In 2020 I returned to Syracuse itching to learn. I began to take on as much coursework as I could, especially after experiencing an event that could take my education away. In a month, I was a triple major between Newhouse and Maxwell, pulled in multiple different directions. Everything around me was focused, but I was in chaos. So, when sitting in the Maxwell Auditorium I wasn’t all there.
Today I am focused and present in the world. I’ve finished two majors early and only have my Photojournalism major and Philosophy minor left. But the world now seems chaotic, quickly moving around me. Especially as I begin my search in the job market.
Between Newhouse and Schine, for most of 2020 and 2021 years, there was a single imposing sign. MASKS ARE REQUIRED ON OUR CAMPUS. ALWAYS! It was so hostile and unwelcoming. The atmosphere was dark and gloomy, and everything felt so far away. As I stood at the entrance to what was my home, it was cold.
Today that sign is gone, replaced by a massive, curved wall with the Syracuse name. The construction on Schine - which gutted the student center, and student soul - is now completed. The outlook for the university after the pandemic years is bright and the warmth has returned to the hill.
Because of my multiple majors and the isolation of COVID, I found that I didn’t really have a homebase in any school. Newhouse and Maxwell, when COVID wasn’t tearing through the community, are typically large families of students who support each other. But as a student between the two, I couldn’t commit to a side, so I felt left out in the cold.
Now as I finish out my degree, I am more comfortable with my unique position. I have planted my roots far more firmly into each school and met individuals who have supported me through the years. I can’t walk far on campus without running into a friend. I’m proud of where I am, and I’m grateful for the lessons I’ve learned.
During my junior year, COVID was on its way out the door, but from one massive event to another, the Stand with Survivors SU protests began. I watched as the community was shaken by the allegations. And while the protests didn’t last, the University sat with the information brought to light.
As a result of those protests, Syracuse placed disciplinary punishments on numerous Greek organizations. A few were removed from campus; others are allowed to stay with restrictions against social events as a punishment. For 2022, the campus is dealing with the antisemitic information dug up in the Remembrance Scholar archive, but the events of the past are now being replaced with normalcy.
Since then, COVID has become less of a cloud over my life. I do activities with my friend groups weekly, take classes with my peers, and am now living my life to the fullest. As I look back on that figure from the past, I can feel proud of the man I have become and enjoy the future I have.
With five semesters left I took this image as a halfway mark. It was also nearly 9 months of isolation. My classes were online, and I had no roommates or friends to share my college experience. It was a dark time in my life. So, as I stood outside my South Campus apartment and took that picture in the cold drizzle, I was creating a time capsule of my lowest point in life at college to see how much I would grow in the semesters to come.
During the Stand with Survivors SU protests, the community began to turn against the party culture Syracuse had been known for when I first applied. One of the fraternities on the hitlist was Phi Kappa Psi. Protesters marched up the grassy hill leading to the house as lights within were extinguished and curtains drawn. The porch was soon claimed by the protest leaders as allegations of assaults were declared.
Now just a year later, the building sits still. It is still occupied by the fraternity, but they have been put on disciplinary watch and punished with a ban against hosting social gatherings. Fraternities like Phi Kappa Psi are becoming a dying breed where the social club atmosphere is frowned upon in an academic atmosphere. The torn-up grass and loud music is no more.
