11-13-24 entire issue hi res by The Cornell Daily Sun

The Corne¬ Daily Sun

University Leaders Mourn

Death of Cornell Sophomore

Nov. 11 — Winter Knutson ’27 was identiﬁed as the person who was found dead in Fall Creek Gorge on Sunday, the University announced Monday afternoon.

Ithaca Fire Department ofﬁcers were called to the gorge at 10:30 a.m. for a person in the water, according to an IFD press release. Around noon, an Ithaca Police Department ofﬁcer taped off the end of Willard Way, where responders actively worked, rappelling down the steep slope with a stretcher. The response team began pulling up the bagged body at 12:34 p.m. The recovery took approximately three hours.

Knutson studied math and physics in the College of Arts and Sciences, according to a Monday email announcement from the dean of the college, Peter John Loewen. Knutson, a graduate of Ithaca High School, is survived by their father, Prof. Allen Knutson, mathematics; mother, Soﬁa Akber; and sibling, Taran Knutson.

“Please keep them in your thoughts and be supportive of one another,” Loewen wrote. “The loss of a peer can be extremely challenging to process.”

Winter Knutson ’27 was identiﬁed as the person who was found dead in Fall Creek Gorge on Sunday, the University announced Monday afternoon.

“Please keep them in your thoughts and be supportive of one another,” Loewen wrote. “The loss of a peer can be extremely challenging to process.”

Cornell provides support resources for students. Students in need of professional mental health support can call Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) at 607-255-5155, and employees can call the Faculty and Staff Assistance Program (FSAP) at 607-255-2673. The Ithaca-based Crisisline is also available at 607-272-1616. A wide range of supportive resources is also available at caringcommunity.cornell.edu.

Eric Reilly can be reached at ereilly@cornellsun.com.

Woman Found Unresponsive After Falling Into Fall Creek Gorge Near Stewart Ave.

By MAX TROIANO Sun Staff Writer

Nov. 11 — A woman who fell into the Fall Creek gorge in the early hours of Sunday morning was reportedly airlifted to a hospital. The victim was reportedly unresponsive when found. Her current condition is unknown.

The fall, reported around 1:15 a.m., occurred when the woman tried to jump a fence around the 900 block of Stewart Avenue, according to an Ithaca Fire Department spokesperson.

Ithaca Police, IFD and Bangs Ambulance reported to the scene shortly thereafter. After a lengthy extrication process, she was driven by ambulance to Jessup Field on North Campus and ﬂown by helicopter to Robert Packer Hospital in Sayre, Pennsylvania. Robert Packer Hospital is the nearest Level One Trauma Center to Ithaca, according to the Trauma Center Association of America.

As of 11 a.m., the Stewart Avenue Bridge has been blocked off by emergency vehicles.

Fraternities Vandalized After Sexual Assualt, Drugging Allegations

Nov. 12 — Editor’s Note:

The content in this article mentions sexual assault and drugging.

A student activist group, referring to themselves as Riot Moon, on Monday night smashed the windows and spray painted parts of Chi Phi and Sigma Alpha Mu. The group said in a statement to The Sun that the vandalism at Chi Phi came in response to a recent report of sexual assault and drugging at the house and at Sigma Alpha Mu due to “a pattern of excusing sexual assault.”

Riot Moon wrote that they were “declaring a campaign against fraternities as mass perpetrators of sexual violence on campus.”

Chi Phi was suspended after an individual reported being sexually assaulted by several males and coerced into consuming ketamine and other drugs on Oct. 25 at the house.

When The Sun tried to reach Chi Phi by phone on Tuesday morning, the call was immediately hung up after a Sun editor began to ask for comment.

Sigma Alpha Mu President Cristobal Ramirez ’25 wrote in a statement to The Sun that the fraternity “take[s] all allegations with the utmost seriousness and investigate[s] them accordingly.”

According to Ramirez, Sigma Alpha Mu recently unanimously votedw to evict a member of the organization

based on sexual assault allegations, “underscoring our dedication to holding ourselves accountable.” Two years ago, the fraternity also expelled “a former member from our fraternity for having multiple active Title IX allegations,” according to Ramirez.

Ramirez added that “Sigma Alpha Mu has absolutely zero tolerance for sexual assault.”

“We are deeply disturbed and disgusted by the allegations against Chi Phi, including drugging and sexual assault … We understand the anger and frustration that led to last night’s destructive actions by ‘Riot Moon,’” Ramirez wrote. “However, we don’t condone any further damage to our house. We will now investigate the possibility of further accusations we may not have been aware of.”

“Moving forward, we will continue to take decisive action to make sure that our chapter does not contribute to or condone any form of abuse,” Ramirez wrote.

According to Riot Moon’s statement, the group left a letter at the doors of both fraternities stating, “Fraternities were created to consolidate white male power and perpetrate violence, abuse, and rape in our communities. We no longer tolerate a culture that teaches men to rape, the use of sexual violence to subjugate others, or a ‘justice system’ that continually forces survivors to relive their trauma and leaves abusers unpunished and un-shamed.”

JULIA SENZON Sun Managing Editor

In mourning | Winter Knutson ’27, a graduate of Ithaca High School and child of a University professor, was found dead in Fall Creek Gorge on Sunday, prompting support and grief from University leaders, faculty and students.

ERIC REILLY/ SUN ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR

Vandal’s vengeance | On Nov. 12, a student activist group smashed the windows and spray painted the walls of Chi Phi.

KARLIE MCGANN / SUN ASSISTANT PHOTOGRAPH EDITOR

By ERIC REILLY Sun Assistant Managing Editor

See VANDAL page 4

A LISTING OF FREE CAMPUS EVENTS

Today

Cornell Cancer Support Group Noon - 1:30 p.m., Virtual Event

Guided Mindfulness Medation With the Let’s Meditate Initiative 12:15 p.m. - 12:45 p.m., 106 Upson Hall

3D Scanning to Augmented Reality: a Mobile Device Production Workﬂow for Bringing Spatial Learning to Your Class 2 p.m. - 3 p.m., Creative Tech Lab, Computing and Communications Center

Diner Night

5:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m., North Star Dining Room

Screening and Discussion of Pasolini’s Edipo Re (1967) 7 p.m., 104 Willard Straight Hall, Cornell Cinema

Stefania Neonato Presents “The Romantic French Prelude as Reverie” 7:30 p.m., Barnes Hall

The Corne¬ Daily Sun

www.cornellsun.com E-MAIL sunmailbox@cornellsun.com

Tomorrow

Econometrics Workshop: Vira Semenova 11:40 a.m. - 12:55 p.m., 204 Uris Hall

Peace of Mind Estate Planning Noon - 1 p.m., Virtual Event

Strangers in the Family: Gender, Patriliny, and the Chinese in Colonial Indonesia 12:15 p.m. - 1:30 p.m., Kahin Center

Midday Music in Lincoln: “Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue” 12:30 p.m., B20 Lincoln Hall

Logos Apocalypse Debate 4:45 p.m. - 7:00 p.m., G01 Uris Hall

Marc McQuade: Gensler Visiting

By SUN PHOTOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT

SUNBURSTS: Fall Recap

Winter is coming. Here are some photos from this Fall

MID-AUTUMN FESTIVAL | The Mid-Autumn Festival was hosted by the Chinese Student Association this September on Ho Plaza.

FALL FEST | During Parents Weekend, the SPB hosted Fall Fest, featuring various student organizations, games, cider and donuts. One table offered Cornell-themed trivia and prizes.

AG DAY | Ag Day was held on the Ag Quad in the beginning of October. The festival is held each year by the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and features food, animals and more.

DELTA SIGMA THETA | Delta Sigma Theta perform dances and chants to introduce others to the sorority’s history and traditions.

DANCERS | Dance groups such as Amber Dance, the Assorted Aces and Breakfree performed at the festival.

LION DANCE | Cornell Lion Dance was one of the many student organizations that performed at Fall Fest. Students and families were encouraged to pet the lions if they approached them.

AURORA BOREALIS | Later in October, the Northern Lights were visible in Ithaca.

SITTING ARTS | An installation on the Arts Quad provided wooden seating for students, many of whom took advantage of an unusually warm fall to study and relax outside.

Sophia Romanov Imber/Sun Staf Photographer

Jaein Ku/Sun Staf Photographer

Nathan Ellison/Sun Staf Photographer

Shabaz Wali/Sun Staf Photographer

Karlie McGann/Sun Assistant Photography Editor

Ming DeMers/Sun Photography Editor

Karlie McGann/Sun Assistant Photography Editor

Fraternity Suspended After Alleged Assault

Nov. 8 — Editor’s Note: The content in this article mentions sexual assault and drugging.

An individual reported being sexually assaulted by several males and coerced into consuming ketamine and other drugs on Oct. 25 at a fraternity in the 100 block of Edgemoor Ln., according to a Crime Alert sent Friday afternoon.

The fraternity where the incident occurred was temporarily suspended, effective immediately, according to the Crime Alert. The two fraternity houses located on the street are Chi Phi at 107 Edgemoor Ln. and Lambda Chi Alpha at 125 Edgemoor Ln. Lambda Chi Alpha President Andrew Richmond ’26 wrote, “We don’t have any knowledge of the situation” in a text statement to The Sun.

Chi Phi leadership did not immediately respond to a request for comment at time of publication.

When asked by The Sun to identify the fraternity that is under investigation, a spokesperson for the University wrote that they have no additional information to share.

The Cornell University Police Department was notiﬁed about the incident by the individual on Friday, according to the Crime Alert.

The investigation is ongoing, and the alert directed anyone with information related to the crime to contact the Cornell University Public Safety Communications Center at (607) 2551111.

Members of the Cornell Community may consult with the Victim Advocacy Program by calling 607-255-1212 and with Cornell Health by calling 607-255-5155. Employees may call the Faculty Staff Assistance Program at 607-255-2673. An Ithaca-based crisis line is available at 607-272-1616. The Tompkins County-based Advocacy Center is available at 607-277-5000. For additional resources, visit health.cornell.edu/services/victim-advocacy.

Benjamin Leynse and Avery Prince can be reached at bleynse@cornellsun.com and asp256@cornell.edu.

Chi Phi, Sigma Alpha Mu Vandalized After Reported Sexual Assault

Continued from page 1

The group wrote that they do not trust the police and Cornell administration to “keep us safe” in the letter left at the fraternity doors, stating: “We keep us safe by any means necessary.”

“Destroying systems of male domination and rape culture wherever it exists, from cornell to the white house, is our moral imperative,” the letter states. “This university continues to pour money into weapons and genocide instead of addressing rape, lack of access to reproductive care, and the ongoing mental health crisis on this campus.”

The statement continued: “All fraternities and all brothers are complicit; Chi Phi, Lambda, Ridgewood, we know your guilt and you do too.”

Lambda Chi Alpha declined to comment. Jon Yeung ’26, president of the Interfraternity Council, did not respond to a request for comment.

Members of the Cornell Community may consult with the Victim Advocacy Program by calling 607255-1212 and with Cornell Health by calling 607255-5155. Employees may call the Faculty Staff Assistance Program at 607-255-2673. An Ithacabased crisis line is available at 607-272-1616. The Tompkins County-based Advocacy Center is available at 607-277-5000. For additional resources, visit health.cornell.edu/services/victim-advocacy.

Benjamin Leynse ’27 contributed reporting.

Julia Senzon and Benjamin Leynse can be reached at jsenzon@cornellsun.com and bleynse@cornellsun.com.

Students Protest Against Fascism Following Election

shredding of children’s bodies, that constitutes disruption.”

Nov. 9 — About 50 students, professors, and community members attended a “Stand Against Fascism” rally at Ho Plaza on Friday afternoon, hearing from a slate of speakers who criticized both newly-elected President Donald Trump and the Democratic Party, before marching to the Ithaca Commons to join a larger group of protesters.

The event, held in protest of Donald Trump regaining the presidency, was organized by the Cornell Progressives, Cornell Young Democratic Socialists of America and Cornell’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine. Other organizations including the Ithaca chapters of the Sunrise Movement and Communist Party USA joined the group at the Commons.

Cornell YDSA campaign committee chair Sam Poole ’28 opened the rally, urging the crowd to come together and abide by the University’s Interim Expressive Activity Policy by not using ampliﬁed sound.

“Organize everywhere you can. We may not be able to change the results of this election. [But] we can make sure whatever happens next, we stand together,” Poole said.

Prof. Russell Rickford, history, who faced backlash in October 2023 for saying he was “exhilarated” by the Hamas-led attack on Israel, spoke next.

“Expose the perversity of Cornell hosting the merchants of death amid an ongoing genocide, and [Cornell] will try to ruin you,” Rickford said, referring to pro-Palestinian student activists who have faced discipline after forcibly entering and shutting down a Sept. 18 career fair featuring defense contractors Boeing and L3Harris.

“According to the oligarchs and their proxies,” Rickford added, “it is the banging of pots and pans at a career fair, and not the

Rickford went on to criticize the Democratic Party as well.

“The [Democrats] set out to prove that they could militarize the borders, destroy the planet and grovel before Israeli militarism as well as their opponents could. Well, congrats!” Rickford said.

Prof. Shannon Gleeson, industrial and labor relations and public policy, spoke later.

“This week, we saw the election of a former and now future president, one who has professed to rescue cities that have been invaded and conquered across what he refers to as America,” Gleeson said. “Those of us who are working with … immigrant communities understand this to be a racist and xenophobic dog whistle. It’s an attempt to turn us against newcomers, but it’s also an attempt to turn us against each other.”

The rally was brieﬂy interrupted by a passerby leaving the Cornell Store, who biked through the crowd and yelled out “You’re brainwashed! Choose peace,” leading to a verbal confrontation with a rally participant as a University ofﬁcial watched on.

“There’s no fascism going on here. I’m not for insults, I’m serious, I am as much against fascism as anyone else, and I don’t feel like that’s what’s happening in our country,” the passerby said.

Both the University ofﬁcial present and the rallygoer who argued with the passerby declined to comment.

At one point, an organizer held up a sign that read “Donald Trump suck my dick” and waved it at a nearby tour group, who were swiftly directed away from the protest by their guide.

An hour later, rally participants marched through Collegetown to the Ithaca Commons, joining a crowd of more than 150 people already present to hear from additional

speakers. Organizers distributed pamphlets on “Student Organizing Under Trump Presidency” and “What is Security Culture?” and zines on navigating post-disaster trauma for those dealing with the emotional wake of the election.

Speakers on the Commons included Cornell YDSA co-chair and Sun columnist Nick Wilson ’26, Cornell Graduate Students United committee member Maggie Foster grad, Ithaca Tenants Union co-chair Sarah Curless, Ithaca Democratic Socialists of America chair Jorge DeFendini ’22 and Common Council Alderperson Phoebe Brown (D-First Ward).

Wilson told The Sun it was his ﬁrst speaking appearance at a local protest since he was suspended last April for his involvement in

the pro-Palestinian encampment on the Arts Quad.

“Thank you to you all for making it clear tonight that fascism will not be tolerated in Ithaca, New York,” Wilson told the crowd. “As we know, Cornell would much rather suspend their own students and target their very own than risk paying their fair share to the city of Ithaca. The powerful institutions that rule our lives will not protect us amid the rise of fascism. We’re going to have to force them to.”

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

Max Troiano and Aryan Batada can be reached at mt857@cornell.edu and aib49@ cornell.edu.

Fighting fascism | Sam Poole ’28 marches with other students to the Ithaca Commons during the “Stand Against Fascism” rally on Friday.

STEPHAN MENASCHE / SUN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

VANDALISM

By BENJAMIN LEYNSE and AVERY PRINCE Sun Senior Writer and Sun Contributor

By MAX TROIANO and ARYAN BATADA Sun Staff Writer and Sun Contributor

Damaged door | Students smashed windows of a house door at Sigma Alpha Mu.

COURTESY OF CRISTOBAL RAMIREZ ’25

Visiting Scholars Get Limited Financial, Housing Support

By EMMA GALGANO

Nov. 12 — Each year, Cornell attracts hundreds of visiting scholars and fellows — academics from other institutions or researchers who temporarily conduct research or collaborate on projects at Cornell.

However, many receive no compensation from the University and are required to pay a program fee while struggling with Ithaca’s high cost of living.

Cornell Law School, for example, charges its unsalaried visiting scholars $5,000 per academic year. In the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, visiting fellows are unpaid and must fork over $1,000 to be appointed. The Einaudi Center for International Studies requires prospective visiting scholars to “obtain [their] own source of support.”

Visiting scholars and fellows are also not guaranteed housing. Instead, these academics are placed in the same housing pool as graduate students. Graduate students have three Universityowned housing options — Hasbrouck Apartments, Maplewood Apartments and limited cooperative housing options — resulting in 95 percent of graduate students living in residences that are not University-owned.

Prof. Jane Marie Law, religious studies, has served on several University committees focused on supporting visiting scholars and fellows, including Global Cornell. Law said that the University is not doing enough to ensure adequate ﬁnancial and housing support for visiting scholars and fellows, especially for those traveling to Cornell internationally.

“Visiting scholars and fellows come here to experience a research university, and it is not sustainable for people,” Law said. “People go home in debt, or they just simply can’t come because they can’t afford it.”

Law explained that these researchers can sometimes receive limited help from their home country’s government, amounting to just $600 to $800 a month for living expenses.

“This is nowhere near enough for them to live and research here,” Law said. “For the short term, Cornell can say, well, we put them in Hasbrouck, or we do this, or somebody gets a homestay, but that does not ﬁx the real problem.”

Senior visiting fellow Pedro Erber was formerly an associate professor of Luso-Brazilian studies at Cornell and is currently an associate professor at Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan. Erber remains afﬁliated as a visiting fellow in the Einaudi Center’s East Asia Program and ﬂies to Ithaca from Tokyo whenever needed.

He said that Ithaca’s expensive rental market means he cannot afford to have prolonged stays in Ithaca.

When he has to be in Ithaca overnight, Erber stays at the Dorm Hotel or the Hilton Garden Inn. The Statler Hotel, he noted, does not offer discounted rates for visiting fellows.

“If more resources were available, it would deﬁnitely help,” Erber said. “I might even consider staying for longer periods.”

Law has repeatedly proposed that Cornell establish free hostels and expand ﬁnances, but she said that the administration has routinely dismissed her ideas.

“Every time I suggest it, Cornell says, ‘We could never do that. Oh, that’s too difﬁcult. Oh, that’s too complicated,’” Law said. “I might as well shout into a hurricane.”

Visiting Fellow Norhaﬁza Mohd Hed explained that the lack of housing and ﬁnancial support took a toll on her family.

“The high demand and limited options for family-friendly housing made the process lengthy and sometimes stressful,” Mohd Hed said. “Additionally dealing with high upfront costs added to the difﬁculty.”

When asked about what Cornell is doing to support its visiting scholars and fellows, Nishi Dhupa, associate vice provost for international affairs and executive director at the Einaudi Center, described the establishment of International Scholar House in 2023.

“In September 2023, the Ofﬁce of the Vice Provost for International Affairs launched the International Scholar House to address the housing needs of international visiting scholars, providing month-to-month rentals in a fully furnished, ﬁve-bedroom home,” Dhupa wrote.

The University did not respond on whether there are any plans to expand support for visiting scholars and fellows going forward.

University

Report Over $40,000 in Bike, Scooter Tefts

By KAITLYN XIA Sun Contributor

Nov. 12 — The last time Liv Licursi ’25 saw her bike — a gift from her parents worth about $600 — was the day before classes started. She was visiting a friend’s apartment in Collegetown and left it unlocked outside for 10 minutes.

When she came back, it was gone. She called campus police to the scene, and an ofﬁcer issued a report.

“He did tell me this happens all the time,” Licursi said. “That’s when I discovered the community of people who have had their bikes stolen here.”

Licursi gave the ofﬁcer her contact information and has not heard anything since.

Since the beginning of this semester, campus police have reported 51 bike and scooter thefts in and around campus, totaling at least $41,177 in thefts with no arrests. In just four of the 51 cases, the bicycles were “recovered intact,” according to an online Cornell University Police Department crime bulletin.

Samantha Davies, a ﬁrst-year Ph.D. student, said her initial impression was that Cornell’s campus was “very safe, so I just got a cheap bike lock.” She came to regret that decision when her electric bike, with a sticker price of $2,025, was stolen on Sept. 24, just a month into the semester, from the Riley Robb bike rack.

Davies met with a campus police officer that evening to finalize the report. The case was never solved, and the officer told her there were no cameras near the bike rack.

Since then, Davies said she has not opted to purchase a new bike and now commutes to campus with her partner in the car they share.

“Even today, when I am driving and see people biking, I’m always thinking, is this person on my bike?” Davies said.

The Sun reached out to a CUPD spokesperson and approached CUPD Chief Anthony Bellamy in person for comment on the tens of thousands of dollars in bike and scooter thefts and what campus police have been doing to put an end to the problem. Both referred all questions to a University spokesperson, who declined to answer most of those questions, except to urge Cornellians to take theft-prevention measures, including registering their bikes with Transportation Services, personalizing them and locking them with a U-lock rather than a cable lock.

“Taking these precautions can make a big difference in keeping your bike or scooter safe. Stay vigilant, and don’t hesitate to report anything suspicious,” the University spokesperson wrote in an email statement.

Xia can be reached at kx89@cornell.edu.

John Ondrasik Speaks to Students About Campus Antisemitism

By ROWAN WALLEN and ASHLEY LEE Sun Contributors

Nov. 12 — “Free Palestine has become the greatest, like, con job in the history of the planet,” John Ondrasik, also known as singer-songwriter for Five for Fighting, said at Bailey Hall on Monday night to an audience of approximately 60 people.

Ondrasik and Patricia Heaton, an Emmy-Award winning actress also known for founding the October 7th Coalition — a group of Christians who stand against rising antisemitism in America — were invited to speak and perform at “Combating Antisemitism through the Arts, on Campus and Beyond” in support of the Jewish community amid the Israel-Hamas war.

Ondrasik led the two-hour event, with Heaton extending her support and courage to the Jewish community at Cornell through a video.

Co-sponsor of the event Prof. Randy Wayne, plant biology, opened the event with a speech introducing Ondrasik as well as the rise of antisemitism on college campuses nationwide. Wayne serves as the faculty leader of Heterodox Academy Campus Community at Cornell University, an organization dedicated to open inquiry and constructive disagreement.

“I would like to start with a land acknowledgment: Israel is a Jewish state, and it has a right to exist,” Wayne said.

Ondrasik has written many songs referencing global political events such as “Blood On My Hands,” “Can One Man Save the World” and “OK.” The latter song became a focal point of the event as it discussed the Oct. 7 massacre,

in which 1,200 Israelis were murdered and over 200 were kidnapped by Hamas.

“I saw how a song can provide so much in ways no other media can,” Ondrasik said. “It’s important for artists to use their musical platform to provide a counter-narrative to so many who have also been seduced by the oppressor dogma.”

As he performed, footage of the events referenced in the songs played behind. Nathan Reimer, a Cornell staff member who attended the event, explained that he felt that the videos created a somber mood among the audience as they reﬂected on events revolving around the conﬂict.

“I think the music Ondrasik played shows the power of using music and a powerful message to get through the clutter of what you hear on mainstream media,” Reimer said. “It made a stronger point because it’s not just what you understand in your head, but what you feel in your heart.”

Ondrasik used the event not only to show his support for Israel as a non-Jewish person but also to express his confusion with the political climate on college campuses, particularly at prestigious institutions.

He brought up how at the University of California, Los Angeles — his alma mater — students had to pledge their allegiance to pro-Palestine protesters’ views last spring to gain wristbands to pass through portions of campus, effectively barring Jewish students who supported Israel, according to a preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi against UCLA.

He also noted Columbia University students’ protest of Veterans Day and Prof. Russell Rickford’s existing employment at Cornell as examples of this climate, calling the world “upside down” for allowing someone who called the

Oct. 7 attack “exhilarating” to remain at the University.

The Veterans’ Day protest at Columbia, Ondrasik commented, proved that the conﬂicts worldwide and tense political climates at prestigious universities were not because of religion, but rather “Marxism and far-left agenda,” going as far as to call it “anti-Americanism.”

In an interview following the event, Ondrasik labeled current college campuses as a “ground zero for antisemitism,” questioning the morals of the administrations at prestigious colleges in ensuring safety for Jewish students on campus.

Ondrasik further commented on how some college campuses can make students feel “surrounded by this antisemitism,” stating that he hoped his talks to not only support the Jewish community and anyone with a moral conscience but also stand up against those who encourage antisemitic behavior.

Addressing the crowd, Ondrasik said, “We have to save your fellow students. We have to save these kids who’ve been indoctrinated. They think they’re doing something virtuous. They’ve been seduced into a cult. There’s no other way to put it.”

Ph.D. student Calvin Tolbert, who is Christian, said, “Religious persecution is something that — as an American — I take very seriously. I was heartened to speak to Jewish people after the event and hear them say that they were happy to see people like myself who are not Jewish — who are other religions — being present and standing with them.”

Emma Galgano can be reached at ejg243@cornell.edu.

Sun Contributor

Kaitlyn

The Corne¬ Daily Sun

Independent Since 1880

142nd Masthead

GABRIEL LEVIN ’26

Editor in Chief

MAX FATTAL ’25

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Opinion Editor

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Arts & Culture Editor

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Social Media Editor

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Layout Editor

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Assistant Photography Editor

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Lifestyle Editor

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Weather Editor

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Managing Editor

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JENNA LEDLEY ’27 Assistant Arts Editor

Ban the Frats

We’re in the midst of another fraternity scandal, with Chi Phi temporarily suspended for an alleged sexual assault and drugging during this year’s Halloween weekend. For students at Cornell, this is nothing new — rather, it is, painfully, all too common, marked by temporary, reactive administrative behavior and repeated as soon as the sanctions are lifted.

The problem runs deep at Cornell. It’s deeper than any one frat, deeper than any generation of students and certainly deeper than can be solved with any one action or suspension. It’s the result of misogynistic, hierarchical organizations that are themselves rotten to the core. Increasingly, it’s becoming clear that the only way out of the frat problem at Cornell is a complete, permanent ban, replacing frats with democratically-run, inclusive spaces that don’t commit unspeakable crimes seemingly every semester.

Fraternities have been among the most regulated groups on campus, governed not just by the Student Code of Conduct, but by the Interfraternity Constitution and extensive New York State laws on hazing. Over just the past few years, fraternities have been temporarily suspended, events have been halted and constant sanctions have been imposed. Last week’s vile report of sexual assault and drugging at Chi Phi only demonstrated what we have already learned time and time again: No amount of regulation, nor any temporary half-measures, will make Cornell’s fraternity culture any less lawless.

Across the country, a culture of silence has become the deﬁning feature of campus Greek life, with participation conditional on the willingness of students to keep quiet. Even for members who are not committing heinous acts, refusing to speak up means complicity.

It should come as no surprise to learn that researchers consistently ﬁnd far higher levels of sexual assault on college campuses among fraternity members than non-fraternity members. Fraternities also ﬁnd their origins in explicitly racist, anti-democratic, anti-intellectual attempts by elite students to isolate themselves from their universities.

At Cornell, the fraternity problem even outdates The Sun, which was founded in 1880. Our school holds the unfortunate distinction of having had the ﬁrst documented fraternity hazing death in the United States, reported in 1873. There is absolutely no reason to continue centering our University’s social life on an institution that so often mandates physical danger for some and moral hazard for others.

Ultimately, the most frustrating thing about fraternity life at Cornell is that it isn’t the only path forward. Other schools that have taken the step to abolish Greek life are not looking back with regret. And Cornell already has numerous social and residential organizations that give an outlet for community without the dangerous baggage.

Take, for example, the cooperative system. Cooperatives throw parties, house students and give undergraduates an opportunity to experiment with independent, democratic governance. More importantly, co-ops represent a success story, avoiding the greatest, most publicized sins of fraternity life. At this point, Cornell, if it cares about its student body, has no choice: Ban the frats and begin replacing them with spaces that don’t have a record of raping, hazing, drugging and destroying our students lives.

— The Editorial Board

Editor’s Note: The opinion editor was not involved in the writing of this editorial.

Jane Locke

Jane Locke is a freshman in the College of Arts & Sciences. She can be reached at jal562@cornell.edu.

Te Literary Crisis: A Defense of Rigorous Reading

When one of my professors handed me a packet of article readings to read through by our next class, I flipped through it without a thought to how long it was, simply noting the titles and what sort of ideas I might encounter within. I set the thick bunch of papers down just in time to hear my professor apologize for how much they were assigning us to read, begging us to at least try to get through it. I thought: “What? A professor at Cornell University was feeling bad about making their students read?” I pushed my concerns away. In another class (an English class, for that matter), I was struck by how many of the students would simply blank upon being asked questions about the plot of our readings. It was then that I realized being at a top university in the nation does not necessarily mean being around the top readers.

As it turns out, the patterns I was noticing in my classes play out at institutions of higher learning across the United States. According to an article published by The Atlantic in October of this year, a professor at Columbia University noted that “students now seem bewildered by the thought of finishing multiple books a semester.” Most sources tend to identify this phenomenon as a trend, something that occurs in every generation and must simply be tolerated or adapted to. Shorter readings and assignments are being created to cater to a changing student population, with even whole books being discarded in lieu of shorter selections. Is this really the path we should be taking? Should professors be contributing to the growing literary crisis happening at universities, including Cornell?

In order to answer these questions, it is important to first understand the why: Why are students increasingly being unable to digest longer and more complex material? The easiest reason to point to would be the shortening of attention spans, yet as the Center for Brain, Mind and Society suggests, that idea “may say more about our evolving environments than our actual capacity to sustain attention.” Instead of an actual decrease in students’ abilities to pay attention, there is instead a problem with what the Center calls the “social media dopamine loop.” Technology provides our brains with sudden bursts of a rewarding feeling, causing us to want to return again and again. Reading becomes more difficult, because longer texts build the need for long-term investment and patience to see how a story or concept will play out. Without the immediate satisfaction our “evolving environments” provide, readers are simply

bored. They turn their minds away from what might be seen as “hard to understand” in favor of sudden enjoyment, no matter the costs to their comprehension powers. With the why, now there is only one question in need of answering: Should Cornell bear the rising tide of lower reader comprehension? To be honest, though I am never over-ecstatic about being assigned sixty pages of reading, I still defend the need for lengthy, challenging works in university classrooms. Paraphrasing and cutting down on the rich realm of literature can only lead to disaster. If we are only ever fed the barest of nutrients, only ever consume selections or abridged versions, how can we develop the sort of minds we need to face our age with wisdom? If we are only ever expected to grasp the simplest workings or devices of literature, how can we bring the world to greater understanding? Categorizing an emergency as simply a “trend” that can be waited out does nothing to solve the issue at hand. There is only so much shortening that can be done until there is nothing left. We can not boil down the most beautiful of language only to try to get to the “basic” idea, as it is the craftsmanship of words that lends an entire sentence, an entire book its truest meaning. A fundamental message alone is not what literature is about. Inherent to literature is depth, complexity and beauty. Attempting to cut down on any three of those aspects results in something that cannot be likened to literature. A fundamental message contains no message at all; it adds nothing new to the conversation, only seeking to simplify and destroy any vestiges of thought and originality. Besides this, extensive reading is stimulating for your brain, engaging your mind with tough material that enhances intellectual capabilities. Reading supplies us with the insight we need to effectively handle diverse perspectives and situations. If student reading comprehension continues to decline, we risk diminishing our capacity for dealing with critical ideas, leaving us with an emptier world and impoverished intellectual landscape.

Personally, I do not wish to see such a world come to be. Yet, change is only brought about through examining the tendencies of our present culture and fighting back against them. In other words, bring on the reading. Learning is only accomplished when new ideas are presented, no matter how difficult it may be for students to piece through the material. It will never help to give up on complex works, giving the crisis room to grow. We can only get better through practice.

Prof. Begüm Adalet is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Government. She writes on behalf of Profs. Esra Akcan, David Bateman, Eli Friedman, Shannon Gleeson, Dan Hirschman, Risa Lieberwitz and Noah

Tamarkin.

Email her at ba375@cornell.edu

Persona Non Grata: Te Wrong Answer

We are writing in response to Cornell administration’s use of temporary suspensions and “persona non grata” status as a disproportionate disciplinary tool to prevent student activism and protest.

Four student activists were issued persona non grata status and banned from campus for three years in the wake of the Statler protest. The three-year no-trespass orders were issued during one-on-one disciplinary meetings with the Ofﬁce of Student Conduct and Community Standards. They were issued by Cornell University Police Department, separate from and in addition to the suspensions meted out by OSCCS.

Why was an additional ban added onto the suspensions which already banned students from campus? The key is in the work done by the ﬁgure of the “persona non grata,” or “an unwelcome person.” As philosophical, political and moral investigations of belonging and hospitality show, the ﬁgure reveals how membership in a community is predicated on the exclusion of others. It makes visible the work of boundary drawing and policing in the making and re-making of communities.

We have to understand the imposition of PNG status in these cases of political protest as being explicitly intended to expel certain ideas, not as a disciplinary measure. This is the only way to make sense of the incoherence of adding a three year ban to a “temporary” suspension. In fact, the category of ‘persona non grata’ does not appear in the Student Code of Conduct, nor is its use explicitly provided for in other publicly available University policy documents. The lone exception is University Policy 7.2 on involuntary leaves of absence, where PNG is authorized only after an elaborate process involving the dean of the student’s college or school, the executive director of Cornell Health, the director of Counseling and Psychological Services, their faculty advisor and others. This process has not been followed: The student activists were not placed on involuntary leaves of absence but given temporary suspensions under the Code of Conduct. Moreover, students who were issued PNGs have informed us that they received confusing communication from the OSCCS, with no clear explanation of the connection between their PNG and their suspension and no guidance about what University policy governs their use.

The PNG status is being used as an instrument of the heightened policing and criminalization of our students on campus and as part of the administration’s ad hoc and disproportionate measures. Above all, it makes visible the desire underlying all these punishments: to police what ideas can and cannot be a part of our community.

The Interim Provost has given assurances that PNG status would cease to be effective once the hearings and sanctions process has been carried out, but students have been informed that their cases will not be heard by OSCCS until Spring 2025 at the earliest. Making matters worse, cases

from last semester are still unresolved.

Students who have been declared persona non grata are expelled from the University community. They are isolated and lose access to academic, social, cultural or religious groups with whom they commune. Other than health services, they are only allowed into Cornell grounds with explicit written permission from the Chief or a Deputy Chief of Cornell University Police. This is at odds with the core values of the University, which describes it as “A Community of Belonging,” that is, “a welcoming, caring, and equitable community where students, faculty, and staff with different backgrounds, perspectives, abilities, and experiences can learn, innovate, and work in an environment of respect, and feel empowered to engage in any community conversation.”

Who is included in and excluded from our community says a lot about the type of community we are and want to be. The Cornell Committee on Expressive Activity wrote in their Draft Report that “we are committed to supporting students who courageously question and challenge unjust uses of power.” Students who undertake critical thinking and action should not be shunned, but welcomed back into our midst so that we can continue to question, challenge, and learn to grow with each other.

That Cornell’s persona non grata order goes beyond any reasonable penalty is made apparent when comparing it to the Ithaca community’s response. At the Ithaca Town Court arraignment of the students, over 200 Cornell and Ithaca community members convened to show their support and love for them. In contrast to Cornell’s extreme response to the students’ actions, the Assistant District Attorney immediately proposed “that the defendants accept a disorderly conduct charge, which would result in 25 hours of community service.” One of the cases was actually dismissed, because the charging document — the police report(s), prepared by CUPD, which also issued the persona non grata, and which is possibly the Cornell complainant on which the temporary suspension is based — was deemed “facially insufﬁcient” by the judge. The University responded the same day by upping the ante – immediately evicting the same student from campus housing.

Our campus — a community of learning, conversation, belonging, reconciliation, and growth–is for students. It should not be the site of banishments and exclusions.

Author and activist Naomi Klein said it best when she dedicated her Bartels World Affairs Lecture to the suspended students on Oct. 23 and pointed out that weapons manufacturers are welcome on campus but the suspended students were not allowed to attend her talk. As Klein stated, “[T]he students would have wanted to be here tonight — perhaps to listen, perhaps to strongly challenge me on areas where we disagree — but are forbidden from being here. This feels wrong because it is wrong.”

Sophia Dasser

Sophia Dasser is a frst year in the College of Arts and Sciences. Her fortnightly column Debugging Ethics explores the intersection of technology, ethics and social justice, focusing on the overlooked. She can be reached at sdasser@cornellsun.com.

Trough

Teir Eyes

Opening social media: one moment you see a child being carried from rubble, face bloodied, families weeping. Then, within a single swipe, the Israeli flag appears, reposted by someone you know – someone you find kind, and approachable. This is an experience many of us share, and it’s jarring. How can one possibly look at the same images and still choose, of all things, to repost that flag?

It’s a question I’ve wrestled with because it feels personal. What goes through their minds when they see the same violence I do? How can they justify it? And how can I separate the “them” and “us” when the parallels of our faith are right in front of me?

As a Muslim, Palestine is more than a political issue, it’s a moral one, rooted in faith. The connection Muslims have to Masjid Al-Aqsa in Jerusalem is woven into our beliefs, just as Zionists connect with Israel: Our first Qiblah, the sacred ground where all the prophets joined together to pray. Many Jews are taught that Eretz Yisrael – the biblical Land of Israel – is their God-given right, not too far from what Muslims are taught about Mecca and Medina. To some Jews, Israel is not just a religious claim, it’s survival. The trauma of the Holocaust fuels the belief is that without Israel, Jews could face another genocide. Yael Zerubavel, in Recovered Roots: Collective Memory and the Making of Israeli National Tradition, talks about how Israeli identity is built around this trauma. The land isn’t just holy; it’s their defense, their protection.

This column isn’t about arm deals or Western Influence. It’s about understanding why students my age, who, like me, have no financial or political stake in the conflict, yet still see Israeli sovereignty as more vital than the lives being lost.

At first, I thought maybe they’d been brainwashed. But if that were true, couldn’t the same be said about me? I was raised with certain beliefs about Palestine, just as they were raised with theirs about Israel. But an important realization stops me: if justice is relative, why do Jewish groups like Jewish Voices for Peace stand in solidarity with Palestinians? Why are there cross religious movements against Gaza’s suffering? It seems that there’s an intuitive sense of justice that transcends the divide. There’s no “Muslim Voices for Israel” because, fundamentally, something about what’s happening feels universally wrong.

To understand this divide, we need to do more than just acknowledge belief, we need to explore cognitive dissonance. Psychologist Leon Festinger’s theory of cognitive dissonance explains that when faced with conflicting information about their beliefs, people will adjust their thinking to reduce discomfort. Political psychologist, Daniel BarTal, calls this a “siege mentality,” where people believe they’re constantly under threat, justifying al -

most anything for self-preservation.

So, when I see Israeli flags on my feed, I realize they’re not seeing what I’m seeing. The violence, the bloodshed — it’s not registering the same way because, to them, it’s necessary. It’s survival.

To get to the root of the problem: we need to identify the driving mindset that has been reinforced by centuries of conquest: possession is power. Israel isn’t alone in interwinging land and religion; we see similar claims across major religions today. But must religion rely on possession to be powerful?

Native American perspectives offer a powerful alternative. Author of God Is Red, Vine Deloria Jr., contrasts this indigenous view with colonialist thought: “the earth does not belong to us; we belong to the earth.” This view, centered on stewardship rather than ownership, contrasts sharply with Zionism’s territorial claims. Shifting to see land as a shared space transforms the narrative entirely. This isn’t just airheaded optimism; cities like ancient Jerusalem and Damascus, although now getting destroyed, prove that coexistence happened once and can happen again.

Historian Nurit Peled-Elhanan, in her book Palestine in Israeli School Books, shows how Israeli education depicts Palestinians as existential threats, framing Israeli actions as justified defense. This shapes young minds to internalize these portrayals, without ever questioning the larger context of occupation, displacement, and suffering.

But where does Israeli and Jewish education come in with the random, non-religious Americans that also support Israel? The U.S. education system tells a similar story. Gary Nash’s The History Wars highlights how American textbooks sanitize and whitewash the violent history of colonization, and instead emphasize a glossed-over version of American resilience and progress. Israel’s story mirrors that of the U.S. itself. The Manifest Destiny mindset — settlers believing America was divinely destined for them — resembles Zionist claims over Palestine. When we’re not taught to question our own nation’s history of violence, it becomes easier to overlook the same patterns elsewhere. Unsurprisingly, we’re conditioned to value sovereignty and security — two pillars of Zionist discourse — above all else, even at the cost of human lives. As well as see colonialism as a necessary evil, one that it is inevitable in the rise of a nation. To admit Israel is wrong, for many Americans, is to confront their own country’s dark history.

Often a key point in my columns: our solution is education. When we talk about reforming education, the focus often falls on adding forgotten topics or strengthening neglected information, But the real gap isn’t in what’s missing — it’s in how we’re conditioned to respond to what’s already there.

SC I ENCE & TECH

Look Up! Meteor Shower Will Peak Saturday

By ANDREA KIM Sun Contributor

Ithacans and Cornellians will be able to observe the annual Leonids meteor shower this Saturday, Nov. 16. This shower is called “Leonids” because the meteors appear to emerge from within the constellation Leo.

The Leonid meteor shower is annually active throughout the month of November, generally peaking around Nov. 17 or 18. This year, it will peak on Nov. 16 and 17 and can be seen from the Northern Hemisphere. This Saturday, the weather is predicted to be partly cloudy in the evening, with more clouds later at night.

A meteor is a rock from outer space that enters Earth’s atmosphere. The heat generated as the rock falls creates a bright streak, appearing as a “shooting star.”

These space rocks are released by comets as they orbit the sun, leaving a trail of debris behind them. When Earth passes through the orbit of a comet, the debris collides with Earth’s atmosphere, creating meteor showers.

The Leonids meteor shower is caused by Tempel-Tuttle, a small comet that completes a full orbit of the sun every 33 years.

The Leonids meteor shower was ﬁrst

recorded in 902 A.D. While the Leonids meteor shower is fairly weak with a lower shower rate of around 15 meteors per hour, they are known to produce some of the fastest and most colorful meteors, reaching speeds of 44 miles per second.

Aside from the annual shower, a Leonids storm occurs about every 33 years. A meteor storm is more intense than a meteor shower, with hundreds to thousands of meteors per hour. However,

meteor storms are inconsistent and often occur outside of this time frame. The last recorded storm was in 2002.

Viewers do not need special equipment or skills to view the meteor shower. To maximize the viewing experience, sky-watchers should ﬁnd a secluded viewing spot away from city lights.

“Because [Leonids is] a fairly weak shower, getting off campus is the best bet,” said Erik Payton ’25, president of

Cornell Astronomical Society. “Cornell has the Hartung-Boothroyd Observatory up Mount Pleasant. It’s not a public observatory to go in, but it’s a popular stargazing spot for a lot of students. If you can get off campus, going there would make sense. Otherwise, getting as much away from light pollution as you can is the biggest thing.”

Andrew Lewis ’27, Vice President of the Cornell Astronomical Society recommended the Fuertes Observatory as the prime pick for seeing the meteors on campus.

“If you’re on campus, the best place is probably here at the Fuertes Observatory,” Lewis said. “It’s rather noticeable — once you step off the street and onto the observatory grounds, you can see a signiﬁcant amount more stars.”

In December, Cornellians can look forward to the Geminids shower, which has a higher shower rate.

“The Leonids meteor shower has around 15 per hour on average, but the Geminids is 120 per hour,” said Lewis. “On Dec. 14, you’ll be able to see meteors in the sky just by chance, and are more likely to see meteors then, rather than the upcoming November shower.”

Andrea Kim can be reached at ack247@ cornell.edu.

Reid Fleishman’s ’25 Passionate Pursuit

of Sustainability at Morrison Dining Hall

By MARISSA GAUT

Those who have eaten at Morrison Dining Hall are already familiar with the work of Reid Fleishman ’25.

When Morrison Dining first opened its doors in January 2022, it used reusable utensils, cups and dishware. However, the unique setup of the dining hall posed significant challenges.

The Morrison dishroom is located underground and connected by a moving carousel system. According to Fleishman, silverware frequently fell off the carousel and sometimes even became lodged in unexpected places, such as the ceiling. Coupled with understaffing, these issues made it extremely time-consuming for staff to manage the workload. As a result, Morrison had to revert to using paper plates and bowls to keep up with demand.

“I was eating at Morrison every day, and I noticed that they were serving with paper plates and bowls every single day,” Fleishman said. “As someone who is thinking about sustainability, that started to bother me.”

Then a sophomore, Fleishman went beyond just voicing his concerns — he took action. For over a year,

Fleishman worked tirelessly to help transform Morrison into the more sustainable dining hall that it is today.

Fleishman’s journey began in September 2022 at the Cornell State of Sustainability Address, an open forum for students to voice concerns to dining management. Fleishman’s initial proposal was straightforward — implement a sorting system with chutes to drop silverware, similar to Okenshields. Fleishman realized this proposal was infeasible when he learned of the underground dishroom at Morrison.

Fleishman would not let the underground dishroom

setup stop him. He began investigative work by talking to workers and management at Morrison and even going into the dishroom. He also spoke with the manager at Okenshields to see how they implemented their efficient silverware separation system. Learning about Okenshields led Fleishman to his second prototype — sorting bins attached to the moving carousels where students place their dishware.

Fleishman attended a Student Assembly Dining Committee Meeting to once again voice his concerns and propose his new solution in October 2022. The head of Cornell Dining,

Paul Muscente, took notice of Fleishman’s proposal. Fleishman soon connected with Dustin Freeley, the general manager of Morrison at the time.

“Cornell Dining is always looking for ways to increase efficiency, enhance sustainability and improve the guest experience in our eateries” Freeley said. “Fleishman was very thoughtful in his suggestions.”

Now with the attention of dining administration, Fleishman presented the silverware bins on the carousel design. His proposal, however, was initially dismissed.

“The conclusion from this meeting was basically like, ‘that’s a great idea, but we’re not sure it’s going to be feasible,’ Fleishman said. “They basically just said to hold off on the idea until they had more staffing, and then maybe they would cfeonsider it.” said Fleishman.

With his proposal being dismissed once again, Fleishman left campus for winter break hungry for change. He spent his vacation hard at work, coming up with 15 pages worth of ideas. One of these ideas would end up striking a chord with dining management.

Fleishman attended a Student Assembly meeting in March of 2023, where he proposed having six silver -

ware bins underneath the dish drop carousel in a very similar fashion to how the Morrison Dining dish drop works today. Dustin Cutler, Cornell’s senior executive director for dining, retail and print services, took interest. Within a week, Morrison Dining tested Fleishman’s proposal.

“It was almost like a light switch flipped,” Fleishman said. “That next week, management was more receptive to my idea, and at the very end of March the bins were put to the test.”

On the first day, Fleishman noticed some problems with the bins — they were oriented vertically, causing students to have to reach back into the dish drop to place their silverware in the proper bins. Additionally, the labels designating fork, knife or spoon were pasted onto the bins themselves and would frequently slip off and cause confusion with students.

Fleishman quickly jumped into action and arranged to flip the bins horizontally and place the labels on the dish drop itself to help them stay in place.

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

Marissa Gaut can be reached at mlg323@cornell.edu.

Sun Contributor

Sustainable silverware | Reid Fleishman ’25 helped create a more efficient dishware system at Morrison Dining Hall.

Mighty meteors | The Leonid meteor shower will peak in Ithaca on Saturday, Nov. 16.

COURTESY OF REID FLEISHMAN ’25

COURTESY OF NICK COTE / THE NEW YORK TIMES

Romanticizing Your Education At Cornell

By Mary Ellison

Mary Ellison is a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences. She can be reached at mbe35@cornell.edu.

Seeing the good in an 8 or 9 a.m. class is hard. Sometimes, it’s hard to haul myself out of bed for mine. My mattress is too comfortable; I’m too warm and cozy beneath the covers … but I still get up. Why? For starters, it helps that despite it being so early in the morning compared to any of my other classes this semester, I do genuinely enjoy my 8:40 a.m. Greek class. That certainly adds incentive. Otherwise, it comes down to the fact that I’ve found it easier to stay on top of things for the rest of the day by going to my first classes, no matter how early they are.

“Dark academia” is a popular internet subculture that romanticizes higher education and intense study during the “dark” fall and winter weather. As a Classics major, I’ve been pretty tied to dark academia since I found it as a high school Latin student. The culture considers the long hours spent poring over poetry or toiling over translations ideal. It’s good that you have a lot of schoolwork — and at a place like Cornell, we all have a lot of schoolwork, which makes it even more important to stay on top of things.

Taking enjoyment out of my walks to class is another motivator to keep up with my studies. I put on my headphones, make up a little queue of the songs I’ve been listening to recently (or the single song I’ve been looping manically), and take in the campus beauty as I walk. Being in nature does wonders for mental health and Cornell’s campus is so beautiful that it would be criminal not to take advantage of it, especially before the weather gets colder and bleak. A slight dissociation on the way to class never hurt anyone. Similarly, it is important to take some time every day just to go somewhere comfortable, inside or outside, and relax, regardless of all the work you must do. Academic pressure and piles of schoolwork loom over us, but it’s hard to derive any peace of mind if we never take a step back and take some time away from it, even if it’s only 10 or 15 minutes. Go to Temple of Zeus, grab a coffee, sit on one of the benches lining the back wall (because chances are there won’t be any free tables), and do some people-watching. Find a friend and take

a walk through the botanic gardens. Read a classic. The Secret History by Donna Tartt is a popular novel set at a fictional college that follows a group of students who commit murder. It is very popular in spaces that romanticize academia because the students are so invested in their studies that they lose touch with reality — one of them had no idea we had been to the moon. However, it is essential to note that The Secret History is a satire of an extreme. We shouldn’t become quite so obsessed with our academics to the point of pretentiousness, but in The Secret History, the aesthetic is there. The college setting with characters immersed in their studies captures readers and makes people want to emulate such an immersion in their lives. This isn’t a bad thing, but obviously, there is a line — a distinct one can be drawn at murder, for starters.

I love gray and overcast weather and prefer the cold, so I don’t suffer the characteristic seasonal depression that some of my friends do during the winter in Ithaca. However, even if you dislike the weather, I would argue there is still some potential to make the most of it. I think we as a society would benefit from being more whimsical, taking even the small things and positively construing them. Even as the sharp winter wind whips against your face, consider it a reminder that you are alive. You are here, at Cornell, studying among a cohort of incredible people — your peers.

Discovering new places on campus also keeps your mind busy and away from the anxieties we all face daily as college students. Changes in scenery can be good, so visit a library different from your usual haunt. Find a new study space in MVR or Willard Straight, or visit an on-campus café you’ve never tried. While it is essential to like what you are doing in school, some of the best ways to romanticize your education or keep yourself from resenting your time here directly have nothing to do with your education. You should love your classes and want to continue learning, but what you do outside of classes and homework is a big part of what will keep you motivated and happy to continue doing what you are doing.

Beating Te Cold: Best TCAT Accessible Fall Hikes

By Vivien Dobrescu

Vivien Dobrescu is a freshman in the School of Architecture, Art & Planning. She can be reached at vmd33@cornell.edu.

As the last few leaves fall off Ithaca’s trees, take advantage of the natural beauty among us and get outdoors! Ithaca boasts more than 100 waterfalls within 10 miles of downtown and has plenty of hiking trails near campus accessible by bus. So don’t let this year’s milder autumn go to waste and head outdoors to one of these seven hiking trails! Each trail has the closest TCAT bus stops listed, but double-check availability as some bus routes and stops are only serviced seasonally!

1. Robert H. Treman State Park

One of the most well-known and well-visited parks about a 15-minute drive from Central Campus is Robert H. Treman State Park. Known for its picturesque falls and iconic stone bridge, Treman offers endless hiking opportunities, including the Rim Trail, Upper Gorge Trail and the Pine Trail. Most trails are moderate in difficulty and vary in distance. Some can be completed in about 45 minutes, while others take up to two hours, as there are several impressive stone staircases and elevation changes.

Bus Stops: Elmira Rd @ Enfield Creek Overpass, Entrance to Upper RH Treman State Park, Treman State Park

2. Sapsucker Woods

Sapsucker Woods is located near the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and offers five individual trails within its grounds: the East Trail, the Hoyt-Pileated Trail, the Severinghaus Trail, the West Trail and the Wilson Trail. Sapsucker Woods is about 15 minutes away from Cornell by car and is open year-round. The Wilson trail is highly recommended and only takes about 25 minutes to complete if you don’t want to commit to an intense hike!

Bus Stops: Lab of Ornithology, Winston Court Apts

3. Black Diamond Trail

The Black Diamond Trail is actually on the historic track of the Black Diamond Express, a passenger rail service that once ran from Ithaca to New York City along the Lehigh Valley Railroad from 1896 until 1959. Although the track has long been abandoned, it has recently been converted into a multi-use trail limited to cyclists, walkers, runners, and the likes.

The trail is an easy 8.5 miles in length and is about 15 minutes away by car.

Bus Stops: Cass Park (Summer only), Buffalo @ Taughannock, Cayuga Medical Center, State/MLK at Inlet Island

4. Taughannock Falls State Park

Another crowd favorite, Taughannock Falls State Park has four main trails to choose from: the Taughannock Falls Multiuse Trail, the North Rim Trail, the South Rim Trail and the Gorge Trail. While most trails range from moderate to difficult, the North Rim Trail is only about 1.5 miles in length and offers a birds eye view of Taughannock Falls, the tallest single-drop waterfall east of the Rocky Mountains.

Bus Stops: Taughannock Falls

Overlook,Taughannock Falls State Park

5. Buttermilk Falls State Park

Buttermilk Falls State Park has trails for everyone with difficulty ranging from easy to advanced. With a plethora of individual trails including the Finger Lakes Trail, the Lake Treman Trail, Owl Creek Trail. Bear Trail, Larch Meadow Trail, Gorge Trail and Rim Trail, Buttermilk Falls State Park will surely take more than one visit to fully explore. The Gorge and Rim trails are highly rated and only take about an hour to complete.

Bus Stops: Elmira @ Spencer, Lower Buttermilk State Park (Summer only)

6. Cascadilla Gorge Natural Area

The Cascadilla Gorge Trail is one of the most picturesque gorges near campus and connecting trails walk you through over six waterfalls. The Upper Cascadilla Gorge Trail is an easy three-quarters of a mile in length and connects Cornell to downtown Ithaca. The lower trailhead is located at Treman Triangle Park, while the upper trailhead is located behind Cornell’s Schwartz Center for Theatre Arts. The lower gorge is typically closed during the winter months, but the upper gorge above College Ave. is open year-round!

Bus Stops: Court @ Linn, Ithaca Commons - Seneca St, Schwartz Performing Arts Center

VIVIEN DOBRESCU / SUN LIFESTYLE CONTRIBUTOR

Robert Treman State Park | Some spectacular views from Treman’s most popular trails.

Student Assembly Grills Kotlikof, Lombardi on Housing Concerns Food Recovery Network Donates

By KENDALL EDDINGTON and HAMNA WASEEM Sun Contributors

Nov. 8 — Interim President Michael Kotlikoff and Vice President for Student and Campus Life Ryan Lombardi ﬁelded questions at Thursday’s Student Assembly meeting on a wide range of issues from concerns that Cornell’s cooperative housing system is underfunded and mismanaged to whether calls for genocide count as protected speech.

The meeting was brieﬂy interrupted when two pro-Palestinian protesters wearing kefﬁyehs and with pink paint on their hands and faces walked in front of Kotlikoff and Lombardi and placed a sign reading “blood is on your hands” on the table in front of them.

Kotlikoff said “thank you” to the activists before continuing with the questioning.

Housing Process

Chair of the S.A. Dining Services Committee

Ezra Galperin ’27 voiced frustration over how students had been “blindsided” for the last two years during the housing selection process. He mentioned that students are currently living in forced triples and quintuples this fall due to insufﬁcient housing.

Lombardi explained that the housing window shift from spring to fall semester led to increased demand from upperclassmen students and expressed difﬁculties in calculating housing allotments.

“This fall, we didn’t have to utilize study lounges or anything like that,” Lombardi told the Assembly, adding that he wished “it was an exact science and we could do these analytics without any errors at all, but there is an art to this in terms of human decisions.”

Greek Life

Student Health Advisory Committee Chair Davian Gekman ’27 confronted the administrators over what he saw as their lack of support for a Greek Life system in decline.

“Does the administration support Greek Life?” Gekman, who serves as president of the Kappa Sigma fraternity, asked. “Or is it just something that they’ve given off to the students and let them decide if they want it to continue or let it slowly die off?”

“Let me just start off with the administration supports Greek Life,” Kotlikoff said, adding

that his son was an active member of Greek Life during and after his time at Cornell. Lombardi said he was open to holding a “strategic conversation” with the Interfraternity Council about the future of Greek Life on campus.

Protected Speech and Hate Speech

Last year, former President Martha Pollack said in a statement to the Cornell community that “an explicit call for genocide, to kill all members of a group of people, would be a violation of our policies.” Student-Elected Trustee J.P. Swenson ’25 pointed out that former American Civil Liberties Union President Nadine Strossen said in an April 29 panel with Kotlikoff that “calls for genocide are protected speech under First Amendment principles.”

Swenson asked Kotlikoff to clarify whether that policy prohibiting explicitly genocidal rhetoric is in line with Cornell’s commitment to free speech.

“When we get to direct calls for violence, that gets into a careful area,” Kotlikoff said, explaining that Cornell must balance its First Amendment values with legal requirements that federally funded universities prevent and alleviate hostile environments based on race, color or national origin.

Last year, Cornell and six other educational institutions were placed under investigation by the Department of Education over their handling of antisemitic and anti-Muslim harassment. The University also faced scrutiny from Congress over Cornell’s approach to protecting Jewish students from harassment and discrimination on campus.

Co-Op Housing

In reference to student concerns over having to shoulder the ﬁnancial burden of co-op housing maintenance, Deputy Vice President of External Affairs Flora Meng ’27 asked Lombardi how co-ops can get more administrative assistance. Lombardi communicated that he has been meeting with house leadership on these issues.

He also explained that the current funding structure was established by the original co-op leadership at the time of the houses’ founding. He explained that the intention was to give houses the autonomy to set their own rates, but that if current leadership wants more University funding, there should be further discussion.

Kendall Eddington and Hamna Waseem can be reached at kle53@cornell.edu and hw765@cornell.edu.

Unsued Food to Alleviate Insecurity

By IZZIE DIALLO Sun Staff Writer

Nov. 12 — 11.9 percent of residents of Tompkins County, or 12,200 people, were food insecure in 2022, according to Feeding America. Charlotte Ariyan ’26 said she believes Cornell can be part of the solution.

As a ﬁrst-year student living on North Campus, Ariyan was surprised by how much food Cornell’s dining halls produced and ﬁgured that a lot of it was wasted. Two years later, Ariyan is the community outreach chair for Cornell’s chapter of the Food Recovery Network, a national organization with chapters around the county working to recover food waste and combat food insecurity.

Ariyan explained how dining hall kitchens have leftover ready-to-eat meals, which Cornell FRN donates to the Friendship Donation Network — a donation center that “rescues fresh, nutritious foods that would otherwise be thrown away.” Donations are then distributed to hunger relief programs throughout Tompkins and nearby counties.

Ariyan said she has seen ﬁrsthand the impact of FRN on FDN, with Cornell being one of the only donors to provide full, pre-made meals to the center.

“A lot of people from addiction recovery centers, homeless shelters or just other people in need can come to this center and get food,” Ariyan said.

Anaïs Ozer ’26, director of volunteers at Cornell FRN, explained that FRN has two types of volunteers — recovery volunteers and recovery drivers. Recovery volunteers go in groups to the dining halls to recover unserved food and package it before meeting the recovery drivers at a designated meeting spot. The recovery drivers then take the packaged food to FDN and weigh and refrigerate the recovered food.

Cornell FRN currently recovers food from four dining halls on campus — Morrison Dining, North Star Dining Room, Jansen’s Dining Room and Becker House Dining Room.

FRN runs recoveries twice per week from Morrison Dining and once per week for each of the other three. Ozer explained that FRN hopes to expand operations to include more dining halls but lacks enough volunteers.

“It was a really big deal when we got to recover from Morrison and especially getting a place to store all the [food] containers and bags in [the dining hall],” Ozer said. “The biggest thing we struggle with in food recovery is making sure we have enough people to drive and to volunteer, and if we had more volunteers, especially with cars, we would be able to do a lot more.”

See FOOD page 15

Just Cause Legislation Stagnates in Common Council

The committee members acknowledged the stagnancy of the legislation and said that their current focus is research and community input.

Prof. Gali Racabi, law and industrial and labor relations, pointed to New York City’s 2021 Just-Cause employment policy for fast food workers as another model for Tompkins County.

Nov. 11 — Despite community support for Just Cause Employment, the legislation remains stagnant in Ithaca’s Common Council.

The city currently operates under at-will employment, which allows employers to ﬁre workers without explanation or notice. The National Employment Law Project drafted the 2023 Just Cause legislation, which stipulates that employers cannot terminate employees without at least a 30-day notice outlining the performance issue and speciﬁc steps they can take to address concerns.

According to Ithaca Just Cause — a coalition of Ithaca community organizations advocating for the legislation — the movement also aims to establish standards for “progressive discipline” and a commission responsible for hearing wrongful termination cases. Alderpersons Phoebe Brown (D-1st Ward) and Kayla Matos (D-1st Ward) brought the proposal to the Common Council on May 20, 2024, according to Alderperson Ducson Nguyen (D-2nd Ward).

Clyde Lederman ’26 (D-5th Ward) said that a few Common Council members formed a committee named the Labor Protections Working Group to draft an original version of the legislation. According to Lederman, “other folks in the City didn’t want to just use a law that an outside group had created.”

Nguyen said that the Labor Protections Working Group had met around six times since the draft was originally brought to the Common Council. He said that conducting research slowed their progress and that they aim to host at least two open houses in 2025 for community members to learn more and voice concerns about the potential Just Cause policy.

“We’re really ramping up just to begin another push … to get more people to understand and to be involved [in the Just-Cause legislation],” Brown said. “So it may [have] stagnated in the Council, … but we’ll be bringing it up again.”

Stronger labor protections affect workers employed within the City of Ithaca, which includes University employees.

“[Graduate student workers] have the feeling that their boss can basically let them go at any moment without providing any justiﬁcation, without any kind of progressive discipline,” said Ewa Nizalowska, a Ph.D. student and Cornell Graduate Student Union communications member.

Despite the current legal stalemate, the Just Cause movement has garnered considerable community support.

“Greater security for workers, especially in service industry jobs, is something we should all want for them,” said Lisa Swayze, general manager of Buffalo Street Books. “The only way I can imagine it being harder on a business is if they’re not already prioritizing it.”

Just Cause policies could also benefit employers by reducing the costs of hiring new staff on short notice, according to Kevin Mietlicki, chief executive officer of Alternatives Federal Credit Union. He said it is “expensive to find good employees and to onboard and retain them.”

Just Cause could reduce the frequency of this process.

Mietlicki said his company follows a progressive discipline approach, providing employees with opportunities to improve through written warnings before dismissal. This practice, which aligns with the proposed Just Cause policy, fosters trust between employers and employees, according to Mietlicki.

“My intuition is that the closer the finalized law is to the NYC fast food workers law, the safer … or less legally risky it is,” Racabi said. “I would be disappointed to see this law fail because of over-ambitious definitions or overconfidence in its own … enforcement possibilities.”

Alderperson David Shapiro (D-3rd Ward) echoed concerns about feasibility and noted the capacity challenges for both small businesses and the City.

“I don’t think small businesses necessarily have the capacity to develop best practices, and the city certainly doesn’t have the capacity to investigate these matters either,” Shapiro said. He cautioned that requiring businesses to adhere to strict disciplinary procedures without implementation support could disproportionately impact smaller establishments.

Although progress has been slow, there is a general interest within the Common Council to establish Just Cause worker protections in the City of Ithaca. With the working group set to expire at the end of the year, council members will soon vote on its renewal, with an eye toward broadening community input.

Amid these challenges, Ngyuen emphasized the importance of community involvement moving forward.

“Our highest priority now is to schedule and hold a public information session about Just Cause and to have a conversation,” Nguyen said. “We were thinking of a panel discussion with some experts and also … just an opportunity [for people to] speak about their experiences.”

Almer Yu and Reem Nasrallah can be reached at afy8@cornell.edu and rmn56@cornell.edu.

By ALMER YU and REEM NASRALLAH Sun Contributors

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)

Common Council Tables Budget After Receiving Critiques

By GABRIEL MUÑOZ Sun City Editor

Nov. 8 — The Common Council delayed a formal vote on the 2025 budget as last-minute amendments to make cuts on line items stacked following overwhelming discontent from a public hearing at Wednesday’s meeting.

During the public hearing and public comment sections of the meeting, all but one of the 14 speakers who spoke about the budget, initially proposed by City Manager Deb Mohlenhoff on Oct. 9, voiced their concerns that the budget’s increase on the tax rates would burden homeowners in Ithaca.

Multiple residents argued the proposed tax hikes were not sustainable for residents, with two speakers saying they were ready to sell their properties because they could not afford the increases.

“It is sloppy, it is careless and it is insulting to people like me who this year will be paying $19,000 in property taxes on a house I bought for $144,000,” said Ithaca resident Ann Sullivan. “Next year I will be paying $24,000 a year.”

The budget, if adopted, would increase to $107 million from last year’s budget of $101 million.

On Sept. 5, the city approved a tax levy override of eight percent, allowing the city to increase tax rates higher than stipulated under state law. Under the proposed budget, the average tax payment for Ithaca households would increase from $3,618 to $4,155 — a nearly 15 percent spike on top of the eight percent tax levy. These changes are expected to cumulatively raise $33 million, according to Mohlenhoff.

Alderperson Margaret Fabrizio (D-Fifth Ward) heavily criticized the proposed budget, sending a mass email — which was obtained by The Sun — to the Fall Creek Neighborhood Association email group urging community members to attend the meeting to speak against the budget and sharing a petition urging the city to stop the proposed budget.

“I am absolutely a minority voice on Council about this so I welcome and need your help to convince my colleagues to table this budget,” Fabrizio wrote in the email.

Throughout the meeting, Fabrizio

reiterated her dissent with the budget, emphasizing the higher tax levy was not sustainable for homeowners.

“It’s just simply too much, we have to be better than this. We have to keep our focus on the essentials until we can develop more revenue streams.”

Margaret Fabrizio

An amendment to lower funding for Ithaca Bike Share by $50,000 proposed by Alderperson Tiffany Kumar ’24 (D-Fourth Ward) passed on a seven to four vote with Alderperson Pierre Saint-Perez grad (D-Third Ward), Alderperson Ducson Nguyen (D-Second Ward), Alderperson Kris Haines-Sharp (D-Second Ward), Alderperson Kayla Matos (D-First Ward) and Mayor Robert Cantelmo grad voting against the cut.

Kumar argued the funding should partly come from the University, which hosts several bike stations on campus.

“I think it is of the utmost importance to pressure Cornell and continue to push them to contribute their fair share to the city,” Kumar said when proposing the cut. “I think enabling them by soldering certain costs such as bike share when it should be Cornell at the very least sends a message that we will allow them to continue walking all over us.”

Alderperson Patrick Kuehl ’24 (D- Fourth Ward) proposed a cut of $10,000 from City staff development, taking from the diversity equity and inclusion training funding. The proposal failed three to eight with Shapiro, Kuehl and Fabrizio voting in favor.

“I deﬁnitely do recognize the important work that money has been used for but that said I think $19,000 in addition to the 2023 actual [funds] can still do a lot while making sure we are frugal with our 2025 budget,” Kuehl said.

An amendment proposed by Cantelmo to reduce additional fund-

ing for Common Council training and travel from $10,000 to $5,000 passed with an eight to three vote, with Shapiro, Kuehl and Fabrizio voting against.

The council also voted to overturn an amendment that would have increased the mayor’s salary by $32,500. The motion passed with a six to four vote with Matos, Kumar, Saint-Perez and Kuehl voting against.

Alderperson Phoebe Brown (D-Second Ward), Alderperson David Shapiro (D-Third Ward) and Fabrizio walked off the latest budget meeting on Oct. 26 when they realized they did not have the votes to block the amendment to raise the mayor’s salary when it was proposed. The remaining members of the council passed the amendment.

“I’d like to apologize for the way I stormed out of here last time to my colleagues and also to my community. I was pretty heated,” Brown said. “But I did go home and I checked myself, and I was pretty embarrassed.”

Shapiro also spoke on the criticism about the incident but did not explicitly apologize.

“For the comments that seem to be somewhat critical, perhaps of my behavior, I will just let you know that I will reﬂect on that and think about it,” Shapiro said.

Three hours into the meeting, Shapiro made a motion to table the

discussion on the budget until a later meeting, with all but Kuehl and Fabrizio voting against.

“Come on, we’ve gotta have more stamina than this. What is the average age in this group — like 22 or something? Let’s get some more business done,” Fabrizio said.

The council also approved the budget for the wastewater treatment plant unanimously, with $7,423,765 allocated for the next ﬁscal year. Alderperson Clyde Lederman ’26 (D-Fifth Ward) said the measure would increase city efforts to make two new hires for wastewater plant positions.

The sewer and water rate service increases resolution passed unanimously. Water rates will increase from $9.92 to $10.83 and sewer rates will increase per 100 cubic feet from $7.29 to $7.85.

The city also named Dominick Recckio as deputy city manager on a vote of nine to two, with Fabrizio and Shapiro voting against. Recckio served as Tompkins County communications director since 2020 and was previously the director of strategic communications and partnerships at the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce. He will begin his term on Dec. 30.

Gabriel Muñoz can be reached at gmunoz@cornellsun.com.

Would Cornell Allow a Hamas Member to Speak on Campus?

By LEENA JALEES Sun Contributor

Nov. 8 — Top administrators have said that Cornell would allow Ku Klux Klan members, neo-Nazis and white supremacists to speak on campus if invited by a faculty member or student group.

So which, if any, hate and extremist groups would be barred from campus events?

The Sun repeatedly asked a University spokesperson whether representatives of several hate and extremist groups would hypothetically be permitted to speak on campus if invited by a faculty member or student organization. After three requests for comment, Cornell refused each time to answer which of the groups it would or would not allow.

The list The Sun sent includes Hamas, Hezbollah, the Wagner Group and the Aryan Nation and right-wing U.S.-based extremists the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys. The Sun asked the University to identify by name which groups from the list, if any, would not

be allowed at a campus speaking event.

“Speakers who threaten or pose a risk to our community would not be approved through the events registration process,” the spokesperson stated in an email response but refused to comment both over the phone and via email speciﬁcally on the groups in question.

When a Sun editor brought up that many students might be alarmed by Cornell’s refusal to ban Hamas outright, the spokesperson said, “Thanks for the feedback.”

“I am horriﬁed by even the suggestion that a terrorist group like Hamas could be invited to speak at Cornell,” said Amanda Silberstein ’26, vice president for Cornell Chabad and Cornellians for Israel.

Laura Beltz, director of policy reform at the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a nonpartisan free-speech advocacy group, said the University’s refusal to answer the hypothetical question after saying it would allow various white supremacist groups on campus could be seen as biased.

“Afﬁrming to accept one [extremist

group] while refusing to answer another shows that one is favored over the other,” Beltz told The Sun. “Cornell should take care to make clear any type of speaker is allowed as consistent with the First Amendment, assuming the invitation of that speaker doesn’t violate the law or threaten security.”

When asked by The Sun, Cornell did not elaborate on what it deemed a threat to student security or what the screening process for speakers looks like.

Last spring, after a University-backed event with controversial conservative pundit Ann Coulter ’84, then-provost and current Interim President Michael Kotlikoff told The Sun that he “would support their right to speak at Cornell,” when asked whether the University would allow a neo-Nazi or white nationalist speaking event on campus.

Early last month, The Sun reported on a private meeting with Hillel parents, where Vice President for University Relations Joel Malina was asked whether a KKK representative would be allowed to speak at Cornell if invited by a faculty member or student

group. “Yes,” Malina said, “we would allow that.”

Malina’s remarks on the KKK were broadly condemned by student groups across campus, including Black Students United, which rallied outside Day Hall last month and called on the University to ﬁre him.

In response to the pushback, Malina expanded on his statement in an Oct. 8 letter to The Sun in which he condemned the KKK, though he did not go as far as to say that the hate group would not be allowed on campus.

“To be clear, the KKK is abhorrent by any standard, and Cornell University would never invite a representative of the KKK to campus,” Malina wrote. “Any speaker invited by a faculty member or student organization is reviewed by the University Events Team and is only allowed to come to campus if the safety of all in our community can be assured.”

Leena Jalees can be reached at lj338@cornell.edu.

Budget bickering | Common Council members and local community members voiced concerns about increased taxes propsed by the new budget, leading to a delay on formal voting.

Circus Culture Operates as an Inclusive School of Clowns

People of all body types, races and abilities are welcome to learn about clowing

By EMMA COHEN Sun Contributor

Nov. 10 — Silks unfurl from the ceiling of a remodeled newspaper warehouse, carrying the newest generation of clowns and contortionists at Circus Culture. The organization — self-labeled “Ithaca’s very own circus school” — is nestled in Downtown Ithaca’s Press Bay Alley.

Since its opening in July 2015 — funded by donations and a crowdfunding campaign that raised $25,000 — Circus Culture has opened its doors to curious locals and international artists alike, bringing in groups such as Swedish juggling trio Water on Mars.

Classes at Circus Culture involve children and adults from all spheres of life, from professional actors to many ﬁrst-time performers.

“Circus is multicultural, a real example of unity in diversity. It is often nonverbal, and speaks to people of all ages and backgrounds as a result,” founder Amy Cohen described when asked about the core purpose of circus. “This makes it a uniquely accessible art form to witness.”

The school is devoted to “dedicated play, creative physicality and inclusive community,” according to Studio Manager Claire Dehm.

Dehm described circus as “a bit undeﬁned, compared to a lot of other arts organizations, … because it’s kind of dance, it’s kind of acrobatics, it’s kind of theater, but it’s really its own thing.”

Ten-year-old Theory has been a

part of Circus Culture since she quit ballet, ﬁnding it too rigid of a sport for her active, bubbly personality.

The students are very involved in choosing activities in class and recently voted on the theme of their upcoming performance. “It’s kind of like you make the show,” Theory explained, describing her troupe’s decision to perform The Very Hungry Caterpillar for their show in May 2025.

The Sun sat in on a circus class on Oct. 30. After warming up on aerial silks, the children gathered in the practice room to confront the ﬁrst challenge — how to turn a parachute into wings to represent The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s iconic transformation scene. After a few rounds of trial and error, the students settled on a solution, twisting the parachute down the center to symbolize wings.

Through its range of offerings, Circus Culture aims to build on the legacy of the circus as a place for those who feel they do not belong — an art form not only rooted in but also dependent on diversity.

“We just believe that there is a place for everyone,” Dehm said when asked about the school’s mission.

Circus Culture aims to be inclusive of various body types, backgrounds and ages. The school is dedicated to offering a community to people of all skill levels and experiences, such as adults who enjoyed gymnastics as children but do not have a similar outlet as adults, Dehm explained.

Dehm began clowning classes at eight years old, dedicating weeks of

her summer each year to the unique art form. When asked what drew her to circus arts, Dehm said that she “just loved being a clown, going to see the circus and the magic of everything.”

Dehm continued to pursue circus during her college career in the Ithaca College Circus Club, or ICircus. She now manages the operational end of the company and works as a circus educator, teaching classes for both kids and adults.

Circus Culture’s emphasis on inclusivity and accessibility has

opened the door to new forms of ﬁne arts for Ithacans to explore. Thirteenyear-old Scarlett described the role of Circus Culture in her transition to DeWitt Middle School after changing schools.

“It’s like a reset button for me,” Scarlett said. “I can come here and just be what I want to be, and then I can go back to school, and everything’s just a little better and brighter.”

Emma Cohen can be reached at erc228@cornell.edu.

Hindu Student Council Granted Prayer Room

After operating out of an 8×8-foot closet for 15 years, HSC has been granted a larger space for a Hindu Prayer Room in Anabel Taylor Hall, obtaining a permentant prayer space

By GRACE LIU and ISABELLA HANSON Sun Senior Writers

Oct. 31 — After operating out of an 8 × 8-foot storage closet for nearly 15 years, the Cornell Hindu Student Council has been granted a larger space for a Hindu Prayer Room in Anabel Taylor Hall by the Office of Spirituality and Meaning Making.

HSC and OSMM have been in communication since 2013, with HSC continually emphasizing the need for a permanent safe space for Hindu students on campus.

With the room, HSC aims to create a spiritual atmosphere and will contain meditation areas as well as spaces to hold pujas, which are Hindu acts of worship.

“The reason space is so important to our faith is because we kind of see that space as the home of the energy that we pray to,” said HSC President Megh Prajapati ’26. “It’s more important for us to have that permanent space … because that space also holds spiritual or faith significance to many members of the community.”

Founded in the early 2000s, HSC first operated out of members’ cars and dorm rooms before moving into a storage closet. In 2019, HSC moved to a new prayer space in a slightly

bigger closet in the lobby near the entrance of Anabel Taylor Hall.

Due to the lack of a permanent location, challenges arose with the storage of HSC’s materials. Council members struggled to fit items into the small closet, often unintentionally breaking items due to the cramped conditions.

“So [in] Hinduism, typically you would pray to an idol and you believe that god is within that idol as you pray,” said HSC Vice President Kamala Karuppiah ’26. “Some of the idols have been broken [because] we [had] to keep moving them. So when they break, it’s also not considered auspicious to pray to them.”

Despite previously working out of these cramped spaces, HSC organizes many events for students such as their Diwali and Holi celebrations. According to Prajapati, the latter is the second-largest outdoor event at Cornell after Slope Day.

Karuppiah explained how the new permanent space will allow Hindu students more flexibility in practicing their faith.

“Everyone has a very different aspect of how they pray. You can pray at any time,” Karuppiah said. “So if we were to have a permanent Hindu prayer room, anybody could go pray whenever they want, [they

will] not [have to be] dependent on an organization and [it will] cater to their customs.”

To furnish the prayer room with a temple space, HSC has embarked on a fundraising campaign with an end goal of raising $25,000. The money raised will fund a more permanent space furnished with a temple structure, prayer materials and traditional Hindu cultural idols for religious ceremonies. As of Oct. 28, they have raised $11,724.

“The prayer room is my safe space on campus. It reminds me of all of my favorite parts of growing up in the religion and culture,” said HSC advocacy chair Maaya Kanvar ’25. “I really wish I had this my freshman year, when a lot of us are still figuring out who we are and our support systems. It’s amazing how much change we have made as a board in the last four years.”

Student members have often asked the board why such a vibrant faith has operated out of closet-like spaces at such a large university, despite hosting major events for thousands of students.

“A lot of the community members mentioned their qualms with that,” Prajapati said. “They felt like they didn’t have that safe space because we were setting up shop in a room

that belonged to another religious organization.”

Prajapati said that a lack of support from the administration has motivated HSC to prove a need for Hindu spaces on campus and look to outside sources for support.

“No matter how many students we get, I think the growth and interest of our club hasn’t really been matched by the resources that have been provided to us,” Prajapati said. “Our big mission is to show [the] administration that yes, we do have a need for all these resources.”

Already in contact with vendors in India, HSC plans to move swiftly to place orders and initiate construction once their fundraising goal is met. The organization aims to open the room during the upcoming Spring 2025 semester.

“The community of Hindu students on campus has grown immensely, especially from the start of this university,” Karuppiah said. “As the University progresses to accept more students and as the student body becomes more diverse, we would like to see that being catered [to].”

Grace Liu can be reached at gliu@cornellsun. com.

Isabella Hanson can be reached at ihanson@ cornellsun.com

Circus culture | Ithaca Circus Culture is an inclusive school, dedicated to giving local community members a chance to explore circus arts at various skill levels.

The Unsettling Tenderness of ‘Anora’

Anora is unsettling. In the film directed by Sean Baker, Anora (Mikey Madison), who prefers to go by Ani, is a sex worker who is swept off her feet by mysterious Russian nepo-baby Ivan (Mark Eydelshteyn). Their relationship is a fast burn underscored by the transactional nature of their interactions, and is so overwhelming in its portrayal as an endless crash of hedonistic scenes. When Ivan offers Ani $15,000 to be his girlfriend for the week, she gladly takes the offer, and they party from clubs to Vegas where the two elope on a whim.

Their idyllic romance is halted in its tracks when three henchmen (hired by Ivan’s parents) go to force the two to annul the marriage. Ivan runs, leaving Ani to deal with the consequences. There is a short fight scene that is caught somewhere between comedic and unsettling, the latter mostly being in the casual violence against Anora as she is physically restrained, bound, and gagged.

Their romance is so jarring. Ivan thinks nothing more of how transactional his life is, from how he pays Ani to be his girlfriend to the way he treats his house staff to going to Vegas simply because he hears they have the best ketamine. Further, you never really know how much Ani is herself. From the moment she is introduced in the gaudy haze of the stripclub, she is very obviously putting on a performance. Even when she meets Ivan and during their romance, she dons the persona Ivan met in the stripclub. We don’t even find out Ani’s real name is Anora until after the henchmen break into Ivan’s house.

Anora’s fashion too underscores this. At the start, we see her in sexy, revealing outfits as part of the persona of her job. Even during the wedding, she is wearing a bodycon dress. This is flipped when the chase segment comes, with Anora increasingly wearing more layers. Anora is so exposed in those first scenes we see her in, but we know for sure she is adopting a persona. Where does this persona exist in her? Where does she fall in this persona? There is no neat division. The persona is a part of her; she herself doesn’t quite know if there is a separation at all. At the end, her pursuit of Igor, one of the henchmen, flits between being uncomfortably resemblant of Anora’s sex work and tender and romantic because Igor tries to view her as more than just an idea of romance or sex.

One of the most obvious messages of Anora is its

critique of capitalism. Anora is just a pawn in the ridiculous schemes of the ultra-wealthy. At the end of the day, their lives are unaffected, while hers has been changed over and over and over. Further, Ivan can just run away from all the problems he caused while the rest of the four — including Anora — cannot run from the problems he caused.

In fact, all of the four characters in the chase segment depict this sentiment as well, struggling to exist outside the transactional nature of their job, as they search endlessly for Ivan while he throws a tantrum with flagrant disregard for everyone around him. Still, they too treat Anora as a simple pawn in her schemes (with one offering her $10,000 in exchange for the mess that this has caused). Anora’s agency is never really there from beginning to end.

Then, there’s Igor. Igor (Yura Borisov) is one of the henchmen hired by Ivan’s parents. Igor brings

the violence to disagreements — he subdues Anora, ties her up and gags her so she stops screaming, and then is also the one to break all the glass in a candy store when they cannot find Ivan there. Yet, Igor gets much more sympathetic as the movie progresses. His small gestures of kindness toward Anora are hilariously awkward, for example when he offers her the scarf he used to gag her with to keep her warm. But there truly is a disquieting tenderness between them, as Igor and Anora are the only two left at the end to try and reconcile Anora’s life.

Anora’s ending is the most forceful part of the movie’s unraveling. After the marriage has been annulled, Igor drives Anora back to her house with all her belongings. Right before she leaves, he offers her the wedding ring one of the henchmen took from her. The shot of Anora’s face here is haunting. Anora tries to have sex with Igor, who attempts to kiss her before she starts panicking and pushing him away. He hugs her instead. She bursts into tears, and the movie ends with Anora’s shaky breathing like a heartbeat as she cries in Igor’s arms.

The film always reminds you of the violent way that Anora and Igor met. There will always be a power imbalance between them as a result, and the final scene also seems to serve as a reminder that Anora can’t escape her role as a sex worker. For a moment, by Igor, maybe, she’s seen. But the abrupt ending, the unnerving tenderness point to a larger inability to escape the systems and structures that have pushed them into these roles. There is a solace, but the solace comes with a caveat.

Anora is still so desperate for the dream even when it becomes a nightmare. She affirms again and again that Ivan loves her, as if repeating it enough times could make it come true. Anora’s desperation for their relationship to be real made me want their relationship so badly to be real, too. It made me believe, for fleeting seconds at a time, that maybe Ivan did actually see her as a full human. And I think that is what strikes and unnerves me most about the film: its portrayal of how desperate we are for social connection. How we are so desperate for a dream, even when the cost is too great.

On Friday, Nov. 8, the nominations for the 2025 Grammy Awards were announced, and we have opinions. Here are picks and predictions from some of our Arts & Culture staff.

COURTESY OF NEON

Students Bring Unused Dining Hall Food to Local Donation Center

we’re done by 8 p.m. I wish people would get involved and learn more about [FRN and sustainability] in that way.”

Singer John Ondrasik Calls

‘Free Palestine’ a ‘Con Job’

When asked why there were so many empty seats in Bailey Hall in an interview following the event, Wayne said, “[At Cornell,] you learn that there are the oppressed or the oppressors, and you don’t want to do anything … that has anything to do with maybe having somebody identify you as an oppressor.”

However, even amid rising antisemitism on college campuses, Ondrasik expressed that he still has hope for the future, as long as people speak up for what they believe.

“I believe that most people are good, just intimidated by cancel culture and the world we live in,” Ondrasik said. “We just don’t have the luxury of remaining silent anymore because silent majorities, if they don’t speak up, become silent minorities.”

Rowan Wallin and Ashley Lee can be reached at rgw77@cornell.edu and ayl65@ cornell.edu.

Ithaca Police Department Investigates Downtown Homicide, Names Suspect

Madeleine Rodoski ’27, a recovery ofﬁcer for FRN, said that contributing to FRN’s efforts requires only a small time commitment in order to make a difference.

“I

Rodoski ’27

“I wish more people would get involved and know how easy it is,” Rodoski said. “It is such a small time commitment — you just sign up for one or two [recoveries] per semester to help move [food]. We usually meet around 7:30 p.m. or 7:40 p.m., and

Ariyan said that she feels FRN’s work goes overlooked, with most students not considering how much food waste Cornell produces.

“Almost no one knows about us, and a lot of people don’t even realize how much food is going to waste,” Ariyan said.

Rodoski echoed this sentiment, contextualizing Cornell FRN’s efforts as only part of countering food waste.

“I wish [people] knew how much [food waste] they produce,” Rodoski said. “I see people in the dining hall throwing out food or just not eating it all the time. Even though we are recovering a bunch of food, I wish they could see the amount. I wish people were more aware of food waste — it’s one part of sustainability that can [often be] overlooked.”

Nov. 11 — The Ithaca Police Department responded to a reported death at 5:30 a.m. Monday morning at the 400 block of South Plain St. Police are investigating the death as a homicide.

On Tuesday, the department sent out a press release that identiﬁed Ahmed Abed, 43, as the suspect in connection with the death. Abed has been charged with murder in the second degree and was remanded to the Tompkins County Jail with no bail.

IPD described the incident as “not a random act” in its initial press release sent on Monday and encouraged those with information on the case to contact them, including individuals who wish to remain anonymous. The police tipline can be reached at 607-330-0000 and the Ithaca Police Department Tipline form can be utilized to submit information anonymously and conﬁdentially.

Olivia Holloway can be reached at oholloway@cornellsun.com.

HOCKEY

Late Goal Lifts No. 6 Men’s Hockey Over Brown

By JANE McNALLY Sun Sports Editor

No. 6 men’s hockey allowed just three goals all weekend.

All three mirrored each other –– three ﬁnishes just atop the crease off of stellar feeds.

Tied up late against Brown, Cornell ﬁnally ﬁgured out the recipe for success, and it scored in just the way it had been scored on.

Junior forward Dalton Bancroft’s goal with 53 seconds remaining –– his second of the game –– lifted the Red over the Bears in a nail-biter. In yet another game where it faced impressive play from its opposing goaltender, Cornell emerged victorious in a come-frombehind, 3-1 victory.

“Especially when things aren’t going well, you just gotta stay with what [you’re] doing,” said head coach Mike Schafer ’86. “I thought they did that. I thought they came out and made some adjustments.”

Brown then secured a power play of its own and, although it did not convert, shifted the momentum in its favor and forced the Red back on its heels. The majority of the period was controlled by the Bears, ultimately outshooting the Red, 9-7, in the opening frame.

“I thought we got away from [the offense] for four or ﬁve minutes, and then I was happy with our pushback,” Schafer said. “I thought Brown played really well for a good chunk of time, and it took us a while to get back going again.”

The Bears scored ﬁrst on Saturday night in a goal that drew similarities to the two given up by Cornell against Yale the night before.

A Ryan St. Louis pass found Max Scott at the doorstep, who easily tapped the puck past Shane as Scott emerged free from Cornell defender marking him.

Another early power play for the Red came about in the second period, giving Cornell a chance to tie up the game. The Red generated many more chances, and Shea made a handful of strong saves, but Cornell was once again snakebitten on the man advantage and saw the two minutes wane away.

major penalty. The review found no contact to the head, resulting in another relinquished challenge for Cornell and the loss of its timeout.

Bancroft tallied three points in the game, while senior goaltender Ian Shane stopped 18 of 19 Brown shots. Cornell trailed after the ﬁrst period but stayed the course en route to its ﬁrst conference win.

“Anytime you score that late in the game to go up, it’s really exciting,” Bancroft said. “But it was a great team effort tonight.”

Looking to avenge a sour result from the night prior, Cornell came out firing on all cylinders, rattling off three shots in the first minute and testing Brown goaltender Tyler Shea. Shea, who surrendered seven goals against Cornell last season, made some key stops early that stunted Cornell’s momentum. The Red earned an early power play chance but couldn’t find the back of the net, still searching for its first man-advantage goal of the season.

However, Cornell kept up the pressure and ultimately found its long-awaited goal. Bancroft, who scored early in Friday’s game, found the back of the net 8:00 in the second period. Bancroft ﬁred a slapshot from the blueline before collecting the rebound off a Brown skater and wristing it past Shea for the game-tying tally.

From there, play was relatively even. Cornell eventually overtook Brown in shots, leading 18-14 after two periods of play. An area of difﬁculty for the Red came at the faceoff dot ––Brown’s Scott made few mistakes at the drop of the puck, as he led Brown with 22 faceoff wins (including eight wins and no losses in the ﬁrst period), 10 more than the next skater.

The Red ultimately out-attempted the Bears 20-9 in the second period, a stark difference from the ﬁrst where Brown led the Red 22-10 in shot attempts.

A scrum ensued after the horn sounded on the second period, prompting head coach Mike Schafer ’86 to challenge the play for a potential

Cornell began to run away with the shot margin in the final frame, firing 17 in the third period, but it once again ran into a hot goaltender. Shea was impressive down the stretch for Brown, keeping his team in the game despite a Cornell onslaught in the final frame.

“When you don’t get the bounces, it gets pretty frustrating. … Some games you don’t get any, and there’ll be games where you get them all,” Bancroft said. “It’s challenging at times, but [you have to] just try to stay level headed.”

As the minutes kept chipping away, Cornell continued to apply pressure. Sophomore forward Jonathan Castagna earned a brief breakaway in which he tried to beat Shea on a shot between the legs, but he couldn’t manage it on target while approaching with a bout of speed.

Perhaps the most pivotal moment of the game came with 3:43 remaining, as the Red earned its fourth power play opportunity of the night with a chance to take a late lead. Cornell moved the puck well around its offensive zone, but only mustered one shot on net as time ticked away.

But just as public address announcer Arthur

Mintz ’71 announced the final minute of the third period, Cornell finally found the lead it had been looking for. Bancroft tallied his second goal of the game off a deflection at the far post –– a goal that mirrored the three that had gone into Cornell’s net across the weekend –– off of a stellar feed from sophomore defenseman Ben Robertson.

The goal sent the Lynah Faithful into a ﬁt of screams.

An empty-netter from sophomore forward Ryan Walsh iced the game for the Red, ﬁnishing the weekend with four out of a possible six ECAC points.

“Every time you play a home game at Lynah, you don’t want to let the fans down,” Bancroft said. “Last night wasn’t the result we wanted, but I think we did a good job bouncing back and delivering tonight.”

Cornell will be back in action next weekend as it heads east for games against Dartmouth and Harvard. Puck drop for both games is slated for 7 p.m., and both games will be streamed on ESPN+.

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

No. 16 Men’s Soccer Beats Columbia, Cruises Into Playofs

By DYLAN DRONGESEN, WILLIAM CAWLEY AND ADAM VASSERMAN Sun Staff Writers

No. 16 Men’s soccer (122-2, 5-2 Ivy) closed out its regular season schedule with a convincing 4-1 senior night victory over Columbia (1-121, 1-5-1 Ivy) on Saturday at Berman Field.

In the 13th minute, sophomore forward Alex Harris opened the scoring. A ball on the ground from junior midﬁelder Daniel Samways came all the way through the box, untouched by Columbia defenders. Harris took a onetime shot and found the corner to give Cornell a lead it would maintain for the rest of the game.

With a pass from sophomore midﬁelder Connor Miller, senior forward Danny Lokko found himself completely alone with the ball on the top of the box in the 27th minute. Lokko took his time

and placed the ball just inside the left post to get his senior night tally.

Just following Lokko’s goal, ﬁfth-year defender Kisa Kiingi came off the bench for the second straight game. The Cornell captain is returning from an injury that had kept him out since the Syracuse game on Sept. 24.

Cornell has been ramping Kiingi up, and with him playing 30 minutes against Havard and 63 against Columbia, he should be ready to go a full 90 the rest of the way. If the Red is going to make a splash in the playoffs, there is no doubt that Kiingi will play a key role in the team’s success going forward.

In the 32nd minute, senior forward Alioune Ka played a beautiful looping ball to the back post. Miller was there all alone and powered a onetouch ﬁnish into the back of the net.

Eight minutes into the second half, Harris collected a rebound in front of the penalty spot and scored with his left foot to make it 4-0.

This goal marked the 28th of his career and ties him with Adalberto Stratta ‘59 and Daniel Haber ‘13 for fourth in career goals for Cornell as just a sophomore. Alone in ﬁrst place with 40 career goals is Victor Huerta ’73.

was able to get seven of its 10 seniors into the game for senior night.

“The upperclassmen are people I’ve looked up to,” said freshman defender Justin Melly.

Cornell’s victory will take it into its ﬁrst-ever Ivy League Tournament appearance. This year’s edition will be hosted by the top-seeded No. 12 University of Pennsylvania. The second-seeded Red will take on Princeton while Brown will face Penn, rounding out the four-team ﬁeld.

Columbia got its goal in the 58th minute with a tap squeaking by junior goalkeeper Ryan Friedberg, breaking up his bid for a third straight shutout.

Holding a healthy lead for most of the game, the Red

“We’re all excited for our upcoming game against Princeton,” Melly said. “We’re lucky to play against a good opponent with the Ivy League ﬁnal on the line.”

In its regular season bout with the Tigers, the Red won a tightly contested game, 1-0, on a late goal from junior forward Giorgos Diakos.

Following the regular sea-

son, the Red also find themselves in prime position to grab an at-large bid and a home game for the NCAA Tournament if it fails to claim the Ivy League’s automatic qualification. Cornell’s rating percentage index –– a mathematical formula that is the primary factor in determining the men’s soccer field –– sits at 19th in the nation, a good spot to be in to grab one of the 26 at-large bids given out.

Cornell will face Princeton in the Ivy League Tournament at 6:30 p.m. on Friday in Philadelphia. If the Red can top the Tigers, they will face either Penn or Brown in the ﬁnal at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

Dylan Drongesen, William Cawley and Adam Vasserman can be reached at ddrongesen@cornellsun.com, wcawley@cornellsun.com and amv79@ cornell.edu.

Down goes Brown | Dalton Bancroft scored with 53 seconds left in the game to beat the Bears.

CYNTHIA TSENG / SUN SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER