10-5 entire issue hi res

INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880

The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 137, No. 14

MONDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2020

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8 Pages – Free

ITHACA, NEW YORK

News

Arts

Sports

Weather

Money and Business

The Dirtbag Left

On This Day in 1940

Mostly Cloudy

Chioma Akamnonu MBA ’19 and Prof. Vicki Bogan discuss obstacles they’ve faced as women in the finance sector. | Page 3

Mira Kudva Driskell ’22 dicusses the political group blamed for ruining the Democratic Party. | Page 4

Students Reveal Concerns About Testing Experience

Cornell football takes that year’s season opener en route to a no. 1 ranking.

HIGH: 63º LOW: 44º

| Page 8

Applefest is back

Difficulties with scheduling, logistics on the day before his scheduled testing days, finding a time of day that works for him has proven to be difficult.

“Usually, I book at night the day Regular surveillance testing for all students, staff and faculty who spend time on before or the morning of,” Schmieder campus has been a critical component of said. “It’s been hard to schedule at times, Cornell’s reopening strategy, according to fitting it into my schedule is hard.”

Students who live off campus in the administrators — who have often taken to the press to herald the University’s low greater Ithaca area are also getting surveillance tested, including Della Keahna case levels.

However, even though most largely ’22. She is taking all of her classes online, praised the ease of the testing process but because she comes to campus to itself, some students have complained deliver food to friends and classmates, that the logistics of scheduling one have surveillance testing brings her peace of mind.

“I am feeding people, and even though I know “I was really frustrated with this idea that we are super safe about that they would only tell me if it it —I try to do completely came back positive.” minimal contact with it — it does calm me down Della Keahna ’22 knowing that we at least have that indication that nothing’s wrong,” Keahna said. occasionally proved troublesome.

Keahna thinks the surveillance testing Alejandro Schmieder ’21, who usually gets his surveillance tests in the Fischell process itself is easy. However, she, like Band Center or in Collegetown, said many students, said she was frustrated by that, once there, getting a test is quick Cornell’s “no news is good news” policy for releasing test results. A student with and easy.

“They asked for my net ID, full name, a negative surveillance test result is not date of birth, and photo ID,” Schmieder notified of the fact that they most likely said. “After the test, I take the swab, put it do not have COVID-19.

“I was really frustrated with this idea in the tube with my name label on it, and that they would only tell me if it came hand it back to them.”

But despite the ease of testing itself, back positive,” Keahna said. “That wound Schmieder said he has found the sched- up bringing me some anxiety because I uling process less convenient. According didn’t know how long I’d have to wait to to Schmieder, while he has been able to book appointments from 4 p.m. or later See TESTING page 2

By TAMARA KAMIS Sun Staff Writer

BORIS TSANG / SUN PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

Cornell students and Ithaca residents alike attend the ‘Apple Festive,’ a socially-distanced take on the Apple Harvest Festival usually held every year on the Ithaca Commons.

Ithaca Tenants’ Union Continues Rent Advocacy

By ALEX HALE Sun News Editor

In June, Ithaca’s Common Council passed a resolution that promised to do what no other city in the nation had before: Request authorization to cancel three months’ rent for its citizens.

The measure, which was approved on a 6-4 vote with the support of Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick ’09, asked the city government to seek approval from the New York State Department of Health to grant the

mayor power to forgive three months of rental payments.

As unemployment skyrocketed amid one of the sharpest economic downturns in American history, the Cornell undergraduate-led Ithaca Tenants’ Union first began its campaign to fight for rent forgiveness over March, April and May. After weeks of sustained advocacy — most notably through “phone zaps” to local politicians — the union was able to count on the support of See TENANTS page 3

Greek Life Organizations Team Up to ‘Rock the Polls’

By ONALEE DUANE

headed the “Rock the Polls” voting initiative, teaming up with Delta Chi, Sigma Pi Four Greek letter organi- and Sigma Delta Tau. Landsman and Silvestri zations have united to take on the challenge of ensuring came up with the idea in 100 percent voter registra- August after overhearing a member of their “[Students] have too much sorority mention they were going on even to print out a that not registered to vote. The two, ballot and bring it to the as result, saw an post office.” opportunity “to eliminate some Samantha Landsman ’22 of the barriers for students who tion and turnout for each of want to vote and share their voice” through their sorority their houses.

Samantha Landsman ’22 platform.

In talking to members of and Catherine Silvestri ’22 of Kappa Alpha Theta spear- her house, Landsman found Sun Contributor

HANNAH ROSENBERG / SUN ASSISTANT PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

Cast your vote | Samantha Landsman ’22, left, and Catherine Silvestri ’22, right, started the ‘Rock the Polls’ drive.

that the most common refrain was issues stemming from voting accessibility.

According to Landsman,

students encounter unexpected obstacles when voting, noting that some “have too much going on even to

print out a ballot and bring it to the post office.”

From creating and sending out surveys, using vote.org, sending texts and emails, to directly helping students acquire absentee ballots, envelopes and stamps, Silvestri and Landsman said that every eligible voter in Kappa Alpha Theta is already registered. To make sure they follow through, the house is planning to organize carpool trips to polling places on Election Day. “We thought that getting all of the data to [get house members registered] to vote was going to be a challenge,” Silvestri said. ”But it only

took us a little under two weeks, which was inspiring.”

Kappa Alpha Theta, Sigma Delta Tau, Delta Chi and Sigma Pi often organize philanthropic events together. The rapport between the four houses made this collaboration easy, with 100 percent voter registration and turnout for Rock the Polls a strong possibility.

Daniel Bernstein ’23, the risk manager for Delta Chi, is working to ensure the members of his fraternity are registered to vote. Before the Rock the Polls collaboration began, it already was Bernstein’s personal goal to See VOTES page 2

2 The Cornell Daily Sun | Monday, October 5, 2020

Daybook

Daybook

Monday, October 5, 2020

A LISTING OF FREE CAMPUS EVENTS Embracing Healthcare Principles in Hospitality Noon - 1 p.m., Virtual Event “El Payanés, Proslavery Activism, and Slave Politics In 1840s New Granada,” by Marcela Echeverri-Muñoz, LASP Seminar Series Noon, Virtual Event Cornell Institute for Food Systems Industry Partnership Program Career Fair 2 - 5 p.m., Virtual Event Leaders in Sustainable Global Enterprise Dr. Laté Lawson-Lartego, Director Oxfam Food Systems 6 - 7:15 p.m., Virtual Event Strengths Workshop for First-Years 7 - 9 p.m., Virtual Event

Tomorrow COURTESY OF CORNELL UNIVERSITY

Food for all | Dr. Laté Lawson-Lartego will lecture Monday on creating food systems through inclusivity, women’s economic empowerment and climate justice.

Behavioral Economic & Decision Research Workshop: Sudeep Bhatia 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m., Virtual Event Cornell Wellness Virtual Walk to Run Class 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., Virtual Event

Today

COURTESY OF CORNELL UNIVERSITY

The doc is in | Dr. Anthony Fauci M.D. ‘66 will join a virtual panel on what and how to learn from the COVID-19 pandemic on Tuesday as part of StayHomecoming.

Quantifying the Interfacial Electric Field at the Electrode-Electrolyte Interface 9 - 10 a.m., Virtual Event

Cornell Promise: A Commitment to Learning From the COVID-19 Pandemic With Anthony Fauci M.D. ’66, NBC News’ Kate Snow ’91 11:45 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., Virtual Event

First Gen and Low Income Student Support Office Hours 2 - 3 p.m., Virtual Event

Dynamics of Tamil Urban Ethnoterritories in Diaspora 11:15 a.m, Virtual Event

Harvest Kitchen: Hot Sauce 1 - 3 p.m., Virtual Event

Cornell in Washington Virtual Q&A Session 4:30 - 6 p.m., Virtual Event

COVID-19 Testing Worries Surface Greeks Hold Voting “I think there aren’t appoint- COVID-19 all three times that ments and locations for people she was tested with anterior nares sometimes [so they come at the tests while in the Statler Hotel. wrong time/place]. But some are Yuan said she never received a hear back from them.”

In addition, not all students are just willfully going to the wrong nasopharyngeal test — considered coming to the time slot or location one because they they signed up for, according to a know they won’t be “Some are just willfully going to surveillance testing employee, who turned away,” the decided to remain anonymous out employee said. the wrong one because they know Those already of concern for their employment. they won’t be turned away.”

“I have not been instructed to exposed to COVIDturn people away from the wrong 19 have a slightly difAnonymous Testing Employee ferent experience with time slot,” the employee said.

The employee said that while testing. Jessica Yuan they have begun reminding people ’22 quarantined in the Statler the gold-standard for coronavirus to come at the correct time, they Hotel for 14 days because contact diagnostics — despite her expothink people are coming to the tracers identified her as exposed to sure to a COVID-19 positive person. wrong place and time for a variety COVID-19.

She tested negative for “Every time I got tested, they of reasons. knocked on my door, wearing body suits, N-95 masks and face shields,” Yuan said.

“I would open the door, and they would give me the swab.

INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880 I would take off my mask so that my nose was showing, and Editor in Chief Business Manager they would watch while I was Maryam Zafar ’21 Joybeer Datta Gupta ’21 doing the test to make sure it was done right.”

ALL DEPARTMENTS (607) 273-3606 While the testing process Business: For questions regarding advertising, classifieds, subscriptions or delivery was simple enough for her, problems, please call from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday-Friday. getting her results took a little News: To report breaking news or story ideas, please call after 5 p.m., Sundaymore work. Yuan needed negThursday. ative COVID-19 test results to SEND A FAX (607) 273-0746 get released on the final day of VISIT THE OFFICE 139 W. State Street, Ithaca, N.Y. her medical isolation, so when Cornell Health had not yet THE SUN ONLINE www.cornellsun.com received her results, she called E-MAIL sunmailbox@cornellsun.com Cayuga Medical Center to ask them to address the situation.

Postal Information: The Cornell Daily Sun (USPS 132680 ISSN 1095-8169) is published by Cayuga Medical Center did not THE CORNELL DAILY SUN, a New York corporation, 139 W. State St., Ithaca, N.Y. 14850. The Sun is published Monday, Tuesday and Thursday during the academic year, and every weekday online. Four special comment by time of publication.

TESTING

Continued from page 1

The Corne¬ Daily Sun

issues — one for Cornell Days in April, one for seniors in May, one for alumni in June and one for incoming freshmen in July — make for about 74 print issues per year (but spring term publication dates are now uncertain). Subscriptions are: $70.00 for fall term, if paid in advance. Standard postage paid at Ithaca, New York.

Postmaster: Send address changes to The Cornell Daily Sun, 139 W. State St., Ithaca, N.Y. 14850.

Tamara Kamis can be reached at tkamis@cornellsun.com.

Registration Drive VOTES

Continued from page 1

one month away, Kappa Alpha Theta is looking to expand Rock the Polls to more Greek letter organizations on campus. As of Saturday, October 3rd, both Kappa Alpha Theta and Delta Chi have reached 100 percent voter registration.

The Cornell men’s varsi-

get all of Delta Chi registered, he said.

“Getting people active, especially at a young age, is so vital for our democracy,” Bernstein said. “Greek Life has a lot of controversies, and I feel that if I’m going to “Greek Life has a lot of controversies, and I be part of the system, feel that if I’m going to be part of the system, I want to try I want to try to better it as much as I can.” to better it Daniel Bernstein ’23 as much as I can.”

Arthur Decker ’22, president of Sigma ty basketball team is anothPi, keeps track of which broth- er campus organization that ers have registered and which has accomplished 100 percent haven’t, consistently encour- voter registration, encouraging aging any of the eligible 56 other eligible student-athletes brothers who have not yet reg- to register to vote.

“This is the election that’s going to “It’s our college experience determine our future. that we have to quarantine It’s our future that’s going to be affected by for... this is our election climate change. It’s us to shake.” entering the workforce either in a recession Samantha Landsman ’22 or not. It’s our college experience that we have to quarantine for,” istered to do so as soon as Landsman said. “This is our possible.

During this virtual semes- election to shake.” ter, “we have a lot of extra time on our hands,” Decker said.

Onalee Duane can be reached at ”Why not use it for good?”

With Election Day only osd4@cornell.edu.

The Cornell Daily Sun | Monday, October 5, 2020 3

News

MONEY & BUSINESS

Women Feel Excluded From Finance Prof. Vicki Bogan and alumna Chioma Akamnonu MBA ’19 discuss gender biases in industry projects or more complex scenarios to analyze. Sometimes I’ll even be told that the problem is too complicated,” Akamnonu In the U.S., women now make up just said.

Akamononu also spoke about her expeover half of the financial services industry despite not entering the industry en riences with not being taken as seriously as masse until the 1980s — highlighting the men in the room.

“My thoughts would not be praised the progress that has been made towards gender representation in what was once an and appreciated as much as my male counterparts despite the similarities,” statextremely male-dominated field.

But despite increases in gender repre- ed Akamnonu.

Prof. Vicki Bogan, applied economics sentation in most areas of the financial and management, was also impacted by gender biases when she worked “I’ve experienced times when I’ve had in the corporate sector. Bogan recalled that many business deals to literally ask for or demand more and opportunities were presented responsibility, harder projects or more during stereotypically masculine leisure activities, like golf tournacomplex scenarios to analyze.” ments and poker nights.

Women who don’t feel comChioma Akamnonu MBA ’19 fortable participating in these activities may miss out on promosector, many women who work in the tions and client relationships, exacerbating industry still report obstacles that often do the problem of investment management not impact their male counterparts to the being thought of as a “boys club” that women have to fight to be included in. same extent.

“Those types of activities have a lot of Chioma Akamnonu MBA ’19, a treaimplicit gender bias, but that’s often where sury risk management senior leader at Citi, recalled past experiences in which she was some of the sales and deals would happen. given less trust and autonomy than her That’s how people were made aware of opportunities, so the culture is tough,” male coworkers.

“I’ve experienced times when I’ve had to Bogan said.

One way that diversity in the workliterally ask for or demand place has been encouraged is through m o r e gender quotas — policies in which responsicompanies are forced or incentivb i l i t y, ized to hire and maintain a certain hardquantity or percentage of women. e r While countries with enforced gender quotas saw increases in boardroom diversity and quality, Bogan and Akamnonu both said they would like to see more action taken.

Akamnonu agreed that gender quotas have been effective in enforcing the reevaluation of gender biases. However, she’d like to see many more

By ANGELA DEMARAL Sun Contributor

Workplace bias | Chioma Akamnonu MBA ’19 and Prof. Vicki Bogan explained hurdles they’ve overcome throughout their careers.

conversations happening between execu- welcoming for everybody,” Bogan said. tives and their management teams — and “One of the best ways to try to change the a lot more progress in communication culture is to try to change who’s at the table.” about diversity and inclusion.

When Bogan first began teaching a “It’s not enough to fill up a quota,” course in fixed income at Cornell, she Akamnonu said. recalled only having one woman in her class Without education and reform address- during her first semester. However, she saw ing inclusivity in the workplace, gender a drastic increase in gender representation quotas are limited when combatting fun- in her classroom over the next few years, damental prejudice, largely because there crediting this upward trend in part to the are often loopholes. For example, man- fact that female finance students felt more comfortable exploring agers acting on their complex topics if the innate prejudices may “It’s more than just professor was also a give all of the senior how many women woman. management roles to Diversity in workwhite men despite havthere are, but it’s also ing a broader pool of place leadership has what positions qualified candidates. been shown to have Less than 2 percent advantages outside of they hold.” of chief executive offiinspiring other women Prof. Vicki Bogan and people of color in cers and less than 20 the company. percent of board mem“My experience is bers in financial institutions are women. This leads to fewer that people with different perspectives and role models for professional women, like backgrounds offer different insights that Akamnonu, who credited much of her can help to facilitate the problem solving success to being able to see other women process,” Bogan said. “Irrespective of genthriving in leadership positions. der, ethnicity or any other ways in which “I worry because, in terms of hiring, it’s people are different, I think that diversity more than just how many women there brings a richness to the process.” are, but it’s also what positions they hold,” According to Akamnonu, one way that said Bogan. all employees can help to decrease prejuBogan also emphasized the importance dice and discrimination based on gender of not increasing gender rep- in their workplaces is to speak up on behalf resentation in a “window of their coworkers.

“A lot of individuals aren’t okay with dressing” fashion that is more performative the status quo and what’s going on withto the public than in their organization, but have that fear actually inclusive that if they were to speak up and share for their employees. their thoughts they would be penalized,” “You need to Akamnonu said. “I believe it’s important have representa- that people muster up the courage to seek tion so that spe- change and equality for their colleagues.”

To young women who are interested in cific disciplines and areas feel working in the financial services industry, Bogan said that they “shouldn’t stop purCOURTESY OF AKAMNONU AND suing something that they’re interested in BOGAN just because it’s perceived as a male-dominated career.”

Akamnonu also advised women to be confident in their abilities and professional pursuits. “Be confident in yourself. If you’re a math person and you love numbers — go for it. Don’t let what anyone says deter you from your goals,” she said.

“You can do or be whatever you want. You just have to go hard at it and don’t stop — no matter what.”

Angela Demaral can be reached at amd436@cornell.edu.

Ithaca Tenants’ Union Extends Initiatives TENANTS

Continued from page 1

the mayor and several council members.

But despite its much-publicized rollout, Albany hasn’t approved the resolution, and it is unclear how seriously it was ever considered.

“We’ve been trying to get an update from the mayor, we've been trying to get in contact with the State Department of Health, and we’re just largely being ignored,” Liel Sterling ’21, ITU co-founder, told The Sun. However, this hasn’t stopped the union from continuing its advocacy for renters’ rights. Over the summer, the union organized several protests in July and August to raise

awareness about evictions occur- displacement, regardless of whether ring as a result of the pandemic. you're protected under the Center This semester, it has introduced a for Disease Control’s moratorium, number of other initiatives to help regardless of how far into the evicIthacans in need of rent assistance. tion process you are, and regardless One initiative is its eviction tip of whether you’re behind on rent,” line. As the state eviction moratori- the ITU wrote in a press release.

Once the moratorium is liftum — passed by executive order in March and extended in August and ed, renters — which comprise 73 September — is set percent of to expire on Oct. “The Ithaca Tenants Union Ithacan resi20, the tenants — will will stand with you as you dents union has estabhave to make their lished a phone line face housing displacement.” up missed rent for people to call if ITU Press Release and remain they are in fear of at risk of being evicted. The union will then provide advice and eviction.

“We can’t rely on Cuomo or the support for callers.

“The Ithaca Tenants Union will CDC’s inadequate eviction morstand with you as you face housing atoriums to protect us,” the press

rather than just brief advice.” release read.

The union was started in March Another hotline that the union has established is a legal housing by three ILR students hoping “to hotline, which is staffed by volun- spread awareness about [tenants’ teers that offer guidance to “We’ve been trying to get an update concerned rentfrom the mayor, ... and we’re just ers. Over the summer, the largely being ignored.” hotline mostly Liel Sterling ’21 involved quick advice taken from those answering the calls; according to rights], and make sure that they’re upheld across the board,” accordSterling, it took over 100 cases.

The initiative is starting to ing to co-founder Elijah Fox ’21. expand this fall. The law school has taken up a class, LAW 7854: Tenants Advocacy Practicum, to prepare law students to provide Alex Hale can be reached at callers “full scope representation ahale@cornellsun.com.

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4 | The Corne¬ Daily Sun | Monday, October 5, 2020

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT The Dirtbag Left

I

t’s possible that you’re familiar with the so-called “dirtbag left”. It’s equally possible that you clicked on this article out of sheer confusion.

For those who aren’t familiar with the terminology, a quick Wikipedia search will describe the group as “a term for a mode of left-wing politics that eschews civility in order to convey a socialist or left-wing populist message using subversive vulgarity”. The term is widely associated with a group of podcasts, most notably Chapo Trap House but also Red Scare and Cum Town.

Consider these podcasts as the manifestation of deep Twitter — crass jokes, irony beneath several layers of vocal fry, all interspersed with lifestyle hot-takes that would make your mother have a heart attack.

The group has earned scorn from liberal media. A 2019 article in Jezebel compares Red Scare’s particular brand of performative irony to legitimately hateful neo-Nazi propaganda, arguing that their “it’s the same kind of fig-leaf hipster irony and showy apathy hiding a heaving, scabrous mass of genuine cruelty.” The New York Times published a similarly scathing critique in March, 2020, quoting Amanda Marcotte: “Chapo Trap House,’ the entire Dirtbag Left, have tapped that male privilege of intimidating people into assuming you’re cool.

The same New York Times article describes a live podcast recording in Iowa City from the perspective of what would appear to be a genuinely repulsed reporter —”In blurring occasionally violent humor, jovial community meetups and radical politics, they [the dirtbag left] are the Tea Party reborn for progressives, and for their fans the appeal is in a bawdy offensive balance to cautious mainstream liberal politics.”

This quote leads into another common critique of the dirtbag left: they’re ruining the Democratic Party. On March 9, 2020, Vox published an article on Bernie Bros, which specifically claims that dirtbag left subgroups within the Sanders campaign made it impossible for Bernie to be a unifying candidate, writing:

“there’s no equivalent to Chapo and the other dirtbag left outlets on the other side of the Democratic Party’s internal divide — a closely allied media outlet that has elevated online abuse of its opponents into a politi-

own feralness. Reclaiming vulgarity from the Trumps of the world is imperative because if we do not embrace the profane now and again, we will find ourselves handicapped by our own civility. Vulgarity is the language

COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

cal value. Fairly or not, the prominence of these Sanders supporters and their many social media supporters has shaped the way that media and Democratic Party elites think about the campaign — and maybe even affected some ordinary voters” There’s a lot to unpack from all of these arguments. First, regarding the vulgarity: in a 2016 article for Current Affairs, Amber A’Lee Frost — the Chapo co-host who coined the term “dirt-bag left” — writes: “The left will always need its journals and polemic and academic writing, but there are times when it is both right and proper to terrify the bourgeoisie with your

of the people, and so it should be among the grammars of the left, just as it has been historically, to wield righteously against the corrupt and the powerful. We canMira not cede vulgarity to the vulgarians; Kudva collegial intellecDriskell tuals will always be niche, but class Portrait of a war need not be.”

Gen Z on Fire Now, I’m not going to leap to the defense of this group of podcasters, nor can I speak to the harm that their words may cause. However, I will say that I think there’s something to A’Lee Frost’s argument. Now more than ever, there’s an intense sense of alienation that has permeated through American society. Speaking from personal experience, it’s impossible to approach any discussion about

politics without some mixture of rage and apathy. I’m tired of masking my political allegiances behind a veil of civility — hell, even trying to contain myself for this article is exhausting.

So, when a group of people give voice to the thoughts that are, at some perverse subconscious level, bouncing around your head, it offers reprieve. Rather than being told that we have to constantly contain ourselves, the dirtbag left offers an outlet for those who have reached their boiling point. Similarly to the French Revolution-era libelles that A’Lee Frost references in her article, the rise of the dirtbag left could be a symbol of the impending revolution — an honest signifier of growing class conflict and political disillusionment.

Second, regarding the supposed threat to the Democratic Party. Once again, I want to make my allegiances clear — I do believe that there are significant structural differences between a Trump and Biden candidacy, and that a vote for Biden is a vote for meaningful environmental, immigration and medical policies. But I question whether a threat to the Democratic Party is an entirely bad thing. In a country that’s political axis has been pushed so far right of center that our idea of “left” is essentially centrist, why is it so bad that radicalized youth are questioning the DNC and seeking alternatives?

It’s not as though the Democratic Party is the party of communists — no matter what Trump’s polls would have you believe.

I’m not saying that you have to go and listen to some dirtbag left podcasts.

However, I do think there’s more to the genre than edgelords trying to get a rise out of market liberals. More than anything, the rise of the dirtbag left is a sign of ever-increasing alienation, and only time will tell where that alienation leads.

Mira Kudva Driskell is a sophomore in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. She can be reached at mdriskell@cornellsun.com. Portrait of a Gen Z on Fire runs alternate Mondays this semester.

Fleet Foxes New Album Shore Is A Refreshing Quarantine Anthem CHARLOTTE MANDY SUN CONTRIBUTOR

It has been three years since Fleet Foxes’ last album, Crack-Up, transported us to their world of harmony both jaunty and soulful, but they have done it again in Shore.

Through the whole of the album is an ebb and flow, a push and pull — we are embraced by familiar, lively refrains that bring to mind weekends, summers and car rides in the fresh air, and we are also met with more subdued pieces that reflect the troubled nature of the world at large, of facing the future and of hoping and doubting.

Shore opens in “Wading in Waist-High Water” with an acoustic quietness and an uncharacteristically

smoothed-out sound, which grows to a crescendo, previewing the energy of the rest of the album. With cohesion that continues throughout, its final notes trail into the more instantly recognizable “Sunblind,” with the luster of lead singer and songwriter Robin Pecknold’s voice again taking center stage.

“Sunblind” dwells on the theme of “going out for the weekend” with “dear friends,” namedropping many musical geniuses that have come and gone, such as John Prine and Elliott Smith. It feels like one of the highs of the album, as does the fervent “Can I Believe You?” “Can I believe you,” Pecknold asks, “when you say I’m good?” — this sort of introspection saturates the album as he muses about

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

themes of uncertainty and change. In “I’m Not My Season,” the assertion that,

to / And I’m not the season I’m in” rings especially true in a year of pandemic

COURTESY OF SUBPOP RECORDS

despite everything, “Well time’s not what I belong

and unrest, when it is easy to feel defined by all that

is happening beyond one’s control.

The influence of quarantine on the album is sometimes apparent, but Shore refuses to be glum about it.

Pecknold has said that he wanted the album to be a point of stability, “to celebrate life in a time of death.”

Even when a song begins to sink into a quiet musing, or the lyrics align too closely with the dark, agitated reality of 2020, crowded sections of horns and piano will suddenly revive it with a sense of carrying on stronger — with a laugh, even. Crazed, delighted pieces like “Quiet Air / Gioia” keep our attention. The cheerful motif underlying “Jara” gets stuck in our heads. “Young Man’s Game” makes us smile with its self-aware irony, in “I’ve been solving for the mean-

ing of life / No one tried before and likely I’m right.”

Shore manages to be a close-knit selection of music that at times reflects on heavy content, without being at all cold or heavy itself. It feels like a natural installment in Fleet Foxes’ musical repertoire, but goes off on its own as Pecknold explores new tonal landscapes and instruments that have not featured as prominently in previous work. While the tensions in the album, and in the time that it was written, rise and fall, Shore is a landmark, offering a lucid, stable point of reference that the weary voyager can return to again and again.

Charlotte Mandy is a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences.

She can be reached at crm299@ cornell.edu.

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Monday, October 5, 2020 | The Corne¬ Daily Sun | 5

A New Season of Netflix’s Lucifer

EMMA LEYNSE SUN STAFF WRITER

This summer, I waited eagerly for the release of season five of Netflix’s Lucifer, and after watching I can say that I was definitely not disappointed. The release of the penultimate season of this Netflix favorite came at the perfect time, giving me plenty of time to binge the show during quarantine after my move to campus. Only eight, roughly 50 minute, episodes were released due to COVID19 delaying the production of part two, now to be released in January. Despite being considerably shorter than previous seasons, these episodes were rich in plot and character, with plenty of high stakes and Lucifer’s devilish charm.

After the dramatic ending of season four left us wondering about the future of Lucifer and Chloe, Lucifer makes a typical dramatic return with a new problem to face: his scheming twin brother Michael, who mysteriously appears to meddle in Lucifer’s life. The introduction of Michael adds a new level of mystery to the show, keeping us wondering at his true intentions throughout. While the Michael situation appears to come a bit out of left field as he has never appeared before, it made for a great plot. One thing that I loved about this season was watching Tom Ellis act as both Michael and Lucifer, doing an American accent for the former that was both jarring and comedic. Having him act in both roles made me realize just how quintessential

Lucifer is as a character, as it was bizarre to hear him speaking without his usual British drawl.

This new season of Lucifer gave focus to other characters while showing the development and struggles of Lucifer and Chloe’s relationship. These new character arcs all converge at the end, spurned on by Michael. Some secondary characters are given more central plotlines, most notably Maze, Ella and Amenadiel.

Specifically, I loved Maze’s character arc. We learn more about her past, see her acting in the role as a friend to Linda and Chloe, and see her confronting her own demon(s) — literally. This really humanizes Maze and makes her a much more compelling and interesting character beyond being just a badass.

Thinking back to season one, Maze has really changed a lot: We have seen her become her own person and find her own path, independent of Lucifer, making her so much more of a compelling character.

This season also gave Ella a more central plotline. I have always loved the enthusiastic, quirky and intelligent Ella, yet in previous seasons she never held

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a large role. Now we see her outside of her job as she attempts to swear off “bad boys” and enter into a new relationship.

This new focus on Ella makes me wonder if they are setting it up for her to learn the truth about Lucifer being the devil like Chloe has, which I think would be amazing.

One particularly interesting aspect of this season was the black-and-white episode titled “It Never Ends Well for the Chicken,” which takes place in 1946 and follows the usual cast playing different characters as Lucifer solves a crime.

While I was confused at first at how out of place it seemed, I actually really enjoyed this episode. It was hilarious to

watch the characters act in other roles, and after a while I was completely invested, unbothered by this deviation from the primary narrative. I liked its ability to balance comedy with character development, providing important context to Maze and Lucifer’s story.

However, what I love most about this season is it’s amazing cliffhanger ending that, in typical Lucifer fashion, leaves me anxiously waiting for more. Don’t worry, I would never dare spoil it, but I will strongly recommend you all to watch this fun season and find out.

Emma Leynse is a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences. She can be reached at eal257@cornell.edu.

The Paradox of the Visual in K-Pop Groups JOYCE WU SUN CONTRIBUTOR

In June 2019, Sulli, a former member of the Korean girl group f(x), began hosting a talk show known as The Night of Malicious Comments, a show that featured Korean celebrities reading hate comments about themselves.

Reading her own hate comments, Sulli seemed confident as she laughed them off with ease.

In Oct. 2019, Sulli took her own life.

In K-pop groups, each member is given a role in the band, such as the vocalist or the rapper.

During her career as an idol with f(x), Sulli was the visual of the group. The visual is a role in a K-pop group given to the member that best fits Korean beauty standards, typically displaying pale skin, large eyes with double eyelids and a slim chin, among other traits. The role of the visual has been a staple in K-pop bands since the earliest generations of K-pop. But as old values give way to modern ideals, these traditions should be questioned to reveal their deeper implications, especially their impact on the wellbeing of the idols themselves. Upon deeper scrutiny, it’s clear that the role of visual is problematic as it’s caused serious consequences for the mental health of the band member placed into this role.

From a cultural perspective, it makes sense that K-pop companies have held on to the visual category. Physical appearance has always held an utmost importance

in Korean culture. Nowhere is this better represented than in the massive plastic surgery industry in South Korea. The International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery reports that there were over 650,000 operations of plastic surgery conducted in the year 2011 alone. Undeniably, the social pressure to fit beauty standards and be conventionally attractive is high. Thus, for the entertainment business, having a visual role is a great marketing tactic for the band and for the record company. Seeing a pretty face on an advertisement is a much quicker and more effective way of generating publicity than promoting an entire track or album.

But more publicity for a group may not always be good, as the more popular a group becomes, the more hate and pressure they COURTESY OF FLICKR

will typically face. Unfortunately, the visual role further exacerbates this and creates a concrete target for toxicity. Since beauty is fundamentally subjective, many people will often have differing opinions on which member they find the most attractive, or which member they think is the most deserving of the visual title.

It’s no surprise that with an appearance focused culture, the member who fills the visual role is held to high standards. Often, when netizens (the K-pop community’s name for internet users) find subjectively that the visual idol doesn’t meet those arbitrary standards, they become a target for cyberbullying, even more so than other members of the group.

Notable examples include Twice’s Tzuyu, EXO’s Sehun and BTS’s Jin, who’ve all been criticized for

being unable to adequately sing or rap, and have been accused of being scouted into the band as a visual solely for their looks.

These comments would take a massive toll on anyone’s mental health, especially that of idols, who are already experiencing pressure from multiple other aspects of their lives. Visuals often face a paradox; if all a certain idol has is their beauty, then they’re talentless and dragging down the rest of the group. However, if they’re talented in other ways but don’t fit the beauty standards well, then they don’t deserve to be the visual of the group and they’re dragging down the entire group’s appearance.

While comments from netizens may seem harmless on the surface, in reality, they come with heavy consequences. Taking the example of Sulli, her role as the visual

of her band only worsened her torment. After she passed, many fans identified cyberbullying as a major cause of her mental health decline and her ultimate death.

As her band, f(x), rose to fame, she soon became the target of online toxicity. The torment about her appearance became worse and grew into sexual harassment after she posted a picture of herself in an outfit without a bra on Instagram. Unfortunately, the title of visual not only exacerbates the mental health issues that many Korean idols already face in their high-pressure career, it worsens the attitudes of misogyny as well, with female idols taking the brunt of visual criticism. It’s almost ironic — Korean entertainment companies use their idols to define societal beauty standards, yet those same idols are criticized for not meeting those standards.

Ultimately, the visual title does nothing for idol groups but to discredit the hard work of the member given that title and threaten the idol’s wellbeing. Idols should be recognized for their talent, not their appearance that may or may not fit a set of arbitrary and often misogynistic standards. Korean entertainment companies need to be held accountable for not only the deaths of idols caused by standards that they’ve pushed, but also the cultural implications that come with each and every aspect of K-pop, including the title of the visual.

Joyce Wu is a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences. She can be reached at jyw55@cornell.edu.

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by Reuben Bolling

The Battle of the Colleges

A

s we all know, campus is a bit quiet. No concerts, no sporting events (not that we went to those anyways), no sorority backpacks congregating at Zeus. This is the semester of tumbleweeds through campus and Zoom auditions for your acapella groups. One symptom of the societal hiatus Coronavirus has caused that you probably haven’t considered is the lack of content we columnists are left with. I’ve got option A in writing about the daily frisbee throwers on the Arts Quad, and option B in presenting you with the news that Terrace now has three orange chicken days in the week.

Instead, let’s enter the hypothetical.

Almost every Cornellian is devoutly proud of the college their major resides in. You can get an ILRie to go on about politics or unions for hours. In the spirit of the apocalypse, I have decided to pit Cornell college versus Cornell college. A Hunger Games style fight to the death between AEM majors and classics studiers. Who would win?

The engineers amongst us would be an early favorite. Their ability to develop, design, build and engineer in every sense of the word would help them to construct makeshift weaponry or survival systems like aqueducts.

If the Romans could do it, the Cornellians that live in Duffield can do it. Hell, engineers built the laptop I’m writing this on, I would transfer to be on their team if I didn’t struggle to pass intro to python Freshman year. I was fueled by subpar chicken bacon ranches from Goldie’s until 3 in the morning. That being said, engineering doesn’t make it to the finish line.

It’s clear that an alliance would form between Dyson and Hotel. The curriculum has some overlaps, the career paths tend to be similar, these shared philosophical ideals warrant coalition. Though philosophical might be a stretch. This is a faction of planners. Juniors have had their internships since July, Seniors know exactly where they’ll be in ten years, back at Cornell conducting on campus recruiting for Blackrock now that they’re an asset manager with dental. But in the spirit of planning, conning their way through Cornell with minimal work and high rewards, this mutual cooperation would dissolve quicker than the League of Nations. Dyson advances in the gladiatorial hypothetical by eventually and predictably betraying their cousins in the Hotel school. It doesn’t matter, though, engineering would outlast both.

Human Ecology (yeah, I forgot about that one too) might get further than you’d expect. They study how humans develop.

They’d know our next move before we do. They can tell you what you were like as a child after speaking to you for ten minutes. They know you were the one to

steal Trisha’s cheetos in the first grade even though Emmett was blamed and you let him take the fall. They know that you used to eat the oats first in your Lucky Charms because you were saving the marshmallows for last. Our future psychiatrists and children’s teachers will therefore hold my number two slot. There will be those who disagree, but you’re probably not in HumEc. ILR would be the first to go. Most of my friends are in ILR. One of them will be the president of the United States one day. Still, ILR would be the first to go. Too many differing opinions about how to run the most efficient system in the attempt to survive, they’d crumble internally. One group would run a socialist-esque government based off of the Messiah, Bernie. Another would implement an economic system and run Reagan’s trickle down method. Forget the two party system, if given the chance, ILR would run with 12. And nobody would settle to be the Biden to someone else’s Obama.

Art, Architecture and Planning. The one that got away. I have a shirt with a design from one, another is designing my next tattoo. Meet more of these kids. However, despite their innate creativity and obvious knack for body painting to camouflage with their surroundings, AAP is not my victor.

That leaves us with Arts and CALS. The two schools that probably have the widest breath of majors. Arts, in particular, sports everything from bio to English. Romanticism doesn’t win you the Hunger Games, and despite their fair share of engineers and premeds, the practicality doesn’t outshine the other colleges. Arts would be too distracted with the large question of life, the stories that have not yet been told, and courting potential mates in foreign languages.

The perhaps controversial winner of it all would be CALS. Just say the acronym out and you’ll see why. They know how to food. From the efficiency of composting their soil, to the process of developing Rosé Svedka. Their sustainability would help them outlast the rest of us as we go at each other’s throats. While Dyson resorts to cannibalism, and Arts starves in the winter, when all of their vegan diets are ruined with the death of flora, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences will be going strong with their corn crops. No potato famine for IARD and food science majors.

Half of you had probably never been to a farm before coming to Ithaca. A third of you probably still haven’t. So chalk one up for cowboy boots and straw hats, too bad they’ve learned to love the smell of cow excrement, though.

Despite what many might think after reading this, I, indeed, am not in the ag school. I’m ILR. Just kidding, law school’s overrated.

I have decided to pit Cornell college versus Cornell college. A Hunger Games style fight to the death.

Who will win?

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Sundoku 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)

The Cornell Daily Sun | Monday, October 5, 2020 7

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Sports

MONDAY OCTOBER 5, 2020

O N T H I S D AY 8 0 Y E A R S A G O I N C O R N E L L F O O T B A L L H I S T O RY

October 5, 1940:

Win Over Colgate Clears Path To Top Position in A.P. Poll Gridders blank Raiders in 1940 season opener

By CHRISTINA BULKELEY Sun Sports Editor

On Oct. 5, 1940, Cornell kicked off the football season at Schoellkopf Field with the first of six straight season wins.

The 34-0 victory was followed the next Saturday by a 45-0 shutout over Army West Point, earning Cornell the top spot in the Week One A.P. Poll. 1940 was the last year in which a Cornell football team claimed the No. 1 national rank at any point in the season.

his tenure at Colgate.

A year into World War II, warlike language pervades even the articles about the Colgate matchup, such as MacFarland’s referring to Cornell’s offense as an “aerial blitz-

Tough to Be at the Top

The 1940 season, 14 years before the creation of the Ivy League, featured eight games and a 6-2 record for the Red. Cornell would hang on to the top spot in the polls until Week Five, when it slid to No. 2 and Minnesota took over at the top. Cornell would continue to fall until it ended the season at No. 15, while Minnesota clung onto the top rank until the end of the season. With no NCAA football national championship game in place in 1940, Minnesota’s No. 1 rank made it that year’s champion.

The season opener on Oct. 5 was Cornell’s sixth straight win over its Route 13 rival.

80 years later, the series stands at 49-49-3.

“Andy Kerr’s Colgate team came down to Ithaca again this year ‘merely for the ride’ as the aerial blitzkrieg of the Cornell gridders walloped the Red Raiders on Schoellkopf Field Saturday afternoon by a score of 34-0,” wrote The Sun’s Bob MacFarland in that Monday’s paper.

Signs of the Times

Colgate’s current football stadium is named Andy Kerr Stadium in honor of that coach who took his team to Ithaca “merely for the ride” back in 1940. Kerr accumulated 95 wins over 18 seasons in Hamilton, but was 3-7 against Cornell during

krieg.” Headlines about the war — which the U.S. was still over a year away from entering — are side by side with Cornell sports updates.

Star-Studded Squad

By halftime, Cornell was already up 21-0, with all three touchdowns coming in the second quarter — and the last one with only two seconds re m a i n i n g on the clock. The Red came out to score seven and six more in the third and fourth quarters, respectively. By game’s end, the Red completed 11 of 16 passes for “239 yards gained via the aerial route,” as MacFarland put it.

N o t a b l e Cornellians on the 1940 team included College Football Hall of Famer tackle Nick Drahos ’41, who was a consensus All-American in 1939 and 1940.

Drahos was voted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1981. Also taking the field that day was halfback Hal McCullough ’41, who also threw javelin with Cornell track and field and played nine games in the NFL. Head coach Carl Snavely is also in the College Football Hall of Fame. Snavely coached the Red for eight years and over his career earned a 180-96-16 record with four different teams. In 1939, Snavely led the Red to an undefeated 8-0 season.

A Painful Season Finale

Strong out of the gates | The Red shut out Colgate in the 1940 season opener 80 years ago today. Cornell would go on to be crowned the top team in the nation in the first round of A.P. Polling for the season.

Cornell’s first loss of the 1940 season would come in the infamous Fifth Down Game that November. Cornell originally won the contest 7-3 but forfeited to Dartmouth after it was discovered that the referees had committed an error by granting Cornell an extra down in the fourth quarter off of which the Red scored its only touchdown. That tilt would be followed by a season-ending loss to Penn in Philadelphia, leaving Cornell to finish the season with a 6-2 record.

Christina Bulkeley can be reached at cbulkeley@cornellsun.com.

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