NEWS
WEDNESDAY april 13, 2011
PAGE 3
the daily orange
CAMPUS BRIEFS
Electrical closet overheats on roof of library E.S. Bird Library was evacuated at about 2:45 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon when an electrical closet on the roof overheated. There was no fire, and evacuation was “routine,” said Pamela McLaughlin, director of communications and external relations at Bird. People waited outside for about 10 minutes until they were allowed back inside, McLaughlin said. She did not have a count for how many had to evacuate. All were allowed to re-enter the building at 3 p.m., and several fire trucks and emergency vehicles that responded to the call left the scene. Jenn Horvath, public information officer of the Department of Public Safety, said the DPS officer on duty reported no problems during the procedures. The fire alarm went off again briefly at about 4 p.m., but stopped before most students had evacuated.
EBV honored at White House The Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities program was represented at the launch of the Joining Forces initiative Tuesday, according to a Syracuse University news release. The initiative aims to educate all parts of society to make sure military families find the help they need, according to a White House press release. Sam’s Club’s Military Families Promise and WalMart were both mentioned as part of the launch. The EBV Foundation will receive a $1 million grant from WalMart to support the EBV program at its seven major university partners. Mike Haynie, founder and national executive director of the EBV programs, was present for the announcement Tuesday at the White House. EBV was founded at SU’s Martin J. Whitman School of Management in 2007.
Meredith professors announced Norman Kutcher, an associate professor specializing in Chinese history, and Sandra Lane, a professor of public health and anthropology, have been recognized for excellence in teaching, according to an SU news release. They have been named 2011’s Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith professors. This year’s Meredith professors will be recognized at an April 13 reception. As Meredith professors, Kutcher and Lane will each receive a salary award and funding for professional development, according to the release. — Compiled by Dara McBride, news editor, dkmcbrid@syr.edu
zixi wu | staff photographer OMÉKONGO DIBINGA , a Congolese-American activist and rapper, performs a poem to advocate against sexual violence in the Milton Atrium of the Life Sciences Complex on Tuesday. Students also performed poems about experiences with sexual violence at the event.
Activist denounces sexual violence with poetry By Christina Levin STAFF WRITER
Omékongo Dibinga’s cousin died from AIDS last year after she contracted it from her pastor in the
Take Back the Night
Rally to raise awareness about sexual, relationship and other forms of interpersonal violence Where: Hendricks Chapel When: Today, 7 p.m. How much: Free
Congo. One of Dibinga’s other cousins is battling the disease now. Dibinga, a spoken word poet and motivational speaker, read poetry and spoke Tuesday in the Milton Atrium of the Life Sciences Complex after audience members gave open mic performances against sexual violence. The event was coordinated by A Men’s Issue, which advocates against sexual violence. “Violence takes many forms,” said Dibinga, who presented a series
of talks about social justice issues, spanning the prison-industrial complex, rape, obesity, child abuse and civic engagement. The event was also a prelude to Take Back the Night, a campuswide annual initiative to raise awareness about attitudes that perpetuate violence hosted by the R.A.P.E Center. The Take Back the Night rally, march and speak-out will be held Wednesday in Hendricks Chapel at 7 p.m.
Before Dibinga spoke, students took the stage, reading poetry, performing improvisational theatre, singing and playing the guitar. Some students performed poems based on their personal tragedies, admitting it took some time to share their intimate stories. Cedric Bolton, the first performer, said he lost a friend in college to domestic violence as he shared a poem called “Good Life.”
SEE DIBINGA PAGE 6
Conference seeks to educate students about economy By Emily Warne CONTRIBUTING WRITER
A student group looking to make the federal budget easier to understand for younger generations will hold its first conference this weekend. Policy Students for Fiscal Sustainability, a group created by public
Debt, Deficits, and the Economy
Two-day conference to educate students on fiscal responsibility Where: Suite 220, Eggers Hall When: Thursday - Saturday How much: Free For full schedule visit www.ourbudgets.org
administration students in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, will bring policymakers, students and professors from across Central New York for “Debts, Deficits and the Economy: How Did We Get Here and Where Are We Going?” The conference will begin in Maxwell Auditorium on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. with public screenings of short documentaries and videos. All other events and discussions held Friday and Saturday will take place in the Public Events Room, Suite 220, of Eggers Hall. Apathy toward the economy often stems from simply not understanding it, said Charles Alamo, a pub-
lic administration and economics graduate student. Part of the group’s mission is to make the federal budget more accessible to young people. “The goal, put simply, is to help make young voters politically potent — that is, to equip us with the level of understanding that allows us to say to our elected officials, whether directly or at the ballot box, ‘Hold on a second. This policy might help you get re-elected next year, but we’d like to know what it’ll mean in 20, 30 or 40 years from now,’” he said. Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner and William Magnarelli, a New York state assemblyman, will be at Saturday’s panel to discuss various
implications of local finance. Other speakers throughout the weekend include Susan Tanaka of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation, Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, and Maxwell professors. After the conference kicks off Thursday, it will continue Friday at 8 a.m., beginning with a continental breakfast and registration. The first panel discussion, “What Does the Debt Mean to Us?” will begin at 10:15 a.m. after a plenary session about the basics of the debt situation. The panel on Saturday, “Making Hard Decisions: How Are New York State and Local Govern-
SEE DEBT PAGE 6