Syracuse University stayed busy during the last week of the semester. Check out the highs and lows of the week here, including the retirement of a cherished program coordinator and the continued rebounding issues. Click on the headings or orange text to read more.

 

Bravos

CNY funding

Central New York is officially the recipient of a $500 million grant from New York state as part of the Upstate Revitalization Initiative. The award was announced on Thursday by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and will be used to fund regional projects. Among these projects is the National Veterans Resource Center that has been proposed by SU. The center is slated to be built at 111 Waverly Ave. and will be a centralized place for veteran and military research in the region. Two other recipients of their own $500 million grants are the Finger Lakes region and the Southern Tier. At the award ceremony, Cuomo said the grant was part of an effort to give more attention to the needs of Upstate New York.

 

Esther Gray

This semester will be Esther Gray’s last at the University and as the coordinator of the University Lecture Series. She  graduated from Syracuse and was a Remembrance Scholar in 1999, when she was in her 50s. Gray has worked for SU for almost 40 years, having spent the last 15 of them running and shaping the University Lecture Series. As she reflected on her time in the role, Gray recalled stories from past lecturers and the personal connections she formed during her time. The series will now be coordinated by a committee of faculty and one student, who have already begun working on next year’s lectures.

 

Unexpected hero

Philo Germano’s coaches told him to try to finish in 75th place during the cross-country national championships. When he finished in 39th, he blew their expectations away and pushed Syracuse just past No. 1 Colorado to win the 2015 NCAA national championship. Just a year earlier, Germano was a redshirt freshman who was only able to run with the practice squad. After watching his team succeed without him, Germano said he worked diligently and focused on his sport over the summer and fall to improve his speed. It paid off for the walk-on runner when he stood on the podium with his teammates, instead of watching from afar.

 

Boos

College struggles

According to recent surveys conducted by Kaplan Test Prep and MONEY Magazine, the decision for parents to send their children to college is more challenging than ever. One survey found that 60 percent of parents say they will be saving less money for retirement, while 62 percent say they will have to cut back on vacation time to save money. This comes during a time when parents and high school counselors are skeptical about the real value of a college education, another study found. According to that study, 58 percent of the 500 parents who took the survey disagreed that “the cost of a four-year college degree today is clearly justified for the value it delivers.” High school counselors were similarly discouraged; 37 percent of 235 counselors felt strongly that the average cost of a four-year college is justified.

 

Finals

In preparation for finals week — and the week before finals that is just as challenging — Pulp put together the best playlist to mourn your GPA to and the best places to grab a late night snack between cram sessions. The playlist combined a range of genres and artists, including Carrie Underwood, Mayday Parade and St. Vincent, but all were guaranteed to bring your mental breakdowns to the next level. Once you pulled yourself back together, though, you were going to be hungry. Jimmy John’s, Calio’s and the dining halls all made the list of the best places to order from or pay a visit to when you need a break from  those chem notes.

 

Rebounding challenges

Mike Hopkins won his first game as interim head coach for the men’s basketball team when they faced Colgate on Tuesday. Although this was a victory, the rebounding issues that have plagued the team since the start of the season resurfaced. They went 32-32 against Colgate, a physically inferior team, for rebounds. During Battle 4 Atlantis, Texas A&M outrebounded Syracuse 38-31, and Wisconsin later outrebounded the Orange by 26. Then, in the 91st meeting between SU and Georgetown, once again the Hoyas  dominated on the boards. “We obviously are aware of the fact that we need to rebound the ball a lot better,”said freshman Tyler Lydon after the Colgate game.

Published on December 11, 2015 at 10:36 am

Contact Delaney: dovanwey@syr.edu