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dailyorange.com
The skaters of the Assault City Roller Derby team started their season this month. The grassroots team champions equity and diversity for all of its players, members said. Page 7
SU has announced speakers for the College of Law’s Commencement and the College of Engineering and Computer Science and School of Information Studies’ convocation. Page 3
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No. 8 seed Syracuse will face the No. 9 seed Baylor Bears in Salt Lake City, Utah during the first round of the men’s basketball NCAA Tourament on Thursday. Page 12
After the “N-word” was used at SU’s Madrid Center, students of color in the program are
‘At a loss’
national
SU not involved in admissions scandal By Kennedy Rose news editor
During a forum last week, administrators asked students to pose questions and share how they felt about the recent use of the “N-word” in classes at Madrid. rori sachs senior staff videographer By Catherine Leffert senior staff writer
Editor’s note: The following article was reported in Central European Standard Time.
M
ADRID, Spain — Students and a professor at Syracuse University’s center here used the “N-word” at least four times publicly during classes over the course of nine days earlier this month. In an email sent Tuesday evening to members of the Madrid program, Director Dieter Kuehl said students have come forward to the center’s administration with concerns about the use of the N-word during
classroom assignments and discussions. “All of us at Syracuse Madrid would like to assure all of you, and especially students of color, that you are valued, and that we denounce racial slurs such as the ‘N-word’ absolutely and unequivocally,” Kuehl said at a “community dialogue” held at the center on Wednesday morning. At the event, which SU Madrid hosted, students were encouraged to ask questions and share how they felt about the use of the N-word in classes. A senior adviser to Chancellor Kent Syverud and Vice Chancellor and Provost Michele Wheatly, Cathryn Newton, and SU’s Interim Chief Diversity Officer, Keith Alford, video chatted with students at the forum.
Kuehl, Assistant Director of Academics Amalia Yrizar and Director of Student Life Ariadne Ferro Bajuelo hosted the event. Any student who had a language class at 9 a.m. Wednesday — which is more than 100 people, in total — were required to attend. Ferro Bajuelo, who has spoken to several students of color offended by the language, said at the forum she has never encountered events like these and doesn’t know how to handle them. She said she was “at a loss” as to how to help students through this, so she called the Office of Multicultural Affairs, upon a student’s suggestion. Alford said SU wants to make sure everyone feels valued and no one feels pain, and
see madrid page 4
su abroad
SU Madrid announces inclusivity initiatives By Catherine Leffert senior staff writer
Editor’s note: The following article was reported in Central European Standard Time.
MADRID, Spain — Syracuse University’s Madrid Center will soon implement five initiatives to help create a more inclusive community, director Dieter Kuehl said in a center-wide email on Wednesday evening following outcry over the recent, public use of the “N-word” there.
Over the course of the last two weeks, at least four people — including a professor — used the N-word during classes at the center. Administrators hosted a public “community dialogue” on Wednesday morning to address students’ concerns. Kuehl, at the dialogue, said he wanted students to give suggestions and say how they felt so SU could brainstorm ways to move forward after the incidents. The initiatives listed in Kuehl’s email include creating a student task force to work as liaisons between students, faculty and
staff; scheduling regular dialogue sessions; and hosting experts to speak on diversity and inclusion. Kuehl also said the center is considering creating new courses on different perspectives and cultures and developing a training program for faculty, staff and students on “intersectional issues.” Students at the forum called for the administration to provide more information about racism in Spain during pre-orientation and orientation and for better cultural competency training for professors. “I am grateful to each of you for
participating and I am especially thankful for the candid input and questions we received, as well as the thoughtful suggestions for how we can improve the Madrid experience,” Kuehl said during the Wednesday morning dialogue. Kuehl in an email to The Daily Orange said Martha Diede, director for the Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence, and Michael Morrison, associate director of Academic Service Centers, will be at the Madrid Center sometime this week see initiatives page 4
Syracuse University was not implicated in a national college admissions cheating scandal, an SU official confirmed to The Daily Orange. Sarah Scalese, SU’s senior associate vice president for communications, said in a statement that the university is carefully monitoring the case, and has not been approached by investigators about any cheating. “We regularly review our policies and procedures to preserve the integrity of our recruitment and admissions processes,” Scalese said Sunday. Dozens were charged last week in connection to a cheating, bribery and lying scheme that wealthy parents used to get their children into competitive universities. Parents paid bribes to university officials and third-party educational services, cheated on standardized exams and falsified accomplishments to get their children admitted to prestigious schools, according to prosecutors. College officials, standardized exam proctors, teachers, coaches and parents were charged.
We regularly review our policies and procedures to preserve the integrity of our recruitment and admissions processes. Sarah Scalese su’s senior associate vice president for university communications
The admissions cheating occurred at several of SU’s peer institutions, including Georgetown University, the University of Southern California and Wake Forest University. Gordon Ernst, former head coach of men’s and women’s tennis at Georgetown, and William Ferguson, women’s volleyball coach at Wake Forest, were charged. At USC, several officials were charged: Donna Heinel, senior associate athletic director; Jovan Vavic, former water polo coach; Laura Janke, former assistant coach of women’s soccer and Ali Khosroshahin, former head coach of women’s soccer. The University of California, Los Angeles, Yale University, Stanford University, University of Texas at Austin and the University of San Diego were also implicated. Those universities are not peer institutions of SU. krose100@syr.edu