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The Corne¬ Daily Sun

Across U.S., Freshmen

By OLIVIA LUTWAK Sun Staff Writer

Although administrators at Gannett Health Services say there has been no increase in depression on campus overall, they say mental health still remains a priority at Cornell

Forty percent of Cornell undergraduates reported that their academic performance has been negatively impacted in the past year due to depression, stress or anxiety, according to Marchell

“While these data do not suggest an overall increase in emotional problems among Cornell students, including first year students, they do point to that fact that mental health is an important foundation for

See DEPRESSION page 4

Cornell Student Charged

By SOFIA HU Sun Staff Writer

Charles Tan ’17 was arrested Monday and charged with second degree murder in Pittsford, New York, after he allegedly shot his father, Ling Tan, according to a Monroe County Sheriff ’ s Office press release

Deputies responded to a report of a domestic incident at the Tan residence at approximately 6:10 p m and found Charles Tan and Qing Tan Charles’ mother and Ling’s wife standing in the driveway Ling Tan, 49, was found dead in the house and was taken to a medical examiner

Investigators began interviewing witnesses and neighbors following the incident A search warrant of the house early Tuesday morning found a shotgun in the garage, according to the press release

Charles Tan was arraigned at 6 a m this morning and has been kept in the Monroe County Jail with no bail

According to the Cornell University websites, Charles Tan is a student in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and was a member of the sprint football team in 2013

By MELVIN LI Sun Staff Writer

month to replace the International Students Board, is expanding international students’ presence across the Cornell community

By approving a Student Assembly resolution from last fall, President David Skorton allowed for sweeping

role in various global issues such as women ’ s rights, LGBT awareness, religious conflicts and dissolving stereotypes, Susumpow said

“We have a great international student body that is ready and eager to talk about issues wherever they come from We want to respresent

t h o s e vo i c e s , ” Su s u m p ow s a i d “Overall, I believe [the ISU] is going to be a more comprehensive representation of international life at

“We have a great international student body that is ready and eager to talk about issues wherever they come from We want to represent those voices ” T a r n S u s u m p o w ’ 1 5

changes to the ISB constitution and its evolution into the ISU These changes are intended to allow students to be directly involved in the international community, according t o a

by

Skorton

“Pending the submission to and a p p rova l f ro m t h e St u d e n t Leadership, Engagement and Campus Activities office, I do not have any issues with this resolution,” Skorton said in response

According to ISU President Tarn Susumpow ’15, the ISB was created in 1981 as a programming and funding board for international-related events Originally, it was comprised of 12 to 18 students and focused mainly on programming activities As it becomes the ISU, the organization will assume a greater advocacy

Cornell ”

Shivang Tayal ’16, S A vice president for diversity and inclusion, said that when he first arrived at Cornell, the ISB was a very selective organization, consisting of only seven students, with a $40,000 annual budget allocated by the S A for international causes

On the other hand, the newlycreated union is a much larger organization, with over 100 fully connected members who can advocate for international issues, as opposed to merely serving as a funding organization, according to Tayal

“Basically, [the ISU] is a much more holistic organization today,” Tayal said He added that the ISU may help

See UNION page 4

Daybook

in the History of Art Gallery Joel Salatin, Farmer Polyface Farms, Inc., Virginia

weather FORECAST

Weird News of the Week

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Water Manager Faces Discipline for Urinating In Reservoir

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) A water manager is facing discipline after he was caught urinating in an empty reservoir that supplies drinking water for the San Francisco Bay Area

San Francisco Public Utilities Commission spokesman Tyrone Jue said Monday that the agency confirmed anonymous complaints that maintenance planner Martin Sanchez had urinated in the 674-million-gallon reservoir in the Sierra Nevada foothills early last month

The reservoir had been drained for maintenance, and officials say public health wasn ’ t in danger

Elderly Man Tackles Suspect, Threatens To Break Arm

WASHINGTON, Pa (AP) A 75-year-old man helped in the arrest of a shoplifting suspect at a Pennsylvania mall by tackling him and threatening to break his arm if he tried to escape

Charlie Burton, of Fombell, says he was a vendor at the Washington Crown Center mall for a gun show when he saw an officer struggling with the suspect, 29-year-old Jonathan Fekete Jr

Police say Fekete was trying to get away after taking $200 worth of clothes from a Macy’s store Saturday

Police: Man Took $500 From Bank Drive-thru

Left by Another

CLEARFIELD, Pa (AP) Police say a Pennsylvania man hoping to pass a fraudulent check instead stole $500 when he found that much money left behind by another customer at a drive-thru bank window

Twenty-eight-year-old Randy Gillen Jr was in the Clearfield County Jail on Monday, awaiting a Feb 11 preliminary hearing

Police tell WJAC-TV that the Clearfield man hoped to cash a bogus $1,900 check at CNB Bank, but instead drove away when he saw the money left behind in the carrier tube from the previous customer on Jan 29

Police say Gillen later tried to pass the bad check at another bank, and was rebuffed before Clearfield police found him last Wednesday, hiding in his girlfriend’s closet

Sailing fueled interest in engineering for Williamson

By MADELINE COHEN Sun Staff Writer

Whether Prof Charles Williamson, engineering, is planning one of his performative teaching demonstrations, sailing on Lake Cayuga or researching sustainability practices, he said he is constantly inspired by the successes of his students

Williamson who is the Willis Carrier Professor of Engineering said he gained his interest in engineering early in his life, when he and his father built boats

“I lived on boats until I was four, one of which was a 135-foot diesel-powered Pilot ship” Williamson said “When I ultimately lived in an actual house, and found [its] cellar, I called it the engine room ”

After spending the majority of his childhood sailing on and repairing boats, Williamson said he did not apply to college immediately after secondar y school

“Instead, I worked at a sailmaking company in southern England,” Williamson said “I became a specialist at finishing off the sails, but also an expert in polishing the floors and emptying rubbish ”

“[I used] the money that [the engineering company] left me to travel around America,” he said “Losing my job was the best thing that ever happened [to me] ”

After he returned to London, he started offering private tutoring sessions to students in the city His first pupil was Prince Pavlos of Greece

“I taught him high school mathematics,” Williamson said “That was my first time teaching, and when I realized that teaching could be fun ” Williamson said he was a research fellow at the California Institute of Technology when he was first offered a teaching position at Cornell

Williams said his work at the sailing factory fostered his enthusiasm for engineering

“When I was sailing, and working at the factory, I always had to repair things and put things back together, which I suppose fueled my interest in engineering,” Williamson said

After receiving his Ph D in fluid mechanics from Cambridge University, Williamson went to work at an offshore engineering company in London While he was on holiday at a regatta in the south of France, the company “ went bust,” he said

“I was attracted by both Lake Cayuga as well as by the faculty in fluid dynamics and turbulence,” he said “A mathematician from Cornell came and found me in the library at Cal-Tech and showed me a brochure on Cornell in p a r t i c u l a r some yachts on the lake which tipped the balance to apply for a professorship ” Since arriving at Cornell in 1990, W i l l i a m s o n said he has tried to engage students by using a d e m o n s t r a t i ve approach to teaching

“We put on a bit of a show, where it looks to the students like it is all spontaneous, but it actually isn’t But don’t tell them that, please ” Williamson said “We have to practice up to one week before If you don’t plan ahead, I guarantee it falls flat ”

Bill Nye ’77 has been a guest lecturer in Williamson’s fluid mechanics course many times, which is “the most fun thing ever, ” he said

“In fall 2013, we set up a smoke vortex cannon, and we shot vortex rings across the entire room, which is absolutely incredible to watch,” Williamson said “Last

time Bill was there, we also had his dancing partner, as well as the cameraman, from Dancing With the Stars, learning about vortex rings ”

Williamson also works to engage with students outside the classroom he has been the faculty advisor for the Cornell sailing team since 1999

“We won third place in the women ' s national championships two years ago, mostly because we have a fabulous coach, Brian Clancy, some great sailors and wonderful facilities at the new Merrill Sailing Center,” Williamson said “Now they have just transitioned into a Varsity team with the help of some amazing alumni ” Williamson said his experience at Cornell has been defined by the success of his students

“The reason Cornell is so great is [because of ] the quality of the students,” said Williamson “I have had about 300 undergraduates and M Eng students do research with me at Cornell, and a number of them have won Merrill scholarships ”

Williamson said one of the proudest moments of his life was when he won the Weiss Fellowship an award for teaching and mentoring students in 1999

He currently has a number of research projects underway including energy harvesting, supported by the Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future, and projects in wing vortex wakes and fluid-structure interactions, he said “ We’re doing a project on wind power, ” Williamson said “Our emphasis is on ‘mini-turbines’ that would work in an urban setting and are sculptures in themselves We are trying to make them strong, powerful, beautiful and self-starting ”

Williamson said he advises Cornell students to keep their perspectives open

“I remember being in the tea room at Cambridge, and [everyone] was panicking about what jobs they were going to have,” he said “But I was just enjoying what I was researching It’s a luxury if you get the opportunity to hang loose and consider what you want to do next In grad school, just like being an undergrad, you have four long years to figure out what you want to do ”

Madeline Cohen can be reached at mcohen@cornellsun com

Prof. Sternberg: Land Grant Universities Encourage Creativity

By SAMANTHA ACRICHE Sun Staff Writer

Renowned psychologist and psychometrician Prof Robert J Sternberg, human development, spoke Tuesday about his

book, The Modern Land-Grant University as a part of a semester long book talk series that celebrates Cornell’s Sesquicentennial

During the discussion, Sternberg spoke about the major differences between land grant institutions and private institutions

and explained how the values of land grant institutions could be applied to all institutions His ideas were based upon personal experiences he gained working at Yale University, Tufts University and Oklahoma State University

“I spent 30 years of my career as a professor at Yale,” Sternberg said “The whole time there was kind of a paradox for me personally ”

The paradox, Sternberg said, was that the values of the school were not on par with his central research focus, which showed that kids with challenging backgrounds had abilities that were not being recognized in traditional academic settings

“The challenge for me was [figuring out], is there something missing here?” Sternberg said “The conclusion I came to was that we really need to broaden our notion of what greatness in a university is ”

Sternberg said private institutions such as Yale need to look at land grant institutions like Cornell for guidance

“All land grant institutions have certain

values that make them much greater than people may perceive them to be,” Sternberg said

Private institutions tend to view applicants at entry value, focusing too heavily on grades and test scores, according to Sternberg On the other hand, land grant institutions judge students based on “how much value could [they] add to the university and world,” he said Sternberg said he looks at the administrative office as the second difference between land grant and private institutions While working as an administrator at Yale and Tufts, he said that he noticed some of his coworkers were “happy to reject kids,” because it made the school “look better ” He said that land grant institutions are different

“We are going to take kids who might not look the best in terms of entry value, but [still] give them opportunities that they would not have elsewhere,” Sternberg said Land grant institutions are different in

At Lecture, Prof Talks Implications Of Land Grant Act

Cornellians Respond to National Spike in Freshman Depression

ing concern behind anxiety

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m o re t o a s t u d e n t t h a t j u s t h i s I Q s c o re ”

students’ academic and personal success, ” Tim Marchell, director of mental health initiatives at Gannett, said

The administrators comments follow the release of University of California, Los Angeles study published last week that found more college freshmen nationwide experienced frequent depression last fall than any previous year

The survey titled “The American Freshman: National Norms Fall 2014” found that selfreported emotional health among freshmen was at an all-time low last semester Only 50 7 percent reported no problems with emotional health, 2 3 percentage points lower than the entering class of 2013 The percentage of students who reported feeling “frequently depressed” rose to 9 5 percent, which is 3 4 percentage points higher than it was in 2009, according to the survey

In light of the study, many students, including Priyanka Kompella ’18, said they believe Cornell freshmen might experience depression in par t because they are still recovering from the college process

“Often students work so hard in high school that when they get to college, they come with high expectations and are honestly burnt out before it begins,” Kompella said “This, coupled with the fact that finances, peers, the surrounding environment and almost every other variable is different for the student, can be rough ”

Wenjia You ’18 also said it can be difficult for freshmen to “ accept the fact that [they] may not be as successful as we once were in high school ”

“The best ways to get help are to quickly notice changes in yourself and those around you.”

Marchell said that sorting out the causes of students’ stress is “complex and defies simple explanations ”

“Some people may point to economic factors, though levels of reported depression were lowest in 2009 when the economy was in a very poor shape,” said Marchell, citing the UCLA study “Other potential factors that may play a role include the influence of technology on our daily lives and the level of competition to get into the school of one ’ s choice

This past year at Cornell, Counseling and Psychological Services provided psychological services including individual counseling, group counseling and medication management to approximately 3,900 students, according to Gregory Eells, associate director of Gannett Health Services and director of CAPS

“Depression historically has been one of the prim a r y re a s o n s s t u d e n t s s e e k h e l p, ” Ee l l s s a i d

“Currently, it is the second most common present-

“Two of my freshmen friends decided to take a gap semester because of pressure, ” You said “I feel like the first source of depression is the pressure from peers and academics ”

Joshua Mensah ’18 also said he has experienced pressure at Cornell

“Freshmen are experiencing a lot of change, and in the middle of all those changes they’re being told to find their own way in a competitive world at a competitive school,” Mensah said “Sometimes you either feel extremely alone or extremely overwhelmed by what’s going on ”

Marchell said that identifying students in need of help ahead of time is especially impor tant because around five to seven percent of students report feeling depressed during their senior year of high school

“The best ways to get help are to quickly notice changes in yourself and those around you with respect to mood and coping,” Eells said “When you notice these changes it is essential to reach out and get connected socially and seek professional help as needed ”

International Student Union Begins Work

va r i o u s c u l t u

already on campus, such as the Chinese Student Association and the Cornell Indian Organization, which primarily serve specific cultural and ethnic groups and are s o m e w h a t d i v i d e d f ro

h other

“ The International Students

Union will bring these different cultural groups all together, where students from all these different cultures, get used to each other, and actually interact with each other against a common backdrop,” Tayal said According to Susumpow, the ISU is working on a semesterlong recruitment plan aimed at both undergraduate and graduate students of all origins

“Our events are meant to prom o t e i n t e r n a t i o n a l i s m a t Cornell,” Susumpow said “The best way to take advantage of the ISU is to get involved Whether you are an individual with an idea or an organization that is looking to co-host an event, we are always interested to hear from you ”

Melvin Li can be reached at mli@cornellsun com

A Attention A Advertisers:

D Day Break Deadlines

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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

Restoring sanity | Jon Stewart, left, and Sephen Colbert perform during Comedy Central’s “Rally to Restor Sanity and/or Fear” in Washington, D C , in October 2010 Stewart announced Tuesday that he will leave his program, The Daily Show, later this year

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CATHERINE CHEN 15

Business Manager

CAROLINE FLAX ’15

Associate Editor

NICK DE TULLIO ’15

Web Editor

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Blogs Editor

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Design Editor

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Sports Photography Editor

ANNIE BUI 16

News Editor

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Arts & Entertainment Editor

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Science Editor

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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

Independent Since 1880

132ND EDITORIAL BOARD

HALEY VELASCO ’15 Editor in Chief

TYLER ALICEA 16 Managing Editor

ZACH STEELE ’15

Advertising Manager

SCOTT CHIUSANO ’15 Sports Editor

ALEX REHBERG 16 Multimedia Editor

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NOAH RANKIN 16 City Editor

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SEAN DOOLITTLE ’16

Arts & Entertainment Editor

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Assistant Sports Editor

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MANU RATHORE 15 Outreach Coordinator

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CHRISTOPHER UHLER ’15 The Spot Manager

WORKING ON TODAY’S SUN

PHOTO NIGHT EDITOR Alex Hernandez 16 EDITORS IN TRAINING

EDITOR IN CHIEF Alex Rehberg 16

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ARTS EDITORS Jael Goldfine ’17 Troy Sherman ’18

NEWS DESKERS Rebecca Blair 17 Andrew Lord ’18

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SPORTS EDITOR Anna Fasman 16

Editorial

Increasing Greek Member Education

LAST WEEK, THE LAMBDA CHI ALPHA FRATERNITY was placed on interim suspension, in addition to a reported sex offense Approximately one third of Cornell’s undergraduate students are members of a Greek organization at Cornell whether it is the Interfraternity Council, the Panhellenic Association or the Multicultural Greek Letter Council Recently, however, there have been a string of incidents regarding fraternities and sororities, which has often lead to suspension or ultimately removal from campus

While we at The Sun agree that these problems need to be eradicated, we believe the best way to combat these issues is not to reactively punish, but to proactively mandate more education for all members of the Greek community

In recent years, Cornell has taken a stance against the dark side of the Greek system, which includes hazing and alcohol-related dangers, even going as far as the death of George Desdunes ’13 in February 2011 Following the incident, President David Skorton issued a challenge to the University to “end pledging as we know it” and eradicate hazing and other high-risk behaviors associated with Greek traditions

Despite the changes that the University has begun to make campus safer, statistics still prove that Greek members are more likely to be involved in certain high-risk situations For example, according to the NASPA Journals, fraternity members are more likely to commit rape than non-fraternity members Additionally, they found that women in sororities are 74 percent more likely to experience rape Journalist Caitlin Flanning investigated fraternities for The Atlantic, where she found that sexual assault is the second most common insurance claim filed against fraternities about 15 percent after assault and battery

The Greek system has recently been moving towards providing their members with more information The tri-council has enacted the Delta Series, which is an informational, weekly program for new members In October, 2014, the Interfraternity Council made strides towards providing members with more education through a mandate that requires every chapter to host an in-house or in-person training on sexual assault and alcohol education which goes over bystander intervention and consent education The tri-council has also worked together to create the No More Campaign where, according to the project, “The IFC, MGLC, and Panhellenic communities say No More to sexual assault and domestic violence ”

We believe that the Interfraternity Council is making positive changes with the policy to mandate education However, we also believe that similar programs should be required across the tri-council on a variety of topics that could include drinking, sexual assault and bystander intervention We see a disparity of education by class year and suggest that all members of each chapter be required to attend educational programming every year Additionally, new member education such as the Delta Series should have increased mandatory attendance from each chapter We at The Sun have previously called for “additional educational programming, seminars and awareness campaigns” and believe that Cornell is on the way to educating the Greek system more effectively However, we think that there are simple yet effective ways to implement new policies and mandates that would continue to improve Cornell

Philip Susser | An Ithaca State of Mind

MLearning How To Fail

y Sorel boots have been put to good use this winter Reluctant to procure Bean boots and conf o r m t o t h e B e a n b o o t s / C a n a d a Goose/Moncler Cornell winter uniform, I have an odd personal attachment to these shoes Each morning, I snug my feet into these insulated winter boots and brace myself for the post-apocalypticresurgent-ice-age adventure that is my walk to class Aside from the complete irrelevance that these boots may have with anyone ’ s life on campus, they ser ve as a symbol of the durability and toughness needed for a winter at Cornell Each day, we tr udge our way through the snow, recoil into our jackets upon a gust of wind like sea tur tles and somehow victoriously arrive to our destinations Life within the tundra occasionally justifies a mental trip to a destination w i t h m o r e h

Recently, I imagined travelling to a beach in Jamaica Think Corona’s “find your beach” commercial, sitting on the tiki bar counter with a perspiring orange-pineapple smoothie Behind the bar stood a jolly

R a s t a f a r i a n , c h a t t i n g

w i t h m e a b o u t h i s m i x o l o g y m e t h o d s

Eventually, I snapped

to failure

As reassuring as it might be to know that a Cornell degree will speak wonders to future employers about work ethic and ability to withstand biting temperatures, there will always be a sense of doubt when applying to jobs Just as we may f e e l t e

attractive T A

s out of sheer embarrassment go get ‘ em Christo we may feel unsure of our ability to succeed in the face of exorbitant competition

This job-hunting season, I offer that we disregard the notion of failure in its entirety Behind each reassuring cliché you miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take, fall down seven times, get up eight is a humane societal acceptance and embracement of failure We cer tainly don’t look towards losers or failures for advice, but we learn from them through their blunders

Aggressive little league coaches are a great example of how completely disregarding failure sets oneself up for embarr a s s m e

A t C o r n e l l , m u c h o f o n e ’ s

s u c c e s s i s u l t i m a t e l y d e f i n e d

b y a j o b o f f e r o r a c c e p t a n c e

o u t o f t h i s Sp r i n g break mirage and continued to climb the s l o p e , t h i n k i n g o f both the usefulness of $ 3 5 0 c a m p u s - w i d e tax to fund a ski lift up Libe and Punxsutawney Phil’s prediction of six more weeks of winter

l e t t e r , a n d I e m p a t h i z e w i t h

t h e s t r e s s f u l n a t u r e o f t h e

i n t e r n s h i p a n d j o b h u n t

As a junior, this winter seems par ticularly impor tant for both me and my peers It’s a pivotal moment in our lives, when we must decide what jobs to pursue, whether we want to go to graduate school or if we should just drop ever yt h i n g a n d s t a r t a s m o o t h i e s h o p i n

Ja m a i c a W h i l e m y p i n e a p p l e - o r a n g e twist would surely contribute to Jamaica’s strong tourism industr y, I decided to star t considering different internships

At Cornell, much of one ’ s success is u l t i m a t e l y d e f i n e d b y a j o b o f f e r o r acceptance letter, and I empathize with the stressful nature of the internship and j o b h u n t T h e m

demands of writing cover letters, updating one ’ s resume, preparing for interv

k i s almost a job in itself All this work and effor t put into the ultimate goal of success bargains for introspective moments, in which we decide how we plan to react

sufficiency Drill

es, who bark at

old shor tstop for m

s s i n g a

utine ground ball, while espousing a relentless pursuit of victor y, completely neglect the impor tance of failure Rather than approaching the game as a representation of the ups and downs of life, they see the game through a narrow, limited perspective This creates a “victor y lens” of the world, where if one is not successful, their effor ts are futile Little league baseball publicly rejects this notion, and brazenly states on its website that, “By espousing the vir tues of character, courage and loyalty, the little league baseball and softball program is d e s i g n

explicit recognition of the wider implications of one ' s approach to the game applies directly to these coaches, and it allows us to recognize that learning how to fail is just as impor tant as learning how to win

Philip Susser is a junior in the College of Human Ecology He can be reached at pss226@cornell edu An Ithaca State of Mind appears on alternate Wednesdays this semester

CORRECTION

A Feb 10 editorial, “Respectful Discourse,” incorrectly stated that the takeover of a Student Assembly meeting took place last semester, when in fact, it occurred last spring

A Feb 10 sports story, “Team Takes Fourth Place at ITC’s,” incorrectly stated that the women ’ s tennis captain is Jane Stewart, when in fact, she is Dena Tanenbaum

G u e s t s u b m i s s i o n s m a y b e s e n t t o o p i n i o n @ c o r n e l l s u n . c o m .

L e t t e r s t o t h e e d i t o r m u s t b e i n

r e s p o n s e t o a p i e c e i n T h e S u n , w h i l e

g u e s t c o l u m n s c a n b e o n a n y t o p i c .

Sarah Byrne | Let It Byrne

Adventures In Swiping Right

If Tinder was a party, then I showed up when everyone was already drunk and passed out on the couch Although I’m pretty sure that nearly everyone on Tinder is drunk and passed out on their respective couches anyway

When I first downloaded the app, I was very selective about whom I swiped right on My biggest fear (an extremely arrogant one) was that I would somehow meet my future husband on Tinder, and then we’d have to tell everyone how we met And, if it was on Tinder and he wasn ’ t at least attractive, my friends and family would judge me forever This is the way my mind works I didn’t choose it, but I can ’ t control it

I am constantly hearing horror stories of friends who are harassed by creepy people on Tinder When I say “harassed” and “ creepy, ” I do not mean someone with a quirky pickup line I mean some being persistently rude and aggressive, even after being turned down, as he (usually they’re boys) insists that the girls are into them, because clearly they are, having already swiped right Unless you ’ re living in Nicholas Sparks novel, it’s probably impossible to convince someone to be attracted to you

My rough hypothesis after hearing all of these stories was based on the assumption that my friends, like me, were being quite selective in their rightswiping, and that they were therefore matching mainly with relatively attractive guys Because these guys were attractive, they were used to being liked without putting in much work, and they were thus more prone to sending messages like “dtf?” Quite simply, they were matching with a lot of people, so they had little to lose by being rude to one or two

What logically follows this theory is that the people with a less attractive Tinder profile would be kinder, or at least be subtler in their propositioning Maybe, just maybe, fewer girls were giving these guys a chance, but when given that chance, they would turn out to be the gems of Tinder And maybe, girls complaining about guys on Tinder are just missing out on the proverbial “nice guys ” of the app So, I decided to find out

The Great Tinder Experiment began at approximately 1:17 a m on Friday night, and lasted until about that same time Saturday night I swiped right on everyone I’ll say it again: I swiped right on EVERYONE This is not to say that I spent every minute for 24 hours on Tinder, swiping through every person in the greater Ithaca area Rather, every time I would have gone on Tinder anyway, I swiped right on every person who came up, regardless of what I would have normally done My friend Caroline also did it with me, just for the fun of some comparison, and all observations that follow are based on both of our experiences

There was no validity to my hypothesis about the “niceness” gradient based on attractiveness Like, when I say none, I mean none If anything, people who came off less attractive based on their pictures turned out to be, on average, creepier and more insulting

Across the board, the boys on Tinder were extremely weird and sometimes unsettling Not that this isn’t something I already knew from life, but there is something about Tinder that really lowers people’s inhibitions As one of my friends observing the experiment said, “Once you match, they already feel like they’ve done all the work ” And it was true

My matches felt like they already knew me They called me by my name One of my pictures is of me wearing a baseball cap for a specific team, and on numerous occasions they felt the need to condescendingly ask me if I was really a fan, and then ask me to name players on said team

The first Tinder message is a magical time of possibility A Schrödinger’s relationship, if you will There is one chance to make an impression, and it’s usually the boy who’s doing it So, here comes some advice, if any boys have made it this far: Come up with a clever Tinder message! I received hundreds of horrible pickup lines, but the ones that were funny made me want to respond

However, there were also the ridiculously absurd messages, to which I could not have responded and still been able to live with myself For example, “Are you the Gulf of Mexico? Because I want to drill you and make a big mess of you ” I accept the possibility that this person may have just been having fun sending weird messages to girls he should just know that this is never going to lead anywhere

In the end, I really enjoyed the experiment As someone with a verging-onchronic fear of commitment, I like chatting without any strings attached I thought I would hate the rampant creepiness of my matches during the swiperight rampage, but I was amused, because I didn’t feel threatened by them And for all of the complaining I’ve done so far, I actually had some nice conversations with people, including a great one about the musical Jersey Boys and one guy who played Connect Four with me via Emojis For the record, that’s what they should be used for not weird sex pictorials

Despite a less-than-ideal verdict, I’ll admit that my experiment takes Tinder out of its social context, away from its intended purpose Maybe, if you have really thought through someone ’ s profile before swiping right, the work has already been done, and you can skip a few steps in the relationship For now, I’m going to return to my normal, low amounts of time on Tinder I’ve had enough for a while

But, here’s what I learned: Tinder is pretty wonderful It allows us to meet people while still feeling comfortable behind the security of our smartphones It can actually lead to real-life relationships, but it doesn’t have to No pressure, no “ percent compatibility” and no blind dates It epitomizes our generation’s desire for comfort and casual relationships And, in four years or so, when some of us overcome our commitment-phobia, I can ’ t wait to go to my first Tinder wedding

Comment of the day

“If maintaining and improving the health care of the student body is a priority, then the board of trustees and leadership should be allocating a higher portion of endowment investment returns into the Gannett health system ”

A

Teresa Kim | Her Meneutics

Good

Man Is Really Hard to Find

re p l a y t h o s e s h o r tl i v e d s p a r k s o f a s p r i n g f l i n g o r t h e l a s t c h a p t e r o f a r a t h e r d e s t r u c t i v e re l a t i o n s h i p A n d t h r o u g h i t a l l , I , a t l e a s t , re a li z e o n e t h i n g I s h o u l d h a v e d o n e b u t h a v e n ’ t l i s t e n t o m y m o t h e r Bu t l i k e m a n y b e f o re m e , I h a v e v o l u n t a r i l y p o s i t i o n e d m y s e l f i n f r o n t o f “ Mi s f i t s ” o f m a n y s h a p e s a n d f o r m s i n t h e

h o p e s t h a t I w o u l d b e i n t e re s ti n g e n o u g h t o f i n d m y s e l f a

“ g o o d m a n ” o n e d a y I s t o o d i n

f r o n t o f o n e

t o o m a n y g u n s n o t b e c a u s e I w a s u n a w a r e o f t h e c o n s eq u e n c e s o f a n u n h e a l t h y

r e l a t i o n s h i p

o r a n a rd u o u s

I’m gradually beginning to understand the heart of my mother as I see girls mindlessly step under the blow-torch of romantic ideals and Hollywood beauty standards

e x t e n s i o n o f a o n e - s i d e d i n t e r e s t I s t o o d b e c a u s e I n e e d e d t o s e e h ow t h e s e c o n s e q u e n c e s w o u l d m a n i f e s t t h e m s e l v e s i n m y l i f e a n d n o t j u s t i n a n o t h e r b o o k I re a d L i v e a n d l e t l i v e , r i g h t ? Wr o n g a n d i t ’ s t a k e n 2 1 l o n g y e a r s t o re a l i z e t h a t h ow i n t e re s t i n g , c re a t i v e o r b e a u t if u l I c a m e t o b e w a s n ’ t e n t i re l y d e p e n d e n t o n p e r c h i n g m y s e l f o n a k n i f e ’ s e d g e , a s m y m o t he r h a s re p e a t e d l y t o l d m e a l l t h e s e y e a r s I d i d n t s t o p t o t h i n k t h a t t h e r e a s o n m y f a v o r i t e w r i t e r s w r o t e w h a t t h e y w r o t e w a s n o t t o r a i s e a g e n e r a t i o n o f i n d i v i d u a l s w h o w o u l d m i m e t i c a l l y re - l i v e t h e i r m i s t a k e s In s t e a d , I w e n t o n a h e a d t o b e l i e v e j u s t t h a t “A n y b o d y w h o h a s s u r v i v e d h i s c h i l d h o o d h a s e n o u g h i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t l i f e t o l a s t h i m t h e r e s t o f h i s d a y s , ” F l a n n e r y O ’ C o n n o r o n c e w r o t e i n h e r b o o k o f e s s a y s , My s t e r y a n d M a n n e r s T h e w o r d s o f F l a n n e r y O ’ C o n n o r s t r i k e a s i m i l a r re s e m b l a n c e w i t h t h e w i s d o m o f m y m o t h e r a t f i r s t , t h e w o rd s t h e y s p e a k a re s e e m i n gl y g r o t e s q u e a n d d e e m e d u n f i t t o f i n d a re l a t i o n t o m y l i f e It i s o n l y a t t h e v e r y e n d w h e n I b e g i n t o p i e c e t o g e t h e r t h e p r o f u n d i t y o f i t a l l ; I re g re t t h a t I d i d n ’ t c o n d u c t a m o re c l o s e r re a d i n g o f t h e i r w o rd s I ’ v e c o m e t o f i n a l l y u n d e r s t a n d t h a t I d o n ’ t n e e d t o l i v e o u t a l l o f l ov e ’ s d e s t r u c t i v e c a p a b i l it i e s t o k n ow w h a t l ov e i s a l l a b o u t T h e re ’ s s t i l l a l o t t h a t ’ s l e f t u n w r i t t e n Bu t i n re t r o s p e c t , I n ow c l e a r l y s e e a l l t h e w a r n i n g s i g n s t h a t I c o m p l e t e l y a n d v o l u n t a r i l y a v o i d e d I a c t e d l i k e a s e a s o n e d l o v e e x p e r t a f t e r m y o n e a n d o n l y s e r i o u s re l a t i o n s h i p I l o o k e d f o r a f f i rm a t i o n f r o m p e o p l e w h o

We a l l w a n t t o b e e s t e e m e d , l ov e d , c h o s e n a n d s o m ew h e re o n t h i s j o u r n e y t o b e e s t e e m e d , l ov e d a n d c h o s e n , w e f o r g e t t h e p e o p l e w h o h a v e l ov i n g l y t a u g h t u s a l l w e k n ow, l e t a l o n e w h a t t h e y h a v e t o l d u s We c h o o s e t o l i v e u n d e r t h e p re t e n s e o f k n ow i n g e v e r yt h i n g w h e n w e k n ow n o t h i n g We f o

n t e d t o b

s h o u l d n ’ t b e g i v i n g m e a f f i rm a t i o n a n y w a y s I s h a v e d o f f w e i g h t w i t h o u t re a l i z i n g i t w a s s h a v i n g o f f m y c o n f i d e n c e a s w e l l I g n o r i n g t h e s e w a r n i n g s i g n s d i d n ’ t m a k e m y l i f e m o re i n t e re s t i n g i n t h e w a y I w a n t e d t o b u t o n l y p u t m e w e l l o n m y w a y t o e m o t i o n a l p a r a l y s i s i f a n y t h i n g , t h e y d e t e r re d m e f r o m b e i n g w e l l o n m y w a y t o b e c o m i n g t h e p e r s o n I c o u l d h a v e b e e n b y n ow I m g r a d u a l l y b e g i n n i n g t o u n d e r s t a n d t h e h e a r t o f m y m o t h e r a s I s e e g i r l s m i n d l e s s l y s t e p u n d e r t h e b l ow - t o r c h o f r o m a n t i c i d e a l s a n d Ho l l y w o o d b e a u t y s t a n d a rd s Ev e n a s I e a t m y d i n n e r i n t h e Iv y Ro o m r i g h t n ow, I ov e rh e a r c o n v e r s a t i o n s o f g i r l s f i gu r i n g o u t w a y s t o g e t r i d o f t h e i n f i n i t e s i m a l a m o u n t o f e xc e s s f a t o n t h e i r a r m s i n p re p a r at i o n f o r t h e i r “ b i g d a t e ” o n Va l e n t i n e ’ s D a y I s a y t o y o u g i r l s w h a t m y m o m s a i d t o m e , “ Yo u c a n ’ t l ov e s o m e o n e i f y o u c a n ’ t l ov e y o u r s e l f ”

t h e g i r l w h o s t a r t e d h e r s e nt e n c e s w i t h , “ Bu t m o m s a i d ” ( i t w a s a n d s t i l l i s t o t a l l y u n c o o l ) E s p e c i a l l y o n a c a mp u s w h e re s e l f - m a d e g re a t n e s s t h r i v e s , w e n e g l e c t t o g i v e c re d i t w h e re i t ’ s d u e Bu t , i n m y ow n c o n s c i o u s e f f o r t t o m a k e s m a r t e r r o m a n t i c d e c is i o n s , I h a v e b e g u n t o f i n a l l y r e l y o n t h e w i sd o m o f m y m o t h e r My m o t he r i s t u r n i n g 5 0 t h i s w e e ke n d , V a l e n t i n e ’ s D a y w e e k e n d , a n d t h e re i s s t i l l a l o t

SCIENCE

Professor Studies Food-Poison Bacteria

By YVONNE HUANG

Sun Staff Wr ter

Prof Martin Wiedmann, food science and technology, has combined the fields of microbiology and big data to better predict disease outbreaks and preserve food safety

Wiedmann conducted a study focused on Listeria monocytogenes bacteria and related Listeria species a leading cause of foodborne illnesses and deaths

“The main goal of the study was to find better ways to determine whether lettuce or similar produce grown in a field are likely to have bacteria on them that could make you sick if you eat the product, ” Wiedmann said

According to Wiedmann, there are about 1,600 cases of Listeriosis annually in the United States, with more than 20

percent of those infections resulting in death

Upon ingestion, the bacteria will cause inflammation, followed by diarrhea and vomiting These symptoms are not uncommon in normal foodborne illnesses However, Listeria can also enter the bloodstream, infecting the liver and brain

It can also cause severe complications in pregnant women

According to Wiedmann, the potency of the bacteria differentiates it from other forms of food poisoning

“It is definitely not your middle-of-theroad food poisoning disease, which makes [Listeria] so important to understand and study,” Wiedmann said

In recent years, there have been a number of Listeria outbreaks, including a 2011 outbreak linked to cantaloupes from a Colorado farm This past year, a retailer

had to recall caramel apples after an outbreak of food poisoning related to Listeria The disease is a serious concern, both for producers and consumers

Perhaps the most worrying aspect of this particular bacterium is its ability to survive adverse conditions and stress

Normally, raw and unprocessed foods will be preserved with refrigeration or salting to prevent bacterial growth Listeria can grow under refrigeration temperatures and high salt environments, thus making these typical methods ineffective at killing off the bacteria

“It makes it a unique challenge for the food industry, especially since Listeria is often found on products that go straight from field to table without any high heat or treatment, ” Wiedmann said

Products that are taken directly from growing conditions and consumed are high risk produce They are the foods most likely to transmit foodborne pathogens unless necessary precautions are taken

“Therefore, it is necessary to make sure the product is safe and free of these pathogens while it is still in the field,” Wiedmann said

Wiedmann and colleagues collected many samples from various farms in upstate New York

“In addition to isolating Listeria species from the sample, we also collected Geographic Information System data (GIS), which records the exact location of where the sample was collected,” Wiedmann said “With this, we can ask questions such as how close was Sample A to water or to a major road?”

Wiedmann uses the data to understand the factors that are conducive to Listeria growth

“We collect all this other information that we can use in mathematical modeling to understand which factors make it more likely that Listeria is present, ” Wiedmann said

Analysis of the data revealed that proximity to water is a major factor of a high risk Listeria presence

“The analysis of the data allows us to predict high and low risk areas for Listeria and also see whether different types of the bacteria behave differently,” Wiedmann said

This becomes especially impor tant when food safety testing is carried out, as

it is necessary to know which organisms are almost always found together It is easier and less expensive to test for some organisms than others Information about bacteria that are found in similar or different geographical locations would facilitate testing that may ensure safer products, according to Weidmann

“We’re at a point now where we can develop maps of various fields in New York and predict higher and lower risk areas and start to make recommendations to produce growers, ” Wiedmann said However, it must be noted that it is relatively easy to take past data and build a model the challenge is predicting the future

This past summer, Wiedmann and his colleagues took data from previous years and predicted areas that were high or low risk and took samples based on this model

“We’re in the process of analyzing this data and being closer to give even better and more reliable recommendations,” Wiedmann said “It’s a much more targeted and rational approach to finding out where you should plant what ”

The ultimate impact of this work would be safer food for consumers something that is hard to measure or quantify

“In general, we hope to see an increased safety of fresh produce-type products One of the reasons we started with Listeria is that it is found more often in the environment It is easier for us to get enough data to develop good models,” Wiedmann said

He has also started working on collecting data for Salmonella and Escherichia coli, two other very important foodborne pathogens According to Wiedmann, the next steps will be to analyze different states and regions in conjunction with different pathogen species to better understand food production and the pathogens that afflict it

“You can ’ t do this kind of research everywhere,” Wiedmann said “This project is a good illustration of the unique environment that Cornell provides to do important but also practical research, taking knowledge and translating it into actions that can change people’s lives ”

Yvonne Huang can be reached at yhuang@cornellsun com

By KATHLEEN BITTER Sun Science Editor

Rediviva is a South African genus of bee species that is not your average hone y b e e Ac c o rd i n g t o Gr a h a m Montgomer y ’15, who did his senior thesis on the evolution of the different species within Rediviva, the genus is known, among other things, for having massively-elongated forelegs

“In these bees they get up to twice their body length,” Montgomer y said “ They use these elongated forelegs kind of like normal bees use their proboscis ” Rediviva bees forage for oil specificall y f ro m f l owe r s w i t h i n t h e g e n u s Diascia, which have long floral tubes for the bees’ legs to reach down and gather o i l f ro m t h e f l owe r s ’ o i l - s e c re t i n g

glands Rediviva species are also known for being one of the few species of bee the collects oil from flowers in addition to pollen and nectar

The bee will dab Diascia oil on its body to carr y back to its nest, where it will use it both to waterproof the nest and to create a ball of pollen to lay its egg on The lar vae, when it hatches, will eat the pollen-oil ball, according to Montgomer y

“It’s good for a cell lining and also for the lar vae, ” he said Rediviva bees, unlike honeybees, do not live in large hives as a group

“ T h e s e a re s o l i t a r y b e e s , ” Montgomer y said “ They nest in holes in the ground ”

Montgomer y works in the laborator y of Prof Br yan Danforth, entomology, where a collaborator in South Africa first proposed the idea of working out the evolutionar y histor y of the species within Rediviva Prof Anton Pauw, b o t a n y a n d zo o l o g y, Un i ve r s i t y o f Stellenbosch, was interested in Rediviva bees because of their affiliation with his own research specialty

“ The guy in South Africa who sen us the bees studies plant-pollinato interactions,” Montgomer y said “He i especially interested in orchids, which some of these Rediviva also visit ” In order to reveal the evolutionar y histor y behind Rediviva, Montgomer y first extracted DNA from the 21 specie of bees he had received from South Africa

“ There are 26 species in the genus and we wanted to find out how they’r related,” Montgomer y said “Once w did that, we were able to map traits o interest onto a tree of their evolutionar y histor y ”

Montgomer y first extracted DNA from each species of bee by crushing them up From there he made thou sands of copies of eight specific gene from each bee’s genome

“ In s t e a d o f a n a l y z i n g t h e w h o l genome, it's easier to look at littl regions of DNA, especially nuclear pro tein-coding genes, ” Montgomer y said “ These genes evolve relatively slowly, so that means that there won ’ t be so many changes in base pair identity ”

Base pairs are the individual letter that make up DNA’s genetic code

According to Montgomer y, genes tha code for important proteins are unlikely to evolve ver y quickly because change in code can result in disastrous muta tions that prevent the bees from sur viv ing beyond the embr yonic stage Bu small changes in the right places wil have little to no effect on these impor tant proteins, and can show scientist when different species branched of from each other thousands of years in

G r a h a m M o n t g o m e r y ’15

I n v e s t i g a t e s B e e G e n u s’ H i s t o r

the past

On c e Mo n t g o m e r y h a d e n o u g h copies of each gene from each bee, he sent the samples off to be sequenced by the DNA sequencing facility at Cornell When he received the DNA code for each gene he was able to get to work piecing together the evolutionar y, or phylogenetic, histor y of the Rediviva genus This work was done with the help of several computer programs, Montgomer y said

“ The way we did it, it was necessar y to learn how to use quite a few programs, ” he said “It’s not like you just put a bee into a machine and you get back a tree You have to go from your raw data to one program, then on to a couple others, and finally you get something, and then you might have to put it back into another program to read it ”

The computer programs compared the DNA sequences of the eight genes from each of the 18 species of Rediviva bees and looked at the similarities and differences in each Bees which had fewer similarities between their DNA sequences are likely less closely-related than bees who had more similarities between their DNA sequences

Montgomer y said the analysis prog r a m s w o u l d p ro d u c e p h y l o g e n e t i c “ trees ” showing which species of bees were more closely or distantly related as well as statistics indicating how likely it was that Rediviva species actually separated from each other in the order indicated, based on the DNA sequences

Montgomer y ’ s analysis of Rediviva found that a separate genus of bees, Redivivoides, was too closely related to Rediviva to be considered its own separate group “ This genus, which was also included [in the study], is nested within Rediviva, so it turns out that it shouldn’t be a real genus, ” Montgomer y said According to Montgomer y, a possibl f ll d hi k

Re d i v i va m i g h t b e looking at the evolutionar y histor y of the D i a s c i a f l owe r s t h e bees have evolved to c o l l e c t p o l l e n f ro m

The unique shape of t h e f l owe r s a n d i t s matching length with the bees’ forelegs indicates a coevolutionar y relationship, he said That is, the flowers and the bees have likely been interacting for thousands of generations and are now spec i a l i ze d t o i n t e r a c t with each other the b e e s p o l l i n a t i n g t h e flowers and the flowers giving the bees oil

Ac c o rd i n g t o Montgomer y, Rediviva and Diascia are a more c o m p l e x e x a m p l e o f coevolution than the c l a s s i c a l e x a m p l e o f Dar win’s sphinx moth and the single orchid species it visits “ There are so many species of Rediviva and s o m a n y s p e c i e s o f Diascia, and they’re all interacting at once we c a l l t h a t d i f f u s e coevolution,” he said

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Cornell and is intereste d i n c o n s e r va t i o n biology, but could also see himself continuing to study bees “Bees are awesome, I’d love to keep on going with bees,” he said “Solitar y b f l k d b h ’ actually really important ” Kathleen Bitter can be reached at

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Memory, Fragmented: Test/ Roma at Hartell Gallery

BY SHAY COLLINS Sun Staff Writer

Stan Taft delicately couples emotional evocation and technical precision in his latest exhibition, Test/Roma Through 32 rectangular oil paintings displayed in a line and a pair of circular paintings, Prof Taft, architecture, art and planning, depicts “fragments of a continuing fictional narrative,” according to his artist statement However, Taft imitates the imperfections of memory, writing, “Certain moments are inadvertently out of sequence, perhaps inaccurately recollected ” The resulting collection of works is captivating and juxtaposes compact scenes of human anxiety and violence, colorful ahorizontal lines and household still-lifes

Taft’s usage of motifs unifies the long strand of paintings Eight of the paintings consist of horizontal lines in various colors, and painting “8” foregrounds an image of a woman bathing another motif against blue and black lines

Furthermore, the repeated images comprise pieces of the “fictional narrative” that Taft builds into the series Paintings “9” and “11” both portray the woman bathing; she is mostly obscured by the bath curtain in “9,” but peers out with a look of surprise in “11 ” Even when not directly illustrating fragments of the narrative, Taft repeats images in sequential works and changes the colors used in the composition

By slightly altering successive paintings, Taft alludes to the creative process behind the finished work Looking at pairs of images feels like working on a “ spot the differences” page For example, paintings “4” and “5” focus on the edge of a bed, the bedside table and a green curtain Moving from “4” to “5,” the frame tightens on the bedside table, the point of view rotates slightly and the coloring of the work becomes darker Taft thus causes his viewer to focus on important, but often forgotten, aspects of paintings by contrasting their different permutations The changes, however, are not always subtle

The entirety of painting “12,” for example, becomes a component of painting “13,” juxtaposing the work-as-finished-piece and work-as-ongoing-form Whereas the portraits that comprise “12” are rendered in greater detail against a yellow background, Taft instead incorporates the same portraits in “13,” but blurred and against white paper Taft’s modifications are especially interesting with consideration to Taft’s artist statement

The text accompanying Taft’s paintings consists of two sections: “She’s Crying Now” and “Test/Roma ” “She’s Cr ying Now” alternates between stage direction-like accounts of a couple’s

of a woman In contrast, the second paragraph explains the preceding paragraphs and many of the connections between different paintings in the collection “Fragments of a continuing narrative are at once familiar, banal, trivial, pleasant,” writes Taft, and I think of painting “28,” two thick hands and a pair of crossed legs centered around a notebook open to a blank page

tions (“She holds a rose They pause a moment for him to look at the sole of his left shoe It is precisely noon”) and precise descriptions of the physical setting (“Also behind the bench is a section of rustic fence two feet high, with diagonal members intersecting with verticals a meter apart”) The latter statements evidence Taft’s artistic, focused method for viewing and re-creating the narrative fragments

The two paragraphs that comprise “Test/Roma” contain an even more startling transition The first paragraph detachedly describes the moments preceding a man ’ s rape

In contrast, painting “17” seems to depict the events from the first paragraph of “Test/Roma ” Painted in intense, vibrant lavender, a man holds down a woman, covering her mouth and grabbing her hair as she extends a hand out towards the foremost plane The unexpected violence subverts the sense of domestic tranquility and beauty that Taft cultivates in the other paintings As Taft states, “The same fragments unfold in an atmosphere of anxiety and fear ” Compared to the other paintings of the collection, “17” feels urgent, hectic and painful, and it serves as a testament to the emotional force of Taft’s fragments

Test/Roma is especially interesting in two aspects First and foremost, Taft’s subtle alterations between successive paintings evidence both his impeccable technique and the restraint of his composition Taft successfully renders the same, recognizable scene and components from one work to the next, yet he also modifies the composition in a slight, but apparent, manner Additionally, Taft’s depiction of fragments, through painting and writing, employs narrative in a compelling and complex manner

Viewers examine the same sites, meet recurring characters and subjects and read snippets of strained romance and violent assault

Yet, the narrative as a whole does not rule over and organize the individual works Rather, like in human memory, the fragments are nestled haphazardly together, contrasting tenderness with brutality, light with dark, comfort with surprise and exploring the possible permutations of experiences half-recalled

Shay Collins is a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences He can be reached at scollins@cornellsun com

In Heat: Broad City Season Two

Our favorite Brooklyn bitches are back, r unning wild in Ne w York once again in the second season of Broad City If you missed out on the first season, now is your chance to catch up, as only four episodes of the current season have aired so far Abbi and Ilana are two best friends just looking to have the best time in ever ything t h e y d o Un a b a s h e d l y t a k i n g o n h i l a r i o u s s e x u a l encounters, littering conversation with vulgarity and smoking pot ever y chance they get, these girls don’t hold back Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer are the most crass ladies on television, and that’s exactly why we love them Broad City star ted out as a web series by the duo and was given the boost to the small screen thanks to help

from executive producer Amy Poehler All three have passed through the Upright Citizen’s Brigade, an improv group known for churning out modern comedic heroes Jacobson and Glazer play “15 percent exaggerations” of themselves on their show, drawing from personal experience to build their characters and episodes

Abbi is 26, Oprah-obsessed, desperately cr ushing on h e r a l m o s t - a n g e l i c n e i g h b o r Je r e m y ( St e p h e n Schneider) and dreaming of being a Soulstice trainer instead of a cleaner, largely responsible for wrangling body hair in the gym bathroom Ilana is 23, perpetually looking for a good time and passively cr ushing on Abbi when she’s not splitting her time between her “buddy” Lincoln (Hannibal Buress) and looking for some strange across the city Lincoln is a fan-favorite and arguably the most responsible person on the show: A dentist with his own practice who, despite offering a reality check for the girls, is too drawn to Ilana to not get caught up in the ladies’ antics

Abbi and Ilana spend their time tr ying to become their best selves Except for her desk job, Ilana is probably there already, but Abbi is definitely the more relatable one for young women who just want to get more out of life

They fight for Lil’ Wayne tickets, celebrate minimal amounts in their bank accounts and spend most their waking hours psyching themselves up for ever y social interaction

t h e p o p c u l t u re re f e re n c e s “ y a s q u e e n ” If yo u a re n ’ t a l re a d y f a m i l i a r w i t h t h a t p h r a s e , I c a n ’ t re a l l y h e l p yo u o u t , b u t w i l l c o n g r a t u l a t e yo u f o r n o t s p e n d i n g a s m u c h t i m e o n t h e In t e r n e t a s I d o T h e re i s a q u a l i t y t o t h i s e p i s o d e t h a t f e e l s l i k e a m i n i - m ov i e i n s i d e o f a s h ow, m u c h l i k e t h e “ On e Ma n ’ s Tr a s h” e p i s o d e o f H B O ’ s Gi rl s , e xc e p t t h i s o n e i n vo l ve s a n a d ve n t u re w i t h a g i a n t s t u f f e d a n i m a l i n s t e a d o f a h u n k y Pa t r i c k Wi l s o n So f a r, t h i s s e a s o n h a s t a c k l e d e ve r y t h i n g f ro m a h e a t w a ve t o f e t i s h e s t o k n o c k o f f h a n d b a g s t o m o r t a l i t y, a l l w i t h t h e d u o ’ s s i g n a t u re l a z y - c h i c k h u m o r T h e y a re a l s o a b l e t o t h re a d f e m i n i s t , r a c i a l a n d s o c i a l c o m m e nt a r y t h ro u g h o u t t h e s h ow w i t h h o n e s t y a n d w i t , s i m u lt a n e o u s l y c a l l i n g o t h e r s o u t a n d p o k i n g f u n a t t h e ms e l ve s w i t h o u t e ve r t a k i n g a w a y f ro m t h e l i g h t - h e a r t e dn e s s o f t h e s h ow Bro a d Ci t y a l s o b o a s t s a ro s t e r o f i m p re s s i ve c a m e o s i n c l u d i n g A m y Po e h l e r, Se t h Mo r r i s , A m y Se d a r i s , R a c h e l Dr a t c h , Ma t t L Jo n e s , Ja s o n Ma n t zo u k a s , Ja n e a n e Ga ro f a l o , Fre d A r m i n s e n , Se t h Ro g e n a n d e ve n R i c k y Ul l m a n T h i s s e a s o n i s s h a p i n g u p t o b e e ve n b e t t e r t h a n t h e s t e l l a r f i r s t Gl a ze r a n d Ja c o b s o n h a ve n ow t a k e n o n t h e ro l e s o f e xe c u t i ve p ro d u c e r s a f t e r p a r t i n g w a y s w i t h s e as o n o n e ’ s Ta m i Sa g h e r l a s t w i n t e r Now t h a t t h e y h a ve n o o n e t o a n s we r t o b u t t h e n e t w o rk , t h e g i r l s b a s i c a l l y h a ve f re e re i g n t o s t a y t r u e t o t h e i r i d e a l s a n d t h e u n i q u e vo i c e o f t h e s h ow C o m e d y C e n t r a l i s p u t t i n g t h e i r t r u s t i n Bro a d Ci t y ’ s o r i g i n a l i t y

ow n T h e c o m e d y o f t h i s e p i s o d e i s o n p o i n t , a s a re

After most major music publications named last October’s Run the Jewels 2 Rap Album of the Year, the dynamic duo of Killer Mike and El-P have returned with their third music video off that project, “Lie, Cheat, Steal ” Directed by Ruff Mercy, the video uses psychedelic filters to shoot the two 39 year old MCs trading bars in front of a graffiticovered wall Upon closer examination, the cement wall features a piece from the group ’ s “Tag the Jewels” graffiti initiative, a call-to-action for street artists around the world to put their own spin on the artists’ “pistol fist” iconography, a hand symbol which adorns their album covers

Both the location and seizure-inducing editing of the video add a sense of urgency to Run the Jewels’ manic anarchism, perfectly complimenting the song ’ s politicized subject matter While older than most relevant rappers, Mike and El-P’s years of experience and pent-up frustration with the apparent stagnation of social progress grant them a singular insight into today’s political discourse, which shines through in spades on this particular song Killer Mike steals the show here with his cascading condemnation of American political hierarchies

The minor-key children’s choir chanting in the background suggests that people will not stop lying, cheating, stealing or killing to win anytime soon, but at least we get to watch two brilliant social commentators rap to each other while wearing Nixon masks

Chris Stanton is a sophomore in the College of Ar ts and Sciences He can be reached at cstanton@cornellsun com

Breakups totally suck, or at least that’s what we learn in the first few seconds of 32-year-old Kelly Clarkson’s recently released music video for “Heartbeat Song ” It seems like Clarkson has remembered all the single folks out there for the upcoming holiday, dedicating her newest video to the finding of lost love “Heartbeat Song” is a brief peek into Clarkson’s upcoming album Piece by Piece, which is set to hit iTunes on March 3 The video centers on the lives of five couples, their breakups and subsequent romantic forays Through rough breakup texts and the cr ying over lost causes, things may seem hopeless but it’s a simple meeting on the street, at a party or over coffee that can turn someone ’ s life around

The lyrics call for hope when it all seems lost as Clarkson confidently belts: “You, where the hell did you come from / You were a different, different kind of fun / I can feel it rising / Temperature inside me / Haven’t felt it for a long time ”

Many claim that, based on lines like, “Until tonight I only dreamed about you/ I can ' t believe I ever lived without you, ” the song was inspired by Clarkson’s newborn daughter, River Rose Blackstock “Heartbeat Song” is the singer’s first musical release since the birth of her daughter The artist also has told several audiences that the song writing process occurred over her pregnancy In the production of the single, Clarkson was assisted by former American Idol colleague and co-writer Kara DioGuardi as well as Greg Kurstin, the producer of several of Clarkson’s previous music videos including 2011’s “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You) ”

The video focused on the stories of lovesick characters in their pursuits of happiness in romance, while Clarkson appeared in only short intermediar y clips due to her pregnancy, however, she still steals the show while twirling in colorful Valentine’s Day-themed shots Calling all singles “Heartbeat Song” proclaims that love is unexpected, so although chocolate and Netflix are great, it’s a reminder to keep an open mind this Valentine’s Day

Madeline Day is a freshman in the College of Ar ts and Sciences She can be reached at mday@cornellsun com

HL-Day and the Liberation of a Watchman

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Women Host Big Red Invitational, Take First

By VERONICA DICKSON Sun Contributor

The energy in Teagle on Saturday afternoon was palpable The competitors were poised and by the end of the afternoon, the Red came out on top The Cornell gymnastics team prevailed and won three out of four events at the Big Red Invitational, matching its season-high score of 190 65

“This was the first time in the season we ’ ve been able to do that,” said Courtney Spitzer, a freshman and top scorer in her events “The energy in the gym was so high so that

was a lot of fun Being out there is so nerve wracking, exciting and thrilling it’s really great ”

From freshmen to seniors alike, the team dominated the competition in the vault, uneven bars and balance beam categories Although the squad might not have won the gold in the floor, freshman Joy Gage pulled in second place, earning Cornell the overall winning title This was especially impressive considering that several Red gymnasts have been in and out of practice due to illness, including Gage

“My favorite part of being at the meet was seeing my teammates all step up to the plate and compete aggressively and confidently,” said junior Kaylie Cronin “We had a lot of people out sick during practice this week but looking at everyone ’ s performances you would never have known I was extremely proud of our team for that ”

While most competitions are known as “dual meets ” just one team against the other Cornell hosted Brockport State University, Southern Connecticut State University and Ithaca college, a four team meet However this year ’ s Big Red Invitational stood out compared to years past This “pink meet ” was in support of Breast Cancer Research The girls all wore pink leotards and col-

Foundation and Friends of Jaclyn, two prominent breast cancer awareness organizations While the team came together to help support an admirable cause, it also supported one another throughout the meet

“I’ve been a gymnast since I was three, but collegiate gymnastics is so much fun,” Spitzer said “In the past it was more individual but here it’s a team sport ”

Transfer Gil Could Make the Difference in Villa’s Mid eld

LINSEY

Continued from page 16

responsible for scoring are the forwards, so let’s start there Christian Benteke, a tall Belgian striker, is Aston Villa’s forward and is g e n e r a l l y t

ye

However, he has been injured often this season, and although he is back now, he is struggling and has not gotten his scoring groove back The team has other forwards like Andi Weimann and Libor Kozak, but Weimann has only scored a few times and the Czech has been sidelined due to injury all season

When the forwards are struggling to score, it is up to a creative force in the midfield to make scoring opportunities However, all year, t h i s i s w h e re A s t o n Vi l l a h a s s t r u g g l e d

Manager Paul Lambert figured that out and signed Carles Gil in the transfer window Gil is a talented Spanish playmaker, who could be exactly what Aston Villa needs As I have noted in past weeks, the squad needs Gil badly and I do expect him to be a success there He created Villa’s goal in Saturday’s game, which ended the 10-hour scoreless streak However, the squad is in dire need of more help, and now that the transfer deadline is over, the help can ’ t come from outside the team

Simply put, the reason Aston Villa can ’ t score is because it doesn’t have players who can create opportunities and it doesn’t have players who can put those opportunities in the back of the net The defense, although not perfect, is good enough for now and its American goalkeeper, Brad Guzan, is solid Yet, looking at the way the team has played this season, it looks as if the offense might need a complete overhaul

Fixing Villa’s offense, however, could be as easy as a formation change The team has been starting a bunch of similar midfielders, like Carlos Sanchez, Fabian Delph, Tom Cleverley and Ashley Westwood All are good central midfielders who can link up the team well with good passing It is very important to have one or two of these kinds of players in the line-up, but playing four of them clogs the midfield and limits the ability to give different players time on the field

Lambert should ditch the formation containing all of these passing midfielders, and only retain Sanchez and Delph as he switches to a 4-2-3-1 system, one similar to that

which most teams use in the modern game Sanchez and Delph will work well as the two defensive midfielders as a more defensive player, Sanchez will focus more on winning the ball back, while Delph will play a “boxto-box” role As one of Villa’s best players, Delph is capable of being a box-to-box midfielder, which means he contributes both offensively and defensively due to good stamina and the ability to play on both sides of the ball

In front of those two, Lambert can now utilize two wide players, as well as a central attacking midfielder, when he takes Cleverley and Westwood out of the line-up Two good options he has out wide are his new loan signers, Scott Sinclair and club youngster Jack Grealish, and his central attacking midfielder will no doubt be Gil Of the winger candidates, Sinclair is a very quick player who can add a new dimension to Villa’s attack Grealish is a very talented young player who has the potential to become a star winger However, the latter is mysteriously not being given a chance by the manager at the moment, as Grealish has played 218 minutes all season in nine bench appearances Why he can ’ t get a start is puzzling fans everywhere He may not be ready yet, but by not giving him a chance, Lambert is possibly missing out on a gamechanger that could provide the missing creativity the team needs Lambert should try three attacking midfielders in his formation, and his best options are Sinclair, Gil and Grealish

Aston Villa is a team that should be in the middle of the standings This year, however, it has scored at a shockingly low rate of one goal in every other game on average This is a soccer team with players and coaches that are capable of far better Perhaps all it needs is to use some different players and a different arrangement and it could lead to more success later on in the season Either way, there are still 14 games of a 38 game season left, plenty of time for a good strategy to have a positive effect Villa could have success in front of the goal if Lambert tries some of these recommended changes, and for the fans who want to see their club score, these changes would be appreciated

Kevin Linsey can be reached at klinsey@cornellsun com

Cronin agreed, noting that the support from her teammates, both this weekend and in general, has helped her in competition

“I couldn’t have wished for any better teammates or coaches I can ’ t even explain the feeling of competing for this team, and hearing your teammates cheering for you on the sidelines, knowing they have your back It’s just amazing,” she said

Associate head coach Melanie Dilliplane also had only good things to say about her squad

“Floor wise, Joy was sick but she came back for a great win and was able to pull out the win,” she said “We had some really outstanding performances with some star athletes and when all four events go at the same time, the energy level is a lot higher The overall feeling is great when the audience is right there so close to the gymnast ”

Although the Red notched a hard earned victory, there were some bumps in the road on the way to the top

“We may have had a much better overall performance this weekend, but we had the same exact score as the previous weekend,” said senior Maia Vernacchia “There were great performances but the scores were way lower than expected Luckily, the team didn’t get discouraged so we pulled through and started competing much better ”

Despite the obstacles that came up, the Cornell gymnastics had an overall successful weekend The team will gear up to compete this Valentines Day at Rutgers University in New Jersey

Victoria Dickson can be reached at vd54@cornell edu

Red Lets Penn in From Behind

Drops game after holding lead at halftime

BASKETBALL

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ference wins against Dartmouth and Columbia, the Tigers faltered early, scoring just three points in the first five minutes of the contest

Princeton would heat up after that, however, building a seven point lead that was eventually cut down to four going into the half After a few minutes of back and forth early in the second half, Princeton went on a 101 run, giving the Tigers a 12 point lead with 10 minutes to play Cornell responded with a furious rally In a little under seven minutes the Red turned a 12 point deficit into a 10 point lead Cornell scored 22 straight points, hitting shots from everywhere on the court and sinking all eight freethrows

On the defensive end, the Red deflated the Tigers, forcing six turnovers Over the last 11 minutes of the game, the Cornell’s stifling defense allowed only one field goal to Princeton, the Ivy League’s second best offense

“It was really what we envisioned this team could be,” Courtney said of the run “We were able to do all the things that we talk about everyday Our defensive pressure was tremen-

dous [and] we forced them into rushed shots We controlled the tempo of the game ”

The game was an excellent showcase of just how far this team has come since last season Eleven months ago, Princeton came into Newman Arena and scored 25 consecutive points to open the game The Tigers would go on to win by 40, handing Cornell it’s 25th loss of the season A year later, Cornell came away with the big run and the victory

Four Cornell players finished with double digits in scoring, including freshman forward Pat Smith Smith scored a career-high 10 points in his first start of the season, all of which came in the Red’s dominant second half Courtney said he’s encouraged by his team ’ s resiliency to bounce back like they did even after a close defeat

“It was great to see the team recover from that tough loss,” he said “They really put together a stretch of basketball that was our best all year ” This weekend, the Red travels to Dartmouth on Friday to battle the Green and then onward to league leader Harvard on Saturday

Adam Bronfin can be reached at abronfin@cornellsun com

Wrestlers Head Into Post-Season

WRESTLING

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healthy and uninjured to follow up last year ’ s placement in the Top-10 NCAA wrestling teams

Undoubtedly, sophomore Gabe Dean, one of the team ’ s most successful wrestler, will be leading the men on the mat as they approach next week’s meet Dean, a wrestler in the 184-weight class, contributed greatly to the success of last weekend, winning both of his matches with bonus points He has continuously proven his worth on the Red squad, something that will hopefully continue into

the post-season

In addition, junior captain Nahshon Garrett, sophomore Brian Realbuto and Senior Jace Bennett won each of their matches

The next month will be crucial for the Cornell squad, and if history is any indication of future success, the Red will take on each opponent with tenacity and strength while it battles for the No 1 spot in the country Next weekend the men take on the Drexel University Dragons (7-10) in Newman Arena

Hannah Noyes can be reached at htn27@cornell edu

Spor ts

Men Drop Game to Quakers

By ADAM BRONFIN Sun Staff Writer

This weekend, the Cornell men ’ s basketball team split its set of games, losing, 71-69, to rival Penn on Friday and snagging a victory over Princeton, 68-60, on Saturday In its first game of this past weekend’s home contests, Cornell was the victim of a powerful second half comeback, however, the following day, the Red (11-11, 3-3 Ivy) was the team to beat, storming back after being down at halftime

The Red started strong against the Quakers (7-12, 2-3 Ivy) jumping out to a 12-0 lead However, Penn cut the lead to eight points before halftime thanks to some sharp-shooting from behind the arc Penn’s Tony Hicks tied up the game at 43 with 11 minutes to go Hicks would score an overall game high 25, including four of six from 3-point territory Overall, the Quakers shot 10 of 19 on 3-point field goals

Quick baskets from senior guard Devin Cherry and sophomore guard Robert Hatter extended the Red’s lead back to five Cornell continued to apply pressure and led by eight with five minutes to go The Quakers chipped away at the lead, but senior forward Shonn Miller converted a three point play to give the Red a five point advantage with under two minutes to play

Penn’s Sam Jones, who was three for four from deep,

made a 3-pointer with 42 seconds left, giving Penn a 69-68 lead Miller was fouled on the other end but could only convert one of two from the line

With the game all tied up, Hicks made a clutch floater in the paint over the outstretched arms of several Red players to give the Quakers a two point lead with four seconds left Without a timeout to spare, Cherry was forced to take a running 3-pointer that clanked off the side of the rim

“You gotta give Penn a lot of credit,” said head coach Bill Courtney “They made a lot of tough shots But at the same time, we feel like we didn’t guard well down the stretch and we kind of allowed them to stay in the game ”

Although it was on the losing end, the Red did a great job of securing the basketball, committing just seven turnovers on the night while forcing 17 Courtney also noted that the offense looked good against the Quakers

“We scored the basketball a little bit better and that was a big thing for us because we had struggled shooting the basketball in our previous games, ” he said “Shonn Miller was able to get back on track, scoring inside a little bit ” However, Cornell struggled in other aspects of the game The Red, the best free-throw shooting team in the league, shot poorly from the charity stripe, connecting on 66 percent of its shots, its lowest percentage since November The Red also had its lowest rebounding total of the season and

Why Can’t Aston Villa Score?

As a sport, soccer has its fair share of critics

People claim they just can ’ t watch soccer because it’s not exciting Often, those of us who are fans of “the beautiful game, ” as Pelé called it, feel the need to defend the world’s most popular sport from those who oppose it The soccer fanatics of the world like

to point out that most games do have several goals, and even bad teams will score plenty of goals throughout a season However, for one team in the English Premier League this year, that simply is not the case Aston Villa has managed to score just 11 goals in 23 games this season This includes six recent games, a total of over 10 hours straight of play, in which the team has not scored That is an absolutely woeful record, considering at its most basic level, the job of a soccer team is to score goals As the squad con-

tinues to fall down the league standings, it will need to turn this around fast in order to sur vive relegation to the Second Division Aston Villa Football Club plays in the British city of Birmingham It has a good team certainly not one of the best teams in the 20-team Premier League, but good

enough to finish in the middle of the pack It also has a great history the group has won the First Division (the Premier League’s predecessor) seven times, the F A Cup seven times and even the European Cup once This year, however, the club has been downright horrendous offensively, and as such, has struggled to win games So, let’s take a closer look, identifying the problem and providing a possible solution In soccer, the players most

allowed the Quakers to shoot almost 50 percent Against Princeton on Saturday, Cornell found itself on the other end of a late game collapse Coming off big con-

By HANNAH NOYES Sun Contributor

It’s not easy going from one competitive meet to another in a week, let alone six hours That’s exactly what the Cornell men ’ s wrestling team did when they took on Hofstra University (5-10) and Columbia University (4-3) in a dual meet this past Saturday The Red swept the competition, beating Hofstra, 41-7, and walking away from Columbia with 38 wins and no losses

This weekend solidified one thing for the Red: for 13 years, the men have held the title as the best of the Ivy League and they still remain on top With the win against Columbia, Cornell is riding on a 27 meet winning streak against colleges and universities in New York State, as well as keeping its title as Ivy champi-

ons Additionally, Cornell has not let Hofstra leave with a win over the past 12 times they have faced off, and they have not lost to Columbia in 29 meets

Over the past 13 seasons, Cornell has won 68 straight matches against fellow Division I, Ivy League competitors, making it the team to beat across the East Coast

Head Coach Rob Koll’s dedication to each individual player has certainly paid off over the season He stresses the importance that every meet is different for each man, so as a whole they cannot assume success because of past triumphs So far, the Cornell wrestlers have only lost one meet in the 2014-2015 season As the championships approach, the team will hopefully keep all of its men