Dan and BrandiLee Schafran graduated from SU three years ago. Three days after walking across the stage to accept their diplomas, they walked down the aisle to exchange vows.

Written and Produced By: Marlei Martinez

For many college couples, falling in love sparks thoughts about marriage. But in a society where youthful marriages are declining, love isn’t the only factor college sweethearts are looking for when deciding to tie the knot.

Anthony Kershaw and Deana Cater are 22-years-old. Anthony is a fifth-year senior studying civil engineering at Syracuse University. His wife, Deana, graduated from SU last year. They met during their sophomore year of college.

“His shoes were really dirty so I just noticed him and I said, ‘Oh, I saw you on the bus today,’” Deana explained. “And he thought I was making fun of him so he Facebooked me and the rest is history.”

They dated for two years. During Deana’s senior year, they decided to marry due to “extenuating circumstance.”

“Pretty much the school took away my financial aid because there was a discrepancy in my FAFSA tax documents [and] my parents were unwilling to change their documents,” Anthony explained.

One way to keep his financial aid was to become independent. So, Anthony and Deana got married.

Finances are often a reason why college sweethearts decide to tie the knot. According to the Yale Daily Times, 15% of college couples get married and 7% of college couples marry while still in school.

Dr. Suzanne Haas-Cunningham, a marriage and family therapist, said money means different things for different couples.

“For some couples, finances would be really, really big,” Dr. Haas-Cunningham said. “But sometimes if there’s one person who has more financial responsibility and the other person is the caretaker, then it evens out.”

***

Dan and BrandiLee Schafran graduated from SU three years ago. Three days after walking across the stage to accept their diplomas, they walked down the aisle to exchange vows.

“It was the perfect day,” BrandiLee said.

The Schafrans met during their sophomore year of college when Dan joined the on-campus organization, Campus Crusade for Christ. They said faith is the foundation of their marriage and it was the cornerstone of Dan’s proposal in the Adirondacks.

“I got down and had her sit on the bank there,” Dan said. “And I read the passage in scripture where Jesus talks about washing each other’s feet and serving each other. So I kind of washed her feet there in the stream and told her I’d love her and serve her for the rest of her life.”

Dr. Haas-Cunningham said practicing the same faith does help the success of a marriage. However, she says it’s not a necessity.

”You could have two people who have two different beliefs that are really passionate and say, ‘I get you’re as passionate about your beliefs as I am, that’s cool, I can respect that,’” she said.

There are many reasons why college couples decide to get married either during school or right after. And while some may think love is enough, others consider a bit more.

The Westcott Theatre is located on Westcott Street, just blocks from Syracuse University

Written/Produced by Lara Bryn Greenberg

Syracuse, N.Y. – There are many different names for the same building on Westcott Street: The Westcott, The Westcott Theater, The Westcott Cinema and The Harvard Cinema. Nowadays, it’s called The Westcott or The Westcott Theater, and it’s one of the go-to concert venues in Syracuse.

The theater opened as The Harvard Cinema in 1926, and for more than eighty years, it showed independent and foreign films on a single screen.  But in October, 2007, this historical building closed down. Then-owner Nat Tobin kept the theater alive for more than ten years—along with his other building, The Manlius Cinema.

“Between utilities and rent, [The Westcott Cinema] was draining the profits of both theaters, and the only way that I felt that art as a medium in Syracuse could survive is if I gave up that theater and concentrated on Manlius again,” Tobin said.

But it didn’t take long for the space to be picked up by someone else.

Dan Mastronardi is in charge of booking bands in Central New York.  He shares his company, Hollerback Productions, with his partner Sam Levey. The two completely renovated the space themselves.

“It was long and tedious. It was not as expensive as most people would think because we did all the work ourselves,” Mastronardi said. All that work included tearing out seats and installing a 36-by-16 foot stage and a bar. The venue now has a maximum capacity of seven-hundred people. They generally have one hundred to two hundred guests per show, but have sold out at least a dozen times Mastronardi said.

Venue connects S.U. campus with Syracuse community

As a concert venue, The Westcott adds to the neighborhood—providing the “Westcott Nation” with a venue that Syracuse University students and community members can enjoy.

“It’s a big step to open a venue. And they’re taking those steps and they’re still improving things as we go now a year out,” said Ulf Oesterle, owner of Aux Records and host of iROCK at WKRL in Syracuse. He praised the venue for its closeness to the community, explaining that “the fact that you can just head out and see a show just down the street that’s national acts, that’s great.”

Oesterle explained that it’s an all-age venue. Meaning that while it has a bar, most of the shows allow people under the age of eighteen to attend. He said that makes parents feel more comfortable about letting their children go to shows and mingle with students from the nearby SU campus. He said it’s a nice spot where people are “looking out for each other.”

But the theatre is also a launching pad for new talent. Though Mastronardi brings in national touring acts, he usually has local Syracuse and Central New York bands open for them. This gave him his first piece of national press coverage on the music site, Jambase, which has information about bands, concerts, and tours.

Other local venues can’t compare

Adam Gold frequents the theater to see concerts and perform with his band, Sophistafunk. He also owns his own venue called Funk N Waffles on Marshall Street near the SU hill. It’s a coffee shop and waffle restaurant that books bands to play at night. He said he would never be able to book bands like The Westcott because his café is small and simply can’t hold the national touring bands that The Westcott gets.

“I’m really glad The Westcott’s here. You know, there’s really no venue like it in this city. And I think we really need it to help build the music scene,” Gold said.

Adults and teenagers alike packed the theater in early October when Gold and his band opened for the band Soulive. The unusual, yet comforting venue brought a well-balanced combination of young and old music lovers. And that’s exactly what Mastronardi said he aims for.

Students play beer pong on Syracuse University campus. The traditional college drinking games has been linked to the spread of the H1N1 virus.

Beer Pong- Another Swine Flu Victim

By Rachel Silver

Syracuse, N.Y. – A longstanding college tradition may be a cause in the spread of swine flu.

Beer pong, a college drinking game, is popular with students on campuses across the country. In the game, players throw ping-pong balls into cups of beer to determine who drinks and continue playing until all of the cups are empty.

But while the game may seem relatively harmless, several schools have connected outbreaks of H1N1 on their campuses to the game.

At Rennsalaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, twenty-one students with confirmed cases of swine flu were said to contract the virus through beer pong, causing the university to send out a message warning students of the potential dangers of the game.

At Syracuse University, the administration took a proactive approach through an advisory sent to off-campus students regarding the health risks of beer pong.

“There is an obvious connection between people exchanging germs through contact with cups and sharing beverages,” said Carol Masiclat, associate director of communications for the Division of Student Affairs. “So obviously if you’re sharing cups and, you know, putting your mouth on common things, it’s possible you could increase you risk of getting sick.”

However, despite the university’s warnings, the majority of SU students, like Ian Chin, remain unconcerned.

“It’s part of the college culture, you know,” said Chin. “It’s fraternities and sororities like playing it, it’s a staple at college parties and, you know, college kids like to, you know, get intoxicated.”