A video featuring members of the Fredonia State women’s softball team promoting SUNY’s “Mask Up or Pack Up” campaign and Blue Devil women’s basketball player Morgan Davis were recognized by Chancellor Jim Malatras in his 2021 SUNY State of the University System Address.
Ms. Davis, a junior Childhood Inclusive Education major from Allegany, N.Y., and eight other members of the SUNY family joined thousands of SUNY students, faculty and staff who are making a difference by “doing extraordinary things during trying times,” Chancellor Malatras noted.
In his address, Malatras indicated Davis “stepped up on our ‘Mask Up or Pack Up’ campaign to keep our campuses safe this past semester.”
It was an idea of the entire team to produce the video, said Davis, who’s actually a member of the women’s basketball team. That video was one of several Mask Up or Pack Up videos created by Blue Devil teams that also promoted the campaign. Davis helped to organize many of them.
The message driven home by the Fredonia women in the video was: “We are the Fredonia State softball team, and we mask up when we are at practice, on campus or in the public because we respect others.” Three separate groups of softball players, appearing in uniform and on the softball field, conveyed that common message.
Student-athletes from across SUNY produced more than 24 videos for #MaskUpOrPackUp, a campaign designed to keep campuses safe this past semester, though Davis and Fredonia softball team were the only ones identified in the chancellor’s address.
Other members of the SUNY family recognized by Malatras included a Student Government president (SUNY Polytechnic Institute), a research leader (Upstate Medical Center), a counseling services director (SUNY Oswego), a medical resident (Stony Brook University), a recent graduate (Purchase College), a non-traditional student (SUNY Sullivan) and a chief of police (Stony Brook).
“My ultimate source of optimism that we will come out this stronger is our people,” Malatras said in his address, referring to the significant upheaval created by the coronavirus pandemic. “In the end, the character of colleges and universities does not come from the buildings, but from the creativity, intellectual curiosity and personalities of the individuals in those buildings: out students, faculty and staff.”
The Fredonia softball team video, along with 25 other student-created messages, can be seen online.
