As the Ebola crisis continues to rage in Western Africa, Cornell has a multi-faceted role in addressing Ebola, both locally and abroad, according to President David Skorton
Skorton said in an interview with The Sun Wednesday that the whole University not just the Ithaca campus has an obligation to address the threat of the Ebola One of those roles, he said, is to properly prepare employees at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital, which is affiliated with Weill Cornell Medical College and one of eight hospitals in New York State designated to treat the deadly disease
“One role we have is to make sure that our employees, including but not limited to physicians, our students and our postgraduate trainees who are employees at the hospital are cognizant of Ebola, how to discover it, how to diagnose it, how to support the patient and treat it and how
Univ. Continues Solar Energ y Push Through Proposed Project
e n e rg y p ro j e c t Sn yd e r Ro a d So l a r Fa r m w h i c h
we n t l i ve i n Se p t e m b e r T h e p ro p o s e d t w o - m e g a w a t t s o l a r f a r m , w h i c h
i s s t i l l p e n d i n g a p p rova l f ro m t h e t ow n o f Se n e c a ,
w i l l o f f s e t “ n e a r l y 4 0 p e rc e n t ” o f t h e a n n u a l d e m a n d g e n e r a t e d by t h e Ne w Yo rk St a t e A g r i c u l t u r a l
E x p e r i m e n t St a t i o n i n G e n e v a , a c c o r d i n g t o a
i ve r s i t y p
“Such initiatives demonstrate clearly how committed the University is to sustainability through employment of diverse technologies
Shared Governance Important
During Transitions, Skorton Says
President David Skorton spoke before the Student Assembly Thursday about his desire to work with the assembly and other shared governance groups on campus to form a list of priorities to work toward before the end of his term Skorton, who will leave at the end of June to helm the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D C , emphasized the important role that shared governance groups play at the University, “especially during transitions,” referring to the number of administrators who will leave before the start of the next academic year
“In general the continuity of the University is out there in the student body [and] in the employee ranks, and so I’ve already shared with President-Elect Garrett who I think is really going to be terrific the importance of shared governance in our culture,” Skorton said
At least four administrators will step down from their current positions by next fall: Skorton; Susan Murphy ’73 Ph D ’94, vice president for student and academic services; Provost Kent Fuchs; and Harry Katz, dean of the School of Industrial and Labor Relations who will become interim provost this month as Fuchs prepares to step
See SKORTON page 4
BINDRA / THE
TIMES
By ANNIE BUI Sun News Editor
By CHRISTOPHER BYRNS Sun Staff Writer
Career Conversation With Renee Tornatore ’13, Merchandising and Marketing Associate at Birchbox
10 - 11:15 a m , Physical Sciences Building
Systems Engineering of a Sample Return Campaign: Intersection of Science, Stakeholders and Systems Engineering 12:15 p m , 253 Frank H T Rhodes Hall
Third Annual CUCollaborate Ideas Festival
5 - 7 p m , 401 Warren Hall Water Music
8 - 9:30 p m , Barnes Hall Auditorium
Leo Bersani: Queer Theory and Beyond 9:30 a m , 258 Goldwin Smith Hall
Surrealism and Magic
10 a m - 5 p m , Johnson Museum of Art
Chimes Advisory Council Annual Meeting and Concerts
10:30 a m - Noon, McGraw Tower
Garlic Planting Workshop
1 p m , Nevin Welcome Center, Cornell Plantations
Cornell Jazz Jam Session
5:30 - 7 p m , Jansen’s Dining Room, Hans Bethe House
weather FORECAST
News, “New Statler Entryway to Lower Energy Costs for Hotel School,” Monday
Speaking about the $3 7 million renovation to the front entrance of Statler Hall
“From what we ’ ve seen the front entry is operating really well and the comfort in the atrium has improved but we ll really know the results in the dead of winter and in the middle of January We believe it should perform exceptionally Andrew Magre ’91
News, “Ahead of Election, Cornell Remains Silent,” Tuesday
Speaking about why she believes voting is important, particularly among college students Civic duty says you vote in the investment of democracy People who have exams and papers and no spare time are marking rationale calculations If you can spare 15 minutes vote to maintain the system of democracy, for which there is no real substitute
Prof. Elizabeth Sanders, government
Opinion, “You’re Not Alone: Let’s Talk about Mental Health,” Wednesday
Speaking about her challenge to students, staff and faculty to make mental health a priority
Let the institutional-level changes motivate us to create a truly inclusive social environment that evokes the same importance to mental health Let mental health be more than a building but a fundamental priority among all of us ”
Teresa Danso-Danquah ’15
News, “Cornell Close-Ups: Cornell Alumni Magazine Editor Has Roots in Industry,” Wednesday
Speaking about her role in raising awareness for issues such as breast cancer and gender apartheid I can t claim that I have changed peoples lives, but I hope that I was able to maybe introduce people to something that they haven’t thought about before ”
Prof Jenny Barnett, communication
IFC Takes Steps To Combat Sexual Violence at C.U.
By OLIVIA LUTWAK Sun Staff Writer
Over the past week, the Interfraternity Council has taken steps toward targeting and starting the conversation about salient issues on campus particularly those surrounding sexual violence
According to IFC President Cameron Pritchett ’15, the IFC unanimously passed a resolution Oct 29 that requires all chapters to host in-house trainings on topics of alcohol and consent education and bystander intervention
The resolution states that all fraternities that wish to be eligible to host social events must have at least 75 percent house attendance at an in-house or in-person training, according to a document provided by the IFC The trainings will be carried out by campus organizations such as Cayuga’s Watchers, ConsentEd, Wingman 101 and the Women’s Resource Center
Garrison Lovely ’16, president of Delta Tau Delta fraternity, said he believes that training for all fraternity members will aid in recognizing potentially critical situations and will empower members to “intervene when necessary ”
“I don’t believe my brothers contribute to a culture of sexual violence, but passivity can allow terrible things to happen,” Lovely said
Members of the IFC also took to social media to voice their stance against sexual assault on campus this week, uploading a video to YouTube that featured fraternity members stating why they are choosing to stand against it
According to Pritchett, the idea for the video came about when members of the council decided that it was time for “voices of chapter leaders to be heard” on the topic of sexual assault
“In the past, silence has been deafening,” Pritchett said “For me, this is a matter of safety No person should fear
being sexual[ly] assaulted in any environment let alone on a campus intended to educate the world’s brightest minds ”
The video which was uploaded Tuesday borrows statistics from the United States Department of Justice, stating that fewer than five percent of completed and attempted rapes of college women are reported to law enforcement
Lovely said he joined the movement in order to dispel the myth that “fraternities foster a culture of sexual violence against women ”
“I believe that Greek men need to publicly recognize this criticism and dispel it through active steps to prevent sexual assault and eliminate the culture that fosters it,” he said
According to a Justice Department statistic shown in the video, 19 percent of undergraduate women reported experiencing attempted or completed sexual assault since entering college
Spencer Nord ’16, IFC vice president of University and community relations, said he believes these statistics are “frightening” not only from a personal view, but also from the perspective of the IFC in general
“The IFC decided to make a video standing against sexual assault because we see ourselves as leaders who have the ability to impact changes here at Cornell and beyond,” Nord said “The video is a great way to show members of the Cornell community inside and outside of Greek life that sexual assault will not be tolerated ”
The IFC also takes part in the “No More” campaign a national campaign in which celebrities, athletes and other recognizable figures explain the need for an end to sexual violence, according to Pritchett The campaign was replicated on campus last semester, featuring members of the Greek community holding signs describing why the individuals say “ no more ” to sexual violence
New Kroch Library Exhibition Documents Cornell History
By SAMANTHA ACRICHE Sun Staff Writer
In c e l e b r a t i o n o f C o r n e l l’s sesquicentennial, the Division of
R a r e a n d M a n u s c r i p t
C o l l e c t i o n s i s p r e s e n t i n g a n exhibition entitled “150 Ways to Say Cornell” which
i n c l u d e s i t e m s
s u c h a s o r i g i n a l
Un i v e r s i t y d o c u -
m e n t s , n e w s p a p e r
a r t i c l e s , p h o -
t o g r a p h s a n d
C o r n e l l “ e s s e ntials ”
The exhibit which began last month is
b e i n g s h o w c a s e d i n C a r l A
K r o c h L i b r a r y t h r o u g h n e x t
S e p t e m b e r, a c c o r d i n g t o
Un i v e r s i t y A r c h i v i s t E l a i n e Engst
Engst said that pieces in the
e x h i b i t i o n w e r e o r g a n i z e d b y themes among them athletics, women, coeducation, publications, international programs and Cornell keepsakes
She added that one of the more “significant” pieces being showcased is the original char ter of the University Because it is fragile, Engst said, it cannot be on display all the time “ We had it in for Tr ustee-
Council Weekend, and we will have it at [special] events over the course of the year, ” she said Engst also said that most of the items presented are originals, which were obtained from existing collections at the librar y The contents of the sesquicentennia l e x h i b i t w i l l evolve during the time it is displayed, explaining that different items will be s h owc a s e d a t d i f -
e r e n t e v e n t s , according to Engst “ The exhibit is a c t u a l l y g o i n g t o change over time,” she said “At the end of Januar y, we are also commemorating the big thing[s] that happened in 1865 along w i t h C o r n e l l ’ s c h a r t e r b e i n g signed in Albany the signing of the 13th Amendment, the end of the Civil War and the a s s a s s i n a t i o n o f Lincoln ”
With regards to planning the exhibition, Engst said she began to think of ways to honor Cornell’s 150-year anniversar y around five years ago
“ We t a l k e d about the possibility of a librar y exhibit, which would commemorate the event, ” Engst said “It just seemed like a really good time to reflect on the histor y of the University ” According to Engst, work on the project began three years ago
centennial Committee and the R
However, she said
past four months
“ We met ever
[be] in vaults by themselves, and putting them out on display for p e o p l e a n d s h a r i n g i t
ing, university records manager
During this time, Engst said curators carefully picked out the items that would be showcased
“Curators came up with sugg
c u s s e d w i t h [ i n ] groups, added, subtracted [and] changed [the collection],” she said
Engst said she believed that picking the items to showcase in the exhibit was the most difficult par t of the process
“ T h e h a r d e s t t h i n g i s c h o o s i n g m a t e r i a l t h a t i s v i s u a l l y i n t e r e s ting, that says what y o u w a n t t o s a y and that look well
t o g e t h e r, ” E n g s t said Evan Earle ’02, an employee at the
D i v i s i o n o f R a r e a n d Manuscript Collection, said he enjoyed the process of selecting cer tain objects to display in the exhibition
“My favorite par t was getting objects that [would] other wise
said
that the exhibit
Keating and Earle s
“excited” for others to see the exhibition and to “ connect ” with the university “I’d like to think that the
“[Cornell] really is a special place with amazing and fascinating history.”
lecture in Anabel Taylor Hall Thursday
Skorton Discusses Sexual Violence, TCAT at S.A. Meeting
and having shared governance leaders to become familiar with incoming president Garrett
down
Before then, Skorton expressed his hope that these shared governance groups could develop lists of priorities and goals to work towards before the end of his term in particular
“I am hoping that we can develop together over the course of the next few weeks of this semester a collectively agreed upon set of things that we should really try to push through to finality right now, before my term is over, ”
Skorton said
“I’ve already shared with PresidentElect Garrett ... the importance of shared governance in our culture.”
randum of understanding Skorton said he hopes TCAT and the University are able to reach an agreement regarding the MOU in the near future
“There should be, from my perspective, no reason why we can ’ t get that done considerably sooner before my term is over, ” Skorton said
Regarding sexual violence, Skorton said that while he did not expect a finality on the issue, the University must continue to work very hard on “prevention and response ”
“I do not believe we are going to come to closure on this before the end of my term, but I believe we need together to make substantial progress on this,” Skorton said SKORTON Continued from page 1
Among the issues currently on the minds of students, according to Skorton, include finalizing a binding memorandum of understanding with Tompkins Consolidated Area Transportation, addressing sexual violence at Cornell
Addressing TCAT ’ s deficit, Cornell pledged last month to increase its payments to the bus service by $1 125 million by 2018, with future payments being dictated by a memo-
Of cials Say Ebola Risk to Cornell Community Is ‘Low’
preventing the spread of Ebola, S k o
C
to prevent it,” he said
In addition to dealing with the “immediate situation of preventing, diagnosing, treating and
s o working to help contribute to the understanding of the Ebola v
s n o known cure “ There’s what we actually do
for a living, which is educate and do research, and in that regard, we have a responsibility broadly to think about the public health ramifications of epidemics and things that could become epidemics,” Skorton said
He added that he thinks the recent Ebola outbreak in West Africa is an example of a university ’ s “broader responsibility to contribute to the understanding
information
Continued from page 1 Tyler Alicea can be reached at managing-editor@cornellsun com
Last month, the University placed restrictions for students,
Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia countries under the Centers f
C
d Prevention travel warnings for official University business In
restrictions
“Cornell students, faculty and staff may not travel for study abroad, research, internships, service, conferences, presentations, teaching, performances, recruiting or athletic competitions in the West African nations under CDC travel warnings,” stated the
y Fredrik Logevall, vice provost for international affairs; Dr Janet C
president for campus health and
C
McAllister, director of risk management and insurance
Skorton said one challenge the University faces is balancing the rights of Cornellians, while also
i n f o r m i n g t h e community
“A big part of fighting our way through this puzzle in the optimal way will be to find some balance that respects people’s family t i e s a n d p e r s o n a
n s f o r wanting to travel literally anywhere in the world,” he said
The University has worked with local health providers since the summer to ensure that the community is informed about t h e Eb o l
b re a k C o r s o nRikert said at a discussion on campus last month that an additional challenge Cornell faces is to manage misconceptions about the risk of the Ebola virus
“ To b e c l e a r, t h e r i s k t o C o r n e l l c
continues to be
low,” she said at the Oct 23 discussion
Still, Skorton lauded the work of Gannett in addressing the possible Ebola threat to the local community
“You can never be 100 percent comfortable at a time like this when we have so much interaction with the whole world here because of the nature of our campus, ” Skorton said, “but I am reassured and heartened with the leadership of Gannett and the leadership of the medical college ”
Federal Government Announces
NEW YORK (AP) The federal government on Thursday announced its first bitcoin securities fraud case, accusing a Texas
m a n o f e n g i n e e r i n g a Po n z i scheme by getting people to turn over their bitcoins in return for promises of high interest rates and the ability to recoup their investment at any time
Tre n d o n Sh a v e r s , o f McKinney, appeared in federal court in Texas on securities fraud and wire fraud charges that were outlined in a criminal complaint unsealed in U S District Court in Manhattan
“ This case, the first of its kind, should ser ve as a warning to those looking to make a quick buck with unsecured currency, ” U S Attorney Preet Bharara said in a news release
Bharara said the 32-year-old Shavers combined financial fraud and cyberfraud into a bitcoin Ponzi scheme offering “absurdly high interest payments, and ulti-
mately cheated his investors out of their bitcoin investments ” At the peak of the scheme, Shavers possessed about 7 percent of all bitcoin in public circulation, prosecutors said George Venizelos, head of the F
Shavers “used a new currency, but
tricks
“He claimed to offer a bitcoin market-arbitrage strategy In reality, it was nothing more than an insidious scheme motivated by greed Today, Shavers’ jig is up, ” Venizelos said
Bharara said Shavers caused about half of 100 investors to lose all or part of their bitcoin
September 2012 as he promised them up to 7 percent weekly interest and assured them they could withdraw their investment at any time if they turned over bitcoins
Tennessee Lawmakers Prepare New Restrictions on Abortion
NASHVILLE, Tenn (AP)
While the rest of the South slowly whittled away at abortion access, Te n n e s s e e ’ s c l i n i c s o p e r a t e d under less stringent restrictions
That is about to change
Voters on Tuesday approved altering the state constitution to make clear that it does not protect the right to an abortion despite the U S Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v Wade ruling establ i s h i n g a n a t i o n w i d e r i g h t t o abortion and legislators are already talking about mandator y counselling and waiting periods to bring Tennessee in line with the eight surrounding states The
l e g i s l a t u re m e e t s a g a i n i n Januar y
The amendment, approved by 53 percent of voters, was a slow motion response to a Tennessee Supreme Court ruling in 2000 that said abortion was protected by the state constitution The amendment was brought before the legislature four months after that decision, but it took nearly 14 years to become law because of political opposition and the s t a t e ’ s l e n g t h y re f e re n d u m process
“Clearly, I think the legislature wants to put commonsense legis-
lation in place to make sure that abortion is a safe procedure in Tennessee and to restore the state to being in-line with the states around us, ” said House Speaker
Be t h Ha r we l l , a Na s h v i l l e Republican
Abortion rights supporters are worried that lawmakers will go too far After the amendment passed, American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee Executive Director Hedy Weinberg issued a s
that “ extreme, medically-irreleva
opposed by voters
over Amendment one brought in more than $5 5 million, much of that raised by abor tion rights
a d vo c a t e s f ro m Pl a n n e d
Parenthood affiliates across the countr y who fought it The two sides spent nearly $4 5 million in Oc t o b e r a l o n e , m u c h o
h a t going toward television advertisements Op p o n e n t s p o r t r a ye d Te nnessee as an “abortion destination,” playing up that almost 23 percent of the women getting abortions in Tennessee are from out of state, according to the Tennessee Department of Health
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Despite Space-Related Accidents, NASA Test Flight Remains on Track for Next Month
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Or i o n c a p s u l e T h i s o n e w i l l n o t c a r r y a c re w Fu t u re Or i o n s a re m e a n t t o c a r r y a s t ro n a u t s o n m i s s i o n s o f d e e p - s p a c e e x p l o r a t i o n , i n c l u d i n g , o n e d a y, t r i p s t o Ma r s T h e s p a c e c r a f t w i l l b l a s t o f f a t o p a De l t a I V ro c k e t f ro m C a p e C a n a ve r a l , Fl o r i d a T h e f o u rh o u r f l i g h t w i l l s e n d i t o n t w o l a p s a ro u n d E a r t h
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“ Sp a c e o p e r a t i o n s i s h a rd , a n d t h e y p rove d t h a t l a s t we e k , ” Hi l l t o l d re p o r t e r s “ It w a s a t o u g h we e k It’s a t o u g h b u s i n e s s we ’ re i n ” Ma rk Ge ye r, Or i o n ' s p ro g r a m m a n a g e r f o r N A S A , s a i d e ve n b e f o re t h e b a c k - t o - b a c k a c c id e n t s , e ve r yo n e i n vo l ve d w i t h t h e u p c o m i n g t e s t f l i g h t re c o g n i ze d j u s t h ow d i f f i c u l t i t i s t o s e n d u p s p a c e c r a f t , e s p e c i a l l y t h o s e d e s i g n e d f o r h u m a n s T h e t w o e ve n t s s e r ve a s a n i m p o r t a n t re m i n d e r m o re t h a n a n y t h i n g , h e s a i d T h e w h o l e i d e a o f t h e t e s t f l i g h t , Ge ye r s a i d , i s “ t o l e a r n a b o u t w h e re t h e c h a l l e n g e s a re s o we c a n m i n i m i ze t h e r i s k w h e n we a c t u a l l y p u t p e op l e o n b o a
Toddler Aboard JetBlue
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Rushed to Hospital After Plane Lands
l it y It w a s s t ro n g e n o u g h t o w i t h s t a n d m i n o r k i t c h e n m i s h a p s , a n d i t g a ve h o m e c o o k s t h e a b i l i t y t o b a k e a n d s e r ve f o o d i n t h e s a m e d i s h T h e d i s h e s c o u l d g o s t r a i g h t f ro m t h e ove n t o t h e d i n n e r t a b l e a n d t h e n i n t o t h e re f r i g e r a t o r o r f re e ze r Yo u c o u l d a l s o p u t t h e m i n a m i c row a ve , a n d s o m e t y p e s c o u l d b e h e a t e d a t o p a s t ove T h e y w e r e a c o m m o n s i g h t
Joe Torre, upper left, talks with donors at an event sponsored by the Bloomberg Tradebook to raise money for charitable organizations The New York Times’ caption could not explain why the photographed indviduals, right, have green hair
CATHERINE CHEN ’15
Business Manager
CAROLINE FLAX ’15
Associate Editor
NICK DE TULLIO 15
RACHEL ELLICOTT 15
Editor
ELIZABETH SOWERS 15
Editor
CONNOR ARCHARD ’15
ANNIE BUI ’16
KAITLYN TIFFANY ’15
KATHLEEN BITTER 15
CHARDAE VARLACK 15
EMILY BERMAN 16
NICOLE HAMILTON 16
Editor EMMA LICHTENSTEIN ’16
LUISE YANG ’15
ARIELLE CRUZ ’15
MICHELLE FELDMAN ’15
HALEY VELASCO 15
’15
RATHORE 15
’15
15
WORKING ON TODAY’S SUN PHOTO NIGHT EDITOR Diana Mak grad
Alex Hernandez 15 ARTS EDITORS Kaitlyn Tiffany 15
Doolittle 16
Bui 16
Clarifying Cornell Heights
l’s No r t h C a m p u s T h e p ro p o s a l f o r t h e s e re v i s i o n s w i l l m o s t l i k e l y b e d r a f t e d by Ja n u a r y a n d w i l l i n c l u d e p l a n s t o p ro t e c t t h e c h a r a c t e r o f t h e h i s t o r i c n e i g h b o r h o o d , a s we l l a s re g u l a t i o n s t h a t w o u l d i n c re a s e t h e l o t s i ze s f o r Gre e k l i f e - re l a t e d h o u s i n g , l owe r b u i l d i n g h e i g h t s a n d l owe r l o t c ove r a g e m a x im u m s We a t T h e Su n b e l i e ve t h a t t h i s a p o s i t i ve s t e p b e c a u s e i t w i l l h e l p l a y d ow n c l e a re r g u i d e l i n e s f o r d e ve l o p m e n t o f t h e a re a i n a c c o rd a n c e t o t h e d e m a n d s o f t h e re s i d e n t s T h e i s s u e o f p re s e r v i n g t h e n e i g h b o r h o o d a ro s e l a s t s p r i n g w h e n C A St u d e n t L i v i n g a s u b s i d i a r y o f C h i c a g o re a l e s t a t e i n ve s t m e n t a n d d e ve l o p m e n t c o m p a -
n y C A Ve n t u re s p ro p o s e d a m o d e r n - s t y l e h o u s i n g c o m p l e x i n t h e n e i g h b o r -
h o o d L o c a l s p r o t e s t e d a g a i n s t t h e p r o p o s a l a t a n It h a c a P l a n n i n g a n d De ve l o p m e n t B o a rd m e e t i n g i n Ma rc h , e m p h a s i z i n g t h e l a c k o f f i n a l i ze d p l a n s , c o n c e r n s f o r i n c re a s e d t r a f f i c a n d t h e l a c k o f p re s e r va t i o n o f t h e h i s t o r i c n e i g h b o rh o o d In a d d i t i o n , a p e t i t i o n w a s c i rc u l a t e d a n d s i g n e d by m o re t h a n 9 0 0 l o c a l s Du e t o t h i s l o c a l b a c k l a s h , t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n p ro p o s a l w a s w i t h d r a w n i n Au g u s t A s i d e f ro m l o c a l re s i d e n t s , m a n y c h a p t e r s o f t h e C o r n e l l Gre e k s y s t e m s i g n e d t h i s p e t i t i o n , w i t h 2 0 o f t h e 4 6 f r a t e r n i t i e s o n c a m p u s l o c a t e d i n C o r n e l l He i g h t s Of t h e 9 0 0 s i g n a t u re s , ove r a t h i rd we re c o n n e c t e d t o C o r n e l l f r a t e r n i t y a n d s o ro ri t i e s We a p p l a u d t h e m f o r t a k i n g a s t a n d o n a n i s s u e t h a t c o n c e r n s t h e i r c o m m un i t y a n d t h e i r n e i g h b o r h o o d We a t T h e Su n b e l i e ve t h a t e ve n t h o u g h t h
Ez ra ’ s Ora c l e we l c o m e s i n q u i r i e s f ro m a l l m e m b e r s o f t h e C o r n e l l c o m m u n i t y a b o u t a n y t h i n g a n d e ve r y t h i n g re l a t e d t o t h e Un i ve r s i t y We s e e k o u t a n s we r s t o c a m p u s m y s t e r i e s , re s e a rc h r u m o r s a n d i n ve s t i g a t e i s s u e s o f re l e va n c e t o C o r n e l l i a n s Qu e s t i o n s c a n b e s u b m i t t e d v i a e m a i l t o e z ra s o ra c l e @ c o r n e l l s u n c o m Or w h i s p e r t h e m i n t h e e a r o f t h e Ez ra C o r n e l l s t a t u e o n t h e Ar t s Qu a d
Q : W h y d o we c a l l e x a m s “ p re l i m s ” h e re ? Is t h a t j u s t a C o r n e l l t h i n g ? L i b e Sl o p e L i n g u i s t ’ 1 5
A : “ Pre l i m ” i s o n e o f t h e m a n y p i e c e s o f C o r n e l l vo c a b u l a r y t h a t o f t e n c o n f u s e s o u r p e e r s a t o t h e r i n s t i t u t i o n s W h i l e s t u d e n t s a t o t h e r s c h o o l s s t u d y f o r m i d t e r m s , t e s t s a n d e x a m s , C o r n e l l i a n s a re i n t h e l i b r a r y p re p a r i n g f o r p re l i m s Eve n Wi k i p e d i a a n d Ur b a n Di c t i o n a r y re f e r t o C o r n e l l a s a n a b n o r m a l i t y i n i t s u s e o f t h e t e r m At m a n y i n s t i t ut i o n s , “ p re l i m ” i s u s e d t o re f e r t o t h e g r a d u a t e s c h o o l e x a m s t h a t a d m i t a s t u d e n t t o a Ph D p ro g r a m T h e t e r m “ p re l i m ” i s s h o r t f o r “ p re l i m i n a r y e x a m i n a t i o n , ” a n d
w a s i n u s e i n t h e e a r l y ye a r s o f C o r n e l l It s h ow s u p i n o n l y t h e 2 4 t h i s s u e o f T h e
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r s i n T h e Su n ’ s p red e c e s s o r, T h e C o r n e l l Er a , o n Fe b r u a r y 2 0 , 1 8 8 0 w i t h t h e n o t e : “ Pro f Pre n t i s s a ro u s e d t h e s o m n o l e n t by a p re l i m , l a s t We d n e s d a y ” How a n d w h y t h e t e r m c a u g h t o n a t
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Q : W h a t’s a p rovo s t a n y w a y ? Is t h a t a C o r n e l l t h i n g t o o ? C o n c e r n e d w i t h Or g C h a r t s ’ 1 7
A : Wi t h Provo s t Ke n t Fu c h s a p p o i n t e d p re s i d e n t o f t h e Un i ve r s i t y o f Fl o r i d a a n d
I L R De a n Ha r r y K a t z a p p o i n t e d i n t e r i m p rovo s t , t h e t e r m h a s b e e n i n t h e n e w s a l o t l a t e l y T h e p o s i t i o n i s re l a t i ve l y c o m m o n i n A m e r i c a n h i g h e r e d u c a t i o n In f a c t , o u r n e w C o r n e l l p re s i d e n t - e l e c t , El i z a b e t h Ga r re t t , i s t h e c u r re n t p rovo s t a t t h e Un i ve r s i t y o f So u t h e r n C a l i f o r n i a A l t h o u g h t h e j o b d e s c r i p t i o n s va r y a c ro s s i n s t i t u t i o n s , p rovo s t s g e n e r a l l y s e r ve a s c h i e f a c a d e m i c o f f i c e r s T h e p rovo s t ove r s e e s t h e d e a n s o f t h e c o l l e g e s a t C o r n e l l , a s we l l a s a n a r r a y o f v i c e p rovo s t s , a n d a c t s a s t h e p re s i d e n t ’ s f i r s t d e p u t y o f f i c e r L i k e Fu c h s , m a n y o f C o r n e l l’s p rovo s t s h a ve m ove d o n t o o t h e r i n s t i t u t i o n s a s p re s i d e n t C o r n e l l a p p o i n t e d i t s f i r s t p rovo s t i n 1 9 3 1 , f o r m e r d e a n o f t h e C o l l e g e o f
A g r i c u l t u re , A l b e r t R Ma n n ( o f Ma n n L i b r a r y f a m e ) Hi s t o r i a n Mo r r i s Bi s h o p d e s c r i b e d t h e a p p o i n t m e n t by s a y i n g t h e re w a s a n e e d f o r “ a n e xe c u t i ve o f f i c e r w i t h p owe r t o d e c i d e m a t t e r s o n s e c o n d a r y i m p o r t a n c e , b u t a b ove t h e c o m p e t e n c e o f a s e cre t a r y ” Ne e d l e s s t o s a y, t h e s c o p e o f t h e ro l e h a s e x p a n d e d s i g n i f i c a n t l y, a l t h o u g h
s o m e o f t h e va g u e n e s s h a s b e e n p re s e r ve d W h e n t h e B o a rd o f Tr u s t e e s c o n s i d e re d re n a m i n g t h e p o s i t i o n t o “ v i c e p re s i d e n t ” i n 1 9 4 3 , “ i t w a s h e l d t h a t o n e o f t h e g re a t v i r t u e s o f t h e t i t l e o f p rovo s t i s i t s a m b i g u i t y, ” a c c o rd i n g t o t h e b o a rd m i n u t e s “ It i s n o t a s e c o n d - r a t e t i t l e ; i t i s c o o rd i n a t e w i t h t h a t o f t h e Pre s i d e n t a n d t h i s p o s i t i o n n e e d s a t i t l e t h a t w i l l c ove r t h a t c o n c e p t i o n o f i t s s t a t u s ”
Q : Wi t h Ga n n e t t He a l t h Se r v i c e s p l a n n i n g t o o p e n a s i g n i f i c a n t l y e x p a n d e d f a c i l i t y i n 2 0 1 7 , w h a t’s t h e h i s t o r y o f h e a l t h s e r v i c e s a t C o r n e l l ? No t Pre g n a n t ’ 1 6
A : Si n c e Ga n n e t t o p e n e d i n 1 9 5 6 , t h e s t u d e n t p o p u l a t i o n a n d n u m b e r o f v i s i t s t o Ga n n e t t h a ve b o t h m o re t h a n d o u b l e d T h e r a n g e o f s e r v i c e s p rov i d e d h a s s u b s t a nt i a l l y e x p a n d e d ove r t h e l a s t h a l f c e n t u r y, a n d t h e n u m b e r o f v i s i t s t o C o u n s e l i n g a n d Ps yc h o l o g i c a l Se r v i c e s a l o n e h a s a l m o s t t r i p l e d i n j u s t t h e l a s t t w o d e c a d e s Wi t h a ro u n d 9 0 , 0 0 0 v i s i t s t o Ga n n e t t p e r ye a r, t h e n e e d f o r e x p a n d e d f a c i l i t i e s i s c l e a r Bu t C o r n e l l’s h e a l t h s e r v i c e s p re - d a t e t h e Ga n n e t t b u i l d i n g by m a n y ye a r s A f t e r a n a l a r m i n g l y h i g h s t u d e n t m o r t a l i t y r a t e i n t h e 1 8 7 0 s , a n a s s i s t a n t p ro f e s s o r o f m a t h em a t i c s w a s a p p o i n t e d m e d i c a l e x a m i n e r i n 1 8 7 7 Sh o r t l y a f t e r t h e o l d It h a c a C i t y Ho s p i t a l o p e n e d i n 1 8 9 0 , s t u d e n t s r a i s e d f u n d s t o c re a t e a “ C o r n e l l Wa rd” t o p rov i d e a h o s p i t a l b e d t h e re f o r i l l s t u d e n t s In 1 8 9 8 , t h e h o m e o f t r u s t e e He n r y Sa g e o n
Se n e c a St re e t w a s c o n ve r t e d t o b e t h e Un i ve r s i t y i n f i r m a r y ( t o d a y t h e h o m e o f C o r n e l l
Un i ve r s i t y Pre s s ) A f t e r a d i s a s t ro u s t y p h o i d e p i d e m i c i n 1 9 0 3 , t h e i n f i r m a r y e ve n t ua l l y e x p a n d e d t o t h e S c h u y l e r Ho u s e n e x t d o o r, a n d a n a d d i t i o n w a s b u i l t t o c o n n e c t t h e s t r u c t u re s A Un i ve r s i t y h e a l t h o f f i c e r w a s a p p o i n t e d i n 1 9 2 0 , a n d a m e d i c a l re p o r t i n 1 9 2 6 s t a t e d t h a t 5 5 p e rc e n t o f f re s h m e n a n d 1 6 9 p e rc e n t o f s e n i o r s h a d i n s u f f i c i e n t s l e e p a s t a t i s t i c t h a t p ro b a b l y s e e m s i n c re d i b l y l ow t o s t u d e n t s t o d a y Howe ve r, i t w a s n ’ t u n t i l t h e m i d - 2 0 t h c e n t u r y t h a t t h e Un i ve r s i t y b e g a n t o a s s u m e s u b s t a n t i a l re s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r s t u d e n t h e a l t h a n d p rov i d e a d e q u a t e c l i n i c a l f a c i l i t i e s T h e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f Ga n n e t t f
CLARIFICATION
In a Nov 5 Science article “C U Study Finds Southwest at High Risk for DecadesLong Droughts in Next Century,” a quote by Prof Toby Ault, earth and atmospheric sciences, mistakenly implied that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change runs their own climate models The IPCC assesses models made by the other institutions named, but it does not run its own climate models Additionally, a quote by Ault said that researchers “ count [the] ring widths” of trees To clarify, they count the rings and measure their individual widths
André Pineda | What’s Up, Doc?
The Personal Scienti c Method
You ’ re sitting in a class or meeting, quietly listening to a speaker in a room full of people, when you realize, too late, that you may have found a squeaky chair You shift a bit to the left and, to your horror, brrrrp to the whole room, it sounds like you lack self-control
It was definitely the chair! Although you are a little gassy Fortunately, you ’ re an intelligent person, and you can figure this myster y out First, you simply wait, sitting still No follow-up sound Shift back to your left: brrrrp
Whether it was the chair or your gut, it happened again This is a replicable phenomenon Now shift to your right: brrrrrrp again
One final test: Use some of that gas to your advantage and compare the chair sound to the intentional real deal BRRP! By now ever yone is looking at you noses pinched but you ’ re satisfied that the chair sounds nothing like the real thing It was totally the chair, the first time Congratulations, you ’ re a scientist
What made your investigation scientific? You had a hypothesis: This chair, and not you, is making this uncomfortable sound when you move in it You had a negative control: When you didn’t move, no sound came out, so you can reasonably guess that any sound produced would in fact be attributable to your movement You could replicate your results: When you shifted to the left again, the same phenomenon happened You had a positive control: You tested what the real thing sounded like, so that you would know how it compared to the chair sound And you even were able to use your hypothesis to make a testable prediction: If shifting to your left made this noise, then shifting to your right should probably make the same noise, and it did
We don’t usually associate the scientific method with the mysteries we encounter in our ever yday lives Most of our day is simple enough that we can get through on our intuition In the above situation, most people would probably make a guess and move on, content with not really knowing That is usually okay, but it is also important to remember that there are better ways of knowing things
For most of us, the scientific method is an abstract concept, a half-remembered list of ideals that someone else’s profession abides by The reality is actually much simpler: The scientific method is what we as a global community have decided is the best way of finding out about our world
Although associated with science, this way of thinking didn’t begin with science and isn’t restricted to it; any of us could agree, for example, that just because you sneezed right before a traffic light turned green twice in a row doesn’t mean your sneezes have power over the traffic lights You could show that by, for example, holding in your sneeze at the next light until it turned green a negative control, even if we ’ re not used to thinking of it that way
The nice thing is we can get used to thinking of things this way, and learn more about reality than we could other wise Someone who experiments with adding or removing one ingredient at a time from a recipe is going to end up knowing more about their dish than someone who changes it haphazardly, and the rigorous chef will reap the tasty benefits
You can also steer clear of false claims more easily Horoscope com tells me that, as an Aquarius, I’m either shy and quiet or boisterous and energetic As an experienced squeaky-chair-scientist you probably immediately realize that this is not a falsifiable hypothesis; it’s not testable, because it can ’ t be wrong if it makes vague predictions, or if it couches ever y prediction in “ may ” or “could ” Claims that don’t make testable predictions don’t provide any useful information
While it’s nice to have a grip on the key tools for knowing things, the reality is most of the time this expertise doesn’t show us how much we know, it shows us how much we don’t or can ’ t know, which is just as important No matter who or where we are, we ’ re constantly surrounded by ideas that can ’ t be held up to a scientific standard of accuracy “ This unique event never would have happened if my political party were in charge!” “ That guy who cut me off definitely did it because he’s an a-hole!” “Modern art is dumb and isn’t really art Just look at those monochromatic lines!”
We can ’ t know these things because none of them make testable predictions, but that doesn’t stop people from saying them and believing them anyway, treating guesses as fact Even when we do make claims that are testable, we often forget that they’re just hypotheses that need experimental confirmation; our biases prevent us from questioning our biases Cornell professor David Dunning of the famous Dunning-Kruger effect wrote an excellent article on just this topic that you should definitely check out
So how do we deal with all of this uncertainty? You can see for yourself if you read any scientific paper acknowledge the fact that you may be wrong, and that you can ’ t really know until you rigorously test your assumptions We can learn one thing from horoscopes: If you don’t actually know something, remember to throw in those “ mays ” and “coulds,” if you have to make a claim at all In short, the most important part of the scientific method is learning to be humble and accept your own ignorance
It seems like honesty is something we all value and expect from each other, and ourselves, with the unspoken caveat that it’s okay to say something untruthful if you had no way of knowing any better What we often forget is that we do have a way of knowing things better, a system specifically designed for that purpose We may call it the scientific method, but it works just as well for anybody, white coat or not Why not use it?
Billy Lenkin | Off to Washington
Nikhita Parandekar | Hoof in Mouth
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t h e s a m e t h i n g T h e re a re a f e w w a y s I ’ ve s e e n t h i s s c e n a r i o c a n p l a y o u t On e i s t h a t t h e y ’ re a l i t t l e h y p o c h o n d r i a c a b o u t t h e i r a n i m a l s ( i s t h e re a w o rd f o r t h i s ? ) a n d a re p a r a n o i d a b o u t t h e w o r s t c a s e s c e n a r i o t h e y ’ ve f o u n d ( I c a n re l a t e t h e m o s t t o t h e s e p e o p l e )
The Internet has made it even more important for veterinarians to be effective communicators and really learn how to form solid professional relationships with their clients
T h e n t h e v e t e r i n a r i a n j u s t h a s t o r e a s s u r e t h e m t h a t t h e i r p e t i s p ro b a b l y n o t f a ci n g i m m i n e n t d e a t h , w h i c h i s n e w s t h a t m o s t p e o p l e a re g l a d t o h e a r a n d t h e n t h e y l ove t h e ve t e r i n a r i a n a n d w i l l l i s t e n t o h i m o r h e r h a p p i l y A n o t h e r i s a l i t t l e m o re u n c o m f o r t a b l e w h e n t h e o w n e r u s e s w h a t t h e y ’ v e l e a r n e d o n Go o g l e a s a w a y t o t e s t t h e ve t e r i n a r i a n T h e n y o u ’ l l s e e t h e m s o m e t i m e s n o d d i n g i n a g re e m e n t w h e n t h e ve t s a y s s o m e t h i n g t h a t t h e y ’ ve a l re a d y re a d T h i s i s f i n e , u n t i l t h e y b r i n g u p s o m e e s o t e r i c a l t e r n a t i v e t h e r a p y t h a t t h e ve t h a s n e ve r h e a r d o f b e f o r e A t t h a t p o i n t , t h e ve t h a s o n e o f t w o o p t i o n s t o p re t e n d t h a t t h e y ’ ve h e a rd o f i t o r t o h o ne s t l y a d m i t t h a t t h e y h a ve n ’ t I t h i n k I ’ ve b e e n f o r t u n a t e e n o u g h s o f a r t o o n l y h a ve m e n t o r s w h o w i l l h o n e s t l y a d m i t t o n o t k n ow i n g a n d i t ’ s a l w a y s t u r n e d o u t f o r t h e b e s t i n t h e e n d b e c a u s e i t g a i n s t h e c l i e n t ’ s t r u s t T h e n t h e re a re t h e c l i e n t s w h o a re c o n v i n c e d t h a t t h e i r a n i m a l n e e d s a c e r t a i n m e di c a t i o n / s u p p l e m e n t o r p ro c ed u re W h e n t h e ve t e r i n a r i a n t h i n k s t h a t i t w o u l d n o t b e i n t h e b e s t i n t e re s t s o f t h e a n i m a l , i t ’ s a p re t t y s t r a i g h tf o r w a r d c o n v e r s a t i o n t o h a ve : “ I h e a r yo u r c o n c e r n s b u t I d o n ’ t t h i n k we s h o u l d g i ve t h i s t o Fi d o b e c a u s e i t w i l l b e b a d f o r h i m i n t h e s e w a y s ” Mo re t r i c k y i s w h e n w h a t t h e c l i e n t w a n t s i s h a r m l e s s i n i t s e l f b u t i s p ro ba b l y u n n e c e s s a r y T h e n t h e v e t e r i n a r i a n e i t h e r h a s t o s t a n d h e r g ro u n d a b o u t t h e u s e l e s s n e s s o f w h a t t h e y ’ re b e i n g a s k e d o r j u s t g o a h e a d a n d d o i t I ’ ve s e e n b o t h o f t h e s e s c e n a r i o s o c c u r w i t h va r y i n g d e g re e s o f c o n ve r s at i o n p re c e d i n g t h e a c t i o n If t h e re ’ s a l re a d y a l o n g - e s t a bl i s h e d c l i e n t - d o c t o r re l a t i o ns h i p , t h e n t h e c l i e n t s a r e m o re l i k e l y t o l i s t e n t o t h e v e t e r i n a r i a n O f t e n , t h e r e h a s n ’ t b e e n a p re - e s t a b l i s h e d re l a t i o n s h i p o f a n y s i g n i f ic a n c e a n d t h e ow n e r re a l l y w a n t s s o m e t h i n g b e c a u s e t h e y ’ v e r e a d a b o u t i t o r b e c a u s e a l l o f t h e i r f r i e n d s a re d o i n g i t ( I p ro m i s e I ’ m n o t m a k i n g t h i s u p ) a n d m a n y ve t e r i n a r i a n s w i l l g o a h e a d a n d d o w h a t e ve r i s b e i n g a s k e d o f t h e m I ’ v e n o t i c e d t h a t t h e y o u n g e r o n e s a t t e m p t t o h a ve a c o nve r s a t i o n f i r s t a n d t h e o l d e r o n e s w h o a re p e r h a p s m o re j a d e d w i l l j u s t g o a h e a d a n d d o i t I w o n d e re d a l o t a b o u t t h e e t h i c s o f t h i s w h e n I f i r s t s a w i t h a p p e n , b u t i f s o m et h i n g i s t r u l y n o t g o i n g t o c a u s e a n y h a r m t o t h e a n im a l , w i l l l e a ve t h e ow n e r s a ti s f i e d , a n d t h e y ’ re w i l l i n g t o p a y f o r i t , I s u p p o s e i t w o u l d b e h a rd t o c a l l i t u n e t h i c a l W h a t t h i s re a l l y a l l b o i l s d ow n t o i s t h a t t h e I n t e r n e t h a s m a d e i t e v e n m o r e i mp o r t a n t f o r v e t e r i n a r ia n s t o b e e f f e c t i v e c o m m u n ic a t o r s a n d re a l l y l e a r n h ow t o f o r m s o l i d p ro f e s s i o na l r e l a t i o n s h i p s w i t h t h e i r c l i e n t s T h i s w a y, w h e n i t ’ s t h e v e t e r i n a r i a n ’ s w o
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Action Movie
BY ZACHARY ZAHOS Sun Senior Writer
John Wick is the best action movie of the year and living, throbbing proof that great directing can enrich just about anything The auteurs responsible are Chad Stahelski and David Leitch, two veteran stunt actors whose talents perfectly suit Derek Kolstad’s terse screenplay and testify to the artistic imperative of getting more men and women of their training behind the camera They do not just choreograph and shoot action scenes with preternatural intelligence and grace really, only Snowpiercer from this year comes close, and forget anything from Marvel but they also toe the line in depicting violence as both a beautifully intricate and deeply inhuman act Keanu Reeves stars as the man with the flammable name, and sure enough it doesn’t take long for him to go off In the opening minutes, his wife dies from cancer, and the only respite from his grief arrives in a pet carrier an adorable beagle and special note wait inside Just as normalcy creeps back into John’s life, a trio of Russian thugs, led by Iosef (Alfie Allen), break into his house to beat him up, steal his ’69 Mustang and, you guessed it, kill that poor puppy That is more than enough to let him loose, for John turns out to be equipped with a particular set of skills, skills that make him a nightmare for people like Iosef and the New York-based crime syndicate run by his father, Viggo (Michael Nyqvist, fantastic) One of the film’s biggest laughs, among many, comes at the precise moment, via a reaction shot, when Viggo realizes who his son has messed with
Unlike sadist pulp like Game of Thrones whose Theon Greyjoy plays Iosef John Wick does not linger on the dog slaying or any of the ensuing deaths after: I was surprised how quick they passed, how Stahelski and Leitch knew they would land an R-rating and yet still showed restraint While the carnage can rightfully be described, and praised, as insane, the style that frames it is, by today’s standards, anything but Good luck trying to spot any discernible CGI, which likely was used to add bullet holes and entry wounds but not to, say, topple buildings or disfigure characters beyond belief, à la Only God Forgives With their focus on blocking, lighting and capturing gunplay for maximum coherence, Stahelski and Leitch emerge
BY EMILY KLING
Sun Staff Writer
t a t e m e n t , b u t I ’ v e b e e n
w a n t i n g t o m a k e t h e j o k e e v e r s i n c e I l e f t t h e t h e a t re
T h e f i l m , b a s e d o n t h e n ov e l b y Jo e Hi l l , f o l l ow s I g
Pe r i s h ( D a n i e l R a d c l i f f e ) , t h e p r i m a r y s u s p e c t a f t e r t h e
m u rd e r o f h i s g i r l f r i e n d Me r r i n Wi l l i a m s ( Ju n o Te m p l e )
He w a k e s u p s e v e re l y h u n g ov e r f r o m a n i g h t o f h a rd d r i n k i n g a n d f i n d s a s e t o f h o r n s g r ow i n g f r o m t h e t o p o f
with entertainment that doubles as art, by sheer virtue of its formal excellence
This excellence carries over to scenes of dialogue, which the directors fill with as much dynamic and telling character business as possible When Viggo meets Iosef for the first time since learning of his attack on John, the stern father walks toward his son with a tumbler of brandy in his hand Instead of just handing it to him, Viggo walks deliberately into his son ’ s space so he must amble backwards, cowed by his father’s gestures but, at that point, oblivious as to why Then he delivers a punch straight to the gut This is not a dumb movie: The psychology of these characters is there, just left unspoken and embedded in the way they move
John Wick
John Wick also deals exposition without ever treating it like exposition, or at least how we have come to expect it to be with the ubiquity of origins stories these days ( The upcoming Kingsman: The Secret Ser vice might as well throw in the towel now) Reeves’ protagonist has a history in this world of crime, we learn, but Stahelski and Leitch translate that history and that world through spaces, nods, smiles After dispatching a dozen masked hitmen with startling ease, John answers a silhouette lit by red-and-blue lights at his front door “Hi Jimmy,” John greets the cop “You working again?” Jimmy asks, peering past John at a corpse splayed across his foyer “No, I’m just sorting stuff out, ” John replies, to which Jimmy is content and says, “Okay John, good night ” This criminal underworld of codes, corruption and gold coins belongs in an art movie like Blue Velvet, but the sobriety with which the filmmakers explore it here carries a pretty clever critique of capitalism Elites in the assassin business, played by Willem Dafoe, Ian McShane and Clarke Peters (The Wire), welcome John back into The Continental, a criminal racket
Directed by Chad Stahelski
Starring Keanu Reeves, Michael Nyqvist, Alfie Allen
that fronts as luxury hotel, with grins, and they are actually sincere So long as you stick to “the code,” which means following through with your word and withholding all feeling John, in his machinelike way of killing and assuring no collateral damage, proves to be the apotheosis of this code and therefore its perfect enemy Near the end, Viggo laughs at John’s umpteenth return from the grave, and it is a laugh at his own collusion in John’s perfection
But John Wick is not a great movie because it has meaning this so-called commentary is all incidental It is great because it is some of the richest cinema my eyes have enjoyed this year The music slays, too, like when Kaleida’s “Think” bops on the soundtrack while John slowly plunges a knife into a dude’s chest I struggle to think of another movie with such a dire look at humanity that I so eagerly look forward to seeing again
Zachary Zahos is a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences He can be reached at zzahos@cornellsun com
h i s h e a d Bu t w i t h I g ’ s h o r n s c o m e s a p ow e r : T h e p e o p l e a r o u n d h i m c o n f e s s t h e i r s i n f u l t h o u g h t s a n d a c t i o n s a n d g i v e i n t o t h e i r i m m o r a l i m p u l s e s A n d w h i l e h e i n i t i a l l y f i n d s t h e p ow e r t o b e a c u r s e , i t t u r n s o u t t o b e h i s o p p o r t u n i t y t o d i s c ov e r Me r r i n ’ s t r u e m u rd e re r W h i l e t h e f i l m ’ s m y s t e r y i s f a i r l y o b v i o u s a n d e a s y t o s o l v e , t h e s t o r y h o l d s u p t h r o u g h i t s u s e o f f l a s h b a c k s a n d I g ’ s v o i c e ov e r T h e f l a s h b a c k s m a k e t h e f i l m m o re i n t e r -
e s t i n g a n d g i v e t h e c h a r a c t e r s m o re d e p t h Bu t i n a l o t o f w a y s t h a t i s t h e o n l y t h i n g t h a t k e e p s t h i s f i l m g o i n g f o r t h e f u l l t w o h o u r s
Horns
Directed by Alexandre Aja
Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Max Minghella, Juno Temple
W h a t i s i n t e re s t i n g i s i n t h e b e g i n -
n i n g , w i t h t h e re v e a l o f v a r i o u s c h a r a ct e r s ’ d e a d l y s i n s a n d a l l s e v e n a re t h e re g l u t t o n y, g re e d , w r a t h , s l o t h , p r i d e , l u s t a n d e n v y So n ow, l e t ’ s t a l k a b o u t Ho r n s v i o l a t e s s o m e o f t h e s e s i n s Fi r s t , i t w a s s l o t h It re p e a t e d i t s b e s t a n d m o s t i n t e r e s t i n g e l e m e n t s a g a i n a n d a g a i n a n d a g a i n T h e s e d e a dl y s i n s re v e a l s h a v e t h e i r m o m e n t s , b u t a t a c e r t a i n p o i n t i t i s b e a t i n g a d e a d h o r s e A n o t h e r s i n , g l u t t o n y, i s i t s ov e r u s e o f h a l f - b a k e d re l i g i o u s s y m b o l i s m O b v i o u s l y a m a j o r p a r t o f t h e f i l m i s t h e d e v i l , a n d t h e y re p e a t t h e l i n e “ t h e D e v i l h i m s e l f w a s a f a l l e n a n g e l” m a n y a t i m e Bu t t h e y ov e rd o i t C r o s s e s a re e v e r y w h e re , p e o p l e a re s i n f u l , s n a k e s s y m b o li s m a b o u n d , e v e n t h e d i n e r i s “ Ev e ’ s Di n e r, ” e t c T h e t r u t h i s , I w o u l d n ’ t h a v e a s m u c h o f a p r o b l e m w i t h t h i s i f t h e y a c t u a l l y m a d e a n i n t e re s t i n g p o i n t a b o u t re l i g i o n a n d t h e s i n s t h a t e a c h a n d e v e r y o n e o f u s e m b o d y Bu t t h e y d i d n ’ t T h e c l o s e s t t h e f i l m g e t s t o m a k i n g a c o mm e n t a r y i s w h e n I g y e l l s o u t a b o u t t h e u n f a i r n e s s o f Me r r i n ’ s d e a t h , y e l l i n g t h a t s h e “ w e n t t o c h u r c h e v e r y Su n d a y, s h e w o re a c r o s s a r o u n d h e r n e c k A n d d i d i t m a k e a n y d i f f e re n c e ? No ! ” Ap a r t f r o m t h i s , t h e f i l m o n t h e w h o l e g l o s s e s ov e r a n y c h a n c e t o m a k e a n i n t e re s t i n g c o m m e n t a r y o n re l i g i o n , f a i r n e s s o r m o r a l i t y Ad d i t i o n a l l y, t h e f i l m i s v i s u a l l y u n i n t e re s t i n g T h e e d i t i n g w a s n o t v e r y g o o d a n d i t w a s c l e a r w h e n d i f f e re n t p a r t s o f s c e n e s j u m p e d f r o m s h o t t o s h o t A l s o , i f y o u a re g o i n g t o m a k e a f i l m a b o u t re l i g i o n a n d u s e l o c a t i o n s s u c h a s f o re s t s , r i v e r s a n d r u n - d ow n p a r t s o f t ow n ( l i k e t h i s f i l m d o e s ) , t h e n I e x p e c t i t t o b e v i s u a l l y i n t e re s t i n g , e v e n i f n o t a p p e a l i n g , a n d i t w a s n e i t h e r R a d c l i f f e e m b o d i e d I g w e l l , g i v i n g o f f a s e n s e o f f r u st r a t i o n , u p s e t a n d h u m i l i a t i o n , b u t t h e c h a r a c t e r h i m s e l f w a s n ’ t p a r t i c u l a r l y d e e p a n d s o t h e re w a s n ’ t m u c h m o re t o i t t h a n t h a t T h e o t h e r a c t o r s s i m i l a r l y e m b o d y t h e i r t w o - d i m e n s i o n a l c h a r a c t e r s w e l l , b u t t h a t i s a l l t h e c h a ra c t e r s a re ; t w o d i m e n s i o n a l T h e re w a s o n e m
Playing Pardus, Playing Nice Online
In my spare time I play Pardus, an online multiplayer browser game (pardus at for those interested!) where I fly a
s p a c e s h i p, s h o o t s p a c e c r e a t u r e s a n d engage in a drawn-out battle with my sworn enemy, Empaya
If this sounds like a super nerdy endeavor, well, sure many of my friends are prototypical computer gamers, moonlighting from their jobs as database managers or computer science students But such broad stereotyping completely fails to capture the essence of what makes Pardus a superior example of not just a game, but social media Instead, Pardus’ strengths lie in a community which is predominantly welcoming and engaging This is in stark contrast to the “communities” formed in many other social medias, such as certain message boards, online comment sections and even large Facebook groups, where the cover of true anonymity allows for the worst of human behavior to propagate And it is in such bigoted, self-centered virtual hangouts where I recognize the failure of the promise of the Internet to remove the walls of geography, race and class
Pardus is a nuanced, sandbox styled game You fly a ship, skill, rank and trade but have limited “action points” ever y day, encouraging you to not only aim for efficiency in your daily movements, but cooperate with others for mutual benefit This forces players to interact and work with one another, building relationships good and bad and joining clans (“alliances”) While this aspect of Pardus is supposed to
be “role played,” the distinction between role playing and the player behind the character is grey, at best More generally, players that begin to work together in game rapidly become friends in a ver y outof-game fashion Even in game supported “alliance chat,” real life is more frequently discussed than in-game occurrences The forums, another fun side part of the game, are well known for having a lively “OffTopic” forum, where political, cultural and s o c i
length Making the Off-Topic especially fun is the wide variety of people participating I can count multiple people from six continents with a wide variety of life experiences participating It is truly a global mixing pot
The latter attributes do not necessarily
forum or chat But Pardus is unique in the value of the identity of those with whom you are working Pardus was started in 2004 and has a notably small player base, with the combined “online” number across all three universes generally staying below 400 Coupled with the fact that many
players have played for years (I have played for five), many players are well-known and
interactions in Pardus distinct from most virtual meeting places in that a screen name does not provide for anonymity, but instead allows for recognition The behavior and rhetoric of a long-standing character can have important ramifications on how they are viewed in and, to some extent, out of game Compared to the rapidly thrown away accounts of many
Pardus is an anomaly W
Not only had a group of people hacked into the private information of various people, but it was followed by large groups of users openly sharing, jeering and celebrating the photo’s release On popular forums like Reddit, it was largely a misogynistic mob And this was not the first incidence of such gross p u b l
1 8 months ago that Reddit, with an assist from Twitter, was primarily responsible for
Boston Marathon Bombings, creating a hellacious atmosphere for the man ’ s family until he was found dead Then there are online political discussions, in which blat
y ve i l e d racism or class hatred is perpetrated by all s i d
midterm elections only magnified this selfaffirming action, as online commenters drew lines in the sand and waddled around in their collective disillusionment
Maybe the real fault here is mine who am I to expect any kind of decency from people (or even make judgments on what is decent), especially in the opaque wilderness of the Internet? And you could argue that, in this unchecked anarchy, free speech can finally be realized But I do not think I am being absurd in urging people to engage in communities that challenge them, while being mindful of differing opinions Joining a virtual conversation does not mean shouting as loud as you can, but participating in a respectable manner That the screen name you utilize does not create ramifications for you in “real life” does not invalidate the social contract that we enjoy daily
Ultimately, Pardus has helped reshape the way I look at the world It makes it feel both small and incredibly large in a way that only the Internet can allow I challenge people to seek out similar virtual outlets find positive, entertaining ways to engage with others Maybe this is a game, maybe it is a forum But when doing so, respect others hatred and arrogance defeats the purpose of a platform that can allow us to pass boundaries and interact with each other globally
Calvin Patten is a senior in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences He can be reached at cpatten@cornellsun com Pa t t e n Pe n d i n g r uns alternate Fridays this semester
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Ryan Injury Poses Challenge for Red
M. HOCKEY
Continued from page 12
defensemen and over the past two years has been on the ice for 55 percent of the Red’s goals
“It’s tough; he’s our leader back there All it means is that everyone on the team, all the [defenseman], have to step up and take a little extra minutes under the belt and contribute any way they can, ” said sophomore defenseman Patrick McCarron “Not just one guy is going to step up and take over for Joakim Ryan, it’s just not going to happen, so as a group collectively we all just have to step up and play better and play more minutes ”
Although he said Ryan’s absence is a blow to the team, Bardraeu was quick to point out the strength of the rest of the defensive corps
“That’s a huge loss for us, obviously,” Bardreau said “His presence is going to be missed a lot, but at the same time we ’ ve got a lot of guys that can step up that I think are going to do a great job, like Jake MacDonald stepping in there, Patty McCarron stepping in there I think they’re going to do an excellent job, and obviously it hurts us, but there are guys there that are more than capable of doing a great job ”
Emily Berman can be reached at eberman@cornellsun com
CHIUSANO
Continued from page 12
were being sold to football games in his three years on campus Lattimore “profited” from this in the form of a three-year scholarship, a serious knee injur y and consequently a botched NFL career that could have supported him for the rest of his life “That’s what college football’s exploitation looks like on a human scale,” Baumann writes
Lattimore, in the same way I felt for my dad when he retired, even though he swore he would have no trouble entertaining himself It’s never easy to break away from a rigid routine and find equally productive things to do that can stimulate both the body and the mind My dad was
lucky enough to find a new routine that satisfied him (although it drives my mom nuts) Moffitt was fortunate enough to be able to turn his life around after making some crucial mistakes Hopefully Lattimore can learn from someone like Moffitt and prove that he is more than just another sad story of an NFL career cut short much too soon D o C o l l e g e A t h l e t e s
While Baumann makes a compelling case, deep in my heart I still don’t believe college athletes should be paid What has happened to Lattimore is tragic It does not excuse the NCAA for the crimes it is certainly committing, whether they are academic or monetary But paying college athletes the large majority of whom will graduate from college without making it to the pros could lead to the same problems Moffitt faced; a boatload of money, a lot more free time than ever before and the natural temptations of everyday life outside the claustrophobic sports world
I really and truly feel for
While Baumann makes a compelling case, deep in my heart I still don’t believe college athletes should be paid
Scott Chiusano can be reached at sports-editor@cornellsun com
RYAN ’15
When Derek Jeter announced his retirement last year, I wrote a column both about him and about my own father, who had decided to retire from teaching around the same time The year-long Jeter retirement party seems to have finally subsided, and my old man is into his third month away from work and absolutely loving life, as he told me on the phone yesterday in between his journey over the Brooklyn Bridge and visit to the Met But news in the sports world in the past few days has gotten me thinking once again about retirement (maybe it’s partially because in about a month I’ll be “retired” from this post at the Sun, or because I’m having anxiety about thinking of getting a real job in another five or six months), and how it isn’t always a walk in Brooklyn Bridge Park shoutout to my dad, again for professional athletes 23-year-old Marcus Lattimore, a running back for the San Francisco 49ers and standout at South Carolina, announced his retirement on Wednesday due to a previous knee injury from which he could never fully recover Every major sports outlet covered the story, but the New York Times sports section chose to write a story today about a little known Denver Broncos offensive lineman named John Moffitt instead
Like Lattimore, Moffitt chose to retire from the Broncos at age 27, turning his back on a lucrative contract and career, but also walking away from a sport that can take a critical physical toll on the body Moffitt was largely respected for his decision, as Lattimore has been this week, but the Times article in large part discussed Moffitt’s post-retirement fall Though Moffitt worked to continue supporting himself after the NFL, he also turned to drugs and alcohol and a few months after his retirement was found with a gram of cocaine, 10 grams of marijuana and four ecstasy pills, according to the Times
When the brutally strict regiment of the NFL is no longer present in a player’s life, how easy is it to become victim to this kind of lifestyle of excess? Moffitt has since put his life back together, and looks to be on the right path, but the question still remains for young players like Lattimore Making the choice to walk away from the NFL takes guts and courage, and I personally respect the hell out of him for it But at the same time, it’s a troublesome road when something that has consumed your entire life suddenly drops into the abyss
Lattimore has said he is going back to South Carolina to finish his degree, which, if he follows through on it, is certainly a good first step towards making him employable outside of the professional sports world
An article by Michael Baumann in Grantland titled “The Martyrdom of Marcus Lattimore,” argued, though, that it is the corruption of schools like South Carolina and of the NCAA in general that have put Lattimore in this position in the first place
Baumann reports that in the NFL Lattimore earned about 2 million dollars from his signing bonus and insurance policy, which is obviously nothing compared to what he could have made over a sustained career He also writes that while Lattimore was at South Carolina, jerseys with his number on them were being sold for 60 dollars apiece, and something like 1 7 million tickets
Icers Kick Off ECAC Play on Road
By EMILY BERMAN Sun Assistant Sports Editor
With its fall semester schedule dominated by home games, the men ’ s ice hockey team takes a rare trip away from Lynah this weekend to start ECAC play in hostile territor y The Red will swing by Princeton on Friday for its Ivy League opener, then travel to take on Quinnipiac the following day
The Red (0-1-1) played these same two teams at Lynah to open ECAC play last season, splitting the weekend with a 4-2 win against Princeton in front of a sold-out crowd but dropping the next night to Quinnipiac, 3-0 T h e Re
m i n Februar y, taking a 4-1 win against Princeton and eking out a 2-1 win over Quinnipiac
Like the Red, which posted a sloppy 1-1 tie to Omaha in its season opener last Friday and a somewhat better 21 loss to the Mavericks in the follow-up Saturday, the Tigers (0-1-1) are also on the hunt for their first win At the Liberty Invitational last weekend, the Tigers posted a 2-2 tie to Ivy rival Yale but suffered a stinging 6-1 loss to Merrimack
Although the Red took both games against Princeton last year, this year ’ s Tiger squad is a different beast Princeton is under the helm of a new coach, all three of its goals have been scored by freshmen and the Red has not faced either goalies before
“It’s not about them, the preparation is about us, ” said head coach Mike Schafer ’86 about readying his squad for
the unknown Princeton team “ We will have an idea a little bit of their tendencies, but we are so worried and focused about ourselves, about the decisions we ’ re making both with and without the puck, that all year long that’s really all we will focus on ”
The Red will follow up its game against the Tigers by travelling to Connecticut to face the Bobcats Quinnipiac holds a 3-2-1 record, recently sweeping Northeastern in a home set, and has been outshooting opponents by an average of 11 shots more per game The Bobcats will host Colgate to kick off their own ECAC season the night before welcoming the Red
Despite Quinnipiac’s larger amount of game experience as compared to Cornell and Princeton’s two games apiece, assistant captain Cole Bardreau said the team isn’t treating the Bobcats as a tougher opponent
“Ever yone in our league gives us a fight ever y game, so I don’t think you can say just because Quinnipiac’s had more games that they’re going to give us a better game, ” he said “ We’re really just tr ying to take one game at a time and prepare the same way and give both teams the same effort ”
The Red is still hampered by injuries, the most serious of which comes to assistant captain and offensivelyinclined defenseman Joakim Ryan According to Schafer, Ryan will be out anywhere from three weeks to two months with an undisclosed injur y Last season, Ryan ranked No 11 in the nation in points per game for
A different beast | The Red takes on Princeton in its first ECAC match this weekend, a young team with a host of freshmen headlining the roster
