free
WEDNESDAY
oct. 11, 2017 high 59°, low 44°
t h e i n de p e n de n t s t u de n t n e w s pa p e r of s y r a c u s e , n e w yor k |
N • Comedic relief
P • In good hands
Comedian Hasan Minhaj will speak at Syracuse University on Oct. 27 as part of a partnership between University Union and University Lectures. Page 3
For 25 years, Friends of Dorothy House, run by two Syracuse residents, has served as a hospice care center supporting people living with HIV/AIDS. Page 9
Expanding education
MICHAEL FRASCIELLO, newly appointed dean of University College, will work to enhance opportunity for nontraditional students during his tenure. paul schlesinger asst. photo editor
University College dean plans to expand online master’s programs across campus By Sandhya Iyer
M
dailyorange.com
asst. copy editor
ichael Frasciello considers himself a nontraditional student. After high school, he spent one semester pursuing higher education but realized he lacked the right orientation and support structures to feel ready for college. Frasciello, who was appointed dean of University College at Syracuse University in September, then enlisted in the Air Force. Within the next 10 years, he was able to complete three degrees while working full time. Over the course of the decade, Frasciello said he learned to appreciate and value the access that universities offered to part-time students. “Without knowing it at the time, I realized that at some time in my professional career, I wanted to pay that forward,” Frasciello said. SU’s University College offers education for part-time enrolled students who want to earn a degree, credentials or certificate from most of the schools and colleges on campus. Frasciello said courses are offered during the day, in the evenings and online. An opportunity came up for Frasciello in the business unit of University College after he spent six years working in software development. He worked at the college for 13 years and then took up a position as director of online learning at the College of Engineering and Computer Science before returning to University College. Frasciello said it didn’t take long for him to realize he was in the right place because he understood the college’s mission intimately. “I do understand how fortunate I am to work at an organization whose mission is to transform people’s lives through education,” Frasciello said. His favorite part about being dean though, Frasciello said, is working with his extraordinary staff. see frasciello page 6
S • Silence is golden
Senior linebacker Parris Bennett started out as a quiet boy from Detroit. Now, he’s grown into one of the most dominant linebackers for Syracuse. Page 16
city
Demonstrators rally for I-81 ‘grid’ option By Sam Ogozalek asst. news editor
A rally in support of a replacement option for a stretch of Interstate 81 served as a platform for city mayoral candidates and local politicians to rail against New York state officials Tuesday. The rally, held in Hanover Square, was organized by ReThink81, a local group that supports a $1.3 billion replacement option for the “viaduct,” a raised section of I-81 that bisects Syracuse. At one point during the event, Common Council President Van Robinson hefted a sledgehammer into the air, saying he wanted to tear down the highway: “I hated it from the first time I came to this city and I hate it even more now.” “It has completely destroyed our commercial fabric,” Robinson said. “We have people in Albany that say to us, ‘My constituents don’t want to see the viaduct taken down.’ I wonder, who are their constituents?” A handful of other common
councilors mingled with the crowd, including Khalid Bey, Joe Nicoletti and Steven Thompson. Three of the four remaining mayoral candidates attended the event: Ben Walsh, an independent; Juanita Perez Williams, a Democrat; and Howie Hawkins, who is running on the Green Party ticket. All three candidates, speaking before a crowd of more than 100 area residents, said they support the community grid concept. Laura Lavine, a Republican candidate who has remained skeptical of the grid, did not attend the event. The viaduct, built during the 1950s and 1960s, is considered structurally deficient in some spots by the New York State Department of Transportation. Sections of the highway are caked with rust. I-81 cuts through a public housing complex, called Pioneer Homes, near Syracuse University’s Brewster/Boland/ Brockway Complex. see rally page 6
city
Syracuse Chiefs sale to Mets made official By Andrew Graham asst. sports editor
The New York Mets’ move to purchase the Syracuse Chiefs was made official on Tuesday at a press conference at NBT Bank Stadium. The Mets will own and operate the Chiefs and keep them in Syracuse until at least 2025, per a press release. Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney, Mets Chief Operations Officer Jeff Wilpon and New York state Gov. Andrew Cuomo all talked about how the move strengthens both central New York and the Mets. “I think today is one of those good things that has a synergistic effect with everything else that’s been going on,” Cuomo said. The Mets’ move to purchase the Chiefs will end more than six decades of community ownership of the team, currently majorityowned by the Community Baseball Club of Central New York. The Chiefs have been the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals since 2009. When the agreement with the Nationals ends in 2018, the Mets will take full ownership of the Chiefs. Officials did not disclose the amount of money the Mets will pay
for the Chiefs. “Play by the rules of baseball,” Wilpon said. “And do everything we have to bring a franchise here in 2019.” Moving the Chiefs under the Mets umbrella of control was of great interest to Cuomo and his Central NY Rising initiative. The Community Baseball Club’s executive board approved the sale, but nonmajority Chiefs shareholders must be notified of and approve the move, said Jason Smorol, Chiefs general manager. Major and Minor League Baseball, as well as Onondaga County, which holds the lease to the stadium, also need to approve the transaction before it can become official. When the Mets take control, Wilpon said, the county will continue to hold the lease on the stadium while the Mets will handle day-to-day operations. “Jason’s staying on,” Wilpon said. “The staff is all staying on.” Wilpon tried to assuage any fears that the Mets will take the Chiefs and skip town. “We’ve given our word that we’re going to be here,” Wilpon said. “... we plan to be here long term.” aegraham@syr.edu @A_E_Graham