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Courtesy of Britannica To wrap up October, let’s shine a light on the Filipino identity. Migration from the Philippines to the United States began in the late 19th century and was the “second-largest origin country for immigrants in 1990 and throughout the first decade of the 21st century,” according to the Migration Policy Institute . Aristotele Concepcion, a senior at SUNY Buffalo State College majoring in biology and political science, said that his mother, a nurse, and his father, an engineer, moved from the Philippines to Huntley, Illinois in the early 1990s. “A bunch of my mother’s family was already near the Chicago area so I grew up with a lot of extended family,” he said. When he turned 12 years old, they moved to Oswego, New York where he attended high school and following right after, took a one-year licensed practical nursing course graduating as an LPN. Concepcion describes that being a Filipino American is like “being caught between two worlds.” “It has been a constant ba...

photo credit: Office of Academic Diversity Initiatives Cornell University website A screening of “Be Good, Make Me Proud,” winner of the 2021 Best WNY Short at the Buffalo International Film Festival, by Dorothea Braemer, an independent director and a professor of media production in the communication department, and Steve Peraza, an assistant professor in the history and social studies education department, will be held tomorrow at the Jacqueline Vito LoRusso Alumni and Visitor Center. The short film is a tribute to Arthur O. Eve , a former New York State assemblymember and deputy speaker, who started the Educational Opportunity Program at the State University of New York Buffalo State College. “He is driven, passionate, charismatic and doesn’t take no for an answer,” Braemer said in an email. “He is principled, dedicated to education and incredibly accomplished! A role model for us all!” The Arthur O. Eve EOP was established in 1967. The program provides “counseling and tutoring ...

photo credit: Cait Malilay In collaboration with WBNY , The Record met with Buffalo mayoral candidate India Walton on Oct. 17 at her campaign office to discuss her policy agendas. In the last half decade, Walton was involved in several advocacy groups, but the turning point that inspired her to run for mayor was during the pandemic when she was working as Executive Director for the Fruit Belt Community Land Trust. She couldn’t believe the phone calls she was receiving from the Fruit Belt neighborhood. Community members were reaching out saying that they were struggling with food insecurity and had no running water during the public health crisis. What also sparked Walton’s interest in running for mayor was witnessing the young generation calling for leaders to handle police misconduct during the Black Lives Matter protests. Referring to the incident involving two Buffalo police officers who shoved a 75-year-old man during a George Floyd protest, Walton said that she felt incumbent May...

photo credit: Buffalo State website Facilities Construction and Maintenance page The vice president of Finance and Management , Laura Barnum, spoke with Buffalo State The Record to respond to unanswered questions about Ketchum Hall’s degraded conditions. Barnum says that Ketchum was already on the list of priorities prior to her starting her position in 2018. In her first 90 to 180 days she conducted a risk assessment of what was needed throughout campus and discovered that there was a lot of work. “While there was a lot of good work being done in facilities and campus planning, there wasn’t a process in place to really navigate and understand across the institution of what the capital priorities were,” Barnum said. With the help of some colleagues across SUNY including Robert Haelen , the senior vice chancellor for Capital Facilities and general manager of the SUNY Construction Fund, she received guidance and helped set forth in putting a capital development board in place. “The capit...

photo credit: SUNY Buffalo State College / Facebook In a campus-wide email sent out to students Thursday evening, President Katherine Conway-Turner announced that the Tower residence hall complex will temporarily house Afghan refugees. “I’m grateful that we have the opportunity to do our part to help these individuals and families make the transition to Buffalo by providing them with a safe place to make a new start,” Conway-Turner said. The open dorm space is to house up to 100 refugees until resettlement agencies are able to find them secure housing. It’s expected that anyone 12 years old and up will be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before their arrival on campus. According to the email, the specific date of their arrival remains unclear, but Buffalo State is prepared. Buffalo State is also working with Buffalo United For Afghan Evacuees , a new coalition, made up of five local organizations, that formed last August “in response to the growing humanitarian challenge caused by the...

Bleach stain on carpet in Ketchum from cleaning crew Ketchum Hall, home to many English and Education majors, is one of the five original buildings on campus. Despite Buffalo State College’s historical reputation of being a pioneer school for education , Ketchum Hall, occupied since 1931, suffers from degraded conditions. “There are constant leaks in the basement and the rugs stay wet for a very long time,” said Natalie Szymanski, an assistant professor and director of the College Writing Program, Ph.D. “I know there’s been a problem with the water fountain downstairs and a lot of [dirty, orange] unfiltered water coming out of that.” Raquel Schmidt, the chair of the department of Exceptional Education, Ph.D, and Lisa Berglund, the chair of the department of English, Ph.D, are working together to alert the administration of the building’s issues. Schmidt pursued her undergraduate studies as a student herself in Ketchum and is saddened to see its conditions deteriorate. “No, I would not ...

Protester at Women's March at Niagara Square in Buffalo photo credit: Cait Malilay A Women’s March from Prospect Park to Niagara Square took place on Sunday at 2 p.m. in response to the Texas abortion law. This is just one of many marches nationwide after Senate Bill 8 , which bans most abortions at approximately six weeks, was signed by Gov. Greg Abbott. Most people do not know they are pregnant at this stage, nor does it grant “exceptions for rape, sexual abuse, incest, and fetal anomaly diagnoses,” according to Planned Parenthood. The event was hosted by Saumya Gilra, a University at Buffalo student studying law and political science; Chelsea Derrick; Jennifer Page, who is also known as Queen City Feminist , and Julia Stevens. “ I have always been a proud feminist as a brown woman and have been affected by many aspects of sexism,” Gilra said in an email. Helping organize this event meant a lot to Page as someone who had an abortion herself. “None of us are truly free until a...