News
The News section covers things from local news happening on campus and the community to current events, including major political developments, national and international news stories, and social issues.
Taiwan’s largest earthquake in 25 years kills nine
At around 8:00 a.m. on Wednesday, Apr. 3, the east coast of Taiwan was abruptly shaken due to a 7.4 magnitude earthquake. As of now, it has been confirmed that at least nine people were killed and thousands have been injured. This is the first major earthquake in Taiwan since 1999, when an earthquake of a similar magnitude killed 2,400 people.
Sustainability Corner: New England’s path to a cleaner future
After 50 years of operations, the last running coal plant in New England, Merrimack Station, is set to conclude all operations in 2028. On Mar. 28, Granite Shore Power—a New Hampshire-based company that “sells capacity and electricity to the ISO New England wholesale electricity market”—announced that they are advancing by shutting down any coal-fired generators at the Schiller Station in Portsmouth by 2025.
Vatican declaration criticized by LGBTQ+ community
Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez presented the declaration “Dignitas Infinita” (Infinite Dignity) during a press conference at the Vatican on Monday, Apr. 8. The Vatican issued a document declaring “gender-affirming surgery and surrogacy as grave violations of human dignity” according to NBC News, “putting them on par with abortion and euthanasia as practices that reject God’s plan for human life.” According to reports, these statements were approved by Pope Francis on Mar. 25.
Northrop Grumman set to create Moon rail system
On Tuesday, Mar. 19, the USA’s Department of Defense’s subsidiary company, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), approved the company Northrop Grumman to begin working on the 10-year Lunar Architecture (LunA-10) Capability Study, focusing on the refinement of a lunar railway system. Within the next decade, Northrop Grumman will construct a plan for and allocate all necessary funding for creating a lunar railroad that spans the entire length of our barren Moon—a decision that sparked widespread debate amongst many, mainly because of the controversial companies leading the charge: DARPA and Northrop Grumman.
Humanitarian aid organizations pull out of Gaza after airstrike
On Monday, Apr. 1, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) fired three missiles on an aid convoy owned by the World Central Kitchen (WCK). The group was departing from a warehouse in Deir al Bala, located in central Gaza, where they had distributed over 100 tons of humanitarian aid. The World Central Kitchen was founded in 2010 by Chef José Andrés, after traveling to Haiti following an earthquake that devastated communities. Andrés founded the WCK intending to provide meals in response to humanitarian crises and listening, learning, and cooking alongside the people who have been affected by calamities.
Bridge collapses due to cargo ship collision
In the early morning of Tuesday, Mar. 26, 2024, a 984-foot-long ship collided with a pillar on Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge. This led to the collapse of the bridge and the disappearance of night shift construction members who were believed to be filling potholes at the time of the collapse.
Sustainability Corner: Fertilizer spill in Iowa kills close to 800,000 fish
On Mar. 11, 2024, it was learned that a fertilizer spill occurred in southwestern Iowa. At least 250,000 gallons of liquid nitrogen spilled “into a drainage ditch and into the East Nishnabotna River, which flows into the Nishnabotna River and then the Missouri River.”
ISIS-K Claims Responsibility for Moscow Terrorist Attack
During the later hours of Friday, Mar. 22, 2024, armed assailants burst into Krasnogorsk’s Crocus City Hall, a music venue in the northwest suburb of Moscow, Russia. The attackers then set the venue ablaze through the use of Molotov cocktails, only after setting off minutes of heavy gunfire. The devastating attack left a growing death toll of 139 people while wounding over a hundred more. The incident unfolded before the Russian rock band Picnic was set to perform in front of a sold-out crowd.
Body found in Highland Reservoir affects Rochester water supply
On Feb. 18, 2024, 29-year-old Abdullahi Muya was reported missing to the Rochester Police Department. Over a month later, on Tuesday, March 19, at around 8:00 a.m., the staff of the Highland Park Reservoir noticed Muya’s body below the water, and a police scuba team recovered it thereafter. While the reservoir is fenced, it is rumored that Muya climbed over the fence and then slid down into the water, leading to his death. As of now, there are no suspicions of criminal intent involved in Muya’s death, as nobody seemed to be present at the time of his death.
Kate Middleton reveals cancer diagnosis
On Mar. 22, 2024, it was shared with the world through a short video that 42-year-old, Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, has been diagnosed with cancer and is currently undergoing preventative early treatment.
Sustainability Corner: The modern European farmer’s revolt
In December 2019, the European Parliament approved the European Green Deal. This deal is described by the European Union (EU) as, “a package of policy initiatives, which aims to set the EU on the path to a green transition, with the ultimate goal of reaching climate neutrality by 2050.” Some of the changes this program seeks to achieve include clean energy, creating sustainable emissions—from industry, agriculture, and residential use alike—better building infrastructure, preserving biodiversity, creating alternative energy sources, and financing research on the progression of climate change.
Odysseus makes it to the moon
A spacecraft by the name of Odysseus landed on the moon at 6:23 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 22, 2024, making it the first privately owned American spacecraft to successfully complete a lunar landing. Odysseus, built and managed by Intuitive Machines, took flight on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket a week prior and made several laps around the moon before touching down near the lunar South Pole.
Biden and Trump face-off on immigration and border control
United States President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump each traveled to the United States-Mexico border in Brownsville, Texas on Feb. 29, 2024. While visiting, Biden made a clear effort to try and work alongside Trump on a new immigration bill. Trump, however, seemed uninterested in working together, and has declined Biden’s offer.
Ruling on frozen embryos in Alabama could have major consequences
On Friday, Feb. 16, 2024, there was a ruling set by Alabama’s Supreme Court that will significantly affect couples who attempt to conceive in the state. The ruling, although vague, states that embryos are considered minors and that “negligence lawsuits could proceed,” due to this proceeding. Thus, the process of freezing embryos or in-vitro fertilization (IVF) could be considered forms of childbirth within the state.
Global Day of Action: Hands Off Rafah aims for ceasefire in Gaza
On Saturday, Mar. 2, 2024, the Answer Coalition organized marches for the Global Day of Action for Rafah. The marches were organized in dozens of cities across the country, including Washington, D.C. One of the action listings was in Geneseo, NY, on the corner of Main Street and Route 20A. Many students and local residents of Geneseo and Livingston County participated, including members of organizations such as the SUNY Geneseo Peace Action group, as well as the Genesee Valley Citizens for Peace (GVCP), and the local Democratic-Socialists of Americas (DSA).
US soldier commits self-immolation in protest for Gaza
On Feb. 25, 2024, at 1:00 p.m., outside of Washington, DC’s Israeli Embassy, 25-year-old Aaron Bushnell committed self-immolation as an extreme act of protest against the treatment of the citizens in Gaza. Bushnell live-streamed this act on Twitch—an online video-sharing service. The footage documented the Bushnell walking up to the gates of the building, explaining that he would “no longer be complicit in Genocide,” before continuing to speak, dousing himself in lighter fluid as he did so, then lighting himself on fire. This act has gone viral online, not only for its extreme nature, but for the light it shines on the issue at hand: As Bushnell put it, “I am about to engage in an extreme act of protest. But compared to what people have been experiencing in Palestine at the hands of their colonizers, it’s not extreme at all. This is what our ruling class has decided will be normal.”
The ongoing battle over Trump's eligibility on Colorado’s ballots
Since November 2023, there has been an ongoing legal case over whether former president Donald Trump should still possess the ability to hold and run for office in the upcoming presidential election. Multiple media outlets have added their two cents to the discussion as to whether the Jan. 6, 2020 riot goes against section three of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. According to USAToday, "...the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Trump is disqualified from the race because of the 14th Amendment, Section 3. The post-Civil War-era provision bars anyone who has ‘engaged in insurrection’ from holding office again.”
Car crashes into local sorority house
On Monday, Feb. 19, 2024, at around 11 a.m., a car crashed into the Royal Lady Knight’s (RLK) house—the home of a local sorority at SUNY Geneseo. The residents of the house were understandably startled when their house abruptly shook and the sound of a crash echoed through the rooms of the house and the surrounding area. Katherine Pallavicini—one of the residents of the RLK house—stated, “It felt like an earthquake, I somehow knew there had to be a car somewhere in the house.” Luckily, there were no injuries sustained by the residents of the home, and no known injuries sustained by the driver of the vehicle.
Gorilla and giraffe lives lost at separate Western New York zoos
This month has been difficult for Western New York zoo lovers as the Buffalo Zoo and the Seneca Park Zoo have both been hit with losses. The Buffalo Zoo announced the death of Koga, their silverback western lowland gorilla, on Thursday, Feb. 15, while the Seneca Park Zoo mourned the death of baby giraffe PJ just two days later on Saturday, Feb. 17.
Importance of emergency alerts on Geneseo’s campus
Following the gas leak that occurred on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024, students and their parent(s)/guardian(s) have provided an uptick in questions and concerns about the Emergency Alert System that SUNY Geneseo currently has in place. Geneseo utilizes the NY-Alert Emergency Alert System which is powered by Everbridge, and was established by the New York State Emergency Management Office (SEMO). This system is used by Geneseo and 24 other SUNY state-operated campuses, alongside 28 community colleges in the state.