SPRING 2014 / ISSUE #31 / GO ISSUE
/ HOW TO BE THE NEXT VAN GOGH / RIDE SOLO ON ONE WHEEL / / BREAK THE ICE WHILE FISHING / TOP 10 PLACES TO TRAVEL ONLINE / / STUDENT ENGINEERS RACE TO THE STARTING LINE /
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Editor’s Note My fingers dance along the curvature of the steering wheel. The Ford Explorer, an olive green reminder of my childhood in Colorado, is the only familiar object in the labyrinth of a downtown Boston parking garage. I turn the ignition and hear the all-American roar of the engine. My face scrunches as I explore the map on my phone. “How do I get out of here?” I say to myself. “Better yet—where should I go?” The logical option—Syracuse—suddenly lacked all appeal. With a change of clothes, a toothbrush, and a phone charger tossed in the passenger seat, a road trip seemed to await me. So long as my cash supply for tolls could last, so long as my savings account could tolerate my reacquired car’s habit of guzzling gas, I could go wherever I pleased. I arrived in Boston on a Greyhound sitting next to a smelly man with cornrows and I left with fresh air blowing through the open windows, knowing at any point I could alter my path and begin a new journey. We all have the ability to do one simple thing: go. The action of moving, by one means or another, is what diversifies our life experiences. Many stories come from the journey to another place, as several of our staff members know through study abroad experiences. In this issue of 360 Degrees, we challenge you to make your own journey—first through the pages of the magazine, then through the sights, smells, sounds, tastes, and textures of the world. Staff members currently studying abroad—the primary source of inspiration for this issue— posted their stories on social media, and you can read about their experiences on page 6. You’ll also discover far-off destinations from the lens of those that call them home in our student profiles on page 23. And you don’t have to head far for an adventure either, as you’ll learn in our top 10 online escapes on page 5. Think disabilities prevent you from going somewhere? Think again. Look at our photo journal on page 27 to see how adaptive sports are changing the playing field. Go green after reading about green infrastructure improvements to the Westcott neighborhood on page 21, or learn how to go—Van Gogh, that is—from local artist and business owner Debbie Foster on page 33. No matter what gets you going, we hope to give you the motivation to do so. Now go forth and let your 360-degree journey begin. Happy trails! Trevor Zalkind
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF TREVOR ZALKIND
MANAGING EDITOR NICKI GORNY
In This Issue
The Usuals
ART DIRECTOR LUCY TOMKIEWICZ
MULTIMEDIA DIRECTOR ANDREW MUCKELL
11 GONE FISHIN'
Between makeshift toilets and sharing beers, there’s more to ice fishing than just waiting for the fish to bite.
17 GREEN BEER & CHEER Coleman’s Authentic Irish Pub celebrates Saint Paddy’s Day the Irish way on Syracuse’s Tipperary Hill.
19 LETTING GO Loss strikes everyone differently.
Explore the various ways local organizations help students deal with tragedy.
21 GOING GREEN
Recent construction in the Westcott neighborhood prove that green infrastructure is taking Syracuse by storm.
23 HOME AND AWAY
Four students reveal hidden gems in their hometown.
27 GAME ON
Orange Ability offers a close-up view of adaptive sports.
31 WINNING FORMULA
After years of inactivity, SU’s formula SAE team works to build a racecar and make a name for itself.
5 TOP TEN:
VIRTUAL VACATION
6 SOCIAL MEDIA:
FOREIGN CORRESPONDENCE
7 FLOWCHART:
GO WITH THE FLOW
9 4X4:
FIELD TRIP
33 Q&A:
FROM “OH NO” TO VAN GOGH
15 HOW-TO:
LONG FEATURES EMMIE MARTIN SENIOR EDITOR JESSICA IANNETTA ASSISTANT EDITOR
SHORT FEATURES BRANDI POTTS SENIOR EDITOR GEORGE CLARKE ASSISTANT EDITOR
FRONT OF BOOK ALEXA O'CONNELL
COPY EDITORS TINA FERRARO MELISSA ESPINAL
THE WHEEL DEAL
16 SHORT FEATURE:
OUT OF THE OFFICE
13 SHORT FEATURE:
A COMPANY IN MOTION
14 SHORT FEATURE:
GAME OF STONES
Multimedia Content
DESIGNERS SARAH BROWN AMY GLEITSMANN KENZIE DANHO CHRIS MCCARTHY KELSEY FRANCELLA KRISTEN MORICI OLIVIA DONAHUE LISA NESBITT CONTRIBUTORS NATSUMI AJISAKA MEREDITH NEWMAN BRENDAN GERMAIN MICHELLE VAN DALEN VIDEOGRAPHERS XIAOYANG LIAO KADISHA PHILLIPS PUNIKA LIMPANUDOM PHOTOGRAPHERS TIFFANY GOMEZ LEE ANN MEADOWS JENNY HALE CARLOS RESTREPO
Do you crave even more 360 content? You’re in luck. Scan these QR codes placed throughout the magazine for related videos, and visit: su360degreesmagazine.wordpress.com DISCLAIMER :: The views expressed in 360 Degrees are not necessarily those of the entire staff. 360 Degrees welcomes contributions from all members of the Syracuse University and SUNY-ESF community but retains the right to publish only material 360 Degrees deems acceptable to the publication’s editorial purpose. MISSION STATEMENT :: Since its debut at Syracuse University in 1998, 360 Degrees has always strived to achieve a balance between tradition and change. Founded by Lanre Mayen Gaba as a new lens to view culture, 360 Degrees has a different focus, format, and feel than its predecessors. Through the years, the magazine has become a general interest publication with a cultural twist, dedicated to informing students about issues on campus, in the community, and in the whole world at large.
Virtual Vacation Can’t hit the beach? Surf the web for adventure with these Internet escapes.
COMPILED BY :: 360 DEGREES STAFF
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Power on your laptop and pull up the Traveler’s Lunchbox.
Add the Travel Channel to your Tumblr dashboard.
Swing over to A Restless Transplant on Instagram.
TRAVELERSLUNCHBOX.COM
TRAVELCHANNEL.TUMBLR.COM
@FOSTERHUNTING
If your favorite part of heading somewhere new is trying out the local fare, then this blog is for you. Writer and photographer Melissa Kronenthal weaves her favorite recipes into stories about her globetrotting life.
Place yourself in a different destination each day with the channel’s Daily Escape posts. Each post features a photograph and a brief description—think craggy cliffs, white sand beaches, and stately buildings viewed from the comfort of your computer screen.
Foster Hunting left his job in New York in August 2011 and has since driven more than 80,000 miles in his trailer. Follow along with his ongoing westward journey.
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Check out the Roaming Gnome on Twitter.
Drop by the Adventure Journal.
Search Murad Osmann on Instagram.
@ROAMINGGNOME
ADVENTURE-JOURNAL.COM
@MURADOSMANN
Travelocity’s bearded, little spokesman drops fun facts and makes you jealous as he poses in packed stadiums, at beachside resorts, or with yummy burgers. For a lawn decoration, he’s surprisingly active on Twitter.
Live vicariously through engaging essays, action-packed videos, stunning photos, and gear reviews. The journal even has a weekly series called weekend cabin, so you can imagine the luxury treehouses and secluded wood cabins that you’d like to live in.
The Russian photographer frames his shots around his girlfriend, who reaches back to grab his hand and lead him into exotic locales ranging from Barcelona to Azerbaijan. Add in a filter, and he leaves you longing for a plane ticket.
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Follow Patagonia on Tumblr.
Connect with Lonely Planet on Twitter.
PATAGONIA.TUMBLR.COM
@LONELYPLANET
Take a virtual tour through any terrain with the photographs featured on the outdoor wear company’s page. And while you’re at it, see how many Patagonia labels you can spot on the adventurers’ jackets.
Best known for its travel guidebooks, Lonely Planet is a go-to source for practical travel tips. Whether it’s a definitive ranking of the world’s most rewarding treks or a listing of the best Parisian restaurants, Lonely Planet keeps you daydreaming.
Hop on Facebook and look up The Abroad Guide. FACEBOOK.COM/THEABROADGUIDE The Abroad Guide has got you covered when planning your own adventure abroad, from practical tips on travel blogging to finding the best bars in Dublin and Buenos Aires. You’ll want to head overseas for more than just one semester.
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Follow Jessica Hinrich’s Travel Quotes board on Pinterest. PINTEREST.COM/JHINRICHS/TRAVEL-QUOTES/ When you need the extra encouragement to gut your bank account and hit the road, check out Jessica Hinrichs’ page of artsy travel sayings. After all, “Adventure may hurt, but monotony may kill you.” 5
360 DEGREES MAGAZINE
Foreign Correspondence
360 staff members use social media to share their study abroad experiences.
COMPILED BY :: 360 DEGREES STAFF PHOTOS COURTESY :: ANNIE MENNA, MEREDITH JEFFERS, AND MEGHAN RIMOL
Follow fall 2013 copy editor Annie Menna, managing editor Meredith Jeffers, and assistant short features editor Meghan Rimol as they post their way around Europe. Their unpredictable experiences while studying in Madrid, Florence, and London showcase the reality of going abroad. Spoiler: Goats may occur.
MEGHAN RIMOL February 15
On Twitter
Via Facebook
ANNIE MENNA @Annie_atlas January 12
ANNIE MENNA January 19
Four pounds too heavy at JFK. So classy I’m unpacking in the middle of the airport. #studyabroad
Hi, Mom. — at Plaza de España, Sevilla.
MEREDITH JEFFERS @dogbabyextreme January 17 do you remember that time that is right now that i was in Italy
February 22 my vocabulary right now is like 80% English and 18% Italian and 2% Spanish (I never took Spanish)
February 25
i just thought about having to leave florence and now i can’t breathe
MEGHAN RIMOL @MeghanRimol January 28 Today I saw a giant hawk attack a man’s pet possum as he was walking it through Trafalgar Square so that’s cool I guess
February 17 So you’re telling me I actually have to do schoolwork while I’m abroad?
February 23 Life tip for all college students: If there’s any possible way you can spend any time abroad, DO IT #bestdecisionever
March 15 When I spend 500 Czech Koruna on dinner I feel like I’m just throwin cash out everywhere but really it’s like ten bucks #prague
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hey uh so I guess I live in London now? — with Taylor Brady and Mia Kuhn.
MEREDITH JEFFERS March 1 January 24 In the past seventy two hours, I have walked (fallen) into a 12th century fountain, gotten lost in the business district of Madrid, and accidentally locked my host sister out of the house after 3am. On the flip side: sangria.
February 5 Judging from the fog horns, chanting, dancing men, police vans, and firecrackers, there is either a riot going on outside my window or a Real Madrid game. Probably both.
Italian mosquitoes: 30; Meredith: 0
March 9 I may or may not have accidentally asked for a bicycle instead of a bus ticket this weekend. (I did.)
March 13 I’m gonna be real, when my host mom summoned Sam and me into the foyer, seeing a Franciscan monk was probably the last thing I would have expected.
March 24 My host mom told me this morning that my husband is going to divorce me because I didn’t fold my laundry. Specifically, he’s going to divorce me by saying, “Ciao, Meredith!”
March 25 Remember when i squeezed a “bah” out of this goat in Budapest
GO WITH THE FLOW DO YOU HAVE A PASSPORT? Yes!
I was born ready.
Do you want to escape the infamous snow and cold of Syracuse, N.Y.? Yes please. I can’t take it any more.
No thanks. The numbness of the cold has affected my decision-making abilities.
What’s your budget like? I’m scraping by.
It’s not a problem. I sold my dad’s Benz.
Time to eat. Feeling adventurous? I thought customs was the adventure...
I’m down for anything.
What’s your opinion on guinea pigs? Love ‘em.
Turn south and saunter toward San Carlos de Bariloche in Argentina! Bariloche is a resort town in the Andean foothills of Patagonia that’s covered in snow during the Northern Hemisphere’s summer season.
Only got a few hundred bucks? You’re a millionare in Vietnam. One U.S. dollar is equivalent to about 21,095 Vietnamese dong.
Sprawl out on the black sand beaches of Santorini, Greece, with some tasty pitas.
mmmmm... hummus.
You’ll love cuddling up with their furry rabbit friends in that case. Okunoshima, a small Japanese island, is overrun with the fluffy little furballs.
Don’t waste your summer wandering—our flowchart tells you exactly where to visit. It’s time to get moving. COMPILED BY :: 360 DEGREES STAFF
No. There’s no better place than America.
So you want to stay in the good ol’ U.S. of A., huh? Well, are you much of a partier? Nope.
Yep.
The only cool thing about parties are the balloons.
I’m still nursing my hangover.
What’s your go-to drink?
Tequila!
Need.. more... beer.
n Make them burn in a fire. Go to Ecuador, where the local Andean delicacy is cuy—cooked guinea pig.
According to the Brewer’s Association, Vermont has the highest per capita number of breweries per person. Drop your Keystone for some good brews!
You’re probably staying in Syracuse. More specifically, on the floor of Chuck’s.
Make your way to Albuquerque, N.M., to check out the hot air balloons at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.
Go all the way down to New Mexico just for some giant balloons? Yeah right.
Gravity keeping you down? Go to the moon. Maybe you’ll find something there ... jerk.
Field Trip TOUR THE PLANET, NOT THE PLANETARIUM, WITH THESE FOUR SHORT-TERM STUDY ABROAD CLASSES. WORDS :: GEORGE CLARKE PHOTOS :: COURTESY OF PAUL GANDEL, TANYA HORACEK, DESSA BERGEN-CICO, LUIS COLUMNA Textbook and theory can teach you a lot of things, but some things you can only grasp by leaving comfortable territory and experiencing them with your own senses. These four classes take you away from the university bubble and impart a global perspective only found through going and doing.
GET 400/600: AsiaTech Paul Gandel
If you want to meet top executives and public officials in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, AsiaTech is your ticket. The goal of the 2.5-week program is to teach students how country-specific cultural factors affect the cultures of organizations, which in turn affect their information technology strategies, says iSchool professor Paul Gandel. For instance, research indicates that stronger hierarchical relationships in some Asian cultures dictate different approaches to managing an organization and its technology. These
NSD 354: Mediterranean Food, Culture and Health: An Italian Experience Tanya Horacek
Featuring a 10-day tour of Italian cuisine, this course awards college credit to foodies for filling their bellies. The spring semester course, taught by associate professor Tanya Horacek, starts with an on-campus study of Mediterranean food habits and health benefits. In May, students jet to Italy to witness the difference between the industrialized food system in the U.S. and what Horacek describes as the fresher, more local, and more sustainable food supply of the Mediterranean. “As Americans, we’ve just lost it,”
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differences can be subtle, but significant. “The world really is a global world now, and I think it’s a true competitive advantage for people who really have what I guess would be called cultural intelligence,” Gandel says. “Not just an understanding of other cultures or other areas, but actually people who feel comfortable out of familiar surroundings and actually embrace the experience.” “It’s a lot to cover in 2.5 weeks, but hopefully it will give students an introduction to the area and to the people.”
Horacek says, referring to the connection to and passion for fresh and local food that the students experience in Italy. For the first two-thirds of the trip, students stay at an agriturismo, or a working farm that takes on boarders as a form of tourist-fueled regional economic development. They also make day trips to local farms, olive oil production sites, and an Italian chef’s home. Students then head to Florence, Italy, for a few days to try their hand at developing their own Mediterranean menu.
360 DEGREES MAGAZINE
HTW 412/612: Drug Policy and Global Perspective Dessa Bergen–Cico
Students see illegal drugs in a new way during this two-week MayMester course. In addition to exposing students to the way other countries treat illegal drug use as a matter of public health and personal suffering, rather than criminal justice and punitive correction, Falk College’s Dessa Bergen-Cico usually brings students to a three-day international drug policy conference. This year, they will go to Rome to enjoy invaluable access to experts from around the world. “It changes their perspectives quite a
PED 300: Outdoor Education in Costa Rica Luis Columna
A small, engraved metal block sits on Luis Columna’s desk, asking, “What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?” In his one-credit spring break course, Columna challenges students to ask themselves this question while actively experiencing Costa Rican culture. Rather than staring at PowerPoint slides, students tour the canopy of the rainforest, hike the Arenal Volcano, go horseback riding, tackle whitewater rafting, and surf the waters or snooze on the beach at Manuel Antonio National Park.
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bit,” says Bergen-Cico, who attended an advanced training certification program in the Netherlands in 2007 that transformed the way she considers the issue. Before the conference, she was more familiar with the traditional “drug war” perspective, which treats drug abusers as criminals rather than patients. “You get to see a completely different, more mature response to things,” she says. “If I had been exposed to something like that at a younger age, I would have saved myself decades and decades of ineffective decisions.”
“They’re going be immersed, but they’re learning it by doing it,” Columna says. “It’s not like they’re going to do an exam or a test.” Columna has taken over the course since it started three years ago under Scott Catucci, Syracuse University’s associate director of outdoor education and student development. In the near future, Columna, whose research includes promoting physical activity among families with physical disabilities, hopes to create a course that provides the same benefits for students with disabilities.
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GONE FISHIN' /////////////////// Between makeshift toilets and sharing beers, there’s more to ice fishing than just waiting for the fish to bite. WORDS :: MICHELLE VAN DALEN PHOTOS :: XIAOYANG LIAO
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360 DEGREES MAGAZINE
Standing on a 2-foot-thick slab of ice spanning 2,400 acres, I looked across Pulaski’s North Sandy Pond and Lake Ontario. A young girl in a neon pink snowsuit took to the ice, sliding past us on her belly like a penguin; in the distance a man sat hunched over on a bucket, his line disappearing into an ice-fishing hole a foot in front of him. Shanties—huts used to keep warm on the ice—dotted the frozen white pond. All of a sudden, a splitting scream and the sound of aluminum crashing onto ice pierced my ears. I turned to see a friend collapsed on the ice, one leg folded under her and the other submerged in an unmarked fishing hole. Laughter followed as three men decked out in Kinco gloves and Coldwave jackets hoisted her out. During the 45-minute drive to the sixth annual Christine Reed Memorial Ice Fishing Derby, we had shared our expectations for the day. The cold. The endless wait for a bite on the line. The elderly competitors. The sitting around and the silence. In real-
When we arrived we met Tom Hains, one of the event organizers, at the Sandy Pond Sportsman’s Association. He and three other men rode up to the parking lot on snowmobiles and four-wheelers to take us to the ice. My adrenaline kicked in and I hopped on the back of a black four-wheeler with treads for driving on snow and ice. I gripped onto Joe Lasell, the driver and Hains’ friend, who earlier that morning found himself on the pond with no privacy in his makeshift restroom: a one-person shanty and a fishing hole. He did the deed, then ripped off his shirtsleeve and used it as toilet paper. The group joked about it for the rest of the day. The seven others treated the three-anda-half-minute trek from the sportsman’s club to the shanties like any other bike, car, or bus ride—a smooth, controlled, and riskfree journey. For me, it was a roller coaster ride. Ice fishers heard my screams and laughter far and wide across the 3.6-mile long pond, and it continued until I stood on solid ground at the shanties. The group’s
Before I saw it, I could smell it: the raw, fishy odor that wafted through the air as camouflaged, snow-suited contestants trickled in, proudly carrying buckets of pike and perch. ity, the competition attracted 114 participants this year and by the end of the day those with the three biggest catches in each category—youth pike, youth perch, adult pike, and adult perch—had a chance to win a cash prize.
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cash prize and more excited about the only catch they needed: a couple 30-racks of Busch and Bud Light. To keep my friend’s right leg from turning into an icicle, we cozied up in a shanty heated with two stovetop burners and our own body heat. One by one, people from the group trickled in until 13 of us stood in the tent. “I hope nobody farts,” someone says. Back at the sportsman’s club, salt and pepper shakers fashioned out of Jack Daniels and Absolut shooters sat on the tables and a cord of unevenly spaced red Solo cups hung above the bar’s countertop as a makeshift light fixture. Before I saw it, I could smell it: the raw, fishy odor that wafted through the air as camouflaged, snow-suited contestants trickled in, proudly carrying buckets of pike and perch. Hains and Danielle Lasell, Christine Reed’s daughter, gripped a fish as slime hung from its body. They plopped the catch down on a ruler—a slab of wood spanning almost the entire length of the gunk-covered table—and transferred it to a scale. “The fish smell will linger on me for days,” Hains says, displaying his shiny, goopy hands. The fish flopped, slime flung through the air, and contestants huddled around, waiting to hear the final length and weight of their catches for the day—because, of course, they’d be ice fishing again next weekend.
fish count: zero. At one point that morning, a red flag rose at a hole, signaling a fish bite. The group’s catch? A pair of glasses one of the women had dropped into a nearby hole a few hours earlier. Fish count: still zero. Luckily the group was less focused on the
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A Company in Motion SU alumni John Cronin and Nick Mancini talk about working for GoPro and how they make every day and adventure. WORDS :: ANDREW MUCKELL PHOTOS :: COURTESY OF GO PRO A viral video shows a man standing on an African plain, planting his feet as two lions come charging at him. Instead of attacking, each lion jumps up and embraces the man while he affectionately pets and talks to them. Another video shows a firefighter rescuing an unconscious kitten from a burning building and resuscitating it back to health. A third features a daredevil in a wingman suit, flying through China’s Tianmen Cave. In 2002, most amateur videographers did not have the inexpensive, lightweight equipment needed to capture these kinds of on-the-go videos. After seeing the need for such a camera on a surfing trip in Australia, Nick Woodman, then 26, founded GoPro and began developing the company’s first camera. GoPro cameras can fit into the palm of a hand, but still produce high-definition digital videos and photos— perfect for action sports enthusiasts or any amateur filmmaker seeking to produce onthe-go, fast-paced content. Twelve years after founding GoPro, Woodman’s leadership has earned him a net worth of more than $1 billion and the nickname “the mad billionaire.” With innovative technology and successful marketing campaigns, GoPro has rocked the tech world, and some Syracuse University alumni
are along for the ride. John Cronin, a 1994 alum and a senior technical recruiter for GoPro, says it’s an enjoyable place to work. “What I like about (GoPro) is it’s a product that everybody loves, and the people who I work with are passionate about the camera
and the ecosystem around the camera that we developed,” he says. “It makes work a lot of fun.” He says GoPro grew from roughly 300 employees to more than 600 since last year, and the company hopes to add a few hundred more this year. The key to enduring GoPro’s current growing pains is hiring the right people, which Cronin says is the best part of his job. “I love to talk to people about opportunities because it’s a good position to be in,” he says. “I’m not firing or laying people off—I’m actually hiring and changing people’s lives. It’s good to be on that side of the table.” Nick Mancini, who graduated from SU with a degree in information management and technology in 2012, says he was
determined to get a job at GoPro upon graduation. After being rejected three times for web design, inside sales, and user experience design positions, Mancini finally joined the company in early 2013. He was particularly attracted to GoPro’s action sports emphasis; Mancini has been skateboarding for 15 years and also likes to snowboard, wakeboard, and participate in just about any other action sport. Mancini believes GoPro’s ongoing expansion will present opportunities to grow within the company. He hopes to work his way up to a web design position, but eventually he wants to be an entrepreneur like the mad billionaire himself. “Woodman inspires me because his own goal was to be an entrepreneur out of college,” Mancini says. “It’s exciting to work for such a big company and something that he’s created. Ultimately, I would like to do the same thing, but it’s much easier said than done.” As for GoPro, both Mancini and Cronin agree this year will mark huge progress. Neither of them could speak too specifically about current developments due to their nondisclosure agreements, but Cronin says the company constantly works to take its products and content to the next level. He’s optimistic because Hollywood has embraced GoPro cameras, so reality shows and other series may use the cameras more in upcoming years, he says. While Mancini does think GoPro will continue to innovate and grow in the coming years, he does not see it changing its identity. The very features that make the product appealing to customers—size, image quality, and accessibility—will remain GoPro’s strengths as it moves forward. “GoPro constantly innovates and tries to find new ways to use a camera,” Mancini says. “Is GoPro going to go toe-to-toe with Nikon and Canon and all these other big companies? I think that’s a different market. I think what GoPro prides itself on is being the world’s most versatile camera, so that’s the big focus.”
With innovative technology and successful marketing campaigns, GoPro has rocked the tech world, and some Syracuse University alumni are along for the ride.
360 DEGREES MAGAZINE
Game of Stones A local club captures attention in the Syracuse community with the ancient Chinese game of Go.
A steady stream of customers comes in and out of the Wegmans in Fayetteville, N.Y., on a Monday evening. Among those customers are a half dozen people with no interest in shopping. They gather in the back of the dining area, pair off, and begin setting up wooden game boards, laying out black and white stone markers. It’s game night for the members of the Syracuse Go Club. In one corner, Mark Brown, a retired Syracuse University philosophy professor, is halfway through a game of Go with Meg Houston, a Nottingham High School senior. Deep in concentration, Houston barely looks up when her mother, finished with weekly grocery shopping, wanders over to check on her daughter’s game. With a knitting project in hand, she sits down at a table across from the pair and watches the game unfold. Brown groans and continues to scrutinize the board where Houston’s white stones rapidly encircle his black ones. “This game makes my brain tired,” Brown says with a laugh as he makes his move.
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WORDS :: JESSICA IANNETTA PHOTOS :: LEE ANN MEADOWS
The game of Go began between 2,500 and 4,000 years ago in ancient China and is the oldest game still played in its original form, according to the American Go Association. The Go board consists of a 19-by-19 inch grid of intersecting lines, and players take turns placing black and white pieces, known as stones, on the intersections of the lines. The goal of the game: Surround a larger total area of the board than your opponent. Once placed on the board, stones cannot be removed unless they are captured, or surrounded by an opposing group of stones. The game ends when both players decide they can make no more moves. Victory goes to the player who possesses more territory and captures the most stones. Sitting a few tables away from Houston and Brown, Richard Moseson, a retired systems programmer, starts a game of Go with Ben Gonnella, a recent college graduate. Moseson learned Go when he and a philosophy professor taught themselves to play during a month-long winter term at Oberlin College in Ohio. He’s played off and on since college, and started playing regularly when the Syracuse Go Club formed in 2002. While Moseson likes the balance of Go, Gonnella likes its contradictory nature. “It’s very complex. You have to combine a sense of peace and balance with aggression and acting. You need a good overall picture of what’s going on,” Gonnella says. “There’s always more to learn.” Even computer programs have not yet
mastered the complexities of Go. The most advanced algorithms still can’t beat the best Go professionals, Gonnella says. Because of the lack of sophisticated computer simulations, playing with other people is the best way to improve at Go. The Syracuse Go Club has about 30 members, but only six to 12 attend most Monday night games. The club is part of the American Go Association, founded in 1937, which has more than 2,000 members and more than 100 chapters across the country. The Syracuse chapter holds several tournaments throughout the year, but its biggest tournament comes each April, drawing 34 players in 2013. Syracuse University also hosted a Go Club chapter until three years ago, when its most active member graduated. However, in February, the Syracuse Go Club gave an introductory Go lesson to SU’s Pi Mu Epsilon math honor society. No one in Pi Mu Epsilon had prior experience with Go, but the society became interested in the game because of its relation to game theory, says Craig Allen, a junior math major and secretary of Pi Mu Epsilon. After a lesson from the Syracuse Go Club members, Allen says he learned to enjoy the difficulty of the game. “The thing that surprised all of us is that the first time you look at it, you think, ‘Oh, I’m just placing white and black stones on this board. It can’t be that hard,’” he says. “But then, about four turns in, it’s like, ‘OK, what the hell do I do now?’” Back at Brown and Houston’s table, Houston’s white stones outnumber Brown’s black ones. Houston places another white stone down, encircling a group of black stones, and takes them off the board. “You win some, you lose some,” Brown says.
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The Wheel Deal WORDS AND PHOTOS :: XIAOYANG LIAO
Unicycle pros Maxwell Perrin and Alec Hembree share tips and tricks for becoming an all-star unicyclist. Have you seen the unicyclists making their way around the Hill? Do you have an itch to try it on your own? 360 Degrees caught up with two unicyclists on campus to give you advice about how to ride a unicycle for the first time. Maxwell Perrin, a senior civil engineering major, has been at it for about six years; he says learning seemed like a natural choice, since he could already juggle and walk on stilts. Alec Hembree, a senior architecture major, began unicycling in middle school. When his cousin offered him a next-to-new unicycle, Hembree steadied himself on a low wall in his yard and took off. Both Perrin and Hembree say they unicycle mostly for commuting purposes rather than for showing off fancy tricks. It’s faster and takes less effort than walking, Perrin says. And it’s an enjoyable challenge, Hembree adds. Both emphasize that it takes some time to be comfortable with a unicycle. People who want to learn should be patient—they might be surprised to find it’s not all about balance.
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Find something to steady you. It’s best to hold on to something to start, such as a friend’s shoulder or a wall.
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Get situated with the unicycle between your legs. Figure out which leg is your dominant leg and put the pedal on that side, closer to the ground and slightly at an angle. When you step on the pedal, it should bring the unicycle up underneath your body.
Lean forward. Just a little bit, so that the pedals push forward. Try to keep the center of mass right above the wheel, and pedal to try to catch up to it. If you feel like you’re falling forward, pedal quickly to bring the unicycle back underneath you. If you feel like you’re falling backward, slow your feet down to regain your balance.
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Accomodate by moving your arms. Sometimes flailing is the easiest way to turn when you’re just starting out.
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Get used to it. Keep rolling back and forth, still holding onto the wall or your friend. It’s important to keep your back aligned with the frame of the unicycle, so remember to sit upright instead of hunched over.
Don’t worry about falling to the side. As long as you’re moving forward, you probably won’t be tilting over.
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Practice, practice, practice! It takes time to get used to it: Be patient and keep going. If you’re sick of the pedals whacking your shins when you slide off the wheel, Perrin and Hembree suggest investing in some shin guards.
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Out of the Office Professors enrich their on-campus courses with global experiences. WORDS :: BRENDAN GERMAIN ART :: KELSEY FRANCELLA
You can only learn so much inside the ivory tower. That’s why Syracuse University professors and staff often head outside Onondaga County to reap the benefits of outside research. These three faculty members work hard to understand the world by seeing what it has to offer away from the university. Susan Parks, an assistant professor of biology, studies animal ecology and biology, primarily in whales. Parks has traveled extensively in the Northern Hemisphere—from Iceland and Greenland to the Bering Sea in Alaska—observing the movements and communication patterns of various whale species. Since age 10, Parks has been drawn to these mammals. Back then, she even adopted a whale she named Colt. She never guessed that 25 years later in the Bay of Fundy in Maine, the easternmost point of the U.S., she would plant a research tag on the very same whale she adopted as a child. Parks found the Bay of Fundy surreal because her undergraduate mentor had done his research at the same place. “To see the same sights and the same whales—that was amazing,” she says. Though these animals are massive and exciting to watch, Parks says, the process consists of a lot of sitting and waiting since weather patterns and the whales’ location dictate her studies. Both can be difficult to forecast. Through it all, Parks finds peace in these “mysterious” creatures and hopes to develop a deeper understanding of their communication and behavior. Studying environmental politics and ecology, Tom Perreault, an associate GO
professor at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, explores the livelihoods of indigenous people in Latin America. His work centers on campesinos, or peasant farmers, in Bolivian communities where industry has affected crops and land rights. In light of the recent mining boom in Bolivia, Perreault analyzes the downstream effects of acute water shortages for these farmers. After obtaining an undergraduate degree in biology, Perreault chose to pursue a master’s in geography as a way to understand the connection between people and their environment by combining social and natural sciences. He came to Bolivia with an understanding of the “resource curse” that can occur in these farming villages; wealth from the early 20th century disappeared in these areas, leaving only poverty and degradation. This is one of many jarring examples of the negative consequences of industrialization. Perreault, a fluent Spanish speaker, conducts his research exclusively in his subjects’ native tongue, except in villages where they speak indigenous Quechua dialects. He publishes papers in both English and Spanish. His current work focuses on consulta previa, or prior consultation, that industries must go through to garner support for new projects. Natalie Koch, an assistant professor in the Maxwell geography department, considers herself a political geographer who studies the authoritarianism and geopolitics in post-Soviet countries, specifically Kazakhstan. “Every day, I change my mind,” Koch says, referring
to the way she views the environment during fieldwork. Although she researches while abroad, Koch does not always seek out evidence to support her hypotheses because the exploration that comes with living in a foreign country can lead to organic answers that accentuate the formal research. For instance, Koch found that one of the challenges of these countries is finding a gym that isn’t located in
“They thought I was crazy and I thought they were crazy.” someone’s basement; workout culture is almost nonexistent in Kazakhstan, especially among women. “They thought I was crazy and I thought they were crazy,” she says. A common misconception Koch attempts to correct is the notion that non-American forms of government are inherently bad. Koch intends to learn why political regimes with restricted freedoms are prominent in these countries. Whether it’s whales off the coast of Maine or governmental practices in Kazakhstan, these professors and researchers seek out different locations and cultures to find new questions and answers. The rewards, both academic and personal, encourage these individuals to further explore the world in new ways time and time again. “I’m naive,” Koch says, “and I am coming with that attitude to understand the world and citizenship practices in a different way.”
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Green Beer & Cheer
Coleman’s Authentic Irish Pub celebrates St. Paddy’s Day the Irish way on Syracuse’s Tipperary Hill.
WORDS :: EMMIE MARTIN PHOTOS :: NICKI GORNY, TREVOR ZALKIND The iconic inverted stoplight that hangs near the West Syracuse pub turns the go light into a symbol of Irish pride. 360’s senior long features editor Emmie Martin left her expectations at the door when she passed the stoplight and stepped into the middle of Coleman’s biggest celebration. “How brave are you?” a middle-aged man adorned in layers of green Mardi Gras beads and a homemade badge with the codename “Phil McCracken” asks me, the upside-down leprechaun legs on his hat flopping from side to side as he speaks. “Pretty brave,” I answer timidly, unsure what to expect.
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“Then reach into my pocket and feel my little leprechaun,” he responds with a chuckle as he turns the front pocket of his crisp black slacks toward me. “Sure,” I answer with quiet confidence. It’s 7:30 a.m. on the morning of St. Patrick’s Day; I’m poised and ready for anything to happen. I carefully reach into his pocket and my hand curves around a soft, yet spiky, piece of rubber. I pull my hand out and open my palm toward my friend, revealing a tiny neon green leprechaun figurine, complete with a miniature top hat. “A tiny leprechaun!” I grin, holding it up for the small crowd now surrounding us to see. “I didn’t lie,” he says with a smirk, before
launching into an explanation of his various other adornments, including a blinking shamrock necklace to “detect pretty girls.” Though the sun had barely risen on the Irish-inspired holiday, Coleman’s Authentic Irish Pub, located on Tipperary Hill in Syracuse, N.Y., bursts with activity as pub-goers pile in early to nosh on a breakfast buffet of scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, and potatoes slathered in hot sauce. Stained glass windows filled with Irish crests and Celtic symbols line the walls, dividing the bar into sections, while ornately carved gold lampposts glow, filling the main room with a dim light. A heavy wooden door stands open for guests to enter, with a scaled-down replica
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beside it, welcoming in leprechauns for a taste of Dublin. It’s no surprise Syracuse residents of all ages choose Coleman’s as their go-to spot for St. Patrick’s Day fun; the pub has thrown down on St. Paddy’s for more than 50 years, and the festivities begin two weeks before the big day arrives. Every year on the last Sunday in February, Coleman’s receives its annual shipment of green beer—9,000 gallons—and celebrates with a parade, bagpipe show, and beer tasting. Just two days before the day of the leprechaun, Coleman’s hosts yet another parade, complete with live music and, you guessed it, plenty of green beer. Check out their website any day of the year for a down-to-the-second countdown to the next St. Patrick’s blowout. My friend and I break away from Mr. McCracken, wading through a sea of green T-shirts, hats, and necklaces, and toward the buffet table, where we load our plates for only $5 a pop. We climb the dark wood stairs to the upper level of the pub and find ourselves in a room wrapped in delicate red and gold wallpaper. Pictures of Irish landscapes and Irish families—presumably members of the pub’s namesake family— hang on the walls. I plop down at an empty wooden table and begin shoveling warm pieces of scrambled egg into my mouth as three scratchy bagpipe notes emerge from the next room. A split-second later, another chord of bagpipes overlaps, and we watch three men in navy and forest green kilts march out, fat, black bagpipes resting on their shoulders, green feathered caps topped with red pom-poms positioned on their heads. We devour the remainder of our meal and follow the members of the Syracuse Scottish Pipe Band back to the main room, where they perform a short set for a disc jockey from Syracuse’s 93Q radio station. “I started playing bagpipes when I was 17,” says one redheaded player. “My high school chemistry teacher taught me—I think it was the only reason I passed chemistry!” GO
It’s no surprise Syracuse residents of all ages choose Coleman’s as their go-to spot for St. Patrick’s Day fun; the pub has thrown down on St. Paddy’s for more than 50 years, and the festivities begin two weeks before the big day arrives. At 4 p.m., the party rages on with St. Paddy’s day-drinking in full swing for people both young and old. Half-full pitchers and spilled glasses of green beer lay scattered across every open surface, while customers continue to flock to the bar in search of more. I push through the packed pub, silently taking inventory of the colorful afternoon crowd. “Is that George Washington?!” a young guy wearing a bright green Coleman’s “I’ve Got a Case of the Mondays” shirt gasps, despite the lack of powdered wigs and wooden teeth in sight. A woman, presumably in her early 20s, leans over to whisper to a guy sporting a short buzz cut and a Kelly green “Kiss Me I’m S---faced” tee. A pair of elderly women stand together chatting, each grasping a cool bottle of Guinness. I circle around and walk outside into the blocked-off parking lot. A stage fills the center of a large, covered pavilion, with booths selling beer and shots flanking either side. New Day, a band native to Central New York, jams on stage, with lead singer Mike Bristol belting out a buoyant cover of Paul Simon’s “You Can Call Me Al,” as heavy saxophone chords permeate the crowd. People mill about, alternating between talking and drinking, giving the event the feel of a small-scale music festival. After a brief pause between songs, the band moves on to a fast-paced version of Zac Brown Band’s “Chicken Fried.” The majority of the audience converges toward the center of the blacktop, joining a small crowd of dancers. Country-esque guitar
twangs fill the air, inciting a venue-wide sing-a-long, making it impossible not to move to the beat. As I sway to the music behind a light-haired man in a full leprechaun costume, a guy in a black tee leans over to poke my bouncing shamrock headband, his moustache dyed as green as his pitcher of beer. More and more spectators continue to join the dancing as New Day launches into J. Geils Band’s ‘80s hit “Centerfold.” Though I can palpably feel the energy of the crowd, I can no longer feel my toes, so I trek inside for one last dose of Irish cheer before heading home. “All you need to know about celebrating St. Patrick’s Day,” one visitor tells me as I make my way through the pub, “is that there’s going to be a lot of thirsty people.” With 9,000 gallons of green beer on tap, there better be.
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Letting
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Loss strikes everyone differently. Explore the various ways local organizations help students deal with tragedy. WORDS :: MEREDITH NEWMAN ART :: KRISTEN MORICI
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To many, grief is like an unopened box that stays on a top shelf for years. It’s never opened, but it’s always there. “Grief is one of those things that you can compartmentalize and you can say, ‘Right now I need to get through the semester, and can’t deal with that,’” says Tiffany Steinwert, dean of Hendricks Chapel. “And that’s OK. But at some point you need to take the box of emotions off the shelf, open it up, and look inside.” Yet many college students find themselves unable to let go of their grief. According to the National Students of Ailing Mothers and Fathers Support Network, 22 to 30 percent of college students will experience the death of someone close to them in a given year. Research also shows that both a decline in academic performance and longterm risks for mental and physical health can result from students’ grief, according to the organization. With the wide variety of resources at Syracuse University—ranging from therapy to spiritual guidance—campus experts say it’s important for students to face their grief and know that they are not alone. When working with college students who lose a friend or family member, Steinwert finds it’s usually the first time they have truly experienced death. A student’s grieving process is unique, she says, because students don’t expect their peers to die when they’re young. This, in turn, leads students to think about their own life and the possibility of death. “When you experience loss, death, or grief, you begin to think about your own mortality and have this
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parallel process of grieving for your (loved one) while also going through a disconcerting and disorienting process of confronting, perhaps for the first time, your own sense of mortality,” Steinwert says. All 10 chaplains at Hendricks Chapel offer pastoral care to students and, although pastoral care is a Christian term, it is used in an interfaith context at Hendricks. “We’re able to work with students in their time of grief, help them to not feel alone, and help them reconstruct meaning in the aftermath of loss and tragedy,” Steinwert says. “That often has a spiritual component, so we offer one-to-one counseling in that way.” When a student dies unexpectedly on campus, the Office of Student Assistance and Student Affairs works with Steinwert to connect with students who are affected. A chaplain from Hendricks and a therapist from the SU Counseling Center will then work together to facilitate a conversation with students, she says. The Counseling Center offers walk-in services for imme-
that came from it, suggests Father Linus DeSantis, a priest at SU’s Alibrandi Catholic Center. For strained relationships, he said students must answer the question: “What good is it to hold on to the bad feelings I have?” DeSantis, who frequently speaks with grieving students, says while there is no universal way to grieve, college students tend to have an expectation that their family members or friends will be there for them for the rest of their lives. If a parent dies, students often have a hard time dealing with the idea that he or she won’t be around, especially for major life events such as their graduation or wedding. Outside of counseling, foundations and charities are often helpful resources for college students who are grieving. Relay for Life—a national organization that hosts community fundraising walks to raise money to fight cancer—brings the Syracuse community together for one night to support and grieve with one another, says Sara Curtin, a coordinator for Relay for Life. Young adults in college, she adds, have a tendency to hold in feelings because they may lack a sense of community or support system at school. Relay creates an environment where people feel comfortable sharing their stories and students often realize that people are going through the same things they are. “When college students are grieving, they can sometimes feel like they
“We’re able to work with students in their time of grief, help them to not feel alone, and help them reconstruct meaning in the aftermath of loss and tragedy.” diate support as well as a grief group for students, says Cory Wallack, the director of the Counseling Center. A major difference in the grieving process for college students versus other groups, Wallack says, is that students are more likely to engage in alcohol or drug use as a coping mechanism than people of other ages. He adds that a common misconception is that there is one right way to grieve. “Everyone grieves differently, at their own time and their own pace,” he says. Wallack recommends that students talk to friends and family, keep a journal or memory book, or try to find ways to honor the person’s memory. When students lose a loved one, it’s important that they focus on the relationship they had with that person and the good
are alone. But at Relay, they can see how many people are going through the same things they are,” Curtin says. “While some students might not have lost their loved ones to cancer, the feelings and emotions of losing someone are often similar.” However college students decide to work through their grief, the experts agree the important thing is that students make the decision to take that unopened box of grief down from the shelf and open it. “You can’t be afraid to look inside,” Steinwert says.
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n e e r G o G Recent construction in the Westcott neighborhood proves that green infrastructure is taking Syracuse by storm. Rows of confection-colored houses line Westcott Street—Victorian-style constructions sporting dirt-lined seams alternate with their newer, vibrant counterparts. These houses are leased, in many cases, by students. The Green Corridor was completed along this route in November as part of Onondaga County’s stormwater management program, Save the Rain. The Green Corridor marked the latest in a slew of green infrastructure projects emerging around Syracuse, worked on through several stages of construction. Save the Rain has completed a total of 175 projects since 2010, says Madison Quinn, a project coordinator at Save the Rain, adding that 2011 involved the biggest number of projects. Save the Rain had a quota to meet, Quinn says; Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney wanted at least 50 different projects implemented by the end of the year. The “Project 50” goal was exceeded, advancing 60 projects that year. The Green Corridor on Westcott is an understated answer to rainwater management. The unassuming exterior hides intricate technology. Most of the improvements function below street level or blend in seamlessly with their surroundings: Extended curbs and porous pavement collect rainwater, rather than letting it dribble off the road unused. 21
But there is a seamy underside to the politics of dirty water. The city’s way of handling its water has come a long way since a controversy that erupted when Onondaga County attempted to erect a water treatment plant on Midland Avenue. The city was trying to comply with the Environmental Protection Agency’s water regulations, negotiating with a water system that frequently overflowed and polluted local bodies of water. At the time, Syracuse only used a combined water system, which carried sanitary flow and wastewater in the same pipelines. To make room for the new plant, the county planned to evict several blocks of low-income residents, as it had for Interstate 81 and Upstate University Hospital in the 1960s. The plan was met with outrage and accusations of environmental racism patterned in a history of displacement. As a result, a similar plant’s development was shelved. “We wanted it to fit in with the aesthetic preferences of the community,” Quinn says of the Green Corridor projects. Reaching out to the community was a priority, which meant pre-construction informational meetings to get feedback on the project features. Several of these meetings occurred up until construction, in addition to weekly meetings with local businesses, Quinn says. Josh Desants, a manager at Alto Cinco restaurant on Westcott Street, says the
WORDS :: NATSUMI AJISAKA PHOTOS :: TIFFANY GOMEZ restaurant experienced a dip in walk-in business when construction started in June on Alto Cinco’s side of the street, though its take-out business didn’t change. One person came by to explain the purpose of the construction, he says, and Johanna Yorke, Alto Cinco’s owner, went to several of the meetings. Many other business owners with storefronts on Westcott attended meetings as well, Desants says. Business owners and other permanent residents showed an unprecedented amount of engagement in the project’s plans, Quinn says. However, green infrastructure projects like the Green Corridor might not necessarily register on students’ radar. Zach Goldberg, a junior economics major and sustainability blogger, says many Syracuse University students are generally apathetic to social activism compared to their counterparts in liberal arts schools. SU tends to be “professionally-oriented,” Goldberg says, so students tend to be more invested in worrying about preparing for post-graduation life than environmental issues. What students did notice was the construction, as it affected traveling back and
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forth to campus for those who live in the Westcott neighborhood. Jessica Pauszek, a composition and cultural rhetoric graduate student at SU, lives off Westcott near Alto Cinco. She usually bikes or walks to campus, a trip that construction made difficult early in the school year. But Pauszek says she and her friends are sympathetic to sustainability issues and green projects. They support these two concerns through practices like recycling and buying reusable water bottles. Syracuse, like many other U.S. cities, now has both combined and separated water systems, the latter involving different pipelines for stormwater and waste. Paralleling this is a composite of what’s called gray and green infrastructure, which Syracuse has been developing and refining under Mahoney. The idea of installing green infrastructure is additive, rather than removing existing systems. Some of Save the Rain’s projects involve gray infrastructure, which refers to traditional conveyance systems usually made of concrete. This involves anything from normal sewer pipes to channels lined with riprap, or large rocks that prevent erosion, says Caitlin Eger, a Syracuse Environmental Finance Center staff scientist who works out of the Center of Excellence, an umbrella organization of various sustainability and green projects in Syracuse. But Save the Rain projects are more closely related to green infrastructure,
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which includes systems that capture stormsystems are still new, Eger says. The debris water and release it slowly via infiltration or from leaves and salt can clog the pores evaporation, like porous pavement. Green and crevices of the porous pavement, for infrastructure involves systems built from example. Periodically, the pavement needs living ecosystems, which can self-organize to be swept and vacuumed; otherwise the and adapt to environmental conditions, infiltration rate slows and doesn’t allow it Eger says. to capture as much runoff as clean paveSyracuse has been a frontrunner for the ment, she says. Green infrastructure is also innovation of green infrastructure and its sensitive to site-specific factors, and what uses compared to other cities, Eger says. works for one site may not necessarily be But unlike traditional infrastructure, green infrastrucSyracuse has been a frontrunner for the ture projects don’t yet have a innovation of green infrastructure and standard design or production its uses compared to other cities. process that’s maximally efficient, Eger says. Many people in the construction, design, and engineering professions replicable for another. are unfamiliar with building these systems Even with perfect maintenance, the at maximum efficiency. Finding the proper longevity of green infrastructure technology combination of source materials and is also unclear right now. Gray infrastrucknowledgeable contractors is a difficult task ture’s bridges and sewer pipes are well-eswhich Syracuse has managed to overcome, tablished technology, but how long green Eger says. However, with its bitter cold infrastructure can go without replacement climate, the morass of dead leaves swirling is still mostly a mystery. “But we are seeing around on its streets for most of the year, good results reported in the literature, and and the high amount of salt required to we are hopeful,” Eger says. combat snow and ice, Syracuse faces more Green infrastructure tends to be “quite complicated logistics than other cities with resilient,” especially the systems that green infrastructure. involve plants’ ability to self-organize and The research behind green infrastructure adapt to environmental difficulties. It’s has for the most part kept pace with projpossible, Eger says, that green infrastructure ects happening now, but one area in which can last much longer than expected. it’s lagged has been how to best maintain this infrastructure over time, since the
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AN
Four students reveal hidden gems in their hometowns. WORDS :: MELISSA ESPINAL PHOTOS :: JENNY HALE
As you walk the sidewalks of the Syracuse University campus, you’re sure to pass an array of diverse faces. Your classmates, your neighbors, your roommates—it’s likely that some of these people hail from regions very different than your roots. This beautifully diverse student body makes SU a place where you don’t have to go very far to travel the world. From the Northwest to the Far East, four students from distinctly unique regions help us discover the true spirit of their hometowns. CHRISTINA TIBERIO DESCRIBES HER HOMETOWN OF SEATTLE, WASH., AS A DISTINCTIVELY LIBERAL CITY. “Seattle is a little grungy;
it’s very stuck in the ‘90s,” she says, adding that it’s a town of far left-wing democrats and thrifty shoppers. If she were visiting Seattle as an out-of-towner, she’d probably go shopping on Broadway. “They’ve got a lot of really great thrift shops,” she says. In fact, Grammy-winning rapper and Seattlenative Macklemore based his Billboard Top 100 hit “Thrift Shop” on the city’s frugal tradition. “What’s unique about Seattle is that (the thrift shop culture) is not just something that’s trendy here, it’s just something that Seattleites do; we thrift shop,” she says. “The hipster culture in Seattle is pretty homegrown.” Tiberio also notes a liberalistic prevalence that causes a “kumbaya” feel in her town. “There is a certain kind of equality that people don’t fully experience outside of Seattle,” she says, describing how there is little difference between the
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rich and the poor, for example, or the immigrants and nonimmigrants. Due to this dynamic, Tiberio views Seattle as a peaceful city. “I think it’s just a more progressive area,” she says. Aside from soaking in her city’s characteristically democratic nature, Tiberio recommends experiencing Seattle’s eateries and eccentric museums in order to understand the “Land of Weird.” In Chinatown, you can find great, authentic Asian food alongside a collection of interesting museums. The city plays home to Seattle’s
“ THERE IS A CERTAIN KIND OF EQUALITY THAT PEOPLE DON’T FULLY EXPERIENCE OUTSIDE OF SEATTLE. ”
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ND Official Bad Art Museum of Art—filled with “awful things,” Tiberio says. Additionally, you can find a pinball museum, a videogame museum, and other similar attractions. If you don’t have a tendency toward “weird,” there’s also the refined Seattle Art Museum to visit, and the classic Space Needle to explore. Before you leave Seattle, Tiberio recommends checking out Molly Moon’s Ice Cream—one of her favorite places. “They have the best chocolate ice cream you’ll ever taste,” she says.
EMILY STEBBINS BELIEVES RICH HISTORY AND ETHNIC DIVERSITY MAKES HER HOMETOWN OF TAOS, N.M., SPECIAL. “We have an
interesting mix of ethnicities,” she says. The natives in her town descended from the Pueblo tribe, and the Taos Pueblo serves as
the de facto cultural center of the town. “It is the oldest pueblo that people still live in (in the country),” she says. Another distinguishing feature of Taos, Stebbins says, is its ski valley. An hour from the Colorado border and 7,000 feet above sea level, Taos is one of the only southwestern cities that experiences all four seasons. “In our summers we’ll have our 90-degree weather and in the winters we get snow in Taos Ski Valley,” Stebbins says. Luckily for them, winters there never achieve the same depths of temperature as Syracuse, N.Y. One of Stebbins’s favorite places is the Gorge Bridge. “It runs high over the Rio Grande,” she says, “It’s a beautiful walk.” The 100-yard bridge has such remarkable beauty that it has been featured in bigname movies, such as “The Terminator.” “It’s always fun to see because if you are
“ IN OUR SUMMERS WE’LL HAVE OUR 90DEGREE WEATHER AND IN THE WINTERS WE GET SNOW IN TAOS SKI VALLEY.”
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watching it in the theaters (in Taos), people get so excited,” she says. Stebbins guarantees that if anyone were to visit her hometown, the natural beauty and culture will shine.
IN CONTRAST TO THE SMALLCITY FEEL OF TAOS, SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL, MARILIA REIS’ HOME, IS THE BIGGEST CITY IN SOUTH AMERICA. “It’s a big, crazy city, so it can
be stressful, but it’s also full of opportunities and cultural activities,” Reis says. “When people go to São Paulo to know the city, they go to Avenida Paulista. On one side, it’s very residential with beautiful buildings, and on the other side you’ll find cultural things, like traditions of the city,” she says. Reis believes that places like this make her city especially unique. “I think that the identity of the city is not so ‘regional’; it is a special representation of all of Brazil,” she says. “You will be walking down the street and suddenly you’ll come across a performance or something really Brazilian, like a music style from a specific region of Brazil, or Capoeira which is a dance/fight performance.”
To retreat from all of the “craziness” of her city, Reis loves to go to her favorite park—Praça Pôr do Sol or Sunset Plaza. On sunny days, especially during São Paulo’s mild winters, the park fills up quickly. “Everyone sits in the grass, watching the sunset over the great view of the skyline,” she reflects, “and when the sun finally sets, everyone will begin to cheer and clap.” If you find yourself in São Paulo, you can bet you’ll find Reis enjoying this scenic park.
“ I THINK THAT THE IDENTITY OF THE CITY IS NOT SO ‘REGIONAL’; IT IS A SPECIAL REPRESENTATION OF ALL OF BRAZIL.”
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ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE GLOBE, WEI WEI WU LIVES IN THE HIGH-ENERGY, MODERN CITY OF SHANGHAI, CHINA. “It’s very packed.
During morning rush hour, people are practically flying around underground to get to the subways. Above ground, everyone is in their cars,” he says. In Wu’s eyes, one of the great benefits of being from such a modern, fast-paced city is the food. “You can come eat food from all over the world— there’s American food, French, Italian and Spanish food, Thai food, Japanese food, every type of food,” he says. He also emphasizes how much shopping Shanghai offers. “Wherever you live, there’s always a nearby place to shop,” he says. “We even have one special road just for walking—no vehicles are allowed through—so that you can shop that area, called Nanjing Road.” Apart from the dining and commerce, karaoke in Shanghai serves as a great way to make lasting memories. “My most fun memories at home have been at kara-
oke,” he says. “You can rent out a private karaoke room for just you and your friends for hours; you don’t have to worry about singing in front of an audience of strangers.” Wu has traveled a lot throughout his life, but whenever he’s home in China, he goes straight for the karaoke. Next time you feel the urge to satisfy your worldly curiosities, turn to your neighbors here at SU and ask, “What is your hometown like?” You can go far distances without leaving the borders of campus.
“ MY MOST FUN MEMORIES AT HOME HAVE BEEN AT KARAOKE. YOU CAN RENT OUT A PRIVATE KARAOKE ROOM FOR JUST YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS FOR HOURS.”
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360 DEGREES MAGAZINE
Orange Ability offers a close-up view of adaptive sports. WORDS AND PHOTOS :: TREVOR ZALKIND
Orange Ability, an annual accessible athletics exposition, introduces members of the Syracuse community to adaptive sports that give people with disabilities equitable opportunities to play (read: kick butt). Ranging from sled hockey to biking, the spring exposition provides a glimpse into disability culture. After photographing the day’s events, I experienced firsthand that disabilities do not hinder people on a playing field. Weaving my adapted bicycle through the seemingly giant spectators scattered about Flanagan Gym, I pedaled with a tenacity only rivaled by a caffeine-addicted hamster in a wheel. I glanced quickly behind my shoulder; my competitor, a little boy with an up-to-something grin, was gaining on me. I had to speed up, but my only real advantage—my runner’s legs—was immobilized. I’d have to rely on my pathetic excuses for arms to propel me to victory. When the last lap drew to an end, so too did my reign of bike-racing supremacy. The little boy had passed me—after taking a risky shortcut through the basketball game, of course. I gave him a congratulatory fist bump and stepped out of the modified bicycle. My victorious competitor, however, did not. His family members and friends lifted him out of the seat, raising him in the air like a crowd-surfing rock star. Then they put him back in his wheelchair, which sported a bumper sticker that reads, “Does this wheelchair make my butt look big?” The boy sped away toward the next activity and left me behind, still huffing and puffing from our race. A sudden crash from a neighboring court brought most of the gym to full attention. Rugby players, engaged in a demolition derby with their armored wheelchairs, jostled for possession of the ball. No mercy. No concern for the well-being of hands and arms. Each player brought their competitiveness, something that even a physical disability can’t take away. As the clashes came to a halt, Otto the Orange stormed the court, wrapping up the game with smiles and laughs—another hallmark of the day’s activities.
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360 DEGREES MAGAZINE
I glanced quickly behind my shoulder; my competitor, a little boy with an up-to-something grin, was gaining on me.
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Winning Formula
After years of inactivity, SU’s Formula SAE team works to build a racecar and make a name for itself. WORDS :: NICKI GORNY PHOTOS :: CARLOS RESTREPO
A sea of spiritedly dressed college students grins from the panoramic photo propped against a chalkboard in the basement of L.C. Smith. The caption says the photo was taken at a 2000 Formula SAE race, but none of the students bustling around the workspace are even sure the Orange were among the teams at that event. All the seven or eight engineering students in the room on a Friday afternoon know is that it’s been quite a while since the Formula SAE team at Syracuse University has had something to show in competition. They also know that’s about to change. The team will return from its competitive hiatus by racing a made-from-scratch Formula 1-style car in Lincoln, Neb., in June 2015. “That’s what’s driving us,” says John Bonanni, a senior mechanical engineering major and president of SU’s Formula SAE team. “The fact that Syracuse will actually have a car in competition next year.” Carrying the abbreviation that formerly referred to the Society of Automotive Engineers, Formula SAE is a student design competition that tasks competitors with designing and building their own racecar. While the organization had been active within the L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science in the past, a drop in student interest 10 to 15 years ago forced the organization into inactivity. But in the fall of 2009, James Shomar, then a sophomore mechanical engineering major, decided to revive the program.
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Shomar came to SU intrigued by stories of his father and 1978 alum David Shomar’s time on SU’s Baja SAE team, a group that designs off-road vehicles. It was at a meeting in the Baja SAE team’s workshop that Shomar first saw the long-ignored racecar gathering dust in the corner of the shop. Five obstacle-riddled years later, the original car lies in pieces—a few wheels
tion fee, SU’s Formula SAE team is poised to return to the racetrack and ready to start building a new name for themselves. “We just want to get Syracuse back on the map,” Bonanni says. While Bonanni doesn’t anticipate a top ranking for the team in its first year out, he hopes subsequent improvements to the car will put SU in competitive standing for later
with blue and orange hubcaps in a corner, a skeletal metal frame on the floor of the basement shop. Armed with a new car that meets SAE International’s updated regulations and $2,000 for the race registra-
annual races. With a lightweight motorcycle engine and a similarly lightweight frame—a carbon fiber donation worth approximately $3,000 helped build the latter—Bonanni expects the car to be pretty
360 DEGREES MAGAZINE
“ That’s what’s driving us: the fact that Syracuse will actually have a car in competition next year.”
fast. How fast is pretty fast? Bonanni says the car should be able to cruise—safely—at around 60 to 70 mph, not unlike typical Formula SAE cars. But realistically? “It should be able to break 85 easy,” Bonanni says. “I wouldn’t do it personally, but it should be able to.” Designing a car poses no small challenge, and SU’s racecar has overcome plenty of obstacles in its years-long path to the racetrack. Some of these challenges, such as moving out of the tight quarters in the
Participants look forward to seeing the fruit of more than five years’ labor. storage room where Shomar started and into the cluttered basement workshop, were surmounted long ago. Others, such as acquiring funding for the $2,000 race registration fee and thousands more to construct and transport the car, remain ongoing concerns that leave team members consistently soliciting outside sponsorship, running fundraisers, and pinching pennies. Of course, mechanical issues consistently pop up. “Nothing usually goes according to plan,” Bonanni says, remembering a slipped wrench that accidentally put a hole in the
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engine in February. The incident stretched a one-day job into three. Although the team is currently comprised of only engineering students—their mild efforts to recruit business or communications students for managerial or publicity roles have generally fallen through—they admit that their classes haven’t exactly taught them how to build a car from scratch. This especially holds true for underclassmen such as Gabriel Smolnycki, a freshman mechanical engineering major who says he usually stays in the shop for much longer than he intends on Friday afternoons. Although Smolnycki can draw on his robotics know-how from high school VEX Robotics competitions for some aspects of the car, others he won’t learn about until at least his next semester at SU. Take calculating the force required to compress the clutch, for example. “I kind of had to figure that out on my own with textbooks, the Internet, and a couple of the guys here helped me with it,” he says, adding that he and his teammates managed to figure it out relatively easily. This sense of camaraderie that keeps upperclassmen explaining mechanical aspects to their younger teammates is just part of what makes Joel Rosado, a sophomore mechanical engineering major and team treasurer, describe the team as a “group of brothers.” A relaxed ambiance fills the Formula SAE shop on Friday afternoons, when the 15 to 30 members of the team are free to come and go based on their availability or
interest. When they’re not puzzling over the chalk-scratched calculations on the board or sorting through the clutter of red and white wires that dwarfs a disconnected engine, they’re hanging out or swapping stories about cars and racing. And sometimes sharing a laugh. Rosado remembers an afternoon when a particularly tall team member clambered into the driver’s seat of the metal frame— and got himself stuck. “We just left the room and turned off the lights,” Rosado says with a grin before adding that the team returned soon after. As the lengthy rebuilding process draws to a close and the team anticipates finally registering for Lincoln in the fall, participants look forward to seeing the fruit of more than five years’ labor. While some participants, such as Bonanni, will graduate before watching the racecar hit the road, chief engineer and senior Ryan Olson plans to see the racecar through to competition as a graduate student at SU. “It’s seeing something go from the idea stage to the design stage to the building stage and to the functional stage,” Olson says. “That’s always an impressive thing to see, when you zoom out and see the whole process.” It’s an exciting notion with which several team members can relate. “We’re building a racecar,” Smolnycki says wonderingly. “Why do we not have 100 people in this room right now?”
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From “Oh no” to Van Gogh
A local artist shows amateurs how to imitate the masters. WORDS :: NICKI GORNY PHOTOS :: COURTESY OF DEBBIE FOSTER
Your mom might see genius in that scribble you drew in second grade, but Debbie Foster prefers to stick to the greats. As owner of the Central New York-based business Paint, Drink, and Be Merry, the schoolteacher spends her nights and weekends showing even those who have never picked up a paintbrush how to replicate renowned works of art. 360 Degrees interviews her to learn more about creating masterpieces.
360: If I were to head to a Paint, Drink, and Be Merry event, what should I expect?
360: Do the amateur artists’ paintings really look like the originals?
Debbie: I go over to different restaurants and people’s homes, and I walk 20 to 25 people through the process of doing a painting. I bring all the supplies—the easels, the paint, the brushes—and everyone does the painting. It’s more like a fun night out than a painting class. And it’s called Paint, Drink, and Be Merry because people will usually buy a glass of wine or appetizers.
Debbie: Yeah, they do. They come out very nicely. I give them the color palette, so that’s really helpful. With some of the paintings, I give them a stencil to get started. Or if I don’t do that, I measure it out and we do a detailed drawing before we do the painting.
360: How long does it take to make a masterpiece? Debbie: It takes about three hours.
360: Have you ever had a case where they looked nothing alike? Debbie: A couple times, but not very often. Every once in a while, someone might want to branch out and do something different so they change it. Mostly they stick to the instructions and do what everyone else is doing. 360 DEGREES MAGAZINE
360: Who are some of the most popular artists you feature? Debbie: (Vincent) Van Gogh, Georgia O’Keefe, (Claude) Monet, (Wassily) Kandisky
360: Is anyone especially easy or particularly difficult to copy?
California, and she told me she went to an event similar to this. She suggested I might be interested in doing something similar. So that’s how I started.
Debbie: I choose artists that are simple. For example, we don’t do any portraits. It’s mostly landscapes, flowers, things like that. And sometimes I don’t do all of the painting—I’ll crop it and just do a section of it.
360: How long ago was that?
360: What sparked the idea of replicating famous artwork in the first place?
Debbie: Yeah, it’s been doing great actually. I’ve had a lot of home parties, and the restaurants are really open to it. It’s a win-win for the restaurants: I have a place to host my events that’s unique and the restaurants have clients coming in on
Debbie: It seems to be a trend growing across the country. A friend of mine lives in
Debbie: Last May.
360: Have you been getting a lot of interest since then?
an off night. I wind up doing restaurants on the weekdays and private parties on the weekends.
360: Who do you think this model appeals to more: the totally non-creative or the especially artsy? Debbie: I think both. A lot of people have come and said, “Oh I can’t do this, I don’t know how to paint.” But some people find out they have more artistic ability than they thought they did. I also get people who used to paint and have gotten away from it, so this gives them the opportunity to do what they haven’t done in a while.
360: If I want to check it out for myself, how should I find an event? Debbie: On the website— paintdrinkandbemerrysyracuse.com.
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