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Political scientist and Teen Vogue columnist Jenn M. Jackson is set to teach at SU next year. Her course will focus on power dynamics within race and gender. Page 7
Kathy O’Connell, the first candidate for Disability Cultural Center director to visit campus, spoke to SU students about disability culture Tuesday in Bird Library. Page 3
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Syracuse men’s basketball has six games left. With an up-anddown season so far, the final stretch will define the Orange’s postseason success. Page 12
ackerman avenue assault
SU responds to demands after Ackerman assault forum By Casey Darnell asst. news editor
Syracuse University has begun work on several initiatives that students demanded during a Monday night forum focused on the assault of three students along Ackerman Avenue earlier this month and the subsequent police response to what many campus groups, including Student Association, have called a racially-charged attack. The university is taking immediate action in seven areas, SU officials said in a campus-wide email Tuesday afternoon. Those initiatives
include working with the Syracuse Police Department to “facilitate� a meeting with students about safety and the consideration of an investment to help install additional security cameras in the university neighborhood, according to the email. SU also plans to evaluate latenight transportation options for students, seek feedback on university policy of excluding race from crime reports and provide a map of DPS’ jurisdiction to clarify if campus or city police will respond to noise complaints, per the email. Department of Public Safety Chief Bobby Maldonado, Dean of
Students Rob Hradsky and interim Chief Diversity Officer Keith Alford sent the email. All three officials answered questions from students, faculty and staff during Monday night’s forum.
I can only respect the words of the Syracuse Police Department. Bobby Maldonado
department of public safety chief
Students at the forum criticized the communication from SU and DPS about the Feb. 9 assault of three students of color on Ackerman Avenue. Jair Walker, who was attacked, said at the forum that one of the attackers called Walker a “n*gger.� Maldonado said it is DPS’ policy to omit the race of the suspects or victims of a crime. The Tuesday email said the Feb. 9 assault involved “clearly racist language.� When Maldonado arrived on campus in 2015, the existing DPS policy was to exclude the race of suspects in campus alerts, he said at
city
the forum. DPS created the current policy after students of color raised concerns about possible racial profiling, he added. Maldonado said he wants community input about whether the policy of omitting race should be changed. SU will continue to seek input on the policy, the Tuesday email said. SPD is investigating the assault because DPS does not have jurisdiction to investigate off-campus incidents, Maldonado said during the forum, and it would be “unprofessional� for him to conclude that the assault was a hate crime, he added. see dps page 4
on campus
University to rezone off-campus properties Expelled student View of northern SU properties View of southern SU properties sues SU I-81
East Colvin Street
Irving Avenue
East Colvin Street
Student says university mishandled a sexual assault case against him
Vincent Street
By Casey Darnell asst. news editor
Upstate Medical University
Thurber Street
I-81
Skytop Road
Jamesville Avenue
Goldstein Student Center
Waverly Avenue
Irving Avenue
Hall of Languages
Skytop Road
I-81
Several addresses listed were not clearly-defined locations with set boundaries and are marked on the map at approximate sites
graphics by talia trackim digital design director
By Kennedy Rose and India Miraglia the daily orange
Syracuse University is pursuing an expansion of its Planned Institutional District for a number of properties it owns around Syracuse in response to a large-scale city rezoning plan. The city’s “ReZone Syracuse� project aims to update Syracuse’s zoning ordinance to better accommodate “smart growth,� transit and neighborhood development. SU’s rezoning would take properties currently zoned as residential, industrial or commercial properties and place them under a uniform Planned Institutional District. The university plans to rezone lands close to the SU’s Main Campus and near Skytop on South Campus, including addresses along University Avenue, Harrison Street and East Colvin Street.
“As part of SU’s review of our zoning districts amidst the City’s ‘ReZone Syracuse’ zoning update process, it became apparent to us that PID zoning is more appropriate in these particular locations; thus, the proposed rezonings,� Assistant Director for Campus Planning Jennifer Bybee said in a statement. SU has no building or redevelopment plans for the locations it’s rezoning, Bybee said. Petition filings to the city’s Planning Commission confirmed that SU has no plans for those locations, as of Tuesday. SU will also pursue new zoning classifications for undeveloped land near South Campus, including in wooded areas close to East Colvin Street. Syracuse’s zoning department defines a Planned Institutional District as a zone that encourages “the orderly, cooperative and
flexible development and expansion of institutional land uses.� It can be used to ensure compatibility and functionality for buildings throughout the district, as well as to help traffic flow through the space. Planned Institutional Districts can be used by schools, hospitals and clinics, religious institutions, charitable organizations, daycares and fraternities and sororities, according to the current zoning ordinance. Bybee said city zoning officials support SU’s rezoning efforts, and that they have worked with university representatives to determine best practices for rezoning. The rezoning would also create additional sub-districts within SU’s Planned Institutional District. Those new sub-districts would encompass the Steam Station, near Interstate see zoning page 4
A former graduate student is suing Syracuse University in federal court, accusing the university of wrongfully expelling him after a sexual misconduct allegation, according to court documents. The graduate student, listed as “John Doe� in the lawsuit, attended SU from 2016-17 as a student in the Forensic and National Security Sciences Institute, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit was filed Feb. 11, court records show. SU expelled the student in spring 2017 after the University Conduct Board concluded he was guilty of sexual assault, per the lawsuit. In the lawsuit, the graduate student accused SU of violating his rights under federal law, the New York State Constitution and the university’s own policies. The student requested SU pay direct and indirect damages the student experienced after his expulsion as well as punitive damages for allegedly violating his rights, court documents show. Sarah Scalese, SU’s senior associate vice president for university communications, said in a statement Tuesday that the university is committed to investigating and resolving Title IX complaints as fairly, efficiently and sensitively as possible. “That is what happened in this case,� Scalese said. “Per federal privacy law and University policy, we do not comment on the specifics of any individual cases.� The lawsuit lists Sheila Johnsonsee lawsuit page 4