iSchool holds MLB.com College Challenge

Syracuse University students took part in the fifth annual MLB.com College Challenge on Thursday and Friday.

The competition concluded with each team presenting to panels of School of Information Studies faculty and staff and representatives from MLB Advanced Media on Friday night.

Matt Deeb, a freshman information management and technology and finance dual major, Christopher Thomsen, a freshman broadcast and digital journalism and management dual major and James Franco, a sophomore history and political science dual major were a part of the winning team. The trio developed a campaign based around the hashtag #KeepYourShine with the intent of ending smokeless tobacco use in baseball.

The team will now travel to New York City to visit MLB.com’s headquarters, according to an iSchool press release. Many of the judges from MLB Advanced Media are SU alumni.

The challenge started with dinner and introductions in Club 44, where teams were also given the prompt for the challenge. Each team, 21 total, was assigned a room in the iSchool and stayed overnight to develop their campaign. Teams traveled to NBT Bank Stadium, home of the Syracuse Chiefs, Friday afternoon where they pitched their ideas to the panels. Four teams were chosen for the finals, before “Teamo Kreemo” was named the winner.

Zephyr Teachout speaks at Maxwell

Zephyr Teachout, a Fordham University law professor who recently ran against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, spoke Friday afternoon in Maxwell Auditorium.

Teachout gave a lecture on her book titled “Corruption in America: From Benjamin Franklin’s Snuff Box to Citizens United.” Teachout discussed her run against Cuomo, as well as corruption in politics.

The main topic of Teachout’s lecture was the Citizens United ruling, which ruled that the First Amendment prohibited the government from restricting independent political spending by a nonprofit organization, and what that has meant for campaign finance. Teachout called for public campaign funding as opposed to the status quo of private campaign funding.

Teachout also called for the “break up” of big companies and banks. She cited the anti-trust guidelines that were put into place in 1981 and referenced the rewriting of them as one of the solutions to the problem.

During the Q&A portion of the lecture, Teachout received questions about THE General Body. Teachout said that she didn’t have enough information or knowledge on the subject, but she encouraged the crowd to always question representatives on “where they get their information from.”

Teachout was asked at the end of the lecture whether she would like to run for office again in which she responded: “I sure hope so.”

SU announces changes to Huntington Beard Crouse

Syracuse University announced in a release Friday morning that it is planning renovations to Huntington Beard Crouse Hall with this summer as the target start date.

The majority of the renovations will take place on the lower level of HBC, where Kittredge Auditorium is located, and include upgrades to the auditorium and a new elevator that goes to the Gifford Auditorium lobby, according to the release. The construction is scheduled to begin the day after commencement and end in mid-August.

As part of the project, a new elevator will provide access to the Gifford Auditorium lobby, rather than the current format in which those with wheelchairs must go outside the building and enter through a door in the courtyard between HBC and the Hall of Languages.

Other aspects of the project include:

• Installation of fire service and sprinklers in the lower level and an upgrade to the building’s fire alarm system
• Construction of a ramped corridor on the lower level, which will provide access to the new restrooms and allow for the removal of a metal ramp
• Installation of new lighting and flooring in public spaces on the lower level, as well as improvements to the Gifford Auditorium lobby
• Integration of site work and landscaping in the outdoor courtyard between HBC and the Hall of Languages

Joseph Alfieri, senior project manager in the Office of Campus Planning, Design and Construction, will give presentations about the renovations on Wednesday and Dec. 2.

Published on November 17, 2014 at 12:01 am

Contact Justin: jmatting@syr.edu | @jmattingly306