INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880
The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 128, No. 92
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2012
n
ITHACA, NEW YORK
16 Pages – Free
Students Delay Legal Careers Amid job crunch, fewer recent alumni pursue law after graduation By JUSTIN ROULLIER
cent of the students that the Cornell Law School admits have three or more years of work experience. That seems to be true at The number of Cornell undergraduates many others schools.” enrolling in law school immediately after One student who felt pressure to defer graduation has decreased 44 percent over the law school was Emily Cusick ’12, an ILR stulast five years, according to data released by dent and the president of Kappa Alpha Pi, a the University’s Career Services Office. pre-law fraternity at Cornell. In 2007, 5.9 percent of the University’s “Some of the pre-law students in my fragraduating class went to law school in the fall ternity have just decided to do banking for after graduation, while only 3.3 percent of the next couple years,” Cusick said. “They the Class of 2011 attended law school the get these lucrative banking offers, and they subsequent year, just can’t say according to Jane “Some of the pre-law students in my no. A year off Levy, senior assowould probaciate director of fraternitiy have just decided to do bly deter me Cornell Career banking for the next couple of years.” from law. Services. There would Within the Emily Cusick ’12 be no impetus School of to go to law Industrial and Labor Relations, the decline school, so I’m going to law school next year has been even steeper, according to Harry just to make sure that at the end of the day I Katz, dean of ILR. Twenty-six percent of the become a lawyer.” ILR Class of 2007 enrolled in law school for Katz cited the economic downturn as the academic year following graduation, another factor causing the trend. compared to only 12 percent of the class of “The cost of law school has gone up and 2011 –– an almost 54-percent decrease. the number of job opportunities has gone Katz noted, however, that only students down,” he said. “People may be discouraged who enroll in law school for the semester to hear of the more limited hiring going on after they graduate are included in the data. in major law firms after the 2008 financial “Law schools increasingly encourage stu- crisis.” dents to work before they go on to law According to Richard Geiger, associate school,” Katz said. “The dean of the law school, Stewart Schwab, tells me that 50 perSee LAW page 5
Sun Staff Writer
News In the Q C.U. students attended the IvyQ conference at Brown University this weekend. | Page 3
News The Power of Pride African American city officials discuss the importance of leadership.
LAUREN BIGALOW / SUN PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Late night lunch | Students anxiously wait for their food at Louie’s Lunch on North Campus. The city recently assessed an annual $2,153 fee on all food trucks.
Cornell’s Famed Hot Trucks Fight New Municipal Fee By DAVID FISCHER Sun Staff Writer
There’s no such thing as a free lunch, the owners of Cornell’s historic food trucks may be discovering soon. The owners of Louie’s Lunch and the Hot Truck appealed an annual $2,153 fee assessed for the first time last summer, by the Board of Public Works. On Feb. 27, the board will decide
whether or not the truck owners will have to pay the fee, proposed by the board in response to a state audit that indicated the two trucks were selling on city streets without properly paying the city. Albert Smith, the owner of the Hot Truck, and Ronald Beck, the owner of Louie’s Lunch, have both filed appeals
Despite Snow, Chili Cook-Off Heats Up Downtown By TAJWAR MAZHAR Sun Staff Writer
Offering more than 55 varieties of mouthwatering chili prepared by local eateries, Saturday’s annual Great Chili Cook-Off was the event’s largest “Chili Fest” yet. The day’s weather fluctuated between snow, rain and shine, but
did not discourage the community’s enthusiasm for the chili, cheese and cornbread provided by businesses such as D.P. Dough, Stella’s Restaurant and Viva Taqueria, among many others. “That’s Ithaca for you!” Patty Clark, event manager for the Downtown Ithaca Alliance, exclaimed at one point, as the pour-
ing rain abruptly gave way to sunshine. “We got all kinds of weather this year ... but I guess it didn’t work against us the whole time,” Clark said. The 14th Chili Fest drew more than 5,000 visitors over the course of the day, according to Clark, who said that an increase in vendors this
| Page 3
Arts Totally Clueless The Sun explains why teen movies cannot substitute for a real social life. | Page 10
Opinion Just Friends? Christina Stiller ’12 asks whether men and women can ever be truly platonic. | Page 7
Sports Bye, Bye, Bye Men’s Hockey won a bye through the first round of the ECAC playoffs. | Page 16
Weather Chance of Showers HIGH: 46 LOW: 27
See HOT TRUCKS page 4
DYLAN CLEMENS / SUN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Chili for the chilly | Cornell students serve chili during Ithaca’s 14th annual Great Chili Cook-Off on Saturday. The event drew more than 5,000 attendees over the course of the day.
year prevented lines for chili from becoming unbearable. “The chili lines were a lot shorter this year,” Clark said. “Because we had so many entries, there were different places to spread people out.” GreenStar Cooperative Market, a Chili Fest fixture, gave out 15 gallons, or 1,300 cups, of chili on Saturday, according to Debbie Lazinsky, who works in the grocery store’s marketing department. Lazinsky emphasized the importance of Chili Fest for the business’ visibility. “We saw a lot of people that I don’t feel are regular customers, so it is great exposure for us,” Lazinsky said. GreenStar won third place in the vegetarian category for its chili, which is made with local black beans. “GreenStar is all about good, healthy food,” Lazinsky said. “Any chance we have to go into the community and serve healthy, homemade food is great for us.” Collegetown Bagels took the prize for best vegetarian chili, while best meat chili went to Razorback BBQ and Red Jacket Orchard walked away with first, second and third place in the category for best local beverage. Jeff McCall, from the New Roots Charter School, cooked in Chili Fest for the first time this year after moving from Texas. He said that he See CHILI page 5