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INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880

The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 130, No. 129

TUESDAY, APRIL 22, 2014

!

ITHACA, NEW YORK

16 Pages – Free

News

Arts

Sports

Weather

Nice Beats

West Coast

Farewell, Partner

Rain HIGH: 61° LOW: 37º

The Sun interviewed deaf hip-hop artist Sean Forbes about his life and work Monday. | Page 3

Nolan Cressler ’16 of the men’s basketball team will transfer to Vanderbilt University next year. | Page 16

Kaitlyn Tiffany ’15 says season seven of Mad Men has set itself up with ‘enough to work with.’ | Page 8

C.U.Receives $100M Synchrotron Grant National Science Foundation funds to advance research in X-ray technology By HELEN DONNELLY

High tech | Senator Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced

Sun Staff Writer

U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced Monday that the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source will receive $100 million in funding from the National Science Foundation over the next five years. The funds will allow CHESS to continue the development of experimental techniques using high-energy X-ray beams, which have applications in fields such as medicine and aerospace engineering, according to a University press release. Currently, CHESS receives 20 percent of its funding from the NSF, according to Schumer. President David Skorton, who introduced the senator, emphasized Schumer’s efforts to maintain and increase funding for several agencies — including the Department of Energy and the NSF.

Monday that the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron received $100 million in funding from the National Science Foundation. Pictured, Schumer speaks at Cornell in September.

MICHELLE FELDMAN / SUN SENIOR EDITOR

See SCHUMER page 4

Cornell Establishes Study Abroad Program in Cuba By AIMEE CHO Sun Staff Writer

Starting next fall, students will be able to study abroad and conduct scientific research in Havana, Cuba, the University announced last week. The study abroad program is the first in the country that allows college students to do scientific research in Cuba, according to Prof. Tim DeVoogd, psychology, director of the Latin American Studies Program. There are currently only four slots for students who wish to do research, but

DeVoogd said he hopes that number will Bioacoustics and Neuroethology or the Center increase in the future. for Protein Studies — according to Kristen Students in the program will take classes Grace, associate director of Cornell Abroad. through University of “The bioacoustics Havana or the Cuba lab works with bats “It’s my hope that through Study Center, accordthe special relaprograms like this, [the U.S. and and ing to DeVoogd. tionship they have Cuba] will become closer.” with moths,” she said. “Students who are “They are unique to fluent in Spanish can Tim DeVoogd Cuba, and they have take any class,” he said. co-evolved in the way “Students who aren’t fluent will also have to take Spanish courses.” they hunt and evade each other.” Students interested in research will work The other lab studies proteases — a type with one of two labs — the Research Group in of protein that can break down other pro-

Getting down to business

teins — according to DeVoogd. “There are invertebrates in the water around Cuba that have proteases,” he said. “The Cubans had the idea that they could use the proteases for countering bacteria that might attack people.” The students will meet in Little Havana, Miami for an orientation before traveling together to Cuba, Grace said. “Travel to Cuba is not easy,” she said. “U.S. citizens can only go when they’re part of an educational mission.” See CUBA page 4

Skorton Talks Student Unemployment,Debt Says alternative models of education could alleviate financial burden By SOFIA HU Sun Staff Writer

RILEY YUAN / SUN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Harold Giwa-Amu ’14 helps build trusses yesterday on Ho Plaza for Habitat for Humanity.

President David Skorton outlined ways to address graduate and professional student unemployment and debt — including the adoption of alternative models of education — at a Graduate and Professional Student Assembly meeting Monday. According to Skorton, the likelihood that universities will hire those with Ph.D.s degrees depends on a balance between supply and demand, which has raised questions of whether universities are conferring too many doctoral degrees. “For those Ph.D.s whose fields depend on government funding at a time where government funding is basically stuck, in a national scheme I think [American universities] are [giving out too many doctoral degrees],” Skorton said.

However, he also said the University has been educating graduate and professional students for “a long time” and that with a Cornell degree, “placement rates in academia are better than they would be elsewhere.” “We have more doctoral fields than anybody,” he said. “The track record for Cornell faculty, postdocs and … graduate students as they are part of a process or project applying for funding is much better than other [universities]. The National Science Foundation grant [awarded to the Synchrotron] is an example of that.” Skorton also said graduate student debt remains an important issue to him. “It took me 21 years to pay my loans off when I was in your step of the game,” he said. “I did the calculations, and if I was repaying them now with current interest rates, it

would have taken five or six more years.” As a possible way to alleviate this financial burden, Skorton proposed a different model of education, where students could enter career fields or graduate schools without earning an undergraduate degree. “Could you imagine a day where you could enter a field of employment or professional or graduate school based on passing some test of competence and not on credentials?” Skorton said. “People who are pushing massive open online courses as a potential disruptor of higher education believe in this.” Though such a system has been discussed about for a while, it has not yet “materialized,” according to Skorton. In the meantime, Skorton said he has attempted to stop the rising costs See SKORTON page 5


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