INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880
The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 136, No. 29
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2019
n
12 Pages – Free
ITHACA, NEW YORK
News
Arts
Sports
Weather
Election Day Is Here
Adulting
Hot Start
Drizzles and Wind Gusts
Learn about the local and alumni candidates running for elected positions on Tuesday. | Page 3
Columnist Andrea Yang ’20 calls for more “new adult” fiction.
Both Cornell hockey teams are undefeated after weekend wins.
| Page 6
HIGH: 49º LOW: 42º
| Page 12
Sororities to Vote on Frat Mixer Freeze, Citing Safety Concerns By MARYAM ZAFAR Sun City Editor
On Friday, the President of the Panhellenic Council proposed an unprecedented shift in Greek Life on campus: a freeze of all social mixers between sororities and fraternities on campus until the Interfraternity Council and Executive Board upped safety measures for party-goers. The demands include a curb on “dirty rushing” — or the premature recruitment of members before the official rushing period — as well as the enforcement of safety-centered event management rules, including scanning Cornell IDs, requiring trained Cayuga’s Watchers sobriety monitors at all parties and safe transportation to and from mixers held at fraternity houses. Panhel President Maya Cutforth ’20 proposed the boycott on mixers after the Interfraternity Council suspended
official fraternity events last weekend, a move announced on Wednesday night in response to the death of Antonio Tsialas ’23. Since Tsialas’ death, Cornell University Police Chief David Honan has urged individuals with information to come forward by reaching out to the CUPD, or by using the Silent Witness Program, writing in a campus-wide “blue light” email on Friday. “As the number of cooperative witnesses increases, so does the probability of a conclusion to this investigation which will provide answers for the grieving family and to our community as a whole,” Honan continued. The statement, which was featured in a weekly email about general campus safety information, was the first public statement by the police department since the announcement See GREEK page 5
BORIS TSANG / SUN PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR, KATIE SIMS / SUN SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER
House arrest | The interfraternity council voted to cancel all social events planned over the Halloween weekend. Now, the Panhellenic Council is demanding more accountability.
BORIS TSANG / SUN PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Red ink | Printers in campus buildings are still charging fees for pages despite gratis promises.
Free Printing Delayed Again By AMINA KILPATRICK Sun News Editor
expanded the Vendor on-site assessment of current print locations to include more departments / locations which caused a delay in the current design phase.” The Student Printing Service Project, managed by CIT, is still in the blueprinting stage. Once it is completed,
Are printing fees stacking up in your bursar account? Students should not expect free printing credits to roll out until Fall 2020, according to Stephen Burke, director of enterprise services for Cornell Information Technology. “We experienced delays in A prototype of the system securing a vendor contract was originally supposed to related to the legal review be available of terms between parties.” by October, Stephen Burke but Burke said it was not the plan to roll out the entire system in Burke said they should be able to give a more October. “We experienced accurate timeline of the delays in securing a ven- project, although the dor contract related to target date is currently the legal review of terms Fall 2020 for complebetween parties,” Burke tion. The project outline said in a statement to The Sun. “We also See PRINT page 5
RateMyProfessors.com Receives Mixed Reviews From Students By KATHRYN STAMM Sun Staff Writer
In its two decades of existence, the website RateMyProfessors.com has become notorious on college campuses. While some students turn to the review site for informal evaluations of their prospective professors, many criticize the site as unfairly biased and unrepresentative. As students begin to choose classes for the upcoming semester, with pre-enrollment for undergraduates starting on Nov. 4,
Cornellians are doing their own which she has more flexibility in teaching. ratings of RateMyProfessors — choosing. For those courses, it’s “There are so many options and the reviews are mixed. especially important for her to when you’re looking at extra classBecky Borrazzo es,” Borrazzo said. “I ’22 started using use it to help narrow it “There are so many options when RateMyProfessors to help down … But it’s not choose classes in her first the end all, be all.” you’re looking at extra classes. I use year, when she didn’t have There are a few [RateMyProfessors] to help narrow it a network of peers to tap key words Borrazzo for class recommendadown... But it’s not the end all, be all.” looks for when parstions. It hasn’t always been ing RateMyProfessors Becky Borrazzo ’22 successful, though, she reviews, rather than admitted. looking just at the averBorrazzo generally uses age score. If reviewers the site to pick classes outside enjoy the class, which is heavily write that a class made them want of her major’s requirements, for influenced by which professor is to take more classes from the same
professor, she knows it’s a good sign. The site allows students numerous predetermined options to describe their professors, too, including “inspirational,” “hilarious,” “accessible outside of class” and “tough grader.” But Borrazzo admits that it’s not the best system. A lot of the classes are big lectures, without much face-time with the professor, and reviewers are ultimately strangers who Borazzo doesn’t See RATINGS page 5