INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880
The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 129, No. 131
FRIDAY, APRIL 19, 2013
!
ITHACA, NEW YORK
16 Pages – Free
Sigma Pi Brothers Say They Tried Stopping Man in Racial Attack By JINJOO LEE Sun News Editor
Line up |
In the aftermath of a racial attack at the Sigma Pi fraternity in May, Sig Pi brothers told law enforcement officials they tried to stop the individual responsible from throwing beer cans at the group of black students passing by the house. On May 6, an individual individual on the roof of the Sigma Pi fraternity reportedly threw beer cans and yelled racial epithets at a group of black students passing by underneath. Morgan Brabbs, a resVictims described ident of Orlando, Fla., who was not affiliated with Cornell, pled hearing additional guilty to disorderly conduct and was fined $250 in June. racial comments The incident sparked outrage including “Gary from minority leaders and prompted several groups to demonstrate Coleman” against racial bias in front of Day and “Tyrone.” Hall. However, documents revealed three main differences between the Sigma Pi brothers and Brabbs’ account and the victims’ accounts. While the victims said they did not hear any brother objecting to Brabbs’ comments, Sigma Pi brothers who gave voluntary statements claimed they either tried to discourage Brabbs or pull him away from the balcony at the time of the alleged attack. After the “Trayvon” comment was made — referencing Trayvon Martin, the black teenager who was shot and killed in central Florida in February 2012 — a Sigma Pi brother “forcibly moved” Brabbs from the upper deck, according to a voluntary statement. See BIAS INCIDENT page 5
Protesters block the entry to a natural gas facility in Reading, N.Y. on March 18.
C.U.Employee Jailed After Environmental Protest
COURTESY OF EMILY WILSON
By KRITIKA OBEROI Sun Staff Writer
Three anti-fracking activists — including a Cornell employee — who protested against a company’s plans to build gas storage facilities in the Finger Lakes last month received a 15-day jail sentence Wednesday. Melissa Chipman, Michael Dineen, a research support specialist at Cornell, and Sandra Steingraber were part of a group called the Seneca Lake 12, which protested the plans of Inergy, a propane supplier, to create natural gas storage facilities in underground salt caverns under and around Seneca Lake. The protesters blockaded Inergy’s gas compressor station site at the southwest end of Seneca Lake on March 18, keeping the company’s trucks out for an hour before being arrested for refusing to dis-
band, according to Reed Steberger ’13. Seneca Lake 12 includes three others affiliated with Cornell: Dennis Fox ’15, president of Kyoto NOW!, K.C. Alvey ’12 and Mahats Miller ’13, according to Steberger. Fox and Alvey, who were fined $375 for trespassing along with the rest of the Seneca Lake 12, paid off the fines on March 20 using funds raised by the people of Reading and Watkins Glen, two towns near Seneca Lake, according to Fox. Steberger said the Seneca Lake 12 protested Inergy’s plans to build the storage facilities because the abandoned salt caverns the company was eyeing have a high likelihood of exploding and damaging the community around them if used. Steberger also said he sees the creation of
City Sees Uptick in Towing Following Street Cleaning By MANU RATHORE
Topics discussed during the course of the day-long forum ranged from ideas like collective liberation to current issues such as divestment, white privilege and police brutality. At noon, “the stump,” a wooden pedestal meant to commemorate the 1960’s “stump” that was a center of student activism, was also brought out of winter storage for the event. A poetry slam took place atop the
Citing a lack of advance notice and insufficient signage, Cornell students whose cars were towed this week expressed anger and frustration with the city and its street cleaning policies. City officials said the uptick in cars being towed was a result of a delay in spring street cleaning, which typically occurs during Spring Break, when students are away from campus. The Department of Public Works posts the schedules of the street cleanings online, sends out notifications to Cornell and Ithaca College and uses local radio stations and newspapers to notify Ithaca residents before the cleaning to notify residents, according to City Clerk Julie Holcomb. “We do as much as we can to get the information out to people,” Holcomb said. “In addition, we post signage on the impacted streets 24 hours in advance of the work as required by the City Code if vehicles are going to be towed.” However, students whose cars were towed — leaving them with a $135 towing fee, as well as a $30 ticket — say they did not experience
See PEOPLE’S SCHOOL page 4
See TOWING page 4
The stump | The People’s School meets on the Arts Quad Thursday. Tom Moore ’14, a former Sun columnist, stands atop the stump.
People’s School Takes Arts Quad By NOAH RANKIN Sun Staff Writer
The People’s School, an open, studentorganized forum, returned to the Arts Quad Thursday as a spring installment of the same-titled event held in October. The People’s School invited people to start discussions about community concerns, according to event organizers, and held events over the course of the day, including discussions in the form of circles of people sitting on the Quad.
News Chocolate Rain
Students staged a mock oil spill on Ho Plaza Thursday to mark the third anniversary of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. | Page 3
Opinion Fast and Furious
Sun Senior Editor
SHAILEE SHAH / SUN PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
See PROTEST page 4
In light of the Boston Marathon bombings, Rudy Gerson ’15 considers other tragedies that garner less attention. | Page 7
Arts Not the Notebook
Mark Distefano ’16 praises The Place Beyond the Pines for its “unflinching, raw” examination of the father-son relationship. | Page 9
Sports Batter Up
The softball team lost two games to Albany, but has the chance to turn things around this weekend. | Page 16
Weather Rainy HIGH: 50 LOW: 37