INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880
The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 141, No. 52
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TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 2024 n ITHACA, NEW YORK
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Ace at Advocacy
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15-year-old Ace Dufresne leads Sunrise Ithaca in climate organizing and advocacy.
Ayla Kruse Lawson '27 reviews Taylor Swift's newest album, "The Tortured Poet's Department."
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Men's lacrosse defeated Harvard after losing to them last year in the same round, advancing to the 2024 Ivy Tournament.
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Students Vote Yes to Divest By MING DeMERS, ERIC LECHPAMMER and JULIA SENZON Sun Senior Photographer, Sun Staff Writer and Sun Managing Editor
JULIA NAGEL / SUN SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER
Required tests return | Cornell reinstated standardized testing requirements for applicants applying in the Fall 2026 admission cycle.
University Reinstates Requirements for Standardized Testing
By ANUSHKA SHOREWALA Sun Assistant News Editor
Since the 2021 admissions cycle, Cornell University's eight undergraduate colleges have adopted test-optional and testblind policies. However, starting in the 2026 admissions cycle, all colleges will mandate prospective students to submit a standardized test score with their applications. Although colleges will continue test-optional and test-blind policies for the Fall 2025 admissions cycle, students are encouraged to submit SAT and/or ACT scores. Test-Optional Schools for Fall 2025 Enrollment: - College of Arts and Sciences - College of Engineering - College of Human Ecology - Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy - School of Industrial and Labor Relations Test-Blind Schools for Fall 2025 Enrollment: - College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, - College of Architecture, Art and Planning - Cornell S.C. Johnson College of Business Cornell initially suspended standardized test requirements for applicants in April 2020 due to SAT and ACT test cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many peer institutions — including Yale and Dartmouth — recently announced that they would reinstate the standardized testing requirement. Other universities including Columbia stated that they would remain test-optional. The University decided to
reinstate its standardized testing requirement based on evidence from a multi-year study conducted by the University’s Task Force on Standardized Testing in Admissions. The task force found no clear indication that reduced testing policies brought a major increase in diversity and instead found a slight decrease in diversity along some metrics. When the policy was first implemented in 2021, the percentage of Black, Hispanic and Indigenous students and first-generation students in the first-year class increased compared to 2020. However, as scores continued to not be required from 2021 to 2023, the percent of students who identify as Black, Hispanic and/or Indigenous in the firstyear classes decreased from 28 percent to 25 percent. Standardized test scores can give the admissions committees a better understanding of the students' academic potential when contextualized to students’ backgrounds, including the high school they attend and their familial income, according to the task force. Under current test policies, students may not submit test scores when they fall below the average admitted Cornell student scores, despite having scores that would advantage them in the admissions process once contextualized to social factors. To continue reading this article, please visit www.cornellsun.com. Anushka Shorewala can be reached at ashorewala@cornellsun.com.
The majority of student voters chose “yes” to the ceasefire and divestment referendum questions by a 2:1 ratio, according to an email sent by Student Assembly President Patrick Kuehl ’24 to the student body. 46.77 percent of the Cornell undergraduate student body voted on the referendum. “The students of Cornell University have raised their voices together, and spoken out definitively against violence and the killing of civilians,” Kuehl wrote. Cornell students were able to vote “yes” or “no” on the two referendum questions from April 18 to April 19: 1. Should Cornell University call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza? 2. Cornell has investments in companies supporting the ongoing war in Gaza, which has been deemed as a “plausible genocide” by the International Court of Justice in South Africa v. Israel. Should Cornell University follow their 2016 Guidelines for Divestment and divest from the following weapons
manufacturers: BAE Systems, Boeing, Elbit Systems, General Dynamics, L3Harris Technologies, Leonardo, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, RTX and ThyssenKrupp? The Student Assembly previously rejected a resolution calling for divestment, but voted to hold the referendum with a 15 to 10 vote on March 21. The Assembly released a collection of student-submitted pro and con statements ahead of the referendum. On the first day of voting, opponents to the referendum argued that the second question allegedly violated the S.A. Charter which states that a “referendum must contain a single or a series of referendum questions that are neutrally worded and call for a yes/no response.” To continue reading this article, please visit www. cornellsun.com. Ming DeMers can be reached at mdemers@cornellsun. com. Eric Lechpammer can be reached at elechpammer@ cornellsun.com Julia Senzon can be reached at jsenzon@cornellsun.com.
MING DEMERS / SUN SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER
Divestment debates | Pro-Palestine groups urge students to support the Student Assembly's divestment resolution.
Former Grad Student Charged for Spitting on Muslim Student By KATE SANDERS Sun News Editor
A month after allegedly spitting on a Muslim student in Collegetown on March 19, Salim Dridi grad has been charged with harassment in the second degree by the Ithaca Police Department, according to an April 19 University statement. Dridi, who is no longer enrolled in the University but was pursuing a master of engineering degree in computer science at the time of the incident, faces charges in several other local crimes. On March 31, Dridi allegedly damaged a glass door by throwing a brick at it. Dridi also allegedly falsely activated a fire alarm four times during this week. Dridi has been charged with third-degree mischief and second-degree falsely reporting an
incident. In the statement, Vice President for University Relations Joel Malina said that the University is “saddened that a member of the Cornell community is a suspect in this vile act targeting another student.” Muslim and Arab students have previously spoken out about what they see as an insufficient University response to Islamophobic incidents, including threats toward hijabi women posted on Greekrank and death rape threats sent to the Students for Justice in Palestine’s Instagram account. To continue reading this article, please visit www. cornellsun.com. Kate Sanders can be reached at ksanders@cornellsun.com.