Campus Champion

Senior Chloe Loewenguth, treasurer of the Art Exhibition Association, knows that the club’s eclipse-viewing pinhole cameras will offer the campus community a unique eclipse viewing experience. For the Bachelor of Fine Arts art studio major the project demonstrates curating a collective experience, a concept she is studying this semester. Chloe didn’t take her art seriously until she stepped away from other commitments, including lacrosse and pursuing an education degree. Influenced early on by family, her study abroad trip to Florence, Italy, confirmed her passion of all things art. Preparing now for Student Select 2024, which begins April 15, Chloe’s independent work centers around mental health concepts. 

Blackbirds and silver screens don’t often mix — but when they come together for SUNY Cortland’s Blackbird Film Festival it’s pure movie magic. 

This will be the 10th year that Associate Professor Sam Avery’s creation — the Blackbird Film Festival, will welcome filmmakers from around the world for a four-day celebration of cinema, starting Thursday, April 11.  

The festival is free and open to the public, with on-campus events taking place at Old Main. 

Avery, part of the Communication and Media Studies Department, enjoys welcoming filmmakers from large cities to the decidedly more rural area of Central New York. 

“It’s a lot of fun to see how scared they are when they first arrive,” he said. “Wondering if they have made a terrible error — only to say goodbye to them a few days later and they can't stop singing CNY and Blackbird praises. That journey is always fun to be a part of.” 

Avery expects 62 filmmakers, along with cast and crew members, to attend. Most of them will be from Los Angeles, Atlanta and New York City, but some are coming from as far the United Kingdom. There will be 103 films divided into 15 blocks for viewing. One of those blocks, dubbed “Rising Stars,” are all films from current or former SUNY Cortland students.

Cortland students also reviewed films during the fall semester and made initial recommendations. SUNY Cortland alumni filmmaker “Pro Judges” then analyzed those recommendations. A final lineup was chosen in January. This year there were 714 submissions. 

“The students are a tremendous value to Blackbird,” Avery said. “Without their help, specifically when it comes to judging, I’m not sure Blackbird would be possible.” 

Students also serve as event coordinators for Blackbird. That adds an enthusiasm to the event that is contagious, Avery noted 

A total audience of 500 is expected for the festival, with an average of 75 cinephiles per screening and up to 150 in the evenings. It may be tiny compared to Cannes, but the small size has its own advantages. 

“Blackbird ends up being more like a ‘film camp’ each season,” Avery said. “Because the event is not located in a big city and is difficult to get to, filmmakers tend to stay for the whole weekend and participate in all the festival events which brings them much closer together, comparatively.” 

This year, participants can expect something a little different. Avery noted that there is a new challenge, in which filmmakers create a film in Cortland during the week before the festival, and then premiere it at the event. 

Other events scheduled for Blackbird include workshops, discussions, a “red carpet reception” and a final awards ceremony. 

“Every season we try to do something new and change the script,” he said. 

Whether you’re a fan of Fellini — or just enjoy an occasional matinee — more details about the 2024 Blackbird Film Festival can be found online. 

Everyone could use a little charity from time to time. Thankfully, SUNY Cortland has it covered with two weeks’ worth of the classic Tony-winning musical “Sweet Charity” at the Dowd Fine Arts Center Theatre. 

The comedy, put on by the Performing Arts Department, follows dance hall hostess Charity as she looks for love in 1960s New York City. 

Her search is set to the tune of standards like “Hey, Big Spender,” “Rhythm of Life” and “If My Friends Could See Me Now.” Original choreography was done by the late Broadway legend Bob Fosse. 

Tickets for the show are on sale at Cortland’s Box Office website. Performances will take place over two weekends. 

Friday, April 5 – 7:30 p.m. 

Saturday, April 6 – 7:30 p.m. 

Sunday, April 7 – 2 p.m. 

April 12 – 7:30 p.m. 

April 13 – 7:30 p.m. 

April 14 – 2 p.m. 

Guest director for the show is David Lowenstein, a professor of practice, musical theater, in Syracuse University’s Department of Drama., Lowenstein has extensive professional experience on and off Broadway — including being choreographer and co-creator of “Shout! — The Mod Musical.” He describes “Sweet Charity” as a snapshot of the style and attitude of the city at the time the show was released. 

“It’s a great score,” said Lowenstein. “The songs are fantastic, and it has those iconic dance numbers from Fosse.” 

He said Cortland’s production keeps that charm while updating sets and lighting to maintain the modern feel the show’s creators intended.  

The challenges of the production create a special opportunity for the performers, Lowenstein added. 

“This show offers the actor playing the lead the kind of experience of really carrying a show,” he said. “Tatiana (senior Tatiana Padro), who plays the lead, is doing an incredible job. ... And a show that is so iconically dance-centric is really a great experience for the company.” 

Padro, who said audiences can expect twists and plenty of great comedy, has relished getting the chance to play Charity. 

“I love how positive and uplifting she is, she is truthfully so hopeful and always looks on the bright side of things,” Padro said. “She also doesn’t let her friends interfere with what she thinks, once she has her mind set on something she is going to do it. I think that’s why I resonate so much with her — she always does what she says she is going to do.” 

“Sweet Charity” is a unique opportunity for another reason, according to Padro. 

“I’ve never been a part of a production where the whole story revolves around a woman, typically it’s always a man lead, so this show is truly special.” 

“Sweet Charity” was written by Neil Simon, whose other scripts include “The Odd Couple” and “The Out-of-Towners”, with music by Cy Coleman and lyrics by Dorothy Fields. It was directed and choreographed for Broadway by Fosse, who went on to direct and choreograph a film version, Sweet Charity: The Adventures of a Girl Who Wanted to Be Loved, released in 1969 starring Shirley MacLaine. 

In 1966, it received Tony nominations that included Best Musical and won for Best Choreography. In 1986, it won another Tony Award for Best Revival. 

Now, Lowenstein said, the Cortland audience can expect to see the best of what’s made “Sweet Charity” a perennial favorite. 

“it’s great to work with these fantastic students and the professional design team that is in residence.”

The second annual TEDxSUNYCortland event on April 9 will feature six speakers exploring the need for “Reclamation” in areas as varied as mental and physical health, professional satisfaction and global understanding.

 This year’s university TEDx conference, set for 6 to 8 p.m., Tuesday, April 9 in Old Main Brown Auditorium.

The event is free, but attendees are asked to register in advance through SUNY Cortland’s TEDx page.

The six speakers were selected from among 117 applicants. Two are SUNY Cortland faculty members and one is a student. They are:

• John D. Lin, world traveler, national award-winning public speaking professor and instructor in SUNY Cortland’s Communication and Media Studies Department who believes he has not succeeded in spite of mental illness, but because of it:
  • “Reclaiming our mental health: A struggle in silence to societal success”

• Tui Lauilefue, a Washington State physician certified in both internal and obesity medicine with experience in both academic and corporate medicine, she now works as a direct primary care provider, and is on a mission to raise healthcare standards:
  • “The problem with data aggregation: Reclaiming our identity

• Evan Faulkenbury, associate professor of history at SUNY Cortland and author on books about voting rights and public history, who has sought to bring history to life using methods ranging from podcasts to history ghost tours:
  • “Reclaiming our past through public history”

• Ryan Lerner, SUNY Cortland senior majoring in Adolescence Education: Spanish, honors scholar, president of the Spanish Club, member of the French Club who believes world languages hold the key to increasing global understanding.:
  • “Reclaiming hope and our humanity through language acquisition”

• Yen Maine, a Taiwan native and former Citibank vice president who lost her job during maternity leave, found inspiration to reinvent her family's fragrance business in the Adirondack wilderness, turning adversity into a creative opportunity:
  • “Reclaiming life after maternity leave and job loss”

• Allison Noelle Megherian, a New York City music teacher, singer, author and motivational speaker certified in life coaching, mindfulness, meditation, breathwork and sound healing, who burned out at teaching but found a way back to her original passion:
  • “Reclaim your love of teaching”

TEDx is the localized version of the globally focused TED conferences featuring talks that explore big ideas about science, culture, tech, education and creativity. TEDx presentations follow the same format and spirit.  All talks at the April 9 event will be taped, edited and eventually shared with a world-wide audience on the TEDx YouTube channel.

The intersection of Neubig Road and Broadway Avenue closed Monday, May 13, right after Commencement weekend, creating a temporary inconvenience to create a much-needed, long-term improvement for pedestrians and vehicles.

Parts of Neubig, Broadway and Pashley Drive will be shut down for construction until July 5 while work is done to improve walking and vehicle safety, and to enhance the look of one of SUNY Cortland’s gateways to campus. 

The intersection reconstruction is one of several major roadwork projects making getting around Cortland challenging. For information on all of them and the most recent updates, check the Crown City Rising website.

“We’re installing new traffic and pedestrian signaling and also raising the intersection, to be like a tabletop intersection,” said Lead Construction Manager Dillon Young of the university’s Facilities Planning, Design and Construction Office. “Raised intersections improve visibility of pedestrians and reduce traffic speed.” 

Young said the intersection was due for an upgrade, and that more pedestrians from the Student Life Center has increased congestion in the area.  

New turning lanes added to Neubig Road and Pashley Drive will let vehicles more easily get where they need to go. 

“We see traffic queue up down to the Student Life Center and beyond at busy times of the day,” Young said. “We certainly expect those turn lanes to alleviate a lot of that back up in traffic.” 

The crosswalks will be better placed, and a corner on Broadway coming from the Waterworks will have its sight lines to the intersection improved, he added. 

On Pashley Drive, a second bus stop will be created across from Whitaker Hall, where an extended sidewalk will ease the amount of pedestrians cutting through the grass. 

“Overall, it’s just a better layout,” he said. 

New masonry walls and increased signage at the intersection will mark the intersection visually as an entrance to campus. 

To accommodate construction, the parking lot at 29 Broadway Avenue has been closed until further notice. Other changes should be less impactful, thanks to an early start in March made possible by warm weather. 

“I encouraged the contractor to get going, so we are trying to get as much work completed without significant interference to pedestrian traffic while classes are still in session,” Young said. 

The $1.7 million Campus Intersection Improvement Project is scheduled to be completed by the end of this summer, with money from the New York State Construction Fund. 

 No other intersections are expected to need similar changes. Young noted that it’s SUNY Cortland’s only intersection with traffic signals that is shared with the city. 

For any questions or concerns, contact Dillon Young at 607-753-5562 or by email. 

The secret to becoming a good steward of the Earth begins with paying attention, said author Robin Wall Kimmerer, a MacArthur Fellow, botany professor and an enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation.

“Come to know the ones who sustain you, so that you can sustain them,” said Kimmerer, who wrote the bestselling Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants.

“Inevitably, deep attention brings you to a place of understanding the world as gift, not as commodity,” she said recently. “And this realization incites a desire to give a gift in return. Giving back to the land, entering into reciprocity, is a way of creating relationship with the earth.”

Kimmerer, a SUNY distinguished teaching professor of environmental biology at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, N.Y., will discuss her work on Friday, April 12, at SUNY Cortland. Her talk titled “The Good Harvest” begins at 4:30 p.m. in Corey Union Function Room. It will be followed by a book signing.

“I hope attendees will come away with a renewed sense of the ways that humans can be medicine for the earth, living as if we were ecological citizens who return the gifts of the earth, not just consumers,” Kimmerer said.

The talk continues the campus’ annual yearlong series presented by the university’s Cultural and Intellectual Climate Committee (CICC), an all-campus committee of faculty and staff appointed by the provost. Events are free and open to the public.

Kimmerer’s lecture is also the culminating event of “Harvest Week!” from Monday, April 8, to Friday, April 12 that also features a community group’s sustainability presentation, a film, a lecture and a book discussion related to “Burning Sweetgrass,” one of the sections in her book.

During the 2023-24 academic year, the interdisciplinary series, “Food,” focuses on how sustenance is taken for granted until weather disasters, invasions, wars, supply chain issues or corporate greed place this urgent topic on America’s own dinner table.

One feature of each year’s series is a common read book, with a goal to build community through literature. Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass is available for free through the “Library” tab on MyRedDragon.

Braiding Sweetgrass offers a series of thought-provoking essays in which Kimmerer brings together Indigenous wisdom and practices in Western botany to emphasize and embrace our reciprocity with the natural world.

During the year, students in Sigma Tau Delta, the English honor society, conducted a series of “Braiding Sweetgrass” Book Club readings on the book’s many themes including picking sweetgrass, braiding sweetgrass, and burning sweetgrass. The students also took part in a panel discussion on teaching Braiding Sweetgrass.

The three student organizers of the book club events expressed a deep appreciation for Kimmerer’s work.

“(The book) can connect to different majors, so we discovered avenues of discussion that I hadn’t even considered,” said Matthew Kessler, a graduate adolescence education: English major from Cornwall, N.Y.

“Since starting the book, I’ve learned so much about what the environment means to me as well as others and its style of writing makes for great conversation,” said Harley Meyers, a graduate M.A. in English major from Brooklyn, N.Y. “For me, this book allowed me to open up to new possibilities and helped me form new connections here at Cortland.”

“One of our major ideas we share in our book club is the interweaving of Indigenous wisdom and Western knowledge,” said senior English major Jaclyn Trapani of Bellmore, N.Y. “Kimmerer helps us to recognize the importance of not pitting them against one another or deciding which is more important to teach in the classroom, but instead emphasizing the importance of both together. It challenges our current Western belief system, but not in a way that makes us shy away or become defensive.”

“I think of Indigenous knowledge and Western science both as powerful intellectual traditions, which grow from different worldviews,” observed Kimmerer, who noted that before she wrote Braiding Sweetgrass she had struggled to share her knowledge in the more traditional academic ways.

“But (these worldviews) can both illuminate the nature of the living world and how we might better care for it. They are distinctive, sovereign systems of knowledge which can complement one another.”

Kimmerer, who founded and directs the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment at ESF, was named a 2022 MacArthur Fellow, which is awarded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to talented individuals in a variety of fields who have shown exceptional originality in and dedication to their creative pursuits.

For more information on this year’s common read, contact Abigail Droge, assistant professor of British literature and culture, at 607-753-4331; or this year’s CICC chair  Benjamin Wilson, associate professor and chair of the Economics Department, at 607-753-2436.

For more information, visit the “Food” website or contact Wilson.

SUNY Cortland will culminate its yearlong series of events on the theme of “Food” with a “Harvest Week!” featuring a community group’s sustainability presentation, a film, a lecture, a book discussion and a bestselling author’s talk from Monday, April 8, to Friday, April 12.

“This has really been a team effort across campus,” said organizer Benjamin Wilson, an associate professor and chair of the Economics Department, regarding “Harvest Week!” in particular. Wilson also chairs the series presenter, the Cultural and Intellectual Climate Committee (CICC), an all-campus committee of faculty and staff appointed by the provost.

This year’s interdisciplinary series has focused on how sustenance is taken for granted until weather disasters, invasions, wars, supply chain issues or corporate greed place this urgent topic on America’s own dinner table. The 2023-24 “Food” series events are free and open to the public.

One feature of each year’s series is a common read book, with a goal to build community through literature. MacArthur Fellow and author Robin Wall Kimmerer, who wrote Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants, will discuss her work that comprises this year’s common read on the final day of “Harvest Week!”

The CICC organizers have arranged the following “Harvest Week!” events:

• Cortland Food Project (CFP). The campus community is invited to learn about local food systems and interventions by members of this local organization from 5:30 to 6:45 p.m. Monday, April 8, in Brockway Hall Jacobus Lounge. Formed in 2016, CFP is a multidisciplinary group representing the Local Agricultural Promotion committee, Sustainable Cortland and the Cortland County Hunger Coalition.
• Film screening. The documentary “Food, Inc.,” will be shown, ensuring the audience will never look at dinner the same way. The two-hour film will begin at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 9, in Sperry Center Hobson Lecture Hall.
• Book discussion. On Wednesday, April 10, students in Sigma Tau Delta, the English honor society, will discuss the “Burning Sweetgrass” book section. The program will run from 7 to 8 p.m. in Corey Union, Room 209.
• ‘Dyed Green’ podcast. Podcast hosts Max Sussman and Kate McCabe will hold a conversation from 5:30 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. on Thursday, April 11, in Brockway Hall Jacobus Lounge.
• Visiting author lecture. Kimmerer will lecture on “The Good Harvest” Friday, April 12, beginning at 4:30 p.m. in Corey Union Function Room. A book signing will follow.

Kimmerer’s award-winning Braiding Sweetgrass eBook is available for free through the “Library” tab on MyRedDragon.

Braiding Sweetgrass offers a series of beautiful and thought-provoking essays in which Kimmerer brings together Indigenous wisdom and practices in Western botany to emphasize and embrace our reciprocity with the natural world.

Braiding Sweetgrass provides us with a new approach to food, showing us that the plants and animals that feed us are not just a source of bodily nourishment, but also our family and our teachers, said Abigail Droge, assistant professor of English and a CICC “Food” series organizer. The book features interwoven narratives that take place locally in the Central New York landscape.

Kimmerer, a SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor of Environmental Biology at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) in Syracuse, N.Y., is an enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. She founded and directs the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment at ESF and was named a 2022 MacArthur Fellow, which is awarded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation to talented individuals in a variety of fields who have shown exceptional originality in and dedication to their creative pursuits.

Organizers may arrange additional events during the semester. For more information on this year’s common read, contact Abigail Droge, assistant professor of British literature and culture, at 607-753-4331; or Wilson at 607-753-2436. To volunteer to support this year’s activities and programming or for more information, visit the “Food” website or contact Wilson.

Kimmerer's lecture is co-sponsored by the Student Government Association, Student Activities Board, ASC, the Provost’s Office, the Haines Fund, the Office of Institutional Equity and Inclusion, the Surette Fund, and numerous academic departments. The Cortland Food Project is also supporting and promoting the event.

After more than 100 years, maple syrup is once again being tapped to sweeten campers’ breakfast at the William H. Parks Family Center for Environmental and Outdoor Education’s Camp Huntington on Raquette Lake.

John Donovan and Philip Mosher — caretakers at the W. H. Parks Family Education Center’s Camp Huntington and Antlers campuses, respectively — restarted an Adirondack tradition this winter by inserting a total of 40 taps into stately maples along a footpath of the original Long Point Road leading out to Raquette Lake.

Sap from their first 10 taps from Jan. 29 to Feb. 29 yielded the first gallon of finished product since circa 1900, nearly 50 years before SUNY Cortland acquired the property in 1948.

According to Donovan, he and Mosher had collected 287 gallons of tree sap and produced six gallons of finished maple syrup as of late March.

“The game plan for now is that’s just going to be for alumni,” Donovan said. “My end goal is to have enough product in our store for alumni camps on both sides, Huntington and Antlers, to have it. So, funding is always welcome.”

Before SUNY Cortland acquired the property in 1948 from the family of the late Collis P. Huntington, Camp Pine Knot had remained unused since 1900, according to Cortland College: An Illustrated History, by emeritus History Professor and Honorary SUNY Cortland Alum Leonard F. Ralston.

Like many Adirondack great camps around the turn of the last century, Pine Knot had operated a working farm.

“There would have been a caretaker on property,” said Donovan, who began at Camp Huntington four years ago. “We were doing what the caretaker would have done at any time during the spring to provide syrup for the guests that were there.”

After this year's initial, 10-tap harvest, they set up 30 more trees with blue tubing funneling sap into plastic jugs along the Long Point Road footpath leading out to Raquette Lake.

“We believe we’ve found scars from previous taps done years and years ago,” Donovan said.

Having tried backyard maple sugaring in the Thousand Islands region as a child, Donovan said it was always in the back of his mind to run a sugar bush — a maple syrup orchard — at Camp Huntington.

“The warm temperatures this year got them researching and excited about giving it a go,” said Rhonda Pitoniak ’01, M ’16, outdoor education director.

“The temperature difference between where we’re at up at Huntington and at Cortland is about two weeks behind (Cortland) in the spring and two weeks ahead in the fall,” Donovan said.

Donovan printed out and studied the Cornell Maple Program process literature.

“Then I found that Phil was going to be on our side of the lake for the winter,” Mosher’s first with SUNY Cortland, Donovan said. “He’s been my righthand guy.”

Depending on the warm and cold temperature fluctuations, either Donovan or Mosher made the daily 15-minute sap collection circuit on a winterized all-terrain vehicle, pouring the trees’ liquid yield into a 30-gallon collection tank in back.

With their own money, the caretakers bought a reverse osmosis system that removes water and concentrates the syrup by 50%, bringing 40 gallons of maple sap halfway to the goal of yielding a single gallon of syrup. A well-fed boiler completes the process.

“The rest of the equipment, I purchased myself, which is being donated to Cortland,” Donovan said. That included an evaporator, which was mounted atop an old fuel tank they had cleaned out, cut up and fashioned into their firewood-fueled maple syrup cooker.

“We’re trying to reuse stuff that’s kicking around,” Donovan said of the hybrid sap cooker.

Once boiled down to liquid gold, they processed and bottled the results of the small first harvest of two cases of syrup in 36 bottles in 5 oz. or 8.5 oz. jars. Donovan repurposed a graphic designed for a 2004 ceremony when Camp Huntington was designated a National Historic Landmark.

“I’m hoping this could go for fundraisers, maybe auctions,” Donovan said. “From what we’re producing up here, maybe we can give back to the university a little more.”

Any monies raised will go toward the facility’s Historic Preservation fund, Pitoniak said. The Cortland College Foundation established the fund to help restore and maintain Camp Huntington’s original historic structures.

Now Donovan and Mosher are eyeing a dilapidated original camp barn as a sugar shack.

“Next year, we hopefully can do something more along the lines of running tubes so it will take us less time to collect,” said Donovan, describing a set-up-and-leave modern method of sap collection. “Hopefully we’ll do that in the future because we do want to tap a few more trees. Along our low ropes course, we have 80 trees we can tap, and that’s just a small portion of the property.”

During one late February weekend, Donovan, Mosher and Pitoniak demonstrated maple sugaring with a class on indigenous living from Syracuse University.

“They each got a jug. We had the old-fashioned hand drill plus we had today’s technology,” said Donovan. “So, they were hand drilling the holes in the trees. Then they were able to put the taps in the trees, which was a great experience.”

Rock band The Driver Era is coming to SUNY Cortland as headliners of the school’s Spring Fling concert on Saturday, April 27. 

The concert caps a week of Spring Fling events attuned to this year’s Coachella theme — evoking the sun, fun and style of the legendary California music festival. 

Featuring brothers Rocky and Ross Lynch, The Driver Era’s music is an addictive mix of alt-rock, funk, indie and R&B that’s entertained audiences in the U.S. and around the world. Their latest single, “Get Off My Phone,” was released earlier this year. Opening for The Driver Era will be New York City-based group Movie Night.  

Tickets are cash only and will be sold at the Corey Union Info Center. They cost $20 for Cortland students, $30 for the general public and $50 at the door. Only one $20 ticket per student is allowed. 

For a chance to win three free tickets to the show, follow @cortlandsab on Instagram, share the account’s concert post and tag two SUNY Cortland friends on the post. Winners will be contacted Monday, April 1, on Instagram. 

All Spring Fling events are presented by the Student Activities Board, including the annual Spring Fling Carnival, which will be held on the Moffett Center lawn from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the day of the concert. Any changes to the schedule will be posted to Instagram. 

Spring Fling 2024 Events Schedule 

Saturday, April 20 

Spring Fling Foam Party 

Hendrick/Hayes Quad (Corey Union Function Room rain location) 

7 to 9 p.m.  

Monday, April 22 

Spring Fling Karaoke 

Corey Union first floor lounge 

6 p.m.  

Tuesday, April 23 

Spring Fling Comedy Night 

Corey Union Exhibition Lounge 

8 p.m. 

Wednesday, April 24 

Spring Fling DIY Cowboy Hats 

Corey Union Function Room 

6 to 8 p.m. 

Thursday, April 25 

Spring Fling Recreation Fair 

Student Life Center lawn 

1 p.m. 

Thursday, April 25 

Spring Fling Coachella Bingo 

Sperry Center, Room 105 

7 to 9 p.m. 

Friday, April 26 

Spring Fling T-Shirt Giveaway 

Corey Union steps (Corey Union Info Center rain location) 

4 to 6 p.m. 

Saturday, April 27 

Spring Fling Carnival 

Moffett Center Lawn (Corey Union rain location) 

11 a.m. to 3 p.m. 

Saturday, April 27 

Spring Fling Concert (18+): The Driver Era with opening act Movie Night 

SUNY Cortland Park Center Alumni Arena 

7 p.m. (Doors open at 6 p.m.) 

Is free speech compatible with inclusion?  

It’s a question that SUNY Cortland’s Institute for Civic Engagement welcomes everyone to discuss when the two ideals are the focus of “Free Speech and the Inclusive Campus,” a deliberative dialogue on Wednesday, April 3, at SUNY Cortland. 

The event, from 5 to 7 p.m. in Park Center’s Hall of Fame Room, is participatory. John Suarez, director of the Institute for Civic Engagement, said all who attend should be ready to discuss options for blending the values of inclusivity and free speech, and to decide on actions to carry out that goal. 

To register, participants can email Suarez at john.suarez@cortland.edu so that there are enough materials at the event. 

The aim is to embrace disagreements in a positive manner.  

“Put them on the table, but do so in a constructive, mutually respectful way,” Suarez said. “One of the phrases that we use is ‘constructive disagreement,’ listening to people and understanding where they’re coming from so that we more effectively identify areas of agreement as we work to design ways of addressing issues.” 

Students in two SGA clubs also helped organize the event — BridgeCortland, a campus chapter of the national group Bridge USA, which helps organize civil talks on controversial topics; and Turning Point USA/Cortland, a chapter of Turning Point USA, whose stated goal is to encourage the discussion of libertarian ideas.  

This deliberative dialogue will have three parts: 

• 5 to 5:30 p.m.: An introduction in which student moderators explain the event and describe the issue. 
• 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.: Participants engage in small group discussions to consider three options for blending inclusivity and free speech. 
• 6:30 to 7 p.m.: Participants reconvene as a large group to share the results of their discussions and to identify at least one step that can be taken to reach that goal. 

 Finding a balance between the rights of individuals with the responsibilities of institutions can be divisive, Suarez said. But the right methods can ease some of the tension between different ideologies. 

“Listening to other peoples’ descriptions of why a particular issue is so important to them will start bringing out emotional connections,” Suarez said. “If we use logic to convince somebody of a different point of view when that person’s opinions include a heavy dose of emotion, we’re being illogical because we must remember that the emotional component is important. Using logic can be illogical.” 

The upcoming dialogue is the first of several programs on campus that are a part of Dragons for Democracy, which Suarez describes as a term for the work the Institute does to get people engaged on and off campus, especially in collaborating with government. 

“Government is an important partner because through government we have funding resources, we have policy changes, we have laws that can be instituted,” he said. 

Also scheduled is the first official event of Heterodox Cortland Community. The group is Cortland’s local offshoot of international organization Heterodox Academy. Their declared objective is the support of open inquiry, using the tagline “Not all great minds think alike.” Suarez co-chairs the group with Associate Professor Jill Murphy, chair of the Health Department. 

The group’s first official event is April 4 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in Sperry Center, Room 105.  A documentary, “The Coddling of the American Mind,” will be screened, followed by a Q&A session with Anthony Rodriguez, who appears in the documentary. 

On Thursday, May 30, faculty, staff and any students still in the area are invited to a full-day workshop called” Civic Learning Through the Lens of Racial Equity.” It will feature John Reiff, director of Civic Learning and Engagement in the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, and Equity and Engagement Fellow at Campus Compact. 

“This (workshop) is another example under that umbrella of democracy engagement of how we work with government,” Suarez said. “Dr. Reiff will be helping us understand how to reach out not only to our not-for-profit partners, but also to the broader community, including government leaders.” 

For more information on upcoming Institute for Civic Engagement events on campus, Suarez can be contacted by email or by phone at 607-753-4391. 

Documentary films and series are a special storytelling medium. Well-produced documentaries have the potential to provide the public with information and entertainment, allowing viewers a transparent look into the authentic truth of a subject’s life.

However, behind the riveting interviews and camerawork, there’s a delicate balance between good-faith portrayals and exploitative narratives.

“We rely completely on ‘other lenses’ to tell us stories of the world,” said Sam Avery, filmmaker, associate professor of SUNY Cortland’s Communication and Media Studies Department, and coordinator of SUNY Cortland’s Blackbird Film Festival.

“Take the political climate we live in and ask yourself, how much of the divide in this country stems from media representations of the people involved — good or bad? It’s all a matter of framing, literally and metaphorically.”

Avery hopes to spread awareness of storytelling’s impact on society in an era of heightened media saturation with a talk titled “Framing Truth: Exploring Power Dynamics in Documentary Filmmaking,” on Wednesday, April 10, at SUNY Cortland.

The discussion, which is free and open to the public, closes the 2023-24 Rozanne M. Brooks Lecture Series, which featured five lectures on the theme of “The Culture of Power.”

The discussions begin at 4:30 p.m. in Moffett Center, Room 115. Seating will be limited, so attendees are advised to arrive early to secure a seat. A reception to welcome Avery precedes the talk at 4 p.m. in the adjacent Brooks Museum.

During the lecture, Avery wants to focus on his experience behind the camera and the “power” he has with the media product he creates — specifically when it comes to working with people who are already at a disadvantage and feel as if they are being misrepresented by the media.

After receiving his bachelor’s degree in media study: production from University at Buffalo, Avery completed his M.F.A. thesis there on nonfiction filmmaking.

“From 2010 to 2013, I made only documentary films, and this completely changed my outlook on filmmaking and the way to capture or tell stories,” Avery said.

 “During that time, I produced a number of films: one of which took me to Swaziland and South Africa to create an ‘African Success Series,’ and another film called ‘Not Without Us’ that documented the legal struggle of people with mental illness as they fought for their rights across New York state.” 

“Not Without Us” went on to be screened at several prominent film festivals across the U.S. The film was nominated for the 2014 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Voice Award in Los Angeles.

Since then, Avery has continued to make nonfiction films that work with vulnerable communities, such as a dance studio in Hamburg, N.Y., that helps people with Parkinson’s Disease, a center that helps refugees find homes, and an inclusive school for children.

This year’s Blackbird Film Festival, featuring more than 100 films from around the world and 60-plus filmmakers, will kick off the day after his lecture, on April 11 at 5 p.m. in Old Main and will continue until Sunday, April 14.

The Brooks Series honors the late SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor of sociology and anthropology emerita at SUNY Cortland, Rozanne M. Brooks, whose donated special collection of ethnographic objects to the Sociology/Anthropology Department established the Brooks Museum in 2001.

The 2023-24 Brooks Lecture Series is co-sponsored by the Cortland College Foundation and Cortland Auxiliary. For more information, contact Brooks lecture series organizer and Brooks Museum director Sharon Steadman, SUNY Distinguished Professor and chair of SUNY Cortland’s Sociology/Anthropology Department, at 607-753-2308.

Prepared by communications office writing intern Jean-Andre Sassine Jr. '23

Health concerns and voting rights are two issues commonly on the political agenda in the U.S. However, there’s an interesting link between public health policy and political equity in this country that many may not be paying attention to.

According to Gnora Mahs, who has a Master in Public Health, that relationship plays a significant role in how democracy manifests throughout the U.S.

“Health is a political choice,” said Mahs, partnerships director for Healthy Democracy Healthy People, a nonpartisan initiative of major public health and civic engagement organizations focusing on realizing health and racial equity. It does so by advancing an inclusive, healthy democracy that promotes civic and voter participation.

“The policies that impact health access and the social determinants of health are decided through democratic practices.”

Mahs, a doctoral candidate in public health at George Washington University and lifelong community organizer, will discuss the public health context, history and evidence that underscores the importance of having an inclusive, representative democracy to advance health and racial equity, on Wednesday, April 3, at SUNY Cortland.

She will present the 16th Charles N. Poskanzer lecture, titled “Health Democracy is Necessary for Health Communities: Public Health Must Act,” at 11:30 a.m. in Sperry Center, Room 106.

From a young age, Mahs marched on picket lines, knocked on doors for pro-labor candidates, and registered voters with her family. This early appreciation of community organizing led her to seek out opportunities to build community power and influence. 

She would go on to strengthen grassroots movements for reproductive health equity and voting rights with Planned Parenthood Advocates of Oregon.

Mahs credits her work in both fields as a natural progression to focusing on the connection between health and political equity.

“I started to see a broader picture about inequities in power and representation as key upstream determinants of health, which inspired me to further my studies and bring my community organizing background to research efforts aimed at addressing structural determinants,” Mahs said. 

In her first year at George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health, studying for  her Master’s in Public Health, her passions for health and politics were indelibly united in one educational moment.

While talking about health disparities that impacted Indigenous communities, she noticed a North Dakota policy that enacts strict voter identification rules, making it harder for Indigenous communities to vote.

“It felt like a lightbulb went off in my head,” she said. “How can we expect policies to be informed by communities experiencing health inequities if our democratic systems intentionally make it harder for their voices to be heard?”

Mahs continued her social activism. Before her current role, she worked  at the Alliance for Youth Action as a director of network capacity, where she supported youth-centered organizations that promoted democracy reform and economic justice across the country.

Her message:

“Democracy must be inclusive and representative to assure these political conditions for health and racial equity. Public health must, therefore, see this work as central to achieving health and racial equity.”

The annual lecture is supported by the Charles N. Poskanzer Fund, an endowment named in honor of the late SUNY Distinguished Service Professor emeritus who taught in the university’s Health Department for 40 years.

The Poskanzer fund was established through the Cortland College Foundation as an endowment to support an annual public lecture offered by the university’s Health Department in honor of its retired colleague. The presentation  brings national leaders in public and community health to campus to meet with students and faculty and to deliver a public lecture on a current public health issue.

Prepared by communications office writing intern Jean-Andre Sassine Jr. '23

Top image: The SUNY Cortland Health Department's chapter of the national honor society Eta Sigma Gamma held an information session on how to make your own hand sanitizer in the Student Life Center.

SUNY Cortland has earned the State University of New York’s 2023-24 Shared Governance Award, a system-wide honor given to an institution for strong collaboration between the university’s Faculty Senate and campus leadership.

The university will be recognized in April at the statewide University Faculty Senate’s spring plenary meeting hosted at Cornell University. 

“This award validates the wonderful work that takes place on our campus,” said Kathleen Lawrence, professor of communication studies and chair of SUNY Cortland’s Faculty Senate. “The partnership between our campus leadership and Faculty Senate is rooted in mutual respect and responsiveness, and the progress we’ve made in the past several years certainly reflects our efforts and commitment to maintaining a culture of collaboration.”

SUNY Cortland President Erik J. Bitterbaum echoed those sentiments.

“So many faculty and staff members play a role in this type of honor,” President Bitterbaum said. “This truly is a ‘team effort’ that speaks to the extraordinary work being done at SUNY Cortland to educate engaged students who benefit from outstanding teaching, scholarship and service.”

In its application for the award, the university outlined evidence related to clear bylaws and procedures, defined roles and committee structures, a commitment to collegiality and inclusion, and open communication.

Examples included:

• Revised committee responsibilities for SUNY-wide awards and honors, specifically the policies and procedures outlining calls for nomination, review and selection;

• The work of many Faculty Senate sub-groups, including the Academic Faculty Affairs Committee to establish better communication regarding continuing appointment, reappointment and promotion for academic faculty; and

• The university’s recent review of governance process, which occurs every five years and included focus group interviews and as well as input from Faculty Senate committee chairs and steering committee members.

Chancellor John B. King, Jr. credited the university’s strides in his award notification. 

“Your leadership team and Faculty Senate, with the assistance of students, faculty, and administrative staff have worked intentionally and collaboratively to establish a solid shared governance ecosystem that now permeates throughout the campus, touching every governance entity,” Chancellor King wrote. “The spirit of ownership regarding SUNY Cortland’s structures, policies and practices creates trust and transparency that reflects the mission, vision and values of SUNY Cortland.

“You continue to promote an inclusive community where respect and responsiveness have guided several efforts, helping to nurture an institutional culture that encourages collaboration.”

Mark your calendars. SUNY Cortland’s annual, 24-hour fundraising event starts at midnight Wednesday, April 17, and there’s more at stake than ever.

This year, donors can help unlock potentially more than $130,000 in matching gifts — $30,000 more than last year — thanks to pledges made by numerous generous alumni, faculty and staff, and friends!

On Challenge Day, students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends can give to the Cortland Challenge cause of their choice at RedDragonNetwork.org/challenge.

Donors will be challenged to reach a succession of special giving milestones over the course of the day, unlocking a matching gift at every new level. There will also be an athletic challenge with a donor match, and a special giving competition between more than 40 academic and campus departments covered by matching gift pledges.

SUNY Cortland will also match up to $5,500 in dollar-for-dollar contributions to The Cortland Fund, a discretionary fund dedicated to the university’s greatest and most immediate areas of need that have an impact on the entire campus community.

“This has been a thrilling year for Red Dragons everywhere to show their pride in SUNY Cortland,” SUNY Cortland President Erik J. Bitterbaum said. “The Cortland Challenge offers yet another opportunity for our community to come together and support a common goal: to open doors for our current and future students. No gift is too small to help in this effort.”

Leading up to the big day, the entire campus community is encouraged to:

• Take part in the challenge by making their own gift, in addition to any they already made this year.
• Encourage others in the campus and alumni community to also give to the Cortland Challenge
• Spread the word on social media accounts. A good way to do this is by sending your own transformational Cortland story via the #CortlandChallenge hashtag.

To make a gift, learn more or track the Cortland Challenge’s progress, visit RedDragonNetwork.org/challenge.

And don’t forget, on Challenge Day, use the hashtag #CortlandChallenge to follow along with other Red Dragons through Facebook, Instagramand X (formerly Twitter).

April is national Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and SUNY Cortland will host educational events and opportunities to raise awareness and show support for the many survivors of sexual and domestic violence.

• Teal Light Campaign – the campus entrance lights are turned to teal to send the message that we recognize and support survivors of sexual assault.
• The It’s On Us Instagram account will post messages throughout the month about sexual violence prevention.
• S’more Consent will be offered from 1 to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, April 3, in the Neubig Hall lobby. Make a s’more while learning about consent
• Save a Life Day from 1 to 3 p.m. on Thursday, April 4, in the Student Life Center. Learn about all the ways you can help save a life. Working with representatives from Prevent Education, substance use and bystander intervention for sexual violence prevention topics will be covered.
• Drink specials will be available from Monday, April 15 through Friday, April 19. Partnering with Cortland Auxiliary Services, visit Fuel and Bookmark and choose from “Blueberry Boundaries” lemonade and have “consent is hot” coffee sleeves for hot beverages.
• Survivor resource bags will be made and disseminated to survivors of sexual violence.
• Take Back the Night will be held on Wednesday, April 24 beginning at 7 p.m. on Corey Union steps. Every semester at SUNY Cortland, Students Active for Ending Rape (SAFER) host a Take Back the Night event, which raises awareness about sexual assault through a community march and speeches.
• Also on Wednesday, April 24 is Denim Day, which began after a ruling by the Italian Supreme Court following a rape conviction that was overturned because the justices felt that since the victim was wearing tight jeans, that she must have helped the person who raped her remove her jeans, thereby implying consent. The following day, the women in the Italian Parliament came to work wearing jeans in solidarity with the victim. Campus members are invited to wear denim and stickers will be available in the Residence Life Office, Multicultural Life and Diversity Office, Athletics Office, the library and in the Miller Building.
• From 1 to 3 p.m. on Tuesday, April 30, Planting Healthy Relationships will be held on Corey Union steps, with a rain location in the Corey Union lobby. Learn how to take care of healthy relationships as well as a succulent. Plants will be available to the first 100 participants

For more information, contact Prevention Educator Marissa Whitaker, Conley Counseling and Wellness Services by email or phone at 607-753-4728.

Students, your opinion could be worth a free 2024-25 parking pass.

Or, tuition for a summer or winter course.

You might even score some extra Commencement tickets.

All you need to be eligible for a chance to win is complete SUNY’s Student Satisfaction Survey when an email with the survey link shows up in your email inbox. The survey will take 15 to 20 minutes and is being administered at all SUNY campuses to assess areas of strength and areas where things might be approved.

Invitations will come from survey@suny.edu, and may already be in your cortland.edu inbox. The survey will remain open through April 5.  

Completing the survey enters you in a random drawing for the following:

• Tuition for a Summer Session 2024 or Winter Session 2025 class (three available)
• Additional Commencement tickets (two sets of two available)
• Additional Cortaca Jug tickets (four sets of two available)
• A parking permit for the 2024-25 academic year (one available)

Additional information is available on Cortland’s website.