Many Relay for Life E-Board members have a personal connection to the cause.

The American Cancer Society received support from New Paltz students when Relay for Life held their Valentine’s Kick-off Party on Thursday, Feb. 9 in the Multipurpose Room (MPR) of the Student Union (SU).

The event was held to promote how guests can become active in the Relay for Life event. David Manis, third-year general business major and co-chair of the committee, said the main event will take place on Saturday, April 21 on the Old Main Quad from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Many Relay for Life Executive board (E-board) members have a personal connection to the cause. Many of them know people who have fought cancer.

“Whether it be a family member, a teacher, or a friend, they are all doing their part to fight back against a disease that affects everyone in some way,” Manis said. “As a side note, I am a testicular cancer survivor of three years, which is my connection to cancer and the Relay event.”

Lindsay Beltz, a second-year sociology major, said she has always had a special connection to the cause.

“My family always participated in my town’s Relay for Life because we have several cancer survivors,” Beltz said. “Since I do have such a long history of cancer in my family, I wanted to work on the other side — planning rather than just participating — to try to help such a great organization.”

This semester, the club is trying to team up with other organizations through Greek Life, Residence Life and other clubs and organizations to put on fundraisers, third-year psychology and organizational communications major Sarah Sobel said.

“We will be having some team captain’s meetings where we will have food and games and hopefully have many more teams sign up for Relay,” Sobel said. “My personal goal is to raise over $25,000 and have no rain on the day of the event. I would also love to see the town get involved and maybe even the high school and middle school.”

At the Valentine’s Day party, a total of $275 was raised, bringing the organization closer to their $25,000 goal. Various groups on campus took part in the Valentine’s Day themed festivities. Campus groups Absolut A Capella, Sexy Pitches, Epic-Glee and TBA also performed for guests. Pizza was provided by Fat Bob’s Pizzeria.

“Last year we raised over $13,000. This year we really want to raise $25,000. As of Feb. 6, we have raised close to $1,800, which is a really good pace for us,” Manis said.

Donations can be made at the Relay for Life website, relayforlife.org/sunynewpaltz.

Adrienne Call is the props master.

Adrienne Call is not just a props master — she is the props master.

Third-year theater tech major Call is the only theater tech major enrolled in New Paltz with a design concentration and an emphasis in properties (props). Because she’s the only student officially studying props, Call has faced several challenges and opportunities during her years at SUNY New Paltz.

“It’s very hard,” Call said. “I feel like there are a lot of demands put on me and expectations of me because I’m the only one willing to help out with props. The fact that I like doing it makes them expect even more out of me. It makes me expect more out of me.”

Call’s job as props master includes finding, buying and procuring all props necessary for a theatrical production. Objects that fall under the category of “props” technically range from a piece of jewelry to a live stage animal. The props master’s job is lengthy and tiring, as he/she is in charge of obtaining and maintaining these objects.

Andrew Ricci, a second-year theater tech major with a concentration in stage management and lighting design, said he understands the immense pressure props masters are under and gives Call, well, her props.

“She’s very dedicated to her work and she spends a lot of time on it, even during the off-hours,” Ricci said. “It has a lot of quality to it.”

Coming to New Paltz, Call’s dilemma wasn’t that she was unsure of what she wanted to do — it was that she wanted to do it all.

“Originally, I wanted to be a scenographer: someone who designs lights, costumes and sets,” Call said. “Someone suggested I try doing props to get a taste of sets and I ended up falling in love with it because it incorporated everything.”

As props master, Call collaborates with technicians in every concentration to create a finished product. She works with set designers to establish the setup of a scene, lighting designers to determine the direction in which a prop should be placed and costume designers to decide whether a garment is considered a costume or a prop.

Over the summer, Call worked with private theater companies as their props master. During an internship last summer, she worked at an outdoor theater for a summer stock festival, which entailed constructing, building and demolishing five shows in 10 weeks.

“It was difficult,” Call said. “There were days I didn’t sleep because I was working overnight taking down a show on a Sunday and putting the next one up by Wednesday. It was crazy.”

Although that experience was tough, the fact that she didn’t give up after such a grueling schedule solidified for Call that she’s exactly where she belongs.

Ideally, after college, Call said she would like to attend graduate school. However, the obscurity of her field means that her options are very limited — there are only three props programs in the country.

Call said she would like to travel and work on shows, eventually settling down with a stable career working with props and a teaching position at a university where she can share her passion for technical theater.

However, as stressful as being one in a million is, Call said she wouldn’t trade her trade for the world.

“There were times when I’ve stayed up for two days straight working on a show, times I’ve wanted to quit and then I look at the audience and I remember exactly why I do theater,” she said.

New Paltz is competing against 11 teams this season.

The SUNY New Paltz Men’s Volleyball team started their season strong, rising above the competition in the United Volleyball Conference (UVC) East Division with a current season record of 10-2. The toughest challenge, however, will be maintaining their success.

“With volleyball, you have to minimize the fluctuations,” Co-Captain Mike Van Tyne said. “You got to keep the ups steady, and the downs minimal.”

New Paltz is part of the UVC East Division and is competing against 11 teams this season. The team will play schools such as Vassar, Nazareth and New York University. The first place winner at the conference will move on to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competition.

One of the team’s main goals for spring 2012 is to clinch the No. 1 spot at the NCAA Div. III championship, Van Tyne and fourth-year Co-Captain Kevin Stross said.

“To get there, we would have to beat some very talented teams along the way,” Stross said.

Right now, the team is working on their mental strength. Stross said the focus is to get the younger players on the “same page” as those who have been on the court longer, and to push them to play “their hardest.”

Van Tyne said the upcoming matches will be difficult, but the team is “giving everything they’ve got.” Last weekend, the team played at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, N.J.

Van Tyne said in preparation for games, the team doesn’t “cut corners” when it comes to their training schedule.

“We practice like champions so we can play like champions,” he said.

Head Coach Radu Petrus said that at past matches, especially the 3-0 win at Elmira, he saw the team put “100 percent of their skills” into the game. He said being No. 1 right now in the UVC East Division is a “great thing for us.”

This is the first time the team has been on top in their respective competing rank, according to Petrus.

He said for the upcoming matches, anything is possible. Things can move very fast, and unexpected mistakes can occur even for the best teams.

The start of the season sees the team physically active for weeks. Petrus said there is a lot of “vertical” endurance with volleyball, and it’s important to constantly be moving. He also mentioned the “jumping dynamic” as being especially important for Men’s
Volleyball.

Once the season is done, the training doesn’t stop.

“In the pre-season, we are looking to check our power and in this time, we are looking for more technical, tactical and [greater] chemistry,” Petrus said.

Van Tyne said there are 30 matches in total, with three more at New Paltz. The team is mostly on the road and those expenses are covered through the Athletic Department, including transportation and food.

This season will mark the last for both Stross and Van Tyne. Stross said  this provides them with the conviction to give the game their all.

“Like a lot of sports, volleyball is a game of runs and when we have a good run, we must maintain that streak and when we make mistakes, like all teams do, we have to rebound as quick as possible,” Stross said.

Stacey Byford is the only licensed permanent makeup artist in the Hudson Valley.

After the birth of her second child, Stacey Byford shifted from her law practice of 15 years to providing the public with everlasting flushed faces and bedroom eyes.

Byford is now a permanent makeup artist for her own business called Pretty In Ink.

She has several locations throughout New York and New Jersey and all of the equipment is portable so she can work out of her clients’ homes. However, Byford said she is proud of her new storefront which opened nine months ago.

Moving from her New Jersey living room to Plattekill Avenue in New Paltz, Pretty In Ink is one of only three board-certified permanent make up shops in New York.

According to Byford, artists must be board-certified and have studied as an apprentice to be licensed in New Jersey. Byford studied as an apprentice for a year and a half to become certified while working toward her law degree.

“In New York state you don’t have to be certified,”  Byford said.

Permanent makeup, or micro-pigmentation, is a two-part treatment process. First sterile, single-use, needles are used to tattoo the dermal layer of the skin. Then after three to four weeks clients are expected to return for the price-included touch up session. Touch ups are usually done to ensure that the lines created are symmetrical, continuous and the right shade and thickness, Byford said.

“Eighty percent of clients need touch ups two to four weeks after the initial treatment,” Byford said. “Depending on your skin’s chemistry, the makeup can last anywhere from five to 10 years.”

Byford said one of the major reasons she became interested in the makeup treatment was so she could wake up looking refreshed and awake throughout the day.

“My goal is not to create the appearance of makeup, but simply to enhance my client’s natural beauty,” Byford said.

One client who received this treatment is Bonnie Costas, owner of Costas and Tate Insurance Agency Inc.

“I had done work at another place and Stacey had to fix it,” Costas said. “I’m busy and I own my own business, so it’s great to just wake up and go out.”

Costas said Byford’s process is painless because she uses a numbing agent while at the other place she went to the pain was nearly unbearable.

Byford said the pain levels vary from person to person.

Others clients who have received this treatment have done so to replace hair that was lost due to illness or to reintroduce the proper pigment into skin.

“There are no average amounts of customers per week,” Byford said. “There are peaks and lulls and anywhere from 10 to 15 people a week.”

Pretty In Ink offers treatments in eyeliner, eyebrows, lips and beauty marks. The shop provides a range of treatments from $100 for a simple beauty mark, to $600 for a full-lip coloring. SUNY New Paltz students are offered a 25 percent discount.

Maria Jayne

Protestors are no longer allowed to occupy Hasbrouck Park.

After missing several deadlines to submit required documentation, members of the Occupy New Paltz movement have been vacated from Hasbrouck Park.

Village Board members unanimously voted to require the protesters to submit a park use permit, giving the group a deadline of Friday, Feb. 10 to leave the park that straddles Tricor and Hasbrouck Avenues if the form was not filed.

“We told them they are no different than a little league [team] or Girl Scouts when they use the park,” New Paltz Village Mayor Jason West said. “If you’re there for an extended period of time, there are liability concerns.”

The decision to require a permit came weeks after the board allowed the group to occupy the park, originally under the impression that the protest was protected under the first amendment. West said the group’s occupation was allowed on a conditional basis, but community concerns forced the board to reconsider their stance.

West said the board received complaints about residents not feeling safe in the park, also citing concerns village residents had with the nature of the Occupy movement.

“What Occupy New Paltz has done has taken a public space like Hasbrouck Park and turned it into a private space,” West said. “I have mothers who are afraid to go to the corner of the park — that’s a problem for me. It’s more important than inexperienced protesters not knowing how to choose targets and how to organize.”

Occupy New Paltz member Amanda Sisenstein said the park was used as a base of operation for organization for the movement.

“[The park] is providing a place for the disenfranchised to come together with the community and work towards making this the world we need it to be,” Sisenstein said.

Over their time in the park, Sisenstein said the group would host speakers, members would research in the library, literature would be handed out and a free library was in the works.

The decision to not fill out the required paperwork stemmed from the group’s belief that they have the right to utilize the public park under the first amendment and a cost of $600 to cover an insurance policy, Sisenstein said.

“We believe this is an unreasonable financial restriction on the first amendment,” Sisenstein said. “The tactic of occupying public space to redress grievances to the government is not a new concept.”

On Friday, West and crews from the New Paltz Public Works Department disassembled tents and separated the contents inside between personal items and trash.

After some time, Occupy members questioned West and later four people were charged with trespassing and issued court summons by New Paltz Police. Sisenstein declined to comment on the details of their case.

Both West and Sisenstien outlined their hopes for the future of the Occupy movement.

Sisenstein said the group plans to reach out to the community and is currently planning an “Occupy Education March [and] Rally” happening sometime in the next month. It will “highlight one of the many ways that misuse and diversion of tax payer money by the Federal Government trickles down to the detriment of the 99 percent.”

West said he hopes the group focuses on targets other than the Village Board as the movement progresses.

“They need to do some thinking and serious soul searching to find out what they really want, and in the meantime, it’s not the Village Board’s job to hold their hand while they do that,” West said.

For almost a year, Team Love RavenHouse Gallery has found a home in a small shop at 11 Church St.,where locals can visit an art gallery, record store and performance venue all in one place.

Team Love, the New York City independently released record label, was founded by Bright Eyes frontman Oberst and Bright Eyes Manager Nate Krenkel. Basing the label for about six years out of an apartment in the East Village, Krenkel and his wife, Cornelia “Nelly” Calder, decided to move out of the city with their kids.

Krenkel, originally from Utah, said he came to New Paltz a few times to visit the now nationally-recognized band The Felice Brothers, who are originally from the area.

“Our sound guy for Bright Eyes also lives here, so I’ve been here a few times and other than the Woodstock area, I’ve never been anywhere in the Hudson Valley,” Krenkel said. “We just came up here one day and checked it out and thought this was as good as anywhere. We decided this was also what we thought would be the best place to set up this operation.”

The team set up shop in March 2011, two years after moving to New Paltz. Krenkel said having a physical, creative space was on the top of his priority list from the beginning.

“It was like, ‘Let’s get out of the city. If we get out of the city we can do things with the label we were prohibited from, like having a larger staff and physical space.’ A creative space that wasn’t required to make a lot of money,” Krenkel said. “That was what prohibited it in the city — you could do something like this but you would need to make a lot of money, whereas here, we can set a space driven by the creative impulse, rather than the impulse to make money.”

While the back of the store is saved for management criteria with Krenkel and RavenHouse Krenkel Manager Juan Luis Carrera, Krenkle said the storefront was created in reaction to the fast-paced digital age of music. He missed the face-to-face communication between music aficionados, instead of the depersonalized online world.

The experience of visiting a “cool, local store is going away rapidly,” Krenkel said.

“It started to seem like there was an idea out there of a new space that would not necessarily be a record store that sells all the records coming out but sells music and other things,” Krenkel said. “People can go in and have this experience where people can see things, touch things, talk to real people.”

Team Love representatives said they are not  trying to compete with the other record stores in town. Instead, they want their shop to be an addition. The store has a limited selection of musicians that are either on the label, including A Weather and Tilly & the Wall, artists the label knows and bands part of RavenHouse LTD, including Modest Mouse and Monsters of Folk.

“It’s definitely a very curated set of records. You wouldn’t be looking for the new release for whatever and come in here and find it,” Krenkel said.

They also sell T-shirts of bands and of designs by local artists.

Although the label is new to the Valley, Team Love is currently in the process of completing  its first community-based album, DIE PFALZ, based on the German pronunciation of the town. The record will feature local bands, in and outside of New Paltz, including Breakfast in Fur, Shana Falana and Cycad. The record release date has recently been pushed back until spring or summer, but Krenkel said he hopes to have an album release show at a bar or venue in town.

“We want the album to be something the community itself gets excited about,”
Krenkel said.

According to Calder, the Team Love RavenHouse Gallery space also lends itself to an art gallery.

Calder said they have displayed the works of Hudson Valley artists, their friends and even some people on the label. Art is usually on display for a few months. Last year, the gallery had a diorama show, which was “a great opportunity for a community outreach,” Calder said.

“It’s such an inviting set of windows when people walk by,” Calder said. “It’s this great opportunity to draw people in and just start the conversation about Team Love and RavenHouse and what we’re doing.”

On Saturday, Feb. 11, the gallery had an opening reception for its newest exhibit, “The Monstrous Among Us: Folly | Excess | Collapse,” featuring artist Paul Spadone. The show will be running through April 20.

The Team Love RavenHouse Gallery will be featuring other artists as well, including a solo show with Breakfast in Fur’s Kaitlin Van Pelt later this year.

The Team Love RavenHouse Gallery is open Friday through Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. More information about the gallery can be found online at tl-rh.com.

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Both the Men's and Woman's Basketball teams showed their support in the fight against Breast Cancer with Think Pink Night.

The SUNY New Paltz Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams showed their support in the battle against breast cancer by hosting Think Pink Night on Friday, Feb. 10.

The first in a doubleheader contest against rival SUNY Cortland, the Women’s team took to the courts with a 73-62 victory, sporting pink shirts as visual representation for the cause.

“Think Pink is a great way to spread awareness for breast cancer,” fourth-year Co-Captain Kaitlin Clifford said. “It is also a good way to fundraise for the cause and get the campus and community involved.”

The Think Pink Foundation, according to their website thinkpink.org, is a volunteer-based, independently run charity focused on raising funds to provide financial and emotional support to breast cancer
patients.

“My aunt had breast cancer that was removed at an early stage,” Clifford said. “Every summer she organizes a walk in Breezy Point, N.Y. called ‘The Sunset Walk’ where all the donations go to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.”

Think Pink distinguishes itself by focusing its efforts on direct financial support for patients in the midst of their journeys, the website said.

“Personally, no, I do not have any personal ties that sway my judgment,” fourth-year Co-Captain Caitlin Irwin said. “But there are so many women in this country that are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. I am lucky enough to help raise awareness for those in need.”

According to a report done by the American Cancer Society, about 1.3 million women will be diagnosed with breast cancer annually worldwide, with approximately 465,000 dying from the disease.

“The WBCA (Women’s Basketball Coaching Association) started promoting Think Pink several years ago,” Women’s Basketball Head Coach Jamie Seward said. “They basically designate a week that every Women’s Basketball team in America will have some type of event at their respective school.”

Seward said the crowd on Think Pink Night is comprised of both students and members of the New Paltz community.

“People take pride in representing,” Men’s Basketball Head Coach Team Mike Rejniak said. “There are more people in the stands because of the benefit behind the game.”

The Men’s Basketball team was defeated by SUNY Cortland in a 69-60 SUNYAC match up. The team was not discouraged and demonstrated its support for the cause by wearing pink shoelaces during the game.

Wellness & Recreation was able to raise $529.75 for the Komen Foundation by selling Think Pink T-shirts and raffle tickets during the event.

“There really is no ceiling to what can be done,” Rejniak said. “It is the sense of self-pride, with no personal recognition, that makes practicing and coaching for this game less of a job and more of a privilege.”

The Woman in Black - Directed by James Watkins

Daniel Radcliffe may not be wearing circular glasses or Gryffindor robes in “The Woman in Black,” but it’s hard to see the actor as anyone but Harry Potter. Shots of trains rumbling along the English countryside and of Radcliffe (playing the widowed solicitor Arthur Kipps) wandering through dark corridors in the middle of the night practically beg theater-goers to yell “Lumos!” and the like.

But Kipps doesn’t have Potter’s power — neither the magic, nor the strength of will. Kipps is a lawyer who is about to lose his job. He is in a seemingly eternal state of mourning since the death of his wife during childbirth. He is alone and vulnerable and Director James Watkins doesn’t let you forget it. Kipps is the ideal lead for a horror film that doesn’t break any new ground, but instead does old-school scary justice on screen for the first time in too long.

Based on a 1983 novel by Susan Hill, “The Woman in Black” covers all of the period-style fright film bases. A protagonist with a tortured past? Got it. A haunted house secluded from society? It’s there.  Psychotic breaks? They happened. Dead kids? Everywhere. British accents? All over this.

But it’s the things lurking in the corners — and those that are mysteriously missing — in each scene that keep tension high. Like the toys — those dirty, cracked, circus-inspired dolls whose demonic dead-eyes seem more emotive than some of Radcliffe’s supporting cast. They have just enough upturned smiles, though, to make the figurines in “The Woman in Black” seem
different.

The story’s villain — the ghost of a psychotic woman whose son was taken from her by her own sister before he sank and died in the muck of a monstrous marsh —— is also not overly original. Her scariness lies in her mystery. She only appears through the cracks of the doors of the house that Kipps is appraising (or something of that nature)…and when she reenacts her own suicide.

The character and the way she was handled was married to the “less is more” cliché, but there is nothing wrong with that.

The storyline is mostly forgettable, and conversations were kept to a minimum. But it was the silent scenes are the ones that shined through all of the blacks, grays and deep, earthy browns of “The Woman in Black.”

This is a movie about images, and it’s hard to call a 10-year-old girl lighting herself on fire anything but terrifying.

3 stars

The various discussion groups Christian has organized for students, faculty and staff prove he is dedicated to being a more open and transparent president — and the campus community should seize any chance to bring their concerns to his attention.

After attending a training session for new presidents, Christian decided to start a program in residence halls that he is calling “Hot Chocolate and Hot Topics.” Over the course of the semester, the president is inviting students in each building to bring whatever topic they wish to his attention in an open discussion. The first few sessions in Crispell and Gage Halls revealed that Christian isn’t taking any items off the table. From complaints about advising to questions about course availabilty, Christian has listened to what the 60 or so students who turned out for the program had to say without directing them to someone else.

This program is not the only one of its kind. Christian also developed a student advisory group last semester, comprised of all types of athletes, commuters, undergraduates, graduates and more, to become more in touch with the wants and needs of the entire campus community. His choice to include students who are in different positions on campus was an important change in the way the office of the president relates to students. Christian no longer only hears from elected Student Association (SA) officials: he examines concerns more directly.

We hope that students raising issues “Hot Chocolate and Hot Topics” session and at meetings of Christian’s advisory group will justify initiatives undertaken by student government officials and help convince administrators to cooperatively assist them with different projects.

This wish may already becoming true, in relation to students’ dissatisfaction with academic advising. SA Vice President of Academic Affairs and Governance Ayanna Thomas said she is working on an evaluation for faculty advisors. Considering this, his own personal experience as an advisor and the concerns he has heard from students this far, Christian said he thinks this would be a great project. His support of this kind of change introduced by students reflects that administrators will care what we have to say.

Christian and other college officials can only listen to what we have to say, though, if we aren’t telling them what is one our minds. We at The New Paltz Oracle encourage all students to take advantage of the opportunities our president is presenting us with to talk to him. We should not complain that we are being closed out of classes or that our advising is poor in hindsight when we had the chance to tell the school’s top official that things need to change. About 60 students attended the first “Hot Chocolate and Hot Topics” session, but many more live in the residence hall. We need to be active members of conversations about the direction this university is heading.

While the president proved he wants to get students talking, we hope Christian will do more than just listen. We want him to act. Discourse is only valuable when it produces tangible change. Christian should take serious note of what students have to say to him so he can introduce policies that meet their needs.

If Christian and the student body take these discussions seriously, Christian could be recognized anywhere on campus as both the president and a catalyst for change.

Christian said he will be visiting each residence hall over the course of the semester.

SUNY New Paltz President Donald Christian met with students on Feb. 13 to discuss ways to improve the quality of campus life.

Christian visited Gage Hall on Monday night to meet with students and let them voice their concerns about issues such as course availability, construction and possibilities of not graduating on time.

Christian said he will be visiting each residence hall over the course of the semester. Christian first visited Crispell Hall two weeks ago. There was a turn-out of “at least” 50 to 60 students, as opposed to the turn-out of only 30 students on Monday evening.

“We talked about topics all across the map,” Christian said. “We talked about course availability issues, course scheduling, those conversations confirmed for me some of the issues we are aware of and are trying to address. I heard about advising, the value of living in residence halls and insightful observations from students about living in a freshmen style residence hall that doesn’t have suites.”

Christian said while he was interim president last year, he and other administrative members tried to come up with ways to better understand the needs of the student body.

“We talked last year when I was interim president, about how a new president can stay in touch with students and how to do that in the best way,” Christian said. “One of the things I did is form a student advisory group to the president that has been very, very useful for me and useful for the students involved in that.”

The first topic of discussion on Monday was the construction planned to happen over the course of the next five years. Christian talked to students about the future renovations in Wooster Science Building and the plans for a new science building and residence hall.

The new residence hall will be built on the parking lot between Lenape and the Athletic & Wellness Center. The school plans to replace the parking lot with a new one on the tennis courts behind Lenape.

After the talk about construction, students asked about how this will affect the budget cuts from last year. Christian said the money for the new buildings and renovations would not affect the positions of teachers and course availability.

At the end of the discussion, students brought up the hostage incident on Feb. 7 in Deyo Hall. Students raised concerns as to whether the incident will change the way room searches will be conducted and why they didn’t receive emails earlier in the day.

“Student privacy is a very big concern for us,” Christian said. “We don’t want to have to make students and the residence halls uncomfortable with one another.”

At the end of the night, Christian stayed to talk with students on a more personal level, which impressed third-year English and Women’s Studies major Jasmine Shovlin.

“I think it’s great that the president of the campus is making himself so available to the students,” Shovlin said. “It’s really important for students to come out and meet the president, and it’s even more important for them to come out and hear what he has to say.”