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The Cornell Daily Sun (https://cornellsun.com/2000/10/26/surf-advisory/)

October 26, 2000

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Surf Advisory

By ryan | October 26, 2000

Before undertaking the arduous task of writing about the ten best web sites, we realized that we would have to invest hours of research into identifying the sites that would most successfully quench the web surfing needs of college life. We prepared ourselves with a box of Wheat-thins, some salsa, and a case of Woodchuck Cider and sat ourselves down for an elongated cruise on the Internet ocean.

The Internet is truly everywhere, and since there is a site for all your carnal needs, and only 48 inches of writing space to tell you about them, it was decided to include only the top sites in Media Information, Retail Shopping, Online Auctioning, Occupation finding, Dorm Room Decorating, Alcohol Consuming, Movie Trivia, 80’s Nostalgia, Streaming Radio, and General Mayhem.

Armed with Ethernet connections, you have all been planted on the cyber battlefield to navigate at a blitzkrieg speed from site to site, taking away from each IP address a new level of understanding and/or a good nudie pic. That being said, the top ten college web sites for you are …

IMDB.com

So it’s 3 a.m. and you can’t sleep because you can’t remember the name of the girl who kept saying “Indy

Related

Hillel Head Urges C.U. Jewish Community to Develop Identity

By ryan October 27, 2000

Members of the Cornell community gathered yesterday in Statler Hall to hear Richard Joel, president and international director of Hillel, discuss “Creating a Passionate and Purposeful Jewish Community at Cornell.” The lecture highlighted what Joel outlined as a need to motivate Jewish students on campus in order to become more involved in realizing and celebrating their Jewish identity. Susan Cohen ’02, Hillel co-president, noted Joel’s appeal to a college audience. “Right now Cornell Hillel is trying to grow bigger and better, and hopefully through the help of motivational people like Richard Joel, we can fulfill that goal. We want the Cornell community mobilized and motivated,” Cohen said. After a brief introduction and general statements about the Jewish community, Joel spoke about Cornell Hillel. “When you walk into Anabel Taylor [Hall], you see a real Hillel center,” he said. Joel suggested that the University has a unique opportunity for student leaders to engage the campus in Jewish activity. “I hope [these students] will take the time to see that this is a healthy place to launch campus activities,” he said. After praising the Cornell Hillel community, Joel adopted a more skeptical tone. “We’re tired of people saying that no one is involved,” Joel said. “We need to look at every Jew and realize that most people have not had the opportunity to feel a sense of pride in their Jewishness outside of the home.” As a solution to this problem he added, “If we want our children to have a Jewish background, we have to give them a Jewish playground.” Joel emphasized community, such as the student groups at Cornell, which provide a means for students to share their experiences. “There has never been a time when Americans have felt more unidentified and alone. Nobody knows anyone else’s names and it has forced many to ask the question ‘What is this journey really all about?'” To illustrate this dilemma, Joel cited the popularity of the television series, “Survivor.” “The goal of the game is to scam,” he said of the game show. “If you can scam everyone, you get a million dollars … and the reward is that you get to be alone on an island.” Hoping to bring the Jewish Renaissance to a more local level, Joel said, “It’s our responsibility to show students that the program is valuable and that being Jewish is an option, not a condition.” Following the lecture, Vally Kovary, Cornell Hillel Executive Director expressed her satisfaction with the outcome, and especially pointed out the diverse audience in attendance. University trustees and council members were among the crowd. “This is the first time that [the various leaders] really came together to look forward in a coordinated effort,” Kovary said. Hillel Vice President of Social Programming Yonina Fishof ’02 said, “I think that Richard Joel really got his point across: the need to work towards creating an active and purposeful Jewish community. He set out some nice goals for us and we will continue on our path of improving interest in the activity of Hillel on the Cornell campus.”Archived article by Aylin Tanyeri
Texaco Officer Discusses Diversity

By ryan October 27, 2000

Before a major lawsuit in 1996, employee diversity was not a major concern at Texaco. Now the global oil corporation includes diversity as one of its foremost business strategies. In a lecture yesterday in Ives Hall, Texaco’s diversity officer Angela Vallot discussed the company’s progressive policies towards creating a multicultural work environment. Her lecture “Diversity at Texaco” was the second event in a four-part series, entitled “Leadership and Diversity in Corporate America.” Approximately 50 people attended the talk. Before the speech, Vallot discussed the merger Texaco plans with Chevron during a lunch with Provost Biddy (Carolyn) A. Martin, students and a number of faculty members. After the 1996 class-action lawsuit filed by a number of Texaco’s minority employees, the company initiated a five-year diversity plan. “In 1996, Texaco experienced a serious diversity-related incident that resulted in settlement of a discrimination suit of approximately $176 million. Due to the bottom-line impact of the settlement along with federal mandate, Texaco established a task force for equality and fairness to deal with diversity management issues at the organization,” said speech organizer Prof. Quinetta Roberson, human resources. Following the lawsuit settlement, Texaco hired Vallot to organize all the diversity efforts involving minorities and women. She proceeded to help implement an intensive five-year plan to increase diversity within the corporation. The plan is based on three main points including workforce goals, workplace initiatives and business partnerships with vendors and buyers, Vallot explained. The corporation also brought together seven individuals to serve on a newly created task force addressing equality and fairness. Vallot explained that this committee was designed to be a separate entity from Texaco, and therefore they would have a more objective stance when enforcing and studying the company’s multicultural goals. Before the landmark lawsuit, Texaco had no department of diversity, Vallot said. Throughout her speech Vallot stressed the importance of setting goals. “Nothing is going to happen if you aren’t setting goals, and there’s got to be some accountability for attaining those goals,” Vallot said. She explained how her program is based upon continual reinforcement of an open and comfortable community among the Texaco employees. The diversity officers have sought new employees from every culture and of every race, color and creed. “One of Texaco’s five key business strategies is to have a diverse workforce with women, Asians, Native Americans, African Americans and other minorities. Diversity is a means of enhancing our global competitiveness,” she said. A member of the audience inquired as to whether the now more diverse corporation has benefited financially as a result of their more heterogeneous employees. “I wish I could say we are experiencing the highest earnings in dollars and cents as a result of our growing diversity, but I can’t. Our recent success is because of the rise in oil prices, as I’m sure you’re all aware,” Vallot said. “We believe promoting diversity makes us a better, smarter company,” she added. The speech was organized by Roberson and Prof. Ralph Christy, agriculture and life sciences. The four-part series will continue in February when a representative from the Corning corporation visits campus. The series will conclude in April with a speaker from Chase Manhattan Bank. “The series is designed for students interested in management and marketing and is intended to stress the importance of interaction and embracing diversity in the future of business,” Christy said. In her closing remark Vallot said, “At Texaco we understand that diversity is not a destination, but a journey.” Archived article by Christen Eddy