INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880
The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 129, No. 49
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2012
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ITHACA, NEW YORK
16 Pages – Free
Ithaca Warned as Sandy Arrives
Cornell will remain open; dining prepared for crisis By SUN STAFF
This story was written by Joseph Niczky, Caroline Flax and Akane Otani. As Hurricane Sandy begins ripping through upstate New York, Cornell is bracing for heavy rain and windy conditions. But as of Monday evening, a University official said she did not think Cornell would shut down operations Tuesday. “We’re still monitoring the situation and seeing if it warrants closure … but as of now, it appears as if it won’t be necessary,” said Claudia Wheatley, director of press relations for the University. Wheatley acknowledged that because it was relatively early in the evening, “a lot could happen” before Tuesday morning. The University’s weather experts will continue to monitor the storm’s condition throughout the night, she added. Although Cornell plans on staying open throughout the week, Wheatley said the University is “keenly aware” that many of its employees commute to campus from “all over central New York and even Pennsylvania.” Accordingly, should the University decide to close, it will announce its decision as early as possible — “possibly even [at] dawn,” Wheatley said. Cornell Dining has also taken precautions to ensure Cornell has enough food to last four days without deliveries, according to Karen Brown, director of marketing and communications for Campus Life. “If we had to feed everyone on campus for a number of days, we could, even if we don’t have power,” she said. “Any person who regularly eats on campus we can feed; that’s staff, that’s faculty, anyone who regularly eats on campus.” Cornell Dining did not need to make special plans for Hurricane Sandy because emergency plans have been in place for years, Brown said. “Cornell Dining is always prepared,” she said. “We store what we can to feed for four days.” However, the storm will result in some dining services being disSee CORNELL page 5
ROBERT STOLARIK / THE NEW YORK TIMES
Storm brewing | A man wades through flood waters that accumulated in the Red Hook area of Brooklyn on Monday night. The worst of the major Northeast storm was expected to hit Ithaca at about 10 p.m. Monday.
Ithacans,Jungle residents ready for ‘superstorm’ By JEFF STEIN Sun Managing Editor
and LIZ CAMUTI
Sun City Editor
Anticipating that Hurricane Sandy will bring high-speed winds to the area, City of Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick ’09 recommended that motorists,
Parents Scramble to Find Hotels Years Before Graduation Weekend By EMMA JESCH Sun Contributor
ALEX FANG / SUN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Calm before the storm | Students walk across the Engineering Quad in the rain on Monday, before Hurricane Sandy is set to arrive Tuesday.
cyclists and pedestrians avoid “unnecessary travel” after 9 p.m. as a safety precaution. “Due to high and sustained winds I am officially recommending that no one travel on city streets unnecessarily after 9 p.m. tonight,” Myrick said on his Facebook page Monday night. “Unless you
While students spend four years on the Hill working toward their degrees, their families may spend almost as much time trying to find a place to stay for their children’s graduation weekend. The scramble to book hotel rooms for Commencement Weekend can lead families to stay in Cornell’s residence halls, to rent local residents’ homes or to book hotels as far away as Johnson City or Syracuse in order to attend to graduation, several representatives from local hotels said. Some parents who “find themselves in tight spots” try their luck through a lottery system at several hotels. In a typical application, hotels ask for patrons’ contact information, which is entered into a random drawing that determines who will be able to book a room, according to Jason Humphrey, sales coordinator at the Homewood Suites. Although hotels that use the lottery system provide parents with an equal — albeit random — opportunity to reserve
rooms, merely submitting an application does not guarantee that one will be able to book a room, Humphrey said. For instance, Hampton Inn receives more than 300 applications a year in its lottery for their 66 available rooms, according to Amy Magdon, general manager for The Hampton Inn. Because there is so much demand for Ithaca’s limited supply of hotels, many guests are turned away. Even though Cornell boasts its own hotel on campus, The Statler Hotel is reserved for University Trustees during graduation weekend and is not open to the general public, according to Richard Adie, general manager of The Statler. However, Cornell provides accomodations for any families willing to stay in dorms. “Everyone who participates in the [dorm] lottery is able to reserve accommodations for their guests,” according to Cornell’s commencement website. Parents who are willing to travel farther away from campus and do not want to grapple with See GRADUATION page 4
See CITY page 4
News Bracing for the Storm
As several Collegetown businesses lost power Monday, landlords encouraged their tenants to take personal safety measures during the storm. | Page 3
News Busted
An Ithaca resident was arrested and arraigned Friday for allegedly possessing illegal weapons and controlled substances. | Page 3
Opinion Warning Sign
Tom Moore ’14 urges students to use Hurricane Sandy as a learning experience to treat the environment with more care in the future. | Page 7
Arts Poetic Justice
The Sun reviews Irish poet Seamus Heaney’s emotional reading on campus Thursday. | Page 10
Sports Heartbreaker
Cornell sprint football suffered a close loss to Post University on Friday. | Page 16
Weather Stormy HIGH: 55 LOW: 39