free
tuesday
feb. 11, 2014 high 17°, low -4°
t h e i n de p e n de n t s t u de n t n e w s pa p e r of s y r a c u s e , n e w yor k |
O • Fighting hunger
dailyorange.com
P • Fast food
The Daily Orange editorial board explains how the Hendricks Food Pantry can expand its services to meet demands. Page 5
Charlie LaNoue, a Jimmy John’s delivery man, travels by bicycle out of love for the environment. Page 9
Company intends to settle
By Annie Palmer news editor
Personal and university property were stolen from several offices on the third floor of Newhouse II Sunday. The thefts occurred in conjunction with at least 18 attempted break-ins to rooms 335 through 376. An email was sent out to S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications faculty and staff at
By Dylan Segelbaum staff writer
see fine page 8
Syracuse scored 13 first-half goals and blew away Siena 19-7 in its season opener on Monday. Page 16
DPS investigates Newhouse thefts
Insurance company to settle lawsuit with SU over Bernie Fine costs
An insurance company Syracuse University sued over the costs of preparing subpoenas related to the Bernie Fine investigation intends to settle, according to a letter filed in Onondaga County Supreme Court on Friday. The one-page letter, from Ken Frenchman, SU’s attorney, says both parties have agreed to a settlement and that papers will be sent in soon. The terms of the settlement weren’t laid out in the letter. SU sued the insurance company for breach of contract on Aug. 22, 2012 after it refused to cover the university’s financial losses for preparing the subpoenas. In court documents, the university has said the process cost “millions of dollars.” In March, Onondaga County Supreme Court Justice Donald Greenwood ruled National Union Fire Insurance Co. must cover
S • Quick start
hot spots
Here are other addresses that have been burglarized in the last week. The thefts are also connected to the ones in Newhouse. • 775 Comstock Ave. (Shaw) • 301 University Place • 130 University Place • 102 Walnut Place (Hillel) • 400 Comstock Ave. (Haven)
around 4:41 p.m. Sunday notifying them that the Department of Public Safety was investigating a stolen laptop. Several of the offices showed evidence of their doors being tampered with, but it is unclear if they were broken into
or if the attempts were unsuccessful, according to the email The burglaries took place during the weekend, between Friday night and Sunday evening, said DPS Chief Tony Callisto. The thefts are connected to the eight academic buildings that were burglarized in the last two weeks, including Huntington Hall, Sci-Tech, the College of Law, Crouse College and Archbold, Callisto said. Small electronics were mostly stolen from the buildings, Callisto said. The markings on the doors in Newhouse appear to be made by a crow bar, said Suzanne Lysak, an assistant professor of broadcast and digital journalism. Lysak, whose office is located in room 370 of Newhouse II, said nothing was stolen from her office. But other professors weren’t so lucky. Kevin O’Neill, an associate professor of advertising, and Johanna Keller, an associate professor of arts journalism, reported laptops were stolen from their offices. Keller said two universityowned laptops, USB drives and
see break-ins page 8
Doors to offices on the third floor of Newhouse II showed evidence of them being tampered with. On Sunday, both personal and university property were stolen from some Newhouse offices, such as laptops, while others were not burglarized. margaret lin asst. photo editor
Learning curve Kavajecz explains Whitman grading policy changes By Lydia Wilson asst. copy editor
W pierre yourougou, a clinical associate professor of finance, leads a lecture on corporate valuation. sterling boin staff photographer
hen Ken Kavajecz became the dean of the Martin J. Whitman School of Management in April, he wasted no time addressing what he said he saw as inconsistencies in the school’s curriculum. He noticed grading distributions of some courses were irregular at best. He discovered some classes giving one hundred percent A’s and felt this needed to change.
“In my mind, that doesn’t fit with reality,” Kavajecz said. Whitman implemented a new grading system at the start of the spring semester in order to counter any discrepancies in curriculum while also increasing the rigor of courses, Kavajecz said. The new grading system applies to all Whitman undergraduate courses, excluding honors classes and internships taken for credit. The system creates a curve in which, at most, only the top 33 percent of the class
will receive A’s, creating a class average around a B or B-plus. The system was created in the summer of 2013, discussed in the fall, and then unanimously voted on and passed. Whitman faculty members creating the system looked at similarly curved grading models such as the one used by Princeton University’s business school. Angus Heaton, an undeclared freshman in Whitman, said he found out about the policy changes when announcements were made in class see whitman page 8