The Statesman

Stony Brook looks to make graduation more eco-friendly

Christopher Leelum • April 29, 2014

In an effort to be eco-friendly, Stony Brook University is ordering graduation caps and gowns from a Virginia-based company called Oak Hall Cap & Gown, which uses a method called GreenWeaver to turn about 23 plastic bottles into one graduation uniform.

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Eric Engoron fulfills personal promise

Christopher Leelum • April 22, 2014

Starting in front of Yang Hall with his walker in hand and suitemate at his side, Eric Engoron set out for Circle Road. About three miles, three hours and 14,000 of what he calls dips later, he collapsed in his dorm hallway, victorious.

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Alcohol is for more than simply drinking

Christopher Leelum • March 11, 2014

Alcohol is one versatile organic compound. It can be chugged in cans, gulped in glasses or squandered in red Solos. The ignorant suck it out of hand sanitizer, and the wise tape it to their bodies to pass security. They even give it out for free at church. But alcohol is also used in another, more important aspect—in medicine.

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Expanded Verizon service available on campus

Christopher Leelum • February 25, 2014

Because of a recent partnership between Stony Brook University and Verizon, students will notice a significant improvement in wireless performance this semester.

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Christmas celebrated through consumerism

Christopher Leelum • November 25, 2013

There will always be confident party-goers donning unforgivable sweaters pasted against the white shadows of winter. There will be carols that no amount of eggnog could auto-tune. There will be awkward mistletoe mix-ups, unsatisfactory secret Santas and discourteous family dinners. But the majority will celebrate Christmas the way it has always been celebrated in the United States—by buying a lot of stuff.

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Activism on campus lacks initiative

Christopher Leelum • October 29, 2013

This past week, I was strolling through the SAC when a good-looking young woman in a bright pink shirt approached me. Needless to say that whatever organization she belonged to had a very brilliant marketing mind, I obviously stopped to see what she had to say. “Would you like to sign the board to vow to stop using the word ‘retarded’?” Uh, sure thing sweetheart. I scribbled two indecipherable words to the satisfying tune of “Thanks so much!” from Ms. Pink Shirt, and I was on my way. I was a changed man!

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An ode to appropriate clothing

Christopher Leelum • October 10, 2013

Too soon has October been prematurely suffocated by tight jeans or congested with hoodies. Sweatpants work like saunas at the first mention of the word “fall,” and long-sleeved shirts initiate insulation as soon as the leaves brown. The advent of autumn is inaccurately viewed as the point of no return for temperatures above 70. And thus the sacrifice of comfort for style is untimely, unfortunate and unnecessary.

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Campus biking initiative not riding along smoothly

Christopher Leelum • September 24, 2013

In an effort to go green and fight carbon emissions, Stony Brook University launched SBU Wolf Ride in April of this year. This promotion of health, sustainability and eco-friendliness parallels projects like Citi Bike in New York City and joins other national movements promoting a healthier lifestyle. The message is clear and positive, but the scope, effectiveness and utilization of the program are impotent.

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Stony Brook Food Pantry focuses on wrong demographic

Christopher Leelum • September 10, 2013

The new Stony Brook Food Pantry is not free food for the frugal. It is not satisfaction for the stingy, and it is not contentment for the cheapskate. Under 'Mission' on the pantry's website, you will find that it serves primarily to feed those "of Stony Brook University and the Stony Brook University community that are at risk of food insecurity." I am not denying the existence of said members of SBU and its community, but this pantry is simply in the wrong spot and solves the wrong problem.

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