04-16-12

The Corne¬ Daily Sun

Eng. College Trails in Minority Enrollment

By AKANE OTANI

Jordan Davis ’14, an African American majoring in electrical and computer engineering, was the first student from his high school to attend an Ivy League university Upon arriving at Cornell s College of Engineering, he said he wondered, “Are we

meant to be here?”

“Looking around, I guess I thought, I may be one of one or two black people in the room, ” Davis said “As a freshman, I wasn ’ t sure I was good enough ” Although Davis said that, with time, he has found that “people will accept you based on what you know, rather than what you look like,” he said that increasing diver-

sity in the engineering college is crucial to bolstering the confidence and success of minority engineers at the University Across Cornell, underrepresented minorities African American, Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, Hispanic and Native American students make up 17 1 percent of undergraduates, according to the fall 2011 enrollment report But at the engineering college, only 6 4 percent of students identify themselves as underrepresented minorities a figure that administrators and students said was troubling

Some students, like Richard Dansoh 13, said they stick out in lecture halls, among a sea of Caucasian and Asian faces

Dansoh, an African American operations research and information engineering major, said that, at times, he has felt that “professors may be pleasantly surprised if I’m talking to them and come off as being articulate and well-versed in the subject ”

“Maybe they’re impressed that I’m an African American and in engineering,” he said “Sometimes, they can be a little more interested in me ” than they would be in the average student

It can also be difficult to shake off preconceived notions of ability and merit, students said, especially in engineering a field where admissions officers are committed to increasing the number of minorities at their schools

You have to fight the stereotype that you do belong where you are, ” said Brandon Gainer ’13, an African American chemical engineering major “You have to show to the professors that you can perform well in their classes ”

Although Sara Hernandez, director of Diversity Programs in Engineering, warned against drawing universal conclusions for why underrepresented minorities leave engineering, she said that for these students, entering a college where

Grad Students Compete For Board of Trustees Seat Clubs May Face New Funding Route

By UTSAV RAI

Sun Staff Wr ter

they would do if elected

Evensen who is the gradu a t e a n d p

dents current representative on the University’s Board of Trustees, has held the position for two years He previously ser ved as the president and the finance commission chair for the Graduate and Pro f e s s i o n a l St u d e n t Assembly

Evensen said he hopes to i m p rove c o m m u n i c a t i o n

b e t we e n s t u d e n t s a n d t h e Board of Trustees

A l t h o u g h Eve n s e n s a i d that he thinks “ we ’ ve made progress ” on improving communication between students and the Board, he added, “I hope to expand that progress over the next few years ”

Evensen said he also wants to work on improving environmental sustainability at Cornell

While Cornell performed well in recent rankings of environmental sustainability, “there are a few areas such as sustainability education, sustainable investment, sustaina

management on campus and other areas in which we can still improve,” he said Carter is the current president of the Black Graduate St u d e n t a n d Pro

l Student Association If elected, he said will tackle mental health issues and increase the transparency of the Board, he said He added that he would like to see an increase in the number of mental health services available to students on campus Additionally, Carter

New system proposed after year of steep budget cuts

By REBECCA HARRIS Sun News Editor

After several student organizations were embittered by substantial budget cuts, the Student Assembly Finance Commission is making strides to repair what many consider a broken system of student funding

Upon receiving an unexpectedly high volume of requests for funding in fall 2011, the SAFC was forced to slash the maximum level of funding a group could receive by nearly 50 percent Complaints from student lead-

ers about inadequate funds led to the SAFC’s proposal on Thursday to implement a new system that would place student groups in a tiered system with six levels of funding

“The biggest problem is that there is not [currently] a strategic allocation of funds, because every group can get the same [amount] no matter what they do [or] how much they spend,” said Larry Kogos ’13, co-chair of the SAFC, which is responsible for determining the funding allocation for student organizations Hopefully, this would be a more strategic alloca-

tion, in the sense that groups that actually need the most money can get the most money ” Under the current system which sets a single, uniform cap for all SAFC-funded organizations “the incentive for a group is to apply for as much money as possible,” said Roneal Desai 13, SAFC liaison to the S A Club sports teams in particular raised concerns about the allocation process after their budget was

trustee more visible on campus by expanding the circle

trustee works with The debate was moderated by Juan Forrer ’13, editorin-chief of The Sun CARTER GRAD

Utsav Rai can be reached at urai@cornellsun com

Today

Too Big to Know: Book Talk by David Weinberger 1:30 - 3 p m 700 Clark Hall

Meet the Author: Tim Campbell 4 p m Cornell Store

No More Nucleophiles: Direct, Selective Cross Coupling of Electrophiles 4:40 - 6 p m 119 Baker Lab

The Marine and the Policy Maker 5:30 p m G10 Biotechnology Building

Tomorrow

Has the Ivy Changed?

A Look at College Life at Cornell Today 10 - 11 a m Kendal at Ithaca, Auditorium

Climate Change and Indian Country: A Sovereign Change Model 12:15 - 1:15 p m G65 Myron Taylor Hall

Truman Scholarship Session 4:35 p m 103 Barnes Hall

TUE

FRI Hi: 57° Lo: 35° Par tly Cloudy

58° Lo: 41° Cloudy Friday cools down slightly and gets a little grayer But who cares, right? It’s Friday! It’s warm enough that you can hold hyour Friday treat (perhaps fro-yo?) without shivering

WED THU

Jinjoo Lee jinjoolee@cornellsun com

87th Hotel Ezra Cornell Draws Hundreds to C.U.

Hotelies host weekend for industry leaders

By MICHAEL LINHORST Sun Senior Writer

Non-Hotel students walking past the Statler this weekend may have been attracted to the area

thanks to a dessert truck parked outside offering delicious and free cupcakes But that was only the most public sign of this weekend’s 87th annual Hotel Ezra Cornell, which encompassed three days of fancy food, lectures by industry leaders and afternoon tea

A ticket to HEC’s full list of events cost attendees $750 each, not including a hotel room stay The event ’ s more than 300 student volunteers, some who worked around the clock, scrutinized every detail to make sure the guests were satisfied Thursday through Saturday night, all of the events and, in fact, the entire Statler Hotel were student-run

H E C ’ s guests who numbered about 300 this year and i n c l u d e d

many suc-

tor, said Saturday as she prepared the afternoon tea service

Foster added that HEC is more than just a weekend when Statler Hotel is run by students

“We really try to make it seem that they’re coming for the conference and not just back to the Statler,” she said

The weekend featured goodies, including personalized pillows in each guest ’ s room embroidered with that guest ’ s initials, and meals intended to pique the interest of hotel industry experts

Friday’s breakfast, for example, promised to “experiment with new flavors while staying true to the spirit of a good ol breakfast, according to the HEC program

“They really let us show that we know what we’re doing.”

cessful figures in the hotel industry came to see the students in action, according to Danielle Foster ’12, HEC’s media relations manager

“They really let us show that we know what we ’ re doing,” Kelsie Taylor ’14, assistant rooms direc-

Speakers included Ian Schrager, who founded famed New York City nightclub Studio 54, and Kevin Zraly, founder of the Windows on the World Wine School

HEC also had its own mobile app to help attendees keep track of the schedule of events and other details throughout the weekend

The app was designed by Parker Moore ’14, who, as an information science major, is one of the few

non-Hotel students on HEC’s staff

“We really wanted to embrace our theme of innovation,” Foster said An HEC app was first released for last year ’ s conference, but it was significantly updated this year, she said

The dessert truck parked just outside the Statler’s lobby was another new addition this year

Mikki Cannon ’13, a volunteer who was stationed in the truck, said she enjoyed working in the warm weather and near so many cupcakes

“Everyone else is jealous that I have this job,” she said

The company that owns the truck, Sweet Street, has worked with HEC for several years, but had never brought the truck for the weekend, Cannon said

The weekend culminated in a

gala dinner in the Statler’s ballroom on Saturday night

The gala “is the most fun event and the most elaborate meal,” Foster said, so it required the most preparation by students

A few hours before the gala was scheduled to begin, dozens of students were hurrying around the ballroom to set up each place setting The song “Call Me Maybe” blasted on the ballroom’s speakers, and a to-do list posted nearby reminded students they still had to gather 200 bar napkins and assist the bartenders with “polishing, ice, trash [and] garnishes ” Other students cooled a giant six-liter bottle of champagne

Lindsey Brous 12, HEC s program director, said her favorite event was the cocktail reception that followed Saturday’s gala It gave the students a chance to

reflect on the weekend, she said

“The end of the weekend is always bittersweet,” Brous said “It is a huge accomplishment that everyone works hard for However, many of us know we will be graduating soon and it will be our last HEC ” Saturday night marked the close of HEC’s 87th year The conference, which began in 1926 in Risley Hall, predates the Hotel School For many years, it was famous around campus for its Waiters Derby an event that featured student waiters racing one another on the Arts Quad while each carrying a tray and a bowl of water The event is now known as the Service Olympics and occurs each fall semester, Brous said

Michael Linhorst can be reached at mlinhorst@cornellsun com

Students Show Skills to Youth at Science and Engineering Fair

Tau Beta Pi, the engineering college’s honor society, hosted its second annual Science and Engineering Fair Saturday to educate students and community members and display their work

Several engineering student groups prepared exhibits to showcase at the event, with stations ranging from providing silly putty ingredients to featuring the work clubs have done to prepare for engineering competitions

Lance Collins, dean of the College of Engineering, brought his sixth-grade daughter, Ashley, to the fair, which he said was “fantastic

“I think it’s important to expose middle school students to everything possible about science and math,” Collins said Sam Odle 13, a member of the ChemE Car Team, showed participants the chemical science behind the cars that ChemE builds for its competitions Odle said that it was “cool to see all the kids who hadn’t really decided what they wanted to

do in college” and show them different fields of engineering

“ The younger kids were amazed that [a] liquid [could change] color, he said A lot of the older kids had questions about chemicals and technology ”

Additionally, Odle said, the fair allowed Cornell engineers to teach the students about important research that takes place at the University

“Most of the professors in the school are doing research with companies people know, and the research they’re doing is going to

be stuff we will see in our lives in the next 10 years, ” he said “It’s important for people to see what’s going on here and how they can get involved

Students from the American Society of Environmental Engineers boasted compost bins and samples of hydrilla an invasive plant species recently found in Cayuga Lake Tanapong Jiarathanakul ’14, a member of the society, said that although people’s initial reaction to the compost bins included asking, “Is this a bunch of dirt?”, people were “much more understanding” after hearing about the environmental damage hydrilla can cause

“Hydrilla looks like weeds, but when we explain what it is they took interest,” Jiarathanakul said I m glad that I was able to educate people on this particular topic that’s really relevant to Cornell ”

Jiarathanakul added that the fair was a good way for Cornell engineers to show prospective students a sample of its engineering program

“I feel like the fair was really helpful for pre-frosh because it gives you a really good perspective on the program, ” he said “I think that if I came to this fair before I came to Cornell, then it would [have been] much more helpful in finding out what Cornell has to offer ”

Students from Cornell’s chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers also presented at the fair this year, sharing information on

their concrete canoe team, which builds and races a 20-foot canoe made of concrete against other schools every year

You have to make it really really strong, but so it doesn’t sink,” said Hannah Kiem ’13, a member of the team “It’s very fun ” For Kiem, the fair was a “really good opportunity to get our name out there in terms of our project teams and to show people what we ’ re capable of doing ”

“We had a lot of pre-frosh look at things, which was really valuable to us, because they might end up joining our team next year, ” she said Kiem echoed the sentiments of other students who presented their work at the fair, saying the event was a chance to encourage young scientists to take an interest in engineering

“The importance comes with providing outreach and education to the community even when [students] are very young, she said

“We try to do activities to facilitate [them] learning and having fun at the same time ” Michael Dezube ’12, vice president of Tau Beta Pi, said that although organizing the fair required a lot of time, the success of the event made the work worthwhile He added that the fair was a great way for Tau Beta Pi to help promote interest in the field of engineering

Tina Ahmadi can be reached at tta6@cornell edu

Proposed S AFC Changes Aim to Free Up Funds

FUNDING

Continued from page 1

slashed from $10,000 to $5,000 last semester, The Sun reported in October

“Groups were kind of blindsided this year because caps were cut in half SAFC caps have been going lower and lower Many groups have been crippled they can ’ t hold practices can ’ t have events, ” Kogos said “Our revenue stream, in terms of byline funding, has only been increased by a little bit, so that alone is not going to be enough to fix the issue ” Under the current funding guidelines, about 20 percent of allocated funds go unspent each year, according to Desai He added that these unspent funds amounting to about $200,000 each year rollover from year to year and are essentially wasted resources

If there are $200,000 unspent every year, then that money is never used by students, even though we have groups who want more money, ” Desai said “The new system solves this by giving higher caps to groups that historically spend their funds ”

Adam Nicoletti, vice president of finance for the S A , called clubs that request more money than they actually spend some of the “ worst offenders” in contributing to the rollover

“Groups that ask for more money than they need bring down the cap, dragging it down for groups that need more than the cap, ” he said Then, when they don’t even spend all of the money they’re given, those funds roll over and go to waste ”

According to the proposal, groups would become eligible to move between tiers at the end of each academic year The SAFC would determine in the spring if an organization should move up, move down or remain in its current tier for the following year Tier mobility would be based on objective criteria designed to assess how much money a group needs and how effectively they tend to spend the money they are allocated, Nicoletti said He added that re-evaluating tier placement each year would ensure that funds could be directed to groups that

need it the most

According to Brandon Coulter ’13, co-chair of the SAFC, such a system would also be the driving factor behind incentivizing student groups to become more financially responsible

“We restructured this system to hold treasurers accountable and to be as accurate and as morally just in what they’re asking for on a semester-by-semester basis,” Coulter said

Under the tier system, Desai added, “the incentive is to be as efficient with your money as possible So you want to apply for exactly as much as you need; other wise, if that money goes unspent, you could move down a tier ”

Groups would initially be placed into tiers based on the efficiency of their spending over the last three years, beginning in fall 2008, according to the proposal

“No group will be placed in a tier such that they are eligible for less money than they have spent in their [highest-spending] semester over the last few years, ” Desai said

He added that organizations applying for funding for the first time in fall 2012 would automatically fall into the lowest tier

The changes require the S A s approval before the SAFC can implement them in the fall, according to Nicoletti He said the proposal will likely come to a vote within the next few weeks

S A President Natalie Raps ’12 expressed optimism that the S A will approve the new guidelines, which she said will give the SAFC “ more flexibility” to ensure student groups receive the money they need

However, she emphasized the importance of soliciting feedback from the student body before approving major changes to the system I want to make sure that we get as much of the student voice as possible before we come to vote, ” Raps said “Communication is key before the changes are enacted

Sylvia Rusnak contributed reporting to this article

Rebecca Harris can be reached at rharris@cornellsun com

Lack of Diversity Isolating, Minority Engineers Say

ENGINEERING

Continued from page 1

they are “surrounded by the top students of the world in a very rigorous curriculum” can be especially challenging as “ one of a few [minority students] in the classroom ”

“It can be difficult if you confront situations in which you think people are making certain assumptions about you about your preparedness, your background or you as an individual,” Hernandez said

For minority students who are also female, the feelings of isolation can be compounded Women make up 30 2 percent of engineering students but fewer than twenty percent of students in some majors within the college, according to fall 2011 data from the engineering college’s registrar

For Erica Barnett ’13, an electrical and computer engineering major, being female and a minority in Cornell engineering has been a “challenge ”

“I’ve learned to accept the situation and deal with this circumstance the best way I can, ”

Barnett said

Barnett added that some of her close friends from high school who are engineers at historically black colleges and universities have had “reflections on classroom experiences [that] are far more positive than the reflections I hear from other black engineers on campus ”

Being one of just a few minority student engineers can also be an isolating experience, Gainer said, because the small number of minorities who can lead people to not connect with other students

Given the rigor of Cornell s engineering curriculum at Duffield Hall, for instance, a group of engineers huddled together over a problem set is a common sight students who do not feel like they are able to work with their peers may struggle in their classes

“A lot of minorities may not feel as comfortable approaching other students; they may feel singled out and not part of the community, Dansoh said But in engineering, it’s a very big deal to be able to work with your peers because often you’ll be working with each other ”

Gainer agreed, saying, “If you don’t really feel like you belong with a certain type of people, it can be detrimental to your GPA That can push you out to not complete your degree ”

The graduation rate of minorities in STEM fields lags behind those of their Caucasian and Asian peers At Cornell, while 81 percent of freshmen entering the engineering college will graduate, 75 percent of underrepresented minorities will not graduate from the college in five years, according to Hernandez

This “ gap, ” Hernandez said, is “clearly of concern to the college

“We are employing strategies to support the persistence and success of URM students in engineering,” Hernandez said

The current disparity makes it

all the more crucial that Cornell continue to recruit minorities in engineering, students said When students have mentors to look up to, they can be more likely to succeed in engineering

“I know from personal experience that it’s a lot easier when you see someone who you can look up to as a mentor, ” said Denzel Bridges ’13, a materials science and engineering major “For some people, it helps if they see someone who looks like them to talk about not just academic issues but also non-academic things as well ”

Several students said they found mentorship through the University s outreach programs Barnett, for instance, said that Diversity Programs in Engineering, the National Society of Black Engineers’ Cornell chapter and C U EMPower mentoring program have been “ great resources [that] have created a sense of family and acceptance for me within engineering at Cornell ”

These organizations, Hernandez said, are “phenomenal ”

“They do a lot to support peers and help them have a sense of community both academic and social within the college and the University, she said

While Hernandez said that “ we definitely want to be doing better than what we [currently] are, ” she noted that outreach and recruitment efforts have, in part, already increased diversity at the college bringing twice the number of underrepresented minorities to Cornell in the Class of 2016 than the college did six years ago

“It’s still not a huge percentage of our students, but there are more students from very diverse backgrounds, and that’s starting to change the environment and composition of the college,” she said

Accompanying increased minority recruitment in engineering, Barnett said, “diversity of thought, backgrounds and problem-solving techniques translates into better solutions and better finished products ”

As for whether the grind of derivations, proofs and MATLAB at Cornell is worth it, Dansoh said he thinks that “after doing this, I feel like we can do anything ”

“Coming in freshman year, it was a very hard struggle and is even in many ways still a struggle but I’ve grown so much as a person, and the idea of more minorities coming into this lifestyle, track and path really excites me, ” Dansoh said By increasing recr uitment, retention and mentoring for underrepresented minorities in engineering, Dansoh said, the University can both increase diversity in the field and help grow the next generation of scientific leaders

“To have that type of hope toward your future is something I feel like a lot of minorities could be empowered by,” he said

Akane Otani can be reached at aotani@cornellsun com

JUAN FORRER 13 Editor in Chief

HELENE BEAUCHEMIN 13

Business Manager

RUBY PERLMUTTER 13

Associate Editor

JOSEPH STAEHLE 13

Web Editor

PETER A JACOBS 13

ESTHER HOFFMAN 13

Editor ELIZA LaJOIE 13

ZACHARY ZAHOS ’15

CAMUTI 14

AKANE OTANI 14

SCOTT CHIUSANO ’15

REBECCA COOMBES 14

NICHOLAS ST FLEUR ’13

JOSEPH VOKT 14

SEOJIN LEE 14

ERIKA G WHITESTONE ’15

MARTEN 14

Editorial

Evensen for Student Trustee

THIS WEEK, BOTH UNDERGRADUATE and graduate students will vote to elect a trustee from the graduate and professional student community This trustee will be responsible for not only representing graduate and professional students, but also for weighing in on broad policies pursued by the Board of Trustees Over his five years in student governance, Darrick Nighthawk Evensen grad has demonstrated that he is the best candidate for the position

Evensen has the experience working in student governance to understand the issues that not only affect the graduate and professional student community, but also the Cornell community as a whole Evensen ser ved on the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly from 2007 to 2010, giving him an intimate understanding of graduate student issues He ser ved as president of that body from 2009 to 2010, when he was elected to his first term as a student trustee

He has rightly identified graduate student housing and the cohesiveness of a community with 93 fields of graduate study and three professional schools as the main issues that will continue to affect graduate and professional students in the future His experience working with the Cornell administration and students makes him the most capable candidate to tackle these substantial challenges

Beyond the issues that affect the graduate and professional student community, Evensen has worked to address challenges that affect the broader community For example, Evensen is one of two students on the University Gorge Safety committee, which is working to implement the recommendations made by President David Skorton to enhance the safety of the gorges Doing so shows a willingness to represent the interests of the broader community, which is absolutely essential for a University trustee

Additionally, Evensen has put for ward the most comprehensive platform of the two candidates His platform shows a willingness to think beyond the graduate community His platform touches on points ranging from the state of Collegetown to boosting diversity on campus to gorge safety initiatives The comprehensiveness of his platform and the ease with which he can discuss these disparate topics demonstrates his broad knowledge of the issues that affect all Cornellians

We hope that in a second term, Evansen will be able to build on his weaknesses and take strong stances that may be in opposition to the views of the Board When asked to name a decision that the Board of Trustees made that he disagreed with, Evensen only said that there must be more transparency in committee meeting and that more student input must be garnered to give the proposals legitimacy This response indicates an inclination to go along with the majority opinion of the Board

We hope that, if reelected, Evensen will not simply follow the majority, but will publicly take stances that members of the Board may disagree with

Despite our reser vations, we believe that Evensen will not shy away from ensuring that all constituencies and concerns are represented at Board of Trustees meetings He has the knowledge of the workings of the University that will allow him to succeed in a second term

The Si x-D ay Bar Crawl

At precisely 3:00 p m today, the pestilent tumor that has been

for the duration of my senior year will

mean, my honors thesis will finally be

mercy turned in

While my first thought was to celebrate the momentous occasion on the spot with my convenient thigh holster f

occasion deser ves a little more pomp

enthusiastic swigs of the old single barrel

So, my friends, I’ve decided instead to punish my ever-faithful liver with a full six-day Collegetown bar crawl

The idea behind the bar crawl is simple: Star ting this Monday, my tr usty roommate and I will be hitting a different Collegetown bar ever y weeknight Saturday will top off the event with a much-needed house par ty designed to rid my respectably tiny three-bedroom a

without being mistaken for an alcoholic? Never, my friends

Also, frankly, there’s the matter of the underclassman’s inability to control himself long enough to turn the event into a fait accomplit

Frankly, both your livers and the judgment centers in your brains are simply not developed enough to handle this kind of feat

T h e S i x - D a y B a r C r a w l i s a marathon, not a sprint If you can ’ t limit yourself to one or two drinks a night, you ’ re never going to make it past Thursday And even if you can stand to be either hung over or dr unk for six days in a row, that kind of behavior defeats the real beauty of the SixDay Bar Crawl altogether

Which brings me to the second r ule of the Six-Day Bar Crawl: You must not par ticipate in the event through without understanding what exactly you ’ re tr ying to accomplish with this juncture

The real beauty of the Six-Day Bar Crawl is not to see whether you can sur-

massive supply of half-finished liquor bottles

C o n v e n i e n t l y, C o l l e g e t o

have done the majority of the work for u s

seems, to scatter their theme nights throughout the week Ruloff s on Monday; Stella’s on Tuesday; Fishbowl on Wednesday; Dunbar’s on Thursday; and Pixel on Friday This convenient combo of ill repute makes for a healthy change of scener y and a not-so-healthy bevvy of mixed beverages to fuel the bar crawl

Frankly, this idea is so genius I’m surprised it hasn’t made it onto the 161 things to do list yet Although I imagine imminent alcohol poisoning for most people with normally functioning livers might have something to do with it

But if you, gentle readers, would like to join me in the Six-Day Bar Crawl or even initiate one of your own, there are a f e w r u l e s y o u m u s t h e e d b e f o r e embarking on this after-hours adventure

The first r ule of the Six-Day Bar Crawl is that you must be a secondsemester senior I realize that this cuts out a good chunk of the over-21’s at Cornell and a plethora of others that have pretty convincing fake IDs or else are just par ticularly slutty looking girls

But answer me this: When else other than second semester senior year can you legitimately go on a six-day bender

vive six days in a row of going out Fr a n k l y, a n y o n e w i t h a d e a t h w i s h could probably handle it

No , m y f r i e n d s , t h e r e a l

y behind this marathon of shor t dresses, heavy makeup, high heels and themed libations is to spend six, concentrated days in a row enjoying your last nights at Cornell with the people you love the most The Six-Day Bar Crawl is less about the bars you hit and more about the people you hit them with If you don’t drink, I’m sure you could just as easily d o a S i x - D a y B i r d Wa t c h i n g Extravaganza or whatever else people who don’t drink do with their free time

But the number one prerequisite of t h e Si x - Da y Ba r Cr a w l i s t h a t yo u absolutely must surround yourself with the people you love the most, no matter how tired you are how sore your feet are or even how hung over you feel Seniors, these are our last moments t o a p p

D

n ’ t s p e n d them locked in your room ever y night of the week Go out! Enjoy this beautiful campus, this awesome

Connected and Lonely

Twenty-eight percent of 18 to 34 year olds check Facebook before getting out of bed First of all, are you kidding me? We’ve replaced Snuggles the bear and beanie babies with a flat, rectangular, oddly warm and decidedly personality-less amalgamation of plastic and conducting materials Who the hell made that trade? And if stuffed animals aren ’ t your thing anymore, ever heard of a book?

Facebook, at least judging by the numbers, runs our life And the numbers are astounding: nearly a Billion users worldwide, more than half of whom check their accounts at least once a day In October, November and December of last year we posted 2 7 billion likes and comments on the site Per Day And if that isn’t enough, in the U S , users spend an average of seven hours a month on the site: That is three and a half full days per year or three full weeks throughout your whole college career Three full weeks of sleepless Facebook snooping, posting, liking, commenting, status-updating, photo-uploading, timelinedeveloping and interacting with other people s fabricated online personas Which brings me to my second point: Are we really surprised that loneliness is now seen by many medical experts as an epidemic? People today have fewer confidants, fewer close friends and spend more time alone than in any previous decade Directly correlated to loneliness: increased levels of stress hormones, higher likelihood of

Tdepression and altered processes of DNA transcription Translation: We should be doing everything we can to avoid loneliness

Of course, social networks are not the only cause of this “epidemic ” Many technologies and developments over the past century have led to more time alone: telephones, cars, suburbia, television, have all in some ways contributed to the well-documented fragmentation” of modern society Astute obser vers will also note that time alone is not necessarily the same as feeling lonely Introver ts, after all, are not doomed to misery Loneliness does not have to do with the numbers of interactions people have as much as it has to do with the meaning of those interactions

It is here that technological advances have exerted their grip Meaningful interaction, perhaps unsurprisingly, is often a stand-in for face to face interactions that cultivate friendships, and that provide opportunities for confiding Over the the last half century we have had to create whole professions life coaches and mental-health counselors are just two examples to provide people with those confidants Social interaction is now a service we pay lots of money for Modern society has outsourced meaningful interactions to professionals and has led to our isolating ourselves from the family members, friends and neighbors, who before might have provided such support

So why pick on Facebook and social networking? Why bother to distinguish it from any other technology of modern society? Well, because Facebook is built on relationships, interactions, sharing with others As their motto puts it: “Facebook helps you connect and share with the

people in your life ”

And it does We can now connect and stay connected with thousands more people than we used to be able to And every time I post what I did last night I am sharing it with hundreds if not thousands of people But do these really count as meaningful interactions? Sure, there is the ability to post on a friend’s wall, to organize an event where people will then interact face to face, to chat with a friend on Facebook chat But many of Facebook’s features allow or even demand a sort of perpetual self-promotion

One where your life is perpetually perfect, forever fulfilled; where everything is worthy of some LOLcat exclamatory or smiley face, where you are encouraged to participate in a happiness arms race

And, well, beyond the occasional fml (or to twitterize it: #fml) social networks don’t provide much space to honestly discuss and reveal your feelings; not only what s gone well, what you ’ re elated about but also what’s difficult, personal, vulnerable in your life Connections aren ’ t bonds

While Facebook perhaps isn’t advertising itself as a place to engage in meaningful social interaction, given the amount of time we spend on it, the number of people who interact on it, we should consider how it affects our ability and willingness to do so As Sherry Turkle, professor of Computer Culture at MIT puts it in her book Alone

Together: “The ties we form through the internet are not, in the end, the ties that bind But they are the ties that preoccupy ”

Waking up in the morning and being told that you are supposed to be happy doesn t allow much space for honest relationships either with others or with yourself So it might be time to wake up, get out of bed and look in a real mirror; to consider how it is that Facebook is useful but also how it is ultimately deeply limited And then log on

Real A merican s D on’t Smoke Marijuana

here is a question that has and ver y likely will puzzle college students (and some quite esteemed economists) for a long time, one that has much salience to us all: Why has Marijuana not yet been legalized?

Now I hope to set a fe w things straight before I proceed on a bit of a diatribe I do not possess any par ticular conflict of interest in writing this ar ticle and intend to be as objective as possible In other words I am not a stoner I am not disgr untled with President Obama for not sticking up for my civil liber ties (read: stoner ’ s rights) and am not presumably hoping to vote for Ron Paul I am more or less an objective obser ver My interest is in emptying out our prisons and raising our tax revenue

Before I proceed, however, perhaps a fe w facts: Tobacco, an addictive carcinogen with the potential to give non-smokers cancer, is a legal substance According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Tobacco causes upwards of 443,000 deaths per year (49,000 of which

enough to claim 75,000 lives per year according to MSNBC Marijuana? Zero Not one death by Cannabis alone Gangrelated deaths involving Marijuana might be a high number; however this can be blamed on the criminalization of the substance rather than the substance itself

Let’s face it: Marijuana is just not the

kind of substance that should be illegal, especially in a world where tobacco and alcohol aren ’ t, and especially in the supposedly free land of America

There are probably many reasons why Marijuana was illegalized to begin with I’ve heard theories ranging from racism

Richard Nixon’s hatred of those damn subversive hippies and it is likely that both origins have some amount of tr uth to them In my vie w, it was likely something of a mix of these two ideas I do not place any validity on the idea that cannabis was classified as illicit purely for medical reasons

Why is Marijuana to this day still illegal then? Because Americans have another, perhaps not entirely unfair, association in mind: Marijuana and laziness If there is anything par ticularly un-American in this w o r l d ( a p

m S o c i

i

, Na z i s , Radical Islam and France) it is laziness

There is a likelihood that at the hear t of ever y weed-hating American is the idea that this funky-smelling plant is leading ever yone to be too relaxed, too smug and satisfied to do anything with themselves

As Robin Williams put it, “If they legalize it, they’re gonna have to regulate it and they re gonna have to put a warning sticker on a pack of joints And it’ll say: ‘Surgeon General has determined this will make your music AWESOME

This is more impor tant than racism

and far more impor tant than medicine It hits at our ver y culture as Americans, at w h a t s o c i o l o g i s t Ma x We b e r f a m o u s l y called the “Protestant Ethic,” the moral ethic of work for work’s sake Marijuana may just not be a ver y “American” dr ug Weed may not be dangerous at all, but it might make you choose your iTunes visualizer and a bucket of Cherr y Garcia over your problem set at least that is the perception

With this in mind, it is no surprise at all that tobacco and alcohol are not illegal The fact of the matter is they are simply par t of our culture Tobacco may be an American economic institution, though arguably so is marijuana What tobacco and alcohol have that weed doesn’t is a connection to the psyche of Americans of all walks of life, conser vative and liberal, rich and poor Fat cat CEOs smoke cigars while constr uction workers share a smoke on their break Manhattan aristocrats have their fancy wines while ’Mericans in the

hear tland drink their all-American lagers Marijuana, on the other hand, still has a majority of Americans against it, even in l

alcohol and tobacco are perceived as the substances of working people, marijuana is perceived as the substance of slackers, who could use a swift kick in the ass followed by a subsequent, “Get a job!” Don’t hold your breath on nationwide

about the primacy of culture over practice in this debate and I hope I am I will look for ward to the day when one can buy

No

o r Entenmann’s “Special Recipe” Chocolate Chip Cookies at the local corner store That will be a trip

Fe e l i n g Go

suming presence for his entire set Grinning and singing for over two hours, McFerrin stunned an adoring audience with a diverse set of solos, audience collaborations and band-accompanied pieces

McFerrin often described as a world music or jazz singer, yet his unique vocal patterns and unbelievable talent far exceed the limits of that genre Critics like to compare his other worldly voice to an instr ument, but between the pitch-per fect falsetto, beatboxing and multiphonic singing he presented on Saturday, he sounded more like an entire orchestra Whether he was improvising duets with audience members, providing a soundtrack for volunteer interpretive dancers, or per forming an astounding version of “Drive,” McFerrin’s range of abilities was tr uly incredible

Most affecting, however, was his complete and utter humility In a modest gray t-shir t and impressive dreds he genuinely seemed both pleased to be there and invested in his audience Even his accompaniment the

singing for a group of close friends rather than the packed State Theatre This illusion however was soon broken as Nagle and Carney left the stage, and McFerrin invited the audience to replace his accompaniment

From there, McFerrin spent the next hour engaging the audience and allowing us to play and musically experiment with him For an evocative version of U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” he divided his fans into two groups to create

accompaniment he could possibly need

including a tiny and adorable young girl to join him on stage for a display of interpretive dancing guided by his scat vocals

to the dog twhich was inexplicably sleeping in the front row of the State

wonder fully refreshing; this is something all ar tists could strive towards Who needs condescending pandering when musicians like McFerrin want to challenge you?

McFerrin first rose to prominence in the late 80s following his per formance of The Cosby Show theme song and the release of “Don’t Worr y, Be Happy ” Following that song, he recorded the soundtracks for a num-

appointed as the creative chair of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra For the past 20 years, he has made regular tours as both a vocalist and a conductor, gaining increasingly widespread fame and attention

He has also recorded over 40 albums, either as a leader or a suppor ting musician

While McFerrin’s recorded music is fantastic, his tr ue genius lies in his live per formances As the State learned this weekend, a Bobby McFerrin concer t is not about replicating songs exactly as they sounded on an album

It’s about creating entirely ne w songs and experiences, individually tailored to each audience

And on Saturday, he achieved this goal magnificently In a two-hour concer t that seemed much shor ter, he charmed, delighted and awed the crowd down on State Street As a per former who defies all criticism, McFerrin brought a rare sor t of inventiveness and talent that Ithaca may never see again

Gina Cargas is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences She can be reached at gcargas@cornellsun com

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

DAVEEN

Boredom is a very dangerous thing The playwright Anton Chekhov certainly knew that In Uncle Vanya, Chekhov’s classic meditation on ennui, the characters lead lives of quiet and not so quiet desperation

This desperation can be highly destructive and contagious When the retired professor Alexandr Vladimirovich (Peter Stein) and his young second wife Yelena (Lauren Boehm) spend a summer at their country estate, they “infect” everyone at the estate who is “actively creating something” with their “idlenesss ” Although the ardent environmentalist and physician Astrov (Tim Perry) feebly insists that he is merely joking,” his diagnosis is hardly off the mark

The Readers’ Theatre’s performance reading, directed by Anne Marie Cummings and Tim Mollen, strips down the play There are no silver birch trees or Persian rugs in sight to recreate the hallowed halls of a sprawling 19th centur y countr y estate

There are no crisp, jingling harness bells or melodic bird calls But there is darkness and silence

The minimalist setting suits the neat and succinct translation penned by the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Mamet

The oscillations between acceptance and rebellion, tranquility and madness, are captured by the award-winning improvisational jazz cellist Hank Roberts, who has collaborated extensively with renowned musicians like Bill Frissell, U2 and The Bad Plus Roberts mellow and tender notes create hazy spaces in which even the most ephemeral, difficult thing can take refuge

The play is really about a not-so-modern malaise The characters treat their lives like jars which they try to fill up with anything

they can find Astrov and Vanya (P D Shuman) become enamored by the ravishing Yelena; they abandon their work and restraint in pursuit of her affection The lovesick Vanya appears most buffoonish and pitiful when he offers Yelena a bunch of “sad autumn roses ” and likens her to a “mermaid,” only to be derided by Yelena as “disgusting ” Although much admired for her beauty, Yelena is consumed by self-loathing, perceiving herself as a “second-rate creature ” who mistook he r own attraction to V l a d i m i r o v i c h’s fame for “love ” The insufferably arrogant but widely misunders t o o d Vladimirovich is well-versed in lamenting the perils of old age (Stein, a former Cornell Physics Professor, assures The Sun that he is not at all like his overbearing onstage counterpart ) For such a learned man, the professor is startlingly ignorant of the vast sacrifices his brother-in-law and daughter have made to support his comfortable urban lifestyle For years, Vanya and Sonya spent interminable nights admiring and translating the professor’s work and managing his countr y estate When

Vladimirovich announces his plan to sell the estate, Vanya descends into madness, although Vladimirovich protests that the plan is hardly set in stone It is to the actors ’ credit that none of the c h a r a c t e r s sinks into a n o n y m i t y even during this first run through of the play Each character is i n t e r e s t i n g ; even the allegedly boring ones, because one can glimpse their robust inner lives

The old nurse M a r i n a ( E s t h e r H e r k o

) and the impoverished l a n

r Telegin (Dave Dietrich) are the only characters who never display any signs of neurosis They are also the only characters who are continuously working Throughout the play, Marina knits serenely, giving out words of wisdom and comfort to various characters who struggle to flee from their frenetic situations Like Marina Telegin obser ves the chaotic antics of the Vladimirovich household from a distance The spectacle is, however, secondary to his carpentry Later, Telegin is accompanied by

a pair of black work boots, another symbol of his dedication to manual work

Is work, then, the cure to emptiness? The industrious Sonya seems to champion this theory, but she draws strength from the hope that she will be rewarded for her work

She reassures a broken Vanya, “I have faith, Uncle, fervent, passionate faith We shall rest We shall rest ” Although Sonya suffers intolerably she has to deal with a demanding father and depressed uncle above her personal battles with her own plainness and boredom she is the only character who honestly admits to being “happy ” Remarkably, one such occasion occurs during an uncharacteristically intimate conversation with Yelena, when Sonya confesses her unrequited feelings for Astrov Sonya’s ability to maintain graciousness under pressure in such a neurotic household is nothing short of miraculous

Does Sonya have good reason for her faith, or Vanya, for his “madness?” Dressed up or stripped down, Uncle Vanya continues to be prominently revived because of these hard questions A Lawrence Oliverdirected adaptation opened the first National Theatre season on the main stage, while Annie Baker’s TV star-studded version opens off-Broadway this summer Chekhov, expectedly, makes no answers explicit It’s enough of a clue to know that in this play, words speak as loudly as actions

Uncle Vanya opens on April 27 at The Space behind Greenstar Following the play, Cornell professor Bruce Levitt will be delivering a 15-minute talk-back For more details, visit www thereaderstheatre com

Daveen Koh is a sophomore in the College of Architecture Art and Planning She can be reached at arts-and-entertainment-editor@cornellsun com

Bhang ra Extravaganza

Sitara and Yamatai were similarly impressive

Number 56 on the list of 161 Things to Do at Cornell is to go see a Bhangra show Saturday night many came and checked it off their list to Pao Bhangra XI The event not only showcased Cornell homegrown acts but also had guest performers join in the dancing extravaganza It was a spectacular show and a feast to the eyes to see the swirling explosions of color on stage as the performers broadcasted their talent and hours of dedication to the art Bhangra is a folk dance attributed to the Punjabi culture of India and Pakistan, first performed by farmers to celebrate harvests It has now grown beyond the region and influenced other parts of the world, most notably the U K , through its dance and music The music blends traditional Indian music with elements of hip-hop, reggae and pop music Cornell s own Pao Bhangra boasts to be the largest Bhangra event in all of North America Hosting acts from Yale, Princeton, the University of Mar yland and Washington, D C as well as four acts from Cornell, Pao Bhangra exposed the fascinating dance to an energetic Barton Hall on Saturday All eight Bhangra groups performed their sets with infectious energy Guest performers

A group of Cornell alumni started off the show well, albeit slowly Jashan Bhangra, a team from Yale, then ignited the stage wonderfully with its set The performers’ moves were smooth, making the audience wonder how no performer bumped into another on stage (a wonder reiterated as each group came to the stage) Their traditional garb was also impressive The bright colors were attention-grabbing and the moves kept the audience hooked It was hard to fathom how any group could match Jashan Bhangra’s performance Such a worr y was quickly assuaged, however, as the teams that followed never failed to keep the energy and volume up All of the visiting teams, however, seemed to be eclipsed by the home teams

The all-girls team Kudiyan performed with extremely fluid motions; their moves were dainty but filled with enthusiasm and rigor This performance was followed by an exquisite one by all-boys team Mundey With a set list that included Carly Rae Jepson’s “Call Me Maybe” and LMFAO’s “Sexy and I Know It,” the performers had the audience eating out of the palm of their hand

Cornell’s Sitara also charmed the audience with a highly cohesive group performance Yamatai’s drum performance literally reverberated through all of Barton, making the audience’s skin tingle in minute aftershocks after the drummers ’ turn

Cornell’s mixed dance group concluded the show Their strong sense of family was evident in the loving words said about their graduating senior members They excited the audience one last time in a set that left the audience wanting more As their captain energised the audience with an

onslaught of what could be considered a mini-rap at the beginning, the team gave a larger-than-life performance to close the show

Overall, the night was mesmerizing with upbeat music and dance that shared the love of Bhangra with a mixed audience of already established enthusiasts and those new to the scene Not only did the teams do an amazing job, the emcees also performed commendably Their chemistry, as they plugged “ads” for sponsors, held the audience’s attention during breaks Albeit slightly cheesy at times, the “ads” still made the audience chuckle

For those who did not have the pleasure of seeing Pao Bhangra XI, make sure to check it off your list next year Be prepared to be blown away by talented teams from Cornell and elsewhere and fall in love with a new dance sure to infiltrate the party scene or at least it should

renovated Victorian building Mezzanine level in each bedroom Incredible! 607-277-0910 pjapartments com pjapartments@gmail com

Collegetown’s

HOUSES, APTS,

pjapartments com pjapartments@gmail com

Ithaca Commons Mini-studios, mini-kitchen, TV lounge laundry $510up 607-273-9462 www ithacarenting

2 BEDROOM APARTMENT Cayuga Heights / Community Corners area Near Cornell Utilities included $950/month 607-319-4140

The Corne¬ Daily Sun

Wake up with The Sun every morning.

C.U. Sweeps Penn, Clemson, USD at UVA Invitational

By GINA CARGAS Sun Staff Wr ter

The women s rowing team inched one step closer to the NCAA tournament after a strong showing at the University of Virginia Invitational over the weekend

The No 14 Red swept No 18 Clemson, Penn and University of San Diego on Saturday, before achieving mixed results against No 1 UVA and No 19 Minnesota on Sunday

Cornell defeated Ivy League foe Penn in all five events Saturday morning, before picking up another five victories against Clemson and USD that afternoon The varsity eight race against Penn was the tightest of the day, yet Cornell came out on top by a hefty 4 3 seconds

According to senior Anna Psiaki, the Red is thrilled with its performance

“Against Penn our mindset was to go out there and really crush them,” Psiaki said “They’re a team that we feel like we ’ re faster than and we wanted to prove that Against Clemson, it was a different story We wanted to prove that we deserved to be ranked higher than them ”

The Red has a strong history against unranked Ivy League team Penn, most recently defeating the Quakers in last season ’ s Raritan Cup Senior captain Margaret Cook said that racing Penn first boosted the squad’s confidence for the whole weekend

“Our first race on Saturday morning was against a team we were familiar with and we d had a little success against in the past, ” she said “We knew we could beat them and after that it was a lot of teams we hadn’t raced before ” Sunday brought tougher competition in the form of Minnesota and top-ranked UVA Four of Cornell boats came in second to Virginia, while the second varsity eight placed in third Senior captain Margaret Cook said the Red entered Sunday with nothing to lose

“Every boat had a no-regrets mentality,” she said

“No matter what the end result was, if we went the best speed we possibly could, we were going to be proud of ourselves ”

Psiaki echoed Cook s sentiments, adding that the team ’ s determination is something that makes it special

“Every boat has a lot of fire and a lot of determination,” she said “Even when we are down off the start of the race, we ll walk back That s something special about our team ”

The first varsity eight finished 12 7 seconds behind the UVA Cavaliers, while the second varsity eight a mere 3 7 seconds back The first and second varsity four trailed by 3 3 and 18 1 seconds, respectively According to senior captain Steph Lohberg, the team is content with its performance against UVA and Minnesota

“Those were unchartered waters racing UVA,” she said “A lot of the boats went above and beyond what some people might have expected from us ”

According to the seniors, this past weekend was a major boon for the team ’ s chances at making the NCAA tournament Despite a strong season in 2011, the team

narrowly missed selection for last year ’ s tournament

According to Lohberg, the Red’s success in Virginia will hopefully improve its chances of invitation to the tournament

“The races from this morning were definitely pivotal in the NCAA system, ” she said “Coming so close to Virginia was definitely really important to prove ourselves as a team and show that we can be a competitive crew ”

Psiaki said she also hopes the squad will continue to build upon this weekend’s performance Cornell will face Columbia and Brown at home at Cayuga Inlet next weekend, before taking on Dartmouth away on April 28

“I think that this weekend was a momentumbuilder,” Psiaki said “Most of the teams we raced were ranked below us, so it confirmed that we definitely should be ranked 14th or higher It showed that we are a strong program ”

Gina Cargas can be reached at gcargas@cornellsun com

Red Earns South Division Lead With Split Senior Day

By SCOTT ECKL Sun Staff Writer

In a rainy weekend, the Cornell softball team took three out of four from inter-division rival Columbia The Red (19-16, 10-2 Ivy League) swept the Lions (10-25, 3-9) on Saturday, before splitting the doubleheader on Sunday Cornell was boosted by two big innings on Saturday, scoring seven runs in the third inning in game one and five runs in the first inning in game two

Sophomore infielder Jenny Edwards was the offensive star on Saturday, going four-for-six with three RBI and three runs scored Her two long balls on the day bring her season total to seven,

which leads the Ivy League Senior pitcher Lauren Marx picked up her league-leading fourth save of the year in the first game, while sophomore Alyson

Onyon pitched five complete innings allowing one run to pick up her eighth win of the year (8-3) as the Red claimed the mercy-run win in game two

“Saturday was a pretty good day for us, ” said senior captain Erin Keene

After a shaky first game, we settled down a lot and were really able to take it to them in the second game ”

The Red lost its first Ivy League this season on Sunday in game one, 7-3 The team came back in game two to earn the split, 5-3 Onyon earned her ninth victory in game two, as she pitched a com-

plete game allowing two earned runs and striking out five Sunday was rough, Keene said “We knew it was going to be challenging, but we came out flat and just weren ’ t able to overcome the deficit ” Sunday afternoon s win was important for Cornell, as the Red hung on to the Southern-Ivy League division lead over Penn with a 10-2 record The victory also came on Senior Day where Cornell honored six seniors Katie Watts, Jenna Stoller, Morgan Cawley, Erica Gaeta, Marx and Keene The Red was able to overcome three errors and hold onto a tight win

Next weekend Cornell plays Southern-division rival Penn in Philadelphia, Pa on Saturday and Sunday With Penn in second place in the division, the next four games remain important for the Red’s playoff hopes During the week, Cornell plays a two game set against Colgate in Hamilton on Thursday

“This is going to be a tight race in the southern division,” Keene said “We definitely do not have room for mistakes We came through with the win in the second game, so we are still holding on ” Penn and Princeton are the final two Ivy League opponents that are standing in the way of Cornell’s hopes of threepeating as division champions The Red faces a tough road ahead as the team has no more home games remaining on its schedule

Scott Eckl can be reached at seckl@cornellsun com

BASEBALL Continued from page 16

Columbia loaded the bases, but the Red was able to stave off the L i o n s , s e c u r i n g t h e third win of the weekend, 5-4

“ Yo u h a ve a n e w approach to ever y single game and you have to go out there and tr y and win,” Kazley said “ We w e r e h a p p y t o win the first one, but in the second one we were star ting over ” In the four th game

o f t h e s e r i e s , Columbia managed to over take the Red, 5-1

“Our last weekend is against [Princeton] at home, so that weekend will really be pivo t a l , ” K a z l e y s a i d “ We have been winning all of our games, but they pretty much have been too We are tr ying to just catch a break and r un away with it

home, before heading into the weekend with

against Penn

the future are to win

ush

T h e s e r i e s e n d e d favorably for Cornell, as the Red took three out of the four contested games As of the end of g a m e p l a y o n Saturday, the Red sat o n t o p o f t h e Iv y L e a g u e w i t h a 9 - 1 record, just squee zing p a s t Pr i n c e t o n w h o was 8-2 so far The f i g h t t o t h e f i n i s h seems to be a gr udge m a t c h b e t w e e n t h e Red and the Tigers, as both fight for the top spot

said Haley Velasco can be reached at hvelasco@cornellsun com

W O M E N ’ S L A C R O S S E

Explodes in Second Half Against No. 11 Loyola

By NICK RIELLY

After suffering two close losses in its past three games, on Saturday the women ’ s lacrosse team faced No 11 Loyola a team with a storied coach, as well as one that many consider a contender for the national championship Although the game started out evenly with each team trading goals in the first

half, a combination of an explosive second half and a strong effort by senior goaltender Kyla Dambach propelled Cornell to a much-needed victory going into the last quarter of its season

“It is always great to get a win against a ranked team, ” said senior captain and attack Jessi Steinberg “Loyola always puts up a competitive effort against whoever they play, and they are coached by one of the best ever This win was huge for us ”

Steinberg put the Red (7-3, 3-2 Ivy League) in front at the beginning of the game with a quick goal, but Loyola (8-3 4-0 Big East) stormed back and scored three straight to go up, 3-1 The game went back and forth, with each team going on scoring runs until the first half ended with a score of 8-7 in favor of Cornell The Red was outmatched by a 10-6 margin on the draw control in the first half, and it seemed as if Loyola was poised to make a run at some point in the game

“Loyola was a great team and they put up a fight the whole first half,” said senior midfielder Katie Kirk

The second half, however, was a different game As soon as play started, junior attack Caroline Salisbury, senior attack Olivia Knotts and Kirk each scored two goals, lifted the Red to 17-9 in a just eight minutes

“The game was an all-around effort for us, ” Steinberg said This is definitely huge for momentum going into our game against Syracuse ”

In addition, Cornell’s goaltending was spot on, as Dambach made multiple saves to prevent Loyola from gaining a foothold in the game Loyola never managed to get any type of run going, so Cornell claimed the game, 17-10

“When you have great goaltending, it just gives you a huge mental edge,” Kirk said “Kyla played well all game, and we just knew that she would be coming up the whole game

Cornell will need to carry this weekend’s momentum forward, as it will face off against in-state rival Syracuse a perennial powerhouse that is currently ranked No 2 in the nation

“Syracuse has such a high powered and fast-moving offense,” Steinberg said “Our game plan is to do everything we can to slow them down and just play our style of play ”

Cornell will host Syracuse at home for a Tuesday night match-up starting at 7:00 p m

Red Defeats Lions in Three of Four Match-Ups

Cruz ties program record for number of home runs in a single season

By HALEY VELASCO Sun Assistant Sports Editor

T h i s w e e k e n d w a s a f o u r - g a m e series of good baseball for the Red, as it took three of four games from Ivy foe Columbia On Saturday, Cornell (248-1, 10-2 Ivy League) swept the doubleheader, with the first game going into extra innings dues to consistent pitching, a solid defense and a for ward moving offense The series continued

on Sunday with a delay for pending rain that pushed the first star t time back an hour and a half, before the Red could match up against Columbia (1419, 6-6), splitting the day, 1-1

The first game on Saturday was

K

plete-game in the opener for the Red, allowing only one unearned r un and five hits However, Kaufmann faced off

against Columbia’s star ter Pat Lower y, who sat down eight while allowing just

unearned r un came in the third, which Cornell answered back in the seventh to send the game into extra innings In the eight, sophomore Ryan Plantier hit a sacrifice fly to right with bases loaded to score senior Brian Billigen with the winning r un, which grabbed the victor y from Columbia, 2-1 “ We have been getting consecutively good star ts by [our pitchers],” said junior pitcher Mike Kazley “Connor Kaufmann has been an animal in shutting guys down

The second game of the day began with early action, as junior infielder Brenton Peters led off the Red with a

o l l owe d by senior infielder Marshall Yanzick’s single to center that put r unners on the c o r n e r s W i t h o n e o u t , s o p h o m o r e Chris Cr uz hit an RBI groundout to drive Peters in Senior infielder Frank Hager’s RBI two-out double then sent Yanzick in from third Next, Tatum drove in his second r un for the day with a single down the left field line

After the early action, no Red r unners were able to advance past second for the rest of the game However, the victor y was due, in par t, to freshman pitcher Brian McAfee who had the best star t in his collegiate career, making his

3 innings Cornell faced threatening skies on Sunday morning, which pushed the noon star t time back an hour and half Once the Red took to the field, the first two innings did not look promising as

However, in the third, sophomore Tom D’Alessandro hit a long ball over the left field fence to bring Cornell back i n t o t h e g a m e C r u z f o l l o w e d t h e momentum with a second homer for the Red, putting Cornell up by one The Red was able to hold off the Lions for the rest of the game; however, there was a close call in the seventh when

See BASEBALL page 15

Last week, Andy Noel, the Cornell Director of Athletics, named Melissa BatieSmoose the Wendy Schaenen ’79 head coach of volleyball and Patrick Farmer the head coach of the women ’ s soccer program

B a t i e - S m o o s e comes to Cornell with nearly 20 years of coaching experience at nearly every collegiate level, with a legacy as the most successful head coach in the histor y of Savannah College of Art &

Design, where she led the team to a 81-43 overall record Farmer comes to the Red with 19 years of head coaching experience, sporting a 26197-40 career record for his time with Ithaca College, Penn State, Tennessee Tech and Syracuse Farmer was the first women ’ s soccer head coach at Penn State in 1994 He was also inducted into the Ithaca College Sports Hall of Fame in 1998

Compiled by Lauren Ritter