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Our essayist details how she’s struggled during her first semester but remains hopeful SU will come to feel like home.
John Shahin has owned Harry’s Bar for 37 years. While Marshall Street has evolved, Harry’s has stayed the same.
Kristjan Fortier and SU qualified for the NCAA Tournament last season but lost early. This year, Fortier wants the Orange win it all.
Straying from the mission Remembrance Scholars find SU’s event schedule overlap ‘disheartening’ By Vivian Collins asst. news editor
T Remembrance scholars sat on the quad for 35 minutes in seats arranged to mirror the seats occupied by the 35 students on Pan Am Flight 103 on Wednesday. madison cox staff photographer
katharine grant and fiona griffin became SU’s first Lockerbie Scholars in 1990. daily orange archive photo
The Lockerbie Fellows joined SU’s Remembrance Scholars for the 35 chair sitting display. madison cox staff photographer
o Syracuse University senior and Remembrance Scholar Emily Hunnewell, the Remembrance Scholarship is more than just a prestigious award. It’s an honor, she said, to be entrusted with learning about the victims of Pan Am Flight 103 and interacting with their families. Every spring, SU selects 35 rising seniors, like Hunnewell, to receive the Remembrance Scholarship, one of the university’s “highest honors.” The scholars honor the 270 people who died in the bombing — 35 of whom were SU students returning to the United States after studying abroad. Remembrance scholars, alongside Lockerbie Scholars, are tasked with planning a weeklong series of events to honor the victims. Remembrance Week annually ends with a research symposium, Rose Laying Ceremony and convocation, which are staples of the university’s memoriam efforts. This year, however, SU’s Center for the Creator Economy is hosting its first ’CUSE Creator Con, bringing a gala and several notable speakers to SU at the same time. “I think the Creator Economy is a remarkable, booming industry and incredibly important for our students to learn about,” Hunnewell said. “It’s just disappointing that it’s overlapping with Remembrance Week, and it’s especially disappointing that it’s being promoted over Remembrance Week.” Creator Con runs from Oct 22-23, with Thursday’s events running from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. and Friday’s events from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Remembrance Week’s research symposium will be held on Thursday from 6 to 7:00 p.m., with the Rose Ceremony on Friday from 2:00 to 2:45 p.m. followed by the convocation. “As an active campus, there are times when events and activities overlap, and we understand the concerns that have been raised,” SU Spokesperson Sarah Scalese wrote in a statement to The Daily Orange. “We encourage our community to take part in the events that align with their availability, and as always, we invite everyone to join us in honoring and remembering.” see remembrance page 5
remembrance week 2026
Alumni recall Remembrance Week’s ‘transformational’ impact By Fiona McHugh asst. digital editor
Annette Campbell Anderson remembers exactly where she was when she heard about the Pan Am 103 bombing. She had just returned from her first semester at Syracuse University to spend winter break at her home in Baltimore when the news broke. “I just remember standing in my parents’ living room in shock,” Anderson said. Once back on campus, Anderson, who graduated from SU in 1992, attended a remembrance event in the then-Carrier Dome, despite being a
freshman and not personally knowing any of the 35 students who died. Still, she felt it was her “duty” to attend the memorial service for the students. Anderson remembered thenChancellor Melvin Eggers promising students that the university would never let the 35 Pan-Am passengers’ memories be erased. A little over a year later, SU announced its first cohort of Remembrance Scholars to pay tribute to and remember the students who died. Anderson was included in that rank of scholars. Thirty-six classes of scholars have risen through SU’s ranks since
then, encompassing over 1,000 students. From the first cohort to the most recent, the scholars maintain that the experience has left an indelible mark on their lives or altered their paths entirely. Jackie Arbogast was part of last year’s cohort, graduating in May 2026. Unlike Anderson, she doesn’t have a snapshot memory of Dec. 21, 1988. Instead, her mother does. Arbogast’s mom was a senior at SU at the time and lost a close friend in the tragedy. Arbogast said the experience helped shape her mother’s life and brought her family closer together. She
applied to become a scholar during her junior year, keeping it a secret from her mom. When she was accepted, she called her mom from Spain, where she was spending a semester abroad. “She just started sobbing,” Arbogast said. “I was so moved by that moment that the two of us both had because we were across the world from each other, and yet I felt the impact of how much that meant to her… I felt like I had never been closer with her, even though we were thousands of miles apart.” Arbogast vividly remembers the details from her time as a scholar: visiting the university’s archives, the annual sitting-in ceremony and the
laying of roses. She’s still in touch with the family of Seton Hall University student Beth Ann Johnson, the victim she spent her time as a scholar representing, due to program changes in the 2023-24 school year. During Remembrance Week, Arbogast said she felt like she’d lost someone she knew personally. For other alumni from the first cohort of Remembrance Scholars, their memories as scholars aren’t as clear as Arbogast’s, but the lessons remain unmistakably evident in their everyday lives. see alumni page 5
Julie Friend was a sophomore at SU
2 october 22, 2026
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october 22, 2026 3
remembrance week 2026
SU alum’s play honors friends, humanizes Pan Am 103 grief By Sydney DePietto asst. copy editor
After sending her best friends Theodora “Theo” Cohen, Miriam Luby Wolfe, Louise Ann “Luanne” Rogers, Daniel Rosenthal and Turhan Ergin off in a taxi to fly home to New York City from London, Annie Lareau began having serious panic attacks. Lareau said she’d been having nightmares of planes blowing up and cracking in half. To distract herself, she turned on the television to the BBC. Immediately, she saw breaking news that a plane which took off from Heathrow Airport was missing. “I knew instantly,” Lareau said. “A wave of knowing came over me, and all of a sudden, all my nightmares sort of made sense in a way, and then I just started screaming.” On Dec. 21, 1988, Pan Am Flight 103 exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing all 259 people on board, including 35 Syracuse University students, as well as 11 on the ground. Lareau was supposed to be on that plane. Now, nearly 40 years after the attack, Lareau turned her experiences into a play. “Fuselage” premiered at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland in July 2025 and will run at Syracuse Stage for two weeks in April. Lareau, an SU alum, studied abroad in London in fall 1988 with several of her closest friends, but a last-minute decision is what she remembers most. She hadn’t bought SU’s f light package with her friends. Because of her flight anxiety, her best friend Theo convinced her to switch so she wouldn’t be by herself. However, Lareau said she didn’t have the funds to change flights. Hank Unger, another of Lareau’s friends, also hadn’t purchased the flight package and planned to travel with his parents. Unger said he vividly remembers standing on the sidewalk and seeing Lareau emerge from the brownstone next door, running out saying, “a plane has crashed, a plane has crashed, a plane has crashed.” “I didn’t know in that moment that she was referring to Pan Am 103,” he said. “But emotionally, I knew this was not good news. I could feel the earth dropping below my feet.” Lareau said the immediate aftermath was “chaos,” with people running around and phones ringing for hours. She remembers being handed a list of students by SU employees, who asked her
Annie Laureau created a play called “Fuselage,” remembering the lives of her friends who died on the Pan Am 103 Flight and reflecting on her experiences with grief and loss. courtesy of annie lareau
to place check marks next to the names of those she knew were on the plane. Lareau and Unger didn’t sleep that night, and she prepared to board a flight home that day. She said it was “very physically hard” to move, and she was transported through the airport in a wheelchair. On her flight home, Lareau coincidentally sat next to another SU student before being taken to first class because the pilot wanted to keep an eye on them. The pilot knelt, held their hands and said he was the godfather of the children of one of the pilots killed on Pan Am 103, ensuring they would get home safely. “I still get chills talking about it to this day. That he was able to fly that plane that day is still amazing to me because we had to fly right out over what was probably still the burning plane over Lockerbie,” Lareau said. “I was not really conscious. I was still pretty numb and not feeling anything. I really didn’t care at that point that I was flying. I was like, ‘Kill me. You’ve just taken all my friends. Just kill me.’”
Unger and Lareau both said returning to campus and understanding their grief was difficult, taking weeks and months to process. Unger said he was friends with nine students who were killed and was at an “absolute loss” following their deaths. Lareau said she began writing “Fuselage” after becoming tired of news articles and documentaries that centered on the perpetrator and geopolitical aspects of the situation and rarely, if ever, mentioned the people. “I want to make sure that when you see a list of people that have been killed in a terrorism act that might float by your screen, that you stop for a minute and think about that these were actual people with actual lives and loves and passions, and that we stop thinking of them as numbers,” she said. Unger was “very moved” when he first saw “Fuselage” and said it affected him to see others talk about how it impacted them. “I think that’s really the gift that Annie did was to create something that is very personal but
speaks to people who may have no connection or even knowledge of these events,” Unger said. Teaghan Brostrom, an SU senior and Remembrance Scholar representing Theo, said learning about her has been an “honor” unlike any other experience. Brostrom heard about “Fuselage” through advisors, the Remembrance Program and Syracuse Stage. She said she’s very excited to watch it in the spring to further her understanding of Theo, who loved theater. “I’ve loved reading through the archives and learning about what her friends had to say about her, and I think this will just take on a whole new meaning, “ Brostrom said. “Getting to see it acted out before me what she was like as a person from someone who knows her so well firsthand.” Lareau said it’s very touching and emotional that the Remembrance scholars, born 20 years after the bombing, are the same age as the friends she lost. However, Lareau said her feelings are complicated due to the lack of representation for the non-SU students who died. Her friend Daniel, whom she met in London, didn’t attend SU but was on the plane because he became friends with Lareau and the others. “There’s an empty space between Miriam and Theo because he sat in the middle seat. And so for me, it’s sometimes emotional that that chair is missing,” she said. “There is no chair for him. There’s no Remembrance Scholar. So I also like to just hold those memories in my mind as well to honor them because honestly, he wouldn’t have been on the plane if he didn’t know us.” In addition to the Remembrance Week events, Brostrom said the play also keeps the memory of the students alive and ensures they aren’t just remembering them, but living out their memory. She encourages all SU students to see “Fuselage.” “As a SU student,” Brostrom said. “This tragedy is part of your university story as well.” Lareau said she wants SU students to walk away with knowledge of how blessed they are to be given this life. She said not to hesitate, to take big risks and walk into the future with passion, not fear. “Our friends were on the brink of having that opportunity, and that was taken away from them,” Lareau said. “And now, you all have this opportunity to step into your future boldly and with passion, and know that life is precious and take advantage of this time.” sadepiet@syr.edu
remembrance week 2026
Scholars appreciate nuance of ‘The Bombing of Pan Am 103’ By Mirren Grimason asst. news editor
Syracuse University Remembrance Scholars held a screening of “The Bombing of Pan Am 103” on Wednesday, a drama series which scholars said focused on the accuracy of the event compared to previous projects that drew criticism. During the screening, Remembrance Scholar Madiou Bah said choosing to watch a drama series related to the Pan Am flight that was not “overly dramatized” would likely be more interesting to students than a documentary, like in previous years. “After interviewing or speaking with people that were affected by the real Pan Am flight, they said they felt like the Netflix drama series did a good job of almost accurately explaining events and how it entailed it and what happened with the investigation,” Bah said. Co-produced by the BBC, the limited series is based on the true story of how local police in Lockerbie and the FBI investigated the Lockerbie bombing. Flight Pan Am 103 collapsed onto the ground in Lockerbie, Scotland, after a bomb was planted in a radio cassette player, killing all 259 people on board and 11 people from the collision. Thirty-five were SU students traveling back from their studies abroad, inspiring the university’s Remembrance Scholars Program. “It was the biggest crime scene the world had ever seen at that point, and that became a metaphor for just how much information there was to gather out there,” Lead Writer Jonathan Lee said in a Netflix Tudum article. In addition to getting the facts right, Bah said the families he interviewed also felt the series accurately captured the feelings and emotions of those affected. He specifically referenced a Muslim man on the flight, whose
family experienced discrimination because of his identity. “His family was heavily impacted,” Bah said. “They dealt with a lot of Islamophobia, so they were constantly emphasizing to us how they did a really good job in showing the Islamophobia.” Despite there not being a lot of criticism about this specific series, families of victims have criticized other series’ representation of the bombing. A series released in Jan. 2025 by Sky Atlantic and Peacock called Lockerbie: A Search for Truth received criticism from American family members of victims. They felt the series “amplifies falsehoods and unsupported theories,” the BBC reported. TV show or film screenings are hosted during Remembrance Week every year, Remembrance Scholar Cara Williams said. She said her love for movies made her want to be a part of the event’s planning. “I think this series, whether or not people think it’s the best ever, has gained a lot of traction, and it’s brought new light to this and because our whole thing is (remembrance),” Williams said. “We wanted to kind of focus on this new interpretation.” Past screenings have often featured documentaries rather than series or films. During last year’s Remembrance Week, scholars screened “Return to Lockerbie with Lorraine Kelly” as well as “Seat 20D” in both 2021 and 2023. Senior and President of Delta Phi Epsilon Danielle Lawton has tried to attend many of the Remembrance Week events in honor of one of her sorority sisters, who died in the Pan Am 103 bombing. “I think to get people involved and interested in learning what happened, films and shows definitely grab attention and reach a larger audience,” Lawton said.
Remembrance Scholars watch a screening of “The Bombing of Pan Am 103” Netflix drama series alongside other students during the week’s event. kedar nair staff photographer
Lawton said she read online about families not being happy with certain films and shows and didn’t know whether to believe if these types of media truly honored the victims. “I think that would be up to the discretion of the victims’ families as to what is accurate to the situation, and focusing less on the administrative side and more on the victims and their lives,” Lawton said. Williams and Bah both believe that series and films have a unique opportunity to captivate students in a different way.
“Art is a big part of the remembrance program, many of the different committees focus on art,” Williams said. “But film, I feel especially fond of because of its unique ability to let you experience life in a completely different way.” Remaining Remembrance Week events include the Act Forward Symposium and the Lockerbie Fellows Presentation on Thursday. The Rose Laying Ceremony and Remembrance Scholar Convocation and reception will close out Remembrance Week on Friday. mirrengrimason@dailyorange.com
4 october 22, 2026
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university senate
Haynie assigns SU leaders to review sexual violence responses By Ryan Garipoli asst. news editor
Chancellor Mike Haynie assigned a group of university leaders to review Syracuse University’s response procedures to sexual violence, he announced Wednesday at the University Senate’s second meeting of the semester. Haynie introduced the topic, referencing the national attention on sexual violence on college campuses, during his remarks. He said the group will review “protocols, processes, services and all law enforcement relationships.” “This is a moment for us to take a hard, long look in the mirror and constructively consider the services and the resources, policies and programs that define the university’s approach to combating and responding to sexual violence,” Haynie said. “I want you to know that we’re doing just that.” While Haynie didn’tname the university leaders he appointed to “critically review” SU’s protocols for responding to sexual violence, he said the work is ongoing. Haynie also mentioned a campus-wide email sent by Chief Student Experience Officer Allen Groves and Department of Public Safety Chief Michael Bunker detailing options and support measures SU provides for students dealing with sexual harassment and relationship violence. Haynie’s comments come two days after Bunker announced every sworn DPS member will take a mandated trauma-informed interviewing class in November, where officers will learn how to respond to survivors of sexual violence with empathy to gather accurate information. After Haynie’s remarks, Senator Charisse L’Pree, an associate professor in the Newhouse School of Public Communications, spoke adamantly about the disregard she’s seen in terms of issuing trigger warnings before discussions of sexual violence. L’Pree said she had experienced several administrative meetings, including Wednesday’s USen meeting, in which no trigger warnings were issued.
“It reinforces, in my opinion, a disregard for the fact that faculty and staff may also be traumatized (by sexual violence),” L’Pree said. She talked about how so many adults are survivors of sexual violence, herself included. She said the way conversations about sexual violence have happened is “one of complete disregard” for SU faculty and staff safety. “I cannot express how frustrating, isolating and disregarding the framing has been,” L’Pree said. “I would beg for you to consider the fact that the people you’re talking to might also be victims.” Haynie also gave an update about SU’s search to fill the role of Chief People Officer and said the officer’s work will impact all of SU’s employees. “We need an innovative HR head who knows how to attract and retain talent in what will be an increasingly competitive environment,” Haynie said. The first round of virtual interviews will begin in mid-November with the goal of appointing someone to the role by Jan. 1, he said. A vote was also initiated on maintaining SU’s Statement on Free Expression and Free Inquiry. If passed, the statement would remain without further changes “for now.” It was delayed during last month’s USen meeting as part of a previous amendment that requires any future revisions to the statement to be routed through the senate. The vote will conclude on Friday, Senate Affairs Specialist Kelly Bogart said. Senator and College of Arts and Sciences Professor Harvey Teres, who proposed the amendment in September’s meeting, said he feels the conversation over the statement “achieved something really important.” “I think this is a step in the direction of the Senate becoming a more deliberative and less so listening body,” Teres said. Senator Tom Keck, a professor in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, also spoke in favor of both the motion to maintain the current statement, which he helped write, as well as the motion to require the senate’s involvement in any revisions.
chancellor mike haynie spoke to SU’s University Senate about reviewing the university’s sexual violence response procedures. kedar nair staff photographer
“I think the statement is pretty good,” Keck said. “It could be improved in the future and the senate should be involved if and when it happens.”
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The Committee on Curriculum and Instruction proposed six new courses — two course revisions and two program revisions in its unreleased October report. The motion passed with 84% approval. Haynie announced he’ll work with his special committee to share its report with the full campus after the committee delivers its recommendations by Nov. 15. Vice Chancellor and Provost Lois Agnew spoke about a federal proposal from the Department of Homeland Security that would require schools to pay $70,000 for each student’s first Optional Practical Training authorization and $30,000 for
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each additional extension. Agnew said if adopted, the proposal would change the pathway many international students at SU rely on. Agnew announced that SU will begin an internal search for a new faculty director for the Renée Crown Honors Program. She said the search committee will be led by Maxwell Professor Tessa Murphy and will include faculty, students and staff. Thirty-seven SU professors received Emeritus Nominations and were approved in a 97% vote. Emeritus and Emerita faculty members are “continuing members of the university community and have a distinguished record of outstanding contribution to the university over a substantial number of years,” according to SU’s website. rcgaripo@syr.edu
city
Environmental panelists criticize Micron’s local impact By Owen Smith
asst. digital editor
Local advocates spoke out against Micron Technologies’ $100 billion semiconductor plant in Clay, New York during a Wednesday panel discussion at ArtRage Gallery. The event, hosted by Syracuse University’s NPR affiliate WAER, included four panelists, who each mentioned environmental concerns, job promises and community benefits. Micron’s Clay plant has faced ongoing criticism over rushed regulations and energy concerns. Bonita Siegel, president of Neighbors for a Better Micron, who’s been a vocal opponent of the plant, said the group started small with Clay residents who were concerned about the project’s environmental impacts. Days after Micron broke ground in January, the group, along with national labor organization Jobs to Move America, filed a classaction lawsuit against Micron and the Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency, calling for a reassessment of the project’s final Environmental Impact Statement. “We are now up to 179 members of the association,” Siegel said. “We’re eager to have people who share our concerns join us.” A retired neurologist with a chemical engineering degree from SU, Siegel said her experience working on semiconductor chips early in her career gave her first-hand knowledge of the industry’s “intense demands.” “It is an extremely delicate, intricate process,” Siegel said. “Living so close to Micron just elevates all my concerns.” First announced in October 2022 and scheduled to be operational by the end of the decade, the plant will consist of four fabrication computer chip factories, producing memory chips crucial to electronic devices and AI’s development. Catherine Landis, a science advisor at the center for Native Peoples and the Environment at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, mentioned the region’s environmental history. She cited past memories of industrial pollution in Onondaga Lake. “I went through what happened with Onondaga Lake. I see deja vu with Micron coming, like ‘Here we go again.’ What did we learn? Did we learn anything?” Landis said.
At the first concrete pouring event in July, Micron President and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra announced the plant was months ahead of schedule and required an increase of $50 billion for domestic manufacturing spending. In June, the company announced a partnership with construction company Bechtel to build the four factories. Don Hughes, a member of Sierra Club and professor of chemistry at Le Moyne College, said when he first heard of Micron’s arrival to Syracuse, he welcomed the giant for the potential economic benefits. “I’ve lived through 30 years of economic decay in this community,” Hughes said. “My initial reaction to Micron was, ‘Wow, this sounds pretty cool.’” Landis is a plant ecologist, so she said she sees herself as a “voice” for ecosystems that aren’t present in developmental discussions. “It always irks me when I hear the 1,400-acre Micron area is vacant land. Because if you ever went out there before it was destroyed, it was anything but vacant,” Landis said. In comparison to a giant sponge, Landis described how some of the area was a giant wetland, and 200 acres of it was plowed through for the facility. She said current construction requires lowering water levels through a process called dewatering, which would impact wetlands past the Micron project’s boundaries. After further research into the plant’s environmental footprint, Hughes’ view shifted to wanting to see change from the future plant. “Semiconductor facilities are really just giant chemical plants,” Hughes said. “They have a huge appetite for chemicals.” Hughes raised alarms about the semiconductor plant’s use of polyfluoroalkyl substances, a broad group of “forever chemicals” known to contaminate water and ecosystems. PFAS are widely used within semiconductor manufacturing, mostly during etching and heat transferring processes. Hughes said because semiconductor manufacturing is a novice industry in the United States, existing state and national regulations won’t be enough to firmly oversee Micron’s remediation of the chemicals. Hughes pointed to Micron’s other semiconductor plant in Boise, Idaho, for inspiration on how Micron could handle its upcoming facilities. He also called for
A panel of environmentalists spoke about the problems Micron’s plant in Clay, NY poses to the community. logan weyant contributing photographer
transparency from the company on the lack of toxic chemical identifications. Micron’s Boise campus features a recyclable plant that reuses the waste it emits. The panelists mentioned the Syracuse facility may have similar features, but the panelists said there’s no proof of that happening here. Local environmental experts warned of the ambiguity surrounding Micron’s environmental commitments, stemming from a lack of specific regulation around manufacturing chemicals to a shift in language from 100% “renewable energy” to “carbon-free energy” in its most recent posts. “When this thing gets going at full speed, you’re looking at 200 tons a day, every single day of the year,” Hughes said. Dick Kornbluth, a board chair at the Urban Jobs Task Force, focused his remarks on whether Micron’s promised benefits of jobs for local workers will actually benefit the city. He specifically mentioned Syracuse’s high poverty rates. Although Kornbluth acknowledged Micron’s investment in semiconductor education at Onondaga Community College and the
company’s investment in new bus routes to the plant, Kornbluth questioned whether those commitments were enforced. Most workforce goals outlined in agreements tied to the project rely on voluntary compliance rather than legally binding requirements. “Micron’s only required response was, ‘We will make a good faith effort to do any of that,’” Kornbluth said. He compared the billion-dollar project to the I-81 viaduct project, which created local hiring targets after years of negotiations among labor groups and government agencies in the city. “The big problem is that the organizations I represent are not concerned about the workforce in general but are concerned about the disadvantaged communities in central New York,” Kornbluth said. In concluding remarks, Siegel encouraged the public to become more involved against the “behemoth” the community faces. “The public needs to demand accountability,” Siegel said. “This is not a partisan problem, it’s a community one.” owensmith@dailyorange.com
october 22, 2026 5
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remembrance The scheduling overlap was brought to Hunnewell’s attention by a TikTok posted by SU’s official account. The video featured Chancellor Mike Haynie promoting Creator Con and encouraging students to attend, Hunnewell said. She also pointed out that the university did not post about Remembrance Week on its official Instagram account at the beginning of the week. On Tuesday, the university posted about major buildings on campus being lit blue in honor of Remembrance Week. SU’s official Instagram account also posted about the 35 chair sitting display on Wednesday. SU senior and Remembrance Scholar Sigourney Bell said while she noticed that SU usually posts for the living memorial every year, she thinks the university should be posting about Remembrance earlier in the week. “The education of remembrance shouldn’t start when you see people sitting on the quad,” Bell said. “It should be starting immediately when people get on campus, but especially it should be starting at the beginning of Remembrance Week.” For some scholars, the questions surrounding Remembrance Week extend beyond the overlapping of other university events and timing of social media posts. They expressed concerns about how the university’s approach to remembrance has evolved and whether the program continues to fulfill its original purpose of educating the SU community about the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. Remembrance Scholar Mason Burley said he believes that the university has “strayed a bit” from the program’s actual mission. He got the opportunity to speak with former Lockerbie Scholars when he traveled to Lockerbie, Scotland, over the summer. “I was there for like four weeks, and I knew nobody, and I was just trying to get questions and answers,” Burley said. “Putting us in precarious situations matters more to us as the newer scholars than I think it did to the older scholars because we’re so far removed from what actually happened.” The Lockerbie Scholarship program started in 1990 with Katharine Grant and Fiona Griffin. At the time of its founding, the program allowed two students to spend a year studying at SU. The 2025-26 academic year was the first time in 35 years that SU did not select two Lockerbie Scholars, ending the original program. In its place, SU proposed bringing 10-12 Lockerbie Academy students annually for a one-week immersion trip on campus. However, the university’s plans temporarily shifted
During Remembrance Week’s Sitting in Solidarity event, each minute the scholars sit represents one of the 35 SU students who died on Pan Am Flight 103. madison cox staff photographer
again in May 2025, when SU announced that it would be renewing the yearlong Lockerbie Scholarship program. In February 2026, SU announced it would not be reinstating the traditional yearlong program, hosting another week-long immersion trip during Remembrance Week with 10 “Lockerbie Fellows” instead. “Bringing (the program) back and bringing the community aspect of the Remembrance Scholars and the Lockerbie Scholars will not just give the Lockerbie Scholars the chance to be intertwined with the Syracuse University community,” Burley said. “But I think it will give the Remembrance Scholars a chance to understand Lockerbie, understand the community that we’re hoping to represent.” Remembrance Week itself did not begin until 1996, Pan Am 103 Archivist Vanessa St.OeggerMenn said. The push for the week was driven by students who wanted the SU community to focus on the “Act Forward” aspect of the Remembrance Scholarship, she said. “I think that spirit remains part of the program… it really does fall to each year’s group of Remembrance Scholars and Lockerbie Fellows to shape what that’s going to look like,” St.Oegger-Menn said. “They know best what is going to resonate with our current students.” Remembrance Scholar Alexis Heveron said she explored Bird Library’s archives to learn more about Christopher Andrew Jones, the
victim she represents. In the archives, Heveron was able to read short stories Jones had written and letters people had written to his father after Jones died. Heveron said the news of the scheduling overlap between Remembrance Week events and Creator Con was “disheartening,” and even though the disaster occurred 38 years ago, SU has worked hard to maintain a relationship with the Lockerbie Fellows. “Everybody who’s involved in the program has done so much work, especially for this week,” Heveron said. “For the families, especially who are traveling miles and miles to come, I think it’s really important to be considerate of them as well.” Hunnewell described the Remembrance Week planning process as logistically difficult and the scheduling overlap and lack of social media attention as “insulting” to the scholars, the families, the week and the victims themselves. “Our responsibility is to make sure that the act of terrorism is never normalized. And every year, we gather on campus to let campus know that this isn’t okay,” Hunnewell said. “And there is still things we can do to remember their lives and respect, bring respect to them and also try to promote some sort of world peace.” Bell said that while Remembrance Week requires a lot of planning, she doesn’t mind the work because “it’s really not about us.”
Despite their frustrations with the scheduling conflict, both Bell and Hunnewell said Creator Con is a positive initiative for the university, but that they wish SU had been more mindful of its scheduling. “I think Creator Con is a super cool thing that they’re doing and I think the students that are involved are super great, and they’re doing great things,” Bell said. “But I just think that it’s not controversial to say that Remembrance should get its time to shine.” Burley said he has “negative views” on Creator Con, writing in a statement to The D.O. that he believes it to be “a waste of resources and of no substance.” The university, he wrote, should never have scheduled Creator Con on the same days as Remembrance Week and that it takes away from the “essence” of the events. “It is a personal belief of mine that we as a university are moving past Remembrance. We see a bit more apathy year after year and it is genuinely heartbreaking,” Burly wrote. “I think if the University took a bit more of a proactive approach and certainly put in just as much effort as with the ‘Creator Economy’ and AI, and continued to promote Remembrance Week and who we are as Remembrance Scholars/Lockerbie Fellows, we would see that apathy diminish.” While Burley sees changes to the program as a sign that SU may be moving away from the program’s original mission, St.Oegger-Menn said that at such a large school like Syracuse, it’s “really virtually impossible” for events to not overlap. She said the best thing staff and faculty can do is to be communicative with one another and considerate of what other events may be going on. “Remembrance Week, culminating in the Rose Laying Ceremony and Remembrance Convocation, is one of Syracuse University’s most meaningful traditions,” Scalese wrote. “Remembering the lives of those lost, including 35 of our students, is something we look forward to and plan for every year.” Despite the scheduling conflict, Hunnewell said the university should have done a better job overall in promoting Remembrance Week on social media, especially because that’s how most students get their news. “The bombing of Pan Am 103 isn’t just a terrorist attack that happened 38 years ago. It is ongoing. There is still a trial going on. Family members are still grieving. Family members are still traveling here to grieve,” Hunnewell said. “It’s so easy to make a post on Instagram. It’s so easy to repost a link to the events…it’s just hard to see the lack of care.” viviancollins@dailyorange.com
2025 remembrance scholar jackie arbogast sits alongside other students for the annual Sitting in Solidarity event. lola jeanne carpio staff photographer
The university established the Place of Remembrance in 1990, the same year the Remembrance Scholar program began. daily orange archive photo
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at the time. “Those are the moments where it made me reflect on not only my experience as a Remembrance Scholar, but it made me look at the Pan Am crash in a new light,” Friend said, explaining that it made her work become more personal. At the time, Friend said, Pan Am 103 was an inconceivable tragedy and there was no “handbook” for what university administration should do next. After dealing with similar situations, she said her work has shifted to developing institutional and overall best practices to deal with security analysis and incident response. Even now, Friend regularly attends intrauniversity conferences for her job. She said she always introduces herself as a Remembrance Scholar when she runs into SU staff. “I definitely think it’s become a part of my identity,” Friend said. Like Friend, Anderson is surrounded by university students in her current role as an assistant professor in the School of Education at Johns Hopkins University. She said SU gave her the confidence to get to where she is today, an experience she tries to recreate for her students
alumni in 1988 when the Pan Am 103 bombing happened. Like Anderson, she became part of the inaugural cohort of Remembrance Scholars and felt a compulsion to represent the 35 students who were killed and live out what they could not.
1000 Students who’ve been named Remembrance Scholars
“The theme of my application was, ‘We can’t let these kinds of tragedies prevent us from doing the things that are right and the things that we dream will make our lives better,’” Friend said. Anderson applied to become a scholar at the recommendation of a professor, Robert McClure from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. She said McClure’s endorsement gave her a self-confidence that “launched” her.
“I felt that I wanted to represent the memories of those 35, but also that I had done something good in the world,” Anderson said. “That what I was trying to pour into the university also got poured back into me, and that was a tremendous, tremendous feeling. I can never really explain how transformational that moment was for me.” Friend echoed a similar sentiment, explaining that the responsibilities associated with being a scholar were motivational to their careers. “I think we all just felt like we had a level of responsibility not only to move our careers and education forward for ourselves, but maybe also in the name of all these other people too,” Friend said. Years later, Anderson and Friend can clearly trace the impact of becoming Remembrance Scholars on their lives. Friend is now the director in the Office of Global Safety and Security at Northwestern University. She describes her job as “risk management,” working to mitigate risks posed to students studying abroad. Throughout her career, she’s dealt with situations that make her look back and reflect upon her time as a scholar. Friend recalled the 2004 Madrid train bombing and the 2005 London transit bombing, where many university students were studying
and emphasize for her children, one of whom is a sophomore at SU. “My journey really does start because I had people at Syracuse who believed in me, and being a Remembrance Scholar meant everything to that journey,” Anderson said. Arbogast is just starting her post-graduation journey, but said she knows her time as a scholar will be something she carries with her throughout her life. She said Remembrance Week taught her lessons especially important in today’s world, when it’s common to emotionally block out a “tragedy overload.” “It made me more hopeful for community and humanity because I felt more connected with the people that I met for one week than I had felt in a lot of my other relationships,” she said. Remembrance Week is a reminder that sometimes, it’s important to sit with tragedy and grief and carry the good things out of it, Arbogast said. “When you’re left with nothing but the rubble and the people around you who have also suffered this tragedy… it really brings people to their core, which is to take care of each other,” she said. fmchugh@syr.edu
CULTURE
6 october 22, 2026
Behind
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the bar
Harry’s Bar owner John Shahin stands in front of photographs of successful Syracuse University athletic teams over the decades. For the past 37 years, Shahin has welcomed athletes and students to his SU-themed bar. tara deluca photo editor
Have a drink with John, the man behind Marshall Street ‘pillar’ Harry’s Bar
By Charlotte Price
S
alumni engagement editor
ay you know John behind the bar.” John Shahin, 63, couldn’t guess how many times he’s given that instruction to his customers over the years. How many students are even in a Syracuse University graduating class? Thirty-seven of those classes have come through the doors of Harry’s Bar. That doesn’t stop John from greeting customers like friends. He never knows who’ll walk through the door on any given night, and that’s why he loves it. “It’s fun, right? You’re meeting people. You’re making tips. You’re drinking after hours, and you wake up in the morning, do it all over again,” John said. SU’s nightlife scene is ever-changing, with Pitch Social replacing longtime favorite Lucy Blu Island Bar & Club this fall. But Harry’s and its owner have occupied the corner property on E Adams Street and S Crouse Avenue since 1990.
John has watched new bars on Marshall Street come and go. They don’t stick around for long if they’re not from the area, he said. If you ask John why his bar has stayed a constant on Marshall Street, he wryly jokes that it must be his great personality. When John breaks his earnest eye contact for a sarcastic wisecrack, it catches you off guard; that’s what makes him so funny. When John’s son and bartender ZJ Shahin, 24, starts to explain the bar’s success, the answer walks out from behind the bar. “That guy himself,” ZJ says. The proof is in the clientele. Mike Vamo, a longtime family friend and John’s former employee, is sitting on a barstool before Harry’s opens on a Tuesday night for exactly that reason. ZJ won’t go into too much detail about exactly why people come to visit his dad, but he describes John as “a very fun guy, to say the least.” Maybe it has something to
do with John’s signature shot combination: chilled Grey Goose and orangeade. John is a magnet for people, his younger son Xavier Shahin, 23, said. Businesses and storefronts change, but Xavier said his dad just doesn’t. “Faegan’s and John Shahin are the two last pillars of Marshall Street of the past,” Vamo said. To Vamo, that means giving students the experience of Syracuse as a whole, not just SU. Marshall Street businesses like Harry’s give students a break from classes and a home away from home, he said. Opening a bar was John’s childhood ambition. Now, he owns two — Harry’s and Saltine Warrior Sports Pub downtown. That’s what happens when you start hanging out at Syracuse bars at 15, he said, joking he often showed up to high school hungover. Without an appealing offer from a wealthy bachelor neighbor, John’s bar wouldn’t have been in Syracuse at all. see harry’s page 9
beyond the hill
Who let the dogs out? HumaneCNY did, students capitalize By Ben Butler
alumni engagement editor
It’s a beautiful fall Sunday morning, and Syracuse University is teeming with people. Some are headed to Walnut Park for Harvest Fest. Others are heading to the Westcott neighborhood for a morning breakfast with their parents. Every head turns in my direction all morning. Firefighters drive by, waving and smiling. Faces light up when they see me walking toward them. But of course, none of this attention is for me.
Meet Orwell. He’s a 1-year-old beagle. He used to be a stray. And at the risk of sacrificing journalistic integrity, he’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. He spent his Sunday out of the shelter thanks to HumaneCNY’s Doggy Day Out program. And, like the main character of his namesake’s book “1984,” everyone is watching him, all the time. HumaneCNY’s program allows volunteers over the age of 21 to take an adoptable dog on a field trip to a dog-friendly area, like a park, stores, trails or, in Orwell’s case, SU’s campus. It’s easy — shoot a quick email to them and fill out a waiver, and you have a dog for a few hours.
So, what are the perks of fostering a dog for the day? For one, it’s a lot less commitment than actually owning a dog. As a college student who barely takes care of himself, the responsibility of having a furry friend living with me would be overwhelming. Getting home to feed a dog, walking them twice daily and holding playtime would be a huge responsibility that college students aren’t equipped to handle. Zoe Hurwitz, an SU junior studying biology, has done the program five times since September. Even though her landlord at the 505 on Walnut
would allow her to have a dog, it isn’t feasible for her. “Being a college student, every day is something new and you’re constantly figuring out your life,” Hurwitz said. “It’s a life in your hands. A doggy day out is a good middle ground.” Back home, Hurwitz has three dogs, and two of them are rescues. She said HumaneCNY, which is a nokill animal shelter, and other rescue shelters are the first places she’d go to adopt a dog. The first time Hurwitz participated in the program, she brought her HumaneCNY dog, a pit bull mix named Duchess, to her sorority’s
chapter meeting. Her sorority sisters fawned over Duchess, and the dog was excited by all the attention, even getting “the zoomies.” Mattingly Weisholtz, an SU senior studying marketing management, has a rescue pit bull back home, and took out a shelter pit bull named Bug from HumaneCNY. At one point, Bug fell asleep on her bed, and Weisholtz could tell she felt at peace. “We could tell she hadn’t gotten a break or felt a bunch of love in a while,” Weisholtz said. Orwell didn’t get much of a break either when I took him out; he sniffed see dogs page 10
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campus life
Student nail techs nail it on a budget in makeshift salons By Alexandra Rice asst. digital editor
Last September, Wendy Vasquez walked into Ernie Davis Hall for a nail appointment. She didn’t know it yet, but that appointment was going to introduce her to one of her closest friends. Walking into the dorm room, Vasquez assumed it could be awkward not knowing who was doing her nails, but after the pair got into a flow of conversation, they became fast friends. “I’ll pick up a good vibe,” Vasquez said. “I just knew from that moment, in that appointment, ‘Oh yeah, we’re gonna be friends.’” At Syracuse University, some students turn their nail art hobbies into a side hustle. Rather than hopping in an Uber for a nail appointment, many clients visit these nail techs inside dorm rooms and off-campus apartments. Whether it’s Gel-X polish or acrylics, these students-turnednail techs turn their living spaces into makeshift beauty salons. What initially attracted Vasquez to SU junior Madisan Reyes’ nail page, @clawsbymadii, was how detailed her designs were — Vasquez never doubted the different styles Reyes would be able to pull off, she said. “Anytime anyone asks where I get my nails done, I’m like ‘ClawsByMadi, ClawsByMadi, go book with her,’” Vasquez, a Syracuse University senior, said. Reyes started doing nails her senior year of high school. At the time, Reyes played softball and liked having her nails adorned, even if they had to be cut short. As a catcher, Reyes’ nails always chipped and she found herself having to constantly go back to the salon. So, Reyes started learning how to do them herself, starting with builder gel and later picking up acrylic. When Reyes first started, she wasn’t seeing much progression, so she stopped until her freshman year of college at UConn. That’s when she started seeing improvements and began taking clients, Reyes said. “They looked good for a beginner, but now that I look back on my work I’m just like ‘Wow, this is really ugly.’ My friends were definitely my test dummies,” Reyes said. When Reyes transferred to SU in August 2025, she used TikTok and Instagram to promote her work to reel in a campus audience. This engage-
erika qin does her roommate’s Gel-X nails in her South Camus apartment. Qin started her nail journey in middle school, mainly painting press-on nails for herself. tara deluca photo editor
ment helped her schedule bookings with students before even setting foot on campus, Reyes said. She started doing manicures from her single dorm in Ernie with two folding chairs facing a desk. This year, Reyes decked out a corner in the living room of her University Village apartment near South Campus with posters, a glitter lamp and a ventilated nail table. One of her favorite parts about doing SU students’ nails is getting to meet new friends on the other side of the table, Reyes said. “I’ll play music and if I see they want to converse with me, I’ll pause the music and I’ll talk the whole appointment,” Reyes said. “It sounds fake, but I made three of my closest friends doing nails.” Other student nail techs like SU sophomore Erika Qin typically refrain from talking too much while doing nails, usually passing time by putting on a TV show or movie for the client.
“I like to stay locked in. If I talk, the time is just gonna go longer and I’ll get distracted,” Qin said. Qin started her nail journey in middle school, mainly painting and curating designs for herself on press-on nails. At the time, Qin was living in Japan and her school had very strict rules about what students could wear. When she returned to the United States for her freshman year of high school, she started watching video tutorials on other types of nails like Gel-X. By the time she was a senior in high school, she was doing her friends’ nails for their school’s formal. When she arrived at SU last year, Qin received compliments on her nails and gained clients through social media and word of mouth. Now, her weekends are booked and busy. With each set taking around two hours to complete, Qin starts early on weekends and usually ends in the evening, she said.
“After the person leaves, I relax a little. My back is in pain, but I still gotta keep going,” Qin said. Although the weekends are filled with back-toback clients, Qin still enjoys doing nails as a hobby. The longest set she’s done took around four hours, with Miffy character charms and intricate designs. Though the process was long, her client loved the result and promised to come back, Qin said. Even with how time-consuming the side hustle can be, Reyes finds it worth the effort in the end. “I always say this: it’s a blessing to be stressed,” Reyes said. “Anytime I catch myself complaining about having 3 back-to-back appointments after class, I have to remember that I used to pray to get the clients that I have now. Not everybody has their own source of income, especially as a college student.” SU freshman Ella Santos started getting acrylic nails done in the seventh grade and saw a lot of
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campus life
Lasting bonds transcend rehearsals for 40 years of DanceWorks By Kosta Konstantopoulos asst. copy editor
When Syracuse University sophomore Bea Cariaso joined DanceWorks last fall, she recognized some familiar faces. After years of competitive dancing in high school, Cariaso was surprised to find herself rehearsing alongside the same dancers she once competed against. “We competed against each other, and now we’re really good friends,” Cariaso said. “It was a crazy coincidence at the time, but I would have not changed it for anything.” For the last 40 years, DanceWorks has given SU students the chance to continue their passion for dance on campus while also building friendships that go beyond practicing for performances. Founded in 1986, it’s become SU’s largest studentrun dance organization, with over 100 members performing styles such as contemporary, hip-hop, jazz and tap. Throughout the academic year, members attend weekly rehearsals to prepare for DanceWorks’ annual February showcase in Goldstein Auditorium. Typically, the shows include over 15 student-choreographed routines, giving dancers the opportunity to showcase months of preparation to the SU community. Beyond its annual showcase, DanceWorks members also participate in performances and events throughout the academic year. In November, the organization hosted its first “DanceWorks with the Stars” competition, pairing members with students from other campus organizations to perform choreographed routines. Retired professor and faculty advisor Laurie Deyo began teaching at SU in 1986 — the same year DanceWorks was founded. During her nearly three decades at SU, Deyo witnessed SU’s dance community grow through DanceWorks and co-founded the School of Education’s dance minor in 2011. Before leaving SU in 2015, Deyo saw DanceWorks become an established part of campus life, she said. Although the organization wasn’t as popular as it is today, she said its growth reflects the importance of dance in bringing students together. Beyond providing
DanceWorks members leap in the air during their “DanceWorks Digital” show. It was inspired by early-2000s pop culture and electronic music. avery magee development editor
opportunities to perform, dance has served as a creative outlet for students to express themselves, build friendships and contribute to the university’s broader arts community. “Syracuse had a bunch of dance organizations, and I remember watching some of their DanceWorks showcases, it was a great time,” Deyo said. “It’s hard to think the legacy has gone on for this long.” DanceWorks’ annual spring showcase is a tradition that dates back to the organization’s founding. In February, the organization celebrated its anniversary with “DanceWorks Digital,” a performance inspired by early 2000s pop culture and electronic music. The two-night showcase featured studentchoreographed routines using music from Britney Spears, Gwen Stefani and other artists. For Cariaso, who dances jazz and contemporary, that showcase was her most memorable with DanceWorks thus far. After
discovering the organization on Instagram and going through the audition process, Cariaso joined during her freshman year and quickly found a community of dancers with similar backgrounds and interests. The months of rehearsals leading up to the February showcase made performing in front of the audience especially rewarding, Cariaso said. SU senior Hailey Ortlieb, the organization’s public relations chair, said dancers spend hours rehearsing, repeatedly rehearsing choreography and refining their routines to prepare for the annual showcase. That commitment continues during tech week, the week before DanceWorks’ showcase. During that week, members rehearse together rather than in the smaller groups they typically practice with, bringing dancers from across the organization into one space. Coming together as an organization has become one of Ortlieb’s favorite DanceWorks traditions.
“It kind of gives the cast a chance to bond with people that we don’t necessarily have dances with,” Ortlieb said. “Everyone just bonds and creates this huge family.” For many members, the friendships formed through DanceWorks extend beyond rehearsals and performances, Cariaso said. She’s still friends with students she met at her first DanceWorks workshop last year. “I love how we’re still friends,” Cariaso said. “It’s just a continuous thing of meeting people, practicing and we all get to know one another.” Ortlieb shared a similar experience. After spending her freshman year at SU not knowing what clubs to check out, she joined the organization as a sophomore. Now in her third year with DanceWorks, Ortlieb said the friendships she’s formed have become the most important part of her college experience. That bond of DanceWorks continues to evolve through new initiatives as well. In 2025, DanceWorks introduced a mentor and mentee program, which pairs experienced members with new members to help build friendships and become more involved in the organization. For Ortlieb, the program helped her overcome the shyness she faced when she joined the club. Today, she mentors two current members. Beyond its social traditions, DanceWorks provides opportunities for students to take on creative and leadership roles. Each routine is choreographed by students, allowing members to develop their own pieces before bringing them to the stage. This year, Ortlieb is choreographing a hip-hop routine while managing the organization’s social media accounts. While some see campus organizations as a way to spend their time, DanceWorks has created something long-lasting, Cariaso said. Upon graduation, DanceWorks will be the first thing Carioso will remember. “When I think of my legacy at Syracuse, the first and most proud of thing will be my time in DanceWorks,” Cariaso said. “It’s crazy how it can carry such a legacy.” kkonstan@syr.edu
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campus life
La Casita cements 15 years as community hub By Kaila Hu staff writer
For 15 years, La Casita Cultural Center has become a second home for Syracuse University’s Latino community and the broader city. It’s welcomed all students with events including holiday celebrations, quinceañeras and even learning opportunities and workshops for local children. Tere Paniagua, who’s managed the program for 14 years, said one of La Casita’s biggest objectives was to give the community a place to voice their needs, top priorities and what they wanted from the program. “It’s like coming into a space they recognize as somewhere they belong,” Paniagua said.
This year marks the 15th anniversary of La Casita Cultural Center. The center, located in the Lincoln Building in Syracuse’s Near Westside neighborhood, offers a variety of programs for kids aged 5 to 17, including theater, dance, guitar and piano lessons, STEM programs and more. La Casita began in 2011 as an initiative to foster a space for Latino communities to gather and celebrate their cultures within Syracuse University’s Latino-Latin American Studies program. Faculty members from various departments, like English professor Silvio Torres-Saillant and former SU Chancellor Nancy Cantor, started the project to build community, she said. Inspired by La Casita de Chema, a historic Puerto Rican cultural center in the South Bronx,
the Syracuse center aims to bridge the Hispanic communities of SU and central New York. The center has an art gallery, classroom, bilingual library, performance space and more. It was built after the renovation of a 100-yearold warehouse. To secure funding, the center received grants from the state and the City of Syracuse. Part of SU, La Casita’s most popular events include the opening of its fall exhibition, the youth art exhibition every April and the Fiesta de Navidad, its annual holiday party. These events often draw hundreds of people, Paniagua said, and to her, the most important part is the lasting impact of learning. La Casita also offers formal internships to SU students in
see la casita page 10
EVENTS
THIS WEEKEND “Rent” This week, Syracuse University’s Department of Drama will put on a performance of “Rent,” a Pulitzer Prize-winning musical penned by Jonathan Larson. Set in 1980s New York City during the HIV/AIDS epidemic, “Rent” follows a group of friends and artists struggling with poverty, relationships and more. WHEN: Wednesday through Sunday, various times WHERE: Syracuse Stage PRICE: $15 to $25
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harry’s “I was on my way to San Diego to bartend in the southern sunshine,” John said. “And he goes, ‘You’re gonna break your mother’s heart. So, find a bar for sale, and I’ll back you up for that.’ So he gave me a $110,000 loan to buy Harry’s, and I paid him back probably five or six years later.” Thirty-seven years later, John has no regrets about staying home. He recalls the opening dates of his two bars like children’s birthdays — Harry’s on June 5, 1990 and Saltine Warrior Aug. 24, 2011. Now, John is looking to purchase a third bar. The biggest risk is not taking one, he said. The bar was already named Harry’s when John bought it. He thought it was funny when customers approached him asking if he was Harry, so he kept the name. John originally purchased only the smaller left side of the property with a capacity of 36. In 1998, John got a sledgehammer and knocked the A photo of Syracuse University football legend Jim Brown hangs on the walls of Harry’s Bar. middle wall down to make way for the current Sports Memorabilia and student signatures are integral to Harry’s. tara deluca photo editor 200-person capacity. Xavier thinks of another reason for his dad’s to do for John. Xavier owes it to his dad to work popular, beer distributors have started complainsuccess as he walks through the bar. hard, he said. ing that business is down citywide. “It’s because he’s a f–cking Marine,” Xavier An SU theme sets Harry’s apart. Just like MulIn the past, Harry’s has had the stigma of being calls out. rooney’s is an Irish pub and Sassy-Cuse Saloon an “underage bar,” ZJ said. He said changing that Without his experience in the Marine Corps, is western themed, Harry’s embodies SU, Vamo reputation was a stressor for John — now he has to Harry’s probably would’ve been closed in a year, said, pointing to the large picture of the Dome on pay an annual fee for ID scanners. John said. His five years in the Marines gave him the the wall behind him as an example. Another of SU “The bar business is never straight up, right? discipline he needed to stay on track in the chaos of a legend Jim Brown takes up the wall adjacent to a It’s more of a roller coaster, up and down, up and college bar. John is on the clock 24/7, ZJ said. recently installed Zyn vending machine. down, up and down,” John said. “And sometimes Sometimes, John doesn’t leave Harry’s until 3 SU students decorate the bar in their own way. you got to do what you got to do to survive the a.m. and is back up at 7:30 to restock the bars and Once the plexiglass on the interior walls cracked, down times.” prepare for another night. students started chipping it off to write their Out of his 37 years owning a business, five or six John expects that same discipline and focus names. After that, John just let the walls go. The have been “down years.” But, you pull yourself up by from his employees, most of whom are SU stu- graffiti of signatures adds “flavor,” he said. the bootstraps, John said — just like in the Marines. dents. He makes his expectations clear when he A shirt framed on the wall reads “You can Despite the challenges, John said he only gets hires them. take the girl out of Harry’s, but not the Harry’s tired, not tired of it. People don’t ask John if he’s “You’re not on your phone. That’s my time. out of the girl,” signed with Kappa Kappa Gam- getting too old for the business. They’re probably Put your phone away,” John said. “If I want you to ma’s Greek letters. They were a great group of too scared of him, he said. watch that door there, you watch that door there. girls, John says; he still remembers them clearly, Don’t repeat it too loudly, but Xavier sees himNo one comes in, no one leaves with a drink. And though they graduated in 2008. self taking over the bar someday. It’s in his blood, if someone can’t do that, which I don’t know how The walls are decorated with framed photos of he said. He wants to carry on his dad’s legacy. It’s they can’t, they get fired on the spot.” championship-winning SU sports teams and SU been 37 years, he said, why not go for another 37? The expectations are no different for ZJ and football players who made it to the NFL. John’s Whenever Xavier talks to John about taking Xavier, who both work as bartenders at Harry’s. If favorite saying, “Duck Fuke,” is displayed proudly over, John says he’s not dead yet. Don’t push it. anything, John’s standards for his sons are even on a sign near the original front bar. John loves to see old employees come back to higher, Xavier said. Having your dad as your boss Some of John’s favorite memories of the the bar with their kids. They ask him if he’ll ever can be “frustrating,” ZJ said. If he’s not giving bar center around championship SU sports leave — but Harry’s definitely isn’t broken, so 100% behind the bar, ZJ said he gets yelled at like teams. His bar’s “walls were bursting” when John feels no need to fix it. any other employee. SU men’s basketball won a national champi“He’d probably die here, to be honest,” ZJ said. Xavier has been a bartender for seven years onship in 2003. “He’d probably be buried somewhere in here if it but worked in and around Harry’s since his childAfter the 1995 men’s basketball team beat was possible.” hood. He got “fired” at age 12. Georgia to go to the Final Four, the team walked But things aren’t winding down at all, John He opens up as he recounts the memory — the right off their bus into Harry’s, jerseys still on. says, and it’s past 10 p.m. on a Tuesday night. Orange were playing Duke University, back when John Wallace still had the net around his neck. Someone asks the bartender why the music SU was a No. 1 team. He had to run around grabSports teams don’t come in as often anymore. isn’t on yet. ABBA then starts blasting, accombing beer from an outside cooler, fending off guys John remembers the “glory days” of the 1980s and panying the colorful lights flashing across the trying to steal drinks. ‘90s, when it felt like every SU team was in the top bartenders’ faces. John promised Xavier he could go to the game 10. But nothing lasts forever, John said. Customers start to file in, girls pointing out later. But when Xavier tried to leave, John told “There’s no commitment to excellence any- their signatures in the expanse of Sharpie scribhim he had to stay and work, causing a fight. more,” he said. bles that have turned into an abstract wallpaper. “He’s like, ‘You want to get fired?’ I’m like, ‘I’m If the football team isn’t winning, coming to Bouncers take their places at the back door, not fired, I f—cking quit.’ And then I walked home, Harry’s just isn’t as fun, John said. But SU’s sports and the music is audible from across the street. then the next day, came back to work, did the same track record isn’t the only thing that’s changed Patrons will tell them they know “John behind the thing,” he said. about the party scene. bar.” Another night is swinging into motion, just That’s just his dad, Xavier said. Even if they To start, kids don’t drink like they used to, like 37 years of nights before it. cprice04@syr.edu fight, Xavier will still show up and do what he has John said. As marijuana has become increasingly
Big Shrimp with special guest Joe Marcinek Band Big Shrimp, a high-powered progressive rock band based in Bridgeport, Connecticut, is bringing an adventurous live performance to Funk ‘n Waffles. Hailing from Indiana, the Joe Marcinek Band will make a guest appearance, fusing blues, funk, jazz and psychedelic sounds to rock Syracuse. WHEN: Friday, 7:30 to 11 p.m. WHERE: Funk ‘n Waffles PRICE: $23.63
Orange Jam Enjoy an eight-team Overwatch gaming tournament featuring the Syracuse Varsity Overwatch team and seven visiting teams from other schools. Launched in 2016, Overwatch is a first-person multiplayer game with battles between two teams of five players. WHEN: Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. WHERE: Gaming and Esports Center at Schine Student Center PRICE: Free
Interlaced: Album Release Concert In celebration of their joint project “Interlaced,” Natalie Draper and Anne Laver, both professors at SU’s Setnor School of Music, are hosting a live show. Draper is the album’s composer, while Laver plays the organ. The concert will also be livestreamed. WHEN: Saturday, 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. WHERE: Crouse College, Setnor Auditorium PRICE: Free
Bearly Dead – A Tribute To The Grateful Dead Get your Deadhead on this weekend with Bearly Dead, a Grateful Dead tribute band based in Boston that plays tracks from across the band’s storied discography. From deep cuts to popular Deadhead beats, you’re in for a night of variety. WHEN: Saturday, 8 to 11 p.m. WHERE: Middle Ages Music Hall PRICE: $25.46
10 october 22, 2026
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orwell, a 1-year-old beagle, lies on his back while he enjoys scratches. The furry friend spent a day outside as part of HumaneCNY’s Doggy Day Out program. madison cox staff photographer from page 6
dogs
everything and marked his territory all over campus. HumaneCNY gave me a bag with a bowl for water and beef treats, and I gave him about five beef sticks. It might’ve been indulgent, but Orwell was well-behaved and super social — about 50 people pet him throughout the day. If you’re missing your dog from back at home, HumaneCNY’s program is a good way to temporarily fill that hole. Ava Pinckney, an SU junior studying neuroscience and psychology, misses having a dog to come home to at the end of the day. “When they can be needy, I miss that a lot,” Pinckney said. “They want more and more attention. It’s lovely that they need you so much.” from page 7
nails nail designs on her social media feed. But when her mom refused to pay for her to get her nails done, Santos took the initiative herself. From eighth grade up to her sophomore year of high school, Santos solely practiced doing her own nails. However, the early stages of her work were not her proudest, she said. “They were so ugly. That’s all I remember,” Santos said. “But I liked a lot of bright colors and glitter and I was really into long nails with chunky charms because I thought that was so cool and different. But in actuality, it looked horrible.” In high school, Santos used a makeshift nail table that doubled as a homework desk. For her
Pinckney hasn’t par ticipated in HumaneCNY’s Doggy Day Out program yet, but she’s planning to after seeing the program on TikTok. As wellness officer for Alpha Omega Epsilon, a professional sorority for women in STEM fields, Pinckney’s gotten 47 of her sisters to sign up to volunteer at the shelter in the future. Only 10 to 15 of them can volunteer at a time, though, Pinckney said. Dogs are man’s best friend, and the data supports that. Programs like pet therapy reduce stress and anxiety for students and potentially help improve grades and study skills. Owning a pet might even reduce your risk for hypertension and cardiovascular disease. “When I get anxious at home, the first person I run to isn’t a person, it’s my dog,” Weisholtz
said. “When I get anxious here, I call home to talk to my mom and see my dog.” Doggy Day Out is similar to a program like SU’s Pet Therapy, but Pinckney emphasized that because the dogs are shelter dogs, it feels better — you’re contributing to getting these dogs adopted in the future while getting them out in the world now. “The pet therapy dogs get to go home,” Pinckney said. “And these dogs don’t.” The ‘ruffest’ part of my day? Returning Orwell to HumaneCNY. When I dropped him off at the shelter, I knew I probably wouldn’t see him again. The other students who’ve done this before agreed the worst part is always returning the dog. You know they’reprobably going to be adopted soon, though.
In some ways, Hurwitz said, it feels good to drop the dog off. Caring for a dog and bringing it to places all day can be tiring, she said. “The first time I dropped off Duchess, I cried because I was just so happy to have a dog companion with me for the whole day,” Hurwitz said. “But I have to admit something, I am exhausted by the end of the day, so sometimes it’s definitely easier to drop them off.” There was a split second where I considered keeping Orwell and not telling my landlord — then I remembered I don’t have dog food, a leash, a bed or any of the essentials for caring for one. In the car on the way to the shelter, I asked Orwell if he’d had a good day. No comment. But his tail was wagging the entire time.
16th birthday, she was gifted a nail desk, along with an electric nail file and UV nail lamp. “You really just got to use what you can to make it work in the beginning because when you don’t have the funds for it, you got to work with the bare bones,” Santos said. In 2023, Santos honed her skills when her friends were looking for someone to do their nails for homecoming, gaining free practice with other people. When Santos’ friends encouraged her to start posting her sets on social media, Santos gained traction online, which ended up reaching people from surrounding towns. Today, Santos still uses social media to grow her audience, she said. Now living in Dellplain Hall, Santos has a pull-out desk that turns into her nail table and stores all of the polish bottles under her bed.
She specializes primarily in Gel-X and also does personalized press-on nails. While Qin usually takes three clients a day on the weekends, Santos uses gaps between her classes to schedule nail bookings, helping balance her classes and clientele, Santos said. “First thing for me is school, obviously, that’s the most important thing. So if that were to get in the way, I would just stop doing nails. I want to be able to make a balance and make it work with everything I have going on,” Santos said. The longest set she’s done took three hours to finish. For sets that are more intricate, she has to take her time, Santos said. Reyes has had a similar experience with how long sets can take. “I would say nobody should get a full set within an hour. That means your nails are rushed,” Reyes said. “It should at least take me an hour.”
When it comes to pricing, Reyes, Qin and Santos often have prices that are lower than a traditional salon, even for simpler designs like solid color or French tip. Santos often thinks about whether the typical “broke college student” can afford her rates, she said. For Santos, doing nails is not only a side hustle, but a way to bring people joy. Many of her clients have faced bad experiences from large salons. Santos’ Dellplain Hall dorm offers more satisfaction, she said. “Doing something even as small as that for a person, it can really just help their mental state, help them feel better about themselves,” Santos said. “It’s just something small that I think brings a lot of joy to people and it makes me really happy that I can do that for people.”
from page 9
la casita fields like creative art therapy, public health and foreign languages. “La Casita has evolved in many ways,” Paniagua said. “But something that has remained and that has developed significantly is youth programming.” Paniagua, the executive director of the SU Office of Cultural Engagement for the Hispanic Community, said La Casita’s success and relevance after 15 years can be attributed to how it continues to listen to the community around us. SU students who work with La Casita develop a close connection with the program that can last years after graduation, Paniagua said. Many of the stories, photos, videos and interviews featured in its exhibitions, like “Quinceañera Dreams,” were contributed by students who graduated years earlier. For SU senior Nashaly Bonilla, the anniversary is a reminder that programs like La Casita can improve the lives of underrepresented communities. Bonilla, a theater design and technology major, joined La Casita this year to help with their theatrical program “Being able to hold such a program for that long is something that’s really great, because in America, even now we’re seeing programs that help the betterment of minorities get shut down
Visitors of La Casita Cultural Center contributed to a quinceañera dress craft with wrappers. La Casita celebrates its 15th anniversary. christian calabrese asst. photo editor
by our administration and different things like that,” Bonilla said. To her, the 15-year mark symbolizes how cultural programs like this can keep things running and keep improving the community.
One of Bonilla’s most treasured memories at La Casita was helping youth program students put on a live performance of “Don Quixote” for the center’s theatrical program. She remembers a quiet girl who was reluctant to
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arice19@syr.edu
perform, so she helped her practice her lines and build confidence as an actress. By the end of the semester, Bonilla said the girl found her place in the program, and it was rewarding for both of them. La Casita’s Programming Coordinator, Bennie Guzman, said La Casita’s biggest mission is to encourage students to get out there and put their skills and interests into action. The center offers weekly after-school programs, exhibits for Hispanic Heritage Month and an annual Fiesta de Navidad. Paniagua said the program’s environment is really collaborative, and it’s built on the collaboration between La Casita and students. To her, everyone in La Casita is one team. One aspect of La Casita that has stayed the same is its youth after-school program. The center’s youth program occurs weekly and hopes to engage local children, Paniagua said. La Casita also offers programs for adults. Guzman said La Casita is currently working on formalizing different initiatives to offer more in-depth opportunities, enhance funding and foster deep connections. “We stay relevant because we listen and take time to get a sense of what people need and build relationships within the community,” Guzman said. “I think these 15 years cement that we aren’t going anywhere.” khu126@syr.edu
OPINION
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october 22, 2026 11
personal essay
It’s been hard to adjust to college life. But I’m still here at SU. By Kylie MacDonald personal essayist
I Thought I Was Ready for College I couldn’t wait to go to Syracuse University. For months, I counted down the days until I could move into my dorm, meet new people and finally start the life I’d spent so long dreaming of. I was excited to be independent. I was excited to be a studio arts major. I was excited to walk around campus and know this was my school. When I first got here, it felt like everything I’d been dreaming about. My first week of college was one of the best of my life. I remember walking back to my dorm that first night thinking about how exciting everything felt. I was excited to start my studio arts classes, explore the art buildings and meet people who came from different backgrounds than me. I was finally living on my own, figuring out my way around campus and getting used to a new routine. Everything felt new, from walking into my first art class to figuring out where I fit as a student. I remember thinking, “I did it. I’m here.” I thought that feeling was going to last — but then things started to change. I faced challenges I never expected to deal with in my first semester of college, let alone the first few weeks. Conflicts escalated, friendships fell apart and suddenly the life I’d been so excited to start didn’t feel anything like what I’d imagined. I went from having a group of friends to feeling like I’d lost almost everyone. Somewhere along the way, I stopped being excited to wake up and go to classes. After conflicts with friends, campus stopped feeling like the exciting, new environment I’d imagined. Instead of looking forward to each day, I found myself overwhelmed, disconnected and missing home. I began to wonder whether leaving SU would be easier than trying to navigate everything I was going through. That’s a hard thing to admit when you’ve spent so long dreaming about getting here. There’s a strange kind of guilt that comes with
struggling somewhere you were so excited to be. I’d wanted to go to SU and worked hard toward reaching this point. I’d even counted down the days. So why wasn’t I happy? That’s one of the hardest parts of adjusting to college that people don’t talk about enough. Everyone talks about move-in day. Everyone talks about meeting your roommate, making new friends, going to events and having the best four years of your life. But nobody really talks about what happens when your first few weeks don’t go according to plan. Nobody talks about watching friendships disappear. Nobody talks about sitting in your room and wishing you could teleport back home. Nobody talks about the weird feeling of being surrounded by thousands of people while feeling completely alone. And nobody tells you that you can be grateful to be at your dream school and still want to leave. I’ve had many moments where I’ve questioned whether coming to SU was the right decision for me. Not because I don’t care about my education. Not because I don’t love being a studio arts major. And not because I wasn’t excited to be here. I wanted to go home because, for a few weeks, being here was really hard. I’d created this idea in my head that once I got to college, everything would fall into place, especially since I often struggled in high school. I was bullied, hospitalized and faced challenges that made it difficult to feel like I belonged. I even transferred to a private school 20 minutes away for my senior year. I thought that once I got here, I’d make friends, find my people, love my classes and become a completely independent version of myself. Instead, I’ve learned that you don’t get to control how your college experience begins. And maybe that’s OK. As a studio arts major, I’ve started to understand that artworks rarely look perfect while you’re making them. You can start with a plan and completely change it halfway through. You can make
kendall thompson contributing illustrator
something that doesn’t work. You can take it apart and start again. Sometimes the finished piece looks nothing like what you’d originally imagined. Maybe freshman year is like that, too. Maybe the first version of my college experience doesn’t have to be the final version. I don’t know what the rest of this semester will look like. I don’t know if I’ll make new friends. I don’t know when SU will start feeling like home. I don’t know if I’ll eventually look back at this first month and laugh at how badly I wanted to leave. Right now, as I’m sitting in my dorm writing this, I still miss home. I still have days where I wish I could pack everything up and go back to what feels familiar. I’m trying not to let the hardest parts of my first semester convince me that my entire college experience will continue being this hard. Because the girl who arrived here during the first week was happy.
She was excited. She was hopeful. And I don’t think she’s gone. Maybe she’s just buried underneath a month that didn’t go the way she expected. So for now, I’m staying. I’m going to class. I’m making art. I’m trying to meet people. I’m figuring things out. I’m letting myself have bad days without deciding that those bad days define my entire four years here. Maybe adjusting to college isn’t about immediately finding your people or feeling at home. Maybe it’s about giving yourself permission to start over as many times as you need to. I came to SU thinking I was starting a new chapter in my life — I didn’t realize I’d have to rewrite parts of it. But I’m still here. And maybe, for now, that’s enough. Kylie MacDonald is a freshman majoring in studio arts. She can be reached at kmacdo10@syr.edu..
column
Cornell banning frat parties is a reactive, short-term solution By Peyton Tapp columnist
On Oct.13, Cornell University banned all parties and social events from taking place in Interfraternity Council houses for the remainder of the 2026-27 academic year. This is a step in the right direction but far from a solution to the problem at hand. This ban is a response to a crisis rather than a long-term solution to keep students safe. The party ban comes two years after the alleged drugging and rape of a student at the Chi Phi fraternity house and follows a lawsuit, student protest and pressure from alumni and faculty. This new policy is a necessity, yet naively ignores what happens when these parties simply move off campus. Michael Kotlikoff, Cornell’s president, commented on the university’s Greek life scene. He said it’d become more of a staple of student life after the COVID-19 pandemic, citing how many bars and venues in Ithaca permanently shut down in 2020. The New York Times reported that one-third of Cornell’s student body is involved in Greek life. Banning one of the main forms of social activity isn’t going to stop parties. It’s just going to change where they happen. Cornell’s statement announcing the ban says it’s aware sexual assault “is not limited to the fraternity system,” yet the ban only targets parties that take place in fraternity houses. Gatherings in off-campus housing or rented spaces go unaddressed, as they’re much more difficult for the university to monitor. Cornell has said it’s going to work with students and staff to build safe social alternatives. That’s a great plan, but currently nothing more. Students aren’t going to sit and wait to see what the school offers on a Friday night. The ban on fraternity parties took effect immediately, while the alternatives are still being worked on. In the meantime, one-third of Cornell’s student body has lost their main social outlet. This ban’s timing shows it’s built for the moment, not for anything long-term. In 2024, Cornell originally suspended and subsequently shut down its Chi Phi chapter,
nathan ellison the cornell daily sun
.
expelled some students involved in the case and suspended others. Some also got lighter punishments, such as writing reflective essays or campus bans for those who’d graduated. The university’s most drastic responses, however, are due to recent pressure it’s faced. In the weeks after the lawsuit was filed on Sept. 16, Gov. Kathy Hochul called for an independent review of how Cornell handled the situation. Cornell’s board of trustees hired former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates to lead a review of how the university handled the case. The party ban came one week later.
Yates will look into how the university handles reports, discipline and interactions with the campus police, in addition to oversight of Greek life and other student organizations. It’s also going to examine the Board’s own oversight and whether the university followed its own rules and protocols in response to the case. If the case shows Cornell failed to respond to reports of sexual assault, closing fraternity houses does nothing to repair the institutional failure that’s occurred. If Cornell wants this ban to have real impact, it must continue to take action. It needs to
quickly follow up on its promise of safe social gatherings and express how it’s going to handle off-campus fraternity parties. The ban was the right call, but it’s only the beginning, and a reminder of how Cornell got here in the first place. Cornell students deserve a response that’s going to keep them safe in the long term, not one that comes as a temporary fix after weeks of outrage. Peyton Tapp is a junior majoring in philosophy and political science. She can be reached at petapp@syr.edu..
12 october 22, 2026
from page 16
fortier He pointed to the Orange’s diverse past. They have guidance from 14 upperclassmen. And of course, they have talent. Lots of it. “This is the most talented group I’ve been a part of,” Kristjan said. Syracuse’s record, however, tells a different tale. The Orange are 7-6-1 and 1-4-1 in conference play. If all goes to plan, they’ll survive the ACC Tournament in early November. Barring a collapse, they’ll also reach the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year, ranking 34th in the Rating Percentage Index, a metric that heavily determines postseason bids. Kristjan said he and his teammates check the RPI and other rankings before games. But they still take matches “day by day” and have preached that since the summer. “Our group has a pretty good idea of what’s going on, and we know what good stuff should look like,” Kristjan said. “We’re just trying to enforce that.” Kristjan’s playoff experience can’t be overstated. He played 59 minutes in SU’s 2024 loss to the Demon Deacons and the full 90 in last season’s defeat to Hofstra. He was one of 13 freshmen in 2024, and eight have remained with the Orange. When Kristjan and his class first arrived in Syracuse in summer 2024, campus was quiet. Most players didn’t show up for another month. The group took summer classes and worked with strength and conditioning coach Corey Parker. Andre Cutler-DeJesus, a graduate defender that season, said the freshmen began understanding the program’s intensity so they could match it physically. When Cutler-DeJesus finally arrived, the freshmen’s recently acquired knowledge shone through. “From Day 1, they were dialed, and as seniors, it was easy for us,” Cutler-DeJesus said. “Sometimes you gotta come in and make rules or pull a kid to the side and be like, ‘Hey man, just so you know, this is not OK, this is not how we do that here.’ We didn’t have to do that with any of them, let alone Fort. Fort was the exemplary child, the golden child. He was perfect in every sense of the word.” Kristjan came in at 6-foot-2, but Backman estimates he’s taller now. He’s always had a height advantage, but his physicality also skyrocketed at Syracuse. In Backman’s words, he transformed from a string bean into a beast.
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That beast made his formal introduction in SU’s third game of 2024 against Charlotte. ThenNo. 7 Syracuse was 2-0 with two clean sheets but entered halftime with its first deficit of the year, trailing the 49ers 2-1. Cutler-DeJesus described both goals Syracuse allowed as “weak.” One came from a passback error and the other was off a failed clear. He said it felt like “one of those days where you’re just not gonna get the ball.” Kristjan felt differently. In the 70th minute, he controlled a pass from Michael Acquah, rolled it across his body — what became his signature move, his former teammate said — and struck it into the net to level the score 2-2. “For a freshman to have the composure in that moment,” Cutler-DeJesus said of Kristjan, “he was super there as a player, so he didn’t rush it, took his time and got the right contact. That’s just Fort and ‘Cuse soccer.”
One hundred percent he wants a national championship. That’s what he trains for. Paige Backman kristjan fortier’s mother
Kristjan beamed during his postgame interview. The spotlight was on him for the first time at Syracuse, and he was ready. He answered each question with a mix of the composure CutlerDeJesus mentioned and the intensity he’s always taken pride in. People viewed the Orange as a rebuilding team two years removed from reaching the mountaintop. Not Kristjan. Not then. Not even 57 days later, when SU traveled to thenNo. 3 Clemson. The Tigers scored four unanswered goals in 33 minutes. “As a player in that game, it’s just like, ‘What the f-ck?’ A lot of guys sulked,” CutlerDeJesus said. Again, not Kristjan. “Fort really was like, ‘Yo, give me the f—ing ball.’ Then you get him the ball, and … (He was like), ‘Let’s go. I’m trying to raise a standard here.’” That standard was one Kristjan saw in high school when he first spoke with Ian McIntyre. Syracuse’s vision aligned with his
own on every team he played for; he desperately wanted to win. For the most part, he succeeded. When it came to soccer, Kristjan was never pressured. Michael ran cross country and track and field at Dartmouth, and Backman represented Canada in water polo. Kristjan was told to choose a sport to play. Despite having an ice rink in their Toronto backyard, Kristjan settled on soccer. When the ice melted and revealed the dry surface below, Kristjan and Tim dueled for hours while Michael or Backman guarded their mid-sized net. The brothers even blocked off part of the yard to make the space tighter. They always eyed a challenge, and Kristjan often prevailed. “It would get intense,” Tim said. “It would be pretty close, but he generally found a way to win.” Kristjan went from a local club to Canada First Academy to Barcelona’s academy chapter in Toronto. The standard and results never changed. Kristjan embraced Barcelona’s possession-based style. Backman said Kristjan’s always been a playmaker, and the team focused on through balls and other skills that helped him improve. They even traveled to Barcelona, where they beat the club’s Spain-based chapter. Kristjan also spent a week with Bayern Munich and was offered to join their academy right then, but the family decided to remain in Toronto. “The desire part has always been there, but you never know as a kid how long that lasts or whether it will last,” Michael said. “When they had that level of interest in him, it clearly signaled he had talents of the nature he could play professionally.” When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Kristjan’s time with Barcelona ended. It was a blessing in disguise. He joined Toronto FC’s second team, training with players he grew up watching on TV and at BMO Field. He used TFC’s facility in Downsview Park, an hour-long subway ride from his home near Cherry Beach. Oftentimes, though, he went straight from St Michael’s College School (Ontario). The school day ran from 8:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m., said Miko Romano, Kristjan’s physical education teacher and soccer coach. With TFC taking up most of his time, Kristjan usually only attended his first class. But Romano still asked him each year whether he’d play for St. Michael’s, too. He always got the same answer: a quiet, mild-mannered sorry.
When Tim got to St. Michael’s, Romano made his final pitch. He approached Backman and told her what they could achieve if her boys suited up. She said she’d try her best and convinced them to join. Though they were often excused from practice for other commitments, Kristjan and Tim rarely missed it. In the end, they won the school’s first Conference of Independent Schools of Ontario Athletic Association Senior Soccer Championship. “That shaped me to become a lot of who I am right now,” Kristjan said. Tim called Kristjan a thinker. He’s the methodical brother, and while juggling TFC and St. Michael’s, he frequently thought about the future. In his recruitment, Syracuse was one of his top options. Conversations with McIntyre only reinforced that. But at SU, Kristjan’s aspirations are just aspirations. After the Orange lost in the postseason the last two years, Kristjan returned home and trained like a “beast,” Backman said. He played for Scrosoppi FC two hours away and worked out at home, Cherry Beach or St. Patrick’s, a local field. Kristjan spent hours running on concrete. He trained so hard he suffered a stress fracture in his shin after his freshman season, causing him to miss a few games as a sophomore. After the Hofstra loss, Kristjan kept the same intensity but was kinder to his body, moving to grass or a track. It’s all for one goal. “One hundred percent he wants a national championship,” Backman said. “That’s what he trains for.” A few months before joining Syracuse, Michael approached a TFC coach who played professionally and represented Canada. Michael was curious what he saw in Kristjan. The coach said he was confident Kristjan would thrive at the university level. When Michael asked how he was so sure, the coach’s response was simple. Kristjan had done it his whole life. He adapted from local pitches to top clubs. At Syracuse, he’d do the same. Some might think Kristjan already has. Forty-three appearances. Six goals. Back-to-back playoff bids. Yet the calendar says Kristjan wants more. Dec. 14 is weeks away, and nothing is guaranteed. As the season winds down, only time will tell whether Kristjan’s months-long vision becomes reality. jordankimball28@gmail.com @JordanKimball_
felisha legette-jack addresses her team during practice on Oct. 7. Legette-Jack has routinely emphasized “punching first,” which means starting fast in games. from page 16
punch 1st first exhibition before the 2026-27 campaign against the Huskies. When the Orange traveled to Uncasville, Connecticut, last week, they responded better to the early deficit than they did in March. Syracuse fell behind 23-8 after the first quarter, but powered by newcomers Emely Rodriguez and Jaleesa Molina off the bench, it outscored the Huskies by six in the second. Rodriguez and Molina scored five and four, respectively. Although SU lost 88-60, the game showed what the Orange’s bench can provide. LegetteJack has said she believes Syracuse can go “nine or 10 deep this year.”
The Orange’s average height is 5-foot-11. Adding Sarah Rambus complements Uche Izoje, who finished last year with 14 doubledoubles, in the frontcourt. “(My wingspan) is six-seven, hers is six-six,” Rambus said. “It’s going to be harder to get past that. So, just being able to play with her, every time I throw it up, she catches it.” Rambus provides a second scoring outlet for Syracuse in the paint. Playing efficiently with a high tempo could be key to the Orange getting out on the front foot this season. Historically, both metrics have been strengths for Legette-Jack’s Syracuse teams. Bart Torvik’s adjusted tempo estimates the number of possessions per 40 minutes a team has against one that plays at an average Division I tempo.
Last season, the highest adjusted tempo was 77.5 (Oklahoma), the average was 69.1 and UAlbany had the lowest at 61.3. Syracuse played at 71, two possessions above average. Because each team has only 30 seconds to take a shot, having a faster tempo and more possessions typically lead to more field-goal attempts. Of course, those attempts have to go in. So adjusted tempo can be paired with adjusted offensive efficiency — which estimates how many points a team would score over 100 possessions against the average defense — to understand an offense’s effectiveness. Across Legette-Jack’s four seasons at the helm, SU has never ranked outside the top 60 in the country in adjusted offensive efficiency. Last year, Syracuse’s 105.5 ranked 49th of 363 teams in
tara deluca photo editor
the nation. Legette-Jack’s emphasis on recruiting 3-point shooters, especially power forwards, enables the Orange to continue this trend. “I like our size,” Legette-Jack said. “I like our moxie. We’re not going to be, ‘Oh, look at us,’ but we’re going to show you who we are on a daily basis.” So, ask Legette-Jack how she’s approaching her fifth campaign as Syracuse’s head coach. Ask her how she’ll repeat last year’s successes. She won’t stray from her overarching philosophy from the first four seasons she’s done this job. “We’re going to be aggressive,” Legette-Jack said. “We’re going to tell our story in a very impressive way. We’re going to punch first.” peterhradosh@gmail.com @PeterRadosh
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football
A Belichick call made Derek McDonald’s UNC transfer ‘easy’ By Owen Parker
contributing writer
Sitting in a Buc-ee’s parking lot this past January, Derek McDonald looked at his phone and saw an unknown Massachusetts area code lighting up the screen. McDonald answered. “Hey, this is Bill Belichick, coach at UNC,” the voice on the other end said. “Yeah, I know who you are,” McDonald responded with a grin.
Belichick had watched McDonald’s tape from his five years at Syracuse and wanted him to run his defense in Chapel Hill. McDonald’s brother sat beside him in the passenger seat in complete disbelief. The choice to join the Tar Heels for his final year of collegiate eligibility was instantaneous. “Just the knowledge he has and the passion he has for the game,” McDonald said of Belichick, who won six Super Bowls with the New England Patriots from 2002-18. “When he told me he watched my film and wanted me to be a part of this team, it was an easy decision.”
derek mcdonald readies for a snap in UNC’s win on Sept. 12. After leaving SU, McDonald leads the Tar Heels in tackles. courtesy of joey forgione the daily tar heel
On Saturday night in Chapel Hill, McDonald faces Syracuse for the first time since his departure. Over five years in central New York, he appeared in 41 games and made 27 starts at linebacker. He logged 168 career tackles and served as a steady presence on the field, at times leading the Orange in numerous metrics. Beyond the stat sheet, he was an Allstate Wuerffel Trophy nominee for his work in the community and an Atlantic Coast Conference Top-Six for Service recipient, spending over 100 hours giving back to Syracuse City Schools. “Being in the ACC for the past few years, I think I have some experience,” McDonald said. “And some stuff I try to pass down to some of the guys, especially some of the younger guys who might not have played as much.” SU head coach Fran Brown only coached McDonald for two years, but it was more than enough time to understand the challenge that lies ahead. To Brown, McDonald’s threat isn’t just schematic; he has a sheer, relentless motor. “He’s a tough, intelligent young man that plays hard every play,” Brown said Monday, calling McDonald a competitor whose presence elevates an entire roster. Five seasons at Syracuse gave McDonald an intimate look at Brown’s playbook, but SU’s head coach brushed aside any notion of bad blood. Instead, he expressed pride in seeing his former linebacker thrive in a new system. “Happy that he found a place to go and play and compete,” Brown said. McDonald easily could’ve stepped into Chapel Hill with an oversized ego. He’d started in the ACC and become a feared defensive threat. But as soon as he arrived in North Carolina, he checked that at the door. “He didn’t come in with this big head,” Tar Heels inside linebackers coach Jamie Collins
said. “He came in with an open mind and just ready to work and bonded with the guys.” That attitude earned McDonald immediate command of UNC’s defense, and he was named a team captain. In a linebacker room stacked with young talent like Jonathan Agumadu and Timir Hickman-Collins, McDonald sets the standard and keeps the entire unit levelheaded, Collins said. Away from North Carolina’s facility, McDonald bonded with new teammates over group dinners and casual fishing trips. He immediately connected with his roommate, Richmond transfer linebacker Peyton Seelmann, and the two quickly turned late-night film study into seamless in-game communication; Seelmann’s 53 tackles rank second on UNC behind McDonald’s 56. Through seven games, McDonald’s discipline has stabilized North Carolina’s front seven. Along with the tackles, he forced a fumble against then-No. 3 Notre Dame on Oct. 3. When the Tar Heels needed a stop against Pittsburgh on Oct. 10, McDonald surged into the backfield on fourth down to stuff the run and seal a 21-17 victory. “He’s been a great addition to this defense, been a great addition to the room,” Collins said before McDonald’s performance against Pitt. “He’s definitely the type of leader that we need. Derek controls the defense.” Before an injury limited McDonald to four appearances in 2025, he spent three seasons as a staple in Syracuse’s defensive rotation. He set a standard Brown continues to instill in linebackers Antoine Deslauriers and Chris D’Appolonia amid the Orange’s rocky 2-4 start. Under the Kenan Stadium lights Saturday night, McDonald won’t just be a familiar face on the opposite sideline — Syracuse will have to find a way through him. oparke01@syr.edu
football
Previewing Syracuse’s matchup with UNC after 2 straight losses By Noah Nussbaum managing editor
Syracuse is halfway through its season, and its situation looks dire. The Orange have lost two straight games since they escaped Connecticut with a win, falling to both Virginia and Louisville by one score. SU is now 0-4 in Atlantic Coast Conference play and has lost 11 straight conference contests. Versus the Cardinals, Syracuse was again forced to start third-string Malachi Nelson, who threw for 315 yards but committed three turnovers in the second half en route to the loss. For the third straight week, though, SU faces quarterback uncertainty and doesn’t have a clear starter for Saturday’s game against North Carolina. Both Nelson and Amari Odom have been ruled out with injuries, while Steve Angeli is questionable, per the ACC injury report. Either Angeli or fourth-string Danny Lauter will start Saturday. It doesn’t bode well entering a clash with Bill Belichick’s UNC, which has won two straight contests. Here’s everything to know about the Tar Heels (4-2, 2-1 ACC) before it faces Syracuse (2-4, 0-4 ACC) in Kenan Stadium on Saturday night:
All-time series
North Carolina leads 5-3.
Last time they played
Remember Fran Brown’s infamous decision to start walk-on Joe Filardi last year? His college debut came against the Tar Heels last year on Halloween night, when Brown benched Rickie Collins after four rough games. Filardi saw ghosts out there, completing 4-of18 passes for 39 passing yards — the Orange’s fewest completions in a game since 2002. It led to SU’s 27-10 loss, the fifth of its eight-game losing streak to end the year. Syracuse’s lone touchdown came from an Anwar Sparrow fumble return touchdown in the first quarter, and it led 10-6 at halftime. But through Demon June’s two touchdowns, part of an 182-yard day, UNC cruised to victory.
The Tar Heels report
After Belichick debuted with the Tar Heels last year with a 4-8 season, he put UNC in a much better position in 2026. It started the year with a 15-10 win over TCU and, despite a loss to thenNo. 3 Notre Dame, North Carolina lost by just 11 points. It then beat Pitt and Duke in the last two weeks to match last year’s win total. While 2025 starting quarterback Gio Lopez left for Wake Forest, Wisconsin transfer Billy Edwards
Syracuse’s special teams unit celebrates a tackle in SU’s loss to Virginia on Oct. 10. After back-to-back ACC losses, the Orange travel to North Carolina. eli schwartz asst. photo editor
Jr. took his place. Edwards hasn’t been great, but he’s done enough, compiling 1,260 passing yards, nine touchdowns and five interceptions. He isn’t much of a threat on the ground, unlike Louisville’s Lincoln Kienholz last week. The Tar Heels’ offense is one of the worst in the ACC, though. It’s dead last in yards per game (329.8) and third-to-last in rushing yards per game (116.2). UNC has three rushers over 100 yards but none over 300, as no back has taken control of the room. On defense, UNC allows the seventh-most yards per game in the conference (359) but has gotten the stops it’s needed to prevent points. Former SU linebacker Derek McDonald leads the team with 56 total tackles, while sophomore Xavier Lewis has seven sacks, five more than any other player. In other words, this is a team Syracuse can beat after playing two tough opponents. It’s just about holding leads and not burying itself as it has in all of its losses.
How Syracuse beats North Carolina
For one, force Edwards out of the pocket. He isn’t
much of a runner — with just 26 rushing yards on the year — and is prone to throwing picks. Syracuse didn’t do that well against Kienholz, letting him scamper for an 82-yard score and only sacking him three times. The offensive game plan depends on who’s under center, but SU needs to feed Umari Hatcher. It’s an obvious plan, but no one seems to be able to stop it. Hatcher has 784 yards through six games, the most in the ACC and fourth-most in the country. But continued production from Calvin Russell III or SU’s other receivers wouldn’t hurt. Russell stepped up as a viable No. 2 option against Louisville, something no pass catcher besides Daunte Bacheyie has done this year. Another big day would make Syracuse’s offense less predictable.
Stat to know: 25
North Carolina’s running back room is bad. So bad that its longest run of the year is 25 yards. June, for example, has just 10 more yards this season than he did in his one game against Syracuse last year. The sophomore has 192 yards on
50 carries, though he does have six touchdowns. All of them have been within 10 yards. Besides him, Benjamin Hall leads the team with 283 yards, while Jaylen McGill has 172. It’s a deficiency Syracuse can capitalize on after it allowed 115 yards on the ground to Louisville and kept star back Isaac Brown to just 11 yards.
Player to watch: Xavier Lewis, defensive lineman, No. 90
No players pop on UNC’s offense, but Lewis has been a menace on the defensive line. He’s had at least half a sack in every game except against Notre Dame and started the season with three two-sack games. He also has 10 tackles for loss and 30 total tackles. It’s a breakout year for the sophomore after playing 11 games in 2025 where he totaled just eight tackles and half a sack. Syracuse’s offensive line was abysmal against Louisville, which could make Lewis a problem for SU’s quarterbacks. And that’s an issue with the room’s status already uncertain. njnussba@syr.edu @Noahnuss99
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ice hockey
Gnade-Kinsler connection fuels SU’s ‘relentless’ offense By Jordan Fendrich asst. copy editor
Jackson Kinsler saw three Mercyhurst defenders between her and the puck. Emma Gnade saw them, too. After collecting a loose puck in Syracuse’s defensive zone, Gnade looked up and spotted Kinsler skating alongside her. With three Lakers ahead, Gnade sent the puck deep from center ice, buying time for a line change. But Kinsler must’ve paid attention in physics class. Newton’s third law says every action has an equal and opposite reaction. So when Gnade’s dump-in struck the end boards, the puck ricocheted straight back toward Kinsler, who raced past the lackadaisical defenders to meet it. She slipped it through Magdalena Luggin’s legs, cutting SU’s deficit to 2-1 in the second period. It wasn’t a designated scoring chance. Gnade gave Kinsler just enough of an opening to use her speed, and Kinsler read her center’s pass off the boards perfectly, turning a routine play into a goal. It was another example of the connection that’s become one of the Orange’s most reliable offensive weapons. Through Syracuse’s (6-2-0, 4-2-0 Atlantic Hockey America) first eight games, Gnade has assisted four of Kinsler’s five goals. The two have combined for five total scores, most recently assisting Stella Costabile in SU’s 2-1 win over Robert Morris on Friday. Gnade leads the Orange with eight assists, and half have gone to Kinsler. So it’s no surprise Kinsler’s SU’s top goal scorer. This is Gnade and Kinsler’s first season on the top line together, yet their connection suggests otherwise. “I have two new people on my line this year,” Gnade said after the season opener. “Growing our chemistry throughout the games will really help us.” Their production has come in different situations, from odd-man rushes to power plays and loose pucks. Across those chances, one pattern has emerged: Gnade consistently puts the puck in dangerous areas, and Kinsler finds a way to get there. Kinsler’s speed has been central to that success. Against Mercyhurst, that aforementioned routine dump-in became a score. Gnade didn’t need to beat three defenders with a pass. Kinsler did the work herself, chasing down a puck destined for the boards.
jackson kinsler (right) handles the puck in SU’s loss to Penn State on Oct. 10. Kinsler and Emma Gnade (left) have connected for five goals this season. kaitlyn galeazzi staff photographer
It’s the type of play Syracuse head coach Brian Idalski has come to expect from her. “I’ve always appreciated her compete level and the way she’s relentless on pucks,” Idalski said of Kinsler after SU’s opening weekend against Stonehill. “Those are assets that we’re looking for.” Kinsler’s also made a habit of finding space near the net, often before Gnade has even released the puck. In the second game of a weekend series against Stonehill, Kinsler began a third-period attack behind the net. Gnade carried the puck out of the far corner and glided across the middle. She started behind the goal line. As she spotted Gnade drifting toward the low slot, Kinsler sniffed out a goal. She drifted toward the right post, keeping her stick ready as her linemate approached. Gnade fired a low backhand that deflected off a defender’s stick. The puck landed directly in Kinsler’s path, and she dropped to one knee to finish into the open net before Alexsa Caron could recover. That goal helped seal the Orange’s lead in an eventual 4-1 victory. The two didn’t connect on a traditional pass; Kinsler’s posi-
tioning let her capitalize on a deflection that could’ve drifted anywhere. She said postgame that scoring in tight spaces had been an emphasis throughout the week. “It’s not always going to be the pretty play,” Kinsler said. “I think that was very evident tonight.” That emphasis surfaced again versus Mercyhurst, but in a different form, this time, in the third period. With Syracuse on the power play three minutes into the period, Gnade won an offensivezone faceoff. The puck bounced between sticks several times before Rachel Walsh settled it at the point while Gnade entered the left circle. Kinsler didn’t need to wait for her facilitator to look up. The moment Walsh sent the puck toward her center, Kinsler darted toward the back post, leaving the Mercyhurst defense a step behind. Gnade spotted her almost immediately and threaded a pass across the low slot. By the time the Luggin could shift across the crease, Kinsler already shelved the puck. The goal brought the Orange within two in an eventual 5-2 loss. It also showed another dimension of the Gnade-to-Kinsler connection.
Against Stonehill, Kinsler positioned herself for a rebound, ready to capitalize on whatever came off Gnade’s stick. Against Mercyhurst, she took the initiative, creating the opening herself. Gnade made sure it didn’t go to waste. Not every Gnade-and-Kinsler goal has required a scramble in front of the net, though. Against then-No. 4 Penn State on Oct. 9, the two had nothing but open ice and one defender between them and the goal. Breaking into the offensive zone midway through the first, Gnade slid the puck to Kinsler, who beat Morgan Stickney glove side. No fortunate bounce. No rebound to chase. Just a pass, a shot and a 1-0 Syracuse lead in an eventual 5-4 overtime upset. The connection hasn’t always been a oneway street. Against Robert Morris Friday, Walsh collected a clearance in SU’s defensive zone and fed Gnade near the blue line. But Gnade had no interest in waiting for the Orange to get set up their power play. She spotted Kinsler speeding through the neutral zone and knew where to send it. Kinsler had a defender to beat and Costabile charging toward the net. She pushed the puck forward, cut inside and rather than taking the shot herself, slipped a backhand pass across the crease. Costabile did the easy part. Just 18 seconds into the power play, Syracuse led 1-0, paving the way for an eventual 2-1 win. Gnade and Kinsler each picked up an assist, their fifth shared scoring play of the season. And for once, Kinsler was the setup artist. The play showed another wrinkle in their partnership. Gnade’s quick outlet turned a defensive-zone recovery into a rush, while Kinsler’s speed and vision finished the job without her needing to take the shot. “The way that we’re able to grind down teams is with speed and relentlessness,” Kinsler said after the Stonehill series. Four of Kinsler’s five goals have come off Gnade assists. Sometimes it’s taken a perfectly placed pass from Gnade. Other times, a fortunate bounce and Kinsler’s determination to reach it first. Against Robert Morris, the Orange didn’t even need Kinsler to score. The puck still went from Gnade to Kinsler. It just didn’t stop there. jfendric@syr.edu @jordan_fendrich
field hockey
Offensive inconsistencies haunt SU field hockey in ACC play By Jack Wood
asst. digital editor
Twelve games into its 2026 season, Syracuse has one main problem: offensive inconsistency. SU’s offensive regression compared to last season isn’t surprising. Its two biggest offensive contributors — Bo van Kempen and Pati Strunk — graduated. The duo combined for 80 of SU’s 186 points in 2025, more than 40% of the Orange’s scoring. But nobody could’ve foreseen the offensive struggles Lynn Farquhar’s team would face in Atlantic Coast Conference play. While Farquhar chalked SU’s early woes up to inexperience, she said goals would come later. The goals haven’t come, though. With three regular-season games left, Syracuse (7-5, 2-3 ACC) has scored 33 goals, averaging 2.75 per game through 12 contests. The Orange have dropped four of their last five games and have registered one goal or fewer in three of those contests. In 2025, SU contrastingly had 43 goals through a dozen games en route to a 10-2 start. Though Syracuse has a plus-11 goal differential, that’s largely attributed to its 10-0 thrashing of Bucknell on Sept. 13. Outside of that game, the Orange have a paltry plus-one differential. Still, SU is 7-5 and No. 14 nationwide. Most of its success stems from defense. Jessie Eiselin has been stalwart in net, posting a 72.9% save rate, while Syracuse’s defensive penalty corner first runners are “some of the best in the country,” Farquhar said. While the Orange’s youth has struggled offensively, their back line has kept games close when they’re behind and protected leads when they’re up. SU’s defense has kept it competitive against ranked opponents. But its offense hasn’t done enough for a winning conference record. Even when Syracuse earned an impressive 3-0 upset win over then-No. 9 Virginia, it was outshot 14-6, exposing its struggles. “We just have to take our chances,” Farquhar said five days after SU’s loss to Duke on Oct. 2.
“You’re never going to score a goal if you can’t take a swing.” In the loss to the Blue Devils, SU hit rock bottom offensively, mustering just two shots on goal in its only shutout loss this season. Eiselin made a season-high 10 saves, but her efforts were for naught thanks to the Orange’s offensive woes. Syracuse f lipped the script a week later. In a 4-2 win against Louisville, the Orange exploded for 19 shots and appeared momentarily back on track. “We just kept possession,” senior Hattie Madden said, explaining the onslaught. Two days later, Harvard exposed an entirely different issue in Syracuse’s offense. In the first half, the Crimson dominated possession, building a 3-0 lead before the Orange even registered a shot on goal. Once Harvard gained its lead, it sat back and clogged SU’s shooting and passing lines. After Syracuse scored, the Crimson didn’t allow the Orange to cut their deficit any further. “It’s their style,” Farquhar said postgame. “We needed our backs to manipulate the space to create more for each other.” In SU’s most recent game against North Carolina, its offensive woes persisted. The Orange only notched four shots on goal. The Tar Heels managed just five, but that extra shot was the difference in Syracuse’s 2-1 loss. But Farquhar isn’t worried about offensive concerns. “We’re creating the opportunities,” Farquhar said. “It’s just a matter of embracing them.” Syracuse has shown that, when its starters are healthy, it’s one of the country’s most complete teams. Madden missed the Wake Forest and Duke games, and her absence plagued the Orange’s offense against the Blue Devils. But Madden sparked the offense in her return against Louisville, picking up an assist. “Regardless of where she is, (Madden’s) such a contributor to the team,” Farquhar said. Madden and Aubrey Turner have taken the mantle of running SU’s attack, accounting for 30 of its 87 points. Madden’s
aubrey turner chases a ball during SU’s loss to Harvard on Oct. 11. The Orange average just 2.67 goals per game this season. ellis calleri contributing photographer
impact is felt up and down the team, routinely catching defenses guessing while running the Orange’s offense. Syracuse’s remaining games are against the three teams below it in the ACC standings: Stanford, California and Boston College. This gives the Orange a chance to fix their issues
against weaker opponents before the ACC and NCAA tournaments. With its starting lineup fully healthy again, SU looks ready to find consistency in the offensive third, right in time for the postseason. jwood20@syr.edu @JackWood_55
SPORTS
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STANDARD-BEARER
34th
Syracuse’s current ranking in the Rating Percentage Index
kristjan fortier controls the ball during Syracuse’s draw against Pitt on Oct. 2. Fortier said this squad is the most talented he’s played with since joining the Orange in 2024. carter williams contributing photographer
Kristjan Fortier trusts his ‘most talented’ SU team won’t fall in postseason
By Jordan Kimball sports editor
K
ristjan Fortier has had it mapped out for months. He’s studied each day and manifested what’s next. It’s quite literally been marked in his calendar since the summer. Dec. 14 is unlike other days — it’s the date of the NCAA College Cup Final, which Kristjan has envisioned reaching since joining Syracuse in 2024. That’s the standard. He recognized it during his recruitment, when SU won a national title. And
after visiting Syracuse and recognizing it was “the place,” he committed expecting similar results. But as a freshman, Kristjan and SU fell to Wake Forest in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament and failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. A year later, Syracuse reached the Big Dance but lost to Hofstra. Is this finally the year SU reaches the coveted date? “Absolutely,” Kristjan said with little hesitation. Paige Backman, Kristjan’s mother, said his only goal is a national title. Tim Fortier, Kristjan’s brother and a Stanford freshman
midfielder, vividly remembers Kristjan telling him the date of the final months ago. Michael Fortier, Kristjan’s father, has seen Kristjan turn it up a “couple notches.” Syracuse’s junior midfielder clearly knows what’s at stake. “There’s no tomorrow if you don’t win the game, and you gotta do everything to win the game,” Michael said. “He’s thought about it all.” The losses have replayed in Kristjan’s head. Wake Forest. Hofstra. The 19 more he’s experienced at Syracuse. But this team is different from the rest, he said. see fortier page 12
women’s basketball
Legette-Jack wants SU to ‘punch 1st.’ What does it mean? By Peter Hua Radosh asst. digital editor
Angelica Velez took a deep breath and dropped her gaze. SU’s head coach turned left toward Olivia Schmitt and Keira Scott, as Schmitt stared into the space in front of her. But Scott, after a moment to think, turned and locked eyes with Legette-Jack. She had an answer. “It’s throwing the first punch,” Scott said at the Oct. 7 presser. “We emphasized that a lot last season. This team has all of the aspects to do that
and come out strong. I think we lacked a little bit; we took too long to get to our peak performance.” Last season, Legette-Jack stressed her team needed to “punch first.” And no, Syracuse isn’t physically hitting its opponents, at least not with fists. But Legette-Jack does want her team to play physical, jump out on the scoreboard early and never let up. In 11 of Syracuse’s 33 games last year, it finished the first quarter behind. Six were against Atlantic Coast Conference teams. Syracuse went 3-8 in those contests. In wins over Auburn and Virgin-
ia, SU finished the first quarter down five. In the NCAA Tournament First Round win over Iowa State, perhaps the Orange’s marquee victory, they left the frame down three. But beyond those select games, when Syracuse ended the first quarter trailing, it fell behind by an average of 12.5 points, leading to a 21.6-point average final-score deficit in such games. “We wait, and all of a sudden we were down by five. We wait, and we up by seven, but it was nonchalant, and the other team comes back,” Legette-Jack said. “We got to have a moxie about
ourselves and know that our story matters and that team in front of us is trying to deny our story to be told.” The foremost example is UConn. The Orange trailed 65-12 at halftime of the NCAA Tournament Second Round, and despite matching the Huskies in the second half, they lost 98-45. Legette-Jack is determined not to let that happen again. “You wait two minutes in our conference this year, you could be down by 50,” Legette-Jack said. “We’ve been there already. We don’t want that story to be told again.”
She’s seen improvements within the ACC this year. UNC recruited Kate Harpring, Clemson signed Trinity Jones and Notre Dame added Jacy Abii to its star-studded roster, which includes Hannah Hidalgo, the threetime reigning All-ACC Preseason Player of the Year. So Legette-Jack molded her team like “clay” to build upon last season. She’s tailored the nonconference schedule to test Syracuse. After the 53-point loss to UConn last year, Legette-Jack scheduled the see punch 1st page 12