If you are involved with civic engagement, politics, or bagel appreciation at SUNY Geneseo, it’s more than likely that you’ve crossed paths with senior international relations major Tim Rainis. Rainis, a man of charm, wit, and high-brow living is constantly looking to uplift and improve the Geneseo community, whether that comes in the form of educating students about local government or directing them to the best gumbo at a local fundraiser.

“The content of the character is what matters. Nothing else matters. Everything else is amazing.”

 Kodjo Adabra (PhD), an Associate Professor of Francophone Studies at Geneseo, has a third-degree black belt, an excellence award from the SUNY Chancellor, and numerous books to his name; yet, his story begins over 5,000 miles away. Adabra is originally from Togo, a West African Nation. There, he would go to Togo’s premier college to earn a degree in business; however, he was a very vocal student in a place where the government wasn’t kind to activists. 

Lee Pierce is an assistant professor of rhetoric and communication at SUNY Geneseo: a concentration and department that is not only widely studied, but renowned at the institution. While there are many faculty at Geneseo that go above and beyond in regard to their curriculum and presence in the classroom, it is rare that one encounters a professor as authentic, transparent, and committed to respect as Pierce.

It is rare to find a student on a college campus willing to wake up excited to contribute something to the day, the world, or a literary community; it is rarer still to find a student who will answer questions about their college experience for a student-run newspaper first thing in the morning. Nevertheless, I was able to speak to two such individuals just earlier today: English creative writing majors and seniors Kat Johnson and Jenna Murray. I met with Johnson and Murray this morning amidst the early antics of Suki, Murray’s cat, and chuckles of Johnson and Murray’s respective caffeine addictions over their first cups of coffee.

I don’t think it crossed Nate Bedell’s mind when he came to The Lamron’s general meeting last Thursday that he would leave being voted our next Invasion of Privacy guest. Either way, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Nate about his on and off campus life, the importance of his writing, and an in-depth retrospective of one soon to graduate.

“The answer is the students,” Professor Lytton Smith said when asked what he’s most proud of about the Geneseo Creative Writing department. “The ambition and the variety and the adventurousness of the students. And students is the wrong word, because you’re all writers. But you have to put in there that I’m inspired by it, although it’s not mine to be proud of, although I kind of am—does that make sense?”

“Actually, I water my plants first,” said editor-in-chief of The Lamron Sarah Sharples when asked about the first thing they do in the morning. “Then I brush my teeth, then I meditate. This is why I get the least relatable character on a Buzzfeed quiz.”

Here at The Lamron, we’ve recently suffered a great loss—the graduation of our beloved Nick Widman, English major, class of ‘21, and former editor-in-chief. Over the past three years, Widman has made an impact on our paper that will not soon be forgotten.