11-22-21 entire issue hi res

The Corne¬ Daily Sun

In Honor of Turkeys

Minutes Charlee Mandy ’23 reviews Marvel’s action-packed new release, Eternals

Student Athletes Navigate Return to Competition

loving where we are right now,” he said.

For two years, many Cornell student athletes faced training cuts and lost games as the Ivy League put sports on hold. Spring 2020 seasons were canceled, Fall 2020Spring 2021 practices were sparse, but the latter portion of the Fall 2021 season has shown a hopeful return to pre-COVID schedules.

The Men’s Lightweight Rowing team, which competes in both the fall and the spring, has started practice in full swing. Eric Whitehead ’22, who has been on the team since he began at Cornell, said the team is practicing five days a week. Though it’s hard, he said that the structure creates consistency in his schedule.

Whitehead has been rowing since he was in the eighth grade and said he is excited to return to the water next season.

“I think everyone is very excited, loving the sport,

The team closed the season on Nov. 7 in the Princeton University 3-Mile Chase, where all three of Cornell’s boats finished in the top ten.

“We were just smiling,” said John Jaicks ’22, the team’s coxswain — the member who steers the boat. “We were about to have some fun and show up for the team. We were just excited because we were able to throw down against some of the best lightweight rowers in the country.”

A senior like Whitehead, Jaicks has also rowed on the team throughout his time at Cornell. As an upperclassman, he has more rowing experience than many team members, since the last two seasons were cut short. Thus, only the seniors on the team know what it’s like to go through a full competitive season.

Though the team does have access to indoor rowing machines and other equipment to train, they have lost time to train on the water in the past two years.

Pollack Attends S.A. Meeting

By

President Martha Pollack and Vice President for Student and Campus Life Ryan Lombardi made an appearance at last Thursday’s Student Assembly meeting in the wake of two emergency threats that rocked campus on Nov. 7 and 9. Pollack and Lombardi arrived at around 5 p.m., fifteen minutes into the meeting, to make brief remarks before the S.A., followed by a Q&A session with representatives.

The two administrators were met by members of Do Better Cornell, an organization advocating for the University to improve diversity, equity and inclusion. Recently, Do Better Cornell released a list of demands for the University to improve the response to the emergency events..

A group of approximately a dozen protestors, dressed in black, entered the Willard Straight Hall memorial room shortly after

Pollack and Lombardi’s arrival. They carried signs bearing slogans such as “My mental health matters,” “do better cornell” and “no more business as usual.” Protestors remained quietly in the back of the room for the duration of Pollack and Lombardi’s address before leaving once the rest of the meeting continued. Then, the meeting carried on as usual.

During their remarks, Pollack and Lombardi discussed the University’s response to last week’s emergency threats, addressing student concerns over the University’s unclear communications during the shelter-in-place orders.

Lombardi explained that the University is working to improve emergency communications moving forward, and acknowledged the criticism that he was not the one to send out messages to students.

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However, many members stayed in Ithaca and continued to train throughout the hiatus, mainly by biking. Using an app called Strava, they tracked their times on various routes and competed amongst themselves and against Cornell’s cycling team.

“We’re just competitive guys,” Jaicks said. “It doesn’t have to be rowing.”

He and Whitehead said this helped keep the team in shape, but they still had a shaky start to practices this year. Since there wasn’t anything to train for, Whitehead stated, the team found difficulty staying motivated.

Other Cornell sports teams have faced adjustment challenges as well. In early November, Cornell women’s soccer wrapped up its first full season since Fall 2019. Despite the sudden return to normal life as a student athlete, Evanthia Spyredes ’22 managed to find success and earn All-Academic Ivy League honors this fall.

Tech Access Essential to Students

By ISABELLE GOODROW Sun Contributor

Although Cornell has left most Zoom classes behind, technology remains at the center of academic life. On laptops and tablets, students type notes, design graphics and communicate with peers. Despite their universal reliance upon it, students experience vastly different levels of access to technology.

Hannah Mitchell ‘24 said that she received her current laptop — a Macbook Pro — as a high school graduation gift from her extended family. However, her high school was not one that used personal devices in the classroom. She said before college she was unfamiliar with the technology that she is entirely dependent on to store all of her notes, files and PDFs without fear of misplacement or destruction.

“If I forget my laptop when I go to the library I’m useless,” she said. “I keep everything on it, all my files and PDFs. Seriously, I’m lost without it.”

Mitchell prefers taking notes manually, but she said that her laptop is more convenient for keeping files together and staying organized.

Georgia Lawrence ’25 used a MacBook throughout high school and knew it would be important in college. She claimed that if she had known how common iPads were for taking notes, especially in STEM classes, she would have tried to purchase one.

However, Mitchell said that tablets seem more inconvenient for the students who use them.

“Even in my communications classes, where we are not writing equations, I see many students using both,” she said. “I don’t see what an iPad offers that a laptop does not. I feel like it would just be another item to distract me.”

Jasmine Chang ’23, who studies human biology, health and society, says that her new iPad pro is her most useful piece of technology because she can use it for calculation and formulas.

“I can carry it into med school or while shadowing other doctors, instead of needing to have a pen and paper while walking around,” she said.

Although Mitchell received her laptop two years ago, it dies quickly and frequently. She stated significant concern that it would stop working entirely, because she would then have to find the money to buy herself a new one or brave schoolwork without.

Julia Vanputte ’24, who studies operations research, spends much of her day working on her computer for many hours. She expressed her concern that the context bluelight exposure has worsened her eyesight to the point where may need glasses.

Vanputte expressed how the dependence on technology affects her studying. She raised complaints with the

A LISTING OF FREE CAMPUS EVENTS

Physics colloquium | On Monday, Prof. Kin Fai Mak, physics, will discuss the history and future studies of a physical phenomenon called the “Mott transition.”

Today

Emerging Markets Theme: Ph.D. Research Day and Faculty Presentations 8 a.m., Clark Hall, 701

Monsoon Voyagers: An Indian Ocean History 11 a.m., Virtual Event

Bootstrap Justice: The Search for Mexico’s Disappeared 1 - 2:15 p.m., Stimson Hall, G-01

Revisiting the Mott Transition With New Materials: From an Old Problem to New Physics 4 - 5 p.m., Rockefeller Hall Schwartz Auditorium

Neuromechanics of Robot-Assisted Gait and Posture 4:30 p.m., Phillips Hall, 233

Leaders in Sustainable Global Enterprise: Katherine Hamilton ’83, Chair at 38 North Solutions 6 - 7:15 p.m., Sage Hall, B08

Tomorrow

Constrained Classification and Policy Learning in Econometrics 11:15 a.m. - 12:45 p.m., Ives Hall, 217

Coronavirus 3C-like Protease as a Therapeutic Target Noon - 1 p.m., Virtual Event

Moiré Simulation of Phases Beyond the Landau Paradigm 12:20 - 1:20 p.m., Virtual Event

COURTESY OF CORNELL UNIVERSITY

Chats in the stacks | Authors Lourdes Casanova and Anne Miroux will speak on Tuesday about traditionally under-analyzed regions’ capacities for innovation and global economic influence.

Innovation From Emerging Markets: From Copycats to Leaders 4 - 5 p.m., Virtual Event

TURKEY, TURKEY, BURNING BRIGHT, FULL OF DARK MEAT, FULL OF LIGHT, HOW SOON ARRIVE THE FESTIVE DAYS WHEN HEAD & CHEST MUST PART THEIR WAYS! YOUR TIME HAS COME TO SQUAWK & HOBBLE, BUT DO NOT FEAR, O NOBLE GOBBLE, FOR GOD (I THINK) IN WRIT PROCLAIMED,

To Infinity and Beyond: Scaling Economic Theories Via Logical Compactness 4:15 - 5:15 p.m., Virtual Event

“A TURKEY FOR ROASTING IS E’RE ORDAINED ” SO INTO STOVE YOU MUST BE THRUST, AND AT YOUR LEGS GROWN MEN WILL LUST! BUT BE CONSOLED, O MIGHTY FOWL: YOU SURE TASTE BETTER THAN AN OWL

— Traditional Cornell Daily Sun Thanksgiving poem by D. Michael Rosenberg ’78 and J.G.S. ’74.

How to Get Your COVID Booster Campus Tech Access

By VIDYA BALAJI Sun Contributor

On Friday, Nov. 19, the CDC expanded eligibility for COVID boosters to all adults 18 and older who received the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine more than six months ago. Those with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine are eligible two months after their shot.

Currently, Cornell does not mandate that students, faculty or staff get boosted, but they are encouraged to do so.

The CDC recommends that unvaccinated adults receive a vaccination as soon as possible and for eligible candidates to get the booster shot. The booster shots are free and will be available across New York. Here are the sites in Ithaca and surrounding counties that offer them. Currently, Cornell has no plans to offer booster clinics on campus.

CVS Pharmacy

There are multiple CVS Pharmacy locations in Ithaca and the surrounding area, including the one on 625 W Clinton St. and one on 40 Catherwood Rd., Ithaca inside Target. CVS Pharmacy asks for insurance provider information, but insurance is not necessary to receive the booster shot. These locations offer both the Pfizer and Moderna boosters, depending on the recipient’s choice.

Walgreens

Walgreens offers the Pfizer, Moderna and

Johnson & Johnson boosters at the 615 S Meadow St. location in Ithaca. While the CDC allows patients to receive any manufacturer’s booster shot, Walgreens only allows them to schedule a booster from the same manufacturer as their initial vaccine doses.

Kinney Drugs

Kinney Drugs pharmacy has two local locations, one on 513 N Cayuga St, Ithaca, and another on 2255 N Triphammer Rd, Ithaca. They only offer the Moderna booster shot, but their website does not show any available appointments in November or December 2021.

Walmart

There are multiple Walmart locations near Cornell, and each offers boosters from different manufacturers. For instance, the Walmart on 135 Fairgrounds Memorial Parkway, Ithaca currently offers the Modern and Johnson & Johnson vaccine, but the Walmart on 819 Bennie Rd., Cortland offers the booster from all three manufacturers.

Rite Aid

The nearest Rite Aid is located in Cortland. Rite Aid offers booster shots from all three manufacturers. However, they do not allow patients to receive a booster shot from a manufacturer different from the one they had for their initial vaccine series.

Vidya Balaji can be reached at vb266@cornell.edu.

Athletes Return to Full Seasons

ATHLETES

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“During COVID, everyone got into loose cycles of rolling out of bed and getting everything done last minute,” Spyredes said, “but I figured out how to regiment myself this fall and stay organized.”

The return to competition has meant that athletes are back to traveling for games, which has strained their schedules and limited the time they have to do schoolwork.

“It’s stressful, to say the least, having to work on bus rides and in hotels with every free minute you have,” Spyredes said. Through increasingly unpredictable schedules, student athletes find solace in their teammates above all else.

mandating sophomore on-campus housing, the team fears that their culture will suffer. “We think that it’s a huge, huge, huge part of the team,” Jaicks said of living with his teammates.

Underclassmen and upperclassmen live in two houses that are located on the same block and they travel to practice together; changing these conditions would disrupt a long-standing team dynamic.

According to junior cornerback Josh Porter ’23, watching the football team stay committed to academics gives him the motivation he needs to succeed.

“It’s stressful, to say the least, having to work on the bus rides and in hotels.”

Evanthia

Spyredes

’22

For the rowing team, living in the same space contributes greatly to their team cohesion, according to both Whitehead and Jaicks. The teammates see each other in and out of practice and maintain strong relationships off the water.

With Cornell’s new policy

“Being constantly surrounded by high achievers, especially athletes who spend three or four hours a day just practicing their sport, really gives you no excuse but to work as hard as your peers,” he said.

For Spyredes, in addition to morale boosts, her teammates also provide her with emotional support.

“My teammates are paramount,” she said. “Whether I need

double verification system that Cornell has adopted for many University page logins.

“DuoPush especially has made it impossible to disconnect from online distractions,” she said. “Even when I want to disconnect and focus I do not have that option because in order to get into Canvas I need to go on my phone where I see all my texts and social media messages.”

Vanputte said she appreciates the ways that technology has increased access to professors. She enjoys their ability to upload assignments virtually, though she wishes Cornell offered the option to turn assignments physically in class as well to minimize the technological burden for students.

Vanputte has experienced issues with online submissions because she has a Microsoft laptop. When buying a new computer at the Cornell store after her previous one had broken, she had to do her own research.

The dependence on technology for academic life pres-

ents issues for students around access. Chang noted that living off campus can provide a barrier, because WiFi is often unstable while completing homework. Mitchell noted that campus may not have kept up with the reliance on technology, with a lack of outlets around campus — noting that her 200 person lecture hall for Plagues and People only has four outlets.

Vanputte suggested that Cornell should provide more tech resources to students in order to help them get projects done and participate fully in academic life.

“Having resources that Cornell provides like computers with special programming for my project team is really helpful, and I frequently use the monitors in Olin, but they are usually packed,” said Vanputte. “It would be nice if Cornell made more of an effort to supply these resources for us so the technological burden does not rest entirely on students.”

someone to quiz me or I need a ride to class, they are physically there for me.”

Despite the strong sense of community within teams, the combination of academics and athletics can contribute to academic anxiety, Spyredes said.

“It really starts to take a toll when everything starts piling on,” she said. “A bad practice or game can carry over into the classroom, and it can get difficult.”

Although the university offers free tutoring for student athletes, several athletes noted difficulty in tapping into resources for themselves and their teammates. With packed schedules, they find themselves having to work around limited availability of tutors.

The “new normal” has reintroduced challenges that athletes have to deal with, and having a strong commitment to a team sport may exacerbate them further. Cornell sports teams are working together to get back on track.

“There’s always that little spark that at every practice someone is always going to have,” Jaicks said.

Cooper Stepke can be reached at cks94@cornell.edu. Rachel Kodysh can be reached at rjk243@cornell.edu.

Eternals Is Worth Every Overcrowded Minute

At first, Marvel’s Eternals staggered onto the big screen under abysmal ratings from critics and a horde of ‘review-bombers’ enraged by the film’s diverse cast and LGBTQ+ representation. Eternals now, however, seems to be getting fairly positive audience reviews, praised for its existential ambitions. On the heels of the widely-successful Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, fans are wringing their hands over the lackluster response.

I, at least, unrepentantly enjoyed Eternals, despite my problems with it. While an overcrowded spectacle with pacing and subtlety issues, Eternals — directed by the talented Chloé Zhao — was redeemed by its cinematography and soundtrack, and the chemistry of its ensemble cast that made their characters vulnerable and charming. The film forecasts the future of the MCU: cramped, convoluted and beautifully strange.

First and foremost, I think that Eternals should have been two films, or have been twenty minutes longer. There were two interwoven threads that did not give the other enough space to be cohesive. One was flashes throughout human history of the Eternals, an ageless band of super-beings that protect Earth from creatures called Deviants, each with characteristic powers like summoning cosmic energy weapons or casting illusions. Almost too casually, scenes of Babylonian greenery and colonial violence give us a vacillating taste of the Eternals’ long lives, deified in different mythologies, watching but not interfering unless Deviants are involved (more on that later).

Eternal’s other thread is the MCU’s present-day, post-Endgame, when the Eternals discover that their protection of humans in the service of a Celestial named Arishem has actually been incubating a Celestial in the Earth. After five-hundred years, they get the band back together from across the globe, only to be fractured again by disagreement over how to deal with the Emergence.

Enough weight could not be given to the emotional arcs of many of the Eternals, making most plot twists feel like a punch to the gut, but a few prompting a shocked laugh (probably not the intended impact of one character flying into the sun). The film tries to fit in so much dazzling visuals and action that some dialogue feels contrived, if only because of how abruptly we are hit with an introductory montage, like that of Sersi (Gemma Chan) and Ikaris (Richard Madden) falling for each other. (Still not sure why we needed the awkward sex, but fans may have overreacted a little.)

Eternals also had a telling-not-showing problem, especially with humans. In one facetious scene, the genius inventor Phastos (Brian Tyree Henry) whips up an engine because humans are not advancing fast enough for him, only to be chided by fellow Eternals into devising a more period-appropriate plow. Not until halfway through the movie, when we see Phastos’s love for his human husband and son, do we get any sense of his tangible connection to humans. In general, it is an overly abstracted desire among Eternals to protect and nurture. Kit Harrington’s Dane

Whitman is likable but often absent, so it’s really Kingo’s (Kumail Nanjiani) valet, Karun (Harish Patel) with his comic devotion to filming everything, that reps for us humans.

Kingo himself, in all his vanity and swagger, is great. He is the font of humor, though I wish he hadn’t conscientiously objected to the final battle. I must also give some ink to Lauren Ridloff’s mischievous Makkari who, despite less screentime than the others, can add my heart to her magpie collection of artifacts she amasses onboard their starship. Not only is it exciting to see a deaf actress and superhero in the MCU, but the breathlessly fast visuals of her superspeed — and the way she does not hesitate to use murderous Ikaris as a punching bag — are some of the best parts of the film. I was also delighted by her chemistry with Barry Keoghan’s teasing but temperamental Druig who, speaking of, is tied with Makkari for my favorite character.

Alright, there may be a discussion to be had about the Lokito-Druig-fan pipeline, but I was invested in the moral dilemmas troubling a mind-controller who I’d assumed would be a bit wicked. In actuality, he gives voice to my own objections, clashing with Ikaris and the stern but motherly leader, Ajak (Salma Hayek), over their complicity in colonial genocide because of their non-involvement. Thousands of years of ruminating over the horrors of human conflict takes its toll. Standing horrified above Tenochtitlan as it burns, Druig’s solution is to play god; he walks everyone out of there (free will privileges revoked) to the tune of a hauntingly beautiful bit of soundtrack, starting a reclusive commune in the Peruvian rainforest.

And so what comes of the dangerous arrogance in seeing history as a teleology, all things part of a necessary development? Was the film itself guilty of this in the way characters often treated technology as a measure of progress? Although Eternals dances with free will, I’m not sure this flawed idea of history was explored enough.

On the topic of complicated characters, Sprite (Lia McHugh) is a strange one. I can’t decide if I empathize with her pettiness after being stuck as a child for millennia, or not. I am told it is

understandable that one would turn traitor for Richard Madden, but backstab the genuinely wholesome Sersi? That’s where she lost me. Sersi is the grounding character, leading by example and not force, enjoying life among humans. I tend to overlook kindly protagonist types, but when she discovers that, as creations of the Celestials, they have all been synthetic pawns and never truly alive, something about Sersi’s unshaken gentleness makes her the accessible heart of the film.

That leaves us with Thena (Angelina Jolie) and Gilgamesh (Ma Dong-seok aka Don Lee), both powerhouses whom I could not fail to mention. Thena is a great warrior struggling with a form of dementia, overwhelmed by memories of countless lives. Gilgamesh is her doting protector, baker-of-pies and friend, bringing her back from the brink. Their old married couple dynamic is organically likable. As with most elements of Eternals, given more screen time I would have been even more moved by the tragedy of their mutual dependence and Jolie’s performance as Thena grapples with loss. At least she slices and dices the forgettable Deviant leader, Kro. The intra-Eternals conflict creates more interesting tension than the Deviants, anyway.

As I think is clear, so much is going on with these characters that I sometimes forgot to follow the plot. What’s happening again? Oh, right, Earth is an egg. Harry Styles is Thanos’ brother. And Kit Harrington has a whispering sword. Though lively, Eternals teeters under the weight of all it tries to set up for future stories, especially because most Marvel team-ups bring together characters that were already introduced at length individually. All things considered, however, Eternals does really well for itself. The universe is expanding faster than ever, but we are saved from whiplash by stories grounded in introspective, familiar motivations: to retain a sense of purpose, to grow, to protect, to make peace.

Charlee Mandy is a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences. She can be reached at crm299@cornell.edu.

I Blame Disney for My Failed Love Life

After a few failed attempts at trying to find a boyfriend (okay maybe more than a few), I really cannot help but wonder is it me? But as I do a little self-introspection I start to recognize a pattern. A pattern that me and all of my amazing, albeit single, friends seem to display time and time again.

It is always the same exact boy that sends us into a downward spiral of heartbreak, tears and Taylor Swift radio on full blast. The “Bad Boy.” It’s the ones who we all know are no good right from the start. The ones with the bad reputations and a string of girls behind them who are warning you in all caps: DO NOT START WITH THIS ONE.

It’s not that these boys are particularly the best looking ones in the room, nor are they even the smartest, funniest — and certainly not the nicest. So what is it then? With no exceptionally good qualities and nothing but red flags and warning signs, why is this the type of boy we decide to fall for over and over again? Well, I’m going to have to blame Disney for this one. I’d say the three most influential

figures in my childhood were my mom, my dad and whatever show Disney Channel was playing at the time. And I applaud all three for raising me well and giving me the important lessons I need to get through life: how to not talk to strangers, always look both ways when crossing the street and if you want to become an international pop-star while still having a secret normal life, buy a blonde wig.

But Disney failed to teach me that bad boys really are just bad boys. First we have Dean Moriarty, Wizards of Waverly Place’s tall, luscious haired bad boy. The one with no curfew who skipped class, had tattoos and Alex’s own best friend warned her against dating. But a few episodes later, Dean turned out to be just misunderstood. He was a devoted and loving boyfriend who just had trouble expressing his emotions. Alex was even the one who ended up ending their relationship, leaving Dean heartbroken.

Although he started off seeming standoffish and disrespectful, once he opened up it turned out he was just shy and didn’t know how to admit his true feelings for Alex! Next on the list is none other than the entire reason ten-years-later we are all still singing along to “He Could Be The One’’ by Miley

Cyrus. Hannah Montana’s bad boy crush appears in the third season of the show when the brown-eyed guitar player Jesse comes into her life. Known for his reputation as a heart-breaker, Miley is resistant to her romantic feelings for Jesse and even has to lie to her dad about liking the boy. Lo and behold, a couple of episodes later we learn that Jesse’s bad boy persona is really just a cover for yes, being misunderstood. He ends up being a caring boyfriend who spoils Miley with affection and romantic dates, making eight-year-old me fall in love with him at home too. I will rest my case with the ultimate rebel of Disney — Zack Martin.

From The Suite Life of Zack & Cody to the equally beloved The Suite Life on Deck, Zack was always known as the bad boy, especially when compared to his sweet, smart and sensitive twin brother Cody. His grades were constantly lacking, his only real goals in life were to play video games, and he was quite a player when it came to the ladies — yet who was the one that everyone ended up having a crush on, the one who always got the girl? Yup, bad boy Zack. While you may say that

I can’t blame anyone but myself for my poor taste in guys, I think Disney should be held equally accountable for this one. What if the narrative was different? What if Dean ended up breaking Alex’s heart and Jesse ghosted Miley two days later. Imagine if Cody got the girls and all Zack got was an STD. Now I understand this isn’t exactly what any twelve year old wants to see, but how were all the adults so on board with lying to us as kids? Years later and my mom is still asking me why I haven’t brought home a nice boy yet and I’m finally starting to realize this is not my fault. I spent my most formative years watching the bad boys be anything but bad. Meanwhile here I am chasing around guys with horrible reputations just waiting for that point in the show where he comes knocking down my door crying that he really does have feelings for me and that he only acted out because he was scared and shy. I’m starting to realize that only in the magical world of Disney is the bad boy really the good boy, because in college the bad boy is just that — bad.

Ella Schwartz is a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences. She can be reached at ejs379@cornell.edu.

Who Knew Divorce Could Be So Relatable?

P. J. BROWN SUN CONTIRBUTOR

Six years after her last album, we finally heard from one of the music industry’s titans, a woman whose personal struggles have stopped the world every half a decade. It’s safe to say that many of us grew up with Adele — I certainly have. As Adele came into her own as an artist in 2011 with 21, we were coming into our own as young people whose music was defined by the radio and their parents. As she fell in love in 2015 with 25, we became more self-assured, coming to terms with the world around us.

Now, as we come to define ourselves in our transition to adulthood, Adele is developing in synchronicity, reforming her musical identity while grappling with the turbulence of emotion following a devastating divorce. On 30, we meet Adele at her creative best, allowing the music of older generations to coalesce with her signature sound, accompanied by an unprecedented use of electronics.

Nowhere is this more apparent than on the album’s opener, “Strangers by Nature,” in which her first lines, “I’ll be taking flowers to the cemetery of my heart,” accompany a spare electric piano that gives way to a cascade of swirling strings. We are introduced to a redefined Adele, one who is unafraid of straying from the pop ballad formula to do exactly what she wants. Over the course of the album, she revisits the age of ‘30s Hollywood, samples ‘50s jazz, conjures the unabashed purity of Motown and recaptures the ingenuity of ‘70s singer-songwriters. Especially compelling is her evident inspiration from modern R&B, most notably on “All Night Long” and “Woman Like Me.”

As the album’s first three tracks close with the reflective “My Little Love,” there is a sense that Adele does not feel like giving us another 21 or 25. Rather, she wants this album to serve as an hour of rumination for her listener. She isn’t pulling out any stops to impress with any vocal acrobatics or belting just to belt. More than anything, she wants us to understand her situation, as heavy as it may be.

The heartbreaking final voice memo of “My Little Love” marks a turning point in 30. In the next three tracks, we see Adele relentlessly trying, going out to make herself feel more alive. This makes for a thrilling and almost jarring listen musically, as she experiments with electronics like never before. She also constantly toys with her supporting vocals, such as in the electronic pitch manipulations in “Cry Your Heart Out.” While the music is upbeat, thanks to the work of past collaborators Greg Kurstin, Max Martin and Shellback, lines like “I know that it’s wrong / but I want to have fun” on the album highlight “Oh My God” allude to the idea that maybe we’re listening to someone convincing themselves that they’re enjoying reentering the dating world.

“I Drink Wine,” another personal favorite, illustrates her meeting herself in the middle, acknowledging her bad habits and regrets accompanied by an uplifting sound similar to the music of Elton John. We’re reminded that she is still growing and learning: “I hope I learn to get over myself / Stop tryin’ to be somebody else.” The person she became on the past three tracks fades into the artist we know and love trying to embrace her missteps.

The album’s closing three tracks make for Adele’s best songwriting to date. Each track caps off at around six minutes, but flies by, presenting most of the emotional weight of the album in eighteen minutes. “Hold On” and “Love Is A Game,” two collaborations with Inflo, the producer behind neo soul collective SAULT, flawlessly positions the artist in the world of Motown, reinforcing the echoes of music past over the course of the album. On both tracks, Adele is the seeker of her own advice, sought through discovering herself over the past few years. We are reminded that love is a game, but it’s a game that we all yearn to play.

“To Be Loved” — undoubtedly her best song — is a delicate cyclone, one that the singer has only been able to sing three times and vowed she’d never perform live. It beautifully encapsulates what makes the artist the profound vocalist and songwriter she is. Penned with longtime collaborator Tobias Jesso Jr., “To Be Loved” is spare, raw and penetrative. It’s a stunning testament to Adele’s power as a songwriter in capturing the universality of emotion. We all long to have others know that we’re trying, to be silently forgiven and to forgive ourselves for our regrets, and, as Adele reminds us on 30, to be loved as the works-in-progress we are.

P. J. Brown is a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences. He can be reached at pjb279@cornell.edu.

T e Five Best T anksgiving Episodes, Ranked

GILLIAN LEE SUN CONTRIBUTOR

The essence of fall: Autumn leaves, toasty air, a chill breeze and, of course, Thanksgiving. Not feeling the Thanksgiving spirit? Watching a Thanksgiving episode may be your solution. I’m here to spread some encouragement to indulge in shows featuring turkey complications and family debacles by providing my top five Thanksgiving episodes.

5. “The Homecoming,” The O.C. (Season 1, Episode 11): Starting off with a traditional Thanksgiving route, The O.C.’s Thanksgiving episode’s theme is bringing people together. With Ryan visiting his brother in jail for the first time, Seth Cohen splitting his time between two girls and Sandy dealing with his father-in-law, there’s a lot of people centered in the 45-minute show. It makes my favorite’s list for its plentiful witty thanksgiving banter. However, much due to Seth Cohen declaring Thanksgiving to be his “favorite holiday” at the start of the episode, I was expecting more. The episode ended with a burning turkey and eating Chinese food on the floor, because what else would you expect from a classic episode’s Thanksgiving?

4. “Three Turkeys,” Modern Family (Season 6, Episode 8): Pivoting to a series with family at its core, Modern Family brought much-needed comedy to the family-filled holiday. The show features three turkeys — Phil’s traditional turkey, Claire’s backup turkey and Jay’s mini turkey. Personally, I found the three turkeys symbolized the scatteredness of this episode, but this is Modern Family fashion so it’s quite suitable. I found Gloria and Jay to be the glaring, hilarious stars of this episode. To begin, Gloria and Jay — with suitcases in hand — pretend they are in Mexico while video calling the family. However, their desires for a quiet Thanksgiving spiral, and the show shows them attempting to avoid the family, which includes Gloria hiding a turkey in her suitcase.

3. “Thanksgiving,” New Girl (Season 1, Episode 6): I must say I was pleasantly surprised with this episode. It can take a lot for me to get a chuckle from this sitcom at times, but this episode both captured my laughs and got me in the Thanksgiving spirit. For the only episode on my list featuring a Thanksgiving dinner where no guest is related to each other, I was impressed. You can always rely on Jess to give some nickname to some person or object per episode, and I thoroughly enjoyed her naming the turkey Hank…. but was disappointed the episode wasn’t named

“Hanksgiving.” Hank gets put in the dryer, and the episode features multiple frames of Hank circling in his dry cycle.

2. “The One With All the Thanksgivings,” Friends (Season 5, Episode 8): Flashback episodes are consistently episodes I skip over, but for this Friends Thanksgiving, I saw an exception to my rule. In the words of Chandler, “Come on Monica, reliving past pain and getting depressed is what Thanksgiving is all about.” Although adding little to the Friends storyline, flashbacks of the gang from high school and college were thoroughly entertaining. With scenes displaying college Ross bringing Chandler to Thanksgiving, and Chandler accidentally losing part of his toe, who couldn’t be entertained? Also, I feel lots of fall spirit in Friends as I believe it encapsulates imagery of warm wool sweaters, coffee in mugs and sharing meals and debate with friends and family — so this had to be runner up on my list. There are ten Thanksgiving episodes in Friends, and the fact that a flashback one is my favorite says a lot about its hold on me, so I would highly recommend you watch it.

1. “A Deep-Fried Korean Thanksgiving,” Gilmore Girls (Season 3, Episode 9): It would take all my willpower to not rank the Thanksgiving episode from the series that effuses fall spirit from its bones at the top of my list. It’s a heart-warming, comforting classic. For the girls who never stop eating, or drinking coffee, Rory and Lorelei capitalize on Thanksgiving in this episode with four dinners — allowing viewers to experience any and all Thanksgiving elements. I was immersed in four different Thanksgiving settings: Inside with the large Kim family with Dave Rygalski playing soft background church music, outside with Sookie who drinks to get over the stress of her husband cooking the turkey, Luke’s diner with a more home-y spirit than usual and finally, the Gilmore’s timeless Connecticut mansion featuring a ceremonial turkey carving. And past simply different settings, the turkey selection was also differentiated. From the Kims’ tofu-turkey to Jackson’s deep-fried turkey in 15 gallons of oil, I found a range of delicacies. The plot balances what may seem like a chaotic Thanksgiving with a friends-and-family filled peace. This made four Thanksgivings look extremely appealing.

This Thanksgiving break, I encourage you to unwind, sit on the couch and watch a Thanksgiving episode or two. This way, you’ll have the full Thanksgiving spirit when you’re eating your turkey of choice on Thursday.

Gillian Lee is a freshman in the College of Human Ecology. She can be reached at gl386@cornell.edu.

Lowering Our Hands to Raise Our Questions

Roei Dery

Te Dery Bar

Roei Dery is a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences. He can be reached at rdery@cornellsun.com. Te Dery Bar runs every other Monday this semester.

Are there any questions?” The age-old question asked by a professor as they look up from their notes. “So many.” I usually think to myself as the question is met with a combination of silence and the scribbles of students scrambling to copy the notes on the board.

Most of the time, I just want to know where some minus sign came from, having had next to no time to internalize the material freshly freshly transcribed into my notebook. So, I lean into the person next to me adding to the chorus of student whispers. Not wanting to force the class on an algebra quest into the minutia of a derivation, my hand stays lowered. The same three hands shoot up on cue, followed by an additional pause as the professor looks for “someone new.” Usually that just leads to more silence.

I sit there hoping that someone else will raise their hand. But not me of course. It’s an uncomfortable moment usually attributed to a lack of attentiveness or interest when that isn’t necessarily the case at all.

Since early grade school and through college, I’ve heard various iterations of the phrases “Others have the same question” and “There are no dumb questions.” While true, a classroom where everyone asks every — or even most — of the questions that come to mind isn’t always a better one.

Most questions that come to mind aren’t grand or conceptual in any particular way; they arise in a much more preliminary stage of the learning process, as we try to understand the details of going from point A to B. It just wouldn’t be productive for all of our hands to shoot up when the professor asks “Any questions?”, only to go over a certain part of the lecture over again.

Even studies have shown that questions focussing on details don’t help students learn as much as conceptual questions. And although greater conceptual questions are valuable to ask in class, for those still sorting through a more preliminary part of a derivation, they often don’t mean much to us yet. Most questions are therefore swept under the rug, forgotten until we revisit the material much later. We need to improve the method in which we ask our questions to ensure they are truly addressed, while being mindful of the flow of a lecture. The expectation that anyone who has a question raises their hand in class is harmful to the cultivation of an interactive classroom environment.

For larger lectures, most of the smaller, detail-based questions could be otherwise answered by posting them to a forum much like Ed Discussion or Piazza monitored in live time during lecture by the T.A.s or the professor themselves. The convenience and anonymity would encourage students to ask about points of confusion more often without stopping the lecture. It seems unnecessary to ask about a single minus sign in front of dozens of people.

In general, however, the subtle expression of dis -

The expectation that anyone who has a question raises their hand in class is harmful to the cultivation of an interactive classroom environment.

For larger lectures, most of the smaller, detail-based questions could be otherwise answered by posting them to a forum ... The convenience and anonymity would encourage students to ask about points of confusion more often ....

appointment by the professor when the class has no questions is indicative of the heavy emphasis we place on questions as a gauge of students’ learning and interest. This is why we generally believe students who raise their hand more during class are more thoughtful and curious than those who don’t. It’s for this reason that certain professors believe that participation alone (which more or less equates to asking questions during class) is worth an entire section of the grade.

In many such cases, evaluations are not being made based on intellectual curiosity, but rather extroversion. Any attentive student is naturally confused about certain parts of the lecture at one point or another. The primary culprit of a lack of questions is not a lack of curiosity, but rather the way in which we are expected to ask them during class: by raising our hand. Slight fixes in this process that is so central to our learning would go a long way to making the classroom more interactive, and will minimize those times throughout a lecture where the class looks to the same few people to chime in during awkward silences.

Te Best Way to Pre-Enroll Is Waiting Until Add/Drop

Katherine Yao is a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences. She can be reached at kyao@cornellsun.com. Her column, Hello Katie, runs every other Wednesday this semester.

As a junior, I thought I could get into my classes, no problem. Well, fve full minutes of the loading wheel of death later, I was hit with that nightmare-inducing red X for two classes I needed for my major. One of my backup classes flled immediately, and I “didn’t meet the enrollment criteria” (whatever that means) for the other. So, add/drop, here I come.

I’ve had to build my schedule from the ground up during add/drop for four semesters now. Te frst time, I got shutout of classes by virtue of being a frst-

year. Te second time, I got shut out of classes by virtue of being a sophomore. Te third time, I was second-guessing my major at the last minute two days before classes started. To be honest, I have no idea what happened this fourth time. Even though the stakes are a bit higher for me this year — the time crunch to fnish my requirements before May 2023 is all too real now — I’m not as panicked as I have been in the past. And, as hard as it is, I urge you not to panic either.

I know that pre-enroll sucks, no matter your grade level. For frst-years and sophomores, enrollment priority is lower, so many popular classes have already flled. For juniors and seniors, class sizes for major electives tend to be smaller, and there’s that added fear of not graduating on time if enrollment doesn’t go as planned. On top of that, Student Center’s user interface probably hasn’t been updated in ten years, which makes navigating the site more futile than using a potato as a calculator. No amount of scheming or foresight will ever prepare you for the despair of your third server error in fve minutes and your backup class’s backup getting flled. Every person I know has had at least one awful pre-enroll experience, but guess what, they’re doing fne. I didn’t fnalize my frst-year schedule until about a week into the semester after enough people dropped the class-

es I wanted. My friend slept through enrollment last semester, but she’s still on track to graduate on time. At this point in my college career, I’m over spamming professors with emails and

I know that pre-enroll sucks, no matter your grade level.

having nightmares over missing out on Introduction to Web Development. Large classes, in particular, have so much mobility during add/drop. To the frst-years and sophomores, I am willing to bet my tuition money that Computer Science 1110: Introduction to Computing and Mathematics 1110: Calculus I or any other class with over 200 people will open up at some point. Maybe you’ll have a harder time getting into Physical Education 1520: Introduction to Archery or Viticulture and Enology 2340: Cider Production Lab the frst time around, but you have all the semesters ahead of you to try out those types of classes. Coursegrab is also an application that

makes it easy to track class openings and get alerts about open spots. It’s important to remember that as you drop and swap classes to create your ideal schedule, there are thousands of other students moving around their classes around too. Your pre-enroll schedule will likely not be the iteration you have three weeks into the semester, and that’s to be expected.

Furthermore, even if you are one of the unicorns that manages to snag all your top choices frst try with minimal bufering, it’s not always a guarantee of smooth sailing down the road. People’s goals change. Majors change. Requirements change. I’ve had miracle semesters where I got into everything I wanted to, only to realize later down the line that I probably should have held of on a class or prioritized something else. Sometimes, needing to forgo a computer science course requirement and settling on that random pipe organ class instead can be a blessing in disguise. You never know.

So, yes, it’s scary to have a schedule in limbo, and it’s never fun to get stuck in an 8 a.m. Monday discussion because the 1 p.m. session is full. But, trust me, I’ve been playing this game long enough to realize that these things usually have a way of working out in the end. Having a bad pre-enroll is a rite of passage — add/drop will be there to bail you out.

Sundoku Puzzle 0387

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

Dandro

MEN’S HOCKEY

Red Icers Sweep Weekend Games Against Bruins and Bulldogs

Yale Shut Out in Final Home Game of 2021

By AARON SNYDER Sun Assistant Sports Editor

After a narrow overtime win against Brown on Friday night, No. 10 men’s hockey hoped to get a full three points in its battle with winless Yale on Saturday night.

Cornell (7-1, 5-1) benefited from performances by two seniors who have had to wait for their opportunities to contribute.

Senior goaltender Nate McDonald made his collegiate debut earlier this season after playing behind Matt Galajda for his first few seasons. A phenomenal performance by McDonald kept Cornell in control on Saturday night. McDonald, who notched 30 saves Friday night, was called on after not playing in both games last weekend. Freshman goaltender Joe Howe, who laid a strong claim to the starting role after holding opponents to four goals last weekend, was unavailable due to injury. McDonald stepped up once again, finishing with a 14 save shutout.

“I didn’t think we got off to a very good start tonight,” Schafer said. “Early on we came out and I don’t know if we thought it was going to be easy, but we didn’t play fast, didn’t play strong,” Schafer said.

Cornell had three opportunities on the power play in the first period, but came up empty on all three. The Red spent a lot of its time with the man advantage passing the puck around the offensive zone, but could not seem to find any shooting lanes. Cornell took just one shot on its three first period power plays.

Senior forward Liam Motley, who has been in and out of the lineup all season and who did not play on Friday night, scored what ended up being the game winning goal – his first at Lynah Rink.

“Kids like Motley and McDonald, guys that haven’t gotten a lot of ice time in their first few years here, they’re such an important part of our program,” said Head Coach Mike Schafer ’86. “To persevere and be great teammates and have great attitudes, guys like that are invaluable as far as culture is concerned.”

For the second consecutive night Cornell could not get much brewing offensively early in the game. The Red seemed mostly in control in the first period, as strong effort on the forecheck and in the neutral zone set the Red up with plenty of opportunities in its offensive zone, but Cornell did not generate any shots that posed a problem for Yale’s Luke Pearson.

“The one [power play] unit struggled,” Schafer said. “They’re frustrated…they’re trying to force it and trying to do too much.”

Yale (0-6, 0-5) for its part, played with energy in the first period, especially on the defensive end — where the Bulldogs prevented Cornell from finding quality opportunities. The Bulldogs tested McDonald seven times in the first, including twice on a power play late in the period, but McDonald did not let anything through.

The two teams went to the intermission scoreless with Cornell holding a 10-7 lead in shots.

“I think it’s a really good lesson,” Motley said. “Sometimes games don’t start the way you want them to. It’s not like we’re going to come out and get a lead every first period. To get that experience early on and have that adversity is going to be great for our team.”

was added to the lineup tonight after not dressing Friday.

“It felt incredible,” Motley said. “I’ve never scored at Lynah and I’m a senior now so it was a pretty exciting moment for me.”

The play also drew a tripping penalty to send Cornell on its fourth power play of the night. This time the Red was able to capitalize. With 13:06 left in the period freshman forward Ondrej Psenicka tipped in junior defenseman Travis Mitchell’s shot from the point to put Cornell ahead 2-0.

“Ondrej is a big screen down there, it’s hard for the goaltender to look around him and find [the puck],” Schafer said. “We were able to find that seam and get it down to the net. Ondrej was able to provide the screen and had a great tip.”

The Bulldogs ramped up the pressure following the goals, but could not get anything going. McDonald made three saves heading into the media timeout and another at the 7:40 mark to keep Yale off the board.

“To ... be great teammates and have great attitudes, guys like that are invaluable as far as culture is concerned.”

Mike Schafer ’86

Cornell’s offensive struggles continued for the first few minutes of the second period during two long stretches of back and forth play. With just under 14 minutes left in the period, Cornell’s offense came to life.

At the 13:41 mark, Motley put Cornell on the board after finding the back of the net on a wrist shot from the left circle. The goal was Motley’s first of the season, as he

Both offenses were quiet for the rest of the period after a trio of blue-line shots by freshman defenseman Hank Kempf missed their mark with about seven minutes left. With 44 seconds left in the second a pair of penalties on both teams sent the game to two minutes of four on four play. Yale’s William Dineen was assessed a five minute major for elbowing, but junior forward Ben Berard was called for embellishment to prevent Cornell from going up a man. The wraparound four on four ended uneventfully, and Cornell got to work with a three minute man advantage early in the third period.

For the second time of the night, the Red capitalized on the power play. At the 16:30 mark, Mitchell fired a rocket from the point that snuck past Pearson and put the Red up 3-0.

To read the rest of this article, please visit cornellsun.com.