By Samuel Weisman, Contributing Writer
OSWEGO, NY- The students of today showed off their Summer Scholars Program projects at the groundbreaking ceremony for the science, engineering, and innovation corridor building of the future on SUNY Oswego campus Friday.
There were 38 posters on display for the various research projects the students participated in.
The ceremony kicked off with a speech by SUNY Oswego president Deborah Stanley which included many thanks to the dignitaries and alumni who contributed to the new building. Among the dignitaries were New York State Senator Darrell Aubertine and former New York State Senator James Wright.
Senator Aubertine gave thanks to the faculty and executive staff at SUNY Oswego for their hard work, vision, and planning.
Wright, executive director for the Development Authority of the North Country said, “It’s good for the community. It’s good for the campus. It’s good for the economy. It’s good for jobs.”
The new building, which will be a LEED gold rating building, could create as many as 400 jobs for the three years of planned construction.
LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.
In order to reach gold status a building must acquire a certain amount of points using the LEED rating system. The criteria include materials used in construction, sustainability, water quality, interior design and energy efficiency.
The new building is designed to be 21% more efficient and will use 40% of the energy than the science building it is replacing.
It will generate about 40% less waste water and will require 36% less natural gas as well.
David Snow, a chemistry student who did a project on Ullman Couplings said,” I’m happy it’s going up. But, I am a little disappointed the construction was put on hold. It was supposed to start at the beginning of Summer.”
Snow added, “Unfortunately I won’t be here when it’s finished.”
That was the sentiment of many of the students involved in the ceremony.
Tim Humeston did a study isolating octapepin, an antibiotic, from bacteria.
He said, “I think we definitely need it. It’s pretty exciting.”
Mark Potter did a study on integrating touch based technologies into the classroom.
He said, “It definitely looks nice and a lot of the stuff in Snygg (the old building) is hard to work with.”
He added that the students are a little displaced right now, but in the long-run he thinks the building will greatly benefit them.
After the speeches, everyone moved outdoors where Senator Aubertine, Stanley and Wright, as well as others who contributed to the ceremony, put on their hardhats and grabbed gold shovels as the actual groundbreaking took place.
The crowd then moved to the Village for its official dedication and ribbon cutting ceremony.
The Village is an on-campus apartment complex for students. To qualify to live there a student must have 45 credits and have lived on campus for two years.
Students apply in groups of four, and their group gets put in a lottery.
More than 600 students applied to fill the 350 spots.
The Village is also a LEED gold building.
The cost to live there is comparable to the cost of living in a single dorm room.
The Village is decorated with beautiful landscaping, benches, and vast lawns.
The view from the Village is spectacular as Oswego beautifies the campus and prepares for the future with these state-of-the-art buildings.
