Prevention Initiative
University launches initiative to examine prevention strategies surrounding sexual assault on campus.. | Page 5 News
Arts
Aima Raza ’27 explores Edward Said’s discussions of disconnection and diasporic experience in Out of Place | Page 15
By BENJAMIN LEYNSE and ISABELLA HANSON Sun Senior Writers
Feb. 8 — The Cornell University Police Department has arrested a fourth student in connection to the Statler Hotel career fair disruption on Sept. 18. Sumitra Pandit ’26, a member of Cornell Students for Justice in Palestine, was arrested and charged with unlawful assembly and obstruction of government administration on Jan. 28.
In October, CUPD arrested Atakan Deviren ’27, Yihun Stith ’26 and graduate student Sriram Parasurama on the same charges. Since their initial appearance in Ithaca City Court on Nov. 6, Deviren’s case has been dropped due to a lack of specific references to him in filed court documents. Stith and Parasurama have both been issued an Adjournment Contemplating Dismissal — meaning they will receive a full dismissal of their charges after a period of time without further charges and with the completion of community service hours.
Now, according to a Friday CUPD information release, “Pandit was identified as one of several people refusing to comply with lawful orders of the police to remain outside of the Statler Hotel and physically forcing their way past officers.” CUPD added that “all defendants charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.”
According to a press release issued by the Coalition for Mutual Liberation on Friday, Pandit was in her dorm room wearing a sleep shirt and shorts at 9 a.m. on Jan. 28 when a male CUPD officer knocked on her door to question her. In the press release, Pandit shared her discomfort, explaining how she was not given the opportunity to change in private before meeting with the officer.
Pandit also stated, “As a woman on this campus, I
think the fact that students protesting against weapons manufacturers get the same punishment as rapists is disturbing and unacceptable.”
In November, several students from Chi Phi were temporarily suspended following an individual’s report of being sexually assaulted by multiple men and coerced to partake in ketamine and other drugs. On Thursday, Interim President Michael Kotlikoff and Provost Kavita Bala announced a new task force dedicated to addressing and preventing sexual assault on campus.
To continue reading this article, please visit www.cornellsun.com.
By BENJAMIN LEYNSE Sun Senior Writer
Feb. 9 — The Division of Student & Campus Life has decided to end the University’s affiliation with the Center For Transformative Action — the parent organization of many on-campus initiatives including Anabel’s Grocery, Durland Alternatives Library and Prisoner Express — starting June 2025. Over $100,000 in annual funding for CTA will be cut off two years later.
According to a statement emailed to The Sun from Dean of Students Marla Love, the affiliation between the CTA and Cornell United Religious Work — a multifaith community of more than 40 affiliated religious and spiritual leaders — will expire in June 2025. University funding for CTA will continue for two more years to give the organization time to find alternative funding sources.
The CTA website states that the center was “born from the turmoil of the late 1960’s at Cornell” at a time when many chaplains within CURW took part in antiwar and civil rights protests. In 1971, the Cornell Board of Trustees moved “to house these activities within a newly incorporated, education-based center, one that was affiliated with, but legally separate from, Cornell,” the CTA website states.
According to Love, “The agencies now supported by
Cupid’s Therapy Cornell professors discuss the chemistry and psychology behind falling in love. | Page 8
By DOROTHY FRANCE-MILLER Sun News Editor
Feb. 10 — Jack Mallek ’25 was found dead in his off-campus apartment on Feb. 8, according to a Monday afternoon email from Peter Loewen, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.
Mallek was a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences studying math and computer science. He was a resident of McLean, Virginia.
On campus, Mallek was active in the bowling club, Cornell Brazilian jiu jitsu, Historical European Martial Arts Club at Cornell and the Chinese Drama Society. He spoke Mandarin and participated in the Translator Interpreter Program. Mallek also was an analyst for the Undergraduate Labor Institute and served as an officer at the Prospect of Whitby cooperative house in 2023.
He is survived by his parents and brother.
The University will hold
CTA, including Anabel’s Grocery, have outgrown the intent of that 1971 agreement and their affiliation with CURW.”
“We have been connecting across the institution to find CTA a supportive home and look forward to continuing those efforts,” Love wrote.
CTA is the fiscal sponsor to 35 non-profit organizations that focus on a range of social causes, many of which exist outside of Cornell in the Ithaca area and beyond.
Anabel’s Grocery, which is housed under CTA, has helped provide subsidized produce to students since 2017. The store was created by two students in response to a 2015 survey that found that 22 percent of Cornell students responded that they “skipped meals or [did not have] enough to eat because of financial constraints.”
Anabel’s launched a petition on Friday asking for signatures and testimonials “requesting the university continue its longstanding financial support of CTA, and share testimonials on how Anabel’s and other CTA programs have impacted your time at Cornell.”
The petition’s webpage further stated that the decision to end CTA’s affiliation agreement will take “away over 100k in annual endowment income after June 2027,” adding that “while Cornell is working towards finding another affiliation for the CTA, it will very likely not include any funding.” Love wrote in her statement that “the university has been working diligently to
community support meetings at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 11 and 6 p.m. in 406 Malott Hall and 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 12 in 310 Gates Hall. Individuals can have a diverse range of feelings, needs and reactions when facing loss. This information about Grief and Loss may be helpful to you or a friend. The Ithaca-based crisisline can be reached at 607-272-1616, and the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is available throughout the U.S. Additional supportive resources are listed at mentalhealth.cornell.edu. Students in need of professional support can email Student Support and Advocacy Services at studentsupport@cornell.edu or call Counseling and Psychological Services at 607-255-5155. Employees can call the Faculty and Staff Assistance Program at 607-255-2673.
Dorothy France-Miller can be reached at dfrancemiller@cornellsun.com.
find ways to sustain Anabel’s Grocery,” noting that “the course associated with Anabel’s Grocery is an important community-engaged course that reaches around 115 students each year.”
According to CTA’s most recently published financial statements, in 2023, Cornell contributed a total of $138,726 to CTA, including donor-restricted assets, which carry restrictions as to how they can be used.
At time of publication, 624 people have signed the petition and 185 testimonials have been written. The testimonials from students, staff and alumni highlight the affordable food and strong community Anabel’s provides.
Harry Samuels ’24 wrote in a testimony: “Anabel’s is a shining example of what makes Cornell so special.”
For Uyen Hoang ’25, “Anabel’s is more than just a grocery store—it’s a qualified resource and a bridge to the local food system.” Hoang wrote in a testimony, “Cutting its funding now, at the height of its impact, would be more than just frustrating—it would be a failure to recognize its essential role…it would sever an invaluable connection to our community.”
Executive Director of CTA Prof. Anke Wessels, applied economics and management, and Trisha Bhujle ’26, a former Anabel’s Grocery coordinator, declined to comment.
5 p.m., SundayTursday.
SEND A FAX (607) 273-0746
VISIT THE OFFICE
Midday Music for Organ: Anne Spink 12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m., Sage Chapel
Cookies on Ho Plaza
2 p.m. - 3 p.m., Ho Plaza
Galentine’s Day Networking Mixer
4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m., Green Room, College of Veterinary Medicine
Soup & Hope Noon w- 1 p.m., Sage Chapel
WLC x WOCC Valentine’s Day Goodie Bags, Photobooth, and Hot Cocoa 12 p.m. - 1 p.m., Law School Student Lounge
PALentines!
5 p.m. - 7p.m., Robert Purcell Community Center
E-MAIL sunmailbox@cornellsun.com 139 W. State Street, Ithaca, N.Y.
Valentine’s Day Celebration
THE SUN ONLINE www.cornellsun.com
4:30 p.m. - 6 p.m., Willard Straight Hall Lobby
Valentine Making Party
4:30 p.m. - 6 p.m., Classroom 6, College of Veterinary Medicine
Melodramatics Theatre Company G-Body Meeting 5p.m. - 6 p.m., Green Room, Schwartz Performing Arts Center
Cornell Literary Society’s Valentine’s Day Party
5 p.m. - 7 p.m., 234 Goldwin Smith Hall
Bowling Practices
5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m., Helen Newman Lanes
Introduction and Current Immigration Debrief: What’s Next?
6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m., 200 Barnes Hall
Cantos y Besitos 5:30 p.m. - 7 p.m., 626 Thurston Ave
Vision Boards and Valentine’s Vibes
6 p.m. - 7p.m., Seminar Room, Alice Cook House
Free ZUMBA
6:30 p.m. - 7:15 p.m., B16 Helen Newman Hall
Cornell Tango Lesson
7 p.m. - 10 p.m., Atrium of the Physical Sciences Building
Relaxation Through Watercolor 7:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m., Veteran’s House
Cornell Film Club Screening: Dune (1984)
7:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m., B21 Schwartz Performing Arts Center
Dear Ithaca: Happy Valentine’s Day. Love, the Photography Department
By SUN PHOTOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT
By EMMA GALGANO Sun Staff Writer
Feb. 11 — Cornell, along with 11 other universities, filed a lawsuit against the National Institute of Health on Monday challenging the recent cuts to funding related to “indirect costs” — which cover the expenses of research infrastructure — associated with NIH grants towards medical research.
This suit, filed by the Association of American Universities, the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities and the American Council on Education, pushes back against recent action by the NIH to cap indirect funds for higher education research infrastructure to 15 percent of total grant dollars distributed. The lawsuit alleges that the proposed cuts violate federal grant regulations and administrative law and would harm medical research, the training of future scientists and the U.S.’s leadership in biomedical innovation.
Cornell and other leading research institutions could face annual losses exceeding $80 million each if a new policy from the NIH on research reimbursements takes effect.
The NIH — the largest source of funding for medical research in the U.S. — announced on Friday that it will significantly limit payments for indirect costs in grants as part of a broader push by the Trump administration to cut government spending.
When a grant is awarded, an additional percentage is added to cover “indirect costs” for the facilities housing the research. For NIH grants, this percentage has historically been around 27-28 percent, but the new directive sets a 15 percent cap unless a different rate is negotiated. For Cornell, indirect cost funding supports items including administrative salaries, office supplies, general-purpose equipment maintenance and utilities.
Cornell’s current indirect cost rate for endowed on-campus research is 64 percent, according to the University’s Division of Financial Services. In the 2022 fiscal year, Weill Cornell Medicine received $107 million from indirect cost reimbursements. If the rate was set at 15 percent, Weill Cornell would have received only about $25.1 million.
David K. Skorton, a former president of Cornell and the current president and CEO of the Association of American Medical Colleges, condemned the NIH policy in a statement from AAMC.
“The [Trump] administration’s decision to drastically reduce federal support for biomedical research by cutting reimbursement for peer-reviewed NIH grants will diminish the nation’s research capacity, slowing scientific progress and depriving patients, families, and communities of new treatments, diagnostics, and preventive interventions,” Skorton wrote.
In a Monday statement, the NIH
justified the cuts by comparing them to rates used by other nonprofit foundations that fund medical research, explaining that the move would ensure that more funds go toward direct scientific research costs rather than administrative overhead.
“The United States should have the best medical research in the world,” the NIH statement reads. “It is vital to ensure that as many funds as possible go toward direct research costs.”
A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s planned reductions in medical research funding after 22 states filed a lawsuit seeking to halt the changes. As such, research at universities like Cornell will not be immediately impacted. A court hearing is scheduled for Feb. 21.
The University Responds
On Saturday, the Cornell administration criticized the NIH’s announcement of significant reductions in indirect costs for research funding in a University statement, and on Monday, a statement was sent to students and faculty explaining the joint lawsuit. Both statements were
written by Interim President Michael Kotlikoff, Provost Kavita Bala and Provost for Medical Affairs Dr. Robert Harrington.
“Indirect costs are an essential component of the decades-long partnership between the federal government and universities to conduct research that saves and improves lives,” the Saturday statement reads.
As the University proceeds with filing the joint lawsuit, the Monday statement expressed that Cornell “remain[s] deeply committed to research” that “enhances” the lives of people around the world.
“We look forward to partnering with the NIH to ensure that we fulfill that mission together,” the administrators wrote.
Individuals with questions about existing grants or in-flight proposals are advised to email researchimpact@ cornell.edu or WCMResearch@med. cornell.edu.
Emma Galgano can be reached at ejg243@cornell.edu.
By XIMENA BALI Sun Staff Writer
Cornell University Police Department identified a student suspect for the Jan. 21 vandalism of the Andrew Dickson White statue on the Arts Quad, according to a University statement released on Monday by Monica Yant Kinney, interim vice president for University relations. CUPD “continues to investigate additional suspects,” according to the statement.
According to the statement from Kinney, the identified student was referred to the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards which will adjudicate alleged violations of the Student Code of Conduct. If found responsible, the student may face “temporary restrictions.”
On the first day of spring classes, students awoke to “Divest from death” and “occupation=death” spray painted in dark red on the statue of A.D. White. This followed a similar first day of class vandalism at Day Hall during the fall semester, which included pro-divestment graffiti sprayed across the front entrance and the glass of the front door being smashed.
The activists behind the graffiti previously sent The Sun a statement regarding the A.D. White statue vandalism that asserted, “We had to accept that the only way to make ourselves heard is by targeting the only thing the university administration truly cares about: property.”
vandalized on the frst day of classes of the spring semester
The Student Code of Conduct states that “certain types of violations are so fundamentally inconsistent with the University’s educational mission that, absent unusual mitigating factors, a sanction of substantial suspension or dismissal ordinarily will ordinarily be imposed.”
“Such violations include acts of violence or other violations that substantially threaten the University’s educational mission or property,” the Student Code of Conduct reads.
Following the vandalism of the A.D. White statue, the Coalition for Mutual Liberation — a pro-Palestinian coalition of over 40 on and off-campus organizations — expressed support for the act in an Instagram post, writing, “You can cover a statue with a tarp but you can’t cover up your complicity.”
CML declined to comment regarding the identification of a potential suspect in the A.D. White statue vandalism.
When asked by The Sun how the student was identified, a University spokesperson declined to share any additional information beyond Monday’s statement. The spokesperson further declined to comment on if the student would be charged criminally.
At time of publication, an activist behind the graffiti did not respond to a request for comment.
Benjamin Leynse ’27 contributed reporting.
at xsb2@cornell.edu.
By ANGELINA TANG Sun Staff Writer
Feb. 6 Anne Meinig Smalling ’87 was elected on Tuesday as the next chair of the Cornell Board of Trustees, succeeding Kraig Kayser MBA ’84. She will be the first woman to serve as chair, and her three-year term will begin on July 1.
Smalling has served as a trustee since 2017. She is currently the chief executive officer and managing partner of HM International, LLC, a privately owned managing and manufacturing company that acquires and invests in industrial product businesses. The company specializes in the distribution of food service, natural gas and more.
“We have much to be proud of at Cornell and much to share about all this university does to build knowledge and make the world a better place,” Smalling told the Cornell Chronicle.
Her father, Peter Meinig ’61 BME ’62, previously served as a trustee from 1991 to 2002 and as chairman emeritus from 2002 to 2011. During his term, Cornell students and faculty accused him of holding a conflict of interest when the University began considering whether it should lease land in the Marcellus Shale to gas drilling companies. This was primarily due to Meinig’s previous position on the Board of Directors of Williams Companies, one of the nation’s largest natural gas companies.
At least 74 students, faculty members and members of the community signed a letter requesting that Meinig recuse himself from any decision-making in the leasing deliberation. The University denied that there was any conflict of interest because they are “not engaged in any contractual transaction with any company in which Mr. Meinig has a financial interest,” wrote Deputy University Spokesperson Simeon Moss ’73 in an email to The Sun in February 2010.
Meinig died in 2017. Smalling told the Cornell Chronicle that if he were alive today, he would be “pretty proud” of her election.
Smalling will replace Kayser, who served one three-year term as chair and serves on the Board of Directors of Moog, a weapons manufacturing company.
Last semester, he was also accused of having a conflict of interest as the University consistently rejected calls for divestment from weapons manufacturers involved in the Israel-Hamas War and disciplined students involved in pro-divestment protests.
“The University Board of Trustees is responsible for strategic management of all investable funds,” according to Cornell University’s LinkedIn page.
The price of Moog’s shares has nearly doubled since the Israel-Palestine conflict started in 2023, with Chief Executive Officer Pat Roche citing “ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East” as the reason for the increase in revenue. Kayser has served on Moog’s Board of Directors since 1998 — an involvement that student activists criticized in statements to The Sun. The Sun’s Editorial Board in November 2024 called for Kayser’s resignation from the Cornell Board of Trustees.
Kayser called Smalling an “outstanding choice” for chair, telling the Cornell Chronicle, “Anne has demonstrated over decades of service to Cornell a commitment to our land-grant mission and core values.”
The Meinig family is one of Cornell’s most generous donors, funding several endowed professor positions and programs.
To continue reading this article, please visit www.cornellsun.com.
By SHANNON LEE Sun Staff Writer
Feb. 7 — One and a half years after the University announced its decision to discontinue its partnership with Starbucks, Cornell Dining revealed that La Colombe Coffee Roasters will replace Starbucks as the primary retail coffee vendor across campus beginning in the summer of 2025.
La Colombe is an American coffee retailer founded in 1994 and based in Philadelphia. The retailer offers classic blends and single-origin coffee to various retailers and cafés while operating its own locations across the country. La Colombe facilitates direct and sustainable sourcing practices, paying producers above fair trade prices and employee-led community cleanups, according to the Feb. 5 statement by Cornell Student & Campus Life.This new vendor announcement follows the National Labor Relations Board ruling that Starbucks unlawfully punished Cornell students at its Ithaca locations who advocated for unionization, including denying some students leave over Cornell’s academic breaks during the unionization process.
Following a unionization movement at the store, all three Ithaca Starbucks locations were shut down by May 2023.
Students then occupied Day Hall to protest Cornell’s participation in the We Proudly Serve Starbucks program, and the Student Assembly proposed a resolution urging Cornell to end its partnership with Starbucks. In August 2023, the University announced it would terminate its partnership with Starbucks following the end of its existing contract with the brand in June 2025.
The year-long process of finding a new vendor started in Fall 2024, when Cornell Dining and Student and Campus Life’s Purchasing Team investigated and tested potential vendors to replace Starbucks products. From the Student Assembly Dining
Committee to the Coffee Club, this process also included opinions from Cornell students, staff and faculty, according to the statement. A tasting event was held at Trillium where coffee drinks from potential vendors were sampled and rated.
The purchasing team also assessed vendor business practices, staff training support, pricing structures and equipment needs before choosing La Colombe as the vendor to replace Starbucks, according to the statement.
“Cornell Dining is proud to partner with a company that shares these values and priorities. ”
Student Campus & Life
“La Colombe’s commitment to equal employment opportunity, and maintaining a workplace where employees feel respected and supported, are at the core of their ethical and sustainable business practices,” the Student Campus & Life statement reads. “Cornell Dining is proud to partner with a company that shares these values and priorities.”
Cornell Dining said in a statement to Cornell Student & Campus Life news that they will serve “a varying assortment” of La Colombe drinks at Amit Bhatia Libe Café, Bear Necessities, Bus Stop Bagels, Goldie’s Café, Jansen’s Market, Mattin’s Café, Rusty’s and Trillium.
In addition, some of the University’s existing smaller vendors, including Peet’s Coffee & Tea and Sun Coffee Roasters, will expand their service to more locations starting in the summer of 2025, the statement announced.
To continue reading this article, please visit www.cornellsun.com.
Shannon Lee can be reached at slee@cornellsun.com.
its commitment to providing care for transgender youth
Feb. 7 Weill Cornell Medicine removed a public statement from its website on Monday that affirmed its commitment to providing gender-affirming care for transgender youth.
The move follows an executive order from President Donald Trump directing federal entities to withhold funding from medical providers that offer gender-affirming treatments to individuals under 19 years old.
On March 9, 2022, Weill Cornell Medicine issued “A pledge of support for transgender youth,” a public statement explaining that the medical institution would continue to provide “gender-affirming care to [its] transgender youth” despite “politically motivated calls to criminalize gender-affirming” healthcare. They referenced statements “targeting” transgender youths’ healthcare, such as those by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
“Rather than remaining silent in the face of divisiveness and angry rhetoric, we will strengthen our resolve to continue providing gender-affirming care to our transgender youth,” Weill Cornell Medicine wrote in their now-removed state-
ment. “[We will] leverage the power of medical associations and institutions to fight against legislation which threatens their physical and emotional health by limiting access to medically necessary, and potentially lifesaving, care.”
Despite issuing this statement in 2022, Weill Cornell Medicine has recently joined hospitals around New York in removing public statements explaining their commitment to providing gender-affirming services to transgender youth. This change also follows New York University Langone Health’s decision to cancel transgender care appointments for minors, raising alarms about the impact of the executive order on transgender healthcare access in New York State and beyond.
Weill Cornell Medicine and Cornell University are both assessing the implications of the recent executive orders before issuing further guidance.
“A letter dated March 2022 was removed from our website as we evaluate the new executive order, state and federal laws and regulations and the New York Attorney General’s recent guidance,” a Weill Cornell Medicine spokesperson wrote in a
statement to The Sun. “We are working through this developing situation. As always, our priority is to serve all our patients in a compassionate and responsible way.”
A Cornell spokesperson similarly wrote in a statement to The Sun, “University leadership continues to evaluate how new executive orders affect our community. As more concrete information becomes available, we will provide guidance on how the executive orders and other directives may impact our programs and community members.”
However, some members of Cornell’s transgender community remain dissatisfied. According to Hugo Keil ’27, the removal of Weill Cornell Medicine’s statement affected his hopes of pursuing the medical treatments essential to having “the body [he has] dreamed of seeing in the mirror.”
To continue reading this article, please visit www.cornellsun.com.
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“I usually don’t cook this bad”, I apologized. He struggled to eat my pancake disaster with a smile. “I’m sure you’re great,” he said, complimenting my tasteless pancakes. I stuffed my things in my bag, eager to leave but avoided his gaze. “Don’t you have work?”, I asked as his buzzing phone bothered me. “I’m good today,” he replied. We tried not to look at each other. I waited for my bus, giggling at how he’d shielded me from the sun. Walking down the road, I glance at the now snow-covered grass, wondering if I should try cooking pancakes again.
Written By Veda Joshi, an M.Eng. in the Biomedical Engineering Department
Chemistry with Chemistry:
We met on the engineering quad when I asked him for directions because I’m horrible with directions and he was a Boy Scout. We first hung out when I asked him for homework help with honors general chemistry because I was totally lost and he understood everything. He visited me over the summer as friends and got to meet my family. We started dating as sophomores immediately after that summer. Over a year later, the chemistry classes we take together have only gotten harder but having him by my side is easy.
Written By Kristina Georges, a Junior in the Engineering School
Brewing Love:
I once told a friend how much I loved the friends-to-lovers trope. A few weeks later, I found myself living it—with him. It started with the latenight movies, our endlessly long conversations, and the way he’d invite himself over for my homemade cups of tea, insisting no one made it like I did. He later confessed they were actually quite mid, but he kept coming back for it anyway as an excuse to spend time with me—and the rest is now history!
Written by Anonymous, a Senior in the Bower CIS School
To my Undefined Foodie:
I remember when I catiously swipped right on his profile. He took me to dinner, and then I gave him a goodnight smooch. Not to brag — but he asked me to dinner every week for a whole semester. Turns out he not only liked to dine out, but he curled his hair on his finger when he talked to me over sushi and held my hand in the rain around the town walking me back to the car during those october showers. Tender as that steak you cooked me, you make my life a little more flavorful.
Written by Jack Strap, a Junior columnist
Grace Elmore is a student at Cornell University. Comments can be sent to gelmore@cornellsun.com. Grace and her column can be found on Instagram, @graace.elmoree Let’s Talk About Sex runs during alternate Sex on Tursdays this semester.
For the past 300 years, Valentine’s Day has been renowned as a day of love, lust, gratitude, pink hearts, chocolate and dinner dates. While many consider the Day of Love one of the happier modern holidays, others find themselves feeling overwhelmed or lonely. All things considered, it’s time we pay long-deserved homage to the range of feelings brought about on Feb. 14th.
To gain a better understanding of how diverse feelings about Valentine’s Day are, I conducted a survey via my Instagram to see what vocab words come to mind when my followers (column readers) think about Valentine’s Day. 24 hours and 50ish responses later, I was left with “lonely” topping the leaderboard, followed closely by consumerism with submissions like “stress”, “sweet”, and “massacre” sprinkled in. 83% of responses was not related to another person. 46.8% responses had a negative conotation.
To see all responses and simple summary statistics breaking down responses, please vist www.cornellsun.com.
The analysis that particularly resonates with me shows the distribution of connotations of each response (“Positive” being words like adorable and gratitude, “Negative” being words like overrated and vomit, and “Neutral” being words like “pink” and “scallops”). You’ll notice that nearly half the total responses to the prompt “What word comes to mind when you think of Valentine’s Day?” were negative and, considering the neutral ones, only 32 percent of respondents associated Valentine’s Day with a positively connotated word. The top reported word was lonely and not one single person submitted the word love.
So, according to readers, it seems Valentine’s Day has become associated with loneliness instead of love. Why is this, and is it possible that Feb. 14th has always caused feelings of isolation to rear their head? Has society’s red and pink consumerist takeover (consumerism being the second-most reported word) tricked us into thinking we’re the only ones who feel alone on this February day, and should we feel guilty for feeling so?
This is where the day’s history comes into play; its blurry origins help trace and validate the apparent modern-day love-to-lonesome pipeline.
Although the official namesake of Valentine’s Day is disputed, there were (at least) three different historical Catholic Saint Valentines, all of whom were put to death as martyrs in third-century Rome. One conducted secret marriages after Emperor Claudius II outlawed marriage (he realized that men performed much better in battle when they didn’t have wives to return home to, go figure).
Another was allegedly put to death for aiding in Christian liberation from Roman prisons. This Valentine is said to have sent the first actual “valentine”
to his jailer’s daughter — from his holding cell — before his execution.
Even though these Saints were killed in the third century, Valentine’s Day wasn’t commercialized via greeting cards and flowers for nearly 1,500 years, and it took a couple hundred more years to make it to the United States. How did we decide on the 14th of February, you might ask? (Perhaps to commemorate the deaths or arrests of the Valentines?) Well, it was actually just a quick ploy to redirect attention from the pagan holiday, Lupercalia, which wasn’t sitting well with Christians at the time.
Today’s Valentine’s Day merchandise also commonly features the Greco-Roman god, Cupid. While admittedly a much more visually appealing advertisement than the more authentic option — beheaded Saints — Cupid is also a completely random attribution to the day.
Regardless of which Roman Saint Valentine we celebrate on February 14th, they had one thing in common: They were not celebrating “Valentine’s Day” with their loved ones. They were either dead or awaiting death in Roman holding cells, which actually sounds quite lonely to me.
Thus, Valentine’s Day is a flawlessly orchestrated cut-and-paste marketing scheme. Its red hearts, overpriced roses and lofty expectations weren’t normalized until over a thousand years after the death of the Saint(s) it claims to celebrate. The date chosen for its celebration was simply to override a less accepted holiday, and its No. 1 market image, Cupid, has absolutely nothing to do with the namesake Saints or the historic February 14th. We put pressure on a holiday so made-up we don’t even get a day off of work.
So, if your feelings on February 14th are ones of joy and gratitude for a day spent with loved ones (partners and friends alike), be thankful that you have that opportunity and aren’t instead being held in a Roman prison. And if your feelings are negative, don’t kick yourself, there is no need to disguise them with cherubs and red roses. But I hope to reassure you that despite how it seems, Valentine’s Day does not need to make you sad.
If you are feeling so, I urge you instead to reflect on the history and origins of the day being celebrated. Have a laugh at the hodgepodge of history and marketing meticulously melded together to create a day that elicits similar feelings for so many people (46.8 percent of my Instagram followers), and appreciate that the historical Saint Valentine would probably have negative associations with the day as well; it would seem that their histories aren’t too far in the rearview. Whatever you’re feeling on this February 14th, feel it authentically. If for no other reason than out of spite of how hilariously inauthentic Valentine’s Day is.
Jewish Voices for Peace (JVP) at Cornell is a student organization committed to promoting justice, equality, and human rights for Palestinians. Tey can be reached at cornell@jvp.com.
Jewish Voice for Peace at Cornell strongly condemns President Donald Trump’s newly issued executive order, Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism, and calls on Cornell University to protect international students, staff and faculty whose visa statuses are threatened by the proclamation. This order does not protect Jewish students. Instead, it seeks to silence anti-Zionist speech on campuses and in communities across the United States. With specific reference to campus activities of the last year, the order implies that the protest and divestment movement is inherently harmful to Jewish students. As Jewish students, faculty and alumni actively involved in a cross-national movement, we reject that pro-Palestinian activism is anti-semitism. The executive order calls for universities to “monitor for and report activities by alien students and staff.” Under the pretense of “combating anti-Semitism,” this executive order targets non-citizen anti-war organizers and activists, furthering a broader anti-immigrant agenda. We refuse to stand by as Jews are used as pawns in this right-wing authoritarian regime. We particularly stand with our friend and ally, graduate student Momodou Taal. As a prominent voice in the pro-Palestine movement at Cornell, Momodou has already been threatened with deportation. This executive order enacts The Heritage Foundation’s “Project Esther” which aims to erase the distinction between Judaism
and Zionism. Under this framework, the federal government is charged with dismantling the Palestinian solidarity movement through deportations of non-citizens, censorship of education, protest bans and the dissolution of groups like JVP and Students for Justice in Palestine. With this recent executive order, “Project Esther” has begun its realization in the name of Jewish people, despite there being no evidence of Jewish authors, and many of their alleged partners have distanced themselves from the project..
The Trump administration is no ally to Jewish people. The Trump administration’s continued alliance with neo-Nazi organizations — exemplified by Elon Musk’s Nazi salute — exposes this executive order as nothing but a ploy to further their xenophobic, anti-immigrant agenda. Beyond Musk, several of Trump’s cabinet picks, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have spread alarming antisemitic rhetoric with neither consequences nor condemnation by the majority Republican caucus. Trump himself has come under fire for refusing to condemn white nationalist violence, saying in 2017 after the deadly Charlottesville “Unite the Right” rally, that there were “very fine people on both sides.”
We stand in solidarity with our non-citizen allies. This executive order effectively turns Cornell and other universities into de facto enforcement arms of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
To continue reading, visit www.cornellsun.com.
James Grimmelmann is the Tessler Family Professor of Digital and Information Law at Cornell Tech and Cornell Law School. He can be reached at james.grimmelmann@cornell.edu.
Iread with interest and dismay the news that Weill Cornell Medicine removed from its website a 2022 statement supporting gender-affirming care for transgender youth. On Jan. 28, the Trump administration issued an executive order purporting to forbid federal funding to institutions that provide such care. In statements to The Sun, Weill Cornell and the University explained that they made the removal while evaluating the executive order, but said almost nothing else.
In brief, this is a cowardly failure by Cornell to defend its core values at precisely the moment when it matters the most to stand up for them. Whimpering in fear and obeying in advance will not stop the Trump administration’s all-out attacks on trans people and universities.
Most fundamentally, the executive order is blatantly illegal. The president does not have constitutional or statutory authority to make such a massive change to federal spending on his own. Threatening to cut off federal funding to coerce compliance with unrelated rules is an unconstitutional condition. The intrusion on the physician-patient relationship violates the fundamental rights of patients to bodily autonomy; the order discriminates on the basis of sex and gender and is motivated by unconstitutional animus towards trans people. And even if the Trump administration could cut funding for providing this medical care, it would violate the First Amendment to cut funding for speaking
Anabel’s Grocery is a student-run nonproft initiative operated by a team of undergraduates each semester. Te team can be reached at anabelgrocery@gmail.com.
Save Anabel’s
An
CTA Is an Investment in Us All.
Anabel’s – A Model of Cornell’s Mission: Cornell’s To Do the Greatest Good campaign positions the University as a “source of solutions” through “creative, evidence-based” learning and community partnerships. Anabel’s Grocery is featured prominently on the University’s signage, embodying its ambitious $5 billion campaign.
A student-run nonproft, Anabel’s Grocery provides fresh, afordable, and nutritious food to the Cornell community. As part of CTA, a 501(c)(3) umbrella organization that is legally separate from but afliated with Cornell, we source primarily from Ithaca-based farmers and producers and subsidize essential items to remain below conventional grocery store prices. More than a grocery store, Anabel’s is a handson learning experience in nonproft management that tackles the dual challenges of food insecurity and food waste while meeting diverse dietary, nutritional and cultural needs.
Anabel’s partners with local student-run producers such as Dilmun Hill Student Farm and the Cornell Hydroponics Club to host community dinners, farm tours and cooking events that cultivate a sense of community and raise awareness of Cornell’s farm-to-table network. “Eating here with these people makes me feel like I belong at Cornell. Tank you for all the love and generosity,” said a recent attendee — because Anabel’s doesn’t just bring food to the table, it brings community.
about it. Many of these legal theories are already included in two lawsuits against the administration to block the executive order, and two federal courts have already enjoined the enforcement of other anti-trans executive orders.
The Cornell administration seems to want to avoid putting the University at risk. But while it is one thing to be cautious in the face of legal uncertainty, it is quite another to be quiet out of fear. If Weill Cornell was committed on Jan. 27 to appropriate medical care for transgender youth, it should still be committed enough to say so — and it should also be committed to defending that commitment by filing its own lawsuit, if necessary. If the University believed on Jan. 27 that its pediatric faculty had the academic freedom to speak about their professional commitments, it should not now censor them. If the University believed on Jan. 27 that “any person … any study” includes trans people, it should still be willing to say so publicly, without mealymouthed obfuscations like “our programs and community members.”
Here is a revised draft of a statement, one that better reflects the values Cornell claims to follow:
A recent executive order purports to prevent Weill Cornell Medicine from providing transgender youth with gender-affirming care. We vehemently object to any attempt to prevent our patients from receiving medically appropriate care. To continue reading, visit www.cornellsun.com.
Serving over 600 customers weekly and 20,000 unique customers to date, Anabel’s is recognized as an “afordable food resource” by Cornell Health and an embodiment of the University’s Health Promoting Campus mission. We are celebrated as a social entrepreneurship program by Entrepreneurship at Cornell and as an afordable food resource by Cornell Dining. Our work has been featured by the New York City Food Policy Center, Inside Higher Ed, the Cornell Chronicle and Cornell’s alumni publication.
Te Role of CTA and SCL’s Withdrawal: Anabel’s exists because of CTA, which bears the sole legal and fduciary responsibility for our store. CTA holds our grocery license and insurance, processes vendor payments and manages bookkeeping. It also secured USDA approval for Anabel’s to accept SNAP-EBT, making us the only location on campus to do so.
CTA has been afliated with Cornell since 1971, when it was established with the help of endowment-related funding to assume responsibility for Cornell United Religious Work’s social service projects. On Dec. 13, 2024, SCL Vice President Ryan Lombardi notifed CTA that SCL would end this 53year collaboration, redirecting $100,000+ in annual endowment income and granting a grace period until June 2027 for CTA to fnd an alternative funding source.
CTA’s Value to Cornell: Already, CTA has strengthened Cornell’s reputation as a forward-thinking institution. Its programs are highlighted in Cornell tours, Tis decision means that in fall 2025 Anabel’s Grocery may have to shut its doors.
Te Consequences of SCL’s Decision: Vice President Lombardi did not call for CTA’s closure in his letter. Rather, he acknowledged that Cornell values CTA and its far-reaching social impact on the Cornell
and Ithaca community but claimed that it no longer aligns with Cornell United Religious Work’s original intent, and presumably that of the newer Ofce of Spirituality and Meaning Making. SCL’s withdrawal of fnancial support for CTA in two years means that Dr. Anke Wessels, the Executive Director of CTA and professor of the Anabel’s Grocery course (AEM 3385), must now focus all her energy on CTA’s fnancial sustainability and away from teaching the course. It means that Anabel’s must secure new faculty support and raise the funds to hire a part-time store manager and ensure our products remain afordable. And it means that we as students are bearing the unwarranted burden of running our store this semester while fguring out how to safeguard our eforts for future Cornellians, without SCL’s support of CTA. and prospective students reference Anabel’s in applications. Students at other universities have even reached out to us wanting to replicate the Anabel’s model at their own institutions. CTA provides legal and back ofce infrastructure for innovative social impact initiatives like Open Doors English, which provides English classes to refugees and immigrants, and the Gayogohó:no’ Learning Project, which preserves the language of the Cayuga Nation through educational programs. CTA also fscally sponsors initiatives born from community-engaged research by Cornellians, such as the Center on Gender and Extreme Sentencing, Remark Navigation (an extension of Cornell’s popular Prison Education Program) and the Christopherson Center for Community Planning. Recently, CTA facilitated High Road Ithaca internships for ILR students and hosted New York’s Empire State Service Corps interns for SNAP outreach.
All of these initiatives are undermined by SCL’s decision to sever its funding agreement with CTA — one that is the envy of our peer institutions and whose value far exceeds the annual endowment income CTA receives. University administrators have assured us they are working to fnd a new afliation agreement for CTA within Cornell but say it likely won’t include funding. Te problem is that an afliation agreement, while certainly valuable, still leaves Anabel’s and CTA in a possibly untenable fnancial bind.
Fighting for Anabel’s—and How You Can Join Us:
A small yet determined team of students is working tirelessly — meeting with faculty, alumni and student leaders, drafting Student Assembly proposals and reaching out to of-campus allies who recognize our value. We have two immediate goals: secure $25,000 this semester and $75,000 annually thereafter to keep Anabel’s running, and enlist one or more current Cornell professors in co-teaching the Anabel’s course so that our work and the learning it fosters does not disappear. To students, faculty, staf and friends: We urge you to sign our petition requesting that Cornell restore CTA’s funding. Share with us how Anabel’s and CTA’s other programs have beneftted you. Email us at anabelgrocery@ gmail.com with ideas, connections or support.
Cornell’s administration should be proud to stand by CTA and to fnancially support initiatives advancing the inclusive pedagogy and community partnerships that this University celebrates.
To continue reading, visit www.cornellsun.com.
By TANIA HAO Sun Contributor
Picture this: it’s a cold February day in Ithaca, and you’re sitting in a cafe sipping a steaming drink over your homework. By chance, you look up from your problem set and meet the gaze of a cute stranger across the room. Your heart starts beating fast and you experience that all-too-familiar feeling of butterflies in your stomach.
As you debate whether to approach this person, your nucleus accumbens — commonly known as the brain’s “reward center” — starts releasing dopamine, the neurotransmitter associated with pleasurable experiences like getting a good grade or eating delicious food, according to Prof. Alex Ophir, psychology.
At the same time, the hormones oxytocin — often dubbed “the love hormone” — and vasopressin work to make certain stimuli more rewarding to your brain; namely, the person who’s caught your eye. This creates an initial association between feeling good and a certain individual’s unique characteristics, according to Ophir. This subconscious motivation to seek higher reward helps you work up the courage to finally get up and go over to them.
Ophir studies pair bonding in prairie voles, a small rodent that is known for its monogamous lifestyle. In prairie voles, initial pair bonds are formed when oxytocin and vasopressin assign higher reward to certain individuals and human mechanisms are extremely similar.
However, there are key differences among individuals when it comes to the neurobiology of attraction. Prof. Nora Prior, psychology, studies monogamous pair bonding and friendship in zebra finches. Her research has found that long-term monogamous pair bonds and friendship have overlapping impacts on many brain networks, including
the nucleus accumbens.
“While people often talk about key changes in hormones like oxytocin — the love hormone — and vasopressin there are also lots of changes in other neuromodulatory systems,” Prior said. “The neurobiology of falling in love and staying in love is quite complex, and is likely a bit different for each of us.”
With that in mind, let’s get back to our scenario. After striking up a conversation with this cute stranger, you find that the two of you actually have a lot in common. As you continue to chat, you find them even more attractive.
This is an example of what psychologists call synchrony — shared interests with another individual that increase the level of excitement and reward in
your brain. Synchrony, paired with intellectual stimulation as you chat with your newfound crush, can create and reinforce the initial “spark” of attraction.
Although the initial spark you experienced was primarily based on physical perception, this deeper attraction, reinforced by further reward, is a result of social learning that you’ve experienced throughout your lifetime, shaping your preferences and opinions.
For this reason, we may not know as much about our own romantic preferences as we might think. “Even though individuals may be drawn to a certain type of person, they are not always consciously aware of what attracts them,” said Prof. Vivian Zayas, psychology, whose research focuses
on the cognitive aspects of love and attraction. “Interestingly, the traits people claim to desire in a partner do not always align with the characteristics of those they actually find appealing in real-life interactions.”
After your conversation ends, your crush expresses interest in a date, to your utmost delight. A few days later, you’re on your way to your first date with them at a nice restaurant. Make sure to keep an eye out for some key biological markers of success, including excitement, positive anxiety and synchrony.
“I think that there’s an important level of synchrony, and what I’ll describe as ‘groove,’” Ophir said. “Are you in the same groove? Are you in sync? Are you out of sync? If that’s going well, and it’s paired with a positive, rewarding experience with some of that arousal and positive anxiety, then that’s the signs of a good date.”
Through some stroke of luck, you make it through your date, and even though you were totally nervous, you also thoroughly enjoyed it. Several dates later, you and your crush decide to enter a long-term relationship.
The formation of a long-term pair bond in prairie voles is a catalyst for a shift in the brain’s dopamine receptors. According to Ophir’s research, after falling in love, a different receptor begins to dominate in the prairie vole brain, making it harder to feel attraction to individuals other than one’s own partner. Some evidence suggests that human brains work similarly.
To continue reading, please visit www.cornellsun. com.
By ADVIIK SINGH VIRAT Sun Contributor
A team of researchers at Cornell University has developed a new biodegradable vascular graft that could transform the treatment of cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death worldwide.
Anova Biomedical co-founders Prof. Yadong Wang, biomedical engineering, and Anthony D’Amato, a postdoctoral associate in biological engineering and the chief executive order of Anova Biomedical, have developed a metallo-elastomer that mimics the natural elasticity of arteries and veins. This innovation allows Anova to improve the current vascular graft technology, which only applies to vessels larger than five millimeters.
“Every year, between end-stage renal disease and cardiovascular diseases, there are millions of people suffering and dying,” D’Amato said. “There isn’t a viable treatment option for a lot of these patients. And we think our technology can help that.”
The metallo-elastomer graft technology could reduce many problems associated with traditional Teflon-based grafts. In contrast with the naturally elastic arteries in the human heart, Teflon-based grafts are rigid. This creates stress between the rigid tube and the flexible arteries, potentially causing inflammation and scarring that can lead to artery blockage. This is a key reason why grafts fail in 20 to 70 percent of cases, depending on the implant’s location.
Anova’s material, however, expands and contracts with blood flow and naturally degrades within nine to 12 months. As it breaks down, new blood vessels regenerate in its place, alleviating concerns about long-term foreign materials in the body.
“We don’t have to worry about this foreign material staying in the body forever, creating inflammation, causing a risk of clot formation and other such problems,” D’Amato said.
Anova’s eventual goal is to use the graft in
cardiac patients. The first application would be for dialysis patients, who typically receive Teflon grafts or undergo surgery to connect an artery to a vein, creating a loop that directs blood into the dialysis machine and pumps it back into the body. However, this method fails 60 percent of the time within a year and is often accompanied by significant physical pain.
Cornell’s venture incubation system has been instrumental in helping Anova reach this significant milestone. In 2022, the Center for Technology Licensing awarded D’Amato $180,000 through its Ignite Fellow for New Ventures program. This program offers Cornell researchers a one-year training opportunity to establish and manage a startup and commercialize the technologies developed in faculty labs. Currently, Anova has licensed 11 design and manufacturing patents from the Wang lab.
In September, Anova was admitted to Cornell’s Center for Life Science Ventures, a residential startup incubator on the Ithaca campus. This support from the incubator helped Anova create the fourth generation of its cardiovascular graft design, leading to a strong elastomer suited for the environment.
The collaboration between Anova and Cornell received a $65,000 grant from FuzeHub, a not-for-profit organization that supports small and medium-sized businesses in New York State. Cornell’s support has enabled Anova to secure a $275,000 Small Business Innovation Research grant to fund a one-year project to further develop a 3D printing resin by August 2024. Additionally, in October, Anova won first place in the FuzeHub Commercialization Competition at the New York State Innovation Summit, securing a $150,000 investment.
To continue reading, please visit www. cornellsun.com.
By Sanika Saraf
Sanika Saraf is a first-year in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations. She can be reached at ss4353@cornell.edu.
During the colder, darker, and duller parts of the semester, there isn’t much to cheer up the average Cornellian. However, with Valentine’s Day approaching this Friday, many are eagerly awaiting the results of the annual Perfect Match survey.
Founded in 2019 in an attempt to reduce isolation on campus, Perfect Match is a matchmaking survey connecting students to their ideal partner as determined by an algorithm.
According to Perfect Match’s 2024 statistics, 3983 Cornellians filled out the survey last year which is a fourth of the student body. Within last year’s Match survey statistics they also share demographic information answering questions such as a students “Rice Purity score” by state, what the most important love language is by gender and daily sleep duration by major. These questions are arguably some of the most pressing facts about Cornellians and it is very interesting to see how others would answer it.
As of Tuesday, February 11, 4212 students have filled out this year’s survey. The survey asks a variety of different questions ranging from relationship tendencies and personality to fun Cornell questions like “What club is the biggest red flag?” and “What Cornell hill would you die on?”
When asked about his favorite moment from filling out the survey, Mason Peterson ’28 noted, “It was really nice to have Cornellspecific questions, which made the event seem more personal to our community.” After submitting their responses, participants will receive a list of partners on campus that match the best with their personalities and interests.
Results for the matchmaking survey will be released this Thursday, a day before the start of February Break. While many students will be off-campus to open their results, many will be on campus to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Staying on campus doesn’t have to be a drag; you could make the most of it with one of your matches with these unique spots near campus. Not on campus for February Break?
No worries, take your match to these spots after break.
By Kaitlyn Bell
Kaitlyn Bell is a first-year in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations. She can be reached at kgb57@cornell.edu.
The premise of being matched by a dating survey to meet someone considered to be your “perfect” person is scary. But, if you’re looking for an atmosphere that is always busy, always popular and doesn’t scream ideal partner, then Purity is the place to go. Ice cream is always a guaranteed, good first date option, but throw in a Cornell favorite spot and a relaxed environment and you can guarantee a good first match date. Plus, with plenty of seating and a relaxed crowd, it’s the perfect spot to test the waters of your Perfect Match without feeling like you’re in a rom-com gone wrong.
Johnson Museum of Art
If you’re looking for low-stakes, in-expensive date spot (with easy access to running away from your match) then the Johnson Museum, located on the Arts Quad, is the place for you. If you accidentally match with someone you dislike (which is a real possibility), then staying on campus is probably the move. Overall the spot is artsy and allows you to enjoy cool exhibitions and get to know your match. Open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. from Tuesday through Sunday, it’s also an easy location to meet your match in person. Plus, the exhibitions are free. I would recommend strolling through the museum and then stopping by Green Dragon for a quick coffee break. While meeting your Perfect Match on campus could be a little odd, if you’re unsure and uncommitted to your possibly perfect, possibly complicated match, then this is a great option.
Botanist Coffeehouse
This is a cute coffee shop located in Fall Creek. A trek from campus, this cafe is definitely worth the stop with its amazing plantthemed decor and refreshing atmosphere. Serving up coffee and pastries, this spot could make for a sweet coffee date. This is an ideal spot for those who match on a lot of interests and ideas with their date. If you matched purely on physical traits, or questions such as similar “Rice Purity” scores, this may not be the place for you.
Do you really want to make an impression on your match?
Thompson and Bleeker, an iconic Cornell date venue, cooks up amazing Italian food perfect for a romantic, formal dinner. Just make sure to arrive promptly at 5 p.m. to acquire your table, especially on a Friday, Saturday, or Sunday night. If you think your perfect match is all that perfect, then by all means, this is the place to go. Just be careful, worst case scenario you embarrass yourself when the place is packed and you have no backup plan. But, if you listed “food” as one of your three important interests, this is definitely worth the wait.
Koko
A sit-down Korean restaurant in Collegetown, Koko could make for a casual and easy date with your match. Koko serves up good, hot food suited for everyone’s taste. Plus it’s perfect for the cold, February weather. If you are looking for a convenient commute and an easy laid back dinner option, this is a good place to go. Now, if any of these places sound uninteresting to you that is probably because your Perfect Match intentions misalign with the date-style premise of matching. That begs the question, how many of the 4212 that have filled out the form do have this same intention? Will these spots be filled with Cornellians waiting for the date to end and be moved elsewhere. While the intent of most students filling out the survey can be debated, either way these places are great options. Overall all of these spots make for an easy, fun get-to-know date with your potential Perfect Match. While you may be apprehensive about reaching out to your date and meeting up with someone you barely even know, making the first move and suggesting to schedule a date could be your ticket to a future successful relationship. Even if you or your Perfect Match aren’t planning to meet your match or not looking for a committed, serious relationship, going on a little date is an amazing way to spice up your February Break or the following weeks.
Just like that, we’re approaching another Valentine’s Day. Another day of hefty and cringey paragraphs on Instagram, expensive dinners full of awkward, lovey-dovey small talk and expensive (allegedly “marked-down”) chocolates, flowers and Hallmark cards. The holiday of overconsumption and exploitative consumerism has arrived. And, paradoxically, I’m excited.
Every year, my feelings about Valentine’s Day fluctuate, but my general attitude remains the same: it’s the same dose of insincere and superficial, year after year. This time around, I’m feeling relatively calm — though ask me again after seeing the explosion of newly formed (possible cringe) Cornell couples parading their love around campus, and I’ll probably have a different answer (and a much angrier one at that).
I’m aware of how contradictory it sounds to claim excitement after complaining about the holiday so much, but I stand by it. Everyone, at some point, has to go through a cynical phase when it comes to Valentine’s Day. Some people outgrow it, falling into the holiday’s romantic ideals. Others, like me, linger in their skepticism, rolling their eyes at every grand gesture while still indulging in the spectacle.
Most of the cynics around Valentine’s Day are either unhappy or yearning for their own love. My disdain comes from a purely capitalistic perspective, with a side of resentment for the cringey social media posts we all love (to make fun of).
Valentine’s Day, after all, was not always the love-filled event we know today. It originated as a Christian feast day commemorating Saint Valentine — though I won’t bore you with the details. But once the idea of “love” and “lovebirds” came into play, some very smart minds saw a very profitable market – romance.
According to Ottawa University, “When Valentine’s day finally spread across the pond to the United States, capitalists quickly pounced on what they saw as an enormous opportunity to profit from love. Originally known as Hall Brothers, Hallmark produced the first commercially printed Valentine’s Day card in 1913.”
And just like that, the holiday transformed from a quaint tradition — filled with handwritten letters and the charming use of “Valentine” as a term of endearment — into a billion-dollar industry.
Today, Valentine’s Day is less about genuine connection and more about manufactured expectations: chocolates that double in price overnight, flowers that will wilt by the weekend and dinner reservations made out of obligation rather than romance.
Sure, the holiday has its merits. For some, it serves as a much-needed push to finally express their feelings, and I can respect that. But my belief remains the same: everything done on Valentine’s Day can — and should — be done on any other day of the year. Love, at its best, isn’t about a single grand gesture on February 14 but about the small, thoughtful moments that happen throughout the year.
Yet, despite knowing this, Americans (and, more specifically, Cornellians) continue to feed into the holiday. And while I have at times been a hypocrite — giving in to the overpriced items and the illusion of romance — I also recognize that, in many ways, there’s no other choice.
Plain and simple: if you don’t participate, you’re seen as anti-romance. I didn’t make the rules; that’s just the culture we live in. The pressure to conform is relentless and it’s not just coming from couples trying to prove something — it’s coming from the corporations who profit off our desire to be loved. One of my favorite quotes from Guardian on the subject is, “Please instead make sure to focus on the true meaning of Valentine’s Day, which is, of course, brand awareness.” And honestly, that’s what Valentine’s Day has become: a marketing scheme dressed up as a celebration of love. It doesn’t bring people closer together — it sets them up for disappointment, pressuring them into performative romance that rarely meets expectations. If anything, Valentine’s Day exposes the very flaws in the idea of grand, one-day-only love. It’s a day of unmet expectations, emptied bank accounts and forced romantic confessions. If you can avoid it, I say run. But unfortunately, it’s inescapable — even at Cornell. The campus is littered with Valentine’s Day promotions: clubs selling flowers as fundraisers, the infamous Cornell Perfect
My disdain comes from a purely capitalistic perspective, with a side of resentment for the cringey social media posts we all love (to make fun of)
Match (complete with Level B pink fishbowl discounts) and even a Chocolate Fest at the Botanical Gardens. Cornellians are good at many things, but if there’s one thing we truly excel at, it’s exploitation. We exploit our classes, skimming syllabi for loopholes in attendance and grading policies. We exploit our BRBs, calculating the most cost-effective ways to stretch meal swipes and avoid overpaying at Terrace. And when Valentine’s Day rolls around, we exploit the holiday too — turning romance into a business strategy, an opportunity to make a few bucks off the lonely or the lovestruck. Because at the end of the day, Cornellians know what Valentine’s Day is really about. Nothing screams Cornell like a manufactured feeling. We manufacture our happiness and our academic motivation — so artificial romance? That’s just another thing to add to the list. So, what will I be doing this Valentine’s Day? Probably exactly what you’d expect. I’ll indulge in the halfpriced chocolate on February 15, read a couple Instagram posts with a mix of amusement and eye rolls, obsess over my friend’s Perfect Match results and maybe even skim through a few sentimental Hallmark cards for fun. But what I won’t do is buy into the illusion that love should be bought, scheduled, or dictated by a single day of the year. I’ll leave that to the Hallmarks and Hersheys of the world. Talk to me on February 15, I’ll be normal and unskeptical once again.
By ISABELLA PAZMINO-SCHELL Sun Staff Writer
Feb 6 — The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights officially opened an investigation on Jan. 27 into the Ithaca City School District over allegations of racial discrimination against white students following a complaint filed by the Equal Protection Project — founded and led by Prof. William Jacobson, law.
The investigation concerns the ICSD’s Students of Color United Summit. Founded in 2021, the event is an annual “closed event ONLY for [students of color] from 6th-12th grade in the Ithaca City School District.” Hosted by ICSD, the event takes place off campus and features musical and spoken word performances, sports, activities, food and social opportunities.
According to the complaint, the goal of the event is to “help students of color have, at the least, one day filled with joy and excitement while being around other minority groups.”
Since its founding in February 2023, The EPP has filed over 50 Civil Rights Complaints against education institutions with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, primarily challenging the legality of the identity-based scholarships, grants and fellowships.
The Equal Protection Project initially filed a complaint against ICSD on Aug. 12, accusing the district of racially discriminating against white students by excluding them from the summit.
Following EPP’s complaint and a letter to the ICSD Superintendent Luvelle Brown and Board of Education President Sean Eversley Bradwell, both received racist and threatening messages, according to The Ithaca Voice. Less than 48 hours later, the ICSD emailed parents and students, apologizing for the use of “exclusionary language,” and opening up the event to all students, Fox News reported.
Jacobson’s complaint alleges that ICSD’s annual SOCU events were a “four-year systematic exclusion of White students” that violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.
The DOE investigation unfolds amid federal changes to diversity, equity and inclusion policies under the Trump administration. The Department of Education has removed publicly available DEI program materials and has begun investigating schools and organizations accused
of having events or policies that consider race as a factor in participation.
As the Office for Civil Rights proceeds with its investigation, it will examine whether ICSD violated Title VI by subjecting students to different treatment based on race.
“The reason that this event is not open to white students is to protect this safe space for students of color and be sure that this space truly allows for students of color to express themselves without the percieved pressure to assimilate due to white students being present.”
Students of Color United Summit
“The discrimination was deliberate, open and offensive,” Jacobson told Fox News, “going so far as to have a Frequently Asked Question on the event website explaining why white students were not invited.”
The FAQ page, cited in the complaint, includes the question, “Why aren’t white students invited?”
In response, the page reads: “The reason that this event is not open to white students is to protect this safe space for students of color and to be sure that this space truly allows for students of color to express themselves without the perceived pressure to assimilate due to white students being present.”
ICSD maintains that its programs do not exclude and even “welcome[s]” the investigation, according to ICSD Board of Education President Sean Eversley Bradwell’s statement to the Ithaca Times.
“As stated last year, Ithaca City School District programs do not exclude,” Bradwell wrote in a statement to the Ithaca Times. “The 2024 event was created by students to support and affirm Students of Color, and all students, staff and educators were invited to attend.”
Isabella Pazmino-Schell can be reached at ivs5@cornell.edu
By JEREMIAH JUNG Sun Staff Writer
Feb 7 — Cornell has launched a task force to examine sexual assault prevention and response on campus, according to a statement released by Interim President Michael Kotlikoff and Provost Kavita Bala on Thursday.
The statement linked to the Office of the Provost website, which explains that in 2023, 23 percent of undergraduate women and nine percent of undergraduate men reported experiencing sexual assault during their time at Cornell. The University’s 2024 Annual Security Report revealed 28 reports of on-campus rape in 2023, more than each of the previous five years.
The initiative also follows concerns surrounding sexual assault from the fall 2024 semester after an individual reported being sexually assaulted and coerced into consuming drugs by multiple men at the Chi Phi house. Campus police also arrested a student after he was discovered under the bed of a female resident in William Keeton House in December.
The task force — which will issue a report this summer — is expected to provide recommendations for improving prevention strategies, institutional responses and the campus culture surrounding sexual assault. The report will include a proposed timeline for the implementation of policy changes and new prevention strategies.
Led by Dean of the College of Human Ecology Rachel Dunifon and Dean of Students Marla Love, the task force will aim to gather data, review research and evaluate strategies used at peer institutions to develop evidence-based preventative measures against sexual violence.
According to the statement, the initiative is set to consider factors across academic, social and residential life and represents the University’s “ongoing commitment to creating a campus culture where everyone can thrive in an environment of respect and safety.”
The task force will seek input from the Cornell community throughout the process, according to the statement. Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to share their perspectives and recommendations by emailing tfsa@cornell.edu.
Jeremiah Jung can be reached at jwj66@cornell.edu
to defund” state and local jurisdictions for “unlawfully interfering with federal law enforcement operations.”
Feb 6 — Less than a week after the U.S. Department of Justice called for an investigation into the Tompkins County sheriff for allegedly not honoring a federal warrant by releasing an undocumented immigrant, the Ithaca Common Council unanimously passed a resolution reaffirming the city’s status as a sanctuary city at its Wednesday meeting.
The DOJ released a press release claiming that Tompkins County Sheriff Derek Osborne did not honor a federal warrant after Jesus Romero-Hernandez was released from the custody of the Tompkins County Jail — where he completed his sentence for third-degree assault charges — before ICE agents could pick him up.
Romero-Hernandez was issued a federal arrest warrant for illegally re-entering the U.S. after a prior removal and was apprehended by agents with ICEEnforcement and Removal Operations, assisted by the U.S. Marshals Service and Homeland Security Investigations on Thursday, Jan. 30, two days after his release by Osborne.
In a statement to the Ithaca Times, Osborne explained, “We do not work with [ICE] in any capacity. I can’t think of a time we have even had an interaction with ICE.”
During the council meeting, Mayor Robert Cantelmo announced that he received a memo from the U.S. Office of the Attorney General “threatening
Ithaca’s sanctuary city status, first adopted in 2017, limits Ithaca Police Department officers’ cooperation with ICE and protects undocumented immigrants from being asked about their immigration status by city employees, excluding select circumstances. The order has since been updated in 2022 and 2023 to extend these protections to inquiries regarding abortion and gender-affirming care respectively.
Around 20 people spoke out about the city’s sanctuary position during the open comment section, predominantly urging the Common Council members to reaffirm the city’s commitment.
“We are a nation of immigrants, and I refuse to let others twist the stories of those searching for the American Dream in the tales of violent crime,” said Alderperson Patrick Kuehl ’24 (D-Fourth Ward) during the open comment section. “Our power as a local government is ultimately limited. But we can always take a public stand and show the people of Ithaca, those born here and those not, that we stand with them no matter what.”
Cantelmo criticized ICE’s operation in Ithaca as “disproportionate to the scope” of the arrest and said it caused “concern and fear” in the community.
“Our values and our policies have not changed and nor will change in the face of changes at the disposition of the federal government,” Cantelmo said. “We are not now, nor is the desire of this government to become an adjunct of the federal government in exe-
cuting federal policy.”
Kathryn Cernera, president of the Ithaca Teachers Association, voiced support for the renewal of the city’s sanctuary status, citing concerns from students.
“We have students coming to class terrified that the worst possible scenarios will happen to them, their families and their friends,” Cernera said. “So tonight we are here asking you to vote in favor of reaffirming Ithaca’s sanctuary city status to reaffirm our commitment to protect all members of our community, but especially our young people.”
To continue reading, please visit www.cornellsun.com.
By JANE HAVILAND Sun Staff Writer
Feb. 10 — The Department of History has been housed in historic McGraw Hall since 1872, with the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology Program located there since they were founded in 1962 and 1967, respectively.
However, the building beginning its three-year $110 million interior renovation in December has led to history and anthropology faculty members and graduate students packing their bags and bidding farewell to the hall, opening the doors to their temporary home in Mary Ann Wood Hall — located at the bottom of the slope on West Campus.
Many faculty members in both departments said they now share office space with up to three people and have moved office hours to virtual and by appointment due to their distance from the Arts Quad.
The third-oldest building on campus, McGraw Hall stands as a pillar for the College of Arts and Sciences, serving as Cornell’s first library and housing the University museum, law school and several other departments throughout its history. The McGraw Hall construction includes repairs to the interior of the building and adding updated technology, such as elevators and new heating and ventilation systems.
Moving to Mary Ann Wood Hall Faculty members were solely responsible for packing their personal belongings before the Dec. 30 move-out date while the University contracted “professional moving companies” to transfer “faculty and staff belongings, furniture, AV technology and the Anthropology collections to the new space on campus,” Cornell Media Relations wrote in an email to The Sun.
The departments were responsible for allocating office space in the new location, according to University media relations. History junior faculty were given their own private spaces in Olin Library, while the anthropology department “prioritized providing private offices to junior faculty,” according to Prof. Chloe Ahmann, anthropology.
Prof. Aaron Sachs, history, said that storage and shelf space have decreased in the new office spaces. “Most of us now have access to only about 10 percent of our books because of limited shelf space,” Sachs wrote in an email to The Sun.
The majority of history graduate students did not get to see their allocated space in Mary Ann Wood Hall prior to the beginning of the spring semester, according to Madeleine Lemos, a Ph.D. candidate in history. In McGraw Hall, Lemos had access to her own office. Now, she has been provided a desk around several other people and lockable shelving and book storage in Olin Library.
Though graduate students are granted access to a communal space in Mary Ann Wood Hall, the office has been relatively vacant, according to Lemos.
“I will see three people working in there at a time, and there are a lot more empty desks,” Lemos said.
Amid the department’s move-in, the building has had minor facility issues, such as printer malfunctions, alarm system issues and bathroom maintenance. Lemos wrote in an email to The Sun that construction was happening just outside of Mary Ann Wood Hall and that the noise from the construction could be heard from her working space.
“The design and renovation of their swing space was done with consultation and participation of the departments
involved,” University media relations wrote in response to the question of how they plan to support the transition. “Now that the department[s] have moved in, we continue to support them in the same manner as their spaces in McGraw Hall”
At the Bottom of the Slope
The remote location of Mary Ann Wood Hall has raised concerns from some professors and graduate students over changes to their routines including their ability to hold office hours, given the building’s placement at the bottom of Libe Slope — at least a 10-minute uphill walk from the Arts Quad. “It’s a drag slogging up and down the hill to teach classes and attend most on-campus events, especially during an Ithaca winter,” Ahmann wrote in an email to The Sun.
While the University commented that the new location had been chosen because of its proximity to the Arts Quad, Sachs finds that its placement at the bottom of the slope presents an obstacle, not only for faculty and staff, but for students as well, including their ability to travel to office hours.
Both Lemos and Prof. Claudia Verhoeven, history, noted that the new building is much newer and “nicer” than McGraw Hall, which is a positive element of the location change.
Verhoeven holds office hours virtually through Zoom, scheduled or by appointment and in her shared office space in Mary Ann Wood Hall.
Lemos provides the same, but additionally offers the option to meet with students in centralized common spaces on campus, such as cafés. “I don’t want to inconvenience students to walk all the way down the hill,” Lemos said.
Adjusting to the location requires also
adapting to new routines for graduate students and professors.
“I have had to re-invent all of my on-campus routines, and simply doing my job has gotten 100% more difficult,” Sachs wrote in an email to The Sun.
Lemos described the added challenge of not having keys to Mary Ann Wood Hall, which is an accommodation faculty had when housed in McGraw Hall.
“I used to be able to work in my office in McGraw on the weekends,” Lemos said. “The [new] building is locked on the weekends now, and after hours for everyone.”
Verhoeven similarly described changes to her working routine and said that it’s taking time for her to adjust.
Lemos feels that her ties to her graduate student peers have been severed and that her role as a teacher’s assistant for “Thinking About History With The Manson Murders” has posed difficulties in getting one-on-one interaction with her students and co-workers.
“I feel like I don’t see my grad community anymore,” Lemos said. “I feel detached from the students that I’m working with and everyone else who’s up here.”
Sachs wrote that “the move out of McGraw Hall has been not only disruptive but demeaning,” when asked how the move has affected him personally.
“My colleagues and I are committed to our students and will do everything in our power to keep our courses running smoothly,” Sachs said. “But to say that the Cornell administration has treated us with a lack of respect and consideration for how we do our work would be an understatement.”
can be reached at jhaviland@cornellsun.com
By
Feb. 11 — Throughout Lucas Whaley’s 25 years in prison, his academic pursuits became a vital part of his identity and routine.
Whaley took classes through the Cornell Prison Education Program for 13 years until his release, graduating with 247 credits, an Associate of Arts degree from the State University of New York Cayuga Community College and a Certificate in the Liberal Arts from Cornell. Whaley now collaborates with CPEP and has given talks at Cornell about his experience.
CPEP was founded in 2010, based on a 2008 program called Cornell at Auburn. CPEP offers courses each semester, run by University faculty and graduate students assisted by undergraduate teaching assistants.
“It made me consider what failure would mean in new ways.”
Lucas Whaley
Today, CPEP offers two academic programs — a Certificate in Liberal Arts from Cornell University and an Associate in Arts degree from SUNY Cayuga Community College.
Whaley said he “just squeaked through” the entrance exam to CPEP and described his early experience in the program as feeling “wildly out of place.”
“At first, [taking classes] was a break from the monotony,” Whaley said. “It was the one thing that I was doing with my life that was indisputably positive.”
Prof. Joseph Margulies ’82, government, is the faculty director of the Cornell University Parole Initiative. He was also one of Whaley’s professors at the Cayuga Correctional Facility.
“Formal education in prison has the potential to be transformative for people inside because it helps solidify
their reconception of themselves into students and thinkers,” Margulies said. “It helps them reimagine the world that is possible for them.”
CPEP Communications Director Jenna LaPietra described the possibilities that the program offers beyond incarceration.
“In prison, a college program also represents a link to the outside world, the potential to be seen as more than a person with a criminal conviction and an opportunity to imagine another chapter for one’s life, beyond the confines of prison walls,” LaPietra wrote in an email to The Sun.
Whaley said that for most of his life, college felt out of reach. School seemed far removed from the person that he was and the environment that he lived in. It was not until an acquaintance at the Auburn Correctional Facility urged him to sign up for the CPEP entrance exam that Whaley began to consider an academic trajectory.
He joined the second cohort of CPEP, which consisted of about 12 men from the prison. About nine of the students had been sentenced to life without parole and Whaley said they were a “quieter, calmer sort of prisoner” than he was used to. He attended classes at night in a school building within the prison.
For Whaley, the competitive, “hyper-masculine” culture in prison gave academic success a new weight. Competition in the cohort motivated him to be successful. Whaley explained that to have someone tell him he was incapable of academic success was different than self-reinforcing the idea.
“It made me not want to fail,” Whaley said. “It made me consider what failure would mean in new ways.”
For many people in prison, their family or society has been telling them that they are not capable of success, Whaley explained. “So, when you get a break, it really just seems like people are again saying you’re not really capable. And when people don’t give you a break, it’s kind of like you have to succeed,” he said.
The importance of education in Whaley’s life in prison never waned. He said that if he had to miss a class —
because of a lockdown or the officers not opening his gate — it disrupted the flow of his life. When two courses he wanted to take overlapped in timing, he would sign up for one and get the books and materials for the other, writing and turning in essays for the second class on his own time. Throughout his time at Auburn, Whaley took courses ranging from applied physics to gender and politics in the U.S. He described the latter class as a major turning point in his perspective — a “paradigm shift.” Throughout Whaley’s time in the program, writing was a subject he returned to.
“I’ve had different interests in my writing,” Whaley said. “But I think story is the one thing that I always return to. Story is the thing that continues to fascinate me.”
Emma Cohen can be reached at erc228@cornell.edu.
By TAEHEE OH Sun Staff Writer
Feb. 11 — Love is in the air — and so is the smell of fresh pastries at Rashida Sawyer Bakery. As Valentine’s Day approaches, Rashida Sawyer Bakery draws in customers with its seasonal desserts. Beyond the festive treats, the bakery brings a story of family, tradition and connection to the Ithaca community.
Located in the Press Bay Court on West Green Street, the family-owned bakery was founded by KC Sawyer and named after his mother, Loraine Rashida Sawyer ’72 — the first Black woman to graduate from Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration.
Mrs. Sawyer, originally from the South, moved to Ithaca to attend Cornell and reflected on how her experiences there shaped her journey.
“Being in the hotel school just opened up a whole new world to me — that you can even think that way of owning your own business and to move forward in that direction,” Mrs. Sawyer said.
After graduating, Mrs. Sawyer began baking professionally in the 1980s when she and her husband Csiko Sawyer operated a booth at the Ithaca Farmer’s Market named Rashida’s Deluxe Baked Goods.
She then took a break from business in 1988 to care for her children, but in 2019, her son, KC Sawyer, brought it back to life. Her son began to collect his mother’s recipes when he was young, before opening a bakery in her honor.
“When KC was around 17 years old, he looked at [his mother], and he said, ‘Mom, one day you’re going to be gone and
all these recipes, they’re going to be lost forever.
I’ve got to collect some of them. … Make a cheesecake, and let me write down exactly what you do,’” Csiko Sawyer said.
KC Sawyer did just that and wrote down “everything she did.”
Decades later, the recipe “[came] in handy” when he started the bakery and named it after his mother.
While the bakery’s roots trace back to family recipes, its turning point came during the pandemic, when the bakery witnessed a surge in popularity and support from the local community — solidifying its place in Ithaca’s food scene.
“We use the best quality ingredients to achieve what we’re going for, and that’s the way my mom was.”
KC Sawyer
At the height of the pandemic, there was an increased effort to support minority-owned businesses. While some customers bought their goods just to support them, they would quickly discover how “dang good” the recipes were, KC Sawyer said.
As a family-owned business, KC Sawyer stressed the important value of prioritizing quality and taste, connecting it to his mother’s philosophy in cooking.
“The number one thing for us is maintaining quality. … We use the best quality ingredients to achieve what we’re going for, and that’s the way my mom was,” KC Sawyer said. “We had financial issues growing up, but she would make sure that she would find
By VARSHA BHARGAVA Sun Staff Writer
Feb. 11 — In 2003, Prof. Lee Humphreys ’99, communication, and her friends walked into a Philadelphia bar. Standing across from them, a “very tall guy,” as Humphreys recalled, turned, looked at her and said, “Hey.” Prof. Jeff Niederdeppe, communication — the “very tall guy” in question — said Humphreys “beamed back, smiling,” and returned his greeting.
The couple has been together ever since.
“We started talking on the phone and had some mutual friends that would, on weekends, invite a bunch of people to hang out, so we would use that as an excuse to meet up,” saidNiederdeppe. “But we started spending every other weekend [together].”
a way to make the quality show up in the food she was cooking, even for just us growing up.”
Every Valentine’s Day, Rashida Sawyer Bakery offers a variety of special desserts. This year, the menu includes Heart Shaped Cheesecakes — Mrs. Sawyer’s classic cheesecake in a romantic heart shape — and the Rose Cupcake Bouquet — an arranged collection of cupcakes frosted to resemble roses.
These festive treats have allowed Mrs. Sawyer to create lasting memories for her customers.
“One couple that I made a wedding cake for in the 80s came back to order another carrot cake around the Valentine’s season,” she said. “They remembered me making their cake and how delicious it was.”
KC Sawyer also highlighted how the bakery’s Valentine’s Day offerings help connect loved ones across distances, as “a lot of the Valentine’s orders come from parents who are not here, or from significant others who live in other areas, for people who live here at Ithaca for Cornell.”
For Mrs. Sawyer, the connection she has with the Ithaca community stems from the memories people have of her baked goods from the 80s to today.
“When KC first started the bakery, [people would ask] ‘Is this the same Rashida Sawyer that was at the farmers market?’” Mrs. Sawyer said. “That memory of people saying, ‘This was an excellent product, and I love this product,’ is what I want to [continue to] offer to the community – something that tastes good, that looks good and is a quality product.”
Taehee Oh can be reached at toh@cornellsun.com.
With a laugh, Humphreys shared with The Sun that she later discovered Niederdeppe’s greeting at the bar — which she happily reciprocated — was actually meant for her friends, who Niederdeppe knew through the master’s program at the University of Pennsylvania. Humphreys was a first-year master’s student, her friends were a year older and Niederdeppe had just completed the program.
Humphreys called the ironic moment of miscommunication between the two soon-to-be communication professors “wonderful” and said it launched the rest of their relationship.
The couple began a long-distance relationship — Humphreys completing her master’s at UPenn and Niederdeppe working in North Carolina. They lived seven hours apart for one year before they both decided to apply to the same Ph.D. program back at UPenn.
Both Humphreys and Niederdeppe were accepted and promptly moved in together, decreasing their distance from seven hours to zero.
“We liked the program, we liked Philadelphia, we liked each other,” Niederdeppe began, and Humphreys, finishing his sentence, said, “It worked out well.”
Though living together, the young couple maintained some distance while at school.
“I refused to sit next to him in any classroom or anything because I didn’t want anyone, [like] our faculty, to know that we were dating or anything like that,” Humphreys said with a smile. However, she admitted that the administrative assistants in the Ph.D. program probably knew about their relationship anyway.
Eventually, the not-so-inconspicuous couple got engaged and married while still at UPenn and happily invited some
faculty members to their wedding. 19 years later, the pair are still “partners in everything,” Humphreys said.
Humphreys and Niederdeppe have shared many milestones. They said they supported each other through their Ph.D. dissertations, both began working at Cornell in 2008, submitted their tenure dossiers together, applied for full professorship at the same time and had two children with whom they live an “incredible” life with in Ithaca.
Though they are a part of the same department at Cornell, Humphreys and Niederdeppe said they do not intersect much at work, aside from a panel they organized with other members of the communication department in 2023 and their morning carpool.
Humphreys recalled her early days at Cornell, a time when walking across campus with her husband caused mayhem.
“When we were assistant professors and we had a little bit more time, we would occasionally go get a coffee … and we would occasionally hold hands, and you could see students be like, ‘Oh scandalous!’ and ‘Oh my!’” Humphreys said while Niederdeppe laughed with her. “People would do double takes … and I got a good chuckle out of it.”
Now, as full professors — and with Humphreys as a chair of the Department of Communication — finding time to spend together during the day is difficult. The pair say that they are “schedule people,” who diligently document their packed lives on Microsoft Outlook.
Despite their busy schedules, Humphreys and Niederdeppe enjoy spending time with their kids after work, going to the gym and having weekly date nights.
The couple began their weekly dates because of their friend, the late Prof. Kathy Berggren ’90 MAT ’93, applied economics and management, who said her own weekly date nights with her husband were “super important.” Berggren died in 2014, and Humphreys and Niederdeppe have continued her weekly date night tradition to honor her ever since.
The couple said it’s “special” to share a life at Cornell together, where they feel “supported,” “connected” and continue to share milestones.
“Having a partner who [I] so deeply respect and admire as a colleague, but also as someone I eat pizza with and have a beer with … that partnership is the most rewarding thing for me,” Humphreys said. “It’s kind of amazing to be able to share both of those elements.”
Varsha Bhargava can be reached at vb372@cornell.edu.
Without exaggeration, I am one of Kendrick Lamar’s biggest fans. I grew up twenty minutes away from his hometown and have been surrounded by his deep-seated influence in Los Angeles since I can remember. As such, he’s been my top artist for years, and I’ve eagerly followed him to concerts and festivals.
As a superfan, I’ve found that his haters’ favorite argument against his genius lyricism, exciting beats and important messaging is that he’s merely handed accolades because of the support that he’s amassed. Another side of the retaliation, led by Drake lovers and even Drake himself, is their consistent dilution of Lamar’s political activism. I believe that his Super Bowl halftime performance this Sunday is the perfect evidence to prove them wrong on both fronts.
On Sunday night, Lamar was accompanied by a team of dancers wearing red, white and blue, as well as Samuel L. Jackson dressed as the iconic American figurehead Uncle Sam. Jackson opens the performance by describing the Super Bowl as the “great American game.”
Anyone familiar with Lamar’s intentions likely grasped that this reference was about more than football as a patriotic symbol — it was a comment on the race relations, political division and socioeconomic disparities that have shaped our nation since its conception. The game controller-like setup he performed
SOPHIA ROMANOV IMBER ARTS & CULTURE WRITER
If there’s one thing notable about this week, it is a celebration of love. Valentine’s Day means you’re searching for date ideas or chocolates to buy your special person. But among the flowers, there is a key question: How do you confess your love?
I think the easiest way to find the answer is through other confessions. If art imitates life, then why can’t we imitate art?
Here’s a look at some great (not best, I would never claim to list them all) love confessions in film.
1. Pride & Prejudice (2005)
How could I not start with Jane Austen? The novel, originally published in 1813, has been adapted at least 16 times — and for good reason. The love confession from Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen) in 2005 is beautiful. When he delivers the line, “You have bewitched me, body and soul, and I love … I love … I love you,” it’s so honest and vulnerable that we’re not sure what to do with ourselves as the audience. And the lack of a kiss in this scene solidifies it even more as such a wonderful confession. It held its own space that didn’t need to be filled by anything physical. His words were enough.
2. Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (2023)
on further contributes to the idea that average Americans, specifically marginalized individuals, are merely players in the hedonistic rat race of our modern capitalist society.
After kicking off the performance with a snippet of unreleased music, Lamar made arguably his most jarring statement of the night: “The revolution’s about to be televised. You picked the right time but the wrong guy.”
Inspired by Gil Scott-Heron’s “Revolution Will Not Be Televised,” Kendrick Lamar’s sentiment mirrors that of the original song. The rapper, hyper-aware of President Donald Trump’s presence at the game and his role in the current political turmoil, stated that revolution is imminent because of who we picked to run our nation (the “wrong guy” in question.) This time, however, the rebellion will not be an underground, unseen event, but a movement that causes the disruption necessary to actually spur change. The imagery established by his dancers is equally as striking. Adorned in our country’s colors, they arrange themselves in the shape of the flag, initially as a unified front and then as a broken one. The symbolism here is obvious; can we exist as the United States of America if our nation is divided?
Uncle Sam then reappears to challenge Lamar’s performance, claiming he’s too loud and too ghetto. By including this moment, the rapper gets ahead of the slander he knows will inevitably come following the game. If you claimed to be unable to understand Lamar or thought the show was too political
for the Super Bowl, the artist makes it very clear you are not his intended audience — not only through the underlying meanings of each symbol, but also through the utilization of blatantly spelled out messages. Before the show even starts, lights in the stands spell out “warning, wrong way,” a hint to Lamar’s tendency to address taboo topics and unflinching willingness to publicly call out injustice. Jackson’s character also represents America’s overwhelming fear of Black resistance, for Lamar’s art inherently defies all that is comfortable.
He momentarily appeals to the pacifists by slowing his performance down, bringing SZA out to perform two of their most popu-
lar hits together. It is a notably different vibe than all that precedes it, which Uncle Sam acknowledges with praise for the milder tone. But a Kendrick Lamar retaliation never fails to disappoint (plenty examples of which were created during the Drake-Kendrick feud), and he immediately dives into the work that got him to the Super Bowl in the first place: “Not Like Us.”
To continue reading, visit www.cornellsun.com.
Mia Roman-Wilson is a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences. She can be reached at mromanwilson@cornellsun.com.
Yes, I know I could have chosen to list Anthony Bridgerton’s confession that took hold of audiences in Season 2 of Bridgerton, but I’ve chosen to go with Queen Charlotte and King George. Netflix’s decision to produce a show just for this couple was exactly what the series needed. The love between Charlotte and George does not match the other couples’. It’s George’s idea that Charlotte cannot love him because of what mentally troubles him.
The other Bridgerton couples deal with gossip and drama, but Charlotte and George are tackling the political turmoil of their time. In this scene, they are confessing their love and what they will do for each other. When Charlotte says, “I will stand with you between the heavens and the Earth. I will tell you where you are,” we know she will stay with him through anything. Maybe a love confession isn’t just about revealing what you’ve felt through this time of knowing each other, but also confessing how far you will go for each other.
3. 10 Things I Hate About You (1999) 10 Things I Hate About You will remain one of my favorite rom-coms ever. The majority of the time, a sentimental speech isn’t very moving. It’s expected for a romantic movie and feels predictable. But when Kat
Stratford confesses how much she loves Patrick Verona, it’s heartbreaking. For the whole movie, she has been stubborn and hard to get through to but we finally see her vulnerability. And later it was revealed that Kat’s — or Julia Stiles’ — tears were unscripted, which shows us how emotional the scene was for Julia. The poem’s heart-stabber was her leading with everything she hated about Patrick just to reveal she never hated him at all. Patrick and Kat’s on-screen chemistry was so palpable, this love confession/poem scene was not embarrassing to watch in any way. I wish we got to see Heath Ledger in more rom-coms, may he rest in peace.
4. Sex Education (2019) There are two parts to this one. These are technically spoilers, but the show has been out for six years, so I don’t think it matters. The two main characters — Otis Milburn and Maeve Wiley — have consistently followed the “right person, wrong time” trope. It’s frustrating, it’s beautiful and it ends Season 2 terribly. Otis leaves a voice message confessing his love to Maeve but she never hears it. Those words he utters, “It’s you, it’s always been you. I love you, Maeve,” don’t reach her until the end of Season 3. This two-part confession from Otis is so vulnerable
because at first, he believes she doesn’t reciprocate his feelings, yet her lack of response is only because she never hears the voicemail. And second, because he must wear his heart on his sleeve once more in person, in the second confession. When Maeve asks, “Did you mean it?” She reminds us what it means to receive a confession. The worry that maybe it’s not real. But hearing Otis respond, “Of course I meant it,” all worries rush away. Otis and Maeve remain one of the most beautiful recent TV show relationships.
5. The Half of It (2020)
I consider The Half of It a very underrated movie that more people should check out. It’s a twist on the trope of the girl falling in love with the boy she’s helping. In this case, Ellie Chu has been writing love letters on behalf of Paul Munsky, for a girl that they’re both in love with. When Ellie confesses her love for Aster Flores, it really is like unveiling the truth. This boy that Aster thought she was receiving letters from was actually Ellie the entire time. Her love was hidden under another name. When Ellie says, “Love is being willing to ruin your good painting for the chance at a great one,” she’s risking everything. Admitting her love in the middle of the crowded town church to the
girl she’s been writing letters to surely isn’t easy. The Half of It is such a great recent love story. Ellie’s confession of love is only one part of what makes it so. All of these confessions hold one similarity — vulnerability. The confessors almost don’t expect anything from the other person. It’s about revealing a truth that, if hidden, would only fester. If you’re looking to confess your love this Valentine’s Day, then remember a confession is pulling back the curtain. It’s not simple or easy. If it was, we would be doing it more often. But no, it asks for your effort and respect. It’s about your individual experience with this person you love. This Friday, eat chocolate, get some roses or tulips and confess your love. I can only wish you good luck.
On Sunday, March 2, the 97th Academy Awards will honor the most notable films of 2024. Among the numerous movies nominated and competing for the chance to grab one of the golden trophies, ten individual films have been decreed the greatest of 2024. The following were nominated in the category of Best Picture: Anora, The Brutalist, A Complete Unknown, Conclave, Dune: Part Two, Emilia Pérez, I’m Still Here, Nickel Boys, The Substance and Wicked . From a biopic about Bob Dylan to a musical taking audiences back to Oz, the nominations represent the astounding breadth of cinema this year. Most notably, the lineup features one science-fiction movie ( Dune: Part Two ), one horror movie ( The Substance ) and one fantasy movie ( Wicked ). Upon scrolling through the Oscars nomination database all the way back to the first one in 1927, a trend appears — it seems that almost all nominations for the Best Picture category have been from the genre of drama.
The Best Picture award at the Oscars recognizes the “best motion picture of the year.” Originally titled “Outstanding Picture,” the first winner was Wings (a female detective drama), and recent popular awardees include Oppenheimer, Everything Everywhere All at Once and Parasite. Traditionally, winners and nominees for Best Picture have been drawn-out, serious, fictional films centering on the development of characters in the real world. Only recently have films from more fantastical backgrounds broken into the elite circle of Best Picture nominees. In fact, according to ScreenRant, only seven horror movies have even been considered for Best Picture. One of the films on that list is this year’s nominee, The Substance. The Substance is a body-horror movie starring Demi Moore. Her character, Elisabeth Sparkle, is an aging celebrity who succumbs to a black-market drug to create a younger double of herself. Though only receiving a 75 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, The Substance has largely been heralded as a smashing hit. However, it will be
going up against such powerhouses as Emilia Pérez and The Brutalist, which combine for a total of twenty-three nominations. Not only that, but as a horror film, The Substance has a distinct disadvantage. Only one horror movie has ever taken home the golden trophy for Best Picture: The Silence of the Lambs . Furthermore, even films such as Jaws , which won three other Oscars, could not secure the elusive Best Picture trophy. Facing such impossible odds, it is necessary to question the validity of an Academy that does not recognize all talent in the vast industry of film.
What is the Academy? The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is an organization of experienced actors, actresses, directors and film workers who decide on Oscar winners. Composed of nine branches, the Academy brings together experts of the cinema world in order to create a fair voting environment. But how fair is it? According to the Academy Membership page of the Oscars website, the “membership process is by sponsorship, not application.” In order to gain entry into the hallowed voting ranks, prospectives have to be sponsored by two current members of the Academy. Even if a director or actor was the best in the field, if they could not accrue the favor of two Academy members, they would not be allowed in. Therefore, this approach breeds bias and favoritism. Even more interesting is the fact that the Academy does not publish the demographics of its own five-thousand-plus organization, making information on diversity within the group difficult to come by. Los Angeles Times reporters in 2012 undertook the painstaking project of acquiring demographic information on the Academy and found that voters were 94 percent white and 77 percent male. A lack of diversity within the Academy could be the key to understanding the lack of diversity in film nominees and winners. Without new ideas and differing perspectives, the Academy will only continue to struggle with recognizing incredible movies outside the drama genre.
More fantastical movies are radically different from their more realistic counterparts. Besides the obvious dissimilarities of content matter, fantasy,
sci-fi and horror films often rely more upon special effects, epic visuals and intense fight scenes to draw crowds. Drama movies, on the other hand, often allow more time for actors and actresses to showcase emotional range and overall skill. Among critics, this can lead to a general condescension towards such works. For example, the Academy wouldn’t necessarily be searching the scores of superhero movies to discover a gem. In fact, only two superhero movies have been recognized at the Oscars and neither for Best Picture. Heath Ledger won Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Dark Knight, and Joaquin Phoenix won Best Leading Actor for his role in Joker . Interestingly, both these awards were for the character of Joker, a role that lends itself to more psychological acting. Besides the lack of superhero movie representation in the Best Picture category (with many potentially deserving it, like The Dark Knight ), fantasy movies do not often fare well, either. The best example here is the Lord of the Rings trilogy The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King were all nominated for Best Picture. Only The Return of the King was able to snatch the trophy, however. The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers , instead of winning Best Picture, won awards for Visual Effects and Cinematography, the two areas in which fantasy movies most often excel. However, when considering the merit of the movies as noteworthy and impressive pieces of art, only The Return of the King was able to succeed. Problems are hard to avoid when bringing together elite groups to rule upon the quality of art. Even though the Academy has had trouble appreciating genres other than drama, there seems to be hope. Looking only at the past few years, more fantasy and horror movies have been nominated and won major awards at the Oscars, from Everything Everywhere All at Once to Poor Things. This year is shaping out to be one of the best yet for unconventional genres.
Jane Locke is a freshman in the College of Arts & Sciences. They can be reached at jlocke@cornellsun.com.
By ALEXIS ROGERS Sun Staff Writer
Sports have been bringing people together for generations. Whether it’s to cheer for the same team or back each other up on the field, Cornell athletics has introduced future friends and even future family.
Ahead of Valentine’s Day, The Sun spoke to two Cornellian couples that have found lifelong partners through their sport.
Jon Jaques & Jasmine Marcus
Jon Jaques ’10 may be known to most as the new men’s basketball head coach — or as the star play er of the historic 2009-2010 men’s basketball team — but his most important score at Cornell wasn’t on the court.
In the spring of 2009, Jaques was bal ancing his third year of Division I basket ball, writing for The New York Times’ college sports blog The Quad and working on his biology and soci ety degree. To add to his already impressive ros ter of activities, he accepted a friend’s invita tion to join the staff of The Sun as a sports con tributor and head ed to the newspa per’s office by the Ithaca Commons.
That was where he met Jasmine Marcus ’10, who was also a junior and a member of The Sun’s editorial board.
“Jasmine was the first person to introduce herself to me,” Jaques said. “She was very friendly and welcoming, and I probably looked lost and confused like the athlete who didn’t know what he was doing.”
After returning for their senior fall, Jaques and Marcus met for the second time on Halloween. Though Jaques was captivated by the woman dressed as Princess Jasmine, he couldn’t remember her name until he looked through a list of The Sun’s editorial board.
For the 2024-2025 season, Jaques assumed the helm from former head coach Brian Earl, and his first season has yielded promising results. The team (13-7, 5-2 Ivy) is shooting for its ninth Ivy League title.
Though Jaques’ job takes him across the country, he knows he can trust his family as a rock during the hectic season.
“Coaching is a hard life for families of coaches,” Jaques said. “Jasmine has been awesome and so supportive. A huge part of it is that I’m working at a place that she feels strongly about too. She knows how much my experience meant to me and my teammates; she knows the reason I’m trying to pay it forward.”
“She made an impression,” Jaques said. “We reconnected, and the rest is history.”
Jaques went on to a stellar senior season, elevated to a starter after his clutch performance in the Legends Classic tournament on Nov. 29, 2009, propelled the Red to a narrow victory over Drexel. As tri-captain, he spearheaded a his toric NCAA run that featured the Red’s first-ever tournament win and ended in the Sweet 16.
“Coaching is a hard life for families of coaches. Jasmine has been awe-
some and so supportive.”
“After we started dating, Jasmine started covering the team a bit more,” Jaques said. “She even traveled to the NCAA tournament.”
Karen Chen & Len van Deurzen
Jon Jaques
’10
After graduating from Cornell, Jaques accepted a contract to play professional basketball with Ironi Ashkelon in the Israeli Premier League. Luckily, Marcus’ family connections in the country made it possible for the pair to move overseas together.
Though experienced on the court, Jaques found his calling from the sidelines, coaching at both Stevens Institute of Technology and Columbia University for a year before returning to his alma mater as an assistant coach from 2013-2022.
Meanwhile, Marcus earned her doctor of physical therapy degree from Columbia and entered practice in the Ithaca area.
“Our jobs are way more similar than people would realize,” Jaques said. “With coaching and being a physical therapist, so much of it is psychology, motivation and how you’re trying to reach people. We always bounce ideas off each other.”
Karen Chen ’25 has accomplished a lot since enrolling in Cornell’s College of Human Ecology in 2019. She took two gap years to travel to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, where she earned a team gold medal. She serves as co-captain of the Cornell Figure Skating Club and is just months away from graduation. Last fall, she checked off another item on the bucket list: getting engaged.
“At the end of the day, I always feel like we’re on the same team We’re getting through it together.”
When Chen invited Len van Deurzen Ph.D.
’24 to the Cornell Figure Skating Club’s spring-semester ice show in her sophomore year, the two were barely acquainted as friends-of-friends.
Karen Chen ’25
“He came to the show, and we started talking after that,” Chen said. “I’m an introvert, and so is he, so in the beginning it was a little hard to get his vibe. But he was really passionate about his work for his Ph.D. in physics, and at the time I was also taking physics, so he helped me through that.”
After their initial connection, the pair hit it off. Their different interests — Chen’s in figure skating and the pre-med track, van Deurzen’s in his doctorate — gave them plenty to learn from one another.
“During [my] junior year, he was finishing up his last year of his Ph.D.,” Chen said. “If we would have met earlier, when he was in the thick of it, maybe we wouldn’t have had the time. But we’ve always found time for each other and communicated with each other.”
Chen had plenty on her own plate as well; despite putting her intense training regimen aside to focus on school, she found out in 2024 — two years after her Olympic appearance in Beijing — that the team had been awarded a gold medal due to Russian skater Kamila Valieva’s positive drug test.
“[In Beijing], we were in our gear to go to the awards ceremony when it was canceled, and we didn’t really know why,” Chen said. “It was tough waiting to get our medals, but getting the ceremony in Paris was really exciting. I was surprised by how
After her graduation, Chen plans to head back to school to obtain a doctor in physical therapy. She’s also planning for her wedding, which the couple hopes to hold in the Netherlands to be close to van Deurzen’s family.
“I have some family in the United States, but my grandparents and other relatives are in Taiwan,” Chen said. “We’re going to do a smaller, intimate wedding in the Netherlands, and maybe go to Taiwan to do a celebration there.”
The pair is excited for many more years of support and growth as they look forward to their professional careers.
“At the end of the day, I always feel like we’re one team,” Chen said. “We’re getting through it together.”