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The Cornell Daily Sun (https://cornellsun.com/2000/09/21/cornellians-to-travel-to-d-c-in-support-of-vieques/)

September 21, 2000

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Cornellians to Travel to D.C. in Support of Vieques

By ryan | September 21, 2000

Eleven students will be traveling to Washington D.C. this weekend to lend their support to the Puerto Rican National Coalition’s Annual Conference and solidarity demonstration for the people of Vieques, an island in Puerto Rico, on Sept. 21-22.

The Conference will focus on a variety of issues surrounding Puerto Rico including education in the territory, budget issues, congressional issues, and public health issues discussed by panelists from Vieques.

Vieques has been a site for Navy test bombing. Two years ago civilian David Sanes Rodriguez was accidentally killed by the bombing. Puerto Rican residents have complained about the high levels of radiation on the island and the destruction of natural vegetation and wildlife.

“We hope this will give students a greater awareness of the situation on Vieques,” said TJ Carrizales ’01, Program Director for the Latino Living Center.

The group going to D.C. comprises students from several different organizations as well as some Ithaca residents. Cornell groups represented include the Puerto Rican student group La Voz Boriken, La Asociaci

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C.U. Gives Napster Response Today

By ryan September 22, 2000

Today, Cornell will release its response to the request by two musical groups to limit student access to the Napster file sharing service on the University server. Lawyers for musicians Metallica and Dr. Dre, who challenged Napster in April, wrote to President Hunter R. Rawlings III and 19 other universities around the nation last week. In the letter, they set today as a deadline for a response. A 1etter containing Cornell’s response is currently being reviewed by administrators, who are likely to send it tomorrow, according to University Council James Mingle. Mingle would not comment on the contents of the University’s response. “We are examining the issue on its merits,” Mingle said. “I imagine that other universities will be going both ways on the issue … some will move to suspend [Napster access], but then there are others that will not.” Although Cornell has yet to release its decision regarding Napster use on campus, several other universities have already announced their positions. Penn State took action a week after receiving the letter. Yesterday, the administration informed their students that the university can suspend computer accounts of anyone who uses websites and programs like Napster that infringe upon copyrighted works through the university network, according to the Penn State Daily Collegian.. Brown University attempted to block Napster access on January 26 due to bandwidth concerns. However, students have still been able to access the site since Wednesday without Brown’s approval, according to the Brown Daily Herald. Concern over possible legal action against universities has made Napster and MP3 file sharing an issue of debate on campuses. But as students grow more defensive of their right to download music online, universities still remain unsure of their legal position, which will not be clear until the suit against Napster is resolved. By sending letters, the lawyers have increased the concerns of university administrators. Metallica and Dr. Dre listed three universities as defendants in a suit against Napster. The lawyers claimed that University of Southern California, Yale University and Indiana University should be held liable for copyright infringement for their “knowing facilitation of the massive copyright infringements occurring through Napster,” according to lawyer Howard King. These universities all decided to restrict access by their students to Napster shortly after the suit was filed. Cornell does comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which protects copyrighted material on the internet. The act provides protection for internet service providers who satisfy certain requirements, such as responding to complaints of infringement, according to Assistant University Council Patricia McClary. “I believe that Cornell does satisfy the requirements and therefore has that protection,” McClary said.Archived article by Eve Steele
Rawlings, Martin, Faculty Discuss Salary Issues

By ryan September 22, 2000

President Hunter R. Rawlings III and Provost Biddy (Carolyn A.) Martin held a question and answer session yesterday with faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences to address the proposed faculty salary plan. The financial policies committee of the Faculty Senate and an ad hoc committee from the arts college has worked with administrators over the past year to identify a salary goal based on peer institutions. The plan is to increase salaries over the next five years in the endowed colleges and over six years in the statutory colleges. Some lecturers and senior lecturers, however, expressed concern at the meeting that the plan is aimed primarily at tenured professors. “We have faculty who bring us some very good ideas; these faculty cost something,” Rawlings told faculty. “The proper goal was that Cornell should reach the median of peer groups over a period of time,” Rawlings explained. “The endowed colleges have, over the past five years, oscillated around 90 percent of the median. Now we have to try to move that from 90 percent to 100 percent.” The plan, though, will not target individual professors, but the average of salary. Deans in each college will maintain discretion in determining salaries for individual faculty. Moreover, the proposal does not account for salary raises for faculty members who are not tenured professors. “It’s a different set of issues, that doesn’t mean it’s a less important issue,” Rawlings said. “I do believe that our first faculty meeting will be open to further discussion,” said Phillip E. Lewis, the Harold Tanner dean of the arts college, addressing lecturers who attended the meeting. The principle sources of revenue for the increase include a pay-out from the endowment, as well as tuition increases. An addition of $150 million dollars to the endowment will be used both to cover the salary raises and an increase in financial aid. “I’m very confident that this plan will succeed financially,” Rawlings said. Members of the ad hoc committee also expressed confidence in the proposal at the meeting. “We do remember the day that the administration said something different than what they had been,” said Prof. R. Laurence Moore, history. “We’re pleased with our success in terms of getting a commitment toward a goal.”Archived article by Beth Herskovits