by
Sasha, Class of 2012
Growing up has always been something that to an extent has scared me. But now I’m within weeks from graduating college. It’s a far cry from when I first applied to Potsdam in 2008. It’s just very mind boggling. For those incoming freshman out there, all I can say is that your college years will go by fast. I couldn’t have imagined seeing myself here just four years ago, and yet, here I am in April 2012, a month and a half from Commencement. The finish line is so close. And I have been busy, with two significant papers and a plethora of other work to get done which has made me slightly stressed out. I wish graduating wasn’t so complicated! But I’ll get through it, just as I have the last three years.
It was another full schedule this week for the Bears’ lacrosse, and softball teams.
Women’s Lacrosse
The SUNY Potsdam women’s lacrosse team got four goals each from senior attack Maribeth Simmons and freshman Margaret Wall to earn a 12-11 SUNYAC victory over visiting Oswego State on a rainy afternoon. Wall put the Bears up 1-0 just 58 seconds into the contest. Oswego erased the lead with three straight goals from three different Lakers to make it a 3-1 contest at 22:05. Potsdam countered with two from Simmons sandwiched around one from Wall to regain a one-goal advantage at 14:05. Two minutes later Cummings set up senior attack Rachael Raffa and followed with her first of the contest to give Oswego a 5-4 lead. After back and forth scoring over the next nine minutes, Cummings notched her second of the contest to give the Lakers a 7-6 advantage, their last of the contest. Wall gave Potsdam the lead again at 1:05 of the first half with two goals in 38 seconds. The Bears took the 8-7 advantage into the break. Senior captain Whitney Boshart made it 9-7 44 seconds into the second half and Oswego played catch up the rest of the contest. Kumza scored at 28:32, but senior captain Aubrey Macintosh made it 10-8 five minutes later. Cummings buried her third at 17:07 and Kumza followed with a free position goal at 15:22 to tie the score at 10-10. Simmons notched her fourth at 11:16 and senior attack Sierra Langkammerer scored the eventual game-winner at 9:27. With 4:31 left, Laker sophomore midfielder Candace Tarana again pulled Oswego to within one. After a Potsdam turnover with under a minute to go, Laker sophomore midfielder Kaila Curatalo sprinted down the field for one last chance. However, Bears junior defender Brittany Coffey knocked the ball from her stick, Potsdam recovered and ran out the clock. On Saturday, the Bears came up short at home against Fredonia 19-10.
Men’s Lacrosse
The SUNY Potsdam men’s lacrosse team had a rough week, losing games at Oswego 8-6 on Wednesday and 14-11 at home against Oneonta. Against the Red Dragons, Oneonta State scored the final seven goals of the game to rally the Bears. Sophomore attackman Daniel Stern had a six points (4g, 2a) to lead the Red Dragons and Bears sophomore attackman Rob Kunz matched him with three goals and three assists. Kunz played a part in four of Potsdam’s first five goals. He set up freshman attackman John Hawk for a man-up goal at 9:39. Sophomore attackman Kevin Logan made it 2-0 two minutes later. Kunz scored the next two himself at 6:01 and 5:08 to make it 4-0 Bears. Stern answered with two of his own over the next four minutes to cut the lead in half, the second coming with just 17 seconds on the clock. The Red Dragons trailed just 5-3 after the first 15 minutes. Just 22 seconds into the second quarter, Oneonta midfielder Tyler Jennings closed the gap to 5-4. However, Potsdam regained its four-goal advantage with markers from junior midfielder Pat Morrill, sophomore midfielder Jared Flath and Kunz over the next eight minutes. Red Dragon junior midfielder Alex Haffner and Stern netted the final two goals of the half and Oneonta trailed just 8-6 at the break. The Bears started strong in the third quarter, scoring three of the first four goals. Senior attack Peter Pike struck twice and Nicholas netted the third to give Potsdam an 11-7 advantage at 5:34. It was all Red Dragons after that. Oneonta scored the final four goals of the third period, including the tying goal from sophomore Joey Finnegan midfielder with just eight seconds left. Stern scored the eventual game winner 36 seconds into the final quarter.
Softball
The SUNY Potsdam softball team (9-15, 2-8 SUNYAC) took game one of their doubleheader against SUNY Brockport 5-1 but couldn’t figure out the Golden Eagles starter in the second game. In the opener, Brittany Pawlowski threw a complete game and allowed only five hits while hitting a pivotal double that scored two insurance runs in the fifth inning. The Golden Eagles (18-8, 3-5) only tally of the game came in the top of the first inning on an unearned run. The Bears answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning after Potsdam’s first two runners reached base. Sophomore Ashley Thayer hit a fly ball to left field that hit off the glove of Brockport’s outfielder and dropped, scoring both runners. Potsdam would score a single run in the third inning on another Brockport error and added the double scoring two from Pawlowski to pull away 5-1. Freshman Sami Brown went 3-for-3 and scored three runs to lead the Bears offense. In the second game, Potsdam was overmatched by pitcher Erin Fleming who improved to 6-1 on the season. Fleming tossed a complete game shutout and allowed only four hits while striking out three. Brockport scored runs in the first and second innings and broke the game open with a three run fourth. They would add two more later and take the game 7-0. Emily Dumas hit a double and finished 2-for-3 with three RBI’s while Melissa Martin chipped in three hits. Thayer took the loss on the mound and fell to 6-8 on the season. Fredonia swept the Bears on the following afternoon.
Performers of the Week
Rob Kunz is the Bears Male Performer of the Week. Kunz scored three goals and added three assists in Potsdam’s loss to Oneonta and then added two points (1 g, 1 a) against Oswego.
Senior attackman Maribeth Simmons is the Bears Female Performer of the Week. Simmons three goals against Fredonia made her just the fifth Bear to reach 100 points (78 g, 22 a) in her career and followed that with a four goal game against Oswego St.
Weekly Preview
The men’s lacrosse team (5-5, 1-2 SUNYAC) hosts Plattsburgh on Wednesday at 4 p.m. and then go to Geneseo on 1 p.m. on Saturday.
The women’s lacrosse team (4-8, 1-4 SUNYAC) travels to Cortland for a 4 p.m. game on Tuesday afternoon and then head to Buffalo St. on Saturday at 1 p.m.
The softball team (9-17, 2-10 SUNYAC) hosts SUNY Canton on Monday afternoon at 3 p.m. before hitting the road for a conference weekend. The Bears go to Cortland on Friday at 3 p.m. and Oswego on Saturday.
Women’s Lacrosse
Oneonta State got eight goals and an assist from senior attack Rebecca Monteith and four goals from junior attack Caroline Tulley to defeat the SUNY Potsdam women’s lacrosse team 17-11 at Maxcy Turf Field Tuesday afternoon. Senior captain Whitney Boshart and freshman midfielder Margaret Wall each had a three goals and one assist to lead the Bears. Potsdam started quickly in the first half. After a Red Dragon turnover, Wall fed Boshart to put the Bears up 1-0 just 1:05 into the game. Monteith answered four minutes later to knot the score at 1-1. Senior attack Maribeth Simons scored the next two to put Potsdam back in front 3-1 at 21:08. After Tulley and freshman attack Nicole Boylan tied the game again, Bears junior attack Denise Johns struck twice to give Potsdam a 5-3 advantage with 7:49 left in the half. The Red Dragons closed the half with a 4-0 run, including two more from Monteith, to take a 7-5 lead into the break. Tulley made it 8-5 just 49 seconds into the second half. Twice Potsdam closed to within a goal with three of the next four markers. Wall scored her second at 20:51 make it a 9-8 Oneonta lead, but Potsdam couldn’t get closer. The Red Dragons seized control of the contest with an 8-3 run. Monteith scored five times during the stretch to put the game out of reach. On Saturday, Geneseo defeated Potsdam 22-9.
Men’s Lacrosse
The SUNY Potsdam men’s lacrosse team scored two goals in the final 3:17 to defeat Brockport 10-9 in its SUNYAC opener on the road Saturday afternoon. Juniors Pat Morrill and Ryan Paparella each scored three goals for the Bears. The teams traded goals and leads over the first two quarters. Paparella struck with an assist from sophomore attack Rob Kunz at 3:38 of the first quarter to open the scoring. Golden Eagle Austin Riley put Brockport up 2-1 with markers at 1:38 of the first quarter and 14:00 of the second. Morrill knotted the score at 2-2 at the 7:40 mark and the count was unchanged at the break. In the third quarter, the offense picked up, but neither team was able to pull away. The Golden Eagles scored three goals, but Potsdam countered each one with a goal from Morrill, two from Paparella and a man-up tally from freshman midfielder John Hawk for a 6-5 advantage after 45 minutes. The teams alternated the first four goals of the final quarter, including strikes from junior attack Kyle Nicholas and Morrill, to keep Potsdam up 8-7. However, Matt Andon-McLane and Alex Austin scored 37 seconds apart to put Brockport back in front 9-8 with 4:59 left. Again, Nicholas answered for the Bears with an assist from sophomore midfielder Jared Flath to tie the score with 3:17 left. Freshman midfielder Dave Kunz won the next faceoff and fed Flath who found senior attack Peter Pike for the game-winner with 2:27 left. Brockport had four shots in the final 49 seconds, but each sailed wide of the Bears net. Prior to that contest, the Bears fell at Clarkson 13-8 on Wednesday.
Softball
The SUNY Potsdam team played their first home games of the season last week. The Bears were defeated in the home opener against St. Lawrence by scores of 9-4 and 5-1 on Tuesday afternoon. Potsdam returned to action on Friday against New Paltz and were swept 8-4 and 15-4. In their final action of the week, Potsdam took on Oneonta at Maxcy Hall and came up short. The Bears held an 8-6 lead going into the sixth inning of the first game of the doubleheader. However, the Red Dragons would rally to score three runs in the inning and take a 9-8 lead. The Bears had the tying run on third base with two outs but sophomore Ashley Thayer was robbed of a base hit and thrown out at first base to end the game. In the following game, Oneonta came away with a 4-2 victory.
Performers of the Week
Junior midfielder Pat Morrill is the Bears Male Performer of the Week. Morrill scored two goals in a loss at Clarkson and followed that up with a three-goal performance in a 10-9 win over Brockport.
Senior infielder Katie Nawrot is the Bears Female Performer of the Week. Nawrot entered the week with one career home run but blasted long balls against New Paltz and Oneonta. Both homers cleared the left field fence and were two-run shots.
Weekly Preview
The men’s lacrosse team (5-3, 1-0 SUNYAC) hits the road for a game at Oswego on Wednesday at 4 p.m. and then returns home for Saturday’s contest at 2 p.m. against Oneonta.
The women’s lacrosse team (3-7, 0-3 SUNYAC) hosts Oswego on Tuesday at 4 p.m. and then Fredonia at 11 a.m. on Saturday.
The softball team (8-14, 1-7 SUNYAC) has a full schedule of home games. On Tuesday, the Bears take on crosstown rival SUNY Canton at 2 p.m. and then SUNYIT on Wednesday at 3:30. Brockport comes to town on Friday at 3 p.m. and then Potsdam wraps up the home portion of their schedule on Saturday against Geneseo at noon.
by
Vince, Class of 2013
Nearly five weeks into the semester and what a busy one it’s been! I’ve piled on three literature classes to cap off my major requirements and am taking a speaking course. They all are challenging work and certainly are flexing those brain muscles. I’m also enrolled in a graduate course that deals with book history and researching in literary archives. The course work is completely self-initiated, the class meets once a week, and I have to read an assigned novel by every class meeting. Even though it seems like a lot, because it sure is, I love it! For fun this semester I’ve been hitting up the bouldering cave and I’m in the process of starting up an all vinyl radio program at the station. Speaking of, Potsdam’s very own campus radio station is up for an MTV Woodie award! We’re in the final running with other collegiate radio stations and are up against universities like Depaul, Pittsburgh, Washington State, and Kansas State. It took plenty of votes to get us into this final list! Winning this award could get us national media recognition and it has been an honor to even be nominated. The winner will be announced on March 15th. So now with midterms out of the way, I’m enjoying some down time on my break.
by
Vincent, Class of 2013
The semester kicked up last month and it’s certainly been a rush since getting back. I’m taking four courses this semester, two less than in the fall, and one of those classes is a graduate course in book history for the honors program I’m part of. Potsdam undergraduates who are invited to enroll in a departmental honors program are allowed to take two graduate courses in their junior and senior year. It’s quite a bit of work and most of it is self-initiated research. Graduate courses usually meet once a week and are in smaller classrooms with plenty of forum type discussion. In just the second week of the class, I had four books out of the library for my research topic along with a novel to read by the following week. Believe it or not, I’m enjoying it! Once you get moving up to the higher division courses the work becomes more specialized.
I still have some down time though. I’ve been rock climbing to ease stress, spinning vinyl at the radio station, and today I was able to go out to Birchbark bookstore on the outskirts of town. What an awesome place! It’s roughly five minutes of driving through the scenic North Country and the whole store is in a converted barn. There are over 55,000 books throughout the store with something for bookworms and casual readers alike. I found the poetry and philosophy section to be my favorite, even scoped out a few first edition books to buy when I head back up there again. There was also a large young adult and fantasy book section to browse in and an entire floor devoted to old magazines. If you find yourself up here for a visit, Birchbark is a must-see! There is also a satellite storefront located above ACE Hardware in town.
Birchbark Bookstore
by
Tanasia, Class of 2013
This weekend was amazing! Things didn’t go as planned, but I am happy it went as it it did. Every Spring semester we have an event called Bear Pride Night. The day is all about showing your school spirit at our athletic games. Not only was I looking forward to Bear Pride, but I wanted to really get into the spirit by painting my face. But as luck would have it, earlier in the week a student from neighboring Clarkson University came to my class and talked about a program called Reachout here in Potsdam. Reachout is a crisis hotline that serves Saint Lawrence County as well as anyone in need. The program has been running for many years and is sustained through volunteers that work the hotline. They were in need of new faces and training would be all weekend. I love helping people and this opportunity sounded perfect for me. I decided to apply and that Tuesday I had my interview with a callback on Thursday. I was excited and ready for this new challenge. Yet it was bittersweet because I wouldn’t get to see my Bears play on Bear Pride Night.
Over the course of training I learned so much about myself as well as basic skills to help others. One word popped up multiple times. That word was LISTEN. Listening is of course one of our senses that comes natural to us. However we forget to actively listen. In the time I have been here at Potsdam I have received many trainings, but this training was the most effective in getting many concepts to stay with me.
I believe that when you give back to your community you give to yourself. I got the chance to meet some of the nicest people here at Potsdam as well as some students came from Clarkson University and Saint Lawrence University. All of us came from a different background and walk of life, but came together to help others.
by
Tanasia, Class of 2013
The beginning of the semester is always bitter sweet. On one hand I’m sad to leave my family and the leisure time I have. On the other hand I am happy to learn, be with friends and get back on campus. Thankfully my sleeping patterns are not an issue for me this semester, but time management is definitely an obstacle. I am enrolled in 21 credits this semester that consist of 6 classes and a training course to become a Wellness Advocate. Wellness Advocates are students who are trained by Potsdam’s counseling center to be peer counselors. Most students tend to take on average 12 – 15 credits. However, some like me complete one major and decide late in the game to add another one. Balance is a must in being successful with my hectic schedule. Too much of anything could be bad so I make sure to do some of the things I love and get involved on campus. I will be an active member in Voices of Victory which is one of the clubs we have on campus that focuses on Gospel performance. I am also a Zumba instructor which gives me a break from the books to have a fitness dance party three times a week. Deep breaths & positive thoughts get me through every time 
Cheers to a new semester!
by
Becky, Class of 2014
This winter break was hardly a break at all for me. After 2 weeks of being “home” after finals (which was really more running around to various holiday events than relaxing), I was off to France! I took part in a Winterim travel course that was offered through SUNY Potsdam with 5 other students and Madame Philibert for language emersion and culture. We spent our time traveling all over France and got so much more than any of us were anticipating.
Our trip began in Paris, where we all walked off a very long 8 hour flight into the early morning, completely exhausted. There was no rest right from the start, as we didn’t get to rest at the hotel until 4pm that evening. The five days in Paris went by in a jam-packed blur of sights including Notre Dame Cathedral, the Eiffel Tour, the Louve, Versailles, and so many more. It seemed to fly by since we were so busy, and before we knew it, we were boarding the train toward Marseilles!
Marseille is a beautiful city in the south of France. We spent the day there and could immediately breathe a sigh of relief for being out of the quick pace of Paris and into a more relaxed environment. As much as we loved our day in Marseille, it ended far too quickly as we jumped aboard a ship that night to go to Corsica, an island in the Mediterranean Sea close to both France and Italy. Our night on the boat was a little crazy, but we’ll leave it at that.
The next three days were spread across Corsica between the cities of Ajaccio, Corte, and Bastia. Ajaccio was my favorite city in Corsica because of the beautiful scenery and laid back lifestyle. While there, some of us took a nap in the sunshine next to the Mediterranean, which certainly set the bar for future naps at an impossibly high level. Corte was an old mountain town, and Bastia was another Oceanside city. Everyone we met in Corsica was so friendly and kind, but it was sometimes difficult to understand them because their accents are very different. We saw a lot of museums while in Corsica and learned a lot about the cultural differences between the island and the mainland.
Finally, it was time to head to our final destination: Nice! I felt completely at home from the second we arrived. We continued with our evening school lessons and daily cultural field trips as we had done through all the trip, but the time slowed down and we were allowed a lot more free time. By then, we had changed from 6 strangers into a little family. We lived out each day as long as we could, because none of us wanted it to end. I learned so much about the language, the culture and myself in the last two weeks, and met people that I will never, ever forget. I’m already trying to figure out a way to go back! Having even a short study abroad program is something I am so grateful for and suggest to all students before you graduate. It’ll be worth it and then some!
Ajaccio
Eiffel Tower
Nice
Palace at Versailles
by
Vince, Class of 2013
This winterim session I got to do an internship through the office of career planning at the Maine Historical Society. They had me working down in technical services with the society’s head archivist and I was responsible for re-housing estate documents sent to us from a law firm. The final product was placed into their collections database and the boxes are now among the stacks of other documents from Maine’s history. The internship also had me working with digital databases occasionally and I was able to sit in on administrative meetings. I really enjoyed the work I did in the archives and it put my post-graduate plans into focus. From my experiences and mentoring at the society I plan on applying to graduate programs in librarian science in the up and coming school year. Potsdam certainly makes it possible to get an internship no matter what your degree is, you’ll even get credit in most cases. Check out the office of career planning sophomore year if you’re interested in an internship opportunity.
The Collection
by
Vincent, Class of 2013
With two final papers down and three exams to go, there’s always room for a quick bouldering session to ease some tension from the week. Potsdam makes an effort to help students stay focused and relaxed during finals. The college put on a relaxation clinic with oxygen bars, yoga, chill out music, food, and other ways to just sit around for an hour and detox. SES also had a study night at Hurley’s nightclub and most of the on-campus organizations made their weekly meetings casual, fun, and stress relieving for members. Circle K had a cookie baking and charades night last Wednesday that really gave me some down time to de-stress over my finals. I also have another place to turn to when I get the finals week jitters, our campus’ bouldering cave in Maxcy Hall. Bouldering is unlike giant belay-style wall climbing because you’re only about eight feet off the ground and there are no ropes involved. It’s a great upper body workout and has the element of problem solving while swinging from hold to hold. There are routes a climber can stick to, denoted by multi-colored tape, or you can freestyle climb like I do in the picture below. After a good climb it feels great to go back to the books, ready to tackle those finals with ease, and finish up the semester on a positive note. I’m itching to get home for the holidays, but there’s still work to be done!
Vince bouldering in Maxcy Field House