04-17-12

Mental Health Progs

Meet Surging Demand

By JOSEPH NICZKY Sun Senior Writer

As Gannett has bolstered its mental health ser vices in the past two years, student demand for these ser vices has risen to meet the increase Administrators say the continued surge in those seeking counseling can be par tially attributed to ne w outreach programs, which they say have brought about a culture change in student vie ws toward counseling ser vices

“This is what we do. We protect the students and the staff and the buildings and the property ” Anthony Bellamy

Unseasonably warm

C.U.Police on the Night Shift Sgt. Bellamy sees other side of fraternity parties

By MICHAEL LINHORST Sun Senior Writer

Studying for a master ’ s degree, caring for his two sons and supervising the Cornell Police Department’s night shift takes a toll on Sgt Anthony Bellamy’s sleep schedule But he has to stay sharp for when emergencies arise

A day in the life of Bellamy may involve hours of record keeping and property checks, or it may be punctuated by a crisis that demands immediate attention Bellamy was in charge of the night shift

or the A-line, as police call it in the early hours of March 31, when a female student fell 14 feet inside the Chi Phi fraternity house, landing on her back and losing consciousness

When the call came over his radio, Bellamy was supervising another CUPD officer and an EMT as they dealt with a drunk, stumbling student on University Avenue

“Let’s go, ” he said to a reporter accompanying him that night

The girl who, her friend later told police,

Minority Student Leaders Debate New Funding Rules

By EMMA COURT Sun Staff Writer

The leaders of the largest Black, Asian, Native American and Latino organizations on campus were divided in their reactions to a new system of funding for multicultural student groups While some described the process of its creation as fair, others expressed grave concerns about the dialogue leading up to its approval

In March, the Student

Assembly unanimously approved the creation of the Umbrella Programming Fund, a subgroup of the African Latino Asian Native American Students Programming board, which will reorganize the allocation of funds to organizations under ALANA

The UPF will go into effect in time for the fall 2012 byline cycle, distributing a portion of ALANA’s byline funding among

Despite New Territor y, Dem. Congressional Candidates Con dent

By MATTHEW ROSENSPIRE Sun Staff Wr ter

Despite federally mandated redistricting that has placed Tompkins County in a more conservative district, the three candidates in the Democratic primary to represent the area that includes Ithaca in Congress Leslie Danks

Burke, Melissa Dobson and Nate Shinagawa ’05 M A 09 said they are confident in their ability to defeat incumbent Rep Tom Reed (R-N Y ) and carry the new 23rd congressional district

According to Irene Stein, chair of the Tompkins County Democratic Committee, even

though the county is now in a more conservative district than it was under Rep Maurice Hinchey (D-N Y 22), a Democratic candidate can defeat Reed in the fall

“Our Democratic message is pretty much the same, ” Stein said “We say the same things wherever we go We have always

been the party that promotes the interests of the middle class and of working men and women That doesn’t change wherever we run candidates ” Stein noted, however, that the local party has not yet endorsed a candidate and will not do so until the middle of May

“At this point I’m neu-

tral, and I wouldn’t want to say anything that would cast a shadow on that neutrality,” Stein said All three of the Democratic candidates agreed with Stein’s assessment of the race against Reed Each also stressed that the ne w district

PUPIL POETRY

Real Estate Program Receives $11M Donation

By KAITLYN KWAN Sun Staff Wr ter

With an $11 million gift from Lisa Baker and Richard Baker ’88, Cornell’s real estate program will hire additional faculty and create a more robust curriculum in an effort to become one of the nation’s top-tier programs, according to John Siliciano ’75, senior vice provost for academic affairs

The two-year master ’ s program currently has a $5 million endowment and faculty from seven of Cornell s coll e g e s a n d d e p a r t m e n t s t h e S c h o o l o f Ho t e l Administration; the College of Architecture, Art and Planning; the Department of Landscape Architecture; the Department of City and Regional Planning; the Interior Design Program; the Johnson School MBA Program and the Law School

According to Siliciano, the endowment will allow the program to work directly with AAP and the Hotel School

“At the same time as Baker is endowing this program, we ’ re moving it out to the super vision of the deans who are able to more effectively direct it because their colleges are more involved with it, Siliciano said We re moving the leadership to those two colleges as a way of making sure that it continues to grow in the right way ”

The endowment will specifically pay for physical space in AAP and the Hotel School, which are expected to col-

laborate and offer a comprehensive set of career and supplemental ser vices, according to a University press release These changes are scheduled to take effect on July 1

Due to this proposed partnership, students will have “the opportunity to take advantage of all the dynamic real estate exposure and opportunities that exist at the School of Hotel Administration and the natural relationship that occurs between real estate, urban design and architecture, ” Richard Baker said in the press release

“[It] will catapult real estate studies at Cornell to the very pinnacle of the field ” K en t K leinman

In the press release, AAP Dean Kent Kleinman called the gift “transformative ”

“[It] will catapult real estate studies at Cornell to the ver y pinnacle of the field, Kleinman said The restructuring, combined with the gift, opens entirely new horizons for the program ”

According to Siciliano, the gift came at an opportune time for implementing changes to the program

The program has reached a point where it really needs to evolve further,” he said “In order to make a fully robust curriculum, additional financing would be ver y

Gettleman ’94 Awarded Pulit zer Prize

By DENNIS LIU Sun Staff Wr ter

Jeffrey Gettleman ’94, the East Africa bureau chief at The New York Times, was awarded a Pulitzer Prize in international reporting Monday

He was commended for his “vivid reports, often at personal peril, on famine and conflict in East Africa,” according to the the award announcement

Panelists reached their decision after judging Gettleman’s recent work in 2011 on piracy and famine in Somalia

“We in philosophy are thrilled with the news of Jeffrey Gettleman’s Pulitzer Prize and proud to have been part of his formative experience at Cornell,” said Prof Scott MacDonald ’78, philosophy, in the press release “It’s always rewarding to see our former students making extraordinary contributions to the world beyond Cornell

Gettleman eventually decided to continue his studies in philosophy as a Marshall Scholar at Oxford, he said Before graduating, Gettleman decided he wanted to become a journalist

Speaking to students during his visit about possible career options in journalism, Gettleman described how his first exposure to reporting taught him how to “write on a deadline” and “just suck it up ”

[Gettleman] was commended for his “vivid reports, often at personal peril, on famine and conflict in East Africa.”

Since 2006, Gettleman has covered conflict and the lives of refugees in Kenya, Congo, Somalia, Sudan and Ethiopia

Gettleman has written for The New York Times Magazine, Foreign Policy, The New Republic and GQ, according to a University press release Additionally, he has appeared as a commentator on CNN, BBC, PBS, NPR and ABC

As a student at Cornell, Gettleman majored in philosophy while playing lacrosse and working as a photographer for The Sun

On April 6, 2011, Gettleman returned to Cornell to speak about his experiences in Africa and about being kidnapped, along with his wife, while reporting in Ethiopia

Reflecting on a professor’s recommendation to pursue journalism at the lecture, Gettleman recalled thinking it was the “dumbest idea I had heard ”

“Who wants to work for a boring ne wspaper?” he said, The Sun reported in April 2011

After backpacking around the world for a year, however,

99-Percenters Plan Tax Day Rally

National Tax Day, to protest unfair federal taxing policies, according to The Ithaca Journal

The rally is par t of a national day of action across the countr y to demand higher income tax rates for corporations and the richest one percent of America, The Journal repor ted

Fall Creek Fire Damages Residence

A house fire blazed on East Falls Street in Fall Creek on Saturday morning, according to The Ithaca Journal

No injuries were reported after the residents safely evacuated and firefighters saved two pet cats, The Journal reported

Finger Lakes Land Trust Receives Grant

A conservation organization awarded Finger Lakes Land Trust a $12,000 grant to acquire the right to use 128 acres of land for agriculture and forestry in Richford, a town in Tioga County, according to The Ithaca Journal

Compiled by Dennis Liu

“Journalism is very hierarchical It s an old-school profession where you have to pay your dues,” said Gettleman, according to The Sun “You try to get both sides –– that’s the best you can do But you don’t want to be a robot, either ” The Overseas Press Club awarded Gettleman in 2003 and in 2008 for his reporting on an Afghan prison and on human rights abuses in Ethiopia

Gettleman currently lives in Nairobi, Kenya, with his family, according to a University press release

important The program is already ver y strong with ver y good students This will continue to strengthen it ver y considerably It s an extremely generous and important gift ”

The Bakers also gave an additional $1 million to the Herbert F Johnson Museum of Art

According to Museum Director Stephanie L Wiles, the money will be used in a collaboration with artist Leo Villareal, whose work includes collections in the Museum of Modern Art, as well as the tunnel walls between the East and West buildings of the National Galler y of Art in Washington, D C

For the Johnson Museum, Villareal will create “sitespecific” artwork art that is specifically tailored to suit one area and cannot be moved without being destroyed for the ceiling of the museum ’ s Mallin Sculpture Court, Wiles said The project is scheduled for completion by the end of next semester

“ We have been talking with the donors and the artists for a while and it just was something that came together,” Wiles said It s terrific to be able to provide the widest possible experience of art to the Cornell campus and community, so I’m ver y excited to start working on it We’re ver y grateful to the Bakers ”

Yale Adds New Undergrad Majors

By THE YALE DAILY NEWS

Ever y May for the past three decades, about half of Yale College graduates leave the University with a degree in histor y, economics, English, political science or biology each of which has been a part of the Yale curriculum since at least the early 1900s But over the past 15 years, Yale s undergraduate curriculum has expanded to include at least six new interdisciplinar y majors

from a variety of fields

Some of these majors, including modern Middle East studies and South Asia studies, focus on specific geographical areas of growing international importance, while other programs such as ethics, politics and economics; ethnicity, race and migration; and global affairs synthesize different academic fields

that was established as an independent major this Februar y “ The frameworks for studying have diversified and grown and that reflects the diversity of today s world

While Yale College has more major programs that most of its peer institutions, the introduction of these new majors both accommodate students academic interests and seem to evidence profound changes within academia

Education at Yale Joseph Gordon said in

to the News

“Just as the scholarship has become deeper and more interdisciplinar y, so the world has become more complicated and more international,” said Stephen Pitti, director of the program in ER&M

At its Feb 2 meeting, the Yale College faculty approved the ethnicity, race and migration program as a stand-alone major, capping a 15-yearlong effort to expand the major

This story was originally published in The Yale Daily News Monday

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this Newspaper. Recycling Bins are located throughout the Cornell Campus.

CUPD Sgt. Balances S chool, Family, Work

CUPD Continued from page 1

had consumed five “vodka drinks” that night was lying motionless on the fraternity’s floor when Bellamy arrived Several other emergency responders were already attending to her, and they soon called for a backboard

Moments later, when the sergeant went out to his police SUV to get more equipment, the street outside was filled with emergency vehicles More Cornell police had arrived, as well as Ithaca police, Cornell EMS, Bangs ambulance and the Ithaca Fire Department Fire chief Tom Parsons ’82 also briefly surveyed the situation

The student was soon placed on a stretcher, still unconscious Looking at the scene, it remained unclear why the student fell and whether she had been pushed

Once the student was taken away by an ambulance three different helicopters were called, but they were all unable to fly because of bad weather Bellamy’s real work began

He took pictures of the scene and measured the height from which the student fell Bellamy and other officers spoke to fraternity members and friends of the injured student, but many were noticeably drunk and had difficulty giving useful answers Police took three people to CUPD headquarters for interviews

From speaking with witnesses Bellamy said the student’s fall appeared to be an accident But he added that police cannot rush to judgment when collecting evidence at the scene because, in the first moments of the investigation, it is often difficult to determine the severity of the situation

“You only get one chance, he said, so it is important to document everything carefully Bellamy has been in the police force long enough to have seen plenty of serious situations Before coming to Cornell where he was an investigator for two-and-a-half years before being promoted to sergeant two years ago Bellamy worked as a deputy sheriff in Dutchess County He also spent time as a volunteer firefighter and a part-time police officer

Bellamy met his wife, who is from Schuyler County to the west of Ithaca while working in Dutchess County They each applied to jobs near the other s hometown, and he got his job at Cornell first, so the couple moved to the Ithaca area They now have two sons

He has worked the night shift since becoming sergeant two years ago He said that the

hours can be tough, especially while caring for a family

“I’ve lost a lot of sleep, and I think I’ve aged some, ” he said “My family has gotten used to it a little more ”

Bellamy goes to bed at about 9 a m most mornings, but wakes up at 2:30 p m to see his sons get off the school bus

His difficult sleep schedule is compounded by the classes he is taking to earn a master ’ s degree in public administration

Bellamy joined CUPD with only an associate ’ s degree Soon after joining the department, he worked on a harassment complaint that involved an email sent by an English Ph D student to a professor After reading the first page of the email, Bellamy said, he realized he did not understand it as well as he needed to The experience inspired him to go back to school to

“I’ve

on the student’s PeopleSoft profile Paige found a cell phone number for the student s mother, but no one answered Bellamy looked on Facebook and even WhitePages com, but could not find a phone number

Bellamy eventually called the local police department in the parents hometown Just before he was going to ask officers to knock on the parents ’ door a parent ’ s worst nightmare, especially at 2 a m the student’s mother returned Paige’s call on her cell phone

The crisis manager was involved, the parents were notified and the scene was documented

“The only thing left to do is typing at this point,” Bellamy said at 2:30 a m as he began writing a report of the incident

lost a lot of sleep, and I think I’ve aged some My family has gotten used to it a little more ”

get a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice

Now, as he works toward a master ’ s, he has to balance schoolwork on top of every other demand For a recent paper, he said he “did the student thing” going to the library right after work at 7 a m and staying there until 10 p m

“My wife was pretty mad about that,” he said

But in the early morning of March 30, shortly after the student fell, Bellamy left thoughts of his family and schoolwork for later to focus on his more immediate work

At about 1:30 a m , he returned to CUPD headquarters and called the University’s crisis manager on duty that night, Julie Paige When a student is injured, Cornell’s crisis manager communicates with family and friends and helps ensure University resources are used where they are needed most

Bellamy explained the situation to Paige He also called the hospital in Pennsylvania where the student had been taken to find out how the parents could contact the doctors there During the call, he learned the student was still unresponsive

A problem soon arose: A phone number for the student’s parents could not be located Emergency contact information was not listed

From their interviews with witnesses, other officers reported back to Bellamy about what had happened to the injured student After several drinks, she and her friends had been standing on Chi Phi’s second-floor balcony, overlooking a dance floor a story below The student climbed over the secondfloor railing to try to dance on a fireplace mantel, witnesses said, and she fell in the attempt

A few days later she walked out of the hospital, according to one Cornell emergency responder, who described her quick recovery as “miraculous ”

Putting in extra effort finding a hospital phone number for parents to call, or offering counseling to upset witnesses is part of the job for campus police officers, Bellamy said

“I always say to people: It’s not only cops and robbers,” he said, adding that working for CUPD is quite different than his years as a deputy sheriff

Earlier in the night on March 30, before the student fell, Bellamy was driving down College Avenue A girl stumbled into the middle of the road with her arm in the air The sergeant stopped to find out if she was all right, and her friend said that she was trying to hail a cab, as if she were in New York City

“Well, let her know she s not in the Bronx anymore, ” Bellamy said as he returned to his patrol

“This is what we do,” he said later “We protect the students and the staff and the buildings and the property ”

Michael Linhorst can be reached at mlinhorst@cornellsun com

Gannett: Outreach Programs Reduce ‘Stigma’ of Counseling

GANNETT

Continued from page 1

help All of these things contribute to increases in utilization ”

Fifteen percent of the student body about 3,000 students see counselors at Gannett in a year, and one third visit at least once during their time at Cornell, according to Eells

Eells also credited the increase in students seeking Gannett’s services to a change in attitude that has removed the stigma of asking for help to cope with depression

“It’s been our goal for at least a decade or more to really reduce stigma and I think there s been a lot of people much more engaged on our campus in doing that from President [David] Skor ton to [Cornell] Minds Matter to faculty,” Eells said “I think we ’ ve really engaged faculty in a way we weren ’ t 10 years ago ”

However, some students expressed concern that the increased demand for these ser vices might come with pitfalls

Joanna Chen ’14 said she is sometimes unable to schedule appointments with CAPS in addition to her regularly scheduled weekly appointment

University has created in the past two years

“ There’s some examples of superb work and really groundbreaking work that we ’ ve done,” Murphy said “Our effor ts in the outreach to students directly –– but also to faculty and staff in addition to students –– are often recognized by our peers as among the best ”

These ne w programs include Real Students, Reel Stories and “Notice and Respond: Friend 2 Friend,” as well as its par tner program, “Staying Balanced ”

The three programs focus on preparing freshmen for life at Cornell and recognizing when other students need help, and have received positive feedback since their inception two years ago, according to Murphy and Carol Gr umbach, associate dean for ne w student programs

“It got an extremely favorable response [among students],” Gr umbach said of “Real Students, Reel Stories ”

“Sometimes I get the impression that if I wanted to see them more, I couldn’t. Everything seems too busy ”

J oanna Chen ’ 1 4

“Sometimes I get the impression that if I wanted to see them more I couldn’t Ever ything seems so busy,” Chen said

She also said she was unable to schedule appointments when calling on a weekend

“I have an issue with that ” Chen said “If a student has the resolve to call CAPS, they should be available 24 hours Instead, they just transfer you out to someone who can t help you make an appointment ”

Eells denied there is a problem with students being able to schedule CAPS appointments

“ The way our system works is you get a brief phone assessment, and then we ll look at what s going on with you and schedule you based on your level of concern, ” he said “If we talk to someone on the phone and we think they really need to be seen right away, we get them in right away So if someone has a serious mental health concern, we would get that person in the same day –– and that doesn ’ t change, no matter how busy we get ”

Although students calling Gannett may not always be able to speak to their regular counselor, there will always be someone available to speak on the phone, added Vice President for Student and Academic Ser vices Susan Murphy ’73

Despite the occasional difficulties she has experienced in scheduling appointments Chen said she is happy with Gannett’s counseling ser vices

I just like going to someone you can talk to even if it doesn t always help,” Chen said “It’s a safety net ”

Murphy credited the reduction of the stigma surrounding mental health ser vices to the work of ne w outreach programs that the

Also impor tant to the University’s outreach effor ts have been activities coordinated by Cornell Minds Matter, according to Casey Carr ’74, assistant dean of students and CMM’s advisor Carr said the student group has seen a “huge” rise in its membership in the past year

Carr also said that in the past two years, she has noticed that students are more concerned with their own mental health

“Students are more aware that when they take care of their emotional and mental health that they will be more successful socially and academically, Carr said I think that in the past two years, the conversation and dialogue around these issues has become much more open and acceptable ”

Despite the recent successes of its outreach programs, the University needs to do more to include graduate students in its effor ts, Murphy said

“ We probably have not done as much in reaching out for our graduate and professional students as we have with our undergraduates and that’s an area that we ’ re tr ying to address in the coming year, ” Murphy said “ We’ve been a little bit undergraduate-focused ”

In addition to reaching out to graduate students, Marchell said the University needs to intensify its effor ts to help minority students

Given what we know about higher levels of distress among certain subgroups on campus for example Asian and AsianAmerican students it’s impor tant that we continue to pursue our diversity initiatives our commitment to inclusion and reduction of bias,” Marchell said “Experiencing bias and feeling marginalized, misunderstood or alienated can exacerbate someone s risk for a mental health problem ”

Joseph Niczky can be reached at jniczky@cornellsun com

Students Debate Process for Funding Minority Student Orgs

the four umbrella organizations Black Students United, the Cornell Asian Pacific Islander Student Union, Native American Students at Cornell and La Asociación Latina Karin Zhu ’12, vice president of external affairs for CAPSU, sent an email Sunday to members of the minority organizations and others in which she blasted what she said was a “painful” process for developing the UPF Sharon Lau ’12, president of CAPSU who initially

“[The S.A.’s actions reinforce] the idea that ... Asian Americans are a model minority whose interests align with the white majority ”

expressed support for the UPF upon its adoption in March sent a similar email on Monday In it, Lau voiced disdain about the development of the UPF and about the way Asian American students and other students of color at Cornell have been treated throughout the process

“I understand the temporal and practical constraints on the UPF allocation processes and the urgency to allocate the money before the end of the year, ” Lau said in the email “However, if we do not talk about these unspoken root issues now, these same issues will continue to play out in the future ”

In the email, Lau referenced the S A s denial of byline funding funding provided by the student activity fee for CAPSU and the proposal of the UPF as an alternate solution to the financial constraints facing multicultural umbrella organizations She said that the UPF structure “ creates one in which [people of color] are competing against each other over the same pot of money rather than working together to better understand and support one another ”

The restructuring under the UPF comes after the S A rejected CAPSU’s application for byline funding in November 2011

On Sunday, a majority vote by the UPF Steering Committee which is comprised of two members from each of the umbrella organizations determined how much money allocated to ALANA would be given to each of the umbrella organizations according to Minority Liaison for the Student Assembly Roneal Desai ’13 ALANA was allocated $2 25 per student, or $30,000 total, of the Student Activity Fee money to distribute to minority organizations in this year ’ s funding cycle

Desai said that CAPSU will receive 31 9 percent of available funds; Black Students United, 26 1 percent; La Asociación Latina, 23 1 percent; and Native American Students at Cornell, 18 9 percent He said these figures will determine each group ’ s funding for the next two byline cycles, starting this fall

According to Adam Nicoletti ’12, vice president of finance for the S A , the UPF Steering Committee decided to split 70 percent of the overall funds equally among the four groups The remaining 30 percent will be divided based on past spending trends and demographic representation on-campus of each group, he said

According to Nicoletti, funding details had to be finished by the end of the semester in order for the UPF to be implemented in the fall

This was a decision made by a majority of UPF committee members It obviously wasn ’ t unanimous,” Nicoletti said “We recognize this was not a perfect solution in which every person in the committee agreed, but the process we set in place was adhered to This gives us more time to talk about non-funded issues of community development Everyone is very committed to talking about how to bring the communities together ”

Zhu said in an email to The Sun Monday night that she has concerns with both the process of developing the UPF and with the UPF itself

“What needs to be improved is the relationship among umbrella organizations; the relationship between the umbrella organizations and the S A ; the dialogue surrounding race relations on campus, ” Zhu said

Zhu said she sent her email to the community because other representatives at UPF meetings were acting as though funding to multicultural organizations is solely a funding issue, when in reality it is not, she said

“The core issues at the table were about power, privilege and oppression,” Zhu said During those meetings, personal feelings and grudges, past histories between organizations and institutional power structures were at play, but people refused to acknowledge them ”

Zhu also told The Sun that she believes minority organizations are being treated unfairly in how they are expected to relate to other multicultural groups

“The UPF implicitly asks minority organizations to place a value on their own culture and issues, and each other’s cultures and issues,” Zhu said “How can the organizations do that when they don t understand each other s cultures and issues? Should organizations even have to do that?”

She added that the UPF forces multicultural umbrella organizations to compete with one another for funds

“The idea that more money should go to other groups because their issues are somehow more important than ours is front and center, on the table,” Zhu said “The S A swoops into the discussion to try to help’ CAPSU obtain resources, which reinforces the idea that Asians and Asian Americans are a model minority whose interests align with the white majority ”

NASAC Co-Chair Dajahi Wiley ’14 disagreed with Lau and Zhu, saying he thought the process for allocating money under the UPF is fair Still, he noted that Lau raised legitimate concerns

“It’s a starting point for funding for umbrella organizations,” Wiley said “Definitely all of the issues CAPSU brought up are going to remain on the table for communities of color to discuss, and also the broader Cornell community ”

BSU Co-Chair Sasha Mack ’13 said that she thought there were still flaws to be worked out in the UPF

Still, she said her organization is mostly satisfied with the distribution of resources among the four umbrella groups

“Specifically for BSU, the amount we were allotted is not far from the initial amount we were expecting,” she said

Rebecca Harris contributed reporting to this article

Emma Court can be reached at ecourt@cornellsun com

Dems Con dent About Primar y Race

CONGRESS

Continued from page 1

w o u l d n o t p re s e n t a p ro b l e m t o Democratic victor y

“I declared my candidacy back in Januar y, before we even knew the district lines,” Burke said “It’s definitely true that the Democrat who wins in the new 23rd is going to have to pull Republican votes, but I believe I can do that ” Dobson echoed Burke s opinion of the district

“ This newly drawn 23rd district is geographically huge, but it’s manageable for someone who has lived here most of their life and understands the demographics and the culture,” Dobson said

Shinagawa also said he was also confident in the ability of a Democrat to win the new district

“I chose to run in this race because I wanted to represent the Southern Tier and the Finger Lakes region,” Shinagawa said I’m ver y confident about the new district because I know the area It’s a winnable district ”

While none of the candidates would comment on the others by name, all three said their previous experience and connections with the region made them the most qualified to represent not just the Democratic Party in the election but the district in Congress

Shinagawa said that he was the only Democratic candidate with a voting record to prove his positions, noting his experience on the County Development Corporation as well as his work fighting hydraulic fracturing

“For four years I’ve supported fracking bans, moratoriums and home rule legislation,” Shinagawa said “I’m the only candidate with actual votes to show that ” Dobson, however, focused on her ties to the area and understanding of the district

“Compared to other candidates, I’m from the area I was educated here, I

understand the culture and I work with businesses across the Southern Tier to help grow job opportunities,” Dobson said “ Tompkins County was put into a more conser vative district, but I’m running my campaign to represent all the people of the district ”

Burke, like Shinagawa, noted that she had legislative experience, though she has not been a legislator before Burke has also been involved in civil rights cases that have gone before the U S Supreme Court

I am the only candidate in this race who has worked in Washington, D C , before,” Burke said “I was a tax legislation analyst I spent ever y day working

of the people in the district, as opposed to its politicians

While the Democratic Party will be preoccupied with the primar y election until June 26, the Tompkins County

Re

begun the campaign to reelect Reed to Congress

“ We had a meeting with him about a month ago; he was ver y personable,”

Committee “ The Committee felt ver y comfortable with him and while we

“I’m very confident about the new district because I know the area It’s a winnable district ” N at e S hin agawa ’ 0 5

Congress on the tax code I understand how federal legislation is done ”

As of Monday night, the $113,000

slightly edged out that of the Burke cam-

Fundraising numbers for Dobson had not been released as of Monday night

In terms of endorsements, however, Shinagawa appears to be the clear leader Shinagawa has received the endorsement of the Steuben and Chautauqua County

De

Martha Robertson, Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick ’09, as well as the Mayors of Jamestown, Fredonia, Dunkirk, Elmira and Hornell Burke has received the endorsement of the Allegany County Democratic Committee, but noted that the Schuyler, Yates and Seneca County Democratic C

endorsements for the election

Dobson said that although she has not yet received any endorsements, she was more concerned with the opinions

haven’t taken an official vote yet, he will soon have the endorsement of the county committee ”

For Republicans, the most important issue resulting from the redistricting process is that while Tompkins County is now in a more conser vative district, it has diluted a strong Republican presence

The biggest change in this election is going to be that [Reed’s] district is not as Republican anymore It now includes all of Tompkins County, which is two-toone Democratic,” Drader said

Despite the challenge presented in Tompkins County, Drader remained confident of victor y

“[Reed has] done an exceptional job,” Drader said “He’s tried to rein in spendi n g He s o n t h e Wa y s a n d Me a n s Committee, which is a strong position of a freshman congressman He’s run as a candidate of the people, and he tries to represent all of his constituent base, whether Democratic or Republican ”

Matthew Rosenspire can be reached at mrosenspire@cornellsun com

HELENE BEAUCHEMIN 13

Business Manager

RUBY PERLMUTTER ’13

Associate Editor

JOSEPH STAEHLE ’13

PETER A JACOBS ’13

ESTHER HOFFMAN ’13

Photography Editor

ELIZA LaJOIE 13 Blogs Editor

ZACHARY ZAHOS 15 Arts & Entertainment Editor

ELIZABETH CAMUTI ’14 City Editor

AKANE OTANI ’14 News Editor

SCOTT CHIUSANO ’15

Assistant Sports Editor

REBECCA COOMBES 14

Assistant Design Editor

NICHOLAS ST FLEUR ’13

Science Editor

JOSEPH VOKT 14

Assistant Web Editor

SEOJIN LEE 14 Marketing Manager

ERIKA G WHITESTONE ’15

Social Media Manager

JESSICA YANG 14 Human Resources Manager

DAVID MARTEN 14

Senior Editor

ELIZABETH PROEHL ’13

Senior Editor

JAMES RAINIS 14 Senior Editor

Editorial

Remembering Sacrifices In Afghanistan

ON APRIL 3, A MARINE FROM ITHACA, Cpl Christopher D Bordoni, died from injuries sustained in a suicide attack in Afghanistan in Januar y Last week, thousands of people lined the highway as his body was transpor ted from the airpor t in Syracuse to Ithaca for burial Hundreds of Ithacans stood outside with American flags to welcome this Marine home for the last time

More than 750 people jammed into the Immaculate Conception Church downtown, a testament to the impact that this Marine had on the community They shared stories about the way Afghani children looked up to Bordoni and about his fight to stay alive after he was critically injured To see this outpouring of suppor t from the local community was inspiring

Witnessing the flashing lights from the motorcade bouncing off the silent faces of a hundred or more people from the Ithaca community who gathered in front of Bang’s Funeral Home stirs feelings of pride Nothing that we say here can properly honor the sacrifice that this Marine made for his countr y

While Ithacans came together to honor this Marine, Cornell remained detached from the events of the week The only thing different on campus was that the flags fle w at half mast

Cornellians are for tunate to have avoided direct human suffering that accompanies the war in Afghanistan No Cornellian has yet died in the war However, this fact should not let us slide into ignorance The war in Afghanistan has claimed thousands of lives, including 72 American soldiers so far this year

Though Cornellians may disagree on the best course of action to end the war in Afghanistan, the sacrifices of those individuals who have ser ved cannot go unrecognized Tens of thousands of troops remain stationed in Afghanistan Some of these are graduates of Cornell and Cornell’s Reser ve Officer Training Corps

It is all too easy to remain disconnected from the reality of the conflict being fought overseas This distance renders the war abstract and allows us to forget what war really entails The war becomes perceived only in terms of numbers, politics and ideas The outpouring of suppor t from the Ithaca community proves that this conflict is about much more than that It is about the individual soldiers who put on a uniform ever y day

Letters

Honoring community connection s

To the Editor:

Re: “City Honors Slain Marine,” News, April 13

I commend the Daily Sun for the excellent ar ticle regarding Corporal Christopher Bordoni, United States Marine Corps Through its respectful coverage of events such as the memorial ser vices for Corporal Bordoni, The Sun effectively suppor ts what many Cornell and Ithaca militar y veterans know is a critical mission: maintaining a connection between the University, the Ithaca community and the militar y ser vices Cornell graduates who entered militar y ser vice in the 1990’s such as decorated Marine Corps Major Rick Gannon, who was killed in Iraq in 2004, for whom a For ward Operating Base was named and with whom I ser ved in Cornell NROTC never imagined that the latter por tions of their militar y careers would take place during America’s longest war Ser vice members such as Corporal Bordoni, however, voluntarily joined the militar y in the midst of two wars, knowing that their ser vice was almost cer tain to include combat It is gratifying to see The Sun honor their ser vice for the benefit of the Sun’s University and community audiences

Lieutenant Colonel Michael A Boorstein '94 United States Marine Corps

CORRECTION

A ne ws stor y Monday, “College of Engineering Trails in Minority Enrollment,” incorrectly stated that the five-year graduation rate for under-represented minorities in the College of Engineering is 25 percent In fact, 75 percent of these students graduate in five years

S EN D US YO U R F EE DB A CK

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How t o P l ay t h e G a m e

It would be too easy to lament that somehow miraculously college acceptance rates for the elite schools have dropped another fe w percentage points for the umpteenth year in a row, reaching rates so dismally low that you could probably win the lotter y before getting into Har vard It would be even easier to cr y over our obsession with selectivity and rankings when they mean ver y little in the long-r un

But these arguments have been so often repeated and milked dr y that both sides the applicants and the university gatekeepers have become numb to them

But what we haven’t talked about is how these low acceptance rates have brought out the worst in the applicants and have come to homogenize our universities

In a twist of fate nowadays, you have to fit the Ivy League mold even more in order to separate yourself from the rest of the 242,000 applications

See, the college admissions process is a ver y exclusive game and in order to emerge successfully from it, you have to faithfully play by its r ules And as the college application process becomes ever more cut-throat, these r ules will become ever more finicky and relevant

We Cornell undergraduates should know since we ’ ve been playing it our entire lives It began the moment we exited our mothers’ wombs Our parents kne w that we would end up in the Ivy League even before we heard about it And from that moment on, it was a rat race to work at the best internships, join the most clubs, play the most instr uments and receive the most varsity letters

It was about faking those smiles for your high school teachers to get those shining recommendation letters It was about exaggerating your accomplishments on your resume by leveraging all your financial resources The most egregious example was the parents who spent thousands of dollars to self-publish their son ’ s manuscript in an effor t to label him as a published author

It’s about showing up at your inter vie w with a freshly dr y-cleaned and ironed suit with a handpicked tie

Texas Congressman and Presidential Candidate Dr Ron Paul’s upcoming visit to Cornell’s campus on Thursday, April 19 should be of special interest to students of Cornell and ever y other college and university As the pop-

u l a r m e d i a b e g i n s t o f o c u s o n

No v e m b e r ’ s e l e c t i o n c o n t e s t b e t w e e n typical Democrats and Republicans, the Ron Paul Revolution charges onward, concerned, like most Americans, with the long-term direction of the countr y,

not shor t-term par tisan victories As a result, Ron Paul’s recent trips to college campuses around the countr y dre w not just Republicans and Liber tarians, but t h o u s a n d s o f e n e r g e t i c s t u d e n t s f ro m across the political spectr um, all yearning to hear a candidate with real, authentic convictions, not simply the approval of the political establishment Or in other t e r m s w h e n w a s t h e l a s t t i m e a Republican Presidential Candidate dre w a crowd of thousands at UC Berkeley?

A s m e m b e r s o f t h e C o r n e l l

D e m o c r a t s , C o r n e l l R e p u b l i c a n s a n d Cornell Liber tarians, we think that Ron Paul’s message deser ves our attention as i n d i v i d u a l s a n d c o l l e g e s t u d e n t s f i r s t , without concern for our political affiliations

Fo r d e m o c r a t s , R o n Pa u l i s a Republican with whom they share serious concerns about American foreign policy under both Bush and Obama During the r unup to the Iraq war, Ron

from Brooks Brothers, fawning over your inter vie wer ’ s background and feigning interest in his experience at Yale

In shor t, it’s about conforming to their standards, sucking up to those above you, stepping over those below you and swallowing your self-dignity

And don’t think that once you enter the exclusive gates of these elite schools, you can simply quit No, it keeps going even after you receive your college diploma

more people to please and

climb It’s still about finding the administrators and

and managers at the top of

jumping on their coattails

game have become ever more expensive and exclusive, favoring only those who can afford to play by them

And unfor tunately, the statistics reflect this separat i o

Foundation, only three percent of undergraduates from 146 selective schools came from the bottom quar tile in terms of family income At the University of California at Los Angeles, some 40 percent of the freshman class came from families earning from than $100,000 annu-

And what does society eventually receive as the product? It’s gifted with the graduates from these prestigious institutions the leaders of tomorrow who will eventually be r unning our countr y ’ s banks and hospitals and occupying our political offices who have been doggy-trained to please their superiors and step over their underlings The more troubling question that we must ask ourselves is what they will do once they finally reach the top

And that brings us to the problem of diversity And this diversity is different than the one that university presidents love to speak about, illustrated by the expensive glossy brochures that feature a rainbow array of minority students surrounding a token white male It doesn’t concern race or religion or sexual orientation

Instead, it’s about the privileged and the unprivileged This diversity is about the insiders and the outsiders, those who live inside gated communities and those who live in the inner-cities And with college loans and tuition soaring, the r ules of the college admission

Paul was one of the fe w dissenters in Congress during a time when patriotic f e r v o r s q u e l c h e d m o s t c r i t i c i s m Hi s presidential bid in 2008 largely reflected the absence of serious public discussions about the lack of accountability, militar yindustrial complex and long-term fiscal consequences of repeated American milit a r y i n t e

by

2003 invasion of Iraq Almost a decade later, Americans are faced with a daunting 2012 federal deficit of greater than

$1 3 trillion and we, as college students of the early 21st centur y, will pay for it

This reflects many democrats outrage that recent concerns about deficit spending never seem to apply to American militar y expenditures, which amount to a whopping 43 percent of the world’s total militar y spending

For Republicans concerned about the f e d e

Bloomberg noted that “Except for Ron Paul, none of the presidential candidates has a credible plan for dealing with the nation’s deficit ” If recent austerity riots in Greece were not enough of a cautionar y tale, we should consider the longterm consequences of an exploding federal deficit, a problem we can t entr ust to those currently in power Republicans worr y about the

ty ’ s future among yo

about whether their candidates are comm

Steven Zhang

The Bigger Picture

ally

Sure, these universities release mission statements and create task forces pledging to broaden our university ’ s student body and help minorities achieve their goals But as long as we are choosing from the same pool of applicants who could afford to and have lived along these commandments their entire lives, the diversity at our top universities won ’ t change much

And so the bachelor’s degree, supposedly the societal bulldozer intended to even out all our socioeconomic bumps and valleys, has become just another express line to even greater inequality Now, just to become a par t of the so-called one percent, you already have to be a par t of it

Steven Zhang is a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences He may be reached at szhang2@cornellsun com The Bigger Picture appears alternate Tuesdays this semester

record dating back to the 1970s provides almost archaeological proof of a lifelong dedication to making tr ue his message of limited government We absolutely know where he stands and that he won ’ t budge For liber tarian suppor ters, the Ron Paul movement has often brought attention to serious issues long before their consequences were clear A decade ago, fe w analysts or exper ts anticipated the housing bubble, the financial crisis and yearly federal deficits over $1 trillion In comparison, Ron Paul warned of the bubble years in advance, when critics often dismissed him as the eccentric “Dr No” for his unflappable opposition to any bill in violation of the Constitution Since then, Ron Paul’s greatest achievement has been his success in fundamentally changing American political discourse and his ability to illuminate the subtle connections between social and economic issues Breaking from the status quo on key issues has not been easy, b u t d i s c u s s i o n s a b o u t t h e Fe d e r a l Reser ve, the War on Dr ugs or the limitations of American militar y might are no longer as eccentric or taboo as they used to be Even if his success has been limited in the voting booth, Ron Paul has widened public discussions enough that defending individual liber ty is not the impossible task it once was

Even so, a steady stream of critics have labelled Ron Paul as an “idealist” and “unelectable ”

Yet on issues like privacy, marriage, internet freedom and the War on Dr ugs, Ron Paul’s positions resonate not only with most college students, but with Americans in general With regard to marriage, Ron Paul argues that instead of politicizing marriage, government should refrain from defining it, leaving such choices to private citizens Earlier this semester, a Sun columnist wrote that

Ron Paul’s position on legalizing marijuana seems to draw only a small perc e n t a g e o f h

a Gallup Poll from October which found 50 percent of Americans in suppor t of

Republican presidential candidates, who

Online Piracy Act (SOPA), Ron Paul opposed SOPA as the inevitable next step in his consistent defense of internet freedom Yet Ron Paul is not just popular on those issues: A recent Rasmussen poll showed Ron Paul ahead of President Obama 43 percent - 42 percent Even so, questions of electability have constrained political discussions for far

tumultuous times often make those in political par ties even more cer tain of

obsessed with ensuring election victories at all costs As

result, valuable oppor tu-

vanish, leaving us with little meaning ful dialogue and no progress The paradox of Ron Paul is that h

building

inclusive “big tent

movement with power ful appeal among college students By forcing us to think about politics outside of typical par ty lines, listening to Ron Paul provides a fresh escape from unthinking politics and par tisan tunnel vision

Jacob Arluck is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences Zachary Delle is a sophomore in the College of Industrial and Labor Relations Dalton Vieira is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences They are members of the Cor nell Libertarians Cornell Republicans and Cornell Democrats respectively Comments may be sent to jea87@cornell edu Guest Room appears periodically this semester

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

BY ZACHARY ZAHOS AND GINA CARGAS Sun Arts and Entertainment Editor and Sun Staff Writer

If you are child of the 90s, there is a good chance you know who Kenan Thompson is Thompson hit teen stardom in Nickelodeon’s All That and Kenan & Kel Now he’s achieved widespread fame as a nine-year player on Saturday Night Live The Sun sat down with Thompson after his nostalgic show at Bailey Hall on Sunday to talk about the old days, starstruck compliments from Tom Hanks and the answer to our country’s economic woes

THE SUN: You hold a unique place in our generation’s culture and upbringing We grew up with your Nickelodeon work and bridged the gap to adulthood with you on Saturday Night Live You really are an icon of our childhoods How is it like to be such an enduring figure of this era?

KENAN THOMPSON: It s great, I mean it was a situation I ended up landing in so I try to own it Honestly I just try to do the job that is in front of me Right now, that is Saturday Night coming up with sketches, coming up with material I ve always been committed to doing good work, so I am glad people appreciate that

SUN: You have weathered the jump from kids’ shows to popular comedy Do you plan on continuing this for the rest of your life?

K T : Sure, I mean it’s not the only thing I am interested in; I grew up doing theater and basic drama, where we wrote our own plays and they were all very downtrodden about kids with AIDS, stuff like that They really pulled the heartstrings I like drama but I like shoot-em-ups too I just like the business; I like movies Great TV shows as well I love Sons of Anarchy

SUN: We have to ask: How’s Kel?

K T : From what I heard, he’s doing alright He just got married and my mom went to his wedding He’s living in California and still auditioning for individual roles You know, it’s a tough business I have been very fortunate

SUN: You just got married

K T : Yeah, I got married in November [The Sun fawningly exchanges “Congratulations” with Kenan ] It was fantastic I’d suggest it for everyone

SUN: Your colleague Seth Meyers came here last month He was very nice and gracious Have you ever seen another side to Seth?

K T : Not really I have seen him mad; I mean he’ll get flustered or whatever but within two seconds he ll be back to: So, how are we going to fix this?” He’s just a really cool, nice guy [SNL] is not a place for assholes, necessarily, because there is so much history there, like “Who do you think you are to be an asshole? It s not really that kind of place; it s a place where everybody needs each other, every department needs to be on their shit for a live show to happen A lot of egos go out of the door in the beginning, but we grow so close because we spend so much time together and are all under so much pressure and scrutiny, that it draws us that much closer They are all very sweet people

SUN: SNL occupies an increasingly political role for a lot of

Chillin’ With Kenan Thompson

young people There are plenty of teenagers and twentysomethings that don’t follow the news but religiously watch SNL How do you feel about this shifting audience and does it affect the way you guys write and play sketches?

K T : I know it affects how Seth writes, because he focuses on the political talk I’ll do a character because it is funny but not to drive an agenda, necessarily But I feel bad ripping on people when they are being genuine just because they’re crazy and they believe the crazy things they say I don t want to mock them straight-on but rather super exaggerate them They are crazy, but we are super crazy, so laugh at us and not at that person That’s a hard line to walk The best thing [those mocked] can do is own up to it and use that rock star status to keep promoting themselves, like Hillary and Bill Clinton Every President really Election years are funny years The power is in the hands of the writer

SUN: What s your favorite SNL character to play?

K.T : I have a few I like Lorenzo McIntosh [from “Scared Straight”] He has a sketchy backstory But my favorite skit to do is “What’s Up With That?” It’s fun, super musical and I do love music It s got a churchy feel to it, very down-homey We always get great guests We had Morgan Freeman and Ernest Borgnine that dude [Borgnine] is so great, he’s been in the game for like 90 years but he was so happy and asking, “What s your name? Nice to meet you! Thanks for having me!” It is nice to see people like that, famous for such a long time, and still so sincere Some people come through from Twitter fame and act like dickheads for six days and it’s a pain in the ass

SUN: Well, “What’s Up With That” has so far been employed eight times Why is that a go-to sketch for you and the writers?

K T : It’s fun, people like it It is fun to explore something that is working and see what else we can do with it to the point where Bill Hader plays Lindsey Buckingham and then we get the real Lindsey Buckingham You just do that to see how the sketch is going to grow

SUN: What is your craziest encounter backstage?

K T : They are all crazy It doesn’t matter who’s on the show, anybody could be backstage Tom Hanks pops up all the time like it s nothing He ll call you out by your name, saying, “ What’s up, Kenan, how’s it going? Man that show last week was great!” I’m shocked, like, “God, stop Tom Hanks, you are the best!” Spielberg has been around, even last night for Laser Cats You ll see literally ever yone who is majorly major Paul Simon is always around Paul and Lorne [Michaels] share a backdoor apar tment, like literally a back door that leads into each other s apar tment They are bestie friends, for real That s really cute, I mean it’s these two historic figures still being boyish It’s precious

SUN: You’ve played Theodore Roosevelt, Herman Cain and Cornel West, so we re going to go ahead and assume you ’ re an expert on American politics Our economy is still suffering What needs to be done?

K T : They need to fix it! [laughs] When I wake up in the morning and I have my Cheerios, I want everything to be fixed!

Zachary Zahos is a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences He can be reached at arts-and-entertainmenteditor@cornellsun com Gina Cargas is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences She can be reached at gcargas@cornellsun com

Ke n a n’s Nos t a l g i c Ni g h t a t B a i l e y

BY BRIAN GORDON Sun Staff Writer

Sunday night saw a mostly-filled Bailey Hall play host to former child star-turned Saturday Night Live mainstay Kenan Thompson as the sketch comedian extraordinaire held court for the better part of 90 minutes Thompson, who had just spent the previous evening schmoozing with the likes of Sandberg, Wigg and Sedakis on the SNL set, split his time on the Bailey stage into halves The latter half served as an open mic session during which the audience peppered the guest with a wide array of questions (though quite a few revolved around Thompson’s earlier years on Nickelodeon sets) During the first 45 minutes, Thompson retold his career odyssey, from landing his first role in Hollywood as the pudgy knuckle-pucker in Mighty Ducks 2 to reaching the mecca of sketch-comedy that is SNL Seeming to lack

any stand-up routine or prepared jokes, Thompson leaned heavily on the notoriety of his early Nickelodeon work to draw favorable reactions from the crowd And sure enough, the roomful of college students, who had spent their prepubescent years dieting on the comedic stylings of All That and Kenan and Kel, responded with uproarious applause to each reference Thompson made to the golden age of Nickelodeon The majority of the audience seemed simply hungry for references to Good Burger and impersonations of Pierre Escargot, and that is exactly what Thompson served them

In recollecting his journey from anonymity in Atlanta to prominence in Hollywood, Thompson played it safe, refraining from revealing anything too scandalous (or overly interesting) about his career One rather amusing anecdote involved Thompson revealing the intimate details of his one-onone conversation with Bill Cosby on the set of Fat Albert It was rather neat to discover that the perceivably wholesome Cosby advised the

young star to arm himself with another dick in order to handle all the ladies who would soon be coming his way

The Question and Answer session better showcased Thompson’s spontaneity About 20 questions were asked spanning from the hilariously revealing, “Did you ever do a sketch on Nickelodeon high?” (Yes, all of them) to the hilariously confusing Am I the prettiest girl in the whole wide world?” (Which drew a “ WTF” reaction from Thompson)

Someone inquired as to how frequently Kenan talks to Kel It was slightly saddening to discover that the two no longer speak to each other Sad because it’s quixotic to think the two fictional buddies who partook in hijacks and rampant tomfoolery at the corner grocery would remain tight into adulthood

Though as we all find out, real life isn’t all pranks and orange soda, which Thompson unintentionally made apparent by mentioning that Kel Mitchell auditioned for the spot on SNL at the same time Kenan did

Thompson’s humor touched a bit on race, as he commented how he was “the new blackness on SNL” after Tracey Morgan left One questioner dropped the “n-word” (referencing Ni**as in Paris), which caused an unsettling murmur to fall over the audience but Thompson placated any potential controversy by answering the inquiry without hostility (although he did comment that only certain people should use that word)

Expecting Thompson to arrive fresh with new material was a bit unfair considering he had finished his taxing weekly commitment just 18 hours earlier in New York City Instead, Thompson brought the audience on a nostalgic journey back to one of the only time periods that the college-aged crowd was old enough to feel nostalgic about And the sentimental crowd got what they came for, though not too much more

Raekwon Cooks Up Real Hip-Hop at the Haunt

BY PATRICK CAMBRE Sun Staff Writer

Cheers erupted from the crowd as Raekwon asked “Who here loves that real hip-hop?” His performance alone brought Ithaca’s true hip-hop fans out to The Haunt on Sunday night, but it was just one of the strong acts that showcased the evolution of the genre over a decade

First up was The Rapper H, a k a Harry Ehrlich, a sophomore at Ithaca College After meeting his roommate, who now doubles as his DJ, The Rapper H began writing rhymes and pursuing his dream of being an emcee Despite first performing three weeks ago, The Rapper H had the crowd bumping to his set, finishing off with his single “Mr Saturday ”

Next up was Sammus, a female rapper and PhD student at Cornell Sammus describes her style as “20-credit rap, ” and drew a series of “Oooo”s from the crowd with her clever wordplay and intelligent lyricism She descried the preoccupation with image and “ swag ” in rap, and even dedicated a song to real hip-hop as being individualistic and free Backed up by hypnotic, well-crafted beats, Sammus put on one of the strongest acts of the night, surprising many at The Haunt with her finale “Mayhem ” Maino then took the stage, launching into the feel-good Million Bucks” while the crowd waved their hands from side to side Suddenly his DJ stopped the track, whereupon Maino asked the crowd to “ put your hands in the air if you ’ ve got someone hatin’ on you, and if you don’t have your hands up in the air, then you a muthafuckin’ hater ” With all hands up, Maino had the crowd singing along to “Hi Hater ” With the crowd pumped up, Maino demanded that everyone put their middle fingers up as he performed “Nino Brown” off his new album Day After Tomorrow The

momentum Maino had worked hard to build up did not stop the crowd from bobbing their still-elevated hands to “Let It Fly ” Saving the best for last, “All The Above” had the crowd ready for more hip-hop as Maino left the stage

An unexpected moment during Sunday’s concert occurred between Maino and Raekwon’s performances, when the crowd sung along to The Notorious B I G ’ s “Juicy” word-for-word Besides serving as a barometer for

Chessboxin” came on Having built up the crowd’s energy, the crowd began their first Wu Tang chant of the night as “Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthin Ta F’ Wit” began After trading verses with the crowd, Raekwon paused to pay homage to Ol’ Dirty Bastard (O D B ) “We miss him,” Raekwon said, before starting with O D B ’ s famous verse from “Shame On A Nigga ”

the crowd’s excitement at this point, it was a reminder that only true hip-hop fans were in the building

These same fans immediately recognized the intro to C R E A M ” as Raekwon stormed the stage All of the tracks off Enter the 36 Chambers were extremely well received by the crowd and the crowd was more than happy to rap along with Raekwon as he cut into “Ice Cream” from his 1995 solo album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx Throwing up Wu-Tang “W”s with their hands, the crowd gave out a cheer as the intro to “The Mystery of

A Plea for Moderation

ConsideringBilly Joel and Seth Meyers entertained my last two visits there, I walked into Bailey Hall last Thursday unusually attentive No professor’s lecture can compete with hearing “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant” live for the first, and likely only, time By honor of association, I was all ears during Dr Paul Wolfowitz s 65 lecture on U S foreign policy Wolfowitz, along with Secretary Rumsfeld, was perhaps the most strident advocate for invading Iraq, the ignominy of which follows him to this day So why the hell did I agree with most of what he had to say?

I despise where Wolfowitz pushed our malleable country after 9/11, and in this column I often insult predominantly right-leaning political figures like ol’ Ricky Santorum But that doesn’t mean I am not going to listen to what this man traveled here to say

just he asserted that such missteps do not justify isolationism But nor are we prescribed to dominate the world the simple calculus in China and India’s growth rates prevents that It is more difficult than going all in or all out; there’s no “formula,” as Wolfowitz calls it, for finding that middle ground

Everyone at The Haunt was jumping to this track, and rhyming along in celebration of O D B ’ s life and the decade-long reign of the Wu-Tang Clan The crowd gave Raekwon a good deal of energy during the middle of the act and proved their knowledge of Wu-Tang lyrics by rapping along to every track “Y ’all are diehards,” Raekwon said of the crowd at The Haunt

“Protect Ya Neck” added to this almost impossibly-strong core of Raekwon’s act Taking the crowd back to 1994, Raekwon laid down his verse from Mobb Deep’s “Eye For An Eye” off The Infamous Next up was “Verbal Intercourse” from 1995’s Only Built for Cuban Linx , which the crowd responded to by throwing joints onto the stage “I’m saving these for later, Raekwon said

“Oooo baby I like it rawwww / Yeah baby I like it rawwww ” The crowd put on their best impression of O D B for Raekwon as he rounded off his own performance with “Shimmy Shimmy Ya ” Artists on the IceH20 record label JD Era and Kofi Black then came on and performed some hip-hop and R&B material off their own solo albums respectively Raekwon returned to the fore to perform his last song “Triumph It was a fitting end to a night of hip-hop that involved the crowd as much as the artists themselves Raekwon gave some love to his fans before concluding the concert “Ithaca thanks for coming out and showing your support for real hip-hop Peace ”

As Wolfowitz walked to the podium after a rather rousing introduction from Prof Barry Strauss, history, I forced a scowl and gingerly stabbed my right hand’s fingers into my other palm so as to not approve of his presence and yet not bring contentious attention to myself at such a Cornell Republicans event It was pretty pathetic Well, he started by praising the opportunities his Cornell education, through its world-class faculty and commitment to diversity, granted him I stared him down from six rows back I convince myself our eyes met and telepathically told him, “You’re making it really hard for me to hate you right now ”

He went on to recount the progression of 20th century international relations and America’s mostly positive role in that shift an opinion open for debate on all sides, but that’s for another column Basically, I found myself nodding in agreement to his active but non-domineering stance on how our country, with all its historic and present-day influence, can help steer the Arab Spring, Southeast Asia and Iran-Israel tensions to bright conclusions “Non-lethal aid” in Syria, for instance “ not tanks, but the tools to take down al-Assad’s tanks ”

While Wolfowitz seemed to acknowledge the failures of his Iraq war or at least that the perception of failure was

I am not here to preach politics or even to talk politics There are countless writers many on The Sun who can tackle the topic with more conviction than I But maybe that’s the point The fringe Capitol discourse of today has become a blood sport, with little to gain from extreme partisanship As Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert demonstrated with measured voices during their Rally to Restore Sanity (slash Fear yeah yeah), the silent majority lies in between We may register as Democrat or Republican two parties closer in ideology than you might think but we are likely moderates or variable independents at heart Gay marriage? Of course! $500 billion bailouts? Eh, not so sure Our people need health care But there are problems overseas, don t forget them too It is funny because

President Obama has made a controversial moderate of himself on that last point something Wolfowitz was willing to commend His handling of Libya’s uprising was acceptable, he admitted, though he was quick to add he didn’t think the same about the Administration’s role in Syria Wolfowitz acknowledged Senator Henr y Jackson and Presidents Truman, Kennedy and Reagan as his role models one Republican among three Democrats Clearly this man is not running for higher office

Oh, you poor reader You turn to Arts to get away from all this This section is supposed to be an escape, however brief, from the real world I apologize for rattling off my diplomatic opinions, as innocuous as they may be I can relate this to the current state of the arts: The “I only listen to shoegaze,” or “I only listen to metal,” or, and this is the

worst, “There’s no good music anymore ” camps If you have some aesthetic obsession over a certain style, knock yourself out, but you’ll get exhausted And to you blind extremists espousing such lies that “everything sucks,” music / film / art has always been good and will always be It is easier to obtain now more than ever You obviously aren t abusing your broadband connection

This column lacks that aforementioned conviction so many more persuasive and widely read writers possess This column is more of a stern shrug When it comes to dialogue on this macro scale, I rather dislike such certainty Consider a little relativism Consider that even those we call evil, Wolfowitz chief among them, may still offer valuable advice Consider that there are no 90-degree angles in nature (quiet, crystallographers): How likely is it that billions of DNA pairs, forming a organism wholly unique to this universe and a conscious mind seeing the world from an elsewhere-unseen perspective, will end up constructing a body built by Democratic or Republican blueprints? The late Christopher Hitchens, a nuanced independent who would challenge me to a debate over semantics if I labeled him a “liberal” or “conservative,” captured this struggle with brash efficacy:

“My own opinion is enough for me, and I claim the right to have it defended against any consensus, any majority, anywhere, any place, any time And anyone who disagrees with this can pick a number, get in line and kiss my ass

I Am Going to Be Small by Jeffrey Brown

Red Heads to First Scored Meet

TRACK AND FIELD

Continued from page 18

according to men ’ s head coach Nathan Taylor

It had about 30-35 schools there, he said “The most competitive schools were Penn State and Bucknell ”

The men ’ s team saw a number of strong per formances, including event wins by senior Ken McClain in the 400 hurdles, senior co-captain Dan Hagberg in the 110 hurdles, sophomore Montez Blair in the high jump, Peter Roach in the pole vault, and in both the 4x100 and 4x400 relays Freshman thrower and indoor NCAA finalist Stephen Mozia placed third in the discus and fourth in the shot put The 4x100 relay team of sophomore Chris Bain, junior Jedidiah Adarquah-Yiadom, senior Chase Aaronson, and sophomore Kinsley Ojukwu ran a time of 40 77 for the seventh best time in Cornell’s track and field history

general progress of the team

According to McFall, although the team is not ready yet, they will be by the time Heps comes around

“I don’t think we ’ re ready yet, but we ’ re getting there and we ’ re on the right track,” he said “We just need to keep doing what we ’ re doing, but it’s important not to get complacent ”

“All the different little pieces are starting to come together.”

R ic h B owman

For some of Cornell s athletes, the difference between qualifying for an important meet or not can be as seemingly minimal as just a few seconds Athletes like freshman middle distance runner Jade Williams are working to cut those seconds off to qualify for important meets for their team

C.U. Hopes to Win Geiger Cup

M ROWING

Continued from page 20

The women ’ s team saw five event wins including junior Victoria Imbesi in the javelin, junior Claire Dishong in the pole vault, sophomore Devin McMahon in the 10k, senior Megan Brown in the 3k, and in the 4x400 relay comprised of sophomore Ryan Woolley, senior Kelsey Reimnitz, junior Libby O’Brien, and senior co-captain Molly Glantz The women ’ s team saw 19 ECAC qualifying marks and seven alterations to Cornell’s all time top 10 lists

With the Heps meet approaching, the teams must continue to progress in order to be fully prepared to go after the outdoor title Taylor expressed that he was generally pleased with the progression of his team to this point in the season

“It s been pretty good, he said “I think we ’ ve had most of the areas of the team do reasonably well There have been some exceptional performances I’m pleased with the

“I’m hoping to get to regionals this year, ” she said So I really need to knock a second or two off of my 800 to qualify ” Bowman offered an interesting perspective on how the progression of these teams works

It s a little bit like a puzzle, he said All the different little pieces are starting to come together, and don’t really have that puzzle put together, but each week we have a different piece come up and do big things

Up next for the Red are two meets this weekend Some of Cornell’s athletes will travel to the Princeton Invite hosted at Princeton, while the rest of the team will travel to the Upstate Challenge hosted in Buffalo As the first scored meet of the season Bowman felt that his team will come closer together

“This is our first scored meet, ” he said “So I think people will really come together ”

Juan Carlos Toledo can be reached at jtoledo@cornellsun com

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more, ” Kennett said Comparing this race to the team ’ s performance in San Diego, he noted “We raced better I feel like we ’ re making some really positive strides ” Kennett went on to say that “from what I can see, we were under-stroking [Navy] so taking less strokes per minute We were matching a lot of their speeds; we moved back on them several times, which was the first time we ’ ve done that So there were some very positive things to the race, but we still didn’t quite put all of it together ” The second Varsity crew, meanwhile, finished with a time of 5:49 7, ahead of Syracuse (5:50 4) and Navy (5:54 8) The Freshmen 8 boat also crossed the line ahead of the Midshipmen and Orange, coming in at 5:49 3 a full eight seconds faster than second-place Navy Kennett said the third Varsity and second Freshmen crews also raced well, despite not winning

There was very little wind on the day, which made for ideal racing conditions As Kennett explained, “the Varsity raced the earliest to try to get the best water, and of course there was still a roll on the lake and that actually died down as the racing went on, so it went flatter and flatter it was great ” According to Kennett, the heavyweight squad’s crews have “stayed pretty close to the same a little bit of lineup changes, but that’s it just guys flipping around in seats to get a little more chemistry ”

This upcoming weekend, Cornell will welcome Princeton and Yale two “really good squads,” according to

Kennett to the Cayuga Lake Inlet

The Tigers are coming off a loss to perennial powerhouse Harvard, while Yale has been “winning a bunch of races ” Kennett said “It could be a really, really tough weekend, but a really fun weekend,” he added

Kennett spoke to the importance of using the Red’s knowledge of the Inlet to its advantage

It’s their home course if they don’t take advantage of every turn, of every landmark, it’d be crazy They know exactly where they are, they should be able to know where to push I’d like to think this would be a huge factor for them,” he said

Also on Saturday, the No 4 lightweight team traveled to Princeton, N J , for a doubleheader against the Tigers and Yale Bulldogs on Lake Carnegie Cornell edged Princeton in the first Varsity 8 race by a mere 0 3 seconds to claim the Platt Cup for the first time since 2007 The Red also picked up victories over the Tigers in the second and third Varsity 8 races, but fell in the first Freshmen 8 race by 6 7 seconds as Princeton went on to win the Harriet Cup Later in the day, Yale defeated Cornell in the Varsity 8 race for the eighth consecutive season The Red managed one win against the Bulldogs, which came on behalf of the third Varsity 8 crew

Cornell’s lightweight squad will travel to Boston on Saturday to take on Columbia and MIT with the Geiger Cup on the line

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

Valentine Questions Youkilis in Boston

BOSTON (AP) Kevin Youkilis' teammates came to his defense Monday after Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine questioned his commitment to the game and then apologized to his third baseman

During an interview aired Sunday night on WHDHTV, Valentine said he didn’t think Youkilis was as physically or emotionally into the game ” That dre w a sharp response from Dustin Pedroia before Monday's 1-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays

“I know he plays as hard as anybody I ve ever seen in my life I have his back and his teammates have his back,” the second baseman said After the game, first baseman Adrian Gonzalez also supported his teammate

“All you can do is tell Youk we love him All it says is we have each others’ backs,” he said “ We're pulling for each other on the field and in the clubhouse We’ve got a strong bond ” On Monday morning, Valentine said he apologized when Youkilis came into his office and asked for an explanation

“I don’t know if he accepted my apology,” Valentine said “It was sincere ” Youkilis had a poor spring training and is batting 200 (6 for 30), but Valentine said his comments weren ’ t aimed at motivating him After a 2-

for-20 start, he was 4 for 10 in the first three games against the Tampa Bay Rays He missed Monday’s series finale because of a minor groin injury

“I’m more confused than anything,” Youkilis said before the game “Everybody knows I go out and play the game as hard as I can ” If Valentine’s intent was to have Youkilis’ teammates rally around him, it may have worked

I really don t know what Bobby's trying to do, but that's not the way we go about our stuff around here," Pedroia said He ll figure that out The whole team is behind Youk ” Asked if Valentine was trying to motivate Youkilis, Pedroia said, “maybe that works in Japan” where Valentine used to manage

The manager said after the game that he spoke to Pedroia and “he’s cool He says he gets it ” Valentine took over on Dec 1 for the more laid-back Terry Francona, who led the Red Sox to two World Series championships in eight seasons Valentine said that in the interview he was just answering a question about how Youkilis may be feeling during early season struggles

“I don’t think he’s as physically or emotionally into the game as he has been in the past for some reason ” he said in the inter vie w before

Boston’s 13-5 win on Sunday “But (on Saturday) it seemed, you know, he’s seeing the ball well, got those two walks, got his on-base percentage up higher than his batting average, which is always a good thing, and he’ll move on from there ”

On Monday, Valentine said, “I should have been more specific Physical is about your swing emotional is about not being happy when he doesn’t hit a ball off the wall

Youkilis hit a career-low 258 last season, when he was limited to 112 games by several injuries Going into this season, his ninth with the Red Sox, he was batting 289 with 129 homers and 550 RBIs

He said he talked Monday with Valentine about the manager ' s comments but gave no details Youkilis said he doesn’t think his passionate approach to the game has changed

“I go out and just play the game It doesn’t matter one way or another There’s things that happened over the years with a lot of different things in baseball,” he said “For me it's not an issue ” Valentine said he doesn't want Youkilis to think “I was jabbing at him ”

“I’d be surprised if Kevin didn't know I was totally behind him,” he said “We’re big boys I think he’ll get it If not I'll talk to him a lot more ”

For Better or for Worse: NBA Postseason Predictions

With the season shortened by the lockout, this NBA regular showdown has flown by We’ve seen Jeremy Lin overtake Tim Tebow as America’s hero, Kevin Love become the undisputed best caucasian American basketball player and Dwight Howard challenge LeBron’s title as the most villainous player with his ridiculous trade request saga

Even more exciting is how the postseason is shaping up There are legitimately at least eight teams who have realistic hopes of winning the championship rarely do we have even five teams who are actual contenders Let’s take a look at how the NBA playoff picture is shaping up and profile the contenders

At the start of the year, the Heat were the overwhelming favorites to win its first title after getting a year to jell, getting Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller back healthy and adding veteran Shane Battier; in fact, 25 of 30 experts on ESPN predicted the Heat would win the championship Then the season started LeBron, Wade and Bosh seem no more comfortable together than last season, the team never developed a reliable supporting cast, and seemed to have forgotten how to play on the road (5-8 in the last 13) With all that said, the Heat is still one of the most talented teams Last year, it looked even worse heading into the playoffs and made it to the finals You cannot discount the Heat this season either Its biggest competitor in the East is the Bulls as long as it has a healthy Derrick Rose, it will be scary

As opposed to last season, when Rose was Options A through H, the supporting cast has developed confidence by playing so well with Rose injured (16-7) The team will still need him for the playoffs, but its experience without him should provide great confidence in the ability to win a championship

Out in the West, the Thunder are the nation’s sweetheart; the cute, organically grown team led by the humble, likeable superstar in Kevin Durant The media tried to tear apart this team by manufacturing storylines to create a rift between Russell Westbrook the shot-happy point guard, and Durant, but the team has stuck together and deflected any criticisms Speaking of Westbrook, he is playing angry this year; there is no better word to describe it His demeanor and scowl belong to a person who just had a drink splashed in his face pure, focused anger As long as Durant, Westbrook and James Harden do what they do, the Thunder will be the favorites to come out of the West

Unlike the Thunder, the Spurs were not supposed to succeed this season at all Everyone believed that the age and injury concerns of Duncan and Ginobili combined with the shortened schedule would make them a fringe playoff team, much less a contender Head coach Gregg Popovich fixed this problem by plugging in young, unwanted players around them and reducing his stars ’ minutes, while never skipping a beat The fact that players like Gary Neal (undrafted), Danny Green (previously best known for giving LeBron James great pregame handshakes) and Kawhi Leonard (rookie) are playing huge minutes attests to Popovich and the Spurs’ incredible ability to scout and develop

young talent Come playoff time, if Ginobili regains his form and the young guys play like they have, the Spurs will be one of the most dangerous teams in the West

For the Lakers, after losing Lamar Odom to retirement (Wait he played this year? Can we confirm it was him on the Mavs and not an imposter?), the Lakers were not given much of a chance, especially with Kobe’s aging knees and Bynum’s history of injuries Amazingly, Kobe leads the NBA in minutes played, while Bynum has somehow missed just one game due to injury in this shortened season Bynum has also developed into the clear-cut second best center in the league With bionic Kobe, a dominant big man, and Pau Gasol still playing near an All-Star level, the Lakers have a shot at another championship, as long as Kobe is actually willing to use the talent around him

Albert Liao

Playing the Field

After knocking off the Spurs last year and pushing the Thunder to seven games, the Grizzlies announced its presence to the rest of the league As recent as three years ago, the Grizzlies were the laughingstock of the NBA Its transformation into respectable franchise has been completely unexpected, amazing and boy are they scary They have the best perimeter defender in the league in Tony Allen, a do-it-all center in Marc Gasol, scorers Rudy Gay and OJ Mayo on the wing, and are working Zach Randolph the second best player in the entire playoffs last year back into shape The Grizzlies are a complete team It is scared of no one and ever yone has good reason to be scared of it

The Pacers have been the Grizzlies of the East; it had a sneaky-good season it locked up the East’s 3-seed and also have a ver y complete team Danny Granger and Paul George are the athletic, talented wings, Roy Hibbert and David West provide post defense and scoring and Darren Collison leads the team at point However, unlike the Grizzlies, the Pacers simply don’t have enough talent to compete with the Heat or Bulls, which really is a shame

After being pronounced dead at the All-Star Break, the Celtics have pulled off a 21-8 record since Rondo is playing absolutely amazing basketball, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett have regained their form, and improbably, second-year player Avery Bradley has developed into one of the best perimeter defenders and a decent offensive weapon The Celtics also have the most swagger in the league; it knows it belongs and believes it can win and that’s what makes the Celtics the biggest wild card in the entire league

With all these great teams and so many injuries in play, picking a team to win it all at this point is throwing darts at a board, but I might as well make a prediction on the off chance I get it right: the Thunder will take it all With playoff experience from the last two years, I believe its core is finally ready for the big stage Durant will finally get his first championship and hopefully, the team will be able to shut up the critics of Westbrook, who I predict will be the clear-cut best point guard in the playoffs this year Just don’t bring my predictions up if the Thunder gets kicked out in the first round

Albert Liao is a sports staff writer and colunist He can be contacted at aliao@cornell edu Playing the Field appears alternate Tuesdays this semester

Pipes Takes High Intensity Cycling World by Storm

By ROB MOORE Sun Sen or Writer

W h e n t h e c o m p e t i t i ve w o r l d o f

women ’ s cycling isn’t enough for Cornell graduate student Lenore Pipes, she ups the intensity of her training by racing against the men

“I like to race with the men Last week I almost got points and [the race organize r s ] s a i d yo u ’ re n o t s u p p o s e d t o g e t points ”

So while Pipes was allowed to wear a number and petal past many of the men, points were awarded to the next male to cross the finish line

Pipes picked up cycling in 2008 while commuting to Swarthmore College in Media from her home in Philadelphia

Encouraged by members of her road biking club, she forayed into the realm of women ’ s cycling just four years ago

Now, she is training six days a week and says, “the hills and the wind make Ithaca a challenging place to train ” Pipes takes larger rides in the winter months, which means four or five hours of riding at a sustainable pace

As the weather

road race in London this summer While she waits for the final selection of the team members in June, she is pursing a few high-profile International Cycling Union (UCI) races to increase her chances of selection Coming up are the Grand Prix Cycliste de Gatineau and the Liber ty Classic at the the end of May and beginning of June respectively

“I love so many aspects of racing: the competitiveness, the tactics ” Lenore P ipes

g e t s w a r m e r, she is transit i o n i n g t o higher intensity and shorter rides to fully prepare for the peak road season, the summer

When the first year graduate student is not in the saddle, she can be found in Adam Siepel or Chris Mason’s lab working on a project to build non-human primate reference transcriptomes (rRNA for those of us without a biology graduation requirement) Pipes is pursuing her Ph D in the Tr i - In s t i t u t i o n a l Pro g r a m f o r C o mputational Biology and Medicine which is a p ro g r a m i n vo l v i n g C o r n e l l’s It h a c a C a m p u s , We i l l Me d i c a l C o l l e g e , a n d Sloan-Kettering Institute “It’s difficult to balance studying and training, but I am used to it,” said the racer “My social life is pretty non-existent ” Over spring break, Pipes travelled to New Zealand for the Oceania Championships to represent her native Guam Disadvantaged by the fact that it is currently the peak of the road season in the southern hemisphere, Pipes returned disappointed in her performance, but enthusiastic about future races this spring “I love so many aspects of racing: the competitiveness, the tactics, and that the only way to get success is by working harder, and that’s directly translatable to your training ” More recently, Pipes has earned an Olympic Nomination for the women ’ s

Pipes was competing in the Liberty Classic for the past few years when she lived in Philadelphia but experienced a flat on the final lap last year “I’m hoping for b e t t e r l u c k t h i s ye a r I a l s o d i d t h e Gatineau race last year and finished 20th so I want to improve on that result ” When she is not riding professionally for the RIDECLEAN/PatentIt com Elite Women’s Cycling team, Pipes rides with the Cornell cycling team and has made a habit of blowing away the competition Within the past month, she has brought home first-place finishes all of her races including the Frozen Toed Opener Road Race presented by Rutgers Cycling, the Princeton Jersey Devil Road Race presente d by P r i n c e t o n University and t h e Lu x e t Velocitas Road Race presente d by Ya l e B u l l d o g Cycling which has a hill-top finish

The student athlete’s victories climaxed with a victory in the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference’s Women’s A road race, a second place time trial finish and a solid showing against the Men’s B field in the criterium

Her success on the collegiate circuit has qualified the top woman rider for the C o l l e g i a t e Cyc l i n g Na t i o n a l Championships, where she hopes to represent Cornell on May fourth through sixth Unfortunately, while the Cycling team president deems the competition an excellent use of club funds, there simply is not enough money in the budget this year for Pipes to go and represent the Red The Cycling team is technically a Cornell club like the Ultimate frisbee team and not a division of the athletic department

Despite Pipes’ knack for fierce competition, she is very interested in encouraging other college women to start racing, especially at the amateur level Currently, Pipes is serving as a recruitment officer and said, “We’re definitely looking for more people to join the club and go to the races We’re especially looking for women at whatever level ”

Rob Moore can be reached at rmoore@cornellsun com

The Corne¬ Daily Sun

Spor ts

Cornell Closes Season at Nationals

Fails to qualify as team, but looks ahead to next season

By REBECCA VELEZ Sun Staff Wr ter

This past weekend 12 members of Cornell’s gymnastics team attended the USAG Women’s C o l l e g i a t e Na t i o n a l C h a m p i o n s h i p s i n Bridgeport, Conn While Cornell did not qualify as a team, the individuals that participated took the meet as an opportunity to improve and perfect the routines they have been working on all season Day one of the meet consisted of qualifying rounds, with the participants split into two sessions The top five routines for each session then moved on to the final rounds

D e f e n d i n g c h a m p i o n s s e n i o r Me l a n i e Standridge on beam and sophomore Melanie Jorgensen on bars both qualified for the second round, along with junior McKenna Archer on vault who set a new personal record for her performance The three were also awarded first team all- American Junior captain Ashley Maher and senior Tiffany Chen both placed sixth in the qualifying round, and were honored with second team all-American status

At the end of the second day of competition, Cornell finished with three girls placing in the f i n a l s St a n d r i d g e i n s e c o n d f o r b e a m , Jorgensen tied in seventh for bars, and Archer in third for vault

“All in all, ever yone did great, ” said Maher “ We worked on some upgrades to add more difficulty to our routines, and ever yone completed them successfully for the first time it definitely helps us to look for ward to next year ”

In order to better compete at the national level, several of Cornell’s team members added extra features to their routines in order to start their scores at a perfect 10 0 Ma h e r a n d s o p h o m o re El i s e Ke r n e r b o t h added a full twist into their vault routines, and freshman Sammy VanderPutten added an additional half twist Sophomore Mackenzie Sato added a new tumbling pass to her floor routine in order to start with a perfect score

“It s all in the details, and is all ver y close, said junior captain Sarah Hein “ We hit ever y routine we put up, no falls We’ve been working on perfecting skills and fine tuning in practice, and our work really showed this weekend ”

While this is the first time in several years that Cornell was unable to qualify for the competition as a team, the results of this meet show a promising future for the Red “ We went and did what we planned to do, and I’m really proud of that ” said Maher “Our preseason starts now we ’ re looking for ward to getting in the gym and working hard ever y day to perfect our skills so next year make it as a team again ” “It was a great final weekend,” Hein said “ We had a lot of fun as a team, it was a great trip and we represented Cornell well as individuals If we carr y this mindset on to next season, it will really show, so we ’ re working to start off next season where we left off this year ”

Rebecca Velez can be reached at rvelez@cornellsun com

Men Win Six Events, Women Win Five

By JUAN CARLOS TOLEDO Sun Staff Wr ter

The outdoor season is in full swing for the Red as the men ’ s and women ’ s track and field teams are poised to make another run at the Heps title Both teams are progressing well this season now less than three weeks away from the Heps outdoor finals

This past weekend the Red is coming off a strong per formance at the Bucknell Bison Outdoor Classic where the men ’ s team claimed six events and the women ’ s team won five events this past weekend Women’s head coach Rich Bowman was pleased how his athletes performed at the Bucknell meet “It went very well,” he said “This was by far

our best meet of the year The momentum is building; we had a lot of wonderful things happen ” Junior middle distance runner Will McFall noted that a lot of Cornell athletes set personal records at Bucknell, something he attributed to the coaching staff

“We set a lot of [personal records] so that’s good looking forward,” he said “I think it’s important to attribute it to our coaches It s a long process that literally begins mid-summer and it’s really starting to pay off now with what we ’ re doing ” The Bucknell meet had a large field of competitors, some more competitive than others,

See TRACK AND FIELD page 18

R ed L o s e s G o e s Tro ph

Wins Stagg Point Trophy

By ALEX KUCZYNSKI-BROWN Sun Senior Writer

The men ’ s heavyweight Varsity 8 crew may have lost the Goes Trophy to No 7 Navy by only two seconds, but the Red did not come away from the Onondaga Lake Outlet in Syracuse, empty-handed, as first-place finishes by the second Varsity and first freshmen boats earned Cornell the Stagg Point Trophy

“I thought it was really good,” head coach Todd Kennett ’91 said of his team ’ s overall performance “I was really happy that a lot of the boats came up big far bigger than we ’ ve been seeing in some practices It was just a great race day anyway but the times were really solid ” Saturday marked the second time in as many weeks that the first Varsity crew faced Navy the first being at the San Diego Crew Classic from March 31-April 1 The Midshipmen once again got the better of the Red, this time by a margin of 5:48 3 to 5:50 2 The Orange finished third with a time of 5:52 0 The Varsity I thought was better than what they’ve been doing, but I still know they’re capable of

See M ROWING