INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880
The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 129, No. 101
THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2013
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ITHACA, NEW YORK
16 Pages – Free
After Sexual Assaults, Univ.Will Centralize Resources for Victims By KERRY CLOSE Sun News Editor
DIANA MARK / SUN CONTRIBUTOR
Now or never | Students and faculty from Cornell and Ithaca College gather near Willard Straight Hall to encourage Cornell to divest from the fossil fuel industry.
Protesters:‘Do the Right Thing’ Students, faculty call on Cornell to divest from fossil fuels By KRITIKA OBEROI Sun Staff Writer
On Thursday afternoon, about 20 students and faculty from Cornell and Ithaca College gathered at Ho Plaza to show their support for the fossil fuel divestment campaign at Cornell. The event was organized by KyotoNOW!, a student organization that advocates sustainability. The gathering was held to maintain the momentum of the divestment campaign while students await University President David Skorton’s response to a Student Assembly resolu-
News Gym Rats
Felix Tabary ’14 and Omar Nijem ’13 seek to build a gym in Collegetown. | Page 3
Opinion Why Can’t We All Get Along
Rudy Gerson ’15 expresses the need to find peace in the Israel and Palestine conflict. | Page 7
Arts Out of the Box
Colin Chan ’13 discusses escapism in literary fiction, television and video games. | Page 11
Sports Ice, Ice, Baby
Women’s Ice Hockey will face Colgate in the ECAC quarterfinals in a three-day series this weekend. | Page 16
Weather Snow HIGH: 32 LOW: 25
tion that calls for Cornell to divest its endowment from the fossil fuel industry by 2020 and reinvest 30 percent of this figure in sustainable funds by 2030. “President Skorton has 30 days to respond. We have not yet received a formal response, but I believe the deadline is March 9 for that,” said Anna-Lisa Castle ’13, member of KyotoNow! “That’s why we’re holding the gathering. It’s to remind [Skorton] that we are waiting and we do want him to do the right thing.”
Cornell will work toward the centralization of resources for victims of sexual assault and bias, University President David Skorton said in an email sent to the Cornell community Thursday. In the email, Skorton lauded the work of the Incident Management Team, a group of staff and faculty that prepared a report addressing reports of sexual assault and violence on and “I am asking the [University near Cornell’s campus in Diversity Council] to the fall. The report emphasupport ... efforts to sized the need for “better coordination, communicaprevent both bias tion and commitment to and sexual misconduct.” shared goals, strategies and priorities” in addressing President David Skorton these incidents. “The lack of coordination, clear communication, ongoing assessment of needs and strategies and prioritizing of resources has obscured both current strengths and critical gaps in what [resources and services are] provided,” the report said. To that end, the report called for the creation of a “virtual” center to provide a “coordinated response” to incidents of sexual violence. The center, the report said, would employ a director to oversee its consolidated services, as well as two part-time staff members to address its goals of providing information and support to victims of sexual assault as well as to the community at large. The report also called for the creation of a University-wide committee to address sexual violence –– a coalition that would aim to “foster cultural change, reduce risks and increase support for mem-
See PROTEST page 5
See ASSAULT page 4
NYC Coalition Decries Cornell-Technion Partnership By TYLER ALICEA Sun Staff Writer
Holding signs that read “Occupation is Illegal” and “No to Technion in NYC,” members of New Yorkers Against the Cornell-Technion Partnership say they plan to continue their protests of the Cornell Tech Campus’ partnership with an Israeli institution, according to the group’s leaders. NYACT was created in response to an appeal created by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel in March 2012 –– which called for the end of Cornell’s collaboration with the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology –– according to Anna Calcutt, one of NYACT’s organizers. Members of NYACT have been protesting bimonthly outside of Cornell NYC Tech’s temporary Manhattan campus at the Google headquarters in Chelsea since the new tech campus began classes in late January, calling for an end to the partnership. “We oppose any partnership with the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, [which] designs military, surveillance and security equipment that directly contribute to violations of international humanitarian law,” Calcutt said. The number of protesters present at the organization’s bimonthly protests has remained between 25 and 30 individuals, Calcutt said. An online petition created by NYACT in November demanding Cornell
end its partnership with Technion has received more than 300 signatures. Calcutt said she is certain that the organization is “only going to get bigger.” “We’re working with various different people in New York and a wider network of activists,” she said. “It’s a useful thing to have a network that isn’t just local, but also national and international.”
In addition to protesting and distributing leaflets, NYACT has been attempting to contact the University, without much success, according to Terri Ginsberg, a member of NYACT, who described Cornell as being “completely unresponsive to [their] concerns and demands.” See NYACT page 5
The final countdown
CHRISTOPHER GREGORY / THE NEW YORK TIMES
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) speak to reporters on Capitol Hill Thursday about the sequester, which is supposed to take effect on Friday.