INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880
The Corne¬ Daily Sun 8 Pages – Free
Vol. 141, No. 39
THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 2023 n ITHACA, NEW YORK
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Dining
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A Meal at Zocalo
Measuring Volcanoes
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Jimmy Cawley '25 explores the menu at Zocalo, a hidden gem in the Ithaca Mall.
Cornell researchers have developed new methods to calculate magma depth in volcanoes.
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HIGH: 41º LOW: 31º
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Ticketing Service Compromised Professor Robert
Recent information breach has cost students with card fraud
“On Feb. 21, AudienceView discovered suspicious activity within our Campus product which is embedded into the website of Cornell Big Red Ticket. We immediFor many Cornell students, attending ticketed events ately initiated an investigation into the nature and scope such as concerts and sporting events can be a source of joy of the event and determined that our Campus product and stress relief during taxing moments of the semester. was impacted with malware,” the company wrote in the In late February, though, AudienceView, the third-party email. “The investigation determined that between Feb. ticketing vendor the University uses, experienced a breach 17, and Feb. 21, certain individuals’ information may have been subject to unauthorized access and acquisition. of student personal information. The breach put a damper on the enjoyment of events In response, we moved quickly to remove the malware from our Campus product and reviewed the potentially for many affected students. “It was 10 minutes before my physics prelim, and I saw impacted data in order to identify what information is contained therein and charges up to $5,000 on to whom that informamy card after I checked my balance. I immedi“There is no guarantee that I will get my tion relates.” Bormet said she ately panicked and could money back after my dispute. ... This is did not receive such not do much about it an email. until after my prelim the case for many students right now.” Personal informaexam,” said S.C. ’24, a S.C. ’24 tion such as student student in the College names, billing and of Agriculture and Life shipping addresses, Sciences who wished to email addresses and remain anonymous due payment information may have been affected, according to an ongoing case with the police. S.C. had previously purchased tickets to the Cornell to the company. In an email to The Sun, Samantha Park, assisFashion Collective fashion show to support a friend. Ella Bormet ’24 noticed recent card fraud after a series tant director of Athletics, Ticketing and Camps at the of charges that she had not made, only one of which has University, wrote that AudienceView has since suspended all sales on their platform due to further attempted securialready been reimbursed by her bank. “I didn’t really think anything of it,” Bormet said. ty breaches of its platform. “Sales via our site will remain unavailable while “Two days later, my mom texted me and said, ‘I didn’t know you sent your Uno cards to our house. Can I mail AudienceView conducts an investigation,” Park wrote. them to you?’ It was really funny. I [said] ‘What? I didn’t “[On Wednesday,] our office will be releasing information order that.’ … So that’s kind of how I actually found out.” on securing admission for this weekend’s men’s basketball For some, the matter felt more serious, as the victims game.” Cornell is not the only university currently experienchave no control over the dispute and investigation process. S.C. said they experienced four fraudulent charges ing this issue. Virginia Tech, SUNY Oswego, Middlebury in total on their debit card, with two as purchases at College and Kent State University are among the other OfficeDepot and two sending almost $4,000 to a random colleges where student information was recently breached through use of AudienceView’s third-party ticketing recipient. “There is no guarantee that I will get my money back service. S.C. said the incident has threatened their sense of after my dispute,” S.C. said. “Additionally, the investigation will take more than 30 days, which is outright ridicu- security. “I’m basically without a card right now,” S.C. said, lous for something I had no control of, and this is the case “but I feel unsafe using my card and account info until the for many students right now.” In an email sent to some Cornell students who had investigation is over.” previously purchased tickets through their platform, AudienceView alerted students to the possibility of a data Carlin Reyen can be reached at creyen@cornellsun.com. breach. By CARLIN REYEN Sun Staff Writer
Howarth Advances Climate Knowledge
By AIMÉE EICHER Sun Assistant News Editor
From leading a Cornell research lab to being featured in The New York Times, Prof. Robert Howarth, ecology and evolutionary biology, has spent his career studying and educating the public on climate change. Howarth began studying the environment, ecosystems and biology early in his academic career. He earned a B.A. from Amherst College before going on to earn a Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Howarth reflected upon an undergraduate internship at Brookhaven National Laboratory, an experience that helped shape his further career path. “When I was an undergraduate, I didn't know if I wanted to be a scientist or if I wanted to be an environmental lawyer or a policy person — someone out there making a real difference,” Howarth said. “[At Brookhaven Lab] I worked with a really fantastic group. I was doing the same kind of work that I've ended up doing for my career but also heavily engaged in issues such as how deforestation in the Amazon was affecting climate change.” Howarth’s career at Cornell has extended for over three
decades. He taught in the College of Arts and Sciences for eight years, before the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences asked him to accept an endowed professorship as the David R. Atkinson professor of ecology and evolutionary biology. Currently, Howarth teaches Ecology and Evolutionary Biology 1610: Introductory Biology: Ecology and the Environment. Upon arriving at the University, Howarth began his research, co-leading a lab with Roxanne Marino Ph.D. ’01 — whom Howarth referred to as the lab’s chemistry expert. Howarth said that he has worked with Marino for about 40 years, even before beginning his position at Cornell. Several other faculty members are part of the lab, including Dennis Swaney, the lab’s coordinator of modeling and Melanie Hayn ’04 M.S. ’12 Ph.D. ’23, who works remotely from the Ecosystems Center at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. See PROF page 3
COURTESY OF CORNELL UNIVERSITY
Spanish Debate Team to Compete in Colombia By ISABELA WILSON Sun Contributor
The Sociedad de Debate en Español Cornell, the University’s Spanish debate team, is preparing to showcase its skills on an international stage at an upcoming tournament at Universidad del Rosario in Bogotá, Colombia. SDEC is a sub-organization of the Speech and Debate Program under the School of Industrial and Labor Relations. The team is the host of Campeonato Hispanohablante Interuniversitario de Debate y
Oratoria, an annual, inter-university Hispanic-speaking debate and oratory championship. They are also a regular participant in the World Universities Debating Championship, the world’s largest debate tournament, which includes English and Spanish debate competitions abroad. SDEC has traveled to many Spanish-speaking countries for tournaments, including Mexico, Guatemala and Peru, although the COVID-19 pandemic inhibited the team from participating in competitions abroad for two years. Last year, the team resumed traveling interna-
tionally, competing in Spain over the summer and in Mexico over the Thanksgiving break. This year, they will compete in the Torneo Rosarista de Debate, which will take place from March 18 to March 20 and will feature teams from other schools in Spanish-speaking countries. The SDEC students traveling to Colombia come from a diverse array of backgrounds. Pedro Pontes Garcia ’26, a student from Spain, joined SDEC to speak his native language in an academic setting. See DEBATE page 3
COURTESY OF SOCIEDAD DE DEBATE EN ESPAÑOL CORNELL
Dashing debaters | Cornell's Spanish debate team is preparing for an international tournament in Colombia.