These are the biggest news stories that happened last weekend, from a lecture by a bestselling author and Syracuse University professor to the results of a medical innovation contest hosted by Upstate Medical University.

Hearing adjourned for second time in state lawsuit filed by students involved in Theta Tau videos

An Oct. 17 hearing for at least two SU students involved in a lawsuit against the university in connection to the Theta Tau videos controversy was adjourned until Oct. 31. Karen Felter, a lawyer representing the students in the lawsuit, confirmed in an email the hearing was pushed until Oct. 31 at the request of SU’s legal team.

The lawsuit, which was filed anonymously by 10 students disciplined in connection to last spring’s Theta Tau videos, is the second suit filed against SU over its handling of the controversy. Another lawsuit anonymously filed by nine students is currently being litigated in federal court.  

Bestselling author George Saunders speaks about life, writing and kindness during lecture at SU

George Saunders, an award-winning author and SU English professor, gave an hour-long lecture for more than 200 people Thursday night, kicking off the university’s 18th lecture series. He talked about his creative process, path to SU and possible future prospects.

Saunders has been a professor of English at SU since 1997 and has won numerous awards for his writing, including the Man Booker Prize in 2017 for his novel “Lincoln in the Bardo.” TIME magazine in 2013 named him one of the world’s most influential people.

On Thursday, he also discussed traveling into Republican heartland to interview President Donald Trump supporters for an article for The New Yorker and told the lecture attendees he has found himself falling more in love with teaching in SU’s creative writing program.

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Winners announced in Syracuse medical innovation contest

Upstate Medical University announced the winners of its Medical Device Innovation Challenge Friday. The inventions among the seven winning companies included devices that increase mobility for individuals with bone abnormalities and cut the risk of medical errors, according to Syracuse.com.

The companies will attend business-related workshops for free, including one on how to commercialize medical device concepts, at Upstate Medical University’s Central New York Biotech Accelerator, per Syracuse.com.

Police respond to Lafayette Avenue shooting on Sunday afternoon

A shooting occurred Sunday at about noon on the South Side, near Danforth Middle School at Lafayette and Richardson avenues, Syracuse.com reported.

A police dispatcher confirmed that there was a shooting but would not say “whether more than one person was shot,” per Syracuse.com. Two bicycles were seen lying on their sides in the middle of the street as police investigated the crime scene.

Published on October 21, 2018 at 10:22 pm

Contact Mary: mdcatalf@syr.edu | @mrycatalfamo