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CELEBRATING 100 YEARS 1916—2016 DANES WHY WE WRAP UP RAISED HISTORIC STUDENT SEASON ACTIVITY PAGE 10 FEE PAGE 4 ALBANY STUDENT PRESS TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2016 ISSUE 10 ALBANYSTUDENTPRESS.NET SUSTAINABILITY Campus PACK THE COURT Energy Push Continues By ILLENE ROTHMAN he University at Albany’s Office of Sustainability has spent the past Tsemester collaborating with the campus community to ensure elements of green construction are being implemented into the new campus center. The tenth annual UAlbany Energy Campaign was a collaborative effort between the Office of Sustainability, students, faculty, and the Office of Facilities Management, before concluding on Nov. 13. The ten-week sustainability initiative challenged students and faculty to reduce their energy use on campus. Residence halls, academic buildings, and specialty buildings that had the greatest reduction of energy compared to the campaign numbers from last year were awarded for their contributions. For Cassidy Drasser, assistant director of Sustainability, the most memorable moment D Trae Carter / Albany Student Press of the Energy Campaign was the kickoff Above/below: Large crowds of activists gathered to protest the arrest of the girls involved in last year’s CDTA bus incident. event held on Sept. 7, on the podium. “We tried something new this year by having a Climate Justice Tree, which asked By JULIAN ALBAN the question, “What do you love and hope [It] will to never lose to climate chaos?” Drasser Community support for influence said. Asha Burwell and Ariel how the com- One of the goals of this year’s energy Agudio, the defendants in the campaign was to instill a personal infamous University at Albany munity and ‘the connection among students to climate bus incident case, has reached “system’ respond change. At the kickoff event, participants an all-time high. to future incidents recorded on a ribbon anything they hoped A collection of Capital Please see ENERGY page 8 District activists such as Black of racism and sex- Lives Matter Upstate New ism.” York and the Capital Area Against Mass Incarceration — MAKERS OF STUDENT ASSOCIATION have started to organize and “INDEFENSIBLE” protest what they believe to be troubling discrepancies in the downtown and eventually an prosecution of former UAlbany argument brewed after another 5, the three were brought up on Burwell have organized online, students, Burwell and Agudio. college student began singing a myriad of criminal charges often through the hashtag The now infamous UAlbany loudly on the bus. This soon including third degree assault #defendblackgirlsUAlbany. SA hikes and having falsely reported The common consensus among bus incident occurred in the grew into a violent altercation activists is that the charges early morning of Jan. 30 around in which Burwell, Briggs, and an incident. Briggs eventually brought against Agudio and 1 a.m. Burwell, Agudio, and Agudio claimed to be on the entered a plea deal while Burwell are racially motivated their friend Alexis Briggs receiving end of numerous Agudio and Burwell plead not and that much of the Activity entered CDTA 11 bus after racial slurs and taunts. guilty. Fee by $10 visiting a friend’s apartment A few weeks later, on Feb. Supporters of Agudio and Please see COURT page 3 By TYLER MCNEIL CAMPUS ACTIVISM Full-time students will pay $10 more next semester after the Student Association senate -- in a decision met with praise, scorn, and confusion -- raised the three-year UAlbany Supports AIDS Day steady student activity fee. In a 26-13-4 vote, senators moved By ZARA AHMAD to increase the fee from $100 to $110. Parenthood recognized the day by Responding to concerns over student hosting a condom crawl, where group funding and programming, the new In observance of World they passed out a tote bag filled legislation aims to add $260,000 in revenue AIDS Day on Thursday, various with various forms of condoms per academic year to the current $2.5 University at Albany student and pamphlets warning students million SA budget. groups came together to support about the risks that come with Co-sponsoring the proposal, Austin putting an end to the epidemic. unprotected sex, such as STDs. Ostro, senate vice chair, described the World AIDS Day was created In the beginning of November, increase as the only solution to heal funding to support those who are living Project Shape hosted an AIDS restraints. with HIV, remember those who carnival, so as not to conflict Morgan Knudtsen, SA Supreme Court have passed away, and bring with finals and be a way for more Justice, mentioned increasing the price of recognition to this health issue. students to be able to attend. admission to SA events such as Parkfest as Two groups, the campus chapter Activities included Nerf an alternative solution to collecting revenue. of Planned Parenthood Generation basketball, bean bag toss games, Raising event prices would provide fewer Action and Project Shape, were and many others where students opportunities for students, Ostro responded. seen throughout the campus on would also be asked HIV/AIDS related questions and win free After eight months of development, the Thursday and throughout the Nicole Carvalho / Albany Student Press prizes worth $900. proposal, sent out earlier last week, caught month of November educating some SA members by surprise. Members of Planned Parenthood Generation Action Project Shape organizes students on HIV and AIDS. “You might take issue with the way at UAlbany prepare tote bags with condoms and safe various events such as this Please see FEE page 8 sex tips to distribute during World AIDS Day. Members of Planned Please see AIDS page 8 PRINTED BY THE TIMES UNION, ALBANY, NEW YORK — A HEARST CORPORATION NEWSPAPER EDITOR: STEFAN LEMBO-STOLBA TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2016 2 [email protected] NEWS ALBANY STUDENT PRESS BYSTANDER TRAINING ALBANY PROTESTS DAPL By JASMINE MILLNER South Dakota, Iowa, and Illinois, extending about 1,172 miles. The pipeline would start People took to the streets of downtown at the Bakken Formation in North Dakota, Albany to protest the construction of the which is a massive oil deposit, and transport Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota. crude oil through the other three states. The protest began under The Egg, a The North Dakota Access Pipeline is performance arts venue located on the Empire expected to transport upwards of 470,000 State Plaza Concourse, where protesters barrels of crude oil every day. Initially handed out flyers and rallied together before the pipeline was supposed to cut through they marched with their signs held high. The Bismarck, the capital of North Dakota. After protest began on Nov. 22 at 11:30 a.m. and complaints from the citizens of Bismarck, ended shortly after 2:00 p.m. ironically, for fear of it contaminating their All together there were roughly 200 water supply, the pipeline was rerouted. protestors of all races and ages who came This reroute has caused the pipeline out to show their solidarity with the Sioux to cut through Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and the “protectors” of Standing Rock. Tribe’s territory. The pipeline will also be A group of children walked through the constructed under the Missouri River, which basement holding a banner and chanting, “we is the Sioux Tribe’s main water source. The can’t drink water,” which was echoed by their construction was approved by the US Army fellow protesters. Corps of Engineers and has since been met The protestors were escorted from The by constant protests. Environmentalists and Egg to TD Bank, who has been helping to human rights activists across the nation are fund the pipeline’s construction, by police now joining in the protest and standing with officers on horseback. In the pouring rain, Standing Rock. protesters continued to chant and march until According to the Energy Transfer’s they reached the front doors of the bank. website, “underground pipelines are the safest A few signs from the protest included, mode of transporting crude oil.” They argue “Honor all treaties,” “People over profit,” that one positive aspect of the construction and “Water is life.” Others held signs with of the pipeline is that it would reduce the facts regarding previous pipeline accidents United States’ dependency on foreign oil. and signs in opposition to fracking. The Dakota Access Pipeline would also Representatives from the group went into the decrease the need to transport crude oil by bank and informed the bank as to why they train, thus freeing trains for transportation of were protesting. other materials. The protesters chanted, “Water is Life” The Sioux Tribe of Standing Rock says and “TD bank, for you to do your best, you the pipeline will destroy their sacred burial must learn how to divest.” sites. Since the pipeline is cutting under “We are really ecstatic to see the different the Missouri River, which is the tribe’s age ranges at this rally,” said University at main water source, if the pipeline should be Albany student Ashley Barcia. “It just shows compromised, their water would be directly that this isn’t a generational thing. This is affected. According to the Chicago Tribune, something that affects all people.” the number of annual pipeline accidents has One UAlbany student found out about the increased by about 60 percent. This is one of issue via social media. the tribe’s greatest fears. “What the oil company is doing is wrong. Protesters felt that the risk of a leak in the This is a human right; this is our water,” said Jasmine Milner / Albany Student Press pipeline outweighs the potential benefits of Kirsten LaMonica. Aid nation-wide protests, Albany activists gathered to voice concern over the Dakota Access the pipeline.