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october 20, 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
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I N S I D Es p o r t s
Night light Members of the SU community
CamelNO Vicki Ho discusses
Chatterboxes Two Door Cinema Club
Three-point turn Without Andy Rautins and Wes
gather for a candlelight vigil to honor those killed in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. Page 3
the do’s and don’ts of wearing leggings. Page 5
talked as much as they sang Tuesday night. Page 9
Johnson, the Syracuse men’s basketball team will need a new go-to 3-point shooter. Page 16
c o l l e ge o f l aw
Student blog under investigation By Dara McBride Asst. News Editor
andrew renneisen | staff photographer randy Cohen , author of the The New York Times Magazine column The Ethicist, questions if people can always act ethically during Tuesday’s University Lecture. Cohen admitted even his ethical solutions are based on common sense and humor, rather than expertise.
Len Audaer checked his e-mail last Friday and discovered he is under investigation for harassment. “I have received a charging statement from a student against you and have begun an investigation of the charges. The charges are extremely serious,” read the e-mail from Gregory Germain, an associate professor of law at Syracuse University’s College of Law. On Monday, Audaer, 24, a secondyear law student focusing on national security and counterterrorism law, found out in a meeting with Germain and Tomas Gonzalez, senior assistant dean for Student Life, that the college officials suspect he is the author of a satirical blog, which some have deemed offensive, about the College
see law page 6
Columnist infuses wit into everyday ethical dilemmas Hundreds unite By Kristin Ross Contributing Writer
The sidewalks were filthy to Randy Cohen before New York City passed a law requiring people to pick up after their dogs about 30 years ago. After the law passed, Cohen said the majority of people followed it, even though it was not enforced. “It utterly changed the way we behave,” said Cohen, a columnist for The New York Times Magazine. “There should be a monument for this law, although it would probably be disgusting.” Cohen spoke Tuesday evening as a part of the University Lectures series in Hendricks Chapel about how changing the ethics of public policy can change the behavior of a community. Cohen described two subtopics
when dealing with ethics: “What is the right thing to do?” and “How do we get people to do it?” Cohen said most people generally agree it is wrong to lie, cheat and steal. But he asked if people follow these moral rules on a daily basis. “I am not hired to personify a virtue, but to analyze it,” he said after explaining he does not have a degree in ethics. Cohen said he thinks he was hired to write his column, The Ethicist, because of his humorous take on the subject. He is the winner of five Emmy Awards, three of which are for his humorous writing for “Late Night with David Letterman.” “If we want to change people’s behavior, the best way to do it is to address ourselves to questions of character as a community,” Cohen said.
To prove this, Cohen gave multiple examples of how rules and regulations affect how the community responds to different situations, such as the law that required New Yorkers to pick up after their dogs. At the end of Cohen’s speech, the floor was open for questions. One audience member said polls show, time and time again, the majority of the public hates negative political ads, and he asked Cohen why politicians keep running new ads if they produce such negative results. Cohen said polls are known to be inaccurate because people believe what’s out there, regardless of what the truth may be. “People say they don’t like political ads, but they in fact respond to them,” Cohen said. “It’s a lack of self-knowledge on the part of the
responder.” If there was a poll asking whether people kicked their dogs, everyone would of course say ‘no,’ but that is not necessarily the truth, Cohen said. “Character has to be consistent, or it doesn’t mean anything,” he said. Nikki Horgen, a freshman public relations major, said the speech was a fun way to look at ethics. “I thought he used humor in a good way and intertwined it well with the message,” Horgen said. Horgen said she agreed with Cohen that people are not as prone to do the right thing when in a group setting. She said it is hard for one person to stand up and do the right thing when there are so many people around doing another thing, even in everyday situations, such as see cohen page 6
to pay tribute to beloved teacher By Micki Fahner Contributing Writer
Green pen marks appeared on every paper professor Bill Glavin returned to his students. It’s a small detail, but it’s one of many that make Glavin unforgettable in the eyes of those who knew him. “Instead of telling you what you did wrong, the green pen helped you see where to go,” said Sarah Rainone, a 2001 alumna. More than 100 of Glavin’s colleagues, friends and former students gathered Tuesday night to celebrate
see glavin page 6