Off Campus: Multimedia Belt

Fire erases a home but not a family's spirit
By Luke Rafferty
January 27, 2014 - 10:32pm
Cherie Williams and her family continue to persevere after having their Chatham, N.Y., home destroyed last spring.

Last spring, Cherie Williams was on vacation in St. Thomas when her neighbor called and frantically informed her that her home in Chatham, N.Y., was on fire. Her neighbor had seen the flames from down the street.

"Time just kind of froze," Williams recalled of what happen on March 19. "I didn't really know what to think."

An Infinite Faith
By Luke Rafferty
January 16, 2014 - 6:04pm
Struggling to support himself and his family, Don Uyaguari crafts guitars in his small town of San Bartolomé, Ecuador.

In the small mountain town of San Bartolomé sits a small wooden building. Layered between a small dirt road and a gorgeous valley, the building is half workshop, half home. The workshop belongs to Don Uyaguari, one of many guitar makers in southern Ecuador. The rest of the home is occupied by his family - his sons and daughters, their sons and daughters.

Does the punishment match the crime? Legislators debate New York drug policies
By Chloe Gersten
December 5, 2013 - 3:54pm
As other state legislatures adopt more lenient marijuana policies, New York lawmakers consider policies concerning drugs, stop-and-frisk and more controversial topics.

The New York state of mind tends to be forward-thinking but when it comes to drug reform, the state is far from progressive. Although New York decriminalized minor marijuana possession in 1977, the New York Police Department has discovered a loophole in the law with help from its controversial stop-and-frisk policy — a tactic the NYPD uses to search anyone deemed “suspicious.” New York’s decriminalization law only applies to possession under 25 grams not in public view.

Miss America Nina Davuluri returns to Syracuse
By Madysan Foltz
November 17, 2013 - 11:13pm
The former Miss New York attended a Bollywood-inspired homecoming reception party at The Oncenter on Nov. 16 bringing with her a new beacon of hope for Syracuse’s Indian community.

Recently-crowned Miss America Nina Davuluri has come to stand as a symbol for a new generation of Indian-Americans. 

“[Indian Americans] haven’t really had their spotlight yet,” said Miss Florida Myrrhanda Jones. “I think the world is ready. We have a black president, [America] is ready for more prominent leaders from diverse backgrounds.”

Local authors gather in Liverpool to tell their stories
By Zane Warman
November 12, 2013 - 7:59pm
Central New York authors kicked off NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) this past Saturday at the Liverpool Public Library as they gathered to talk about their different perspectives on writing.

Kay Benedict Sgarlata, memoirist and Syracuse native, finds the process of writing indescribable. 

“We all have been writing all of our lives, but what brings a person to a moment in time when they feel they have something inside of them that someone else might enjoy reading?” Sgarlata asked at the “Celebrate Local Authors” event at the Liverpool Public Library this Saturday.

Scenes from Election Day 2013
By Miriam Taylor
November 5, 2013 - 7:06pm
The Democracy in Action project delivers dozens of accounts Tuesday from across the Syracuse community.

For the fourth year in a row, graduate and undergraduate students from Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications covered all things election: poll sites, campaign events, and pasta parties through the Democracy in Action project.

Student journalists told Election Day stories through video, photo and text as they toured through Central New York starting at 5 am and going until late into the evening.

The front yard economy
By Jillian D'Onfro
October 28, 2013 - 1:35pm
When the Great Recession hit, economic desperation drove many Americans to slap price stickers on anything they could — bringing an extra poignancy to the process of letting go.

For the first time in several hours, the house is quiet. Eric and Michelle Short sit kitty-corner from each other at the dining room table, a pile of colorfully scrawled yard sale signs flanking Michelle’s left arm.

The 2013 Tully Free Speech Award Winner is firsthand reminder of the value of free speech
By Jillian Thaw
October 25, 2013 - 9:20am
Independent journalist Idrak Abbasov spoke to students and faculty at the Herg Auditorium Thursday about issues facing the press in Azerbaijan and the work he's doing there.