11-10-22 entire issue hi res

New York Democrats See Victories in Midterm Elections

Local and statewide elections call results for the 2022 midterm elections prior to absentee ballot counts

ballot represented a commitment to her civic duty.

“I grew up undocumented, so voting for my rights is something that is really important to me,” Jain said.

At the local and state level, this Election Day brought sweeping victories for the Democratic party, with the notable exception of the New York District 19 House race. On Nov. 8, students were able to vote at polling sites on or close to campus, with other Cornellians sending out absentee ballots.

Outside of Alice Cook House, Cornell’s first on-campus polling site, students told The Sun why they turned out to vote.

“Climate justice is my biggest issue,” said Brandon Restler ’23. “I’m an EAS major and I think it’s an important issue for my generation with a big impact on people.”

Catie Michael ’25 felt a sense of urgency to be an active part of the community.

“How can you live somewhere without taking an active role?” Michael said.

For some students, like Pranjal Jain ’23, being able to cast a

The results of the 2022 midterm elections are largely in, though results are not officially final until a week after Election Day when mail-in ballots will be counted.

Democratic candidate Laura Lewis was elected as mayor of Ithaca, having stepped in after the resignation of previous incumbent Svante Myrick ’09. She is now slated to finish the remainder of his term for one year.

Lewis was victorious with 65.33 percent of the vote, with Progressive Katie Sims ’20 and Republican Zachary Winn gaining 25.32 percent and 8.61 percent of the vote, respectively.

Leading up to the election, Lewis’s and Sims’s campaign spending far exceeded Winn’s. According to The Ithaca Voice, Lewis’s campaign had raised $6,893 and spent $4,057; Sims’s had raised $6,845 and spent $2,698 and Winn’s had raised $769 — $489 of which the Tompkins County Republican

Party contributed.

Lewis's campaign addressed issues including housing, infrastructure, staffing needs, public safety and sustainability, telling The Sun that she supported development within the city center and in public transportation. Lewis was also known for her lax campaign style, including not using lawn signs to campaign due to the waste they produce.

Both of her opponents gracefully accepted defeat and wished Mayor Lewis well in her term.

“This is my home. I wish Acting Mayor Lewis every possible positive outcome now that she has fully assumed the role of mayor,” Winn said. “I hope that whoever fills her vacated council seat represents the interests of all Ithacans and not one particular subset or group, as the role of a council person is now greatly amplified in significance due to the passage of the city manager ballot referendum.”

Seven Alumni Elected to Congress

By

Following the results of Tuesday’s midterm elections, seven Cornellians — mostly incumbents — will serve in the 118th Congress, with one remaining race being too close to call at the time of publication. In addition, one candidate lost the general election.

The seven congress members-elect as well as Jamie McLeod-Skinner, M.R.P. ’95, whose race is too close to call, represent several parts of Cornell: Reps. Katherine Clark J.D. ’89 (D-Mass.) and Sharice Davids J.D. ’10 (D-Kan.) are graduates from Cornell Law School, Rep. Elissa Slotkin ’98 (D-Mich.) majored in rural sociology in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, while Rep. Dan Heuser ’88 (R.-Pa.) was a government major in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Katherine Clark J.D. ’89

(D-Mass.) won re-election handily over Republican challenger Caroline Colarusso (R-Mass.) with nearly 75 percent of the vote. This is Clark’s fifth full term since entering office in a 2013 special election to replace then-Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) following his successful election to the Senate. She also serves as Assistant Speaker of the House.

Clark’s policy priorities include focuses on families, such as paid family leave initiatives, improvement of child care access and closing the gender pay gap.

In an interview with the Sun in 2019, Clark emphasized family issues as her reasons for running for office.

“I decided to tackle the issues around women and children that have always been priorities for me from the legislative side, instead of the advocacy side,” Clark said.

In an election expected to be among the closest in the nation,

Rep. Sharice Davids J.D. ‘10 (D-Kan.) defeated Amanda

Adkins (R.-Kan.) in a rematch of the 2020 election with 54.7% of the vote.

The Third District encompasses the Kansas City, Missouri suburb of Overland Park, Kansas. Davids, along with Deb Haaland (D-N.M.), is the first Native American woman elected to Congress and is now the only Democratic member of Kansas’ congressional delegation.

Rep. Dan Meuser ‘88 (R.Pa.) won re-election in a strongly Republican district. Prior to becoming a congressman in 2018, Meuser was the Pennsylvania Secretary of Revenue.

Meuser’s name was also listed in The New York Times’s list of 97 members of Congress facing potential conflicts of interest regarding recent financial trades, along with those of Rep. Katherine Clark J.D. ’89 (D-Mass.) and outgoing Rep. Kurt Schrader ’73 (D-Ore.).

IFC Suspends All Parties and Socials

is providing support services to the victims… our campus community is stronger together.”

As a response to the release of a crime report on Nov. 4, alerting the Cornell community to at least four drugging incidents and a sexual assault allegation, the Interfraternity Council has temporarily suspended all fraternity parties and social events.

In a university-wide email, President Martha Pollack and Vice President for Student and Campus Life Ryan Lombardi issued a joint statement condemning the reported incidents and calling for solidarity.

“We are outraged and saddened… we strongly condemn the actions of all individuals responsible for these criminal violations,” Pollack and Lombardi wrote.

“Crime is never the fault of those who are victimized. The university

According to the C.U.police crime report log, within the past two months at least four students have reported being exposed to Rohypnol, a depressant and benzodiazepine also referred to as “roofies” or a “date-rape” drug. According to the report, the incident occurred between Oct. 28 and Nov. 3 at 800 University Avenue.

“Students reported to have consumed little to no alcohol at an off-campus location but became incapacitated while attending parties,” the police report said.

To continue reading this article, please visit www.cornellsun.com.

A LISTING OF FREE CAMPUS EVENTS

Today

Virtual Architecture Graduate Open House for Prospective Students, Fall 2022 10 a.m., Virtual Event

Student Fundraiser: Pie-a-Professor & SMP Empanada Food Truck 11 a.m., Ag Quad

NBB Seminar Speaker: Eva Fischer; University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 12:30 p.m., Corson/Mudd Hall A106

Quecha Conversation Hour 3 p.m., Stimson Hall G25

MSE Fall Seminar Series: Speaker Thomas Kempa 4 p.m., Kimball Hall B11

Linguistics Colloqium Speaker: Josef Fruehwald 4:30 p.m., Morrill Hall 106

President of Iceland: Can Small States Make a Difference?

4:30 p.m., Klarman Hall Rhodes-Rawlings Auditorium

The Rise and Decline of Black Bands in Popular Music in The 1970s

4:30 p.m., Africana Studies and Research Center Multipurpose Room

Cornell Men’s Basketball vs. SUNY-Delhi 7 p.m., Bartels Hall

Small country, big impact | The President of Iceland believes that a commitment to peace, disarmament and human rights is why his small state makes an outsized impact on international relations.

Tomorrow

MPA Program Open House, Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy 8 a.m., Brooks School

4D Textiles 10:30 a.m., Virtual Event

The Disappearance of the Dharma Noon, Virtual Event

Social Justice Sewing Academy Workshop Noon, Johnson Museum of Art 2L Lecture Room

Ezra’s Roundtable / Systems Seminar: Rui Shi (Penn State) 12:15 p.m., Frank H. T. Rhodes Hall 253

Jack Catlin Memorial Lecture: Department of Psychology Colloquium Series 12:20 p.m., Virtual Event

Zakhary Mallett: Inequitable Inefficiency: A Case Study of Rail Transit Fare Policies 12:25 p.m., Abby and Howard Milstein Auditorium

Indonesian Conversation Hour 2 p.m., Stimson Hall G25

Philosophy Department Talk: Monima Chadha, Karp Fellow 3 p.m. Stimson Hall G01

Cornell Classical Chinese Colloqium with Mara Du 3:30 p.m., Rockefeller Hall Asian Studies Lounge

CHS Speaker Series: Professor Peter Shapinsky: “Dressing Like a Pirate: Ethnic Ascription and Commoner Transformation in Fifteenth-Century Maritime East Asia” 5 p.m., Rockefeller Hall 115

Mark Molinaro Wins N.Y.-19

Common Council.

Sims feels that the large turnout, especially for an Independent candidate, indicates that progressive goals should continue to be prioritized in Ithaca.

“I really hope that she will continue to take the issues of housing, public safety and the Green New Deal very seriously and implement them with courage,” Sims told The Sun. “Not policies that equivocate or are complacent, but policies that really get to the heart of the issues and take a bold stance on protecting people’s livelihoods.”

Both Sims and Winn intend to stay involved in local politics.

“I would feel like I was betraying people who put their trust in me if I was to simply walk away from the concerns I have expressed about the West End,” Winn said.

“A lot of the people who voted for me showed a lot of care and excitement for the vision that we were presenting,” Sims said. “You really have to go out of your way to vote on an Independent line. So the fact that so many people did is really telling.”

The city manager referendum passed with 77.77 percent of Tompkins County residents voting ‘yes’ on the proposition.

The referendum will create a new position in Ithaca appointed by Common Council. The city manager will work closely with the Council, providing management experience and building the budget. The proposition also gives the mayor, Laura Lewis, a vote on

In New York’s 19th district — a newly formed swing district encompassing Ithaca, which candidate Josh Riley (D-N.Y.) called the seventh most competitive in the nation at a Friday town hall in Goldwin Smith Hall — Marc Molinaro (R-N.Y.) defeated Riley by 2.18 percentage points district wide. At the county level, Riley received 73.28 percent of the vote.

Molinaro, the Dutchess County executive, portrayed himself as a moderate Republican, telling Middletown’s Times HeraldRecord that he supports “common-sense legislation to keep our communities safe from gun violence” and banning stock trading for members of Congress and their families.

In Riley’s concession statement, he expressed his good wishes for Molinaro’s term and his appreciation for Molinaro’s commitment to opposing a national abortion ban, improving funding for mental health and creating jobs in Upstate New York.

“With the ballots cast, votes counted and campaign ended, it’s important to set aside our divisions and do our best to unite,” Riley wrote.

Democrat Lea Webb won the NY-52 State Senate seat, defeating Republican and former Binghamton mayor Rich David. Webb received 49.82 percent of the vote district-wide and 71.54 percent of Tompkins County votes. Webb formerly served on the Binghamton City Council and currently works as a diversity edu-

cation coordinator at Binghamton University. She was previously a community organizer with the grassroots nonprofit Citizen Action.

At the state level, following a bruising campaign that wound up significantly closer than many predicted, especially given New York’s strong Democratic tilt, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-N.Y.) has won the race for governor of New York. At the time of publication, Hochul won 52.11 percent of the vote statewide and 71.98 percent of the vote in Tompkins County.

Hochul has been elected to her first full term as governor, having stepped in after the resignation of the previous incumbent Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.) due to a sexual harassment scandal.

She is the first elected female governor of New York, as well as the first governor from Upstate New York since Nathan L. Cortland (R.-N.Y.), was elected governor in 1921. Hochul is a moderate liberal who focused on corruption in Albany, voting rights and ending the shortage of teachers and healthcare workers in her 2022 State of the State address.

The race was originally seen as a race that would be safely Democratic, but Lee Zeldin’s focus on crime catapulted his own candidacy and the race into the national spotlight.

To continue reading this article, please visit www.cornellsun.com.

Seniors Refect On Last Pre-Enrollment

By JULIA SENZON Sun Contributor

While every pre-enrollment period can be stressful for Cornell students, many seniors graduating next spring found the process effortless and exciting.

Pre-enrollment allows students to register for the following semester’s classes months in advance. Each class year is assigned a three-day period in which they can enroll in classes and adjust their schedule.

The first undergraduate enrollment period is usually allotted to seniors, followed by juniors, sophomores and firstyear students. Priority enrollment allows seniors to secure spots in the classes needed to fulfill their graduation requirements and those that appeal to their personal interests. This year, pre-enrollment for seniors took place from Nov. 2 to Nov. 4.

Nika Colley ’23 is double majoring in animal science and environment and sustainability. She found the enrollment process much easier than in her first year at Cornell.

“I knew exactly what [classes] I needed and had friends who recommended the best classes when I had to make choices,” Colley said. “I also got all of the classes I wanted during pre-enroll, which never happened in my [first year].”

Some seniors, like Cullen O’Hara ’23, find that they have more flexibility regarding their course load compared to earlier semesters that prioritized the fulfillment of major requirements.

“As a senior, I now know what I want to take and am much more excited about enrolling for classes and finding what is interesting,” O’Hara said.

For his final semester, O’Hara specifically chose classes that would expand his political and philosophical perspective.

“[The] two classes I am most excited about [are] GOVT 4021: American Conservative Thought with Professor Bensel [because I am] looking to hear

some differing viewpoints among the faculty [and] PHIL 4570: Chinese Philosophy with Professor Lin [because] I want to have a stronger background in some non-western thought,” said O’Hara.

Like O’Hara, Chris Yeung ’23 was able to choose classes that fulfilled the requirements for his communication major and leadership, media studies and education minors, while also taking classes relating to his personal identity.

“One class I am taking next semester is COMM 4292: Sexual Identities and the Media,” Yeung wrote in a statement to the Sun. “I chose this class because it is the final class I need to complete the communication major, and it is an important topic of interest to me as someone who is part of the LGBTQ+ community.”

Samantha Krevolin ’23 explained that she also enjoyed choosing from a larger selection of classes.

“I also think I was able to consider a wider variety of classes since I can take upper-level ones, which freshmen cannot always do,” Krevolin said.

For her final semester, Krevolin selected classes that she has been wanting to enroll in throughout her time at Cornell.

“I enrolled in COMM 4360: Communication Networks and Social Capital [because] my advisor teaches it and I’ve always wanted to take one of his courses,” said Krevolin. “I also enrolled in HD 3620: Human Bonding, as I was told this was a must-take class before I graduate.”

Some seniors also found that they have clearer academic goals than when they were first-years. Emily St. John ’23 is majoring in biological sciences with minors in nutrition and health and health equity.

To continue reading this article, please visit www.cornellsun.com.

Seven Cornellians Will Serve A New Term in Congress

CONGRESS

Continued from page 1

Wesley Hunt M.P.A. ’15, M.B.A. ’15, M.I.L.R. ’16 (R-TX) won his brand-new, heavily Republican 38th district, which represents the outskirts of Houston. A West Point graduate, Hunt won an endorsement from former president Donald J. Trump (R.-Fla.). His campaign centered around abortion restrictions, immigration restrictions, voter ID laws, gun rights and police advocacy.

He will become the third Black Republican serving in the 118th Congress House of Representatives.

Rep. Elissa Slotkin ‘98 (D-Mich.) has defeated challenger Tom Barrett (R.-Mich.) in Michigan’s 7th congressional district in a tight race that was called early Wednesday morning..

Slotkin has served as representative of Michigan’s 8th district since 2019, but following Michigan’s redistricting, her district became the 7th. Prior to serving in Congress, she was a CIA agent and did three tours in Iraq along with the United States military.

Beth Van Duyne ’95 (R.-Texas) will serve as a congressional representative in Texas’s 24th district for a second term.

She previously served as the mayor of Irving, Texas and as an regional administrator for former President Trump’s Department of Housing and Urban Development. Van Duyne was first elected in 2020 and her district is located in the suburban area in between Fort Worth and Dallas.

Incumbent Melanie Stansbury ’07 (D-N.M.) will serve a second

term as the congresswoman in New Mexico’s 1st congressional district. She is an alum of the development studies program in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and now works on the food insecurity crisis.

Mike Itkis ‘91 (I-N.Y.), who majored in electrical engineering while at Cornell, lost his election bid for congressman from New York’s 12th congressional district.

His campaign was attention-grabbing and controversial, not least because of the sex tape he produced and released in an effort to come off as “sex-positive.” Itkis’s other views include the legalization of sex work, ending the requirement to provide child support and redefining the abortion debate as the right to have unplanned sex. His campaign slogan was “Not married. No kids. Not celibate. Atheist.”

Itkis failed to garner one percent of the vote, losing in a landslide to Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.)

Jamie McLeod-Skinner, M.R.P. ’95 (D-Ore.)’s race remains too close to call, with her opponent Lori ChavezDeRemer leading her 52 percent to 48 percent at the time of writing, with 69 percent of the votes counted and released.

If she wins, McLeod-Skinner will be the first openly lesbian representative in Oregon’s history.

To continue reading this article please visit cornellsun.com.

Jonathan Mong can be reached at jcm482@cornellsun.com.

U.S.P.S. Commemorates Toni Morrison, Ruth Bader Ginsburg

By MARIAN CABALLO Sun Contributor

The United States Postal Service will honor trailblazing Cornell alumnae Toni Morrison M.A. ’55 and Ruth Bader Ginsburg ’54 through new postage stamps set to be issued in 2023. Morrison and Ginsburg’s stamps were revealed on October 24, alongside the Postal Service’s preliminary list of new designs.

The stamps celebrate two of Cornell’s most prominent graduates. As Forever stamps, these commemorative works will always represent the existing price of one ounce First-Class Mail postage.

A Pulitzer Prize-winner and the first African American Nobel Prize-winner for literature, Morrison was an accomplished author best known for her works like The Bluest Eye, Sula, Song of Solomon and Beloved.

“Nobel Laureate Toni Morrison was truly a genius and among the preeminent authors of world literature who helped to theorize and revolutionize American literature, while consistently reflecting on its history and culture in her vast body of writing,” Prof. Riché Richardson, africana studies, wrote in an email to the Sun.

Morrison’s stamp, designed by USPS art director Ethel Kessler, features a photograph of Morrison taken in 2000 by Deborah Feingold.

Alyiah Marie Gonzales grad did not know about Morrison’s new stamp but is excited to add a meaningful touch to her letters.

“ Toni Morrison both exploded my world and shined a brilliant light on all of the different worlds I’ve been living in,” Gonzales wrote in an email to the Sun.

Gonzales hopes that those who see the stamp are inclined to learn more about Morrison.

“Maybe like the dandelion spores at the end of Sula, these stamps can be their own little seeds scattering across our mail and messages to each other,” they wrote.

In an email to the Sun, Shacoya Kidwell grad wrote that she is skeptical of performances of inclusivity, but finds poetry in using a Morrison postal stamp to seal messages back home.

“Morrison’s oeuvre, in many ways, tells an American story — not what lies in its periphery, but the roots and guts of this place,” Kidwell wrote.

According to Kidwell, the postal stamp is a small way to honor that.

Morrison died in 2019, at 88 years old. She has since been celebrated at Cornell through various English classes and commemorative events, including “Cornell Celebrates Toni Morrison” for her 90th birthday last year.

Alongside Morrison’s stamp, Ethan Kessler designed Ginsburg’s stamp in coordination with painter Michael J. Deas. Deas painted Justice Ginsburg based on a photograph taken by Philip Bermingham.

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was the 107th justice and second ever woman to serve on the Supreme Court and was a relentless leader in the fight for equal rights and gender equality. Ginsburg died in 2020 at the age of 87.

“Ruth Bader Ginsburg was resilient, trusted her values and led a life of service in fighting for women’s rights. I am a proud resident of RBG, and I hope to be as strong as her someday,” said Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hall Council president Maha Nallabola ’26.

Cornell has celebrated both Morrison and Ginsburg across campus. Last year, Toni Morrison Hall and Morrison Dining opened its doors to Cornellians. Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hall opened to first-years this semester as part of the final stage of the North Campus Residential Expansion.

“Those on US Postal Stamps should represent influential figures in America that deserve to be remembered for their contributions,” said Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hall resident Steven Markman ’26, who hopes that future generations of students will learn about her impact.

Sharon Zou ’26, also a resident of Ruth Bader Ginsburg Hall, said she is excited because stamps are a constant that will help keep Ginsburg’s legacy alive.

Mitchell Hill ’26 said that although it is a small gesture, the small things in life count the most.

“To me, she will always be the Notorious RBG, and I couldn’t be happier to live in a residence hall dedicated to her legacy,” Hill said.

Both Morrison and Ginsburg’s stamps will be issued in 2023 and can be purchased through the USPS Postal Store or at nationwide USA Philatelic or Post office locations.

Your source for good food

Meatless “Meat:”

Animal-Free Eating at Cornell

By KYLE ROTH Sun Contributor

It is no secret that consuming various animal proteins comes with many costs related to morals, nutrition, the environment, production ethics and economics.

With animal-based meat being widely available and accessible at virtually every restaurant and grocery store along with being deeply ingrained into American and

Here,we will take a closer look at what animal-free eatingoptions are available at Cornell’s dininghalls.

international cultures, the issue of transitioning away from animal products and looking towards alternatives is not as steak-and-potatoes as it may seem.

Fortunately, meat-alternative proteins are becoming the norm in our grocery stores and fast-food establishments,

and they’re only growing in popularity as tasty, affordable, “guilt-free” substitutions to animals.

Here, we will take a closer look at what animal-free eating options are available at Cornell’s dining halls along with where these trends might be taking us in the future.

Seitan (pronounced “saytan”) is a two ingredient mixture of flour and water that most closely resembles the look and texture of chicken.

Made of vital wheat gluten, this product is high in protein, chews like chicken and is rich in a tasty savory “umami” flavor according to the Food Network.

With unique properties able to absorb flavors paired and introduced with seitan, the Food Network explains that “Seitan is often kneaded with spices and flavorings such as nutritional yeast and soy sauce as well as vegetable stock for extra flavor.”

Bob’s Red Mill goes into detail of the nutritional content of seitan, describing it as “loaded with nutritional value, [in which] just a halfcup serving of this vegan meat alternative provides about 46 grams of protein.”

The whole-grain oriented food company adds on, “It is also low in carbohydrates and fat, making it a favorite amongst individuals following a low-carb diet.”

Seitan can be found in Cornell’s dining halls in vegetable stir-fries labeled as “Meatless Chick’n Breast Strips.”

Tempeh (pronounced “tem-pay”) is a fermented soybean cake that originates from Indonesian cuisine, where meat is generally eaten sparingly and is made by introducing the special bio-

The future holdsgreat promisefor the innovation of delicious, nutritious, sustainable and ethically produced proteinsas technology advances.

logically-active starter Rhizopus oligosporus with wholecooked soybeans. DIt also has a deep umami, nutty flavor with a chunkier, wholesome texture and can be easily prepared with pan-frying, grill-

ing, baking, and much more.

“Tempeh is the world’s richest plant-based source of vitamin B12 and shares the same high protein content as beef” the highly-renowned food magazine Bon Appetit reveals. “It’s also highly digestible compared to other soy and bean products because the fermentation process enables nutrients to become more soluble [in the digestion process].”

Tempeh can be found in Cornell’s dining halls and is commonly paired with redbean jambalaya or barbecue flavors.

Finally, tofu is an extremely popular soy-derived meat alternative that is made by setting soy milk and can be made to have extra soft, soft (silken), firm, or extra firm textures.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture points out that “Tofu … is cholesterol-free, low in saturated fat and high in polyunsaturated fats [and] can be part of a healthful diet for most children and adults.”

Firm tofu is available everyday at certain Cornell dining halls and is marinated for salad bars, stir-fried, deepfried, and scrambled.

The future holds great promise for the innovation of delicious, nutritious, sustainable and ethically produced proteins as technology advances to support these products.

Beyond Meat jerky, vegan eggs and cell-cultivated sashimi-grade salmon are just

a few of the new products to the ever-growing line of meatless products that are stocking shelves around the world.

As these meat-free protein alternatives continue to make their way into diets, their accessibility and affordability for those who choose to eat them is drastically improved and fortunately, Cornell Dining prioritizes having these options available at just a meal swipe away.

Whether you are interested

in trying some of these new foods, considering cutting back on your meat consumption, or have been on the lookout for meat-substitutes, these options are definitely worth a taste and a spot on your plate. Happy dining!

Kyle Roth is a sophomore in the College of Human Ecology. He can be reached at ksr73@cornell.edu.

The Corne¬ Daily Sun

140th Editorial Board

VEE CIPPERMAN ’23

Editor in Chief

SERENA HUANG ’24

Business Manager

EMMA LEYNSE ’23

Associate Editor

SURITA BASU ’23

Assistant Managing Editor

NAOMI KOH ’23

Assistant Web Editor

ELI PALLRAND ’24

News Editor

ESTEE YI ’24

News Editor

KAYLA RIGGS ’24

City Editor

JULA NAGEL ’24

Photography Editor

MEHER BHATIA ’24 Science Editor

KATRIEN DE WAARD ’24

Production Editor

PAREESAY AFZAL ’24

Assistant News Editor

JIWOOK JUNG ’25

Assistant News Editor

ADITI HUKERIKAR ’23

Assistant Arts & Culture Editor

JASON WU ’24

Assistant Photography Editor

GRAYSON RUHL ’24

Assistant Sports Editor

KEVIN CHENG ’25

Newsletter Editor

HANNAH ROSENBERG ’23

Senior Editor

JYOTHSNA BOLLEDDULA ’24

Senior Editor

ANGELA BUNAY ’24

Editor

ZENG ’24

FLORES ’24 Web Editor

KATHERINE YAO ’23

SOFIA RUBINSON ’24

’23

DANIELA WISE-ROJAS ’25

SNYDER ’23

TENZIN KUNSANG ’25

ED Plowe With Gratitude

ED Plowe is a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences. She can be reached at eplowe@cornellsun. com. With Gratitude runs every other Tuesday this semester.

Bipolar Blues and Books

Right now, I am riding a stable moment in the middle of a mixed episode. It has lasted about two weeks, amplifying over the past week. My brain feels like a blind infant mouse, soft and incapacitated. But I am expected to be a College Scholar! An editor! A writer! A friend! What should I do?

’24 Assistant Sports Editor

RUTH ABRAHAM ’24

DANIEL BERNSTEIN ’23

MADELINE ROSENBERG ’23

Working on Today’s Sun

Ad Layout Katrien de Waard ’24

Managing Desker Surita Basu ’23

Opinion Desker Katherine Yao ’23

Dining Desker Daniela Wise-Rojas ’25

News Deskers Estee Yi ’24

Pareesay Afzal ’24

Science Desker Meher Bhatia ‘24

Photography Desker Julia Nagel ’24

Letter to the Editor

Re: “Ann Coulter is Not Welcome Here”

To the Editor:

The Guest Room “Ann Coulter is Not Welcome Here” denounces Cornell’s decision to host a lecture by Ann Coulter ’84 to be held on Nov. 9. The op-ed is more performance art than a reasoned argument for violating Cornell’s commitment to free speech and viewpoint diversity.

First, Cornell has already flatly rejected the request to cancel Coulter’s lecture. The authors cannot cajole Day Hall into censoring Coulter’s message nor label her content as heresy. Indeed, President Pollack opened the academic year by urging the community to be accepting of free speech: “Don’t avoid people whose viewpoints you think are wrong. Don’t try to shout them down. Hear them out. Ask them questions. Put in the effort to understand their point of view.”

Second, I believe the authors have no more right to block a right wing speaker than the Network of Enlightened Women has the right to block a left wing speaker. The authors write, “Free speech assumes that there are no inequalities, which allows everyone to have an equal voice.” But that is not true. Free speech grants everyone an equal voice, so that we can debate how to work through inequalities. All Cornell students have an equal right to participate in organizations and to sponsor speakers, regardless of whether you like their national umbrella groups or their ideals.

Third, I view Cornell (and all higher education) as an intergenerational gift. Students, faculty, staff and alumni all work together to make Cornell better by transferring knowledge, new ideas and resources so that current students can have a great education and learn to think for themselves. Some alumni dedicate their careers to Cornell and others just donate money. Many other alumni, like Coulter, are invited back to campus to discuss what they have learned as alumni. Students should value these gifts by keeping an open mind and then thinking for themselves. No Cornellian agrees with Coulter completely. The educational value comes from sorting through the ideas that she will present and then deciding what is worth keeping and why.

Finally, robust exchange of ideas is the heart of a Cornell education. The energy that the authors are squandering on “canceling” Ann Coulter could be better placed into listening carefully to her talk and then critiquing her lecture afterwards. They could even work to invite one of her many critics — say Keith Olbermann ’79 — to talk on campus as well.

Robert C. Platt ’73 Law ’76

My Student Disability Services (SDS) accommodation vaguely informs my professors that when I am absent from class, it might be a mental health concern — I’m not just skipping. The accommodation lays out no further boundaries for grading.

When I’m in the middle of an episode, pulling the SDS card somehow feels like an unethical act. Can’t I just push through? All

When I share with people that I am bipolar, and suffering, I am tasked with reciting to them which Web MD symptoms I possess and which I do not.

the anxious and depressed kids are pushing through! Sometimes, I convince myself that I am faking my mental illness. How do I get permission to take time off when I am not bleeding out or actively suicidal?

Psychically, I want to beg my professors: please understand how much I wish I could be in class today.

Every time I have sat down to write or do homework over the past two weeks, it has felt like trying to swallow a potato whole. I have been up, agitated and down, frozen, in spin cycles lasting days. I have felt stuck in myself, filled with fluttering bats. I get frustrated when I cannot think, ashamed of the brick walls between each neuron.

Literature has been my refuge. Books slow down my mania, and open me up from my depression. I have been reading The Sentence by Louise Erdrich and The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy. Both books balance brightness with darkness, play and death.

Word by word, I learn each character’s hope and grief and euphoria. The spinning of my brightness and darkness is no longer as disorienting when I read about the painful dualities within other characters.

Word by word, I also string together poems to express my longing to exit my cycles of self-judgment. I want to accept my pain, my stuckness, my agitation, my mania. But I am so embarrassed, and I turn to write about missing my long distance partner instead.

I am embarrassed to examine my need to relate differently in a world which expects my passion, generosity and creativity to flow from me like a persistent river. I am not a river. When I am going through a mixed episode, I am barely a person. I do not know how to ask for space from my life when I am going through a mixed episode. I do not know who understands that bipolar does not mean that I am crazy or psychotic or paranoid. When I share with people that I am bipolar, and suffering, I am tasked with reciting to them which Web MD symptoms I possess and which I do not.

When I tell people I am bipolar, it is as if I have whispered to them that I am a witch. Some people react with delight that I trust them with the information, some cower with fear. Most stare silently at me in befuddlement.

I care deeply about connecting with my professors and peers in a meaningful way. I do not want to disappear from them. But I am not sure who will understand, and because of that, I grieve for the gap of knowledge.

I hope that my experience of facing bewildered faces when I share that I am bipolar does not reflect the reality of what my community understands about bipolar disorder. But the awareness of mental illness at the University seems pretty immature. We discuss depression and anxiety, but other neurodivergent challenges seem to be unknown and ignored by the community.

Asking for help is hard, especially within the context of grading. I have hovered for hours above an email asking for an extension, worried about seeming like an intel-

Literature has been my refuge. Books slow down my mania, and open me up from my depression.

lectual wuss. Some of my professors speak openly about their personal struggles with mental health, which helps me feel more comfortable sharing my challenges. When professors model kindness and gentleness with themselves, it makes students comfortable to arrive to class as their full selves. No frigid mental health email from a University administrator can compete with that.

I have no idea how I will feel in an hour. It is a miracle I got this article out. When I am struggling to discern that I am coming up or falling back down in an episode, I appreciate the compassion and patience my community offers me.

Thank you for supporting me and other students with mental illnesses by reading this article.

What Ithaca Learned From the 2022 Midterm Elections

Isaac

Chasen Cut to the Chase

If you are pretty much anywhere in the United States, you will know by now that the 2022 Midterm Elections are upon us. You will have seen the yard signs, the billboards and the deluge of television advertising that has descended upon the American people. You will have heard everyone from politicians to pundits say that this is one of, if not the most important midterm elections in the history of our country.

In Ithaca, and in the Central New York region as a whole, advertising is more ubiquitous than ever. We have become accustomed to seeing massive amounts of spending in political advertising ever since the Supreme Court’s decision on Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission in 2010. We have seen ads for races in multiple competitive Congressional districts, with Democrat Josh Riley facing Republican Marc Molinaro in New York’s 19th District, along with Democrat Francis Conole facing Republican Brandon Williams in New York’s 22nd District. We have also seen advertising on T.V.

and online in races for the Governor of New York as well as for the New York State Senate. So what have we learned about all the candidates in these races?

In sort, if these advertisements are to be believed, we have learned that all the candidates running for ofce in 2022 are extremely dangerous and have no business representing us. Tis is because the defning trait of the advertising this year is how apocalyptic and negative it has been. We are being told that if the other party gains a majority in the House or Senate this year, then the United States will cease to exist as we know it. We are presented with numerous reasons to vote against candidates from both the Democratic and Republican Party, on issues ranging from reproductive freedom to the economy. However, we are presented with startlingly few reasons to vote for any particular candidate.

So why have political ads devolved into constant attack ads? Well, beautifully-produced, slick negative ads are more eye-catching than talking about a list of policies you will pursue. After all, fear can be an extremely powerful emotion to appeal to. Tis can be dangerous, however, as when voters are inundated with attack ads stoking fear, we become desensitized and unable to respond to actual threats to our

To state the obvious: we must shift our advertising focus away from constant attack ads.

country’s well-being.

But secondly, and perhaps more importantly, most of the advertising we have seen for Congress, Governor and State Senate has not been coming from the candidates themselves. Instead, they have been coming from national political action committees (PACs) with millions of dollars

in funding. However, while these groups are funded by the national Democratic and Republican parties and have more money than the candidates’ campaigns themselves, they are much less equipped to speak on local issues, and understand what matters to voters in Ithaca and Tompkins County.

More

importantly, we must stop relying on national PACs to decide our elections.

So what needs to change? First, to state the obvious: we must shift our advertising focus away from constant attack ads. We need to focus on why voters should vote for a candidate, rather than why they should vote against their opponent. Candidates should provide hope that their policies would beneft the communities they are elected to serve, rather than fear about the opposition party.

Additionally, and more importantly, we must stop relying on national PACs to decide our elections. Te ads attacking Josh Riley and Marc Molinaro, for example, would not have been out of place in most congressional districts across the country. Yet candidates should be given adequate leeway to appeal to their communities in unique ways, rather than be beholden to the advertising strategies of their national parties. In fact, campaigns will probably be more efective if they cater their advertising directly toward community stakeholders.

Now I’m not naïve. I know campaigns rely on PACs for a large percentage of their funding, and fear is often a powerful motivator for voters. So due to the nature of our politics, it may not be likely that all of these problems get solved. But after seeing the same advertisements from the same groups for months, it’s clear that something needs to change, and it is important that we speak up and address it directly. Our local leaders and communities are counting on it.

Cornell’s Underground Jazz Culture

The statement,“I am going to this ‘Jazz’ party, if you want to come” was my lucky yet very coincidental ticket into Cornell’s underground jazz culture one year ago. Te idea of a jazz party was intriguing yet very intimidating; it was at someone’s house whom I didn’t know at the time, with people that I hadn’t met, on a topic that I couldn’t contribute much to, other than the fact that I like jazz.

However, when you are a freshman you are eager to participate in anything and everything, if only to reduce your loneliness, fnd something to spend some time on and meet people. You know the drill. For that reason, I took a chance and went to that party. To my surprise, the party was like nothing I had ever previously experienced, in the best possible

way. I discovered the amazing jazz culture at Cornell — one of the biggest among all the Ivy League!

Back to the party. Shortly after me and my friend (now boyfriend) arrived at the destination, made several rounds around the house and fnally overcame our intimidation and entered the house, a bunch of passionate young people appeared with their fne musical instruments. Little did I know that those instruments would later light up the whole atmosphere of the party and create one of the most unforgettable jazz concerts/parties of my life.

You know how they say “Love was in the air?” Passion for music and love for jazz was in the air when they were improvising on the fow, somehow intu-

I never understood why the term “chromatic scale” originates from the Greek word for “color” until I saw the fluorescent vignette they were painting right in front of my eyes.

itively understanding each other through

the language of music and producing this jazz piece that is doomed to be the

That party was the first time I got introduced to Cornell’s Jazz+ club.

one in its way. When improvising, every music piece becomes a unique one-time experience.

Trough this wiley bunch of college students, I could hear the ruminations of the jazz greats that came before them. Shades of Herbie Hancock and Charles Mingus fowed, with intermittent excursions to Birdland as the musicians slid efortlessly down notes. I never understood why the term “chromatic scale” originates from the Greek word for “color” until I saw the fuorescent vignette they were painting right in front of my eyes.

Tat party was the frst time I got introduced to Cornell’s Jazz+ club — a club for everyone interested in playing jazz. Since then I learned that this talented group of people not only hold jazz parties but also do weekly jazz jam sessions in Hans Bethe House, participate in the Big Red Icon and perform on Slope Day.

Since then, I have participated in ample events where these talented students would play their instruments. Even when they weren’t playing, I’d hear them talk about Japanese jazz, what the most important jazz instrument is, world events and more.

Since then, my knowledge on the topic that I previously had little to no knowl-

edge has increased exponentially. I even jokingly say that I am the adopted child of this group, as every Saturday you can fnd me listening to their live music (and perhaps studying) at Bethe House, just as I am doing as I write this now. Since then, these people have become the most welcoming faces on campus that light up my mood whenever and wherever I identify them to wave a hi.

Not only is the Cornell jazz culture one of the biggest among all the Ivy League institutions, but we also have the biggest academic jazz program. Tat’s right, students take jazz to improve their skills, earn credits and have fun. Tey train with the best professors in the feld as well as take master classes from famous guest musicians such as Dizzy Gillespie, Wynton

Not only is the Cornell jazz culture one of the biggest among all the Ivy League institutions, but we also have the biggest academic jazz program.

Marsalis and Joe Henderson. I hope this column inspired you to stop by the jazz jam sessions and listen to these up-and-coming jazz musicians. See you then!

A

Now presenting the Absolutely AmAzing, Awesome, AlwAys Aligned, Adventurous, AAAAAAAAA screAming, Attentive, Athletic, Amusing, Astounding, Aweinspiring, All-stAr rAnk in the Ivy LeAgue… Rank A!!

Maalini “the grAss is greener on the green er side” Krishna

Laura “oh how the turns hAve tAbled” Lin

Elliot “I’M A SAILOR PEG” McGinnity

Schneider Sunaya “AmAzing pinwheel center” Reddy

Megan “sAxes Are greAt!” Chang

Jenna “whAt if i’m stinky on the inside” Mertz

Lin “cAt!” Jin

Michelle “dAncey dAnce” Yang

Caleb “instrumentAl polyglot” Schmitt

U

Now presenting the thrice-married, thrice-divorced, made-out-well-in-thedivorce-and-now-extremely-wealthy, Uool, Uaptivating, Uhaotic, Ureative, UoUrageous, Urisp, Uharming, Uhatty, Uheerful, Ulassy, Uommitted, Ulever, UUte, Uhampions in the Ivy LeagUe... Rank U!

Megan “casually half of bandstaph” Chang

Catherine “knows exactly how to channel divorced bird vibes” Frank Niccolaas “man versus bee is actually really inspiring” Justice

Katherine “has all the lyrics to Hamilton memorized” Manning

Hales “no really, I’m a freshman” Rugh

Steven “sleep is for the weak” Urdaneta

B And now, presenting the BEST, Baddest, Boldest, Brainiest, most Beautiful, Bodacious, Bandtastic, and unBelievable rank in the Ivy League… Rank B(ee)!

Maddie “doesn’t care but does babe” Perry

Erin “singing bad for band babe” Baum

Lauren “Only had to move for a gate turn once babe” Jang Isabella “rehearsal screwing up my bedtime babe” Zahl

Jorge “Playing while dancing >> just dancing babe” Mariño

Emily “Scavenger hunt enthusiast babe” Fan

Amanda “Sunscreen is mandatory babe” Xu

D

Now presenting the most show-stopping, show-stealing, dazzling, delightful, dynamic, dependably dancing rank in the Ivy League, Rank D: Kiarra “the real rank leader here” Coger

Emily “cool as concrete” Kerstetter

Izzy “big red bandit” Cowan

Yunnie “dressed to impress (and to the 50)” Kim

Ari “turf as hair chalk” Schor

Sabrina “actually knows how to march”

Sheridan

Sylvia “instant pro” Han Megan “rank D is just a side chick” Chang Amaya “Mr. Worldwide” Aranda

E

And now presenting the most Electric, Ebullient, Effervescent, Enduringly Epic, Elliterate and confusEd rank in the Ivy League, Rank E!

Carol “slayE” Montejo

Abbie “only onE rEEd?” Harrison

Bella “our SwiftiE HEad ManagEr” Burgess

Caidan “bari sax or clarinEt” Pilarski

Claire “am I in thE right placE?“ Cho

Dora “two pErson rank“ Donacik

Elliot “drop spin thE nEt“ Overholt

Majd “whErE arE wE” Aldaye

Krystal “quiEtly EmErgEs“ Yan

Beyan “hE’s adoptEd“ Kesselly

Skylar “bachata quEEn“ Bush

Z

Znow zintroducting, ze zupreme, zestiest, zaniest, zauciest, zlittest, zbestiest, genz-est, zuko-est, zippiest zrank zin ze Zivy

Zleague… Rank Z!

Alia “Fortnite” Navqi

Amy “slaying in Lynah” Chen

Ava “mech-e girlboss” Ianuale

Emily “manifesting Taylor tickets” Jones

Jonathan “Morrison dining enthusiast”

Chen

Kate “gotta catch em all (the bugs)” Burger

Minnie “cabbage man” Nguyen Trung-Nghia “rubber cup” Le

J

Jnow Jintroducing, je Juiciest, Jazziest, Jarrrriest, Jollyest, Jellyest, Jaunty, Japanesest, Jumboest, Jurassic,Junglyest, Jugglyest, .... Rank J!!!!!

Tyler “Comes in hot like Superman” Harker

Caleb “Multi talented woodwind beast” Schmitt

Justin “I’m concerned, but I’m not in charge” Han

Jith Jlove, your rank leaders,

Al “Loves Canola Oil :)” Palanuwech

L …and now, presenting the most Lovely, Legendary, Lollygagging, Laid-back, Loopiest, Ludicrous (maybe even Ludacris), Sappho-of-Lesbos-worshipping, Lizarding

Ladies of rank L!

Lillie “best pet mom to our rank mascot, otto” Steen

Liz “friendship bracelet baddie” Brantley Retna “resident culinary queen” Arun

N It’s a bird!?!? It’s a plane!!!

NNNEEEOOWWWW

Iceman “ok wait, wait, what if we…”

Ahmad Duck “…no” Haig

Chuckles “Horses in the Back” Alexiadis

Mugs “Not me, Not Hermione, You!!” Canova

Oliver “10:23” Matte

Ben “Sexy Chewbacca” McNulty

Sugar “Disrespecting the Fifty” Nazario

Sofia “Demon from Kansas” Thomas

O

And now, presenting the Omazing, Owonderful, and Oreoest rank, rank O!!

Lukas “wait when” Vera

Cheddar “donate to my project team” Wolf

Mew “touch grass” Skeete

Claudia “hockey hockey hockey” Slivovsky

Maha “cayuga socks” Mohamed Bernadette “against humanity” Batuncang

Kelly “toga baby” Leiby

Hex “I’m dead” Constant Niamh “crocs” Gunning

Leah “harry potter” Goddard

Beats “see you at okies” Sussman

W, V Guard Personals Skyler “what yard line do we start on again?” Krouse

Helen “prelim season never ends” Ma

Cyrus “first my eye then my knee” West

Ola “so true bestie” Taha

Crystal “love hate relationship with Catnapple” Grissom

Elliot “RIP my shoulder” Overholt

Abi “rifle goddess” Hsu Ariel “whole show one day” Kang

Drumline

DM Hey Band! And now introducing your 2023 Drum

Major… Nina “Pauws” Ellison!

Stay true to yourself, protect the legacy, and always remember to keep your eyes filled with pride.

Love, Kozma, Matte, Romero, Kozma, Curtis, Crosby, Preciado, Olson, Albanese, Reno, Richmond, Gerson, Seery, Caulfield, Tucker, Kerman, Ball, James, John, Wolf, Minster, Gerbracht, Frank, Cohen, French, Meier, Chamberlin, Gordon, Murray, Kohen, Dolan, Baxter, Mandarano, Kelin, Vicks, Fish, Metsa, Vicks, Bonnano, and Sherman Bella,

Anna “saver of moths” Vozzelli Nila “rank L: It’s what makes a Subaru a Subaru” Narayan

aaaaaand guest starring for show 3, Justin “the best man rank L will ever have!!” Han

And, as tribute to our rank J homies that we merged with for shows 3 and 4, here’s to Al “slayyyyyyy all day” Palanuwech

Lucas “best point during drag me down fo sho” Tapia

Tyler “speediest drill writer in the world” Harker

Eli “letting the dawgs out” O’Connor

F Now presenting the most Fierce, Fantastic, Fabulous, Fiery, Fearless, Ferocious, Fiercalicious, Fashionable, Flawless, and Flovely rank….Rank F!!!

Emily “environment-saving girlboss” Mawhinney

Hong Zhang “our Favorite Field manager <3” Kow

Jess “ poke bowl dealer and winds baddie” Sakamoto

Kareena “hips don’t lie” Dash

Katelyn “the statistics prove rank F is da best” Tai

Linsey “section dance mom” Chen

Matthew “takis aren’t spicy” Kushner

Siddhi “new cat mama!” Balamurali

Talia “you should check out Andrew’s soundcloud” Rubeo

Trinity “putting E.motion in her inFrastructure designs” Wu

Eli “Who let the dogs out” O’Connor Lucas “omg the blond manbun” Tapia H*

P

Now Presenting… the most Precise, Powerful, Preeminent, and Pulchritudinous

PRank in the Ivy League, RANK P!

Gizmo ”Plus 10 rank points!” Esponda

Dubs “Minus 23 rank points!” Kaprielian

Goob “Emergency powers” Sugarmann

Chestnut “Head major” Stoner

Pauws “MORE VISUALS!” Ellison

Limbo “Unorthodox frisbee whiz” Chargois

Toast “Keep the men hungry” Holst

Fancy “Gate turn gaming” Lau

James “I am all the bandstaph” Press

Now presenting the most H*, H*, WAHHH*

rank in the Ivy League, Rank H*

Caroline “retiree” Herzog

Derek “3D conductor” Thompson

Jen “long island gyal” Joaqui-Almendarez

Michael “I see, they see, IC” Mezzo

Nathaniel “potoo, potoo, loris!” Kisslinger

Owen “he was number one” Wetherbee

Ryan “Can we fix it? Yes we can!” Pinard

Chris “Oxford scholar” Desir

Isaac “actual published poet” Salazar

R

To our many adoring fans, you’ll be happy to know that the drumline has been killing it this year! Everyone pitched in to make this year something truly special. None of it would have been possible without the hard work and fearless leadership of our subsection leaders, as well as hard work of many others! Together we did a whole heck of a lot! We took the opportunity to go bowling, apple picking, pumpkin picking, paintballing, and of course watched many movies and shows! Each of the new members are wonderful and it was a joy bringing them into the fold of the section this semester! Now, on the field, we brought the hype with some fun parts, sick visuals, and a kick-butt drum break! Those weren’t the only fun things we added as we also brought in some new cheers! (You know it’s a hype cheer when the saxes want in on it too!) Fall came and went too quickly, but that’s part of what makes it so special. Once again, we’ve been killing it this year, and we’re excited to see where the future takes us.

Until next time, Respectfully, the drumline.

And now presenting the only REAL drumline in the Ivy League!

Snares Sam Schirmacher*^ Ana Suppe* Kieran Galloway!*

Jiho Cha Dennis Chen!

Tenors

Oliver Matte*^

Noah Sergio*

Patrick Thieblemont

Lucy Cheely!

Bass

Seth Norman^

Payton Spandow

Abbey Downes*

I am tremendously thankful that I had the opportunity to lead the band alongside you this year. I could not have asked for a better Head Manager to help me tackle the hardships sent our way, but also celebrate the victories with. Your poise in tough situations is extremely admirable and has helped me and the band deal with these situations while keep moving forward. I would not have been able to lead the band without you by my side (or at least stay on top of the ladder without you). This season has proven to me that you are more than just my Head Manager, you are one of my best friends at Cornell. You have made my last season in the BRMB so special and for that, I cannot thank you enough. Enjoy the rest of the Victory Lap!

Love, Zack

Vanessa “Matt’s Spanish Teacher” Arriaza

Simon “da Jankees lose” Kapen

Antonia “‘Marie Antoinette’ -Santiago” Pellegrini

Daniel “Pandemic Skip” Hur

Joshua “The Real-er Rank Leader” Williams

Lalo “Adolphe Sax Reincarnate” Esparza

Lillie “Favorite radio host ” Steen

Ryan “Concrete man” Schanta

Santiago “Automatic Farmer” Blaumann

$ And now pre$enting the $laye$t, $picie$t, $aucie$t, $nazzie$t, $kinnie$t rank in the Ivy League, $$$ Ring!!

Caidan “$witching $ide$ like Italy” Pilar$ki

Chayil “Be$t rank leader” Hyland Grace “Get it? It $pell$ ‘gay’” Yun

Liam “Ellen DeGenere$ clone” Tully

Matt “Hotte$t Gamma Male” Cafiero

Mike “The Vengabu$ i$ coming” Bai Minnue “Ma$ter fundrai$er” Uhm

Zack “They $tole my ladder” Kozma

Ethan “squinglish muffins” Meleen & Now presenting the ampiest & fierciest & lampiest & saxiest rank of the Ivy League, rank &&&!!

# And now, presenting the most #saxy #groovin #shmovin #notsponsored rank in the Ivy League, #THORPE!!

Harris “#THE WASPS” Greenstein

Meredith “#Ace of Thorpes” Rosenthal

Geoff “#Star Wars Anime” Brann

Max “#L.O.V.E” Drumm

Vivian “#NeWERK, Delaware” Martinez

Dalton “#Hacky Sack Fiend” Luce

M

Mnow Mintroducing the Masterful Members of the Most Merfect MRank in the MIvy MLeague: MRANK MMMM

Tails “Mip Mip” Addo

Seven “Mooray” Thomas

Scotch “dubs slayer” Rho

Dutch “Cheeky method extraordinaire” Renenger

Claire “Cowboy boot back march” Wilson

Apples “Tap that (tree)” Chuhta

Sunaya “I like trumpets more than flutes” Reddy

Sven “Yay another visual” Van Hoesel

We rank the most out of all the other ranks.

Presenting The Rankiest Rank in the Ivy League!

Yawen “yrsk” Ding

Alfonso “Slay” “Epic” “Fred” Mora

Lizzie “Bug Freezdger” Viebranz

Imani “ma” Thompson (“ma”)

Zoe “EMERGENCY VEHICLES ONLY BEYOND THIS POINT” Reay-Ellers

Cameron “It’s a great day to be a Bomber!” Thornton

Pilar “where did she go” Seielstad

John “Hey guys” Coffey

Mahalia “what’s going on?” Donaldson

Kai “safety tents” Nielson

S And now introducing … the Silliest, Smartest, Sassiest, Sweetest, most Satisfactory, Super Successful (?) and occasionally Solo rank in the Ivy League …...

Rank S!

Marc “SJuice” Scocca

Sami “Soulful” Wolf

Sarah “Subtle Star” Kolodny

Willem “SFlanked” Light-Olson

Willow “SBoofus” Martin

Corey “Sorry^2” Neil

Max “HaS a heart/Soul?” Mu

K

Needing little introduktion, the most eklektik

rank in the Ivy League!

J “bus guitar hero” Nation

Slice “an apple a month” Scialabba

Nikolett “power pony” Blackham

Andre “perfect attendance” Oganesian

En “poké purchaser” Lo Effie “coocoo for coconuts” Albaña

Josh “chick fil a menace” Faber

T?

Alex “Lights, Camera, Action!” Coy

Bowen “Return of the Jedi” Jiang

Carter “The Pagemaster” Larsen

Jonathan “National Treasure” Miller

J “Pitch Perfect” Nation

Davis “Legally Blonde” Postell

Micah “Spider-Man: Far from Home”

Toliver

AJ “The Prodigy” Villaruel

Andre Alvarez*

Kasey Gray!

Jonathan Lee!

Anand Bannerji!

Cymbals

Angelleigh DeTroy^

Liza Wadell^

Jess Sakamoto

Al Palanuwech*

Ruth Rajcoomar

Griffin Blotner

Jake Walter!

Eduardo Novoa!

Jesse Lin!

Bells

Nick Vanden Berk*^ Jenna Mertz*

Peter Bell^

Claudia Slivovsky

Sarah Stevenson-Peck!

Ludia Cho!

*=Senior

^=SubSection Leader

!=New Member

Hey Band!

HM

I am so proud of the Big Red Marching Band and all that we’ve accomplished this year! To all of our members new, and old, it has been an honor to be your Head Manager this year. Watching you all play and seeing the energy, humor, and friendship you bring to every rehearsal and performance has brought me so much joy. Although my time as HM is coming to a close, I will always be in your corner Bandstaph, thank you so much for all of your hard work this year and your commitment to making the BRMB a fun and welcoming space for all of our new and returning members. To Zack, thank you for being my teammate, for supporting me throughout every triumph and obstacle we’ve faced, and for the positive energy you always bring. It has been a pleasure to lead the band with you this year. Thank you, Band!

Much Love, Bella Burgess

YELLOW FLASH

Fill in the empty cells, one number in each, so that each column, row, and region contains the numbers 1-9 exactly once. Each number in the solution therefore occurs only once in each of the three “directions,” hence the “single numbers” implied by the puzzle’s name. (Rules from wikipedia.org/wiki/ Sudoku)

I am going to be small

SC I ENCE

Insectapalooza Returns to Campus After Two-Year Hiatus

By ANNA LABINER Sun Contributor

On Oct. 22, the Cornell Department of Entomology hosted Insectapalooza in Stocking Hall after postponing the event due to COVID restrictions.

“It’s Good to Bee Back” was the apt theme for this year’s annual one-day insect festival, which returned this October after a two-year hiatus. The event was well-attended by both Ithaca locals and Cornell students and faculty and featured interactive booths and workshops aimed towards sharing the entomological sciences with the community.

Insectapalooza’s objective has always centered on scientific communication. In 2005, Prof. Linda Rayor, entomology, was asked to create an event for the department that would serve as a chance to interact with the public and share entomological knowledge.

“That first year I thought we were going to be lucky if we had 300 people show up. We had over 1,500,” Rayor said.

Since its initial success, Insectapalooza has continued to grow and has become such a largely attended event, it was moved from Comstock to Stocking Hall in 2019. This

year was no different, and the much-anticipated return of Insectapalooza brought in bug enthusiasts of all ages.

“I think I learned more about insects from the younger kids than I taught them myself,” said Insectapalooza volunteer Luke Martini ’25 “It was really cool to see a young population really interested in insects and bugs.”

The event featured hundreds of live arthropod specimens, including a comet moth, walking sticks, beetles and spiders, as well as insects from the Cornell Entomology Collection.

Besides the more interactive exhibits, such as the butterfly room and arthropod zoo, the event also featured informative booths that detailed tick safety, plant-insect interactions, drosophila diversity, mosquito morphology and other insect-related research lined the perimeter of the building.

30-minute workshops led by students and faculty were a new addition to Insectapalooza this year, and included topics like macrophotography, Beekeeping, the Spotted Lanternfly and Careers in Entomology.

“We tried workshops because I think there’s a place for longer interactions over certain issues,” Rayor said. “[One] of the goals I [had] was to really

up the diversity of what we’re doing,” Rayor said.

Besides infotainment value, Rayor sees Insectapalooza as a method of recruitment and outreach to young people interested in entomology. The addition of a Careers in Entomology workshop, led by Cole Gilbert, director of undergraduate studies in the Department of Entomology, served to show budding entomologists the diverse career paths available

within the field.

“It gives us a chance to be personal with the public and future entomologists in a way that I just don’t think you can beat,” Rayor said.

The 17th annual Insectapalooza was embraced warmly by both the department and attendees after its twoyear postponement. Rayor and other involved members of the department hope to continue this annual tradition and stay

connected to local bug-lovers.

“Part of being a scientist is giving back and sharing the science,” Rayor said. “I see Insectapalooza as important to the public, important to kids , people who are trying to find their way as future entomologists, and for [students]... interacting with the public about science,” Rayor said.

CU Researcher Builds Bioacoustics Machine Learning Toolkit

By ADITYA SYAM Sun Staff Writer

A recent breakthrough has been made in bio-acoustic deep learning techniques — a method for automated detection of animal sounds — at Cornell’s K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics. Dr. Shyam Madhusudhana, a postdoctoral researcher in the Lab of Ornithology, built a toolkit enabling bio-acousticians to create complex audio recognition models with just a few lines of code.

The toolkit, Koogu, was used in a recent study that bested marine analysts in the detection of blue whale D-calls.

Blue whale D-calls are calls of varying frequency that are produced by male and female whales, unlike the well-known

whale song which is produced only by males. While whale songs are often predictable and easily recognizable, D-calls are erratic and produced less repetitively.

However, while blue whale D-calls are more difficult to identify, monitoring their presence allows for a much better understanding of their migration patterns and acoustic behaviors.

Acoustic monitoring has long been pursued as a viable method of recording rare species which lack sufficient visual data. In recent years, machine learning algorithms have demonstrated promising results in analyzing acoustic monitoring data. In the marine biome, where visual surveys are hardly feasible, this method becomes all the more relevant. This is where Koogu comes in.

“As long as someone has their own

annotated data set [of acoustic monitoring], they could take Koogu and build a model of their own,” Madhusudhana said.

This methodology was adopted by a team of researchers at the Australian Antarctic Division, led by Brian Miller. The researchers used Koogu to build an automated detection model for their study of blue whale calls. Their study, which was co-authored by Madhusudhana, is titled “Deep learning algorithm outperforms experienced human observer at detection of blue whale calls: a double-observer analysis”.

It found that human experts detected 70 percent of the D-calls whereas the model detected 90 percent of the whale calls accurately. The model’s rate of detection was also considerably faster than the marine analysts, lacking the fatigue factor associated with human analysis.

The study is only the first instance where Koogu has been used effectively. However, according to Madhusudhana, Koogu is far from limited to only detecting marine auditory data. “Koogu isn’t a toolkit just for whale calls – [it is] just a convenient way to build machine learning solutions – anything from whales to birds as well as insects,” Madhusudhana said.

Koogu has the potential to be an impactful tool in the bioacoustics field. While there has been significant development in the machine learning domain, most of the development in the acoustics domain relates to human speech. Madhusudhana said Koogu bridges the gap between the two.

Koogu transforms acoustic data into a form that visual classification machine learning models can use. Madhusudhana ensured that most of the model was

left configurable. Any bio-acoustic expert could vary the parameters and then modify how the audio is transformed to images. Following this, the images are classified using an image classification model.

“If you try to develop a neural network-based solution for bioacoustics, there are probably a few hundred lines of code needed. What I’ve done is [enabled you to] call three or four functions and you’re done,” Madhusudhana said.

The goal was for bio-acousticians and other researchers to be able to use their own data and domain knowledge and combine it with Koogu’s functionality to efficiently analyze sounds. Koogu’s unique relevance lies in its audio-to-image conversion process.

As Madhusudhana explains, every sound is turned into a colored map to easily distinguish one audio signal from the other. When compressing this into an image for image classification, there is significant data loss that occurs. Koogu avoids this data loss, greatly increasing accuracy.

This advantage is especially apparent in audio recordings with low or moderate intensity. Such recordings make blue whale calls harder to detect – especially in the case of human experts. The opensource toolkit for universal audio recognition has significantly streamlined the process of automated acoustic recognition.

But whale acoustic monitoring is just one part of the equation, according to Madhusudhana. “Our goal is to conserve biodiversity across species – that was Koogu’s goal – [to] have something very generic that everyone across the world can use.”