INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880
The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 130, No. 56
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2013
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ITHACA, NEW YORK
16 Pages – Free
News
Arts
Sports
Weather
Like a Skyscraper
Pop, Rock and Roll
Running Down a Dream
Clear HIGH: 48 LOW: 28
The College of Architecture, Art and Planning’s Dean Kent Kleinman speaks to AAP students at an open forum. | Page 3
Kaitlyn Tiffany ’15 says Lady Gaga’s new album Artpop is more pop, less art. | Page 9
The cross country team heads to the NCAA Regionals on Friday.
| Page 16
Commons Redesign‘on Track’ Smooth Transition City officials: first phase will be completed by late Nov. From Fences to Nets, Cornell Officials Say By TYLER ALICEA
Sun Senior Writer
The replacement of utilities on the Ithaca Commons is set to wrap up later this month before the start of the holiday season, paving the way for the $10-million Commons redesign project to be completed in Summer 2014. Construction for utilities is on track to end on Nov. 27, which will be followed by a break
in construction until March 2014, according to Project Manager Michael Kuo. When completed next summer, the redesigned Ithaca Commons will feature improved aesthetics, amenities and repaired infrastructure — which, in some places, was over 100 years old. “The real hope here is that [the redesign will be] a shot in the arm for economic development,” Kuo See COMMONS page 5
CONNOR ARCHARD / SUN SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER
Student Pleads Not Guilty to Campus Crimes By KEVIN MILIAN Sun Staff Writer
Byung Jun Lee, 21, a student arrested Saturday for allegedly breaking into three North Campus houses, pleaded “not guilty” in the Ithaca City Court Tuesday. Lee is a student in the College of Arts and Science, according to Cornell’s online directory. He was charged with three counts of
burglary, criminal mischief and obstructing after Saturday’s incidents. Lee has been released from police custody but is under the supervision of the Tompkins Probation Department, according to the Ithaca Independent. Lee will undergo a hearing with Judge Judith Rossiter J.D. ’86 Thursday to determine if there is probable cause. On Saturday, police received a
phone call from a woman who said she had seen Lee in her residence earlier that day. Lee allegedly attempted to enter an apartment on Thurston Avenue around 3 a.m., but fled when police were called. Lee was caught at 300 Wyckoff Ave. early Saturday, The Sun previously reported. Kevin Milian can be reached at kmilian@cornellsun.com.
Univ.Employee Accused of Defaming Ex-Boyfriend in Anonymous Blog Posts By DARA LEVY Sun Senior Writer
A Cornell staff member has been slapped with a $1.25-million defamation lawsuit accusing her of posting numerous posts online about a man she had previously dated, including one that said he has “a micro penis,” the New York Daily News reported.
Louise Silberling, an editorial associate for the Philosophical Review, a quarterly journal edited by the faculty of Cornell’s Sage School of Phil osophy, reportedly met New York City architect John Wender online in March 2011 and went on three dates with him, according to the Daily News. Wender is charging
that Silberling wrote anonymous posts on the Internet on sites titled “Truth About John Wender” and “John Wender, Liar,” a year after they broke up, according to the Daily News. The most recent post on “Truth About John Wender,” dated Oct. 8 See SUIT page 4
people going into the steel mesh,” Honan said. Although the Cornell Police The fences surrounding have not seen anybody dropbridges on and around campus, ping or jumping into the steel a sobering reminder of a string mesh so far, there have been a of suicides in Spring 2010, have couple of instances in which been down for nearly six people have thrown objects months. The nets that took into the mesh, according to their place seem to have been Honan. “[There was] one instance effective in the meantime, with no reports of anyone entering where we referred somebody under the them since City of they were “There’s been very few Ithaca code installed, according to instances of people tampering for [throwing things]. Un i ve r s i t y with the steel mesh.” It is a violaofficials. tion of City T h e David Honan of Ithaca fences, a code to temporary measure erected on seven climb on, jump on, or throw or bridges on and around campus drop or cause an object to be in early 2010 as a mental health dropped on the safety mesh that and suicide prevention measure, is attached to a city bridge,” were replaced by low-visibility Honan said. According to Honan, the steel mesh systems or nets beginning in August 2012 and transition from temporary ultimately taken down this past fences to steel mesh systems has May. The nets were thought to decreased the burden on offiprovide better natural views cers. Rather than routinely while still maintaining public checking on the fences to make sure they remain intact, officers safety. David Honan, Cornell’s now respond to alarms that Deputy Chief of Police, said the indicate when something may mesh systems will remain in be in the mesh. Honan added that the place for the forseeable future. amount of work between previ“We are very pleased to report that there’s been very few ously checking the fences and instances of people tampering responding to the mesh system with the steel mesh, or tamper- alarms is equitable. “It hasn’t really reduced our ing with any of the monitoring systems in place. We [also] See FENCES page 4 haven’t had any incidences of
By ANNIE BUI Sun Staff Writer
The science guy
ENOCH NEWKIRK / SUN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Students present their summer research projects at the Cornell Undergraduate Research Board Fall Forum in the Physical Sciences building Wednesday.