drug injection site

Myrick’s Drug Policy Garners Mixed Reactions from Cornellians, Ithacans

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Mayor Svante Myrick’s ’09 controversial new drug policy plan — which proposes the implementation of the country’s first supervised heroin injection site — has been met with mixed reactions from both the Cornell and broader Ithaca community. At these proposed injection facilities, drug users would be able to receive monitored injections of opioids to reduce the risk of overdose without the fear of arrest. The mayor’s plan is billed as focusing on rehabilitation rather than punishment, as it will instruct police officers to direct users to the social service system rather than perpetuate incarceration for low-level offenses. Several Cornellians expressed enthusiasm for the plan, saying they are hopeful about the larger changes the initiative could spark. Maria Chak ’18 said she appreciates the mayor’s efforts in reforming the system “from a punishment to a more rehabilitative framework.”
“For more than four decades, law enforcements have been arresting low-income, people of color for drug abuses but it has proven to have little effect,” Chak said.

greek life

Sorority Rush Results Show Drop in Bids

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Seven hundred and seventy six women returned to Ithaca early last month for sorority recruitment — which officially ended with bid night Jan. 26 — according to Katherine-Rae Cianciotto, assistant dean of students. “There’s no real negative effect on sororities because of differing class sizes”
Rachel Baer ’17

The number of women who participated in recruitment this year remained virtually the same as last year, with only a five-person increase, she said. However, this year’s recruitment numbers reveal a continuing trend of decreased participation in sorority rush. Last year, around 100 fewer women partook in recruitment than the year prior, when there were 871 rushees.

Cornell Political Union

Former U.S. Army Chief of Staff Discusses National Security

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General George Casey — former chief of staff of the United States Army and a commander in the Iraq War — spoke Tuesday about the evolution of national security in a talk hosted by Cornell’s Political Union. Casey began his talk by analyzing threats to national security, which he said have changed fundamentally in the past few decades. While the U.S. was primarily concerned with fighting other armies in the 1970s, the world changed on Sept. 11, 2001, according to Casey. “This struggle that we’re involved with …

News

Cornell Dining Launches New Web Application

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Cornell Dining launched a new mobile-friendly web application called “Cornell Dining Now,” which provides real-time information about Cornell’s on-campus eateries, at the end of last month. The application, which Gary Marcoccia, marketing and communications manager of University campus life, said has been been in the works since “roughly July,” will give users easier access to the 29 on-campus eateries through functions that include clear displays of hours of operation, meal plans management and updated menus. In addition, Cornell Dining Now can also calculate the closest dining options based off of a user’s current location, send alerts for special promotions, add funds to meal plans and allow users to submit feedback to the dining staff, according to a Cornell Dining press release. “Cornell Dining Now is not only a good resource for finding out menus and times, but we can also post notifications globally,” Marcoccia said. “We post about things from special events themed for dining units, such as the celebration of Diwali, to hiring notices at the different establishments.”
Since its release, over 10,000 users have accessed Cornell Dining Now, and the application currently averages anywhere from 900 to 1,200 active users a day, according to Marcoccia.

engineering

Faculty Gather to Remember Engineering College’s Storied History

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Festivities for Cornell Engineering’s sesquicentennial commenced with a welcoming presentation on its history  Friday, featuring keynote speakers Lance Collins, dean of the engineerng college, Prof. Emeritus Francis Moon, engineering, and Prof. Emeritus John Abel, civil and environmental engineering. The College of Engineering has a rich history at Cornell, according to Moon, who served as the director of the Sibley School of Mechanic Arts from 1987 to 1992. The Morill Land Grant Act of 1862 required the teaching of mechanical engineering, but at the time, there was no model for the curriculum of mechanical technology. Through the joint efforts of leading figures like philanthropist Hiram Sibley and engineer Robert Thurston, the Sibley College paved the way for the education of mechanical engineering. Mechanical, electrical and civil engineering grew in prominence between 1885 and the early 1900s, Moon said.

Cornell

Mental Health Awareness Week Kicks Off, Aims to Stomp Out Stigma

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Today marks the start of the first Mental Health Awareness Week, which lasts until Oct. 23 and will feature events around campus designed to promote the awareness and understanding of mental health issues. “I feel like a lot of students are afraid to come out of their comfort zones and talk about mental health, especially with Cornell’s atmosphere, but they need to know that people are going to help them,” said Maria Chak ’18, one of the week’s organizers and Student Assembly vice president of outreach. The week kicks off with a talk by Frank Warren, also known as “The Most Trusted Stranger in America” and the founder of PostSecret, a website that posts anonymous submissions of “secrets” sent in from all over the country. PostSecret begun in 2005 as an art project when Warren asked people to submit their secrets on creatively decorated postcards.

fall creeks

Fall Creek Gorge, Near Student Housing, Tests Positive For Lead Contamination

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Soil in Fall Creek Gorge by Ithaca Falls, less than two blocks away from the Gun Hill apartments where many Cornell students live, tested positive for lead contamination this past June, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA tested different locations along the base of the gorge and found that the samples contained lead in excess 400 parts per million, the maximum allowable level. The City of Ithaca announced on June 16 that it will collaborate with local regulatory agencies to rectify the situation. The site of contamination was once the location of the Ithaca Gun Factory, which closed its doors in 1986, according to the EPA. Due to the factory’s proximity to Fall Creek, the EPA tested for metals that could have originated from the gun factory.