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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

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Provost Approves Divisive Calendar

News

Makes three modifications to final plan

Opinion

Real Life Digitized

Cornell computer scientists create a new method of simulating 3-D clothing garments for animated characters. | Page 3

British Booty Call

Jimothy Singh ’13 recounts the time he had sex — well, almost had sex, let’s be precise — in London, England, on New Year’s Eve. | Page 7

By JOSEPH NICZKY Sun Senior Writer

After months of debate and strong condemnation by student representatives, Provost Kent Fuchs has approved the final version of a new academic calendar with three modifications, he announced at a meeting of the Faculty Senate Wednesday. The new calendar will go into effect in Spring 2014.

The calendar changes, which were approved by the Faculty Senate in May, include a new two-day break in Februrary and, most contentiously, shortening study week, exam week and Senior Week.

One of the Provost’s modifications — not part of the calendar approved by the Faculty Senate — is “a new University holiday ... for all employees” on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the third Monday in January, Cornell said in a statement.

Additionally, for four out of every six years, fall semester classes will begin one week later than they currently do, allowing the University to hold its fall graduation ceremony one week later. In the Faculty Senate’s proposal, the ceremony would have landed as late as Dec. 22 or 23 every few years.

“There are a number of international students who would not have gotten home in time for the holidays,” Fuchs said. “I think [the fall graduation ceremony] is too close to the holidays.”

Fuchs’ third modification to the Faculty Senate’s plan calls for the University to create a committee to finalize the details of the final exam schedule.

Fuchs said that he will work with the committee, which will be comprised of members of the University staff, professors and student leaders, to determine an algorithm designed to prevent exam scheduling conflicts.

“What feeds into that algorithm is yet to be determined. For See CALENDAR page 4

Dining Around the World in 80 Meals

The Sun explores and reviews some of the best ethnic restaurants in Collegetown. | Page 8

Arts DOUG MILLS / THE NEW YORK TIMES

The U.S. responds | President Obama heads to a news conference in the Rose Garden after the U.S. Ambassador to Libya was killed Wednesday.

U.S. Ambassador Killed; Marines Sent to Libya BENGHAZI, Libya (AP) — The U.S. dispatched an elite group of Marines to Tripoli on Wednesday following a mob attack that killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans. U.S. officials are

investigating whether the violence was a backlash to an anti-Islamic video with ties to Coptic Christians, or a plot to coincide with the anniversary of 9/11.

See LIBYA page 5

A Stone, Still Rolling

Sydney Ramsden ’14 reviews Bob Dylan’s epic and excessive 35th album, Tempest. | Page 10

Sports Teeing Off

The men’s and women’s tennis teams will commencce play this weekend, facing off on its home turf at the Cornell Fall Invitational. Four freshmen join the squad this year. | Page 16

Weather Sunny HIGH: 81 LOW: 54

Candidate Hopes to Be Only Student, Republican on Council

By CAROLINE FLAX Sun Senior Writer

ANDY JOHNSON / SUN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

A googolplex of jobs | Vivek Sharma ’13 checks in at the Google booth at the Career Fair in Barton Hall on Wednesday.

Students Debate Merit of Liberal Arts Education

By ERICA AUGENSTEIN Sun Staff Writer

As students put on their best business attire and hurry between booths at this week’s Career Fair, “employability” seems to be a ubiquitous goal on campus. However, this mindset is not only visible in

Barton Hall — Cornell students value career-specific skills over an education in the liberal arts more than students at many of the University’s peer institutions, according to Marin Clarkberg, director of institutional research and planning department.

Only 22 percent of new stu-

dents said a liberal arts background is “essential” to their University experience, according to data from the 2012 Freshman Survey, which was given to the Class of 2016 this summer.

“What we typically see is See CAREER page 5

Republican Misha Checkovich ’13, a history major at Cornell, told The Sun Wednesday that she will run against Democratic nominee Stephen J. Smith in the election for Fourth Ward representative of Common Council on Nov. 6.

Smith was nominated Friday by the Tompkins County D e m o c r a t i c Committee to run for Eddie Rooker’s ’09 (D-4th Ward) former seat on the Ithaca Common Council.

Rooker an nounced his abrupt departure from the Common Council last week, leaving his seat empty for the final year of his fouryear term. The

D e m o c r a t i c Committee recommended Smith to fill Rooker’s seat during the period leading up to November’s election and nominated him as the Demo cratic candidate for that election.

town.

“It seemed likely ... that the Dem ocratic Party would propose to replace [Rooker] with yet another ward four resident who has never been a Cornell student and has little

“Ithaca is, in fact, ‘10 square miles surrounded by Republicans.’”

Misha Checkovich ’13 Checkovich that despite Rooker’s resignation, the Common Council should not be without a student voice. Cornell students comprise 97 percent of constit uents in the Fourth Ward, which in cludes Cascadilla Park, West Campus and most of College-

in common with the majority of people who live in ward four,” Checkovich said in an email.

Checkovich noted that in addition to a student point of view, she could bring a fresh political stance to the position.

See 4th WARD page 4

2 THE CORNELL DAILY SUN | Thursday, September 13, 2012

Today

DAYBOOK

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Daybook

Today How Not to Build a National (or Global) Ballistic Missile Defense System 12:15 - 1:30 p.m., G08 Uris Hall

As the work piles up,

‘Wartime’ as a Concept in History 4:30 - 6:30 p.m., 165 McGraw Hall Is Diplomacy Relevant? and Other Thoughts 4:45 - 5:45 p.m., 233 Plant Sciences Building Cornell Responds: Ripple Effects 5 - 6 p.m., St. Luke’s Fellowship Hall, 118 Oak Avenue The Promise of Social Entrepreneurship: Creating a Local Economy That Works for Everyone 7 - 8:30 p.m., Hollis E. Cornell Auditorium, Goldwin Smith Hall

Tomorrow

And since prelims are so soon, No clue what to do.

A&S Mock Interview Madness 11 a.m., G55 Goldwin Smith Hall Feel Good Friday Luncheon 12:20 - 1:10 p.m., International Lounge, Willard Straight Hall

-Sleepless in Ithaca ʼ15

Psychology Colloquium: “The Cultural Origins of Human Cooperation” 3:30 p.m., 202 Uris Hall Café con Leche Discussion Series 6:30 p.m., Anna Comstock Hall, Latino Living Center Cornell Concert Series Presents: The Tia Fuller Quartet 8 p.m., Bailey Hall

ECK Worship Service 1020 Ellis Hollow Rd. • Ithaca (Best Western)

Sunday, September 16 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Topic: Can You Love God More?

Join others seeking to bring more insight and divine love into their lives at this special celebration of the Light and Sound of God.

For more information call 800-749-7791 or visit the Web site www.eckankar-ny.org

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THE CORNELL DAILY SUN | Thursday, September 13, 2012 3

NEWS

C.U. Library Creates New Business Model For Research Database

Door decor

By ALEXA DAVIS Sun Contributor

The Cornell University Library has developed a new business model to make arXiv — a free, online database of research articles based at Cornell — financially stable for the future.

Prof. Paul Ginsparg Ph.D. ’81, physics and information science, created arXiv — pronounced “archive” — in Los Alamos, N.M., and introduced it to Cornell when he began teaching at the University in 2002. He told The Sun the database “was primarily intended to level the playing field, permitting researchers worldwide to have equal access to breaking research info.”

In addition to being a source of data, arXiv allows researchers to share and test their personal fieldwork with other scientists and mathematicians without delay. It can take up to three years for work to gain approval for publication in scholarly journals, but on arXiv, researchers can share their preprints, or drafts, immediately.

“In the old days, we would mail photocopies of the manuscript to 100 colleagues around the world. It is not uncommon for an article to take sixmonths [or] even a year before it is accepted,” said Prof. Chris Henley, physics.

To ensure that it can remain a free resource for the public in the future, arXiv has adopted a new business model, a University press release announced Aug. 28. Institutions that choose to support the program can pay a membership fee to arXiv, with groups that download the most articles paying greater fees.

The new model’s membership program separates the 200 highestranking institutions into three tiers of membership, which are determined by number of articles downloaded. Institutions in the highest tier are asked to pay the highest membership fees.

By voluntarily agreeing to pay for membership, institutions help keep arXiv a free resource for the public, librarians said.

“Each institution is paying to keep arXiv free and also to help arXiv advance and prosper,” said Oya Rieger, associate University librarian and the program director of arXiv. arXiv has also received additional support through the Simons Foundation, which has pledged to donate $50,000 per year for five years, beginning in January 2013.

Due to the Simons Foundation’s funding, arXiv has decreased its membership fees. In addition to lowering fees, the Simons Foundation has encouraged more institutions to pledge their support to the database by promising to match up to $300,000 per year in donations to arXiv, according to Reiger.

To date, more than 120 membership partners have given money, according to arXiv’s website.

The number of articles downloaded and submission rates are steadily increasing, with over 50 million downloads and 76,000 submissions in the past year alone, according to arXiv’s website. arXiv’s global reach is apparent when analyzing the site’s user statistics: It’s top three most frequent users are based in Europe and Japan.

Because of the funding from the Simons Foundation, arXiv has begun considering adding work from additional disciplines like engineering to its database, according to Rieger.

“We are building capacity,” Rieger said. “We have been getting requests from different fields … We want to have a methodology so that when a group of scientists come in, we have a system to decide: Can we do this? What would it take to do it?”

Ginsparg also said that he hopes the database will be able to expand its resources.

“I’m hoping we’ll be able to facilitate transitioning to new document formats, data-mining and auto-linkage to other relevant online resources,” Ginsparg said.

Since anyone can submit or download materials from arXiv, the database “monitors all submissions to verify that they are coming from well-established institutions with academic credentials,” Reiger said.

This helps reduce concerns about plagiarism in articles submitted to arXiv, Rieger said.

“Frankly, plagiarism applies to all digital content. When authors submit their article, they accept certain conditions and know that it is open access,” Rieger said.

Cornell staff involved with maintaining arXiv said that their main concerns with the database’s future revolve around making sure they can keep the database free for the public in the future.

“Given the economy, I can understand if people cannot continue collaborating. When you work with technology, the opportunities for innovation are endless, so the risk is being able to carefully charter arXiv’s future so we do not get too ambitious,” Rieger said.

Prof. James Alexander, physics, said he hopes that the National Science Foundation will one day recognize arXiv’s importance to research by offering government funding to sustain the database.

“In the long run, one has to wonder whether the support of a resource as important as arXiv should be left to the kindness of strangers,” Alexander added.

Alexa Davis can be reached at abd79@cornell.edu.

MICHELLE FRALING / SUN CONTRIBUTOR

Ben White ’16 makes a decoration for a door cover at the Procrastinate at the Straight event at Willard Straight Hall on Wednseday.

Univ. Scientists ‘Knit’ Clothes For Animated 3-D Characters

By TYLER ALICEA

of single stitches, then duplicated them and interwove them like tiles in a mosaic.

Each stitch is interactively looped and Cornell computer scientists have discovered curved around another — much like in actual a way to clothe animated figures in movies or knitting — to produce 3-D shapes, according video games in higher-quality, more realistic to the study. garments, unveiling a new method for simulatThe researchers then integrate these shapes ing complex, three-dimensional knitted fab- — referred to as a “polygon mesh” — into an rics. interactive model called a “stitch mesh.”

The new process creates digital textiles that “We are actually changing the shape of all of are comparable in appearance to real textiles, the yarn loops that make up the stitches, simcreating animated models of knitted clothing ulating how they wrap around other loops,” with “a rich variety of patterns that would be Marschner said in a University press release. completely impractical to model using tradiThen, according to James, the stitch meshes tional techniques,” according to a study the are “relaxed” in a simulator so the digital garment fits the figure it is meant “[This is] the first time that anybody has actu- to clothe.

In the past, garments for ally modeled these kind of knitted garments.” interactive computer models have been made with triangular Prof. Doug James meshes that were of lower quality, James said. “[This is] the first time that scientists published. anybody has actually modeled these kind of Prior to the development of the new knitted garments or knitted patterns in 3-D method, graphic artists’ ability to simulate a with the same kind of fidelity as real textiles,” cloth-like material was limited, according to a James said.

University press release.

The project was funded by the National However, the researchers — Prof. Doug Science Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan James and Prof. Steve Marschner, computer Foundation, the John Simon Guggenheim science, along with Prof. Cem Yuksel, comput- Memorial Foundation and Pixar, according to er science, University of Utah, and Jonathan the press release.

Kaldor Ph.D ’11 — have expanded this process to work for designs such as cable-knit sweaters. Tyler Alicea can be reached at The group created three-dimensional models tra37@cornell.edu.

Sun Contributor

Following a subpoena signed last month by a New Jersey judge, Princeton University President Shirley Tilghman has been ordered to hand over all correspondence with top executives at Google, where she serves on the board of directors, The Daily Princetonian reported. The subpoena is part of a class action lawsuit that alleges inappropriate action by Google’s top executives.

A young woman has been pretending to be a student at Columbia University for at least the past nine months, according to The Columbia Spectator. Birva Patel, 26, who posed as a new student throughout orientation week and the first week of classes, was arrested at least twice in the last week.

Although students reported that they

encountered her on campus throughout last winter, spring and summer, she went unnoticed by university authorities until the end of August.

This past summer, a Harvard University senior appeared with her cousin as one of seven finalist teams on the TV talent show “China Dream Show,” a spin-off of “Britain’s Got Talent,” according to The Harvard Crimson. Rylie Zhang, who wrote a song dedicated to her cousin battling kidney failure, performed the song along with her cousin.

Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi donated money to grant Zhang and her cousin’s dream to raise funds for terminally ill children.

— Compiled by Sylvia Rusnak

4 THE CORNELL DAILY SUN | Thursday, September 13, 2012

NEWS

Smith: ‘I Am Excited to Run’ Students Remain Skeptical 4th WARD

Continued from page 1

“I will also provide a broader, more reality-based perspective in a city government now dominated by a one-party machine and devoid of political diversity,” she said.

Though she acknowledged that voter registration in Ithaca “tilts heavily” toward Democrats, Checkovich said Republicans running for Ithaca government is “becoming more common.”

“Ithaca is, in fact, ‘10 square miles surrounded by Republicans.’ Not only do we have the city surrounded, but I expect to see more Republicans in the city running for seats on Common Council,” she said. “I think some fresh political blood and diversity in political views would be a great benefit.”

Chair of the Cornell University College Republicans Jessica Reif ’14 said that regardless of her political affiliation, Checkovich would be “an excellent asset” to the Fourth Ward.

“While Misha identifies as a Republican, she has shown a lot of bipartisanship, and I think she will have an appeal to all voters,” Reif said.

Reif ran against Alderperson Graham Kerslick (D-4th Ward) in the November 2011 elections for Fourth Ward representative. Kerslick won the election, receiving 87.4 percent of the vote.

“Ninety-seven percent of the Fourth Ward is students, so having a student representative just makes sense numbers wise,” Reif told The Sun in November.

Though Smith, the nominee for the Democratic party, is neither a Cornell student nor an alumnus, he said that he was looking forward to working with residents of the Fourth Ward.

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“I am excited to run, and hopefully be elected, to advance the Democratic values of opportunity, equality and community,” he said. “I’m excited to work with students and permanent residents of the district to help advance those values.”

Kerslick noted that while Smith is not affiliated with Cornell, this will not affect his ability to represent his constituents. He added that he does not expect voters who typically vote Democrat to favor Checkovich simply because she is a student.

“I'm not sure that students would vote across party lines just because they’re a student,” Kerslick said. “I think as the election campaign develops, the voters in the ward will become more familiar with the candidates and the issues that affect both the ward and the city.”

For Smith’s campaign in November, he said he plans to meet with the Cornell Democrats and the Democratic Committee as a way to “combine efforts.”

“Once [the students] hear my platform and what I plan to do, [I think] they’ll understand that I’ll do a good job of representing their values,” Smith said.

Although Checkovich will graduate in December, she said she is looking at opportunities in Ithaca. She said she also plans to continue working in Ithaca politics past the one-year term she will run for in November.

“I love it here and plan to stay here after I graduate,” she wrote. “Ithaca has the potential to be a true powerhouse city in upstate New York, but getting there will take more than one year.”

Caroline Flax can be reached at cflax@cornellsun.com.

Of New Calendar Changes CALENDAR

Continued from page 1

example, you can tell [the software program] to minimize conflicts, or minimize back to back exams,” Fuchs said, adding that one proposed algorithm involves not scheduling final exams on Sundays.

Geoffrey Block ’14, at-large representative for the Student Assembly, said the committee must ensure that the algorithm avoids conflicts that will increase student stress levels.

“The only thing the committee should be looking for in the algorithm is how to maximize student mental health, and that should be their only goal. The way you do that is by reducing backto-back exams [or] having two exams in the same day,” Block said.

Block also expressed concern that the scheduling algorithm will not take into account final paper deadlines during finals week.

“The algorithm is brought up as a solution to a lot of problems.

It’s brought up as a way to reduce the stress that students have,” Block said. “The problem is that the algorithm doesn’t take into account things like papers and projects where you’re not in the system, and that’s a serious concern.”

Members of the Faculty Senate touted the changes, saying they

“The only thing the committee should be looking for in the algorithm is how to maximize student mental health.”

Geoffrey Block ’14 would reduce student stress and improve mental health by adding additional days off.

The proposed changes, which Fuchs announced his approval of on Wednesday, include adding two vacation days in February; condensing the exam study period from seven days to five and exam week to eight days; shortening Senior Week from seven days to between two and four; and changing the Wednesday before Thanksgiving from a half day to a full day off, according to a plan approved by the Faculty Senate in May. However, many students voiced strong opposition to the changes, arguing that the proposal to shorten exam week and study week would increase stress rather than reduce it.

In April, the S.A. unanimously passed a resolution condemning the changes and a lack of student input in crafting the proposal.

Additionally, a Change.org petition urging Skorton and Fuchs to veto the changes collected more than 2,000 signatures.

Fuchs said he took student complaints into consideration when deciding whether to approve the proposal, particularly when deciding to modify the final plan. He said he believes that if the algorithm is well-designed, concern about the shortened exam period will be mitigated.

“I got a lot of emails,” he said. “We worked over the summer to look at how we can modify what the committee approved … The whole idea of thinking about final exams came from student input.”

The calendar will be re-evaluated three years after it is implemented, in Spring 2017, according to Fuchs.

Joseph Niczky can be reached at jniczky@cornellsun.com.

THE CORNELL DAILY SUN | Thursday, September 13, 2012 5

NEWS

Students Defend Value of Liberal Arts Education CAREER

Continued from page 1

that Cornell students are less interested in liberal arts education than students at many of our peer institutions,” Clarkberg said.

Clarkberg said that data from some of Cornell’s peer institutions over the last few years has revealed similarly low rates of students who considered the liberal arts essential.

Still, she said, Cornell’s figures for students who consider a broad education an essential component of their education are decidedly lower than those of other top universities, a fact she attributed to the diverse colleges at the University, some of which include majors that are more narrowly tailored to pre-professional study.

A breakdown of the survey’s results by college reveals that while 38 percent of students in the College of Arts and Sciences reported that a broad liberal arts background is essential to their education, only 15 percent of College of Agriculture and Life Sciences students said the same.

“Cornell tends to get a different type of student.

Everyone here is very career-focused,” said Christy Matthews ’15, an operations research engineering student.

Sixty-two percent of the Class of 2016 consider it essential to develop skills for the workforce during their time at Cornell, the survey results show.

“I am interested in gaining the skills that will make

me competitive in the job market,” said Katherine Muller ’16, an applied economics and management major.

Claudia Steck ’16, a student in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations, added that, “with how expensive education is right now,” studying a major

“I am interested in gaining the skills that make me competitive in the job market.”

Katherine Muller ’16 that does not confer career-oriented skills is not worth the investment.

The poor economic climate in the U.S. over the last several years may lead some students to choose a more pre-professional education, according to Prof. Mabel Berezin, chair of the sociology department.

“There is perhaps some skepticism amongst the undergraduate population of the value of a liberal arts degree. Students are worried about getting jobs,” Berezin said.

Berezin defended the value of liberal arts degrees, saying that they can still contribute to students’ employability in a variety of fields.

Nonetheless, some students noticed that the entire day of the Career Fair Wednesday was devoted exclu-

sively to the technical professions.

“If you are studying English and not going to med school or something, there aren’t many options” at the Career Fair, Matthews said.

Other students said they find value in pursuing studies in the liberal arts — even if only through elective courses or in conjunction with other, more technical majors.

“Liberal arts has helped me diversify my resume,” said Alex Klug ’13, a mechanical engineer. “I actually took a creative writing class, and as an engineer, it stands out.”

Lauren Cué ’15, a pre-medical student majoring in chemistry and English, said she valued getting an education in both a humanities field and in a pre-professional discipline.

“I’m going to value both degrees because both were hard earned,” Cué said. “English is good because it’s going to teach me communication skills, but chemistry is more applicable to my career.”

Hillary Wool, a recruiter for Teach for America who was on campus this week to promote the organization, said Teach for America accepts students from all academic backgrounds, preferably those with “strong achievements in a variety of fields.”

“I fundamentally believe that liberal arts courses taught me to think and analyze problems and to develop innovative solutions,” she said.

Erica Augenstein can be reached at eaugenstein@cornellsun.com.

Obama Vows to Work With Libyan Government,Bring Justice LIBYA

Continued from page 1

Tuesday’s stunning attack on the American Consulate in Benghazi poses a daunting task for U.S. and Libyan investigators: searching for the culprits in a city

rife with heavy weapons, multiple militias, armed Islamist groups and little police control.

The one-story villa that serves as the consulate was a burned-out wreck after the crowd armed with machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades rampaged through

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it. Slogans of “God is great” and “Muhammad is God’s Prophet” were scrawled across its scorched walls. Libyan civilians strolled freely in charred rooms with furniture and papers strewn everywhere.

President Barack Obama vowed in a

Rose Garden address that the U.S. would “work with the Libyan government to bring to justice” those who killed Ambassador Chris Stevens, information manager Sean Smith and two other Americans who were not identified. Three other Americans were wounded.

OPINION

The Corne¬ Daily Sun

The Novelty Of Romance

Independent Since 1880 130TH EDITORIAL BOARD JUAN FORRER ’13 Editor in Chief

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I

’ve been thinking a lot about romance. I think a lot of us here would describe ourselves as “romantics,” although the culture at Cornell beats it out of us. Is it specifically Cornell that’s not romantic, or is romance void throughout the lives of college kids everywhere?

Last weekend my cousin came to visit with her husband. She’s in her late twenties and went to a state school in Pennsylvania. We were walking out of Chapter House around 9:30 p.m. on a Saturday and a guy said, “Where you ladies goin’ so early?” She scoffed, “Oh college boys.”

I’m embarrassed to say that I wasn’t so offended.

For example, right now as I’m writ-

AUSTIN KANG ’15

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a real relationship. It’s the most deranged three step process I could have never imagined before I came here.

Before I came here, I was in high school. And at least at my high school, everyone dated each other. No one just kept things casual with multiple people at one time, it just wasn’t the culture.

But at Cornell, we can have our cake and eat it too! We put too much effort into our school work, our extracurriculars and our job searches. This leaves only leaves room for effortless, convenient love lives.

My point isn’t even that we should all be dating each other. I like keeping it casual as much as the next Cornellian. But I don’t associate romance with the L.T.R. Romance is

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Editorial

Much Ado About Nothing CORNELL CONCERT COMMISSION’S policy on ticket scalping and buying for the Avicii concert raised ire among students when it should not have even raised an eyebrow.

After tickets to the upcoming Avicii concert went on sale, many students were surprised to see that they could only purchase two tickets. The new rules also stipulated that the ticket buyer must accompany her guest and provide a Cornell ID for either person to be admitted to the show.

This angered entrepreneurial Cornellians because, unlike most previous concerts, students were not able to buy up to four tickets and sell them for a profit to whomever. While this anger is understandable, it is unjustified considering the circumstances.

As The Sun reported, Avicii’s representatives and the Cornell Concert Commission agreed that only Cornellians would be allowed to buy tickets. Avicii requested the procedure and it seems likely that Avicii prefered a closed show to help increase ticket sales for his concerts at other nearby venues. CCC enacted temporarily more stringent ticket-sales rules to limit the number of non-Cornellians in attendance. And it’s a good thing they did.

The anger that would have resulted from Cornell denying this request surely would have topped the disappointment many of us felt after waking up before 9 a.m. to snatch up multiple tickets only to be denied. Imagine hearing the news that Cornell could have hosted one of the biggest names in popular music, but was rejected because the CCC refused to only sell tickets to Cornellians.

This “new policy,” as some students have called it, is in fact not a policy at all.

Instead, it is a rare occurrence. The performer made a request with which Cornell complied in an attempt to bring the most enjoyment to as many students as possible.

Instead of being criticized, Cornell Concert Commission should be recognized for taking this reasonable and utilitarian approach. Rather than making tickets more difficult to acquire, the temporary policy ensures that students have access to CCC event tickets.

ing this I’m in Starbucks. My computer is about to die and I’m not sitting near an outlet. When my computer dies, I’ll have to go back to my apartment, one block from here, and finish this column. On the other hand, there is a guy at the table next to me that has a free outlet. Would it be creepy or romantic of me to ask him if I could share his table so I could charge my laptop?

Would it be neither? I don’t think I’m brave enough. This wouldn’t be the first time I’ve asked myself the question: Creepy or romantic? And it won’t be the last. (Update: Luckily he left and I stole his table. Crisis: averted.)

Where is the most romantic place to meet someone at Cornell? I could list 10: Sunset Park, your favorite Collegetown coffee shop, Dunbars, sitting on the slope at 6:00 a.m., in anatomy class, on a porch, across a beer pong table, in T.A. office hours, at the Regent, your freshman dorm. I’ve been to all of those places, and while the general romantic infrastructure is there, the romantic people are not.

I’ve been thinking about this for a while, and I can think of just two romantic moments I’ve ever had at Cornell. They were both freshman year, and I can barely even imagine what it would be like to experience something like them my senior year.

Everyone is just so jaded! Sincerity is dead! Your charm is just a ruse! We respond to texts three hours later on purpose, we would rather wait to see them out at a party than to just ask them to lunch. Almost every relationship I’ve heard of here has started off as two people hooking up, then deciding to be “exclusive,” then deciding to be in

bringing someone coffee, texting them good morning, kissing them for the first time because you can’t stand it anymore, not because you’re drunk and horny.

Have you ever seen the movie Love Story? It’s first of all, a classic. It’s an Ivy League love story and in it, the Cornell Hockey team beats Harvard. In the movie it’s a bad thing, but when I saw it I was totally amped. Anyway, plot aside, the movie just has the essence of romance. It’s a movie about falling in love, of course, but besides that, it’s got such romantic nuance that I don’t know if I can even describe it. They walk across campus dressed impeccably and roll around in the snow. He drives her around in this sweet British MG Ttype. If someone drove me around in that car, bundled for the fall, that would be the supremely enchanting.

So if this is an opinion article, I’m going to have an opinion. I think Cornell lacks romance, and I’m not even going to prescribe that we all romance it up a little bit. What is the point? I think I’ll just wait until I enter the “real world.” Maybe I’m cynical, but I’ve been here for over three years.

We might be happier with a little more romance, but I think we’ve all resigned ourselves to wait for the “real world” where everyone is nicer.

Of course, my cynicism won’t stop me from being a romantic. It’s hopeless.

This article is dedicated to Debbie Moyer.

Morgan Bookheimer is a senior in the College of Human Ecology. She may be reached at mbookheimer@cornellsun.com. Behind the Time appears alternate Thursdays this semester.

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THE CORNELL DAILY SUN | Thursday, September 13, 2012 7

OPINION

S

An American Sex Columnist in London

ometime last year I convinced a friend of mine from back home to travel with me to London to visit a friend studying there over winter break.

Ostensibly, the reason for going to London was to visit said London-going friend, but I knew in my heart of hearts that we were going because I had read online that the average bust size of a British woman was a 32D. We decided to go right before New Year’s Eve, to catch the British festivities.

After landing at Heathrow, we had to take the Tube into the city. As we sat down on the underground, I noticed the end station for this particular line was called Cockfosters. Clearly this city was going to be well suited to my goals.

The next few days leading up to New Year’s Eve were spent doing the normal touristy things: taking pictures with Big Ben as our own Big Ben, trying to break into Buckingham Palace, asking the waitresses for “Bangers and mash, hold the mash.” (In case you were wondering, they will actually just bring you bangers.) All of this without a single glance from a British beauty. Needless to say as the 31st rolled around, my sexual forecast was worse than the London weather.

So I decided to forget about some commonwealth copulation and just tell myself that England isn’t anything like Love Actually. We decided to go to the London Eye — the giant Ferris Wheel over-

T

looking the Thames — to see the fireworks. We were pushing it close so there weren’t a lot a people on the subway.

However, you only ever need one. I’d just seen a face. I can’t forget the time or place. I knew she was the girl for me and I had a sudden desire to let the whole world see we met.

I stand up to go over to her and then my friend decides to paint the subway floor better than any Impressionist master. I glance back up, a look of embarrassment, surprise, and “oh my god you’re still just as hot as you were thirty seconds ago” plastered on my face. She turns to her friends, mutters something indecipherable in Britishese and beckons us over.

“Rigby, Elly Rigby.”

“Does everyone in Britain introduce themselves that way?”

“Only if you have a … certain skill set.”

Part of me was really hoping she was a spy. The part of me that wasn’t thinking like an awestruck teenage guy was thinking, “Seduction. She means seduction. She is seducing you. Be seduced.

Go. Go do it.”

As the subway stops and we rush outside, we hear people start to yell the final countdown. The countdown gets to the number two and she turns around and grabs my tie saying, “You know, I really got a thing for American guys.”

The sky explodes around us and a lecture from my language history class passes through my brain: The Normans left a great influence on the words of the

Isles after they invaded. But, that’s definitely not the only impact they had on our tongues. The maddening crowd rushes around us, drunkenly falling on itself, but I don’t notice. It’s not until I hear someone yell out “jolly good!” that I break from my trance and realize that our respective friend groups had abandoned us.

“Let’s keep going that way,” she said

Chinese literature class bursts forth, speaking of her majestic mountains, her deep valleys and her amber waves of grain. By the fifth stanza, I’m just staring at this now stark naked girl, mumbling the same line over and over again.

She give me a look, bends down, rummages around in her purse and takes out the slip of paper with my number that I had put in there earlier in the

Jimothy Singh Quest for the Perfect Tale forwardly.

We struggled against the crowd towards her flat. It was white, with black curtains, near the station we were at and so perfectly British. When get in, we flop on the bed and she curls up next to me. As I start to make my move, she jumps up and stands in front of me, slipping the straps of her dress off of her shoulders.

“It’s your turn to be the international man of mystery. Say something exotic.”

“You’re … uh … hella fly?”

The dress slips down a little.

“Not enough. Foreign.”

Something (else) turns on in me and a poem I had memorized for my

night. She pats my cheek, tells me I’ve been a good chap, but it was never meant to be, and puts the paper in my vest pocket. I’m lead to the door and with a final “Cheerio!” I wander back out into the night. Even though I thought we were having a good time, something between us must have clashed. I guess London won’t be calling anytime soon.

Jimothy Singh is a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences.

He may be reached at jsingh@cornellsun.com. Quest for the Perfect Tale appears alternate Thursdays this semester.

The Uninhibited Actor

hink hard: What was your most revealing sexual experience? Not revealing in the physical sense, like when your girl got that accidental glimpse of your goodies from behind (uggh); but revealing in the sense of letting yourself go emotionally and mentally, allowing your inner being to be just as naked as the outer.

Sex with a true lover is often totally intimate and emotionally intense. The moves, noises and impulses are real and unforced. You know this type of sex: eyes locked, hands clasped, hearts full. During such experiences, partners can become introduced to hidden dimensions of their lover’s personality, sense of humor or inhibitions, and let us not forget the hidden dimensions of a lover’s body discov-

Mona G. Erotic Epiphanies ered! You hit that uncharted sweet spot and exclaim, “Hoorah! For I have found the new world inside of your vagina.” With that, you continue to tour the area, sending your partner right over the edge. Seems the world was flat, after all. This emotionally-laden sex is good, can be great and sometimes is fantastic! Yet, it can also be draining. If you are in a relationship and feel you want more carefree and less emotional sex, I will suggest to you just one singular idea to bring home to mama: Home-made, freshfrom-the-oven Pornography. Get it while it’s hot!

I believe it is my chance to rationalize the claim that homemade porn is the first step toward creating an exciting and uninhibited sex life (as this may not be blaringly obvious to those who are not yet in the industry). On first

thought one might see the act of filming as a source of anxiety and self-consciousness. Yet it is quite the contrary: Assuming the right lighting, pornography will bring playfulness and acceptance back into sex that is bogged down with intensity.

A porno requires teamwork. There is an end product to this act that doesn’t end up in a condom: the video. By working towards such a concrete goal as creating a sexy sex tape, you and your partner become teammates. More than ever do you want to accomplish the coveted team cum, more than ever do you want to make her scream, more than ever do you want that normally awkward position to turn out right (or at least right-side up). As partners in crime (indecent exposure, anyone?) and partners in love, you gain a feeling of commonality with your teammate. To this effect, my last rendezvous on film ended in proper teammate fashion with a high-five for a job well done.

A porno requires acting, so while in the act, you and your partner will be actors, not true lovers. Possibly the best outcome of making a pornography with your significant other is embracing the freakier side of sex. It is an open forum to share lusts and desires of all kinds without judgment. You lose sense of yourself and actually become the character you are emulating, whether that be a sexy librarian, forest nymph(o), robot, grandma or any other outfit available in your size at the local Salvation Army. All the nasty things you think about suddenly come out easier. All the requests you make are for the camera’s benefit rather than your own. Whatever comes out of the situation or goes into it is purely an act, dissolving all pressures to be a certain way during sex. The sweet girl becomes dominating. The dominatrix becomes submissive. There is an acceptance for trial and error after

going through the actions of creating a pornographic video, as much of that is trial and error in itself.

What comes after watching the video is the ability to laugh at sex. Pornos are funny. They have ridiculous plots that begin with a sausage pizza delivery and end with the unusually generous tip of a blowjob. Amateur porn, especially, will have its bloopers, double-takes and oh-so-unfortunate camera angles. While watching these embarrassing moments, it is nearly impossible to take yourself or your partner seriously. Sex is revealed to be silly and childish at times, a feeling that hopefully will diffuse into your undocumented sex life, as well. Sex sometimes needs to live this way: carelessly, selfishly and free from judgment.

So I am suggesting this: Go find yourself a tripod and a camera (or even your Mac Book) and an interesting, yet private setting and strip! Oh yeah, don’t forget to bring a friend or you might be caught alone naked trampling through the woods. If your lover runs off with your clothes and you are stuck in this sticky situation, make sure to sing show tunes loudly, preferably from Grease; it keeps the bears at bay. What else do you need for a porno? A very silly, yet self-satisfying skit to begin the story. Start by listing your hobbies or things you always wanted to try in life.

Have you been obsessed with the traveling hat salesmen since reading that book as a child? Would you want to be a prince coming to save his princess from a life without love? How about the lumberjack versus the environmentalist? Hmm … got some ideas percolating now? I bet you do, you dirty kid!

Emotional sex with intense physical passion does not need to rubbed out of your sexual repertoire, but have such sex sparingly. Sometimes its fun to just pretend. Now, go be actors! But, please, space yourselves out. We don’t want Cornell to turn into one gigantic porno set. Some of us actually use the stacks to study!

Mona G. is a senior in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Erotic Epiphanies appears alternate Thursdays this semester.

Feedback and submissions may be sent to monag@cornellsun.com.

8 THE CORNELL DAILY SUN | Thursdsay, September 13, 2012

DINING GUIDE

The Corne¬ Daily Sun

Dining Guide

Your source for good food

Critic’s Picks: Collegetown’s Best International Cuisine

By MICHELLE KIM Sun Staff Writer

Cornell is known for being one of the most ethnically diverse university campuses in the country. It would thus make sense for the school to be surrounded by an enormous variety of international cuisine, ranging from Thai to Mexican, and from Chinese to Indian. Living in Ithaca, I have had the opportunity to taste a lot of different ethnic cuisines that I would not have otherwise, and I would like to say that I am an incrementally more cultured person because of it. While you may not be able to travel the world in 80 days, you can definitely taste it in Collegetown.

INDIAN: MEHAK CUISINE There are only two restaurants in Collegetown that specialize in Indian cuisine, and they are both on Eddy Street … about two feet away from each other. While Mehak and Sangam may be ridiculously close to one another in proximity, they are worlds apart in terms of their quality and taste. I will admit that I have actually eaten more frequently at Sangam than at Mehak, but that is only because Sangam offers delivery on IthacaToGo.com while Mehak does not. Regardless, the Indian food that Mehak serves versus that of Sangam is substantially tastier.

Also, Mehak offers a daily lunch buffet. Game, set, match: Mehak.

My favorite dish is the chicken tikka masala; essentially the one that is most well-known to us uncultured Americans. I also usually get garlic nan, a flat bread, to soak up the creamy sauce of the tikka masala. Indian food is extremely vegetarian-friendly, and

Mehak’s pindi chana masala (chickpeas with spices and fresh Coriander) comes highly recommended from my vegan housemate.

KOREAN: KOKO KOREAN RESTAURANT Considering the large number of Korean students at Cornell, it makes perfect sense that there are so many Korean restaurants not only around all of Ithaca, but within Collegetown itself. Hands down, the best one of them all is Koko’s. (You can trust me: I’m Korean.) A perfect appetizer for someone who has never tasted Korean food before is pa jun, which is pan-fried wheat batter filled with scallions. If you have ever tried Korean barbecue, then you will love bool go gi, which contains thin slices of marinated beef tenderloin, and is absolutely delicious. If you are in the mood for something warm and comforting, dduk mandoo gook, a rice cake and dumpling soup, is a perfect choice, and one of my favorite meals growing up. Many diners new to Korean cuisine should start with the dolsot bibim bap, which is a mixture of rice, spicy red chili paste, vegetables, egg, and your choice of meat and comes served sizzling in a hot stone pot.

JAPANESE: MIYAKE Ah, the never-ending battle between Plum Tree and Miyake: whose Japanese cuisine will reign supreme? My vote goes to Miyake.

Maybe it’s the Japanese name or the overall authentically Asian ambience of the place, but for me, Miyake is just more convincing; it’s simply more genuine. I always start off any meal at Miyake with their steamed shumai, which are soft, round shell dumplings filled with

Miyake’s Crazy Girl Roll

RYAN LANDVATER / SUN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

shrimp and happiness. If you are like most people who think that Japanese food starts and ends with sushi, then you are in luck: Miyake offers a plethora of rolls, from the classic California roll to the spicy BBQ beef roll. My personal favorite is the Crazy Girl, which consists of spicy tuna, eel and avocado, all deep-fried and topped with a spicy sauce. For those of you who are willing to venture into the unknown and try something that is not sushi, the katsu don is a delicious choice. It is a deep-fried pork loin sautéed with vegetables and eggs, and it is guaranteed to leave you full and satisfied.

AMERICAN: RULLOFF’S RESTAURANT While it is relatively easy to make American fare and have it taste “good”, finding a restaurant that excels at it is surprisingly difficult: Rulloff’s accomplishes this feat and serves the best American food in Collegetown. One of their knockout appetizers is the loaded French fries with “the works:” their signature fries topped with melted cheese, chili and bacon … I have legitimately found myself dreaming about those fries. The baked French onion soup is some of the best that I have ever tasted at any restaurant, including much pricier

restaurants in New York City. As far as the entrees go, Rulloff’s serves your typical hearty American food, ranging from shepherd’s pie filled with Black Angus, vegetables and baked with asiago mashed potatoes, to the classic turkey club sandwich.

However, my favorite meal at Rulloff’s is the succulent signature burger made from Black Angus, which you can top with your choice of cheese, bacon, mushrooms or sautéed onions.

Michelle Kim can be reached at mkim@cornellsun.com.

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10 | The Corne¬ Daily Sun | Thursday, September 13, 2012

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT The xx Coexist Young Turks

BJames Rainis The xx, at this point in their existence, would be wise to put the lessons they’ve learned in their brief tenure as a buzz band to paper. After a headache-inducing rise, hectic touring schedules, losing a band-member, launching impressive solo efforts and winning a Mercury Prize for their self-titled debut, the London group has learned how to navigate the nasty waters of the modern hype machine with grace and poise. But the first record is the easiest; you’re raw and not laden with great expectations. After Rihanna samples a song of yours and your drummer-producer starts collaborating with artists as diverse as Drake and Gil Scott-Heron (not to mention releasing solo work as unique as anything out there; check out Jamie xx’s “Far Nearer” if you’ve slept on it), there’s a certain new level you are expected to perform at. So, these facts having been put forth, Coexist was bound to either be a difficult or disappointing record. Let’s be glad it’s the former.

This is not to say The xx have forgotten what got them here in the first place, as they still do sexy, taut music that shows impressive sonic and melodic restraint. Jamie xx is still as deliberate as ever, sticking to a no-frills sound palette that relies on negative space, muffled 808s and slow-boil buildups. Co-vocalists

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Romy Madley-Croft and Oliver Sim are still singing about their various romantic trysts in a near-whispered unison, but gone is the fraught sexual tension that made their debut such an indelible work. Opener “Angels” sets the agenda to ‘love,’ which is a damned shame; whereas the lyrics used to be filled with hushed, vague longing, now they, on occasion, dip into the reserves of romantic melodrama. It’s not a bad look per se, but for a record promised by Jamie xx to be influenced by “club music,” it’s lacking the sort of sensuality and danger we had come to expect.

Furthermore, I was shocked that Jamie xx did not try to take greater command of the group’s sound. It seems that while Jamie was trying to avoid stepping on his bandmates’ toes he forgot that he is possibly one of the most versatile and clever young producers in the world. None of Coexist’s tracks break that slowed-to-acrawl tempo. Where are the percussive experiments we were treated to on the Scott-Heron collaboration We’re New Here or his singular take on Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep”? Where are the twisted vocal samples (after all, Jessie Ware showed they work wonders in the midst of coolly produced love songs like “110%”)? Where is something that recaptures the propulsive joy of “Far

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Nearer”? I hate to criticize Jamie for keeping The xx a truly democratic band and not pulling a (insert your favorite musical control freak here), but this was his moment for the taking.

Most of what I have had to say makes Coexist sound like an absolute slog, and that is definitely not the case.

“Reunion” colors between the lines with its subtle steel drums, “Angels” is a decidedly heartfelt mission statement for the album, “Sunset” is a subdued stomper with one grooving bassline and “Unfold” is as good of an indie makeout jam as anything put out this year.

Romy Madley-Croft and Oliver Sim are really coming into their own as vocalists; Sim especially has honed his deep, whispered croon to a point where it can match up with Madley-Croft’s hauntingly expressive voice.

But when they succeed The xx remind you of just how good they could be; with a little more variation and adventure, Coexist could have been excellent. Instead, it simply falls into familiar patterns and soundscapes that, while impressively assembled, leave the listener wanting more. Me? I blame Jamie.

James Rainis is a junior in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. He can be reached at jrainis@cornellsun.com.

Bob Dylan Tempest Columbia Records

B+ Sydney Ramsden COURTESY OF BOBDYLAN.COM

How exactly does one even begin to write a Bob Dylan review? Now well into the fifth decade of his career, Dylan isn’t just a musician, artist, writer, legend or even an icon; he is an entity all his own, void of any label, resistant to any criticism. He has never made a “bad” album; calling a Dylan album “bad” merely validates his “good” ones as masterpieces. More than 50 years, 35 studio albums and countless personas since he so generously graced the world with his presence, Dylan maintains a Godlike status: He is untouchable, simultaneously everywhere and nowhere, just as we simultaneously know everything and nothing about him.

Whatever he does, we don’t expect anything less than genius.

So where does that leave Dylan’s latest release, Tempest, next to the other master works in his bluespoetry canon? Well, at the ripe age of 71, Dylan isn’t exactly at a point at which he can grow artistically more than he already has, but his creative deadlock is just where he belongs. Sticking with the electric-blues arrangements and effortless poetry that solidified Dylan’s aforementioned Godlike presence in the music world, Tempest is proof that he’s still got it after all this time, and he’s right where the fans want him. Tempest is nothing new, but it’s further evidence of Dylan doing what he does best: constructing timeless songs that are at once both colossally epic in their storytelling and breathtakingly romantic in their simplicity.

Dylan is known for touching on many genres across

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

his vast catalog, and Tempest is no exception. From the ragtime blues opener “Duquesne Whistle” to the rollicking toe-tapper “Narrow Way,” Dylan covers several musical bases here. He goes full-on blues on “Early Roman Kings” with a standard 12-bar progression spiced with harmonica solos and sprinkled with Biblical references. “Scarlet Town” finds Dylan as a mysterious drifter telling his tale to whoever will listen.

But the grandness of nearly every song on Tempest is where we find the record’s greatest flaw. Clocking in at 68 minutes, this is probably one of Dylan’s longer albums; but unlike his lengthy songs from the past (most notably, of course, the six-minute “Like a Rolling Stone” or the 11-minute “Desolation Row”), Dylan loses the listener’s attention this time around. “Narrow Way,” for instance, drags on due in great part to an irritatingly repetitive electric violin riff that doesn’t seem to end. Likewise, the delirious title track, a 13-minute epic interspersed with references to the real-life Titanic tragedy as well as the 1997 blockbuster starring Leonardo DiCaprio (who also happens to get namedropped here), suffers the same flaw of “Narrow Way,” in addition to Dylan’s vocals, which have aged quite ungracefully. Dylan fans have persevered with the master’s voice, but by now it is difficult to simply decipher the words. Whether one can blame Tempest’s few flaws on uninspired instrumentation, Dylan’s grating chords or his lousy enunciation, it’s clear (but unsurprising) that the fervor that characterized Dylan’s most famous

works has waned.

The ballads on Tempest, though, are where the record truly shines, thanks mostly to the lyrics that hark back to some of Dylan’s finest moments as a young songwriter. “Soon After Midnight” contains some of Dylan’s most romantic lyrics in recent memory, as the track opens with the gorgeous line, “I’m searching for phrases / To sing your praises.” Meanwhile, the heartbreaking “Long and Wasted Years” reminds us of his Blood on the Tracks days, as its simultaneous self-deprecating and confrontational lyrics take us back to that album’s “Idiot Wind.” Closing dirge “Roll on John,” an ode to John Lennon, has Dylan yearning for Lennon to “shine your light,” ending the record on a stunningly moving note. It’s not just a tribute to Dylan’s onetime friend and contemporary, but also a soulful and touching sentiment from a universally adored artist reaching his prime of life. Tempest is rumored to be Dylan’s final work, as it shares a title similar to Shakespeare’s last play, but what does it matter? Even in the Internet age, Dylan still manages to keep us in suspense, never sure of what he’s going to do next, where he’s going or who he’ll be next time he emerges. But that’s the beauty of being a Dylan fan, and the twists and turns of Tempest celebrate that spontaneity.

Sydney Ramsden is a junior in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. She can be reached at sramsden@cornellsun.com.

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Thursday, September 13, 2012 | The Corne¬ Daily Sun | 11

What Is This Thing Called Jazz?

F ox News recently debunked the myth that the rich are getting richer and the poor poorer, to the tune of the Dean Martin classic “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head.” I’m reminded of how I’ve strayed musically over the past year. That, for the most part, has been a good thing. But listening to something other than jazz always leaves me a little homesick.

I grew up with jazz. Well, sort of. It was the first kind of music I listened to obsessively. Piet Mondrian’s Broadway Boogie-Woogie is probably to blame. It was the subject of my first unwieldy stab at art criticism as a 13year-old. Just by embellishing grid lines with dashes of color, Mondrian created streets throbbing with cars and people. I never quite got over that feeling.

Then along came John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman’s eponymous 1963 album. I saw that a voice could be an instrument, and an instrument could be a voice. My sister and I began to trawl record stores for compilation albums on sale, and that is how I met the swinging gentlemen — Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong, among others. I loved the pandemonium of The Rat Pack singing and ad-libbing at The Sands and big bands stomping at The Savoy. For the next three years I saw no need to listen to anything else.

Jazz standards have become my comfort food.

When I’m rapidly losing coherence as I type papers late into the night, Sarah Vaughan’s mournful refrain, “I’ll never know a Sunday / in this weekday room,” becomes achingly true. After being assaulted by relentless pop tunes, I can

replay the same standard for hours, marveling at the endless variations on a theme.

Thelonious Monk’s “Round About Midnight” is one of them. Monk hammers incisively, Miles Davis is insistent and thoughtful, while Bill Evans delicately weaves the melody together. For some reason, I’d never suspected that there were words to the tune. Then I stumbled upon Amy Winehouse’s recording, lavish and sonorous. Jazz had surprised me again.

What is this thing called jazz? The textbook answer is that jazz happens when musicians improvise simultaneously and achieve syncopated syncopation (whatever that means). Not too surprisingly, a serviceable definition of jazz eludes many in its firmament of stars. Sarah Vaughan, who pioneered scat singing, protested against being labeled a jazz singer. The label was too stifling for the self-professed lover of “all kinds of music.”

Vaughan is not the only rebel. So maybe Duke Ellington’s hazy declaration suffices — jazz is “in the ear of the listener. If a man has some very hungry ears for … a pleasant noise

Daveen Koh Darn That Dream that makes him feel he wants to swing, that’s jazz.”

I like that vagueness. Like art, jazz is mysterious, and yet it makes me feel something.

Sorting out good jazz from the bad is as easy

as differentiating good art from bad art. Good jazz, like a good building (as defined by the architect Louis Sullivan), “grows naturally, logically and poetically out of all its conditions.”

Of course, that is not as easy as it sounds.

I mostly love jazz trio The Bad Plus’ recordings, especially its wistful and thunderous interpretations of Nirvana and Queen songs.

But when the group played Bailey Hall this year, I got lost in the winding improvisations, which quickly descended into cacophony. I bought a Bad Plus t-shirt anyway.

I don’t think The Bad Plus played badly. I tend to believe that my lack of musical schooling prevents me from appreciating the finer points of what I’m listening to. But then I remember this: A friend, who is an accomplished pianist, complains that people get unnecessarily defensive when he asks if they play music. Those who admit that they do rarely fail to add, apologetically, that they play very badly. He tells them that it doesn’t matter.

I see jazz. I don’t have the technical vocabulary to navigate its contours, so I think about jazz as impressionism. Shadows have color, and light shifts constantly. Everything happens imperfectly, but vividly. The trite becomes all-important. “The way you wear your hat / the way you sip your tea / the memory of all that / no they can’t take that away from me” — mid-century jazz standards like this one, famously covered by Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald, show that jazz is in the details. Jazz is hunger and sensitivity.

It acknowledges that things happen, but demands a future anyway. The protagonist of Tony Morrison’s novel Jazz, though haunted by the past, refuses to see it as “an abused record with no choice but to repeat itself at the crack and no power on earth could lift the

SANTI SLADE / SUN STAFF ILLUSTRATOR

arm that held the needle.” (Morrison also demonstrates that syncopated syncopation is possible with words.)

To drummer Chick Webb, jazz is like falling in love with a girl, falling out with her and then seeing her again. I’m still not sure why I feel such a strong sense of homecoming when I hear jazz. Maybe it’s because many songs have become biographical, inseparable from things that have changed me. But, like much of life, the laws of attraction work in mysterious ways. Let’s not pretend that we get any of it.

Daveen Koh is a junior in the College of Architecture, Art and Planning. She can be reached at arts-and-entertainment-editor@cornellsun.com. Darn That Dream appears alternate Thursdays this semester.

12 THE CORNELL DAILY SUN | Thursday, September 13, 2012

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

ACROSS 1 14-time All-Star catcher Rodriguez, familiarly 6 Smarten (up) 11 Data proc. equipment 14 Amer. economic assistance 15 Dermatologist’s concern 16 Skill 17 *“Karma Chameleon” band 19 Boot part 20 __ Sutra 21 Dipped in a well, maybe 22 Behold, to Livy 23 Tilts 25 *Space traveler 27 Corrida celebrity 29 Global positioning fig.

30 __ alai 32 Turner memoir 34 State with a 45mile Canadian border 38 Notable time 39 With 40-Across, kid’s toy ... and a word that can precede the first word of the starred answers 40 See 39-Across ... and a word that can precede the last word of the starred answers 42 White __ 43 Ministers to 45 Lengthwise 47 “Deadwood” channel 48 Tampa NFLer 50 Learn well 52 *It’s not good to meet with it 56 18-and-overs 59 Programs for 11Across, briefly 60 __ Reason 62 Trendy NYC section 63 Hwy. 64 *Used car selling point 66 D. Petraeus’s title 67 Shorthand system

68 Seen enough 69 Not quite right 70 “The Gondoliers” bride 71 Actor Mike

33 Lots 52 Red River city 35 Fair-haired 53 Made a choice 36 Fireplace food54 Topple warming shelf 55 Actress 37 Tic-tac-toe loser Moorehead 41 Dicey 57 The enemy’s DOWN 44 Two-baggers: 58 Separates by 1 Kings shoot them Abbr. type 2 Unremarkable 46 Birds do it 61 “Three Sisters” 3 Firehouse mascot 49 Eau __ sister 4 Jeans brand 51 “Project __”: 64 Pvt.’s boss 5 URL ender fashion design 65 Electrical 6 WWII weapon show measure 7 Singles out ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE: 8 Shoreline recess 9 Middle Aged?

10 “Swell!”

11 Sewing kit item 12 Spring bloomers 13 Awfully expensive 18 Not back down from, as a challenge 22 Founded: Abbr.

24 Outwits on the stand 26 One invoked during a drought 28 “Live! With Kelly” host 30 Shark attack victim?

09/13/12 31 “__ you for real?” xwordeditor@aol.com

Sun Sudoku

COMICS AND PUZZLES

Puzzle #7 of 9

Fill in the empty cells, one number in each, so that each column, row, and region contains the numbers 1-9 exactly once.

Each number in the solution therefore occurs only once in each of the three “directions,” hence the “single numbers” implied by the puzzle’s name.

(Rules from wikipedia.org/wiki /Sudoku)

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14 THE CORNELL DAILY SUN | Thursday, September 13, 2012

SPORTS

Questions Remain Regarding Tebow’s New Role With Jets

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. (AP) — Tim Tebow ran out onto the field for the New York Jets' first offensive play of the season as a starter.

Not at quarterback, of course. That's Mark Sanchez's job. But in his Jets debut last Sunday, there was Tebow lined up on the right side of the line as a slot receiver — officially listed as a tight end.

The crowd cheered, Tebow ran a harmless route and then headed back to the sideline. A sprinkling of Tebow and the wildcat package turned out to be more than enough in a 48-28 rout of the Bills.

"I'm definitely competitive, but the No. 1 thing to help competitiveness is winning football games," said Tebow, who was involved in only 10 of the Jets' offensive snaps. "However I can help this team to win football games, that's the ultimate goal."

That's coming from a guy who has always expressed a desire to be a starting quarterback in the NFL, and led Denver to the playoffs in that role after earning the job last season.

With the Jets, at least through the first game, he's merely a contributor who ran five times for 11 yards and didn't throw a pass. But he's a player who gives opponents fits because they have to plan for him, regardless. That includes Pittsburgh, which might see Tebow maybe as little as Buffalo did. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin knows better, though, than to brush off Tebow's presence.

"That's something that they control, from a play-calling standpoint," Tomlin said Wednesday. "I know that we better be prepared for more than what I saw him do in the game on Sunday."

After all, Tomlin and the Steelers have seen him do a lot more.

Tebow knocked them out of the playoffs last season with an 80-yard touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas in overtime in Denver last season.

"Obviously, he's a capable passer," Tomlin said. "That's an element of it that we need to be prepared for."

And that is exactly why the Jets — particularly coach Rex Ryan, general manager Mike Tannenbaum, offensive coordinator Tony Sparano and owner Woody Johnson — wanted Tebow on their team.

Some have said New York's trade for the quarterback in March was purely a publicity stunt. The Jets have said it makes them a better offense, one with an unpredictable presence that might be unmatched in the entire league. After all, Tebow is a 6-foot-3, 250pound, rock-solid guy who can run it, toss it or throw a block — as he did on a few special teams plays last week.

THE CORNELL DAILY SUN | Thursday, September 13, 2012 15

SPORTS

WITH

T E N

RICK

Q U E S T I O N S

PFLASTERER

Ten Questions Columnist Reena Gilani caught up with senior goalkeeper Rick Pflasterer this week to talk about his knack for finding bargains, his affinity for building computers and his natural talents as a dancer.

1. When did you start playing soccer?

I was five, it’s actually a funny story. I played on a house league soccer team with a dad that coached. I was the worst player by far; I was a defender. I was the kid they sat on the bench to never play. We were running hills one day and our goalie fell down the hill and broke his collarbone. Since I didn’t play anyway they stuck me in net. Two years later I started playing travel and kept moving up, and now I’m here.

How did you decide to come to Cornell?

I came to the camp here and they asked me to commit early. Two weeks later, when I was at the University of Michigan soccer camp, I called The Cornell coaching staff to commit.

Why Cornell?

Academics. For once, I decided to make a rational decision. My mom also had a dream that I was happy here, so that helped.

2. How would you describe your sleeping patterns on an average night?

I can sleep for 14 hours straight and I don’t hesitate to if I feel like I need it. Walter Donica ’13 says that I don’t sleep, I hibernate.

I hear you’re impossibly difficult to wake up. What’s the best method to get you awake?

It depends on the time. For 5 a.m. practices, shaking me will get me up. In the middle of the day, sunlight will eventually do it and teammates will open up my curtains. I won’t hear anybody coming into my room, though. Apparently I jolt up in bed — I don’t remember this, it’s just what I hear — and look at them and go back to sleep.

Are there any interesting things you do when you’re up late at night?

Yeah, I impulse shop for sure.

What’s the most interesting thing you’ve ever bought?

I bought a gong at like 3:30 in the morning.

Any reason for that?

Not anything specific; it’s in the house. It’s a great decoration.

3. How do you always manage to get incredible deals when you’re buying stuff? I’ve been told 90% off on a lot of your purchases.

I’m definitely a schemer. I get an idea in my mind, I sell things I don’t need to get a lot of money back, and I count that as my net deal.

What about that time you sold your futon?

It was on our front porch and it wasn’t really hard to sell; one of my other friends was walking by and I was like ‘you want a futon?’ and he was like ‘yeah’. I said $50, he bargained $45, I said I’d help him walk it home

SOCCER

for $50 and that was it.

So that’s considered a net profit in your mind.

Yeah, that one I didn’t even pay for! I was given it by a friend who didn’t want it and I made $50.

Are you sure she didn’t want it? I heard you — She didn’t want it; I don’t care what they say. It was my futon.

What else have you sold?

I sold [senior forward] Tyler Regan’s Xbox controller this past week; that was an interesting deal.

Was he mad?

No, he didn’t hesitate to let me have it. I asked if I could sell it and he agreed.

Do you give him a cut of your profits?

Yeah sure, I’m fair. I’ll reimburse the controller. The problem is I sold Ian Panzica ’14’s Xbox for money and it needed to come with a controller, so I took Tyler’s and I will reimburse him for that. Then I upgraded to the new black Xbox 360.

What’s the story there?

My housemate Clayton Dubin ’14 needed a computer. I told him I’d give him $100 if he bought one of the computers that comes with a free Xbox. He did, and so I put out $100 for that. Then I sold that Xbox to Ian for $60 and he gave me his old one. That put me at $40 for an old Xbox, basically, and Ian upgraded.

The Xbox I got from Ian didn’t play the game I wanted, Halo 3, because it was old, so I took his Xbox, four of my games and Tyler’s controller and sold it at GameStop for $135. The new Xbox is $200, so I got the new one for $70 altogether, plus my $40, and I kept the controller from Clayton’s Xbox that I sold to Ian — normally $35 to $40 — and so I was sitting at $110 for a new Xbox and two controllers.

So you actually made money in this situation.

Yeah, I’m okay with that.

4. Do your roommates get mad at you for any of your antics living around the house?

The only time anybody has ever really gotten mad at me was the fire extinguisher incident. I had never used a fire extinguisher, and I went out behind my house to try it out. My teammates also live in the house next door and someone in the window was goading me, he was in the second story, and so I opened fire at the window. I was so excited that it reached that I kind of kept it rolling and it just covered his room, and everyone in it, in fire extinguisher dust.

How did you manage to get it into the room?

I just sprayed at the window and it first covered the window and started to flow in. They have pretty good ranges. That’s a good experience because now I know I can hit a fire with an extinguisher from about 35 to 40 feet.

What was the aftermath of that?

[Junior midfielder] Aaron Oder wasn’t happy. I had to help him clean up his room after that, he was pretty mad at first.

Does Tyler get mad when you steal food from his room

OLIVER KLIEWE / SUN SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER

in the middle of the night?

It’s not the middle of the night … He’s awake most of the time. He’s very giving! Sometimes he’ll peer around and he’ll have some Sour Patch Kids, just a massive bag that’s too much for anybody, so I’m really just helping him. He has a five-pound bag so he’s not going to not eat it.

5. Can you tell me about the computers you’ve built?

Have you ever sold any of those for money?

I have sold one, but I didn’t really make money off of it; it was more for the experience. I sold it to a girl that I know here, I see her sometimes and apparently it has a problem. I told her I’d fix it, but it hasn’t happened.

Diana, if you bring your computer to me, I’ll fix it!

How did your interest in making computers start?

Well, I was pre-med and that didn’t go so hot. I was also an economics major for like a week and a half, then I was a sociology major and now I’m informational science. I decided to play with the hardware aspect of it and got pretty decent at that.

6. Are you a dancer?

I’m a great dancer. I don’t even know how to explain my moves. I just call it ‘The Rick Dance’.

Does this include the backflip?

Yeah, I tend to win dance-offs with the backflip …

During Spring Break in Austria I participated in a dance-off with a kid who was so much better than me at dancing. He didn’t speak English. He was an awesome dancer so I had to pull out the backflip. I only have like one other move, that I can’t exactly explain, you’d need to get a video of that.

What about the Single Ladies dance?

Wow, who did you talk to? I can definitely do a good portion of it. I know it, but I can’t time it right yet; it definitely needs some refining.

7. You have a couple of sisters, right?

I have two sisters, yeah.

Did they ever pick on you?

I was a heavyset kid. My sister thought it was funny to have me go to the end of the diving board — it’s really mean. She’d have me just jiggle at the end of it.

How old were you?

I was really young, like six years old! I was really into the swim team at this time, too, so I was wearing a speedo. Her friends all thought it was funny so I went along with it, but I didn’t realize they were laughing at me, not with me.

8. Tell me about your perpetual nakedness now here at Cornell.

That’s what locker rooms are for anyway, right?

Whenever anyone comes in, they say I’m always naked.

I’m just going to blame it on timing.

9. I’ve heard that some of your teammates call you “Red”. Can you go into more detail?

It’s probably just the red hair. Aaron definitely calls me it the most, though I’ve heard it all my life.

Does your red hair give you any advantages or disadvantages?

People definitely notice me, which isn’t a bad thing.

How did you get into cutting your own hair?

When I was in high school I’d just shave it, and then I started trying to look better. I’ve had some bad haircuts, which took a lot of getting used to. I used to go to a lot of haircut places and was always disappointed so decided to just start doing it myself.

Have you ever cut anyone else’s hair?

Yeah, I’m the go-to guy on the soccer team. I’ve cut a bunch of guys’ hair — [junior forward] Dan Haber, [junior defenseman] Jake Rinow and [junior midfiedler] Benjamin Williams.

Do you charge them for it?

No, that’s a free service.

Do you do any crazy hairstyles?

On Walter. He was my roommate freshman year and still lives with me now. I cleared it with his girlfriend and I gave him an extravagant mohawk. It looks awesome.

10. What other Cornell athletic team do you like to hang out with most?

I’m going to go with the field hockey team.

Twinkletoes | Aside from leading the Ivy League in goals against average last year and only allowing one goal so far this season, senior goalkeeper Rick Pflasterer also prides himself on his superior abilities on the dance floor.

Reena Gilani can be reached at rgilani@cornellsun.com.

The Corne¬ Daily Sun

Sports

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2012

16

TENNIS

Men and Women Open 2012 Season

By DANI ABADA Sun Assistant Sports Editor

The Cornell men’s and women’s tennis teams will both begin their 2012-13 seasons this weekend. The women’s team will be facing competition on its home turf, hosting the Cornell Fall Invitational. The tournament will be a three-day ordeal, starting Friday and ending on Sunday at the Reis Tennis Center.

“We are just looking to see what we need to focus on in practices — this first competition is going to be good [for that],” said women’s head coach Mike Stevens.

“Buffalo is a solid team and Albany is a very good team too, so we just want to see how the girls are going to compete against outside competition … We are expecting good things, everyone is looking strong in practice.”

Starting off the season at home is especially significant to the Red, as it will not be competing at Reis again this fall.

“It makes it more comfortable being on the courts that we practice on every day,” Stevens said. “So in that regard sure, they get to sleep in their own beds, they don’t have to travel for several hours. It’s more comfortable for them, absolutely.”

The Red recruited four freshmen to the squad — a group that was ranked No. 23 amongst all other recruiting classes in the country by The Recruiting Network.

“We have four freshmen that are playing very well,” Stevens said. “They all had very solid junior careers and we are looking forward to very good things from all four of them.”

“They are great,” said junior Ryann Young of the team’s new freshmen. “All four are really talented and hardworking so I think we are all really excited … They are all pretty experienced in matches from junior tennis and I think we will really get to see that this weekend and in upcoming tournaments as well.”

This tournament is important because it helps the

Red prepare for its Ivy foes.

“For the fall, it really helps just to get as much experience as possible so that we are ready for our spring season, especially the Ivy League season,” Young said.

“Every match we play this fall will impact how we play in the spring, so just keeping that in mind we really want to work hard and do well.”

Not only has Cornell added some new faces to its lineup, but it also did not lose a single player from last season. Among the returning players are senior Sarah O’Neil and sophomore Lauren Frazier, who are currently posted in the ITF’s preseason rankings as the 52nd best pair in the country.

“We have been practicing for a week now, the team is looking very strong,” Stevens said. “We have a lot of competition among members of the team which is good because they are pushing each other to get better.”

The men are heading to Princeton, N.J. for the Farnsworth Invitational.

“We have been practicing really, really cleanly and the opponents are pretty tough so we are looking forward to a good challenge and adjusting our game plans,” said junior Venkat Iyer. “We want to make sure that we’re disciplined with our approach and execute according to practice — if we do that, we’ll be fine.”

At the end of the season, Cornell was ranked No. 72 in the nation by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.

“All of us are pretty ready,” Iyer said. “We had a good, strong couple weeks of practice and we’re all pretty ready to go.”

The Red had one of the youngest lineups in the country last year, so on the men’s side, too, not a single player was lost over the summer. Two new players have also joined the squad.

“The team chemistry is fantastic,” Iyer said. “We all get together a lot, we’re the best of friends. On the court we compete hard and push each other. We spend so much time together … As a team I think we are a pret-

TINA CHOU / SUN FILE PHOTO

Young blood | According to junior Ryann Young, the Red has four new freshman that will contribute to the team this year.

ty cohesive group and I think that’s one of the reasons why we will be successful.”

This season begins head coach Silviu Tanasoiu’s second year with the Red. “He’s great,” Iyer said. “[Tanasoiu] is a tireless worker — he puts a lot more hours than we do on the court, that’s for sure. It’s always fun to work with him and our assistant coach [Brendan Lynch]. They both spend so much time with us and really push us to work hard, and that’s all we can ask.”

Dani Abada can be reached at dabada@cornellsun.com.

WOMEN’S SOCCER

Red Welcomes Experience In New Assistant Coach

By SCOTT CHIUSANO Sun Assistant Sports Editor

LINDSAY LEVINE / SUN CONTRIBUTOR

Sting like a bee | The men’s and women’s cross country teams will try to build off their dominant performances of last weekened at Saturday’s Yellow Jacket Invitational.

CROSS COUNTRY

Squad Poised for Yellow Jacket Invitational

By SCOTT CHIUSANO Sun Assistant Sports Editor

After a sweep over Army and Binghamton last weekend in the Army-Binghamton tri-meet in West Point, N.Y., the men’s and women’s cross country teams head to Rochester this weekend for the Yellow Jacket Invitational.

Last year, the women’s team took first place at the

Invitational, placing five runners in the top 11. The Red beat out 11 other schools for the first place finish, but just narrowly topped Western Ontario by a margin of four points.

The men’s team finished third at the Yellow Jacket Invitational in 2011, despite running mostly freshmen and sophomores in the race.

This year, both squads are pre-

pared to place well in the meet again after impressive first place finishes on Saturday.

Senior Katie Kellner looks to remain dominant after yet another first place finish against Army and Binghamton, and sophomore Ben Potts will try to build off his first place finish as well.

Scott Chiusano can be reached at schiusano@cornellsun.com.

Last week, the women’s soccer team made an important addition to its roster in new assistant coach Dwight Hornibrook.

Hornibrook — who served as an assistant coach for Cornell’s men’s team in 2004 — returns to the Red after taking on head coaching jobs of the women’s soccer teams at SUNY Cortland and Houghton. Red head coach Patrick Farmer expressed confidence in the new approach his assistant will bring to the team.

“He’s somebody that has a different background and I think he has a good vision of things,” Farmer said. “He’s a little understated until he gets to speak, he doesn’t jump in and speak constantly, but when he does, people listen.”

A native of Canada, Hornibrook also has experience working at the national level, as he was a member of the Canadian National Team staff and a director of the Atlantic Regional Training Center. Hornibrook also

played professionally in the Canadian Soccer League for the Nova Scotia Clippers. “[Hornibrook] brings a wealth of playing experience and I realize this isn’t a professional team, but moving in that direction of a little more professional approach to things, I think he really adds that,” Farmer said.

According to Farmer, the new addition to the staff also opens up more opportunities for his other assistant — Megan Ramey — to work with more players. So far, Ramey has been training almost exclusively with the team’s three goalkeepers — junior Tori Christ and freshmen Caroline Quentin and Amanda Symons .

“There’s a chance now for Dwight to work with the keepers so Megan can work with the rest of the team,” Farmer said. “I was really happy to get someone in Dwight that you can give a group of players to and have them go run an exercise.”

Scott Chiusano can be reached at schiusano@cornellsun.com.