04_13_10

I am sunny hi

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lo

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april 13, 2010

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

I AM SYRACUSE I AM SYRACUSE I AM SYRACUSE I AM SYRACUSE

I AM SYRACUSE I AM SYRACUSE I AM SYRACUSE I A

M SYRACUSE I AM SYRACUSE I AM SYRACUSE I AM SYRACUSE I A in this issue:

I am Syracuse

The Daily Orange presents the people that embody in 2010 that the university embodies the and commuuniversity and nity. community.

Sports Editor

Otto has nothing on me Students dis-

cuss what SU means to them.

Page 5

The gatekeeper David Gursky makes efforts to connect with the campus while working as a parking lot attendant on Irving Avenue.

Page 9

INSI D E sportS

Taxi-cab confessions Don Thatvihane has been able to build relationships and a formidable taxi-cab business, thanks to Syracuse’s star athletes.

Page 16

Johnson declares for NBA Draft

By Conor Orr

INSI D E opinion

INSI D E pulp

m e n ’s b a s k e t b a l l

andrew burton | special projects editor Sean Haley is a wide-reaching presence on campus, involving himself in University 100, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and 2009 Homecoming Court. He has interacted with celebrities such as actor Frank Langella.

The face

in the crowd From U100 to golfing at Drumlins, SU senior Sean Haley can be seen everywhere on campus

By Bill McMillan Asst. Copy Editor

Editor’s note: In this edition, The Daily Orange writes a series throughout its sections about people who embody Syracuse, the university and the community surrounding it.

Sean Haley seems to be everywhere.

You might have taken an upperlevel biology course with him. You might have played ball with him at Archbold Gymnasium. You might have attended one of his speeches.

You might have seen him teeing off at

Drumlins. You might have met him at a University 100, Young Life or Fellowship of Christian Athletes event.

You might have seen him giving a tour of Syracuse University’s campus to members of British Parliament.

You might have seen him shaking former SU quarterback Don McPherson’s hand in the Carrier Dome at halftime during Homecoming 2009.

You might have seen him rubbing elbows with “Today” co-host Meredith Viera. You might have seen him stepping out of actor Frank Langella’s limousine at the Dome.

You have probably seen Sean

see haley page 6

Dressed down in a plain white T-shirt and silver athletic shorts, Wes Johnson hugged assistant coach Rob Murphy and flashed his trademark smile as he rounded the makeshift podium set up for his announcement Monday.

“I’m declaring for the NBA Draft,” Johnson said. “Right now, I just want to thank everybody in general. It has always been my dream to go to the NBA.” Ending nearly three weeks of speculation, Johnson formally signaled his departure at a press conference inside the Carmelo K. Anthony Basketball Center Monday afternoon.

Standing in the foreground of a portrait depicting Anthony, one of SU’s great one-and-done stars, Johnson answered a question that had been following him since the Orange’s sour dismissal from the NCAA Tournament on March 25. He has yet to sign with an agent or work out for any NBA teams, he said.

“Honestly, I was going back and forth daily whether I wanted to leave or if I wanted to stay. There really was no set-in-stone decision,” Johnson said. “It just really came down to not wanting to leave, but this was the best decision for me.”

Johnson’s announcement provides closure on a rapid one-year ascension for the Iowa State transfer. Following a year on the bench for NCAA transfer regulations, the relatively unknown forward exploded onto the see johnson page12

Nobel Prize-winning poet to discuss his writing

By Susan Kim Staff Writer

Seamus Heaney, winner of the Nobel Prize in literature, will speak Tuesday for What: “Selected the first time in Poems and four years in the Preoccupations” United States at Where: Hendricks Syracuse UniverChapel sity.

When: Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.

During the How much: Free lecture, “Selected Poems and Pre-

IF YOU GO

occupations,” at 7:30 p.m. in Hendricks Chapel, Heaney, the translator of the 12th-century epic poem “Beowulf,” will read from his other works and share anecdotes about his life as an internationally renowned Irish poet, translator and essayist. The lecture is co-sponsored by University Lectures and the Syracuse University Humanities Center.

“He is considered the next living legend among poets,” said Esther Gray, coordinator of University Lectures. “His name sort of transcends everything.”

It is the first time since his stroke in 2006 that Heaney is speaking in the United States, Gray said. Heaney will only be speaking in two or three other places, Gray said, and he will most likely draw an almost-full crowd of people from Central New York and elsewhere.

Heaney is expected to read from “District and Circle,” one of his more recent collections of poetry, published in 2006, said Gregg Lambert, director of SU Humanities Center. see Heaney page 4

dave mountain | staff photographer wes johnson declared for the NBA Draft Monday afternoon.

s ta r t t u e s d a y

2 a pr i l 13, 2 010

Tomorrow

u.s. & world news

compiled by katie papo | asst. copy editor

news

New park plans SU receives a grant to redesign Forman Park in downtown Syracuse.

opinion

The Patriot Act Harmen Rockler discusses President Obama's re-authorization of The Patriot Act.

Weather today

tomorrow

H61| L32

H62| L40

pulp

Thursday

H60| L48

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Healing power of music

SU student band Mouth's Cradle debuts its album on iTunes while battling personal illness.

sports

Down the road

Following its road trip to open New Meadowlands Stadium, Syracuse returns to Central New York to take on bitter rival Cornell.

Polio cases drop as more Twitter plans to bring in receive vaccine ad money Nigeria and India have recently shown progress in stopping the spread of polio, giving hope for an end to the virus. In Nigeria, Muslim leaders in the north who had previously halted polio vaccinations in 2003-04 now embrace the cause as their own, according to The New York Times. Only two children have been paralyzed with the polio virus in Nigeria this year, compared with the 123 during the same period last year. In India, the states that had the most trouble defeating polio despite vaccinations have now been free of the polio viral type for four months straight. Globally, the number of new polio cases registered this year has dropped 75 percent from last year to 56 cases, according to The New York Times.

Twitter unveils a much anticipated plan to bring in revenue from advertisements, according to The New York Times. The new advertising program, called Promoted Tweets, will come up when Twitter users search for keywords that advertisers buy to link to their ads. Twitter will show promoted posts within other Twitter post listings according to relevance to its user. Best Buy, Virgin America, Starbucks and Bravo are some of the companies that will run ads. The ads will allow businesses to include themselves in the stream of communication on Twitter to ensure their posts are not lost in the flow. To start, companies will pay per thousand people who see promoted posts.

Twitter will find alternate ways to charge advisers accordingly once it sees how people interact with the posts, according to The New York Times.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY United States, 1743 Thomas Jefferson, drafter of the Declaration of Independence, is born on a plantation in Shadwell, Va.

Outer space, 1970 Oxygen tank No. 2 explodes 200,000 miles from Earth on Apollo 13.

United States, 1997 Tiger Woods wins the Masters by a record 12 strokes at age 21.

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Today’s EVENTS What: Holocaust Voices

When: 10 a.m.

Where: Peter Graham Scholarly Commons, Bird Library How much: Free What: Speaker-Vivek Chibber When: 12:30 p.m.

Where: 341 Eggers Hall How much: Free What: Film screening followed by remarks from The Invisible Children East Coast Roadie Crew When: 8 p.m.

Where: Grant Auditorium How much: Free

talk to us If you have a story idea or news tip, e-mail ideas@dailyorange.com If you find errors in a story, e-mail corrections@dailyorange.com We always need new contributors to all sections. No experience required.

E-mail editor@dailyorange.com The Daily Orange is published weekdays during the Syracuse University academic year

by The Daily Orange Corp., 744 Ostrom Ave., Syracuse, NY 13210. All contents Copyright 201 by The Daily Orange Corp. and may not be reprinted without the expressed written permission of the editor in chief. The Daily Orange is distributed on and around campus with the first two copies complimentary.

Each additional copy costs $1. The Daily Orange is in no way a subsidiary or associated with Syracuse University.

All contents Š 2010 The Daily Orange Corporation

news

tuesday

april 13, 2010

page 3

the daily orange

Health tied to social life, speaker says

st uden t a ssoci ation

Denied funding for Hillel concert prompts debate

By Adam Popescu Staff Writer

By Laurence Leveille

Social ties can influence peoples’ moods as well as their physical wellbeing, said Nicholas Christakis in a lecture Monday to Syracuse University students.

Named one of 2009’s most influential people by Time magazine, Christakis, a Harvard medical professor in the departments of health care policy, medicine and sociology, stressed the relationships between people, social networks and health as part of the eighth annual SU Center for Health and Behavior lecture, “Social Networks and Health.” The lecture took place in the Joyce Hergenhan Auditorium in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.

“I became obsessed with this topic,” Christakis said. “Social networks are these intricate things of beauty. They are so elaborate, complex and ubiquitous one has to ask a set of fundamental questions: what purpose do they serve, how do they work and how do they affect us?”

Christakis’ work as a hospice doctor with terminally ill patients in the South Side of Chicago was a catalyst

Staff Writer

Student Association denied funding for a concert in honor of the Hillel Jewish Student Union’s 60th Anniversary for fall 2010, prompting questions about the Finance Board’s decision at Monday night’s meeting.

The meeting announced how the available $509,325.81 for fall 2010 would be distributed to various organizations that applied for funding through SA. Of the total amount, $494,290.73 was allocated. The meeting was a chance for student organizations to learn why they were or were not funded and to speak to the assembly. In addition to concerns over the Finance Board’s funding decisions for Hillel, Darren Goldberg, president of University Union, questioned funding Phi Beta Sigma for a comedic act.

Hillel requested $77,370 for a concert to be held in Goldstein Auditorium and dedicated to its 60th anniversary as an organization of Syracuse University. The Finance Board chose not to fund the event because it does not typically give more than $70,000 to events in Goldstein Auditorium, said Comptroller Jeff Rickert.

The Finance Board also said it felt the event does not correlate with Hillel’s mission statement but didn’t go into detail. The mission of Hillel is “to create a diverse, dynamic and welcoming Jewish community on the Syracuse University Campus,” according to its Web site.

But Assemblymember Tyrone Shaw questioned the Finance Board’s decision.

“This sounds like a great event,” he said. “It sounds like it has purpose.”

Matthew Wolfe, the financial vice president of Hillel, represented the group at the meeting. He said the event was a celebration of being part of the university for 60 years and was meant to increase morale and excitement among students. He also said Hillel was not the only organization taking part in this. It will be co-sponsored with UU, among other organizations.

Concerns about taking the event back to the Finance Board for reconsideration were raised. Several SA members wanted to know if the student organization would be able to fund the event without SA’s help. see SA page 6

see health page 3

ann sullivan | contributing photographer darren goldberg, University Union president, expresses concern about the decision not to fund a concert for Hillel in the fall Monday at the Student Association meeting. SA members voted on 125 proposals for funding for the fall semester.

Design Editor

A group of students wearing black T-shirts, carrying large signs and singing emerged onto Syracuse University’s quiet Quad at 12:37 p.m.

Monday.

Members from the cast and crew of First Year Player’s “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” filled the Quad, slowly at first, and grew into a much larger group singing “Come Follow Me,” a nursery rhyme.

Students filed onto the Quad from Carnegie Hall, Link Hall and Hendricks Chapel to raise awareness for the play’s performances this weekend.

The group circled a large bag of “money” around several times until everyone proceeded to Schine Student Center. Many passersby failed to acknowledge the commotion and continued on their way.

Leading the group was Ray Lapena, FYP’s public relations director, holding a large sign to remind students to purchase tickets for this weekend’s performance.

The group walked past the Hall of Languages and into Schine, where the packed student center came to a standstill. The group circled the middle of Schine, still holding signs and singing until the progression stopped at the doors leading down to the S.I. Newhouse

By Sara Tracey Staff Writer

Chanting, marching flash mob on Quad promotes student production

By Julissa Montalvo

Expert talks on genocide in the modern world

School of Public Communications.

Once they stopped signing, they began clapping and chanting “FYP.” Ashley Mitchell, a junior psychology major, said she liked the flash mob and thought it was an effective way to promote the play throughout campus.

Lapena, organizer of the flash mob, said there was very little preparation for the event. There were no rehearsals for the mob because the size of the cast and crew resulted in scheduling conflicts, he said. In lieu of practicing, Lapena said he sent a PowerPoint explaining to cast members where they would be placed and how they

would enter the Quad.

“I wanted it to be big,” Lapena said. “I wanted it to include both the staff and the performers.”

This year’s production involves a cast of 24 members, but the mob included the production crew and cast members of previous productions put on by FYP. Rachel Dentinger, a cast member and freshman music education major, said she thought the flash mob was successful because it raised awareness of the production.

“They definitely heard us,” she said. jjmontal@syr.edu

A black-and-white photograph of Armenians surrounding a railway boxcar sits in the archives in the Deutsche Bank in Berlin.

“These are boxcars made for 20 animals stuffed with more than 100 Armenian men, women and children,” said Peter Balakian. “They are being sent to their deaths in southeast Anatolia, to the desert. Half of them would be dead before they were dumped out in the desert of famine and disease.”

Balakian, an award-winning author and professor at Colgate University, used this photograph to show how new technology, such as railways, affected the Armenian genocide of the early 1900s in his lecture, titled “The Armenian Genocide and Modernity.” Balakian’s lecture began Syracuse University’s first Genocide

see genocide page 4

4 a pr i l 13, 2 010

Health from page 3

for his research, he said. Christakis couldn’t help but notice how the illness of patients affected those around them, he said.

“Something happens to the patient, which affects her daughter, which affects her husband, which affects his friend,” Christakis said. “Something is spreading in the network from one person to another.”

In 2008, Christakis and collaborator James Fowler, a professor at the Center for Wireless and Population Health Systems at the University of California, San Diego, mapped the relationships of more than 12,000 people in a small Massachusetts city. Among their findings was the statistical correlation between body sizes within networks — thin people tend to be friends with thin people, and obese people tend to be friends with obese people, Christakis said.

“If your friend is obese, you have a 45 percent chance of being obese yourself,” Christakis said. “If your friend’s friend is obese, you have a 25 percent higher risk, and if your friend’s friend’s friend is obese, you have about a 10 percent higher risk.”

heaney from page 1

In addition to his readings, Heaney’s lecture will primarily be autobiographical. Heaney will discuss Dennis O’Driscoll’s “Stepping Stones: Interviews with Seamus Heaney,” Lambert said.

The book is a collection of Heaney’s interviews with reporters and other media throughout

news@ da ilyor a nge.com

His research has also looked at the effects of neighborhoods on health, the environment’s affect on lifespan, the widowhood effect — dying of a broken heart — and the genetic basis for human behavior. Christakis believes his research has varied implications, including the potential for the creation of a new structure for social hierarchy, he said.

There are three possible explanations for clustering, or how social groups and networks form, he said. The three include induction, the social domino effect; homophily, the birds-of-afeather link; and confounding, wherein something happens in the environment that makes people lose or gain weight at the same time.

Nazanin Khajoueenejad, a sophomore biology major, said the lecture was fascinating.

“I never correlated how my behavior affects others,” Khajoueenejad said.

She said she thinks the online relationships between people reflect the environment of a college campus.

Michael P. Carey, director of the Center for Health and Behavior, lauded Christakis for the broad reach of his research.

“Outstanding talk,” Carey began. “There’s a link between medicine, public health and happiness.” afpopesc@syr.edu

the course of his career. The book is the only comprehensive portrait of the poet, according to O’Driscoll’s Web site.

Heaney will also share his views about the culture differences he experienced between Ireland and the United States, Lambert said.

Sanford Sternlicht, an English professor who invited Heaney to speak to his “Reading Nation and Empire” class before the lecture, said the audience has the chance to hear one of the

genocide from page 3

Awareness Week. Balakian spoke at the Winnick Hillel Center at 4 p.m. Monday.

Though the bodies of those lost in the genocide may be gone today, Balakian said the damage inflicted on Armenian culture is still prevalent. He also spoke about the coining of the word “genocide” and compared Turkey’s thengovernment with today’s U.S. government.

“The buildings, the libraries, the synagogues, the churches, the books, the texts, the cultural producers themselves, the writers, the artists, the professors, the teachers, the religious leaders —all of that has been very important to our understanding as the genocidal crime,” he said.

Raphael Lemkin was a Polish scholar and lawyer who coined the term “genocide” after the crimes committed against the Armenian people by the Turkish in the early 20th century, Balakian said. He said Lemkin was adamant about calling the event genocide instead of a “crime of war.” His term for mass killing, genocide, was not accepted by the U.S. government until after his death in 1959, Balakian said.

Balakian drew several comparisons between governmental acts of the Turks during the

world’s greatest artists in performance.

“It’s one thing to read poetry, and it’s yet another to hear poetry,” Sternlicht said. “To hear the sound of the poem coming from the mouth of the poet is an experience we seldom have.”

Moriah Dohner, a freshman music performance major, said she is excited Heaney’s lecture will focus more on his life as a poet rather than his works because it gives her a chance to relate to his view of poetry.

genocide and the U.S. government of today. He said security focuses after Sept. 11 were similar to Turkish government arrests, made because of the temporary law of deportation employed in 1913.

The law gave police the power to arrest “every Armenian citizen in his village, city and town under the pretext that Armenians were security threats,” he said.

Today, Turkey is still feeling the effects of the Armenian genocide, he said. In 2005, the European Union said Turkey must recognize the genocide before it can be considered for admittance in the union. A year later, EU dropped the requirement because of the Turkish government haranguing the union, Balakian said.

Alan Goldberg, co-director of SU’s regional genocide and holocaust initiative, ended the lecture by saying schools should also have a hand in acknowledging the genocides. Only a handful of states, including California and New Jersey, mention the Armenian genocides in their curriculums.

“For many of us,” Goldberg said, “our hope is that states will begin to even recognize the importance of mandating or even encouraging the inclusion of the Armenian genocide in its social studies curriculum.” smtracey@syr.edu

For students who mainly know Heaney as the translator of “Beowulf,” Bruce Smith, an English and creative writing professor, said the lecture is a chance for the audience to gain an appreciation for Heaney and his style of poetry.

“He turns feelings into words,” Smith said.

“He’s able to articulate some of our most subtle and difficult things that exist in the fringe of our thoughts and feelings.” shkim11@syr.edu

opinions

TUESDAY

april 13, 2010

page 5

the daily orange

ide as I AM SYRACUSE I AM SYRACUSE I AM SYRACUSE I AM SYRACUSE

I AM SYRACUSE I AM SYRACUSE I AM SYRACUSE I A

M SYRACUSE I AM SYRACUSE I AM SYRACUSE I AM SYRACUSE I A

I am Syracuse because ...

— Compiled by staff writers Courtney Egelston and Angela Hu

“

“

I think I somewhat personify Scholarship in Action. I don’t just take required courses. I take classes I’m actually interested in, like sculpture and piano, because I want to learn about these things.

Music has always been my passion, and I feel that since I’ve been a student at Syracuse, I’ve had the ability to come out of my shell for the first time in my life without the fear of being judged and being able to share my music with everyone.

I feel so comfortable in the environment that it pushes me even further to be a better musician.

Jolyn Wu senior public relations major, Singapore international student

””

”

Josh Chaplin freshman public relations major involved in Black Celestial Choral Ensemble

”

“

I’ve always wanted to be involved in some shape or form with television. Being here at Syracuse, I now have the opportunity to go to Los Angeles for a semester and learn many lessons about television through an internship, while forming connections that will hopefully get me a job. That’s an opportunity that not many schools could offer me.

“

I take advantage of our education programs so that when I graduate I can exemplify the great SU alums our school produces and networks with. I know I show our campus in a great light when I meet prospective students and their families.

”

”

Josh Scarcella sophomore television, radio and film and marketing major involved in Habitat for Humanity

Terri-Ann Malgieri junior communication and rhetorical studies major, co-manager of People’s Place

“

My love of skinny jeans, Uggs, North Face, Gladiators and drinking on Thirsty Thursday are SU about me.

Scribble

”

“

Kristen Brown freshman engineering major, president of SU Synchronized Ice Skating Club

We all spend a lot to go to SU. This will most likely never change. Therefore, I just try and keep as busy as I can to make the most of my time here. I don’t think a time has come where I’ve had nothing to do since my parents drove away my freshman year.

“

I embody SU because I try to take advantage of everything this university has to offer. I keep active on and off campus and allow myself to become absorbed in whatever activity or organization may cross my path. As a senior, I’d like to think I made the most of what this university has offered me over the past four years, which is why I’d consider myself a true SU student.

”

Ed Winston junior communications design major, resident adviser, orientation leader, and member of Alpha Phi Omega and Habitat for Humanity E-Board

”

Michael Kuhn senior music industry major, co-producer for First Year Players

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6 a pr i l 13, 2 010

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SA

from page 3

Wolfe said the event could not be held without at least partial funding from SA. UU requested $71,000 for another event in Goldstein Auditorium but was also denied funding. Alec Sim, chair of SA’s Board of Elections and Membership, said it would be hypocritical for the board to fund Hillel and not UU. “This event deserves reconsideration because this is a really important event compared to UU because it’s their 60th anniversary, and they’re a large organization on campus,” said Erica Zimmerman, SA’s recorder.

If the event was taken back for reconsideration, the Finance Board would have to base its decision on the same credentials it was given to begin with. The best solution would be to pass the bill as is and allow the organization to appeal for the event, said Jon Barnhart, SA president.

By allowing the group to appeal, Hillel members will be able to change their request, including the venue, said Rickert, SA comptroller.

The assembly passed the Finance Board’s decision not to fund Hillel, so Hillel can appeal for partial funding for the concert.

In addition to the conversation about Hillel, students also discussed funding for a comedy show hosted by Phi Beta Sigma. David Woody, chair of SA’s Student Engagement Committee, brought up the show’s similarity with an event Pride Union also wanted to hold. Since both would bring a comedian to the campus, he wanted to combine the two events, he said.

Goldberg, UU president and a member of the gallery at the meeting, expressed concern regarding Phi Beta Sigma’s event. Goldberg said he believes the fraternity did not provide the Finance Board with the correct information, and the event cannot happen.

But Rickert said Phi Beta Sigma’s information was accurate to the best of his knowledge.

Sim also declared his support for the Finance Board’s decision to fully fund the fraternity’s event because the board made a decision with all the information it was given, and the fraternity provided everything necessary to be considered for funding, he said.

“They’ve always had to work with exactly what they’re given,” Sim said. “Although some people may have problems with the exact numbers, the Finance Board has made their decisions based on what was submitted, so I support the Finance Board.”

Multiple organization representatives thanked SA for funding their events and publications, including CitrusTV and NYPIRG, which were partially funded under operating budgets, and 360 magazine, S.P.A.A.D.E and Black Box Players, which were fully funded.

JERK magazine, Medusa magazine and Delta Sigma Theta announced they will apply for appeals.

By the end of the meeting, all 125 recommendations made by the Finance Board were passed by the assembly, leaving a total of $57,035.08 available for appeals.

The deadline to apply for appeals is April 15 by 5 p.m. The budget meeting for appeals will be held April 19 at the SA meeting. lgleveil@syr.edu

www.dailyorange.com

7:30-10:00 AM

Haley

from page 1

Haley at one time or another.

“So much of what I’ve done at the university is trying to portray what Syracuse is all about,” said Haley, a senior biology major.

Haley grew up in the Syracuse area and was a self-described “huge nerd” and “big athlete” in high school, where he took Advanced Placement classes and was the captain of the soccer and basketball teams. He did not attend SU from the beginning of his college career, however, even though his “whole family has essentially gone to SU” — his mother, some of her siblings, her parents and a few of his cousins. And his sister Mary, 18, attends “that other school in Syracuse,” Le Moyne College.

“I’m the first guy in my family to go to SU and not be an All-American Lacrosse player,” he said.

Haley transferred to SU midway through his freshman year at Providence College in Rhode Island. The transfer process was an easy adjustment, he said, because he did it with one of his best childhood friends — Jason Renock, a senior in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management.

“Looking back on it, it’s probably the best decision I’ve made, definitely in the past four years,” Haley said.

Haley didn’t have a set plan coming to SU and “was not that involved freshman year,” though he attended meetings of the Pre-Health Society, an organization open to students interested in a health-related career, to get acquainted with students in his major.

But the summer before his sophomore year, he became a tour guide for the Office of Admissions. The following semester he was chosen for University 100, a student volunteer group, and got involved with Alumni Relations, the office responsible for keeping past graduates informed about SU. Haley said he takes opportunities as they come.

“I think it’s kind of in me to be really involved and to keep doing that and to keep putting myself out there,” he said. “I love the chances to talk to people and hear about their stories.”

Haley is now director of U100’s leadership team, which includes training new members, organizing panel discussions and giving presentations for the Alumni Office and Office of Admissions.

Haley first met Daniel Klamm, the outreach and marketing coordinator for the Center for Career Services, in May 2007 as a fellow tour guide. Klamm was heading into his senior year while Haley was entering his sophomore. The two have remained friends since, Klamm said.

“It’s all about relationships,” Haley said.

“Syracuse University is really good at formulating those sort of opportunities for you.”

Klamm said he could see Haley one day making a major medical discovery, ascending into a leadership position at a hospital or starting a health-oriented organization to help an ailing group of people.

“Sean is a genuinely nice person, and he’ll go out of his way to help others,” Klamm said. “He spends an extraordinary amount of time helping other people in need.”

Haley said the bond he had with Renock, his best friend who transferred with him, led him to take on what he sees as his capstone achievement at SU. Renock’s parents asked him to start the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, an organization meant to provide opportunities for athletes and fans to see how faith can play a role in their lives, while also providing non-Christians a welcoming place to learn more about Christianity and God. He gives an

anecdote from his life at most Thursday night meetings that relates to some aspect of the Christian faith.

With all of his extracurricular activities, Haley uses golf as an escape. When Haley has trouble finding time for himself, he makes his way over to Drumlins to get away from the demands of schoolwork and extracurricular activities for a while.

“When I’m on the golf course, nobody can touch me,” he said. “It’s me and this little white ball.”

It’s a time to reflect, not only on his achievements, but on what he sees as his faults. Despite the external confidence and togetherness he’s able to portray, he said, he is very critical of himself and struggles to accept anything short of perfection. Haley said he is one of the most pensive people you’ll ever meet and that his mind is constantly racing. Though he may be involved in different things, each activity, he said, is interconnected.

“All of that is connected in my mind through different people and through different experiences,” he said. “So I think that’s one of the nicest parts that SU has to offer — the freedom to do anything and everything, no matter what your major is.”

Despite Haley’s accomplishments, he has faced disappointments. He’s been denied positions at other SU organizations, fellowships, internships and jobs. But he’s not upset about it. Every failure leads to a new opportunity, he said, and there is no reason to dwell on what he’s missed.

“I kind of get in bed some nights and am like, ‘How is that the day I just had? Like, where is all of this coming from?”

Courtney Jones, a program coordinator in the Office of Student Life, met Haley when he interviewed in fall 2009 for Homecoming Court.

Jones said he seemed very honest and genuine, and she could tell he would be a good court member.

Haley had once come to see Jones in her office to tell her that he and his golf partner qualified to go to a national tournament in Las Vegas.

“He was clearly proud of himself and his partner and was really excited, but in the ‘Sean Haley’ way of being calm and modest about it at the same time,” Jones said.

Haley ended up getting that spot for Homecoming, which gave him the chance for what he said was his best experience at SU. Frank Langella (“Frost/Nixon,” “Dracula”), a 1959 SU alumnus, was in town during Homecoming Weekend to speak at Syracuse Stage with broadcast journalist Ted Koppel, Class of 1960. Langella and Haley began talking after the event, and Haley soon found himself in a limousine with Langella, eating cheese and telling jokes. They soon reached one of the security booths to get back on campus. The guard didn’t believe it was actually Langella in the limousine — “Ahuh, yeah right, Dracula, I believe you,” he said.

Langella rolled back the sunroof and stood up: “How’s it going, dude?”

Langella wanted to go out to dinner and hang out, but Haley needed to get back for the Homecoming proceedings at the Dome.

“I got it,” Langella said. “We’ll take the limo and drop you off in front of the parade.”

Before they parted ways, Langella looked up at Haley with tears in his eyes and spoke: “Thank you so much. You have no idea how much this place means to me, and to see how much it means to you as well makes all this worthwhile for me to come back and do all of this.”

Langella gave him a hug. “Never stop, and don’t let anybody ever tell you you can’t do something.” wfmcmill@syr.edu

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illustration by molly snee | art director

Down with drinking University of Wisconsin-Stout increases Friday classes to curb Thursday night drinking

I

By Kelly Peters Staff Writer

n response to six alcohol-related student deaths in two years, the University of Wisconsin-Stout will attempt to combat binge drinking by increasing the number of Friday classes in fall 2010.

Chancellor Charles Sorensen announced the plan in a memo March 30 to increase the number of Friday classes to discourage drinking on Thursday nights, as well as to alleviate scheduling issues. The university will also increase its enforcement and discipline of underage-drinking laws. Student reactions about the decision are mixed.

The university currently offers about 38 percent of classes on Fridays, versus double that number on Monday through Thursday, Sorensen said.

The increase in Friday classes is aimed at reducing the participation in Thursday night drinking, commonly called “Thirsty Thursday.” Having classes on Fridays will hopefully persuade the students to drink less or nothing on Thursdays, said university spokesman Doug Mell.

“When there was another incident of a

student’s death due to alcohol, the university’s chancellor asked the Senate to factor curbing dangerous binge drinking as an urgency in supporting full schedule of Friday classes,” said Abel Adekola, a faculty senate chair.

UW-Stout has experienced six alcohol-related deaths in the past two years, Adekola said.

Three students were killed in a house fire, two in a motorcycle accident and one was struck by a car driven by a fellow intoxicated UW-Stout student, he said.

“I think it’s a moral obligation, an ethical obligation from campus leaders,” Sorenson said.

In addition to combating binge drinking, the increase in Friday classes will also help solve scheduling problems. The university deemed it necessary to offer more sections on Fridays because of growing enrollment, said Julie Furst-Bowe, the university provost.

Also, recent construction has left 11 classrooms unavailable, creating scheduling problems for students across campus, Sorensen said.

“It would increase the availability for students to schedule classes that right now they wouldn’t normally be able to schedule,” Mell said.

Students will not be forced to take Friday classes. Students at UW-Stout schedule online and will still have the power to choose whether they want classes on Friday, Mell said.

The UW-Stout administration is stressing this solution is not meant to completely prohibit drinking, but rather encourage responsible drinking practices, Sorensen said.

“These proposals are not aimed at eliminating alcohol abuse. We’re not naive,” Mell said.

In addition to scheduling more Friday classes, the administration will implement a number of programs to curb binge drinking. Plans include a campus-community alcohol coalition called “Smart and Healthy” and increasing disciplinary action. Among the heightened disciplinary actions, students caught using fake IDs, hosting large house parties or repeatedly drinking underage will face the possibility of expulsion, Mell said.

The university called on the surrounding community to help with these efforts.

Sorensen has aimed to reduce drink specials at local bars and asked landlords to take harsher action on those tenants who throw house parties, Mell said.

The instatement of Friday classes aroused mixed reactions.

Some students said they think Fridays completely free of classes are already somewhat unrealistic with the current schedule.

“I personally have never had a semester without Friday classes,” said Steve Schumacher, a senior business administration major. “In fact, I have had between three to four classes that were scheduled on Fridays every regular session.”

Other students who frequently use Fridays for free time said they oppose the decision.

Backlash has occurred on Facebook in the form of protest groups. Anger toward the Chancellor has led to drink specials at local bars in honor of Sorensen, Schumacher said.

“Personally, I am against the addition of new sections,” said Rachel Steward, a senior hotel, restaurant, and tourism major. “I feel that it would take away a day I use to work more and also go home.”

Despite the opposition, Sorenson said the administration plans on maintaining the fall’s proposed schedule indefinitely.

“No matter what happens with the issue of drinking,” Sorenson said, “we will maintain a five-day week schedule.” kapete01@syr.edu

7

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y it s r e iv n U e s u c a r y S Summer at

so funny sometimes that I usually let them go through after I tell them the rules.”

Dated, numbered and labeled, Gursky documents his favorite excuses he’s received over the years at the booth, whether they are true or not.

They range from novice excuses such as girls racing to tanning appointments to absurdities like students needing to get to Otto the Orange tryouts or a “cartwheel exam.”

He has, quite literally, heard it all.

“I had this one excuse that I felt was kind of scary,” Gursky said. “These people were rushing through. I could tell something was wrong because of how they were driving. They came to me and said, ‘We got to get through. We forgot our baby.’ They left their baby unattended at home. So I was like, ‘OK.’” Despite the extensive amount of time Gursky has spent with the Syracuse community, he only has limited opportunities to develop relationships with the same people he sees each day. He has time for faces, not names. Gursky cannot take the time to chat when it means slowing traffic.

“I don’t have much time,” Gursky said. “The relationship is good until the next car comes.”

POLLOCK FROM PAGE 9

causing too much turmoil. Because really, who can be seriously upset under the sun?

Springtime means it’s almost summertime, which means it’s almost time to be reunited with our girlfriend who’s abroad or our boyfriend who goes to another school. Feel free to start giving the cold shoulder to that clinger who just won’t

Instead, Gursky developed a sixth sense.

Before he can even identify people by their face or names, Gursky has a person pegged by identifying their “driver body language,” yards before they reach his booth.

As a UPS truck drives down Irving Avenue toward him, Gursky knows who the driver is just by the way the truck weaves down the road.

While students, faculty and fans come and go, Gursky remains a statue. Staying at the same booth for years, Gursky has seen students’ entire collegiate careers unfold before his eyes, being just a simple greeter when they were freshman to finally knowing them by first name just in time for graduation.

“All of a sudden, they’re gone. They come back once in a couple years for a reunion or something, then they’re gone,” Gursky said. “You know these people by first name, then all of a sudden they’re gone.”

Fragmented relationships are all the university can give Gursky. When he meets students, faculty and the occasional sniper, he knows their connection lasts as long as the university allows it. “It’s like knowing a cousin, then all of a sudden you don’t see the cousin anymore,” Gursky said.

“It’s that type of relationship.” ansteinb@syr.edu

give us the space we well deserve.

But what’s arguably the greatest part about spring? Perhaps that everyone looks better when tan. And, of course, that everything gets hotter when the sun goes down.

Talia Pollock is a junior television, radio and film major. Her favorite part about spring is enduring cold mornings in flip-flops in order to be comfortable in the warm afternoons.

She can be reached at tpollock@syr.edu.

Mo re th an 60 0 co ur se s to ch oo se fr om , 4 se ss ion s, an d on e fa bu lou s ex pe rie nc e to wr ite ho me (or tw ee t) ab ou t!

A pano rami c view of Syra cuse Univ ersit y’s hillto p cam pus in pictu resq ue Cen tral New York .

POS T CA RD

Graduate early ...or on time!

R eg is te r n ow ! w w w .s u m m er .s yr .e d u /d a ily

Wanda D. Gree 2 Opportunity Street New Horizons, NY

tuesday

a pr il

page 9

13, 2010

the daily orange

the sweet stuff in the middle

I AM SYRACUSE I AM SYRACUSE I AM SYRACUSE I AM SYRACUSE

I AM SYRACUSE I AM SYRACUSE I AM SYRACUSE I A

M SYRACUSE I AM SYRACUSE I AM SYRACUSE I AM SYRACUSE I A

all

Heard it

before Facing fleeting relationships, gunfire, SU parking attendant experiences gamut of SU

By Flash Steinbeiser Feature Editor

Editor’s note: In this edition, The Daily Orange writes a series throughout its sections about people who embody Syracuse, the university and the community surrounding it.

D

avid Gursky thought he heard hail pounding down on the roof of his Irving Avenue parking booth. But that was impossible. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky. The tapping, though — it wouldn’t stop. Then, Gursky realized there was no hail.

He was being shot at.

Aiming from the top of Lawrinson Hall, a student was firing a high-powered pellet rifle at Gursky.

“I don’t think this booth is bulletproof,” Gursky said.

The student was quickly surrounded by authorities and apprehended.

The incident, for the Syracuse University parking lot attendant, exemplifies another series of fleeting relationships — good or bad — that SU has awarded him. Guarding the booth between Sadler Hall and the Carrier Dome for more than 10 years, Gursky does far more than control traffic flow.

“I’ve talked to The Rolling Stones, I’ve waved to Garth Brooks, Neil Diamond and Larry Gatlin,” Gursky said.

“I’ve even talked to Joe Biden, back when he was a senator. He was driving himself and he was very casual. I just said, ‘How are you, Mr. Biden? It’s great meeting you.’ He was very pleasant and polite to me. It was very interesting.”

However, Gursky can’t always play Mr. Nice Guy. He assists SU’s Parking and Transit Services security as well.

Between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Gursky’s job is to prevent people from using the campus as a shortcut to drive to Comstock Avenue. It’s a task that has made him unpopular, to say the least.

“There are points where he can be stern about things,” said Casey O’Brien, a sophomore advertising

andrew burton | special projects editor david gursky has worked in Parking and Transit Services for more than 10 years as a parking attendant. He has met Joe Biden, spoken with The Rolling Stones and faced gunfire. off-putting.

“He is kind in some ways. He will sign a parking pass for you, but he usually gives you hell about it,” Grasmeyer said. “I know friends in studio who don’t even make eye contact with him

“He is certainly one of the primary representatives of the institution as a whole.”

Janet LaFrance administrative specialist for parking and transit services

major. “But then there are other times where he’s an a***hole. I do think he does a good job at what he does, but he needs to treat us more like adults.”

Luke Grasmeyer, a senior landscape architecture major in the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, said Gursky wants to help the community, but his occasionally hostile attitude is

anymore. They completely blow him off. They don’t like him.”

While conflict makes Gursky a villain to students, he has an important responsibility to SU. As a guard for a major entry point to the SU campus, Gursky gives the first impression for many newcomers to campus. Whether it is a prospective student, a visiting speaker or a lost parent trying to find

a child’s dormitory, Gursky sets SU’s attitude.

“He is certainly one of the primary representatives of the institution as a whole,” said Janet LaFrance, the administrative specialist of Parking and Transit Services and Gursky’s longtime friend. “It’s important that all employees understand that it’s a customer service position, and I think David (Gursky) exemplifies that in many ways.”

LaFrance said Gursky stood out as an individual when she received a call from an elderly couple. They told her they were trying to find a place to park when there were no more spaces available. Instead of brushing them off, LaFrance said Gursky went out of his way, contacting numerous parking attendants to ensure that the couple could find a place to park. “He left a very good and lasting impression on

our department,” LaFrance said.

Gursky claims his attitude toward students is entirely dependent on how they treat him.

“Attitude is so important,” he said, “not just with my gate, but with all gates.”

Gursky doesn’t like it when students feel entitled to drive through. All he asks for is mutual respect — a little politeness goes a long way for Gursky.

“He seems like a good guy deep down, but you don’t want to get on his bad side,” Grasmeyer said.

Gursky still tries to find humor in his battles with pushy drivers. He said he can tell when people fabricate excuses to cut through campus.

A blue, dog-eared notebook in Gursky’s booth separates fact from fiction. Inside the book is a treasure trove of Gursky’s favorite excuses. “It’s see gursky page 8

Springtime warmth allows for men, women to heat up relationships all around campus

L

ove is springing everywhere on campus. Anywhere you look, new relationships bud up, such as on the Quad. It’s where new couples, non-couples and couples of couples lie on one another’s bellies, hold hands, tickle each other’s toes with dandelions and pick out penis-shaped clouds in the sky.

It extends off campus on porches, too, where neighbors hang out, chug beers and spin their foreheads around a hollow toy bat. Heck, it’s even in the

talia pollock

did it hurt when you fell from heaven? classroom, where professors see their students smile at them for the first time all semester, where they finally decide to release students early to

enjoy the beautiful day.

Spring is the one time in which us girls are actually distinguishable. We should use this as the opportunity to show guys that we do, indeed, have our own individual styles. Contrary to popular belief, we don’t actually dress in the same thing every single day, and now’s the time to prove it.

So out come the skirts and dresses, and the short-shorts that we’ve worked so hard all year to fit into. It feels good to walk around campus,

showing off those tan and toned legs.

You could always wear jeans, but what guy is going to check you out in pants when other ladies’ skirts are a flight risk? Ladies, now is the time to show Syracuse just what you’ve been hiding these past winter months.

But guys, you don’t have it super easy, either. Springtime means cutoffs — aka those weird tattoos will be exposed — an inhuman amount of freckles and (god willing) arm muscles. Guys should be extra certain

to bulk up in these final fleeting weeks of the semester. Think of it as a warmup for beach season.

A great part about spring is that everyone is finally happy. When students aren’t suffering from seasonal depression, they feel free to push the flirtation limits with members of the opposite sex. Guys might be able to grab a booty or two without offending the ladies, and ladies might be able to get with an extra guy or two without see pollock page 8

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reaction Chemical

MGMT’s latest experiment, ‘Congratulations,’ mixes new genres in place of familiar sounds

By Alexander James

M

Staff Writer

GMT takes a big step with its latest album, “Congratulations.” Whether it is a step forward, backward or in the right direction remains open for debate. “Congratulations” will probably frustrate casual listeners that expect another album full of catchy singles. This new album ditches pop sensibility and opts for a completely different style, one characterized by psychedelic experimentation, unconventional song structure and disorienting mood swings. Yet, it is an unapologetically complex effort that gets better after each listen — and that’s the point.

MGMT has undergone a radical transformation in its approach to making music. The band’s 2007 debut, “Oracular Spectacular,” was a collection of cool, catchy songs with hip appeal that made MGMT an overnight sensation. Clearly, that wasn’t OK. So the group switched producers and decided to go for a new sound, intentionally ditching the singles and instead crafting a fully realized concept album. The cover art of “Congratulations” depicts a cartoon character on a surfboard being devoured by a sea monster — a metaphor for the band being swallowed up by waves of success. This is the overriding theme of the album, and the nine tracks inside explore just how MGMT feels about fame and fortune.

“It’s Working” opens the album with a bang, a surf-rock song that recalls the days of the Beach Boys with its echoing vocals and bumping bass. It changes tempo frequently and establishes the experimental tone that continues throughout the album. “Song for Dan Treacy” immediately follows, grounded by a clean lead guitar riff and odd-sounding synthesizers that seem straight out of the 1960s.

The feel-good vibe and falsetto vocals of “Someone’s Missing” will remind fans of the old MGMT days, but the song is short, transitioning quickly into the divisive “Flash Delirium.” The track was released a few months ago online, and fans lashed out against MGMT for its radical new style. The random, seemingly

nonsensical lyrics complement a rhythm that has no structure, or even a chorus, for that matter. It’s understandable why fans would be upset at the change. Still, the track does well to capture the spirit of “Congratulations” as a whole — a blatant attack against predictability and conformity.

“I Found a Whistle” slows down, while being grounded by synthesizers, tambourines and a warm acoustic guitar. It never really picks up and doesn’t work very well as an individual song. However, it is a piece of the larger puzzle — this is an album, not a collection of songs. “Siberian Breaks” is a wonder to behold, a 12-minute epic that recalls the experimental jams of Pink Floyd. A song with what seems like a million layers, this is the sonic apex of the album in terms of unrestrained experimentation and outright peculiarity.

The second half of the album falters a bit, though. “Brian Eno” is a lighthearted, funny ode to the legendary producer of the same name — a man whose efforts helped to bring experimental rock into the mainstream in the 1980s. The song is fun and conceptually relevant, but it doesn’t really do much to push the envelope. “Lady Dada’s Nightmare” is a head-scratching instrumental that sounds unnecessary. Luckily, “Congratulations” ends the album on a high note. The irony of this ode to success shines through clearly: It’s about how fame and adoration make MGMT uncomfortable. Congratulation is the last thing the band members need right now.

Ultimately, “Congratulations” is a wild album that hits on so many different sounds, noises and styles. Calling it anything other than bizarre would be an understatement.

But MGMT has made a point here. The album is the reflection of a band unsatisfied with its image and place within music. Moreover, it is a large middle finger to everyone that was too quick to shower the band with praise in the first place. MGMT believes artistic success can be defined on its terms, and today, it’s refreshing to hear a band with such convictions.

Sounds like: MGMT went crazy Genre: Alternative/Electronic/ Experimental Rating:

mgmt

‘Congratulations’ Release date: 4/13/10

ajhaeder@ syr.edu

illustration by kelly sullan | design editor

3.5/5 soundwaves

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softball

Grant, Daniels become fast friends, invigorate SU outfield

By Michael Cohen Staff Writer

Veronica Grant came from California and had to learn a new position. Teammate Lisaira Daniels transferred away from her home in Georgia and only arrived in January.

Both faced difficult transitions this year when they came to Syracuse, but softball helped them develop a unique bond that made the change a little easier.

“They feed off of each other and boost each other’s confidence,” SU head coach Leigh Ross said. “It’s a great combination with those two.”

And it’s a combination that the team benefits from. Grant and Daniels have anchored the top half of the Orange batting order all season long, while also controlling the outfield where they play side by side — Grant in center and Daniels in right. The two combined to hit .333, while scoring seven runs in a strong two-win performance for the Orange this weekend.

From an offensive standpoint, Grant and Daniels are arguably the two best hitters on the Syracuse roster. Daniels leads the team with a .382 average, and Grant is second among everyday players at .330. Combined, they have 79 hits this season, which is just over 32 percent

of the team’s total.

The duo is particularly dangerous when batting first and second in the order. In the 12 games in which Grant hits leadoff and Daniels follows, they have combined for more than two hits per game and 21 runs scored.

“Every time Roni (Grant) gets on base, that’s my fire, that gets me going,” Daniels said. “I get really excited when she gets on base.”

Their connection is just as strong in the outfield. When Grant made the transition from second base to center field, Daniels was there to teach her and help her adjust to the subtleties of a new position.

“Since (Daniels) came here she’s calmed me down a lot from the mental aspect of playing and making sure that I go out and have fun,” Grant said. “Pretty much, she was a mentor to me.”

Many times when an infielder moves to the outfield they view it as a demotion, Ross said.

But she explained that seeing how good Daniels was in the outfield helped Grant embrace the position wholeheartedly.

They have grown so comfortable with each other in the field that they automatically understand what the other is thinking.

Daniels said she knows that whenever she can’t get to a ball that Grant has her back, and vice versa.

“She doesn’t even have to say words in English, and I will know what she’s thinking about,” Grant said.

Ross likes the idea of Grant following in Daniels’ footsteps. All season long she has been looking for more emotion and enthusiasm out of her players, and that is exactly what Daniels brings.

In the game on Sunday against Providence, Friars pitcher Corinne Clauss threw up and in toward Daniels’ head. She responded with a few steps toward the mound and a competitive scowl on her face. Perhaps an empty threat, but the fiery edge was certainly evident.

“That’s the thing that we’ve been missing in this program,” Ross said. “Obviously she wasn’t going to charge the mound, but I just wish I could see some more energy and some more passion. You can’t be like that all the time, but at the right time it’s great for our team.”

But it’s important to keep things fun, they

johnson from page 1

scene, leading SU in scoring (16.5 points per game) and rebounding (8.5 rebounds per game), while garnering the Big East Player of the Year award. Johnson also finished in the running for the Naismith Trophy, the Wooden Award and the Oscar Robinson Trophy.

Expert draft Web sites, such as NBADraft. net, have Johnson pegged as high as No. 3 overall, right after Kentucky’s John Wall and Ohio State’s Evan Turner. Others have him slotted firmly inside the Top 10.

The atmosphere at the Melo Center had the feeling of any typical offseason day. Most of Johnson’s teammates wandering around the complex appeared supportive. SU guard Scoop Jardine, upon hearing the news, insisted that

aaron katchen | staff photographer veronica grant has become part of a key duo, along with Lisaira Daniels, at the top of Syracuse’s lineup. Grant is hitting .330 with 35 runs scored on the season. said. You can’t be serious all the time. So once the game is over, they let their colorful personalities show.

After Sunday’s win against Providence, Grant hopped on Daniels’ shoulders in an attempt to scare one of their assistant coaches.

When that went awry, they proceeded to tuck

the assistant’s socks into her shoes.

“We just have fun,” Daniels said. “I mean, a game is a game, but you have to have fun out there. We’re both silly, so it’s just fun to play with her.

“She’s a fun partner in crime.”

Johnson pick him up from campus so he could spend time with his now ex-teammate.

“I just found out today. I got a text like 12 o’clock, he told me he did it,” Jardine said. “I’m just happy for him. I told him to come get me from campus. I missed class and everything just to be with him and share this moment with him.”

For James Southerland, the moment didn’t come as a surprise. The rising sophomore talked about how much he’ll miss spending time with Johnson and how the team will replace such a big presence after finding out about his teammate’s departure via text message from assistant coach Mike Hopkins.

“I saw it coming,” Southerland said. “I think we all saw it coming.”

Orange forward Kris Joseph, Johnson’s roommate, did not speak to the media, stating that he had “nothing to add.” Johnson said he

knew Joseph was disappointed, but supportive as well.

But for Johnson, 22, it was a day to commemorate what was the end of another road in a rather unorthodox journey. Largely unnoticed out of high school, Johnson de-committed from Louisiana Monroe and bounced around the grim circuit of collegiate prep school basketball, from The Patterson School in North Carolina to Eldon Academy in Michigan, before ending up at Iowa State.

After a falling out with Cyclones coach Greg McDermott, Johnson ended up at Syracuse and the rest was recent history. Thirty wins and a No. 1 ranking later, it was a tough decision, but for Johnson, it was time to move on to somewhere he envisioned himself years ago.

“Somewhere warm,” Johnson laughed. “But just going to the NBA in general is a blessing.”

mjcohe02@syr.edu

ctorr@syr.edu

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13

Returning from injury, Graham fighting for spot in secondary

By Tony Olivero and Andrew John THE DAILY ORANGE

After missing the entirety of the 2010 season with a shoulder injury, it’s “just football” again for Dorian Graham.

It’s football every time he lines up in the defensive backfield for Syracuse as a rising sophomore.

It was “just football” when Graham sacked quarterback Ryan Nassib Friday to conclude SU’s firstteam segment of the two-minute drill. It was back to football when he held his stomach and limped off the field in the second week of practice after running back Averin Collier plowed Graham into the ground during full-team drills.

And Monday, as he was pinned down as wide receiver Aaron Weaver threw punches at him during a mid-practice fight, it was “just football” yet again.

“We were just getting after it,” Graham said of the fight. “It was in the moment.”

No matter what the situation — whether dishing out the hits or receiving them — Graham claims he is merely glad to be back. He’s happy it’s “just football” yet again.

Coming off a true freshman 2008 season in which he played in every game for the Orange, Graham was expected to fill a starting role at the cornerback position for the 2009 season. But after suffering a season-ending shoulder injury on Aug. 19, the former Rivals.com All-Freshman Big East selection was shelved for the season.

“It’s tough to sit out one or two days or one or two weeks,” SU running back Antwon Bailey said. “But he had to sit out a whole year. It’s tough. I can just imagine what he went though last season watching us.”

Graham claims to be “practically fully recovered now” from the injury, but he still receives one hour’s worth of treatment — 30 minutes before practice and 30 minutes afterward — every day for the shoulder. He is no longer the favorite to start at cornerback for SU as a result of the injury. He has still been getting first-team reps at cornerback and safety at times this spring, but Graham has been one of the highlights for SU in special teams play.

The speedy native of Plantation, Fla., attributes that ability to get back on the field to the time he has put in the weight room with No. 1 running back Delone Carter. Graham — who works out with Carter every day — claims that the transition was facilitated by the flexibility workouts he does with Carter.

Because of the 5-foot-10, 215-pound Carter’s size, the running back doesn’t touch heavy weights when working out. And the recovering Graham has been an unexpected benefactor.

Workouts such as Carter’s one-legged squats, where the running back is held in place with rubber bands by SU strength and conditioning coach Will Hicks, have helped Graham as well.

It’s all part of the process for Graham. He has equated the spring into one word — a “refresher.” And there perhaps was no bigger refresher of what football really is for the defensive back than the time he looked up from the ground during that scuffle with Weaver.

Said Graham: “I can’t explain it. It was just football.”

Defensive line rebuilds To some, Art Jones left a gaping hole in the defensive line when he finished his collegiate career at Syracuse last fall. With the star nose

“It’s kind of like that younger son when the older brother leaves for college. All eyes are on you now — and those guys are really trying to show what they can do. They’re definitely showing up this year.”

Antwon Bailey

SU RUNNING BACK

tackle’s departure, conventional wisdom suggested the returning defensive linemen would have some big shoes to fill. It wasn’t a stretch to assume the defensive line that spearheaded such a stout defense against the run would possibly take a step back.

But if there is an alleged dropoff, Bailey, a rising junior running back, hasn’t seen it this spring.

“It’s kind of like that younger son when the older brother leaves for college,” Bailey said.

“All eyes are on you now — and those guys are really trying to show what they can do. They’re definitely showing up this year.”

Though Bailey admits that they have some giant shoes to fill, he said this isn’t a group that is looking into the past. And he believes less-heralded defensive linemen such as “Perk,” (Anthony Perkins) “Bud,” (Bud Tribbey) and “Lewis” (Andrew Lewis) are more than capable of filling those shoes, with a collective effort.

This year — the unit’s second in the current

danielle parhizkaran | staff photographer DORIAN GRAHAM (LEFT) is competing for a starting spot in the SU secondary this season. Graham missed all of last season after suffering a shoulder injury in August. defensive scheme — Tribbey is hoping that collective experience pays dividends. He said that the experience of playing in defensive coordinator Scott Shafer’s system has clearly helped.

But until the season starts, there will always be the questions. Can the unit deliver without Jones? Tribbey said with the unit’s understanding of the scheme and knowledge of the playbook, he’s confident it can.

As opposed to the rest of the defense, Shafer has been especially vocal with the defensive line this spring. He’s been on top of the unit for nearly every mistake, even riding it for slacking

in conditioning drills.

For Tribbey, it’s not just about filling Jones’ shoes — it’s just Shafer’s way of showing “tough love.”

“As a defense, our No. 1 goal is to stop the run,” Tribbey said. “And (Shafer) knows that it all starts with us, so he pushes us hard because he knows that we’re the foundation of the defense. It’s his own brand of tough love more than anything.” aljohn@syr.edu aolivero@syr.edu

Take Back the Night

2010 Syracuse University

04.14.2010 Hendricks 7:30pm “As members of the Syracuse University community, the faculty and staff of our department/office will not tolerate any form of sexual, relationship or other types of interpersonal violence on this campus.

Every member of our community is entitled to live and work in a safe environment, and we are committed to work toward creating such an environment.”

The following university offices and departments have publicly endorsed the preceding statement: Academic Affairs Annual Giving Programs Athletic Department Student-Athlete Support Services Biomedical and Chemical Engineering Burton Blatt Institute Center for Health and Behavior Chancellor Nancy Cantor Counseling Center Cultural Foundations of Education Dean Tom Wolfe Department of Finance, Whitman School Department of History Department of Information Technology for Enrollment Management Department of Institutional Technology, Enrollment Management Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department of Public Safety Department of Recreation Services Department of Women's and Gender Studies Discovery and Engagement Portfolio of the Division of Student Affairs Division of Public Affairs Division of Student Affairs Early Education and Child Care Center Enrollment Processing Office Family Law and Social Policy Center Health and Wellness Portfolio of the Division of Student Affairs Hendricks Chapel Higher Education Department Housing & Food Services Maintenance/FIXit Zone Inclusion, Community and Citizenship Portfolio of the Division of Student Affairs Information Technology and Services Instructional Design, Development and Evaluation Department of the School of Education iSchool

Kathleen Joyce, L.C. Smith College of Engineering Kiebach Center for International Business Studies Learning Communities Office LGBT Resource Center Light Work/Community Darkrooms Lillian and Emanuel Slutzker Center for International Services Mary Ann Shaw Center for Public and Community Service Office of Academic and Student Services--School of Education Office of Alumni Relations Office of Disability Services Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships Office of First-Year and Transfer Programs Office of Human Resources Office of Institutional Research and Assessment Office of Judicial Affairs Office of Professional & Career Development--College of Law Office of Research Office of Residence Life Office of Student Assistance Office of University Counsel Options Program Parents Office Registrar's Office Renee Crown University Honors Program Special Events SU Abroad Syracuse University Bookstore Syracuse University Career Services Syracuse University Health Services Syracuse University R.A.P.E. Center Tom Evans Visual and Performing Arts Student Affairs Office

R.A P.E. Center: 443-7273, http://students.syr.edu/rapecenter/

14 a p r i l 1 3 , 2 0 1 0

taxi cab f rom page 16

Only when his daughter, Emmy, graduated from SU with an information technology degree in 2009 did he enter the confines of the Carrier Dome. Don said he didn’t pay attention to Joe Biden speaking. “Too boring.”

But Emmy said she remembers Don’s face lighting up on graduation day. To Don, SU was always No. 1. In education and in sports. She recalls that every time Don dropped her off for class, he would beam with pride.

“He’s a very disciplined man. He always put education first. If you don’t have a good education then you really have nothing. Education is a foundation for everything,” Emmy said. “He really pushed me to go to SU and to graduate.

And that’s from the professors, athletes and

sports@ da ilyor a nge.com

students he’d met taking them places, picking them up. Him telling me, ‘I picked up a professor today,’ I think he would relay those stories to me to inspire me.”

Don naturally inspires everyone around him. His children, the athletes. “I want everyone to be better,” he said.

With that notion in mind, Don feels little sadness that Williams and Harris have moved on from SU. He wants Kris Joseph to leave Syracuse, too. He wants Joseph to make it to the “Big Time.”

“As a father, as an old person, I like to see the kids do the right thing,” Don said. “Move in the right direction. I want people to get out of Syracuse and become like Donovan McNabb or Carmelo Anthony.

Then they come back. And be big people and role models of the program.”

Don enjoys conversing with the athletes.

He enjoys all of his customers, but Joseph and

company, they don’t receive special treatment.

The fare is the fare, no matter who you are.

“Everybody has to be treated fairly,” Don said. “Sure, other people wouldn’t know if I gave them special treatment.”

He looks up at the ceiling of his car and points his finger to the sky. “But God, he knows what I am inside. That’s the way I live my life.”

Sometimes, the athletes go weeks without calling Don. And sometimes they call four or five times a day. Joseph’s roommate, Wes Johnson, has a truck, so Joseph doesn’t need a taxi as much.

Don will drive them around regardless of when they call. He has to make a living.

“Everybody can take people where they want to go,” Don said. “But how you do it? Got to give them a little hope.” mkgalant@syr.edu

cornell f rom page 16

day. “And obviously with the game last year, the rivalry has kind of changed for a while.”

As one of the most storied programs in college lacrosse history, Syracuse has plenty of big rivals among the top teams in the country.

The Orange has already taken on Virginia, Princeton and Johns Hopkins this season, as it does every year.

But those teams don’t have the Central New York influence on their rosters that Cornell does. Those teams aren’t 45 minutes down Interstate 81.

SU head coach John Desko said that even before the championship epic last season, this matchup brought a lot of intensity.

“Cornell-Syracuse, to begin with, is an emotional game,” he said. “You’ve got players from the Central New York area from both groups that have known each other throughout their high school careers and now into college. Plus, the two teams are local and you’ve got a repeat of last year’s national championship game.”

Historically, the upstate battle has been mostly one-sided. SU leads the series 60-33-1, including a 20-4 record against the Big Red since 1988.

But all four of those Cornell wins have come since 2000, equaling all of the Big Red’s victories in the series over the previous 19 years. And were it not for the frenzied ending to the championship game a year ago, Cornell would be only one game under .500 against the Orange last decade.

“If you beat them once, that’s considered a lot of success against Syracuse, and we’ve had the opportunity and the great fortune to beat them a couple times,” Big Red head coach Jeff Tambroni said in a phone interview Thursday. “… The rivalry may have heightened because some of those wins by Cornell.

“And maybe because of the championship game last year, there will be a little bit more

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luke mccomb | staff photographer chris daniello (14) evades a Cornell defender during last season’s national championship game. SU will meet the Big Red Today for the first time since that matchup. publicity and certainly a little bit more focus on this particular game.”

Both teams did lose key players from last year’s teams. Tewaaraton Trophy winner Max Seibald is one of 16 seniors from last season who won’t be trotting onto the field for Cornell tonight. Nims and Abbott won’t be connecting for any miraculous finishes this time around for the Orange, who lost 11 seniors from last year’s team.

But that doesn’t take away from this budding rivalry. There are still plenty of players from last year on both teams that will take the field tonight, players that experienced the emotions of that game.

For Cornell players, it was devastation and disappointment. Pannell said tears filled the locker room after the game. The championship trophy slipped right through their fingers.

For Syracuse, it was elation and euphoria.

Sudoku!

The Orange came out on the right side of a “miracle.”

And in Miller’s mind, those emotions and those memories will carry over to the rematch tonight.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if they try to pack out the whole stadium,” he said. “I know on their end, they’re extremely bitter. It was the national championship game. I think we’re going to have to come in and be extremely poised, and we have to be ready for anything.” zjbrown@syr.edu

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SPORTS

tuesday

april 13, 2010

page 16

the daily orange

I AM SYRACUSE I AM SYRACUSE I AM SYRACUSE I AM SYRACUSE

I AM SYRACUSE I AM SYRACUSE I AM SYRACUSE I A

M SYRACUSE I AM SYRACUSE I AM SYRACUSE I AM SYRACUSE I A

Backseat

driver Don Thatvihane advises SU athletes from his cab

By Meredith Galante Editor in Chief

Editor’s note: In this edition, The Daily Orange presents a series throughout its sections about people who embody Syracuse, the university and the community surrounding it.

D

on Thatvihane drove his taxi cab to the bus station. He awaited passengers, as usual if he doesn’t already have assignments for the day.

A 6-foot-2 man approached his maroon Chevy Impala LT. “Want to drive me to Manley Field House?” Mike Williams, the former Syracuse receiver, asked. Don will drive anywhere in Syracuse. He’ll even take you to New Brunswick, N.J., if that’s where you want to go.

“You know Paul Harris?” Williams inquired. Of course Don did.

“That’s my best friend!”

Don, a Syracuse resident, doesn’t advertise his University Transportation taxi company. He doesn’t want to encounter danger with strange calls from people. Everyone he drives around he has been referred to. Think of his phone number as an old family heirloom. Mike Williams? Paul Harris? Kris Joseph? No different. The trio passed down Don’s business card to one another.

Now, he’s the only cab driver they’ll use, Don said.

Don moved to the United States in 1985 from Laos and has been an Orange fan since he arrived in Syracuse. But now with the personal relationship he has built with some of SU’s athletes, he has even more reason to root for the home team.

Don’s lure isn’t his spotless car with leather interior and spacious leg room. Everyone has nice cars these days, Don says. It’s not Don’s work ethic, either — his seven-days-a-week mentality and 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. hours help support his wife and five kids.

His costumers adore him for his personality.

Don said whenever Kris Joseph, the rising junior forward on

andrew burton | special projects editor don thatvihane has built a personal relationship with multiple SU athletes since moving to Syracuse from Laos in 1985. He has been the cab driver of choice for past and present stars like Mike Williams, Paul Harris and Kris Joseph. the SU men’s basketball team, gets in the car, he asks Don, “Why do you think we lost that last game? I want to be better. What can I do to be better?”

Not enough teamwork. At least that’s what Don thinks.

Don simply told Joseph to show his SU basketball coaches that he’s a team player. Then, he’d receive more playing time.

Don wasn’t sure if Joseph listened. But as he kept watching SU games this season from the comfort of his home on his Sony projection TV with his three sons, he slowly saw Joseph playing more.

“We’ve been following SU as long as I can remember,” Don’s oldest son, Po, said. “We’re pro-SU fans.”

The feeling of pride, joy overcame Don on Feb. 18 when Syracuse traveled to Georgetown. Po recalls Don saying during the game, “I told Kris (Joseph) he can’t be stubborn.” Joseph completed an epic dunk and finished the game with 11 points. Don felt the moment along with Joseph, knowing his own small advice helped Joseph succeed.

Athletes need the mental aspect of the game in order to excel on the field or court. Marred former receiver Mike Williams struggles with this, Don said.

“Mike Williams, I know him personally. He’s good! He plays well,” Don said. “But his mental was not there. That is why he could not make it with us.”

Call him a psychiatrist with leather seats. Call him an off-thecourt coach that drives the team van. Regardless, Don’s small clan of athletes values his advice.

The small, two-car taxi company provides Don his living. He and his son Po, 27, drive identical maroon Impalas. Only, Po’s car has fabric interior.

Don always takes the athletes — he doesn’t relinquish those costumers to his son. Harris and Joseph offer Don tickets to games frequently, but Don always turns them down. He says he’s too busy. Plus, he likes watching from home or listening on the radio as he drives around other SU fans. see taxi cab page 14

m e n ’s l a c r o s s e

Syracuse to relive ‘miracle,’ face Big Red in finals rematch

By Zach Brown Asst. Copy Editor

Jovan Miller called it a miracle.

Only 27 seconds separated Cornell from a n ation a l ch a mpiWho: Cornell Where: Schoellkopf Field o n s h i p .

Big Red When: Today, 7 p.m. attack Rob Pannell thought the game was wrapped

UP NEXT

up. A Syracuse turnover gave his team possession in its own end with a 9-8 lead. The championship trophy was all but sealed.

But then came “the miracle.”

Nine seconds left, Syracuse’s Stephen Keogh picks up the loose ball just before midfield. He lofts it behind his back to Matt Abbott 20 yards from the goal. Two Cornell defenders converge on the SU midfielder, but he keeps his balance and flings a pass

toward the net. Six seconds left.

The ball deflects off Cornell midfielder Roy Lang’s stick right to Kenny Nims on the crease. He makes the catch, dives around goalie Jake Myers and buries the shot in the back of the net. Tie game. Four seconds left.

“The miracle” complete.

“Every time I think about that situation, I get goose bumps,” Miller said Monday. “It’s something that’s almost too good to be true. It should be

in a movie-type deal.”

Cody Jamieson would go on to score the game-winning goal with 2:40 left in overtime, delivering Syracuse its 11th national championship with the 10-9 victory. That game marks the high point of the local matchup that is quickly developing into a major rivalry. Despite Syracuse’s overall series domination, highly competitive games have become the trend in recent years, as Cornell has risen to

meet its upstate New York counterpart.

And tonight at 7 p.m., for the first time since the championship game, No. 2 Syracuse (8-1, 2-0 Big East) and No. 9 Cornell (8-2, 3-1 Ivy League) will butt heads at Schoellkopf Field in Ithaca, N.Y. “We’re always excited to play (Syracuse),” Cornell senior attack Ryan Hurley said in a phone interview Frisee cornell page 14