Although 2021 was yet another year consumed by the pandemic, the world began to open up and people were able to celebrate, mourn and live together. At Syracuse University, 2021 was marked with the ability to get COVID-19 vaccines, the opening of the renovated Schine Student Center, the retirement of SU’s first female athlete’s jersey and the return of classic concerts such as Juice Jam.
But the world still grieved, because the police killed of 17-year old Judson Albahm, because a white man shot and killed eight people in Atlanta, because the Christopher Columbus’s statue is still overlooking the city, because survivors of sexual violence on campus are still not getting justice.
Throughout it all, The Daily Orange’s photographers were there documenting it, chronicling the events that made up 2021. Here are The D.O. Photo section’s most influential photos of the year.
Photo Illustration by Meghan Hendricks | Photo Editor
Salt City Market, a multinational food hall on South Salinas Street, opened in late January, bringing vendors such as SOULutions Southern Cuisine and Firecracker Thai to Syracuse. The Syracuse Cooperative Market, pictured here, opened a location in the market a few months later.
Young-Bin Lee | Staff Photographer
The Schine Student Center reopened in early February once students arrived at campus after a delayed start to the semester due to COVID-19. The updated center is open 24/7 and includes dining options such as Halal Shack and CoreLife Eatery as well as study places such as “The Underground” and resources such as the LGBTQ Resource Center.
Emily Steinberger | Editor-in-Chief
Judson Albahm, a 17-year-old, died in March after police shot and killed him while he was having a mental health crisis. After Albahm’s death in early March, Rebirth SYR pledged to march for 40 days to honor him and continue to seek justice. Activists and experts said police departments across the country need to improve their responses to people experiencing mental health crises and allocate more funding for support resources.
Lucy Messineo-Witt | Senior Staff Photographer
More than 100 people, many without masks, gathered at Castle Court on Sunday night following victories from Syracuse University’s men’s and women’s basketball teams in the NCAA Tournament. The group shouted in celebration as cars passing by honked their horns before the Syracuse Police Department arrived to break up the party, and the group left the remains of crushed beer cans and boxes once the students dispersed down Comstock and Euclid avenues.
Emily Steinberger | Editor-in-Chief
A white man shot and killed eight people — Hyun Jung Grant, Xiaojie Tan, Daoyou Feng, Paul Andre Michels, Yong Ae Yue, Suncha Kim, Delaina Ashley Yaun and Soon Chung Park — in three spas in Atlanta on March 16. Six of the victims were Asian women. Dozens of people gathered at Hanover Square in downtown Syracuse on Sunday to remember their lives.
Corey Henry | Senior Staff Photographer
Once COVID-19 vaccines became more widely available, SU created a vaccine trolley to take students to and from the Oncenter vaccination site. SU began administering the one-dose Johnson and Johnson vaccine April 6, then it switched to the Pfizer vaccine after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned of rare blood clots linked to the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.
Emily Steinberger | Editor-in-Chief
On April 3, University Union hosted its first in-person concert since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, which featured student musicians such as BRI, Malique Lewis and jewisvuitton. Only 30 audience members were allowed per show, and each seat was separated by 6 feet and surrounded by a personal three-side plastic barrier. Those who didn’t attend in person could attend virtually.
Louis Platt | Senior Staff Writer
Several Syracuse University students created a petition in response to the university’s decision to remove meal swipe options at Schine Student Center and campus convenience stores. Many students consider SU’s decision to remove meal swipe options from Schine and campus convenience stores to be inequitable and too restrictive.
Emily Steinberger | Editor-in-Chief
Over the summer The Athletic reported allegations of inappropriate behavior, threats and bullying against Quentin Hillsman, the women’s basketball head coach. SU launched an external investigation into the allegations, and one month later, Hillsman resigned. Vonn Read, pictured, was then named acting head coach for the 2021-22 season.
Corey Henry | Senior Staff Photographer
The New York State Fair reopened at 100% capacity from Aug. 20 to Sept. 6 after it was canceled last year due to coronavirus-related restrictions on large gatherings. The fair had only 798,095 attendees over its 18-day span in 2021, 531,180 fewer people that 2019’s record-breaking 1,329,275 attendees.
Meghan Hendricks | Photo Editor
On Sept. 7, 119 Euclid Ave., a building dedicated to celebrating the Black student experience, opened on campus. The idea for the space grew from one of #NotAgainSU’s demands, which was that the university create safe spaces for multicultural students.
Rachel Raposas | Asst. Copy Editor
Sept. 11 marked the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center when 30 SU alumni, as well as almost 3,000 others, were killed. There were a few remembrance ceremonies in Syracuse, including a memorial service held by Hendricks Chapel.
Sarah Lee | Senior Staff Photographer
Hundreds of Syracuse University students protested recent sexual assault allegations across multiple Interfraternity Council chapters on campus on Sept. 21. Stand With Survivors Syracuse University, a student group that aims to fight sexual misconduct on campus, was then created, and during the remainder of the semester, they continued to protest and released a manifesto to hold SU administration accountable for what the group believes is a thriving rape culture on campus that the administration perpetuates.
Abby Presson | Senior Staff Writer
University Union held the first in-person Juice Jam concert on Sept. 26 since the pandemic began. The lineup included Jack Harlow, B.o.B, Audrey Nuna and Bea Miller. With the mix of performers, some students feel that the Juice Jam lineup is a perfect balance between modern notoriety and throwback nostalgia.
Elizabeth Billman | Senior Staff Photographer
SU finished construction on the first phase of a new art installation to honor the Onondaga Nation in October. The installation is part of the university’s response to Indigenous students’ concerns about the visibility of Indigenous people on campus, which is built on land belonging to the Onondaga Nation. The next phase will include art from artist and muralist Brandon Lazore of the Onondaga Nation.
Francis Tang | Asst. News Editor
A crowd of about 200 people gathered at Columbus Circle in Syracuse to hear speakers advocate for the removal of the colonizer’s statue on Indigenous Peoples’ Day in October. At the end of the event, organizers announced a minute of silence where attendees raised gloved hands and signs in front of the Columbus statue, illuminated in red light, to indicate he had blood on his hands.
Wendy Wang | Staff Photographer
On the 33rd anniversary of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, which killed 270 people including 35 SU Abroad students, this year’s cohort of Remembrance Scholars sat in solidarity with those who lost their lives in the terrorist attack. Remembrance Week was canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic, but this October, SU hosted ceremonies such as the Rose-Laying Ceremony, the Celebration of Life and the Candlelight Vigil.
Emily Steinberger | Editor-in-Chief
Ben Walsh was reelected for Syracuse mayor Nov. 2, setting him up for a second term as the city’s first independent mayor. Walsh, 42, defeated Democratic challenger Khalid Bey with over 60% of the vote.
Nick Robertson | Senior Staff Writer
SU retired Felisha Legette-Jack’s jersey on Nov. 14, and she became the first woman in SU history to have her jersey retired after SU announced in August that it would retire three women’s jerseys this year: Legette-Jack’s, Katie Rowan Thomson’s and Anna Goodale’s. Previously, Syracuse was one out of five Atlantic Coast Conference schools without a single retired female jersey number.
Charlotte Little | Staff Photographer
Over the course of the season, Sean Tucker accumulated the most rushing yards in a season, eventually breaking Joe Morris’ single-season rushing record with a game to spare in the season. With a 17-yard run in the second quarter against NC State on Nov. 20, Sean Tucker broke the record and set SU’s new record: 1,467.
Elizabeth Billman | Senior Staff Photographer
Bobby Maldonado, the chief of the Department of Public Safety, will officially leave his position on Dec. 31. Last January, Maldonado announced his retirement after a law enforcement career that has spanned 40 years — six of which he spent as the university’s DPS chief. Maldonado planned to retire on Aug. 1, but SU officials asked him to stay longer because they had not yet hired a replacement.
Wendy Wang | Staff PhotographerPublished on December 30, 2021 at 9:55 pm
