04-19-13

Sigma Pi Brothers S ay

Man in Racial Attack

By JINJOO LEE

Victims described hearing additional racial comments including “Gary Coleman” and “Tyrone.”

n d ye l l e d r a c i a l e p i t h e t s a t a g ro u p o f b l a c k s t u d e n t s p a s s i n g by u n d e r n e a t h Mo r g a n Br a b b s , a re si d e n t o f Or l a n d o , Fl a , w h o w a s n o t a f f i l i a t e d w i t h C o r n e l l , p l e d g u i l t y t o d i s o rd e r l y c o n d u c t a n d w a s f i n e d $ 2 5 0 i n Ju n e T h e i n c i d e n t s p a rk e d o u t r a g e f ro m m i n o r i t y l e a d e r s a n d p ro m p te d s e ve r a l g ro u p s t o d e m o n s t r a t e a g a i n s t r a c i a l b i a s i n f ro n t o f Da y Ha l l Howe ve r, d o c u m e n t s re ve a l e d t h re e m a i n d i f f e re n c e s b e t we e n t h e S i g m a P i b r o t h e r s a n d B r a b b s ’ a c c o u n t a n d t h e v i c t i m s ’ a c c o u n t s W h i l e t h e v i c t i m s s a i d t h e y d i d n o t h e a r a n y b ro t h e r o b j e c t i n g t o

Br a b b s ’ c o m m e n t s , Si g m a Pi b ro t h e r s w h o g a ve vo l u n t a r y s t a t e -

m e n t s c l a i m e d t h e y e i t h e r t r i e d t o d i s c o u r a g e Br a b b s o r p u l l h i m

a w a y f ro m t h e b a l c o n y a t t h e t i m e o f t h e a l l e g e d a t t a c k

A f t e r t h e “ Tr a y vo n ” c o m m e n t w a s m a d e re f e re n c i n

C.U. Employee Jailed

After Environmental Protest

By KRITIKA OBEROI Sun Staff Writer

Three anti-fracking activists including a Cornell employee who protested against a company ’ s plans to build gas storage facilities in the Finger Lakes last month received a 15-day jail sentence Wednesday Melissa Chipman, Michael Dineen, a research support specialist at Cornell, and Sandra Steingraber were part of a group called the Seneca Lake 12, which protested the plans of Inergy, a propane supplier, to create natural gas storage facilities in underground salt caverns under and around Seneca Lake

page 5

The protesters blockaded Inergy’s gas compressor station site at the southwest end of Seneca Lake on March 18, keeping the company ’ s trucks out for an hour before being arrested for refusing to dis-

People’s School Takes Arts Quad

By NOAH RANKIN Sun Staff Writer

The People’s School, an open, studentorganized forum, returned to the Arts Quad Thursday as a spring installment of the same-titled event held in October

The People’s School invited people to start discussions about community concerns, according to event organizers, and held events over the course of the day, including discussions in the form of circles of people sitting on the Quad

Topics discussed during the course of the day-long forum ranged from ideas like collective liberation to current issues such as divestment, white privilege and police brutality

At noon, “the stump, ” a wooden pedestal meant to commemorate the 1960’s “ stump ” that was a center of student activism, was also brought out of winter storage for the event A poetry slam took place atop the

band, according to Reed Steberger ’13 Seneca Lake 12 includes three others affiliated with Cornell: Dennis Fox ’15, president of Kyoto NOW!, K C Alvey ’12 and Mahats Miller ’13, according to Steberger Fox and Alvey, who were fined $375 for trespassing along with the rest of the Seneca Lake 12, paid off the fines on March 20 using funds raised by the people of Reading and Watkins Glen, two towns near Seneca Lake, according to Fox Steberger said the Seneca Lake 12 protested Inergy’s plans to build the storage facilities because the abandoned salt caverns the company was eyeing have a high likelihood of exploding and damaging the community around them if used Steberger also said he sees the creation of

City Sees Uptick in Towing Following Street Cleaning

By MANU RATHORE Sun Senior Editor

i t s s t re e t c l e a n i n g p o l i c i e s

C i t y o f f i c i a l s s a i d t h e u p t i c k i n c a r s b e i n g

t owe d w a s a re s u l t o f a d e l a y i n s p r i n g s t re e t

c l e a n i n g , w h i c h t y p i c a l l y o c c u r s d u r i n g Sp r i n g Bre a k , w h e n s t u d e n t s a re a w a y f ro m c a m p u s T h e De p a r t m e n t o f Pu b l i c Wo rk s p o s t s t h e s c h e d u l e s o f t h e s t re e t c l e a n i n g s o n l i n e , s e n d s o u t n o t i f i c a t i o n s t o C o r n e l l a n d It h a c a C o l l e g e a n d u s e s l o c a l r a d i o s t a t i o n s a n d n e w s p a p e r s t o n o t i f y It h a c a re s i d e n t s b e f o re t h e c l e a n i n g t o n o t i f y re s i d e n t s , a c c o rd i n g t o C i t y C l e rk Ju l i e Ho l c o m b “ We d o a s m u c h a s we c a n t o g e t t h e i n f o rm a t i o

Ne ws, “ Ei ght C.U . Frat s P unished f or Hazin g, Alc ohol V iolati on s i n 201 2-13,” M on day

Sp eaking ab out his p erception of a rigid interpretation of ha zing

“Many asp ects of our pledging pro cess, such as memorizing our value statements or requiring some amount of community ser vice would b e considered hazing , ” he s aid in an email “A s I recall, these are the s ame things I had to do for National Honors S o ciety in high scho ol, and our group was never disbanded ” Renato Amez ’14, president of the Delta Tau Delta fraternit y

Tomorrow

Barnyard Fun Day / Student Livestock Show

9 a m - 4 p m , Livestock Pavilion

Baker Symposium: Catalysis and Synthesis at the Frontier 9:30 a m - 3 p m , Physical Sciences Building

Thai Festival 2013 6:30 - 8:30 p m , Memorial Room, Willard Straight Hall

You Are Not Your Resume: Christian and Atheist Economists

Discuss Life, Success and Happiness

8 p m , Alice Statler Auditorium, Statler Hall

“P

i n O rg aniz at ion s to Face S t uden t A ssem b

, ” Thursda y Sp eaking ab out the implementation of initiatives to encourage diversit y in student organiz ations “It would affect a ver y small numb er of student organiz ations next year, ” Gitlin s aid “The key thing is we ’ re s aying this is a value appreciating diversity and b eing an organiz ation that includes all communities on campus is a value of the diverse student b o dy ” Adam Gitlin ’13, Student Assembly president

up for a dozen or more years Divestment would mean selling these assets at a discount resulting in a loss for Cornell ”

President David Skor ton

Stresses Importance of Social Media,Technolog y

By ANUSHKA MEHROTRA Sun Contributor

Dr Luvelle Brown, the Ithaca City School District Superintendent, joined members of the Cornell community Thursday to discuss ways in which the district is hoping to use social media and technology to communicate to teachers, students and other schools

Brown focused the discussion on increasing the school district’s online presence through the use of social media, which he said can be a “tool to engage, empower and educate young people

“The district has a YouTube, Facebook [and] Twitter [presence] and is going to be launching an improved website this summer, ” he added

Brown also emphasized the importance of connecting the school district with Cornell as it seeks to increase the efficiency of its communications

“Everything we do has a connection to Cornell in some way We have someone from Cornell come and help us with all our initiatives It is very important for the ICSD and the University to work together,” he said

Some of the biggest areas of opportunities and challenges for the ICSD, according to Brown, include managing its use

With just two weeks of classes left, what is on your mind as the end of the semester approaches?

“How many CTB runs can I make in one day before it becomes a diagnosable problem?”

–– Tuna Melt Obsessor ’15

“How much reading I can put off before finals Oh, also, whether or not I should start going to class ” Slacker ’14

“How soon I can trade the TCAT for the urine-drenched, dark hole otherwise known as the subway Hey, at least it’s reliable!”

City Slicker ’15

“Are the massive black bags under my eyes temporary? Or will I forever look like a pale, out of shape raccoon?”

Concerned ’16

“Now that the semester is ending, maybe it’s time I finally drag myself to the gym That membership must be collecting cobwebs right about now ” Love Handles ’15 –– Compiled by Lianne Bornfeld ’15

of social media and its television presence

“As a school district, we have a window of time right now to do some pretty powerful things that can then be used as a model for folks all over the country, ” he added

For instance, the district has started broadcasting its board meetings under Time-Warner Ithaca,” said Seth Peacock, first vice president of the ICSD Board oEducation

“Brown’s commitment to communication has moved us forward,” Peacock said

Members of the audience were given the opportunity to ask questions and give advice to Brown at the event, which was hosted by communicators@cornell, a network of Cornell staff working in the field of communications

Ellen Hartman, a technical writer at the University, asked Brown about what methods of communciation the ICSD currently uses

“It might be interesting to develop a communications representative from the school to get feedback,” she said “Where are teachers getting their training to do more inclusive communication with the students?”

Responding to Hartman, Brown said the school district is working to promote effective communication between teachers and students through training sessions

“This past January, we had a day-long session for everyone on inclusive practices and [hosted] multiple workshops We have followed up with instructional coaching around this issue,” Brown said

Cal Walker, outreach liaison to the ICSD for Cornell, said it is important for the school district and the University to maintain close communication as the district moves forward with its initiatives

“We’re always looking to help connect resources at the University with the school district to collaborate in areas of mutual interest,” he said

Brown said he thought that the collaborative discussion was successful

“It was a wonderful opportunity to listen and learn,” Brown said “The conversation is a perfect example of the collaboration that the school district is trying to foster with the University ”

Anushka Mehrotra can be reached at am2359@cornell edu

Mock O il Spill Raises Awareness of Drilling

By EMMA QUIGLEY Sun Contributor

The scent of chocolate syrup wafted through Ho Plaza Thursday as student activists staged a mock oil spill to mark the three-year anniversary of the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster, the largest accidental marine oil spill in U S history

The students dressed in yellow cleanup suits while sponging off stuffed animal fishes covered in the syrup meant to imitate oil

“The display is hard to miss,” said Brendan O’Brian ’15, a participant of the demonstration and a member of the Sustainability Hub, a student organization advocating campus sustainability

The event included students and professors delivering speeches about the negative effects of offshore drilling

Prof Bruce Monger, atmospheric and earth sciences, spoke about the importance of “[raising] your voice in order to make things better and change things,” something he said he emphasizes in his class, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences 1540: Introductory Oceanography

“This isn’t somebody else’s stuff This is your stuff These are your whales and your fish as they are anybody else’s,” Monger said

The demonstration was sponsored by Oceana, an international ocean conservation group Throughout the event, students collected signatures for a petition the organization is circulating against seismic testing, the practice of searching for gas reserves and predicting earthquakes by blasting sound pulses in the ocean

Critics of seismic testing contend that the practice damages marine wildlife by blasting loud sounds and vibrations in the water

According to Alyssa Phelan ’14, Oceana’s petition will be sent to President Barack Obama to ask him to ban seismic testing

“[Such testing] would kill 130,000 whales and dolphins and create the possibility of another oil spill,” Phelan said

Alex Ilich ’15, one of the students participating in the demonstration, emphasized the need to provide a sustainable energy alternative to fossil fuels

“It’s one thing to say ‘ no drilling,’ but that doesn’t help if we don’t have an alternative,” Ilich said Ilich added that wind energy is a cost-effective way to provide power that could create three times as many new jobs as the oil

industry

Prof Chuck Greene, earth and atmospheric sciences, came to the event in support of his colleague, Monger Greene said there are many alternatives to oil that can “ power our society,” but said it is important to find sources that would meet society’s demands for power even “when the wind’s not blowing and the sun ’ s not shining ”

Emma Quigley can be reached at eq26@cornell edu

Activist Says ‘Now Is the Time to Fight’

PROTEST

Continued from page 1

the storage facilities as a move to facilitate fracking ahead of Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) releasing a decision on whether or not the state will remove a ban on fracking

“While Governor [Andrew] Cuomo debates allowing horizontal drilling in New York State, the fracking industry has been slipping in the back door by building infrastructure and trying to lock in our dependence on fossil fuels,” Steberger said

Fox echoed Steberger’s sentiments

“While New York State citizens are mobilizing to oppose hydro-fracking in the state, these same companies are entering into the communities with little to no regard for the people of these communities," Fox said

Although the Seneca Lake 12 among others expressed environmental concerns with fracking, others in New York State believe the practice is a valuable way to revitalize a struggling upstate economy

Fox said he believed the cause was worth risking arrest, citing community support

“What really sold the involvement for me, was the support from the community that we were organizing with They were overwhelmingly positive in their support for the people blockading the facility,” he said

According to a website maintained by Green Umbrella an environmental group affiliated with the protest five of the Seneca Lake 12 have already paid their fines in court, with many of them using money donated by inhabitants of towns nearby to pay the fines The final three protesters will appear in the Reading Town Court on May 1, according to the website

Both Steberger and Fox characterized the fight against Inergy’s creation of the storage facility as a fight for the future of the environment

“As students and young people, we recognize that the fight communities are facing on the frontlines is the same fight to protect our future,” Steberger said

Kritika Oberoi can be reached at koberoi@cornellsun com

Students: Warning Period Was Too Short

TOWING

spring’s street cleaning Rowan Bateman ’14 said he has had his

cleaning

“ They put up the signs at 8 p m and they expect the car to be gone by 8 a m , which seems ridiculous to me, ” Bateman said “Even if you were a 9 [a m ] to 5 [p m ] working person and got home at 6 p m and parked, then the car is gone when you are about to go to car at 8:30 to go to work ”

Adam Berggren, manager at Charlie’s Towing and Repairing

a s e r v i c e u s e d b y t h e

Depar tment of Public Works for towing said that Charlie’s has seen an increase in the number of cars towed in the Collegetown because of street cleaning this year

Berggren said Charlie’s has towed around 40 to 50 cars per day from the area during the

cleaning this week

Ho l c o m b c o n f i r m e d t h a t there has been an increase in cars towed this year, and attributed the increase to street cleaning t h a t u s u a l l y o c c u r

Spring Break being delayed

“Originally, the Collegetown a re a w a s s c h e d u l e d f o r s t re e t cleaning when the students were on Spring Break as there is a lower volume of vehicles parked o n t h e s t r e e t s , ” s h

d

“However, this year, it snowed on those dates, which postponed the cleaning of those streets to t h i s we e k , w h e n t h e re w a s a higher volume of cars on the street ”

Ho l c o m b s a i d t h a t

Deparment of Public Works is unsure as to why the signage was ineffective this year

Tyler Helmann ’13 said that students use their cars less frequently than other residents and thus need a longer period of notice

“If anything, there is an issue with not getting enough notice as students park for a longer term than other people might,” he said “It was probably the lack of me noticing that there were signs You also don’t see signs after your car is towed ”

Et h a n Ke l l e r ’ 1 5 a l s o s a i d that the warning period to avoid towing is too shor t “ Ev

warning, that does not seem particularly ample, especially if you are on vacation some where for two days or something,” he said “It seems like a week long warning would be more fair, especially because of the towing ”

“ We don’t want to tow cars as towing cars slows down operations, it is hugely inconvenient and there is huge cost for owners associated with it,” she said “At this time, we are not sure why the signage seemed to be ineffect i v e a n d s o m a n y c a r s w e r e towed ”

Manu Rathore can be reached at mrathore@cornellsun com

S chool Builds ‘Legacy of Public Discourse’

PEOPLE’S SCHOOL

Continued from page 1

stump, which was then moved to Ho Plaza, where it will remain until further notice, possibly through the summer, according to Marshall

“The People’s School is a group of students, faculty and staff seeking to engage in genuine learning,” said Christian Turner ’13, who led discussions during the forum on the topic of community

Daniel Marshall ’15, a People’s School organizer and member of the Bar ton Hall Community, a group of students that aim to “build community through discussion and action ”

“ The hope is that some people want to do something with [the People’s School],” Marshall said “It’s sort

of an assumption, too If you get people in a public space together to talk about their experiences in any way that they want to, you’ll get some sort of collective effervescence, and you’ll get some sort of organization out of that ”

Even though there have only been two People’s Schools this academic year, Marshall said he thinks that this kind of discussion may be more prevalent in the future, especially since topics like sexual assault, focused on in October’s forum, are still relevant to students

“ The issues that brought us here before have not been really dealt with,” Marshall said “I think one of the insights of the last People’s School is that these are issues of community and issues of culture When you think about ‘how do you build

culture,’ ‘how do you build community,’ it’s with conversations and people meeting each other in public spaces and talking about it It’s the beginnings of a slow process that might turn into people expecting to see things like this on campus, and then wondering why it doesn’t exist ” Other organizers of the event also praised the mission of the People’s School

“I think the People’s School is about building a legacy of public discourse at Cornell, in Ithaca and our communities back home,” Michael Ferrer ’16 said Aubree Keurajin ’15 said that the People’s School forum offers an experience not available in everyday student life

“I think it’s really important that there’s a space that people are able to come to and have

the conversations that need to happen, and there isn’t a space for that in other places,” said Keurajin, who led a discussion about divestment Ihsan Kabir ’13 said that the for um was incredibly easy to participate in and learn from, even if one didn’t necessarily have a lot of background understanding of the topic

“I think a big part of environmental justice and social justice is education,” Kabir said “I think [the People’s School] is a fantastic means to do that For someone who had only a one or two article background in learning about collective liberation, I thought they were very receptive [to me] ”

Noah Rankin can be reached at nrankin@cornellsun com

D ocuments D etail

Con icting Account s

l eg ed A tt a ck

v i c t i m s d e s c r i b e d h e a r i n g a d d i t i o n a l r a c i a l c o m m e n t s

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W h e n h e we n t t o t h e ro o f t o p, Br a b b s s a i d h e d e c i d e d t o t h row

a n o p e n c a n o f b e e r a t a t re e l i k e “ h e a n d o t h e r m e m b e r s o f t h e f r a -

t e r n i t y h a d b e e n d o i n g a l l d a y ”

Br a b b s s a w a g ro u p o f p e o p l e o n t h e s i d e w a l k w h e n h e s a i d i n

t h e d o c u m e n t s t h a t h e t o s s e d a b e e r c a n n e a r t h e m , a n d a b l a c k

m a l e w h o w a l k e d t o t h e f ro n t d o o r o f t h e f r a t e r n i t y ve r b a l l y c o nf ro n t e d h i m

T h e b l a c k m a l e , w h o s e n a m e w a s a l s o re d a c t e d i n t h e c o u r t d o c -

u m e n t s , s a i d t o p o l i c e t h a t Br a b b s t h re w n o t a b e e r c a n , b u t a g l a s s b o t t l e , i n h i s d i re c t i o n T h e m a l e a n d h i s f r i e n d s , w h o we re w a l k -

i n g b a c k h o m e f ro m a p a r t y, s a w t h e b o t t l e l a n d i n t h e g r a s s “ w i t h t h e n e c k o f t h e b o t t l e d u g i n , ” a c c o rd i n g t o a n o t h e r v i c t i m ’ s

a c c o u n t Br a b b s , h owe ve r, s a i d i n t h e d o c u m e n t s t h a t h e d o e s n o t

re m e m b e r t h row i n g a g l a s s b o t t l e t ow a rd t h e g ro u p No n e o f t h e b ro t h e r s s a i d Br a b b s t h re w t h e b o t t l e , a l t h o u g h t h e y s a i d Br a b b s

d i d t h row t w o b e e r c a n s n e a r t h e g ro u p

W h e n t h e v i c t i m s h e a rd t h e b o t t l e l a n d i n g o n t h e g ro u n d , t h e m a l e s a i d h e i m m e d i a t e l y l o o k e d u p a t t h e f r a t e r n i t y h o u s e a n d s a i d , “A re yo u s e r i o u s ? W h a t i s yo u r p ro b l e m ? ”

Jinjoo Lee can be reached at jinjoolee@cornellsun com

HANK BAO ’14 Business Manager

LIZ CAMUTI 14 Associate Editor ANDY LEVINE 14

RACHEL ELLICOTT 15

DAVID MARTEN ’14

SHAILEE SHAH 14

Editor EMMA COURT ’15

Editor

CAROLINE FLAX ’15

Editor

SAM BROMER 16

& Entertainment Editor

SARAH COHEN 15

BRYAN CHAN ’15 Associate Multimedia Editor

SCOTT CHIUSANO ’15

Assistant Sports Editor

MEGAN ZHOU 15 Assistant Design Editor

BRANDON ARAGON ’14 Assistant Web Editor

ANNA TSENTER 14

ERIKA G WHITESTONE 15

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RATHORE ’15

Below is The Sun’s official endorsement for Cornell’s next undergraduate student trustee In order to be most responsive to the diverse needs of our readership, we opted to make it custom-tailored to any and ever y member of the campus community Pick your own goddamn candidate, and fill in the blanks with relevant buzzwords as you see fit

In the race for undergraduate student trustee, the choice could not be more clear is by far the most candidate for this position, and his/her sets him/her well above the other candidates If elected trustee, we will be excited to see follow through on the goals outlined in his/her platform For instance, he/she has promised to increase for ; prevent further administrative ; and save the from University control Although we do not presume to know whether the other candidates are morons who got into Cornell as a result of connections or just pure dumb luck, we feel safe taking an educated guess that this is true

Assembly/Council/Board/Committee will help him/her fulfill the role of a trustee Although the student trustee is only one of 64 members of the Board of Trustees and probably holds less than percent of its influence in practice the position is still extremely/ver y/super/the most important The student trustee is all that stands between and the apocalypse For those of you who have spent more time this week -ing about this race than -ing, it will be well worth it when is elected next week

We believe it is not hyperbolic to assert that is the only solution to all of the University’s most pressing problems Rising cost of tuition? is ON IT Sexual assaults and bias incidents? A vote for is a vote for safety Looking for someone to preser ve fratstar life at Cornell? Go with (Or, he/she has vowed to advocate demolition of the Greek system if that’s what you ’ re into ) If you give a crap about our good green earth, you better believe your only option for student trustee is If you don’t support him/her, we believe you must be racist/sexist/homophobic/ugly, as well as a supporter of the destruction of this University We urge you to vote accordingly

h e n o n e t h i n k s o f C o r n e l l

WUniversity, what is his or her first thought? Its Ivy League recognition, top-notch faculty and research certainly come to mind as they are all factors that help distinguish Cornell from other institutions all over the world In fact, the United States is home to many of the world’s leading academic institutions, and the value of a meaningful education has always played a significant role in shaping the views and beliefs of the American people However, in recent memor y, this “American value” has encountered sharp criticism Despite several decades of reform, public education in the U S is now often associated with inequality of oppor tunity, achievementbased outcomes and low graduation rates With this in mind, universities like Cornell can be seen as a sort of safe haven from all that has plagued the American education system: They provide an intellectually stimulating environment for their students and tr y to ensure that each student grows into a thoughtful, motivated and engaged citizen However, in light of recent events, this may not be the case anymore

Unfortunately, this perception of the University as a place where knowledge is created, sustained and renewed for the betterment of its students has recently been c a l l e d i n t o q u e s t i o n Ac c o rd i n g t o Bloomberg News, Republican governors in quite a few states are pushing to link “funding for universities to graduates’ success finding jobs, saying schools need to provide students with the skills employers demand ”

In p a r t i c u l a r, g ov e r n o r s R i c k S c o t t o f Florida and Scott Walker of Wisconsin attacked degrees like anthropology and gender studies, claiming that they don’t prod u c e o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r p o s t - g r a d u a t i o n

employment According to North Carolina Governor Pat McCror y, states should support universities based “ not on butts in seats, but on how many of those butts can g e t j o b s ” U l t i m a t e l y, t h e s e

degrees lead to “unemployable graduates,” funding for these programs should be cut and reallocated toward degrees with more “economic value ” A couple of things are lacking in this argument What exactly does the “ economic value” of a major or degree even mean? And what kind of skills are employers demanding? These governors might have a specific idea of what is “economical” or

“skillful,” but these concepts constantly change and reinvent themselves as time goes on and the job market adapts For example, 60 years ago, computer skills were not in high demand modern computers and other technological devices that are commonly used today didn’t even exist yet Nonetheless, there were still students that majored in computer science Of course, with the rapid modernization that occurred during the last centur y, these skills have never been more desired by employers

Thus, the idea that certain majors provide students with the “skills” and “economic value” that they need in order to be employable upon graduation is a constructed and normative concept; as the world around us changes, the skills that are needed change as well, ultimately changing the value of what we study in college

Fu r t h e r m o re , w h e n t h e s e g ov e r n o r s argue that degrees like anthropology and gender studies do not provide students with the skills they need to be successful postgraduation, they’re not only diminishing the reputation and quality of the U S ’ s leading academic institutions but also calling into question the ver y values and traditions that this countr y was founded upon Our world thrives and sustains itself on progress Whether that involves biological, technological or intellectual progress, the one tool that is necessar y for any advancement in society is education Regardless of what is being studied, providing people with an environment that fosters intellectual growth and mental stimulation is crucial, as it produces world citizens who are aware of their surroundings and are ready and willing to make an active contribution to society If the leaders of our countr y decide that certain areas of study are not important enough or worthy of our time and money, then a proverbial slope will surely be created, until all subjects are deemed worthy or unworthy

As our governors fight over how valuable a degree in anthropology is, remember not to take for granted the education that we all receive at Cornell Cherish the fact that we have the choice to study whatever our hearts desire and hope that that right isn’t taken away from us anytime soon

Ariel Smilowitz is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences She may be reached at asmilowitz@cornellsun com Why You Should Care appears alternate Mondays this semester

Rudy Gerson | Rooting Around

If It Bleeds, It Leads

One day after the tragic explosions that interrupted the Boston Marathon, The New York Times ran a front page story entitled “Blasts at Boston Marathon Kill 3 and Injure 100 ” Of course, I learned about this tragedy much sooner from the numerous iPhone notifications, the general buzz on campus and the abundance of Facebook posts filling my news feed

Students, faculty and staff alike have all been mourning with family and friends affected by this unfortunate event However, I simply wasn ’ t taken over by a similar overwhelming sense of loss Fortunately, I was not personally affected by this tragedy I had no family or friends in Boston I didn’t identify with the nationalistic sense of invasion, and I struggled to feel the same emotions many around me seemed to be expressing I felt confused

I couldn’t help but think of every other tragic story happening in the United States, and even abroad, that goes untold What about the explosions at the Boston Marathon made every news outlet around the world run it on their front page? From BBC to al Jazeera, and even Spain’s national newspaper El País, this story made the front page Perhaps the international appeal of the marathon and the myth of American domestic security made this story that much more exceptional I don’t know exactly, but I know I couldn’t help but think of all the other tragedies we don’t seem to talk about

Let me clarify: I am not downplaying the tragedy of this event, nor am I trying to delegitimize the mourning of all those who have been affected These are simply my personal struggles

As I scanned the rest of the front page on Tuesday, I came across another headline, which read “For 3 Years After Killing, Suspec

Jail

” This particular story outlined the ruined life of a young man suspected of murder who has waited in jail for more than three years for a trial that never seems to come His life is forever changed, his mental condition is immeasurably scarred and perhaps unsurprisingly, he is black

I wonder how many stories of pending court cases like this are left unreported to the American public The right to a speedy trial has become an illusion for many who lack the resources to hire a lawyer or post bail I thought of all of the stories that detail the particular flaws in our criminal justice system, and how the American public simply is not talking about the forms of racial control manifested in the current reality of mass incarceration Racial undercaste doesn’t ring like the word “ terror ”

This journalistic creed comes to mind: “If it bleeds, it leads ” What makes a story more “ingestible” than another? Why do the everyday tragedies of growing structural inequality within America not cause us all to mourn like the attack on the Boston Marathon has? I am fascinated by what makes the front pages of our newspapers and what does not, defining the very content of our daily conversations

In a globalized world, when nearly every catastrophe on earth can be seen with a click of a button, where do we draw the line about what we consider our problems and what we consider out of our hands? We now look back to the Holocaust as a tragedy of intervention If American forces only intervened sooner, many lives could and should have been saved But what about the millions dead in North Korea? Or the 70,000 and growing in Syria? Upwards of 20 improvised explosive devices go off in Afghanistan per day, and we don’t even blink an eye (Thanks, Professor Patel) Is it our varied expectations for security around the world?

We expect our domestic security to remain perfectly intact when our country is heavily involved in countless wars and conflicts abroad

Terrorism has become our nation’s call to action Congress rushes through bills that deal with national security against terrorist threats, but can ’ t seem to pass reasonable gun control laws or judicial reform The rule of law is put on hold for extrajudicial actions taken to “fight” the War on Terror, but what about the war on minorities, on gays? What about the struggles and domination occuring between American citizens everyday?

In mourning the lives taken and the innocence lost from the tragedy in Boston, I think of the tragedies of those who aren ’ t given a voice here in our backyard and around the world It’s difficult to mourn for some when so many are ignored

Comm en t of the day

Ia

“The author maligns ‘overwrought tropes’ such as ‘accountability’ and ‘YOUR voice,’ but promises his vote to any candidate who will take a few more swings at one of the deadest horses around: being ‘against hazing ’ Everyone is ‘against hazing ’ I’m no longer on campus, but I would be shocked if the student trustee candidates weren't already tripping over themselves to declare their stances ‘against hazing’ in some hideous neon chalk drawing, or passing out vacuous quartercards bearing the same meaningless message ”

Thomas Paine

Re: “GUEST ROOM: Student Trustee Candidates: Come Out Against Hazing,” Opinion published April 18, 2013

D efending Your Rights

A s a Tenant

was out of state during winter break when I learned from a housemate that our apar tment had been burglarized Our front door had been pried open with what we assumed must have been a crow bar; the TV from my room stood on the floor by the front door, as if someone had left in a hurr y; and items had been removed from our bedrooms and arranged in piles in the living room, in a manner reminiscent of the ways children arrange their candy after a n

treating so they can trade it with their friends

Once the initial

However, my anger was not directed at the burglars as much

toward my landlord (I will not mention my landlord by name here, but here is a clue: the same landlords who take care of the property where the porch collapsed under Cornell students last fall), who, I believe, failed to take minimal precautions to prevent the theft from occurring in the first place

In October, my housemates and I informed our landlord that our

g stolen One housemate lost a pair o

bir thday cards containing cash and checks and I lost a hilarious beer hat When one of my housemates informed our landlord about the thefts, my landlord merely asked him whether he had filed a police repor t Only when our mail continued to go missing did our landlord send out an email (at my request) to the tenants in the building stating that mail and packages had been going missing, that the police had been aler ted and that packages could now be sent to their office

However, because my landlord did not install a lock on the front door of our building, which leads directly to the mailboxes, or on the mailboxes themselves, our mail con-

tinued to go missing One would assume that installing a lock on a front door and several mailboxes would not be too much to ask of a landlord, considering the fact that landlords have a legal obligation to take minimal precautions to ensure that their tenants have a safe place to live Yet, although my landlord knew that someone had been habitually coming onto the property and stealing his or her tenants ’ mail, he or she failed to do either of these things before the break-in at my apartment

directly into the body of the email

3 Attach the PDF version of the guide, with the relevant sections highlighted, to the email and send

4 That’s it! Now sit back and wait for your landlord to respond

6

S o o n a f t

n , I exchanged emails with my former proper ty professor, who advised me to look up the Ne w York Tenants’ Rights Guide

Prior to discovering the guide, I thought that I was powerless to hold my landlord accountable for failing to take minimal steps to s e c u re m y b u i l d i n g T h e g u i d e , however, changed ever ything It not only helped me identify my rights under Ne w York State law, but also gave me the confidence to demand them

The best par t about the guide is that you don’t need to be a law student or a lawyer to understand it So, without fur ther adieu, here is how YOU, the lowly tenant, can take steps to learn about and protect your rights:

1 Download the PDF version of the guide from the website, look through it to identify any provisions your landlord has breached and highlight those in the PDF

2 After you ’ ve identified and highlighted the relevant provisions in the guide, draft a respectful yet firm email to your landlord regarding the provisions you identified in the guide and copy and paste the

Obviously, it is always preferable to completely avoid dealing with an unresponsive landlord However, if you ever find yourself stuck with

your rights as a tenant, remember that you can protect yourself by using the guide (however, please avoid doing anything drastic, like suing your landlord or withholding

lawyer) With the

account dwindling, I look for ward to recovering my security deposit (

course) My hope is that, after reading this ar ticle and the Tenants’ Rights Guide, you too will be able to asser t your rights as a tenant and look for ward to getting back your security deposit

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Too Many Twists, Too Little Heart

ZACHARY ZAHOS Sun Associate Managing Editor

At a fleeting moment of calm about an hour into Trance, a seductive hypnotherapist named Elizabeth (Rosario Dawson) looks into the eyes of the man next to her and asks, “What is a person, Franck?” Franck, a suave art thief played by Vincent Cassel, keeps his eyes to the ground and responds, “Not my line of work ” As I do what critics do and try to glean some profundity from this film, perhaps I should accept that Trance occupies a different “line of work” than Danny Boyle’s more ambitious works, like Trainspotting, 28 Days Later and 127 Hours The director’s colorful and kinetic style still gets your heart racing, but it’s all just spectacle over a schizophrenic story with characters too cold and convoluted to touch

Blame the film’s clinical and surprisingly unfunny tone on its “puzzle film” structure, a popular form of modern movie storytelling that reaches a breaking point in the hands of screenwriters Joe Ahearne and John Hodge The “puzzle film” establishes an accepted version of reality and breaks it through one or many plot twists, all of which conspire to trigger to borrow a colloquial term a “mindfuck” in the viewer (think Inception or The Usual Suspects) Trance takes this formula to an extreme, loading three back-to-back plot twists into the last 30 minutes This barrage of information reduces characters to cogs of an overly complicated and leaky plot, devoid of any humanity that made them relatable in the first place

house robbery of a multi-million dollar painting For some reason, Simon goes off-script and assaults Franck during the hand-off, receiving the swift end of a shotgun to his temple in return As it turns out, the package Simon hands over does not even contain the painting, Francisco Goya’s Witches in the Air, and its whereabouts go unknown to everyone, including Simon, because that blow to the head wiped out his recent memory After a needlessly gruesome torture scene, Franck forces Simon to enter hypnotherapy, where Elizabeth can unlock his memories and find that elusive painting As you can probably guess, the movie cares less and less about the painting our “MacGuffin” as it moves forward

McAvoy, Rosario Dawson

Reorganize the nonlinear procession of scenes into chronological order and you will grasp what happened, but certainly not why

With all the film’s twists and turns, this plot summary will stick to the strong opening 20 minutes, which hint at the layers upon layers of motivation driving these characters Up to his neck in gambling debt, art auctioneer Simon ( James McAvoy) agrees to collude with Franck and his gangsters in their auction

For its first half, Trance puts a welcome spin on the crime film genre by having a bunch of macho gangsters literally sit around and wait for a meek Rembrandt enthusiast to deal with his feelings Elizabeth recognizes that many of the obstacles that prevent Simon from restoring his memory involve his fears of Franck or infatuation with her, so she organizes some pretty weird role-playing in order to put Simon at ease, let us say This leads to one of the more inexplicable visual motifs in all the annals of film history: Rosario Dawson’s pubic hair, or lack thereof For Simon, the sight of it sets off a way of reconciling his memories and the lack of irony as to its inclusion should strike us all as inspiring, if also unabashedly stupid This explicit sexuality segues into a much darker third act, where the men turn into hypermasculine machines that murder, rape and commit domestic violence During this bedlam, Elizabeth plays a more central role, making for a nice thread of female empowerment, yet it comes out of nowhere and latches onto characters who, after so

many plot twists, we have ceased to care for Trance boils down to an exercise of style over substance, but with Boyle and cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle at the helm, oh, what style it is A pioneer in the now-dominant realm of digital cinematography, Dod Mantle shoots films like almost no one else, except perhaps Roger Deakins (Skyfall) Through his high-definition lens, London highways throb like blood-red veins and neighborhood restaurants radiate fluorescent blue Boyle and Dod Mantle achieve a distinctly modern visual look, although they call back to old films like The Third Man, with abundant canted angles and nocturnal European cobblestone streets Pause the film at any second and you ’ ve got yourself a desktop wallpaper

Danny Boyle directed Trance in the midst of overseeing the opening ceremony to London’s 2012 Olympic Games He deserves praise for maintaining his prolific output, and lesser efforts like Trance are easily excused when put in this context

Besides, very few acclaimed directors these days work at such a pace; the studio system giants back in the day did and they oversaw their fair share of duds (Hitchcock’s Topaz, Bergman’s The Serpent’s Egg) Maybe “dud” is too strong McAvoy, Cassel and Dawson bring their own assets that complement Boyle and Dod Mantle’s visual feast But beauty, in all its forms, cannot salvage a story that mistakes complexity for nuance and shock for awe

Zachary Zahos is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences He can be reached at zzahos@cornell edu

This year marked the 66th anniversary of Jackie Robinson’s opening season in Major League Baseball However, this Jackie Robinson Day (April 15th), baseball players’ ceremonial abandonment of whatever jersey they normally wear in favor of one with the number “42” seemed particularly significant This, of course, is due to the release of the film 42 on Friday a biopic that celebrates the life, the career and the legacy of one of baseball’s most iconic players

42 tells the heroic story of how one man changed the course of baseball and American history, overcoming enormous obstacles to become a household name, a champion for equality and a damn good ball player

Although some historical inaccuracies create a mythic quality about the film, there would be no purpose served in telling this story any other way 42 does not claim to illustrate a complicated portrait of an American icon or the nuanced relationship between Robinson and Brooklyn Dodgers’ club president and general manager, Branch Rickey

42 is a standard and formulaic sports movie with all the familiar tropes of a film of that genre and I say that in the best way Formulas exist for a reason, and as long as films are well-written, well-acted and interesting looking, they can be great films (see Silver Linings Playbook, the epitome of an excellent romcom, for proof ) Just because 42 is a fairly conventional sports movie, does not mean it’s not worth your time

the historical scene upon which Jackie Robinson entered the world of Major League Baseball in 1947: the celebratory return of America’s boys from World War II and more importantly, the return of America’s baseball players, all 400 of which were white

This was particularly troubling to Branch Rickey, played beautifully by Harrison Ford in one of his first consciously “old” roles, who realized the need integrate baseball

Although the film does portray Rickey as somewhat of an activist, 42 does a great job of balancing this ideal of activism with the hard facts: As shown, Rickey understood the amount of money he could make with an African American on the team due to the Dodgers’ diverse fan base

City Monarchs

teammates use the white bathroom by convincing him that allowing the entire team to do so would result in a lucrative sale

In addition to its visual wonders (the baseball uniforms were cuter, the cars were gorgeous, and Rachel Robinson’s dresses and hairstyles were adorable), 42 succeeds in interspersing clever dialogue with the appropriate amount of cheesy one-liners Like the cheesy moments in the game of baseball itself (the Seventh Inning Stretch for example), there is the moment in the film when the formerly racist Dodger embraces Robinson in front of a crowd shouting racial epithets But for the most part, 42 avoids being overly saccharine

ing attitude Alan Tudyk, best known for his comedic roles, plays the despicably racist coach of the Phillies who defends his actions by pointing out he is just as terrible to Hank Greenberg and Joe DiMaggio as he is to Robinson He is presented not as one crazy individual, but rather as someone who just articulates society’s views albeit more loudly

42 also does not alienate those who might not be as big of a baseball fan as myself

Though I would argue that it is especially enjoyable if you do like watching baseball or appreciate the references to other baseball greats like Ty Cobb, only a basic understanding of the rules is necessary to follow the baseball-y parts of the movie (they’re basically the same as kickball)

After some laughs and tears, and couple bits that went on a little too long again like the game of baseball itself at the end of 42, one leaves with a sense of accomplishment: we did it! We integrated baseball! The bad guys get traded to the Pirates, the good guys all get into the Baseball Hall of Fame, Jackie Robinson is joined by Don Newcombe and Roy Campanella and everyone can pat themselves on the back for a job well done

42 is entertaining and heartwarming, but it’s important to remember that it is still a fictionalized version of history As long as you keep in mind that racism didn’t end when Jackie Robinson won Rookie of the Year in 1947, it’s all good 6 6 Ye a r s L a t e r, 4 2 L i ve s O n

The film opens with a montage laying out

This theme, equality through cash, is woven throughout the film Early on, when Robinson (Chadwick Boseman) is still in the Negro Leagues, he convinces a racist proprietor of a gas station to let him and his Kansas

Indeed, not every Dodger is ultimately won over by Robinson’s skill The film also reminds viewers that racism wasn ’ t (and isn’t) just a southern phenomenon or just expressed by a few vocal outliers, but rather the prevail-

Julia Moser is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences She can be reached at jmoser@cornellsun com

o s l i n g ,

BY MARK DISTEFANO Sun Staff Writer

Derek Cianfrance burst on the scene in 2010 with Blue Valentine, a quietly devastating, scrappy and thoroughly realistic look at the formation and deterioration of the bond between man and wife Three years later, his next effort proves itself to be sprawling and overzealous while still managing to be thoroughly engrossing throughout While The Place Beyond the Pines isn’t exactly lean, rest assured, it is mean

o o p e r S h i n e i n P i n e s

like we follow Henry Hill through the Copacabana in Goodfellas Then, we get to see him make several furious getaways Cianfrance undercranks the camera as Gosling rips down the road on that chopper, in hyperspeed time lapse, against the trees in the movie’s title

Ryan Gosling plays Luke, a tattoo-covered, chain-smoking motorcyclist with bleached blonde hair and an explosive temper Things pick up when he learns a previous one night stand with his friend Romina (Eva Mendes) has produced a baby boy named Jason Luke’s discover y prompts him to close the book on his reckless gear-head life and prevent his son from turning out the way he has There was some speculation that Gosling could have been rehashing his work on Drive here, but the results are all to the contrary Gosling brings ferocity and a touching warmth to his scenes with his infant son

Working a nine-to-five to provide for his son isn’t exactly in the cards for Luke A better alternative, as suggested by his mechanic buddy (Ben Mendelson- fantastic), is robbing banks In the sequences that follow, Cianfrance and cinematographer Sean Bobbit show off some phenomenal camerawork We get to follow Luke from his trailer to his bike in a long, flowing tracking shot,

GThat’s only one third of the movie It isn’t for some 45 minutes that we pick up Bradley Cooper as Avery, a cop destined to clash with Gosling’s rough-riding outlaw The resulting scuffle turns Avery into a local hero in the suburban town of Schenectady, New York Like Luke, Avery is a father to an infant son, and is saddled with guilt and circumstances of corruption In his case, corruption takes the form of a crooked investigator on the force (Ray Liotta), who insists on bursting into a home without a warrant to steal illicit money With a scarce amount of screen time, Liotta is terrifying to watch as he goes from being Aver y ’ s father figure to his enemy On top of this, Avery’s family life is inextricably intertwined with Luke’s family in a way that can ’ t be revealed without spoilers Let it suffice to say that Avery has dark secrets in his past, and his sweeping them under the rug is detrimental to the future of his son, A J

For its final and best third, the movie leaps forward fifteen years, and zeroes in on these troubled fathers’ sons, in their teenage years Ma j or props to Gosling and Cooper for their gutsy, close-to-the-chest performances, but they are bested by Emory Cohen as A J and Dane DeHaan as Jason

The credit for making the last of the film the boldest and most powerful section belongs to these two young actors, who are downright spellbinding as they get inside the heads of these boys Cianfrance wisely keeps us fixated on the confusion, torment and familial abuse both of them undergo, and it pays off in spades

The two boys become friends through casual conversation at school Jason’s parents refuse to tell him anything about his biological father A J ’ s dad senselessly attacks him for hanging out with the son of a man he has a dark history with These family problems translate into drug addictions and trouble with the law More importantly, they bring the ugly relationship their fathers had with each other dangerously close to light When the secrets are finally out in the open, all hell breaks loose What emerges is a staggering portrait of the sins committed by the fathers, paid for by their sons This is all sorrowfully clear in the performances of DeHaan and Cohen

Just like in Blue Valentine, throughout The Place Beyond the Pines, Cianfrance demonstrates his knack for injecting scenes with an emotional horsepower that is

painfully sincere and entirely realistic

Here, he applies that gift to an expansive, messy narrative that aims higher than it can reach, and that’s where the film earns the ma j ority of its points The overstuffed ambition of Pines may be a detractor for some, and at two hours and twenty minutes, the film does feel closer to two hours forty five, but Cianfrance’s honesty and unrelenting focus on his actors carries the film The story could have easily overwhelmed the power of the performances, but thanks to a heartfelt script and highly attentive direction, that doesn’t happen

In a day and age when so many movies would rather aim so low as to hit nothing than bite off more than they can chew, the grandiosity of Cianfrance’s film is commendable Yes, Pines is long-winded, and yes, it takes unnecessary turns But it’s also an unflinching, raw examination of fathers and sons and the damage they inflict on each other

Mark DiStefano is a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences He can be reached at msd97@cornell edu

The Problem With Evil in Literature

ood and evil are the twin opposites of our ethical compass, and the struggle between good and evil is a conceit that powers the narratives of a huge variety of literature Stories, from religious texts to fantasy novels, depict good protagonists fighting against evil antagonists for the salvation or protection of the world The problem of the portrayal of evil in such narratives, though, is that although it evil meant to be an inscrutable monolith, it is nonetheless fascinating Why, the reader asks, does evil do what evil does? Are the demons that possess people to do evil things manifestations of a cosmic being that lurks in the depths of some hellish dimension, or are they demons of the mind, conjured out of a phantasm of imagined or real injustices? The stock fantasy narrative, such as those employed by Tolkien, has no answer

More contemporary fantasy and literature, however, tries to venture an answer Often, contemporary responses stem from a postmodernist rejection of the old good-evil paradigm Postmodernists see the established moral paradigm as an attempt by the powerful to force their captive audiences to blindly accept norms and cultural biases, so as to inculcate a sense of group solidarity By establishing on their own terms what values were associated with good, and what values were associated with evil, they created a convenient meta-narrative for people to use in order to identify who was good, and who was bad Unfortunately, this simple binary system was often used to demonize political and cultural outsiders, and sparked conflicts such as religious and racial wars Postmodernism encouraged skepticism of such convenient meta-narratives It exhorted people to question their assumptions about what was good and what was evil In doing so, the hope

was that people would come up with more deliberate and authentic moral systems by which to live their lives, and not just outsource their moral decision making capabilities to a higher authority

Postmodernist literature deals with this concept in many ways, but one of the means by which it does so is by deconstructing traditional heroic conventions The traditional Campbellian hero’s journey can be seen as a meta-narrative that governs conventional epic fantasy In it, a simple protagonist is thrust into a world beyond his (and it’s usually a his) imagination, undertakes a journey, overcomes challenges against an implacable foe and triumphantly returns with gifts and powers to help his fellows at home Such stories almost always exclusively focus on the virtuous hero;

the evil is merely a narrative cipher to drive the central conflict and invite tension The first Star Wars movie is such an example, as is Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia and the Arthurian legends Campbell even cites the stories of the Buddha, Christ and Prometheus as narratives that follow this mythic convention

Postmodernist literature, especially fantasy, overturned this trope by questioning the bases for the conflict, often by making both protago-

nist and antagonist morally ambiguous but sympathetic characters Examples of this include the Chronicles of Thomas Covenant series by Stephen R Donaldson, in which the titular Thomas Covenant, an embittered leper and misogynistic rapist, is thrust into a fantasy world and told he is its savior Another example is Kirill Yeskov’s 1999 sequel to The Lord of the Rings, in which he portrayed Sauron as the actual good guy of the series, and Mordor as a realm where races could mingle freely, the underprivileged orcs were given a place in society, and where technological progress was pursued to better the lives of the people of MiddleEarth In contrast, the elves, dwarves and Free Men were portrayed as luddite conservatives who wished to maintain the status quo in order to preserve the extant power structures that governed the land The Lord of the Rings, then, was seen as a “history written by the victors” in which Sauron and his good works were demonized

Such postmodern narratives (and there are many more where that came from, including, but not limited to, the later Star Wars novels, Brandon Sanderson’s canon of work, Despicable

Me, and the musical Wicked) were attempts to introduce a degree of scepticism in their readers, to question their wholesale acceptance of the common tropes of fantasy literature as delineative of the moral order of the world Transpose such scepticism into the real world, and readers would realize some of our moral conventions for what they were: Meta-narratives and human-made constructs designed to preserve existing power relations Thus, postmodern literature has often been accused of moral relativism and a rejection of the notion that there is any absolute standard of morality at all Postmodernism, however, answers it thus: it has never sought to deny absolute moral truth, but rather, it encourages one to question if it is that easy to know absolutely what moral truth is Put another way: even if good and evil exist, it is not always so clear who is good and who is evil, especially when the winners write the histories

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

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Garland Leads

Rockies to 11-3 Win Over Mets

DENVER (AP) Despite throwing in 28-degree weather, Jon Garland was surprised how quickly his pitching hand got cold

That didn’t prevent him from throwing a biting curveball, along with some heaters

Garland worked seven solid innings to give the Colorado Rockies an 11-3 win over the New York Mets in the wrap-up of a wintry series at Coors Field on Thursday

“I was surprised at how fast my hand got cold, because it didn ' t seem that cold out there with the sun, ” Garland said

“But besides that, my body felt fine I was throwing curveballs, sliders, a lot of offspeed I think the key was early on the curveball was being called for a strike So, guys couldn’t just take it They had to respect it, and I threw enough fastballs in there for strikes to keep them off balance

”

The crowd was announced at 18,341 as the Rockies, winners of s i x s t r a i g

record for the coldest home start A game against the Montreal Expos on April 12, 1997, was played in a similarly frigid conditions

A pair of Mets-Rockies games in the previous three days were

p o s t p o n e d b e c a u s e o f h e a v y snow The day before the Mets arrived in snow-bound Colorado,

t h e y h a d Su n d a y ’ s g a m e i n Minneapolis postponed because of wintry weather

“This has been a tough trip,” Mets manager Terry Collins said “We're glad it’s over and we know t h e we a t h e r ’ s g o i n g t o s t a r t changing soon, start getting baseball weather We didn’t swing the bats today either We didn’t get a lot of opportunities We’ve got to start taking BP like we normally do and get back on our schedule ” Garland (2-0) allowed two runs and six hits in becoming the first Rockies starter to go seven or m o re i n n i n g s s i n c e J h o u l y s Chacin also went seven against San Diego last Sept 2

He walked none and struck out four

“So far, he’s been real good at pitching down and his sinker is even better than I thought it w a s , ” Ro c k i e s m a n a g e r Wa l t Weiss said

“He knows what he’s doing out there He’s got a plan and he was able to execute it ” Garland said the Rockies’ hothitting at the plate has helped him on the mound

“ T h e c o n f i d e n c e i s t h e re because you know that at any point, they can strike,” Garland said “So, you ’ re not as picky You still don’t want to give up runs You want to get as many outs as possible But in the back of your mind, you know that this team is never out of it ”

That was certainly the case against the Mets

Troy Tulowitzki homered and hit a go-ahead single Dexter Fowler and Josh Rutledge also hit

h o m e r u n s a s t h e Ro c k i e s remained unbeaten in six home games this season

Red Fo c use s on Cont ainin g Brown’s 10-Man Ride Approach

M LAX Continued from page 16

Avoiding mistakes will be key against a Brown squad that relies on disrupting its opponent and taking control of the pace of play The Bears specialize in the aggressive 10-man ride, which is typically used to pressure the clearing team in desperation situations

“This week in practice we have been stressing the clearing because Brown does a 10-man ride,” Pannell said “But I think the biggest thing [head coach Ben] DeLuca has been focusing on in our practice has been our defense The slightest adjustments can go a long way ” The Red’s defense will have to contend with Brown’s balanced offensive attack led by freshman Henry Blynn, who has 24 goals and eight assists on the season Junior Sam Hurster is a close second with 19 goals and six assists

“[Brown’s] got a lot of great shooters, ” Buczek said “Defensively, they’ve got some very athletic guys One of the biggest things we ’ ve been stressing on the offensive end is to avoid silly turnovers and make sure unforced errors are kept to a minimum If we can do this everything will work itself out ”

One of the Red’s biggest x-factors this week will be the play of Buczek On a team led primarily by seniors, the sophomore from Cincinnati is in the midst of a breakout year, including a

four-goal performance against Syracuse

“Connor’s been great, ” Pannell said “He made the transition from attack to midfield, and has really been a physical presence at midfield and done a great job He’s probably the best outside shooter on the team and allows us to stretch teams ’ defenses ” Buczek attributed much of his improvement this season to the coaching staff ’ s dedication to working with him

“This year I’ve been working hard with the coaches, with the guys around me and everybody’s really helped me out a lot to help me grow to the point where I am now, ” Buczek said “I have to give all the thanks to my teammates and coaches for that ”

While Buczek and Pannell look to keep the Brown defense on its heels, the Red is feeling confident and with last season ’ s disappointing finish in mind focused on finishing strong

“ We feel great, ” Pannell said “We’re very excited to have this opportunity to continue our season and it starts at Brown, so we ’ re going to take it one game at a time Every game is as important as the next Our team morale is great, and everybody’s on the same page I certainly like where our team ’ s at a lot more this year than where we ’ ve been in years past ”

Chris Mills can be reached at cmills@cornellsun com

By SCOTT ECKL Sun Staff Writer

The Red has an opportunity to clinch a spot in the Ivy League Tournament with a win at Yale (7-5, 1-4 Ivy League) on Saturday No 20 Cornell (7-5, 3-3 Ivy) has lost five of its last six games and is coming off a tough loss on Tuesday to No 5 Syracuse (9-4), 164 A victory Saturday afternoon would ensure Cornell the fourth spot in the conference tournament in two weeks

The loss on Tuesday to the National runners up from a year ago was, for the most part, a one-sided affair The Orange led 9-2 at halftime and was up 13-2 at one point in the middle of the second half Despite allowing 16 goals, sophomore goalie Carly Gniewek had a career-high 14 saves for the Red Senior midfielder Kelly Lang led Cornell in scoring, netting two goals in the loss

“Syracuse was a tough game, ” said junior midfielder and captain Chelsea Rowe “We learned that we need to push each other harder in each practice I think we failed on our execution and our transitioning We’ve only had one practice this week, but we have made sure to focus on the little things and our discipline ”

L o o k i n g f o r w a rd t o Sa t u rd a y, t h e Bulldogs lead the all-time series against the Red 19-15, but Cornell has gotten the best of them in their last five meetings, including a

Caroline Sailsbury had five goals in the big win

Yale has only managed one Ivy League win this year, which came last weekend in a close match against Columbia, 13-12

“We don’t want to dwell on our recent success against Yale,” Rowe said “We are going to need to play together and execute our game plan Yale plays zone defense, so we are going to have to move the ball quickly and look for open draws ”

Cornell hopes to change its recent trend over the past six games (1-5) The squad started the season 6-0, but has struggled ever since an 11-10 loss to No 3 North Carolina

The Red was able to save its conference tournament hopes last weekend with a 9-7 victory over Brown

“One of our goals this year was to be Ivy League champs and we would like to be in control of our own destiny,” Rowe said “We have a chance to begin that quest on Saturday with a win ”

Saturday is Cornell’s last Ivy League game before facing two non-conference opponents to finish off the season The Red will face Bi n g h a m t o n a n d B o s t o n n e x t we e k a t Schoellkopf Field on Tuesday and Saturday respectively

Scott Eckl can be reached at seckl@cornellsun com

Relaxing Is Key to Snapping

Four-Game Losing Streak

a two-run homer to regain the lead, 4-3

Onyon couldn’t contain the Great Dane’s hitters in the bottom of the sixth, however, and Albany took the lead on three hits two singles and a double for three runs The Red failed to score in the top of the seventh, allowing the Great Danes to complete the sweep of the midweek doubleheader

“In the second game, it was a pretty back and forth game and a lot of things could have gone either way, ” Towne said

The Red (16-20, 6-6 Ivy League) will enter the series

Continued from page 16 Skyler Dale can

against Ivy-league leading Penn (21-5, 10-2), looking to snap a four-game losing streak Cornell stands in a three-way tie for fourth place in the conference with Princeton and Columbia right now

According to Towne, the team needs to avoid playing tense if it wants to perform well this weekend

“I’m really hoping we can just try to relax and take a deep breath and not play so uptight,” she said “I’m hoping we play them tough and get some good games out of them ”

OKC ’ s Versatility Will Help Topple Rockets

Continued from page 16

on the stingiest defense in the entire league to win games On offense they are just as boring, relying on the fundamental post game of David West and solid, but unspectacular plays on the perimeter by Paul George, George Hill

a n d L a n c e St e p h e n s o n T h e Hawks as I’ve written before are the definition o f a ve r a g e T h e y c h u g along, make the playoffs, then lose because they just don’t have the talent This year seems to be no different, and average just won ’ t be sufficient against a good Pacers team; Pacers in five

you filter out all these stor ylines, what you get is a juggernaut led by t h e l e a g u e ’ s s e c o n d - b

p l a ye r against a young team that plays at a r i d i c u l o u

a s t p a c e T h e Rockets are going to tr y to push the tempo at ever y chance they get t o s p e e d u p t h e T h u n d e r Unfortunately, it won ’ t help The Thunder are also young, athletic, fast and even more talented, with

-

Rockets The Nuggets are going to m i s s t h e p re

Many people are writing off the Lakers without their leader, but they are still a team with two All-Stars in their primes

(4) BROOKLYN NETS VS (5) CHICAGO BULLS

The Bulls are a ver y scrappy bunch They play their hearts out and can really get up for big games

(see: breaking the Heat 27-game win streak and the Knicks 13game win streak) However, without Rose, they don’t have the talent to make it through a grueling seven-game series The Nets are not a perfect team, but Deron Williams looks like the great player he was in Utah and combined with Brook Lopez’s emergence this season, that should be enough to beat the Bulls Nets in six Western Conference

(1) OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER VS. (8) HOUSTON ROCKETS

The stor ylines for this matchup write themselves; James Harden and his beard facing his former t e a m Ke v i n Ma r t i n t r y i n g t o prove that he’s more than capable of filling Harden’s old role Russell Westbrook fighting the notion that Harden would have been a better fit if he was the one left alongside Durant However, when

the ability to adjust James Harden will most likely single-handedly win a game with a spectacular effort, but the Thunder are too good; OKC in five

(2) SAN ANTONIO SPURS VS (7) LOS ANGELES LAKERS

I wish Kobe was healthy; this would have been a classic Even without him, this series promises to be fascinating Many people are writing off the Lakers without their leader, but they are still a team with two All-Stars in or near their primes in Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol They have the talent to win this series Additionally, Ginobili has been out for a few weeks, Parker looks hurt and Tim Duncan remains 36 years old But the biggest mismatch in this series is the coaching; Gregg Popovich should win Coach of the Year ever y year, with his ability to make subtle adjustments on defense and offense to adapt to an aging and changing roster Meanwhile, Mike D’Antoni can ’ t create anything resembling a coherent defensive or offensive scheme Spurs in six

(3) DENVER NUGGETS VS (6) GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS

This series is going to be just as

n c e o f Da n i l o Gallinari and his shooting, ballhandling and ability to step up late in games However, the majority of his minutes will be going to Wi l s o n C h a n d l e r, w h o h a s arguably been the Nuggets’ best player these last few weeks The Warriors’ biggest strength all year has been the threep o i n t s h o o t i n g o f St e p h e n Cu r r y a n d Klay Thompson Unfortunately for them, this plays right into Denver’s hands The Nuggets have three athletic, long, good defenders on the wing in Andre Iguodala, Corey Brewer and Chandler to stick on either Curr y or Thompson if they get hot Nuggets in five

(4) LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS VS (5) MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES

This will most likely be the closest series of the first round, pitt i n g t h e h i g h - f l y i n g L o b C i t y against the gritty, defensive-minde d Gr i z z l i e s T h e s e t w o t e a m s played each other last year in the playoffs, but have both improved significantly The Clippers have a m u c h

e (although they still turn to Chris Paul isolations late in games), but the Grizzlies have made a lot of internal improvement, especially with the play of Marc Gasol It’s tough to bet against Chris Paul, but I think if Tony Allen can slow him down just a little, the entire offense will suffer Truth is, I don’t know if Allen will be able to, so I flipped a coin for my prediction: Grizzlies in seven

Liao can be

Laxers Play for League Record, 27th Iv y Crown

By CHRIS MILLS Sun Staff Writer

Cornell and Princeton are currently tied for the most all-time Ivy League lacrosse titles with 26 apiece A Red victory over Brown this weekend would change that

The No 7 laxers will travel to Stevenson Field in Providence, RI with the chance to clinch home field advantage for the 2013 Ivy League Tournament With a win in the 3 p m matchup on Saturday, the Red (10-2, 40 Ivy League) would capture sole possession of the conference regular season crown and cement Schoellkopf Field as the host site for postseason play

“It’d mean a lot to us, ” said senior attackman Rob Pannell “[Hosting the Ivy League Tournament would give] the seniors another home game, which [was] one of our goals to start the season ”

The Red will first have to get past the Bears (6-5, 1-3), who have defeated Cornell in three of the past five meetings including a 10-9 upset last season

“I think it will be a good test for us, ” said sophomore midfielder Connor Buczek “They’ve been pretty impressive in the league so far and they’re obviously fighting for their playoff lives right now, so we ’ ve got a lot on the line in this one ”

It has been over a week since the Red played its last game a 13-12 loss to No 5 Syracuse so the Red has had ample time to prepare for this important Ivy matchup

Spor ts

“It’s been a long week-and-a-half since we played Syracuse So we ’ ve had some time to relax, but [we’ve] also been getting after it this week in practice and we ’ re excited to get out there against another opponent, ” Pannell said “Ivy League games are always exciting, and Brown’s a very talented team and always finds a way to give us a tough game It’s an important game for us to get headed in the right direction ”

The Red outscored opponents 62-31 en route to four consecutive victories before falling to No 5 Syracuse (9-3, 3-1 Big East) on a last minute goal on April 10th Both of

Searching for offense | Junior pitcher Alyson Onyon gave the Red six solid innings in her start against Albany, but the offense could not give her any support

Red Looks to Bounce Back Against Penn

By SKYLER DALE Sun Staff Writer

After being swept by Albany in a double-header, the softball team is looking to turn things around in its four-game series with Penn this weekend

In the first game against the Great Danes Wednesday, junior Christina Villalon recorded the Red’s only hit

Cornell’s hitters struggled to get on base all game, largely because of an excellent performance from Albany’s ace, junior Brittany MacFawn, who walked just two batters in her one-hit complete game, improving to 16-

6 on the season

“The first game was pretty tough,” said senior catcher Kristen Towne “They had their top pitcher she pretty much had our number hitting-wise ” The Red’s own starting pitcher, junior Alyson Onyon, went six innings and gave up just three runs on six hits, but got the loss due to the Red’s weak offensive showing However, the bats picked up for the Red in the second game After three innings of scoreless play, Cornell struck first with a pair of back-to-back homeruns the first from sophomore outfielder Linda Laeufer to center

and the second from freshman Taylor Goodin to right giving the Red a 2-0 lead

After pitching four shutout innings, Cornell freshman Meg Parker gave up a two-run homerun and a single in the bottom of the fifth Onyon then came on to finish the inning, but not before allowing the inherited runner on first to advance on a wild pitch and sacrifice fly, and then score on a double

The Red struck right back in the top of the sixth when Laeufer singled to center and junior infielder Jenny Edwards knocked

See SOFTBALL page 15

Cornell’s losses this season have come by just one goal, and the team is looking to iron out trouble spots against Brown

“[H]aving a tough loss like Syracuse keeps you working hard every single day because, you know, we can be our biggest proponent, but we can also be our biggest enemy, ” Buczek said “And we thought in that game we just made too many mistakes, so we ’ re working hard every single day to correct that ”

NB A Playoff Predictions

Spring is in the air and that only means one thing; the NBA playoffs are about to start Let’s not waste any time and jump right into a few predictions Eastern Conference (1) MIAMI HEAT VS (8) MILWAUKEE BUCKS

This is a mere formality The

Bucks are playing some good basketball, especially after the J J Redick trade, but this is a bigger mismatch than a one-seed vs a 16-seed in the NCAA tournament The Heat are a dominant team, and LeBron James and Dwyane Wade are both healthy; there’s not much else to say Heat in four

(2) NEW YORK KNICKS VS (7) BOSTON CELTICS

Now this gets a little interesting Two veteran teams with storied histories, both with a ton of pride The last time these two teams matched up in the playoffs was 2011, when the Celtics easily dispatched the Knicks in four games But this time, things are very different In the last meeting, Carmelo had only played 27

games in a Knicks uniform and did not seem comfortable in the offense at all, while the Celtics were two years younger and had a healthy Rajon Rondo who they will be lacking this time around The only non-Carmelo player still on the roster from that 2011 team is Amar’e Stoudemire, who will be sidelined due to

injury during the playoffs With a much improved supporting cast including J R Smith, Tyson Chandler and Raymond Felton and an improved offensive scheme, the Knicks have drastically improved as a team, while the Celtics have taken some big steps backwards Pierce and Garnett will do everything in their power to win the series, but I see the Knicks winning it in six games (3) INDIANA PACERS VS. (6) ATLANTA HAWKS

The Pacers are the least flashy team in the NBA and as a result, have flown under the radar all season They play at one of the slowest paces in the NBA and rely