Journalist Maria Ressa accepted the Tully Award for Free Speech at a ceremony Wednesday after being arrested for her reporting on the Filipino government.
Page 3
Who is SYRACUSE
PAGE 6
Syracuse men’s lacrosse head coach John Desko has installed a new offensive approach in his team’s most recent four-game winning streak. Page 12
Several professors of color question SU’s diversity, inclusion initiatives and urge for a
Structural push
At the start of the fall 2018 semester, Syracuse University held a welcome reception for faculty of color on campus
“as a way to show our attention and respect for affinity groups,” said Keith Alford, interim chief diversity officer. The goal was to affirm the multiple identities that exist on campus, he said.
Tula Goenka, a professor of television, radio and film, remembers the reception. It involved a display of faculty profiles taken from their web pages, accompanied by a slideshow. Goenka was one of the 10 to 15 faculty members there, she said — the rest were administrators.
“It was pathetic,” Goenka said. “I know colleagues, dear friends of mine who refused to go.”
Faculty of color are expected to be present at any event or service related to diversity and inclusion, and it can get exhausting, she said. Still, Goenka went to the reception to show the university that while she didn’t feel their eforts, in this case, were adequate, she
Illustration by Audra Linsner asst. illustration editor
acknowledges that administrators did make an attempt to celebrate SU’s faculty of color.
In more than a dozen interviews with The Daily Orange, professors from racially and ethnically underrepresented backgrounds had mixed feelings about the university’s approach to diversity and inclusion roughly one year after Theta Tau’s expulsion rocked SU’s campus. While some commended the administration’s eforts, others said the university could be more tenacious moving forward with its programming, initiatives and faculty hiring processes.
In April 2018, videos surfaced showing students in Theta Tau’s house engaging in behavior Chancellor Kent Syverud called “extremely racist, anti-Semitic, homophobic, sexist, and hostile to people with disabilities.” Since then, Alford said SU has become more conscious of diversity, inclusion and accessibility on campus.
About two weeks remained in the spring 2018 semester when the Theta Tau videos surfaced. One year later, Alford said he believes “we have moved the pendulum forward.”
Almost every school and college across campus has formed its own diversity and inclusion workgroup in the last year, Alford said. Those
workgroups are tasked with addressing issues related to the treatment of community members from underrepresented backgrounds.
These committees meet on a monthly basis as part of the Inclusive Leadership Assembly. The assembly, chaired by Alford, is composed of faculty and sta f from each committee. At their monthly meetings, they discuss best practices and exchange ideas, he said.
Jill Hurst-Wahl, a professor in the School of Information Studies, said she understood why the university acted so quickly to try and mitigate the tensions on campus, but this wasn’t entirely a good thing.
“In some ways, since April, I think the university has moved too fast,” she said. “There wasn’t an opportunity for the conversation and the actions to happen naturally and to ensure that all voices were heard.”
It takes time to develop trust so people can be open in spaces like first-year forums or diversity trainings, Hurst-Wahl said. With the university acting so quickly, the campus community didn’t have much time to reflect, she said.
Seyeon Lee, a professor at the School of Design in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, also questioned the swiftness of SU’s response. Lee has been teaching at SU for three years and has only recently noticed “extreme emphasis” on diversity and inclusion programs, she said.
“Since that happened, everybody is talking about (diversity and inclusion),” she said of Theta Tau’s expulsion. “It definitely has been a highlighted conversation, so that makes
student association
Campaign violated SA bylaws
By Gabe Stern asst. news editor
Student Association’s Board of Elections and Membership Committee found junior Eduardo Gomez’s campaign for comptroller in violation of bylaws after an individual associated with the campaign spread falsified information to influence the election, according to an SA report.
Gomez’s campaign was suspended at 11:35 p.m. on April 11, the last night of SA elections, according to an email sent by Sophia Faram, BEM chair. Faram announced Gomez’s suspension only 19 minutes before polls closed. An individual connected to his campaign “slandered an opponent in order to gain an unfair advantage,” she said.
The suspension was the outcome of a full BEM investigation into Gomez’s campaign. BEM’s investigation finished April 11, and the report was released on Tuesday. The report does not name the opponent that was slandered. Junior Stacy Omosa was the only comptroller candidate besides Gomez.
The investigation’s report said that an individual connected to Gomez’s campaign spread falsified information to members of SU’s Greek life community over campus media platforms and message forums to give Omosa a negative reputation in SU’s Greek life community, according to the report.
Syracuse wins $3M grant for tech industry
By Gillian Follett staff writer
Syracuse will use a $3 million grant to boost its technology industry and provide job training for city residents.
JPMorgan Chase awarded the grant as part of the Advancing Cities’ initiative that provides financial resources to cities struggling to achieve economic growth. The granted money will be used for the Syracuse Surge plan Mayor Ben Walsh announced in January, said Dominic Robinson, the vice president of economic inclusion at CenterState Cor-
porate for Economic Opportunity.
The Surge includes a series of projects to revitalize the city’s economy and expand its tech industry. Several organizations worked together on the granted application, including the city of Syracuse, Onondaga County, Syracuse University, Le Moyne College and the Allyn Family Foundation.
Meg O’Connell, the executive director of the Allyn Family Foundation, said that Syracuse currently has thousands of unfilled jobs, many of which are in the technology field. A key portion of the granted money
will be used to create educational opportunities for city residents so they can be hired for these jobs, she said.
We can have a lot of growth in Syracuse in the drone industry and the tech industry.
Meg O’Connell the allyn family foundation executive director
That growth and that economic opportunity is only going to be truly transformational for the city of Syracuse if it’s an opportunity for all, O’Connell added.
Syracuse will also use the money to attract and grow technology business, as well as to increase diversity in the city’s technological fields, according to the JPMorgan Chase website.
As part of the grant, Le Moyne College will receive funding for its Erie 21 initiative, William Brower, vice president of communications and advancement at Le Moyne, said.
see initiatives page 8 see grant page 8
The individual spreading the message was not a direct member of Gomez’s campaign staf, but had a close enough connection to the campaign for his actions to be in violation of SA’s bylaws, according to the report.
The report said that the falsified information was sent to “unfairly alter the outcome of the Comptroller election.” The campaign was found guilty of breaking three SA bylaws: in SA elections cannot threaten, intimidate, bribe or coerce on behalf of any campaign.
a campaign to unfairly alter the election will disqualify candidates from ofce.
and organizations are responsible for the actions of their staff during the campaign.
Story by Colleen Ferguson and Cydney Lee the daily orange
Number of votes by which Stacy Omosa won
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inside
P Middle Eastern Gala
The Arab Student Association and Otto’s Empire Belly Dance Troupe are collaborating to host SU’s first Middle Eastern Gala this weekend. See dailyorange.com
S Close call
SU women’s lacrosse’s seven-goal lead evaporated in the second half Wednesday, but the Orange eventually defeated Virginia, 12-10.
Page 12
The Daily Orange is published weekdays during the Syracuse University academic year by The Daily Orange Corp., 744 Ostrom Ave., Syracuse, NY 13210. All contents Copyright 2017 by The Daily Orange Corp. and may not be reprinted without the expressed written permission of the editor in chief. The Daily Orange is distributed on and around campus with the first two copies complimentary. Each additional copy costs $1. The Daily Orange is in no way a subsidy or associated with Syracuse University. All contents © 2017 The Daily Orange Corporation
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Mourning loss
SU is holding a vigil on Thursday for the victims of the Easter bombings in Sri Lanka. See dailyorange.com
Kickstart activism
An activism group was formed after students were assaulted on Ackerman Avenue this spring.
See Monday’s paper
Journalist Maria Ressa accepts Tully Award
By Emma Folts asst. copy editor
Investigative journalist Maria Ressa accepted the 2018 Tully Award for Free Speech for her coverage of Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte during a Wednesday ceremony at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.
About 100 people gathered for the ceremony, which is held every year to honor a journalist who has faced “significant turmoil” in their reporting endeavors. Ressa is a co-founder and the current CEO of Rappler, an online news website in the Philippines that uses technology to build “communities of action,” she said.
In 14 months, the Filipino government filed 11 cases against Rappler, Ressa said. She has been arrested twice, has posted bail eight times and has been detained once — all as a result of her reporting.
One of Ressa’s arrests took place in February, on the charge of “cyber libel,” according to Time Magazine.
The cyber libel law took efect in 2012, after Rappler published an article that Ressa was arrested for.
“Frankly the only thing I’ve done is be a journalist, and every time the government arrests me I sit there and think about ‘what do I want to say?’” Ressa said.
The country has been embroiled in a drug war since July of 2016, which Ressa defined as the cornerstone of Duterte’s governance. The president has promised to eliminate all drug dealers, according to Al Jazeera.
The United Nations estimates that about 27,000 people have been killed in the war on drugs, Ressa said. One of the first attacks against journalists was directed toward those who reported on the death toll, which she said the government intentionally underestimates.
Duterte is similar to United States President Donald Trump in that both are seen as refreshing leaders who say what other politicians don’t, Ressa said.
“Unlike the United States, though,
where your institutions kick back, our institutions caved in,” she said.
Ressa’s journalistic career blossomed in the backdrop of tension and political oppression in eastern Asia.
Initially hired as a reporter for CNN, Ressa became Manila bureau chief in 1987. There were seven coup attempts that year, she said. In 1995, she served as CNN’s bureau chief in Jakarta, one year before the Megawati riots took place after the Indonesian government attacked the head ofce of the Indonesian Democratic Party. She was chief of both the Manila and Jakarta bureaus for seven and ten years, respectively.
Ressa said her journalism career began by accident. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in English from Princeton University, Ressa returned to the Philippines, where she received her master’s. Ressa’s family had left the country in 1973 after then-President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law in 1972. But after she graduated from Princeton,
she wanted to find her Filipina roots.
A friend from Ressa’s childhood in the Philippines worked as a news anchor in a government station, and she invited Ressa to observe. She began directing the newscast — something she had never done before — when she noticed the director falling asleep.
“There were infinite possibilities for what could happen in the Philippines, and I remember in 1986 saying, ‘my gosh, in 20 years this country is going to be incredible,” Ressa said.
Now, as she faces government persecution, Ressa said she isn’t scared, but she knows the risks. Ressa also has the support of her newsroom. When the government tried to revoke Rappler’s license to operate in January 2018, every journalist stayed with Rappler after she called a general assembly to announce the publication was going to fight back.
“The sense of purpose inside our newsroom has never been sharper,” she said.
esfolts@syr.edu | @emmafolts
Senate elects new president, amends budget
By Andrew Crane staff writer
Syracuse University’s Graduate Student Organization elected a new president and approved changes to next year’s budget Wednesday at its final meeting of the spring semester.
Mirjavad Hashemi, a third-year doctoral student in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, was elected GSO president for the 2019-20 academic year in a 31-to-25 vote. Hashemi is currently an at-large senator and ran unopposed for president.
Current GSO president Jack Wilson has reached the two-term
Summer leadership
Student Association’s new leaders explain how they will prepare for the 2019-20 academic year. See Monday’s paper
on campus
Laura Bush to speak at Whitman
By Casey Darnell asst. news editor
Former first lady of the United States Laura Bush will visit Syracuse University on May 1 as part of the D’Aniello Family Speaker Series. The talk will be held at 5:30 p.m. in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management’s Lender Auditorium. Bush served as first lady from 2001 to 2009. After leaving the White House, she helped found the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas. Board of Trustees member Dan D’Aniello and his wife Gail founded the D’Aniello Family Speaker Series. The series brings prominent leaders and thinkers to campus to speak about topics like entrepreneurship, patriotism, veterans’ issues and leadership. D’Aniello is a co-founder of The Carlyle Group, investment firm based in Washington, D.C. Mike Haynie, founder and executive director of SU’s Institute for Veterans and Military Families, was recently involved with the George W. Bush Institute’s Stand-To Veteran Leadership Initiative. The program aims to help people who serve U.S. veterans expand their skills and increase their impact, according to the George W. Bush Presidential Center’s website.
Amy Taft, curriculum and learning manager at the IVMF, was one of 33 people chosen in the Stand-To Veteran program’s inaugural class, according to a Wednesday SU News release. The D’Aniello family donated $20 million to the construction of the National Veterans Resource Center. cdarnell@syr.edu on
campus
SU names 2020 class marshals
By Gabe Stern asst. news editor
limit set by the organization’s constitution. Wilson said he expects to graduate in June.
When addressing the Senate, Hashemi said he wants to improve graduate student employment and improve student-adviser relationships. Minutes later, Wilson proposed a motion to suspend the release of voting tallies in the meeting’s minutes that would be published on the GSO website. Senators rejected the motion.
Nick Mason was re-elected internal vice president, receiving 31 of 32 votes. He said GSO needs to be more transparent. Mason added that he wants to improve time-efciency in
his second year as internal vice president, respecting the time of the senators while still encouraging debate.
“I’m very critical of structures of power whose voices am I privileging versus whose time am I respecting,” Mason said.
Senators passed an amendment to the budget that increases the GSO president’s salary to $21,000 to keep with teaching assistant and instructional assistant salaries at SU. Wilson and Comptroller Joshua Fenton both said the increased salary is intended to make the position more attractive and compensate for the commitment that GSO president requires. The GSO president
is not able to be employed by SU during their tenure.
Also added to the budget was a $1,500 service payment to SU’s Orange After Dark program that guarantees 25 tickets for one fall and one spring event for graduate students. OAD asked for $3,000, but Fenton said that wasn’t a good plan because the OAD payment is new to the budget. In the future, that number could increase, he said.
Graduate students were previously allowed to attend OAD events, but only after undergraduate students had an opportunity to purchase tickets. arcrane@syr.edu
Juniors Serena Omo-Lamai and Kyle Rosenblum will serve as senior class marshals for the Class of 2020. Rosenblum and Omo-Lamai will lead their class next spring during SU’s 2020 Cmmencement ceremony. While at SU, Omo-Lamai, a bioengineering major from Nigeria, has volunteered with the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, the Northside Learning Center and Grant Middle School Engineering Ambassadors, according to an SU News release. S Rosenblum, a psychology and policy studies dual major, currently serves as the vice president of SU’s Student Association. He also works as a research assistant in a psychology research lab and as an undergraduate facilitator for the Social Skills Training Program, which helps children build social skills, according to the release.
gkstern@syr.edu
MARIA RESSA was awarded the 2018 Tully Award for Free Speech for her coverage of Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte. She accepted the award on Wednesday at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. aaron kassman staff photographer
moderate
Buttigieg could unite both sides of aisle
Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana, ofcially announced his 2020 presidential campaign last week — and he could be a worthy candidate of the Democratic nomination. Some of his policy proposals include creating government-backed health service options, fighting climate change, expanding the Supreme Court to 15 sitting justices and abolishing the electoral college.
Buttigieg is trending high in several Democratic polls, and he has raised more than $7 million since the beginning of 2019. His plans — including uprooting the electoral college — promote much-needed unity between both sides of the aisle.
Shana Kushner Gadarian, an associate political science professor at Syracuse University, believes that party alliances have contributed to
this divide.
makes elections more fair.
editorial board
“We’ve seen over time that the Democratic and Republican parties are more aligned on ideologies than they were in the past and are more consistent in voting together,” Gadarian said.
With political polarization, the party in the majority is often able to act according to their interests. For example, the electoral college has led to more predictable elections based on which party is in power.
Buttigieg’s solution — abolishing the electoral college — prioritizes the voices of everyday citizens, increases representation of more groups and
Syracuse’s Earthfest is being held in Thornden Park on Sunday, just one week after Earth Day. Events like this demonstrate that environmental awareness is increasing, but there is more we can do to turn our awareness into actions.
A lot of environmental awareness tactics stay inside the box — reusing water bottles, flipping of the light switch and turning of the tap. Of course, a collection of many small actions can produce a significant positive efect, but true environmental activists commit to making more substantial changes.
“I have seen some growth in environmental awareness, specifically in Syracuse, where more attention is being paid to Onondaga Lake, and the need to take preventative action against climate change,” said Lindsay Speer, a representative from HeatSmart CNY.
HeatSmart is a community initiates to support residents and businesses in exploring ways to improve how they heat their buildings.
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To have a letter printed in The D.O. and published on dailyorange.com, please follow the guidelines listed below:
opinion@dailyorange.com
LAUREN SPIEZIA NEITHER BLUE NOR RED EMILY CERRITO BE KEEN, GO GREEN
Other aspects of Buttigieg’s campaign promises prove to be compromises between both parties, in terms of policy making. His Midwest background is an opportunity to represent the concerns of a group sometimes ignored in modern politics. And his mention of establishing a clear path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants could spark bipartisan discussion of immigration.
Buttigieg could show great promise in both the upcoming presidential race and the American political sphere as a whole, and a large part of that can be attributed to his desire to unite both the red and blue.
Lauren Spiezia is a freshman newspaper and online journalism major. Her column appears bi-weekly. She can be reached at lespiezi@syr.edu.
Turn Earth Day awareness into action
Speer credits much of New York’s environmental success and growing awareness to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D) environmental incentives. She said environmental reform eforts like Cuomo’s have brought the issue to the forefront of many Americans’ minds.
While many Americans consider themselves to be “living green,” few are doing their part to promote true conservation. Whether this is because of a lack of knowledge, a sense of apathy or just a preoccupation with other issues, the takeaway is the same — we need to step it up. We also need to engage more efectively with Americans who might be skeptical about making environmentally-minded changes.
Embracing the importance of money and convenience in our lives is one way activists can reach Americans who might not be focused on the environment.
“Maybe they’re not thinking
residence and any relevant affiliations
Syracuse area
personal information pertaining to other people unless it is relevant to the topic at hand, which will be decided at the discretion of
about environmental issues, but they sure are thinking about how their furnace may be going,” said Speer. “A lot of environmental things that we can do help our bottom line, help our wallets and help make our homes more comfortable.”
Events that increase the public’s knowledge and exposure to environmental issues are admirable, but we can more efectively utilize them as an opportunity to mobilize activists in ways that produce noteworthy change. It’s time that we adopt an approach to rejuvenate our planet with ideals we know appeal to the American people.
Taking this year’s Earth Day and celebrations like Earthfest as an opportunity not only identifies the changes you need to make in your own life but also explores how you can convince those around you to care as well.
Emily Cerrito is a sophomore television, radio and film major. Her column appears bi-weekly. You can reach her at ercerrit@syr.edu.
The D.O.’s editor-in-chief and managing editor will also be published at the discretion of the editor-in-chief and managing editor and grammar following these guidelines.
Support student journalism Thursday
Colleges across the country shape generations of future leaders. They employ hundreds of thousands of local community members. They have multi-million dollar budgets and endowments.
In some cases, as metro and regional newspapers struggle, student news organizations are all that remain to cover these powerful institutions.
On Thursday, the anniversary of #SaveStudentNewsrooms day, acknowledge this. And, if need be, fight to protect student journalists. They hold wealthy trustees accountable. They report on accusations of assault. They reveal abuses of authority.
If it wasn’t for The College Heights Herald in 2017, we wouldn’t know there were “62 employees in violation of their universities’ sexual misconduct and discrimination policies since 2011” at several state schools in Kentucky.
If it wasn’t for reporters at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, we wouldn’t know that nearly 700 school cafeterias in New York City received “at least one critical violation” by the health department there in 2017.
Read your campus’ publication. Read The Daily Wildcat. Read The Rocky Mountain Collegian. Read The Daily Bruin. Read The Daily Orange. We’re here to serve you. The Daily Orange Editorial Board serves as the voice of the organization and aims to contribute the perspectives of students to discussions that concern Syracuse University and the greater Syracuse community. The editorial board’s stances are determined by a majority of its members. Are you interested in pitching a topic for the editorial board to discuss? Email opinion@dailyorange.com. scribble aishwarya sukesh managing editor
Who is SYRACUSE P
George Wazen
DPS library operations coordinator creates inclusive space for campus community with mentorship
his student-workers.
By Diana Riojas asst. feature editor
George Wazen sent an email to his student sta f, asking if they could come to his ofce to join him for his “Who is Syracuse?” interview. Of the 52 student employees, 20 came, greeting Wazen with a smile. For him, the student sta fers represent more than just his employees – they are a beacon of change for the future.
“(The students) see the badge and I have a weapon on my side. I want to make them see beyond that, this is just my job this isn’t me. This is my responsibility,” said Wazen.
Wazen was born in Kuwait in 1967. He moved to Lebanon in 1973, but went back to his home country once the Lebanese Civil War began. After high school, Wazen and his family moved to Syracuse, where they met up with family members already living there.
His uncle, who earned a master’s degree at Syracuse University, encouraged Wazen to pursue his collegiate career at SU. Following his advice, Wazen first began his studies at Onondaga Community College before transferring to SU for three years. Since then, Wazen said, his ties to the university have only grown.
He now serves as the Department of Public Safety’s library operations coordinator at Bird Library, where he manages more than 50 students as floor monitors.
Wazen worked in his family’s realtor business for more than 10 years, but switched career paths in 2005. He then worked as a DPS community service ofcer for almost five years. Wazen eventually grew complacent with the job, he said.
He knew being sworn in by the Syracuse police academy would allow him to be promoted, allowing him to contribute more to the university’s community. In 2010, he talked to Anthony Callisto — then-DPS chief, now senior vice president for safety and chief law enforcement ofcer — about joining DPS.
Callisto encouraged Wazen to train for the academy and after completion, Wazen began working overnight shifts as a campus officer. He received the Bird Library office job in 2015 and began directing
The program, which began in the early ‘80s by SU Libraries’ Facilities and Security Manager Tom House, aimed to have students serve as an extension of the library’s security branch.
When Wazen assumed the Bird Library position in spring 2016, he was in charge of only 18 students, but he saw the potential of adding more sta f to oversee each floor. Wazen said that by extending the coverage hours and sta f on each floor, students could help identify suspicious behavior. Duties of these student-workers include reporting unattended property and addressing maintenance issues, Wazen said.
As the program grows, Wazen says the balance between boss and mentor is dynamic and ever-evolving. When it comes to his student workers, he said a relationship has been established where he learns from his students as much as they do from him. While he teaches the students security training, they teach him about campus trends and share the struggles they’re currently facing.
“Campus police ofcers, they really are in a unique position,” Wazen said. “We’re about building relations and seeking that teachable, mentoring moment with the students.”
These lessons are not ignored by his sta f. Taylor Kyles, a senior public relations major, said he worked at a pool club during the summer and remembered the attitude Wazen had with his sta f. He wanted to emulate the same leadership style.
“It’s not easy to handle a group this big with people from all over campus and have the atmosphere that we have,” Kyles said. “It’s because of the respect that he shows and especially with the position that he has, you would expect him to kind of be a hardass, but he really is not.”
Other students said the diversity found among the sta f is a type of workplace they don’t otherwise see on campus. Alberto Lainez, a senior floor monitor, said he wished SU reflected more like Wazen’s workplace. Wazen’s sta f echoed that his ofce is somewhere students can talk openly about their concerns — without it feeling too constructed.
Victoria Batista, is one of Wazen’s longest-standing student employees, said while the job involves remedial
tasks like swiping people into the library, Wazen has taught her the importance of excelling in the “small jobs.” Batista said they’re just as important as tasks which hold more responsibility.
Many of the students said they hold their position with high regard because he acts as a father figure and treats them as equals.
Both students and Wazen said the workplace is like an extended-family. Wazen said he often spends more time at SU than with his children, who are also young adults, and knows how hard it is to be away from his own kids.
We’re
about building relationships and seeking that teachable, mentoring moment with the students.
George Wazen dps library services coordinator
Beyond his mentoring responsibilities, Wazen also conducts workshops. As a R.A.D. defense instructor, Wazen helps teach people how to defend themselves against a threat.
Wazen is also an international student liaison ofcer for the Slutzker Center for International Services. Here, he bridges international students a fairs and DPS investigations. He said he particularly likes helping the center because he remembers the culture shock he had moving to Syracuse. Until he moved to the U.S., Wazen said he had never eaten McDonalds or drank Coca-Cola.
As graduation sneaks closer, Wazen said this is the hardest time for him, as he will have to say goodbye to his graduating students like Kyles, Lainez and Batista. But he finds solace in knowing their time at SU has prepared them to “change the world.”
The most rewarding part of his job, he said, is when his students visit SU after graduating.
“You have this weapon in your hand called your education,” Wazen said, “and whether you choose to continue or start your productive career, you have this education from SU — which is invaluable.”
ddriojas@syr.edu | @TheDianaRiojas
GEORGE WAZEN moved to the United States after graduating from high school in Kuwait and now serves as the DPS library operations coordinator at Bird Library. He uses his position as an opportunity to mentor student staff members. alexandra moreo senior staff photographer
SYRACUSE 2019
Kelsey Davis
started her own transmedia production company, CLLCTVE, along with Ryan Williams, an SU alum. After graduating from the
Newhouse School of Public Communciations, she plans to continue developing her company in Syracuse.
SU senior, entrepreneur brings creativity, innovation to the classroom
By Cydney Lee staff writer
I’m inspired by the opportunity to create because not a lot of people have that. I’m inspired by little things. Stories, resilience. I’m inspired by the world.
su senior
Growing up with parents in the journalism field, Kelsey Davis has always had an a fnity for the entertainment and news industries. Now a senior at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, her passion for innovative thinking has led her to a path of entrepreneurship as she navigates her role as a campus leader.
Davis is a television, radio and film major with a minor in information technology, design and startups. As a Posse scholar from Atlanta, Davis said the program gave her the opportunity to study at an institution she believes protects the craft of media.
“I believe that Newhouse teaches a lot (not only) about journalism and media, but also in relation to innovation and being able to look ahead and be disruptive,” she said. “That’s all the things that I was interested in.”
Before coming to Syracuse, Davis was a freelance content creator. She created videos, photos and designs for people in Atlanta. She continued this into college, but her clientele grew more widespread and forced her to travel for work. While traveling, she balanced work life with leadership roles on campus — both as an orientation leader and current member of Alpha Kappa Psi.
“Something that I realized is that I have the ability to exist in multiple spaces,” she said.
In her sophomore year, Davis felt her role as a freelancer began to interfere with that as a student, and her academics su fered. While she was building her portfolio outside of school, Davis said her professors didn’t accept that work when she went to turn them in as assignments.
“On one side of my life I (was) being a frmed and congratulated for all this stu f, but in the classroom I was being defeated. So my naïve response to that was, ‘I’m just going to drop out,’” she said.
Shortly after contemplating this decision, she received a call from one of her mentors ofering her a position as a production assistant at Condé Nast. Davis accepted and unknowingly began working with Newhouse alumni — all of whom ultimately advocated for her to continue her studies.
Davis returned the following fall semester and continued making her mark on campus.
Lorraine Branham, former dean of Newhouse, was a mentor for Davis. Since Branham’s death, Davis said she wants to continue Branham’s legacy by doing what Branham did for her.
“She was somebody that made me feel like I was going to be successful at Syracuse University because she existed here,” Davis said. “In regards to legacy, my goal is to step up when it comes to being a leader to advocate for others who can’t advocate for themselves in environments like this.”
Davis started her own company to help solve some of the problems she faced as a student creative. With the help of now SU alum, Ryan Williams, the two formed CLLCTVE.
CLLCTVE is a transmedia production company that produces digital content for clients, while it also helps to connect undergraduate students with brands and fellow creatives. It has partnered with various universities and recently released its beta, which makes its website more interactive.
“I’m a huge entrepreneur advocate. I think a lot of times when (people) work for an organization that is bigger than themselves, they can get caught in the system,” she said.
Kenneth Buckner, a SU senior and one of Davis’ best friends, said he remembers when CLLCTVE was just an idea.
“It started as a conversation our freshman year, and to see where it has gotten in three years alone just speaks on (Davis’) will, drive, motivation, passion, talent, execution — all of that is a result of her character,” he said.
Buckner and fellow SU senior, Jayla Goodloe — the third member to complete what Buckner refers to as “trifecta, all day” — both met Davis through their involvement as Atlanta Posse scholars. The two spoke highly of her, saying her loyalty and down-to-earth personality is what makes them all close.
For Davis, her work is synonymous with play. Upon graduating, she plans to stay in Syracuse and become fulltime sta f for CLLCTVE.
“I’m inspired by the opportunity and privilege to create because not a lot of people have that,” she said. “I’m inspired by little things. Stories, resilience. I’m inspired by the world.” cmlee100@syr.edu
S.I.
laura oliverio staff photographer
you wonder if it didn’t happen, would we be having this conversation today?”
Angela Ramnarine-Rieks, another iSchool professor serving on the school’s diversity and inclusion committee, said that the group meets once a month and has worked on issues such as gauging students’ sense of belonging in the school and providing faculty training.
Ramnarine-Rieks’ work on the committee has helped her “passively observe” campus climate and provided room to be experimental in figuring out what students want, she said. Understanding people’s identities and what may resonate poorly with them is a learning process for everyone, she added.
“There are so many things you’ve got to think about with diversity, and I think Syracuse has done a good job with that,” she said.
Herbert Ru f n, associate professor and chair of the African American studies department, said the hiring of faculty members as diversity ofcers will not be efective because they’ve all been hired recently. The issue is institutional and can’t be fixed through that kind of efort, he said
Several professors said the university’s post-Theta Tau response does not properly address problems with SU’s campus culture.
Since 2014, the university has become “extremely corporatized” and top-heavy in the sense that whenever a problem arises, an ofcial is the one tasked with solving the problem, Goenka said. But the problem needs to be solved from the bottom up in SU’s culture, she said.
“People are completely disconnected from
The initiative works with the Syracuse City School District, SU and local businesses to provide Syracuse residents in poverty with a path to middle-class tech jobs, he added.
Syracuse was awarded the grant along with four other cities: Chicago, Miami, San Diego and Louisville, Kentucky. Cen-
what’s really going on among the students and the sta f and the faculty, and they have completely alienated us,” Goenka said. “We as a university have to really ask ourselves the difcult questions and find some solutions, and it is not going to happen at the administrative level.”
Given that the student composition is changing, the leadership has to refect that changing composition.
Ravi Dharwadkar
chair of the management department in the martin j. whitman school of management
SU should have used the Theta Tau videos to help determine what’s working and what’s not in terms of race relations on campus, said Silvio Torres-Saillant, a professor and former director of the Latino-Latin American studies program.
“We need to do more with intellectual courage and to be less easily seduced by the possibilities to show justice in those moments in which you get the student expelled (or) the faculty member fired,” he said.
Any eforts after Theta Tau to approach issues of diversity and inclusion haven’t tackled larger issues or questions involving the elimination of structures that exclude people, said Christopher Eng, an assistant professor of English. Conversations about diversity in recruitment often use a language of statistics and quantity that reduces people to numbers, he said.
Eng said he wants to see more support for
terState CEO submitted a joint application for the grant with the city. The collaboration between multiple organizations in the application process helped Syracuse to be selected, Robinson said.
When Syracuse was announced as a finalist in the grant competition, those involved in the application piled into the president’s suite at Le Moyne for a video call with JPMorgan Chase Brower said.
ethnic studies departments at SU and more dedicated programming for faculty of color to express any feelings about microaggressions committed at their expense.
“(University ofcials) need to be much more imaginative in their approach to diversity,” Eng said. “What became very evident is that their approach is quite reactive … their understanding of diversity is actually, to use their word, not very ‘innovative.’”
Ravi Dharwadkar, chair of the management department and professor in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, was one of several faculty members who served on the committee for the 2017 Faculty Salary Report. In doing this work, he noticed that Asian Americans have few positions of leadership at SU.
More than half of SU’s undergraduate student population is white, at 56.9%, according to a fall 2018 census. Asian students comprised nearly 7% of the undergraduate student body, black or African American students made up 6.5% and Hispanic or Latino students were 9.1% of undergraduates, according to the census.
SU’s bias and inclusivity trainings and online portals are an attempt to create spaces for faculty to support each other, Alford said. The trainings are also aimed at retaining faculty of color in leadership positions and enabling them to have productive conversations, he said.
More than 700 faculty have participated in training so far, Alford said. They were created to teach how to address issues of bias — conscious or unconscious — in the classroom, and they are meant to be applicable to every discipline.
“The core piece is being covered in terms of what bias could look like, and the intersectionality that’s so critically important when
“Every stakeholder who participated in creating our grant application was seated at the table,” Brower said. “They found that incredibly compelling, that we cared that much and we were partnering that closely.”
Syracuse’s relatively small size also likely contributed to JPMorgan Chase’s decision because large grants can have a greater impact in smaller cities, O’Connell said. In cities like Syracuse, change can be
we think about the multiple identities that are here at Syracuse University,” he said.
Sekou Cooke, a professor in the School of Architecture, said there is a “necessary but intentional” vagueness to revealing candidate ethnicity. He has previously served on search committees for new architecture professors at SU. The committee doesn’t see that information, so the same sorts of people end up rising to the top of every list, he said.
One potential step forward in ensuring more diverse hires would be to reveal the ethnicities of candidates, he said.
“It would take real political will for us to maybe even take that one step and unveil the racial makeup of our search candidates when they come in,” he said.
Several other professors said they’ve been selected to serve on numerous search committees. It is crucial for these committees to reassemble every couple of years to hold the university accountable and ensure that recommendations are being acted upon, Dharwadkar said. Checks and balances need to be put into place on a regular basis to ensure that a small issue doesn’t grow over time, he added.
Goenka pointed to SU’s vibrant South Asian Center at the Moynihan Institute of Global A fairs as an example of how programming like visitors and speakers can help her feel encouraged and give her a place of belonging at SU. She was the center’s co-director from 2012 to 2014.
“You have to provide space for people to find their people,” Goenka said. “Community is built by hanging out.”
cefergus@syr.edu | @ColleenEFergus2 cmlee100@syr.edu
made much more quickly and its impacts can be more wide-reaching than in larger cities, she said.
Robinson said the $3 million from the grant is “only a drop in the bucket” in the grand scheme of Syracuse’s economic development. However, it will allow Syracuse to develop and test economic strategies to help gain more financial resources in the future, he said. gifollet@syr.edu
in the final four games of the regular season. Rehfuss, the preseason All-ACC selection, also struggled early. Through three games, he had one assist. After the loss to Notre Dame, he’d tallied 14 points to date. He’s scored 18 more during the Orange’s four-game win streak.
Rehfuss’ reemergence coincides with SU’s shift to a play style that suits him better because he’s free to use his vision to find cutting midfielders and Voigt inside. He’s also gotten healthier after catching the flu at the beginning of the season and playing through the illness a handful of undisclosed injuries.
With less than a minute left in the first half against Navy, Rehfuss dodged left from behind the cage, turned to his right and left and got cut of. He picked his head up saw Voigt by the crease. As defenders hacked, Rehfuss flipped a pass to Voigt, who cradled and bounced a shot in with
test. Instead, I skipped class — don’t worry Mom, not too often — to write, edit or travel for stories.
Considering all the words I’ve written in this newspaper since, I’m not quite sure why those five words, never written down until now, stuck with me. They weren’t the only words Englander spoke to me; I’m pretty sure they weren’t at the beginning or the end, but in the middle of his
position and faked a shot as the whistle blew. As the defense swarmed in, the junior sidestepped one Cavalier and bulldozed another, causing her to fall onto her back. Seconds later, Hawryschuk found the back of the net.
UVA’s errors and consistency from Hawryschuk and Braelie Kempney on the draw helped SU dominate possession. When the
one second left on the shot clock, tallying one of Rehfuss’ seven points (two goals, five assists).
“I’m sure he’s feeling better about himself,” Desko said of Rehfuss. “It’s obviously showing in his performance. I think we’re getting some dodges of him, getting some good assists of him.”
Syracuse’s ofense has taken of since emphasizing play behind the cage. SU’s shooting at a higher percentage, scoring on 7.725 percent more of its shots amid the four-game win streak.
Solomon and Rehfuss have shown they can score from behind the cage. If they’re covered well, they can dodge from behind and feed Voigt inside or skip a pass to a cutting midfielder. And, SU’s deep midfield can initiate if the right matchup arises.
“We were almost one-dimensional to start the season, dodging from up top,” Voigt said.
“And as soon as Stephen and Nate started dodging from behind, it’s helped us out tremendously and it gives a whole new threat.” aegraham@syr.edu | @A_E_Graham
remarks. Maybe it’s because at the time, and even reading them aloud to myself now, they sound so final.
But what I didn’t know on that September day sounds like a lesson an editor would pass on to a writer: Words are only final if there’s a period at the end of them. And hey: There’s always another sentence to be written.
Billy Heyen was a senior staf writer at The Daily Orange, where his column will no longer appear. He can be reached at wmheyen@syr.edu or on Twitter @wheyen3.
Orange were on ofense, defensive miscues extended the lead. Hawryschuk was left wide open after a slide, Rahal caught Campbell looking away from the ball-handler and fouls ensued often after dodges and shooting motions.
“I thought we dominated the draws and finished our opportunities on the ofense,” Gait said. “It was just everybody clicking together.”
Gait slowly clapped after one of UVA’s 10 first-half turnovers. His defense had allowed just two scores in 30 minutes to a
from page 10
gutierrez
about how you lost your mom when you were 11, survived breast cancer and raised me while managing teams of people at work. Through it all, you found the strength to persist. You have inspired me like you inspired yourself.
You’re a great hugger. You’re the one worrying about everyone else, the one sending checks to people who could use them and picking up the phone to hear them. You don’t know how many of your friends and former colleagues have told me about the depth of the respect they have for you. And, you see, I can’t think of a time you lied to me. Not once.
vision has helped me a lot.”
But Kaiser’s hot streak to start the season didn’t last. After her home run against Indiana on Feb. 15, she went nearly two months until her next long ball. That drought included a four-game hitless streak. The higher level of pitching from Syracuse’s nonconference opponents shook Kaiser’s confidence, she said.
During one practice, Kaiser was behind the plate, and a player foul-tipped a pitch into her facemask. Kaiser’s ears rang and she felt dizzy, she said. She sat out a few minutes for the symptoms to settle, only for a third foul tip to nail her facemask after she returned. She missed roughly a week and a
team averaging almost 14 goals a game.
In the final 10 minutes, Virginia controlled possession, but started to force shots. Virginia slowly cut the lead to 12-9 as the Orange ofense went stagnant.
“It’s human nature,” Gait said. “We got a little complacent at half time and allowed them to hang around a bit.”
In the final minutes, Goldstock swung her stick from one bar of the net to the other. And as the ball came toward the goal, she braced.
Integrity at its best. A few years ago, as a high school senior anxious about starting college, I wanted you to accompany me during my first appointment with a therapist. When I explained to the therapist what mattered to me, I broke down in tears because I thought about you, all that you had done for me, what you stand for and how much you empower me. I thought about your life and how beautiful a job you did at being mom. My mom. That I can never repay. Love, Matthew
Matthew Gutierrez was a senior staff writer at The Daily Orange, where his column will no longer appear. He can be reached at mguti100@ syr.edu and on Twitter @Matthewgut21.
half with a concussion.
On April 23 against Binghamton, Kaiser played catcher for the first time since suffering the concussion.
Now symptom-free, Kaiser was inserted back into the cleanup spot of Syracuse’s batting order. She’s hit two home runs in her past four games, mirroring the start of her season.
Later in the weekend series, she anticipated more outside pitches. Syracuse hadn’t recorded a hit until Kaiser ripped another outside fastball over the right field fence for a solo home run in a 6-1 loss.
“I’m really proud of her,” Carideo said. “She’s worked super hard to get here. She’s definitely just improved this whole season long, and now we’re just getting a glimpse of what she’s made of.”
dremerma@syr.edu
It hit her hands, cusping onto the stick and rolled toward Ella Simkins. With possession, Syracuse could run out the clock.
Despite the late run by Virginia, the Orange move onto the second round of the ACC Tournament. They’ll face Boston College, the undefeated, No. 1 team in the nation on Fridat at 5 p.m.
“We know they’re an amazing team with great ofense talent and a solid defense,” Gait said. kjedelma@syr.edu | @KJEdelman
from page 12 kaiser
Hack recalls journey to writing “W
e’re gonna let you go.”
Those were the words that ended my baseball career. It was September 2015, and I’d just been cut from the Case Western Reserve University baseball team. Little did I know all the other places that I’d be able to go because of those five words.
Ever since I can remember, I wanted to be an engineer, like my parents and like my friends. And ever since I knew I’d write a “Hack” for The Daily Orange, I figured that’s what it would be about: Civil engineering student turned journalist, relating something I learned in a physics lab to being a writer. But as the words sometimes do, they’ve taken me elsewhere.
I’m self-aware enough to know that if I had made that baseball team, I wouldn’t have been able to leave CWRU. I couldn’t have known it then, but the coach, Matt Englander, was sending me on quite the journey.
“We’re gonna let you go” to 744 Ostrom Ave. That perfectly imperfect red door holding the three digits with angles that fit so beautifully together. The sports office where I learned the importance of interior decorating and the unimportance of sleep. The place where I met some of my best friends and spent the majority of my waking hours for semesters on end.
“We’re gonna let you go” to Salt Lake City, Utah on that most recent of road trips to the NCAA Tournament. Vivint Smart Home Arena, what a name, for a trip that ended all too quickly. An encounter with some Syracuse players within an hour of our arrival on a dark sidewalk a couple hundred feet from our Airbnb. And then a return trip to that spot, Red Iguana, for what must’ve been the best Mexican
food and the longest wait in Utah.
Covering March Madness was only the culmination, though. Multiple past D.O. staffers have written their Hacks about their last road trip, and I can relate. It wouldn’t have been nearly as sad when I plodded back into my apartment pulling my suitcase one last time if not for the trips that came before it.
“We’re gonna let you go” to Ann Arbor, Michigan for the field hockey NCAAs. The stops along the way with Andrew Graham to post coverage, mere hours after we’d written coverage of our own. The D.O. Sports tennis-mobile out for a bit longer cruise. Mama Graham’s apple cake.
“We’re gonna let you go” to the ACC women’s basketball tournament in Greensboro, N.C. with Nick Alvarez, he of no driver’s license. Ten hours there. A 29-5 fourth quarter for Virginia Tech. More than 10 hours back, with a snowstorm shutting down I-81 in Pennsylvania.
“We’re gonna let you go” to Columbus, Ohio — the Ohio State — and Madison Square Garden — the Mecca — and Glens Falls, N.Y. — JGIII — and so many more.
Some days, I didn’t even have to get in a car. I just got to walk down the massive wind tunnel that is the stroll from The D.O. to the Dome, inevitably messing up my hair. Covering games in the most recognizable building in Syracuse, a place I only ever saw on ESPN. Sliding by Zion Williamson in a hallway. Seeing Tyus Battle make Syracuse’s chancellor leap up and down. Watching the eventual national champions practically light the basket on fire.
It’s kind of ironic to think about, that instead of taking D-III baseball road trips, I was traveling to cover D-I athletics. I could’ve been skipping class to hit baseball after baseball off a stationary tee or stress about an upcoming physics or calculus
Hack honors mother’s sacrifces
Dear Mom,
Sometimes, I wish we could go back, way back, to the nights when we read the children’s book, “Guess How Much I Love You,” in preschool and kindergarten. You held me tight in your arms. “I love you as deep as the ocean,” you’d say. I wish we could go back to the times you told me not to take myself so seriously, to smile more, breathe more and to stop and look around. Sometimes, I wish we could go back to the days you clutched my hand and told me that whatever happens in life, we’re going to be OK. Accept what happens and don’t run away from it.
But more so, I wish we could go back to the times when I owed you an apology, and a thank you. I regret arguing with you. I regret telling you to “be quiet” or “calm down” when you complained about working long hours, or having a bad day at work, or paying the bills as a single mother. I regret sometimes being a punk, stealing cash from your purse, ignoring and speaking over you. I’m sorry for bringing back a few C’s and D’s at college. I’m sorry for not understanding more, appreciating more and loving more.
I need to tell you, now: I’m sorry, and thank you. You taught me how to love with all of my heart and how to give life everything I’ve got. You’ve made me who I am more than you’ll ever know. You tell me time and again that I have “a heart of gold.” The thing is, that’s you. That’s your heart. Our heart.
This one’s for you, mom — for your indomitable spirit, perseverance and kindness. I wouldn’t be here without the guiding light you are, the person I call in times of joy, and in times of panic. You appreciate people for what strength they do have, and you pick out the beautiful parts of the world and try to push the negative stuf away.
Remember, a few weeks ago, when you came to visit? I felt like I needed you. I was having trouble falling asleep. I was worried about graduating on time, life going by too fast, not being confident enough, not enjoying the world enough. As you went home, I took out my phone.
“Makes me cry, all you’ve been through & done for me,” I texted you. “The gift that keeps on giving. Xo. Hope we can see each other often, forever.”
“I only reflect back what you serve back,” you wrote. “Life is a banter. We get what we give. And we give what we get. Life is a mirror.”
You, mom, are the best mirror I could imagine.
On your birthday last year, I wrote in your card that we’d promise to choose happiness together. Which is why it pained me to see you stressed and tired — phone in hand, legal pad out, hand in your hair — upset about your life and work. I wrote in my journal after one of those days last year: “It was really hard coming home last Wednesday with my mom stressed from her job. I broke down in front of her in my bedroom and asked where she went. I was so frustrated in that moment, and the days prior, with how she behaved and sounded on the phone.”
Looking back, I’m sorry I shushed you when you complained about your job. I should have been there and empathized the way you empathize for me. You’re the reason I reach for my phone and always have someone to call.
I’ll remember the Sunday night years ago when I called you, my eyes wet, because I was lonely and depressed at Syracuse. Or the day when we were on the couch, me crying in your arms, because I was upset with myself for lacking confidence. I remember one day I did thank you for your unconditional love. You said: “I love you, so it is a joy to give you everything I can to make your life as wonderful as possible.”
Sometimes, when I go to call you, I think see gutierrez page 9
❑
EUCLID AVE
LADIESDAY EVERY TUESDAY 1/2 price food all day long, including wings, burgers, eggplant!
Career change
A D.O. senior staf writer reflects on the end of his baseball career and how he got started in journalism. See page 10
For mom
A D.O. senior staf writer honors his mother for her sacrifices in his life. See page 10
New balance
Behind-the-cage offense spurs four-game winning streak
By Andrew Graham senior staff writer
Nate Solomon toed the yellow line on the back side of the crease, scanned the defense through the twine of the net and stepped forward to his right.
Coming across the goal line, Navy’s defense didn’t pick Solomon up as he turned to goalie Ryan Kern and dropped a shot into the back of the net. By initiating ofense from behind the crease, Solomon gave Syracuse the lead and unlocked a new ofensive style.
“He’s a threat to dodge and he’s got his head up and he’s finding open people now,” SU head coach John Desko said of Solomon. “So I think it’s nice to have the attack clicking this time of year.”
Though Solomon took the chance himself to open things up against Navy, No. 4 seeded Syracuse’s (9-3, 2-2 Atlantic Coast) attacks have changed the Orange’s ofense in recent weeks by initiating more ofense — both scoring and assisting — from behind the net. Since losing to Notre Dame, the Orange closed the season on a four-game win streak in which they’re averaging 2.9
more goals per game than in the first eight. The new scoring element has balanced a previously one-dimensional ofense days before SU travels to face No. 5 seed North Carolina (7-6, 1-3) for Thursday’s ACC Tournament play-in game in Chapel Hill.
We were almost one-dimensional to start the season ... it’s helped us out tremendously.
Bradley Voigt su senior attack
For the first eight weeks of Syracuse’s season, its ofense relied heavily on midfielders dodging and creating open looks from the top of the ofensive zone. And more often than not, opposing defenders stayed with the dodging midfielders.
The lack of space, though, ultimately hurt the Orange’s ofense. With Bradley Voigt posted in front of cage
and SU’s other two attacks — Solomon and Stephen Rehfuss — typically hugging the post, close defenders filled the space around them while easily sliding to dodging midfielders up top.
When the Orange’s ofense truly stalled, Solomon came to the midfield and played with the ball from there.
Desko noticed the ofensive stagnation and tweaked the team’s approach. SU’s new ofensive impetus puts the ball in the care of Solomon and Rehfuss most of the time. The Orange trust their upperclassmen attacks to read the whole field from behind the cage, dodge out to one side and look to pass or shoot.
“So now if you leave the inside, (Voigt)’s open,” Desko said. “And if you don’t, then you don’t slide to those guys behind. It just opens the whole ofense up.”
Solomon did some of this earlier in the season, to moderate success, but was largely shut of when he tried to dodge and score for himself. Now, Desko said, Solomon is seeing the field better and looking to pass more. Through the first eight games, Solomon had six assists. He’s tallied seven more
Sonya Trescheva came to SU to play tennis because of her childhood best friend. See dailyorange.com
women’s lacrosse
SU holds of late UVA run, 12-10
By KJ Edelman asst. sports editor
Mary Rahal’s eyes scaled near the net as her feet planted at the 25-yard line. The redshirt junior was looking for one of the Syracuse cutters to get free like they had all afternoon. But on that play midway through the first half, no one was open.
So Rahal floated a pass to Nicole Levy, who was looking forward — not at Rahal’s pass. The ball hit the turf on Newton Lacrosse Field, and, after one hop, it headed toward UVA goalie Charlie Campbell. Campbell wasn’t looking while the ball passed between her legs and into the net. On Wednesday, even the Orange’s miscues found nylon.
For the first 50 minutes of No. 4 Syracuse’s (15-3, 5-2 Atlantic Coast) first-round matchup in the ACC Tournament against No. 7 Virginia (12-6, 3-4), it dominated in every facet. SU’s ofense jumped out to nine first-half goals, its defense caused an influx of turnovers and SU dominated on the draw. Slowly, the Cavaliers picked up their scoring starting in the second half, but the clock wound before UVA could complete a comeback.
“You’re playing a top-10 team, they’re not giving up,” SU Head Coach Gary Gait said. “They’re going to make runs, but we stopped the runs and kept them at bay.”
After a sloppy start to the game and two-straight turnovers from the Cavaliers, Sam Swart shu fed left of a handof from Meghan Tyrrell. With two defenders trailing Syracuse’s leading scorer, Hawryschuk, the junior attack took Swart’s handof into the middle defenseless. A fake left and swing right gave the Orange their first goal.
On one play, Hawryschuk was triple-teamed of a face dodge. She lifted her stick over the navy blue helmets while backpedaling and passed to Sierra Cockerville, who was standing alone on the crease, to make it 3-1. Virginia, on the other hand, floated long passes out of the end zone and struggled to scoop ground balls. O f one turnover, Hawryschuk was awarded a free
see virginia page 9
Freshman AJ Kaiser establishes herself as power hitter
By Danny Emerman staff writer
To her teammates, coaches and trainers, Alexis Jordan Kaiser has always been “AJ.” When Kaiser was seven years old, there were three girls on her little league softball team named
Alexis. More than anything, Kaiser wanted to stand out. At Syracuse, “AJ” has supplied power to the middle of the lineup.
The freshman fits perfectly into first-year head coach Shannon Doepking’s vision of emphasizing home runs. Despite a midseason slump, Kaiser has harnessed her strength to lead Syracuse (20-25, 8-10 Atlantic Coast) in home runs. She’s done it as a designated hitter,
5
Number of homers AJ Kaiser has hit this season
after she lost the starting catcher role to Gianna Carideo while Kaiser recovered from a minor concussion.
Kaiser has hit five of the Orange’s 20 total home runs even though she’s missed 15 games.
“I expect a lot out of myself,” Kaiser said. “If anything, I expect more out of myself than I’ve been producing.”
In Kaiser’s first four collegiate games, the Tucson, Arizona native launched two home runs and
recorded seven RBIs. Kaiser’s teammates weren’t surprised by her early power. Heading into the season, Doepking implemented di ferent swing patterns designed to generate more home runs. Some players struggled with changing their swings, Kaiser said, but she only had to make minor tweaks.
“I’ve always been a home run hitter,” Kaiser said. “Her having that
see offense page 9 see kaiser page 9
NATE SOLOMON has 23 goals this season. As Syracuse prepares to face North Carolina in the ACC Tournament play-in game Thursday, Solomon has performed better recently, John Desko said.
kaci wasilewski asst. digital editor