1-22 entire issue hi res

The Corne¬ Daily Sun

Activists Vandalize A.D. White Statue on First Day

By JULIA SENZON Sun Managing Editor

The first day of classes has once again been met with pro-Palestinian vandalism.

“Divest from death” and “occupation=death” were spray painted in dark red on the Andrew Dickson White statue on the Arts Quad on Tuesday morning. The historic statue was also smeared with bright red paint resembling blood.

The act mirrored the first day of classes of the fall 2024 semester, when “Israel bombs, Cornell pays” and “Blood is on your hands” were spray painted in red along the front entrance of Day Hall — Cornell’s main administrative building.

In a statement to The Sun, the activists behind the Tuesday graffiti said, “We demand that Cornell divests from the weapons manufacturers that make genocide possible.”

“A ceasefire will save lives, and we hope it will be permanent,” the activists, who asked to remain anonymous, wrote. “But a ceasefire is not a free Palestine, and we will organize until we see a liberated Palestine free from genocide, occupation, and apartheid.”

A ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas went into effect on Sunday. The deal starts with a six-week period in which 33 Israeli hostages in Gaza and more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners are set to be released.

The ceasefire marks the first pause in fighting in over a year and allows six hundred trucks carrying humanitarian relief into Gaza each day.

“In the words of National Students for Justice in

Palestine, ‘A ceasefire is only the beginning. Divestment now,’” the activists wrote.

The quote refers to a Thursday announcement from National SJP — which supports over 400 SJP chapters — of a “January 21 Day of Action” to “demand accountability from our institutions” and “keep the call for divestment and an arms embargo until our universities have severed ties from all entities that made this genocide possible.”

In a statement to The Sun, the University wrote that the Cornell University Police Department is investigating the vandalism of the A.D. White statue.

“Vandalism violates our code of conduct and the law. ... We are committed to identifying the perpetrators responsible.”

Cornell Media Relations

“Vandalism violates our code of conduct and the law,” the statement read. “Graffiti is property damage, which is a crime. We are committed to identifying the perpetrators responsible.”

The statement described that CUPD is asking people who “may have witnessed anything or anyone out of the ordinary in that area” to contact Cornell Police Investigations at cup-inv@cornell.edu or 607-254-3351.

Julia Senzon can be reached at jsenzon@cornellsun.com.

What to Know About Cornell’s New Expressive Policy Recommendations

By AVERY WANG Sun Senior Writer

Jan. 20 — In the spring of 2024, the Interim Expressive Activity Policy faced faculty protests with crowds of nearly 200 and student leaders calling for its suspension. Now, the controversial policy is being prepared for its final version.

The Interim Expressive Activity Policy, originally released on Jan. 24, 2024, and updated on March 11, 2024, outlined “expectations for Cornell students, faculty, and staff participating in expressive activity.”

After its rocky release and a spring semester filled with increased protest activity, the University tasked the committee in May with recommending a final expressive activity policy that protects free expression and protest while establishing “content-neutral limits that ensure the ability of the University community to pursue its mission.”

The Committee on Campus Expressive Activity’s report, released on Dec. 18, 2024, outlines 12 updated recommendations to the policy addressing time, place and manner rules in response to community concerns. As the University completes its policy revision pro-

cess in the coming months, The Sun outlined key details about the updated recommendations and what differs from its controversial predecessor.

Pre-Event Scheduling

The committee maintained its approach that scheduling and registering campus events on 25Live, particularly those involving expressive activity, remain “recommended but not required.”

The committee expressed its strong support that the University “develop a rapid response scheduling option to accommodate more spontaneous activities, including expressive activities.” They recognize that the University Events Team scheduling website registration requirement of two to four weeks in advance, depending on event size, is “not well suited to certain types of campus events, including some expressive activities.”

The current Interim Expressive Activity Policy “strongly encourage[s]” but does not require space reservations for indoor and outdoor demonstration activities.

Amplified Sound

Under the Interim Expressive Activity Policy, public address systems or amplified sound may only

be used on Ho Plaza and in front of Day Hall between noon and 1 p.m. without prior approval from the University Events Team.

Previously, using amplified sound at any other time or location required prior written approval. The committee called these restrictions “overly narrow,” and has since recommended that amplified sound use be permitted between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. Expressive activity organizers are expected to avoid locations where evening classes are held.

The report notes that many peer universities permit significant disruptive sound between 5 p.m. and 9 p.m., a period when fewer classes are held, reducing the likelihood of amplified sound interfering with classroom activities.

Postering and Open Flames

Under the committee’s most recent recommendation, outdoor expressive activities involving open flames “should” follow the fire safety code policies, including completion of a candle use permit form.

To continue reading this article, please visit www.cornellsun.com.

Avery Wang can be reached at awang@cornellsun.com.

V.P. Ryan Lombardi Takes Spring 2025 Semester Sabbatical

Ryan Lombardi, the vice president for student and campus life, will take a sabbatical during the Spring 2025 semester, according to a statement sent to The Sun by Dean of Students Marla Love.

Cornell Student and Campus Life works to provide a variety of programs and services across campus to support the student body, including Cornell Health, Athletics and Physical Education and the Einhorn Center for Community Engagement.

Love said that the semester-long break from the University was granted to Lombardi in May 2024 by former president Martha Pollack and the Board of Trustees and that it “reflects the institution’s deep commitment to his leadership and to Student & Campus Life’s purpose to inspire transformation.”

The sabbatical follows a turbulent year, with administration facing criticism for its response to student demonstrations and campus tragedies.

Lombardi was initially granted the sabbatical after the Spring 2024 semester, following the pro-Palestinian encampment on the Arts Quad staged by the Coalition for Mutual Liberation — a collection of over 40 campus and local organizations.

During this encampment, Lombardi was involved in communicating with protesters, expressing the University’s disapproval.

His involvement in student protests continued into the Fall 2024 semester, where he dealt with the suspension of student activist Momodou Taal, who participated in a protest that shut down a career fair featuring defense contractors Boeing and L3Harris. According to Taal, Lombardi denied his suspension appeal after one business day. Lombardi was also a primary University spokesperson during a week of tragedies in November 2024, communicating resources and encouraging students to “lean on each other and show support, empathy and care to each other.”

To continue reading this article, please visit www.cornellsun.com.

Matthew Kiviat can be reached at mkiviat@cornellsun.com.

By MATTHEW KIVIAT Sun News Editor

Statue stained | Students found A.D. White coated in red as they walked to class on the first day back from break.

MING DEMERS / SUN PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

A LISTING OF FREE CAMPUS EVENTS

Guided Mindfulness Meditation with the Let’s Meditate Initiative

7:30 a.m. to 8 a.m., Virtual Event

AI Innovation Lab Demo Day

2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., G01 Bill and Melinda Gates Hall

Chemistry Seminar with Kayvon Pedram “Chemistry and imaging-based methods to explore extracellular biology”

4 p.m. to 5 p.m., 120 Physical Sciences Building

Spring Welcome Back: Sip&Paint

5 p.m. to 7 p.m., 103-105 Robert Purcell Community Center

Finger Lakes Running Club Practices

7 p.m. to 9 p.m., Barton Hall

Projects & Participation Kick-off

7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., Kiplinger Theatre, Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts

SEND

THE OFFICE

Soup & Hope 2025 Noon to 1 p.m., Sage Chapel

Lab to Impact IP Module: Practical Insights into Enablement Noon to 1 p.m., Virtual event

NBB Seminar Speaker: Itai Cohen 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., G01 Biotechnology Building

Cornell Department of Astronomy & Space Sciences

Spring 2025 Colloquium Series

3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., 105 Space Sciences Building

Undergraduate Research 101 with Student Panel 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., 160 Mann Library

Soundtrack for a Coup d’Etat

7 p.m. to 9 p.m., Willard Straight Theatre

Thursday Tango Lesson/Practica

7 p.m. to 10 p.m., Atrium Physical Sciences Building

Cornell Law School Sees Decrease in Hispanic Enrollment, Increase in Black Enrollment Post Afrmative Action

By CHRISTINE SAVINO Sun Senior Writer

Jan. 15 — Cornell Law School released its annual American Bar Association 509 report for the J.D. Class of 2027 on Dec. 16, revealing the demographics of the first class since the Supreme Court’s June 2023 decision to end race-based affirmative action.

The report’s data showed that total people of color enrollment for the Class of 2027 was approximately 37 percent, increasing by approximately six percent compared to the Class of 2026.

Total people of color includes all students who self-identified as Hispanic, Native American, Asian, Black/African American, Pacific Islander or two or more races.

Cornell Law’s data showed several changes within specific minority demographic groups, absent Native American enrollment, which remained unchanged at approximately one percent.

Underrepresented minority composition within the J.D. Class of 2027 varied compared to the J.D. Class of 2026. Hispanic enrollment decreased the most, from approximately 13 percent to seven percent. However, Black/ African American enrollment increased from approximately four percent to six percent.

Asian enrollment had the highest gains, from approximately 12 percent to 20 percent.

Led Klosky, a first-year law student, stated that the relatively stagnant aggregate data may be because the full impact

of the Supreme Court’s decision is not yet apparent.

“Systemic racism is a multi-generational affair, and any attempt to address it, whether a good plan or not, is unlikely or potentially even incapable of significant change overnight,” Klosky said.

Other Ivy League institutions reported varied results. Yale Law’s percentage of minority students decreased by 12 percent and Harvard Law’s dropped by eight percent. However, Stanford Law’s minority composition increased while the University of Pennsylvania’s remained unchanged.

Comparatively, shares of Black, Native American and Hispanic students within Cornell’s undergraduate firstyear enrollment dropped more starkly between the Class of 2027 and the Class of 2028. Black first-year undergraduate enrollment decreased by four percent, Hispanic enrollment decreased by 6.2 percent and Native American enrollment decreased by 0.8 percent.

Undergraduate first-year enrollment also saw a minimal increase in Asian enrollment by 0.2 percent.

2024 was also the first year the ABA added nonresident students, such as foreign exchange students, to race and ethnicity categories. It is unclear how, if at all, this has impacted minority composition.

Minority representation in law school has historically been underrepresented compared to nationwide population composition, although representation has steadily increased in recent years.

Black representation, comprising approximately 13 percent of the U.S. population, represented only 7.7 percent of first-year students in 2024 and 7.8 percent in 2023. Likewise, Hispanic representation, being approximately 19 percent of the U.S. population, comprised 14.2 percent of first-year students in 2024 and 14.17 percent in 2023.

In an interview with The Sun, Prof. William A. Jacobson, law, stated that he believes law schools may still be using race to influence admissions decisions through “workarounds,” such as diversity essays.

Jacobson is the founder of the Equal Protection Project, which has filed over 30 Civil Rights Complaints against education institutions with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, mostly surrounding race-based scholarships.

Cornell Media Relations declined to comment on the report and how Cornell Law intends to maintain a diverse student body following the Supreme Court decision.

Christine Savino can be reached at csavino@ cornellsun.com.

Douglas Ford ’23 Named to Forbes 30 Under 30

By GISELLE REDMOND Sun Contributor

Dec. 17 — Just over a year ago, Douglas Ford ’23 woke up to severe chest pains while visiting family in a rural town in South Jersey. But when he arrived at the emergency room, he had to wait for nine hours before finally getting a room — a delay in treatment that almost led to his death.

In his next two weeks in the intensive care unit, Ford, then a graduate student at Harvard Medical School, came up with the idea for Chromie Health — a novel artificial intelligence-powered healthcare management service.

Now the chief executive officer of Chromie Health, Ford was named on the Forbes 30 under 30 list under the Healthcare category on Dec. 3 alongside Harvard classmate and co-founder Scott Tisoskey.

Chromie Health analyzes patterns in patient behavior to predict demand, recommending efficient allocations of healthcare staff. The system also works to maximize patient outcomes by informing more specialized treatment plans, minimizing delays in receiving care and lessening the stress on medical staff.

Since its launch, the company has raised over $2.1 million and has launched pilot programs in more than 120 nursing teams.

“Before Chromie, hospitals would waste billions of dollars per

year, [and] unit managers would dedicate 10 to 15 hours each week, manually updating schedules on pen and paper. It’s crazy,” Ford said. “We save hospitals $320,000 per unit, and more importantly, we save nursing managers eight hours per week on scheduling.”

Ford said that when he woke up with his chest pain, “Something in my body was just screaming ‘red alert.’” However, when Ford arrived at the emergency room, he was not able to receive the immediate care that he needed.

“It looked like a scene from a war zone. There were people waiting in the parking garage. The hallways were full. There [were] no nurses,” Ford described. “It was a critical nursing shortage. I mean, it was intense. I waited there for nine hours before finally getting a room.”

This delay in treatment was almost fatal for Ford. Ford had myocarditis — inflammation of the heart muscle — and began experiencing Ventricular tachycardia episodes — periods of rapid, abnormal heart rhythm — before going into heart failure. After receiving a code blue — an indication that a patient needs serious and immediate attention — Ford was transported to the medical intensive care unit at Penn Medicine.

“It was the closest call you could have ever imagined,” Ford said.

Heather-Ashley Boyer ’16

Unites Acting, Advocacy For AI Risk Awareness

By LORNA DING and TALIA RICHMOND Sun Contributors

Jan. 20 — When HeatherAshley Boyer ’16 moved across the country to pursue acting in Hollywood in 2022, she knew she was taking a big step in her career. What she did not know was that she would begin “living a life of service,” bringing awareness to artificial intelligence’s risks and the need for regulations alongside her acting career.

Boyer starred as Dr. Hall in the dramedy feature film Lady Parts, which won awards for its portrayal of women’s sexual health, blending humor and sincerity. In addition to acting, Boyer is a member of the Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists’s New Technology Committee. The committee works to protect actors’ artificial intelligence rights in entertainment, seeking regulations for nonconsensual pornographic deepfakes and synthetic performers.

Boyer graduated with a degree in urban planning from the College of Architecture, Art and Planning, initially planning to work in disaster management or policy work before realizing her real passion was in performing arts.

“Going into college, I knew that I had interests in a variety of areas, … and I felt like my ultimate goal [all] along was to try to balance both [performing arts and policy work],” Boyer said.

Boyer credits Cornell for giving her the confidence to navigate Hollywood’s competitive environment.

“I think graduating from Cornell did give me a little bit extra confidence to know, ‘OK, I’ve already achieved this very difficult feat,’” Boyer said. “I’ve also been fortunate to work with fellow Cornellians on some film projects out here [in Hollywood], which has been great.”

Through pursuing a performing arts path, Boyer found herself re-engaging in policy work through the actor’s union SAG-AFTRA. Boyer said she has always been curious about “where things are headed in the tech sphere” and started reading about AI in 2020.

“I had mentioned [the dangers of AI] to a couple of friends, and they were like, ‘Oh, that sounds really weird. You should keep that to yourself,’” Boyer said.

Three years later, after hearing filmmaker Justine Bateman speak out about AI during the 2023 SAGAFTRA strike, Boyer got the courage to join the effort.

She was one of many actors at the strike — the longest in Hollywood history — fighting for

protections against AI’s ability to digitally replicate actors. The strike shut down and delayed productions, adding to the standstill effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the entertainment industry.

“I was on the picket line [talking] to anyone who would listen, like, ‘Hey, you need to focus on AI,’” Boyer said. “To be honest, when the strikes were resolved, I felt like we did not get a good deal in terms of the AI protections.”

In the new contract, employers must obtain “clear and conspicuous” consent from performers to create digital replicas unless the project is protected under the First Amendment, such as satires, docudramas and historical work. Critics argue these exceptions create loopholes that force human actors to compete with AI actors for jobs.

Since then, Boyer and her committee have been working to instate a federal law that would protect an actor’s right to publicity, which prevents individuals’ identities from being used for commercial purposes without their consent. She also joined the Ban Deepfakes campaign, raising awareness about the effects of deepfake pornography on celebrities and children.

Her advocacy goals have expanded beyond AI in entertainment, explaining that the entertainment industry is a “canary in the coal mine” for AI’s existential risks. Boyer emphasized the need for increased protection for whistleblowers who draw attention to AI issues in the entertainment industry.

“[Existential risk is when] there’s an AI that becomes sentient or has its own agenda [and] goes rogue,” Boyer said. “I feel like there’s definitely more hesitancy for people to speak out on [existential risks] because they’re like, ‘I don’t want to sound crazy’ … yet we have the godfathers of AI who are speaking out about the exact thing.”

Now, Boyer is working on her next acting project, the sci-fi thriller Viral Overdose, which is still in pre-production. She said that she looks forward to future opportunities to engage in meaningful work — on and off-screen.

“My guiding light in how I live my life is that I really want to be helpful to other people whether that’s through entertaining them … [or] through advocacy work,” Boyer said. “I feel that’s what brings me meaning in life.”

Lorna Ding and Talia Richmond can be reached at lcd54@cornell.edu and tkr32@cornell.edu.

Bill Nye ’77 Awarded Nation’s Highest Civilian Honor by President Biden

By MATTHEW KIVIAT

Jan. 4 — Bill Nye ’77 was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Joe Biden at a White House ceremony on Saturday.

The award, the nation’s highest civilian honor, was given to Nye and 18 other recipients — including former Secretary of State and First Lady Hillary Clinton, businessman and former basketball player Earvin “Magic” Johnson and activist and former actor Michael J. Fox.

According to the White House, the Presidential Medal of Freedom is presented to those “who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavors.”

Before being presented the medal, a White House citation was read aloud during the ceremony, explaining that as “Bill Nye the Science Guy,” his comedic television persona, Nye has earned “the trust of millions of children and families.”

“By sharing the magic of fun and science [Nye] inspires generations of Americans to follow facts and reason and leave the world better than we found it,” the citation read.

Nye earned his degree in mechanical engineering from Cornell and started his career working as an engineer at the Boeing Corporation in Seattle. He eventually left his job at Boeing in 1986 to work in comedy at the show Almost Live in Seattle, which paved the way to his 19-Emmy-winning Public Broadcasting Service show Bill Nye the Science Guy, which he worked on from 1992 to 1998.

Nye has also served as the Chief Executive Officer of The Planetary Society since 2010, which is the world’s largest non-profit space organization.

In recent years, Nye has been an outspoken climate activist, appearing in viral informational videos, on college campuses and on the news advocating for Americans to rally for environmental reforms.

In a video interview with The Sun in 2023, Nye emphasized the importance of Cornellians fighting and curbing the effects of climate change.

“In the case of climate change, just to remind everybody, the evidence is overwhelming,” Nye told The Sun. “And this is where you all are going to change the world, and by that I mean Cornell students right now are going to change the world.”

At the White House Ceremony, Biden explained how the awards’ recipients have impacted the country and the broader world.

“You leave an incredible mark on our country with insight and influence that can be felt around the globe — in major cities and remote areas alike — binding us closer as people and showing us what’s possible as a nation,” Biden said.

Matthew Kiviat can be reached at mkiviat@cornellsun.com.

Science speaks | Bill Nye ’77 was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom on Jan. 4.

LINDSAY FRANCE / CORNELL UNIVERSITY

Sun News Editor

The Corne¬ Daily Sun

JULIA SENZON ’26

Managing Editor

ERIC REILLY ‘25

Assistant Managing Editor

MARISA CEFOLA ’26 News Editor

DOROTHY FRANCE-MILLER’27 News Editor

OLIVIA HOLLOWAY ’25

Assistant News Editor

KAITLIN CHUNG ’26 Science Editor

SYDNEY LEVINTON ’27 Arts & Culture Editor

JADE DUBUCHE ’27 Social Media Editor

MING DEMERS ’25

NICOLE COLLINS ’25

PARIS CHAKRAVARTY ’27

Jack Aherne '27

Ximena Balli '27

Varsha Bhargava '27

Emma Cohen '28

Teodora Curtin '28

Loma Ding '28

Kendall Eddington '27

Emma Galgano '27

Jonathan Brand ‘27

Breanna Ferreira ‘26

Shubha Gautam ‘28

Rafaela G. Bustamente '28

Jane Haviland '28

Yuhan Huang '28

Maryam Ismail '27

Leena Jalees '28

Jeremiah Jung '28

Kate Turk '27

Isabella Hanson ‘27

Adin Choung '26

Aurora Weirens '25

Julia Poggi 25

Daniela Wise-Rojas '25

Armand Chancellor '25

Emma Robinson ‘27

Leah Badawi ‘27

Ili Pecullan ‘26

Alexandria Fennell ‘26

Eirian Huang ‘26

MAX FATTAL ’25

Associate Editor

SHEILA YU ’26

Business Manager

MATTHEW KIVIAT ’27 News Editor

GABRIEL MUNOZ ’26 City Editor

DINA SHLUFMAN ’27

Assistant News Editor

JANE MCNALLY ’26 Sports Editor

JENNA LEDLEY ’27 Assistant Arts & Culture Editor

MADELINE KAPSALIS ’25

Assistant Social Media Editor

LEILANI BURKE ’25

Assistant Photography Editor

ALLISON HECHT ’26 Newsletter Editor

AUDREY IM ’26

Human Resources Manager

News Board

Sophia Koman '27

Ashley Lee '28

Shannon Lee '27

Julia Lian '28

Sofa Loayza '25

Michael Masci '28

Matthew Michailof '28

Evelyn Mullen Walsh '27

Skylar Kleinman ‘27

Reem Nasrallah '28

Isabella Pazmino-Schell '28

Opinion Board

Ilana Livshits '27

Henry Schechter '26

Ayman Abou-Alfa '27

Serin Koh '25

Sophia Dasser ‘28

HENRY SCHECHTER ’26 Opinion Editor

COURTNEY HUANG’26 Advertising Manager

CHRISTINA MACCORKLE ’26 News Editor

ANUSHKA SHOREWALA ’26 Assistant News Editor

LAINE HAVENS ’25

ERIC HAN ’26 Arts & Culture Editor

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Avery Prince '28

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Giselle Redmond '28

Talia Richmond '28

Xavier Rolston '28

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Caroline Michailof ‘26

Dalton Mullins ‘27

Carlin Reyen ‘25 Seth Berman ‘26 Noah Farb ‘28 Sophie Gross ‘27 Asf Tias ‘27

Arts & Culture Board

Rachel Cannata ‘25 Aidan Goldberg ‘25

Caidan Pilarski ‘26

Melissa Moon ‘28

Mia Roman-Wilson ‘28

Will Cawley ‘28

Dylan Drongsen ‘26

Zeinab Faraj ‘28 Eli Fastif ‘26

Sarvesh Prabhu ‘28

Jake Zajkowski ‘26 Lauren Hsu ‘28

Yaelin Hough ‘28

James Palm ‘27

Jane Abigail Locke ‘28

Lusine Boyadzhyan ‘27

Matthew Rentezelas ‘28

Sports Board

Dylan Graf ‘28

Sam Kimball ‘27

Anika Kolanu ‘25

Paul Kurgan ‘27

Kyle Chun ‘28 Bhavya Anoop ‘27

Val Kim ‘28

Angelina Tang '28

Kristie To '28

Max Troiano ’28

Rohith Tsundupalli ’28

Rowan Wallin ’28

Taehee Oh ’27

Sofa Principe ’26

Christine Savino J.D. ’28

Avery Wang ’28

Nick Wilson ‘26 Sophia Arnold ‘26 President Michael Kotlikoff

Nicholas York ‘27

Rafaella Gonzalez ‘26 Sophia Romanov Imber ‘28

Pen May Fang ‘28

Alexis Rogers ‘28

Avery Sohn ‘28

Adam Vasserman ‘25 Tomas Vollaro ‘27

Gillian White ‘28

Marissa Gaut ‘27

Andrea Kim ‘28

Lifestyle Board

Chloe Asack ‘26

Kitty Zhang ‘28

Matthew Cheung ‘26

Scott Jaschik ’85 Sam Roberts ’68

Mark Underberg ’77

Brad Edmondson ’81

Michael Morisy ’07

Andrew Morse ’96

Rebecca Shoval ’08

Gabriel Levin ’26

Current Cornell Sun & Sun Alumni Association Employees & Contractors

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As We Move Forward

As Cornell comes back from the holidays, we at The Sun are opening a new chapter in 2025. As the oldest continuously independent student newspaper in the country, we want to give our gratitude to you, our readers, for ushering us into a new year. Without the students, professors and community members like you who read the pages of our paper, none of our work would ever be possible.

Every day, the objective writers and editors of The Sun work, write and research so we can show the student body an unvarnished vision of Cornell. Our writers dig deeper than the official narratives that our University shows to the public because, as young journalists, we think our peers deserve nothing less than the absolute truth. We hold our institution accountable by bringing the Cornell community reporting that dives deep into the inner workings of our University.

While our news writers work to unveil and uncover relevant stories, our subjective writers strive to articulate the voice of the community. We go to work every day so Cornell and its administration can hear the concerns of the students, professors, alumni and others. Over the last year, we have amplified community perspectives about free speech, protest, mental health, governmental oversight, corruption and race. Administration listens to the voices in the pages of The Sun — you can see it in their statements and actions. As a 144-year-old stakeholder in Ithaca, we won’t ever stop fighting to share the perspectives, stories and concerns of those who keep this campus alive. We hope that you will continue to join us in this fight.

At the end of the day we are here to support all of you, our readers. You drive us and Cornell forward. You give our school its shining reputation. You force us all to live up to our institutional promises. Keep fighting for the right thing, for change in our society and for a better Cornell. We’ll join you.

Can (Lucy) Cao ‘26 Rachel Eisenhart ‘27 Stephan Menasche ‘28 Lillian Wang ‘28

Tseng ‘27

Korniczky ‘28 Karlie McGann ‘27

Graphics Board

— The Editorial Board

Henry Schechter

Henry Schechter is the Opinion Editor on the Cornell Sun’s 142nd Editorial Board. He is a government student in the College of Arts and Sciences. His column “Onward,” deals with politics, government, and how they come to bear in Ithaca. He can be reached at hschechter@cornellsun.com.

You Poured Your Paint on the Wrong Guy

Andrew Dickson White, the first president of Cornell University whose statue is now covered in fake blood, was an impressive figure. State Senator in New York; United States Ambassador to Germany, then Russia, then Germany again; co-founder of our University.

But sometime early this morning, a group of pro-Palestinian protesters vandalized the A.D. White statue on the Arts Quad. To me, their crime shows a laziness to not understand the college community they are a part of and seek to shape. This group of protesters has resorted to looking for attention instead of any meaningful change.

What makes A.D. White an admirable historical figure isn’t his titles or his accolades. He stands apart from many of the exclusionary, old-fashioned educators that permeated early American academia because of his attitude towards change: many today would likely have labeled him a progressive, a reformer.

White wrote urging for Black Americans to become full United States citizens. He championed conflict thesis, a scientific approach that looked at the tensions between religion and science. He criticized overly dogmatic Christianity. And he co-founded one of America’s first co-educational, multi-racial universities, Cornell. White was a forward thinker — his legacy shows that his work was pointed towards equality.

Today, the defacement of the A.D. White statue on the Arts Quad shows Cornell’s group of pro-Palestinian activists is more concerned with pulling off a shoddily constructed publicity stunt than any realistic change. Their unintentionally ironic choice of a victim is telling.

Well over a year ago, I wrote a column criticizing the anti-Israel graffiti that pro-Palestinian activists had sprayed all over our campus. At the time, I recognized activists’ enthusiasm for making change in the world, but criticized their breaking the law to make a point. At the time, I saw the graffiti as more of an emotional lashing-out in the wake of Oct. 7th than a purely malicious act of criminality. At the time, I gave them the benefit of the doubt. The protesters no longer deserve that benefit.

Today’s graffiti is different from that of three semesters ago; it’s not an emotional expression nor a

campaign of civil disobedience. It’s simply a criminal act that’s telling of how Cornell’s pro-Palestinian activists now approach protest. And it’s an example of how campus protesters, protected by the bubble of academia, can forget the limits of their academic freedom.

Academic freedom, which A.D. White stood firmly behind, does not extend much further than academic discussion. Academic freedom is meant to provide us students a way to express our true, deep thoughts and analyses without fear of repercussion. It’s not a blank check to express ourselves however we’d like or deface whatever property we want. Because that’s not how the world outside of Cornell works — when you step off of this campus, the real world is far less understanding of aggressive expression in the form of criminal acts that disrupt the functioning of society. If that A.D. White statue had been government property for example, the vandals could have landed in jail for up to ten years. Cornell might still press charges. Our academic freedom is meant to teach us to defend ideas we care about against a torrent of negativity and contrarianism that flows through the outside world. It’s meant to prepare us to say what we think and stand by it until we’re convinced otherwise. When protesters take that freedom to mean they can act however they want outside the classroom, they betray the development of not only their causes but also their future selves.

Anonymously pouring paint on and defacing the statue of a man who spent time incorporating equality into education is a low blow and reveals deep cracks in the mission of the Coalition for Mutual Liberation, Cornell’s main group of pro-Palestinian protesters. After over a year of protest, an abandoned encampment, the shutdown of a career fair and now this, the group of activists’ actions have simply become petulant. They lack realistic goals. After no results from the administration and a new ceasefire in Gaza, CML continues down its same path, now more aggressively, and hopes for a change that isn’t coming. If CML saw themselves as real activists, they would disobey civilly, respect academic freedom and create some realistic goals for themselves. For now at least, the activists should do a little research on who they’re defacing.

President Michael Kotlikoff

Michael Kotlikof is the interim president and former provost of Cornell University. His two year term as president began in July of 2024. His ofce can be reached at president@cornell.edu.

Cornell’s Energy Transition

Last year, 2024 has now entered the history books as not only yet another “warmest year on record,” but also as the first year with an average annual temperature over the key climate threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre industrial levels. The impact of human-caused planetary warming is continuing to accelerate, and with it comes the urgency of decarbonizing our energy system. As we begin 2025, I would like to take the opportunity to share an update on our own energy transition at Cornell, and some of its unique complexities and opportunities. Cornell is committed to eliminating carbon emissions from its energy usage. Achieving this goal in a rapidly changing energy landscape in a manner that truly eliminates emissions, rather than simply shifting responsibility for them, is a complex and challenging problem. For example, a seemingly obvious measure, like covering campus roofs with solar panels, would meet only one to two percent of our annual demand — and would be less efficient, more expensive and more difficult to maintain, than the large-scale solar farms that we help to develop through long-term contracts. Achieving our goal of net-zero campus operations requires a holistic approach within the context of our campus infrastructure and, particularly, our place in the New York power grid. Cornell’s energy consumption, broadly, falls into three categories: heat (by far the largest category), cooling and electricity. In the long term, the most promising way for us to meet our energy goals is Earth Source Heat: a game-changing technology with the potential to meet cold-climate heating needs with less electricity than other options and without the use of refrigerants (the most potent greenhouse gases). Combining Earth Source Heat with our existing, highly efficient Lake Source Cooling system (which uses no refrigeration equipment and only the power needed to move water through the pipes) would have the lowest electrical demand, the lowest carbon impact and would best support the successful and equitable transition of the state’s electric grid to clean energy. Data from our experimental borehole indicate that the temperature two miles below our campus is sufficient for our heating needs, but we now need to ensure our ability to pump the necessary quantity of water through the rock at that depth and return it to the surface at the necessary temperature. This project is especially significant because it would demonstrate the broader feasibility of this technology in our region — with, potentially, a much greater impact on climate change than we could achieve just by eliminating our own carbon emissions. For this reason, Cornell has made major investments to prove the feasibility of earth source heat in our region.

While we are optimistic about the future of Earth Source Heat, we are also realistic. This project is not a guaranteed solution, and it will take time — time that we are spending researching other possibilities, including shallow geoexchange, sewer heat recovery and other heat recovery technologies. From a carbon emissions standpoint, however, moving buildings from our existing highly efficient district energy system to

individual, electricity-based alternatives will not reduce our reliance on carbon-emitting fuels. To understand why this is the case, it is important to understand the system we have in place now, particularly in the context of the state’s electrical grid, and what impact specific changes would have on net emissions.

Cornell’s highly efficient Combined Heating and Power Plant, built in 2010, has two gas-fired turbines that drive electric generators, and whose waste heat is captured and channeled, in the form of steam, throughout campus via miles of pipes. The net emissions of this district energy system — which combines the efficiencies of Lake Source Cooling with those of our combined heat and power plant — are comparable to those of a heat pump system connected to the New York state electric grid. Once the impact of the refrigerants used in heat pumps is factored in, our current system is actually more efficient. Until the entire grid is clean, the emissions from the fossil-fuel power plants that would ramp up to provide the electricity needed for single-building heat pump systems at Cornell would be higher than the emissions created through the use of our existing system, even without considering the carbon cost of manufacturing and shipping all of that new equipment. Any transition to zero-carbon emissions through electrifying heat must recognize the fact that the generation of electricity in New York state still relies substantially on fossil fuels to meet new loads, and will likely not transition to their elimination for well over a decade. Cornell is actively building solar power to add to the electrical grid, with current agreements that equal about 20 percent of our annual campus load, and the remaining 80 percent under contract and expected to be online by 2030. But — and this is a crucial point — despite the move of our upstate grid to clean energy sources, our state’s overall demand for electricity is rising faster than clean power sources can be built and brought online. Thus, any additional demands to the grid now will result, for the foreseeable future, in grid-connected gas-fired plants increasing their electricity generation. To have a real impact on our state’s overall emissions, we need to find ways to heat and power our campus that don’t add to the burden on the state’s grid. As we continue researching the best way to heat our campus, we are also investing in reductions to our power consumption (for example, through our retrofit of the Biotechnology Building) and upgrading our existing infrastructure for the coming transition from fossil fuels. In order to move away from gas to the lower-temperature heat generated by renewable sources, we will need to change our distribution and building systems from steam to hot water. This work is already well underway, and all of our new buildings and major renovations, including the North Campus Residential Expansion project that opened in 2021, incorporate hot water heating design as standard. As Carl Becker once noted, “Fact-finding is more effective than fault-finding.” If we are ever to reach a sustainable future, we must remain laser focused on the facts: following science and the evidence, as we seek the best possible solutions on our rapidly warming planet.

SC I ENCE & TECH

SCIENCE COMMENTARY | What to Know About the Fires Burning in LA — And How Our Community Should Help

By SIMRAN LABORE Sun Contributor

Whether you’ve been scrolling through apocalyptic images of ruined towns on social media or reading relentless headlines about the devastating fires in Los Angeles, the tragic start to this new year serves as a grim reminder of the mounting global climate crisis and a chilling glimpse of what might be to come.

The Palisades Fire — one of six major fires in the Los Angeles area fueled by a merciless combination of hurricane-force Santa Ana winds, low humidity and dry vegetation — is now the most destructive in the region’s history, ranking as one of the costliest wildfire disasters in modern in U.S. history. With damages currently estimated at $250 billion and rising, it has far surpassed the previous record-holder, the Camp Fire, which caused $11.8 billion in losses.

“As the magnitude of climate disasters surges year over year, the insurance industry faces mounting challenges with rising costs and escalating risks.”

Simran LaBore ’27

As the magnitude of climate disasters surges year over year, the insurance industry faces mounting challenges with rising costs and escalating risks. This has left countless families in limbo, struggling to navigate a future where their homes — often their largest investment — are deemed too risky to insure. Between 2020 and 2022, insurers

‘A

declined to renew 2.8 million homeowner policies statewide, including 531,000 in Los Angeles County. For many residents, this means grappling with the stark reality of potentially losing their homes, livelihoods, and sense of security, all while confronting the growing threat of wildfires. For some, this marks their second or even third confrontation with devastating fires — a number expected to dramatically climb in response to the effects of climate change. But the impact of these fires extends far beyond financial figures. Hundreds of thousands of residents have been forced to evacuate as the flames consume homes, neighborhoods and cherished landmarks, scorching a combined area larger than Manhattan. Among those affected are members of the

Cornell community who are contending with the devastation as their families’ homes, businesses and memories are reduced to ash.

Following New York, California is home to the second-largest number of Cornell students, with several hundred estimated to be from the Los Angeles area. Whether it’s your own family, a childhood friend or a classmate, nearly all of us know someone whose life has been upended by these fires.

As the winds abate and the fires near containment, here are actionable steps to support the broader Los Angeles region and Cornell community members impacted by these events. The Los Angeles Times has outlined several ways to contribute, and Will Cano ’26, an intern at MyRadar, has compiled a detailed list of resources and

initiatives for those looking to help. If you’re seeking additional ways to take action on campus to address the climate emergency, consider engaging with Cornell on Fire, a student-led initiative dedicated to promoting sustainability and advocating for climate justice.

“The Los Angeles Times has outlined several ways to contribute, and Will Cano ’26, an intern at MyRadar, has compiled a detailed list of resources and initiatives.”

Simran LaBore ’27

Please consider exploring these resources to assist those in need meaningfully. Whether volunteering your time, contributing monetarily or simply pledging support, commit to making a difference. You can donate to organizations like the California Fire Foundation, which provides financial and emotional assistance to firefighters and families, or the Red Cross, which supports displaced residents. Local animal shelters often need volunteers or supplies to care for pets separated from their owners, while food pantries and shelters welcome donations of non-perishable goods, clothing, and hygiene products. Additionally, take time to check in on friends, staff and community members who may be affected — offering emotional support can be just as impactful.

Simran LaBore can be reached at sl2852@cornell.edu.

Fountain of Research’: Cornell’s Plant Pathology Herbarium Enables Novel Mycology Research

By TANIA HAO Sun Contributor

Founded in 1907 by Cornell mycologist former Prof. Herbert H. Whetzel, plant pathology, the Cornell Plant Pathology Herbarium, or CUP, is the fourth largest museum of fungi in North America, home to nearly 400,000 fungal specimens.

Mycology, the scientific study of fungi, is a rapidly developing field. According to Teresa Iturriaga, the curator of CUP, only about five percent of the estimated ten million species of fungi have been discovered. Herbaria like CUP are systematically organized collections of preserved plant diseases and fungal specimens that provide mycologists — scientists who study fungi — with resources about plant diseases, biodiversity, climate change and more.

CUP primarily serves as a lending library, exchanging fungi with mycologists around the world for use in research in systematics, evolution and ecology. The herbarium holds more than seven thousand type specimens, and they are collected both locally in Upstate New York, as well as internationally from regions such as Brazil, Hawaii and China.

For Iturriaga, a key component of her daily work involves preparing specimens for lending at the request of other researchers.

“A herbarium serves as a fountain of research, like a library of specimens for research purposes,” Iturriaga said. “I exchange the specimens that people need to do their research. At the same time, for my own research, I ask for specimens from other herbaria across

the world.”

After a CUP specimen is acquired, it is pressed with cardboard until it is dried and flat, according to Bob Dirig, the former curator of CUP and current honorary curator of lichens. Each dried specimen is then assigned an identification number and placed in an archival box or envelope, ready to be added to the herbarium.

The specimen’s data is also uploaded to MyCoPortal, an online database documenting the distribution of fungi across North America. CUP is currently digitizing its collections, which requires scanning the herbarium’s extensive index card catalog and photographing all of its type specimens.

CUP enters hundreds of specimens into its collection each year, including newly discovered species of fungi. Because ideas about a species of fungus can change as more specimens are found or as mycologists learn more about the species’s evolutionary relationships, the process of naming a fungus is crucial for its classification, according to CUP poster guides.

Mycologists at Cornell have given names to hundreds of new fungal species over the last century. Kathie Hodge, the director of CUP, personally named the fungi Hypocrella hirsuta — “the hairy one”— as well as Harposporium cerberi — “for the hound that guards the gates of Hell.”

Fungus specimens serve as valuable markers of environmental change, according to CUP guides. The spread of plant diseases over time and space, changes in fungal species biodiversity and fluctuations in geographic distributions of fungi over time can all be

indicators of climate change.

According to CUP volunteer Mary McKellar, mycology represents “the best snapshot in time of the natural history of a particular location. It allows you to examine how things have changed and how human activity has impacted the natural system.”

CUP is also working on a major project to digitize the herbarium’s collections, making them accessible to a broader audience. The collections at CUP date back to 1907, when Whetzel, the first chair of the Cornell Plant Pathology department, established a department herbarium, donating from his personal collection.

Through the current project, thousands of Atkinson’s photographs and pages of notes have been database and scanned for digital browsing, and are available to the public through the CUP photograph collection website. Finding individual specimens and data in Atkinson’s collections was previously impossible because of the old taxonomic system of organization, but the digitization of the collections will allow users to easily find any specimen.

The digitization project also encompasses CUP’s lichen collections. In addition to mushrooms, CUP also holds an extensive collection of lichens, originating locally from New York State as well as Latin America, Antarctica, Madagascar and more. CUP is currently working with many other herbaria to build a database of North American lichen specimens.

The CUP staff hope that the herbarium and its resources can become

more well-known to the public. The herbarium also holds an open house every fall, where CUP staff, students and volunteers give personalized tours of the collections. Each spring, the herbarium holds its first morel contest, where contestants race to be the first to find a true Morchella fungus within fifteen miles of Ithaca.

“I understand a lot of people don’t really know about this place,” Dirig said. “But it’s wonderful — the access and parking and everything. It’s completely accessible to people in a way that’s hard to imagine.”

Tania Hao can be reached at th696@cornell.edu.

Fascinating fungi | Mycology, the study of fungi, is a rapidly growing scientific field.

Fierce fires | Wildfires swept across Los Angeles in early 2025, incurring massive losses for the local and national community.

CHEUNG / THE NEW YORK TMES

New Year, Newer Resolutions

By Tiffany Ma

Tiffany Ma is a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences. She can be reached at tcm96@cornell.edu.

January 2025. It feels almost surreal to say, or type, out loud. With the close of one chapter comes the allure of a blank page. I know what you’re thinking: flipping the calendar doesn’t magically transform your life overnight. I used to be a cynic about it too. But this year, I’m determined to give “new year” the weight it deserves.

After all, it’s a big year for me. This time, instead of the familiar trek back to Ithaca, I’ll be starting school abroad — all the way across the pond. With many unknowns ahead of me this year, I feel compelled to focus on what I can control, starting with those notorious New Year’s resolutions.

Let me preface this by saying: I won’t be setting myself up for failure with the usual suspects — hitting the gym, waking up at the crack of dawn or committing to unattainable regimens. Instead, I’m giving myself the grace of resolutions I might even enjoy pursuing.

1. Say yes to everything

A month ago, someone gave me a piece of advice that reframed how I see college, friendships, relationships — everything. In fact, his words replay in my mind every time I’m tempted to stay in, settled in the familiar warmth of my room.

I’ll admit it: I’m definitely guilty of pretending to be swamped with work in order to ditch plans and watch Sex and the City in the comfort of my own bed. But in 2025, I’m challenging myself to take the plunge — whether it’s meeting new people, trying something out of my comfort zone or just saying yes even when

it feels easier to say no.

2. Less lazy days

Having spent the better part of three years in Ithaca, I’ve fallen into a seasonal hibernation mode. When the mornings are pitch black and the sidewalks are treacherously icy, it’s hard to resist the urge to lounge in sweats and take an extra hour in bed. In fact, I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve worn anything but sweats to class.

This semester, though, studying abroad will be my motivation to approach every day with a little more intentionality. I’m determined to be a little more put together for class, feel better about even the mundane moments and use this time to romanticize my day-to-day life. It’s time to trade lazy days for ones that feel more deliberate, starting with putting just a little more effort into my mornings.

3. Unplug

Okay, this one will definitely be a challenge. I’m certainly not proud to admit that I’ve clocked way too many hours on TikTok in 2024. While a full social media detox would be near-impossible, I think it’s realistic to set the goal of just less screen time.

I’ve already been scolded by more than a couple of professors on my unceasing attachment to my phone. And after all, I’ve learned firsthand that nothing good comes from excessive doomscroll -ing and Instagram stalking. And absolutely nothing good comes from being on my phone past a decent hour. So here’s to 2025: the year I return to my roots as an English major and trade a few late-night scrolling sessions for the

pages of a good book.

4. Become Better at Mementos

Recently, I realized how little physical documentation I have of my trips and memories. Too often, I’ve relied on my camera roll as my only archive. This year, I want to do better.

I’m aiming to collect mementos that actually mean something — ticket stubs, postcards, vintage trinkets. I want a box filled with memories and a scrapbook that tells a story. Because one day, I’ll want to remember every moment of my twenties, knowing these are the years I’ll recount forever.

5. Out with the old, in with the new

We all have that one phone number — or a few — that we linger over a little too long when the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve. Well, this year, my resolution is to delete those numbers for good.

I refuse to let my camera roll and contact list look like a graveyard. Some things — and people — are better off left behind in 2024.

Life goes on, and this year I’m making room for new experiences by hitting delete on the old ones.

While I can’t guarantee I’ll stick to every resolution, I can promise this: I’ll give it my best shot — and maybe that’s enough. After all, isn’t the act of setting goals a little like saying yes to life? And who knows?

By the upcoming December, I might just surprise myself.

Happy late New Year’s, from me to you.

A Review of Lilo’s and E-Life Market

By Maia Mehring

Imagine a sushi roll in the form of a burrito, bubble tea you can customize into oblivion and aisles packed with flavored snacks you’ve likely never seen before. Luckily for you, these treats are all concentrated in one place. Located at 410 Eddy Street, Lilo’s and E-Life Market might just be the new place to frequent for grab-and-go food and snacks.

Lilo’s is known for its specialty rice rolls, filled with a variety of options like black pepper steak and unagi (eel), priced between $7.95 and $10.95. The kitchen also offers “healthy power bowls,” featuring toppings such as grilled chicken, Taiwanese sausage and seared pepper tuna, with prices ranging from $11.95 to $13.95. To complement the dishes, homemade dressings are available, including Thai mango, toasted sesame, honey dijon and teriyaki.

The restaurant-esque half of Lilo’s and E-Life also offers a plethora of milk and fruit teas. Commonly known as boba tea, a drink that originated in Taiwan in the early 1980s, is nothing short of a treat. Whether you choose to go the milky or fruity route, bubble tea drinks are packed with flavorful surprises ranging from classic tapioca balls to adzuki (red) beans.

Finally, the E-Life market offers a wide variety of snacks to peruse through. This includes multiple brands, flavors and shapes of chips, as well as some sweet treats and frozen foods. Throughout the aisles of the market are also items such as soda packages and instant noodles.

I braved the cold front that has overtaken Ithaca this week to test out what the Market has to offer. Here are my thoughts.

My approach was to purchase somewhat of a full meal, tasting items across three categories: food, beverage and snack. I started out with boba tea. After carefully examining the menu, I decided on the Original Milk Tea. Predictable? Yes. Boring? Maybe. But it’s a classic, and if Lilo’s wasn’t able to master it, there would be cause for concern.

Granted, the drink is hard to mess up, as its contents are black tea, milk and tapioca balls. But, I had high expectations, and I am happy to say that they were met. Left to choose the amount of sugar and ice I wanted in my drink, I settled on 70 percent sugar and regular ice. For me, these were perfect choices, as the drink wasn’t a headache-inducing level of sweetness and the ice preserved my drink during my 25-minute walk home. Sometimes, I even feel like too much ice takes away from the inherent and

necessary milkiness of the drink, so I was glad it wasn’t overdone. I wish there was a little bit more tapioca, but this could likely be solved easily upon request. For these reasons, I rate the drink a nine out of ten and I am tempted to go back and experiment with the fruity drinks and add-in options. Next, I moved on to the star of the show: The Grilled Chicken Roll. Wrapped in purple rice and seaweed, the sushi roll-burrito hybrid item was stuffed with goodies. The tender grilled chicken, fresh lettuce, crunchies (presumably fried batter, as found on tempura), oshinko (a Japanese pickled vegetable) and shredded dried chicken all led to twists in taste with every bite. When given three dressing options at the counter, I asked for a recommendation and was advised to include mayonnaise in my roll. And wow, was this the move. The mayonnaise added an unexpected element of sweetness, creating an even more dynamic experience. My roommate (who is perfect, but also indisputably a picky eater) even had a few bites and was impressed by what at first looked like a Disney Parks restaurant’s attempt at a purple-themed meal of some sorts. Finally, my snack. I went basic with Lay’s potato chips, but decided to try the brand’s seaweed flavor, one I had never seen in stores before. Expecting an extra salty chip, I paired it with my meal. To my surprise, my first bite was sweet, kind of like how a barbeque Lay’s chip is. I tasted hints of seaweed flavoring upon more bites, however, and the residue left on my fingers afterward definitely looked as though it had been caused by snacking on actual seaweed. Because I was pleasantly surprised by this chip, I am giving it an eight-and-half out of ten. The experience in the market itself was pleasant as well. The neon signs, colorful products and green modern dining area all made for an exciting and stimulating couple of minutes. Honestly, it was a great break from the regularly scheduled eat, sleep, study, repeat pattern involving all of three different changes in scenery (at best). The cashiers were super attentive and friendly, as well as accommodating of my allergies.

All this to say that Lilo’s and E-Life Market may just be the perfect little adventure heading into this new semester. Grab a jacket, take your friends and explore all the market has to offer. Don’t be fooled by its proximity to Level B: it is truly a place of relaxation, fun vibes and, most importantly, good food.

KIRA WALTER / LIFESTYLE EDITOR

MAIA MEHRING / SUN LIFESTYLE STAFF WRITER

Maia Mehring is a sophomore in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations. She can be reached at mjm743@cornell.edu.

Collegetown Dispensary’s Mission to ‘Educate People With Cannabis’

By ATTICUS JOHNSON and ALMER YU Sun Contributors

Jan. 22 — Legal cannabis is coming closer than ever to Cornell students. Collegetown’s first legal dispensary opened its doors in October. Collegetown Dispensary strives to provide sustainable and local products, including from Ithaca Organics and Florist Farms.

According to the dispensary’s general manager, Rachel Mitchell, the store aims to “educate people with cannabis” about its medicinal benefits and promote “sustainable cannabis.” Sustainable cannabis must contain low amounts of pesticides, be grown in-state and pass New York’s rigorous testing standards.

Mitchell found her two suppliers, Ithaca Organics and Florist Farms, through “mutual connections.” She tried their product and approved of it.

“We don’t really want to sell anything to people that isn’t something we would smoke ourselves,” Mitchell said.

Collegetown Dispensary has competition from several other stores that have opened since William Jane became Ithaca’s first dispensary in March 2023.

“Variety is the spice of life,” Mitchell said. “We have many products others don’t, and I train my budtenders in information that took me three or four years to learn.”

Ithaca Organics

Cheryl Sinowski, a grower for Ithaca Organics, brings expertise from California’s Emerald Triangle — a region renowned as the nation’s largest producer of cannabis — to New York’s unique growing conditions.

“My entire career, I was indoctrinated in sustainable, regenerative cannabis growing,” Sinowski said. “I was taught how to grow in living soil beds in California, so I actually brought some of that knowledge back here when I moved.”

At Ithaca Organics, cannabis is cultivated under greenhouse covers to combat the state’s challenging humidity levels and protect plants from environmental contaminants. The farm employs innovative methods such as growing in living soil beds and utilizing cover crops, which minimize carbon footprint.

“Everything we do is about producing the highest quality cannabis. The happier the root systems are, the more terpenes plants will produce,” Sinowski said, referring to the com-

pounds that impact the product’s potency. Ithaca Organics prides itself on producing cannabis with “loud noses,” an industry term for strong, complex scents.

The farm additionally maintains close relationships with local dispensaries, allowing them to share knowledge specific to their products.

“They are our heart and soul,” Sinowski said. “Because we can just pop in all the time, … they know our story and farm practices so much better. That makes them more able to pass that knowledge down to the customers.”

For newcomers, Sinowski recommends their “Colorado Chem” pre-rolls as an affordable introduction to their products. The farm’s latest offering, “Strawberry Bubbles,” is also promised to be “as good as it sounds.”

Florist Farms

Karli Miller-Hornick ’12, co-founder of Florist Farms, entered the industry because of her passion for agriculture. Florist Farms — based in Cortland, New York — has been USDA-certified organic for the last 10 years, growing over 100 varieties of vegetables and more than 15 varieties of cannabis. While CBD cannabis cannot be organically certified due to federal regulations, the farm says it applies the same sustainable practices across all crops.

According to Miller-Hornick, their sustainable practices include using beneficial insects and interplanting beneficial species. These insects include ladybugs and wasps, which combat pests naturally — avoiding the need for pesticides entirely. The farm also implements crop rotation, allowing fields to rest in three-year cycles across its 200-acre property. Florist Farms runs its facility on 100 percent solar power and is currently exploring sustainable packaging to reduce the significant plastic waste in the cannabis industry.

“Gone are the days of just getting a little baggie from your friends. You actually get to learn a lot about your cannabis.”

Karli Miller-Hornick ’12

Miller-Hornick says that the farm’s proximity — just 30 minutes away — ensures a fresh product for Cornell students.

“We love working with the stores that are specifically in our backyards because we know that it’s our friends and our family that we get to support and provide medicine for those in our local community,” Miller-Hornick said.

The farm prides itself on adhering to New York’s rigorous testing standards in order to ensure that customers are receiving a clean product.

Miller-Hornick also emphasized the educational opportunities that legal cannabis offers, as Florist Farms strives to teach customers about not only their products, but also the importance of shopping local. For students seeking focus and mental clarity, Miller-Hornick recommends Cannabigerol, also known as CBG, which is a cannabinoid known for its unique effects on the mind.

“Gone are the days of just getting a little baggie from your friends,” Miller-Hornick said. “You actually get to learn a lot about your cannabis.”

With its commitment to sustainability and local partnerships, Collegetown Dispensary is excited to open its doors to reshape how Cornell students and the broader community experience cannabis.

Atticus Johnson and Almer Yu can be reached at aj639@cornell.edu and afy8@cornell.edu.

Collegetown cannabis | Collegetown Dispensary sources local and aims to educate customers on sustainability.

ADRIENNE GRUNWALD / THE NEW YORK TIMES

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)

Touch Grass by Ximena Balli ’27

‘Cornellians Are Everywhere’: Tony Chen ’12 Brings Alumni Together With Over 33K LinkedIn Followers

By JANE HAVILAND Sun Staff Writer

Jan. 11 — From participating in an alumni knitting club to organizing worldwide Cornell Club Zoom mixers reaching hundreds of Cornellians at a time, Tony Chen ’12 has made it his mission to help the Cornell alumni network flourish.

With a goal of “Cornell #1 by 2050!!” — according to Chen’s LinkedIn headline — Chen organizes hundreds of Cornell alumni gatherings each year, with an outreach spanning over 33,000 followers. He welcomes individuals to his account with the bio: “I’m trying to meet every Cornellian, and connect everyone with each other.”

Time on the Hill

Before Chen rose to Cornell fame, he began his collegiate experience at the College of Engineering in 2008.

Chen recalls his undergraduate experience at Cornell with happiness. He said he loved living in Risley Hall throughout his junior and senior years, appreciating the arts focus cultivated by students in the residence hall.

Even though he was an engineering student, Chen enjoyed the opportunity to dabble in the arts and meet people with various passions by living in Risley.

“That is the good thing about Cornell,” Chen said. “You get to meet all kinds of people.”

Chen was also a member of the Cornell Speech and Debate Program and a part of the Cornell Running Club and conducted research with the sociology department as an undergraduate. After graduating with a degree in applied physics and a minor in law and society and starting his career in software, Chen immersed himself in the

alumni sphere.

Spreading the ‘Cornell Spirit Like Johnny Appleseed’

One of the first alumni experiences Chen was involved in was with Cornell Cares — a volunteer event held twice a year in which alumni ranging all over the globe participate in community-based volunteering. Chen recalled his experience volunteering at a New Jersey food bank, a parking lot cleanup and diaper banks.

Chen quickly became a member of the Cornell Club of Washington post-graduation, attending events like the young alumni holiday party and the mid-Atlantic crab feast. He assumed leadership roles in CCW within a few short years. As the director, Chen organized monthly restaurant meetings with members, a knitting club and a run club.

Chen credits CCW for teaching him how to market events and connect with others.

“There’s all kinds of leadership roles. I always tell people ‘You’ve got to volunteer with the local club,’ because you get to build up all of these skills,” Chen said.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic began, both groups Chen was involved in had many events planned, all to be scrapped in 2020 shutdowns. The Cornell Alumni Affairs team began to connect various Cornell Clubs, amid uncertainty on how to organize events with social distancing mandates in place.

Shortly following a mass Cornell Club Zoom call organized by Alumni Affairs, Chen was connected with Cornellians from all over the world and began organizing weekly Zoom meetings to solve The New York Times’ daily crossword puzzle, knit and converse from miles

away.

These Zoom meetings were coined Cornell Global Mixers by Chen, and still occur today. Chen explained that at the height of the pandemic, “the biggest one we had was 422 Cornellians.”

Amid the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Cornell Asian Alumni Association reached out to Chen in regards to boosting attendance at events and participation within the association. When pandemic shutdowns decreased, Chen not only attended the Cornell Asian Alumni Association’s Ithaca and New York City events but also traveled to Europe and Asia to support this alumni network.

“Our alumni and alumni groups have never had this kind of exposure,” wrote Matt Palumbo ’83, president emeritus of Cornell Asian Alumni Association, in an email to The Sun. “Tony Chen plants and spreads the Cornell spirit like Johnny Appleseed.”

Chen was also introduced to the Continuous Reunion Club, which encourages alumni to attend a Cornell reunion every year.

To continue reading this article, please visit www.cornellsun.com.

Three Sisters, Two Sports, One Campus: Meet The Dwyers

By ZEINAB FARAJ Sun Staff Writer

Jan. 10 — At Cornell, it is not uncommon to meet a pair of siblings. You may even know someone whose parent or other relative attended. But a case of three student-athlete sisters playing at the same Division I school in the same academic year? That is truly one in a million.

Meet Lucy Dwyer ’25, Grace Dwyer ’26 and Rose Dwyer ’28 — all proud Cornell athletes and sisters. Hailing from Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, Grace and Rose are both defenders on the women’s hockey team while Lucy plays attack for the women’s lacrosse team.

The Road to Cornell

The Dwyers come from a history of both athletic and academic excellence. Their father, Tom Dwyer, played ice hockey and lacrosse for Brown University and their mother, Lynn Dwyer, played field hockey and lacrosse at Harvard University. The sisters said that their parents met through lacrosse after college.

“Sports have always been a bond for us as a family and they are something we have always been committed to,” Rose said. “It is our happy place.”

The sisters grew up with sports. From skating on the ice together to playing small, competitive games of hockey, lacrosse or field hockey, the Dwyers were united by athletics.

While the sisters’ upbringing was largely centered around sports, their love for athletics developed intrinsically.

“[Our parents] never really forced us into sports, we just really enjoyed and valued them,” Grace said. “We knew that our parents were going to support us in anything we did.”

The sisters continued to find themselves playing on the same field as they grew up. During Grace’s freshman year of high school, she played lacrosse with then-junior Lucy, winning a state championship. Later that year, Grace and Lucy also played field hockey together.

A couple of years later, Grace competed with her young-

er sister. Rose and Grace played soccer together in high school and trained together on the ice, but Cornell marks their first opportunity to play ice hockey on the same team due to their different birth years.

After years of dedication and competition on the field and on the ice, the decision to continue their sports after school was an easy one. The sisters attributed the positive experiences their parents had playing college sports to their decision to make the jump to the collegiate level.

“We never got the opportunity to see our parents playing college sports but we saw how they had their best friends, great relationships and the lessons they learned carry into their parenting and work, so [we realized] it was important to play sports,” Lucy said.

In June of 2019, Lucy committed to play lacrosse at Cornell.

“I wanted a school where I could get the best opportunities from an elite university and lacrosse program,” Lucy said. “I loved the place and people when I visited.”

Grace landed on Cornell because of the positive culture –– and, of course, her sister.

“I felt like the ice hockey team was very connected to each other and to the coach. … Lucy already being committed there felt like a bonus,” Grace said.

Watching her sisters playing college sports at Cornell, Rose started to get to know the campus and when she officially visited, the coaches and team were a huge selling point to her.

“Cornell felt right and like home when I visited, so being able to play with Grace for two years on the same team was a bonus,” Rose said.

Tackling College Life Together

Now together at Cornell, the sisters feel more connected to each other than ever. Together, the sisters work on strength and conditioning, speed and off-ice training and enjoy getting lunch or dinner together.

“We try to find pockets of time in between our busy schedules to hang out together,” Grace said.

Lucy studies biology & society in the College of Arts and

Sciences. Grace is a part of the Dyson School of Applied Economics studying entrepreneurship and strategy. Rose is studying communication in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

This past semester, Lucy and Rose took an oceanography course, studying together outside of class.

To continue reading this article, please visit www. cornellsun.com.

Zeinab Faraj can be reached at zfaraj@cornellsun.com.

COURTESY OF TONY CHEN ’12

EVAN VOLKMAN / CORNELL WOMEN’S HOCKEY Sporting sisters | Rose Dwyer ’28, Lucy Dwyer ’25 and Grace Dwyer ’26 strike a pose together at media day.

Jane Haviland can be reached at jhaviland@cornellsun.com.

Caring Cornellian | Alumni organizer Tony Chen ’12 shares content to over 30K followers.

PR Pioneer and Former Trustee Dies at 97

Barbara Way Hunter ’49 founded the New York-based public relations agency HUNTER

By JANE HAVILAND Sun Staff Writer

Dec. 24 — Public relations innovator Barbara Way Hunter ’49 leaves a legacy of leadership, from serving as the women’s editor of The Cornell Daily Sun to founding her own firm. She died on Dec. 18 at the age of 97.

Hunter is known for her champion career in public relations as the founder and former chief executive officer of HUNTER PR, established in 1989. The public relations firm executes marketing campaigns in the media for top companies. One of the earliest companies to partner with HUNTER was Tabasco — still a client of the firm today.

Hunter was born on July 14, 1927, in Westport, New York. She attended Westport Central School, where she graduated as valedictorian of her 1945 class. Hunter’s connection to Cornell began before she was born. Her grandfather of the Class of 1885 was the first in her family to attend Cornell, and her parents met while attending the University, according to Hunter’s daughter, Victoria Gohl ’83.

Hunter graduated with a B.A. in government from the College of Arts and Sciences in 1949. As an undergraduate at Cornell, Hunter was greatly involved on campus, including at The Sun and in Greek life.

In her sophomore year, Hunter was rejected from The Sun staff. Reflecting on this experience in her grandson’s 2019 documentary A Life in PR, Hunter said “I was disappointed, but perhaps realized I hadn’t worked hard enough.” She applied a second time and became an official Sun staff writer, authoring pieces

to be featured in the women’s section.

Hunter was named the women’s editor from 1947 through 1949. Prior to World War I, The Sun did not feature women on the editorial board. By 1919, the role of “women’s editor” was introduced to oversee and edit stories written by women and featured in women’s-only sections of The Sun.

“[Hunter] claimed that her work on The Sun was what taught her true journalistic writing and secured her her first job in New York City at the Food Field Reporter,” wrote Gohl in an email to The Sun.

Hunter was also named president of her sorority, Kappa Kappa Gamma, in 1948. Gohl wrote that KKG “gave [Hunter] a social circle and home base on campus.”

Following her Cornell graduation and premier jobs, Hunter started her public relations career at Sally Dickson Associates — an early woman-founded firm in New York City — as a liaison between clients and the agency as an account executive. Shortly after, she became a food account executive at Dudley-Anderson-Yutzy, a public relations agency founded in 1908.

Prior to establishing her namesake agency, Hunter became president of D-A-Y when she and her sister, Jean Way Schoonover ’41, bought the agency in 1969. Nicknamed the “Sister Act” in the industry, Hunter and Schoonover were the first women to own and lead a national public relations agency, according to Hunter News.

At 62 years old, Hunter founded the New York-based public relations agency HUNTER, which continues to be a thriving communications firm.

Cornell Law’s First Female

Prof., Barald J.D. ’73, Dies at 76

By JANE

Jan. 17 — Patricia

Anne Barald J.D. ’73, the first woman to hold the position of a Cornell Law School professor, died on Dec. 28 at 76 years old. She is remembered for her mentorship efforts throughout her renowned legal profession.

Barald achieved countless accomplishments in her law career, including graduating at the top of her class from Cornell Law School and becoming the third woman partner at Covington & Burling LLP in Washington D.C.

From a young age, Barald performed well in her academics. Barald graduated valedictorian of both her junior high school and high school classes, according to her sister, Kate Barald.

“She never had a grade below A in any subject at any time in her academic career,” Kate Barald said. In her free time, Barald often tutored her peers in science and math, accord-

ing to her sister.

Barald attended Brown University and graduated summa cum laude and first in her class with a B.A. in English literature in 1970. She also graduated with an M.A. in English literature within her four years at Brown. While writing her master’s thesis, Barald began to take an interest in law when she read Charles Dickens’ Bleak House.

Barald began attending Cornell Law School in 1970. She was a member of the Cornell Law Review and became an editor. Barald graduated first of the J.D. Class of 1973 and was recognized by the Order of the Coif, an honor society granted to law students who graduate within the top 10 percent of their class.

Unusual for recent graduates, Barald was offered an assistant professor position at Cornell Law School by then-dean William Ray Forrester immediately following completing her law degree. While there had

In all of her leadership roles, Barbara worked to champion equality in the workplace. Her first move as principal of D-A-Y was to establish equal pay for both men and women in the firm, according to The Public Relations Society of America.

“My mom was a living example that you could do what you wanted as a woman if you just did the work,” Gohl wrote. “She believed if the work was good, you would rise.”

Hunter continued to influence the public relations field later in her career. She served as president of the New York Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America in 1980 and became the national president of PRSA in 1984. For her role in paving the way for women in the industry, along with active lead-

ership and commitment to the society, Hunter was awarded the PRSA Gold Throughout the same period, Hunter became a member of the Cornell Board of Trustees, which she served on from 1980 through 1985. Due to her role on the board, she not only attended Gohl’s graduation ceremony — she was also a part of it, which Gohl recalls as a very meaningful experience.

In 2023, HUNTER established the Barbara W. Hunter Trailblazer Award at the PRSA-NY to acknowledge pioneering women in the communications field.

To continue reading this article, please visit www.cornellsun.com.

Folk Singer Peter Yarrow ’59 Dies at 86

been a few instances of law students being offered jobs on faculty post-graduation, Cornell Law School had never hired a woman for a full-time position, according to a 1973 announcement of Barald’s position in The Sun.

Barald assumed her unprecedented role as the first woman on full-time faculty at the Law School for the fall semester of 1973. She was only 26, making her the youngest member of the faculty at the time, according to her sister. Barald began her career by teaching two first-year tort law courses.

“I remember her first Christmas dinner at home in West Hartford, [Connecticut] after becoming a faculty member,” Kate Barald said. “It was cut short because she had to grade over 100 torts exams.”

To continue reading this article, please visit www. cornellsun.com.

Jane Haviland can be reached at jhaviland@cornellsun.com.

ANGELINA

Jan. 7 — Peter Yarrow ’59 of the folk-music trio Peter, Paul and Mary died at 86 on Tuesday at his Upper West Side home in Manhattan. Yarrow co-wrote one of the group’s most popular songs, “Puff the Magic Dragon,” which was based on a poem written by an acquaintance he had met at Cornell.

Yarrow studied psychology at Cornell, where he was also an undergraduate teaching assistant who played guitar in an American folk literature course taught by former professor Harold Thompson, English, who retired in 1959. During lectures, Yarrow would lead the class in traditional songs.

After graduating, Yarrow returned to his hometown of New York City as a musician. It was there that he met Mary Travers and Noel Paul Stookey. Together, they formed the trio Peter, Paul and Mary.

The group became an overnight sensation. Their eponymous first album, Peter, Paul and Mary, in 1962 reached No. 1 on the Billboard charts; their second album, In the Wind, reached No. 4 and their third album, Moving, reached No. 1 again.

One of the trio’s most iconic songs, “Puff the Magic Dragon,” was released on their third album. It tells the tale of a boy and his dragon friend as they grow

apart, illustrating the loss of childhood innocence.

The song’s roots actually come from Yarrow’s time at Cornell. In 1959, then-freshman Lenny Lipton borrowed Yarrow’s typewriter to write a poem. Years later, Yarrow found the poem and reached out to Lipton, requesting permission to base a song on it and credit him for it. Lipton’s poem was itself inspired by an older poem written by Ogden Nash called “The Tale of Custard the Dragon.”

From there, the mythical lyrics of “Puff the Magic Dragon” would take on a life of its own, inspiring an animated television special and children’s books.

Peter, Paul and Mary were also wellknown for their involvement in progressive politics. In 1963, they performed on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial at the March on Washington, the site of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

Yarrow inspired millions as a performer and activist, but his legacy was tainted after he was accused of raping or inappropriately touching female minors in three separate incidents from 1967 and 1969.

To continue reading this article, please visit www.cornellsun.com.

Angelina Tang can be reached at atang@cornellsun.com.

COURTESY OF SAMARA MORMAR / HUNTER PUBLIC RELATIONS

Pragmatic pioneer | Barbara Way Hunter ’49 advocated for equal pay for men and women at D-A-Y.

Jane Haviland can be reached at jhaviland@ cornellsun.com.

HAVILAND Sun Staff Writer

By

TANG Sun Staff Writer

‘Ulysses’:

ASFI TIAS ARTS & CULTURE CONTRIBUTOR

Te Intricacy of James Joyce

Buildings constructed out of words, characters made with such complexity that they can jump out the pages and stories so vivid, it feels like one is reading an epic. These words describe James Joyce’s masterpiece Ulysses Ulysses follows three characters and their daily life over the course of one day, yet, the detailing of that day spans nearly 800 pages. One may wonder, how is it possible for an author to convey just a single day over so many pages? What is so fascinating about our characters that makes them compelling enough to be followed in such a seemingly ordinary journey? These questions result in exploring the beauty and intricacy of James Joyce’s writing.

Joyce has constructed an iconic book which is the front face of literary modernism. Set in 1904 Dublin, Joyce constructs his world with realism, yet his words throughout the chapters are quirky and expansive. What sets Ulysses apart from most novels is its literary construction. Each chapter is set up differently; for instance, one chapter is set up in the form of a stage play. Another is written like a romance novel, and another uses onomatopoeia and alliteration to create a musical rhythm. Other chapters are fully streams of consciousness of the characters, lacking punctuation and moving in erratic form from one thought to the next. This is what makes Ulysses so compelling, and so difficult to read.

Dubbed as one of the most difficult books to understand, Ulysses made a name for itself by breaking modern literary conventions throughout its chapters. It also employs reality to a degree that

touches upon taboo subjects of the time, usually provocative topics with sexual innuendos, crude humor and risquè plotlines. In fact, this is what caused the novel to get banned, censored and rewritten in the United States. It was considered too provocative and immodest for its time. It also piles up on allusions and references — the text itself is a treasure trove of references, from medieval historical facts to local slang. There are annotated versions available, and those show just the vast amount of references this book is filled with. Perhaps the most famous and overt allusion is the reference to Homer’s Odyssey

When examined, Ulysses is the Roman name for Odysseus, the hero of the Odyssey . The book follows the structure of the Odyssey , with the three characters representing Odysseus, his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus. However, the irony is that the plotline is the exact opposite of the Odyssey The Odyssey spans over a decade, while Ulysses spans twenty-four hours. The Odyssey features a faithful Penelope, whereas Ulysses features a wife who is conducting an affair whilst her husband is away for a mere day. The Odyssey follows epic battles; Ulysses follows an ordinary Irishman’s excursion through Dublin’s city block as he does menial tasks such as attending a funeral and later going to a pub.

Ulysses is truly a masterpiece, and it is a text worth excavating. In fact, it is so provocative that readers have dedicated a day to it, known as Bloomsday, which occurs on June 16 of every year. The intricacy of Joyce has inspired many writers, and his boldness to break conventions both literary and cultural has cemented his legacy in the world of literature. This is why Ulysses is worth reading, even if it may be tough to crack. Any person with

a penchant for investigation and limerence for history would enjoy this find. However, even casual readers can take a crack at it and enjoy the drama between the characters and laugh at their comical monologues and crude jokes. The words of James Joyce reconstruct Dublin, and Ulysses is a portal to travel back in time in the lives of these realistic, and humorously ordinary characters. Ulysses truly has something in it for everyone, and is a banned book worth reading.

Asfi Tias is a sophomore in the

TEST SPINS | Miley Cyrus: ‘Bangerz’

SYDNEY LEVINTON ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR

At their foundation, resolutions are motivated by a desire for change, whether it be intellectual growth, physical gain or emotional clarity. Sometimes, people take these resolutions a step further and use them as an opportunity to completely redefine who they are. You know the saying — “new year, new me.” Few artists embody this idea of transformation, of rejecting who they were in favor of an entirely new persona, like Miley Cyrus. With the release of Bangerz, Cyrus sent the world a very clear message: she is not Hannah Montana anymore. But then, who is she? Bangerz may have made a scandalous splash, but at its heart, it is really an intimate portrait of the new Miley Cyrus, the one we would come to know and love in the years to follow.

Bangerz starts off softly yet powerfully with “Adore You,” one of my favorites on the record. Cyrus beautifully complements the subtle R&B instrumentals with crisp, electric vocals. “Adore You” almost sounds like something a young Justin Bieber would have put out, but it sounds so right with Cyrus’s voice. “We Can’t Stop” was the first single off Bangerz — the first taste of the reconceived Miley Cyrus. She sings “Hands in the air like we don’t

care” in a callback to “Party in the U.S.A.,” but this song is a definitively adult approach to a party song; it’s poignant in a way that Cyrus’s earlier songs couldn’t be. This was the goal of the song, according to a conversation with Cyrus linked to Spotify, in which she describes the song as her divergence from Hannah Montana.

“SMS (Bangerz)” features the one and only Britney Spears and a fun Salt-N-Pepa “Push It” sample. It’s essentially the title track and, true to the name, sees Cyrus strutting her stuff. It takes the album for an unexpected electronic turn and includes copious amounts of cursing and references to weed and men. As some might say, “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.” “4x4” features Nelly and is tinged with that characteristic country sound so commonly associated with early Miley Cyrus. Nelly explained, “It’s a kind of country, hip-hop, pop feel, if you can believe that. It’s about having fun; kind of how a 4x4 truck symbolizes rebelliousness … you know, mashing out, wanting to ride with the bad boys.”

Future hops onto Bangerz in “My Darlin’.” It’s an unexpected duo, but it works. Cyrus and Future’s voices create an interesting contrast when put together. This song is squarely in the hip-hop category but with some delightful southern

charm. Cyrus’s vocals absolutely soar — a sign of what is to come in “Wrecking Ball,” Cyrus’s first number-one single. Undoubtedly the most well-known track off Bangerz, “Wrecking Ball” is a ballad that boils over with emotion. Listening to this song after such a long time was an interesting experience, but it was a stark reminder of why it became so popular — it demonstrates a lucidity that we hadn’t previously had access to, one that was obscured by the Hannah Montana persona.

“Love Money Party,” which was partially written by Future, features Big Sean and brings back the earlier trap-country blend — a difficult balance to strike with these particular genres, but somehow she does it flawlessly. Next is “#GETITRIGHT” — the most sexual song on the album, and the final step in shoving Hannah Montana aside. It’s punchy, poppy and refreshing. “Drive” is more of an electronic ballad and focuses on Cyrus’s relationship with Liam Hemsworth. Cyrus said of the song, “I wrote [“Drive”] while I was working on Valentine’s Day. Emotionally it was such a hard time. It is about needing to leave someone but not really wanting to completely cut yourself off from the relationship. It’s a time when you want to leave but you can’t. It’s also about moving on.”

French Montana contributes (minimally) to “FU,” in which Cyrus details Hemsworth’s cheating and puts him in his place … and I’m sure you can piece together the rest of the message. The lyrics are especially notable in “FU” — for a song whose title does not actually involve any spelled-out words, Cyrus was careful in her writing here, with lines like “I found the love that I thought was gonna last / Then I accidentally saw a few things in your cell / I even LOL’d” and “I don’t really have much to say / I was over it the second that I saw her name.” “Do My Thang” simultaneously touches on the freedom of being single and further illustrates Cyrus’s range. Her voice is smooth and rich during the chorus, and she raps the verses. She piles onto the bad-girl image heavily here:

“Bang, b*tch / You think I’m strange, b*tch? / It’s bananas, like a f*ckin’ ’rangutan, b*tch / Don’t worry ’bout me / I got it all arranged, b*tch / Mind your business / Stay in your lane, b*tch.”

“Maybe You’re Right” is an echo of the Miley Cyrus of before. She suggests her ex thinks she made a mistake leaving him, but reflecting on her relationship proves otherwise. “Someone Else” is another genre-bending project, crossing from an electronic ballad, to country, to pop. “Rooting for

My Baby” is a Bangerz highlight. It’s bluesy and speaks to working through the relationship even when things are difficult, and has even been compared to the work of Fleetwood Mac. The Pharrell-produced “On My Own” is another favorite and the funky precursor to the 2023 hit “Flowers.” Bangerz closes out on a happier note in “Hands in the Air” with Ludacris — another catchy opportunity for Cyrus to show off her incredible vocal ability.

Bangerz is a concrete testament to the metamorphosis of Miley Cyrus. If you take anything out of this, let it be the inspiration to stick to your resolutions. It’s what 2013 Miley Cyrus would have wanted.

Test Spins is a fortnightly throwback column reviewing and recommending classic and underrated albums from the past. It runs every other Friday.

Jahnay Bryan ’23 Continues to Be Missing Months Later

and confirmed seeing her.

Jan. 3 — Jahnay Bryan ’23 was reported missing in Los Angeles on Nov. 19, attracting national attention. But months after her last sighting, Bryan is yet to be located.

According to the Ebony Alert issued by the Los Angeles Police Department’s Missings Persons Unit, Bryan was last seen at 9 a.m. on Oct. 16 near the 2000 block of West 8th St. in Los Angeles. Bryan’s family reported her disappearance on Nov. 13 after losing contact with her.

Since that initial alert, a LAPD media relations representative wrote that there have been “no updates on the case” in an email to The Sun.

However, Byran’s family members have not stopped looking for her. On Dec. 10, Bryan’s family and friends distributed flyers and searched for Bryan in the area where she was last seen in conjunction with the Black and Missing Foundation.

According to a press release from the foundation, former California State Senator Steven Bradford was also present at the flyer distribution and search. In 2023, legislation authored by Bradford was passed to create The Ebony Alert — an alert system specific to cases of missing Black children and women. The Ebony Alert is activated by law enforcement in order to spread the word to the media and the public.

Bryan’s sister Jahque Bryan-Gooden told the Los Angeles Times in a Dec. 6 interview that “[she] feel[s] like [the case] wasn’t taken as serious as it needed to be” after it took nearly a week for the Ebony Alert to be issued from when she reported her sister missing on Nov. 13.

According to the interview, her sister had stopped communicating with friends and family months after she graduated from Cornell and returned to her mother in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. In April, Bryan-Gooden called local police to do a wellness check, who confirmed both Bryan and her mother were still living there. Bryan-Gooden has said that since her sister’s disappearance, her mother stopped talking to her and has not been involved in the search.

Bryan-Gooden noted in the L.A. Times interview that in August, her sister sent an email to an ex-boyfriend telling him that she was moving to a new city. She further said that “friends” visited the neighborhood Bryan was said to be living in

Bryan-Gooden said Bryan emailed her ex-boyfriend again on Oct. 16, the date of her last known sighting. In this email, published in NewsNation, Bryan told him they should get married and wrote “that I think we should work in industry,” after supposedly contacting “the Commissioner of the Department of Water Management in a city.”

In an interview with Dateline NBC, BryanGooden questioned how the email “‘wasn’t even grammatically correct,’” but said “‘I don’t think that someone else would have had her email.’” Bryan-Goodman said these emails were given to her by Bryan’s ex-boyfriend.

Bryan was set to finish her undergraduate degree at Cornell in May 2023 however, according to a University spokesperson, did not graduate and is currently not enrolled at Cornell. Throughout her time at the University, Bryan studied chemistry, co-authored several academic papers with other Cornell researchers and hosted her own podcast aimed at “authentic” and “underexposed” conversation.

According to the Ebony Alert issued by the LAPD — listed “NR24316ti/lg” — Bryan is described as a Black 23-year-old female with black hair and brown eyes, standing at 5 feet 7 inches and weighing approximately 125 pounds.

Anyone with any information regarding Bryan’s whereabouts is instructed by the LAPD to contact Detective Avalos of the Missing Persons Unit at (213) 996-1800.

Douglas Ford ’23 Named to Forbes 30 Under 30 for AI Healthcare System

Continued from page 4

He said that his cardiologist told him he had been minutes away from dying.

Ford was required to spend the next two weeks in the ICU, and it was during this time that he got the idea for Chromie Health.

Ford graduated from the School of Hotel Administration with minors in information science and real estate. He has also received a master of science in engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and a master of science in bioethics from Harvard Medical School.

In an interview with The Sun, Ford shared that while being named on Forbes 30 Under 30 was a personal achievement, “it’s also a win for Cornell as a whole,” citing the support and opportunities he received during his time as an undergraduate. Ford emphasized that his journey as an entrepreneur was non-linear, and credited Cornell for much of his success.

“One thing I loved about Cornell is they’re so encouraging of their students’ dreams, passions and entrepreneurial goals,” Ford said. “I probably had 10 startups that completely failed by graduation. … I went from selling … beach umbrellas my freshman year to eventually, what is now a life-saving tech startup.”

Ford also explained that he felt empowered by the diversity present at Cornell as a member of the LGBTQ+ community and a first-generation American.

“I was able to network with other fellow LGBTQ entrepreneurs and other first-generation Americans,” Ford said. “I really am proud to represent the LGBT community and also all the other first-generation Americans who are aspiring to create the next big start-up.”

Regarding the future of the company, Ford said that he aspires for Chromie Health to become “the Uber of healthcare scheduling.” He intends for the company to expand internationally, and integrate quantum computing to stay two steps ahead of their competitors.

“I remind my team every day — move fast, save lives. That’s what we stand for,” Ford said.

Police Say Cornell Employee Killed Daughter, Ex-Mother-in-Law

Editor’s Note: The content in this article mentions murder and suicide.

Jan. 7 — Lawrence Mancuso, assistant dean for human resources at the School of Industrial and Labor Relations, killed two family members and committed suicide on Friday in Brighton, New York, according to local authorities.

Mancuso was on a leave of absence since October and had worked at Cornell since February 2022, according to a University spokesperson. Community support meetings took place on Monday and Tuesday this week.

The University declined to give further comment or tell The Sun why Mancuso was on leave.

Brighton police say that Mancuso fatally shot his daughter Anne Mancuso, 11, and her maternal grandmother Mary Lachini, 74, before shooting and killing himself in Anne’s home on Hollyvale Dr.

The two adults’ bodies were found inside the house. Neighbors found Anne bleeding on their porch

and alerted the authorities. Despite being rushed to the hospital, she succumbed to her wounds.

Investigators are still piecing together the full picture of what led up to this incident, according to Brighton Police Chief David Catholdi.

“We still have a couple things that we want to find out, but we may never know,” Catholdi told The Sun. “The ‘what’ and the ‘when’ and the ‘where,’ we pretty much can answer those things, but we may never know the ‘why’ — what would drive someone to do something like this?”

Catholdi suggested it may not have been one specific trigger, but a variety of unknown factors that led Mancuso to carry out the killings.

“When people get on that pathway to violence, if they’re not interrupted in that cycle, if they don’t have leakage to where someone can intervene, it can be predetermined,” Catholdi said.

According to Catholdi, police responded the day before to a call at the same home, where they had a “benign” interaction with Mancuso

over a nonviolent custody dispute. He described the interaction as “nothing that would give us any indication that it would lead to this sort of violence.”

In an interview with RochesterFirst, the police chief said Mancuso “didn’t like the idea” of his daughter staying with her maternal grandmother, which sparked the Thursday custody disagreement. Police do not know if that was part of his motive for the killings on Friday.

Friday morning before the killings took place, Mancuso purchased alcohol and stole three firearms from his relative in Greece, New York, Catholdi told The Sun.

Anne’s mother was out of town at the time of this incident. Lachini’s home is in Avon, New York, about half an hour outside Brighton.

Anne was a sixth grader at Brighton Central Schools. The district released a statement on Saturday calling her a “thoughtful, caring student” and “a gift to her friends, family, and school community.” The district is offering counseling services to students and faculty.

A candlelit memorial was also held on Monday on Hollyvale Dr. Catholdi explained this incident was abnormal for any community, but especially Brighton. He wanted to reassure the community that resources were available for those who need them.

“We’re ramping up law enforcement resources to make sure that the community is safe,” Catholdi said. “If people are struggling with what’s going on here, reach out. Talk to somebody — talk to a trusted friend, talk to counseling services provided at your college or wherever you may work. I think it’s important to cope with this in a healthy, positive way.”

This is not the first instance in recent months of a Cornell employee being investigated for murder. In November, custodian Ahmed Abed admitted to killing his wife. He was indicted and charged with second-degree murder in December by a grand jury.

By BENJAMIN LEYNSE Sun Senior Writer

Benjamin Leynse can be reached at bleynse@cornellsun.com.

By ANGELINA TANG and XAVIER ROLSTON Sun Staff Writers

Angelina Tang and Xavier Rolston can be reached at atang@cornellsun.com and xrolston@cornellsun.com

Ebony alert | Jahnay Bryan ’23 is described as a Black 23-year-old female with black hair and brown eyes.

COURTESY OF JAHQUE BRYAN-GOODEN Giselle Redmond can be reached at gr389@cornell.edu.

FORD

No. 6 Women’s Hockey Rolls Over No. 10 Quinnipiac

By ELI FASTIFF Sun Staff Writer

For a second time in under 24 hours, No. 6 women’s hockey bested a ranked opponent, downing No. 10 Quinnipiac 4-1 to complete the six-point weekend and stay even with Colgate atop the ECAC standings.

While Quinnipiac’s defense-first identity presented a different challenge than Princeton’s roaring offense from the night before, the Red held steady and won the weekend by a combined score of 10-2.

Unlike the night before, Cornell’s offense struck quickly on Saturday afternoon. Just 24 seconds into the game, sophomore forward Karel Prefontaine won the puck behind the Quinnipiac net and sauced a pass to senior forward Lily Delianedis, who fired in a one-timer from between the faceoff circles. The goal was the quickest the Red has scored this season and came a day after Delianedis gained her 100th point as a Cornellian.

“It was nice to get the early start and get a lead on them because they are a stingy team defensively,” said head coach Doug Derraugh ’91. “That was huge, getting that early goal.”

Five minutes after going down a goal, the Bobcats would respond when a deflected shot found the stick of a Bobcat forward who rifled a shot past sophomore goaltender Annelies Bergmann. Moments later, Quinnipiac came within inches of taking the lead but a deflected shot rolled off the top of the crossbar and away from the net.

The Bobcats continued to attack Cornell’s defense, but a Quinnipiac slashing penalty just over halfway through the first period allowed the Red to take a breath defensively. While Cornell struggled to pressure

Bombarding the Bobcats | Cornell controlled the game against Quinnipiac in a 4-1 victory at home.

the Bobcat defense during the ensuing five-on-four, the Red used the penalty to flip the momentum and again looked potent on offense.

With three-quarters of the opening period complete, junior defender Grace Dwyer gave Cornell a 2-1 lead when she rocketed in a slap shot from the left point. The goal was Dwyer’s second and gave her ten points on the season.

“It was a sweet pass from K.C. [senior forward Katie Chan],” Dwyer said. “I just try to be ready for it and then when it came [I] just saw it go through the glove. I don’t think the goalie was really ready.”

The Red took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission, but not before the Bobcats hit the crossbar for the second time in the period.

The second period started out

with back-and-forth play, with both teams getting solid looks on net. Eight minutes in, the Bobcats challenged a hit near the blueline for contact to the head, but the contact was ruled incidental and the challenge was unsuccessful.

As the period continued, the intensity of play ratcheted up and led to some chippiness. Quinnipiac was awarded its first power play after senior defender Rory Guilday pinned a Bobcat skater to the boards well after a whistle.

“In Rory’s case, I don’t want [Cornell’s opponents] continuing to battle away with our goaltender, but at the same time, you got to keep it within the line,” Derraugh said “So it is a fine line that we walk and it’s a very difficult game to referee.”

The Bobcats power play, which

entered the night just 24th in the nation, looked lethal. Multiple heavily screened shots led to rebounds and lengthy scrums in front of the Cornell net, but Bergmann and Cornell’s penalty kill were impenetrable.

“We try to be aggressive. That’s our mentality,” Dwyer said. “Try to kill it quick. Stay up on people.”

For the second week in a row, Cornell nearly scored off a faceoff win set play, but a Prefontaine shot went bar down and bounced away from the goal.

As evidenced by the 2-1 score, the first two periods of the game were close, and the Bobcats entered the second intermission with 24 shots on goal to Cornell’s 22.

The Bobcats dominated the start of the third period, controlling the pace of play and racking up shots on

Bergmann. With 15 minutes left in the game, Guilday morphed from defender to netminder when she saved a shot that got by Bergmann while standing on the goal line.

Despite the pressure, Quinnipiac could not tie the game, and eventually, Cornell’s offense would strike a third time. With six minutes to go, senior forward Kaitlin Jockims broke out of the neutral zone on a one-onone with a Bobcat defender thanks to freshman forward Lindzi Avar’s pass. Jockims and the defender raced by the Quinnipiac net, but the Cornell forward left the puck at the top of the crease for the trailing Chan. For the second night in a row, Chan deked the opposing netminder and scored a huge insurance goal to put the Red up two.

“It’s auto,” Chan joked about her move. “It just kind of happened both times, but I’m glad it worked out.”

The goal was the second to stem from the Chan-Jockims-Avar line in the game and the fifth of the weekend.

“Playing with Lindzi and K.J. [Kaitlin Jockims] has been so much fun,” Chan said. “It’s funny because my dad calls them the twin towers because they are so big, but it’s been so much fun being able to play with them.” Both Avar and Jockims are listed as 5’10” while Chan stands at 5’2.”

Quinnipiac had a quick chance to respond when sophomore forward Delaney Fleming was sent to the penalty box for two minutes, but Cornell’s penalty kill allowed just a single shot on goal while maintaining the two-goal lead.

To continue reading this article, please visit www.cornellsun.com.

Eli Fastif can be reached at efastif@cornellsun.com.

Men’s Hockey Ties No. 16 Quinnipiac, Earns Point With Shootout Win

By JANE McNALLY Sun Sports Editor

They say history repeats itself.

Men’s hockey’s last battle with Quinnipiac was under the lights at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 30. After going up 2-0 in score in New York City, Quinnipiac scored three second-period goals to take a 3-2 lead into the third, and the Red ultimately had to settle for a 3-3 tie.

A similar situation unfolded in Hamden, Connecticut on Saturday night — the Red scored first after a strong first period, but a shaky second led to a pair of Bobcat goals and a one-goal deficit for the Red heading into the third. Cornell found the tying goal, just as it did at Madison Square Garden, and ultimately won the shootout — just as it did back in November.

That time, the shootout didn’t count as the matchup was held on neutral ice and had no points to be earned. This time, the shootout win delivers Cornell an important extra point for the ECAC standings and wraps up a weekend in which the Red secured 5/6 points.

Cornell (7-5-5, 4-3-3 ECAC) came out of the gates strong, earning the first chances of the game and keeping at its strong forecheck that brought it success the night before against Princeton. The pressure resulted in the game’s first penalty, as Andon Cerbone of Quinnipiac (14-7-2, 9-3-1 ECAC) was sent off for slashing. And then the Red did something it has only done five times in its 16 games — score the game’s first goal.

Sophomore defenseman George Fegaras

got the score, but it came after an onslaught in Quinnipiac’s defensive zone. Cornell hit two posts before Fegaras beat Quinnipiac goaltender Dylan Silverstein for his first goal of the season.

Not only did the Red find comfort in scoring first — something it has so rarely done — but the opening tally came on the power play, which has consistently ranked within the bottom third of the NCAA all season. After junior forward Dalton Bancroft’s man-up goal against Princeton the night prior, Cornell has scored power-play goals in consecutive games for the second time all season and now sits with seven power-play goals overall.

Cornell wouldn’t find the back of the net again in the period, but not for a lack of trying. Sophomore defenseman Ben Robertson, sophomore forward Ryan Walsh and junior forward Nick DeSantis each took shots that hit posts in the first 20 minutes, a period where the Red outshot the Bobcats 7-6.

Senior goaltender Ian Shane, getting his first action since being pulled against Sacred Heart last weekend, looked comfortable between the pipes in the opening period. Shane deterred all six Bobcat shots in the first, including a flashy glove save with 3:59 left.

Cornell didn’t have much time to relish its lead as the Bobcats evened things up 1:17 into the second period. A turnover against the boards behind Shane’s net led to a perfect pass that hit the tape of Tyler Borgula, who ripped a hard shot past Shane for Quinnipiac’s first goal.

It was all Bobcats from there. Quinnipiac’s second-period resurgence was reminiscent of the last meeting between these two teams at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 30. After a shaky first period, the Bobcats came alive in the middle frame on Saturday night, evident in its outshooting of the Red, 15-6.

Quinnipiac took the lead much like how it scored its first goal — a pass from behind the net found a Bobcat skater in the slot, as Chris Pelosi sent M&T Bank Arena into a frenzy with a perfectly placed shot that beat Shane 8:03 into the second.

Cornell attempted to weather the Quinnipiac storm, but struggled to complete clean zone exits while the Bobcats were quick off the rush. The overwhelming pressure culminated in Quinnipiac’s first power play of the night, as Bancroft was sent to the box with 6:22 left in the middle frame.

Tasked with killing the nation’s second-best power play, Cornell stood tall and kept most of Quinnipiac’s chances to the outside. And before time ran out in the middle frame, Cornell earned a man-up opportunity of its own, but that chance would bleed into the third as the Red couldn’t net one in the final moments.

The Red quickly saw its power play come to an end, and Quinnipiac retaliated with a grade-A chance just atop Shane’s crease, which the senior netminder kicked away.

But 2:34 into the third, junior defenseman Jack O’Brien was hit hard and drew a subsequent Quinnipiac interference penalty.

The result? Another post. Robertson rang the iron, Cornell’s fourth hit pipe of the evening.

But despite its persisting power play struggles, Cornell would find its long-awaited equalizer. Junior forward Nick DeSantis, whom head coach Mike Schafer ’86 praised to WHCU before the game for his strong play against Princeton the night prior, deflected senior defenseman Tim Rego’s shot past Silverstein to even up the score.

Both teams would earn a point in this one, as the final 9:03 after DeSantis’ goal elapsed without any changes in score. After Quinnipiac held possession for the first two minutes of the extra frame, Cornell took charge for the final three, including a flurry of point-blank chances in the final minute of overtime.

Silverstein, the Quinnipiac netminder, was the main reason neither team would get the win, as his six overtime saves kept the Bobcats alive and aided them to the shootout. The Red outshot Quinnipiac 6-0 in the five extra minutes.

Bancroft and senior defenseman Michael Suda scored in the shootout to earn the extra point, while Shane allowed one goal and made two stops in his 100th game with Cornell. Cornell will return home for what is set to be a raucous weekend at Lynah Rink. The Red hosts Harvard on Friday night at 7 p.m. before a bout with Dartmouth on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Jane McNally can be reached at jmcnally@ cornellsun.com.

MATTHEW KORNICZKY / SUN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER