INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880
The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 136, No. 26
MONDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2019
n
12 Pages – Free
ITHACA, NEW YORK
News
Arts
Sports
Weather
AGR on Probation
Jesus Is King
Back on Track
Sunny
The Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity is on probation and will be under review until 2021. | Page 3
The piece is neither innovative nor pleasant to listen to, writes Peter Buonanno ’21.
Cornell football snapped a four-game losing streak with a narrow two-point win over Brown. | Page 12
| Page 6
HIGH: 64º LOW: 50º
After Extensive Search, Freshman Found Dead in Gorge By MARYAM ZAFAR and AMINA KILPATRICK
remembered Antonio Tsialas ’23, who was 18, as a “gem of a person.” The Cornell student had been missing since Thursday Law enforcement recovered the body of a Cornell fresh- night, after he was seen leaving a Phi Kappa Psi fraterman from Fall Creek Gorge on Saturday afternoon. The nity party. He met with his mother on Thursday night tragedy shocked the campus community, as Cornellians for dinner and planned to take his parents, who were in town during First-Year Family Weekend, on a tour of the campus over the next few days. His parents reported him missing when he failed to meet with them on Friday, state troopers said. This semester, Tsialas was taking classes in microeconomics, computing, linear algebra and writing across cultures as an undeclared freshman in Arts and Sciences. He was interested in TSIALAS ’23 studying chemistry in the future, MICHAEL WENYE LI / SUN SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER Arts College Dean Ray Jayawardhana said in a colTragedy | Antonio Tsialas ’23 was reported missing on Friday by his visiting parents. Sun City Editor and Sun News Editor
lege-wide email offering condolences. “A full investigation of the circumstances of his death is underway,” wrote the Cornell University Police Department in a statement Saturday night, continuing that it did not suspect foul play. His body was recovered near Ithaca Falls in Fall Creek Gorge; he was the fourth Cornell student found dead in the gorge in the last three years. In May 2018, Avram Pinals ’18 was found in the gorge; Winston S. PerezVentura ’22, who was 17, drowned in a swimming hole in the gorge in August 2017 and Aalaap Narasipura ’18, who was 20, died in May 2017. Tsialas graduated from Ransom Everglades School in Miami, where he was involved as a stellar academic, debater and goalie on the soccer team, according to an email sent to the Ransom Everglades community from school headmaster Penny Townsend. See TSIALAS page 4
Students may consult with counselors from Counseling & Psychological Services (CAPS) by calling 607-255-5155. Employees may call the Faculty Staff Assistance Program (FSAP) at 607255-2673. An Ithaca-based Crisisline is available at 607-272-1616. For additional resources, visit caringcommunity.cornell.edu.
Julia Feliz Controversy Draws Mixed Reactions While Feliz maintains they were unfairly ejected from program, other Alliance for Science fellows disagree
By MARYAM ZAFAR Sun City Editor
Starting October 15, Julia Feliz would not be welcome at Cornell’s Alliance for Science program, its director said. The decision — which Feliz shared in a widely-circulated post — was followed by waves of student support in a Student Assembly resolution in solidarity with Feliz and a planned rally, as well as a University statement disputing many of Feliz’s characterizations and an email from President Martha E. Pollack. Pollack responded to Feliz’s account and the S.A.’s resolution — which was contested by all fellows who spoke at Thursday’s S.A. meeting — by writing a brief email to Feliz, which they posted online.
Speaking out | Feliz described their story in a Student Assembly meeting. BORIS TSANG / SUN PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
“I have received your message,” Pollack wrote to Feliz, a Puerto Rican former fellow, on Friday morning. “Cornell takes reports of alleged discrimination seriously, and all appropriate offices are fully engaged in this matter.” The email was “weak” and “generic,” Feliz wrote in the accompanying post. The controversy began earlier this month, when Feliz accused Iowa State University Prof. Max Rothschild of racist and sexist terminology when responding to their question after a lecture. Feliz recounted their experience at the Alliance for Science in a lengthy piece on Medium, an online publishing platform. On Thursday night, in a phone call and email to The Sun, Rothschild unequivocally denied all accusations, wholly disputing Feliz’s account of the incident. The animal science professor added that “[a]ccusing me of being racist because I am white is offensive and racist.” See FELIZ page 4
DANIEL RA / SUN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Posting up | Having walked from Ho Plaza, students display posters on the Arts Quad on Saturday.
Undergraduates rallied in support on Saturday By AMINA KILPATRICK Sun News Editor
“What do we want? Accountability! When do we want it? Now!” people chanted at a demonstration on Saturday. The group marched in support of Julia Feliz, the fellow who called Cornell racist after they were removed from the Alliance for Science program on Oct. 15. Amidst the bustle of First-Year Family Weekend, two dozen students and Ithaca community members began their demonstration outside of the Cornell Store on Ho Plaza, where people held signs in support of Feliz.
“Given the fact that we are all marginalized people, I think the turnout is amazing, because we have been punished for speaking up,” Feliz said. Feliz’s troubles began at a lecture by Prof. Max Rothschild, an animal science professor at Iowa State University, whom Feliz claimed was racist during the event. Rothschild strongly denied Feliz’s account of his guest lecture in a statement to The Sun. After publicly sharing their story on Medium, Feliz found support through the Student Assembly, which passed a supporting statement on Thursday. The University See RALLY page 4