volume 67, issue 5

FREE www.facebook.com/esfknothole March 25, 2013 Volume 67, Issue 5

greener easter • real women • president murphy • china • australia • lemurs • immigration • twitter

2 • THE KNOTHOLE • Student Life & The Environment

Letter From The Editor

Inside Issue #5:

Opinions...................................................2Worldy......................................................3Otherworldly............................................4Liberated Ladies.......................................5DIY...........................................................6A Presidential Affair..................................7Zero Below...............................................8Aw Nuts!..................................................9Myth & Fact............................................10WiSE.......................................................11Serenity Now!.........................................12MindSpill................................................13

The views and opinions expressed are those of the writers only and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the publication’s staff or anyone affiliated with the State University of New York College of Environmental Science & Forestry.

The mission of The Knothole is to provide its readers with

writings that are both stimulating and contemporary: to inform its students of clubs, events, and off-campus happenings, to challenge a world driven by progress to uncover the truth about current environmental policies and innovations, and to express such ideas, ingeniously and collectively. We are not a newspaper; we are not a magazine; we are not The Daily Orange. We are simply created by Stumpies, for Stumpies... and we like it that way.

is the State University of New York College of Environmental Science & Forestry’s exclusive monthly student publication. The contents of the publication include recent and upcoming event coverage, interviews, editorials, opinion articles, political cartoons, artwork, poetry, club announcements, and much more. SUNY-ESF students are able to make submissions at The Knothole office in 12D Bray Hall (BraySpace) or by email at [email protected] before 6:00PM on Tuesdays the week before the next issue is published.

Co-Managing EditorsHeather HelmanGavin Cohen

Layout & DesignMeg Callaghan

Christian Hill

TreasurerHui Lin

Editorial StaffBrigitte Moneymaker

Emily AdamsAdvisorKaren Moore

PrinterScotsman Press

The Knothole meets every other Wednesday at 7:30 pm in the basement of Bray Hall. If you are interested in attending, please send us an email at [email protected] so we can expect you!

THE KNOTHOLE

Cover Photo: http://i.imgur.com/lzFZDxJ.jpg

Dear Readers,

I hope you all had a great spring break, although by the time you read this it will be a long and distant memory. Ours here at the Knothole was excep-tional. We spent the majority of our time far away in our secret cloud castle deep in meditation. Yes, we were all opening up our chakras and crap to fully blend our thought patterns into one giant psychic kitten manifestation. Like the thrift store version of voltron, our ethereal intentions wove and spun to create a meta-conglomerate of pure energy with only one purpose: How can we make our pub-lication even better for you, the reader? Well we came up with creative amazing and mindblowing ways to inovate, but good things take time, so for now dig into our normally scheduled programming. This Issue is jam packed with interesting and informative articles for you to feast your eyes on. We have opinions and ideas from around the world to right here on campus, including a personal interview with our beloved presi-dent before he steps down. Make sure to head over to page 7 if you are the DIY kinda person, we’re dropping knowledge on how you can make your Easter even greener. If you still haven’t gotten a chance to check out the new Gateway build-ing (like myself) flip to page 15 to get the lowdown on what’s what. And if you are dreamin’ of someplace warmer see what our junior Australian correspondent Nick has to report. It is my humblest honor to present you with our penultimate Issue of the semester, do enjoy.

With love, Gavin Cohen

Student Life & The Environment • THE KNOTHOLE • 3

Opinions

On Oscar night, tens of thousands of citizens with access to the inter-

net took to their social media accounts with a renewed awakening of self-righteousness to defend the honor of Quvenzhané Wallis. The breakout 9-year-old actress was referred to as a c*nt in a tweet mocking the caddy nature of Hollywood. Americans banded together in a coordinated cyber campaign to tackle the most pressing issue of our time. In a flurry of tweets and facebook posts, clicktivists man-aged to express their high-mind-ed personal opinions and sat back with a smug sense of empower-ment as they tracked the number of retweets and likes. “This is just great” said Bernie Watson. “I know I’m mak-ing a real difference. Look at all these likes on my status. I think the message is really getting across to my friends.” While bloggers and neti-

zens expressed outrage behind com-puters, tablets, and smartphones, the nation’s female population didn’t notice any tangible reductions in crime or harassment.

“It means a lot to me that Twit-ter users are doing so much to defend the honor of this girl,” said Linda Flint the coordinator of a women’s shel-ter in L.A. “It puts me at ease that

everyone I turn away tonight due to overcapacity can go back to their abusive husbands knowing #fucktheonion is trending.” “It just felt like it was the right thing to do,” said Sadler Lawrin-son. “I mean, I know there are so many more serious affrontations to the female identity like actual cases of domestic abuse, but why actually volunteer at a women’s shelter when I can just tweet and blog about it. I just make so much more of an impact behind a com-puter screen.” Meanwhile, Quvenzhane Wal-lis posted on her Facebook page: “Everyone seems afraid to say it, but these tweets are kind of worthless, right?

Americans Feign Outrage at Satire News Site Ending Misogyny Through the InternetKevin Phu, 2013

USA UpdatesJeremy Newman, 2013

On February 20th, the Undergradu-ate Student Association’s campus

life committee hosted an open forum about ESF’s academic integrity policy. The coordinator of academic integrity, Kevin Reynolds, was present to take questions and comments about our college’s policy in matters that could potentially affect any student. This was a chance for the student body to come together and give voice to any con-cerns we had with the policy. A chance to offer suggestions or to complain of perceived injustices. A chance to plant seeds of thought in our administra-tive staff that could potentially lead to change in the way our college operates. Unfortunately, only four students at-tended the event. On February 21st, the college

held a listening session whose purpose was “to help inform the search process for our next leader.” I think most would agree that over his tenure as president of our college, Dr. Murphy has had a great impact on not only the inner workings of our institution, but also on how our institution has been viewed by people outside of our college commu-nity. It is in all of our interests (espe-cially the freshmen, one might argue) that our next president will be the type of person that can have similarly posi-tive impacts. Yet, only two students at-tended this listening session. Our student’s own legislative body currently has over thirty open positions. Through this body students are given a voice about the two above issues and many more. We are given

opportunities to sit on faculty commit-tees or to become a part of Syracuse University’s student association (two spots still available!). Yet, once again, student participation is lacking or lim-ited to the same few people. Some might characterize these situations as opportunities to contrib-ute to the campus community, or op-portunities to become active in the ad-ministrative process. I, however, would like to call your attention to a different aspect of these opportunities. I say that these are opportunities to do what we students do best: to complain. The dif-ference is that in these instances, our complaints have a chance to be heard and acted upon.


Worldly

In this increasingly divid-ed bipartisan country,

there is one issue that both Democrats and Republi-cans agree on, which is the need for a comprehensive immigration reform. If this past election demonstrated anything, it is that minori-ties have an overwhelming influence when it comes to voting. In response to this phenomenon, President Obama backed GOP rheto-ric regarding immigration reform during his recent State of the Union speech. One major immi-gration issue that would be addressed in these reforms is visa overstays. A visa overstay con-sists of, “An alien who has been admit-ted on the basis of a nonimmigrant visa and remained in the United States beyond the period of stay authorized by the Attorney General, such visa shall be void beginning after the conclu-sion of such period of stay.” To address this issue, the Department of Homeland Security hopes to soon implement a biomet-ric exit tracking system. This system will track when immigrants leave the

country, and is an anti-terrorist tool that has been

sought since 9-11. U.S. Representative Candice Miller states that, “Thirty-six people who overstayed visas have been convicted of terrorism related charges since 2001. We have to rec-ognize that we do have this problem.” Under the proposed immi-gration reforms, immigrants would be given the opportunity to “earn” a valid US citizenship. A sharply dif-ferentiated approach would be used when dealing with immigrants that can be immediately placed into the

professional middle class versus “low-skilled” work-ers. This proposal aims to repair the, “Broken system which sadly discourages the world’s best and bright-est citizens from coming to the United States and remaining in our country,” says U.S. Senators. These reforms would also allow immigrants to be “award-ed” green cards if they complete a PhD or Master’s degree in science, technol-ogy, engineering or math. One major and con-troversial part of the pro-posed reforms regards

undocumented workers. If these workers register with the US govern-ment and pass a strict background check, they will be able to remain in the United States under the condi-tion that they work. These immigrants would not be eligible for health care. Christian Science Monitor reported that basically, the plan means, “Immediate legal status for many of the … undocumented U.S. immi-grants, but delays their embarking on a path to citizenship until a raft of border security and rigorous enforce-

ment mechanisms are in place.” Though these reforms would benefit both the United States and potential and current immi-grants, there are challenges to overcome before implementation can occur. Many anti-amnesty groups such as the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) have outright opposed the Senate’s immigration reform plan. There are also many House of Representatives members (some say around fifty) who do not approve of what is included in the proposed reforms. One compromise that is being con-sidered is providing legal resi-

Comprehensive Immigration ReformEmily Adams, 2014

Image credit: thinkprogress.org

Image credit: tobytoon.com

See Immigration, pg. 11


OtherWorldly

February 24th. The cool Australia air breezed through the windows. The

faint smell of salt was in the air. My boots creaked on the wooden poop deck... Ok, now there’s no way I’m going to do this whole article like that... On a more serious note this place is amazing. I’m writing this to you now just about over a week after I arrived. In this installment I will attempt to recap all the events of the last week to give you unlucky lads in the snow a little taste of paradise. It was a not-so-bad 6 hour flight to LAX (in which I sat next to a playboy bunny.. no joke), that connected to a gru-eling 15 hour and 14 minute straight shot flight to sunny and beautiful Melbourne. Thanks to three Nyquil and some Bon Iver I managed to squeeze out a few hours of sleep along the way. Surpris-ingly, the jet lag wore off quite fast and before I knew it I was on my feet explor-ing my new home. However, I noticed other than the palm trees, the crazy accents, the genius public transporta-tion, the beaches, the perfect weather, the TV and radio, the people, wildlife, sports... it’s pretty similar to back home. Ok, it’s nothing like home. Already a week in and I under-stand why people come here and never look back. It has a certain vibe in itself; a type of disconnec-tion from the rest of the world and all of its less appealing aspects. Sitting here now in the bustling Queen Victoria Mar-ket I can’t really remember the last time I just sat for a good few hours. It almost feels like I’ve been walking for the

last 10 days. It began with a quick tour of Melbourne starting with the famous Eureka tower. This massive building in the heart of the CBD (Central Build-ing District) is a great tourist attraction for people that are new to the city. It offers an amazing 360 degree view of Melbourne from a bird’s eye view (see attached Facebook pictures!). After that, Matt (my Australian Laison) took me to pretty much every major part of the city in a matter of a few hours. Another highlight of the mini-tour was a walk through the Botanical Gardens. This is a public area that showcases some of the more beautiful aspects of this already stunning city. It was full of strange birds moving from one branch to the next on even stranger trees. The nightlife is as expected so far, but I’ve quickly realized why this city is infamously expensive. The cheap-est pot (10 fl oz, less than a can) of beer was AU$2.50. As painful as this

is, Melbournites use this to seek out particularly hard-to-find dives for the best prices, making for an interesting story the next morning. Running close to my word limit here so I’ll make the rest of the past week and a half brief. I traveled to both Brighton and St. Kilda beaches; both gorgeous. I finally found a cheap place to live close to the city. The landlord is a crazy old Australian who is almost impossible to understand with a tiny pooch named Ralph. I’ve only really met international students so far, but I’m hoping to meet some locals next week. On Monday, I finally start my classes and will truly see if I made the right choice by coming here. I’ve got my fingers crossed for that Australian style of chill when it comes to work load. Hope whoever is reading this is enjoying the cold and rainy weather. I’ll keep enjoying the amazing/warm/sunny/great weath-er here. See you in Captain’s Log #3.

Captain’s Log 2: The Land Down UnderNick Hlat, 2014

The captain and his city.


Liberated Ladies

The often-heard phrase...“Real women have curves.” Real

women have this, real women have that, we hear phrases like this all the time, but what exactly does it mean? What does this say about our society? For instance the whole “real” women have curves phrase is outraging. This means that some-one with more defined curves is “more” of a woman than someone with less defined curves. Does that not sound ridiculous? It is also ridiculous that people are labeling you more or less of a woman depending on your physical features. Phrases like this lead to a division between women

that are accepted by society as women and women that are self-conscious because they might not have these defined curves. Since women really

need more insecurities, right? With today’s media, women are forever being told that they are not good enough, or that they need to look or be a certain way. Basically, we should all fit into the same cookie cutter. At the end of the day all of us just want to be accepted for who we are and not we look like. If a person identifies as a woman then she is a real woman, point blank. Who are we to deter-mine if someone’s self identifies are

valid? There are neither requirements nor standards to what a “real” woman is, so let us stop accepting or even making these accusations.

What Makes a “Real” Woman?Yocasta Pichardo, 2013

1848 First Women’s Rights Conven-tion is held in Seneca Falls, New York.1916 Margaret Sanger opens the first U.S. birth control clinic in Brooklyn, N.Y. (It gets shut down in ten days but reopens in 1923).1920 19th Amendment is rati-fied, allowing women to vote.1938 Fair Labor Standards Act estab-lishes minimum wage not based on sex. 1947 U.S. Supreme Court states that women are equally qualified as men to serve on juries due to Fay v. New York.

1960 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves birth control pills.1963 Congress passes the Equal Pay Act, which attempts to solve the problem of different wages amongst genders.1964 Title VII of the Civil Rights Act includes discrimination in employ-ment based on race and sex. 1968 Equal Employment Oppor-tunity Commission rules that sex-segregated help wanted ads in news-papers are illegal, so women are now able to apply for higher paying jobs.

1969 National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL) is organized.1973 Supreme Court establishes a woman’s right to safe and legal abortion as a result of Roe v. Wade.1974 Equal Credit Opportunity Act bans discrimina-tion in consumer credit practices based on sex, race, marital sta-

tus, religion, national origin, age, or receipt of public assistance.1978 Pregnancy Discrimination Act bans employment discrimina-tion against pregnant women.1985 ‘No fault’ divorce law is adopted in every state, which allows couples to divorce by mutual consent.1986 As a result of Meritor Savings Bank v. Vinson, the Supreme Court finds that sexual harassment is a form of illegal job discrimination.2004 March for Women’s Lives is held in Washington, DC to demonstrate reproductive rights and women’s rights. 2005 Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approves sales of Plan B, the “morning-after” contraceptive pill with-out a prescription for women over 18.2006 Supreme Court upholds the ban on the “partial-birth” abortion procedure (Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003), which is the first abortion procedure to be banned.2009 President Obama signs the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act, so within 180 days after their last check, victims of pay discrimination can file a complaint against their employer with the help of the government.

Feminism in the United States:A historical timeline

Image credit: arizonafoothillsmagazine.com

Image credit: forbes.com


DIY

As a senior student in the Conser-vation Biology major, my years as

an ESF student have taught me several things: everything is energy (Dr. Charlie Hall), men are useless (Dr. Bill Shields), and our society isn’t nearly as green and earth-friendly as it could be.

As Easter creeps up on us, it’s not too late to change your unsus-tainable holiday decoration purchas-ing habits. Now is the time to stand out and do something different; to not only green your Easter, but to be origi-nal. It’s a new year, another opportu-nity to change. Don’t just follow the same routine, and don’t buy plastic. Here are some quick tips on making your Easter more environmen-tally friendly: Baskets can be reused year after year or, if you’re creative, you can weave one of your own. Old clothes and cloth can be reused as basket lining for extra decoration or to add some color. Instead of just candy, you can fill the basket with little toys or other goodies. Cookies work just as well as chocolate, without the excessive sugar. Or if you want to get

away from the baskets as a whole, use a cloth bag, hat, or some other creative container to hold your treats. And if you’re worried about where your choco-late comes from or how it was obtained, consider buying fair trade products instead. Decorative grass, which is typi-cally made out of plastic, can be replaced with paper shreddings (I recommend using junk mail or old, bad exams that you’d rather forget about). It can also be colored with natural dyes, such as wal-nut husks, onion skins, coffee grounds, beets, or spinach leaves. But if you have plastic grass from previous years, feel free to reuse it like the basket. There’s no reason to throw out perfectly good plastic just to try to be greener, because you’ll just be adding to the waste that’s already there. Eggs can also be colored using natural dyes. If you want to eat them, consider hiding something else around the house that isn’t food, to later be trad-ed in for a treat or a basket. You can also poke holes in opposite ends of the egg-shell, blow the inside out to be cooked

separately, and decorate the shell. Feel free to wrap it in old string or rubber bands to give it a different design before dying, or try putting a bit of oil in the dye water to give it a marbled effect. If you don’t eat eggs, instead of wasting them, consider using something else (like a handmade, decorative origami box) to hide money and candy in. Other decorations can be made from anything you have lying around. Used paper can be cut or folded into flowers, with a used toilet paper tube for a vase, wrapped in old cloth and ribbons. Paper that you only used one side of can be decorated with your artwork and made into garlands with a few strategic cuts.

Whatever you decide to do, feel free to be creative. Easter is a colorful holiday after all, and spring is a time to try something new. These are some things that I recommend, but if you’re already celebrating in a green way, feel free to do things the same (although new ideas never hurt). After all, this is ESF, where everyday is Earth Day.

Striving for a Greener EasterCecelia Walenza, 2013

Naturally dyed eggs turn beautiful, subtle colors (Left); Scrap or discarded paper can be used to make unique grass for Easter baskets (Right).


After 13 years of serving as the president of SUNY ESF, Dr. Cor-

nelius Murphy has decided that it’s time to move on. In December 2012, Dr. Murphy announced that he would be stepping down when his successor is found. Though he will no longer be our college’s president, Dr. Murphy still plans to stay around and work on special projects. “I want to help the college maintain a relationship with the NYDEC, and the New York State Parks and Recreation Society. I also want to be involved in the sustainability initiatives of the college,”Dr. Murphy said, in my inter-view with him.

He will be leaving with several fond memories of his time here and he has especially enjoyed working with the students. “I think things like the TGIF’s and all of the students involved in those are really great. I am very excited about the TGIF tomorrow,” he said, referring to the “Big Neil Big Deal” event that was held on Friday, February 22nd.

Dr. Murphy says he will never forget one particular student whom he had met a few years back. Jeff Dupuis was a junior in Environmen-tal Studies and regularly volunteered at the Shea Middle School in Syracuse. Dr. Murphy recalls conversations he had with Dupuis and what a bright and motivated individual he was. “I vividly remember talking to him a lot about his volunteer work at Shea Mid-dle School and I’ll never forget that. Then about three weeks after I had the chance to meet with him, he passed

away in a mountain climbing accident on Mount Rainier. He was a great kid and I am glad I had the chance to know him.”

Though he has enjoyed his time at ESF, Dr. Murphy says that it is time for someone new to take over. “I will have served 13 and a half years, and that’s a long tenure for a college president. I think it’s time for somebody else to create some energy and vision, infuse some new ideas in the college.” There is one thing that Dr. Murphy says he definitely will not miss having to work with: system admin-istration. “They are a bureaucracy, and just move very slowly.”

One good thing about leaving his position as president is that it will give Dr. Murphy some much needed down time. He plans to spend more time with his family, which hadn’t been so easy due to the demanding nature of his job. “My wife and I have four kids and nine grandkids. My wife has sug-gested to me that I spend more time with them and so that will be nice. “

Dr. Murphy is also an avid skier. He prefers the steep mountains of Sugarbush, Vermont to the ridg-es and hills of Syracuse but has skied on every mountain in Syracuse and its surrounding areas. “I love skiing. I typ-ically ski eight days in a ski season, and I am hoping to double that number.”

Dr. Murphy says he is most proud of all the students and the volunteer work they are doing.

A Presidency Comes to a Rewarding Close

Shweta Karikehalli, 2015

President Cornelius Murphy toasting at ESF’s 100th anniversary celebration in August 2011, Courtesy of the Daily Orange.See Murphy, pg. 15

A Presidential Affair


Unless you’re glued to the television screen, a special holiday passed

our campus by without much notice. Taking out the day of observance from the academic calendar, only commer-cials for car and mattress sales her-alded this special day – the day of our American forefathers. Is that what Presidents’ Day means to the modern American public, dollars off a Sleepy, Simmons or Serta? I hope not. Presidents’ Day is a time to remember our history, all those good and bad times that made our coun-try. In elementary school we may have told stories of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln’s endeavors, but there are forty plus other presidents that deserve our time and apprecia-tion. Even though our country is centuries younger than those veteran countries of Europe, much of our past is only acknowledged in US History classes, or celebrated by history enthusiasts. Under three hun-dred years old, America is chock full of crazy cool presidents that deserve our recognition for their accomplishments, triumphs or shortcomings. Some presidents are remem-bered for their parts in wartime – including James Madison and the War of 1812, James Polk and the Mexican-American War and William McKinley and the Spanish-American War. Other wars are still in recent memory for many Americans, like

Korea, Vietnam and the Persian Gulf (Eisenhower, Kennedy, John-son, Nixon, Bush Sr.). We have fought for independence, bound together a nation in civil war and fought on global scales (Washington, Lincoln, Wilson, FDR, Truman). Now is the time to think of what these wars meant to America: expansion, defense and countless dead. And what our presidents did for our country – the stressful, hard deci-sions they had to make or the count-less negotiations. We also recall the hatred and power that brought us into con-flict and the military men and women who fought for our presidents and the American people. When remembering our past, we are not just a nation of war (though that may be debatable). We have gone through depression and recession (FDR, Bush, Obama). We’ve gone through crises of social injustice for people of color, disability and gender (Eisen-hower, Kennedy, Johnson). We con-tinue those movements today, with marriage equality and environmental justice efforts. We have also had good times, though they may be hard to remember. The United States ended slavery, gave women the right to vote and put astronauts on the moon (Lin-coln, Wilson, Kennedy).

in defense of presidents’ day

Meg Callaghan, 2014

President Cornelius Murphy toasting at ESF’s 100th anniversary celebration in August 2011, Courtesy of the Daily Orange.

See Presidents’ Day, pg. 15

A Presidential Affair

Presidents Abraham Lincoln (left) and George Washington (above) are the most commonly celebrated, but take time to remember our other great and not-so-great presidents.


Zero Below

Surviving the Syracuse Winter: Indoor GardeningCecelia Walenza, 2013

If you are a college stu-dent, then you are most

likely familiar with the ne-cessity of unwinding after a long day of classes. This is especially true if you are an ESF student. Most people have a hobby that prevents them from going crazy during these long college weeks. In my case, I’m talking about my struggle to green a part of my life that has often failed in the past -- my thumb. The trials of in-door gardening, especially for someone who lives in Syracuse, are many. Gar-dening outside when you are a student that rents an apartment is near impossi-ble, what with the drunks, wildlife, salt, and lack of space. Therefore, potted plants are the preferred alternative that I’ve seen among my plant-loving peers. I have to agree that having a touch of green re-ally does liven up a room. The problem, however, lies in keeping it green. When I first decided to start this hobby, it was with a little spider plant that I received from a friend. It survived for about a year before needing repotting; then I was down one plant. My next was a do-it-yourself mushroom kit (which I know aren’t plants, but they grew in a container and were edible) from the Conservation Bi-ology club, which became infected over the holiday by spores from the mold that typically collects in old buildings, such as my mom’s. Not only did my mush-rooms shrivel and die, but they were spotted with little fuzzies that were defi-nitely not mushrooms. With my second attempt a bust and the spring semester beginning, I was ready to start fresh. This time, a

Boston fern from the Plant Propagation club -- a tiny little thing smaller than my palm. It has persisted so far. Now it is spring, and its future is bright. The biggest challenge I have found with indoor gardening is getting through this cold season intact. And so I share some of my hard earned knowl-edge with you: Winters are cold. Dry heat from the radiators will constantly try to desic-cate your plants. Make sure to keep their soil moist (unless otherwise instructed), and if you have mushrooms, keep them covered with plastic and spray them with water every day or so. Sunlight is rare indoors, so buy yourself a proper plant light, place your plant near a sunny window, or consider

buying a plant that can handle shade well. The questionable qual-ity of the water from the tap didn’t seem to be such a problem for my plants, but I’d hesitate to get any-thing that requires any special needs, such as dis-tilled water. Most importantly, make sure that you are re-alistic in your plant choic-es. Just like a pet, plants require attention, and if you don’t give it to them, they will wither, unless they are very hardy. Espe-cially when the owner of said plants has very little time on her hands. With that being said, it’s spring, so I urge you to try your hand at growing some-thing this season. After all, I’ve already set the bar pretty low.

Image credit: nova68.com Image credit: neawear.com


Aw Nuts!

I am sure most people know this by now, but in case you were wonder-

ing, I am a pretty big fan of our mas-cot, Oakie. Do I have a t-shirt with his leering face on it? No. Do I have one of those cute, albeit slightly creepy, acorn dolls? No. What I do have is a sense of school spirit and a desire to remain loyal to our school, despite its ques-tionable mascot choices. Whether you are a freshman or a senior, I am sure nobody has had to tell you twice about how unique our school is. We are the select few who embrace our weirdness and love of fungi, birds, dirt, or whatever it is we are passionate about. The best part is that nobody ever has to tell us to stop collecting mushrooms or trading insects on our free time, that is just how our school works. Unfortunately, this accep-tance of all things weird stops with our Mighty Oaks mascot. I know a giant stuffed acorn is not as cool as an axe-wielding lumberjack, but it is all we have. Instead of people embracing this new addition to ESF’s personality, it is vehemently rejected. Why can we accept all of our school’s little quirks, but give an acorn some arms and legs and suddenly people act like they are too cool to show some school spirit? I know that having any type of sports program is a huge leap for ESF in terms of its ever-evolving identity, and some people are still coming to terms with it. Something that brings

more students to the school, and in turn more money and more recogni-tion, should not be considered a bad thing. Additionally, this misdirected hostility should not turn into any type of resentment towards Oakie. He is just trying to get all of the seven people who might have turned out for a game to cheer loud enough to encourage our players. Fully accepting Oakie as our mascot might take a few more gener-

ations of students, you think Otto the Orange was a bit hit his first go around? Guess again. As for now, when you see the giant yellow nut heading your way, do not be afraid to give him a high five. You might think you have nothing in common with our fearless mascot, but I have seen you studying those twigs for dendrology, and I think Oakie represents us more than we even realize.

For the Love of OakieBrigitte Moneymaker, 2014

Image credit: skyhallsnewsletter.wordpress.com

dency to undocumented workers but not allowing a path to citizenship. The fact that there are members of the public, Democrats, and Repub-licans that agree that comprehensive immigration reform is needed is pretty much as close to a consensus as possible when it comes to politics, and if these reforms are adopted, real and neces-sary changes can begin to occur.

Immigration, cont’d from pg. 4


For those who do not know, I plan on studying abroad in

China over the summer to con-tinue to develop my Mandarin skills. As I continue to send in endless application paper-work, I find myself hearing the same thing from both my peers and my elders. It usually sounds something like this, “Oh, that will be a great skill to have in the future, especially when China goes and takes over the world.” I guess on the surface it can be taken as a relatively harmless conjecture about the nearly 1.35 billion people living in the country. Fortunately, this statement is far, far away from being true, both right now and in the near future, and here is why: First and foremost, China’s economy is not that strong. I am aware of how majorly screwed our economic system is (if you are not, please read a book), but China lacks key numbers. In 2010, the Inter-national Monetary Fund (IMF) ranked the USA 7th in terms of GDP per cap-ita, with $47,284. China was ranked 94th, with $7,519. Approximately 60% of exports in China come from for-

eign companies. That number increases to 85% in the field of high-tech exports. Although major Chinese cities may look powerful and wealthy, the overall average wealth in China is not impressive. Ask any-one who is even relatively educated in the economic and political relations between China and the United States. China depends on us as much as we

depend on them. If we were to cut ties with China or vice-versa, the power of both countries would be reduced drastically. It is a prime example of a symbiotic relationship. China also has a plethora of other problems to deal with. Pollution plagues the smaller industrial parts of the country. There are industrial towns where it is sometimes difficult to see the sun. The country’s lack of general education hinders its overall advance-ment. There is a reason that copious amounts of Chinese students travel elsewhere to continue their education. Most of the world’s most prestigious universities are in the west, mainly the United States. People continue to believe, however, that China is doing something with their education system that trumps the U.S. In 2011, the Unit-ed Nations’ human development index was released, which measures literacy, education, quality of life, living stan-dards, and life expectancy. Japan and Korea have respectable positions with-in the top 22, but China is only 101st, just above the Philippines.

Stop it...China Won’t Take OverChristian Hill, 2014

Myth & Fact

Image credit: asiasociety.org

Image credit: asia-trip.info

See China, pg. 15


In 1986, Dr. Patricia Wright was look-ing for the Greater Bamboo Lemur,

a species that had been thought to be extinct, in Madagascar, the only area of the world where lemurs are natu-rally found. Weary? from her extended travel, she decided to stop at a local hotel. Behind the hotel was a forest. Within that forest, Dr. Wright not only found the lemur that she sought, but also a new species-- the Golden Bam-boo Lemur. Despite the ecological significance of these finds, she knew that the forest would not be around for much longer without protec-tion. She visited the Madagascar Depart-ment of Water and For-ests to try to persuade them to make the for-est a preserve. Their response was that they would be happy to com-ply, if they were given the necessary fund-ing. Wright recalled to the audience of about 80 in ESF’s Illick Hall that she “walked out of that office thinking, ‘oh dear’ and then [she] became a conservation-ist.” Seven years later, Ramonafana National Park was founded. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007. Lemurs are the most threat-ened mammal in the world. Ninety-one percent of lemur species are on the RED list of endangered and threatened species. They are threatened by defor-estation, slash and burn agriculture, erosion, and mining. Since humans arrived in Madagascar 1,500 years ago, 90 percent of Madagascar’s forests have been destroyed. Thanks to Dr. Wright, there are 41,600 hectares of tropical forest where 12 species of lemur are protected. In addition to providing this essential habitat, Ramonafana Nation-

al Park also supports 100 scientific researchers annually and employs 85 full-time staff. Dr. Wright states with con-fidence that Ramonafana would not be possible without the support of the local people that cooperated with her from the very beginning. One half of the admission fees from the park go to local villages for municipal proj-ects. Ramonafana also participates in

outreach programs around Madagascar such as hosting a radio station in the park’s recording studio, and an educa-tion program that reaches 32 schools and more than 11,000 Malagasy chil-dren. In addition,, Ramonafana’s heath team has constructed 230 latrines and installed 30 water pumps in the local area, and provides disaster relief for 3,000 people.

About Dr. Wright Considered to be one of the world’s foremost expert on lemurs, Patricia Wright is best known for her

26-year study of social and family interactions of wild lemurs in Rano-mafana National Park, Madagascar, and for leading the effort to establish this park. For this work, she holds, among other honors, the prestigious National Medal of Honor of Madagas-car. She is the founder of the Institute for the Conservation of Tropical Envi-ronments (ICTE) and Centre ValBio (CVB), and a Professor in the Depart-

ment of Anthropol-ogy, all at Stony Brook University. Wright has worked extensively on conservation. In the late 1980s she spearheaded an integrated conserva-tion and development project that, in 1991, led to the establishment of Ranomafana Nation-al Park. Wright has received many honors for her conservation work in Madagascar, including the prestigious “Cheva-lier d’ Ordre National” National Medal of Honor of Madagascar, from the President of Madagascar in 1995. About the series Dr. Wright’s lecture “Lemur Conservation in Madacasgar: Updates

from Ranomafana National Park “ on February 21, 2013

was a joint presentation of the Women in Scientific and Environmental (WiSE) Professions and the Adaptive Peaks Speaker Series. It was sponsored by the Department of Environmental and Forest Biology, ESF Women’s Caucus and the Graduate Student Association (esfgsa.com). For more information about WiSE Professions, please visit http://www.esf.edu/womenscaucus .

Famed Primatologist Speaks at ESFRose Petersky, 2015

WiSE

Photo credit: http://blog.patriciacwright.org/2011/03/08/prolemur-workshop-at-vakona-lodge-andasibe-madagascar/


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T r o y Parfitt, author of Why China Will Never Rule the World, chose to finish the simile, “Taiwan and Hong Kong are to China like…” with “… abused children who flee and make something of themselves are to psychotic parents. The children have liberated themselves and now live relatively normal lives. The other children, the ones who did not escape, are not fully functioning, and the whole neighborhood can see the disparity.” Parfitt goes on to say, “The notion that China is going to replace the United States as sole super-

power is possibly the greatest myth of our time.” I have a hard time not agree-ing with him.

China, cont’d from pg. 12

“Last year they contributed 77,000 hours of community service and I think that’s amazing.” He is also pleased with the connections ESF has been making all over the world. “I am very jealous of the student’s and fac-ulty’s opportunities for international experience. I remember a couple of years ago, asking ‘where in the world is SUNY ESF’, and at that time we had

57 research projects outside of the U.S. with one on every continent. I think the opportunities that provides for the faculty and the students is incredible.”

What has most of all made his experience at ESF so pleasant, Dr. Murphy says, are the students and faculty. “The students here are focused and mature and the faculty are very dedicated to their teaching

and research, and both of those things lead to a lot of campus stability.” Dr. Murphy’s presidency will come to a rewarding close because the college has had as much of an effect on him as he has had on the college. “This is an extraordinary institution and my being associated with it has made me a better person.

Murphy, cont’d from pg. 8

Our accomplishments are sevenfold and continue on. After 237 years of history, Presidents’ Day is a day to reflect and mobilize into action. We can learn from our past and apply that knowl-edge to the present. We can work as hard as we can to not let history to repeat itself and make a better tomorrow. We can uphold the presidency to be one of not only prestige, but of support of the American people and their ideals. Or, we can buy a really cheap mattress in honor of George Washing-ton’s chopping down a cherry tree. It’s your call.

Presidents’ Day, cont’d from pg. 9

The Gateway Center:Is it a Lean-to or a Step Towards Carbon-Neutral History?

Liane DeRosa, 2014

This is an exciting time for ESF. We have expelled our roots from Syra-

cuse University’s food system and fin-ished building our first cafeteria. The Trailhead Café is now open, as of Monday March 18th. As students rushed in to get their first taste (liter-ally) of what Trailhead had to offer, the line was filled. Students were greeted by friendly staff running the show.“The design of this high-performance building will provide a centerpiece for campus activities, explore financially feasible and technologically sound strategies to operate using renewable energy, produce its own power and cre-ate a carbon-neutral facility. The build-ing is designed to achieve LEED Plati-num Certification,” - ESF’s website homepage for Gateway“If that doesn’t warm your heart like it does mine, I don’t know what will!” says an ESF student (who prefers to be

anonymous because it might be me).The building is designed so that there will be minimal electricity used to light each level. As you may have noticed, there were only a dozen or two light-bulbs, and those gigantic beautiful win-dows are not easy to miss (If you did miss them, they may need more light). While the building embodies a vintage, traditional, lean-to-esque, cabin-like charm, the energy system is far from old-fashioned.According to ESF’s Gateway homep-age, the Gateway Center is exceptional because of its $3 million combined-heat-and-power system (CHP). The biomass-based system will produce high-pressure steam, which will gener-ate electricity through a steam turbine, which will be responsible for heating approximately 65% of campus heating needs and 20% of electrical needs! No, I did not stutter. Gateway will re-

duce ESF’s carbon footprint by 22%, a major aspect of ESF’s Climate Action Plan to become carbon neutral by 2015.The Sustainable “Green Building” com-ponent, which has soil depths of 8 to 16 inches, provides insulation for the building and manages storm water runoff. Gateway is projected to con-sume only 37.5 KBtu/square feet of energy (75% less than older campus buildings). All of the plants on the green roof are native species to Central New York, such as eastern Lake Ontario dunes. And, the best part about it is that there will be a sitting area, so ‘Lug Your Mug’ and get out there!Just when you thought this building could not sound cooler, *drum roll* the food is actually really good! I recom-mend the Hot Honey Sandwich.

SERENITY NOW!


Mindspill ~ Acrylic on canvas--Gabrielle Alper, 2014

volume 67, issue 5

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