SA President and SU senior David Bruen announced his candidacy for legislature in his home of Rockland County, New York.
Many house shows are a way to watch and support local musicians, but recently some venues have found success in creating a community with their vendors.
In the aftermath of two earthquakes in Turkey and Syria last week, Ahmet Celik said his home country of Turkey will never be the same. The earthquakes, both with Richter scale magnitudes over seven, have left over 41,000 dead in the two countries.
Celik, a member of Syracuse University’s Turkish Student Association working to collect aid for the country, said impact goes beyond the destruction on land.
“Almost every Turkish (person) everywhere around the world, either their friends, their families, somehow their loved ones (are) affected. So they all felt very deeply the pain of this,” Celik said.
The earthquakes hit just hours apart on Monday in the city of Kahramanmaraş in southeastern Turkey and in northern Syria. With over 35,000 confirmed deaths and rescue efforts still under-
way, the Feb. 6 earthquake is now the deadliest in Turkey’s history, surpassing the death toll of the 1939 Erzincan earthquake which killed around 33,000 people. Celik said he expects the death toll will rise between 50,000 to 100,000 as searches continue.
Amid the destruction, Turkish students at SU are working with university students, faculty and administration to create initiatives to provide support for those directly and indirectly affected by the earthquake.
Celik, a PhD student in SU’s Department of Religion, said he has multiple family members, including his mother and sister, who currently live in Diyarbakır near where the earthquake struck. In the wake of the disaster, Celik said Turkey is at a turning point in its national history.
Through work with SU’s administration and students, TSA President Ibrahim Kizil said the group coordinated Friday’s campuswide message directly with Gretchen Ritter, SU’s vice chancellor, provost and chief academic officer.
TSA also organized tabling at the Schine Student Center and Bird Library to encourage the university community to donate money for relief efforts via a GoFundMe, Kizil said. The fundraiser, which TSA member Ilayda Ova worked to create, has received over $7,000 for necessities like tents, food and medical assistance.
Ova, also a PhD candidate in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, said the earthquake affected an area of Turkey with at least 13 million people out of the nation’s total population of 83 million, ultimately over 15% of Turkey’s population. This includes 4.6 million children in Turkey and an additional 2.5 million children from Syria, according to UNICEF.
graduate students
At least 10 Syracuse University Graduate Student Organization senators filed articles of impeachment against GSO President Yousr Dhaouadi last week, which Dhaoadi shared in an email to GSO on Monday. GSO’s Senate is set to hold a meeting on Friday evening to form an impeachment committee.
In the articles, the ten impeaching senators, whose names were redacted in the document
Dhaouadi circulated, allege “repeated resistance” by Dhaouadi to the establishment of more transparency and accountability in the organization’s advocacy efforts.
The Graduate Student Organization Constitution mandates that following the receipt of articles of impeachment, the Senate is responsible for appointing a committee at its next regular meeting, or, as for Friday’s meeting, at an out-of-session special meeting called for the express purpose of forming an impeachment committee.
The articles of impeachment point to Article II Section 4 of the GSOC, and advocate for impeachment on its grounds that Dhaouadi represents graduate students to the Board of Trustees, SU administration and the graduate school, and is bound to advocate on behalf of graduate students to the university administration.
Dhaouadi sits on the Board of Trustees at SU via her position as president of GSO, and is a university senator. She spoke at Wednesday’s University Senate meeting, during which
she alleged that her attempts to put out open debate on GSO Senate Resolution 23.06 — which at GSO’s Feb. 1 meeting passed to establish its recognition and support for Syracuse Graduate Employees United — motivated the impeachment effort.
The articles do not reference this resolution or discussion surrounding it directly.
“I just want to ask the Senate to, if you know graduate students, just urge that idea of free and open debate on the topic. My goal is really
see relief page 3 see gso page 3
Following last week’s earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, SU’s Turkish Student Association is working to provide aid and support
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The best quotes from sources in today’s paper.
NEWS
“We support each other especially in the case of an emergency or people who are in need. That part of our life makes it meaningful.” - Ahmet Celik, SU Turkish Student Association member
Page 1
“To me music is the way I am. And the way I speak, the way I communicate.” - Dr. Theresa Chen, SU professor and SAMMY nominee
Page 5
“Instead of limiting our range of focus, opening up and listening to another individual’s journey without bias showcases proper manners and respect.” - Halie Patel, guest columnist
Page 8
SPORTS
“I perfected my scoring and how I can score and what to do to score, So (Bolingbrook) helped me learn how to play with good players,” - Kennedi Perkins, SU women’s basketball
Page 12
Noteworthy events this week.
WHAT: Spring Involvement Fair
WHEN:Feb. 16, 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.
WHERE: Schine Student Center, Goldstein Auditorium
WHAT: IDEA Committee: Celebrating Black History Month
WHEN: Feb. 16, 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.
WHERE: Newhouse 3, Food.com
WHAT: Hult Prize Competition
WHEN: Feb. 17, 12:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.
WHERE: Bird Library, fi rst fl oor
Attending Syracuse University’s study abroad program in Santiago, Chile in spring 2022, Jensen Bee said her mission was to improve her language skills and immerse herself in the culture through classes taught in Spanish.
But when SU announced at the end of January that beginning in spring 2024 the Santiago program would only offer courses taught in English, Bee said she knew she wouldn’t have been able to fully immerse herself if her Santiago classes had been in English.
“It was a little sad, I think, initially to hear (about the changes) and to comprehend, just because the reasons why I loved the program so much and the reasons that I decided to go through with that program are no longer parts of that program,” said Bee, an SU senior.
In last month’s announcement, SU’s study abroad office wrote that the new center in Santiago would launch in 2024 and offer Englishtaught humanities and social science courses in the spring, while also offering courses for advanced Spanish-speaking students in the fall.
Dr. Mauricio Paredes, director and founder of SU’s Santiago program, said one factor leading to the change is inconsistency between the American and Chilean academic calendars. While SU’s spring semester runs from January to May, Chile’s begins in March and ends in July.
Under the schedule it currently operates with, Paredes said the Spanish immersion program in Santiago doesn’t align with the American summer, which can limit students’ opportunities. He said because the program’s timeline prevents students from having summer jobs and internships in the U.S., it’s been an impediment for students who want to apply to the program.
Another reason for the program’s shift was declining participation. With the implementation of the English semester, students who don’t speak Spanish can still learn in Chile, Paredes said.
Enrollment in the Santiago program has historically been between 15 and 20 students per semester, said Delaney Van Wey, the campus outreach manager for SU Abroad. But in the time following the COVID-19 pandemic, student cohorts have comprised around 10 students per semester, she said.
Paredes said he noticed that student interest in Latin American study abroad was growing until the pandemic, which he said led to a shift in interest to Europe programs.
“When you are older, and you have jobs in the U.S., the likelihood that you will visit Europe is bigger than visiting Latin America,” Paredes said. “I really encourage the students to try to come now to see this part of the world, which is really interesting and safe also.”
Syracuse University senior and Student Association President David Bruen is running to represent District 11 of Rockland County, New York in its county legislature, according to a Twitter announcement on Feb. 9.
Bruen, who is 21 years old, said he’s running in his home community with the goal of creating greater transparency and engagement in local politics, where he hopes his age can benefit his candidacy.
“As a young person, in this moment, we can start to turn the political tides and have a government that is more representative of the people and more engaged and thinking about what our future will look like as a county, so that’s why I decided to run,” Bruen said.
Rockland County, which borders New Jersey and Westchester County, is part of the New York City metropolitan area and includes Bruen’s hometown of West Nyack.
After he saw that the D-11 incumbent legislator, independent Laurie Panutlli, was not running for re-election, Bruen said he made the decision to enter the race relatively quickly. Still, he said he feels confident in the plans and support system for his campaign.
Clyde Lederman, who is also from Rockland County, worked with Bruen on the Rockland County Democratic Committee. Lederman, a senior at Cornell University, is currently running to represent Ithaca’s Ward 5 in its Common Council. He pointed out Bruen’s interest in policy, which he said is sometimes absent from public discussion, as a distinguishing factor in his campaign.
“I sort of completely have a sense that he would operate with a real commitment to the truth and transparency and honesty,” Lederman said. “He represents a certain honest element that I think is absent.”
When the primary election for the seat takes
place in June, Bruen will be one month past his graduation from SU’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs in May. As he moves forward with his campaign, Bruen said he anticipates his age and perceived lack of experience being a challenge.
But as SA president, Bruen said he represents about 22,000 students between SU and SUNY ESF, just over the roughly 20,000 people he’d represent in Rockland County’s District 11. He said he plans to point skeptics to the similarity in constituencies, as well as his two years of experience in his role at SU.
“I’ve done town halls, I’ve reached out to constituents, to students, and have done a lot of work with negotiations with the administration, with people who hold a lot of institutional power,” Bruen said. “I think the roles really do overlap very well and provide me a lot of great experience to make me a really effective candidate and legislator.”
Bruen highlighted a number of initiatives he’s directed as SA president that will inform his campaign and future work, including oncampus free menstrual product distribution, grocery store trolleys and SA’s December sustainability report.
Bruen also worked to create a student reporting form, No Problem Too Small, to gather student concerns and complaints. He said he hopes to engage in a similar way with Rockland residents and potential future constituents to hear about their concerns in the community and what changes they want to see made.
Brendan Cahill, Bruen’s campaign manager, said Bruen’s leadership experience at age 21 –both from his past political internships, and his time at SU – puts him ahead of many others who run for local office.
“He’s not only been a part of, more or less, a legislative body before, but been the one that’s actually led it and has done a great job doing so,” Cahill said. “A lot of the experience that he
Bruen said his experience representing 22,000 SU and ESF students in SA has prepared him to represent Rockland County’s District 11. auther maiorella staff photographer
has, managing all of what he manages for Syracuse, will translate well to being a member of the body.”
Bruen pointed to the varying party affiliations of representatives in Rockland County as well as its recent redistricting, which he said was another factor in his decision to run. He said he’s willing to speak with anyone to work toward creating beneficial policies, regardless of political party affiliation.
“To be an effective legislator, especially in local government, you have to really look beyond partisan politics,” Bruen said. “(Party affiliation) can stand for your values, and what you believe in and you can be very firm in that, but
you also have to still serve the people.”
Lederman said he thinks Bruen’s campaign will benefit both from his support in Rockland County and understanding of its constituency, as well as his time and responsibility at SU.
”He’s done a very good job the past couple of years of making friends with a lot of people in Rockland, and I think he understands his constituency very well,” Lederman said. “To me, talking to him about the work he does at Syracuse seems to be sort of a natural flow into the type of work that a legislator does.”
He said Bruen’s experience with SU can translate over to Rockland County’s policy mat
see candidacy page 3
University Senate committee members laid out plans to address food insecurity among students at its Wednesday afternoon meeting. This comes after the senate reported a dramatic increase in use of the Syracuse University Hendricks Chapel food pantry on campus and at its South Campus location.
The Student Life Committee reported its findings on food insecurity as one of five presenting committees, including the Committees of Administrative Operations, Computing Services, Curricula and Athletic Policy.
Conversations with people from Hendricks and student representatives revealed an increasing need for volunteers to work the pantry, said Julia Carboni, an associate professor and the chair of the citizenship and civic engagement program at SU’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, who presented on behalf of the committee.
Specifically, graduate students are more inclined to need food assistance, said SU English professor Crystal Bartolovich, referencing another report she said was discussed in previous USen meetings.
Carboni said the committee is working on pursuing partnerships with other food pantries at
Cisco and Syracuse Banana, and plans to collaborate on potential solutions with the Food Bank of Central New York.
“We talked about bringing in some of the food banks of Central New York to do a SNAP screening of benefit… for graduate students in particular who may qualify for various forms of food assistance depending on their citizenship status,” Carboni said.
The Student Life Committee will meet next week with Amalia Swan, the chief community impact officer at the Food Bank of Central New York, to connect the CNY Food Bank to the SU Pantry. Other Business:
The Committee on Student Life also addressed parking fees for graduate students who have assistantship status, reporting that graduate students who do not have a current assistantship pay more than students who do. The process for how graduate students are to pay for parking is currently under review by the Administrative Operations and Services to Faculty and Staff Committee.
The Committee on Student Life also plans to meet with Cory Wallack, SU’s associate vice president of student health and wellness, to discuss access to mental health services and reachability of therapists at the Barnes Center at The Arch. adasam@syr.edu
Joshua Russell, an assistant professor of seismology in SU’s Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, said the earthquakes’ magnitude were abnormal given the events’ history in Turkey.
‘There have been five earthquakes greater than a magnitude of six that have happened in that region… Prior to that, there had only been three magnitude six earthquakes in the region over the past 50 years,” Russell said. “This region gets earthquakes quite often, actually, but of this magnitude
is definitely unusual.”
Kizil said some SU professors have contacted Turkish students to o er support and academic accommodations.
On Sunday, TSA members worked alongside Turkish residents of the city of Syracuse to pack boxes of supplies to send as aid to Turkey, Kizil said. Ova, whose uncle and cousin live in Kahramanmaraş, expressed her gratitude for the support she has received in the aftermath of the earthquakes.
“It’s helping me a lot because for the fi rst two days, it was too much pain for just one person to shoulder,” Ova said. “But, after we started to work on this together, it’s really helped me feel
that I am trying to do something to the best of my abilities.”
Michael Duignan, SU’s senior director for student engagement, highlighted the importance of the immediate mobilization on SU’s campus, which he said was largely orchestrated by students.
“It was really a partnership between o ces, individuals and students who really were like ‘we want to do something in that passion,’” Duignan said. “You saw… some of that distress and pain, (and) you wanted to make sure you did everything in your power within the structures that we have in place to provide them the most support we can.”
TSA will continue with longer-term relief
e orts, Ova said, and plans to create a bulletin board in Schine where Turkish students can write notes thanking the SU community for its donations and support.
Celik pointed to the support within the Turkish student community, saying students rallied around each other despite such immediate devastation.
“One of our purposes is that we as human beings know each other, we help each other,” Celik said. “We support each other especially in the case of an emergency or people who are in need. That part of our life makes it meaningful.”
dcchiapp@syr.edu
@DominicChiappo2
to foster that conversation,” Dhouadi told the University Senate.
Alex Scrivner, the co-author of the resolution and a member of both the GSO Senate and SGEU, emphasized that processes like the impeachment should remain internal. She said she’s seen a confl ation of SGEU as a campaign and GSO as a body for advocacy.
“It’s to the benefit of all these bodies, that the GSO’s internal processes (remain) internal processes and there’s not blame pointing to two bodies that could very much collaborate and work together in the future,” Scrivner said.
Kellin Tasber, a university senator and masters student studying biotechnology, said the intention of Friday’s special meeting is to begin the investigation into violations of GSO’s Constitution, or of Robert’s Rules of Order, a general guide to parliamentary procedure.
They said the ensuing process will last two weeks, at which point a hearing based on the fi ndings will take place at an open-door, regular meeting, likely in early March. This period of 10 academic days between appointment and public recommendation is mandated in the GSOC.
from page 3
In both the English and Spanish programs, students take classes at Chilean universities, including a course Paredes teaches. In the fall Spanish program, students begin the semester in Buenos Aires with a three-week immersion, while in the spring English program, students will now travel to Buenos Aires and Patagonia for shorter trips during the semester, according to the SU Abroad website.
Vianka Calderon, an SU sophomore studying sports management and Spanish, said that while her parents are Chilean and she’s traveled to the country before, she wanted to attend the Santiago program for study abroad to experi-
from page 3
ters, particularly with the county budget.
“David has that eye for a budget and he has a really brilliant opportunity to flip the seat and make our county work for everyone,” Lederman said.
Bruen identified participatory budgeting – which enables lawmakers to meet with taxpayers to discuss concerns and work democratically towards budgets that meet their needs – as a measure he’d
Benjamin Tetteh — a university senator and Ph.D. student in mass communications who also spoke at the Wednesday meeting — voiced opposition to the impeachment and made a request that the University Senate send a member to Friday’s meeting to act as a neutral party in the negotiations. He said he had received an email earlier on Wednesday indicating the meeting would be closed-door.
Gretchen Ritter, SU’s vice chancellor, provost and chief academic o cer, said the university administration will not be involved in the impeachment.
“I need to suggest to you that this is an internal matter of self governance for the GSO,” Ritter said at the meeting. “Unless there is a clear violation of something like the student code of conduct, we believe that it is up to you and your colleagues to sort this through.”
Though GSO won’t provide any updates during the two-week investigation period, Tasber emphasized the unprecedented nature of an external, neutral arbiter. They explained that GSO has its own neutral parties to preside over the a air, including the chair of the Senate and the internal vice president pro tempore, who steps in if the chair is deemed not to be neutral, as well as the parliamentarian.
ence Chile in a new way. But because of her schedule, she could only participate in the English spring semester.
“I do not want to go to Chile just to speak English and not have any of the classes transfer over for my Spanish minor,” Calderon said. “If you’re going to study abroad in a country whose native language is Spanish, an entire program should be in Spanish.”
Kathryn Everly, a Spanish professor at SU, said she and other faculty in the Spanish Language, Literature and Linguistics department faculty are “disheartened” by the decision.
Instead of immersion in the language, Everly said the new abroad program brings North
work to bring to the Rockland County’s legislature, and said he also wants to focus on sustainability.
Cahill a rmed his expectation that Bruen will prioritize transparency and engagement with his constituents through his campaign and policy proposals, while also working to make himself available and accessible to the community.
“Many people don’t even know what the county legislature even does, so I know that David’s going to be pushing for policies to make people more involved in the process, or at least
“I find it very important that due process is had throughout this … and to make sure that everything happens according to the rules we set forth, and be as fair as possible to everyone who is putting forth an opinion in this process,” Tasber said.
Ten academic days after the committee to be appointed on Friday announces its fi nd-
American cultural imperialism to South America. She said it’s not possible to fully understand another country or culture without having at least some knowledge of the native language.
“There’s a real problem at this institution that language is seen as not important, despite all of the rhetoric around internationalization and globalization,” Everly said. “Language is not just conjugating verbs, it’s cultural knowledge.”
Aside from two beginner-level Spanish courses, there aren’t currently any opportunities in the new semester program for students to take courses taught in Spanish, Paredes said. Still, all participating students stay with host families in Santiago,
aware of what’s actually going on,” Cahill said.
As of Wednesday, no other candidate has announced a run for the Rockland County District 11 legislature seat. The Rockland County primary elections will be held on June 27, ahead of the general election on Nov. 7.
Bruen said his next steps are to begin reaching out to Rockland County voters to introduce himself, seek official endorsements and plan for fundraising and other campaign events. He said he feels good about
ings, the GSOC requires a special meeting for the Senate to consider and vote on the recommendation. The latest date for a vote, through which a two-thirds majority can a ect an impeachment, is March 17.
jlseal@syr.edu @JanaLoSeal
which Paredes said is one aspect of the program he wants to maintain to ensure some language and cultural exchange. Paredes said he doesn’t want the program to be limited to a bubble-like experience, where despite being abroad, students study the same way they do in the U.S. But or Bee, any sort of program that gives students the opportunity to experience the country for themselves is still worthwhile.
“Ultimately, I respect their decision for making those changes in terms of keeping the program alive, because Chile is a beautiful country, and I want more students at Syracuse to be able to experience it and enjoy it,” Bee said. charri39@syr.edu
balancing his time between closing out his undergraduate education at SU and starting his campaign.
“I’m going to continue to hone my message, because it’s still early days, and I still have a lot to listen to,” Bruen said. “So I can understand all the issues and all the sides and all the nuances, so I can best be equipped to make the right decisions.”.
spwright@syr.edu @stephaniwri_
On show nights at The Harrington, the typical loud and electric energy fills the air as people dance and sing to the live music. But on the floor above, the environment is different. Past the herds of people and bathroom lines sits a room full of vendors, art enthusiasts and unexpectedly interesting conversation.
The Pits Vintage, run by Paul Sausville and his girlfriend Hailey Ballard, is one of these vendors. Sausville started the business during the winter of 2017 after his dad started pressuring him to clean out the clothes that he had been collecting since middle school. Though Sausville’s business fizzled out when he got to college, he restarted it halfway through his sophomore year with Ballard when they noticed vintage clothing was popular with students their age.
Since then, Sausville said that selling at shows has been a large factor of his success. Sausville was introduced to The Harrington when he ran into Sam Stehle — the venue’s co-founder — in an ESF building and complimented his shirt. Sausville then started a pop-up in The Harrington, which soon became a staple attraction
“I think music brings really good people together and really interesting people together,” Sausville said. “This whole thing with my business and it being so intertwined with the music scene, I just couldn’t be happier because it’s something that I’ve always wanted to be involved with.”
The relationship between The Harrington and its vendors is a mutually beneficial one, Stehle said. The relationships that they have developed with the people who sell in their house has led to a partnership that is more centered around boosting the vendors, rather than having their space filled.
The Harrington also welcomes artists who want to share their work and concert photographers who want to get better at their craft. At the “Valentines at The Harrington” show, Sausville invited a friend, Nicole Byrnes, to share his table to sell her crochet pieces.
Redgate, another house show venue, viewed The Harrington as their model when they implemented their own business strategies. Like The Harrington, Redgate’s biggest priority is to utilize its space as efficiently as possible. But it’s started to limit vendors to make room for more guests.
“We are more prioritizing getting as many (guests) in and not turning away any people at
from the studio
After Theresa Chen’s parents bought her a small Casio keyboard when she was 4 years old, her love and curiosity for music began to flourish. Chen can still recall her infatuation with the sound of a classmate playing jazz piano during a class break in middle school
“The harmony was so fancy and so groovy. I did not
know until my first year as a freshman that it was so called ‘jazz,’ but I was just fascinated by the sound and since then I was trying to copy the way he did it on the piano,” Chen said.
Now, Chen has made music her career, not just through playing, but also through teaching. Chen is a professor of applied jazz piano, songwriting and the history of jazz at Syracuse University. She also came out with her first
album in 2021, “Whispering to God,” which combines “sacred” music with religious themes and jazz, both integral parts of her life.
beyond the hill
Even in the harsh Syracuse winters, the Central New York Regional Market continues to offer fresh, local produce to the community. Vendors like Joe Willis are just happy to still sell their goods.
“In the winter, for probably the last 30 years, I’ve brought the truck inside, so I don’t have to worry about freezing things,” said Willis, who owns a poultry farm. “I don’t have to worry about the empties (empty egg cartons) blowing around the market.”
Every Saturday, the market hosts local vendors and farmers from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Once November hits, the markets close their sheds to keep the market warm as they get through the winter. Between snow, rain or even below zero temperatures, staff members are equipped to open up the markets all year for those willing to bundle up and brave the elements, said Amanda Vitale, executive director of the market.
The market operates around two winter seasons: one from November to December, centered around the holidays, and another lasting from January to April focused on pro
Chen was also nominated for the 2022 People’s Choice section of the Syracuse Area Music Awards, or the SAMMYs. Although Chen didn’t make it to the top four nominees, the nomination in general was a pleasant surprise see pianist page 3 see market page 3
Once you have some sort of shared medium that you can interact with, I think it allows people to talk to each other.Will Harrington co - founder of the harrington see vendors page 3 Guests take a break to shop for vintage clothing.cassandra roshu asst. photo editor
So far, 2023 has brought albums from Lil Yachty, Trippie Redd and Shy Glizzy, along with late 2022 releases from Metro Boomin and SZA. However, there are still countless projects from major artists on the way that include rumored classics.
2022 delivered projects from many of rap’s best, giving the new year pressure to exceed the success we witnessed only a few months ago. The speculations have been swirling surrounding the megastar albums we will get to experience, with some possibly ending multi-year hiatuses from their past works.
Predicting these highly anticipated projects to come out within the coming months might be a tough task, but with context clues and leaked snippets acting as supporting evidence, there is hope that rap’s best will come out of hiding.
Travis Scott: “Utopia”
Travis Scott fans have been patiently waiting for a new album since the 2018 drop of “Astroworld.” The artist has had no recent music other than features and the “JACKBOYS” collaboration at the end of 2019. It is now time for the Houston rapper to release what he has in the tank.
“Escape Plan” and “Mafia” served as 2021 teasers to a project that looked like it was supposed to drop years ago, but as continuous leaks surface along with their features, it is hard to imagine that “Utopia” won’t see a 2023 release date.
First previewed at Dior’s Summer 2022 fashion show in June of 2021, “Lost Forever” with producer James Blake and Buffalo MC Westside Gunn set the stage for the “Utopia” hype. Following leaks continuously circulated through YouTube and SoundCloud.
“Heartbeat” is yet another leaked track that has grown popular on media outlets, featuring KayCyy in several versions. It
showcases the upbeat, melodic side of Travis that made him one of the kings of trap music.
Throughout the beginning of the year billboards have popped up across the country, each having their own messages, eventually spelling out “Psst…Looking for UTOPIA?
WRONG WAY!” followed by the Cactus Jack logo. Based on the information we have been given, it’s clear Travis is poised for a long-awaited drop this year, ending an almost fiveyear pause from generating his talent into a full project.
Like Travis Scott, A$AP Rocky has taken a five-year hiatus since his last project “Testing,” which was debatably his most controversial album in terms of audience enjoyment. It was, however, an experimental success by the Harlem rapper. His new music train started in May 2022, with a single focusing on his relationship with Rihanna in a self-directed music video for “D.M.B.,” standing for Dat’s My B*tch. In a unique, chopped and screwed track, we see a preview of another new sound he is evaluating with his solo release, which we’ll again see at the end of the year.
Rocky could be moving along the same path as someone like Metro Boomin, placing his creativity beyond music into producing adventurous music videos and astounding pre-release promotional posts. Overall, the self-direction of his most recent videos have been a breath of fresh air, as many artists don’t focus beyond music being put out.
Fans were given a glimmer of hope again when it came to new music at the beginning of December, dropping “Sh*ttin’ Me,” followed by incredible visuals in a corresponding music video. It would be announced several days after this single that Rocky’s next album “Don’t Be Dumb,” would see a 2023 release date, with the exact day being to be determined at this time.
As far as 2023 drops, January’s
“Same Problems?” was a mellow, laid-back track from his past two singles, priming himself to illustrate his versatility on the highly-anticipated “Don’t Be Dumb.”
Lil Uzi Vert: “Pink Tape”
Many music fans thought that the Philadelphia rapper’s next album “Pink Tape” would drop in the later months of 2022, but after being kept in the vault for another calendar year, Uzi is prepared to take over 2023.
The viral hit “Just Wanna Rock” has taken the world by storm, being used as a popular party anthem, the Philadelphia Eagles’ Super Bowl song and spawning TikTok dances galore, all generating the buzz that “Pink Tape” awaits.
Since his last album “Eternal Atake” in March 2020, fans have been contemplating whether or not the rapper fell off due to the lack of material he had been putting out, but promising signs have pointed to an upcoming drop.
Although, since August 2021 when Uzi announced that the tape was being mixed, not many updates have been given, which honestly comes to no surprise given the delays experienced with “Eternal Atake.”
Don Toliver: “Lovesick”
Slowly becoming one of the biggest names in hip-hop, Don Toliver has continued to tease his third studio album titled “Lovesick.” Toliver has stated on Instagram that the project will drop during “the month of love,” figured to be February, and that he’s already started setting up the rollout.
The commencement of his rollout started off with “Do It Right” in November 2022, a spin off of The S.O.S. Band’s 1980 song “Take Your Time (Do It Right).” Toliver’s revamped edition of the ‘80s hit showed off his expertise branching off of other music, while setting up the theme for his new project.
Right after Valentine’s Day, he dropped the second single “4 Me” with his significant other, R&B star
Kali Uchis. It’s a bouncy, techno love track that sets up the phenomenal potential “Lovesick” could have in further developing his career.
Already crafting his mix between melodic rap and R&B, Toliver’s voice has become one of the most recognizable ones in the industry. As his success continues to grow, his booming vocals and transcendent production have evolved, a major reason why he currently rakes in over 20 million monthly listeners on Spotify.
Collaborations with fellow R&B/ melodic talents SZA, Kid Cudi and Wizkid have given Toliver the chance to explore various sub-genres ahead of the release of “Lovesick.”
J. Cole: “It’s A Boy”
A follow up to the May 2021 project “The Off-Season,” J. Cole’s “It’s A Boy” has sparked curiosity from fans and members of the music industry as to when his next body of work will hit the shelves.
During the same time as the release and rollout of “The Off-Season,” Cole publicized that his next tape would be titled “It’s A Boy,” but since that was stated, little to no information has been declared. A lack of leaks and solo release since 2021 has also positioned Cole for a 2023 drop, giving him enough time to put out his best effort.
Fans originally hinted that “It’s A Boy” would come to light on his birthday, Jan. 28, but of course this did not occur. As far as we know, this tape will represent the precursor to his possible final act “The Fall Off.”
At one point, Cole did wipe his Instagram, deleting all of his posts, the same process he completed before his 2018 surprise “KOD.” This could all just be speculation and his project could simply stay hidden, but multiple features on “Johnny P’s Caddy” by Benny the Butcher and “90 Proof” by Smino launched the idea that his project might be coming sooner than we think.
jefeldst@syr.edu
If you’re anything like me, you like to plan everything down to the last second. Planners get a bad rep, but we’re the reason your group of friends makes it out of the pregame. We make sure you avoid going to a busy restaurant without a reservation and let’s be honest, we don’t get the credit we deserve. I’ve planned birthday parties, baby showers and a couple of
weddings, but now I’m ready to plan the biggest boss of them all — the Duke vs. Syracuse basketball game.
Anyone who goes here knows that the Duke game takes a full day to really complete. It’s not like most game days, where you wake up, roll out of bed and put on a shirt that’s sort of orangey — could be red now that you’re looking at it in the light. The Duke game is the real deal, ladies and gentlemen. That’s why I’ve planned out the ideal
Duke game day schedule to a T, which you and all your lame friends should follow.
6 a.m.
Yup, that’s no typo. We’re not playing around here. I’m having you wake up at 6 a.m. for the 7 a.m. sunrise. Why, you ask? What color is the sunrise?
Orange. Start your day with an orange sky to remind yourself what color the best basketball team in the U.S. wears.
If you wake up past 7 a.m., what color is the sky going to be? That’s right, genius! Blue. And what color does the worst basketball team in the U.S. (and probably the world) wear? Duke Royal Blue.
8 a.m.
Once 8 a.m. hits, you’re gonna want to start chugging. Water, that is. It’s very physically exhausting watching 10 tall men run up and down a polished wood floor for two hours. I’m sure they’re tired, but you — you’re exhausted. That’s why it’s essential for you to hydrate at the start of the day. Whatever liquids you can find in your kitchen will do: water, orange juice, vod—
10 a.m.
Start rallying the troops. Call everyone you know and give ‘em a nice early morning wake-up call.
The game may start at 6 p.m., but the festivities start now!
You may be thinking (like the big dumbie you are), “When’s
Funk ‘n Waffles
Funk ‘n Waffles will be hosting the fusion band Lush Honey this Friday evening. The four-piece band hailing out of western Massachusetts is known for its neo soul and rock style, and is led by lead singer Jennifer Myers. Tickets for the show can be bought on Funk n’ Waffles’ website, and attendees must be 18 years old or older.
WHEN: Friday, Feb. 17 at 8 p.m., with doors opening at 7 p.m.
PRICE: $13.07
Westcott Theater
Take it back to the ‘70s this weekend with Led Zeppelin tribute band Zoso - The Ultimate Led Zeppelin Experience. Performing at The Westcott with local indie rock opener Elephant Back, Zoso strives to capture both the music and the experience of Led Zeppelin shows, something that has landed them on the stage at festivals like Bonnaroo.
WHEN: Thursday, Feb. 16 at 8 p.m.
PRICE: $43.75
The Lost Horizon
Rock band Studio89 will be bringing the sounds of the SU house show scene to the city of Syracuse at the Lost Horizon this weekend. Joining the four-piece rock band will be Alocasia, Saint Luke and Pelarded, all local bands. Tickets can be bought on The Lost Horizon’s website, and ticket holders under the age of 16 need to attend with a guardian.
WHEN: Saturday, Feb. 18 at 8 p.m.
PRICE: $17.45
breakfast? I’m hungry!” No breakfast! You need to save your appetite for those delicious and nutritious (not by any doctor’s standards) Dome Dogs. I usually scarf down five or six dogs before the game starts. Then, if I’m still hungry, which I usually am, I’m ordering three dome-chos. And no, I’m not sharing with you.
12 p.m.
Now that you’re hydrated and hungry, it’s time to hit the streets. Now that everyone is finally awake, grab your rowdiest, most disorderly group of friends and get ready to cause a scene. The bars think your ID is fake? Call the cops on them. A group of frat dudes won’t let you into their darty? Fake a seizure. The world is your oyster and the Duke game is your pearl.
2 p.m.
Lay on the ground. God, you’ve been up for a while, and the ground is starting to look especially cozy. No one would notice if you just layed down for a couple of seconds, right? Right.
10 p.m.
Wake up alone on the ground in a pile of red solo cups and discarded orange foam fingers. You can’t find your wallet, keys or phone and there are 12 smudged tally marks on your forearm. You missed the game, but boy did you have a time! Or did you? You can’t remember, you hydrated too hard. ahunt04@syr.edu
Hendricks Chapel
As a part of Hendricks Chapel’s “Music and Message” series, Incantare will be playing a concert covering the diaspora of early modern European Jewish composers and how they impacted later generations. The performance will also include a performance from the Hendricks Chapel Choir.
WHEN: Sunday, Feb. 19 at 4 p.m.
PRICE: Free
Scan this QR code for more information on this weeks upcoming concerts!
the door because we want everybody to come inside and have a great time,” said Dylan Fox, co-owner of Redgate.
Fox said venue hosts and band members will often visit each other’s shows for fun, but also to observe and build off their ideas. Stehle said they’ll also share technical equipment and help out with staffing shortages.
“It’s all love, we don’t want to be competing,” Fox said. “In the scenes that we find ourselves in today, we’re all learning from each other.”
Sausville says that music venues attract
crowds of people that are friendly, interesting and come from many different backgrounds. He loves being able to meet people from every corner of the country and further.
“I’ve been able to make good connections with not just the people that are organizing the events, but also the people that are attending the events,” Sausville said.
In the past year, three times as many guests have been attending The Harrington, Stehle said, something he attributes to the vendors.
Before the Pits became its primary vendor, The Harrington used extra space in its house to sell merchandise from the bands
to her, as she did not expect to even be on the list.
Chen was born in Buffalo, as her parents were studying for doctorates in the city at the time. She was then raised in Taiwan, where she stayed until she returned to New York to receive her masters and doctorate at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester.
“My life has been associated with central New York because it was where I was born, where I studied my grad school, and where I got my first teaching job,” Chen said “It is rooted now in my life.”
Chen said she hadn’t always thought about pursuing a career in teaching until a classmate of hers in Taiwan told her she had a “natural” ability for it. At the time, she was working to set up a jazz club at her alma mater, the National Taiwan Normal University.
Back in Taiwan, Chen said there wasn’t a lot of jazz education available, but she was still eager to teach herself by buying the materials, like a piano, herself. After getting more involved in various camps, private institutions and some performing activities, Chen said she started to become more determined to pursue a career of becoming a musician. Eventually, that turned to teaching, though that wasn’t always her main intention.
“I wasn’t thinking about teaching exactly, but the need to pass the knowledge of jazz to the next generation kind of pushed me into the career of teaching right now,” Chen said.
Chen started sharing her knowledge of music as a teaching assistant at Eastman, teaching functional jazz piano. After getting her doctorate in jazz piano performance, Chen landed her position at SU, where she’s been able to share her love for jazz even more.
“She is deeply passionate about jazz and providing students with endless opportunities for growth. I have learned so much from her and she’s constantly showing me more and more reasons to love jazz,” said Abbie Wood, a sophomore organ performance major.
As a professor, Chen likes to focus on letting her students express themselves, adding that improvisation is a way to express oneself. She never wants to kill the ideas her students have in mind.
Hannah Scarborough, a masters student of music composition, said she has taken two different classes with Chen, and noted how Chen genuinely wants her students to enjoy the material, and works to make that happen.
“Her energy is contagious and I love going
that were playing. Will Harrington, the venue’s co-founder, said its biggest goal is to make use of the house as well as it can.
“If it’s just an empty space you’re just generally going to have people milling around in their clumped up friend groups,” Harrington said. “But once you have some sort of shared medium that you can interact with, I think it allows people to talk to each other.”
The economy of house shows extends further than the relationship between vendors and hosts to also include the bands and collaborators that are hired for the event, Stehle said. The venues often hire people outside of the business to design posters and photograph the night.
Sausville said he knows almost every band and band member and that they often perform with the clothes he sells. While he may never be on stage, Sausville loves how Pits Vintage has immersed him with the Syracuse music scene.
For Fox, Redgate is a place where anybody can come and have a good time, regardless of the club, organization or college that they are a part of. All the owners of Redgate want is to make the music experience the best that it can possibly be.
“Every single person that puts on these shows loves music, that’s really where it stems from,” Fox said. “The economy runs it, but it’s really for the love of music.”
cmroshu@syr.edu
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viding vendors an outlet to sell their products and give the consistent customers a place to find fresh produce, Vitale said. But bad winter weather still makes sales fall, said Dale Haas, another vendor at the market. Willis is the third generation of his family to sell at the market. Alongside other farmers, Willis said he wished more people of the Syracuse community were aware of the fact that the market is open year-round.
To attract business, the market broadcasts the produce that will be on sale later that day on News Channel 3 every Saturday morning, and creates monthly newsletters to highlight vendors and give recipe inspiration for seasonal foods, Vitale said.
“One new thing that we’ve done the past couple years is starting to highlight our vendors and provide our vendors opportunities to educate the community about what they do and how they do it,” Vitale said. “I think community education, especially when it comes to agriculture in farmers markets, is really important, because I think it’s just so important to know and understand where your food is coming from.”
Another goal of these advertisements is to show the community that fresh fruits and vegetables are still available despite
the weather, Vitale said. Some farmers, like Haas, keep some of their produce in cellars to keep them fresh, while others use hydroponics so vegetables can grow in a greenhouse environment.
Amelia Walisuk, the owner of Amelia’s Avocado Salsa, sources her ingredients from local businesses that use some of these techniques. She, like Vitale, hopes that people will start to understand that you can eat clean produce during winter.
But some vendors, like Bob Turner, are less hopeful. Turner said the outreach isn’t helping grow the market’s crowds.
“[The market is] charging more and more (for vendor spots) and without any improvements in the market, which has been a shame,” Turner said. “But what can you do?
At least it’s an outlet.”
The market operates on a budget of $2 million a year from their own revenue with
to her class because I always leave with lifted spirits,” Scarborough said. “Dr. Chen always gives high fives and hugs at the beginning and end of class and she makes everyone in her class feel welcome, included and important.”
Outside the classroom, Chen has also been able to co-direct and teach the Orange Juice Jazz combo. Chen said her role allows her to teach advanced musicians and assign them with challenging charts, or songs.
Aside from her work on campus, Chen has also found success in her own work.
“Whispering to God” was nominated for Best Jazz Tune category of the 2022 Golden Indie Music Awards in Taiwan.
Chen described the album as an international cooperation, as recordings for the album were done in Rochester while production aspects happened in Taiwan. The final product: a comforting, healing piece that she worked on during the early pandemic period.
“It’s healing jazz music - I believe jazz does have that power, make beautiful music, not just powerful but healing too,” Chen said.
Chen said she’d like to see the small jazz circle of Syracuse become more vibrant. With fewer and fewer people appreciating jazz, Chen said she’s eager to join in on any jam sessions or events she comes across.
For now, Chen is enjoying her time as a professor and is eager to continue showing her students the ways in which music represents her. She said when she can’t express things orally, music helps her illustrate what comes from her heart.
“Music can be really flexible so it represents who you are, and it shapes my individual characteristics and my personality,” Chen said. “To me music is the way I am. And the way I speak, the way I communicate.”
ehkelley@syr.edu
no public funding, Vitale said. Other farmers markets a fourth of the size will work with the same budget, she said. As a result, the market’s three-person maintenance team struggles to keep its original 1930s infrastructure intact during the winter, she said.
“We have just a couple guys on staff and whenever it snows they’re here around the clock cleaning the facility,” Vitale said. “So, they have to get through the winter because it’s really busy for them.”
But Vitale said in an area like Syracuse, where food insecurity is very high and there are food deserts right near the market, the ability to go to a farmers market is fundamental. Customers are able to use their EBT and debit credit tokens at the market, and can use the national Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that allows people living in poverty to have a monthly budget for
nutritional food, Vitale said.
“The fact that we can [provide food] is just huge for the community because it provides food that’s not only affordable but affordable if you’re looking to use SNAP benefits, and it’s here and it’s available and it’s so close to these vast food deserts,” Vitale said.
The proximity to these food deserts gives vendors the opportunity to touch base with their customers and understand their perspective on the issue, Vitale said. With this, Walisuk said she is able to interact with her customers closely and think more about how to sell her products during the summer.
“The market is more than just the market to [farmers], it’s almost home,” Vitale said. “That’s why their customers are not just people that come and buy produce from them, it’s somebody that they’ve known and gotten to know.”
rlboehm@syr.edu
It’s healing jazz music - I believe jazz does have that power, make beautiful music, not just powerful but healing too.
Theresa Chen professor of applied jazz piano songwriting and the history of jazz
Community education, especially when it comes to agriculture in farmers markets, is really important, because I think it’s just so important to know and understand where your food is coming from.
Amanda Vitale
executive director of cny regional marketEach Saturday, the CNY Regional Market braves the elements to offer fresh produce to locals and give vendors the chance to sell their goods all year. rose boehm contributing writer
Reconstructing inclusivity.” These simple yet powerful words elevate the meaning of diversity and how Best Buddies attempts to raise awareness for individuals with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities.
At Syracuse University, Best Buddies works in partnership with InclusiveU, a program founded within the School of Education, to pursue a shared mission: to bring students with intellectual and/ or developmental disabilities together by ensuring a welcoming college environment through different social events and education about future employment opportunities.
I was first exposed to Best Buddies in high school, working with special needs students in my gym class as well as being a soccer mentor. I connected with the mission of Best Buddies to eradicate the stereotypes surrounding individuals with special needs. These experiences have altered my perception of special needs awareness, and also provided insight into various spectrum disorders. I’ve built a bond with a neurodevelopmental student from my high school, and he has impacted my future career interests.
Unfortunately, individuals with disabilities may find it challenging to interact with their surroundings and fully integrate with SU’s student body. This is due to a lack of accessible spaces in various buildings found on campus and negligence in providing meaningful after-hours activities that are accessible to all students.
I wanted to continue emphasizing the importance of special needs awareness in college, which is why I joined Best Buddies. Learning how to fund and manage budgets for different Best Buddies events has contributed to my mission: building a sense of community among various types of SU students.
The program works to cultivate lifelong bonds that will foster change within our campus and beyond. A primary example of this fortified bond would be our buddy pair Joey Harvey and Jacob Stives. Joey, a sophomore at SU, and Jacob, a stu-
guest column
dent at InclusiveU, were paired last semester, and throughout their time together, Joey has gained a valuable friendship and insight into his neurodevelopmental buddy.
“One memory with Jacob that I will never forget was his 24th birthday party. This was the first time Jacob and I got together and seeing him surrounded by all his best friends made it such a special moment for everyone,” Joey said. “Jacob shared a film with us at the start of the party and everyone was shocked when we found out he was one of the actors. With endless pizza and cake, and having everyone present, it made Jacob happier than I have seen him before.”
Joey’s experience with his buddy Jacob truly exemplifies the unimaginable connection between neurodevelopmental and neurotypical individuals. His buddy introduced him to all of his InclusiveU friends, making his bond unbreakable. “Now me, Jacob and all his friends will get dinner at least once a week,” Joey remarked.
Education is the catalyst for reformation. Through the partnership, members of Best Buddies and InclusiveU have the opportunity to form personal bonds with students who possess disabilities. Buddies are specifically intended to be formed between an individual who possesses intellectual and/or developmental disabilities and one who does not. The culmination of interactions between buddy pairs advances the leadership and expertise of each individual’s unique abilities in their future workplaces. The importance behind inviting InclusiveU students to various events to further both organizations’ missions.
With Feb. 1 marking the beginning of Black History Month, I remember Martin Luther King Jr.’s words that detailed his mindset regarding social justice in terms of equality for all.
“An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity,” he said.
Instead of limiting our range of focus, opening up and listening to another individual’s journey without bias showcases proper manners and respect.
Non-Best Buddies and InclusiveU students can
help in creating a safe culture for individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions. Learning more about neurodiversity in students is crucial to promoting an open mind and is the first step towards reducing the disparity between neurotypical and neurodiverse SU students.
Students should take time to attend training about proper support needs and disability language when interacting with InclusiveU students. It’s important to establish a firm standard about disability culture, so that as a collective university, students can propel diversity in the workplace without excluding minority groups.
As a multifaceted organization, Best Buddies works to normalize disability culture. For example, Best Buddies hosted an open-dialogue night called “Microaggressions and Othering,” where we discussed issues in accessibility, allyship with disabil -
ity pride, medical versus social models and our experiences of microaggressions. This conversation opened our mindset of how people’s experiences with microaggressions or the medical community can be dramatically distinct just because of a physical or mental disability. Expressing our thoughts on SU’s inclusivity reframed our perceptions of disability awareness and how we can best accommodate InclusiveU and other students feeling neglected in our community.
At SU, creating more accessible facilities and supporting inclusive schooling is just the beginning. As a collective whole, we hope to repair the gaps within SU as well as extend our arms to promote diversity.
Halie Patel is the Treasurer of Best Buddies and a psychology major. She can be reached at hpatel20@syr.edu
The massive push from congressional and state officials toward restricting the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people is no surprise to queer people nationwide, especially Black, brown, Indigenous and other people of color. In the 2023 legislative session alone, 11 states have already introduced and are advancing 10 or more anti-LGBTQ bills.
Altogether, 311 anti-LGBTQ bills have been proposed on the state level, with 95 of these bills specifically targeting LGBTQ healthcare according to the American Civil Liberties Union. Unsurprisingly, nearly all of these healthcare bills target transgender people, whether it’s criminalizing gender-affirming care for transgender minors or blocking insurance coverage for transgender people’s healthcare, all while exempting these same treatments for cisgender people.
Different opinions are bound to be had on any legislation. However, opinions are irrelevant in the discussion of healthcare and ensuring that everyone has equal access to it. I do not care if you do not agree with my identity as a queer person. That has nothing to do with whether I deserve to benefit from the same systems, institutions and programs that straight, cisgender people do.
Fortunately, 14 of these proposed healthcare bills have already been defeated. However, 68 continue to advance, and two have been passed into law in South Dakota and Utah.
There are estimated to be 1.4 million transgender people in the United States today and of those million, around 630,000 are transgender people of color. A vast majority of the lawmakers imposing these anti-transgender healthcare bills are white and do not identify as LGBTQ themselves. It is so clear in the proposed bills that these people have no care for transgender people, and even less of a thought for transgender people of color.
How can these people who do not identify with
the LGBTQ community, have no close connections with those within the community and are even more oblivious to the troubles of those within Black and brown communities — and those with the intersecting identities of being LGBTQ and a person of color — make salient legislation concerning these communities? If more of the transgender population are people of color, and more and more policies are being pushed that target transgender populations, transgender people of color are thereby being disproportionately targeted.
Black transgender people specifically are already more likely to face discrimination based on race and ethnicity without these targeted bills. Already with the slim research we have on Black transgender youth specifically, we know that Black transgender women who experienced discrimination in schools are more likely to experience negative criminallegal outcomes than their white transgender peers. Nearly half of all Black transgender people report being harassed at work and school, and nearly half of all Black transgender people also report attempting suicide at least once. Criminalizing medical care of transgender people will further institutionalize Black and Brown people, pushing them further into other systems and institutions that are also hostile toward their body and existence. Such legislation will increase these depressing statistics.
Gender-affirming support is critical for the safety and wellbeing of transgender people of color. The cost of providing this support should be inconsequential in comparison to providing a lifeline to a systematically disadvantaged community. Caring for our fellow human beings should always come first, so we must fight against these attacks on transgender healthcare and LGBTQ rights.
Yet bills such as the Florida Parental Rights in Education Act have made significant progress in the state legislature in the past year. This bill includes immensely severe consequences on LGBTQ youth, such as outing transgender youth to parents and banning all discussion of sexuality and gender in schools. Bills such as this are eerily similar to the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy of the Clinton administration. Yet, legislators still want
to reinstate a policy that has already proven to be outdated, bigoted and discriminatory.
While legislators thought these attempts to politically regress would be taken lightly, the LGBTQ community has banded together to prove otherwise. The act in Florida failed to pass the Senate, but we must continue to ensure that these bills do not go further. We must show that we won’t be silent in the face of attacks on our transgender peers, whether we’re a part of the community or not.
The specificity of these restrictions on healthcare access for any specific group of people should concern us all as Americans. There is no reason why an entire segment of the population should have to struggle so hard to benefit from life-saving medical care. People outside of the LGBTQ community do not need to care right now because these bills do not target them, but why would anyone wait until they do?
Ensuring healthcare for our transgender community members brings us one step closer to ensuring equality and equity for so many disadvantaged people in our country.
There are some incredibly impactful ways you can contribute to the fight at home. There are stateby-state trackers on how individuals can advocate against anti-LGBTQ bills in your state. Reach out to your state legislators and governors, work with local grassroots organizations in your area, or reach out to others to help with the fight remotely. We are not helpless in the fight to ensure everyone in our community has access to healthcare.
Erykah Pasha is a junior studying political science & sociology. They can be reached at eapasha@syr.edu.
freethrowstofuelaneardouble-digitcomeback.
Bolingbrook finished 2020 with a 26-8 record, before going 10-3 in a 2021 season shortened by COVID-19. She led the team in scoring in both seasons. Like Smith, Perkins recalls taking the podium during her sophomore year, saying that Smith believed in her while she believed in herself.
Prior to her senior year, Perkins suffered a concussion in the summer and entered the season with an ankle sprain. After the fifth game of the season, she had a fractured ankle, Smith said, requiring her to sit out for a month and a half. But Perkins returned for the playoffs, helping the team to a third place finish while leading the team in scoring. She finished the season as an All-State first team selection.
“I think it was just a matter of time before Kennedy got in the condition she needed to be and to be 100% healthy,” Smith said. “We always knew once Kennedy was 100% healthy and able to play the way she’s capable of playing, it was a no brainer.”
In the sectional championship last February, Perkins notched 18 points to fend off a HomewoodFlossmoor fourth quarter comeback. She said she “sealed the victory” in what would be her last home game for the Buccaneers. Bolingbrook eventually finished third for the second year running.
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seriously, and he translated that into his coaching style. In his first meeting with the freshman team, McGee told the athletes that they would work extremely hard, Cooke said.
“He framed the situation really well and demanded a lot from his rowers,” Cooke said.
Following three years as the freshman coach at Brown, he became an assistant at
Perkins evolved into an elite scorer throughout high school, but Wunschl said it didn’t start out that way. When the two first started working together, Perkins wasn’t a consistent shooter. But she put in work to improve. On days where Wunschl was training multiple players, Perkins would do anything to take extra shots.
“It took a lot of time,” Wunschl said of Perkins’ jumper. “If I was in the gym, she needed to be there.”
Smith said playing at Bolingbrook “really developed” her shot from beyond the arc, but said that her “bag” was always full.
Perkins’ creativity and strength allowed her to drive to the basket, absorb contact and still get her shot off. Despite her smaller size, Wunschl said Perkins was willing to rebound and do the “dirty work.” The first time Wunschl ever saw Perkins play, she poured in 59 points.
That grit is what Felisha Legette-Jack saw when Syracuse hosted Louisville on Jan. 29. Five minutes into the game, Dyaisha Fair, Alaina Rice and Teisha Hyman all got hurt. Legette-Jack had no choice but to turn to Perkins. Fair and Rice returned, but Hyman didn’t. Perkins played a season-high 24 minutes, contributing seven points.
“I thought (Perkins) was the only guard that came in and really owned her power,” Legette-Jack said. “I think she was really the only guard that showed she can be responsive to the situation.”
Washington, saying that coaching the Pac-12 would allow him to have more resources and strong competition. While he was there, the Huskies won five consecutive national championships with his freshman team winning three in the same span.
“Guys were able to relate to him because of his path,” said Hans Struzyman, who was a freshman at Washington at the time. “His first-hand accounts helped him become a great coach.”
Struzyman recalled one particular
Perkins didn’t even commit to Legette-Jack and Syracuse until May 1, 2022. She had received her first offers all the way back in seventh and eighth grade from Michigan State and Missouri. Further down the line, Perkins received offers from mid-major and Power Five schools, including Vanderbilt and Northwestern.
Although the recruitment process started early for Perkins, she said “you don’t really know what that means.” It didn’t hit her until several programs offered her – and during her freshman year at Hinsdale South, she noticed many more people asking her about collegiate play.
“I want to play on the biggest stage that I can, which is at a D-I level at a Power Five school,” Perkins would reply.
But soon, her injuries and canceled games during her junior year affected her recruiting. Wunschl said a lot of the high-major programs started to fade away with the smaller injuries, which caused her to “not be herself all the time.”
At the AAU level, she played for the Baylor Youth Basketball Foundation alongside SU forward Asia Strong. But during her final summer, games were canceled.
Despite the setbacks, she knew she deserved to be at a top school.
“She worked too hard to go to a smaller school,” Wunschl said. “So, her thing was ‘I wanted to go to a high major.’”
instance in his freshman year when McGee showed the freshmen how serious he was about sticking together and winning. About 120 people showed up for tryouts at Washington, but a lot of rowers had already been recruited, meaning most roster spots were cemented. Struzyna said McGee pulled the recruits aside and said “‘Listen. We have to find some guys to be teammates. If you give me one week of this introduction stuff, I’ll reward you.’”
The reward? The team could finally do “good rowing” after doing mixed boats all week, Struzyman said. The team had to show up to the boathouse at 6 a.m. after that, and when one guy didn’t show up, McGee made them do a 10k. Struzyman said that mindset showed how serious McGee was about doing everything as a group.
From 2012-2017, McGee served as the head coach of the United States men’s national team, stressing the same principles at higher intensity, said Struzyman, who was on that team too. At the Regatta of Death, only the top-two finishers qualified for the Olympics. The U.S qualified by a quarter of a second, later finishing in fourth place at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
“I remember getting off the water and seeing Luke (McGee),” Struzyman said. “There weren’t any words said, but we both knew it was a full circle moment, from starting in Washington to qualifying for the biggest stage in the world.”
After coaching for 14 years, McGee became the head coach of Syracuse’s women’s rowing
Legette-Jack had been hired as Syracuse’s new coach just over a month earlier and was formulating her new roster, as several players departed from the program. She said she never actually recruited Perkins. Perkins went on a visit alongside Strong, who had entered the transfer portal after playing at Wichita State.
Perkins tried out for the team that same day, and Legette-Jack gave her an offer. She had taken other official visits, and had one set up once she returned home, but it wasn’t necessary.
“My tryout went well so there (was) no need to go to any other school,” Perkins said.
Perkins has now fulfilled her goal of playing for a Power Five program, averaging 8.2 minutes and 2.4 points per game in her freshman season. She’s seen increased playing time as of late, most recently playing 22 minutes at then-No. 10 Notre Dame last Sunday. Now, she noted wanting to score more when she’s on.
Against Louisville, when Legette-Jack described her injured players as going down like “bowling pins,” Perkins was ready, mentally telling herself “it’s my time.”
“I’m coming out there and giving the energy that we need,” Perkins said. “When I make hustle plays, or give a teammate an assist that I bring her energy up, then we all feel good about each other.” colebambini@gmail.com @colebambini
team. In four seasons, Syracuse has qualified for the national championship in two of three years — 2020 was canceled due to COVID-19. The team had the best year in program history in 2021, finishing 10th in the NCAA Championships.
“Luke (McGee) wasn’t afraid to be very direct and open with us,” said Maddy Gordon, former Syracuse rower. “That really contributed to the way we were able to perform, because we had a coach who was committed to his own growth along with ours.”
Later, McGee attended Gordon’s commissioning ceremony, when a commissioning officer requests two influential leaders to pin their newly earned officer rank. Commissioning officers are allowed two people to pin their rank — she chose her dad and McGee.
“He agreed, and was deeply touched by my request,” Gordon said. “It illustrates how much he cared for us beyond just his athletes.”
McGee is constantly adapting at Syracuse, as it’s the first women’s team he has ever coached. When the 2020 season was canceled, McGee provided outlets for mental health professionals to his players.
In just five years, McGee has brought the team to the top of the conference, finishing second at last year’s ACC Championships. And as for the vision asked of the program going forward, McGee has one goal.
“National Champions. It has to be. It can’t be anything less than that,” McGee said. amstepan@syr.edu
from page 10
Syracuse and Mercyhurst for second place in the College Hockey America standings before its first series of the season. After last season’s CHA Championship game that Syracuse won 3-2 last season, this series had huge implications for this year’s squad.
In the opening game, Syracuse and Mercyhurst were knotted at one goal apiece after the first period, but things went awry in the second. Following a quick penalty by Lauren Bellefontaine, Mercyhurst was given a power play that Sydney Pederson capitalized on for the Lakers.. It snowballed from there, as Mercyhurst won 6-1.
“We have shown we are a resilient group and can rebound,” Smith said after loss in a press
from page 10
target number, which will prove to be a matchup as FSU is led by Makayla Timpson with just under 10 boards per game.
How Syracuse beats Florida State Syracuse essentially needs a game resembling its win over North Carolina. The Orange controlled the game from midway through the first quarter to the final buzzer. It will take more than just Fair to beat FSU’s highly prolific offense, so it will need to rely on Georgia Woolley and Alaina Rice while Dariauna Lewis and Kyra Wood control the paint.
The Orange will need to control the pace, which will be hard to do against a Seminoles team that has the eighth-highest possessions per 40 minutes, per Her Hoop Stats. Syracuse enjoys playing fast, but it will need to control the tempo to its liking. Defensively, FSU still concedes a lot of points, ranking 241st in Division-I.
release. “We will be back at it tomorrow.”
The following day, Syracuse played Mercyhurst again, this time with a new mindset: put more emphasis on team culture. With the players refocused, Syracuse notched a much-needed conference point, tying the Lakers 1-1.
“The second game, there was a huge difference,” Tatum White said of the draw with Mercyhurst. . “You could really just see how much focus we were putting in our culture and all buying into the same thing. You could really see a difference because we were able to get a (CHA) point out of it.”
The #ichuSe meetings, where the team discusses how well they embodied the values, always take place on Tuesdays, but nothing else is structured. The length of the meeting, time of the meeting, topics discussed and who participates all constantly change.
Stat to know: 35.7%
Though Florida State concedes a fair amount of points, opponents shoot a 35.7% clip from the floor. Florida State will create low-percentage shots for Syracuse, which will need to use a blend of shots inside and on the perimeter to beat Florida State. If Syracuse struggles from deep, then Florida State and its 43.6% field-goal percentage will capitalize.
Player to watch: Ta’Niya Latson, guard, No. 00 Latson is the conference’s best shooter and has played in all 26 games for the Seminoles. Averaging 21.9 points per game, she shoots 46% from the field and 37.2% from deep. She is also reliable from the freethrow line, making over 86% of her free throws. The freshman has earned nine ACC Rookie of the Week Awards and was named to the Naismith Women’s Player of the Year midseason team.
colebambini@gmail.com
@colebambini
“Our first debrief really stood out to me because I had never done it before being here,” said Bellefontaine, a fifth-year senior. “We never had culture meetings, so I think it was a huge step forward for this team and this program.”
In addition to the Tuesday meetings, there’s a commencement every Thursday honoring the player who was the best at embracing the team culture that week.
At Thursday meetings, the previous winner presents a hard hat to the new recipient. The hard hat is a pre-existing part of the program, but its meaning has evolved with the new coaching staff. At the top of the hard hat, all the numbers of the players who have been awarded the hat are displayed, which is something that “excites the players,” Smith said.
“When we are going through tough times,
and when we’re not winning the games we want to win, (our team culture) holds us accountable and helps us bounce back faster than normal,” Bellefontaine said.
Serving as an assistant coach at Clarkson for eight years, which included back-to-back NCAA National Championships in 2017 and 2018, Smith attributed the Golden Knight’s culture as a key source for its success.
At Syracuse, Smith is looking to build something similar, but it’ll take more than just a year to build and evolve.
“Culture is something that you don’t build in one year and it stays the rest of your time,” Smith said. “It’s an ebb and flow… It’s a constant project. It’s a constant process for us, and something that we take a lot of pride in and that we get excited about.”
justingirshon@gmail.com
Over the summer, newly-appointed Syracuse ice hockey head coach Britni Smith laid the groundwork for a strong team culture —she had each player rank their core values on a scale from 1-5.
“When I first got the job here, we spent a lot of time discussing where the culture is at and what we like, and what we can improve,” Smith said. “The players had just as much of a say in what our core values are and what our culture is as myself or any other staff member.”
After evaluating all of the players’ values, the program’s six core values became intentionality, character, humility, unity, Syracuse and excellence. That created #ichuSe, pronounced “I choose.” The hashtag became the center of the program’s culture-building effort, as players have bought into the identifiers. The team uses the hashtag on all of their social media posts to highlight their values.
Following the creation of the hashtag, the coaching staff and players set up a weekly meeting where players have an open space to talk about the good, bad and ugly of the team’s culture and to hold each other accountable.
In late January, only one game separated
men’s lacrosse
Syracuse improved to 3-0 for the first time since the pandemic-reduced 2020 season with an easy 15-6 win over Holy Cross on Sunday. It was the Orange’s third win in eight days after they eked out a 7-5 season-opening victory over Vermont, and then handled UAlbany 20-7. The win streak boosted SU to No. 18 in Inside Lacrosse’s top 25 rankings after it started the season unranked. Through three games, freshman Joey Spallina leads Syracuse with 11 goals and 13 points, while Owen Hiltz and Alex Simmons each have 10 points.
Nextup for the Orange is a trip south to face No. 9 Maryland, which lost for the first time since 2021 last Saturday against Loyola (Maryland). UMD went 18-0 last season, winning its fourth-ever national championship by beating Cornell and opened the season ranked No. 2.
Here’s everything to know about the Terrapins before faceoff on Saturday afternoon: All-time series Maryland leads, 12-6.
Last time they played
Then-No. 1 Maryland and No. 9 Syracuse battled in the Dome last February, with the Terrapins coming out on top, 14-10. UMD led 4-0 after the first quarter, and tacked on another goal early in the second quarter. SU played the rest of the game in catch-up mode, and while getting within one goal twice, were outscored 5-2 in the fourth quarter, leading to its first loss of the season.
“That’s the difference in the game, right? Spot them five and then you fight, spend the whole game trying to get close,” head coach Gary Gait said postgame.
Tucker Dordevic posted five goals to lead the Orange, and Lucas Quinn added a hat trick. Half of the Orange’s goals were unassisted, though, and the offensive went through lengthy stretches without scoring. Maryland turned the ball over 15 times, and SU goalie Bobby Gavin notched 11 saves, but the incon-
women’s basketball
sistent offensive performance couldn’t get Syracuse over the hump.
The Terrapins report Maryland lost a significant chunk of the production it received from last year’s national championship squad, including 297 points — 103 of which came from the Tewaaraton Awardwinning Logan Wisnauskas. Four short-stick defensive midfielders departed, too, and UMD’s top returning scorer, attack Eric Malever, suffered a knee injury and is out for the season.
The Terrapins, though, do have five players who were named either first or second-team preseason Inside Lacrosse All-Americans. That group is led by defensemen Brett Maker and Ajax Zappitello. UMD did lose Logan McNaney, who tore his ACL and is out for the season.
Faceoff specialist Luke Wierman also returns. Wierman won 66% of his faceoffs last season, and has posted a 71.8% success rate through two games this year. Offensively, Maryland has been led by Daniel Kelly (five goals, 11 shots) and Daniel Maltz (six points). But after scoring 15 goals in their season-opening win over Richmond, the Terrapins mustered only seven — their fewest since the 2019 NCAA Tournament — in the loss to Loyola.
Despite Maryland’s departures from last season, and its loss last Saturday, Syracuse is still a significant underdog entering this game. Picking up a win will start at the face-off circle, where UMD’s Wierman has shined, and where SU sophomore Johnny Richiusa has been very inconsistent. Through three games, Richiusa has posted a 50% (33-for-66) face-off success rate, and was below 50% in the win against Holy Cross. The Orange won the faceoff battle against Maryland last season — 15-13 — and will need to perform similarly on Saturday to take the pressure off their defense.
Syracuse’s attack will also have to play its best game of the season. Gait has said the
unit is still learning how to work together and share the ball — something that was displayed against Holy Cross, when seven different players scored — but the finishing wasn’t great on Sunday. Against Maryland, it will need to be, especially considering Maryland’s stout defense likely won’t let up many easy chances. On the other side, the Orange’s defense has been strong to start the season, and will need to continue that on Saturday. Beating the Terps will likely require holding them to 12 goals or fewer for SU to have a chance at winning.
Stat to know: 66.7%
Maryland has won 30-of-45 faceoffs through its first two games, a mark that ranks sixth best nationally and second among Big Ten teams. Wierman became UMD’s all-time single-season leader in faceoffs won and
taken and was named a preseason first-team All-American. He has taken 87% of the Terrapins’ faceoffs this season. He’ll certainly provide a big test for Richiusa on Saturday.
Player to watch: Brett Makar, defense, No. 1
Brett Makar is considered one of the best defensemen in college lacrosse, earning preseason first-team All-American recognition after collecting second-team honors last season. He was also a candidate for the Tewaaraton Award last season, and helped shut out Virginia’s star attack, Connor Shellenberger, in last year’s NCAA Tournament. If Spallina, Hiltz, Simmons and Finn Thomson can find ways to beat Makar and the rest of UMD’s defense, they have a good chance at securing an upset win.
csmith49@syr.edu
@csmith17_
Currently, Syracuse still sits on ESPN’s Bracketology as the first four out, despite a loss at No. 10 Notre Dame that swept the Orange this season. But Syracuse does have its upset win over then-No. 14 North Carolina to strengthen its resume.
On Sunday, Syracuse went back-andforth with Notre Dame during the first quarter, but the second quarter was poor. The Orange scored just six points, finishing 0-13 from the field in the period, but they got back into the game with a 17-5 run to close the third period. Eventually, the Fighting Irish closed out the fourth quarter and won, damaging Syracuse’s NCAA Tournament resume.
The Orange continue their two-game road trip by visiting No. 24 Florida State. The Seminoles are in a little bit of a skid, losing two straight against Virginia Tech and Miami.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Seminoles (20-7, 9-5 Atlantic Coast).
All time series Series is tied 5-5.
Last time they played
In Syracuse’s fifth to last game of the 202122 regular season, it hosted Florida State, which had entered 12-11 with just six conference wins. The Orange trailed by just four at the end of the first half, converting on four 3-pointers and shooting 53% from the floor in the first period.
But in the third quarter, Syracuse
went 1-of-6 from beyond the arc and shot around 26% from the field. The Orange still managed to control the paint, scoring 30 points from inside and 13 secondchance points. And off FSU turnovers, Syracuse also scored 30 points. Florida State entered the final period with an 11-point lead, which Syracuse cut down into single digits. But despite four Orange players in double figures, Syracuse still fell 73-67, picking up its 10th conference loss of the season.
The Seminoles report
The Seminoles have turned around their program from a season ago and sit in fifth place in the ACC. They are a projected No. 6 seed in the NCAA Tournament and close out the regular season with games against
Syracuse, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest and Clemson — all teams below them in the conference standings. But, FSU enters on a two-game losing streak.
Offensively, FSU is one of the highestscoring teams in the nation, averaging 82.6 points per game, ranking first in the conference. It dropped at least 90 points in four conference games, including 91 in a win over then-No. 11 NC State. The Seminoles boast the conference’s leading scorer, Ta’Niya Latson, who scores just over 22 points per game. SU’s Dyaisha Fair sits just behind her in second with over 20 points per game.
On the glass, Florida State averages 43.9 boards per game, ranking ninth nationally, per Her Hoop Stats. Syracuse head coach Felisha Legette-Jack said 43 is her team’s
see
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rowing
she was an AllState first-team selection for her final three years of high school
By Cole Bambini sports editorThen-sophomore Kennedi Perkins took the podium after Bolingbrook High School’s (Illinois) 68-57 loss to Lake Park High School in the 2020 state tournament semifinals. “We will be back next year. I will make sure of that,” Bolingbrook head coach Chris Smith recalled Perkins saying.
The 2021 tournament was canceled because of the pandemic. In 2022, Bolingbrook was back, but fi nished in third place once again.
“(Perkins) absolutely led us back to that point,” Smith said.
Perkins, now at Syracuse, led Bolingbrook in scoring all three years she played for the Buccaneers, transferring from Hinsdale South High School (Illinois). She averaged 15.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists and was named to the All-State First Team for three consecutive years. Perkins was also an AP Illinois Girls Basketball All-State honorable mention in 2022. Now, as Syracuse struggles with injuries, Perkins has emerged as a reliable backup floor general. She’s played at least 13 minutes in four of the last five games after averaging just 4.81 minutes per game beforehand.
Nick Wunschl, Perkins’ personal trainer, works at Bolingbrook. He remembered Perkins’ freshman year when Hinsdale South, the 15-seed,
She worked too hard to go to a smaller school. So, her thing was ‘I wanted to go to a high major.’
Nick Wunschl KENNEDI PERKINS’ TRAINERplayed against the top seed in the tournament. He said Hinsdale South’s skill level “isn’t compared” to Bolingbrook.
Wunschl estimated Perkins scored around 20 points, and that’s when he noticed how good she could be at the next level. “That was the one game I was like ‘man, I really hope she comes to Bolingbrook,’” Wunschl said.
After her freshman year, Perkins transferred to Bolingbrook. That summer, Perkins played at a camp with her new school. Smith said her aggressiveness and confidence in her skill set made her stand out. The Buccaneers already had a squad that could compete for state championships, but Perkins impressed so much that she’d start on varsity, Smith said.
“I perfected my scoring and how I can score and what to do to score,” Perkins said of her time at Bolingbrook. “So (Bolingbrook) helped me learn how to play with good players and how to balance out the talent levels I was playing with.”
In the quarterfinal game prior to the 2020 semifinal defeat, Perkins and the Buccaneers faced powerhouse Whitney Young. She matched up against then-seniors Timia Ware and Kay Kay Green, who both now play Division-I at UCF and Texas A&M, respectively. Ware and Green combined for 48 of Whitney Young’s 68 points, but Perkins totaled 17 points and five steals, draining three clutch
see perkins page 9
Luke McGee didn’t know anything about rowing as a freshman at Loyola Academy in Illinois. He “was super competitive” and loved to play team sports, but wasn’t good enough to play for many of the school teams, he said.
But family members and friends suggested he try out for the rowing team. Rowing as a high school sport was rare at the time, so McGee was extremely lucky, he said. Loyola Academy was the only school in a four-hour
radius to have rowing — he tried it and instantly loved the challenge.
McGee, the Syracuse women’s rowing head coach, is one of the Atlantic Coast Conference’s most decorated coaches, helping the program become a consistent championship contender. As a rower, McGee competed collegiately at three di erent schools and was a sixtime national team member, coming just short of the Olympic team in two tries. That’s when he began to coach at Brown, one of his alma maters. He went on to coach in the 2016 Olympic games before making his way to Syracuse.
Going into his junior year of high school, McGee tried out for the junior national team. He knew he wanted to compete internationally after watching “Miracle on Ice” through a recording his parents had made for him. In the summer before he went to college, McGee made the junior national team, and later joined the Yale Bulldogs for his freshman season.
“It was the coolest thing, and totally planted the seed of the Olympics in my mind,” McGee said of the movie.
After one season at Yale, he transferred to Brown after sustain-
ing a back injury. With the Bears, he contributed to their wins at the Eastern Springs and the Henley Royal Regatta Ladies Plate. Following Brown, he attended Oxford University for a year, where he was a member of the varsity eight crew that competed in the famous “The Boat Race” against Cambridge.
In the 148th edition of “The Boat Race,” Oxford defeated Cambridge by just three quarters of a length in one of the closest races in history.
Eventually, McGee found his way back to Brown. Bears head coach
Paul Cooke o ered him a job as the freshman coach at the end of his senior season, without any coaching experience. At the time, Cooke was Brown’s assistant coach when McGee rowed, but became the head coach the year after he left. He also coached McGee on the 1999 U23 team, which he won gold in the eight. “(Coaching McGee) gave me an idea of what he would be like as a coach,” Cooke said.
As an athlete, Cooke said McGee had a great mix of being easygoing while knowing when to take things see mcgee page 9
Kennedi Perkins became an elite scorer at Bolingbrook High School, whereKENNEDI PERKINS always knew she wanted to play for a “high-major” program out of Bolingbrook High School. jacob halsema staff photographer
