08 23 17 entire issue hi res

The Corne¬ Daily Sun

Understaffed Identity Programs Can’t Keep Up

Identity and ethnic based programs struggle to match rising student demand FGSS CLASS ENROLLMENT

By ANNE SNABES Sun Staff Writer

"It challenged a lot of the assumptions that I had of the way that gender operates, the way that sexuality operates, ” said Hadiyah Chowdhury ’18

Chowdhury was an undeclared sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences when she decided to enroll in a Feminine, Gender & Sexuality Studies course

“It was just a totally different way of thinking about gender, thinking about race, honestly,” she said “ We talked a lot about race in that class, be--cause it was about sex and sexuality in a cross-cultural context ”

Following this course, Chowdhury pursued other courses in the discipline and declared a FGSS major, along with anthropology

Identity studies programs like FGSS and ethnic studies programs like AsianAmerican Studies have battled numerous problems in recent years, leaving them

struggling to match the demand of growing enrollments

This past spring, students demanded resolutions to these concerns from members of the administration, including Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Gretchen Ritter ’83 and Dean of Students Vijay Pendakur

In May, more students organized at a meeting with Ritter and Pendakur to address the state of ethnic and identity based programs Dissatisfied with the meeting, more than half the attendees walked out of the meeting early With low numbers of faculty in these programs and one program LGBT studies having no appointed faculty, the inevitable result is some students are left unable to pursue classes in identity-related programs and the programs themselves cannot expand

Shortage of Faculty

Despite what Prof Durba Ghosh, director of FGSS, refers to as a “high demand”

for classes within FGSS, the program is understaffed

“Our courses fill up very quickly, which is really great, ” Ghosh said “We’ve increased the capacity, so the courses are bigger than they used to be The challenges that we have are staffing those courses

FGSS enrollments have almost doubled in the last three years from around 700 in 2014 to around 1,200 in 2017, according to Samara Selden, FGSS program assistant Ghosh said juniors and seniors fill up the introductor y FGSS courses, preventing underclassman from taking them

“Now we ’ re reserving 10 spots in the intro FGSS courses for the first-year students, but that’s still not enough,” she said “What we ’ re getting are juniors and seniors who take the intro courses, but they’re not here long enough to take the more advanced courses or take on majors or minors ”

Five faculty members are jointly appointed in FGSS and other departments, according to Ghosh So far, the program has been able to hire three tenure-track faculty members since 2010

“While the faculty in the program feel stretched in our ability to staff all the courses we would like to offer, we have not been

New Open Syllabi Feature to Help Students Choose Classes

By JOSH GIRSKY Sun Managing Editor

a b u s

C l a s s i n s t r u c t o r s a re n ow a b l e t o u p l o a d t h e i r s y l l a b i o n t o C o r n e l l’s o n l i n e c o u r s e ro s t e r, a l l owi n g s t u d e n t s t o v i e w t h e m b e f o re t h e f i r s t we e k o f c l a s s e s T h i s f e a t u re w i l l h e l p s t u d e n t s d u r i n g t h e a d d - d ro p p e r i o d t h i s ye a r a n d d u r i n g p ree n ro l l i n t h e f u t u re T h e c h a n g e , w h i c h w a s b ro u g h t a b o u t by a St u d e n t A s s e m b l y re s o l u t i o n , we n t l i ve o n t h e c o u r s e ro s t e r we b s i t e i n Ju l y W h i l e i n s t r u c t o r s a re n o t o b l i g a t e d t o u p l o a d t h e i r s y l l a b i , m a n y p ro f e s s o r s s a i d t h e p ro c e s s i s e a s y a n d s t r a i g h t f o r w a rd A n a ve r a g e o f a ro u n d 2 0 p e rc e n t o f u n d e r g r a d u a t e c l a s s e s i n e a c h d e p a r t m e n t a l re a d y h a ve a s y l l a b u s a va i la b l e T h e c h a n g e w a s i n s p i re d by t h e a m o u n t o f i n f o r m a t i o n s t u d e n t s re c e i ve a t o t h e r Iv y L e a g u

The idea to do something similar at Cornell was originally proposed in the 2014-15 academic year but was quickly shot down by then Cornell

President David Skorton, said Kaufman

“It has the potential to make everyone’s lives just a little bit easier, which I think is something we all deserve ”

Since then, a Student Assembly task force reviewed the issue and came up with the idea for professors to upload their syllabi Since most classes already have syllabi, this change meant that no new information needs to be gathered

s c h o o l s b e f o re s i g n i n g u p f o r c l a s s e s , s a i d Ga b e K a u f m a n ’ 1 8 , o n e o f t h e s

See SYLLABI page 4

By JOHN YOON Sun Assistant News Editor

After blue-green algae bloomed on Cayuga Lake at unprecedented levels in late July, the potentially harmful species have disappeared for now, according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

This year the presence of the toxic algal blooms taking the form of a smelly, green, floating slime was confirmed for the first time in Ithaca and Tompkins County

This bloom threatened swimmers, boat riders, fishers and families who use the lake for drinking

water

“The southern part of Cayuga Lake had not been impacted by these blooms in the past, ” said Samantha Hillson, the public information officer at the Tompkins County Health Department

Some of Tompkins County’s summer destinations including the Ithaca Yacht Club, Taughannock Falls State Park in Trumansburg and Myers Point in Lansing underwent temporary closures in late July when they were awash in murky goo before they reopened in early August,

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

O R I E N TAT I O N W E E K E V E N T S

To d a y

The Magic of Mushrooms

8 a m - 5 p m , 2nd floor, Mann Library

Economics: Coffee and Conversation

10 a m - 2 p m , 477 Uris Hall

Churchill Scholarship Information Session

Noon - 1 p m , 103 Barnes Hall

Biological Statistics

And Computational Biology Seminar

1:45 - 2:45 p m , Bear’s Den, 226 Weill Hall

Finding Your Way: Maps 101

2 p m , Lower Level, Olin Library

LEPP Theory Seminar: Simon Kast (KIT)

2 p m , 401 Physical Sciences Building

Walking Tours of Olin, Kroch and Uris

3 p m , Upper Lobby, Uris Library

Exploring Cornell University Library’s Rare Books And Manuscripts, Kroch Library

3:40 p m , Rotunda on top floor, Kroch Library

Fine Arts Library Tour

4:30 p m , B56 Sibley Hall

Cornell Performing and Media Arts Town Hall

4:30 p m , Flex Theatre, Schwartz Center for Performing Arts

Veterinary Senior Seminars

4:30 - 5:45 p m , College of Veterinary Medicine

Herb Garden Tour

6:30 p m , Brian C Nevin Welcome Center

Free Showing of Tomorrow for New Students

7 - 9 p m , Willard Straight Theatre

To m o r r o w

Tree Phenology Walk Series

10:30 - 11 a m , Cayuga Nature Center

Get Started with Library Research at Cornell 4 p m , Stone Classroom, Mann Library

Jared Enriquez: Sustainable Water Management In the Tourism Economy

4:30 p m , 115 W Sibley Hall

Presidential Inauguration: Festival of Scholarship

4:30 - 6 p m , Physical Sciences Building

A Very Waffling Welcome to Cornell 5 - 7 p m , Risley Dining Room

Presidential Inauguration: Academic Symposium, “Universities and the Search for Truth” 6:30 - 8 p m , Bailey Hall

Ithaca Firm Helps Recruit Foreign Labor for Mar-a-Lago

Company led by Cornell alumnus seeks guest-worker visas for hires at Trump businesses

By EMMA NEWBURGER Sun Assistant News Editor

While President Donald Trump’s Mar-aLago club may lie hundreds of miles remote from rainy Ithaca, a local firm has closed the gap

Ithaca-based recruitment firm Petrina Group International works to hire foreign guest workers for the club Founded in 2001 by Peter Petrina ’94, the company provides international staffing consulting services to clients in the private club industry and has offices in Ithaca and Romania

Last month, Mar-a-Lago asked the Labor Department for permission to hire 70 temporary workers from overseas and requested visas from the government, according to The Washington Post Petrina finds foreign workers for Trump’s resorts, golf clubs and vineyard, looking for young people with hospitality experience, according to The Washington Post

Petrina Group International did not respond to request for comment

Since 2010, federal records show that nearly 300 American workers have applied to or been referred for jobs at Trump’s private club, but only 17 of those workers have been hired

Instead, the club has relied on employing foreigners largely from Romania and Haiti, pursuing more than 500 visas for foreign workers, according to the United States Department of Labor

The H-2B visas requested by Mar-aLago are commonly used for temporary, “less-skilled” workers in the seasonal hospitality industr y, according to Prof Ben Rissing, industrial and labor relations

U S employers like Mar-a-Lago are legally mandated to advertise job openings at least twice in local newspapers to target U S workers They then must report the number of local U S applicants to the federal government before they can be granted approval to hire foreign aid through H-2B visas

Rissing said the primary concern with this regulation is the majority of it was written in a time before the internet

“The current labor certification law has employers adver tise primarily through physical ne wspapers or trade journals,

which doesn't really meet the reality of how workers typically search for jobs today,” he said “With the employment-based green card, employers can place jobs in a local newspaper in such a way that the actual advertising may not necessarily reach qualified and available U S workers ”

According to the Labor Department, Trump’s businesses have asked for guestworker visas for at least 15 years

Rissings commented that a number of firms use this type of visa for outsourcing purposes

“A portion of U S firms seek out highly

skilled immigrants, such as those with unique skills and graduate degrees,” he said

However, other firms take the opposite approach in hiring

“Another group of firms bring in a lot of immigrants on temporary visas and tend not to transition these workers onto permanent visas,” Rissings said “So they bring immigrant workers in for a short period of time and pay them right at $60,000, which can avoid certain minimum advertising requirements targeting U S workers in some visa programs

“These are employers that presumably might be able to find some of those skills in U S workers, but who see value in bringing in foreign workers for a short duration,” he added

The timing of Mar-a-Lago’s visa requests for foreign recruits occurred last month during the “Made in America Week” at the White House, which incited controversy among critics

Trump’s previous calls for tightened border restrictions on immigration, as well as his “Buy American, Hire American” executive order, seemed to some critics as antithetical to his own business hiring practices

The number of guest workers has been growing in the U S , according to The Washington Post, and labor advocates have accused employers of using cheap foreign labor to replace American workers

However, Mar-a-Lago has maintained that they hire foreign workers only after they are unsuccessful in filling open positions with qualified American workers

Emma Newburger can be reached at enewburger@cornellsun com

Cornell Bhangra Team Follows Beat Into 20th Year

By JULIETTE OVADIA Sun Staff Writer

The Punjabi term “bhangra” means “intoxicated with joy,” and judging by the longevity of comp e t i t i ve d a n c e t e a m C o r n e l l

Bh a n g r a a n d t h e e n t h u s i a s t i c smiles of its performers, the activity is indeed as joyful as it sounds

T h i s ye a r m a rk s t h e 2 0 t h anniversary of Cornell Bhangra, making the group the longest continuously running collegiate Bhangra team in North America

The traditional folk dance originating in the state of Punjab in northern India has long been an integral part of Punjabi culture Though originally performed to celebrate the harvest in farming cultures, Bhangra dance choreography has since evolved

With the influence of neighboring regions and the creation of an international collegiate circuit reaching from the United States to Australia, Bhangha has expanded from its rural roots

“[Bhangra] choreography now

is not just about using those core moves, but about using them in a unique and interesting way, ” said Sonali Razdan ’19, president and co-captain of Cornell Bhangra

In this unique and interesting way, Cornell team is innovative in their use of modern choreography, including hip hop and other Indian dance moves in their sets, Razdan explained

“If you ' ve seen our performances at Pao Bhangra you'll s e e t h a t we f u s e t r a d i t i o n a l

Punjabi folk dance elements with modern pop music to make the experience memorable for the c rowd a n d e xc i t i n g f o r t h e dancers on stage, ” said Samir Jain ’19

T h a t c re a t i v i t y h a s t u r n e d them into an eminent team, winning consecutive World’s Best Bhangra Crew competitions in 2013 and 2014, and Bhangra Blowout in 2015

The team even reached the quarterfinals in the 2014 season o f t h e N B C t e l e v i s i o n s e r i e s “America’s Got Talent ”

The team ’ s spectacle can also be seen at Pao Bhangra, Cornell Bhangra’s annual March exhibition, in which four collegiate Bh a n g r a t e a m s a re i n v i t e d t o Ithaca to perform their sets on Cornell’s stage

Razdan said she’s hoping to further elevate the team ’ s past succ e s s T h i s ye a r, s h e w a n t s t o emphasize the team ’ s folk roots and define the team identity, hoping to “bring back the heat and the fire we had in past years ”

“[ We are] a young team, with only one senior, so the next two years will be especially important [ i n ] d e f i n i n g w h a t C o r n e l l Bhangra is,” Razdan said

Cornell Bhangra owes its success to the “dedication and commitment” of its members, Razdan said, and the community spirit of the team is evident in both their e n e r g e t i c p e r f o r m a n c e s a n d behind-the-scenes

A m a n d a Pa t h m a n a t h a n ‘ 1 9 highlighted the inclusive recruitment process that emphasized the c l o s e b o n d s a m o n g C o r n e l l

Bhangra members

“Everything we do comes from the idea that we ’ re a family and we want to be here,” she said

Pa r t i c i p a t i o n i n C o r n e l l Bhangra is rigorous and intensive; the team practices for seven to ten hours every week, according to Razdan, and members give up study and social time to attend competitions on weekends

Most of all, Cornell Bhangra seeks to celebrate the diverse cultural identities that coexist here at Cornell

“In a world like today, with a

lot of tensions we ’ re spreading Punjabi culture in order to open it up to everyone, trying to show there’s a good side to every culture, there’s a lot everyone is cont r i b u t i n g Eve n i f we ’ re n o t Punjabi, we can still appreciate t h

Pathmanathan said As Deepthi John ’19 put it, “ to come together, to dance together [it] shows you can overcome whatever differences you have ”

Ovadia can be reached at jovadia@cornellsun com

Open Syllabi to Bring Ease

SYLLABI

Continued from page 1

load” in her course on Shakespeare

Other professors echoed Correll’s sentiment and added that the process was quick and took only a few seconds

But others have still not uploaded their syllabi for a variety of reasons One professor pointed out that when teaching courses that include sensitive topics such as race, they may not want to invite criticism by posting their syllabus for the entire world to see Other professors said they just have not gotten around to it yet or that students have not asked to have them published

The change may have a minimal impact in the short run Unavailable during pre-enroll for the current semester, it will only be helpful to students during the adddrop session

But Kaufman said that, although the change may not be groundbreaking, it is still important

“I’m not changing anyone ’ s life here,” he said “This isn’t going to be huge, but it’s a bunch of little things And so I feel like it has the potential to make everyone ’ s lives just a little bit easier, which I think is something we all deserve ”

Algae No Longer Toxic

ALGAE

Continued from page 1

according to the DEC

Meanwhile, at the northern end of Cayuga Lake, Cayuga County has been impacted by harmful algal blooms for the past few years and even had to address concerns about the public water supply because the extent of the contamination was so far reaching, Hillson said

Blue-green algae, also known as cyanobacteria, can be found in all bodies of water on earth, said Prof Nelson Hairston, environm e n t a l s c i e n c e , w h o s t u d i e s harmful algal blooms on Lake

Ho n e oye , o n e o f t h e Fi n g e r

Lakes But the combination of warm weather, stillwater and high nutrient runoff gives the algae perfect conditions to bloom into green, slushy scum

Under these conditions, the algae then float and are blown by the wind toward the shore, he said, where they can accumulate against the shore and stink while it rots

Besides the unsightly appearance of the harmful algal blooms, exposure to toxins that the algae sometimes produces can cause skin irritations, allergic reactions and even death to people, wildlife and pets, he said Further, once the algae decompose, they can sink and use up a lot of oxygen, which creates dangerous conditions for fish

T h e c a u s e o f t h e s u d d e n appearance in Tompkins County remains unknown, but Hillson said the high rainfalls and warm temperatures in late July could have contributed to the anomaly

After several rounds of storms that brought flash flooding and above-average rainfalls to Ithaca in the last week of July, the

To m p k i n s C o u n t y He a l t h

Department saw a sharp rise in the number of suspect blooms reported from individuals concerned about their beach wells and waterways being covered in suspicious goo

“Then it cooled off,” Hillson said “And we hadn’t gotten this much rain the past few weeks, so, after that, the reports of harmful algal blooms decreased ” Hairston said there has also been a lot more farming in the Finger Lakes’ watershed, leading to increased nutrient runoff in the whole region Agriculture, espe-

cially on big farms and concentrated animal feeding operations, gave a big nutrient pulse that was linked to the increase in algal blooms, he said

Following repor ts of suspicious outbreaks on Cayuga Lake in July, the Tompkins County Health Department had issued warnings about the harmful algal blooms over the summer, with a plea for observers on public and private lakefronts to avoid exposure to untreated water

The DEC’s laborator y tests confirmed the presence of harmful algal blooms and cyanotoxins, produced by the harmful algae, at various lakefronts on the lake’s southern end

The health alerts warning a g a i n s t s w i m m i n

a Lake and drinking untreated lake water continued for two weeks f ro m l a t e Ju l y t h ro u g h e a r l y August

Once tests indicated the toxic algae were absent, the warnings were lifted and closed locations reopened in August, the New York State Parks Recreation and Historic Preservation said

While certain lakefronts and parks in Ithaca have not been issued any warnings or undergone closures, occurrences of harmful algal blooms are not rare throughout the Finger Lakes region

Over time, the department has seen reports of algal bloom sightings steadily rise So far in 2017 more than 60 waterbodies have gone on the list, and, as soon as an occurrence has been identified, the DEC has issued warnings to health departments, parks and private lakefront owners

“It’s a problem in Cayuga Lake and we need to worry, for sure, but it’s also a problem worldwide,” Hairston said

T h e En v i ro n m e n t a l Protection Agency stated in a report that warmer weather, higher carbon dioxide levels and more intense storms also contributed to increasing algal blooms across the United States

“The documented occurrence of harmful algal blooms in the Finger Lakes has been increasi n g , ” s a i d Dr L i s a C l e c k n e r, d i re c t o r o f t h e Fi n g e r L a k e s In s t i t u t e a t t h e Ho b a r t a n d William Smith Colleges

John Yoon can be reached at jyoon@cornellsun com

restricted as much as other departments and programs, ” she said

Ghosh said the college has “done very little hiring” in recent years She did note that this is soon to change

"I learned on Friday that the Arts college has increased the number of positions it will fill in 2017- 2018, due, in part, to some new hiring initiatives,” Ghosh wrote in an email in late July

The College of Arts and Sciences is planning to hire a new faculty member in FGSS and Africana Studies, according to Ghosh

However, Chowdhury believes there is more work to be done

“My number one thing would be to hire more people,” she said “But if they’re doing that, I’m happy to hear that My only concern is that the administration would hire someone and then be like, ‘ we ’ ve done our job, that’s enough ’”

Another such program, Asian American Studies, has also faced a shortage of faculty, according to Prof Derek Chang, former director of Asian American Studies

Despite significant student demand 101 students enrolled in courses cross-listed with AAS last fall semester, and 198 students enrolled last spring semester, according to Chang the program has a total of 3 professors

Chang said three professors are appointed to the program and an additional professor offers courses in the College of Human Ecology that are cross-listed with Asian American studies

He said additional faculty members would allow the program to “teach classes more regularly,” allowing for student demand to become “fairly steady” rather than “fluctuating widely ” In doing so

Chang said that Cornell “might be able to grow the program ” Cornell’s AAS program has kept the same number of faculty, while other universities’ programs have grown, according to Chang This lack of growth has left Cornell trailing behind

“I could come up with arguments for having faculty of seven, ” Chang said “There was a time when Cornell was the most important, and in some ways, the most vibrant Asian American studies program outside of the West Coast Right now, it’s the University of Illinois ”

Latino/a Studies is also in need of more faculty, but in a particular discipline: the social sciences

Prof Debra Castillo, director of Latino/a Studies, said the Latino/a studies classes with the largest enrollment numbers are social science courses, in fields like sociology and health However, a majority of LSP professors are in the humanities

“We are very aware that there’s a lot of interest on the part of our students in some of the social studies areas where we don’t have enough faculty,” Castillo said “We are actively engaged in conversations about new faculty hires particularly in the social science areas ”

“ With the student interest moving increasingly towards social sciences, we are planning ahead for a good balance between student needs and faculty expertise,” she continued

LGBT Studies confronts its unique problem: there are no faculty members appointed to the program

Instead, the program relies on faculty in other departments volunteering to make their course be a LGBT Studies course

In fact, the LGBT Studies program was created because of faculty demands in the 1990s, according to Prof Judith Peraino, director of LGBT Studies

“The position that I’m in is hardly compensated, so it’s almost completely volunteer ”

“LGBT Studies exists because of a negotiation that occurred to retain a faculty member,” Peraino said

The negotiating faculty member was Prof Biddy Martin, now president of Amherst College As a result, the administration started to provide funds for a LGBT lecture series and agreed to hire an English professor who specializes in queer theor y, according to Peraino and Prof Ellis Hanson, English, who was the hired faculty member

Peraino said that in 1996, faculty created the LGBT Studies program to differentiate it from Women’s Studies However, little has changed since then

“No further commitments or funding to the LGBT Studies program has been made by the administration since the 1990s,” she added

In such situations, Peraino said searching for faculty to teach courses depends on her “work[ing] with the good graces of other departments ”

“When I am trying to staff the Introduction to LGBT Studies, which is a healthy course, I can ’ t always find someone to staff it because I have to try to work with the good graces of other departments and ask if they will allow their faculty member to get a course release in order to teach the intro course, ” she said

Lack of Administrative Support

In addition to difficulties with student to faculty ratios, many identity-based programs and departments have struggled to serve their students due to minimal administrative assistance

Without sufficient administrative support, student enrollment, program planning and keeping track of the majors and minors with the programs become greater challenges

Fiscal cuts in 2010 caused FGSS to reduce its administrative assistant’s position from threequarter-time to half-time

“That’s a kind of substantial cut, especially at a time when our enrollments are going up, so we ’ re dealing with more students,” Ghosh said

The LGBT Studies program only has one part-time administrative assistant, which it shares with FGSS

“We’re grossly understaffed in terms of office staff,” Peraino said “It’s not easy to grow a program when you only have a part-time program manager and only volun-

teer faculty ”

Program directors may also personally feel the effect of low funding Peraino’s position itself is minimally compensated

“The position that I’m in is hardly compensated, so it’s almost completely volunteer,” she said “A little bit of money And it goes into my research account ”

Peraino said that directors of departments are exempt from teaching the full course load, as they have administrative work to carry out But program directors like Peraino still have to teach two courses during the semester

“If something called the ‘Director of LGBT Studies’ doesn’t get a course release, that severely limits the time that they can put into growing that program, ” she said

Budget Cuts

According to the administration, these problems plaguing ethnic studies and identity programs are partially a result of the University’s fiscal landscape over the past decade

Ritter told The Sun that Cornell had “significant budget shortfalls” both in 2008 to 2010 and in 2014 to 2015, leading to budget cuts in identity based programs “In each case, when the university allocated a reduced budget to the College of Arts and Sciences, we distributed these cuts across the college evenly (with only a few exceptions),” Ritter said in a statement to The Sun

In 2016, all departments and programs in the College of Arts and Sciences including ethnic studies programs received a 0 5 percent cut Ritter said the college made “additional cuts or pull backs” on departments or programs that could afford them The chemistry department for example lost $490,000 in 2016, the history department $140,000 and the physics department $25,000

Ghosh said the budget for FGSS has increased since 2008, partly because the program has hired three faculty members since then To be able to afford these new faculty members, other parts of the FGSS budget have been stretched The programming budget for FGSS, for example, is 30 percent less than what it was in 2010, according to Ghosh

“We’d like to be able to have a really robust group of speakers and high profile people come to visit,

particularly because our classes are so popular,” she said

Other departments and programs were affected by the 2008 fiscal crisis, but their endowments offered them more security

Prof Kurt Jordan, director of the Cornell Institute of Archaeology and Material Studies, said the College of Arts and Sciences reduced the archaeology program ’ s operating budget by 50 percent, from $1000 to $500, after the fiscal crisis of 2008 The budget has not changed since then

However, much of CIAMS’ funding comes from endowments These endowments pay for archaeology’s programming and for their postdoc

“The endowments are good for a program because the program decides how they’re going to be spent, ” Jordan said “The more endowments you have, the less you ’ re reliant on the college So that the college stuff can go up and down quite a bit, as the 2008 financial crisis showed, but if you have your own endowment, it’s a lot more stable ”

The English department also has endowed funds that go towards lectures and reading series, according to Prof Roger Gilbert, chair of English

However, not all programs can compensate for budget cuts with endowment funding

As a relatively new program, FGSS does not receive as much alumni-fundings

“limited” amount of AAS faculty

“Right now the teaching capacity of the staff is limited because there just isn’t enough,” Lee said “The limited number just means that there are limited classes available ” Luckily for Lee and other AAS students, the program submitted a hiring proposal to the dean of Arts & Sciences which was approved this summer, according to Chang FGSS is also lacking in certain opportunities Chowdhury stressed the importance of programming, of which FGSS has little

“I remember one time actually FGSS brought two spoken word poets to Biotech for an evening of spoken word poetry, and it was incredible,” she said “It was so good I would love to see that kind of stuff happening more ”

Students are the ones who ensure that these ethnic studies programs sur vive, according to Mayra Valadez ’18, a Latino/a studies minor

“Obviously, the reason why these programs were created oftentimes [was] because the students demanded that they be created,” Valadez said “So the sustainability of these programs rests on the students themselves, while students should be at Cornell as students and not as quasi-administrators ” In fact, the onus fell on stu-

“The sustainability of these programs rests on students themselves, while students should be at Cornell ... not as quasi-administrators.”

“English is different and history is different because they are departments,” Ghosh said “They are departments that have a pretty big alumni base, that have some independent funding of their own Programs like FGSS, LGBT, programs like Latino studies or Asian American studies have some of the same issues These aren ’ t very old programs They’re not super well established, so we ’ re dependent in terms of our funding on the college ”

Students Left as “QuasiAdministrators”

Students of ethnic studies have experienced the effects of low funding firsthand Rebecca Lee ’18, an Asian American Studies minor, noted that there is there is a

dents this past spring, as they helped the Latino Studies program raise $20,000 to support the program, according to Valadez Members of the Student Assembly have even proposed that the S A give its surplus to ethnic studies programs

“[It] shouldn’t be an expectation of the students to keep reminding the administrators that they have this commitment to make sure that students of color, who have been continually disenfranchised, can learn from professors who look like them, about their own culture, in what courses they are able to take, in the Ivory Tower,” Valadez said

Anne Snabes can be reached at asnabes@cornellsun com

SOPHIA

LLYDIA KIM ’18

Ara Hagopian | The Whiny Liberal Of Mice and Statues

ast semester I took a histor y of science class During one discussion section we focused on Werner Heisenberg, the eminent German physicist who spearheaded the Uranverein (Uranium Club), Nazi Germany’s nuclear weapons project Our T A asked us if Heisenberg should be held accountable for his actions Many people, myself included, gave answers that basically amounted to no “It’s not that simple,” I said, “ They killed you if you dissented or tried to leave I’d like to think that I would have stood up for what I believed in, but I can ’ t be sure ” Nate, the T A , was surprised and a little affronted by what he heard He claimed that we were being “good little millennial relativists” (or something to that effect) “He worked for the Nazis,” he said, “ The Nazis Jesus, I thought I’d have to balance out the conversation the other way ”

In the current social and political climate, this stor y is a germane one In a philosophical context, relativism is defined as “the doctrine that knowledge, truth and morality exist in relation to culture, society, or historical context, and are not absolute ” It is a tenet of the modern American ethos But how much moral relativism is too much? This question has been raised, both directly and indirectly, in relation to the recent controversy over Confederate monuments The rioters in Charlottesville were rallying to the defense of a statue of General Robert E Lee President Trump said days later, “ This week, it is Robert E Lee and this week, Stonewall Jackson George Washington was a slave owner Are we gonna take down statues of George Washington?” Many of my more right-leaning family members seem to agree with his point I believe that liberals need to get outside of our so-called “echo chambers” and engage with arguments from the other side If we don’t, experienced conser vative talking heads like Ben Shapiro will keep making us look like idiots on television How can this one be refuted?

In a recent Chicago Tribune article, Northwestern Law Professor Steven Lubet explicitly disagrees with the above quote He writes, “During his entire life, Washington was never exposed to the idea that slaver y could be entirely abolished [He] lived in an age

when there were few who challenged slaver y Slaver y was often considered distasteful, or even morally questionable, in Washington’s lifetime, but ending slaver y was never actually a political issue In contrast, Lee came into adulthood when slaver y was the political issue dividing the United States ” Essentially, Lubet argues that the important difference between the two men is one of ideological environment If that were the case, then picking out cultural heroes from our countr y ’ s troubled past becomes akin to another notorious redactional dilemma; voting steroid era baseball players into the hall of fame “Bonds hit 762 home runs in the steroid era, more than anyone else In any other era of baseball, maybe he hits about 600 He should be in Cooperstown George Washington bought and sold other human beings, but ever yone was doing it back then If he lived today I’m sure he’d recycle Let’s give him a statue ”

Professor Lubet’s argument is self-refuting If, as he claims, individuals are products of the ethos of their time, then nothing is more important than an ideological paradigm shift Our heroes should be the ones who do the incredibly hard work of overcoming their own social conditioning and bring about these shifts In one of the great “atta-boy” moments of human histor y, a few people in Judea started a religion based on the teachings of one such man There were such men in Washington’s time too To say as Lubet does, that there were “few who challenged slaver y, ” is patently false; there were thousands of African slaves who did just that Like Lee, Washington had the other side of the issue available to him And like Lee, he refused to see it

I’m not arguing that we should tear down statues of the founding fathers as a protest What we should do is think more carefully about where people deser ving of our admiration may be found

Ara Hagopian is a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences He can be reached at ahagopian@cornellsun com The Whiny Liberal appears alternate Fridays this semester

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B A h i s t o r y, b u t a t t h e s a m e t i m e , t h e So u t h Ko re a n m e n ’ s n a t i o n a l t e a m l o o k e d l i k e t h e De n ve r Nu g g e t s o f i n t e r n a t i o n a l s o c c e r A n d l a s t m o n t h , Pre s i d e n t Tr u m p a n n o u n c e d t h a t t h e De p a r t m e n t o f Ju s t i c e w o u l d i n ve st i g a t e t h e d i s c r i m i n a t i o n o f A s i a n s t u d e n t s i n c o l l e g e a d m i s s i o n s , o n l y t o a n n o u n c e a f e w we e k s l a t e r t h a t h e w o u l d u n l e a s h “f i re a n d f u r y ” o n m y p e n i n s u l a A l t h o u g h I c o u l d d o w i t h o u t t h e n u c l e a r w a r f a re , t h e ro l e o f A s i a n A m e r i c a n s i n t h e a f f i r m a t i ve a c t i o n d i s c u ss i o n i s a n i s s u e t h a t h i t s p re t t y c l o s e t o h o m e I g re w u p i n a l a r g e l y A s i a n n e i g h b o r h o o d i n No r t h e r n C a l i f o r n i a , w h e re a c a d e m i c e xc e l l e n c e s u p e r s e d e d m e n t a l a n d p h y si c a l h e a l t h a n d w h e re yo u c o u l d h e a r t h e n e i g h b o r s ’ f i ve - ye a r - o l d k i d p r a c t i c i n g t h e p i a n o i n t o t h e we e h o u r s o f t h e n i g h t He re , o n e ’ s c o l l e g e a d m i s s i o n s l e t t e r w a s t h e g o l d e n t i c k e t a n d t h e re w a s a v i s c e r a l u n d e rs t a n d i n g a m o n g m y p e e r s t h a t o u r r a c e m i g h t ve r y we l l p re ve n t u s f ro m s p e n d i n g f o u r ye a r s i n t h e c h o c o l a t e f a c t o r y o f o n e ’ s d re a m

A l t h o u g h Tr u m p p ro m i s e d t o i n ve s t i g a t e f u r t h e r, i t a p p e a r s t h e m ove m e n t a g a i n s t A s i a n “ n e g a t i ve a c t i o n ” p ro b a b l y w o n ’ t g a i n p o l i t i c a l m o m e n t u m a n y t i m e s o o n It i s h a rd t o s y m p a t h i ze w i t h u p p e r a n d m i d d l e c l a s s A s i a n k i d s a t C o r n e l l o r U C Be rk e l e y w h o c o mp l a i n a b o u t h ow u n f a i r i t i s t h a t t h e y d i d n ’ t g e t a c c e p t e d i n t o Ha r va rd a n d t h e i s s u e a t h a n d i s o n e w h o s e a d vo c a t e s a re a l m o s t e xc l u s i ve l y A s i a n k i d s a t C o r n e l l a n d U C B e r k e l e y w h o d i d n ’ t g e t a c c e p t e d i n t o Ha r va rd Howe ve r, b e c a u s e t h e s i ze o f t h e c o n c e r n e d p a r t y i s re l a t i ve l y s m a l l , l i b e r a l s n e e d t o c re a t e a m o re n u a n c e d p l a t f o r m t h a t n o t o n l y p ro m i s e s m o re e q u it a b l e e va l u a t i o n f o r A s i a n c a n d i d a t e s , b u t a l s o e m b r a c e s t h e d i ve r s i t y o f o t h e r d i s a d va n t a g e d m i n o r i t i e s In a n e p i s o d e o f t h e Ne t f l i x c o m e d y Ma s t e r o f No n e , t h e re i s a s c e n e w h e re a b l a c k m o t h e r e x p l a i n s t o h e r d a u g h t e r a n d h e r In d i a n f r i e n d w h a t a m i n o r i t y i s Sh e e x p l a i n s t h a t a m i n o r i t y i s , “ a g ro u p o f p e o p l e w h o h a ve t o w o rk t w i c e a s h a rd i n l i f e t o m a k e i t h a l f a s f a r ” Fo r A s i a n A m e r i c a n s , t h e i s s u e i s s l i g h t l y m o re c o m p l i c a t e d , a s t h e y f a l l s o m e w h a t a m b i g u o u s l y b e t we e n t h e s p e ct r u m o f e c o n o m i c p r i v i l e g e a n d s o c i a l d i s p r i v i l e g e W h a t i s n o t a m b i g u o u s i s t h a t i n a c o u n t r y w h e re e d u c a t i o n c a n b e a c a t a l y s t f o r t h e p ro f o u n d re i n ve n t i o n o f o n e ’ s e c o n o m i c f o r t u n e s , i n s t i t u t i o n s o f h i g h e r l e a r ni n g a re d e s i g n e d t o p ro t e c t t h e i n t e re s t s o f we a l t h y, w h i t e A m e r i c a n s f ro m t h o s e w h o c o u l d b e n e f i t f ro m i t t h e m o s t Ne g a t i ve a c t i o n a g a i n s t A s i a n s t u d e n t s a t t o p u n i ve r s i t i e s l i k e C o r n e l l a n d Ha r va rd s e t s u p a c yc l e o f w h i t e s o c i o e c o n o m i c p r i v i l e g e m a s q u e r a d i n g u n d e r t h e g u i s e o f p re f e re n t i a l t re a t m e n t f o r “ l e g a c y ” s t u d e n t s a n d “ h o l i s t i c ” e v a l u a t i o n o f c a n d i d a t e s I n 2 0 1 5 , t h e Ha r va rd Cr i m s o n re p o r t e d t h a t l e g a c y s t u d e n t s we re t h re e t i m e s m o re l i k e l y t o re c e i ve a d m i t t a n c e t h a n o t he r s Si m i l a r l y, a 2 0 0 9 s t u d y by a s o c i o l o g y p ro f e s s o r a t Pr i n c e t o n s h owe d t h a t A s i a n s t u d e n t s h a d t o s c o re 1 5 0 p o i n t s h i g h e r o n t h e S AT t h a n t h e i r w h i t e c o u n t e r p a r t s f o r t h e s a m e c h a n c e o f a d m i s s i o n i n t o t o p u n i ve r s i t i e s Ne g a t i ve a c t i o n a g a i n s t A s i a n s t u d e n t s i s n e ve r f o r t h e s a k e o f c a m p u s d i ve r s i t y, b u t r a t h e r t o e n s u re a d m i s s i o n f o r k i d s w h o s e d a d s p l a y g o l f w i t h t h e B o a rd o f Tr u s t e e s o n we e k e n d s It’s a n i n t e re s t i n g t i m e i n h i s t o r y t o b e d e b a t i n g a f f i rm a t i ve a c t i o n A f e w we e k s a g o , we s a w p ro t e s t s i n C h a r l o t t e s v i l l e w h e re w h i t e s u p re m a c i s t s ( l e t ’ s c a l l t h e m w h a t t h e y re a l l y a re ) r a l l i e d t o p ro t e c t “ w h i t e h e r i t a g e , ” p ro c l a i m i n g “ w h i t e l i ve s m a t t e r ” So c i o e c o n o m i c a n d r a c e - c o n s c i o u s a f f i r m a t i ve a c t i o n i s c l e a r l y s t i l l n e c e ss a r y o n c a m p u s e s a c ro s s A m e r i c a T h e p u r p o s e o f a f f i rm a t i ve a c t i o n i s n ’ t t o g i ve e a c h r a c e a n e q u a l s l i c e o f t h e d e m o g r a p h i c p i e o n e ve r y c o l l e g e c a m p u s i n A m e r i c a , b u t r a t h e r t o m i t i g a t e a h i s t o r y o f d i s e n f r a n c h i s e m e n t a n d t o p re ve n t g e n e r a t i o n s o f c a s c a d i n g d i s a d va n t a g e s f o r m i n o r i t y f a m i l i e s Howe ve r, a f f i r m a t i ve a c t i o n t o d a y e x i s t s i n a n e d u c a t i o n s y s t e m t h a t i s d e s i g n e d n o t t o p ro t e c t t h e d i s a d va n t a g e d , b u t r a t h e r u p l i f t t h e we a l t h y Ne g a t i ve a c t i o n a g a i n s t A s i a n A m e r i c a n s t u d e n t s i s a n o b s t a c l e f o r f i r s t - g e n e r a t i o n f a m i l i e s a n d a c r u t c h f o r t h e m o s t a d va n t a g e d m e m b e r s o f o u r s o c i e t y Eve r y ye a r, C o r n e l l s e n d s o u t t h e s a m e e m a i l b l a s t t h a t t h e i n c o m i n g C l a s s o f 2 0 X X i s “ t h e m o s t d i ve r s e i n s c h o o l h i s t o r y ” In o rd e r t o t r u l y e m b r a c e d i ve r s i t y o n c a m p u s , C o r n e l l m u s t p ro t e c t a f f i r m a t i ve a c t i o n a n d t h e i r d e d i c a t i o n t o m i n o r i t y s t u d e n t s by g e t t i n g r i d o f p re f e re n t i a l t re a t m e n t f o r l e g a c y a n d t r u s t f u n d s t ud e n t s To o o f t e n , t h e v i c t i m s o f t h e s e p ro g r a m s a re h i g h a c h i e v i n g A s i a n s t u d e n t s By e n d i n g t h e s e s p e c i f i c p rog r a m s , we c a n p re s e r ve a f f i r m a t i ve a c t i o n w h i l e m ov i n g h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n a w a y f ro m i t s h i s t o r i c a l l y w h i t e a n d u p p e r - c l a s s b i a s Jason Jeong is a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences He can be reached at jj357@cornell edu Jeongism appears alternate Wednesdays this semester

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Spidey Swings Home

BY ZACHARY LEE Sun Staff Writer

After a semi-successful trilogy by Sam Raimi and two over-the-top films from Marc Webb, it seemed like ever yone ’ s neighborhood wall crawler was going to put up the cowl for good, while studios battled over whether SpiderMan should be portrayed as an emo teenager or an emotionally challenged Tobey Maguire Yet, who would have thought that thirty minutes of Tom Holland donning spandex in Captain America: Civil War was a sign of better things to come? Holland’s performance earned him stripes for his own solo movie in the form of Spider-Man: Homecoming, the title of which references the eponymous high school dance and is symbolic of Spider-Man joining the larger Mar vel family owned by Disney As with anyone who has to interact with new relatives, Homecoming can feel awkward and terse as it attempts to navigate and connect with past films, but once it finds its own footing, the movie flips into high gear In the end, the latest Spidey excels as a greater extension of the Mar vel Universe, and also as a solid standalone feature buoyed by a stellar supporting cast, infectious humor and a fresh, contemporar y high school setting Spider-Man: Homecoming takes place soon after the events of Captain America: Civil War Peter Parker (Tom Holland) attempts to fight crime and prove his worth as an Avenger while struggling to adjust to the monotony of high school life Right from the start, director Jon Watts establishes a tension between the “civilian world” and the “ superhero world ” While New York was explored in past MCU movies, Watts focuses specifically on highlighting Queens, keeping the camera focused on the ground and only slightly oscillating the view up when Spidey was swinging throughout the city There’s an emphasis on Queens’ business but also its idiosyncrasies, from hole-in-the-wall sandwich shops to creviced alleyways, perfect for hiding one ’ s super suit and backpack Likewise, shots of Avengers Tower, PSA announcements given by Captain America and casual conversation about Hulk in Peter’s high school gymnasium remind viewers that this Spider-Man movie ver y much takes place in a post-Avengers world, where the public has largely accepted that superheroes are a part of daily life This evolution is interesting to note in comparison with the first Iron

Man and also adds pressure on Peter, as he is forced to grapple with what makes his superhero antics special in a world of demigods and super soldiers

As Peter wrestles with his superhero side, one of the more offputting elements of the film is that it feels like Jon Watts was attempting to shoot a high school drama (think along the lines of Sixteen C a n d l e s a n d B re a k f a s t C l u b ) , pitched his film to the studio and Mar vel forcefully reminded him that he was hired to make a superhero movie Montages of Peter and his best friend Ned ( Jacob Batalon) raising their hands in Spanish class may seem out of place, but these unadulterated looks into Peter’s life is what makes him relatable Watts likewise provides a fresh spin on traditional high school angsts: we can relate to wanting the bell to ring But, there is always an element of the unordinar y, as most high school kids might hang out with friends after school, but Peter has already donned his costume, ready to ser ve his community whether that is giving directions to an old lady or stopping a bike thief

also known as the Vulture, whose mechanical flight suit m

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Tom Holland’s zealous and effer vescent portrayal of Peter Parker was a highlight of Captain America: Civil War and it continues to the anchor of Homecoming He dually portrays the quirky and shy nerd archetype, perhaps best fleshed out in his hilariously realistic and awkward interactions with his crush, Liz (Laura Harrier) or as he fumbles to lie to Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) why he was out late on a school night At times he even seems Peter’s innocence to be self-sacrificial, as he cares fiercely for the people around him This contrast between Peter Parker and Spider-Man is brilliantly fleshed out as Peter has all the right to brag and be egotistical, yet he remains humble whenever the spotlight shines on him

Spider-Man has always had a great supporting cast and this trend continues with Homecoming, as the film masterfully balances its great star power with equally admirable responsibility At long last, the problem with MCU Villains is rectified in the form of Michael Keaton’s Adrian Toomes,

Toomes has a compelling and genuine motivation that drives him to turn to a life of crime, and Michael Keaton steals the show in ever y scene that he is in, being able to turn from the sneering villain caricature to a cold and calculating genius at a moment ’ s whim People may have been worried that Homecoming was secretly Iron Man 4 featuring SpiderMan, but Robert Downey Jr ’ s role as Tony Stark (Iron Man) thankfully does not eclipse Tom Holland’s Jacob Batalon’s portrayal of Ned is another standout, providing many hilarious moments in the film Marisa Tomei’s Aunt May is wittier and more deductive than past incarnations, but is not given too much to do Other characters such as Zendaya’s Michelle and Donald Glover s Aaron Davis are unfortunately given only a handful of minutes on screen

Spider-Man: Homecoming has all the elements you would want from a superhero movie: action, humor and great character development, yet those elements also make for a great

Homecoming lighthearted without ever being insincere, thrilling yet also humorous It is one of those rare films that defies all typical genre conventions while being an exemplar for what superhero films can and should be

Zachar y Lee is a sophomore in the College of Ar ts and Sciences He can be reached at zjl4@cornell edu

An Alien Knows More About Me Than I Ever Will

BY VIRI GARCIA Sun Staff Writer

Be it often or seldom, we are reminded just how ridiculous our society and morals are We get sad for no reason, we get grumpy, we ’ re ungrateful when we have ever ything given to us and treat each other like garbage Jonny Sun’s illustrated novel, Ever yone ’ s a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too, is all about the weird ways of “humabns,” the concepts they’ve created and the way that they deal with feelings, fears and each other

The book is one of the few that are meant to be read from cover to cover, as the first and last pages contain Jomny the alien’s “activitey log,” which can be both a preface and an epilogue Jomny, an alien who is not quite good at spelling human words, has been sent to Earth with a mission to meet and research Earth’s creatures, or “humabns ” Jomny wanders back and forth between the same p l a c e s a n d m a k e s f r i e n d s w i t h t h e m a s i n s t r u c t e d

However, he comes to realize that each human he meets has a special set of fears, anxieties and emotions His first friend is a tree that has “learned to stop giving things to sombody just because they want somthing” and goes on to teach him countless confusing things about what ever yone feels, while providing constant emotional support

As mentioned, each creature that Jomny meets has a specific set of problems, such as an owl that thinks he doesn’t deser ve to be an owl because he is not wise, an egg that is worried about who it will become, bees who can ’ t make friends because they fear they’ll sting them and a dog who loves ever yone but doesn’t know how to express happiness in words that ever yone can understand The book is

full of rich allegories that any reader can decipher and appreciate right away, and they also become more meaningful once the reader thinks more For example, a character called Nothing makes appearances, but once Nothing realizes that when it shows up ever ybody else leaves, it feels unappreciated and leaves, causing all the characters to become cluttered and chaotic on the pages They all tell Nothing that they appreciate it and ask it to come back, restoring order Such allegories hold a lot of meaning even though they are cute and easy to understand thanks to the bubbly, friendly illustrations

In addition to the illustrations, Sun has given all of the characters greater depth by using a unique fonts when one of the characters speaks Jomny, most of the creatures and his alien colleagues all share a casual, soothing font, while Nothing has a thin, formal font, representing greater pres-

ence and meaning No character in the book is trivial, which in itself is another metaphor Sun has created a book full of nuance from cover to cover, from the “ map of earbth” found at the beginning of the book, to the “About the fonts” and acknowledgements pages If one were to dissect and understand each metaphor in its entirety, life would achieve greater meaning and we would all be less sad and lonely

Throughout the book, Jomny’s alien colleagues visit him on Earth to check how he has progressed on his mission However, when they find out that Jomny has befriended the “humabns,” they inform him that he is failing because he’s strictly supposed to be researching them, especially since their species functions perfectly without friends Jomny spends at least 100 days on Earth and gets to experience loneliness, happiness, sadness, ever ything and nothing However, he never finds the definition of “♥, ” which is what a dog tells ever yone he meets One of the big ideas in the book is that some things can ’ t be defined, don’t need to be defined and don’t happen for a reason Some things are better experienced than explained I hadn’t picked up a book since Darcie Wilder’s literally show me a healthy person, which could be frustrating and hardly a book to some, but I hold it ver y dear to my heart Similarly, Ever yone ’ s a aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too is mostly cute pictures and few words, which could make anyone question whether it should be considered “ a book,” as the author himself anticipates However, the few words in the sea of illustrations hit home, crawl under your skin and curl up in your heart to stay

Viri Garcia is a sophomore in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences She can be reached at vg235@cornell edu

A s t ro n o m y

We i l l R e s e a r c h e r s P a r t a k e

I n E c l i p s e A s t r o b i o l o g y E x p e r i m e n t s

Team will analyze RNA expression and genetic mutations of bacteria sent into stratosphere

By ARNAV GHOSH Sun Staff Writer

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c a rd , c o a t e d w i t h s p o r e s o f t h e h a r ml e s s b a c t e r i u m Pa e n i b a c i l l u s x e r o t h e rm o d u r a n s T h e s e s p o r e s a r e r e s i s t a n t s t r u c t u r e s t h a t t h e b a c t e r i u m u t il i z e s t o s u r v i v e i n u n f av o r a b l e c o n d i t i o n s A n i d e n t i c a l c a rd s t a y e d o n t h e g r o u n d t o a l l o w r e s e a r c h e r s t o c o m p a r e , a m o n g o t h e r t h i n g s , t h e s p o r e ’ s s u r v i v a l a n d a n y b a c t e r i a l m u t a t i o n s “ O u r c o l l a b o r a t o r s a t N A S A r e c e n t l y i s o l a t e d t h i s s t r a i

c a t e i n a l a b o r a t o r y s e t t i n g , ” M a s o n

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

s e e n o n M a r s , t h e m o o n b l o c k s c e r t a i n t y p e s o f U V r a d i a t i o n d u r i n g a n e c l i p s e , b r i d g i n g t h i s d i f f e r e n c e a n d b r i n g i n g a t m o s p h e r i c t e m p e r a t u r e s d o w n f u r t h e r “ C h a r a c t e r i z i n g b a c t e r i a c a p a b l e o f s u r v i v i n g i n t h e s t r a t o s p h e r e c a n h e l p i d e n t i f y p o t e n t i a l c o n t a m i n a n t s o f e x t r a t e r r e s t r i a l b o d i e s f r o m h u m a n s p a c e e x p l o r a t i o n c a l l e d P l a n e t a r y Pr o t e c t i o n , ” M a s o n s a i d “ It c o u l d a l s o p r ov i d e i n s i g h t i n t o m i c r o b i a l a d a p t at i o n a n d t h e l i m i t s o f h a b i t a b i l i t y a s w e s e a r c h f o r l i f e b e y o n d E a r t h ” W i t h t h i s i n m i n d , a k e y f e a t u r e r e s e a r c h e r s w i l l b e e x a m i n i n g i s t h e

b a c t e r i u m ’ s R N A e x p r e s s i o n , t h e p r o c e s s b y w h i c h i n f o r m a t i o n f r o m

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s p a c e c r a f t a s s e m b l y f a c i l i t i e s f o u n d t h a t s t r a t o s p h e r i c c o n d i t i o n s i n d u c e d s u b s t i t u t i o n s o f d i f f e r e n t b a s e s i n D N A , w i t h o u t a n y b e i n g a d d e d o r d e l e t e d a n d s o m e t h i n g s i m i l a r m a y b e s e e n d u r i n g t h e e c l i p s e “ T h e e x p e r i m e n t w i l l h e l p d e t e rm i n e w h e t h e r t h i s p a r t i c u l a r s p e c i e s i s c a p a b l e o f s u r v i v a l b e y o n d E a r t h I f i t d o e s s h o w s i g n i f i c a n t l y i n c r e a s e d s u rv i v a l , o r e v e n p a r t

g e n e s i s u s e d t o c r e a t e a f u n c t i o n a l p r o d u c t , o f t e n p r o t e i n s “ We w i l l f i r s t b e c h a r a c t e r i z i n g t h e d i f f e r e n c e s i n R N A e x p r e s s i o n b e t w e e n c e l l s i n t h e v e g e t a t i v e s t a t e a n d t h e s p o r e s t a t e Pr e v i o u s s t u d i e s h a v e f o u n d l o w R N A e x p r e s s i o n i n b a c t e r i a l s p o r e s , b u t h a v e n ’ t l o o k e d a t t h i s s p e c i e s o r u s e d m o d e r n t e c h n i q u e s l i k e R N A - s e q u e n c i n g D e p

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New Position Created in Rowing

coach

By JOSHUA ZHU Sun Ass stant Sports Editor

announced that Liz Dennison will be stepping into the newly created role of Associate Director of Rowing after ser ving as head coach of the women ’ s team for three years

Fo

team member Barney Williams will ser ve as the interim head coach of the rowing program in Dennison’s place

Dennison’s new role will entail “ supervision of the interim head women ' s coach and the Boatman, coordinating the training information among the rowing coaches on staff, establishing a bud-

Athletics Department

"I am looking for ward to the opportunity to engage in strategic planning and provide support for all of Cornell Rowing in this different role,” Dennison said ”I am thankful to be able to continue my support of the

Cornell women ' s program, as well as heavyweight and lightweight men ' s teams, in this new role "

During her eight years with Cornell, Dennison has ser ved the past three as the head coach of the women ’ s team and won the EAWRC Co-Assistant Coach of the Year in 2011 before taking the helm

“I am looking forward to the opportunity to engage in strategic planning and provide support for all of Cornell Rowing ”

the 2004 Athens Olympics in the men ’ s coxless four and a gold medal at the 2003 FISA World Championships in the same event

"We are thrilled [to] welcome Barney to the staff this year, " Dennison said "He brings a wealth of knowledge with his own personal success as an Olympic medalist for Canada as well as his recent coaching successes on the national and international scene "

Ta k i n

Williams, who is coming off a summer in which he worked as the U23 Program Coach for the Rowing Canada's men ' s heavyweight program Williams has also spent the past five years as the Lead Coach in Victoria for Rowing Canada's Row to Podium Program As an athlete, Williams won a silver medal at

Football Gets Time in Spotlight

By ZACH SILVER Sun Sports Ed tor

e n a t i o n a l l y - b ro a d c a s t e d m a t c h u p p e r we e k Fo r C o r n e l l , t h a t c o n t e s t w i l l b e Sa t u rd a y, Oc t 2 8 , a t 7 p m o n N B C S N a ro a d d a t e w i t h Pr i n c e t o n T h e t h re e o t h e r t e l e v i s e d g a m e s w i l l b e Se p t 2 3 , w h e n C o r n e l l t r a ve l s t o Ya l e ; Oc t 7 , w h e n C o r n e l l h o s t s Ha r va rd f o r Ho m e c o m i n g ; a n d Nov 1 8 , w h e n C o r n e l l t r a ve l s t o Pe n n f o r t h e s e a s o n f i n a l e A l l t h re e g a m e s w i l l b e b ro a d c a s t e d o n El e ve n Sp o r t s I n t o t a l , e i g h t o f C o r n e l l ’ s 1 0 g a m e s w i l l b e b r o a d c a s t e d o n t h e I v y L e a g u e N e t w o r k t h e l e a g u e ’ s s u b s c r i p t i o nb a s e d o n l i n e s t r e a m i n g s e r v i c e T h e o n l y o n e s e x c l u d e d f r o m t h i s l i s t a r e t h e N B C S N g a m e a g a i n s t P r i n c e t o n a n d t h e s e a s o n o p e n e r a t D e l a w a r e o n S e p t 1 6 “ We a r e p r o u d t o o n c e a g a i n s h o wc a s e I v y L e a g u e f o o t b a l l o n t h e n a t i o n a l s t a g e a n d c o n t i n u e o u r r e l a t i o n s h i p w i t h N B C , ” I v y L e a g u e E x e c u t i v e D i r e c t o r R o b i n H a r r i s s a i d i n a p r e s s r e l e a s e “ T h i s y e a r

"I would like to thank the Cornell University Athletic Department for this incredible opportunity to share my passion for rowing with the coaches and athl e t e s o f t h e e n t i re C o r n e l l c re w, " Williams said "I look for ward to building on the foundations that have been laid by [ Williams] and her team over the past couple years This is an exciting challenge and I am committed to helping ever y student athlete realize their goals on and off the water "

Joshua Zhu can be reached at jzhu@cornellsun com

The Corne¬ Daily Sun

Spor ts

Four Cornellians Sign Pro Deals This Past Summer

Former frst baseman Cole Rutherford ’17 signs with San Diego Padres

By Jamil Rahman Sun Assistant Sports Editor

Former Cornell baseball first baseman and California native Cole Rutherford ’17 did not hear his name called in the MLB draft earlier this month, but has signed as a free agent with the San Diego Padres, it was announced in late June

“It was a dream come true I remember when they called me I was ecstatic,” Rutherford told the Sun “I hung up and gave my dad a huge hug and started tearing up a bit I was absolutely overwhelmed with emotions ”

Rutherford said that the team called him on June 15th, but didn’t make it official until the 23rd when he went out to Arizona to sign

“I was once again overjoyed and called both of my parents my brother and my girlfriend and was almost at a loss for words,” Rutherford added about the signing

Rutherford becomes the first Cornell field-player to join a professional organization and fourth overall this summer after Paul Balestri ’17, Peter Lannoo ’17 and rising senior Justin Lewis all pitchers were drafted during the 2017 MLB Draft

Rutherford will also be joining his younger brother, Blake, in the professional ranks, who was drafted straight out of high school by the New York Yankees with the 18th overall pick in the first round of the 2016 draft Blake currently plays for the Charleston RiverDogs, the Single-A affiliate of the Yankees But Rutherford said the idea of facing off against his brother hasn’t crossed his mind yet

“I think mainly just because we ' re in completely different leagues,” he said as to why it has never come up, “but that would definitely be something special if that happened some day ”

Cole spent his freshman and sophomore years playing for Orange

Coast College a two-year com Ca helping the team on its way his seasons with OCC and a nation transferring to Cornell

“The biggest adjustment was ju to both baseball and school an Rutherford said about the transition do in order to be successful at bot hours in the day to get it all done stay on top of everything and be d thing that you do ”

Rutherford immediately ma impact for the Red He was named Ivy League honorable mention after the 2016 season, and led the team in home runs in his two seasons in Ithaca with six in 2016 and seven in 2017 Rutherford also led the team in RBI’s in both of his seasons with 26 and 33, and led last year ’ s squad with a 512 slugging percentage and a 314 batting average in Ivy League play

Jamil Rahman can be reached at

jrahman@cornellsun com

Pitchers Balestrieri ’17, Lannoo ’17, Lewis ’18 drafted day three of Major League Baseball draft

By JAMIL RAHMAN Sun Assistant Sports Editor

On the final day of the MLB draft three former Cornell baseball players were drafted in the 2017 Major League Baseball draft All of the players selected thus far have been pitchers, bringing the total in the last four years to six Red players being drafted

Paul Balestrieri

With the 784th overall pick in the 26th round, the St Louis Cardinals drafted former RHP Paul Balestrieri ’17 Balestrieri knew a few picks ahead that the team was preparing to pick him

“[Sean Moran, the team ’ s area scout] called me a few picks before,” Balestrieri told the Sun “He asked how to pronounce my last name ”

But for the New Jersey native the emotions didn’t sink in u c

Balestrieri also gave a great deal of credit to his college coach, Dan Pepicelli

“Coach Pep is such a great man, I can ’ t say enough great things about him,” Balestrieri said “[He] was by my side the whole time, setting up workouts and giving advice I love that guy to death ”

Balestrieri graduated this past spring, and in his senior year he appeared and started in nine games and posted a 54 record In his 57 2 innings pitched, he notched 36 strikeouts and sported a 2 18 ERA, good for second in the Ivy League Balestrieri was also named CoSIDA Academic AllDistrict team

Balestrieri was named second-team All Ivy at the conclusion of the season and earned Ivy League Pitcher of the Week after Cornell defeated Michigan State, 21, in the Spider Invitational in Richmond, Va Balestrieri ranks sixth alltime in Cornell history with six saves

Peter Lannoo

Two rounds later, with the 846th overall pick in the 28 h d h

RHP Peter Lannoo ’17

The closer from Indiana posted a 3 86 ERA in his 21 innings pitched Lannoo appeared in 17 games and came away with eight saves, tied for most in the Ivy League The number also puts him in second all-time in program history for saves in a season Lannoo was one of two Red players to be selected to the All-Ivy first team at the end of the season Lannoo began his Cornell career as a walk-on, then made six appearances during his sophomore season before suffering an injury that cut his year short Lannoo was bumped up to the varsity level starting his sophomore year and made a few appearances, then moved into the rotation his junior year

Justin Lewis

Just four picks later with the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 850th pick, another pitcher came off the board for the Red This time it was rising-senior LHP Justin Lewis, the only southpaw in Cornell’s rotation

The California native finished his junior season with a 5 32 ERA in 45 2 innings pitched Lewis started in eight of his nine appearances, posting a 3-2 record Lewis had the option come back to Ithaca to finish out his college career Lewis decided to forgo his senior season d i i h h D d

Jamil Rahman can be reached at jrahman@cornellsun com

PHOTOS BY CAMERON POLLACK / SUN PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR