04-05-13

The Corne¬ Daily Sun

Skorton : Cornell

By TYLER ALICEA Sun Staff Writer

The University has no plans to divest a large portion of its endowment from the fossil fuels industry in the “immediate foreseeable future,” President David Skorton said at a Student Assembly meeting Thursday

Skorton said Cornell remains committed to sustainability and that he urges students to continue discussing environmental concerns

“This is going to be a long term conversation between us.”

“This is going to be a long-term conversation between us, ” Skorton said, adding that divestment will remain a topic of discussion within not only Ithaca but also across the nation

Skorton’s response came as a disappointment to some students, who have appeared before the Board of Trustees, spoken at the Student Assembly and hand-delivered letters to Skorton asking the University to divest Supporters of divestment have argued that the University has a responsibility to invest in sustainability and said the financial risks of divestment have been exaggerated

On Thursday, however, Skorton described the decision to divest from fossil fuels as “high stakes,” citing “the risk we would put the campus under” if the University were to divest

He added that students can expect the University to make a “ very

Following Racial Bias Incident, Sig Pi Brothers Cite Changes

By NOAH RANKIN Sun Staff Writer

Almost a year after an individual threw bottles and yelled racial epithets at a group of black students by the Sigma Pi fraternity, three Sigma Pi brothers spoke Thursday about the fraternity’s subsequent involvement in campus initiatives against racism

Sigma Pi brothers first started getting involved with campus initiatives against racism to fight off negative images the fraternity was associated with after the incident occurred, according to Zach

Event Aims to Teach Students the

By SARAH CUTLER Sun Staff Writer

Smith ’13, who was president of Sigma Pi last spring The fraternity was put on probation soon after the event, and was released from probation this semester

“At first, it was just an image We were fighting off probation We didn’t want to be labeled as bigots,” Smith said

However, Smith said that the brothers later recognized the incident went “beyond an image problem ”

“I think that the stuff we ’ ve done has had a pos-

S i x p a n e l i s t s s p o k e a b o u t t h e i r e x p e r i e n c e s a s f e m a l e , Mu s l i m , l e s b i a n , A f r i c a n A m e r i c a n a n d t r a n s g e n d e r s t ud e n t s a t C o r n e l l o n T h u r s d a y T h e e ve n t , w h i c h k i c k e d o f f a c a m p a i g n c a l l e d “ K n o w t h e Powe r o f Yo u r Wo rd s , ” a i m e d t o r a i s e a w a re n e s s a b o u t t h e e f f e c t s t h a t h u r t f u l l a n g u a g e c a n h a ve o n p e e r s , n e i g h b o r s a n d f r i e n d s Su s a n Mu r p h y ’ 7 3 P h D ’ 9 4 , v i c e p re s i d e n t o f s t u d e n t a n d a c a d e m i c s e r v i c e s , o p e n e d t h e d i s c u s s i o n by re f l e c t i n g o n t h e e x p r e s s i o n , “ s t i c k s a n d s t o n e s m a y b re a k m y b o n e s , b u t w o rd s w i l l n e ve r h u r t m e ” “ T h a t e x p r e s s i o n i s n o t t r u e , ” Mu r p h y s a i d “ K i d s k n ow w h a t ’ s g o i n g o n , t h e y s e e w h a t ’ s g o i n g o n a n d t h e y s a y t h e a d u l t s a re c l u e l e s s A n d i n b e i n g c l u e l e s s , t h e a d u l t s a re s e e n a s e n d o r s i n g i t ” T h e p a n e l

Huray said

According to Huray, asking

Tomorrow

“C

Sp eaking ab out Professor Christian Otto, architec ture

Monday

“[Architecture] framed his world It delighted him, [and] it made him think and wonder But more than anything , he loved to teach to bring students to a building , a landscap e,

idea or movement and guide them to see it understand it and if not love it, resp ect it ”

for reasons not revealed by numb ers alone

The

Corne¬ Daily Sun

On-Campus Pub Will Host Local, Student Bands

By SARAH SASSOON Sun Staff Writer

The Bear’s Den Cornell’s on-campus pub, which opened for business in September launched a music series, “Back 2 Back Bands” on Thursday in hopes of establishing the space as a live-music performance venue, according to event organizers

The series will include six nights of performances in early April with each night featuring a different band, said Lauren Ritter ’13, pub director and executive director of the Student Union Board

The bands featured in the series range from local groups to students to alumni, including Kinetics & One Love, a hip-hop group comprised of Jeremy Dussolliet ’09 and Tim Sommers ’10, the songwriters behind the chorus of B o B ’ s song “Airplanes ” The duo is scheduled to perform in the pub April 6, Ritter said

“All six bands that we have coming are so talented and are so integrated into the Ithaca community,” Ritter said “I’m so excited to see what happens ”

The SKAbuelos, the first band to perform in the series, is comprised of current Cornell students and incorporates both ska an old Jamaican music form and jazz, according to Mario Céspedes ’13, a guitarist, bassist and vocalist for the band

“We are all excited to be hosted by the new pub and to have the ability to present music for free to the student body,” Céspedes said in anticipation of Wednesday’s show

“[The den is] pretty much a space to indulge in the sweetness of life sweet music, sweet food, sweet drinks ”

Ritter said that this year, one of the primary aims of the Student Union Board, which the pub committee is a subcommittee of, is “ to bring music back into the Straight ”

“I felt that we were kind of losing our hold on music in

the building,” Ritter said Carol James, advisor to the Bear’s Den and director of Community Center Programs, said the pub has seen both successes and failures since its opening in September

“I think we were just trying [a lot of things out]; that was the strategy we had first semester, ” James said Throughout last semester, the pub hosted events put on by student organizations as well as comedy shows and screenings of sporting events

After a recent installation of a new lighting and sound system, the pub became more suited to hosting live music performances, according to Ritter and James

“It has a very different look and feel than it did [the] first semester, ” James said Ritter added that the pub committee “wanted to make the most of [the new equipment] and bring these really talented performers in so that we can see what the pub really

has to offer ”

However, while the “Back 2 Back Bands” series is a new feature, James said that the pub has been home to live music events in the past

Ritter said she hopes that the music series and future pub events in general will bring together not only students under and over age, but also Cornell students and Ithaca community members

“In my mind, the Ithaca community is also the Cornell community We come together, we bond over hockey I’d like to see them come together and bond over music in the Bears’ Den,” she said

Roger Ebert, Award-Winning Film Critic, Dies

CHICAGO (AP) Roger Eber t

h a d t h e m o s t - w a t c h e d t h u m b i n Hollywood

W i t h a t w i s t o f h i s w r i s t , t h e

Pu l i t z e r Pr i z e - w i n n i n g c r i t i c c o u l d render a decision that influenced a nation of moviegoers and could sometimes make or break a film

The heavy-set writer in the hornrimmed glasses teamed up on TV with Gene Siskel to create a format for criticism that proved enormously appealing in its simplicity: uncomplicated revie ws that were both intelligent and accessible and didn’t talk down to ordinar y movie fans

Eber t, film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times since 1967, died Thursday

a t t h e R e h a b i l i t a t i o n I n s t i t u t e o f

Chicago, two days after announcing on his blog that he was undergoing radiation treatment for a recurrence of cancer He was 70

“So on this day of reflection I say again, thank you for going on this journey with me I’ll see you at the movies ” Eber t wrote Tuesday on his blog

Despite this influence, Eber t considered himself “beneath ever ything else a fan ”

“I have seen untold numbers of movies and forgotten most of them, I hope, but I remember those wor th remembering, and they are all on the same shelf in my mind,” Eber t wrote in his 2011 memoir titled “Life Itself ”

Eber t lost por tions of his jaw and the ability to speak, eat and drink But he went back to writing full time and eventually even returned to television In addition to his work for the SunTimes, he became a prolific user of social media, connecting with fans on Facebook and Twitter

Eber t ’ s thumb pointing up or down was his trademark It was the main logo of the long-r unning TV s h o w s E b e r t c o - h o s t e d , f i r s t w i t h Siskel of the rival Chicago Tribune and after Siskel’s death in 1999 with Sun-Times colleague Richard Roeper A “ two thumbs-up” accolade was sure to find its way into the adver tising for the movie in question

T h e n a t i o n ’ s b e s t - k n o w n m o v i e revie wer “ wrote with passion through a real knowledge of film and film histor y, and in doing so, helped many movies find their audiences,” director Steven Spielberg said His death is “vir tually the end of an era, and now the balcony is closed forever ” In early 2011, Eber t launched a n e w s h ow, “ Eb e r t Pre s e n t s A t t h e Movies ” The show had ne w hosts and featured Eber t in his own segment, “Roger’s Office ” He used a chin prosthesis and enlisted voice-over guests or his computer to read his revie ws

Eber t told The Associated Press that braver y had “little to do with it ” “ You play the cards you ’ re dealt,” Eber t wrote in an email in Januar y 2011 “ What’s your choice? I have no pain I enjoy life, and why should I complain?”

Scott Jordan Harris, a British man who wrote for Eber t ’ s website, said he was moved that the critic lost his voice but “ never let that make him silent ”

It’s spring time and everything is hatching What is your spirit insect?

“Ghetto-Fly, because I’m ghetto and I’m fly ” –– Artsy Fartsy ’15

“Spider-Monkey Then I can get the best of both worlds ” Hannah Montana ’14

“ Tinkerbell She’s petite, intelligent and spunky not to mention, Peter Pan is a total babe

Fairy Princess ’16

“Daddy Longlegs they’re underratedly deadly ”

Underrated ’14

“A fly you get to stick to the wall and hear everything ” Creepy Crawley ’14

“A mosquito This way I get to taste everyone ” Connoisseur ’15

“A butterfly, because I’m beautiful, and everyone should know ” I’m-So-Pretty ’15

“An earthworm I’d love to be able to regrow my bodyparts ” Wannabe ’14

Paneli st s Di sc uss Lan g ua ge and Bi as

about semantics, as it may appear on the surface; “it’s more than that,” Huray said

“[Using those words] perpetuates stereotypes the community has,” Huray said “How would it feel if whenever we wanted to use a swear word, we substituted your name for the swear word?”

Fellow panelist Sasha Mack ’13 also discussed the intersection of language and identity Although Mack is black, she said she does not conform to what she called the “ stereotype in the media” of the way black persons speak and dress

“I’ve heard ‘ you ’ re not black enough,’ ‘ you ’ re whitewashed,’ ‘ you talk white,’” Mack said

Asked about being “tokenized” by friends, Oliver Stover ’13 who is transgender and identifies as male spoke about his frustration with girls who said they felt lucky to have a “ gay friend” with whom they could discuss fashion

“He, she, they, them they’re not your gay friend, they’re not your black friend, they’re not your Muslim friend,” Stover said “They’re just your friend ” T

Nate Shinagawa ’05 M A ’09 telling a story from when he was 13 years old Shinagawa recalled his father telling him about the story of an Asian man who was shot by police officers because they allegedly “thought he was going to do martial arts ”

Shinagawa said that before the incident, he had protected himself from bullies on the playground by saying he knew martial arts But he realized that the officers’ comment about martial arts was just another way of saying that the man was Asian

Shinagawa said he became determined to prevent people from using phrases that “institutionalized prejudice,” and has made it a goal in his job as a hospital administrator to focus on employees’ and patients’ individuality

“Nobody wants to be judged by a group that they may only be a small part of,” he said “We can all affect our circle of friends, and one person can affect a community ”

Sarah Cutler can be reached at scutler@cornellsun com

Attendees Express Skepticism at Frat Brothers’ Actions

itive impact on the brothers, and I think we ’ ve helped promote events and get other people involved to the point where it’s moved beyond an image problem,” Smith said “It’s something that we actually care about, and want to keep working with in the future ”

Others who attended the meeting, however, expressed skepticism at the nature of the event

“I don’t think it was an appropriate event, ” said Oscar Correia ’14, president of La Asociación Latina “It shouldn ’ t have just been members from Sigma Pi; it should have had a panel They spoke out from the beginning, defending themselves, but the victims never got the chance to speak out ”

Correia added that the victims were still severely affected by the incident

“Mother of Exiles: From Concept to

Production”

Friday, April 5, 2013, 4:30 p m Film Forum, Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts

273-3606 M-F 9-5

“I spoke to all [of the victims] after [the bias incident] happened Two [of them] are afraid of their names being published and wouldn’t come to an event like this They’re still afraid of reaching out for a variety of different reasons, ” Correia said

“It shouldn’t have just been members from Sigma Pi, it should have had a panel ... the victims never got the chance to speak out ”

O s c a r C o r r e i a ’ 1 4

Echoing Correia’s sentiments, Anthony Santa Maria ’13 questioned the authenticity of the brothers’ actions

“ The fact that they can only cite a big open-body meeting that I know they were forced to go to and one workshop that I don’t really think that they gained that much from, I don’t really think that their ‘race-based training’ has any substance to it at all,” he said

Although none of the brothers of the house were directly involved in the bias incident, it was hard to escape the labels that floated around campus and online, according to Smith

“Wearing our letters around campus, we felt judged; we felt that people were giving us these labels, and it was the last thing that we would associate ourselves with,” Smith said “We had to take a step back and look at ourselves as a brotherhood, our actions and our procedures that we had in place that allowed this event to happen, and while it seemed unfair that we were thrust in the middle of this spotlight, we really felt like the only way to move was forward ”

The fraternity has been working on reaching out to other student groups by sponsoring events like “Power, Privilege, and Oppression,” a human board game that simulated the advantages that certain social groups have above others, according to Aram Shrestinian ’15, a Sigma Pi brother

In addition to sponsoring official events, the fraternity has also begun to more actively engage in dialogue with students across different groups and invite them to the house, according to Heidenreich

“This is the way you learn the most from other people,” said Bennet Heidenreich ’15, a Sigma Pi brother “Interact in a social atmosphere rather than a forced atmosphere What is important is to keep up the dialogue We have to expand [on] this in the whole Greek system ”

Additionally, the fraternity has made it a priority to educate the incoming pledge class about the event, Shrestinian said

“I think that’s one of the most touching things about this whole experience,” Shrestinian said “We took 29 kids, and they’ve all been versed in what happened, what we ’ re doing, our new initiative and direction And even though they weren ’ t here, they are on board with what we ’ re doing I feel like that indicates that as our house moves on, the younger generations are going to continue to pass on this lesson that we ’ ve learned I think it will have a really positive effect on the organization ”

As an example, Shrestinian said about 15 members of the new pledge class joined Cayuga’s Watchers at the fraternity’s recommendation, and that the fraternity has not had any incidents violating safety rules this year

In response to the events of May 2012, guests at Sigma Pi over Slope Day weekend will be heavily screened, and there will be stronger risk management at the house, according to Shrestinian

Noah Rankin can be reached at nrankin@cornellsun com

Some ‘Disappointed’ at Skorton’s Comment s on Divestment and C.U.

DIVESTMENT

Continued from page 1

serious effort” to move more of its investments into sustainable energies in the future

Cornell’s Chief Investment Officer A J Edwards previously said to The Sun that divestment would have a “material impact on the return of the endowment and its contribution to the operating budget of the University ”

Additionally, Edwards has said that while the expected rate of return on investments in the energy sector is one of the highest of all of the asset classes the University invests in, investments in alternative energy strategies have rarely produced returns that meet Cornell’s risk and return requirements

But students have said that by investing in sustainable resources, the lost revenue due to divesting from fossil fuels will be balanced

However, in response to those who say that there is no or minimal risk to the endowment, Skorton said that he “is not convinced by [the] data ”

“It’s important to note that collectively, nobody invests as much on research on sustainability as the fossil fuels industry,” he said

More than 20 student organizations have handdelivered letters to Skorton asking the University to pursue divestment, according to Anna-Lisa Castle ’13, former co-president of Kyoto NOW!, a climate justice organization Additionally, in a resolution passed in February, the S A asked the University to divest by the end of 2020 and reinvest 30 percent of divested funds in sustainable enterprises

Skorton also said that more than 10 percent of the University’s operating costs are drawn from returns on the endowment If the endowment shrinks, the University may have to cut budgets, increase tuition or do both to make up for the lost revenue, according to a document on the University’s Cornell NOW! website

Skorton, however, did not entirely discredit the idea of divestment during the S A meeting

“I do think [that] occasionally, under very certain circumstances, divestment of a portion of the portfolio is a reasonable thing to do,” he said

After the S A meeting, Ulysses Smith ’14, vice president for diversity and inclusion and incoming president of the S A , said that he understood the University’s rationale, even if it was not what he

wanted to hear

“What we need to do now is really advocate for investment in sustainable and renewable resources We need to invest enough so that divestment from fossil fuels is possible without causing significant harm to our operating status, ” Smith said in an email

Like Smith, Rebecca Macies ’14, co-president of Kyoto NOW!, said she respected Skorton’s decision, even if she did not agree with it

“[Skorton] has been very receptive to us throughout the whole process, and we really appreciate that We will continue speaking to him and trying to continue this conversation into the future,” she said

S A CALS Representative Sarah Balik ’14, who co-sponsored the resolution asking the University to divest, said she wished she could have heard more concrete details about the University's investments in sustainable energy at the meeting

“I would have liked to have heard tangible steps that would be working towards not only responsible investment, but also a little bit of a move toward divesting from irresponsible sources, ” Balik said

Others were less satisfied with Skorton’s message Julia Fiore ’13, a member of Kyoto NOW!, said she believes divestment is an obtainable goal for the University She added that the University will continue to hear from her and other student groups

“Over the timeline we gave them, I think would be very reasonable to fully transition out of our investments in the fossil fuel industry,” Fiore said Kelsey Erickson ’13, another member of Kyoto NOW!, said she appreciates that Skor ton and Edwards have met with her organization, but she said she is “disappointed that [Skorton] has dismissed divestment as being too risky ”

“I understand that [Skorton] feels obligated to act in the best interests of the students by maintaining a healthy endowment to ensure financial aid, but he should feel equally obligated to take every action in his power to maintain our planet,” Erickson said “I commend Cornell’s Climate Action Plan and the many strides that Cornell has made towards greening our campus, which is why I believe its a shame the fossil fuel industry is undermining their progress ”

Alexa Davis contributed reporting to this article

T h e C o r n e ¬ D a i l y S u n

REBECCA HARRIS 14 Editor in

’14

EMMA COURT 15

FLAX 15

SAM BROMER ’16

COHEN ’15

CHAN 15

CHIUSANO 15

MEGAN ZHOU ’15

BRANDON ARAGON 14

ANNA TSENTER ’14

G WHITESTONE ’15

HEY, IT’S FRIDAY. AND AFTER A BRIEF HIATUS, WE THE SUN’S EDITORS AND COLUMNISTS ARE BACK AND MAD AS HELL. IT’S BEEN A LONGASS SEMESTER OF BUILTUP FRUSTRATION AND THAT MEANS IT’S ABOUT TIME WE START TO ...

GET A ROOM T h i s i s m e r e l y a

reminder that, when you sit down in a librar y next to a kid with the curly hair who is quietly reading a book in a room w i t h m o re c h a i r s t h a n Steve Buscemi has acting roles, it is in fact distracting to have two hyenas laughing in the two seats t h a t a re r i g h t n e x t t o him That kid can hear y o u He c a n ’ t c o n c e ntrate on what he is reading And he is willing a n d a b l e t o w r i t e a Kvetch about you A R

SHOP ’TIL YA DROP T h a t a w k w a r d m oment when all of the editors r un out of the office like it’s on fire It’s not a fire Or breaking ne ws It’s a 30-percent off sale a t Ur b a n O u t f i t t e r s That’s what you get for having a ne wsroom full of girls, I guess R L H

Following a visit from Ben and Jerr y ’ s Ice Cream’s Jerr y Greenfield, and in anticipation of the eminent completion of the Cor nell Dair y Building, ice cream is set to play a big role in the remainder of the semester A s temperatures rise, winter relationships thaw out and depressed sorority girls scar f half-gal- lons of Phish Food while watching The Notebook, Cor nell may potentially eat more ice cream in the next two months than it has in recent memor y So, inspired by the creative flavors put for th by ever yone ’ s favorite entrepreneurial dair yman, we sent our Berr y Patch repor ters to find out what flavors Cor nellians would most likely consume

Keystone (De-)Light: You kne w this one was coming The taste of Keystone Light, scrounged from the nastiest scraps of Coors Light, is the fuel that drives ever y under whelming Collegetown par ty, ever y gnarly Pixel dancefloor makeout and ever y monumentally hungover Hotelie showing up to that ill-advised 10:10 they registered for The great irony is that Keystone (De-)Light is a beer-flavored ice cream that tastes nothing like real beer

April in Ithaca: Ever y Cornellian knows the feeling You’re tr udging up the Slope in subzero temperatures a solid three weeks after Spring Break and you think to yourself, “ You know, it really isn’t cold enough ” This flavor is per fect for mornings like these, when we all want nothing more than to cool our already-cracked lips with a cone of ice And that's literally what this flavor is: a cone of ice Vegan-friendly in both its contents and lack of flavor, April in Ithaca is freshly scooped off of McGraw Tower each morning And if the taste doesn’t suit you, don’t worr y: One scoop of April in Ithaca can be used as a snowball the per fect size for targeting freshmen

Five Hour to Devour: The all-nighter is a Cornellian tradition That endorphin r ush you get after completing a 10-page paper just as the sun comes up is almost wor th the hours of hell you just endured This flavor is a tribute to that little bottle of pomegranate (or cherr y or something?)flavored goodness that propels you across the finish line Now you can relive those wondrous evenings spent in Cocktail Lounge with the an ice cream flavor that tastes like procrastination, regret and B-minus papers Kappa Delta Pie: In honor of Cornell’s large and honorable Greek system, this flavor attempts to capture the essence of those fraternity gentlemen throughout campus whose academic pursuits, volunteer work and donation dollars have made this great university what it is now Its taste is strikingly similar to Keystone (De-)light, give or take a fe w BAC points

EARY MORNING PEEP SHOW

I w o u l d i m a g i n e t h e r e a r e s o m e g o o d times for the grounds d e p a r t m e n t t o r a k e l e a v e s o n Un i v e r s i t y proper ty, but I’m going to go out on a limb here and say 9 a m on a rainy April morning is not one of them To the m y s t e r y g ro u n d s c re w

l e a f - r a k e r o u t s i d e m y un-cur tained window: I changed in my closet and am still 100 percent sure you saw me naked

L e t ’ s n e v e r m e e t l i k e this again

L C

HASN’T HAD HIS COFFEE YET

Gr e e n D r a g o n , y o u

d o a l o t of things well Apathy, o b s c u r e e l e c t r o - p o s tg r u n g e a n t h e m - p l a y i n g and your quirky replacement of those wooden coffee-stirrers with chopsticks stick out in my mind especially But you have barely any outlets And your little tables are wobbly And my pencils fall through those bigger tables Tables should not have gaps in them And it's too hot sometimes And other times it's too cold Get your s h i t t o g e t h e r, Gr e e n Dragon S B

STRAIGHT-A STUDENT

D e a r p r o f e s s o r : Ju s t b e c a u s e I d o n ’ t t a k e notes doesn’t mean I am not paying attention I am just paying attention to sending emails and c h e c k i n g Fa c e b o o k and online shopping and writing this Kvetch

C S F

UNLUCKY IN LOVE

Why do all my fortune cookies say I will m e e t a h a n d s o m e stranger? I never do E C

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION WOES

To t h e g i r l o n t h e TCAT that got stuck in the door Sucks to suck And no, you yelping and flailing is not going to set you free Better luck next time H A V THE WEAKEST LINK To

Rudy Gerson | Rooting Around

Disconnecting From Technolog y : Learn by Doing

This week, my friend and fellow Sun columnist David Fischer ’15 wrote about technology’s prominent role in his requisite procrastination routine Elaborating, he described an app called Self Control, which helps computer users stay off of websites they decide to “blacklist ” If a user doesn’t want to go on Facebook for an hour, Self Control, when activated, makes it impossible to access the site It really is laughable, the irony of it to combat our reliance on certain Internet sites, we have created an app to replace our need to practice self-control

David went on to describe an initiative coming up on campus next week, CU [dis]connect, which urges students to leave their phones at home, ignore social media and engage in face-to-face interaction for three days Somewhat understandably, David, like many of you readers, initially reacted with strong skepticism, questioning the capacity to “disconnect” and the utility of such a feat He admits reevaluating his relationship with technology is a worthy endeavor, but he claims, it would make him too “uncomfortable” to fully disconnect

Alright, I understand many of my fellow Cornellians have only remained disconnected after their phone died while studying in the library late at night and what a strange phone-less walk home that must have been However, an honest reevaluation of technology is not purely an intellectual exercise, as David seems to say Let’s imagine, for just one paragraph, a time without smart phones or social media

It’s 1982, the glory days as it were College students with their radical side ponytails walked home from the library, consumed completely by their physicals surrounding and their own minds, attuned fully to the moment of “ now ” No technology capable of diverting

away from what was occurring right now existed Movies and television, music and the Walkman they existed, but there were no technological objects that could connect anyone, anywhere, at any time

Now we have the luxury, and often the unfortunate obligation to remain connected all day, everyday It’s difficult to find a moment away to just be alone, to digest the information of the day and to construct unique thoughts separate from those we marinate in throughout our studies and interactions As for David and those that doubtfully respond to CU [dis]connect’s mission to get students to leave their phones at home and actually ignore social media for three days, I say: Why not? What harm can come from three days without Twitter, without iPhones and without hyper-connectivity?

I don’t want this to be a column coming from some elevated position of superiority, because that’s not what it is As I write this column, I am running from class to a meeting at the Sun’s offices downtown, then back up to campus just in time to get the weekend started a little early To coordinate all of these tasks, I depend on technology just as much as the next student And let’s be clear: Technology has definitely given us more resources and made our lives more secure But I am fearful nevertheless

I fear technology has been popularized so fast, and that we have not had time to question some of its deeper implications Generally, we have not asked ourselves why we are constantly connected, but only how we can use technology to become more connected? It’s time to try and have conversations about “ proper ” technology use and ethical norms for social media and smart phones The start of these conversations begins with actually disconnecting in order to reclaim agency over our thoughts and actions

Furthermore, I fear our generation is acutely attuned to the public display of our Facebook profiles our second selves So much so that these self-selecting positive versions of ourselves promote a nasty kind of voyeurism, akin to the celebrity worship found in television and movies Instead of celebrities, though, we observe our friends

Social media, by and large, promotes this voyeurism in everyday life, where people are more aware of the collectively accepted behavior for “normal,” and are more fearful to step out of these understood boundaries We have become less confident and unique because of it

So I will be deactivating my Facebook and leaving my phone in my drawer on April 10 to see how hard disconnecting really is Honestly, how hard can it be? In the best case, in the weeks after, I will be better equipped to reevaluate my practical relationship with modern technology

Comm en t of the day

“When I moved to America I was surprised that the names of suspected criminals were published so often in the media. Even if this practice is de rigeur in U S journalism, perhaps The Sun could take the higher road and avoid it There is a lot to lose for the individual, and I don’t really see the benefit.”

April the Twentieth Re: “EDITORIAL: Balancing the Rights of Victims and the Accused,” Opinion published April 4, 2013

Last week, the Supreme Court heard arguments in two cases involving same-sex marriage

One of these cases, Hollingsworth v Perr y, asks the Court to decide whether the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits Californians from amending their state constitution to define marriage as the union of a man and a woman The case sets in opposition two interests many people consider to be extremely important: an interest in achieving widespread legal recognition for same-sex marriages and an interest in proetecting each state ’ s right to democratic self-governance This is a familiar type of conflict; any time the Court opts to find a previously unrecognized constitutional right, part of the calculus must be a determination that the right in question is more important than the right of political majorities to make policy choices infringing on that right

For the record, I think that the justices should resolve the conflict in favor of the rights of same-sex couples and find a nationwide constitutional right to same-sex marriage

Unfortunately, however, the questions posed at last Tuesday’s argument suggest the Court may not reach a decision on that question at all

Two possible alternative outcomes, both suggested at argument, are that the justices could (1) dismiss the case or (2) rule that the supporters of Proposition 8 lacked standing to appeal the district court s order in the case This is troubling because neither outcome seems likely to promote either of the vital interests involved Each would, in its own way, harm the relevant interest in democratic state government without helping the cause of achieving recognition for same-sex marriages

Let’s start with the first possibility If the Court fails to reach a majority or dismisses the case, the seriously flawed decision of the Ninth Circuit would remain intact That

opinion did not reach the broader question of whether there is a nationwide constitutional right to same-sex marriage, but instead held that it was impermissible for California to take away the right to same-sex marriage after it had been granted

It is important to understand what happened in California The Supreme Court of California read the state constitution to guarantee a right to same-sex marriage and the people of California quickly amended their state constitution to coun

undermined by California’s decision to grant same-sex couples substantive rights like the ability to adopt In the future, states that would otherwise extend such rights to same-sex couples might refuse to do even that out of fear that they will lose the right to reserve the label of “ marriage” for opposite-sex couples

teract that decision The Ninth Circuit opinion in Perry effectively ruled that, even though there was no requirement for the state to legalize same-sex marriage in the first place, once the justices on the Supreme Court of California made their interpretation, the citizens of California were thereby rendered helpless to ever change that interpretation even by amending their constitution! If allowed to stand, this decision would diminish Californians’ right to democratic self-governance It could also hinder rather than help the pursuit of legal recognition for same-sex marriages Even if Proposition 8 were to be upheld, polling suggests a new initiative would be able to restore same-sex marriage to California in short order

Meanwhile, the Ninth Circuit’s reasoning could have a chilling effect on other states More than a few legislators or voters may be given pause by the understanding that their decision to legalize same-sex marriage, while not mandated, could be irreversibly final as a matter of law Similarly, there could be perverse consequences as a result of the Ninth Circuit’s suggestion that Proposition 8’s definition of “marriage” was

A decision to vacate the Ninth Circuit decision because the defenders of Proposition 8 lack standing would similarly injure Californians’ democracy interest without being particularly helpful in the effort to achieve legal recognition for same-sex marriages As the Supreme Court of California has said, and as Justice Kennedy noted during Tuesday’s oral argument, not allowing the proponents of an initiative to defend the state ’ s interest in the legitimacy of the resulting law when state officials refuse to do so would seriously undermine the initiative process and give state officials the power to thwart many ballot initiatives with which they personally disagree And how much would this blow to the initiative process achieve for the effort to legalize same-sex marriage? The District Court order, finding a broad nationwide right to same-sex marriage, would remain intact Unfortunately, a District Court order is generally only binding as to the parties in the case There is some dispute over whether the particular order issued would prevent California officials from denying a marriage license to any same-sex couple or just the couples involved in the litigation Suffice to say, the order would have no effect outside California – where a future ballot initiative will likely overturn Proposition 8 and moot the issue anyway The damage to the initiative process, on the other hand, could be permanent

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Bel Borba, Beautiful

BY LAURA BOLAND Sun Staff Writer

He i s n o l o n g e r j u s t a c i t i ze n i n t h e c i t y ; h e i s t h e c i t y

B o r b a ’ s a r t w o rk i s o n d i s p l a y o n n u m e ro u s b r i d g e s a n d p a rk s , a n d d o t s t h e ye l l ow a n d re d h o u s e c rowd e d n e i g h b o r h o o d s T h e re d o e s n ’ t s e e m t o b e a c o r n e r o f

Sa l va d o r t h a t B o r b a h a s n ’ t t o u c h e d

Pa r t o f B o r b a ’ s m a g i c i s h i s re l a t i o n s h i p w i t h t h e

p e o p l e h e s e r ve s W h e n h e w o rk s ; p a s s e r s by c a l l o u t s u g g e s t i o n s f ro m t h e o t h e r s i d e o f t h e s t re e t , a n d B o r b a i n c o r p o r a t e s t h e i r i d e a s i n t o h i s p ro j e c t In t h e f i l m , h e

e ve n a c c e p t s d r a w i n g s o f f l owe r s f ro m c h i l d re n a n d i m m e d i a t e l y b e g i n s t o d u p l i c a t e t h e m o n t h e w a l l In t u r n , t h e p e o p l e a n d t h e c i t y b e c o m e t h e s u b j e c t s o f t h e a r t i s t ’ s w o rk T h e f i s h f ro m t h e n e a r by s e a , t h e s e a b i rd s , t h e p a s s e r by i n t h e c i t y a n d t h e i r t r u c k s , t r a i n s a n d a i r p l a n e s , t h e i r a n g e l s a n d d e v i l s , a l l f i g u re p ro m in e n t l y i n e a c h p i e c e o f B o r b a ’ s w o rk Hi s m u r a l s a re

t h e e n c h a n t i n g re f l e c t i o n s o f t h e h e a r t o f Sa l va d o r

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

He d a b b l e s i n m e t a l w o rk i n g , s c u l p t u re , m o s a i c a n d p a i n t i n g , a n d t h e re s e e m s t o b e n o w o rk h e d o e s n ’ t k n ow h ow t o d o W h e n h e ’ s n o t w o rk i n g , h e ’ s c o o ki n g , p l a y i n g w i t h t h e 2 0 - o d d d o g s i n h i s y a rd o r c a c k -

l i n g a t h i s ow n j o k e s a n d s t o r i e s B o r b a re l i e s o n i n t ui t i o n , i n s t i n c t a n d s p o n t a n e i t y i n h i s a r t a n d i n h i s l i f e

Bu t m o s t l y, h e i s c o n c e r n e d w i t h p re s e r v i n g a n d u p l i f t -

i n g Sa l va d o r i a n c u l t u re Hi s m a t e r i a l s c o m e f ro m o l d

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

s h o u l d “ p rovo k e re f l e c t i o n , t e a s e yo u ” Gi v i n g a f re

a s e s t h e e ve r - c h a n g i n g a n d v i b r a n t n a t u

re ve a l o f t h e d e p t h o f h i s c o n n e c t i o n t o h i s w o rk In o n e s c e n e , B o r b a w o r k s o n c o n s t r u c t i n g a g i a n t C h r i s t m a s t re e f ro m p l a s t i c C o k e b o t t l e s f i l l e d w i t h

t h a t

t Su n m a k e m u c h o f B o r b a ’ s p e r s o n a a s a n

t i o n a l a r t i n s t i t u t i o n s , B o r b a n e ve r e x p l a i n s w h y h e d e c i d e d t o t a k e h i s w o rk i n t h a t d i re c t i o n In s t e a d , t h e d i re c t o r s a re h a p p y j u s t t o w a t c h B o r b a m a k e a r t a n d c e l e b r a t e h i s c h a r i s m a t i c s t y l e T h e s h a l l ow n e s s o f t h e s t o r y m a y h a ve s o m et h i n g t o d o w i t h t h e c h a r a c t e r o f B o r b a h i m s e l f He t a l k s o f a t i m e w h e n h e w o u l d h a ve g i ve n u p a f i n g e r t o h a ve t h e m e d i a s p o t l i g h t Bu t n ow, a s h e c o n f e s se s t o t h e c a m e r a , “ [ h e ] j u s t c a n n o t t r a n s f o r m [ h i m ] s e l f

i n t o a n a va i l a b l e m a n , ” a n d m a k e s t i m e f o r i n t e r v i e w s o n l y w h e n p re s s e d B o r b a w o u l d r a t h e r d e vo t e h i s t i m e t o m a k i n g h i m s e l f a n d h i s a r t a va i l a b l e t o t h e p u b l i c W h e n B o r b a d o e s p a u s e t o t a l k a b o u t h i s a r t , i t i s t o

s e a w a t e r w h i c h s h i m m e r s a t n i g h t u n d e r a g re e n l i g h t It s e e m s t o b e a p l a y f u l s e n d - u p o f h o l i d a y c o ns u m e r i s m a n d c o r p o r a t e g l u t t o n y Bu t B o r b a t h e n t e l l s t h e s t o r y o f h ow h e we n t i n t o p u b l i s h i n g h o u s e s a n d b o o k s t o re s , l o o k i n g f o r d a m a g e d o r m i s p r i n t e d c o p i e s o f Br a z i l i a n p o e t r y ; h ow h e c u t t h o s e b o o k s u p a n d d i st r i b u t e d a f e w l i n e s t o e a c h o f t h e b o t t l e s Fo r h i m , t h e m e s s a g e s i n t h e s e b o t t l e s s i g n i f y re d e m p t i o n a n d s a l vat i o n “ I a l w a y s t h i n k t h a t I ’ m n o t g o i n g t o m a k e i t , a n d s o m e h ow I a l w a y s m a k e i t , ” B o r b a s a y s W h i l e n o t t h e m o s t t h o ro u g h o f d o c u m e n t a r i e s , t h e f i l m c e l eb r a t e s t h e s i m p l e m a g i c o f B o r b a ’ s w o rk a n d l i f e a n d t h e i n s p i r a t i o n h e p rov i d e s f o r h i s c i t y

Laura Boland is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences She can be reached at lboland@cornellsun com

The Host : Twilight Minus the Vampires

BY SALLY GAO Sun Staff Writer

Eve n t h o u g h I h a ve n e ve r re a d t h e Tw i l i g h t s e r i e s c ove r t o c ove r, i t i s a p p a re n t t h a t T h e Ho s t , Me ye r ’ s l a t e s t p ro j e c t , i s e s s e n t i a l l y Me ye r ’ s b e l ove d “ Va m p i re s v s Hu m a n s ” f a c e - o f f w i t h a t w i s t T h e Ho s t o p e n s i n Fo r t Wo r t h , Te

i s i n va d e d by a n i n t e l l i g e n t e x t r a t e r r e s t r i a l s p e c i e s c a l l e d “ S o u l s ” T h e s e “ So u l s ” a re s u r g i c a l l y i n s e r t e d i n t o a h u m a n b o d y, w h i c h t h e y q u i c k l y t a k e ove r a n d l e e c h u p o n Ho s t s a re i n h i g h d e m a n d w i t h m o re a n d m o re s o u l s a r r i vi n g o n t h e p l a n e t , a n d p u re h u m a n s a re c l o s e t o e x t i n c t i o n T h e f i l m ’ s h e ro i n e , Me l a n i e St r yd e r, i s o n e o f t h e l a s t h u m a n s l e f t A f t e r s h e i s c a p t u re d d u r i n g a h u n t , a “ So u l” c a l l e d “ t h e Wa n d e re r ” i s i n j e c t e d i n t o h e r b o d y Un l i k e m a n y o f t h e o t h e r c a p t u r e d h u m a n s , Me l a n i e d o e s n o t re l e a s e c o n t ro l o f h e r b o d y a n d m i n d w i t h o u t a f i g h t Wa n d e re r a n d Me l a n i e i n i t i a l l y b a t t l e a s a So u l i n t e r r o g a t o r c a l l e d “ t h e Se e k e r ” p re s s e s Wa n d e re r t o re l e a s e t h e m e m o r i e s o f Me l a n i e f o r t h e w h e re a b o u t s o f t h e re s t o f t h e e s c a p e d h u m a n s Wa n d e re r e s c a p e s , a n d i s l a t e r

f o u n d by Me l a n i e ’ s e s c a p e d h u m a n f a m il y, w h o l i ve s i n a n u n d e r g ro u n d c a ve

Me l a n i e a n d Wa n d e r a re a b l e t o c o n v i n c e t h e h u m a n s t h a t t h e y a re n o t a t h re a t , b u t Me l a n i e ’ s o l d l ov e r Ja re d s t r u g g l e s t o a c c e p t t h e f a c t t h a t Me l a n i e s t i l l e x i s t s w i t h t h e Wa n d e re r T h e f i l m a d o p t s t h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f c l a s s i c L i ve j o u r n a l f a n - f i c t i o n b u t i s m o re u n i n t e n t i o n a l l y h i l a r i o u s A f t e r I f i n i s h e d w a t c h i n g , o n e o f m y m o s t p re s si n g q u e s t i o n s w a s w h y a n y b o d y w o u l d i n v e s t $ 4 0 m i l l i o n t o c re a t e s o m e t h i n g o u t o f a w a r p e d ve rs i o n o f a 1 3 - y e a ro l d ’ s f a n - g i r l d re a m s Me ye r a n d t h e d i re c t o r s l i p u s t h e i r t a k e o n w h a t t h e f u t u re l o o k s l i k e b y m a k i n g e v e r y “ S o u l ” w e a r s l e e k w h i t e s u i t s a n d e ve r y p i e c e o f a rc h i t e c t u re m i n i m a l i s t i c d ow n t o t h e s i l ve r f u t u r i s t i c Ma c b o o k s t h e “ S o u l s ” u s e a t t h e i r i n t e r r o g a t i o n c e n t e r T h e Tw i l i g h t f o r m u l a i s re p r i s e d a n d p u t i n t o a c t i o n by e s t a b l i s h i n g a l ove t r i a n g l e b e t we e n t h e t w o h

m i s s i ve a n d t r a g i c a s Be l l a Sw a n w a s i n Tw i l i g h t , c o m p l e t e w i t h d e w y f a i r s k i n

a n d a n e e d t o s a c r i f i c e h e r s e l f f o r t h e g re a t e r g o o d W h a t I f o u n d e s p e c i a l l y

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

ro i n e s a n d t h

Wa n d e re r t o we a r a re ve a l i n g s i l ve r m e t a ll i c n i g h t d re s s t o b e d a c o s t u m e d e p a r tm e n t m a l f u n c t i o n j o k e t h a t w o u l d h a ve

b e e n p e r h a p s t a k e n s e r i o u s l y i n t h e ’ 9 0 s

t w o t e e n a g e h e a r t t h ro b b oy s w h o a re i n l ove w i t h t w o s o u l s i n o n e b o d y Me ye r d o e s n o t m e s s w i t h t h e f o r m u l a f o r c o nc o c t i n g t e e n ro m a n c e s e s p e c i a l l y w h e n i t c o m e s t o t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f t h e h e ro i n e : t h e Wa n d e re r i s j u s t a s i n n o c e n t l y s u b -

T h e m i n i m a l i s m i n t h e f i l m i s s o m e t i m e s r i d i c u l o u s l y s i m p l i s t i c T h e w o rd “ St o re ” a p p e a r s i n b l a c k b o l d b l o c k l e t t e r s o n t h e s u p e r m a r k e t w a l l w h e r e t h e e s c a p e d h u m a n s s t o c k t h e i r f o o d a n d s u p p l i e s , a s i f t h e a u d i e n c e c o u l d n ’ t f i g u re o u t w h a t a s u p e r m a rk e t d o e s T h e Ho s t d o e s o f f e r i t s s h a re o f h i g hl i g h t s Fo r o n e , Sa

Glimpsing Infinity in a Game Pad

f there was ever any lingering doubt that videogames are capable of achieving great things in the realm of aesthetics, it is, at least in part, dispelled by the coming of Bioshock Infinite the most recent darling of game enthusiasts and reviewers everywhere Bioshock Infinite, the latest offering in the Irrational Games’ Bioshock franchise, continues in the tradition of its predecessor crafting a story-driven and thematically dense gaming experience While I don’t share the hyperbolic worship impulse that some feel toward the game, I recognize it as a major milestone in legitimizing the video game format as an aesthetic platform worthy of the same attention and analysis as film

But what exactly is all the hoopla, and why is this game so important in this march to artistic legitimacy? In my opinion, video games offer one or both of two things: immersion in a compelling world with a strong aesthetic integrity and/or narrative depth, or maximizing player interactivity with that world, whether by championing freedom of movement, or by allowing the player to test certain skills through interacting with the game Certain early games like Tetris, Pong, Pac-Man and Mario emphasized the latter, meaning that they were tests of player skill Nevertheless, their design elegance and distinctive art styles allowed them to carve a niche in the aesthetic realm, as products of careful craftsmanship Other games, like The Legend of Zelda and Planescape: Torment, were vehicles through which compelling and complex stories could be told As the game industry evolved, however, a new type of game

design took precedence in terms of popularity and market share Games perpetuating violence mainly through shooting guns took center stage, and became the primary channel of player interaction with the game environment When these games did have plot and narrative structure, they were considered a means to an end rather than an end in itself They provided context, a reason for shooting They enabled the player to have a vague notion of what they are shooting against and why they were doing the shooting In a sense, these games empowered the player with moral righteousness they are shooting at bad guys, so the perpetration of violence was morally justified In short, many of these games set the player up as the hero (male and alpha, of course) and provided a flimsy moral excuse for said hero to mow down scores of dumb moving targets

Describing all first person shooters as vehi-

cles for jingoistic self-fulfillment would be unfair, though The game industry has always placed a premium on good plot because a large proportion of gamers have always valued narrative as an integral part of the gaming experience Plot-driven games have co-existed beside shooting games for a long time But a compelling plot was a relative rarity in the

gaming industry’s flagship design philosophy, the shooter This has begun to change in recent years Titles like HalfLife, Halo, Mass Effect and their respective sequels were pioneers in guiding the player through a believable and emotionally-driven narrative Recent games have become somewhat metaaware, causing the player to question his or her role in the violence Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 featured a controversial segment in which the player is placed in the role of a terrorist and told to shoot innocent civilians in a Russian airport Usually the hero, they had to role-play the villain Thus, this was a powerful indictment of the almost reflexive tendency for gamers to consider their position in the game morally sacrosanct

So how does Bioshock Infinite fit in? It is, in part, a culmination and amalgamation of all these emerging aesthetically legitimating tendencies in games First, it is narratively dense The story is the end, rather than the means It is designed to evince an emotional response from the player, especially because it builds a dynamic between the player character, the hardboiled former Pinkerton Booker DeWitt, and the game ’ s deuteragonist, the mysterious Elizabeth, an in-game character who, through exigencies of plot and player interaction, forms an emotional bond with the player and becomes the player’s reason for plowing on through the game This adds complexity to the narrative because Booker is no hero he’s burdened by the legacy of a hyper-violent past and thus the act of protecting Elizabeth is a redemptive, rather than messianic, act

Second, it is a triumph of game design,

both in aesthetics and thematic depth The setting, the floating city of Columbia, is heartstoppingly beautiful and a triumph of artistic merit Part of the pleasure of the game is wandering and exploring its expansive environments Conversely, Columbia, though physically beautiful, is the dark heart of an America that almost was virulently racist, isolationist and theocratic The game puts players faceto-face with the unsettling potential of the American brand soon to become so dangerously perverted

Third, it is meta-aware, placing you in a position to deal with massive amounts of gory violence while using the innocent Elizabeth as a moral arbiter to question why such violence is needed in the first place Lastly, the game does all of this without sacrificing the shooting mechanics that provide the entertainment for a large proportion of the gaming demographic – it is a consistently fun and challenging shooting game

Colin Chan is a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences He can be reached at cchan@cornellsun com Armchair Aesthetics appears alternate Fridays this semester

Kosher Dining Hall

Mac’s Café

Martha’s (MVR)

Mann Library

Myron Taylor Hall (Hughes Dining)

Noyes Main Lobby

Okenshields (Willard Straight Hall)

Physical Science Baker (Goldie’s)

Plantations

Welcome Center

Libe Café

Rhodes Hall

Risley Dining

Robert Purcell Community Center (RPCC)

Sage Hall Atrium

Sibley Hall (Green Dragon Café)

Statler Hall

Stocking Hall (front lobby)

Tatkon Center

Teagle Hall

Trillium & Trillium

Uris Hall

Vet Center (Shurman Hall)

Willard Straight Hall Lobby

William Keeton House

Summer Work in C-town Jul23 - Aug24

Contracts

Near End for S abres Stars Vanek, Miller

BUFFALO, N Y (AP) Thomas Vanek is unsure about his longterm future with the Buffalo Sabres now that the struggling team is battling through a rebuilding process

Vanek, Buffalo’s leading scorer, has one year remaining on a sevenyear, $50 million contract he signed in 2007 And he spoke with caution in the locker room Thursday, one day after the Sabres traded former captain Jason Pominville to the Minnesota Wild In the days leading up to the trade deadline, the Sabres also dealt veteran defensemen Robyn Regehr and Jordan Leopold

General manager Darcy Regier said after the Pominville trade that

“We gave up three good players in the last week and got a lot of picks in return.”

T h o m a s Va n e k

timetable on the rebuilding process And that’s puzzling to Vanek

“I mean, obviously we gave up three good players in the last week and

“Again, we’ll see ” Vanek leads the Sabres in scoring with 33 points (16 goals) in 29 games He’s a four-time 30-goal scorer and has topped 40 twice in his career

He’s one of few players left from a core group of Sabres that has anchored the team for several seasons, and he might be on his way out soon, too He expects to have a clearer picture after the season ends

“I haven’t talked to them about anything so it’s hard to say yes or no because no one has let me know what direction this is heading,” Vanek said “So we’ll finish the year out and I’m sure, at least I would expect them to let me know what the future is ”

Sabres goalie Ryan Miller is also hoping to know more about his future when the season wraps up Miller, like Vanek, has one year remaining on his contract

“I don’t know, I have to talk to Darcy about it,” Miller said “We’ll just see where everything falls and talk to Darcy about what his plan is or what’s going on because these are conversations we haven’t had time to have

“I don’t know if we’ll have a chance to talk about it ‘til after the season ”

We’ve been reporting the news to curious minds for more than 132 years.

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R e c o r d W i t h 5 0 t h W i n

LOS ANGELES (AP) The Clippers got their franchise-record 50th victory in their fourth try It didn’t come without some fireworks that had nothing to do with celebrating

DeAndre Jordan had 20 points and 12 rebounds, Chris Paul added 14 points and 12 assists, and Los Angeles led all the way in beating the last-place Phoenix Suns 126-101 on Wednesday night as tempers flared in the fourth quarter

“It’s big,” Jordan said about the landmark win, “but we ’ re looking at the bigger picture This is one thing we can check off ”

Willie Green and Caron Butler scored 15 points each, and Blake Griffin had nine points, seven assists and five rebounds to help the Clippers end a three-game skid with their second-highest scoring total of the season They improved to 5026 overall, bettering the single-season record for wins set in 1974-75 when the team was in Buffalo They’re 29-9 at home

“Whenever you do something first it’s significant, but we expect more and we should,” coach Vinny Del Negro said

Griffin added, “We feel like we could have been a 60-win team ”

The Clippers needed to win and have Golden State lose to New Orleans to clinch the franchise’s first division title But the Warriors won 98-88, postponing another first by this Clippers team

“Whenever you do something first it’s significant, but we expect more and we should.”

“Ever since I got here we talked about setting a precedent,” Paul said Wesley Johnson scored 20 points and Jermaine O’Neal added 18 for the lastplace Suns, who have l o s t s e ve n s t r a i g h t overall, 13 of their last 15, and six in a row on t h e ro a d Go

V i n n y D e l N e g r o

until the start of the third quarter, finished with 12

’ t score his first basket

“We didn’t contend while they were penetrating and scoring some easy baskets,” Dragic said “We’re not going to make the playoffs, so just try to compete until the end of the season ”

The Clippers pulled away in the third, outscoring the Suns 38-20 to lead 9570 going into the fourth Jordan’s teammates set him up for three high-flying dunks he had eight total in the game while Griffin and Paul got ones of their own in, too

“It’s all energy and effort,” Del Negro said about Jordan “He was active and running the court When he moves like that it makes the game easier for him and the team ”

Griffin and Phoenix teammates P J Tucker and O’Neal had to be separated at one point after they tangled with Griffin while double-teaming him

The bad blood didn’t stop there

With 8:57 left in the game and the Clippers starters on the bench, Jamal Crawford hit a three-pointer and Ryan Hollins put his left arm around Dragic’s neck as they scrambled for position under the basket Their momentum carried them over to the Suns’ bench, with Hollins keeping Dragic in a headlock before shoving him and Michael Beasley shouting at Hollins in the tangle of players

Lamar Odom pulled on Hollins’ jersey to get him away After the referees reviewed the play, Hollins was called for a flagrant-2 foul and ejected, while Beasley received a technical

“It was just a quick play in the heat of the moment, ” Hollins said “I definitely didn’t have intent to hurt and I don’t think he did, either ”

In the first quarter, Griffin and Tucker received double technicals

“Ryan had a nice 45 seconds there when he and Goran Dragic almost had a WWE battle,” Jordan joked

The Clippers dominated the paint with a season-high 72 points to Phoenix’s 32, and had a 25-11 edge in fast break points

“We played fast, we got tempo up and got some stops, ” Paul said “We forced 19 turnovers and only had six ourselves ”

Los Angeles opened the game on a 15-0 run for its largest lead of the half The Suns twice got within two points on baskets by Beasley, but the Clippers used a 10-5 spurt, including six free throws by Paul, to lead 57-50 at the break

“To come out and give up 15 points without them executing one single play is embarrassing,” Suns interim coach Lindsey Hunter said

After Season-Ending Injur y,Ware Supports Team From Sidelines

LOUISVILLE, Ky (AP) Kevin Ware is pretty cer tain how his next fe w months will play out

“A

onship,” the injured Louisville guard said with a smile on his face, “I’m just looking for ward to rehab ”

Ware is already set for his next step, though he is gingerly walking around on cr utches and with his surgically repaired broken leg in a cast up to his right knee: He is heading to the Final Four

Ware was cleared Wednesday by doctors to accompany the Cardinals on their hourlong flight to Atlanta and he did just that The last player to enter the team ’ s hotel in Georgia, he was greeted with cheers when he came through the door in a wheelchair He waved to fans as he entered an elevator

“It’s like he’s never left,” teammate Peyton Siva said “ Words can ’ t explain our feelings to have him back with us ”

Ware plans to be a full par ticipant in p

bench And the Cardinals will wear ne w warm-up gear to honor the sophomore, with Ware’s No 5 replacing the “S” in the “Rise to the Occasion” T-shir ts they’ve been wearing

“ To see him up again just to see a picture of him up again is awesome, ” Siva said “Now he’s up walking with a broken leg, cr utching around ”

Ware said the over whelming suppor t he has received has helped him maintain his spirits and strengthened his confidence of a full recover y He hopes by next season to be helping the Cardinals defend the national championship he believes they’ll win this weekend

The normally reser ved 20-year-old calmly recalled how he felt when he suffered the devastating injur y, saying he doesn’t think Louisville would be in the Final Four if he had lost his composure

Ware credits teammate Luke Hancock for calming him down

“He got me to that point where I really had to put the pain on hold,” said Ware, with his leg in a cast propped up on a couch “Once he said his prayer, I was kind of thinking the whole time, ‘ you can either be a cr ybaby about it or you ’ re going to get your team back and get them in the right mindset ’

“Luke said his words, and I just kept repeating, ‘ y ’all gotta go win this game ’ I’m fine It really helped the team ”

But it wasn ’ t easy for the Cardinals, many of whom cried after seeing Ware’s gr uesome injur y his bone protr uding six inches through his skin

Even Louisville coach Rick Pitino was emotional, wiping tears from his eyes and later saying that the sight of his player’s injur y almost made him vomit

But Pitino said ever yone ’ s emotions have settled down knowing that it appears Ware will be OK

“I think we ’ re all fine now, ” Pitino said “Just having Kevin around, we can exhale ”

The coach said having Ware in Atlanta might provide the Cardinals with a little “ extra emotion,” but in his experience “the team that executes the best will win ”

P i t i n o a n d h i s s o n , R i c h a r d , s p e n t

Monday at the hospital with Ware, who was pictured holding the championship trophy in his bed Though Ware had maintained his composure talking with AP, he became ver y emotional during an earlier inter vie w with ESPN when talking about waking up and seeing the trophy

The coach downplayed staying with him at the hospital after his injur y

“ There’s not a coach in America that wouldn’t be there,” he said

And while Pitino said ever yone can exhale now, the Cardinals had to take a deep breath when Ware went down on Sunday They eventually regrouped and took the lead at halftime against Duke en route to an 85-63

victor y over the Blue Devils in Indianapolis

Through it all, Ware said he had to remain strong He was placed on a stretcher and wheeled out of Lucas Oil Stadium to cheers of ‘Kevin Ware, Kevin Ware,’ before heading to Methodist Hospital

Ware under went a two-hour operation to repair compound fractures of the tibia that left the leg at an odd angle He awoke the next morning to discover he had become an overnight sensation, and the afterglow hasn’t waned

His condition and progress have been featured ever y day on the major networks, the Internet and especially social media The Cardinals’ practice facility was surrounded by a phalanx of satellite tr ucks, and the inter vie w requests helped Ware get an early jump on his rehab as he shuttled back and for th between makeshift sets

“It’s going to take a long time to get where I want to be,” Ware said

Not that he’s dreading the hard work ahead

“I think God puts things in your life and you have to go through cer tain obstacles,” he said “I just feel like these are obstacles that are going to make me grow up for the better It’s going to open my eyes to a lot of things I probably haven’t seen before ”

Ware said he has heard from several of his NBA idols, including Kobe Br yant, Kevin Durant and Charles Barkley The Louisville guard said he has even heard from first lady Michelle Obama and the Rev Jesse Jackson

For the soft-spoken Ware, the suppor t and media attention has meant more intervie ws than he ever imagined

“I had no idea I would get this kind of attention,” he said “I’m one of those guys who just likes to play basketball But the injur y opened up a lot of peoples’ eyes and I really appreciate all the suppor t It really means a lot ”

But as Ware cherishes the flood of warm wishes, he’s also dealing with the irony of the injur y ’ s occurrence in a game against Duke

He leaped high near the right sideline to defend a three-point attempt, similar to a defensive play he made without incident in Louisville’s game in November against Duke in the Bahamas This time he landed awkwardly, with the leg going in two different directions

“ That was fr ustrating because it happened the same exact way, me making the play,” Ware said “I was thinking then about just blocking the shot and that was what I was thinking this time This was just different ” Wa

Ware

how difficult it is getting around with one healthy leg

Fo

to help since he was injured

Ware’s teammate and roommate, for ward

Chane Behanan, will lend a hand as well

“He’s handling it better than I would’ve expected,” Kelly said “ When they took the towel off his leg, he asked if he’d be able to play next week before they told him no ”

Ware’s mother, Lisa Junior, also plans to move from Georgia to aid her son ’ s healing process Ware said his leg will need eight to 12 weeks to heal before he begins rehabilitation in hopes of returning by the star t of practice in October

How he’ll celebrate if the Cardinals fulfill t h e i r m i s s i

Wa

j o k e d

climbing the ladder to cut down the nets but will likely settle for just being par t of the action

“ Whatever I see on the cour t, ” he said, “I will tell them about it ”

Nine Drops to Yale, Ends Four -Game Winning Streak

By HALEY VELASCO Sun Sports Editor

This week has been tough schedule-wise as multiple games had to be rescheduled due to the weather The second game in the Yale doubleheader got pushed to Monday from Sunday, and the loss in this second game broke the four-game winning streak for Cornell that the team had going with wins against the University of Albany, Brown and Yale

The match on Monday started off with the Bulldogs taking a 1-0 advantage in the first Yale then followed that run up with more in the third to go up, 3-0

Cornell junior Zach McCulley pitched five and twothird innings to try and help the Red pull out a “W ” He let up only four hits and one walk while striking out seven, tying the most Ks for a Cornell pitcher in a single outing this season

In the eighth, the Red tried to build some momentum when junior Chris Cruz hit a double to right field, followed by a walk from junior Ben Swinford Then, due to sophomore J D Whetsel getting hit by a pitch, the bases were loaded Freshman Elliot Lowell got hit by a pitch to drive in Cruz for Cornell’s first run to make the score 3-1 Senior Conor McCabe got the RBI with a hit up the middle to cut the deficit to 3-2

Yale retired the last in the eighth and then worked a one, two, third ninth inning to save the Bulldogs

The Red played its second game during the week against Canisius The back-and-forth match started with Canisius taking a 3-0 lead in the top of the second Cornell

knocked in a few to tie it up in the bottom of the inning thanks to Cruz, junior Ryan Plantier and Swinford hitting back-to-back singles to load the bases All three came in thanks to a sac fly from sophomore Kevin Tatum and singles from Lowell and Whetsel

Canisius came back in the fourth, but the Red struck back Swinford led the inning off with a triple and then scored on an RBI groundout by Tatum By the eighth inning, the Golden Griffins led, 7-4

Whetsel scored the final run for the game with a double down the left, and he advanced to third Senior Tom D’Alessandro singled and then scored in the eighth

Ma r c h Ma d n e s s A l m o s t O v e r,

Drama Continues in Final Four

LIAO

Continued from page

of 64 (Georgetown, New Mexico) to advance to the Final Four That’s not to say anyone else had a clue: only 47 brackets out of 8 19 million on ESPN had the correct Final Four, and I’m willing to bet a few of those correct predictions were the result of a throwing darts at a board At this point, that may be the best idea out there

Another trend is the rise of the mid-majors At this point, it’s barely a surprise that a team out of the lowly Missouri Valley Conference – Wichita State – made t h e Fi n a l Fo u r T h e re h a ve always been Cinderella stories in the first two rounds of the tournament, but in the past seven years, we ’ ve seen mid-majors go deep into the tournament, and we ’ re now desensitized to it It all

s t a r t e d w i t h Ge o r g e Ma s o n advancing to the Final Four in 2 0 0 6 a n d c o n t i n u e d w i t h Butler’s back-to-back national championship appearances with a VCU Final Four appearance mixed in Back in 2006, the world was absolutely amazed that an upstart George Mason team advanced to the Final Four, beating top-seeded UConn Now, there’s barely any excitement about the Shockers’ run; it’s become normal and almost expected People care more about the chances of advancing to the finals than expressing ‘shock’ (sorry, had to) that Wichita State is in the Final Four, which speaks volumes about the parity in college basketball

ing a 35-second shot clock, while teams in the NBA create easy looks most of the time with just 24 seconds So why do we watch? The effort and emotion of these players some who know it’s win-or-never-play-again cannot be replicated nor seen in the NBA We’ve seen countless students cry after losing a first or second round game; how often do you see a player cry after losing in the first round of the NBA Playoffs?

I believe the Wolverines will make their first national championship game since the Fab Five, and I see them winning the whole thing

I’ve already mentioned how it’s impossible to predict anything in the NCAA Tournament, but will that stop me from making my own predictions? Of course not In the Louisville-Wichita State game, I see the Shockers as having a legitimate chance of winning Eve r y t e a m t h a t h a s b e a t e n Louisville this year has been able to break the press and play at its own pace The Shockers should be able to; they mainly play a four-guard lineup and have an experienced senior point guard in Ma l c o l m A r m s t e a d Howe ve r, too many things have to break right for the Shockers to win; Louisville is too talented I expect Wichita State to make this a very close game, but I think the Cardinals will win

Canisius finished the game off by scoring seven more runs to win the game, 14-5

The Red returns to Ivy League competition this weekend with a doubleheader against Harvard followed by two against Dartmouth Sunday The first of the matches against the Green will be broadcasted on Fox College Sports The doubleheader will also be a rematch of the 2012 Ivy League Championship Series

Haley Velasco can be reached at hvelasco@cornellsun com

Royals Snap Losing Streak With Win O ver White S ox

CHICAGO (AP) Jeremy Guthrie struck out nine and gave up one run in six innings, and the Kansas City Royals s n a p p

streak to start the season, beating the Chicago White Sox 3-1

Thursday afternoon

Guthrie (1-0) scattered five hits and walked one for Kansas City, which took its first lead of the season with three runs in the fifth inning and made it stick

Chicago right-hander Gavin Floyd (0-1) gave up four hits and two runs in six innings He walked one and struck out five

Royals catcher Chris Getz singled home Jeff Francoeur in the fifth

Gordon Beckham was 4 for 4

of the game and scored on De A z a ’ s s i n g l e t o r i g h t - c e n t e r before Jeff Keppinger str uck out to close the inning Beckham singled to right in the seventh off reliever Aaron Crow to put runners at first and s e c o n d w i t h o n e o u t Bu t Dyson made a running grab of De Aza’s long fly and the Royals got out of the inning when Escobar grounded to second Beckham got his fourth hit in the ninth, a two-out single t h a t a d v a n c e p i n c h - r

n

r Conor Gillaspie to second But De Aza grounded to first to end the game

Something else I noticed is how different college basketball and the NBA are – a huge mind-blowing revelation, I know Although it may seem completely obvious, the level of skill and basketball IQ is significantly higher in the NBA Louisville, the favorite to win the championship, relies heavily on a great press to speed up its opponent and make it commit turnovers In the NBA, this strategy would lead to an open dunk for the opponent almost every time As for the college offenses, many teams end about 40 percent of their possessions with a heavily contested shot, despite hav-

For the Syracuse-Michigan game, it’s a story of two teams peaking at the exact right time It’s nearly impossible to play better defense than Syracuse has, but, theoretically, Michigan has the necessary pieces to break the zone Trey Burke is a great decision-maker who can see the gaps in the zone, Nik Stauskas is a lethal threepoint shooter who will spread out the zone, and big man Mitch McGary is a bruising center who should dominate the offensive glass As a result, I believe the Wolverines will make their first national championship game since the Fab Five, and I see them winning the whole thing Michigan dismantled the VCU press with ease, and although Louisville and VCU have different presses, the calm and poise Michigan had breaking it suggests that they will do the same to Louisville And now that I’ve made my predictions, watch Wichita State storm through the Final Four and make me and everyone else look as clueless as we are

career high set on May 12, 2012, at Minnesota Greg Holland worked the ninth for his first save The Royals scored three runs after the first out in the fifth

Fi r s t b a s e m a n Er i c Ho s m e r walked, advanced to third on Francoeur's single to right and s c o re d w h e n c e n t e r f i e l d e r Jarrod Dyson grounded out Francoeur advanced to seco n d o n t h e p l a y a n d c a m e home with on Chris Getz’s single to center field and an error by Alejandro De Aza Getz, who advanced to second base after the error, scored on Alex Gordon's RBI single to right Chicago got a run back in the bottom half Tyler Flowers was hit by a pitch from Guthrie with two outs, advanced to third on Beckham's second hit

Chicago had runners on first and third with just one out in the third after Beckham lined a s i n g l e t o r i g h t t o a d v a n c e Flowers But De Aza, the leadoff batter, grounded into an inning-ending double play

K a n s a s C i t y c a t c h e r Salvador Perez lined a one-out double to left off Floyd in the second inning but failed to advance Guthrie was 5-3 in for the Royals last year following his July acquisition from Colorado Kansas City was 10-4 in his 14 starts

Except for the struggles in the fifth, Floyd was solid He threw 94 pitches 66 for strikes He was 12-10 last year, his first winning season since 2008 but fifth straight with double-digit wins

Four Kansas City pitchers c o m b i n e d t o s t r i k e o u t 1 1 Dayan Viciedo struck out four times and Adam Dunn struck out three

Spor ts

Laxers Aim for Fourth Ivy Win

By SKYLER DALE Sun Staff Writer

After winning its last three games, including a 16point blowout over Dartmouth on March 30, the men ’ s lacrosse team is set to take on Har vard in Cambridge, Ma , on Saturday

No 2 Cornell (9-1, 3-0) remains the only team undefeated in Ivy play, while Har vard (4-5, 1-1 Ivy) is tied for third in the league

According to senior midfielder Connor English, who scored three goals against Dartmouth, the Red has picked up momentum going into its next few games

“[ The Dartmouth game] was really great for us, especially on senior day It just gives us that extra level of confidence,” he said

Redshirt senior Rob Pannell also said that Sunday’s game was great for the Red’s momentum He was particularly enthusiastic about the contribution from the team ’ s bench on a day in which 14 Red players scored at least one point

“ To reward [our bench players] by getting them in the game on game day is great for team morale and its great for them,” he said

Despite the Red’s surge in offensive production and defensive efficiency, the team is war y of Har vard’s skilled team and sense of urgency

“ We know they’re going to give us their best punch,” English said “ They just came off a really tough game against Duke where they kept it close ”

In Har vard’s game against the Blue Devils, No 9 Duke never led the Crimson by more than two goals and won the contest by just one goal, 12-11

According to Pannell, Har vard is in need of a win to keep its post-season hopes alive, so the Red needs to

Crimson

“ Their playoff chances are at stake here, so this is a must win game for them and we have to know that they’re going to give us our best shot,” he said “[ We need to] prepare for them like they’re the No 1 team in the nation ”

The Red has won its last 15 games against the Crimson and is 63-23 in the all-time series

While the Red is in good position to win the Ivy League, the team is chasing an even bigger milestone

“One of our goals is to go undefeated in the Ivy League,” he said “[ We] can ’ t afford to lose any Ivy League game ”

After facing Har vard, the Red will travel to the Carrier Dome to take on No 8 Syracuse a contest that will be nationally televised on ESPNU

March Madness is the most exciting tournament in sports; that’s a pretty hard fact to refute The Final Four is such a bittersweet part of the tournament on one hand, we ’ ve finally narrowed down the field and the pressure is higher than ever, while on the other hand, March Madness is

a k a Dunk City, advanced to the Sweet Sixteen with two convincing wins as a 15-seed Nine-seed Wichita State beat 13-seed La Salle in the Sweet Sixteen and then advanced to the Final Four after beating 2-seed Ohio State The Big Ten, considered the best conference all year, sent just one team to the Final Four, while

almost over Before the Final Four removes all memories of the first two weekends, let’s go over some of the best storylines from the round of 64 to the Elite Eight

This year ’ s college basketball season has been one of the most unpredictable, with many very good teams from ever y conference but no standouts; I even wrote a column about it The NCAA tournament only emphasized this fact even more One No 1-seed Gonzaga didn’t make it into the Sweet Sixteen, while two others Indiana and Kansas didn’t make it out of the Sweet Sixteen Florida Gulf Coast University,

C.U. Readies for Spring Opener at Yale

By ALBERT LIAO Sun Staff Writer

The Cornell golf team will kick off its spring season Saturday in New Haven, Conn , at the Yale Spring Opener After going 1-2 in Ivy Match Play, the Red will be keeping an eye on the other Ivy League teams in this tournament

“I’m not quite sure of everyone playing at the Yale Spring Opener, but I know Yale is a good team probably a top-three team in the Ivy League,” junior tri-captain Carl Schimenti said “In terms of other Ivy League opponents, Princeton’s up there they have a couple seniors on that team who are really good and I think Harvard also has a bunch of good players I think Princeton may be there this weekend as well, so we will be able to see how we stack up against them and Yale ” With the bad weather in Ithaca, it has been tough for the team to practice on real courses, but players

have been hitting balls indoors and the team spent a week in Florida during Spring Break to get ready, according to Schimenti

“We’ve been hitting a lot of balls indoors the last couple weeks, [and] we ’ ve been able to get outside recently and obviously hit balls down in Florida during Spring Break,” Schimenti said “The hard part in terms of getting the rust off our game is the short game: putting and chipping We haven’t been able to practice all winter, except in Florida The [local] course opens Thursday, so we’ll try and get out there as much as we can, putting and chipping, to try and get that touch back around the green ”

An interesting fact about this year ’ s team is the complete lack of seniors Despite having none, there are no issues with the team dynamic nor with experience, according to Schimenti

“It’s kind of an interesting dynamic [without seniors]; we have six juniors, five sophomores and

four freshmen, and it’s nice because we ’ re all closer in age, so we all get along really well,” Schimenti said “A lot of people think we don’t have that much experience, but four of us juniors – [Zack Bosse, Craig Esposito, Max Koehler and myself ] – have basically played in every tournament the last two years, so we do have a lot of experience in that regard ”

One golfer who has made great strides since the fall season is freshman Brandon Eng, who played in all three tournaments last semester

“Brandon Eng [should make] huge strides this season, ” said Schimenti “He took a little time in the fall to get adjusted to college golf, travel to tournaments and play more 36, 54-hole tournaments He played great in Florida, so we ’ re excited to see him and how he does after getting a little bit of experience ”

the Big East sent two Nothing made sense all year, and it only continued into the tournament

Continuing with the theme of nobody knowing anything, the ESPN experts had a rough time with predictions 11 of the 13 experts properly selected Louisville as a Final Four team, but out of the other three regions, only Dickie V properly selected one team: Michigan To reiterate: out of 39 possible picks, one expert properly selected a team in the Final Four For comparison ’ s sake, three experts picked teams that were eliminated in the round