01 27 14 entire issue lo res

By ASHLEY CHU Sun Staff Writer

f ro m I F C a n d Pa n h e l l e n i c “ L a s t ye a r, we h a d 8 2 3 w o m e n s i g n u p f o r Fo r m a l Me m b e r s h i p Re c r u i t m e n t , s o we s a w a l m o s t a 5 0 - p e r s o n j u m p i n j u s t o n e ye a r, ” s a i d A n g i r a J h a ve r i ’ 1 4 , v i c e p re s i d e n t o f f o r m a l m e m b e r s h i p r e c

i e s a n d 6 7 6 s t u -

d e n t s s i g n e d b i d s f o r s o ro r i t i e s W h i l e t h e n u m b e r o f re g i s t r a n t s f o r f r a t e r n i -

t i e s s t a ye d c o n s i s t e n t w i t h l a s t ye a r ’ s n u m b e r, t h e

n u m b e r o f re g i s t r a n t s f o r t h e Pa n h e l l e n i c s o ro r i -

t i e s i n c re a s e d s i g n i f i c a n t l y, a c c o rd i n g t o d a t a

By DARA LEVY Sun Senior Writer

Comedian Kate McKinnon will be performing in the Statler Auditorium on Feb 13, Cornell University Programming Board announced Sunday McKinnon, who has been a cast member on Saturday Night Live since April 2012, was previously a part of the original cast of the Big Gay Sketch Show on the Logo Network

2005, according to CUPB President Zachary Zahos ’15 Zahos said that McKinnon’s gender was one consideration in the decision to bring her to campus

McKinnon is the first openly gay female cast member currently on SNL, according to the New York Post

McKinnon is the first female performer CUPB has brought to campus since Whoopi Goldberg in

“We got excited about the idea of bringing a female comedian to campus because it’s been too long, but our number one priority is to have a good show with the idea that we ’ re never going to sacrifice quality,” Zahos said Tickets to the event will be free to the public and will be available to students at Willard Straight Hall on Wednesday

By NOAH RANKIN Sun Senior Writer

Sixty student orga-

more than 150 inter-

d themselves in Duffield Hall for Cornell’s first-

Sp

g ClubFest on Sunday ClubFest, has traditionally been a staple

We

Weekend in the fall Hundreds of student

space in Barton Hall

groups and hand out i

Sp

g ClubFest was relegated

By KEVIN MILIAN Sun Staff Writer

Si n c e l a u n c h i n g i n Oc t o b e r,

s t u d e n t - r u n n o n p r o f i t

“People

t

t

respond to risky actions and work closely with the host of an event, without par tygoers r

t o Kendall Stokes ’15, vice-president of training for Cayuga’s Watchers

C a y u g a ’ s Wa t c h e r s h a s i n c r e a s e d i t s p r e s e n c e o n a n d o f f c a mp u s b y h e l pi n g c l a s s m a t e s d r i n k re s p o ns i b l y a n d p rev e n t i n g a l c oh o l - re l a t e d i n c id e n t s , a c c o r d i n g t o E r i c S i l v e r b e r g ’ 1 4 , Pr e s i d e n t o f C a y u g a ’ s Wa t c h e r s In f o u r m o n t h s , C a y u g a ’ s Wa t c h e r s , w h i c h i s b a s e d o n a s i m i l a r s e r v i c e p r o v i d e d a t Da r t m o u t h C o l l e g e , h a s s e e n i m p re s s i ve g row t h a n d re s u l t s , a c c o rd i n g t o Si l ve r b e r g T h e n o n p r o f i t h a s e x p a n de d t o i n c l u d e 1 7 0 s t u d e n t e m p l o y e e s a n d a v e r a g e d a p p r o x i m a t e l y 1 5 c a s e s o f n o n - c o n f r o n t a t i o n a l , p e e r - t op e e r b y s t a n d e r i n t e r v e n t i o n p e r e v e n t , a c c o r d i n g t o Si l v e r b e r g “ We h a v e b o t h e m p i r i c a l a n d a n e c d o t a l e v i d e n c e t o s u gg e s t t h a t t h e e f f o r t s o f Wa t c h e r s h a v e d i r e c t l y p r ev e n t e d a l c o h o l - r e l a t e d i n c

Using Rat s, C.U. Team

Discovers CancerStopping Strat eg y

By ERIC OBERMAN Sun Staff Wr ter

Prof Michael King, biomedical engineering, and a team of Cornell students have discovered a method to stop cancer from metastasizing, or spreading throughout the body, by attaching proteins called TRAIL and Eselectin to white blood cells

Though researchers have been successful in fighting cancer cells in mice, the eventual goal is to treat cancers in humans, according to Michael Mitchell, grad, who worked on the project and co-wrote the study

This research is especially important because metastasis is the function of cancer that allows it to harm or kill people, Mitchell said

“Basically what we did is we developed a way to utilize the body’s own white blood cells to prevent cancer from spreading,” Mitchell said “This targets a wide variety of types of cancer, [like] colon cancer, prostate cancer and breast cancer ”

According to King, the TRAIL protein was the key to carrying out this method

“We use a protein called TRAIL and attach it to lysosomes, or nanoparticles,” King said “These lysosomes attach to white blood cells, called ‘unnatural killer cells,’ which collide with cancer cells and cause them to die ”

Contact with the blood cells causes the cancer to undergo apoptosis, or programmed cell death, according to the study published by King and Mitchell in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

So far, researchers have performed experiments with TRAIL in petri dishes and on mice According to the study, the TRAIL method works much better in live animals than elsewhere because the flow of the bloodstream causes the cancer cells to come into contact with many more of these “killer cells ”

“Most times blood gets in the way [while targeting] cancer cells, but our approach works far better than others,” he said “All the white blood cells are working for us ”

In order to see successful results in mice, the researchers injected lab mice with TRAIL proteins and introduced cancer cells intravenously, according to King The success rate of these trials was almost 100 percent, according to a Cornell press release about the research

“Two hours after injection, the cancer cells were completely eliminated,” he said “The ones that you could find, the few, were clearly not healthy ”

Since this experiment was performed over a short period of time, a longer-term study must be done before the research can move to larger animals or humans

In their current phase of research, King and Mitchell are now allowing cancer cells to develop more naturally in the mice, so that they can apply their work to more realistic situations

Mitchell said that while he is optimistic about the results, it is difficult to determine whether researchers can apply these findings to humans at this stage of the study, especially because the next round of experiments can take months to complete

“It’s too early to tell whether this could be applied to humans,” said Mitchell “But it’s an exciting first step because no one ’ s ever really developed something like this Targeting the spreading of tumors is very hard, so we think we found a way to cut off these cells from ever going anywhere ”

Eric Oberman can be reached at eoberman@cornellsun com

Last Week in Review

Cornell Tech Begins Clearing Space

On Roosevelt Island

D e m o l i t i o n o f C o l e r -

Goldwater Hospital, which currently sits on the site of Cornell Tech’s multi-billion dollar campus, officially began last week, according to Cornell Tech Vice President Cathy Dove

Since Cornell signed the lease for the Roosevelt Island property

w i t h f o r m e r Ne w Yo r k C i t y

Ma yo r Mi c h a e l Bl o o m b e r g i n December, workers have prepared the ground, built a fence surrounding the construction site and started the interior demolition of Coler-Goldwater Hospital, according to Dove

ILR Alumnus Returns To University From Department

After nine years ser ving as

Higher Ed . Split O ver Bene t of Online Courses for Students

Although studies show online education companies focus on pro ts, professors have hope for student learning

By ARIEL SEIDNER Sun Contributor

D e p u t y Se c re t a

y o f Labor, Seth Harris ’83 returned to Cornell Jan 22 as a Distinguished Scholar at the School of In d u s t r i a l a n d L a b o r Relations

n i e s

s u c h a s Ud a c i t y, C o u r s e r a a n d Ed X m ov i n g

t ow a rd o n l i n e e d u c a t i o n a n d m a s s i ve o p e n o n l i n e c o u r s e s i s n o t

d u e t o e f f i c a c y o r i n c r e a s e d a c c e s s i b i l i t y

Su c h c l a s s e s c a n a l l ow s t u d e n t s t o f o c u s o n t h e m a t e r i a l ove r w i n t e r o r s u m m e r b re a k s , i n c l u d i n g “ s t u d e n t s w h o a re t r y i n g t o g e t a h e a d [ o r ] c a u g h t u p f o r a va r i e t y o f p e r s o n a l a n d a c ad e m i c re a s o n s , ” a c c o rd i n g t o Sh a c k e l l - Dowe l l On l i n e p ro g r a m s c a n b e u s e f u l f o r s t u d e n t s w i t h d i s a b i l i t i e s , f a m i l y b u rd e n s a n d c l a s s ro o m a n x i e t y, a c c o rd i n g t o L i v i n g s t o n L i v i n g s t o n w h o h a s b e e n t e a c h i n g o n l i n e c o u r s e s s i n c e s h e w a s i n g r a d u

t i l l w

Cornell University Restricts East Avenue Traffic Until April 2015 The closure of East Avenue d u e t o t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f Klarman Hall brought about an assortment of traffic and transportation adjustments that will affect members of the Cornell and Ithaca communities alike for the next-year-and-a-half

Un t i l Ap r i l 1 9 , 2 0 1 5 , t h e Southbound land of East Avenue will be closed to all traffic

Compiled

by

Noah Rankin

t o s t u d e n t s , b u t r a t h e r e n o r m o u s p ro f i t a b i l i t y Pr o f B e t h L i v i n g s t o n , i n d u s t r i a l a n d l a b o r r e l a t i o n s , s a i d t h a t w h i l e i n i t i a l e f f o r t s t o w a r d o n l i n e

“Cornell does a pretty good job of integrating online functions into the existing class structure, and they seem to be going about building MOOCs with thoughtfulness.”

r t h e c o u r s e s t o b e t a u g h t i n a w a y t h a t h e l p s s t u d e n t s “ T h e y c a n b e d o n e q u i t e we l l i f t h e p ro f e ss o r i s we l l - a c q u a i n t e d w i t h t h e c o u r s e m a t e ri a l a n d t h e t e c h n o l o g y, a n d i f t h e p r o f e s s o r c a r e s a b o u t s t u d e n t l e a r n i n g e n o u g h t o u s e t h e i n h e re n t f l e x i b i l i t y o f o n l i n e e

P r o f B e t h L i v i n g s t o n

c o u r s e s d i d n o t a l w a y s h a v e s t u d e n t s ’ b e s t i n t e re s t s i n m i n d , s o m e o n l i n e e d u c a t i o n p ro g r a m s s t i l l o f f e r b e n e f i t s t o

s o m e s t u d e n t s “ Mu c h o f t h e e a r l y d r i ve t ow a rd o n l i n e e d u -

c a t i o n w a s l i k e l y f u e l e d by f o r - p ro f i t c o m p a n i e s

l o o k i n g t o p rov i d e c h e a p c o u r s e s w i t h o u t m u c h c a r e f o r a c t u a l s t u d e n t l e a r n i n g , ”

L i v i n g s t o n s a i d

I n 2 0 1 2 , t h e o n l i n e e d u c a t i o n s e c t o r re c e i ve d i n ve s t m e n t s o f $ 1 1 b i l l i o n , w i t h 3 2 4

t e c h c o m p a n i e s e a r n i n g $ 1 4 3 b i l l i o n i n p ro f i t s

d u r i n g a 1 2 - m o n t h p e r i o d , a c c o rd i n g t o t h e

Hu f f i n g t o n Po s t A re p o r t re l e a s e d i n 2 0 1 2 by Se n To m

Ha rk i n ( D - Iow a ) l a t e r re ve a l e d t h a t t h e s e p r i -

va t e , f o r - p ro f i t o n l i n e h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n p ro -

g r a m s “ s p e n t m o re o n a d ve r t i s i n g a n d re c r u i t -

m e n t t h a n o n i n s t r u c t i o n ” Howe ve r, t h e re a re s t i l l o n l i n e e d u c a t i o n p ro g r a m s t h a t c a n b e w o r t h w h i l e f o r s t u d e n t s ,

p u t t i n g m o n e y t ow a rd t h e q u a l i t y o f t h e e d u -

c a t i o n , a c c o rd i n g t o Pro f Ma r g a re t Sh a c k e l l -

Dowe l l , a c c o u n t i n g On l i n e c l a s s e s g i ve s t u d e n t s t h e o p p o r t u n i t y

t o t a k e t h e c o u r s e i n a m a n n e r t h a t f i t s t h e i r

s c h e d u l e , ” Sh a c k e l l - Dowe l l s a i d

n t o m

n t n e e

L i v i n g s t o n s a i d Pr o f S h a c k e l lDowe l l f u r t h e r p o i n t s o u t t h a t s t u d e n t s c a n u s e t h e s e p ro g r a m s t o “ l e a r n a c o u r s e i n a d e e p f a s h i o n a s o p p o s e d t o c o m b i n i n g i t w i t h a b u n c h o f o t h e r c o u r s e s a n d a c t i v i t i e s a n d s p re a d i n g t h e m s e l ve s t o o t h i n ” L i v i n g s t o n s a i d C o r n e l l ’ s o n l i n e a n d M O O C p ro g r a m s s e e m t o b e e f f e c t i ve i n h e l pi n g s t u d e n t s , “ s o l o n g a s t h e e x p a n s i o n i s d o n e t h o u g h t f u l l y ” “ C o r n e l l d o e s a p re t t y g o o d j o b o f i n t e g r a ti n g o n l i n e f u n c t i o n s i n t o t h e e x i s t i n g c l a s s s t r u c t u re , a n d t h e y s e e m t o b e g o i n g a b o u t b u i l d i n g M O O C s w i t h t h o u g h t f u l n e s s , ” L i v i n g s t o n s a i d “ Us i n g o n l i n e c l a s s e s , a n d o t h e r o n l i n e t o o l s , t o h e l p m e e t s t u d e n

Ariel Seidner can be reached at abs253@cornell edu

WATCHERS Continued from page 1

not actually know the Watchers were present until the party had ended and guests were leaving Once I knew who the Watchers were, I was very appreciative of their help in managing the large and fairly confused crowd,” said Garrison Lovely ’16, president of the Delta Tau Delta Fraternity

According to Stokes, members are sent in to events in small groups with a team captain Watchers communicate via group-texts to assist each other should risky situations arise

“We never send watchers in alone If you send one person into a 200 [or] 300 person party it could be very dangerous,” said Stokes Gannett Health Services, the Cornell Police and Cornell University EMS assist Cayuga’s Watchers in recognizing and reacting to dangerous situations, according to Deborah K Lewis, Alcohol Projects Coordinator of Gannett

“I talk with Cayuga’s Watchers about the effect of alcohol on the brain and what that might mean in terms of interacting effectively with an intoxicated person, ” Lewis said

“I was very appreciative of [ The Watchers’] help in managing the crowd ”

G a r r i s o n L o v e l y ’ 1 6

Both students and faculty see the Cayuga’s Watchers initiative as a positive response to high-risk drinking situations at Cornell

“Everyone has a responsibility, especially student leaders, to say when friends and acquaintances are drinking too much and hold them accountable for their misbehavior,” said Prof William Sonnenstuhl, industrial and labor relations, who is a Watchers faculty advisor

According to Sonnenstuhl, Cayuga’s Watchers should not be a substitute for sober monitors at social events or responsible behavior, but rather a complement

“The real question about changing perceptions of college drinking is whether students are willing to exercise that kind of leadership Cayuga’s Watchers are doing that,” Sonnenstuhl said

According to Lovely, Cayuga’s Watchers are a better solution than other drink-curbing initiatives at Cornell, such as the quarter system imposed on Greek organizations

“[The quarter system has] merely pushed the most dangerous activity off campus or underground, where Cornell is no longer liable and regulations cannot be enforced,” Lovely said “Cayuga’s Watchers preserves the principles of self-governance central to Greek Life while also being in a unique position to mitigate risk at a larger number of events ”

One of Cayuga’s Watchers goals this semester is to work with over 50 percent of the Greek community, according to Silverberg Other goals include increasing membership by 25 percent and expanding social media presence

Kevin Milian can be reached at kmilian@cornellsun com

More Girls Rushing to Recruitment

RUSH

Continued from page 1

e n t f u l We s a w n o m a j o r i n c id e n t s o f a n y s o r t a n d t h e So c i a l Re s o n s i b i l i t i e s C o m m i t t e e , I F C , a n d C o r n e l l Po l i c e d i d n o t f i n d a n y v i o l a t i o n s o f o u r p o l i c i e s ” S p e n c e r No r d ’ 1 6 , v i c e p r e s i d e n t f o r

U u n i v e r s i t y a n d c o m m u n i t y re l a t i o n s f o r I F C , e c h o e d Bu c h e r ’ s s e n t i m e n t s “ Fr o m o u r e n d , t h i s w a s o n e o f t h e m o s t s u cc e s s f u l f o r m a l re c r u i t m e n t w e e k s i n C o r n e l l ' s h i s t o r y, ” No rd s a i d “ C h a p t e r s w i l l i n g l y a b o d e

b y t h e s t r i n g e n t s t a n d a rd s p u t i n p l a c e re g a rd

e s i n

u s h p r o c e s s t h i s y e a r i n c o m p a r i s o n t o l a s t

e a r, w i t h r e g a r d s t o b o t h ‘ s u i c i d e r u s h i n g ’ o r c h o o s i n g t o r u s h o n l y o n e h o u s e a n d a l c o h o l r e s p o n s i b i l i t y “ We h a v e y e t t o h e a r o f a n y i s s u e s s u r -

“We are proud of our chapters and how they have embraced the importance of safety and responsibility during the recruitment period ”

S p e n c e r N o r d ’ 1 6

r o u n d i n g t h e ‘ s u i c i d e r u s h i n g ’ b y re g i s t r a n t s t h a t w e h a d l a s t y e a r, ” s a i d Bu c h e r “ E s s e n t i a l l y, m o re re g i s t r a n t s a re

k e e p i n g t h e o p t i o n s o p e n a n d e x p l o r i n g t h e

d i v e r s i t y o f t h e Gre e k s y s t e m t h r o u g h o u t t h e

d u r a t i o n o f t h e w e e k ”

No rd a d d e d t h a t I F C a d e q u a t e l y a n d re s p o n -

s i b l y a d d re s s e d a n o t h e r i s s u e o f d e b a t e f r o m l a s t y e a r h a z i n g “ We a re p r o u d o f o u r c h a p t e r s a n d h ow t h e y h a v e e m b r a c e d t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f s a f e t y a n d re s p o n s i b i l i t y d u r i n g t h e re c r u i t m e n t p e r i o d , ”

No

rd s a i d “ I F C C h a p t e r s h a v e d o n e a p h e -

n o m e n a l j o b e r a d i c a t i n g h a z i n g f r o m t h e i r n e w

m e m b e r e d u c a t i o n p l a n s ” D e s p i t e t h e p o s i t i v e t o n e t h a t w a s s e t b y t h i s y e a r ’ s r u s h , b o t h Bu c h e r a n d No rd n o t e d d i f f ic u l t i e s re l a t e d t o t h e Un i v e r s i t y re s t r i c t i n g t h e n u m b e r o f f a l l re c r u i t m e n t e v e n t s a n d s h o r t e n -

n y t

n g l i k e I h a v

i n t h e p a s t f e w d a y s , ” H a i l i n L i u ’ 1 7 s a i d “ [ I re m e m b e r ] r u n n i n g f r a n t i c a l l y t o We s t , c h a n g i n g i n t o h e e l s w h e n i t w a s s n ow i n g o u ts i d e a n d b e i n g o u t s i d e w h e n i t w a s f re e z i n g c o l d ” W h i l e L i u s a i d i t c o u l d b e d i f f i c u l t t o i g n o r e t h e “ s t e r e o t y p e s o f e a c h h o u s e , ” s h e u l t i m a t e l y f e l t t h a t t h e e x p e r i e n c e w a s w o r t h t h e d i f f i c u l t i e s , p a r t i c u l a r l y b e c a u s e

i n g t h e n e w m e m b e r e d u c a t i o n p e r i o d f r o m s i x w e e k s t o f o u r w e e k s A c c o r d i n g , t o B u c h e r a n d No r d , t h e s e c h a n g e s m a k e i t d i f f i c u l t f o r n e w m e m b e r s t o g a i n a t h o r o u g h u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e p e r s o n a li t y a n d c u l t u re o f e a c h f r a t e r n i t y “ Ru s h w e e k i s a p r o c e s s o f m a t c h i n g re g i st r

Ashley Chu can be reached at achu@cornellsun com

273-3606 M-F 9-5

f o r i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t p l a c i n

ClubFe st Brin g s ‘Fre sh New Face s ’ to Organi zations

sons However, this first Spring ClubFest was meant to be a “trial period,” according to Cleminshaw, as she hopes it will increase in size and eventually be comparable to Fall ClubFest

Carly Silver ’16, who went to the event as a volunteer for her professional business fraternity Delta Sigma Pi, found the spring clubfest to be full of energy

“I attended the club fair to promote my business fraternity and ended up signing up for a club I had no idea existed and leaving with several different student publications,” Silver said “It was exciting to see so much enthusiasm from the campus groups, with students at the table across from me dressed as Pokemon and others quartercarding all across Duffield ” Kwesi Acquay ’14, co-founder and president of Cornell

Current, a campus organization focused on current events and industry trends, also thought that clubfest was an ideal way to provide dialogue between student groups and those on campus “As a student leader, it is exciting to potentially meet future members and leaders of your organization,” Acquay

said “Being a co-founder of Cornell Current and a senior, I want to ensure that the organization thrives well after I graduate ClubFest brings about fresh new faces eager to get involved, which is certainly an encouraging sign ”

Acquay found the addition of a Spring ClubFest to have several benefits that the Fall Clubfest could not provide “I see Spring ClubFest in particular as a great way to ease the transition for transfer students looking to get acclimated to Cornell,” Acquay said “It is not always easy to find one ’ s place at a large university like this, so providing an oppor tunity to get involved right away through extracurricular activities creates an ideal situation for transfers in the spring semester ” Despite Fall ClubFest’s popularity, Cleminshaw did not expect the first full spring version be as successful as it was “Honestly, we were pleasantly surprised at the overwhelming support, ” Cleminshaw said “To know that there is really a demand for this type of forum for students and clubs to interact, not just once a year but also in the spring, is very encouraging for us ”

T h e C o r n e ¬ D a i l y S u n

Independent Since 1880

131ST EDITORIAL BOARD

REBECCA HARRIS ’14

HANK BAO ’14 Business Manager

LIZ CAMUTI ’14

Associate Editor

ANDY LEVINE ’14

Web Editor

RACHEL ELLICOTT ’15

Blogs Editor

DAVID MARTEN 14

SHAILEE SHAH 14

EMMA COURT 15

CAROLINE FLAX 15

SAM BROMER 16

Editor SARAH COHEN 15

BRYAN CHAN 15

CHIUSANO ’15

MEGAN ZHOU ’15

BRANDON ARAGON 14

ANNA TSENTER 14

EDITORS IN TRAINING

’14

’15

Cecilia An | Guest Column T

h e o r i g i n o f t h e s l a n g t e r m “ y e ll ow f e v e r ” i s d e r i v e d f r o m o n e o f t h e s y m p t o m s o f t h e d i s e a s e ,

j a u n d i c e , w h i c h c a u s e s a y e l l ow i n g p i g -

m e n t a t i o n o f t h e s k i n T h e r a c i a l e p it h e t , t h e re f o re , h a s c o m e t o c o n n o t e a n

a t t r a c t i o n t o p e o p l e o f A s i a n o r i g i n T h i s

t e r m w a s p a r t i c u l a r l y i n t e re s t i n g t o l e a r n

o f a s a y o u n g A s i a n w o m a n i n A m e r i c a n s o c i e t y B e f o re c o m i n g t o C o r n e l l , I d i dn ’ t k n ow t h e t e r m w a s r a m p a n t l y u s e d o n c o l l e g e c a m p u s e s – – s o m u c h s o t h a t o n e w o u l d t h i n k y e l l o w f e v e r h a s b e c o m e q u i t e t h e e p i d e m i c My f r i e n d s a n d a c q u a i n t a n c e s w i l l

o f t e n s a y a t a p a r t y o r b a r t h a t t h e p e o -

p l e I a m s p e a k i n g w i t h

a r e v i c t i m s o f y e l l o w f e v e r O f t e n , t h e i n d iv i d u a l i n q u e s t i o n h a sn ’ t e x p re s s e d a n e xc l u -

s i v e a t t r a c t i o n t o A s i a n w o m e n a n d d o e s n ’ t h a v e a r o m a n t i c h i s t o r y

Editorial

Deterring Early Graduation

f i n a n c i a l d i f f e re n c e At C o r n e l l , w h i c h

s a w a re c o rd n u m b e r o f Ja n u a r y g r a d u a t e s t h i s w i n t e r, t h e n u m b e r o f s t u d e n t s

c h o o s i n g t o g r a d u a t e e a r l y h a s f o l l owe d a g e n e r a l u pw a rd t re n d Gr a d u a t i n g e a r l y s h o u l d b e i n d i v i d u a l s t u d e n t s ’ d e c i s i o n t o m a k e , d e t e r m i n a n t o n e c o n o m i c , e d uc a t i o n a l a n d o t h e r f a c t o r s Bu t e a r l y g r a d u a t i o n c a n h a r m s t u d e n t s , w h o s e e d u c at i o n a l a n d s o c i a l b e n e f i t s a re c u r t a i l e d , a n d t h e Un i ve r s i t y, w h i c h l o s e s o u t o n s p r i n g t u i t i o n d o l l a r s E s t a b l i s h i n g f i n a n c i a l i n c e n t i ve s t o a i d s t u d e n t s w h o c a n n o t t h u s a f f o rd t h e i r f i n a l s e m e s t e r w o u l d b e n e f i t b o t h C o r n e l l a n d i t s s t u d e n t s

T h e p e rc e n t a g e o f u n d e r g r a d u a t e s w h o a re g r a d u a t i n g i n f e we r t h a n f o u r ye a r s h a s i n c re a s e d ove r t h e p a s t f e w d e c a d e s On l y t h re e p e rc e n t o f s t u d e n t s i n C o r n e l l’s

i n c o m i n g C l a s s o f 1 9 8 0 g r a d u a t e d e a r l y, c o m p a re d t o a n 1 1 p e rc e n t r a t e o f e a r l y g r a d u a t i o n a m o n g s t u d e n t s i n t h e C l a s s o f 2 0 1 0 Tu i t i o n i n c re a s e s , w h i c h h a ve

c o n s i s t e n t l y o u t p a c e d t h e r a t e o f i n f l a t i o n , l i k e l y c o n t r i b u t e t o t h i s t re n d

A l t h o u g h t h e Un i ve r s i t y p rov i d e s g e n e ro u s f i n a n c i a l a i d p a c k a g e s f o r l ow - i n c o m e s t u d e n t s , t h e re a re , o f c o u r s e , t h o s e w h o g e t l e f t b e h i n d Fo r s t u d e n t s w h o j u s t m i s s q u a l i f y i n g f o r f i n a n c i a l a i d o r w h o s e p a c k a g e s d o n o t s u f f i c e , t h e s e ve r a l t h o us a n d s o f d o l l a r s t h a t c a n b e s a ve d by f o re g o i n g t h a t e i g h t h s e m e s t e r i s s i g n i f i c a n t In a n e d i t o r i a l l a s t Fe b r u a r y, T h e Su n a r g u e d t h a t c o l l e g e s s h o u l d d e s i g n t h e i r c u r r i c u l a w i t h a n e i g h t h s e m e s t e r e x p e r i e n c e i n m i n d i m p l e m e n t i n g e d u c a -

t i o n a l i n c e n t i ve s t o e n c o u r a g e s t u d e n t s t o s t a y f o r t h e i r f i n a l s e m e s t e r Howe ve r, i n l i g h t o f t h e p e r s i s t e n t t re n d o f e a r l y g r a d u a t i o n , a n d t h e n u m b e r o f s t u d e n t s w h o a re p r i m a r i l y m o t i va t e d by f i n a n c i a l p re s s u re s , p e r h a p s a c a d e m i c i n c e n t i ve s w i l l n o t s u f f i c e T h e Un i ve r s i t y m a y n e e d t o o f f e r f i n a n c i a l s u p p o r t t o h e l p m a k e t h a t f i n a l s e m e s t e r f e a s i b l e f o r s o m e s t u d e n t s A t a r g e t e d , n e e d - b a s e d f i n a n c i a l a i d p rog r a m , i n w h i c h C o r n e l l h e l p s s u b s i d i ze t u i t i o n f o r t h o s e w h o c a n n o t a f f o rd a n e i g t h s e m e s t e r, c o u l d h e l p s t u d e n t s i n s o m e w a y Su c h a p o l i c y c o u l d a l s o b e n e f i t t h e Un i ve r s i t y, w h i c h a d m i n i s t r a t o r s h a ve s a i d i s f i n a n c i a l l y s t r a i n e d by t h e t u i t i o n d o l l a r s l o s t a s a re s u l t o f e a r l y g r a d u a t i o n s A f i n a l s e m e s t e r a t C o r n e l l w o u l d a l l ow s t u d e n t s w h o a re f i n a n c i a l l y p re s s u re d t o g r a d u a t e e a r l y t o t a k e c l

s s e s o u t s i d

f t h e i r m a j o r s , m e e t n e w p e o p l e a n d j o i n n e w a c t i v i t i e s In c e n t i v i z i n g a f i n a l s e m e s t e r f o r t h o s e s t u d e n t s w o u l d a l s o a l l ow t h e Un i ve

e xc l u s i v e t o o n e r a c e In s t e a d , t h e i n d i v i d u a l m a y h a v e o n l y b e e n s e e n i n t e r a c t i n g w i t h a w o m a n o f A s i a n o r i g i n o n c e o r t w i c e , l e a d i n g t o a n e x a gg e r a t i o n t h r o u g h w o r d o f m o u t h So m e t i m e s a f e l l ow s t u d e n t w i l l a l s o u s e t h e t e r m d e r o g a t o r i l y t o re f e r t o a p e r i o d o f t i m e d u r i n g w h i c h h i s o r h e r a t t r a ct i o n t o p e o p l e o f A s i a n o r i g i n w a s p a rt i c u l a r l y f e r v e n t I ’ m n o t s u re a t w h a t a g e I b e g a n t o n o t i c e t h a t y e l l ow f e v e r w a s a n o t e w o rt h y t e r m i n s o c i e t y How e v e r, I d o re c a l l i n h i g h s c h o o l m a l e s t u d e n t s r a t e d c l a s sm a t e s s e p a r a t e l y o n a “ Ho t t e s t Gi r l s ” l i s t a n d a “ Ho t t e s t A s i a n s ” l i s t T h i s s e p a r at i o n s u g g e s t e d t o m e t h a t t h e re w a s s o m e t h i n g a b o u t i n h e r e n t l y d i f f e r e n t a b o u t b e i n g A s i a n t h a t n e c e s s i t a t e d s p e -

c i a l a c k n o w l e d g m e n t w h e n d e b a t i n g a t t r a c t i v e n e s s I m o c k e d t h e l i s t s a s a p r o d u c t o f c h i l d i s h p re c o n c e p t i o n s t h a t w o u l d f a d e w i t h a g e a n d e x p e r i e n c e

L i t t l e d i d I k n ow t h a t u p o n a t t e n d i n g c o l l e g e – – e v e n a t a s c h o o l a s p r o g re s s i v e a s C o r n e l l – – t h e y e l l ow f e v e r s t e re o t y p e

w o u l d n o t j u s t re m a i n b u t b e c o m e a

s t u b b o r n e l e m e n t o f m y c o l l e g e e x p e r i -

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n ” O t h e r i n d i v i d u a l s I h a v e e n c o u nt e re d a t C o r n e l l h a v e p re s u m e d t h a t b e c a u s e I a m A s i a n , I a m p a s s i v e a n d g e n t l e – – a n d t h e re f o re e a s i l y c o n t r o l l e d T h e re w i l l b e a s l ow, i f a n y, a t t e m p t t o e r a d i c a t e s u c h p re c o n c e i v e d n o t i o n s i f t h e s e s t e re o t y p e s a re e r r o n e o u s l y c o n s i de re d t o b e a d v a n t a g e o u s D e s p i t e t h e a b u n d a n c e o f a s s e r t i v e , a m b i t i o u s w o m e n o n c a m p u s , t h e p re v al e n c e o f t h e y e l l ow f e v e r s t e re o t y p e i s n ’ t a n y l e s s a t C o r n e l l I ’ v e re c e i v e d c o mm e n t s b o t h e x p l i c i t a n d s e x u a l i n n a t u re T h e s e i n s t a n c e s e x e m p l i f y h o w t h i s a r c

So m e o f t h e b o l d e r m e n I ’ v e e n c o u nt e re d h a v e o c c a s i o n a l l y re f e r re d t o m e a s “ t h a t c u t e l i t t l e A s i a n g i r l f r i e n d” t h e y o n c e h a d o r t o t h e i r w e a k n e s s f o r w o m e n o f m y e t h n i c b a c k g r o u n d : No t h i n g c a n m a k e a g i r l f e e l m o r e re p l a c e a b l e A t f i r s t , t h e t e r m y e l l ow f e v e r i s s o m ew h a t e n t e r t a i n i n g – – t h a t i s u n t i l I b e g a n t o re a d i n t o i t s i m p l i c a t i o n s Si n c e a t t r a c t i o n t o A s i a n w o m a n i s l a b e l e d a s a n a f f l i c t i o n , t h e t e r m i n s i n u a t e s t

CLARIFICATION

In Friday’s Opinion section, the “ Web Comment of the Day” featured a reader-submitted online comment that was racially insensitive in nature Comments on The Sun’s website do not constitute endorsements and do not reflect the opinion of the paper ’ s leadership or staff Nonetheless, the selection of a distasteful comment was an oversight that reflected poor editorial judgment The Sun apologizes to our readers

Po kémon and Apple’s Se cre t

To Suc c e ss

In 1998, Nintendo released the Pokémon Red and Blue Version handheld games for the Gameboy and licensed the Pokémon Trading Card Game

The ver y next year, Nintendo released Pokémon Stadium for the Nintendo 64 Console, and Pokémon premiered on television and in theaters These were probably the best two years of my childhood

I wasn ’ t the only kid who loved Pokémon The original games sold about 20 million copies and evolved into a multi-billion dollar franchise Why? If you play the handheld games on the Gameboy, play console games on the Nintendo 64 Console, save your lunch money for trading cards, see the movies or simply watch television during prime time, you can embark on the journey to “catch ’ em all” And of course, parents permitting, you’ll want to expand If you watch the TV show, you’ll want to see the movie If you see the movie, you’ll receive a complimentar y trading card to star t your own collection While you ’ re at it, you’ll need the handheld games and the console games to battle your friends with improved graphics Integrated seamlessly, it all worked together Tr ust me –– I had it all

Does this sound familiar? In 2001, Steve Jobs, in all his tur tle-necked glor y, announced the release of the first iPod Suddenly, people on the go could enjoy the Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears and the other talented ar tists of 2001 with its whopping 5 gigabyte hard drive Sure, there were other MP3 players and other external storage devices, but the iPod combined the two technologies and integrated them with the desktop computer via iTunes

Over the past decade, Apple has relentlessly weaved

Cross-platform integration made bo Pokémon and Apple successful Fa access to some devices and not oth doesn’t determine content –– their of a franchise does

devices and software together with enough i’s on their products to rival the mantis shrimp –– they have a lot of eyes Google it In 2005, the iPod adopted a little brother, the iPod Nano In 2007, Apple released the iPhone, and in 2010, the iPad joined the iFamily Through these effor ts, Apple propelled itself past ExxonMobil to become the largest publically traded company in the Ne w York Stock Exchange

What is Apple’s secret to success? iPhones, iPads and Macbooks all harmoniously interconnect through Apple’s software across multiple platforms If you have an iPhone, you’ll need to buy a Macbook to sync your music, photos and applications Once you purchase your Macbook, you’ll realize you could benefit from an iPad, because your Macbook is too bulky Having your devices in concer t makes your life much easier, though it will also make you dread seeing your Apple Store receipt that much more Cross-platform integration made both Pokémon and Apple successful Fans’ access to some devices and not others doesn’t determine content ––their love of a franchise does If you had a TV, a Gameboy, a Nintendo 64 Console or bought trading cards, you could play Pokémon Similarly, if you have an iPhone, an iPad or a Macbook, you can use iTunes, iPhoto and iCloud

However, Microsoft and Samsung have largely caught up with Pokémon and Apple’s winning strategy About a year ago, Microsoft began manufacturing hardware and announced the release of Windows 8, which Microsoft designed to integrate tablets, phones and those weird touchscreen ultrabooks Microsoft’s successful Xbox franchise also dominates console gaming And Samsung recently squeezed past Apple into the largest share of the global smartphone market, selling smartwatches to complement their phones

Although the Pokémon television series, movies, trading cards and games are still going strong, Nintendo completely ignored the advent of the smar tphone and the tablet –– two ne w and lucrative platforms created within the past five years They’ve abstained from broadening Pokémon’s appeal, despite the transition of casual gaming to the smar tphone and tablet It’s no wonder why Nintendo’s stock is nearly one-third of its highest value within the past five years –– especially now that developers increasingly integrate gamers ’ experiences across devices Going for ward, industr y players that coordinate their products among mobile, tablet, console and handheld devices will dominate

Pokémon and Apple built an integrated universe that fans could join because they enjoyed its creators ’ imagination regardless of the devices they owned So other companies like Microsoft and Samsung will eventually take full advantage of their presence in the console, tablet and smar tphone market, because Pokémon and Apple’s secret to success isn’t so secret any more

Kai Sam Ng | Cross-Eyed and Painful

Thi s Column Will Chang e the Way You S ee Upworthy

No one tires from calling people out on hypocrisy and artificiality in political discussion Politics holds genuineness as a deal breaker: Without it, nothing you believe matters Condescending politics, if anything, is a hindrance to social reform, and people can sense arrogance from a mile away Upwor thy sticks out like a sore thumb among new manifestations of insufferable politics Upworthy, for those who don’t know, is a website devoted to “meaningful content ” With enticing headlines and a progressive bent, the site has achieved stunning success in two years, reaching over 49 million unique viewers each month and becoming the 38th most popular website in the United States But the website’s claim to “meaning ful content ” is disingenuous: It claims to seriously engage with political issues, but it really doesn’t It claims to be enlightened, but it isn’t “Watch The First 54 Seconds That’s All I Ask You’ll Be Hooked After That, I Swear ” “By Looking At Her, You May Not Know What She’s Hiding Underneath ” Common complaints about Upworthy focus on its click bait headlines like these, but

that’s a silly criticism

A link’s entire purpose is to be clicked on, and, by definition, ever y link on the Internet is click bait Harping on Upworthy’s exploitation of click bait is an easy argument to latch onto, but it’s not the true reason why people should be bothered by Upworthy U p w o r t h y ’ s remarkable success has brought about website clones like Viral Nova and Distractify, mimicking Upworthy’s formula to promote apolitical content and relying on readers to share their sites’ stories on social media Look,

Upworthy sticks ou a sore thumb amo new manifestation insufferable politics.

if you ’ re sharing the Distractify stor y “NASA Has Captured Incredible Photos Of Saturn, And Trust Me, They Will Change The Way You See Space,” I don’t mind Although those photos circulated the Internet a month ago, it was cool to see them again Going viral is how new media forms sur vive There’s no harm in sharing a cool picture of Saturn But Upwor thy is troublesome precisely because of its progres-

sive political bent It sells, not advocates, politics for page views It’s problematic to think that sharing a video of starving children on social media is meaningful to those starving children “We launched Upwor thy 18 months ago, ” Upworthy’s blog says, “based on a pretty crazy idea: that if you can catch people’s attention, they actually care more about the most important topics in the world than they do about celebrity sideboobs ” So Noble Wow How did Upwor thy develop the assumption that we

don’t care about politics as much as the “celebrity sideboob?” Is it because everyday people don’t talk about banking regulation 24/7? So most people don’t care about Sen Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass ) shooting down banking regulators, but they do care about what’s happening to their mor tgages Ever yone, however, hates being told that they’re stupid for not knowing Warren’s schedule because

they’re more interested in Justin Bieber’s mugshot Upwor thy has defended itself by claiming that their posts wouldn’t go viral if people didn’t believe their content wasn ’ t good enough to share On the contrary, sharing on social media is largely a method to show that you are in solidarity with a given viewpoint Upworthy doesn’t change politics: It only reinforces beliefs for a subset of people who share them As a result, sharing precludes discussion and skepticism ––harmless for cool pictures of Saturn, not for political advocacy To be fair, many of these criticisms are applicable to other ostensibly progressive p u b l i c a t i o n s that don’t follow the Upworthy viral formula It is up to readers to recognize these websites’ lack of genuine political engagement and demand something better So Upworthy does make a difference –– in increased page clicks It’s just not the political revolution it wants you to believe it is

Kai Sam Ng is a senior in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations He may be reached at kng@cornellsun com Cross-Eyed and Painful appears alternate Mondays this semester

ARTS ENTERTAINMENT

L a u g h t e r, l i g h t n i n g a n d g a s p s f i l l e d t h e K i t c h e n T h e a t re o n Sa t u rd a y n i g h t a t

t h e o p e n i n g o f Da v i d Ive s ’ o n e - a c t p l a y,

Ve n u s i n Fu r A c o m p l e x a n d s h i f t i n g

e x p l o r a t i o n o f p owe r d y n a m i c s i n a r t , s e x a n d g e n d e r, Ve n u s i n Fu r o f f e r s u p n u m e ro u s q u e s t i o n s b u t re f u s e s t o s u g -

g e s t a n y a n s we r s R a t h e r, i t i n v i t e s t h e a u d i e n c e i n t o d i z z y i n g a n d t h r i l l i n g c o nf u s i o n In h e r c u r t a i n s p e e c h , d i re c t o r

R a c h e l L a m p e r t re m i n d e d t h e a u d i e n c e t h a t “ i m p o r t a n t c o n ve r s a t i o n s h a p p e n i n t h e k i t c h e n ” T h e e xc i t e d a n d i m p a ss i o n e d b u z z t h a t f i l l e d t h e t h e a t re a f t e r t h e a c t o r s t o o k t h e i r f i n a l b ow c e r t

d o o r t o l e a ve , i n s t u m b l e s Va n d a b e a ut i f u l , l a t e , f l u s t e re d a n d c u r s i n g Od d l y,

s h e s h a re s t h e s a m e p e c u l i a r n a m e a s t h e

f e m a l e p a r t i n h i s p l a y T h o m a s ’ p l a y w i t h i n a p l a y t e l l s t h e

s t o r y o f Se ve r i n , a n a r i s t o c r a t , t o r t u re d by

a n e ro t i c m e m o r y o f b e i n g w h i p p e d by

h i s b e a u t i f u l a u n t w h i l e l y i n g o n h e r s a b l e

c o a t He h a s s p e n t h i s l i f e s e a rc h i n g f o r a w o m a n t o h u m i l i a t e , d o m i n a t e a n d t o r -

t u re h i m , a n d w h e n h e m e e t s a b e a u t i f u l a n d f re e - s p i r i t e d w o m a n n a m e d Va n d a a t a h e a l t h s p a , h e b e g s h e r t o p l a y t h e ro l e o f h i s m i s t re s s Sh e p ro t e s t s , c l a i m i n g t h a t by

c e d i n g h i s c o n t ro l , h e i s t a k i n g p owe r

n o n e t h e l e s s T h e m o d e r n Va n d a h a rd l y a p p e a r s t o

b e t h e s e r i o u s a c t re s s t h a t T h o m a s s p e n t t h e d a y s e a rc h i n g f o r He r s p e e c h , i n f l e c te d w i t h “ l i k e s ” a n d “ yo u k n ow s , ” p e r f e c tl y e m b o d i e s t h e t y p e o f a c t r e s s t h a t T h o m a s b e m o a n e d i n a m o n o l o g u e p r i o r

t o h e r e n t r a n c e T h o m a s c l a i m s t h a t i t i s i m p o s s i b l e t o f i n d a n “ a c t re s s w h o c a n

a c t u a l l y p ro n o u n c e t h e w o rd d e g r a d a t i o n w i t h o u t a t u t o r ” De s p i t e h i s o bv i o u s d i si n t e re s t , s h e f o rc e s h i m t o w a t c h h e r a u d i -

t i o n , a n d e ve n m o re i m p re s s i ve l y g e t s

h i m t o re a d o p p o s i t e h e r W h e n Va n d a , t h e a c t re s s , e n t e r s t h e a u d i t i o n ro o m , s h e t h row s o f f h e r c o a t t o re ve a l f i s h n e t s t o c k i n g s a n d a d o g c o l l a r a ro u n d h e r n e c k a m o d e r n d a y S & M

c o s t u m e Sh e t e a s e s T h o m a s t h a t h e r c o ll a r i s a l e f t ove r f ro m h e r d a y s a s a p ro s t it u t e It c o m e s a s a s u r p r i s e t o b o t h T h o m a s a n d t h e a u d i e n c e w h e n s h e p u l l s a w h i t e Vi c t o r i a n d re s s f ro m h e r b a g a n d

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n c e , Va n d a ’ s l e g i t i m a c y i s c a l l e d t o q u e s t i o n w h e n s h e c l a i m s s h e g o t h e r c o s t u m e s a t S c r e a m i n g M i m i ’ s , a n e x p e n s i v e Ma n h a t t a n v i n t a g e s t o re , f o r $ 3 Sh e r a i se s q u e s t i o n s a b o u t h e r h o n e s t y e n o u g h t i m e s t h a t t h o s e u n f a m i l i a r w i t h t h e s t o re , a n d t h u s t h i s i m p o s s i b i l i t y, l o s e n o t h i n g S i m i l a r l y, L a m p e r t c h o s e t o s t a g e t h e p l a y t o t h e s o n g “ Ve n u s ” by Te l e v i s i o n T h i s ’ 7 0 s p u n k b a n d h a s f a l le n s o m e w h a t i n t o o b s c u r i t y, ye t t h e i r s o n g ’ s n a r r a t i ve o c c u r s i n Ne w Yo rk C i t y a n d i t s l y r i c s a b o u t d e s i re , p a i n a n d c o st u m e s c l e a r l y re s o n a t e w i t h t h e p l a y Ve n u s i n Fu r i s a p l a y f o

b e g i n s t o re a d t h e ro l e o f Va n d a i n a p e rf e c t l y Eu ro p e a n a c c e n t In f a c t , s h e d o e s n o t e ve n n e e d t o re a d t h e s c r i p t Sh e k n ow s i t by h e a r t , a l t h o u g h s h e c l a i m s m e re l y t o h a ve f l i p p e d t h ro u g h i t o n t h e t r a i n Va n d a ’ s t r a n s f o r m a t i o n i n t h e p l a y i m p re s s i ve l y e x h i b i t s M s L a n d e r ’ s ow n t a l e n t , f o r i n t h i s p l a y s h e s u c c e s s f u l l y p o r t r a y s a c h a r a c t e r s o c o m p l e x t h a t m u lt i p l e vo i c e s , p e r s o n a l i t i e s a n d d e m e a n o r s a re c a l l e d f o r Va n d a ’ s a u d i t i o n i s i n s p i ri n g a n d c o n s i s t e n t On l y o c c a s i o n a l l y d o e s s h e b re a k f ro m , i n h e r ow n w o rd s , h e r “ p h o n y c o n t i n e n t a l a c c e n t , ” t o i n t e rj e c t a n “ Oh m y Go d , I l ove t h i s ! ” A s t h e p l a y p ro g re s s e s , Va n d a ’ s va l i d i t y a s a n a i r h e a d i s i n c re a s i n g l y c a l l e d i n t o q u e s t i o n s h e q u o

Arts Around Ithaca

Man Man

9:00 p m on Wednesday at the Haunt

C i rc l e Aw a rd f o r Be s t Pl a y, Go o

The Ring

7:00 p m on Wednesday at Sage Chapel

Cornell Cinema will present Alfred Hitchcock’s only original screenplay, The Ring, with live piano accompaniment by Philip Carli this Wednesday at Sage Chapel One of Hitchcock’s best-known silent films, the stor y follows a love triangle set in the world of boxing and relayed with revo l u t i o n a r y - f o r - t h e - t i m e e x p re s s i o n i s t f i l m t e c h n i q u e s

Tickets are $9 for students and $12 for the general public

Titus Andronicus

Opening at 7:30 pm on Friday at Blackbox Theatre

a k e s p e a re ’ s e a r l i e s t a n d m o s t v i o l e n t t r a g e d i e s , Ti t u s An d ro n i c u s Se t i n Ro m e , t h e s t o r y f o l l ow s a v i c i o u s r i va l r y b e t we e n t h e f a m i l i e s o f Ge n e r a l Ti t u s A n d ro n i c u s a n d Ta m o r a , Qu e e n o f t h e Go t h s , a n d u n f o l d s a ro u n d m o re t h a n a d o ze n m u rd e r s W h i l e t h e p l a y h a s b e c o m e i n f a m o u s f o r i t s s u p e r f l u o u s v i o l e n c e , W h a l e b e l i e ve s t h a t Sh a k e s p e a re “ w a s s a t i r i z i n g h i s c o n t e m p o r a r y t h e a t e rg o e r s ’ b l o o d l u s t by t re a t i n g t h e m t o m o re t h a n t h e y c o u l d h a n d l e ” a n d e x p re s s e s a h o

Compiled by Kaitlyn Tiffany

Throughout this semester, Brian Gordon ’14 and Harrison Okin ’15 will use this column space to cover topics close to their hearts Today, they give their immediate reactions to what many claim is the worst movie ever made, 2003’s The Room

“Nobody can add to the absurdity of this book, nobody can imitate it successfully, nobody can hope to produce its fellow; it is perfect ”

Mark Twain

BRIAN GORDON: I doubt Twain ever saw The Room, but the quote above fits perfectly with the “ so bad, it’s good” titan that is this movie It was the worst thing I’ve ever seen, and I don’t think I’ve enjoyed myself so much during a film in years

HARRISON OKIN: Often regarded as the most terrible movie of all time, The Room captures all the strange emotions I crave in a cinematic experience I chortled at the absurdity; I unleashed one too many curses during the infidelity; I clutched my comfort-pillow after the catastrophe Bravo to Mr Tommy Wisseau, the master auteur who directed, wrote and starred in the flick that deftly (or unwittingly) leaves the audience flummoxed with the burning question: “ What in the world did I just watch?”

B G : Easy on the spoilers, Harr y The plot’s really just your average Shakespearean tragedy If Shakespeare had never met another human being before And had Gene Simmons’s hair This movie is tacky, frequently incoherent and impossibly sexist I agree with the mother character the daughter should marr y the man she doesn’t love He can buy her stuff Stuff! It’s not a comedy, but I laughed to tears It’s not a sports movie, but the football scenes would make Rudy blush Or die It’s not a porno, but its aesthetics suggest other wise

H O : Wisseau is the antithesis of Chekhov Introduce a drug-fueled robber y in the first act and never address it again!

B G : Don’t forget about the breast cancer Because ever yone else in the movie does

H O : It sounds like Wisseau learned English from watching Japanese anime, then refined his approach by taking speech classes taught by Dr Nick from The Simpsons And I dare say his endless supply of silk shirts (nearly all of which are subsequently ripped open) could rival the wardrobe of The Artist Formerly Known as Prince

B G : All ver y true We could go on ridiculing this thoroughly enjoyable movie until graduation The sex scenes alone deser ve their own column Nothing this spectacular can be “the worst ” in my eyes It’s been dubbed “the Citizen Kane of bad movies,” but I’d rather watch The Room on loop than spend an afternoon watching a cranky Orson Welles yearn for a sled

B G : Preach I’d prefer to watch a B- or Z-movie over one of the many vanilla “A-films” that get nominated for Best Picture each year “Non-descript” might be the single quality that makes a movie “the worst ” But being absurdly nonsensical can be better than nothing Attending a party at which someone screams randomly at a wall ever y half-hour provides something special that a party at which ever yone just sits quietly in chairs does not A random scream spurs a reaction, gives you something to think, talk and laugh about

H O : If I’m understanding you correctly, which I never do, you believe bad movies can be saved by spontaneity?

B G : Maybe At least, something that causes a strong reaction can ’ t be the worst movie of all time Similar to the way I find your general disposition on life to be outlandish and occasionally unpleasant But it’s unique, so you ’ re not my worst friend

H O : “Friend” might be pushing it, Brian

B G : I’m still cracking up over different parts of this film Even the title We both agree the major character development occurs in an alleyway with a football and tuxedos

H O : The Room’ s droll and random tuxedo-football moments were probably my favorite sequences ever filmed on camera, but perhaps that’s only because they eerily brought me back to the days of Bar Mitzvah photoshoots

B G : I’ve had the company from Eternal Sunshine wipe my Bar Mitzvah from memor y They were instructed to leave The Room untouched

Brian Gordon is a senior in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations He can be reached at bgordon@cornellsun com Harrison Okin is a junior in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations He can be reached at hokin@cornellsun com Run It Back runs alternate Mondays this semester

Be a par t of 133 years of proud histor y that includes E.B.White ’21, Kur t Vonnegut ’44, ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap ’91, various Pulitzer Prize winners and many others.

Learn more about The Sun at an informational meeting:

s D e f e a t

De v il s in Yankee St adium Cont est

NEW YORK (AP) Too much sun forced the boys of winter to wait to play at the ballpark in the Bronx

Once clouds filled the skies over Yankee Stadium and snow began to fall hockey weather for sure Henrik Lundqvist and the New York Rangers got the best of the New Jersey Devils

Rick Nash scored for the fifth straight game during New York’s four-goal middle period, and the Rangers rallied for a 7-3 victory over the Devils on Sunday

Su n re f l e c t i n g o f f t h e i c e delayed the start of the first hockey game at Yankee Stadium for about an hour The wait was

e x p e c t e d t o b e l o n g e r, s o

Lundqvist took a nap Cloud cover took care of that problem more quickly than expected

Suddenly the All-Star goalie was awakened and told warm-ups would take place in 30 minutes He put on his pinstripe pads, but still looked groggy in the first period when New Jersey took a 31 lead

“I was half asleep, mentally s o m e w h e re e l s e , b u t t h e n I regrouped and I am happy with how I finished,” Lundqvist said

“I’m not going to lie, when they scored the third one, I had a bad feeling about it My first thought was, ‘Am I going to be able to finish this game? Then you kind of regroup and tell yourself, ‘I need to stop the next shot That’s it There is no other way to do this ”

De v i l s c o u n t e r p a r t Ma r t i n

Brodeur had no such luck He allowed six goals on 21 shots and was replaced by Cory Schneider at the start of the third

“You rely a lot on instinct, and poise, and I couldn’t close my g l ove , i t w a s s o c o l d , ” s a i d

Brodeur, who along with Rangers coach Alain Vigneault criticized

t h e c h i p p y i c e t h a t re q u i re d repairs

Ne w Yo rk g o t w i t h i n o n e before the first intermission and then swarmed Brodeur

Do m i n i c Mo o re a n d Ma rc Staal had goals in the first for the Rangers, then Mats Zuccarello scored two straight to put New York ahead for the first time Carl Hagelin and Nash found the net, t o o , b e h i n d t h e b e l e a g u e re d Brodeur, who angrily swatted the puck away after one of the tallies

‘Most of their goals went in off our players, or a stick or skate, and that happens It was just one of those nights,’ Brodeur said Nash has seven goals in his streak and 18 this season

A day after the Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks played in 60-degree weather at Dodger Stadium, the NHL returned to conditions more fitting for hockey

“Within 16 hours, two of the m o s t - re ve re d ve n u e s i n s p o r t s welcomed more than 100,000 fans to sit under the sky and enjoy two of the fiercest rivalries in the National Hockey League,” NHL

Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement “The games were

i m a g e s we re

unforgettable, and the sheer energy our sport creates was unmistakable ”

Lundqvist settled down and made 19 saves He hadn’t allowed more than two goals in his previous seven outings

The Devils took care of that in the first

Patrik Elias scored twice, Travis Zajac once and Jaromir Jagr had two assists in the first to excite the large number of New Jersey fans who made the trek to the Bronx for what was a Devils home game

“They changed their game in the second period,” Jagr said of the Rangers “They were flying into our zone, and we didn’t react to it ” Jagr past former Pittsburgh Pe n g u i n s t e a m m a t e Ma r i o Lemieux for 10th place on the NHL career assist list

The teams played through the second period as the snow started and increased in intensity, not long after they were forced to wait around an extra hour to drop the pick because of bright sunshine that created a dangerous glare on the ice

T h e t e m p e r a t u re w a s 2 4 9 degrees when the game started at 1:41 p m in front of a sellout crowd of 50,105 Jagr said he and his teammates took in the scene, but perhaps a bit too much

“I think we all did that in the second period,” Jagr said Yankee Stadium’s second hocke y g a m e w i l l t a k e p l a c e o n

We d n e s d a y n i g h t w h e n t h e Rangers will again be the road team in a matchup with the New York Islanders

Zuccarello tied it 3-3 at 2:48 of the second when he redirected in a pass from John Moore, and put New York in front at the end of a 3-on-1 rush with 7:16 left Benoit Pouliot chipped the puck ahead at center ice to Derick Brassard, who sent a pass from the right side to Zuccarello for his 15th goal

Hagelin made it 5-3 just 1:09 later when he flipped a shot from the right circle that appeared to h i t De v i l s d e f e n s e m a n Ma re k Zidlicky before getting through Br a d R i c h a rd s ’ s c re e n a n d by Brodeur

T h e De v i l s n e t m i n d e r w a s again victimized by an odd-man attack that Nash finished with 28 5 seconds left in the middle frame Brodeur was serenaded with derisive chants of ‘Mar-ty Mar-ty’ as Rangers fans in the stands made their voices heard

He watched the rest of the game from the bench Schneider, who made only four saves, gave up Derek Stepan’s penalty-shot goal with 9:54 remaining The seven goals matched the Rangers’ season high

NOTES: Schneider is 5-1-2 with a 0 96 goals-against average and 961 save percentage in his last eight starts, dating to Dec 28 Brodeur had played in only two of New Jersey’s previous eight games

Ne w Je r s e y h a d w o n t w o straight New York snapped a two-game losing streak

Women Unable to Bounce

Back A g ainst C l ark s on

W HOCKEY

Continued from page 16

freshman forward Hanna Bunton found the back of the net However, the Red could not get on a run during the overtime period because at that point, “ we hit a hot goalkeeper,” Campbell said Voorheis’ strong play kept the Red in the game, though, and the score remained tied at the end of overtime Voorheis stopped twenty shots on goal in the match

The following day, the Red took on Clarkson in another ECAC rivalry

According to Campbell, the Red was

Bringing out the best | Senior defenseman Hayleigh Cudmore said the Red needed to be in top form against Clarkson

looking to rebound after the tough finish against St Lawrence on Friday

“[We are] looking for a good bounce back, and [to] impose our game on Clarkson,” she said

According to senior defenseman Hayleigh Cudmore, the game against Clarkson was an important one for the Red’s standing at the top of the conference

“This game is a must win and we must win ever y game moving for ward,”

Cudmore said “If everyone isn’t firing at their best tonight, we are not going to win ”

Coming into the game as the topranked team in the ECAC, the Red needed a win over Golden Knights the third-ranked team in the conference in order to extend its lead in the division

Unfortunately, Clarkson went up 2-0 in the second period, and aside from Emily Fulton’s power play goal at 5:30 into the second period, the Red was unable to create enough offense to beat the Golden Knights, eventually falling, 3-1

Next week, the Red will take on conference rivals Yale and Brown, returning home to Lynah rink

Doug Berman can be reached at dberman@cornellsun com

S cores Three Times in S econd Period

M HOCKEY

Continued from page 16

back of the net and flipped it over the goalie for another goal near the crease

St L a w re n c e s t r u c k again on the power play at the opening of the third period A bad deflection in the Red’s defensive zone

s e n t t h e p u c k t o o p e n Saints forward Matt Carey at the bottom of the right circle, and Carey slid the puck behind Iles to tie the game at 4-4

“As the game wore on, we s

” Schafer said “Early on, we forced some pucks to the n

d i n rebounds In the third period, I don’t know how many chances we passed up on shots right in the middle of the slot trying to make that one extra play ” The rest of regulation re m

s a f

Weninger saved a penalty shot attempt by junior forward Cole Bardraeu The Red outshot the Saints, 91, in overtime but were unable to put another goal away

in the butt,” Hilbrich said

T h e C l a rk s o n g a m e started with the Red dropping 1-0 two minutes into t h e f i r s t p e r i o d Go l d e n K n i g h

Pa t r i c

Me

e t y shot a far wrister that sailed p a s t Il e s ’ b l o c k e r s i d e

Clarkson later got its second goal of the period off of a quick shot from a faceoff, sending the Red into the intermission down two goals

“So it was just a bad start, but the effort and the intensity and winning battles from the start of the second [period] on was outstanding,” Schafer said The Red dominated the second period, scoring all three of its goals in the f r a m e Fre s h m a n Ma t t Buckles got the team on the board first, waiting out the netminder until he could l i f t t h e p u c k ove r t h e s p r a w l e d g o a l i e Bu c k l e s played as part of an allf re s h m a n l i n e c o n s i s t i n g a

Ja k e

Weidner and Jeff Kubiak

“We know each other pretty well, we ’ re with each other 24-7 so we have some good chem there,” Buckles said “I mean on that goal those guys made a great play and I was able to just feed off their efforts there ”

Emily Berman can be reached at eberman@cornellsun com Red

from the same area Junior d e f e n s e m a n Ja c o b MacDonald popped in a rebound around the goalie’s left side to tie the game

The final goal of the game came with five minutes in the second period, again from the left side of the crease Hilbrich stayed poised as he angled around the left side of the goalie, e ve n t u a l l y f l i p p i n g t h e puck over the sprawled netminder

T h e Re d s e a l e d t h e scoreless third period with a f i ve - o n - f o u r p

y that turned into a five-onthree man advantage to end the game

“I thought for the first time in a while that we kept going in the third,” Schafer s a i d “ We p i n c h e d o u r [defense], we ’ re up tight to people and didn’t let them get going I like what we saw of our hockey team that way ” T h e s o

d

o u t Ly n a h crowd came to life in the second period of the game, continuing to cheer loudly

third as well

“When you score four goals in a league like [ours], it’s tough not to win, but when you put yourself in a situation like on the kill there we took some not-sogreat penalties and it bit us

“It’s that camaraderie,” Schafer said of the relationship between the fans and the players “You felt the electricity in this building this weekend ”

T h e Re d n o t c h e d i t s next tally one and a half minutes later, off a shot

Brown Wins Ivy Showdown

t was an exciting weekend in ECAC hockey, as some of the top teams in the conference faced off, jockeying for position at the top of the division standings Cornell hosted Clarkson and St Lawrence, defeating Clarkson and putting the Red in a tie for the fourth spot in the conference After jumping out to an early lead against St Lawrence, Cornell was unable to hold on and finished with a 4-4 tie Rensselaer shocked the ECAC with an upset victor y over Union, the top team in the conference The Engineers captured the Mayor’s Cup in dramatic fashion, coming away with a 2-1 win after sophomore Mike Zalewski broke the tie in the third period Junior goaltender Scott Diebold made 28 saves, his only hiccup coming eight minutes into the first period Other wise, the junior was flawless in net Colgate took two wins away from the weekend, defeating Clarkson and St Lawrence by scores of 3-2 and 7-3 respectively In an Ivy League showdown, Brown swept Yale, 3-1 and 6-0

Compiled by Scott Chiusano

Yale, Brown Locked in Tight Ancient Eight Matchup

Swomen ’ s ECAC conference this week, as teams begin to settle back into the flow of regular match days following the winter break Brown and Yale played each other twice over the weekend, with the Bulldogs and the

Bears playing out a tight 2-2 draw Freshman Phoebe Staenz put Yale ahead early on, before f r e s h m a n C a t h e r i n e L e b o e u f brought Brown level A frantic final third of the game saw both Yale and Brown score, followed by a goalless period of over time to bring to an end a riveting

b o t h a l s

e n d u r e d defeats against Har vard, with the C r i m s o n c o m f o r t a b l y c o m i n g out on top, 3-1 and 2-0 respectively

Compiled by Hamdan Al Yousefi

game The two Ivy League foes faced each other again the next day in a game that saw Yale come o u t o n t o p w i t h a 3 - 1 w i n Dar tmouth had a tense but successful few days as they emerged victorious in two tight encount e r s a g a i n s t R e n s s e l a e r a n d Union, winning both games 2-1 and 4-3 respectively Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Union C o

Back (Women’s)

Spor ts

M E N ’ S H O C K E Y

Icers Undefeat ed at Lynah

Red ties St. Lawrence in overtime, tops Clark son 3-2 on Friday

By EMILY BERMAN Sun Assistant Sports Editor

The men ’ s ice hockey team won its second threepoint performance this weekend, losing an early 2-0 lead in Friday’s 4-4 tie to St Lawrence The Red, however, rallied from a two-goal deficit the next night against Clarkson for a 3-2 victory

The Red (10-4-5, 6-3-4) has lost just once in the past 13 games

It took the Red less than two minutes to hit the back of the net against St Lawrence, thanks to senior forward Dustin Mowrey Mowrey, who finished the night with four points, collected his own rebound in front of the net and skated around the outstretched right pad of St Lawrence goalie Matt Weninger to find the open net

Hilbrich contributed with two goals and an assist, and Ferlin with a goal and an assist

“They carried our team with the four goals they had throughout the course of the game, ” said head coach Mike Schafer ’86 “They did a tremendous job ”

The Red’s 2-0 advantage did not last long, with the Saints scoring two goals in a 24-second span near the end of the first period St Lawrence sophomore Brian Ward capitalized on an oddman rush with a wrist shot from the right circle that sailed behind Iles for the Saints’ first goal, and teammate freshman Alex Dahl knotted the score half a minute later with a laser from the slot

Less than three minutes later, Mowrey and linemates sophomore Christian Hilbrich and junior Brian Ferlin found the back of the net again for the 2-0 advantage Weninger made the save on Mowrey’s initial shot, but the puck slipped into the crease where Hilbrich tapped it in

The Mowrey-Hilbrich-Ferlin line accounted for all four of the Red’s goals and finished the night at plusfour Mowrey had one goal and three assists, while

Hilbrich put the Red back on the board with five seconds remaining in the first period, outlasting the goalie until he could flip the puck over the sprawled netminder to up the score to 3-2 St Lawrence tied the game on a power play less than four minutes into the next frame, however, after the Red was called for a charging penalty

Cornell regained the lead on a goal by Ferlin in the final three minutes of the second period Ferlin collected the puck from his linemates, skated around the

See M. HOCKEY page 14

Late Game Struggles Down Men Against Columbia

With ten minutes left in the game against Columbia on Saturday, freshman guard Robert Hatter drove to the basket and, finding Columbia’s big men waiting for him in the paint, quickly dished the ball out Senior forward Dwight Tarwater was waiting on the perimeter, and his three-pointer allowed the Red to regain the lead for the first time since the opening possession of the second half However, a nifty spin-move in the paint by Columbia’s Maodo Lo on the following possession silenced the crowd at Newman Arena and tied the game at 51 The Lions carried that momentum into a 13-2 extended run that crippled the Red’s chances of its first Ivy League win Cornell came out strong in the first half of its second consecutive matchup against Columbia, who came into the game at the top

of the conference standings The Red shot 45 percent from the field and 40 percent from beyond the arc, but the Lions kept pace, trailing by only three heading into the locker room

The final twenty minutes told a very different story for the Red, though, as the team was eight-for-27 from the field and threefor-nine from three The final score was not indicative of the squad’s fight in the second half, though, as the two teams traded baskets for most of it Columbia looked as though it was going to make a run midway through the half when two free throws by Alex Rosenberg put them up by six, but a three by senior guard Jake Matthews cut the deficit in half The Red’s bench play was an important

Matthews had eight points and junior forward Ned Tomic had 11 points and seven rebounds

Hatter chipped in with 11 points and three assists, and junior captain and guard Devin Cherry had twelve points and pulled down five rebounds Junior guard Nolan Cressler struggled from the field, though, missing all five of his threes and scoring just

six points, almost ten points below his season average Now 0-2 in Ivy League play, the Red will try to climb its way out of the bottom of the conference when it takes on Brown next weekend in Rhode Island

Compiled by Scott Chiusano

By DOUG BERMAN Sun Staff Writer

This weekend, after coming off a difficult home loss to Harvard, the women ’ s Ice Hockey team went on the road against St Lawrence and C l a r k s o n Unfortunately, the Red could only come away from the two contests with a 1-1 overtime tie against St Lawrence and a 3-1 loss to Clarkson

This three-game winless streak is the first of the season for the Red, which is currently 9-2-3 in the ECAC Against St Lawrence, the Red did not get off to

the entire first period Howe ve

only allowed one goal in the period

“Paula had an opportunity to step up and she definitely did,” senior f o r w

Je

c a Campbell said The Red finally tied the game with 5:59 left i n