11-15-21 entire issue hi res

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INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880

The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 138, No. 34

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2021

n

ITHACA, NEW YORK

8 Pages – Free

News

Arts

Sports

News

Diwali

Cherry Arts

Big Win

Rain And Snow

Student groups on campus celebrate the festival of lights with South-Asian food and traditional clothing. | Page 3

The Cherry Arts provides community art spaces and affordable housing to Ithaca.

Men’s hockey scored 11 goals this past weekend, defeating RPI in a complete weekend sweep. | Page 8

| Page 4

Professors, Staff Navigate Aftermath of Emergencies

HIGH: 42º LOW: 32º

Aflame with red

Balance mental health with curricula By TAMARA KAMIS and KAYLA RIGGS Sun News Editor and Sun Assistant News Editor

Wen Duan grad was driving to campus to teach her Tuesday class –– Communicaation 1101: Introduction to Communication –– when an emergency alert rang loudly on her phone. “Person with gun in Cayuga Heights. North Campus shelter in place. Lock doors/windows,” it read. Grabbing her phone, she immediately cancelled class and extended deadlines for her students before driving home and watching more alerts roll in.

Duan was one of many instructors across campus that scrambled Tuesday afternoon to modify coursework and exams following campus shelter-in-place orders prompted by sightings of a person with a gun in the local communiJULIA NAGEL / SUN ASSISTANT PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR ty — which came just two days Fall is in full swing as a leaves descend from trees all over campus. A student walks after threats of a bomb on Central to class in front of Bailey Hall amidst the changing fall colors. Campus shook many students. In the following week, many juggled the needs of students with tight course plans. advised them to stay away from North Campus. According to some faculty, including Prof. Shorna “The instructions were talking about North Campus and Allred, natural resources, house professor-dean of Alice we were in Phillips Hall,” Szpiro said. “Looking around, Cook House, rumors on social media increased panic among there were lots of people still walking around and trying to students and made responding to threats more difficult. to move to different places, [so] it seemed appropriate to let "In these fast developing situations, you can't always people out of the Phillips Hall classroom.” share information as quickly as you would like,” Allred said. Reacting to the alerts was further complicated as some “But I think once people know what was happening, it faculty were concerned for the well-being of children helps them to be able to process and deal with the situation enrolled in local schools that were also placed on lockdown. at hand." "Faculty lives were impacted, and then we as faculty were Though noting that it can be difficult for Cornell to also concerned for our students' lives," said Dean of Faculty provide direct instruction immediately, Duan raised concern Prof. Eve De Rosa, psychology. "They were locking down about the University’s communication –– or lack thereof –– the high school, the middle school, the elementary school with professors and students following the alerts. and so all of our children were impacted." “To be honest, I found the emails from the University to Professors with exams slated for Tuesday, including Prof. be not super informative,” Duan said. “ I don't think that Anne Bracy, computer science, were forced to reschedule anything they have sent out was helpful at all.” and re-evaluate the structure of their course. Bracy was In the midst of the shelter-in-place order on Tuesday, concerned about the physical and emotional safety of her there was uncertainty as to which parts of campus were students and course staff, and told her students that she included. Prof. Daniel Szpiro, accounting, was teaching would reschedule their Tuesday evening exam. when the Cornell alert was released with just 15 minutes remaining in class. Szpiro decided to let students leave, but See FACULTY page 3

Ph.D. Candidate Cantelmo Elected New Alderperson “I think my training in politics and my research skills are really useful tools for being a public servant,” Cantelmo said. “During On Nov. 2, Robert Cantelmo grad won my time as a volunteer for the city, I wanted the Fifth Ward Common Council seat in to continue the good work by the communithe general election. He will be taking office ty members of Ithaca to steer the city in the right direction.” in January. Cantelmo said housing insecurity is one In office Cantelmo hopes to utilize federof the most important al funds to spur economic issues on his platform. recovery from the pandem“It’s important to me to He said high rents, resic, address housing needs of community members, get feedback on how ident displacement and extremely low vacancy double down on Ithaca’s things are going.” rates are issues he plans to commitment to sustainabiladdress during his term. ity and reform community Robert Cantelmo grad “I’m in favor of propolicing. moting increased stocks Cantelmo, a Ph.D. stuof housing because it dent in the government department, will step into his position after helps to promote improvements to livabilserving as a volunteer then the chairman of ity and opportunity for our city residents,” the Ithaca Public Safety and Information Cantelmo said. “I’m also in favor of utilizing Commission, where he incorporated public rent stabilization legislation to intervene in the on-going housing crisis and high rents.” feedback and concerns into city legislation. Cantelmo also stressed the importance Cantelmo hopes that his experience studying evidence-based policy will greatly of allocating resources to improve the city’s help him serve the communities in the public safety, focusing on de-escalation and Fifth Ward, which includes parts of North mental health training. He also hopes to talk to his constituents to get feedback on Campus and Stewart Park. By JIWOOK JUNG Sun Staff Writer

proposed policies. “It's important to me to get feedback on how things are going and to remind the public that this is a two way dialogue,” said Cantelmo. “The community should be able to give iterative feedback to their elected representatives to ensure that the changes and the policy outcomes are being met.” Two of Cantelmo’s endorsements came from the city’s former Chief of Staff Dan Cogan and Alderperson Deb Mohlenhoff (D-5th ward), who Cantelmo will be replacing in the coming year. Cogan first met Cantelmo when Cantelmo served the city as a volunteer for the Ithaca Public Safety and Information Commission. Cogan was impressed with Cantelmo’s background in research and evidence-based policy making. “He is able to listen, to synthesize ideas, and to make things happen. Having good people skills is essential, and Robert has them,” Cogan wrote in an email to the Sun. “He will be able to hit the ground running like no one else. I can think of no one more well suited to represent our the district.” In addition to being a public servant and student, Cantelmo is a husband and a father

CANTELMO GRAD

of two. Cantelmo’s special attachment for the community comes from Ithaca being a formative city for his family “Ithaca is where my wife Catherine and I started our family,” Cantelmo said. “We both had our children here in Ithaca and we have been able to watch them slowly grow up. Ithaca, to my family, has been a rewarding and welcoming community.” Jiwook Jung can be reached at jjung@cornellsun.com.


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