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[[Image:Ota Benga 1904.jpg|thumb|230px|right|Ota Benga in 1904.]]
{{Infobox_University
|name = SUNY Plattsburgh
|image_name = Suny-logo-trans.png
|image_size = 110px
|motto = A Proud Past, a Strong Future
|established = [[1889]]
|type = [[Public university|Public]]
|president = [http://www.plattsburgh.edu/president/bio.php John Ettling][http://www.plattsburgh.edu/president/bio.php]
|city = [[Plattsburgh (city), New York|Plattsburgh]]
|state = [[New York]]
|country = [[United States|USA]]
|undergrad = 6,047
|postgrad = 600
|staff= 270
|campus = [[United States micropolitan area|Micropolis]], 265 [[acre]]s (1 [[kilometre|km]]²) maintained
|mascot = [[Cardinal (bird)|Cardinal]] [[Image:Burghy2.gif|30px| ]] Burghy
|free_label = Athletics
|free = 18 varsity teams
|website= [http://www.plattsburgh.edu/ www.plattsburgh.edu]
|}}
<!-- Image with unknown copyright status removed: [[Image:Hawkins Hall.jpg|thumb|Hawkins Hall]] -->
The '''State University of New York College at Plattsburgh''' (also known as '''SUNY Plattsburgh''', '''Plattsburgh State''', or '''Plattsburgh State University''') is a selective, four-year, public [[liberal arts college|liberal arts]] college in [[Plattsburgh (city), New York|Plattsburgh]], [[New York]].
'''Ota Benga''' (c. [[1884]] – [[March 20]], [[1916]]) was a [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|Congolese]] [[pygmy]] who was featured in a 1906 [[Racism#Scientific racism|human zoo]] exhibit at the [[Bronx Zoo]] alongside an [[orangutan]].
==History==
===Founding of the Plattsburgh Normal School===
After decades championing for the cause of a Normal School for Plattsburgh, influential businessmen and former state politician Smith M. Weed formally proposed a bill on [[January 12]], [[1888]]<ref>{{cite news | title = A Normal School At Plattsburgh | url = http://news.nnyln.net/plattsburgh-sentinel/1888/plattsburgh-sentinel-1888-january-march%20-%200009.pdf | work = The Plattsburgh Sentinel | page = 1 | date = [[January 13]], [[1888]]}}</ref>. With the strong backing of Assemblymen [[Stephen Moffitt|General Stephen Moffitt]] the '''Plattsburgh Normal School''' bill was passed by both houses of the New York State Legislature and signed into law by Governor [[David B. Hill]] in June of [[1889]].<ref>{{cite news | title = Got It At Last! A State Normal School To Be Located At Plattsburgh | url = http://news.nnyln.net/plattsburgh-sentinel/1889/plattsburgh-sentinel-1889-april-june%20-%200089.pdf | work = The Plattsburgh Sentinel | page = 1 | date = [[June 21]], [[1889]]}}</ref> The Board of Directors adopted official bi-laws for Plattsburgh Normal School on [[September 2]], 1889.<ref>{{cite news | title = The Normal School | url = http://news.nnyln.net/plattsburgh-sentinel/1889/plattsburgh-sentinel-1889-july-september%20-%200072.pdf | work = The Plattsburgh Sentinel | page = 1 | date = [[September 6]], [[1889]]}}</ref>
==Biography==
===The Opening of Normal Hall===
[[Image:1916PlattsburghNormalSchool.png|thumb|300px|Plattsburgh Normal and Training School, early 1910's]]
At a meeting held on [[June 28]], 1889, it was decided that the ___location of the new normal school would be on land known as "the former athletic grounds", bounded on the north by Court Street, on the east by Wells Street, on the south by Brinkerhoff Street, and on the west by Beekman Street.<ref>{{cite news | title = Plans For New Normal School Are Presented | url = http://news.nnyln.net/plattsburgh-sentinel/1930/plattsburgh-sentinel-1930-april-june%20-%200137.pdf | work = The Plattsburgh Sentinel | page = 2 | date = [[June 24]], [[1930]]}}</ref> However these original plans were dropped in favor of a larger plot created by combining land on each side of Court Street west of Beekman Street, so that "Court street, one of the finest residence street in the village, leads directly to the main entrance".<ref name="opening">{{cite news | title = The State Normal School At Plattsburgh | url = http://news.nnyln.net/plattsburgh-sentinel/1890/plattsburgh-sentinel-1890-july-september%20-%200033.pdf | work = The Plattsburgh Sentinel | pages = 1 | date = [[August 1]], [[1890]]}}</ref> This is the same ___location where Hawkins Hall now rests on the current campus of SUNY Plattsburgh. <sup>[http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Plattsburgh,+NY&ie=UTF8&z=17&ll=44.696962,-73.466188&spn=0.004248,0.012188&t=h&om=1 modern map]</sup>
Ota Benga
The impressive structure, known as "Normal Hall", was constructed by Brown Brothers of [[Mohawk, New York]], who also built the Court House in downtown Plattsburgh.<ref>{{cite news | title = A New Essex Co. Railroad | url = http://news.nnyln.net/plattsburgh-sentinel/1890/plattsburgh-sentinel-1890-july-september%20-%200040.pdf | work = The Plattsburgh Sentinel | page = 8 | date = [[August 1]], [[1890]]}}</ref> Normal Hall was used both for classes and as a [[dormitory]].
a member of the [[Batwa]] people,<ref>
[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5787947 "From the Belgian Congo to the Bronx Zoo"], ''[[All Things Considered]]'', [[National Public Radio]]. [[September 8]], [[2006]].</ref>
and lived in equatorial forests near the [[Kasai River]] in what was then the [[Belgian Congo]]. Benga had survived the slaughter of much of his village by the [[Force Publique]],<ref name="nyt2006">
{{cite news
|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/06/nyregion/thecity/06zoo.html
|title=The Scandal at the Zoo
|date=August 6, 2006
|publisher=[[New York Times]]
|last = Keller | first=Mitch
}}
</ref> an army of King [[Leopold II of Belgium]].
American missionary Samuel Phillips Verner was sent to [[Africa]] in 1904 under contract from the [[St. Louis World's Fair]] to bring back pygmies for exhibition. Verner met Ota Benga in the Belgian Congo that year and negotiated with a tribal slave trader for the pygmies, returning to the United States with Ota Benga and eight others.
Plattsburgh Normal School officially opened with its first day of classes on the morning of [[September 3]], [[1890]]<ref>{{cite news | title = Successful Opening of the New Normal School | url = http://news.nnyln.net/plattsburgh-sentinel/1890/plattsburgh-sentinel-1890-july-september%20-%200073.pdf | work = The Plattsburgh Sentinel | page = 1 | date = [[September 5]], [[1890]]}}</ref>. The school's first principal was Fox Holden, former Superintendent of the Plattsburgh Union Graded Schools.<ref name="opening" /> Holden served for only three years, from 1890 until the first graduating class in [[1892]].
After several months of travel in the U.S., Verner took Ota Benga to the [[Bronx Zoo]] in [[New York City]] in 1906 to find him a place to live, at the suggestion of Hermon Bumpus. Bumpus was the director of the [[American Museum of Natural History]], and had provided a home for Verner's cargo including, briefly, Benga himself. At the zoo, Benga was allowed to roam the zoo grounds and help feed the animals. The events leading to his "exhibition" were gradual:<ref name="nyt2006"/> Benga spent some of his time in the "Monkey House" exhibit, and the zoo encouraged him to hang his [[hammock]] there, and to shoot his bow and arrow at a target. The first day of the "exhibit", [[September 8]], [[1906]], visitors found Benga in the Monkey House.<ref name="nyt2006"/> A sign on the exhibit soon read:
===The Fire of 1929===
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| [[Image:PNS_1895.png|thumb|175px|Class of 1895]]
| [[Image:PNS_1925_Cardinal.png|thumb|78px|1925 yearbook]]
|-
|}
On [[January 26]], [[1929]], a great fire completely destroyed the Plattsburgh Normal School. The fire started in the boiler room on a cold Saturday morning. Aided by high winds, the entire structure was fully engulfed in flames within a half-hour. Six children were rescued from the school by faculty members.
<blockquote><tt>
Classes resumed the following Wednesday at City Hall in downtown.<ref>{{cite news | title = Plattsburgh State Normal School Destroyed By Fire Saturday | url = http://news.nnyln.net/plattsburgh-sentinel/1929/plattsburgh-sentinel-1929-january%20-%200051.pdf | work = The Plattsburgh Sentinel | page = 3 | date = [[January 29]], [[1929]]}}</ref> By June of [[1930]] plans were presented for a new structure to replace Normal Hall. The new building would be twice as long and boast three times the capacity of the original building. Among it's many modern features was a 1,000 seat auditorium.
The African Pigmy, "Ota Benga."<br/>
Age, 23 years. Height, 4 feet 11 inches.<br/>
Weight, 103 pounds. Brought from the<br/>
Kasai River, Congo Free State, South Cen-<br/>
tral Africa, by Dr. Samuel P. Verner. Ex-<br/>
hibited each afternoon during September.
</tt><ref name="nyt1906">"Man and Monkey Show Disapproved by Clergy." ''[[New York Times]]'', [[September 10]], [[1906]], pg. 1.</ref>
</blockquote>
[[Image:Ota Benga at Bronx Zoo.jpg|thumb|230px|Ota Benga in 1906, purportedly at the Bronx Zoo.]]
The new structure was completed in [[1932]] and was named Hawkins Hall in honor of George K. Hawkins, the principal of Plattsburgh Normal School from [[1898]] to [[1933]].<sup>[http://web.plattsburgh.edu/academics/catalog/files/region.pdf]</sup>
Bronx Zoo director William Hornaday saw the exhibit as a valuable spectacle for his visitors, and was encouraged by [[Madison Grant]], a prominent [[scientific racism|scientific racist]] and [[eugenics|eugenicist]].
In response to immediate protests from [[African-American]] [[Baptist]] clergymen, Hornaday had Ota Benga removed from the exhibit. Public arguments were that the exhibit was [[racism|racist]]—"Our race, we think, is depressed enough, without exhibiting one of us with the apes," said clergyman James H. Gordon. Its apparent promotion of evolution was also a concern; Gordon stated, "The Darwinian theory is absolutely opposed to Christianity, and a public demonstration in its favor should not be permitted."<ref name="nyt2006"/> Benga was then allowed to roam the grounds of the zoo as a sort of interactive exhibit. In response to his general situation and to verbal and physical prods from the crowds, his behavior became at first mischievous and then somewhat violent.
===State University of New York===
Plattsburgh Normal School was renamed '''[[SUNY Plattsburgh]]''' when it joined the [[State University of New York]] system with its establishment in [[1948]]. When the school became part of the SUNY system, it changed from a two-year teacher's institution to a selective, four-year, public [[liberal arts college|liberal arts]] college.
Toward the end of September 1906, Ota Benga again came under the guardianship of Gordon, who placed him in the Howard Colored Orphan Asylum (of which Gordon was the superintendent), a church-sponsored [[orphanage]]. In January 1910, Gordon arranged for Benga's relocation to [[Lynchburg, Virginia|Lynchburg]], [[Virginia]].
During the [[1960's]] and [[1970's]] SUNY Plattsburgh, as well as the whole State University of New York system, underwent rapid growth.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} Many of the more modern buildings on campus were constructed during this time period, including the Angell College Center, Feinberg Library, and several high-rise dormitories.
While in Virginia, Ota Benga's teeth, which he had filed to points in the Congo,<ref name="nyt2006"/> were capped, and he was dressed in American-style clothes. He was tutored by Lynchburg poet [[Anne Spencer]] and briefly attended classes at the Virginia Theological Seminary and College. He was much more at home discarding his clothes and roaming the nearby woods with his bow and arrow.
==More information==
[[Image:SUNY Plattsburgh-Angell courtyard.jpg|thumb|215px|Amity Plaza in front of the Angell College Center, 2006]]
SUNY Plattsburgh offers degree programs, primarily at the Bachelor's level, in over 60 areas of study. Nestled within the [[Champlain Valley]], in the shadow of the [[Adirondack Mountains]], and along the western banks of [[Lake Champlain]], the college is home to approximately 6,000 students and 300 faculty.
He discontinued his formal education and began working at a Lynchburg [[tobacco]] factory. Despite his small size, he proved a valuable employee because he could climb up the poles to get the [[tobacco]] leaves without having to use a ladder. His fellow workers called him "Bingo" and he would tell his life story in exchange for sandwiches and root beer.
Plattsburgh maintains the original goals of the ''Plattsburgh Normal School'' in the form of a well-regarded education department and a nursing program. All degree programs are offered within three academic divisions: Arts and Science; Education, Health and Human Services (including the [[SUNY Plattsburgh Auditory Research Laboratories]]); the School of Business and Economics.
Ota Benga was caught between two worlds, unable to return to Africa, and viewed mainly as a curiosity in the U.S. On [[March 20]], [[1916]], at the age of 32, he built a ceremonial fire, chipped off the caps on his teeth, performed a final tribal dance, and shot himself in the heart with a stolen pistol. The death certificate listed his name as "Otto Bingo."
[[Image:Amity_plaza.jpg|thumb|215px|Amity Plaza, 1990]]
SUNY Plattsburgh is also notable for its pioneering environmental science program, its communications and media program, its national championship hockey team, and its large art museum.
He was buried in an unmarked grave, records show, in the black section of the Old City Cemetery, near his benefactor, Gregory Hayes. At some point, however, both went missing. Local oral history indicates that Hayes and Ota Benga were eventually moved from the Old Cemetery to White Rock Cemetery, a burial ground that fell into disrepair.
Plattsburgh State was the first college in the [[SUNY]] system to offer an [[environmental science]] program; one of the best in [[North America]], which is popular with the many students who choose to attend Plattsburgh for its close proximity to the [[Adirondack Mountains]]. The region provides further advantages for students enrolling in Plattsburgh's Bachelor's program in Expeditionary Studies.
==Legacy==
The Men's Hockey and Women's Hockey teams are perennial powerhouses in the [[National Collegiate Athletic Association|NCAA's]] division III. The men's team has won the national championship title several times, with the women's hockey team making it to the Frozen Four numerous times. The Plattsburgh State Art Museum is considered a "Museum Without Walls" and includes the Rockwell Kent Gallery (repository of the bulk of the work of American painter [[Rockwell Kent]]), a large open-air sculpture park, and a number of works by other well-known artists including [[Pablo Picasso]] and [[Auguste Rodin]]. The college also offers an extensive [[Canadian Studies]] program through the Center for the Study of Canada. About 1,200 students — approximately 20 percent of the undergraduate population—have taken required Canadian Studies courses, the highest percentage of any college in the United States.<ref>Zaidi, Noor. [http://www.columbiaspectator.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticlePrinterFriendly&uStory_id=7293835d-5dda-4c89-9f28-071d21f37aab "Oh Canada! It's More Than Just Hockey And Beer."] Columbia Spectator. [[December 3]], [[2004]].</ref>
Phillips Verner Bradford is the grandson of Samuel Phillips Verner, and authored a 1992 book on Ota Benga entitled ''Ota Benga: The Pygmy in the Zoo''.<ref>{{cite book
==Location==
| last = Phillips Verner
Plattsburgh State is within close proximity of [[Lake Champlain]] and the [[Adirondack Mountains]]. The campus is less than a ninety minute drive from the city of [[Montreal]].
| first = Bradford
| coauthors = Blume, Harvey
| year = 1992
| title = Ota Benga: The Pygmy in the Zoo
| publisher = St. Martins Press
| ___location = New York
}}
</ref> During his research for the book, he visited the American Museum of Natural History in New York, which holds a life mask and body cast of Ota Benga. To this day, the display is still labeled "Pygmy", rather than indicating Benga's name, despite objections that began almost a century ago from Verner himself.<ref>{{cite news
| first = Darrel
| last = Laurent
| url = http://www.newsadvance.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=LNA%2FMGArticle%2FLNA_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031782991730&path=!news!archive
| title = Demeaned in Life, Forgotten in Death
| work =
| publisher = The Lynchburg News & Advance
| date = [[2005-05-29]]
| accessdate = 2006-04-03
}}
</ref>
Ota Benga became the subject of a short film directed by the Brazilian Alfeu França. França recovered and used original movies recorded by Verner himself in the early 20th century to create the 2002 documentary ''Ota Benga: A Pygmy in America''.<ref>{{cite video
A ferry to [[Grand Isle, Vermont]] is also a short 15-minute drive from the campus, making a trip to [[Burlington, Vermont]] an hour away from Plattsburgh. Many SUNY Plattsburgh students are avid skiers and snowboarders as evidenced from the popular [http://www.plattsburgh.edu/academics/adx/ Adirondack Experience Program] or '''ADX'''. ADX often facilitates trips to [[Whiteface Mountain]] and [[Titus Mountain]].
| title = Ota Benga:A Pygmy in America
| people = Alfeu França
| date = 2002
| medium = film
}}
</ref> In Brazil the film was shown at the festival É Tudo Verdade ("It's All True").
==References==
== Notable professors, alumni and former students ==
<references />
* [[Dave Annable]], [[Actor]]. ''[[Reunion (TV series)|Reunion]]'' (2005), ''[[Brothers & Sisters]]'' (2006-present)- Former Student
* [[Dawn Fratangelo]], [[Reporter]], [[NBC News]]-Alumna
* [[Nancy Kress]], [[science fiction]] [[writer]], [[Hugo Award]] winner for [[Beggars in Spain]]<ref>[http://www.sff.net/people/nankress/ Nancy Kress' official homepage] (accessed 10 Dec 2005)</ref>-Alumna
* [[Tim Robbins]], [[Academy Awards|Oscar]]-winning [[actor]] (''[[The Shawshank Redemption]]'', ''[[Mystic River]]'')<ref>[http://movies2.nytimes.com/gst/movies/filmography.html?p_id=108437&mod=bio Tim Robbins' New York Times biography] (accessed 10 Dec 2005)</ref>-Former Student
* [[Anthony D. Weiner]], [[U.S. Congressman]] [[New York]] 9th District<ref>[http://www.anthonyweiner.com/blog/show/37 Anthony Weiner campaign blog] (accessed 10 Dec 2005)</ref>-Alumnus
* {{cite book
== Campus media ==
| last = Smith
* ''Cardinal Points'' - Student-run newspaper.
| first = Ken
* ''[[PSTV (SUNY Plattsburgh)|Plattsburgh State Television]]'' - Student run television station.
| year = 1998
* ''[[WQKE]] 93.9FM'' - Student run radio station named The Quake focusing on underground music of all genres.
| title = Raw deal : horrible and ironic stories of forgotten Americans
| publisher = Blast Books, Inc.
| ___location = New York
|
}} ISBN 0-922233-20-9.
== TriviaSee also ==
*''[[Human zoo]]'': zoo exhibitions of human beings alongside apes and other animals at the end of the 19th century until the mid-20th century.
* Often mistaken for Hawkins Hall, the structure on the left side of the current SUNY Plattsburgh seal is the central tower of the original Normal Hall (1889-1929).
* [[Peter Frampton|Peter Frampton's]] [[classic rock]] hit song ''[[Do You Feel Like We Do]]'', from the best-selling album ''[[Frampton Comes Alive!]]'' was recorded live on the campus of SUNY Plattsburgh on [[November 22]],[[1975]].<ref>Crowe, Cameron (1976). Do You Feel Like We Do. In Frampton Comes Alive [CD liner notes]. Santa Monica: A&M Records.</ref> This [http://www.plattsburgh.edu/sa Student Association] sponsored concert was held at Memorial Hall.
* On [[July 10]], [[1976]], the campus of SUNY Plattsburgh served as the official [[staging area]] for the [[United States]] Olympic Team before leaving for the [[1976 Summer Olympics]] in nearby [[Montreal]], [[Canada]]. [[President of the United States|President]] [[Gerald Ford]] visited the college campus to address the 425 Olympic athletes outside the Plattsburgh State Field House.<ref>{{cite news |last = Reinhold | first = Robert | title = Ford Gives Olympic Athletes a Send-Off | work = The New York Times | page = 1 | date = [[July 11]], [[1976]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title = Ford speech in Plattsburgh | work = The Press Republican | url = http://www.pressrepublican.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061228/NEWS/612280312/1001&ts=ts2 | format = Reprint | date = [[December 28]], [[2006]] | accessdate = 2007-01-02}}</ref>
* In [[1904]], Plattsburgh Normal College was shut out by Potsdam Normal College in a collegiate [[basketball]] game by a score of 123-0.<ref>{{cite book | last = Conner | first = Floyd | title = Basketball's Most Wanted | publisher = Brassey's | date = Oct 1, 2001 | page = 149 of 304 | url = http://books.google.com/books?vid=ISBN1574883615&id=V3uUBPiGhFAC&pg=PA149&lpg=PA149&dq=Plattsburgh+%22Normal+College%22&sig=Dbqib5E_xZd_PhqOw_yCbHfbGYM | id = ISBN 1-57488-361-5}}</ref>
== References ==
<references />
*{{cite book | last = Skopp | first = Dr. Douglas Richard <sup>[http://www.plattsburgh.edu/academics/history/faculty/skopp.php]</sup> | title = Bright With Promise: From the Normal and Training School to SUNY Plattsburgh: 1889-1989; A Pictorial History | publisher = Donning Press | date = 1989 | ___location = Norfolk, VA }}
==External links==
*[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5787947 September 8, 2006 NPR story]
* [http://www.plattsburgh.edu/ SUNY Plattsburgh]
* [http://www.plattsburghotabenga.edu/saorg Ota StudentBenga AssociationAlliance]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benga, Ota}}
* [http://web.plattsburgh.edu/president/past.php Past Presidents and Principals of Plattsburgh State]
* [http://www.cardinalpointsonline.com Cardinal Points]
* [http://www.pstv1017.tv/ Plattsburgh State Television]
* [http://wqke.org/ WQKE "The Quake"]
* [http://www.mikesussman.com/blog/2007/01/suny-plattsburgh-trivia.php SUNY Plattsburgh Trivia]
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[[Category:African Pygmies]]
{{State University of New York Athletic Conference}}
[[Category:1884 births]]
{{SUNY}}
[[Category:1916 deaths]]
[[Category:Suicides by firearm]]
[[Category:Slaves]]
[[tr:Ota Benga]]
[[Category:Clinton County, New York]]
[[Category:Educational institutions established in 1889|Plattsburgh]]
[[Category:Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools]]
[[Category:State University of New York Athletic Conference|Plattsburgh]]
[[Category:State University of New York university colleges|Plattsburgh]]
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