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march 21, 2019 high 46°, low 34°
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dailyorange.com
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Men’s basketball head coach Jim Boeheim grew up at a funeral home in Lyons, New York. His roots from the small town have stayed strong throughout Boeheim’s career. Page 12
The LGBT Resource Center will host a clothing swap on March 29 at its suite in Bird Library to help expand the center’s genderaffirming clothing closet. Page 7
Syracuse University’s Graduate Student Organization may discuss the possibility of installing more CCTV cameras in off-campus neighborhoods. Page 3
city
SPD chief outlines plan to decrease overtime spending By Casey Darnell asst. news editor
Syracuse Police Chief Kenton Buckner said at a City Hall meeting on Wednesday that he plans to switch police officers to patrols shifts, hire more officers and review the department’s highestpaid officers to reduce overtime spending. BUCKNER The city spent
more than $8.2 million on overtime for the Syracuse Police Department in the 2017 fiscal year and members of the Common Council have criticized the department’s overtime spending in the past. Buckner said SPD has spent $7.4 million on overtime this fiscal year, which ends in June. Institutions like Syracuse University and city schools have reimbursed the department $2 million for events where additional police security is needed. Buckner, who started as chief in December, said in his first four months he has worked
to get a handle on overtime spending. The SPD has 406 officers, but not all of them are patrolling. Some perform community relations functions and others serve in administrative roles, such as in the records department. Buckner said he’s working to change the shifts of community relations to nighttime shifts. Community relations officers were previously scheduled to work 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., but most of their duties involved attending community meetings at night, Buckner said. He said it didn’t make sense to pay those officers
overtime to attend the meetings. “In no way, shape or form is this any shade on any of the individuals working those hours,” Buckner said. “This is just me trying to be a good steward of the dollars we have and how to reduce some of the overtime.” The department is also in the process of reviewing its top 30 overtime earners. Buckner also said he plans to move sworn officers from administrative positions to patrol shifts, decreasing the amount of money SPD has to spend on overtime for patrol shifts.
on campus
SU honors deceased community members
The department would hire civilians to replace the officers removed from administrative positions. When the department has a large number of vacancies, officers have to work extra hours to pick up the slack — resulting in higher overtime spending. A total of 29 officers retired from the department between July 1, 2018 and Feb. 28, 2019, Buckner said. SPD expects an additional six officers to retire by April, but a new officer class graduating in May will put the total count at 439 officers. see police page 6
student association
Mertikas, Saied announce campaign By Gabe Stern
asst. news editor
Syracuse University community members gathered at Hendricks Chapel on Wednesday for its annual Service of Commemoration. The service is held to remember people at SU who have died in the past year. dan lyon asst. photo editor By India Miraglia asst. news editor
Syracuse University’s annual Service of Commemoration was held in Hendricks Chapel on Wednesday to remember SU community members who have died in the past year. This was the third year that the service has been given. More than 100 people attended the service, which honored 84 students, faculty, staff, retirees and trustees. “We gather to remember those that like the turn of the seasons, have now made their own sacred switch from this life to the next,” Hendricks Chapel Dean Brain Konkol said as part of the service’s welcoming remarks. Konkol also began the service with a prayer. Senior Kenny Buckner, a Remembrance Scholar, spoke after Konkol. He talked about being a part of the SU “Orange” community. “In this family, everyone comes to share their stories, their jokes and their love at the
table,” Buckner said. “And when we leave, whether it’s to another city or from this Earth, a plate is still set for each one of us.” The names of the students, faculty, staff, retirees and trustees who died in 2018 were read during the ceremony. Student Association President Ghufran Salih read the names of the two SU students who died: senior Brianna Herrera – who died in a bus crash in January – and alumnus Jason Starzyk. Madison Albert, a friend of Herrera, lit two candles for the students, one before their names were read and one after. Chancellor Kent Syverud read the names of the faculty, staff, retirees and trustees who died, while Department of Biology Chair Ramesh Raina lit the candles. Syverud also spoke during the service. He said it gets harder and harder each year to read the names each service, as each year he knows more people on the list. “The memories are sweet, but it takes
a toll to read this list,” Syverud said. “And yet, on this beautiful spring day, campus filled with young and not-so-young people, we cannot be sad. We really must be grateful for their lives.” SU’s Hendricks Chapel Choir performed two songs during the service — “Flight Song” by Kim André Arnesen and “Ndikhokhele Bawo,” a traditional IsiXhosa song. Anne Laver, university organist, played at the beginning of the service and during its recessional. Freshman Morgan Eaton spoke at the end of the service. He said the memories of people who died are made more special when people work to better the lives of others in the name of those memories. “When someone leaves us in a physical sense, we must take on the responsibility of two people, two lives and two legacies,” Eaton said. “We live our lives on our own terms but are guided by the presence of those see commemoration page 6
Syracuse University students Mackenzie Mertikas and Sameeha Saied announced their candidacy for president and vice president of SU’s Student Association in a Facebook post Tuesday afternoon. Mertikas, a junior public relations and political science major, currently serves as SA’s chief of staff and has served as an assembly member in the past. She is president of SU’s Traditions Commission, which plans events such as homecoming, and cochair of the Student Communications Advisory Committee, said campaign manager Julia Howard-Flanders. Saied is a sophomore studying psychology. Her campus involvement includes being an orientation leader, a member of OrangeSeeds — a first-year leadership empowerment program — and community relations chair for OttoTHON 2019, a fundraising dance marathon for Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital. Saied also works as a tutor in Literacy Corps, which brings SU students into city elementary and middle schools as part of the Shaw Center. “We believe all students at this university deserve to be seen, heard and understood, and we are passionate about making sure you are,” their statement read. Their campaign will focus on five platforms: diversity and inclusion, financial accessibility, accountability and transparency, health and wellness and community engagement, according to their campaign website. “Every wave starts small – we have set this one into motion, but you are the force that will make it strong and impactful,” their statement reads. SA elections normally take place in April. gkstern@syr.edu