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Redhouse Arts Center plans to welcome live audiences back by the end of the year for the start of its four show 2021-2022 theater season. Page 7
A new art installation will be set up at SU in the near future to honor the Onondaga Nation and fulfill promises made by the university to Indigenous students. Page 3
Federal marijuana ban leaves medical users in the dark
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Chris Snow opens up about his fight with ALS and the friendships he still has with writers from The Daily Orange whom he worked alongside 20 years ago. Page 12
coronavirus
Students from India react to outbreak By Francis Tang staff writer
CANDICE BINA is a junior at SU who has used marijuana since she was 18 to treat the pain caused by her Tourette syndrome. Bina wishes that SU provided more information about their continued ban on marijuana. emily steinberger photo editor
Despite state-wide marijuana legalization, students who use the drug medically are unsure what to do By Michael Sessa news editor
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hen New York legalized recreational marijuana use on March 30, it expanded a gray area at Syracuse University that exists for students on many college campuses across the U.S. It is now legal to use marijuana for medical and recreational purposes state-wide, but many colleges and universities receiving federal money still prohibit the use of marijuana on campus. Some schools cite the continued federal prohibition of marijuana as reason for their bans, and others claim that — should they allow the drug on campus — they risk losing federal funding. Because federal law doesn’t differentiate between recreational and medical use of marijuana, universities often don’t differentiate between the two in their own policies, an approach that leaves students who need marijuana to treat pain and other medical conditions in the dark. Candice Bina, a junior television, radio and film major at SU, has been using marijuana since she was 18 to treat pain that accompanies Tourette syndrome. The neurological disorder causes body tics
and spasms that can lead to back pain and swelling, she said. “If I get high, I’ll be relaxed and not moving as much,” Bina said. Chronic pain is the most common reason cited for using cannabis medically, said Dr. Jessica Knox, co-founder of the American Cannabinoid Clinics, in an email. People also commonly use the drug to manage or treat anxiety, depression, insomnia and a variety of other conditions. The federal government currently classifies marijuana as a Schedule I drug, which asserts it has high potential for abuse and no accepted medical purpose. “In reality, marijuana — like hemp — is a medicinal plant that has many known medical uses and a low potential abuse, especially when used in an informed manner and/or under medical guidance,” Knox said. Knox said the classification also contradicts the federal government’s 2003 patent, which cites several therapeutic uses for the cannabis plant’s cannabinoids, compounds found in the plant. Despite the science, colleges and universities are still hesitant to allow marijuana on campus, even when use is approved by a doctor. On April 12, Marianne Thomson, SU’s associate vice president and dean of students, announced that the university’s Code of Student
see marijuana page 4
Since the second wave of the COVID19 pandemic began sweeping through India, Setu Desai has been concerned about his family thousands of miles away. Desai, a Syracuse University graduate student studying computer engineering, went back home to Ahmedabad, India, for the winter break. But now, the distance from campus to home seems farther than ever. “It is not something out of nowhere,” Desai said. “People were not very cautious about it, things like social distancing in public spaces.” During the second wave, both Desai’s mother and grandmother tested positive for coronavirus. Although Desai’s mother received the first dose of the Indian-made Covishield vaccine, she still tested positive. Desai was fully vaccinated in the United States by late April. Although most of his family have received one dose of the vaccine, none of them could receive the second because of the shortage of vaccine supplies and medical facilities. “People are losing their loved ones due to lack of ventilators and oxygen. The government is blindsiding these issues and conducting elections and gathering people for rallies,” Desai said. “This is very serious and the negligence is creating chaos.” Tanushri Majumdar, an SU graduate student studying international relations at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, has family members who tested positive for COVID-19 around mid-April. “(My parents) called me one day, and they were like, we all tested positive. We all got COVID and your dad has a 103 fever,” Majumdar said. Although Majumdar’s family recovered, some lasting effects still remain. She was shocked when she finally saw her father, who lost weight due to COVID-19, on video. “My aunt’s cousin lost both her husband and her son in two days. My friend’s father is on a ventilator right now, but she can’t go home and see him,” Majumdar said. “It’s been really, really stressful. Everyone I know has lost someone to COVID. The news said it’s bad, but it’s so much worse.” The dense population and low vaccine rate in India has made the more transmittable variant, known as B.1.617, sweep through the country, said Christopher P. Morley, professor and chair of the Department of Public Health & Preventive Medicine at SUNY Upstate Medical University, see india page 4