Bus Ensures Safety of Drunken ‘M.E.S.S.’

For sororities, fraternities and other student organizations, planning an off-campus event can be a hassle — getting price quotes from busses, organizing directions to the event and supervising the event not only inside but also on the bus. Within the last year, Matthew Kochman ’09 has attempted to solve some of these problems.
Last fall, Kochman created M.E.S.S. Express, which is committed to ensuring student safety while traveling to social events, and has become an alternative to traditional booking procedures for student groups in off-campus trips.
M.E.S.S. Express was the product of Kochman’s eagerness to go to bars beyond Collegetown but avoid any drunk driving.

Fraternity Party Ends in Flames

At Lambda Chi Alpha’s ’90s party on Friday, it didn’t “Smell Like Teen Spirit,” but more like smoke.
At 12:30 a.m. on Saturday morning, the fraternity was in the middle of hosting a party, when one of the brothers began to smell smoke coming from outside in the fraternity’s shed.
“There were no visual cues,” explained Marcus Sabolis ’11, vice president of the fraternity. “Someone just smelled it through a closed door. The fact that someone was aware enough to recognize it was really lucky on our part.”
When the brothers rushed outside, they found their shed on fire.

C.U. Reacts to Juicy Campus Closure

In Jan. 2008 JuicyCampus.com launched at Cornell, spreading rapidly across campus. Yesterday, however, the website’s reign came to a halt.
In a letter on the Juicy Campus blog, CEO and Founder Matt Ivester, cited the economic crisis as the reason for the website’s end.
The website — which harbored malicious gossip — asked students to rant about the hottest freshman, the biggest drug users, and best and worst Greek houses.
Ivester and the website have been the subject of much legal discussion and speculation over First Amendment issues since it went live in December 2007. Some students who had been victims of the gossip also tried to sue him.

U.S. News Ranks University 15th Best School in World

Last week, U.S. News and World Report released another list ranking colleges and universities. This time, it ranked schools all over the world, placing Cornell 15th.
The rankings considered the following criterion: academic peer review, employer review, student to faculty ratio, proportion of international faculty, proportion of international students and citations per faculty.
The information was adopted from a company called Times Higher Education, and according to the U.S. News and World Report website, the data was shown to “present a multifaceted view of the relative strengths of the world’s leading universities.”

Wegmans Supermarket Vows to Lower Prices

Excitement is slowly starting to build in anticipation of the holidays, but at Wegmans, that time of year seems to have already arrived. Last week, Wegmans issued a statement on their website saying, “Wegmans is lowering prices — just in time for the holidays!”
Danny and Colleen Wegman, the two owners of the grocery store chain wrote in a letter that because of anticipated cost decreases, the company had decided to bring the prices down as soon as they could. The CEO and President of Wegmans, Danny Wegman said, “It’s ok with us if we make a little less money.”
Jo Natale, director of media relations for Wegmans, explained some of the reasons for the price decreases.

IFC Discusses Dry Rush Nights; Repeals Motion After Passing It

For fraternities, rush has unofficially begun. From bar tabs to Thanksgiving dinners, guys are already getting excited for a week known by some as “the best week of freshman year.” Last week, the Interfraternity Council considered the possibility of mandating nights of dry rush — an action that could change rush week’s reputation.

Study Shows Emotions Can Be Conveyed In Instant Messages

Today a huge portion of communication comes in the form of instant messages and texting. Unfortunately, both have been called ineffective forms of communication due to the lack of conveyed emotions. But a Cornell study has refuted that claim, believing that instant messages particularly can be a meaningful form of communication.
Jeff Hancock, associate professor of communication and information science, was always skeptical of the assumptions surrounding instant messaging.

College Board to Test 8th Graders

In this college-oriented culture, preparing for standardized tests begins at a young age, as many students desire perfect SAT scores to impress the top universities. Continuing with this trend, the College Board has unveiled a new test aimed at eighth grade students called “ReadiStep.”
ReadiStep, which will begin to be administered in the fall of 2009, is the result of parents’ and educators’ commitments to preparing students for the college admission process.
The test can be administered either in the fall or spring, any time in a two-week window set by the College Board, and either over the course of multiple class periods or in one chunk of time. The test will be paid for by the middle schools, not the students, which is not the case with the SAT.

Team Pursues More ‘Satisfying’ Coffee

At any upscale restaurant one might expect a wine list presented with the menu. However, when it comes time for dessert, it is rare for such an array of coffee choices to be offered.
Many may think that Starbucks is as good as gets when it comes to coffee, Craig Shelton, a world-class brew chef of the Ryland Inn in New Jersey, is working with the School of Hotel Administration to educate the clientele of upscale restaurants and hotels about luxury coffees through his company, Chef’s Coffee Company.
“Coffee was so dissatisfying. I was saying to myself, ‘why is it that in these ultra luxurious restaurants is the coffee so bad? Why is it so bitter? Why is it so uninteresting?’” Shelton said.