WEDNESDAY
january 16, 2013
NEWS
PAGE 3
the daily orange
charlotte horton | staff photographer COREY CROCKETT AND KATELYN MULDOWNEY, Z89 general manager and CitrusTV general manager, respectively, sit in their renovated studios in Watson Hall. The student organizations made campus history by initiating the construction efforts, which were supported by Chancellor Nancy Cantor.
CitrusTV, Z89 complete student-led renovation project of Watson Hall studios By Annie Palmer STAFF WRITER
After months of planning and renovations, CitrusTV and WJPZ-Z89 have officially opened new studios in Watson Hall. CitrusTV’s plans for relocation began when Brad Slavin, former CitrusTV general manager, met with Chancellor Nancy Cantor last May. After receiving the chancellor’s full support, CitrusTV commenced its renovations in Watson in the space formerly owned by FoodWorks, said Slavin, a junior television, radio and
film, information technology and management major. “We worked with [the Office of Campus Planning Design and Construction] to refine a floor plan that would best use the space for both us and WJPZ,” Slavin said. “The floor plan went through countless revisions, but we feel the plan we pursued was one that maximized the space for both organizations.” The original deadline was set for fall 2012, but due to ongoing construction the deadline was pushed to the beginning of the spring 2013 semes-
ter, he said. “Despite the long transitional phase, our members have continued to give their all 100 percent of the time,” said current CitrusTV General Manager Katelyn Muldowney in an email. “We’ve just been constantly reminding ourselves of the end result: a beautiful new space to work and produce our content in.” Though the renovated studios are officially open, CitrusTV has not yet resumed its operations there. The station will resume regular hours of operation starting Feb. 10, Muld-
owney said. Until then, CitrusTV is installing the majority of its technical equipment and preparing to resume broadcasting, she said. Z89 worked in conjunction with CitrusTV to plan the renovations, and has completely installed its new studios in Watson, said Corey Crockett, Z89 general manager and sophomore broadcast and digital journalism major. Their first broadcast out of the new studio was held on Jan. 12, he said. “Before the renovations, we were a small station that had a lot of influence
at SU with studios that didn’t necessarily reflect that,” said Crockett, who is also a staff writer for The Daily Orange. “Now, we have a studio where people can really do their work and do it well.” CitrusTV and Z89’s move marks the first major construction effort in campus history to be led by a student organization, said Slavin, the former CitrusTV general manager. CitrusTV spent the last two years updating its broadcast to high-definition resolution and is now considering updating its main set, he said.
SEE STUDIOS PAGE 4
Crime initiative to continue SU professors discuss cause, effects of fiscal cliff through spring semester By Natsumi Ajisaka STAFF WRITER
By Jessica Iannetta ASST. NEWS EDITOR
Following a successful pilot program last fall, the University Action Crime-Control Team initiative will continue through the spring semester. UACT, an initiative between the Syracuse University Department of Public Safety and the Syracuse Police Department, was created in October and is made up of officers from both departments that patrol the East neighborhood and Mar-
shall Street areas together, in addition to other safety increases. “The program really started to take off during the pilot and we liked the results, so it was a pretty easy decision,” said DPS Capt. John Sardino. The initiative was created in response to concerns about campus safety after a stabbing at the Carrier Dome, several incidents on Marshall Street and a string of off-campus robberies during the
SEE UACT PAGE 6
Between late December 2012 and early January 2013, various media platforms buzzed with one phrase: “fiscal cliff.” Adding to the sense of foreboding was the fact that it lacked a clear definition for many. Due to the complexity of the concept, many people did’nt know what it meant, what was being negotiated or why it was so politically charged. The fiscal cliff was a collection of automatic spending cuts that were scheduled to take place if Congress failed to cut a deal to reduce the federal deficit by Jan. 1, 2013, said Donald Dutkowsky, professor of economics at
Syracuse University. The automatic cuts would have affected multiple federal programs, he said. Several tax cuts from the Bush and Obama administrations would have expired as well. Congress brokered a last-minute deal in the early hours of Jan. 1, after a two-month political standoff. The fiscal cliff stems from the debt ceiling crisis last year, when Congress faced pressure to resolve the multi-trillion dollar federal deficit, Dutkowsky said. In 2011, legislators fought about raising the debt ceiling, which would have increased the legal amount the federal government is allowed to borrow in
order to fund its expenses, he said. If the debt ceiling is exceeded, the federal government defaults on its debts. The risk of default made the debate highly contentious, and the uncertainty led to U.S. bonds being downgraded, he said. Although Congress voted to raise the debt ceiling, a significant deficit remained. Legislators passed an ultimatum in case it failed to decide on a solution by a certain date, said Grant Reeher, a political science professor in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. This date later became known as the fiscal cliff. Though major questions concerning spending and revenue were not
SEE FISCAL CLIFF PAGE 7