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National Guard veterans create local graphic design firm By Natsumi Ajisaka STAFF WRITER
U.S. Army National Guardsmen Spc. Brian Kennedy and 1st Lt. Jason Uhlig showed up with tablets, eager to show off both albums of photos from Afghanistan and sketches of dinosaurs. The pair hosted a launch party on Friday at Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, explaining their new business’ goals to the 150 patrons who milled in and out of the restaurant. After just returning from a five-month deployment in Afghanistan, Kennedy and Uhlig launched Iron Art, a Syracuse-based graphic design firm that will work closely with military veteran organizations. For the new businessmen, the first step was a simple query on Google: “NY state how to start a small business.” With just two employees and out-of-pocket funding, Iron Art is a small business — a deliberate decision, said Uhlig, director of the business. The two will first build media marketing and a support base, and hope that the
business’ growth will eventually “snowball,” Kennedy said. Iron Art is described as a “cognizant business,” dedicated to supporting other veterans and giving back to the Syracuse community, Uhlig said. The business’ name comes from Kennedy and Uhlig’s brigade’s battle cry, “Blood and iron, never forget,” a combination of the original battle cry from World War I and a tribute to 9/11 victims. For Kennedy and Uhlig, veterans of the 2nd Battalion, 108th Infantry Regiment, 27th Infantry Brigade, the startup is an expansion of identities they formed during their recent deployment to the mostly monochromatic desert region. When deployed in Afghanistan, Uhlig produced the first versions of logo redesigns for Dinosaur Bar-B-Que and Coleman’s Authentic Irish Pub, both important locales for Kennedy and Uhlig. The revamped Dinosaur Bar-B-Que logo was what Uhlig called a “terminator combat
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Residents from all 50 states file petitions to secede from country By Jacob Pramuk STAFF WRITER
President Barack Obama’s re-election has caused sharp reaction among some Americans: Residents in all 50 states have filed petitions to peacefully secede from the United States since he was re-elected. The petitions were filed through the White House website’s “We the People” program, the Daily Caller reported on Nov. 14. All of the petitions have been filed since Nov. 7, the day after
“It would take millions of such petitions and even then we settled much of this during the Civil War.”
Jeff Stonecash
POLITICAL SCIENCE PROFESSOR
the election. The petitions signal a bitter sentiment toward Obama’s re-election. Though the secessions likely won’t gain any ground, the petitions illuminate post-election frustrations. The White House staff responds to petitions that have been signed by 25,000 people within 30 days of their filing, according to the White House website. Seven states’ petitions had accumulated the necessary signatures for review as of Sunday. A petition filed for Texas secession was signed 117,175 times. The White House staff has yet to issue any responses, but top state officials have refused to give support to the petitions, according to the website. A spokeswoman for Republican Gov. Rick Perry of Texas issued a statement denouncing the Texas petition, the Dallas Morning News reported. Jeff Stonecash, a political science professor in Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, said in an
email that the secession sentiment is reflective of a small reactionary group, not the states as entities. “America is a very diverse nation and there are pockets of unusual views,” Stonecash said. “These are the expressions of tiny groups. They will go nowhere and represent the views of an alarmist crowd.” Stonecash said the requests would need wider public support to be legitimized by the federal government. “It would take millions of such petitions and even then we settled much of this during the Civil War,” he said. This reaction is typical after recent presidential elections. Stonecash said many on the political left reacted in the same way in the past. Similar sentiments surfaced after President George W. Bush’s re-election in 2004 and Obama’s first election in 2008, according to a Yahoo News report. James Ward, president of College Republicans at SU, said the petitions aren’t reflective of a legitimate desire to secede. Rather, they are symbolic of ongoing Republican frustrations with the Obama administration. “I don’t think it’s something you can take seriously, but it does show the power of this election,” he said. “I think what Republicans want is for President Obama and the Democrats to come across the table and take what they’re saying seriously.” Though Republicans may see the movement as a method for pushing toward their political motives, some students see it as a negative side effect of the two-party system. Ward said the harsh reaction to Obama’s re-election may have a moderating influence as time passes. He said it could help the country moving forward. “I think some of the criticisms that Republicans are saying constructively might help the country and the president,” Ward said. “It’ll help him lead the country better. It’s not a battle that’s over because he won the election.” jspramuk@syr.edu
dinosaur,” complete with camouflage and combat boots. Kennedy’s first painting in Afghanistan was the unit’s patch, whose black background he filled with glow-in-the-dark stars that beamed an iridescent glow at night. Kennedy and Uhlig usually worked at night by flashlight in Afghanistan, when temperatures were cooler, using a backpack of art supplies from bazaars and care packages from the of CDS Monarch, a Rochester-based firm, as part of its Warrior Salute program for military veterans. The concrete wall of the battalion’s bunker, where the two created works of art, eventually became a source of pride for Kennedy and the rest of the battalion, which he said liked to “congregate” by the wall and take pictures. On the 11th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, near the end of one of his deployments, Kennedy decided to draw firefighters raising a flag at Ground Zero on the wall as a tribute. But a thin black Sharpie marker was all that was left of his art supplies.
WHAT YOU MISSED FROM PAGE 3
Thorin appointed to national position President Barack Obama appointed Suzanne Thorin, dean of libraries and university librarian at SU, to the National Museum and Library Services Board. Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg swore her in at a ceremony at the Supreme Court on Nov. 15. In her new position, Thorin will serve as one of eight newly appointed advisers to the Institute of Museum and Library Services. The National Museum and Library Services Board advises the IMLS director on general policy and practices, as well as selections for the National Medals for Museum and Library Service. The board includes the IMLS director and deputy directors, and 20 presidentially appointed members of the general public. The IMLS is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s libraries and museums, according to a Nov. 21 SU News release.
REFERENDA FROM PAGE 3
University College, 1,809 students voted in favor of allowing University College students to serve in SA, and 1,639 voted against the change. The constitution for SA was written in the 1990s, and therefore the laws are not currently representative of the campus. The referenda were put up for vote to modernize these codes, Lustig said. “These codes were written in the early 1990s, so there is a lot that should be in the constitution that is not in there,” Lustig said. “A lot of it was just cleaning up what was in there and making it more relevant.” Besides the University College referendum,
“I kept running out of ink, so the other guys were coming up to me and handing me their markers and saying, ‘Here, you got to finish this,’” Kennedy said. “I kept drawing until each marker was literally in shreds.” Though Kennedy, the master artist, and Uhlig handle distinct ends of business operations, running the business is a collaboration of Kennedy’s highly visual nature and Uhlig’s practical personality. “I have so many ideas, but I can’t even finish them all,” Kennedy said. “Jay keeps me organized and focused and I keep him thinking outside the box.” Though he admits he “is not the best artist out there,” Kennedy said he still believes his artwork serves as a reminder of the possibilities of life, particularly for veterans who may feel typecast by their deployment. “I never thought you could do this in the military because I thought at first that it was all guns and gung-ho,” Kennedy said. ”But I think I’ve proven that you can be creative, too.” najisaka@syr.edu
Prince receives Chancellor’s Medal Prince Sultan bin Salman of Saudi Arabia was awarded Syracuse University’s Chancellor’s Medal for Outstanding Achievement at a ceremony last week. Nearly 200 people attended the ceremony, which took place in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs’ atrium. The award honors individuals for their contributions to not only their own communities, but also the entire world. Past recipients include American composer Aaron Copland, U.S. Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan and current U.S. Vice President Joe Biden. Sultan received his master’s degree in social science from Maxwell and is currently next in line to the Saudi throne. He is the first Arab, first Muslim and youngest person to travel to space at age 28. Sultan also helped establish a partnership between SU and Princess Nora Bint Abdul Rahman University, the first all-female university in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. —Compiled by Jessica Iannetta, asst. news editor, jliannet@syr.edu
other referenda will make changes, including clarifying vague wording of sections of the SA constitution and creating a distinction between committees and boards within SA, said Jenn Bacolores, chair of the Board of Elections and Membership. These referenda passed easily: 2,943 students voted to clarify vague wording while only 418 did not, and 2,912 voted to make the distinction between committees and boards while 451 did not. The required majority to elect a member to the Judicial Review Board will be changed from a four-fifths majority to a two-thirds majority. For this referendum, 2,130 people voted in favor of changing the majority and 1,297 voted against it. tblupo@syr.edu
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