UPDATED: Nov. 5, 2015 at 5:01 p.m.

There is room for improvement in how athletes can report harassment and LGBT climate complaints, according to the University Senate LGBT Concerns Committee.

Syracuse University Athletics doesn’t have a system for student-athletes to report harassment anonymously — a mechanism that’s been proven crucial for victims, said Francine D’Amico, co-chair of the LGBT committee. D’Amico and Rachel Fox von Swearingen, the other chair of the committee, discussed the need for this system, among other updates, at Wednesday evening’s University Senate meeting.

The meeting began with an address by Chancellor Kent Syverud, who discussed the city of Syracuse’s submission to the Upstate Revitalization Initiative, concerns about the veteran-focused medical school and other topics.

Syverud said he and other regional officials visited Albany to present Central New York’s Upstate Revitalization Initiative proposal. Seven regions in upstate New York will submit ideas spurring economic development in their area, with three winners receiving $500 million each. The Central New York proposal mainly focuses on economic inclusion — an area that has come into consideration in Syracuse after the city was slammed with the highest rate of extreme poverty between blacks and Hispanics among the nation’s largest cities.

But Syverud cautioned senators that there is no guarantee the region will edge out its competitors.

“They’re very good proposals, so it’s not assured that we will win,” he said.

The university could play a part in the city’s economic revitalization if it chooses to pursue a veteran-focused medical school, he said. If the school and the National Veterans Resource Complex are built, Syverud said it would result in the creation of hundreds of jobs and large-scale economic activity for University Hill and beyond.

The hope is to establish the city as the national leader in veterans resources, he said, and the next step will be to consult with various university stakeholders to see how the medical school stacks up to all of SU’s other planned initiatives.

“There’s no other complex like this in the nation,” Syverud said. “The vision would be that we’re the one-stop shop for research and service issues and education related to veterans.”

Syverud said the winners of the URI will most likely be announced mid-December or in January as part of New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s State of the State address.

In its report to the senate, the LGBT committee said it’s still waiting on the results of a survey evaluating the climate around LGBT issues in SU Athletics.

D’Amico said several student athletes approached the committee with “very specific and very concerning complaints” about the LGBT climate in athletic teams.

In 2012, the committee noted that the experience of LGBT athletes was “shocking,” resulting in a multifaceted list of recommendations for SU Athletics. This included establishing concrete anti-harassment and anti-homophobia policies for athletes, coaches and referees. It also called for SU Athletics to conduct a survey evaluating the climate around LGBT issues.

The athletics department and the committee have since joined the national “You Can Play” campaign, which encourages athletes of all sexual orientations and gender identities to join college teams.

SU is creating a video with the campaign to be shown at Carrier Dome athletic events, but the video is still being reviewed, as it doesn’t incorporate coaches, staff and administrators speaking out against harassment, “gay bashing” and other areas, according to the report.

The committee also mentioned SU’s overall ranking on the Campus Pride Index, which evaluates a university’s commitment to LGBTQ inclusive policies, programs and practices, according to the website. For 2015, SU received 3.5 out of five stars and is not listed on the site’s “Top 50 LGBTQ Friendly Colleges and Universities,” D’Amico said.

D’Amico said members of the campus still feel like they can’t be upfront and disclose their sexuality. One of her students told D’Amico that they had been beaten and bruised on campus by a group of men due to their sexuality — an indicator, she said, that there is still more to be done.

Other business discussed:

The University Senate Academic Affairs Committee introduced a proposal to separate the School of Art and Design into two schools: the School of Art and the School of Design. The proposal has already been approved by the committee, but will be considered by the entire senate at the next meeting in December.

 

Correction: In a previous version of this article, the area that the revitalization project will focus on was misstated. It will be centered on central New York. The Daily Orange regrets this error.  

Published on November 4, 2015 at 10:56 pm

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