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Pharmacology Professor Receives $60,000 Grant

Sarah Park — Fri, 10 May 2013 21:03:51 +0000

A Stony Brook University pharmacology professor received a $60,000 grant from the Feldstein Medical Foundation that will fund his new project which focuses on “new computer technology to speed up the creation yet reduce the development cost of targeted cancer therapies,” according to Stony Brook University.

Markus Seeliger, PhD, the recipient of this award, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacological Sciences at Stony Brook University School of Medicine.

His project that received this grant is titled, “New Tools To Hit Moving Targets in Cancer Therapy.” It focuses on developing unconventional approaches to cancer therapies that would help create more effective cancer drugs.

The Feldstein Medical Foundation was created to promote and advance previously neglected areas of medical research, and funds projects that focus on research in previously underfunded areas, new or innovative research and other various medical researches including basic science, translation and implementation studies, early clinical research and education.

“Dr. Seeliger’s laboratory focuses on understanding the molecular mechanism of signaling proteins and how small molecule ligands and drugs can modulate their activity,” according to Stony Brook University.

And to expand their understanding and conduct experiment, Dr. Seeliger and his colleagues created a new method, using sophisticated, specialized computer hardware, to identify drug-binding sites on Src (sarcoma) kinase, which is a protein that causes cancer by promoting signals. He said they were able to stimulate the entire drug-binding process to the Src kinase.

According to Dr. Seeliger, specificity is crucial for a drug to develop properly even in the late stages. He said this lack of specificity was the reason to why they failed, especially in the late developmental process.

But, his team’s new research has found potential new binding sites that would act as specific inhibitors of Src kinase. He said, this combination of computer-based findings and experimental protocol, might aide the acceleration of the new creation of potent cancer drugs.

The Feldstein Medical Foundation is a private family foundation established in 2007, and is based in the New York and New Jersey metropolitan area.

Staller Center Building Flooded

Jasmine Haefner — Fri, 10 May 2013 20:52:31 +0000

The Staller Center for the Arts flooded on Saturday, March 4, in the early afternoon, causing power outages on the north side of Stony Brook University’s campus that same evening and class and event cancellations, according to university officials.

University Police and Campus Operations responded to an alarm at 3:45 pm that was caused by a malfunctioning elevator in the Fine Arts portion of the building, according to university officials.

“They discovered that about 14 inches of water had accumulated after a chilled water line fitting let go, flooding the Fine Arts mechanical room,” they said, affecting the electrical panels.

The flooding’s most noticeable effect to the campus community was “a strategic 30 minute power outage” that affected 11 buildings: Pritchard, the Sports Complex, the Recreation Center, the Student Union, Student Health Services, the Wang Center, all of H Quad, all of Mendelsohn Quad and the LaValle Stadium. This initiative was taken by Campus operations late that night to switch electrical feeders in an attempt to assess and repair damages, while protecting still functional equipment, according to university officials.

After the scheduled 30 minute power outage, the electrical power was restored to all buildings but the Staller Center, which remained unpowered until mid-day Monday, March 6, according to university officials. The Staller Center’s “ventilation/air handling systems, light and elevators” were effected for the duration of the power outage, but all systems, such as fire alarms, were running on a generator.

Staller was reopened at 1 pm on Monday, March 6, although classes to be held in the building that day were cancelled. Classes resumed the following day, Tuesday, March 7.

At a University Senate meeting during the evening of Monday, March 6, President Stanely mentioned the incident, stating that these types of concequences are what happens when there isn’t a “critical maintenance” budget for incidents at SBU.

There is still significant damage from the incident that is currently being repaired, according to university officials. The total costs are estimated to be between $70,000 and $100,000.

Updated at 5:29 pm on March 10, 2013.

Stony Brook Bike Share off to a Great Start

Jasmine Haefner — Fri, 10 May 2013 20:42:54 +0000

The most recent phase of the stony brook bike share program has kicked in and has been an overwhelming success.

This new step in the program included putting four bike racks across campus and releasing 25 bikes that can be rented out by students at no cost for the initial hour, and then at a cost of two dollars for every hour until the bike has been checked-out for more than four hours, according to the Office of Sustainability website. Renting a bike for 5 hours costs 16 dollars, 24 hours for 32 dollars, and up to 3 days for 64 dollars. Staff and faculty must pay a subscription fee for access to the bikes because the transportation fee, which is only paid by students, funds the program.

“We’ve had a lot of positive feedback from the community,” said James O’Connor, director of sustainability and transportation operations.

The original bike share program began back in April of 2011, where it remained in place until this phase of the program launched on April 19 this semester. The first phase of the program involved students paying a 30 dollars registration fee and receiving a bike for their use for the entirety of the semester, according to O’Connor.

The master plan for the bike share program was developed by the Transportation and Parking Advisory Group, which is comprised of faculty, staff and students at SBU.

“In our transportation fee budget we have a 5-year program to implement bike share across campus,” said O’Connor. The group meets once a month to discuss campus transit, commuter parking, biking, and student feedback they’ve received.

“We really haven’t had any problems with students returning the bikes, it’s all gone very smooth,” said Greg Monaco, sustainability coordinator in the Office of Sustainability.

While the program has gone well so far, there are a few common issues that users keep stumbling upon.

“[We've received] a lot of questions about how to unlock a bike,” said O’Connor. To unlock a bike students are required to enter their 8-digit pin code, which is their birthdate listed as the month, day and four-digit year (mm/dd/yyyy). The Office of Sustainability plans on placing additional signage at the bike racks with more detailed instructions for users, according to O’Connor and Monaco.

They have also set up a phone line for students to call if they’re having an issue with their bike or the rental system.

“Ultimately there’s a mechanism for them to call us at that moment,” said O’Connor. Users can reach the Office of Sustainability and Transportation at 631-632-6219 with questions during normal business hours, or they can email the office at sustainability@stonybrook.edu. Users even have the ability now to tweet with questions or comments at sbu_sustainabilities, according to O’Connor.

Currently there are only four bike racks on campus, two outside of the SAC, one near West I Apartments, and one at South-P. However, during the next fiscal year there are plans to establish three more racks across campus. Over the summer the program plans on releasing the remaining bikes they have, which will make a total of 48 bikes available.

The bikes currently in use have their own individual bike consoles that have the capability to collect data about their use. However, this data won’t be available for another week because this phase is currently in week three and it is only to be collected one a month. The system is set up to be able to measure how many metric tons of carbon dioxide are saved by the use of the bikes, according to O’Connor, so they can be compared to other transportation systems on campus, such as the busses.

O’Connor and Monaco both stated that the overall goal is to provide a point to point service on campus that’s environmentally healthier than current option available.

“So far it’s been a huge success. In the future we’d like to continue to grow it,” they said.

Anyone interested in the Transportation and Parking Advisory Group can find contact information, past meeting minutes and future meeting times at stonybrook.edu/transportation under the Transportation Fee Feedback and Advisory Group tab.

Climate Change Changes

Rebecca Tapio — Sat, 04 May 2013 22:51:27 +0000

The reduction of individual carbon imprints is no longer a viable way to reduce the influx of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, said Wallace Broecker, the keynote speaker of Earthstock, on April 19.
“Something bigger has to happen,” he said. “And that has to be political.”
Broecker, known in the scientific community as the “Grandfather of Climate Science,” is often credited with the first use of the term “global warming” in his 1975 paper “Climatic Change: Are We on the Brink of a Pronounced Global Warming?” in which he argued that the ocean can undergo very rapid, large-scale global changes in the way it operates.
Based on observations of cyclical changes in ice cores drilled in Greenland, he predicted that a warming trend could begin rapidly due to fluctuations in winter sea ice. In 1976, the warming began.
Though the basis for his predictions, changing carbon dioxide levels in the ice cores caused by a reaction with calcium carbonate, was wrong, “my prediction was dead right,” he said.
Since then, Broecker has continued to study both climate change on a global scale and how increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are causing an increase in temperatures in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres.
“Adding CO2 to the air was man’s greatest geophysical experiment,” he said. “We can’t predict in any sort of accurate way what all these consequences are going to be, but we’re sure as hell going to find out.”
Broecker’s main concerns are food production and water availability.
“Agriculturalists say that for every degree we warm the planet, you lose ten percent of the grain yield because grains are already growing beyond our thermal optimum,” he said. “We’re going to have 30% more people, more or less, in a hundred years, and if we have 30% less food that’s fairly serious.
“There’s no obvious way to compensate, there’s no green revolution that’s going to change the thermal optimum,” Broecker said.
Now, he said, the focus of nations around the world needs to be on removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
“If you can take carbon dioxide out of the air and get your energy some other way, you can take hydrogen and combine it with the CO2 from the atmosphere to make organic gasoline,” he said.
Development of technology that would remove the carbon dioxide and trap it in modified plastic would cost, according to his estimations, $20 million, or “how much A-Rod makes in a year.”
In order to effectively neutralize the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, it would have to be buried. Broecker is currently part of an experiment in its seventh year that has been dissolving carbon dioxide in water and burying it in Icelandic basalt. It’s buried at a depth where the partial pressure of CO2 in the water is less than the overburden, so that it doesn’t have the ability to rise to the surface and leave the water.
“When garbage became a problem, we started to collect it; when sewage became a problem we started to treat it,” he said. “And we can’t dump CO2 in the air. It’s just not good for the planet.”

Boston Marathon Vigil

Jessica Mai — Sat, 04 May 2013 22:46:10 +0000

Tragedy hit one of America’s most historic cities when two bombs went off at the finish line of the Boston Marathon at roughly 2:50 p.m., killing three people and injuring many more.
First responders sent many victims to the Massachusetts General Hospital, where some victims required amputations.
Fatally injured victims included eight-year-old Martin Richard, Krystle Campbell, 29, and Lingzi Lu, 23.
Over 60 people gathered at the Stony Brook University academic mall on April 17 to mourn, pray and hope for those affected by the attack in Boston.
Many students on Stony Brook campus were shocked at the news of the bombing.
“You wouldn’t imagine in Boston just at a marathon, all this happening, ” said student Maleeha Siddiqui.
The incident hit close to home for students with family and friends living in the Boston area.
Alan Guan, 19, a Boston native, was relieved when he found out his family was safe.
“A lot of my family is right in the center of Boston, so it’s pretty scary for me.” said Guan. “As soon as I found out, I called my parents…Thankfully all the people that I know that were there are all okay.”
Hosts Daniel Ahmadizadeh and Mohammed Naeem worked together, along with the curator of the page Stony Brook Compliments, to organize the event via Facebook.
Stony Brook University’s Muslim Chaplain, Sister Sanaa Nadim, also spoke at the vigil. She reminded attendees of the importance of unity in times of tragedy.
Natasha Thiagalingam, a 19-year-old biochemistry major from Lexington, a town roughly 20 minutes from Boston, was grateful for the candlelight vigil.
“It means a lot that the Stony Brook community can get together, because Stony Brook is my home,” she said.
At the national memorial service, President Obama gave a speech where he vowed to not let this “act of terror” break the Bostonian spirit.
“Your commonwealth is with you, your country is with, we will all be with you as you learn to stand, and walk and yes run again,” he said. “Of that I have no doubt, you will run again.”
The spirit of Boston was reflected in the students of the university, as they stood in support of the victims.
“Growing up in the Boston area everyone is really resilient,” Thiagalingam said. “Everybody stands for the same thing. Everyone is really strong and I know they can get through this.”

Do It In The Dark

John Fischer — Sat, 04 May 2013 22:41:04 +0000

Stony Brook University’s Environmental Club collaborated with Rock Yo Face, an on-campus program that showcases new music, in hosting the first Do It In The Dark: Solar Energy Concert Friday night in SAC Ballroom B.
The event featured live entertainment and students dancing with the lights turned off to spread awareness of conserving and using renewable resources and to encourage people to rely on less amounts of energy than necessary.
“It’s a celebration of Earthstock,” said Sheri Bossong, President of the Environmental Club. “It’s an extension of the celebration of the earth.”
Earthstock is an annual week-long event held at Stony Brook that aims to raise awareness about conserving natural resources, reducing pollution and providing alternataivaaae methods for living eco-friendly. The concert was held to celebrate its conclusion for this year.
At first scheduled to be held outside in the SAC Plaza, the concert was moved inside due to weather conditions. The original format for the night included the use of charged solar panels as a way of encouraging people to use more renewable sources of lighting.
“I would say our original plan, using solar power to generate the concert really encompassed our environment,” said Jane Karetny, Vice-President of the Environmental Club. “We were going to be using renewable energy so we were off the grid.”
The club provided lighting by handing out glow-in-the-dark wrist and neck bands and mini LED lights while flashing different colored spotlights around the room when people were dancing.
“We use like a fifth of the power, maybe less,” said Max Carmack, a member of Rock Yo Face, in regards to using LED lights.
The event featured performances by Stony Brook Vocalists, DJ Caio, The Lawn Chair Bombers and the Allies.
“It’s for a good cause,” said Arielle Dagger, a junior business major. “And any time good music is paired with a cause, it makes it a great event.”
The club called the concert a “success” and hopes that it will spread awareness about conserving natural resources and energy.

URECA: Top Undergrads Showcase Research at Annual Celebration

Andrew Carrieri — Sat, 04 May 2013 22:37:41 +0000

More than 268 of Stony Brook’s top undergraduate students participated in the annual Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URECA) end of year symposium on April 24. This celebration, which has taken place each spring since 1999, allows students involved in supervised research to showcase their findings.
URECA itself was established in 1987. According to the program’s website, Stony Brook “was one of the first research universities in the country to establish an office for the specific purpose of promoting undergraduate research and creative activity, and offers many programs that support undergraduate research efforts. These include the Battelle Summer Research Program, the Beckman Scholars Program, Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site Programs, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Undergraduate Research Programs, and the URECA Summer Research and Small Grant/Travel Grant Programs.”
Karen Kernan, who has served as the director of URECA since 2001, has seen the end-of-year symposium grow in scope over time.
“In 2002, we had about 75 posters displayed in the SAC lobby, now we have 268 projects,” she said through an email message.
The bulk of the day’s events consisted of poster exhibits set up in SAC Ballroom A. Students who have conducted research in various fields, including mathematics, sociology, business and political science, create these posters to visually display their research findings. The student researchers are also on hand to answer questions from attendees.
One of the many exhibits on the day was created by Jesse Pogonik and Jake Muldoon, both of whom conducted organic chemistry research under the supervision of Professor Dale Drueckhammer of the Chemistry Department. Pogonik and Muldoon each worked in the undergraduate chemistry labs—they researched organic chemistry there too—and concurred that the experience broadened their horizons. “You learn to accept frustration, and you get to devise creative ways of tackling problems,” Muldoon said of the overall research experience.
Another display came from Amy Marshall, Kevin Ryan and Ben McKeeby. Their project, Sedimentation and its Effects on Chlorophyll A Production in High and Low Microbial Sponges, was conducted with the guidance of Bradley Peterson and Joseph Warren, both associate professors in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences. According to Ryan, the research for this project began when he and Marshall partook in a study abroad program in Jamaica. “It was quite interesting and given more time, we’d like to go back to continue our research,” he said.
Erin Kunz created a project, Immunohistochemical Analysis of MUSTIN I Expression during Fracture Healing, under the supervision of Professor David Komatsu of the Department of Orthopedics. Kunz’s research began when she contacted Komatsu after he guest lectured for one of her classes. On her overall experience, Kunz said: “Research is a lot of fun, and lets you get a hands-on learning experience and gets you interested in the future. It keeps you involved.”
In addition to the poster presentations, the Departments of History, English and Psychology hold their own symposiums to showcase oral research reports during the day. Regarding the origins of the History Department’s symposium, in an email message, Professor Emeritus Joel Rosenthal said: “I think it was when [Professor] Sara Lipton was either undergrad director or just involved with a lot of students that she said there was no reason why URECA should only be for science students. This was probably a bit over 10 years ago, early 2000s I believe.”
Rosenthal said the symposium is open to students: “Everyone who does a [two]-semester History Honors paper is invited to read a short paper. Other students in 400 level [classes] and perhaps in the odd 300 level [class] are asked, if they are doing research papers, whether they want to participate.”
This year, six students presented their papers in 15-minute windows, before answering related questions from a panel of History Department faculty members. One of the presenters was David Purificato, who developed his honors thesis, Canine reinvention: Nineteenth Century cultural attitudes and domestic dogs, with the guidance of Professor Jared Farmer. “It was a little dubious at first, but it turned out to be fun. I like talking about these topics,” said Purificato on his overall research experience.
Director Kernan believes that URECA is an important asset to the University. In an email message she said: “I think that being involved with undergraduate research can be a transformative experience for many students. I’ve talked to a number of our top students over the years—who love being involved in discovering new things, who are excited by what they are doing, and also really value being part of their research lab [or] community, and having the chance to work with their grad student and faculty mentors. When students are interviewed after graduating, the research experience is one of the things most valued.”

Bill Nye The Science Guy Visits Stony Brook

Evan Goldaper — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 05:15:32 +0000

Although his arrival wasn’t officially connected to Stony Brook’s Earthstock festival, scientist and television personality Bill Nye was the perfect speaker to end the campus’s week of environmental education. On April 19, 2013, the USG Lecture Series presented a talk from Nye that centered on using scientific reasoning to solve the world’s problems, including those related to global warming.

Famed scientist Bill Nye speaks to a crowd of over 500 students at Stony Brook University. Photo by Tom Johnson

The former host of PBS’s Bill Nye the Science Guy and current executive director of the Planetary Society, Nye is no stranger to explaining scientific concepts to the masses. At this lecture, he encouraged the audience to aim for “big picture thinking” while using fewer resources. Inspired by such ideas as Richard Smalley’s discovery of buckyballs and the invention of liquid metal batteries, Nye discussed a variety of ways that science should be applied to improve society as a whole. “You could give up, and you could run around screaming,” said Nye on the subject of the Earth’s rapidly-increasing temperature. “But in general, I predict that would be ineffective.”

Despite Nye’s advice, the days leading up to the lecture were marred by a certain level of student frustration and misunderstanding. Because of the nature of the contract signed, USG could not announce the event until a week before the lecture, and the SAC auditorium, which only seats about 500 students, was the largest venue available. As a result, tickets effectively sold out as soon as the ticket booth opened at 11:00 a.m. on April 17, with students forming a line hours before that occurred and many students thus left without access to the lecture.

Some vocal students expressed frustration at the nature of the event’s organization. Facebook pages like “Operation Meet Bill Nye – SBU,” created by Michael A. Seminara, were created shortly after tickets sold out, and provided an outlet for students to voice their displeasure. “Operation Meet Bill Nye – SBU” also provided a location for students to “organize and find or make a way to meet [their] childhood hero,” including arriving in a large group and surrounding the building.

Other students took to the lecture’s Facebook event page to discuss their complaints with USG members. In addition to the aforementioned issues, some students objected to their Student Activity Fee being used to fund an event that was not accessible to the entire campus community or the fact that graduate students were excluded from attending. In one argument, a displeased student even likened the practice of ticket scalping to rape.

On the same Facebook event page, CAS senator Kenneth Myers created an FAQ that attempted to calm the confusion. He explained that no larger venues were available, that graduate students could not attend because they did not pay the same activities fee as undergraduates, and that artists typically refuse to sign their contracts until a week before events. As a result, the problems mentioned were insurmountable. However, discussions continued on pages like Seminara’s until shortly before the event began.

Students started lining up to enter the event as early as five hours before it began, at 3:30 p.m. First in line was Fausto Martinez, a sophomore astronomy major clad in a white t-shirt that read “I fuckin’ love science.” Behind Martinez was the line of over 500 students, snaking past the SAC Auditorium, past the ballrooms, Traditions Lounge and commuter lounge before ending in a spiral back where it began. Police officers monitored the students in line; shortly before the doors opened, they rushed to break up a group chanting Nye’s name.

Once the lecture began, it was clearly well-received by the audience. As Nye took the stage, one fan exclaimed “You’re the reason I go here!” Most things Nye said were met with a similar level of enthusiasm. In addition to being informative, Nye was very funny, embracing the double entendres of such statements as “Everything that sticks up should be a sundial” and teasing that determining how to tell time on Mars was like speaking Klingon, “except it’ll be real.”

At the end of the lecture, Nye took questions from the enthusiastic crowd. Although he had much to say about how magnets work, the merits of bowties and why religion should be avoided in science classes, his message remained simple. “Science is the best idea humans have ever had,” Nye announced, before exiting. With it, people “can change the world.”

The After Party Cleans Up in USG Elections

Jasmine Haefner — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 00:29:26 +0000

In a land-slide victory, The After Party has won the Stony Brook University Undergraduate Student Elections. Every single position that was voted upon was won by an After Party candidate, aside from the senator of the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, the only category in which The After Party had no candidate running. From the presidency to the senators, The After Party has taken the stage.

Adil Hussain, a junior political science major on the pre-nursing track, won this presidency in a sweeping victory with 1,260 in total.

Anna Lubitz, the current USG president pulled in only 569 votes, less than some elected senators, after two semesters marred by drama revolving around the end of year concert and club budget cuts. Yiufat Lam came in last with 333 votes.

Mallory Rothstein won the executive vice presidency with 1,430 votes, more than doubling that of her competitor. Member of the Seawolves for Change party, Ryan Heslin received 603 votes.

Rothstein, a current USG Senator, was ecstatic to hear of her victory in the race of Executive Vice President. “I’m extremely grateful to those who believed in and voted for me to become the next Executive Vice President,” she said. “I am going to make sure the newly elected Senators are well-informed and start planning what Senate training will be like this summer.”

Treasurer went to Brian McIlvain with 1,355 votes. Again The After Party’s candidate more than doubled the turn out of Seawolves for Change, whose candidate, Wesley Hawkins received only 619 votes.

Vice president of academic affairs was won by Steven Adelson, vice president of student life, programming and activities by Garry Lachhar, vice president of communications and public relations by Mario Ferone and vice president of clubs and organizations by Kerri Mahoney.

Senior class representative elect, Deborah Akinboale, won by a slightly small margin again Emily Swierski. And Cierra Ray, the junior class representative elect, and Colleen Cheslak, the sophomore class representative, took their positions running unopposed.

The student activity fee was raised by less than ten dollars with a vote of 982 in favor and 892 against.

The election polls, where student could vote via their solar account, were opened on Monday, April 8 at noon and closed Friday, April 12 at noon. Even though the polls were open for an entire business week, the voter turn-out stayed relatively the same from past years, with a minimum of 2,100 votes being cast. That’s less than fifteen percent of the applicable student body voting in the election.

Meet the Candidates: VP of Academic Affairs

The Stony Brook Press — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 02:56:00 +0000

Steven Adelson
Konstantinos Plakas

Steven Adelson / Political Science and History / Freshman / 19

1. Out of all the 16,000 students on campus, what makes you the most deserving student to influence the more $3.1 million budget funded by our student activity fee?

As the Freshman Class Representative in the USG right now, I have little to no duties and responsibilities, so the opportunity to learn and understand many of the USG’s functions, as a personal desire, has been beneficial to my knowledge of the budgeting process and how funds are allocated. By my own volition, I attend Budget and Special Services Council (SSC) Senate Committee Meetings on a weekly basis. Working alongside Senators and certain Executive Council members at these meetings has allowed me to grasp a strong understanding of how the entire process of allocating funds works, and how to determine whether or not a club or organization is entitled to, or truly requires certain things that are requested.

2. What experience do you bring to the position you are running for? Why are you qualified?

I presently work with the Undergraduate Admissions Office to address the questions and concerns of the incoming freshman (Class of 2017) through social media. This experience has been enlightening in that it has allowed me to understand what academic related concerns these students have as they enter a new phase of their academic life. I hope that I have an opportunity to work with these students, and, of course, with the rest of the student body, to provide the best possible response to any and all concerns so that students will be able to experience everything that Stony Brook has to offer. One of these concerns is the lack of a centralized tutoring center on campus, where students that require assistance with coursework can immediately find it. I know that this is something the current Vice President of Academic Affairs is pursuing, and, following several conversations with the Vice President of Academic Affairs regarding the hurdles that must be overcome in order to make this possible, I hope to have an opportunity to continue this pursuit and turn it into a reality.

3. Is this your first time getting involved in USG? If so, why are you interested in getting involved? If not, why do you wish to be involved again?

I am currently the Freshman Class Representative in the USG, and also the only freshman member of the organization. During my first term of office in the USG, I have discovered so many opportunities and endeavors to explore, from improving and clarifying our Constitution to working with a committee of fellow students and administrators to create a food pantry on campus. Some of my endeavors are incomplete, in particular the establishment of a food pantry on campus, and I want to continue to represent the USG in this task, as well as undertaking new and challenging goals as the Vice President of Academic Affairs. This position has focused on the PASS tutoring program, and I hope to pursue other academic related interests, including working with professors, TAs, and graduate students to create and facilitate effective review sessions throughout the semester, in addition to in-class review.

4. What do you think is the best thing about USG and if elected, how do you plan to continue that?

From my experience thus far with the USG, I have found that there have been some thoughtful attempts at increasing interaction between the student body and the USG. One in particular has been Town Hall Meetings, where students, the USG, and administrators come together to discuss issues pertaining to Stony Brook University, and to see if common ground can be made. However, these meetings are very poorly attended, and I hope to explore alternative methods of increasing interaction between students and the USG, in addition to these meetings. For example, I would like members of the Senate and the Executive Council to hold a certain number of office hours in the lobby of the Student Activities Center (SAC), where members of the USG would be much more visible and approachable as opposed to the USG Suite on the second floor.

5. On a scale of 9-10* (10 being the highest) how successful were the past two semesters for USG?

From my personal experience with the USG, I would have to give the organization a 9.4. When you look at everything that the USG has done, there have been a number of successful events (John Oliver and Wyatt Cenac Comedy Show), as well as a number of unsuccessful ones (Hood Internet Concert). Whether or not the positives outweigh the negatives is for each student to decide, but in my opinion there have been way too many poorly attended events sponsored by the USG. The USG must consider in the planning of future events the times and dates of said events; for example, consider holding future events on weekends to increase Weekend Life, as many students, including myself, are disappointed by such a lacking. Also, I have seen too few students, other than club and organization Executive Board members, come into the USG Suite to ask questions or address concerns they have about their Stony Brook experience. I know those concerns exist, and I hope that the USG encourages that students address them to the USG with a greater passion in the future.

6. What are USG’s biggest flaws, and how do you plan to correct those? For those currently in USG, what have you done to try to correct those flaws?

One of the USG’s biggest internal flaws is a lack of clarity in its Constitution and other policies and legislation. While many of the complaints are regarding the budget process and the allocation of funds, there have also been complaints regarding how the USG itself functions. I, with several other members of the Executive Council and the Senate, created the Constitutional Reform Ad-Hoc Committee, which is dedicated to examining the USG’s Constitution and improving anything that we feel needs to be clarified or updated to better reflect the USG’s present ideology. This was a task that took nearly two months of daily effort, and we are excited to see that the students will have an opportunity to vote on this amended Constitution shortly. There are several other bylaws and policies that the USG should consider examining in the future to improve every student’s experience at Stony Brook, and I hope to spearhead some of those endeavors next year.

7. Do you think it’s right for USG to give SAB the same budget next year despite a surplus of over 100,000 for this year?

Yes, I believe that a relatively similar budget should be allocated to the SAB by the USG despite a surplus. The USG allocates funds to the SAB greater than what the expected budget is to be because there are a number of factors that could require the SAB to spend more money than it had intended. These factors include additional security and insurance costs, and requests made by performers and artists to improve the quality of their events. It is better to overestimate in this case because if the funds are required, but are unavailable, there is a likelihood that events could be canceled, and that is definitely not something us students want.

8. Do you think that putting on successful campus events should be prioritized over increasing clubs’ budgets?

I find it extremely difficult to even remotely consider prioritizing one over the other; both, if utilized to the best of everyone’s ability, provide for incredible and memorable experiences for all of us. Increasing club and organization budgets should not require that USG remove funding from the SAB, and vice versa. During the upcoming elections the students will be asked whether or not to increase the Student Activity Fee from $94.25 to $99.50. The Student Activity Fee is what funds clubs and organizations on campus, as well as allows for concerts and other performances. I strongly encourage every student to approve the new Student Activity Fee because this will allow for clubs and organizations to potentially receive a greater budget, which means that these clubs and organizations can put on larger and even more enjoyable events, while having little to no negative influence on the SAB budget for USG-sponsored events.

9. Representing the student body sometimes means taking a firm stance against administration policies. How willing are you to speak up on behalf of the student body, even when it means conflicting with administrators?

There is one thing I understood when I first became a part of the USG last semester: You can befriend the University Administration all you want, but never forget that the voice of the student body comes first; I feel that is something that has lacked considerably this past year. I will represent the student’s voice just as the USG should. Trust is a gift that should never be mishandled, but I believe at times there are people in the present USG Administration who abuse the student’s trust in them. That is not fair to any student at Stony Brook, and I too am not okay with that. I want to hear your opinions and concerns. I want to address them to the administration. And I will address your opinions and concerns until the administration is willing to work with the students, and not ignore us. *Please note we intentionally asked for a scale of 9-10.

1. Out of all the 16,000 students on campus, what makes you the most deserving student to influence the more $3.1 million budget funded by our student activity fee?

As a junior here at our fine University, I have had many opportunities to get involved in clubs and organizations that are funded by the student activity fee. As a Senator in the USG during the present academic year, I have learned the financial by laws in an attempt to communicate to clubs the best way receive funding to increase student life. I have experience running a business, so I’m familiar with balancing budgets. As V.P. of Academic Affairs, I would be in charge of a smaller portion of this budget used towards running the P.A.S.S tutoring service, which is a free tutoring service to undergraduate students. I have worked with the current V.P. from Academic Affairs to develop this budget in a manner such that it is sustainable for two full semesters, so that it may of the best possible use for students.

What experience do you bring to the position you are running for? Why are you qualified?

According to the USG code, the primary responsibility of the V.P. of Academic Affairs is to oversee P.A.S.S. tutoring. Providing the tools to students to succeed academically is something I am very passionate about. I have served as an Undergraduate College Fellow, and received formal training about teaching in a seminar style classroom. Furthermore, I am currently a tutor for general chemistry. During my time with USG, more specifically this academic year, I have chaired the academic affairs committee, which works closely with the V.P. of Academic Affairs office in USG. Through my experience, we have successfully resurrected P.A.S.S tutoring, which went bankrupt the previous academic year. We have met with, and are continuing to speak with top administrators about building a centralized tutoring center on campus. We have also met with the study abroad office to push for a cultural shift to make it easier for students to transfer credits. We plan to accomplish this by urging departments to have more faculty teach classes abroad.

3. Is this your first time getting involved in USG? If so, why are you interested in getting involved? If not, why do you wish to be involved again?

I’m choosing to get involved again, because the office of the Vice President Academic Affairs best epitomizes what I am passionate about. I am passionate about helping my fellow students do well in the classes they are struggling with. I began this journey when I ran for the chair of the academic affairs committee, and would love to continue to be able to help student as the V.P. of Academic Affairs

4. What do you think is the best thing about USG and if elected, how do you plan to continue that?

The best thing about USG is the tremendous potential that we as students have when united behind a single goal. It would be my goal to rally students and unite them under a single cause so that we may be effective in getting what we desire.

5. On a scale of 9-10* (10 being the highest) how successful were the past two semesters for USG?

The past two semesters were a solid 9.25. A lot was accomplished. The Financial and SSC by-laws were amended. Ad-Hoc committees were created to address the needs of students. And the USG Constitution was amended. However, there is always room for improvement. More specifically, if elected I would like to continue to lobby for the building of a centralized tutoring center on campus.

6. What are USG’s biggest flaws, and how do you plan to correct those? For those currently in USG, what have you done to try to correct those flaws?

The biggest flaw in USG is combating human apathy. Almost everyone, USG and student body alike will agree that there is more that USG can do to promote events. I’d like to spearhead a revolution, to work closely with the V.P. of Communications to develop a marketing strategy where current Senators and Executive Council alike activaley market and engage students to inform students about events and programs on campus.

7. Do you think it’s right for USG to give SAB the same budget next year despite a surplus of over 100,000 for this year?

This year in USG marked the beginning of a new era, the allocations act. Clubs in direct violation of the financial by-laws an SSC by-laws hand some of their excess funds taken to replenish the eradicated grant pool.

Therefore, I think it would be appropriate to take some of the excess budget from SAB, and give it back to the clubs so that they may put on events.

8. Do you think that putting on successful campus events should be prioritized over increasing clubs’ budgets?

Well, two birds can be killed with one stone if a club is granted a larger budget to put on an event. I think it should be USG’s responsibility to work with clubs to put on events. Therefore clubs can be granted larger budgets and cosponsor large events. This is a win-win situation because it would no doubt result in a proliferation of student life.

9. Representing the student body sometimes means taking a firm stance against administration policies. How willing are you to speak up on behalf of the student body, even when it means conflicting with administrators?

If there’s one thing I have learned in USG this year, it’s that it is okay to disagree with someone. I have spent a good deal of time this semester building relationships with administration. I feel that a professional approach is key when expressing an opinion that differs from administration. A large reason students efforts to effect policy in the past have been deterred, is that an unprofessional approach was taken. I am not afraid to express my opinion to anyone in a diplomatic manner.

Food for thought: Imagine the potential we at students could hold if we all worked together. United, as one. Imagine if we set aside our polarized beliefs, if only for a second, to hear what the other side offered. This is what I’m dedicated to; living a life where our political ideology won’t prevent us from accomplishing great things in our college career.

Rather than point fingers at anyone else, I’m taking responsibility to be the change I’d like to see happen.

Rather than run on a platform of unsubstantiated promises, I’m choosing to set realistic goals that I have ALREADY began to undertake for betterment of the Stony Brook University Students.

It’s evident that some people out there would prefer to bicker, point fingers at one another, and result to passive aggressive intimidation tactics to get a point across.

But not me, I’m committed to running this race as clean and as far as possible. And if this is my demise, so be it.

So if you feel you share the same sentiment, I’d appreciate your support in the USG elections. I’m here to work for you and get the job done. Not point fingers.