4-8-19 full issue hi res

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INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880

The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 135, No. 74

MONDAY, APRIL 8, 2019

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16 Pages – Free

ITHACA, NEW YORK

News

Arts

Sports

Weather

Onwards to Vietnam

Diverse Options

Next Steps

Scattered Thunderstorms

SC Johnson College of Business Dean Rohit Verma will be heading a new Vietnamese university. | Page 3

The Royale is an “emotional boxing ring,” said Sun staff columnist Jeremiah LaCon ’21. | Page 9

Senior Matt Morgan, Cornell’s all-time leader scorer, declared for the NBA draft. | Page 15

HIGH: 72º LOW: 47º

LEFT: COURTESY OF FINGER LAKES TIMES; RIGHT: MARYAM ZAFAR / SUN CITY EDITOR

Buildings ablaze | Several structures at Cornell's Geneva campus caught fire on Saturday, leading to an investigation by federal authorities.

Blaze Strikes Buildings at Cornell’s Geneva Campus Greenhouse, headhouse, adjacent structure suffer major damage

By MARYAM ZAFAR Sun City Editor

A fire broke out at Cornell’s Geneva AgriTech campus Saturday evening, damaging a greenhouse, the headhouse and the adjacent building. The campus was reopened Sunday morning, although the burnt buildings were taped off. "There was considerable damage to the building, but no one was injured,” Director of Cornell AgriTech Jan

Nyrop said in a statement Saturday night. A video of the fire recorded by Code 35 Fire Photography showed thick, gray smoke surrounding flames adjacent to a greenhouse around 7 p.m. on Saturday. The fire spread throughout the building, the greenhouse and the headhouse. The cause of the fire remains unknown. Erin Flynn, manager of marketing and communications at Cornell AgriTech, told The Sun that because the damaged building was owned by the United State

Department of Agriculture, the investigation would be carried out by federal authorities. According to Flynn, only USDA staff worked in the building, not Cornell employees. Flynn said she went to the site Sunday afternoon around 3 p.m. and was told by the State Fire unit that the ATF would be conducting the investigation. “He said the ATF was supposed to investigate. He had See FIRE page 4

Gordon Caplan ’88 Pleads Guilty in Admission Scandal Allegedly paid $75K to rig daughter’s scores By MARYAM ZAFAR Sun City Editor

Gordon Caplan ’88 said he would plead guilty on Friday afternoon to criminal charges

SARAH RICE / THE NEW YORK TIMES

Caplan test prep | Caplan ’88 allegedly paid scandal ringleader William Singer almost $80K.

that emerged in the college admissions scandal that alleged Caplan of paying $75,000 to rig his daughter’s ACT score. “I take full and sole responsibility for my conduct and I am deeply ashamed of my behavior and my actions,” Caplan said in an emailed statement distributed by his lawyer. “I apologize not only to my family, friends, colleagues and the legal Bar, but also to students everywhere who have been accepted to college through their own hard work.” The lawyer also expressed that his daughter, a high school junior, had “no knowledge whatsoever” about the scheme that he used to up her ACT score. FBI documents said that last June, scheme coordinator William Singer urged Caplan to petition for extended test-taking time for his daughter. In July, transcripts showed Caplan and See CAPLAN page 4

CAMERON POLLACK / SUN FILE PHOTO

Three times Nine | The Nines property, formerly the deep-dish pizza restaurant and Collegetown fixture for 40 years, was sold to developers as part of the owners’ retirement plans.

The Nines Sold in $3 Million Dollar Deal By SARAH SKINNER Sun Managing Editor

The property at 311 College Avenue — the former home of the beloved Nines restaurant — sold Tuesday in a $3 million deal between its longtime owners and developers John Novarr ’77 and Phil Proujansky, the Ithaca Times reported. Co-owners Mark Kielmann ’72 and Harold Schultz ran the business for almost 40 years, serving up deep-dish pizza and trivia nights to

students and local Ithacans alike. Their retirement plans — sale of the property for housing development to Visum, another local developer — were pushed back, however, after the Ithaca Landmarks Preservation Commission filed a proposal to designate the property as a historic landmark in 2017. If designated, the building would have been preserved as is, requiring ILPC approval for any outside changes. The debate led to a months-long battle that ended in a mayoral tie-break against pres-

ervation at the Common Council last June and a go-ahead to sell the property on the commercial market. The $3 million price is the same figure that Kielmann said was offered to him by Visum Development prior to the landmarking push, Kielmann told the Ithaca Voice last year. Public records show that the property was assessed in 2019 at a $850,000 value. The land itself was See NINES page 4


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