Chinese Journalism Students Look to Refocus University Newspapers

For journalism students in China, fighting to get their voice heard in their own college newspapers can be a problem.
“[We’re working on] directing [our] purpose toward students,” Katherine Wei, a member of the Renmin University of China newspaper, said through a translator. “[We]’re still fighting for that purpose, to make it more student directed … more student focused instead of government [directed].”
Displaying an old copy of the paper, Wei exemplified the issue by pointing at a page covering news from the communist party. Another page focused on campus construction and its negative impact on students, which the editor felt helped balance out the impact of the government-directed news.

Keeping Up With Cornell in Shanghai

SHANGHAI, China — Thinking of moving to China after graduation and wondering if you’ll be in good company? Many Cornell alumni living in Shanghai have come to­gether to create an active Cor­nell Club. (One also exists in Beijing.) The Club in Shanghai does not have a building like the more populous club in New York, so they meet about once a month in different restaurants around the city. According to Samuel Chen M. Eng ’02, one of the organizers, the Cornell Club of Shanghai has about 170 members, approximately half of whom actively participate in events.

International Reporting

For 127 years Sun editors and staff members have brought news to the Cornell and Ithaca communities, covering Cornell’s campuses, the City of Ithaca and Tompkins County, as well as publishing stories about national and international news. While The Sun has travelled to Washington, D.C. to cover rallies that Cornell students were attending, written stories and columns from abroad programs and covered sporting events all over the country, this winter break marked the first time that The Sun sent reporters to another country to report on universities, media, life and culture — as well as Cornell alumni and the University’s historic and contemporary ties to that nation.

Education Explodes in China

NANJING, China — A high of 18 percent of Chinese high school students now become university students, according to Southeast University Vice President Yuepu Pu. This is partially due to the exponential growth in the number of colleges and universities, which has risen from a few hundred to about 2,000 in the past 30 years.
“I think China will be much better in [the] future [because of education],” said Prof. Wuyi Zhang, who works in the Office of International Cooperation at Southeast University.
As the number of students at universities has grown, funding for universities has changed. Universities used to receive all funding from the government, but are now able to obtain support from other sources, Pu said.

NY Governor Eliot Spitzer Pledges Funds to Ithaca

Speaking critically of the Ithaca Gun factory site but positively about economic development in Ithaca and the rest of Upstate New York, Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D) announced a $2.3 million grant for rehabilitation of the gun factory Tuesday.
The Restore N.Y. grant will fund demolition of the factory and cleanup of the site, which will then be developed by Travis & Travis into 33 high-end condominiums and a public park.
“At the end of this process we will have a beautiful public park with views of Ithaca falls that has been unavailable to the public for over 100 years,” Frost Travis, a developer for Travis & Travis, said to a packed Common Council Chambers.

A Sad Day in Nanjing

Nanjing, which literally translates to south capital, has been the capital of China several different times. The city is perhaps best known, however, for its destruction between 1937 and 1938; in English, this is often referred to as the rape of Nanking.

Childrens' Clothes, Gas Stoves and "Polos"

The influence of American culture in China is clear, from conversations about the very popular Prison Break to the plethora of KFCs and McDonald’s. As many people in China have embraced a more consumer culture, American-style malls have grown up in cities.
In Beijing and Shanghai we were shown large malls with American, European and Chinese stores. The prices were generally lower than the same item would be at the same store in the U.S., but much more expensive than goods outside the malls.

Holding Up the Cornell Banner

[img_assist|nid=26588|title=The Cornell Connection.|desc=Monica Huang M.S. ’03, Samuel Chen M. Eng ’02, and Adrien Desbaillets ’04 peruse copies of The Sun at a dinner with members of the Cornell Club of Shanghai and Sun editors. Photo: Matt Hintsa|link=node|align=left|width=|height=0]Thinking of moving to China after graduation and wondering if you’ll be in good company? Many Cornell alumni living in Shanghai have come together to create an active Cornell Club. (One also exists in Beijing.) The Club in Shanghai does not have a building like the more populous club in New York, so they meet about once a month in different restaurants around the city.