Gallery: The Daily Orange’s best photos of 2025
Zabdyl Koffa | Staff Photographer
Throughout the year, D.O. photographers captured these moments. Swipe through to see some of the year in pictures.
Solange Jain | Senior Staff Photographer
January: Hundreds of participants gather at University United Methodist Church during Syracuse’s “Our Lives on the Line” march. Protesters condemned rhetoric against women as Donald Trump’s inauguration approached.
Leonardo Eriman | Senior Staff Photographer
February: Cooper Flagg’s No. 2 Duke outclasses Syracuse 83-54 at the JMA Wireless Dome. The Orange offered little resistance to the Blue Devils, in what finished as the Orange’s largest margin of defeat of the season.
Ella Chan | Senior Staff Photographer
February: SU alum Wally Feresten celebrates having been a cue card holder on “Saturday Night Live” for over three decades. Through his involvement in the show, which celebrated 50 years in 2025, “Cue Card Wally” remained close to the comedy world he grew up in.
Avery Magee | Photo Editor
February: Syracuse women’s ice hockey secures a thrilling 3-2 double-overtime victory over Robert Morris in the Atlantic Hockey America Quarterfinals. The Orange skated through the AHA Quarterfinals, but ultimately fell to Mercyhurst in the semis.
Leonardo Eriman | Senior Staff Photographer
March: Students gather outside across Syracuse University’s campus to welcome the spring semester’s first sunny day. Syracuse’s snowy 2024-25 winter season won the New York’s Golden Snowball Award.
Solange Jain | Senior Staff Photographer
March: Student Association executive candidates German Nolivos and Janese Fayson address the campus community in an annual debate. The candidates presented their visions for a welcoming SU at the CitrusTV-hosted event, which occurred for the second consecutive year.
Ike Wood | Video Editor
April: Hundreds rally at Syracuse University to condemn federal attacks on higher education. Demonstrators, including faculty and students, at the “Hands Off!” protest waved signs and upside-down U.S. flags.
Meghan Hendricks | Daily Orange File Photo
April: Role Model opens University Union’s annual Block Party. The artist played fan favorites “Writing’s On The Wall,” “Look At That Woman” and, of course, brought out “Sally” from the crowd for his ever-popular “Sally, When The Wine Runs Out.”
Ike Wood | Video Editor
May: Syracuse men’s lacrosse defeats Duke 9-8 in the ACC Tournament Championship in Charlotte to claim its first ACC Tournament title since 2016. The Orange completed an improbable run to the title, downing Notre Dame and Duke after entering the tournament on a three-game losing skid.
Maxine Brackbill | Daily Orange File Photo
Summer: Protesters rally at Destiny USA, holding signs reading “No Kings” and “Their hands feed us,” referring to immigrants. Demonstrators in Syracuse joined more than five million people who participated in more than 2,100 cities and towns nationwide.
Ike Wood | Video Editor
Summer: The light of a carnival ride streaks the night sky at the New York State Fair. The annual New York staple, jammed with rides, food and farm animals, ran this year from Aug. 26 until Labor Day.
Joe Zhao | Daily Orange File Photo
August: The Jonas Brothers perform their classics during the “Jonas20: Greetings from Your Hometown” tour at the Empower FCU Amphitheater at Lakeview in Syracuse. The tour celebrated 20 years of Jonas Brothers music, recalling the hits from their solo careers and trio days.
Leonardo Eriman | Senior Staff Photographer
August: Syracuse opens up its second season under Fran Brown with a 45-26 loss to No. 24 Tennessee. After losing quarterback Steve Angeli, the Orange ultimately ended their rough campaign with a 3-9 record.
Leonardo Eriman | Senior Staff Photographer
September: Carmelo Anthony is inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame’s 2025 class, with his son Kiyan in attendance in Springfield, Massachusetts. “To Syracuse … one year, one championship, one spark that changed everything,” Anthony said in his speech.
Avery Magee | Photo Editor
September: Competitors equipped with feminine books and wired headphones battle for “performative male” crown at SU. Beating out a selection of baggy-pants-wearing men, a performative woman emerged victorious.
Joe Zhao | Daily Orange File Photo
September: Chancellor and President Kent Syverud addresses the Syracuse University Senate in his first public address since announcing he will step down as chancellor in June. At the meeting, Syverud presented a “grim” financial outlook across higher education.
Joe Zhao | Daily Orange File Photo
September: Syracuse’s marching band takes over the Shaw Quadrangle ahead of the Orange’s Family Weekend class against Duke. “We just got punked,” Brown said after the Blue Devils beat SU 38-3.
Aaron Hammer | Staff Photographer
October: Syracuse men’s soccer honors head coach Ian McIntyre for becoming the winningest coach in program history. McIntyre, who led the Orange to its NCAA championship in 2022, earned the achievement with his 142nd win.
Avery Magee | Photo Editor
October: Thousands of protestors join seven million across the U.S. at a “No Kings” protest on Erie Boulevard. Hundreds flooded the streets of Dewitt to protest infringements of free speech, immigration raids and the rise of white supremacy.
Avery Magee | Photo Editor
October: Sharon Owens, Tom Babilon, Alfonso Davis and Tim Rudd answer questions from the SU community at an on-campus mayoral debate hosted by CitrusTV. Participants submitted their questions before the debate.
Avery Magee | Photo Editor
November: Thomas Babilon, the Republican challenger to Sharon Owens, watches results trickle in from his election night HQ. “We did not get the Republican turnout that we needed to win,” he wrote to supporters online.
Ike Wood | Video Editor
November: Mayor-elect Sharon Owens declares victory in the mayoral race, beating a Republican and two independent challengers. She will become the city’s first Black mayor, and just the second woman to win the seat.
Eli Schwartz | Asst. Photo Editor
November: A blanket of snow covers Syracuse University’s campus as it experiences the first snowfall of the school year. The November snowfall was the first of what is expected to be a snowy season in Salt City.
Leonardo Eriman | Senior Staff Photographer
November: Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh meets with The Daily Orange in 2025, at the end of his tenure. The outgoing mayor will pass the baton to Mayor-elect Sharon Owens, his deputy, in January.
Leonardo Eriman | Senior Staff Photographer
November: Syracuse University’s “Sign Guy” sits on the Shaw Quadrangle with positive messages. Passersby don’t always smile, wave or even acknowledge him, but he doesn’t mind since he knows he’s doing the right thing.
Jacob Halsema | Staff Photographer
November: An injured Steve Angeli in South Bend as Notre Dame delivers Syracuse its worst loss since 1893. After losing Angeli, who tore his Achilles against Clemson, the Orange crumbled for an 0-9 end to the season.
Eli Schwartz | Asst. Photo Editor
December: Fans storm the court after Syracuse men’s basketball’s upset win against No. 13 Tennessee. The win was the Orange’s first Quad 1 win of the season, a needed result after dropping a trio of matches in Las Vegas the week prior.
