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"Younger people are turning into leaders. Their strong voices are paving the way with calls for equality and greater knowledge of diversity... And now we're seeing it right here in the Capital Region at Siena College."

Mark Mulholland and Subrina Dhammi, NewsChannel 13 anchors

As part of NewsChannel 13's coverage of Black History month, Dhammi sat down with three Saints inside the Damietta Cross-Cultural Center. Their conversation spanned a three-part series and explored the mission of the Damietta Center and the work being done by the student leaders, in collaboration with the College, to promote social and racial justice on campus and in the community.

“I don’t think the work is ever done. From my freshman year, Siena has improved drastically especially when planning Black History Month. I’ve got a lot of messages from other boards on campus asking, ‘What are you doing? Can we collaborate with you?’” - Cynthia Isaac Douge ’23

“I know how important it is to get other voices involved because we can’t sit around and do nothing. There needs to be people who also care.” - Alyssa Blanco ’24

“If you feel like you want to be in that role (to make a difference), or even if you don’t feel like you’re brave enough to be in that role, still try.” - Kevin Goodman ’25

At the conclusion of part three, Mulholland left the audience with this thought:

"People are worried about our future, and then we're reminded of young people like this."

SIENA ON TELEVISION/RADIO

• Did you know that when "African Americans were forcibly taken to the United States, they would sometimes use their braids to communicate messages to each other." Hope Rias, Ph.D., assistant professor of history, provided that lesson among others for a piece on NewsChannel 13 called, "Knowing Your Roots: Celebrating Hair in Back Culture." 
• Did you know that former President Jimmy Carter and his family once spent time living in the Capital Region? Carter entered hospice care last month, and as the country reflects on the legacy of the 98-year-old former commander in chief, News10 ABC invited Jack Collens, Ph.D., associate professor of political science, into its studio to talk about Carter's time in Schenectady.
• Did you know a rare "green comet" did its first flyby of Earth in approximately 50,000 years last month? Mindy Townsend, Dudley at Siena astronomer, popped into the News10 ABC studio to talk about the green comet (though Mindy preferred to use its given name, Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF)). Why green? It has to do with the dicarbon molecule.

SIENA IN PRINT/ONLINE

• In the days following the earthquake that killed more than 45,000 people in Türkiye, Sevval Istanbulluoglu '23 was heartbroken scrolling through social media. Everyone back home was trying to find their loved ones. Sevval's friends and family in Istanbul are safe, but she was still left wondering, "What can I do?" So, she organized relief efforts on campus, as the Times Union reported.  
• Gol Pari studied acting at Tehran University and has written several plays, including one that tackled abortion. "The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance did not allow it to be performed publicly. By 2013, as control over censorship grew tighter, a call from Mahmood Karimi-Hakak, M.F.A., professor of creative arts, started her journey to Schenectady. The Daily Gazette tells the story. 
• An article in 55+ Life magazine advises "the wine you drink in September is not necessarily the wine you should drink in February." In an article titled "Winter Wine Time," sommelier and Professor of Creative Arts Krysta Dennis, Ph.D., provides seasonal suggestions for wine drinkers. "I'm looking for a red wine with depth and substance for the winter."

SIENA ALUMNI TRACKER

Joe Fairley '15 ran his company, Ascent Fabrications, out of his garage last year. Last month, he moved into an actual office space in Saratoga Springs, and the mayor was on hand (above) for the official ribbon cutting.  

Fairley owns a patent for a prosthetic foot design, but his company can create almost any body part using a 3D printer. Using computer-aided design (CAD) programming, Fairley can print prosthetics to a specified design layer by layer with plastic filament.

“We take orders from the US, Canada, Mexico, and Costa Rica. Our filament comes from companies in Poland, Holland, and Germany – we’re actually the only North American distributor of the German filament. We can sell the filament to other companies or to anyone with their own 3D printer at home that wants it.”

Fairley graduated from Saratoga Springs High School then studied physics and astronomy at Siena, where he participated in e-NABLE. The club uses 3D printing to create customized upper limb prosthetics. After earning a master's degree at Northwestern and completing his residency in Savannah, Georgia, Fairley is back in the Capital Region pursing the passion sparked at Siena. 

“I got into the prosthetics field because I wanted to help people. 3D printing makes so much in this field possible. It lends itself perfectly to customized design. This area means a lot to my family, so starting the business here just felt like the right thing to do. I’ve got my family here to support me.”

At the ribbon cutting, which was covered by the Saratogian, Fairly received a proclamation from Mayor Ron Kim, which declared Feb. 9 2023 as “Ascent Fabrication Day” in the city of Saratoga Springs.

FROM THE SPORTS PAGE

When her teammates told her she would probably make SportsCenter's Top 10, Elisa Mevius '26 confessed she'd never heard of it. The next day, the freshman from Germany was number 2 on SportsCenter's countdown of the top plays in the country.    

Siena shouldn't have needed Mevius's heroics. The Saints led by 16 through three quarters. But, Niagara's relentless pressure forced turnover after turnover, and with 4.2 seconds left, Siena's almost insurmountable lead was surmounted. Niagara's bucket with under five seconds left gave the Purple Eagles their first lead of the game. Siena went from comfortably in control to needing a miracle. And as the Times Union reported, that's just what Mevius provided.

“It was like my adrenaline was so high. I kind of took the ball and followed my intention, I guess, and we got lucky." 

Mevius took the inbounds pass from Angel Jones '26 with four seconds left and down by one. She dribbled near mid-court and just before the buzzer, she launched up a desperation shot. Somehow, someway, the shot dropped in for the first buzzer beater of her life. 

"It felt good (when it left her hands), actually. I thought, it’s going to go in and then it went in and then everything was just so, like, dynamic."

On ESPN's SportsCenter, the anchor called it like this: "She's pulling up (to shoot) from the bus in the parking lot." News10 ABC covered the buzzer beater as well (above).

ACCORDING TO THE SIENA COLLEGE POLL

...Seven in 10 Americans support a rule change to make football safer. 

The Siena College Research Institute partnered with St. Bonaventure's Jandoli School of Communication to create the American Sports Fanship Survey. More than 3,200 people across the country completed the survey, which was conducted in early January. Respondents answered questions related to their personal fandom and views on topics ranging from violence in football to preferred Super Bowl snacks (a passionate topic for some). Media outlets from coast-to-coast covered all aspects of the findings. Locally, the Daily Gazette covered fan attitude toward violence in the NFL.    

...Governor Hochul's job approval ticked down slightly in February. 

SCRI surveyed 744 registered voters in New York and found the Governor's favorability score has dipped two points since January. WHAM-TV in Rochester reported on the figures and noted that 36 percent of voters say crime should be the top priority for Hochul and the legislature. As Siena College pollster Steve Greenberg noted in the story, “A majority approve of the job she’s doing to encourage businesses to locate in New York and a small plurality approve of the job she’s doing to increase availability of affordable housing. At the same time, a plurality disapproves of the job she’s doing to address crime, and a majority disapproves of her efforts to make New York more affordable."

...many New Yorkers are pessimistic about the state of public health. 

SCRI annually partners with the New York State Department of Health to measure New Yorkers' opinions on public health issues. The results often inform DOH policy decisions. In its coverage of results, Spectrum News points out that only 25 percent of New Yorkers believe Americans are healthier today compared to a generation ago. In fact, 53 percent believe Americans are less healthy one generation later. 

FROM COAST TO COAST

The Siena Heat Map tracks Siena College mentions in the news all across the country. From February 1 through February 28, there were more than 2,000 Siena College mentions coast-to-coast, including...

A Bloomberg news segment featuring a pair of Siena graduates. 

"Real Yield" on Bloomberg News is a weekly program covering news and trends in the fixed-income market and includes interviews with guests from major financial institutions. On the February 10 edition, a three-person panel included a pair of Siena alumni: George Bory, the chief investment strategist for Fixed Income at Allspring Global Investments and Zach Griffiths, senior investment strategist for CeditSights. 

Both George and Zach are graduates of Siena's economics program, and both deliver incredibly insightful and polished performances. Plus, if you like your financial news mixed with a Jay-Z reference, Zach has you covered. 

"We were saying to clients, '99 problems but duration ain't one."