INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880
The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 129, No. 112
MONDAY, MARCH 25, 2013
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ITHACA, NEW YORK
16 Pages – Free
Performing,Media ArtsWill Cut ‘Artistic Director’ Position Dept.: Changes will give students more hands-on work By KAITLYN KWAN Sun Staff Writer
COURTESY OF SASAKI ASSOCIATES
The Commons they are a-changin’ | As pictured in an artist’s rendering, the new Commons redesign features amenities on the outside and open space in the center.
City:Commons Redesign Will ‘Change Everything’ By SARAH CUTLER Sun Staff Writer
A long-awaited redesign of the Ithaca Commons this spring will revamp the downtown promenade’s layout in a reno-
News Making Moves
Aleksandar Zvorinji ’13 has created an algorithm that could tell people what stocks to buy and sell. | Page 3
vation Jennifer Kusznir, City of Ithaca planner, said will “change everything.” The renovations are slated to begin April 5. See COMMONS page 4
Tricky Transition
Reflecting on his impending graduation, Noah Karr-Kaitin ’13 asks his peers to think about what they want to contribute to the world. | Page 7
Arts The Art of Food
Julia Moser ’15 reflects on her time in Canada over spring break and argues that food is, in fact, an art form in and of itself. | Page 9
By AKANE OTANI
Dake Takes the Cake
| Page 16
Wintery Mix HIGH: 39 LOW: 27
who added that Booker donates almost all of his speaking fees to charity. Desai said he could not disclose how much the University offered to pay Booker. The only financial compensation Booker is receiving from the University to speak at convocation is money to cover the costs of transportation from Ithaca to Newark, according to University Trustee Andrew Tisch ’71, chairman of the executive committee of Loews Corporation. “I think it was extremely admirable for him to make such
MICHAEL APPLETON / THE NEW YORK TIMES
Reaching out | Newark Mayor Cory Booker, who appeared on The Daily Show Nov. 12, 2012, said he will donate his speaker’s fee to charity.
a request, and I think only further speaks to his commitment to the public sector,” Desai said. Booker, who is preparing to publicly announce his candidacy
for the Senate, will speak at the Class of 2013’s convocation on May 25. See BOOKER page 5
Four Students Arrested in Ohio for Alleged Break-In Sun News Editor
Kyle Dake ’13 made history Saturday night when he won his fourth national championship title in four different weight classes.
Weather
A convocation speaker can pocket tens of thousands of dollars for delivering a 20-minute speech to college graduates. This year, however, Cornell’s convocation speaker, Newark Mayor Cory Booker (D-N.J.), has asked the University to donate his speaker’s fee to charity. "We offered Booker an honorarium, which he requested be donated to a Newark-based charity,” said Roneal Desai ’13, chair of the convocation committee,
By CAROLINE FLAX
Sports
Following a $1-million budget cut in 2011 that forced theater, film and dance at Cornell to restructure, the Department of Performing and Media Arts will eliminate the position of the artistic director: a faculty member who helps oversee the production season. Although the department says “Students will get the professional and that the move is part of an pedagogical support that allows them effort to better utilize resources while increasing to be the best they can be.” student involvement, some Prof. Sabine Haenni students say the loss of the director position will result Shi added that while PMA is encourin students receiving less faculty mentoraging “students to really put their work ship. The department has opted to replace out there, we have other spaces on camthe director position with a performance pus for that … such as Risley.” Prof. Sabine Haenni, performance and and events committee that consists of faculty members and a student representa- media arts, said that the changes, however, will benefit students — giving them tive, according to Weili Shi ’13. Shi said that although the depart- more experience leading productions. “We are exploring ways that allow stument’s recently-adopted initiatives give students more opportunities to engage in dents to take the lead in directing and hands-on work, in the past, students have gained a lot through working with proSee PMA page 5
Convocation Speaker’s Fee Will Go to Charity Sun Managing Editor
Opinion
fessionals. “Part of what makes the Schwartz [Center for Performing Arts] so amazing is that you get to work with all these professional faculty in close relations and be directly mentored by them,” Shi said. “I feel like we’re really losing that as we make things more student-driven.”
Four Cornell students were arrested in Columbus, Ohio, Tuesday for allegedly breaking into housing near Ohio State University, according to Ohio news outlets. The four students — Eric Brown ’13, Sean Dennin ’13, Eric Gerow ’13 and David Martin
’13 — were at OSU for spring break, according to local police. Undercover officers reportedly saw Dennin enter the home of Scott Feldmiller, a junior at OSU, while Brown, Gerow and Martin acted as lookouts, according to WBNS-10TV, a local news station. As of Sunday night, none of the students could be reached for
comment. Feldmiller — who was sleeping at the time — was then woken up by the sound of police banging on his front door to tell him he had been burglarized, according to WBNS10TV. Feldmiller and his roommates said to police that the only thing missing was a case of beer. The four Cornell students also walked up to
other houses in the area to check if their doors were unlocked, according to police. When Dennin allegedly walked outside a second home he had entered, police arrested him and the three other students, according to WBNS-10TV. The four students are facing felony charges, but are currently are out of jail on bond, an attor-
ney representing the group told WBNS10TV. “You hear about crime going on, but you never think it’s going to be students, especially from another school,” John Mercurio, one of the roommates, told WBNS-10TV. Caroline Flax can be reached at cflax@cornellsun.com.