Here’s a roundup of what the Daily Orange newsroom covered this week:

1. President Barack Obama to speak at award celebration

Syracuse University announced Friday that President Barack Obama will speak at the Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting award celebration in Washington, D.C. The celebration is scheduled for March 28. Obama will become the second sitting president to speak at an SU-related event.

The S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications sponsors the Toner Prize. It was established in honor of the late Robin Toner, a Newhouse alumna and the first female chief political correspondent for The New York Times.

Obama will address the current state of the media at the meeting.

 

2. SU professors help prove Einstein correct

Three SU professors were instrumental in detecting proof of Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity, the university announced Thursday. SU professors who contributed to the discovery include Peter Saulson, professor of physics; Duncan Brown, associate professor of physics; and Stefan Ballmer, assistant professor of physics.

The scientists discovered gravitational waves during a merger between two black holes using two twin Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) detectors. The presence of the waves had been predicted but never detected.

 

3. Media and misconception fuel Islamophobia

Muslim students at SU discussed how negative media coverage and a lack of knowledge about Islam affects their lives. They said many people they encounter equate Islam with the Islamic State, but noted that the two are very different.

The students also talked about facing prejudice for being Muslim. One student recalled being called a “bomb threat” by a floormate her freshman year.

Ahmed Abdel Meguid, an assistant professor of religion at SU, said another issue is the belief of many United States citizens that “American culture is the end of history and it is the absolute ideal.”

 

4. SU given top-tier research ranking

The 2015 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education gave SU the top ranking for research activity among American universities with doctoral programs. The announcement, which was made on Monday, moved SU from an R2 designation to an R1.

The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching created this classification that is now the industry standard. Peter Vanable, interim vice president for research at SU, said in a release that the ranking is a “strong affirmation of faculty scholarship.”

 

5. International graduates in limbo over visa extensions

The uncertain future of an Optional Practical Training (OPT) program extension has some international graduate students questioning when they will have to return home. Under OPT, international students and recent graduates can work in their field of study for a year after graduating. The extension allows those in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields to work for another 17 months after that first year.

A labor union, the Washington Alliance of Technology Workers (WashTech), sued the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) over the extension. WashTech said the extension is a way for companies to circumvent H-1B work visas. DHS was forced to reevaluate the rule and come up with a new one, which has not yet been released to the public.

Published on February 14, 2016 at 7:28 pm

Contact Delaney: dovanwey@syr.edu