08 29 17 entire issue hi res

The Corne¬ Daily Sun

Foreign Students Barred

From Work Study Jobs

By DIVYANSHA SEHGAL Sun Senior Writer

A week before the beginning of classes this fall, international students on financial aid were notified they would no longer be eligible to participate in Federal Work Study jobs for the upcoming semester and beyond

The 130-word email sent from the Office of Financial Aid and Student Employment told students that the Foreign Student Employment Program the program that makes international students eligible for work study jobs had been defunded

means for us, and she said that they will discuss it and let us know ”

Gideon Amoah ’19, another international student who also works at the library, was upset to see the change

“I’ve been working there since 2015 and, well, you build relationships,” he said “The program made it easier for us to work at the library, but now I think it’s our last semester working there ” The librar y, on its end, is making some accommodations for the affected students

“Now, if you’re an international student with high financial need, you need to be exceptional.”

“After a careful review of the Foreign Student Employment Program, including a budgetary review, the decision has been made that funding for the program is no longer available,” Student Employment Advisor Nicole Waterman said in the email International student Ming Khan ’18, an employee at the library since her freshman year, was surprised when she unexpectedly was told her that the program would no longer be funded

“I got an email saying that the funding for the program is not there anymore, [and] should we choose to work in a qualifying department, the department would be responsible for 100 percent of our wages, ” she said “I asked my supervisor what that

“During 2016–17, Cornell University Librar y employed 20 students with the help of the Foreign Student Employment Program,” said Bonna Boettcher, director of John M Olin Library, Uris Library and the Library Annex, in a statement to The Sun

“In order to help mitigate the personal impact of the cuts on the students, we have offered to continue their employment through the fall 2017 semester, while knowing that this will affect our student employment budget for the remainder of the year, ”

Boettcher said

The Sun reached out to the International Students and Scholars Office for comment, but they declined to comment since the

See EMPLOYMENT page 4

Ridesharing Spurs Reactions

Uber and Lyft continue contentious trial period

By SHIVANI SANGHANI and JEANETTE SI Sun Staff Writers

This fall marked the dawn of a new era of transportation for Cornell students No longer does a trip to the mall require elaborate planning, conflicting bus routes and juggling between approximate arrival and departure times

In April, Uber, Lyft and other rideshar-

Life-Threatening Storm Hits Home for Cornellians

By JOHN YOON Sun Assistant News Ed tor

Before Eric Bailey ’19 opened his parents ’ text messages Sunday morning, he had no idea any water would be flowing

into his home in Houston, Texas in the wake of Hurricane Harvey

“There had been no evacuation notice or anything from the city,” he said “But there ended up being enough water that they couldn’t stay at home It was up to 15

inches or so ”

As the outer edges of the cyclone had started hitting the Gulf Coast as a Categor y 4 hurricane, Houston was expected to face a “multiday rainfall disaster ” over five to six days, according to the National Hurricane Center

“My parents actually had to borrow a kayak from a neighbor and take the essentials to a neighbor’s house until the floodwaters receded,” Bailey said “Now they’re staying with some other relatives I have in Houston It’s definitely scary ”

The storm plummeted through southeastern Texas, bringing 130-m p h winds and torrential rainfall to the region, the National Hurricane Center said affecting people underneath its path, including millions in the fourth-largest metropolitan area in America

The hurricane was defined as “lifethreatening” due to potential flooding and strong winds that could leave parts of

ing companies announced that they will be extending their services into upstate New York after the approval of the 2018 budget by Governor Andrew Cuomo These companies began a trial period starting in July, before students returned to campus With the surge of Cornellians returning since mid-August and some embarking on Ithaca’s hills for the first time, students and Ithacans alike share mixed reactions of the new t r a n s p o r t a t i o n options

During the summer, fewer Uber drivers were based in Ithaca, said Shirley Kabir ’20, due to the fewer number of students on campus than during the academic year Despite the scarcity of drivers, the price of rides was not insurmountable

“During the summer, Uber prices were very cheap Now that there are so many people, Uber hiked up the prices.”

2 0

”During the summer, it was only $7 to get around locally,” she said of the affordability of Uber’s summer trial period

However, with the start of school, Ithaca’s cohort of drivers grew Uber driver Thomas Harris said that he just recently transferred to Ithaca from Buffalo on August 25 due to the “high demand for Uber in the area, caused by the start of school ” “I serve a mixture of customers, ranging

Student-Led Course Updates Curriculum After Unexpected Demand

By JULIA CURLEY Sun Staff Writer

C o r n e l l Da t a S c i e n c e ’ s f o r m e r l y u n o ff i c i a l , c o m p l e t e l y s t u d e n t - l e d t r a i n i n g c o u r s e i s n ow a f u l l y a c c re d i t e d c l a s s w i t h e n t i c i n g u p d a t e s

L a s t Ja n u a r y, t h e C o r n e l l Da t a S c i e n c e p ro j e c t t e a m l a u n c h e d a n u n o f f i c i a l s t ud e n t - t a u g h t a n d s t u d e n t - c o n c e i ve d s t a -

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

T h i s f a l l , t h e c o u r s e re t u r n s w i t h m a j o r i m p rove m e n t s T h e c o u r s e p u t s s t u d e n t s f i r s t b o t h a s t e a c h e r s a n d l e a r n e r s a n d o f f e r s a n i m m e r s i ve e x p e r i e n c e i n t h e “ b u z z w o rd”

w o r l d o f d a t a s c i e n c e , C h a s e T h o m a s ’ 1 9 t o l d T h e Su n K e e p i n g w i t h i t s s t u d e n t - c e n t e r e d f o c u s , c o u r s e e va l u a t i o n s g e n e r a t e d a n e w w a ve o f p ro g re s s f o r t h i s s e m e s t e r ’ s t r a i ni n g c o u r s e , n ow f o r m a l l y t i t l e d I N F O 1 9 9 8 : In t ro d u c t i o n t o Da t a S c i e n c e a n d Ma c h i n e L e a r n i n g Ac c o rd i n g t o T h o m a s , t h e C o r n e l l Da t a S c i e n c e s t u d e n t p re s i d e n t , t h e f i r s t t r a i n i n g c o u r s e w a s “ a h u g e s u c c e s s ” “ We e x p e c t e d n o m o re t h a n 2 0 o r 3 0 e n r o l l m e n t s a n d a l m o s t 1 5 0 s t u d e n t s a d d e d t h e c o u r s e , ” h e s a i d “ T h e r e ’ s c l e a r l y a l o t o f d a t a s c i e n c e d e m a n d t h a t w a s n ’ t b e i n g m e t ” De s p i t e i t s i m p re s s i ve s t u d e n t i n t e re s t

h e s e c o n d

s t e r, t h e Da t

S c i e n c e t e a m re i m a g i n e d i t s a p p ro a c h a n d f

C o r n e l l i a n s At i t s c o re , t h e C o r n e l l Da t a S c i e n c e

t e a m w o r k s w i t h t h e “ re a l” re a l d a t a , re a l p r o g r a m s , r e a l p r o bl e m s o n a d i g i t a l l e ve l It s c o u r s e u p d a t e s re f l e c t t h i s e f f o r t t o s t a y i n t o u c h w i t h t h e d a t a

a n d p o s i t i ve f e e d b a c k , h owe ve r, T h o m a s a n d h i s t e a m w a n t e d t o d o b e t t e r f o r

Engaged Cornell Starts New Leadership Program

By CHANCE MASLOFF Sun Staff Writer

Treating others the way they want to be treated can now be a cer tifiable skill, according to Engaged Cornell

Introduced in the Fall of 2016, the Cer tificate for Engaged Leadership program gives Cornell students the opportunity to use their leadership skills to “address areas of public concern ” in the local community

Twenty-four Cornell students formulated the Certificate in Engaged Leadership program in the spring of 2016 The program aims to “challenge students to bring about the world they wish to see now and throughout their lives,” said Mike Bishop, director of student leadership in the Office of Engagement Initiatives

Bishop stressed that the Cer tificate on Engaged Leadership focuses on the importance of “critical reflection as a prerequisite for life-long leadership development ”

Bishop also noted that the Cer tificate in Engaged Leadership is “ meant to support one in integrating one ’ s interests in leadership and public involvement ”

The Certificate in Engaged Leadership usually takes around two years to complete It consists of three stages: “Involved,” “Committed” and “Capstone ” During these stages, students first explore various community-based issues of interest, then focus on one issue and finally develop a model of change and life-long action plan

Each stage of the program requires community-outreach work, along with leadership development workshops In the final stage of the program, students have dialogues with others completing the certificate and reflect on their experiences Conor McCabe ’18, an Engaged Ambassador and one of the students involved with the star t of the Cer tificate in Engaged Leadership program, earned his Certificate through his work with Cornell Cooperative Extension, which works to bring information gained at Cornell into the local community, namely in regards to agriculture and food production

To read the rest of this story see cornellsun com

cmasloff@cornellsun com

s c i e n c e i n d u s t r y a n d i t s s t u d e n t s n e e d s “ D a t a S c i e n c e i s s u c h a h u g e a n d va s t t o p i c , ” T h o m a s s a i d , “ We t r i e d t o t a c k l e t o o m u c h i n o n e s e m e s t e r We we re n ’ t a b l e t o a n s we r e ve r y q u e s t i o n We’re s t ud e n t s t o o , we g o t a b i t ove r w h e l m e d ” Fo

“We want students to leave with a starter tool kit to implement programming models.”

C.U. Downtown Festivities Return Saturday

Dance, music, shopping drew 2,000 to Commons last year

By ANNE SNABES Sun Staff Writer

are among the sponsors of the event that dre w an estimated 2,000 people last year, according to Margherita Fabrizio, The Jack and Rilla Neafsey Director of The Carol Tatkon Center Fabrizio described the event as a “back to school celebration,” and emphasized that it is for new

Int’l Students With

F i n a n c i a l Ne e d

Face New Barriers

EMPLOYMENT Continued from page 1

I S S O i s n o l o n g e r d i r e c t l y involved with the financial aid

p r o c e s s f o r i n t e r n a t i o n a l s t udents

Susan Hitchcock, director of the office of Financial Aid and Student Employment, defended the cut, saying that the Foreign

S t u d e n t

E m p l o y m e n t Program was essentially being used to

“ s u b s i d i z e C o r n e l l

d e p a r t m e n t a l b u dgets [by] paying student wages ” “ T h i s s e e m e d like an unnecessar y

p r a c t i c e , e s p e c i a l l y

w h e n t h o s e f u n d s could be used for direct financial aid

t o i n t e r n a t i o n a l

New Programming Course Welcomes Beginners

PROGRAMMING

Continued from page 4

and increased office hours, the updated course offers a new path to the data science study

“We’ve reduced the overall course material so that students can really know what they learn,” Lim said “We go more in depth into the when and why of programming techniques rather than focusing only on the how We want students to know how to do it but it’s important to understand why we do it ”

no prior experience begin coding on day one After a semester long practice with manipulating data, debriefing trends, and implementing algorithms, each student gains what Kim calls “data science intuition ” The Cornell Data Science Training Program is a one-credit, 12-week course It meets ever y Wednesday night in Gates Hall

assistance,” she said “Given the large number of jobs available f

“This means that you’re holding

oyment and the job search information available on our website, we seldom encounter students who have difficulties finding a job Let’s not forget that there are also thousands of jobs available across campus with departments willing to pay the full cost o

international students to a much higher standard, which is unfair ”

u n d e r g r a d u a t e s t u d e n t s w i t h financial need,” she said “ The hiring departments will employ the students without the subsidy, so spending $40,000 in that way was not the most impactful use of Cornell’s limited international financial aid resources ”

However, contrar y to what Hitchcock said in terms of students being able to continue with their current employer, the librar y has declined to comment on anything definitive beyond the current semester

According to Hitchcock, the money will be directed toward providing at least one additional international student with financial aid

“Under the Foreign Student Employment Program, 30 students received subsidized wages, and the beneficiaries were the Cornell depar tments receiving t h e s u b s i d y, ” Hi t c h c o c k s a i d “Under the new approach, those

3 0 s t u d e n t s c a n c o n t i n u e t o work with their current employer and receive their full wages p a i d e n t i r e l y b y t h e h i r i n g department while Cornell will be able to provide financial aid to at least one additional international student a year ”

E m p l oy m e n t d u r i n g t h e school year contributes to the “self help” portion of a student’s financial aid, according to the FWS website Almost a quarter of the jobs on campus are FWS jobs, while the other three quarters pay all of an employee’s wages

Amoah also said that financial aid was awarded almost a month before he was notified

t h a t t h e Fo r e i g n St u d e n t

E m p l oy m e n t Pr o g r a m w o u l d not be funded Employment was counted as part of the financial aid, and at this time, he does not believe that the aid will be recalculated to include the change

Ne v e r t h e l e s s , Hi t c h c o c k encourages affected students to contact the office if they are having trouble finding a job due to the changes

“As is the case for any student who is having difficulty finding a j o b,

students ”

This change is

international student community and comes after

process for international students became need-aware

“Now, if you are an international student with a high financial need, you need to be exceptional,” Khan said “Other wise, you won ’ t even be accepted [It feels like] you ’ re only going to be awarded that aid, and by extension the acceptance if they really really want you This means that you ’ re holding international students to a much higher standard, which is unfair ”

Divyansha Sehgal can be reached at dsehgal@cornellsun com

As with last semester, students even those with

Julia Curley can be reached at jcurley@cornellsun com

Students Praise Uber, Lyft for Reliability, Scrutinize Cost, Apps’ Lack of Functionality

from students to the general Ithaca population,” Harris said “I came out here because there are so many potential customers here, but not enough drivers ” This increase of potential customers came with its setbacks Depending on demand, prices can fluctuate, according to Sneha Kumar ’20, who, just before the semester, paid $35 to travel from the airport to her apartment in Collegetown

“During the summer, Uber prices were very cheap,” Kumar said “But just before the semester started, at the airport, it was expensive, since so many students were coming back to campus On the app, it even said, ‘Because of high demand, we ’ re going to charge you $35 ’ Now that there are so many people, Uber hiked up the prices ”

Despite concerns of high demand increasing Uber prices, Kabir remained optimistic

“If people are really in a rush, people will opt for Uber, since

C.U. Downtown’s Festivities

TCAT buses are not reliable all the time, especially at night,” she said “For example, buses might not run, but Uber will run TCAT also takes much longer, and you might have to transfer from many buses, while Uber is very simple to use ” Harris said that the reliability

“[No taxi will be] as convenient or reliable as Uber.”

of ridesharing apps will compensate for its potentially steep prices, because no taxi will be “ as convenient or reliable as Uber,” he said “It’s [the] 21st centur y everything’s digital,” Harris said “Students have phones in their hand, they can just download the app, hit a button and boom, your ride is here ” Yet complaints about price do not appear to be consistent across

different ridesharing platforms June Xia ’18 said that her Lyft ride from the Commons to West Campus during the first week of classes was reasonably priced, with an eight-minute wait for the driver

“I think it [came out to] somewhere in the 9 to 13 dollar range for [our party of three,]” she said “[But] it was a Wednesday evening, which I feel is a pretty low traffic time ”

Xia noted that her Lyft driver was very accommodating of specific route requests, such as additional drop-off points

“ We wanted two different drop-off points [in Collegetown and on West], and the driver was accommodating of taking the detour,” she said

This flexibility, on top of the ability to instantly summon a ride, makes ride sharing apps an especially attractive option for students But the fact still remains that these apps are not the cheapest transportation methods in Ithaca

Will Target New Students

Event aims to familiarize new Cornellians with Ithaca’s downtown area

students, returning students and Ithaca community members

“It’s really an opportunity for first-year students to learn about what’s downtown, and to begin to see how close-by it is and that it provides a really good respite for them,” she said

“ There were many people last year who were performers who were upper-level students who weren ’ t that familiar with it either,” she added “I’ve heard a lot of students say as they’re seniors, ‘Oh I wish I had discovered Ithaca earlier ’”

Stores in downtown Ithaca will also have unique demonstrations on Saturday

“Most of the stores downtown are doing activities inside the shops to show the students a little bit about who we are and what’s downtown,” Graffin said

Students will be able to “mix t h e i r ow n s c e n t ” a t L i n s e y Layne and observe a laser cutter a n d 3 D p r i n t e r a t w o rk i n Ithaca Generator, according to Gr a f f i n Mu l t i p l e e s t a b l i s hments will even serve free ice

cream The DIA created a map for the event that includes around 50 coupons, according to Griffin These will be for shops such as The Cornell Store and Yoga Path Gaffin also added that the DIA’s scavenger hunt involves students searching for Game of Thrones references of which there are 30 in stores downtown

“The students can go in, find the reference, collect the sticker on the map, and then the more places you visit, the more qualifying points you can earn for some really cool prizes,” she said

Some of the prizes relate to

“It’s really an opportunity for first-year students to learn about what’s downtown ”

Game of Thrones, while others are gift certificates or other items from Ithaca shops

“The ultimate prize and the

ultimate bragging rights prize is an Iron Throne replica for your dorm room, ” Graffin said Graffin also added the TCAT bus system will adjust its schedule to stop more often than usual on Cornell’s campus this Saturday

“These routes normally have a bus on the route ever y 30 minutes, and so they’re adding additional buses to the different routes, so that it’s a more frequent shuttle, so that more students can get on the bus and ride it down the hill,” she said Fabrizio said the event will allow Ithaca residents to see how Cornell students fit into the Ithaca community

“Cornell students ... bring so much of their own culture to these shows.”

Ser vice Center and Engaged Cornell, while another tent will represent two organizations called Home Plate which allows Cornell students to eat dinner with an Ithaca family and International Friendship Program

“[C U Downtown] should also be a way to think about the community that you ’ re part of and that you ’ re going to be part of for four years or more and what your role could be in it,” Fabrizio said

“It’s a great way for Ithacans to see Cornell students in a ver y different way and to really a p p r e c i a t e w h a t t h e y c o ntribute to the fabric to the community, because this really shows they bring so much of t h e i r o w n c u l t u r e t o t h e s e shows,” she said “It’s just this really great celebration of the d i v e r s i t y o f t h e c o m m u n i t y that we have here ” The event will also introduce students to service opportunities in Ithaca Fabrizio said there will be a tent at C U Downtown representing Cornell Public

Anne Snabes can be reached at asnabes@cornellsun com

Students’ Families Brave Fatal Storm

HARVEY Continued from page 1

South Texas “uninhabitable for weeks or months,” according to the National Weather Service

For Cornell students from the region, reports of the destruction stirred up concerns for loved ones back home

“There’s been a lot of FaceTiming and a lot of calling ” said Raven Schwam-Curtis ’20, whose mother, grandparents and cousins were struck by unprecedented floodings “It’s hard to not be there and not know what’s going on when I don’t hear back from them, say for an hour ”

Her mother, who lives in downtown Houston, has been trapped in her flooded house, where the ceilings and molding is peeling off and water is seeping in from the walls

“She hasn’t really been sleeping She’s waking up every few hours and using the bucket to clear the water, ” she said “I’m very worried and have been obsessively checking in with her ”

As the onslaught continued, SchwamCurtis kept in touch with her extended family through a group chat

around her neighborhood, she said she kept in close contact with her friends and sometimes even received calls from friends who she had not spoken to in a long time

Since the flooding, distance from home has been especially overwhelming to bear for Kaya Coleman ’20, whose parents and brother are forced to stay home and unable to travel to work or school

“Being away from home is hard, because I can see what’s going on but I’m so far away and can ’ t help them,” she said “I feel sad that I can ’ t be of service to them ”

In addition to flooded streets surrounding her house, Coleman’s family experienced a power outage for two days during the deluge

“When the storm turned from a Category 3 into Category 4, they knew they weren ’ t prepared,” she said

For Viridiana Garcia ’20, a Sun arts writer who drove to Houston to attend a Coldplay concert with her family on Friday, the news could not be more visceral

“Being away from home is hard, because I can see what’s going on but I’m so far away and can’t help them.”

K a y a C o l e m a n ’ 2 0

“One of my little cousins would text us from a rural area about the flooding there,” she said “There was a crocodile right outside the door ”

As Harvey’s destruction unfolded, Autumn Watt ’19 received pictures from her parents of her house and her neighborhood in Houston

“I didn’t really understand the gravity of what it was until I looked at the pictures,” she said “I FaceTimed my parents on Sunday and they showed me my house and all of the furniture were pretty much gone ”

While her house was not flooded, she said, the streets were filled with water and her parents moved the furniture upstairs

“My mom ’ s really stressed,” she said “My dad said that the local news channel got kicked off the air because their place flooded ”

While she said hurricanes and flooding have been a regular occurrence for her family, this year ’ s events have been especially frightening and worrisome

“My neighbors were kayaking down flooded streets, ” Watt said “Some two-story apartments were flooded and a lot of people were talking about moving their furniture ”

“People were asking for somebody to rescue them out of their house,” she added

As she kept seeing posts on Facebook showing the hurricane’s damage

“They were closing off the roads and the metros were shut down,” she said

While Garcia was there, 17 inches of rain had fallen, and the affected area stretched along Texas’ most populous region from Corpus Christi, where her cousin went to school, to Houston

She said her flight out of Houston was one of the last ones before there were no more

“I was really anxious,” she said

“My family had to drive back home, which is a seven-hour drive south of Houston I tried to keep an eye out on what was going on as they slowly made it home ”

As the disaster subsided, students began to anticipate the burden their families would bear to recover from the damage and this is especially grueling for those who had experienced similar events before

“This is actually the third time we flooded in three years, ” Bailey said “There’s a lot of debris in the house, which is very unpleasant, and reclaiming your home back is difficult after the flood ”

While Schwam-Curtis’ family had made it through Hurricane Katrina in 2005, one of the deadliest in recent history, the calamities from Hurricane Harvey are not easy to withstand

“We made it through Katrina and there’s a strong sense of solidarity from it in Houston,” she said “But it’s still really crazy the magnitude of this thing ”

TCAT,Ta x i s S t i l l A p p e a l t o S t u d e n t s

RedRoute, taxi services cite effcacy with arrival of new ridesharing platforms

UBER

Continued from page 4

For Kumar, the option of TCAT a free option 24/7 for freshmen and for all students after 6 p m still remains

“Even though cab prices are higher, the TCAT bus is still free, and I will always use the bus to save money, ” Kumar said “But if I’m really tired and am in a rush, I will turn to Uber ”

Despite the earlier skepticism that Uber and Lyft’s arrival will negatively affect local taxi companies, Gary Lewis, a manager for Ithaca Dispatch an Ithaca-based cab service said that Uber and Lyft have not been having as large an impact on his business as previously anticipated

decided to stay ” When asked about future plans to compete against ridesharing apps, Lewis cited the efficacy of Ithaca Dispatch’s own app, RedRoute, which was founded by a group of Cornell students and implemented in 2016

“I think we ’ re in good shape,” Lewis added “We have a taxi app called RedRoute that does anything Uber or Lyft can do, and we ’ ve been utilizing it since before Uber and Lyft got here We see a lot of activity on there ” His sentiments are echoed by Rene Tsukawaki ’17, who had attempted to use the Uber app but was ultimately discouraged by surge pricing and a lack of functionality

she said “But apparently Cornell has a free late-night shuttle service, and I want to check that out first ” Harris does not anticipate these ridesharing companies to go away soon

“As long as we ’ re utilizing the service, as long as we keep it here, it’s presence will be permanent, ” Harris said “If we go to a different service, then obviously, Uber is going to go away ” Xia expresses her support for these apps as well, stating that they might help students get home safely on weekends, among other things

“I downloaded the app for the express purpose of checking out the prices when I needed a taxi, and saw that they were really high,” she said “I think [when I last checked] there's only one functioning Uber driver in Ithaca, so the price is at least double the taxi fare ”

“If Cornell is like those other college towns it seems likely that Uber and Lyft will be around for a while ”

M i c h a e l M a f f i e , g r a d

“Since Uber and Lyft have not been able to sign up many drivers after launching here about three months ago, they are not yet competitive with us, ” he said “A ride that would cost $12 in a cab has recently been costing $30 or $40 in an Uber or Lyft because of surge pricing ”

Lewis says that many customers have complained about Uber and Lyft’s pricing, calling it “unreasonable ” He also said that though his drivers are not allowed to drive for Uber or Lyft and Ithaca Dispatch at the same time, most of them have chosen to stay with him

“We know how to break down the costs and have [the numbers] on how much a regular Uber or Lyft driver would make,” he said “We spelled that out for all our drivers, and when they realize that they could make more money working for us, with a regular paycheck, they

According to Tsukawaki, the 3 5 mile ride for which she was attempting to hail an Uber had cost over $20 during busy hours, a price which made her hesitate Surge pricing occurs when there is a momentary increase in demand for the service

“It happens all over the country, ” said Michael Maffie, grad “It is still predictive in the sense that Uber has been collecting data for now almost seven years in almost all of the major cities in the United States to try to figure out the predictive transportation patterns for consumers, ” Maffie said Overall, Tsukawaki said that though the availability of the app itself is a familiar convenience, she will still choose other options for traveling to places within driving distance for the time being

“I guess the only situations I would specifically prefer an Uber is if it were late at night,”

“Based on what I've heard from friends and at work, the general response to these services coming here has been overwhelmingly positive, and I'm inclined to support these services given how happy they have made everyone, ” she said From his research, Maffie said that college towns constitute the “ideal experiments for transportation companies to model” due to their “varying populations during the predictable times of the year summer with fewer people and the school year with many students and higher demand ”

“Allowing for this scalable labor model to guide the transportation option seems to be, at least in other college towns, a fairly effective way of meeting the changes in population through those areas, ” he said “I’ve talked to other drivers who work in other college towns and they’ve commented about the differencesome of them will work only during the school year or only when school is in session and they will have other side jobs during the summer because it doesn’t pay nearly as well when there aren ’ t enough customers If Cornell is like those other college towns, which seems reasonable to infer, it seems likely that Uber and Lyft will be around for a while ”

Shivani Sanghani can be reached at ssanghani@cornellsun com

Jeanette Si can be reached at jsi@cornellsun com

Tues., Aug. 29, 4:30 p.m., Kaufmann Auditorium (Goldwin Smith), or • Wed., Aug. 30, 4:30 p.m., Kaufmann Auditorium (Goldwin Smith)

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

What In a Heartbeat Means for LGBT Media

This past summer has been lukewarm for the box office, even for the animation industry Critical receptions have capped at mildly positive, and the only animated movie to exceed $500 million worldwide has been Despicable Me 3 Contrast that with 2016 where, by September, two animated films had already neared or surpassed billiondollar grosses So I don’t want to talk about movies for now

and it’s the “how” that makes me feel like it’s a step in the right direction for the LGBT community

Instead, I want to talk about a little short called In a Heartbeat

Since its release at the end of July, the short has garnered over 27 million views on YouTube Created by Beth David and Esteban Bravo at the Ringling College of Art and Design, In a Heartbeat has won over online audiences If you haven’t seen it, I recommend taking four minutes to watch it online

If you ’ re looking for a general synopsis though, the short follows a simple and familiar plot: a young schoolboy has feelings for one of his classmates, which he keeps on the downlow However, one day the sight of his crush causes his heart to literally leap out of his chest The heart only wants to be with the young boy’s crush, while the boy himself desperately tries to get it back under control before he’s discovered The twist to the whole thing? His crush is another boy

Comments have predictably ranged from adoring to well, less than adoring As a gay man myself, I find it endearing, but for a very particular reason I don’t like it simply because there’s a same-sex relationship depicted Rather, I love how it’s depicted,

If you haven’t watched the short already, I strongly urge you to do so As you watch it, I want you to replace one of two main characters with a girl What do we get? A short that’s still endearing and charming that shows what it’s like to be in love In a Heartbeat doesn’t simply use gay characters as a gimmick to reel in viewers

As a contrast, let’s take the latest Beauty and the Beast remake Disney raised all kinds of fuss over how the new LeFou was going to be gay, and worked it up into a big deal And what did we get? Approximately two seconds of screentime shoehorned into the finale where he dances with another guy In other words, Disney relied on the “shockingness” of an LGBT character to draw audiences without actually making him that much of a character

That’s why In a Heartbeat is so refreshing The characters ’ orientation certainly draws a lot of audiences, but that novelty takes a backseat to the story unfolding And that’s exactly how it should be

The LGBT community has come a long,

long way, and society has for the most part accepted us (certain fundamentalist folks notwithstanding) Events like Pride have done a lot to raise the visibility of the community However, if the community wants to fully integrate into society as equals, we need to normalize our presence And, to be frank, Pride parades don’t really accomplish that

I’m not saying Pride events have not been useful and important, and they may yet be useful and important well into the future, but some day they will have to cease if we want to be accepted as normal On that day, LGBT media that relied on “HEY LOOK GAY PEOPLE! That’s novel, give us money!” is going to look horribly dated, possibly even outright offensive “In a Heartbeat,” meanwhile, will hold up Another aspect of the short I like is how the characters are just schoolchildren There’s an innocence to it, a chastity you would see in a Disney short Again, another shortcoming of Pride is that it’s not always G-rated In a Heartbeat can be shown to children, a demographic that needs this media more than adults Bravo spoke to NBC about this very issue, saying “ we wanted to challenge the preconceived notion that LGBT content is not appropri-

ate or suitable for younger audiences” by making “ an innocent and lighthearted story about a boy and his crush that we hope will resonate with younger people ” Their goal is more important than you may realize Childhood romances can be confusing, and are a time where kids begin to grapple with emotions they have not experienced before Condemning their emotions as wrong only confuses the process, and leads to more problems in the future Media is part of how we socialize our children into the world, and it’s important that we show them all kinds of experiences that people may have It won ’ t give them a step-by-step how-to, but it may at least give them some idea on how people may react

In a Heartbeat also benefits from being a flat-out well-made short The visual storytelling is masterful, with not a single word of dialogue showing up anywhere The character animation brims with energy, switching between comic and emotional very well A delicate and stirring musical score helps to accent the mood Overall, it’s just so well done!

Many comments have demanded “Why isn’t this a movie yet?!” and honestly I feel their desires I would love to see Beth David and Esteban Bravo move on to big-budget projects with even wider releases With this short film, which they made only as students, they’ve mastered what representation should be about: it’s not about holding different races/genders/orientations as trophies, but rather as different people who can experience regular storylines as much as anyone else A wonderful short, and I look forward to seeing more from this duo

David Gouldthorpe is a senior in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations He can be reached at djg284@cornell edu Animation Analysis will appear alternate Tuesdays this semester

Th e D e f e n d e r s Me e t s t h e H y p e

BY ZACHARY LEE Sun Staff Writer

The Defenders, like its eponymous heroes, is ambitious and flawed, yet overall entertaining Surprisingly, it truly does feel like the worlds-colliding TV show it was billed as, as well as being fresh and original Since 2012, viewers have seen Avengers assemble, CW shows crossover, X-Men band together, will soon witness the Justice League unite, and thus the mere prospect of seeing another spandexed group of individuals in the same room (or in The Defenders: a Chinese restaurant) does not excite as it used to Nonetheless, seeing these heroes from all over New York City set aside their differences to sacrifice for the collective and greater good is still exciting It is a gripping series that services each individual’s character arc and adds another dimension to the gritty, street level noir setting of New York City It operates on a smaller, darker and more personal scale, and, although there are no aliens flying out of the sky this time to threaten the Earth, the stakes still feel high

Taking place a few months after Daredevil season 2 and Iron Fist’ s first season, the first few episodes of The Defenders focus on each individual character in their separate sectors of New York Each is seem stuck and unable to move forward with their individual lives, and express moments of frustration at their current state

Showing the heroes broken and somber is an interesting way to start of the series It attempts to make clear that these characters have no business in resuming superhero work again, much less team up with each other Yet it is Murdock (Charlie Cox), Jessica Jones (Krysten Ritter) and Iron Fist’s (Finn Jones) inability to think about anything other than their own present problems that makes their ultimate unification all the more rewarding As they separately observe and analyze strange happenings going on in New York, they realize that the cases they were exploring are all connected to the Hand, a shadowy organization led by the enigmatic Alexandra

(Sigourney Weaver) who has plans to destroy New York

Despite the excitement of the four heroes banding together to defeat Alexandra and the Hand, their team-up occurs much too late in the series Past Netflix series were simultaneously blessed and cursed with thirteen episode seasons; while this gave more time for the audience to see characters develop and grow, unfortunately it meant that a seven or eight episode plot had to be painfully stretched to fill the season The show never really clicks or comes together until the heroes do The hour-long episodes are often disjointed, as those 60 minutes have to be shared with all the characters Just as one character’s story gets interesting, it switches to the next

Yet what the show suffers for in pacing, it gains from its stellar characters Supporting cast from all prior shows make mostly glorified cameos here, although it is rewarding to finally see them interact with each other Weaver’s Alexandra is a cool and calculating villain that never breaks under pressure She always assumes and acts as if she is in control There is an aura of mystery around her, despite her charisma and willingness to be a public villain Jones’ Iron Fist/Danny Rand remains the show’s weakest link (and much of the series revolves around him as a central plot point) His whininess and zeal is curtailed and tempered by the other three members, who are more experienced

As The Defenders focus on the Hand, the show services Murdock and Rand’s character arcs better, and so seeing their mystical reality collide with Jones and Cage’s more grounded background provides both tension and humor Jones and Cage are the audience’s foothold in the world and have a smaller stakes; Jones is trying to help one family who is suffering from the Hand while Cage wants to avenge a young boy from Harlem who was killed by them They have no desire to take down a ninja organization and their incredulity clashes with Murdock and Rand who realize the citywide implications of the Hand’s plan As a team, they frequently bicker and argue, but eventually learn to accept each other, idiosyncrasies and all Some of the best chemistry occurs when the team splits in pairs, with Cage and Rand slowly fostering a

mentor-student relationship while Murdock and Jones act like siblings who annoy each other and care for each other deep down, but will never admit it

A big theme of the show is the importance of “moving on ” As much as the four heroes would like to deny it, once they enter into each other’s lives, they realize that they need each other to truly move forward individually In a beautifully-choreographed hallway fight and the subsequent aftermath in a chinese restaurant, Murdock’s pragmatism, Jones’s snark, Cage’s care and Rand’s ambition all collide and the four realize that they can learn from each other

The unity displayed within the heroes is a stark contrast to the Hand The Hand are united over a cause and believe that the ultimate end justifies the means, even if it means members must be sacrificed or killed Yet the Defenders never let their goal eclipse their care for each other

Yet for all the philosophical themes The Defenders explores, it still delivers brutal and adrenaline-pumping action sequences The fights play out like a battle royale As with all Netflix Defender shows, most if not all of the fight scenes take place in the dark and, because there are so many assailants on screen at a time, it can be confusing to trace who is punching who

"You four The Devil of Hell's Kitchen, the smart detective, the righteous ex-con, and the kid with the glowing fist The war for New York is here So get your shit together "

Spoken by Daredevil’s mentor Stick (Scott Glenn) this phrase is hardly a rallying cry but it accurately summarizes why the Defenders come together in the first place If it were up to the characters, they would walk away from the responsibility of fighting the Hand Yet they are bound by something greater than their own selfish ambitions: their love for their city As much as Alexandra believed that if the Defenders had more connections they could be easily broken, they prove that those connections made them stronger

Zachary Lee is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences He can be reached at zjl4@cornell edu

SCIENCE

F o o d S C i e n c e

C o r n e l l S t u d y : R e d u c e d Ta s t e

C a u s e s H i g h e r C a l o r i e I n t a k e

Researcher says taste dysfunction could contribute to obesity

By ARNAV GHOSH Sun Staff Writer

Fo r t h o s e o f u s w i t h a s w e e t t o o t h , a n

e x t r a h e l p i n g o f d e s s e r t c a n s e e m i r re -

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

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

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o u s i m p l i c a t i o n s o n h ow o b e s i t y i s m a n a g e d “ S e v e r a l r e s e a r c h p r o j e c t s i n t h e p a s t h a v e f o u n d t h a t t a s t e i s w e a k e n e d i n t h e o b e s e B u t w e d o n ’ t k n o w i f t h i s e v e n m a t t e r s T h e m o t i v a t i o n b e h i n d t h e p r oj e c t w a s t o a s k ‘ i f t a s t e i s w e a k e r, d o e s t h i s a f f e c t w h a t p e o p l e a c t ua l l y c h o o s e t o c o n s u m e ? ’ ” D a n d o s a i d “ We h a d p e o p l e c o m e t o o u r s e n s o r y e v a l u a t i o n f a c i l i t y o n f o u r s e p a r a t e d a y s a n d r u n a s e r i e s o f t a s t e t e s t s w i t h a b l o c k e r o f t a s t e f u n c t i o n a p p l i e d a t d i f f e r e n t l e ve l s ” Du r i n g t h e e x p e r i m e n t , p a r t i ci p a n t s c o n s u m e d t e a c o n t a i n i n g d i f f e r e n t l e v e l s o f t h e h e r b Gy m n e m a s y l v e s t re Na t i v e t o t h e t r o p ic a l f o re s t s o f s o u t h e r n In d i a , t h e h e r b i s k n ow n t o t e m p o r a r i l y s u p p re s s s w e e t re c e p t o r s E x p o s u re t o t h e h e r b f o r 6 0 s e c o n d s l e f t t h e p a r t i c i p a n t s w i t h d u l l e d s w e e t re c e p t o r s f o r n e a r l y 4 5 m i n u t e s E a c h p a r t i c i p a n t w a s t h e n g i v e n a n u n s w e e t e n e d d r i n k a n d t w o s o l u t i o n s , l a b e l l e d ‘ m o re s w e e t , ’ c o n t a i n i n g p l e n t y o f s u c r o s e a n d ‘ l e s s s w e e t , ’ c o n t a i n i n g n o s u c r o s e A s p a r t i c i p a n t s s i p p e d t h e i r d r i n k , t

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h a b i t s , ” D a n d o s a i d

C a f f e i n e A f f e c t s S w e e t T a s t e s T o o

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

o f s w e e t n e s s Pa r t i c i p a n t s w e re s e p a r a t e d

i n t o t w o g r o u p s a n d g i v e n d e c a f f e i n a t e d

c o f f e e ; o n e g r o u p h a d c a f f e i n e re - a d d e d t o t h e i r d r i n k s B o t h g r o u p s w e re t h e n m a d e t o t a s t e v a r i o u s b i t t e r, s o u r, s a l t y, u m a m i a n d s w e e t c o mp o u n d s T h e g r o u p w i t h a d d e d c a f f e i n e re p o r t e d t h a t t h e i r c o f f e e a n d s u b s e q u e n t s u c r o s e s o l u t i o n s w e re l e s s s w e e t , w h i l e t h e re w a s n o d i f f e re n c e i n t h e p e r c e p t i o n o f o t h e r t a s t e s Ac c o rd i n g t o t h e s t u d y, t h i s i s d u e t o c a f f e i n e ’ s a b i l i t y t o b l o c k a d e n o s i n e r e c e p t o r s A d e n o s i n e p l a y s a c r u c i a l r o l e i n e n e r g y t r a n s f e r d u r i n g b i o c h e m i c a l p r o c e s s e s “ [ In a p re v i o u s s t u d y i n v o l v i n g m i c e ] , w e b l o c k e d a d e n o s i n e re c e p t o r s a n d s a w s m a l l e r [ s w e e te v o k e d ] c a l c i u m s i g n a l s i n t h e i r t a s t e b u d s , ” D a n d o s a i d By n o t a l l o w i n g a d e n o s i n e t o b i n d t o i t s r e c e p t o r s , c a f f e i n e p r e v e n t s n e u r a l a c t i v i t y f r o m s l o w i n g d o w n a n d p r om o t e s w a k e f u l n e s s B u t a d i m i n i s h e d a b i l i t y t o t a s t e s w e e t c o m p o u n d s m a y b e a n i m p o r t a n t s i d e e f f e c t o f t h i s p r o c e s s

Arnav Ghosh can be reached at

y p o t h e s i s , t h e a u t h o r s o f t h e s t u d y e m p h a s i z e t h a t e m p i r i c a l t e s t i n g o f t h i s c o n n e c t i o n s t i l l n e e d s t o b e c a r r i e d o u t “ T h i s p r o j e c t w a s n ’ t re a l l y a b o u t t h e f o o d i n d u s t r y, b u t c o u l d m e a n t h a t t a s t e d y s f u n c t i o n i s c o n t r i b u t i n g t o o b e s i t y Re a l l y t h i s j u s t t e l l s u s t h a t w e h a v e t o b e

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SUBMIT YOUR LETTERS AND GUEST COLUMNS

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Iby sending a letter to the editor or a guest column to opinion@cornellsun.com.

Letters should be no longer than 250 words in length, and columns no more than 800 words in length

t

Also, maybe it’s you too

should probably be writing this under a pseudonym but I’m a messy bitch who lives for drama And I’m shameless And I love attention But mostly, I’m writing about this topic with my real name because it is an important issue that affects so many women and is so rarely acknowledged in this context: the all-important orgasm

If you know me, you probably think of me as a sexually liberated beautiful goddess queen or at least you think of me as sexu

“Samantha” of any group, and since puberty, I’ve always made the first move My reputation makes this even harder to admit, but I’ve never had an orgasm Nope, never Yes, I still enjoy sex Yes, I’ve come close Yes, I give guys direction Yes, I’ve tried masturbating

This problem is especially frustrating because you can just look at a guy and bat your eyes and all of a sudden he has a sticky mess in his boxers I guess this makes sense evolutionarily: a man needs to orgasm to

Since my first full penetration at age 17, I had pretty much faked an orgasm ever y time I had sex But, I’m not alone Women a re f a k i n g a l l ove r t ow n T h e Cosmopolitan Female Orgasm Sur vey says women fake it either “ to make my partner feel good or spare my partner ’ s feelings” or “ to end sex more quickly because I knew I wasn ’ t going to orgasm ” or both

So, with Laura’s support, I was ready to assert myself in the bedroom It got a little awkward First there was my hometown fuck buddy who had to come to the realization that I’d been faking it all those years and that he really wasn ’ t the sex god I’d acted like he was And then there were all the guys who assumed my problem was caused by the fact that I had yet to experience the magic of their wonderful and life changing sex skills Some took it as a challenge, spending hours with their head between my legs (God bless ‘em) until I got so bored I started eating chicken wings and scrolling through instagram true stor y So, my question is, why? Why haven’t I

I’m chronically the “Samantha” of an group, and since puberty, I’ve always made the first move. My reputation makes this even harder to admit, but I’ve never had an orgasm.

procreate and a woman doesn’t “ The Gender Orgasm Gap” is real While the statistics var y, according to the National Sur vey of Sexual Health and Behavior, about 55 percent of women usually reach orgasm from intercourse (with a male partner), compared to 95 percent of men The rates are significantly better through oral or manual stimulation but still, five to 10 percent of women just never orgasm ever Period This statistic keeps me up at night masturbating hoping to make it into that 90th percentile

It’s even rarer as a young adult: 15 percent of women never orgasm before age 28

So if my situation isn’t even that weird, why do I feel like ever y woman on TV, in the movies and at my table for brunch is having mind-blowing, toe-curling, vomit up your breakfast spectacular orgasms?

The first time I told my best friend from high school, Laura, that I had never orgasmed, she responded by sending me an Amazon link to a vibrator and some invaluable words of encouragement: “ Will, maybe this is why you ’ re such a bitch! Your gunna be a new person once you cum!”

Is that possible? Could I really “be-cum” a new person? I decided from that day to make a more concerted effort to have an orgasm My sexual journey started with not faking it Through my research online and from talking to friends, I’ve realized that “faking it” is really common About 85 percent of men report that their partner had an orgasm during the most recent sexual event, whereas only 60 percent of women report having an orgasm during their last sexual experience Clearly there is a disconnect

been able to orgasm? Why are so many women sacrificing their own pleasure for the feelings of some guy? Why does society value male pleasure over female pleasure? I obviously don’t have the answer to these questions, but I believe they deser ve discussion

There are a lot of possible explanations and many of them have to do with being comfortable in the bedroom and being able to fully relax Women who have experienced sexual assault are far less likely to experience orgasm, especially with casual p a r t n e r s Wo m e n w h o re p o r t b e i n g uncomfortable with their bodies, genitalia, gender or sexuality also report having much more difficulty reaching orgasm By refusing to acknowledge the issue of the Gender Orgasm Gap in regular conversation, we are confirming the societal ideal that a man ’ s pleasure really is more important than that of a woman

Ul t i m a t e l y, I ’ ve l e a r n e d n o t t o b e ashamed of my frigid “Benedict Arnold” of a clitoris She will ring her bells when she is good and ready Or she won ’ t and I’ll die a miserable bitch just like I was born Only kidding Maybe I need to find a guy I really love or maybe I need to splurge on a $175 vibrator or maybe I need to go to sex therapy along with the talk therapy my sister says I desperately need Whatever the solution, at least I’ve learned I’m still a sexually liberated beautiful goddess queen hold the “O ”

Willow Hubsher is a senior in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations She can be reached at wrh73@cornell edu This is Not a Sex Column appears alternate Tuesdays this semester

On Free Press

In Russia

When the Iron Curtain fell and waves of Russian emigrants washed upon the American shore, a famous musician you ' ve never heard of wrote a song titled "Good Bye America " It is about the America that existed in the collective unconsciousness of the deprived Soviet population, a country that achieved happiness via abundance and freedom It is about how this imaginary kingdom collapsed once faced with its real-world counterpart

Sometimes I think Americans never experienced this healthy disillusionment in regards to their Cold War buddy: few of them ever traveled East, and russian pop culture never made it into the states, unable to compete with Hollywood In their views on modern Russia, U S citizens don’t have much to go on other than event- and gore-driven journalism For example, you may have heard in that 30-second segment on The Daily Show that a journalist was killed or blogger was sent to prison It sounds bad and, indeed, every such occurrence is a disgrace to the nation But how much can one infer from those incidents about an issue as systemic as freedom of press? I want to take this particular example and dispel some potential misconceptions

When thinking about the issue of free press, we must address two separate issues: firstly, how much effort does it take for a motivated individual to get access to reliable information and diverse opinion; and, secondly, how informed the typically unmotivated population really is

When it comes to availability, I submit that Russia does not lag too far behind the West You can buy a boring newspaper that can output an in-depth 30-pager on the corruption schemes at a top university and Putin's daughter’s involvement in it You can subscribe to social network groups with millions of followers that produce more digestible tweetlike news bits and mock the government with the power of the meme One of the biggest radio stations in Moscow casually invites most outspoken opposition to blast Putin and his underlings, all avail-

able to you during your insufferable morning commute, if you are willing to listen All of these organizations will occasionally clash with government officials, but it is extremely rare for the state to aggressively interfere with their operation: all the sources I use personally have stayed afloat and untouched even as the screws of censure have tightened steadily since 2011

You might have noticed that one item I am leaving out of this summary is television, the medium of the passive and disinterested Controlled by the government, television tragically has a near-monopoly on facts and thought: for 60 percent of Russians (versus 25 percent of Americans), TV is the preferred and often the only way of finding out what is going on

But government-controlled TV may not be what you think it is Perhaps you are picturing Orwell's Ministry of Truth public announcements or Hugo Chavez ranting live for hours straight on the villainy of American imperialism I want you instead to think of Fox News The analogy is surprisingly apt and I suspect not coincidental

The similarities are numerous In news reports, anchors never really have to outright lie when relaying facts to the population Careful and subtle omission is the only tool required to perform a remote lobotomy, and only amateurs resort to reporting factually false information Then there is a Bill O'Reilly-type show where the host would give his personal take on the recent events in a pseudo-intellectual manner that makes you feel you ' re smart for following his convoluted conspiratorial explanations

But a personal favorite TV gimmick of mine is the panel discussion whoever invented this genre was a genius! You can present your radical viewpoint as moderate by inviting to the show someone outright insane and you can pretend you are being fair to the other side by inviting them to participate, and then cutting them off after five seconds You don't need to act unprofessionally by making unbased claims you can instead let your guests do the job Finally, what can be better for ratings than the engrossing drama of spit-n-shout arguments which are oftentimes misconstrued as debate? The crazy thing is, if you listen long enough, even while disagreeing with every word and making fun of moderator's style choices, you will walk away with your point of view nevertheless ever so slightly shifted; like uranium radiation, propaganda poisons you regardless of whether or not you choose to believe in it

The bottom line is that information in Russia is abundant but unwanted And the main obstacle to improving freedom of press is not the imprisoned bloggers but the pathological and irredeemable ignorance and addiction to television exhibited by my compatriots Chances are, neither of those things sound foreign to you, reader

“And to say that $1,050 per month is cheap is ridiculous! These rents are close to NYC prices! If the university is serious about providing affordable student housing this is NOT the way to do it!”

AGaining and Holding Onto Perspective Co mme nt of the day

Julie Doig McPeek Re: “Students Retur n to Incomplete Collegetown Apar tments” News Aug 24, 2017

a

| Teach Me How to Duggal

n i o r year, I spent some time over the summer considering the space my words occu-

p y i n T h e Su

t h e r week I wrote my first column for The Sun before I even got to campus as a freshman, and we are now at my last first column of the academic year

I sound like an Instagram caption At least I think I’m an adult

For my first column of the year, I wanted to be sure to steer clear of the columns that speak to freshman about what they might expect in the coming months Don’t get me wrong there’s nothing wrong with giving advice to freshmen (God k n ow s I c o u l d’v e u s e d some myself ) I think I’m j u s t t i re d o f s p e a k i n g about things you should o r s h o u l d n ’ t d o a t Cornell Just do whatever you want Chances are y o u’l l g r a d u a t e e i t h e r way

What I do want to address, however, is the i m p o r t a n c e o f p e r s p e ctive at Cornell Coming to Ithaca after spending the summer in one of the most populated cities in the world is jarring The sheer amount of variety New York offers highlights a narrative we would do well to keep in mind throughout our semesters at Cornell Ev e r y o n e , t o a v a r y i n g extent, puts up certain facades It can be to make it seem as if they’re doing better than they actually are or to make it seems as if they’re doing worse than t h e y a c t u a l l y a re t h a t

p l e Ev e r y o n e ’ s h i g h s c h o o l experience is different, and I cannot speak to what ever yone ’ s pre-college years looked like Personally, however, I found my h i g h s c h o o l e n v i r o n m e n t encouraged me to put things in perspective simply by the way it was set up I had smaller classes, and spent time with ver y different people from ver y different b a c k g r o u n d s w i t h w h o m I would not other wise have intera c t e d w i t h C o r n e l l , o n t h e other hand, is organized in a m a n n e r t h a t i s s u p p o s e d t o encourage similar interactions between yet can instead be ver y much a bubble People often adhere to certain facades, and tr y as you might, you will likely

might actually let me afford my food addiction when the kid next to me also applied and stayed up late three nights in a row studying for the inter view? He clearly deser ves it more the kid hasn’t slept in three days, and I woke up at 1pm today

What is important then, is not breaking down the Cornell bubble by calling people out on the facades they put up (especially don’t do this if you want friends) or actively seeking out a group of friends the same way you would were you looking to re-create a diversity brochure In s t e a d , re c o g n i z i n g t h a t Cornell is not always what the “real world” looks like can be

Cornell, on the other hand, is organized in a manner that is supposed to encourage similar interactions between yet can instead be very much a bubble

d e p e n d s o n t h e p e r s o n A t Cornell, it can often be tough to, for lack of a better phrase, see through people’s bullshit, simply because there is less variety in the kind of people you encounter to give you a broader perspective on how people are actually doing Take high school, for exam-

end up gravitating towards people that, at a ver y basic level, s h a re s i m i l a r c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s , v i e w s o r b a c k g r o u n d s A n d since we ’ re in Ithaca the literal middle of nowhere it is much harder to seek out different perspectives, especially ones that don’t fit the bubble that is Cornell Getting away from Ithaca, and honestly, Cornell in general, pushed me to gain perspective I would not have encountered other wise Much of my p e r s p e c t i v e i n t h e c i t y w a s g r o u n d e d i n b e l i e v i n g i n myself On campus, surrounded by people that seem to consistently do better than you, it is tough to believe you deser ve good things too Why should I score an inter view with that sexy startup that has free lunch in addition to a base salar y that

enough Not ever yone stays up three nights in a row to prep for

No

Many people make the conscious decision to not pursue that kind of job or lifestyle They aren ’ t less deser ving or less motivated; they simply share a perspective we don’t encounter o

Understanding that the Cornell bubble is a small part of a much larger world, and more importantly, a small part of the life y o u w i l l c re

e e p s y o u grounded in how you approach the people you meet and the way you think about life outside Ithaca

Hebani Duggal is a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences She can be reached at hduggal@cornellsun com Teach Me How to Duggal

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27 H OUSE FOR R ENT

Hornibrook’s Vision Calls for On-and-Off the Field Fitness

HORNIBROOK

Continued from page 12

“Stepping into this role is more natural because I

Hornibrook said “And I [have] great relationships with the [Cornell] players because of the assistant coach’s role ”

Hornibrook’s familiarity with Ithaca extends beyond the women ’ s program, as he was an assistant coach for the Cornell men in the spring of 2004

And prior to his time at Cornell, Hornibrook spent eight seasons as head coach of the Cortland men ’ s soccer team, leading the Red Dragons to their first-ever SUNYAC championship in 2008 in addition to coaching a number of highly distinguished players, including the 2007 SUNYAC Player of the Year The team ’ s overall record under Hornibrook was 63-69-17

Preceding Cortland, Hornibrook gained valuable experience as head coach of the men at Houghton College for nine seasons, compiling an even more impressive record of 119-46-13, and at one point earning a No 9 ranking in Division III

Even before his career as a collegiate coach, Hornibrook’s life was centered around the pitch

under his leadership ” Hornibrook’s relationships with players like Fitzgerald have made for a relatively smooth transition into his new role despite the magnitude of a head coaching change But while his familiarity has provided some sense of consistency for the Red, he has no intention of maintaining the status quo

Despite his respect for Farmer’s coaching style, Hornibrook intends to implement changes in both t

women ’ s team Physically, he emphasizes a heightened level of conditioning

To achieve the level of fitness he believes necess

Hornibrook has been simulating real-game levels of competition during practice

“You have to play to get better, and so our practices are ver y play oriented,” he says “ We spend a lot of time focusing on how to react to the game You don’t have time to think about it, it’s not a science lab you ’ ve got to react the right way ”

Hornibrook’s goal for the team this season is to win the Ivy League a goal which demands the highest levels of focus and dedication from his players And while he aims to bring out the best in his athletes on the field, he remains conscious of the

As an undergraduate, he attended the University of New Brunswick, where he was a member of a

Championship in 1980 He went on to earn his master ’ s in sports science from the United States Sports Academy in 2008, on top of attending the National Coaching Institute, where he earned a diploma in high performance coaching

Further back, he worked as a high performance coach for the Canadian National Team for several years, working with World Cup, Olympic and U-17 National teams, including the 1992 Canadian World Cup squad

fact that soccer is only one facet of their lives

Hornibrook’s awareness of his athletes’ identities apart from the soccer team is perhaps reinforced by the fact that his own daughters, Kathr yn and Emily, are not far in age from his players In addition, he is married to the winningest field hockey coach in Cornell histor y, whom he can learn from each day His wife, Donna, currently leads a dynamic field hockey program that plays its games just a field over from the women ’ s soccer team

While his wife and two daughters provide support away from the field, Hornibrook looks to foster yet another family in his life by cultivating a trusting and supportive team culture “ We’re not tr ying to intimidate them, or bully them or anything like that,” he said of his team

“ We’re your new family ”

During his time as an assistant coach for the Red, he worked individually with many of Cornell’s greatest players, helping shape the likes of Elizabeth Crowell ’17 and Kelsey Tierney ’17, the Red’s first All-Ivy first-team selections since 1995, in addition to the team ’ s current captains and standouts

“I was excited to hear that he had been appointed head coach, as I have grown to respect him as both a coach and person over the three years I’ve known him,” said current senior captain Kaylee Fitzgerald “He is extremely dedicated to this team, and has been a consistent positive presence on and off the field I’m excited for this upcoming season and I can ’ t wait to see what our team accomplishes

Such commitment to his athletes’ mental well being, paired with a fiercely competitive mindset, gives a promising glimpse of what lies ahead for the Red this season, and in seasons to come A

Cornell women ’ s program for years from a more suppor ting role, he is ready to take the next step as its leader

Hornibrook said “So it does put a little more pressure on me because obviously I’m in charge and the results fall on my shoulders

“Now I’m not just giving suggestions ”

Spor ts

Rejuvinated Red Hope for Bounceback Season

a good place and have a good dialogue ”

The preseason for Cornell women ’ s soccer has been riddled with changes to the team and coaching staff, all in preparation for redemption this upcoming season

Throughout the 2016-2017 season, the Red continually experienced setbacks with a schedule that featured fierce competition, including Rutgers, which was ranked No 21 by the end of last year This led to an overall record of 5-9-2, featuring league wins against Yale and Princeton, but not enough to lead the Red to an overall successful season

Since then, a new head coach has taken the helm to potentially give the program a boost

Dwight Hornibrook made the transition from an assistant coach to head coach this past season after the resignation of Patrick Farmer

“It’s actually a more comfortable place for me, in a coaching role,” Hornibrook said in his new office recently Now I’m not just giving suggestions, I have to make the decisions It does put a little more pressure on me, because, obviously I’m in charge and the results fall on my shoulders, but I think, because of the relationships I’ve had with the players I think we ’ re in

In addition to coaching, the team itself has seen changes since last season Seven student-athletes have graduated, car ving out nearly a quarter of the team They’ve been replaced with a new recruiting class of nine eight freshmen and one transfer and the captaincy has been passed onto defenders Kaylee Fitzgerald and Whitney Farber, both seniors

“ With the change in coaching staff and a graduating senior class, kind of the whole team dynamic changed and I feel like we have a much closer team, ” Fitzgerald said “Hopefully that will show on the field ”

Although the team has only been training for a few weeks, Farber said that she has been able to see a difference in the team ’ s gameplay

“You can just see how the mentality and how people are just happy to be there,” she said “ There’s a lot of excitement about this season moving for ward and just the opportunities we have this season to do something big in the Ivy League ”

The important facet that both the captains and the coaches have been focusing on is that, although many important players graduated last year, the Red still has a solid core of returning players to rely on This core will be supplemented by new players ready to accept new roles on the field

“ There were a lot of roles that were solidified Now that [Farmer] has left, we have new people, other spots have opened up, ” Fitzgerald said “It’s kind of like anybody’s game for a lot of positions, which has given the team in general just a much more competitive spirit in practice,

there isn’t as much complacency, [and] people are working to get starting spots ”

But there has been the need for adjustment on the part of the players, mainly due to Hornibrook moving into the head coach position The new class of players for Cornell were recruited and vetted by former head coach Farmer, meaning that they have had to adapt to a slightly different coaching style than what they were expecting

However, Hornibrook doesn’t seem too concerned by his switch in roles

“ The impact [for the new players] is ‘Oh my gosh, I’m a freshman at Cornell and i’m scared to death,’” Hornibrook said “All over the world, ever y fall, there’s millions of scared kids going to college our job is to help them feel relaxed and comfortable and develop some confidence in that We’re you ’ re new family ”

This new squad has been practicing with some preseason matches, but will see its first official contest on the road against regional rival Syracuse on Thursday, Aug 31

New Coach to Implement ‘ Praise-Oriented’ Culture

the newcomers to his team

Head coach is a familiar title for Dwight Hornibrook and Cornell is a familiar team After five years serving as assistant coach of the Cornell women ’ s soccer program, Hornibrook has stepped up to the head coaching role after the departure of Patrick Farmer this past offseason

Hornibrook, who joined the program at the same time as Farmer, says he hopes to build on some of the groundwork laid out by his former boss, but wants to put his own spin on things at the same time

“I have my own way of doing things,” Hornibrook said “There are some things that Farmer did that I thought were really good; Farmer had a ton of experience ”

One such change Hornibrook is keen on implementing is forming a team focused on mental fitness just as much as physical fitness After sending his own kids to college, Hornibrook knows the stresses that can come at a place like Cornell, especially for

As for the physical fitness, “there’s been a stronger emphasis [during] training on making sure that we ’ re ready to play from a physical perspective,” he said “That was some-

thing that I don’t think we were as good at as we needed to be ” And when it comes to mental health, Hornibrook said “I coach people before I coach players You’re not just a soccer player

You’re somebody’s daughter, you ’ re a student ”

Hoping to alleviate as much stress as he can for a team under transition, Hornibrook says he plans to instill a “praise-oriented culture ” on the team, which is coming off a low 5-9-2 2016 season despite riding a highlysuccessful 2015

“We try to develop a culture that is praise-oriented,” Hornibrook said “That doesn’t mean you ’ re not going to get critique, because you have to get critique to improve, but we want [the players] to feel like we value them We’re here to add value to their lives on the soccer field as well as people, and obviously we want them to have an incredible four years here at Cornell ” One key factor that could help Hornirbook is his experience Not only does he have a rich history as a head coach, but he said his time around the Cornell program should minimize any issues that could arise with a new coach for any team, not just his