Off Campus: Multimedia Belt

Why we need to think beyond supermarkets when dealing with food deserts
By Caroline Schagrin
December 16, 2017 - 8:22pm
How the closing of a local grocery store in Syracuse highlights the need for healthy food access in low-income communities across the United States.

On a chilly, wet November afternoon, residents of Syracuse’s Near Westside wait in a vacant parking lot to receive a box a free food from the Central New York Food Bank. Murmurs in Spanish, English, and other languages fill the air as residents trickle in from one of the city’s poorest neighborhoods. Many of those waiting demonstrate the struggles they’ve endured. Some are missing limbs. Others lack teeth. Some make their way to the front in wheelchairs and with canes. Others shield their children from the bitter winds under blankets.

SU student raises over $10,000 at F**k Cancer event
By Riley Bunch
November 8, 2017 - 4:51pm
The organization looks to bring the community together to empower those affected by cancer.

On Saturday, SU senior Claire Greenbaum along hosted a F**k Cancer event raising over $10,000 to go towards cancer research with her friends. The Greenbaum family started the F**k Cancer organization in 2010, after losing their mother to ovarian cancer. Claire, has been a part of the organization since the age of 14. The organization is active in the United States and in Canada, where Greenbaum is from. 

Syracuse elementary school children publish bilingual book
By Neha Tandon
September 28, 2017 - 10:41am
Six Syracuse Elementary students published their second book this year as part of a program designed to help them master English as a new language.

A four-year-old girl draws the final feather on her hand-drawn chicken and with a toothy smile holds up the final project to show Syracuse artist, Juan Cruz.

He kneels down to her eye level.

LadyFest Syracuse offers inclusive space to celebrate art, music and community
By Jiaman Peng
September 24, 2017 - 10:41am
LadyFest Syracuse provided a safe space for the celebration of music and art on Saturday night with profits going toward Vera House.

 

This Saturday, while Paul McCartney played in the Carrier Dome, an all-inclusive music-based feminist festival, LadyFest, held its fourth annual social gathering to champion “women, POC, and the LGBTQIA+ community.”

Somali refugee gives back to Syracuse refugee community
By Jamie Jenson
September 20, 2017 - 9:03am
Hussein Yerow grew up in a refugee camp, but that hasn't stopped him from improving his literacy skills and helping others in the community.

As he walks around North Side Learning Center, Hussein Yerow, a former refugee, is stopped several times.

“Hussein, where are my pencils?” a volunteer says.

“Hussein, remember to wait for me!” his little brother yells.

A neighborhood on display at the annual Westcott Street Cultural Fair
By McKenna Moore
September 18, 2017 - 3:40pm
The Westcott Street Cultural Fair is held annually in the early fall to showcase and celebrate the colorful, weird and wonderful neighborhood around it.

The Westcott Street Cultural Fair is held annually in the early fall to showcase and celebrate the colorful, weird and wonderful neighborhood around it.

This year, six stages showcased acts from belly dancing to ballroom dance to acoustic bluegrass. Surrounding those stages, creatives and activists sold their products and their causes to visitors.

Coding classes in local elementary schools are setting students up for success
By April Rink
September 8, 2017 - 2:41pm
A coding initiative aims to teach younger students practical skills that could lead them to STEM-related fields.

Elementary school library classes across the nation do not just focus on the Dewey Decimal Classification and reading comprehension anymore. Some library classes are teaching a new literacy – computer coding.

This trend is on the rise as computer skills become increasingly important for many jobs. A Gallup study found that 40 percent of schools in the U.S. teach computer programming.

Super Smash Bros. tournaments take Central New York
By Lisa Laffend
September 6, 2017 - 10:00am
Central New York's video game tournament, Syracuse Smash, celebrated its 50th biweekly tournament on August 19.

A woman in a pink evening gown with long golden hair stands opposite of an anthropomorphic fox in a green jumpsuit and silver vest. They’ll soon have mere minutes to knock each other out of bounds until one runs out of lives—or until the clock runs out.

Such is the basic gameplay of Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. franchise. The series has become wildly popular among competitive gamers, but not on purpose, according to Austin “TheEvilTurnip” Hernandez, former event coordinator for Binghamton Smash.

On Point for College: Changing lives of SCSD students
By Christine Oser
September 1, 2017 - 12:10pm
On Point for College, a local not-for-profit organization, works to help Syracuse City School District students get to college and find careers.

Syracuse was ranked the 29th poorest city in the country by the U.S. Census Bureau last year, but a dedicated group is working to help more students attend college, find better careers and improve the city.

On Point for College, a local not-for-profit organization, prepared more than 300 Syracuse City School District students for orientation this summer, providing them with school supplies and college guidance. Roughly 70 percent of donations come from individuals, but On Point recently received an extra boost.

Community proposes pump track at Syracuse art park
By Shweta Karikehalli
August 21, 2017 - 10:24am
Lipe Art Park would become the home to a new biking, skateboarding, rollerblading, and scooter pump track.

Members of the volunteer group Pump Track SYR, are working towards finalizing the building plans of Syracuse’s first ever outdoor pump track, and hope to start construction next year.

The pump track would be installed in Lipe Art Park on West Fayette Street. The track can be enjoyed by people of all ages, and it will facilitate biking, skateboarding, rollerblading, and scooter use due to the unique nature of its design.