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The Cornell Daily Sun (https://cornellsun.com/2002/11/19/never-again/)

November 19, 2002

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'Never Again'

By wpengine | November 19, 2002

For as long as I can remember, the weekend before Thanksgiving has meant one thing to my family. The Game. I’m speaking, of course, about the Yale-Harvard football game, the annual renewal of the oldest and fiercest rivalry in sports.

My dad, a Yale alum, has taught my brother, sister, and me from a very young age to hate Harvard. We’ve heard the stories of the legendary Carm Cozza and the days of Dick Jauron and Calvin Hill (before his time, but my father still talks about him). And the stories of the infamous 1968 Game, which Harvard won 29-29 on questionable timekeeping to spoil Yale’s perfect season. Or the heartbreak of the 1974 Game, which my dad covered as sports editor of the Yale Daily News. Harvard’s 21-16 win again spoiled an unbeaten season for the Elis. I remember my first trip to the Yale Bowl. It was the 1991 Game, and the Bulldogs won 23-13.

Despite this, my hatred of Harvard had always been second hand. That is, until the weekend before Thanksgiving last year. The same weekend as The Game, Cornell and Harvard met for the first time of the season in men’s hockey. And last year, as a na

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'Day of Action' Held to Foster Human Rights

By wpengine November 20, 2002

Members of Cornell’s Amnesty International (AI) chapter held a “Day of Action” in the Straight Memorial Room to promote human rights yesterday. The event featured speakers, petitions and films intended to draw attention to the plight of victims of human rights abuses. “We want to inform the Cornell community about what’s going on in the rest of the world” said Max Eisenburger ’05, president of the AI Cornell chapter. “It’s something that people do care about, but they need to know that it’s going on.” The event focused on a handful of global human rights concerns. These include the use of child soldiers, violations of women’s rights, diamond sales supporting rebel groups in Africa and the imprisonment of Leyla Zana, jailed in Turkey for advocating for Kurdish rights. Tables with posters, petitions and informational materials were set up for each cause, while chapter members circulated and answered questions. “It’s an ongoing process, you don’t just attain human rights” Eisenburger said. “They have to be constantly protected and defended.” In addition to printed materials, the event hosted several speakers. Prof. Matthew Evangelista, director of the Peace Studies Program, opened the event with a speech addressing the current presidential administration’s response to some of the causes being promoted. Tenzyn Gephal, member of Cornell United Religious Work (CURW) and the local Namgyal Monastery, spoke about the importance of a personal commitment to promoting peace. “Kindness and compassion are the ultimate sources of happiness,” Gephal said. Meagan Scheehan, an Ithaca College student, recounted her recent trip to Georgia to join in an annual protest against the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, a facility previously known as the School of the Americas and accused of providing military training for Latin American human rights violators. “It was a really powerful experience,” Scheehan said. “There were about 15,000 people there this year.” Organizers sought to create increased awareness of human rights issues around the world, with the hope of spurring activism and eventually creating change. Farah Hussain ’05, who helped promote the event on Ho Plaza, said “I think it’s really important for people like us, students … who have an education, to go out there to let other people know about what’s going on. Activism helps a lot, every little bit helps.” In addition to the day of action, organizers held a day of silence on Monday, during which participants dressed in black and handed out information on human rights without speaking, as a show of mourning for victims. The Cornell chapter of Amnesty International is a group which follows guidelines set by the organization but is operated by students and funded by the University. Each year the group chooses a number of causes supported by Amnesty International to promote at Cornell. Archived article by Jeff Sickelco
Martins Speaks In Latin Lecture

By wpengine November 20, 2002

Leda Martins spoke yesterday to approximately 20 students, faculty and community members in a lecture entitled “The Implications of Doing Research among Amazonian Indigenous Peoples in the 21st Century.” Seminars Martins, a final year Ph.D. candidate in the anthropology department, gave her lecture as the last of the weekly luncheon seminars sponsored by the Latin American Studies Program (LASP). During Martins’ 35-minute lecture she examined “the rules and roles [that] academic researchers have with indigenous people.” Martins, involved in Amazon research for 12 years, focused her talk on the Yanomami and Makuxi tribes. Opinions She addressed contrasting opinions concerning the debate on what type of research scientists and scholars should conduct. The El Durado Task Force, a commission put together to investigate allegations against indigenous peoples, have their own view. “All research in the Amazon needs to address the needs that the indigenous people have,” said Martins. Martins discussed anthropologists Daniel Gross and Stuart Plattner who have a different perspective. She said their view is that researchers should compensate local tribes, and immediately leave after research is done. Martins has reservations about both views. “It is important to have collaborative research, but we need to be realistic about what the situation is,” Martins said. She said that two common misconceptions about indigenous people are that they are always attempting to improve their lifestyle and that they all think on a collective scale. Martins said neither of these assumptions are true even though the El Durado Task Force implies these misconceptions. Martins, who is originally from a village in the Amazon, told a recent personal story about how two Yanomami individuals wanted to speak English. While they did not have the educational resources to learn, she emphasized indigenous individuals have their own wants. “Many times, indigenous people have individual goals. It is important to keep that in mind,” Martins said. She said that the view of Gross and Plattner could create a negative reinforcement upon tribal groups. By having researchers pay and “get what they want,” Martins said this “reinforces the loss of control of indigenous peoples’ lives.” “It’s a feeling that as interest grows, they feel like they are losing control of their lives,” Martins said. She added that these groups are trying to get a “sense of regaining a control.” Martins acknowledges that the implications of research among indigenous people is a difficult problem, and the academic and scientific community need to be careful with the steps they take. “We need to start thinking about the types of research in a way in which it doesn’t take away from the people they are intervening on,” she said. After the lecture and 25-minute question and answer session, many viewers seemed pleased with Martins’ presentation. “I thought it was a very sophisticated and realistic view,” said Prof. Karen Graubart, history. “Her presentation set up the problem of what the western academics have in studying non-western communities.” Many felt that the presentation raised many interesting issues, including Mary Jo Dudley ’90, assistant director for LASP, who said that Martins’ point should be “an important, valid consideration.” “The issue she’s discussing is an issue of obvious importance especially in Cornell, where there is a lot of research not only in the hard sciences, but also in the social sciences,” Jason DeMera ’01 said. The main goal of the weekly luncheon series and other LASP activities is to “provide a focal point for people who our interested in the region,” according to Dudley. Archived article by Brian Tsao