thursday, march 20, 2025
celebrating 121 years
free
N • Refugee resettlement
C • Spring fever
S • Last chance
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ArtRage Gallery and InterFaith Works discussed the impact of Trump’s anti-immigration policies on local refugees.
As Syracuse University finally experienced warmer weather this week, students flooded campus to soak up the sun.
Syracuse has missed four straight NCAA Tournaments. Our columnist writes Adrian Autry should be fired if the skid extends to five.
on campus
Solidarity Coalition trains activists By Madeline Goodheart asst. digital editor
Clouded access
Students call on SU’s School of Art to increase Adobe CC access
By Ben Butler culture editor
D
usty Herbig was preparing for an optional five-week course on Photoshop when he encountered a problem: none of his students could access Adobe Creative Cloud services on their personal devices. Herbig, who’s the coordinator of the Print Media & Graphic Art area of Syracuse University’s School of Art, didn’t find this out until the first day of classes. He searched for roughly two weeks to find a computer lab in the Shaffer Art Building where he could hold class. “That was when rubber really hit the road for me,” Herbig said. “It’s only a fiveweek class, and it took us two or three weeks to find a lab that people could go to, and it had to be special permission at a lab down in Film and Media Arts in Shaffer.”
Many students in SU’s School of Art don’t have access to Adobe CC on their personal devices through their academic program. Students in SOA, which is housed in SU’s College of Visual and Performing Arts, have lobbied for access over the past year, but said school administrators haven’t adequately addressed their concerns or communicated effectively. Robert Wysocki, SOA’s director, said his goal is to get Adobe CC personal device licenses for all sophomores, juniors and seniors in the school by August 2025. But that depends heavily on faculty input as well as SOA curricular changes, he said. “It’s just a matter of purchasing what we’re going to use, and not just throw money into software that most of them aren’t going to use,” Wysocki said. “We have to bake it into the curriculum, so it’s hand in hand with what we’re doing in studios.” At SU, the School of Architecture, S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communica-
tions, and VPA’s ’ School of Design, Department of Film and Media Arts and Department of Drama grant access to Adobe CC personal device licenses. Other institutions such as Boston University, Colgate University, and Northwestern University grant access university-wide. Students can log into their SU accounts and access Adobe CC services on SU’s campus computers. Lily Ryan, a senior studio arts major, said that during their freshman year, there were six computers at the Comstock Art facility, where most studio arts classes are held. Now, there are only four in the entire building, Herbig said. Two of those are maintained effectively, Ryan said. Studio arts classes tend to have roughly 10 students, so there can be as many as 100 students using the building at any given time, Herbig said. With only two fully functional computers, he said teaching see adobe page 7
flynn ledoux illustration editor
Around 50 community members attended a workshop hosted by the CNY Solidarity Coalition Wednesday evening aiming to teach attendees how to advocate peacefully and effectively in protest settings. With the event titled, “De-escalation Training for Activists,” Andy Mager, coordinator and social movements liaison for the Syracuse Peace Council, said the coalition’s increasing focus on demonstration tactics is in response to “authoritarian moves” under President Donald Trump’s administration. Mager said the president’s efforts to consolidate power and encourage violence has introduced a newfound need for peaceful protest. “More and more people are coming to protests, and that’s a great thing,” Mager said. “We want those people to feel confident exercising their democratic rights and to be able to do so safely.” Since his return to office, Trump has signed 89 executive orders tightening immigration restrictions and limiting diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility in government. He also introduced the Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, imposing limitations on federal agencies’ hiring practices and enacting cost-cutting policies. Last Friday, the coalition organized a “Tesla Takedown” protest, drawing over 350 attendees to the Central New York Tesla service center to protest Musk’s unchecked power as the leader of DOGE. The large turnout demonstrated the growth in interest in fighting back and protesting the Trump administration’s actions, Mager said. “Musk has been allowed to do what he’s doing in the federal government,” Peggy Cohee, a workshop attendee, said. “It’s scary, and I think we have to call him out.” The workshop emphasized that traditional marches and rallies might not suffice in protesting Trump’s actions. Mager said he wanted to help participants be ready for situations where actions like sit-ins and blockades could grow into larger protests, potentially garnering attention from counter-protesters. Howard and Mager led attendees through several exercises, including “hassle lines,” where participants formed two rows: one roleplaying as protest disruptors and the other as protesters attempting to de-escalate. Facilitators encouraged open communication within the group to foster a collaborative learning environment, while Howard shared tactics including using direct eye contact, breathing slowly and assuming a physically neutral stance. Mager stressed the importance of establishing clear agreements with counter-protestors during demonstrations to ensure a safe environment for all see workshop page 7