Oct. 22, 2020

Page 1

free

THURSDAY

oct. 22, 2020 high 61°, low 54°

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 |

C • Reflective releases

N • Visits canceled

dailyorange.com

SU students Anish Ghosh and Afamefuna Onyebadi released an album and single inspired by selfreflection during the COVID-19 shutdown and social justice. Page 7

After SU canceled in-person campus tours due to the pandemic, high schoolers have applied without ever seeing the university for themselves. Page 3

S • On the rise

Former SU quarterbacks Clayton Welch and Zach Mahoney recall their jump from the scout team to starting roles as SU deals with quarterback depth issues. Page 12

Trevor Pierce 2001 - 2020

TREVOR PIERCE (clockwise from left) running for his high school cross country team, standing with former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang (right), and posing in his Eagle Scout uniform. He died on Oct. 13 after colliding with a Syracuse University trolley. courtesy of jan fischer and karel wolterbeek

By Mira Berenbaum

J

asst. copy editor

an Fischer remembers her son, Trevor Pierce, for his tenacity. As a student, as an athlete and as an Eagle Scout, Pierce was unwavering in his dedication to the people and pursuits he cared about. “He was true to his beliefs,” Fischer said. “If he put his mind to doing it, he was going to do it.” Pierce, 18, died Oct. 13 after colliding with a Syracuse University trolley while skateboarding down Waverly Avenue. He was an SU freshman studying political philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences and a student in Renée Crown University Honors Program.

He lived in Sadler Hall. Family and friends remember Pierce for his passion, his kind and courageous spirit and his ability to bring people together. “The minute I met him he was such a light,” said Lilianna Smith, a sophomore studying French who dated Pierce for about a month before he died. “He’s the kind of person that would go out of the way for the people he cared about.” Smith and Pierce would often have conversations about philosophy or history while drinking coffee. He brought coffee to her dorm almost every morning. Alleigh Lapinsky, Pierce’s former teammate on his high school cross country and track teams, remembers Pierce’s determination,

see pierce page 4

on campus

Professors adjust, cancel midterm exams and projects By Michael Sessa asst. news editor

With stress mounting and students still navigating unfamiliar online platforms, some Syracuse University professors redesigned midterm projects and exams this semester while others abandoned them altogether. For many SU faculty members, the choice to cancel or redesign midterms hinged on their ability to create an online testing strategy that students could easily use while upholding academic integrity. Oth-

ers saw eliminating or reimagining midterms as a way to alleviate stress and anxiety for students, which some professors said has become increasingly prevalent during the pandemic. Julie Hasenwinkel, a biomedical and chemical engineering professor, usually gives two midterm exams and a final exam in her upper-level class. The 30-person class of seniors and graduate students meets primarily in person. This year, Hasenwinkel decided not to give any midterms and has instead implemented weekly

Students are struggling hard. I have heard so many stories from students about illnesses, anxiety, depression, family issues, just everything. Harriet Brown magazine, news and digital journalism professor

20-minute quizzes that students complete during class. “(The quizzes were) an adaptation that I made so that we didn’t have to manage long exams with some students online and some students in the classroom,” Hasenwinkel said. Hasenwinkel uses a flipped approach to teaching this semester, posting recorded lectures before class and using in-person class time for projects and problem-solving. She has also turned group projects into individual projects this semester to avoid

complications that might arise if students have to quarantine. Instead of taking a final exam this fall, students will present research projects they’ve been working on throughout the semester, she said. Redesigning her course’s testing schedule was a practical choice, but it has also helped reduce the burden on students who are struggling this semester, Hasenwinkle said. “I’ve been teaching for a long time, and I do really feel the sense that everyone is more stressed this

see midterms page 4


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