Jan. 14, 2015

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free

wednesday

jan. 14, 2015 high 27°, low 10°

t h e i n de p e n de n t s t u de n t n e w s pa p e r of s y r a c u s e , n e w yor k |

N • Checking in

P • Seeking justice

The Department of Public Safety is undergoing a voluntary accreditation process in which an outside organization will evaluate its policies and procedures. Page 3

Liddy adds innovation to position

dailyorange.com

During Winter Break, professor David Crane provided legal counsel to a commission investigating alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka. Page 9

S • Woken up

Wake Forest pushed Syracuse to the brink, but the Orange overcame a nine-point second-half deficit to capture the overtime win on Tuesday. Page 16

Marshall Street fixture Gertis dies at 67

By Lydia Wilson asst. news editor

Elizabeth Liddy has never applied for a job. She founded the software company Textwise in 1994 and served as CEO for five years. She was then named Founding Director of Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies’ Center for Natural Language Processing before being elizabeth liddy named dean of the School of Information Studies in 2008. Liddy embraces a spirit of entrepreneurship and creates her own opportunities. This was recognized as Liddy was appointed as interim vice chancellor and provost for Syracuse University on Jan. 1, after Eric Spina announced that he was stepping down in December. Liddy said she was surprised and honored to be chosen for the position, and though she loved being dean of the iSchool, she was happy to support the university. “I love learning new things and trying new things, that part of it was exciting,” Liddy said. “Since then it’s just been heads down learning all kinds of things I didn’t know about.” Liddy’s work at the iSchool was fueled by the same passion for entrepreneurship that has marked her career, her colleagues said. “Liz is a dynamo, a very innovative and forward looking person. She strongly promotes experimentation and risk taking,” Jeffrey Stanton, who has been named interim dean of the iSchool, said in an email. Liddy was very active in promoting inventive thinking among iSchool students, Stanton said. She was the driving force behind see liddy page 6

gertis mcdowell, a Marshall Street icon, died last week of natural causes. McDowell was often seen interacting with members of the SU community and would often say, “Hey pretty lady” to those passing by. courtesy of will halsey By Justin Mattingly asst. news editor

Marshall Street patrons will no longer hear the familiar phrase, “Hey pretty lady,” as they walk past Starbucks. Gertis McDowell, who was often seen on Marshall Street interacting with students and community members, died Jan. 7, Syracuse police confirmed Tuesday. McDowell, 67, died of natural causes at his residence at 833 East Brighton Ave, police said. Members of the Syracuse University community reacted to the news on social media and said McDowell was a staple on Marshall Street and will be missed. “I’ll remember that voice. The ‘Hey pretty lady’ and then he’d have that same little speech, like a sales pitch, it was kind of funny,” said Karen McGee, assistant dean for student affairs at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. “I always saw people talking to him, whether it be doctors, people from Upstate (University Hospital), he had a lot of people who kept an eye on him even though he might not have known that.” McGee said that although some people didn’t like McDowell’s signature phrase, those that knew him “knew it was just him.”

McGee said she doesn’t remember the first time she talked to him, but said that his humor was what stood out about him. “When you talk to somebody they become a person to you and I always thought he was funny,” McGee said. “I don’t think he meant or tried to be funny, but he was and said really funny things and he reminded you that no matter what you are when you’re looking at

He was something that was very constant and consistent on this campus. Everyone could walk by him and he would be there. Kristina Bugg junior international relations major

somebody, everybody has a story behind them.” McDowell would often sit outside the Marshall Street Starbucks, making friends, asking for money and interacting with those passing by. “He was something that was very con-

stant and consistent on this campus. Everyone could walk by him and he would be there,” said Kristina Bugg, a junior international relations major. McDowell was restricted to a wheelchair because of an incident in which he fell five stories to the ground from a YMCA fire escape. He grew up in Birmingham, Alabama. Imani Johnson, a senior political science and African American studies dual major, said that McDowell’s story is what fostered her relationship with him. “I took this class and I found out that he had a really interesting story to his life and I just kind of felt bad so every time I saw him, if I had the money, I would try to help him out,” Johnson said. “He was a pretty cool guy.” Bugg said that when hearing the news of McDowell’s death, she was sad because he was a figure SU, “that everyone had at least one experience with during their time here.” She added that she’s disappointed that future students won’t get to know McDowell. “You would crack a smile every day just by going by him so it’s weird to think that for us it’s a part of our collegiate experience at Syracuse, but future students aren’t going to see gertis page 6


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