When Ben Tupper puts up a Syracuse University flag on one of his rentals in the university neighborhood, sometimes he gets dirty looks from older residents because they don’t want students as neighbors.
But he doesn’t care.
“No one is saying that this isn’t your neighborhood, too. Students live in this house. I’m a student landlord. I’m putting up a flag,” he said.
Ben’s occupation gives him the liberty to incorporate his love for SU, whether it means putting up flags on a house, painting a giant mural of Otto the Orange inside of it, or sprucing up a “boring” white home on Livingston Avenue to have orange and blue shutters. His love for SU first began as a child, and now the university has become one of the biggest parts of his life.
To his friends and family, it’s a no-brainer that Ben has so much pride for SU. Jean Tupper, his wife, said in an email that Ben is the biggest SU supporter she knows.
He drives an orange Range Rover, his home is filled with SU paraphernalia — where he has his two SU degrees proudly displayed. Even the family’s condominium in Las Vegas has an SU sticker on the front door and a large banner on the porch.
“He literally leaves a piece of the Orange spirit wherever he goes,” Jean said.
Ben grew up in the Syracuse area in the 1970s, where he often visited campus while his father taught at the university. When Ben and his friends visited SU as kids, they would take chairs with wheels, sit on them and be pushed down a long hallway.
Ben’s father, Joseph Tupper, a current professor of biology at SU, said his son had no intention of taking over the family business, Tupper Property Management. But when it became too much for Joseph to look after homes and teach students in the early 1990s, he asked his son to do it.
“He’s firm, but he’s fair,” Joseph said. “And as far as I can tell, he’s done a great job.”
At the time, Ben was living in Louisiana and was feeling homesick, he said. But when his father called him to ask if he would come home and take over, Ben was hesitant.
“I was like ‘Hell no. I don’t want to be a landlord,’” he said. “It’s a dirty word, to be a landlord. People hate landlords.”
His father would call him every few months, asking him to return to Syracuse and the family business, Ben said. In 1997, the combination of missing home and his father’s begging led him to become a landlord.
Mike Bard met Ben when they were in the Army together. Bard said Ben’s enthusiasm for the university not only led him to apply for graduate school, but also to become a tenant.
“Not only did he show me the things on campus, but he also showed me the little places right off of campus, like where students hang out,” Bard said.
Ben also knows the best places for students to live. When Bard had to find a place to live while studying at SU, Tupper could pinpoint what neighborhood would perfectly suit Bard and his lifestyle.
Ben’s friends and family said he is known to promote SU wherever he goes, even encouraging people, like Bard, to apply to the university. Ironically, his oldest son Isaac will be attending the University of Pittsburgh in the fall.
“There I sit, listening to my friends complain about how their parents won’t let them pick their college or support what they want to do,” Isaac Tupper said in an email. “And there’s my dad, who completely understands my need to leave this area and supports my decision. He did urge me to consider SU and its multiple programs and opportunities it offered, but he repeatedly reminded me it was ultimately my choice.”
Ben respects his son’s decision and said he is happy that he will be attending Pitt. But that won’t hinder his fandom for SU.
“Don’t expect me to wear a Pitt Dad shirt because I’m not going to wear it,” Ben said with a laugh. “He said, ‘I’m going to get a Pitt sticker for your car.’ No, you’re not.”
Published on April 23, 2014 at 1:47 am
Contact Ellen: ekmeyers@syr.edu | @ellenkmeyers
