Battle of the Bands 2010

Looking back at Stony Brook University’s long and enviable relationship with Long Island’s music history and looking towards an ongoing reawakening of independent student expression gives one a sense of astonishment at where things were and of hope for where things will end up tomorrow.

Singing for sustainability at Stony Brook Earthstock

After six months of hard work, a committee composed of academic departments and student programs opened Stony Brook University’s 10th annual Earthstock on April 19, a week of festivities to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. The weeklong program is designed to raise awareness among students as well as the public through informative academic and cultural events addressing environmental concerns, sustainability and healthy eating habits.

Roth Pond Regatta 2010

On Friday April 30, hundreds of people from the Stony Brook University community flocked to Roth Quad to uphold a 21-year-old tradition, Roth Pond Regatta.

Usually towards the end of the academic year, Roth Regatta allows contestants to indulge in some friendly competition and promote student “unity and ingenuity,” as teams race homemade cardboard boats across Roth pond.

The races are broken down into two categories; speedsters and yachts. Speedsters qualify as one-person boats, while yachts include two, three and four person teams, each captain must pilot the boat at the Regatta.

As with most events at SBU, the Regatta is highly structured. “The Constitution of the Roth Pond Regatta,” is composed of  eleven sections that lay the foundation of the event.

Only students, staff, alumni, faculty and previous contestants are eligible to compete. Identification is required, and each team must register their boats with the student activites department.

Bioengineering at Stony Brook

Recent advances in technology have led to numerous applications in the life sciences, giving rise to a new field, bioengineering. Bioengineers are involved in the study and application of typical engineering notions, such as fluid dynamics, heat and mass transfer, and materials science to the development and design of devices that have biologically oriented applications.

At Stony Brook, graduate students and scientists from all over the world have come to pursue bioengineering studies covering a wide range of applications, making it a major center for work in this area. Some of these researchers recently agreed to discuss themselves and their work.

Stony Brook Southampton: A Unique Community

Stony Brook Southampton will mostly close in the fall, to the displeasure of its loyal students. (Photo: Sam Kilb)

It may be that the seasoned Stony Brook Southampton students’ eyes pass right over the empty, broken down baseball field that is the first sight to greet someone entering campus from the north.

But to a first time visitor, peeling paint and an infield rocky from lack of care tell a tale of woeful neglect.

Beyond the field, the campus has areas that are well kept — a handful of clean, modern buildings connected by paths shaded by trees and flanked by plush natural grass.

The one dining option on campus uses plates, knives and hard plastic cups in an effort to be sustainable and to send as little waste as possible to the landfill.

Despite efforts to keep the school clean and environmentally friendly, it is scheduled to be all but closed in the fall of 2010, forcing many students and faculty to migrate west to the main campus.

The knee-jerk reaction of students and faculty alike after the April 7 announcement of the imminent closure was to lash out at main campus.  Popular protest slogans involved anger at being defined by a number instead of the individual name, face and personality that they have been at Southampton.  “Hi, my name is #104789387,” one sign sarcastically read.

Southampton students empowered by innovation of local legislators

Defiant Southampton students along with local legislators are battling the cuts at their campus with a multi-pronged strategy, as the August 31 official axe date looms.

Lawmakers had immediately requested an investigation into President Samuel Stanley’s early April decision to scrap much of the college. Now, other options are being explored: the town where the campus is nestled has offered to buy the rights to it, legislators are asking that the elusive state budget contain a measure to reverse the cuts, and the displaced students are planning a legal battle to keep their campus fully operational.

The Food Scene At Stony Brook

Throughout the spring semester Stony Brook students can count on a number of things. Tests, pop quizzes, and large amounts of studying all figure to be part of the equation. Something students can also count on however, that they might not be expecting, is a number of events planned by Campus Dining Services.

Strawberry Fest, the Midnight Breakfast, Iron Chef, and the Campus Dining Food show are just a few of the events that have gone on this semester that were centered around something nearly everyone can agree they love, food.

Angela Agnello is the director of marketing and communications for the faculty and student association. She speaks on behalf of these events. “It is the desire of Campus Dining Services to create some excitement within the campus community so that every dining experience students have is a pleasurable one,” said Agnello.

Stony Brook University hosts own ‘Iron Chef’

The promise of fame and fortune has inspired many chefs to compete on Food Network’s “Iron Chef America,” a popular cable show that pits contestants against seasoned “Iron Chefs” for a name in the culinary industry.

Inspired by the show, Campus Dining Services at Stony Brook University decided to have their own version of the competition on Wednesday, April 28 during campus lifetime. In this version, though, the contestants were fighting for the charity of their choice, with $5,000 from Campus Dining Services going to the winning team.

University Chef Al Aberg, who helped oversee the event, announced the four teams with three people in each competing for the prize. To win one of the final four spots, these teams, Hungry Hungry Hippos, Team Swarley, Byahh! and Bull Moose Party, had beat out 20 other groups of contenders. Weeks before the competition, students had the opportunity to vote online for their favorite team to compete on the April 28^th competition. The represented charities, listed respectively, were the Sunrise Fund at Stony Brook, Stony Brook Long Island Children’s Hospital, Adapted Aquatic Program and the Library Collection Development Fund.

Breathing East-A Long Island Band Trying to Break into the Music Industry

After playing countless shows in front of dedicated Stony Brook fans, Breathing East will have the chance to play a bigger stage.

The Long Island based band, Breathing East, has graduated from smaller campus shows to playing shows like Bamboozle Hoodwink, an outdoor music festival in New Jersey, on April 30^th. The festival lasted all weekend but Breathing East shared a stage with around 20 other bands on Friday alone, some of those bands included Say Anything and Motion City Soundtrack. This was nothing like the band had ever seen before.

“It was an amazing experience,” said William Stevens, bassist and back up vocalist for Breathing East. “We handed out nearly 600 of our CDs. You never know what it will be that will give you a big break. That’s why I don’t like turning down even the smallest shows.”

Stony Brook University’s 10th Annual Earthstock Festival

Stony Brook University students participating in a drum circle across from the Ward Melville Library

On Friday, April 23, hundreds of people gathered at Stony Brook University’s academic mall to prepare for the 10th annual Earthstock festival. Starting as early as 9 a.m., people began setting up their table’s hours before anyone would arrive. They brought bins, boxes, bags and whatever else they could find to help lighten their heavy loads. Within a couple of hours, when all the students come to the mall, all this hard work and preparation would be satiated.

At around 10 a.m., students began arriving. With 85-plus exhibits and people from all across Long Island piling in, the mall quickly became a labyrinth of human bodies.
Once a year, during the week Earth Day is celebrated, SBU opens its doors to any green organization willing to participate. This year, several high school and college clubs took part, as well as various non-profit and paid-for-profit organizations. Some groups in attendance include, Vegan Outreach, Nardy Honda, and Stony Brook’s Environmental club… all of which have a common goal to inform the people about their causes and explain what others can do to help.