independent student
Experts said archival systems like SU’s are often understaffed, leading to backlogs of materials awaiting processing.
of syracuse, new york
• Wistful watercolors
Dan Shanahan’s “Scenes of Syracuse,” which is now on display at the Everson Museum of Art, depicts rare serenities in the city.
5
• Ready from day
30 years ago, Robert Anae began his coaching career at an Idaho junior college. Today, he leads one of the nation’s most improved offenses.
Amanda Lalonde’s sons are the most important part of her life and the reason why she chose to major in psychology and forensic science at Syracuse University.
One of her three sons has ADHD, and another has ADHD and autism.
He established Syracuse University’s curling team in 2002 and in the same season told his teammates that the goal was to win a collegiate championship. They said he was a fierce competitor. The team, half of whom were new to the sport, later traveled to
Minneapolis to compete against other collegiate teams, but McClune wasn’t there to see it.
McClune died in 2002 during his year as a Lockerbie Scholar after falling out of a window in Sadler Hall’s seventh floor. He was 18. 20 years later, those close to McClune still remember his friendliness and work ethic.
McClune had come to SU as one of two recipients of the Lockerbie Scholarship. After a bomb detonated Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scottland, killing 270 people — including 35 SU students — the university created the
scholarship to recognize the victims of the attack. One scholar represents the 11 people who died on the ground in Lockerbie while the other now represents McClune.
“He was not just another student to us,” said Lawrence Mason Jr., a now-retired professor emeritus in the Newhouse School for Public Communications.
Before McClune came to SU, Mason Jr. met him in his hometown, where he and his children developed a relationship with him.
“I know all his brothers, his mother. I know his stepfather,” Mason Jr. said. “I’ve stayed at their house a number of times. He was more than the average student to my whole family.”
Jon Mason, Mason Jr.’s son, was also a freshman on the curling team in 2002, and quickly grew close with McClune.
“They were the nucleus that formed Syracuse University’s curling team,” Mason Jr. said.
“I just wanted to be able to support my own kids better,” said Lalonde, who is also part of this year’s Remembrance cohort. “Plus, I’m fascinated with how people think and how people interact with each other.”
After about nine years in the Navy, Lalonde is the first veteran to be selected as a Remembrance Scholar. Each year, the scholars honor the 270 victims — including 35 SU students — who died after a bomb detonated Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. As both a scholar and a non-traditional student, Lalonde said her experience navigating work, motherhood, service and other responsibilities has helped her overcome her shyness.
In addition to a full course load, Lalonde works for SU’s National Veterans Resource Center as an intern with Vet100, a program that highlights the top 100 veteran-owned small businesses each year.
She said she’s found a community of veterans on campus, which has made her experience easier, and she wants to use her position as a Remembrance Scholar to pave a
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The best quotes from sources in today’s paper.
“He’s remembered ... Because as a mother, that’s the one thing you don’t want, (your) child to be forgotten.” -Deborah Scott, mother of Andrew McClune
Page 1
“It fosters a close connection between the Everson and the communities it serves, encourages and validates artists who live here, and demonstrates that great art is being made everywhere.” - Stephen Butler, CNY Arts executive director Page 5
“The person with the capacity to put out such beautiful and celebrated music also has the capacity to commit appalling offenses.” - Neil Vijayan, columnist
Page 8
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“If you look up ‘goalkeeper’ in the dictionary, there’s probably a picture of him holding his pet pig.”Syracuse head coach Ian McIntyre Page 12
Noteworthy events this week.
WHAT: Rose Laying Ceremony for the Victims of Pan Am Flight 103
WHEN: Oct. 21, 2 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.
WHERE: Place of Remembrance
WHAT: Sitting in Solidarity
WHEN: Oct. 21, 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.
WHERE: Hendricks Chapel
WHAT: Creighton Club Conference WHEN: Oct. 22, 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
WHERE: Hall of Languages, 500
stick around for a master’s degree at SU—complete a School of Education master’s degree in just over a year
meet academic requirements for NYS teacher certification.
On Oct. 7, a Syracuse University Remembrance Scholar discovered antisemitic messages from two Pan Am Flight 103 victims, twins Eric and Jason Coker, in the SU’s Special Collections Research Center.
Visiting the Pan Am 103 col lection, which contains personal belongings of the victims, is a responsibility of each year’s Remembrance Scholars, who SU selects to represent each of the 35 students who died in the terrorist attack in 1988 over Lockerbie, Scotland. The antisemitic messages had been submitted to the archives some time between 2007-2013, rais ing questions from this year’s scholars as to how the materials went undiscovered until now.
Archives are often under funded and understaffed, with backlogs of materials awaiting processing, said Janine Biunno, an archivist with 15 years of expe rience who now teaches at the Pratt Institute’s Graduate School of Information Studies.
“It’s a lot of work, to take mate rials that have been donated or acquired, and get them to a shelf or into a database and ready for people to access,” Biunno said.
Where are the archives, and how are they accessed?
While the sixth floor of Bird Library houses the research center and reading room, some materials are kept in climate-controlled stor age on South Campus or at the Belf er Audio Laboratory and Archive building next to Bird Library.
SU students may visit the read ing room throughout the semes ter, but making an appointment ensures the material they want to view is ready and available, said Meg Mason, university archivist at SCRC.
SU’s SCRC, which includes the university archives, preserves over 4,000 archival and manuscript collections,15,000 rare books and printed materials and over 460,000 audio and film material, said Nicolette Dobrowolski, assis tant director of collections and access services.
While every institution may choose a different method or fol low their own practices, there is an exact science to archivism, Biunno said.
At SU, the university archivist and assistant archivist are respon sible for handling materials that arrive by donation or purchase from the university, Mason said.
When new material arrives, the first step is to take official custody of the item and document a sum
mary of the donation into a data base. The university will also send a letter of acknowledgement to the donor if the material was donated instead of purchased by SU.
SU archivists then arrange unsorted materials into folders and boxes and describe them in a finding aid, a document explain ing an archival collection. Some collections comprise hundreds of boxes, and archivists don’t have time to view each item individu ally, Mason said.
“We have a large backlog of unprocessed collections that we’re slowly chipping away at. New acquisitions may be put in the queue to be processed, but not everything gets into the queue immediately because we only have so many processing archivists,” Mason said.
There are currently 13 library staff members and two staff mem bers from the Libraries Acquisition and Cataloging department in the SCRC, Mason said. Some under graduate and graduate students also either work or intern at the collections.
The professional staff mem bers consist of archivists, cura tors, librarians, directors, a con servator and area supervisors, Dobrowloski said. Curators verify artifacts for validity based on the context of the acquisition and the source’s relationship to the mate rial or to SU, Mason said.
While not common, it is possible for smaller materials to go overlooked in archives if they were cataloged at a box or folder level.
Because archives have so much material to sort through, it’s common practice to priori tize making important mate rials accessible immediately over thoroughly processing them first, Biunno said. Ide ally, every archivist would like to have information on each item, but obtaining that isn’t practical, she said.
“In terms of things being lost, it really has to do with how well it was organized in the first place,” Biunno said. “Pre-digitization, it was a lot harder to keep track of things at an individual level. There’s a chance something was glossed over in cata loging, it might have been cataloged at a folder or box level, and people didn’t know there was sensitive material inside.”
Although it’s far from best practice, Biunno said, there’s always the possibility an archi vist chose not to catalog a spe cific item. There’s no way to know exactly what happened to an overlooked item, she said.
“If there’s any one challenge, it’s that there’s too much information,” Biunno said.
Sarah Alessandrini scalessa@syr.eduJulie Friend was halfway through her sophomore year at Syracuse University when the Pan Am Flight 103 terrorist attack occurred over Lockerbie, Scotland. When SU founded the Remembrance Scholar program in the 1990-91 school year, Friend felt motivated to apply.
“I just remember thinking, ‘I guess it’s the responsibility of the rest of us to try to live out some of their dreams,’” Friend said.
Friend and other Remembrance program alumni reflected on their time in the program and how it has impacted them in their careers and personal growth. Cleo Hamilton and Friend, graduates of SU in 1991 and 2020 respectively, said their
experiences continue to play a role in their lives.
Friend, who represented Gretchen Dater, said that she felt humility throughout her experi ence as a Remembrance Scholar, but she didn’t frequently discuss it with her friends because of the traumatic nature of the attack.
“We’re so informed now about how to talk about trauma and how to recognize it, and we are so much better with all of the … word choices,” Friend said. “We really just didn’t have that level of understanding or even sophis tication at the time, so there was not a lot of talk about it.”
Now, Friend remembers the event annually with her friends Beth, her former roommate, and Emily, who she keeps in touch with from their time together at SU.
Friend and Beth returned to SU for the 25th anniversary of the attack in 2013 and were able to see the evolution of Remembrance Week.
After being chosen to represent Eric Coker as a 2019-20 Remem brance Scholar, Hamilton said he visited the sixth floor of Bird Library every day after class to read Coker’s file in the Pan Am Flight 103 Archive.
“I started screaming the word ‘yes’ (when) I got selected as one of the 35 students,” Hamilton said.
On Oct. 7, antisemitic lan guage was discovered in letters from Eric Coker and his twin, Jason Coker, in the archives. Hamilton said at the time of the interview he was not aware of the recent findings.
Hamilton noted the emotional impact that the Remembrance
events had on him and the other scholars when he participated. At the end of one of the events, he recalled an intimate moment between the 2019-20 cohort.
“We all cried together,” he said. “We all had to give each other hugs.”
When Friend was a Remem brance Scholar, Remembrance Week had only one ceremony.
Friend gave a speech at the cer emony, which she said was a defining moment of her experi ence as one of the first Remem brance Scholars because she was able to be with the parents of the students killed in the attack. She said the ceremony deepened her recognition of the parents’ loss and pain.
Hamilton met Coker’s parents after the 2019-20 Rose Laying Cer
On Monday, President Joe Biden announced during a White House speech that an online form will allow federal student loan recipients to apply for up to $20,000 in debt relief.
“Today, I’m announcing millions of people, working and middle-class folks, can apply and get this relief. And it’s simple and it’s now. It’s easy,” Biden said in his speech. “This is a game changer for millions of Americans … and it took an incred ible amount of effort to get this web site done in such a short time.”
Borrowers must also have fed erally-held student loans to qualify. The form asks for an applicant’s full name, social security number, date of birth, phone number and an email address. Borrowers can submit applications up until Dec. 31, 2023. Recipients will not have to pay feder al income tax on the forgiven loans.
The Department of Education form is a part of the Biden Adminis tration’s student debt relief plan.
The plan, which Biden announced in August, will forgive eligible borrowers loans up to $20,000 for federal Pell Grant recip ients and up to $10,000 for non-Pell Grant recipients.
The relief applies to loan bal ances before June 30, 2022. Loans disbursed after July 1, 2022 are not eligible for forgiveness.
Subsidized loans, unsubsidized loans, parent PLUS loans and gradu ate PLUS loans held by the Depart ment of Education are eligible under the relief plan, according to the Fed eral Student Aid website. Consoli dation loans are also eligible, given the consolidated underlying loans were ED-held loans and taken on or before June 30, 2022. Private loans are not eligible for debt relief.
Direct subsidized loans are intended for undergraduate students paying for post-secondary education. Sub sidized loans do not accrue interests when students are enrolled in school at least as half-time students, or dur
The team won silver at the 2003 tour nament in Minnesota even without McClune, who Mason Jr. said was their best player. Upon accepting their silver pins, the team requested an additional one to give to McClune’s mother, Deborah Scott. She still has the pin and keeps it in her cupboard.
Scott said stories from McClune’s curling teammates have helped her deal with her grief.
“(Andrew) was very competitive,” she said. “(He) just liked to win.”
Scott said McClune also had a great appre ciation for the social aspect of curling. She often traveled up north and to Ireland for curl ing camps with him when he lived in Scotland.
McClune wasn’t an extrovert growing up, so he would bring magic sets and cards to the curling camps, Scott said. Performing was his way of breaking the ice with the other kids.
path for others to participate in the program.
“I feel like there’s a weight on my shoulders,” Lalonde said. “I have to repre sent the rest of the student veteran popu lation and be a good example for other student veterans that may get selected (for the Remembrance Scholar program) later on.”
Lalonde said being a Remembrance Scholar is a surreal experience. Usually she would never have applied for a program like it, she said.
“I’m not the typical average college stu dent, but I’m also of the mindset like, ‘why not, like, let’s give it a whirl, we’ll throw our name in the hat and see what happens,’” Lalonde said.
And Remembrance isn’t the only posi tion Lalonde has had to step out of her comfort zone for.
Jared Welch, who is also a Remembrance
emony event. It was his favorite event because of all the different SU community members that attended.
Hamilton still maintains contact with Vanessa St. Oegger-Menn, the Pan Am Flight 103 Archi vist. Though he hasn’t spoken to Coker’s father since they first met, Hamilton said he hoped to reunite with him during this year’s events.
ing deferment periods.
Unsubsidized direct loans are intended for both undergraduate and graduate students paying for post-secondary education. Stu dents are responsible for paying their interests on unsubsidized loans.
When she first met McClune over a video conference in 2002, then-Lockerbie pro gram advisor Judy O’Rourke said he seemed reserved. He deferred questions to fellow 2002-03 Lockerbie Scholar, Ruth McNay, who was his good friend, and only communicated about the logistics of the program over email.
But when he first stepped on campus, O’Rourke met the “real Andrew.”
“(He wasn’t) shy or reserved — but always cheerful, always eager to discover new things to do or see,” she said during a speech at McClune’s memorial service in 2003. “He was smart, kind, talkative, and polite. And always — Andy wore that big, beautiful smile.”
McClune was also involved in SU’s ROTC program. Though he was an international student who had tuition, room and board all paid for, he joined because he wanted to join the Royal Air Force someday, Mason Jr. and Scott said.
“He thought it was important training for him, important discipline,” Mason Jr. said.
Scholar, first met Lalonde two years ago during an orientation event. Welch, who is also an Orientation Leader, admitted he was thrown off at first by their age differ ence, but quickly realized Lalonde would be a good fit for the Orientation Leader team and recommended she apply.
“She was as she is now, full of life, you know, very like that go-getter kind of attitude, always participating,” Welch said.
Sifan Hunde, another Remembrance Scholar and an OL, met Lalonde during orien tation training together last summer.
“We bonded kind of with that nervousness in the first couple days. She seemed so kind and so open and honest,” Hunde said. “She’s a grounding presence for me.”
This was Lalonde’s second year on the OL team, and she spoke about her experiences at SU’s convocation ceremony for new students. Hunde and Welch said the speech is their favorite memory of Lalonde.
“I kind of started tearing up listening to her because number one, the speech was abso
“I’m an only child and there were some parents there whose sons or daughters were also only children,” Friend said. “I just can’t imagine the hole that creates in your heart. So I remember it just being a very lovely, heartfelt thoughtful ceremony.”
Hamilton said he maintains contact with his Remembrance cohort in their GroupMe chat and has even connected with scholars from different cohorts. He said he always looks forward to reuniting with them and Remem
The federal direct PLUS (FPLUS) loan is a loan parents can obtain to help pay for the cost of education for their dependent undergraduate children.
The federal direct graduate PLUS loan is a long-term, fixed-rate loan intended for gradu ate students to finance the cost of attendance
“He wouldn’t waste his time, he’d be up early and experience everything.’”
Scott said McClune built a strong relation ship with SU’s ROTC office during his time on campus. The ROTC Color Guard performed the “Presentation of Colors’’ during his memo rial service.
Scott’s second time on SU’s campus was for the ceremony, which filled Hendricks Chapel with laughter and tears, according to an article from The Daily Orange. Her first was to bring McClune home to Scot land shortly after he died.
Chancellor Kent Syverud later invited Scott to SU in 2017. During the visit, Scott saw all the places that marked her son’s experi ences while living in New York, such as the Carrier Dome, said Mason Jr.
“That trip was a bit overwhelming. I hadn’t expected it,” Scott said. “It was nice to see … the memorials done for Andrew.”
Scott wrote in an email to The D.O. that she feels the motto “Carpe Diem,” or “seize
lutely incredible. She spoke just so beautifully and illustrated her life like no one else can,” Welch said. “Having the opportunity to watch her grow so intimately… is beautiful.”
But Lalonde’s path to SU wasn’t linear.
Lalonde grew up roughly an hour away from Syracuse in Endicott, New York until her family moved to Tampa, Florida for her father’s job while she was in high school. Her interest in science began at a young age, her father Robert Gritsavage said. In high school, she was one of two women in a club with around a dozen where students built a smallscale electric car.
Despite being an avid student in high school, Gritsavage said Lalonde dropped out after her first semester at the University of South Florida because she struggled to make friends. She then began her Navy career.
“I want to set a good example for my kids like, ‘Hey, you don’t necessarily have to leave high school and go straight to college … there’s no right or wrong way,’” Lalonde said. “Just find your avenue.”
brance staff when he attends campus events.
Hamilton, who lives in the Westcott neigh borhood, has continued attending Remem brance events since graduating and plans to continue doing so.
Friend said that when she was back on campus, seeing the photo display from the Pan Am Flight 103 Archives in the Schine Student Center was “extremely touching,” and witnessing the “Sitting in Solidarity” ceremony with the chairs on
not covered by other financial aid.
A federal consolidation loan allows stu dents to combine all previously obtained fed eral loans into one loan. The consolidation loan pays off loan balances of all a student’s consolidated loans under a new repayment schedule.
A beta version of the application opened on Friday evening. President Biden said over 8
the day,” best fits McClune. At the end of his speech at the Rose Laying Ceremony for SU’s 2002 Remembrance Week, McClune left the audience with a French quote.
“Leve ton visage vers le soliel et l’ombre sera derriere toi,” he said to the crowd, add ing a quip about excusing his French. “Lift your face to the sun and the shadows will be behind you.”
SU has two memorials for McClune on campus. One, a stone in the Orange Grove, reads, “ANDREW J.K. MCCLUNE — OUR SON, OUR BROTHER, OUR FRIEND, OUR INSPIRATION — LOCKERBIE –SYRACUSE SCHOLARS 2002 — TREA SURED MEMORIES.” The other is located in SU’s Tennity Ice Pavilion and celebrates him as a founder of the SU curling team.
“He’s remembered,” Scott said. “As a moth er, that’s the one thing you don’t want — (your) child to be forgotten.”
kschouin@syr.edu @kyle_chouinardLalonde said her sons often sit with her and do their homework while she does her’s. One of the boys had the opportunity to attend several of Lalonde’s classes, and she said he loved it. Another one of her sons already wants to join a fraternity, though she’s told him he’ll have to wait about ten years.
Lalonde is currently taking 19 credits in hopes of graduating this December. She plans to use her psychology degree to help the veteran community and vet eran students. She hopes that her nontraditional path will help inspire other students like her.
“I went through orientation as a transfer student and I enjoyed what they did for me to welcome me to campus and I want to pay it forward,” Lalonde said. “If there are older nontraditional students transferring in, I want to be there for them. There’s a community of us who want you to be successful.”
ksmcclel@syr.edu @katie_mcclellanthe quad in the layout of the plane was “heart-wrenching.”
“This is an example of a good tradition that, of course, came out of a tragic incident, but it’s become such an integral part of the the Syracuse community experience and it’s taken with such deliberate care, to be put together every year so thoughtfully, and I was just extremely impressed and really honored … by the long term dedication,” Friend said.
news@dailyorange.commillion Americans used the website over the weekend to fill out their applications “without a glitch.”
“As millions of people fill out the applica tion, we’re going to make sure the system con tinues to work as smoothly as possible so that we can deliver student loan relief for millions of Americans as quickly and as efficiently as possible,” Biden said.
zliu159@syr.edu @ZiqingLiu8
By Anthony Bailey asst. culture editor D
an Shanahan is a paradox of an artist. He loves being outside in the streets and neighborhoods of Syracuse to paint his favorite spots in the city. Yet, the Syracuse native still finds going into the city “nerve-wracking.”
Shanahan created more than 50 paintings of Syracuse over nearly a decade, documenting city neighborhoods including downtown and the university neighborhood. A group of these paintings are now on display in the Everson Museum of Art’s new exhibition, “Dan Shanahan: Scenes of Syracuse” which will run from Oct. 1 to Nov. 13 as part of the Ever
son’s CNY Artist Initiative.
Shanahan has always been nervous when it came to his art and always found it stressful for others to see his work. He’s been painting around the city for eight years and has created a specific style, but still hesitates to deviate from it.
“I mostly do them just the way I do, but I’ve thought about doing them differently,” Shanahan said. “But I never want to ruin it.”
Shanahan’s exhibit is only from his watercolor works, but he also sees himself as an illustrator. Shanahan, who has a degree in mechanical engineering, said he’s been drawing his whole life, but hadn’t worked with watercolors much.
Carlo Di Giammarino always knew he was a storyteller. Grow ing up in London, he was con stantly writing, distracted in his classes and always itching to have a pen in hand.
“I just didn’t have much vision, but I knew I could write. As much as I messed around in my English classes, I was always scor ing highly for some reason, better
than the best kids,” Di Giamma rino said. “I was like, ‘how is this happening?’ I figured I might just have a gift.”
Now, after leaving SU three years ago, Di Giammarino’s origi nal documentary “Obroni No Ka Sen: An Asakaa Drill Story” has over 13,000 views on YouTube. The 21-year-old journalist found his passion as a documentary film maker while transcending inter national borders.
Di Giammarino had family
from the Northeast and heard the accolades and success stories sur rounding the Newhouse School, so Syracuse University was an obvious choice for him, he said. He visited for a day, took a tour and quickly decided to commit.
But when Di Giammarino arrived on campus, he was taken aback by the lack of diversity on campus and the immense wealth many of his classmates were coming from. Having grown up in London and was surrounded
by great diversity, Di Giamma rino said the SU campus was a culture shock, and didn’t feel how he thought it would when he committed.
“I was adamant that I could fit into the culture more than I was really prepared to do, or I was really able to do when push came to shove,” Di Giammarino said.
He felt even more out of place in November of 2019, when rac ist graffiti targeting Black and Asian people — which later
sparked the protest movement #NotAgainSU — was discovered in Day Hall, where Di Giam marino was living at the time. When he found out about the incident, he looked around at his classmates and the school his family was spending so much money for him to attend, and began to question his decision.
“I remember it as this moment of reckoning. Like, where have I actually landed
But still, as Susan Stryker observes in “Transgender History,” the price to be paid for nonconformity is usually higher, with the tendency for identities that are not “gender normative” to be lumped into the broad category of “transgender,” further marginalizing people from mainstream society as well as the LGBTQIA+ movement.
imposed its own ideals, it is important to take a broader look at the diversity of groups and movements on a global scale, taking into account their histories but also how forces like race and class play in to this very day.
Story by Morris Gelbert the outcrowd Illustration by Morgan Sample presentation directorThis piece was written for The OutCrowd, Syracuse University’s only student-run LGBTQIA+ publication, and published in collaboration with The Daily Orange.
If Judith Butler’s assertions in “Gender Trouble and Performative Acts of Gender Constitution” regarding gender’s “performative” and learned nature hold true, so must the roles that traditionally accompany them be unsubstantial, along with the unquestioned and assumed universal “normalcy” of strictly binary gender presentations and heterosexual relationships.
Currently, however, it appears that a larger number of people, especially young queer people, seem to be more accepting of, if not outright identifying with, more non-binary gender identities. In general, they’re moving away from normative concepts of gender altogether. There is a lot of heavy lifting here that can be attributed to the easier access to queer media and information and a generally more socially accepting climate.
Especially then, it can seem worthwhile to adopt a more “acceptable” and palatable presentation — to seek validation under the neoliberal status-quo that demands a certain degree of marketability, leaving less and less room for gender dissidents, hence the conversations around “passing” and the need for slogans like “Non-binary people don’t owe you androgyny!”
Cisheteronormativity, and even the dominant “homonormativity,” thrives on distinct binaries, all in return for some acceptance from the same system that sets the goalposts. Given these conditions, how do you leave enough space open for everyone?
Often in “the West,” struggles in gender and sexuality have been seen as an almost completely western invention, which is a “Eurocentric progress narrative.” In the words of David M. Halperin in “How to Do the History of Homosexuality,” such a narrative aligns modernity, Western culture, and metropolitan life against “pre-modern, nonWestern, non-urban, non-white, non-bourgeois, non-industrialized, non-developed societies, which appear in this light as comparatively backward.”
Essentially, the “enlightened and developed West,” supposedly bringing the “emancipation of LGBT people,” is too often situated in contrast to the “undeveloped world,” with the idea that these people had been there living “in fear and silence” all along.
Beyond being a reductive model which erases the fact that many places around the world have and have had their own rich ideas of gender and sexuality before the advent of imperialist colonialism, which
The aforementioned broad category of “trans,” can include, as Leslie Feinberg points out in “Trans Liberation: Beyond Pink or Blue,” “homeless teenage drag queens” who rage “against the cops who beat them mercilessly and then demand sex” in addition to “cross-dressers who own banks and railroads, hold high-level government o ces, and run television studios.” These are clearly two very di erent sides of a broad umbrella.
To again quote from Feinberg, maybe the project isn’t necessarily to completely dismantle and deconstruct gender, but instead open up “a world of possibilities,” one that queers the family structure, democracy and gender relations itself.
“Trans liberation has meaning for you — no matter how you define or express your sex or your gender,” she writes, “this movement will give you more room to breathe … to discover on a deeper level what it means to be yourself,” fighting for “each individual’s right to control their own body, and to explore the path of self-expression,” thereby enhancing your “freedom to discover more about yourself and your potentialities.”
When we talk about “deconstructing gender,” it is important then, in the name of liberation and solidarity, to be aware of current movements and organizations worldwide. This means not only fighting against vague notions of “homophobia” and “transphobia,” but actively blurring boundaries, subverting gender, maintaining open queer inclusion and building a global and anti-racist solidarity.
A larger move towards a radical queer sexual politics, part of which involves a true deconstruction of gender, must at its core seek to transform institutions, not be co-opted by them.
fmgelbar@syr.eduGender and sexuality are complex — assertions otherwise are either misguided or diminishing
His style began to transition after he started attending open figure drawing classes about 20 years ago, where Shana han was required to draw and show his work around others.
“That was another thing that was kind of nerve wracking, I’m going to draw where people might look at what I draw,” Shanahan said. “It’s no big deal. These are people who just like to draw, and so it’s not anything to be nervous about.”
After gaining some confidence from his open figure drawing classes, Shanahan began showing his art at public art displays, going to organizations like the Gear Factory to display and sell his work.
Around this time, Shanahan began his early works from the Scenes of Syracuse. Sha nahan said he creates most of his watercolors in one sitting, as he goes to one spot to paint for three or four hours until he finishes. Shana han drives where he wants to paint, sets up a chair and begins his work.
Initially, Shanahan was nervous about his excursions outside. His biggest worry was being seen as he painted.
“When I’m drawing a lot of the time and people are watching this, I can’t think,” Sha nahan said. “It’s just been nerve wracking to sit down … even in a neighborhood where there’s houses, where nobody might come.”
But after a few trips and paintings, Sha nahan was able to get over his fears. He even looks forward to the interactions he has with
myself? For this amount of money, and this is what’s happening … How hateful these people are?” Di Giammarino said. “It was harrowing, and it didn’t sit right with me.”
By the end of his first semester, Di Giammarino said he knew he didn’t want to return to SU. Though the racial discrimina tion impacted that decision, when he looked at his identity and where it fit in at SU, he said he felt like his values were not reflected in the people he shared classrooms with, and that was his last straw.
“At the end of the day, I just got really stuck. I grew up in a place where I can go outside… get on a bus, go anywhere in the city, meet any friend at any time,” he said. “At Syracuse, I didn’t feel free.”
After leaving SU, Di Giammarino enrolled at the University of Manchester. While he was a writer at The Mancunion, the university’s newspaper, he was asked to cover and film a protest on campus about new COVID restrictions.
At the time, Di Giammarino didn’t think very much of it — he showed up, filmed the protest on his iPhone and submitted it to his team. Shortly after, Di Giammarino’s clip had amassed over a million views.
“I had BBC, ITV — all these major UK outlets in my inbox saying ‘can we license this?’” Di Giammarino said.
After that, something clicked for Di
people who talk to him on the street.
Shanahan recalled a story of a young girl and her family running up to his art supplies and the enjoyment she had as she played with his supplies. The girl wanted to paint and even picked up a paintbrush, much to the annoyance of her father. Her older brother tried to show his sister how to use the paintbrush after watching how Shanahan used it.
Shanahan was moved by the innocent interaction of this young painter and her older brother. Shanahan also found that his journeys into Syracuse made him want to work with more artists, something he has not always been great at.
“I’m just not much for talking. I don’t know, I just kind of have trouble talking. Plus, I also have trouble being positive about other people’s artwork,” Shanahan said. “Some thing that is really hard for me is getting together friends that draw, that enjoy doing the kind of drawing that I like to do when I’m alone.”
While Shanahan may want to improve his social skills, his skills as a watercolorist are “amazing,” said Steffi Chappell, the curator and exhibition manager at the Everson.
Chappell said that Shanahan’s watercolors are the first to be displayed as a part of the CNY Artist Initiative. Visitors to the Everson interacted with his exhibit a lot, she said.
“What people so far, I’ve noticed, really loved about this show is recognizing the places that Dan is painting, which is not something that we get here to the Everson all the time,” Chappell said.
Giammarino. As a writer, he took hours to craft a single piece to publish, not including the time it took to find sources, do research and conduct interviews. This short video, which took mere seconds to shoot, reached millions of people in a fraction of the time. He was inspired to pivot to documentary journalism, remembering what his favorite SU profes sor, Corey Takahashi, told him.
“He’d tell me ‘Carlo, you need to be a Swiss Army Knife — you have to have dif ferent skills,’” he said. “I always thought I’d be writing my whole life, some editor in chief or something,... but he was whisper ing in my ear and I didn’t realize it until… I was older.”
From that experience, Di Giammarino decided to embark on a documentary project of his own in Ghana. He spent a brief period of time there volunteering before pandemic travel restrictions sent him home.
“I pretended like I had any idea of what I was doing. I got the camera equipment literally two weeks before,” Di Giamma rino said. “But once I got into the rhythm, I started to realize, ‘I’m doing this. I am shooting a documentary.’ I’m doing what people are paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to do with a few YouTube vid eos.”
The documentary, titled “Obroni No Ka Sen: An Asakaa Drill Story,” follows the rise of drill music in Ghana amid an intensely religious culture, Di Giammarino said. The youth in the country were rebelling
When school and youth groups come through, Chappell said she has taken a lot of joy out of seeing their excitement at recognizing the places around Syracuse. That aspect of the exhibition is exactly why Stephen Butler, the executive director of CNY Arts, values the CNY Artist Initia tive so much.
“It fosters a close connection between the Everson and the communities it serves, encourages and validates artists who live here, and demonstrates that great art is being made everywhere,” Butler said. “It presents a wonderful opportunity for bud ding artists, children, and adults to visit the museum and see members of their own communities being selected and presented for their artistry.”
While the Everson continues to look to the future of their initiative, Shanahan looks to the future of his watercolors. Though he has thought about potentially running out of scenes to paint around Syracuse, he’s not wor ried about slowing down, and already has a backup plan.
“Maybe I’ll really get into doing paintings more how I want to do, where I think about it, rather than just look at what it is,” Shanahan said. “Then I can just go back and redo some of the scenes I’ve already done.”
At the very least, Shanahan knows he will be doing his watercolors for the fore seeable future.
“I’ll probably stick with this forever, I guess,” Shanahan said. anthonybailey@dailyorange.com @anthonycbailey
against the religious, cultural norms and the documentary followed their successes and failures as they grow up and come into their own, he said.
In Ghana, Di Giammarino met Frank Nii Ankrah, who quickly became one of his closest friends and his roommate during the shooting process. Ankrah said he was inspired by his impressive drive, finding Di Giammarino editing videos at all hours of the night and constantly writing down ideas for his next story.
“He may be a white guy, but he is my brother,” Ankrah said. “He is not a tourist in Ghana, he is a Ghanian now.”
Larry Baptiste, Di Giammarino’s busi ness partner in Flicky Entertainment, said he recognized this in Di Giammarino as well, saying that though he isn’t a local, that isn’t what stood out about him — his work ethic did. Now the duo has their own videography company, where they shoot behind the scenes of music videos and intend to shoot more documentaries in the future, Baptiste said.
Regardless of the success of his docu mentary or future work with Flicky Enter tainment, Di Giammarino said he’s not in it for wealth or fame. Instead, he intends to maintain his lifelong passion for storytelling and employ his “gift.”
“I don’t want to make money. I just want ed to get something out of it, and learn, for me,” Di Giammarino said. sophieszyd@dailyorange.com @sophszyd
After gracing international shows and underground venues, Sophistafunk will now return to their hometown to perform at Funk N Waffles. A hip-hop, funk and jam band, Sophistafunk consists of bassist and vocalist Adam Gold, drummer and singer Emanuel Washington and front man Jack Brown. Tickets for the show can be bought on the Funk N Waffles site. WHEN: Friday, Dec. 3 PRICE: $23.63
Hosted by University Union, the Fall 2022 Bandersnatch concert will feature Emotional Oranges, with support from Tommy LeFroy and Froggies. Emotional Oranges, based in LA, is an R&B and pop duo, who recently performed at Coachella. Tommy Lefroy, consisting of Winter Bethel and Tessa Mouzourakis’ album, “Flight Risk” was highly praised and received over one million monthly Spotify listeners. Froggies, an all-female student band, focuses on pop, funk and rock. Tickets for Bandersnatch can be purchased at the SU box office.
WHEN: Friday, Oct. 21 at 8 p.m., with doors opening at 7:30 p.m.
PRICE: $5 for SU and SUNY ESF students, $10 for faculty
Mikaela Davis and BabehovenThe Westcott Theater will present “genre-bending” artists Mikaela Davis and Hudson-based Babehoven. A classically-trained harpist, Davis uses her background to inform how she intertwines multiple music styles, including psychedelia, 60s pop and driving bluegrass rock. Babehoven, led by singer-songwriter Maya Bon, focuses its music on Bon’s “confusing, jarring and kaleidoscopic” perspective of life. Tickets for the show can be bought on the Westcott Theater’s site. WHEN: Friday, Oct. 21 at 8 p.m., with doors opening at 7 p.m.
ARTIST: $28
House venue Redgate will host Derek Ouyang and Dan Cohen, two SU students. Ouyang comes to Redgate just three days before the release of his song, “Bedroom Disco Ball,” and Cohen recently released his EP, “Ghost,” on Sept. 16. DM @redgatecuse on Instagram for the venue’s address and to buy presale tickets.
WHEN: Saturday, Oct. 22 at 10 p.m.
PRICE: $5 for presale, $8 at the door
The headline, Rex Orange County: musician charged with six counts of sexual assault, is plastered across my Instagram feed. An otherwise mindless scroll through the home page screeches to a halt. Alex O’Connor – the artist known as Rex Orange County – allegedly sexually assaulted a woman six times on June 2, 2022, informa tion that was made public on Oct.10, 2022.
O’Connor is the latest in a long line of celebrities who have slammed their own careers on the chopping block this way. In this age of rapidly circulated information and platforms available to every witness and vic tim, the case of an artist’s career crumbling overnight is growing increasingly common.
Chris Brown for his exposed history of domestic violence. R.Kelly for his vile relations
letter to the editorwith underaged girls. Artists can no longer hide behind their talent and elude consequences for their personal wrongdoings. Yet, the aftermath of reading headlines like O’Connor’s is tricky. We hover over the “liked” button of a favorite song, weighing that existential question: can we truly separate the art from the artist?
It is easy to imagine the dreamy atmo sphere of O’Connor’s hit “Pluto Projector” as the soundtrack to a first kiss. For someone, it likely served as the perfect accompaniment to that moment, forever associated with the song playing in the background. That’s one reason why it becomes difficult to throw out a song from our personal libraries, and maybe why we should not be forced to do so.
Art speaks to the soul, as songs embed themselves in our memories. Most of us have, intentionally or unintentionally, lis tened to a song that brought us right back to a particular moment and triggered a nostal gic smile. To be expected to give up that work forever is, in a way, to steal from our past and deprive our current selves from a part of us.
In an academic setting, jumping to dis card works of a problematic artist may be dangerous to arts education. The 19th cen tury German composer Richard Wagner is remembered not only as a prolific musician but also as an antisemite. In our increasing ly tolerant society, there should be no excuse for such foul opinions. However, to ignore Wagner’s contributions to music history and leave his work out of music curriculum for his offensive viewpoints damages the educa tion of young musicians. Students’ under standing of opera music, where Wagner is most influential, would be stunted.
But in that same breath, to continue to celebrate these artists as individuals is to idolize a deeply flawed person who should go without celebration. It is important that we don’t put artists like O’Connor on a pedes tal as a person and applaud their character or their personalities, as we often do with celebrities. For all of O’Connor’s odes to love and romance, a woman claims he commit ted the most unromantic and unloving of
acts upon her. It should be her word against his, devoid of his celebrity status. It is impor tant that he does not reach the same level of success after his sins have come to light.
We should treat these scandals as a “thresh old” point: the music released before the fact carries its own significance to listeners and music history, true, but after the fact we must respond decisively. Deplatforming artists for such gross misconduct as racist rants and sexual assault sends a strong message about the threat of consequence at all levels of fame and status. We should hold artists accountable for their behavior and put their career at stake.
We must consume the work of problematic people with an asterisk. The person with the capacity to put out such beautiful and cel ebrated music also has the capacity to commit appalling offenses. Separating the art from the artist is an active process that we, the listeners, have to make an effort to achieve.
Neil Vijayan is a freshman English and Textual Studies major. He can be reached at nvijayan@syr.edu.com
Iam the niece of Jason and Eric Coker and I am also currently a college student. Like those who have commented about the controversy involving Jason and Eric, I never actually had the chance to meet my uncles. Since I never met them, I am not writing to attest to their character or talk about the type of people they truly were, but instead try to convey my feelings of how this unfortunate event has been painful for our family as well.
First of all, I want to reiterate the senti ments already expressed by some of my fam ily members in previous letters by stating that we condemn hate in any form and are sorry for the distress the discovery of the letters in the Remembrance archive may
have caused. We completely understand the offense that could be taken from the remarks made by Jason and Eric.
That being said, “cancel culture” has recently become an increasingly common method of reacting to controversy, and I will admit I have been guilty of it at times. It can be easy to jump to conclusions about situations where we often don’t initially see the entire picture. However, I have now experienced firsthand how incredibly difficult it is for families to deal with the fallout of someone they know and love being “canceled”.
It is a gut-wrenching feeling to see your relatives’ names being lambasted online and know that they are no longer around to take responsibility or apologize for their
past poor choices. Seeing them being called “violently antisemitic” by people who know them even less than I do is almost incompre hensible to me.
I find it so hard to understand how some one can label a person they never met as being so vile based on one extremely poor choice made 34 years ago. Yes, it was a shameful choice on Jason and Eric’s part to use the language they did and by no means am I trying to say that what they wrote is okay. However, to see comments like “I would be horrified to be memorialized in the same way” as Jason and Eric, from people that never once met them or know virtually nothing about them, is just as hurtful as the remarks Jason and Eric made. I wonder if those people in the future, when they look
back on this moment with some greater per spective, might also wish that they had been more thoughtful about how their choice of language can hurt others.
This whole experience has been distress ing for everyone involved, including the peo ple who love Jason and Eric. In the future, I hope that people won’t be so quick to cast judgment before getting to know a person for who they really are, instead of focusing on one outlying incident. I especially hope this for those in the Remembrance program, the purpose of which, as I understand it, is to get to know and remember the victims for the people they were, and recognize what they never got the chance to become.
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Haun, Ricks’ then-head coach. “You could just tell this guy was going to be a great coach.”
From 1982-2002, Haun led the Vikings, routinely sending players to Division-I and NFL teams. Haun hired Anae in 1992 after he completed his twoyear stint as a BYU graduate assistant. Haun had a close relationship with thenBYU head coach LaVell Edwards, recruit ing similar players including many Polynesians like Anae. Both schools were also affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Haun, looking to replace his offensive line coach, talked to Edwards, who said Anae was a future coaching star. Ricks coaches were also required to teach parttime, and the school had an opening for a sociology teacher. Anae holds a master’s degree in sociology.
Anae was an advanced coach when he arrived at Ricks despite only four seasons of experience, Haun said. Anae played under longtime BYU assistant Roger French and knew technique, defensive fronts, blocking schemes and pass protection well, former Ricks assistant E.J. Caffaro said.
“He was far advanced, he could have coached on any major college team at that point,” Haun said. “It wasn’t a gothrough and have to learn for Robert. Robert was ready.”
Anae’s intensity stood out. Skill players sat back and laughed as Anae was tough on his players, former Ricks quarterback Daren Wilkinson said. Defensive players liked Anae more than offensive ones since they didn’t work with him, former defensive end Ed Lamb said.
While sitting in the press box during the 1995 Real Dairy Bowl, Anae got frustrated with his players, slammed his headset and walked out. Haun came on the headset, asking where Anae was. Defensive line coach Rick Dixon replied Anae wanted to see the play ers. Anae ran down the stadium stairs toward the offensive linemen. They looked at one another, thinking “someone’s going to die,” former Ricks offensive tackle Edwin Mulitalo recalled. Anae got in their faces, conveyed his message and walked right back up.
national recognition after Bella’s mother had appeared on the Discovery Channel show “Dirty Jobs.”
They wanted a tiny pig that would grow to around 130 pounds. That’s how they settled on Bella.
“A miniature pig is under 150 pounds and Bella’s 135 pounds. So she’s still lovable,” Shealy said.
From the jump, Shealy “adored” Bella. The rest of the family has called her “the best pet ever.”
“You can just tell that she’s just loving life,” Maureen said.
Bella will run around in their backyard. Sometimes she’ll take laps around the neighborhood with Shealy or anyone else in
“Talk about a guy that got in your face when it was time to get in your face,” said for mer Ricks tackle Jose Portilla. “We needed to get this job done. But that was Coach.”
Anae had a soft side off the field. He invited players to his house, cooking cool ers full of teriyaki chicken, Dixon said. He played the ukulele, fitting with the Polyne sian players who sang and strung their way through 15-hour bus trips from Rexburg to southern Arizona.
“He’s like a grandpa, I really like it,” Syr acuse head coach Dino Babers said. “I’ve never seen a guy be so elegant with words, and yet maybe telling you that you’re not really good at your job. But doing it in such a nice way that you’re not bad. And then you want to come back and work for him.”
Anae’s Polynesian connection at Ricks resembles what he has now with some of Syracuse’s offensive lineman. Kalan Ellis said Anae uses slang only Hawaiians know — “raj” instead of “roger that” — and Samoan words like sole (meaning “bro” in English) or uso (“brother”), giving a sense of home.
Players and coaches said Ricks was a good fit for Anae. It was similar to BYU, but in a smaller town with players who were over looked or couldn’t qualify academically for D-I programs.
Despite being a top junior college program, Ricks players felt the struggle of playing at a lower level. Mulitalo said players tried to become friends with the local McDonald’s employees to get left over food. Portilla recalled grabbing extra potatoes along fence lines if local farmers hadn’t collected them.
But Anae “loved it” in Rexburg, Dixon said. He became an avid fisherman and went on adventures with coaches that sometimes resulted in capsized boats and 3:30 a.m. returns to shore. Once, he went to a restau rant called Big Jud’s and ordered a threepound hamburger, eating it slice by slice like he was “cutting away at a defense.” After Ricks arrived in Arizona for a game, Anae freed his mind with a run in 110-degree heat.
On the field, Anae obsessed over teaching technique. Many of Ricks’ offensive line men didn’t know pass protection when they arrived, but Anae’s time playing in BYU’s pass-heavy offense helped them. If linemen
the family. Maureen said whenever it’s a cool and sunny day out, the family calls it “a great pig day.” Bella will even come into the house, hop on the couch and sleep.
The Shealys keep her on a strict diet, eating specially formulated pig food meant for older and mature pigs. She will get a cup of that in the morning and a cup of that in the afternoon, occasionally snacking on fruits and vegetables. But never table scraps, Maureen said.
Patrick and Maureen both said Bella is “low maintenance” compared to the dogs. Bella knocks on the door when she wants to come in and stand by it when she wants to go to the bathroom.
If the family leaves Bella for a long period and she needs to “relieve herself,” she will go in one of the family’s showers. Maureen said no one trained Bella to do that. Decades of scientific research shows pigs are highly
couldn’t get it, Anae taught them as long as he needed to.
“The amount of error that he allowed you to be acceptable with was minuscule,” Mulitalo said.
Mulitalo credits Anae for building his foundation as an offensive lineman. Muli talo originally thought he would play defen sive line, but Anae said if Mulitalo wanted to play football for a long time, he should play offensive line. Mulitalo obliged.
Anae taught him his stance, how to time his punches and how to be a knee bender instead of a hip-bender. He instructed linemen to go under ropes, once bringing out a PVC pipe to ensure they stayed under them. Linemen conducted their kick and power steps, handto-hand combat and speed work with Anae.
Portilla and Mulitalo said they carried Anae’s lessons through their entire careers. Mulitalo said he was highly recruited out of Ricks because of Anae. After two years at Arizona, Mulitalo played 10 seasons in the NFL and won a Super Bowl.
out in space quickly, with running backs and tight ends as passing threats.
Haun said there were complicated ele ments for the offensive line, especially for players who worked in run-heavy attacks in high school. So Anae frequently sat in on meetings to understand the pass game even when he was just coaching the offensive line.
Eventually, onlookers viewed Anae as an expert, and his reputation grew. Haun said as schools embraced the West Coast look, coach es from major programs asked Anae questions about the offense.
Anae’s work proved successful. Wilkinson said he only got sacked five times over his two-year career at Ricks. Over Anae’s four seasons, the Vikings compiled a 40-4 record, routinely rank ing in the top five nationally in scoring, rushing yards and passing yards.
Anae left in 1996 to become the offen sive line coach at Boise State, learned the Air Raid under Mike Leach at Texas Tech and earned his first D-I offensive coordinator gig in 2005 with BYU. Haun said he still sees similarities in Anae’s current Syracuse offense to what they ran at Ricks.
Lamb, now the assistant head coach at BYU, recalled playing Anae’s Virginia offense last season. He said preparing for Anae’s offense is like game-planning the triple option — it’s unlike what other col lege teams run. Anae made several early personnel adjustments Lamb had never seen before, putting three or four tight ends on the field, sometimes without running backs. The Cavaliers scored 49 points on 9.2 yards per play.
“A lot of coaches are smart, but they can’t teach it to the players. But he had that gift. He was a teacher, he was an educator,” Haun said of Anae.
As Anae developed, he got more involved in designing schemes. Anae and Caffaro collaborated on game plans and scouting reports. Haun eventually promoted Anae to assistant head coach and offensive coor dinator in 1995. He learned Ricks’ passheavy West Coast offense, which was still being introduced to the college game. It was similar to BYU’s: getting the ball to players
intelligent animals with basic cognition.
Sometimes, Bella goes into places she isn’t supposed to. One morning, Maureen noticed Bella walking “very funny.” She thought the pig slept on her legs wrong because Bella struggled to walk.
But Maureen went into the pantry, where a whole case of Michelob Ultra was torn up on the ground. Bella was drunk.
Bella spent the rest of the day out side, drunkenly laying in mud while the Shealys fixed their pantry. Since then, she’s grown a taste for alcohol, Maureen said, and has continued breaking into the pantry, popping the tops off of alu minum cans.
Patrick said Shealy’s determination to get Bella showed he could put his mind to anything and achieve it. At one point, Shealy played on five different soccer
Anae’s impact still resonates 30 years after his time at Ricks College, though the school no longer has a football program and many of his former colleagues are retired. He has orchestrated a stunning turnaround for an offense that ranked last in the Atlantic Coast Conference the past two seasons, with quarterback, receiver and offensive line play all significantly improved.
But it’s not surprising for the many who recalled those formative years in Rexburg.
“I figured he would be doing that someday,” Caffaro said.
teams at once. Maureen said he never com plained about practice as he made his way through soccer academies such as Atlanta United of Major League Soccer.
Along that journey, Shealy always had Bella. After a rough day at prac tice, Shealy and his brother would come home to Bella. Sometimes, they prac ticed on a soccer net in their backyard. Bella would walk into the net and they shot past her, sometimes getting “indig nant” if she got hit.
“When you’ve had conversations with him, he’s this laid back, whacky (guy). He’s a goalkeeper,” Syracuse head coach Ian McIntyre said. “If you look up ‘goalkeeper’ in the dictionary, there’s probably a picture of him holding his pet pig.”
henrywobrien1123@gmail.com @realhenryobriencsmith49@syr.edu
A lot of coaches are smart, but they can’t teach it to the players. But he had that gift. He was a teacher, he was an educator.
Ron Haun rick s former head coach
Syracuse players couldn’t agree on if the 2021 season was a success or not after its loss to Pitt in the season finale. Courtney Jackson said a losing season can’t be considered successful.
CONNOR SMITH CONNOR’S CORNER
Duce Chestnut said it was OK, but the Orange expected more. Sean Tucker declared it a success because of the four-win improvement from 2020.
I argued Syracuse’s 2021 season was successful — Dino Babers proved he was capable of orchestrating a bounce-back season. He found his star in the backfield, Tucker, and his quarterback, Garrett Shrader.
Babers made the offensive coordinator change he needed to, and the defense continued to develop. Last season provided hope moving forward.
That hope — and then some — has come to fruition this fall. Shrader’s completion percentage has increased 17%, and he’s already thrown for more touchdowns (12) than he did all of last season (9). Tucker is still Tucker, and the defense, which ranked sixth in the Atlantic Coast Conference in points per game last season, is now sixth in the nation. After several questionable ingame decisions last year, Babers has been sharp through six games, with the exception of keeping his o ense in late during the game against Wagner.
Regardless of how the rest of Syracuse’s
volleyballseason goes, it will be considered a success. A 6-0 start for the third time in 87 years, a top15 ranking, bowl eligibility and one of the biggest Dome crowds this century. Check, check, check and check. There’s been blowout wins and last-second ones. There’s been games where Tony White’s defense paved the way, and other times when Robert Anae’s o ense did so. Last year, there were questions of whether Syracuse had a successful year. This year, there shouldn’t be any.
Babers’ sta decisions after last season have proved to be the right ones, and athletic director John Wildhack’s decision to stick with his head coach for another season paid o . SU, which two years ago was the laughingstock of its league, has a legitimate shot at playing in the ACC Championship Game. The Orange Bowl is also within reach. Whether those boxes are checked remains to be seen. But the objective of becoming bowl eligible, which seemed unlikely going into the year with Syracuse projected to finish last in its division, is already secured.
“There’s a lot of goals that are still out there, but there’s one goal that’s been checked,” Babers said after beating NC State last Saturday.
Two years ago, the idea of the Orange being 6-0 and in play for a New Year’s Six game would’ve sounded like a pipe dream. SU fi nished 1-10, one of the worst seasons in program history. Last year, the Orange improved to 5-7 and pulled o a few surprising wins, but several close losses — along with three straight lopsided ones to close the season — ensured they wouldn’t make a bowl game. Wildhack expected
more wins, yet stood by his head coach, announcing over the summer that Babers wasn’t on the hot seat.
Wildhack gave Babers the opportunity to build a strong coaching sta . SU paid White more than double what he made in his final year at Arizona State. Coming o successful stints at BYU and Virginia, Anae and quarterbacks coach Jason Beck have revolutionized the o ense. Mike Schmidt is leading one of the top o ensive lines in the country for the second straight year, and Bob Ligashesky has transformed the Orange’s special teams play.
“He’s built a really good sta . That’s number one,” Wildhack said when asked about Babers’ job performance on ESPN Radio Syracuse last week. “In this sport if you don’t have a really good sta , you’re not going to win.”
Wildhack said Syracuse has always been a school that develops players rather than recruiting the highest-rated ones. Tucker, Garrett Williams, Mikel Jones and Matthew Bergeron were all three-star recruits out of high school. Today, they’re some of the best at their position in the ACC and legitimate NFL prospects.
Expectations were low for Syracuse coming into the year. The Orange, by a large margin, were predicted to finish last in the ACC Atlantic Division in the preseason media poll. Eclipsing last year’s win total seemed unlikely, especially facing a di cult schedule.
But there was a belief within the team. Whispers. Those close to Shrader said he could be one of the best passing quarterbacks in the ACC. Offensive players kept reiterating how explosive their attack would be. Chestnut said in August
the defense’s goal was to be ranked in the top ten nationally. Garrett Williams said he and Chestnut were the best cornerback tandem in the league. Jones has oozed confidence all season.
Jones said the 2021 season wasn’t a success — the Orange wanted to send their seniors to a bowl game. He didn’t enter the NFL Draft, instead returning to SU with Williams to again lead the defense.
“I knew exactly what this team was capable of, which was 6-0,” Jones said last Saturday. “I’m just happy I came back. Happy I’m able to help us get this far. We’re just getting started.”
Moving forward, it’s imperative for Wildhack to lock up several of Syracuse’s top assistants — White, Anae, Beck, Ligashesky, Schmidt and Nick Monroe — into the future. Wildhack knows the quality of assistant coaches is important, and it’ll be time to prove SU can continue its success into 2023 and beyond. Babers has certainly also earned the opportunity to coach the Orange until his contract ends (likely after the 2024 season). There shouldn’t be any more talk of him being on the hot seat for the rest of this year.
Seasons like this have been rare in central New York. Syracuse has played in just five bowl games in the last 20 years. There have been significantly more losing seasons (14) than winning ones (4). A season with bowl eligibility is a success. There could be more in store. But at minimum, Wildhack’s patience in Babers and his rebuild has paid o , guaranteeing a memorable — and successful — season.
csmith49@syr.edu @csmith17_Viktoriia Lokhmanchuk wakes up each morning worrying about her family’s safety. She hopes that they made it through the night. Air raids often bombard Lokhmanchuk’s hometown of Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. Sirens blare throughout the town, warning people of possible danger.
In the past few weeks, there have been strikes and attacks just blocks away from her home. Windows from her house shattered and a huge crack formed in the middle of her living room wall.
Ever since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, the city in the southeastern region of the country has been under a brutal assault. In the past weekend alone, 11 civilians died in kamikaze drone and missile attacks.
Despite the damage, Lokhmanchuk said “it’s not as bad as what other people are going through,” with many families having their homes completely
destroyed. Lokhmanchuk’s mom, dad and brother survived, but the raid took its emotional toll. An outside hitter for Syracuse, Lokhmanchuk uses volleyball to escape from the mental toll of the conflict. She has also used her status as an athlete to raise awareness about the war.
Last winter, it still wasn’t clear if an invasion would happen as Russia built up forces on Ukraine’s borders. But on Feb. 24, Russia began their assault. Lokhmanchuk was in Syracuse at the time and immediately called her parents, who confirmed that the attacks had started.
“I had a panic attack and cried for a few hours straight after hearing the news,” Lokhmanchuk said.
Lokhmanchuk went back to Ukraine in May. She couldn’t visit her hometown, instead staying in the Western region where it’s safer and further away from the front lines. She doesn’t recall hearing any bombs go off in the distance, but the sirens remained on as she tried to fall asleep each night.
Lokhmanchuk was depressed during this time, feeling helpless as her family faced hardships.
Despite the conflict, Lokhmanchuk tried to take her mind off of things and distract herself. Once Lokhmanchuk steps onto the volleyball court, she shows no signs of being affected by what her family is going through.
“I admire her for that because I don’t know if I would be able to manage sports and academics at the same time while keeping my social life afloat,” Ukrainian Club Vice President Ali Dimova said. “I don’t know if I would be able to distract myself from everything that’s going on.”
Still, Lohkmanchuk has also used the sport to honor her country. On Sept. 21, the team held a “Support Ukraine Night.” Each player tied blue and yellow ribbons in their hair. Lokhmanchuk came o the bench draped in the Ukrainian flag when her name was announced in the starting lineup.
At the game, Ukrainian Club President Taris Colopelnic displayed posters informing people of the impact the war
has had on educational and sporting facilities. Nealy 3,000 facilities have been damaged or destroyed since the start of the conflict.
“Obviously, what’s going on is very serious, but it was still nice to see that kind of support,” Colopelnic said. “There’s no one who hasn’t heard of the country and what’s going on, so just being able to be that visible reminder to people that the war is still going on and that we still need their support was good.”
With the fifth set tied at 15-15, Lokhmanchuk bounced the ball patiently as she prepared to serve. Her serve dipped sharply once it got to the BC side, causing a miscommunication between the players. The ball fell to the ground, eventually leading to a 19-17 win and capping o an emotional night.
“It’s important to realize that no matter what, we’re all human,” Colopelnic said.
“There’s no need to cover up those emotions and let them come through.”
zakwolf784254gmail.com @ZakWolf22
Aearning All-American honors at the junior college in Rexburg, Idaho, and setting several school records. Even tually, he gained Anae’s respect. The coach fought for
ship, where he played three seasons before becoming a graduate assistant. Last year, BYU named Roderick
ick said. “I don’t know if any of that would have happened
Anae’s been offensive coordinator at Virginia, BYU and now Syracuse, which travels for a marquee matchup against No. 5 Clemson on Saturday. But it started with his first full-time job at Ricks, which became BYU-Idaho in 2001, where Anae served as an offensive line coach from
passionate way he treats players, the technique teacher, the independent thinker who adapts to the personnel around him — all blossomed at Ricks. Other coaches emulate the strategies he used back then, and offensive linemen who played for Anae said the technique he taught them persisted throughout their careers collegiately and
“He understood the game like nobody else,” said Ron
Russell Shealy secretly asked Santa Claus for a pet pig for Christ mas one year, but cried when he didn’t see one under the tree. So his parents extended their own offer — If he got all As, they would buy him one.
Shealy’s mother, Maureen, said he had problems complet ing homework, so she thought it was “case closed.” But by the spring, Shealy went into “over drive” as a student, Maureen said, eventually finishing with straight A’s in his classes.
In disbelief, Maureen even called Shealy’s teacher asking if one of his grades could be bumped down to an 89. But sure enough, his parents stayed true to their word and researched where to find a pig in Georgia.
For 14 years, Shealy’s pet pig, Bella, has been back home in Cartersville, Georgia. When he’s home from playing goalie at Syra cuse, he takes Bella on walks. He has pictures of Bella saved on his phone and is always excited to talk about her, blushing some times. Bella’s also in the fam ily Easter photos, which don’t include the family’s two dogs.
“She’s basically been there my whole life, but it’s not as weird as you think it’d be,” said Patrick, Shealy’s brother.
It started in third grade when Shealy received an assignment to read a nonfiction book and give a presentation about the subject. He picked a book about potbelly pigs and realized he needed one.
Maureen still has no idea why her son wanted a pig, surmising it just “struck his fancy.”
Maureen said the family found Bella at Paradise Valley Farm in Cleveland, Georgia, an hour and a half away from Cart ersville. The farm had a good reputation and received some
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Syracuse offensive coordinator Robert Anae began his coaching career in a quaint Idaho town 30 years agoROBERT ANAE has orchestrated a dramatic turnaround of Syracuse’s offense this season almost three decades after he started coaching. malcolm taylor contributing photographer