INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880
The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 140, No. 11
8 Pages – Free
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2023 n ITHACA, NEW YORK
News
Arts and Culture
Sports
Weather
Insectpalooza
Spill her GUTS
Cornell Beats Yale
Cloudy
The department of Entomology celebrated the 20th year of the bug-themed event. | Page 3
Ayesha Chari '24 reviews pop artist Olivia Rodrigo's new album, "GUTS."
Cornell football defeats Yale in unprecendented upset on Saturday.
| Page 5
HIGH: 64º LOW: 50º
| Page 8
Clocktower Closed to Visitors Major renovations on tower underway until November 2024 By SOFIA RUBINSON Sun Managing Editor
Generations of Cornellians have enjoyed the sound of the University’s iconic clocktower at the heart of campus, with chimes to signal the passing of each 15-minute interval and daily concerts by chimesmasters through the Cornell Chimes program. But since July 3, major renovations have silenced the tower during the school day and closed it off to visitors, with a scheduled end date of November 2024. “We are excited that the construction project will help ensure that future generations can enjoy music from the Cornell Chimes,” said Head Chimesmaster Elisabeth Wang ’24 in a statement to The Sun. “Although this does mean fewer concerts this year, the tower requires periodic maintenance and has not seen renovations on this scale since 1998.” According to Wang, the construction primarily involves replacing the roof and performing maintenance work on the exterior of the tower. Inside the clocktower, which is now closed to visitors, the sixth floor museum recently underwent renovations to upgrade the lighting system and repaint the walls. Typically, Cornell Chimes plays three concerts a day, seven days a week. Working around construction hours, the group now performs only one, longer concert on weekday evenings — though they still perform three concerts on weekends. The automated hour bells have also been turned off from 5:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on weekdays to not interfere
with construction. “Since the chimes are very loud, concerts could be a disruption and distraction to construction efforts, and it would not be safe for the workers,” Wang said. “Concerts can still occur in the evenings and on the weekends when construction activity is not actively occurring.” In prior years, visitors were encouraged to climb the 161 steps inside the tower to watch the chimesmasters at work during scheduled concerts. But this year, the construction has also halted this tradition. “We are unable to have visitors due to the construction,” Wang wrote. “Chimesmasters need to be able to focus on playing the music, which makes it difficult to ensure that visitors are following the guidelines to protect their safety.” Some students told The Sun the lack of consistent chimes and visitor policy has paused a Cornell tradition they came to enjoy. “I applied early decision, and for me, the clock tower was a symbol of something that made me hopeful and excited,” said Ashley Berrezueta ’25. “I don't think I represent the large majority in some ways, but for me, I do love the clocktower.” Some seniors, who will not see the clocktower back in full swing during their time at Cornell and started at the University when the tower was closed to visitors due to the pandemic, expressed disappointment for the loss of the tradition. See CLOCKTOWER page 3
ANTHONY CORRALES / SUN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
One last chime | McGraw Tower will be closed to visitors until November 2024 as construction crews work to renovate the Cornell landmark.
White House Hosts First Press Briefing of Academic Year By SOFIA RUBINSON and JULIA SENZON Sun Managing Editor and Sun News Editor
In the first Campus Press Briefing for the 2023-24 academic year, White House advisors and press representatives discussed pressing issues for college students nationwide, including college affordability, climate change, mental health initiatives and diversity in higher education institutions on Monday, Sept. 25. College Affordability Making a college education affordable and accessible is a top priority of the Biden Administration, according to White House Communications Director Ben LaBolt. “President Biden understands the importance of a higher education. It’s got the power to unlock doors of opportunity for millions of students, like those who read your papers,” LaBolt said. “That’s why he’s been focused on fixing the broken student loan system and making college more affordable for students and families.” The Biden Administration has
approved $117 billion in targeted relief for 3.4 million borrowers through various initiatives. This includes $45 billion of debt relief through the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program for public servants, including teachers, police officers and nurses, who make payments for 10 years. “Historically, [public service] programs haven’t worked very well, and people who were supposed to be getting credit towards getting their loans forgiven for spending time in those areas didn’t get them,” said Bharat Ramamurti, Deputy Director for the National Economic Council. “Since the President came to office, he’s made those programs work a lot better. We’ve gone from a few hundred people getting their loan forgiveness under that program to tens of thousands of people getting their forgiveness.” Launched in August, the new Saving on a Valuable Education Plan is an income-driven repayment plan where payments are dependent on a borrower’s income and family size, not their loan balance, and any remaining balance is forgiven after a certain number of years, depending on the orig-
inal balance owed. The SAVE Plan cuts borrowers’ monthly payments to zero if they make less than $30,000 a year and saves around $1,000 a year for those making more than $30,000 a year relative to other income-driven repayment plans. Four million borrowers have already enrolled in the SAVE Plan, according to LaBolt. LaBolt also noted that the President secured the largest increase in Pell Grants in more than a decade, with a $500 increase to the grant amount that qualified students receive which does not need to be repaid. The Biden Administration is also actively pursuing alternative pathways to debt relief following the Supreme Court’s strike-down of the President’s original debt relief plan in June, which would have given 40 million borrowers up to $20,000 in debt relief. “We know that many young people are worried about student loans as a barrier to opportunity. And the President’s hope is that all of these plans and all of these actions reassure students, reassure alumni, that the President has your back,” LaBolt said. “He won’t stop fighting to bring the
promise of affordability to more students and families. And you can expect more actions of forgiveness to be announced in the coming weeks as well.” Climate Change LaBolt said that the President views climate change as “the one existential threat to humanity, an existential threat to the United States and something that he's committed to taking the most substantial domestic and international action that's ever been taken by a president before [to
address].” On Aug. 16, 2022, Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act — the most significant investment in climate in world history, LaBolt said. “[The act] will enable our country to cut emissions in half by 2030,” LaBolt said. “It’s expected to double the amount of solar, wind and batteries that we could deploy across the country in the next 10 years as we transition to renewables, which will also create millions of jobs in the meantime.” See BRIEFING page 3
SERIN KOH / SUN GRAPHICS CONTRIBUTOR