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letter and financially segregated cities in the United States, and I-81 cut through traditionally black and Jewish neighborhoods when it was built. On a campus that has committed to creating a diverse environment, I-81 provides a living example of the “direct line” between racial equity issues and the curriculum SU teaches, said Coran Klaver, an associate professor of English. “You can’t ask to push for racial equity and racial awareness in your classroom and on your campus if there’s something going on in your community that’s perpetuating racial segregation,” Klaver said. “If we’re going to care about what’s happening in the university, we have to care about this.” ƀƀƀ On April 15, 2014, Syverud sent a memorandum to five SU faculty members. They were called on to start a two-month workgroup on I-81 that would assess the major issues to the university and the community. “The purpose of this workgroup is not to study those alternatives, nor advocate for a specific plan on the behalf of the University,” Syverud wrote to the workgroup in April 2014. “Your charge is to help me better assess the major issues surrounding the I-81 replacement and therefore make decisions that are in the best interest of the University, both internally and externally.” The 30-page report, released in June 2014, gave seven recommendations for the I-81 project. It examined six aspects of how the highway currently influences university and city operations, and how new alternatives can influence the university and the surrounding area. Six of the seven recommendations called for unprecedented planning for construction, from page 1
office of his poetry, and previously taught disability studies in SU’s School of Education. In Weiner’s time leading the DCC, she worked to highlight and improve the experiences of students with disabilities, she said. Her new role will allow her to expand the
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multiple access points to the university from the new highway structure, an aesthetically pleasing view of the city and a defined “gateway” to the university. The seventh recommendation, though, was different. Because of “political obstacles,” SU needed to collaborate with neighboring institutions to advocate for their interests, it said. “The University should identify objectives shared by other institutions located at the University Hill and work collaboratively to achieve our common goals,” the report said. In July 2017, just more than three years after SU’s initial report was released, a commentary piece appeared on Syracuse.com from a coalition of University Hill employers: Syracuse University, SUNY-ESF and various hospitals on the Hill among them. The University Hill Corporation wanted to “create more access (and) minimize disruptions” as a result of the I-81 construction and its long-term impacts. Some recommendations, including multiple access points to the highway system and minimizing construction damage, echoed the 2014 report. Requests to minimize housing and job displacement and a call to keep streets that connect University Hill to downtown open were new. “Once we have the appropriate amount of time to review the information, the University Hill Corporation intends to determine what option best suits the needs of our collective stakeholders,” the commentary said. Klaver said she read the report and found similarities between the suggestions made by University Hill organizers and the community grid. The grid was all about increased access, she said. It would get rid of the single onramp that the university can be accessed from, Klaver added. It would minimize disruption. But the commentary still lacked an endorsement for a specific option, she said.
“(SU has) taken a part in it, but they haven’t come out as strongly as they should in a leadership role,” she said. “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to really change the city.”
scope of her work while still working with the DCC and students with disabilities, she said. Kuusisto said the decision was made to incorporate the office into BBI “because it has a reputation for global excellence in disability.” Instead of being connected to BBI’s legal work, the office will be directed toward bringing people together from different fields, Kuusisto said.
The office will expand upon existing programs and partnerships rather than creating overlapping initiatives. Kuusisto said he would like to partner with artificial intelligence companies such as Microsoft to break down the barriers between technology and disability engagement with new autonomous systems and smart technologies. There is no field that isn’t connected to dis-
ƀƀƀ Will Pritchett, a senior policy studies major, read the 2014 report years after its release and was disappointed. He had recently spent time in a policy studies course running an environmental club for first-and-second graders at Wilson Park, where he engaged with new people in a community less than half a mile away from Brewster Hall. Pritchett saw the current I-81 viaduct as a “physical barrier” between the campus and neighborhood, he said, and a community grid would act as a bridge between the two. But Pritchett also believed the university was not taking enough of a city-based stance on the issue. He said SU has not done enough to advocate for the issue because there has been a lack of public dialogue from the university. “Our stance is just ‘we don’t care,’” Pritchett said of the work group’s suggestions. “We just want it to be pretty and we want it to connect to our campus. And I feel like that’s a terrible way of looking at this issue. Because Syracuse University is a part of this city and this city is a part of Syracuse University.” Pritchett co-wrote a resolution that was passed in spring 2018 by SU’s Student Association. It did not specifically mention the community grid, but it added six suggestions for I-81’s future to the seven written in the chancellor’s report. The replacement plan would have to ensure racial equality, promote inclusive economic development, uphold environmental justice, ensure a higher quality of life for all residents, be fiscally responsible and plan for the future. Professor Gretchen Purser echoed Pritchett’s resolution. Purser signed the recent letter
so students would cross the area where the current viaduct runs, she said. She called it the “divide” between SU and the city of Syracuse. Purser, who teaches sociology in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, said she hoped it could change the way that students interact with the city of Syracuse, and that it could change SU’s relationship with the city, as well. “(Students) tell me all the time that ... they’re told their first year ‘don’t cross I-81,’” she said. “And I just find that crazy that that’s how they’re told to navigate the city that they’re living in.” ƀƀƀ Debates over how to replace the aging viaduct have persisted for a decade. But now, as New York state finishes analyzing the remaining replacement options in its Draft Environmental Impact Statement, Keck said there’s a time to organize. “We didn’t know how long it might take to get the chancellor’s attention,” Keck said in early January. “So right now is a great time to be lining up folks who are willing to speak out in support of it, because the public comment period is going to start pretty soon.” In December, several city officials predicted the New York state Department of Transportation’s DEIS would be released in early 2019. A 45-day public comment period will follow the impact statement’s release, followed by a final impact statement and decision on the replacement options for the aging viaduct. Many signees believe that a decision will be made soon about the replacement option for the viaduct. After more than 1o years, they said they feel that it’s time for Chancellor to step in. “It’s incumbent on all of us to speak out,” Keck said. “This highway’s only going to get redeveloped once. It’s been there 50 years, and this is the chance.” gkstern@syr.edu | @gabestern326
ability because people with disabilities are the “largest human minority group,” Kuusisto said. Wiener said she and Kuusisto are already in communication with SU faculty who are interested in working with the office on topics including wellness, literature, the arts and athleticism. “At the heart of all of this is the experiences of disabled people,” Wiener said. cdarnell@syr.edu | @caseydarnell_