02 10 14 entire issue lo res

A violinist at the Department of Music’s Ensemble X plays a piece at the Carriage House Café Hayloft

Univ. Targeted by Congressman For Fed . Financial Aid Violations

C.U. among 111 schools under scrutiny for nancial aid requirements

By SOFIA HU Sun Staff Wr ter

Cornell may be violating a federal law regarding financial aid qualification by requiring students to submit financial aid forms other than the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, according to a letter written by Congressman Elijah E Cummings (D-Md ) released on Feb 3

In his letter addressed to the Secretar y of Education Arne Duncan, Cummings listed 111 universities that seemed to be in violation of an amendment to the Higher Education Act The act states that universities should only use the FAFSA when determining student eligibility for

Reform discovered during an investigation that many universities ask, or require students, to submit the College Board’s CSS/Financial Aid Profile forms, which charges students fees, in addition to the FAFSA

Cummings identified Cornell, as well as Ithaca College and seven of the eight Ivy League schools except Princeton, on the list of 111 potential violators of this law

Fifty-eight out of the 111 colleges explicitly

Fire Breaks Out at North Balch Hall Friday Mor ning

A fire broke out in a dorm room on the third floor of North Balch Hall at approximately 1 a m Friday morning, according to the Ithaca Fire Department

A passerby witnessing the flames from a third floor window of Nor th Balch Hall called 911 at the same time as the fire alarm alerted students of the fire, according to an IFD press release

One female student was evaluated by Bangs Ambulance for smoke inhalation, but she was not transported to the hospital, the press release said

Upon arriving to the scene, responders worked to

evacuate the residents of Balch Hall and extinguish the fire, which was contained to one dorm room The dorm room suffered moderate damage and was “ not inhabitable ” Arrangements were made for the occupants of the room to stay in another dormitory, according to the press release

Despite below free zing temperatures, Tom Parsons, fire chief at the Ithaca Fire Department, said firefighters worked together to fully ventilate the building after smoke spread to several floors Grace Ha ’17, a resident of North Balch, said most students couldn’t see any smoke

or flames and thought the residence hall was holding a practice drill Students realized the incident was not a drill after they heard the sound of fire trucks

According to a press release, the cause of the fire is still unknown and under investigation by the Cornell University Police Department and the IFD’s Fire Investigation Unit

Four fire engines and a fire ladder were called to the scene in addition to Bangs Ambulance and responders from the CUPD, Parsons said

Compiled by Alexa Davis

Professors, Students Split O ver Revisions To Academic Calendar

By CHRIS YATES Sun Staff Writer

Cornell community members are split over recent revisions to C o r n e l l’s a c a d e m i

many of which

include the new

Bre

ing to a University press release

“It’s nice to have a break, but I’m not sure why the school added it ” S h e l b y P a r k ’ 1 6

on Feb 16 and 17, a delayed Spring Break, and a shortened study week

The calendar revisions, which were proposed by the University Calendar Committee and ratified last May by the Faculty Senate, split the semester into thirds and reduced the number of instructional days from 70 to 69, accord-

The changes were made after nearly two years of committee discussion, and were designed to reduce student stress in the spring semester, Provost Kent Fuchs said i n a Un i v e r s i t y statement “ The committ e e ’ s o b j e c t i v e s were to re-examine the existing calendar with an eye to proposing c h a n g e s t h a t would: Address concerns about student stress and mental health related to prolonged periods of i n s

opportunities and comply with Ne

Alumna Documents Dangers of Keeping Whales in Captivity

By SUSHMITHA KRISHNAMOORTHY Sun Contr butor

T h e 2 0 1 3 d o c u

m e n t a r y Bl

c k f i s h , which seeks to expose the dangers of keeping killer whales in captivit y, w a s s c re e n e d

C o r n e l l C

n Feb 6 and followed by a Skype Q&A session with cast member and

former SeaWorld trainer Samantha Berg ’89

The film tells the story of Tilikum, a captive killer whale who was “involved in the deaths” of three people, and it was well-received in film festivals, being shortlisted for the Best Documentar y Feature Oscar and nominated f o r Ba f t a ’ s Be s t Do c u m e n

According to students w h o a t t e n d e d t h e screening, the film was very persuasive “I had seen some i n t e r v i e w s w i t h t h e director so I wanted to see the movie and suppor t it,” said Jaimee Alsing ’14, “I definitely won ’ t go to SeaWorld now ”

See BLACKFISH page 4

Entreprene urs: ‘St ar tup Bubble’ Doe s Not E xi st

By JONATHAN KWEE Sun Staff Writer

v

With the increasingly high market

finance gur us believe there is a star tup bubble waiting to pop Cornell entrepreneurs and professors disagree, saying that the bubble does not exist

A tr ue market bubble is characterized by a rapid rise in equity markets due to investment in a growing trend that is not completely backed by actual value product A notable example is the

Internet-based companies

However, Prof Pedro Pere z, applied economics and management, said that the supposed star tup bubble carries an impor tant distinction namely, an increased wariness of investors

“ The engine of growth in the late 90s was the Internet itself, the engine of growth right now is more the apps space, the mobile space and some of the social networking space, ” he said “ The appetite for risk of the investors is not clear The appetite for risk in the late 1990s was immense ”

Ali Hamed ’14, co-founder of the PopShop, a space for entrepreneurs to exchange ideas and work on star tups, echoed Pere z ’ s sentiments

“ The dot-com bubble was ver y real People were putting money into things that weren ’ t real businesses,” he said Hamed said he feels that it is incorrect to compare the current economic situation surrounding star tups with the dot-com bubble

“It takes a lot more to raise money now you actually have to have a real

b u s i n e s s , ” h e s a i d

“Before, they would fund an idea Now you need to have a product, you need to have proof that people like your product

a n d a r e w i l l i n g t o pay for it [before you can get funding] ” Pr o f Z a c h S h u -

l m a

Despite these macroeconomic influences, some entrepreneurs believe that the companies that do succeed create significant value, Hamed said “People thought that Twitter was a stupid little app that let people know what you were eating Oh, by the way it also led to a revolution in the Middle East If you don't think there's a lot of value being created you [have to] open your eyes a little bit,” Hamed said Hamed said that the value created is not merely economic, but also social

“The engine of growth in the late 90s was the Internet itself, the engine of growth right now is more the apps [and mobile] space ”

said that the recent wave of star tups has resulted in ne w hurdles for those who wish to obtain venture capital funding

“ You have to prove your value, you have to prove the value of your product, you have to prove that there’s a market

t h a t w a n t s y o u r p r o d u c t , ” h e s a i d

“ These are all difficult things ” Pere z said he believes that ultimately, market forces will decide the future of venture capital funding for star tups with a choice between investing heavily in the star tup equity market or waiting for stronger technological fundamentals

was really expensive to have your voice

have their voice in the ne wspapers, ” he

“ No

minority can have their voice heard on a platform as long as they have Twitter

equalizer

However, there is still concern over

tups, Shulman said

“Some of the companies are raising money and have ver y high valuations [some] feel that the valuations have no real connections with financial metrics,” he said

Students Express Concern O ver Corporate Gender Gap

By MANU RATHORE Sun Senior Editor

So m e u n d e r g r a d u a t e s t udents have recently responded t o re p o r t s t h a t w o m e n a re underrepresented in leadership

r o l e s i n b u s i n e s s , b y s a y i n g workplace environments are not conducive to gender equality

Though the participation of women in the labor force has been steady for over a decade, membership to the traditionally male-dominated power roles is rare, according to a report by the United Nations, titled The World’s Women 2010

Gizem Sakalli ’15 echoed the sentiments

“ I d o n ’ t t h i n k w o m e n a re u n d e r re presented in the c o r p o r a t e w o r l d b u t t h e y ’ re d e f in i t e l y u n d e rrepresented in leadership roles,” she said “Some people argue t h a t t h e y ’ re u n d e r re p re s e n t e d due to the pipeline issue that says that there aren ’ t enough qualified women who want to g o i n t o S T E M f i e l d s a n d finance, as they don’t want to do that ”

Ap a r n a Pa n d e ’ 1 4 s a i d though many workplaces have a q u o t a f o r t h e i r n u m b e r o f female employees, she does not believe these policies create an equal workplace environment

“Historically and statistically, it has been a significant challenge for women to be considered just as competent as men a n d t o h a v e t h e i r o p i n i o n s h e a rd , ” s h e s a i d “ H a v i n g a quota representation does ver y little to change that ” Though many women are qualified for these leadership positions, prejudice in the corp o r a t e w o r l d p re v e n t s t h e m from progressing through the ranks, according to Sakalli “A blind resume test proves that there are some women who are just as qualified on paper but they can ’ t move on due to the glass ceiling, as they are prejud i c

world,” she said “I have heard women alumni narrate stor i e s o f s i t u a t i o n s where their opinion didn’t matter, which shows prejudice against women ”

Christine Yu ’14 said she

b e l i e v e s t h a t g e n d e r p a r i t y depends on the company policies and team setting Though there are lots of positive and fair work environments, corporate w o r l d c o u l d u s e a l o t o f progress, she added “Progress in the corporate w o r l d i s c o n t i n g e n t u p o n progress in mainstream society when it comes to gender norms and fair treatment, ” she said “ The present growth of inclu-

sion initiatives and awareness of the many reasons to foster a gender inclusive environment is a good sign ”

Pande agreed, adding that younger companies are “ more c o n d u c i v e e n v i r o n m e n t s ” a s m o re e d u c a t e d w o m e n a re entering the corporate world to assume roles traditionally held by men

“Even so, in most cases, sim-

p l y e x p e c t i n g h a rd - w o r k i n g women to have the same opportunities as men to rise in the corporate world is unrealistic,” she said “ Women have to prove themselves competent beyond a doubt, and build strong personalities ” Though gender parity in the corporate world might seem a long shot for the current generation, Sakalli said that she is

optimistic about the future of women in the workforce, especially in the developed world

“[The gender gap] might not change in our generation, but the future looks optimistic,” she said “[However], in the global scene this issue might not be resolved just as quickly ”

D u r i n g t h e Q & A s e s s i o n ,

Be r g s a i d s h e b e c a m e d i s i l l u -

s i o n e d w i t h h e r e x p e r i e n c e a f t e r f e l l ow t r a i n e r Da w n Br a n c h e a u w a s k i l l e d by Ti l i k u m o n Fe b

2 0 1 0 Br a n c h e a u h a d w o rk e d w i t h Ti l i k u m f o r 1 6 y e a r s , a c c o rd i n g t o t h e f i l m “ I re a l i ze d t h a t i f i t h a d b e e n h e r, i t c o u l d h a ve b e e n a n y b o d y If I h a d s t i l l b e e n w o rk i n g t h e re , i t c o u l d h a ve b e e n m e , ” s a i d

i m

t S

Wo

Be r g , w h o l e f t t h e p a rk i n 1 9 9 3 “A s a n a n i m a l s c i e n c e m a j o r, I w o rk e d w i t h h o r s e s , c ow s a n d d o m e s t i c a n i m a l s a n d I d i d n o t t h i n k t h a t c a p t i v i t y a s a p a r ad i g m w a s a p ro b l e m ” I

, Be r g w a s s u r p r i s e d by t h e p o o r q u a l i t y o f ve t e r i n a r y a t t e n t i o n t h a t t h e k i l l e r w h a l e s re c e i ve d Ac c o rd i n g t o Be r g , k i l l e r w h a l e s w e

“Do not buy tickets to SeaWorld. Write them a letter telling them why Tweet about it, talk about it.”

S a m a n t h a B e r g ’ 8 9

f D a w n Br a n c h e a u l y i n g i n a s l i d e o u t n e x t t o Ti l i k u m j u s t b e f o re h e p u l l s h e r i n , ” s h e s a i d “ W h e n

Se a Wo r l d b l a m e d Br a n c h e a u f o r h e r ow n d e a t h w a s w h e n I s t a r te d a s k i n g q u e s t i o n s a n d d o i n g a l o t o f re s e a rc h ” In e a r l y 2 0 1 0 , Be r g j o i n e d e x - Se a Wo r l d t r a i n e r s , j o u rn a l i s t s a n d a c t i v i s t s i n Vo i c e o f t h e O r c a s , a n a c t i v i s t g ro u p s e e k i n g t o e n d c a p t i v it y o f k i l l e r w h a l e s “ I l e a r n e d m o r e a b o u t k i l l e r w h a l e s i n t h a t s h o r t p e r i o d t h a n w h e n I w a s w o r k i n g a t S e a Wo r l d , ” B e r g s a i d “ It w a s e m b a r r a s s i n g ” Ex p l o r i n g p o s s i b l e s o l u t i o n s t o t h

S

ay Academic C alend ar

C.U. Identi ed A mong 111 Schools for Legal Violation Cornell Student s, Profe ss ors

s t a t e o n t h e i r we b s i t e s t h a t s t u d e n t s m u s t f i l l o u t t h e C S S p ro f i l e t o q u a l i f y f o r a n y f i n a n c i a l a i d , i n c l u d i n g f e d e r a l s t u d e n t a i d

A n o t h e r 5 3 u n i ve r s i t i e s d i re c t e d s t ud e n t s t o s u b m i t b o t h FA F S A a n d t h e

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

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

Ac c o rd i n g t o a Na t i o n a l A s s o c i a t i o n

o f St u d e n t Fi n a n c i a l A i d Ad m i n i s t r a t o r s p re s s re l e a s e , N A S FA A Pre s i d e n t Ju s t i n

D r a e g e r s a i d h e

“d o u b t e d t h e c o ll e g e s w e r e w i t hh o l d i n g f e d e r a l a i d f ro m s t u d e n t s w h o h a d f a i l e d t o c o mp l e t e t h e [ C S S

Pr o f i l e ] , b u t a c k n ow l e d g e d t h a t s o m e o f t h e i r we bs i t e s c o u l d b e c l e a re r ” On i t s we b s i t e , C o r n e l l’s Of f i c e o f

“The only reason why I got through all of [the CSS Profile] was because my older sister went through it before.”

Fi n a n c i a l A i d a n d St u d e n t Em p l oy m e n t l i s t e d b o t h t h e C S S Pro f i l e a n d FA F S A a s

“f i n a n c i a l a i d a p p l i c a t i o n re q u i re m e n t s ” f o r c u r re n t u n d e r g r a d u a t e s t u d e n t s i n t e re s t e d i n a p p l y i n g o r r e n e w i n g t h e i r

C o r n e l l f i n a n c i a l a i d

Un i v e r s i t y Sp o k e s p e r s o n Jo h n

C a r b e r r y s a i d t h a t w h i l e s t u d e n t s a re n o t re q u i re d t o u s e t h e C S S Pro f i l e w h e n a p p l y i n g f o r [ g e n e r a l ] f e d e r a l f i n a n c i a l a i d , t h e f o r m s e r ve s a s a h e l p f u l t o o l “ W h i l e t h e C S S / Fi n a n c i a l A i d Pro f i l e i s n o t re q u i re d t o s e c u re [ n o n - f e d e r a l ] a i d , i t ’ s e s p e c i a l l y u s e f u l i n h e l p i n g o u r

Fi n a n c i a l A i d o f f i c e b u i l d p a c k a g e s t h a t m e e t t h e f u l l f i n a n c i a l n e e d s o f o u r f a m -

i l i e s , e s p e c i a l l y l owe r i n c o m e f a m i l i e s , ”

C a r b e r r y s a i d i n a n e m a i l “ T h e [ p ro f i l e ] a l l ow s C o r n e l l t o e q u i t a b l y p rov

c i a l a i d a p p l i c a t i o n p ro c e s s t o b e d i f f ic u l t , C a r b e r r y s a i d C o r n e l l i s d e d i c a t e d t o m a k i n g t h e u n i ve r s i t y a f f o rd a b l e f o r a d m i t t e d s t u d e n t s G i v e n t h a t s o m a n y u n i v e r s i t i e s i n c l u d i n g C o

C han ge s No t ‘L o g i c a l’

Sofia Hu can be reached at shu@cornellsun com CALENDAR

Department requirements,” Fuchs said Some faculty members, such as Prof Barbara Correll, English, applauded the University's decision to prioritize the mental health and well-being of students

“ I l i k e t h e b re a k s ” C o r re l l s a i d

“ They make an other wise long semester seem more endurable If they give the students more relaxation time, I’m all in favor of the changes ” Other faculty members agreed with the decision to add another break to the spring semester, but questioned its placement so early in the semester

“ Two breaks are a good way to reduce some of the stress on students The break in April was a great idea because students are often exhausted at that time,” said Prof Sherene Baugher, archaeology and landscape architecture

Ba u g h e r s a i d t h e break would be more effective if it occurred when students were on campus for a longer amount of time following Winter Break

sure why the school added it Spring semester goes by so fast compared to fall semester I’d prefer if Cornell gave snow days [when the weather is dangerous],” said Shelby Park ’16

Other students do not suppor t the calendar changes, par ticularly the placement of Spring Break in late March because it does not overlap with the spring breaks of many other universities “I feel that the University made several mistakes with the revisions to the academic calendar, particularly choosing to schedule a break four weeks into the semester, and pushing spring break back by several weeks so that it doesn’t coincide with breaks at most other schools,” said Anita Mbogoni ’15

Some recent graduates echoed the sentiments of current Cornell students, e x p re s s i n g m i xe d feelings about the n e w s c h e d u l e changes

“The February Break doesn’t break up the semester in a logical way because it

is too early in the semester.”

“ T h e Fe b r u a r y Break doesn’t break up the semester in a logical way because it is too early in the semester Having the break at the end of Februar y would have been better,” she said

Some students appreciated the new Wi n t e r Bre a k , b u t f e l t t h a t t h e

University should have allocated a set number of snow days instead

“It’s nice to have a break, but I’m not

“ I t h i n k t h e

Februar y break is a really nice addition and gives students something to look for ward to after a stretch that would other wise be a ver y long time with no breaks,” said Barbara Taylor Sands ’11 “I think there may be pros and cons to both sides, but I would be willing to guess that most students would prefer to have it overlap with other schools’ Spring Breaks ”

Chris Yates can be reached at cyates@cornellsun com

Methodists in Crisis O ver Gay Marriage, Church Law

N EW YO R K ( A P ) T h e d i s p u t e a m o n g Un i t e d

Me t h o d i s t s ove r re c o g n i t i o n o f s a m e - s e x c o u p l e s h a s l a p s e d i n t o a d o c t r i n a l d o n n y b ro o k , p i t t i n g

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

we d d i n g s i n d e f i a n c e o f c h u rc h l a w a g a i n s t p ro p o n e n t s o f t r a d it i o n a l m a r r i a g e w h o a re t r y i n g t o s t o p t h e m

Si n c e 2 0 1 1 , Me t h o d i s t a d voc a t e s f o r g a y m a r r i a g e h a ve b e e n re c r u i t i n g c l e r g y t o o p e n l y o f f ic i a t e a t s a m e - s e x c e re m o n i e s i n p r o t e s t o f c h u r c h p o l i c y I n re s p o n s e , t h e o l o g i c a l c o n s e r vat i ve s h a ve s o u g h t f o r m a l c o mp l a i n t s a g a i n s t t h e d e f i a n t c l e r g y, w h i c h c o u l d l e a d t o c h u rc h t r ia l s On e s c h o l a r h a s w a r n e d t h a t Me t h o d i s t s a re “ re t re a t i n g i n t o o u r va r i o u s c a m p s ” i n s t e a d o f s e e k i n g a r e s o l u t i o n o v e r a n i s s u e t h e c h u rc h h a s f o r m a l l y d e b a t e d s i n c e t h e 1 9 7 0 s “At t h i s p o i n t , we h a ve k i n d o f c o m e t o t h e p l a c e w h e re we k n ow w h a t t h e b r u t e f a c t s a re , ” s a i d Ma t t Be r r y m a n , e xe c u t i ve d i r e c t o r o f R e c o n c i l i n g M i n i s t r i e s Ne t w o r k , w h i c h a d vo c a t e s f o r g a y a n d l e s b i a n Me t h o d i s t s “ Mo s t f o l k s , a f t e r 4 0 y e a r s o f t r y i n g l e g i s l a t i v e s o l u t i o n s , r e a l i z e t h e y w o n ' t w o rk T h e w a y f o r w a rd i s t o c l a i m w h a t we k n ow t o b e t r u e A n d w e ’ re g o i n g t o c o n t i n u e d o i n g i t i n a n a g g re s s i ve w a y ” T h e i n t e n s i t y o f t h e c o n f l i c t w a s l a i d b a re ove r t h e l a s t s e ve ra l m o n t h s , w h e n t h e c h u r c h t r i e d , c o n v i c t e d a n d d e f ro c k e d Fr a n k S c h a e f e r, a Pe n n s y l va n i a p a s t o r w h o p re s i d e d a t t h e we dd i n g o f h i s s o n t o a n o t h e r m a n Be r r y m a n s a i d t h e c a s e g a l van i ze d Me t h o d i s t s a d vo c a t i n g f o r r e c o g n i t i o n o f g a y m a r r i a g e , i n c r e a s i n g d o n a t i o n s t o t h e g ro u p a n d t r a f f i c o n Re c o n c i l i n g Mi n i s t r i e s ’ o n l i n e s i t e s S c h a e f e r h a s s i n c e b e e n t r a v e l i n g t h e c o u n t r y g i v i n g t a l k s a n d s e rm o n s o n g a y a c c e p t a n c e

HANK BAO ’14

Business Manager

LIZ CAMUTI ’14

Associate Editor

ANDY LEVINE ’14

Web Editor

RACHEL ELLICOTT ’15

Blogs Editor

DAVID MARTEN 14

Tech Editor

SHAILEE SHAH 14

Photography Editor

EMMA COURT 15

City Editor

CAROLINE FLAX 15

News Editor

SAM BROMER 16

Arts & Entertainment Editor

SARAH COHEN 15 Science Editor

BRYAN CHAN 15

Associate Multimedia Editor

SCOTT CHIUSANO ’15

Assistant Sports Editor

Independent Since 1880

131ST EDITORIAL BOARD

REBECCA HARRIS ’14 Editor in Chief

AKANE OTANI ’14 Managing Editor

AUSTIN KANG ’15

Advertising Manager

HALEY VELASCO ’15 Sports Editor

ALEX REHBERG ’16

Multimedia Editor

REBECCA COOMBES ’14 Design Editor

ZACHARY ZAHOS 15

Associate Managing Editor

LIANNE BORNFELD 15 News Editor

JINJOO LEE ’14 News Editor

ARIELLE CRUZ 15 Arts & Entertainment Editor

SYDNEY RAMSDEN 14 Dining Editor

EMILY BERMAN 16 Assistant Sports Editor

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WORKING ON TODAY ’ S SUN

EDITORS IN TRAINING

Tiffany 15

Annie Bui ’16 Alexa Davis ’16 SPORTS Scott Chiusano ’15 Hamdan Al Yousefi 16 DESIGN DESKER Hannah Kim 14 Jayant Mukhopadhaya 15 PROOFER Haley Velasco 15

Letter

In opposition to the boycott

To the Editor:

Re: “A Call to Boycott,” Opinion, Feb 6

It’s an unfortunate phenomenon that a growing number of those who support Palestinian independence are currently leading a hateful anti-Israel boycott, which only makes independence and peace harder to achieve The boycott also violates basic rights of academic freedom, as President Skorton has repeatedly stated Emad Masroor offered a defense of this movement in his column last week, portraying it as a correct and effective form of gaining Palestinian rights In fact, the movement is based on false characterizations of Israel’s history and current policies, and these attacks encourage hate at the expense of peace and independence

For example, Masroor claims that Israel was, “founded on the ethnic cleansing and mass expulsion of its indigenous people ” In fact, Israel was founded following the General Assembly’s adoption of U N Resolution 181(II), which called for partitioning the land into a Jewish and Palestinian state Jewish leaders accepted the resolution, while the Palestinian leaders rejected it Instead, they, and neighboring Arab states attacked Israel, hoping to destroy the Jewish state Many Palestinians chose to leave and avoid the conflict, and others were forced to leave by Arab armies Many simply remained in their homes; those individuals and their offspring now make up Israel’s population of two million Palestinian Israelis, who are full citizens of Israel with equal access to all rights including service in the Israel Defense Forces There were isolated cases in which Jewish forces coerced Palestinians to flee, but there was no mass expulsion

Masroor characterizes the current situation as apartheid, which is defined as a policy of systemic racial discrimination and denial of rights In fact, Palestinian humanitarian rights are guaranteed through combined efforts of Israel and the Palestinian authority Israel reduced the number of West Bank checkpoints from 40 to 13 between 2008 and 2013, such that Palestinians now move with greater ease to anywhere in the West Bank The separation barrier was unfortunately necessary to stop the onslaught of Palestinian suicide bombings of the second intifada, but it doesn’t restrict normal movement If Palestinians wish to travel into Israel, they can easily apply for a permit, and the vast majority are quickly approved This system now allows 83,000 Palestinians to hold regular jobs in Israel proper, and another 20,000 work in settlements Palestinians receive medical care in their cities, and if this is inadequate, they are transferred into Israel for further care All Palestinians are entitled to a lawyer and free trial in IDF courts The IDF allows all regular commodities and goods to be transferred into Gaza Lastly, the Palestinian Authority denies Palestinians the right to vote for their own leaders, (Abbas is four years past his elected term), not Israel In short, while the Palestinians certainly deserve full sovereignty and political independence, their current situation is far from being an “ open air prison” or apartheid

There is currently an ongoing peace-process with the goal of reaching a two-state solution Masroor claims that Israel sabotages this solution, when in fact it has made multiple concrete proposals for the creation of a Palestinian state On the other hand, when the Palestinian leadership refuses to recognize Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state and unabashedly encourages a campaign of anti-Israel incitement in Palestinian schools and society, it’s difficult for Israel to envision future Palestine as being anything but a new platform for attacking Israel

Boycotting Israel is wrong, and only deepens this mistrust President Abbas himself has spoken out against BDS because he knows that it won ’ t bring rights or statehood Mutual recognition, educating toward peace and making courageous compromises will

Claire Blumenthal ’14

Ben Horowitz ’14

Rachel Medin ’14

David J. Skorton | From David

Inthese Cornell Daily Sun columns I usually write about undergraduate education But it is also ver y important, especially at Cornell, to focus on graduate and professional students, who make up a third of Cornell’s student population and are critical partners in faculty research, scholarship and creative activity; in the teaching and mentoring of undergraduate students; and in outreach to the broader community

Graduate and professional students at Cornell pursue degrees in more than 90 graduate fields and in professional schools in Ithaca, in New York City and elsewhere Most recently, Cornell NYC Tech has joined the graduate education options at Cornell

From that variety of programs comes a wide range of career paths The prospects for those pursuing advanced degrees have changed over the past decade due to the realities of the job market and the interests of students themselves

Throughout the University, in Ithaca, at Weill Cornell Medical College, Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Cornell NYC Tech and beyond, there is a new emphasis in graduate and professional education on collaborating with industry, promoting innovation and encouraging entrepreneurship These changes have accelerated with the opening of the Belfer Research Building on our New York City medical campus, where students will learn, among other things, about how basic research is translated to drug development through interactions with the newly established TriInstitutional Therapeutics Discovery Institute The theme of the integration between science and medicine is emphasized at the Weill Cornell Graduate School and also through the new Weill Cornell Medical College curriculum that will be rolled out during the next academic year

All these changes, and the varied interests and needs of our students, suggest that we need to renew our focus on graduate and professional student education and life

In 2007, the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly presented a vision statement to Cornell’s senior leadership and the Board of Trustees for a Graduate Community Initiative to address the needs of these students While many issues were addressed, the global financial crisis slowed our ability to act on several of the worthwhile ideas put forward, especially those with larger costs

I am grateful to the GPSA for renewing its efforts to bring the interests of graduate and professional students to the attention of the campus The Graduate and Professional Community Initiative (GPCI), which was unanimously approved by the GPSA last March, is providing a welcome and carefully conceived framework for strategic discussions between the GPSA and the university administration

An executive committee, co-chaired by Vice President for Student and Academic Services Susan Murphy and Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School Barbara Knuth, is providing guidance and coordination in moving the GPCI forward It has just formalized working groups to address the eight priority areas identified in the GPCI and to build on progress that has already been made across the university

Here is a brief update on where we are, our plans for the future and the leadership of the working groups:

1 Graduate and professional student center: A GPCI working group, co-chaired by Jan Allen, associate dean for academic and student affairs, and Sarah Wicker, associate dean for administration in the Graduate School, is working with the Big Red Barn Advisory Board to enhance the operation of the Big Red Barn for graduate and professional students In addition, the Big Red Barn will undergo renovation, including better climate controls, next summer

2 Career Resources: Anne Poduska, graduate and international student career advisor, and Kimberlee Swartz, associate director of engineering career and cooperative education services, co-chair the working group charged with making the offerings of Cornell Career Services

Update on The GP C I

more accessible and valuable to the graduate and professional student community As part of this effort, the Graduate School and Cornell Career Services have created a position that supports graduate students pursuing non-academic careers as well as international students, who make up 45 percent of Graduate School enrollment

3 Mental Health and Wellbeing: Greg Eells, associate director of Gannett Health Services and director of counseling and psychological services, is chairing a working group to provide appropriate resources targeted to graduate and professional students, including improved resources for coping with work-related stress and for physical fitness We continue to offer drop-in counseling sessions and counseling groups for graduate and professional students Beginning next summer the Office of Graduate Student Life will include on its website listings of fitness activities that are free and open to the University community

4 Diversity and International Students: Sheri Notaro, associate dean for inclusion and professional development at the Graduate School, and Adriana Rovers, associate director for programming services in the International Students and Scholars Office, co-chair a working group for international students, students of color, female students and LGBTQ students We’ve also created an English Language Support Office to provide conversation and writing support groups, acculturation activities and other services for international graduate and professional students A search for the inaugural director of the office is underway

5 Family Services: Janna Lamey, assistant dean for graduate student life at the Graduate School, chairs a working group seeking to better address the needs of students with spouses, partners and/or children As a first step the Office of Graduate Student Life has created a website for students with families that provides information on services and resources available

6 Housing: Barbara Romano, director of residential and event services, chairs this working group, which will focus on the supply of University housing for graduate and professional students and support for those students who live off campus New in 2014 will be the inclusion of off-campus housing as an option in the housing brochure distributed to every newly matriculated graduate student

7 Transportation: The GPCI offers recommendations on better parking options for graduate and professional students, improved public transit options and ways to disseminate information Helen Steh, manager of transportation services, and the new director of transportation services will co-chair this working group

8 Sense of Community: Amanda Shaw, executive director of student services at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, and Jan Allen co-chair a working group charged with helping to create a stronger sense of community New programs, such as a writing boot camp, already are assisting students in building academic skills while also meeting peers across diverse graduate fields Going forward, the working group will seek additional opportunities to promote meaningful interactions and interdisciplinary collaboration across the broad graduate and professional student community and improve integration and communication across departments and units

I am heartened by the efforts currently under way I look forward to the output of the working groups and intend to work with Dean Knuth, Vice President Murphy and Provost Kent Fuchs to realize as many of the aspirations put forward in the GPCI as resources allow I invite you to keep abreast of these initiatives and to share ideas with the GPSA, the executive committee of the GPCI and the various working groups that are moving the initiative forward

David J Skorton is president of Cornell University

He may be reached at david skorton@cornell edu From David appears bi-monthly this semester

S ome Pe ople, Any Study

“Ihad no idea that poor people lived like that,” the girl sitting in front of me said to her friend at the end of lecture “ This class is so eye-opening I wish there were more classes like this ”

I disagreed silently The professor simply delivered a broad introduction to the concept of income inequality The professor’s ultimate message was that poor people exist and that poverty is a terrible thing There was no in-depth analysis Yet, this girl sitting in front of me was awestruck by that revelation all the same

My stor y admittedly sounds too caricaturized to be true, even though it actually happened Was it really possible that there are people so sheltered that they see income distribution in the United States as a revelation? And yet, ever y day a similar attitude manifests itself around the campus in subtler ways One student, wearing Burberr y rain boots, accused my friend of being elitist A friend thinks poor people deser ve their position, “because they are just not working hard enough ” Another friend tells me, “ you are just my only friend that discusses what is wrong with the world ”

Something about all of these examples is universally frustrating, but translating that frustration into words is a struggle The problem isn’t that students come from a comfortable background, or even that are sheltered because of that background Nor am I dictating that ever ybody must talk about “what is wrong with the world,” which is silly (I talk about other things, too, like Beyoncé) The problem is cluelessness, and a lack of tact when discussing the lives of others

Such cluelessness also transcends political and ideological boundaries Indeed, what unifies these acts of cluelessness is an unwillingness to take those tools which we use to analyze other people poor or other wise on ourselves

They have taken the first step to become aware of the world beyond the bubble, but are not aware of that bubble’s place in the world

I don’t dislike people for being clueless; not only is it an unavoidable part of learning, but it naturally corrects itself as people absorb more experiences that are not their own Rather, the problem is when such cluelessness does not

Regardless of whether people are sheltered or express an unwillingness to change, the result is

change and becomes static Regardless of whether people are sheltered or express an unwillingness to change, the result is stasis And when college students in a class discussing poverty don’t know any poor people themselves, that academic experience doesn’t seem worth the tuition dollars we pay

Could this be Cornell’s fault? It’s likely Cornell doesn’t release many statistics of the economic makeup of its students, but no one denies that many Cornell students are well-off For the class of 2017, only 54 percent applied for financial aid, in spite of rising tuition rates and record student debt It raises the question of how similar the Cornell student body is to that of other schools My professor, for example, pointedly asked people to not shop on J Crew during lecture not H&M or Gap

To be fair, Cornell is not the only school that’s struggling with economic diversity Broadly (and unfortunately), admitting too many students who need financial aid is antithetical to the college financial model: balancing the budget requires that a proportion of students pay full cost For the 2011-2012 school year, 18 percent of all Cornell undergraduates received Pell Grants, which is a decent measure of the amount of low-income undergrads on campus We’re doing much better than Princeton or Yale (12 percent and 14 percent respectively), but we also can ’ t compare to Columbia’s 30 percent or Berkeley’s 37 percent

But these four schools don’t have as their motto, “Any Person Any Study ” The Cornell administration does a great job touting its verbal commitment to racial diversity, though it admits it has a long way to go I wonder, however, if we shouldn’t also focus on economic diversity Economic diversity and racial diversity aren ’ t in opposition to each other rather, by necessity they’re intertwined

Here’s where I’ll ruffle some feathers: diversity initiatives are a good thing, but they only go so far Admitting (not recruiting, but admitting) more people from working class backgrounds, so discussions on economic diversity are done by an economically diverse group, is much more efficacious This won ’ t harm the quality of education, but will instead enhance it Discussions on diversity will become far more organic than the top-down initiatives the administration has tried In addition, the administration should publish the percentage of students belonging to different household income brackets The results are probably not pretty, but neither is boasting that the incoming class is the “ most diverse yet ” with a whopping seven percent of African-American students

When I first came to Cornell, I thought it apt that students self-described the University as “Far Above Cayuga’s Waters ” The song was written with a positive connotation in mind, but I thought it was a good description of the bubble many students live in And when I read the lyrics seldom sung, “Far above the busy humming of the busy town Looks she proudly down,” I couldn’t help but think of students derisively describing Ithaca’s residents as “townies ” But bubbles are meant to be popped, and we should endeavor to relentlessly expand our own bubble’s inclusivity until it finally bursts

Comment of the day Web

“Let’s not forget that high school quality is a huge factor in Cornell acceptance. It’s much more difficult for a stellar student from an okay or subpar public high school to get in here than it is for a decent or good student from a prestigious downstate New York high school to get in here Socioeconomic and geographic diversity need to be a bigger part of the diversity conversation, in my opinion.”

Dumbledore

Re: “Official: High School Quality Not Factor in Cornell Students’ Success,” News, published Feb 5, 2014

Eric Schulman | Schulman’s Schtick

G oogle: The R eal S ky net

In Council Bluf f s, Iowa

Tone of the less e m b a r r a

moments of the 80s

If you haven’t seen the films, you should So you don’t waste your t

g o n Netflix only to realize they’re not there, I’ll s

In

future, a defense contractor builds a computer network called Sk

things go wrong It develops intelligence and exploits its inform

v e humanity by turning our militar y technology against us and running the show behind t

n e s f r o m Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado

Skynet is pure fict i o n , o f c

G o o g l e w a n t s t o know what you want before you know you want it but unless you ’ re made of silicon and your mom sells i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t you, Google isn’t your mom

I f G o o g l e s t a r t s abusing our data like Sk y n e t , t a k i n g o n more serious projects than placing ads, we s h o u l d g e t w o r r i e d Already, our data isn’t as secure as we might think If you don’t live in a cardboard box, y o u k n ow E d w a rd Snowden exposed the N S A f o r a r b i t r a r i l y peeking into Google (among other compan i e s ’ ) d a t a b a s e s Although, if you do l i v e i n a c a rd b o a rd b o x , y o u p r o b a b l y shouldn’t worr y about

a g e d w h i t e h a c k e r, but it’s empowering a n d s i g n i f i c a n t Although figures like Snowden can inspire us, they can ’ t change digital policy without o rd i n a r y p e o p l e Snowden leaks docum e n t s s h ow i n g t h a t the NSA claims 100 p e r c e n t s u c c e s s i n installing spying malware on iPhones, but Apple will keep selling i f c o n s u m e r s k e e p d e m a n d i n g t h e m Google won ’ t change their privacy policy if 400 million use their ser vices without complaining or even reading it

In s o m e s e n s e , w e ’ re a l l Sa r a h

By educating ourselves, we better control the intrusions we tolerate.

, G o o g l

s e r v e r s i n C

n c i l Bluffs, Iowa (one of G

’ s

l d a t a c e n t e r s ) m a k e decisions for Gmail, Chrome and its other s e r v i c e s By s i g n i n g G o o g l e ’ s p r i v a c y agreement, you sign away your soul or, at least, the data from y o u r e m a i l s , s e a r c h q u e r i e s a n d d o c uments because Google uses your data to sell i n t e l l i g e n t l y p l a c e d a d s L i k e a n ov e ri n v o l v e d m o t h e r,

the NSA spying on you

D e s p i t e G o o g l e and Skynet’s similarities, the protagonist in The Ter minator isn’t s o m e Sn ow d e n - l i k e martyr protecting the helpless masses Sarah C o n n o r , T h e Te r m i n a t o r ’ s l ov e l y protagonist, is young, ordinar y and 19 that’s the same age as most sophomores It may have been shrewd m a r k e t i n g , b e c a u s e the films wouldn’t be a s i c o n i c i f Sa r a h Connor was a middle-

ing ourselves, we better control the intrusions we tolerate For example, you might not know your smartp h o n e a u t o m a t i c a l l y stalks your location or that you can disable it if you ’ re so inclined If you think your smartphone has no business stalking your location, w h i p o u t y o u r i n s t r u c t i o n m a n u a l and turn off location tracking I dare you Actively or passively, we make the decisions about what’s permissible by engineering the f u t u re ’ s s o f t w a re , i n v e s t i n g i n t o m o rrow ’ s data centers and l e g i s l a t i n g t

legal boundaries With technologies’ future in our hands, The Terminator is so

C o n n o r, b u t n o t because we ’ re all 19 a n d b e a u t i f u l We c a n ’ t c o n t r o l e v e r ything about technology, but we can at least b a l a n c e e f f i c i e n c y w i t h w h a t w e f i n d a c c e p t a b l e O b v i o u s l y, p e o p l e s h o u l d n o t g i ve u p t h e i r G o o g l e a c c o u n t s G o o g l e h a n d l e s y o u r d a t a m o re e f f i c i e n t l y a t lower costs But posting dr unken photos on Google+ with your r o o m m a t e s ’ e x i s excessive not only because that would be m o re t h a n a n y o n e ’ s e v e r p o s t e d o n Google+ By educat-

cyberpunk guilty

games I haven’t had the displeasure of playing,

Eric Schulman is a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences He may be reached at eschulman@cornellsun com Schulman s Schtick appears alternate Mondays this semester

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Alfredo Rodríguez Sells Out Barnes Hall

TYRAN GRILLO Sun Staff Writer

After hearing pianist-composer Alfredo Rodríguez in the close quarters of Barnes Hall last Friday night, one could only feign surprise to know that he began his musical education as a percussionist before switching to piano at age 10 Whether through clipped breathing, clicks of the tongue or stamping of the feet, his awareness of the beat was front and center This was surely one of many aspects of his craft that caught the ear of producer Quincy Jones, with whom he collaborated on his recent sophomore album, The Invasion Parade We might further reflect on his Cuban heritage, which is to his playing as the moon is to night Yet, if these biographical details meant anything, they were only as valid as the intrigue of his performance, which was, in a word, dynamic

Rodríguez left no doubts about his roots, starting the program as he did with an idiosyncratic take on “Venga la Esperanza” by Cuba’s left-wing darling, Silvio Rodríguez As he wove from somber beginnings a tapestry of increasing complexity, it was clear that Keith Jarrett has had a huge impact on Rodríguez, who cites the pianist’s legendary The Köln Concert as a life-changing influence The more he played, the deeper his contrasts and densities became The effect was such that when the occasional snippet of recognizable melody broke surface, we were reminded that at the root of it all was something worldly Rodríguez followed up with an original composition, “El Güije ” Balancing dark undercurrents in the left hand with the sparkle of his right, the piece’s borderline-aggressive textures gave way to windswept dreamscapes at the turn of a weather vane

The staggered raindrops of “Quizás, Quizás, Quizás” introduced a triptych of classic tunes rounded out by “Veinte años”

and Ernesto Lecuona’s rousing “Gitanerías ” In them, elements of Messiaen, Bartók, and folk songs showed the full range of Rodríguez’s palette His highs, always translucent, shone with special care That said, he never stayed pretty for too long, if only to better appreciate the occasional moment of beauty we were allotted

As is often the case with younger jazz musicians, Rodríguez emoted with blatant passion and tended toward passages of controlled chaos before finding purchase in his themes Departures felt more like interjections, if not outright explosions, than variations His tongue-in-cheek take on “Guantanamera,” for example, was a tour de force in technique, invention, and surprise He approached this deathless tune from within literally by hitting the strings inside the piano before migrating to the keyboard proper The result was a mélange of interpretations, more sketchbook than painting which is precisely where he deviated from Jarrett

Although the Jarrett’s adlibs come pouring out of him sounding like fully formed compositions, Rodríguez allowed himself the indulgence of thinking out loud with relatively little interest in transition, stacking cell upon cell of distortion Although something of a curse for many improvisers that smoothes itself out over decades into seamless art, one senses in Rodríguez a “ sayno-to-the-flow” attitude that suits him just fine The result is neither more nor less conducive to the concert goer ' s listening pleasure, but is a methodological difference that requires sharp atten-

tion from both sides of the front row He is an honest player, through and through

None of this is to imply that that the concert was devoid of lyricism As if to prove this, Rodríguez encored with an aching rendition of Ernesto Duarte’s “Cómo Fué ” As tender as tender can be, its somber farewell closed the circle, opening another of fond memory in its place

Tyran Grillo is a graduate student at Cornell University He can be reached at tgrillo@cornellsun com

Oscar Race Update: It’s a Tie?

With the Oscars less than a month away, the sheer level of quality we saw last year at the cinema is becoming more and more evident This is one of the most unpredictable Oscar races in years, even more so than last year, when Ben Affleck’s Argo took home Best Picture despite Affleck not being nominated in the Director category Last year was also rare in that every major category (Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress), was awarded to a different movie This year, it looks like the same could very well happen

Best Picture is a three-way dogfight between American Hustle, 12 Years a Slave and Gravity Alfonso Cuarón’s and Steve McQueen’s films came out in October and shook critics out of their seat with excitement, both cementing themselves as the two best-reviewed films of the year At present, Gravity has a 97 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and 12 Years has a 96 percent They’ve also been determined, by review aggregate site criticstop10 com, to have appeared on more top 10 lists than any other movies of the year American Hustle, which was released amidst a slew of quality films in December, stole the show along with Inside Llewyn Davis and Her, but appealed more to the Academy given its already twice-nominated director, and cast consisting exclusively of Oscar winners and nominees It’s currently tied with Gravity for most nominations awarded to a 2013 film, with 10 nominations For now though, my money is on 12 Years a Slave The Academy will not ignore a big-issue, hot-button film like this they love heaping praise on historically relevant movies about affliction or torture (King’s Speech, The Hurt Locker, Slumdog Millionaire)

The other three-way tie is between the maestros of the three aforementioned films David O Russell has been nominated for The Fighter and Silver Linings Playbook, while McQueen and Cuarón are first time nominees However, I think the race is leading slightly towards Cuarón The reason? The virtuosity of the way Gravity was assembled and directed truly was revolutionar y, giving Cuarón a chance to show real artistic brilliance as a filmmaker While 12 Years and Hustle were both supremely well directed, the direction did

not quite break the mold as much as Gravity did Best Actor is the most unpredictable category of them all This is a year in which any one of the nominated actors could unsurprisingly and deservedly take the award There were even huge snubs as to who got into the category, with Tom Hanks missing out for Captain Phillips and Robert Redford for All is Lost Leonardo DiCaprio and Matthew McCounaughey seem like strong contenders, the former for perhaps his most electrifying, balls-out performance yet in Wolf of Wall Street and the latter for the pinnacle of his career-reinvigorating work in Dallas Buyers Club Both won at the Golden Globes, but Bruce Dern, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Christian Bale have received equal amounts of critical praise Of the five, I think the three with the best chance are McConaughey, Ejiofor, and DiCaprio Dern’s quiet, reserved role in Nebraska could easily be overlooked by the Academy, and the sheer number of great performances in American Hustle means the same could be true of Bale’s

Cate Blanchett was the early front-runner for Best Actress for Woody Allen’s Blue Jasmine, and it still seems that way, but there’s a strong threat from both Amy Adams of American Hustle and Sandra Bullock for Gravity Adams has been nominated four times already, for several such critically-lauded The Fighter and The Master, so the Academy might figure that it is finally time to give her her due On the other hand, the technical complexity of Bullock’s performance, which required the grace of a ballerina and the mental aptitude of a world class actor, might win over many voters who know just how hard the ordeal must have been The only surefire win of the night seems like Jared Leto for

Best Supporting Actor in Dallas Buyers Club His turn as a transgender woman was not only especially strong, it was his first film role in years His comeback to the world of film required him to lose 30 pounds and affect a sex change while still embodying a compelling character and his success doing so has been rightfully accoladed It was one of the finest performances of the year On another note, it was great to see Michael Fassbender, long overdue for Academy recognition, finally get nominated for 12 Years a Slave, and to see Barkhad Abdi nominated for his mesmerizing work in Captain Phillips

Finally, Best Supporting Actress is a two-way split between Jennifer Lawrence, darling of the Academy and obsession of all Americans, and Lupita Nyongo, an earth-shattering in her very first film role At 23, Lawrence is the youngest person ever to receive three nominations, including her stellar work in Winter’s Bone and her win for Silver Linings Playbook Her role as Rosalyn Rosenfeld, the hysterical wife of Christian Bale in American Hustle, was perhaps the most enthralling and acclaimed performance in a movie full of them Nyongo, on the other hand, landed the role of Patsey, the most abused slave on the Epps plantation in 12 Years a Slave, immediately after graduating from drama school Her turn as a woman sexually mistreated by the plantation owner and grossly humiliated by his wife is one of the most stunning achievements ever offered by a first-time film actor It has received an insane amount of praise, maybe even more so than that of leading actor Chiwetel Ejiofor, and for that reason, it makes the Supporting Actress race that much harder to call

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

Arts Around Ithaca

Kill Your Darlings

7:00 p m on Thursday at Cornell Cinema

Kate McKinnon

7:30 p m on Thursday at Statler Auditorium

Live from Ne w York, it's

Cornell Cinema will bring the Beat Generation to life when it presents the Sundance-acclaimed Kill Your Darlings this Thursday The film stars Daniel Radcliffe as “Howl” author Allen Ginsberg, who crosses paths with other famous authors of the time, all of whom have become embroiled in a controversial murder The screening will be followed by an open Q&A session with co-screenwriter and Cornell Professor Austin Bunn, Performance and Media Arts

Sean Doolittle

The Tempest

Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p m at Hangar Theatre

The Ithaca Shakespeare Company presents one of the famed playwright’s final and most autobiographical works, The Tempest The play follows a group of magically-shipwrecked castaways as they attempt to survive, seek vengeance and even find true love Prospero, the play’s hero, is believed to have represented Shakespeare himself as he bids farewell to the theatre toward the end of his long life in the art

The Hangar will bring the gripping and exciting tale to life for only six performances, so be sure not to miss it!

Sean Doolittle

“TKate McKinnon! It might not be Saturday night, but Feb 13 is sure to be lively when this Saturday Night Live leading lady takes the stage for a night you won ' t want to miss Straight from the cast of SNL, CUPB presents the popular comedian for a show that is guaranteed to be a hit whether you ' ve been a fan for years or just like to laugh (and who doesn't?) Known for her fearless comedy, hilarious antics, and spot-on J B impressions that could fool even the most fer vent of Beliebers, this show is sure to strike your funny bone Free for all students, the must-see show kicks off at 7:30 p m in the Statler Auditorium Cornellians craving a good old-fashioned laugh fest with the right-thisminute humor you know and love from this SNL cast member can pick up their tickets in Willard Straight Hall, compliments of CUPB

Anna Johnson

T h e C u l t o f C u m b e r b a t c h

hat is correct There are more apples than oranges ” Count Dracula

BRIAN GORDON: Benedict Cumberbatch can count to four The hottest actor in the world recently lent his celebrity to a segment of Sesame Street where he counts apples and oranges with The Count and what looks to be Elmo’s evil cousin The clip has gone viral As I type, it has garnered nearly four million in as many days How many other actors can stare at fruit with a couple of muppets for three minutes and pull 4 million views? Gosling? Nope Clooney? Nah Jim Henson could come back from the grave and he’d still need a least a week to reach this Cumberbatchian level of hits And the Cult of Cumberbatch extends far beyond Sesame Street He sat on a stool on Kimmell a few months back and the females in the crowd treated him like the Beatles on Sullivan Full on shrieks Grown women shrieked This was fangirl hysteria for girls who have mortgages

HARRISON OKIN: With the risk of it sounding like a tropical disease, “Benedict Fever” has charmed the world into thinking the man is the best actor of our generation This is a double-edged sword Sure, I love the guy I respect that he chooses characters that value intelligence, satisfying an audience craving for whip-smart dialogue and clever twists in film Sherlock, the sociopathic genius Khan, the deceitful genius A wise man even called Smaug the Dragon the “Hannibal Lecter of Middle Earth ” (Okay, maybe that was me on my Twitter )

portray mathematician genius Alan Turing He’s rumored to be both the villain in Star Wars Episode VII and a hero in an unknown Marvel blockbuster So what if Benedict’s booming baritone is what my internal monologue sounds like? I fear that Benedict’s popularity which I dare say is a tad overzealous will take the attention away from other well-deserving actors

B G : I believe the man is perfectly rated In fact maybe a bit underrated Ask people at random around campus and I bet less than five out of ten know who he is What other actors is he taking the spotlight away from? The dude who plays Watson? What I want to know is why a man who describes himself as resembling Sid from the Ice Age movies is getting every third part in Hollywood and is currently co-running England with the Dutchess of Cambridge?

I get that the man perspirates charm He is self-deprecating (see that Sid/Ice Age comment),

But c ’mon! He starred in five movies last year, plus a TV show Next year he’s slated to

and you surprisingly make a decent point about how Cumberbatch plays a lot of smart people on screen British newspaper ’ s have called him “the thinking man ’ s crumpkin” which sounds pretty British and praiseful to me But does playing smart characters make you an interesting person? Russell Crowe played Dr John Nash in A Beautiful Mind and no one was hail-

ing Crowe as a witty genius

H O : In all fairness to Russell Crowe, he emanates the stereotype of a guy who gets drunk off whiskey and then brawls with some kangaroos That sounds pretty interesting to me

B G : Here’s a question for you Do you think the rise of Cumberbatch marks a larger shift in Hollywood? Where the biggest stars will no longer simply be the well-built chiseled and traditionally attractive leading men? Besides Benedict, the other example I can think of where an actor drew the ladies while looking rather dweebish was Adam Brody on The O C

H O : I hope that is a lasting legacy of Benedict’s ubiquity For too long, the Gosling-type has dominated Hollywood That man mumbles through a movie like he should be taking speech pathology lessons from my Mom (shameless plug) Then he removes his shirt and everyone forgives him for a terrible performance Instead, I’d like to see more widespread love for the goofy awkwardness of Miles Teller as a drum prodigy, or for ladies-man Jonah Hill redefining baseball analytics Benedict started this trend, but he cannot be the only one to capitalize on it I want the next generation to idolize passion, brains and resolve After all, isn’t that what every average-height, average-looking schlub hopes to embody when he or she comes to Cornell?

B G : I wouldn’t really know I’m pretty

attractive Harrison But you don’t necessarily have to put down the Gosling-types to lift up the Cumberbatchs You can not like Gosling and his vocal inflections (I personally think the guy ’ s a real solid actor) but the world is big enough to fawn over those who look like a Hemsworth brother and those who think like a Cumberbatch Especially with the realm of television expanding and gaining great attention, I think more and more non-traditionally attractive actors (both men and women) will enter the fantasies of middle-age accountants and lawyers who are now more attracted by quick wit than a sharp jaw

H O : Well, I was going to invite you to star on my new Netflix series, “House of (Unanswered Valentine’s) Cards,” but you just lost your chance Frank Underwood would be disappointed

B G : I put Glen Coco to shame Later

Brian Gordon is a senior in the School of Industrial Labor Relations He can be reached at bgordon@cornellsun com Harrison Okin is a senior in the School of Industrial Labor Relations He

S chafer Questions Penalty Decisions

M HOCKEY Continued from page 14

the opposing power play for the remainder of the third period McCarron picked up a penalty just twelve seconds following his score, and the Raiders responded with their second man-advantage goal of the evening to extend the lead to 3-1

“I didn’t understand the penalty,” Schafer said “[McCarron’s] going to the net and the kid’s pushing him from behind and the goalie comes up and pushes him That’s a critical call in a game like that to put a team down four-on-three ”

Two more quick scores, one even strength and one power play, left the Red at a 5-1 disadvantage and meant the team would be just four-for-seven on the penalty kill for the contest, more power play goals allowed than in all previous 33 penalty kill opportunities combined

“[O]bviously, just the discipline aspect killed us, ” Bardreau said “So taking all those penalties put us in a rough spot, and put [senior goalie Andy Iles] in a rough spot and just kind of spiraled out from there ”

With the score quickly becoming out of reach, freshman goalie Mitch Gillam came on to take Iles’ place for the remainder of the game Gillam stopped seven Raider shots during that span, but relinquished a final opposing goal to make the score 6-1 at the final whistle

“More disappointing [than the third period] is that we didn’t do the things necessary when the score was 2-0,” Schafer said “We didn’t do a good job on our power play to bury our chance five-on-three Our lack of discipline and our lack of ability to capitalize when we had chances killed us tonight ”

The loss allowed Colgate to jump Cornell in the ECAC standings, where the Red now sits in a tie for fourth

“Put it on the back burner, forget about it, and get back to the basics,” Bardreau said when asked how the team must respond to its first 2014 defeat

The Red now has two pivotal conference showdowns ahead of it against No 4 Union (19-6-3, 13-3-0) and Rensselaer (12-12-4, 6-7-3) next weekend

Chris Mills can be reached at cmills@cornellsun com

Oklahoma City

Thunder

End the Night Victorious

Against New York Knicks

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e a t t h e Ne w Yo rk K n i c k s 1 1 21 0 0 o n Su n d a y Du r a n t , t h e l e a g u e ’ s l e a d i n g s c o re r, a l s o h a d 1 0 re b o u n d s a n d n i n e a s s i s t s A n t h o n y, t h e l e a g u e ’ s No 2 s c o re r, h a d 1 5 p o i n t s o n 5 - f o r - 1 9 s h o o t i n g f o r t h e K n i c k s T h u n d e r c o a c h S c o t t Bro o k s t o o k Du r a n t o u t o f t h e g a m e w i t h 1 : 2 4 re m a i n i n g , l e a v i n g Du r a n t s h o r t o f a r a re 4 0 - p o i n t t r i p l e - d o u b l e by a s i n g l e a s s i s t “ I g o t o n S e r g e ( I b a k a ) , ”

D u r a n t s a i d , l a u g h i n g “ H e m i s s e d a d u n k a n d h e p a s s e d u p a s h o t ” D u r a n t a l s o w a s l a r g e l y r e s p o n s i b l e f o r g u a r d i n g A n t h o n y “ He m i s s e d s o m e s h o t s t h a t h e n o r m a l l y m a k e s , ” D u r a n t s a i d “ I j u s t t r i e d t o p l a y a s s t ro n g a s I c a n , c o n t e s t s o m e s h o t s a n d n o t g e t d i s c o u r a g e d w h e n h e h i t s t h e m b e c a u s e h e m a k e s t o u g h s h o t s a n d h e ’ s a g u y t h a t c a n g e t h o t I j u s t t r y t o re l y o n m y t e a m m a t e s , a n d t h e y d i d a g re a t j o b o f h e l p i n g m e o u t , b u i l d i n g a w a l l b e h i n d m e , a n d I j u s t t r i e d t o p l a y a s h a rd a s I c a n ” Re g g i e Ja c k s o n h a d 1 9 p o i n t s a n d s i x a s s i s t s a n d Ib a k a h a d 1 6 p o i n t s a n d n i n e re b o u n d s f o r t h e T h u n d e r, w h o we re c o m i n g o f f a 1 0 3 - 1 0 2 l o s s t o s t r u g g l i n g Or l a n d o o n Fr i d a y n i g h t R a y m o n d Fe l t o n a n d A m a re St o u d e m i r e e a c h s c o r e d 1 6 p o i n t s f

Victorious home and away | Senior defender Hayleigh Cudmore netted a short-handed goal to help lift the Red to a 3-1 win over Colgate Saturday

Red Heads Into Final Two Weekends of EC AC Play With ‘Con dence’

W.HOCKEY Continued from page 16

having a little bit of trouble with our starts and making sure that we ’ re getting a good jump right away, ” Saulnier said “I don’t think that was an issue this weekend We came out strong in the first ten minutes and really gave it to them ”

Colgate was clinging to a 3-2 lead with under five minutes to play in the game, but Cornell tied the game up with a goal by sophomore defender Cassandra Poudrier With just 19 seconds remaining in overtime, Saulnier backhanded the puck through the goalkeeper’s legs on an odd man rush to win the game

Saulnier emphasized the

“I think defensively we limited their chances, especially in the first and second periods, and then offensively too we were able to forecheck them a lot harder ”

Alyssa Gagliardi

importance of battling until the end, if the team is to achieve its ultimate aims

“Coming from behind always makes a win that much sweeter, and it’s always nice to contribute to the team, ” Saulnier said “Especially with just two weeks left in the season, just ensuring that we ’ re doing what we should be doing, sticking to the gameplan the whole time, and playing a full 60 minutes, is really important I think we showed that this weekend ”

According to senior captain and defender Alyssa Gagliardi, the Red was caught off guard by the style of play

“We were really resilient on Friday and it was definitely not the kind of game we ’ re used to playing,” Gagliardi said “It was kind of back and forth, and they would dump the puck a lot and try to slow us down as much as they could So it was definitely a

challenge but I thought we bounced back and tying it up at the end of the game and winning with only 20 seconds left in overtime was really thrilling for us, a great way to go into Saturday’s game ”

The Red took an early lead in Saturday’s game at Lynah Rink, with a goal by Saulnier The Raiders, however, brought the score level early into the second period Cornell regained the advantage with a goal by Gagliardi just two minutes later The Red sealed the game with a shorthanded goal by senior defender Hayleigh Cudmore to ensure the win

Gagliardi attributed the victory to impressive defensive play by Cornell, as well as maintaining better control of the puck These prevented Colgate from scoring as easily as in the previous game

“I think defensively we limited their chances, especially in the first and second periods, and then offensively too we were able to forecheck them a lot harder and better, and that keeps the puck in their defensive zone a lot longer,”

Gagliardi said “Luckily we were able to score a couple of more goals on them and retain that lead ”

According to Saulnier, Cornell took the lead at a turning point in the game

“It was obviously a really impor tant goal and especially when we were getting a little tired, it was important to make sure that we scored and kept the puck in their end keep the pressure up, ” Saulnier said “It was important that we were able to take advantage of a penalty kill and build some offense from it ”

Gagliardi highlighted the confidence boost that was gained from the back-to-back victories, putting the Red in a good position for the final stretch of the season

“I think this gives us confidence going into these last two weekends,” Gagliardi said “These are big weekends coming up, so we ’ re just looking to improve week by week heading into the playoffs, and hopefully we can get four points each of the next two weekends ”

Men’s Basketball Falls to Penn, Princeton in Ancient Eight Play

By NIKITA DUBNOV Sun Staff Wr ter

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Road trip | Frehsman guard Dar yl Smith started and scored 15 points against Penn, but the Red was unable to come out on top at the Palestra

d u c t i o n o f t h e Ti g e r s ’ t o p s c o re r s Fre s h m a n f o r w a rd Sp e n c e r We i s z , s e n i o r g u a rd

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ndubnov@cornellsun com

Mowrey Suf fers Head

Injur y O f f Illegal Hit

Continued from page 16

Red’s season-best nine-game unbeaten streak

“Coming off the two wins last week at home and the praise and everything the media poured upon us [Colgate’s] a proud hockey team and losing [their previous] two games we knew it was going to be a dogfight in here tonight,” said head coach Mike Schafer ’86 “It just unraveled on us and they played well ”

qualification However, Cornell quickly accrued a penalty of its own and came up empty, even after a hooking call on Colgate’s Spiro Goulakos sparked a five-onthree advantage at the end of the second The Red had maintained a 16-14 shot edge through the first 40 minutes, but had nothing to show for it on the scoreboard

“We knew it was going to be a dogfight here tonight ”

M i k e S c h a f e r

Backed by their home fans, the Raiders struck first, 11:41 into the opening period, and never trailed for the remainder of the game Just two minutes later, a boarding penalty on the Red established a Colgate power play and in the closing seconds of five-on-four action Darcy Murphy added a second goal for the Raiders on a tipin

“ We just didn’t play our game, ” said junior forward Cole Bardreau “We weren ’ t winning puck battles; we weren ’ t getting first to puck ” Both squads were stymied by penalties in the second period An illegal hit to the head from a Colgate player on senior forward Dustin Mowrey resulted in a dis-

“He’s not doing good at all,” Schafer said when asked about M o w r e y ’ s postgame condition “That hit on him is exactly, if you ’ re looking at the NHL, six, eight, ten games It’s something we talk about eliminating in the sport of hockey, that’s exactly it It’s unfortunate that it happens ” With 15:35 to play and both teams a man down, Schafer’s team finally got its big chance Bardreau won a faceoff in Colgate territory and the puck found its way to freshman defenseman Patrick McCarron McCarron wristed a hard shot off a defender and past the Colgate goalie for the Red’s first and final score of the night, cutting the Raider lead to only 21

It wasn ’ t the greatest of showings for the Red’s special teams, which had trouble slowing down

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d l e we i g h t s T h o s e t h re e w i n s c a m e f ro m A n d re w L e n z i , R a y Be t h e a a n d Ke n t , c o m b i n i n g t o d e f e a t t h e i r o p p o n e n t s 3 5 - 9 Pe n n ’ s w i n p u t t h e m a t 1 - 2 i n t h e c o n f e re n c e a n d 5 - 6 ove r a l l , t r a i l i n g C o r n e l l a n d Pr i n c e t o n i n t h e s t a n

Brown fell to Princeton, 21 – 16, on Sunday morning in an Ivy League clash a disappointing result to kick of their alumni weekend, where former head wrestling coach David Amato was honored for his 30 years of service to Brown wrestling The victory represented a perfect weekend for the Tigers, assuring them of their first winning season since 2001 and moving the team to an above 500 in the Ivy League Princeton is now 8-2 on the season The Tigers scored an early victory in the matchup through injury, as Brown’s Vincent Moita suffered a head injury and was unable to continue The Bear’s Anthony Finocchiaro evened the score with a fall at 133, defeating Jake Intrator Princeton, however, won the next five of eight duels with Judd Ziegler scoring an impressive four takedowns against Philip Morano to give the Tiger’s the eventual tightly-contested victory

Compiled by Hamdan Al Yousefi

The Corne¬ Daily Sun

Spor ts

12th Straight Ivy Title Makes History

By ANNA FASMAN Sun Staff Wr ter

The Cornell men ’ s wrestling team won its 12th straight Ivy League Championship, defeating Columbia, 22-15 on Saturday With the victory, the Red now has the most conference championships in any Ivy League sport In what was one of the closest matches all season, the score remained tied at 15-15 with just two duals left Juniors Jace Bennett and Jacob Aiken-Phillips then took center stage, defeating their opponents and helping the Red to another Ancient Eight title

“It was a lot closer than I expected We had four kids out of the lineup so I was really nervous, ” said head coach Rob Koll “This is not the best or second to best team in the Ivy League, and they could easily have knocked us off today ”

However, Bennett and Aiken-Phillips made sure that did not happen, shutting out both of their opponents

“It’s always great to continue breaking records, it’s something we[‘ve] become accustomed to, ” Bennett said

Four key starters were sidelined for the match due to injuries, however the team was still able to come together to pull out the win Sophomore Nahshon Garrett and seniors Mike Nevinger and Chris Villalonga got the Red off to a strong start, winning their matches and giving the squad the initial lead However, Cornell soon lost its head start when freshmen Taylor Simaz and Jake George and senior Craig Eifert lost their respective duals to level out the score

Both Bennett and Aiken-Phillips explained that while a lot of the pressure fell on them, they were still able to maintain level heads, letting their opponents make the mistakes during their duals

“I was pretty patient during my match, letting my opponent mess up so that I could score However, I was very scared when it was tied because I didn’t want to have all the pressure on me, ” Aiken-Phillips said

Furthermore, Bennett said he did everything he could not to let the pressure get to his head, coming out strong and never letting his guard down

“Like Kyle Dake [‘13] always says, pressure is something you put on yourself; it’s not real And so I try to remind myself of that often, and so when I walked out on the mat this week-

end it was just another day in paradise for me, ” Bennet said Moving forward, the Red looks to secure spots for Nationals this weekend when it competes in National Duals on Sunday Last year, Cornell sent seven wrestlers to the championships and four of those seven wrestled this weekend against Columbia

According to Aiken-Phillips, the Red is confident going into Duals, where it will match up against some tough competition

“We plan to upset some of the higher ranked teams, ” he said

After heading to Ohio for National duals, the Red will have one more match against Hofstra before EIWA and NCAA championships, the two biggest matches of the year However, according to Bennett, his team is focused on its performance at duals

“We are on the right path to going there and getting the job done,” he said

be reached at afasman@cornellsun com

By BENJAMIN HOROWITZ Sun Staff Writer

C

o r n e l l p l a ye d b a c k - t o - b a c k games against regional rival Colgate this weekend, visiting Hamilton on

Friday night and returning to Lynah on Saturday afternoon The Red came away with two consecutive wins, coming out on top in Friday’s overtime thriller, 4-3, and again

defeating the Raiders (7-21-2, 4-140 ECAC), 3-1, on Saturday

With the two wins, Cornell (183-4, 13-2-3 ECAC) is now only one point behind Harvard for first place in the ECAC According to junior for ward Jillian Saulnier, the two wins set a positive tone for the final stretch of the season

“It’s [a] huge confidence boost coming off a two-win weekend,” Saulnier said “It says a lot about our team moving forward and no game from now on will be easy It’s going to be a challenge, and then we’ll get into playoff hockey, where things really matter I think we united very well, and as long as we continue to do what we ’ ve been doing, we should have a successful season ” Friday’s game was a back-andforth affair throughout, with no team gaining a lead greater than one goal throughout the game Cornell scored first both games According to Saulnier, this was an encouraging sign, because the Red has had some trouble scoring first at other times this season

“That was definitely big for us this weekend, because we ’ ve been

Just days after breaking into the Top-10 in the national rankings, the men ’ s icers took a step back over the weekend

After cutting the deficit

to just one goal in the final period, No 9 Cornell (125-5, 8-4-4) let Colgate (1411-3, 10-5-1) skate away, with a 6-1 victor y in a Saturday night defeat at Starr Rink that snapped the