INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880
The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 142, No. 15
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2026 n ITHACA, NEW YORK
News
Lifestyle
Science
Cornell condemned
Transfer thoughts
Funding farming
U.N. Special Rapporteurs raised concerns over human rights violations for international students at Cornell. | Page 10
Richard Ballad ’27 discusses his experience as an Ithaca College transfer.
Digital agriculture at Cornell may receive part of the settlement funding.
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16 Pages – Free
Ganedago Hall Relocates 46 Residents Following Main Pipe Break, Flooding By ANJELINA GONZALEZ Sun Senior Writer
Jan. 16 — Cornell Energy Management and Control Systems and the Division of Public Safety responded to a sprinkler main pipe that discharged in the 2-3 stairwell of Ganedago Hall that displaced 46 residents on Thursday evening, according to a Housing and Residential Life email obtained by The Sun. HRL staff relocated students in rooms ending in one to 31 from all levels of the dormitory building on Thursday night due to “minor water infiltration,” the email stated. “SCL Facilities and Building Care teams have been in the community for several hours working to extract the water and assess the repairs needed,” the email stated. “Housing and Residential Life staff members have also been on site assisting residents impacted (rooms ending in -01 to -31) relocate for the night.” The cause of the discharged sprinkler main pipe was not identified in the email to students. The 46 displaced residents were “relocated to other buildings on campus” according to a Friday afternoon follow up email sent to the residents of Ganedago Hall. Sanika Saraf ’28 is one of the residents required to relocate as a result of the water damage. After spending Thursday night at Statler Hotel, Saraf was informed that she would be staying at Carl Becker Hall for the next six weeks. “They told me that I have until next Friday to move all of my stuff out of the room, and that I have to unpack my room, put it in boxes and they’ll help me move my stuff to Becker,” Saraf said. “But I’m the one that has to move myself out.” Saraf told The Sun that she was on campus early for sorority recruitment when she noticed the water entering her suite. When she entered her room, she found her carpet and hamper completely drenched with water. Saraf said that since she does not have all her belongings
moved to Becker, she felt that she was “basically homeless.” “I really can’t move out [of Ganedago Hall], so I’m in this weird state where I’m homeless until I move all of my things to Becker which is really just inconvenient,” Saraf said. “It appears the university was running a surprise swim test verification but forgot we were on break,” said Ganedago Hall resident, Thomas Riveros ‘27, in a written response to The Sun when asked about his reaction to the flooding event. “I assume the make-up exam is scheduled for next month.” The Friday update email to residents also detailed that the side entrance and stairwell closest to Robert Purcell Community Center in Ganedago Hall are closed until assessments and repairs are completed. Residents that remain in the building will receive temporary access to Toni Morrison Hall’s laundry space as a result of the flooding impacting the laundry room in Ganedago Hall. Additionally, several resident hall director offices will be relocated. HRL did not include an estimated time of completion for the repairs, but noted that it will prioritize the well-being of residents.
“Throughout this process, our priority is to ensure that the Ganedago community stays connected and strong. Because we recognize the vital role that community plays, all reassigned residents will keep their card access to Ganedago (in addition to their new residence hall) for the duration of the repairs,” the Friday afternoon email reads. Residents seeking support were encouraged by a University spokesperson to reach out to Elliot Hickey, the Gan dag : Hall Residential Hall Director and Jie Zhao, the Assistant Director of Student Behavior & Support. Anjelina Gonzalez can be reached at agonzalez@cornellsun.com.
SUN FILE PHOTO
Residents relocated | A sprinkler main pipe in Ganedago Hall discharged on Thursday, displacing student residents.
Over $2 Billion Sent to Cornell in 2025 From Qatar The University received over $3 billion from different foreign nations in 2025, ranking second among U.S. colleges By ZEINAB FARAJ Sun Features Editor
Jan. 20 — Cornell received over $3 billion from foreign nations in 2025, with sources in Qatar granting the most in gifts and contracts, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Education on Jan. 2. The University ranked second overall among 527 institutions that received foreign funds. Section 117 of the Higher Education Act, passed in 1965, requires U.S. colleges and universities receiving federal financial assistance to biannually disclose any gifts, contracts or other forms of aid from foreign sources valued at $250,000 or more in a calendar year to the ED. A gift between the University and a foreign country is defined as “financial support” given to the University in the form of cash, marketable securities, tangible assets or consumable commodities. These forms of payment made up a little over 11% of the foreign funds. A contract is defined as an agreement for the “acquisition by purchase, lease or barter of property or services” given by the foreign source for “for the direct benefit or use of either of the parties,” according to Cornell Law. Qatar is the largest source of funds to U.S. colleges at $6.6 billion. The country granted Cornell the most money of the universities at $2.29 billion. According to the released data,
Cornell had 1,711 different transactions with foreign nations in 2025. India, Switzerland and Hong Kong were the next biggest donors, each granting over $75 million to the University. Harvard, the only other university receiving more foreign funds than Cornell, received most of its funds from England and Switzerland.
The University does have a campus in Qatar, Weill Cornell Medicine at Qatar, which a University spokesperson told The Sun receives funding to help “operate” the campus. “Budgeted funding for the medical school in Qatar has averaged approximately $156 million per year from 2012 to 2025, totaling $2.2 billion,” a University spokesperson told The Sun. “Virtually all funding remains in Qatar for Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar school operations.” The $156 million of the annual budgeted funding for the Qatar campus would make up 6.8% of the reported $2.29 billion granted in 2025. However, the University did not clarify whether the budget for Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar comes from Qatar’s $2.29 billion of contracts and gifts. The transactions are divided into contracts, restricted contracts, gifts and restricted gifts given to the University. 88.5% of the overall transactions were contracts valued at $1.5 billion. Contracts are managed by the Global Operations office. To continue reading this article, please visit www.cornellsun.com. Zeinab Faraj can be reached at zfaraj@ cornellsun.com