INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880
The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 128, No. 99
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 2012
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ITHACA, NEW YORK
20 Pages – Free
Univ.Plans to Offer Business Minor Program will be capped at 400 students per class By JUSTIN ROUILLIER
management, accounting, finance and marketing. The classes will be offered by the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Business-minded Cornellians can look for- Management, the School of Industrial and Labor ward to a new campus-wide business minor next Relations, the School of Hotel Administration fall if a proposal by University administrators and the Johnson school. proposal goes through as planned. Only 400 undergraduates per class will be In its current form, the University’s allowed to enroll in the program for the first year “Business@Cornell” proposal will create a busi- the minor is offered. ness minor available to all undergraduates with a “We do anticipate expanding,” Thomas said. GPA of 3.3 or higher who have taken both an “But we will start with a cap so we can see how introductory economics and an introductory sta- big this thing is, and then we can expand in a tistics course by the end of their sophomore year, planned way by adding some capacity. according to Ronald Eventually, if Seeber, vice provost for “Students are interested in getting a there is lots more land grant affairs. The demand, it does minor will first be avail- return on their education.” imply that we able to students in the Joseph Thomas need to re-purClass of 2015. pose or hire new Joseph Thomas, dean professors — that of the Johnson Graduate School of Management, is yet another reason to start with something we attributed the demand for a business minor to know we can manage.” changing societal expectations about education. Seeber said he has been working on the pro“It’s a tough time economically, and students posal since last year and that he expects the want to show that they have gone to a great lib- Faculty Senate to approve it at its March meeting. eral arts university but that they have also learned If the proposal is approved by the Senate, Seeber applied skills,” he said. “I think there is more will announce the University’s intention to create interest in having a college education that allows the minor to the Board of Trustees. The board you to go out and do something immediately does not, however, have the power to overturn after graduation — students are interested in get- the Senate’s ruling. ting a return on their education.” Last month, Seeber presented the To complete the minor, students will have to See BUSINESS page 6 take at least one class each in the fields of business Sun Staff Writer
ADINA GOODMAN / SUN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Talking point | Dan Goldberg ’14, a candidate for the Student Assembly’s undesignated at-large position, presents his views at a forum on Tuesday.
Student Assembly Hopefuls Pitch Platforms at Forums By SYLVIA RUSNAK Sun Staff Writer
At a forum on Tuesday, candidates running for the Student Assembly positions of president, executive vice president, undesignated, international, LGBTQ, minority and women’s issues at-large representatives told their peers what they would do to work on student health, safety and diversity
Planning Board Advances Holiday Inn Expansion By KAITLYN KWAN Sun Staff Writer
Hart Hotels’ proposal to dramatically expand its Holiday Inn hotel near the Commons has received substantial support from the community and is well underway to gaining approval for construction, board members said at a meeting of the Planning and Development Board Tuesday. In an effort to increase its guest occupancy on weekdays, Hart Hotels proposes to expand the hotel on South Cayuga Street through two new additions. More than 110 rooms in the hotel’s north, south and west guest room wings will be demolished and replaced by a banquet and meeting space, a 10-story tower with 115 new rooms and a rooftop entertainment complex. Govind Acharya, chair of the board, called the proposal “the most ideal sort of project that we get.” “[The improvements will help in] building our density, bringing more people into the city, improving our tax pays and it’s going to make [the hotel] more aesthetically pleasing … I don’t think there was anyone who was opposed to it,” Acharya said. During the board’s meeting on Tuesday, however, some board members expressed their concerns about the renovation’s effects on the neighborhood. In a letter to the board, City Transportation Engineer Tim Logue questioned the safety of two new curbcuts, or cuts See HOTEL page 5
issues. Only candidates running for positions voted on by the entire student body participated. “I want to continue working on alcohol safety for the student body,” said current executive vice president Adam Gitlin ’13, who is running uncontested for president of the S.A. “That involves the Cayuga’s Watchers See S.A. page 5
News Meme Madness
One does not simply ignore memes, an Internet phenomenon spreading around Cornell. | Page 3
Opinion Price of Fairness
Jon Weinberg ’13 pushes University students and administrators to put their foot down on exploitative, unpaid internships. | Page 9
Science Tonight We Dine on Mars
Cornell researchers are studying how to prevent astronauts from tiring of their food by simulating conditions on Mars. | Page 12
Sports COURTESY OF CITY OF ITHACA
Far above South Cayuga St. | Hart Hotels presented a proposal to the Planning and Development Board on Tuesday to build two new additions, including a 10-story tower (above left), to the existing Holiday Inn (right).
Giddy Up
The equestrian team finished its most successful team to date this Saturday, placing second in its final show. | Page 20
Students, board members debate parking variance for College Ave.plan
Blogs
By JEFF STEIN
Holy See
Sun City Editor
A phalanx of students and advocates rallied behind a proposal to construct a GreenStar grocery store at 307 College Ave. Tuesday, decrying arcane and obstructionist city parking requirements that they said were preventing the natural foods market from flourishing in the
heart of Collegetown. The reality, however, may be more complex. City officials said at a meeting of the Planning and Development Board Tuesday that developer Josh Lower’s ’05 proposed GreenStar is not being held up by city regulations, as there is no parking requirement for new retail spaces located in apartment buildings in Collegetown.
Instead, they said, the GreenStar is being stalled because it is slated for the bottom floor of a bigger project — a proposed six-story building, called “Collegetown Crossing,” on College Avenue. This building will contain 103 bedrooms that do require parking spaces under See GREENSTAR page 4
Annie Ziesing ’13, studying abroad in Rome, provides a tourist’s guide to the Vatican’s St. Peter’s Basilica. | Cornellsun.com, March 1
Weather Wintery Mix HIGH: 36 LOW: 25