When my Blood Turned Orange

When I think back to my time at Syracuse, I cannot help but to think of all of the meaningful conversations that I participated in. It’s not a huge university, but it’s big enough that there are always other people around who share some of your interests. There is something about the university that facilitates finding people who are like you. Back in the 70s, before Facebook and social media, I went to events and met people. My older son, who graduated from Syracuse in 2007, feels the same way. In my conversations with current students and members of Generation Orange, I get the sense that they also seem to notice there are so many ways for people with similar interests to meet. There’s something that makes you feel good about the university as a result.

There’s just something about the DNA or culture that makes you find a way to feel comfortable at SU. And because you feel comfortable, you feel good. Then you get to the point where you’re starting to think about what you’re going to do after graduation. Luckily, there are all kinds of support mechanisms. From the career office within the university to the alumni association, to the companies that come on campus to interview, there’s a lot of support from the Syracuse community that you can rely on and that’s really willing to help you succeed.

When I was a freshman, our men’s basketball team made it to the Final Four in the NCAA tournament for the first time in the school’s history. That same weekend, a friend of mine from home was going to come up and visit. Of course I was telling him how wonderful Syracuse is and about all the different things we do around campus. When he arrived on campus, the game that got us to the Final Four was on TV. The place was a ghost town because everybody was watching the game. But after we won, the place exploded! People celebrated in every way you can imagine - and maybe some you don’t want to imagine! My friend said, “When I arrived here I thought this place was dead. I couldn’t imagine what you were talking about.” Then after the game was over he was like, “I want to go here because this place is wild!” I guess that was the beginning of turning my blood orange.

To this day, when you go to the Carrier Dome when there’s a big game, it’s filled with energy. I think this environment partially infuses the SU spirit into people. It’s also kind of fun walk down the street in some city, like Chicago or Washington D.C., and see someone wearing a Syracuse t-shirt or other apparel. It just makes you feel like, “Wow, I’m part of this big community.” I’m not sure it’s different from any other university, but certainly there’s something about Syracuse that brings that spirit into people.

Not all my fond memories are about sports. I took Ancient Greek Religion as an elective class once a week at night. It was a three-hour class, and the professor was phenomenal; he would just tell stories and the Greek myths. The way he told the stories was just great, and he helped us understand them. He was also great at stimulating discussion. The best thing about the class was it was at the edge of campus (near where the new College of Law building is going up). The Syracuse campus overlooks a valley (where the vale of Onondaga meets the eastern sky), and this class was in a building where you could walk out the doors and look into the valley. Walking into the dark and looking out over the city with all the lights on made you feel like you’re looking out from Mount Olympus (the real one, not the one where Flint and Day Halls sit). To see all the city lights on after spending three hours learning about all these myths was one of the coolest things I’ve ever experienced.

That’s just one class that comes to mind, but I could talk about other classes as well (Laughter, Wit and Humor, LISP programming, etc). Professors were skilled and caring. Even if you were asking stupid freshman questions, they still took you seriously and helped you find your way.