01-25-22 entire issue hi res

INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880

The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 138, No. 43

TUESDAY, JANUARY 25, 2022

n

8 Pages – Free

ITHACA, NEW YORK

Winter Sun

Arts

Sports

Weather

The Sun is back to its regular print publication schedule, now printing two times a week (Tuesdays and Thursdays) for the spring semester.

Canada Goose

Men’s Hockey

Partly Sunny

Haley Qin ’25 writes about what makes Canada Goose jackets so popular among Cornellians. | Page 4

Cornell’s men’s hockey pulls off victory against no. 1 Quinnipiac in Saturday upset.

HIGH: 27º LOW: 13º

| Page 8

Mayor of Ithaca Steps Down After Ten Years

Svante Myrick ‘09 resigns as Mayor of Ithaca, to be executive director of People for the American Way

By KAYLA RIGGS Sun Assistant News Editor

In a Jan. 5 Common Council meeting, Svante Myrick ’09 publicly announced his resignation as the 44th Mayor of Ithaca after accepting an offer from People for the American Way, where he will serve as executive director.

At 24 years old, Myrick became the youngest person in City history to be sworn into mayoral office and Ithaca’s first mayor of color.

Throughout his 10-year, three-term Myrick | Mayor career, Myrick’s agenda primarily focused on expanding affordable housing options, has resigned to working toward resolving Ithaca’s subbecome executive stantial $3 million budget deficit and director improving city-wide infrastructure. position for a Under his leadership, the City has seen progressive a $37 million plan to rebuild Ithaca water advocacy treatment, the organization. development of housing units MICHAEL SUGUITAN / like Magnolia SUN FILE PHOTO House and West End Heights, reno-

vations made to famed city attractions like the Ithaca Farmers Market and more.

“I have spent my entire adult life serving the City of Ithaca - and I've given all of my effort to the largest challenges we face,” Myrick wrote in a Facebook post earlier this month.

However, citing growing concerns for the “state of our democracy,” Myrick will step down from the mayorship and work at People for the American Way alongside organization president Ben Jealous.

People for the American Way was founded as a progressive advocacy organization in 1981 to fight “right-wing extremism and build a democratic society,” according to the group’s website. The non-profit, based in Washington, D.C., currently runs a variety of campaigns ranging from the defense of voting rights to protection of immigrant communities.

Myrick’s affiliation with the organization dates back to 2017, when he was appointed as Director of Youth Leadership Programs after a nine-year membership with the Young Elected Officials Network. Myrick will be joining People For the American Way in a full time role at the beginning of next month.

“I believe my service can make a difference in the national conversation on voting and elections,” Myrick said. “I want to protect that American dream for people of all backgrounds.”

In Myrick’s place, Acting Mayor Laura Lewis will assume office on Feb. 7.

Lewis, an alderperson for Ithaca's fifth ward, was elected to the Common Council in 2017 and has predominantly lobbied for affordable housing, volunteering on the board of directors of Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services prior to her term.

In more recent years, Lewis has worked on the Ithaca Eviction/Displacement Defense Project and successfully proposed legislation in November to the Common Council providing legal representation to tenants in eviction court Upon her swearing in, Lewis will need to pick up where Myrick left off, including working on Ithaca’s Green New Deal and the Reimagining Public Safety Plan.

“I have the utmost confidence that she will do an outstanding job,” Myrick wrote. “I believe in many ways her empathetic, earnest and tactful leadership is exactly [what] our community needs right now.”

Kayla Riggs can be reached at kriggs@cornellsun.com.

Students React to Start of Semester COVID Updates Virtual First Weeks

By ROMAN LAHAYE Sun Staff Writer

By CHRISTIAN GERAMITA Sun Contributor

Following Cornell’s Jan. 6 announcement detailing University plans to hold the first two weeks of instruction virtually and require students to participate in bi-weekly testing, students expressed mixed reactions, navigating competing desires for safety and having a fun, fruitful spring semester.

“Everyone will get sick eventually; [...] Cornell is already pretty underequipped in mental health resources...”

Sophie Hall ’25 Sophie Hall ’25 was largely pleased by the University’s decision, but she indicated doubt about the long-term effects of

remote learning on containing the spread of COVID-19 and managing student mental health.

“Everyone will get sick eventually, and the mental health effects of prolonged isolation and online schooling have been shown to be pretty severe,” Hall said. “Cornell is already pretty underequipped in mental health resources from what I’ve heard.”

Hall’s sentiments seem to reflect recent reports of Cornell students experiencing less socialization and more academic anxiety than students of previous years. With the ongoing pandemic, it is likely that these issues persist and that undergraduates are suffering as a result.

Other freshmen, like Chris Wang ’25, remain indifferent to the change after experiencing virtual learning during the latter half of high school.

“Considering all the virtual learning experiences in high See VIRTUAL page 3

In the wake of a tumultuous end to last semester, in which a campus-wide COVID outbreak made national news, Cornellians have begun flocking back to campus. In preparation for the spring, the University has instituted a

number of policies to address the ongoing pandemic and now widespread Omicron variant.

Last semester’s spike, lasting primarily from the final days of November through the middle of December, infected over 1,000 Cornellians and left many unsure about the status of the spring semester.

Consequently, the University has suspended all in-person instruction until Feb. 7, relegating the first two weeks of the semester to virtual instruction as students arrive in Ithaca during an extended move-in period.

Students who test positive prior See UPDATE page 3

JULIA NAGEL/ SUN ASSISTANT PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

A room with a view | Cornell buildings and facilities offer limited capacity in response to COVID-19 safety measures.

2 The Cornell Daily Sun | Tuesday, January 25, 2022

The Corne¬ Daily Sun INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880

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Daybook

Daybook Tuesday, January 25, 2022 Today

Tomorrow

Getting Started With Hypothesis 10 - 11a.m., Virtual Event

Engaging Communities, Empowering Students: Fostering Cross-Cultural Connections Through Dress, 1936-1958 8 a.m. - 8 p.m., Human Ecology Building

BEDR Workshop: Internal Showcase 11:25 a.m. - 12:55 p.m., 141 Sage Hall Stories From the People of the Longhouse Noon - 1 p.m., Virtual Event Moral Psychology Virtual Brown Bag Talk 4 - 5 p.m., Virtual Event ORIE Special Seminar: Jason Altschuler (MIT) 4:15 p.m., Virtual Event Record Keeping For Farm & Food Businesses 4:30 - 6 p.m., Virtual Event Get Started!

First Year Career Fair 4:30 - 5:30 p.m., Virtual Event “We Invent Witchwords”:W.E.B. Du Bois And the Black Scare/Red Scare In U.S. Capitalist Racist Society 5 p.m., Virtual Event Cornell Women’s Ice Hockey Vs. Clarkson University 6 p.m., Lynah Rink

IMéRA Institute For Advanced Studies: Hirschman Forum 2022 10:25 a.m., Virtual Event Ecological Calendars: Finding Hope in the Face Of Climate Change 11 a.m. - 4 p.m., Brian C. Nevin Welcome Center GAPs, FSMA and Food Safety in Mushroom Production: Webinar #1 3 - 4:30 p.m., Virtual Event Composting Indoors 5:30 - 6:30 p.m., Virtual Event Class on Producing, Processing and Packaging Eggs for Sale 7 - 8 p.m., Virtual Event Syria: The Enduring Crisis 7 - 8 p.m., Virtual Event PMA Projects and Participation Kick-Off 7:30 p.m., Virtual Event

The Cornell Daily Sun | Tuesday, January 25, 2022 3

News

COVID-19 Updates UPDATES

Continued from page 1

to departure for Ithaca are advised to isolate in place rather than travel; those who receive a positive test result upon arriving on campus are required to self-isolate.

Students who have tested positive over the break are required to submit a “self-reported positive form” to their Daily Check. They will be exempt from surveillance testing for 90 days.

Those who have not tested positive for COVID must submit a negative result from a take-home antigen, PCR, or other home test taken 24-hours prior to their departure and schedule an arrival test within 24 hours of arrival on campus. Anyone not in compliance with these policies will lose campus WiFi, Canvas access and enrollment capabilities until they submit proof of testing.

Cornell continues to require all eligible students to get a booster shot or third vaccination dose.

Unvaccinated students who have been granted exemption from vaccination requirements must take tests twice weekly the entire semester.

Following new CDC guidance, cloth masks are no longer approved by the University.

Instead, Cornell requires students to wear “high-quality masks” like

KN95, surgical, KF95, N95, or FFP2 masks when inside.

Dining halls –– including the newly opened Morrison Dining Hall –– are limited to grab-n-go until Feb. 7. For those in isolation, pre-made meals are available for pickup at RPCC and the Cinema entrance of Willard Straight Hall from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily.

Students may also use the Get Order app to mobile order food in a contactless manner.

Students should pay attention to updated library schedules, as many have changed hours for the two week remote period, with Uris Library closed entirely until Feb. 7, when in-person instruction begins.

Gyms and athletic centers are to continue operations and are limited to faculty, staff, emeritus and students who pass their daily checks and have current memberships. Capacity limits of 35 people have also been implemented in campus fitness centers, and day passes for gyms and athletic centers are not currently offered.

Pools are limited to 12 people, and masks are required when not in water. All other athletic events are slated to continue with health protocols in place as scheduled.

Roman LaHaye can be reached at rlahaye@cornellsun.com.

HANNAH ROSENBERG / SUN PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

Zoom fatigue | Students share mixed opinions about beginning the spring semester with virtual learning.

Students Adapt to Virtual Classes VIRTUAL

Continued from page 1

school, I don’t feel stressed about remote learning,” Wang said.

“Since most of my classes are reading [or] discussion-based, virtual learning won’t make too much of a difference for me.”

Still, Wang acknowledges that virtual learning will affect some students more than others.

While his coursework integrates well into a remote environment, others may need in-person learning for classes with laboratory components or to better understand course material in lectures.

Following President Martha Pollack’s original announcement, the University released further details on Jan. 11 detailing the University’s rationale for holding classes virtually until early February. Pollack cited the potential for COVID-related academic disruption as students

return to campus as a primary having to be on Zoom, Efua reason for Cornell’s decision.

Tsetsewa ’24 is looking forward This logic, however, remains to engaging with classmates widely unpopular among upper- upon the return of in-person classmen in particular. Avery instruction.

Like Tsetsewa, many secBower ’23 expressed serious doubts about the decision to go ond-year students are looking virtual. towards a brighter year. After “I don’t think the virtual experiencing virtual learning classes will help in stopping the during the majority of their first spread,” Bower said. “It prolongs year, many sophomores want the amount of time people take a learning environment more to arrive on campus, since many characteristic of a typical colpeople are waiting until the two lege experience. Hopefully, as weeks are up, unleashing anoth- Tsetsewa stated, they will be able to achieve their goals despite the er wave of cases.”

In addition to remote instruc- persistence of a pandemic that tion, as Bower pointed out, the began almost two years ago.

“I can only hope that there move-in timeline was extended to allow for a smoother transi- won’t be much difference from tion into the semester given that our in-person classes,” said Lexi many students are experiencing Terracciano ’25, “and that prodifficulties returning to campus. fessors [and] administration Despite worries that the [supports] the students virtually University’s measures will leave as they would in person.” students worse off, many have accepted the decision. Though Christian Geramita can be reached not particularly excited about at cg543@cornell.edu.

Ithacans Stand Against Antisemitism After Texas Hostage Standoff

By ROMAN LaHAYE Sun Staff Writer

On the Ithaca Commons this past weekend, dozens gathered in the frigid early hours of the Jewish holy day of Shabat to stand against antisemitism.

The somber gathering comes in the wake of a hostage crisis at the Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville, Texas, in which an armed gunman took four people hostage during an 11-hour standoff with law-enforcement.

The Ithaca support event drew support from around Ithaca and across religious groups, with organizers from both conservative and reform congregations, as well as representatives of the Muslim and Christian clergies.

The hostage-taker, British national Malik Faisal Akram, had been sheltered in the synagogue by Rabbi Charlie Cytron-Walker of the Beth Israel Congregation. Akram then brandished a gun during services, demanding the release of Aafia Siddiqui. Siddiqui, convicted of the assault and attempted murder of multiple FBI and U.S. Army personnel, is currently held at the Federal Medical Center, Carswell in Fort Worth, Texas.

That the crisis took place in a place of worship on Shabat was especially distressing for many.

“What makes it so difficult is that people go to their spiritual home for comfort and community and a sense of peace,” said Rabbi Shifrah Tobacman of the Tikkun v’Or Reform Temple. “For many people, it’s a break from things that can be very difficult in their lives, and so it feels particularly violating in a certain way.”

Rabbi Rachel Safman of Temple Beth-El described the psychological effect antisemitism has on the

Jewish community, and spoke about the ways even nonviolent expressions of antisemtic tropes can cause Jewish people to question their integration in their communities.

“It often comes in surprising channels,” Safman said.

Rabbi Ari Weiss, executive director of Cornell Hillel. expressed concern at the antisemitic stereotypes that grounded Akram’s motivations.

“I was struck by the fact that this person did not seem to hate Jewish people, but he seemed to buy into a classical antisemitic motif… that the Jews control the world,” said Weiss.

In 2018, Cornell was home to the largest Jewish population of the Ivy League, and continues to have numerous active Jewish organizations.

Weiss shared his witnessing of multiple incidences of antisemitism

since arriving in 2016.

“When I came to CornelI didn’t think that I would spend so much time responding to antisemitism,” Weiss said. “We’ve seen swastikas and flyers around campus. We’ve heard slurs leveled against Jewish people. And while I don’t believe at all that they are representative of Cornell, I think that they are there.”

Weiss hoped to continue education against antisemitism at Cornell

and dispel stereotypes around Jewish people.

“One of the roles of Hillel is to do this education, call out hate and antisemitism when it happens, and to educate the campus on what antisemitism is and how antisemitism manifests in the 21st century,” Weiss said.

Roman LaHaye can be reached at rlahaye@cornellsun.com.

A&C

4 | The Corne¬ Daily Sun | Tuesday, January 25, 2022

&

Duck Duck Canada Goose HALEY QIN SUN STAFF

As students flock to Cornell for a wintery start to the semester, $1500 Canada Goose jackets seem to cover every corner of campus. What seems to be fueling the popularity of these pieces?

Before we dive into the less obvious reasons why Canada Goose products have gained popularity despite the company’s controversies, here’s a quick history lesson behind the infamous “Canadian holding company of winter clothing manufacturers.”

Sam Tick founded the company in 1957 under the name “Metro Sportswear Ltd.” It began as a working-class brand catering to laborers in Canada.

In the early 1980s, David Reiss purchased the company from Tick and began making a custom parka designed to help scientists withstand one of the coldest places on Earth: Antarctica. These scientists nicknamed the jacket “Big Red.” By 1985, Reiss started trademarking the parkas as “Snow Goose.” However, once the company began selling winter coats in Europe in the early 1990s, it found that this name was already trademarked. They developed the famous modern name of “Canada Goose.”

Canada Goose underwent its largest transformation in 2001 when Reiss’ son, Dani Reiss, became president and CEO of the company. Immediately, Dani Reiss made two major decisions for the company: to produce solely under the name Canada Goose and to only make products in Canada.

In an interview with Business Insider, Susan Fournier, Allen Questrom Professor and Dean at Boston University, commented on the craze behind Canada Goose’s reputation and cultural effect.

“We’re trying to find the authentic in a saturated world that’s kinda contaminated by materialism,” she said. “You get those credentials through craftsmanship. You also get it through a history of the brand, where it’s born of experiences that were actually real that then became products.”

A luxury market expert, Pamela Danziger, told Business Insider that “it’s unusual to see such a brand transform into a luxury brand, but Canada Goose has been very successful at making that transition.”

Canada Goose tied prestige and fame to its name through mass media marketing strategies with notable projects and

ARTS & CULTURE

celebrities, among other strategies such as features in Sports Illustrated and magazines campaigns.

Whether Canada Goose products are popular as a status symbol or because of their high

COURTESY OF WIKIPEDIA COMMONS

quality, their company excels in sales mainly because of clever marketing. Now, let’s step away from the business side and more towards a psychological analysis of the Canada Goose products.

Canada Goose jackets fall between the functionality of a Patagonia jacket and the prestige and appearance of a Prada jacket. Because they allow wearers versatility, they entice new buyers.

These jackets are not binding in terms of when and where one could wear them. The possibilities are endless. Additionally, the status symbol effect of these jackets definitely makes an impact. Although many of us try to avoid this mindset, let’s face it: it’s pretty tempting.

We tend to quickly view someone who wears something from Canada Goose (with jackets ranging from $500 to $1500) as someone who is wealthy.

Many people desire that association. Another reason that could contribute to the popularity of Canada Goose products is the feeling of inclusivity and belonging.

“On average, 75 percent of the people I see on campus are wearing Canada Goose jackets,” said Julia Salatti ’25.

“I see about 50 plus students sporting Canada Goose jackets on a daily basis,” agreed Josh Bernardino ’25.

Morgan Meddings, a Syracuse University student, commented on the large number of students she sees wearing Canada Goose jackets, saying that the vast majority of the female population and half of the male population wear Canada Goose. This repeated exposure to the brand subconsciously signals to our brains that the overall student body favors Canada Goose products.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs includes that a sense of belonging is vital for our psychological development. Subconsciously, we want to maximize our feeling of belonging on a diverse and huge campus like Cornell – even if that sense of belonging lies in a jacket.

When I asked Cornell students why they believe Canada Goose Jackets are so popular on campus their responses were similar. Kathryn Spiegel ’25 said that they were “warm, prestigious and expensive.” Another student, Jasmine Chang ’25 cited Canada Goose jackets as a status symbol.

I believe it is safe to say we can applaud Canada Goose’s marketing team for creating an aura of prestige and high quality. However, like most status symbols, its psychological effects on culture could lead to an unhealthy obsession with materialism.

Haley Qin is a freshman in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. She can be reached at hq35@cornell.edu.

JEENAH MOON / THE NEW YORK TIMES

The Cornell Daily Sun | Tuesday, January 25, 2022 5

Opinion

The Corne¬ Daily Sun

From the Editor

New Stars

Independent Since 1880 139th Editorial Board KATHRYN STAMM ’22 Evansville, Ind. Editor in Chief

ANUSHYA ALANDUR ’23

MADELINE ROSENBERG ’23

Business Manager

Managing Editor

Frisco, Texas

Chappaqua, N.Y.

CATHERINE ST. HILAIRE ’22

PRANAV KENGERI ’24

Associate Editor

Advertising Manager

Patchogue, N.Y.

New Hyde Park, N.Y.

NAOMI KOH ’23

ANIL OZA ’22

Web Editor

Assistant Managing Editor

Mamaroneck, N.Y.

Queens, N.Y.

ODEYA ROSENBAND ’22

YUBIN HEO ’24

East Setauket, N.Y.

Seoul, South Korea

JYOTHSNA BOLLEDDULA ’24

VEE CIPPERMAN ’23

News Editor

News Editor

Opinion Editor

Assistant Web Editor

Lexington, Mass.

Malvern, Pa.

TAMARA KAMIS ’22

NOOREJEHAN UMAR ’23

News Editor

News Editor

Lexington, Mass.

Lahore, Pakistan

E.D. PLOWE ’24

JOHN YOON ’23

Arts & Entertainment Editor

City Editor

Nyack, N.Y.

IF YOU EVER WANT TO REALIZE some of your greatest capacities, work for a student newspaper. Here, you’ll solve crises and uncover opportunities and see how much you can accomplish, even on the least amount of sleep.

It’s a nonstop job that demands so much energy, and the 139th Editorial Board has been doing it for a full year — a year that has seen prolonged grieving and immense uncertainty. While that largely remains, it’s time now for these stellar editors to step into retirement and let the next batch shine.

These potential editors will spend the start of the spring semester not just reading syllabi and shoveling snow, but also putting together a paper every day. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, you should pick up our print paper and look below the masthead for the names of the trainees who made that issue of The Sun. This training, which we lovingly call compet, is a fast-paced, stressful period that requires innovation, flexibility and hard work for jobs that are certainly complex. As our compets find their footing, I foresee mistakes and slip-ups. These are part of the process — of learning and of running a paper.

I have the utmost faith in these journalists, who I’ve watched move from eager prospective staff members to strongholds in their respective departments to now potential editors. I am so excited for them and the future of The Sun. Thank you for your ongoing patience and support through our growing pains as we once again fulfill our mission as a student newspaper to train new journalists.

And if I can speak for the editors of the 139th, I know we all send love, dozens of cups of coffee and a good night’s sleep to the new compets as they face the next six weeks — ones that can surely change their lives.

Cresskill, N.J.

KRISTEN D’SOUZA ’24

BENJAMIN VELANI ’22

Design Editor

Dining Editor

Rochester, Mich.

Minneapolis, Minn.

HANNAH ROSENBERG ’23

LUKE PICHINI ’22

Photography Editor

Sports Editor

Chappaqua, N.Y.

Dresher, Pa.

SRISHTI TYAGI ’22

PUJA OAK ’24

Hicksville, N.Y.

San Ramon, Calif.

ANNIE WU ’22

MARIA MENDOZA BLANCO ’24

Production Editor

Graphics Editor

Science Editor

Layout Editor

Queens. N.Y.

Bethesda, Md.

AMAYA ARANDA ’23

SERENA HUANG ’24

Multimedia Editor

Assistant Business Manager

MIHIKA BADJATE ’23

SURITA BASU ’23

Assistant News Editor

Assistant News Editor

ANGELA BUNAY ’24

KAYLA RIGGS ’24

Assistant News Editor

Assistant News Editor

JOHN COLIE ’23

EMMA LEYNSE ’23

Assistant Arts & Entertainment Editor

Assistant Arts & Entertainment Editor

AMELIA CLUTE ’22

JULIA NAGEL ’24

Assistant Dining Editor

Assistant Photography Editor

WILLIAM BODENMAN ’23

LIAM MONAHAN ’24

Assistant Sports Editor

Assistant Sports Editor

AARON SNYDER ’23

SASHA ABAYEVA ’24

Assistant Sports Editor

Newsletter Editor

Alhambra, Calif.

Emma Smith Emmpathy

East Brunswick, N.J.

Los Altos, Calif.

Lexington, Mass.

Staten Island, N.Y.

Emma Smith is a senior in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. She can be reached at esmith@cornellsun.com. Emmpathy runs every other Wednesday this semester.

Sick

San Jose, Calif.

West Patterson, N.J.

Leonia, N.J.

Alamo, Calif.

Bethesda, Md.

Bloomsburg, Pa.

Honolulu, Hawaii

Manhattan, N.Y.

Mount Kisco, N.Y.

MEGHANA SRIVASTAVA ’23

NOAH ALPERS ’22

Compet Manager

Social Media Manager

CONNOR GREENE ’22

CAROLINE JOHNSON ’22

Senior Editor

Senior Editor

Plainsboro, N.J.

Norman, Okla.

Manhattan, N.Y.

Huntington, N.Y.

NIKO NGUYEN ’22

BENJAMIN PARKER ’22

Senior Editor

Senior Editor

Fremont, Calif.

Manhattan, N.Y.

EMMA ROSENBAUM ’22 Toronto, Canada Senior Editor

Editors in Training editor in chief managing desker opinion deskers news deskers sports deskers arts desker ad layout production desker photo desker layout deskers

Vee Cipperman ’23 Surita Basu ’23 Daniel Bernstein ’23 Emma Leynse ’23 Kayla Riggs ’24 Aimée Eicher ’24 Pareesay Afzal ’24 Aaron Snyder ’23 Gabriella Pacitto ’24 Isabella DiLizia ’25 Alexandra Kim ’24 Katrien de Waard ’24 Julia Nagel ’24 Kristen D’Souza ’24 Puja Oak ’24

“I

’m sorry professor, I’m sick and can’t make it to the exam” is pretty much the college equivalent of “my dog ate my homework.” Today my professor cracked a joke about the number of students who were mysteriously and suddenly “sick” the day of the final. I laughed through my stuffy nose.

Sickness is one of the many afflictions that may strike a student, and it doesn’t get a lot of sympathy. My first year, I caught the flu and developed a fever so bad it landed me in an ambulance on the way to Cayuga Med. All I remember was being grateful it happened on a Saturday, and that I was back in class the following Monday. This lack of sympathy stems from the fact that almost every student is in some stage of sickness right now, be it the “I think I’m starting to get sick” phase or the “I think I might finally be better now” phase. Mental health is a whole other can of worms.

As a senior, I remember Cornell before COVID, and I have to say that this dismissal of symptoms and culture of pushing through to attend lectures was just as common then. The only added layer is that a flu or a cold doesn’t even seem to “count” as being sick anymore since “it’s not COVID, I got the test back.” To the professor joking about students being mysteriously ill, I’ve had a sore throat and nosebleeds for a week that I’ve been ignoring because I’ve had two negative COVID tests. I spent the other night lying in bed awake because my sinus pressure simply would not allow me to breathe enough to sleep.

There are a mess of factors contributing

to this culture.

First, of course, is the acknowledgement that there is no room in the syllabus to be sick. If I missed a lecture every time I felt sick, I’d lose participation points, fall behind in lecture ... all the usual suspects. Cornell is hard to handle at your peak physical health, let alone when you feel under the weather. The overarching competitive nature makes it so that if one person could tough through that cold, you can too.

The overarching theme of my late-night congested musing was that I, like many, have no boundaries when it comes to school. My weekends are just as filled with school as my weekdays. My Thanksgiving break was spent working on several projects. If it’s midnight and I get a school-related email, I reply to it. If a group wants to meet to discuss a project at 10 p.m., I agree to it. It only seems fair that being sick also isn’t enough of a reason to say no to Cornell. There are no sick days. For a second it seemed COVID would legitimize sickness, or at least force us to take it more seriously, but as I mentioned before, it almost feels like any illness other than COVID has taken even more of a backseat.

I am — for lack of a better term — sick of it.

Unfortunately, it was around this time that the NyQuil kicked in and cut my pondering short. I don’t have any perfect answers, and we’re about to enter the most boundary-less time of them all in a Cornell semester. All I can wish upon you is good luck, good health and good wishes that maybe we can all start respecting the health of others and ourselves more.

6 The Cornell Daily Sun | Tuesday, January 25, 2022

Opinion

Cornell’s ‘Zero-COVID’ Strategy Was Bound to Fail

Matthew Samilow Matthew Samilow is a senior in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations. He can be reached at mas748@cornell.edu.

T

wenty-one months into the pandemic, and with 99 percent of undergraduates fully vaccinated, Cornell finally hit “Alert Level Red.” On the one hand, this is very surprising –– after all, we have so many more tools to combat the virus than we had last year. On the other hand, this was the inevitable result of Cornell’s decision to maintain its massive COVID surveillance apparatus and emergency posture even after all students, faculty and staff were vaccinated.

For some time now, public health experts have advised moving away from cases as the metric for evaluating an outbreak. With widespread adoption of vaccines, the reality is that contracting COVID is far less dangerous than it used to be. Furthermore, given

The road forward is clear: treat COVID like the that the vaccines are less effective, particularly with variants like Omicron, at preventing transmission than endemic illness it has become. End the mask mandate, we hoped, COVID will remain a feature of our lives provide testing (including rapid antigen tests) for those for the foreseeable future. We have to learn to cope who think they are infected but end the constant tracking of every single case. It is with COVID as an endemic illness simply unsustainable. and focus on how we can prevent Unfortunately, what as many bad outcomes as possible We have to learn to cope with worries me is that without shutting down society and Cornell seems stubdisrupting people’s lives.

COVID as an endemic illness and bornly committed Cornell’s strategy, in contrast, to is entirely case-centric, and therein focus on how we can prevent as the zero-COVID road. lies the fundamental flaw. As the If Cornell thinks that administration has acknowledged, many bad outcomes as possible the existence of mild it has “not seen severe illness in cases among the student without shutting down society body justify masking and any of our infected students.” And yet, here we are in December 2021 restrictions indefinitely, and disrupting people’s lives. how will students ever shutting down campus (except for the Cornell Store, of course). The have a normal semester administration has completely lost again? What is the logperspective of what the overall goal is here, and its ical endpoint here? When does the administration assessment of the costs and benefits of its restrictions is acknowledge that COVID isn’t going away and ruinwoefully misguided. ing college for its students isn’t going to change that?

To illustrate the foolishness of looking at cases, We mandated masks and vaccines and have the worst consider hospitalizations in Tompkins County: with outbreak yet. Not only are Cornell’s policies cruel to nearly 1,500 active cases, there are eight hospitalizations. its students, they don’t even work.

During last year’s winter surge, Tompkins County typCornell students have sacrificed so much of their colically had somewhere between 200 and 300 cases and lege experience (only the seniors have even had a Slope hospitalization figures in the 20s. So, roughly five times Day), and it’s infuriating to see the administration take fewer cases and double the hospitalizations. This is the graduation away from the December graduates. The Class power of vaccines and instead of being thankful for this, of 2022 can only hope the administration sees the light we have decided to act as if we are still in the same exact before its senior spring and graduation are pointlessly position as March 2020. ruined, too.

Letter to the Editor

Re: ‘Cornell’s ‘Zero-COVID’ Strategy Was Bound to Fail’ To the Editor: December 2021 officially marks two years since the initial known outbreak of SARS-CoV-2. Since then we have grown together through the pitfalls of novel viruses and their corresponding epidemiological impacts. But with the rise and fall of new variants, symptoms, illnesses and deaths, one thing is clear: we still have much to learn.

Just as Cornell was reaching the tail end of the semester, a surge of cases erupted on campus, making national headlines, and led to a shutdown of all in-person activities. Many students responded diligently and in compliance to the mandate. While compliance to the COVID-19 mandates was outlined in the University’s behavioral compact, some students, including Matthew Samilow, expressed their fervent disapproval towards Cornell’s policies. To point out, Matthew Samilow’s argument is fallacious in regard to public health.

Samilow offers multiple logical fallacies in his article and masks the one thing that does not need masking: the truth.

Samilow explains the campus’ shift to “Alert Level Red” as a direct result of Cornell’s surveillance testing measures, which quantify the number of active SARS-CoV-2 cases on campus.

However, Samilow failed to explain the reason for the uptick in cases leading to the campus shutdown in December. In a statement released early December, the University warned that students had traveled during Thanksgiving break and arrived back to campus carrying the Omicron variant.

Combined with the waning immunity of the first two doses of the vaccine and the extreme infectiousness of the new variant, the virus began spreading like wildfire. Yet Samilow states, “We mandated masks and vaccines and have the worst outbreak yet,” implying that mask and vaccine mandates are not effective measures. He ignores the real reason for the viral surge, as well as the scientific facts which prove that masks and vaccines continue to be effective.

The viral surge occurred due to student

noncompliance with the mask mandate, whether that be at social gatherings or at other spaces on or off campus.

A Sun article released soon before the surge criticized the decreased presence of mask wearing amongst the student body.

In Samilow’s piece, there appears to be confusion as to why Cornell, like other universities such as Yale and Princeton, continues to test, identify and quantify SARS-CoV-2 cases and use this information as a determining factor for campus life considering 99 percent of the Cornell student body is vaccinated. The sole reason we heavily rely on a case centric approach for

We must remain patient until scientists and health officials determine when it’s completely safe to treat COVID as the new “flu.” evaluating an outbreak is to use those statistics for modeling the probability of serious illness and death. This approach is not only an indicator of an outbreak on campus, but a preventative measure of future chaos.

Sure, we only had eight hospitalizations within an infected population of 1500. But consider this: infections grow at an exponential trend given that the new variant is three times as contagious. If Cornell were to turn a blind eye and prematurely conclude that the new variant has a lower probability of severe illness among vaccinated indi-

viduals, there could be more potential hospitalizations and deaths in the general Cornell population and greater Ithaca community than we have seen before; especially in unvaccinated and/ or immunocompromised communities.

So how do we, as students, justify one death within our community if it can be prevented by these safety measures? It appears that Samilow believes he can be the arbiter of the moral cutoffs between freedom and death among us. Case numbers are important; behind every number lies a person — in addition to the people around them.

Samilow states that the Cornell administration is “ruining college” for its students through “cruel” and “woefully misguided” policies. However, with all of the principles and mandates in place, not one Cornell student or faculty member has died from COVID19. Considering that Cornell chose to bring its students back to campus in fall 2020 and spring 2021 when most of the community was unvaccinated, this is objectively a tremendous achievement. There have been multiple deaths related to COVID-19 across other campuses — deaths that have elicited protests among students and faculty within those campuses. If Cornell has yet to experience any deaths from COVID19, how exactly has the administration failed? What metric is Samilow using for success: the number of social events attended or the number of students surviving the pandemic?

Samilow so confidently suggests that the Cornell community ought to treat COVID-19 like the annual flu. It’s possible we are moving towards that reality. Though, how do we know there won’t be another variant? How do we know when it’s safe to treat COVID as an endemic illness entirely? The frank truth is that we’re not there yet. SARSCoV-2 has become the brother illness that we all despise, rapidly mutating and evolving. Nonetheless, the past two years have been monumental in understanding the sociological and scientific implications of the novel virus.

The innovation of a booster vaccine

has granted us some protection and a new sense of normalcy. Yet, Samilow’s argument is contradictory as he portrays the vaccine to work/not work at his convenience. Initially, he mentions that we have to learn to cope with the virus now that “contracting COVID is far less dangerous.” However, it is only less dangerous because of the vaccines.

Yet he proceeds to describe the vaccine as “less effective,” alluding that contracting the virus is inevitable, and thus a campus-shutdown is futile. Albeit, when it boils down to freedom on campus, a cease to the mask mandate and a sense of “normalcy,” he references the “power of vaccines.” Which is it?

Like the rest of us, Samilow continues to express the ‘side effects’ of the pandemic; the lingering questions about how to manage the virus, the exhaustion of living in a pandemic. The actions Cornell takes in regard to public health are not entirely about us and our college experiences, however. They’re about our collegiate and greater Ithaca community. It’s about people who don’t have access to vaccines. It’s about those who are immunocompromised.

It’s about loved ones who are currently in the hospital. It’s about preventing hospitals from becoming overwhelmed.

It’s about our healthcare workers. It’s about acknowledging the risk that the virus still poses and adhering to scientific facts.

We must remain patient until scientists and health officials determine when it’s completely safe to treat COVID as the new “flu” and return to our preCOVID era; in times when we could smile with more than just the squint in our eyes. Remaining patient means that we may continue to miss out on the “normal college experience’’ while protecting our communities, families and friends. Unfortunately, Samilow, that means the fate of our Slope Day remains unclear. Thus unmasking the most important lesson of all: we must remain patient with uncertainty.

Hugo Amador ’24 Rebecca Sparacio ’24

Comics and Puzzles

Sundoku 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)

The Cornell Daily Sun | Tuesday, January 25, 2022 7

Puzzle 1215

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c

or ne l ls

American Affairs Desk

u n.com

by Mark Kaufman

cornellsun.com

The Corne¬ Daily Sun

Sports

TUESDAY JANUARY 25, 2022

8

D OWN G OES N O.1

Berard’s two goals lead No. 8 Cornell past No.1 Quinnipiac

By LUKE PICHINI Sun Sports Editor

After suffering a disappointing 5-4 defeat at the hands of Princeton on Friday night, No. 8 Cornell men’s hockey drew its toughest opponent to date as it hosted No. 1 Quinnipiac at Lynah Rink.

Quinnipiac entered the MEN’S HOCKEY contest with a AARON SNYDER / 17-game unbeatSUN ASSISTANT en streak, includSPORTS EDITOR ing nine straight wins, and the team also dismantled Princeton earlier in the week, 9-0. The team’s defense had been outstanding, only allowing one goal per game, the best mark in the nation.

Despite the tough matchup, Cornell pulled off an impressive upset, using two power-play goals from junior forward Ben Berard — including the game-winner in overtime — to defeat the topranked Bobcats, 2-1.

“That felt good,” Berard said on beating the No. 1 team in Quinnipiac, “especially after last night, that was a tough blow. Quinnipiac is a top team in our league every year, so that felt good to get one against them.”

Both teams went into overtime after ending regulation in a 1-1 standstill. During the second period, Berard broke the scoreless draw with a snipe just seconds into a power-play opportunity.

After putting up relentless pressure and out-shooting the Red by a significant margin, Quinnipiac scored early in the third period off the stick of TJ Friedmann.

Entering overtime, it appeared that Quinnipiac would continue its onslaught of shots, but freshman goaltender Ian Shane came up with two saves to hold the Bobcats at bay.

With one minute remaining in overtime, junior defenseman Travis Mitchell fired a shot on the break, and senior forward Kyle Betts nearly punched in the rebound.

While the Red could not convert the attempt, Quinnipiac forward Wyatt Bongiovanni was whistled for slashing.

Cornell went on a 4-on-3 man advantage in the final minute — its last opportunity to secure a win in the record book and avoid an official tie in a shootout.

“You don’t have many 4-on-3s, but that’s Benny’s gift,” said Associate Head Coach Ben Syer. “He’s got a great shot, and you got to give him a lot of credit.”

The Red turned to its leading goal-scorer in clutch situations. Berard seized the opportunionce more, beating “[Berard]’s got a great tyQuinnipiac’s standout freshman goalshot, and you got to tender, Yaniv Perets, give him a lot of credit.” from the right circle to secure the 2-1 overAssociate Head Coach Ben Syer time victory along with two points in the league standings.

“I told [junior forward] Ben Tupker to start yelling at me when there were about 15 seconds left so we knew to get a shot off. It was kind of funny; I heard him yell and scream ‘attack’ from the bench,” Berard said with a laugh. “There wasn’t much of a lane, but I was kind of at the point where the clock was running out, so I had to take a shot. Luckily,

on their third power play seven minutes into the period.

The man advantage sprouted from a scuffle behind the net. Ultimately, freshman forward Justin Ertel and junior defenseman Sebastien Dirven were flagged for tripping and boarding, respectively. Bongiovanni was called for a hit after the whistle, setting up 4-on-3 hockey.

Once again, Shane and the Cornell penalty Overtime joy | kill came through, Cornell celebrates holding the after junior forBobcats scoreless amidst a flurry of ward Ben Berard shots and pres(29)’s game-winsure.

By the end ning goal. of the barrage, Quinnipiac had doubled the Red’s shots on goal, 18-9.

“It’s pretty tiring. It’s a lot of movement,” Shane said. “My guys are letting me see pucks and giving me shot lanes like they’ve done pretty much every game. If I’m able to see pucks, we’ll have success in our zone. And if I can shut things down because I can see them, that’ll give [my teammates] fresh legs and give us a better opportunity to get out of our zone.”

The second the team’s two leading point-scorers, junior forward Matt period concluded with no change on the scoreboard as the Stienburg and senior forward Max Andreev, out due to Red preserved its 1-0 lead. Shane withstood another seven injury. Despite the tough circumstances, Cornell kept pace shots on goal by the Bobcats, and the shot disparity grew to 25-11. Despite Quinnipiac applying relentless pressure with Quinnipiac through the first period.

Early in the contest, the game amounted to a defensive throughout the frame, Cornell matched that intensity on the battle. Through the first six minutes, the Bobcats mustered defensive end to avoid several close calls.

“Quinnipiac is a team that pumps a lot of pucks to the only one shot on goal compared to the Red’s total of zero. net, and we know that,” Syer said.

Past the midpoint of the first period, “Our guys did a great job of picking Cornell’s offense began to click. In a up six underneath and also blocking a three-minute span, the Red launched QUINNIPIAC @ CORNELL lot of shots.” five shots on goal, though Perets denied Unfortunately for the Red, the each opportunity.

Bobcats’ persistent pressure resulted Quinnipiac then went on the attack in their first breakthrough. After a in the final five minutes of the period, Game: 1ST 2ND 3RD O.T. FINAL delayed penalty was called on senior upping its shot tally to six. Despite Quinn. 0 0 1 0 1 forward Liam Motley, Quinnipiac icer Shane standing tall in net, the Red did Cornell 0 1 0 1 2 TJ Friedmann beat Shane, knotting not emerge from the period completely the contest at one goal apiece. unscathed.

“He was all alone out in front of With only three seconds remaining in the period, senior defenseman and captain Cody me,” Shane said. “I thought I played the angle decently well, Haiskanen was whistled for high-sticking, giving the Bobcats and he got a really good tip on it and was able to send it the complete opposite way that I was pushing. Credit to him, it a man advantage to start the middle frame.

To kick off the second period, Cornell continued its was a really good tip.” defensive stand, killing the penalty. The Red’s penalty-kill The Red rebounded and slowed the Bobcats for two minunit did not have much time to breathe, however, as junior utes — the team’s fourth penalty kill of the night. From there, defenseman Sam Malinski took a trip to the penalty box for both teams were in search of the go-ahead goal to break the tie. cross-checking.

Quinnipiac committed a costly error by trotting one too While Quinnipiac had a prime opportunity in the wan- many players out on the ice with only four minutes left of reging seconds of the power play with the puck and multiple ulation. Unlike its first power play, the Red could not find the attackers in the crease, the Red came up with another kill, back of the net on its second go, keeping the game tied 1-1. keeping the Bobcats scoreless.

Neither team mustered a shot in the final two minCornell’s impressive defensive effort was rewarded with a utes, sending the game into overtime. The Red boasted power-play chance — the team’s first of the evening — with a 3-0-1 record in overtime, having picked up three vicQuinnipiac forward Ethan Leyh going to the box for hold- tories against Alaska and Brown and a shootout loss to ing. Just five seconds into power-play opportunity, Berard Clarkson. Taking advantage of the 4-on-3 power play, took advantage of a zone look and buried a deep shot past Berard gave his team a fourth overtime victory and narPerets to give the Red a valuable 1-0 edge. rowed the gap between Cornell and Quinnipiac in the That power-play conversion came against a Quinnipiac ECAC standings. team that led the nation with its penalty kill, wiping away The Red will look to build off this impressive upset as it 93 percent of opportunities, but Berard’s timely snipe put hosts Dartmouth and Harvard next weekend at Lynah Rink. the Red on the board.

That lead was soon in jeopardy after the Bobcats went Luke Pichini can be reached at lpichini@cornellsun.com. it found its way to the back of the net.”

Perets was the anchor of the Bobcats’ stout defensive unit, posting a .952 save percentage and eight shutouts heading into Saturday. Quinnipiac’s surrounding defense also entered the game conceding just 17 shots per game.

Meanwhile, the Red’s offense was shorthanded with

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