04 24 14 entire issue lo res

The Corne¬ Daily Sun

D iver sity Engagement at C.U. Lacking, Sur vey S hows

By NOAH RANKIN Sun City Editor

After the release of a new campus climate study concluding that the University lacks authentic engagement regarding diversity and bias incidents, a Cornell administrator says the University is working to determine the next steps for diversity-related campus initiatives

The study which includes both a thematic analysis of campus diversity issues and direct student quotations begain in fall 2013 and was conducted by a team led by Prof Sylvia Hurtado, education and information studies, University of California at Los Angeles In October, the team received face-to-face and online responses from 397 students for use in the study

According to Associate Dean of Students Renee Alexander

’74, the report will serve as a “blueprint” for the future of Towards New Destinations a University diversity planning initiaive and other diversity initiatives at Cornell

Alexander said that while the report shows that Cornell

classes and drop them on this campus without the tools to navigate difference then we ’ ve only done half the job ”

A quote in the report from a student identifying as a “LGBT white undergraduate” echoes this notion, using racial differences as an example

“Just because you were sitting next to a person of color, that doesn’t mean that the world is a perfect place,” the student said “You need to change how you ’ re interacting with that person To do that, you need to educate yourself about what you don't know and what assumptions you ’ ve been making your whole life ”

By ZOE FERGUSON Sun Staff Writer

One lane of Tower Road will close next month to accommodate a safety improvement project, which will permanently remove gravel parking on the south side of the road, according

Services

The project will close the eastbound lane of Tower Road for construction, according to a Transportation Services press release Two-way traffic is expected to return on Aug 21; however, aesthetic changes such as lighting and landscaping will not be completed until late October

Multiple changes to the road including the removal of gravel street parking are “needed” to preser ve safety for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers, according to University Spokesperson John Carberry

successfully recruits students from a diverse set of backgrounds, the resources allotted on campus do not match the current level of diversity which will be at a statistical high for the incoming class of 2018

“What we have to work on now are issues of engagement and inclusion,” Alexander said “If we recruit diverse

“These improvements are needed because the road surface condition is beyond its service life,” Carberry said

Several of the changes to the street a new sidewalk, improved bike lanes and “ green infrastructure ” will be “beneficial” to Cornell’s sustainability initiative, Carberry said

“The project will also provide opportunities for academic education and research to study urban plant health and stormwater quality treatment, ” said Robert Chiang, designer for the project “The project will reduce the impact on the natural drainage systems by detaining and filtering stormwater runoff from the street ” Carberry added that the weight of the parking area has “negatively affected” the root structures of mature oak trees in the area, some of which were planted in the early 20th century In addition, the project will create a “safe,

Some minority students quoted in the report attribute the lack of meaningful interactions to a general “ unawareness ” of students in majority groups regarding exclusivity or discrimination

By ANIKA SETHY Sun Staff Writer

“ T h e q u e s t i o n [ K e n n e d y ] a s k e d t h a t d a y a f t e r h e h a d b e e n s w o r n i n a s Pre s i d e n t h a s a s h a mi n g r e f l e c t i o n o n t o d a y ’ s Wa s h i n g t o n , ” Be r n s t e i n s a i d “ He w a s t a l k i n g a b o u t t h e n a t i o n a l i n t e re s t ; n o t j u s t s e l f - i n t e re s t I s a y t h a t t h i s s o u

t e i n w h o h a s a u t h o re d f i ve b e s ts e l l i n g b o o k s s a i d o n e o f A m e r i c a ’ s g r e a t e s t o b s t a c l e s t o d a y i s t h e p a r t i s a n a n d i d e o l o g i c a l n a t u r e o f Wa s h i n g t o n a n d t h e m e d i a “ In s t e a d o f t a l ki n g a b o u t t h e e c o n o m y a n d f a m il i e s , w e ’ v e b e e n s u b j e c t e d t o s c o rc h p o l i t i c s [ a n d a c c e p t ] m y t h ove r f a c t , ” h e s a i d “ Now t h i s e x t e n d s t o h ow we p ro c e s s a n d re c e i ve j o u r n a l i s m a s c i t i ze n s ” He re f e r re d t o Pre s i d e n t Jo h n F Ke n n e d y ’ s f a m o u s i n a u g u r at i o n s p e e c h , i n w h i c h Ke n n e d y s a i d , “A s k n o t w h a t yo u r c o u n t r y c a n d o f o r yo u , a s k w h a t yo u c a n d o f o r yo u r c o u n t r y, ” a s a n e x a mp l e o f a c o m m i t m e n t t o n a t i o n a l i n t e re s t a n d t h e c o m m o n g o o d

“We learned ... to pursue the best obtainable version of the truth ”

Shame on Washington | Jour nalist Carl Ber nstein talks about his career and reporting on the Watergate scandal in Goldwin Smith Hall

Wednesday

See BERNSTEIN page 4

Zombie Noun Apocalypse With Jill Swenson 12:15 - 1:15 p m , 102 Mann Library

Reconsidering the Large Lecture Course: A Faculty Panel Discussion 3:00 - 4:30 p m , Statler Amphitheater

Whene Bruce Lee Meets Gojira: Anti-Japanism, Anti-Americanism and the Failure of Decolonization With Leo Ching 4:30 - 6:00 p m , Lewis Auditorium, Goldwin Smith Hall

America’s Coming Infrastructure Crisis: Where Will the Money Come From?

4:45 - 5:45 p m , 23 Plant Science Building

weather FORECAST

Police Raid Bars for Underage Drinkers

By KAT TSIBULSKY ’98

4

ReCYcLE.

n

Be c a u s e f r

t e r n i t i e s a

n o t a l l owe d t o h a ve p a r t i e s a t t h e i r h o u s e s d u r i n g r u s h we e k , s t u d e n t s a re l i k e l y t

h e a d t o C o l l e g

t ow n b a r s “ Now s t u d e n t s d o n ’ t h a ve a n y w h e re t o g o , ” C o i l s a i d “ T h e y ’ re r u i n i n g a t r a d i t i o n o f f r a t e r n i t i e s a n d s o ro r i t i e s ” De s p i t

t w o o f t h e s e ve n b a r s s u r ve ye d re p o r t e d a n y a r re s t s o r p o t e n t i a l a r re s t s f o r u n d e r a g e d r i n k i n g “ T h e p o l i c e a re j u s t d o i n g t h e i r j o b a n d t h e y ’ re d o i n g t h e i r j o b w e l l , ” s a i d Jo h n n y ’ s c o - o w n e r Gre g o r y We b e r g r a d o f t h e f o u r a r re s t s m a d e a t h i s e s t a b l i s h m e n t l a s t we e k We b e r, w h o a l s o ow n s Sp i r i t s C a t e r i n g a f o o d a n d a l c o h o l c o n t r a c t o r f o r C o r n e l l’s f r a t

e ve r a l s a i d t h e y f e l t t h a t t h e o f f ic e r s we re d i s re s p e c t f u l t o b o t h t h e m a n a g e r s a n d t h e p a t ro n s o f t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t s “ T h i s ye a r h a s b e e n t h e w o r s t a s f a r a s a t t i t u d e g o e s , ” s a i d o n e b a r ow n e r w h o w i s h e s t o re m a i n a n n o n y m o u s “ T h e a t t i t u d e o f t h e p o l i c e d i d n ’ t g a i n t h e re s p e c t o f t h e o f t h e p ro p r i e t o r s o r t

C.U. Receives Grant To Study ‘Optimism’

By ANUSHKA MEHROTRA Sun News Editor

a n n o u n c e d We d n e s d a y T h e r e s e a r c h i n i t i a t i v

C o n c e p t u a l a n d Em p i r i c a l In

s i t y p h i l o s o p h y d e p

e

i

t h e a n a l y s i s f u r t h e r, a n d i n m a k i n g c o n n e c t i o n s t o s o m e o f t h e b i g q u e s t i o n s i n e p i s t e m o l o g y, e t h i c s , a c t i o n t h e o r y, e c o n o m i c s , a n d t h e p h i l o s o p h y o f h i s t o r y ” T h e f u n d s w i l l b e u s e d t o a w a rd re s e a rc h f e l l ow s h i p s t o s t u d e n t s a n d Un i ve r s i t y f a c u l t y s t u d y i n g s o c i a l s c i e n c e a n d p h i l o s o p h y, a c c o rd i n g t o t h e p re s s re l e a s e Fe l l ow s h i p re c i p i e n t s w i l l a l s o b e i n v i t e d t o p a r t i c i p a t e i n a s e ve n - d a y c o n f e re n c e w h i c h w i l l t a k e

p l a c e d u r i n g s u m m e r 2 0 1 6

Ad d i t i o n a l l y, t h e g r a n t w i l l g o “ b e yo n d” a c a d e m i c f i e l d s a n d b e

u s e d t o s p o n s o r a d d i t i o n a l h u m a n i t i e s p ro j e c t s , a c c o rd i n g t o t h e

Un i ve r s i t y T h e f o u n d a t i o n w i l l a l l o c a t e a n a d d i t i o n a l $ 6 0 , 0 0 0 t ow a rd s a

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

Wi n n i n g e n t r i e s w i l l b e f e a t u re d o n t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n ’ s we b s i t e , a n d

t h e w i n n i n g p l a y w i l l b e p e r f o r m e d i n It h a c a

D a r t m o u t h S t u d e n t s M a r c h A g a i n s t A s s a u l t

On Tu e s d a y, a p p rox i m a t e l y 4 0 s t u d e n t s a n d f a c u l t y m a rc h e d i n p ro t e s t o f s e x u a l a s s a u l t f o r Da r t m o u t h C o l l e g e ’ s a n n u a l

Ta k e Ba c k t h e Ni g h t r a l l y, a c c o rd i n g t o T h e

Da r t m o u t h At a g a t h e r i n g b e f o re t h e r a l l y, s p e a k e r s s p o k e a b o u t t h e d a m a g e s s e x u a l a s s a u l t c a u s e a n d p o s s i b l e p r e v e n t a t i v e m e a s u re s Ma rc h e r s c h a n t e d “ W h e re ve r we

g o , h owe ve r we d re s s : n o m e a n s n o , a n d ye s m e a n s ye s ”

R a p p e r J a R u l e t o P e r f o r m a t Y a l e

Law School Dean Celebrated During Ribbon-Cutting

Departing Dean S chwab played a vital role in the planning of the new Law S chool wing

By ASHLEY COLLIS-BURGESS Sun Staff Writer

C o r n e l l L a w S c h o o l h o n o re d o u t g oi n g De a n Pro f St e w a r t J S c h w a b w h o

w i l l d e p a r t t h e Un i ve r s i t y a t t h e e n d o f t h e a c a d e m i c ye a r d u r i n g a r i b b o n -

c u t t i n g c e re m o n y We d n e s d a y c e l e b r a t i n g

t h e o p e n i n g o f a n e w w i n g a t t h e s c h o o l

S c h w a b w h o h a s h e l d h i s p o s i t i o n a s d e a n o f t h e l a w s c h o o l s i n c e 2 0 0 4

w i l l b e s u c c e e d e d by Ed u a rd o Pe ñ a l ve r ’ 9 4

Pro f Ba r b a r a J Ho l d e n - Sm i t h , l a w,

s a i d S c h w a b w a s re s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e re n -

ova t i o n s o f t h e l a w s c h o o l’s c l a s s ro o m

w i n g , o f f i c e a n d p ro g r a m f a c i l i t i e s w h i c h s h e s a i d h a d b e e n “ n e e d e d f o r a w h i l e ” “ It w a s d u e t o St e w a r t ’ s v i s i o n , l e a d e rs h i p a n d t i re l e s s e f f o r t s t h a t t h i s b u i l d i n g p ro j e c t h a s c o m e t o f r u i t i o n , ” s h e s a i d “ T h e n e e d f o r n e w s p a c e h a d b e e n o bv io u s f o r ye a r s b e f o re [ S c h w a b ] b e c a m e d e a n , b u t h e m a d e s u re t h a t i t a c t u a l l y h a p p e n e d ” Ba r b a r a s a i d s h e w a s “f o r t u n a t e ” t o w o rk w i t h S c h w a b i n t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f t h e l a w s c h o o l , i n w h a t s h e s a i d s h e

c o n s i d e re d a p a r t n e r s h i p “ W h i l e o f c o u r s e c h a n g e h a s i t s v i r t u e s , I p e r s o n a l l y w i l l m i s s St e w a r t ’ s

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

Pro f Ke v i n C l e r m o n t , l a w, s a i d h e

w a s s a d d e n e d t o h e a r o f De a n S c h w a b’s

d e p a r t u re b u t a d d e d t h a t h e i s a p p re c i a -

t i v e o f t h e l e g a c y S c h w a b w i l l l e a v e

b e h i n d

“ [ Hi s l e g a c y i s ] n o t q u i t e [ t h a t o f ]

Ve r s a i l l e s o f L o u i s t h e Fo u r t e e n t h , b u t i t i s d a r n n i c e , ” h e s a i d “ I ’d l i k e t o t h i n k o f

St e w a r t a s o u r ow n s u n k i n g ”

S c h w a b p l a n n e d a n d s a w t h e e xe c ut i o n o f t h e c o n s t r u c -

t i o n o f t h e n e w L a w

S c h o o l w i n g , w h i c h i n t e g r a t e s t h e c o u r t -

y a r d s a n d f o s t e r s a

“The construction was his vision he prioritized and recognized the need for a new space.”

P

s e n s e o f c o m m u n i t y, a c c o r d i n g t o C l e r m o n t “ T h i s c o n s t r u c t i o n w a s h i s v i s i o n h e p r i o r i t i ze d a n d re c o g n i ze d t h e n e e d f o r n e w s p a c e a n d e x p l o re d t h e ve r y d i ve r s e a l t e r n a t i ve s p re c i s e l y s u c h a s t a ki n g ove r A n n a b e l Ta y l o r o r c o n s t r u c t i n g a n e w b u i l d i n g , ” C l e r m o n t s a i d S c h w a b s a i d h e i s t h a n k f u l f o r h i s ye a r s o n f a c u l t y a n d a s d e a n t h ro u g h h i s i n t e r a c t i o n s w i t h s t u d e n t s , f a c u l t y, a l u mn i a n d o t h e r s w h o c o n t r i b u t e d t o h i s e x p e r i e n c e “ C o r n e l l L a w s t u d e n t s a re h a rd w o rki n g , ” h e s a i d “ T h e y t a k e t h e i r c l a s s e s s e r i o u s l y, b u t t h e y a l s o d o s o m u c h m o re

o u t s i d e o f c l a s s Ou r f a c u l t y i s h a rd -

w o rk i n g a n d c o l l e g i a t e ” S c h w a b s a i d a “ g re a t ” b u i l d i n g h a s t h e p owe r t o c re a t e c o n n e c t i o n s a n d f o s t e r t h e a c t i v i t y t h a t o c c u r s w i t h i n t h e l a w s c h o o l He a d d e d t h a t t h e b u i l d i n g c a n a c t a s a m e t a p h o r f o r a l l t h a t e n c o m p a s se s “ b e

Noah Rankin can be reached at nrankin@cornellsun com W W W . C O R N E L L S U N . C O M

O f cial: ‘ Time Is Now’ to Understand Differences

Many students come to Cornell ‘wanting to engage ’

SURVEY Continued from page 1

Some minority students quoted in the report attribute the lack of meaningful interactions to a general “ unawareness ” of students in majority groups regarding exclusivity or discrimination

“It’s hard for people to have such a reflective discussion about their own identities that have allowed them to have more advantaged experiences in certain senses or certain contexts than other students,” said an African American female undergraduate in the report “Every student knows that there’s a lot of diversity here, but not every student is really willing to recognize their privilege ”

According to Alexander, “the time is now ” to work on challenging these interactions

“I’m from the Willard Straight, baby boomer generation where we had these silos that were impervious We have a golden opportunity now with millennials,” she said “I think the good news is many students come here wanting to engage But I don’t think we give them enough opportunities to learn more about difference ” Alexander said she believes that the most effective way to increase understanding about the existing differences among students is to increase programming for new students

“I think working with freshmen in their first-year communities is really the way to build long-term buy-in with this,” she said “It is abundantly clear that we need to be working on programs that socialize and acculturate our first year students as soon as they step foot on campus beyond [programs such as] Tapestry ”

Alexander said that from looking at the results, campus safety was a theme that “jumped out ” at her

“As a Cornellian and as a woman who navigated this campus and the community without any fear, I was struck by themes of women not feeling safe on this campus, ” she said

Alexander said she believed the Greek community “has some work to do” concerning issues of sexual assault

“I think the issues of sexual assault and fraternities surfaced with this report, ” she said “As we begin to break this down, I’m sure those issues will bubble up We want everyone to feel safe on our campus ”

However, she said that nobody should be offended or upset ” about the results of the report

“It’s clear that we have work to do, but I think this report presents opportunities and calls to action for us, ” she said

Tower Rd. Constr uction

To End in Late August

f u n c t i o n a l a n d a e s t h e t i c s t re e t s c a p e ” o n t h e s e g m e n t o f

Towe r Ro a d b e t we e n We i l l Ha l l a n d f u n c t i o n a l a n d a e s t h e t i c

s t re e t s c a p e ” o n t h e s e g m e n t o f Towe r Ro a d b e t we e n We i l l Ha l l

a n d Wi n g Ro a d , a c c o rd i n g t o Tr a n s p o r t a t i o n Se r v i c e s Ot h e r c h a n g e s w i l l i n c l u d e t h e a d d it i o n o f t w o n e w b u s s t a t i o n s a n d a b u s s h e l t e r, a c c o rd i n g t o

C h i a n g T h e l a s t i m p r o v e m e n t s t o

Towe r Ro a d o c c u r re d i n 1 9 9 7 , a c c o rd i n g t o a Un i ve r s i t y p re s s r e l e a s e f r o m t h a t y e a r T h e i m p r o v e m e n t s t h a t i n c l u d e d n e w g r a n i t e c u r b i n g , b u s p u l l -

o f f s , l a n d s c a p i n g a n d w i d e n i n g

t h e ro a d C h i a n g s a i d h e i s “ e xc i t e d”

a b o u t t h e p ro j e c t , w h i c h h e s a y s w i l l “ i m p rove s a f e t y f o r p e d e st r i a n s , c yc l i s t s , d r i ve r s a n d b u s r i d e r s ” C a r b e r r y a d

Bernstein Compares Current Politics to McCarthy Era Says

dialogues

“People are looki n g f o r i d e o l o g i c a l and political ammun i t i o n t o re i n f o r c e w h a t t h e y a l r e a d y b e l i e v e , ” B e r n s t e i n said “Our ideology is not just threatened by terrorism, but [also] by this breakdown of our system in the countr y Our whole political system [has been] broken for three decades or more by this cult u r a l w a r f a r e t h a t shows little sign of abating ”

B e r n s t e i n a l s o c o m p a re d t h e c u rrent political breakdown and last year ’ s g ov e r n m e n t s h u t -

down to that of the Mc C a r t h y e r a a n d t h e d e s e g r e g a t i o n debate

“ T h e l e a d e r s h i p

o f t h e Re p u b l i c a n p a r t y s a y i n g ‘ l e t ’ s shut down the gov-

e r n m e n t , ’ b e c a u s e t h e y e x t e n s i v e l y o p p o s e t h e Pr e s i d e n t ’ s h e a l t h care plan is that sufficient reason [to]

d i s a g r e e w i t h t h e

Pr e s i d e n t , t o s h u t d ow n t h e g ov e r nment and endanger

t h e s a f e t y o f t h e

U S ? ” h e s a i d

“ E x t r e m i s m i s n o t always bad, but this kind of extremism is the agenda of demagogues ” D e s p i t e t h i s , B e r n s t e i n s a i d h e f e e l s t h a t t o d a y ’ s

g e n e r a t i o n h a s a desire to engage in politics “I’ve spent a lot of [time] talking with people of your generation, and I’ve seen

Material on Australian Shore Not From Malaysia Jet

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) Australian officials said Thursday that after examining detailed photographs of unidentified material that washed ashore in the southwestern part of the country they are satisfied it is not a clue in the search for the missing Malaysian plane

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has advised search coordinators that the material, which washed ashore six miles east of Augusta in Western Australia, is not from missing Flight 370, according to a statement from the Joint Agency Coordination Centre

Martin Dolan, chief commissioner of the safety bureau, told The Associated Press Wednesday that an initial analysis of the material which appeared to be sheet metal with rivets suggested it was not from the plane

“We do not consider this likely to be of use to our search for MH370,” he said

Augusta is near Australia’s southwestern tip, about 190 miles from Perth, where the search has been headquartered

The search coordination center also said Thursday a robotic submarine, the U S Navy’s Bluefin 21, had scanned more than 90 percent of the 120-square mile seabed search zone off the Australian west coast, creating a three-dimensional sonar map of the ocean floor, but had found nothing of interest

The 2 8-mile deep search area is a circle 12 miles wide around an area where sonar equipment picked up a signal on April 8 consistent with a plane’s black boxes But the batteries powering those signals are now believed dead

Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said Wednesday that failure to find any clue in the most likely crash site of the lost jet would not spell the end of the search, as officials plan soon to bring in more powerful sonar equipment that can delve deeper beneath the Indian Ocean

Defense Minister David Johnston said Australia was consulting with Malaysia, China and the United States on the next phase of the search for the plane, which disappeared March 8 Details on the next phase are likely to be announced next week

Houston Man Charged With Murder in Nursing Home Deaths

HOUSTON (AP) A Houston nursing home resident accused of using the armrest of his wheelchair to beat two of his roommates to death is facing a capital murder charge, police said Wednesday

Guillermo Correa, 56, was in custody after being formally charged following the Tuesday evening incident at the Lexington Place Nursing and Rehabilitation Center

Police said the two victims, identified in court records as Antonio Acosta, 77, and Primitivo Lopez, 51, suffered head trauma and were pronounced dead at the scene

Nursing home employees told investigators Correa did not get along with his roommates and got into a fight with them, police spokesman

Victor Senties said But exactly what sparked the fight is still not known, he said Another person was in the room during the attack and is being questioned by police

Irma Chavez, Acosta’s daughter, said her father had long complained about Correa scaring him as recently as earlier Tuesday

“My father said to me, ‘Mija please, can they move this man out of this room?’” she said as she stood outside the nursing home on Wednesday

Chavez, 51, said Correa would cut himself, often talked to himself and would argue with other people in the facility Police said Correa is wheelchair-bound but Chavez said he could walk around

ARIELLE

MICHELLE

Tom the Dancing Bug by Ruben Bolling

w i l l n e v e r f o r g e t w h a t m y Hu m a n

B o n d i n g p r o f e s s o r s a i d a b o u t m e e t i n g

r o m a n t i c p a r t n e r s i n c o l l e g e “ L o o k a r o u n d y o u , ” s h e t o l d u s

C h a i r s s q u e a k e d a s 6 0 0 s t u d e n t s s i f t e d i n

t h e i r s e a t s a n d s c a n n e d t h e r o o m , w i d e -

e y e d “ In c o l l e g e , y o u a re s u r r o u n d e d b y

t h o u s a n d s o f p e o p l e y o u r ow n a g e A s f a r

a s m e e t i n g a p o t e n t i a l m a t e , t h i s i s a s

g o o d a s i t g e t s ” He r w o rd s w e re m e t w i t h g r o a n s a n d n e r v o u s l a u g h t e r In a l e c t u re h a l l o f 6 0 0

p e o p l e , I h a d n e v e r f e l t s o s i n g l e a n d u n s e t t l e d T h a t w a s a y e a r a g o i n t h e s p r i n g o f

m y j u n i o r y e a r a n d i t w a s t h e f i r s t t i m e

I s t o p p e d t o c o n s i d e r t h e q u e s t i o n w r i t t e n

o n t h e u n c e r t a i n f a c e s o f e v e r y s t u d e n t i n t h a t l e c t u re : A re w e s u p p o s e d t o b e m e e ti n g o u r s o u l m a t e s i n c o l l e g e ? My e n d e a v o r s i n d a t i n g d u r i n g c o l l e g e h a v e i n v o l v e d a l o t o f t r i a l a n d e r r o r m o s t l y e r r o r I ’ v e f a l l e n t o o q u i c k l y f o r

b oy s w h o w e re c h a r m i n g b u t s h a l l ow I ’ v e

g o t t e n m y h o p e s u p ; I ’ v e e x p e c t e d t o o

m u c h a n d I ’ v e h a d m y h e a r t b r o k e n I ’ v e

h u r t p e o p l e a l o n g t h e w a y, t o o I ’ v e e n t e rt a i n e d f e e l i n g s f o r p e o p l e I k n e w I w o u l d n e v e r a c t u a l l y d a t e ; I ’ v e ( i n a dv e r t e n t l y ) l e d o n n i c e g u y s a n d I ’ v e m a d e m i st a k e s Now, g r a d u a -

I would be the first to admit that graduating single sometimes feels like a failure of sorts. But the truth is, a failure would have been not to play at all to not go on horrible dates, to not fall hopelessly in love and to not make a fool of ourselves

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

t h e e n d o f c o l l e g e , o n e t h i n g i s f o r s u re : I f

w e w e re s u p p o s e d t o b e m e e t i n g o u r s o u lm a t e s , I s e e m t o h a v e m i s s e d t h e b o a t

A n d y e t , a s I re f l e c t o n t h e s e p a s t f o u r y e a r s o n a l l t h e f o r m a l s a n d d a t e n i g h t s a n d w i n e t o u r s , a l l t h e l a t e n i g h t t e x t s e xc h a n g e d w i t h b oy s w h o w o u l d

n e v e r a c t u a l l y b e m y b o y f r i e n d I

w o u l d n ’ t c h a n g e a n y o f i t O f c o u r s e , t h e re h a v e b e e n d i s a p p o i n tm e n t s I f I h a d a d o l l a r f o r e v e r y g u y w h o a s k e d f o r m y n u m b e r a n d t h e n p r o c e e d e d t o d i s a p p e a r o f f t h e f a c e o f t h e e a r t h , I ’d

b e a r i c h g i r l Bu t t h e f a c t t h a t t h e c u t e p re - m e d s t u d e n t n e v e r c a l l e d d o e s n ’ t t a k e a w a y f r o m t h e d e l i g h t t h a t I f e l t w a l k i n g h o m e t h a t a f t e r n o o n w h e n h e a s k e d f o r

m y n u m b e r T h e re i s v a l u e i n t h a t d e l i g h t j u s t a s t h e re i s v a l u e i n t h e e xc i t e m e n t I

t u n i t

I

a f e e l i n g t h a t t h i s i s j u s t t h e b e g i n n i n g So t h e w a y I h a v e c o m e t o s e e i t i s l i k e t h i s Ev e r y o n e h a s h i s o r h e r ow n t r a j e ct o r y I f w e h a p p e n t o f i n d a m e a n i n g f u l re l a t i o n s h i p i n c o l l e g e , t h a t ’ s a w e s

f e l t g e t t i n g re a d y f o r a d a t e n i g h t t h a t d i d n ’ t w o r k o u t I e n j oy e d a l l o f t h o s e m o m e n t s b e c a u s e t h e y m a d e m e f e e l a l i v e a n d f u l l o f p o s s i b i l i t i e s , a n d t h e f a c t t h a t t h e s e t h i n g s m a y n o t h a v e w o r k

Icouldn’t bring myself to accept the reality that this is my last column, so I put it off until the night before it was due There are so many topics I haven’t written about that still remain on my “column ideas” sticky note, but the clock has simply run out Instead of immediately trying to impart all the wisdom I have accumulated this year, I would like to first provide a highlights reel of all my funniest stories

First, I would like to thank the boy who peed in my bed Maybe thank is the wrong word because I had to flip my mattress and do so much laundry the next morning, but yeah I woke up at four a m to a large wet spot and didn’t really know what to do about it That happened Also, IT WASN’T ME I would have been the first to admit it had I wet the bed Next time you pee in someone else’s bed, please do them the courtesy of admitting it was actually you because no one is looking for golden showers (unless you are, in that case who am I to judge?)

Next, I would like to thank the boy who had explosive diarrhea while I was asleep in the room next door I didn’t know you were having stomach problems and didn’t really care to know either, but somehow it came up the next morning In the future, with the other women you sleep with, I

Th x 4 the Memorie

would like to advise you to keep bodily functions to yourself unless you ’ re seriously dating them Even then, maybe keep it to yourself Some things are certainly better left unsaid

But really I started writing this column in the hopes that I could make sex more fun for other people I truly believe that sex should be fun, funny and maybe a little

a w k w a r d for both

p a r t i e s College is the first time in our lives we are

c o m p l e t ely without p a r e n t

My only wish is that all of you take your senior year ... to have fun in bed. It doesn’t matter whether that means you have fun with one partner or many, just remember to have fun.

v ision for an extended period of time We live by ourselves, feed ourselves, answer to no one (except those pesky R A s) and pretty much learn how to actually interact with those of the opposite sex I can ’ t say we succeed at all those things (I’ve made many a bad fashion decision in my years on the Hill), but it’s the independence and the freedom that matters

If my column has made you laugh or feel anything at any point this year then I con-

s

sider my job done When I enter the real world, I will no longer be able to tell an entire campus about my weekend sexcapades or what I really think of sexting My only wish is that all of you take your senior year (or sophomore, junior and senior years who’s keeping track?) to have fun in bed It doesn’t matter whether that means you have fun with one partner or many, just remember to have fun

T h e r e i s n ’ t e n o u g h space on this page for me to t h a n k e v e r y o n e w

deserves a special shout out This column has not only made my senior year exciting and fun, but it has also given me the perfect excuse to have lots (and lots) of sex

Without further adieu

Thank you to Hankmael for putting in a good word and recommending me to write these beautiful and classy pieces of art every other week You never cease to surprise me

Special thanks to Liz and Caroline for editing around my hectic schedule, and never (I

repeat NEVER) judging me for the absurdity that is my life Thank you to my roommates for letting me read my column aloud, drunk or sober, and for being cool with the rotating door of men I’ve let into our home this past year Thanks to my parents for never reading this column (but always letting me rant about needing to write it) and special shoutout to my older brother for rolling his eyes every time my column is mentioned by either his fraternity brothers or me

Thank you to all the guys who have given me material for this column Even though some of you only slept with me because you knew I was Amy O , hearing your worries that I would write about you always gave me a good laugh Last, and certainly not least, thank you to all my readers (including the frats that send this around your listservs You know who you are)! I couldn’t have done this without your love, support, tweets and Facebook shares Even though I hope I’ve challenged you all to think about sex in a different, less serious way, at the very least I hope Some Like it Rough made you laugh

Donny J. | Headshakes and High Fives

Welcome to My Bubble

t h e o n en i g h t ro m p s , t o t h e “ k i n d a d a t i n g , ” t o t h e m a d l y i n l ove , t h e re h a s g o t t o b e s o m e t h i n g e l s e t h a t d r i ve s o u r d e s i re a n d m a k e s u s h u m a n We w o u l d n ’ t s p e n d a l l t h i s t i m e t h i n k i n g , t a l k i n g , c r y i n g , l a u g h i n g a n d re a d i n g ( t h a n k yo u a l l ! ) a b o u t s e x i f i t w a s j u s t a w a y t o m a k e o u r b o d y p a r t s f e e l g o o d No , t h e re

The number of people you share your bubble with does not demean how important that bubble is Think about it, when you find your permanent bubble buddy that means the world to you, does it really matter who was there before? No.

b e l o n g s t o m e b u t I w a n t t o s h a re i t w i t h yo u f o r a

b i t A n d m a y b e , t h a t s a m e t h i n g t h a t yo u h a ve I ’d l i k e f o r yo u t o s h a re t h a t w i t h m e t o o ” Ye s , t h e re a re s o m e b u b b l e s we w i s h we h a d n ’ t s h a re d Bu t 9 9 p e rc e n t o f t h e t i m e , t h a t ’ s re t ro s p e c t i ve re g re t In t h e h e a t o f t h e m o m e n t , w h e t h e r t h e p e r s o n i s u n a t t r a c t i ve o r h o t , i n c re d i b l y n i c e o r t o t a l l y o b n ox i o u s , we w a n t e d s o m e t h i n g m o re t h a n j u s t t o o r g a s m We

i s s o m e t h i n g e l s e a b o u t i t , a n d i t ’ s s o m e t h i n g we d o n ’ t e ve n a c k n ow l e d g e b e c a u s e we ’ re o f t e n a f r a i d t o T h i n k a b o u t w h y we we a r c l o t h e s i n t h e f i r s t p l a c e ( i g n o re t h e we a t h e r f o r a s e c o n d , # s h i t h a c a ) Ae s t h e t i c s a n d p r a c t i c a l i t y a s i d e , we u s e c l o t h e s t o c ove r o u r n a k e d b o d i e s , o u r m o s t p r i va t e p e r s o n a l p o s s e s s i o n T h a t c a n n e ve r b e l o n g t o s o m e o n e e l s e t h a t i s yo u r s a n d yo u r s a l o n e We’re c o l l e g e s t u d e n t s , a n d t h e re a re t i m e s w h e n we w a n t t o b e a l o n e T h e re ’ s n o t h i n g w ro n g w i t h t h a t a t a l l , a s we a l l n e e d t i m e t o c l e a r o u r h e a d s a n d j u s t b e o u r s e l ve s w i t h o u r s e l ve s A n d t h e n w h e n we s o p l e a s e , we c a n g o h a n g o u t w i t h o u r f r i e n d s Bu t we c a n n o t s h a re o u r p h y s i c a l s e l ve s w i t h o u r f r i e n d s ( u n l e s s yo u g u y s a re i n t o t h a t s o r t o f t h i n g , i n w h i c h c a s e h i t m e u p ! ) So s e x i s a b o u t m o re t h a n j u s t m a k i n g o u r g e n i t a l i a f e e l a m a zi n g ; i t ’ s a b o u t re a l i z i n g s o m e o n e e l s e w a n t s t o s h a re t h e i r b u b b l e w i t h yo u , e ve n i f o n l y f o r a f e w h o u r s We a l l h a ve o u r p e r s o n a l s p a c e b u b b l e , a n d i t va r i e s i n r a d i u s d e p e n d i n g o n t h e m o o d a n d t i m e At 6 : 3 0 p m o n a p re l i m n i g h t , yo u r b u b b l e m i g h t g o a s f a r o u t a s yo u r s k i n ; o n Fr i d a y a t 1 1 : 3 0 p m , i t m i g h t b e t h e s i ze o f To m p k i n s C o u n t y Bu t re g a rd l e s s o f h ow m a n y o f u s d e n y n e e d i n g o t h e r s , we i n s t i n c t i ve l y c r a ve h a v i n g s o m e o n e i n t h a t b u b b l e T h i n k a b o u t i t , yo u h a ve t h i s o n e t h i n g t h a t l i t e r a l l y n o o n e e l s e h a s a n d n o o n e e l s e w i l l e ve r h a ve : yo u W h e n yo u ’ re t a l k i n g i t u p w i t h t h a t c u t e b r u n e t t e a t Du n b a r ’ s a n d s h e s a y s , “ Do yo u w a n n a g e t o u t o f h e re ? ” , s h e ’ s n o t s a y i n g “ I ’ m h o r n y ” Sh e ’ s s a yi n g , “ L i s t e n , yo u ’ re c u t e a n d f u n n y a n d I l i k e yo u r i g h t n ow I h a ve t h i s t h i n g o f m i n e , i t ’ s ve r y p e r s o n a l a n d

w a n t t o b e w a n t e d , e ve n f o r a s h o r t p e r i o d o f t i m e Eve r y r a n g e o f h o o k u p i s l i k e a re l a t i o n s h i p, j u s t t r a ve ls i ze d f o r yo u r c o n ve n i e n c e W h i c h i s w h y yo u s h o u l d t re a t e ve r y s e xc a p a d e ( e ve n i f i t ’ s o n l y f o r o n e n i g h t a n d yo u n e ve r s e e t h e o t h e r p e r s o n a g a i n ) l i k e a m i n i - d a t e t h a t s o m e o n e e l s e w a n t e d t o g o o n w i t h yo u b e c a u s e t h e y o bv i o u s l y l i k e s o m e t h i n g a b o u t yo u My a d v i c e t o yo u i s t h i s : Ap p re c i a t e e ve r y s e x u a l e n c o u n t e r yo u h a ve Un d e r s t a n d t h a t e ve r y t i m e yo u s h a re yo u r b o d y, yo u ’ re a l s o s h a r i n g yo u r s e l f a s a p e r s o n T h e n u m b e r o f p e o p l e t h a t yo u s h a re yo u r b u b b l e w i t h d o e s n o t d e m e a n h ow i m p o r t a n t t h a t b u b b l e i s B e c a u s e t h i n k a b o u t i t , w h e n yo u f i n d yo u r p e r m a n e n t b u bb l e b u d d y t h a t m e a n s t h e w o r l d t o yo u , d o e s i t re a l l y m a t t e r w h o w a s t h e re b e f o re ? No I w o u l d n ’ t b e Do n n y J i f I d i d n ’ t s a y t h a t I w a n t t o g o o u t w i t h a b a n g ( h o o r a y ! L a s t b a d s e x p u n ! ) Bu t i n a l l s e r i o u s n e s s , I w a n t t o e n d by e x p re s s i n g m y g r a t i t u d e f o r m y t i m e h e re a t Se x o n T h u r s d a y s T h i r t e e n a r t i c l e s o f s h a r i n g f u n n y ( o f t e n s a t i r i c a l ) a d v i c e a n d m y d e e p e s t s e c re t s h a ve m a d e f o r w h a t h a s b e e n o n e o f t h e b e s t p a r t s o f m y c o l l e g e l i f e W h e t h e r yo u ’ ve h a d s e x w i t h n o o n e o r w i t h e ve r yo n e ,

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Two years ago, when Slope Day brought not only the mediocre Taio Cruz but a slew of frat tanks that openly criticized the mere thought of his appearance (my personal favorite: “Drink until Taio Cruz is good”), I was far more intrigued by the selection of Neon Trees as an opener The Utah-based quartet were riding high off of their biggest single to date “Everybody Talks,” an irresistible little slice of post-Strokes guitar-pop filtered through Katy Perry’s bubblegum aesthetic

Perhaps this is cynical of me okay, it’s definitely cynical of me but Neon Trees were, to me, some major label executive’s brilliant vision of how a guitar group could be successful: They had Tyler Glenn, a sexy lead singer with a powerhouse voice, and an impeccable group style that fell somewhere between the angular haircut thing that Interpol had going in their heyday and Yo Gabba Gabba’s penchant for (duh) neon I can ’ t say that my memory of their Slope set is impeccable, but I do remember thinking that these guys could maybe give The Killers a run for their money, especially since Glenn was a lot less self-serious and a lot more likable than Brandon “Are we human or are we dancer?” Flowers Neon Trees’ only problem was that they hadn ’ t written an album side as perfect as Side A of Hot Fuss Hell, I’m not even sure they had enough good songs between their first two albums to make an album side in the same league as Side A of Hot Fuss

In the lead-up to Neon Trees’ third long-player, Pop Psycholog y, Rolling Stone profiled Glenn, who talked about growing up as a gay Mormon (“We’re not taught that ‘homos are going to hell’ on Sunday in church”) and missing the whole

“post-punk new wave ” revival thing while on a Mormon mission (“Bloc Party, The Killers, The Rapture I was pissed This is the sound I thought we would have ”) A lot of the songs on Pop Psycholog y supposedly deal with Glenn’s struggles with his sexuality, and given the name-checks to Morrissey and Michael Stipe, I was optimistic After all, Against Me!’s Laura Jane Grace found new fire combating transgender issues on this year ’ s Transgender Dysphoria Blues; forgive me for being excited for a potential wave of popular musicians writing songs for kids struggling with their identities to latch onto Unfortunately for my fanciful expectations, Pop Psycholog y is not a reimagining of Your Arsenal with modern-rock sheen It is, however, loaded with the self-affirming, status quo-challenging lyrics that Pink has built a career off of This isn’t an insult: “I Love You (But I Hate Your Friends)” has the potential to be the first radio kiss-off that marries LCD-style cowbells and staccato guitars with a gooey chorus that overflows with playful condescension, and “Love in the 21st Century” lends its lackluster sentiment a synth-by-numbers bounce that’ll soundtrack a cell-phone commercial in the next couple of months Speaking of cell-phones: There’s a song called “Text Me in the Morning,” and though the lyrics are somewhat cringe-worthy I’m still trying to figure out whether “When all the other boys want your sex / I just want your text ” is stupid or brilliant it’s got handclaps and plenty of room for Tyler Glenn’s pipes to steal the show

Pop Psycholog y, by the way, is entirely Glenn’s show, but even the most begrudging listener will admit that the other Neon

L a D i s p u t e

R oo m s o f t h e H o u se St a p l e R ec o rd s

If you want to listen to a particularly emotionally-devastating tune, may I suggest “King Park,” a song by Michigan posthardcore band La Dispute Chronicling the aftermath of a drive-by shooting that hits the wrong target, the song builds over seven minutes to a group vocal climax that vastly oversteps anyone ’ s notions of rawness Lead vocalist Jordan Dreyer, who narrates the story through yelps and screams, enters the scene close to its end with the killer locked up in a hotel room, police at the door and his uncle pleading to him to let them in After an agonizing standoff, Dreyer decides to leave before the conflict resolves Though the false ending is frustrating, the song is so gut wrenching up to that point, I can ’ t say I blame him for not wanting to see how it all ends

“King Park” is the centerpiece of La Dispute’s 2011 album Wildlife, an hour-long contemplation on the world’s grave indifference toward its inhabitants, framed by three letters Jordan Dreyer writes to an unnamed love interest Among its subjects is a local church that succumbs to neglect and a father who gets stabbed by his schizophrenic son A mother buries her child Twice To say the album’s emotionally draining is a vast understatement its tales are so tragic, they make the new Sun Kil Moon album sound downright twee

Rooms of the House, La Dispute’s follow-up to Wildlife, continues this trudge through the morose The first track, “Hudsonville, Mi 1956,” tells the story of a family separated by an unexpected hurricane, frantically cutting between a pregnant mother carefully driving home and a father lighting can-

dles in the basement Next is the self-explanatory First Reactions After Falling Through the Ice,” in which Dreyer recalls a conversation with a friend as he awaits his cold, wet end “What would you do if I died?” he asks “Would you fly out to my funeral? Get too drunk at my wake? Would you make a scene then? Climb in and try to resuscitate me?”

Wait, did you get that? That was a joke A snide exaggeration, playful elbow digging between friends Though it’s pretty subtle, that’s a huge deal for La Dispute, a group that’s heartrending tales tend to leave their frontman literally gasping for breath On “First Reactions” and other tracks on Rooms of the House, we see a slight loosening of the death grip that clung so unwaveringly to Wildlife Tempos slow, instrumentation softens The band lets an alt rock riff rip or two and even laughs at the beginning of final track “Objects in Space ” With such a devastating album like Wildlife behind them, hearing the band embrace its humanity however slightly feels pretty momentous

Each La Dispute album revolves around themes of stagnation, small towns and death, but as Dreyer attests in that first track “Hudsonville,” there’s a different gloom to be wrought on this album “You can kick but you can ’ t get out, ” he warns, “there is history in the rooms of the house ” Here, Dreyer ruminates over the silent dread of growing old and content in middle class society Instead of succumbing to terrible illness, people get married and unhappy, then scrapbook their lives before dying quiet, boring deaths Pictures get framed and the wallpa-

Trees understand this better than anyone Save drummer Elaine Bradley’s charming vocal turn on “Unavoidable,” every track serves as an opportunity for Glenn to excavate his demons while the band provides just enough locomotion in the back for the songs to spark Sometimes you wish the band would settle into the more eccentric grooves “Living in Another World” is a couple more offbeat snare hits away from being a disco-rock hit and lead single “Sleeping With A Friend” is essentially pleasant wallpaper but who can blame them? Glenn is as empathetic as ever here, spinning lines about “going through an awkward phase” and being “socially absurd” into realistically sappy concerns rather than saccharine filler

There are some moments on Pop Psycholog y where you get the feeling that Neon Trees might launch to the next stratosphere (the opening guitar riff of “Teenager in Love”), but then they disappoint after falling victim to those predictable pop impulses that got them here in the first place (the chorus of “Teenager in Love”) There’s nothing here as shamelessly, topdown in the summertime awesome as “Everybody Talks ” While it makes Pop Psycholog y a balanced affair, I’d rather have Neon Trees go-for-broke, Hot Fuss-style, with one perfect album side Still, I’m holding out hope: Neon Trees aren ’ t annoying because they’re so darn earnest It’s hard to root against them, especially since they may very well be the last of the pop-rock breed; you just wish Pop Psycholog y gave you a better reason to root for them

James Rainis is a senior in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences He can be reached at jrainis@cornellsun com

per dries There is history in the rooms of the house

This is an excellent topic for Dreyer to cover, because his lyrical strength lies in finding poignancy in the tiniest of moments, which can cut like a knife through Stepford-like facades of suburban complacency On “For Mayor in Splitsville,” Dreyer remembers the father of a girl he played with as a kid: “There was something else inside of his eyes, he hollers “All those secrets people tell to little children / Are warnings that they give / Like, ‘Look, I’m unhappy Please don’t make the same mistake as me ’” The song then smash cuts to Dreyer driving with his girlfriend, jobless and uncertain “I guess in the end we just move furniture around,” he concludes at the thought of avoiding a similar fate There’s still morbidity in his voice, it’s just a different kind of death he’s describing Rooms of the House’ s lighter tone is interesting in that it’s a capitulation to the evils Dreyer tries so desperately to exorcise Even the slight retreads feel like commentary, intentional or not “Scenes from Highways 1981-2009” continues the longworn emo tradition of songs about arguments in car rides and, as its title suggests, “The Child We Lost 1963” returns to the well of despair from which Wildlife drew Like last time around, Dreyer’s woes circle back to one woman On Wildlife, she was distant, but on Rooms she’s reading, “legs bent at 45 degrees ” And though Dreyer’s stories that call out to her are no less vivid, you sometimes wish that, three albums in, he’d employ a muse other than her or his childhood

But that’s nitpicking and not really a concern if you aren ’ t willing to spill a thousand words of ink on a band like this shmuck is, though La Dispute’s music is compelling enough to inspire similar types of fandom What Rooms of the House lacks in harrowing tunes like “King Park,” it makes up for in accessibility that may serve as an entry point to a truly fantastic band, which doesn’t receive nearly as much attention as it deserves I’ve barely mentioned the brilliant musicianship of the rest of the band, but just trust me that it’s as intricate and disquieting as the shrine Dreyer’s character creates as the album closes out No matter, the best art unravels itself through experience and history And there is plenty of history in Rooms of the House

Paul Blank is a senior in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences He can be reached at pblank@cornellsun com

Transcendence: It Doesn’t Suck!

ZACH ZAHOS Sun Senior Writer

Call me old fashioned, but I would rather watch a blockbuster with big ideas, conversing with the issues facing us today as well as millennia of literature and shared cultural history, than another superhero movie The latest Johnny Depp bomb Transcendence which grossed only $10 8 million last weekend, off a $100 million budget fails as an action film, which the trailer makes it out to be, and could use a bit more pep as a thriller, which it actually is By current Hollywood standards, it is sort of incompetent But it succeeds, with pleasing consistency and formal rigor, as a film that raises questions, about our futures, plural, our presents and our pasts It works as art

I know I am fighting an uphill battle here, praising what Rotten Tomatoes has already canonized as trash, so let me complicate things further with some basic plot summary: Alongside his wife Evelyn (Rebecca Hall), Will Caster (Depp) foresees a world where computer intelligence supersedes that of a human, in that it becomes sentient An affectless scientist and even drier orator, Caster nevertheless commands a lot of respect, as seen by Elon Musk’s head peeking from the U C Berkeley audience soaking in his Jobs-ian keynote Some radical Neo-Luddite faction led by a noirish Kate Mara (House of Cards) lashes out, bombing artificial intelligence research labs and shooting Will after his speech He survives the bullet but succumbs to its radiation contamination a month later just enough time for Evelyn, along with friend and fellow scientist Max (Paul Bettany), to “upload” Will’s consciousness to an advanced computer framework the three of them had long been developing, in order for Will to keep on living when his body cannot

The trailer and poster give away as much, but Will makes it Or some form of Will

therein lies much of the dramatic tension Depp’s performance is not notable, but that is kind of the point: Will is so bland it is impossible to gauge any loss of humanity when he jumps to a computer screen Perhaps Warner Bros should have put $20-plus million to better use, rather than casting him in such a flat part, but Depp’s presence at least comments, if unwittingly, on the automatic trust we place in celebrities whose faces grace magazine covers Max doubts this new Will is actually Will, because his crackly, disembodied voice rattles off most megalomaniac demands But not Evelyn: She senses her husband through the ones and zeroes and agrees to connect Will to the Internet and facilitate his dreams, which are also hers

This all sounds quite silly, describing the plot like this, but Jack Paglen’s script pushes forward at a believable clip, with only weak dialogue as its cardinal sin Speaking of sin, the film’s richest dialogue occurs beneath the text and involves the story of Adam and Eve Named, one can assume, in reference to Eve, Evelyn threatens the world with another Fall of Man, except self-awareness will not now plague humans, who already have it, but a being whose intelligence we cannot fathom Eve has long been blamed for the Fall; in Paradise Lost, the most admirable defense Milton could summon was to point at Adam and basically say, “She was yours; you should have kept her in her place ” Here, Evelyn’s love drives her initial actions, which put mankind on the brink once again, but it is her genius and unfailing agency which seek to reverse that course

two of them to share Evelyn can only speak to his likeness on a screen, but when Will recounts his memories of how they fell in love, it is impossible to deny the grounded, human feeling of the moment Yet director Wally Pfister has us doubt this exchange, for he toys with the multiplicity of screens Will uses to reach her First Pfister gives us a standard shot reverse shot, with Evelyn curled on a couch and looking up at Will, who is framed and flatters like a cool H u m p h r e y Bogart At the end of this unusual love scene, however, Pfister

Transc endence

Directed by Wally Pfister Starring Johnny Depp, Rebecca Hall, Kate Mara

Will does not make it easy: In the midst of his underground Southwest research facility, he sets up an intimate ski lodge bungalow for the

f r a m e s

Evelyn as before, now joined with another screen of Will s, one she does not see It s the same Will that is projected on the other screen, we assume, but it hovers just over her shoulder, whispering sweet nothings into her ear like a serpent Will is both human and machine, God and Satan in this one scene, embodying divine paradoxes in a plausible, fascinating conceit Considering he only got to sit in the director ’ s chair due to his Oscar-winning tenure as Christopher Nolan’s cinematographer, Pfister recognizes the visual supremacy of his medium Crumbled, monochromatic desert reminiscent

of that in the video game, Fallout: New Vegas contrasts with sleek, Apple Store-white corridors the former dwarfs those standing in it, thanks to the inhospitality of nature and such, while the latter merges with Evelyn, who has a penchant for white, as she walks through them When Will’s cyber self begins to incorporate nanotechnology, blue strains of sentient particles ascend from the desert ground into the air we all breathe I think of a line Cormac McCarthy uses to describe postapocalypse in The Road: “The salitter drying from the earth ” That archaic word, “salitter,” means “the grace of God ” Here, Will extracts this essence from the earth only to join with it and, he hopes, create it in his own image

There is a whole political dimension to this film, too, which presents a scenario of miraculous health care, through Will’s technology, only to rule it a reckless fantasy It is not a very weighty take on the issue, but at least it beats Elysium In fact, Transcendence trumps a number of recent movies at their own game: It is a more literate Biblical movie than Noah, a wiser dissection of private and public surveillance than Captain America: The Winter Soldier, a knottier machine-man love story in that one scene than all of Her This is smart, big-budget filmmaking, folks So what if Cillian Murphy and Morgan Freeman’s characters are so bad I purposefully neglected to mention them until now? You will not remember them seriously, there’s not even, like, camp value in their awfulness but, if you keep your tomatoes holstered, you should remember the rest

Zach Zahos is a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences He can be reached at zzahos@cornellsun com

Who Critiques the Critics? Nobody, Apparently

Nobody reads the Arts Section It s an insular little world, where its (predominantly white, male and nerdy) writers can argue about television minutiae, proselytize lengthily on the character of Donald Rumsfeld, hype up rappers for no reason except for this one verse where they absolutely “kill it,” write album reviews with scores within one standard deviation of Pitchfork s and, on occasion, discuss issues of art and literature with all the expertise of that one kid in your English class who shows up bleary-eyed from having done the readings early in the morning before schlepping over to this 9:05 he regrets ever signing up for Aside from this one time where I accidentally incurred the wrath of that liberal arts college around the way, the reactions I typically get from my articles usually fall into three categories: “That’s nice,” “U r a doosh” (found both on the Internet though maybe not on The Sun’s somewhat dysfunctional website and in real life) and, most popularly, “Oh, I just saw it I didn’t read it ” To paraphrase graphic novelist Alan Moore who was himself paraphrasing the Roman poet Juvenal, proving that all creativity is just regurgitation who critiques the critics? Nobody, apparently

To a certain extent, this is liberating Unless I insult Ithaca College, I literally am not accountable for anything I write Anything I have divulged embarrassing moments from childhood and nobody save my editors have called me out for it At the risk of revealing my teenage affinity for black, I discussed my love of Taking Back Sunday, all before this weird emo revival thing made it cool again to wear shirts and other regalia purchased from Hot Topic Once, I humiliated myself with a column in which I allowed a bunch of architects to bury me in a sewer grate, in the name of something resembling art but most likely for a video series they’re compiling about how easy it is to manipulate wannabe journalists (I hypothesize they’re

collaborating with Macaulay Culkin and his pizza-themed Velvet Underground cover band, The Pizza Underground) Hell, in today’s paper I sacrifice all my indie credibility by reviewing, of all things, a Neon Trees album Somewhere, Stephen Malkmus is shedding a single tear while receiving a haircut

Why do I do this? Obviously not for, as Fred Durst might call it, the nookie ” Talking about your favorite music and television shows with a cute girl has proven to produce more eye rolls than the trailer for that new Zach Braff movie (seriously, is it just Garden State 2: Are The Shins Cool Again, Yet?) It’s not to boost my Klout Score while my other colleagues in the Arts Section have managed to make a multitude of connections thanks to their inquisitive participation with the collective conversations of the Internet, I have, in my eternal quest to

become our resident curmudgeon, ignored social media altogether This is coming back to bite me in the ass, as every entry-level job for well-schooled/poorly-educated college students demands that you be a “social media rock star, ” which I imagine involves growing a red Mohawk and carrying a V-neck guitar that transforms into a MacBook Pro when you scan those weird square barcode things corporate America tried and failed to make people care about sometime back in 2012

To be honest, I tripped into writing for The Sun After my first day of classes at Cornell, I went to a concert at the now defunct Castaways

New Jersey gutter-punks Titus Andronicus were headlining, but opener Free Energy melted more faces with their glam retro-rock chug and met a former Arts Editor who told me that he got free tickets to write a review That was all I needed to hear Over the past three (almost four) years, though, this writing gig has shifted from a mere con to score free tickets and vinyl (to the relief of The Sun’s Business Department, I am no longer allowed to do this) to probably the most worthwhile educational experience of my college career Listening to albums and going to concerts are still the most enjoyable and consistently inconsistent aspects of my life, but over this time I’ve learned that attempting to make sense of the entertainment we surround ourselves is one of the most uniquely challenging and rewarding experiences I’ve had I’ve learned a lot about myself For instance, I’m preoccupied with authenticity Perhaps it’s an especially prevalent case of imposter syndrome, but I’m constantly examining things to find out whether they’re coming from a genuine place It’s something I feel people of the Twitter generation crave: We want those retweets, those little brushes with fame that feel, (douche-mode activated) dare I say it, real Sure, in the grand scheme of things the fact that Rick Ross was a corrections officer rather than a drug-peddling kingpin does not matter, but to people who feel like they’ve been deceived all their lives, it’s literally all we have Our generation is kind of pathetic, by the way If the public is willing to bear with you or, in my case, they straight up ignore you a newspaper column can be an excellent place to navigate your own insecurities and fears about the world, regardless of how much of a handle

you have on them Take everybody’s favorite afro-possessor and rhythm professor, Questlove: His guest pieces for New York Magazine and its affiliates are extremely thoughtful, but they’re also somewhat a mess In his latest piece for Vulture, entitled “When The People Cheer: How Hip-Hop Failed Black America,” he attempts to tie philosophical musings from English Reformer John Bradford, physics genius Albert Einstein and gangster rapperturned-terrible children’s movie auteur Ice Cube into something coherent Spoiler alert: he doesn ’ t succeed Instead, as Quest often tries to do, he attempts to tackle the large racial spectres that haunt America, and though there’s hardly some tangible takeaway Headline: Questlove Ends Racism, For Real This Time!” you get to occupy an interesting person ’ s mind for a while as they try to plot out how they feel about really complicated things, and that’s pretty freaking cool

Hopefully in my time here I’ve managed to become someone whose trains of thoughts are occasionally worth following I’ve stressed over the most obscure of topics for the benefit of absolutely nobody, but in criticism you aren ’ t trying to sway everyone to think the same way as you otherwise I’d be a propagandist, and, though my employment options are looking awfully thin at this point, I don’t think I’ll let myself sink that low As a critic, you are merely trying to let someone peer into your thought process Critics attempt to parse the strange things we put into our ears, eyes and minds into something cogent Though I’ve rarely attained that end, I’ve sure as hell have gotten a lot out of it, and I guess that’s as great a takeaway as I’ll get in this little ignored newspaper section of ours

James R ainis is a senior in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences He can be reached at jrainis@cor nellsun com This is the last Ir re s p o n s i b l e L i s t e n i n g

Dining Guide

Mimosas, Lamb Sausage and Dim Sum: Ithaca’s Best Bets on Brunch

By SYDNEY RAMSDEN Sun Staff Writer

A m e r i c a n w e e k e n d p a s t i m e

Each br unch-goer has his or her preferred method of br unching

There’s the breakfast food pigout involving ever ything from eggs to bacon to pancakes to waffles There’s also what hard-

c o r e b r u n c h e r s l i k e t o c a l l “ b o o z y b r u n c h” e g g s

B e n e d i c t w a s h e d d o w n w i t h m i m o s a

a f t e r m i m o s a Br unchers who tr uly take their br unch serious-

l y, h o w e v e r, w i l l s e e k o u t the option that

p r o v i d e s a decent balance

o f d e l i c i o u s , abundant food

a n d r e f r e s h i n g (and also abun-

d a n t ) l i b a t i o n No matter how one chooses to

b r u n c h , o n e thing is for certain: it’s bound to be a grand

o l ’ t i m e o f g o o d f o o d , e v e n b e t t e r

Tucke M a l l j u Commo some of br unch local fav seat to located i it would w i t h a twists on

T h i s s m o r g a s b o r g

o f l o c a l l y - g r o w n

l a m b

t

r e f r e s h i n g d r i

c o m p a n y a n d , if you ’ re up for i t , a p e r f e c t excuse to keep the champagne a n d O J f l o wing Luckily, Ithaca offers some pretty prime br unch options, no matter what vibe you ’ re going for on a sunny Sunday morning

p o m e g r a n a t e c u m

grette kicks the

n d

s a u s a g e br unch favorite up a notch or two The real highlight on the dish is the apricot-carrot chutney, which provides the per fect sweet, tangy

The Hearty Breakfast

casual drink, a quick bite or

br unch, though, is equally worthy of a visit And now that St e l l a ’ s o f f e r s a b o t t o m l e s s mimosa option for $14 with the purchase of any entreé, br unchers can rejoice Between sips of your umpteenth early-morning libation, diners can munch on dishes like quinoa oatmeal or the breakfast burrito wor thy of a fiesta But in this case, there’s nothing wrong with settling for long way

HAI HONG

Di m s u m b r u n c h a t H a i Hong is not only perhaps the most underappreciated br unch option in town, but also one of the best ones One doesn’t typically think of brunch as a feast of d u m p l i n g s , b u n s a n d s p r i n g rolls, but now that I mention it, doesn’t it sound amazing? I’ve become such a fan over the years that my friend and I have made a tradition of having our annual order of buns (chicken or pork), a couple of spring rolls and a larger, family-style noodle dish The shrimp dumplings are a personal favorite the silky dough melts in your mouth and is comp l e m e n t e d p e r f e c t l y b y t h e crunch of the steamed shrimp in the center With so many exotic items to choose from (and complimentar y tea), Hai Hong’s dim sum brunch is your best brunch bet

Jackson Hints at New Coach

GREENBURGH, N Y (AP)

The coaching search is on in New York, and the best possible candidate has already been eliminated

Phil Jackson won ’ t be hiring himself to coach the Knicks

Two days after firing Mike

Wo o d s o n , Ja c k s o n re i t e r a t e d

We d n e s d a y t h a t h e w o n ’ t b e returning to the bench, despite the fact that even fiancee Jeanie Buss told him he should

But Jackson, who retired from coaching in 2011 after winning an NBA-record 11 titles, said his body isn’t up to doing the job

“Jeanie Buss was here with the Board of Governors last week and stayed through the weekend, and tried to encourage me to coach the team And if there’s anyone that can encourage me to do anything, it’s Jeanie Buss But I was able to withstand her arguments the whole time,” Jackson said at the Knicks’ training center

So the new team president said he’s looking for a leader with the personality and charisma to succeed in New York He hopes to talk with Steve Kerr, the TNT analyst frequently mentioned as the leading candidate, sometime within the next month

“New York, I think, demands a personality, a person that the fans can believe in, a person that has some confidence, has the charismatic appeal, and I think has a forward-looking idea about the game, ” Jackson said

He believes Kerr, who played for him in Chicago and served as general manager of the Phoenix Suns, could be that person He discussed Kerr’s potential interest in coaching last year when a g ro u p w a s t r y i n

Sa c r a m

n

K i n g s a n d m ove them to Seattle Jackson was prepared to run their basketball operations if that happened

He and Kerr spoke again earlier this year about basketball, so Jackson is comfortable they share the same view of how the game should be played

“I know philosophically we h a ve a s t ro n g c o n n e c t i o n

Whether he’s able to take a job like this, I don’t know,” Jackson said “I will get in a conversation with him later on this month and talk to him about and see where he’s at as far as his desire to coach ”

Jackson said he didn’t have a timetable beyond wanting a coach in place before the July summer league He has other candidates in mind, but said: “You don’t want to know their names I don’t want you to have their names ” Jackson’s will always come up because of his coaching legacy

Ma d i s o n Sq u a re Ga rd e n

C h a i r m a n Ja m e s Do l a n f i r s t

talked to Jackson around the holidays about coaching the team, but Jackson declined before they began discussing a management position

Jackson said Buss, whose family owns the Lakers, encouraged him to reconsider because it was “low risk” for him and a “dow h a t - yo u - k n ow - b e s t t

thing ”

But he said he’s already made up his mind

“Right now I know physically what I can do,” Jackson said “That’s something that I don’t think physically I can do ”

h o p e s C a r m e l o

Anthony won ’ t change his mind, either

Anthony plans to become a free agent this summer and has said he would take less than a maximum salary if it helped build a winning team Jackson, noting that Tim Duncan and the Miami Heat’s Big Three had sacrificed salary in the past, said he would talk to Anthony about the benefits of doing the same

“That’s the beginning of team play,” Jackson said

“It’s really hard to just have one or two top stars, max players, and put together a team with enough talent You’ve got to have people making sacrifices financially, so we hope that Carmelo is true to h i s w o rd , a n d we u n d e r s t a n d what it’s going to take and we’ll present that to him at that time ”

The Knicks would have to pay Anthony more than $120 million over five years if he insisted on a max contract

Anthony was one of the only bright spots on a 37-45 team that missed the playoffs The Knicks would like to keep him

“I’m all about moving forward Just deal with what is and move forward,” Jackson said “If it’s in the cards, man, are we fortunate If it’s not in the cards, man, are we fortunate We’re going for ward anyway

Pacers’ Playof f Success Hinges on Hibbert’s Production

ZAKOUR Continued from page 20

who would actually do things like score, play basketball and give the Heat a run for its money Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett weren ’ t over the hill, and the Pacers were an out of nowhere team with the best collection of bigs in the East But after a few games of play, the Heat, even as the two seed, look to cut through whatever the Eastern Conference has to offer

The Pacers dropped game one to the lowly Hawks, the worst team in the playoffs, and don’t look like a certainty to make it to Miami anymore Even after salvaging game two, the Hawks have still managed a split on the road all you can ask for as an eight seed The Bulls still can ’ t score, and the Raptors aren ’ t particularly threatening to the Heat (or anyone else, evidently, since Brooklyn seemed all too happy to fall to the six-seed to play

To ro n t o ) W h i l e t h e Ne t s t h e m s e l ve s , after sweeping the Heat in the regular season, look more dangerous on paper, I just don’t like their age I can ’ t see them going

toe-to-toe with the up-and-down Miami team in a seven-game series

I’ve said I think the Heat are vulnerable and I still believe it But I’m not sure anyone out of the East can take advantage of that vulnerability If I had to guess now, I w o u l d p i c k a W i z a rd s He

E a s t e r n Conference Finals I might actually be rooting for it over a Pacers Heat matchup, just to see the dynamism of the Wizards face the two-time champs, as the Pacers have already had two shots at the Heat Indiana is still a bad matchup for the Heat, or anyone else, with their size, but at times they refuse to play like it Pacers swingman Paul George is a star, but if he excessively tries to go one-on-one with LeBron like he did at times during last season ’ s Eastern Conference Finals, the result will be the same If the long expected one-seed against two-seed materializes,

strength and bang up the Heat on the inside Of course it’ll all be a moot point if their center and matchup nightmare, Roy Hibbert, can ’ t break out of his slump

The West is still loaded Why does the

East feel like a foregone conclusion while the West, featuring far and away the best team in basketball in the 62 win San Antonio Spurs, feel like a brawl? That’s because the West has depth Even though the Spurs will be favorites against any team they play, the West still features several good teams I think the Spurs will run over the Mavericks, but that says more about the Spurs than the Mavs Even the Thunder, having lost their home-court advantage, have their hands full with the seventh seeded Grizzlies, and will have to battle to advance Ever yone will The Spurs, Thunder and Clippers are all title contenders and if the Rockets miraculously become a good defensive unit, there will be four teams that could possibly lift the Larr y O’Brien trophy out of the West Record-wise, the worst playoff team in the West is better than the third team in the East There are no gimmes out West Kevin Durant is not human Durant, the presumptive MVP, made the shot of the year in the Thunder’s game two loss to

Westbrook pass trapped in the corner, but

Kidd Not Worried About Pierce

NEW YORK (AP) Jason Kidd never appears worries about anything, cer tainly not about someone like Paul Pierce

Even if Pierce’s matchup was completely one-sided in Toronto’s favor in Game 2

Pierce nearly had as many fouls as points He couldn’t get his shot to fall, couldn’t keep his man off the boards, and the Raptors targeted the Pierce matchup as one they could exploit

Yet Kidd is not concerned as his Brooklyn Nets prepare to host the Raptors in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference first-round series Friday night

“Paul’s doing every right The game of basketball is about making shots and sometimes you make them and sometimes you don’t So Paul, I think, has had two good games, ” Kidd said Wednesday on a conference call

Pierce was sharp down the stretch in helping the Nets win the opener, but couldn’t get it going Tuesday night in Toronto’s 100-95 victory He shot 2 for 11 and finished with seven points and six rebounds

Worse for the Nets, the Raptors took of advantage of their size against a Nets team that plays Pierce as an undersized power forward Toronto outrebounded Brooklyn 52-30, with power forwards Amir Johnson and Patrick Patterson combining for 28 points and 18 rebounds while making 13 of 19 shots

Johnson said after the game that with Pierce playing the 4 spot, Raptors coach Dwane Casey told him to go to the glass every time on offense and defense

“We understand we ’ re a more athletic team than them For us to get to the glass every single opportunity we have that presents itself is what we need to do,” Patterson said Wednesday “There shouldn’t be a game in this series where we get outrebounded by them ”

The Nets went to the small-ball lineup after center Brook Lopez was lost for the season with a broken foot in December, and it helped them turn around their season With Pierce’s outside shooting ability, it creates a matchup problem for bigger

defenders, who usually prefer to play closer to the basket

But it creates a different set of problems for the Nets against aggressive bigs like Toronto’s, who quickly put Pierce into foul trouble that prevented him from ever getting into a rhythm Tuesday

Yet if he made either of the two 3-point attempts that bounced out in the final 25 seconds, the Nets might have come home with a 2-0 lead, and Kidd preferred to focus on that

“No matter what he shot in the last game, he had great looks and they just went in and out, and so there’s nothing in the sense of changing what Paul’s going to do,”

Kidd said of Pierce, the 2008 NBA Finals MVP “He’s a very smart player, he understands time and situation and there’s no concern ”

Pierce said after the game the Nets were soft when it came to their rebounding, and teammates agreed they had to do a better job as a team of helping out on the boards

But that was far from Brooklyn’s only problem in Game 2 All-Star guard DeMar DeRozan bounced back from his shaky opener with 30 points and carried Toronto down the stretch, while center Jonas Valanciunas came up with 15 points and 14 rebounds

It gave the impression that the younger Raptors, who won the Atlantic Division, might have too many answers for the Nets

“Toronto is going to win this series,” TNT analyst Charles Barkley said afterward “I have not seen anything these first two games that makes me see anything different ”

felt fouled by Marc Gasol So Durant, completely off balance, managed to swish a corner three, falling backwards into the crowd as the ball went through the hoop He was rewarded with a four-point play for his efforts Durant, for his short time in the league, already has his share of playoff moments He’s had game winners, a Finals showdown with LeBron and he has had to carr y an undermanned Thunder team in last season ’ s playoffs But he’s still missing a ring He seems like he’s on a mission this year, but to get there he might have to emulate Dirk Nowitzki in the 2011 playoffs, who averaged 32 and 26 in the Western Conference and NBA Finals respectively, on the way to the Finals MVP Durant can do it; he has the same game breaking ability to pick up his team and make any contested shot he might have to settle for late in the shot clock Whatever happens, I can ’ t wait to watch

John Zakour can be reached at jzakour@cornellsun com

Red Captures Si xth Straight Class of ’89 Points Plate

By ELANI COHEN Sun Staff Writer

y d o n ’ t s e e d u ri n g t h e re g u l a r s e a s o n , ” Mi s t h o s s a i d “ We’re e xc i t e d a b o u t h ow t h e r a c e s we n t a s we l e a r n e d a l o t a b o u t w h a t we n e e d t o w o rk o n We’re l o o k i n g f o r w a rd t o u s i n g t h i s k n ow l e d g e t o b u i l d s p e e d ” T h e In v i t a t i o n a l o p e n e d w i t h t h e f i r s t Va r s i t y E i g h t r a c e , w h e re C o r n e l l j u m p e d o u t t o a q u i c k s t a r t t o t a k e s e c o n d p l a c e , f i n i s h i n g j u s t s l i g h t l y b e h i n d t h e Br u i n s f ro m t h e Un i ve r s i t y o f C a l i f o r n i a , L o s A n g e l e s T h i s r a c e w a s f o l l owe d by a s e c o n d Va r s i t y Ei g h t C o r n e l l f i ni s h e d w i t h a n ove r a l l t i m e o f

7 : 4 2 7 , p l a c i n g f o u r t h b e h i n d L o u i s v i l l e , U C L A a n d Mi c h i g a n St a t e C o r n e l l f i n i s h e d f o u r t h a g a i n i n t h e f i r s t Va r s i t y Fo u r r a c e , w i t h U C L A i n f i r s t , L o u i s v i l l e i n s e c o n d a n d M i c h i g a n St a t e i n t h i r d Du r i n g t h e s e c o n d Va r s i t y Fo u r r a c e , t h e Re d i m p rove d t o a

t h i rd p l a c e f i n i s h L o u i s v i l l e f i n i s h e d i n f i r s t w i t h a n ove r a l l t i m e o f 8 : 4 7 2 , a n d Pe n n f o l -

l owe d c l o s e b e h i n d a t 8 : 5 5 4

T h e Re d c o u l d n o t f i n i s h t h e d a y s t ro n g , h owe ve r, a n d f i ni s h e d i n l a s t p l a c e i n t h e t h i rd Va r s i t y Ei g h t Wi t h a n ove r a l l s c o re o f 8 : 3 6 5 , t h e Re d t o o k u p t h e re a r b e h i n d Mi c h i g a n St a t e ,

Pe n n , L o u i s v i l l e , D u k e a n d

C l e m s o n Su n d a y ’ s s e c o n d s e s s i o n r a c e s f o r t h e s e c o n d Va r s i t y Fo u r a n d t h i rd Va r s i t y Ei g h t we re c a nc e l l e d d u e t o p o o r r a c i n g c o n d i -

t i o n s T h e Re d i s h o p i n g t h a t t h e

m o m e n t u m f r o m t h i s p a s t

w e e k e n d w i l l c a r r y i n t o i t s u p c o m i n g r a c e s , a n d i s e xc i t e d

t o s e e s o m e o f t h e s a m e t e a m s Mo re ove r, w i t h t h e we e k e n d’s s u c c e s s i n m i n d , t h e Re d i s c o n f i d e n t t h a t t h e t e a m w i l l s e e p o s i t i ve re s u l t s a t t h e re g a t t a s n e x t we e k e n d C o r n e l l w i l l b e r a c i n g a t t h

Cohen can be reached at ecohen@cornellsun com

l e a d a t t h e No 2 p o s i t i o n , s o p h o m o re s C h r i s t y Ku n g a n d De n a Ta n e n b a u m we re u n a b l e t o f i n i s h t h e i r m a t c h In s i n g l e s , No 2 f re s h m e n A l e x a n d r a D ’ A s c e n z o i mp rove d h e r p e r s o n a l re c o rd t o 1 1 - 5 i n d u a l - m a t c h e s a n d 3 - 4 i n Iv y p l a y a f t e r t o p p l i n g h e r o p p o n e n t , 6 - 4 , 6 - 2 No 5

j u n i o r L a u re n Fr a z i e r e n j oye d h e r f i r s t Iv y s e a s o n w i n ( 6 - 4 , 63 ) t o g r a b C o r n e l l’s s e c o n d p o i n t S e n i o r S h a n n o n C o m o l l i f i n i s h e d h e r c o l l e g e c a r e e r a t C o r n e l l w i t h a t o u g h m a t c h T h e t w o s e t s w e r e f o r c e d t o e x t r a g a m e s , b u t u l t i m a t e l y C o m o l l i c o u l d n o t p u l l o u t t h e w i n a n d f e l l , 7 - 5 , 7 - 5 At t h e No 3 p o s i t i o n , f re s hm a n Ma r i k a Cu s i c k c a m e b a c k

t o w i n t h e s e c o n d s e t 6 - 3 a f t e r d r o p p i n g t h e f i r s t , 3 - 6 Un f o r t u n a t e l y, s h e w a s u n a b l e t o s q u e e ze o u t t h e w i n a n d l o s t i n a s u p e r - s e t t i e b re a k B o t h t e a m s l o o k f o r w a rd t o n e x t ye a r ’ s s e a s o n a n d a i m f o r i m p rove m e n t i n o rd e r t o c o mp e t e i n t h e N C A A s Fl e c k s a i d h e b e l i e ve s t h a t t h e m e n ’ s t e a m w

T E N Q U E S T I O N S A L E X S I D N E Y T E N N I S

Assistant Sports Editor Anna Fasman ’16 caught up with junior Alex Sidney of the men ’ s tennis team to discuss ever ything from his tennis superstitions to the color gatorade he would sweat

1) How did you start playing tennis?

I actually started playing golf when I was four years old I was really into it and then when winter came around, I was looking for a sport to play indoors and I decided to start playing tennis My mom signed me up for a few lessons and it just clicked right away and ever since it’s been a pretty integral part of my life

Do you still play golf?

I do, but ver y ver y occasionally It’s something I definitely want to get back into in the future, because it's definitely a lifelong sport like tennis

2) Do you have any pregame rituals?

good way It’s great having such a large class and having so many people you can meet You meet somebody new ever y day, which I think is pretty amazing

5) What is the coolest thing you ’ ve done at Cornell or in Ithaca?

I tried to complete the list of 161 things I think I’ve

professors

8) What is your favorite memor y with the team off the court?

“When winter came around, I was looking for a sport to play indoors and I decided to start playing tennis. My mom signed me up for a few lessons and it just clicked right away and ever since it’s been a pretty integral part of my life ”

Alex Sidney

With the team we certainly have pre-match hits, multiple meals where we usually joke around Coach makes us wake up pretty early a lot of the time for meals Individually, ever y tennis player has rituals that they do on the court or during changeovers, routines I certainly have some interesting ones I get superstitious about using different tennis balls If certain ones get hot, I want to keep using those, but if I lose a point with one, I’ll toss it to the side

3) Do you have any tennis ticks? Like a grunt or a bounce before ser ves?

I grunt pretty obnoxiously sometimes, depending on the match situation Other than that, I can ' t really think of anything else

4) You went to a pretty small high school What was it like coming to Cornell from an environment like that?

It was definitely a big change because I had been at the same school for twelve years pretty much all my life My graduating class was 140 people Coming to Cornell was extremely different, but definitely in a

done about 60 of them, and that's just from freshman and sophomore year, but I’ve kind of dropped the ball on it this year It’s definitely something I would want to pick up again I’ve done a good amount of those Which one has been your favorite?

Geez, I don't know if I can say this or not, but I may have streaked across the Arts Quad

6) You’re an engineer Do you find it hard to balance tennis and work?

It was definitely something I had never experienced before coming to Cornell, balancing all of my academics and athletics at the same time I really think it’s made me a better person It’s a good thing because it’s taught me how to manage my time and that’s an important skill I can carr y with me for the rest of my life

7) What else are you involved with on campus?

I am really interested in operations research, my major, and I’ve been doing a little bit of tutoring on campus This past semester I was a consultant for a computer science course I’ve been getting interested in computer science as well I also plan on doing some research next semester with one of my optimization

We have a lot of crazy memories from all living together in the apartment I guess this is sort of funny looking back on it, but last fall we went to UVA for a tournament We were warming up for one of the matches, and the team has this huge black van that we travel around in I guess the coach parked it in a hotel lot right next to the courts We came back like 30 minutes later after a quick hit and it was towed and we had to wait there for a really long time It was ridiculous

9) If you could be in a sports commercial for any athletic company (clothing, sports drink, etc ) who would you want to shoot a commercial for?

I would absolutely love to be in a Gatorade commercial Their commercials are always ver y legit

What color Gatorade would you sweat?

I am a fan of glacier freeze

So, the blue?

Yeah, but I am also a big fan of Gatorade Rain

10) What is something that most people don't know about you?

I guess something that is sort of interesting about me is my interest in the Korean language and culture

This is my third semester of Korean at Cornell It’s something that interests me and I plan on minoring in East Asian studies

Do you plan on doing something with both engineering and Korean?

I actually went to Korea this past summer and took some classes at a local University It was an incredible experience I definitely wouldn’t mind working there for a few years

Anna Fasman can be reached at afasman@cornellsun com

Game faces | Junior Alex

Sidney (center), who has been playing tennis since he was four, said one of his superstitions on the court is using the same tennis ball when things are going right

T E N N I S

Fleck Leads Men O ver Penn

By DANIELLE LETOURNEAU Sun Staff Writer

The Cornell men ’ s tennis team finished off its season on a high note, beating Penn for the seventh consecutive time in a close 4-3 contest The win lifted the No 52 Red to 13-8 on the season and 3-4 in the Ivy League, while the Quakers dropped to 7-14 and 3-4 Ivy

“We

In doubles, the 49th ranked pairing of juniors Quoc Nguyen and Jason Luu won at the No 1 position, 8-5 At the No 2 position, junior Sam Fleck and freshman Chris Vrabel took a decisive 8-3 win to nab the doubles point for Cornell

lost concentration a bit and let him back in the match,” he said

However, Fleck kept his composure and fought through some tough close games to win the third set, 6-3

“I played better in the third I held ser ve comfortably I got a break at 3-2 and held it out from there,” he said

Fleck said he felt that he performed well and stepped up his game despite the added pressure

corrected the things we wanted to work on so overall it was a good match.”

S a m F l e c k

In singles, No 3 freshman Bernardo Casares Rosa won comfortably with a 6-3, 6-1 finish At No 6, freshman Colin Sinclair won Cornell’s third point in a tight two-set match, 7-5, 7-6

However, Penn fought back to tie the match at 3-3 after winning at the No 2, 4 and 5 positions For the second time in the Ivy season, No 1 Fleck played the deciding match and delivered for the Red Fleck and opponent Nikola Kocovic split the first two sets, with Fleck taking the first, 6-4, and dropping the second, 4-6

Fleck said that he felt he played well in the first set, but had a small lapse of concentration in the second

“It was a pretty close match In the second set I

“It’s a match where you need f o c u s t h r o u g h o u t t h e w h o l e match, but I was able to play through the third,” he said “It was nice to end the season on a high note ”

O v e r a l l , Fl e c k s a i d h e w a s proud of his team for finishing off the season on a positive note by fighting for the win, despite being unable to compete in the NCAA tournament

“Obviously there wasn ’ t anything riding on the match so we just played for pride,” he said “ We corrected the things we wanted to work on like being more aggressive so overall it was a good match ”

The Cornell women ’ s squad (7-10, 0-7 Ivy) concluded its season with a 5-2 loss against Ivy foe Penn (8-10, 1-6 Ivy) on Sunday

Cornell started off the match at a 1-0 disadvantage after Penn comfortably won the No 1 and No 3 doubles matches, 8-2, 8-1 Despite holding a 6-5

See TENNIS page 18

two sets of the deciding match against Penn but won the third, helping his team to the overall victory

S quads Travel to Famous Penn Relays

By JOEL COOPER Sun Staff Writer

Cornell’s men ’ s and women ’ s track and field teams head to the Penn Relays this weekend in Philadelphia Both teams have performed well in their respective outdoor meets so far, most recently at the Larr y Ellis invitational in Princeton, New Jersey last weekend

The men ’ s team managed to secure 12 qualification spots for IC4A’s, while the women set two school records and qualified 18 athletes for ECAC’s

The Red got off to a strong start when, in the ver y first track event of the meet, Rachel Sorna carried on her i m p re s s i ve f o r m , b re a k i n g h e r ow n school and Ivy League record in the 3km steeplechase by seven seconds

T h i s w a s m a t c h e d o n Sa t u rd a y by s

broke the 11-year-old school record in the 400m, running it in 53 71 seconds

O

from the women ’

4x100m team of Ad

Woodford, who managed to hold off a strong field to win the event

Fo

Hortelano-Roig continued to impress, winning the 200m race in 20 91 seconds, while sophomore Max Hairston

vault

This week saw national recognition for Hortelano-Roig and Sorna, who were named to the Winter Academic All-Ivy Squad

Ac

Zaakirah Daniels, who placed eighth in the 100m hurdles, recording her second fastest time of the season, the Red is looking to surpass the achievements from last weekend in the Penn Relays starting today

“ We're expecting ever y team member who is competing this weekend to step up to the occasion and take full advantage of the opportunities to be fearless and push themselves to new limits,” Daniels said “ We often talk about taking risks on our team, and in these meets leading up to the championship season, we have perfect conditions to throw caution to the wind and just go for big improvements and performances ”

A4 Howe ve r, w i t h s u c h t a l e n t s

a s So r n a , Ho r t e l a n o - Ro i g a n d j u n i o r

St e p h e n Mo z i a , w h o

fter a week of playoff basketball, it’s time to ask our ourselves, what have we learned?

The Washington Wizards might be ready for this moment already I thought the Wizards, with their backcourt of the future, might still be too young to make noise in this year ’ s playoffs But now Washington is headed back to the nation's capital with a 2-0 lead The Wizards can gain some valuable playoff experience and accelerate their ascent if they can slip past the gritty, defensive minded, but

L e s s o n s Fro m N B A P l ay of f s John Zakour

Point Blank

Wizards are here for a reason however, and look to make the most of it John Wall is a good bet to break out and become the latest NBA star who establishes himself on the big stage of the playoffs like Paul George a year ago or James Harden before that

The East might still be a one-team conference (again) Call me nostalgic, but I liked it better when the East was a real conference Not too long ago, when Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett were all wearing Celtics jerseys, the East was a real conference with more than one team that could possibly win it Derrick Rose was a player in the NBA

See ZAKOUR page 17