “We have lots of other fundrais-ing events planned,” said Laurie Trotta, the club’s faculty advisor. This year the ORC will also hold

a turkey raffle, a holiday cookie sale, fishing ponds for kids and a cardboard sledding event. Trotta explained even though it’s unfor-tunate the barn was canceled, it will not affect the club’s 10-day trip.

“Guess we didn’t go through the bureaucratic steps properly,” Gianti said. “At least we did have one successful night before they shut us down. We made $85, everyone had fun, and we scared the crap out of, like, 20 people.”

Religious extremists

page 4 October 2009 - THE CHIMESCAMPUS

MSC manure runoff contaminates residents’ wellsKatie Collins, ‘11Staff Reporter

It has been almost a year since manure runoff from Morrisville State College’s dairy barn polluted three neighboring homeowners’ wells.

For 60 years, Rosie Smith has lived in the same home on Eaton Street. For 60 years Smith said she has used a “beautiful well,” to do es-sential things at home, like taking showers, laundry and using her own toilet. But since December of 2008, Smith has been unable to do these things because of the contamination of her well.

Smith said she was told the problem was the result of “a new scientific method of get-ting rid of manure. It’s a spray; they spray the ground instead of letting Mother Nature take care of it.”

Vice President for Ad-ministrative Services Richard Carreno said MSC does not have a new scientific method of removing manure. “We have the area where the cows are and manure’s produced, and that’s washed down daily. Then you have liquid manure,” he said.

Carreno said MSC dispos-es of manure like any farmer would, by taking the liquid manure from a holding tank and spreading it onto fields.

MSC Environmental Health Officer Bob Fletcher said he is unsure why this has not been a problem before.

“I think it was related to the hard winter we had,” Fletcher said. The barn was built six years ago. Fletcher said he has talked with the State Health Department and the Department of Environ-mental Conservation to try to figure out the cause, but there has been no definite answer.

Carreno acknowledged the uncertainty, but said it has been considered that “many of the wells in this area are old and are not built to cur-rent standards. So they’re very shallow,” which might have made the wells susceptible to the manure runoff.

MSC runs the dairy barn based on instructions pre-sented in the Comprehensive Animal Feeding Operation or the Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plan.

The CAFO is approved and inspected by the DEC;

it dictates how the dairy barn is supposed to work. This includes certain requirements when spreading manure.

The DEC has yearly CAFO inspections. Fletcher said the CAFO “virtually identifies all the areas where we spread; it’s just information that’s all applicable.”

Some of the homes had E. Coli and some had other forms of coliform. A naturally occurring contaminant usually linked to fecal matter, coliform

Ninety-year-old Rosie Smith has been a resident of Morrisville for over 60 years, living on West Road. Due to the contamination of her well by manure runoff from the MSC Dairy Farm, Rosie has lived on bottled water donated by the college since December 2008. Photo by Jeff Witherow, ‘10

can make water undrinkable, Fletcher said.

The coliform was not nec-essarily a result of the manure. All wells have been tested and are clear of these contami-nates now. Fletcher said MSC is going to continue monitor-ing the wells, to reassure the homeowners that their wells are safe.

One of the affected ho-meowners, Marlene Miner, would only say, “Everything’s settled; the college was very accommodating. I don’t want anything else.”

Of the three homeowners affected, Smith was the only one interested in discuss-ing the ordeal she has been through.

Currently she has two wells, one being her original well, which was contaminat-ed and a new well that MSC had installed. At this point, Smith is still using her old well while MSC continues to test it.

Smith’s water is cloudy, and the only solution for her would be an installation of a filtration system, which MSC is will-

ing to fund. Fletcher said the Health Department will design and install a system based on the water samples they take.

The new well is not hooked up, because it has to be ap-proved by the Health Depart-ment once a filter is installed.

Smith has only recently de-cided to have the filter installed because she said, “you can’t beat New York State.” She decided to have MSC install the filter because she could not see how she could legally

win in court. MSC was not willing to

provide Smith with its own water, because Carreno said, “It’s not practical for us to run the water from the college, all the way from the college, down to her property.”

Besides the distance, Car-reno said the cost would be significant and MSC’s water comes from a well too.

As a result of the con-tamination caused by the ma-nure runoff, MSC was fined $10,000 by the DEC. The fine was taken care of by what Carreno called the “campus operating budget,” which is state-funded.

The cost of a new well is partially determined by the depth of the well. Fletcher said the cost of a well varies, because “you get differences on how deep they have to go, when they get water, what trouble they run into.”

Carreno was not sure of the total cost of everything, but he estimates the cost of the DEC fine and the new filtration system to be around $15,000. MSC also supplied

Smith with some of MSC’s own bottled water. In total, Carreno estimated the whole cost to be a little over $25,000.

“I feel bad; we all feel bad for her,” Fletcher said. “Like I said, if there was a magic wand and we could settle this, I think we definitely made a sincere attempt at getting everything fixed.” Fletcher added.

Carreno said he was sur-prised by Smith’s comment. “We’re neighbors. We want to get the problem resolved as quickly as possible.”

Carreno said the situation is a “blemish for us” and that the college wants to have it resolved. “We don’t want to have this kind of reputation,” he said.

“I couldn’t sell this house if I wanted to,” Smith said. “I’ve lived here for 60 years. The water’s no good; there’s only filthy water.”

Carreno only met Smith and the other homeowners once during a meeting held last winter. Knowing Smith has a useable new well, Car-reno was not sure of what to make of her comment. But he questioned if the cloudiness of Smith’s water is what is still making her upset.

Both Carreno and Fletcher said they felt terrible about the ordeal Smith has gone through. Carreno said from the beginning, MSC has been more then obliging to help Smith. “We immediately of-fered to drill a new well,” Car-reno said. “We weren’t forced legally to do this. We provided her drinking water, things of that sort. I think we’ve been trying to accommodate her, I mean, obviously this is a

serious problem for her. We recognized that right off from the start. So it’s not like the college is fighting anything.”

Sympathetic to what the homeowners have gone through, Fletcher could not express his remorse for the homeowners enough, “You have no idea, how many sleep-less nights. I mean you do, you feel bad.”

Even though it was the middle of December, Fletcher said his boss, MSC Director of Physical Plant Mike Nataluk, got a well driller to the homes quickly.

“The weather was awful. We ran into a lot of weather issues with drilling and I think our response was very quick,” Fletcher said. “I think we did a lot of good things that may not have been appreciated at the time, but we really did our best.”

Acknowledging Smith’s standpoint, Fletcher said, “It’s a major inconvenience. If you don’t think so, everybody should do it--just to see how we take it for granted.”

The land MSC was using to dump manure was leased by the college. Instead of spread-ing the manure on that land, MSC is going to “outsource it; take it to other farmers that are willing to accept our manure,” Fletcher said.

Farmers use the manure as part of a comprehensive nutri-ent management plan. The arrangement has enabled free removal for MSC’s manure in exchange for the farmers who will pick up the manure and do what they want with it. Fletcher called it a “break-even exchange.”

LIFESTYLEOctober 2009 - The CHIMES page 5

LaShawn Webb, ‘11Staff Reporter

With the beginning of the fall season comes the fashion trends for the season. This season has seen the return of many familiar trends as well as the emergence of new ones.

The reemergence of 1980s fashion styles is still extremely popular this season. An ex-ample of this is the neon hues that appear in almost every designer’s collection this fall. At his fall fashion show, Mi-chael Kors exclaimed, “These neons are my flowers in the winter.” Another trend that is on the comeback is the bold shoulder look. Many designers have incorporated shoulder pads into their jackets and sweaters. When wearing a shoulder padded jacket, the key is to have everything else very simple with accessories being the exception. Slits, slashes and cut-outs in the shoul-der area and neckline are big with designers like Charlotte Ronson and Alexander Wang. Celebrities like Ashley Olsen and Victoria Beckham have all been seen in jackets with bold shoulder pads.

Among the neon hues that were seen on the runway, hot

pink was the most popular. In the past pink was seen more as a spring or summer color, but that has changed this season. Designers like Marc Jacobs and Narciso Rodriguez showcased hot pink dresses and jackets in their fall runway shows. Hot pink was also mentioned as a trend to follow in Elle Magazine’s fall fashion list. Hot pink tends to look better as a dress paired with heels and some accessories. However, lightweight jackets in hot pink go great with jeans and a simple shirt.

Black leather has made its way onto the runway and into many fall collections, such as designer label Miss Sixty’s many leather jackets. Another style of jacket that is making its way on trend lists everywhere are mili-tary jackets. Designers like Dolce and Gabana and Steve Madden have produced military jackets for their collections. Celebrities like Beyonce and Rihanna have been seen in military jackets paired with jeans.

While ankle boots have been popular for the past couple of seasons, this season they give way to the knee-high boots. Knee-high boots were featured in the runway show of nearly every designer, such as Michael Kors and Calvin Klein. They can be

paired with anything from shorts to skirts to a pair of skinny jeans.

Once again, leggings are a major staple in this season’s fash-ion trends. This season, leggings are taking on a somewhat of dif-ferent look. Denim leggings are extremely popular this fall and look great paired with a tunic. Printed leggings are in as well; they are better paired with a skirt. Accented leggings are emerging this year to replace plain, basic leggings. The accent leggings come in a variety of styles like button, zipper and lace. They can be dress up or down like button accent leggings with a blouse, belt and pair of heels or lace ac-cented leggings paired with long layered tees and sneakers. With the use of neon colors on the rise in fashion it only makes sense that colorful legging would be listed on Collegefashion.net as a trend this fall. Colorful leggings look best when matched with a skirt, especially a denim one.

When it comes to jeans this year, two types are featured on more fall fashion lists than any other. These jeans offer the wearer many style options. The first are skinny jeans; they have been popular for several seasons now. One look you can go for is pairing the skinny jeans with a tunic and boots. Another is

pairing skinny jeans with high top sneakers, like Converse, and a T-shirt. Yet another way is to pair the jean with a blouse and a pair of heels. If a more relaxed fitting is preferred then boyfriend jeans are the way to go. Boyfriend jeans or relaxed fitted jeans tend to look better when matched with casual attire. These jeans look good when paired with a T-shirt and sneak-ers. They can also be matched with a boyfriend blazer, a long slightly loose fitted top, and a pair of flat shoes.

In contrast with the neon hues that are in style this year, black and gray remains a major fixture in fall fashion. Collec-tions like Vera Wang and Rag and Bone feature many black coats and suits. Designers are using gray in several differ-ent hues from heather gray to charcoal. The shades of gray are being used in skirts, jackets, suits and scarves this season. The best way to incorporate gray and black into your wardrobe is in outerwear and suits. Black suits are a remaining staple of fashion no matter the season or current trends. They are quick dress options that offer a classic and professional look. Gray and black are excellent choices for coats and jackets because they

offer a simple look that goes great with almost every outfit.

Designers in all levels of the fashion hierarchy have created different plaid pieces for each season. In the winter plaid, jack-ets, scarves, and bags have been popular. In the spring, must have items were plaid dresses of all different lengths. The sum-mer saw an increased number of swimsuits and bikinis in an array of plaid styles and colors. This fall has seen a variety of plaid shirts, blouses, and tunics paired with skinny jeans. An easy way of incorporating plaid into your everyday wear is to remember not to go overboard; almost everything is good in moderation. A plaid scarf paired off a pair of jean and a simple top is a great way to pull off an affordable chic look. Another is a plaid tunic along with leggings and flat shoes. For a more relax look try boyfriend jeans with a button down plaid top.

This year’s fall fashion of-fers variety without being overly costly. The trends this year promote layering as well as versatility, which are great ways to express yourself. In previous years the fashion trend provided little room for expressing or in-dividuality. This does not prove true this fall.

Fall fashion: variety without the cost

Wendy Vair, ‘11Staff Reporter

Have you ever traveled from England to Nebraska just to buy a seaplane and fly it to Cuba? Or hugged the zombies attacking your lawn while you repel them with cookies? How about at-tacking an evil dictator with your army of babies? I know three people who have, and I met them on Omegle.

The newest innovation in social networking was in-troduced to the Internet on March 25, by an 18-year-old high school student from Brattleboro, VT. Leif K-Brooks’ Web site, Omegle.com, was an instant success, reaching over 1,800 users on its fifth day, according to his blog. The site randomly se-lects another user for you to have a one-on-one conversa-tion with, and the fun begins from there. With the sites everchanging little slogans like “ASL (Age/Sex/Loca-tion) is boring, talk about something interesting” and “you’re now chatting with a random stranger, say hi,” it’s simple but inviting atmo-

sphere attracts around 3,000 members at a time, only six months after its release.

The site does not require members to log in and create a username. Instead, visitors just press the blue “Start a Chat” button on the homep-age and begin. In an interview with blog.news.com, Brooks says, “My goal with Omegle is to bring people together who have different interests and backgrounds, so that they can gain perspective, and hopefully learn from each other.” However, the things you learn from Omegle can be questionable.

Since there is no logging in with usernames, users are referred to only as “You” and “Stranger”. Gawker.com says “It’s the Internet chat ver-sion of truckstop-bathroom sex - hotter because you don’t know who you’re hooking up with.” It is very rare that you actually come across a person looking to have a real conver-sation on Omegle. Despite the nonsensical and silly con-versations, the site continues to increase in numbers daily, attracting people from all over the world. If you don’t like

the person you’re talking to, or they talk a little too much about their dog, you can simply disconnect from that conversation and instantly be placed with a new stranger.

Since society is rapidly becoming mobile, as of June 27, Omegle is available on the go for the iPhone and the iPod touch. The application is available at the Apple store for 99 cents for “strangers on the go,” with a current rat-ing of 4+ in the apple store. You can buy the application and instantly chat with a ran-dom stranger whenever you please, no matter where you happen to be.

The only real problems with the site are the “trolls”: the people who swear at you, call you names and make fun of your mother. Omegle is not recommended for young children because of the frequent use of vulgar language by some people on the site. Brooks says in his blog however, that he is currently working on a way to control this problem and hopes in the mean time that people continue to enjoy the site.

Omegle: ‘Truckstop bathroom’ of the Web?

(Clockwise, from upper-left) Journalism student Heather Foster, ‘10; nursing stu-dent Roselind Bruce-Vanderpuije, ‘13; journalism student Sarah Delap, ‘10; and individual studies student Tiffany Rayemoore, ‘13, pose around campus. This year’s fall fashions offer a wide variety of styles without being too costly.

Photos by Lashawn Webb, ‘12 | Staff Reporter

page 6 October 2009 - THE CHIMESLifestyLe

Alysha Jones ‘11Staff Reporter

After a tornado flattened and left 90 percent of its popu-lation homeless, the commu-nity of Greensburg, KS voted “yes” to rebuilding the town to be energy-efficient. Although Morrisville State College hasn’t been destroyed by any natural disasters, the school does know the importance of being energy efficient and making an effort to conserve.

According to an article on CNN.com, Greensburg is using solid concrete, state-of-the-art windows, better insulation and natural light to rebuild. The first home built was silo-shaped, making it 70 percent greener than a regular home, because it includes ground-source heating, cooling and solar hot-water heaters.

On Oct. 23, there will be a ground-breaking of the new Greensburg Wind Farms, ac-cording to Greensburg’s web-site.

Professor of science at MSC, Dean O’Grady, said he believes to increase the “Go Green” initiative, humans need to have less of an impact on the environment.

“A thousand eyes are better than two,” President Raymond Cross said. In order for our school to be more energy ef-ficient, everyone needs to work together.

Cross said, according to SUNY, MSC is the second most energy efficient SUNY school. He believes that every school is “green” in some way but MSC is ahead of most, and each year gets greener.

Cross said that many people think it costs too much, but in the end he said cost shouldn’t matter, saving energy matters.

“We’re not as green as we could be,” Cross said.

Morrisville switched the lighting on campus from in-candescent to fluorescent, Cross said.

According to energystar.gov, fluorescent light bulbs last about 10-times longer than incandescent, and conserve by using 75 percent less energy.

The college purchased En-ergy Star washing mahcines for residence halls. The washers use a small amount of water compared to conventional washers. According to ener-

gystar.gov, the Energy Star washers “cut energy and water consumption by over 40 per-cent,” energystar.gov said.

The dining services on campus have eliminated all Styrofoam and replaced it with compostable products. For example, the utensils used in Mustang Alley are made of potato starch, Cross said.

Every Wednesday between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. the campus holds the “Dark Green Hour.” During this time the campus turns off the lights, unplugs appliances and tries to encour-age all the students to do so as well.

The school has replaced some of the cars used on campus. They have purchased three energy-efficient hybrid (gas-electric) vehicles, and still plan to replace the entire fleet. They have also purchased eight GEM (General Electric Motorcars) electric cars, Cross said.

According to gemcar.com, “GEM electric vehicles are 100 percent electric and emit zero tailpipe emissions.”

“Scientists are starting to really believe global warming is happening,” O’Grady said.

O’ Grady said due to the climate shifting, ice caps are starting to melt, which is ruin-ing animal’s habitats. Animals are beginning to migrate due to the climate shift, especially

“Go Green” initiative gains support in Morrisvillebirds. There’s a possibility that New York State could slowly become tropical in the years to come.

In order to be energy ef-ficient, Cross suggested people should do anything they can to help conserve. This includes small things like shutting lights off on a regular basis and not leaving water running when not in use.

Students may have noticed water stations located through-out the campus. According to the Morrisville website, 86 percent of water bottles used in the country end up in a land-fill. In an effort to reduce the amount of plastic water bottles that are thrown away, MSC has provided bottles to fill at the stations to encourage students to conserve.

“Most people are going to do what they want to do,” said Shiranda Marble a busi-ness administration student.

Marble said she supports the “Go Green” initiative and tries to conserve as much as she can. Some of the things she said she does to help are recycling plastic forks, cups; using less paper and turning the water off when she’s not using it.

O’Grady urged students to be aware of activities that may contribute to the problem. He said if each person does a little bit to help then it will eventu-

The “Dark Green Hour” logo. In an effort to conserve energy on cam-pus, every Wednesday the campus turns off the lights and appliances across campus between the hours of 1p.m. and 2p.m. Students are encouraged to follow the example and be “green”.

Graphic courtesy of Deb Hanson

SPORTSOctober 2009 - THE CHIMES page 7

Coach Dow tells Mustangs to “keep chopping”Nicole Williams, ‘12Staff Reporter

"Life is a lot like football. You're only going to be as good as the people around you, and make sure you're as good to them as they are to you," head coach Terry Dow says.

Dow is 41 years old and is going into his 13th year as the head coach for the football team. "Central New York is home to me; there is no place like home. It was as simple as I applied 13 years ago to work here, at Morrisville, and they hired me and here I am today," he says.

To many of his colleagues, Dow is considered a hard-working coach. "He's a straight shooter," equipment manager Tom Dickinson says. "He's just cool to work with. He's honest, direct and hard-working. He speaks his mind and expects things to be done in an orderly fashion."

"My stepfather was a farm-er," Dow says. "I grew up on a farm. He was a guy who worked seven days a week from sun up to sun down. He

taught me to have great work ethics. My mom, she worked hard to get us things. I wish I had a stronger relationship with my parents and siblings."

Dow started playing foot-ball when he was 10. "I knew football was going to be a part of my life for a very long time. It's a passion," he says. He graduated from Ithaca College with a Bachelor of Science degree in physical education. After receiving a career-ending injury, he coached at Ithaca College alongside head coach Jim Butterfield. Dow has been coaching college football for 22 years.

"I love that football is the ultimate sport. No one person can play it; it's just a team sport. I love coaching boys and watching them grow into men. I love helping young men find themselves; that is the greatest accomplishment," Dow says.

Third-year starting running back Peter Enriquez says Dow taught him to be dedicated and to work hard. "That man is truly dedicated. He's not just a coach; he's a great person," he remarks.

"If you want to be a suc-cessful or a better coach, you have to have a wife that is strong. And mine, she is as strong as a rock," Dow says. He has been married for 15 years.

"My marriage has a strong foundation. We just have a good family. My wife was my date at my senior prom. I met her in the hallway, and I will never forget that first moment. We've been together from then," Dow said.

Dow has three children. The oldest, Zackary is 12 years old and was a month old when

Dow took the head coach-ing job for Morrisville. His daughter, Olivia, is 10, and his youngest son Trevor is 9.

Dow's family takes a yearly trip to the Jersey shore. How-ever, last year they went to Disney World. "I didn't want to go. I was kind of grumpy, but a few days in the sun and it got to me, and I had fun," he says.

"I am a Cowboys fan, but I love the Giants' coach (Tom Coughlin), Dow admits. "They play the game the way it should be played, and he's one of my old school favorites. It hurts me to say that outloud because

the Cowboys and Giants are rivals."

The team will be playing seven home games next year. "Seriously, it's the worst," Dow said. "The new field would help us, because it will increase the quality in practice and re-cruiting."

Dow says that if he were to give the MSC football team a grade, it would be a C. "The 1-7 record speaks for itself, but we play in a great program," he says. "We are a better team this year; We are healthier than be-fore. Our future is good; we're getting better."

"Keep chopping" is one of the phrases Dow tells his team right before a game. "We look at our conference and we try to chop down the competition. We come to practice with axes and we sharpen them, and one of these days, we are going to chop the rest of the teams down," Dow says.

"Five years from now, I will have teenagers. Ten years from now they will be in college. I'm trying to prepare myself for that, but I don't think there is anything that can really pre-pare me for that," Dow jokes. He hopes to still be coaching at Morrisville, winning games and being able to look back at all the trials and tribulations the team had to go through before becoming a successful team.

"I hope football is a part of me until the end. It can be stressful, but this isn't work; it's too fun," Dow says.

Head coach Terry Dow speaks to Justin Balducci (74) and Tim Ham-mond (71) during the game against William Paterson University. The Mustangs would lose that game by a score of 14-2. Their next game will be Oct. 31 against SUNY Brockport.

Photo by Kristin Clark, ‘11 | Sports Co-Editor

ATHLETIC NEWSCourtney Cook, ‘13Sports Staff

The women’s volleyball team is currently unde-feated in the North Eastern Athletic Conference and 13-11 overall. They hope to end their 2009 season wth an overall winning record.

In his third season as the women’s volleyball head coach, Brian Ellithorpe said he hopes to host the con-ference tournament. If the team wins the tournament, they would be the first team in Morrisville State history to go to the National Col-legiate Athletic Association tournament since becom-ing a part of the NCAA four years ago.

“We’re playing up to our potential,” said Jeremy Cook, assistant coach who joined the team in 2006.

Senior captain Casan-dra Kimbrell said that she is proud of the season, no matter how it ends as a senior. She said she thinks the school should be proud

of their how much they’ve accomplished.

Junior captain Ebony Whitfield said that she wants the team to continue playing hard for the rest of the season and end with a winning record. Whitfield also said that a highlight for her this season was Mus-tang Weekend. Both the team went undefeated and Whitfield was named female athlete of the week.

Both Kimbrell and Cook said their highlight of the season was beating Keuka, a rival in the NEAC. “We have never won a match [against Keuka] from before this season and now have beaten [Keuka] twice in one season,” said Kimbrell.

Aside from Mustang Weekend, Whitfield said she doesn’t think there is enough “school spirit.” She also said that people don’t attend the games because they don’t know when teams are doing well.

“We need our school support because that's who

we are representing. We represent Morrisville State College students, faculty and the athletic department,” Ebony said. “When we win, they win. We'd just like to be recognized for our hard work, that's all. People are so used to teams not win-ning or doing well that when they do, they feel ignored.”

On Saturday, Oct. 24, the Mustangs played SUNYIT and Cobleskill, two wins, which put their record at 13-11. The Mustangs beat SUNYIT in three games, with senior Amanda Brit-ton leading the match with 15 kills, nine defensive digs and three solo blocks. Whit-field also had 10 kills, four digs and four blocks for the Mustangs, while Kimbrell finished the match with five kills and 14 digs. Nicole Wright added six kills and Keli Stewart, 32 assists.

The Mustangs return to the court Saturday, Oct. 31, playing at Keuka College against both Keuka and Buf-falo State College.

Volleyball looks to make Morrisville State history

Cross country runner overcomes disabilities to achieve dreamsKristin Clark, ‘11Sports Co-Editor

Carl Tausend is not the average cross country run-ner. He was born with Albi-nism, a defect that results in a lack of pigmentation in the eyes, hair, and skin.

Albinism also affects one’s vision. Because Carl was born with this condition, his already poor vision that has gotten worse with time. “I ran into a pole during a meet in ninth grade and completely lost vision in my right eye,” Carl says. He is 70 percent blind, which is enough to classify him as legally blind.

Carl has been running cross country for seven years. This is his first year on the team at Morrisville. Carl has to do a lot of work to pre-pare for a race, mentally and physically. “I have to check out the course beforehand so

I can remember where all the turns are,” Carl says.

Carl says mental prepara-tion is important for him. “If I don’t think positive then it will make running the race a lot harder,” he says. “I can’t think about the race or let anything affect me.”

Head coach Derek Powers isn’t too involved in helping Carl get ready for a race. “Carl is very motivated by himself,” Powers says. “There isn’t too much I need to do.”

Powers is allowed to run alongside Carl if he ever needs his assistance. He is not allowed to give Carl ad-vice. Powers is only allowed to help him out if he gets lost. He cannot tell him to go faster. “Coach is always there for me if I need him,” Carl says. “He can run with me if I ever need him to.”

“When Carl gets down on himself, I treat him no dif-ferently and tell him to not let himself get in a position where his sight becomes a factor,” Powers says.

There are some obstacles that may pop up during a race that Carl may not foresee. He says the Hobart race on Sept. 19 was tough for him. “It was

rainy and I lost the lead pack of runners, so a slower run-ner helped me find my way back on track with the rest of the course.” Carl says this happens often. “People are always willing to help one another out.”

Carl’s own team also helps out him when he needs it. Team helper Jesse Chartier runs alongside Carl to keep him company. “The only time Carl really needs help is when it is too sunny or really muddy out,” Chartier says. “When it is too muddy he can’t see where his next step is going to be.”

Carl said he has one mo-ment that stands out to him as a runner. “I got to run a race in Disney World last year,” he says. “It was nice to be able to do that; to have athletes from other states run with me. Not everyone is given an honor like that.”

“Carl is a great team-mate,” Chartier says.

“He is fearless,” Powers adds.

Carl has big plans for the future. He plans to qualify for the Paralympics in three years. “By the end of the year I want to be running a 5k at around 30 minutes,” he says.

This season, he has dropped three minutes off his overall time and has im-proved to a personal best of 31:23.32 for an 8k race.

Carl’s best finish this sea-son was at the Cross Coun-try Only Conference cham-pionships, Oct. 17, where he finished second for the Mustangs and 64th overall. For the week ending Oct.18, Carl was named Athlete of the Week. The Mustangs’ last meet will be Oct. 31 for the North Eastern Athletic Conference championships at SUNY IT.

Junior middle hitter Nicole Wright passes a ball for the Mustangs. The team returns to the court to play Keuka College on Saturday, Oct. 31.

Photo courtesy of Sports Information Department Newsletter.

Carl Tausend is a freshman from Cato, NY. In his last race, Tausend finished in 20:17 against 118 runners.

Photo courtesy Sports Information