The Corne¬ Daily Sun
C.U. Student Found Dead in C-Town Apartment
Investigation ongoing; no foul play suspected Faculty, students remember Wu’18
PHOEBE
Nathan M Lyman, the chief operating officer of the Ithaca Renting Company, sent an email to tenants Tuesday evening announcing that a dead body had been discovered in a Collegetown Center apartment The University later identified the deceased as Darryl Wu ’18
Ithaca police have conducted an investigation of the scene, but Lyman said it did not appear that the victim was the subject of any foul play, adding that the death appeared to be natural He said the deceased was discovered by staff members late Tuesday afternoon Wu appeared to have been dead for several days, potentially exceeding four, according to Lyman An autopsy will be conducted but there is no video feed of what transpired in the apartment
Lyman said the “police and the University” will provide more information about the incident as it becomes available
The Ithaca Police department declined to comment on the ongoing investigation at
this time
“Nothing like this has ever happened in Collegetown Center in my memor y, ”
Lyman said
In an email to students on Wednesday afternoon, Dean of Ar ts and Sciences
Gretchen Ritter ’83 called Wu who was a chemistry major a “talented student” and “ a remarkable linguist and mathematician ”
“Faculty who worked with Darr yl described him as both ‘brilliant’ and ‘humble,’” said Ritter in the email “On behalf of the College of Arts and Sciences, I want to extend my deepest condolences to Darryl’s family, friends, teachers and fellow students ”
A vigil will take place today on Ho Plaza at 4 p m for Wu and Anthony Nazaire, the Ithaca College student who was fatally stabbed Sunday morning
Phoebe Keller can be reached at managing-editor@cornellsun com
By JOSEPHINE CHU Sun News Ed tor
Students and faculty are mourning the death of Darryl Wu ’18, after he was found dead in his apartment on Tuesday evening
Wu w a s a r
College of Arts and Sciences who was planning to major in chemistry, said Gretchen Ritter, Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences He “excelled” in national competitions in linguistics and m a t h
In t
Kelly,” according to Business Wire In a statement, Interim President Hunter Rawlings called Wu was “ an exceptional student but first and foremost a beloved son, brother and friend ”
His brother, Darren Wu, graduated from Cornell last semester, Rawlings said Wu attended Lakeside School in Seattle and was the first person from Washington ever to earn a perfect score and place first in the individual competition at the 39th American Regions Math League tournament, according to an ARML press release
1 2 t h
Olympiad where he was the second highest overall scorer Wu also won the 2008 Mathcounts National Competition and was named the 2008 Relly Award for Best Junior Achiever on “Live with Regis and
Pro f Jo h n Ma ro h n , chemistr y, called the loss “heartbreaking,” saying that Wu was “ one of the brighte s t s t u d e n t s I h a ve e ve r taught ”
“Darryl was very quiet,” Marohn said “His work was off scale His death is a huge loss ”
Prof Thomas Ruttledge, chemistry, said he knew Wu from two honors
Residents: apartment building makes it ‘ pretty easy to just disappear for a few days’
By STEPHANIE YAN Sun Assistant News Editor
Many students were star tled yesterday when dean of the College of Ar ts and Sciences Gretchen Ritter announced that Darr yl Wu ’18 was found dead in his Collegetown apar tment
Students who live in the same
c o m p l e x w e r e e v e n m o r e t a k e n aback Wu was discovered by staff members and appeared to have been dead for several days potentially more than four
“I guess that’s what happens in a building where everyone’s in a single pretty much.”
Sadie Park ’18 a resident of Collegetown Center, where Wu lived said she was “shocked” that staff did not find him sooner
Investigation of Nazaire Murder Proceeds Without Suspects
By JOSH GIRSKY Sun News Editor
The investigation into the death of Anthony Nazaire is moving “steadily and methodically” according to an Ithaca Police Department press release
Over 20 investigators from Ithaca, Cornell, Ithaca College and Tompkins County law enforcement groups are working together to determine what occurred before, during and after the fatal stabbing, the release said
“Unfortunately it takes time to sort through all the information and all the evidence I’m confident that when our investigation is complete we’ll bring justice to whoever did this,” said Deputy Chief Vince Monticello
Yet his promise of justice did little to console those who lost a friend
Learning of Anthony Nazaire’s untimely death, Joseph Fenning a junior at Ithaca College said he was shocked to hear that “this gentleman is dead ”
Fenning said after meeting
Nazaire through Ithaca College’s chapter of the National Association of Black Accountants, he felt the positive energy Nazaire brought to campus
“He was a kid who was always smiling at you in the hallway if you ’ re having a bad day,” he said
Fenning said he admired Nazaire’s diligence as a student as well
“[Nazaire] was the
kind of student every parent wants their kid to be, and every professor and any teacher would actually advise a student to be like,” he said
He added that Nazaire’s presence will be missed by all who knew him
“Ever ybody who knows him knows he was a guy with a big smile,” Fenning said “ That’s how I knew Anthony ” A Gofundme account was set up by Nazaire’s
family on Tuesday to raise money for his funeral The account aims to raise $12,000, and as of Wednesday, it has raised $9,000
Police have not yet identified any suspects and are renewing their requests for anyone who witnessed the event or has cell phone footage to come forward
Maddy Cohen ’18 contributed reporting this story
By
KELLER Sun Managing Ed tor
Collegetown tragedy | Darryl Wu ’18 was discovered dead in his apartment at Collegetown Center, at 151 Dryden Road, late Tuesday afternoon
CAMERON POLLACK / SUN PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Josh Girsky can be reached at jgirsky@cornellsun
NAZAIRE
Daybook
Systems Seminar
And Ezra’s Round Table: Kevin Bell 12:15 p m , 166 Hollister Hall
An Invasion Factor Framework Seminar
12:20 - 1:10 p m , 135 Emerson Hall
Thursday, September 1, 2016
IAD Seminar
The U.N. Sustainable Development Goals: Why They Matter 2:30 - 4 p m , G08 Uris Hall
A Vigil of Remembrance for Anthony Nazaire 4 - 5 p m , Ho Plaza
Black Students United: Healing Space 7 p m , Ujamaa Residential College
Elizabeth Mueller: Preserving the Social City 12:20 p m , Abby and Howard Milstein Auditorium
Introduction to Academic Libraries In the United States 1 p m , 106G Olin Library
Dean of Students Candidate Open Forum
1:30 - 2:30 p m , Willard Straight Hall Memorial Room
BME 7900 Seminar: Kathy Nightingale, Ph D 2:30 - 3:30 p m , G10 Biotechnology Building
Cornell Institute for Hospitality Labor and Employment Relations Open House
3 - 5 p m , Park Atrium, School of Hotel Administration
U.N. goals | Prof Muna Ndulo, law, will speak about the United Nations’ sustainable development goals today at an Institute for African Development seminar
By DREW MUSTO
Staff Writer
Head of Project Team Program, Masters of Engineering Program Director Advocates Hands-On, Practical Approach to Learning
ing problems, but we have not often been included in the leadership of how those problems are solved ”
Senior Lecturer Matt Ulinski’s, mechanical and aerospace engineering, approach to education is unapologetically practical
“[Experiential learning] is where it all is,” Ulinski explained “I learned more or as much doing the hands-on stuff than I did doing the book learning Hands-on training is an excellent complement to book learning ”
Throughout Ulinski’s 15 years of teaching at Cornell, his practical approach to learning has promulgated opportunities for Cornell engineers to access hands-on work, most notably through project teams
As director of the Student Project Team Program, Ulinski helped grow the program from a handful of teams to over seventeen Now, over 750 students participate in project teams, according to the University
For six years, Ulinski participated directly in hands-on learning with students as an advisor of the Solar Decathlon team, which he said competes ever y two years in the U S Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon
Ulinski, though optimistic in his message, warned that in pursuing their goal to “allow people to live better,” engineers may have “ gone too far ”
“You can do things to an extreme; climate change is a perfect example,” Ulinski said “ We d i d n ’ t [ g e n e r
c
m a t e c h
n g e ] because we wanted to hurt the environment; we wanted to make life better But we ’ ve done it to such an extreme that now we have this change in weather patterns and other things that will be with us for a long time ”
“I was really all about doing quality work and didn’t pay enough attention to money and profit ”
Ulinski said that his position as an educator may enable him to engender the change he hopes to see “ That change [from doers to leaders] has to happen at the educat i
M a t t U l i n s k i
Ulinski described the team ’ s work as “ a two-year design-to-build cycle, from concept to execution ”
The “execution” portion tasks teams with building a s o l a r - p owe re d , f u n c t i o n i n g m o d e l h o u s e o n t h e Washington Mall
“And you build this house from scratch,” he added
Currently, Ulinski’s primarily role is as director of MAE’s industr y-oriented Master of Engineering program This program too is applied, Ulinski said “I look at [the program] as just one big lab project for students, and you build coursework around it, p r o f e s s i o n a l d e v e l o p m e n t a r o u n d i t ” U l i n s k i explained “You immerse yourself in a project; it’s all applied ”
In spite of his seemingly project-based approach to engineering, Ulinski stressed that engineers ought to become more involved in leadership roles and decision-making processes
“Engineers need to start being ‘leaders’ rather than ‘doers,’” Ulinski said “Engineers are so good at solv-
explained “ We have to make sure our engineers are trained not just as engineers and scientists, but as professionals in government and in the whole gamut ”
re
Cornell Ulinski described his entr y into academia as an “accident ”
In his early life, Ulinski followed his father, a United States Agency for International Development employee, around the globe Ulinski would spend two to three years at a time in different countries
“I spent the first 10 years of my life in underdeveloped places in India and Liberia, and Spain and Greece, and that had a huge impact on who I thought I was going to be,” Ulinski said, adding that he thought he might work in the State Department when he was older
After spending most of high school in Italy despite the fact that both his parents were back in the United States at this time Ulinski enrolled at George Washington University to study international relations He stayed only for one semester
After leaving GWU, Ulinski enrolled at Nor thern Virginia
career paths: forest ranger, mechanical engineer, or law enforcement
“I really wanted to go into law enforcement,” Ulinski said “I really wanted to be a FBI agent ” And so, Ulinski set his sights on the FBI
“I looked at the FBI applications, and I discovered that the FBI was hiring mechanical engineers with a Bachelor of Science degree It was the only bachelor’s degree they were hiring FBI agents with Ever ything else was a master ’ s or a Ph D ”
Ulinski decided to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree at Northeastern University Motivated by the possibility of working for the FBI, Ulinski sustained seven years of night classes to finally attain the degree
“I finished my degree when I was 29, sent in my application to the FBI, and I got a letter back saying that I was too old to matriculate into the program, ” Ulinski reported
“I really wanted to go into law enforcement I really wanted to be an FBI agent.”
repair industr y for 15 years He spent eight of those years running his
Cambridge, Mass
M a t t U l i n s k i
Ulinski said he enjoyed his years as a mechanic, but not his years as a businessman
“I have to tell you, I was the worst businessman in the world I was really all about doing quality work and didn’t pay enough attention to money and profit,” Ulinski said
Displeased with his business endeavor, Ulinski turned to a career counseling service to search for his next career option
“I did career counseling and I [took a] Myers-Briggs [personality test],” Ulinski said, adding that he was pleased with the results “ This was me I was finally reading about me!”
The test gave Ulinski three potential
Despite wanting to join the FBI for seven years, Ulinski managed to brush aside the rejection
“By that time, I had embedded so much of my life in the mechanical engineering degree, so I wasn ’ t crushed Although I still, to this day, think, ‘I didn’t get in,’” Ulinski said “ Their loss now By far ”
Fortunately, Ulinski had impressed one of his advisors so much that the advisor asked Ulinski to stay at Northeastern as a graduate student After earning his master ’ s degree there, Ulinski taught at Northeastern and was the mechanical engineering department’s director of laboratories
After a four year stint at Northeastern, Ulinski and his family relocated to Ithaca, where Ulinski began to work at Cornell
He currently lives on a ‘hobby farm’ in Danby, where his wife raises dogs and they both enjoy “just being out in the countr y ”
Overall, Ulinski enjoys both his personal and his professional life
“I’m jazzed about ever ything in life,” Ulinski said
Drew Musto can be reached at dmusto@cornellsun com
Sun
PHOTOS BY CAMERON POLLACK / SUN PHOTOGRAPHY ED TOR
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Students Switch Sections, Skip Class for Career Fair
By STEPHANIE YAN Sun Assistant News Ed tor
Students skipped classes, left their T A duties and traveled for hours Wednesday morning, hoping for the opportunity to speak to an employer on the second day of the Cornell Career Fair At the height of the event, the line to enter Statler Hall extended around Uris Hall to the intersection of Tower Road and Garden Avenue
Some students began lining up as early as 10 a m Derek So ’19 said he changed discussion sections Tuesday night so that he could attend the event earlier
“I checked my schedule and I realized I have lecture and discussion from 10 until 12:55, and I can ’ t skip those,” So said “I went on StudentCenter and I literally swapped discussions I changed my entire semester ’ s schedule just so that I could be here and wait on line for another three hours ”
Vaidehi Garg ’18, who left her T A position early to make it to the line, said students who had to wait were being deprived of more valuable time in class
“A lot of people are going to be missing classes, and it’s not going to be worth it because you’ll just be on line for three hours,” Garg said
“I changed my entire semester’s schedule just so that I could be here and wait on line.”
D e r e k S o ’ 1 9
Fifty students from the Cornell Tech campus who traveled by bus Wednesday morning to reach Ithaca were also waiting to speak to employers, according to Travis Holt grad, a student at Cornell Tech
“We have career fairs as well, but we started classes at the same time as you guys did and we wanted to get the ball rolling,” Holt said “We weren ’ t depending on this one, but it would have been nice to talk to someone ”
Despite the long wait times, all attendees who waited were able to enter the fair by 5 p m , according to Cornell Career Ser vices
Executive Director Rebecca Sparrow
Halfway through the event, approximately 10 companies including Intel, which set up a table outdoors also sent recruiters outside the venue to talk
to students on line, Sparrow said
“We were encouraging anyone who had extra people working [at their station] to go outside,” Sparrow said Feiran Chen ’15, a recruiter for Coursera, said she came outside even before organizers began suggesting the option, when she realized students were waiting in the rain
“ We sor t of just decided,”
“It’s a very tough thing to have an event this big in a space this small ”
Chen said “I’m a Cornell alum and I feel like these kids should get something for standing outside, and also I just feel like that’s way more efficient I knew how this was going to work The Statler can only hold so many people ”
However, Andrei Talaba ’18 said he believes this initiative reflected the inefficiency of the Career Fair’s setup
“It’s humiliating that Cornell’s decision to replace Barton with the Statler led to employers deeming it necessary to leave the building,” Talaba said
Catherine Schmidt ’17 added that recruiters who came outside lacked the resources that those at official tables had
“There’s one guy from a company who’s in a different role from what I want to do, but if I’d been at the table there
w o u l d h a ve b e e n p e o p l e I could have talked to, ” Schmidt said
The event ’ s planners do not plan to make major organizational changes next week for the last two days of the fair, which focus on companies in the financial sector, according to Sparrow Organizers hope that lower numbers of attending employers will solve the student overcrowding problem, she said
Sparrow added that she is open to suggestions for improvement but believes it may be difficult to streamline the process further
“I don’t know what huge suggestions they have, but if people want to make them we’ll leave them with the management people and see what [works],” she said
“It’s a very tough thing to have an event this big in a space this small ”
Wu Remembered
As Modest, Gentle, ‘Exceedingly Kind’
MOURNING
“ p e r s o n d r i ve n by c u r i
n
y ” a
w a s n o t a s t u d e n t w h o j u s t s t u d i e d f o r e x a m s , h
w a s a
w h o w a n t e d t o k n ow m o re e ve r y s i n g l e d a y s i m p l y t o e n r i c h h i s l i f e ” Ru t t l e d g e a d d e d t h a t Wu w a s “ q u i e t , s o f t - s p o k e n , re s p e c tf u l , h o n e s t a n d e x c e e d i n g l y k i n d ” “ [ Wu ] w a s m o d e s t a n d s o m ew h a t d o u b t f u l o f h i s t a l e n t s a s m o s t s u p e r b s t u d e n t s a re , ” h e s a i d “ He w a s n o t a ‘ s h ow y ’ s t ud e n t , s i m p l y a s t u d e n t w h o l ove d t o l e a r n , w o rk e d h a rd i n c l a s s e s , a n d f a i t h f u l l y w o rk e d p ro b l e m s a n d e n g a g e d w i t h t h e m a t e r i a l e ve r yd a y ”
“[Wu] was modest and somewhat doubtful of his talents as most superb students are ”
P
Ru t t l e d g e s a i d h i s i n i t i a l d i sb e l i e f u p o n h e a r i n g o f t h e s t ud e n t ’ s d e a t h w a s s o o n re p l a c e d by a “d e e p s a d n e s s ” “ [ Wu’s ] g e n t l e n a t u r e a n d s i n c e re k i n d n e s s w i l l a l w a y s b e re m e m b e re d by m e , ” h e s a i d “ I w o u l d a s k a n y o f o u r c h e m i s t r y m a j o r s w h o w a n t o r n e e d t o t a l k t o re a c h o u t f o r h e l p, a n d I a m o f f e r i n g m y s e l f a l w a y s a s a n e a r, b o t h n ow a n d i n t h e f u t u re ”
K a t i e St a w i a s z ’ 1 8 , w h o t o o k h o n o r s o r g a n i c c h e m i s t r y l a b w i t h Wu l a s t s e m e s t e r, c a l l e d h i m “ i n q u i s i t i ve ” “ [ Wu ] w a s a l w a y s s o w i l l i n g t o h e l p a n yo n e w h o h a d q u e st i o n s i n l a b, ” St a w i a s z s a i d “ He re a l l y s e e m e d t o h a ve a p a ss i o n f o r c h e m i s t r y ” A s h l e y Vi n c e n t ’ 1 7 s a i d s h e
“[Wu] was always so willing to help anyone who had questions in lab.”
’ 1 8
b r i e f l y m e t h i m i n t h e c h e m i s t r y l o u n g e l a s t we e k a n d t h a t h e s t r u c k h e r a s a “ h a rd w o rk i n g a n d g e n e r a l l y f r i e n d l y s t u d e n t ” A l t h o u g h Wu w a s a c h e mi s t r y m a j o r, h e w a s a l s o k n ow n f o r h i s “ i n t e re s t a n d t a l e n t i n l i n g u i s t i c s , ” s a i d Pa t r i c k Ni e d z i e l s k i ’ 1 7 , Pr e s i d e n t o f C o r n e l l Un d e r g r a d u a t e s i n L i n g u i s t i c s , i n a n e m a i l t o t h e c l u b m e m b e r s Ni e d z i e l s k i s a i d Wu w a s a c t i ve l y i n vo l ve d i n t h e l i ng u i s t i c s d e p a r t m e n t , o f t e n a t t e n d i n g C o r n e l l Un d e r g r a d u a t e s i n L i n g u i s t i c s b r u n c h e s a n d t h e d e p a r t m e n t ’ s ye a r l y c o l l o q u iu m “ Da r r y l w a s a n a c t i ve p a rt i c i p a n t i n m a n y o f o u r l i ng u i s t i c s c l a s s e s , a m e m b e r w h o b ro u g h t w i t h h i m n e w p e rs p e c t i v e s a n d i n s i g h t f u l c o mm e n t s , ” h e
C-Town Center Called Private Place
Residents say most people ‘ go straight to their rooms ’
BUILDING
Continued from page 1
“As a person living in that apartment, it scares me a lot,” she said
However, Evan Genova ’18, who also lives in Collegetown Center, described the apar tment complex as a place where “It’s pretty easy to just disappear for a few days ”
“[Four days] is definitely a long time though,
Staff members at Collegetown Center do not typically enter tenant ’ s rooms, according to Nathan Lyman, the chief operating officer of the Ithaca Renting Company Lyman added that he was unsure how staff found Wu’s body
Abraoha added that the complex is “ a great living space ” where “everything makes it super convenient to be at ”
“I would still love to re-sign and the place is great; I just think it’s unfortunate that this happened,” Abaraoha said “Combine that with [the stabbing that] happened last weekend, it’s a dark mood to start the year ”
“There’s no one that expects you back ... People tend to be quiet and just go straight to their rooms and close the door.”
but I guess that’s what happens in a building where everyone ’ s in a single pretty much,” Genova said “There’s no one that expects you back People tend to be quiet and just go straight to their rooms and close the door ”
Most of the building’s residents are graduate students who “ are full grown adults and would probably like their privacy,” according to Daniel Abaraoha ’18, who lived on the building’s second floor
Genova said neither he nor Abaraoha had noticed anything different about their floor of the apartment in the last few days
Help us keep watch over Cornell.
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Josephine Chu can be reached at jchu@cornellsun com
Support services are available to all members of the Cornell community Students may consult with counselors f ro
Psychological Services (CAPS) by calling 607-255-5155 Students may speak with a peer counselor by calling EARS at 607-2553277
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Josephine Chu ’18 contributed reporting to this story
Stephanie Yan can be reached at syan@cornellsun com
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suppose you could consider me a Frank Ocean fan I listen casually, although despite my deep love for “Pyramids” and “Thinkin Bout You” I found the rest of Channel Orange to be a little uninteresting and as far as emotional, slow R&B singers go I prefer Blood Orange However, half my roommates hate him and if there’s any better reason to pretend like he’s the second coming I don’t know what it is And to be perfectly honest, I love a good obsession and Frank’s fan base did not disappoint Watching the various Frank Ocean forums slowly go devolve to desperation was truly a pleasure I won ’ t lie; I let myself get swept up in the hype I eagerly awaited the album on each of the rumored days and complained when it inevitably wasn ’ t Of course, I didn’t actually post anything online; I’m convinced that sort of behavior is the mark of a troubled mind or a cry for help But waiting became a game, seeing how long the hype could hold until I and the collective fanbase gave up And then, after all this waiting, on August 20 it dropped
What was my reaction to this fateful moment, this album so many years in the m a k i n g ?
Editorial
Too Much Money, Not Enough Action From Student Assembly
TODAY, THE STUDENT ASSEMBLY WILL DETERMINE how to spend its $28,630 budget, a vote that comes just a week after a majority of S A members admitted that they had been “allocated too much money ”
The S A’s excess of funds stands in stark contrast to their reluctance to fund student organizations in need most notably the Cornell Cinema Last October, the S A initially rejected Cornell Cinema’s request for an increase of $1 40 per student in funding and agreed to an increase of 30 cents only after student outcr y Funding for the Cornell Cinema from the Undergradute Student Activity Fee has only increased 90 cents per student since 2010, even though it saw an increase in attendance of 1,300 students last year
In contrast, the S A has a burgeoning budget even as it continues to struggle to reach students The S A budget is geared toward committee budgets and flexible funds that are, by the representatives’ own admission, underused S A President Jordan Berger ’17 acknowledged that the Special Projects Fund which the S A may decide to dedicate its excess funds to “tends not to be well publicized ” But the question of whether to funnel the S A ’ s money to committees or to the Special Projects fund is a moot point, because it disregards the larger issue: that the S A continually has too much money and few ideas on how to effectively use their funds to support undergraduates
The S A ’ s issues with budget surplus are nothing new In December, the S A did not determine how to use a $40,000 budget surplus until a few days before members were required to vote on the final Student Activity Fee recommendation This continued, however, in the spring, when the S A continued to debate how to use its $39,000 budget surplus
Troublingly, the S A has been allowed to allocate and regulate its own finances for far too long
Not only does the S A recommend at what amount Cornell should set the Undergraduate Student Activity Fee, it also essentially determines how much by-line funding it receives without much outside input Like student organizations such as the Cornell Cinema, the Student Assembly submits an application for by-line funding to the Student Activities Finance Commission But unlike the Cornell Cinema, the Student Assembly has six of its representatives on the Appropriations Committee that oversees SAFC This is a blatant conflict of interest
We suggest a simple solution: an independent committee of undergraduates that reviews and approves the Student Assembly’s finances At their meeting last week, S A representatives admitted they have too many funds This week, they should take an additional step and recognize that the system that allocates them too much must be fixed
Couldn’t tell you, because it was an Apple Music exclusive and I am not a subscriber So, I suppose the only feeling I had was one of mild disappointment and a little irritation Of course, I shouldn’t have been surprised; this sort of behavior from the music industry is becoming increasingly common, Kanye’s The Life of Pablo exclusive on Jay-Z’s Tidal service being another notorious example
To be frank, (pun absolutely intended) I can ’ t stand streaming exclusives There is not a whole lot more frustrating than waiting and waiting for an album to be released, only to find out that you cannot listen to it because you haven’t paid Apple its monthly blood tithe
Now sure, you could chalk this up to “millennial entitlement;” after all, any one of us could simply buy the album And while I always recommend tpurchasing C D or lossless download, I’m concerned what this means for the streaming services that have become such a large part of our lives Right now exclusivity is widely a temporary condition; after a month or so the album usually becomes available at all usual sites But how long until it doesn’t? It may seem strange to imagine a world in which the only way to listen to the latest T-Swift is through Apple Music, but looking at the television industry, it does not seem so far
off After all, how many (legal) sites can you watch House of Cards on? Exactly one: Netflix
And much as it distresses me to admit, the C D may one day go the way of the 8track According to the New York Times, C D sales have plummeted 84 percent in the past decade What may be even more surprising is that downloads aren ’ t faring much better And with all due respect, no matter what Urban Outfitters leads us to believe, the vinyl record is not going to make any significant comeback beyond anything we ’ ve already seen
Will streaming replace all other forms of music distribution anytime soon? I don’t think so, but I suspect it will become the main way we consume music However, we should ensure exclusivity does not come along with it, because it will force you to subscribe to multiple, and in my opinion pricy streaming services Sure, both Views and Blonde inevitably lost their exclusive sta-
more sentimental level, I refuse to pay lusive services because it goes against at I believe makes music remarkable. I mly believe it is our most important art form, simply because it requires no training or experience to enjoy
tus, but if streaming does become the only practical way to listen to music, what’s to stop Apple Music and Tidal from holding on to the rights to these albums indefinitely? I can understand paying for one of these services, but not all of them As this practice becomes more common, so too will the number of streaming services rise In fact, I’m shocked Amazon has pulled an exclusive deal yet
On a more sentimental level, I refuse to pay for exclusive services because it goes against what I believe makes music remarkable I firmly believe it is our most important art form, simply because it requires no training or experience to enjoy It can even be appreciated in different languages or with no words at all It is ubiquitous and highly accessible, yet can still evoke profound and complex emotions It is really the perfect art form Music exclusivity kills that, because if this trend continues, soon consuming music will become like purchasing a cable plan Then it’s only a matter of time before advertisements are added in, regardless if the service is paid for or not It happened in TV, we shouldn’t believe that it couldn’t happen in music too
Soren Malpass is a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences He can be reached at skm94@cornell edu Sorenity Now appears alternate Thursdays this semester
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t h e p r o d u c t o f C o r n e l l ’ s e g a l i t a r i a n f o u n d i n g , a n d t h e i d e a l t h a t
t h i s i n s t i t u t i o n w a s f o u n d e d o n : “A n y Pe r s o n , A n y St u d y ”
I n t h e c a s e o f t h e g r a d u a t e s t u d e n t - e l e c t e d t r u s t e e , t h a t m e a n s t h a t i t i s m y j o b t o e f f e c t i v e l y c o m m u n i c a t e w i t h g r a d u a t e a n d u n d e r g r a d u a t e s t u d e n t s o n i s s u e s f a c i n g t h e c o m m u n i t y A s I a s s u m e m y p o s i t i o n , I ’d l i k e t o b e g i n b y e m p h a s i z i n g t h e i m p o rt a n c e o f c a m p u s i n c l u s i v i t y Ev e n b e f o r e t h e 1 9 6 9 t a k e o v e r, C o r n e l l w a s a p r e m i e r e m o d e l f o r c a m p u s d i v e r s i t y a n d i n c l u s i o n Ju s t l a s t y e a r, h o w e v e r, m a n y i n c i d e n t s a n d m o v e m e n t s c h a l l e n g e d t h i s p o s i t i o n T h e t e r m “ i n c l u s i v i t y ” s h o u l d n o t b e c o n s t r u e d a s t o s o l e l y a p p l y a l o n g r a c i a l a n d g e n d e r l i n e s Pe o p l e c o m e t o C o r n e l l f r o m a l l w a l k s o f l i f e , b e a r i n g d i v e r s e p e r s p e c t i v e s a n d a w e a l t h o f k n o w l e d g e We m u s t c o n t i n u e t o f o s t e r c a m p u s d i v e r s i t y a n d i n c l u s i v i t y t o e n s u r e t h a t C o r n e l l c a n r e m a i n a p l a c e o f c o m f o r t , g r o w t h , a n d d i s c o v e r y f o r a l l s t u d e n t s , f a c u l t y m e m b e r s , a n d a d m i n i s t r a t o r s I n t u r n , w e w i l l s t r e n g t h e n o u r c o m m u n i t y p e r s p e c t i v e s , i m p r o v e o u r c a m p u s c u l t u r e , a n d p e r p e t u a t e t h e i n n o v a t i o n s t h a t m a k e t h e C o r n e l l e x p e r i e n c e l a u d a b l e W h i l e Ya m i n i B h a n d a r i , m y u n d e r g r a d u a t e t r u s t e e c o u n t e r p a r t , a n d m a n y o t h e r s t u d e n t t r u s t e e s b e f o r e h e r h a v e b e g u n t o a d d r e s s t h i s i s s u e , I w o u l d l i k e t o f u r t h e r t h e i r e f f o r t s t h i s y e a r Ya m i n i a n d I w i l l b e c o - w r i t i n g t h i s c o l u m n t o s h a r e o u r i n s i g h t s o n i s s u e s w e b e l i e v e a r e p e r t i n e n t t o t h e C o r n e l l c o mm u n i t y O u r g o a l i s t o p r o v i d e r e a d e r s b e i t s t u d e n t s o r a d m i n i s t r a t o r s w i t h a s e n s e o f t h e w o r k b e i n g d o n e t o i m p r o v e o u r c a m p u s I n d o i n g s o , w e h o p e t o i n s p i r e h e a l t h y d i s c u s s i o n s a m o n g c o m m u n i t y m e m b e r s , a n d s h e d l i g h t o n k e y i s s u e s T h i s c o l u m n i s a s p a c e f o r d i a l o g u e , a n d I e n c o u r a g e a n yo n e i n t h e C o r n e l l c o m m u n i t y t o r e a c h o u t t o m e w i t h q u e st i o n s , c o m m e n t s , o r c o n c e r n s T h i s i s o u r y e a r A s t h e p r e s i d e n t i a l s e a r c h c o n t i n u e s , w e m u s t a s k o u r s e l v e s : w h a t i m p r o v e m e n t s d o w e s t r i v e t o b e i m p l e m e n te d o n o u r c a m p u s , a n d w h a t q u a l i t i e s d o w e s e e k f r o m o u r Un i v e r s i t y l e a d e r s ? W h e t h e r o n e a d v o c a t e s f o r i n c r e a s e d t r a n sp a r e n c y b e t w e e n s t u d e n t s a n d t h e B o a r d , o r t h e e x p a n d e d u s e o f t e c h n o l o g y i n t h e c l a s s r o o m , C o r n e l l h a s a l w a y s b e e n a p l a c e o f t r e m e n d o u s r e s p e c t a n d c r e d e n c e i n o u r c o m m u n i t y m e m b e r s ’ v o i c e s I h o p e t h i s y e a r b r i n g s i n c r e a s e d c o n n e c t i v i t y b e t w e e n t h e c a m p u s c o m m u n i t y a n d t h e B o a r d , a l o n g w i t h h e i g h t e n e d c o m m u n i t y i n v o l v e m e n t i n t h e f a c e o f c o n t r o v e r s i a l i s s u e s
Comm en t of the day
Student
Re: “Students Say Early, ‘Cramped’ Career Fair Damaged Networking Efforts,” News August 31, 2016
Surviving the PWI
Depending on a person ’ s background, coming to a predominantly white institution (PWI) like Cornell can be really difficult to cope with as a freshman I know that for me, it wasn ’ t just dealing with the fact that I had moved from the large city of Chicago to Ithaca, but also being surrounded by people completely different from whom I was accustomed to interacting with back home It took me more than a year of attending Cornell to finally figure out how to function in a place that was so drastically different for me As I’m starting my third year here, I can ’ t help but think about where I started from and how current firstyears of color might be feeling Generally, I know that during my first year I felt like I did not belong here at all I was meeting all of these people from the East Coast who had gone to private schools and boarding schools To me, it seemed like they were made to be here They had been on this Ivy League track their whole lives while I had never even considered applying, let alone being admitted, to an Ivy League college until my senior year of high school I thought that they must have admitted me by mistake because there was no way that my educational background could contend with these students who had been doing college level work since they were 14
stand what I was reading for homework and going to class the next day where ever yone else seemed to fully understand what they had read People would have these profound statements on the reading as I struggled to keep up at times Even when not everyone understood what we read and the professor had to explain it to us, I still felt like I was delayed in my comprehension on the topic because I had difficulty understanding the way things were being explained to me I felt
resources and money that most kids in the Chicago public school system can only dream of Personally, my high school was predominantly white, and the educational program I was in within the school was also predominantly white Therefore, coming to here to a PWI wasn ’ t an entirely new concept for me, but at this point I was tired of it It’s difficult to learn more about yourself and feel more comfortable with your identity when there are so few spaces that allow for that
It’s so easy to think poorly of yourself wh you don’t seem to be able to relate to eve one else The reality is that these institutions of higher education were not meant for those of marginalized identities
incompetent and I thought that asking a question was a way to draw more attention to myself and make the entire room aware of my incompetence I struggled with that class the entirety of my first semester and had countless conversations with my advisor about how I just didn’t seem to understand theory especially in comparison to everyone else He thankfully always tried to encourage me and made my situation slightly more bearable
kind of growth I know that this transition is even more drastically different to those that have never attended a predominantly white school and are accustomed by being surrounded by those with really similar backgrounds Despite that, it isn’t just whiteness that new students have to overcome There’s also differences in class, gender, sexuality, etc Anything that makes you different from the majority makes you feel like you ’ re not meant to be here
I will never forget the first college class I ever attended because it made me feel even more out of place for the entirety of my first semester here It was a literaturebased class, but heavily incorporated theor y and philosophy Until that point, I had never been exposed to much theory, especially in relation to literature I remember struggling to under-
I’m completely over that feeling now despite being only slightly better at reading theory and philosophy I had to constantly remind myself that I’m here because someone thought I deserved to be here Someone thought that I could handle this, so they have to at least be kind of right It’s so easy to think poorly of yourself when you don’t seem to be able to relate to everyone else The reality is that these institutions of higher education were not meant for those of marginalized identities They were created for those with “ power, ” those who had had access to educational
The way I learned to handle everything was by finding a community that I could easily relate to, and I definitely didn’t find them in my first literature class I had to go looking for people who also struggled with feeling out of place because they just didn’t seem to fit It’s easier to cope with this institution when you talk to people who understand what you ’ re going through because they’ve been there or they’re right alongside with you
Sarah Zumba is a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences She can be reached at sez29@cornell edu Zumba Works it Out appears alternate Wednesdays this semester
Sarah Zumba | Zumba Works It Out
Eat-Thiopian at Hawi
By CATHERINE ELSAESSER
Sun Staff Writer
A g r o u p o f t h r e e f r i e n d s a n d I h a d m a
w
r m , g o l d e n t o n e s w i t h c o mf o r t a b l e b o o t h s a n d t a b l e s T h e r e w a s a m i x o f l a r g e g r o u p s a n d c o u p l e s e n j o y i n g q u i e t d a t e n i g h t s w h e n w e s a t d o w n We e x p l o r e d t h e m e n u a n d d e c i d e d t o t r y a v a r i e t y o f t h i
C o r n e l l , s o I w a s l o o k i n g f o rw a r d t o s e e i n g i f a n y t h i n g h a d c h a n g e d o r i f t h e r e s t a ur a n t w a s s t i l l t h e p l a c e I e n j o y e d a n d l o o k e d f o r w a r d t o v i s i t i n g
t i r e l y u s i n g t h e b r e a d a n d y o u r h a n d s , m a k i n g u t e ns i l s u n n e c e s s a r y A l l o f t h e e n t r é e c h o i c e s c o n s i s t o f t h e p r o t e i n o f y o u r p r e f e r e n c e a n d t w o v e g e t a b l e s i d e d i s he s I d e c i d e d o n t h e y e b e g a l i c h a , a m i l d l a m b s t e w w i t h f l av o r i n g s o f g i n g e r, g a r l i c , a n d t u r m e r i c , w h i c h p r o v i d e d f o r a b e a u t i f u l y e l l o w c o l o r T h e f l a v o r s c o m b i n e d b e a u t i f u ll y, p r o v i d i n g f o r a d e l i c i o u s s a u c e , a n d t h e h e a r t y c h u n k s o f
By QIJIA YU Sun Staff Writer
i c
f M r L i n c
l n H o w e v e r, o t h e r t h a n t h e o l dt i m e y f e e l a n d t h e h e a r t y s a u s a g e g r a v y t h e y s e r v e , t h e y a r e a l s o h o s t t o s o m et h i n g n e w t o I t h a c a L a s t Tu e s d a y, I h a d t h e f o r t u n e o f g o i n g d o w n t h e r e t o h a v e t h e p l e a s u r e o f d i s a s s o c i a t i o n , n o t o n l y f r o m t h e s t r e s s o f C o r n e l l , b u t a l s o f r o m w h a t I h a d c o m e t o e x p e c t f r o m t a c o s c h e a p s t r e e t f o o d , o n e - d i m e n s i o n a l , o r w o r s e , “ e t h n i c ” I t ' s n o t a b o u t Ta c o s p e r s e , b u t t w o r e s t a u r a t e u r s ’ d e b u t i n I t h a c a ' s F o o d S c e n e T h e o w n e r - c h e f s C o r e y a n d K e v i n A d l e m a n a r e r e l at i v e l y n e w i n t o w n A f e w m o n t h s a g o t h e y h e l d f u l lt i m e j o b s i n b i g f a n c y r e s t a ur a n t s a n d t h e c a t e r i n g b u s in e s s S o o n , a s C o r e y t o l d m e l a t e r, t h e y b e g a n e x p e r i m e n ti n g w i t h n e w t h i n g s a n d t h i n k i n g a b o u t m a k i n g t h e i r o w n d i s h e s A n d t h a t w a s h o w e v e r y t h i n g s t a r t e d Ta c o Tu e s d a y w a s t h e i r f i r s t f o r a y i n t o a b i g g e r v e n t u r e t h a n s m a l l o f f i c e p a r t i e s a n d g a t he r i n g s o f f a m i l y a n d f r i e n d s F o r m e , a s a r e g u l a r c u st o m e r w h o j u s t w a n t e d t o g r a b a b i t e f r o m m y f a v o r i t e l o c a l d i n e r, i t a l l s t a r t e d w i t h a r e n d e z - v o u s I w a s s h o c k e d t o g o d o w n t o L i n c o l n S t r e e t D i n e r o n l y t o f i n d a w i n d i n g q u e u e s t r e t c h i n g f r o m t h e g r e e n d o o r t h a t w a s 3 0 9 E L i n c o l n S t t o t h e p r i v a t e r e si d e n c e t h a t w a s 3 0 8 L i v e l y m u s i c w a s d r o w n e d o u t b y t h e s w a r m s o f p e o p l e s t a n di n g i n l i n e I s n e a k e d a p e a k f r o m t h e w i n d o w a n d s a w t h e t w o o w n e r - c h e f s b e n t o v e r t h e g r i l l s , t h e i r h i r e d h a n d s b u s y i n g o v e r t h e r e g i s t e r O u t s i d e b y t h e c u r b s , I s a w p e o p l e s t a n d i n g a t t h e r e a r o f t h e i r c a r a n d e
l a m b w e r e t e n d e r F o r m y v e g e t a b l e s i d e s , I c h o s e t h e m i s i r w a t , w h i c h w e r e r e d l e n t i l s w i t h a r e d p e p p e r s a u c e a n d g o m e n , t h e s e as o n e d c o l l a r d g r e e n s B o t h v e g e t a b l e d i s h e s w e r e t a s t y, b u t I l o v e d t h e s m o k y, c o mp l e x f l a v o r o f t h e t h e l e n t i l s O n e o f m y f r i e n d s c h o s e t h e d o r o t i b s , w h i c h c o n s i s t e d o f b o n e l e s s c h i c k e n c o o k e d w i t h o n i o n s , t o m a t o e s , j a l a p e ñ o s a n d b e r b e r e s p i c e , a l o n g w i t h t h e y a t e r k i k a l i c h a , s p l i t p e a s c o o k e d i n a m i l d s a u c e , a n d f a s o l i a , t h e s a u t é e d s t r i n g b e a n s a n d c a r r o t s M y f r i e n d w h o i s v e g e t a r i a n t r i e d t h e v e g g i e c o m b o , w h i c h c a m e w i t h a l l s e v e n v e g e t a b l e d i s he s a t o p i n j e r a b r e a d T h i s d i s h c o m b i n a t i o n w a s f u l
Taco Tuesday
Catherine Elsaesser is a senior in the School of Hotel Administration She can be reached at cae96@cornell edu
t i n g o v e r t h e t r u n k l i d I a l s o s a w a r e f l e ct i o n o f m y s e l f o n t h e w i n d o w p a n e b y t h e s c o r c h i n g a f t e rn o o n s u n I t h o u g h t t h i s w a s c r a z y a n d i m p o s s i b l e b u t I s t a y e d i n t h e l i n e S t a n d i n g b y t h e t h r e s h o l d o f t h e d i n e r f o r c e d m e t o r e a d t h e “ B i c k e r i n g Tw i n s P r e s e n t : Ta c o Tu e s d a y ” A c c o r d i n g t o t h e f l y e r, a n d t h e c h e e r f u l c o u p l e p a t i e n t l y w a i t i n g b e f o r e m e , I c o u l d e x p e c t a m e a l o f m y c h o i c e i n e i t h e r a h a n d - p r e s s e d b l u e c o r n t o r t i l l a o r a f l o u r t o rt i l l a , w i t h f i l l i n g s c o m i n g i n l a m B a r b a c o a , C h i c k e n i n P i p i a n R o j o ( a r e d s a u c e ) , g a r l i c s h r i m p w i t h g r e e n c a bb a g e s l a w o r a v e g g i e o p t i o n o f c h a r r e d c o r n , s q u a s h , g r i l l e d s c a l l i o n a n d p o b l a n o I c o u l d a l s o h a v e g o t t e n a p l a t t e r w i t h t h r e e t a c o s , r i c e , b e a n s o r p l a n t a i n s A s a n a v e r a g e c o l l e g e s t u d e n t , t h e m e n u r e m i n d e d m e o f m y t h r e e s t r a i g h t d a y s o f f r o z e n E l C h a r r i t o e n c h i l a d a s w i t h t o o m u c h c h i l i s a u c e , w h i c h h a d p r o m p t e d m e t o g o o u t a n d g e t s o m e r e a l f o o d I n d e e d , t h e o w n e r - c h e f s d i d n o t d i s a p p o i n t T h e h a n d - p r e s s e d t o r t i l l a s w e r e s p r i n g y, t h i c k a n d v e r y f l u f f y B e s i d e s b u y i n g c o r n f l o u r a n d w o r k i n g o v e r a t o r t i l l a p r e s s , t h e y a l s o p u t a l o t o f t h i n k i n g i n t o d e s i g n i n g t h e r e c i p e C o m i n g f r o m a b a c kg r o u n d o f w o r k i n g a t u p s c a l e t a p a s - s t y l e d i n i n g p l a c e s , s a i d C o r e y, t h e y w e r e v e r y e x c i t e d t o f i n d t h e i r o w n s t y l e , a f u s i o n o f M e x i c a n a n d S o u t h - A m e r i c a n d i s h e s To p r e p a r e t h e l a m b , t h e y b r a i s e d i t w i t h d r i e d a v o c a d o a n d b a n a n a l e a v e s , t u r n i n g i t i n t o a n a b o d o - f l a v o r e d w i t h p e p p e r v i n e g a r F o r t h e c h i c k e n , t h e y t h i c k e n e d i t w i t h c h i l i s , p u m p k i n s e e d s a n d p u r e e d s e s a m e O f c o u r s e , a s w i t h a l l d i s h e s w i t h a “ s e c r e t ” s p i c e , t h e i r s h a d h o j a s a n t a , a s a u c e t h a t i m b u e s m e a t w i t h r i c h f l av o r s a n d e p a z o t e , a n h e r b w i t h t a n g y s m e l l s F o r t h e s h r i m p , t h e y u s e d s i m p l e g a r l i c s a u c e t h a t a u g m e n t s t h e n a t u r a l n e s s o f s h r i m p a n d t
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Kindergarten to Architecture School:
Homo Ludens at Bibliowicz Family Gallery
BY CATHERINE HWANG Sun Staff Writer
I guess I’m still feeling the grip of summer on my mind I find myself taking spontaneous visits to exhibits, laying on the grass to bask in the sun and procrastinating until stupidly late times And with the new school year reliably starting off in a daze, I (unsurprisingly) forgot to re-read the description of Homo Ludens: The Architecture of Play online before heading over When I made my way to the Bibliowicz Family Galler y where the exhibit is located, I was surprised to find the brightly-lit space full of the classic children’s playthings: wooden building blocks, miniature buildings and Legos
Of course, it makes perfect sense the title Homo Ludens, Latin for “playing man, ” is indicative Jenga, Legos, a wooden block set for a Prairie House and alphabet blocks are arranged in a colorful menagerie that invokes déjà vu of one of those classic childhoods filled with dollhouses and toy trains
But the underlying motivation for Homo Ludens is more serious, an intellectual undert a k
between childhood play and education and the broad field of modern architecture
Curated by David LaRocca, Cornell Visiting Scholar in the English Department, and Associate Professor of Practice Mark Morris, d
explores the idea that “play is a serious
Inspirations for modern architecture can be found in the simplicity of a smooth building block
The quotes and posters on the exhibit walls give the space a sense of movement and shed light on the purpose of the exhibit Meaningfully placed, they contain evidence of the relationships explored through selected texts of writers, philosophers and artists Dutch historian Johan Huizinga, who wrote the book Homo Ludens (1938) after which the exhibit is named, is the basis for this exploration He discusses the cultural significance of play in human society, quoting Plato: “Life must be lived as play, playing certain games, making sacrifices, singing and dancing ” Huizinga noted that play is essentially non-serious but can also be a serious endeavor in the way it is an integral part of human life, and the way it generates creativity and engages the mind In his 1971 book Playing and Reality, Donald Winnicott, American pediatrician and psychoanalyst, discussed the way people (specifically infant)
Adeveloped a “capacity to experience a relationship to external reality” through play, and that play whether it be playing with blocks as a child or engaging in hobbies as an adult allowed individuals to engage in their true selves These thinkers argued that play was not a trivial part of childhood, but rather was formative and influential later on in life
Beyond the philosophy, the exhibit gives
between play and work The focus here is architecture Naturally, Frank Lloyd Wright comes into the picture Dubbed “the greatest American architect of all time,” Wright remains famous for his distinctive “organic architecture,” a modern architectural philosophy that integrates smoothly buildings into their surroundings His work often displayed simple geometric shapes and repetitive patterns something, Wright wrote, that is derived from his time in kindergarten and
teacher Design and architecture magazine Icon notes that the kindergarten blocks a new invention in Wright’s time that Wright s mother encouraged her son to play with directly informed [ Wright of ] the organic abstractions and clean geometric lines” often seen in his work This kind of
influence can be seen in other modern architects ’ work, such as Zaha Hadid’s and Le Corbusier’s, and in the way companies like Lego, which even has an “Architecture” product line, encourage building and design As the exhibit notes, quoting Mark Morris: “Architecture school is the true successor to kindergarten ”
More than anything, Homo Ludens is stimulating It brings out intriguing connections that we usually don’t think of in ever yday life when we indulge in “play” (be it hobbies, relaxation or toys), grounded in trains of thought about human nature and development that have been discussed and refined over the centuries The exhibit itself is a modernist piece, too white walls and floors, cleanly arranged lines and shapes and the bright colors that we might see in a Kadinsky painting A Lego station is placed in the right side of the galler y Blocks of various design are stacked into towers and buildings A clever representation of the text pinned to the walls, the exhibit piques the interest with its clean look and becomes a form of play in itself
Catherine Hwang is a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences She can be reached at shwang@cornellsun com
The Plight of the Mix C.D./Tape
little over a year ago, my close friend and I decided it would be a fun experiment to start a collaborative playlist on Spotify We had been sharing music for many months, sending songs in inboxes and chats, but we struggled to keep track of the tracks as our conversation diverged We wanted a semi-permanent space to retain our varied musical interests over time It would be a scrapbook of sorts, an arena for us to indulge our nostalgia as well as discover new content in the days before “Discover Weekly” became popular And so, “Friends,” the playlist, was born as an endearing effort to keep the mixtape culture alive during the age of digital music
I’ve long felt the urge to share music with friends For the majority of my adolescence, mix C D s were my primar y mode of communication My best friends and I would curate music for each other, using compact discs as gifts for even the most mundane holidays We would adorn them in sharpie doodles and place them delicately in construction paper cases I made C D s for friends of friends, to strengthen bonds and to create a common language between us They were always a way to maintain contact, a cheap way to show affection and share in something that we all loved And we all still have these compilations collections from our youth that encapsulate significant moments and identities We reflect on these fondly and hopefully, understanding that despite the changes in our tastes and attitudes, the tracks of our youth still resonate in some ways and remind us of who we were and still are
In this digital
a g e , m u s i c h a s l a r g e l y l o
y It used to be something you could
h o l d a n d c a r r y w i t h yo u a C D , a tape, and even before that, vinyl (though I recognize the resurgence of this form and will definitely discuss it at a later date) Playlists, unlike these material forms of media, don’t neces-
sarily have boundaries on them in terms of length and content They can be expansive, everlasting even Yet, despite their lack of physicality and capability for expansion, playlists can still offer a similar sense of a personalization and care On my birthday, t h e p l a y l
“
Wonder’s “Happy Birthday” a fun and frivolous addition that made me smile but simultaneously kept with the balance and integrity of the collection My friend and I have come to see the playlist as a reflection of our friendship varied and dynamic, moody at times, but ultimately wholesome and holistic And we continue to add to it as we see fit, relying on emotion and intuition in discerning what will fit with the mix
This desire for someone to curate for us, to hand us a unique soundtrack designed exclusively for us, is by no means a new concept It’s a way to make our lives easier as we seek to navigate the ever-expanding world of art and culture Spotify, in many ways, does this for us We can look at our “Discover Weekly” or newly compiled “Release Radar” for a cohesive yet concise collection that speaks directly to our interests and recent indulgences But these algorithmically constructed playlists still feels less personal, and thus less impactful, than the one I share with my friend
In reflecting on all of this, I ve come to appreciate the ways in which sharing has changed Yes, I do miss the days of creating something with my hands of compiling songs online but having them appear on a physical disc But this method wouldn’t sur vive in my current life, and I’m thankful to have an easier way to share today I experience a sense of excitement with ever y new addition to the “Friends” playlist, and it’s both satisfying to add new songs and receive them Ever y now and
then, I scroll through and note the timestamps I remember the sentiments associated with each of the songs the reasons why I added them in the first place And maybe it isn’t a mix C D or tape Maybe I can ’ t grasp it with my hands and know that it’s mine But I appreciate this scrapbook this flourishing compilation of tracks as it reminds of me of how wonderful it is, and can be, to discuss music with those who care
But I’m left to wonder: Am I the only one who creates collaborative playlists, and will this trend be as iconic and emblematic as the mix tapes and C D s before it?
This column was originally published online at www cornellsun com on August 31, 2016
Anita Alur is a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences She can be reached at aa567@cornell edu Millennial Musings will appear Wednesdays online this semester
N o t S t r a n g e a t A l l : L o u i s t h e K i d o n t h e A r t s Q u a d
BY AMY LIN Sun Staff Writer
E D M a r t i s t s w i t h t h e i r u n i q u e b l e n d o f t ro p i c a l h o u s e i n s t r u m e n t a l s a n d f u t u r i s t i c b a s s s y n t h s
I f i r s t h e a rd L o u i s t h e C h i l d p e r f o r m a t a
b a s e m e n t d a n c e c l u b i n D C k n ow n f o r i t s p a t ro n a g e o f o b s c u re , u n d e r g ro u n d
D J s a n d i n d i e b a n d s T h e y h a d o p e n e d
f o r Sh a w n Wa s a b i a n o t h e r n o t a b l e
E D M b u t t o n - m a s h e r a n d b l e w m e
a w a y w i t h t h e i r re m i x o f “ Ro s e s ” by T h e
C h a i n s m o k e r s At t h e t i m e , I k n e w L o u i s
t h e C h i l d w a s a g ro u p t o k e e p a n e ye o n ;
t h e i r a p p ro a c h t o E D M w a s s o f re s h a n d
d i ve r s e t h a t o f c o u r s e E D M - l ove r s a l l
ove r A m e r i c a w o u l d re a l i ze t h e i r g e n i u s i n t h e u p c o m i n g m o n t h s A n d I w a s
r i g h t I s a w t h e m i n Au g u s t 2 0 1 5 , w h e n t h e y we re o n l y 2 0 p e rc e n t a s p o p u -
l a r a s t h e y a re t o d a y ( a c c o rdi n g t o Go o g l e Tre n d s ) , a n d s i n c e t h e n t h e y ’ v e p e rf o r m e d a t m u s i c f e s t i va l s a s l a r g e a s C o a c h e l l a a n d
Gove
C o n c e r t C o m m i s s i o n b o o k e d L o u i s t h e C h i l d T h e i r u s e o f s y n t h s a n d t ro p i c a l b a c k i n g b e a t s c o m e s t o g e t h e r i n a u n i f i e d , l a i db a c k v i b e t h e p e r f e c t c h o i c e f o r a s t a r t - o f - s e m e st e r c o n c e r t B e s i d e s t h e o l d i e s t h a t t h e y s a m p l e d s u c h a s “ L i p Gl o s s ” by L i l’ M a m a , “ D a f t Pu
m
g r a d at i o n s o f t e m p o , s u c
e s e g u e f ro
h a n n a ’ s “ Wo rk” t o Be yo n c é , w h i l e o t he r s we re a l i t t l e u n n a t u r a l b u t p rov i d e d a
e c e s s a r y a n d d y n a m i c c h a n g e o f p a c e i n t h e m i x I p a r t i c u l a r l y a p p re c i a t e d L o u i s t h e C h i l d’s p i t c h b e n d i n g , vo i c e f r a gm e n t a t i o n a n d h o r n d i s t o r t i o n t e c h -
n i q u e s A s a n Ab l e t o n - u s e r, I k n ow j u s t h ow h a rd
W i n o n a R y d e r, M y A c t i o n H e r o : Stranger Things’ subtle but cunning deconstruction of ‘female hysteria’
When a woman goes crazy in a movie or on TV, we greet the subplot with a sigh of comfortable familiarity Our intellectual subconscious breathes an “ahhhh ” We relax We see what’s going on; we likely knew all along As cinephiles and society-existers alike, we have been dutifully trained to unconditionally accept that a woman having lost her mind is a highly plausible explanation for her doing or saying, well anything really and also that such a turn of events is a Dark, Provocative and Highly Legitimate plotthickening cinematic juncture Even when some of us get suspicious and gain a sense that there’s something fishy going on here with all these batshit women all up on our screens the sights and sounds of a woman losing her mind and doing and saying crazy stuff still makes a fundamental sense to us in a way that it shouldn’t
The nascent cultural conventional wisdom that women are essentially emotionally and psychologically fragile, and vulnerable to an overflowing psychbank of feminine pathologies has deep, deep roots in our society from cinema to psychology Men have been explaining women ’ s behavior that they didn’t understand with physical or pathological disorders since literally the beginning of time and show almost no signs of slowing down! From Hyppocrates (5th century B C doctor who explained women ’ s “hysteria” with the idea that the uterus was a poisonous, organ which, especially when sexually deprived, made women lose it) to David Lynch (cinematic architect of all things female, tragic and tortured) such wisdom and its cultural by-products rages on
cal grieving-please-bring-my-boy-back-officer state of insanity after the disappearance of her child but instead ascend to a higher plane of tenacious, bug-eyed, disbeliefsuspended, momma-bear action heroinism over the eight episodes of Netflix’s summer banger, Stranger Things, felt restoratively good and culturally powerful It also made for great, visually stunning and morally gripping television
For some context, in case you didn’t go on the Internet this summer, Stranger Things is a Netflix-original ’80s style sci-fi thriller, dripping with light wash denim and bowl cuts and set in the cinematically fertile grounds of a small midwestern town; the stuff of an X-Files megafan’s wettest dream
The show combines the small-town social politics of Jaws and E T , the feverish promand-football drama of Sixteen Candles with the government conspiracy/science fiction heebie jeebies of a Dan Brown/Stephen King TV-baby Winona Ryder plays Joyce Byers, a working-class single mother struggling financially and to connect with her adolescent sons One of them, Will, goes missing 15 minutes into the first episode
While the majority of the show follows Will’s
ygang plus
, Eleven, and the local sad-sack-good-guy sheriff ’ s respective quests to find him, it also centers Joyce’s story
Things comes from watching the entire town perceive Joyce falling into a maternal hysteria and go mad with grief, while in actuality, Joyce is scheming and calculating and how to get her son back, whatever it takes The more she discovers, and the closer she gets to communicating with and finding Will, uncovering a government conspiracy to fake his death and cover up their mind-control experiments in the process, the more convinced of her neurosis and degeneration the town is
Her story is morally paralleled by the story of the character, Eleven’s mother, from whom Eleven was taken as a child to be used for mind-control experiments by the secret government department (indirectly) responsible for Will’s disappearance We see Eleven’s mother years later; broken, catatonic; a cautionary tale for what happens when women ’ s truths and pain are ignored; a selffulfilling prophecy We are made to ask the question if she lost grasp on reality because of the loss of her child, or because of the agony of gas-lighting
Christmas lights, writing on the walls, calls from dead people)
However, the show only paints such a perfect picture in order to rip it to shreds; showing the foolishness and inherent flaws in our assumptions As it’s revealed to us that exactly what Joyce suspects is true, and that she’s been taking not only entirely situationally rational, but innovatively genius measures (i e Christmas light ouija board) to find her son Joyce’s total rightness about the situation, and her powerful willingness to accept truths and follow clues that others would not, because of her unique subject position: as community outsider, as mother, as woman, is striking and touching Her mother’s love becomes a radical politic, as she submits to other’s perception of her as crazy mother-in-grieving by her community She has no time for grief or appearances or men ’ s thoughts about her behavior or the town ’ s gossip; her son is alive and out there
The quiet nausea I associate with watching women fall apart on-screen is the lot of the modern feminist TV viewer It’s also the reason why watching Winona Ryder not only not descend predictably into a hysteri-
The entire town offers Joyce their condolences while immediately insisting that she calm the fuck down But here’s the thing: Joyce/Winona won ’ t calm the fuck down because her 12-year-old was snatched by a faceless Barb-eating monster and tossed into a cold, sticky, decaying alternate dimension
The town doesn’t know that, though
The most rewarding and impactful moral and psychological tension of Stranger
The mothers of lost children in Stranger Things wreck the cinematic wisdom of female hysteria They deflate it They make a mockery of it Because never has someone appeared to be so perfectly insane Winona/Joyce appears to be as she graffities her walls and strings her house with Christmas lights in order to communicate through the blinking lights with Will whose in a parallel universe, tells her neighbors she’s getting calls from her dead son, beats holes in her walls with an axe trying to fight a faceless monster that no one else can see, and refuses to believe the dead body recovered from the local quarry, identical to Will’s is her son, while being so fiercely lucid; shrewd, innovative and calculating
Her character appears to the town, and initially to the viewer, as pastiche of grieving, hysterical mother, and crazy-lady-who-livesjust-outside-of-town tropes; the bug-eyes atop dark circles and dirty flannel, the shouting of nonsensical stories, the fierceness of belief that she is right and everyone else is wrong, the harried skittishness, performing every motif associated with it (re:
The shows creators masterfully pull the strings of our perception They offer us the schema of the hysterical, mad women that the Lynches and Shakespeares and Freuds have made us so familiar with along with the town, we fill in the rest then make us squirm as we see Winona/Joyce for what she is: a woman reacting quite appropriately and rationally to the severity and oddity of her situation, scared, but trying and thanklessly to save her child, while everyone around her points and stares, shaking their heads at the crazy lady in the hardware store
Stranger Things adeptly wields the that frightening, cognitively dissonant gap between what the audience knows about Joyce, and what everyone in world of the show knows, to a powerful, and I think, political affect Its bold undermining of the narrative of female hysteria adds a robust moral problem (which, under Winona Ryder’s care is arresting) to the show, and poses unanswerable questions about gender, power and credibility
Jael Goldfine is a senior in the College of Ar ts and Sciences She can be reached at jgoldfine@cornellsun com Objectivity Bites r uns alternate Thursdays this semester
Lawn by Liz Popolo ’08
Schneider Has High Hopes
For First Season at Cornell
FENCING Continued from page 16
Cornell because of the type of students thatit attracts “I wanted to work with kids who have that level of interest in their academic life and ambitions in their future and professional lives,” she said “I feel like my experiences at Columbia were s o s p e c i a l b e c a u s e i t was the Ivy League and because of the people I was interacting with on my team ”
This outlook on her
t e a m p l a y s i n t o h ow she recr uits She does not just look for great f e n c e r s , b u t f e n c e r s who handle themselves well both before and after a match
“I like paying attention to them after they finish a match, whether they win or lose,” she said “I like watching how they respond after I think it says a lot about a person It’s kind of an ar t, not a science I like people who have a sense of themselves and what they are bringing ”
As a first-year head coach, Schneider clearly has a lot of ambition and hopes for a program she is taking over Though she hopes to teach her team as much as she can, she will be doing some learning herself on the side, as well as hiring assistant coaches who specialize in the two other weapons
“I am going to be taking coaching lessons so I can become a better foil and épée coach,” she said
“I am going to do that because I want to compete at the highest level in ever ything that I do I want to become the best possible foil and épée that I can be, as well as sabre coach ”
While Cornell has only a women ’ s fencing program and not one for the men, the team is not eligible to compete for an NCAA title, Schneider said Though she hopes the men ’ s team can get back up and r unning in the future, for now, she’s making do with what is
League “ I
develop this as
place
because of the training
here,” Schneider said “
the Ivy League and I want to compete against the best schools ”
Through a rollercoaster of a career, Schneider is above all one thing: extremely happy with the fact that she does what she loves ever y morning her alarm goes off
“I don’t feel like I have a job, even though I work all the time, but I just really love it,” she said “Early in the morning it’s the first thing I’m thinking about and late at night I’m thinking about things I want to do with the team I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else ”
Zach Silver can be reached at zsilver@cornellsun com
from page 15
r o m a t o u g h l i n eu p o f o p p o n e n t s , w i l l b e k e e pi n g a f u l l r o s t e r “ O u r b i g g e s t c h a l l e n g e t h i s y e a r i s g o i n g t o b e s t a y i n g h e a l t h y, ” Na t h a n s o n s a i d “ We h a v e a l o t o f g re a t g u y s , j u s t n e e d t o m a k e s u re w e a l l s t a y h e a l t h y t h r o u g h o u t t h e s e a s o n Gu c c i a a g re e s t h a t h i s s q u a d c o u l d s e e s u c c e s s b a r r i n g a n y m a j o r s e t b a c k s “ I f w e c a n a v o i d c a t a s t r op h e s , I t h i n k w e c a n s t a y i n a g a m e [ w i t h Na v y ] , ” G u c c i a s a i d I f t h e t e a m n a t u r a l l y p r og re s s e s ov e r t h e s e a s o n , C o r n e l l m a y b e a b l e t o b re a k t h a t f o u rw i n c e i l i n g t h a t h a s b e e n e l u s i v e f o r t h e m i n re c e n t h i s t o r y T h e Re d h a s n o t a c q u i re d f i v e w i n s s i n c e 2 0 1 0 , w h e n t h e g r o u p b e a t A r m y a t We s t Po i n t “ T h e g o a l t h a t t h e t e a m h a s a l w a y s h a d i s t o i m p r ov e e v e r yd a y a t p r a c t i c e i n d i v i d u a l l y, s o t h a t t h e w h o l e t e a m i m p r ov e s , ” G u c c
A guiding hand | After finsihing her professional career, Schneider found her passion in coaching and was able to keep fencing in her life
COURTESY OF DARIA SCHNE DER
Red Aims to Dethrone
Seeks to defeat perennial league powerhouses, Navy and Army, with veteran starting lineup
By JACK KANTOR Sun Assistant Sports Editor
b u t t h e c o m p e t i t i o n l e ve l i s g e t t i n g
b e t t e r ”
A g a i n s t t h e f o u r o t h e r t e a m s i n t h e l e a g u e , C o r n e l l w o n t h e i r 2 0 1 5 m a t c h u p s by m a r g i n s o f 2 1 o r g re a t e r
T h e Re d’s l owe s t p o i n t t o t a l w a s 3 3
a g a i n s t Ma n s f i e l d
A r m y a n d Na v y a re a s t e p a b ove t h e re s t , a c c o rd i n g t o Gu c c i a
“Hopefully we can cut down on mental mistakes and come into the season sharp and ready to go ” S
“A r m y a n d Na v y a re t h e t w o p re m i e r t e a m s t h a t h a ve
b e e n i n t h e l e a g u e , a n d h a ve w o n i t t h e l a s t 1 0 ye a r s , ”
Gu c c i a s a i d “ Be i n g a g a i n s t t h e t w o b e s t t e a m s t h a t h a ve
d o m i n a t e d t h e l e a g u e , we h a ve g o t o u r w o rk c u t o u t f o r
u s ” C o r n e l l w i l l o p e n t h e s e a s o n a g a i n s t Na v y o n S c h o e l l k o p f Pl a ye r s l i k e s e n i o r d e f e n s i ve b a c k Ry a n Ja c k s o n a g re e t h a t t h e Mi d s h i p m e n p o s e a s u b s t a n t i a l
t h re a t “ I b e l i e ve o u r b i g g e s t c h a l l e n g e w i l l b e o u r f i r s t g a m e
o f t h e ye a r a g a i n s t Na v y ; t h e y ' re p e re n n i a l l y o n e o f t h e t o p t e a m s i n t h e l e a g u
See SPRINT FOOTBALL page 13
Familiar faces | Senior running back Kevin Nathanson will be lining up alongside eight other returning starters on the offense in 2016
SCHNEIDER EXUDES PASSSION FOR ATHLETICS
First-year head fencing coach discusses journey to professional arena
From the early age of five, first-year
C o r n e l l f e n c i n g h e a d c o a c h Da r i a Schneider knew what she wanted to do: become a professional athlete
‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ is a very common question with some very common answers, especially for five-year-olds Along with some other lofty professional goals firefighter, policeman, astronaut athlete is seldom left out of the conversation for young children
T h e d i f f e re n c e between Schneider and a
m a j o r i t y o f a m b i t i o u s children is one thing: she actually went and did it
In 1999, US Women’s National Team’s Brandi Chastain notched the game-winning penalty kick against China to win the World Cup and took her shirt off, dropping to the field screaming in joy in an action that would became one of the most iconic photos in sports history
For Schneider, this was the moment she knew she wanted to be immersed in the spirit of competition and passion for the remainder of her life
“I always love playing games and being competitive and being physically active. ”
“I always love playing games and being competitive and being physically active,” she said “I knew that I wanted to be an athlete ”
The turning point for Schneider where she was determined to make this dream a reality came in a completely different sport Before starting fencing at age 10, she played a plethora of sports, including soc-
“I saw the women ’ s soccer team win the world cup in 1999 and Chastain ripped her shirt off and I had that picture of her in the newspaper in my head,” Schneider said “It really created an impression on me ” Her aspirations as an athlete presented her an unforgettable experience
o n t h e W h i t e Ho u s e front lawn Schneider met the Obama’s while putting on a event to promote and try to secure the 2016 Olympics for the Obama’s hometown of Chicago, which eventually went to Rio
“I fenced with another fencer in front of Ob a m a a n d h e re f e re e d o u r m a t c h , ” Schneider said “I got to fist bump the pres-
cer, softball, and tennis, among others It was an unforgettable moment in the sport of soccer that truly convinced her that she knew what she wanted to do
ident, which was amazing, and Michelle gave me a hug I got to tell her that my mom was also from Chicago The Obamas were amazingly generous with their time I
think they took time to speak to all of the athletes that participated in the event ”
While not every athlete can meet the Obamas, almost every athlete shares the goal of making it to the Olympics It is the one event where billions of people either sports fanatics or not tune into sporting events It is an international symbol of unity, sportsmanship and in some cases, diplomacy
Through her career, this was one goal for Schneider she did not want to let slip away In 2008 she tried to qualify for Beijing, but even herself said that she was not good enough back then to make the team
“I didn’t have a very good shot then because I wasn ’ t ranked very high, but I wanted to see how close I could get and prepare myself for London qualifications,” she said “I was ranked 13th in the country going into that season, but was ranked so low internationally that it doesn’t really even count ”
Although she missed out on Beijing, her time in the qualifiers boosted her national ranking and placed her in a better position for London
“At the end of qualification, and after other fencers dropped out, I was in the top four in the country and I was ranked b
Despite this, Schneider still had her sights set on the Olympics in Rio, but a hip injury that had come with years of wear and tear kept her from being able to compete
“People forget about all the athletes that don’t qualify and you only hear about the ones that do,” she said
Even with all the heartbreak, Schneider has amassed an impressive amount of hardware, totaling over 50 medals through
“College coaching was the first time I felt like this is something I could actually do ”
national and international competition
While becoming an athlete was a dream come true for Schneider, she never quite expected she would enter the coaching world, which began for her on Columbia University’s staff
“I never really thought I would end up being a coach,” she said “It was something I did because I was an expert in my sport, so it was a job that could help support my
Schneider said “I drastically improved my domestic and international ranking and that allowed me to be on the national team for the next five years towards London qualification ” However, women ’ s team sabre the sport in which Schneider had the best shot at qualifying was taken out of the 2012 games and she was not ranked high enough to make it in the individual With a team event, a country can send four athletes, but since London had only an individual women ’ s sabre event, the top two were the only ones who were sent Schneider had just missed out
“In 2012 I qualified for the Olympics but in the games we don’t have [the full] 12 events, we only have 10 events, so every four years they take out two of our team events, ” she said “That year my event was taken out in the team competition, so only two athletes from any given country could go and there were two Americans ranked higher than me internationally ”
After London had come and gone, Schneider went on to have some of her best years as a fencer, boosting herself into the top 20 fencers internationally and went on to help secure bronze in the World Team Championships in 2012
own competition and travel because if you ’ re going to compete at that level you have to support yourself somehow ”
Along with coaching at Columbia where she served as interim head coach for a period of time Schneider coached at local schools in New York City, but truly felt at home in the Lions’ staff
“College coaching was the first time that I felt like this is something I could actually do,” Schnieder added “It spoke to me in a way that high school coaching and working with elementary school kids [did not] ”
When it came to a head coaching job, several schools were looking for a new head coach, but to her, Cornell was easily the number one choice
“I really was won over on my final round of interviews when I came here and met with people in the department,” she said “There is just an energy here and a sense of ambition, but people are very grounded I felt like this was going to be a place where because of my ambitions as a competitor and a coach, that I was going to be supported to really build an amazing program ” S c h n
From the beginning | Schneider knew for certain at the age of five that she did not want to have a normal career; she wanted to be an athlete
COURTESY OF LOIS GREENFIELD
Presidential | Schneider was given the oppertuntiy to face off against another fencer in front of President Obama in his hometown of Chicago
COURTESY OF DARIA SCHN EDER
Olympic snub | Despite qualifying for the 2012 Olympics, Schneider’s event the women’s team sabre was removed from the games
COURTESY OF DAR A SCHNE DER
By ZACH SILVER Sun Assistant Sports Editor
F E N C I N G