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N • Vaccine resumes
dailyorange.com
S • Stock watch
Onondaga County will resume administering the Johnson & Johnson vaccine after federal agencies lifted a temporary pause this weekend. Page 3
Oscar Guide 2021
Ahead of the Premier Lacrosse League draft, The Daily Orange spoke to three coaches for their analyses on four Syracuse players’ draft stock. Page 12
Workshops will teach faculty to navigate cultural differences
Aside from faculty workshops to improve cultural sensitivity in the classroom, students and experts said it’s important for SU to take a systemic approach to the issue. emily steinberger photo editor
SU professors created the workshops to help instructors account for students’ cultures, backgrounds By Chris Hippensteel asst. digital editor
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hristian Andino Borrero remembers a faculty member in the College of Arts and Sciences who said they don’t empathize with students who can’t afford to buy textbooks for class. That came as a shock for Andino Borrero, a freshman who came to Syracuse University from Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria and was struggling to purchase materials for his classes. “I was in no way, shape or form (able) to buy any books,” said Andino Borrero, now a senior. “I found
that to be a surprising insensitivity.” Andino Borrero isn’t the only student to have encountered challenges such as this upon arriving at SU. Faculty not taking into account students’ cultures and backgrounds poses an academic challenge to many SU students, including international students, who may face unfamiliar learning environments and may have difficulty communicating with instructors. To address these issues, two professors in SU’s School of Education are launching a series of faculty workshops, titled “Creating Culturally Responsive Classrooms,” to help instructors better understand the needs of students from different backgrounds. Students and experts say the workshops, while
a necessary first step, are only part of what should be a larger approach to addressing differences in cultures and backgrounds in academics at SU. Professors Jeff Mangram and Melissa Luke designed the series. In each workshop session, two of which are scheduled for May, faculty will be asked to examine the role of culture and language in their courses. The workshops will also present research-supported teaching practices that will particularly benefit students whose “culture and worldview differs from that of the classroom space,” Luke said in a statement. “The ‘CCRC’ workshop series is predicated on the fact that culture and worldview are part of the see workshops page 8
on campus
SU’s language programs need more support, students say By Francis Tang staff writer
When she was exploring colleges, Lulu Maachi was looking for campus opportunities that could prepare her for a career in Japan. That’s one of the reasons she decided to attend Syracuse University. Maachi, a junior information studies and technology major in the School of Information Studies, has
pursued a minor in Japanese studies since her first year at SU. But Maachi said the resources available in SU’s Japanese studies program haven’t met her expectations. “The professors are really great. They really want you to learn something out of the classes and really want to help you succeed,” Maachi said. “But the way that the curriculum was designed, the minor structure, it feels very superficial.”
Despite the efforts of dedicated instructors, faculty and students said the university hasn’t provided enough support for its foreign language programs, some of which experience low enrollment and cannot yet offer a full fouryear curriculum. María Emma Ticio Quesada, chair of SU’s Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics, said the department has made
efforts to increase enrollment in language classes. “Some of the programs receive limited funding from the university and have lower enrollments, which combined prevents them from developing further,” Ticio said in an email. SU’s Japanese program offers six language classes every year, from introductory to advanced level classes. The minor requires three
intermediate- to advanced-level language classes, as well as three content-based classes offered from other departments. “We really need more personnel to expand the courses, as we are all teaching at the maximum,” said Tomoko Walter, coordinator of SU’s Japanese studies minor. Similar U.S. colleges have been providing more advanced language see language page 8