INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880
The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 137, No. 52
TUESDAY, APRIL 13, 2021
n
8 Pages – Free
ITHACA, NEW YORK
News
Arts
Science
Weather
Wheel of Fortune
Deja Vu
Limited Resources
Partly Sunny
Alena Reed ’22 will spin the Wheel of Fortune on national television later this week. | Page 3
Rising star Olivia Rodrigo proves she is not a one-hit wonder with a new smash song “Deja Vu.” | Page 4
An inequitable distribution of natural resources could damage planet health in the face of a growing population. | Page 8
HIGH: 63º LOW: 45º
Missing Cornell First Year Student Shawn West Found Dead on Friday Campus remembers 18-year-old coder and game developer By MARYAM ZAFAR
Lombardi shared. After he was reported missing Wednesday afternoon, the Cornell University Police Department searched the After more than a day of search, Shawn West ’24 was area with the Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office, the found unresponsive in a dorm room on Friday afternoon. Ithaca Fire Department and Cornell Botanic Gardens staff, The first-year’s death was shared in a Saturday email to according to CUPD Chief David Honan. campus; he was last seen Tuesday morning in Ujamaa “On behalf of the Cornell community, I extend my Residential College, the North Campus program house deepest and heartfelt condolences to Shawn’s parents and where he lived. The University did not share whether the family, including his sister who is a Cornell alumna, as well cause of West’s death is known. as his friends and peers. Please keep them in your thoughts West was reported missing by a parent in New York during this difficult time,” Lombardi wrote. City on Wednesday afternoon, according to a Thursday The Baker Flagpole flew at half-staff on Friday and campus-wide statement Saturday, after West was from Ryan Lombardi, Vice announced missing on “I extend my deepest and heartfelt President for Student and Thursday. Residents in Campus Life. Ujamaa were informed of condolences to Shawn’s parents and family, West, an 18-year-old his death earlier on Friday including his sister who is a Cornell alumna.” afternoon, according to student in the College of Arts and Sciences, studmultiple students present. Ryan Lombardi ied computer science. On Students gathered physically campus, he was a resident together, and also had an in Ujamaa, a multi-year option to gather virtually for residential community for Black Cornellians. West support, Lombardi said. hailed from Brooklyn, New York, and graduated from “[We] provided support in person and virtually to try the Beacon School, according to his profile. West had to make sure those that were closest to Shawn had the been a Code Next fellow at Google before attending support they needed in the moment of learning of his Cornell. passing,” Lombardi told The Sun. The University delayed “He was a promising young computer coder, who a public announcement of the student death at the request enjoyed developing video games, refurbishing vintage of West’s family. game consoles and was interested in the human impacts This is the fourth unexpected student death in the past of technology and the relationships between users and school year. At the end of the fall semester, chemistry and devices,” Lombardi wrote in a Saturday statement. “He chemical biology Ph.D. student Wai Hang (Will) Lee died also enjoyed photography and composing poetry on an old unexpectedly; in December, environment and sustainabilRoyal typewriter.” ity student KAR Robison ’22 died unexpectedly. Health West was involved in several clubs on campus, includ- care policy student Matthew Crovella ’23 died unexpecting the Office of Spirituality and Meaning-Making, the Skateboarding Club and Zen Meditation at Cornell, See WEST page 3 Sun Senior Writer
HANNAH ROSENBERG / SUN PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Campus mourns | The Baker Flagpole flag flies at half-staff last weekend in honor of West ’24.
REACH Vaccinates Admitted Students Visit Campus Despite COVID-19 risks, visitors flock to the Hill Unhoused Ithacans By SARAH YOUNG
By FAITH FISHER Sun Staff Writer
REACH Medical has lived up to its name in the COVID19 vaccine rollout, reaching underserved populations in Tompkins County to administer vaccines. Working in tandem, REACH Medical and the Tompkins County Health Department have led the effort to bring vaccines to unhoused people in the county and other transient populations. With the additional support of community outreach organizations over the past eight weeks, they have vaccinated over 120 vulnerable Ithacans. TCHD provides REACH
with vaccines, and the nonprofit creates a sign-up list for vaccines administered on a first-come, first-serve basis at pop-up clinics across the county — in collaboration with other organizations like St. John’s Community Services and Lehman Alternative Community School. St. John’s Community Services, the main shelter contracted through the Department of Social Services in Tompkins County, is at the center of this community effort. A hub for Ithaca’s unhoused populations, the shelter provides advocacy and support services for people to attain a better quality of life See REACH page 2
Sun Staff Writer
In a pre-pandemic semester, the most familiar sights of spring were cherry blossoms blooming and backwards-walking students leading hordes of prospective students eager to get a taste of Cornell campus life. While the cherry blossoms are in full bloom, the University has temporarily placed tours on hold in order to limit the number of outsiders present on campus and keep the student body safe. Recently, however, students have observed groups of high schoolers and parents taking part in
JULIA NAGEL / SUN ASSISTANT PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
in
Cherry blossoms | As the campus blooms, visitors congregate. personal campus visits unaffiliated with the Cornell touring service. Rebekah Rendino ’23 described a personal
encounter with an unapproved tour group on campus. “I remember just random people coming to campus without
masks. It was really frustrating,” she said. Current Cornell visitor See VISITS page 3