free
TUESDAY
sept. 26, 2017 high 90°, low 67°
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 • Memorial service
dailyorange.com
P • Showkidz
A memorial service for Ralph Ketcham, a Syracuse University professor who died in April, was held in Hendricks Chapel on Monday afternoon. Page 3
S • Road raid
Open Hand Theater will celebrate its grand reopening after nearly 40 years in business. The theater is a community favorite among families for showbiz fun. Page 9
Syracuse won for the first time in 13 days with an in-sync offense and solid defense against the Colgate Raiders in Hamilton on Monday night. Page 16
crime
Isaac, Mitchell sentenced
D E D N E OPEN
By Sam Ogozalek asst. news editor
illustration by casey russell head illustrator
Bird Library’s future remains uncertain under Campus Framework plan By Kennedy Rose asst. news editor
S
yracuse University’s signature Bird Library will celebrate its 45th anniversary this month. The future of the building, however, is uncertain. SU officials are considering Chancellor Kent Syverud’s major Campus Framework infrastructure project, which details future
campus development. The Campus Framework aims to redesign Bird to create more of a social space for collaborative learning, officials have said, including a new addition that would extend the library toward Walnut Park. The university, though, does not have a concrete plan for what will happen to Bird, said Sarah Scalese, associate vice president of university communications. The latest draft of the Campus Framework, released in May, only details some tentative plans for the library, including the new expansion. Original plans for the library only detailed how it would function until the 1989-1990 academic year, according to university records. The library did not go through major renovations for more than 30 years, until its lower floors were redesigned in 2014. “It’s a building of a certain vintage” but is still in see bird page 6
state
Maxwell professor outlines campaign platform By Sloane Gallagher contributing writer
A Syracuse University professor, who hopes to challenge Rep. John Katko, R-N.Y., in congressional elections next year, plans to center her campaign around health care and criminal justice reform. Dana Balter, a visiting assistant teaching professor in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, kicked off her 2018 campaign last week in hopes of securing
the Democratic nomination in New York state’s 24th Congressional District race. Balter, who studied theater and communications sciences and disorders at Northwestern University, plans to focus her campaign on health care reform, among other topics. Balter supports a “Medicare for all” plan. “We have a Medicare system that works very well and is incredibly efficient,” Balter said. “The people who benefit from it
really like it, and so the simplest thing to do would be to open that program up so that anybody could access it.” Criminal justice reform is also a centerpiece of Balter’s congressional bid. Balter wants to bring more local attention to how poverty is treated “like crime” in the U.S., she said. “We see situations where a single mom might be in jail for a few days because she can’t pay a parking ticket, and that’s just not
appropriate,” Balter said. Rules on fines, fees and money bail need to be changed to make sure people “caught in the criminal justice system are there for legitimate reasons,” she added. Balter also said she is upset with President Donald Trump administration’s efforts to privatize public education. She wants to emphasizes the importance of equal access to education during her campaign. see balter page 6
Two men convicted of murder and robbery in connection to the death of Syracuse University student Xiaopeng “Pippen” Yuan were sentenced Monday. Cameron Isaac, 24, of North Syracuse, was sentenced to life in prison without pa role, Sy racuse.com reported, for shooting and killing Yuan, a Chinese international student from BeiISAAC jing, behind the Springfield Garden Apartments complex in DeWitt last September. Ninimbe Mitchell, 20, MITCHELL was sentenced to 15 years in prison for robbery, Syracuse.com reported. Mitchell, also of North Syracuse, is Isaac’s nephew. Isaac was convicted on a firstdegree murder charge last month by a jury. Authorities say he shot and killed Yuan after robbing the student of 2 pounds of marijuana. Mitchell drove Isaac to and from the scene of Yuan’s death. At the time, Yuan, 23, was a junior mathematics major. The Springfield Garden Apartments complex, off Caton Drive, is located near Le Moyne College. Mitchell was originally charged with second-degree murder in addition to first-degree robbery, as authorities said he acted as a willing accomplice to Isaac. A jury acquitted Mitchell of the murder charge but convicted him of the robbery charge. Mitchell’s defense lawyer, Paul Carey, earlier this month said he thought the jury’s verdict contradicted itself and hinted that he might appeal the decision. The high-profile murder trial ran nine days this August. Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick prosecuted the case. Both Isaac and Mitchell’s charges were considered simultaneously by one jury. John Brunetti, the judge who oversaw the case, instructed jurors to give separate consideration to the two defendants’ charges. “This was a disgusting act,” Fitzpatrick said at the trial. “They took (Yuan’s life away).” sfogozal@syr.edu | @Sam13783