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THURSDAY
sept. 7, 2017 high 66°, low 51°
t h e i n de p e n de n t s t u de n t n e w s pa p e r of s y r a c u s e , n e w yor k |
N • First meeting
P • Plan it out
Chancellor Kent Syverud addressed Invest Syracuse, DACA and Syracuse University’s endowment at the first senate meeting of the semester. Page 3
dailyorange.com
After months of planning, this year’s Juice Jam festival is almost here. Take a look at the process University Union underwent to put it all together. Page 11
S • She’s back
No. 5 Syracuse field hockey’s senior center back Lies Lagerweij is hungry for her second national title while spearheading a defense that has yet to allow a goal. Page 20
GIVE&TAKE SU opted out of a NY tuition aid program. Most SUNYESF students don’t qualify for its public counterpart.
university senate
Athlete concerns expressed By Michael Burke senior staff writer
At the first University Senate meeting of the semester, a faculty committee overseeing studentathlete experiences presented a report regarding the academic and athletic environments SU provides to its student-athletes. Rick Burton, a professor of sport management and Syracuse University’s faculty representative to the NCAA, presented the Faculty Oversight Committee Annual Report Wednesday afternoon in Maxwell Auditorium. The report detailed athletic academic advising, athletes’ interactions with coaches and their feelings on facilities. It is unclear how many athletes expressed certain sentiments, because the report is based on anonymous testimonies. The committee, which consists of faculty across several SU schools and colleges, conducted NCAAmandated exit interviews in May
see athletes page 4
crime
illustration by casey russell head illustrator
By Ryan Dunn
By Ali Harford
staff writer
senior design editor
T
he Enhanced Tuition Award, introduced this year, aimed to quell financial hardships for students attending private universities in New York state. However, roughly two-thirds of private schools — including Syracuse University — have opted out, according to several reports. Under the ETA, a qualifying student can receive up to $6,000 in tuition assistance if the student agrees to live and work in New York state for a set number of years after they graduate from college. Only half of each student’s award comes from the state because the school must match that amount to supply the other half. SU was one of 66 schools that opted out of the program. However, Michele Wheatly, SU’s vice chancellor and provost, said in a statement this summer that the university would annually reevaluate the decision. Ronald Ehrenberg, a Cornell University professor and director of Cornell’s Higher Education Research Institute, said he believes the program’s strict requirements made it less than desirable for private universities. “The additional money that would come from the state must be further matched by the private university. Many private universities didn’t want to make that commitment,” Ehrenberg said. Ehrenberg added the university is not allowed to raise tuition while a student is in the program. If a university were to opt in to the program, they might be “giving up income.” see su page 4
N
ew York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Excelsior Scholarship has not influenced SUNY-ESF students in a significant way, according to SUNY-ESF Undergraduate Student Association President Ben Taylor. He doesn’t expect it to in coming years, either. The Excelsior Scholarship, announced in April 2017 and officially launched at the beginning of this academic year, pays for a recipient’s tuition costs at all State University of New York or City University of New York schools. The website advertises that 940,000 middle-class families and individuals will qualify for the scholarship. The state anticipated 23,000 students to benefit from the scholarship out of the 75,000 who applied, according to The New York Times. About 7 percent , or about 158 students of the SUNYESF student body qualify for the scholarship, Taylor said. The SUNY-ESF financial aid office officials and he calculated the statistic. “There’s one person that I know who has applied for it,” Taylor said. “ … I think it’s being played up as a bigger deal than it actually is.” The exact number of students who applied for or received the scholarship at SUNY-ESF is unknown. SUNY press secretary Holly Liapis did not respond to a request for comment on this story. The SUNY-ESF Office of Communications made Director of Financial Aid Mark Hill unavailable for comment. The head of the SUNY-ESF Office of Communications, Claire Dunn, when asked to comment, responded in see suny-esf page 4
Murder sentencing adjourned By Michael Burke senior staff writer
The sentencings for the men convicted of murder and robbery in connection to the death of a Syracuse University student were adjourned Wednesday until later this month. Cameron Isaac, 24, of North Syracuse, and Ninimbe Mitchell, 20, of North Syracuse, were scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday morning for first-degree murder and first-degree robbery convictions, respectively, in connection to the death of SU student Xiaopeng “Pippen” Yuan. But State Supreme Court Justice John Brunetti adjourned the sentencings until Sept. 27 after Mitchell’s defense attorney, Paul Carey, asked for more time to prepare his argument that Mitchell should receive a minimum sentence. Mitchell faces a minimum of five years in prison and a maximum of 25 for the first-degree robbery conviction. “(Mitchell) is a young guy who’s see trial page 6