free
TUESDAY
nov. 28, 2017 high 54°, low 43°
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 • University professor
A College of Arts and Sciences professor, Dympna Callaghan, will work to incorporate the humanities into Chancellor Kent Syverud’s Academic Strategic Plan. Page 3
O • Being heard
Gender and Sexuality columnist Kelsey Thompson explains how niche magazines like the new publication “them” are giving a voice to underrepresented groups. Page 5
dailyorange.com
P • MoMA Mia
Two apparel design majors at Cornell University created a plus-size dress form for a class project. Four years later, they’re being featured at the Museum of Modern Art. Page 9
S • Shellshock
In a back-and-forth match with 20 lead changes, Syracuse’s defense proved to be the difference maker in a 72-70 win over Maryland, marking SU’s sixth straight victory. Page 16
MUDDY WATERS Concerns linger about Onondaga Lake as county considers bike trail By Mary Catalfamo asst. copy editor
A
county vote on the extension of a bike trail around the once extremely polluted Onondaga Lake coincides with the end of toxic remediation efforts there, as the Onondaga Nation remains concerned about culturally significant sites near the water. From 1920 to 1985, Allied Chemical Corp. contaminated the lake’s water and sediment. Raw sewage with little to no treatment was dumped into the lake, along with toxic chemicals, which increased algae blooms and decreased the amount of oxygen in the water for fish. A decade-long remediation project at the lake, considered a Superfund site by the federal government, is expected to be finished by the end of the month, though. The Onondaga County Legislature and Honeywell International Inc., predecessor of Allied Chemical Corp., oversaw remediation efforts. “EPA and DEC determine when the project is finished. Dredging and capping were completed in 2016; habitat enhancements will be finished this year,” said Victoria Streitfeld, a Honeywell spokeswoman, in an email. Officials dredged 2,653,000 cubic yards of contaminated waste and sediment, placing two “isolation caps” over contaminated areas of the lakebed, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. A hydraulic control system along the shore was also built to maintain the caps. Ryan McMahon, chairman of the Onondaga County Legislature, said 4.5 million gallons of raw sewage that spilled into the lake from a pipe in October did not impede the cleanup’s completion. “Whenever those types of things happen,
illustration by ari dinero staff illustrator
Onondaga Lake cleanup efforts are expected to finish this month. alexandra moreo photo editor
usually within three days the lake is treated at an acceptable level,” McMahon said. The county will vote on Dec. 5 about extending a biking trail onto Murphy’s Island, an area of land unofficially promised to the Onondaga Nation in 2011. “Murphy’s Island … is probably the most polluted site on the lakeshore, and it has chemicals that pose much more significant health risks to anyone who comes in contact with them,” said Joe Heath, a lawyer for the Onondaga Nation. McMahon has sponsored the extension of the East Shore Recreation and West Shore walking trails. One trail runs through the Lakeview Amphitheater, which is also on the Superfund see onondaga
lake page 6
on campus
GOP tax plan could cost graduate students thousands By Casey Darnell and Kennedy Rose the daily orange
Graduate students at Syracuse University say the contentious Republican tax plan, recently passed by the United States House of Representatives, could make graduate school financially inaccessible for many students. The tax plan, passed by the House of Representatives on Nov. 16, would eliminate several sections of the current tax code that affect graduate students. It would count tuition
remission — how universities waive tuition fees for graduate students — as taxable income and phase out deductions for educational assistance programs and tax credits. “I am actually really, really, really, really scared,” said Jack Wilson, president of SU’s Graduate Student Organization. Section 117(d) of the U.S. tax code states “gross income shall not include any qualified tuition reduction,” meaning tuition waivers do not count toward taxable income. The new tax plan eliminates 117(d), adding waived tuition costs to total income.
In his last year as a teaching assistant for PSY 205, Wilson said he earned $17,000 a year in taxable income. Without Section 117(d), his taxable income would skyrocket to roughly $53,000 per year, with the additional $36,000 of tuition remission counting as income. This would lead to the Internal Revenue Service charging him thousands of dollars more in income taxes, Wilson said. If a graduate student taking 24 credit hours in an academic year has $36,000 in tuition remission — calculated from the cost of $1,500 per credit hour — and earns $5,000
in wages, under the new tax plan they would owe the federal government $3,456 if they are single with no dependents and use the standard deduction, Wilson said in an email to GSO. A student earning only $5,000 in wages with the tuition remission would have previously paid no federal income tax, he said. Chelsea Mixon, a doctoral candidate and graduate teaching assistant who’s receiving a tuition waiver, said SU would need to completely restructure the way it funds graduate students. Otherwise, Mixon said, college might become unaffordable.
“A lot of graduate students live paycheck-to-paycheck, which is scary for most of us,” said Sweta Roy, GSO’s vice president of external affairs, in an email. “I am fortunate enough to be single, but this tax increase would have a dramatic impact on graduate students who use their stipend to take (care) of their dependent and kids.” About 145,000 graduate students in the U.S. receive tuition waivers, according to NPR. Chancellor Kent Sy verud, in a campus-wide email, said the see tax
plan page 6