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april 14, 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
INSIDenews
I N S I D e o p ini o n
INSIDepulp
I N S I D Es p o r t s
Investigating insurance State Attorney General looks
Obama the hypocrite? Harmen Rockler discusses
Comeback kids SU students’ band, Mouth’s
Photo finish Thanks to a Chris Daniello
into student health insurance plans statewide. Page 3
the issues with Obama’s re-authorization of the Patriot Act. Page 5
Cradle, releases album after facing personal struggles. Page 11
Gender-neutral housing attracts 82 students
school of educ at ion
Joint degree to be offered in fall 2010
By Jon Harris
Contributing Writer
Forty-one pairs of students are signed up for gender-neutral housing, offered for the first time in fall 2010, said Eileen Simmons, the director of the Office of Housing, Meal Plan and I.D. Card Services in an e-mail. Phase three of Syracuse University’s housing reservation process ended Thursday at 5 p.m., with numbers of how many people took advantage of the option released Tuesday. The number of students who signed up neither met nor failed to meet expectations, Simmons said. Those who signed up said they are following the growing national trend of students who choose to room with friends regardless of sex. But others in the university communi-
By Lorne Fultonberg Staff Writer
Students will be able get both an undergraduate and a master’s degree in five years to be a high school teacher under a collaborative program from the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Education that will be available in fall 2010. The program, announced Friday, is designed to accommodate students who may not have come in as education majors but want to gain a New York state teaching certification. The coursework will be similar to the curriculum for students who enter as education majors, but the program will present the courses in a different order so students can complete their college education on time. It is more accommodating and better suited for students who don’t know what they want to do the minute they step on campus, said Douglas Biklen, dean of the School of Education. “What this program says is that a student who’s further along, say toward the end of their sophomore year, may say, ‘I’m an English major, I’m a math major, I’m a science major, I’m in chemistry or physics, or whatever, and I’d like to be able to teach,’” Biklen said. “What this allows students to do is be able to get a teaching credential and go out and teach even though they’re kind of starting a little bit later in the game.” The fifth year of the joint program will be treated as a year of graduate school, said Marie Sarno, program specialist for the School of Education, meaning undergraduate financial aid will not carry over. But the university will automatically provide a one-thirdtuition discount for the fifth year, she said. To receive a professional teachsee education page 6
goal with one second left, Syracuse edged rival Cornell 8-7. Page 24
the nutshell
How many people signed up? 82 students What rooms are open to this option?
jenna ketchmark | asst. photo editor
A stitch of art
Two-person suites and apartments How many of these rooms are there?
Jessica wolfe (left), Annie Louton (middle) and Jessica Haberny, a freshman fashion design major, a sophomore art photography major and a sophomore fiber arts major, respectively, complete their installation for an Intro to Fibers class on the Quad on Tuesday. The work, part of a three-week project, was crocheted and took two hours to set up.
776 Where are the rooms located? South Campus, Watson Hall, Haven Hall, Washington Arms, Booth Hall, DellPlain Hall
ty expressed concerns of impropriety as well as potential roommate conflicts for romantic couples. For the first time, opposite-sex students could sign up to live in the same residence. Students could select a roommate of the opposite sex for two-person suites on Main Campus or apartments on South Campus for the 2010-11 school year. Watson Hall, Booth Hall, DellPlain Hall, Washington Arms and Haven Hall all have suites that were options for gender-neutral housing, in addition to the two-person apartments on South Campus, Simmons said. This provides 776 options, according to the SU housing Web site. Simmons said the 82 students who signed up for the option wasn’t below or above expectations, as she wasn’t sure how many students would use the new program. SU joins the ranks of more than three dozen colleges and universities across the United States that offer this housing option. Gender-neutral housing programs allow upperclassmen to select roommates with whom they are the most comfortable, regardless of gender. Gender relations have evolved over time, as students 18 to 24 years old are four times more likely than those over 55 to have a best friend of the opposite gender, Simmons said. Amit Taneja, associate director of SU’s LGBT Resource Center, said there has been a “generational shift over the years” that has made it acceptable to see housing page 7
Take Back the Night rally encourages students to stand up to violence By Katrina Koerting Staff writer
Every two and a half minutes a woman in the United States is sexually assaulted, said Janet Epstein, the associate director of What: Take Back the the R.A.P.E. Night Center. That Where: Hendricks means that Chapel a When: Tonight, 7:30 during 5 0 -m i nut e p.m. How much: Free class, about 20 women
IF YOU GO
will be assaulted. At Take Back the Night on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., students, faculty, staff and community members will gather at the steps of Hendricks Chapel to speak out against sexual and other forms of violence against people of all genders, races and ages. Take Back the Night is an international event for people to speak out against interpersonal violence. The night’s events will consist of speeches on the steps of Hendricks, a march around campus and a speak-out ses-
sion inside the chapel. This year’s Take Back the Night, in its eighth official year, is expected to have a higher attendance than previous years. More people have expressed interest and activities leading up to the rally were expanded, Epstein said. “Take Back the Night is an opportunity for individuals to come together in large numbers and say violence will not be tolerated on campus,” Epstein said. “It lets people take a step forward.”
Chancellor Nancy Cantor will open the rally, followed by Tiffany Steinwert, the new dean of Hendricks, as the keynote speaker. Sacchi Patel, the graduate assistant at the R.A.P.E. Center, said he’s excited to see Steinwert as the keynote speaker. “It seems like she’s been really involved in speaking out about these issues,” he said. “She’s well-versed in Take Back the Night issues and LGBT issues.” see night page 8