INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880
The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 129, No. 84
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2013
!
ITHACA, NEW YORK
Think tank
16 Pages – Free
Collegetown Shooting Suspect Arrested by Ithaca Police Dept. McCargo charged with 2nd degree assault By KEVIN MILIAN Sun Staff Writer
MICHELLE FELDMAN / SUN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
In an event called “Shark Tank” on Tuesday, engineering students pitch their ideas in front of a panel of judges from various local investment companies.
Plans Emerge for First Ithaca Mosque By JINJOO LEE Sun Senior Writer
After almost 30 years of planning and fundraising, Ithaca’s Islamic community has raised enough money to build the first mosque in the area — something it hopes to see happen within the next
News Tackling Elder Abuse
Weill Cornell Medical College received $13.6 million to advance research on elder abuse. | Page 3
Opinion Senior Musings
Kat Balram ’13 reflects upon the personal lessons she has learned at Cornell. | Page 7
Arts Textiles of Substance
Daveen Koh ’14 reviews a textile exhibition at the Herbert F. Johnson Museum. | Page 10
Sports Charitable Kickers
The Cornell men’s soccer team auctioned off signed items to raise money for children with cancer. | Page 15
Sports Back With a Rebound
Cornell gymnastics hopes to rebound at the Big Red Invitational after losing against Towson Saturday. | Page 16
Weather Snow HIGH: 34 LOW: 12
three months. “We’ve been trying to raise money for the mosque since the 1980s,” said Ahmed Ahmed, a senior research associate in the College of Veterinary Medicine. Ahmed said that the Muslim population in Ithaca and at Cornell consists of approximately 400 peo-
ple. Fundraising within the small community — which he said is made up of “mostly students” — to build a mosque was difficult, he said. Now, with funds in place, Ahmed said that community mem-
A man who reportedly fired several rounds at a victim on Jan. 29 — causing the victim to suffer a gunshot wound on the buttocks — turned himself in to the police Monday evening. The Ithaca Police Department named Tyrell McCargo, 22, of Cortland, N.Y. a suspect in the Oak Avenue incident Thursday, and launched a search for McCargo. “He was made aware of “He was made aware our pursuit and turned of our pursuit and himself in,” said Officer Jamie Williamson, public turned himself in.” information officer for IPD. Jamie Williamson According to IPD, McCargo was charged with assault in the second degree — a class D felony. On Jan. 29 at about 1:30 a.m., IPD responded to a 911 call reporting that gun shots were heard in the 100 block of Oak Avenue and that a dark-colored sedan was seen leaving the area. The victim was said to be in stable condition.
See MOSQUE page 4
See SHOOTING page 5
iPhone App Connects Students to Emergency Services By ERICA AUGENSTEIN Sun Staff Writer
Observing that Cornell students face potentially dangerous situations — such as walking home alone late at night from the library or from a party — a group of students have created an iPhone application that they hope will increase their peers’ safety. The students’ app, ResCUer, provides users easy access to the phone numbers of University resources such as the Cornell University Police Department and Gannett Health Services, according to Matt Joe ’14, a student who worked on the app.
Joe and a team of students created the iPhone app in December when they realized that there was no resource that allowed convenient access to important emergency contacts. The team is now a week away from releasing an app for Android phones, according to Joe. “It is just a one-stop shop for every single emergency number. The way I see it is, Cornell provides all of these really useful resources, and we’ve created a really simple way to access [all of ] them," Joe said. “Gannett and the administration put up posters saying ‘Put these numbers in your
phone,’ but not every student actually copies them down.” The app’s home screen presents two options to users on its main screen: “Get help” and “Go home.” A user who touches the “Get help” option is linked to various emergency services numbers, including that of the CUPD, Gannett and the Blue Light Services, according to Joe. A user who touches the “Go home” option is linked to the numbers of Blue Light Services and local taxi companies. Users can also insert the phone numbers See APP page 5
After Pipe Bursts, Basement of Barnes Hall Floods By AKANE OTANI Sun News Editor
The basement of Barnes Hall flooded Monday, forcing Cornell Career Services staff to evacuate while University staff responded. As of Tuesday, 103 Barnes Hall — the location of Cornell Career Services — remained closed, according to a sign posted at the Ho Plaza entrance of the building. The flood occurred at around noon due to the cold water pipe of the building cracking, according to Joseph Lalley, senior director of facilities operations. There were no injuries reported.
After clearing out the building, the University’s flood response team started to clean up and clear the damage in the basement, Lalley said. “Some water made it to Ho Plaza, but the appropriate notifications to environmental officials were made,” Lalley added. Lalley said that, as of Monday evening, the cracked pipe was “back in order.” It was not clear what caused the building’s water pipe to crack, according to Lalley. “These things happen from time to time, but I think everyone responded appropriately and in good time,” he said.
KELLY YANG / SUN SENIIOR PHOTOGRAPHER
Barnes floods | Cornell Career Services in Barnes Hall was flooded when a pipe cracked Monday. The room remained closed Tuesday.