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december 5, 2013
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
Check it out The Carnegie Library Reading
Room is set to reopen on Jan. 13 with newly restored features. Page 3
I N S I D e o p ini o n
Helping hunger Student organizations should
INSIDePULP
Syracuse Stage celebrates the holiday season with “A Christmas Carol.” Page 13
Scrooge in the ‘Cuse
support the mission of the Hendricks Chapel food pantry. Page 5
EAT. PRAY. LOVE.
Hendricks Chapel supports students in need with food pantry By Debbie Truong Staff Writer
A
Photo by Sam Maller asst. photo editor
bout two or three students pass through each week, sifting through the shelves lined with modest staples such as dry macaroni, boxed cereals and rice. The shelves are situated in a converted office that serves as a food pantry, located just off an easily missed corner on the ground level of Hendricks Chapel. Ginny Yerdon, an administrative assistant special events coordinator in Hendricks, tends to the space, assisting students and listening as they offer their stories. One told of how he lost 10 pounds after subsisting on a diet of dry oatmeal; others spoke of how they spent their food money for rent. “If you’re trying to make ends meet, you’re an independent student and you don’t have support and maybe you’ve worked a couple of different jobs and tuition money goes up and rent goes up and everything’s on the up, income doesn’t always match that,” Yerdon said. Though campus hunger is difficult to measure and quantify, its prevalence at Syracuse University is unquestioned by some students and campus officials including Yerdon. She began organizing the food pantry during the summer after hearing anecdotes from students who found it difficult to afford food and groceries. After its first full semester in
operation, Yerdon envisions more growth for the pantry in the spring — students have approached her with ideas for sharing meal recipes made from ingredients stocked in the food pantry, for example. Hendricks has long been a haven for students who have fallen on hard luck, a concept embodied in the chapel’s Benevolence Fund. The fund, established by Dean William Powers, allots approximately $20,000 each academic year to assist students in crisis — those who seek help paying for books, rent or any unanticipated expenses, for example. That amount is split between the fall and spring semesters and further subdivided into $5,000 sums to be used for loans and grants. On average, the fund usually assists about 100 students each year, but more students have expressed need in past months, explained Hendricks Dean Tiffany Steinwert. “We have already spent through what we normally allocate for a semester. We spent through that in October,” Steinwert said. This semester, Steinwert has noticed a “huge increase” in the number of students seeking assistance. Grant money, which comes in small funds and does not need to be repaid, has dried up for the fall. Bridge loans — small loans under $500 that help students pay for things like medical expenses, security deposits on apartments or unanticipated expenses— is a revolving fund that recoups money once students repay the sum lent to them.
“What monies that we do have has not been sufficient with student need that we have,” Steinwert said. “We still have money left, it just means it’s getting less and less for the spring and we always have a huge rush at the end of spring as people are trying to graduate, and have bills to pay.” Students seeking food assistance often share a familiar story: They’ve moved offcampus to curb the expense of a meal plan required for on-campus living, Steinwert said. But when encountered with the difficulty of juggling tuition, rent and book expenses, money becomes sparse and food is often the first cost to be cut. “For students who live off campus, food security is pervasive, I would say. You’re a college student living in a university town, you’re paying much higher rent than anyone else,” Steinwert said. “You’re paying a higher percentage of what very little money you have just to have a roof over your head.” But sometimes, when food is the concern, loans and grants aren’t always the best solution — that’s where the food pantry comes in, Steinwert said. The pantry, which is dependent on donations, has been sustained this year largely by donations from a holiday concert in 2012. Throughout the semester, the food pantry has collaborated with other offices within the university, including the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarship Programs and the
see FOOD PANTRY page 9
univ ersit y senat e
Senators push back deadline By Alfred Ng Asst. News Editor
At the final University Senate meeting of the semester, the senate Academic Affairs Committee confirmed the time allotted for reviewing Syracuse University’s procedures, policies and practices related to promotions was inadequate for the task at hand. “There was unanimous belief that the proposed timetable for discussing the report and acting on its recommendations is unrealistic and contrary to the interests of a reasoned, deliberative and inclusive debate,” said Harvey Teres, who was acting chair on Wednesday since the current chair Sandra Lane had a family emergency. At a Nov. 6 senate meeting, the Ad-Hoc Committee on Promotions
see USEN page 12
m e n ’s b a s k e t b a l l
SU releases more singlegame tickets By Brett Samuels Staff Writer
Basketball fans who weren’t able to get their hands on Syracuse University men’s basketball tickets when they first went on sale will get a second chance starting Thursday morning. SU Athletics will release tickets previously reserved for season-ticket buyers starting at 9 a.m. on Thursday online and at the Carrier Dome Box Office, said Joe Giansante, executive senior associate athletics director. Giansante said the tickets were originally reserved for potential season-ticket buyers, but SU Athletics
see TICKETS page 7