Nov. 18, 2021

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THURSDAY

nov. 18, 2021 high 57°, low 32°

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 • Flu spike

dailyorange.com

S • Money, money, money

C • Est. 1971

Allen Groves, Syracuse University’s senior vice president for the student experience, said that SU is averaging 40 or 50 flu cases a day. Page 3

Syracuse stars Buddy Boeheim and Joe Girard III have already cashed in since NIL legislation was enacted in July in deals with local business. Page 12

People’s Place is celebrating 50 years as a Syracuse University mainstay, serving cups of coffee and smiles in equal measure to its patrons. Page 6

The hats he has worn

Bobby Maldonado, chief of Syracuse University’s Department of Public Safety, reflects on the lessons he’s learned from 40 years in law enforcement By Christopher Scarglato senior staff writer

I

n a temporary Sims Hall office that Bobby Maldonado will leave by the end of December, the Syracuse University Chief of the Department of Public Safety showed off his hats. On the front of his desk sits a New York state police trooper hat, representing his start in law enforcement and the two decades he spent with the department. Laying on the window sill is a gift from a friend, a New York Police Department baseball cap, which serves as a remnant from Maldonado’s time growing up in The Bronx, New York. The headwear used to hang up in his other office, all lined up in a row. But in his new one, with his policing days ticking away, Maldonado has them just laying around. A third hat, perched next to the NYPD hat, is a DPS hat. Last January, Maldonado announced his retirement after a law enforcement career that has spanned 40 years — six of which he spent as the university’s DPS chief. Maldonado planned to retire on Aug. 1, but SU officials asked him to stay longer because they had not yet hired a replacement. Maldonado obliged, and he will

CHIEF BOBBY MALDONADO’S office in Sims Hall holds a collection of hats from his years working in law enforcement and growing up in New York. wendy wang asst. photo editor

officially leave his position as the head of campus public safety on Dec. 31. Throughout a career that took him from The Bronx to Albany to Rochester and finally to Syracuse, Maldonado gravitated his mindset toward community policing. The chief said he tried to expand DPS to have positive interactions with students and create a more diverse environment by recruiting people of color into campus public safety. But during Maldonado’s six-year tenure, students have criticized DPS’ reactions to hate crimes on campus and the department’s response to the #NotAgainSU protests at the Barnes Center at The Arch and Crouse-Hinds Hall. Maldonado said he welcomed Loretta Lynch’s

report, a year-long investigation into DPS, as an act of transparency. The report outlines 23 recommendations for changes within the department. As an introvert, Maldonado grew to understand his own position, his leadership style, and he said others won’t always agree with him. He said he encourages debate, carving out time to listen and talk with those he serves. He learned all this with the different hats he’s worn.

From trooper, to captain, to chief

Standing inside a former girlfriend’s apartment in 1980, Maldonado spotted an application for the New York State Police on a table. “What’s up with this?” Maldonado recalled asking. see maldonado page 4

I was looking for a challenge. I certainly got it. Bobby Maldonado chief of dps

university senate

Faculty, administors discuss gender-based pay inequity By Kyle Chouinard asst. news editor

Gretchen Ritter, the vice chancellor, provost and chief academic officer at Syracuse University, made a commitment to conduct regular reviews of the university’s pay structure during the University Senate meeting on Wednesday. The provost specifically addressed gender-based pay inequity and also

committed to share the findings of the university’s periodic salary reviews. Ritter did not specify when these reviews will take place or be shared. The Senate Ad-Hoc on Gender Pay Equity Committee submitted a report last spring and has not had a formal response from SU’s administration, Ritter said. “I agree that we should have done better,” Ritter said. “And (in) my view, the Provost Office should be

responsive to matters that come to us from the Senate.” Ritter said that she understood why issues such as this, and others brought up by senators during the meeting, did not receive the proper response. “Keep in mind that a couple of the key figures from academic affairs were transitioning out of their roles,” Ritter said. “And many of the folks in academic affairs were on the

front line, still helping to address the challenges of the pandemic.” Later in the meeting, University Senators Eileen Schell and Laurel Morton, who co-chair the Women’s Concerns Committee, proposed a motion asking the Agenda Committee to reconstitute the Ad-Hoc Gender Pay Equity Committee with the goal of converting it to a permanent committee. The permanent committee would then oversee gender pay

equity and promotion in the future. After discussion within the senate, the motion passed. In the beginning of Schell and Morton’s statement, Schell discussed a class action lawsuit against the university regarding discriminatory payment practices toward women. The lawsuit was settled in early October. The complainants in the law see pay

inequity page 4


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