r/SunyMaritime

A student was arrested yesterday in connection with allegations of attempted rape, and reports have circulated that claims a victim may have been drugged.

At the same time, licensed engineers are reportedly refusing to sail and walking off of the Training Ship Empire State because they believe concerns about the ship’s drinking water aren’t being taken seriously.
But hey going to the sale 250 for a photo op is more important than the safety of the cadets right ;) it always is

Students have been raising concerns for months about safety, leadership, and transparency at SUNY Maritime, complaints have gone unheard despite reaching out to both the college and SUNY.

Whether you agree with every concern or not, at what point do we stop treating these as isolated incidents and start asking if there are larger systemic problems that deserve an independent investigation?

Some of you may remember I was pretty vocal about Jones Act and offshore wind concerns last year. Rather than keep arguing about it online, I'd rather bring in people who actually work in the field.

I’ve been in touch with Sal Mercogliano, and he has preliminarily agreed to come to SUNY Maritime for a campus discussion to discuss policy and what current developments may mean for SUNY Maritime students. Before I take this to the communications department formally, I wanted to gauge student interest and figure out which club or campus group would be the most appropriate host.

I've also reached out to a faculty member for advice, but haven't heard back yet, and I'm open to changing the format based on feedback. Ideally, I'd like this to be more than just a general maritime talk. I'm hoping to add someone from the offshore wind industry so the discussion can cover how maritime policy, the Jones Act, offshore wind, shipbuilding, crewing, and energy policy intersect, and, most importantly, what those developments may mean for where maritime jobs come from and the industries our licenses support.

Some of us have different views on how significant these issues are, and that's exactly why I think hearing from people who work in this space would be valuable. Sal is one of the better people to explain what is actually happening in U.S. maritime policy, what is noise, what is real, and what students should be paying attention to.

This would not need to be partisan. In fact, I think it would be more valuable if it wasn’t. The core question is practical:

What should SUNY Maritime students understand right now about the future of U.S. maritime jobs?

If there's interest, I'd like to help move this forward with the appropriate club, faculty support, and the communications department. My initial thought was SGA, but there may be a better fit. I'm happy to help organize it or simply support whichever group is best positioned to host it.

Sal Mercogliano is one of the country's best-known maritime historians and policy commentators, a SUNY Maritime alumnus, and someone who regularly briefs the public on shipping, logistics, and maritime policy. Your parents are probably huge fans, he maintains 700,000 subscribers as part of that aforementioned influence: https://www.youtube.com/@wgowshipping

Whether you agree with my concerns or not, I think most people would agree Sal has earned a reputation for being fact-driven rather than partisan. That's exactly why I think he'd be a valuable person for students to hear from.

Back when I was going to maritime back through the 2010s it was always odd that in marvin hall of the S&E towards the running path side there was this large room empty space. I had found out that maritime used to offer a 180 credit Nuclear program, though I don't remember how long ago from when I was in attendance. Interesting to note now maritime is offering a minor in nuclear engineering.

Side fact: I don't know if they changed the electronics lab, but they had some very interesting antique IC from the 80s that had a window on it that you would use UV light on.