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Students Ponder Darfur Documentary

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“Sand and Sorrow”, a documentary on Darfur by award-winning director Paul Freedman, was screened in Lewis Auditorium on Tuesday, followed by a discussion with the filmmaker on Tuesday.
Islamic Alliance for Justice and Americans for Informed Democracy co-hosted the event, through which they hoped to raise the students’ awareness about the genocide towards non-Arab people by the Sudanese government in Darfur.
“We really want to educate people about Darfur, motivate them to actually do something and to be proactive,” said Khullat Munir ’09, president of IAJ and vice president of AID.

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Conference Discusses Beijing ’08 Olympic Games

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Americans for Informed Democracy hosted an audience of community members on Saturday to share perspectives on the development of China and its preparation for the Beijing 2008 Olympic games. The conference, entitled “Beijing Olympics 2008: Understanding China’s Emergence Onto the World Stage,” featured leading scholars who spoke about the effects the Olympics will have on China and the rest of the world.
“[The Beijing Olympics] is emblematic of the rise of China”, said the opening speaker, Prof. Robert Sutter, Asian studies, Georgetown University.
In his opening remarks, Sutter, an expert on Chinese foreign policy, emphasized that the Beijing Olympics is evidence that China is a leading world power and that the U.S. should recognize it as such.

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Campaign Meets Milestone

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In Oct. 2006, Cornell launched the most ambitious fund-raising campaign in its history and one of the largest in higher education with a goal of raising $4 billion by the end of 2011. With a quarter of the campaign term complete, the University announced that it has reached the $2 billion halfway milestone.
Last Friday in New York City, such an achievement was reason to celebrate at “Big Red in the Big Apple,” a campaign event that welcomed attendees including President David Skorton, members of the Board of Trustees, alumni, students, faculty and friends.

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Ithaca Currency Keeps Money Local

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Similar to the use of Big Red Bucks on Cornell campus, Ithaca Hours, a local currency for city residents, are an alternative to the U.S. dollar. Hours can be used to purchase goods and services, as well as pay partial or full wages to Ithaca employees.
Last night, the local currency system celebrated its 16th year by hosting its annual meeting at Borg Warner Community Room of the Tompkins County Public Library. The meeting enabled community members to learn about Ithaca Hours and meet members of the Ithaca Hours Board of Directors. Participants were given the opportunity to apply to be on the Board or vote for new Board members. Steve Burke ’81, president of Ithaca Hours, gave a presentation about the organization.

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Cornell Panel in D.C. Seeks to Deepen U.S.-China Relations

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In the context of the growing interdependence between the United States and China, Cornell University is making an effort to deepen its relationship with the Asian nation and promote a cultural and educational exchange between the two countries.
Last night, the “U.S.-China Relations: Building Cornell’s Connections” panel discussion, sponsored by the Cornell Club in Washington, was launched on Capitol Hill. The panel, organized just days after President David Skorton’s return from his own trip to China, featured experts on U.S.-China relations both from within and without the Cornell community. The panelists shared their perspectives on U.S-China issues and the University’s role in promoting relations between the two countries.

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Dining Halls Buy More From Local Retailers

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When eating in a dining hall, there is over a 20 percent probability that the food on the plate is locally produced. Last year, Cornell Dining purchased 23 percent of its foods locally and is looking to increase this percentage.
According to Anthony Kveragas, senior executive chef for retail operations, since last year, all of Cornell’s dining facilities have been directed to buy at least 20 percent of their food locally. The actual percentage of local food reached 23 percent last year, and Cornell Dining is in the process of calculating the figure for this year.
“We are working on tracking the actual number of cases of each product … but I know the percentage [of local food] has in­creased,” said Douglas Lockwood, office manager for Cornell Dining.

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C.U. Celebrates Bailey Plaza

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With a short kazoo performance of the Alma Mater by the Landscape Architecture students, the opening ceremony of the Plaza for Bailey Hall began in the rain last Friday.
Members of the Board of Trustees and the University Council joined people from across the University in front of Bailey Hall to celebrate the completion of the new plaza, a $4.5 million project that began in March. The project was sponsored by the Office of Provost, designed by Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates and constructed by Lechase Construction Inc. Michael Van Valkenburgh is a 1973 graduate of Cornell’s Department of Landscape Architecture.

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Off-Campus Housing Office Retools to Improve Service

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With more than 50 percent of undergraduates and 85 percent of graduate students living outside of University residences, off-campus housing is a big issue for the Cornell Community. The Off-Campus Housing Office, newly located in 401 Willard Straight Hall, is expanding its services to address the needs of current and potential off-campus residents and promote the quality of off-campus living.
According to the Cornell Off-Campus Housing website, the mission of OCHO is to “provide housing assistance, education and referral services to students, staff, faculty and others associated with Cornell, choosing to live off-campus”.

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Cornell Works to Accommodate the Hearing-Impaired

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PART TWO OF TWO

Imagine the complications you would encounter if you were a deaf or hard-of-hearing student at Cornell. How would you wake up on time without hearing your alarm clock? How would you know when someone is knocking at your door? A variety of campus services as well as outside resources can assist students with hearing impairments in solving these problems.
This semester, 15 students with different levels of hearing loss are registered with the Students Disabilities Services at Cornell. They receive accommodations ranging from Personal FM systems that can amplify sounds for them to lecture note-taking services.

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Technology Aids Hearing-Impaired Students at Cornell

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In order to ensure that deaf or hard of hearing students have equal access to auditory resources at Cornell, Student Disabilities Services (SDS) offers real-time captioning whenever the students go to classes, lectures or regular meetings of clubs.
Real-time captioning enables students with hearing impairments to “see” the content of a lecture. When the students are in class, they have their laptops wired to those of the captionists, who capture the lecture onto their laptops and simultaneously send the typed words to the students’ screens.