INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880
The Corne¬ Daily Sun 16 Pages – Free
Vol. 141, No. 13
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2024 n ITHACA, NEW YORK
News
Opinion
Sports
Weather
Supporting Sriram
Assault Accountability
Down Goes Dartmouth
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Cornell Graduate Students United organized a rally for de-enrolled grad student Sriram Parasurama. | Page 4
“Rape is a culture issue, one deeply rooted in Cornell’s Greek life system,” writes columnist Carlin Reyen ’25. | Page 6
Cornell football beat down the 7-1 overall Big Green in a 39-22 victory in its last game at Schoellkopf Field in 2024. | Page 16
HIGH: 58º LOW: 44º
Kraig Kayser’s ‘Major Conflict of Interest’
The Board of Trustees chair also serves on the Board of Directors of weapons manufacturer Moog By KATE TURK Sun Contributor
MING DEMERS / SUN PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Kayser’s conflict | Kayser’s shares in weapons manufacturer Moog have nearly doubled in value since the start of the Israel-Hamas War on Oct. 7, 2023.
Nov. 19 — Cornell Board of Trustees Chair Kraig Kayser MBA ’84 holds a seat on the Board of Directors of Moog and has millions personally invested in the weapons manufacturing company. Kayser’s role has raised concerns among campus activists about a potential conflict of interest as the University rejects student-led calls for divestment from weapons manufacturers involved in the Israel-Hamas war. Here is what to know about Moog and Kayser. Moog is an aerospace and defense company based in Elma, New York, with production and sales offices in 25 countries, including Israel. The company manufacturers essential flight control systems for F-35 fighter jets — the same warplanes that have been used in Israeli assaults on the Gaza Strip and Lebanon this year. Since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel, Moog’s revenue has skyrocketed, and the price of its shares has nearly doubled. In a Nov. 1 earnings call, Moog Chief Executive Officer Pat Roche said, “We delivered record sales. We have a record 12-month backlog,” citing later in the call “ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East” when describing an uptick in the company’s defense sector sales.
Kayser — who owns more than 30,000 shares in the company, valued at $6.9 million as of market close on Tuesday — has seen his investment in Moog grow by millions over the last year. “And potentially more,” said Derek Seidman, a contributing writer for corporate watchdog LittleSis, pointing to Kayser’s stock appreciation rights, which pay in stock or cash when Moog’s stock climbs over a preset period of time. Kayser has served as a director of Moog since 1998, more than twice as long as he has held a seat on Cornell’s Board of Trustees. As one of 10 Moog directors, he is responsible for helping oversee the company and make important decisions about the strategy and future of Moog. Seidman described Kayser’s 26-year term with Moog as bordering on unusually long, adding that it speaks to his “close relationship with the company” in an interview with The Sun. Kayser also receives a six-figure salary from Moog for his work as a director. Last fiscal year, Kayser chaired every executive session and was paid more than $200,000 in cash and Moog stocks.
To continue reading this article, please visit www.cornellsun.com. Kate Turk can be reached at kat229@cornell.edu.
‘There’s a Lot of Pressure Right Now’: IFC Suspended Social Cornellians Shaken by Tragic Week Activity Last Weekend By MARYAM ISMAIL Sun Contributor
Nov. 14 — Cornell students are grappling with a series of tragedies that have left the campus shaken. In the past week, Winter Knutson ’27 was found dead in Fall Creek Gorge, a student was hospitalized after falling in the same area, a report of drugging and sexual assault at the Chi Phi house led to the fraternity’s suspension and a Cornell custodian was charged with second-degree murder in an Ithaca homicide. Vice President for Student and Campus Life Ryan Lombardi sent an email statement to the Cornell community on Monday highlighting resources for students and encouraging them to “lean on each other and show support, empathy and care to each other.” But many found the University’s response disappointing. “The administration’s response seemed very impersonal and perfunctory to me,” said Ananya Prasad ’27, an Ithaca local who attended Ithaca High School alongside Knutson. “If just one of the three tragedies that happened over the weekend occurred, I think it still would’ve warranted a longer and more in-depth email.” Prasad told The Sun that she hoped the administration would give students a “mental health day,” an idea that has gained traction among Cornell students on social media sites like Sidechat over the past few days. She added that it would be “a proactive way to support us, even though it obviously wouldn’t solve all mental health problems on campus.” Peter John Loewen, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, told The Sun that Cornell’s administration rejected the mental health day idea. “They’ve done it in the past,” Loewen said. “But they took that decision not to provide it.” Loewen hosted a community meeting Wednesday evening for members of arts and sciences — the college in which Knutson was enrolled and in which their father, Prof.
Allen Knutson, mathematics, teaches — “to process events of the past week.” “There’s a lot of pressure right now,” Loewen said in an interview right after the meeting concluded. “It’s a combination of the normal stress of being a Cornell student, the political events in the U.S. and these recent, terribly tragic events.” “Most of us professors here have kids, right? So you think about what that’s like if you have a kid who was harmed on campus, or a kid who was the victim of a terrible accident, or a kid who felt that the dark waters had risen so high,” Loewen said. “It’s terrible, right? But I didn’t lose a kid. So I’m very thankful for that.” Students told The Sun that they have been grappling with stress all week. “The environment has definitely felt very anxiety-ridden and tense,” said Alia Amer ’26, an undergraduate resident fellow and peer mentor at William Keeton House. “Most of the people I’ve spoken with have felt like they’ve had to fend for themselves and haven’t received much support.” The weight of recent events has been difficult for Mariam Saad ’27 to process. “When I go to classes and talk to classmates, it’s odd how things are brought up in conversation as if it’s just the next drama or rumor to be talked about,” Saad said. “We don’t get a chance to process one thing before something else happens.” For Amer, the resources highlighted in Lombardi’s email felt insufficient. “Lombardi’s response kind of felt like he only addressed the situation because he was required to,” Amer said. “It’s the same resources we see on bulletin boards.” Amer added that “there needs to be more communication about what the administration plans to do to help students rather than just throwing QR codes and links at us.” Maryam Ismail can be reached at mmi26@cornell.edu.
By MATTHEW KIVIAT Sun News Editor
Nov. 15 — Following a recent report of sexual assault and drugging that led to Chi Phi’s suspension, Cornell’s Interfraternity Council voted unanimously during a Thursday evening meeting to suspend all Greek Life social events for the weekend. In the IFC’s official statement, posted on its Instagram page, the organization announced the voluntary weekend suspension and said it is committed to the “health and safety” of members and guests and that “all forms of sexual misconduct” are unacceptable. The statement also explained that the organization extends its “sincerest sympathies to the survivor(s).”and I loved the environment — it was a very familiar space for me.”or a comment card, which is effective but I think it can sometimes be challenging on our end to respond and it also doesn’t give us the data that we need.” Inside Thursday’s Meeting At around 6 p.m. on Thursday, around 100 leaders from all 29 chapters of the IFC met for several hours to discuss how to respond to the Chi Phi suspension and repair Greek life’s image on campus, according to two IFC members who were present and requested anonymity to discuss a sensitive conversation.
“We were all brought in under the pretense that we were deciding an appropriate solution to display that IFC cares about the situation. … All the risk managers, presidents and socials of all the fraternities [were there],” one of the IFC sources told The Sun. After demanding that the IFC work toward a “solution,” IFC Adviser Kathleen Wilhite left the room, leaving the student leaders to deliberate among themselves, the sources said. The IFC members then drew up multiple plans. One was for each fraternity to contribute $1,000 to the Sexual Assault Prevention and Safety Club. $7,000 was pledged by various chapters within minutes. Those in attendance also proposed to suspend all Greek life social activity for the weekend, mandate SAP training for every fraternity and host a community event on Saturday advocating for SAP, according to the sources. Plans for a community event on Saturday fell apart due to logistical concerns brought up at the meeting, with many in attendance saying they “found it difficult to do” given concerns about finding a space in a short amount of time, one source said.
To continue reading this article, please visit www.cornellsun.com. Matthew Kiviat can be reached at mkiviat@cornellsun.com.