Life & Style

Syracuse community comes together for annual holiday concert
By Sarah Brechbill
December 9, 2014 - 8:31pm
The "Holiday at Hendricks" concert filled the halls with the sound of music, from modern melodies to classical tunes.

Before the doors had even opened for Sunday night’s Hendricks Chapel Holiday Concert, a line of people had already formed outside in hopes of grabbing the best seat in the house. A half-hour to go, and every seat was filled. As more people continued filing into the packed chapel, many stood wherever there was room.

A supernatural skeptic's surprise
By Meghan Walsh
November 18, 2014 - 2:44pm
At the 16th annual Canastota Psychic Fair, our reporter sat down with a spiritualist, who knew more about her than she realized possible.

I sit at the table, shifting uncomfortably in my seat. Am I supposed to ask a specific question or give a prompt? I’ve never done anything like this before, and frankly, I’m not sure Sally Gewinner — or any of the other psychics in this room—has any supernatural gifts. For the most part, I expect the short blonde woman to say some vague generalizations about what my future holds – landing the job of my dreams or finding Mr. Right. At the same time, I worry that she’ll see something horrible in my future and insist on refunding my money.

Vegan vs. Paleo
By Lateshia Beachum
November 3, 2014 - 12:12pm
Vegan and paleo diets are at opposite extremes, each with separate benefits and challenges.

Syracuse University students are not hard pressed when it comes to finding something to eat. With five dining halls and three food courts on campus, and Marshall Street eateries, grabbing a bite to eat can be as simple as whether or not one is in the mood for Chipotle’s Tex-Mex or Varsity’s pizza.

13 Curves: A story of love and death
By Brittany Wait
October 30, 2014 - 10:12am
In this original silent film, a pair of ghosts teaches a living couple that love conquers all, including death.

Our short silent film, 13 Curves, uses a local ghost story to illuminate the omnipresent power of love and connection.

Changing her body to match her gender
By Christine Rushton
October 29, 2014 - 3:58pm
Freshman Dez Rivas plans to undergo surgery to alter her male physical appearance to fit her female identity.

Several trips to the doctor and weeks of shooting hip pain revealed a harsh reality: with surgery comes risk for some transgender people.

Dez Rivas, 20, endured the sharp pain in her infected hip after her body rejected a liposuction treatment. She wanted to add feminine curves without artificial implants.

Instead, she lost 75 percent of the fat moved in the procedure.

“The pain is starting to going away progressively, but I was still in pain when I went back in August for work,” Dez said. “Even to this day I still get little pains where the scars are.”

Taking a chance at truth
By Christine Rushton
October 22, 2014 - 9:49pm
She struggled to understand her emotions until she came to Syracuse University and learned about the transgender community.

Hiding an identity from friends and family takes strategy; it takes giving up a certainty to live in safety, one Syracuse University student said.

“The easiest way I think to hide something is to get very close to the truth, but just turn slightly,” she said, identifying as a transgender student on campus.

The 20-year-old student — who asked not to be named for safety reasons — left her hometown in Franklin, Mass., to study English and illustration at SU. Two years in, she realized her male body didn’t reflect her female personality.

Salt Market: The face of Syracuse’s burgeoning art scene
By Manmeet Sahni
October 21, 2014 - 11:28am
More vendors fill a larger venue for this year's Salt Market in downtown Syracuse.

Each year, the Salt Market has grown.

This year, locally-printed seasonal greeting cards, hand-dyed print shirts, artisan handmade jewelry, handmade soaps, art prints, scarves and other crafts filled two floors of the newly opened Sky Armory in downtown Syracuse. The chic string-lit venue was packed with shoppers.

“We have vendors from Pennsylvania this year, apart from other central New York cities like Buffalo and Rochester,” said Vanessa Rose, co-founder of the market.

Putting down the mask
By Christine Rushton
October 15, 2014 - 11:52am
One Syracuse University student finds truth in his identity as transgender.

Note from the writer:

October marks national LGBT History Month and observes National Coming Out Day on Oct. 11. As a reporter for The NewsHouse, I reached out to transgender students to help our community at SU better understand what gender identity means for our colleagues regardless of appearance. Each of the three students I worked with shared their personality and passions with me, and now wish to share them with our NewsHouse readers. Follow the profile series on Oct. 15, 22 and 29.
Exotic food unifies a diverse Syracuse community
By Charlene Cooper
October 6, 2014 - 12:00am
Refugees who traveled miles from their homeland to settle here celebrate their culture through exotic foods and music at a biannual food court.

The mouthwatering aroma of sourdough flatbread, garbanzo stew and lemon basil that filled the air and the vibrant sounds of live Burundian drumming made the Alibrandi Catholic Center feel like a family kitchen from some place exotic. The atmosphere was part of My Lucky Tummy’s biannual pop-up food court, where people from all over the world gathered to share a meal.

Local Syracuse man discovers hidden world record
By Hanna Horvath
October 2, 2014 - 10:34am
Syracuse's Byron Schlenker breaks the Guinness World Record for the World's Widest Tongue.

“Gee, I wonder how wide my tongue is?” Byron Schlenker wondered to his eighth-grade daughter, Emily, on a ride home from the Onondaga Free Library in Syracuse. Along with them was the 2012 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records.

Emily had gotten the book for a class assignment, and while flipping through it Schlenker had happened upon the page with the "World’s Widest Tongue" category.