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The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 138, No. 51

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2022

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News

Arts

Sports

Weather

Daily Double

Casual Thrill

Senior Night

Another Rainy Day

Two Cornell students take the stage at Jeopardy!’s National College Champtionship.

Brian Lu ’23 writes that All of Us Are Dead, an apocalyptic Korean Netflix series, feels dead and “slightly stale.” | Page 4

| Page 3

Cuomo and DeRosa ’04 MPA ’09 Face Lawsuit

By ANGELA BUNAY Sun Assistant News Editor

On Thursday, Feb. 17, a New York State trooper filed a lawsuit against former Gov. Andrew Cuomo for sexual harassment, also accusing Cuomo’s former top aide Melissa DeRosa ’04 MPA ’09 of helping to cover-up the incidents.

The publicly anonymous woman, referred to as “Trooper 1” in the suit, alleges that Cuomo groped her against her will while she was in the former governor’s Personal Service Unit.

“As Trooper 1 went ahead of the Governor to hold a door open for him, the Governor placed the palm of his hand on her belly button and slid it across her waist to her right hip, where her gun was holstered,” Trooper 1’s lawyers wrote in the lawsuit.

Cuomo resigned in August, following Attorney General Letitia James’ investigation of sexual misconduct allegations made

against him. The attorney general investigation also included the claims made by Trooper 1, however, she is the first of the 11 women involved in the investigation to sue the former governor. This is also the first lawsuit to also include DeRosa as a defendant.

The lawsuit names DeRosa for allegedly covering up the governor’s acts by misleading a reporter at The Albany Times Union in 2020 when the reporter inquired about Trooper 1’s transfer to the former governor’s personal security unit, although she did not have the proper qualifications.

“We are only aware of this case from Twitter, but according to the trooper’s own testimony, Melissa’s [DeRosa] only interaction with her was to say ‘hello and goodbye.’

It is not a viable case anywhere in America and is beyond frivolous,” Paul Schectman, an attorney for DeRosa said to CBS News.

The New York State Police is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit, though the case does not specifically state how they

Men’s hockey wins emotional victory against Clarkson on Senior Night, the final game of the season. | Page 8

HIGH: 57º LOW: 39º

CINDY SCHULTZ / THE NEW YORK TIMES

Sued | A former New York State Trooper has filed a sexual assault lawsuit against former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (right in this 2019 file photo) and top aide Melissa DeRosa ’04 MPA ’09 (left).

played a role in the actions alleged. The suit does accuse all three defendants of discrimination and retaliation.

“The governor did not act alone,” the suit states. “He was enabled by the machinery of the state.”

This litigation comes two weeks after the Oswego County District Attorney dropped the criminal charges against Cuomo, citing insufficient legal grounds. The Albany, Westchester and Nassau County, New York district attorneys also reached similar conclusions on the sex-crime cases in their jurisdictions.

Despite the accumulating accusations, Cuomo continues to deny the claims of sexual misconduct. Rich Azzopardi, a spokes-

person for Cuomo, noted in a statement to The New York Times that the various district attorneys had chosen not to progress with criminal proceedings. The New York Times also stated that Azzopardi failed to disclose that the same district attorneys characterized the allegations as deeply troubling and credible. “[The trooper] made the decision to proceed with this lawsuit anonymously with the hope that she can vindicate her legal rights without further victim shaming,” said Valdi Licul, a lawyer representing the trooper, in a statement to CBS News.

Angela Bunay can be reached at abunay@cornellsun.com.

Barton Hall Hosts ClubFest Once Again for Spring

By ROMAN LAHAYE and JIWON ESTEE YI Sun Staff Writers

On Feb. 20, students once again flocked to Barton Hall to participate in this semester’s ClubFest, an opportunity to mingle and explore Cornell’s student clubs and organizations.

The event, now in its 18th year, featured around 400 clubs that advertised to students in person, collecting contact information, handing out quarter-cards, chatting at booths and for some organizations, giving ten-minute performances to showcase their groups to prospective members.

This spring’s ClubFest was the second in-person event since it moved online in fall 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the first in its traditional location, Barton Hall. Last semester’s in-person ClubFest took place on the Arts Quad to allow for greater capacity and a more open environment.

“As the Student Union Board, we believe it’s our responsibility to make extracurricular cultural and social opportunities accessible to everyone,” said Ansel Asch ’23, who serves as the one of the board’s co-presidents.

When ClubFest was held online, club leaders had two weeks to showcase their organizations and to document recruitment digitally. However, they

es, which served as hundreds of clubs, any event at brings them together. There is entertainment for the scale of ClubFest is bound no other event on campus which participants and to pose a number of logistical allows students to see what clubs as an opportunity challenges such as performance there are.” for dance and per- cancellations, no-show clubs and Despite this, Asch always finds formance clubs to the ever-changing restrictions a successful ClubFest to be a reach out to possible necessitated by the pandemic. rewarding experience. recruits. Maya Hardi Aryaa Pai ’22, also co-pres“Just seeing all of those peo’23, Vice President ident of the Student Union ple promote their organizations, JULIA NAGEL / ASSISTANT PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR of K-pop dance Board, is responsible for booking seeing people joining those orgaBarton | Students peruse booths and await per- troupe E.Motion, performances and handling other nizations and knowing that you performed with her organizational logistics around are part of the game is my favorite formances from student clubs and organizations. organization this ClubFest. For Pai, planning such part,” Asch said. weekend. a large-scale event does not come missed out on opportunities to Roman LaHaye can be reached at without stress.

Hardi, who discovered share stickers and souvenirs, show rlahaye@cornellsun.com.

“We definitely do get nervous E.Motion at ClubFest during her off performances or otherwise speak to students face-to-face first year at Cornell, expressed because it’s such a huge event,” Jiwon Estee Yi can be reached at as they would have wandered appreciation for the platform the Pai said. “It’s so important for jyi@cornellsun.com. the clubs as well as the students event gives to help her troupe organically around booths. because it’s w h a t attract new members.

This semester, ClubFest was sort o f “I feel like once held over two time slots due they see us perto table limitations related to forming dance on COVID protocols.

One club in attendance was stage and are like, Cornell Grub Ventures, a venture ‘Whoa, other peocapital club focusing on activ- ple who are like me, ism-minded investments in food regular students at Cornell, they’re and agriculture.

“It was refreshing meeting stu- doing all this dents face to face, sharing about dance stuff.

I our organization and getting a Maybe sense of who’s interested about could do that the club – the genuine enthusi- too,’” Hardi asm some students had for our said.

JULIA NAGEL W h e n specific intersection of business, / ASSISTANT PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR food and social impact felt ener- s c h e d u l i n g gizing,” said the club’s chief exec- performances, setting up utive officer, Deschelly Teo ’23.

This semester’s ClubFest also booths, and Show-and-tell | Cornell Herpetological Society members display snakes to garner the attenincluded a variety of performanc- m a n a g i n g tion of prospective new members at Sunday’s ClubFest.

2 The Cornell Daily Sun | Tuesday, February 22, 2022

The Cornell Daily Sun | Tuesday, February 22, 2022 3

News

Cornell Wins Disability Discrimination Lawsuit

By Former Employee

Second Circuit affirms previous decision

By JIWOOK JUNG

despite Payne’s years of experience.

Both Payne and the In a Feb. 15 verdict, the University agreed with the court Second Circuit affirmed a Jan. that between her start date on 19, 2021 district court decision Sept. 19, 2016, and Jan. 12, to dismiss former University 2017, Payne worked only seven employee Denise Payne’s dis- days; she missed 69 out of a ability bias lawsuit against the possible 76 workdays.

The court ultimately ruled University.

Payne was originally hired that Payne’s lawsuit lacked suffiby Cornell in Nov. 2013 as an cient merit, ruling that “Cornell administrative assistant in the had legitimate, nondiscriminaOffice of Research, Integrity and tory reasons for its actions [to Assurance. In June 2016, Payne terminate Payne].”

The Judges wrote in their was diagnosed with breast cancer and was terminated by the decision that Payne’s allegation lacked substantive merit and that University in Jan. 2018.

In Jan. 2019, Payne decided Cornell did not use discriminatory practicies to sue the terminate University “Cornell had legitimate, to Payne. under four nondiscriminatory “Payne’s laymain complaints: reasons for its actions.” off was reviewed and approved subjectat multiple ing her to The Second Circuit administrative disparate levels and the treatment, subjecting her to a hostile work search committees who decided environment, failing to accom- not to rehire Payne felt other modate her disability by refus- candidates were better qualified,” ing to provide her with rea- the court wrote. “Payne failed sonable accommodations and to establish a genuine dispute retaliating against her after she of material fact as to whether complained of disability dis- Cornell retaliated against her for her protected activity.” crimination.

According to Law 360, In her lawsuit, Payne detailed how she faced resistance from Stephen Bergstein, an attorney her supervisors when she who represented Payne in this requested accommodations for lawsuit, said that the Second her disability. Payne claimed she Circuit’s decision was “very disfelt forced to use her vacation appointing.” Bergstein also said days for the days she would that Payne will not be appealing miss work for her chemothera- this decision to the United States Supreme Court. py treatments.

Payne’s lawsuit also alleged that the University underpaid Jiwook Jung can be reached at her because of her disabilities jjung@cornellsun.com.

Sun Staff Writer

COURTESY OF CATHERINE ZHANG

Daily double | Two Cornell students, Andres Quijano ’22 and Catherine Zhang ’22, represent Cornell at Jeopardy!.

Cornellians Compete at Jeopardy!

By KAYLA RIGGS Sun Assistant News Editor

Let’s make it a true daily double! Cornellians Andres Quijano ’22 and Catherine Zhang ’22 competed in the annual Jeopardy! National College Championship on Feb. 8, answering questions pertaining to everything from kitchen appliances to global geography.

The series, currently hosted by Big Bang Theory actress Mayim Bialik, dubbed Quijano and Zhang among “36 of America’s sharpest undergrads.” Other colleges represented in the series include Caltech, Brown, Harvard, Yale and Stanford.

“The best way I can think of to describe the experience overall is just surreal,” Zhang said.

Zhang, who graduated from Cornell in December with a degree in computer science and sociology, grew up watching Jeopardy! with her family in her hometown Pennington, New Jersey.

Her childhood background combined with her love for reading and trivia made Zhang the perfect contestant when an online college Jeopardy! test was released in the fall of 2020. After submitting the assessment and undergoing a few rounds of Zoom interviews, Zhang was selected to represent Cornell.

“It’s always been a dream to be on the show — I just never thought it could actually happen,” Zhang said.

Hailing from San Juan, Puerto Rico, Quijano, a government major, almost missed out on his opportunity to join the show after taking the online test.

“Last summer I decided to check my junk inbox, and I stumbled on an invitation for a Zoom interview!

At first, I thought it was a fake email, but upon further examination I realized that it was real,” Quijano said. “Throughout the entire process, I was incredibly excited and incredulous.”

Finding out about his appearance on the famed show in late October, Quijano began preparing by watching daily episodes and reruns of Jeopardy!, though noting that there is no “foolproof way” to practice given the show’s immeasurably wide range of topics.

When the day of the show arrived, both Cornellians expressed feeling a sense of nervousness — but also excitement –– as the taping began. When asked about the hardest part about being on the show, Zhang replied with two words: buzzer speed.

“Everyone that makes it on the show knows the majority of the answers on the board,” Zhang said, “so the real differentiator is often getting the timing of the buzzer exactly right.”

Upon graduation, Zhang plans to live in New York, working as a full-time product manager at Schmidt Futures, a tech nonprofit founded by the former Google CEO Eric Schmidt and his wife Wendy Schmidt.

Quijano plans on taking a gap year after graduation to explore his interest in politics and eventually attend law school. Now returning to a snowy campus to finish his final semester at Cornell, Quijano looks back at his experience on Jeopardy! fondly.

“Being on Jeopardy! was one of the most thrilling experiences I’ve ever had,” Quijano said. “I am forever grateful to have had the honor to participate in my favorite TV show.”

The Jeopardy! National College Championships, which air on ABC and stream on Hulu, will conclude Tuesday. The champion is awarded a $250,000 prize, the runner-up will take home $100,000 and the third-place winner will leave with $50,000.

Kayla Riggs can be reached at kriggs@cornellsun.com.

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4 | The Corne¬ Daily Sun | Tuesday, February 22, 2022

&

All of Us Are Dead: A Casual Thrill, Nothing More BRIAN LU ARTS STAFF

Finally, a fresh and original take on the classic and slightly stale zombie genre — is how I would describe the 2016 Korean film Train to Busan. All of Us Are Dead, on the other hand, feels like a fanfiction piece created by a young adult writer dipping their toes in the zombie scene for the first time. Filled with awkward lines, ridiculous writing to further the plot and an incredibly out-of-place setup for season two, this show fails in every aspect where Train to Busan had surprised us six years ago.

Despite its somewhat popular reception, it is undoubtedly just the latest addition to the list of lackluster Korean zombie shows.

The premise of the show is rather touching compared to most origins of a zombie virus: After his son, Lee Cheong-san, is repeatedly bullied to the brink of suicide, a genius scientist turned highschool teacher Lee Byeong-chan creates a virus from mutated mice hormones as a last-ditch attempt to end his son’s abuse. Predictably, the virus backfires, zombifying Cheongsan rather than saving him. Byeong-chan stealthily captures his son and quarantines him in their home while desperately trying to find a cure. Some time later, an unsuspecting student stumbles upon the mutated mice while cleaning the science

lab at Byeong-chan’s school and gets bitten in the process. Once again, Byeongchan is quick to capture the student, chaining her up in the storage room of the lab; this time, however, she escapes and ends up infecting the rest of Korea.

The Netflix show follows a group of trapped high schoolers from Byeong-chan’s school, with the main protagonists being Lee Cheongsan, Nam On-jo and Lee Su-hyeok. Together, they struggle to survive in the infested school, scrounging for food and water while waiting for help from the government.

All of Us Are Dead weaves the storylines of multiple characters well, maintaining the suspense that keeps thriller fans at the edge of their seats. Yet, what had seemed initially promising is hindered by a stereotypical, cringey teenage love triangle that cropped up at the worst of times, like a filler episode right at the crescendo of a story.

Even worse — as if a young adult love triangle amidst zombies wasn’t bad enough — an unkillable villain is shoehorned in and given the blandest personality out of

COURTESY OF NETFLIX

all the characters. Small inconsistencies will also annoy viewers who enjoy continuity; some people turn into zombies very quickly, while others seem to take forever.

Furthermore, as yet another source of agitation, zombies are supposed to be very fast in this show, but certain zombies move slowly for dramatic effect.

And while most zombie films and shows seem to express some sort of commentary on social issues or ethical dilemmas, All of Us Are Dead ends unceremoniously with no clear direction or message. Instead,

it dedicates its finale to a confusing and utterly nonsensical setup for a prospective season two, leaving viewers scratching their heads at an unexciting cliffhanger. It certainly does the job for a quick twelve-episode thrill, but with no nuance and depth to the story overall, All of Us Are Dead misses out on all the potential greatness that would otherwise place it at the top of the zombie apocalypse genre.

Brian Lu is a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences. He can be reached at blu@cornellsun.com.

Falling Back in Love With Reading GRETA GOODING ARTS STAFF

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.

Hello deadbeat readers of the world. I typically would never use the word wise to describe my behavior thus far, but I think I’m getting close with a specific issue. I’ve told myself so many times that I want to read more, only to glare at whichever tome sits on my nightstand — withering away, collecting dust with every moment — and I nearly shout out loud, “Don’t look at me like that, you jerk.”

Something tells me I’m not the only person my age with such a deeply toxic relationship with reading. Research shows that reading can lower stress levels and blood pressure, increase your empathetic instincts and all that good stuff.

But that hasn’t made me pick up a book so far, so what’s the difference?

On top of it all, I’m an English major — and the worst kind. The kind that corrects your grammar, quotes Shakespeare and makes stupid jokes about Mr. Darcy. Most of my friends think that after a long day of toiling over critical theory, I curl up and say, “Ah, I’m going to re-read Ulysses for fun tonight.” Let’s not kid

ARTS & CULTURE

ourselves. I am a big old phony, and a good one at that. In reality, I turn on The Sopranos until I drift into a deep, unliterary slumber.

In recent months, I think I’ve cracked it. I can actually read without it feeling like I have to

Elif Batuman), loathable and pretentious protagonists (like High Fidelity by Nick Hornby) or nosy characters (like Celine

by Peter Heller) scratch a selfish itch. I can be somewhat self-aware when I set my mind to it.

of Gates Hall and pretend I fit in with all the Cornellians with Python homework and flashy Nikes.

3. Don’t you dare buy the books on Amazon! I really shouldn’t have to say more, but I always do. Sometimes the act

COURTESY OF VICTOR MORIYAMA / THE NEW YORK TIMES

conduct some Pavlovian experiment on myself every time I open my book. In the spirit of dumb old Valentine’s Day, I will share some of my tips to fall back in love with reading.

1. Find a book that is a romanticized version of the life you’re actually living. For me, books about forlorn college students (such as The Idiot by

2. Bring your chosen book to your favorite spot on campus. In the middle of the day, when you’re waiting for notes from the random acquaintance you’ve coerced into solving your problem set, give yourself five minutes in your favorite study spot as a moment free from work. Let it be a reward!

I like to sit on the second floor

of going to an independently owned bookstore is enough to get you excited about reading.

There are so many in Ithaca, for used and new options.

4. Keep your book in your little hipster tote bag. Aside from the fact that you get to be the sexy person who pulls a book out of a tote bag in a public space, it’s an easy way to

fill your free time with reading.

Waiting for a TCAT bus? Read.

Waiting for the dude at Willard Straight to say, “Salutations!” to you before your mandatory surveillance test? Read.

Waiting for your oat macchiato at Green Dragon? Read. Also, take me out to dinner while you’re at it.

5. Ask the funniest person you know for a recommendation. Sometimes the smartest person you know can’t give you anything you’ll actually look forward to reading. So ask someone who makes you truly laugh. Recently, friends have recommended Nobody Asked for This, The White Boy Shuffle and Catch-22.

6. Read whatever you want.

Let me say it again: read whatever you want. If you don’t want to read an Oxford Edition, don’t! There are going to be so many times you have to read something for an old tenured white guy (sorry, Cornell, love you). But, do it for you when you can. Bonus points if it’s slutty.

If you get anything from what I just wrote, kindly please stop hating yourself for not reading. Nobody thinks you’re illiterate, except maybe your mom, who has not seen you reading since you picked up Captain Underpants.

Greta Gooding is a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences. She can be reached at ggooding@cornellsun.com.

The Cornell Daily Sun | Tuesday, February 22, 2022 5

Opinion

The Corne¬ Daily Sun Independent Since 1880 139th Editorial Board KATHRYN STAMM ’22 Editor in Chief

ANUSHYA ALANDUR ’23

MADELINE ROSENBERG ’23

Business Manager

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Associate Editor

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Brenner Beard Agree to Disagree

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Editors in Training Editor in Chief Managing Editor Associate Editors Arts Editors News Editors Sports Editor Photography Editor Production Editor

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Vee Cipperman ’23 Surita Basu ’23 John Colie ’23 Katie Yao ’23 Nihar Hegde ’24 Aditi Hukerikar ’23 Roman LaHaye ’23 Estee Yi ’24 Jiwook Jung ’25 Aaron Snyder ’23 Gabriella Pacitto ’24 Claire Li ’24 Katrien de Waard ’24

by Ruben Bolling

Brenner Beard ‘24 (he/him) is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences. He can be reached at brennerbeard@cornellsun.com. Agree to Disagree runs every other Friday this semester.

Any Person, Any Study … Any Club?

W

hen I tell people back home that I go to Cornell, I tend to get a lot of groans. They are groans that encapsulate an outsider’s perspective of expensive private schools like ours. “Cornell” and “Ivy League” are terms that, in the public eye, are entrenched in privilege, wealth and selectivity.

As much as I’d like to say the public’s presumptions about our school are wrong, the University has a lot of issues working against it which we need to address. More specifically, to fight this perception of rampant elitism on campus, we have to start with the toxic culture of Cornell’s clubs.

The low acceptance rates and peer-to-peer competition of a selective admissions process don’t stop at Cornell’s gates. Whether it be for business clubs like Cornell Hedge Fund, political groups like Pi Lambda Sigma, club sports teams or any of the 1600+ student organizations registered with the University, the atmosphere of acceptance and rejection will follow you here until the day you graduate.

Such a diversity of interests are waiting at students’ fingertips, but coveted memberships are guarded by tiers of applications and interviews.

Our University is one of the few colleges I’ve heard of where the phrase “getting into” applies to clubs. Joining a typical student organization can look like this: one to three coffee chats, a resume drop, a professional or technical interview, a social round interview and a final round interview. All these stages, just for the privilege of membership.

Not to mention, in many cases, this process is followed by weeks of “new member education” — which, if we’re being honest, is nothing more than sanctioned hazing.

In response to the elitist clubs of Cornell, I’d like to pose a question: how do these rigorous selection processes fit with our founding ideal of “Any person, Any study?” Cornell is a university supposedly made for everyone, but its extracurricular community prides itself on exclusion. At what point are we sacrificing mutual opportunity for selectivity?

To answer, I’d say that point is reached when a club cuts a majority of applicants. It’s when an organization such as Kappa Alpha Pi markets itself as “Cornell’s only selective pre-law fraternity.” It’s when clubs like the Cornell Political Union, as part of the application process, necessitate in-person competition against other applicants.

All these signs point to the fact that

many of Cornell’s clubs place a premium on rejection rather than on gifting opportunities.

The executive boards of these organizations might protest that they implement these strictures to attain the best and the brightest for their membership rolls. They may argue that it’s good practice for the corporate futures that await many of us.

Yet, as much as they want to believe it, their clubs are not Apple, Tesla, Raytheon or any other profit-minded corporation hiring unknown people from an endless pool of candidates.

They represent student-run organizations at an inclusivity-minded institution of higher learning. Call me crazy, but I think our clubs can afford to take a chance and accept more of their peers in the interest of sharing opportunities.

Give me one good reason why a business society can only offer a handful of new member spots regardless of how talented the pool of applicants is.

Will the organization cease to function if it takes on more members? Most certainly not — if anything, they’d be better funded with more due-paying members. But these clubs aren’t afraid of that; they’re afraid of cheapening the experience of membership. That’s the crux of the issue.

Somewhere between Ezra Cornell setting his famous “Any person, Any study” standard for Cornell and this year’s ClubFest, we’ve lost our way.

We’re a school where all students are supposed to have the opportunity to pursue their interests and ambitions, yet we’re letting ambition get the best of us. Student organizations — communities for students to develop their interests — function like simulated Fortune 500 companies.

They arbitrarily reject students and drag out the application process in order to inflate the value of club membership. As long as our clubs operate in this manner, by neglecting opportunity in favor of selectivity, our school is much worthier of groans than it is of praise.

The good news is that we can change. If you sit on the executive board of a student organization, maybe it’s time to take a look in the mirror and review your club’s application process.

It’s as simple as dropping down from four interview rounds to one, or even just accepting more people. Like the organizations themselves, the power to prioritize acceptance and buck the elitist stereotype is in the hands of students. In other words, the choice is ours.

6 The Cornell Daily Sun | Tuesday, February 22, 2022

Opinion

Dating Shows: A Chance for Communal Entertainment

Anuli Ononye Womansplaining Anuli Ononye (she/her) is a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences.

She can be reached at aononye@cornellsun.com. Womansplaining runs every other Monday this semester.

I

just started another dating show. Well, it technically isn’t a new one. Like most Cornell students — at least according to my Twitter feed for the last few days — I have started binging the new season of Netflix’s Love Is Blind. Don’t worry, there aren’t any spoilers ahead!

I have a love-to-hate relationship with dating shows.

I love them because they’re sappy, and I’m a sucker for a good rom-com — hence my rom-com column from last year. It’s fun to laugh at awkward dates, point out the character flaws with the “difficult” contestants, argue about who’s just there for fame, root for the underdog and place bets on who will win the season.

I’ve watched almost every dating show that you can imagine: The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, Married at First Sight, Too Hot to Handle and Love Island (my personal favorite!). The shows place people in impossible — often impossibly perfect — situations and ask them to find love. And each series has an unbearable twist: you can’t see the person you choose until you’re engaged, no physical intimacy on the island, one person enters the challenge without a partner, 30+ women fight for one man!

Although fun to watch, these scenarios never really create couples that last — RIP my favorites Luke Trotman and Siannise Fudge (Love Island U.K. Season 6), who had the best fairytale romance. These shows are simple entertainment, and the joy comes in criticizing other people’s lives. It’s knowing that you would never make that mistake, rooting for the character that you identify with (for me — always the Black woman!), wishing that you could be as bold or as pretty as the people on your screen and romanticizing a love life that doesn’t exist in the real world.

And as someone who loves a good dating show, I’ve never watched one that isn’t a little bit problematic.

They’re filled with microaggressions that I see every day in my own and my friends’ dating lives, scratching the surface of the messiness that is dating in the 21st century.

Will that interracial couple actually work out amidst societal and familial pressures? How are they going to handle a long distance relationship after the show? How will they handle their socioeconomic disparities? Everyone who watches dating shows knows these microaggressions exist and we (I say we because I also do it!) have conditioned ourselves to pretend they don’t exist. When my mom and I watched the first season of Love Is Blind at the start of the pandemic, we watched it from the TV in our gym

because my dad was so frustrated every time we turned it on — meanwhile, we couldn’t get enough of it. We are watching this season from opposite sides of the country and calling constantly to debrief. Watching dating shows is a communal experience. You watch them with your family, your friends, your weekly viewing party, your Twitter and Instagram followers. These shows create a cult-like community culture in the same way that football games and Euphoria do.

The first dating show I really watched was The Bachelor with my good friends from my high school youth group — the irony! Every Monday night for weeks, 10 high school church friends gathered in one of our living rooms to watch The Bachelor, The Bachelorette or Bachelor in Paradise. This summer I got back into The Bachelor, living in an all-women’s hostel — Thompson-Markward Hall — during my summer internship in D.C. Every Monday night after the young women (each about 18 to 25 years old) came home from long days working on the hill, we crowded around the living room’s projector to watch the week’s latest episode. With both groups, I spent more time talking and laughing than actually listening to what was happening in the contestant’s lives. The pleasure was in the experience — good snacks, a run down of the episode with my friends after, a chance to catch up once a week, the opportunity to fill my head with near-nothings.

The appeal wasn’t necessarily the show itself.

So, if you haven’t watched a dating show yet, start now. And don’t do it alone. You might hate all of the contestants, think the show is incredibly unrealistic and cringe at the nudity and vulgar language. But there is something about watching them with your friends and experiencing dating culture as a community, one that is distinct to our generation.

Gains, Both Physical and Academic: Cornell Should Offer Credit for Regular Exercise eating during those first three weeks of the semester make schoolwork much more bearable and keep stress at a low.

Not coincidentally, the harshest, most stressful part of the semester comes when the gym has been long-removed from my day-to-day.

Though building another gym on North campus is helpful, Cornell leaves its students to their devices in the fight to make time for the gym. The fact that Cornell charges for fitness centers communicates that they believe exercise is extra, not necessary, to combat mental health issues and support sustainable student lifestyles on campus.

The Cornell Fitness Center memberRoei Dery ’23 (he/him) is a junior in the College ship fee has long stood as a monetary of Arts and Sciences. He can be reached at rdery@ barrier for students to go to the gym at

Roei Dery The Dery Bar

cornellsun.com. His column, The Dery Bar, runs every other Monday this semester.

M

y commitment to the gym on campus has remained more or less the same across semesters.

Over every break, I build a gym routine for the next semester, equipped with the hundred-plus dollar annual Cornell Fitness Center membership. Within two weeks, I’ll encourage my friends to join me at Teagle Hall.

As I sip my protein shake, I’ll respond “college is temporary, gym gains are forever” when they tell me they’re too busy with work. Most often, these “gym gains” only last another week; I hit peak fitness around week three, and it all goes downhill from there. At best, I return to the gym sporadically for the rest of the semester, carving time in between prelim waves. Otherwise, I don’t see the inside of a gym until the following break, when the cycle repeats.

A routine gym schedule and healthy

The Cornell Fitness Center membership fee has long stood as a monetary barrier for students to go to the gym at Cornell.

Cornell. As others have voiced before me, campus gyms should be free to students here on campus, as they are at many other institutions. But I think this is only part of the solution. Equally important is to remove the notion that schoolwork is a reasonable excuse to avoid exercise altogether.

They say that if you can’t beat them, join them: So let’s integrate the gym into school. Or perhaps, school into the gym. Cornell should offer academic credit for students who regularly exercise at campus fitness facilities throughout the semester.

Just one single-credit, S/U class would suffice – one that could be dropped any time. It doesn’t even have to count towards academic standing. Offering a single academic credit is a tangible reward for gym-goers — an extra “gold star” on their transcript.

This is far from suggesting that academic credit should become a primary motivator for fitness. Rather, it’s just a small catalyst. It provides students who otherwise do not exercise due to school with a Catch-22: There is no excuse when working out becomes a version of schoolwork.

This fitness credit offering should supplement, not replace, the current Physical Education course requirements at Cornell. Though a P.E. course in weightlifting is still a suitable option for those seeking to pay for formal training, this alternative would offer an opportunity to gain credit without having to commit to hours that may conflict with student schedules.

Formal P.E. classes may also be intimidating to new gym-goers. Providing room for independent workouts and alternate ways to meet gym buddies through socials may further ease any jitters. Naturally, these reforms would require additional gym facilities and more college student-friendly hours. I shouldn’t have to walk from my room in Collegetown to Morrison Hall in sub-freezing temperatures if I want to work out past 7 p.m.

Perhaps the largest obstacle to such

a program is the difficulty determining a student’s performance at the gym as “satisfactory” over the course

Just one single credit, S/U class would suffice – one that could be dropped any time. It doesn’t even have to count towards academic standing. of a semester. But let’s not bore ourselves with the practicalities of such an endeavor for now. Solutions are available, from implementing a system where students “scan into” the equipment they use to setting workout requirements for students on a case-bycase basis.

The bottom line is that if we concern ourselves too much with the possibility that some students will bumble about the facilities or believe that the occasional engineer will bring their problem set to the gym, we risk missing the essence of the initiative altogether. As long as we regularly exercise in some shape or form, even if only to escape the four walls of our rooms, we will have already made strides well worth a harmless credit.

Comics and Puzzles

Sundoku Fill in the empty cells, one number in each, so that each column, row, and region contains the numbers 1-9 exactly once. Each number in the solution therefore occurs only once in each of the three “directions,” hence the “single numbers” implied by the puzzle’s name.

(Rules from wikipedia.org/wiki/ Sudoku)

The Cornell Daily Sun | Tuesday, February 22, 2022 7

Puzzle 1418

THORN

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American Affairs Desk

by Mark Kaufman

The Corne¬ Daily Sun

Sports

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 22, 2022

8

MEN’S HOCKEY

Men’s Hockey Downs Clarkson on Senior Night starting on Senior Night. “Anytime I get the chance to put on the Cornell jersey … I just want to help the team win, and to get the nod on Senior Night with the rest of my class meant a lot to me.”

The second period got off to a slow start, with the Golden Knights taking the only shot of the first half of the period.

Both teams suddenly came to life after the media timeout.

Cornell scored its second power play goal of the night with seven and half minutes remaining after Psenicka set junior forward Matt Stienburg up to give Cornell a 2-0 lead.

Just over two minutes later, the Red extended its lead when junior forward Ben Berard redirected junior defenseman Sam Malinksi’s shot from the point into the net to put Cornell ahead, 3-0.

Penalties on Cornell gave the Golden Knights an opportunity to eat into the Red’s lead. With three minutes left, Berard was sent to the box for boarding. 54 seconds later, Haiskanen joined him, setting Clarkson up with a 5-on-3.

The Golden Knights quickly converted on the 5-on-3,

meaning that the Raiders remain three points back of the Red heading into the last weekend of the season.

Cornell will hope to build momentum off the revitalizing, feel-good win. After the game and the emotional Senior With a critical three points on the line and an emotional Night ceremony, there was a sense in the locker room that Senior Night ceremony looming, men’s hockey hosted the team got it done for the seniors and that the night could Clarkson on Saturday. Entering the night just three points propel the group into the last weekend of the season. clear of Colgate and RPI for the final bye in the ECAC “That’s exactly what you’re going for. I’m proud of our playoffs, the team’s emotions heading into senior night were group for battling back like they did and I can’t thank them overshadowed by the importance of the game. enough for getting it done for us,” Haiskanen said. “We “There’s obviously a bunch of excitement going into have to build off [tonight], it has to launch us into next week senior night, but we’re still focused on the fact that these … The message in the locker room is ‘we ain’t done yet.’” games are essential,” senior defenseman Cody Haiskanen After the game, the team honored fifth-years Locke, Betts said. and Haiskanen as well as Bramwell, Motley and McDonald.

Two power play goals and two goals from senior Kyle Adding to the emotions of the night was Head Coach Mike Betts helped Cornell come away with an impressive 6-2 Schafer ’86’s appearance on the ice for the postgame cerevictory over Clarkson on Senior Night. mony. Schafer has missed the last month and a half after After a disappointing overtime loss on Friday night, contracting COVID in early January and receiving a cardiac the Red found itself in dire need of an energy boost and stent. a win. Senior Night provided that boost, as the coach“Mentally, it’s been ing staff elected to start the hardest thing I’ve ever three seniors who have not done in my life,” Schafer been everyday players, and said. “Being away from the team seemed to rally the team for the last around them. seven weeks – it’s diffiInstead of going with cult, because you want to the best lineup on paper, help. You brought these the coaching staff electkids here, and you want ed to start senior forto be in the trenches with wards Zach Bramwell and them.”

Liam Motley as well as Schafer expressed senior goaltender Nate doubts about his ability McDonald, all of whom to get back behind the have been in and out of bench before the end of the lineup this season. this season.

That decision, and the “Physically, I just can’t emotional circumstances CLARKSON @ CORNELL do it right now,” Schafer of the night, gave Cornell said. “I don’t know if I’ll the spark it needed. be able to by the end of “We want to win Game: 1ST 2ND 3RD FINAL the year. Time’s kind of [Saturday] night,” Clarkson 0 2 2 0 running out for me, but it Associate Head Coach Cornell 1 2 6 3 was nice to be at the rink Ben Syer said on Friday tonight.” night. “We’ll be lookSchafer is still on the ing at all the possibilities AARON SNYDER / SUN ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR mend, but he went out here that give us the best of his way to be at Senior chance. Obviously Senior Betts | After Friday’s loss, Kyle Betts helped gain Cornell its victory with two power play goals and two goals in his final home game.

Night.

Night’s a special night.”

“My health, just like the athletes, has to be the first Cornell got off to a strong start in front of a packed beating McDonald off a one-timer from the faceoff circle Lynah. The Red struggled on the power play on Friday to get on the board. The goal freed Berard from the box, priority. You can’t be putting yourself at risk as an athlete night, but it converted on its first try on Saturday. With but Clarkson scored again on its 5-on-4 advantage, cutting and I have to follow that same example and not be stupid,” Schafer said. “It was probably a little stupid [coming] 10:51 left in the first, senior forward Liam Motley was Cornell’s lead to 3-2 with a minute left in the period.

“The same kind of thing happened in my first college tonight, but it was well worth it.” tripped up entering the neutral zone, sending Cornell on The timing of Schafer’s absence has conspicuously game against Alaska, two quick goals in the second period,” the power play.

The Red scored just over a minute into the power play McDonald said. “You just have to worry about the next aligned with the team’s recent struggles. The team is 5-5-3 when freshman forward Ondrej Psenicka tipped a pass from shift. You can’t dwell on the previous shift because you’re since Schafer left. Schafer was unsure of the impact his senior forward Brenden Locke in from the crease. Psenicka’s going to get another shot, and that’s the one that matters absence has had on the team, but he praised his assistant coaches for the job they’ve done.

11th of the season gave Cornell a 1-0 lead 10 minutes into most.”

“You never know until we really dig into it, but [Syer], Neither team scored in the first half of a back-and-forth the game.

Two minutes after his tally, Psenicka was sent to the box third period, but it looked like Cornell took a two goal lead Sean [Flanagan] and Shane [Talarico] have done a tremenfor tripping. Cornell killed the penalty behind two saves with just over nine minutes left. Clarkson’s Ethan Haider dous job prepping these guys and preparing them and the from McDonald, who got off to a hot start. McDonald got his pad on a Cornell shot, but freshman forward Sullivan details are right on,” he said.

This was Schafer’s fifth year coaching Locke, Betts and made a few nice saves down the stretch of the period to send Mack appeared to push the puck in. The goal, which would’ve been Mack’s first, was waved off after a review.

Haiskanen.

Cornell to the locker room with a 1-0 lead.

Just over a minute later, Cornell scored for real. On his “I was happy to be here for those guys. To see them sac“It meant the world to me,” McDonald said about Senior Night, senior forward Kyle Betts scored his fourth rifice and come back for a fifth year, I was proud of them,” goal in three games to give Cornell a 4-2 lead with eight Schafer said. “Athletics teaches you that you’ve got to go all minutes left in the third. in because you never know what the final result is. Those Clarkson pulled its goalie after a Cornell penalty with just guys did that, and I’m very, very grateful that they did.” over three minutes left, giving the Golden Knights a 6-onSchafer also sung the praises of McDonald, Bramwell 4. The last time the two teams met, McDonald was in net and Motley. when Clarkson scored three extra-attacker goals to complete “I think guys like [McDonald, Bramwell and Motley], a miraculous comeback. they’ve been kind of in and out of the lineup over the years.

“You try not to think about it, but it might’ve been in It goes to show you how much of an impact those kids the back of my head,” McDonald said. “It was kind of a could have on our program,” Schafer said. “They’re just treredemption moment for me because that game really stuck mendous young men. Most guys in today’s age would just with me for a while. To be put in the same scenario with quit, or they’d transfer. These guys are a huge part of our the same team and stick it to them this time – it was a big program, and their teammates really appreciate them. You moment.” see the bond that they have in the locker room.”

Unlike that night in Potsdam, Cornell iced the game McDonald teared up when discussing that bond, espebehind two empty net goals. First, Psenicka’s shot from cially with Bramwell and Motley.

AARON SNYDER / SUN ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR down the ice slid in with two minutes left. With 20 seconds “They’re my brothers for life,” he said. “I’ve gone left, Betts added another for good measure to close things through everything with them, and they mean the world to Senior Night | Seven seniors (including Kyle Betts, above) out. me. I’m just really thankful for them.” were honored for their impact on the team in an emotional The goal secured a critical three points for Cornell on ceremony after the game. an emotional night. Colgate also won on Saturday night, Aaron Snyder can be reached at asnyder@cornellsun.com.

By AARON SNYDER

Sun Assistant Sports Editor

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