INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880
The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 130, No. 125
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16, 2014
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ITHACA, NEW YORK
20 Pages – Free
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Off the Court
Mostly Sunny HIGH: 37° LOW: 25º
Congressman Tom Rooney (R-Fla.) speaks to students about his path to life on Capitol Hill. | Page 3
The men’s tennis team cinched victories in both its away matches 4-3 against Brown and Yale this week | Page 20
Marissa Tranquilli ’15 says Mindy Kaling’s The Mindy Project is a comedy, not a rom-com. | Page 12
Skorton Talks Study Abroad,Financial Aid
World of color
By SUN STAFF
The Sun sat down with President David Skorton in March to discuss a range of issues including study abroad, financial aid and Greek life at Cornell. THE SUN: You said that you want to see 50 percent of undergraduates study abroad by 2020. How is the University planning for that loss in tuition? DAVID SKORTON: When I wrote that think piece a couple years ago, my thought was that Cornell has a very proud international tradition — we had international students in the very first class in the 1860s from three or four countries. We’ve been leaders in a lot of things, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences with projects in India, Africa, the Philippines, for generations. Our medical college, Weill Cornell, is in its thirteenth year of a complete campus in the Arabian Gulf. But in some See SKORTON page 5
ANTHONY CHEN / SUN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Members of the HanChum Korean traditional dance team perform in Willard Straight Hall Tuesday afternoon for the Taste of Culture event, organized by the Translator-Interpreter Program.
Carl Bernstein to Visit Cornell Professors Debate Merit Journalist helped break Watergate scandal
Of Academic Disciplines
engineering and Prof. Sam Nelson, industrial and labor relations. Nelson argued that the audience should not save Professors from five different depart- any of them. Each professor made an opening ments argued the merits of their academic disciplines in a hypothetical life or statement to the audience to argue for death situation at the fourth annual “Life their survival. Peck said he believes engineering “is Raft Debate,” sponsored by Logos, Cornell’s undergraduate philosophy club not just about handy skills like starting fires or building bridges or launching and journal. spacecraft.” make our aspira“Engineers make aspirations real. tions“Engineers real. We solve problems, sure, But more importantly, we create.” you’ll need that in this new world,” he said. “But more importantly, we Prof. Mason Peck create.” Following Peck, Kamtekar argued that philosophy is the only Before the debate, audience members were told to pretend that they were in a field of study that is beneficial without life raft in a post-apocalyptic future, and being applied to other fields. “Engineers who make brain scanners must choose one or none of the professors to take the final spot. At the end of are worthless without neurologists. And the debate, the audience voted to save sociologists studying legislation about neurology are subordinate to lawmakers,” none of the professors. The five participating professors were she said. “But philosophy is not done for Prof. David Levitsky, nutritional sci- the sake of other things, because it studies ences, Prof. Durba Ghosh, history, Prof. human good.” Rachana Kamtekar, philosophy, Prof. See DEBATE page 4 Mason Peck, mechanical and aerospace By ERIC OBERMAN
Sun Staff Writer
Sink or swim | Professors from different academic disciplines participate in the fourth annual “Life Raft Debate” Tuesday.
RIO JACOBBE / SUN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
By ANUSHKA MEHROTRA
Cornell Hillel, said she is “happy” the organization is bringing Bernstein to Cornell because of his unique professionInvestigative journalist Carl Bernstein al experiences. — best known for his breaking coverage “He is very unique from speakers we’ve of the Watergate scandal — will speak at brought so far,” Weisman said. “We had Cornell next Wednesday as part of the an ice cream genius Jerry Greenfield, Hillel speaker series. sports anchor Linda Cohn, famous actor Bernstein and fellow journalist Bob Josh Malina, a sex therapist Dr. Ruth and Woodward helped The now an award-winning jourWashington Post receive a nalist.” Pulitzer Prize in 1973 for their Weisman said she hopes coverage of the Watergate scanBernstein’s speech will highdal — where burglars affiliated light the diversity of Hillel’s with the administration of forprogramming. mer President Richard Nixon “I think he will not only broke into the Democratic bring a different perspective to National Committee’s headcampus, but also continue to quarters. show Cornell that Hillel is verBERNSTEIN Bernstein also has written satile and has events that cater five books and previously served as the to all students and interests.” Washington Bureau Chief of ABC News, Rachel Minton ’15, vice president of according to his website. In addition to Hillel and chair of the speaker series comThe Washington Post, Bernstein has writ- mittee, said Bernstein’s speech will appeal ten stories for USA Today, The Rolling Stone and Time. See BERNSTEIN page 4 Samantha Weisman ’15, president of
Sun News Editor
Stars of MTV Shows to Perform at Bailey Stand-up comics and stars of the hit MTV shows Girl Code and Guy Code — Nessa, Jordan Carlos and Damien Lemon — will perform at Bailey Hall May 2. The performers will have an “unpredictable and hilarious” panel discussion about various topics ranging from flirting to relationships, according to
the event’s Facebook page. The event will also include a question and answer segment between members of the audience and the performers. Girl Code is the highest-watched television show in its timeslot on MTV, according to the website for Mills Entertainment, the company partnering with MTV to
launch the comedy tour. The event is part of the Guy Code and Girl Code college comedy tour and is sponsored by the Cornell University Program Board and the Multicultural Concert Funding Advisory Board. Tickets are being sold both in advance online and at the door. — Compiled by Anushka Mehrotra