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The Cornell Daily Sun (https://cornellsun.com/2001/10/05/non-violence-group-engages-in-peace-out/)

October 5, 2001

Uncategorized

Non-Violence Group Engages in 'Peace Out'

By wpengine | October 5, 2001

A small but enthusiastic group camped out last night on Ho Plaza to promote the idea of peaceful justice following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York City, Washington, D.C. and in Pennsylvania.

Sitting in a circle, the core group varied from ten to 40 people, but several people stopped throughout the night to talk about the attack and issues surrounding it.

The organizer of the “Camp-out for Dialogue about Peaceful Justice,” Dana Brown ’02 said that the purpose of the night was to promote dialogue and education.

“We want to be a space where we can work through it together

Students Support N.Y. Relief Efforts By Donating a Meal

By wpengine October 10, 2001

Students who still want to help out with the New York City relief efforts can sign up at dining facilities campuswide to donate Friday’s meal plan dinner to the United Way Sept. 11 Fund. The deadline for this unprecedented program is tonight. After weeks of negotiating and organizing with New York State tax attorneys and Cornell Dining representatives, members of the Student Assembly (S.A.) put the program into place Oct. 2. The original deadline for signing up was moved from last Friday to today in an attempt to increase participation after a long week of prelims and fall break, according to Johann Chau ’02, a member of the Committee on Dining Services. The program is the brainchild of Niharika Samtani ’02, who contacted Nadeem Siddiqui, director of dining services, to use the meal plan to help New Yorkers in need after last month’s terrorist attacks. Samtani did not return calls for comment. “This entire fundraising endeavor is the epitome of how accommodating Cornell Dining is,” said Esther Tang ’04, chair of the S.A. Committee on Dining Services. “I come from the Student Assembly side, so I am virtually unbiased when I make this judgment. There aren’t that many other places in this University where student voices are taken quite so seriously and ideas with merit are quickly ensued by action. Not only are our tax attorneys making an exception of a lifetime to make this project fly, but dining staff are also stepping up to the call, going the extra mile where they can.” Siddiqui, who is involved with the Committee on Dining Services, supported the program throughout its development. “We’re really excited that this was able to happen,” he said. “Cornell has to be on that top level; we have to do things differently [than other schools].” According to an Oct. 3 New York Times report, the University hopes 3,000 students will give up their dinner. The donated funds, according to Michael Matly ’03, vice-president of public relations of the S.A., will come from the money saved from food not purchased, amounting to approximately $2.50 per donated meal. Organizers still do not know which halls will close; Matly projected two to three closed facilities, with possibilities including Okenshield’s and Risley. “We should hopefully raise $20,000,” he said. “I think [which dining halls close] will depend on how many students sign up.” Dining hall employees will still receive compensation on Friday. “They have the option of either working another dining hall or not at all, but they will definitely get paid,” Matly said. He also hopes that Cornell will not be the only university to go to such lengths for disaster relief. “Hopefully we’ll set a precedent for other universities to jump on the bandwagon,” he said. While organizers are optimistic about the response, many students interviewed had not heard about the program as of Friday afternoon before fall break. “I heard nothing about it,” Kristen Massaro ’04 said. “Maybe that’s because I live in Collegetown, but there should be something posted.” Kathy Partridge, assistant manager of Trillium, added that sign-up sheets were only posted last Thursday at Trillium cash registers. Students participate by placing their name and student ID numbers on these sign-up sheets, which are located at dining halls around campus. “I think it’s a wonderful idea, and we’ll promote it throughout the day,” she said. None of the S.A. members interviewed knew anything about the delay at Trillium. “Maybe … each individual dining hall didn’t [start participating] as quickly as they should have,” Chau said. Michael Van Wert ’05 heard about the program through a petition. “It’s no skin off my back,” he said. “I’d love to help someone in need. Especially in this kind of tragedy, it’s the least you can do to bring love and warmth to these people.” Archived article by Andy Guess
eCornell Holds First Courses

By wpengine October 10, 2001

eCornell, the University’s wholly owned for-profit distance learning corporation, was controversial from the onset, as critics accused the University of blurring the distinction between academic prestige and financial gain. But with the first round of courses launched over the summer and the second round set to begin next month, talk about eCornell has quieted around campus, as downturns in the economy have threatened the fate of distance learning programs at other universities. J. Robert Cooke, dean of the University faculty, said the Faculty Senate’s complaints were largely reconciled after the Board of Trustees voted last spring for Cornell to fund eCornell as a non-credit, non-degree program. “The serious hot button issue” had been whether Cornell could safeguard the quality of its distance learning programs, Cooke said. “The faculty members were greatly relieved that the funding for eCornell is coming from University sources, because that means the academic reputation won’t be compromised,” he added. Cornell has agreed to spend $36 million on eCornell over the next three years. Founded in September 2000, eCornell targets professionals who are early to midway through their careers and need to advance their job training. The courses are offered in areas where Cornell has a distinct professional reputation, according to Roy Swanson, vice president for business development and corporate sales for eCornell’s Manhattan office. “We’re not pursuing some pie-in-the-sky project to recreate the University online,” Swanson said. “eCornell is targeting specialized areas with strong existing market demand.” eCornell began its first round of course offerings over the summer with the Hospital for Special Surgery at the Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College in New York City. 100 people registered for the two courses: Orthopaedic Conditions and Osteoporosis, each costing less than $100. Beginning on Nov. 1, eCornell is offering an online Human Resources Studies certificate program, with other certificate programs and courses slated for next year. Courses set to debut in the coming months include Human Resources and the Law, Fundamentals of Employee Benefits and Salary Administration. These courses, which are longer in duration, will cost several hundred dollars. The start date for the second round of courses was delayed one month due to the Sept. 11 tragedy, which temporarily put the eCornell office out of commission, according to Swanson. This delay comes significantly at a time when the economy has hit a downturn and a lot of universities are struggling with the future of their distance learning programs, according to Cooke. Edward P. Henry, associate dean for finance and administration at Columbia University Business School, admitted that Columbia was worried about how the economy will impact its partnership with UNext.com to create an online distance learning program. UNext laid off 42 percent of its 325 member workforce last month. The firm — citing a shift in resource allocation — also cut 52 jobs last March, according to The Columbia Daily Spectator. “There’s no question that it’s a difficult time,” Henry said. “We’re moving slower than we anticipated. Creating a quality program takes more money and time than many people anticipated. No one knew fully what we were getting into.” Columbia Business School has been using distance learning courses for about one year now. Twenty courses have been completed and 10 are currently in progress. UNext sometimes spends as much as $700,000 to create the equivalent of a full-semester course, according to Henry. Unlike eCornell, which is a non-degree program, UNext offers credit courses through an M.B.A. program affiliated with Cardean University, a UNext subsidiary. UNext has similar deals with the University of Chicago, Stanford, Carnegie Mellon and the London School of Economics. Henry said the agreement with UNext has worked out well up to this point financially, because Columbia has already received two million dollars in licensing fees without having to invest any money. Barbara Krause, secretary of the Board of Trustees, would not comment on whether Cornell is adjusting the rate of its distance learning expenditures to cope with the changing market. The University plans to expand eCornell’s course offerings to include selections from the School of Hotel Administration by the end of the year, according to Swanson. He could not say whether eCornell would expand beyond that point.Archived article by Jennifer Roberts