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SYRACUSE AFTER DARK
2012
Syracuse comes alive at night with fascinating faces, exciting places SEE INSERT
f r a t e r n i t y a n d s o r o r i t y a f fa i r s
Pi Beta Phi chapter to close in spring ’13 By Marwa Eltagouri NEWS EDITOR
zixi wu | staff photographer
Play that funky music
PHIL GRAJKO, lead singer of roots reggae band Morning Sun & The Essentials, plays guitar while dressed in a bear costume for Halloween. The band played with local favorite Sophistafunk for a Halloween show at Metro Lounge & Sushi Bar on Westcott Street. Grajko and the band are influenced by artists like Bob Marley, The Black Keys and The Beatles. Sophistafunk will play at Funk ‘n Waffles on Nov. 15.
connective corridor
Project receives award for collaboration By Jessica Iannetta ASST. NEWS EDITOR
The Connective Corridor was given the 2012 Transportation Project of the Year award for its complexity and high level of cooperation among many different groups. The award, given each year by The Institution of Transportation Engineers New York Upstate Section, recognizes projects with “outstanding planning, engineering, technology and public cooperation and coordination,” according to the Connective Corridor website. Linda Dickerson Hartsock, director of Syracuse University’s Office of Community Engagement and Economic Development, said the award was a great honor, as the Connective Corridor was chosen from a large number of projects submitted from all over Upstate New York.
The award panel was made up of professional engineers, meaning it was essentially a “peer review,” Hartsock said. One reason the Connective Corridor was selected was because of the high level of cooperation among SU, the city of Syracuse and Onondaga County. This level of cooperation is “very unusual” for a project of this scale. Not many within the university are aware of the collaboration, Hartsock said. “They think it’s a university-led project, but in reality it’s the city, county and university working together,” she said. Syracuse engineering firm Barton & Loguidice, and Upstate — an interdisciplinary center for design, research and real estate, run through SU’s School of Architecture — are also heavily involved in the Connec-
tive Corridor, Hartsock said. Kevin Quinn, senior vice president for public affairs, also stressed that the award didn’t come because of any one entity. “We believe that this award is emblematic of the partnerships forged around the Corridor,” he said in an email. “While collaboration is often hard at the start, the Corridor is a shining example of the success it can bring.” The award was presented at the ITE annual meeting in October, which was held in Syracuse and included a tour of the Connective Corridor. The engineers who took the tour were especially impressed with the project’s complexity, streetscapes and use of green infrastructure and technology, Hartsock said. The bike lanes — or “hybrid
SEE CORRIDOR PAGE 9
Pi Beta Phi Fraternity for Women’s Syracuse University chapter will close on May 8, 2013. The decision comes after the SU chapter, also known as the New York Alpha chapter, faced several recruitment challenges during the last few years and, after working closely with Pi Beta Phi national leadership, was unable to build membership. “This is a very emotional time for the current members and alumnae of our New York Alpha Chapter,” Pi Beta Phi Grand President Mary Tatum said in a press release. Members voted to relinquish their charter at a recent chapter meeting. The fraternity’s Grand Council voted at its October meeting to allow the chapter to continue to operate until the end of the school year, said Eily Cummings, marketing and communications director at Pi Beta Phi’s headquarters. After the spring 2013 semester, non-graduating collegians will be granted alumna status, said Eddie Banks-Crosson, SU’s director of fra-
ternity and sorority affairs. “The women of the New York Alpha Chapter are an amazing group of young women, and we as a fraternity and sorority community will still continue to support them,” he said in email. It was a tough, courageous decision for the New York Alpha
FAMILY ROOTS
In October 1895, nine Syracuse University women met to discuss establishing a new fraternity on campus. The women formed the Philokalian Society and began to hold meetings and events, just like other greek organizations. Several months later, with the help of Florence Sherwood, a member of the Kansas Alpha chapter of Pi Beta Phi, the society was finally granted a full charter. On Feb. 11, 1896, the nine women were initiated and became the New York Alpha Pi Phis and the 28th overall chapter of Pi Beta Phi. members to close the chapter, Tatum said. She said she encour-
SEE PI PHI PAGE 6
lauren murphy | asst. photo editor The Pi Beta Phi Fraternity house, located on Walnut Place, will close in the spring of 2013. The chapter has been around since 1896, just 26 years after Syracuse University’s own establishment.