Obsession over musicians enables mediocre releases.
Exploration of genre is only productive when it accepts critiques.
C • New sound
The Shipyard, a student-run music venue, moved to Main Campus this semester with more upbeat music.
Founded in 1975, Point of Contact is celebrating half a century as a Syracuse cultural institution
By Eliana Rosen asst. culture editor
In 1975, Pedro Cuperman was missing the art and culture of his home country of Argentina. Combining his love for literature, research and visual art, he looked to bring this culture to New York. Soon, Punto de Contacto/Point of Contact was born.
Half a century later, the organization is bigger than one man’s legacy, Samantha Hefti, the archivist and collections manager, said.
“This is all a product of human work and imagination,” said Teresita Paniagua. “It’s important to mark the passage of time, where we come from and where we are now.”
Point of Contact celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Throughout the years, the organization has become a prevalent part of SU’s art scene with literary journals, youth and adult programming, art galleries and poetry readings.
The 50th anniversary of their first literary edition in October 2025 coincides with Latine Heritage Month. The celebration gives their program a heightened level of visibility, Paniagua, SU executive director of the Office of Cultural Engagement for the Hispanic Community, said.
Point of Contact’s current exhibit, “50 Sin Cuenta,” is on display in the Nancy Cantor Warehouse until late October. It showcases Latin American artifacts and art pieces from Point of Contact’s permanent collection that represent the organization’s history.
The organization is the brainchild of the late Cuperman, an SU professor of Latin American literature. His vision for Point of Contact was a “cross pollination of different
S • Canadian Hulk
Antoine Deslauriers built his Hulk-like physique in high school, leading to his stardom in his freshman season at Syracuse.
Page 16
on campus
Faculty say AAS pause unjustified
By Isabel Meléndez-Rivera staff writer
Students, faculty and alumni discussed the future of the African American studies program during an informational session Wednesday night, after Syracuse University paused admissions to the program last month.
Around 30 people attended the session, discussing concerns about the future of the program and assessing its next steps. AAS is one of 20 programs paused as part of the university’s ongoing portfolio review process.
The event was organized by AAS faculty to facilitate communication and allow students to express their thoughts regarding the pause, said James Haywood Rolling, the interim chair of the Department of African American Studies. He added that the pause affected AAS community members both individually and as a collective.
(AAS) is the first interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary department on this campus.
Herbert G. Ruffin
associate professor
“Faculty want to hear what your feelings are about this, what your questions are, and want to give you an opportunity to make your voice heard on this matter,” Rolling said.
On Sept. 15, College of Arts and Sciences Dean Behzad Mortazavi informed department heads about the admission pauses, which included AAS. Several professors said the pauses were made without any faculty input.
“Every dean was given similar information, apparently during the summer, and every dean is overseeing this in a different way,” Rolling said. “When we walked into that room, it was the first time that most of us had heard that certain programs had been paused as of August.”
In a Tuesday campus-wide email, SU Provost and Vice Chancellor Lois Agnew said the changes are part of an effort to ensure SU’s academic portfolio remains vibrant, relevant and sustainable. She added that each of the paused programs had low enrollment numbers.
Attendees at the info session offered explanations for low engagement with the AAS program.
Terese Millet Joseph, a Ph.D. candidate studying human development and family science, said see aas page
Point of Contact was ideated by the late Pedro Cuperman (bottom), a professor of Latin American literature. Today, SU employees like Teresita Paniagua (top) keep his legacy alive. courtesy of scrc | leonardo eriman photo editor
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SU community commemorates Oct. 7 victims 2 years later
By Chloe Fox Rinka asst. news editor
Forty-eight yellow candles were lit at the front of Syracuse University’s Hendricks Chapel Tuesday night to honor the hostages still in captivity during a commemoration for the 1,200 people killed in the Oct. 7 Hamasled attack on Israel.
The service, led by Hendricks Chapel Jewish chaplain Rabbi Natan Levy, involved prayer, stories, singing and dancing. While praying for the hostages currently being held by Hamas, students shared anecdotes about time spent in Israel and their historical and cultural connections to the country.
Organized by SU Hillel, Israel Culture Club, Chabad SU and the Israeli American Council, Levy opened the vigil by imparting words of aspiration to the crowd. He said, despite all differences, today is for those held hostage by Hamas.
“Here we will sing with hope, here we will yearn and cry for the 48 hostages,” he said.
Tal Yechezkell, a senior studying film and media arts, said every generation has a day they say changes who they are. In his remarks, he said Oct. 7 was that day for him, when Jewish people observed “the worst massacre since the Holocaust.”
“More than 1,200 people were murdered in cold blood. Among them, children who will never get to grow up, sons and daughters who will never come home from school and husbands and wives who will never hold them again,” Yechezkell said.
Yechezkell spoke about the 48 hostages currently being held in Gaza, with only 20 believed to be alive. He said the rest never had the chance to say a final goodbye to their loved ones. He then led a prayer for the hostages, remaining hopeful for their arrival home.
“We will keep standing tall,” Yechezkell said. “We will not rest, we will not lie down, we will not stop until every hostage is brought home.”
Mikah Bein, founder and president of the Israel Culture Club at SU, said Israel is not just “a place on a map,” but a home for her.
She spoke about her upbringing in a first-gen-
eration American household, with parents from a kibbutzim, communal villages in Israel, saying she carries the values from the community in her everyday life.
Bein’s parents carried Israel with them after moving to the United States, she said, and she still feels connected to the country through the values they instilled in her. She spoke about her cousin, who’s still living in Israel, and how much their lives differ.
Bein said the events of Oct. 7 “shattered” her feelings of safety, leaving holes that “may never be filled.” Despite this tragedy, the com-
munity will continue to rebuild and carry each other, she said.
Bein led and invited everyone at the service to sing Hatikvah, Israel’s national anthem.
Speaker Mia Gottesmann, a junior, shared stories about her time volunteering in Israel this past summer, describing how witnessing the country after Oct. 7 deeply impacted her. Despite any negative rhetoric spread on college campuses or social media, she said attendees “must move forward.”
Gottesmann instructed the 12 students who were given a yellow candle to light them at the front for the 1,200 people killed two years ago.
Josh Rajunov, a junior studying broadcast digital journalism and Hillel’s Israel chair, ended the commemoration. He spoke about the Nova Music Festival, which was targeted by Hamas during Shemini Atzeret, a Jewish holiday.
As the community rises, we move forward. I have hope.
Josh Rajunov su junior
“All of a sudden, those who were supposed to spend their day happy in celebration (went) running for their lives,” Rajunov said.
Rajunov continued, speaking to the strength Israel must show and the importance of working as a community to heal and support each other. He said it’s crucial to remember and keep saying the names of those held hostage, ensuring their safety back home.
“When we’re only sad, that means we have lost,” he said. “As the community rises, we move forward. I have hope.”
Zachary Braiterman, SU religion professor and acting director of the Jewish Studies Program, said he attended the commemoration because he was “deeply impacted” by Oct. 7 and wanted to support his students.
“Matters regarding Jewish history and Jewish life are a signature part of my own research and teaching here at the university,” Braiterman said. “I wanted to be here with the students and in support of students.”
Rajunov said Jewish students must continue to find their way on campus, suggesting that some students may have joined the commemoration because they felt lost. After the event, Rajunov said he hopes Jewish students felt safe and represented. “Israel, to me, is more than a homeland. It’s family,” Bein said. “It’s the proof that from pain can come strength, that from loss can come unity, that even in darkness, we find light, sometimes faint, but always there.”
cfrinka@syr.edu
Locals hold Syracuse vigil for Palestinians killed in Gaza war
By Brenne Sheehan asst. news editor
Two years after the Oct. 7 attack, Syracuse community members gathered at the corner of Erie Boulevard and East Genesee Street Tuesday evening for a vigil honoring Palestinians killed in the ongoing war in Gaza.
Hosted by three organizations — Syracuse Democratic Socialists of America, the Syracuse Peace Council and Syracuse 4 Palestine and Global Liberation — the vigil met to recognize the “current stage of the genocide in Palestine,” leading organizer Spike Giles said. Organizers named the event a “Sumud” vigil based on an Arabic phrase roughly translating to “resilience.”
“We wanted to honor the Palestinian spirit, and the fact that they refused to give up when so many other people would have given up in the same conditions or lesser,” Giles said. “We’re in this together for the long haul, and the more of us that fight together, the more support we have. And that’s aside from calling attention to the issue itself.”
On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas, the militant group that governs the Gaza Strip, launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking hundreds of hostages — 51 of whom have been killed and 48 who are still believed to be held in Gaza.
The assault triggered Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Gaza, which escalated to a prolonged conflict between Israel and Hamas, leading to the deaths of more than 67,000 Palestinians and at least 1,665 Israelis and foreign nationals, including those killed on Oct. 7.
Loud traffic and light rain surrounded attendees as they gathered around a table lit by electric candles and fairy lights. Organizers placed cards and pens for attendees to write prayers to deceased Palestinians, themselves or loved ones, Giles said in her brief opening remarks.
“This is meant to be solemn. We won’t be here for a very long time, we are not here to make noise.” Giles said to attendees. “We did not want this day to pass by without doing something.”
The vigil’s location, at the corner of two major streets in Syracuse, has been the weekly meeting place since 2008 for pro-Palestine protests organized by the Syracuse Peace Council. Ann Tiffany and Ed Kinane, two vigil attendees associated with Syracuse Peace Council, said they hold signs in front of the Dewitt Fire Department every Friday.
This is meant to be solemn. We won’t be here for a very long time, we are not here to make noise.
Spike Giles leading organizer
“This is an excellent location, because there’s so much traffic that goes by,” Kinane said. “The more of us that could be out in solidarity, the better.”
Lee Cridland, a coordinator for the Syracuse Peace Council, said the vigil is meant to be a safe space for the community to support each other during the war, giving them strength to continue supporting each other.
“There are people who care enough that we can support each other and that hopefully we can turn our government around, which is basically what our job is to do,” Cridland said.
Cridland said the timing of the vigil, 7 p.m., was intentional — allowing students to conceal their identities in the dark amid a trend of disciplinary action from institutions like Columbia University. Many attendees wore masks and keffiyehs, a traditional Palestinian garment, over their faces to conceal their identities.
An SU student, who requested not to use her name due to safety concerns, said she felt “protected” being with other attendees showing their solidarity with the Palestinian people.
“I’m here to honor the martyrs because it’s so pivotal for not only (for) the liberation of Palestinians, but for the liberation of all oppressed groups,” they said. “As a Black Muslim, it’s important that I stand here in solidarity with my Palestinian brothers and sisters that have been murdered.”
As ceasefire talks continue among world leaders, including President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, attendees expressed mixed hopes about the future of the war.
Giles said she hopes a ceasefire agreement is negotiated in the coming days to grant statehood
to the Palestinian people, but fears the United States and Israel will not meet these expectations.
Netanyahu’s settlement expansion plan, which would bisect the West Bank, will make a future Palestinian state “virtually impossible,” Al Jazeera reported.
“My hope is that there are good faith negotiations to make a free Palestine for the Palestinian people, to end the famine, to end the siege and to get aid directly to Palestinians,” Giles said. “I do not believe that our government, nor the Israeli government, has that in mind, which is why we must keep fighting.”
bsheeh03@syr.edu
Attendees lit 48 candles at to honor Israeli hostages still in captivity and the 1,200 people killed in the Oct. 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel. charlie hynes staff photographer
Arts & Sciences associate dean named SU’s ECS interim dean
By Brenne Sheehan asst. news editor
Jennifer Ross, associate dean for creativity, scholarship and research at Syracuse University’s College of Arts and Sciences, will serve as interim dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science, Provost Lois Agnew announced in a Wednesday email to ECS students.
The appointment comes a day after Agnew announced the departure of sitting Dean J. Cole Smith, who is taking a position as executive vice president for academic affairs and provost at Clemson University in January.
“We are deeply grateful for Cole’s dedicated service, visionary leadership and commitment to excellence,” Agnew wrote in a Tuesday email to ECS students. “While we are sad to see him go, we know he will do great things in this new role as he returns to Clemson.”
Also a physics professor, Ross previously served as chair of the Department of Physics from 2020 to 2024. A biophysicist, Ross’s research focuses on molecular biology using single-molecule imaging techniques.
Using a hands-on approach to learning about microscopy, Ross leads students in building light microscopes to learn the basics of ray optics,
according to her university profile. During her time as chair of the physics department, she oversaw the addition of an astronomy major.
Ross is also credited with developing innovative teaching methods, including “Experiencing Physics” labs targeted at improving learning and student retention.
In her role as associate dean, Ross applied for funding, prize and award nominations for Arts and Sciences research expenditures. She holds a Ph.D. in physics from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a bachelor’s degree in physics and Mathematics from Wellesley College.
“Jenny brings exceptional qualifications to this role,” Agnew wrote in the Wednesday email. “As an award-winning biophysicist whose research focuses on cellular organization and next-generation bio-inspired materials, Jenny understands the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration and academic and research excellence.”
Ross will begin her position as interim dean on Nov. 1.
The university appointed Smith as dean of ECS in October 2019. He previously served as Clemson’s associate provost for academic initiatives and chair of the department of
Industrial Engineering, Agnew wrote in the initial Tuesday email.
During his tenure, Smith oversaw substantial renovations to Link Hall, ECS’s home building, including the addition of the Allyn Innovation Center. He’s also added academic incentive programs, including the Signature Co-Op Program and a master’s
degree program in operations research and system analysis.
ECS research expenditures grew by 30% during his leadership between 2019 and 2023, according to a 2023 release.
Agnew did not suggest a timeline for appointing a new official dean in the Wednesday email. bsheeh03@syr.edu
Bandier’s new business master’s embraces multifaceted learning
By Laura Lemgruber contributing writer
Syracuse University’s first class of Bandier Music Business Master’s Program graduate students say they are navigating an evolving program.
SU announced the master’s program in August 2024, hoping to expand the undergraduate Bandier program’s education in the recording and entertainment industries. In July, the program saw its first group of enrolled students during its required summer session.
“There was an opportunity to take all the things that we had learned were working through the undergrad lens and apply it to the graduate experience,” Program Director Bill Werde said.
For Marie-Elise Ambroise, being part of the first cohort has given her the confidence to grow as both a student and a professional this semester, she said.
“I’m starting to feel that validation that I belong here, which is something I’ve been craving throughout my whole undergrad experience,” Ambroise, who received her undergraduate degree last May, said.
While Bandier undergraduate students cannot apply to the program after graduation, as the curricula is similar, it’s open to students from other programs pursuing a master’s degree. SU alumni accepted to the program can apply for the Forever Orange Scholarship and receive a 50% reduction on tuition.
With a partnership between the College of Visual and Performing Arts and Newhouse School of Public Communications, the program’s “multi-disciplinary approach” allows students to learn a variety of skills, from music theory to finance, Werde said.
The graduate program aims to develop students’ resourcefulness, resilience and integrity — key traits to “tackle” the industry, Werde said.
“Those are the attributes that are going to carry you through a very fluid, very dynamic and chaotic professional landscape,” he said.
Graduate student Hadiya Ray said the range of courses included in the program, from her musicfocused classes to finance and law, has prepared her to enter the music business after graduation. She said the multifaceted curriculum will shape students into industry professionals.
Ambroise said the program’s summer session, offered in July, served as a “foundation” for getting to know, respect and network with her peers. She said the approach was a “great transition,” allowing her to take courses about music terminology, working with artists and being comfortable in the studio.
“I like how we started off strong, but not too strong to the point that it was intimidating,” Ambroise said. “(Bill) sets it up in a way that we’re able to really grow together as teams, but also individually as well.”
Along with classes on campus, students in the program are required to spend one semester at SU’s Dick Clark Los Angeles Program, while completing one of their two required internships.
Soolynn Lee, a student in the program, said the opportunity to spend a semester in LA, the “hub of the industry,” while still keeping a proximity to New York City in Syracuse was a defining aspect of her choice to join the program.
Both Lee and Ambroise expressed their excitement for the LA semester and the oppor-
tunity to attend the South by Southwest festival and conference in Texas. Lee said she’s looking forward to the opportunity to watch up-andcoming artists and connect with industry professionals at the conference.
Ambroise also said the diversity within the Bandier program has been key to her growth. While usually being the only person of color in her undergraduate classes, Ambroise said she feels represented and comfortable expressing her ideas in the graduate program.
“I feel like I had this newfound confidence because the people in the room look like me, which is really important,” Ambroise said. “Bill instilled professionalism in us, and how to approach connections and networking.”
Ray echoed her sentiment, saying that in her past academic experiences, she rarely walked into classrooms where most people looked like her. Now in the Bandier program, she’s “pleas-
antly surprised” by the welcoming nature and fellow students’ passion and ambition.
“What Bill truly did was he really made sure that people of all different walks of life were in the room for our master’s students,” Ray said.
Lee, however, said when she arrived on campus, she was frustrated by the lack of diversity in the program. As a fan of Japanese music, she said her peers’ United States-centric focus and uninterest in the international industry disappointed her.
“I’m glad I’m here, but that was a shocker for me,” Lee said. “Clearly, (the program) doesn’t have much diversity.”
Similar to Bandier undergraduates, graduate students attend the David M. Rezak Music Business Lecture Series — a weekly conversation between an industry professional and Bandier students. Students also have opportunities to network with the speakers by signing up for exclusive one-on-one meetings.
However, Lee said sometimes the graduate cohort feels like a “second priority” compared to Bandier undergraduates, though she recognized that it’s a new program. She added that while the program attempts to mirror systems that work for Bandier undergraduates, they don’t account for the lifestyle of the older students.
Lee said many graduate students, for example, often compete with undergraduates for the one-on-one networking spots.
Despite these issues, Ray, Lee and Ambroise all said they feel Werde created opportunities for students to express their concerns, and the program is very receptive to feedback.
“I’m happy to be here,” Ambroise said.“I feel like there are still kinks that we’re working out in the program, but I appreciate that they’re open to hearing from our people.”
lalemgru@syr.edu
j. cole smith, dean of SU’s College of Engineering and Computer Science, will leave the university on Nov. 1. corey henry daily orange file photo
SU’s $2 billion endowment exempt from Trump’s federal tax
By Shivika Gupta asst. copy editor
Amid growing financial pressures on higher education institutions nationwide, Syracuse University’s Chancellor Kent Syverud confirmed that the university’s financial future will remain unaffected by the expanded federal endowment tax targeting wealthy, elite institutions.
During a Sept. 18 speech at the first University Senate meeting, Syverud said despite SU’s endowment of $2.266 billion, as of July 1, the university remains under the tax threshold as its endowment-per-student ratio remains below federal regulations.
“We worried a lot about federal laws, government endowments and particularly taxation endowments – we watched that closely,” Syverud said. “But the so-called ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ does not apply to Syracuse, and it doesn’t in this area, because our endowment per student remains below the threshold.”
What is the federal endowment tax?
The federal endowment tax was first announced in 2017 as part of President Donald Trump’s tax plan, a federal effort to tax institutions and gain revenue from universities. The administration’s original plan was to apply a 1.4% tax levy to universities with at least 500 students and a $500,000 per student endowment, the Associated Press reported.
Eight years later, the Trump administration passed its sweeping reconciliation bill on July 4. The bill keeps elements of the original 2017 plan, including the 1.4% rate per $500,000. The bill will increase the tax rate to 4% for colleges with ratios exceeding $750,000 per student, and 8% for $2 million per student.
The enrollment requirement also increased from 500 to 3,000 students. John Cawley, an SU economics professor, wrote in a statement that this change exempts many liberal arts colleges, leaving only 11 universities meeting the new criteria.
Only a small number of universities fall into these upper levels – including Harvard University, Yale University, Stanford University and Princeton University in the 8% range. University of Notre Dame, Dartmouth College, University of Pennsylvania, Washington University in St. Louis and Vanderbilt University will pay the new 4% rate, PBS reported.
What are university endowments?
Endowments are primarily made up of donations from alumni and other sponsors to a university. These funds are often put into investment portfolios to maintain and increase the money over time. Endowments are mostly allocated toward scholarships for students and research positions for faculty,
SU staff questioned the career benefits of her interest in AAS.
“I was outright discouraged from taking any electives in the AAS department. My advisor straight up said it to me, like they didn’t try to sanitize it or anything. They straight up said to me, ‘Why are you taking courses in that department?’” Joseph said.
Danielle Taana Smith, AAS professor and former Renée Crown University Honors Program director, said one way to increase enrollment is to address advisors discouraging students from taking AAS courses.
“We consistently hear from students that advisers tell them not to enroll in African American studies and we are always having conversations with advisers across the university to change that advising approach,” Smith said.
She said there is a lot of misrepresentation surrounding AAS that harms the program.
Associate Professor Herbert G. Ruffin said the administrators making decisions about program pauses come from “traditional academic disciplines.”
“(AAS) is the first interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary department on this campus,” Ruffin said. “It’s the first place to actually practice so-called diversity, inclusion, equity, and there’s a lot of people who basically don’t like that.”
Other faculty said low enrollment numbers don’t reflect the importance of AAS.
Rolling said that while the decision to pause certain programs was number-driven, it didn’t take into account elements of the program that matter to those within it. The story, legacy and history of AAS were left out of the conversation, he said, even as AAS and Black life are being visibly attacked.
along with a small portion that is reinvested into the university budget, PBS reported.
SU’s endowment is over 2 billion dollars, but its endowment-to-student ratio is $91,500 – well below the federal taxation threshold.
How will the tax affect universities?
The endowment tax is part of the Trump administration’s broader effort to systematically target universities’ finances and reshape the United States educational landscape.
“This is just one way in which some universities’ finances are being hit. In addition, many federal grants to universities have been cancelled,” Cawley wrote. “Even if some grants haven’t been cancelled, in practice, many universities aren’t being reimbursed for the costs of doing the contracted work.”
Due to tax costs, many universities affected by the endowment tax are now scrambling to adjust their budgets to pay the rising costs. Yale said it would have to pay a $280 million endowment tax and would subsequently be forced to implement a hiring freeze on campus, citing the new tax as the reason, PBS reported.
Stanford also announced plans to lay off 363 members of its staff and reduce its budget by $140 million to afford the new taxes and «navigate a challenging fiscal landscape,” the Stanford Daily reported.
The AAS program traces back to the 1960s, when the African American Society and the Black Student Association protested the university’s failure to support Black students, ultimately leading to the creation of the program in 1979, Ruffin said.
On Jan. 12, AAS faculty were notified via email that they would not have a chair for the spring semester after the department and the university failed to reach an agreement on appointing an interim chair. In 2024, a university spokesperson wrote in a statement that the department had seven different chairs in the past 10 years.
On May 8, Mortazavi officially appointed Rolling as interim chair of AAS, a two yearlong role.
Darla Hobbs, a graduate student in the Pan African studies program who minored in African American studies as an undergraduate, said it’s important for AAS to have a strong presence on campus.
“This department was built off of resistance and the overall theme of African American studies, and Africanism is resistance in showing up in these spaces and saying ‘This is our space,’” Hobbs said.
Mahder Serekberhan, a graduate student studying political science, said the informational session is only the beginning of an effort to deal with AAS’s pause. Serekberhan said the program is setting an example of transparency and dialogue that SU administrators should follow.
“The faculty of AAS, unlike the people who sent that email with no discussion of how students can actually get engaged in the process, is offering a transparent space where students and faculty could together address the issues,” Serekberhan said.
Other attendees spoke about increasing visibility of AAS through tabling and networking. SU College Democrats President
endowments, in a way that reflects their “history of large philanthropic gifts.”
“Because these kinds of gifts are not taxed, there is a sense in which the government is giving up funds it would have collected if the person had spent the money in some other way,” Hamersma wrote. “So there is always some pressure to get those tax dollars. The concern that the use of those tax dollars could be indoctrination instead of education provides easy cover for taking steps to collect some of that money.”
Universities have historically been a place where a variety of viewpoints are explored, Hamersma wrote, but institutional commitments have enforced “certain ideological perspectives,” which can cause tension on campuses.
Hamersma said commitments to philosophies such as inclusion have turned into a controversial topic, creating “ironic impacts of exclusion.” Institutions pushing the administration’s values can reduce “tolerance” for these ideologies on campuses, she wrote.
With the Trump administration’s push to end diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibilityrelated programs on campuses, many universities’ finances are being impacted.
Harvard possesses the largest endowment in the country and will be forced to reallocate its budgets. Some of the university’s funding was also frozen due to the ongoing battle with the administration over DEIA policies, PBS reported.
Cawley noted that certain universities have been asked to pay “hundreds of millions of dollars” to settle claims related to antisemitism or race-based admissions, which would impact their budgets as well.
What are the political impacts of the tax?
Sarah Hamersma, an associate professor of public administration and international affairs, wrote in a statement that through the Trump administration, there’s been a “long push” to reduce government funding for public universities.
Efforts to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education and eliminate funding programs have also made strides toward funding cuts, but these policies do not affect private universities.
Hamersma said private universities, including SU, have been able to rely on other sources of funds, including their large
“When students and faculty feel silenced, it reduces the healthy debate and tolerance that should characterize a place where people are working through ideas together,” Hamersma said. “I think it is the impression that this issue is widespread that has led to political scrutiny.”
What are the academic impacts?
Beyond budgets, the tax could also reshape how universities operate academically, Cawley wrote.
Universities could follow in Yale and Stanford’s footsteps, imposing faculty layoffs and hiring freezes, he wrote. He warned of the tax’s impact on Ph.D. program admissions, departmental eliminations or degree programs with “modest” enrollments, reducing financial aid and cutting research support.
Cawley said many universities could even be forced to reshape student services, including reducing the hours of libraries and gyms and stopping maintenance on dorms and classroom buildings.
“Each affected university will be making its own choices, but it seems reasonable to assume that in the future the affected universities may have somewhat fewer majors and classes to choose from,” Cawley wrote. “And that each class will be a bit larger, have less TA support, and be in classrooms that are a bit less nice.”
Even with SU’s exemption from the endowment tax, professors say the federal tax marks growing signs of the administration’s scrutiny of higher education policies.
“All of this is negatively impacting the finances of U.S. colleges and universities, especially the large, well-funded ones,” Cawley wrote.
sgupta38@syr.edu
Jurgen Baeza Bernal and Vice President Derry Oliver both expressed their intention to support AAS.
Smith said AAS is not just an important intellectual space, but an emotional space as well. Serekberhan, who’s from Ethiopia, Africa, said she shared that sentiment.
“Not having a department just means a
significant part of the intellectual work on the region that I’m
an
or
Serekberhan
“Without the knowledge that this department pumps, you’re going to silence a whole way of knowing and discipline.” iamelend@syr.edu
from,
the kind of race I represent in this country, is going to be gone, it’s
erasure,”
said.
joe zhao senior staff photographer
Students, faculty and alumni expressed their thoughts about the admission pause to AAS and other changes from SU administrators. leonardo eriman photo editor
Setting sail
By Irene Lekakis senior staff writer
Last semester, The Shipyard operated out of a South Campus apartment and held a maximum of 30 people, playing exclusively quiet, acoustic songs.
Now, the live music venue is a buzzing off-campus apartment, drawing crowds of nearly 100 attendees. Lively groups of music lovers fill the backyard, holding up phone flashlights while swaying, clapping and dancing to the nowupbeat songs played by performers.
“It was kind of insane,” Ilan Rekem, the founder of The Shipyard, said. “At the first show we had probably 50 or 60 people coming in and out and it was a huge success.”
Rekem, a Syracuse University junior, and two of his roommates on South Campus originally created The Shipyard in fall 2024 as a space for people to get away from the traditional Syracuse party scene. It was meant to be a welcoming venue with a calmer feel than typical campus nightlife.
But these goals pivoted this semester when Rekem and his roommate, Adam Rogers, brought The Shipyard to their off-campus apartment with see shipyard page 9
The Shipyard sways from quiet South Campus venue to vibrant on-campus crowds
The ‘Bachelor’ star brings LA-style social club to Syracuse
By Lily Zuckerman asst. digital editor
The Society aims to have something for everybody, from permanent jewelry events and coffee tastings to career advice sessions and academic lectures, often partnering with local businesses and organizations. Between her travels back and forth from Syracuse to Los Angeles, Ly said she noticed Syracuse was missing authentic ways to meet people. Ly belongs to two different social clubs in LA. Her
barriers.
vision for The Society was to bring LA to Syracuse. To bring the LA feel, The Society sells Erewhon cloudlike smoothies reminiscent of Hollywood. Like Erewhon and Hailey Bieber’s viral $17 Strawberry Glaze Skin Smoothie, The Society’s $16 Strawberry Cloud smoothie contains the same ingredients like sea moss, coconut cream, Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides,
Last year, Ilan Rekem and his roommates founded The Shipyard as an alternative to traditional campus nightlife. Now in an apartment near campus, they’ve hosted two concerts so far this semester. madison cox contributing photographer
Pole dance club Exotic Elegance embraces acceptance
By Ava Demcher contributing writer
Heels clack and hips pop in Schine Underground. Excited chatter and nervous laughter fill the room as attendees warm up, as pop music plays from the speakers.
This isn’t your typical dance class. It’s a heels class, part of skill building for Exotic Elegance’s future pole dancing performances.
“Our club is really to make friends and bond over learning how to dance,” Josephine Jean, Syracuse University senior and the club’s fiscal agent, said. “We try to push our bodies to the limit, building friendship and finding comfort in each other.”
Exotic Elegance is SU’s first and only pole dancing club. Founded in the spring of 2023 by now-SU senior Sabrina Brown and four friends, the club hosts regular, beginner-
friendly heels classes and pole dancing meetings. Originating as a passing comment between the friend group, the club is now a registered student organization.
“There’s not a lot of on campus groupbased communities that really involve different types of working out,” Brown, the club’s president, said. “We wanted to have fun with it, be able to work out and just meet new people.”
The club isn’t limited to women. Everyone is welcome at Exotic Elegance, and they reject the idea that you need to be a specific type of person to take a class with them, Jean said.
In reality, it attracts anyone who wants a community and a chance to better themselves physically and mentally. Many people misconstrue pole dancing as exclusive, delegating it to one type of person or body type, Jean said.
Pole dancing takes strength, core and muscle, Brown said. Before starting Exotic Elegance, she never knew that she could reach that point with her body, nevertheless help others reach that too.
“A lot of the girls that we have talked to about this would say they don’t feel like they have the right shape — girl, don’t. There is nothing about shape here,”” Brown said.
Brown credits SU’s chapter of Girl Gains as one of their earliest supporters. Members of the RSO were among the first attendees at Exotic Elegance’s meetings.
But not everyone was so welcoming. Despite the fitness-focused approach and motivational mindset, the club has faced negative associations from outsiders, Brown said. Many people, including friends of the club founders, dismissed the idea as sexual and inappropriate, deeming it an invalid way to work out, Jean said.
“Whenever I mention that I have to do something for my club, they ask what club,” Secretary Rochelle Victoriano said. “And then when I mention Exotic Elegance, they say, ‘Why would you do that?’”
This stigma didn’t discourage Exotic Elegance’s executive board . In fact, Jean said they used the negative responses as their fuel to register the organization and build the club. For them, pole dancing isn’t promiscuous or wrong — it’s empowering. It’s a way for attendees to live fully in their bodies and find strength in new ways, Victoriano said.
Exotic Elegance Vice President Ellie Petros was looking for a way to stay active
on campus when she stumbled upon the club. She’s been hooked ever since. Pole dancing workouts have kept her in touch with her passion for gymnastics and aerial silks and the creative nature of the sport has allowed her to express herself artistically.
“The club has made me feel more confident as a woman. With all the backlash that we received, us being able to still join together and have so much fun makes you feel like there’s really no judgment in the club,” Petros said. “You can mess up as much as you need to, and everyone’s proud of each other.”
You don’t need any heels, pole or dance experience to join the club, Jean said. Petros is the only one with this kind of dance experience. Like their executive board, most attendees are beginners.
“I remember our first class,” Jean said. “I was falling all over the place. I thought, ‘Oh my god, I’m not gonna be able to do anything.’ But, in the end, I was able to do things I couldn’t do before.”
During classes, attendees embrace awkwardness and emphasize acceptance, creating an environment where people are excited to exercise, Brown said. As the music gets louder, so do the cheers.
Exotic Elegance typically holds their heels and floor classes in Schine Student Center. Brown said the club is currently working to get pole space on campus. Until then, Manlius-based Deviant Dance Tribe provides them with space and poles to practice, taking buses from campus. Exotic Elegance hosts classes there for free and Deviant offers a student discount for members who want to attend other classes at the studio.
They haven’t had any pole performances yet; it’s a goal for them as they grow membership, Brown said. They’re hosting their first pole dancing class of the semester on Oct. 17.
Victoriano said Exotic Elegance has helped her feel at home in her body, and “access her full potential.” Anyone can find a safe place within this club, she said.
“The dances sometimes may be so sensual and other times may be deemed negatively sexually, but it just makes you feel happier about being in your skin no matter what you look like, no matter who you are,” Victoriano said. “It just makes you feel better about being you.”
ahdemche@syr.edu
anniversary of ‘Gilmore Girls’ highlights status as timeless classic
By Caroline Erskine staff writer
Soup bowl-sized coffee mugs, orange and red trees and big cozy sweaters: these are some of the things that exemplify “Gilmore Girls,” one of the most streamed TV shows in history.
“Gilmore Girls” is the quintessential fall comfort show. With its nostalgic atmosphere and its classic characters, many devotees find themselves rewatching it year after year when the leaves begin to turn.
Now, commemorating its anniversary, I’m taking a look at everything Gilmore — the characters, the plots — and exactly how it remains a timeless classic 25 years later.
At its core, “Gilmore Girls” is about family. It follows the evolution of Lorelai and Rory Gilmore, who have a seemingly perfect motherdaughter relationship. Rory’s grandparents aren’t so perfect, disapproving of Lorelai’s dismissal of their high-class lifestyle.
The majority of the plot is set up as an “us against the world” narrative. Lorelai and Rory tackle everything together — navigating prep school, college, entrepreneurship and dating. No matter what life throws at them, the Gilmore girls have each other.
“Gilmore Girls” fans span generations. The show is appealing to millennials because of its romanticized view of a pre-social media world and to Gen Z because of well-rounded characters that a lot of sitcoms lack.
Almost every episode, Rory and Lorelai drink buckets of coffee each day and eat copious amounts of candy and takeout while continually boasting small waists. They banter at three times speed, making pop culture references that seem obscure to viewers today.
As they watch, the audience yearns to be a part of their bubble of wit and laughter. Does it really matter what they’re saying as long as they’re moving around their kitchen and flipping their hair while they say it?
The show is full of iconic one-liners and famous quotes like,“Who cares if I’m pretty if I fail my finals?,” “People can live a hundred years without really living for a minute” and, “If you’re going to throw your life away, he better have a motorcycle!”
Then, you have the men. Dean, Jess, Logan, Max, Luke and Christopher — the Gilmore girls’ love interests mirror their coffee — hot and oftentimes gone too soon.
When discussing the show with a friend, one of the first questions that usually comes up is, “Who do you think Rory should have ended up with?”
No matter what life throws at them, the Gilmore girls have each other.
Caroline Erskine screentime columnist
Right answers differ, but there’s a universally acknowledged wrong one: Dean.
Rory’s first boyfriend on the show, Dean appeals to her for his charismatic, charming personality and his tall, dark and handsome good looks. Dean protects Rory, supports her and is overall the perfect first boyfriend.
When they break up and get back together, however, it’s an entirely different story. He’s moody, pushy and just altogether not right for Rory. In Season 5, Dean cheats on his wife with Rory. If other viewers were anything like me, they were staring at their TV screens in horror begging Rory to turn around and choose absolutely anyone else.
Entering in Season 2, Jess is completely different. He seems to be Dean’s opposite — the
ultimate bad boy. While their relationship had its ups and downs, Jess stans advocate for him because of the support and interests he shares with Rory.
I, however, am 100% team Logan. He’s the perfect man for Rory; he helps her let loose and have fun while supporting her career and her interests. The “You Jump, I Jump, Jack” scene is absolutely iconic, and if I were her, I would’ve said yes to his proposal at graduation.
When it comes to Lorelai’s relationships, I have only this to say: Christopher was the worst person ever, Max was right if she’d been able to commit to him, and, of course, her and Luke were meant to be. Everyone else (*cough* Jason *cough*) is irrelevant.
Going through romantic ups and downs with the characters was important on the show because it was relatable. There were no big dramatic “Grey’s Anatomy”-esque moments. The Gilmore girls experienced trials and heartbreak in a way that’s actually realistic.
On the other hand, while obviously entertaining, I can’t help but acknowledge some of the show’s, and the characters’, obvious flaws.
As I grew up and rewatched, Lorelai went from the ultimate girl’s best friend to appearing juvenile, controlling and immature. She tries to live vicariously through Rory, pushing her toward the life that she wishes had been available to her instead of the life Rory actually wants. When Rory enjoys golfing with her grandfather, Lorelai is upset about it and the fact that Rory wouldn’t make fun of the experience.
Both Lorelai and Rory have an exaggerated case of main character syndrome, making everyone in their lives bend over backwards for them while giving almost nothing in return. They act as though they have no support and are forced to do everything on their own, but they both have Lorelai’s extremely rich parents to fall back on. They’re the definition of privileged, even as they pretend to be underdogs.
Aside from the characters, the overall show has one main issue: It romanticizes teen motherhood while stigmatizing sex.
This contradiction is evident throughout the series. Lorelai and Christopher’s lives were “thrown away” after they had sex and Lorelai got pregnant. A whole episode is devoted to Rory’s first kiss, but not how it impacts her and Dean’s relationship. Instead, it’s about how her mother sees it and why having a relationship could be bad.
Throughout the entire show, Rory is warned against losing her virginity and faces consequences anytime she’s intimate with someone. When she finally does have sex, it breaks up a marriage.
Lane, Rory’s best friend, has moved away from religion but feels pressure to wait until marriage to have sex. Then, after her very first time, she ends up pregnant with twins.
Paris, another friend of Rory’s, blames her rejection from Harvard University on the fact that she lost her virginity and has been having sex with her boyfriend, Jamie. Even worse, Rory and Lorelai seem to agree with her — Lorelai celebrating that she has the “good kid” when she learns Paris is having sex but Rory isn’t.
The show centers around how much better Lorelai’s life is after having Rory at 16, but then celebrates virginity and creates drastic consequences for having sex. This twisted narrative is hypocritical and a bad influence on young viewers who are just beginning to understand their relationships with their own bodies.
So why do I keep coming back? The show gets some important things right – women’s healthy relationships with food, supportive friendships and having a relatable “nerdy girl” main character. Despite its flaws, the characters are relatable, the episodes are entertaining and it carries a certain fall magic in the title sequence. Happy 25th birthday Gilmore Girls, I love you.
cberskin@syr.edu
exotic elegance hosts pole dancing classes for SU students. The club is open to everyone and rejects that pole dancing is for one body type. alexander zhiltsov staff photographer
disciplines,” Breyer said. Its essence is celebrating art for art’s sake.
Cuperman saw beauty and art in everything, even in the mundane or unfortunate, Richard Breyer, SU professor and longtime friend of Cuperman, said.
Breyer and Cuperman’s relationship began when Breyer became involved in Point of Contact’s “10 to 10 to 10” project in the 1990s. Ten colleagues from SU each chose 10 minutes of TV media and reflected on it through the lens of their personal stories or academic discipline.
During the final presentation, 10 projectors showed the videos as each person spoke. After working on “10 to 10 to 10,” Breyer was hooked. He began reading Point of Contact’s literary journal and attending poetry readings and exhibits.
Breyer said he remembers driving Cuperman to the airport as he left Syracuse for Buenos Aires, where he later died in 2016. Breyer knew it would be the last time he saw him, and relished in the last glimpses of Cuperman’s apartment, decorated with telescopes, sculptures, stained glass and poetry on a blackboard.
With this visit, he said goodbye to his dear friend. Point of Contact’s 50th anniversary exhibit event felt like saying “hello to him again,” Breyer said.
Cuperman taught Paniagua when she attended SU in the 1980s.
“He’s one of those professors that years go by and you never forget about,” Paniagua said.
This student-teacher relationship brought Paniagua back to Syracuse and Point of Contact years after graduation. Now, Paniagua directly manages Point of Contact, as well as La Casita Cultural Center in her university role.
Point of Contact began as an editorial project. Cuperman published regular volumes of an English and Spanish literary magazine beginning in 1975 until 2010. The journals featured critical essays on literature, poetry and visual art.
Now, the literary ties of Point of Contact remain in its poetry collections “Corresponding Voices,” published annually since 2002. Each year, in celebration of National Poetry Month, Point of Contact hosts their “Cruel April” poetry series, bringing poets to the Syracuse community for readings each Thursday night. SU creative writing students often have the opportunity to share their work.
In 2005, SU’s College of Visual and Performing Arts provided Point of Contact with their first small gallery space on East Genesee Street. There, they hosted curated exhibits each year until 2012, when they relocated to the Warehouse.
For the next nine years, the space was a dedicated Point of Contact gallery. Since 2021, the venue is now a shared space, where Point of Contact still showcases their exhibits alongside other SU organizations.
Not having a dedicated event space allows Point of Contact to broaden their reach to new communities by partnering with other organizations and locations, putting their work in front of more eyes, Paniagua said.
“They’ve moved around physically in their spaces, but still keep that core dedication to amplifying the arts,” Emily Dittman, Syracuse University Art Museum director and president of Point of Contact’s board of directors, said.
Miranda Traudt, assistant provost for SU Strategic Initiatives, served as managing director of Point of Contact’s gallery from 2013 to 2017. She said the organization brings literature and art together in one ongoing dialogue; it’s a literal point of contact between creatives from diverse backgrounds and art forms.
The organization works with all art mediums, like video, literature, dance and visual art. The Syracuse Film Festival began as a Point of Contact program before growing into its own independent organization.
“It was always meant to just be a space where creatives from all backgrounds felt comfortable in dialogue and discussion,” Traudt said.
Latin American contemporary art and art-
ists, inspired by Cuperman’s Argentine roots, have always had a strong presence in Point of Contact, Paniagua said. Pedro represented “that Latin American positivism and colorful approach to life,” Breyer said. Since its inception, the organization has been bilingual, rooted in both English and Spanish.
However, it was never conceived as a strictly Latin American project. They have showcased artists from places like Korea, the United States, Israel and Europe. It’s a bridge of cultures, SU Spanish professor Kathryn Everly said.
Since its inception, Point of Contact has been dedicated to all voices, Dittman said. People aren’t all that different, Hefti said.
“From the very beginning, they were set up to amplify those voices who are struggling to have their stories told,” Dittman.
Every artist participating in the 50th anniversary exhibit identifies as Latin or Latin American, which was purposeful, Hefti said. In a predominantly white area like central New York, it’s especially important to be able to open shows dedicated to Latin artworks, she said.
“It’s also a time when many people in our community feel threatened,” Paniagua said. “The work we do through these open dialogues, to engage new students, to get to know each other, to cross those barriers, those borders is something that Point of Contact has always aimed to do, and perhaps it’s more important now than ever.”
With a relatively small staff, Point of Contact has depended on SU colleagues and partners to contribute to its projects and student involvement. The organization has allowed students to engage with their fields of study through class involvement and internships, Paniagua said.
Experimental learning is engrained in Point of Contact’s work, bringing it beyond the classroom, Dittman said.
Hefti first got involved with Point of Contact during her core graduate school course, MUS 601: Museum Preparation & Installation. She and her classmates helped install Point of Contact’s 2023 exhibit “The Border is a Weapon.” She said she never would’ve gotten this handson experience otherwise.
Point of Contact shares its half-century anniversary with Syracuse Stage, the Community Folk Art Center and Light Work, who have all celebrated their 50th anniversaries within the last three years. The 1970s were a time of cultural “renaissance” in Syracuse and worldwide, Dittman said.. Many of the other institutions founded alongside these have not survived to today.
“It’s a testament to the work of the organization that it has been sustained for that long,” Paniagua.
Traudt attributes this longevity to Point of Contact’s ability to stay true to its original vision with a forward-thinking approach. The organization has adapted to evolve with changing times, meeting artists where they are and supporting their needs, she said.
The organization has expanded significantly in its five-decade history, even in just the 25
years Everly has worked at SU. It’s no longer just a gallery, but an important community institution, she said.
“That’s kind of the fun of it,” Dittman said. “Watching them evolve, keeping their core values, but moving through communities and really showing that everyone benefits and is affected by so many different perspectives and viewpoints.”
Point of Contact has developed close relationships with significant international art institutions. Last fall, the organization hosted “Libro de Artista,” a showcase of original artist books from the National Museum of Fine Arts in Argentina. This was the first time the pieces were shown in the U.S.
In the past few years, the organization has faced federal funding cuts and had to work to supplement with grants and more support from SU, Dittman said. The future of Point of Contact depends on investment from the university and the city of Syracuse to maintain this public space for art, Everly said.
Point of Contact must go beyond Cuperman’s legacy to become its own entity, Hefti said. It’s time for a new generation to make the organization their own, though its essence will continue even if the look changes, Breyer said.
Point of Contact has always been a “hidden gem,” with the spirit of an underground movement, Paniagua said.
“There isn’t another organization on campus that really deals with literature, poetry, art as a storytelling device,” Hefti said. “A dedicated place to making sure that art has its foothold in the Syracuse community.” ehrosen@syr.edu
FALL BREAK EVENTS THIS WEEKEND
Syracuse sports games
Explore campus and get your school spirit on with Syracuse sports games this weekend, including the Syracuse University’s women’s ice hockey team matchup against No. 7 Quinnipiac University this Friday, or the men’s soccer team game against Southern Methodist University on Saturday.
WHEN : Hockey 5 p.m. Friday, soccer 7 p.m. Saturday
PRICE: Free for everyone
WHERE: Tennity Ice Pavilion, SU Soccer Stadium
Ghost Walk 2025
Get in the Halloween spirit with a ghost walk in Baldwinsville. Local actors reenact ghost stories from Baldwinsville’s past at each of the eight stops of the walking tour. The tour lasts 75 minutes.
WHEN : Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 6 p.m.
PRICE: $23.18
WHERE: Baldwin Canal Square
Night Time Corn Maze at Abbott Farms
Explore Abbott Farms’ corn maze in the moonlight. Dinner is also available at the farm beforehand. During the daytime, Abbott Farms offers activities like apple and pumpkin picking.
WHEN : Fridays 7 to 9 p.m..
PRICE: $9.95 for adults, $14.95 for children ages 3-17
WHERE: Abbott Farms
Howl-A-Ween X
Salt City Burlesque is celebrating its 10th anniversary spooky style with a Halloween-themed show. You must be 21 or older with a valid form of ID to attend.
WHEN : Saturday, doors at 7:30 p.m., show at 8 p.m.
PRICE: $23.18
WHERE: CNY Jazz Central
Walking/Running
Enjoy the crisp fall weather and get in some exercise with cute dogs. Adoptable dogs at the CNY SPCA are available to go on walks or runs with volunteers after filling out a waiver. Volunteers will be matched with dogs according to their experience level.
WHEN : Open 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Monday through Saturday, closed
Sunday PRICE: Free
WHERE: CNY SPCA
Dog
at CNY SPCA
point of contact’s current exhibit, “50 Sin Cuenta,” is at the Nancy Cantor Warehouse until late October. It showcases Latin American artifacts and art pieces from Point of Contact’s permanent collection, representing the organization’s history. leonardo eriman photo editor
their now third roommate, Zachary Kosove.
Much closer to Main Campus, their new location has led to higher turnout for their events. South Campus’ location wasn’t ideal for the organizers. Toward the end of the spring semester, as the snow piled high around South Campus, attendance for The Shipyard was at an all-time low, Rekem said.
With a larger crowd, Rekem decided to change music at The Shipyard from quiet, acoustic tunes to a more upbeat and lively sound. Performers play their instruments on a slightly raised patio that functions as their stage while attendees watch from the backyard, which is decorated with colored lights.
The new setup has drawn in more people, Rogers said. Most freshmen don’t know where South Campus is — even he didn’t until he applied for sophomore year housing.
“It’s much more fun and upbeat, which was not really the case last year. Last year was fun, but it was a different kind of fun,” Rekem said.
For their first show on Main Campus, Kieran Romano helped them get set up. A member of music venue Dazed, he offered The Shipyard their equipment on any weekends Dazed wasn’t using it. Rogers also helped set up the equipment before performances. He said his familiarity with sound systems is his “claim to fame.”
Rekem said musicians actively seek him out to perform at The Shipyard, mainly over Instagram. The Shipyard has hosted two shows so far this semester, with three more planned. At their most recent show, SU
strawberry puree, or glaze, and exhibits the same rosy hue.
“I feel like all of us are just so familiar with needing an alcoholic drink in our hand to be social,” Ly said. “I want to move away from that culture.”
Monthly memberships to The Society start at $60 for the Community membership and $150 a month for the VIP Founder’s membership.
Perks include access to The Society during member-only hours, discounted or free entry to events, early RSVP to public events, early access or free limited edition beverages and one free drip coffee each day.
Ly understands membership fees and beverage prices aren’t realistic for everyone, but she wants The Society to be approachable for all. Anyone can occupy the space, connect to the Wi-Fi network or buy a treat, she said.
Even without a membership, Olena Staut visits The Society several times a week when she grabs her coffee in between rounds as a nurse practitioner.
As a previous resident of the apartment complex above The Society, Staut said that she wishes she still lived there so she could get their coffee more often. She appreciates The Society’s ambiance and welcoming nature.
“It’s hard to meet people in Syracuse, especially when you’re a little older,” Staut said. “What sets them apart is the socialization idea created for socializing and meeting people and having a space for people to come together, whether it’s with friends or by yourself.”
Ly didn’t want to bring the feel of quick-stop, grab-and-go coffee shops like Blank Street Coffee to Syracuse.
After doing research on specific seating arrangements and storefront layouts, Ly designed The Society in a way that encourages customers to stay for an extended period of time, not just for a brief visit.
All the furniture placements were intended to promote connection among visitors, Ly said. The half-circle smoothie bar aims to encourage conversations between customers without the isolation of separate tables. The ambient
freshman Anthony Martinelli, an indie artist, played an original song and took requests.
“The atmosphere was really cool,” Martinelli said. “I loved the vibe that they had going on.”
He had a couple of friends in the audience who were cheering him on. Martinelli said the space was welcoming and enjoyable, a good place for up-and-coming musicians like himself.
Martinelli plays at restaurants and bars in New Jersey, where he’s from. Despite being familiar with playing at venues in front of live audiences, he appreciated that at The Shipyard, it felt like everyone was there for the music and it was something they were all passionate about.
“The audience was really into it,” Martinelli said. “It was very music-centered but still a nice space to hang out and talk.”
With the new space and more upbeat feel, Rekem has also included what he calls a “halftime show” in between performances.
The host of the night picks three random people from the crowd. Each person attempts to make a shot into the basketball hoop on the porch. Rekem said he really wanted to include fun, silly games like this but wasn’t sure if people would go along with it. To his pleasant surprise, they loved it.
Rekem said it’s difficult at times to feel the full college experience while not participating in Greek life. While he doesn’t regret his decision not to go through recruitment, he said it did make it more difficult for him to find his friends and community. He hopes The Shipyard helps incoming students find their place.
“Syracuse is this breeding ground for very inauthentic coolness that I think sometimes gets in the way of people truly enjoying themselves,” Rekem said. “I want all the people
lighting feels natural, promoting a cozy workspace, she said.
The branding is intentional, with an overlap on the “O” and “C” to signify the connections that The Society wants to foster.
It feels like you aren’t in downtown Syracuse, Staut said. The Society is experimental, especially for Syracuse, customer Breanna Murdock said; it felt much more relaxed and safe than other spaces.
Murdock visited The Society for the first time when she attended an event with the Syracuse Run Club in September. Even after the event ended, she sat on the velour couches with a book, muffin and latte in hand.
Murdock said the memberships make the club feel “luxurious.” Though not a member right now,
who think that they’re not cool because they’re themselves to come here and feel cool because they’re themselves.”
Rekem and Rogers also want the space to be a place where people with the same sense of humor can feel seen. Since its shift in location, they’re both happy the venue is getting more attention and that the efforts they make aren’t going unnoticed.
Murdock said she’d like to pay the monthly fees.
“The pricing is a little bit more up there from other places, but that’s what you get for a central, local space, with a nice area to hang out in,” Murdock said.
Ly wants to make The Society accessible to Syracuse University students. By hosting events in collaboration with different SU campus organizations, like University Girl Magazine, Ly hopes to support and attract students.
Murdock has lived in Baldwinsville for most of her life. She said she was skeptical about finding common spaces and meeting people after college graduation, but the opening of The Society changed that.
In her recurring weekly visits to The Society, Staut said she has learned about the lives of
“I’m a TRF (television, radio, film) student, and it almost felt like a script you write or something you direct come to life,” Rekem said. “It’s a wild thing to see something that lives for so long inside of your mind be out in the physical world and live as it was intended to.”
iclekaki@syr.edu
new people. From meeting a visiting doctor to SU students, Staut said she’s built relationships without a membership to The Society.
“The collaborative space for work and socialization is really important for a place like Syracuse,” Staut said. “It has a luxurious vibe that makes me more motivated.”
Whenever she came back from LA, Ly said she dreaded staying for too long, because she could never find a place to connect with clients or old friends that wasn’t built around alcohol. The Society is a way to enhance her relationship with her hometown.
“I asked myself, ‘How can I make this city a little bit more enjoyable?’” Ly said. “So I created The Society.” lvzucker@syr.edu
rené vetter cartoonist
julia english cartoonist
Attendees hold up phone flashlights while swaying, clapping and dancing to the music at The Shipyard. madison cox contributing photographer
The Society offers Erewhon-inspired smoothies and signature beverages for all. Higher-end prices make the Los Angeles-esque cafe feel “luxurious,” a customer said.
joe zhao senior staff photographer
Resisting AI doesn’t halt productivity, demonstrates ethics
By Bella Tabak columnist
Editor’s note: This article includes mention of violence and suicide.
From artificial intelligence overviews on Google to fast food chains utilizing chatbots, interacting with AI has become almost unavoidable in modern society. Generative models have also littered the internet with what some call “AI slop,” or low-quality AI content.
While some claim embedded and generative AI is digital innovation at your fingertips, I haven’t yet seen its benefit outweigh my concerns, which I’ve found could have something to do with my gender.
One article from Harvard Business School calls attention to research that shows women are less likely to use AI tools compared to men. More worried about the ethical problems and reliance on the tool, women don’t find themselves taking the tempting shortcut men do.
Instead of commending this as a use of critical thinking and empathy, the article concludes female resistance is harmful to an increase in productivity and a drawback for women advancing in the workplace.
Framing women’s behavior as a problem that needs to be solved omits essential criticism of AI’s invasion of the workplace.
ChatGPT is a generative AI model widely known for writing assistance and helping students with assignments. But it isn’t always a helpful tool, sending some users into psychosis and causing them to harm others. It’s even pressured teenagers into committing suicide.
Creatives such as illustration artists are also finding the tool troubling. ChatGPT can take art from the internet and pump out content in a distinct style for users who are not the original artist. While AI art is stuck in a legal gray area, taking advantage of it is direct plagiarism and can result in original artists losing job opportunities.
Environmental concerns are also important, and usually conveniently absent from conversations about AI’s mass integration. AI isn’t a magic cloud that floats in an unknown location
in the universe. This technology is tangible, hosted in data centers that require massive amounts of energy.
Water usage and pollution from data centers also affect those living near them. And even though rural Black communities utilize this technology less, these negative environmental conditions are disproportionately affecting them.
Ethical problems like these have largely stopped me from utilizing AI in my coursework or from doing research for pieces like this. I don’t want to use a technology that causes harm to others, whether through emotional damage, plagiarism or pollution.
My strong will to stay true to my moral compass allows me to feel comfortable refusing ChatGPT, Google Gemini and Claude. Further, my genuine enjoyment in learning, critical thinking and creating quality work has also caused me to be wary of the software.
One study from MIT’s Media Lab found those who heavily rely on ChatGPT for writing assignments produced “soulless” work that lacked original thought and ideas. They also learned less from the assignments compared to those who used regular Google searches or no search engine at all.
Generative models are also not foolproof — hallucinating is one example. When you ask a question, AI may give you an answer that sounds convincing, but it’s actually incorrect or entirely made up. This could cause problems for those relying on AI to write important documents like scientific research papers.
Even worse, AI can also scheme. It can complete a task, but also achieve something else in the background. In order to avoid being shut down, researchers found one AI software purposefully answered questions wrong.
While researchers predict hallucinating will become less of a problem as AI train -
ing continues, they worry that the threat of scheming will only rise. To me, this technology is largely unfit for sensitive information companies may have.
Increased productivity is unimportant if the work will be lower quality or expose a company to security issues. Still, I expected this push for production from corporate work culture. Its presence in higher education, though, blindsided me.
Syracuse University has recently partnered with AI company Anthropic to give students and faculty access to its generative model, Claude, it announced on Sept. 23. While it’s posed as an academic and ethical model, it also has a dark side.
Amazon has invested $8 billion into Anthropic and has plans to build a large facility in Indiana containing around 30 data centers for it. The facility’s scale is both concerning and unnecessary. Some locals are protesting its construction, complaining it’s causing problems with their water and is changing the atmosphere of their agricultural community.
When SU students and staff use Claude, they’re contributing to the many problems I toil with.
While I understand AI may seem like progress when looking at it on paper, it’s imperative we dig deeper than efficiency. Offloading your mental load onto a machine may seem beneficial at the moment, but there’s no amount of innovation worth the expense of others and the environment.
I find it concerning that women, and people in general, taking a stance against AI is being boiled down to a lack of career gain and a decrease in content.
When an increase in users means an increase in data centers, refusing to rely on this technology is a radical act of protest. I would rather write my own work, create my own graphics and chat with my friends personally than rely on a machine for the things that make my thoughts and actions humane and effective.
TS12 proves cult following enables mediocre work, cash grabs
By Varsha Sripadham columnist
I, along with many others, waited with bated breath for the release of Taylor Swift’s newest album, “The Life of a Showgirl.”
Swift has been a relatively controversial figure in the music industry with a huge die-hard fanbase. But recently, she’s been facing nearconstant backlash for her declining musical quality and cash grab tactics.
Though I’ve been an avid fan since elementary school, Swift’s recent release was disheartening. Between cringeworthy lyrics like, “I’m not a bad bitch, and this isn’t savage,” and over 23 releases of hard copy variants of the album, it’s time to face the music. Cult followings of artists don’t support their production — they ruin it.
Although Swift is an easy example to point to, she’s far from the only artist releasing music seemingly for the sole purpose of making more money.
When the Weeknd released his semi-autobiographical film, “Hurry Up Tomorrow,” fans flocked to watch. They were sorely disappointed upon realizing that the film lacked any real quality or emotional depth. Many cited the only reason they watched the film was because of their love for The Weeknd’s music.
Stars like Taylor Swift and The Weeknd can afford to get away with releasing poor-quality products because of “star power.” The knowledge that superfans will consume anything they release, regardless of the quality, allows them more leeway for lazy artistry.
Of course, experimentation across genres can be a good thing for artists of any medium, but it shouldn’t come at the expense of quality. The purpose of listening to music or watching a film is not just for entertainment, but also for the sake of feeling like the media that you’re consuming is meaningful.
We want to feel emotional resonance with the media we selectively absorb – to laugh, cry and marvel at art makes it so powerful.
That becomes impossible when society’s “top quality” artists inundate the industry with lackluster products.
For instance, after the wild success of Sabrina Carpenter’s innuendo-filled “Short n’ Sweet,” she released the thematically similar “Man’s Best Friend.”
Repeating a similar style gets tired, but because Carpenter’s huge following is derived from the breakthrough success of “Short n’ Sweet,” she can afford to stray away from experimenting with new styles.
The industry’s best and brightest set the tone for what others produce. Thus, if an artist’s cult following manages to promote an objectively bad album, others will feel inclined to copy that style later on.
The track “Wood” on Swift’s new album, for example, sounds almost like it came directly from Carpenter herself. This turns music into an echo chamber beyond singular artists, plaguing the entire industry.
Furthermore, cult followings turn the production of art into a game of consumerism. Having a large and devoted fanbase allows big artists to throw out large volumes of content, good or bad, with a guarantee that the music will climb the charts.
For example, Charli xcx capitalized on “brat” and released “brat and it’s completely different but also still brat.” While “brat” was novel and a breakout hit, there was undeniable safety in releasing a sister album instead of something new.
Notably, Swift released the 31-track “Tortured Poet’s Department” and “The Anthology,” which almost doubled the length of the initial 16-track album simply by setting the same themes and messaging to slightly different production. The effect was redundant and drawn out, nullifying the emotional album that Swift was aiming for.
The game of trying to capitalize on releases to maximize the number of hits achieved has caused the music industry to be flooded with subpar content. Yet, there is little pushback on
the artist, as cult-followings cause fans to be more infatuated with the artist than the content they produce.
Grateful for any release, poor quality music doesn’t cause artists to lose fans and followers in the way that it should.
Although cult followings are an inescapable part of modern pop culture, they shouldn’t cause music and media to fall into flat, lifeless cycles and spare little thought for deeper meanings.
When they do, it’s the job of fans to hold artists accountable, rather than blindly following and consuming whatever is released. At the end of the day, consuming media is an investment of your own time, money and support, and it should be wisely extended to the art itself, not just the artist.
hannah mesa illustration editor
jalyn cronkrite contributing illustrator
Varsha Sripadham is a freshman majoring in journalism
She
Bella Tabak is a senior majoring in magazine journalism. She can be reached at batabak@ syr.edu.
Deslauriers weighed his food before each meal to make sure he ate the correct portion sizes. His calorie intake ranged anywhere from 3,000 to 4,000 calories per day over the course of three years. Miron wanted Deslauriers to stay mobile as a linebacker to ensure he never went over 225 pounds. Miron sometimes cut that to around 2,500 calories.
It took until Deslauriers’ second year with Miron to eat junk food. Miron laughed as he remembered the linebacker sending him a photo with half a donut and a scoop of ice cream.
Deslauriers’ steady diet never curtailed his progress. He began building muscle during the first and second year of training, and by the third year, he looked like a grown adult, gaining his current muscular physique, according to Miron.
“We had to buy new clothes for him every six months,” Methot said.
When Deslauriers was 17, he wanted to take the next step in his football career. That meant coming to the United States to earn opportunities to play in college. In 2022, he met Nathaniel Thomas, the president of Vantage Sports Agency. Thomas, along with Miron, helped spread his tape online, eventually gaining the attention of Derek White, the head coach at the Rabun GapNacoochee School in Georgia.
White watched Deslauriers “knock the piss out of people” on film. In December 2023, White flew to Montréal for a weekend to meet Deslauriers and see if the tape was legit. A basic field workout provided White with his answer.
ing season for Brown’s squad. Now, 2025 is becoming a lost season.
Though Brown doesn’t think so.
“We’re building a program. It’s a culture. It’s something that takes time to do,” Brown said when comparing SU’s 3-3 start this season to its historic year last season. “We had the chance to win a lot early. We’ve won some bigger games this year … You just got to judge us by who we have been, not off just what you’re seeing right now.”
But what the country’s seeing right now is a team that’s completely out of whack.
Syracuse’s 34-21 Week 4 upset victory over the Tigers saw its offense never miss a beat and its defense deliver its best performance under second-year coordinator Elijah Robinson. After Angeli was ruled out for the year, SU trailed 24-3 at halftime in each of its next two games and faced second-half deficits of at least 28 points.
With one player out of the mix, how can the difference be this drastic?
Let’s start by comparing the two quarterbacks. Angeli’s quiet confidence and swagger was palpable among his Syracuse teammates and coaches — no moment was too big for him. On Saturday, Collins was asked if he either felt comfortable or stressed out there on the field. His answer wasn’t reassuring.
“I’d say stressful, nerve-wracking, because I know we’re better than what we’re displaying,” Collins said.
Collins has thrown five interceptions in 96 pass attempts thus far with the Orange. At LSU from 2023-24, Collins threw just seven passes in game action as a backup quarterback to Heisman winner Jayden Daniels and current Tigers star Garrett Nussmeier. He doesn’t have many snaps under his belt. So clearly, this season has been a major learning curve for him.
Among Collins’ 45 pass attempts versus the Mustangs, he missed two wide-open touchdowns: one to Willis in the red zone and another on a deep shot intended for Darrell Gill Jr.
“I saw what I thought I saw in person, and it just put an exclamation point on it,” White said.
Deslauriers’ combination of size and speed impressed White. They talked about him attending Rabun Gap, and in March 2022, he agreed. At that time, Deslauriers didn’t have any college offers. Then, White started showing coaches Deslauriers’ highlights, and scholarships flooded in. Once the fall hit, White recalled Deslauriers being curious about what the schools were actually offering. Was it a chance? A tryout?
White told the then-17-year-old that colleges were offering him full scholarships.
Deslauriers’ approach didn’t change at Rabun Gap. In the dining hall, White always saw multiple chicken breasts on Deslauriers’ plate or 10 eggs for breakfast, without any fried food. During nightly study hall, he had a protein shake next to him and took vitamins.
The only times White saw Deslauriers be slightly unhealthy were before games, where he’d consume Skittles and Sour Patch Kids to “give him some juice.”
79.0
Deslauriers’ PFF defensive grade
“The way he played, you let him do whatever he wants to if he feels like it works for him,” White said.
lins needed another year of development. But that doesn’t take away from how every domino around him simultaneously fell after he took the reins as SU’s starter.
The offensive line hasn’t improved. The secondary was easily dissected by two straight star quarterbacks in Duke’s Darian Mensah and SMU’s Kevin Jennings. Wide receiver Justus Ross-Simmons left Saturday’s game on crutches. No one has emerged as a preeminent pass-rushing threat. Linebacker depth is sparse outside of Antoine Deslauriers. The offense went a whole eight quarters without scoring a touchdown, something Syracuse hadn’t done since 2022.
With the situation with Steve going down, and Rickie coming up, I feel like we all need to rebuild that (bond) again.
Yasin Willis su running back
And that’s just the players. Even Brown — who rarely bashes his players or colleagues publicly — had some harsh words for his coordinators after losing to SMU. Brown said Robinson didn’t call the right plays in the first half, and he himself requested certain concepts to be involved in SU’s game plan, which he said weren’t implemented until the second half. He also suggested he’d talk to Nixon again about dialing up more runs for Willis.
“I gotta go back and handle some stuff with our staff,” Brown said.
Already a freak athlete, Deslauriers wanted to hammer home the football fundamentals, per White. There was a slight adjustment period to playing in America for the first time, but it didn’t take long for Deslauriers to acclimate. White often found Deslauriers studying in the film room, whether it was with him or defensive coordinator Joseph Crosby.
“He got to the point where he was like a coach. He had formation recognition, down and distance recognition, stuff that people like to do in certain situations,” White said. “It made him play even faster. And when he saw those keys off tape, he knew exactly what the play was.”
Deslauriers’ football instincts only made him more potent as a linebacker, considering he was already built like a Mack truck. White said Deslauriers “played with his hair on fire” and dealt punishing blows to opponents.
While preparing to play John Curtis Christian School (Louisiana) in the Caesars Superdome, White emphasized staying home against its option plays. On one play, Curtis’ quarterback kept the ball, and Deslauriers delivered one of the biggest hits White has ever seen.
Those hits were commonplace for Deslauriers. White said he was the best linebacker in the country and could contribute as a freshman wherever he went.
That’s why coming to Syracuse was so appealing. Miron remembers sitting down with Thomas and Deslauriers in Brown’s office during his official visit. Brown’s plan was more concrete than pitches from other programs, and the same message that he could play immediately was echoed by linebackers
coach Robert Wright and defensive coordinator Elijah Robinson.
After enrolling in the winter, Deslauriers solidified himself as Syracuse’s starting Mike linebacker during fall training camp.
Though Syracuse’s defense is statistically the worst in the Atlantic Coast Conference, allowing over 448 yards per game, Deslauriers remains a
He looks like a Greek god. There’s a ton of people who think he’s a Maddencreated player.
Yohan Miron deslauriers’ personal trainer
bright spot. Through six contests, he’s received a 79.0 defensive grade from Pro Football Focus, forcing two fumbles in Syracuse’s win over Clemson and recording two pass deflections to seal its overtime victory over UConn.
The Orange’s defense is still young, but with Deslauriers at the center, they have a cornerstone for the foreseeable future.
“He’s very focused in the sense that he wants to be the best,” Thomas said. “He would never walk around saying he’s the best. But he’s so driven at the same time.”
zakwolf784254@gmail.com
@ZakWolf22
Rickie
interception rate 5.2%
Willis, who was held to 15 carries for 41 rushing yards against SMU, said Collins goes “a little too fast” sometimes. He revealed postgame Saturday that he’s heard Syracuse’s coaches give Collins critiques about his field vision. They tell Collins he has “soft eyes,” Willis said, meaning he makes decisions too quickly.
“That’s something easy that we can adjust,” a hopeful Willis said.
Saturday’s evidence suggests Collins was not ready to start games this season. It’s a stark difference from Angeli, who had brief College Football Playoff experience and perfectly fits offensive coordinator Jeff Nixon’s West Coast, RPO-heavy scheme.
You can’t help but think back to when slot receiver Trebor Peña left Syracuse for Penn State in April, reportedly due to his lack of confidence in Collins. Maybe he was right. Col-
Willis also said he noticed momentumshifting plays like failed fourth-down conversions “shift the energy with the team” more than usual. The sophomore tailback thought the Orange could have been mentally tougher against the Mustangs.
“That’s something that we need to get over. When things aren’t going our way, how are we going to respond to that?” Willis said. “And putting our heads down and getting sad about it, that’s not how we’re supposed to go about it. We need that energy like, ‘C’mon, when we get in the red zone again, we gonna go score.’”
Willis’ first year of college football was in 2024, when Syracuse completed multiple comeback victories, including making up an 18-point deficit against Virginia Tech last November.
But it’s easier to respond when you have the horses who can. This year’s group is not nearly as talented as last year’s. The Orange lost McCord, Oronde Gadsden II, LeQuint Allen Jr., Marlowe Wax, Justin Barron, Alijah Clark, Fadil Diggs and more to the NFL. They were as close as it gets to a superteam for SU football. And their bond was tight-knit.
“I feel like that’s the part that we’re missing,” Willis said. “Last year, I feel like that’s what we had. We had a great team bond. With the situation with Steve going down, and Rickie coming up, I feel like we all need to rebuild that (bond) again.” Brown, who’s very outspoken about setting a yearly National Championship standard at Syra-
cuse, said it’ll take time for SU’s young roster to turn into winners. He said over 12 true freshmen saw the field against SMU. Brown admitted it’s natural how the Orange took a step back this season, given their roster construction, a sentiment he feels is true whether Angeli or Collins plays quarterback.
“We’ll take some shots now, we’ll take our licks,” Brown said. “And then you guys will be smiling, we’ll all laugh at it, and eventually you’re gonna flip around, and I’m not gonna say, ‘I told you so.’ But I’ll just say that it’s a part of building the culture with a lot of young football players.” Syracuse’s 2025 season is in grave danger. While Angeli’s void is too large for Collins or even a non-quarterback to fill, he still
showed in just over three and a half games that the sky is the limit for SU with him under center.
So, even if the Orange wind up missing a bowl game this year, those in central New York can mark their calendars for August 2026 — when Syracuse’s lead buffalo, Angeli, makes his return along with what will be a deeper team around him. When that day comes, Brown’s herd will go back to stampeding their competition.
Cooper Andrews is a Senior Staff Writer at The Daily Orange, where his column appears occasionally. He can be reached at ccandrew@ syr.edu or on X @cooper_andrews. ccandrew@syr.edu @cooper_andrews
Our beat writer thinks Syracuse’s season has been derailed after Steve Angeli suffered a season-ending torn Achilles. leonardo eriman photo editor
Collins’
On 3-game win streak, Syracuse has found scoring touch
By Harris Pemberton asst. sports editor
Syracuse head coach Ian McIntyre compared scoring goals to waiting for the bus. Sometimes, you’ll wait for hours with no sign of their arrival. Then they all seem to turn up at once.
The same problem plagued SU in the first half of the 2025 season — it simply couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net. In their first six games of the campaign, the Orange averaged half a goal per match and didn’t score more than one goal in a game. No McIntyre-led team had ever scored at a slower pace.
That all came to a head in SU’s final two games before Atlantic Coast Conference play began. The Orange dominated both Duquesne and New Haven statistically — outshooting them by a combined total of 39-6 — but failed to score in each contest. Syracuse fell to the Dukes 1-0 and produced a scoreless draw with the Chargers.
So when McIntyre stood in front of the media following both games, he knew what questions were coming and understood why.
“At the end of the day, we’re in a results business. We haven’t won a game at home. Your questions are all valid,” McIntyre said after playing Duquesne. “We’ve got some good attacking pieces, so it’ll come. We’ll get there.”
McIntyre’s optimism may have felt like false hope at first, as SU went on a four-game winless streak through most of September. But since then, the goal-scoring bus has arrived, and with it, Syracuse has completely turned its season around.
Since Sept. 23, the Orange (5-4-2, 2-2-0 ACC) won three consecutive matches — two of which were in conference play — to launch them from the bottom of the table to eighth place in the ACC. Syracuse has found its scoring touch at the right time, scoring six goals in its last three matches and eight in its last five.
“A few weeks ago, everyone talked about us in a different way,” senior midfielder Giona Leibold said. “Now, we’ve started to win some games and started to figure out that we’re actually a good team. We’re going to compete in this league.”
The metric that best personifies Syracuse’s chance creation is expected goals (xG), a statistic that measures the number of goals a team should statistically score based on the quality of their chances. In SU’s first six games of the year, it severely underperformed in that category.
The Orange posted 1.68 xG, per Sofascore, in their season-opening 1-0 loss to UConn. In its
volleyball
matchup with Loyola a week later, SU had 3.38 xG but scored just once. The Orange had 3.92 xG against Yale, where they — again — only scored once, and 2.72 xG in their 0-0 draw with New Haven a week later.
Excluding its 1-1 tie with Penn State on Aug. 28, Syracuse statistically had better scoring chances than its opponent in each of its first six games. Still, it sat at 2-2-2.
“Our performance merited a result, but unfortunately, our quality didn’t,” McIntyre said following the New Haven game. “That’s the nature of certain sports, right? You can have a lot more shots in hockey, sometimes soccer. This is why our game can be so painful at times.”
Yet, in what was SU’s most painful moment of 2025, the tide began to shift.
While the Orange eventually lost a heartbreaker 3-2 to then-No. 8 Stanford on Sept. 13, Syracuse was efficient in the attack for the first time all season. SU posted 1.69 expected goals but converted both of its two shots on target. It was the first time Syracuse scored multiple goals in a game this season.
The result wasn’t enough to make a positive impact on the standings, but its offense was beginning to show signs of life.
“Our guys had doubts. Can we play in the ACC against that caliber of teams? The answer is, I think, wholeheartedly yes,” McIntyre said after losing to Stanford.
Though the Orange couldn’t score in a road defeat to then-No. 19 Duke the following weekend, they finally broke through at home against Colgate.
Carlos Zambrano’s eight-minute secondhalf hat trick lifted the Orange to a muchneeded nonconference win. It was the first time in 14 games SU posted three goals in a match, and the first time in six years a Syracuse player recorded a hat trick. The Orange again outperformed the numbers, posting three goals on just 1.69 xG.
The momentum led into SU’s next ACC matchup against Cal, where defenders Garrett Holman and Chimere Omeze’s goals propelled it to a 2-0 victory. Both came off throw-in set pieces and were assisted by fellow defenders.
That offensive support is common for Syracuse. Just five of SU’s 11 goals this year have come from attacking players. Three different defenders and two defensive midfielders have found the score sheet, too. As long as the ball hits
the back of the net, the Orange don’t care where it’s coming from.
In SU’s 1-0 win over Boston College on Oct. 3, the idea was emphasized. McIntyre made a bold choice to start freshman Bryson Rodriguez in attacking midfield, giving the Costa Rican his second career appearance. It paid off in the 66th minute, when he rose to redirect a Leibold cross into the top left corner, giving Syracuse a secondhalf lead it never relinquished.
In their first six games, the Orange didn’t score in the second half. In their last three matchups, all six goals came in the latter 45.
“We haven’t put together a 90-minute, dominant game, but we’ve had lots of good moments,” McIntyre said after defeating BC.
Syracuse’s defensive performance isn’t to be understated, either. The Orange have turned
in three consecutive clean sheets for the first time since September of their title-winning 2022 season. But SU’s backline has been its strong point all season. Now that the attack is finding its footing, the two phases have complemented each other perfectly.
SU still plays SMU on Saturday, the fifthplace team in the ACC, but the remainder of its conference schedule is manageable. The Orange take on last-place Pitt before closing the year against seventh-place North Carolina and ninthplace NC State.
A month ago, it seemed the wheels were falling off McIntyre’s bus. Now, it’s time to climb aboard as it embarks on a wild ride toward the top of the ACC.
In volleyball, a middle blocker’s height often correlates with their ability to block at the net. Smaller middle blockers usually allow outside hitters to angle shots over or through their hands.
It’s similar to a taller center in basketball, who can use their height advantage to sink a hook shot over a defender. Or in football, an offensive lineman’s size can allow them to plow over a defensive lineman.
With Syracuse’s Zharia Harris-Waddy and Soana Lea’ea each standing at 6-foot-1, SU’s middle blocker duo is objectively undersized. That disadvantage especially stands out when comparing the Orange to other defensive fronts in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Louisville — last year’s NCAA runner-up — boasts a frontline that features Cara Creese
(6-foot-6) and Hannah Sherman (6-foot-3), helping it lead the ACC in total blocks (157.5) and blocks per set (3.09) in 2025. The Cardinals also get block help from 6-foot-5 outside hitter Kalyssa Blackshear.
Though Syracuse (10-4, 2-2 ACC) relied on its superior talent in the nonconference slate, establishing its block is crucial to finding success in the ACC. The Orange currently rank 15th in blocks per set (2.15) and have been out-blocked in three out of four games to start conference play.
Harris-Waddy (44 blocks) and Lea’ea (37) have been sufficient, but further establishing the block could push SU to its highest conference win total (eight) under head coach Bakeer Ganesharatnam.
“Blocking is a big part of our team defense. We know we’re smaller than a lot of the teams we’re going to play, if not all of the teams we’re going to play in conference,” Ganesharatnam said.
Now in his fourth season at Syracuse, Ganesharatnam understands his teams don’t have the most physically imposing middle blockers. Still, he’s managed to construct successful defenses.
In 2024, Syracuse struggled mightily, ranking in the bottom half of 10 key ACC statistics. However, blocking was one area where Syracuse dominated. The Orange ranked fifth in the ACC in both total blocks (293) and blocks per set (2.53). The Orange out-blocked their opponent in nine conference matches.
At 6-foot, Sydney Moore wasn’t a prototypical ACC middle blocker, but her 94 blocks ranked second on the team. Moore’s impact last season resembles the coaching staff’s vision for this season’s block, as Ganesharatnam said they “strongly believe that blocking has a lot to do with positioning and timing,” not just height.
Following a win against Le Moyne on Aug. 31, Lea’ea echoed that philosophy.
“I think adjusting our timing — we definitely were a little bit early in the beginning of the match, but we slowed down and matched their speed. I think that helped us establish the block better,” Lea’ea said.
Syracuse easily dispatched its first five opponents of the season, with the block rarely being tested. The first time SU was truly challenged at the net came against Cornell on Sept. 6, when it was out-blocked 11-5. While the Orange escaped with a dramatic five-set victory, the Big Red exposed its key weakness.
And this weakness resurfaced one game later against Colgate. Late into the fourth set, Sydnie Waller leapt to reject Tiana Owens’ block attempt but failed to control her rejection. The ball went out of play for a crucial Raider point. Colgate went on to out-block SU 12-9 en route to a 3-1 victory.
Despite the setback, Harris-Waddy expressed confidence in the cohesion of the middle blocker group entering conference play.
“We’re all really close on and off the court, so it definitely helps in games and in practice because we help each other see new things on the
court. We really take advantage of that,” HarrisWaddy said on Sept. 23.
That sentiment proved to be true in Syracuse’s ACC opener three days later. SU tallied 14 blocks in a win over Notre Dame, one of the defining victories of Ganesharatnam’s tenure. The Orange controlled the net all night, led by the duo of Harris-Waddy (six blocks) and Lea’ea (four).
The pair’s constant touches at the net allowed Syracuse to set up digs. Trailing 11-10 in the second set, SU outside hitter Skylar George dropped to her knees for an impressive dig, one of a career-high 21 in the matchup. After the ball swung around to ND’s Morgan Gaerte on the other end, Lea’ea and Tehya Maeva rose for a combo block. That complementary play is exactly what Ganesharatnam is looking for out of the defense, powering George’s career night and SU’s win.
While the victory showcased the potential of Syracuse’s block, its next game against Louisville underscored the gap between the Orange and the ACC’s elites. The Cardinals’ towering front line of Creese, Sherman and Blackshear registered nine blocks to Syracuse’s two, handing SU its first conference loss of the season.
In its most recent defeat to Virginia, Syracuse’s poor block proved to be the difference again despite having the more efficient offense. George led the team in blocks (five), as HarrisWaddy and Lea’ea struggled, combining to match that number. As conference play progresses, George’s ability to aid SU’s middle blockers at the net will be pivotal.
With 16 ACC games remaining, Syracuse’s block will need to find consistency. If it can channel its performance against Notre Dame, SU may continue to improve under Ganesharatnam.
“(The middle blockers) are a really tight group, and we learn really well from each other,” Lea’ea said.
sbaines@syr.edu @Sumner__Baines
Syracuse has been out-blocked in three of its first four ACC games. Future success hinges on its ability to block consistently. jonathan theodore contributing photographer
Syracuse men’s soccer has completely turned its season around. SU has found its scoring touch at just the right time of the year. griffin uribe brown social media editor
High school coaches discuss SU’s status in NJ with Brown
By Aiden Stepansky senior staff writer
Fran Brown’s “northeast swagger” originally landed him the head coaching job at Syracuse. As a top recruiter in the country, Brown vowed to attack SU’s “backyard” from his opening press conference and restore the Orange to the days of Dick MacPherson and Paul Pasqualoni. At the forefront is Brown’s home state of New Jersey. So, how have Brown and Co. done so far in the Garden State?
Brown brought in New Jersey natives Kyle McCord and Steve Angeli to start at quarterback in his first two seasons. He also lured top recruits like Fadil Diggs and Duce Chestnut back to the East Coast from the Southeastern Conference while helping Dino Babers’ recruits LeQuint Allen Jr. and Alijah Clark reach the National Football League.
Syracuse’s 2025 roster includes 17 players from New Jersey and its 2026 recruiting class features four players from NJ. General manager Thomas Caporale, defensive coordinator Elijah Robinson and quarterbacks coach Nunzio Campanile, among other members of the coaching staff, also share the home state.
The Daily Orange spoke with a dozen New Jersey high school football coaches to hear their takes on Brown’s first 22 months at Syracuse: Player interactions
Authenticity is rare in college sports today. With revenue sharing and name, image and likeness at the forefront, coaches sometimes tell athletes what they want to hear rather than what they need to hear. To former Cherry Hill West and current Timber Creek head coach Brian Wright, Brown is the opposite. He’s seen as a straight shooter, revealing his opinion as frankly as possible.
Brown’s job revolves around recruiting highlevel players. Even if an athlete isn’t skilled enough to play for him, he’ll forward film to other coaches that could fit the player, per Burlington Township head coach Steve Everette. He finds connections with high schoolers many coaches can’t.
“With all his trials and tribulations through his life, he can relate with a lot of kids and basically be more of an uncle figure, father figure, a big brother figure,” said Dwayne Savage, an executive member of New Jersey Minority Coaching Association, INC. Savage previously coached at Camden and Camden Catholic.
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Brown brings the flashiness needed for the modern landscape, yet he sets standards. He understands the importance of private jets and sports cars for recruiting visits, though he’ll dock athletes’ pay for specific mistakes. When Brown was recruiting one of Everette’s players he coached at Willingboro, he presented a plan with all the courses he’d take.
Syracuse wide receiver Emanuel Ross was committed to Stanford for six months after receiving offers from top Big Ten, SEC and Atlantic Coast Conference schools. He was also offered by Babers’ staff but didn’t consider SU. Two weeks after Brown was hired, Ross decommitted from the Cardinal and joined the Orange.
“Syracuse really wasn’t in the picture until that was the case,” said Red Bank Catholic head coach Mike Lange, Ross’ high school coach.
West Orange head coach Darnell Grant recalls Brown’s home visits with now-SU freshman Terrell Wilfong. Brown didn’t speak about football and instead focused on Wilfong’s responsibility as a child of a single parent.
Fellow freshman Tylik Hill didn’t see interest from other Power Four schools, making the Orange a “perfect fit,” according to his head coach at Pope John XXIII Regional, Dom Gaston. Brown also got Timber Creek offensive lineman Roseby Lubintus to flip from Penn State to SU, which Wright described as “out of the blue.”
Everette said he had to tell 2026 linebacker commit Gemaus Sackie he couldn’t wear any orange in his uniform despite his commitment to Syracuse. Brown made sure Sackie would make enough money to help his older brother go to college. He strategically didn’t offer Sackie until his official visit to keep him under the radar. Everette then cut a deal, allowing Sackie to wear Syracuse gloves.
The Orange often connect with New Jersey teams during their seven-on-seven tournament each June. Teams from across the East Coast compete, including Brown’s alma mater, Camden. The event took place before Brown’s tenure but now has an added luster.
“Previously, no one really cared about a seven-on-seven in Syracuse,” Camden head coach Rob Hinson said. “But now it’s something that we have to do.”
A new look
When Delran head coach Colin Hewko thinks of Syracuse’s connection to South Jersey, he looks to former Syracuse and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb.
Across the Delaware River, many South Jersey natives grow up as Philadelphia sports fans. But he believes the tie between the South Jersey community and Syracuse lost its strength as McNabb faded out of the game and the Orange had some down years.
Savage remembers how Pasqualoni and longtime assistant George DeLeone used New Jersey as an extension of New York. But he says Pasqualoni coveted North Jersey. SU has regained its traction with Brown, but with South Jersey as a focal point.
Wright said the New Jersey representation on both Syracuse’s roster and coaching staff is obvious. Hillsborough head coach Kevin Carty said, apart from Brown, Campanile’s connection to the state adds another layer of respect. Brown and Campanile worked together at Rutgers in 2020 and 2021. Now, they’re overtaking parts of the Scarlet Knights’ home turf.
“Syracuse, back then (under Babers), and even now, has more of a presence in South Jersey than Rutgers,” Wright said. “I do think the only difference now is Fran being a South Jersey guy.”
Before Brown took over the Orange, Grant said there might’ve been a disconnect between the state’s top players and Syracuse. He now believes athletes can see themselves in central New York. Hewko thinks it’s a “more prominent spot,” while both Gaston and Everette described it as a “destination place.”
Gaston remembers the recruiting and coaching staff under Babers visiting during most live recruiting periods. Now, he’s seen five different SU coaches over the last two years “planting their flag” in his community.
Hinson claims every kid in South Jersey now wants a Syracuse offer. That reinvigorated taste stretches across the state, all the way to Vito Campanile’s Bergen Catholic in North Jersey.
“There’s so much Jersey pride in what they’ve been able to do over these first couple years,” Vito, Nunzio’s brother, said. “I think that it is the start of something. I’m old enough to remember when Syracuse’s inroads were huge here with getting marquee guys every year, and I think they’re back in that realm. I don’t think there’s going to be too many players in our state where Syracuse is not at the top of the list.”
Planting the seed Brown’s impact in the state wasn’t built overnight. As a Camden native, his relationships with some of the top programs in the state go back to
when he was 14 years old. Hinson was the defensive coordinator for the Panthers when Brown, a 5-foot-8 freshman quarterback, led a 20-point comeback. Hinson then supported Brown in his next ventures when the two reunited on Rutgers’ coaching staff in 2020.
Pennsauken head coach Clinton Tabb III faced Brown in high school when he was a senior and Brown was a freshman. Hewko was too young to play against Brown but remembers following his career from Camden to Western Carolina. Other coaches, like Wright, met Brown as he rose through the coaching ranks at Temple. As did Nasir Gaines, the head coach at Malcolm X Shabazz and the Brick City Lions, a top youth football organization in Newark that’s produced alums like SU’s Yasin Willis. Brown often spoke at the Lions’ banquets to inspire the up-and-coming athletes.
Everette also saw Brown build a rapport with wide receiver Chris Long while at Willingboro. Long committed to Temple, then decommitted and committed to Rutgers when Brown made the switch. Everette remembers Brown speaking with Long on two separate occasions for about an hour without talking about football once. Long then committed to Brown and Syracuse after the 2024 season before decommitting and transferring to Montana State.
When visiting a school, Brown’s presence is often known. While at Rutgers, he was recruiting at Bergen Catholic when Vito saw him playing a pickup basketball game in the gym to test a recruit’s competitiveness. Other times, Vito said Brown will come into his history class and strike up conversations with students, many of whom aren’t football players.
Brown’s no longer the assistant coach flying around town. NCAA rules limit how many times he, as the head coach, can make visits to recruits. Vito said most of their communication is now over the phone.
Though there’s a “different aura” when he walks into Bergen Catholic, Vito said. Tabb remembers Brown asking him if he needed help with anything just days after taking over at Syracuse. For Wright, he sees the same guy he did years ago when Brown began coaching youth football. And Hinson similarly sees the 14-yearold with spirit for his hometown.
“Since he’s been (at Syracuse), he hasn’t really forgotten where he’s come from,” Hinson said. amstepan@syr.edu @AidenStepansky
Syracuse hosts NIL panel for students, aspiring attorneys
By Jordan Kimball asst. sports editor
Daniel Greene walked to Marshall Street on his first day at the Syracuse University College of Law in 2013. The recent Union College graduate had flipped his focus to SU basketball.
When he arrived on Marshall, Greene scanned the clothing racks at Shirt World and Manny’s, where he grabbed a Tyler Ennis jersey. As Greene carried it further away from the stores, he was ecstatic to be the newest owner of one of the nation’s top freshmen uniforms.
When Greene reflects on that moment, his view has shifted.
“I’m getting a Tyler Ennis jersey, but Tyler Ennis isn’t getting any money. Something seems wrong about that,” Greene, who worked as a former coordinator with the Dutchmen’s men’s hockey team, recalled thinking.
Greene decided to do something. He’d dealt with similar scenarios in Schenectady, with Union’s players’ parents often calling him to see if they could buy their sons’ jerseys. At that time, it was 2012, and the NCAA’s rules prohibited the sale of jerseys with specific players’ names.
The temporary ban on named uniforms followed mounting criticism that the NCAA and schools were profiting off players’ identities — something that violated amateurism rules, since athletes weren’t compensated.
When name, image and likeness deals emerged in 2021, Greene shifted his practice to the emerging field. Since then, he’s served as a guest lecturer at Syracuse, educating sport management students on NIL.
Hosted in Dineen Hall on Wednesday, Greene returned to the same classroom he was in 10 years ago, joined by professor of Sports Law John Wolohan and Professor in the Department of Sport Management Dave Meluni for a panel intended for aspiring sport management students, student-athletes and attorneys.
“We have the law school, we have Falk, we have Newhouse, we have Whitman, we have ACC sports,” Greene said. “I truly believe Syracuse
University can be the best school for NIL students in the country.”
Syracuse was the first school in the nation with an NIL class, Meluni said, and the Syracuse Sport Group, a student-led business conference, hosted the country’s first-ever NIL summit in March.
SU Athletics has added to that. In February, Syracuse Director of Athletics John Wildhack announced a $50 million fundraising campaign before the House v. NCAA settlement. Two months later, Wildhack built off his previous statements, saying the Orange could pay their players up to roughly $20.5 million per year.
I truly believe Syracuse University can be the best school for NIL students in the country.
Daniel Greene panel host
“In this new era of college athletics, it is abundantly clear that winning programs will be the ones that galvanize the support of their campuses, fan bases and communities,” Wildhack said in the February press release.
Wildhack is right, Greene said. That’s why he’s created seminars like Wednesday’s so students are ready for the changing landscape of NIL.
“Everybody needs to be educated,” Greene said. “I want to teach people and empower people to be a part of this industry and do it the right way.”
Wednesday’s event began with Greene, who’s now an adjunct professor of sport law at SUNY Cortland and one of the Top 50 leading voices in college sports, according to On3, explaining the NCAA’s focus on amateurism.
The NCAA’s 1906 bylaws state, “no student shall represent a college or university in an
intercollegiate game or contest who is paid or receives, directly or indirectly, any money.” In 1984, it introduced a new concept that emphasizes its intent to “preserve the character and quality of the ‘product,’” which in turn means athletes shouldn’t be paid.
Then, Greene touched on the O’Bannon v. NCAA case. The lawsuit, which former UCLA basketball player Ed O’Bannon filed on behalf of NCAA Division I football and men’s basketball players, challenged the organization’s use of images and likenesses of its former student-athletes for commercial purposes after O’Bannon saw himself in an NCAA video game.
“The business of NIL and many current businesses, whether it’s AI in tech, they’re always going to be ahead of the law and the people that make their rules,” Greene said.
The first NIL law, which was passed in California in 2019, didn’t go into effect until 2023. Over the four-year span, the NCAA faced increasing pressure, Greene said. Eventually, Florida passed a law in 2021 that allowed college athletes to profit from endorsements, sponsorships and other commercial use without losing scholarships or athletic eligibility.
As Greene continued to explore the evolving landscape of NIL, which included New York and federal laws, Federal Trade Commission requirements and NIL disputes, he began to focus on what’d happen if college athletes became employees at their schools.
“I’ve thought about it a lot. Is this a good thing or a bad thing?” Greene said of athletes potentially being considered school employees. “It’s something that would be an even bigger change in this business if anything were to ever change.”
“Syracuse is writing a check and giving that money to (athletes). It sounds like they’re employees to me,” Wolohan added.
After Greene dissected the meaning of NIL law, explaining there’s “no such thing,” and instead, it’s different types of law where sports are involved, Meluni and Wolohan stepped in.
The 30-minute panel featuring the three speakers included Greene and voluntary attendees asking Meluni and Wolohan questions.
Meluni, who has over 20 years of experience in the sports industry began as a Division III baseball player at Ithaca College, shared that his personal experiences engulfed him in an environment that’s as “amateurism as amateur can be.”
“There’s more opportunities to get into the industry,” Meluni said of how sports have changed since his career with the Bombers. “This is a great opportunity for our students who are looking to get out into the real world.”
Meluni mentioned how he jumpstarted the nation’s first NIL course in 2021, and has since advocated for student involvement among the Falk College of Sport, even starting the NIL Clubhouse Podcast.
Between 65 and 72% of NIL deals incorporate social media, Meluni said. As the scene continues to unfold, Meluni expects student-athletes to take initiative as they’re further educated.
“(Student-athletes) are all afraid,” Meluni said. “They’re afraid to put themselves out there.”
Wolohan, who joined Syracuse’s sport management program in 2011 and the college of law in 2014, has been teaching in the field of sport law for over 30 years. Alongside Meluni, the two answered questions about what comes next.
“Being able to look at the legal parameters, what’s happening legislatively and statewide, legally, all of those things are going to be significant in the future of NIL and college sports,” Wolohan said.
While Wednesday’s event is now complete, Greene aims to continue raising awareness about NIL in the Syracuse community. And as more events are hosted in the future, SU is well on its way to further enhancing its excellence in the NIL field.
“If (Syracuse) can get on the same page, this really can be an amazing opportunity to build on all the amazing things already happening at this school,” Greene said.
ALL BUSINESS
Antoine Deslauriers’ discipline, routine led to emergence as 1st-year starter
By Zak Wolf senior staff writer
Antoine Deslauriers doesn’t talk much about that picture. Not an avid social media user, Deslauriers ignores the hype surrounding the photo.
The same can’t be said for others.
In May 2024, Deslauriers had a photoshoot during his official visit to Syracuse, two months after his commitment. He was pictured standing next to Fran Brown with a Mercedes-Benz G-Class in the background, eliciting viral reactions on social media.
The near-$200,000 car didn’t steal the spotlight. Deslauriers did. His biceps bulged out of his shoulder pads, while his quads made his pants seem like they were on the verge of ripping.
“He looks like a Greek god,” said Deslauriers’ personal trainer Yohan Miron. “There’s a ton of people who think he’s a Madden-created player.”
Prominent social media accounts like MaxPreps and Rivals.com reposted Deslauriers’ photo, gaining tens of thousands of likes each. Commenters labeled Deslauriers a “hulk-like figure,” others thought the photo was AI, while some even suggested he was on steroids.
Not Deslauriers. The Montréal, Quebec native said he bulked up through constant training sessions with Miron and a strict eating schedule during high school. His consistency in the gym and instincts as a linebacker made him a sought-after three-star recruit, earning numerous Power Four offers. He chose SU, and in his first season, Deslauriers has emerged as a bright spot on a porous defense.
Deslauriers’ body transformation started when his mother, Yannie Methot, stumbled upon Miron — the head of F1rst team performance — while searching for Montréal’s best personal trainers. She asked Miron if he’d train Deslauriers, giving him the stereotypical spiel about her son being “special.” Miron questioned the pitch, but invited him to a speed and agility session with a couple dozen local high school and college players.
Miron was impressed with Deslauriers’ performance and attitude. Instead of mingling during breaks, Deslauriers remained stoic. He was all business, showcasing his raw talent during drills. Miron instantly wanted him in his program.
Miron said he never saw someone with Deslauriers’ mindset at his age. The linebacker demanded perfection, constantly asking questions and “acting like a pro” from the start.
“I’ve always compared myself to college players, even when I was 15 years old,” Deslauriers said. “That was my standard, and that’s where I got my competition.”
Miron’s plan included training in specific phases and building muscle at the right time. Gym sessions occurred every weekend, while Deslauriers attended his high school, Collège Laval, during the week in the fall.
From the start, Deslauriers was committed, Miron said. Deslauriers became infatuated with the gym, adding at least 20 pounds every year. Sometimes, Miron had to tell his pupil less was sometimes better, which Deslauriers fought initially, before giving in.
“That kid can live in the gym,” Miron said. “We would have to tell him to (not) do more. If I wasn’t there, he would probably be going to the gym 10 times a week.”
Still, Miron said Deslauriers was never the most overpowering person in the gym. He was just the most consistent, along with having the proper diet.
Miron explained some athletes plateau because they don’t stay disciplined, but Deslauriers stayed clean. Cheat meals were foreign to him. His mother fostered a healthy household by not giving him sugar, often cooking fish, chicken, other meat and vegetables.
After meeting Miron, Deslauriers assumed cooking responsibilities for himself. Methot said he prepped his meals for the week every Sunday. see deslauriers page 12
DALLAS — Buffaloes and cows are the animals Fran Brown used in his postgame press conference to describe the current state of Syracuse after its 31-18 road loss at SMU Saturday.
Following a game in which SU trailed by as much as 28 points, the second-year head coach walked into the locker room and asked his players
which cloven-hoofed mammal they preferred to personify in the face of adversity: a menacing buffalo that overpowers those who dare to test it, or a lethargic cow that easily tips over. The Orange are amid their worst rut of the Brown era. They’ve dropped two straight games for the first time since 2023. Their quarterback, Rickie Collins, is throwing interceptions on 5.2% of his throws, the fifth-worst rate in the nation among anyone over 50 pass attempts. Their pass rush is nonexistent. Their rushing attack with Yasin Willis often gets abandoned
early. And, per Pro Football Focus, none of their offensive tackles have a pass-blocking grade over 60.0.
Syracuse needs its lead buffalo to herd the Orange’s roster back to how they were playing just two weeks ago, when they shocked Clemson in Death Valley.
But that’s the problem. SU no longer has its lead buffalo: Steve Angeli.
The Notre Dame transfer led the nation in passing yards (1,317) before tearing his Achilles on Sept. 20 in the third quarter of the Clemson game. Angeli was in the early
stages of a storybook season — he tied a Syracuse program record with six total touchdowns against Colgate on Sept. 12, tossed for 416 yards a week earlier in a win over UConn and had SU’s offense playing with a similar electricity to what Kyle McCord generated throughout its 10-win 2024 campaign. With Angeli under center, the Orange (3-3, 1-2 ACC) looked like a dark horse to win the Atlantic Coast Conference. In the two games since his injury, they’ve barely looked bowl-eligible.
We’re only halfway through the 2025 college football season, but it is clear that Angeli’s Achilles tear derailed Syracuse’s campaign from a once-promising year into an unmitigated disaster. Not having their No. 1 quarterback is simply too much for this Orange team to overcome, and it might even cause them to miss a bowl game if things don’t change after next week’s bye.
Before Syracuse’s Week 1 game in Atlanta against then-No. 24 Tennessee, I wrote that this year is a rebuild
antoine deslauriers’ training sessions helped him bulk up before coming to SU. His work ethic has made him a standout at Syracuse. leonardo eriman photo editor
