Dec. 7, 2016

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WEDNESDAY

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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 • Paying it back

dailyorange.com

P • All inclusive

The federal government is forgiving more than $100 billion in student loan debt, the Government Accountability Office announced recently.

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Syracuse Stage is showing CNYs first ever sensory-friendly theater performance. The production of “Mary Poppins” joins the Stage’s accessibility series.

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S • Don’t press it

After SU lost three of its last four games, some fans have hit the panic button. One beat writer argues that you should hold off on pressing it.

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WORKING

RELATIONSHIP

SU and the city collaborate to implement Campus Framework

illustration by emmy gnat head illustrator

By Haley Kim asst. copy editor

T

o implement the Campus Framework, Syracuse University must work with and get approval from the city of Syracuse through different zoning and regulation boards.

Every time SU wants to make a change to its campus, it must submit an application to the City Planning Commission. The changes it wants to make must be in line with the Planned Institutional District zoning regulations. Depending on the nature of the project, the proposal may need to go through other boards as well, such as the Landmark Preservation Board.

“For any major construction project, leaders from all city departments and the mayor’s office will

meet with University staff, project architects and engineers to go over all aspects of a project’s development,” said Pete Sala, vice president and chief campus facilities officer, and Kevin Quinn, senior vice president for public affairs at SU, in an email.

Sala, Quinn and city officials have all said the relationship between the city and the university has been professional and positive.

The Campus Framework is one of three parts of Chancellor Kent Syverud’s Fast Forward Syracuse initiative. The framework is a 20-year roadmap of the physical campus changes and renovations. The other two parts are the Academic Strategic Plan and Operational Excellence Program.

The current parts of the Framework the university is working on right now are the Arch and

National Veterans Resource Complex, Sala and Quinn said. But SU has not been on the agenda for the last two City Planning Commission meetings.

They said the university is working with the city to develop a district stormwater approach to reduce stormwater flow to the combined sewer west of campus, and to improve the utility structure the new NVRC will connect to. A stormwater management system helps distribute runoff from precipitation and snowmelt. The Hoople Building — which is currently standing where the NVRC will be — has not yet been demolished. SU officials had said it would be demolished in late October or early November. Planning for the Arch remains ongoing, Sala and Quinn said. see framework page 4

student association

Leaders reflect on 1st semester initiatives, programs

By William Muoio staff writer

With the current semester coming to a close, Student Association President Eric Evangelista and Vice President Joyce LaLonde said they take pride in the work that was accomplished this semester.

With initiatives being launched such as the bikes being available for undergraduate students, Remote

Access for students in the College of Engineering and Computer Science and coordinating Mental Health Awareness Week, Evangelista praised the work that has gone on.

“We have done a lot of what we set out to do,” Evangelista said.

Evangelista praised LaLonde for being productive during the first month and a half of the semester, including through being a proponent of the Bike Share Program

what is sa?

The Student Association is the student government body of the university. SA is currently in its 60th session and Eric Evangelista is president. Outside of the cabinet, there are four committees and four boards, which report to the association.

that will be re-launched in March as CycleShare.

SA officially launched the Bike Share Program on Sept. 27, and each of the eight bikes available were rented on the first day. The program was several years in the making, as LaLonde picked up where former SA Vice President Jane Hong left off in implementing it.

“LaLonde has done a lot of ground work, which is great,”

Evangelista said.

The work that was accomplished has been from the entirety of SA, LaLonde said as she credited assembly members and cabinet members for their work. A lot of the initiatives were ideas from assembly members, LaLonde said.

The assembly members are parts of the committees, where they meet weekly to discuss what they can do

see sa page 4

2 dec. 7, 2016

dailyorange.com

t o day ’ s w e at h e r

WORK wednesday | aja and kaelan selbach

Twins create videos for production company

By Saniya More

a.m.

noon hi 43° lo 34°

p.m.

staff writer

Aja and Kaelan Selbach manage Broad Brothers Productions, a telecommunications company that primarily produces videos. The twin brothers, both sophomore film majors, said having each other on set is a huge advantage.

“We work great together, practically read each other’s minds and have the same perspectives,” Kaelan said.

For Aja, having someone constantly critiquing him is the best part about working with his twin brother.

“Whenever you are working with a partner, no matter how close you are, there is always going to be a certain amount of tip-toeing around when expressing how you feel,” Aja said. “Whereas with us, as we’ve grown up together, the constant critique is a bigger pro than it is a con because it makes our work better.”

The Brattleboro, Vermont natives currently make up the video promo team at Creative Concerts, an agency that runs venues in Syracuse. However, their video reel captures well-known artists, like The Chainsmokers, Marshmello, Mike Gordon and Jackie Greene.

Finding a client is a complicated process, the twins said. Scoring a gig usually depends on the artist’s preferences, as well as their level of comfort with being filmed. In order to reach an artist, the twins often

cor r ection In a Monday article titled “Trump’s rhetoric prompts change to abroad program,” the number of Syracuse University Abroad programs involving Cuba was misstated.

SU currently has two facultyled programs scheduled for March 2017 in Cuba. The Daily Orange regrets this error.

c on tac t Editor@dailyorange.com News@dailyorange.com

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LEFT TO RIGHT: KAELAN AND AJA SELBACH started their own production company called Broad Brothers Productions. They make PSAs and videos for music artists. fiona lenz staff photographer

have to work with a middle man, like their manager or promoter.

The twins view their production company as an outlet to do all the things they can’t do in school, where they primarily study narrative production.

Aja and Kaelan plan to keep working on Broad Brothers Productions after they graduate from Syracuse University.

“Right now we are in a building phase and we hope to really jumpstart it once we get out of college,” Aja said.

In terms of challenges they have faced, the twins said they have struggled the most with breaking past their student status and being viewed as professionals in the industry. However, they feel confident that their company will

continue to operate.

“I think we have a lot of experience for our age, which sets us apart from other people,” Aja said.

“A lot of people don’t figure out what they want to do with their lives until really far along, and for some reason, we’ve known what we’ve wanted to do. We’ll always have a reliable teammate.” ssmore@syr.edu

The Daily Orange is published weekdays during the Syracuse University academic year by The Daily Orange Corp., 744 Ostrom Ave., Syracuse, NY 13210. All contents Copyright 2016 by The Daily Orange Corp. and may not be reprinted without the expressed written permission of the editor in chief. The Daily Orange is distributed on and around campus with the first two copies complimentary. Each additional copy costs $1. The Daily Orange is in no way a subsidy or associated with Syracuse University.

All contents © 2016 The Daily Orange Corporation

N

Making progress The outer structure of the hotel currently being built near Destiny USA is complete.

See page 4

NEWS

Back to life The city of Syracuse is working with a local nonprofit to renovate abandoned buildings.

See page 4

Proposed changes Only two options remain for the planned reconstruction of a portion of I-81 in Syracuse.

See Thursday’s paper

dailyorange.com @dailyorange dec. 7, 2016 • PAG E 3

SU faculty manual updated

By Stacy Fernández asst. news editor

Baroque Ensemble The ensemble performed at the Setnor School of Music at the College of Visual and Performing Arts on Tuesday night. Under direction of Janet Brown and Joseph Downing, Setnor professors, the ensemble performed classical music in Crouse College. The concert was open to the public. The Setnor School offers a variety of choral and instrumental ensembles. codie yan staff photographer

Federal government to forgive student debt

By Saniya Moré staff writer

The United States government plans to forgive $108 billion in student loan debt in the coming years, the Government Accountability Office announced last week in a report to Congress.

To do so, the government will offer income-driven repayment plans to students having trouble paying their loans.

Income-driven plans primarily provide a safety net in an otherwise stressful situation, said Mark Kantrowitz, publisher and vice president of strategy at

The goal should be that if you plan carefully and you aren’t able to get a well-paying job, there is a safety net and you don’t fail to completely pay your debts.

Mark Kantrowitz publisher and vice president of strategy at cappex.com

Cappex.com, a free website for planning and paying for college.

If a student’s total debt at graduation is less than their annual income, that student will be able to back their student loans within 10 years, Kantrowitz said. But, if the student doesn’t get a good job after graduation and their debt is higher than their annual income, making every loan payment will be a struggle.

“Income-driven repay ment plans is an option for making those loa n pay ments more affordable,” Kantrow itz said.

“It bases them on your income

as opposed to the amount you owe. The goal should be that if you plan carefully and you aren’t able to get a well-paying job, there is a safety net and you don’t fail to completely pay your debts.”

A spokesperson from the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators said the recent report is alarming mainly because of how it casts a negative light on repayment plans for students.

The report may validate that “advocating for the curtailing of income-driven repayment plans,” see debt page 4

Revisions have been approved to Syracuse University’s Faculty Manual concerning the titles of full-time, non-tenure-track faculty personnel and the process of making dean emeriti appointments.

The revisions were made at the recommendation of the University Senate and were approved by Chancellor Kent Syverud and Vice Chancellor and Provost Michele Wheatly.

According to the new policy the titles teaching professor, associate teaching professor and assistant teaching professor are now part of the non-tenure-track titles for full-time faculty.

The titles assistant professor of practice, associate professor of practice and lecturer will be retired. Any faculty who currently have these titles will be reclassified during their next reappointment.

But, the title of professor of practice will still be applied to non-tenuretrack faculty who are distinguished professional practitioners and bring expertise to the classroom.

Assistant professor, associate professor and professor titles will only be appointed to tenure-track or tenured faculty.

Under the new policy the titles teaching professor, associate teaching professor and assistant teaching professor apply to full-time, non-

see faculty page 4

news to know Here is a round-up of the biggest news happening around the world right now.

POLITICS FIRST THING FIRST Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday a resolution to repeal Obamacare will be the first item the Senate votes on next year. McConnell told reporters he wants to “get Democratic cooperation” with the repeal. source: politico

WORLD

whitman

School receives grant to establish institute

By Jordan Muller staff writer

The Whitman School recently received a $1.75 million grant from the Charles Koch Foundation to establish an Institute for an Entrepreneurial Society.

The Martin J. Whitman School of Management will launch the IES in 2017, according to a Whitman press release. The IES will research the intersection between public policy and entrepreneurship, said Maria Minniti,

founding director of the IES. Students and faculty in the IES will study why people create businesses, how business emerges and how certain entrepreneurs have advantages or disadvantages, Minniti said. Research in the IES will include elements of psychology, sociology, economics and political science.

She added that the IES will focus primarily on the link between emerging business innovations and economic growth.

“We want to look at what institutions are more conducive to

economic growth, what the role of government should be and what governments can do to promote economic growth,” Minniti said.

Minniti said throughout academia, there has been a general gap in research that studies the correlation between policy and entrepreneurship.

Most research is done by economists who focus on public policy dealing with large, established businesses or regional business clusters, like Silicon Valley, she said.

“The idea behind the Institute is to create a catalyst for researchers

interested in studying productive entrepreneurship,” Minniti said.

The IES will train Whitman graduate students, according to Whitman’s website.

Mike Haynie, vice chancellor for strategic initiatives and innovation, said the IES also plans to bring in speakers from emerging businesses.

The Charles Koch Foundation has provided a $1.75 million grant to establish the IES, according to the Whitman press release. The Washington Post reported in 2014 see whitman page 4

DEAL IS A DEAL Iran’s president Hassan Rouhani said he would not allow U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to “tear up” the nuclear arms deal signed by the U.S. last year. Rouhani made his comments during a speech at Tehran University. source: the new york times

$

BUSINESS

GOING ELECTRIC Some oil companies are not worried that many carmakers are predicting a large shift toward electric car usage in the next decade.

ExxonMobil and British Petroleum predict that in 2035 only 10 percent of new cars will be electric. source: cnn.com

4 dec. 7, 2016

dailyorange.com news@dailyorange.com

city

Hotel near Destiny USA mall to open fall 2017

By Deniz Sahinturk staff writer

The construction at Destiny USA for a hotel intended to bring more tourists to visit the city of Syracuse has reached a milestone: The outer structure of the building is complete.

The hotel, Embassy Suites By Hilton Syracuse-Destiny USA, has 209 rooms and will open in fall 2017. The project will also feature an on-site restaurant and pool.

From now until next year, construction workers will work on the interior of the hotel, said Aiden McGuire, the director of marketing at Destiny USA. The cost of the construction is $48 million and financed by M&T Bank, Berkshire Bank and Tompkins Trust Company. The hotel will be operated by Aimbridge Hospitality, the nation’s second largest independent hotel management firm.

Destiny USA, McGuire said, is an international tourist destination. Destiny USA was the sixth largest shopping complex in the country and the largest one in New York state, he said.

“We are not your typical shopping mall.

We are truly a destination,” McGuire said.

“We have outlets. We have an entire floor dedicated to entertainment. We are truly so much more than a mall.”

McGuire said the hotel would be yet

another tool Destiny USA will have to grow itself as a destination and bring people in from further destinations for longer periods of stay.

“This project was done with tourism in mind,” he added. “This is going to be another great way for traveling families from Canada and other parts of the globe to extend their stay in Syracuse.”

He said aside from the obvious highlight of the hotel, which is being the only hotel on property, the hotel has several important features. Every room was in a suite format that is intended to attract families looking to “play and stay,” which was a unique attribute of the project, McGuire added.

McGuire also said the fact that they could customize their packaging with the hotel was another important aspect of the project.

“We very much see our hotel not as a competitive threat to other hotels in Syracuse but as a part of a joint effort to bring more tourists to central New York,” McGuire said. “We are working with the entire hotel community to bring more people here, as a collective effort.”

Nikita Jankowski, Visit Syracuse Communications Manager, said the Destiny USA hotel would offer “so many benefits” to the local community. dsahintu@syr.edu

from page 3

from page 3

that the Koch Foundation has come under fire for offering grant money to schools with the stipulation that they promote the free market and laissez-faire economics.

“The Koch Foundation has had no influence over any of the Institute’s future research,” Haynie said. “If they did, the IES would return the grant money.”

The Koch Foundation did not respond to requests for comment.

Haynie said the IES will not focus on the relationship between business and politics. Rather, the IES will research public policy and how policy promotes or obstructs entrepreneurial growth, he said.

Minniti said she has been interested in creating an organization like the IES for years.

“Syracuse University is a great place to have this program because the Whitman School already has a world-class entrepreneurship program,” Minniti said.

the spokesperson said.

“While NASFAA acknowledges that it is incredibly difficult to make accurate budgetary estimates about these programs, there must be a greater level of transparency from the Department of Education in how it calculates the budgetary effects,” the spokesperson said.

Kantrowitz recommended students minimize the amount of money they borrow and only use as little as they need, not as much as they can.

Kantrowitz gave the example of financial aid awards and advised against treating it like free money because “every dollar you borrow will cost you about $2 by the time you repay your debt.”

“Debt is something that should make you feel uncomfortable, that you really don’t want to borrow the money unless you absolutely need to,” he said.

debt

whitman

jmulle01@syr.edu

from page 3

faculty tenure-track faculty that teach in a classroom or laboratory. Among their responsibilities must be holding regularly scheduled office hours, preparing and grading assignments and tests and contributing content of courses and syllabi.

These faculty are not expected to conduct research, but this requirement may be different based on their school or college.

Teaching professors will not earn time toward their tenure, but may be eligible for professional development leave connected to the duties laid out in their contracts.

Each school or college will create a process for promotion within the guidelines from page 1

framework

ERIC EVANGELISTA, Student Association president, is finishing his first semester in the role, during which SA launched both a bike share program and a program that allows students remote access to computers. codie yan staff photographer from page 1

sa

to make it work better for the students.

“There is an empowered assembly to work for something they’re passionate about,” LaLonde said. “The work in committees have been fueled and inspired by assembly reps.”

One initiative that stood out to both Evangelista and LaLonde was contacting SU’s University Bookstore regarding reusable bags. This has been worked on often

by Caitlin Smith, a sophomore and SA assembly member. This initiative is scheduled to launch in fall 2017, LaLonde said.

Within the cabinet, both Evangelista and LaLonde praised the development and update of the SA website, the variety of student life initiatives that have been pursued and the increase of social media posts through the public relations chairs.

Among those initiatives included one that gives remote access to computers for students in the College of Engineering and

Computer Science. Launched Nov. 4, up to 30 students at a time can access a Link Hall desktop from their personal computers.

Remote access is available for students living in off-campus housing to allow students to work from their home or apartments.

“We have fantastic committees that have worked to accomplish what they want,” LaLonde said.

The charge over semester break is for every student to think of one initiative that they would like to present during a future meeting. This involvement is something that Evangelista and LaLonde said they believe will improve the relationship between assembly members and cabinet members.

Ahead of the end of the semester, students should be aware of how the world is changing around them, and what they can do to better the university, LaLonde said. “(We will) continue to stay engaged and passionate about Syracuse University,” LaLonde said. wgmuoio@syr.edu

The last completed project of the Framework the university worked on with the city was the University Place promenade, in which SU and the city collaborated to replace the water main and renew the sewer main running along that street.

Nader Maroun, a Syracuse Common Councilor, said the university must go through the same process with the city whether it wants to renovate a part of campus or expand it. The process of submitting an application and following up with inspections by the city usually takes around three months, he said.

“The timing would depend on how well the plans that are submitted meet with the request that the permit has been filled out,” Maroun said. “So if the plans are thorough and reflect accurately what they are trying to do, if those meet code then it’s not a difficult process on timing-wise.”

To initially establish a Planned Institutional District, the initiator — an institution, group of institutions, private individuals and/or the city of Syracuse — must submit a sketch plan to the City Planning Commission, according to a zoning review document. Then the district area must be decided, a district plan developed and a public hearing held and approved by the Common Councils to have the PID established.

A project plan then must be submitted, which has details such as the site plans for construction, the areas for planned landscape and plans for utility patterns. There are certain development requirements a PID must have, such as structures can only cover up to 50 percent of the district and 80 percent of the required off-street parking be provided in parking garages.

Some of SU’s projects often need to be reviewed by the Landmark Preservation Board. Don Radke, the board’s chairman, said the board will get involved in two instances: If it is a historical building or appears on a state, national or local register; or if the applicant wants feedback and input.

This was the case with the Arch project, which is SU’s plan to turn Archbold Gymnasium into a new health and wellness center. Archbold is currently listed in the

ssmore@syr.edu

of the revised Faculty Manual. The process must be approved by the senate, once approved the cases will be processed in each school or college.

Under the recommendations the process for appointing dean emeriti will be separate from the process to appoint faculty emeriti. Eligible dean emeriti candidates will be nominated by faculty and will then be approved by the University Senate Committee on Appointments and Promotions.

Nominations will be forwarded to Syverud and Wheatly for endorsement and approval by the Senate and the Board of Trustees.

The changes are meant to promote a faculty driven approach to promoting dean emeriti. sfern100@syr.edu | @StacyFernandezB

Comstock Tract National Register District.

Radke said the university will usually give a presentation to the board when it needs to get something approved and then the board comments. Depending on the project it can take one to several meetings, he said, and the board meets twice a month.

Sala and Quinn said the input from the Landmark Preservation Board did not slow down efforts to implement the Arch.

“There are typically several regulatory approval steps to take to get approval for a major renovation or new constriction, and this timeline is part of a projects schedule,” the two SU officials said.

The relationship between the city and the university has been a “very good working relationship,” said Heather Lamendola, zoning administrator in the Office of Zoning Administration. The zoning office specifically has a strong relationship with SU’s Office of Campus Planning, Design and Construction.

Maroun said the relationship between the city and university is mutually beneficial: The city wants to draw students and give them a great experience, and in the meantime the university provides jobs and the students support local businesses.

“It’s in both parties’ best interest to have a very fluid, working, respectful relationship, that has been the case,” he said. “Occasionally there has been a hiccup, (but) the relationship has been good.”

Paul Driscoll, commissioner of the Department of Neighborhood and Business Development, referenced the proposals to renovate the Carrier Dome in late 2013 as one possible disagreement between the university and the city.

Yet he said former Chancellor Nancy Cantor’s initiatives to integrate the university and the city were positive. Cantor created the Centro Connective Corridor route, reestablished the Warehouse — now formally named the Nancy Cantor Warehouse — and helped establish the Syracuse Say Yes to Education program, which helps prepare students in the Syracuse City School District for college.

To have SU in the city limits is nothing sneeze at, Driscoll said, and there has been no malice from either the city or university.

“It’s symbiotic,” he said. “We need each other.” hykim100@syr.edu

O

Still standing Columnist Maz Kaczor advocates for divesting from oil following a minor Standing Rock victory.

See Thursday’s paper

OPINION

dailyorange.com @dailyorange dec. 7, 2016 • PAG E 5

liberal

scribble

Fake news rise reflects polarized climate

I

t was always going to come to this. The aftermath of the most polarizing political event in recent American history was always going to be volatile, regardless of the victor.

The 2016 United States presidential election was the first in the social media age to not feature an incumbent president. Social media has ushered in a new age of media consumption, which in turn has brought up a distinct set of challenges. One of these challenges is the way Presidentelect Donald Trump’s campaign and imminent presidency have altered the manner in which we are exposed to and process information.

Trump’s campaign and subsequent election have led to the emergence of fake news. False journalism is nothing new — it brought the United States into war with Spain in 1898 — but social media has given fake news a broader influence. When a fake article is presented in the same feed as real news, it gives the fake story the appearance of legitimacy. The falsehoods are designed to fit a specific narrative — one that supports and comforts the reader.

“How can the media maintain their critical ability without seeming biased?” said Margarita Estevez-Abe, a professor of political science at Syracuse University.

“This is where facts matter, and if one party starts mobilizing its base with fake news, then it becomes impossible.”

Throughout the election, fake news actually outperformed real news in consumption. On social media, when something is broadcast loud enough, it no longer matters what is true and what it not; the only thing that matters is what is heard.

This is a dangerous enough concept when it exists among ordinary people. Factual validity and historical context are vital when discussing anything of substance — especially politics — and the problem becomes amplified when a prominent figure endorses the practice.

Trump’s speeches and Twitter are littered with instances of the

RYAN DUNN CHILLARY VIBES

president-elect sharing or contriving baseless statements and fake articles about voter fraud and President Barack Obama being born in Kenya.

The crux of this issue is that when an average person promotes fake news, it’s simply misinformation. When an elected official does so, it’s propaganda. Trump’s blatant falsehoods have validated a factual irresponsibility that yields extremely damaging effects.

Breitbart, the alt-right news website founded by Trump’s chief strategist and senior adviser Steve Bannon, has become incredibly adept at using the actions of a few people to vilify an entire group. The most common targets are of Breitbart’s sensationalism is Muslims.

This is where facts matter, and if one party starts mobilizing its base with fake news, then it becomes impossible.

Margarita Estevez-Abe professor, maxwell school of citizenship and public affairs

Breitbart’s website features outlandish headlines such as “Muslim Immigration Puts Half a Million U.S. Girls at Risk of Genital Mutilation” and “DATA: Young Muslims in the West Are a Ticking Time Bomb, Increasingly Sympathising with Radicals, Terror,” with the latter egregiously misquoting its data.

Similarly, comparisons by pundits such as Sean Hannity and Tomi Lahren that liken Black Lives Matter to the KKK show a complete disregard for historical context and the concept of

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 ac u s e , n e w yor k

Justin Mattingly

Alexa Diaz

EDITOR IN CHIEF

MANAGING EDITOR

News Editor Sara Swann Editorial Editor Caroline Colvin Sports Editor Paul Schwedelson Feature Editor Rachel Gilbert Presentation Director Clare Ramirez Photo Editor Jessica Sheldon Head Illustrator Emmy Gnat Copy Chief Kathryn Krawczyk Development Editor Alexa Torrens Digital Editor Jacob Gedetsis Social Media Director Benjamin Farr Video Editor Griffin Morrow Web Developer Shuai Wang Asst. News Editor Michael Burke Asst. News Editor Stacy Fernandez Asst. News Editor Satoshi Sugiyama Asst. Editorial Editor Joanna Orland Asst. Feature Editor Hanna Horvath Asst. Feature Editor Casey Russell Asst. Sports Editor Chris Libonati

Asst. Sports Editor Jon Mettus Asst. Photo Editor Jacob Greenfeld Asst. Photo Editor Ally Moreo Senior Design Editor Emma Comtois Senior Design Editor Lucy Naland Design Editor Ali Harford Design Editor Andy Mendes Design Editor Jordana Rubin Design Editor Rori Sachs Asst. Copy Editor Joe Bloss Asst. Copy Editor Alison Boghosian Asst. Copy Editor Matthew Gutierrez Asst. Copy Editor Haley Kim Asst. Copy Editor Tomer Langer Asst. Copy Editor Taylor Watson Asst. Video Editor Amanda Caffey Asst. Web Editor Rachel Sandler Asst. Web Editor Alex Archambault Asst. Web Editor Byron Tollefson Digital Design Editor Kiran Ramsey

extremism. When a person who pledges their allegiance to a group commits an unpardonable act, it should not indict the entire group, nor should it dictate the perception of what that group stands for.

This is not a blanket statement that seeks to condemn every conservative or Trump supporter for spreading misinformation. But when you are given a platform to broadcast your views to millions of people, it is journalistically irresponsible to treat history and facts as subjective points. This occurrence is not limited to one side of the political spectrum; both parties are guilty of misrepresenting data.

Much of this phenomenon can be blamed on the presence of “echo chambers” created by social media sites like Facebook, which run on algorithms designed to suggest pages similar to the ones a user already subscribes to. Echo chambers make people feel safe and surrounded by millions of like-minded peers, but doesn’t stimulate any kind of authentically representative conversation. Even worse, it furthers the alienation between people of opposing beliefs.

All of this has caused a severe rift between differing ideologies, a divide which will only become more damaging if not addressed. Luckily, the solution is simple: empathy.

Empathy is likely the only way that we can come together as a nation. It would require people on a broad scale to open themselves up to news stories and conversations from a wide range of political ideologies, and thus expose themselves to stories that might contradict personal beliefs.

To bring empathy into the equation would require people to step outside of their comfort zone and logically work from a place of mutual understanding. You don’t have to agree with someone, you just have to try and see where they are coming from.

Ryan Dunn is a freshman history major. His column appears weekly. He can be reached at rarozenb@syr.edu.

General Manager Mike Dooling Assistant to the GM David Hayashi IT Manager Maxwell Burggraf Business Assistant Tim Bennett Advertising Manager Manuel Garcia Advertising Representative Hannah Breda Advertising Representative Elaina Berkowitz Advertising Representative Catherine Caruso Advertising Representative Heather Day Advertising Representative Allison Koerbel Advertising Representative Devin Martin Advertising Representative Alanna Quinlan Advertising RepresentativeDominic Samuels Advertising Designer Samantha Robles Advertising Designer Conner Lee Advertising Designer Ting Peng Digital Advertising Manager Kalyn Des Jardin Social Media Manager Sarah Stewart Special Events Coordinator Taylor Sheehan Special Events Coordinator Linda Bamba Circulation Manager Charles Plumpton Student Circulation Manager Michael Rempter

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letter to the editor

Administrator points out error in Dec. 5 DO article The headline “Trump’s comments prompt SU Abroad to scrap plans for study abroad program in Cuba” (Dec. 5, 2016) is factually incorrect, as is the opening sentence of the article. SU Abroad has two facultyled programs scheduled for March 2017 in Cuba – one is “Afro-Cuban Roots in Havana: Sacred Dance and Music” and the other is “Exploring Cuban Culture through Education, Physical Activity, and Sports.” We are very excited to have these new options for students. Interest is high, and we plan to go ahead with both programs. On the other hand, we have no plans for a semesterlong program or center in Cuba at this point in time, though we

are always exploring new options across the globe. We draw on faculty expertise as we consider the many factors that go into creating new programs, especially semester-long initiatives—from having strong academic partners on the ground, to safety and security, to logistical support and resources, to student interest.

SU Abroad is dedicated to identifying and crafting worldclass study abroad opportunities that provide our students an unprecedented level of access to the global community.

Margaret Himley, Associate Provost, International Education and Engagement

letter to the editor

Students examine state of higher education “Loans”, “student debt”, “tuition”-throw these words at students around campus and it’s almost guaranteed that there will be no happy faces. It wouldn’t be any surprise either — the cost of attending both two and four-year universities has gone through the roof. Of course, financial aid is a huge help. In fact, most students are able to attend Syracuse University solely based on the financial aid — but a significant portion of it is loans. According to a recent report, there are 43 million federal student loan borrowers, 7 million of them in default, and $1.3 trillion in student loan debt. While tuition costs have risen over 179 percent since 1995, financial aid for students has been stagnant.

For example, the Pell Grant. The Pell Grant is a program that provides aid for low and middle-income students. However, it has not kept up with the drastic rise in tuition.

The program used to cover 77 percent of the cost to attend a four-year college. Today, that number is less than 30 percent. Students as a result have no choice but to stay in school longer, take out more loans, or just drop out entirely. On top of that, many students don’t know much about student loans, or even repayment options.

The Higher Education Act (1965) is a federal law that regulates our higher education system. It was created to provide better resources and opportunities in higher education for students who lacked the financial means to attend college.

Since it has been implemented, the act has been regularly reviewed, updated, and reauthorized by Congress. However, while Congress has funded the program each year, they haven’t updated it since 2008. And since 2008, tuition and fees has risen 28 percent.

Lack of financial aid and funding for financial aid is a social justice and legislative issue that we must all take action against. Here at the SU-ESF chapter of NYPIRG, we are constantly working towards lobbying our representatives in Albany, such as our “Higher Ed Action day” in April. We are also always working on informing students, to empower them to become an active voice in the community. Student activism is an imperative aspect of NYPIRG’s mission. For more information or to get involved, contact NYPIRG at syracuse@nypirg.org or stop by the office at 732 S. Crouse.

Sakura Tomizawa, writing major, philosophy minor ‘17 Helen Tang, economics, ‘20

city

PAGE 6

•

every wednesday in news

dailyorange.com @dailyorange dec. 7, 2016

DYNAH UMUTONI, a student at Henninger High School, has to walk to school for more than half an hour. She has been stalked and encountered dangerous situations. She hopes the bus pilot program will change the law that only allows buses to pick up students who live more than 1.5 miles away. courtesy of marianne barthelemy

HOP

ON

Syracuse Common Council urges state to support bus pilot program

By Aline Peres Martins staff writer

D

ynah Umutoni, a 16-yearold attending Henninger High School, said she has encountered dangerous situations on her 36-minute walk to school, including being stalked.

The same week she was stalked, she said, three people were shot on their walk to school.

“We’re not safe at all,” she said about her walk to school.

But Umutoni has no choice

other than to walk to school. The current state law only allows buses to be sent to students who live more than 1.5 miles away from school, and Umutoni lives 1.3 miles from her school based on Google Maps, forcing her to walk, she said.

The Syracuse Common Council, though, is hoping to change the law to allow students like Umutoni to ride the bus. The council on Monday unanimously voted to approve a resolution to send a letter to the New York state government urging Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the state legislature

and state Department of Education to consider funding a new bus pilot program in Syracuse.

The program would allow the Syracuse City School District to bus students who live more than one mile away from their respective school buildings to school.

During the Dec. 5 council meeting, Councilor Susan Boyle, chair of the education and human development committee, said students are being placed in dangerous situations during their daily walks to and from school.

The state government should consider gun violence and high rates of poverty affecting school transportation in Syracuse, she said.

Councilors Joe Nicoletti and Nader Ma roun both publicly thanked Boyle for pushing the resolution through.

Umutoni, who moved to the United States as a Congolese refugee from Kenya just two years ago, has been working with Joyce Suslovic, a teacher at Henninger High School, and a group of classmates known as the “2 Miles is Too Far” group to advocate for universal bussing in the district.

They have been collaborating since last November, when the cut-off for bussing was two miles.

Through a series of school board meetings, correspondence with city officials, event planning and media attention, the group was able to convince the SCSD Board of Education to lower the limit from

two miles to 1.5 this past February, Suslovic said.

Their advocacy also pushed Interim Superintendent Jaime Alicea to create a Transportation Task Force to further tackle the issue. Suslovic and a few of her students are part of the task force.

Umutoni is not one of those students.

Suslovic said she is delighted to see their hard work pay off.

“We’ve got to keep our kids safe,” she said. “So I’m thrilled that the city council has taken it on. We’ve got a lot of great people on board.”

Yet Suslovic, her students and Councilor Maroun have separately said there is still work to be done.

Maroun raised concerns about pre-K students at the meeting, saying he is unsure if the current resolution would include them. Suslovic also said there is enough money in the state budget to cover the transportation costs, so she will continue advocating for her students, she said.

“It’s going to take time,” Suslovic said. “It’s going to be an uphill fight but the more assistance you get, the better. It’s such a great victory for us so we’re going to keep going and see what happens from there.”

Umutoni said she is skeptical, but hopes the state legislature will pass it through.

“Winter is here, so please just accept it,” she said. “I wish they would come walk with us and then they could see how far it actually is.” amarti22@syr.edu

dec. 7, 2016 7

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city

Syracuse aims to revitalize abandoned areas, buildings

By Chieh Yuan Chen staff writer

The city of Syracuse is working with a local nonprofit organization to revitalize housing stock and renovate buildings in targeted neighborhoods.

New York state has supported 10 land banks with over $30 million in funding from 2013 to 2016. The funding revitalizes communities by bringing abandoned and tax delinquent properties back to productive use, according to a report prepared by the Office of the Attorney General’s Land Bank Community Revitalization Initiative.

“The Syracuse Land Bank has been generously funded by the OAG in the past two funding rounds because our local community chose to take a proactive approach to vacant and abandoned properties and tackle the problem headon,” said Katelyn Wright, executive director for The Greater Syracuse Land Bank, in an email.

The land bank’s mission, she said, is to take ownership of unoccupied and abandoned properties and facilitate their renovation or demolition for efficient use.

The Syracuse Land Bank primarily focuses on tax-delinquent properties because they are the easiest and most inexpensive to acquire, Wright added.

She emphasized it’s a way to address a significant part of the problem in Syracuse.

When there is a dense concentration of properties the land bank owns in one area, the land bank looks at acquiring other vacant properties nearby to assemble larger sites, she said. If those are tax current, the land bank would encourage their owners to donate them to the bank, Wright noted.

Through the Land Bank CRI, Syracuse has received nearly $5 million in state grants, according to the report.

“We have received significant local funding commitments, showing that the city and county are contributing significant local resources to this project and stretching the

AG office funding further than if it were our only funding source,” Wright said.

With the state’s support, Wright said they have renovated 68 homes and demolished 43 blighted structures. It enables the land bank to provide renovated homes and to accomplish more demolitions than they could with only local funds, she said.

“The city has made us the default recipient of foreclosed properties and set out to foreclose on as many abandoned properties as they can,” Wright said. “So that they can proactively get ownership of those properties into a public entity and start to engage in site assembly and preventive maintenance.”

In addition to state grants, the Syracuse Land Bank also received funds from other sources. It has acquired 1,234 properties, demolished 148 blighted properties and sold 377 of them, leveraging $14.9 million in private renovation investment, Wright said.

In November, New York state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced new funding totaling $20 million for state land banks to protect homeowners and neighborhoods. Schneiderman’s office said the original $30 million investment in land banks since 2013 has brought substantial benefits for homeowners and communities.

“We are planning to apply for more demolitions funds and less money for renovations,” Wright said, adding that the renovations will be focused on the northeast area and the southwest area of Syracuse, as proposed for consideration in the city’s Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Area.

There would be better quality, affordable housing available in Syracuse if they can get more properties renovated, Wright said.

“Our goal isn’t to increase the city’s population, but to ‘right-size’ the supply of housing in relation to the number of households living in the city and to ensure that higher quality units are put on the market so that we have less substandard, dangerous, occupied housing,” she said. chchen@syr.edu

8 dec. 7, 2016

dailyorange.com

P

Magic kingdom Movie columnist Erik Benjamin details Disney’s unprecedented success in 2016.

See dailyorange.com

Really can’t stay

Leaving a legacy

“Baby, It’s Cold Outside” has iffy undertones, but music columnist Emera Riley sees past them.

See dailyorange.com

David Rubin transformed Newhouse during his deanship and is retiring after 28 years.

See Thursday’s paper

PULP

dailyorange.com @dailyorange dec. 7, 2016

‘Attitude for inclusiveness’ First sensory-friendly theater performance comes to Syracuse Stage Text by Rachel Gilbert

Photos by Ally Moreo

feature editor

asst. photo editor

A

s the audience members file into the Syracuse Stage/SU Drama Complex for January’s performance of Mary Poppins, they’ll still pick up programs and find their seats. But when the curtain goes up, the house lights won’t go down. The overture will play more softly than usual, and normallyblinding stage lights won’t flood the actors.

It’s all part of central New York’s first sensory-friendly theater performance, starting Jan. 7. The sensory-friendly show joins the Stage’s accessibility series, which includes A merican Sign Lang uage-interpreted,

I personally believe the theater is important for everyone to come and see.

I think it shows everyone’s different forms of life, I think it’s incredibly vital and it’s a great imaginative experience.

Kate Laissle assistant director of education at the stage

1

2

3 1. JOANNE JACKOWSKI learned sign language at a night class in Syracuse. Now she is a part-time freelance ASL/English interpreter.

2. JOSEPH WHELAN will spend up to 30 hours preparing for each show, watching the performance, walking the set and preparing descriptions.

3. KATE LAISSLE played a key role in bringing the first ever sensoryfriendly theater show, “Mary Poppins,” to central New York.

4. CHRIS BOTEK runs the open-captioning services at the Stage. She sits in the audience, scrolling lines onto a wall to match on-stage action.

4

audio-assisted, open-captioned and audiodescribed shows.

Tickets for the sensory friendly performance are kept at a flat-rate price of $25 and can be refunded up until the day of the show in case someone’s not feeling up to it.

This series aims to make theater accessible to a wider audience said Kate Laissle, assistant director of education at the stage.

“I personally believe the theater is important for everyone to come and see,” Laissle said.

“I think it shows everyone’s different forms of life, I think it’s incredibly vital and it’s a great imaginative experience.”

Sensory-friendly shows are designed for people on the autism spectrum — or others who see accessible

shows page 12

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PAG E 9

10 dec. 7, 2016

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From the

studio every wednesday in p u l p

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RISE AND SHINE

MORNING WARS is an alternative rock band consisting of juniors Trevor Chesler, Marc Ramos and Noah Mintz. Although the members have different musical interests, the band has a popular song on SoundCloud and is working on new music. nalae white staff photographer

Student band, Morning Wars, prepares new music after SoundCloud success

By Leah Meyers staff writer

M

orning Wars has only released one song, “Cannibal,” but with the astonishing response the group received from it — 7,403 listens on SoundCloud — the band is eager to get back into the scene. With the semester coming to an end, Trevor Chesler, Marc Ramos and Noah Mintz have found the time to prep for their upcoming releases.

Chesler, an economics major, Ramos, a film major, and Mintz, a television, radio and film major all come from different backgrounds and have different musical tastes. But together, their music blends effortlessly into a one-of-a-kind sound.

They’re definitely passionate about making music, but they also love goofing around with each other. They admit that initially, it started as nothing serious — they never expected their music to go anywhere. Mintz even said he doesn’t really even consider himself a musician, describing it as just a hobby.

So the idea for an entire album came the same way the group was formed: by chance.

“I couldn’t sleep one night and just banged out lyrics to like 12 different songs, and I was like f*ck, I want to make this an album,” Chesler said. “So, I reached out to Marc was like, ‘Dude, I honestly don’t care where this goes or how it goes, but I just want to release it and get it out there so I can breathe easier or knowing that I have all my stuff out.’”

This is a normal writing routine for Chesler, as most of his creativity comes at

night. He jokes about humming into his phone while his roommate tries to sleep.

His roommate is used to it though, as the friends practice in Chesler’s room.

We were just chilling upstairs in his room and were just like, ‘Hey, what if we record a single tonight.’

Marc Ramos member of morning wars

Chesler, a vocalist and the bassist for the band, came to Ramos, a vocalist, keyboardist and producer, with an idea for a song early this year. Chesler first started playing piano, but ended up ditching the instrument because he enjoyed playing rock music more.

A big Pete Wentz fan at the time, Chesler decided to try playing bass.

After performing in a few hard rock bands in high school, he decided to put his focus somewhere away from music.

Chesler took a break to play hockey. It was not until recently, when Chesler’s hockey equipment was stolen out of his car, that his music came off the back burner and became priority again.

For Ramos, on the other hand, music has been a part of his life since childhood. He began his music career in musical theater. That experience then led him to other choirs and ensembles,

and he played tuba for around eight years. Though he was the only musically-inclined person in his family, he began recording covers of songs and putting them online at an early age. “(Chesler) texted me like, ‘Hey you’re a good producer, I have a couple lyrics and stuff and I want you to make an album for me,’” Ramos said. “So, we were like bouncing ideas off each other over the summer and we came here after summer break and we were just chilling upstairs in his room and were just like, ‘Hey, what if we record a single tonight.’”

But the two friends needed a guitar player, so they brought in Mintz, a friend who conveniently lived in the same fraternity house as them.

Mintz also came from a family with a musical background. A Los Angeles native, Mintz’s dad still tours around the area with his band playing drums.

Mintz picked up guitar lessons when he was 10 years old.

“It was perfect for me because I had already had something written but it didn’t have lyrics. So we just kind of took the lyrics that Trevor had written over the summer and put it over what I had written for the guitar and bad-a-bing, bad-a-boom, we got a song,” Mintz said.

That song was “Cannibal.”

The three friends’ different musical tastes can be heard in “Cannibal.”

Ramos is into jazz and classical, but he also has pop, hip-hop and R&B roots.

Chesler’s favorite group is The Killers, and in general he loves alternative rock. Mintz enjoys the psychedelic side of alternative rock, while also being a

big fan of classic rock.

“The three of us kind of converge into a healthy medium and that’s kind of where you get the sound of ‘Cannibal.’ You get the rock background and the poppy foreground and the alt melody on top of it, and it creates a pretty interesting song,” said Mintz.

In “Cannibal,” Ramos sings the verses and Chesler sings the chorus, and they agree that they will both be singing for equal amounts of time.

Although they only have one song, the band cannot wait to begin performing.

Once they release their second song, which they project will come out before winter break, they hope to begin booking performances. Starting off, the performances will be mostly covers, with a few of their originals. But as they begin producing more music, they’ll eventually plan to weed the covers out.

Besides booking Syracuse venues, they also have connections in New York City and Memphis and hope to perform there as well as in their hometowns, Philadelphia and Los Angeles.

But the main success of Morning Wars, Ramos said, is that where one band member may be weak in something, another is strong.

Said Ramos: “I, myself, am not very good at coming up with ideas. I’m the kind of person where if someone has an idea in their head, I can make it come to life, whether it be film or music, or something like that. So essentially Trev just makes everything up, I lay it out, and we just all play.” lmeyers@syr.edu

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12 dec. 7, 2016

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music

‘Baby, it’s Cold Outside’ song has disturbing, coersive undertones

A

s many children do during the holiday season, I listened to “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” while going shopping, decorating a tree and wrapping presents.

Christmas carols are not like other genres of music — there are very few great ones because they are so difficult to write.

They need to capture the holiday spirit universally, while standing the test of time. It’s not an easy task. That’s why there are so few.

“Baby, it’s Cold Outside” is one of those timeless treasures.

But when you actually begin to listen to the lyrics of “Baby, it’s Cold Outside,” it becomes much more scary than the happy holiday memories it is supposed to evoke.

Instead of just someone trying to convince his love to stay a little longer — there’s an from page 9

accessible shows may not be able to enjoy a traditional theater experience — and their families. During the show, the house lights will remain on, a quiet room will be open just outside the auditorium and patrons can get stress balls or fidget toys.

Other parts of the show, including audio levels, will also be adjusted.

The Facebook post announcing the addition of a sensory-friendly production was one of the most liked and shared posts on the Syracuse Stage page ever, Laissle said. 250 of the 400 available tickets have already been sold for the show, which Laissle said is a judgment-free space for people to enjoy.

“With all of these accessibility things, we say that we are a global community, we’re showing what it means to be human,” Laissle said. “What it means to be human includes all of these differences, you know.

So how can we show what it means to be human and not include all sorts of humans?”

••• Audience members often look at Chris Botek, wondering why she is sitting in the theater with a computer in her lap, scrolling down a document.

Botek runs the open captioned performances for deaf or audio-impaired patrons who may not have learned ASL. She projects the lines onto to the house-right wall of the theater, but it’s not a simple process.

The script often isn’t delivered to Botek in the correct format, so she’ll spend countless hours typing the script into a Word document. She clocks in another 16 to 20 hours watching the show and adapting the script.

One of Botek’s biggest challenges is when actors go off script or forget a line.

Sometimes she’ll have a few text options prepared, but she usually can’t keep up. One show featured an actor that would go off on an unscripted tangent, she said, leaving both Botek and the audience lost.

“I can’t type in while the performance is

EMERA RILEY INDIE HIPSTER MUSIC SNOB

undertone of sexual coercion that is hard to ignore.

Although his lover clearly wants to leave, the male singer keeps arguing for her to stay. But the creepiest bit of lyricism is when the female singers receives another drink from her lover, and asks, “Say, what’s in this drink?”

While it could be perceived as an innocent comment, coupled with his absolute insistence that she stays creates a situation with major creep factor.

I know it’s just a song. It was written in going unfortunately, which is OK, because I can’t type fast enough,” Botek said.

Botek first provided captioning for the show “Rent,” which has a very wordy, fastpaced song in the middle. Musicals provide additional challenges because of their songs. The screen can’t move as fast as the rhythm of songs, so Botek has to choose what to display on the screen and what to edit out for clarity.

When she was a child, Botek’s deaf aunt taught her some sign language. Botek said her aunt often sat off silently, in her own world. But when Botek signed with her, she’d light up.

A grant gave her funding to work at the Stage, where she started working under previous artistic director Tim Bond. He pushed for captioned performances and other accessible shows at the stage.

“That kind of attitude for inclusiveness comes from the top down, and Bob (the new artistic director) is the same way,” Botek said.

Just as intended, these inclusive shows brought new viewers to the shows, like Mike Mazzaroppi. W hen Mazzaroppi heard about the open-captioned performances, he became a regular at the Stage, and has been for about eight years now. He said in an email that he feels as included in the theater experience as much as his hearing peers.

“At this point in my life, I would not attend if they weren’t captioned,” Mazzaroppi said in the email. “Ironically, several hearing people have told me that they use the captions when they have missed something.”

••• Joseph Whelan has been in charge of audiodescribed shows at the Stage since 2011.

During the show, Whelan sits in a booth at the back of the theater, wearing a headset.

Between dialogue and music on the stage, Whelan will describe the action to visuallyimpaired patrons wearing matching headsets in the audience.

“It’s not as simple as saying ‘A throws a punch and B, B ducks,’ I mean that’s actually

1944 — before the date rape drug was even invented. Looking at it in the period it was written, listeners realize the implied is not what is intended — the female singer hasn’t been drugged, but has had too much to drink. And the woman singer is insisting that she wants to leave, but is still being persuaded to stay. In the current world we live in today, no should mean no.

Looking at the historical context of the song does relieve some my fears, but there are still aspects that bother me.

Essentially, the woman in the song is a prop. Her opinions don’t matter to her suitor, nor do her needs. She is used to being persuaded, to have her mind changed. When someone says “no,” it should not be a debate.

What it circles back to is the fact that the

song is supposed to just be a cute Christmas carol. So I do listen to it, but I don’t want to emulate it. Like any piece of art, people write and create things we don’t agree with.

In this case, it’s a song I don’t think people should try in real life.

When someone says no — in any context, be it staying at a party, drinking a drink, or over the right to their body — it should always mean no. There is no arguing the fact of someone’s right to their own person.

As for “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” it is still a Christmas classic — just one to be listened to with a grain of salt.

the easy part,” Whelan said. “Where it gets difficult is when, if the actors are talking, and I’m talking, the person listening isn’t going to hear either because you’re getting both feeds simultaneously.”

Preparing the audio description takes Whelan up to 30 hours. The audio description will take place later in the show’s run so he can attend around six performances in preparation.

When marking his script, Whelan will walk the set onstage, listing the dimensions, textures and color of structures. Before donning his headset, Whelan will meet with visually-impaired people employing the service and describe the set and costumes to them.

“People who are visually impaired run a spectrum, some have been blind since birth, they have no understanding of light. There are some people who may have lost their vision later in life and might have memory of color, so I usually include color in the description even though, for some people, it might not matter,” Whelan said.

The service fluctuates in popularity, but Whelan used to have a group of regulars that would come to the Stage and use the service.

One man’s wife told him she was relieved she no longer had to annoy other patrons by whispering descriptions to her visuallyimpaired husband.

Lucy Marr, president of the National Federation of the Blind of Syracuse, has used the service before. The description adds a lot to the performance and allows her to enjoy the show as much as anyone else, she said in an email.

Whelan added that doing audio description has taught him to take nothing for granted — he didn’t realize how hard it was going to be.

Whelan said: “We firmly believe theater should be for everyone, and we are trying to make that possible.”

she will still be playing the title role. She will be sitting in front of the house right audience along with two colleagues, interpreting the show in ASL. Jackowski has had the script and audio recordings of the Syracuse Stage cast for just over a month and has been preparing the whole time. She said the process is a combination of preparation and close listening on the night of the performance.

“If I can be the conduit for the performers and the deaf audience says ‘that was a great show,’ or ‘I really enjoyed that,’ then I know I have done my job because they don’t even talk about me, they talk about the show,” Jackowski said.

Jackowski learned how to interpret in 1972 at a night class in Syracuse. Now she is a part-time ASL/English interpreter, and coordinator of interpreting services for the Stage. In that role, Jackowski is in charge of bringing the team together.

“It’s going to be a fun show. It is always good to work with people I know and I know they are working as hard as I am. You’re going to be able to tell, we are just a combo and play off of each other really well.”

The three interpreters for “Mary Poppins” will only meet up once before taking the stage, but Jackowski is not worried.

“When I was in grade school, we did all of the Mary Poppins songs as a choir, so I know them,” Jackowski said.

“But I don’t know them,” she added, gesturing with her hands.

Michael Schwartz, a professor in the Syracuse University College of Law, often goes to the stage to utilize the ASL/English interpreting services. He said in an email that not only are accessible shows a legal requirement under the Americans with Disabilities Act — having accessible services sends a message to the community.

“There’s a connection between the fight for people of color and women and the fight for disability rights,” Schwartz said. “And accessible theater is yet another battleground for equality.”

••• Although Joanne Jackowski will not be onstage during the run of “Mary Poppins,”

Emera Riley is a junior magazine journalism major. Her column appears weekly in Pulp. You can email her at elril100@syr.edu.

rcgilber@syr.edu

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women’s basketball

Opponent preview: What to know about Coppin State

By Matthew Gutierrez asst. copy editor

After back-to-back victories at home last week, No. 20 Syracuse (6-3) looks for its third straight nonconference win when it hosts Coppin State (0-7) on Wednesday at 11 a.m. The up next Orange handled VS Coppin State Michigan State and at Carrier Dome Central ConnectiWednesday 11 a.m. cut State in a pair of double-digit wins last week.

Here’s what you need to know for Wednesday’s matchup.

All-time series: Syracuse leads, 4-0 Last time they met: On Dec. 9, 2015, SU improved to 6-2 with a 32-point blowout win over the Eagles. Alexis Peterson scored

15 points, Julia Chandler totaled 11, Briana Day netted eight points and Brittney Sykes scored four in the 88-56 win. Forward Isabella Slim was SU’s only player to see at least 10 minutes of action and not score. Then-senior guard Cornelia Fondren dished out seven assists.

The Coppin State report: The Eagles last made the NCAA tournament in 2008 and haven’t had a winning season in three years. Their one common opponent with SU is George Washington, a team CSU lost to 31 on Nov. 16. Syracuse nearly blew an 18-point lead against the Colonials but escaped with a 74-71 win last month. Coppin State has played one ranked team this year, then-No. 21 West Virginia. The Mountaineers won convincingly, 69-39. Against unranked Virginia, CSU lost 103-40.

The Eagles are struggling this season, scor-

ing only 48.4 points per game and giving up 73.9. Just one player, senior guard Keena Samuels, averages more than 10 points per outing.

The winless Eagles get down early — opponents have outscored the team 133 to 70 in the first quarter — and stay down. Their closest loss came on Saturday, a 69-65 loss at Towson.

7

Coppin State has lost all seven games it has played this year.

Opponents shoot 42 percent against CSU, which hits only 27.4 percent of its shots from the field. Genesis Lucas (9.3 points), Vanessa Neal (7.6) and Tiara Goode (7.4) round out the Eagles’ top scorers.

How Syracuse beats Coppin State:

CSU has yet to even win a game. Peterson, Sykes and the rest of the Orange will likely have their way as SU gets its seventh win with its usual formula of pressure and 3s.

Stat to know: 9.56 — Syracuse’s turnover margin, fifth-best in the country Player to watch: Keena Samuels, guard, No. 21 The 5-foot-7 senior is Coppin State’s best player even though her 29.1 minutes per game average places only fourth on the team. She leads Coppin State’s starters in points per game (11), free throw percentage (74 percent), 3-point percentage (33.3) and field goal percentage (32.5). As a junior last year, Samuels started in 30 games, averaging 11.7 points, which led the team and placed 12th in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. mguti100@syr.edu | @matthewgut21

ice hockey

Costales uses physicality to improve offensive game

By Nick Alvarez staff writer

As soon as a Rochester Institute of Technology defender skated behind Syracuse’s net to retrieve the puck, Emily Costales knew what to do. Picking up speed as she skated along the boards, Costales lowered her shoulder and muscled the puck away from the defender before passing it to the blue line.

The crowd in the Tennity Ice Pavilion audibly gasped as the RIT defender la on the ground. Some RIT fans yelled for a penalty to be called on Costales but the referee didn’t oblige.

Costales’ display of physicality was deemed legal, unlike similar situations earlier in the year, and the junior forward provided her team with an offensive opportunity.

Since committing four penalties in her first three games, Costales has refined her aggressive style of play and applied it to SU’s offense. She has taken only one penalty over SU’s last six games while tallying three points for Syracuse (5-7-4, 4-2-2 College Hockey America), which has gone 3-2-1 in that span.

Following SU’s slow start, Costales identified the need to be more of a scorer. Her eight points are good for fifth on the Orange.

When SU struggled to score, Costales found a niche role in the offense.

“A lot of my goals last year were rebounds, being a presence in front of the

net,” Costales said. “We are sort of lacking those dirty goals.”

Costales, along with others, began crashing the net in order to score off rebounds.

Costales’ first of two goals against Robert Morris on Nov. 4 came when a shot by Dakota Derrer careened off the wall and behind the RMU net. Costales corralled the puck and forced it in front of the net, where a correctly-timed shove of the goaltender allowed the puck to find its destination.

“She does the little things right,” redshirt junior forward Brook Avery said. “Girls hockey is technically not a contact sport, but we try to be aggressive and those players (Costales) … make the right play.”

SU head coach Paul Flanagan called Costales a “tank.” He described her as a player who uses her strength to impose her will on the game, though sometimes that can lead to unnecessary penalties.

Flanagan recalled times when Costales has skated along the boards with the puck and an opposing defender runs into her.

Most of the time, the challenging defender finds herself on the ground. Often, Costales heads to the penalty box.

“They fall pretty easily. I’m more of a target,” Costales said. “I try not to fall a lot. When people come toward me, they tend to fall.”

But over the last month, Costales has consistently proven that her strength can be an effective tool in cracking through defenses. nialvare@syr.edu

JULIA CHANDLER gives SU a 3-point threat. Since Bria Day returned from injury, she’s moved back to stretch forward. colin davy staff photographer from page 16

chandler

EMILY COSTALES was called for penalties earlier in the season. She’s since used her physicality to create offensive chances. kali bowden staff photographer

release cleaner, her jump higher and followthrough more extended.

“There was a turning point in my mind where I was just like, I might as well just accept I’m a stretch-4,” Chandler said.

Whether she plays more outside or near the basket depends on the defense, offensive play and score of the game. Her greatest asset, wherever she is on the floor, is her ability to draw opposing forwards out of the lane. Part of this can be attributed to more Syracuse pick-and-pops than when she played center, and part of it is thanks to her 3-point shot.

Chandler can now screen for point guard Alexis Peterson up top, then pop, whereas before she mostly rolled.

Finding the balance between perimeter and paint has not been easy for Chandler, who is sometimes out of place on

offensive sets. Hillsman has waved her to move or set an off-ball screen. On the opposite end, she’s been more effective defending guards.

“She’s not very good yet defensively with bigs,” SU assistant coach Tammi Reiss said.

Chandler has flaws. She’s committed only six turnovers this season, but has hardly rebounded, averaging a measly 2.5 per game.

“It’s clearly something for improvement,” Chandler said.

To continue molding into a true stretch-4, Chandler acknowledges she needs to attack the glass better. But for now, Hillsman will take another evolving perimeter player who can shoot.

“We’re making like seven to eight 3s a game,” Hillsman said. “With Julia, we’re making closer to 10. So we need those two or three more 3s a game because it changes us from being a second-round team to a championship-level team.” mguti100@syr.edu | @matthewgut21

dec. 7, 2016 15

dailyorange.com sports@dailyorange.com

from page 16

schneidman low SU didn’t sink to even once last season. No player has proven he can consistently create his own shot. And despite a defense that has allowed 65 points or less in 75 percent of its games, stagnance on the other side of the ball has been the anvil crushing any hope of this team reaching the expectations it entered the season with.

You gotta fight through it. … I’ve been through a lot of adversity and you just can’t break down.

Dajuan Coleman syracuse center

Still, rays of optimism provide hope this offense can mesh, however infrequently those rays are interspersed throughout the game.

Against UConn, Tyler Lydon attacked the basket despite his 1-of-7 performance. Dajuan Coleman continued sinking his mid-range jumper. Howard is creating his own shot in the lane. It just didn’t fall on Monday night.

Those are all pieces Syracuse has searched for at some point this season. They’re starting to surface simultaneously and chances are they’ll strike in unison sooner or later.

“We got a few losses but I think we got enough talent to bounce back. I think our defense was good. We just gotta put some points on the board,” said Coleman, a fifth-year senior center.

“You gotta fight through it. … I’ve been through a lot of adversity and you just can’t break down.”

Only half of Syracuse’s recent eight-man rotation experienced the roller-coaster ride from losing to St. John’s to winning at Duke to losing in the ACC tournament first round

to making the Final Four. Syracuse’s newcomers can look to Lydon, Coleman, Howard and Tyler Roberson as a model for moving past this recent group of losses.

A loss to a wounded UConn team without three contributors seems detrimental right now. So did the loss to the Red Storm and the four straight defeats to begin conference play.

This most recent loss is bad, but it’s far from the nail in Syracuse’s coffin.

It can’t be, this early in the season. No matter how much the problems that plagued the Orange at MSG seem like they’ll persist in the future.

“We went through a big rough patch in the middle of last season and we made it to the Final Four,” Lydon said. “So anything’s possible.”

Matt Schneidman is a senior staff writer at The Daily Orange, where his column appears occasionally. He can be reached at mcschnei@syr.edu or @matt_schneidman.

S

S PORTS

Fly eagles fly SU women’s basketball faces Coppin State on Wednesday.

Here’s what to know about CSU. See page 14

Let’s get physical Syracuse ice hockey’s Emily Costales has used her physicality to create offensive chances.

See page 14

Overcoming the odds SU ice hockey’s Lindsay Eastwood is playing again after suffering from blood clots in her lungs last year.

See Thursday’s paper

dailyorange.com @dailyorange dec. 7, 2016 • PAG E 16

FALSE ALARM

JIM BOEHEIM and Syracuse suffered a bad loss last year against St. John’s in Madison Square Garden early in the season, but went on to make the Final Four. After SU’s recent loss in the same venue to Connecticut, it may not be time to jump the gun and worry about the season. jessica sheldon photo editor

It’s not time for Syracuse to panic just yet

N

EW YORK — There’s something about that third loss of the season at Madison Square Garden that seems to elevate Syracuse basketball to code-red status. St. John’s last year, Connecticut this year. Both games that an identity-seeking Orange team should’ve handily won on paper but somehow let slip away.

Last year, SU chalked up resume-boosting victories against then-No. 18 UConn and then-No. 25 Texas A&M before a dud against the Red Storm. They were wins that turned out to slide Jim Boeheim’s team into the NCAA Tournament (the

MATT SCHNEIDMAN

CLASS IS IN SESSION selection committee chair cited Syracuse’s top-50 wins as the main deciding factor for including the Orange in the field).

This year, though, there are no such wins bolstering Syracuse’s first month.

Winning out in nonconference play — with no potential victories that would aide SU’s NCAA Tournament case in March — is the only way to hold off the panic mode

that seems imminent. But if anything, last season’s 180-degree turn should serve as a reminder this early in the calendar.

It’s not time to panic just yet.

“We don’t wanna panic too early, you know, shut down the season and have that hurt us,” sophomore point guard Frank Howard said. “We just wanna come in, turn up the urgency now and it’s time to clean everything up, time to try to play perfect.”

Right now, Syracuse is light years away from perfection. The Orange has scored 50 points twice in eight games, an offensive

see schneidman page 15

women’s basketball

SU’s Julia Chandler acclimates to stretch-4 position

By Matthew Gutierrez asst. copy editor

When Bria Day sat out with a nagging injury, Syracuse head coach Quentin Hillsman toyed with several rotations. Many of them featured then-back up center Julia Chandler, a 6-foot-2 sophomore subbing in for starter Briana Day. Chandler appeared uncomfortable in a position, “I’ve never really played before.” The natural forward faced playing the 5, which

meant handling bigger bodies on both ends of the floor.

As Bria Day eases her way back, Chandler can now play forward once again. Syracuse doesn’t have a reliable first player to come off the bench, but Chandler may be emerging as one. She’s acclimating to the stretch-4, a position in which she’s more comfortable because it allows her to rove the perimeter, shoot 3s and face up from midrange. Rather than play the backup 5, she can better space

the floor for No. 20 Syracuse (6-3).

“That was always the plan once we got Bria back healthy,” Hillsman said. “To get her out facing the basket more.”

Against Michigan State on Nov. 30, Chandler stepped into a 3-pointer from the corner. She drained the triple, for her fourth long make in two games. She’s up to 24 3-point tries on the season, having attempted only 47 during her rookie year. It’s been a natural transition for someone with Chan-

dler’s comfort level outside.

SU hasn’t gotten consistent production from its bigs, other than Briana Day. With starting forward Isabella Slim struggling, Chandler could come off the bench earlier. Such was the case against Central Connecticut State on Sunday, when Hillsman signaled for Chandler to enter after Slim didn’t get a rebound on the first possession of the game.

When Bria Day returned to the second unit at Drexel on Nov.

21, Chandler didn’t see the court.

Losing Day for any longer may have challenged a relatively lean rotation, considering Chandler’s early-season struggles. She’s looked awkward at times, turning the ball over on dropped passes and losing her pivot foot, resulting in multiple travels.

Chandler went 5-for-7 from 3 over the next three games. And though she’s hit only one of her last 11 3-point tries, she’s more confident, her see chandler page 14