FRIDAY, AUG. 30
WHAT’S INSIDE:
FALL 2024 | ISSUE 1
A&C
SPORTS
OPINION
Campus’ next steps toward inclusivity
What the fall season holds for Plattsburgh
Besides school, what is there to do here?
Making the Arts announce fall schedule most out of Plattsburgh BY ALEKSANDRA SIDOROVA News/Managing Editor
Check out what SUNY Plattsburgh’s arts scene looks like this semester > 8
ALEKSANDRA SIDOROVA/Cardinal Points
Students act out a spontaneous skit at an improv theater session part of the Cardinal Creative Arts Festival in May.
Parking lots still closed this week BY ALEKSANDRA SIDOROVA News/Managing Editor
A quarter of off-campus student parking spaces are still offline since a parking lot closed for upgrades in April. Lots 27 and 28 spanning the space between Feinberg Library and Banks Hall — for off-campus and staff parking respectively — are closed off with no date for completion set in stone. “We are anticipating that it won’t be far away,” wrote Bob Trombley, capital planning and construction manager, in an email response. Instead, students and staff can park at Sibley
ALEKSANDRA SIDOROVA/Cardinal Points
Lots 27 and 28, and one of the shortcuts students take to Ward and Hawkins halls, have been closed since April. Hall, where there are 342 parking spaces for anyone with a college-issued permit. The spaces are on the edge of the campus, next to Plattsburgh High
School and a mile away from Hawkins Hall. Last semester, there were 1,008 off-campus students with parking permits competing for 584
parking spaces, including Lot 27, according to parking manager Gail Recore. The contractor, Luck Bros., had dug up and repaved the lots to have 15 more parking spaces, electric vehicle charging stations, new trees and light poles and a sidewalk to fit. Trombley wrote that the changes would improve traffic flow as well. Once lots 27 and 28 are done, similar construction will move to lots 9 and 10 — staff and visitor parking at Kehoe Administration Building that has been closed since May 20. Email ALEKSANDRA SIDOROVA cp@cardinalpointsonline.com
Investments from $2.5M raised in campaign seen on campus BY ALEKSANDRA SIDOROVA News/Managing Editor
More than 2,000 alumni, friends, faculty and staff pitched in almost $2.5 million in gifts to support life on campus, from scholarships to outside seating. The Plattsburgh College Foundation’s Cardinals Thrive campaign ran from Jan. 1 through June 30. It gained full traction when ’76 alumna Cindy Kansky pledged a $1 million donation if the foundation could match it. The foundation met that goal — and then some.
Aubrey Bresett, executive director of advancement, said the campaign stands out because it supports student needs that research determines to be key to thriving in college: financial, physical, emotional, social, intellectual, spiritual, occupational and environmental. About $500,000 supports scholarships, which are part of several categories. “An impressive figure,” Plattsburgh College Foundation Executive Director Anne Whitmore Hansen wrote in an email response. The financial category — the larg-
est with more than $1 million raised — also supports the Plattsburgh Fund, Student Emergency Grant Fund and the Cardinal Cupboard food shelf. The social category was the second largest, with almost $250,000 in donations. It funds scholarships and supports initiatives by the Global Education Office, Campus Housing and Community Living, Fraternity and Sorority Life and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
cause they can teach students some desirable skills, Hay said. The National Association of Colleges and Employers’ most recent survey found almost 90% of employers’ most desired skill was problem solving, and close to 80% look for the ability to work in a team. Other skills in demand are communication, critical thinking and flexibility. SUNY Plattsburgh has more than 60 clubs, 12 club sports, 14 fraternities and sororities and plenty of opportunities for on-campus work. Hay noted that athletes, for example, are attractive to employers because they are goal-oriented, consistent hard workers and open to feedback. Briggs said being involved in clubs and organizations on campus helped her learn people skills and show leadership.
The size and renown of a school isn’t what paves students’ way to success. An alumna and career adviser weigh in on some ways a small school, such as SUNY Plattsburgh, can help students thrive. A body of about 4,000 students was part of what encouraged Angelina Briggs to transfer from the University at Buffalo, a school of almost 30,000 students. Buffalo was too big for her to know where to start engaging, and too big for her to make an impact, she said. Briggs graduated in May with an audio production degree. She said she worked hard, and that’s why she feels she made the most of her time at SUNY Plattsburgh. “I pushed myself to my limit, and then maybe a little bit more than that, MORE THAN CLASS Briggs was a member because I knew that I was capable of it,” Briggs said. of Black Onyx: the Black Student Union and Her WHAT EMPLOYERS Campus, as well as a dancer in three groups. LOOK FOR Licenses and certifi- The experiences in clubs cations are not all that made her realize she was employers might look good at managing monfor from fresh graduates, ey, which led to her servsaid Tobi Hay, Career De- ing as the Student Assovelopment Center direc- ciation’s treasurer and tor. Besides experiences having a seat on College and qualifications, there Auxiliary Services’ board is an array of soft skills of directors. She didn’t go easy employers want to see, which students can gain on academics, either — by being involved any- Briggs took 23 credits in her final semester to where on campus. “Most employers are graduate on time after really looking for poten- switching her major from computer science. tial,” Hay said. Extracurriculars look MOST > 4 good on resumes be-
THRIVE > 4
Provided by Angelina Briggs ALEKSANDRA SIDOROVA/Cardinal Points
More than 100 Adirondack chairs, some with firepits, have appeared on campus thanks to an alumni donation.
Angelina Briggs pops a bottle by Hawkins Pond, celebrating her May graduation.