02 09 14 entire issue lo res

The Corne¬ Daily Sun

Cornellians Decry Lack of Student Input on New Health Service Fee

By SOFIA HU Sun Senior Writer

Future town hall meeting will be held to address concerns

The

Graduate Students

Sign Union Cards

At Meeting Sunday

By CHRISTOPHER BYRNS Sun Staff Writer

Over 50 graduate students signed official union cards and began collecting dues at the third general assembly meeting of the Cornell Graduate Students United Sunday

The signing of officially recognized membership cards marks a “historic” point for the nascent Cornell Graduate Students United, which formed in early 2014 to pursue better work and labor conditions for graduate students, according to Andrew Cook grad, the [Cornell Graduate Students United] Communications and Outreach committee chair, in a press release

By signing cards, the members of the Cornell Graduate Students United are taking the first step toward organizing union representation for graduate students

The signing of the cards “and the collection of dues builds a formal architecture in which CGSU members can address their common interests as graduate workers and build a voice in the academic workplace,” Cook said Cornell Graduate Students United’s card signing follows recent successful organizing efforts at other private Universities Graduate students at New York University won voluntar y support from the administration for their graduate student union in 2013, according to The New Yorker In early December, graduate students at Columbia University gathered enough signatures to request the

City Enacts More Restrictive Zoning for Cornell Heights

By GABRIELLA LEE Sun Staff Wr ter

A tightened zoning ordinance applying to the Cornell Heights Historic District was passed unanimously by the Ithaca Common Council Wednesday

The ne w ordinance will restrict construction of multiunit dwellings to one every 500 feet, decrease the maximum story height to three stories and require 50 percent of developable lot area to be retained as green space

The amendment to the zoning code, which had been a topic of discussion for “approximately a year, ” initially began out of concern from neighborhood residents who feared that preservation of the historic district was threatened, according to Alderperson Seph Murtagh M A ’04 Ph D ’09 (D-2nd ward), who is also chair of Common Council’s Planning and Economic Development Committee

“The main problem was that we were seeing the zoning in the R-U [zoning] District allowed

for the construction of large multiple dwellings,” Murtagh said “So the Ithaca Landmarks Preservation Commission, which is a city commission that oversees the historic district, approached us and said that they thought the zoning should be changed there so

to reduce the size and massing of these large apartment buildings ” Local residents were also spurred into action w

Monday, February 9, 2015

Today

Get Started With Library Research at Cornell 12 - 1 p m , 106G Classroom, Olin Library

Dr Steve Ellner Seminar: A Tale of Five Cornell Ecologists 12:30 - 1:30 p m , A106 Corson/Mudd Hall

Science & Technology Studies Seminar –

Holly A Case, Associate Professor of History

3:30 - 5 p m , 374 Rockefeller Hall

Getting Started With LinkedIn 4:35 - 6 p m , Lewis Auditorium, Goldwin Smith Hall

Tomorrow

LEPP Theory Seminar: Daniel Harlow, Princeton University 3:30 - 4:30 p m , 438 Physical Sciences Building

Professional Correspondence Workshop 3:30 - 4:30 p m , 262 Uris Hall

The Modern Land-Grant University 4 p m , 160 Mann Library, Stern Seminar Room

Pre-Med and Public Health Study Abroad Info Meeting

4:45 - 5:45 p m , 100 Caldwell Hall

Free Screening of Waste Land

7 p m , Robert Purcell Community Center Auditorium

A Attention Advertisers: Pressidents Day Break Deadlines

Display Advertising Deadlines:

Thursday, February 12 at 3:00 p.m for the Wednesday, February 18, 2015 issue Friday, February 13 at 12 noon for the Thursday, February 19, 2015 issue Classified Deadline: Thursday, February 12 at 2:30 p.m for the Wednesday, February 18, 2015 issue The Sun’s Business Office will close at noon on Friday, February 13 We will reopen Wednesday, February 18 at 9:00 a.m

Kicking of f another cold w eek of clouds and snow They say Febr uar y ’ s a shor t month right?

Chance of more snow today – but we know how that usually tur ns out in Ithaca Plan accordingly

Hi: 27° Lo: 11° Chance of Snow

Temperatures hover below freez ing W ho remembers the last time they saw the sun?

32° Lo: 23° Cloudy

Temperatures take a dip, so keep layering to stay warm Has the snow stopped being pretty yet?

Its a frigid Friday the 13th as temperatures plummet below zero At least Valentine’s Day is right around the cor ner to warm you up!

by Phoebe Keller

Condom Couture

Event Bene ts AIDS Program

By PHOEBE KELLER Sun Staff Writer

Nearly 250 people filled the Alpha Delta Phi house Friday at the 4th annual Condom Couture Fashion Show, which featured speeches, slam poetr y and a capella performances

Mo d e l s s t r u t t e d d ow n t h e

runway dressed in outfits elaborately adorned with condoms

The $700 raised will be donated to the Southern Tier AIDS program according to Juliana Batista ’16, one of the event ’ s co-producers

The event was inspired in part by Alexander Brown ’15, AIDS week co-chair, who spoke on his personal struggle with HIV

“I hope sharing my status helps ever yone see HIV and AIDS can happen to anyone, ” Brown said of the event “ The stigma still exists ”

Maddie Gerrick ’17, the co-producer of the event, said Brown’s stor y made audience members see that HIV and AIDS are issues “close to home ”

“ The main thing I hope students take away from the show is how HIV/AIDS is a global issue, which includes the Cornell community,” she said “It is still relevant and still a devastating fact of life ”

Batista said she has co-produced the event for two years, but that the addition of speeches, slam poetr y and a capella performances this year made the show even more effective

“ We will still have all the glamour and high fashion of shows in the past, but we have incorporated more layers of education about HIV/AIDS, STD prevention, consent and healthy relationships while taking a multimedia approach,” Batista said

Mattie Yarn ’18, the slam poet featured at the show, said she was proud to be a part of a movement

“In a few stanzas, I aim to deliver a powerful message of hope and determination regarding HIV/AIDS,” she

said “Overall, I’m glad to see there’s such enthusiasm toward bringing attention to this global problem within Cornell's student body ”

Batista said that besides the messages conveyed in poetr y, speeches and songs, each designer wrote a short blurb that was read aloud while her model walked down the runway, pairing each outfit with the message of the designer

“Each outfit has a meaning that the designer crafted and can relate to, ” she said

Anshu Gaur ’17, one of the designers, said she went to the show last year and was impressed by the use of creative designs to start an important conversation this year She said that she wanted to contribute, despite the difficulty of designing with condoms

“Designing was a lengthy and learning process, ” she said “[However], I was surprised by the combined effort and excitement I received from my friends in the process and I plan to continue designing outrageous outfits out of condoms ”

The event received an outpouring of support, according to Gerrick, with sponsors including ConsentEd, Wingman, VOX: Voices for Planned Parenthood, the

Ever y1 Campaign, Act on AIDS, Haven, International Student Union, the Women’s Resource Center, RC, Fanclub and the Multicultural Concert Funding Advisor y Board She said the event used 9,000 condoms, all donated by ONE Condom Tarn Susumpow ’15, President of ISU, said the organization was thrilled to be a part of the event and is excited to sponsor them in coming years

“ We were ver y excited to co-sponsor this event because HIV/AIDS is a global issue, affecting over 35 million people worldwide,” she said “Our organizational goal has always been to bring awareness of international causes to the wider Cornell community, and this event does so with a lot of creativity ”

Batista said she was impressed by the turnout and the commitment of all the show’s contributors

“I was incredibly happy with show: it was such a collective effor t, ” Bastista said “ We’ve seen huge medical advances in 2015 and we want to ride off the optimism of ne w technologies We’re here to build that momentum ”

C.U. Professor Speaks on Black Lives Matter Movement

By GRACE HURLEY Sun Staff Writer

Prof Travis Gosa, Africana studies, spoke about the Black Lives Matter demonstrations and social media campaigns at the first “Thursdays at 626” talk of the semester

Thursday

Hosted by the Center for Intercultural Dialogue, Gosa’s talk which was titled “#BlackLivesMatter: Moment or Civil Rights Movement?” focused on whether the objectives of Black Lives Matter activists and the tactics they employed would be

enough to withstand the gradual nature of social reform

In his talk, Gosa said that when some Black Lives Matter protesters spoke with President Barack Obama, they were met with the President’s request that they fight for incremental change and were advised to remember that social change occurred slowly

“This idea that this movement should wait for incremental change seemed to really turn off the protesters, ” Gosa said “My question is ‘Are people willing to wait for these changes?’ That may be a downside to

this generation having to wait may be a dealbreaker for them ”

Gosa also said that a lack of centralized leadership in the Black Lives Matter movement drew questions about the movement ’ s future and longevity

While Gosa said the absence of a leader may make for a more democratic dynamic, he added “ a lack of identifiable, charismatic figures can make it difficult for people to latch on in meaningful ways ”

Still, Gosa said in the past five months, over one million Black Lives Matter demonstrators have taken to the streets

“I think they give me hope that black activism is not dead,” Gosa said “It may be a sign that we are no longer waiting to be saved by Obama It may provide some clues as to what social justice looks like in a postObama America ”

Included in recent protests were local demonstrations in the Ithaca area

According to Gosa, protesters shut down Route 13, Route 79 and State Street late last year in order to participate in the Black Lives Matter call to action

“I’ve been impressed by the level of civil disobedience by my fellow Ithacans,” Gosa said

Gosa also discussed in his talk the strategies that have been undertaken by activists in various demonstrations across the country among them singing and marching as well as holding up mirrors to the police during protests and artivism which has included the practice of throwing food coloring in public fountains so that “they are literally running red with blood ”

Gosa said that the protesters displayed

“creativity” in their variety of methods

However, he added that the question of which strategy would be most effective “is still unclear to [him] ”

At one point in his talk, Gosa asked audience members what made them feel as if they were a real part of the movement

Lois Ann Davis ’15, an attendee at the talk, spoke of the importance of the movement to her personally

“There is a difference between just showing up, just being another body and saying, ‘No, I’m not going to move to the sidewalk because this is my little brother that I’m fighting for, this is my unborn son that I’m fighting for ’”

Davis also said she thought the talk discussed a relevant and important issue

“I thought that it was a very good summary of what has been going on thus far and the different tactics that have been used in the movement, ” she said “I just hope that more talks like this will continue to occur and eventually lead to the next steps to keep this movement alive ”

Gosa concluded his discussion by comparing the Black Lives Matter with black activism movements of the past; which he said historically worked towards electing more black officials as a mechanism for solving problems

“There is a real concern that we don’t just need more people; we need to change the actual system, ” Gosa said “This is key to understanding how this moment will turn into a movement ”

Skorton Will Hold Meetings to Discuss University Finances

d e c i s i o n m a d e b y h i g h e r - u p s i n t h e Un i v e r s i t y, ” s a i d M a t t h e w St e f a n k o ’ 1 6 , a t - l a r g e r e p r e s e nt a t i v e f o r t h e S A , a t t h e m e e ti n g “ T h e r e w a s v e r y l i m i t e d c o n v e r s a t i o n a n d w h e n w e h a d t h a t c o n v e r s a t i o n , i t f e l t l i k e t h o s e d e c i s i o n s h a d a l r e a d y

“The fee is reflective of a system in which actual student needs are not financially prioritized, and the University is content to balance its budget on the backs of the students.” M i c h a e l F e r r e r ’ 1 6

h S e r v i c e s Fu n d i n g Mo d e l , a d m i n i s t r a t o r s a l s o i n f o r m e d s o m e S A r e p r es e n t a t i v e s “ [ Mo s t ] m e m b e r s o f t h e S A w h o d i d n o t k n o w a b o u t t h e f e e b e f o r e [ T h u r s d a y ’ s ] a n n o u n c em e n t , ” Va k i l i s a i d

T o w n H a l l s t o C o m e

S k o r t o n a c k n o w l e d g e d r e pr e s e n t a t i v e s ’ c o n c e r n s a b o u t t h e l a c k o f t r a n s p a r e n c y a n d s t ud e n t i n v o l v e m e n t i n t h e Un i v e r s i t y ’ s d e c i s i o n t o i m p l em e n t t h e f e e a t t h e S A m e e ti n g T h u r s d a y “ T h i s f e e l s l i k e a u n i l a t e r a l

b e e n m a d e ” I n r e s p o n s e t o S t e f a n k o , S k o r t o n s a i d h e a g r e e d t h a t t h e t r a n s p a r e n c y o f t h e p r o c e s s n e e d e d t o b e i m p r ov e d To h e l p a d d r e s s t h e i s s u e , S k o r t o n s a i d h e w i l l b e m e e t i n g w i t h d e a n s a n d v i c e p r e s i d e n t s , a s w e l l a s t h e h e a d s o f t h e s h a r e d g ov e rn a n c e i n s t i t u t i o n s t o e x p l a i n i n d e t a i l t h e Un i v e r s i t y ’ s b u d g e t “ We w i l l a l s o o r g a n i z e a t o w n h a l l m e e t i n g l a t e r t h i s s e m e s t e r t o t a l k a b o u t t h e f i n a n c e s w r i t l a r g e , ” S k o r t o n s a i d T a k i n g t o S o c i a l M e d i a H o w e v e r, t h e t o w n h a l l m e e t i n g s a r e n o t c o m i n g s o o n e n o u g h i n t h e s e m e s t e r, f o r m a n y s t u d e n t s w h o t o o k t o s o c i a l m e d i a t o c o n v e y t h e i r o p p o s i t i o n t o t h e f e e St u d e n t s a l s o e x p r e s s e d d i ss e n t i n a n o n l i n e , a n o n y m o u s s u r v e y c r e a t e d b y C a t h e r i n e Wa n g ’ 1 6 a n d K a t h r y n Me r c k e l g r a d A c c o rd i n g t o Wa n g , t h e s u r v e y r e c e i v e d o v e r 1 , 6 0 0 r e s p o n s e s d u r i n g t h e t i m e i t w a s o p e n , f r o m T h u r s d a y n i g h t t o Su n d a y m o r n i n g T h e s u r v e y i n c l u d e d f i v e q u e s t i o n s a s k i n g r e s p o n d e n t s ’ s a t i s f a c t i o n w i t h G a n n e t t a n d f o r t h e i r o p i n i o n o n t h e n e w s t u d e n t h e a l t h f e e A c c o rd i n g t o Wa n

Ordinance to Preserve

H i s t o r i c a l D i s t r i c t

the Ridgewood project that was going in,” Alderperson Josephine Martell grad (D-5th Ward) said “ There was a lot of concern that there was going to be more development inappropriate for that

l o c a t i o n , b e c a u s e C o r n e l l Heights is a low-density area ”

Martell added that she felt residents feared that continued development in the area would cause the district to “lose the g re e n s p a c e a n d p a s t o r a l e l ements ”

“Being a historic neighborhood, it’s in a really fragile location right now, ” Martell said While Murtagh and Martell

s a i d t h e y h o p e d t h e z o n i n g change would help preser ve the neighborhood, they both added that they recognized it would not solve all the problems that the historic district faced

“I would say that there is supp o r t f o r t h i s z o n i n g c h a n g e , because it will halt the construction of new multi-family multiple dwellings in that area, which was our goal when we originally set out on this,” Murtagh said “But I think there is concern f r o m n e i g h b o r s o f C o r n e l l

Heights that the restrictions that we introduced only apply to the R-U District, but don’t apply t o o t h e r a re a s o f C o r n e l l Heights ”

Martell also said she found residents to be supportive of the decision, but that she hoped the City of Ithaca would eventually examine the code for historical districts more extensively at a future date

“Over whelmingly, I’ve gotten lots of emails of support and calls from the other neighbors and I think people recognize that even

t h o u g h t h i s m a y n o t f i x t h e entire issue, it certainly prevents any of these other big developments from coming in the meant i m e , ” Ma r t e l l s a i d “ T h e re ’ s more work to be done on how we a d d re s s o u r h i s t o r i c d i s

across the city and that’s really a discussion that has to be done comprehensively, looking at all the historic districts at once, and how we better protect those ” A l t h o u g h Mu r t a g h a n d

Martell said they have received large amounts of support from l o c a l re s i d e n t s , t h e re a re s t i l l some who believe the new zoning ordinance will not be sufficient in preser ving the neighborhood Hang, who has lived in the Cornell Heights Historic District for over 20 years, said he believed the new zoning ordinance “ not only won ’ t solve the problem, [but] could actually create more problems ”

“ The problem with the R-U amendments that were adopted is that they will actually permit bigger structures to be built than would normally be allowed given t o t h e It h a c a L a n d m a r k s Preser vation Commission guidelines that you can ’ t build anything new, significantly bigger or significantly smaller than what’s already in the vicinity of that location,” Hang said “So the developers would be able to say ‘ We’re just fulfilling the zoning re q u i re m e n t s ’ a n d t h e n t h e Ithaca Landmarks Preser vation Commission is most likely not going to enforce their own guidelines because they never do ” Additionally, Hang said he d i d n o t b e l i e v e t h e z o n i n g amendment would be effective as i t c o u l d e a s i l y b e c h a l

n g e d through the Board of Zoning Appeals

“I wouldn’t trust this proceeding as far as I can throw a truck and I have grave concerns about the inadequate preser vation of this historic district,” Hang said Still, despite Hang’s concerns, Martell said that with support from other local residents, she felt “confident that it will at least help and get us moving in the right direction ”

Graduate Students Sign Union Cards

v i c e p rovo s t a n d d e a n o f t h

Gr a d u a t e S c h o o l , re s u l t e d i n t h e “d o c u m e n t a t i o n o f C o r n e l l’s p ro c e d u re s f o r g r a d ua t e s t u d e n t i n j u r i e s ” “ T h e ‘ n e w ’ p a r t o f t h e s e p r o c e d u r e s w a s [ t o c o d i f y ]

t h e m a l l i n o n e d o c u m e n t f o r

c l a r i t y, a n d [ t o a d d ] a n e x p l i c i t c a t e g o r y t o C o r n e l l’s o n l i n e i n j u r y r e p o r t i n g s y s t e m t o m o re e x p l i c i t l y b e a b l e t o i d e nt i f y w h e n g r a d u a t e s t u d e n t s a re re p o r t i n g i n j u r i e s s o t h a t t h e s e p ro c e

Independent Since 1880

132ND EDITORIAL BOARD

HALEY VELASCO ’15 Editor in Chief

CATHERINE CHEN ’15

Business Manager

CAROLINE FLAX ’15

Associate Editor

NICK DE TULLIO 15

Web Editor

RACHEL ELLICOTT 15

Blogs Editor

ELIZABETH SOWERS 15

Design Editor

CONNOR ARCHARD 15

Sports Photography Editor

ANNIE BUI ’16

News Editor

KAITLYN TIFFANY ’15

Arts & Entertainment Editor

KATHLEEN BITTER 15 Science Editor

CHARDAE VARLACK 15

Associate Multimedia Editor

EMILY BERMAN 16

Assistant Sports Editor

NICOLE HAMILTON 16

Graphic Design Editor

EMMA LICHTENSTEIN ’16

Marketing Manager

LUISE YANG ’15 Human Resources Manager

ARIELLE CRUZ ’15 Senior Editor

MICHELLE FELDMAN ’15 Senior Editor

TYLER ALICEA ’16

Editor

ZACH STEELE ’15

Manager

SCOTT CHIUSANO 15

ALEX REHBERG 16

KELLY YANG 15

NOAH RANKIN 16

ANUSHKA MEHROTRA ’16

SEAN DOOLITTLE ’16 Arts & Entertainment Editor

XIAO 16 Dining Editor

SYDNEY ALTSCHULER 16

Sports Editor

FASMAN 16

Sports Editor MANU RATHORE 15 Outreach Coordinator

KATHLEEN SHIM ’15

Media Manager CHRISTOPHER UHLER ’15 The Spot Manager

ALEXA DAVIS ’16 Senior Editor DARA LEVY 16

WORKING ON TODAY’S SUN

EDITOR Elizabeth Sowers ’15

DESIGN

DESIGN DESKER Jayant Mukhopadhaya ’15

PHOTO NIGHT EDITOR Haewon Hwang ’17

EDITORS IN TRAINING

EDITOR IN CHIEF Alex Rehberg ’16

EDITOR Annie Bui ’16

MANAGING

ASSOCIATE EDITOR Anushka Mehrotra ’16

ARTS EDITOR Troy Sherman ’18 Jael Goldfine ’17

NEWS DESKERS Phoebe Keller 18 Paulina Glass 18

SPORTS EDITOR Anna Fasman 16

SCIENCE EDITOR Sloane Grinspoon 17

Editorial

Increasing Transparency When Allocating Resources

CORNELLIANS WERE FRUSTRATED FOLLOWING the announcement of Cornell’s mandatory $350 health fee for those not enrolled in the University’s Student Health Insurance Plan Administrators claim the payment is necessary to provide predictable funding for Gannett Health Services and to lower barriers to those who choose not to seek care on campus due to financial concerns President David Skorton added at a Student Assembly meeting Thursday that it would not be feasible to allocate resources from the budget Though it is not apparent whether these fees are justified given the lack of data from the administration, there seems to be a disconnect between those in Day Hall and the student body We believe the administration can ease tensions and foster understanding of how the budget works by explaining how the University allocates its resources including charitable donations and tuition to the Cornell community

Before answering questions from the Student Assembly and others at Thursday’s S A meeting, President David Skorton said the University will brief shared governance groups on how the health fee will affect students and how Cornell’s finances are appropriated With participation in the shared governance groups being limited, it is imperative that the University inform the Cornell community to explain how decisions are made among senior administrators in ways that are accessible to the entire campus

Within hours of receiving President Skorton’s statement to the community Thursday, Cornellians planned a protest to be held Monday to combat the charge This is not the first time there has been a misunderstanding about Cornell’s budget constraints As tuition continues to rise each year, students express their concerns, with some Cornellians describing the most recent hike of $1,920 announced in April as “ outrageous ” and “disappointing ” If Cornell was more transparent, students even if they disagree could have a better understanding of how the University operates By justifying its financial decisions with hard evidence, the administration can create a stronger understanding of its budget model and the choices that follow, even if students disagree

We support any efforts by Cornell to become more transparent about how it operates and encourage the administration to organize town halls across campus throughout the semester to engage Cornellians Before any student can understand why a health fee would be necessary, the senior administration must explain how it distributes the University’s resources While dissent and constructive dialogues that yield productive results are encouraged, misunderstandings between Cornellians and Day Hall can easily be resolved by providing information about its decisions

Rachel Gerber | Words with Gerbs

How to Do Cornell

It ’ s a strange feeling finding myself with enough time, enough hours in the day, to do ever ything on my to-do list I don’t feel like I should be at the librar y or studying more I don’t feel like the people around me are doing more, or have more impressive resumes I’m not wondering if it’s all going to be wor th it I feel like I’ve finally got it kind of, sor t of figured out and know what I’m doing What’s the strangest feeling, though, is going to sleep without setting an alarm clock Allow me to explain:

I’m one of “those” seniors I graduated in December, but I am still hanging around campus I am/was a pre-med biometr y and statistics major I’ve finished my thesis, pulled too many all-nighters and have been involved with my fair share of campus activities and leadership roles

I tell you this not to list the headers on my resume but to give you some context of where I’m coming from You see, I didn’t go abroad and I spent my last two summers in Ithaca Over the course

o f t h e l a s t s e v e n s e m e s t e r s a n d t w o “ gorges ” summers, I think I’ve gained some decent perspective on this place and learned impor tant lessons Cornell is a

c o m p l e t e l y ov e r w h e l m i n g p l a c e w h e n you first arrive I personally found myself lost at the beginning of my freshman year,

n e r v o u s l y t r y i n g t o

f i g u r e o u t w h e r e I would belong and fit in This university is home to a tremendous campus full of endless

o p p o r t u n i t i e s , a n d

u n t i l yo u f i n d yo u r

p a t h h e r e , i t ’ s j u s t plain scar y

Steering Committee and ser ved as cochair my second year I found myself feeling grounded devoting my time to working toward the one week of the year that touches ever y student on campus

This idea of being a par t an effor t that affects our entire community, while simultaneously pursuing my academic and personal endeavors, has driven and shaped my Cornell career It’s led me to proudly present at information sessions for prospective students and welcome the entire Class of 2018 this past August But enough about me, what I’m really tr ying to say is that as I sit here now, generally content with the path I’ve taken, I have realized something tremendous in retrospect

There’s not one way to do Cornell right There isn’t a set path to take to succeed in any community or to find a niche here at Cornell There’s not one way to thrive or reach your end goal In fact, if you spend all your time here working towards your end goal, you ’ re missing out on this place entirely With hundreds of student organizations, dozens of majors and thousands of some of the brightest minds of the future walking around you it’s impor tant that you take advantage o f e x a c t l y w h a t Cornell has to offer you W

There’s not one way to do Cornell right. There isn’t a set path to take to succeed in any community or to find a niche here at Cornell.

For me, I had to first overcome the whole “little fish in a big pond” syndrome I think for a lot of Cornell students, you arrive here in a class full of valedictorians, class presidents and varsity team captains alike The classes are harder, the work piles up and you quickly learn that studying to get straight As is not always (rarely ever) an achievable goal I found my way by getting involved quickly in ever y organization and activity that seemed up my alley, some of which I’ve stayed active in, some of which I dropped along the way

It took me until the beginning of my sophomore year to really figure out what I wanted to do on this campus and where I wanted to be Ser ving as an Orientation Leader initially made me realize what I wanted to do most I realized that there are ver y fe w events, commonalities and

a t C o r n e l l offers you is entirely different than what it offered me The

ever y quiz and pre-

T h e d i re c

n you go in should not be you just followi n g yo u r ro o m m a t e o r t h e g ro u p o f friends you ’ ve fallen into You’ll get as much out of this place as you put into it We’ve each got a finite period of time to tr y and make a difference in our own lives and impact a community on a continually evolving campus The time goes by quickly, and it’s impor tant to make the most of being a par t of a community as prodigious as Cornell

Take what you will from this column, and this whole series of my so-called advice At the ver y least, join me on this self-reflective and introspective journey and humor me in my abundance of ne wly found free time

R achel Gerber graduated in December from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Responses can be sent to associate-editor@cor nellsun com

Conna Walsh | Words With Walsh

Ihave never been good at science Biology, chemistry and physics always consisted of strange mazes of mathematical and technical information that I could never quite figure out in high school Even now, I am one of those people who would rather write a 25 page research paper or literary analysis than do one chemistry or physics problem

Despite my steadfast inclination towards the humanities, I still recognize the crucial importance of science to our society Progression of thoughts, ideas and policies most often rely on scientific evidence to prove that a change is possible Without science and scientific thought, our world would be stuck in the dark ages We all owe the quality and safety of our lives to the advancement of science in every field

But too often, many people ignore this debt we owe to the scientific community, choosing to doubt certain studies or findings without citing any evidence whatsoever For some reason in the United States, science is always under fire For decades, American politicians have been refuting concrete scientific data on specific issues for their own political gain, which in turn causes their constituents and supporters to disbelieve scientific evidence The mainstream media in the United States also enjoys spreading such stories, which leads to widespread skepticism of science as a whole across the country

This trend is incredibly unfortunate, as it leads to dangerous consequences Most recently, the U S has experienced an uptick in cases of measles, pertussis and other infectious diseases as a result of the antivaccination movement This stems from a now-discredited study of only 12 people in 1998, which claimed that the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine could cause autism in young children

As a result, many parents have been choosing not to vaccinate their children against these dangerous diseases Even though the measles virus was eradicated in the U S in 2000, proponents of the anti-vaccination movement have caused dangerous outbreaks to occur due to their personal choices In 2014, there were 644 cases of measles in the United States, and in these first two months of 2015 alone, there have been almost 100 cases of measles Cases of pertussis, colloquially known as whooping cough, have also been on the rise In 2012, there were over 17,000 cases of pertussis in the United States, making it the worst outbreak since 1959

We must trust in science, but also know when to be reasonably skeptical Anyone who has taken a statistics course or has learned about the scientific method should realize that a study of only 12 individuals almost always requires further investigation This sample size is completely inappropriate for a study that made such sweeping claims regarding the supposed link between the MMR vaccine and autism The original study, conducted and published by now-disgraced researcher Andrew Wakefield, was officially retracted and discredited in 2011

Unfortunately, the American media is especially talented at spreading fear Whether it’s terrorism, Ebola or underage drinking, the media knows how to present topics in a way that will instill fear in the minds of the populace In a country that struggles to provide adequate and continued education, these media tactics cause undereducated people to believe everything and anything they see on television or the internet

Many politicians are also at fault for turning these issues into partisan warfare, rather than questions of scientific facts These scientific issues should not be politicized for personal gain For example, scientific evidence supports that vaccines do not cause autism so why do some politicians continue to ignore this fact? Whether they are Republicans, Democrats or Independents, our leaders and lawmakers should be fighting for the truth rather than focusing solely on their own political interests

This anti-science attitude is also unfortunately present when discussing other serious issues, such as climate change and global warming Although evidence from prestigious and reputable sources overwhelmingly supports that climate change is indeed occurring all over the world, many politicians continue to deny this phenomenon for political gain Because many members of Congress depend on campaign donations from large fossil fuel companies to fund their reelection efforts, they speak out against climate change-related legislation that would hurt the profits of these corporations

For example, Senator James Inhofe, the new chairman of the Senate Environmental and Public Works Committee, is a vehement denier of scientific evidence pointing towards climate change He literally wrote the book on the denial of anthropogenic climate change During his tenure in Congress, Senator Inhofe has received over $2 million in campaign donations from oil, gas and electric utilities companies

How can we stand by and allow misinformation and corporations to rule our political landscape? These groups and individuals who deny science are also actively denying the American public with the actual truth regarding these extremely important issues We elect our officials to be our advocates, not to hide information for the purpose of advancing their own political careers

We need to bring scientific thought back to the forefront of our society We need to emphasize scientific education in our schools and elect more leaders who have scientific experience With more emphasis on fact and evidence, the policies and ideas in the United States will subsequently become more progressive and our country will once again be admired for its scientific contributions to the world

Web

By Draft 10, I hated ever y detail I hated Microsoft Word, with its depressing expanse of unfilled page space I hated the cursor, mocking me with ever y flash I hated the keys, lying idle beneath my fingertips I hated the incessant humming of my laptop’s fan I even hated myself for having the idea in the

though, I hated the lonely halfsentence sitting on my screen “ The first time a song caused me to cr y, ” it read Already disappointed, I sighed Back to the drawing board Again

c l a i m e d m u s i c a f i c i o n ad o w o u l d h a ve k n ow n

t h i s A f t e r a l l , m a n y f a r s u p e r i o r w r i t e r s h a v e

t r i e d a n d f a i l e d , a s f a r a s I ’ m c o n c e r n e d t o p e n a p ro p e r t r i b u t e t o m u s i c Now, i t ’ s m y t u r n t o f a i l Be f o re I t a l k a b o u t m y l ove o f m u s i c , I n e e d t o t a l k a b i t a b o u t p e o p l e T h e l o n g e r I ’ ve b e e n a ro u n d w h i c h i s t o s a y b a re l y a n y t i m e t h e m o re I ’ ve l o o k e d t o m u s i c f o r re f u g e f ro m p e o p l e No t h i n g a g a i n s t u s , b u t o u r s p e c i e s ’ ( a h e m ) i n t e l l i g e n c e f r u s t r a t i n g l y m a n i f e s t s i t s e l f i n e ve r y s o c i a l i n t e r a c t i o n A s a re s u l t , w e h a v e a re m a r k a b l e p ro c l i v i t y f o r u s i n g t h e b r i e f e s t o f e n c o u n t e r s t o d e ve l o p t h e m o s t m i s g u i d e d o f o p i n i o n s We s e e w i t h o u r e ye s i n s t e a d o f o u r h e a r t s , l e a v i n g t h o s e c a u g h t i n t h e l i n e o f s i g h t t o s u f f e r L a b e l s l i k e “ r a c e ” a n d “ s e x ua l i t y ” h a ve b e c o m e s o t h o ro u g hl y i n g r a i n e d i n e ve r y a s p e c t o f s o c i e t y t h a t we v i e w t h e m a s a l m o s t i n d e l i b l e T h o u g h we’l l n e e d s e ve r a l m o re d e c a d e s t o f u l l y e r a d i c a t e t h e i m p l i c a t i o n s o f s u c h l o n g s t a n d i n g t h o u g h t p r o c e s s e s , m u s i c r e m a i n s a c a t h a r t i c , t i m e l e s s , u n i v e r s a l , i m p e n e t r a b l e d e f e n s e a g a i n s t e v i l Mu s i c l ove s u n c o n d i t i o n a ll y, a c c e p t s c h a n g e w i l l i n g l y a n d

Guest

Re: “Cornell Announces New Mandatory Health Fee,” News published Februar y 6, 2015

c o n s t a n t l y re ve a l s t h e b e a u t y i n e v e r y t h i n g O t h e r i d e a s t h a t p r o f e s s t o d o t h e s a m e ( I ’ m l o o k i n g a t yo u , re l i g i o n ) s i m p l y d o n o t c o m p a re Im a g i n e d i v i n g w h o l e h e a r te d l y i n t o a p h e n o m e n a l s o n g T h e i n s t r u m e n t s g re e t yo u w i t h c a n d o r, a s t h e y w o u l d a n y o t h e r l i s t e n e r ; y o u a d m i r e t h e i r c h a r m i n g n a i ve t é He re , n o o n e s e e m s t o n o t i c e yo u r we a k n e s s e s o r yo u r b a c k g ro u n d T h e a r t i s t s j u s t c o n t i n u e p o u r i n g o u t t h e i r s o u l s , o b l i v i o u s t o t h e w o r l d Bu r i e d re a s s u r i n g l y w i t h i n t h e c o n f i n e s o f t h e i r a r t , yo u f i n d a p i e c e o f yo u r s e l f So l o n g a s yo u s t a y, n o s u b c o n s c i o u s l y g e n e r a te d n a r r a t i ve c a n t o u c h yo u So l o n g a s yo u s t a y, s o l i d a r i t y a n d e m p a t h y w i l l e n ve l o p e yo u i n t h e i r e m b r a c e W h e n p e o p l e m e e t s o m e o n e n e w, we t e n d t o ove r t h i n k t r i v i a l d e t a i l s , b e c o m e p a r a n o i d , j u d g e a n d g e n e r a l l y c l u t t e r o u r m i n d w i t h b u l l s h i t A s m u c h a s I e n j oy m e e t i n g n e w p e o p l e , t h e y p re s e n t a f r u s t r a t i n g a m o u n t o f r i s k , a n n oy a n c e s a n d w o r r y A n e w s o n g , o n t h e o t h e r h a n d , j u s t p l a y s i n i t s e n t i re t y, f ro m b e g i n n i n g t o e n d Mu s i c u n a s h a m e d l y o f f e r s t h e f u l l e x t e n t o f i t s s e c r e t s t o y o u , r e p l a c i n g a p p r e h e n s i o n w i t h i n t i m a c y No o t h e r f o r m o f e x p re s s i o n p o s s e s s e s t r a n s p a re nc y l i k e m u s i c C o n s i d e r f i l m s Wa t c h i n g a m ov i e o f t e n re q u i re s s o m e l e ve l o f k n ow l e d g e Ma y b e yo u n e e d s u b t i t l e s t o u n d e r s t a n d t h e l a ng u a g e o r e d u c a t i o n t o u n d e rs t a n d t h e h i s t o r i c a l c o n t e x t Eve n t h o u g h yo u c a n e n j oy a w e l l - m a d e m o v i e , y o u m a y n e ve r b e a b l e t o t r u l y f e e l a f i l m w i t h o u t c e r t a i n p i e c e s o f i n f o rm a t i o n Wi t h m u s i c , h owe ve r, yo u h a ve c o m p l e t e f re e d o m ove r t h e t y p e a n d a m o u n t o f m e a ni n g yo u w a n t t o e x t r a c t Eve n a

we l c o m e a l l p e o p l e Pe r i o d

For example, I have countless non-English songs Aside from the German tunes, I couldn’t tell you what the people in those songs are saying Appreciation, however, does not require translation The most brilliant lyrics in any language would lose their luster if you removed all the ambience and beats that brought t h e m t o l i f e Un f o r t u n a t e l y, w e ’ r e a l w a y s t r y i n g t o f i g u r e songs out, and we dismiss those we can ’ t Whereas we give our e y e s t o o m u c h p o w e r w h e n interacting with people, we favor our brain over our ears when listening to music Ok a y, I ’ ve c

s e s t o a s t o u n d m e T h e i r e f f o r t s h a ve s e n t m e o n a n e v e r - e n d i n g j o u r n e y t o c o ll e c t a s m u c h g o o d m u s i c a s p o s s i b l e A l o n g t h e w a y, I ’ v e b e e n t h e r e c i p i e n t o f m a n y o t h e r g i f t s a s we l l A m o n g t h e m : n e w f r i e n d s , p o s i t i ve v i b e s , re as o n s t o s m i l e , re a s o n s t o l ove a n d n e w w a y s t o t h i n k Wi t h o u t o t h e r p e o p l e ’ s m u s i c a l g e n i u s , I w o u l d n o t b e m e A n d I d o l ove t h i s ve r s i o n o f A m i r i Ba n k s How i ro n i c t h a t I l a c k a n y m u s i c a l t a l e n t o f m y ow n I p l a y Fre n c h h o r n a t a l e ve l b a re l y a b ov e m e d i o c r e , s i n g t e r r i b l y a n d d a n c e a w k w a rd l y e n o u g h t o e l i c i t c o n c e r n f o r m y we l l - b e i n g Bu t i f yo u ’ re l o o k i n g f o r t h e m o s t d i ve r s e , ro b u s t a n d e m ot i o n a l l y i n ve s t e

d e a f p e r s o n , c a n b e n e f i t f ro m

m u s i c ( l o o k i t u p ) A l l s o n g s

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Slow-Heated Boil: A Most Violent Year

BY MARK DISTEFANO Sun Staff Writer

I have to politely disagree with those who call A Most Violent Year an obvious, unimaginative, slow or scant film The movie is a Rorschach blot and purposefully leaves it to the viewer to fill in the emotions, conclusions and plot points at certain junctures Some would say this approach is lazy I say, as long as there is enough stimulating material to provoke the intellect while remaining open to multiple interpretations, ambiguity should not be mistaken for an exhaustion of ideas Inherent Vice is an example of a film whose structure and vitality ultimately crumble when too much illogic is applied In A Most Violent Year, all the pieces of storyline and character development fit cleanly together, but you have to be willing to supply your own meaning of the big picture There is enough meat on the bones for several possible analyses

The feature is the third outing from rising star director J C Chandor, who has the remarkable Wall Street ensemble piece Margin Call and the less-than-stellar but much ballyhooed All Is Lost under his belt While my jury is still out on which is the better film, A Most Violent Year comes close to matching Margin Call for wit, precision and incisiveness in its investigation of capitalism and the cutthroat world of American economics But don’t jump to conclusions yet; it would be ver y wrong to undersell

Those familiar with the works of Sidney Lumet will probably love this movie We are firmly in the territory of Serpico, Prince of the City and The Verdict The setting is New York City in 1981, a year made famous as the film’s title suggests for its statistically appalling levels of urban crime The palette created by cinematographer Bradford Young is stained with browns and yellows that is, in the working class environment When we get to the upper class areas, the film has a rich golden hue with deep blacks and velveteen texture It is an era of graffiti, dirty subway cars, icy snow and chilly economic competition

A Most Violent Year Directed by J.C. Chandor Starring Oscar Isaac, Jessica Chastain, David Oyelowo

A Most Violent Year as merely a critique of hard knock business and the blood and guts it takes to live out the American dream It also happens to be a phenomenal character study boasting two nuanced, powerful performances by two of this generation’s greatest actors, and it features a tight, juicy screenplay which bears resemblance to the works of Paddy Chayefsky and David Mamet It creates a canny slow-burn atmosphere and generates an aura that is all but a delight to get lost in

Into the fray enters upstart immigrant and heating oil salesman Abel Morales (Oscar Isaac), who owns the fledgling company Standard Oil His hard-edged wife Anna ( Jessica Chastain), grew up in the rough and tumble politics of the mob and got a schooling in money skimming and phony accounting early in life She could easily be reduced to a Lady Macbeth stereotype, but Chastain’s performance is a marvel Though she has far less screen time than Isaac, her presence turns Anna into a vulnerable caged animal backed into a corner At the screening I attended, one line about a nasty secret she keeps from her husband brought a chorus of gasps into the theater No, Lady Macbeth is far too plain a descriptor for a performance this detailed, electrifying and dangerous

The same goes for Oscar Isaac, who is never anything less than absorbing as the rightminded Abel, who ignores his wife’s pleas to turn to violence and aggression to keep their business alive Isaac emerged straight out of Inside Llewyn Davis with a surefire leading man ’ s stature Here, he further demonstrates his ability to carry a film’s weight on his shoulders The problem for Abel is that the members of his company are being intimidated, kidnapped and in some cases nearly killed by his rivals in the industry The union workers driving his trucks want firearms to ward off the attacks, but Abel refuses He raises the ire of his employees as his veteran lawyer (Albert Brooks) reminds him they are des-

perate to come up with a loan to expand the company On top of that, a determined attorney (David Oyelowo) chooses this inopportune moment to investigate the company for fraud When he does, the hairs on the back of Anna’s neck stand up Just look at the way Chastain drops a cigarette in front of Oyelowo when he comes to search her house for evidence She gives him a prim smile and her long nails turn into claws “This was very disrespectful,” she says Consider another scene, where Isaac bluntly informs the new hires of his company that if they don’t continue to close, they will not continue to be employed

He evokes Jack Lemmon in Glengarry Glen Ross as he tells his men to accept tea, not coffee, when entering a potential client’s house It’s an exchange that is frankly more exciting than a dozen of the action sequences seen at the movies this past summer It’s a mistake to try to mine A Most Violent Year for distinctive commentary or for stunning profundity Try to plumb out a unique and inventive use of the form from within its architecture, and you’ll be missing out on a very good time What it offers is a crackling good story told with intense, thoughtful writing, sensitively attuned direction and deeply evocative performances The combination is as engrossing a package as ever you ’ re likely to see in 2015

Mark DiStefano is a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences He can be reached at mdistefano@cornellsun com

Joe Driscoll Fills Up Empty Space at The Haunt

BY RUDY GERSON Sun Staff Writer

As I ran through through the frosty parking lot and ducked into the understated entrance of The Haunt last Friday, a wide smile beamed from my face, and The Haunt's new logo a halloween-cauldron with a toothy-grin line of text set in the center appeared to be staring back at me To me, this was a shrug-worthy replacement of their older logo, a grungier graphic of a guitar playing skeleton set next to the profile of a majestic wild boar After my third (failed) attempt asking the man checking I D ’ s if they had any old shirts stashed away in the back, I decided I better just shut up and continue inside I was cold anyway and in need of the warmth that only soulful music, good vibes and dancing can provide

But a nagging skepticism filled the air While I had agreed to cover the musical pair Joe Driscoll and Sekou Kouyate, a more than troubling series of events with border agents, visa troubles and 13 kilos of Poached African Ivory (not true) had left the second member of the duo extraordinaire Sekou Kouyate stuck in Guinea with his kora and Joe Driscoll on stage to pick up the pieces

Never fear, though, because local producer/promoter/organizer Dan Smalls knows how to bill a show Thousands of One set the room aflame with an opening set of holy proportions: one-part sermon, one-part musical purge The lead man Jahkeem Haltom called upon higher powers as he led his band flowing freely across instruments and musical form If there were any cool drafts sneaking through cracked doors or leaky windows, the five musicians on stage cleansed the room of all chill with their glorious Afro Funk jams By night, Jhakeem provides the source flame for his local reggae-rock band grounded in a strong ethic and a deep bond to our Mother Earth; by day, he doubles as the the dean and meditation instructor of Ithaca’s New Roots Charter School Yet, seeing his students in the crowd didn’t slow him down as he took his inner light and shined it all over, belting harmonies, banging on a conga drum and kissing the air with his tender flute He even invited quick-witted, local poet-performer Remanu “Remstar” Philips up to join him on vocals for a short number The crowd in full Ithaca fashion offered ample vocal support to Remstar and the rest of Jhakeem’s spiritual army until the end of their humbling opening set As Jhakeem left the stage, the intimate-sized crowd roared in gratitude The lead man noted, “The bases are loaded, Joey D All you gotta do is hit it outta the park ”

Hit it out he did, because Joe Driscoll’s first song, “Ridum,” blew my gosh-damn winter hat right off my head

The song started off in an unassuming enough manner Driscoll dropped a beat out of his mouth box that woulda left Cornell’s a capella percussion sections floored He then performed sorcery and channeled the almighty Flying Spaghetti Monster on stage Like a foot-octopus, he looped his original beat, then laid down a filthy harmonica track on top (Who knew harmonica could

be filthy?) His rhythm guitar, tamborine shakes and ska-style vocals were the icing on the cake, as he threw the definition of a solo-show for a loop The musical version of an airplane pilot, Driscoll got loopy all night and moved between his set of six pedals with precision and bravura to craft songs of complexity and genre-blending creativity

The crowd was ready to eat right out of his hands

After his opening jams, vibrations soared and Driscoll promptly jumped into a cover of “Turn on Your Lovelight” by the Grateful Dead that had me just smitten His cover game was on point throughout the night Later, he offered an uptempo rendition of Charles Wright’s “Express Yourself ” that proved to be a sing-a-long crowd favorite, likely right in front of his gentle interpretation of MJ’s “Man in the Mirror ” At this point, the crowd was maximizing dance floor usage Since Kouyate could not attend, we made it our mission to dance extra hard, not in spite of his absence but in honor of it I had expected more of a turn-out of course, but alas, I had never seen The Haunt this empty As it turns out, bigger is not always better

Then, the sexiest man in the room arrived on stage a man with long blonde ringlets pushing his early 60s and wearing dark circular glasses His age didn’t fool anyone, though, because James Moor crooned the crowd with saxaphonic, sexytonic, sultry sashays that only a Miles Davis style prodigy could parallel The third of the trio, DJ Afar, was spinning his old school turntables back and forth all night long

After a solid performance, Driscoll & co ended the evening with a mashup of RHCP’s “Soul to Squeeze” and Bob Marley’s “No Woman, No Cry,” an appropriate close to the day that would have been Marley’s 70th birthday Driscoll put on a solid show Friday night, but if I were you I’d be on the lookout for Driscoll’s return to Ithaca once his partner Sekou Kouyate’s back stateside Insider information: save the date for Feb 19 or March 9 See you there!

Rudy Gerson is a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences He can be reached at rgerson@cornellsun com

Any Hero, Any Network

This week, The Atlantic published the stor y of Wajahat Ali on its website. It is the stor y of a MuslimAmerican author, attorney and journalist who attempted, alongside Dave Eggers, to write a show for HBO about a group of Muslim-American cops in San Francisco The show never went to air Ali and Eggers decided to take a step back from HBO after around three drafts of the pilot to work on their project at their own pace and in their own way Even though we will never watch the stor y of MJ, the lead character of their show, on HBO anytime soon, the stor y is a reminder of a couple of impor tant things: Television is a surprisingly great way to incite awareness and change, that ever yone deser ves to be seen as a hero and there is still a lot of work to be done

t

The show, also

t l e d M J , i s a c

m b i n a t i

n

f crime and family drama that would f o c u s o n t h e Mu s l i m a n d Yemeni community in San Francisco and help to shed light on the Muslim-American world This idea, creating a Muslim-American family drama, has never been done before for good reason: A lot of Americans not ever yone obviously and pardon this rampant generalization don’t know how to feel about Muslims The ne ws is confusing, the politics are confusing and the histor y is

confusing With fe w exceptions, including T

America about a Pakistani foreign exchange student in Wisconsin, Middle Eastern peop l e , A r a b p

more, don’t have much of a place in American television outside of crime and terrorist narratives

In the ar ticle, Ali claimed that he and Eggers wrote MJ “during the zeitgeist of The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones and our MJ was, and remains, a realistic, humanistic entity of that, and for better or worse, doesn’t fit within the confines of popular genre TV ” With that in mind, Ali and Eggers took the rights to the show and left HBO The ar ticle doesn’t say exactly when this zeitgeist he talks about occurred, but it had to be some time in the past fe w years While the show was likely to pose a

tions, not fitting in with

p

genre isn’t a reason not to t

k e a

i s k , especially not with HBO as your backer

In these past couple of years, we have seen a tr uly impressive group of shows pop up out of HBO, Netflix, Amazon Prime and Showtime Now we have Looking, which follows gay men in San Francisco, Transparent, which follows a transgender parent, Jane the Virgin, which is one of the

shows to center on a Latin American family, Orange is the New Black, which looks at a women ’ s prison and we have Scandal and House of Lies, about b l a c k m e n a n d women at the forefront of their business fields Though less current, we have Glee which, when it first came out, helped star t a conversation about gay teens; we ’ ve had Monk, which helped talk about mental illness; Breaking Bad, Weeds and Shameless, which helped us talk about dr ugs and family among other things and Ellen, which helps us talk about just about ever ything

To be fair, the zeitgeist is favoring women and the LGBT community right now. Gay marriage is legalized in 36 states and we are in the midst of a feminist renaissance Ferguson has us talking about race, and so does immigration but not ever y race The zeitgeist is progressive and i m p re s

s t diverse yet, but there are still issues that haven’t been touched on

Ali went on to say that, “MJ enters a volatile world where some of the same simplistic questions asked after 9/11 are being asked again: Do Muslims hate the West? Where are the moderate Muslims? Are Islam and the West compatible? And so for th ” The questions are unfor tunately

still necessar y to talk about after some recent current events, botched ne ws stories surrounding Je Suis Charlie and Sharia laws in France and more But this is precisely why a show like that would’ve been great

It is remarkably impor tant for different cultural groups to be able to see themselves as heroes and as impor tant That can become difficult when only a fe w groups are well-represented or represented at all in our culture Gina Rodriguez touched on t h i

speech Though maybe the time isn’t now, hopefully, at some point, we can look at the television screen and see Muslims, or people from Yemen or Pakistan or what have you, being heroes too

Arielle Cr uz is a senior in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences She can be reached at acr uz@cornellsun com De a t h Be f o re De c a f r uns alternate Mondays this semester

Sun Sudoku

26 A PARTMENT FOR R ENT

McCarron Sees Goal Slip Away

e d 1 - 1 s c o re , a n d i t a p p e a re d t h e s q u a d w a s b e g i n n i n g t o p u l l a w a y Bu t t h e Ti g e r s c l a m p e d d ow n o n c e a g a i n a n d t i e d t h e g a m e w i t h a l a t e s e c o n d p e r i o d g o a l How e v e r, t h e Ti g e r s r a n o u t o f s t e a m i n t h e t h i rd p e r i o d a n d a l l ow e d t w o g o a l s , o n e o f w h i c h w a s a n e m p t y - n e t t e r Fo u r p l a y e r s s c o re d g o a l s f o r t h e Re d a n d f o r w a rd s s o p h o m o re E r i c Fre s c h i a n d s e n i o r C o l e Ba rd re a u c o n t i n u e d t h e i r s t r o n g s e a s o n s b y n o t c h i n g t w o a s s i s t s So p h o m o re d e f e n d e r H o l d e n A n d e r s o n , w h o s c o re d h i s f i r s t g o a l s i n c e l a s t s e a s o n , w a s h a p p y w i t h t h e w i n , b u t w a s a l s o c r i t i c a l o f h ow t h e t e a m p l a ye d “ T h e re w a s a l i t t l e b i t o f a l u l l o u t t h e re a n d we s h o u l d n ’ t h a ve k e p t l e t t i n g Pr i n c e t o n b a c k i n t o t h e g a m e , ” A n d e r s o n s a i d “ Bu t i t s a y s

n e

r b e n c h , q u i t e h o n e s t l y, t o s t e p u p a b i t m o re We n e e d m o re p ro d u c t i o n o u t o f t h e m , ” s a i d h e a d c o a c h Da y n a Sm i t h T h o u g h t h e s c o r i n g m i g h t n o t h a ve b e e n e ve n e d o u t , t h e C o r n e l l d e f e n s e w a s t o u g h a n d a g g re s s i ve , f o rc i n g 1 7 t u r n ove r s a n d s t e a l i n g 1 0 t i m e s It w a s n o t e n o u g h t o m i t i g a t e Pr i n c e t o n ’ s a l m o s t 6 0 p e rc e n t s h o o t i n g , s o m e t h i n g t h a t h a s b e e n t h e d e c i s i ve f a c t o r i n t h e m a j o r i t y o f Pr i n c e t o n ’ s c o

Spor ts

Red Splits Weekend, Captures Tigers

By SHANE LEWIS Sun Staff Writer

It w a s a n o t h e r u p a n d d ow n we e k -

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Split ice | Senior forward John McCarron came close to a goal in the Red’s game against Quinnipiac If the Red hadn’t been called for a penalty, he would have scored the game winner

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l a t e s e a s o n w i n A v i c t o r y w o u l d h a ve k e p t t h e Re d i n E C AC c o n t e n t i o n a n d w o u l d h a ve p rov i d e d t h e c o n f i d e n c e

t h a t c o m e s w i t h b e a t i n g a t o p - t i e r

t e a m C o r n e l l c a m e c l o s e t o e a r n i n g t h a t m u c h n e e d e d w i n , b u t u l t i m a t e l y

Eve r y t e a m i s g o i n g t o g i ve yo u i t s b e s t s h o t , ” S c h a f e r s a i d “ Brow n b e a t H a r v a rd [ o n Sa t u rd a y ] , a n d Br ow n o n l y h a s o n e o r t w o c o n f e re n c e w i n s T h e t e a m s ’ re c o rd s d o n ’ t m a t t e r, i t ’ s g o i n g t o b e a b a t t l e e ve r y n i g h t ” T h e R e d f a c e d Q u i n n i p i a c o n Fr i d a y n i g h t , h o p i n g t o n o t c h a h u g e

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g re a t d e f e n s i ve p e r f o r m a n c e w a s n o t e n o u g h t o ove rc o m e a l e t h a r g i c o f f e ns i ve o u t p u t C o r n e l l w a s l i m i t e d t o j u s t 2 0 s h o t s a n d w a s u n a b l e t o c a p i t a l i ze o n i t s t h re e p owe r p l a y s St i l l , e ve n w i t h t h i s l a c k o f o f f e n s i ve p ro d u c t i o n , t h e Re d

s t i l l l o o k e d l i k e i t w o u l d a t l e a s t p u l l

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Men,Women Take Home Second Place

By JACQUELYNN JONES Sun Staff Writer

This Weekend, the Cornell men ’ s and women ’ s track and field teams traveled to University Park, Pa for the Sykes-Sabock Challenge This meet followed strong performances by both teams at last week’s Robert J Kane Invitational, which took place in Cornell’s own Barton Hall

The men ’ s squad had a strong performance, placing second overall out of 11 teams total Penn State took first, with a score of 144 75 Cornell would come in behind them with a score of 115 The Red was followed by the University of Connecticut, Princeton and Buffalo respectively The University of Pennsylvania, South Florida, Binghamton, Appalachian State, Liberty, William and Mary and UMBC also competed against the Red

On the field, Cornell senior Stephen Mozia had a strong performance in the men ’ s shot put, coming in third with 17 5 meters In addition, sophomore Grant Sisserson took second with a final jump of 5 21 meters in the men ’ s pole vault Senior Keith Rayburn performed well in the same event, coming in fourth with 5 11 meters Freshman Myles Lazarou had a standout performance in the men ’ s high jump, with a final jump of 2 06 meters On the track, Cornell also came out to win, taking second in the men ’ s 4x400 relay In the 400 meter dash, freshman Michael Smith would bring the Red a sec-

ond place finish

The cornell women ’ s team also had a strong finish in this weekend’s meet The Red would take second place out of 12 teams Penn State notched a first place win, with a score of 170 2 The Red was followed by Princeton, Liberty and Buffalo to round out the Top-Five On the field, freshman Kate Gulbrandsen tied for fourth in the women ’ s high jump On the track, Cornell’s junior Kristen Niedrach, senior Emily Woodford, sophomore Libby Nolan and junior Claire DeVoe would take first in the women ’ s distance medley In the relays, the Red

would take a close second in the 4x400 relay In the 5000 meter run, junior Caroline Kellner placed third with a time of 16:37 73, while junior Kristen Niedrach placed third in the 800 meter run with a time of 2:13 19

Fans of the Red track and field teams can look forward to next weekend’s meet, when the teams will travels to Cleveland, Ohio for the NCAA Spire Invitational, followed by the Sunday Invitational on Feb 15 in Barton Hall

Jones

By OLIVIA MATTYOSOVSZKY Sun Staff Writer

a n d o n l y t u r n i n g t h e b a l l ove r f i ve t i m e s T h e Re d s h o t 4 1 2 p e rc e n t i n t h e f i r s t h a l f a n d o n l y 3 3 3 p e rc e n t i n t h e s e c o n d h a l f, t h o u g h i t k e p t Pe n n t o 3 6 p e rc e n t i n b o t h h a l ve s So p h o m o re g u a rd Ke r r i Mo r a n c o nve r t e d o n a n i m p re s s i ve s i x o u t o f e i g h t

f re e - t h row s De s p i t e g e t t i n g f o u l e d by

t h e Pe n n d e f e n s e , s h e t o t a l e d 1 5 p o i n t s , a s w e l l a s e i g h t r e b o u n d s a n d t h r e e a s s i s t s Eve n t h o u g h Pe n n w a s p l a y i n g a t o u g h zo n e d e f e n s e , C o r n e l l f o r w a rd ,

s o p h o m o re Ni c h o l l e A s t o n , g o t h e r t h i rd

d o u b l e - d o u b l e i n f o u r g a m e s , s c o r i n g 1 7 p o i n t s a n d s n a g g i n g 1 1 re b o u n d s , t h e m o s t o n t h e t e a m So p h o m o re g u a rd Me g a n L e Du c a l s o g r a b b e d n i n e p o i n t s , a n d s o p h o m o re f o r w a rd Ni a Ma r s h a l l a d d e d 1 3 o f h e r ow n T h o u g h C o r n e l l c o n t ro l l e d t h e t e m p o f o r m o s t o f t h e g a m e , t h e Qu a k e r s we n t o n a 1 7 - 3 r u n i n t h e s e c o n d h a l f, w i t h o n l y n i n e m i n u t e s t o g o Pe n n g u a rd K a t h l e e n Ro c h e w a s t h r ow i n g u p 3p o i n t e r s a n d c o n ve r t e d o n t h re e o u t o f f o u r s h o t s T h e Qu a k e r s c o u l d n o t h a nd l e t h e R e d ’ s a g g r e s s i v e d e f e n s e a n d C o r n e l l e n d e d t h e Pe n n s c o r i n g s t re a k o n a l a y u p f r o m s e n i o r g u a rd C h r i s t i n e K l i n e “ Ou r c o a c h e s re a l l y c h a l l e n g e d o u r m e n t a l t o u g h n e s s a n d [ c h a l l e n g e d u s t o ] e xe c u t e t h e l i t t l e t h i n g s , ” A s t o n s a i d T h e Re d f i n i s h e d s t ro n g a n d e n d e d t h e g a m e w i t h a c o m f o r t a b l e 1 1 p o i n t l e a d , p u t t i n g t h e f i n a l s c o re a t 6 0 - 4 9 Sa t u rd a y, t h e Re d m e t t h e No 1 8 Pr i n c e t o n Ti g e r s T h e Ti g e r