Welcome back Oswegonians! We hope you all had a great summer and we welcome the new members of the student community.

It is time to get back to the stress of classes, something everyone surely looks forward to over the summer. Do not forget to unwind on the weekends and give yourself some free time.

When students left Oswego in the spring, relations between students and the local community were in rough shape. The infamous Bridge Street Run raised several safety issues with the unofficial event. Pedestrian safety questions were raised and the nationwide heroin epidemic struck home with the Oswego community. It did not help that the Harborfest in 2013 left the Flat Rocks littered with garbage, resulting in a halt for festival-goers to celebrate nice weather this year.

This a time for the student community to make steps at mending this relationship. It is a great opportunity for students to accurately represent the Oswego State community as respectable and kind individuals, rather than a bunch of rowdy stereotypical college kids. Members of Greek life actively contribute to local charitable organizations, like Delta Kappa Kappa and their #ForTheKids held to benefit the Child Advocacy Center of Oswego County, held in April with the Lakers men’s                                hockey team.

Members of the student community time and time again step forward and represent the student body in positive ways. Unfortunately, it only takes one person to put a dark shadow over all students of Oswego State. Two years ago, there were issues with students running amuck through neighborhoods late at night on their return from off-campus locations. This is the year where students can prove we are responsible young adults on the cusp of breaking into the world, who lead with a positive example.

That being said, students need to be given a break. Students are frequently told,  “this is the time of your life, enjoy it,” so why wouldn’t they go out and have a good time? Everyone has made mistakes in their lives and they have learned from it. Yes, you are going to have people being loud walking down the streets of Oswego in the wee hours of the morning, but that is not unique to Oswego. Every town in New York has younger people being out and about when most people are asleep. Students take their punishment from the city and campus officials when they break laws. The justice system takes care of that.

We are here for an education, whether that be books or learning about life, students are eager to learn. If we weren’t, then we would most likely not be here. Let us learn from our mistakes and use our past to make Oswego’s future better.

Here’s to the fall of 2014.