Daniel B. Maffei: “I wanted to quickly mention that the word Onondaga is an Hodenosaunee word, an Iroquois word. The Iroquois Confederation…”

“I wanted to quickly mention that the word Onondaga is an Hodenosaunee word, an Iroquois word. The Iroquois Confederation was a major Native American confederation of actually five and then six Native American Indian nations. Its capital was called Onondaga, and, indeed, the word means 'on top of the hill' and was very, very close to where Syracuse is now--the city that I'm from-- and it's a very, very special place. The college that, indeed, these teams are from is named after that original people. Our community colleges are a tremendous asset that are too often taken for granted in our communities. In my community, we have one of the best community colleges, Onondaga Community College, and today I rise to congratulate two great lacrosse teams from this college. Before I do, I want to congratulate this college for its academics. This college is becoming one of the best 2-year institutions of higher learning in this country, thanks in large part to the leadership of President Debbie Sydow.”