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april 7, 2010
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
INSIDEOPINION
INSIDEPULP
INSIDESPORTS
Cradle concerns SU increases the budget for
Obama and Karzai Columnist David Kaplan discusses the
Find~ing a happy place SU alumna Gabrielle Bernstein will
Year one After a long road, new Princeton
child care services on campus. Page 3
growing problem in Afghanistan and Obama’s upcoming meeting with its president. Page 5
speak on her book, “Add More ~ing to Your Life.” Page 9
head coach Chris Bates succeeds the legendary Bill Tierney. Page 20
MAYFEST 2010
Free beer, food to be given out on April 30 By Laurence Leveille STAFF WRITER
MayFest has officially been recreated as a universitysanctioned event that will offer free beer to students over 21, free food and live music. Following months of deliberation, Student Association, University Union and university administration have made April 30 a day for students to relax before finals and socialize with friends in Walnut Park. MayFest 2010 will be held on the same day as UU’s Block Party and from 1 to 5:30 p.m. The area will be split into three sections that will offer food, music and alcohol for students above age 21. All Syracuse University and State
SEE MAYFEST PAGE 4
samantha okazaki | contributing photographer SUSAN DONOVAN, dean of admissions, nears retirement this August after working at Syracuse University for 35 years. During her time at SU, the number of minority students increased, as well as the average GPA of the incoming class.
A lasting connection By Rebecca Toback
S
ASST. FEATURE EDITOR
usan Donovan sometimes gambles on young people. In her job as Syracuse University’s dean of admissions, her wagers can pay off. Donovan recalled one student who was rejected for admission a few years ago who showed her a spark of persistence. The student asked to meet her in person for an interview, then glowed with passion for SU, Donovan remembered, so much so that the student’s mediocre grades seemed less important. After informing the student that the university was going to change the original admissions decision, Donovan asked the student to not embarrass her by doing poorly. The student not only graduated but was offered a chance to earn a master’s degree at Columbia University, and soon after began
Retiring dean of admissions leaves 35 years of working with incoming students
teaching in Harlem, Donovan said. “Those are the kinds of stories that happen quite often,” Donovan said, “when you can look beyond the numbers and see potential and drive and a real eager personality.” Those student successes mean a lot to Donovan as she nears retirement in August after 35 years at SU. Donovan’s peers said they have admired her passion for her job, her hard work to better the admissions office and how she connects with students. Donovan admitted she never envisioned herself working at the university, let alone as dean of admissions. When she came to SU in 1975 as an assistant director in the admissions office, Tolley Hall was the admissions building, Newhouse II had just been built, the chancellor was Melvin Eggers and Jim Boeheim was in his final year as assistant basketball coach for the Orange. Donovan studied to get her graduate degree in advertising while she was work-
ing at the university. She earned her undergraduate degree in sociology from SU as well. She said she was and still is a true Orange fan. Donovan was working for the Syracuse mayor when she was approached to work at SU. After four years at the university, she was promoted to associate director and, in 1986, was named director of admissions. Associate dean of admissions and financial aid was Donovan’s last title before becoming dean of admissions in 1999. When Donovan was associate director of admissions in 1980, her son, Dave Donovan, an alumnus from the Class of 1992, was 10 years old and delivered newspapers each morning. His routine started with bringing the papers inside, rolling them up with rubber bands and then heading out on his bike to throw them on lawns around the neighborSEE DONOVAN PAGE 6
andrew burton | special projects editor Students celebrate MayFest 2009 along Euclid Avenue on April 21. Houses extending eight blocks down Euclid hosted student parties on MayFest.
Students, university reflect on tradition By Kathleen Ronayne ASST. NEWS EDITOR
Alex Gramajo didn’t know it at the time, but his creation of a single Facebook group in 2007 would launch one of the most wild and beloved days on Syracuse University’s campus. It was the beginning of something that, three years later, would be engrained in the minds of SU students as tradition. MayFest — a day of partying on Euclid Avenue, not one of academics — was born. “It was a senior, it was his last hurrah — he rallied a bunch of people to party,” said Department of Public Safety Chief Tony Callisto. “It was an interesting use of
SEE TRADITIONS PAGE 4