INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880
The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 130, No. 126
THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2014
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ITHACA, NEW YORK
16 Pages – Free
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A panel of professors voiced their opinions on C.U.’s additon of massive open online courses. | Page 3
Women’s lacrosse fell to No. 1 Syracuse Orange on Tuesday, holding their opponent to 7. | Page 16
Marissa Tranquilli ’15 relives her childhood through the watercolor tale Ernest & Celestine. | Page 9
City Aims to Improve Myrick ’09, C.U.Forensics Society Emergency Access Debate Marijuana Legalization With Jungle Cleanup By ANUSHKA MEHROTRA
Sun News Editor
Jungle resident found dead Wednesday; sixth‘recent’area death,City official says By AIMEE CHO
Over 100 Cornellians and Ithacans filled Ives Hall Wednesday to listen to Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick ’09 debate the legalization of marijuana against members of the Cornell Forensics society. During the debate, titled “This House Would Legalize Marijuana,” Myrick defended
Sun Staff Writer
marijuana legalization, while forensics society debaters Srinath Reddy ’14 and Enting Lee ’17 argued against it. At the end of the debate, audience members voted in support of Myrick’s stance. According to Myrick, there are three primary arguments against criminalizing marijuana — racism and classism, inefficiency and costliness and the promotion of a dangerous underground drug market.
ALEJANDRO HERNANDEZ / SUN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Cleanup efforts at the Jungle, a homeless encampment in Ithaca on South Fulton Street, have continued over the past week in order to increase emergency vehicle access, according to Kevin Sutherland, chief of staff of the City of Ithaca. Due to being flanked on its three sides by creeks and railroad tracks, the Jungle is largely inaccessible by vehicles, Sutherland said. This issue resurfaced Wednesday around 5:20 p.m. when a dead body was discovered in the Jungle. Police officers who arrived on the scene had a difficult time accessing the area where the body lay, due no road existing to provide vehicle access. The body was identified as Russell Kellogg, a resident of the Jungle. Witnesses said that Kellogg had been drinking and possibly using intravenous drugs before he collapsed on the railroad tracks that run through the Jungle. Another Jungle resident dragged Kellogg’s body off the tracks onto the gravel nearby, where it remained for about 10 minutes before the police were called to the scene. Sutherland was one of the first to discover the body.
See DEBATE page 4
Make it legal | Mayor Svante Myrick ’09 argues in favor of marijuana legalization at Ives Hall yesterday.
See JUNGLE page 5
Krauthammer: Obamacare Is‘Wasteful’ Teresa Danso-Danquah’15 By RIE SEU Sun Contributor
Pulitzer Prize winner, political commentator and physician Charles Krauthammer spoke at Cornell Thursday about the future of health care and bioethics in the United States. Krauthammer began the lecture by introducing
some ethical issues he said were “interesting” — including questions that surround stem cell research and in vitro fertilization. “The big question is whether life begins with conception,” he said. “Does the embryo gradually accrue or does life start at conception?” According to
Krauthammer, a controversy exists over stem cell research because even though it may hold “promise” in finding cures for diseases, some may consider these actions as violating human rights. During the Bush Administration, according to Krauthammer, there was “hype and partisanship” surrounding
“[Obama] got Obamacare through without any support from the other side … therefore, they own it.” Charles Krauthammer
DIANA MAK / SUN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Doctor doctor | Dr. Charles Krauthammer speaks about the future of health care in Statler Auditorium Wednesday.
stem cell research — with the notion that it was a step away from relieving the suffering of many and that those labeled “antiscience” were holding this movement back. Krauthammer also introduced his position on another highly-debated bioethical issue — assisted suicide. In the United States, each state can decide whether to legalize assisted suicide, he said. Krauthammer contrasted this with Holland, which legally allows assisted suicide throughout the country, something he called “a moral disaster.” The debate with this legalization is similar to that of marijuana in the United States, according to Krauthammer. He said the United States has yet to see whether the effects of marijuana See KRAUTHAMMER page 4
Named Truman Scholar for Disabilities Service Work rounds of interviews and applications before being named as a scholar. “The preparation process Teresa Danso-Danquah ’15 has been named one of has been a true reward for 59 scholars selected by the me, for it has been during Harry S. Truman this time that I’ve been able Scholarship Foundation — to reflect on all that I have been blessed to an organization have and been a that seeks to suppart of in my time port young at Cornell and Americans comprior to,” she said. mitted to public According to service. Danso-Danquah, D a n s o her Cornell experDanquah, an ience has aligned Industrial and greatly with her preLabor Relations DANSO-DANQUAH paration for being a student, is the Truman scholar. 25th Truman “Many of my ILR classes Scholar from Cornell and the first from Cornell to rep- discussed topics relevant to resent Virginia. According to issues to my field; it was durDanso-Danquah, after being ing this time that I really initially endorsed by the appreciated the home I had University in December, she See SCHOLAR page 5 had to go through several
By NOAH RANKIN Sun City Editor