thursday, april 17, 2025
N • Housing for all
celebrating 121 years
free
As it faces lost grant funding, CNY Fair Housing continues to support and protect the local community through its advocacy work.
Cuse Gourmet Deli & Café is open 24/7, satisfying a craving from the campus community for late-night food.
C • Round-the-clock eats
S • Portal problems
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Trebor Peña shockingly entered the transfer portal Tuesday. The receiver’s departure should be blamed on the NCAA’s incomplete system.
ORANGEICON
university senate
USen to continue free speech, NIL committees By Duncan Green news editor
By Aiden Stepansky
digital managing editor
E
mma Ward needed time to decide if her college career was over. After Syracuse’s Final Four loss to Boston College in May 2024 ended her fourth season, Ward felt immense pain physically and mentally. She’d already torn both of her ACLs and suffered a meniscus tear before joining the Orange in 2021. As a sophomore, a Grade 3 turf toe and complete rupture of the plantar plate — a structure connecting her big toe to her right foot — sidelined her for the 2022 campaign. At this point in her career, Ward has the knees of an 80-year-old, as described to her
by a doctor in the summer of 2023 following a meniscus scope. Still, Ward knew she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to return to SU for her fifth and final season. Already an all-time great, Ward has further cemented her legacy in 2025 by becoming one of seven Syracuse players to tally 300 or more points. An assist Thursday against BC will make her the program’s top facilitator, passing Katie Rowan Thomson’s 164 assists. With her name continuing to climb the record books, Ward is a connector of eras at SU, acting as the last women’s player to appear under Gary Gait. She dons Syracuse’s storied No. 44, linking its male-dominated history to women’s sports. Through it all, she’s adapted and revolutionized her game to develop into one of the country’s best players.
“Five years have literally flown by, and early on, it’s, ‘What do you want to be remembered as? What do you want to accomplish?’” Ward said. “When I came here my freshman year, I couldn’t have imagined having the career that I’ve had.” Following SU’s NCAA Tournament exit last year, Ward went home to Babylon, New York, for the summer and spoke with her closest family and friends to weigh the pros and cons of returning to Syracuse. But a conversation with SU head coach Kayla Treanor helped seal Ward’s decision. Treanor, one of the top players in Syracuse history, told Ward a job can wait, knowing the graduate student would regret giving up the time she still had.
see ward page 13
Amid an ever-changing landscape in higher education and college athletics, the Syracuse University Senate passed motions extending special committees to advise on free speech and name, image and likeness deals in the body’s final meeting of the academic year. During the meeting, senators discussed strategies to ensure student, faculty and staff involvement in university decisionmaking as academic institutions face unprecedented direct interference by the federal government. Senators called on SU administrators to maintain communication with the senate and welcome its input. “There are many, many reasons, having to do with timetables, compliance issues and so on, that administrators work the way they do, but nevertheless, the concerns of students, faculty and staff about having input in the process are valid concerns,” said Crystal Bartolovich, an SU professor and member of the ad hoc committee for free speech and university policy. “We wanted to balance those things out a little bit better.” Bartolovich proposed 20 recommendations for SU’s “Syracuse Statement,” which offers protections for faculty and student speech on campus. The statement has been a source of concern for many in the senate since it was first introduced last May. Bartolovich said the committee’s concerns generally revolve around senate involvement in decision-making and advised frequent contributions from senators on issues regarding freedom of speech. In an October senate meeting, Senator Steven Diaz, a professor in SU’s Mathematics department, said the statement should have been overseen by an elected body, such as the senate, instead of an ad hoc committee formed with unelected members. These concerns extend beyond the statement, with hundreds of faculty members signing a petition in February to protest the administration overriding their proposed changes to SU’s Liberal Arts Core curriculum without further faculty consultation. see usen page 3
on campus
Carmelo Anthony visits new Marshall St. cannabis store, Dazed By Cooper Andrews managing editor
Noah White walked along Marshall Street Monday carrying a pound of marijuana with Carmelo Anthony’s name on it. The 25-year-old Saratoga, New York, native yearned to properly repay his idol when meeting Anthony at a StayMe7o Cannabis launch event inside of Dazed, a New Yorklicensed cannabis store that’s days
away from opening a new Marshall Street location. White, who runs legal dispensary Canna Cure Farms, personally knows Dazed co-founder Keshawn Warner. He said Dazed’s customer service sets it apart from competitors. And considering Monday’s scene, where Anthony strolled by a sea of students who repeatedly chanted “Melo,” White felt Anthony was the perfect figure to serve Dazed’s new audience base.
“That Flowerhouse by Melo, man, that’s the one. It’s a really, really good smoke. Derrell Black dazed director of leadership development
“It’s a great way to launch your store in Syracuse because obviously Melo played for Syracuse and killed it,” White said, grinning ear-to-ear after successfully handing Anthony the bag of pot. “He’s one of the best of all time. So, it’s huge.” Excitement swirled near Syracuse University’s campus Monday as Dazed introduced its upcoming Marshall Street storefront by hosting a meet and greet with Anthony. Announced the morning of, students
and local residents eagerly stood in line to get their first peek at Dazed’s interior, take pictures with the SU basketball legend and receive StayMe7o cannabis products, which Dazed will sell upon opening. Warner said partnering with Anthony was paramount in catering toward Dazed’s newfound audience, as Anthony remains a key part of SU’s community. His son, Kiyan Anthony, will debut as a freshman with Syrasee dazed page 7