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The line went out the door of Hendricks Chapel and looped north along the Quad to the perimeter of Huntington Beard Crouse Hall. Soaking in splashes of sun light, the crowd waited anxiously to hear the United States chief justice.

Syracuse University’s campus had Roberts fever.

More than two hours after the line began to form at Hendricks, a roll of newspaper print – in place of a ribbon – was unfurled in front of the entrance to Newhouse Communications Center III. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., Chancellor Nancy Cantor and the benefactor of the new building, Chairman of Advance Publications Samuel Irving Newhouse Jr., were handed golden scissors to cut the newsprint and finally open the building.

It was a day of spectacles on the SU campus and much of the university appeared to shut down in order to take part in the ceremonies, speeches and celebrations that accompanied the big day for the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. It was more than just a building’s dedication: The school’s achievements, the First Amendment and Roberts’ presence were all commemorated.

It was also a day for Newhouse alumni to come out and show support for their alma mater’s latest endeavor. And many did.

Mike Tirico, a Newhouse alum and play-by-play announcer for Monday Night Football on ESPN, donated – with his wife and SU alumna, Debbie – money toward the building’s construction. The Debbie and Mike Tirico Classroom is the lasting icon of that gift.

‘It’s exciting. I haven’t been there yet, and I’m looking forward to walking in. Newhouse is very special to both of us,’ Tirico said as he patiently talked football to the students gathered around him. ‘I love staying involved in my school, because not only does it mean so much to us, but it means a lot to a lot of people in the industry.

‘The opportunity to succeed in the business, in large part because of my Newhouse experience, and to be able to say thank you – in some small way – is really one of the thrills for me,’ he said.

And while a campus visit from many of the alums would typically receive a great deal of attention, this was the chief justice’s show.

Roberts’ schedule was packed with activities in which Newhouse shared the chief justice with the entire university. He spoke with 40 students in the morning and ate lunch with donors in the early afternoon, all of which led to his speech (see front page for complete coverage).

A packed chapel of more than 1,100 administrators, deans, faculty members, alumni, donors and students listened to the keynote address. Roberts spoke on the need for an independent judiciary to ensure that freedoms (with a concentration on the freedom of speech and the press) are not threatened by special interests.

The chief justice’s speech followed in the footsteps of former U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson and founder of CBS, William S. Paley. Paley spoke at the dedication of Newhouse II and Johnson delivered his ‘Gulf of Tonkin’ address when he dedicated the first Newhouse building in 1964.

Roberts did not make any groundbreaking statements during his address, but kept the audience’s attention with jokes on topics ranging from building inscriptions to the uniqueness of nonconformists. Though he always came back to his central topic – giving the crowd some hefty issues to think about on a hot day.

After Roberts’ second mention of the Soviet Union’s Constitution and its guarantee of freedom of speech – which he called a lie – the day’s activities were void of any serious undertone.

A drum corps entered the chapel playing a snappy marching beat. The group was dressed in orange colonial war garb and led Roberts, Rubin and the entire Hendricks audience down to the University Place entrance of Newhouse III.

Complimentary bottles of water were passed out to the onlookers as the temperature outside hovered near 80 degrees and the majority in attendance were in suits, including SU students, who took this opportunity to put on their finest outfits for the head of the U.S.’ judicial branch.

‘This building has been a long time in coming,’ Rubin said as he took the glass podium on a dais set up in front of the building.

S.I. Newhouse Jr. spoke for the second time of the afternoon and recalled, with some nostalgia, the snowy walk up the hill he used to make as an SU student. Newhouse thanked the architects from Polshek Partnership Architects for their accomplishment and complimented the chief justice for understanding the need to protect the First Amendment.

‘Students will come here to learn, to speak and seek the truth,’ Newhouse said. ‘Newhouse III embodies the idea of freedom of speech. Literally.’

Rubin went on to thank those involved in the project, including the architects, construction crews, project coordinator, technology staff, Newhouse faculty and Director of Administration Susan Nash. Nash played an influential role in overseeing the building’s construction and orchestrated communication among the different involved parties.

Senior Spanish and television, radio and film major Stephanie Rivetz and professor of communications law Jay Wright also spoke on behalf of students and faculty, respectively. Wright introduced the chief justice who made brief comments leaving the crowd who did not see him the chapel with just a taste of his oratory prowess.

Roberts said that so many people have devoted their lives to ensuring students could learn how to exercise the right to freedom of speech. His message to the students was: ‘Don’t blow it.’

Cantor read a proclamation and spoke of the unifying nature she hopes Newhouse III has on the entire SU campus.

‘Newhouse III will stand as a testament to the visionary leadership of Dean David Rubin who lead the Newhouse school through one of its most prolific and transformative eras,’ Cantor said, reading the proclamation. The new building ‘assures the Newhouse school’s preeminence among communication schools for years to come.’

The entire SU campus felt the effects of the Newhouse event. Lectures suffered lower than normal attendance Wednesday and University Place was shut down as the drum corps led a procession to where more than 2,000 people gathered on the lawn in front of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.

Rubin said that every school and college was involved in the event: Each sent students to the private Q&A session and each received tickets to the Hendricks Chapel speech.

‘While I recognize this is more a Newhouse event than any other school or college, in the same way that the Life Sciences Complex dedication in another year will be an Arts and Sciences event, I do believe this did embrace the whole campus,’ Rubin said. ‘At least, that was our intent.’

Droves of people did make it into Newhouse III for the open house. The building was crowded on all four floors as the various amenities of the $31.6 million, 74,000-square-foot building were highlighted. Hor d’oeuvres, sandwiches, deserts and samples of Food.com’s menu were freely and abundantly provided.

A private dinner followed the open house in the Newhouse III auditorium.

Rubin said of the new building during the opening ceremonies: ‘We can’t wait to live in it.’