thursday, february 12, 2026
celebrating 122 years
free
O • Absence of Light
C • 100 years
S • Friends to foes
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Our Absence of Light column returns after three years to give voice to formerly incarcerated people in the Syracuse area.
Drumlins County Club has been a hub of community for Syracuse Univeristy students and locals for the last century.
Gary Gait’s coaching career began at Maryland. The Terrapins are now the Orange and Gait’s nemesis.
Former SU lacrosse player expelled after Title IX investigation april 24, 2024
The first allegedly violent incident occurs inside Chrishawn Hunter’s South Campus apartment
su athletics
Syracuse AD John Wildhack set to retire By Justin Girshon senior staff writer
aug. 24, 2024
Hunter and the complainant engage in a verbal argument with mutual pushing that was reported to DPS by an anonymous caller
march 22, 2025
Hunter reportedly physically assaults the complainant in his South Campus apartment
oct. 8-9, 2025
A Title IX hearing is held on Zoom
feb. 3, 2026
A final decision is released, affirming the hearing officer’s determination and factual findings, as well as Hunter’s expulsion leonardo eriman senior staff photographer By Cooper Andrews and Kendall Luther the daily orange
Editor’s note: This story includes descriptions of dating and domestic violence.
F
ormer Syracuse men’s lacrosse player Chrishawn Hunter has been expelled from the university after a Title IX investigation found evidence that he engaged in dating and domestic violence. Syracuse University received a formal Title IX complaint against Hunter on May 5, 2025. The complainant, a female undergraduate student, alleged three incidents that caused her to fear for her safety, accord-
ing to hearing outcome documents obtained by The Daily Orange. A Title IX hearing officer designated by SU found Hunter responsible for two of the three alleged incidents, violating SU’s Sexual Harassment, Abuse and Assault Prevention Policy related to both dating and domestic violence, as well as sections 1, 2 and 3 of the university’s Student Conduct Code. The sections address physical assault and intentional conduct causing harm. The hearing officer found insufficient information to conclude that Hunter engaged in sexual harassment, according to the decision. The hearing officer found that Hunter subjected the undergraduate student to “continued and unwelcome actions” from
spring 2024 through spring 2025, the documents state. Hunter is no longer a student at SU and has not been a student since spring 2025, Sarah Scalese, the university’s vice president for communications, confirmed in a statement to The D.O. Though two “physical acts” were separated by several months, the hearing officer found a “pattern of behavior” as Hunter “chose to engage in physical violence as a response when frustrated by someone with whom he was in a dating relationship.” Hunter’s expulsion means he is ineligible to “receive any diploma, degree, or certificate from Syracuse University and is permanently see hunter page 5
Syracuse Director of Athletics John Wildhack is set to retire, the university confirmed in a press release Wednesday afternoon. Wildhack will remain in his role through July 1 to conclude his 10-year tenure at SU. ESPN’s Pete Thamel was the first to report the news. “It was my decision,” Widlhack told Cuse Sports Talk Wednesday afternoon. “So let me be very definitive about that.” Wildhack’s retirement plans came over four months after it was announced that Chancellor Kent Syverud — who will become Michigan’s next president — will leave SU after the 2025-26 academic year. In September, Wildhack, 67, said he had no plans to leave his position after it was announced Syverud would be stepping down. “From the moment John returned to his alma mater in 2016, he has been relentless in his pursuit of excellence across all facets of Syracuse Athletics,” Syverud wrote in a press release. “John has supported our student-athletes as competitors and scholars, he has transformed our athletics facilities. He has been a vital leader in the work of the Atlantic Coast Conference, and he has navigated the rapidly evolving college athletics landscape with expertise and vision. I am deeply grateful to John and wish him and his family the very best as he begins this well-deserved retirement.” As Syracuse’s 11th director of athletics, the Orange’s most notable athletic accomplishment under Wildhack was the men’s soccer team winning the 2022 National Championship. Though the men’s and women’s lacrosse programs each made Final Fours during his tenure, they fell short of reaching National Championship games. On the hardwood, SU’s women’s basketball program made five NCAA Tournaments while the men’s program faltered to just three. Wildhack was also tasked with hiring Felisha Legette-Jack to lead the women’s program after turbulence under previous head coach Quentin Hillsman, and he navigated Jim Boeheim’s retirement following 47 years at the helm. Though football had its ups and downs, the Orange had two 10-win seasons during see wildhack page 14
on campus
ICE concerns, calls for transparency consume USen open forum By Samantha Olander and Griffin Uribe Brown the daily orange
Attendees at Syracuse University Senate’s annual open forum had lots of questions about immigration enforcement and SU’s commitment to diversity. Few were answered. At this year’s forum, attendees raised concerns — mostly in the form of questions — related to U.S. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement, following false reports Monday that ICE agents were seen on campus. The open forum, held in lieu of the senate’s monthly meeting, is not structured as a question-and-answer session. Unlike regular meetings, there is no one designated to answer attendee questions. Instead, it serves as a space for the university community to voice issues they want the senate to prioritize in the coming year.
Michael Bunker, chief of SU’s Department of Public Safety, answered a handful of ICE-related questions early in the meeting. He said DPS has investigated multiple recent reports of ICE activity in the area, but there has been no evidence to substantiate them. “We’ve had three reports recently that come into the Department of Public Safety,” he said. “All three of those we’ve been able to look into and have not seen ICE in the area.”
Bunker said the reports came from the Westcott neighborhood, Salt City Market area and Harrison Street corridor. DPS worked with the Syracuse Police Department and the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office, reviewed camera footage and sent personnel to the reported locations, he said. He also addressed a Monday incident that involved two U.S. Marshals investigating an unrelated federal
matter on campus. Their presence, he said, was “quite alarming” to those who were on campus that day. DPS confirmed the marshals were present for “a legitimate, nonICE related issue,” he said, adding he contacted their supervisor to express concerns about the fear their appearance incited. Still, several senators questioned why DPS never sent an official see USen page 5