free
THURSDAY
nov. 19, 2015 high 63°, low 38°
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 • Going green
Syracuse University will participate in the White House American Campuses Act on Climate day of action on Thursday to address climate change. Page 3
O • Cinema critique
Pop Culture columnist Mark DiBona considers Shia LaBeouf’s “All My Movies” piece and argues that critics place emphasis on originality instead of quality. Page 5
dailyorange.com
P • Take a stand
From ice cream to a Sbarro superslice, Pulp compiled a breakdown of fast facts about some Carrier Dome concession stand favorites. Page 9
S • All over the court
Cornelia Fondren has established herself as one of Syracuse’s most versatile options that can play nearly every position on the court for the Orange. Page 16
STAYING ALERT
DPS works to improve safety for off-campus housing areas
Workgroup to gather feedback By Katelyn Faubel asst. copy editor
NICK LOSTUMBO, a DPS officer, patrols the campus area. The Department of Public Safety has redirected officers to off-campus areas affected by crime in wake of recent incidents that include strong-arm robberies and forced touchings. kelly agee staff photographer By Ali Linan asst. copy editor
W
hile students and SU community members have received multiple public safety notices regarding off-campus crime recently, there has not been an increase in the amount of crime occurring off campus, police said. Within the month of October, Syracuse University students received five public safety notices warning them of crimes that occurred in the off-campus area. Of these reports, three were residential strong-arm robberies, occurring on the 200 block of Ostrom Ave., on the 1000 block of Comstock Ave. and at 708 Lancaster Ave. Two were incidents of forced touching occurring on the
700 block of S. Crouse Ave. and on the 700 block of Euclid Ave. These events, along with the Orange Alert that put the university on lockdown after the suspect of a homicide that occurred two miles away from campus was being searched for in Oakwood Cemetery on Oct. 14, have heightened the fear of students who live and walk off campus. While students are showing concern, Sgt. Richard Helterline of the Syracuse Police Department said there hasn’t been an increase in off-campus crime. “What we’re seeing is better communication between police and the community … there is more information being shared,” Helterline said. In wake of the recent crime, DPS redirected officers to areas that have been affected by off-campus
crimes. It did not increase the number of officers dispatched around the off-campus community.
SHOWING CONCERN
82% Percentage of students who are afraid when walking off campus at night according to a survey done by SU student Alexander Lynch, a senior in the Maxwell School (188 students were polled)
In a survey that garnered about 200 responses, 82 percent of students said they are afraid when walking off campus at night. The study was conducted by Alexander Lynch, a senior
citizenship and civic engagement major, who created a survey that focused on how the university can step up to protect students living off campus for his senior project. Lynch suggested that the Department of Public Safety embrace what is written on the side of its cars: community policing. “DPS could have a better relationship with students and then students would be more apt to report things,” he said. However, DPS is still working to increase the safety for students living off campus. DPS and members of the Student Association have created a student advisory task force working to come up with better ways of transporting students and offering shuttles more efficiently and see crime page 6
The Working Group on Free Speech plans to compile feedback in the form of polls and discussion groups on its report that details recommendations for Syracuse University free speech policy. The workgroup was created in February in response to resolutions passed by the Student Association, Graduate Student Organization and Student Bar Association in fall 2014 that said SU’s current computer and electronic policy is vague, broad and stifles academic freedom. David Rubin, dean emeritus of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and chair of the Working Group on Free Speech, said during the workgroup’s first meeting, the decision was made to expand the mission of the group from recommendations on the free speech of the university’s computer and electronic policy to a broad look at all of SU’s free speech policies. “That’s not what the First Amendment is about,” he said. “The First Amendment covers speech in all its forms.” After the workgroup met a handful of times in the spring 2015 semester, Rubin began the first draft of the report over the summer. Once the report was sent to the other workgroup members for review, Rubin submitted the final report to Chancellor Kent Syverud at the end of September. For the “when restricting speech is acceptable” section of the report, Rubin said the group looked at standards of many other universities before modeling their recommendations after Mississippi State University’s policy. This section recommends that SU is entitled to limit speech or assembly if it threatens “to make it difficult or impossible for the university” to follow the university’s educational mission. “We want there to be discussion about this. We expect (this section) will get a lot of discussion,” Rubin said. see free
speech page 6