thursday, jan. 18, 2024
N • Decreased Drive
Previously, SU students and staff had access to unlimited storage in the Google Workspace but are now limited to 10GB. Page 3
celebrating 120 years
free
C • ‘Little bit of joy’
S • Rice’s Return
With vivid colors and patterns, Andrea Buckvold’s “Color Stories” exhibit displays painted quilt designs in the Petit Branch Library Page 3
Alaina Rice nearly left SU after the 2022-23 season. Now, she’s averaging the most points per game of her career. Page 3
on campus
‘Not a monolith’
The MLK Art Gallery will feature pieces from seven local Black artists in the JMA Dome By Savannah Stewart asst. culture editor
When Melquea Smith began illustrating for children’s picture books, she realized the severe lack of Black representation in their stories. She understood that authors weren’t including Black representation to the extent she was, and wondered whether her career could become sustainable. “One thing I want to convey through my work is showcasing Black girls and Black women,” Smith said. “As I’m exploring my Black identity, I’m able to put that out in the way I see the world too.” On Jan. 21, Smith’s art will be on display in the MLK Art Gallery, an interactive addition to the 39th annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration in Club 44 of the JMA Wireless Dome. Centered on the event’s theme of “The Reach of the Dream,” the exhibition will showcase the multi-media talents of seven local Black artists. Rochele Royster, featured artist and College of Visual and Performing Arts professor, said it’s nice to be in an exhibit with other Black artists who create amazing art in their daily lives. It means a lot to be part of an SU-hosted event that is celebrating King and Black leaders in the community. Royster was raised by parents who both worked at schools in the Washington, D.C., area. Due to their involvement in the education system, she lived a childhood surrounded by art created by their school’s art teachers. As Royster began experimenting with various artistic mediums, she drew inspiration from her mother and father’s activism in a teacher’s union. She was also motivated by her great-grandmother, an avid quilter and native of North Carolina. One of Rochele Royster’s pieces is “Fractured Expectations,” pictured above. For Royster, the latest exhibit is an opportunity to celebrate Black artists and leaders in the Syracuse community. courtesy of rochele royster
“Seeing her get little scraps of things from clothes, collect these found objects and create these beautiful quilts really inspired my artistic practice,” Royster said. “Art should be not only something that is culturally relevant but something that is also practical.” Royster said she often employs a gaze motif – direct eye contact with the art’s figure and clusters of patterns to draw the viewer into the piece. Much of her art surrounds her family history and self expression through creation. Her piece “Fractured Expectations” highlights this connection to her Black heritage. “I like looking at how resilient we are as a people despite the atrocities and despite the clutter and chaos of the world around us that we can still persevere,” Royster said. “We wouldn’t know joy if it wasn’t pain. We couldn’t be calm if there wasn’t disruption but persevering through that is important.” Beautiful and graphic, ornate and organic, the idea of making something out of nothing resonates with her, Royster said. Similarly, Smith said art has always been something she knew was a part of her life and something she would always have a connection with. Smith grew up in the Syracuse area and easily adapted to SU’s community. In high school, she became involved with the university through various routes, including the Science and Technology Entry Program, a music and sound prep production class with Professor Cedric T. Bolton and a science bowl in 2009. Illustrating ultimately became Smith’s passion. Everything she creates is a chance to “put her own spin” on the work. She appreciates the chance to draw Black see artists page 9
USen cmte. declines to revoke Giuliani degree By Roxanne Boychuk asst. copy editor
The University Senate’s Honorary Degree Committee decided to not move forward with rescinding Rudy Giuliani’s honorary degree after an April 2023 vote. Last year’s committee asked the “petitioner” to provide additional information to determine if the resolution met the qualifications for rescission, according to a statement written to The Daily Orange by Michel Benaroch, this year’s chair of the committee. “The committee didn’t receive the information requested by mid-April, at which time it informed the SU Senate that the committee couldn’t support the petition moving forward because a majority of its members felt that the information available to them does not meet the standard for rescinding,” Benaroch wrote in a statement to the Daily Orange.
We need to be aspirational about what Syracuse is and what it stands for and where it’s going, David Bruen former sa president
The resolution to revoke Giuliani’s honorary degree passed with 76% of the University Senate voting in favor, 11% opposing and 13% abstaining in April 2022. When the resolution was passed to the senate’s honorary degree committee, three out of the five members voted against moving forward with revoking Giuliani’s degree, said Syracuse University alumnus Maximus Short, a member of the committee at the time of the vote. Giuliani received his honorary degree from the university’s College of Law in 1989. Former Student Association President David Bruen, former SA Vice President Darnelle Stinfort and former Graduate Student Organization President Yousr Dhaouadi introduced the resolution when they were then in their respective positions. Bruen said he presented the idea of revoking the honorary degree in response to Giuliani’s involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol Riot. In the 2020 election, Giuliani sought to overturn election results in battleground states by pushing legal challenges to the election results and claiming election fraud. Giuliani’s law license was suspended in New York state in 2021 following the riot. Short believes the committee did not want to take action in case a later decision came to reverse the suspension, damaging the university’s reputation. In December 2023, a federal judge ordered Giuliani to pay $148 million to see degree page 6