04-10-12

The Corne¬ Daily Sun

Diversity Plan Delegates

Day Hall report allows colleges to choose own goals

By

A plan to increase student, faculty and staff diversity by giving responsibility to leaders of the University’s colleges has been circulated among top administrators on campus and is in its final planning stages, according to Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education Laura Brown

Over the course of the next year, each college dean and vice president will be expected to choose five specific goals from a “ menu of 16 to work on during the course of the academic year, according to Brown

Options include increasing certain types of diversity, “increasing engagement for a target group ” and supporting career development

The deans and vice presidents will report to Skorton and Provost Fuchs at the end of the year, according to Brown

“If you announce broad goals, it’s really hard to hold anyone accountable ... Each college has its own priorities around diversity ”

Laura Brown

“Each college has its own priorities and its own strategic planning around diversity, Brown said “We didn't want to meddle in what they thought was appropriate It will look different from college to college ”

The new approach –– called “Toward New Destinations” –– was announced by President David Skorton in an email to the Cornell community on Feb 15 and will go into effect starting in the next academic year

“If you announce broad goals, it’s really hard to hold anyone accountable," Brown said “This gives each of them the opportunity to highlight five goals, report back and use those as target points

Brown also said the new policy allows each college to create its own approach to improving diversity, while still maintaining a system of accountability

The new diversity priorities were created by the University Diversity Council, a group charged with promoting diversity throughout

See DIVERSITY page 4

Students Mull Methods to Curb Alcohol Abuse

Continuing an effort to combat highrisk drinking, four Cornell students attended a conference at Dartmouth College this weekend in which groups from five Ivy League universities discussed the different practices they employ to mitigate dangerous behaviors

The conference, dubbed the second annual Ivy Student Summit for Alcohol Harm Reduction, spawned from last year ’ s Dartmouth Collaborative, an initiative organized by the National College Health Improvement Project As part of NCIP, representatives from 32 colleges

across the country met to discuss harm reduction as it relates to alcohol consumption, according to Melanie Herman ’12, one member of Cornell’s group

Herman said that, unlike the first conference, this summit focused solely on the input from Cornell, Dartmouth, Princeton, Harvard and Columbia in order to address the similar problems that these institutions have faced in recent years

“It is interesting to examine the social culture of different schools It places a lot of what we are doing in context with the larger college drinking problem,” said atlarge Student Assembly Rep John Mueller ’13, another member of the

group that attended the conference “We are building connections with students who are trying to tackle the same issues we have here, each with our different nuances ” While students at the event primarily brainstormed ideas for reducing highrisk drinking rather than making tangible proposals, the five schools dissected which plans have worked best and worst at each school, according to Herman It also gives Cornell an opportunity to tailor policies to our own culture and social environment, she said In terms of Cornell versus

See DARTMOUTH page 5

About one year ago, outside the Elks Club on Green Street in downtown Ithaca, 22-yearold Jamel Booker allegedly pulled out a long silver revolver as he got to his feet He had just been punched and knocked to the ground by Russell “Poon” Blackman, who reportedly incensed Booker by dancing with certain women in the club

A friend of Booker’s, who is unidentified in court papers, apparently urged him to strike back Kill the motherfuckers! Kill the motherfuckers! Give me the gun; I will do it,” the man reportedly bellowed

According to the prosecution, Booker relented to this demand On April 8, 2011, they say, Booker shot Blackman multiple times in the torso, and one bullet grazed Blackman’s face Police say Booker later fled to Florida, where he remained until February 2012, when he was caught by Ithaca Police Blackman survived, but Tompkins County District Attorney is charging Booker, who is known as “Mel,” with attempted murder,

See BOOKER page 4

Car Crash Victims Identi ed

Ithaca Police released the names of the people involved in the fatal car accident that occurred Sunday on Route 13 D o m i n i q u e Slaughter-Smith, 20, from Fairburn, Ga , and Ithaca resident Prince J Griffith, 21, died after their car collided rooffirst with a utility pole at the intersection of Cascadilla and Nor th Fulton Street at approximately 3:54 a m Although the Ithaca Fire Department and personnel from Bangs

Ambulance provided medical assistance, both Slaughter-Smith and Griffith died at the scene of the accident due to injuries sustained in the crash, a police report stated Two other passengers in the vehicle Ithaca resident Rakim D Slaughter, 24, and Isiah Mack, 19, from Brooklyn, N Y were transpor ted to trauma centers Sunday after the accident, the report stated As of Monday, Mack had been released from a hospital in Sayre, Pa Slaughter remained hospitalized in critical condi-

tion at a trauma center in Syracuse, N Y

While police are still investigating the cause of the accident, they said that “it is known that the speed of the vehicle was one factor in the cause of this crash ” Police said only one vehicle appeared to have been involved in the accident

The crash left street signs for Cascadilla and Nor th Fulton Street dented and a torn powerline loose on the ground

Akane Otani can be reached at aotani@cornellsun com

Fossil

, G76 Goldwin Smith Hall

PUPIL POETRY

Talking translation

Mann, CALS Receive 650K

By KAITLYN KWAN Sun Staff Wr ter

With the help of a $650,000 gift from recently deceased Prof Emerita Helen L Wardeberg, education, Mann Librar y and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences –– which will each receive half of the donation –– will be making adjustments to improve their services for the Cornell community

According to Eveline Ferretti, Mann Library public programs administrator, the library’s half of the donation will be used to establish the Helen L Wardeberg Fund The fund will be used to strengthen Mann’s collections by purchasing more books and supporting other library services

T h e g i f t comes in at a very timely moment for the library because we are right now

ve r y f o c u s e d o n strengthening the c o l l e c t i o n s i n a way that’s necessary for students and faculty,” Ferretti said “We want to make sure we have a collection that truly meets the needs of everyone here and is more accessible to the public ” Wardeberg, who died in 2011, served as chair of Cornell’s Department of Education from 1968 until her retirement in 1986 Although Ferretti and Ma r y Oc h s 7 9 , d i re c t o r o f Ma n n L i b r a r y, s a i d t h e y d i d n o t k n ow Wardeberg personally, they were honored to receive the gift on behalf of the library

Ferretti said that the donation arrived at a particularly beneficial time due to the recent increases in the cost of journal and database subscriptions Because these costs make up between 80 to 90 percent of the library’s “flat” budget, which does not vary from year to year, they have “ put a pinch on our ability to make sure our collection continues to grow the way it needs to for future generations,” she said

Businesses Compete for Ithaca Space

By NICOLE CHANG Sun Contributor

In a contest called “Race for the Space,” the Downtown Ithaca Alliance will pick the contestants with the best business proposals and reward them with, along with other incentives, one year of free rent in space in downtown Ithaca, including on the Commons

The Downtown Ithaca Alliance is holding this competition for the first time to encourage business in Ithaca s downtown, according to Vicki Taylor, associate director of the Downtown Ithaca Alliance

According to Taylor, other cities across the country –– including West Palm Beach, Fl –– have launched programs to help prospective entrepreneurs start and maintain their businesses

These successes inspired the Downtown Ithaca Alliance to sponsor the Race for Space to encourage the revitalization and retention of new businesses in downtown Ithaca

ments

“People often don’t realize the diversity of the downtown [area] and what there is to offer,” Taylor said “You can buy groceries, you can buy clothing from Urban Outfitters to independent boutiques And it’s a place where, if somebody has an entrepreneurial spirit, they can really succeed

After reviewing the various business proposals, the Downtown Ithaca Association Business Retention and Development Committee will select the competition’s finalists, who will be asked to submit formal business plans

After submitting their formal proposals on April 26, the Downtown Ithaca Alliance will assist contest finalists with advice and technical support The winners of the contest will be announced on May 1

Taylor expressed excitement about the future of the downtown area

found the incentives offered by the competition appealing

“Since setting up a business not only involves getting a rent space for free for a year but also having a good business plan to sustain it, quarterly monitoring visits by a team of business operations exper ts seems very attractive,” Lim said

However, Lim said he was disappointed with the lack of publicity about the event

“I think it is a good event, ” Lim said “If I’d known about this earlier, I probably would have applied for it with a group of friends But I don't think they are doing a great job advertising about this opportunity ”

“It’s gratifying and great to be a part of [Wardeberg’s] legacy ” E v eline Ferret t i

“We see these trends, we realize that we have to do something and now the library has kicked off a campaign to increase support, ” Ferretti said “If you don’t pay attention to [those trends], you end up having to compromise the quality of your collections It was in the beginning of starting this work when the gift came in and it was perfect timing ” Additionally, the m o n e y w i l l f u n d “ P a t r o n - D r i v e n Acquisitions, a pilot p ro g r a m a i m e d a t making books more re adi ly availab le at Mann According to Ferretti, the program will allow students and faculty to select a

through the library catalogue Electronic versions will become available immediately, and print books will arrive within a week

“It’s a gift like this that allows us to develop in new and innovative ways, Ferretti said

The other half of the donation will be used to support scholarships for the CALS transfer students, according to a University press release

In addition to free rent, the incentives offered to the winners of the contest include a one-year advertising package in The Ithaca Times; design services, business planning and marketing assistance; and quarterly monitoring visits by a team of Downtown Ithaca Alliance business operations experts, Taylor said Taylor said that the Downtown Ithaca Alliance is looking for entrepreneurs to submit plans for businesses that could fit in well with current businesses located on the Commons

Submissions for the contest were accepted until March 15, and the winners will be able start their businesses by the summer, Taylor said Taylor believes that the Commons’ strengths make it an optimal place for numerous business invest-

“We have $108 millionwor th of projects to redesign the Commons into a more open and modern space to create a high quality pedestrian mall and a community gathering space, build new apartment buildings, new retail, new hotels, office spaces within the next few years, ” she said

Taylor said she hopes that the contest will encourage Cornell students to become more involved in the design and planning of the downtown area

“If the students are interested in talking about business plans and opportunities in downtown, they should cer tainly get in touch with us, not even just through this project,” she said “Every year we have business recruitment and retention If they have an idea and want to get involved, they should come and talk to us about it ”

Jordan Lim ’14 said he

Enrico Bonatti ’14, a semi-finalist in the “Big Idea Competition” by Entrepreneurship at Cornell, which accepts submissions for business ideas that deal with social or environmental issues, said he believes students have a chance to be successful in a competition like Race for Space

“I definitely think that Cornell students have the potential to achieve great things, and if this program was customized appropriately, it could help students with a strong entrepreneurial drive to be successful,” Bonatti said

Taylor emphasized the need to keep talent in the Ithaca area

“We don’t want to see everybody just come here and leave and take their smarts all over the world, Taylor said “There are lots of opportunities right here in their own backyard They know the market; they have been students here for however many years They know what their peers are looking for ”

Nicole Chang can be reached at hc729@cornell edu

“It’s gratifying and great to be a part of her legacy, Ferretti said According to Ferretti, the library was notified about the donation about a month ago

“We were thrilled to get the information about the gift,” Ochs said “We have a reputation for having a very strong agriculture, life sciences and human ecology collection, and to have an emeritus faculty member make that kind of contribution is a real boost to having that kind of collection continue to be available ”

“This is such a fitting legacy for a woman who dedicated her life to education,” CALS Dean Kathryn Boor ’80 said in the press release “Her gift will ensure that Cornell can continue to be the new opportunity university for talented students regardless of means in particular those who begin their academic careers elsewhere and enrich our college by transferring here ”

Kaitlyn Kwan can be reached at kkwan@cornellsun com

Tompkins Rated Second Healthiest County in New York

Tompkins County as second in terms of personal and community health factors, The Ithaca Journal repor ted

Ithaca Disability Workshop to Begin The Finger Lakes Independence Center will be starting a six-week workshop Tuesday afternoon on living with disabilities, according to the The Ithaca Journal

Cold Weather Hurts Cherry, Apple Growers

Following warm weather in early March, recent sub-freezing temperatures have devastated fruit growers around the region, The Ithaca Journal reported

Compiled by Dennis Liu

Univ. Plans Approach to Diversity

Ithaca Man Contests A ssault Charges

BOOKER

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c e n t r a l i ze i t i n o n e p e r s o n ” Brow n s a i d Tow a rd Ne w De s t i n a t i o n s t a r g e t s d i v e r s i t y t h r o u g h f o u r p r i n c i p l e s : c o m p o s i t i o n , e n g a g e m e n t , i n c l u s i o n a n d a c h i e ve m e n t , a c c o rd i n g t o a s u mm a r y o f t h e d o c u m e n t re l e a s e d t o T h e

Su n Ac c o rd i n g t o Brow n , “ c o m p o s i t i o n ” r e f e r s t o t h e d i v e r s i t y o f t h e Un i v e r s i t y ’ s d e m o g r a p h y, w h i l e e n g a g e m e n t re f e r s t o w h e t h e r m i n o r i t y m e m b e r s o n c a m p u s a re j o i n i n g a n d s t a y i n g i n vo l ve d i n s o c i a l a n d p ro f e ss i o n a l a c t i v i t i e s o n c a m p u s Brow n s a i d t h a t i n c l u s i o n ” c o n s i de r s t h e d e g re e t o w h i c h d i ve r s e m e m -

b e r s o f t h e c a m p u s c o m m u n i t y a re m a d e t o f e e l we l c o m e “Ac h i e ve m e n t ” a d d re s s e s i s s u e s s u c h a s t h e a c a d e m i c s u c c e s s e s o f u n d e r re p re s e n t e d i n d i v i du a l s a n d t h e i r r a t e s o f a d m i s s i o n t o h o n o r s p ro g r a m s “

Emma Court can be reached at ecourt@cornellsun com

Continued from page 1

assault and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon

Booker has since responded to the allegations In a defense brief filed March 30 in Tompkins County Court, his attorney decried what he called the prosecution’s inadmissible and incompetent” attempts to build a case against his client

T h o m a s K h e e l , B o o k e r ’ s l a w ye r, emphasizes in the documents that Booker was never found with a weapon Kheel says Booker will contest all the charges against him

“No weapons were ever found linking the defendant to the crime,” Kheel writes “ The evidence presented to the Grand Jur y was legally insufficient to establish that [Booker] committed the offenses charged in the indictment ”

Moreover, Kheel claims that the witness accounts used to connect Booker to the crime may have been unfairly solicited “ The identifications of [Kheel] are equivocal and were suggested to the testifying witnesses,” Kheel says

Documents obtained by The Sun may indicate that Kheel was correct to assume that police were looking for evidence to validate their assumptions

According to an account provided by o n e It h a c a

whose name has been redacted, Brittany Green was a friend of Blackman’s who was with him the night of the shooting When the officer arrived at the hospital where Blackman was being treated, Green said she was willing to discuss the event further, according to the police report

However, when presented with several photo arrays of potential suspects, Green “stated she was unable to identify anyone within ”

As Green viewed the arrays, I sensed that she could identify the responsible p a r t y, b u

involved,” the officer states an assessment Kheel and Booker may contest in court

A n a c c o u n t p rov i d e d by Ro n a l d

McClure, who says he saw the shooting, also suggests police may have, as Kheel alleges, suggested who the assailant was to witnesses

Police asked McClure if Booker was “the same person who is in your math class at [Tompkins Community College] and the same person who you saw shoot Russell ” Still, McClure did, apparently unprompted, pick Booker out of a photo array

Unlikely to help Kheel s argument, however, is Booker’s apparent attempt to escape arrest

After a Tompkins County Grand Jur y indicted Booker in June 2011, he “fled” to Florida, according to Ithaca Police

“Information was established that following the indictment Booker had fled to Florida, where he went into hiding to avoid apprehension,” police stated in a press release at the time of his arrest

On Feb 8, police were notified that Booker was in the Ithaca area A team of investigators and officers then entered a local hotel in which Booker was staying and took him into custody without incident

The prosecution also notes that this was Booker’s 13th arrest He also has two youthful offender adjudications, one misdemeanor conviction, five “violation-level convictions” and one bench warrant on his record, according to the documents

The identity of the man who told Booker to shoot does not appear in court documents Green, however, told police that he was a 6’0” “light skinned” black man with “pulled back” braids McClure, the other witness, also describes the man as a “light skinned black male with braids ”

Jeff Stein can be reached at jstein@cornellsun com

Students Discuss How to Combat Excessive Drinking

DARTMOUTH

Dartmouth, for example, we are much less Greek-dominated than they are, ” Herman said “We have more opportunities for students to find their niche, rather than something that involves everyone drinking all of the time ”

Herman said unlike Dartmouth, Cornell has a specific college town where student socializing is often concentrated

“Collegetown certainly promotes drinking, but it is very public,” she said “If there is a potential problem, it can be easily spotted ”

No one solution fits every college, according to Mueller Rather, panel members from each university shared anecdotal evidence that served as examples to consider for the future

Cornell liaisons said that several initiatives from other schools stood out to them as examples they might emulate in the future, Mueller said

According to Herman, Harvard has a successful program called Drug and Alcohol Peer Advisors, in which the university provides funding for food, supplies and non-alcoholic drinks for parties She said she believes that if managed properly, this program could be expanded to Cornell’s much larger student body

Mueller also praised Dartmouth’s reported trust in the safety and security of its police force At every registered social event, Dartmouth students are required to have at least two walkthroughs per night, in which Intrafraternity Council member ensure the event is not in violation of any university policies

Mueller also cited Dartmouth’s “Green Team” initiative, in which student volunteers stay at parties to identify and help individuals that appear to need assistance

Cornell is attempting to launch an analogous program, called “Cayuga Watchers,” which was proposed to the Student Assembly last September Though Cornell is still trying to iron out the final details of the proposal, Mueller said the administration is supportive of the idea He said he is already optimistic at students’ reactions to the suggestion

“People are starting to buy into the ‘bystander intervention’ idea,”

Mueller said

He said this enthusiasm is crucial to the program ’ s success

“Sometimes it’s as simple as handing another student a bottle of water, ” he said “ The administration handles enforcement, and Gannett handles most education But culture change has to come from the students Otherwise it will be written off immediately ”

Herman also said that in addition to mirroring successful programs implemented at other universities, Cornell should learn from the mistakes made by other schools

“Harvard tried to ban kegs at parties, but it didn’t work,” Herman said “With open parties students engage in more ‘safer’ ways to drink in other words, they consume more beer than hard alcohol When kegs were banned, the university found that students were drinking a lot more hard alcohol and the number of dangerous drinking incidents increased At Cornell, we have a lot to work on to make sure the lack of open parties is not to the detriment [of ] our population ”

Herman, who has been an resident advisor at Cornell for three years, commended the summit for placing a further emphasis on the necessity to target not only frat parties, but also residential drinking

“As an R A , you watch people come in blackout drunk and you see the need for intervention,” she said “Most freshmen don’t know their limits and can get really hurt Focusing on new students getting acclimated to dorm life is one of the most critical times to target high risk drinking incidents ”

Mueller echoed the need to target change from a variety of angles

One of the barriers Cornell has faced in the medical amnesty program is that people are so worried about the costs, ” he said, noting that such incidents might cost more than $1,000 after a night of ambulance and emergency room fees

Mueller said Dartmouth has an infirmary on campus –– in which students with alcohol poisoning can be treated and remain overnight –– to deter some of these charges He said this is a program he hopes Cornell will soon adopt

“You can do a lot of small interventions and changes, but we need to be committed at all levels to making larger system changes if we want to see any real progress, he said

Continued from page 1 Harrison Okin

HELENE BEAUCHEMIN 13

RUBY PERLMUTTER 13

HOFFMAN 13

LaJOIE 13

ZACHARY ZAHOS 15

KATHARINE CLOSE 14

AKANE OTANI 14

SCOTT CHIUSANO 15

REBECCA COOMBES 14

NICHOLAS ST FLEUR ’13 Science Editor

JOSEPH VOKT 14

SEOJIN LEE 14

Manager

ERIKA G WHITESTONE ’15

JESSICA YANG 14 Human Resources Manager

Editorial

Compromising On the Calendar

ON WEDNESDAY, THE FACULTY SENATE will consider changes to the academic calendar that would add vacations in the middle of the semester to break up long periods of classes and improve mental health This benefit would come at the expense of one of Cornell’s most revered traditions: Senior Week The changes that are being considered will change the culture of the campus and must be debated and vetted extensively with students The Faculty Senate must wait for formalized student input before making a decision

Senior Week is the seven day period immediately following the end of finals, leading up to Commencement The calendar committee is proposing to shorten Senior Week from nine days to three and shorten exam week from 13 days to eight These changes will create a two day break during President’s Week and add two extra days to spring break By giving students time to relax in the middle of the winter and prelim season, the committee hopes that students will receive serious mental health benefits

While there are benefits that come with this new calendar, they come at the expense of Senior Week These seven days are important for seniors, as they bid farewell to their friends and reminisce about their time on the Hill This week frames their time at Cornell, giving seniors a positive experience that they will remember into their years as alumni Senior Week is part of the Cornell culture and a tradition that is widely known and remembered by members of the outgoing class In order to properly weigh the extent of the cost that this change would have, more formalized input is necessary

So far, student input on the calendar has been limited It is concerning is that the chair of the Calendar Committee said in March that it would only make “informal” efforts to consult with non-committee members The deliberations should rely on more than just the input from the two undergraduate students that sit on the Calendar Committee A simple measure to formally gauge the opinions of students would be to send out a survey However, even this basic measure has not been taken More time for deliberation and compromise would help to ensure that everyone is best served by the changes

Additionally, the recommendations put forward by the committee are an imperfect compromise It seems that there are other options that could still be considered that may do a better job of satisfying the most people Though finding this balance is difficult, we question the stress-relieving benefit that comes with adding another two days to spring break, compared to the benefit that these days could bring elsewhere in the calendar Adding one of these days to study week as a rest day could have huge mental health benefits, and adding the second to make Senior Week four days would help preserve this Cornell tradition

While building this proposal, the University has worked to manage a large number of constraints It seems, however, that the Committee is desperate to reach the finish line on this project when more consideration is warranted Aside from adding a Labor Day holiday last year, the last time the calendar was changed was 1984 Such a potentially long-lasting change requires more time and input

My Major’s Harder Than Your Major

First item of business If someone says “I have three prelims next week,” what’s the first response that pops into your head? Well, there are really only two types of responses “Oh man, that’s awful, I’m so glad I’m not premed / an engineer / a hotelie / double majoring / an English major / graduating early / prelaw, you guys have it so much harder than the rest of us, ” or “Well, I had three prelims AND two papers in a week once ”

Second item of business If someone says “I’m so tired, I had to pull an all-nighter again, what s your reply? The range of answers is again binary Either “You’re so crazy, I never have enough work to pull an all-nighter, or Well, I m pulling my second one in a row tonight ”

If you didn’t know these items before, congratulations! Provided you picked the

second response in both scenarios, you are now qualified to converse like a Cornell student If someone ’ s already given you the memos on Let me tell you how much alcohol I drank last weekend / plan on drinking this weekend” and “Do you think s/he’s into me?, you are also fully qualified to participate in, oh, some 70 percent of the conversations that are happening on this campus at any given time

Snark (mostly) aside, I’d like to use my 700-word soapbox to focus on the first bit of that paragraph up there I have heard many phrases used to describe this lovely place, and among the first I heard right after “ pressure cooker” was “ stress competition ” My esteemed colleague Will Spencer commented recently that Hotelies and Engineers alike only seem to know how to have one conversation, the one that revolves around how ridiculous their schoolwork is And oh I am not about to contradict (And not just because I sit in staff meetings with him)

If you feel the need to talk constantly about how difficult your schoolwork is, please pick one of the following options

1) You’re smart and good at school, and your coursework is legitimately difficult You also require constant external affirmation to feel good about yourself, and it’s kind of annoying

2) You re smart, but you re not very good at school Your coursework is legitimately difficult You require constant external affirmation about your intelligence to compensate for your grades, and it’s kind of annoying

3) You re pre-med, and everyone thinks you ’ re annoying I’m kidding! I’m kidding

Not all pre-meds are annoying

Ladies and Gentlemen, please You all attend, for what it’s worth, the *cough* US News-ranked #15 university in the nation

The largely arbitrary crapshoot called undergraduate admissions means that you ’ re a smart and talented person who won (or lost) the lottery So, let us dispense with the notion that a game of academic mine-is-bigger-than-yours is either necessary or fooling anyone For one, it makes you look needy

Talking like you have something to prove

does, in fact, make people suspect that you have something to prove For another, it’s specifically this sort of attitude that has created the Cornell pressure cooker environment

An intensely competitive environment has created this collective campus fear of admitting any academic or personal weakness, and we ’ ve all seen what kind of toll that takes on people Talking about all the work we have to do to a fellow student who is quietly struggling to find the will to get out of bed every morning isn t just insensitive, it s selfish in the worst way We’re all human We all have egos that need to be stroked But in the end, the distribution of prelim grades is going to look roughly normal anyways, and no one is going to care that you ONLY ended up at the mean because you had SO much other work to do On the other hand, people are going to care that you made them feel like a piece of crap about only getting the mean, because they studied really hard for it So, Big Red, campus that I love, please take that chip off your shoulder We’ll all be better for it

Two weeks ago, in response to a column I wrote about walking barefoot as a revolutionar y act, a reader made this comment on The Sun website:

“As someone who gre w up in a developing countr y, I find this ar ticle to be extremely naïve and ill-advised, written by a privileged boy from a well-to-do family who has white-guilt about his family’s financial comfor t ”

T h e re a d e r i s a b s o l u t e l y r i g h t , b u t doesn’t go far enough I’m not just a privileged boy from a well-to-do family; I’m also a heterosexual, an American and, perhaps worst of all, a consumer I own a cell phone, a laptop and endless other bits of

plastic crap which we, as a society, have convinced each other we need “ White-guilt” doesn’t begin to cover what I have As a wealthy, straight, white, male American consumer, my lifestyle is built upon violence against humanity and violence against the ear th The violence of my privilege is the fundamental premise upon which my political and social consciousness is built If you don’t accept this premise nothing I write will make much sense to you

So if I am, in fact, the oppressor, what business do I have writing an opinion col-

In D efen se of Hy pocri sy

umn? Do we really need more input from the patriarchy? Doesn’t the voice of the oppressor already fill the room ever y time a black child is murdered without consequences, ever y time a 12-year-old Chinese girl works herself to death to assemble the t o y s I t h i n k I n e e d , e

American Empire kicks over a sovereign nation in my name?

How do I justify driving my Prius from Cornell University to Ne w York City so that I can march down a street and chant “ We are the 99 percent”? Ever y time the word “revolution” passes my white lips, the words of the late, great Gil ScottHeron come to mind:

What Even Is All This?

“ The irony of it all, of course, is when a p a l e - f a c e d S D S [ St u d e n t s

Democratic Society] mother fucker dares look hur t when I tell him to go find his own revolution Your great-grandfather tied a ball and chain to my balls and bounced me through a cotton field, while I lived in an unflushable toilet bowl, and now you want me to help you over throw what?

As a white activist, I get this a lot What does a white liberal weekend revolut i o n a r y k n o w a b o u t p o l i c e b r u t a l i t y ?

IWhat gives me the cultural authority to quote the poetr y of Gil Scott-Heron? And who the hell do I think I am?

Well, I’m me I don’t really have any other options I was born with this skin color, with this ancestr y, with this gender, with this tr ust fund Whatever objections I may have to consumerism, I was born into this economy However abhorrent I may find war, I was born into the countr y with all the guns, and the belligerence to use them

So, I’m me, and injustice is injustice I c a

bir th I can ’ t go back in time and convince my ancestors not to keep slaves or steal Native American land I can ’ t snap my fingers and rid the world of racism, sexism a n d h

I c

n ’ t s i n g l ehandedly stop industrial capitalism from raping the planet to death I wish I could, but I can t

Here’s what I can do:

1) I can shut up I can accept that the color of my skin and the depth of my pockets make me ineligible to even utter the word “oppression ” I can spend my life playing backgammon and tr ying to drown my white guilt in tea and cr umpets I can leave reform and revolution to those “culturally authorized” to fix the world

2) I can keep talking I can accept accusations that I don’t get it,” because in some ways I probably don’t I can tr y my best, given my limited and problematic perspective, to point out and fight against injustice whenever and wherever I see it, a n d t o s t a n d i n s o l i d a r i t y w i t h t h o s e whose str uggles I perceive as righteous As an oppressor with a conscience I am

confronted with a choice between silence and what some would call hypocrisy I’ll choose hypocrisy ever y time

If you want to disregard what I say because of the color of my skin, the social class of my parents and the atrocities of my great-grandparents, that s your prerogative I don’t have the authority or the desire to ask anyone to ignore the violence of my privilege Telling me to shut up is thus absolutely legitimate

That being said when I see something I think is wrong, I’m going to make as much noise about it as possible, even at

advised ” If this makes me a hypocrite, so be it After all, plenty of white liberals participated in the Civil Rights Movement, and despite Gil Scott-Heron’s completely

their privilege, rooted in

forces of racism

racist system,

Similarly, privilege grants me access to education If we don’t use the tools that education gives us to look outside of our own privilege bubbles, then higher education is a criminal misallocation of society’s resources and an inexcusable circle-jerk For better or for worse, privilege grants me a louder voice than most I’m going to use that voice to cr y bloody murder whenever I get the chance, especially when the blood is on my own hands

Tom Moore is a sophomore in the College of Ar ts

tmoore@cornellsun com What Even Is All This? appears alternate Tuesdays this semester

Ensurin g Legal Prot ection for A ll

Education, when a student is accused of sexual assault or sexual harassment, Cornell may no longer tr y them under the Campus Code of Conduct, which provides a robust set of protections for the accused modeled after the criminal justice system Instead, they would be tried under University Policy 6 4, which strips away many of these protections and also uses a lower standard of proof Advocates of these changes, including the Women's Resource Center, hope to create a system friendlier to sex-

ual assault victims and more likely to bring the guilty to justice which by itself is cer tainly an admirable goal

However, before anyone signs off on these changes, one critical question must be asked: How many innocent people must suffer to ensure that the guilty are brought to justice?

While the intentions behind these proposed changes are admirable, the basis for these changes is fundamentally and irrecoverably flawed It seemingly assumes that the accuser is the victim But if that were tr ue, why would we even need any sor t of trial in the first place? These measures would make complete sense in a counseling session provided by the Women’s Resource Center, but they make no sense in a trial incorporating changes advocated by the Women’s Resource Center

At times, one wonders if those proposing the changes have even considered the possibility that the accused may in fact be innocent For example, while banning crossexamination and lawyers may create a friendlier environment for an accuser who is also a sexual assault victim, if the accused is innocent, how will he or she have any hope

of exposing the holes in the accuser ' s stor y without a cross-examination or a lawyer trained to find these holes?

Those who oppose these changes do not oppose victims rights, they merely recognize that in the case of a false conviction, it is the accused, not the accuser, who is the real victim

Fur thermore, past experiences at Cornell and other universities suggest that such concerns are practical and not just theoretical Unfor tunately, under University Policy 6 4 and similar policies at other universities, all records are kept confidential, meaning that if ab u s e s of du e proce s s occur an outside entity will not even be able to know that said abuses o c c u r r e d , m u c h l e s s advocate against those abuses

Ho w e v e r, Pr o f Maas, who was tried for s e x u a l h a r a s s m e n t u n d e r a s p

Professional Ethics Committee instead of the Code of Conduct, challenged his conviction in cour t, which made many of the confidential trial records public as par t of the lawsuit The book The Shadow University gives an excellent account of his trial on pages 296-300; here are some of the highlights (or perhaps lowlights):

While a single column would not provide enough • space to list all the problems with the r ules of conduct and evidence, this quote from the trial s chair will succinctly summarize them: “ We have to make the r ules as we go along ”

Even though Prof Maas’ career was on the line, not • only was he not allowed a lawyer, but he also was not allowed to have a law professor as an advisor because he was “ too much of an exper t ”

Not only could Prof Maas not cross-examine his • accusers he was not even allowed to be in the same room as them so as not to upset the alleged victims No presumption of guilt there!

That Professional Ethics Committee sounds eerily similar to University Policy 6 4 Sadly, these sor ts of prob-

lems per vade not just Cornell, but many other universities At the University of Nor th Dakota, Caleb Warner was convicted of sexual assault and expelled from the university, even though police, looking at the same evidence, charged the accuser with making a false repor t to law enforcement Even then, it still took a year and a half and pressure from the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education before UND would reinstate Caleb And of course, who can forget the Duke lacrosse scandal? The rape and sexual assault of a woman by three lacrosse players led to the cancellation of the lacrosse season, the firing of the lacrosse coach and a national uproar about sexual assault until it turned out the accuser ' s stor y was false

Not only has the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education clearly opposed this letter as expected, a letter which may have even violated the law by ignoring the r

American Association of University Professors has stated

In

Tenure At Cornell, The Sun quoted one law professor as saying the faculty of the Law School generally agrees that these measures are Or wellian

Nonetheless, deputy University counsel Nelson Roth has stood his ground, advocating the legal necessity of these changes From a risk management and legal liability point of vie w, he may be right But when fundamental rights are at stake, should there not be more impor tant concerns than legal liability? Is Cornell a university or just a mere corporation?

In light of the clear and convincing evidence against using University Policy 6 4 to handle sexual harassment and sexual assault cases, and the rights at stake which are more impor tant than legal liability, I would recommend that the University Assembly and President Skor ton keep in mind the “counsel” in deputy University counsel: You should always listen to counsel, but you do not always have to follow it

ARTS ENTERTAINMENT

Thinking Inside and Outside the Box

KYLE CHANG Sun Staff Writer

In recent years, a torrent of gimmicky films have attempted to distinguish themselves from the already burgeoning film population: note the surge in 3D, found-footage and meta-films Unfortunately, films cannot survive on gimmicks alone Thus, we have a dichotomy of films ones that use gimmicks for the sake of being gimmicky (the way a hipster might strive for originality for originality’s sake) and those that are truly original and happen to utilize a gimmick Director Gabe Torres Brake is the latter Brake is a contained thriller: almost the entire film is set within the trunk of a car

Secret service agent Jeremy Reins (Stephen Dorff ) wakes up at the back of a car actually, he wakes up in a glass container at the back of a car Overhead, a timer repeatedly counts down to ominous zeroes, at which point something bad always happens It’s soon revealed that Rein’s captors want to extract top secret information from him like the president’s bunker location and codename Rein’s tormentors use increasingly painful methods one of them involves bees

Many critics have compared Brake to Rodrigo Cortes’ 2010 film Buried Admittedly, both films have similarities The most obvious of these is that both spend the entirety of the movie in a box as the protagonist is interrogated by terrorists Less obviously, both films contain political undertones that suggest some frustration with the American government But the similarities end there

While Buried was a slow and unrelenting descent into one man ’ s desperation, “Brake is basically an action film in a box ” Torres said True both films are about men in boxes but in context Brake is actually a thriller about national security, resting on one man s strength to adhere to an oath to protect the president Along the way, we get a series of thrilling sequences through the power of suggestion There are the usual plot devices Reins is give a CB radio and also manages to get a cell phone halfway through the film

But the brilliance of the film lies in its subtle mechanisms “Our goal was to create the illusion of motion,” Torres says Director of photography James Mathers manages to bring the action occurring outside the van into Reins’ trunk with some creativity Mathers’ camerawork is surprisingly fluid, moving from static shots to violent hand-cam ones for car chases He also uses barely perceptible light shifts to imply movement outside the car Also notable is the sound editing, which is most laudable during the film’s car chases

But perhaps the best part of the containedthriller gimmick is the sense of paranoia it instills in the audience The number of things that are overtly suggested, such as car chases and shootouts are equaled by the number of covertly suggested ideas And this is by far the best use of the box in Brake While the contained thriller may simply be a penny pincher’s way of creating an action film, it plays directly towards the paranoid thriller genre by withholding information from the audience, leaving it as disoriented as the character inside the box

The last stand-out performance, the only performance in the colloquial sense of the word, is Stephen Dorff ’ s performance

When asked about his choice of actors, Torres said, “Not a lot of actors would have taken on this movie cause everything hangs on them If the movie fails, the failure hangs on the actor I knew Stephen wouldn’t be afraid of taking on the camera by himself ”

Dorff has been known to take on interesting films, especially distinctly indie titles In the recent past Dorff has starred in an unrelentingly stoic film Sophia Coppola’s Somewhere Despite some complaints about the actual film, Dorff ’ s performance in the film was decidedly true to the

Now He’s Writing Music

It is difficult to think of a more ubiquitous instrument than the piano It graces the living room of many families is featured in countless concertos, and it is safe to say that the majority of us have taken lessons sometime during our lives, with varying degrees of success To some, the piano evokes Chopin’s passionate nocturnes and Beethoven’s powerful concertos Others prefer Gershwin s jazz stylings But very few of us would consider the piano to be an important component of rock music Rock pianist Marco Benevento will challenge this perception during his concert at The Haunt this coming Friday

Benevento started out as many piano students do: “I took lessons as a kid for a while,” he tells The Sun It was your basic kid lesson thing learning how to read, playing through lesson books, etc ” His love for rock bands such as The Beatles and Led Zeppelin began in middle school; it was also during this time that he met drummer Joe Russo, with whom he later released several albums By high school, he was already composing his own music; he graduated from the Berklee School of Music in Boston in

1999 Making full use of the musical opportunities that technology such as synthesizers, four tracks and effects pedals affords, Benevento has become, according to All Music Guide, “ a musician so original that he can ultimately only be judged against his own standard ”

A self-described “professional capturist,” Benevento’s music is upbeat and smileenducing, using musical patterns that are familiar, but never dull His piece “The Real Morning Party” begins with a shuffling drum beat that is the perfect accompaniment to the shuffle out of bed that the best of us succumb to on a Monday morning The simple tune catches one unawares; before one knows it, the blasé morning feeling has given over to enthusiastic head-bopping and shoulder-shaking Now They’re Writing Music” is a perfect example of Benevento’s innovative use of synths combined with a nostalgic piano melody that can ’ t help but pull on the heartstrings When asked what inspire these pieces, Benevento writes that “the inspiration for writing music comes and goes Sometimes I sit down at the piano and just want to watch my fingers move and play whatever it is that comes to mind and not really think about a verse or an intro or a solo section for a song that I want to write Maybe I'll remember it,

shows off the full spectrum of his talent

As Reins gets pushed to the edge, he releases more and more rage; these scenes involve sustained kicking and screaming In the wrong hands, these scenes would have killed the film which already requires a high suspension of disbelief But luckily, Dorff goes beyond the call of duty and serves as the reality anchor through what is, in retrospect, quite the fantastical plot

Brake is a triumph of low-budget filming; it captures all the intensity of a regular Hollywood film In the sea of films released this year, Brake is surely one of the more unique ones It deserves to be experienced purely based on this merit

“I’m really proud of the way it turned out I wouldn’t have changed anything about [Brake],” Torres said Torres is an avid supporter of the independent film industry He will be conducting Question and Answer sessions at screenings of Brake at Cinemapolis on April 13 and April 14

Kyle Chang is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences He can be reached at kchang@cornellsun com

maybe I won t, but most times inspiration for a song comes by surprise I find as a songwriter that the best way to ‘ compose ’ a song is to figure out how to ‘ capture ’ that moment when you are not thinking and inspiration flows through you ” If his music videos are anything to go by, Benevento’s performance will be a treat The videos that accompany his songs are colorful and playful; “The Morning Party” features many pairs of hands making shadow puppets and dancing feet, as well as a keyboard that plays itself The quirky cuteness is a balm for those who have become desensitized by overly-flashy music videos featuring scantily clad girls and strobe lights The flashing clock and the combination of animation with live action shots featured in the accompanying music video to “Now They’re Writing Music” enhances the dream-like quality of the piece “Playing for a live audience is simultaneously the easiest and roughest thing to do,” Benevento writes “You are

supposed to be having a good time like the audience yet you have to provide the good time for them So there is a sense of responsibility Plus you are playing your own music so it’s pretty revealing at the same time ”

“I’d say that after 15 years of performing I finally feel like I can put on a good show,” he modestly asserts Whether you re a longtime fan or a newcomer, Benevento’s performance is more than likely to be a “good show” and provide a “good time ”

Lubabah Chowdhury is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences She can be reached at lchowdhury@cornellsun com

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Rowers Unable to Grab Class of 1975 Cup

of victor y was less than a second but we bounded back to beat Yale,” Gehman said “ We brought back the Cayuga Cup, which was really exciting ” A c c o r d i n g t o G

n , Saturday’s races proved that the Red still has a lot to work on if it

wants to be competitive at this year ’ s Ivy League Championships The Ivy League Championships w

team in the Ivy League, including Pr

impor tant for determining which teams will be invited to this year

NCAA tournament “ We

Varsity Eight boat needs to work

“Conditions played a little bit of a role [on Saturday], so we ll continue to practice in wind We have to be able to deal with what-

GREENING

Continued from page 16

happy After playing for Cornell, Greening moved on to play for the Binghamton Senators the AHL affiliate of the Ottawa Senators, who drafted the forward in 2005 Greening said that he originally did not think that he was going to be selected, but much to his delight and surprise he received a phone call during the 7th round saying that he was chosen

Portland Pirates Charlotte Checkers and Houston Aeros

Playing for Charlotte at the time was Greening s former Cornell teammate Riley Nash Greening said that playing against former Red icers has been a fun experience

Talented Team Suggests Future Success Greening Awaits Playoffs

guys we ’ ve got ” The Red traveled on Sunday to New Haven, Conn to compete against Yale (6-22-1, 0-8-0) in a doubleheader The Red began the first game of the series on top, due in part to Whetsel’s infield single that brought Tatum home from third Peters than singled to the right side to drive in Swinford and put Cornell on the board early Yale finally got one in the fourth and pulled ahead with two more in the sixth the latter coming unearned on Cornell’s only error of the game Sophomore Connor Kaufmann pitched into the sixth inning before retiring the mound to junior pitcher Houston Hawley, who recorded the final five outs against the Bulldogs Hawley increased his personal record to 2-1 for the season The victory ended a nine-game losing streak for the Red at Yale Field

“ We have excellent hitters throughout the entire lineup, we played excellent defense [and the] pitchers are doing a great job keeping us in the game Basically, it was a whole team effort that sparked our victor y over the past couple of games, ” said Peters In the second game at Yale Field, Lee was 3-for-5 with a double, which led to him scoring the game ’ s first run on Yanzick’s double bagger in the third Yale responded with two runs in the fourth, but Cornell came back to tie the game up on senior Brian Billigen's solo home run to right in the sixth his fifth of the season Billigen hit a two-run triple in the seventh He was 2-for-4 with two runs and three RBI in the game The game was tied again after the eighth, leading the Red to the fourth straight game in which Cornell pushed runners across home plate in the final frame Whetsel reached second on an error, then third on a wild pitch Yanzick’s bunt single scored Whetsel After Billigen walked Cruz

hit a single to right to score Yanzick

After entering the game as a defensive replacement in the eighth, D’Alessandro hit a two-run single for additional runs over the Bulldogs

This weekend was unreal I mean we really don’t expect [to sweep the weekend],” he said “But, we started off with a good comeback win and then we just kept it rolling

Cornell is riding a seven-game winning streak heading into Wednesday’s game against Binghamton at Hoy Field The game kicks off a seven-game home stretch, which includes the start of divisional play and four games against Columbia at home next weekend

“Every game matters, but I really want to see us beat Columbia and take it to them,” D’Alessandro said “Everyone on our team is very talented and I feel like the combination of all of us together will help us succeed in the coming weekends ”

Haley Velasco can be reached at hvelasco@cornellsun com

“Binghamton was great for me It gave me a chance to play with some top players,” he said “I felt like I was learning how to be a professional and how to play the game ”

During his time in Binghamton, Greening was part of the 2011 team that made a run for the Calder Cup Entering the competition seeded last, expectations were not high for the Senators, according to Greening Binghamton faced the Manchester Monarchs in the first round

That was definitely an interesting and fun experience,” Greening said “We were the last seed and we just squeaked our way into playoffs and I remember I didn’t know what was going to happen In the first round, we were down 3-1 in a best-of-seven series and we ended up winning the next three games in overtime We won the last two games on the road in Manchester ” Binghamton ended up claiming the entire series, beating the

“It’s a lot of fun I’ve played against [Ben Scrivens ’10] a couple of times this season He actually made a really good stop against me in preseason We were joking about it afterwards and I was really hoping I could score on him so I could get bragging rights,” Greening said “I got to play against [Riley] in his second professional game, which was nice and he got his first professional point against us, but I wasn ’ t on the ice, so he doesn’t get bragging rights that he scored on my line ”

This week Greening will play in his first NHL playoffs as the Ottawa Senators faceoff against the New York Rangers beginning on Thursday “That is going to be a lot of fun because Cornell is well represented in the city I’ve been getting a lot of texts from guys who are actually Rangers fans threatening to keep me up all night,” Greening said “It’s all in good fun It s my first NHL playoffs, so I don’t really know what to expect, I’m basing my experience on what I went through with the playoffs last year with the AHL I’m really excited ”

Lauren Ritter can be reached at sports-editor@cornellsun com

Heavy weights Sweep All Si x Races at Invitational

By ALEX KUCZYNSKI-BROWN Sun Senior Writer

The men ’ s heavyweight rowing team rebounded from its questionable performance in last weekend’s San Diego Classic, sweeping all six of its races at the 25th annual George Washington Invitational Regatta on Saturday The Varsity 8 crew bested Georgetown by a narrow, 1 1-second margin before topping UC San Diego with a time of 5:32 60 to 5:58 00

“The first race I wasn ’ t really excited about I thought they did parts of it well, but I didn t think they executed the whole thing as well as they could have,” said head coach Todd Kennett ’91 “The second race they went a lot faster So it was like ‘ Wow, okay, now we ’ re starting to get the result we were looking for’ the second race I felt a lot better about ” Cornell’s second Varsity 8 and Freshman 8 crews also won their races against Georgetown and and UCSD

not gone unnoticed by his team

The Navy guys are sort of [trying to] win one for the Gipper,’ so to speak They’re trying to make their coach really proud, and it’s pretty obvious ” Kennett said

Meanwhile, Syracuse defeated Cornell’s A crew in the Varsity 4 event in the fall, which should go a long way in making for a “really hot [upcoming] weekend,” according to Kennett

“Every boat is going to be really highlycontested, and I think we re going to have to hit our best to be able to win these races, ” he said

“To me, rowing is all about performance you’re making your boat go as fast as it can ”

Todd K en net t ’ 9 1

According to Kennett, the difference between racing against one other team versus five other teams simultaneously as the Red did last week is negligible

To me, rowing is still about the performance you ’ re making your boat go as fast as it can; there’s nothing you can do to the other boats other than psych them out by getting ahead,” he explained

This Saturday, Cornell s heavyweight squad will travel to Syracuse, N Y , to take on the Orange and Navy the latter of which beat the Red twice in San Diego Navy head coach Rick Clothier is currently in his 37th and final year of coaching a fact that has

Back in Ithaca, the No 5 Cornell lightweight squad started its spring season on a high note, defeating Penn in the first Varsity 8 race on Saturday to claim the Matthews Cup

The Red was also awarded the Leonard Cup for best team performance against the visiting Quakers and Harvard Crimson

The day’s races featured strong showings from the second and third Varsity crews, which topped Harvard by a 16- and 20-second margin, respectively The Crimson edged out the Red in the first Freshman 8 race

6:08 0 to 6:12 2 though Cornell did finish ahead of Penn by an identical four-second margin

Like the heavyweights, the lightweight team will be away from the Cayuga Lake Inlet this Saturday, as the Red travels to Princeton to take on the Tigers and visiting Yale

Alex Kuczynski-Brown can be reached at akb@cornellsun com

Cornell Men, Women Ride Past Texas A&M Aggies

By ANDREA SIELICKI Sun Staff Wr ter

Heat and hurt horses posed challenges for Cornell this past weekend in College Station, Texas, where the men ’ s and women ’ s teams played Texas A&M; however, the unfavorable circumstances could not hold back the Red

The men (10-7) and women (12-5) both rode past the Aggies, 10-7 and 13-10, respectively

chukker, Cornell made some rearrangements on the field and was able to secure a lead, making the halftime score 7-5

“We were making some excellent defensive plays,” said head coach David Eldredge ’81

The men held onto the lead in the third chukker finishing with a score of 10-7

CORNELL(M) TEXAS A&M 10 7

The Aggies and the Cornell men started out on equal footings after the first chukker, scoring four goals apiece In the second

This score became the final tally, mainly due in part to two A&M horses being injured with no replacement horses available The game ended one chukker early

On the women ’ s side, Cornell came from behind to win in the

fourth chukker The first chukker, like the men, ended in a tie, 3-3 The Aggies took the lead by halftime, putting the Red in a fourgoal deficit The third chukker was a defensive battle, as each team only scored one goal; however, the women were still down entering the fourth chukker The squad finished strong by shutting out A&M with seven goals, finalizing the game ’ s score, 13-10

“We treated it as a warm-up game, since neither team wanted to go out super intense since the [national] rankings are out, ” she said The arena in College Station, being much bigger than Oxley Equestrian Center, added another element to the game

CORNELL(W) TEXAS A&M 13 12

“I think we out-hustled them in the fourth chukker, said senior Amanda Stern

Eldredge said that the women ’ s game proved to the team that it is capable of coming from behind to win a contest

“The girls didn’t let up or get bothered by being down four goals,” he said “ They came back very strong and showed themselves and made it obvious we re never out of the game at any point; you can always turn it around ” The women ’ s Texas A&M team will be traveling to Ithaca the following weekend to compete in the national tournament along with Cornell, so both teams were holding back in the weekend’s contest, according to senior captain Ali Hoffman

“It was really good to play in an arena larger than ours, ” said senior captain Branden Van Loon “There was a growth in adaptation to playing styles, we were able to change our playing style without changing our core playing strategy ”

the game pushed us to increase anticipation of long balls ”

Another factor that the teams rarely face in Ithaca is the extreme Texan heat and humidity; however, Hoffman thought the women handled it well

“Many timeouts were called so we were able to rest ourselves; we adjusted very well to the heat, and I think it s a testament for our training and how hard we ’ ve been working,” she said

The games were Cornell’s first time down to Texas A&M this season, so adjusting to the new horses was a necessity for the teams

“I think it’s a testament for our training and how hard we’ve been working.”

A li Hof f man

The larger arena also caused the score to be lower than it normally is for games played in Oxley, which made the game more defensive than normal, according to Van Loon

“ There was so much more room to play and much more space for people to make good defensive plays,” he said “Our typical Cornell off-wall plays were difficult to make The openness of

“I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the Texas A&M horses; there were definitely some that posed a challenge, but they were great overall,” Van Loon said Hoffman added that the new horses were not an excuse to ride or play poorly No matter what we re mounted on we need to be able to respond, so this was good experience,” she said

Next up for the Red is a week of practice before the national tournament, hosted by Cornell, that starts on April 18

Andrea Sielicki can be reached at asielicki@cornellsun com

The Corne¬ Daily Sun

Spor ts

Moving up | Colin Greening ’10 traded his locker in Lynah for a spot on the Ottawa Senators’ lineup, joining the NHL franchise after his senior season with the Red

Greening ’10 Talks Life in Pros

By LAUREN RITTER

As the NHL playoffs begin on Wednesday Cornellians may recognize a familiar face among the Ottawa Senators’ lineup After graduating from the Cornell men ’ s hockey program less than two years ago Colin Greening ’10 has transitioned from the world of collegiate hockey into the professional ranks

Playing in every game during his career with the Red, Greening compiled 55 goals and 63 assists for a combined 118 points, tying him for 33rd all-time at Cornell While premiere hockey was a major contributing factor for Greening when he was first scouted by Cornell, it was not the school s only selling point when he made the decision

“[What] I wanted most in a school were great hockey [and a] great school and neither of them was more important than the other,” Greening said “Well, maybe hockey was the most important one, but hockey, academics and great fans I knew that I was going to enjoy it, so that’s what brought me to Cornell ”

scored four game winners and eight power play goals as a junior, which contributed to his career-high 15 goals and established him as a key player in the power play unit It was during his junior year that Greening said he scored his favorite goal of his hockey career one that came in double overtime in the ECAC Hockey semifinals against Princeton

“It was one of those shots that was just labeled for the top corner, ” he said “It was a straight shot through, and I remember I was so exhausted at the end of the shift and mustered as must strength as I could and shot as hard as I could, and it ended up going top shelf on [Princeton goalie Zane Kalemba ’10] I still think back to that game and look back to that goal with fond memories

The former Red forward was a leader from the first day he laced up at Lynah rink Greening recorded a team-leading 11 goals during his rookie season He also had three two-point games, two three-point games and two game-winners by the end of his first year This was the same year that Greening notched his only Cornell career hat-trick in a 6-0 win against Dartmouth on Feb 28, 2008 Appearing in all 31 games for the Red, Greening showed his passion and commitment to the team something which was apparent when he served as the first sophomore alternate captain under head coach Mike Schafer’s ’86 tenure

Stepping into greater leadership positions over the next two seasons serving as captain during both his junior and senior years Greening took his game to the next level moving towardsbecoming one of college hockey’s premiere power forwards He

M E N ’ S B A S E B A L L

Greening finished his ultimate season with the Red on an equally strong note

“My most favorite experience [with the Red] was winning the 2010 ECAC championships,” Greening said “I tell people this a lot because each year it seemed like we took little steps to get there We just worked so hard to get to that point I know my freshman year we lost in the quarterfinals, and my second year was in the semifinals Third year was in the finals, and finally in my fourth year, we won the ECAC championship So, it was a culmination of four years worth of work put into something It was nice to finally get rewarded for it ”

Greening also was honored with the prestigious Lowe's Senior CLASS Award as the top senior scholar-athlete in college hockey

“[Winning the award] was pretty special because it not only encompasses being an athlete and the classroom it’s an award for being an all-around person and that I pride myself on ” Greening said “That was a really big deal for me because I had a lot of family members and friends voting When finally I got the call that I won the award, I was pretty

See GREENING page 14

Claims Cayuga Cup

By ALEX GATTO Sun Staff Writer

The women ’ s rowing team raced Princeton, Radcliffe, Columbia and Yale last Saturday, losing the Class of 1975 Cup to Princeton, but defeating Yale to claim the Cayuga Cup The No 16 Red raced No 6 Princeton, Radcliffe and Columbia at Lake Carnegie, N J in the morning, before traveling to Derby, Conn to face Yale in the afternoon Princeton swept four of the day’s five events, defeating Cornell by 6 8 seconds in the first Varsity Eight race and by 8 7 seconds in the second Varsity Eight race The Red’s best finish of the morning came from the Varsity Four A Fleet event, where Cornell placed second behind Radcliffe with a time of 8:39 8 Saturday morning proved to be a struggle for the Red, but the team recognized that there are certain areas that it needs to focus on according to head coach Hilary Gehman

Cup once, during its 1983 season, while Princeton has won the Cup 21 times and Radcliffe has won 13 times Despite this history, the Red was optimistic about its chances going into Saturday’s race, according to Gehman, and remains optimistic about its chances against Princeton in the future

“Princeton proved that they are fast, but they are beatable ”

Hilar y G eh man

“Princeton proved that they are fast, but they are beatable,” she said The Cayuga Cup proved to be a radically different matchup The Cup was created in 2003 as a race between Cornell and Yale’s first Varsity Eight boats; however, the record between the two schools is not nearly as lopsided as the Class of 1975 Cup Cornell was able to claim the crown last year and returned to Connecticut on Saturday to maintain its possession of the Cup

We didn t maximize our boat speed in the morning,” she said “We have things to work on ” The Class of 1975 Cup is an annual competition between Cornell, Princeton and Radcliffe, which is decided by the winner of the first Varsity Eight race The Red has only won the Class of 1975

Though Saturday afternoon was highlighted by close races the Red won the Cup by a narrow margin of 3 2 seconds, racing a 6:18 2 to Yale s 6:21 4 Cornell eventually lost to Yale in the second Varsity Eight, second Varsity four, and third Varsity Eight events; however, the Red rowed past Yale in the first Varsity Four event by going a 7:17 2 to Yale’s 7:23 7 “In four of our races, the margin

Team Sweeps Iv y Foes Brown, Yale in Weekend Road Trip

By HALEY VELASCO Sun Assistant Sports Editor

Coming out of a split with Canisius on Wednesday, the Red headed on the road for an Ivy bout, playing doubleheaders against Brown on Saturday and Yale on Sunday The Red entered the weekend well prepared and ready for tough challenges against fellow members of the Ancient Eight Cornell (21-6-1, 7-1-0 Ivy League) travelled to Providence, R I to sweep Brown (4-19-0, 2-40) in a doubleheader The morning face-off ended in a 10-9 win for the Red, after continuing into extra

innings Cornell ended the day with a the nightcap, finishing off the day with a second win, 12-5, against the Bears In the first game, Cornell and Brown were tied, 9-9, forcing the game to continue into 11 innings before Cornell could close and grab the victory One of the standout players for the game was sophomore Tom D Alessandro, who hit a three-run homerun and then scored the go-ahead run in the 11th thanks to a perfectly executed bunt, which turned into single Junior Brenton Peters also helped D’Alessandro move around in the 11th, after successfully laying down a sacrifice

bunt which was followed by a groundout from senior Marshall Yanzinck and a single through the gap by freshman J D Whetsel The combination of the four actions was exactly what the Red needed to snatch the win from the Bears

“It was crazy Every time that we put a run on the board they would come back and respond,” Peters said “We were able to fend off their spurts They got their leadoff hitter on nearly every extra inning that we played With that,

usually you score [during] that inning, but we were able to come together and keep them from doing any damage until we put up some runs and shut them out Going into the nightcap the Red grabbed a second win against Brown, 12-5 During the game, Cornell had 16 hits its second-highest total in a game this season next to 20 against Delaware State on March 18 Freshman pitcher Brian McAfee improved his record to 4-0 by pitching seven

innings letting up only eight hits which resulted in four runs On the offensive front, Peters was a standout for the Red, picking up five hits, along with batters six through nine including freshman Kevin Tatum sophomore Ben Swinford, Lee and Whetsel hitting two a piece

“We come to the field with a certain type of swagger and we expect to win ever y game, ” D’Alessandro said “Even though the games were close, I always felt like we were going to win because of the type of team we have and the