INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880
The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 135, No. 62
MONDAY, MARCH 4, 2019
n
12 Pages – Free
ITHACA, NEW YORK
Opinion
Arts
Sports
Weather
Onboard and Upward
Superlative Hip-Hop
Moving On
Chance Of Snow HIGH: 24º LOW: 9º
After eight hours of deliberation, The Sun elected its 137th editorial board on Saturday. | Page 8
Vince Staples performed an excellent show at the State Theatre Friday night, according to our reviewer. | Page 7
Women's hockey dominated RPI and ECAC quarterfinals, advancing to championship weekend. | Page 12
Chaplain Faces Sexual Abuse Allegation Lab Secures $68.9 Million By MARYAM ZAFAR and ROCHELLE LI Sun News Editors
SUN FILE PHOTO
Somber Sage | Father Daniel
Cornell University temporarily revoked all chaplain privileges for Reverend Carsten Martensen following an allegation against him of sexual abuse of a minor in the 1970s. Martensen has worked in campus ministries for Cornell University and Ithaca College since 2007, and “Any served as chaplain allegation at both instituof abuse is tions. Before noon troubling. on Sunday, Our Father Daniel McMullin told thoughts attendees of the are with 10:30 a.m. Mass our faith about an allecommunity.” gation against a Jesuit priest, who McMullin and he then named as Lombardi Martensen. Over 100 churchgoers in Sage Hall listened to the sermon, including undergraduate and graduate students as well as other local attendees. The USA Northeast Province of the Jesuits received an allegation
McMullin told yesterday's Mass attendees about the allegation.
against Martensen — former director and chaplain of Cornell Catholic — of sexual abuse of a minor, according to a press release from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester shared by Alice Soewito ’21, president of the Cornell Catholic. Community leadership team The allegation dates back to the 1970s, the Diocese said. Martensen has “stepped down” from all current assignments, the Diocese said. Martensen did not respond to requests for comment
New lab in Geneva to benefit grape research By JOHNATHAN STIMPSON Sun News Editor
by publication time. “Any allegation of abuse is troubling. Our thoughts are with our faith community and all who are impacted by this news,” wrote McLullin and Ryan Lombardi, vice president for student and campus life, in an email to the Cornell community. The University was informed of the allegation on Saturday, according to University spokesman John Carberry. See MARTENSEN page 5
New York’s grape industry won’t be going sour anytime soon, thanks to $68.9 million in funding secured to construct a new state-of-the-art research laboratory at Cornell’s Grape Genetic Research Unit. The group plans “to reduce losses to crop yield and quality that result from diseases, pests, and abiotic stress and improve grape and grape product quality and utilization,” according to its website. The Research Unit has long been located at Cornell’s Geneva, New York, AgriTech campus, a rural offshoot of
the University’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences that was founded over 100 years ago, according to the institution’s website. The nearly $70 million dollar sum will go to constructing a new laboratory at the same site. For the thousands of vineyards that line Cornell’s Finger Lakes hinterlands, grape-growing is no small business: The industry is estimated to generate over $4.8 billion in economic benefits for the Upstate New York region each year, according to the New York See GRAPES page 5
COURTESY OF CORNELL UNIVERSITY
Vine investment | Researchers in Cornell’s Grape Genetic Research Unit hope to increase vineyard yield.
Over 400 Students Donate Meal Swipes in Pilot Program By AMINA KILPATRICK Sun News Editor
The meal swipe program saw more than 400 students donating meals during the program’s first two weeks. Meal swipe donation tables were set up at eateries operated by Cornell Dining. Students had the opportunity to donate “bonus” meals they have on their meal plan, which range from 4 to 8 depending on the specific plan. Students are unable to donate meals from their regular meal plan because they are designated for individual use, according to Shakima M. Clency, director of first-generation and low-income student support. “Bonus” meal swipes are typ-
ically used for guest meal swipes. This program was launched on Feb. 4 and is a part of a nationwide organization, Swipe Out Hunger, that operates on college campuses. The leading aspect of the organization is for colleges to host “Swipe Drives” to recycle unused meal swipes and give them to students in need. According to Cornell Dining, 1 in 3 college students is food insecure. A university survey indicated that 20 percent of the student body “skipping a meal due to financial constraints.” Clency spearheaded this initiative in partnership with Cornell Dining. “We can now provide tempoSee SWIPES page 5
BENJAMIN PARKER / ASSISTANT PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Swipes soar | Students donated their “bonus” meal swipes as part of an initiative that looks to reduce the effects of food insecurity.
HIROKO MASUIKE / THE NEW YORK TIMES
Amity towards Amazon | President Pollack (inset) has signed an open letter asking Jeff Bezos to reconsider locating in Long Island City. Above, a crowd demonstrates against Amazon outside N.Y.C. City Hall on Jan. 30.
Pollack Signs Open Letter to Jeff Bezos By MARYAM ZAFAR Sun News Editor
“Dear Mr. Bezos,” began an open letter signed by President Martha Pollack imploring CEO Jeff Bezos to reconsider Queens, New York for the site of Amazon’s second headquarters. The letter — full of implorations that call New York City “dynamic” and “diverse” — is signed by around 80 business, government and local leaders. Pollack is one of a handful of signatories hailing from higher education, including a dean of Columbia University, the president of New York University and the president of LaGuardia College. Occupying a full-page advertisement in the main section of The New York Times, the authors
claimed that a “clear majority” of New Yorkers supported the tech giant’s once-prospective home in Long Island City in Queens. The ad was paid for by the Partnership for New York City, a select group of the “city’s business leadership and its largest private sector employers,” according to its site. Online book-buying site gone big, Amazon announced on Nov. 13 that it had chosen New York City to house its second headquarters a five-minute ferry ride away from the Cornell Tech campus on Roosevelt Island. “Although I have no insights into the Amazon board, it seems like it’s very likely that Cornell Tech See POLLACK page 5