INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880
The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 129, No. 91
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2013
News Honey, I Shrunk the Bear
Homecoming 2015 will see the unveiling of a bronze bear cub statue. | Page 3
Opinion Crossing Boundaries
Rudy Gerson ’15 encourages students to take an interdisciplinary approach to learning and life. | Page 7
Arts In an Aeroplane Over Ithaca Sydney Ramsden ’14 reviews Jeff Mangum’s enthralling performance at the State Theatre.
| Page 8
Sports In a Funk
The men’s hockey team hopes to snap out of a seven-game losing streak on a road trip this weekend. | Page 16
Weather Partly Cloudy HIGH: 35 LOW: 20
New Travel Site Targets Safety While Abroad
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ITHACA, NEW YORK
16 Pages – Free
I can hear the bells
By ALEXA DAVIS Sun Staff Writer
Five years ago, a group of students were in Kenya when a civil war broke out. “[Then] two years ago, we had an issue with the Arab Spring and then that same summer was the Japanese earthquake,” said Alexis Santi, coordinator of travel safety for Cornell Abroad. “This became a major issue for the University in general. How safe are we? How are we running programs? But also, are we even sure where everybody is? We needed a system with which we could capture all of that.” The incidents identified a gap in the University’s understanding of who is abroad at any given time, according to Santi. But it was not until this month that Cornell launched a travel registry designed to increase safety for students, faculty and staff traveling abroad, as well as to serve as a preventative measure against potential high-risk situations. The new system is intended to better equip the University to send resources and aid to Cornell-affiliated individuals who are abroad, particularly in dangerous areas,
SHAILEE SHAH / SUN SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER
Visitors who climbed to the top of McGraw Tower on Thursday watch the Valentine’s Day Chimes Concert, a performance held in addition to the normal chimes concerts during the day.
according to Dean of Students Kent Hubbell ’67. The new registry provides contact information and itineraries of all individuals affiliated with Cornell who are studying abroad. It also supplies travelers with access to University-approved emergency travel insurance and emergency evacuation if necessary, according to Santi. Students who are enrolled in Cornell Abroad are automatically included in the registry. Those who organized their trip inde-
pendently, however, are not included. Santi said he strongly encourages such students, in addition to anyone affiliated with Cornell, to register their international travel. About 600 students who are currently enrolled in Cornell Abroad are included in the system. But there are an additional 1,000 to 1,500 students who are travelling internationally and not accounted for, according to Santi. Since the system’s launch earlier this See REGISTRY page 4
President Says Divestment Debate at Cornell Is‘Divisive’
Skorton praises social activism, urges caution
By SUN STAFF NOAH RANKIN / SUN STAFF WRITER
Everybody dance now | Students on Ho Plaza Thursday participate in a flashmob that decried violence against women.
Flashmob Dances on Ho Plaza To Protest Violence Against Women By NOAH RANKIN Sun Staff Writer
Ithaca joined cities such as London, Los Angeles, Jerusalem and New Delhi, and others around the world, as it saw a flashmob Thursday demanding an end of violence toward women. About 50 people participated in the flashmob, which was held on Ho Plaza. The flashmobs were held in cities across the world as part of One Billion Rising, a movement that combats violence against women. “One in three women will be raped or beaten in her lifetime,” said Ihsan Kabir ’14, one of the organizers of the Ho Plaza event, quoting one of OBR’s slogans. “One billion women violated is an atrocity. One billion people dancing is a
revolution.” Kabir organized the event despite never having previously participated in a flash mob. He said the global nature of the OBR movement inspired him to organize the Valentine’s Day flashmob in Ithaca. “I’m from Bangladesh, and my mom is doing One Billion Rising over there,” Kabir said. “When I found out there wasn’t one here, I started organizing it.” Kabir and fellow organizer Neha Shah ’13 have been preparing for the event since early January, using social media to publicize it. “One Billion Rising is incredibly important to me because it’s a global event,” Shah said. “There are over 200 See FLASHMOB page 4
broad consensus on this on campus. I think this is going to be a very divisive In an interview with The Sun on issue, a complex issue ... There are a lot of Monday, President David Skorton responded different issues to this. I think the campus will generally agree to student demands to divest the University’s that social responsibility ought to be taken endowment from the fossil fuel industry. Skorton urged caution, noting that Cornell into serious account while investing. I think cannot sacrifice its financial health in pursuit people will agree with that. I think even of social causes. Still, he embraced the use of people who believe that certain maneuvers are the wrong maneuver will agree that havdivestment as a useful tool in general. ing an ethos of DAVID SKORTON: social responsibility There are four things I’d “I doubt [that] we’re is important. like to get across about going to have a broad Secondly, I think [divestment]. One is, I people will agree consensus on this think at times divestthat development ment is a tool that can be on campus.” of renewable fuel used; I do. I’m not talkDavid Skorton sources and ing about [divesting changes in the way from fossil fuels] right now; I’m talking about divestment in we do things in the United States, to make general, because there are people who it more likely that we can utilize renewable think divestment is never a good idea … fuel sources — I think people will agree I encouraged a selective divestment from about that. I think there will be somewhat Darfur, and we did that. So the first thing of a consensus, maybe a little bit less, that is, I don’t have a position like divestment anything we can do as a country to be less dependent on foreign sources of energy [is is something you should never touch. Secondly, I really believe that — as positive] … for geo-political reasons. And much as possible, within the limits of not the thing I do not think we will have a hurting the campus, in terms of the broad consensus on is that complete divestreturns — having the endowments ment from the fossil fuel industry will be invested in socially responsible ways is a the way to go. I actually don’t know what really good idea. I think that’s true for my the right answer is; I really don’t. But I believe that this is how we should own personal investments as well. Thirdly, this is a really complex issue See SKORTON page 4 and … I doubt if we’re going to have a