INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880
The Corne¬ Daily Sun 16 Pages – Free
Vol. 141, No. 3
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2024 n ITHACA, NEW YORK
News
Arts
Sports
Weather
The Yellow Deli
Not So Wicked
Meet Swanstrom
Sunny
The local restaurant, which is owned by a fundamentalist religious group, now accepts Cornell City Bucks. | Page 4
The Sun gives a fresh take on ‘The Cars,’ the new Wicked adaptation and Yorgos Lanthimos’s summer release. | Page 14
Security Report Reveals Rise in Rape, Hate Crime By ERIC REILLY Sun Assistant Managing Editor
Editor’s Note: This story discusses sexual assault, rape and ethnicity-based crime on campus. Sept. 6 — Cornell’s 2024 Annual Security Report and Annual Fire Safety Report reveal continued increases in on-campus occurrences of rape, hate crimes and arson, among other offenses. Under the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, all institutions of higher education across the country are required to prepare, publish and distribute campus crime statistics on a narrowly defined set of offenses. Cornell sent out its 32-page report Wednesday morning. The Sun compared this year’s findings with those of the University’s 2021 Annual Security Report to identify potential trends in campus crime over the last six years. Sexual Assault and Violence Against Women Act Offenses Last year’s increase in on-campus rapes comes after that number more than tripled from seven in 2021 to 25 in 2022. 28 on-campus rapes were documented in 2023. According to the report, no instances of rape were reported in 2023 in noncampus buildings, which include houses owned by fraternities and other student organizations officially recognized by the University. Five such offenses were reported in 2022. After at least four reports of drugging incidents and a sexual assault allegation in November 2022, the Interfraternity Council (IFC) temporarily suspended all fraternity parties and social events. The ban was
extended throughout the fall semester and lifted in January, 2023, announced along with the implementation of sexual violence prevention and enhanced risk management measures among the IFC community. Forty on-campus occurrences of stalking were reported in 2023, the greatest number within the last six years. Cornell saw slight decreases in dating violence and fondling, with 22 and 35 reports, respectively. Domestic violence, which has recently accounted for no more than two offenses per year, was reported seven times in 2023. Nine other reports of Clery Act offenses were made in 2023 with no provided location — four rapes, one fondling, one stalking and three dating violence incidents. 24 more sexual assault reports were made for which no offense was specified — three on campus, two in residential facilities, two off campus and 17 for which no location was identified. The notable dips in reported crimes in 2020 and 2021 may be attributed to reductions in student activity during the COVID-19 pandemic. All Cornell students were virtual from March 13, 2020 until the end of the Spring 2020 semester. Some students returned to campus in Fall 2020, but student gatherings were inhibited by strict University regulations. Heading into the Fall 2021 semester, most of these regulations had been rolled back. Hate Crimes Nine Clery Act reportable hate crimes occurred in 2023 — one race-based intimidation, seven ethnicity-based intimidations and one ethnicity-based vandalism. This makes 2023 the only year within the last six during which more than one race- or ethnicity-based hate crime was reported. See REPORT page 13
The Sun sat down with new Football head coach Dan Swanstrom ahead of his first season leading the Red. | Page 16
HIGH: 78º LOW: 48º
Remembering 9/11
ANTHONY CORRALES / SUN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Flags fly on the Arts Quad to honor of lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001.
Advocates, Cornell Athletes Argue Over Artificial Turf Project By SILOCHANIE MILLER Sun Staff Writer
Sept. 6 — Around 20 advocates from Zero Waste Ithaca and partner organizations gathered outside the City of Ithaca’s Planning Board meeting on Tuesday to protest Cornell’s plan to build a new athletic facility with two artificial turf fields. Meanwhile, over 50 Cornell athletes, coaches and administrators attended to show support for the project. If passed, the Meinig Fieldhouse project would construct one new indoor field and one new outdoor field on the lot between Weill Hall and Charles F. Berman Field. At Tuesday’s meeting, the board voted against requesting an additional environmental impact statement. However, after previous protests, the project managers changed the original plan of using recycled crumb rubber infill, which significantly contributes to the concentration of PFAS in artificial turf, to using a plant-based infill for the outdoor field. Critics of the project expressed concern over the impact of plastic pollution on the Ithaca community. The proposed artificial outdoor fields are anticipated to have life cycles of eight to 12 years. “The number one source of microplastic emission is synthetic turf,” said Yayoi Koizumi, the founder of Zero Waste Ithaca, referencing a University of Toronto study from February. Koizumi also referenced a 2023 study from the University of Barcelona that found that 15 percent of macro- and mesoplastics collected from nearby waterways were from artificial turf. She described witnessing this pollution herself in the deterioration of a field she used to visit in Vermont. “Where did it go?” Koizumi asked. “It’s like whole swaths of green gone in 10 years.” In particular, microplastics contain perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances. Current research suggests that PFAS exposure at certain levels may be harmful to human health, including increased risk of some types of cancer and hormone disruption. PFAS can enter the human body in many ways, including in the air or water systems through runoff. Susan Allen, chair of the Department of the Environment at Ithaca College, began her speech to protesters by asking if anyone had cancer. “We’re living in a suite of toxins, many of which we do not know enough about,” Allen said. Many protesters viewed the conflict as reflecting a power imbalance between Cornell and the Ithaca community. “It’s pretty wicked the way in which y’all have been treating us, because you put money over people, which is absolutely not right,” Common Council Alderperson Phoebe Brown (D-Second Ward) said in her speech. Brown also criticized the relationship between Cornell and its athletes. “Watching these young, beautiful people who will be running up and down on plastic that they’re not even informed See TURF page 13 about breaks my heart,” Brown said. “They