free
THURSDAY
feb. 22, 2018 high 34°, low 29°
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 • Social support
P • Helping hands
Two students in SU’s College of Engineering and Computer Science are developing an app that could alert doctors to concerning social media posts. Page 3
university senate
Program allocations detailed By Sara Swann
dailyorange.com
Five months after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, the Spanish Action League is working to resettle displaced Puerto Ricans in Syracuse. Page 7
AT THE X SYRACUSE VS. ARMY • SEE PAGE 8
Funding gap Senate report notes Slutzker Center budget concerns, estimated tuition increases
Activists protest John Katko By Kennedy Rose and Charlie Sawyer
INTERNATIONAL STUDENT MAKEUP
copy chief
city
the daily orange
The Committee on Budget and Fiscal Affairs presented a report to Syracuse University faculty and administrators during Wednesday’s University Senate meeting in Maxwell Auditorium. Sinéad Mac Namara, the chair of the budget committee, gave a brief presentation of the report and answered questions from faculty Wednesday. The report noted funding concerns at the Slutzker Center for International Services. Here are three other key takeaways from the report.
64%
Percentage of SU international undergraduate students who were from China in 2017 source: university senate
Research funding
Vice President for Research Zhanjiang “John” Liu has met with the Senate’s budget committee to outline the university’s strengths and weaknesses in terms of research, according to the report. Overall, Liu found that SU has strong basic and applied research, but needs to improve its translational research, according to the report. Liu told the committee the university should expand its funding portfolio. According to the report, SU receives about $6 million in foundation and industry support grants each year. That’s a low level, per the report. SU also receives fewer grants from mission-oriented funding agencies than its peer institutions. While SU’s Research 1 designation is “very positive,” and will allow for the recruitment and retention of quality faculty, per the report, the university is vulnerable in its ranking. “Continued growth of the research enterprise must be achieved,” the report states. The budget committee also noted a concern that the vice president for research has historically been “very modestly funded.” The committee in the report recommended SU ensure the office of the vice president for research is adequately staffed and resourced. “Retention of R1 status is a critical goal that will be difficult to achieve without the appropriate research infrastructure,” the report states.
Veterans affairs
The Institute for Veterans and Military Families, which serves tens of thousands of veterans, has “grown very rapidly in recent years,” per the report. The committee recommended that Mike Haynie, vice chancellor of strategic initiatives and innovation, address the Senate or hold an open forum to share more information about the IVMF with the SU community. Haynie is the IVMF’s see usen page 6
32%
Percentage of SU international graduate students from India “in recent years” source: university senate
The University Senate’s Committee on Budget and Fiscal Affairs presented a report to faculty Wednesday that outlined funding concerns at the Slutzker Center for International Services, noting a major increase in international student enrollment in recent years. The report also detailed the expected cost of attendance for all undergraduate students next academic year. GENERAL BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS
$67,689 3.5%
Projected total cost of attendance for returning undergraduate students in the 2018-19 academic year source: university senate
$70,637
2.5%
Protesters delivered a check for “Thoughts and Prayers” to Rep. John Katko’s (R-Camillus) office, worth zero dollars, because “that is the only thing he’s been able to offer in lieu of action on gun violence,” protester Donna Oppedisano said. About 20 people gathered in front of Katko’s office in downtown Syracuse on Wednesday, carrying signs and the giant check to protest Katko’s resistance to some gun restrictions after a teenager shot and killed 17 people on Valentine’s Day at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. William Happy, a representative for Swingleft.org, a leftleaning nonprofit organization, coordinated the protest as part of a week-long demonstration against Katko. There was also a protest on Tuesday and there will be another Thursday outside of Katko’s office. The Tuesday protest had about half the turnout of Wednesday’s, he said. Protesters on Wednesday chanted, “What do we want? Gun control! When do we want it? Now!” and “Katko must go!” One rally attendee called Katko’s office, asking if they could come up to the space along South Warren Street to deliver the check.
We are in desperate need of serious changes around our gun laws. Caroline Sheffield katko protester
Total cost of attendance increase for returning undergraduate students from 2017-18 to 2018-19
Projected total cost of attendance for new undergraduate students in the 2018-19 academic year
Increase in room rates for returning undergraduate students in the 2018-19 academic year
source: university senate
source: university senate
source: university senate
By Sara Swann copy chief
Graphics by Kateri Gemperlein-Schirm design editor
A
University Senate budget report released Wednesday afternoon noted concerns about the Slutzker Center for International Services’ budget remaining “stagnant,” while international student enrollment has increased by more than 130 percent in the past 11 years. The report was presented by the Committee on Budget and Fiscal Affairs on Wednesday during the Senate’s monthly meeting in Maxwell Auditorium. “The Center’s stagnant budget is a major area of concern for the committee,” the
see budget page 6
The congressman’s staff did not allow the protesters into Katko’s office, and he wasn’t there. But they allowed the demonstrators to stay in the waiting room, said Oppedisano, one of two protesters invited to the office. The protesters gave Katko’s representatives the check, aired their grievances and left, she said. Kitty Burns, a resident of Otisco, attended the protest as a member of both CNY Solidarity Coalition — a regional activist organization — and Flip 24, a group intent on electing a Democrat to the 24th Congressional District, which Katko currently represents. “I think (Katko) is a really see katko page 4