01-30-13

The Corne¬ Daily Sun

Miller Hopes for ‘P rotected Path’ For All Students

By SARAH CUTLER Sun Staff Wr ter

When Andrew Thompson Miller, associate vice provost for academic diversity and head of the Office of Academic Diversity Initiatives, came to Cornell in Summer 2011, he suggested that the office’s initials OADI be pronounced as one word That way, he said, it would sound like “wadi,” the Arabic and Swahili word for a protected path across the desert

The change fit in well with Miller’s planned academic initiatives at OADI The office organizes programs to guide underrepresented students those eligible for Pell Grants, those who are the first in their families to attend college and ethnic minorities ––through their time at Cornell

The programs include weekly lunches focused on topics ranging from financial aid to alumni success stories, a Friday “Stress Busters” club with activities such as improvisation and yoga classes and a pre-professional program targeting students with a variety of career aspirations

“These might be students whose high schools didn’t have a drama program [Our career] programs don’t assume you have an uncle who’s a lawyer who can tell you about it,” he said “We’re making sure everyone ’ s starting from the same place ”

As associate vice provost, Miller is responsible for

See MILLER page 5

s Fired in C-Town ; Man Injured

BY AKANE OTANI Sun News Editor and EMMA COURT Sun Senior Writer

m a t i o n o f f i c e r f o r t h e It h a c a Po l i c e

De p a r t m e n t Ma yo r Sva n t e My r i c k ’ 0 9 s a i d

Tu e s d a y t h a t t h e m a n w a s g r a ze d by t h e b u l l e t A t a b o u t 1 : 3 0 a m , p o l i c e re c e i ve d a 9 1 1 c a l l n o t i f y i n g t h e m o f “ p o s s i b l e s h o t s f i re d i n t h e a re a o f Oa k Ave

[ n u e ] a n d o f a d a rk - c o lo re d s e d a n l e a v i n g t h e a re a ”

T h e It h a c a Po l i c e a n d C o r n e l l

Un i v e r s i t y Po l i c e D e p a r t m e n t s s p o k e w i t h m u l t i p l e re s i d e n t s “ w h o

a l l h e a rd t h e s o u n d o f f o u r o r f i ve

g u n s h o t s , ” a c c o rd i n g t o t h e I P D At t h e t i m e , p o l i c e s e a

o r -

D ebate at Law S chool Tackles Gun Control

By ERICA AUGENSTEIN Sun Staff Writer

A Cornell alumnus and a Cornell law professor faced off in a debate about firearms law in the United States on Tuesday, an event that drew about 150 people Prof Michael Dorf, law, and Alan Gura ’92, a litigator in

high- profile cases about gun regulation, went head-to-head as they discussed interpretation of the Second Amendment and its a p p l i c a t i o n s i n m o d

r n American life

Dorf and Gura have previousl y t

l a w In 2008, Gura argued District of Columbia vs Heller a case that

n , D C , handgun ban all the w

y t o t h e Su p re m

C

u r t , despite Dorf ’ s urging that the ban be upheld

The organizers of the debate said they felt that the recent spotlight on gun regulation made the event more relevant to attendees

The debate opened with the two speakers discussing federal c a s e s d e a l i n g w i t h c a r r y i n g firearms outside the home and potential future cases about the issue

“ T h e Se c o n d A m e n d m e n t related to a collective military r i g h t t o c a r r y g u n s [ T h e Supreme Court] looked to the term ‘bear arms ’ and saw that it had a uniquely militaristic meaning,” Gura said

Dorf said it is difficult to predict future Supreme Court rulings about the question of carrying guns

“It is absolutely an open question about what will happen in respect to public carrying,” Dorf said

Despite the serious nature of

the debate, there was room for humor in the conversation Dorf questioned whether a hypothetical law banning a hypothetical d e a t h r a y w o u l d v i o l a t e t h e Second Amendment Gura also re m

g r a d e weapons, saying, “There is no drone season for deer ”

In t h e w a k e o f s h o o t i n g tragedies such as that at an elementar y school in Ne wtown, Conn , organizers said their decision to hold the debate was questioned

“I was actually approached over winter break, and someone s a i d , ‘ Gi ve n t h e c o n t rove r s y, maybe we shouldn’t hold it,’” Dan Hartman grad, one of the organizers of the event, said “We go to Cornell University; we can debate things without being disagreeable We can debate highprofile issues ”

The leaders of the two groups that organized the event the Cornell Law School chapter of the Federalist Society, a conserva-

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Search Is on for Golden Cookie Stolen in Germany

BERLIN (AP) Missing: One golden cookie, weighing around 44 pounds (20 kilograms)

Suspect: The Cookie Monster?

The rectangular gilded bronze sculpture was part of a statue gracing the facade of German cookie baker Bahlsen’s Hannover office

How the century-old symbol was taken remains unclear, but police say witnesses reported having seen two men with a ladder in the area earlier this month

Tomorrow

p m , 233 Plant Sciences Building

Black History Month Dinner: Soul Food 5 - 8 p m , Flora Rose House, Dining Room

Corps General Information Session 5 - 6 p m , 102 Mann Library

The company has offered €1,000 ($1,350) for information leading to the cookie’s recovery

A police statement said a local newspaper received a picture Tuesday showing someone in an outfit similar to Sesame Street's Cookie Monster holding a golden cookie

The sender wrote to demand cookies be delivered to children at a city hospital Police aren ’ t sure if it’s the same cookie, or a real claim of responsibility

Library Solves Animal Control’s Puppy Poop Problem

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) San Francisco’s animal control agency is proving that the print editions of newspapers remain just as vital in the digital age

The agency relies on the papers to line cages and catch its puppy ’ s poop It is now turning to the city’s public library to ensure a consistent newspaper supply

Alumni Honored for E xpanding Class Reunions

By DARA LEVY Sun Staff Writer

In a n e f f o r t t o i n c re a s e re c o g n i t i o n o f a l u m n i v o l u n -

t e e r e f f o r s , t h e C o r n e l l A l u m n i A s s o c i a t i o n u n v e i l e d

t h e C A A Cu p t h i s m o n t h , a c o m p e t i t i o n t h a t a w a rd s

s p e c i f i c p r o g r a m s c re a t e d b y C o r n e l l a l u m n i

T h e Cu p w a s c re a t e d t o re c o g n i z e s p e c i f i c g r o u p

a l u m n i p r o g r a m s a n d e v e n t s t h a t t a k e p l a c e a r o u n d t h e

w o r l d , a c c o rd i n g t o S c o t t Pe s n e r ’ 8 7 , a C A A v i c e p re si d e n t “ C o r n e l l a l u m n i p u t i n a l o t o f t i m e v o l u n t e e r i n g , s o t h e a w a rd i s j u s t a n o t h e r w a y w e c a n re c o g n i z e t h e m , ”

Pe s n e r s a i d

Do u g Mi t a r o t o n d a ’ 0 2 a n d Ju l i e Vu l t a g g i o ’ 0 2 , c op re s i d e n t s o f t h e i r g r a d u a t i n g c l a s s , w e re t h e i n a u g u r a l w i n n e r s o f t h e C A A Cu p, a c c e p t i n g t h e a w a rd f o r c re -

a t i n g e v e n t s c a l l e d “ No n - Re u n i o n Re u n i o n s ” T h e y e a r a f t e r i t s f i v e - y e

“Non-Reunion Reunion is our way of making reunion weekend a priority in our classmates’ minds every year, not just the every five years we meet in Ithaca ”

t h m

r e g i o n

s a n d c l a s s c o u n c i l s , p a r t i c u l a r l y c l a s s e s o n t h e s a m e r e u n i o n c y c l e , a n d b y o f f e r i n g r e u n i o n s i n m o r e c i t i e s , a c c o rdi n g t o Mi

e C A A m a y u s e i d e a s f r o m t h e c o n t e s t ’ s e n t r i e s t o c r e a t e a d a t a b a s e o r t o o l k i t o f i d e a s f o r o t h e r a l u m n i g r o u p s Vu l t a g g i o s a i d t h a t t h e C A A’s h e l p w i t h t h e C l a s s o f 2 0 0 2 ’ s p r o j e c t w a s i n s t r u m e n t a l , a l s o n o t i n g t h a t t h e C A A’s c o n f e r e n c e h e l p e d t h e C l a s s o f 2 0 0 2 e s t a b l i s h c o n n e c t i o n s w i t h o t h e r c l a s s o f f i c e r s t o e x p a n d t h e No n - Re u n i o n Re u n i o n s “ We’r e p r o u d t o h a v e g r e a t s u c c e s s , b u t w e w o u l d n ’ t h a v e b e e n a b l e t o d o i t a l o n e , ” Vu l t a g g i o s a i d T h e C A A , w h i c h r e c e i v e d m o r e a p p l i c a t i o n s f o r t h e a w a rd t h a n i t h a d o r i g i n a l l y a n t i c i p a t e d , Pe s n e r s a i d “ It j u s t g o e s t o s h o w h o w c r e a t i v e a n d h a rd - w o r ki n g C o r n e l l a l u m n i a r e i n c r e a t i n g e v e n t s , ” Pe s n e r s a i d

Univ. Will Use Sur vey to Improve Conser vation on Campus

By CAROLYN KRUPSKI

A re c e n t re p o r t re v e a l i n g t h a t 9 6 p e r -

c e n t o f C o r n e l l i a n s s u r v e y e d s u p p o r t c o n s e r v a t i o n p r a c t i c e s a l s o f o u n d t h a t p e e r p re s s u re i s a k e y f a c t o r t h a t i n f l ue n c e s t h e i r i n v o l v e m e n t T h e re p o r t u s e d s u r v e y d a t a f r o m Sp r i n g 2 0 1 2 t o m e a s u re a t t i t u d e s t ow a rd e n e r g y c o n s e r v a t i o n i n t h e w o r k p l a c e It q u e s t i o n e d p a r t i c i p a n t s a b o u t t h e i r a t t it u d e s t ow a rd c o n s e r v a t i o n , t h e i r p e rc e i v e d a b i l i t y t o c o n t r o l t h e i r e n e r g y u s e a n d t h e i r b e l i e f s a b o u t o t h e r s ’ a t t i t u d e s t ow a rd c o n s e r v a t i o n A c c o r d i n g t o Pr o f K a t h e r i n e Mc C o m a s , c o m m u n i c a t i o n s , t h e d a t a

t o c o n s e r v e e n e r g y ” T h e s u r v e y – – w h i c h w a s c o m p l e t e d b y n e a r l y 3 , 0 0 0 f a c u l t y, s t a f f a n d g r a d ua t e s t u d e n t s f r o m t h e C o l l e g e o f A g r i c u l t u r e a n d L i f e S c i e n c e s , t h e Sa m u e l Cu r t i s Jo h n s o n Gr a d u a t e S c h o o l o f M a n a g e m e n t a n d t h e C o l l e g e o f E n g i n e e r i n g – – a l s o f o u n d d i f f e re n c e s i n r e s p o n d e n t s ’ a t t i t u d e s b a s e d o n t h e i r c o l l e g e a f f i l i a t i o n Fo r i n s t a n c e , Jo h n s o n

S c h o o l s t u d e n t s w e re l e s s f a m i l i a r w i t h w a y s i n w h i c h t h e y c a n e n g a g e i n e n e r g y c o n s e r v a t i o n b e h a v i o r s “ We a re s t i l l t r y i n g t o f i g u re o u t w h e t h e r t h o s e d i f f e re n c e s a re m e a n i n gf u l , ” Mc C o m a s s a i d T h e s e d i f f e re n c e s m a y b e i m p o r t a n t i n C o r n e l l’s a p p r o a c h t o s u s t a i n a b i l i t y i n t h e f u t u re “ Us i n g t h i s re p o r t , w e k n ow t h a t w e n e e d t o d e s i g n c o n s e r v a t i o n c a m p a i g n s t h a t re f l e c t s e a c h c o l l e g e ’ s c u l t u re , ” s a i d Gr a h a m Di x o n , a P h D c a n d

c o l l e c t e d s h ow e d t h a t re s p o n d e n t s ’ p e rc e p t i o n s o f o t h e r s ’ o p i n i o n s a b o u t c o ns e r v a t i o n a f f e c t e d t h e i r d e c i s i o n s a b o u t e n e r g y u s e “ Pe e r p re s s u re p l a y s a h u g e r o l e [ i n c o n s e r v a t i o n ] , ” M c C o m a s s a i d “A l t h o u g h s u p p o r t i s a l m o s t 1 0 0 p e rc e n t , o u r re s p o n d e n t s b e l i e v e d t h a t o n l y 5 0 p e r c e n t o f t h e i r n e i g h b o r s a re c o nc e r n e d Bu t i f t h e y t h i n k t h a t m o re p e op l e a re c o n c e r n e d , t h e y re p o r t e d l y w i l l d o m o re t h e m s e l v e s ” Mc C o m a s a l s o n o t e d t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f re c o g n i z i n g o n e ’ s p e r s o n a l r o l e i n c o ns e r v a t i o n e f f o r t s “ In o rd e r t o c re a t e a w o r k p l a c e c u lt u re c h a n g e , i t w i l l b e n e c e s s a r y t o s h ow p e o p l e t h e i r ow n c o n t r o l ov e r t h e i r e n e rg y u s a g e , ” Mc C o m a s s a i d T h o u g h a d d r e s s i n g a w e l l - k n o w n i s s u e , t h e s u r v e y s e t s i t s e l f a p a r t f r o m o t h e r s t u d i e s “ T h e s t u d y i s u n i q u e b e c a u s e i t i s o n e o f a h a n d f u l i n t h e p a s t f e w y e a r s t o d e a l w i t h c o n s e r v a t i o n i n t h e w o r k p l a c e , ” s a i d Ma r y B e t h D e l i n e , a P h D c a n d id a t e i n c o m m u n i c a t i o n s , w h o c oa u t h o re d t h e s t u d y “ Bu t w e h a v e t o u n d e r s t a n d w h a t p e o p l e a r e a c t u a l l y t h i n k i n g b e f o re w e c a n w o r k w i t h t h e m

a t e i n c o m m u n i c a t i o n s a n d a c o - a u t h o r o f t h e s t u d y T h e s t u d y w i l l a f f e c t t h e w a y C o r n e l l a p p r o a c h e s e n e r g y c o n s e r v a t i o n , s t a r t i n g w i t h t h e C o l l e g e o f E n g i n e e r i n g , w h i c h w i l l i m p l e m e n t a n e w p r o g r a m a l l ow i n g i t t o m e a s u re i t s e n e r g y u s e i n re a l t i m e , a c c o rd i n g t o E r i n Mo o re , t h e e n e r g y o u t re a c h c o o rd i n a t o r o f t h e Un i v e r s i t y ’ s f a c i l i t i e s s e r v i c e s “ We a r e c r e a t i n g e n g a g e m e n t a n d e d u c a t i o n s t r a t e g i e s b a s e d o n t h e c o mm u n i t y a n d p e r s o n a l i n t e r a c t i o n s w i t h i n e a c h c o l l e g e , ” Mo o re s a i d “A s w e m ov e t h i s p r o g r a m t o d i f f e re n t c o l l e g e s , w e w i l l s t r u c t u re i t b a s e d o n t h e c o m m u n it y s e t t i n g a n d a t t i t u d e s t o e n g a g e t h e m a j o r i t y o f t h e c a m p u s T h e s t u d y h e l p e d u s re a l i z e t h e n e e d f o r e n g a g em e n t o n a c o l l e g e - s p e c i f i c l e v e l i n o rd e r t o h a v e a Un i v e r s i t y - w i d e i m p a c t ” Ac c o rd i n g t o Mo o re , c o n t i n u e d c o ns e r v a t i o n e d u c a t i o n w i t h i n t h e c o m m un i t y i s i m p o r t a n t f o r e f f e c t i v e c h a n g e “ O n

Speakers at Legal Debate ‘Funny

and Informed’ On Gun Control Issues

DEBATE

Continued from page 1

tive libertarian group, and the Second Amendment Club, which promotes discussion of how to use guns recreationally and safely both studied under Dorf as first-year law students

“He is the biggest name in

Jonathan Under wood law, another one of the event

organizers

Hartman said

impressed by the stage presence of the two debaters

“I thought they were both

ver y funny and informed on the issue,” said Drew Levine grad Raphaella Ricciardi grad said she enjoyed hearing the differing

debate

“It was interesting to hear [Dorf

s] liberal take on things,” she said

Organizers said they felt the event was a success

We are

Under wood said

pleased with

We had

Erica Augenstein can be reached at eaugenstein@cornellsun com

Miller Sings for Folk Duo in Spare Time

responding to racial crimes on campus He cited instances such as the racial attack at the Sigma Pi fraternity in May 2012, when a visitor from Florida threw bottles and yelled racial epithets at black students from the roof of the house, and one in August, when a student walking through campus was allegedly struck by an egg and taunted with racial slurs by students in a passing car

“It was awful,” Miller said “Any time the Cornell community is torn apart, or people are placed in fearful situations, it’s very destructive to [the] community When you ’ re a huge institution, it’s always a balancing act of realizing such things will happen You’ve got to be ready for when they do happen, and at the same time [be] proactive about reducing the incidents ”

Beyond the academic realm, Miller is part of a folk duo called Bridgewater, made up of himself and his husband, Craig Kukuk, that kicked off this fall’s sixth season of Cornell United Religious Works’ “Soup and Hope” event by singing Abraham, Martin and John’s “What Love Can Do ” Miller also volunteers with the Friends Committee on National Legislation, with which he has worked to lobby Congress on issues of peace and social justice

C-Town Shooting Scares Residents

SHOOTING

s h o o t i n g , m a n y w e r e s h o c k e d O a k Av e n u e r e s id e n t To n y L e o n g g r a d s a i d t h e s h o o t i n g i n h i s n e i g h b o rh o o d l e f t h i m f e e l i n g f e a r f u l “ I d o n ’ t f e e l s a f e w a l k i n g h o m e a f t e r d u s k I f e e l l i k e m y s a f e t y h a s b e e n c o m p r om i s e d , ” L e o n g s a i d “ T h i s i s n o t w h a t I e x p e c t , e s p e c i a l l y a f t e r b e i n g h e r e f o r f o u r y e a r s a l r e a d y We’r e n o t Ya l e ” C a s c a d i l l a r e s i d e n t a d v i s o r L a u r e n Ni e d b a l e c ’ 1 3 s a i d , a t f i r s t , s h e c o u l d n o t b e l i e v e t h e n e w s a b o u t t h e s h o o t i n g “ T h e s h o o t i n g h a p p e n e d r i g h t b e h i n d C o l l e g e t o w n

“‘We hope you graduate’ What kind of expectation is that?” A T M i l l e r

“Even though Quakers have to be the smallest religious group in the United States, we ’ re the largest peace lobby in the United States,” he said “That’s something that gives me hope Even one person doing little things you can effect change Living our lives well can effect change ”

During his nearly two years at Cornell, Miller has aimed to alter the expectations that he says many at the University have of the students his office represents He said that too often, underrepresented students are not held to the same standards as are other Cornellians

“‘We hope you graduate’ What kind of expectation is that?” he said “I want the students to be on the Dean’s List or winning a Fulbright These are students who bring a lot, and to overlook them is a huge mistake OADI is here to put them front and center ”

Sarah Cutler can be reached at scutler@cornellsun com

B a g e l s , a s a f e h a v e n f o r h u ng r y C o r n e l l s t u d e n t s e v e r yw h e r e It s e e m s o u t o f p l a c e f o r t h i s a r e a , ” Ni e d b a l e c s a i d “ Pe r s o n a l l y, I ’ v e w a l k e d t h r o u g h O a k Av e n u e m a n y t i m e s , e v e n l a t e a t n i g h t w h e n g o i n g t o v i s i t m y f r i e n d s I ’ l l c e r t a i n l y b e m o r e w a r y w a l k -

“I have no fear that I will be the victim of random gun violence on the streets of Oak Avenue less than a block from CTB this doesn’t change that ” J e n n i f e r F i s c h e l l ’ 1 3

i n g l a t e a t n i g h t n o w ” C o l l e g e t o w n R e s i d e n c e H a l l D i r e c t o r B r a n d e e Ni c h o l s o n s e n t o u t a n e m a i l t o h e r r e s i d e n t s Tu e s d a y m o r n i n g n o t i f y i n g t h e m o f t h e s h o o t i n g w h i c h o c c u r e d d o w n t h e s t r e e t f r o m t h e i r d o r m i t o r i e s “ I k n o w i t c a n b e v e r y t r o u b l i n g t o g e t t h e s e k i n d s o f a l e r t s s o c l o s e t o w h e r e y o u l i v e , ” Ni c h o l s o n s a i d i n t h e e m a i l T h e e m a i l a d v i s e d r e s id e n t s t o u s e a v a i l a b l e s e r v i c e s s u c h a s t h e B l u e L i g h t E s c o r t S

Continued from page 1 The Sun News Department can be reached at news@cornellsun com

130TH EDITORIAL BOARD

JUAN

HELENE BEAUCHEMIN 13

Business Manager

RUBY PERLMUTTER 13

Associate Editor

JOSEPH STAEHLE 13

Web Editor

ESTHER HOFFMAN 13

Photography Editor

ELIZA LaJOIE ’13

Blogs Editor

ZACHARY ZAHOS 15 Arts & Entertainment Editor

ELIZABETH CAMUTI 14

Editor

AKANE OTANI 14

ELIZABETH PROEHL ’13

Associate Multimedia Editor

SCOTT CHIUSANO ’15

Assistant Sports Editor

REBECCA COOMBES 14 Assistant Design Editor

NICHOLAS ST FLEUR 13

JOSEPH VOKT ’14

Assistant Web Editor

JACQUELINE CHAN 14

Marketing Manager

ERIKA G WHITESTONE ’15 Social Media Manager

13

A RITTER ’13

13

’15

HARRIS ’14

DANIELLE B ABADA ’14

HALEY VELASCO 15

STEFANIK 13

SYDNEY RAMSDEN ’14

HENRY 14

KANG ’15

BAO 14

EDITORS IN TRAINING

EDITOR IN CHIEF David Marten 14

MANAGING EDITOR Kerry Close 14

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Liz Camuti 14

PHOTO NIGHT DESKERS Connor Archard 14 Kelly Yang 15 ARTS DESKERS Meredith Joyce 14 Henry Staley 16

NEWS DESKERS Lianne Bornfeld 15 Emma Court 15

SPORTS DESKERS Scott Chiusano 15

DESIGN DESKERS Hannah McGough ’15 Brian Murphy ’14

PROOFERS Rebecca Harris ’14 Akane Otani 14

Editorial

Myrick ’09:

One Year Later

IT HAS BEEN JUST OVER A YEAR SINCE Svante Myrick ’09 became mayor of Ithaca, and in that year, he has already faced a bevy of challenges With the city facing a $3-million deficit last year, Myrick made tough choices to close the budget gap and close the Ithaca Community Gardens, and fought for grants to stimulate economic development While we may not agree with ever y budgetar y decision the mayor has made, we admire the way in which he has not settled for complacency and has been willing to challenge popular opinion As we anticipate the remaining three years of his first term, we hope that Myrick will capitalize on his past successes and seize this cr ucial chance to grow Ithaca’s economy

Even in this era of economic austerity, making the tough choices necessar y to close a large budget deficit is challenging for any mayor let alone one two years out of college Myrick’s proposal to close the gap through revenue increases, staff cuts and bureaucratic reorganization takes a pragmatic approach to making the city government financially sustainable Instead of making choices that were politically popular but economically unsound, the mayor took calculated steps to fix the city’s budget woes These actions demonstrate the leadership qualities that led voters to elect him mayor in November 2011

Myrick’s streak of independence was again visible when the mayor looked to sell off the land that hosts the Ithaca Community Gardens to a private developer While we wish he would have seen the value of this land to the community, we recognize that the decision was another tough choice to help close the budget gap While we applaud Myrick’s effor ts to act in the best interest of the city, we disagreed with his valuation of the gardens in this instance Moving for ward, we encourage him to consider the effects of relinquishing public land to private developers

Despite demonstrating his willingness to make tough decisions on some budgetar y matters, Myrick has also yet to achieve cer tain goals he has set for the city’s financial health For instnace, in order to close the budget deficit, Myrick said that the University should pay the city “far more ” than the $1 25 million per year it gives in lieu of taxes He has noted that if Cornell’s land was fully taxed, it would pay the city $30 million per year We commend Myrick’s vocal suppor t for the University increasing its contributions to the city, but hope to see Myrick take action to achieve this change in the next three years

As Myrick endeavours to balance the city’s budget, he should also strive to support economic growth in Ithaca In the last few years, the city has seen a number of proposals that have the potential to revitalize its core The sweeping renovation of the Ithaca Commons, expansion of the Holiday Inn and $30-million “Harold’s Square” development represent a once-in-a-generation chance for the city to expand its tax base and drastically redevelop the downtown area Myrick has rightly supported these projects and has also fought for federal and state money to help pay for them In the past year, the city has received $4 5 million in federal funding for transportation upgrades, as well as $1 8 million from New York State for the rehabilitation of the Commons

With such an incredible oppor tunity to transform the hear t of Ithaca and an impressive first year already behind him, Myrick should continue to fight for a balanced budget and aggressively pursue funding for much-needed capital improvements While taking into account the impor tance of public goods that can not be measured in dollars and cents, we urge Myrick to continue striving for economic stability in our city

n i t i e s a re g u i l t y o f h a z i n g a n d u n d e r a g e a l c o h o l c o n s u m p t i o n a n d t h e a d m i n i s t r at i o n i s s i m p l y p i c k i n g o f f o n e o r t w o a t a t i m e W h i l e i t i s t r u e t h a t i r r e s p o n s i b l e b e h a v i o r i s q u i t e w i d e s p re a d , t h e s t e p s t a k e n b y t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n t o m e e t Pr e s i d e n t S k o r t o n ' s c h a l l e n g e t o e n d p l e d g i n g “ a s w e k n ow i t ” h a v e d o n e m u c h m o re t h a n m a k e e x a m p l e s o f a f e w T h e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n h a s n o t o n l y s e t n e w r u l e s

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n s , s h o u l d t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n s u s p e n d N ROTC ? I f a v a r s i t y t e a m t h r ow s a t h e m e d p a r t y a t a C o l l e g e t ow n h o u s e i n w h i c h f re s h m e n a re s e r v e d a l c o h o l , s h o u l d A t h l e t i c s b e e x p e c t e d t o c a n c e l a f e w s e as o n s ? I f t h e C o r n e l l C o n c e r t C o m m i s s i o n f u n d s a s h ow w h e re s i x s t u d e n t s a re h o s p it a l i z e d , s h o u l d w e s t o p h o s t i n g c o n c e r t s ? O f c o u r s e , e a c h i n c i d e n t w o u l d n e e d t o b e a n a l y z e d o n a c a s e - b y - c a s e b a s i s Ye t , h a v i n g c o n s i s t e n t r u l e s w i l l m a k e a c h i e vi n g o u r g o a l o f e l i m i n a t i n g h a z i n g a n d a l c o h o l a b u s e m u c h e a s i e r O v e r t h e n e x t t h re e s e m e s t e r s , w e a s a c o m m u n i t y w i l l n e e d t o w o r k t o g e t h e r t o c l a r i f y w h a t t h o s e r u l e s s h o u l d b e So m e m a y a r g u e t h a t d i f f e re n t o r g a n iz a t i o n s p r ov i d e d i f f e re n t s e r v i c e s t o t h e C o r n e l l c o m m u n i t y, a n d , a s s u c h , s h o u l d b e t re a t e d d i s t i n c t l y Pe r h a p s o n e t y p e o f o r g a n i z a t i o n s h o u l d b e p u n i s h e d c o l l e ct i v e l y a n d a n o t h e r i n d i v i d u a l l y Ye t s u c h a s y s t e m m ov e s u s a w a y f r o m z e r o t o l e r a n c e a n d t ow a rd a n i m p l i c i t a c c e p t a n c e o f h a zi n g a n d u n d e r a g e d r i n k i n g a s l o n g a s t h e b e n e f i t s o u t w e i g h t h e c o s t s We w o u l d b e w i s e t o a v o i d s u c h a s y s t e m Ev e r y C o r n e l l i a n s h o u l d l o o k f o r w a rd t o a d a y w h e n h a z i n g a n d d a n g e r o u s d r i n k i n g a re m i n i m i z e d , i f n o t e r a d i c a t e d How e v e r, w e c a n o n l y g e t t h e re b y a c o ns i s t e n t a n d c o n t i n u a l a p p l i c a t i o n o f r u l e s i n o rd e r t o s t o p t h e s e b e h a v i o r s I f w e a p p l y d i f f e re n t s t a n d a rd s t o d i f f e re n t o r g

a g a i n s t p re v i o u s l y a c c e p t e d b e h a v i o r b u t h a s s t a r t e d t o c h a n g e t h e c u l t u re i n t h e Gre e k s y s t e m E d u c a t i o n o n h a z i n g a n d t h e r e v e l a t i o n s o f a b u s i v e i n c i d e n t s t h r o u g h t h e “ s u n s h i n e ” p o l i c y h a v e m a d e Gre e k m e m b e r s q u e s t i o n s o m e o f t h e i r ow n p r a c t i c e s Pe r h a p s m o s t i m p o r t a n t l y, t h e s e m e a s u re s h a v e s t re n g t h e n e d t h e v o i ce s o f t h o s e m e m b e r s w h o h a v e a l w a y s o p p o s e d r i s k y b e h a v i o r s b u t f e l t t h a t t h e y c o u l d n o t e x p re s s t h e i r d i s s e n t By m o s t b e n c h m a r k s , t h e n e w p o l i c i e s a re e xc e e di n g e x p e c t a t i o n s C h a n g i n g s t u d e n t b e h a v i o r i s t h e m o s t e f f e c t i v e w a y t o r e d u c e h a z i n g , a s n o a m o u n t o f ov e r s i g h t e v e n a l i v e - i n a d v is o r c a n e l i m i n a t e a l l o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r a b u s i v e b e h a v i o r H o w e v e r, c h a n g i n g i n g r a i n e d a t t i t u d e s a b o u t n e w m e m b e r i n t a k e c a n n o t b e d o n e q u i c k l y Re c o g n i z i n g t h i s f a c t , t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n h a s a d o p t e d a p h a s e - i n p l a n f o r t h e c h a n g e s i n t h e Gre e k s y s t e m We a re c u rre n t l y e n t e r i n g t h e s e c o n d s t a g e o f t h a t i n i t i a t i v e , w h i c h i s s u p p o s e d t o r u n f r o m t h i s s e m e s t e r u n t i l t h e e n d o f t h e 2 0 1 3 - 1 4 a c a d e m i c y e a r O n e p o r t i o n o f t h i s p h a s e i n c l u d e s d e v e l o p i n g “ a p l a n t o e x p a n d a n t i - h a z i n g e f f o r t s c a m p u s - w i d e ” A s t h e p re s e n t a t i o n a n n o u n c i n g t h e c h a n g e s s t a t e s , “ O u r s t r a te g y b e g i n s w i t h t h e Gre e k c o m m u n i t y, b u t d o e s n o t s t o p t h e re A l t h o u g h t h e y a re p re v a l e n t i n Gre e k l i f e , t h e s e p r a c t i c e s o c c u r o u t s i d e f r a t e r n i t i e s a n d s o r o r i t i e s a s w e l l , i n s t u d e n t o r g a n i z a t i o n s , c l u b s a n d t e a m s By re c a l l i n g t h e i r c o re f o u n d i n g p r i n c i p l e s o f l e a d e r s h i p, b r o t h e r h o o d a n d s i s t e r h o o d a n d c i v i c e n g a g e m e n t , f r a t e r n it i e s a n d s o r o r i t i e s h a v e a n o p p o r t u n i t y t o s e r v e a s a m o d e l f o r c h a n g e i n o t h e r o r g an i z a t i o n s ” C re a t i n g a m o d e l f o r t h e re s t o f C o r n e l l t o u s e w i l l n e c e s s i t a t e a re v i e w o f h ow e f f e c t i v e e a c h re f o r m h a s b e e n It w i l l a l s o b r i n g u p q u e s t i o n s o f c o n s i s t e n c y Na m e l y, a re w e p re p a re d t o b e s t e a d f a s t i n h o l d i n g Gre e k h o u s e s a n d o t h e r o r g a n i z at i o n s t o t h e s a m e e x p e c t a t i o n s ? Di s c i p l i n a r y a c t i o n i n t h e Gre e k s y s t e m h a s t e n d e d t o b e c o l l e c t i v e i n t h a t t h e p u n i s h m e n t t a r g e t s t h e e n t i re f r a t e r n i t y i n s t e a d o f o n e i n d i v i d u a l a n d s e v e re , i n t h a t t h e f r a t e r n i t y i s o f t e n t h r ow n o f f c a mp u s i n s t e a d o f re c e i v i n g m o re m i l d c o n s eq u e n c e s It m a y b e t h a t i n e a c h c a s e t h e s e c h a r a c t e r i s

4 Years at C ornell , 3.5 Years of Pro duc tiv ity

The second semester of senior year is a milestone for any undergraduate on the Hill After three and a half long and difficult years, one is rewarded with the opportunity to take fewer credits and spend more hours at the (few) bars than at the (many) libraries But is the four month sojourn at Camp Cornell worth the ever-increasing cost of tuition? And would it be better if seniors spent more of our time serving the Cornell community and contributing knowledge? It’s time for Cornell to evaluate the utility and structure of senior year, just as law schools are facing pressure to justify and transform their students’ third year of study

The third and final year of a legal education has been oftmaligned for its irrelevance According to Peter Lattman of The New York Times, “There is an old saying that in the first year of law school they scare you to death; in the second year, they work you to death; and in the third year, they bore you to death ” With jobs secured and requirements met, law students are left with a considerable choice of courses, but they lack direction and are still bound to pay tuition Sound familiar?

Given the heavy debt many law students face and the high cost of a legal education, law schools are increasingly being asked by members of the legal community to defend the necessity of a third year of study Furthermore, there is a proposal in New York to allow law students to sit for the bar exam and enter the legal profession after two years of law school Evidently, the idea that law schools can coerce law students to pay for unnecessary schooling is on the hot seat

Despite the hoopla surrounding law schools, there has not been considerable thought given to the consequence of mandating eight residential semesters for undergraduate study Such consideration is particularly necessary in light of the many Cornell students who enter with Advanced Placement credit or choose to accelerate their studies, thus achieving all graduation requirements in three or three and a half semesters

Attitudes toward completing a course of study in fewer than four years vary widely across Cornell’s colleges CALS facilitates graduating early, and the website of its Registrar notes “students utilizing AP or transfer credits to define themselves in the Registrar’s records as students with advanced standing will be expected to graduate in fewer semesters based on the advanced standing On the other hand, the website of ILR Student Services cautions that “undergraduates must complete eight semesters of full-time study Advanced Placement credit may not be used to accelerate graduation ” The College of Arts and Sciences has

a set program for acceleration, albeit with many requirements

Clearly, Cornell lacks an institutionally coherent definition of the completion of undergraduate studies Those who subscribe to the idea that credit hours are alone sufficient are attracted to December graduation, but this presents a problem for the University: Tuition is the primary source of revenue, and the loss of those students’ tuition payments represents a budgetary challenge Additionally, there is credence to the argument that much learning is done outside of the classroom and that four-year participation in the Cornell community is essential to your education It’s important that Cornell students not only spend four years on campus, but also that they spend all four of those years are productively

Then what is to be made of second-semester seniors who have met close to all of their graduation requirements? I was fortunate to attend a prestigious public high school and thus enter Cornell with a significant amount of AP coursework When I met with ILR Student Services last semester, I was told I could not graduate a semester early despite meeting all credit and graduation requirements So I patched together a 13-credit semester of elective coursework Based on my conversations with other seniors, I know I’m not alone in questioning the worth of such a semester We want to be here and continue our involvement in clubs, activities and teams, but we see our tuition payments and course enrollment as rather ludicrous The status quo is especially untenable for those who struggle to pay tuition each semester

evidence, I have to agree I chose to retake Introductory Microeconomics and Macroeconomics despite having achieved the requisite AP scores on each exam for credit, and found retaking the courses at Cornell to be intellectually superfluous and unfulfilling

Instead of bullying students into staying at Cornell for the sake of staying, the undergraduate colleges should each develop unique programs for seniors that allow everything we have learned and experienced here to coalesce Princeton University, for example, requires all seniors to write a thesis

and contribute new knowledge to their respective disciplines in place of taking several courses Moreover, the creation of more unique senior-oriented courses, such as AMST 2001: The First American University, could benefit our experience And awarding more credit for service, community-building initiatives and fieldwork could reward students for putting learning into practice

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ILR seems to have caught on to their problem of mandating eight semesters of study for students in my situation, as the school has reduced the number of accepted AP credits from 30 to 12 Such an approach is in line with Dartmouth College’s recent decision to cease awarding any credit for AP coursework

Intimating that AP courses are not akin to college introductory courses, however, would not be in line with research findings Studies by experts in 2007 and 2009 independently found that students were adequately prepared by AP coursework for higher-level courses From my own anecdotal

NYU Law School, responding to aforementioned criticism, recently overhauled the third year of studies for students with a new emphasis on concentrations and foreign study Cornell should similarly take the lead and reinvigorate the senior year undergraduate experience After all, Cornell is the First American University because it uniquely conceived the modern American coeducational, nonsectarian model of higher education predicated on diversity of studies and experiences (#AMST2001) In that spirit, it’s imperative for Cornell to facilitate a senior year replete with enthusiasm for and contributions to our University and not just its ever-fading bar scene

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s o u n d l i k e a m a n w i t h t h e d e p t h o f c h a r a c t e r t h a t It’s No t Ab o u t t h e Bi k e ’ s b l u r b b o a s t s T h e v e i l o f m y t h o l o g y t h a t e n s h r o u d e d t h e g re a t L a n c e A r m s t r o n g h a s b e e n s t r i p p e d a w a y a n d a l l t h a t re m a i n s i s a b r o k e n l e g e n d In m y o p i ni o n , t h i s a g g re s s i v e n e s s o n t h e p a r t o f t h e U S A D A w a s u n w a r r a n t e d a n d u n f o r t u n a t e L a n c e A r m s t r o n g w a s a n A m e r i c a n i c o n w h o s e r v e d a s a s y m b o l o f a m a n w h o h a d c o n q u e r e d t h e s e e m i n g l y u n c o n q u e r a b l e Fu r t h e r m o re , t h r o u g h t h e L i v e s t r o n g c h a r i t y, A r m s t r o n g a f f e c t e d t h e l i v e s o f m a n y l i v i n g w i t h c a n c e r I b e l i e v e t h a t i n s o m e c i r c u ms t a n c e s , t h e p o s i t i v e s o f a m a n o r a w o m a n ’ s l i f e a n d h i s o r h e r e f f e c t o n s o c i e t y c a n o u t w e i g h h i s o r h e r n e g a t i v e a c t i o n s T h r o u g h w h a t A r m s t r o n g ’ s a t t o r n e y c a l l e d “ a w i t c h h u n t , ” t h e U S A D A u n d e r m i n e d a l l o f t h e p o s i t i v e s t h a t a r o s e f r o m A r m s t r o n g ’ s c a re e r a n d re p l a c e d t h e m w i t h t h e b l i g h t o f d i sg r a c e Now, I w o u l d n o t w a n t y o u t o t h i n k t h a t m y p r o p o s e d l e n i e n c y t o w a r d s A r m s t r o n g , a n o w - c o n f e s s e d c h e a t e r, m e a n s t h a t I b e l i e v e t h a t c h e a t i n g i s m o r a l l y r i g h t I d o n o t b e l i e v e t h a t b y a n y s t re t c h o f t h e i m a g i n a t i o n R a t h e r, I b e l i e v e t h a t i n c e r t a i n c a s e s w h e re a p e rs o n ’ s l e g a c y i s m o re v a l u a b l e t o s o c i e t y i n t a c t , i t s h o u l d s t a y t h a t w a y In f a c t , I d o f e e l v e r y s t r o n g l y a g a i n s t o n e p a r t i c u l a r i n s t a n c e o f c h e a t i n g t h a t a f f e c t s c o l l e g e c a m p u s e s t h r o u g h o u t t h e Un i t e d St a t e s : t h e a b u s e o f Ad d e r a l l a n d o t h e r a m p h e t a m i n e s u s e d t r a d i t i o n a l l y b y s t u d e n t s w i t h l e a r n i n g d i s a b i l i t i e s W h e n m y f e l l ow s t u d e n t s w h o d o n o t h a v e l e a r n i n g d i s a b i l i t i e s u s e t h e s e “ s t u d y d r u g s , ” t h e y a re c h e a t i n g t h e e d u c a t i o n a l p r o c e s s i n t h e s a m e w a y t h a t L a n c e A r m s t r o n g a n d c o u n t l e s s o t h e r c yc l i s t s c h e a t e d t h e re g u l a t i o n s o f i n t e rn a t i o n a l c yc l i n g How e v e r, t h e s e s t ud e n t s d o n o t h a v e t h e s a m e v i s i b i l i t y a n d i m p a c t o n s o c i e t y a s L a n c e A r m s t r o n g d i d In s t e a d , t h e y a re c h e a t i n g t h e ms e l v e s a n d , i n a n u n f o r t u n a t e l y h y p e rc o m p e t i t i v e Un i v e r s i t y l i k e C o r n e l l , t h e y a re a l s o c h e a t i n g t h e i r c l a s s m a t e s Ye s , L a n c e A r m s t r o n g d i d t h

SCIENCE

C o m p u t e r S c i e n c e Ro b ot i c s

C.U. Computer Scientists Win Oscars

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m u l a t i o n s o f t w a re , w h i c h a l l ow s e a s i e r c o n t ro l ove r t h e a p p e a r a n c e o f h i g h l y d e t a i l e d g a s s i m u l a t i o n s , s u c h a s s m o k e

o r f l a m e s Je re m y Se l a n ’ 0 0 M S ’ 0 3 a l s o w o n a n Ac a d e m y Aw a rd f o r c re a t i n g

K a t a n a s o f t w a re , w h i c h i n c re a s e s t h e e f f i c i e n c y o f e d i t i n g c o m p l e x s c e n e s

B o t h c re a t i o n s h a ve g re a t l y i m p a c t e d t h e f i e l d o f a n i m a t i o n w i t h t h e i r w i d e s p re a d

a n d e a s y u s e

Wave l e t Tu r b u l e n c e S o f t wa re

De l i c a t e t e n d r i l s o f s m o k e s w i r l f ro m a h o u s e a b l a ze w i t h f l a m e s A c o m p u t e r g r a p h i c a r t i s t w a t c h e s h i s c re a t i o n w i t h s a t i s f a c t i o n – – w h a t c o u l d h a ve t a k e n we e k s t o c o m p l e t e w a s f i n i s h e d i n a f e w

h o u r s t h a n k s t o a n e w a l g o r i t h m ,

Wa ve l e t Tu r b u l e n c e

Wa ve l e t Tu r b u l e n c e s o f t w a re e a r n e d

Ja m e s a n d K i m a n Ac a d e m y Aw a rd f o r i n c re a s e d a n d r a p i d c o n t ro l o f g a s s i m u -

l a t i o n i n m a n y m a j o r m ov i e s , i n c l u d i n g

Ava t a r a n d Ku n g Fu Pa n d a “ Wa ve l e t Tu r b u l e n c e a l l ow s a n i m a -

t o r s t o p ro d u c e re a l i s t i c l o o k i n g f i re a n d s m o k e s i m u l a t i o n s w i t h o u t h a v i n g t o w a i t a l o n g t i m e f o r h i g h - re s o l u t i o n s i mu l a t i o n s t o g e t r u n n i n g , ” Ja m e s s a i d Hi g h re s o l u t i o n s i m u l a t i o n s , t h e p rev i o u s m e t h o d , t a k e d a y s o r we e k s t o p rod u c e f i n a l d e t a i l s , a n d a r t i s t s h a ve t o re p e a t t h e e n t i re p ro c e s s i f t h e f i n a l i m a g e d o e s n o t t u r n o u t we l l Wi t h

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o u rc e c o d e a n d u s e i t f o r f re e “ [ T h e a l g o r i t h m h a s ] b e e n u s e d i n d o ze n s o f m ov i e s , i t ’ s i n a n i m a t i o n s o f tw a re p a c k a g e s n ow a n d t h e re ’ s a b u n c h

Wa ve l e t Tu r b u l e n c e , h owe ve r, a r t i s t s c a n c re a t e h i g h - re s o l u t i o n d e t a i l s o n a l owre s o l u t i o n g r i d , w h i c h i s l e s s e x p e n s i ve a n d m u c h f a s t e r Wi t h i t s p r a c t i c a l i t y a n d e f f i c i e n c y, t h e s o f t w a re h a s b e c o m e w i d e l y u s e d a t a n i m a t i o n c o

o f d i f f e re n t t o o l s t h a t p e o p l e u s e i t i n

It’s g o t a l o t o f o t h e r a p p l i c a t i o n s , b u t c e r t a i n l y, n o o n e h a s l a t c h e d o n t o i t a s we l l a s t h e a n i m a t i o n f i e l d h a s , ” Ja m e s

s a i d K i m , c u r re n t l y a p r o f e s s o r a t t h e University of California at Santa Barbara, plans to present the next version of the software, which involves simulating waves on a beach or tsunamis, in March

K a t a n a S o f t wa re

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e f f o r t l e s s l y s w i n g s t h ro u g h t h e n i g h t s k y

w i t h h i s we b - s l i n g e r i n T h e Am a z i n g

Sp i d e r m a n T h e a u d i e n c e g a s p s a s h e

n e a r l y g r a ze s a b u i l d i n g , b u t h i s a g i l e

b o d y t w i s t s i n t h e p e r f e c t p o s i t i o n t o a vo i d t h e h a z a rd De s p i t e t h e s c e n e ’ s re a l i s t i c a c t i o n , A n d re w Ga r f i e l d i s n o t o n s c re e n T h o s e a re n o t re a l s k y s c r a p e r s t h a t h e i s n a r row l y d o d g i n g Eve r y t h i n g o n s c re e n h a s b e e n c re a t e d by c o m p u t e r g r a p h i c s Se l a n a n d h i s t e a m c re a t e d K a t a n a s o f t w a re w h i c h e a r n e d t h e m a n Ac a d e m y Aw a rd f o r i n c re a s i n g t h e c o nt ro l a n d e f f i c i e n c y o f d e s i g n i n g re a lw o r l d s i m u l a t i o n s “ It w a s j u s t 4 0 0 m i l l i o n d o l l a r s w o r t h re l y i n g o n a p i e c e o f s o f t w a re t h a t yo u a n d yo u r b u d d i e s w ro t e , ” Se l a n s a i d B e f o r e K a t a n a , c o m p u t e r g r a p h i c s a r t i s t s h a d d i f f i c u l t i e s i n c re a t i n g l a r g es c a l e , c o m p l e x a n i m a t i o n s St u a r t Li t t l e ,

f o r e x a m p l e , o n l y h a d o n e a n i m a t e d c h a r a c t e r, b u t C l o u d y Wi t h a C h a n c e o f Me a t b a l l s f e a t u re d ove r 5 , 0 0 0 a n i m a t e d

c h a r a c t e r s , a s we l l a s a n e n t i re l y a n i m a t -

e d c i t y K a t a n a w a s t h e a n s we r t o s u c h a c o m p l e x p ro b l e m O n e o f t h e m a j o r a d v a n t a g e s o f K a t a n a i s t h a t i t a l l ow s a r t i s t s t o c o n

r t i s t s h o u l d b e a b l e t o m a k e s e ve r a l a d j u s t m e n t s i n t h e s a m e a m o u n t o f t i m e Fo r e x a m p l e , m o d i f y i n g s o m e t h i n g a s c o m p l e x a s t h e re f l e c t i v i t y o f t h e n o r t h w a rd - f a c i n g w i nd ow s i n Ne w Yo rk C i t y i s n ow a s s i m p l e a s c h a n g i n g t h e c o l o r o f Sp i d e r m a n ’ s o u t f i t Re c e n t f i l m s t h a t h a ve i n c o r p o r a t e d t h e s o f t w a re i n c l u d e Me n i n Bl a c k 3 , Al i c e i n Wo n d e rl a n d , a n d Oz t h e Gre a t a n d Powe r f u l Se l a n w a n t s K a t a n a t o

Neuron-Based Software Allows Prof. Saxena’s AirRobot to Autonomously Avoid Objects

By JACQUELINE CAROZZA Sun Staff Writer

c r a s h e s , a n d G P S m a y b e p a t c h y i n re m o t e a re a s w i t h m a n y o b s t a c l e s T h e a l g o r i t h m t h a t a l l ow s M AV s t o p e rc e i ve a n d a vo i d o b j e c t s i s b a s e d o n

Sa xe n a ’ s p re v i o u s w o rk i n v i s u a l p e rc e p -

t i o n , a p ro g r a m c a l l e d Ma k e 3 - D T h e

s o f t w a re c a n c o n ve r t a s i n g l e i m a g e i n t o t h re e - d i m e n s i o n s u s i n g p r o p e r t i e s s u c h a s t e x t u r e a n d c o l o r A M AV u s e s t h i s a l g o r i t h m t o f i g u r e o u t h o w f a r a w a y o b j e c t s a r e , a n d t h e n t a k e e v a s i v e a c t i o n i f n e c e ss a r y T h i s t y p e o f p ro c e s s i n g w o u l d o rd i n a r i l y u s e a l o t o f p owe r, b u t Sa xe n a a n d h i s t e a m d e s i g n e d t h e a l g o r i t h m t o r u n o n n e u ro n - b a s e d h a rd w a re

“[The AirRobot] learned that leaves are bad, but when autumn came, it was still scared of leaves. We had to add more data so it could figure out that leaves on the ground were okay ”

P r o f A s h u t o s h S a x e n a

“ T h i s h a rd w a re i s a n a p p rox i m a t i o n

o f t h e h u m a n b r a i n , s a i d Ia n L e n z g r a d , w h o , a l o n g w i t h Me v l a n a Ge m i c i ’ 1 2

g r a d , w o rk e d o n d e s i g n i n g a n d i m p l em e n t i n g t h e a l g o r i t h m

L i k e a h u m a n b r a i n , t h e a l g o r i t h m c a n l e a r n “ R a t h e r t h a n d e s i g n i n g a n a l g o r i t h m

t p e r s p e c t i v e s Du r i n g t e s t f l i g h t s , t h e ro b o t w a s a b l e t o s t e e r c l e a r o f t re e s t h a t i t h a d n e ve r s e e n b e f o re s i n c e i t h a d l e a r n e d w h a t t re e s l o o k l i k e i n g e n e r a l T h e r e s e a r c h e r s t e s t e d h o w w e l l A i r Ro b o t w a s l e a r n i n g by f l y i n g i t i n t h e

A r t s Qu a d a n d t h e En g i n e e r i n g Qu a d

A f t e r p l a c i n g t h e ro b o t i n a s t a r t i n g p o s i -

t o a vo i d t re e s , o r l i g h t p o l e s , o r a n y o t h e r k i n d o f s p e c i f i c o b j e c t , we w a n t e d t o d e s i g n a m o re g e n e r a l s o f t w a re , ” L e n z s a i d T h e s y s

t i o n , t h e y i s s u e d t h e c o m m a n d t o g o f o r -

w a rd

“ T h e n we l e t t h e ro b o t f i g u re o u t i f i t

c o u l d g o s t r a i g h t f o r w a rd , o r i f i t n e e d e d

t o a l t e r i t s p l a n n e d p a t h , ” L e n z s a i d

T h e c o n s t a n t l y c h a n g i n g e n v i r o n -

m e n t m a d e t r a i n i n g A i r Ro b o t t r i c k y

T h e t e a m s t a r t e d t r a i n i n g A i r Ro b o t i n

t h e s u m m e r, w h e n i t h a d t o a vo i d t re e

f o l i a g e i n o rd e r t o p re ve n t c o l l i s i o n s “ It l e a r n e d t h a t l e a v e s a r e b a d , ”

Sa xe n a s a i d , “ b u t w h e n a u t u m n c a m e , i t

w a s s t i l l s c a re d o f l e a ve s We h a d t o a d d

m o re d a t a s o i t c o u l d f i g u re o u t t h a t l e a ve s o n t h e g ro u n d we re o k a y ”

T h e a l g o r i t h m c a n a l s o b e re t r a i n e d , w h i c h m e a n s t h a t t h e re s e a rc h e r s c a n

c o n t i n u o u s l y u p d a t e t h e o b j e c t s t h a t t h e

M AV s s h o u l d o r s h o u l d n o t b e a vo i d i n g

“A ro b o t t r a i n e d o n t re e s i s n o t a s s u cc e s s f u l a t a vo i d i n g m a n - m a d e o b j e c t s s u c h a s t e l e p h o n e p o l e s , ” Sa xe n a s a i d A i r Ro b o t i s o n l y o n e u s e f o r t h i s n e w s o f t w a re – – Sa xe n a ’ s g ro u p a l s o d e ve lo p e d a n i n d o o r ro b o t t h a t c a n n a v i g a t e p a r t i a l l y o b s t r u c t e d h a l l w a y s , s h a r p c o rn e r s a n d n a r row f l

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

The first film in Cornell Cinema’s Experimental Film Series is Free R adicals: A Histor y of Experimental Film Chosen as the introduction to the series presumably because of its vague stab at encyclopedic status, Free R adicals follows director Pip Chodorov in a boyish telling of the histor y of avant-garde film, laced together by intervie ws with luminaries of the genre such as Rober t Breer, Michael Snow, Ken Jacobs, Peter Kubelka and Stan Brakhage Referenced by The Ne w York Times for its obvious “joie de cinema,” the amalgamation of shor t films, clips, archival footage, home video and inter vie w is a celebration of its subject matter in all possible forms and treated as intimately as possible Many of these filmmakers are old friends of Chodorov’s family, and the film is praised for the ease of the inter vie w style, the presence of fresh archival footage and the aptly chosen clips from the work of its featured filmmakers It holds appeal for diehard fans and ne wcomers to the movement as it provides exhaustive detail for the already knowledgeable and keenly interested, as well as enough sweeping summar y to engage and intrigue those with a blank slate Chodorov admits, “ We’ve only seen a small par t of the stor y, ” as he has deliberately and exclusively featured the Ne w York male filmmakers who inspired his own personal ar tistic development, ignoring the West Coast and female directors entirely

But the film is just what it has dubbed itself: a histor y of experimental f i l m No t t h e h i s t o r y And it’s the narrow scope that allows focus on such things as personal anecdotes from the filmmakers including a dumpster-diving stor y by Ken Jacobs and tales from the early years of organizations founded to help str uggling filmmakers such as Chodorov’s own Re-Voir, and providing many socio-historical and ar tistic historical frames of re f e re n c e T h

attempting to understand the plight of these directors excluded from both the ar t world and the commercial film industr y, avant-garde filmmakers have fought to see

their works played and preser ved Chodorov manages to include several shor t films in their entirety, including Recreation by animator Rober t Breer (who passed away last year) and Free R adicals, the film’s namesake, by Len Lye The NY T has said of the effor t, “Despite the scope of the title, this friendly, color ful documentar y is not the last word on all the shapes, sizes and languages of experimental film, but rather an introduction brightened by a companionable enthusiasm and an apposite sense of community ” The community of avant-garde film is por trayed as an enclave for those amenable to the idea of “ ar t for ar t ’ s sake,” and experimentation as an oppor tunity to discover ne w visual worlds not an opportunity for profit

The film will play Jan 31 at 7 p m at the Willard Straight Theater, alongside Jennifer Reeves’ 16mm film Landfill 16, in which outtakes from another film are buried, dug up and repainted in what is, in the filmmak-

ers own words, “ a meditation on nature ’ s losing battle to decompose relics of our abandoned technologies ” Free R adicals will be followed in the Experimental Film Series by two examples of experimental film made by locally based filmmakers: Michael Robinson’s Circle in the Sand and Josh Bonnetta’s Strange Lines and Distances, playing back-to-back at 7 p m , Mar 29, in Willard Straight Theater Circle in the Sand will be shown with two of Robinson’s shor t films and is a selection of Vie w from the Avant-Garde at the 2012 Ne w York Film Festival Robinson is a professor in the Depar tment of Cinema, Photography and Media Ar ts at Ithaca College Strange Lines and Distances has been billed by Cornell Cinema as “ a two-channel audio-installation focusing on Guglielmo Marconi’s first transatlantic radio broadcast,” and will feature live sound per formances

Kaitlyn Tiffany is a sophomore in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences She can be reached at ktiffany@cornellsun com

Frats and Courts: January Literature

BY HENRY STALEY Sun Staff Writer

THE INSURGENTS, BY FRED KAPL AN

Right after slipping out of the tabloids, General David Petraeus has slipped into hardbacks with Fred Kaplan’s ne w recountal of Petraeus’ handling of the Iraq and Afghan wars There is no mention of the extramarital affairs that sent Petraeus into the media spotlight Instead, Kaplan portrays Petraeus as a pensive, scheming general, comfor table in the shadow of the Commander in Chief and uncomfor table to ser ve as the head of a group of Pentagon b u r e a u c r a t s l o o k i n g t o r e - i m a g i n e America’s approach towards counter-terrorism and nation building The outcome of this group was Petraeus’ COIN or the “counterinsurgency” method, a set of militar y values so widely disavowed that even war hawks now blush at them Kaplan argues that the method was actually an accomplishment given the mediocre militar y climate predating Bush’s second term Other wise, Kaplan’s book ser ves to remind us of the real consequences Patraeus begot; not the ones that recently made headlines

AGENDA 21, BY GLENN BECK & HARRIET PARKE

Glenn Beck, the Paul Revere of delusional, right wing alarmism, has attached a name and an ideology to a stor y with which he has no business Originally the book was the brainchild of Sarah Cypher, a blogger for the website Salon, but Beck slipped his

and his lawyers’ cards into the deck, proclaiming him and Harriet Parke the books’ procreators In fact, Parke wrote the 277 pages that constitute the novel while Beck only wrote the 18 page after ward Beck’s generous contribution adds the power-closer to a plot that explores a dystopian society called “ The Republic” the consequence of the ratification of the UN’s voluntar y action plan for sustainable development (Agenda 21) Although inaction over g l o b a l

change may provide a more dystopian landscape, Parke and Beck seem comfortable citing Agenda 21 as a harbinger of a grave new world and exhausting the Or wellian, Ayn Rand totalitarian plot fixtures to decorate their new, uninventive work of fiction

TOTAL FRAT MOVE, BY W R BOLEN

While Cornell puts breaks on Greek life’s mobility this semester, Total Frat Move,

collection of

Ne

York Times Bestseller List The book takes the “best of ” the pop-

champion and (halfhear tedly) satirize the

nihilism of American “Bro” culture while r

To

Prescott’s years in college W R Bolen writes the stories that typify “frat”culture and emphasize macho movement over inhibition

THE FUTURE: SIX DRIVERS OF GLOBAL CHANGE, BY AL GORE

If there is a ne w word to describe a threat facing our globe, Al Gore is most likely to coin it The Future outlines the major factors contributing to the growing threat of “Global Change,” a phrase that encompasses climate change and its menacing allies (globalization, depletion of natural resources, the digital revolution, etc ) Contributing to them, Gore cites the threats in the corporate takeover of the public sphere, diminution of dissent in the media (a la Paul Goodman / Noam Chomsky) and business propagan-

da The Future and Obama’s inaugural address couple to outline a ne w liberal consciousness of incoming crises, albeit Gore’s 592-page hardcover has more freedom to elaborate and editorialize

MY BELOVED WORLD, BY SONIA SOTOMAYOR So

u’l l f i n d o u t a l l a

o u t h e r l i f e s t o r y m i n u s t h e p o l i t i c s So t o m a yo r ’ s a u t o b io g r a p h y e x p l o re s h e r r i s e f ro m n e g l e c t e d c h i l d o f a n a b s e n t e e m o m a n d a l c o h o l i c f a t h e r i n t h e So u t h Bro n x t o h e r i n i t i at i o n i n t o Ju s t i c e So u t e r ’ s o l d c

Ready for Some Burning Love?

BY JULIA MOSER Sun Staff Writer

O n Fe b 1 4 , w h e n m o s t o f y o u w i l l b e s e n s u a l l y e a t -

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

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Se a s

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o n Ya h o o c o m T h e s h ow ’ s e xe c ut i ve p ro d u c e r i s Be n St i l l e r, w h o

a p p e a r s i n o n e e p i s o d e a s a p re v io u s b a c h e l o r

S e a s o n O n e s t a r s M a r i n o a s

Ma rk Or l a n d o , a f i re m a n w h o i s

j u s t l o o k i n g f o r l ove Mi c h a e l Ia n

Bl a c k ( We t Ho t Am e r i c a n Su m m e r )

h o s t s t h e s h ow, a n d s o m e o f t h e l o v e l y l a d i e s s e e k i n g O r l a n d o ’ s h a n d a re p l a ye d by f a m o u s a c t o r s a n d c o m e d i a n s s u c h a s Je n n i f e r

A n i s t o n , K r i s t e n B e l l , Na t a s h a

L e g g e r, Ju n e Di a n e R a p h a e l , Ma l i n

A k e r m a n , Ke n Je o n g a n d O y a m a h e r s e l f I n a d d i t i o n , Pa r k s a n d

R e c r e a t i o n ’ s A d a m S c o t t p l a y s

Or l a n d o ’ s t h e r a p i s t O r l a n d o ’ s s e a r c h f o r l o v e i s h i l a r i o u s Eve n a s s o m e o n e w h o b e l i e ve s t h a t T h e Ba c h e l o r c o u l d s t a n d a l o n e a s a p a ro d y o f i t s e l f ( a l t h o u g h a s m a l l p a r t

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

w i l l f i n d l ove ) , Bu r n i n g L ove d o e s a w o n d e r f u l j o b o f m a k i n g t h o s e re a l i t y t e l e v i s i o n b i m b o s e v e n m o re

r i d i c u l o u s Fo r e x a m p l e , i t i s n o t u n c o m m o n f o r p e o p l e

o n t h e s e s h ow s t o d o c r a z y t h i n g s , l i k e s h ow u p t o t h e f i r s t e p i s o d e i n a we d d i n g d re s s ( t h a t i s a re a l t h i n g t h a t

a c u r re n t c o n t e s t a n t o n T h e Ba c h e l o r d i d ) In t h i s ve i n ,

Je n n i f e r A n i s t o n ’ s c h a r a c t e r o n Bu r n i n g L ove s h owe d u p t o t h e f i r s t e p i s o d e i n a p a n d a c o s t u m e b e c a u s e s h e w a n t e d Ma rk t o f a l l i n l ove w i t h h e r f o r h e r p e r s

s n o t

e f i r s t t i m e t h a t a we b s e r i e s h a s t r a ns c e n d e d i t s In t e r n e t b e g i n n i n g s On e n o t a b l e e x a m p l e o f t h i s i s We b T h e ra py , w h i c h s t a r re d L i s a Ku d row a s a t h e r a p i s t w h o b e l i e ve d t h a t t h e o n l y i m p o r t a n t p a r t o f t h e r a p y t o o k p l a c e i n t h e f i n a l m i n u t e s o f a s e s s i o n , h a d f o u r s e a s o n s o n l i n e b e f o r e i t w a s p i c k e d u p b y Sh ow t i m e i

Freedom From Forgetting

No o n e re m

“Downtown” and “My Love Is Warmer Than The Sunshine” will live on forever i n s h o p p i n g m a l l s a n d

e l - g o o d Christmas imager y The music video for “ D o w n t o w n ” w a s m a d e w i

h l i t t l e thought: There was no clear distributive avenue for music videos then, so Clark

s i n g s a g a i n

i m a g e

B

l e s s reflects a wholesomeness that is as pure as its lyrics You go downtown to “ get away from all your troubles” because “there are movie shows,” not to pleasure someone It goes without saying that music is a barometer for showing what a society values But it’s not as simple as saying music from one period reflects the values of that time period far from it, the music that sur vives shapes how we think about that period today What

we c h o o s e t o p reser ve says a lot more

a b o u t u s t h a n i t does about the past

T h i s i d e a n e c e s s itates an element of f o r g e t t i n g , a n d among all the ar tists you can look at the roving folk bands, the indie punk kids, the chilly EDM D J s and the rising rap stars the best measure of them all might be the hyper-exposed pop stars that consistently top the char ts Many

songs are forgettable, but pop is an amorphous catch-all genre that is the most forgettable of all You can ’ t really understand p u n k m u s i c a n d f o r g e t w h o t h e Se x Pistols are, but you can understand pop m u s i c t o d a y w

g swing bands of the ’30s

Big Pop may be the musical genre whose evolution is as fast-paced as politics It was not always like this: Frank Sinatra, for example, star ted out crooning over jazzy and swingy music in the ’40s, and his dramatic career transformation in the ’50s with In the Wee Small Hours of the Mor ning just had him singing over quieter blues and jazz Pop music budged a bit when Elvis and Bill Haley moved from countr y blues to rock and roll, but it was only when the Beatles came from nowhere with its self-written polished rock songs that Big Pop took on a break-

neck pace of adopting the latest musical trends The Monkees lifted the psychedelic rock of The Doors for its own bub-

b l e g u m p o p M a d o n n a b r o u g h t i n Eurodance Britney Spears thre w in dub-

step And Rihanna, in a recent SNL performance, even embraced “Seapunk” to t h e e x t e n t v i d e o s o f A t a r i c o m p u t e r graphics and dolphins can be considered a musical genre Also, ever y song nowadays seems to feature a verse from a guest rapper Forgetting, in this context, is a passive act but it is not independent Rather, we make a deliberate decision to remember cer tain things, and our limited memor y capacity does the rest By melding genres, p o p s o n g

o u s l y remember them What we choose, howe v e r, s a y s

l o t a b o u t o u r s e l v e s We memorialize Elvis but not Fats Domino, and in doing so we forget rock and roll’s A

r a c i a l t e n s i o n s We

m e m b e r “Downtown” and generate a pastoral and idyllic image of the ’60s, but we treat the decade’s social upheavals separately

With songs still as memorable as a cloud in the sky, Big Pop hasn’t changed much Frank Sinatra was to Bobby Soxers as Justin Bieber is to Beliebers Huge acts that win Grammys will be obscure in 20 years Reactionaries will still turn around and make their own left field music, like the punks did

And if that’s the case, which songs of today will sur vive the passage of time? Will we remember “Gangnam Style” next summer? What about “ The Motto?” The over-the-top things that Lady Gaga and Nicki Minaj do are less about social liberation than they are about liberation from collective forgetfulness Tr y not to feel

uncomfor table when you see Lady Gaga in a meat dress or when Nicki Minaj is making a face In the end they all want to avoid the fate that “Downtown” suffered: The blatant trivializing of their music as their own personalities fade away

But here’s one thing that ever ybody will be happy to forget about: The outfit Justin Bieber wore when he met the C a n a d i a n

m e M i n i s t e r C a n y o u believe that happened? Oops, sorr y for reminding you

After Weekend Of f, Red Men Prepare to Battle Skidmore

POLO

Continued from page 16

Eldredge ’81 said SMU may have been caught off guard by the Red’s high level of play, he added that the Mustangs provided a solid level of competition

“ They were challenging enough that they made us actually do things properly, so that we would actually get to work on the things we needed to, ” he said

Eldredge highlighted that the women ’ s team is working towards efficiency around the goal By improving efficiency, he noted that the Red will pose a more dominant scoring threat

While this weekend’s game was supposed to be a warm-up for next weekend’s game against rival Virginia, a scheduling conflict involving one of the Cavaliers’ women ’ s players pushed the match against UVA two weeks back in the schedule

Instead, the men ’ s team will be back in action against Skidmore on Friday after its game against SMU was cancelled due to weather conditions that prevented the Mustang men from arriving in Ithaca The women ’ s team does not currently have a game scheduled for next weekend According to Eldredge, the schedule change has some positive effects

“In some ways, we ’ re happier with it, because it gives us a chance to even prepare a little bit more for the UVA team coming in,” he said

Hoffman added that the game against SMU showed the team that there is still work to do to get back into prime playing mode

“ We’re definitely going to need to work to get back in shape,” she said “[The game] was tough, but it was good ”

Gy mnasts S et for Towson

GYMNASTICS

Continued from page 15

Although matching up against a team with the ability to bring gymnasts to the school on scholarship will be a disadvantage for the Red, the squad can look forward to being at home for the second straight weekend

“Towson is a talented, full scholarship team and it will be a highly competitive meet as a result,” Archer said “We definitely hope to build off our meet against Cortland and it’s another home meet, so hopefully we will have a great crowd like last week ”

KULAS / SUN

Raising the bar | Junior Melanie Jorgensen leads the Red on bars with a first place finish and a score of 9.700.

Red Opens Home Season With Win

By SCOTT CHIUSANO Sun Assistant Sports Ed tor

In its first home dual meet of the season, the

a n d , 188 675-176 525 The Red won all four team and individual events, placing the top three finishers in three of the events

After being on the road for its first two meets of the season, returning to Teagle was a welcome advantage, according to senior McKenna Archer

“We always love competing at home,” she said “It’s definitely an advantage to be familiar with the equipment and to have our friends and family supporting us This past weekend, we had an especially impressive crowd and we ’ re very grateful to all those who came out It definitely helps keep the energy up ”

The meet against Cortland was the first dual meet win of the season after the Red finished third of five teams and third of four teams in meets at George Washington and Pitt respectively However, despite the first victory, the judges scored the gymnasts lower than he expected, according to head coach Paul Beckwith

“In general, we had some great per formances, ” Beckwith said “The judges, however, were scoring lower than we have seen in years Consequently, we had athletes with their best performance of the year scoring their lowest score of the season [which was] very frustrating ”

Cornell scored 47 450 or better on bars, floor and vault; however, the team had to count two falls on beam Beam has been a tough event for the Red this season, which Beckwith attributed to working out “competition nerves ” before the meet against Cortland

“We are really working hard to increase consistency on beam,” Archer added “It’s an event where we have a lot of talent and depth, and we just need to show that during meets It’s a stressful event and it’s early in the season so we ’ re optimistic that our beam scores will improve quickly ”

Archer was the Red’s top finisher in the event, posting a 9 675 Junior Melanie Jorgensen placed second with 9 525, while sophomore

Spurs’ Success Comes as No Surprise

would be a sad, albeit practical, way to end Pierce’s 14-year run in Boston My guess is that the Raptors will get Pierce and, in return, give up one of their point guards (Kyle Lowr y or Jose Calderon) and forward Andrea Bargnani This package will add a much-needed replacement for Rondo and some outside shooting to spread the floor Stay tuned

One of the feel-good stories of the year has been the play of the Golden State Warriors, who currently sit at 27-17 Playing without defensive stalwart Andrew Bogut for most of the season he came back this Monday against the Raptors and played seemingly unaffected by his ankle injury the Warriors have transformed from the 26th best defensive team to the 12th best, primarily due to head coach Mark Jackson molding his players into his defensive system

With the great play of All-Star David Lee and All-Star snub Stephen Curry, there should be no drop-off in the second half of the season In fact, with the return of Bogut and his passing, basketball I Q and shot-blocking ability, I expect both the team ’ s offense and defense to improve With all due respect to rookie Festus Ezeli, who has filled in admirably at the center position, Bogut’s complete game will be more beneficial to the Warriors in the long run

You’ve all heard the phrase “Never trust a guy with two first names, ” but that simply isn’t true in the NBA Chris Paul, Dwyane Wade and Dwight Howard the current members of the Two-FirstName-All-Stars will welcome Pacers forward Paul George this year, who is one of those rare cases where his ‘potential’ turned into tangible skills With Danny Granger out all year, George has stepped into his role as the best player on the Pacers, averaging 17 4 points, 7 7 rebounds, 3 7 assists and 1 7 steals a game while doubling as the best all-around defender on the best defensive

team in the league Despite already being so good, he still has room to improve Take the end of the Pacers-Nuggets game this Monday With 20 seconds left and the game tied 101-101, Danilo Gallinari who had 27 points at that point drove to the basket and George stayed with him every step, standing strong as Gallinari lowered his shoulder, blocked his fadeaway and stripped the ball The next possession, however, George turned it over to Andre Iguodala and with 0 5 seconds left, fouled Igoudala on an inbounds lob play (albeit on a ticky-tack foul), who proceeded to knock down one free throw to win the game This sequence perfectly summed up George; he does so many things well, but is still just 22 years old and will only continue to improve and refine his game

A story that should be significant if it wasn ’ t clockwork every year is the success of the San Antonio Spurs They have the best record in the league at 36-11, yet there couldn’t be less fanfare about them Coach Gregg Popovich keeps plugging players into his well-oiled machine and there is no noticeable drop-off Popovich is able to limit his stars ’ minutes this way, as Ginobili is averaging just 23 7 minutes a game Additionally, no one on the team plays more than 33 minutes a game Tim Duncan is silently what’s quieter than ‘silently’? having another great All-Star campaign at age 36 and has magically improved his defense, as he is averaging 2 7 blocks per game, his most since 2003-2004 His play in the paint has helped the Spurs regain their Top-5 ranking in defensive efficiency, which fell off the last two years, as they were just 11th in the league With their key players clocking fewer minutes Popovich will just rest his starters during some back-to-back games they should be one of the two favorites to come out of the Western conference again, a sentence I could have accurately written in a column any year between 1999 and 2013

Freshman Kaylie Cronin tied for fourth with 8 800 in her first competition at home

While beam was a tough event for both teams, the Red excelled on bars Cornell placed the top five finishers, with Jorgenson taking first with 9 700 Senior Sarah Hein placed second with 9 525, and sophomore Abbie Thompson (9 500) and junior Sarah Wetter (9 450) took third and fourth, respectively According to Beckwith, Wetter and Hein gave their best performances of the season thus far

“On bars, Sarah Wetter and Sarah Hein had beautiful routines, and Melanie Jorgensen also hit a great routine for the highest score of the day,” he said

The Red also had a strong showing on vaults, with six of its starters finishing in the top eight Freshman Madeline Martinez posted the highest score in the event with a 9 725, followed once again by Archer with a 9 600

“Vault was particularly strong for us this weekend, although you wouldn’t be able to tell f ro m t h e s c o re s ,

Beckwith’s sentiment that the judges underscored in this meet “Really everyone in the lineup nailed their vaults ”

In the floor exercise, three competitors two from Cornell and one from Cortland tied for the top spot with a 9 750 One of them was freshman Kennedy Prentice, who was competing on floor for the first time and tied Archer and Cortland’s Courtney Mangini for first place

“It was a very impressive routine with a lot of difficulty, and we were really proud of her for stepping up the first time she competed in the lineup,” Archer said

The Red’s next dual meet will be against Towson, who has given the Red trouble in the past The squad is hoping an improved performance on beams will help them top the Tigers

“Our goal is to polish our routines on vault, bars and floor and improve our performance a lot on beam,” Beckwith said “If we can hit beam, we have a shot at beating Towson, which is a fully funded scholarship team ”

Squash Men, Women Can’t Top Tough Trinity Squad

Both the men and women ’ s squash teams were unable to beat Trinity College at home this weekend The men fell 7-2 and the women suffered a disappointing 54 defeat

Going into the match on Sunday, the Red women (9-2) had never beaten the Bantams (11-1) After falling behind with a loss in the first singles match, senior Jaime Laird and junior Laura Caty gave the Red its first lead with wins in the No 2 and No 9 spots respectively Sophomore Rachel Au gave the Red another win in five sets, followed by a four-set win by junior Jessenia Pacheco to put the Red within one point of its first ever victory over the

Bantams However, Trinity was able to sweep the final rotation to come away with the narrow 5-4 victory On the men ’ s side, senior Nick Sachvie and sophomore Aditya Jagtap both had strong performances, but it was not enough for the Red Sachvie and Jagtap’s wins at the No 1 and 2 spots respectively were the only victories the squad would record on the day, as Trinity took the next seven matches in a row

Both squads will be on the road next weekend for bouts with Ivy foes Dartmouth and Harvard in a return to conference play

Compiled by Scott Chiusano

Spor ts

Back in Action, C.U. Puts

Up Strong Performances

Iyer, Fleck defeat Top-100 opponents from George Washington

By REENA GILANI Sun Staff Writer

Wi t h C o r n e l l’s d u a l s e a s o n a l re a d y under way for the men and about to begin for the women, upcoming games are critical for both teams as the Red strives toward a strong start to the second half of the season

On the men ’ s side, the Red (2-0) is ranked No 70 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association On Saturday, the squad came out on top with a 6-1 win over George Washington (0-1) G W ’ s point was earned by winning the greater number of doubles contests two to one before Cornell took six points in a sweep of all the singles matches played that day Junior tri-captain Venkat Iyer and sophomore tri-captain Sam Fleck were both able to take down Top-100 opponents from G W in order to earn the wins at the No 1 and No 2 singles spots

“I was pretty satisfied with my performance this weekend I played a good match,” Iyer said “I think [the person] who d i d a s t a n d o u t j o b t h i s we e k e n d w a s [sophomore] Quoc Nguyen he played a great match and got our first singles win of the day ” N g u ye n , p l a y i n g t h e No 4 s i n g l e s match, defeated his competitor in just two 6-2 sets The win was one of six that helped the Red gain confidence and poise

“I think we were extremely focused and had high energy This helped us have a ver y successful match,” Iyer said

He noted that while the singles performance was solid, there is always room for improvement and that will come in the form of discipline and hard work on the court as the Red prepares for more matches Looking for ward, the team will face No 48 Alabama on Friday and No 56 St John’s on Sunday in Queens, N Y

“ They are both good teams, and we are looking for ward to the challenge,” Iyer said “ The season has started well for us, and we hope to keep it going This team has really come together as a strong unit and is constantly improving day-by-day ”

The women ’ s team also had a strong showing this past weekend during the t h re e - d a y C o r n e l l Wi n t e r In v

Senior co-captain Sarah O’Neil and sophomore Sara Perelman respectively took the A a n d B

s

Additionally, the all-freshman team of Laila Judeh and Dena Tanenbaum won the doubles draw

“Results-wise, we were ver y successful It shows that we did our jobs over break, staying in match shape and keeping sharp on the court, ” O’Neil said “At the same time, it was a small tournament so we need to keep the success in perspective The results

are exciting, but we have much bigger goals to look ahead to ” T h e t e a m ’ s g o a l s i n c l u d e w i n n i n g matches against UMBC and St John’s Saturday at home

“UMBC and St John’s are strong teams We saw them at a few fall tournaments and their doubles were pretty sharp so that will likely be our focus this week in practice,” O’Neil said “ When it comes to singles, we all know what we need to work on from an individual standpoint It is just a matter of us working on weaknesses and sticking to game plans that give us the best chance of coming away with a win for the team ”

Unlike the men ’ s weekend play, which

Red Women Trample SMU at Home

By EMILY BERMAN Sun Staff Writer

Equestrian Center on Saturday

After a slow first chukker for the Re d ,

thrashed SMU, 27-3, to increase the team ’ s record to 11-0

Despite controlling play in the

first chukker, the Red had trouble finding the goal and only led 4-1 at the end of the opening frame The t

chukker, however, by a score of 100 and crushed SMU, 8-0, in the third as part of an unstoppable 21goal scoring streak “

stronger than we thought we were going to be in general,” said senior captain Ali Hoffman “Obviously, the first chukker was a little bit rough We were getting back into our groove, making sure we had the communication skills we had going into our win at [the Bill Fi e l d In v i t a t i o n a l ] a n d g e t t i n g back in sync with each other All in all, it was very positive and much better than what any of us expected ” Hoffman, junior captain Kailey Eldredge and freshman Devin Cox star ted the game for the Red Freshman Anna Winslow swapped w i t h Ho f f m a n f o r t h e t h i rd chukker, but Hoffman and alternate Beth LeBow substituted for Cox and Eldredge to finish out the g a m e i n t h e f i n a l c h u k k e r

Eldredge, the team ’ s overall leading scorer, again led the Red with nine goals in three chukkers, while Cox and Hoffman followed with six goals each

Although head coach David

will be spread out over a few days, the women ’ s matches will be back-to-back on Sunday O’Neil said that while the doubleheader will be an additional challenge, the Cornell Invitational helped prepare the team for it

“A double-header is no different than a typical tournament day,” she said “Since we were successful in this weekend’s home invitational, I think that we can all be confident in our fitness and ability to be successful against both opponents ”

Reena Gilani can be reached at rgilani@cornellsun com

A Laker-le ss NBA Midseason Review

Th e N B A s e a s o n i s already more than half over, yet I feel like I don’t know what’s really going on in the league The culprit for this is the Los Angeles Lakers, who have kidnapped the entire NBA news cycle with headlines about their struggles Sure, the

story is compelling, but it has still taken away from the other 29 teams in the NBA Let’s explore some of these other stories as ESPN continues to update us on what Kobe Bryant ate for breakfast and how it will affect his relationship with Dwight Howard, his legacy and the fate of the world

L e t ’ s s t a r t w i t h t o d a y ’ s most prevalent story, one that can actually take headlines away from the Lakers: the

Celtics losing Rajon Rondo for the season due to an ACL tear Even with Rondo the NBA’s leading assist man and creator of half of the open looks for the Celtics the team is just 26th in the NBA in offensive efficiency It’s hard to imagine where the

team ’ s offense will go without its floor general In order to salvage this season and the value of the last days of Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, we may be looking at a blockbuster trade in the coming days You’ll hear a lot of trade r u m o r s a s t h e d e a d l i n e approaches, most likely looking to deal Pierce a longt i m e C e l t i c Tr a d i n g h i m

LIAO page 15