Click here for a slide show of SU’s celebrities by Thao Nguyen

Blaine De Lancey is taking life one barefoot step at a time. The 48-year-old College Recorder/Academic Adviser for The College of Arts and Sciences is a Syracuse graduate, having earned both a B.A. and M.A. in Religion. He says he’s also a wild-eyed leftist. He loves to make public comments, write letters and articles and hold protests against anything that he deems worthy.

De Lancey is most notably known for his wild appearance and blatant disregard for shoes. The SU adviser enjoys living as naturally as he possible can.

‘I suspect that I am best known for walking barefoot at every opportunity, for walking with a long walking staff, and for not having had a haircut or a shave since Gerald Ford was president,’ De Lancey said.

Matt DiStefano knows how to mix up a good time. DiStefano, or MC Goldie Wilson, is a senior music history major who has made his mark on the SU campus. He merges his own combination of rap and screaming.

‘Occasionally people come up and say ‘I saw you play,’ and usually they don’t tell me I suck,’ DiStefano said.

DiStefano only started doing hip hop music last spring, but has been playing music since the age of 12. DiStefano played with Gym Class Heroes in January, opened for Ted Leo last week and came in second in Alpha Xi Delta’s Battle of the Bands.

When DiStefano is not performing, he’s like any other student at SU. He enjoys music, movies and, of course, a steady intake of Hi-C.

‘I drink about a gallon of fruit punch a week,’ DiStefano said. ‘I think I’m one of the only 22-year-olds who has a steady flow of fruit punch through his system.’

Nathan Devine is one of the most pitiful freshmen ever. The electrical engineering major was bored one night, and after a friend suggested he should just friend everyone on thefacebook.com, he did. Yet he needed a new picture to go along with the quest, and the very distinct image of Devine looking pathetic holding a handwritten sign with the words: ‘Will You Be My Friend’ was created.

This blatant cry for attention worked like a charm, as Devine now has over 750 friends on Facebook, and more coming everyday. Devine finally took down the picture a couple of weeks ago, but it seems people add him still.

‘People come to me and say ‘are you the Facebook kid?” Devine said. ‘It’s kind of cool I guess, you walk through the Quad and people who you don’t know recognize you.’

Brian Dumas knows how extremely destructive SUVs can be. The sophomore broadcast journalism major was crossing Waverly Avenue on the way to a party during the first week of school this year, when a vehicle, which was either a Chevy Tahoe or Cadillac Escalade, sped by him. When it reached about Bird Library, the automobile quickly U-turned and drove toward with the clear intention to hit him. In addition to receiving a concussion, the accident caused Dumas to break both his tibia and fibula bones, putting him in a cast for eight weeks.

‘It was such a big deal because a lot of people knew me,’ Dumas said. ‘When they heard I got hit by a car, word spread like wildfire, and then everyone knew.’

While Dumas is known as the ‘car guy’ there is much more to him than the accident. He is the vice president of the Association of Black Journalists at SU as well as a prominent sports anchor for HillTV. Dumas goes by the title of A-Town, because he’s from Atlanta.

Dennis Jacobs is a man of culture. Jacobs, as president of University Union, basically controls all of SU’s entertainment. He tries to bring Syracuse the best forms of concerts, comedy, film and speakers.

Yet, what the sophomore television, radio and film major is more commonly known for is his choice of hair accessories. Jacobs’ signature yarmulke, a traditional Jewish male head dressing, is a part of him. He’s been wearing one every day since 10th grade in an attempt to feel more Jewish, and today, it’s become more of a symbol to define him than anything else. He has more than 50 yarmulkes, which he keeps in a stack in his room and switches daily to keep some variety in life.

‘It’s an item of clothing, it’s a religious symbol, it’s cool for me and I’m glad people have embraced it,’ Jacobs said. ‘People will be like ‘oh yeah, that’s Dennis, no big deal.”

Tasha King bares it all. King is managing editor and one of the founders of Jerk Magazine. Yet what the senior magazine and sociology major is really known for is her occasional appearance at parties wearing nothing but a proud smile on her face.

The lack of clothing began when King was asked to pose for a living sculpture assignment entitled ‘naked girls on boxes.’ That night, there was a party in the old Red House, and King rallied the models to go naked with her. Since then, King has done anything and everything she wants when it comes to her body.

‘I don’t think I’m as infamous as my reputation makes me out to be,’ King said. ‘I think people are too uptight about their bodies and sexuality, so if I can loosen people up and make them laugh about it, then I’ll do it.’

Joan Kump knows how good it feels to be king. The sophomore art history major is always on the go with some sort of activity at Syracuse University. Beyond working multiple positions with Z89, she helps out with LGBT and SASSE.

Kump’s true notoriety comes from this year’s Totally Fabulous III, where, performing under the name of Jose Crochet, she won the title of Drag King and all the privileges that come with it.

‘When I decided to come to SU I figured in 10,000 plus people, I would be able to find at least one or two friends,’ Kump said. ‘Now people I don’t know are coming up to me in the gym asking me if I was the one who won the drag show – it’s very cool.’

Mike Lang marches to the beat of his own drum. The senior magazine journalism and political science major is more commonly known as the dreadlocked drummer for the Sour Sitrus Society.

‘I’ve got these long dreads and when I play I go nuts and they go flying,’ said Lang. ‘It gets me on TV a lot, so I guess a lot of people recognize me.’

Lang said his notoriety has only grown in the past few years, especially after the Big East tournament, where he traveled with the SU basketball team to Louisiana. It’s pretty cool to be walking down the streets of New Orleans and have people stop and want to shake hands or take photographs, Lang said.

‘I would go to a bar after the game and it would be packed with SU alumni,’ Lang said. ‘I would walk in and they would recognize me as the drummer and the beer would start pouring, it was cool.’

Fern Langham enjoys when things are long. The freshman bio major has already made herself very busy at SU: this year alone she’s been involved with Hillel, Habitat for Humanity, RHA, Dellplain Hall Council and NACURH, and next semester is looking forward to being a part of University 100.

Langham, like Devine, is a Facebook fiend, and is known more for her unusually long picture than anything else. The photo shows Langham in multiple different scenes, stacked right on top of each other, and makes for a very prominent image on anybody’s friend page. It’s so noticeable that a group called ‘Fern Langham’s Photo Is Just Too Long!’ has appeared on Facebook, and contains over 150 members.

‘Everyone that knows me will describe me as extremely vivacious, friendly and energetic,’ Langham said. ‘I am always meeting new people, and I love walking through the Quad saying ‘hi’ to everyone I know.’

Travis Mason doesn’t comprehend the meaning of quitting. The Student Association president says that he is constantly trying to improve Syracuse and make it a better place to be.

‘I’m concerned with the problems that face the university,’ Mason said. ‘On a personal level I’m concerned with the problems of the people I meet every day.’

It goes without saying that the junior political science, economics, mathematics and policy studies major is a very active part of student life. Through his work in SA, Mason has a direct connection to every club on campus. When not being SA president (which isn’t often) Mason is a musical enthusiast. He’s been both a singer and pianist since the age of eight and enjoys both gospel and jazz.

‘To be honest, for me it’s not about the accolades or recognition, it’s about whether I’m doing the job I set out to do,’ Mason said. ‘I always feel like I could be doing better, but I feel like we’re doing a great job so far.’

Otto the Orange is one of the only performers in sports who is proud to be full of juice. Otto is one of the most recognizable mascots out on the circuit today because he’s not an animal, but something different. Otto is the physical spirit of Syracuse, and he is loved by everyone. There is a constant request for him to attend birthday parties, school activities and charitable events.

Otto loves to support the home team. He attends every major sporting event and is always pumped up and ready to get the fans feeling the same way he does.

Beyond his mascot job, he loves to roll around on the floor and direct the band at football games.

Jonathan Umansky is no loser. Though the junior film and drama major is probably best known for running against Travis Mason for the position of SA President in 2004, Umansky is involved with a plethora of other activities. Last year alone he was the chairman of Goon Squad, chairman of the Office of Greek Life and Experimental Learning advisor board, membership vice president of Hillel and rush chairman for Alpha Epsilon Pi.

‘I’ll be at a bar or someone will hear my name and they’ll say ‘oh, you were that kid that ran last semester,” Umansky said. ‘It’s very interesting. You go to a school with 10,000 kids, most whom are all from the East Coast, and I am from Missouri, and people know me here.’

Umansky is currently working on an online casting site called ‘Orange Casting House.’ It will allow for students to post their needs for things like models or actors. Umansky, who works through the business end of entertainment, says that this could be a great help for SU and his future.

‘I’m basically looking to be the next media mogul,’ Umansky said.

Justin Welch is in a hairy situation. The junior public relations major is best known as the kid who works in Garbos with the long hair, but there is much more to him than brushes and gel.

Welch is part of Pride Union and works for the LGBT Resource Center. He is also a representative of the Student Team Against Bias and the Dean’s Forum. Welch is the winner of the La Fuerza Award, the Excellence in Leadership Award and the Foundation Award.

‘Most people who don’t know me consider me to be unintelligent, which is simply because I choose not to talk about class and homework all the time,’ Welch said.

Welch thinks that his most interesting features are going four or five days without showering, and the fact that he once pooped his pants in front of Bird Library.

Mary Jo Zawalski is probably the most recognized person at Syracuse University. Everyone has heard of her – at least in passing – and can probably tell you some story or anecdote about something she’s done. Of course, everything said would refer to her alias: Bird Girl.

The junior ceramics major is best known for her affinity for clipping strange objects onto her head. Many times it happens to be a plastic bird, but everything from an assortment of animals to a plastic waffle has been sighted.

‘All the birds I wear on my head are paper trained. Unfortunately, the alligator is not,’ Zawalski said.

Zawalski’s greatest passion is understanding other cultures through their arts and languages. She is also addicted to black coffee, adrenaline from the gym and ethnic foods. She doesn’t date and has no romantic interests whatsoever – not for men, women or even any of her fellow ‘asexuals from planet Zunab,’ Zawalski said.

Published on April 27, 2005 at 12:00 pm