2.21.2023 entire issue hi res

The Corne¬ Daily Sun

Inside Cornell's Climate Projects

Cornell's plans for carbon-neutrality by 2035 continue amid challenges

By ISABELA WILSON Sun Contributor

Cornell sustainability teams have made technological strides in Cornell’s goal for a carbon neutral campus, but the decades-long struggle for legislative and community agreement continues to pose challenges.

The University’s overarching Climate Action Plan is a comprehensive sustainability program that includes campus-wide carbon neutrality by 2035. Prof. Edwin Cowen, civil and environmental engineering, is a member of the Carbon Neutral Campus Steering Committee, a council responsible for monitoring the projects that comprise the plan.

One component of the plan is the Earth Source Heat project, for which Cowen served as an executive committee member. The project’s aim is to eliminate the use of natural gas by harvesting groundwater, warming it and repeatedly cycling it through campus in order to heat facilities. Additionally, the University hopes that the project can scale and serve as a solution for renewable heating in New York and other cold-climate regions worldwide.

“It is a win for the region and the environment

[because] it would reduce our use of fossil fuels, so it lowers our greenhouse gas footprint and potentially lowers the amount of fuel we need,” Cowen said.

This geothermal energy project is the first one in Central New York and the East Coast to power a land area as large as Cornell, which Cowen said will set a precedent for future clean energy harvesting.

Solar farms on Cornell land have the ability to provide more than 20 percent of the electricity on campus. Prof. Max Zhang, mechanical and aerospace engineering, is the faculty director of the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability and conducts research on solar farm designs. Zhang stated that solar power’s implementation in the carbon neutrality goal has been easier in comparison to other universities, in part due to Cornell’s ample suitable land and $1.5 million grant from the Department of Energy to design tools that enable solar farm design.

The University’s sustainability goals accompany the recently-adopted 2019 Ithaca Green New Deal, a set of resolutions aiming to reach citywide carbon neutrality by 2030, five years earlier than the University’s timeline.

Ukraine Concert Raises $5,100 for Lviv Bomb Shelter

By SOFIA RUBINSON Sun News Editor

It was standing room only for Music for Ukraine, a benefit concert and art auction hosted by the Ithaca Rotary Club to raise money for an upgraded school bomb shelter in Lviv, Ukraine. Sunday’s concert and bomb shelter, held at the First Unitarian Society of Ithaca, raised $5,100 for the cause.

“The Rotary Club is really dedicated both to international efforts to do good, and also to do good in our own community,” said Ithaca Rotary Club President Mary Kane. “This concert allows us to do both of those things at the same time, which is a very exciting concept.”

CKB Intruder Sparks Freshman Fears

By SOFIA RUBINSON Sun News Editor

Court-Kay-Bauer Hall residents are shaken up following a Cornell University Police Department report that an intruder was found in a CKB dorm room yesterday.

The CUPD received a report on Feb. 16 at 5:09 p.m. that a resident found an unauthorized individual underneath their bed when they awoke from a nap around 4:30 p.m, according to an email sent by Housing and Residential Life to CKB resi-

dents obtained by The Sun. The resident’s room was unlocked during entry.

According to a source who The Sun has confirmed is close to the victim — who did not wish to be named out of safety concerns since the perpetrator is still at-large — the victim came home from class and took a nap and was awoken by a phone call from the source. The victim commented that there was a rotten smell in the room. When the victim fully awoke, she checked under the bed, without her glasses on, and stared at the

intruder for five seconds before he crawled out from underneath the bed and exited the room.

“CUPD is working diligently to find this individual, but Housing and Residential Life would like to remind students to not permit non-CKB residents into the building,” the email read. “If you don’t know them, it’s okay to tell someone to use their own ID to gain entry or ask for a visitor to wait for their host to let them into the building.”

Friday will mark the one-year anniversary of the major escalation in the Russian-Ukrainian War, which Western intelligence sources have estimated has caused 150,000 casualties on each side and displaced millions of Ukrainians. Though the concert was not planned specifically to fall on the anniversary, organizers said that ongoing attention as the war continues to advance is more important than ever.

“Having been in Ukraine, I’ve never looked at it, like, one year, whatever. It’s just always been various levels of turmoil,” said organizer and associate vice president of Cornell’s Office of Community Relations Gary Stewart. “There’s no significance in [the one-year anniversary]. It’s more like we’re in this position,

and we’re in this well-connected international organization. And we know people over there which personalizes the relationship even more.”

The Ithaca Rotary Club has met with members of a Rotary Club chapter in Lviv who identified school bomb shelters as a top fundraising priority. Starting in November, the Club began an effort to raise $31,000 to upgrade a high school bomb shelter to integrate permanent toilets, portable heaters, comfortable benches, projectors, WiFi and board games — a fundraising goal they were able to accomplish in two months. Cornell University donated $1,000 for this cause, according to Stewart.

Now, the Club is raising $65,000 to rebuild and furnish the bomb shelter at School #95, which is Lviv’s flagship school for inclusive education and enrolls 47 children with disabilities and special education needs.

“The bomb shelter is just some long hallways. They want to tear down some walls, create a classroom and gymnasium, upgrade the bathrooms and add comfortable benches. They want to put in a projector and a screen and add Wi-Fi,” said communications chair of the Ithaca Rotary Club Sherrie Negrea. “Several Rotary Clubs are coming together to raise the money, and we’re one of them. So whatever we raise in the concert will go towards this particular school bomb shelter project.”

Slava Ukraini | Musicians performed in a benefit concert at the local rotary club on Sunday. All proceeds will go to upgrading a bomb shelter Lviv, Ukraine's School #95, a special education school.

Solar strategies | One facet of the University's climate action plan will involve increasing reliance on solar energy. Solar panels on Cornell's land, as shown above, can provide up to 20 percent of campus energy requirements.

JULIA NAGEL / SUN PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

Daybook

Tuesday, February 21, 2023

A LISTING OF FREE CAMPUS EVENTS

Today

Contextualizing the Triggering Event: Colonial White Supremacy, Anti-Blackness and Black Lives Matter in Italy and the United States

12:15 p.m. - 1:15 p.m., Virtual Event

The Lifeworld of Elizabeth Symons: Family Biography and Atlantic Geographies in a Multigenerational Letter Collection

12:25 p.m. - 1:15 p.m., G08 Uris Hall

Laboratory for Elementary Particle Physics Theory Seminar With Clifford Cheung

1 p.m., 438 Physical Sciences Building

Urban Data Science Practitioner Talk Series

2:45 p.m. - 4 p.m., Virtual Event

Mechanical Aerospace Engineering Colloquium With Sangwoo Kim, Ph.D

4 p.m. - 5 p.m., B11 Kimball Hall

Topics in Public and Ecosystem Health With Anna Kelles

4 p.m. - 5 p.m., The John D. Murray Lecture Hall

Urban Heat Mitigation: Bridging Thermodynamics With Aerodynamics With Dan Li, Ph.D

4:10 p.m., 366 Hollister Hall

Asia in Loops: How to Stop Worrying About Method

4:30 p.m., 374 Rockefeller Hall

Study Abroad in Paris Information Session

4:30 p.m., 164 Klarman Hall

Medieval Studies Lecture Series: Literary Form, Environment and the Colonial Imagination in the Middle Ages With Ryan Lawrence

4:45 p.m. - 6 p.m., Guerlac Room, A.D. White

Rabinor Lecture in American Studies

5 p.m., 132 Goldwin Smith Hall

Dona Nelson: The Figure in Paint, Figures in Painting and Figures Looking at Paintings

5:15 p.m., Abby and Howard Milstein Auditorium

The Cornell Daily Sun

Independent Since 1880

Postal Information: The Cornell Daily Sun (USPS 132680 ISSN 1095-8169) is published by the Cornell Daily Sun, a New York corporation, 139 W. State St., Ithaca, N.Y. 14850. The Sun is published Tuesday and Thursday during the academic year, and every weekday online. Three special issues — one for seniors in May, one for reunion alumni in June and one for incoming freshmen in July — make for a total of 61 issues this academic year. Subscriptions are: $60.00 for fall term, $60.00 for spring term and $120.00 for both terms if paid in advance. Standard postage paid at Ithaca, New York. Postmaster: Send address changes to The Cornell Daily Sun, 139 W. State St., Ithaca, N.Y. 14850.

Cornell Pursues Earth Heat

SUSTAINABILITY

Continued from page 1

“The town of Ithaca and Tompkins County in general has been very supportive,” said Sarah Carson, director of the campus sustainability office.

However, with the limited land available in the region, the University has been forced to look outwards for sources of energy. Carson addressed the various effects that emerging climate laws have had on this objective.

“The changing regulatory landscape on the local and state level have been a pro and a con,” Carson said.

Carson stated that the University had no organized local, state or national program to align with when the carbon neutrality plan was set in 2007. Now that programs have been established, the University has had to retroactively adapt to the rapidly-changing climate

legislature.

“The project development timeline is on a year cycle,” Carson said. “When the regulations are changing much more rapidly than that, it makes it a harder project.”

Cowen, Zhang and Carson all emphasized the substantial influence that public opinion has had on campus sustainability.

“[Sustainability] was initially a student-driven initiative,” Zhang said. The student organization Kyoto Now! began peaceful protests in April 2001 to pressure the administration to address the University’s carbon footprint. Later that month, an agreement was reached, which set new targets for reducing carbon emissions, initiated the publication of regular progress reports and emphasized the growing importance of developing on-campus sustainability projects.

Cowen served as a public relations

advocate for the University’s geothermal project, highlighting the necessity of speaking to Ithaca citizens who may be skeptical of the project or opposed to its mission.

Carson mentioned a plan to integrate outsourced wind power by partnering with wind firms in rural upstate New York. However, Not In My Backyard, a term used to describe citizens opposed to land developments in their region or neighborhood, interfered with the project and led to it being scrapped.

Despite these factors, Carson said that the University is still on track to be carbon neutral by 2035.

“From an energy standpoint, a lot of things hinge on the success of the Earth Source Heat project, which is looking good,” Carson said. “We have a plan.”

Concert Raises Funds for Ukrainian Bomb Shelter

Continued from page 1

The benefit concert featured 41 musicians from Cayuga Chamber Orchestra, Ithaca Community Orchestra, Opus Ithaca School of Music and the Kendal at Ithaca Chorus. The groups performed four pieces that were created by Ukrainian composers, including “Oh the Red Viburnum in the Meadow,” a Ukrainian patriotic song, “Fantasia on the Ukrainian Bell Carol,” “Flute Sonata, Movement 1” by Ukrainian composer Sergei Prokofiev and the Ukrainian national anthem.

Also performing in the concert was composer and pianist Emmanuel Sikora, who has worked with orchestras in Lviv and gave his concerto debut with the Ukrainian Festival Orchestra in 2021. Flutist and organizer Negrea

has three Ukrainian grandparents, one of whom was born in Lviv.

During intermission, attendees were able to bid in a silent auction for artwork created by 10 local artists and two gift cards from local businesses. A few of the artists created their pieces in inspiration of Ukraine.

Painter Annemiek Haralson said she created her piece “Sunflowers and Blue Skies” at the start of the RussianUkrainian War because she felt helpless and angry, but wanted to still create something with beauty. Bulgarian violinist and painter Irina Kassabova said that having lived in a small eastern European country that transitioned away from Soviet rule, she feels close to the people of Ukraine and the faith and hardships they are experiencing.

“This is really just a small thing that a group of dedicated volunteers can do from very far away to make a

Organization Boosts Voting

By MARIAN CABALLO Sun Staff Writer

Cornell Votes, a nonpartisan student organization, launched a new voting ambassador program at the start of the semester, aiming to boost civic engagement through peerto-peer outreach.

“It’s a program to have students pick up a leadership role to understand themselves how to get more civically engaged, and to get other students to understand their civic responsibilities,” said Rahul Verma ’24, the organization’s community engagement department chair.

lead in guiding new voters, according to Lauren Sherman ’24, vice president of external operations.

While there is no formal application process, prospective ambassadors must fill out the Cornell Votes interest form. They also need to attend a training session that covers voting essentials. After a short quiz and a tabling experience accompanied by an executive board member, ambassadors can sign up for events on their own.

difference in the lives of children every day, who are besieged,” Kane said. “It’s both an emotional commitment and a practical commitment to helping those who really deserve and need our help.”

In addition to the $5,100 raised at Sunday’s concert, the Ithaca Rotary Club has received $4,500 in sponsorships and corporate or personal donations to support School #95. Kane said she expects the total donations to rise as they receive more donations through March 15.

“This is amazing to have achieved, and we’re grateful to every community member who attended. And of course, to every musician and artist who donated their talent,” Kane wrote in a statement to The Sun following the concert.

Sponsored by the University, Cornell Votes was founded in 2020 to increase voter turnout among students on campus. The voting ambassador initiative builds upon existing programming within Cornell Votes, allowing students from inside and outside of the organization to participate in civic engagement activities.

“Our motto is we don’t care who you vote for, or where you vote, just vote,” said Elena Woo ’24, president of Cornell Votes. “Our main purpose is to engage students on campus by offering these opportunities to get experience, take charge and help other students.”

Cornell Votes aims to provide hands-on experiences for ambassadors and volunteers to take the

Ambassadors do not have to be a part of the student organization, meaning they do not have to attend all Cornell Votes meetings.

“The most important thing is that there is a process of being able to look up the correct information to provide to students,” Woo said.

The board acknowledged that assisting students may seem intimidating at first, but it is not the responsibility of ambassadors to know everything about voting.

“We have students from all fifty states, which have completely different timelines and rules for absentee voting,” Woo said. “It is really difficult to expect the voting ambassadors to know all of these little details, so we always emphasize that it’s fine to say that you don’t know how to answer a question.”

See VOTE page 4

Students Enjoy Fun PE Classes

By STUTI GUPTA Sun Contributor

Every Cornell student must take two physical education courses before they graduate. However, beyond some of the standard courses like swimming and bowling, Cornell also offers unusual physical education courses, including caving, skiing and scuba diving.

Cornell’s unique physical education classes often allow students to explore new geographic locations and interests. Hannah Denton ’23, a student instructor for Physical Education 1630: Caving, said she enjoys the excitement of venturing into caves around Ithaca.

“We’re in a really inhospitable place for a human, and yet we’re going down there just to explore,” Denton said. “[We’re] not really there for any other necessary reason except to go see what it’s like.”

The required physical education classes can also help students stay active during

Ithaca’s long winters. Danni Liu ’24 chose to take Physical Education 1330: Beginner Downhill Skiing this spring.

“A lot of my friends asked me if I wanted to go skiing during the break, but I had never been before, so I didn’t know how to ski,” Liu said. “I felt like I missed an opportunity to have fun with my friends, so that’s why I’m choosing to take this class.”

For students like Denton, these classes are a way to build confidence, both in the sport and more generally as well.

“I’m not an adrenaline junkie by any stretch of the imagination,” Denton said. “I am super scared, my palms are sweating just talking to you about [caving]. But that sense of accomplishment that you get from conquering some sort of fear or apprehension has been kind of addicting to me.”

The varying structures of physical education courses and the wide range of students taking each course allow people to meet and form strong rela-

tionships with others of different backgrounds. The skiing course, for example, meets once a week for around five hours, whereas caving is a week-long course that ends with a weekend camping trip near the caves.

“We have a campfire at night and we roast marshmallows and have s’mores, and we talk about our experience at Cornell,” Denton said. “Some of the students are undergraduates, and some of them are graduate students, so it’s really fun to hear people’s stories and learn about different walks of life.”

Though these courses increase accessibility to different activities and allow students to meet others of different backgrounds, this increased exposure only reaches a certain extent. The course expenses may deter students who cannot afford to take the class, shaping the demographics of the classes.

According to Cornell’s course roster, the fee for caving is $325 for the Spring 2023 semester.

Sliding down | Students get prepared for their skiing class this semester at Greek peak.

UKRAINE

Isabela Wilson can be reached at ivw6@cornell.edu.

Sofa Rubinson can be reached at srubinson@cornellsun.com.

Cornell Votes Unveils Program

New voter ambassador initiative aims to increase turnout

Cornell Votes also plans to launch a new website later this semester, which will serve as an access hub to guide both students and ambassadors.

“It’s about being able to understand which resources to look at, and to do it with students while they are there,” Verma said.

From a Mann Library information booth to tables targeted towards athletes exiting Teagle Hall, Cornell Votes is strategic about reaching as many students as possible. Voting ambassadors will table at libraries and other public spaces with high traffic where they can achieve maximum outreach, according to Sherman.

elections following record-low turnout in the freshman and transfer representative elections this past fall.

Training workshops for prospective ambassadors will also be held at least once a month throughout the course of this semester, in advance of both this year’s election and next year’s presidential election.

“From my experience tabling over the years and helping train students, it really is a continued learning process for both me and everyone involved,” Verma said, who was recently elected student assembly department of elections chair. “It’s a lot of work, but it is rewarding at the end of the day.”

The executive board also expressed gratitude to their volunteers and partners who have helped create tangible impacts in raising electoral participation.

Students Delve Into PE Options

OUTDOORS

Continued from page 3

“Scuba diving is a relatively expensive activity, whether you want to buy and maintain your own gear or pay someone else to take you out,” said Melia Matthews grad, who helps assist Physical Education 1130: Open Water Scuba. “So it does tend to be more white in population, but I think people are working to make it more accessible to everyone. It’s definitely not a sport for just one group of people, it should be something that everyone can experience.”

According to the Associate Director of Physical Education and Director of Aquatics Brigitta Putnam, one quarter of Cornell’s physical education classes, as well as pool access, are free. The University offers different free courses each year so that students are able to try a variety of classes.

Architect Speaks on Research

Prof. wins Wheelwright

By AIMÉE EICHER Sun Assistant News Editor

Aleksandra Jaeschke, an architect and assistant professor of architecture and sustainable design at the University of Texas at Austin, will present “In Emergency Break Glass, and Other Exit Strategies for Designers” about her explorative journey of greenhouses, on which she embarked following her winning the Wheelwright Prize in 2019.

“We’ve had a setup on the Arts Quad, Engineering Quad and a lot of stuff on the Ag Quad and Mann Library,” Verma said. “We’re trying to get as many [students] registered and [ambassadors] trained before the fall, so when things start picking up, we’ll be ready to go.”

Cornell Votes has a history of demonstrated success in raising democratic participation across campus. This semester, ambassadors will be focusing on registration, absentee voting and student assembly

“[Low voter turnout amongst younger voters] is a continued problem throughout the country,” Sherman said. “We have to be our own leaders and take charge. I’m really excited by the progress that we’ve made, and the progress that we’ll continue to make.”

There is also an ongoing effort to expand the Cornell Outdoor Education Endowment, a grant that helps cover course fees for students in need of financial assistance. In addition to continuing to make these physical education courses more accessible, instructors in caving and aquatics hope to improve their courses through better and larger facilities such as a new pool and increased access to caves for teaching.

To continue reading this article, please visit www.cornellsun.com.

Stuti Gupta can be reached at sg2265@cornell.edu.

CKB Intruder Leaves Students Worried

The email also reminded students to lock their rooms, even when leaving the room momentarily, taking a nap or using the bathroom.

Residents of CKB told The Sun they are taking extra safety

precautions following the incident.

Roommates Alena Makheja ’26 and Ellie Butkovich ’26 said that before yesterday, they rarely locked their door.

“I lost my key for a period, so we never really locked it,” Makheja said. “But this made me want to start locking my room.”

In CKB, students need to scan their Cornell ID once to enter the lobby of the dormitory and again to enter either the elevator or the stairwell. The pair said they frequently have friends over at their dorm and that telling them to ‘piggyback’ off of other people who have CKB room cards is convenient and effective.

“It’s pretty easy [to enter CKB],” said CKB resident Jake Kohagura ’26. “All you’ve got to do is follow somebody in, but I imagine that people are [now] on pretty high alert.”

Kohagura said he and his friends rarely think about locking their doors and will leave their rooms unlocked all day. He expects that behavior to change following yesterday’s events.

Sarah Young ’26 said she is a pod-mate of the victim, meaning they share the same bathroom and live adjacent to one another.

“I definitely think I’m not a super scared person,” Young said. “But this has got me locking my door when I go to the bathroom, locking the door when I go to the shower. I think it was really kind of surreal.”

g said her floor is shaken up following the incident, and she knows of girls who decided to sleep in other residence halls with friends last night.

Resident Jaidyn Duhon ’26 said she always locks her door but that this incident has heightened her anxiety about the dorm’s safety.

“I’m not feeling safe at all,” Duhon said. “Now I’m looking under my bed, even though I know there’s no way that somebody can be there. And I look at my closet, just to make sure that nobody’s in there.”

To continue reading this article, please visit www.cornellsun. com.

Originally from Poland, Jaeschke earned her diploma from the Architectural Association in London and a Doctor of Design degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Design. She taught at the Woodbury School of Architecture in Los Angeles prior to teaching at the University of Texas.

Sponsored by Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, the Wheelwright Prize is a competition for early-career architects across the globe. The winners receive a $100,000 grant to devote to innovative projects with the goal of advancing architectural research and discourse. Jaeschke was selected as one of three finalists out of more than 145 applicants.

After winning the grant for her proposal, “UNDER WRAPS: Architecture and Culture of Greenhouses,” Jaeschke visited eight countries across three continents over the course of 150 days, exploring the culture and architecture of greenhouses. In her Monday talk, she will reflect on how greenhouse design can inspire her and other architects’ future research.

“Jaeschke was selected as one of three finalists out of more than 145 applicants.”

In addition to the Wheelwright Prize, Jaescke won DigitalFUTURES’s Mark Cousins Theory Award in 2021, which recognizes a leading theorist in architecture and design each year. The award acknowledged Jaeschke’s doctoral dissertation “Green Apparatus: Ecology of the American House According to Building Codes,” in which she delved into how building regulations and sustainable technologies improve environmentally-conscious design and awareness. Jaeschke will speak as part of the Distinguished Speaker in Sustainable Cities series, which the College of Architecture, Art and Planning is co-sponsoring with the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability. Her talk will take place on Monday in the Abby and Howard Milstein Auditorium at 11 a.m.

Stratford Michael can be reached at agupta@cornellsun.com. Sofa Rubinson can

“It’s about being able to understand which resources to look at, and to do it with students while they are there.”

Rahul Verma ’24

“[Low voter turnout amongst younger voters] is a continued problem throughout the country.”

Lauren Sherman ’24

KIKI PLOWE STAFF WRITER

Some indie music is made in bedrooms, but Tall Travis’s new EP Chicken Music is made for a barn. On Jan. 5, the Vermont-based band released their third project, a quick 19-minute listen that is crunchy and energetic. The six-song project starts strong and finishes honestly, putting forth an effort that may not be groundbreaking but is astonishingly authentic.

Tall Travis originated at the University of Vermont’s folk music club in January 2021. One of its six members is Elliot Walsh ’24, a Cornell student who collaborates with the band from Ithaca during the semester. In an interview with me, Walsh shared, “We started doing [the project] with sort of the intention of doing a slightly more folk-punk thing. Previous records had leaned more heavily on soft indie folk songs, and we wanted to do some faster stuff.”

You might be wondering what the folk-punk genre is, or, like me, love folk and punk but hadn’t yet heard of the two together. Walsh explained that the genre is “up-tempo high-energy music with traditional instrumentation. [...] I feel like it inspires a lot of honesty in songwriting.” The project is indie not in a pretentious way, but rather feels open, fun and grounded. “It’s sort of fun to

& & It’s Music for Chickens

listen to a band or a song and be like, ‘yeah I could do this,’ but it still works,” said Walsh.

The EP’s first song “AlleyOh” establishes the project’s upbeat acoustic style, with a rejuvenated bluegrass sound that reflects its influence in the traditional instrumentals.

One of the band’s inspirations for its folk-punk genre is the Mountain Goats, an indie folk band whose song “No Children” might be familiar (“You are coming down with me / hand in unlov-

able hand”). The EP layers casual lyrics in a speak-singing style that is evocative of the Mountain Goats.

“Victim Vibes” continues a relaxed style of singing layered over tight instrumentals, which is definitely the band’s strength. Each traditional instrument — ukulele, guitar, bass, washboard, fiddle and trumpet — is powerful on its own, and they combine together to evoke a close-knit group’s folk-punk vision. The band explores

the depth of its sound in “The Tortoise and the Hare,” which builds up to an epic instrumental peak that takes me out of my surroundings and makes me yearn for summer in rural New England.

The lyrics in final song “Vampires and Poseurs” showcase the band’s range between casual and deeper lyrics that touch something real in the listener. The opening lines “I don’t believe in Heaven / I do believe in Hell” seemed plain to me at first, until the

singer continued, “It’s down the street from here / we both lived there for years,” surprising me with its depth and intimacy. The personal lyrics and use of the “I” are reminiscent of Noah Kahan’s poetic and personal song-writing style. Like Kahan, Tall Travis hinges on strong details with simple language: “We burn the calendars for warmth / and the alarm clocks just for fun.”

Tall Travis is upfront with who they are, and the essence of their eclectic group of musicians is on the table in Chicken Music . “The name Chicken Music came from, I think it was a joke someone had of just, ‘What genre do you play?’ ‘Oh it’s chicken music. It’s music for chickens. It’s just that vibe,’ ’’ explained Walsh. They’re not trying to be anything other than who they are: People who love to play music, with a particular appreciation for chickens and traditional instrumentation.

Although the folk-punk genre is more niche, Walsh gives the advice for anyone interested in dipping their toes into the folk-punk music scene to “Just go out, play shows, make connections.”

Tall Travis has plans to release a new full album hopefully in late spring, and they also plan to play a show in Ithaca in April, so be on the look out for Tall Travis this spring.

Much to Say About Much Ado

On Friday, Feb. 10, I had the opportunity to see the Cornell Shakespeare Troupe’s rendition of Much Ado About Nothing. This production was originally stated to debut on Dec. 2, but several unforeseen circumstances pushed the opening night back by a little over two months. The wait was worth it.

For those who are unaware of this classic Shakespearan production, as I was, let me explain what this play is about. This is a comedy wherein friends and allies try to set their other friends and allies up with one another romantically. It was an ironically appropriate play to watch the weekend before Valentine’s Day. The most important facet of any comedy is

the most obvious one: it has to be funny. This cast had humor in spades. Not only was the dialogue itself humorous, but the way in which the cast played with their characters’ interactions with said dialogue is what made the entire two hour long production hilarious. One of the most prominent moments occurred when Don John, Mallory Esponda ’23, and Borachio, Joaquin Rivera ’25, entered the room snapping their fingers in order to show their malicious intent. Furthermore, the expression on Beatrice’s,Ruby Trujillo ’24, face when she was eavesdropping on those who were conspiring against her was downright hysterical. At times, even the cast themselves couldn’t refrain from laughing, as evidenced by the delightful performance of Serena Duncan ’26 on the recorder. She laughed

while playing her instrument and we all laughed along with her because everyone had so much fun both on stage and in the audience. What could have been seen as hindering the performance actually served to enhance everyone’s experience and make it a uniquely wonderful experience for all of those involved.

Perhaps this is a byproduct of my time as an English major, but I truly believe that the work of William Shakespeare is timeless. With each passing generation, the language of the Bard becomes more archaic, and yet the messages continue to shine through. For better or worse, we all have been subjected to reading Shakespeare in our English classes at some point in our education. And even beyond the classroom, names such as Romeo and Juliet and phrases such as “Et tu,

Brute” have made their way into our everyday lives. Yet, despite the oversaturation of Shakespeare in popular culture, it is always exciting to see how modern renditions can bring these classics to life. One of the ways that this show felt like such a perfect blend of 16th century drama and 21st century adaptation was the costumes. The standout costume for me was Prince Don Pedro, portrayed hilariously by Sophia Gottfried ’25. The decision to go with a Miami Vice-inspired look for the mischievous, yet good hearted, Prince worked so well because it didn’t detract from the novelty of a Shakespearean play, but rather it enhanced the comedy of appearances. The set itself remained minimalistic, as is custom in a black box theater such as Risley. Under the direction of Joseph Lang ’25, this

production made the most out of its budget and location, and I feel confident in saying that these fine performances could not have been better than the ones that I had the privilege to watch last Friday night.

The simple fact of the matter is that this play worked. And not only did it work, but it entertained in such a complete way that one hardly noticed the two hour runtime of the show. I commend all of the members of the production, whether on stage or behind the scenes, and I certainly look forward to the next Cornell Shakespeare Troupe production. Job well done, everyone.

TOM SANDFORD STAFF WRITER

Tom Sandford is a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences. He can be reached at tsandford@cornellsun.

Kiki Plowe is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences. She can be reached at kplowe@cornellsun.com.

COURTESY OF TALL TRAVIS

DE WAARD ’24

JIWOOK JUNG ’25

’24

RUHL ’24

KEVIN CHENG ’25 Newsletter Editor

’23

HANNAH ROSENBERG ’23

JYOTHSNA BOLLEDDULA ’24

Isaac Chasen Cut to the Chase

Cut to the Chase runs every other Sunday this semester.

Forgive Your Friends

Our time at Cornell is not infinite. This is a concept that has been drilled into our heads ever since we opened our college portals and read our acceptance letters during senior year of high school. From being told that these will be the best four years of our lives, to being told that college is the best place to learn solely for the sake of learning, the idea that the Cornell experience is something to be treasured is not a new one.

But oftentimes, there’s something that gets omitted from the Cornell experience, something that’s more important than all the rest. It’s the people — from the friends you meet during your first week to the longtime Ithaca residents

in chief Angela Bunay ’24

desker Sofa Rubinson ’24

opinion desker Lili Mkrtchyan ’25

news deskers Jonathan Mong ’25

you meet on campus and around town who have seen generations of Cornellians come and go. The people are what make the Cornell experience what it is.

Why do I bring this up? Because sometimes the people around you will make you question this simple truth. This has been especially true in these last few years, where the pandemic has called into question many of the social customs we had all previously taken for granted.

Maybe you perceived your friends as being too stringent with certain COVID19 guidelines, beyond when you viewed it as necessary. Maybe you didn’t think they were being careful enough. Maybe someone insinuated that you studied too much, or not enough. Maybe someone made a passing remark you found disparaging for whatever reason. It could be any number of perceived slights.

First of all, don’t diminish those feelings. It’s perfectly okay to feel slighted, and to be upset for a little.

But second, and more importantly, don’t let those feelings turn into grudges. Our time in Ithaca is too short to hold grudges. Instead, try to address issues immediately, because most times the per-

son didn’t mean to offend you and will be more than happy to work things out.

In my experiences, these conversations can be as short as 5 or 10 minutes, or as long as a couple hours. And over the course of those discussions, you may discover that they may even be dealing with something on their own, and did not even realize you were hurt.

Of course, there are caveats to this, just as there are caveats to everything. When someone demeans your background or ethnicity, or goes beyond the pale with respect to your personal values, take time to think about whether that person is worth having in your life.

I’ve been in this position before, and it was one of the more difficult points of my Cornell experience. If you think you can reconcile and forgive this person, then go for it. But if not, that’s okay as well, and those around you should not force you into a position where you would be badly hurt again.

But with most people, this is not the case. Most people mean well, especially at an amazing institution like Cornell. If you are clear and concise about what is bothering you, I’d bet you could resolve any issues right then and there.

Finally, I want to go back to the idea that the Cornell experience is not an infinite one. The friends you make here will be the ones you take with you for the rest of your life. Therefore, grudges become more and more costly as you

slowly approach graduation and can ultimately deprive you of friends, connections and even romantic interests.

So if you have an opportunity to resolve issues or grudges with friends, take it. Being a Cornellian is a special thing, filled with special experiences and special people. It is too valuable to simply discard those that have helped make it that way.

Isaac Chasen is a senior in the Dyson School. He can be reached at idc28@cornell.edu.

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

Patti Varol and Joyce Nichols Lewis

Sundoku Puzzle 1922

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)

Turkish Delight

3 Bedroom Apartment Available for the 2023-2024 School Year beginning June 1st. Located in Sapsucker Woods near the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. The apartment includes heat, water & sewer, off street parking and snow removal. Tenants are responsible for electric and the internet. Coin operated laudry is available on site. Rent is $2,000/mo. If you have any questions or would like to schedule a tour contact us by email: renting@ithacaLS.com.

By Erica Hsiung Wojcik ©2023

Turkish Delight

414 Stewart Ave. 4, 6, 8, 10, 14 Bedrooms Free parking & laundry. Large kitchens. Updated bathrooms. Sunny. Call or text 607-227-1923

1 Bedroom Apartment Downtown Available Aug. 1 (or as early as June 1) Ideal for grad, staff or working professional. Upstairs apartment with full bath, living room, kitchen, bedroom and porch overlooking street. Quiet downtown area on Cascadila St. Bus stop in front of house to Commons, then CU campus. No undergrads, no smokers, no pets. References required. $1025/mo plus util. Info or appointment: email gm27@cornell.edu

Turkish Delight

Turkish Delight

Men’s Lacrosse

Men’s Lacrosse Tops Albany CJ Kirst scores six goals in frst game of season

In No. 2 men’s lacrosse’s return to action against the University at Albany, the stars showed up. On offense, junior attacker CJ Kirst led the way, picking up from where he left off last year with six goals. On the back end, it was senior goalkeeper Chayse Ierlan anchoring Cornell’s defense with 10 saves. In a game that had lead changes throughout, it was clutch play down the stretch in the fourth quarter that ultimately put the Red ahead for good, as it beat the Great Danes, 12-10.

The Red came out of the gate fast, looking to strike on its first possession of the game. After senior faceoff specialist Angelo Petrakis won the opening battle at the x, it was senior midfielder JJ Lombardi capitalizing on the offensive end to give Cornell its first goal of the season.

The Red added on to its lead at the midway point of the first quarter, and again it was Lombardi. Working in front of the goal, Lombardi got his defender to jump on a stick fake before burying it in the back of the net, putting Cornell up, 2-0.

back into the game. The Red won the ensuing faceoff, but a turnover from senior midfielder Aiden Blake set up the Great Danes’ transition offense. Graduate defenseman Elijah Gash forced the turnover and went coast-to-coast, scoring on the other end to cut the lead to 2-1.

Gash’s goal was the first of four for Albany, putting Cornell in a 4-2 hole heading to the end of the quarter. However, a key over-and-back turnover by the Great Danes’ with less than a minute left set up Kirst’s first goal of the season. The first quarter ended with the Red trailing, 4-3.

Kirst kept the momentum going into the second quarter, racking up two quick goals in the first four minutes. His third goal of the game came on a delayed penalty, allowing him to turn the corner from behind the net and fire into the bottom left corner.

The Red quickly regained a 5-4 lead.

Turnovers proved to be a problem for Cornell in the first half, as the team committed nine in the opening 30 minutes. Albany’s defense was successful in smothering the Red’s attack for the final 11 minutes of the second quarter.

The Great Danes, however, continued to score, tying the game up at five with just under seven minutes remaining. Senior attacker Graydon Hogg was able to find the near 90 from the left side of the field for the equalizer.

Despite the early lead, it did not take long for Albany to get right

With under a minute left in the half, the Red had an opportunity

to take the lead, but senior attacker Spencer Wirtheim had his shot saved. The Great Danes moved the ball into Cornell’s defensive end, and with five seconds on the game clock, took the lead. The Red went into the locker room trailing, 6-5.

The Red came out firing in the second half, as Kirst knotted the game up at six less than two minutes into the third quarter. The junior found space just inside the right pipe for his fourth of the day. Cornell took the lead a minute later behind a blast from junior midfielder Hugh Kelleher. Using his size and agility, Kelleher forced the defender off with a hitch-andgo before overpowering the Great Danes’ goalie to put the Red ahead.

It was a big third period for Ierlan, recording five saves to keep the Red in front. Albany was able to score on him once, but Cornell responded with Kirst’s fifth goal of the day.

With just over nine minutes left in the quarter, Kirst dove low towards the crease, shooting high past the Great Danes’ goalkeeper to put the Red backup, 8-7. The majority of the third period was a defensive battle, and Cornell took a one goal lead into the final 15.

By GRAYSON RUHL Sun Assistant Sports Editor Grayson Ruhl can be reached at gruhl@cornellsun.com.

It took less than a minute into the fourth quarter for Kirst to lock up a double hat trick. Wirtheim found Kirst cutting into open space in front of the net, who flicked it back across his body to put the Red up by two.

With just under 10 minutes left,

the Great Danes took the momentum right back, scoring a goal and drawing a penalty. Working with a man-up advantage on the ensuing possession, Albany was able to tie the game back up at nine.

The teams went back-and-forth throughout the fourth quarter. Cornell was able to regain the lead at the halfway mark behind senior attacker Billy Coyle’s first of the season.

Cornell kept up the pressure late in the game, as junior midfielder Andrew Dalton recovered a shot by junior midfielder Ryan Sheehan, shoveling the ball into an open net. The Red struck again just seven seconds later, as junior faceoff specialist Marc Psyllos won the faceoff and took it to the house to put Cornell up by three.

Tensions rose in the final two minutes of the game, with a skirmish breaking out in front of the Great Danes’ crease and penalties being given to both teams. With 90 seconds remaining, Albany was able to refocus and score, cutting Cornell’s lead to two.

The Great Danes won the following faceoff, but a forced turnover by senior attacker Brian Piatelli clinched the game for the Red. Cornell ran out the clock, winning the contest, 12-10.

The Red will play at home for the first time next Saturday, Feb. 25, when it hosts Lehigh (1-0). The game will be available on ESPN+.

Close call | Cornell lacrosse returned strong after a record-breaking season last year where the Red fell to Maryland in the NCAA Championship in May.