free
THURSDAY
sept. 24, 2020 high 77°, low 56°
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 |
C • Heritage and help
N • Abroad delayed
dailyorange.com
In addition to celebrating Latino/ Hispanic Heritage Month, Latino organizations have shared resources to support the community during the pandemic. Page 7
SU Abroad plans to resume some study abroad opportunities this spring after suspending its study abroad programs in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Page 3
S • Mobile Divide
For some Syracuse fans and season ticket holders, the transition away from paper tickets will present challenges, such as longer lines outside the Carrier Dome. Page 12
coronavirus
No spring break, semester held later By Mira Berenbaum asst. copy editor
DARLENE MEDLEY is the mother of six children who are attending classes online in the Syracuse City School District. Medley has had difficulty navigating unfamiliar software and accessing WiFi. jessica ruiz contributing photographer
Parents, students in Syracuse struggle to access remote learning Not all families recieved technology in time for classes By Maggie Hicks asst. news editor
A
t the end of six of her children’s first day of online school, all Darlene Medley could do was cry. The Syracuse City School District began the 20202021 school year completely online Sept. 14. To Medley, a single mother of nine children who range from preschool-aged to adults, that meant an overwhelming day full of unfamiliar software, rejected passwords and crushing stress about what her children’s schooling would look like this year. “I just closed the door behind me and I kept the kids
inside, and I just kind of lost it,” Medley said. “I was so overwhelmed with not knowing what I was doing, and if I didn’t know what I was doing, my kids weren’t going to know what they were doing, and they were going to fail.” SCSD’s Board of Education voted in August to conduct classes remotely until at least Oct. 2, after which teachers will begin using a hybrid model that brings students to school for a portion of the week. Despite some assistance from the district, many students’ parents and guardians found themselves overwhelmed during the first week of school, unable to navigate see scsd page 4
university senate
SU finished fiscal year with $5 million deficit By Michael Sessa asst. news editor
Syracuse University finished the 2020 fiscal year in July with a $5 million deficit, Chancellor Kent Syverud said at a virtual University Senate meeting Wednesday. The deficit accounts for just a small portion of the university’s operating budget, and managing the shortfall will be feasible, Syverud said. Spring budget reductions — which included lowering administrator salaries and implementing a hiring freeze — gave SU the room it needed to make coronavirus-
related adjustments, he said. “Unlike many of our peers, we had solid financial footing and plans to deal with this and so we are going to come out stronger from it,” Syverud said. Despite budget challenges, SU has laid off less than 36 employees since the pandemic began, a number that has remained relatively steady since July, Syverud said. Enrollment for the fall 2020 semester is 21,322 students, a decrease of about 1,500 since last fall, Syverud said. The university experienced record-high application numbers in fall 2019.
“While the enrollment is down slightly, I believe later this academic year we will have recovered most of that missing enrollment,” Syverud said. Some students deferred and are planning to return to SU in an upcoming semester, he said. The university is also working with immigration authorities to enroll students facing visa or travel-related challenges, he said. Syverud expects revenue from tuition for the next year only to decrease slightly. Syverud and Interim Provost John Liu said the decision to accelerate the fall semester seems to
be proving successful in mitigating the spread of coronavirus on campus, though they cautioned students, faculty and staff against becoming complacent. “I’ve been watching closely the situation on other campuses and the hubris that comes when people relax their vigilance,” Syverud said. SU is hoping its newly-released calendar for the spring semester — which starts the semester a week later than usual and eliminates spring break — will limit the spread of the virus in the second half of the academic year, Syverud and Liu said. see usen page 4
Syracuse University will cancel spring break for the 2021 spring semester to avoid travel complications related to the coronavirus pandemic, university officials announced Wednesday. The spring semester will begin on Jan. 25, six days later than previously scheduled. Classes will end April 30 and final exams will take place from May 3 to May 6, said Chancellor Kent Syverud, Interim Provost John Liu and Rob Hradsky, vice president for the student experience, in a campus-wide email. “As our students, faculty and staff remain vigilant to continue residential learning and to remain on campus this semester, work is well underway to refine the spring 2021 schedule,” the officials wrote. “The University Public Health Team is working to finalize spring semester quarantine and COVID-19 testing procedures.” SU’s announcement follows similar ones from other universities, with the University of Iowa, University of Kentucky and University of Michigan cutting spring break. Iowa and Kentucky will delay the start of their spring semesters to Jan. 25, the same day as SU. SU will not hold weekend or holiday classes in the spring semester, the officials said. The university’s fall calendar includes holding classes on three weekends and Labor Day to fulfill required contact hours for courses. The university will provide more information on the move-in process for the spring semester at a later time, they said. It is unclear how Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s travel order, which requires students traveling to New York from COVID-19 hotspots to selfquarantine for 14 days upon arrival, will impact the return to campus this spring. The order affected over 3,000 SU students in the fall. The university will hold commencement on May 9, either in-person or virtually depending on public health guidelines. SU’s individual schools and colleges will hold convocations on May 7 and May 8. The commencement ceremony could also include the Class of 2020, depending on public health conditions, the officials said. SU held a virtual degree conferral for the Class of 2020 on May 10 after postponing the in-person ceremony. “We appreciate your continued patience, flexibility and understanding as we work to provide a safe and productive academic year for everyone,” the officials said. mlberenb@syr.edu