10 19 15 entire issue hi res

The Corne¬ Daily Sun

Lawyers Make Opening Statements

In First Day of Cayea

Murder Trial

Defense argues Cayea ‘did not intentionally’ cause death of Jones ’15

However, defense attorney Matthew Van Houten said he believes “intent is the central issue in this case ”

The murder trial of Benjamin Cayea began Friday morning, with both sides presenting their opening statements at the Tompkins County Courthouse The 33-year-old Cayea is accused of strangling his girlfriend Shannon Jones ’15 on Thanksgiving last year, and was indicted on charges of murder in the second degree in December

After Judge Joseph Cassidy, the judge presiding over the trial, reminded the jury comprised of eight men and four women that opening statements are not testimony and should not be considered as evidence, Assistant District Attorney for Tompkins County Diane Lama opened for the prosecution

“‘I lost my shit, and I killed my girlfriend ’ Those were the words of the defendant Benjamin Cayea on Nov 27, 2014, just several hours after he strangled and suffocated 23-yearold Shannon Jones to death,” she said

According to Lama, Jones died of asphyxiation

“There is no question about how Shannon Jones died, there is no question that Ben Cayea caused her death,” Van Houten told the jury “What is in dispute, and what we will present to you, is that Ben did not intentionally cause Shannon’s death ” Van Houten urged the jury to overlook the assumptions and presumptions that had been presented

“The evidence will show that when the defendant strangled and suffocated Shannon throughout that entire process, until her heart stopped beating, he had only one intent, and that intent was to cause her death,” Lama said

“Prosecution wants you to believe this is a simple case, that it’s a black and white case, that there’s no grey areas Well, that just isn’t true, ” he said Van Houten said he plans to probe the complexities of the relationship between Jones and Cayea, suggesting that “maybe the human beings involved in this case are more complicated than most human beings ” Though he assured the jury that this was not “for the purpose of trashing her [Shannon] or tarnishing her reputation,” noting that Cayea is strongly opposed to attacking Jones’ character Van Houten maintained that “the truth is the truth,” and that these contextual details “ are factors in what ultimately happened in the case ”

Students Vape in Face of Uncertain Health Effects

By JOSEPHINE CHU

Known as the “the most trusted stranger in America,” Frank Warren creator of the popular blog PostSecret spoke at Bailey Hall Friday about how he got people from all over the world to send him their secrets and even shared a few with the audience

Despite the unknown side effects of electronic cigarette usage on one ’ s health, many Cornell students report the use of personal vaporizers a particular type of e-cigarette as both a positive way to curb nicotine addictions and as a fun social activity

flavor and other chemicals ”

The Food and Drug Administration defines e-cigarettes as “battery-operated products designed to deliver nicotine,

Vaporizers, or vapes, work by heating e-cigarette liquid, consisting of propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin, nicotine and food grade flavors into an aerosol that the user inhales, according to Spencer Re ’18

E-cigarette liquid or e-juice usually comes in units of zero, three, six, 12, 24 and 32 milligrams of nicotine per milliliter

For those using vapes as a smoki n g - c e s s a t i o n device, the various e-juices help regulate one ’ s intake of nicotine and the different flavors ranging from “ cotton candy” to “crunchy peanut butter” satisfy one ’ s sweet-tooth, according to Maëlle Piepenburg ’18

“It’s kind of fun and super cheap, especially if you’re a pack-a-day smoker in a state like New York.”

effects experienced while trying to quit cold turkey,” Piepenburg said “It’s kind of fun, really cool and super cheap, especially if you ’ re a pack-a-day smoker in a state like New York ” Although many users originally began using e-cigarettes as a way to help quit smoking, other users report ecigarette use for recreational purposes

“Doing smoke tricks with friends without the added risk of addiction is a cool bonding experience,” Ayinde Crear ’18 said According to Crear, people who use e-cigarettes for fun usually choose e-juices with very little to zero milligrams of nicotine

As someone who recently made the switch from chain smoker to “cloud-chaser,” Piepenburg said she is happier and healthier now

“Vaping, quite simply, satisfies your nicotine craving without any of the horrible side

Anya Skor ’18 said the variety of flavors, lack of tobacco and convenience of ecigarettes makes them more appealing

“I think e-cigs are generally regarded as the healthier option when compared to

Wa r re n s t a r t e d Po s t Se c re t i n 2 0 0 4 i n Washington, D C as a community art project where he handed out postcards to strangers and asked them to send in their secrets anonymously so that he could post them on his website His site, which went viral in a short period of time, has received over 500 million hits from people looking at secrets from all over the world

“I knew that if I could really earn the trust of strangers to share their deepest secrets with me, [it would be] something really special,” Warren said “I didn’t expect that almost instantly, millions of people would respond to it so strongly I’m just glad to be a part of it and I feel ver y fortunate that people do trust me with those deep confessions that seem to offer relief to the person sharing and inspiration to the person reading ” Wa r re n re f l e c t e d o n t h e e a r l y d a y s o f

PostSecret, saying that ever y Sunday, he would post the secrets he received for that week

“It wasn ’ t too much longer after I started handing out the postcards that this crazy idea stopped feeling so crazy, ” he said

Warren said the secrets he receives are var ying While some he shared with the audience were met with laughter such as “I feel guilty when I take elevators for one floor so I limp when I get out ” others were much more serious

Written on the back of a photograph of a broken bedroom door, one secret said, “ The holes are from when my mom tried knocking down my door so she could continue beating me ”

S k o r t o n C o m m e n t s

O n S m i t h s o n i a n N i c k n a m e

In a n i n t e r v i e w w i t h T h e

A s s o c i a t e d Pr e s s , Pr e s i d e n t

Em e r i t u s Da v i d Sk o r t o n s a i d

h e i s “ n o t f o n d ” o f t h e

Sm i t h s o n i a n I n s t i t u t i o n ’ s n i c k n a m e t h e ‘ n a t i o n ’ s a t t i c ’ “ T h e Sm i t h s o n i a n , I ’ v e l e a r n e d , i s m u c h m o r e

d y n a m i c t h a n t h a t , ” s a i d

S k o r t o n , w h o a s s u m e d h i s p o s i t i o n a s s e c re t a r y o f t h e

Sm i t h s o n i a n o n Ju l y 1

Garrett to Deliver State of the University Friday

President Elizabeth Garrett is set to deliver her first State of the University Address Friday Her address will take place

which begins Thursday

Council for the Arts Funds 33 Projects

The Cornell Council for the Arts selected 33 art projects to award grants to for the

went to 12 projects headed by faculty, departments and programs and 21 grants to under-

dents and student organiza-

University

Local

T e e n a g e r F a c e s

C r i m i n a l C h a r g e s O v e r B o m b T h r e a t

A 1 4 - y e a r o l d f r o m

C h e n a n g o C o u n t y a l l e g e d l y w ro t e a b o m b t h re a t o n t h e

w a l l o f a n e d u c a t i o n a l f a c i l i t y i n No r t h No r w h i c h , a c c o rdi n g t o t h e C h e n a n g o C o u n t y Sh e r i f f ’ s Of f i c e T h e It h a c a Jo u r n a l re p o r te d t h a t t h e t e e n a g e r w a s a r re s t e d a n d f a c e s a c h a r g e o f t h e f i r s t - d e g r e e o f f a l s e l y re p o r t i n g a n i n c i d e n t

A r m e d F a t h e r O f C o l l e g e S t u d e n t A r r e s t e d

C a r l Pe l t o n , t h e f a t h e r o f a s t u d e n t a t We l l s C o l l e g e , w a s a r re s t e d T h u r s d a y a f t e r l a w e n f o r c e m e n t s a i d h e m

Grad Students Promote ‘We Are

By LAUREN KELLY Sun Contributor

Cornell Graduate Students United came out with 20 other labor unions of graduate workers at private universities from all over the countr y including Har vard, University of Michigan and Wayne State University in order to call for the reform of higher education

The organization hosted activities on Thursday also known as the “ We Are Workers Day of Action” to raise public awareness that many graduate students are not recognized as workers

“ This is a national day of action that will be taking place around the countr y t o re m i n d u n i v e r s i t y administrations that graduate students are workers and deser ve to have their voice heard and rights respected in the workplace,” said Andrew Crook, a member of CGSU

In 2004, Brown University argued in front of the National Labor Relations Board that teaching and research are essential parts of academic development and graduate training The outcome of this ruling denied the rights of the employee-employer relationship to graduates working for private universities As a result of this decision, graduate students are denied the right to bargain collectively

“CGSU was formed in spring 2014 in the wake a series of labor disputes that emerged between graduate T A s and R A s around disparate pay, worker’s compensation, childcare benefits and lack of transparen-

Workers’ Day

cy in university labor policies,” said James Ingoldsby grad, communication and outreach chair of CGSU

The movement is petitioning the National Labor Relations Board to overturn the 2004 ruling of Brown, to recognize graduate students and T A s as workers and to restore the right to collectively bargain fair contracts with their employers

The CGSU held a two-hour tabling session and demonstration on Ho Plaza, where members promoted the larger graduate student unionization movement Members of CGSU spoke with Cornellians about what they said they believed were unjust labor practices and signed up new members

Later there was a two-hour “grade-in,” where dozens of graduate T A s sat and graded papers in Olin Librar y, according to Ingoldsby They wore matching shirts to highlight the distinction that they were there not studying t ow a rd t h e i r d e

University

Ingoldsby said the events were a big step toward getting the CGSU’s message of worker solidarity across institutions of higher learning heard in print and social media

The 20 student unions participating in the “ We are Workers” events posted a joint statement delineating their goals of redressing social structures in higher education

“Our movement is also a declaration that teaching and research are the mission of the university,” the statement reads “Having a voice in determining the terms of our labor will help us make the university a place where teaching and research are the first priority ”

Physics Prof. Peter Lepage Wins Sakurai Prize

Prize honors his research in quantum chromodynamics eld

By PAULINA GLASS Sun Assistant News Ed tor

y a nnounced that Prof Peter Lepage, physics, will be the recipient of the 2016 J J Sakurai Prize for his research in quantum field theor y, according to the Un i ve r s i t y T h e a w a rd , which recognizes work in L e p a g e ’ s s p e c i f i c f i e l d , comes with $10,000

The Sakurai prize has

b e e n a w a rd e d f o r 3 0 years Lepage is the first Cornellian to receive it

s

To

physics, won it in 1990 Lepage and his team

h a v e b e e n w o r k i n g extensively on creating n e w w a y s o

i n i n g t h e process of simulating the ways protons, neutrons and other particles interact with each other by using quarks and gluons, in a field called quantum

c h r o m o d y n a m i c s , according to the Uni-

versity

particle theor y, according to its website The prize

i s g i v e n a n n u a l l y t o honor J J Sakurai Ph D ’58, a pioneer in quantum mechanics Lepage said this Cornell connection makes him particularly honored to receive the award, according to the University After receiving a bachelor’s degree from McGill University and a Ph D f r o m St a n f o rd University, Lepage came

physics and has been

University for

the

Warren Highlights Mental Health Students: E-Cigs More Appealing Than Smoking

He then read one response to the broken bedroom door secret that said, “Seeing all these pictures of broken bedroom doors, it doesn’t depress me because all this time I thought I was the only one, and just knowing there are other people out there like me who share my secret, it doesn’t make my secret go away, but it makes my burden feel just a little bit lighter ” Warren highlighted the event in the context of Mental Health Awareness Week, which aims to fight the stigma of using mental health resources on campus, and used the opportunity to talk about suicide

relieved to get secrets off their chests Some were moved to tears sharing their secrets

“If you ever feel like you ’ re alone on campus and there’s no place to turn, [that] there’s no hope, there’s no help, you ’ re wrong, ” Warren said “There is help, there is hope right here on campus, and if you want, you can be a part of that ”

“There is help, there is hope right here on campus, and if you want, you can be a part of that.”

Warren’s talk was the first in a series of events during Mental Health Awareness Week, which will continue until Friday with events such as the “Stomp Out Stigma” photo campaign

“Suicide is one of America’s secrets, ” he said

He went on to say that you never know when the small things you do can make the difference in a person ’ s life

The event continued with people coming up to microphones to share their secrets or stories Some people shared humorous secrets, while others seemed

“I think the main thing is normalizing the fact that students do seek resources on campus, ” said Angelica Cullo ’17, large events coordinator for Cornell Minds Matter, which cosponsored Warren’s talk “We’re going to have statistics at a lot of our events in an effort to educate the community that your peers are seeking these resources and it’s okay for you to too ”

regular cigarettes,” Skor said

While numerous Cornell students regarded e-cigarette usage as a healthy alternative to smoking, research on e-cigarette use has remained inconclusive on possible negative health impacts

Sharon Dittman, associate director of community relations for Gannett Health Services, said that while e-cigarette aerosol may contain fewer toxicants than cigarette smoke, studies evaluating the harmfulness of e-cigarettes remain inconclusive

“For now, we urge students to avoid or at least to consider very carefully their use of a potentially addictive product whose impact on their current and long-term health cannot be known,” Dittman said

In addition, the University provides FDA-approved smoking cessation medications, conventional counseling strategies and telephone quitlines to help students quit smoking every year, according to Dr Kent Bullis, director of medical services at Gannett

“No e-cigarette has been approved by FDA as a cessation aid, so we cannot at this time recommend them for this purpose, ” Bullis said

African Countries Criticize Early Draft of U.N. Climate Accord

STOCKHOLM (AP)

African countries on Sunday dismissed an early draft of a U N climate accord as “unbalanced” and demanded amendments to even consider it at the final negotiating session before a landmark conference in Paris

The move by the African bloc came on the eve of week-long talks in Bonn, Germany, on what's envisioned to become the most ambitious agreement ever to fight global warming

Delegates on Monday were supposed to start line-by-line editing a 20-page draft that contains multiple options on how to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that scientists say are warming the planet

But the African countries, many of which are among the most vulnerable to climate impacts such as desertification and sea level rise, said the draft “ cannot be used as a basis for negotiation, as it is unbalanced, and does not reflect the African Group positions, and crosses the group ’ s redlines ”

Group spokesman Seyni Nafo told The Associated Press that the African countries want more emphasis on financial support to help poor countries cope with climate change

Nafo said the group was confident that it would be allowed to make additions to the text before negotiations get underway

“Our position is not to delay work, but to ensure that there’s a fair basis for all,” he said

Some 150 countries including top emitters China, the United States, the European Union and India have already made voluntary pledges to cut or curb their emissions after 2020, when the deal is supposed to take effect

But several analyses show those pledges won ’ t be enough to prevent levels of warming that many consider dangerous, so a key element of the Paris deal would be a mechanism to raise those commitments over time

“We don’t want to make a picture, we want to make a movie,” Netherlands climate envoy Michel Rentenaar said, insisting that the Paris agreement cannot freeze the current level of ambition on climate action

The U N talks have made significant strides since a 2009 cli-

failed to live up to expectations For the first time all countries n

against climate change, which scientists say is already transforming the planet through melt-

warmer, more acidic oceans

Though major sticking points remain, including how to spell out the different responsibilities of nations in various stages of development, rich and poor countries have moved closer in recent years

“We have gone very far from the Copenhagen atmosphere,” said Pa Ousman Jarju, Gambia’s environment minister

Israeli Troops Encircle Arab Neighborhoods Following ‘Lone

Jerusalem, more than a third of the city’s population, have awoken to a new reality: Israeli troops are encircling Arab neighborhoods, blocking roads with concrete cubes the size of washing machines and ordering some of those leaving on foot to lift their shirts to show they are not carr ying knives

The unprecedented clampdown is meant to halt a rash of stabbings of Israelis Many of the attacks were carried out by residents of east Jerusalem, the sector captured and annexed by Israel in 1967 and claimed by Palestinians as a future capital

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has portrayed the measures as temporar y, in line with what his advisers say any police department in the U S or Europe would do quell urban unrest But some allege he is dividing Jerusalem, something Netanyahu has said he would never do Arab residents, who have long complained of discriminator y Israeli policies, say the latest closures are driving them to a boiling point and will

Wolf’ Attacks

trigger more violence “

Obeid, a 26-year-old janitor at the Hebre w University of Jerusalem He spoke over the din of car horns, as drivers stuck at one of the new checkpoints vented their anger

Do

opposed to any negotiated partition of Jerusalem into two capitals is effectively dividing the city along ethnic lines with his security measures

“ The great patriots who don’t go to bed at night before praying for a unified, undivided, greater Jerusalem, are now proposing to dissect it, divide it and return it back 48 years in time,”commentator Nehemiah Strassler wrote in the Israeli daily Haaretz

Some warn that recent events a rise in “lone wolf ” attacks by Palestinians and Israeli crackdowns offer a taste of the constant hate-filled skirmishes that would likely prevail for years if there’s no deal on setting up Palestine next to Israel

German Mayoral Candidate Stabbed On Eve of Election

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

C h a n c e l l o r A n g e l a Me r k e l ’ s c o n s e r v a t i v e

C h r i s t i a n De m o c r a t s a n d t w o o t h e r p a r t i e s

Re k e r w a s s t a b b e d i n t h e n e c k a n d s e r i o u s l y w o u n d e d Sa t u rd a y by a 4 4 - ye a r - o l d Ge r m a n m a n A p s yc h o l o g i c a l e x a m i n a t i o n s h owe d t h a t t h e re i s n o re a s o n t o d o u b t h e c a n b e h e l d c r i mi n a l l y re s p o n s i b l e , p ro s e c u t o r s a n d p o l i c e s a i d Su n d a y T h e s u s p e c t , w h o h a s n ’ t b e e n i d e n t i f i e d , w a s o rd e re d k e p t i n c u s t o d y o n s u s p i c i o n o f a t t e m p te d m u rd e r a n d d a n g e ro u s b o d i l y h a r m T h e m a n h a s t o l d o f f

Independent Since 1880 133RD EDITORIAL BOARD

TYLER ALICEA 16 Editor in Chief

BUI 16

Editor

LIU 18

ZUREK ’16

MICHAELA BREW 18

GABRIELLA LEE 16

PHOEBE KELLER ’18

ADAM BRONFIN ’18 Assistant

SHANE LEWIS ’18

ADDY PAI 16

DARA LEVY 16

From the Editor

Responsibility and Reporting on Crime

Last week, The Sun published a news story titled “Consecutive Trespasses Reported Thursday,” that raised a number of questions among the campus community regarding the inclusion of a picture from a police investigation While The Sun strives to provide the most balanced and thoughtful journalism on the Hill, we failed our readers through the poor editorial decisions that led to the publication of this picture and apologize for the consequences of its latent racism

The story, primarily regarding two crime alerts sent out prior to Fall Break The piece also included information about an Ithaca Police Department investigation, which was seeking information about a picture of a man regarding “suspicious activity” in Collegetown that took place within a similar time frame as the crime alerts Many in the community have questioned the decision to include the two items together, especially considering that the suspect involved in the crime alerts was described as a white male and the photo, of a black man, clearly did not fit the description provided

The issue was exacerbated when a version of the story posted to Facebook inappropriately juxtaposed the headline of the story with the picture provided by the IPD of the man without any additional information The lack of context between these two items together provided a misleading image of events that was, although inadvertent, markedly racist

Studies show that portrayal of black men and women in the media influences how the general population perceives black individuals In recognition of this, on Thursday we removed the social media post, issued an editor’s note regarding the inclusion of the picture and increased the context surrounding the article However, soon after, we decided this decision was insufficient and removed the information regarding the IPD investigation from the story because of the racism implied through the inclusion of both news pieces together in the same story Today, we recognize our failure to address the implications of our decision fully and immediately

As a national dialogue continues to unfold regarding racism in the United States, we at The Sun have disappointed our readers, who expect more from us The editorial decisions leading to the publication of Wednesday’s story are regrettable and have sparked an internal discussion on how to prevent incidents such as these from occurring again in the future For one, stories involving allegations of crime in the future will be reviewed by additional editors before publication to ensure facts are portrayed fairly, accurately and within full context We encourage any interested individuals to reach out to us with any concerns about our reporting at editor@cornellsun com

Who Should Shoulder This Burden?

So m e t h i n g w e i rd h a p p e n e d w h e n

Jonah Okike-Hephzibah ’16 asked for help The Cornell engineering student in his senior year was suddenly faced with an unexpectedly steep price tag, despite his scholarships And when he explained his situation, that he had been locked out of a rigid financial aid process and was staring down the barrel of the steep cost of higher education, the circ

d familiar to many But when he launched a campaign to publicly d

and strangers to donate what they could if t

u l d i t brought a few assumptions to light, and they might be worth taking a closer look at W

m

paign, tuition took on the air of charity This was a person with his back against a wall, unable to do anything but make a broad ask for kindness This tarnishes the idea that cost is never truly prohibitive at universities like Cornell When loans, grants and aid are supposedly available to cover the full need of a student, the idea of an exclusionar y price tag is easy to dodge

But when students begin coming for ward, in acts of desperation, saying that the system has failed them, that denial becomes harder to swallow

But what Okike-Hephzibah’s request really did was publicize this systemic problem, and make the community react The hundreds of students who donated presumably saw it as an opportunity to help Yet Nikolai Lumpkins ’16, a student who followed suit and Crowdfunded a few weeks later, didn’t nearly reach his goal He also reported a sizable number of people responding to his page with anger and disgust that he would ask for help with something that many students have to deal with Both had struggled through a familiar financial aid system and been handed a reduced price tag that was still just too expensive an experience familiar to many on this campus Ironically, it seems like the people who have slogged through the financial aid process, and have often resorted to taking out loans, are the precisely the ones who disapprove of these Crowdfunding student campaigns

The significance of this is profound Rather than being united around a common cause the desire to help our peers

the student body fractured along this unexpected line Unfortunately, many of us, myself included, spent little time considering the circumstances that made this Crowdfunding necessar y I did not consider why there should ever be the need f

Instead, I took the unbelievable difficulty that putting oneself through college can pose for many students as an inalterable fact of life, and by doing so, initially believed that ever yone should find a way to deal with it on their own It did not matter,

tuition had increased

Okike-Hephzibah initially agreed to attend the University Bu

why these two came for ward, and perhaps why it was so surprising that they did as

there is a belief that paying for college is an individual endeavor, and that the difficulty that it presents is relatively inalterable We assume that the burden of affording a higher education falls on the student or their families, not necessarily on the community As a result, when the community was asked to shoulder their hardship, many were taken aback There are a few people whose responses we can ’ t know Would Robert Harrison, chairman of the Board of Trustees, feel compelled to donate? Would he, and others with direct power over the system that forced these students to ask, feel as though they failed in their mission, or are OkikeHephzibah and Lumpkins just exceptions to a system that broadly works? To be quite honest, I don’t know what the right answers to these questions are, but they p r o b a b l y s h o u l d

a s k e d I f Crowdfunding for tuition seems like a small issue, it’s only because it’s a final resort Just because only a few students have attempted to publicly Crowdsource doesn’t mean that many students aren ’ t s t r

These weren

t the first students to have these problems, but they made the statem

should have a collective solution In this, they were absolutely right

Rubin Danberg Biggs is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences He may be reached at red243@cornell edu The Common Table appears alternate Mondays this semester

Continue the conversation by sending a letter to the editor or guest column to

When a Sun article titled “Consecutive Trespasses Repor ted Thursday” began to circulate on my news feed, I made the mistake of hoping for the best Naturally, The Sun would recognize why the image of a completely unrelated black man should not have accompanied a story in which the perpetrator was clearly described as white I had trusted that The Sun would then publish an editorial, pledging to commit to more thorough reviews of how image placement affects presentation of information There would be an apology for this gross lapse in judgement, and The Sun might even dare to use the R-word a couple times The editorial would not be followed by any actual changes in protocol, but The Sun would have at least saved face

As it turns out though, my low expectations were still too high For there was no candid recognition of grievances, no mention of race, no editorial and no apology Instead, The Sun responded with a brief, half-hearted, politically correct note added to the bottom of the ar ticle Full of empty words, this note equated to little more than a dismissal In essence, what I read was: “This is an obligatory patch-up We don’t really see the big deal, but whatever, problem solved Now, please be quiet ”

I couldn’t believe my eyes “The Sun regrets this error, ” the

Our Wonderful Modern World

note said Seriously? How about “The Sun understands that this incident is indicative of an underlying flaw in our system, and we will make a concerted effort to eradicate similar egregious mistakes,” because I don’t have to spend more than a few seconds reading the exact same issue of The Sun in which the article was published to find another journalistic “ error ” with similar results Does The Sun have any interest in hearing about that one or the many past examples?

do?

It’s called respectability politics, whereby I begin to clarify and sugarcoat my stance Whereby I elaborate in a nonconfrontational way as quickly as possible so as to not be lambasted We, the generation of proud progressives, absolutely love to avoid trigger words like “racist” that have no place in our “glori-

In its tactless handling of aftermath, The Sun showca a tremendous amount negligence and apathy.

It’s amazing to me that this very column exists within the same infrastructure of an institution that has consistently showcased a frightening capacity for cultural insensitivity to minority concerns, racist or inadequate repor ting of minority events and the subtle erasure of minority experiences In its remarkably ill-advised picture placement, The Sun consciously propelled a “dangerous black criminal” narrative And for failing to recognize the implications of this decision, The Sun was racist, plain and simple Granted, I’m sure The Sun never consciously acted with malicious or racist intentions In fact, I commend The Sun for Wait See what I just had to

Thilarious, albeit in the kind of disturbing and sad way that’s not really funny Reading The Sun’s response made me feel the same way my friends do when they constantly lob microaggressions at me and other disempowered groups unsure of where to begin and in awe of their callous obliviousness

ous post-racial society ” To many, racism denotes an act of overt intentional evil towards another race, such as Japanese-American internment camps and mass lynchings But racism is much more nuanced, and encompasses contemporary concerns, whether we feel comfor table with the word racism or not In this particular instance, racism took the form of unconscious biases, which informed The Sun’s skewed and absolutely unnecessary portrayal of a person of color In its tactless handling of the aftermath, The Sun showcased a tremendous amount of negligence and apathy The aforementioned Editor’s Note felt so underdone that it was almost

Emily Hardin | Free Lunch

We’re to the point where any efforts to speak up are quickly relegated to h y p e r s e n s i t i v e , spiteful social activists, and those who speak are q u i c k l y denounced as mood-killing crazies Even now, my words have the potential to be misconstrued, and I am in the position of carefully orchestrating them so that the presentation doesn’t incite fear or disengagement Maybe this is why I relish the opportunity to talk about issues where I am the oppressor instead of the oppressed, because people might actually listen We often give credence to the voices of those who aren ’ t personally afflicted, as there’s no perceived sensitivity This is the saddening, sickening result of the system we live in that values my voice over a woman ’ s when talking about issues of gender or over a gay person ’ s when addressing the concerns of the LGBTQ

Conspiracies: America’s Love

h e m o o n l a n d i n g s w e re s t a g e d , 9 / 1 1 w a s a n i n s i d e j o b a n d Tu p a c i s s t i l l a l i v e Va c c i n e s c a u s e a u t i s m a n d t h e g ov e r n m e n t i s p u t t i n g f l u o r i d e i n o u r d r i n k i n g w a t e r t o c o n t r o l o u r m i n d s J F K w a s k i l l e d b y t w o d i f f e re n t s h o o t e r s Fr o m t h e Sa l e m Wi t c h Hu n t i n t h e l a t e 1 7 t h c e n t u r y, A m e r i c a ’ s l ov e a f f a i r w i t h c o n s p i r a c y t h e o r i e s a n d o t h e r f o r m s o f f a c t d e n i a l h a s d e v e l o p e d a l o n gs i d e t h e i d e a o f t h e t r a i l b l a z i n g A m e r i c a n p i o n e e r w h o re j e c t s t r a d i t i o n a n d a c t i v el y s e e k s t o u p t u r n c o n v e n t i o n T h e c o nt e m p o r a r y v e r s i o n o f t h i s n a r r a t i v e v a lu e s f i e r c e i n d e p e n d e n c e a n d i n n ov a t i o n , a l l w h i l e re j e c t i n g t h e s t a t u s q u o T h e re s u l t i s a n i n q u i s i t i v e a n d d e e p l y m i st r u s t f u l p o p u l a t i o n t h a t s e e k s t o p o k e h o l e s i n c o n v e n t i o n a l l y - a c c e p t e d t r u t h s T h e u b i q u i t y o f s u s p i c i o n i n c o n t e mp o r a r y A m e r i c a n d i s c o u r s e d o e s n o t g r a n t a n y v a l i d i t y t o a r g u m e n t s b a s e d i n s k e p t i c i s m In s t e a d , t h e p e r v a s i v e n e s s o f c o n s p i r a c y t h e o r y n a r r a t i v e s i n p o p u l a r A m e r i c a n c u l t u re re v e a l s a d e e p - s e a t e d d i s t r u s t o f a u t h o r i t y i n w h i c h k n e e - j e r k s k e p t i c i s m s e r v e s a s a p r o x y f o r r a t i o n a l , f a c t - b a s e d d i s c u s s i o n T h e p a r a d o x o f o u r g o v e r n m e n t , w h i c h m a n y s e e a s t h e f o r c e w o r k i n g a g a i n s t t h e i d e a l s o f l i b e r a l i n d i v i d u a li s m , i s t h a t i t e x i s t s t o p r o t e c t t h e v e r y s a m e r i g h t s t h a t p e r m i t u s t o c h a l l e n g e i t s m e t h o d s G e n e r a l d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n w i t h e s t a b l i s h e d s t r u c t u re s o f p ow e r, a k e y c o m p o n e n t o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l i s t i c A m e r i c a n t r a d i t i o n , i n t h e c o n t e x t o f o u r p o l a r i z e d p o l i t i c a l c l i m a t e l e a d s u s t o i n v e n t a l t e r n a t i v e n a r r a t i v e s t h a t a f f i r m

o u r s k e p t i c i s m T h e m e re p o s s i b i l i t y o f a c o n s p i r a c y t h e o r y p r ov i n g t o b e t r u e a f f i r m s t h e v a l i d i t y o f t h e i n i t i a l s k e p t ic i s m t ow a rd s t h e s t r u c t u r a l i n e q u i t y t h e t h e o r y p u r p o r t s t o e x p o s e In t h i s w a y, b e l i e f i n c o n s p i r a c y t h e o r i e s c a n b e l i b e ra t i n g : A p e r s o n w h o h a s t r a d i t i o n a l l y b e e n d i s a d v a n t a g e d b y t h e g ov e r n m e n t a n d i s t h u s w a r y o f i t a s a s t r u c t u re w i l l

Because of the unique and unpreceden scope and perspective of today’s media, culture of conspiracy poses a bigger threa to rational thought than ever before.

b e m o re l i k e l y t o a c c e p t i d e a s t h a t e r a s e i t s l e g i t i m a c y, s u c h a s t h e c o n s p i r a c y t h e o r y t h a t t h e g ov e r n m e n t i n i t i a t e d t h e n a t i o n a l c r a c k e p i d e m i c i n t h e ’ 8 0 s In t h e s o c i a l m e d i a e r a , o p i n i o n s g o f r o m p r i v a t e t o p u b l i c i n a f r a c t i o n o f a s e c o n d a n d a re g i v e n a re l a t i v e l y e q u a l w e i g h t o n a n e a r - u n i v e r s a l p l a t f o r m t h a t r e a c h e s a w i d e r a u d i e n c e t h a n e v e r Re s p o n s e s t o n e w s a n d e v e n t s a re b o t h i n s t a n t a n e o u s a n d f l u i d , b l u r r i n g t h e l i n e b e t w e e n f a c t a n d f i c t i o n B e c a u s e o f t h e u n i q u e a n d u n p re c e d e n t e d s c o p e a n d p e r s p e c t i v e o f t o d a y ’ s m e d i a , t h e c u l t u r e o f c o n s p i r a c y p o s e s a b i g g e r t h r e a t t o r a t i o n a l t h o u g h t t h a n e v e r b e f o re T h e i m p o r t a n c e o f t h e s o c i a l c o m p o n e n t o f t h e d e v e l o p m e n t a n d d i ss e m i n a t i o n o f c o n s p i r a c y t h e o r i e s c a nn o t b e u n d e r s t a t e d t e c h n o l o g y a l l ow s i n f o r m a t i o n t o t r a v e l m o r e q u i c k l y a c r o s s m o re s o c i a l n e t w o r k s B e l i e f s t h a t a re w i d e s p re a d , c u l t u r a l l y s h a re d a n d o b j e c t i v e l y u n t r u e t a k e o n m a n y o f t h e s a m e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s a s c o ns p i r a c y t h e o r i e s Fo r e x a m p l e , c l i m a t e

community In the context of rape and misogyny, nothing is taboo for me and I don’t have to fear that my word choice will in some way hurt my cause I can be angry and sad and upset without having to fear that my emotions will in some way hurt my message But I can also stop caring at any given moment

As a person of color, I cannot do the same when it comes to race I cannot become so emotional, lest my progressive millennial peers become shocked or offended that I did not delicately broach the issue in order to protect their disillusioned reality We live in a world where I can be lauded for my “powerful and touching” posts or columns about love and kindness We live in a world where my peers can give me so much praise and support in the form of superficial likes, random emails and uplifting comments We live in a world where, when faced with the grim reality of their own racism, these same peers can leave me feeling gravely and ineffably disappointed To my peers at The Cornell Daily Sun: Understand when you ’ ve been racist, and own up to your callous mistakes I hope you will listen, I hope you care and I expect you to do better

Amiri Banks is a junior in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences He may be reached at abanks@cornellsun com Honest A B appears alternate Mondays this semester

Affair

c h a n g e d e n i a l i s m e m b o d i e s a l l f e a t u re s o f t h e c o n t e m p o r a r y r i s e o f s k e p t i c i s m a s a re a s o n a b l e a l t e r n a t i v e t o c r i ti c a l a n a l y s i s T h e f a c t s o f t h e m a t t e r a re n o l o n g e r u p f o r d e b a t e ; c l i m a t e c h a n g e i s re a l , i t ’ s c a u s e d b y h u m a n a c t i v i t y a n d i t i s l a r g e l y i r r e v e r s i b l e D e n i a l o f a n t h r o p o g e n i c c l i m a t e c h a n g e i s i n d i c at i v e o f a l a r g e r c u l t u r a l p h e n o m e n o n i n w h i c h e v e r y a s p e c t o f s c i e n c e o r o t h e r e m p i r i c a l f a c t s i s s o m e h ow u p f o r d e b a t e a n d s u b j e c t i v e i n t e r p re t a t i o n Fu r t h e r m o re , t h e s e b e l i e f s a re r a re l y w i t h o u t c o n s e q u e n c e T h e o r i g i n s o f a n t i - Se m i t i s m s t r o n g l y re s e m b l e p a t t e r n s i n t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f m o d e r n c o n s p i r ac y t h e o r i e s T h e s a m e c a n b e s a i d a b o u t t h e In q u i s i t i o n o r m o s t o t h e r h i s t o r i c a l f o r m s o f o p p re s s i o n b a s e d o n r a c e o r o t h e r e t h n i c m a r k e r s T h e i n c o n c e i v a b l e t h e o r y t h a t Pre s i d e n t O b a m a i s a s e c re t A f r i c a n Mu s l i m w a i t i n g f o r t h e r i g h t m o m e n t t o g l e e f u l l y i m p o s e Sh a r i a l a w u p o n a l l A m e r i c a n s , a f e a r h e l d b y a d i st u r b i n g l y h i g h n u m b e r o f p e o p l e , h a s d i re c t n e g a t i v e i m p a c t s o n t h e d a i l y l i v e s o f A m e r i c a n Mu s l i m s It i s d i f f i c u l t t o h a v e a n y f a i t h i n p u bl i c o p i n i o n i n a c o u n t r y i n w h i c h f o u r p e r c e n t o f t h e p o p u l a t i o n ( a b o u t 1 2 m i ll i o n p e o p l e ) b e l i e v e s t h a t o u r g ov e r nm e n t i s i n f i l t r a t e d b y s h a p e - s h i f t i n g l i z a rd p e o p l e i n t e n t o n g a i n i n g p o l i t i c a l p ow e r t o c o n t r o l s o c ie t y, a c c o r d i n g t o t h e r e s u l t s f r o m a 2 0 1 3 p o l l o n c o n s p i r a c y t h e o r i e s A l t h o u g h i t i s b o t h e a s y a n d t e m p t i n g t o d i s m i s s c o n s p i r a c y t h e o r i s t s a s b a c k w a rd s - t h i n k i n g i n d i v i d u a l s , t h i s s e l f - s e r v i n g r i g h t e o u s n e s s f a i l s t o a d d r e s s t h e l a r g e r i s s u e o f o u r s o c i e t y ’ s a p p a re n t p re f e re n c e f o r e m o t i o n ov e r re a s o n It i s m u c h e a s i e r t o i g n o re o r re f r a m e f a c t s t h a t u p s e t o u r w o r l d v i e w St i l l , d e s p i t e t h e i n t e n t i o n s o f c o n s p i r a c y t h e o r i s t s , w e m u s t p u b l i c l y a c k n ow l e d g e t h a t t h e re i s n o t h i n g v a n g u a rd a b o u t c h a l l e n g i n g t h e v a l i d i t y o f e m p i r i c a l f a c t s W h i

Emily Hardin is a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences She can be reached at enh33@cornell edu Free Lunch appears alternate Mondays this semester

L os Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

FOOTBALL

Continued from page 12

l o o k l i k e t h e y d i d n ’ t h a ve a n y p l a c e t o g o w i t h t h e f o o t b a l l a n d w h e n we d i d , yo u s a w h i m g e t i t o u t , w h e t h e r h e c o m p l e t e d i t o r ove r t h re w i t , b u t yo u s a w h i m g e t i t o u t T h a t ’ s n o t o n l y j u s t o n t h e o f f e n s i ve l i n e , b u t o n t h e w h o l e o f f e n s e t o w i n o n t h e o u t s i d e ” Wi t h t h e t e a m f a c i n g s i g n i f i c a n t i n j u r i e s o n t h e o f f e n s i ve ,

A rc h e r n ow l o o k s t ow a rd s t h e d e p t h a t t h e w i d e re c e i ve r a n d r u nn i n g b a c k p o s i t i o n t o s t e p u p a n d m a k e a c o n t r i b u t i o n f o r t h e Re d “ To n o t h a ve C o l l i n Sh a w, C h r i s L e n z , t o n o t h a ve Lu k e Ha g y,

w h o ’ s o n e o f t h e b e s t b a c k s i n t h e Iv y L e a g u e a n d t o n o t h a ve p ro ba b l y t h e m o s t e x p l o s i ve f re s h m a n , C h r i s Wa l k e r, i t d o e s m a k e i t c h a l l e n g i n g t o p l a y o f f e n s e , ” A rc h e r s a i d “ Bu t t h a t l e a ve s t h e o p p o r t u n i t y f o r o t h e r g u y s t o s t e p u p a n d r i s e t o t h e o c c a s i o n ” How t h e Re d a d j u s t s i n t h e w a k e o f s e ve r a l k e y i n j u r i e s o n t h e

o f f e n s i ve s i d e w i l l d e t e r m i n e h ow t h e t e a m f i n i s h e s o u t t h e re s t o f t h e s e a s o n , w h i c h c o n s i s t s e xc l u s i ve l y o f f i ve c o n f e re n c e g a m e s “ Yo u t r y t o t a i l o r a s m u c h a s yo u c a n t o w h a t [ t h e d e p t h p l a ye r s ] d o we

Joon Lee can be reached at joonlee@cornellsun com

Jets Overcome Slow Start,Take Down Washington

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EAST RUTHERFORD, N J

themselves and maybe the rest of the NFL with a big bounce-back second half Ryan Fitzpatrick thre w two touchdown passes and ran for another score, and the resilient Jets overcame a sluggish star t to beat the banged-up Washington Redskins 34-20 on Sunday

“Ever y win’s not going to be pretty, ” coach Todd Bowles said “ We’re going to make some mistakes, but how we come back from it and how we grow as a team moving for ward is what’s g o i n g t

team ”

The even-keeled Bowles’ way is to downplay success, but the Jets looked ever y bit like a playoff contender for the final two quar ters They’ll get their biggest test yet next Sunday at AFC

East-rival Ne w England

“If you want to be a great team, ” wide receiver Brandon Marshall said, “ you ’ ve got to be able to punch through adversity ” Chris Ivor y ran for 146 yards and a TD on 20 carries for the Jets, who improved to 4-1 for the first time since the 2010 team opened 5-1 Marshall had seven catches for 111 yards, and Eric Decker also caught a TD pass The Jets, coming off a byew e e k b r e a k , t r a i l e d 1 3 - 1 0 a t halftime, with the Redskins (24) scoring their points off three turnovers by Bashaud Breeland, including an interception and two fumble recoveries

wide receiver DeSean Jackson, left tackle Trent Williams and cornerbacks DeAngelo Hall and Chris Culliver

“ We’re not per fect yet and we ’ ve got a long way to go, ” Marshall said They’re still a lot closer than t h e Re d s k i n s , w h o we re o u tgained 474-225 by the Jets

“ We had an oppor tunity to w i n t h i s g a m e , ” c o a c h Ja y Gr uden said "And, in the second half, we just laid an egg ” Kirk Cousins was 25 of 43 for 196 yards with a touchdown to Pierre Garcon, but also thre w two interceptions He has two INTs each in four games this season all losses, but no INTs in Washington’s two wins

Gr uden dispelled any murmurs of a quar terback controversy, saying the Redskins are sticking with Cousins

“ You hate to pin this game on Kirk,” Gr uden said “I know he could have played better We had no r unning game whatsoever Kirk is not in a stage in his career right now, nor is anybody on our roster, to carr y our team throwing the ball as much as we would have had to today ” T h e R e d s k i n s d o w n g r a d e d Jackson to out Saturday; he hasn ' t played since the season opener because of a left hamstring injur y Tight end Jordan Reed, center Kor y Lichtensteiger and backup r unning back Matt Jones were also out

h

But Ne w York opened the s e c o n d h a l f w i t h 2 4 s

points to take control against a Washington team without sever-

“If I star t to doubt, I’m not going to ever get to the level I want to go, ” Cousins said “I’ve got to keep going, learn from mistakes ”

With so many injuries, even Rober t Griffin III was active

a s t h e R e d s k i n s ’ t h i r d - s t r i n g quar terback for the first time this season

Spor ts

Cornell Falls to Sacred Heart; Hagy Injured

By JOON LEE Sun Assistant Sports Editor

FA I R F I E L D , C o n n Se n i o r r u n n i n g b a c k Lu k e

Ha g y s a t o n t h e C o r n e l l b e n c h a c c o m p a n i e d by t e a m

d o c t o r s T h e C o r n e l l f o o t b a l l c a p t a i n h a s b e e n t h e i g n it o r f o r t h e Re d o f f e n s e d u r i n g h i s l a s t ye a r o n t h e s l o p e , a c c o u n t i n g f o r 3 3 p e rc e n t o f t h e t e a m ’ s t o t a l o f f e n s e

c o m i n g i n t o Sa t u rd a y, b u t Ha g y c o u l d n o t d o m u c h o f a n y t h i n g a f t e r h e e x p e r i e n c e d c o n c u s s i o n s y m p t o m s

a f t e r a Sa c re d He a r t d e f e n d e r k n e e d h i m i n t h e b a c k o f

h i s h e a d o n t h e s e c o n d p l a y o f t h e g a m e

Me a n w h i l e o n t h e f i e l d , t h e Re d o f f e n s e s t r u g g l e d t o

g e n e r a t e m u c h o f a n y t h i n g A n d w i t h Ha g y o u t a n d

f re s h m a n r u n n i n g b a c k C h r i s Wa l k e r b a c k i n It h a c a d u e t o a c o n c u s s i o n s u s t a i n e d d u r i n g t h e Re d’s l o s s t o

Ha r va rd , s o p h o m o re r u n n i n g b a c k Jo s h Swe e t re c e i ve d

t h e m a j o r i t y o f t h e c a r r i e s

Wi t h t h e o p p o r t u n i t y, Swe e t r a c k e d u p 8 0 y a rd s o n

2 2 c a r r i e s w i t h a t o u c h d ow n , b u t t h e s l i c e t o t h e j u g u l a r f o r t h e Re d c a m e i n t h e t h i rd q u a r t e r w h e n o f f i c i a l s r u l e d t h a t Swe e t f u m b l e d t h e f o o t b a l l a y a rd o u t f ro m a

t o u c h d ow n w i t h C o r n e l l ( 0 - 5 , 0 - 2 Iv y L e a g u e ) d ow n

1 7 - 6 T h e o f f e n s e n e ve r re c ove re d a n d t h e g a m e s l i p p e d a w a y ; t h e Pi o n e e r s ( 4 - 2 ) r a n a w a y w i t h t h e g a m e i n t h e s e c o n d h a l f a n d f i ni s h e d o f f t h e Re d by a s c o re o f 3 1 - 6 Bu t w h a t s t i c k s f o r h e a d c o a c h Da v i d A rc h e r ’ 0 5 i s t h e c a l l o n Swe e t ’ s f u m b l e , w h e n h e s a i d h e t h o u g h t t h e

r u n n i n g b a c k’s k n e e w a s d ow n o n c o n t a c t b e f o re t h e b a l l

c a m e l o o s e “ I h a ve n ’ t s e e n t h e f i l m ye t , b u t t h a t ’ s a re a l l y p o o r

c a l l , ” A rc h e r s a i d “ T h e n e x t s e r i e s we s t o p t h e m o n t h i rd d ow n a n d we b re a k t h e p a s s o f f a n d i t b o u n c e s b a c k i n t o t h e i r h a n d s T h a t a d d e d u p t o t o o m u c h t o

ove rc o m e A s l ow s t a r t a n d t h e b re a k s d i d n ’ t g o o u r w a y,

a n d we c o u l d n ’ t ove rc o m e t h e m ” Ju n i o r q u a r t e r b a c k Ro b e r t So m b o r n s t r u g g l e d t o g e t

h i s u n i t g o i n g a s h e t o o k s a c k s a n d t h re w p a s s e s ove r t h e

h e a d s o f h i s re c e i ve r s , a s i g h t t h a t h a s b e c o m e a l l t o o c o m m o n f o r t h e Re d a s o f l a t e

So m b o r n , w h o f i n i s h e d t h e d a y w i t h a 4 5 c o m p l e t i o n p e rc e n t a g e o n 1 0 - o f - 2 2 p a s s i n g , 1 9 6 p a s s i n g y a rd s ( f i n a l n u m b e r s p a d d e d by c o m p l e t e d p a s s e s d u r i n g g a r b a g e t i m e ) , n o t o u c h d ow n p a s s e s a n d a n i n t e rc e p t i o n , f req u e n t l y t h re w i n t o t i g h t c ove r a g e a n d c l e a r l y m i s s e d t h e p re s e n c e o f we e k o n e s t a r t i n g w i d e re c e i ve r s j u n i o r

C o l l i n Sh a w a n d s e n i o r C h r i s L e n z , w h o we re o u t f o r t h e Re d T h e j u n i o r q u a r t e r b a c k h a s p rov i d e d i n c o n s i s t e n t p e r f o r m a n c e f ro m q u a r t e r t o q u a r t e r i n re c e n t we e k s

So coincidentally this year I have written ar ticles about the Mets and the Cubs, and here they are in a m a t c h - u p a g a i n s t e a c h o t h

National League Championship Series fighting to make it to the World Series

The Mets last won the World Series in 1986 and the Cubs in 1908 (slight difference) Over recent years, fans of both teams have gained a sor t of pity from fans of basically any other team in the league, but for different reasons It’s time to play “ Who’s had it harder, Mets or Cubs fans?”

On having to continuously maintain optimism for a team that doesn’t quite per form up to their fan base’s enthusiasm, I would say the Cubs have had that market cornered for a solid 108 years Just the sheer amount of time that has passed since they have won a World Series would be enough for an average fan to lose hope But Cubs fans are not

So m b o r n ’ s p e r f o r m a n c e i n re c e n t we e k s c o u l d o p e n t h e d o o r t o s o p h o m o re q u a r t e r b a c k Ja k e Ja t i s re c e i v i n g a n o t h e r l o o k a s t h e s t a r t e r “ b a s e d o n w h a t [ e a c h o p p on e n t ] c a l l s f o r, ” A rc h e r s a i d

Be f o re t h e g a m e , A rc h e r s a i d t h e t e a m n e e d e d t o p rep a re f o r t h e Pi o n e e r ’ s b l i t z - h e a

A rc h e r e x p re s s e d c o n c e r n a b o u t t h e h o t a n d c o l d n a t u re o f h i s q u a r t e r b a c k t h i s s e a s o n “ It m a k e s i t d i f f i c u l t [ t o s u c c e e d ] , ” A rc h e r s a i d a b o u t t h e i n c o n s i s t e n c y a t q u a r t e r b a c k “ We’ve t a l k e d a b o u t t h e h ow t h e n u m b e r o n e a b i l i t y t o h a ve i s d e p e n d a b i l i t y a n d t h e re a re t i m e s w h e n [ So m b o r n ] d o e s s o m e a wes o m e , a we s o m e t h i n g s w i t h t h e f o o t b a l l i n h i s h a n d s a n d t h e n o t h e r t i m e s , h e d o e s n ’ t p l a y a s we l l ”

Who Has Had It Worse in Baseball: Mets Fans or Cubs Fans?

regular fans, which puts them in a different categor y of “pity ” Their losing has become so legendar y it has almost b e c o m e a d

e T h

s s i v e propensity to lose over the years has even earned the team the nickname the

and devotedly waited while Theo Epstein promised to rebuild the team, a move that would not fly in New York, where owner Fred Wilpon and his son Jeff are derided around New York as Wil-ponzis

Me t s f a n s h a v e a l s o h a d m u c h rougher things to deal with than just a poorly per forming team The Mets fan base has recently been mocked in the press for having the worst spelling and g r a m m a r i n M L B , i n a n e va l u a t i o n done by automate d - p r o o f r e a d i n g c o m p a n y Grammarly

Mets for Ne w York fans is considerably more hostile than Chicago’s undying love of the Cubs But right now, both teams have a chance at pulling their fans out of their usual miser y

As of this weekend, the Mets currently lead the Cubs 1-0, so there is still a chance for either of them to make it through and face either the Kansas City Royals (who lead their series 2-0) or the Toronto Blue Jays for the final match u p E i t h e r w

“lovable losers ” Yes, fans are always disappointed, but they still always hold out for next year The Mets, however, have a more hostile environment in New York Their losses are not just accepted with a shrug and a “ we’ll get ’ em next year, ” but instead the team is criticized for being inept The north side of Chicago is devoted to their Wrigley Field inhabitants; the neighborhood surrounding the field is named “ Wrigleyville,” full of bars are dedicated t o t h e i v y - c ov e re d s t a d i u m a n d t h e Cubbies In contrast ,the area around Citi Field is populated by numerous chop shops that have thwarted attempts to get them evicted Cubs fans patiently

The franchise is also currently paying former player

B o b b y B o n i l l a some $1 2 million a year ever y year as par t of a deferred p a y m e n t s c h e d u l e t h e y n e g o t i a t e d when buying out Bonilla’s $5 9 million contract in 2000 He has not played since 2001 So while their record might not be as dismal as the Cubs, the Mets have had to deal with a lot more behindthe-scenes drama and fr ustration with the management of the franchise And overall, the atmosphere surrounding the

The Mets, however, have a more hostile environment in New York. Their losses are not just accepted with a shrug and a “we’ll get ’em next year ”

e deser ves this longawaited break from their usual slumps Fo

in their

for the Cubs fans it

day and one of the greatest days in franchise histor y (100 plus years in the making), so it will be interesting to see which team gets that lucky break