Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox.
Subscribe to our newsletter here.

2024 brought major developments from across the globe to the central New York region, with campus community members gathering to protest the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, concerns for the future of the African American Studies at Syracuse University and the unionization of student workers on campus.

The political landscape of the United States shifted dramatically too, as former President Donald Trump regained the White House and democrats lost ground in both the United States Senate and House of Representatives. In New York, Representative-elect John Mannion garnered one of the Democrats’ national victories, as the NY-22 congressional district flipped blue.

Check out the list of the The Daily Orange’s news sections’ top stories of 2024:

Surya Vaidy | Staff Photographer

Eroding education: The state of African American Studies at Syracuse University

On Jan. 12, 2024 — the last business day before classes began for SU’s spring 2024 semester — faculty and staff in the African American Studies Department received an email notifying them that their department would have no chair for the spring semester. The decision was made after no agreement was reached for an interim chair appointment.

Alumni, students and faculty formed an affinity group in April advocating for AAS, prompting university administration to appoint an interim chair, Professor James Haywood Rolling Jr., in May.

As the year came to a close, AAS still did not have a librarian for its Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, and students and faculty said it doesn’t have enough professors to fulfill its curriculum.

Horace Campbell, a professor of political science and AAS, said he wonders whether SU is participating in the “anti-woke movement,” as some Republican lawmakers have said in recent years that curriculum critically examining U.S. racial history “significantly lacks educational value.”

“Trump and the MAGA don’t want African American Studies,” Campbell said.

A university spokesperson wrote in a statement to The D.O. that SU is committed to being a welcoming university that encourages diverse viewpoints and dialogues.

Joe Zhao | Design Editor

SU food service, library workers vote to recognize union

In late April, hourly student food service and library workers at SU voted 99%, or ​​1146 to 1, in favor of unionizing under the Service Employees International Union Local 200United

The group, which is comprised of mostly graduate and some undergraduate students, announced its plans to begin unionization efforts through SEIU earlier in the spring 2024 semester.

The union has worked to improve pay rates, working conditions they say are unhealthy, and worker-manager relations. As of the union’s establishment, 750 graduate students worked by the hour for SU’s Food Services and 150 students are hourly library workers.

Courtesy of Syracuse University Special Collections Resource Center

The Johnson Treatment: How President LBJ attempted to influence Samuel Newhouse

Before President Lyndon B. Johnson dedicated the Newhouse School of Public Communications on Aug. 5, 1964, he took a car ride from Syracuse Hancock International Airport to SU’s campus with then-Chancellor William Tolley and Samuel I. Newhouse.

LBJ demanded that Newhouse, one of the largest newspaper owners at the time, have his various publications endorse him over Republican candidate Barry Goldwater in the upcoming election. While Newhouse was originally comfortable handing over the endorsement of his newspaper in New Orleans, he protested when Johnson demanded the support of all of his papers, Tolley wrote.

“I am not interested in molding the nation’s opinion,” Newhouse said. “I want these newspapers to take positive stands of their own; I want them to be self-reliant.”

Brycen Pace | Asst. Photo Editor

Updates from the past 4 days of the Gaza Solidarity Encampment at SU

On April 29, several dozen community members gathered on the Shaw Quadrangle and began assembling the Gaza Solidarity Encampment. The protestors created a list of six demands from the university, which included divestment from Israel and support for a ceasefire in Gaza.

During the encampment, another group of around 100 community members marched across campus in solidarity with Israel. The Department of Public Safety arrested a SU parent at the encampment after he “continued to verbally berate” protestors and refused to cooperate with officers.

At its peak, GSE grew to about 70 tents, with many remaining on the Quad for roughly two and a half weeks. The encampment ended on May 15 after members of GSE and SU administration met to discuss the group’s demands.

Meghan Hendricks | Senior Staff Photographer

Onondaga Nation reclaims 1,000 acres of ancestral land

The Onondaga Nation reclaimed about 1,000 acres of its ancestral homeland from Honeywell International Incorporated following a federal settlement agreement in September.

The 1,000 acres of forest land are at the headwaters of Onondaga Creek, which flows from about 20 miles south of Syracuse to Onondaga Lake. Prior to the agreement, Onondaga Nation territory consisted of an around 7,300-acre plot of land south of Syracuse.

First announced in 2022, the land transfer is one of 18 remediation projects in New York state. The U.S. Department of the Interior mandated Honeywell’s transfer due to its more than 100-year water contamination in the creek and the nearby Onondaga Lake. The lake is considered a sacred site across the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.

Daily Orange Archive Photos

Former Remembrance, Lockerbie Scholars react to program change

In September, the Lockerbie and Syracuse Trust announced in a public letter that SU would not select two Lockerbie Scholars for the 2025-26 academic year, marking the first time in the program’s 35-year history that the university has not selected two Lockerbie students to study at SU for a year.

Many former Remembrance and Lockerbie scholars expressed frustration with SU’s decision to alter the program and said they wished the administration had consulted them for feedback on the change.

The scholarships were first created in 1989 to commemorate the 270 people, including 35 SU students, who were killed in the 1988 terrorist bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. The plane crashed into Lockerbie, killing 11 residents on the ground, who the Lockerbie Scholars have represented at SU.

SU has proposed changing the program to a one-week immersion trip with a group of 11 to 12 students, according to the letter. The proposed change reflects students’ changing interests, a SU spokesperson’s statement said.

Flynn Ledoux | Illustration Editor

Students reflect on Israel-Hamas war impacts a year after its start

As the world watched the Israel-Hamas war unfold after Oct. 7, 2023, several SU students felt its impact through firsthand accounts from family living in Israel and Gaza. Many told The D.O. they’ve struggled to balance student life over the past year while knowing their loved ones are suffering thousands of miles away.

Some students said communicating with their families in the impacted areas has taken an emotional toll on them. They described feeling helpless as they listened to loved ones recount the daily hardships of living amid the war, while being unable to take action themselves due to the physical distance.

All of the students who spoke with The D.O. said there’s a general lack of understanding about the complexities of the war. One Palestinian senior said that if people from both sides of the conflict took the time to engage in civil discussions on campus, they could develop a shared understanding of the challenges each side faces.

Brycen Pace | Asst. Photo Editor

FOLLOWING THE FUNDS: Breaking down financial contributions behind NY-22 House race

From the beginning of the 2024 election cycle, Democrats viewed the race for New York’s 22nd congressional district as one of the party’s most attainable.

Labeled as “lean democrat” by the Cook Political Report, NY-22 was the only seat in Congress held by a Republican that polls showed favoring the Democratic candidate, former State Senator John Mannion. Both parties focused national efforts and funding on the district, which represents Madison and Onondaga Counties, as well as portions of Cayuga, Cortland and Oneida counties.

Republican incumbent Rep. Brandon Williams eventually lost by an estimated 5 point margin to Mannion, after serving one term in the seat. The D.O. compiled a financial analysis of the race, with explorations into local and national donors, major political action committee funding and individual contributions.

Brycen Pace | Asst. Photo Editor

SU students react to 2024 presidential election results

The day after President-elect Donald Trump was declared the winner of the 2024 presidential election, several SU students said campus felt quiet, as the results shocked many.

Students described feeling disbelief as Trump gained more Electoral College wins throughout election night, claiming battleground state after battleground state. Many expressed concerns about reproductive freedoms and the environment, and said they were nervous for Trump’s return to the White House.

Others expressed excitement about participating in the voting process for the first time, despite the race yielding a result they may not have expected.

Flynn Ledoux | Illustration Editor

Campus store employees express uncertainty over B&N transition

When students return to SU for the spring 2025 semester, they’ll find a new name above the campus store’s doors. The university announced in an Oct. 2 SU News release that Barnes & Noble College would take over all operations of its campus stores by the start of the new year.

SU also announced to student employees that since BNC would be taking over operations of the store, they would have to reapply for their current positions or seek new employment.

Student employees were encouraged to reapply by Nov. 1 to increase their chances of being rehired, but no student- or full-time employees were guaranteed a position.

Under the store’s new management, student employees can no longer use BNC employment for Federal Work-Study awards, according to the Oct. 21 email. FWS is a form of financial aid allowing eligible students to work part-time to help pay for their education.

“They’ve usurped us,” SU junior and campus store employee Jazmin Perkins said. “They’ve taken everything people have. High positions now are back down to being lower positions, even though they worked hard to get up to that spot.”

Published on December 31, 2024 at 3:50 pm

news@dailyorange.com