Gymnasts Set Team Record

By wpengine | March 4, 2002

The women’s gymnastics team lost a close meet to Rutgers this weekend at Teagle Gymnasium, 191.375-190.450. Despite the loss, the tumblers were able to set a new team-record in the final home meet for seniors Laura DeForest, Cassandre Joseph, Mandy Keen, and Andrea Park. While no school records were broken in any single event, all the individual scores were extremely high, which enabled the Red to score above 190.

“Knowing we could have picked up another point [to win the meet] was a little disappointing,” remarked head coach Paul Beckwith, who was nonetheless pleased by the team’s record breaking score.

Freshmen Shellen Goltz and Larissa Calka finished second and third, respectively, in the all-around. The Red’s top event of the meet was the floor exercise, in which the tumblers were able to tie the Scarlet Knights with a score of 48.525. Three exhibitioners competed in the floor exercise for the Red as well, and their scores were higher than some that Rutgers posted in the meet. Beckwith was extremely pleased with the team’s performance in the event, and is considering some lineup changes for the next meet.

The tumblers had a lot of momentum coming off their first-place showing at the Ivy Invitational last weekend, but they could not maintain their previous level of intensity versus injury-plagued Rutgers. Next weekend, the Red travels to Burlington to face Vermont.

“I am looking for another big school-record next weekend. I think that we can stay above 190 for the rest of the season,” commented Beckwith.

Strong showings at the next two meets will enable the tumblers to move into third place heading into the ECAC championships on Mar. 23.

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Bartels Fellow Speaks On UNICEF Initiatives

By wpengine March 5, 2002

Addressing the issues of children’s rights and global opportunities for education, 2002 Henry E. and Nancy Horton Bartels World Affairs Fellow Carol Bellamy spoke to an audience of alumni, faculty and students in Statler Auditorium yesterday. After discussing her experiences as executive director of the United Nation’s Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Bellamy engaged the members of the audience in a dialogue about a range of topics including equal education, globalization and the increased interest in providing humanitarian aid to developing countries. “We have found that the re-affirmation of education helps to re-establish stability in the midst of chaos,” said Bellamy. “Good education can help to mobilize communities, reduce the infant-mortality rate in developing countries and offer better opportunities for economic progress.” Bellamy visited Afghanistan in November to emphasize the critical role children will play in the future development of the country. Working with the Afghan government and the United Nations, UNICEF aims to provide the teaching resources for more than 1.5 million children beginning classes on March 23. “In our view, there could be no better barometer of the success of the Afghan government than the introduction of education opportunities,” Bellamy said. Students responded to Bellamy’s lecture in a question and answer session as well as during the following reception. “[Bellamy] addressed education in terms of people realizing their capacity, their rights and what they are capable of bringing to themselves and the world,” said Mai Truong ’02. “Things like terrorism, poverty, the rising gap between rich and poor are there because of a lack of education. That is something she definitely stressed and I agreed with that. If you ultimately want to solve these problems, education will be the absolute key point.” Bellamy joins the list of internationally renowned political leaders brought to Cornell as Bartel Fellows since the program was established in 1984. “The function of the fellowship is to have principally undergraduate groups involved with international studies,” said Henry E. Bartels ’48. “I think students are much more interested today in what’s happening in the world than a year ago. I believe that if you have a broader education you will be a better citizen of this world.” Hosted by the Mario Eunaudi Center for International Studies, Bellamy joined undergraduate representatives from the Cornell chapter of UNICEF and other undergraduates for a lunch time discussion. Bellamy also met with the Participatory Action Research Network (PARN), a group of 56 graduate students, faculty and staff involved in an international “Right to Know” education project within communities that are struggling with the AIDS/HIV pandemic. Graduate students working with PARN in foreign countries such as Ghana, Macedonia and Yugoslavia to help educate people about safe sex and AIDS/HIV prevention discussed how different educational strategies can be effective. “I would make a distinction between being informed and being educated,” said Lydiah Bosire grad. “In the past we have tried to have the community take control of the situation themselves. Now in some countries the people are bombarded with information. But being bombarded doesn’t necessarily change [high-risk] behavior.” “Education is such an important thing, but it’s so hard to quantify,” said Megan Sullivan ’02. “You can quantify food production or nutrition to some extent, but it’s so hard to put a value on [education].” Students from Cornell and community public schools addressed issues of equal education as well as how to begin humanitarian work straight out of college. “This was a good opportunity to hear more about UNICEF and the Peace Corp,” said John Farden ’02. “There’s been a push from the U.S. government to talk about [service in the public sector] more and that has had an effect on many people in our generation.” “Bellamy did a good job of talking about health education,” said LeeAnn Richter, ’03. “In light of incidents this year there has been increased awareness to be active worldwide.” Bellamy focused much of her attention on the increased interest of college students in international studies. “Understanding that there are a lot of countries with humanitarian problems is important. Afghanistan has been in the headlines, but there are many other nations that are fully submerged in conflict such as Burundi, Somalia and Sudan. For Americans to be more knowledgeable and have a broader awareness of [global issues] would help in the long run,” Bellamy said. “In the nearly six months that have elapsed since the attacks on the United States, we’ve been reminded in the endless litany of memorial services that bad things can happen to good people on an unimaginably vast scale. But at the same time we’ve also learned that good things can come out of horrific and cataclysmic events,” Bellamy added. The increased awareness of international humanitarian problems was cited by Bellamy as one of the positive trends to follow the terrorist attacks. “If any good were to come out of 9/11 it is a renewed interest of Americans in the opportunities of public service. There’s a renewed eagerness in young Americans to try and understand the world beyond their borders not only on the political side but in the cultural and religious sides as well. The question now is whether the current spike in interest will come and go as those in the past,” Bellamy said. Now serving her second term as executive director of UNICEF, Bellamy continues to work internationally to ensure the rights of all children and fight poverty. “If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, then it cannot save the few who are rich,” Bellamy said, quoting former President John F. Kennedy. Archived article by Dan Webb
Human Ecology Students To Lose Martha's Dining

By wpengine March 5, 2002

Students, faculty and staff members of the College of Human Ecology suffered a loss when the north wing of Martha Van Rensselaer Hall (MVR) was closed last summer. Now, due to that setback, the human ecology college will lose another part of MVR when Martha’s Dining closes on Friday. The struggle that the human ecology college has faced since this summer, when the north wing of MVR was condemned due to faulty floor slabs, has led to the decision to close Martha’s Dining. Closure Since the condemnation, the college has had to utilize whatever space it could find to accommodate faculty and staff members, according to Patsy Brannon, the Rebecca Q. and James C. Morgan Dean of the College of Human Ecology. Martha’s Dining will close so that the area can be renovated into offices for the Department of Human Development. “Every facet of the college has been impacted by the closure of the north wing,” Brannon said. The human ecology college has been working with Cornell Dining to deal with the situation in the best way possible, college officials said. “The college and Cornell Dining have done the best we can to provide for academic programming and dining services while dealing with the unexpected closure of the north wing of MVR Hall and the resultant domino effects,” said Kay Obendorf, associate dean for research and facilities. Some people feel that the closure of the dining facility is especially unfortunate since MVR contains no other community space. “Martha’s is the only congregating place for faculty, staff and students [in MVR],” Brannon said. “It’s a big loss to this community. It feels like the end of an era to close Martha’s Dining.” Some patrons of Martha’s Dining reacted with surprise when notified that the dining facility, which serves such items as home-cooked soups, chili, and freshly-prepared sandwiches and salads, will close later this week. “It’s really unfortunate, because Martha’s is such a convenient location for me,” said Alex Thompson ’04, who eats lunch at Martha’s every Monday. “Now I will have to find somewhere else to go.” Other diners praised Martha’s Dining for its quiet atmosphere and convenient location. “This is the only area near here that’s quiet enough to have lunch by yourself and read and do work,” said Laura Lamkay ’04, who also commented that in her opinion Trillium, in Kennedy Hall, is not conducive to doing work. “I will miss having an area like this to come to.” Several Martha’s Dining employees emphasized that they are disappointed that the facility has to close. “It’s no one’s fault, but it’s kind of sad,” said Brenda Conklin, who has worked at Martha’s Dining since 1990. “This is a place everyone has come to for years.” Conklin added that Martha’s Dining will be relocated and expanded when the college completes the rebuilding of the north wing in five years. Although Martha’s Dining will reopen in the fall in a new location, down the hall from its current area, it will not contain seating and will serve mostly grab-and-go items. In the interim, students, faculty and staff members can buy grab-and-go items, including prepared sandwiches and salads, at a cart located in the foyer of MVR. “The planned renovation includes a plan for a carry-out facility on the ground floor of MVR Hall that will be opened after the renovation,” Obendorf said. “We also have a plan for vending machines. During the renovations we plan for a coffee and sandwich service in the foyer of the MVR auditorium open from 8 a.m. through 1 p.m.” Although some Martha’s Dining employees will work at the cart, others, including student employees, now find themselves without jobs. “I’m unemployed now,” said Mike Bridger ’03, who has worked at Martha’s Dining for five months. “There is not enough room for students, so I need to find a new job.” The closure of Martha’s Dining comes shortly after the recent closing of Ezra’s, a coffee shop in Community Commons on North Campus. However, according to Nadeem Siddiqui, director of Cornell Dining and Retail Service, the two closures are not related. “The closing of Martha’s is due to the facility being renovated and has no connection with Ezra’s,” Siddiqui said, adding that a newly-conceptualized Ezra’s will reopen soon. Archived article by Stephanie Hankin