INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880
The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 129, No. 21
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2012
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ITHACA, NEW YORK
16 Pages – Free
Hotelies Split On New, $3M Study Space
News It’s Getting Hot in Here
Using satellite imaging, Cornell researchers have discovered that climate change is causing ice fields in Southern Patagonia to rapidly melt. | Page 3
Opinion Value of a Degree
Pausing to reflect on the past years of her education, Deborah Liu ’13 asks herself what a Cornell education has really given her. | Page 7
By KAITLYN KWAN Sun Staff Writer
the public face of student activism for which it once provided a literal and figurative platform, several Cornell professors said. “It’s hard to explain to your generation, but there was a time when, every day, there would be some kind of public theater of politics in front of the Straight at lunchtime,” said Prof. Isaac Kramnick, government. “The stump [was] a sort of free speech corner. You didn’t need a permit; you didn’t need to go to the Dean of Students’ office to get permission
Though some students expressed enthusiasm about the increased study space offered by the School of Hotel Administration’s newly-opened, $3-million student learning center, others complained that the center poses several inconveniences and is too noisy to study in. hotel The school, using a “The digital age is donation from well established, and the J. Willard and this facility was Alice S. Marriott Foundation, created for our next combined the generation.” World Atrium, George B. MalProf. Steven Carvell lory ’54 Student Lounge and Nestlé Hospitality Library to create the new learning space, named the Marriott Student Learning Center. Professors in the school said they hope the center will improve students’ access to technology and enhance collaboration between students. “We designed the new Marriott Learning Center to provide students with a broad range of studying and engagement spaces,” said Prof. Steven Carvell, hotel administration, associate dean for academic affairs. “Students are using library facilities differently now. The digital age is well established, and this facility was created for our next generation of leaders to maximize their Cornell educational experience.” Still, not all hotel students said they liked the changes. The additional study space and digital
See ACTIVISM page 5
See HOTEL page 4
Opinion American Violence
Tom Moore ’14 examines both the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks and unrest in Libya, suggesting that Americans look carefully at violence — both perpetrated abroad and domestically. | Page 7
Arts Ritter Rocks
Josh Ritter brought his folk, blues and rock jam to The State Theater on Saturday, filling his set with a contagious energy. | Page 9
Sports
RICHARD SHULMAN / SUN FILE PHOTO
All the world used to be a stage | During the 1969 Straight Takeover, C. David Burak ’67 speaks from “the stump,” the remaining portion of an American elm tree that became an impromtu political soapbox and message center. Professors recently lamented the absence of campus political theater.
Political Theater Disappears From C.U.Campus,Profs Say By REBECCA HARRIS
Party Like It’s 1996
The men’s soccer team emerged out of its weekend game with its best season start since 1996. | Page 16
Weather Thunderstorms HIGH: 72 LOW: 48
Sun News Editor
For years, a large tree stump outside of Willard Straight Hall served as a political soapbox for students to deliver rousing speeches on the most pressing issues facing the country. Now, in its place, a faded plaque rests on a small boulder, hidden amid a patch of shrubbery. Out of sight, the 25-year-old memorial goes unnoticed daily by hundreds of passersby — a relic of the past, forgotten much like
StudentsVie to Become First Homecoming Champion By LIANNE BORNFELD Sun Staff Writer
REED ’13
GARCIA ’13
Many will enter. One will win. The first-ever Homecoming Champion competition kicked off Sunday, with nine contestants sparring in the first two of five challenges in a week-long battle to win the new title. Champion hopefuls — five male and four female students nominated from the Class of 2013 — will participate in events throughout the week designed to test, among other attributes, their “intellectual, athletic and musical prowess,” according to the Homecoming
Steering Committee’s Facebook page. The winner will be announced Friday night at a fireworks and laser lights show at Schoellkopf Stadium. In addition to being crowned Homecoming Champion, the winner will receive $500 in cash, a $100 bar tab, an iPad, $100 to spend at The Cornell Store, an advertisement in The Sun and a co-D.J. spot on WVBR’s radio show, according to the committee’s Facebook page. The idea for the competition had been considered beginning last spring and was brought to fruition under the guidance of James Feld ’13, vice
president of programming for the committee, according to Geoffrey Block ’14, the committee’s president. “Originally, [the Homecoming Steering Committee] thought about doing a Homecoming king and queen kind of competition, but then the administration didn’t want just a popularity-based thing,” Block said. Instead, the Homecoming Steering Committee decided to assess competitors in a greater variety of subjects through tasks ranging from chalkings and rock-climbing to a scavenger hunt and a test on Cornell trivia.
“We wanted people who were active in the community and who represent what Cornell is. They’re fun people who love the school,” Block said of the contestants. On Sunday, the competitors took to the Lindseth Climbing Wall in Bartels Hall, where they competed in timed trials in a race to the top of the wall. “I think tonight was successful: We got a great turnout,” Feld said Sunday. “Everyone seemed to be having fun. The competitors enjoyed it, and whether [they] made it to the top of the wall or they didn’t,
JACOBS ’13
MAZHAR ’13
See HOMECOMING page 4
TAYLOR ’13
ROBBINS ’13
WILCOX ’13
ST. FLEUR ’13
AICHER ’13