RIDING THE ELEPHANT hi
43° |
lo
THURSDAY
33°
february 23, 2012
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
INSIDESPORTS
Gray scale Students voice their opinions
Closing the book The Daily Orange Editorial
New club on the block Meet the members of the recently
Game of runs A 26-0 spurt by Syracuse
on the temporary Syracuse basketball uniforms. Page 3
Board discusses how the Pan Am Flight 103 bomber’s memoirs will affect SU. Page 5
reinstated ping-pong club. Page 9
Elephant W in the room
fine a llegations By Debbie Truong MANAGING EDITOR
sides of the aisle and some political science professors agree the cam-
hen an image of President
pus community tends to lean more
Barack Obama was hung
toward the political left. Some owe
behind the front counter
SU’s liberal lean to the university’s
of Ernie Davis Dining Center in
geographic location, others to the
honor of Black History Month, some
nature of academia in general.
interpreted the framed poster —syn-
Weiss viewed the poster as an
onymous with Obama’s 2008 bid for
unnecessary political statement
presidency — as a political message.
that indicates SU is “very much a
“While Obama is a figurehead for
Members from both sides of political aisle view SU as liberalleaning campus
propelled the Orange to a 56-48 win over South Florida. Page 24
left-leaning campus.”
black history, his slogan ‘Change’
Amy Snider, president of SU’s
should not be brought into the
45-person College Democrats, did
conversation,” said Zach Weiss,
not interpret the poster politically.
chairman of SU’s 30-member Col-
Instead, she saw the poster as sig-
lege Republicans, referring to the
nifying that “we are no longer the
rallying point used throughout the
America of Martin Luther King Jr.”
president’s first campaign.
“I would never think it inappro-
In the thick of GOP presiden-
priate to hang a poster of the presi-
tial primary season, the poster
dent of the United States up in a din-
prompted an especially timely
ing hall, up in a dorm room, up in a
conversation about the political
street corner, regardless of political
culture at Syracuse
affiliation,” Snider said. “He is the
University. Stu-
president of the United States.”
dents from both
SEE REPUBLICANS PAGE 6
graphic illustration by ankur patankar | presentation director
Syracuse chosen for suit venue By Marwa Eltagouri ASST. NEWS EDITOR
The defamation suit filed against Syracuse University and men’s head basketball coach Jim Boeheim will now be moved to Syracuse. State Supreme Court Justice Brian DeJoseph made the ruling Wednesday after hearing arguments Tuesday morning from Mary Beth Hogan, representing SU, and Mariann Meier Wang and Julie Ehrlich, representing former ball boys Bobby Davis and Mike Lang. The ruling stated that Davis and Lang’s attorneys failed to show a fair trial could not be held in Onondaga County and that potential jurors would be affected financially by the outcome of the case, according to court papers. Gloria Allred, the high-profile attorney representing Davis and Lang, said in an email she is prepared to move forward with the case despite the change of venue. “We remain confident in our case,” she said. Davis and Lang claim Boeheim defamed them when he publicly accused the stepbrothers of lying about Bernie Fine, former associate men’s basketball coach, molest-
SEE DEFAMATION PAGE 8
Follett’s closes doors after serving students for more than 20 years By Nicki Gorny STAFF WRITER
When Margaret Clevenger was 8 years old, a trip to Follett’s Orange Bookstore meant getting pom-poms to cheer on the Syracuse University basketball team or choosing a Beanie Baby from the store’s display. When she returned to SU as a college freshman, a trip to Follett’s meant purchasing textbooks for a
new semester and finding gifts for her family. But on Wednesday, a trip to Follett’s meant seeing empty shelves and browsing a small rack offering lanyards, binders and a few T-shirts for 75 percent off. Follett’s, located in Marshall Square Mall, closed permanently after more than 20 years on Wednesday. Several factors, including competition from the SU Bookstore in the Schine Student
Center and online textbook sellers, were responsible for the closing. For Clevenger, a sophomore public relations major who lived in Syracuse for one year as a child, the closing was unfortunate for both sentimental and practical reasons. Because she often went there with her family before basketball games or to meet her father for lunch, she said she bought her family members
Christmas presents from the bookstore as a student. “It was funny to be like, ‘This is from Follett’s!’ because we’ve always gone there,” she said. She said her family was surprised to hear the bookstore was closing because it had been in business for so long. “It kind of sucks for students,” she said, “because now we only have one option.”
Amy Jensen, a junior linguistics major, said having only one bookstore on campus could be problematic as well. She said she bought textbooks at Follett’s because the SU Bookstore often didn’t carry the books for her major. “I just hope Schine gets their act together and buys my books now that there are no other options,” she said.
SEE FOLLETT’S PAGE 8