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april 4, 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
INSIDESPORTS
Broadcasting success Mike Tirico, an SU alumnus
Close to home The Daily Orange Editorial Board
Childhood fantasies Pulp’s class guide shows
Big city thunder No. 1 Syracuse rides an early
and ESPN broadcaster, shared his stories with SU students Thursday. Page 3
points to the effects of a Cornell student’s death for the importance of medical amnesty. Page 5
that your childhood aspirations are still possible. Pages 10-11
offensive explosion to a 13-11 win over Duke in the Big City Classic in New Meadowlands Stadium. Page 20
new yor k budget
Cuts made to higher education By Christina Levin STAFF WRITER
Although funding for the Tuition Assistance Program wasn’t cut when the New York state budget passed last week, spending was cut for other higher education programs, causing Syracuse University officials to continue to monitor aid availability. Lawmakers ratified Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s New York state budget early Thursday morning, beating the Friday deadline for the first time in five years, according to a Thursday article in The New York Times. The $132.5 billion budget trims year-to-year spending for the first time
andrew renneisen | asst. photo editor Audience members give the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra a standing ovation during their last performance of the season in Setnor Auditorium. On Tuesday, the Board of Trustees voted to suspend operations and lay off all of the musicians and part of the staff effective Sunday.
Facing the music Musicians reminisce as financial struggles end symphony season early
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By Shayna Meliker ENTERPRISE EDITOR
eethoven’s sixth symphony tells the story of weathering a storm. The Syracuse Symphony Orchestra performed Beethoven’s sixth as its last piece Saturday night, in its final concert before the orchestra’s Board of Trustees suspended its artistic operations and laid off all of the musicians and most of the staff on Sunday. Family, friends and students nearly filled Crouse College’s Setnor Auditorium for a tearful and early end to the orchestra’s 50th anniversary season. Beethoven’s sixth symphony — also known as the “Pastoral Symphony” and first performed more than two centuries ago in December 1808
— begins its first movement with the composer’s instructions: “Awakening of cheerful feelings upon arriving in the country.” ••• Gregory Wood arrived in Syracuse more than 32 years ago, after hearing about the SSO “by accident,” as he puts it. In Aspen, Colo., a fellow University of Cincinnati student mentioned the SSO, and Wood decided to add it to his audition list. He made the final rounds at the National Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Rochester Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic and Boston Symphony orchestras, as well as the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, where he played after he graduated from Cincinnati’s music conservatory.
But he chose Syracuse. Wood, who now plays assistant principal cello, moved to Syracuse in 1978 for the SSO. Syracuse’s orchestra offered him a leadership position, and he wanted to play in a city smaller than his native New York City, where he lived on Long Island. Nine years later, he started teaching cello at Syracuse University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts. The orchestra was different back then, Wood remembers. Some of the musicians were teachers who still performed part time on their instruments, and some were full-time performers left over from when the orchestra began in 1961. “There was just a wide variety of skill level,” Wood said. “And as a result, the quality of the SEE SSO PAGE 8
SEE BUDGET PAGE 6
SU to cover possible Pell Grant cuts By Jon Harris ASST. NEWS EDITOR
Despite the proposed cuts to the Federal Pell Grant Program, Syracuse University is moving forward with the financial aid process as planned. The university mailed financial aid awards on March 18 to regulardecision applicants who were accepted to SU, said Youlonda CopelandMorgan, associate vice president for enrollment management and director of scholarships and student aid at SU. The university also sent admissions notifications to applicants on March 18, she said. “Those awards for students that are eligible does keep the maximum Pell Grant at $5,550,” Copeland-Mor-
SEE PELL PAGE 4