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sept. 5, 2019 high 71°, low 54°
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 |
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Lock 1 Distilling Co. will stop producing its Cuse Juice drink by October due to a trademark conflict between the company and Syracuse University. Page 7
SU alumna Deka Dancil began her role in June as the university’s new manager of bias response and education. She will run the STOP Bias Initiative. Page 3
dailyorange.com
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Syracuse women’s soccer ended last season with a 13-game losing streak. Now the team has a new head coach in Nicky Adams, looking to change its losing ways. Page 12
Seat at the table DPS opens dialogue with students of color committee
student association
Official addresses financial promises By Christopher Hippensteel contributing writer
Stacy Omosa, Student Association’s comptroller, hopes to use her position to increase the transparency of SA’s budget and provide financial support to student organizations. Omosa was elected as comptroller in April after running a campaign based on a three-part message: transparency, support and compassion. Information on SA finances hasn’t been accessible to students at Syracuse University, she said. “A lot of students didn’t know how much money we had (last year), how much money they should have requested, or what was in the finance codes,” Omosa told The Daily Orange. Omosa plans to send out email updates with SA’s expenditures to registered student organizations on a regular basis. She will also work with SA’s director of technology, Netania Kligerman, to streamline the finance section of the organization’s website, Omosa said.
SAVANNAH TAYLOR (LEFT) AND KATE ABOGADO both serve on the Department of Public Safety’s Student of Color Advisory Committee. They act as liasions between campus police and students of color. corey henry photo editor
By Richard J Chang and Casey Darnell the daily orange
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group of students of color at Syracuse University have worked with the Department of Public Safety over the past few months to offer their input about safety and policing on campus. SU announced nominations for the Student of Color Advisory Committee in March. The committee took shape a month after DPS’ handling of an assault of three students of color sparked criticism about the department’s communication and transparency. Committee members told The Daily Orange they hope to improve communication and trust between students of color and DPS. “I want DPS officers to be even more open-minded about taking criticism from students,” said Kate Abogado, a senior policy studies and information management and technology major. “Because ultimately, that’s who they’re serving.” Abogado serves as co-chair of the committee alongside DPS Chief Bobby Maldonado. Students on the committee act as an advisory body to weigh in on issues and give criticism to DPS, Abogado said. The committee doesn’t have power over DPS policy. The committee, comprised of more than a dozen students, met before the end of the spring 2019 semester and spoke over conference calls during the summer. A
date has not been set for the committee’s next meeting, but members said it will happen soon. In the meetings held so far, students have told Maldonado about different situations students of color face on campus. One issue the committee has already discussed is whether DPS should include race in campus-wide emails about crime. When DPS sent an alert about the Ackerman Avenue assault in February, it did not mention the race of the suspect, who was white, or the races of the student victims, who were black and Latino. At the time, some students criticized DPS for not specifying that students of color were attacked. A statement circulated around SU’s student body emphasizing that point. Some members of the committee want DPS to include race descriptions in reports because they think it will disprove stereotypes that people of color are more likely to commit crimes, said Natalia Rice, a committee member and senior sociology and English dual major. Other members said that adding race characteristics could lead people to make assumptions based on race, she added. Savannah Taylor, a senior African-American studies major, said communications like DPS crime alerts are directly related to the safety of students of color. Taylor is the president of SU’s chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., a historically black sorority. “Say they wrongfully report someone or they go based off bias,” Taylor said. “That creates mass hysteria, and
see committee page 4
If you’re going to make decisions on money, you need to consult the comptroller. Stacy Omosa student association comptroller
The comptroller acts as the chief financial officer of SA, managing the organization’s budget and approving all spending measures. Registered student organizations at the university can apply for funding from SA. Omosa said she hopes that SA can help clarify the application process by providing clearer guidelines for student organizations looking to request funding. “This is information that has been given to the public regularly over the years if people came to the SA meetings,” Omosa said. “Most people don’t come to the SA meetings, so they don’t know that this information is out there.” In an effort to support student organizations, Omosa plans to pair them with a Finance Board adviser, she said. The board is made up of eight SA members who can assist and advise the comptroller with their duties. As advisers, the board members would provide advice and help with any budget-related questions, Omosa said. see finances page 4