INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880
The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 137, No. 56
THURSDAY, APRIL 29, 2021
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8 Pages – Free
ITHACA, NEW YORK
News
Dining
Sports
Weather
Commencement
Meal Delivery
New Podcast
Rain Again
Seniors react to annoucement of an in-person, but reduced ceremony.
Smith ‘21 reflects on her experience using two popular meal delivery services.
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The Big Red Sports Network’s new podcast highlights experiences of underrepresented student athletes. | Page 8
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HIGH: 60º LOW: 47º
C.U. Vaccinates Nearly 700 at Campus Clinic By MIHIKA BADJATE
throughout the vaccination process and their efforts to address all of his concerns. “The experience has been great — from the moment I came in here, I Walking out the doors of Bartels gym after receiving their first was greeted by the staff, everything went smoothly, the staff did it diligentdoses, some students danced with joy, others heaved sighs of relief ly, took time for me to go into all the questions, make sure everything was and many simply continued on their way, treating it as just another correct,” Trinh said. “I really commend the staff here for their overwhelming effort to help us with this program.” stop on a busy day. Many students found the convenience of the On April 23, the first day of the Wellness Weekend, the University administered the first “You’ve just got to set your fear clinic being on campus during a day-off to be an dose of the Moderna COVID vaccine to nearly aside if you want to be around incentive to get their shot. According to Anne Jones ’04, Cornell Health Director of Medical Services 700 students in Bartels Hall in partnership with your loved ones.” and COVID Public Health Officer, the clinic dates Tompkins County Health Department and were carefully planned to avoid conflicting with Cayuga Health. Tammy Decker exams and normal class schedules. Tammy Decker, a Cornell employee who “I work in a campus lab and it’s hard for me to works as a COVID-19 surveillance test admintravel elsewhere during workdays or weekends,” said istrator, was one of the people dancing. Decker was initially hesitant to get the vaccine due to her fear of needles, but Amy Tsai, grad. “I have friends who drove to Syracuse and Binghamton was driven to get her shot after being away from her grandmother — to get the vaccine but I was, like, ‘I’d just rather wait.’ I was really happy that they decided to do a pop-up on campus.” who has end-stage dementia — for a year. Jules Nshimiye ’22, who is required to get vaccinated for his summer “You’ve just got to set your fear aside if you want to be around your loved ones,” Decker said. “Do it — while you get a little achy, it’s better internship, found the Wellness Days to be a convenient time to get it than getting COVID; it’s better than having the real thing. So I’ll take done. While he was initially worried that side effects from the vaccine whatever comes with this, and I will just keep on pushing.” See CLINIC page 3 Jack Trinh ’21 was grateful for the support of the medical staff Sun Assistant News Editor
HANNAH ROSENBERG / SUN PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Vaccines | Students flocked to Bartels Hall Friday for their first vaccine dose.
Wellness days
COVID Weekly Update: Is Campus in the Clear? By ANIL OZA Sun Assistant Managing Editor
For the past school year, students, professors and faculty have been refreshing Cornell’s COVID dashboard, eager to know if cases are surging or sliding, if courses would remain in-person or return behind a screen. But with nearly half of those on campus now vaccinated and weeks of low case counts, those days could soon be over. After a month of climbing COVID cases that reached a record high number of new daily cases on campus since reopening, widespread vaccinations on campus and warmer weather that has allowed for socializing outdoors have coincided with dwindling case levels.
Throughout March, Cornell reported 314 cases — a case level that led the University to move to the yellow alert level and transition one Cornell academic program to virtual instruction. From April 1 to April 27, the University reported 47 cases on its COVID-19 tracking dashboard, and nearly half of the campus community is vaccinated — a leap toward a fall semester once again filled with packed lecture halls with clanging keyboards. Since the beginning of April, cases have also dropped in Tompkins County, which is more than 40 percent vaccinated according to the Tompkins County Health Department. Cases peaked See COVID page 3
HANNAH ROSENBERG / SUN PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Students flock outside to enjoy their wellness day weekend with outdoor games and activities on the Arts Quad.
S.A. Elections Resume: How to Vote By ANGELA BUNAY Sun Assistant News Editor
JULIA NAGEL / SUN ASSISTANT PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Fewer cases | After record-high numbers, campus COVID cases have begun to decline.
Voting for Student Election Day began on Wednesday at 2 p.m. for Student-Elected Trustee, the 2021 Student Assembly and the Class Councils. The opening of voting comes a full day after it was intended to, following technical difficulties with the voting website. In the Student Assembly, there are 11 contested races and seven uncontested races. Six students are running for Student-Elected Trustee, the highest governing office. The student elected to this position will serve as a full-voting member of the Cornell University Board of Trustees for a two-year term, from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2023. Students can access their ballots by logging onto vote.assembly.cornell.edu. The personal statement
for each of the candidates is linked to their name on the ballot. Uncontested races and those with only two candidates for one open position are unranked, meaning voters will select the candidate of their choice. Races with one open position and three or more candidates are ranked. Students will be asked to rank as many candidates as they like in order of preference on their ballots. If a student only votes for a candidate who is eliminated because they received the least votes, the student’s vote will not count for that race. However, the rest of the ballot will be counted as normal. Once a ballot is submitted, the voter will receive a confirmation notice on their screen and by email. Voting closes on Friday, April 30 at 5 p.m. Angela Bunay can be reached at abunay@cornellsun.com.