INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880
The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 130, No. 88
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2014
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ITHACA, NEW YORK
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Tyler Ehrlich ’14 and Prof. Turner face difficulties in digitizing the conducting world with Google Glass. | Page 3
Calvin Patten ’15 reviews Sun Kil Moon’s latest, emotionally charged album. | Page 10
The Equestrian team looks forward to its first event of the semester on Saturday. | Page 16
Professors: Benefits of MOOCs Outweigh Risks at University Prof. Richard Miller, philosophy, a member of the DLC, said the report includes During a University Faculty policy recommendations for Senate Meeting Wednesday, Cornell and outlines controprofessors debated the benefits versies about the impending and financial concerns associat- transformation of higher edued with expanding Cornell’s cation due to MOOCs and other online learning procurrent MOOC offerings. MOOCs, massive online grams. According to Miller, the open courses — which the committee University encourages began to offer “We are not in the in February — business of money. We e x p a n d i n g Cornell’s differ from traare in the business of online educaditional classes education — and this tion program in that they are in both scope online, shorter is education.” and content. than a semester Joseph Burns Ph.D. ’66 The committee and open to the also suggests public, The that the University continue Sun previously reported. The Distance Learning to not grant credit to on-camCommittee’s drafted a report on pus students for MOOCs and the future of MOOCs at to weigh the impact of licensCornell, which served as the ing MOOCs for credit at base of conversation at the meeting. See MOOC page 5 By SLOANE GRINSPOON
Sun Staff Writer
CONNOR ARCHARD / SUN SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER
Clothes for a cause | The Cornell Store will stop selling items from apparel companies that do not create safe working conditions for laborers and collaborate with Bangladeshi unions.
C.U.Stops Sale of Apparel Linked To Labor Abuse in Bangladesh By SOFIA HU Sun Staff Writer
Cornell will be the sixth university to require its apparel licensees to abide by the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, a five year agreement between apparel companies and Bangladeshi unions which legally binds its signatories to create safe working environments, the University announced Wednesday.
The Accord was created in response to the fatal collapse of Rana Plaza, an eight story commercial building outside Dhaka, Bangladesh, on April 24, which killed over 1,120 workers. The signatories have agreed to develop and support a fire and safety program to prevent future incidences, according to the Accord. “We believe the Accord is a fair, transparent See APPAREL page 4
Ithaca Officials,Residents Discuss Collegetown Zoning Ordinance City officials‘keen’to move proposal forward By ANNIE BUI
Landlord Jason Fane expressed his support for the zoning of Collegetown, citing the multiple benefits that the ordinance Ithaca residents and members of the would bring to the area. City’s Planning and Economic Develop“New buildings will provide superior ment Committee deliberated over changes housing and improve the appearance of to Collegetown’s zoning ordinance at a Collegetown … many existing buildings are meeting Wednesday. over 100 years old,” a repThe proposed changes “Collegetown has radically resentative for Fane said. would help promote high“New buildings [would changed in the last 50 quality construction and also] mean more jobs. [It’s] years; most residents protect the character of time for the city to maxiraising families have established residential mize the objectives of this neighborhoods in the area, law.” disappeared.” according to Alderperson Jan Rhodes Norman, John Graves Graham Kerslick (D-4th co-founder of Local First Ward), who is also the Ithaca, reflected on the executive director of the David R. Atkinson importance for the city to adopt a busiCenter for a Sustainable Future at Cornell. ness-friendly zoning ordinance. Under the plan, the Collegetown area “GreenStar [Cooperative Market] has would be split into two types of districts. had plans to open a new satellite store in While four zones are designated for resi- Collegetown ... it fit[s] into this type of new dential use, the remaining two are desig- development — smart growth and new nated as mixed-use for both residential and urbanism,” she said. “When the project was commercial purposes. According to a City first brought up, the issue was the on-site document, each type of district would be parking … [we] encourage the city to adopt subject to its own specific building regula- a zoning ordinance that doesn’t make it tions and restrictions. harder to achieve [such a development].” Sun Senior Writer
COURTESY OF THE CITY OF ITHACA
City life | A conceptual image of what Linden Avenue could become under proposed zoning changes to Collegetown. The hypothetical view looks towards Dryden Road.
Norman was referencing developer Josh Lower’s ’05 proposal to construct a housing complex and a GreenStar market on College Avenue, which hit a roadblock due to the city’s parking laws, The Sun reported in May 2012. Some residents expressed apprehension over the new Collegetown zoning ordinance. “Collegetown has radically changed in the last 50 years; most residents raising families have disappeared,” Ithacan John
Graves said. “Landlords have built large apartment complexes … too much shock has happened too quickly and negatively impacted the city.” Graves added that he was “anxious” to see “housing diversity being built back into the Collegetown-area plan.” Other members of the community added that while the ordinance was not See ZONING page 5