tor echo issue 1 jan 2015
DESCRIPTION
Tor Echo is the student-written and edited newspaper of Alfred State SUNY College of Technology. Copyright 2015. Happy New Year to all!TRANSCRIPT
Tor Echo Newspaper of the Pioneers
Alfred State Students Participate
in Democracy in Alfred Village
A political storm is a-
brewing in Alfred, as Al-
fred State students Kory
Shick (in photo on left)
and Nick Ferraro won
the Republican Party
nominations for Village
of Alfred Trustees. The
two students were
joined by Jason Rodd, a
1995 graduate of Alfred
University and a long-
time Alfred resident,
who won the Republican
nomination for Mayor.
“In a Village with over
4,000 residents, the Al-
fred elections are often
decided by a total vote of less than 200 voters,” said
Kory in a statement of his reasons for running. “This
year there are three candidates who offer an alterna-
tive to the business as usual that has created the cur-
rent state of the village.”
This sudden change in the political climate has
generated headlines in the local newspapers: Col-
lege Kids Could Take Over Alfred Village
Board (Evening Tribune), Stakes High as Alfred
Dems Prepare to Caucus read two stories. Vil-
lage resident Joe Dosch published a letter in the
Wellsville paper entitled, “Support qualified public
servants in Alfred,” implying that Kory (spelled
“Cory” by Mr. Dosch)
are “bound by a single-
issue perspective .” An-
other Alfred villager sent
an email to nearly 60
residents calling this in-
volvement of ASC stu-
dents in their civil rights
as “disturbing news of
the takeover of the Vil-
lage,” and he warned of
the “dire state what our
village faces.”
Kory, when asked
about how he feels about
the storm he’s initiated
said, “Over many years I
have developed a pio-
neering passion for Alfred which drives this cam-
paign.” He invites all students to join the campaign.
“We are presented with an opportunity to provide
equal inclusion for all Alfredians. As a student and a
Alfred resident, it is up to you to be part of this
monumental social change. We need as many citi-
zens as possible to realize that participation in gov-
ernment is an all-inclusive experience. Now is the
time to realize our own capabilities. Change is made
in incremental steps and those steps are yours to
take,” said Kory.
SEE PAGE 3 FOR MORE NEWS!
SPECIAL
ELECTION
ISSUE
Tor Echo
Report, Encourage, Engage
Issue 1, Spring 2015
Editor-in-Chief: Lynnette Lockwood / Associate Editor: Jordyn Riethmiller / Sports Editor: Morgan Franchina Treasurer / Student Senate Representative: Daniel David
Reporters: Lee Button, Karla Chun, Christy Dodd, Katie Dussing, Grace Franklin, Brianna Freeman, Anthony Grande,
Nichole Meehan, Don Schrader, Breanna Smith, Madison Szpaicher, Angel Torres © Tor Echo, 2015 T
or
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Welcome back, students, to Alfred State. I hope that the semester goes well for each one of
you. Have fun but don’t forget to study. A new exciting plan happening this semester is re-
ferred to on the front page. Kory Shick and Nicholas Ferraro, both Alfred State College stu-
dents, have been nominated for two town board positions. The election will be in March
but this event got me thinking. Will this encourage more voting among college students at
Alfred State? Getting these students elected into these positions will help the college and
the students be more respected into the community. Currently 1/2 of people between the
age of 18-29 are registered to vote in the USA. It’s sad to think that less than 1/3 of the half
actually vote in elections. Voting is a simple process that can be done anytime once a person
turns 18. The college has recently teamed up with Turbovote.com to helps students register
to vote, update voter registration, get absentee ballots, and get reminders to make sure they
don’t forget to vote. Get out there, get involved, and make a difference in your Alfred State
Community. We deserve to be respected. Don’t sit on the sidelines and let your college ex-
perience get ruined by not taking a stand to the community.
— Lynnette Lockwood
Editor-in-Chief
Will Students on the Town Board
Encourage More Voting?
SPECIAL ERGO READING Professor Jerry Fong will be reading from his newest works on Wednesday, February 4,
2015 in CDH. The event will be held in the Allegany Room starting at 6:00 p.m. Appetiz-
ers including pot stickers, sweet and sour meatballs, chicken kabobs and spring rolls
and tea will be served. Please join us! Bring your friends!
The Democratic caucus was held
last night, Monday, January 26, at
the Alfred Village Hall. There was a
tremendous turnout of people in-
terested in nominating candidates
for village mayor and board trus-
tees. Tons of students from Alfred
State, faculty and staff from both
schools, and community residents
showed up to show sup-
port. The race is now of-
ficially on for the nomi-
nated students and long
term residents.102 stu-
dents and residents were registered Democrats
voted in the caucus. The
nominees were given
three minutes to speak
and convince the popu-
lace to vote for them.
The first nomination
was for town mayor. Ja-
son Rodd and Justin
Griggs were nominated.
Some town residents
were of the opinion that
Jason Rodd was only run-
ning for the position be-
cause of a student con-
spiracy, but he assured
everyone that this was
not the case. He wants to
be a strong voice and
leader for students and
fulltime residents. He is looking for
the best in the two campuses. He
mentioned a noise violation law,
which states that a person can be
imprisoned up to 15 days. “This
law was created to help end parties
but there are better ways to do
that,” he said. Justin Grigg is the
current mayor of Alfred. If reelect-
ed he wants to expand his term so that the can form better partner-
ships with the outside communi-
ties. Justin Grigg. won
The next nomination was for
the town trustees. Nick Ferraro
and Peter McClain were the first
nominees. Nick Ferraro is an Al-
fred State student. He wants the
long term residents and short term
residents to be treated equally. Pe-
ter McClain is a graduate of Alfred
University. He is on the Hot Dog
Day planning board. The winner
was Peter McClain.
The last nomination was for the
second spot on the Alfred Board of
Trustees of Alfred. Kory Shick and
Tom McDowell were the second
nominees. Kory is an Alfred State
student and has been a town resi-dent for three years. If elected he
wants to promote economic stabil-
ity and an equal inclusion of all
community members. He wants
the community to come together
as one to solve the problems. "I
have a lot of different things I
would like to do. There are prob-
lems in Alfred, just like every-
where, and I have a creative and
strategic way of going about
them. Students, as well as
village members, have a
good opportunity to work
together and I'm doing my
part to make sure it hap-pens" said Shick. Tom
McDowell is a professor of
computer information tech-
nology. He has been actively
involved in the community
by being a coach on several
sport teams, and helping out
with Cub Scouts. The win-
ner was Tom McDowell.
The Democratic caucus
was held a week after the
Republican caucus, which
resulted in Jason Rodd, Nick
Ferraro, and Kory Shick de-
feating Justin Grigg, Peter
McClain, and Tom McDow-
ell. In Alfred, candidates can
– and often are – nominated
by both parties. Now that
candidates have been cho-
sen, the three positions will be up
for election in March, and a clear-
cut choice for the future of Alfred
will be presented. Current Mayor
Grigg admitted after the caucus last
night that the real winners in this
process are the people of the vil-
lage and democracy itself, since
many, many more people are now
participating in the elections.
Democratic Caucus Results
By Lynnette Lockwood
A portion of the hundreds of Alfred villagers who jammed into Vil-
lage Hall for the Democratic Caucus last night in an unprecedented
turnout. Page
3 / R
eport, E
nco
urage
, Engage
!
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