On April 24, Syracuse University Chancellor Kent Syverud posed a question that has since been a topic of debate across the SU community.

“I have a question to ask you,” Syverud said in one of his weekly emails. “When you say ‘Syracuse,’ does the first syllable rhyme with ‘deer’ or with ‘bear?’”

In order to decide on a pronunciation, Syverud will be holding a competition in the fall between members of Team Deer and members of Team Bear.

“What I’ve learned is, there is such a close difference of opinion that I should come up with some competitive way to decide that question between those who are deeply convinced it’s deer and those who are deeply convinced it’s bear,” he said. “So in the fall, I’ll have some sort of appropriate way to decide on how I should pronounce it.”

Syverud said he has not yet decided on the exact details of the competition or when in the fall it will be held.

In the original email that sparked the conversation, Syverud said he’s met confident members of Team Deer and Team Bear.

“I’ve met both ‘deers’ and ‘bears’ everywhere, among those who grew up here, among people from New York City, and even among people from China,” Syverud said. “Apparently there is no approved way, even for Syracusans, to say Syracuse.”

Recipients of the email took to Twitter to voice their fandom.

Harriet Brown, a professor in magazine journalism at SU, tweeted, “I’ve been a member of #TeamDeer for 50 years. Believe me — it’s the only way to say Seeracuse. #syracuse.”

SU assistant men’s basketball coach Mike Hopkins tweeted, “A1: I’m #Teambear all the way. #HopTalks.”

Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician, a Syracuse Orange-focused blog on SB Nation, set up a poll on their website and received 1,598 responses. Fifty-five percent of the votes were for Team Bear and 45 percent went to Team Deer.

Nunes Magician is also selling T-shirts with the words: “It’s pronounced seer-uh-kyoos” printed on the shirt. The T-shirts cost $17.99 and can be purchased on www.gamedaydepot.com.

A poll was also posted on www.kentschallenge.com, a website created for the purpose of determining the proper pronunciation, and Team Deer took 61 percent of the votes in the poll while 39 percent of the votes went to Team Bear. The total number of votes was not disclosed.

Despite the significant response, almost three weeks after the email Syverud still has not come to a conclusion as to how he should pronounce Syracuse.

“I have learned there is no correct pronunciation of Syracuse because it’s too evenly divided,” Syverud said.

Published on May 8, 2014 at 2:35 am

Contact Justin: jmatting@syr.edu | @jmattingly306