Brewster, Boland and Brockway (BBB) Halls have welcomed thousands of Syracuse University students over the years. But it’s the buildings’ unofficial residents that possess a special kind of staying power.

According to the Onondaga Historical Association, BBB was built atop the former site of Old St. Mary’s Cemetery, a hillside burial space that used to mark the edge of town. No sooner had BBB opened in 1968 than its residents began hearing unexplained noises, voices and footsteps at night.

“It was pretty creepy,” Alex Carrieri told The Daily Orange in 2009, referring to “loud” classical music that inexplicably surfaced in nocturnal voice recordings that she and her roommate made in Boland Hall.

Meanwhile, several Brewster residents complained of an invisible weight pressing against them while they tried to sleep.

“Ghosts, graveyards and cemeteries go hand in hand,” says Gareth Fisher, associate professor and chair of in the . “They tap into our deepest fears and curiosities about the unknown.”

He teaches a popular course called Ghosts and Ghostbusters, which examines ethnographic studies of people’s encounters with ghosts. The class considers what ghosts represent, culturally and socially speaking, and why they fascinate us.

“Ghosts cut across cultures, generations and geographical boundaries,” says Fisher, who views ghosts through an anthropological lens. “Their stories bridge the known and unknown, especially when conventional science lacks answers.”

The Lure of Lore

Central New York is a hotbed for ghost lore, driven by centuries of turbulence and conflict.

“Themes of mortality and remembrance are everywhere you look,” says Fisher, noting the high density of graveyards, cemeteries and historic properties throughout Syracuse.

He admits that, like most campuses, Syracuse has its share of urban legends. Consider the following:

• The faint sounds of shuffling feet and closing doors in the 120-year-old Butterfield House, home of the Alpha Chapter of Alpha Gamma Delta. Some residents have experienced vivid nightmares and bouts of sleepwalking.
• Horrific shrieks piercing the night in Lawrinson Hall, whose upper floors are believed to be haunted.
• Mysterious echoes and sudden drafts in Slocum Hall, presumably the work of a spirit of someone who died there in 1921.

John Harris isn’t surprised by these eerie tales. A renowned paranormal anthropologist, he regularly accompanies Fisher and his students to nearby Oakwood Cemetery, one of the oldest and largest cemeteries in Central New York.

“I had a friend get ‘rushed’ there once by a ghost,” says Harris, who has conducted more than 400 investigations. “It ran up on her so quickly that she felt attacked, like a pick in basketball. It was pure energy.”

The Science of Fear

While a vast number of people believe in ghosts, there’s no such thing as a ghost that’s universal to all societies and cultures.

“Ghosts are understood within their own historical and ethnographic contexts,” says Fisher, a scholar of lay Buddhism in contemporary mainland China, where ghosts figure prominently in religious cosmology. “They’re vivid reminders of our mortality.”

Amy Tran ’27 credits Fisher for helping her see ghosts in a new light. “By learning about different types of ghosts and reading about people’s real-life encounters with them, I’ve realized that they don’t have to carry an evil or scary stigma,” she says.

With ghosts, Fisher says there are skeptics and believers—and that his students are “somewhere in the middle.”

One of the highlights of the class is a spirited, end-of-semester debate.

“Whether or not ghosts are real is less important than how they make us feel,” he says. “Their stories teach us about ourselves.”

The Department of Public Safety (DPS) will conduct a test of the�� on Wednesday, Oct. 21, at 12:50 p.m. Please note: this is just a TEST. It will be a full test of the system, which includes notifications sent via email, text message and voice call. The test will also include the Orange Alert outdoor siren system on the University’s North and South campuses. The sirens will be activated for two minutes at 12:50 p.m.

In addition to email, text and voice messages, the Orange Alert test message will also be sent via push notification to the��, to the main Syracuse University and DPS Facebook and Twitter accounts, and will display on the University’s homepage and video monitors located in common areas in several buildings around campus.

Beginning this fall, our emergency notification system will include a new “desktop notifier” feature that displays emergency alerts on classroom computers and temporarily takes over the screen. Alerts will automatically close after 60 seconds, or faculty can dismiss them sooner by selecting “Acknowledge and Close” and then confirming with “Yes.”

In previous tests, notifications were typically scheduled during class transitions. With this new feature, however, the test will be conducted five minutes after classes begin.

The Orange Alert test message will be sent to all Syracuse University students, faculty and staff, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY ESF) students and to SUNY ESF faculty and staff who have signed up. Orange Alert will send a test notice to all devices that are registered on the system.

“Testing the Orange Alert system ensures that our campus community can be alerted quickly and effectively in the event of an emergency,” says William Karnadi, director of emergency management and business continuity planning. “This year’s test also includes a desktop notifier for the first time, so we encourage faculty and staff to expect a brief pop-up during the test window—it will be clearly marked as a test and will not disrupt your work for more than a moment. We also encourage everyone to take a few minutes to double-check their contact information in MySlice so they don’t miss these critical alerts.”

To review and/or modify your Orange Alert contact information, log into MySlice using your NetID and password, select Student Home or Employee Home, depending on your primary affiliation with Syracuse University, select the Personal Profile tile, then “Orange Alert Contacts” from the navigation menu and review your information. If you need to add, update or delete contact information, select the “Add/Update/Delete Contact Details” link. If you are a SUNY ESF student, use the SUNY ESF emergency contact information page to update your information.

For additional information on the Orange Alert system, visit��.

Wondering when to go abroad? Here are five reasons fall might be your best bet.

Fall-Only Programs

Some programs only run in the fall, including engineering in Strasbourg, France, acting at Shakespeare’s Globe in London, England, Spanish immersion in Santiago, Chile, and health and science in Madrid, Spain.

Whatever your major, there may be a fall option that fits.

Better Odds

Fall programs tend to offer more availability, which can mean more housing choices and a better shot at your first-choice program. Looking to study in Florence or Madrid? Applying for fall can make it easier to land there at the same time as your friends.

Similar Cost

You keep your institutional aid on a program, so costs are similar to studying on campus. There are also a handful of grants and scholarships available for fall programs!

Holidays Abroad

Fall means holiday magic in Europe, from some of the oldest Christmas markets to cultural events like the Strasbourg World Forum on Democracy.

Personal Growth

A fall semester abroad provides a unique opportunity to reflect and grow in a new environment. Launch your spring semester back on campus with fresh perspectives and newfound passions.

Ready to start? Fall applications .

On Dec. 21, 1988, Gwen Baxter, a doctor, was in her Main Street home in Lockerbie, Scotland, when a roar shook the house. Through the kitchen window, she and her family witnessed a fireball.

A terrorist bomb had caused Pan Am Flight 103 to explode over the small Scottish town. Debris struck the house’s thick Victorian sandstone walls, and a boulder of earth landed in the back garden. Gwen went over the back fence to help, getting neighbors out of wrecked homes.

Her grandson, James Johnson, was not aware of the full extent of his grandmother’s involvement that night until a couple of weeks before he left for Syracuse University in October 2025 as part of its first cohort of Lockerbie Fellows.

A Trustee of Tundergarth Kirks Trust

A first-year student at the University of Strathclyde studying law, politics and international relations, Johnson is carrying that story forward. He has been named a trustee of the , which owns and preserves three Pan Am 103 memorial sites in Lockerbie.

The invitation arrived while he rode the London Underground to a meeting for his work with the mental health charity Anna Freud. TKT Trustee Dianne Thomson told him the board had agreed unanimously, then urged him to think it over. Hours later, after his mother called it a great idea, Johnson texted back: yes.

“I was quite surprised, actually,” he says. “I was not expecting it at all.”

Carrying the Legacy Forward

Johnson, who grew up in Lockerbie and now lives in nearby Lochmaben, knew some of the details from his family of what had taken place. But when he applied to be a Lockerbie Fellow, he only briefly mentioned his family connections to the bombing in his application, so that he could focus on his own qualities.

“I wanted to have the honor to help carry on the legacy of all those who were involved in that night,” he says, “and carry on the memory of everyone who was lost in 1988.”

In Syracuse, as one of 10 fellows in the inaugural cohort, he felt the weight of that memory. During the annual Rose-Laying Ceremony, as Lockerbie Fellow Grace Key read the names of the 11 Lockerbie residents killed on the ground, each fellow laid a rose in their memory. Roses were then laid for the Syracuse student victims, the Pan Am Flight 103 crew and the Pan Am Flight 103 passengers.

“It makes you realize how big of a gap these people have left physically and emotionally,” Johnson says. He kept thinking of how many of the 270 victims were younger than he is now, and that they never got to finish university, have careers or start families.

Waiting at the airport in Newark for the flight home, he proposed a “Sitting in Solidarity” event in Lockerbie, mirroring what is done on the Syracuse campus during Remembrance Week. Lockerbie Academy Deputy Head Teacher Kerry Currie loved the idea, and the fellows carried it out last year on Dec. 19. At the Dec. 21 anniversary service at Tundergarth, TKT trust chair Lori Carnochan said that Johnson “spoke so eloquently of his time in Syracuse.” Johnson, in his speech commemorating the 37^th anniversary of the tragedy, said that the renewal of the Lockerbie-Syracuse connection further illustrated the spirit of Lockerbie.

“As a town, and community, our motto is ‘Forward Lockerbie,’” he said. “The 10 of us participating in not just looking back but also acting forward has embodied our vision of Lockerbie as fellows.”

Closer to home, Johnson has helped teach. Invited into a history class of 13-year-olds at Lockerbie Academy, he shared his grandmother’s story and his time in Syracuse. Students who wouldn’t always engage in classes listened closely, and many shared their own family connections. “It was nice to see a different side of them and how respectful they were about it,” he says.

He has also been involved in visits to Lockerbie by Syracuse students studying at the University’s London abroad center. “James epitomizes the lasting legacy of the disaster on the young people of Lockerbie,” says Stewart Clegg, assistant director for student well-being at Syracuse University London. “He has spoken to our students about the responsibility to remember those that were lost and also to share stories about the incredible humanity shown by the community in the aftermath.”

His supporters see Johnson’s promise as a keeper of the Pan Am 103 legacy. Dumfriesshire Member of Parliament David Mundell calls his trustee role “another tangible example” of how the Lockerbie-Syracuse connection benefits the community. “The fellowship program not only gives Lockerbie students a greater insight into events of December 1988 and its impact on their community and Syracuse, but also broadens their horizons and builds their confidence allowing them to become more engaged citizens, as James has demonstrated so well,” Mundell says.

Currie says Johnson brings “a valuable young, community-focused perspective” to the trust’s plans for an educational space at the site.

Johnson intends to keep going. “It’ll always be a part of my life,” he says.

The second cohort of Lockerbie Fellows will arrive in Syracuse on Oct. 17 to participate in the University’s .

The University’s annual employee giving campaign benefiting the kicks off Monday, Oct. 19 and runs through Friday, Dec. 11. This year, the campaign invites faculty and staff to think broadly about what it means to give, whether that looks like a payroll pledge, a departmental trivia contest or a box of new children’s books.

For more than a century, the United Way of Central New York has brought the community together to meet local needs. Today, it partners with more than 35 nonprofit agencies across the region and every dollar raised stays in Central New York. This year, the need is significant: In Onondaga County, nearly 1 in 5 children live in poverty, and one in four households are considered ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed). Through its partners, the United Way connected 34,509 callers to essential services through the 211CNY hotline and provided 632 Syracuse City School District students with reading support through Book Buddies.

“Every one of us knows someone in Central New York who is working hard and still stretching to cover the basics,” says Jenny Dombroske, the University’s executive director of community engagement. “Alongside neighbors facing long-term poverty, there are working families who can’t make ends meet. No single organization can solve problems this complex. But we are in this together.”

The United Way has shared that its annual campaign revenue has declined by an average of 11% per year over the past five years even as demand for food, housing, youth and mental health services continues to grow. Because funding for partner agencies is now tied more directly to what the annual campaign raises, every contribution, of any size or kind, helps shape the support available to local programs.

Organizers recognize that many employees face financial pressures of their own and that a pledge may not be possible for everyone, but there are other ways to take part. For those who are able, a voluntary pledge through the United Way’s ePledge platform remains one of the most impactful ways to give. Employees may make a one-time gift or a recurring donation through payroll deduction each pay period. University retirees are also invited to participate. Paper pledge cards are available from the Office of Community Engagement (OCE) at oceed@syr.edu or 315.443.4137.

“Leaders set the tone for what a department values,” says Terence Lau, dean of the University’s College of Law and co-chair of this year’s campaign. “When supervisors take part in the United Way campaign themselves and make room for their teams to get involved, it tells everyone that caring for our neighbors in Central New York is part of who we are at Syracuse University.”

Departments could host a trivia contest with a small donation to play, organize a bake sale or raffle or challenge another unit to a friendly competition. Teams can also collect items for the United Way’s community drives, including the CNY Care Package Project (Oct. 1–Nov. 22) and the CNY Children’s Book Drive (Nov. 1–Dec. 13), which gathers more than 6,000 new books for children and teens. Those who would like to give their time can find opportunities through VolunteerCNY or become a Book Buddies reading tutor.

Departmental events held at any point during the 2026–27 academic year count toward the University’s campaign, and OCE will also host the United Way for a collection event at a home men’s basketball game in the JMA Wireless Dome this season.

“By serving on the planning committee for the United Way Campaign events at SU Libraries, I have seen firsthand the way that our staff and our community come together year after year to support the work that United Way does,” says Kristin Jeter, access services librarian and co-chair of this year’s campaign. “The more that we can each be involved, and the more that our campus community can be involved, the greater our impact can grow to support United Way.”

As the United Way puts it, “Alone, you do what you can. United, we do more.” Whether you pledge, host, collect or volunteer, together as One University we can make a lasting, positive impact in our community through our collective support of the United Way of Central New York.

For students earning a graduate degree entirely online, the chance to sit across from a professor or classmate in person can be rare.

Not so in the (A&S), where its highly regarded (MFT) program intentionally builds that opportunity into the curriculum. Recognizing the human-centered nature of the practice, a signature residency creates a valuable network for participants, while introducing them to the resources and dedicated professionals of the Syracuse University campus.

This year, 25 students traveled from states across the country for the program’s fourth graduate residency since 2020, an immersive three days of workshops, panel discussions and hands-on practice designed to turn distance learning into shared experience. Among the attendees were students from Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Washington, D.C., Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, Washington and New York.

The September residency gives students completing clinical training in communities nationwide a chance to come together in person to sharpen clinical skills, pursue professional development and build connections with peers and faculty. The reflective activities help students integrate their academic and clinical learning while deepening their understanding of systemic therapy and professional practice.

“One of the things I love about the residency is seeing students who already know each other online meet in person for the first time,” says , professor of practice and chair of the Department of Human Development and Family Science. “There’s such a nice moment of recognition because they aren’t meeting as strangers. They already have relationships with each other. Being together in Peck Hall gives them another way to connect, learn from each other and see themselves as part of a larger professional community.”

The residency reflects a broader commitment within A&S to address grand challenges facing society, particularly those tied to health and well-being. By training clinicians equipped to meet growing demand for mental health services, the program extends that mission beyond the classroom and into communities from coast to coast.

“What stood out to me this year was the openness and support of students across programs,” says , the MFT master’s program director. “Online students were meeting with residential students, watching their cases and offering beautiful support. Even without knowing each other, there was a level of openness and trust in their communication and feedback. Each student seemed to understand the delicacy of clinical work and worked as a team during observations.”

In a field built on human connection, that time together may be nearly as essential to a student’s training as anything covered in a syllabus.

“My cohort was already pretty connected in the online space, but spending time together added a layer of understanding and emotional safety we hadn’t experienced before,” participant Anne Esse says. “In an online course, you’re never sure if you’re just a sea of faces instructors see every week or not. It felt like they all knew us individuals, as if we’d been attending their classes in person.”

Fellow participant Nikki Shayer says all of the sessions and exercises “were excellent.”

“Each session was a different topic, of course, but each one made me think about things with a different eye,” she says. “I think that’s what I’ve been loving the most about this program, and about the residency experience—all the knowledge and wisdom shared just lingers, and I’m able to connect dots together that I wouldn’t have been able to before. It was really an enriching experience; I’d love to do it again.”

Syracuse University wants to hear from undergraduate students about their experiences. A new , open now through the end of the day on Friday, Oct. 23, invites students to share their thoughts on life at Syracuse and how they see the University today.

The survey takes 5-10 minutes to complete. Responses are confidential. Results are reviewed only in aggregate, so no one will see what any individual student said.

Student feedback plays an important role in helping ensure Syracuse reflects the pride, values and priorities of its students. Whether a first-year student still settling in or a senior preparing for what comes next, every student’s perspective matters.

Take a few minutes to make your voice heard: .

Balloting to select faculty representatives for the begins Thursday, Oct. 15, and runs through Friday, Oct. 30.

Elections, held annually, are administered by the University Senate and the . Results are tabulated by the .

This year’s six vacancies are open to tenured full professors. Representatives serve two-year terms.

The Provost’s Advisory Committee on Promotion and Tenure ensures consistency of promotion and tenure processes and implementation across campus. Committee members review candidate cases and read promotion and tenure files that the Office of Academic Affairs designates as containing substantive disagreements between layers of recommendation or that have a strong possibility of negative determination. Committee members then counsel the provost but do not issue a formal report or consider appeals.

The committee is convened by the vice provost for faculty affairs and includes the vice president for research (or another full professor designated by the provost) plus 12 faculty representatives from each of the schools and colleges.

All tenured and tenure-track faculty members are eligible to vote for representatives from their school or college. Eligible voters will receive ballot information via email from the University Senate on the first day of balloting.

Health is shaped by more than genetics. That’s why one question sits at the center of Catherine García’s research: how do the experiences and opportunities people have throughout their lives become “written” into their health as they age?

García, assistant professor of human development and family science in the (A&S), is featured in the at the Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science and Technology () in Syracuse. The Scientist Showcase Series highlights underrepresented scientists through biographical displays and hands-on activities. It is presented by the and .

García’s illustrated poster, created by artist Eleanor Nolan, tells her story in her own words. A first-generation college graduate, she says her interest in how communities and opportunities shape lives took hold while studying sociology at UCLA. She became fascinated by the idea that health is “not determined solely by biology or individual choices.”

That curiosity led to graduate degrees in sociology and gerontology and a career studying health and aging. García’s research focuses on Hispanic and Latino populations in the United States and Puerto Rico. She combines long-term studies of aging with data about neighborhoods, communities and social conditions.

García calls developing the , a research tool that links neighborhood and community information across Puerto Rico to long-term aging studies, one of her greatest professional accomplishments. The tool helps researchers understand how economic conditions, access to health care and neighborhood environments influence health as people age.

García also values outreach, from time with students to mentoring those from diverse backgrounds.

“I believe everyone should have the opportunity to explore science, ask questions and discover their potential, regardless of where they come from,” she says.

When Jordan Potash ’98 graduated from Syracuse University, he never thought his resume would keep bringing him back to campus.

“The last time I returned was in 2019, when the named a speaker series after me,” says Potash, a Washington, D.C., resident who is an author, educator and licensed art therapist.

Potash also is an advocate for “general peacebuilding and community development, leading arts-based dialogues to bridge differences.”

This ethos will be on display on Oct. 22, when he and student leaders headline the eighth annual Potash Keynote Speaker Series. They will engage in an informal panel discussion about LGBTQ+ community building, running from 7 to 9 p.m. in room 304ABC of the Schine Student Center.

The event, which is part of the University’s observance of , coincides with the center’s 25th anniversary.

“The discussion will touch on how queer culture has changed at Syracuse University,” says Emily Stewart, director of the LGBTQ+ Resource Center, which is a member of the University’s (IC). “It will examine how our center meets student needs today and how LGBTQ+ students and allies can contribute to change in the current landscape while taking care of themselves.”

Credited for laying the groundwork for the center as a student, Potash is excited to engage in an open dialogue about LGBTQ+ history and activism.

“Our identities and priorities are everything,” says Potash,��who teaches art therapy at George Washington University.��“It’s our diversity that makes the LGBTQ+ Resource Center viable and sustainable.”

‘I Wanted To Create Support Systems for People Like Me’

If anyone embodied interdisciplinary learning at the University in the late ’90s, it was Potash, a senior class marshal who majored in and studio arts in the .

Potash’s non-academic pursuits—he was a student leader, resident advisor and peer mentor—also shaped his trajectory. “I was heavily involved with , and what became the ,” he says.

Before his senior year, Potash heard about an LGBTQ+ safe space campaign at Beaver College (now Arcadia University) in suburban Philadelphia, where his mother worked and underwent LGBTQ+ ally training.

Not wishing to be outdone by Arcadia, he approached Barry Wells, then senior vice president and dean of student affairs, about bringing an ally training program to Syracuse University.

“I wanted to create support systems for people like me,” Potash says.

Numerous people rushed to his aid, including Missy Mathis-Hanlon G’95, now director of . She not only helped Potash put his ideas on paper but also encouraged him to expand the program into a center.

Convinced of its potential, Wells brought the proposal before the , which, in turn, passed a motion to form an ad hoc committee.

In 2001, more than two years after Potash graduated, the resource center opened its doors. “It was an unforgettable moment,” he says, smiling.

A Welcoming Space for All

Located on the first floor of the Schine Student Center, the LGBTQ+ Resource Center takes a holistic approach to education, health and wellness, and advocacy.

All are welcome at the center, which facilitates systemic change on campus and offers a range of services, resources and programs.

“I see it as a safe space for students dealing with issues about their sexual orientation and gender identity,” says Potash, whose advocacy is rooted in the teachings of Martin Luther King Jr. that were instilled in him by his mentor, Francis McMillan Parks. “It’s uplifting to see so many LGBTQ+ allies—friends, family members, colleagues—there, as well.”

Mathis-Hanlon says that, despite evolving societal and political pressures, the center remains true to the original vision.

“As part of the IC, the center is thoughtfully placed to help students embrace their intersectionality,” she says.

Potash admits that while the LGBTQ+ Resource Center remains a “group effort,” certain people, like founding director Adrea Jaehnig (who stepped down in 2010), have left an indelible mark on it.

“Adrea helped grow the center from a single-person office into a robust resource hub for the community,” he says. “She epitomized how to lead with care.”

Lockerbie, Scotland, is well known as a place of tragedy connected to Syracuse University through the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. But for a new generation of Syracuse University students, the small Scottish town is also an international classroom, a research laboratory and a second home.

In spring 2024, Anna Newbould received a happy call: She had been named a Lockerbie Scholar and would head to Syracuse University that fall. The same day, an orange calf was born on her family’s dairy farm. They named the baby cow Syra.

A few months later, Syracuse students met Syra during their visit to the low-carbon farm, which is part of Syracuse Abroad’s travelling summer course on .

The course exists because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In fall 2021, students at Syracuse London expected to travel to Scandinavia for their course. Plans were cut short by the Omicron variant, as international borders closed abruptly once again. But thanks to Kirsty Boardman, a 2007-08 Lockerbie Scholar who now teaches geography at Lockerbie Academy, an alternative, UK-based itinerary was quickly created. Students instead traveled to Scotland, learning from former Lockerbie Scholars and their families about ecosystem restoration projects, Passivhaus housing developments and sustainable forestry.

Green Britain is just one example of Lockerbie opening doors to learning for Syracuse students at short notice. Inclusive education major Mason Burley ’27 was meant to spend summer 2026 in Ghana exploring education policy in diverse contexts as a

When the program was suddenly canceled, a team of Lockerbie Scholars and local teachers came together to host Burley in Scotland instead, enabling him to complete an independent study on civic education practices. A 2026-27 Remembrance Scholar, Burley is now supporting a special project to develop a music video celebrating the “” that have characterized the Lockerbie community since 1988.

These learning experiences are possible thanks to ongoing partnerships between the and community groups in Lockerbie. Each semester, students from Syracuse London travel to Lockerbie on a Remembrance Exchange program, which is made possible by the generosity of Trustee Mike Venutolo ’77 and his wife, Kim. The trips include workshops with local students, a forensic tour of impact sites and a community dinner. These weekends serve not only to build meaningful relationships but also to provide academic enrichment for education abroad.

Yida (Rick) Li ’26 first visited Lockerbie in February 2024 through the London program. He was so inspired by his time at Tundergarth Kirks Trust—a preserved church and educational charity located near a prominent impact site—that he returned two years later to conduct field research for his senior honors thesis.

“,” argues that traditional memorial architecture fails when it attempts to contain memory within a singular, formal object. Rather, sustaining a network of spatial, institutional, oral and ritual practices allows for remembrance to be a “living thing” that can continually be encountered. Li conducted multigenerational interviews, creative workshops and site visits to inform his thesis, which received an honorable mention in the creative category of the and won .

Last month, 23 Syracuse London students traveled to Lockerbie as part of the exchange. For Brynn Wisniewski ’28, time in Lockerbie brought to life “what I have been learning in my Death as Political class and previous political science classes about grief, mourning and the lasting impact of violence on communities.”

Conversations with first responders were especially meaningful for Mouna Toure ’28, a psychology student, who hopes that “my future role as a victim advocate will showcase the value of maintaining a relationship between Lockerbie and Syracuse University.”

Meanwhile, the trip encouraged John Fitzhenry ’28, a television, radio and film major, to consider the limitations of his chosen professional sector. “No piece of media can recreate the kindness that the Lockerbie community gave us. I realized the importance of putting the camera down sometimes.”

Wisniewski, Toure and Fitzhenry had the opportunity to spend time with the 2026 Lockerbie Fellows, 10 senior students at Lockerbie Academy who will soon be traveling to campus to participate in this year’s . Students in the U.K. will honor the victims through a parallel rose-laying event at the London campus, and later in the year will participate in a special Service of Remembrance held by the .

Learn more about , taking place Oct. 18-24.

Story by Becca Farnum

Support does not always begin with an appointment. Sometimes it begins with a few quiet minutes to reset. Other times, it begins by hearing someone else say, “I’ve been there, too.”

The University’s (OVMA) Resiliency Program is creating more opportunities for both. Building on the Cabana Pod already available at the (NVRC), OVMA is partnering with Cabana to bring Cabana Live to the University’s veteran and military-connected community.

The OVMA Resiliency Program (ORP) offers personalized, nonclinical support to help students navigate challenges that can affect their academic experience and well-being. Its staff work with students to understand what they need, connect them with resources and help them find a path forward. Cabana Live adds a way to connect with others wherever they are.

With no appointment and no cost, community members can drop into anonymous, moderated peer support sessions throughout the day. Sessions cover stress, focus, relationships, confidence, feeling disconnected and major life changes. Some are led by veterans and designed for military audiences.

Members join with an alias and their camera off. Only the moderator appears on camera, and participants can listen or contribute as much as they wish.

“We know that support looks different for different people—and even for the same person on different days,” says Ken Marfilius, associate director and co-founder of the OVMA Resiliency Program, faculty director of online programs and strategic initiatives in the School of Education and associate teaching professor of social work. “The Cabana Pod offers a private space to pause and reset when you’re at the NVRC. Cabana Live extends that opportunity for connection beyond the building. You can join from anywhere, on your own terms, and find people who understand some of what you’re carrying.”

The Cabana Pod at the NVRC gives visitors a private place to decompress using guided experiences such as breathing exercises and meditation. Cabana Live offers a different kind of connection: live conversations with peers, available whether someone is on campus or miles away. Between sessions, members can also use a guided journal, self-guided content and Cabana FM, a lo-fi station for focus and winding down.

“Our goal is to build a resilient community where veteran and military-connected students know there is more than one way to reach out,” says U.S. Army Colonel (Retired) Ron Novack, executive director of OVMA. “From a moment of quiet in the Cabana Pod to a live conversation with people who share similar experiences, these resources give our community more ways to find support when they need it.”

Cabana Live is available to Syracuse University’s veteran and military-connected community through the OVMA Resiliency Program. For those military-connected staff, faculty and students who are interested in this new service, visit the and select the specific community that applies to you.

Thirty-eight years after the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, the 2026-27 Remembrance Scholars and Lockerbie Fellows will lead Syracuse University’s annual Remembrance Week, Oct. 18-24.

Remembrance Week activities are planned to look back on the impact of the Dec. 21, 1988, bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland. The bombing claimed the lives of 270 people, including 35 students returning from a semester of study abroad in London and Florence through the University’s Division of International Programs Abroad (now Syracuse Abroad) and 11 Lockerbie residents.

The week will also highlight how students are acting forward. During their scholarship year, this year’s Remembrance Scholars are engaged in a broad range of “Act Forward” projects on Remembrance education, community healing through the arts, a participatory awareness art campaign, remembering through recipes, a Remembrance and global citizenship and walking tour, intercultural dialogue and aviation safety.

The Remembrance Scholars will be joined by the 2026-27 Lockerbie Fellows on the Syracuse campus for the week. The fellows are 10 students from Lockerbie Academy chosen through a competitive process. During their time in Syracuse, the Lockerbie Fellows, accompanied by Lockerbie Academy Deputy Head Teachers Catherine Carrick and Kerry Currie (a 1996-97 Lockerbie Scholar), will represent the 11 Lockerbie residents who died in the bombing and 2002-03 Lockerbie Scholar Andrew McClune, who died during his scholarship year in Syracuse.

This year’s Lockerbie Fellows are Max Atkinson, Carly Black, Anna Byers, Megan Curry, Falon Oliphant, Amy Oliver, Imogen Reid, Emma Sloan, Joshua Thompson and Lewis White.

Remembrance Week will be held Sunday, Oct. 18, through Saturday, Oct. 24. All activities are free and open to the public, unless otherwise noted. For more information, visit .

Those who require accommodations to fully participate in these events should contact Tamara Hamilton at��315.443.4282 or��tnhami01@syr.edu. The week’s schedule is as follows:

��All Week��

• Empty Seats Display, Kenneth A. Shaw Quadrangle:��The Empty Seats Display is a visual representation of the Syracuse University students lost aboard Pan Am Flight 103. The exhibition is meant to serve as a reminder of how a loss in the past can inspire positive actions in the present. This year’s Remembrance Scholars and Lockerbie Fellows will sit in solidarity in the chairs for 35 minutes on Wednesday, Oct. 21, beginning at 2 p.m.
• Pen-and-ink drawings of the Syracuse University study abroad student victims will be on display in Hendricks Chapel.
• Blue and white flags, one for each of the 270 Pan Am 103 victims, will be on display in the area between the Newhouse School of Public Communications and Schine Student Center. Also, the Hall of Languages, Hendricks Chapel and the JMA Wireless Dome will be lit in blue in honor of Remembrance Week.
• The Remembrance Quilt will be on display in Hendricks Chapel. The quilt was created by the 1998-99 Remembrance Scholars, members of the Hendricks Chapel Quilters and many other contributors to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the bombing. The stories of the SU student victims are told through the design of each quilt block.
• Pan Am Flight 103/Lockerbie Air Disaster Archives temporary exhibition, Bird Library, first floor display case near Starbucks café: A temporary exhibition of materials from the Pan Am Flight 103/Lockerbie Air Disaster Archives’ collections pertaining to the sculptural work��“Dark Elegy”�� by Suse Lowenstein will be on display throughout the week. Lowenstein lost her eldest son, Syracuse University student Alexander Lowenstein, in the bombing.

Sunday, Oct. 18

• Candlelight Vigil, Hendricks Chapel steps, 5 p.m.: The Remembrance Scholars will remember the 270 victims of Pan Am 103. American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation will be available. The event will be .

Tuesday, Oct. 20

• A Remembrance Week Reception will be held from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the Syracuse University Washington D.C. Center. Contact Cameron MacPherson at camacphe@syr.edu for more information or to register.

Wednesday, Oct. 21

• “Sitting in Solidarity,” Kenneth A. Shaw Quadrangle, 2 p.m.: The Remembrance and Lockerbie Fellows will sit in the empty chairs on the Quad for 35 minutes.
• Film Screening, 107 Hall of Languages, 6:30-8 p.m.: The first installment of the Netflix drama series “The Bombing of Pan Am 103” will be presented.

Thursday, Oct. 22

• Act Forward Symposium, lobby of Heroy Geology Laboratory, 6-7 p.m.: The Remembrance Scholars will present posters that share their plans to “act forward” through outreach, research, education and creative projects designed to benefit the community.
• Lockerbie Fellows Presentation, Heroy Geology Laboratory, 001 Auditorium, 7-8 p.m.: The Lockerbie Fellows will speak on their personal experiences and offer reflections.

Friday, Oct. 23

• Rose-Laying Ceremony, Place of Remembrance, 2:03 p.m.: American Sign Language interpretation will be available for this event. The Rose-Laying Ceremony and Remembrance Convocation will be .
• Remembrance Scholar Convocation, Hendricks Chapel, 3 p.m.: ​This annual convocation will honor the 2026-27 Remembrance Scholars. ASL interpretation and CART will be available. A reception in the Allyn Innovation Center, located on the first floor of Link Hall, will immediately follow.

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