free
MONDAY
march. 5, 2018 high 33°, low 19°
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 • Legal sledding
Syracuse residents can now sled in Burnet Park, Mayor Ben Walsh announced. The city banned the practice in 1933 after an 11-yearold broke his leg while sledding. Page 3
O • New to NY
Liberal columnist Ryan Golden argues in favor of a reformed congressional nomination method for 2018 Democratic primary candidates. Page 5
P • On air
dailyorange.com
SU alumnus Scott MacFarlane produced a documentary on the 70-year history of WAER. The film will premiere Monday at 9 p.m. on WCNY’s Syracuse channel. Page 7
S • Wait on it
Syracuse men’s lacrosse played a patient game on offense on Sunday, taking its time to score 12 goals and pick up a big road win in its ACC opener against No. 4 UVA. Page 12
on campus
Legal services director responds to concerns By India Miraglia staff writer
Attorney Christopher Burke, program director of Student Legal Services, has said the office’s independence from Syracuse University is important, even as the university considers an idea of replacing SLS with in-house lawyers. At a Graduate Student Organization meeting earlier this semester, the organization’s president, Jack Wilson, said GSO members were worried that SLS lawyers would be replaced by ones hired by the university, which he said could infringe on the service’s independence. SLS provides free legal services
to undergraduate and graduate students at SU. The service is currently independent of the university and is funded by SA and GSO. Graduate Student Organization President Jack Wilson, Student Association President James Franco and SU officials have met to discuss changes to SLS operations. Wilson initially expressed frustration in mid-February after he said Franco and university administrators held a private meeting to discuss a possible reconfiguration of SLS. Burke said he has talked to Franco and Wilson about SLS, but was not involved in any conversations with the university.
city
Residents call for I-81 ‘grid’ replacement plan
see sls page 6
EMANUEL CARTER, an associate professor of landscape architecture at SUNY-ESF, detailed the history of I-81 on Monday. alexandra moreo senior staff photographer Syracuse University’s independent Student Legal Services is located at 760 Ostrom Ave. kai nguyen photo editor
“functionally obsolete,” according to the New York State Department of Transportation. Speakers at the forum Sunday included Community members continued the debate over Emanuel Carter, an associate professor of landthe Interstate 81 viaduct’s replacement options scape architecture at SUNY-ESF; Yusuf AbdulSunday, calling on lawmakers to support a “com- Qadir, director of central New York’s branch of munity grid” plan they said would help alleviate the New York Civil Liberties Union; Diana Ryan issues of economic segregation in Syracuse. of Aqua Action CNY; and Billue. More than 50 people Carter said that major gathered Sunday at the May interstates were frequently Memorial Unitarian Univerbuilt and routed through salist Society on East Genareas marked as red or yelWe designed a esee Street to discuss the conlow by the Federal Housing troversial multibillion-dollar Administration in “redlinsituation in this project, which is currently ing” practices, which essencommunity where being studied by New York tially allowed government state officials. officials to refuse to insure some people have “I’m thinking about lives, mortgages in and near opportunity and human lives,” Twiggy Billue, black communities, accordpresident of the Syracuse ing to NPR. some don’t. chapter of the National Those red or yellow areas Yusuf Abdul-Qadir Action Network, said of her were frequently settled by director of nyclu central new support for the community Jewish, black or foreignyork chapter grid concept. born white populations, The grid option calls for Carter said. the destruction of the raised portion of I-81 that I-81 cuts through some of the poorest secbisects the East Adams Street neighborhood tions of Syracuse. The highway runs through near Syracuse University’s Main Campus. A a public housing community called Pioneer grid would redirect traffic to city streets or Homes, which is adjacent the State University Interstate 481. of New York Upstate Medical University. The Syracuse viaduct has reached the end of The census tract Pioneer Homes is located its useful life and, in some sections, is deemed see i-81 page 4 By Kennedy Rose asst. news editor
student association
SU hurricane relief trip to Houston canceled By Catherine Leffert asst. news editor
Syracuse University’s Student Association has decided to no longer organize a hurricane relief trip to Houston after choosing to consider a long-term advocacy initiative that would focus on supporting areas affected by natural disasters around the world. Last semester, SA members said the organization would send two groups of students to assist aid efforts in Puerto Rico, which was devastated by Hurricane Maria in September, and Houston, which was hit by Hurricane Harvey in August. Students traveled to Puerto Rico during winter break. SA originally planned to send students to Texas during spring break. But Angie Pati, the organization’s vice president, said on Sunday that students who flew to Puerto
Rico said they would rather return to the island to continue assisting Maria aid operations, rather than traveling to Houston. “What they wanted was to go back to Puerto Rico,” Pati said. “Which is really a reflection of them wanting to do some long-term work ... creating a sustainable initiative, rather than them doing disaster relief tourism.” SA Historian John Jankovic originally approached Pati with the idea of traveling to Houston to assist with Harvey relief efforts. Jankovic was the lead student coordinator for the possible trip. No details had been finalized on the Houston relief trip before SA members ultimately decided to not travel to Texas, shortly after students returned from Puerto Rico. “We definitely could have figured out a way to get to Houston, but that’s not the point of it,” Pati
see houston page 6