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Author Jhumpa Lahiri discusses language’s power on identity during University Lecture
By Laritza Salazar
February 8, 2017 - 9:33am
"Language is the only identity I have and even that is questionable," the Pulitzer Prize-winning author said Tuesday night.

For Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jhumpa Lahiri, being a writer is about insisting you have a voice – or even voices. She learned this when she began to read, write and translate Italian – even though she grew up with Bengali and English.

“Translation is always an act of interpretation.” said Lahiri, who currently teaches creative writing at Princeton University.

Lahiri discussed the relationship between language, identity and writing Tuesday night during a University Lecture in Hendricks Chapel.

My Lucky Tummy celebrates refugees’ homemade cuisine with the Syracuse community
By Nisha Stickles
February 6, 2017 - 1:44am
The All Saints Church hosted a pop-up food court dinner on Saturday, featuring international dishes for a cultural affair.

Madeline Kujabi stirred a curry-like concoction of chicken, peanut butter and tomato in a tall, slender metal pot. The dish, called domoda, emitted a heavy aroma, providing an olfactory nostalgia of the home Kujabi left four years ago: The Gambia.

 Kujabi came to Syracuse to continue her schooling as an international student. Now a senior at Bishop Grimes High School, Kujabi enjoys sharing her Gambian heritage through eating.  

J.R. Martinez uses adversities to inspire at Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration
By Dana Matuson
January 30, 2017 - 5:21pm
On Sunday evening, members of the SU community gathered at the annual Martin Luther King Jr. dinner to reflect on overcoming life's adversities.

J.R. Martinez has endured through many challenges: he has served in the Army, starred in a soap drama and won Dancing with the Stars. But just looking in the mirror was once one of the hardest things to do when a roadside explosion during his tour in Iraq left 30 percent of his body burned.

“I asked myself why. Why do I look like this, why did it happen to me and of course I didn’t know why,” Martinez said, who was only 19 when the explosion happened.

High lead poisoning rates among children in Syracuse target poor people of color
By McKenna Moore
January 30, 2017 - 5:14pm
Syracuse's rate of lead poisoning among children is four times the national average.

There is a relationship between the city of Syracuse’s high rate of lead poisoning among children and its high concentration of poverty among African-Americans and Latinos, experts say.

In Onondaga County, around six percent of children tested have elevated blood lead (EBL) levels, which is above the approximately three percent of children diagnosed with lead poisoning nationally, according to a study published in the Journal of Pediatrics.

The Magic of My Marathon
By Michaela Anne Q...
January 27, 2017 - 11:04am
My first marathon was the hardest thing I've ever done, but running the race through the four parks of Walt Disney World with my mom made the pain worth it.

As I posed between Sadness and Joy from Disney’s Inside Out at mile 20, I thought about the irony of taking a photograph with these two characters. The emotions from the movie were the same emotions I felt during the race. I felt sadness from the shooting pain in my knee that started around mile 18, the dehydration, and extreme exhaustion. But, I also felt an overwhelming amount of joy knowing that the finish line was 6.2 miles away. The camera shuttered, and I continued running.

Gymnastics coach reflects on decades of tradition
By Catherine Chris...
January 26, 2017 - 1:41pm
Walter Dodge came to Syracuse University in 1956 on a gymnastics and track scholarship, and has remained with the school’s gymnastics program ever since.

Now, the former athlete volunteers at the gym every week to help students work on their back handsprings or complicated vaults. The 79 year old said at this point, gymnastics is just a habit.

“It’s just something I do. I did it for so long and it was just part of my life,” Dodge said. “I never think about it. It’s something I do.”

Though now gymnastics is a part of his daily life, Dodge originally didn’t intend to be a gymnast.

“I wanted to be a pole vaulter,” Dodge said. “All the pole vaulters were gymnasts.

The art of the march
By Brianna Kirkham
January 23, 2017 - 1:10am
The Women's March on Washington was a display of protest art; how this medium will be preserved is likely to change over the next four years.

As far as the Internet is concerned, the iconic speeches, celebrity appearances and choric chanting didn’t steal the show at the Women’s March in Washington D.C. on Jan. 21. Instead, it was the posters.

Balloons, hula skirts, tutus make Rubblebucket concert memorable
By Chase Ferren
December 10, 2016 - 8:56pm
Review: The indie-dance band returned to snowy Syracuse on Friday night to play The Westcott Theater.

Rubblebucket was met by an adoring mass of true Upstate New Yorkers, who don’t let slushy roads stop them from belting out a song about love and human birth. The members were apparently equally-adoring, telling the crowd, “You guys are so cool.”

James Corner talks development and landscape at the final University Lectures Series
By Kiona Dyches
November 12, 2016 - 2:18pm
Renowned architect reflects on how design and development can bring people together.

This semester’s University Lectures series wrapped up with a presentation from internationally renowned architect James Corner. Corner, founder and director of Field Operations in New York City, discussed the importance of architecture and why it is environmentally, socially and economically relevant to urban development.

Corner began the lecture by walking the audience through traditional landscape and architecture styles, pointing out the basics like the scenic and visual aspects.

Controversial documentary sparks campus dialogue
By Annika Hoiem
November 10, 2016 - 2:07pm
SU administration responds to backlash after filmmaker Shimon Dotan was disinvited from film festival, prompting conversation about freedom of expression on college campuses.

Art is a platform for political and cultural controversy. Syracuse University has recently received backlash due to taking back the invitation it offered to filmmaker Shimon Dotan, who was scheduled to visit campus to present his film, “The Settlers,” as a part of “The Place of Religion in Film” conference in March 2017.