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Ithaca First City to Unionize All Starbucks Negotiations to begin

after union vote

Following efforts extending back to October, all three Ithaca Starbucks locations voted to unionize this past Friday, April 8. The outcomes of the votes for the College Avenue location, the Ithaca Commons location and the Meadow Street location were 19-1, 15-1 and 13-1, respectively.

“A lot of my coworkers are very happy, but we know this is only the first step in the next chapter of our journey,” said Evan Sunshine ’24, a barista and mem-

ber of the union campaign’s organizing committee. “We’ll have to do bargaining with Starbucks for our first contract and only then we’ll be able to reap the benefits of the union.”

For Nadia Vitek ’22, another organizing committee member, the relief of the vote was accompanied by frustration at the months-long, arduous process that Starbucks employees underwent to be permitted to vote for the formation of a union, which they consider a basic right.

“We feel such a huge sense of relief also coupled with sad-

Students Celebrate Religious Holidays

By SOFIA

Students across campus celebrated Easter, Passover and Ramadan this weekend in a rare crossover of the holidays that occurs approximately every 30 years.

ness that something so simple and basic shouldn't have to take this much work. [We faced] so much resistance for exercising our human rights,” Vitek said.

This resistance, according to the Starbucks workers, came through union-busting methods used by corporate leaders at Starbucks, including intimidation tactics, the denial of breaks and overhiring to limit hours.

In a conversation between Vitek and their manager, intended to serve as a discussion of potential

Big Funding to Cornell, Ithaca

On Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) made a visit to Cornell’s Ithaca Campus in a groundbreaking ceremony for a new magnet research facility at Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source.

The ceremony marked $8.5 million in funding from the National Science Foundation for the construction of a $32.6 million expansion to CHESS: The High Magnetic Field X-Ray Beamline, a new expansion to CHESS’s facilities made in partnership with the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory and the University of Puerto Rico.

As a result of grant-reliance, CHESS’s budget has not always been stable. In 2012, Schumer’s lobbying helped save the facility from significant budget cuts.

At the groundbreaking ceremony, Schumer, who faces re-election this year in November, touted the additional jobs and scientific opportunities the new expansion will create, and the federal money he has directed to New York in his time in office.

sponsored by Schumer meant to support scientific research amid the United States’ growing technological competition with China, which would provide another source of funding to facilities like CHESS. In an interview with The Sun, Prof. Joel Brock, applied and engineering physics, the director of CHESS who also spoke at the presentation, expressed excitement for the scientific possibilities the new facilities could bring to research ranging from the study of new quantum materials to the diffusion of metal in plants.

“We are getting around 100 people every night to gather together, to eat together, break bread and to pray together, so this is the time of the year when you feel the most connected not just with the other Muslims on campus, but with the larger Muslim world,”

See HOLIDAYS page 3

Ramadan began on April 1 and continues throughout the month of April. During this holy month, Muslims commemorate the revelation of the Quran and draw closer to God through fasting and cultivating self-control, gratitude and compassion. Muslims on campus have been celebrating this month by breaking fast in the Old World Room in the basement of Anabel Taylor Hall.

Although CHESS receives fees from researchers who use the lab, the facility’s fundraising relies heavily on grants such as these from government sources, including the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Air Force Research Lab.

In his presentation, Schumer also discussed the United States Innovation and Competition Act of 2021, a bill

To continue reading this story, please visit cornellsun. com.

Jennifer Robertson

Robo-Sexism: Gendering AI and Robots in Japan and the United States (and Elsewhere)

Friday, April 22, 2022 4:45pm to 6:15 p.m. G64 Goldwin Smith Hall

All Tree Ithaca Starbucks Vote to Unionize

STARBUCKS

Continued from page 1

promotions and other opportunities, Vitek was misgendered by their manager. Their manager proceeded to imply that a union would risk the benefits that employees receive, according to Vitek.

“[My manager] went on to brag about how many trans partners work at her store back home, and then after I asked her about trans healthcare benefits at Starbucks, she finished explaining those benefits by saying ‘I would hate for you to have to lose this with the union,’ basically dangling the benefits in front of me. Threatening my benefits,” Vitek said.

Student workers also faced difficulties taking time off to visit family and friends for this past Spring Break and were often presented with the choice between time off or risking their jobs.

According to Vitek, 6 out of 7 requests for time off were denied at the Starbucks on College Avenue by one manager.

Alayna Earl ’23 requested time off in advance for Spring Break but was denied it on the grounds that too many people requested it off before them.

“[The manager] pretty much called back and said, ‘I'm going to assume you’re voluntarily resigning if you don't show up to your shift’,” Earl said.

Conor Mervyn ’24, who did not go home for Spring Break after being denied time off, shared his ongoing anxieties regarding requesting time off for summer break.

“I shouldn't lose my job for having to leave for the summer,” Mervyn said, who is currently in the process of emailing professors looking for jobs as his fallback options.

“I saw one of my coworkers leave a conversation with the manager in tears knowing she'd have to pick between the job and family for Spring Break. A job shouldn't be a prison, you should have time off if you want. All these people gave a reasonable amount of notice. It’s infuriating,” Vitek said.

Leading up to the vote, many note that the work envi-

ronment had also been made noticeably less hospitable, with restrictions on water and the use of fans.

“A lot of the retaliation that my store has been experiencing has just been being treated like animals, it almost seems like they're trying to make us quit,” said Rebekkah Maclean ’24. “They know who supports the union; they are treating them all like shit. The way we're getting talked to is degrading.”

According to Maclean, recently workers were prohibited from keeping beverages like water in non-personal cups, as well as from having a fan on the floor.

“It gets hot. My sister and I have problems with being woozy and passing out; if there’s no water or no fan, how are we supposed to work? It's hell,” Maclean said.

According to Sunshine, the corporation is attempting to hire an unnecessarily large cohort of new employees in order to cut hours across the board and ask pro-union workers to quit.

“Packing in stores is illegal and is a form of retaliation; it is a form of punishment for unionizing,” Sunshine said.

Sunshine mentioned that GenZ for Change created an algorithm to flood the application portal with fake applications in an effort to resist this anti-union attempt.

Starbucks executive sentiment has recently been made public as well, with interim CEO Howard Schultz reportedly lashing out at a barista at a California location.

“If you hate Starbucks so much, why don’t you go somewhere else?” said Schultz, according to The New York Post.

According to the campaign organizers, the next step for the union is negotiating contracts for each store. According to Vitek, the unionized Elmwood store in Buffalo welcomes partners from other unionized stores to take part in their negotiations and will possibly provide a template for the contracts of Ithaca’s stores.

According to Sunshine, a survey has been sent out to gauge the workers’ needs and demands which will frame the union proposals. The workers’ eminent demands include wage raises and increased hours for those who require them, as well as free healthcare coverage and increased safety measures. Vitek also

mentioned their excitement at the proposal of a tip minimum.

“It would be great to be able to depend on making a certain amount of money and not just hope we get lucky,” Vitek said.

Earl would advocate for the provision of universal time off to partners when requested. “It's not fair to prioritize one partners’ request over others’, you don't know why someone is taking time off … I think it [should be] the manager's job to find scheduling and coverage,” they said.

“I want to be as zero waste as possible as a corporation, I want to reduce Starbucks’ carbon footprint,” Maclean said. She also stated the need for easier access to mental health care beyond the 20 sessions per year offered by Starbucks’ current program, Lyra.

“At our store, we'd like to get a manager that's not here to union bust, a manager who cares about us, and if they see that we're struggling they'll put on the apron and get on the floor,” Sunshine said. “What I wanna see is a manager that's a source of support rather than a source of harm”.

Mervyn reminisced about a time when the divide between corporate and workers was not so prominent. He recounted experiences where Starbucks served as a source of support during an expressly challenging time in his life.

“There’s a lot of ‘we’re a family’ [at Starbucks]. Back in my home last summer, I’d spent a month sleeping in a truck because of some extraneous circumstances, and so basically I lived off of essentially camping out at Starbucks, using the WiFi to do some classes, and it's essentially all I had,” Mervyn stated.

Observing the recent changes in worker treatment at his Starbucks location, Mervyn is worried that Starbucks, as a whole, is changing for the worse.

“I can't speak for everyone, I like my job, I wanna keep it. A lot of people I know like their jobs and want to keep them,” Mervyn said. “It's sad to see the disconnect grow larger and larger.”

Pareesay Afzal can be reached at pafzal@cornellsun.com.

Students Come Together to Celebrate Ramadan, Easter and Passover

Continued from page 1

world,” said Cornell’s Muslim Chaplain Yasin Ahmed. “So you feel like you are a part of something bigger than yourself that transcends individualism.”

Sadia Hossain ’22 breaks fast in Anabel Taylor Hall most nights, and when she cannot attend, she gets halal food from the dining halls. She uses her time during Ramadan to reflect and even attended an event for this purpose at the start of the holy month.

“We spent about 15 minutes

just to reflect on ourselves, depending on where you are spiritually and religiously, you didn’t need to be necessarily Muslim. I connected with my spirituality and connected to God. We all connected with each other and with Ramadan, and with Easter and Passover for those who celebrated,” Hossain said.

For Christians on campus, the Holy Week began on April 10 with Palm Sunday and concluded with Easter this past Sunday.

On Holy Thursday, Cornell Catholics led a procession down Ho Plaza from Sage Chapel to Anabel

Taylor Hall in remembrance of the Last Supper of Jesus Christ, according to Cornell Catholic Community President John Coffey ’23.

On Good Friday, which commemorates Jesus’s death on the cross, some members of Cornell Catholic fasted. The following Sunday was Easter, which marks Jesus’s resurrection, and Christians across campus came together in Bailey Hall to hold mass, attracting nearly 1000 students.

Isabel Hui ’24 usually celebrates Easter with her family, but they were unable to come up to Ithaca this year. Instead, she found alternative ways to

celebrate on campus.

“My two darling littles in my sorority are also Catholic, so we made it our own outing because they couldn’t go home this weekend either. All three of us went to church in Bailey Hall,” Hui said. Hui also made an Easter basket and had a celebratory dinner with friends. Coffey, through Cornell Catholic, had a brunch on Easter Sunday and held a cookie decorating event afterward.

For the Jewish community on campus, Friday marked the start of Passover, which commemorates

the exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.

Cornell Hillel held a pre-Passover tabling event on Ho Plaza to raise awareness of the holiday in the week preceding Passover. They handed out kosher macarons to those who were interested in learning more about Passover, according to Cornell Hillel Vice President of Engagement Simone Shteingart ’24.

On Friday, Cornell Hillel held a “super-Seder,” which is a ritual feast that marks the start of Passover, at Robert Purcell Community Center with over 400 students in attendance. There were tables of about 20 students that each had their own Seder theme, ranging from Birthright, spring, freshman, social justice and more traditional themes.

Mel Schwartz ’25 led one of these Seders for her friends.

“I think the people that came had a lot of fun, we had people who are really involved in Jewish life on campus, we had people that only come to big events, and it was just a good time overall,” Schwartz said.

On Saturday night, Cornell Hillel held a smaller and more traditional Seder at 104 West. Students who wanted to have their own Seder in their apartments could also receive funding from Cornell Hillel to do so, and there were around 30 Seders held around Collegetown, Shteingart said.

No matter how students celebrated, this past weekend represented a time of reflection, joy and commemoration.

“I think there’s a beauty in this many students on campus being divinely inspired and conscious of the greater good at the same time. And I think it brings out a light and a levity in the community to the campus,” Ahmed said.

BookTok Brings Renewed Fame To Colleen Hoover’s It Ends With Us

The queen of heart-wrenching romance, Colleen Hoover, never fails to publish a five-star worthy book, and her uber-popular It Ends With Us is no exception.

Although published in 2016, this book has been on the New York Times Best Sellers list under “Paperback Trade Fiction” for the 49th week in a row and currently sits at number one — the handiwork of BookTok, the side of TikTok where passionate readers talk about their favorite books. This isn’t to discredit Hoover’s literary prowess but to emphasize the power of TikTok as a social media platform in the digital age, especially during peak pandemic times.

As a frequent TikTok user, I’ve watched countless BookTokers rave about It Ends With Us and their posts gain thousands of views and likes. When a book goes viral on BookTok, it immediately assumes a cult following. This also happened with other books such as The Invisible Life of Addie Larue , A Little Life , The Song of Achilles and many many more.

But, does It Ends With Us live up to the hype attributed by BookTok?

Whether you’ve read Hoover’s works before or don’t know about her at all, she specializes in the new adult and adult contemporary romance genres, with a style that leaves you wanting more and rethinking love and its consequences. Since her book regained popularity, I picked it up again for a re-read.

I’m a very vocal and emotional reader, so while reading this novel, my emotions were scattered all over the place. There were times when I laughed, swooned and during romantic scenes, giggled like a madwoman. But, there were also several times when I was crestfallen and had to fight the urge to throw the book out the window.

Without giving away too much (wouldn’t want to spoil it!), the book follows the story of main characters — Lily and Ryle — who, by chance, meet each other on a rooftop. From there, sparks fly and everything seems to go smoothly until an old lover from Lily’s past reemerges and her relationships with both of them turn complicated. This book does address sensitive topics, which can be triggering for some, so I suggest you check out the trigger warnings first.

What stood out to me was the format of the novel. While most chapters are set in the

present, there are several that take place in the past in the form of a diary entry as a way to reveal Lily’s past with the mystery figure. I found this really interesting, in contemporary romance novels, you usually don’t really see authors going back and forth between past and present. I’ve noticed that this is Hoover’s trademark: the element of weaving between

People read romance novels because it can’t possibly happen in real life, and if it does, then you’re one lucky person.

past and present is also present in her other works, like the extremely popular Ugly Love

With the thrill of reading a n ewly released book gone, I can see how the romance could seem a bit implausible, but that’s also the very reason I loved it. People read romance novels because it can’t possibly happen in real life, and if it does, then you’re one lucky

person. Most people, myself included, read romance as a pleasurable escape or for a guaranteed, no-nonsense happy story. Others read it to compensate for a lack of love in their lives or simply as a way to pass time. Whatever the reason, It Ends With Us meets all those goals, so it’s not hard to see why it gained such a following.

Hoover is well aware of what BookTok has done for her, and in the acknowledgments of her newly released Reminders of Him , gave a special shoutout to TikTok: “Also, um, TikTok! What the heck? WHAT IN THE HECK? I don’t even know what to say. Those of you on the BookTok side of that app have helped not only my books reach new readers, but the books of so many authors.”

Much to her readers’ pleasure, she also announced a sequel to It End With Us , aptly named It Starts With Us as thanks to her readers. Its expected release date is Oct. 18, 2022, and I’ve already pre-ordered a copy.

Not to sound dramatic, but reading one of Ms. Colleen Hoover’s books is basically a rite of passage for contemporary romance readers, so I suggest you pick this one up if you haven’t!

Student Tenants’ Rights Shifting in Your Favor

Patrick J. Mehler Te Mehl-Man Delivers

After legislation passed the Ithaca Common Council on April 6, students’ renting rights are changing in their favor. Take advantage of a rare opportunity to improve your of-campus living situation.

After joining the Ithaca Common Council in October 2021, I spent hundreds of hours talking with thousands of students, homeowners and longtime renters in Collegetown. Across a multitude of issues that constituents shared, housing repeatedly came up again and again. Te issue of urban housing has more complexities than can be explained in a few hundred words or solved in a few years by a few elected ofcials. But I believe that the role of public ofcials is to listen to our constituents’ needs and fnd creative ways to make life better. As city ofcials, we face a multitude of restrictions from both the State Legislature and from Congress, yet we remain the frst line of defense for helping those that live within our city limits. For housing, I sought to ease the burden that students face in fnding a place to live, and as

of April 6, we’ve made some fantastic progress. For the Class of 2025 and all those after, Cornell now requires that all frst-year and second-year students live in on-campus housing. While some freshmen may want that taste of living on your own for their sophomore year, I believe Cornell has made the right move in protecting students from the overly competitive Ithaca housing market. In a city of 32,000 people, almost two-thirds are students; half of those students rent from landlords in the City of Ithaca. Te timetable for of-campus housing is unnecessarily tight. For all parents, future-students and current freshmen, understanding the old timetable is important to understand how much of a change is coming to Cornellians.

In the old system, landlords approached new Cornellians within their frst two weeks of Cornell and explained their options: you can go for the Cornell housing lottery and maybe get on-campus housing in March or secure an of-campus apartment right now in August. On its face, the fear of going for on-campus housing in March and then not getting anything is scary. However, what wasn’t said was that sophomore housing was guaranteed, the lottery existed only to determine which specifc dorm you were assigned to. In response, many freshmen were pressured into fnding roommates within their frst couple weeks at Cornell, paying the frst month’s rent and a down payment of thousands of dollars, and agreeing to live in an apartment for a year, almost a year in advance.

If the premise of fnding roommates, paying thousands of dollars and agreeing to live in an apartment a year in advance sounds crazy, that’s because it is. Fortunately, a host of changes have occurred. Firstly, the New York State Legislature passed the New York Housing Stability and Tenant Protection Act of 2019 which eases payment rules for tenants. Secondly, as previously noted, Cornell now mandates that sophomores live in on-campus housing, meaning that freshmen will not be pressured into making rapid decisions until learning more about the Ithaca housing market. Finally, I passed an Amendment to Ithaca City Code Chapter 258-10(A) through the Ithaca Common Council on April 6 that takes efect May 31.

Te new law does two key things. First, all renters, including all student-renters, are legally entitled to 120 days before their landlord shows the apartment to new people, before the landlord asks the tenant to renew the apartment, or before the landlord signs with new tenants; Second, if tenants and landlords mutually agree to waive this 120 day waiting period, the waiver must include the following language on the frst page of the contract:

As per Chapter 258-10(A) of the City of Ithaca City Code, landlords shall provide a minimum 120 days’ written notice to current tenants of a residential unit before doing any of the follow:

1. Renewing the current rental agreement

2. Showing the residential unit to prospective new tenants or otherwise suggesting to prospective new tenants or otherwise suggesting to prospective tenants that the unit available for rent

3. Entering into a rental agreement with new tenants By initialing here ____, I fully understand and willingly waive my rights to 120 days’ written notice in advance of the above.

Tis statement may seem like legal jargon, but its inclusion in all contracts is something you, as a student renter, are entitled to. You are entitled to 120 days. 120 days may sound like a lot, but do the math: 120 days after a lease starting on June 1 means that you have to decide about renewing by October 1; those with August leases, you have until December. You and the landlord may waive the 120 days if you both decide to, but a discussion about why you are waiving the days should be your frst question when asking about renting somewhere. Starting May 31, if you sign a contract without this language, your landlord is not following the law.

I believe every renter and every student in Collegetown and throughout the City of Ithaca is entitled to think about whether they want to renew a lease without pressure from their landlord so early on. I changed our local laws to refect that, and I believe that every renter in the city should take advantage of laws working to give tenants more time to make decisions.

Dear College Kids, It’s Okay to Call Your Parents More

Anuli Ononye Womansplaining

Anuli Ononye (she/her) is a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences. She can be reached at aononye@cornellsun.com. Womansplaining runs every other Monday this semester.

Afew days ago, my mom called me while I was sitting in Libe. I let it ring and planned to send the call to voicemail. A friend at the table urged me to pick up the phone, saying “it might be important.”

I knew for a fact that it wasn’t important, and told my friend that I’d call my mom after we fnished talking in Libe. Troughout my time at Cornell — which feels like a long time now, as I count down the days until graduation — I have never missed a day talking to my mom. Tat includes the busiest prelim days, the times when she was abroad (thanks to WhatsApp!) and the days when I absolutely didn’t want to talk to her. While sitting at that Libe table, I could see my friend’s surprise when I told her that not only do I talk to my mom everyday (and my dad most days!) but we talk multiple times per day. My mom and I talk while I’m getting dressed for

class — I’m usually her alarm clock, since she is three hours behind in California — on her lunch break and before I go to bed at night. Mixed in there we usually get in a few other quick phone calls about gossip from our days or messages that she needs me to relay to my younger brother, Ezugo Ononye ‘24. He also talks to my parents daily, by the way!

Talking to my parents has been a great relief throughout my time at Cornell. It doesn’t mean that I’m not independent, but it means that I’m not going through everything alone. I recognize that I am really lucky to

Talking to my parents has been a great relief throughout my time at Cornell. It doesn’t mean that I’m not independent, but it means that I’m not going through everything alone.

have a great relationship with my parents, and if you don’t, I encourage you to talk to a mentor outside of Cornell who has your best interests at heart, such as an older sibling, former teacher or coach, grandparent or a

friend’s parent. It’s okay to be vulnerable — tell them when you’re struggling with a class, get in a fght with your best friend, are excited about an upcoming date night or are up for an exciting campus leadership position. Tey can provide a very diferent perspective from your friends on campus, and you can trust that they (almost!) always have your best interests at heart — with no stake in the game, far from campus. On campus we spend a lot of time speaking with other Cornellians — students, faculty and staf — and sometimes (more than sometimes if you’re me) it feels good to talk to people outside of that bubble.

Tis is even more important when you don’t live a driving distance from home (cough, cough New Yorkers). My home is on the other side of the country in Southern California, which means that I don’t get the opportunity to go home for short breaks (like fall break and February break). It also means that I can’t drive up for family birthdays, on religious holidays (my parents are still upset about me missing Easter!) or when I’m just having a bad day. Calling my parents is a small connection to home, and hearing their voice so often is a reason why I hardly ever get homesick.

I have a feeling that the parents and alumni who read this are going to get excited and encourage their children to stay in touch, while the students who read this are going to assume that I am a loser with no friends. I have a lot of friends and a great social life at Cornell, and I think that’s in large part because I talk to my parents a lot. I am not solely dependent on my best friends at Cornell for advice and emotional support, and I have parents to give me the hard truth when other people in my life don’t want to. I also have my parents to check in

on my mental health — they send me care packages when they know that I have a big exam coming up, pray on the phone with

Calling my parents is a small connection to home, and hearing their voice so often is a reason why I hardly ever get homesick.

me when I’m nervous about a big interview and encourage (yes, encourage!) me to go out to parties when they know that I am in my work rabbit-hole.

Tis week I have seen a lot of parents on campus, decked out in Cornell gear with their prospective and recently admitted Cornellians. Tey spend an absurd amount of money buying hoodies and hats in the Cornell Store, force their reluctant high schoolers to take pictures in front of the clocktower and pop their heads into random classrooms and club meetings. Tey are so excited that their kids will be attending Cornell soon and want to experience the campus just like their children. How can that translate into a scheduled 15-minute phone call every other Sunday for the entire time that their children are Cornellians? Let your parents experience Cornell with you. Call your parents more.

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

Early Hole Breaks Laxers’ Winning Streak

By GRAYSON RUHL Sun Assistant Sports Editor

Men’s lacrosse put a 13-game non-conference win streak on the line this past Saturday when it hosted No. 12 Army (10-2, 5-1 Patriot League). Similarly to the Syracuse game, the Red fell into an early hole, but it could not recreate the magic it had against Syracuse. Despite a more competitive second half, Cornell ultimately fell to Army, 17-10.

The Red (10-2, 3-1 Ivy) entered this past weekend ranked fourth in the country, as well as boasting a four game winning streak. Coming off a thrilling win on the road against Syracuse on April 11, the team was intent on remaining within the top five of the country.

The match started off similarly to the one against the Orange – disastrously for the Red. After three quiet minutes, the Black Knights took over the first quarter, scoring five goals in under 10 minutes while shutting out Cornell in the period

Once again, the Red found itself at an early deficit, ending the first quarter down, 5-0.

Matters only became worse in the second, when Army opened up with two more goals in the first two minutes. Five of the Black Knights’ first seven goals were unassisted, as they simply controlled possession and consistently beat Cornell’s defense. Faceoffs also played a key role in Army’s success, as it dominated the Red 11-3 at the

x in the first half.

“It’s a challenge, it means you’ve got to defend first every time and you’ve got to get stops in order to take control of a game like that,” said Head Coach Connor Buczek ’15 in regard to the Red’s struggles at the x. “It’s a challenge to fight your way back into a game when you’re down and they got out of the gates first.”

The Red was finally able to get on the board after nearly 19 minutes of play and seven goals allowed, when sophomore attacker C. J. Kirst nailed a wraparound shot, crossing behind the net before beating the Black Knight’s keeper from just outside the crease. Senior attacker Billy Coyle added on with just under four minutes left in the half, using a man-up advantage from an Army offside penalty.

Junior attacker Michael Long was able to tack on one more Cornell goal before the half, but Army was able to respond with two of its own. The Red went to the locker room down, 9-3.

Coming back from halftime, the Red was able to cut the lead to five goals, when fifth year attacker John Piatelli found an open Kirst from behind the net, who was able to beat the Army goalkeeper stick side. Once again, Cornell kept it within five with just under 12 minutes left in the quarter, when Long made a nice move from behind the net to set up an easy point blank look for Coyle in front of the crease.

However, 10-5 was as close as the Red came to the Black Knights. Army proceeded to shut the door on any Cornell comeback, scoring five unanswered goals in a six and a half minute span to lead by 10. Freshman midfielder Alex Holmes was able to stop the bleeding, coming from behind the cage and firing from just outside the crease. Nevertheless, the third quarter

ended with Cornell in a massive 15-6 hole. Army slowed down its offensive onslaught in the fourth quarter, as it lengthened possessions to run out the clock. The Red was able to score a few garbage time goals, as Kirst secured a hat trick and Holmes found his second.

Piatelli, who leads the Red in scoring this year with 41 goals, got his first of the day with eight minutes remaining. Graduate student Joe Wolf capped off Cornell’s day with 85 seconds left in the match with his first of the season. The late offense was not enough for the Red, as its second loss of the season came by a score of 17-10.

“It’s a wake up call for us – we’ve got to play better, we’ve got to be more consistent with our effort and our tenacity and clean up some of those things in the middle of

the field,” Buczek said.

Following this loss, the Red dropped to No. 8 in the national rankings. Nevertheless, it remains in the driver’s seat for the top seat in the Ivy League tournament. Cornell will have to win its final two conference games to secure it, with the first coming up on Saturday, April 23, against Brown at noon at Schoellkopf Field.

“We’ve got to be better off the ground, we’ve got to clear the ball a little better and hopefully be a little better at the faceoff x,” Buczek said. “Those are the three things that are key for us, and get back to the basics realistically on offense and on defense and make sure we’re ready to compete against a very good team.”

Grayson Ruhl can be reached at gruhl@cornellsun.com.