free
MONDAY
sept. 25, 2017 high 90°, low 64°
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 • Moving up
dailyorange.com
P • Ink-redible
Syracuse University’s Martin J. Whitman School of Management moved up one spot to claim No. 42 in the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings. Page 3
S • Takeoff?
A local tattoo shop owner and self-proclaimed “tattoonist” took on “Ink Master: Shop Wars” with a new-school style representing Classic Trilogy Tattoos. Page 11
SU football head coach Dino Babers said his team would take off in Year 2, weeks 4 through 6. But based on Saturday’s loss to LSU, his timetable is delayed. Page 16
Drawing interest SU’s endowment, which has not been diminished by divestment, could spark hope for other universities UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY OF MAINE SYSTEM
HAMPSHIRE COLLEGE
OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS
YALE UNIVERSITY
BOSTON UNIVERSITY
SUNY-ESF CHICO STATE UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SYSTEM
SAN FRANCISCO STATE
RISD
THE NEW SCHOOL
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON
STANFORD UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY
STERLING COLLEGE CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF THE ARTS PITZER COLLEGE
PRESCOTT COLLEGE
FULL DIVESTMENT PARTIAL DIVESTMENT COAL ONLY COAL AND TAR SANDS ONLY
UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII
source: gofossilfree.org
M
ore than two years after Syracuse University announced it would divest from fossil fuel companies, the university’s chief financial officer said there is no evidence the endowment has suffered as a result of divestment. Amir Rahnamay-Azar, SU’s senior vice president and chief financial officer, said in an email that SU’s $1.25 billion endowment has increased investment performance by 12 percent in fiscal year 2017. The endowment is a pool of money
Story by Rachel Sandler senior web developer
Graphic illustration by Lucy Naland presentation director
collected from donors that is invested in the stock market. The funds are then used for scholarships and academic programs on campus. The university’s growing endowment, in the wake of its headline-grabbing decision to divest from fossil fuels, may be a signal to other schools
that divestment is a viable option, experts said. Part of the opposition to divestment is purely financial. Universities are worried endowments without direct investments in coal, oil and gas companies will lose money. The fact that SU’s endowment has made it through divestment unscathed offers one case study with positive results for worried financial managers. “It’ll be interesting to see at places like Syracuse, if performance returns continue to do well. I see divestment page 6
city
Common Council, SPD work to improve security plans By Sara Swann news editor
The Syracuse Police Department is working with the Common Council to allocate $150,000 toward the repair and replacement of security cameras in high-crime neighborhoods throughout the city. At a Public Safety Committee meeting following the Common Council study session Wednesday, several councilors and Syracuse Police Department officials addressed an initiative to improve security cameras in Syracuse. While the committee meeting was open to the public, handouts about the initiative were not shared
with anyone outside of the Common Councilors and SPD officers because they contained “semi-sensitive information.” SPD recently installed about 10 cameras on Euclid Avenue and approximately 100 cameras on the Northside of Syracuse. From these cameras, SPD has made arrests and solved crimes, said Joe Cecile, deputy chief of SPD. At-Large Councilor Joe Nicoletti cited a 2014 arson on Butternut Street as a case that would not have been solved without the security cameras. SPD Chief Frank Fowler echoed Nicoletti and said the crime was a “great case to hold up as an example” of the security cameras working well.
The arson, he said, occurred early in the morning and the witness to the crime saw two black men walking away from the burning house.
We can’t get this done unless we all work together. Joe Nicoletti at-large syracuse common councilor
But when reviewing the security camera footage, SPD discovered that
an 80-year-old white man set the fire, and the two younger black men arrived at the scene later to see what was going on. “Without the cameras, they could have been charged,” Fowler said. “But the man who did set the fire is in prison where he belongs.” Fowler added that footage from the security cameras has helped SPD build solid criminal cases multiple times. The money for these security cameras has never come from the city of Syracuse’s budget, Cecile said. All of the funding has either come from New York state or, in the case of Euclid Avenue, private funds. Now, SPD is looking to repair or
replace some of the older cameras in the Near Westside and Southside neighborhoods of Syracuse. At this announcement, one audience member stood up and clapped loudly in support of the plan, cutting through the quiet Common Council chambers of City Hall. The four Common Councilors in attendance for the committee meeting expressed their support of this initiative. Nicoletti also approved of the program. He thanked SPD and New York state for working to improve security throughout the city. “We can’t get this done unless we all work together,” Nicoletti said. see council page 4