Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox.
Subscribe to our newsletter here.

Syracuse is known for its unpredictable weather, and Monday’s total solar eclipse was no different. Every time the clouds cleared enough for the sun to be visible, cheers from Syracuse University community members and visitors echoed throughout the Shaw Quadrangle and front lawn.

“It was really fun when everyone started screaming,” said junior Shira Rozen, who was going to sit on South Campus but was glad she chose to sit on the lawn. “There was an eruption, everyone was so excited. So human. So funny, because I didn’t expect that. It was funny to see it all.”

People from across New York state gathered on SU’s campus for optimal viewing of April 8’s solar eclipse because Syracuse was in the path of totality. The Quad was filled with activities to celebrate the unique event.

Drummers walked through the crowds, the Barnes Center at The Arch hosted a guided meditation and the physics department organized tours of the Holden Observatory – a rare opportunity to see the building.

On the Quad, the physics department also pitched a tent filled with booths for bracelet making, eclipse information and eclipse glasses. Junior Shan Carter, a physics major, helped distribute glasses and was surprised to discover people changed their plans just to observe the eclipse in the center of campus.

Across SU, professors canceled classes and some students even skipped them, Carter said. He also didn’t expect the hundreds of people viewing the eclipse on campus.

“I just love seeing everyone come out and have an appreciation for the concept that happens in their universe,” Carter said.

One visitor, 10-year-old Ron, ventured with family and friends to Syracuse from New York City. He skipped school for the once-in-a-lifetime event.

“I’m supposed to be having school today,” Ron said. “But we’re gonna be seeing partial back home. But no, I wanted a full eclipse.”

Ron’s family traveled with Evan Korth, who graduated from SU in 1991 with an accounting degree. He had never brought his wife of eight years or two children, ages 6 and 4, to SU, so the total eclipse was the perfect opportunity for the family to enjoy the moon’s darkness and for Korth to take a trip down memory lane.

“We were looking for a place for totality and looked across the United States and noticed that it was coming to my alma mater, where I haven’t been since 2002,” Korth said. “I dragged my wife and kids up here and we’re having the best time.”

Korth’s kids played with Ron and his siblings during the day. They came prepared with bubbles and a drone to keep the children occupied before the eclipse.

Korth, who now works as a New York University computer science professor, reunited with his friend Andy Lieberman, who graduated in 1992 with a retail degree. The pair, who were brothers in Sigma Alpha Mu, had not seen each other in a decade. On Friday, their fraternity held a reunion in NYC and now they found themselves back on campus to celebrate full totality.

Kalhaku McLester, an engineering senior, has been anticipating the eclipse for years. He said attending SU turned out to be a great opportunity to see totality.

He has had his own setup for planetary photography for years, including several GoPros, a professional camera and his phone. Alongside McLester, engineering senior Noah Goldstein set up two cameras.

“Definitely dipping my toes in a little bit further than I had before,” Goldstein said. “It’s just a nice opportunity to try and try and see the intersection of science and art.”

Lars Jendruschewitz | Assistant Photo Editor

Matthew Todd and his dog Walter wait on the quad for the eclipse. Proper Eyewear was important as to not damage the eyes.

Goldstein captured videos showing the progression of the moon passing over the sun. He said even though cloud coverage wasn’t the ideal condition, he was still able to capture decent visuals of the eclipse.

Leaving his home at 7 a.m., Goldstein’s dad, Mark, joined him from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Mark, an SU alum, doesn’t know if he will be around for the next total eclipse and said this was a great opportunity to enjoy it with his son at his alma mater.

Alex Gilson and Jill Sanders are students at Binghamton University and opted to take the short trip up to Syracuse instead of settling for a partial eclipse in Binghamton. They left around 9 a.m. and expected more traffic coming to Syracuse, but were the first people to claim their spots on the Quad around 11 a.m.

“A lot of cool things to witness and I think we get the unique experience that we can see totality kind of close to where we were so it wasn’t like a long drive to get here,” Sanders said. “We were probably fine just watching it there. I was like ‘OK, but if we drive an hour and we can see totality, yeah.’”

The two sat in lawn chairs the whole day on the Quad. In preparation for the eclipse, Sanders grabbed ingredients for Gilson’s (not so) secret sandwiches – Italian bread with, preferably, mortadella (if it’s available), genoa salami and cheese.

“I went out shopping for supplies yesterday, and he sent me like three paragraphs,” Sanders said.

Gilson and Sanders made a day out of their eclipse travels, shared their picnic and enjoyed the event on campus.

Even though some community members were sad about the cloudy conditions, the SU community still came together to celebrate the total eclipse. When the moon completely covered the sun, darkness blanketed campus at 3:23 p.m., allowing everyone to remove their glasses.

People on SU’s campus cheered until the moon continued on and the sun’s rays shone down on the crowd again.

“This is what I live for,” Carter said. “It’s truly an amazing opportunity to get involved with my community and show what we learned in the classroom and how it applies in the real world.”

Published on April 9, 2024 at 12:08 am

Contact Rosina: rlboehm@syr.edu