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In a noon rally at the Remembrance Wall in front of Hall of Languages, students in THE General Body reaffirmed their commitment to their 14-day sit-in of Crouse-Hinds Hall.

In addition to raising again several of the points they say the administration inadequately addressed in its final response to negotiations — an end to hate speech and a commitment to diversity on campus, for example — members of THE General Body and its supporters also specifically addressed the delivery of the student code of conduct to students who spent the weekend in Crouse-Hinds.

No plans to initiate code of conduct charges against sit-in participants are currently in place, according to a Sunday email to the SU community from Vice Chancellor and Provost Eric Spina, and no students have specifically been asked to leave the building. But SU’s Office of the General Counsel did on Friday provide students in Crouse-Hinds a highlighted copy of the code, indicating which provisions could apply to those taking part in the sit-in.

Particularly contentious regarding this has been the decision to deny an SU law professor access to the building when she went to offer legal counsel on Saturday. Paula Johnson, an SU law professor and co-director of the Cold Case Justice Initiative, addressed this aspect in a speech at the rally.

“There is no excuse for what happened,” Johnson said, likening the situation to a medical emergency that would have necessitated immediate access to the building. “This was a legal emergency.”

Spina, in his email, said the professor, Janis McDonald, was denied entry due to rules regarding the closure of the building during the weekends. Students are allowed to leave at any time during the weekend, but no one is permitted to enter the building again until 7 a.m. on Monday. And as students have full access to phones, computers and university Wi-Fi, he added, they can maintain communication with anyone they choose, including legal advisors.

Monday’s rally was marked by a significant non-student presence, drawing faculty and Syracuse community members who helped pack the sidewalk area near the Remembrance Wall with opened umbrellas. Following a weekend in which multiple letters from SU professors supporting THE General Body were posted to the organization’s website, professors in particular were among the rally’s speakers on Monday.

“I stand with THE General Body, and so do many of the faculty standing out there in the rain,” Johnson said.

Don Mitchell, a geography professor, likewise spoke in support of THE General Body.

“This is university is at a crossroads, and we owe THE General Body for pointing out exactly where it is,” Mitchell said. “They’re point to the pressure points where we can make change.” 

The Syracuse University administration on Wednesday night offered its final written response to the demands of THE General Body, a coalition of student groups that has staged a sit-in in Crouse-Hinds Hall since Monday, Nov. 3.

The administration had provided three previous written responses to THE General Body’s evolving list of demands. In an email to the SU community, Chancellor Kent Syverud said that Wednesday’s response would be the last. To make significant change, he wrote, the community must move forward.

“To do this best, I believe we and THE General Body should work collaboratively with the duly elected representatives and governing bodies that are currently in place, including the Student Association and the Graduate Student Organization, to bring continued action and resolution to these concerns,” Syverud wrote. “I look forward to being an active participant in this process.”

Closing his email, Syverud additionally offered an apology to those negatively affected by his decision to close the Advocacy Center and cut funding of the Posse Program. An apology regarding the Advocacy Center was one of THE General Body’s demands.

Key points from the administration’s final response include the following:

• Regarding a non-retaliation agreement, the adminsitration wrote that participation in THE General Body activities will not result in disciplinary action for students. Going forward, however, anyone who violates a university policy will be subject to the appropriate sanctions.
• Regarding the university’s mission and vision statement, a one-month period for additional feedback from the campus community will be opened.
• Regarding the closure of the Advocacy Center, a sexual violence, prevention, education and advocacy workgroup has been charged with looking for gaps in on-campus services. This group will reveal findings early in the spring 2015 semester.
• Regarding cuts to the Posse Program, the response document included a letter sent to SU Posse Scholars from the Posse Foundation President and Founder Deborah Bial. Bial praised Scholars for their activism, but advised them to return to class and trust Syverud and herself to find the best balance for Posse and SU.

The full 54-page document is available online. 

THE General Body staged a rally outside the Sheraton Syracuse University Hotel and Conference Center on Friday morning, holding signs and speaking with press as the SU Board of Trustees met inside the building.

The administration on Thursday had offered THE General Body a direct meeting with members of the Board of Trustees, on the condition that the students vacate Crouse-Hinds Hall by Friday. Tied to this proposal was an offer to postpone voting on the university’s new mission and vision statement, which is set for vote this weekend. THE General Body declined to accept these proposals and instead pushed their sit-in on to Friday.

Tara Tolton, a communication and rhetorical studies freshman, said some members of THE General Body walked from Crouse-Hinds to the Sheraton around 8:15 a.m.  on Friday. Other members maintained the group’s presence in the building lobby, which they have occupied since a Monday afternoon rally on the Quad.

Tolton said the Friday morning rally was intended to raise awareness of the movement to the public in general and to the Board of Trustees specifically. It ended around 9:30 a.m., she said, at which point the protesters felt they had made their point clear to the media.

Emma Edwards, a geography and policy studies senior, said THE General Body would continue their sit-in until the administration commits to a plan of action agreed upon by both parties.

On Friday morning the group was planning a formal response to the administration’s written response to their own list of demands. The administrative response was included in a Thursday evening email from Bea Gonzalez, liaison to the THE General Body for Chancellor Kent Syverud. 

“The concessions they have offered are definitely not adequate, so we’re staying, “ Edwards said.

“We have no problem staying here.” 

Department of Public Safety officials are looking for the person who tipped over a large ceramic turtle outside of the Early Education and Childcare Center on South Campus this weekend.

James Hill, a detective with DPS, said the department is still reviewing security tapes for the weekend. They have a few leads regarding who overturned the turtle, breaking off a couple of its ceramic legs in the process, he said. Whether the situation is handled by the city or the university will depend on at how much the damage is assessed.

Holley Benjamin, director of the childcare center, said the turtle — dubbed “Mort” — is not repairable. “I have a box on my desk with the pieces,” she said. “We’re trying to figure out whether we can do a new ceramic project with the shell or whether we want to do something new.”

Mort was installed in during the 2000-2001 school year, she said, as part of a year-long collaboration with the nonprofit Jewonio School. The project, which also included the installation of the mosaic mural at the entrance of the childcare center, was funded with a New York Foundation of the Arts grant. 

“It’s a huge piece of history,” she said.

When entering the building, she said, children would regularly climb on top of Mort, who got his name from the actual pet turtle that lives in the center. The children immediately noticed on Monday morning that Mort was overturned and in pieces.

After filing a report with DPS, Benjamin said she and a co-worker were able to flip the approximately 200-pound turtle. She said she’s unsure what they will do to replace the turtle, but hopes that they can use pieces of its shell in a new project.