free
THURSDAY
nov. 7, 2019 high 42°, low 26°
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 • Sprinkler burst
A sprinkler ruptured in Day Hall last week, flooding a floor with black water. Some students were relocated to the Sheraton while SU fixed the water damage. Page 3
MySlice Horoscope SEE PAGES 6 - 7
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S • Historic loss
Syracuse men’s basketball scored a record-low points (34) under Jim Boeheim in a 48-34 seasonopening loss to No. 11 Virginia. It’s the fewest points since 1945. Page 12
Leaving home A congregation comes to terms with selling its centuryold temple
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The Temple Society of Concord will likely be converted to luxury student apartments in less than a year after being sold to a developer for $9 million. lucy messino-witt staff photographer
main entryway leading to Temple Concord. Will they be preserved? The pews are more outdated than most modern temples. Would they be destroyed? The congregation had gathered here for more than a century. Where will they be next year? Stagnant membership, a rising deficit and sinking participation have ultimately led to these questions. New members are replacing older members at lower rates of participation. Endowment campaigns bring back little returns. The temple’s deficit has grown to nearly $400,000 for two decades. Each new board of trustees confronts
The financial reality is this is what could save the congregation down the road Jeff Lefkowicz temple concord treasurer
the fragile balance of filling the needs of a congregation or meeting the financial demands of maintaining the building. It’s a balance that places of worship across the country have confronted. As “no religion” is the fastest growing religious
denomination in the country, places of worship across the country have become strapped for cash. “Spiritual but not religious” makes up 27% of American adults and 18% now identify as neither spiritual nor religious, according to a 2017 Pew Research Center survey. Both are increases from 2012. Abandoned and converted religious centers are scattered throughout Syracuse, some blocks from Temple Concord. Some congregants travel an hour to attend services at Temple Concord, now the last remaining Reform Jewish temple in the see temple page 4
su abroad
SU students abroad in Santiago amid protests By Nhari Djan staff writer
Christian Andino Borrero kept looking over his shoulder on the Oct. 21 WhatsApp video call. It was around 7 p.m. in Santiago, Chile, and he was inside with his host family. Andino Borrero, a Syracuse University junior studying abroad in Chile, didn’t have much of a choice. A curfew was in effect, so he had to stay inside. It was three days since
Alumnus pledges $5 million to Maxwell By Casey Darnell
By Gabe Stern
bout two months after they agreed to the building’s demise, hundreds of congregants shuffled into the front entrance of the Temple Society of Concord for Rosh Hashanah. The elderly took their walkers to the wooden pews leading up to the bima. Children headed to a back door for the children’s service. Rabbi Daniel Fellman stood on the bima and looked out at hundreds of members that came to the historic temple on the corner of Madison Street and University Avenue. It was one of the last times the room would be filled. “On this day we are called to look ahead, to embrace the new and keep it as we preserve the old,” Fellman told the congregation. “This day we see the two: old and new.” The Temple Society of Concord, 108 years old, will likely be converted into luxury student apartments in less than a year. The congregation accepted the developer’s offer to buy the synagogue for $9 million. Now, the temple is littered with questions. Columns line the
on campus
Even though it’s not directly happening in the neighborhood I’m staying in, it’s very palpable Dylan Bryant su senior
protests had erupted in Santiago. He turned around again. “That’s a helicopter, like a military one. Give me a second. Can you hear it?” Andino Borrero asked. SU students studying abroad in Chile remain in the country as it experiences ongoing protests that started on Oct. 18. The protests began after the price for the Santiago metro system was raised by 30 pesos, or four cents in the United States. All university classes have been
canceled except for those led by the Syracuse Abroad program, said Erika Wilkens, executive director of SU Abroad, in an email. Classes from partner universities were set to resume on Nov. 4. “We are in constant communication with our students,” Wilkens said. “To note, students live in neighborhoods that have not been directly impacted by the protests in any significant way.” SU students studying abroad see chile page 8
A Syracuse University alumnus has pledged $5.48 million toward scholarships and other endowed funds at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. Elliot Stamler, Class of 1960, has named SU as a beneficiary of his estate, the university announced Wednesday. Stamler’s gift is one of several seven-figure giftsrecently made to SU ahead of the largest fundraising campaign in university history. The $5.48 million gift from Stamler will support and create more than six endowed funds for undergraduate students, graduate assistantships and faculty, according to a Wednesday SU News release. His donation will also fund the Hillel Gift Receipt Agency Account and the Maxwell Dean’s Discretionary Fund. Stamler, 80, graduated from SU with a degree in political science. He earned a MBA from Columbia University in 1965 and joined Columbia Pictures Television/Screen Gems Inc. as an advertising/publicity executive. Stamler later formed his own investment company, Northstar Assets. “My gift to Maxwell is crucially important at this time, I believe, because democracy in our country is at a precarious point,” Stamler said in the release. “Maxwell through its students and alumni is a potent, positive force now and in the future for the preservation of our democracy.” Another major donation to SU comes from lifetime Board of Trustees member Robert Miron and his wife Diane. Their $7 million donation, announced Monday, will help create a connection between the Carrier Dome and the Barnes Center at The Arch. The Mirons have also donated to support SU’s libraries through the Blackstone LaunchPad, student services and the creation of student spaces. SU will hold a reception on Friday to show the campus community its “bold vision for the future,” according to an event listing. The Kick-Off Celebration and Cocktail Reception will start at 5:30 p.m. in Goldstein Auditorium. The university is constructing a pavilion area on the Quad for the Friday event. Chancellor Kent Syverud addressed the upcoming capital campaign at last week’s University Senate meeting. The campaign, which he referred to as the “Forever Orange Campaign,” will focus on increasing SU’s endowment cdarnell@syr.edu