Oct. 26, 2020

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C • Community voices

N • Students grieving

CAMM is a band of four Black women who are activists in the Syracuse community. The group performs music from a variety of genres, including R&B. Page 6

Chaplains at Hendricks Chapel said students must find support to cope with grief and loss following the deaths of community members this year.

Page 3

dailyorange.com

S • Longtime legacy

John Desko’s 45-year Hall of Fame career has been defined by 11 national championships and 33 final four appearances as an assistant and head coach.

Page 12

Sherri Taylor 1950 - 2020

on campus

Student sues SU after expulsion

By Michael Sessa asst. news editor

Editor’s note: This story includes descriptions of sexual assault.

SHERRI TAYLOR, a professor in the Newhouse School of Public Communications, is remembered for her dedication to students, attention to detail and sense of humor. courtesy of jennifer sigal, nancy austin and wendy loughlin

By Roshan Fernandez asst. sports editor

M

itchell Franz has visited Sherri Taylor, his former professor and best friend, at least two times a year since he graduated from Syracuse University in 2012.

Franz met Taylor at a workshop in Dallas when he was a high school sophomore, and she invited him to stay at her house during his time at SU. After living with Taylor for a year and a half, the two became — and remained — very close.

“Sherri was like the mother hen or mother goose that would spread her wings and take somebody in,” Franz said.

“I’m just really fortunate that I was one of those people.”

Taylor died on Oct. 19 at home after a years-long battle with Parkinson’s disease. She was 70. She is survived by her 72-year-old sister, Vicki Boutwell.

Taylor taught in the military journalism program at SU’s Newhouse School of Public Communications since 1991 and was a longtime advocate for student journalism. Current and former SU students and faculty said she dedicated her career to uplifting students both in and out of the classroom, forging lasting relationships with many along the way.

Jennifer Sigal, one of Taylor’s former students,

remembers how Taylor came to her wedding in Michigan six years after she graduated from SU. The two stayed in touch years later, and Taylor recently commented on Facebook photos of Sigal’s children.

Sigal met Taylor at a high school journalism camp in Michigan. Taylor was the reason she came to SU. Taylor won several accolades for her contributions as a journalism educator and an advocate for student journalism. She most recently won the Star of Texas, awarded by the Association of Texas Photography Instructors, for her work in teaching photography and design. Taylor previously served as a student journalism adviser at a high school in Irving, Texas, the city where she grew up.

Her life “mostly revolved around Newhouse,” said David Sutherland, an adjunct professor at the school.

“She was committed to her work, and she was committed to her students,” Franz said. “Everything else was just kind of secondary.”

Taylor’s teaching style was very direct, SU seniors Katie Benson and Payton Campbell said. The students, who both took Taylor’s “Type and Image for Multimedia” course, said she always gave “brutally honest” feedback and encouraged students to learn from their mistakes.

“A few hours before I heard Sherri had passed, I was talking about something I’d learned in one of her classes,” said Rachel Baker, another one of Taylor’s former

see taylor page 4

A former Syracuse University student and hockey player is suing the university after he was expelled over sexual assault allegations he claims were part of a “homophobic panic.”

The lawsuit, which was filed in the Onondaga County Supreme Court on Friday, alleges that SU violated its own policies by retroactively expelling the student and withholding his degree.

SU does not comment on pending litigation, said Sarah Scalese, senior associate vice president for university communications. The university has not filed a response to the lawsuit yet.

The suit dates back to a March 2019 sexual encounter that the student, identified in the lawsuit only as John Doe, said set off a series of anti-gay attacks against him from teammates and ex-girlfriend.

Doe is requesting that SU vacate its decisions finding him responsible for sexual misconduct and expunge the allegations from his transcript.

Following a team party on March 2, 2019, the plaintiff and another student who managed the team’s digital media returned to the plaintiff’s apartment and had oral sex, the suit alleges. The encounter, which the plaintiff said was initiated by the other student, was consensual, the lawsuit claims.

Word of the sexual encounter spread while the hockey team was in Philadelphia for a tournament, the lawsuit reads. The other student involved in the encounter, identified in the lawsuit as W.D., had faced ridicule from team members who suspected he was gay, the suit alleges.

On March 19, 2019, W.D. texted Doe’s roommate claiming the encounter was not consensual and said that he was not gay, the lawsuit says.

W.D. filed a Title IX complaint about the encounter on March 27, 2019. The next day, another SU hockey player, whom the lawsuit identified as J.P., filed a complaint alleging that Doe had touched his thigh without consent in September 2017. A day later, Doe’s teammate, identified as C.F., alleged that Doe had exposed himself in his apartment in September 2018.

Finally, on April 1, 2019, SU filed a Title IX complaint on behalf of another student and player, identified as Z.B., who had called the see lawsuit page 4

2 oct. 26, 2020

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PAG E 3

oct. 26, 2020

on campus

city

SU campus grieves after a month of losses County sees high early voter turnout

By Abby Weiss

asst. digital editor

Some Syracuse students are struggling to manage grief after three SU students and one SU employee died in a short period of time. The pandemic has made the grieving process more difficult, some students said.

emily steinberger photo editor

By Maggie Hicks asst. news editor

Chaplains at Hendricks Chapel are working to support those mourning the deaths of Syracuse University community members this semester.

Three students — Bridget Lawson, Jack Lundin and Trevor Pierce — and professor Sherri Taylor have died in the past month, representing an overwhelming loss even during the coronavirus pandemic.

Hendricks chaplains said that experiencing so much loss can be emotionally exhausting, and the best way to cope with that loss is to connect with others and find a supportive community.

Dean of Hendricks Chapel Brian Konkol said grief is inevitable when

a person dies, even if the person experiencing grief never met the individual who died.

“Even if someone has lost their life and we didn’t know them personally, oftentimes it’s tempting to personalize it and think about our own loved ones,” Konkol said. “It forces us to think about our own mortality, our own existence. We’re reminded, oftentimes in jarring ways, that our own lives are fragile. Tomorrow is not a promise to anybody.”

Lawson, an SU staff member and graduate student, died at home on Sept. 22. She was 40 years old. Three weeks later, on Oct. 13, Pierce, an SU freshman studying political philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences, died after colliding with an SU trolley while skateboarding

down Waverly Avenue.

On Oct. 14, just over 24 hours after Pierce’s death, Lundin, a freshman magazine, news and digital journalism student, died unexpectedly. The cause of Lundin’s death is still unclear.

Taylor, a faculty member in the Newhouse School of Public Communications, died on Oct. 19 after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. She was a member of the visual communications department and served as coordinator of scholastic programs at Newhouse.

Rhonda Chester, the United Methodist chaplain at Hendricks, compared grieving the loss of a stranger to watching an emotional movie or television show. Even though the audience doesn’t know

the actor or the character personally, they still identify with them and their emotions, Chester said.

“Our definition of knowing one another is based on familiarity — in that you’re friends on Facebook.

You’re classmates together. You’re neighbors. You’re family,” Chester said. “But knowing is deeper than that. We know each other. I am you, and you are me. We’re human.”

The deaths of Pierce and Lundin have been especially hard for SU freshmen, Konkol and Chester said.

One of the most difficult parts of experiencing death is how it can leave a permanent mark on someone, Konkol said. Freshmen experienced the deaths of two classmates during their first

see grief page 4

on campus

Explainer: Loretta Lynch’s review of DPS

By Sarah Alessandrini asst. news editor

Former United States Attorney General Loretta Lynch will help guide the creation of a board to review complaints against the Department of Public Safety as part of her ongoing investigation of the department.

Lynch’s proposed Public Safety Citizen Review Board will hear, review and recommend actions in response to allegations of misconduct by DPS officers. The proposal was the first concrete measure to emerge from Lynch’s review.

Lynch announced the proposal for the review board in August, and released a proposed framework in September based on feedback she received from the SU community.

SU plans to establish its Public Safety Community Review Board during this academic year. Here’s an explainer on Lynch’s review so far and what a DPS review board might look like:

How it started

Chancellor Kent Syverud announced Lynch’s investigation in

February, shortly after DPS faced backlash for officers’ treatment of protesters at Crouse-Hinds Hall. #NotAgainSU, a movement led by Black students, occupied Crouse-Hinds for 31 days last spring as part of its protests against SU’s response to hate incidents on campus. DPS sealed the building off for two days at the start of the occupation, preventing food or supplies from entering the building.

Protesters who gathered outside Crouse-Hinds physically struggled with DPS officers multiple times.

One video posted to social media shows DPS Deputy Chief John Sardino reaching for his holster during a struggle with protesters.

Lynch served as attorney general under President Barack Obama and comes from the Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison law firm. Her work has focused on improving community-police relations.

Who gave feedback

By the time she announced her proposal for a review board, Lynch had spoken with several students, faculty and administrators. Lynch used this feedback to develop her framework.

Lynch’s team hosted a series of listening sessions with students, faculty, staff and DPS personnel to guide their recommendations for the review board’s makeup and operating procedures. The team also reached out to various student leaders and asked them to share their availability to schedule a time to discuss their views on DPS. Student Association sent a DPS Experiences and Concerns Form to the student body in June. The form received over 100 responses, all of which Lynch and her team reviewed.

appeals from certain DPS findings, review and comment on new DPS policies and training procedures and publish an annual report that reviews how the department handles issues.

In evaluating cases, the board will have the authority to review video footage, written witness statements and other items that are part of its investigation record. The board will submit its recommendations to the chancellor to make a final decision.

How will the board work

Aside from proposing the review board, Lynch has yet to publish conclusions regarding her investigation into DPS. Faculty at a University Senate meeting this month expressed concerns that Lynch has yet to conclude her investigation.

Lynch will submit her report to SU’s Board of Trustees before it is released to the public, Syverud said at the senate meeting.

SU expects Lynch to complete her review in December, but the university may not share details of the report with the public until it is finalized, Syverud said.

Under Lynch’s proposed framework, the Citizen Review Board will consist of two undergraduate students, one graduate student, two faculty members, two administrators and two staff members. Board members should elect a chairperson and attend a day of anti-bias training each year.

Board members will review DPS investigations of officers that have been accused of misconduct and may agree or disagree with the results of the investigations. They may also reopen an investigation.

Board members will also hear

What’s next

scalessa@syr.edu

Voters traveled to polling sites across the county on Sunday to participate in the second day of early voting.

Early voting for the general election in New York state started Saturday and will run for nine days until Nov. 1. Early voters said they chose to vote early this weekend to avoid large crowds and long lines on Election Day. This year marks the first time New York state has allowed early voting in a presidential election after first implementing it in the 2019 election. More people in Onondaga County voted early this weekend than in all nine days of early voting in 2019, the county elections commissioner announced Sunday.

At the end of the day, the Board of Elections reported a total of 9,846 votes were cast over the weekend.

Nicolas Perez, who voted for the first time Sunday, participated in early voting to avoid the crowds on Election Day for safety and convenience.

“It’s important especially now during such an important election,” Perez said. “There are a lot of rights and issues on the line.”

Some early voters said they believe this will be one of the most important general elections in their lifetimes.

Carol Charles hopes that, after the election, she’ll see more policies, such as a stimulus package, that support people who have suffered financially due to the pandemic and can’t afford to pay rent.

“People-friendly policies need to happen because people are hurting,” she said. “As it’s been said, vote like your life depends on it, because it does.”

Charles voted at the Syracuse Community Connections polling site located in the city’s Southside neighborhood. She participated in early voting to avoid the long lines on Election Day and because she felt more confident voting in person than by mail.

Like Charles, Karen Oakes chose to vote early in person because it gave her more confidence that her ballot would be counted than if she had voted by mail.

“It’s been a very close election,” she said. “Everyone should have their say.”

Managers of polling sites in Syracuse have already seen hundreds arrive at their sites to cast ballots early. Signs at the entrances of polling places remind voters they must wear masks and arrows drawn on the ground direct voter traffic to promote social distancing.

Bruce Swift, who managed the polling site at the Armond Magnarelli Center on the city’s Northside, described the turnout rate for early voting as “incredible.” He saw 600 to 700 people vote at his site this weekend, which he attributed to the heightened interest in this year’s election.

Larry Williams, the CEO of the Syracuse Community Connections and the manager of the polling site there, was also impressed with the turnout this weekend. He described the surge of early voters as “one of the best things that he’s seen in terms of democracy in action.” see voting page 4

4 oct. 26, 2020

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on campus

SU students campaign for candidates ahead of Election Day

By Mira Berenbaum asst. copy editor

Syracuse University students are working with local and national political campaigns in anticipation of the 2020 election.

For central New York, the general election will include several congressional races as well as the presidential race. With a little over a week remaining until Election Day, students told The Daily Orange that working on campaigns has helped them give back to their communities and educate others on the importance of voting.

Hailey Schector, a senior political science and citizenship and civic engagement major, heard about an opportunity to work with the Dana from page 1

taylor students, in an email. “That’s how much Sherri impacted my life: a decade plus post-graduation and she was dinner-table conversation.”

Taylor had Parkinson’s disease for close to 10 years, but kept her experience with the disease private because she didn’t want anyone to feel sorry for her, Franz said. She didn’t let the illness hold her back.

“I created work and dreamt of concepts that didn’t even exist before her class, and that was the kind of professor Sherri Taylor was,” Campbell said. “She wanted us to think of our wildest dreams or our wildest idea.”

The door to Taylor’s office in Newhouse 2 was always open, and she kept a bowl of chocolates on her desk for anyone passing by, said Bruce Strong, professor and chair of Newhouse’s visual communications department.

She packed the space with former students’ designs and items she had collected during her 30-year span at the school.

Anytime a colleague or student came in her office, she would swivel her chair around and stop working. Taylor was always willing to chat, Strong said.

She was willing to help her students and colleagues with any issue, said Renée Stevens, from page 1

lawsuit Department of Public Safety and Syracuse Police Department on March 20, 2019, to allege that Doe tried to rape him.

SPD never filed charges against Doe and has no records of a criminal investigation or report against him, the lawsuit states. Z.B. later admitted to SU that he had exaggerated aspects of the incident, saying Doe had tried to kiss him, not rape him, the lawsuit says.

Investigators from SU’s Title IX office first interviewed W.D., J.P. and C.F. between March 27 and April 1, 2019, the suit says. Z.B. refused to participate in the investigation, but SU moved forward with a complaint on his behalf.

While the Title IX office conducted interfrom page 3

grief

few months in college, an already immense transition in their lives, he said.

That’s something current SU freshmen will always carry with them, Konkol said.

“In that educational process there’s already so much development, so much learning, so much change,” Konkol said. “So in the midst of that environment already, then you throw in grief, loss, suffering and sorrow. It’s very jarring.”

Several chaplains also said that experiencing so many deaths during the coronavirus pandemic, which has limited how students can safely grieve, can make the mourning process extremely difficult.

Amir Duric, the Muslim chaplain at Hendricks Chapel, said COVID-19 public health guidelines restrict students’ ability to grieve together in-person, which can be extremely isolating in times of mourning.

“In times of suffering, grief and sorrow, one of the most important things to get through grief and sorrow is to be connected to community,” Konkol said. “When all of

Balter campaign in her constitutional law class.

“I was looking for something to fill my time a little bit because I found that I had a lot of free time that I could make a difference with,” Schector said. “This was a good campaign for me.”

Balter, who previously was a professor at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, is the Democratic candidate in the race for New York state’s 24th Congressional District. She is running against Rep. John Katko (R-Camillus), a former federal prosecutor who is pursuing his fourth term in Congress.

Katko’s campaign did not respond to repeated requests for comment about whether SU students were helping with his campaign.

Lily Biagi, a junior political science major, also works for the Balter campaign.

Biagi learned about opportunities to become involved in the campaign from social media.

She now spends time calling voters in the rural areas in the district, including Cayuga and Wayne counties.

“I have been calling a lot of voters, reminding them to vote,” she said.

Students for Biden, an SU student-run organization, has been organizing phone banks to campaign for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden in swing states, said Amanda Byrne, a sophomore and one of five executive board members for Students for Biden. The group, sponsored by SU College Democrats, meets every Monday to call voters.

Students for Biden has also partnered with several other organizations, including the

Democratic National Committee and Balter’s campaign, Byrne said.

“All of our phone banks are casual,” Byrne said. “Anyone is welcome to drop in.”

In her role, Byrne helps organize phone banks and communicates with New York Students for Biden. She encouraged students to do their research before voting.

“Everyone should check on Vote.org where their closest ballot box is,” Byrne said. “I encourage everyone to keep in mind the policies that really affect our generation.”

Both Byrne and Biagi encouraged all SU students to vote.

“Your vote matters,” Biagi said. “Get involved and do your research and just vote.”

a professor and associate chair of the visual communications department in Newhouse.

“She wasn’t doing all this work for recognition,”Stevens said. “She was just doing it for the students.”

Taylor’s colleagues also knew her for her intense attention to detail. She once caught a misspelling on a professionally-done sign in Newhouse, said Nancy Austin, deputy director of the military journalism program. On another occasion, Taylor identified the exact font on the sign for a laundromat near Austin’s house.

“It was entertaining,” Austin said. “Even on her worst days, she could be entertaining.”

When Taylor attended journalism conventions and workshops, she maintained relationships with the people she met and kept in touch for years. She served as an unofficial ambassador for Newhouse and was “the gateway to considering Syracuse” for many students, said Gary Lundgren, associate director at the National Scholastic Press Association and one of Taylor’s best friends.

During the year-and-a-half at SU that Franz spent living with Taylor, the two cooked together multiple times a week and watched TV in the evenings. Taylor was like a fun aunt or older sister, he said.

“She was like family,” he said. “She was, she is.”

Boutwell didn’t talk to Taylor frequently but was still proud of her younger sister’s accomplishments. She’d brag to friends about Taylor’s career as a professor at SU, especially at a time when the visual communications industry was dominated by men, she said.

Before moving to Syracuse to earn her master’s degree, Taylor was a student journalism adviser at Irving High School in Texas. The newspaper and yearbook programs she oversaw there were so well-produced that they “kicked the entire state of Texas up a notch,” said Bradley Wilson, Taylor’s colleague who became Irving’s journalism adviser a few years after Taylor left.

She played a pivotal role in advancing scholastic journalism, he said, and she continued to raise standards nationwide.

Taylor’s students have gone on to design for Fortune 500 companies and manage multimillion-dollar advertising agencies, Franz said. At Irving, she also taught John Moore, a photographer who has won multiple Pulitzer Prizes.

“I can’t tell you the number of former students, from both Syracuse and from high school, who’ve posted saying she’s the best teacher they’ve ever had,” Lundgren said. “She was a master teacher.”

Taylor was able to find success in both high school and college journalism, something that can be challenging because of the differing

expectations and levels of independence, Wilson said. Her versatility spoke to her skills as a teacher, he said.

Even after leaving Irving for SU, Taylor remained connected to the high school journalism world, frequently teaching at summer conventions with friends such as Lundgren.

She also served as director of the Empire State Scholastic Press Association.

Taylor planned to retire from SU in December. She was spending her final semester developing Newhouse’s high school journalism programs, Lundgren said.

As part of the military journalism program, Taylor taught students from a variety of backgrounds. Some were married with families. Some had done tours of duty. Some had photographed the president.

It took a special teacher to reach people from so many different backgrounds, and Taylor was just that, Austin said.

Former military journalism students — many on active-duty in war zones — would call Austin during the Gulf War in the early 90s to say hello.

Many of them would ask the same question when they called.

“The first couple things they’d say... ‘How’s Sherri Taylor? How’s professor Taylor doing, how’s professor Taylor doing?’” Austin said.

“She obviously made a huge impact.”

views related to the investigation, hockey team leaders coordinated meetings to discuss Doe, the lawsuit alleges. It further claims that the players withheld evidence and refused to turn over group texts where they coordinated their testimony against Doe. SU placed Doe on interim suspension on March 28, 2019. The university denied his appeal of the suspension on April 5.

SU did not interview Doe or the students who had filed allegations against him until May 2019, allowing “damaging, homophobic rumors” about him to circulate for months, the suit says.

One of the students who testified against Doe was photographed wearing a T-shirt that included the nicknames of hockey team members. Doe’s nickname on the shirt was covered

by a piece of tape with what Doe’s lawyers believe to be a homophobic slur written on it.

On July 8, Doe’s former girlfriend filed a Title IX complaint alleging Doe had coerced her into sex on three occasions during their relationship. The lawsuit claims her allegations were spurred by the anti-gay attacks the hockey team had made against Doe. In September 2019, Doe requested SU hear all five complaints against him together. Doe “believed the complaints represented a coordinated effort to target him based on a homophobic panic spread throughout the hockey team,” the suit says.

Doe thought that consolidating the cases would streamline the process and allow the university to see his accusers’ collaboration,

the suit says.

SU agreed. On April 1, 2020, SU’s Title IX Hearing Board found Doe responsible for four of the five allegations — all except for C.F.’s — and retroactively expelled him.

Since Doe would have graduated in May 2019, the ruling prevented him from obtaining his degree.

Doe appealed SU’s decision, arguing that the numerous delays in the investigation and hearing prejudiced his ability to receive a fair process.

The Appeals Board upheld all of the findings against Doe. While the investigation’s timeline may have been “frustrating” to Doe, the delays had not deprived him of a fair process, SU said at the time.

the sudden grief, suffering and sorrow is connected to separation, that really exponentially makes it more difficult.”

Many of the chaplains encouraged SU students, faculty and staff to seek out community to share their emotions, even if they must do so virtually or at a distance.

Chester created SU’s Grief Awareness Program when the pandemic began. The program, provides students with a space to talk about loss and grief, she said.

While Chester was not expecting to have so many unexpected deaths in the SU community this year, she said the program has helped students express their emotions, which is an important part of the grieving process.

“What is not expressed is depressed or suppressed,” Chester said. “That is the common way that people deal with darker emotions. You don’t want to talk about it. ” JoAnn Cooke, a Buddhist chaplain at Hendricks, said it’s also important to feel connected to the person who has died, even if you didn’t know them personally.

The day after Pierce’s death, students set up a memorial with flowers and pictures of Pierce at the intersection of Waverly and

Comstock avenues. The university also installed plaques outside Hendricks to commemorate Lundin and Pierce and organized a virtual vigil to honor all four community members who have died.

“When somebody passes away, even if you don’t know them, you feel this loss of a piece of yourself,” Cooke said. “You don’t have specific memories of that person. You don’t have that day-to-day relationship with them. But you just feel a loss.”

Students and faculty who are grieving should use all of the resources available to them, Konkol said. These can include seeking professional help, such as talking to a chaplain at Hendricks or a counselor at the Barnes Center at The Arch, or they may include smaller steps, such as sending someone a text, writing a letter or taking a walk.

The goal of the grieving process is not to make that grief go away, but rather to accept that it is an inevitable part of being human, Konkol said.

“Grief is a natural and predictable consequence of love,” he said. “One sure-fire way to never grieve is to never love.” mehicks@syr.edu

mlberenb@syr.edu

msessa@syr.edu | @MichaelSessa3

from page 3

voting “Voting is going to help facilitate the basis for real change,” Williams said. “There’s nothing greater than voting for someone who represents things that are near and dear to you.”

There are many advantages to early voting, such as allowing people to cast their ballot when it is most convenient for them and reducing crowds during a pandemic, Williams said.

Members of the central New York chapter of the Black Leadership Coalition, an advocacy group that works to build political engagement within Black communities and communities of color, volunteered at the Syracuse Community Connections polling site to provide coffee and drinks to voters.

Gina Iliev, a member of the coalition, said lines at the site were long early on Sunday, with dozens of people waiting in the cold to cast their vote.

“We want to show our community that we’re here for them,” she said. “We want as many people to have the opportunity to exercise their right to vote.” akweiss@syr.edu

OPINION

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PAG E 5

oct. 26, 2020

column

column

COVID-19 makes polarization worse Students often overlook risks of marijuana

Social isolation added fuel to the fire of political polarization in the U.S., and it all starts on your social media feeds.

emily steinberger photo editor

By Andrea Lan columnist

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veryone is frustrated with the current political climate.

Whether you’re on the left, right, middle, or something else all together, our country continues to divide and (socially) distance.

COVID-19 has only exacerbated the crisis of political polarization in this country, and it all starts with our social media feeds.

In recent years, there has been an increasing unwillingness of political leaders to work across party lines. This intolerance among leaders is reflected in the general public. As a result, collaboration, connection, and morale have dropped to an all-time low in the nation. These effects are only exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

People are conversing less person-to-person, and retreating to the comfort of anonymity on social media. This has also resulted in people moving back to conversing most with their racial in-groups. Over three quarters of white americans socialize with only white people, and nearly 60% for Black americans.

This begs the question, how do we bridge the divide?

The demonization of partisans in this conflict stagnates the progress that is able to be made toward national unity and good policy. To Dr. Emily Thorson, an assistant professor of political science at Syracuse University, the popularity of political partisanship has directly led to this reality.

“The evidence is very strong for a huge increase in affective polarization, the idea that Republicans have started to dislike Democrats more and Democrats have started to dislike Republicans more, which differs from issue polarization where in which Democrats and Republicans stray further and further away about the issues,” Thornson said. “(This is due to) partisanship becom(ing) much more a part of people’s social identity, so if you are a Republican and someone is criticizing Republicans, you feel as though they are criticizing you.”

This trend of affective polarization has been found in research as well, and it affects every part of our social lives. Nearly two-thirds of

Americans would not date someone that has a significantly differing political opinion. I’m not saying you have to marry your political or ideological opposition, but we might all benefit from some civil discourse.

In a digital age where so much political conversation and conflict happens over the Internet, social media solidifies and reaffirms your feelings, according to Dr. Louis Kriesberg, professor emeritus of sociology at SU. This also creates a pluralist “us vs. them” culture, having the potential to limit you to a very homogenous social network and result in real, damaging effects on our democracy, according to Dr. Richard Braungart, a professor emeritus of sociology at SU. The carefully curated feed that social media platforms provide has a tendency to exacerbate polarity by showing you what you already agree with, or vehemently disagree with, something that has recently come into the national spotlight in Netflix’s The Social Dilemma.

We must recognize this and take an active stance on diversifying our network, engaging in and recognizing the complexity of the opposing side, whichever side it may be. Furthermore, Thorson encourages people to model the kind of civil discourse they wish to see more of. When those who are capable of respectful discourse detach, “you cede that ground to people with the most extreme views,” she said.

What is often left out of the conversation is the criticality of multiple sides to an issue. Election season in an increasingly polarized society causes us to lose sight of the value and importance of the Democratic viewpoint, Republican viewpoint and everything in between. Given that the two-party system has dominated American government and presidency for countless decades, let’s focus on the importance of the coexistence of the two.

In social psychologist Jonathan Haidt’s TedTalk, he lays out the fundamental differences in the moral psychology of Democrats and Republicans. Globally, the trend among liberals and conservatives is that liberals’ morality

is centered mainly around harm and fairness, while conservatives value the same concepts (a little less than liberals) as well as order, loyalty, and purity. Haidt draws on the concept of Yin and Yang in Asian philosophy — the necessity of both Yin and Yang for the functioning of the world — to explain that both groups have something to contribute. They form a balance on change and stability.

With the ever increasing selfsegregation and emotional attachment of our political ideologies, we move further and further away from collaboration and cooperation and closer to destruction in the face of conflict. Kriesberg cites the importance of reflection and listening as issues grow more complex.

“It is a mistake to keep doing things the way you’ve done it. We often times forget to look for and work towards the mutual benefit that might occur if there was change,” he said. “I think that is a good opening to then explore the possibility of thinking freshly and comprehensively about conflicts, and learning how to listen is critical in that.”

Braungart similarly emphasizes that citizenship is rooted in action.

“Communicate responsibly.

There is nothing wrong with disagreement. We have to learn to deal with people making mistakes and differences of opinion and you have to do it peacefully. You can debate them, and learn from them and hopefully establish good public policy that’s based on facts that can resolve the problems that we face today,” he said. “Have factual material, coming from research, science, technology, and experience to make good decisions. Your generation is raising important issues. Be active in determining your future.”

Liberals and conservatives, you have more in common with your partisan neighbor, and need each other more than you think for a well functioning democracy. Let’s try to set our emotions aside. Listen to learn, understand, and move forward together.

Andrea Lan is a junior finance major. Her column appears bi-weekly. She can be reached at alan01@g.syr.edu

illustration by sarah allam illustration editor

By Sourov Rayhan columnist

C

ollege students must realize the negative effects of marijuana use, which is now at its highest in 35 years among teens and young adults in the United States. As states and elected officials push to decriminalize and legalize the drug, researchers have presented conflicting information about its safety.

Syracuse University is known as one of the U.S.’s top party schools, and marijuana use is common among students at these schools. It’s easy to get absorbed into the social norm of smoking without realizing its greater risks.

“I think it would be hard to find someone who would say ‘I solely came to SU for the party scene,’ but it definitely is at the back of people’s minds. The way the party scene is set up, it does encourage using substances, whether it’s alcohol or marijuana,” SU sophomore Nikita Goswami said.

Smoking increases one’s risk of cancer, said Dessa Bergen-Cico, a professor of public health and a coordinator of the addiction studies program at SU. “Just like with drinking, you have to moderate and fulfill your priorities,” Bergen-Cico said.

“One of the things with cannabis is that it is psychologically addictive. People can be psychologi-

cally dependent on it, and they can have difficulty sleeping once they stop using it regularly.”

The risk of becoming dependent on marijuana is often overlooked, as it’s seen as safer than alcohol or tobacco. But just because something is less dangerous doesn’t mean it’s harmless.

Smok ing wea kens your immune system by making your lungs vulnerable to infections easily. Marijuana can also make your heart work harder, which can be harmful to people with existing cardiovascular conditions. Heav y marijuana use is also connected to low bone density.

Along with marijuana use, vaping is also common among college students and has adverse effects on lung health. Illegal vapes that include tetrahydrocannabinol, the chemical from cannabis that creates the majority of its psychological effects, have also been the subject of health concerns.

Everything has its pros and cons, and the same goes for marijuana. Students should step back, look at the risks and reconsider if marijuana is safe enough for them. There are also resources available from SU for students experiencing substance use disorders.

Sourov Rayhan is a sophomore English major. Their column appears bi-weekly. He can be reached at srayhan@syr.edu

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CULTURE

PAG E 6

oct. 26, 2020

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Performing with power

(FROM LEFT) CATHY BUTLER, ALICE QUEEN, MICHELE LINDOR AND MARTIKAH WILLIAMS (SEATED) make up the four-person band CAMM, which started in August and performs songs from artists such as Whitney Houston.

courtesy of michele lindor

The four women who make up the band CAMM are activists in Syracuse

By Rachel Cramer

contributing writer

A

ll-female singing group CAMM is more than just a music ensemble. The Syracusebased quartet is also trying to advocate for change in the community.

CAMM is made up of four Black women.

Despite being a few months old, the group has already performed at three events this year.

The group sings a variety of genres including R&B and gospel music and has performed at events such as a Syracuse Police Accountability and Reform Coalition rally at City Hall, as well as the “Say Their Names” memorial on Oct. 14 at the Bethany Baptist Church. The group’s most recent performance was Sunday at the ACR Health First Frost Walk.

“What I really wanted to do is bring together powerful influential Black artists from around the area who I knew were going to be unapologetic and proud in every single thing they had to say,” said CAMM member Cathy Butler. “I’m

What I really wanted to do is bring together powerful influential Black artists from around the area who I knew were going to be unapologetic and proud in every single thing they had to say Cathy Butler camm band member

just so grateful that they were willing to embark even on this one day together, let alone this entire journey that we seem to have cultivated together and taken on.”

The group formed on Aug. 1 when a friend of Butler’s asked her to sing at a rally near City Hall. Butler then contacted three women she knew who are involved in the city’s performing arts community.

Butler attended college with member Alice Queen, and met Michele Lindor while working together in a performing arts show last December. Martikah Williams and Butler connected through Facebook earlier this year after both being invited to a Zoom talk to speak about racial disparities in the Syracuse theater community.

The four women got together and performed at the SPAARC rally. After their performance, the women decided to form the group that same day. The group then came up see band page 8

from the studio

SU professor creates rugs to document mother’s illness

By Sydney Pollack contributing writer

ann clarke gained inspiration for her rugs from her role as a caretaker for her 100-year-old mother. courtesy of ann clarke

Ann Clarke, an associate professor of studio arts and dean emerita in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, is exhibiting rugs that document her role as a caretaker to her now 100-year-old mother. The exhibit also shows her historical identity as a woman and an artist at the Schweinfurth Art Center.

The solo exhibit is called “Lessons of Empathy in Wonderland” and runs until Jan. 10. Some of the rugs are up to 14 feet long and are a composite of the past, pres-

ent and future — a map of words and numbers alongside images and silhouettes.

“It’s that compression of a grocery list from today with a letter from the 1950s,” Clarke said. “In a way, it’s kind of a scrapbook, all compressed in one piece.”

The bigger rugs are laborintensive, taking two months to create at 40 hours per week, but Clarke said that’s something she likes about them. She can work on a rug for months before finishing it, creating a giant work of art from the repetitive and smaller act of knitting and yarn work.

Davana Robedee, program

director and a curator in Clarke’s current exhibition, stressed the large-scale importance of Clarke’s work.

“Historically, fiber art has been considered women’s work, and as many things go with women’s work, has been undervalued,” Robedee said. “We’ve seen a shift in that over the years where fiber art really is stepping up and a lot of fiber practices are becoming more valued in the contemporary world.”

Clarke herself may have undervalued fiber art when it was first introduced to her. Her see rugs page 8

From the

stage dailyorange.com @dailyorange oct. 26, 2020

“A Gatherin’ Place” features a group of women who are residents in the same Brooklyn building, with each character telling their own story in the form of monologues. One of the central themes of the play is what it means to be an “unapologetic” Black woman. courtesy of syracuse stage

Their own stories ‘A Gatherin’ Place’ tells the personal stories of Black women in CNY

By Isabella Friedrich contributing writer

W

hen she was little, Juhanna Rogers dreamed about having her work shown at a community theater and performed multiple times, including at a regional stage. Now, her play “A Gatherin’ Place” aims to celebrate Black women in an authentic way on stage.

Rogers wrote and directed the play. She asked the Harriet Tubman Troupe, a group of Black women dedicated to portraying women of color through performance, to write down their own experiences to include in the play.

“A Gatherin’ Place” is currently available for streaming on Syracuse Stage’s website until Nov. 1. The production features a group of women who are residents in the same Brooklyn building, with each character telling their own story in the form of monologues. Black women in the central New York community shared their personal stories and helped develop the play’s script.

“I’m most proud of the bravery of the women to stand up and stand in their stories and their experience,” Rogers said. “None of these women are professional actresses, so I’m proud of their commitment. I’m proud of their courage.”

One of the central themes of the play is what it means to be an “unapologetic” Black woman. It is challenging for Black women to express their emotions in society, Rogers said. With the support of Auburn Public Theater and Syracuse Stage, Rogers and the acting troupe were given a “heavenly opportunity,” she said.

The Harriet Tubman Troupe has performed “A Gatherin’ Place” before. Penalva, who is the assistant director of marketing and communications at Syracuse Stage, first saw the play at Auburn Public Theater and decided to bring it to Syracuse Stage.

“These (monologues) were written not by theater artists but women in our community, but intelligent, major powerhouse women,” Penalva said.

“These women have taken their experience, their education and articulated it in an open, amazing way. But most of all it is their courage that I hope students feel empowered by.”

Gwen Webber-McLeod, who is a founding member of the Tubman Troupe, said practicing for the play would sometimes take up to eight hours a day for the Syracuse Stage production of “A Gatherin’ Place.” Black Cub Productions sat in during the performance and filmed the play.

The play was initially supposed to be online from Oct. 16 to Oct. 25 but Syracuse Stage extended its availability for streaming due to the interest of viewers, Penalva said. Professors at Syracuse University even showed interest in showing it in their classrooms.

Webber-McLeod said it’s important to showcase Black women, especially on the stage. “A Gatherin’ Place” is a good space to spark conversations about amplifying Black women’s voices, she said.

“We’re on that grind of trying to survive every single day in our Blackness, and all of the related bullsh*t that comes along with that,” WebberMcLeod said. “This was supposed to be performed in this moment in the middle of COVID-19 and all of that is what made it as powerful as it is.” imfriedr@syr.edu

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PAGE 7

8 oct. 26, 2020

from page 6

band

with the name CAMM, an acronym of the four women’s first names.

The band members have musical and artistic backgrounds and are also activists.

Each has attended peaceful protests and rallies in and around Syracuse.

CAMM has been meeting weekly, typically on Monday or Friday nights for a couple of hours. During their rehearsals, the group begins by talking about social justice, what is going on in their own lives and what is going on in the local community. Once the women move into the singing portion of the meeting, they go over prior work, then go through pieces that they are working on.

“There is a structure to it, and then there’s tangents in between the structure. We have a good time. We spend a lot of our rehearsal laughing,” Williams said.

So far, CAMM has its own rendition of the Black National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing” by J. Rosamond Johnson and James Weldon Johnson, along with their own cover of “When You Believe” by Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey. They also perform music from the hit musical “Hamilton.” Their music is from a lot of powerful women and the group mainly sings “power anthems,” Williams said.

Each member of CAMM plays a differfrom page 6

rugs

mother taught Clarke most of the techniques she used when she was young, but in the name of being a housewife, not an artist.

“I actually learned the techniques not through an art frame but through a frame of women’s work, and the domestic, not considered art. So that certainly informed the work going forward,” Clarke said.

Wool is the primary material Clarke uses in her rugs, a fabric that feels very familiar to Clarke, who was born in Rochester and raised through cold upstate New York winters.

Errol Willett, an associate professor of studio arts, began teaching at SU the same fall as Clarke did, 21 years ago. He owns one of Clarke’s rugs in his home. The use of fabric is a major factor in making the pieces so meaningful, he said.

“Something about the tactility of fibers and its relationship to domestic space and to the sort of comfort, gives the wall pieces this additional power,” Willett said.

Clarke’s mother, Betty, is 100 years old and has Alzheimer’s disease. Clarke said a concept she is interested in has been the reversal of her and her mother’s roles as she sometimes sees her mother as her child in terms of caregiving. It’s that relationship that inspired her piece “Mother and Child.” This caretaking role allowed Clarke to understand more about how her mother experiences time, a concept that she continues to incorpo-

dailyorange.com culture@dailyorange.com

ent role in the band. Williams is the resident soprano, and Lindor is the resident tenor. Butler is fluid in her abilities and has a wide range, and Queen describes herself as a “storyteller.”

“I’m very much a storyteller, so the way I do music is tell stories and we’re able to bring it together,” Queen said. “I realize our blend and our performance becomes a little tighter, and a lot more polished.”

The group works and blends together well, but they are still figuring out their sound and exploring when making up songs and putting their rhythms together, Queen said. The group is finding out more about their voice, as both singers and as women.

“We’re learning about who we are and how we all mesh together, and how we introduce ourselves to the world is very important to us,” Queen said. “Learning about ourselves is very interesting,” A major priority for CAMM is to show up and be activists for their community. Every time they show up, they are pointing to the fact that Black women are disrespected and underappreciated as a marginalized group in the United States, Williams said.

“Black women of all types can love each other and appreciate each other and express each other,” Williams said. “This is an example of what we want to see in our community, but everywhere else that we go and travel to.” racramer@syr.edu

rate into most of her work.

Her series “Eye Portals” features smaller circular rugs depicting one eye of various women who have been important to Clarke.

These include Clarke’s older family members, her mother, her twin sister and also important women in history. She has an eye for Amelia Bloomer, an early suffragette who is credited with being one of the first women to wear pants and an eye for Mary Cass, who became one of the first women to lead a Fortune 500 company.

I think, something about the tactility of fibers, and its relationship to domestic space and to the sort of comfort, gives the wall pieces this additional power Errol Willett

associate professor of studio arts

“It’s really situating me, my family, and the women I know on the timeline of the history of women, the women who stood before,” Clarke said. sypollac@syr.edu

For the most up to date information, as well as links to all of our virtual events, please visit studentactivities.syr.edu/ orange-pride/orange-central.html or @sutraditions on Instagram.

Wednesday 10/28: Virtual Paint Night, Virtual, 8pm. Learn to paint a beautiful Halloween themed painting through an online platform. All supplies are provided, and no ticket is required! Visit the Office of Student Activities Orange Central events page to reserve your spot.

Thursday 10/29: Aux Cord Wars, Virtual, 8pm. Register now for a chance to battle the Homecoming Court! Visit the Office of Student Activities Orange Central events page and sign up now!

Friday 10/30: University Union and Traditions Commission Performing Arts Show, Virtual, 8pm. The Homecoming King and Queen will be announced!

Escape the Room Presented by Orange After Dark, Location TBA, 10pm. Put your brain to the test and join Orange After Dark as we work in teams and try to escape the room!

Saturday 10/31: Football game v. Wake Forest, Carrier Dome, Time TBA. Virtual Murder Mystery, Virtual, 10pm. Grab your detective cap and join Orange After Dark as we work together to solve a murder!

Office of Student Activities

Clarke’s exhibit “Lessons of Empathy in Wonderland” runs until Jan. 10 at the Schweinfurth Art Center in Auburn.

courtesy of ann clarke

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oct. 26, 2020 9

dailyorange.com

title since 2009. It advanced to the final four just once, and the quarterfinals just five times.

But with winning season after winning season, Desko continued to etch his own legacy, separated from the shadows of Simmons Jr. before him.

from page 12

desko heat of the game and I get down low with him.

And of course, he blows it right past me, right past my head, underneath the bar, and my stick’s about three feet off the ground, down where his stick was at the time. As it’s getting the net, I go, “Ah fuck.” I hear a scream from the sidelines: “Matthew, Matthew.”

And then I finally look over at him, and he puts his hand up by the side of his head. “Was it here? Was it here?”

JoJo Marasco, Tewaaraton Award finalist and first-team All-American, 2010 to 2013

I’ve always been deaf in my right ear, and that was like a big thing. But it was the first practice, I’ll never forget it, and Joel White and John Galloway were obviously the greatest captains, and they always looked out for me and helped me kind of get recruited there.

Desko, he’s got 60 guys on the sideline, and all the freshmen were getting the balls after practice, and I guess we were back further from where the net was, collecting balls, and I was like the last one getting balls, and he probably just forgot, and he starts yelling at me to get back in the huddle, or we were breaking down, and of course I didn’t hear him.

Joel (White) goes up to him, he’s like, “Coach, you know he’s deaf in his right ear, man? He can’t hear you.”

Greg Burns, three-time All-American and national champion, 1987 to 1990

It was all about Gary and Paul (Gait). They were the best, and they were — I don’t want to say they were coddled — but they were the favorite child. We were running (during a 1990 practice). We were in trouble, or we lost. I can’t imagine we’d lost because we barely ever lost.

So I think we were in trouble.

And all of a sudden, one time (Tom) Marechek yells out, “Hey Desko, don’t the Gaits have to do this?” Desko turns around, puts his hat on backwards, and is like, “Who said that?” And no one said a word, we were just silent. So, needless to say, we kept running.

The 90s: Syracuse’s success under Desko and Simmons Jr. continued into their second decade together. A third-straight title in 1990. Two more in 1993 and 1995. Following the 1998 season, Simmons announced his retirement. And by the start of the 1999 season, Desko was at the helm.

Jamie Archer, two-time All-American and national champion, 1990 to 1993

My freshman year, you’ve got the best players who’ve ever played the game: the Gaits, all those guys, Marichek. And we have a fall practice on Hookway, and back then Hookway was kind of like trees were all over the place. The fields weren’t all where they were now.

Probably our third practice together, fourth practice together, and I’m just kind of over in some drill, and Desko yelled out for the man-up team to come over. Of course, I wasn’t a part of the man-up. It was my freshman year in my first, second, third practice. I didn’t hear my name being called, so he called it again.

Didn’t go over again. And he finally screamed it, everyone could hear it, so I finally turn around and go over, and he kind of looks at me and goes, “Alright, I want you to…” and he just started pointing to trees around Hookway.

“You’re going to run, you’re going to go touch that tree, you’re going to go touch that tree.”

(He) basically sent me on a run and goes, “And then go get me a drink of water.”

Roy Colsey, four-time All-American, 1992 to 1995

We’re in the national championship against Princeton my freshman year, and all through my career, coach Simmons had always said, ‘Look, I don’t care if you throw it between your legs, behind your back — if you get the job done, get the job done.’ So I made the pass behindthe-back as I was dodging. It was a good pass, the player caught it, he turned and shot, and he hit the goalie in the facemask.

We ran off the field, and the defense went down and whatever happened, and coach Desko lost his mind on me. And anybody who has been on the wrong side of a coach Desko verbal thrashing, they know what I’m talking about.

He used to chew Maalox because he would get indigestion during games, so the Maalox is on the sides of his mouth and he is screaming at me. “Goddamn it, you throw a behind-the-back pass, you’re not gonna be on the field.”

I was a hothead, and I don’t think I was an easy guy to coach. I went to the end of the bench, and I was like, “I’m not playing, screw you.”

This is in the middle of the championship game, and it’s a close game, it’s against Princeton. And I’m laughing because coach Simmons comes down to the end of the bench, and he puts his arm around me. He walks me back down past all the players and into the substitution area, and I’m back on the field playing.

Ric Beardsley, four-time All-American defender, 1992 to 1995

When (Simmons Jr.) went down with pneumonia, (Desko) was our coach. We found out he was our coach right before the game. They hospitalized coach Simmons, and we found out right before the game, and I was like, all of us were wondering what the hell is going on.

Desko walks into the locker, and he looks

After taking over for Roy Simmons Jr. in 1999, John Desko won five national titles in his first decade as head coach.

daily orange file photo

around at us, and we’re like, “Alright, coach Simmons used to give these killer pregame speeches.” He could read the room. He could understand if you were too tense, he’d tell you a joke. If you weren’t fired up enough, he’d get you fired up.

And he just looked at us, looked at us, and he just started to shake. When he used to get angry, he used to shake, he would freak. And all of a sudden, he goes, “I f*cking hate (Hopkins).” And that was it. We all blew up.

Jim Morrissey, two-time All-American and national champion, 1993 to 1996

I was coaching in ‘99, or maybe it was 2000, one of those years. We’re at an early Saturday morning practice, and it’s kind of just chilly out, not a great day. Practice ended, and coach Desko said, “Ok everybody get on the balls.”

And then he said, “Go find the balls,” for the second time. Meanwhile, I could kind of sense, like “uh-oh.” No one was really getting the balls. Guys were just screwing around.

And then the third time he said, “Everybody get on the balls,” we had coaches getting balls, we had trainers getting balls, players were running for balls, everybody got the balls. My point is, he’s so even-keeled until you (get to) that place where coach Desko can go that we all know, we’ve all seen. It’s one of those things where you remember where you were and what you were doing when coach Desko had an outburst, and you didn’t want to see that again. He always had a quiet way of just keeping everybody in line just based on his leadership style and his presence. He’s like the boss.

Paul Carcaterra, All-American midfielder and ESPN lacrosse analyst, 1994 to 1997

I used a certain kind of stick, a factory-strung leather stick, where a lot of people would string their own sticks and customize them. I didn’t like that. I was the only guy on the team that actually liked it right out of the factory, which was bizarre.

It was my senior year. I broke a stick in the beginning of the season. We were outside, it was cold and I had a temper-tantrum. I was swinging the stick, because it wasn’t a matter of just going to the equipment room and getting a head, a kit and stringing it because that’s not the way I liked it. I’ll never forget little Timmy Desko, he was probably like 5 or 6 at the time, he had a factory-strung stick because all little kids would. They didn’t string their own sticks.

So I’ll never forget when coach Desko was like “What’s your problem? Why is it so important — that stick? String another one.”

I’m like, “I can’t string another one. It’s a factory. It’s been restored.” And Tim literally was using the same stick. (Desko) goes, “So use that, then.” So that was the stick my senior year.

Alex Rosier, national-champion goalie, 1994 to 1995

It was like coach Simmons was the good cop and Desko was the bad cop. He would let you have it if you needed to have it. At the time that I played, it was a little more coach Simmons than coach Desko, but let me tell you, if you messed up, coach Desko would let you have it. He would definitely let you know, and I don’t know where it came from, I don’t know how those two oper-

ated as far as “you go tell him, or I’ll go tell him.”

But he was definitely a figurehead that you were always like, “Wow, that’s Coach Desko. We’re not taking it over the line.”

I just remember, if coach Desko or coach Simmons were leaning on their lacrosse stick, Ric Beardsley would come over with his defensive stick and smack it out of their hands, and it would go 30 feet. Ric is Ric, I can’t hold a candle to that guy. In practice, if they were leaning on their stick or something, Ric would come over and do it.

The 2000s: In Desko’s first full decade as head coach, Syracuse nearly doubled its national championship total — winning in 2000, 2002, 2004, 2008 and 2009. He also led the 2006 United States Men’s Lacrosse National Team to a silver medal as its head coach.

Jovan Miller, two-time All-American and All-Big East first team selection, 2008 to 2011

2009, we’re at Loyola. It was a very emotional game in general because we had gotten news the day before that one of the legends of the program, Brian Crockett, had died in a car accident. So we were already kind of all discombobulated in general. Coach (Desko) had shared the story with us before we went out onto the field, and Loyola was (also) pretty good that year. It was a very hard time because I was a sophomore, but we had juniors and seniors that had played with Brian. So it was just like an “out of nowhere” kind of, it was just a really sad aura around the team.

That was the first time that the whole team had been together. Usually, when we go out for our warmup, we stay out for the national anthem, and then we play. This particular time, we warmed up, and then coach D, he brought us in, not into the locker room but to some steps where it was just the team and him and the coaching staff, and he broke the news.

And coach Desko’s not an emotional person, but he started crying, and it just started to trickle through the team. It was a very hard time to get refocused, and it took us literally a half to three quarters to start playing, to really start going and playing.

But yeah, we came back to win that game, and that was the Crockett game. We found a way.

Joel White, two-time Tewaaraton Award finalist and first-team AllAmerican, 2008 to 2011

I played short-stick through the entire fall and kind of went home thinking that that’s where I was, competing for a second midfield line spot as a freshman. (I) was pumped up throughout the winter to go back, and I got back in the spring, and really what stemmed it, I think, was some injuries and things like that at the long-stick midfield position.

Then I got back in the spring, he kind of walked up to me with a long-stick in his hand, and at that time it was very rare to see a stick in his hand. He was like, “So what do you think of playing long-stick midfielder?” I just kind of laughed at him and shrugged it off, and he did it for about a day or so, and then finally coach Rogers walked up to me and was like, “Listen man, I don’t know what you’re doing, but this is what you have to do to get on the field.”

The 2010s: Syracuse hasn’t won another

Chris Daddio, top faceoff specialist 2011 to 2014

We had to win (the UNC game in 2014) to make it into the ACC tournament. I went on a heater at the end of the game and won, I think, pretty much every face-off for the last quarter and overtime. It may not have been every one, but I think 80, 90%, something like that.

There was one moment where, going into overtime, I won the face-off, and I struggled getting the ball to Dylan Donahue or anyone on attack, and (I) kind of threw it right past them, and we almost lost the game because of that. We ended up winning in overtime, but (Desko) kind of came up to me after the game and just told me, “You’re going to remember this game probably more than any other game of your career” because of those reasons.

He made it a point to grab me, because I was never one to get excited or get high on myself and celebrate that much, just because of all of my struggles. And he just kind of came over to remind me, “Hey, this one, you’re going to remember, and you should really celebrate.”

Kevin Rice, ACC Offensive Player of the Year and All-American, 2012 to 2015

One thing I always really appreciated about coach Desko also was his willingness to get after the officials to defend his players. If he felt like you got cheap-shotted or took a slash that wasn’t called, he was not shy about letting the officials know and that serves a couple of good purposes: It makes your player happy that your coach sees and is defending him, and it also stops the player from being the one to yell at the ref.

He’s obviously been around the game for so long that he has been involved in every situation that you can think of. He was always calm.

My sophomore year, when we made the title game, we played a program-record of one-goal games in the season, and we were a pretty young team. So we needed that calm demeanor because, every game, it felt like there was a timeout in the fourth quarter where we were up one or down one, or the game was tied, and we just needed sort of that level head as opposed to us 19-year-olds who were all excited because the Dome was loud and it was a big game.

Derek DeJoe, midfielder, 2013 to 2016

It’s like the worst weather, and coach Desko hates the rain, hates the weather, so thank God we play in the Dome, where it’s always 75 and sunny. And if it’s any sort of weather, he’s wearing his big Nike puff coat with his big old mittens, and he looks like the Michelin Man coming out there to practice.

One day, it was probably the worst weather, I think we were getting ready for an outdoor game — I think it was Providence. Coach Desko, instead of coming to practice, he pulls up on the side of our field, and it’s, I mean it’s sleeting sideways, like typical upstate New York weather. We’re like, “Gosh, we have to practice outside, we’re not inside for this one.”

And for the first half of practice, (Desko) flicks on his high beams and watched practice from his car because he didn’t want to come in the weather.

These interviews have been edited for clarit y. arcrane@syr.edu @CraneAndrew

10 oct. 26, 2020

dailyorange.com sports@dailyorange.com

football

Babers defends decision to punt on key play in Clemson loss

By Danny Emerman senior staff writer

Five minutes and 54 seconds showed on the clock when head coach Dino Babers called timeout. As his team jogged to the sideline, he had a decision to make: sell out for one more yard on SU’s 41-yard line to extend the drive or let the defense try to keep No. 1 Clemon’s lead at 27-21.

It was a position the 46-point underdogs had no business being in. Yet there they were, down one score, with a chance to mount the greatest college football upset in modern history. They’d won the second half, 7-0 at that point, and had Clemson seeing flashes of the 2017 upset in the Dome. The drive before, a snap sailed over Trevor Lawrence’s head, an uncharacteristic mistake for the best team in the nation.

When Syracuse’s timeout expired, the punting unit came out. The game turned from there, with Clemson ripping off 20 straight points. An inexplicably tight game rapidly turned into a blowout, as Syracuse quarterback Rex Culpepper gave the ball away three times post-punt.

“The whole thing about going for it on 4th down is, when everybody in the booth is saying you should go for it, that’s probably when you shouldn’t go for it,” Babers said.

It’s convenient to point to that one play as the key moment of Syracuse’s 47-21 loss to Clemson.

But football is a game of thousands of decisions, fluke plays and connections. Babers’ decision to punt didn’t cost Syracuse (1-5, 1-4 Atlantic

Coast) the game. Had SU gone for it and been stuffed, Clemson’s (6-0, 5-0) then-fledgling offense would’ve been juiced by a short field, and critics would equally excoriate the head coach.

“I consider every play a turning point in the game,” Babers said. “We can’t come back to one play. Media can do that. For us, every play matters, every game matters.”

Clemson opened the game with a fiveplay, 47-yard touchdown drive that displayed the dominance nearly everyone expected. A 49-yard kickoff return gave Lawrence a short field, and the Tigers’ star did the rest.

Syracuse’s offense expectedly stumbled without its No. 1 receiving threat Taj Harris, who didn’t make the trip to South Carolina after showing his middle finger to a camera at the end of last week’s Liberty game. SU started with a three-and-out, then Culpepper threw his first interception of the day, setting up a Tigers field goal.

At one point in the first, Syracuse tried to generate some offense with a gadget play, giving receiver Nykeim Johnson the direct snap on 4th-and-1 for a keeper. He was stuffed.

A 25-yard Travis Etienne rushing touchdown put the Tigers up 17-0 in the first quarter, then the teams traded touchdowns to start the second quarter.

But Syracuse’s defense didn’t break, and emerging star defensive back Garrett Williams became the first college football player to picksix Lawrence. Williams entered the game with 30 passes defended and no touchdowns allowed,

the best mark in the FBS, and continued to shut down receivers in Death Valley.

At halftime, starting running back Sean Tucker, averaging 6.3 yards per carry, out-gained Etienne. With Williams’ pick and a blocked punt, SU was winning the turnover battle.

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney reminded his team this week that Syracuse “embarrassed” them in 2017, Amari Rodgers said. So when Culpepper found Johnson in stride for an 83-yard touchdown to start the second half and make the score 27-21, Clemson may have experienced a bit of déjà vu.

“I don’t know what it is about the Orange versus the Orange, but it seems to be, if you don’t have anything to do on a Saturday, it might not be a bad game to watch,” Babers said.

Then came decision time for Babers and his Orange.

SU had faced just one third or fourth down and short — less than three yards to go — and elected to run the Johnson direct snap play, which went nowhere. Tucker had gone to the locker room in the first half with an apparent right ankle injury, leaving Markenzy Pierre and Cooper Lutz as SU’s backfield options.

This year, as well as this game, has had no shortage of questionable coaching decisions.

Against Pittsburgh, Babers had to defend not using any of his timeouts as the Panthers ran out the clock up 11 with four minutes left.

Babers called a timeout on a first down later in Saturday’s game, even after he had the quarter break between the third and fourth

to choose a play.

On his own 41-yard line, Babers chose to trust his defense and flipped the field.

“Punting in a situation like that, we take it as a compliment,” Williams said. “Because we know he believes in us, and we also believe in ourselves that we can stop them as well.”

Punter Nolan Cooney pinned Clemson inside its five-yard-line with a miraculous punt, and Clemson quickly handed the ball right back to SU, proving it was at worst a netneutral outcome.

“If I told you beforehand that we were going to punt the ball and it was going to be on the three, or we could not punt the ball and run it on fourth down and we don’t know what’s going to happen, what would you choose?” Babers said.

Clemson’s onslaught ensued thereafter, with Culpepper imploding and the Tigers capitalizing on his mistakes. Babers’ decision to punt didn’t make Culpepper throw into double coverage or hold onto the ball too long in the pocket, leading to a scoop-and-score. But it may have stymied some of Syracuse’s momentum.

Babers said Syracuse had to play “almost a perfect game” to beat Clemson. With the talent across the line of scrimmage as lopsided as it was on Saturday, it’s possible perfect wouldn’t have even been enough. Perhaps Syracuse needed to be perfect and take risks.

“I had a lot of decisions to make. I feel good about what I did,” Babers said. dremerma@syr.edu @DannyEmerman

volleyball

Setter Elena Karakasi ‘quarterbacks’ Orange’s offense

By Anish Vasudevan staff writer

Syracuse needed one more point to secure repeat, straight-set wins against Boston College. SU’s freshman libero Lauren Hogan dove for a dig, delivering a perfect ball to setter Elena Karakasi.

At that moment, Karakasi had options: set the ball backward for outside hitter Marina Markova to go up for one of her notorious slide sets, set the ball to Polina Shemanova in the back row or set it directly in front of her to outside hitter Yuliia Yastrub.

Instead, she did none of those. Taking the game into her own hands, Karakasi made eye contact with Yastrub and in mid-air, she faked a set and shifted her body, propelling the ball over the net to the back right corner of the court as the entire Boston College defense watched the ball hit the ground.

“She is playing as the quarterback of our team,” head coach Leonid Yelin said. “She (may) not be a captain, but she’s the colonel of the team.”

Karakasi is 10th on Syracuse’s all-time assist list, passing 1,000 assists in Syracuse’s (4-4, 4-4 Atlantic Coast) season-opener against Pitts-

burgh. The junior setter also moved up to fifth on Syracuse’s all-time assists, with 1,242, and tenth in assists per set, with 7.8. And during a shortened eight-game season, she notched the sixth-most assists per set in the ACC (9.96).

“In Europe, we don’t really have statistics for a season, so I’m not really familiar with that,” Karakasi said of the achievement. “But I guess that’s a good thing because when our hitters score, I can get some credit, too.”

In her last two years as the starting setter for the Orange, Karakasi has been one of the team’s top contributors in three major categories: assists, blocks and digs. She is a key defensive player for SU with the fifth-most 8 blocks and fourth-most 49 digs.

Karakasi leads the team with 259 assists this season, and despite her primary role as a facilitator, she’s often used a hitting technique called a set dump. Like the final point against Boston College, Karakasi faked her typical set to an outside hitter and arrowed the ball to the other side instead. Sending the ball over in two touches instead of three catches the opponent’s defense off guard, sophomore captain Abby Casiano said.

“Elena has always been a very aggressive

setter,” Casiano said. “Our outsides have been struggling a little bit, so she (feels) the need to make some plays, and by attacking on the second touch, it gets the outsides to a single block, and that makes the offense work a lot better.”

Karakasi has 22 kills and nine attack errors this season, with the majority of those attempts coming from set dumps. Her hitting percentage is slightly lower than last season, likely due to her midseason shift away from more “aggressive” offensive decision making, Casiano said.

Even though she’s not recording as many kills, on average, as last season, Yelin said she’s still improving her all-around game because of her willingness to learn. For instance, Karakasi was forced to learn to place a ball for Markova’s slide set, a major source of points this season.

Markova has most of the responsibility to smoothly execute the slide set — where she drops behind Karakasi and leaps for the ball — but Karakasi has to anticipate when to deliver the set. She can’t see if any blockers are in front of Markova before setting behind her body, either.

“She is just getting better and better every year because she is always open to learn,” Yelin said. “That’s why she’s getting better. She

understands her priorities.”

Against Boston College on Oct. 16, Karakasi repeatedly went for another set dump after seeing holes in the Eagles’ defense. It worked for three kills in the first two sets, but Yelin started to express his frustration as her hitting errors piled up.

The Orange won the first set but were playing from behind throughout the majority of the second set. During an Eagles timeout with SU up 15-14, Yelin sat on his knees, targeting most of the team’s critique to Karakasi. He told her to distribute the ball more, instead of becoming over-reliant on the set dump.

Karakasi listened. Instead of set dumping or finding Shemanova, the Orange’s leading hitter, Karakasi started to distribute the ball. Markova led the team with 12 kills, and outside hitter Ella Saada, who Yelin said was playing with a leg injury, recorded nine kills in the match. Six players recorded kills as the Orange ended their four-game losing streak.

Shemanova finished with only six kills, the third lowest of her Syracuse career.

But that didn’t matter. Karakasi found success spreading the ball around. asvasude@syr.edu

women’s soccer

Nicky Adams relies on transfer portal early in Syracuse career

By Gaurav Shetty staff writer

Nicky Adams inherited the women’s soccer program in February 2019 from head coach Phil Wheddon, who had been at Syracuse for a decade. She also inherited a struggling Orange team that finished the season 3-15 and 0-10 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

That season’s top point scorer, Kate Hostage, tore her ACL just a few days after Adams was hired as head coach. More than half of the team still plays for Syracuse. But the timing of her hire presented Adams with recruiting challenges.

“I did not get to Syracuse till the middle of March,” Adams said. “So that 2020 window to bring in a lot of freshmen was limited because most of them were already committed. So we have focused highly on some transfers, especially some grad transfers, that we could get to come in for a year and help us out.”

Syracuse (0-6, 0-6 Atlantic Coast) had five transfer players in its 2020 signing class: Carina Hendley, Olivia Erlbeck, Telly Vunipola, Nata-

lie Weidenbach and Alina Miagkova. Hendley, Erlbeck and Weidenbach are all graduate transfers. Only the latter four players have seen the field this season. Vunipola, Miagkova and Weidenbach play in the wing-back position for the Orange, while Erlbeck plays midfield.

The coronavirus pandemic also impacted the 2020 signing class. When SU students were sent home in March, the team allowed Miagkova to return to Russia to be with her family. But with international travel restrictions, she was only able to return to Syracuse a few days before the Orange’s first game.

“We were under the impression that we weren’t going to have her at all,” Adams said.

“So when I got the phone call three days before the Pitt game and she told me ‘Hey I can come,’ we made it work.”

Miagkova has played for the Russian national team and participated in the 2019 Russian Cup with Lokomotiv Moscow. She’s started three times this year for Syracuse and played in all six of its games, splitting time at left and right back.

Starting opposite of Miagkova on the wings

is usually Vunipola. The junior transferred to Syracuse from Louisiana to push herself out of her comfort zone and play at a higher level in the ACC, she said. Adams changed Vunipola’s position from midfield to wingback, a position she hadn’t played since her freshman year.

“It’s been difficult, but a good challenge for sure,” Vunipola said. “After playing offensively for so long and having to build that offensive mindset, it’s definitely a switch that I have to make mentally.”

But Vunipola played a key role in Syracuse’s only goal this season. Off a Lysianne Proulx punt on Thursday, Vunipola drove through Boston College’s midfield and played a through ball to Hannah Pilley, whose pass across the goal was tapped in by Meghan Root. Vunipola played in midfield that game instead of her usual role in defense.

Erlbeck has started every game, except against BC. She decided to transfer from Duke for financial reasons and for the opportunity to attend the same university as her younger brother Blake Erlbeck, a freshman on the

men’s lacrosse team.

“Being a part of creating something new and creating this new culture is one of the coolest experiences that I’ve been able to get because I’m able to leave this imprint on Syracuse women’s soccer before leaving,” Erlbeck said.

In her previous job at Rice, Adams said she only had a “handful of transfers.” Now, with the creation of a transfer portal, it’s easier to find transfer players and bring them into the program.

SU’s five transfers are the first group of players that Adams has truly recruited. Adams said she didn’t really have a say in the freshman class because of when she was hired, and she won’t have her first freshman class until 2021. In the meantime, Adams will continue to recruit transfer players to aid her rebuild.

“I think rebuilding a program, it’s not going to happen overnight,” Adams said. “I definitely have a certain way I want to play, so it’s about attracting those players to Syracuse, whether it’s through true freshmen or the transfer portal. But it’s going to take some time.” gshetty@syr.edu

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SPORTS

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PAG E 12

oct. 26, 2020

‘CEO of the program’

In 45 years with Syracuse, John Desko has been a part of 11 national championships, including five as head coach. He played for the Orange from 1976-79 and was hired as an assistant coach the following season.

courtesy of su athletics

The best stories of John Desko’s 45-year SU Hall of Fame tenure, told by his former players

By Andrew Crane sports editor

P

aul Carcaterra broke the news to John Desko. It was May 18, more than two months after the coronavirus pandemic halted No. 1 Syracuse’s 2020 season at 5-0, and Carcaterra — an attack at Syracuse under Desko from 1994 to 1997 — set up a conference call with a few former SU players.

His brother, Brian, and the US Lacrosse’s executive board had just decided on the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame’s Class of 2020. One of the selections was Desko.

Last weekend would’ve been the official ceremony, the remembrance of Desko’s ongoing 45-year tenure that’s included 11 national championships and 33 final four appearances as a player and coach. But the event was postponed due to COVID-19.

As Desko continues another fall of workouts and training sessions with players, The Daily Orange spoke with 15 of his former players, highlighting the stories and moments — as told by the players — that shaped his rise as the fourth head coach in Syracuse’s 104-year program history. After his selection, all four Syracuse coaches are in the Hall of Fame.

“He’s the CEO of the program,” said Kevin Rice, an attack from 2012 to 2015. “He’s been around the program forever.”

The 80s: After a four-year playing career at Syracuse from 1976 to 1979, Desko joined Roy Simmons Jr.’s staff in 1980 as an assistant coach. They won Syracuse’s first NCAA title three years later and added two more to close the decade, establishing yearly national championship expectations that

PLAYER Desko played for West Genesee High School and then at Syracuse from 1976-79.

ASST. COACH Desko was hired as an assistant coach under Roy Simmons Jr.

have followed the program to this day.

Brad Kotz, four-time All-American, 1982 to 1985

We all grew up in Camillus, and we all played at Shove Park. It had a hockey rink where coach (Mike) Messere started back in the late 70s a box lacrosse league. In 1981, which was my senior year in high school, I played with coach Desko on the same team.

That was really the first time I got to know him.

We ended up winning the league that summer, which in Camillus is a pretty big deal. But it was there that I learned that he’s definitely got leadership in spades and he’s a good communicator. He’s a fun guy to play with, and he’s a tough guy.

Matt Palumb, All-American, three-time national champion, 1987 to 1990

HEAD COACH Desko has been a part of all 11 Syracuse men’s lacrosse national championships.

HALL OF FAMER John Desko was selected for the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in May 2020.

My sophomore year, we opened up down at (Johns) Hopkins, and I’m starting in the goal, and we’re going over the scouting report. Back in those days, coach Desko was a very good shooter, he could just really bring it, so he’d warm me up a lot. During the week, he’d say, “Hey, Matt Panetta for them, this is his kind of shot.”

And then he got to one of their midfielders, a kid named John Wilkins, who wore No. 17, I’ll never forget. And he said, “Matty, what he’s gonna do, he’s gonna come in underhand from about 12-15 yards out, but every time, without fail, he’s gonna bring it up and put it up high under the crossbar. He shoots, be ready for it, but that’s what he’s gonna do.”

The game starts, Hopkins gets the ball and they move it around. It gets to this kid, and sure as shit, he puts his stick down low, and I get caught up in the see desko page 9