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february 8, 2011
T H E I N DE PE N DE N T S T U DE N T N E W SPA PE R OF S Y R ACUSE , N E W YOR K
INSIDENEWS
INSIDEOPINION
INSIDEPULP
Speaking debate Campus groups host a
So right it’s wrong Jimmy Paul discusses when
Learning experience The ‘Cuse Spot Initiative brings
discussion on the censored film “A Fire In My Belly.” Page 3
political correctness goes too far. Page 5
together SU students and community kids. Page 9
INSIDESPORTS
On the right track After numerous injuries slowed Steve Murdock down in his SU career, the senior is healthy and ready to tackle his lofty goals. Page 16
J. Michael opens next to Follett’s
Search for 2012 commencement speaker begins By Laurence Leveille ASST. COPY EDITOR
Bill Clinton, Ted Koppel, Billy Joel and Vice President Joe Biden — each have been commencement speakers at Syracuse University in the past. Now the 2012 commencement speaker is up for selection, and SU is accepting nominations on the university’s commencement website until March 18. Anyone can submit suggestions, including students, alumni, faculty, parents and members of the Syracuse community. A couple hundred names are submitted to the website every year, said Susan Germain, executive director of special events. All nominations will be compiled into an unranked alphabetical list and sent to a student committee, she said. The committee is made up of two senior class marshals, student marshals from each school and college, and student representatives of the Board of Trustees, Germain said. “Syracuse University is fortunate that they take the marshals from each of the schools and colleges, which is a pretty representative group,” Germain said. Although SU allows students to participate in the decision process, only the chancellor and president at other universities choose who the commencement speaker will be, Germain said. “In many cases, it may be the chancellor or president who speaks,” she said. On April 1, the student comSEE COMMENCEMENT PAGE 7
OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS To suggest a commencement speaker, students, staff, faculty, alumni and Syracuse community members can fill out a form on the commencement website, commencement.syr.edu. The form asks for the nominee’s name, title, area of expertise and achievements.
By Dara McBride NEWS EDITOR
kirsten celo | photo editor VICTORIA HUISH, a J. Michael Shoes employee for two years, works Monday in the store’s temporary location in Marshall Square Mall. After a water main break in January, the store was forced to move.
st uden t a ssoci ation
Financial vision sees approval, concerns By Laurence Leveille ASST. COPY EDITOR
With a new financial vision in place, members of student organizations will have a clearer idea of what is expected of them during this spring’s funding process. The 55th Legislative Session of Student Association passed its new financial vision Jan. 31 — a vision significantly more specific than previous visions. The vision serves as a guideline for the Finance Board, which reviews budget requests for the allocation of the $2 million student activity fee to student organizations at Syracuse University. Unlike previous visions, which focused on programs that brought value to the campus community and collaboration between organizations, the new vision includes a four-tier system dependent on a student organization’s prior programming experience to determine finance allocation. “Before, a new student group could apply for $10,000 and would assume they would get it because they thought it was perfect,” said Jeff Rickert, SA comptroller.
Sometimes organizations request funding, receive the money and then the event funded is canceled or a minimal number of students attend, Rickert said. The new financial vision aims to prevent this by focusing on an organization’s experience. Organizations with little experience will receive no more than $5,000. As an organization plans more successful events, it will have the opportunity to receive up to $12,000 or up to $25,000. Once an organization has proved it is capable of programming successfully, it can request funding for events that cost $25,000 or more, according to the financial vision. Organizations can move up a tier if they host successful events or down a tier if they do not. The financial vision will give them a better idea about how much money they should expect to receive, Rickert said. The new vision also includes a provision that will allow no more than eight similar events per semester. If, for example, 10 student groups wanted to bring a comedian, not all ten events would receive funding because there could be another event that’s better,
Rickert said. This is meant to reach out to more groups. The Finance Board will determine cost efficiency by dividing the total amount of money requested by the expected number of students attending the event. If the cost per student is above $35, the Finance Board must justify why the event deserves its recommended funding. “We had these rules before, but it was never set in stone,” Rickert said. Since the vision was passed, SA has received positive feedback from student organizations, said SA President Neal Casey. Hillel Jewish Student Union had difficulty receiving funding for its 60th anniversary concert two semesters in a row. The new vision plan will hopefully give Hillel better opportunities to receive funding, said Hillel President Michael Weiss. In spring 2010, Hillel applied for $77,370 but was denied funding because SA does not typically provide more than $70,000 for Goldstein Auditorium events and because the Finance Board did not believe it reflected the organiSEE FUNDING PAGE 4
For the first time since the store was established in the 1980s, J. Michael Shoes opened its doors to customers away from its Marshall Street location. On Monday, the retailer began operating out of its temporary space next to Follett’s Orange Bookstore in Marshall Square Mall. Due to a January water main break, J. Michael’s Marshall Street location will be closed for two to three months while repairs are made. “The best part of having this space is the chance to be open again,” said
SEE J. MICHAEL PAGE 6
SHARE THE WEALTH In Student Association’s new financial vision, student groups receive funding based on previous programming experience. Groups are eligible for more funding based on the success of previous events. Based on the given criteria, groups can receive:
+$25,000 Proven success with event programming
A MAXIMUM OF
$25,000 Multiple successful events
A MAXIMUM OF
$12,000 Some successful events
A MAXIMUM OF
$5,000 Little to no event programming experience