TUESDAY
MAY ACTUALLY RAIN TODAY HI
85° |
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april 12, 2011
4 4°
T H E I N DE PE N DE N T S T U DE N T N E W SPA PE R OF S Y R ACUSE , N E W YOR K
INSIDENEWS
INSIDEOPINION
INSIDEPULP
INSIDESPORTS
What’s the count? An FDA law proposed on
AThespring thing Daily Orange Editorial
APulpway with food chronicles a day in the
Band of brothers Mawuena Agbossoumonde and his family
April 1 would require chain restaurants to include calorie counts on menus. Page 7
Board suggests the university turns MayFest celebrations into a yearly tradition. Page 5
life of Sigma Phi Epsilon’s chef. Page 9
have relied on an extensive support network since coming to Syracuse from the African country of Togo. Page 20
st uden t a ssoci ation
Budget meeting proceeds quickly, little debate occurs By Sean Cotter STAFF WRITER
Student Association’s budget meeting ran without major dispute and lasted 45 minutes Monday, a contrast to prior years when meetings have run more than an hour. Comptroller Jeff Rickert, who presides over the Finance Board, said he was “amazed” about the shortness and ease of the meeting. “It definitely went smoother than
it has in the past, and for lack of anything better to contribute it to, I’m going to say it definitely had something to do with the financial vision,” Rickert said. Student organizations requested a total of $600,713.45 in funding for their fall 2011 budgets and received $237,825.57 from SA, with $119,702.43 available for appeals. There is $429,442.17 set aside for spring 2012
SEE SA PAGE 8
alyssa stone | contributing photographer PETER BLANCK , chairman of the Burton Blatt Institute, founded the BBI in 2005 at Syracuse University to work with people with disabilities. The institute has more than 60 workers, many of whom have disabiliites.
On the
andrew renneisen | asst. photo editor BEN SLUTZKY (SECOND FROM LEFT) , general manager of CitrusTV, sits in Monday’s meeting in Maxwell Auditorium with other members. The station’s budget was the focus of discussion at the meeting.
Alumna in talks with SU lawyers about clothing trademark issue By Debbie Truong STAFF WRITER
After disagreement about whether or not a Syracuse University alumna’s business idea interfered with SU’s trademarking policy became public last Thursday, the university is looking to resolve the issue this week. In 2009, then-SU student Alyson Shontell had the idea for Syracutie, a clothing line for girls and women, and began the application process to trademark Syracutie in 2009, according to an article she published to the
Business Insider website Thursday. Because she is in the process of talking with the university, Shontell declined to comment for this article. Shontell’s idea was met with enthusiasm during an initial phone call with SU’s trademark and licensing director, according to the Business Insider article. The director said he did not believe Syracutie would infringe on any of SU’s trademarks and referred her to a number of apparel vendors, according to the article.
SEE SHONTELL PAGE 8
defensive “ By Micki Fahner STAFF WRITER
wo members of the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University will stand before a court in Florida on Tuesday morning and defend a woman who claims she was fired from her job because of her disability. Peter Blanck, chairman of the BBI, and Matthew Dietz, a Burton Blatt Advisory Board member, are both presenting in the case, which will occur at the 11th Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Jacksonville, Fla. The BBI, housed in Suite 300 of Crouse-Hinds Hall, works to advance the participation of people with disabilities in society. It has a staff of more than 60 individuals, many of whom have family members with disabilities or are disabled themselves. Tuesday’s case will involve Sherrie Kaw, who was fired in 2006
“We don’t study the disability community, we work as members of and part of the disability community.”
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Peter Blanck
CHAIRMAN OF THE BURTON BL AT T INSTITUTE
because her condition, cardiogenic syncope, caused her to faint while at her job. The School District of Hillsborough County called her a danger to herself and the children around her. When Dietz presented this case last year, the jury ruled Kaw’s termination was in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Burton Blatt Institute continues to represent people with disabilities with latest US Court of Appeals case
“They based their decision on the negative stereotypes that the ADA is all about,” said Dietz, the lead lawyer on the case. Though the jury ruled in Kaw’s favor, the judge overruled the decision in what is called a judgment as a matter of law. The American with Disabilities Act was originally written in 1990 and amended in 2008. The amendments in 2008 expanded the definition of people with disabilities and made it easier for people with disabilities to get recognition from the law. But since Kaw’s case began in 2006, and since laws that change rights do not have a retroactive effect, Blanck and Dietz are fighting the older and narrower law. Dietz said if Kaw’s case was considered under the new law, it wouldn’t be an issue. “If you don’t look at issues with disabilities in a multidimensional SEE BBI PAGE 6