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Ode to Thee, Oh Bonnaroo

Ted Hamilton — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400

It was with great excitement and hedonistic anticipation that I looked forward to this year’s Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, held from June 11-14 on a farm in Manchester, TN. Tales I had heard from past attendees and the glossy coverage in Rolling Stone promised a long weekend of wonderful music, wonderful people and general paganistic pleasure. Headliners like Band of Horses and MGMT whet my appetite; smaller acts like Amadou & Mariam and The Dirty Projectors made me all the more excited. For a music fan — and one who especially enjoys shared irresponsibility — there’s nothing better.

Body Retrieved From Fall Creek Gorge

Sun Staff — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Cornell Police found a deceased female at the bottom of Fall Creek Gorge yesterday afternoon after receiving a call from a witness saying that a woman had jumped off the Suspension Bridge. Members of the Ithaca Police Department, Cornell Police Department, Ithaca Fire Department and Bangs Ambulance responded to the incident.

The body was removed at approximately 4 p.m. as "Members of the Ithaca Fire Department rappelled into the gorge [to] retrieve the body," according to a statement issued by the IPD. While the female has yet to be identified, police are continuing to investigate the incident.

The bridge has since been cleared, except for remnants of yellow police tape near the path leading down to the gorge.

Former Standout Goalie McKee Charged With Rape

Sun Staff — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Four years after his record-breaking 2004-05 season for the men's hockey team, former goalie David McKee has been charged with raping an unconscious, intoxicated woman in California in 2006. On June 5, McKee pleaded not guilty to a one-count charge of rape of an unconscious person and one felony count of rape by intoxication. McKee, now free on $100,000 bail, is due back in court in Santa Ana, Calif., on July 10 for a pretrial hearing. If convicted, McKee faces a maximum of eight years in prison.

Security Breach Leaves 45,000 at Risk of Identity Theft

Sun Staff — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 18:30:00 -0400

On Tuesday Cornell informed more than 45,000 current and former members of the University community that their sensitive personal information — including name and social security number — had been exposed when a University-owned laptop was stolen earlier this month.

The breach exposes many Cornellians to the possibility of identity theft, and the University said it will provide protective services to those affected, including free credit reporting, credit monitoring and identity theft restoration services to those affected by the breach.

A University employee, described as “a member of the Cornell technical staff” had access to a computer containing the sensitive data for the purposes of correcting file-processing transmission errors, according to the University.

Men's Basketball Looks Towards the Future With 2009 Recruiting Class

Zack Slabotsky — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Men’s basketball head coach Steve Donahue added six players to the program for the 2009-10 season, including five incoming freshman and one transfer. The Red appears poised to contend for a third consecutive Ivy League Championship on the strength of its senior class, which features Ryan Wittman, Louis Dale, Geoff Reeves and Alex Tyler, among others. The incoming recruiting class should have one year to learn from the class of 2010 before taking the burden of extending Cornell’s recent stretch of success.

A staple in this year’s recruiting class is size. Five of the team’s six new players are 6-6 or taller. At 6-9, Josh Figini is the tallest of the bunch. The Minnesota native averaged 25 points and 14 rebounds a game to earn third-team all-state honors.

Kot Arraigned on Murder, Arson and Evidence-Tampering Charges

Sam Cross — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 22:26:00 -0400

After waiving extradition from Pennsylvania on Thursday, Blazej Kot returned to Ithaca on Friday where he was arraigned on several charges, including the murder of his wife, Caroline Coffey, on June 2.

Tompkins County District Attorney Gwen Wilkinson formally accused Kot with second-degree murder, third-degree arson and tampering with physical evidence in Tompkins County Court with Judge John C. Rowley presiding.

Originally from New Zealand, Kot, who was a Cornell graduate student in information sciences, is no longer a registered student, according to CUPD Chief Kathy Zoner. If found guilty of the charges, Kot could serve anywhere from "25 [years] to life" in jail, Wilkinson said at a press conference on Friday.

Brown Selected as Next Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education

Sun Staff — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0400

The University announced last week that Prof. Laura Brown, English, will become the next Provost for Undergraduate Education in July. The announcement came almost four months after Brown's predecessor, Michelle Moody-Adams, accepted the position as Dean of Columbia College.

Brown is currently the John Wendell Anderson Professor of English. Throughout her 28 years at Cornell, she has served as a director of the graduate program and chaired the English department from 2002 to 2005. She was also involved in the Provost's Committee on the Status of Women about 20 years ago and recently served on the Faculty Senate.

Grad Student Accused of Murder Will Fight Extradition to N.Y.

The Associated Press — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 14:43:00 -0400

ITHACA, N.Y. (AP) — A Cornell University graduate student from New Zealand charged with murdering his wife wants an extradition hearing in Pennsylvania to fight his return to New York.

New York authorities have charged 24-year-old Blazej Kot with second-degree murder in the slaying last week of his wife, Caroline Coffey, a 28-year-old Cornell postdoctoral researcher. Her body was found last week along a wooded trail in Taughannock Falls State Park.

Police say Kot tried to kill himself after a police chase and was airlifted to a Sayre, Pa., hospital for treatment of a life-threatening knife wound.

Red Teams Appoint New Coaches

Meredith Bennett-Smith — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Sarah Bernson, Wendy Schaenen ’79 Head Coach of Volleyball

Ratan Tata '59 Fields Questions on Business, Politics and Life at Annual Olin Lecture

Sam Cross — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0400

It has been over 50 years since Ratan Tata ’59 arrived at Cornell for freshman orientation, but on Friday, the chairman and CEO of the multinational conglomerate Tata Sons Ltd. told students and alumni that the event was still fresh in his mind.

“I was one of about 2,000 people and very frightened,” Tata reminisced. “They told us to look to your left, look to your right … One of you won’t be here in four years.”

This was only one of the things that Tata talked about in the annual Olin Lecture titled “Corporate Social Responsibility in the 21st Century” during Reunion Week.

Cornell Grad Student Charged With Murder of Wife

Sun Staff — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 17:30:00 -0400

Cornell graduate student Blazej Kot was charged on Thursday evening with the second-degree murder of his wife, Caroline Coffey, a Cornell researcher in biomedical engineering, according to a statement issued by New York State Police.

The body of 28-year-old Coffey was found on Wednesday morning on a wooded trail in Taughannock Falls State Park. An autopsy later showed that she suffered a fatal cut to the neck, the Associated Press reported.

Police said that Kot led them on a five-minute chase on Tuesday night before crashing his vehicle. They found him with an apparent self-inflicted injury, according to the AP. The AP also reported that police later found the couple’s house on fire.

Univ. Library Allows Free Usage of Digitized Public Domain Items

Dawn Lim — Sun, 31 May 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Open access — the free availability and use of library materials online — took another step forward this month when the Cornell University Library dropped restrictions on the reproduction of public domain items from its collections.

The Library no longer requires users to secure permission or pay any accompanying permissions fees to reproduce or publish material from its digital collections. This announcement, which comes amidst plans by the Cornell Library Board to establish a fund to support open access publishing, has been eagerly received by many in the online community.

According to a press statement, “the Library, as the producer of digital reproductions made from its collections, has in the past licensed the use of those reproductions.”

Trustees Vote "Yes" on Milstein, But Faculty Concerns Linger

Sam Cross — Sat, 30 May 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Cornell's Board of Trustees voted unanimously on May 24 to support President David Skorton's recommendation to proceed with the construction of Milstein Hall. This green-light for the project comes after several months of contentious campus debate over whether the University should continue with Milstein Hall in the wake of its financial troubles.

“It wasn’t an easy decision,” Chairman of the Board of Trustees Peter Meinig ’62 said. “Every now and then, we need to make such tough decisions … You can’t shut down a university where there are programmatic imperatives.”

Cornell Student Seriously Injured After Gorge Accident

Sun Staff — Wed, 27 May 2009 15:51:00 -0400

Updated.

The status of a recent Cornell graduate who was hospitalized with serious injuries after a gorge-swimming accident in Ithaca on Monday has improved to “fair condition,” according to a hospital official.

Leslie Reed ’09 was one of several individuals swimming in Six Mile Creek near the old-hydro electric plant just one day after her graduation from Cornell when she slipped while attempting to dive into the water, witnesses told the Ithaca Fire Department.

Reed was reportedly unconscious when the Fire Department was dispatched to the scene at the 300 block of Giles Street.

Syracuse's Comeback for the Ages in National Championship Game Ends Cornell's Season

Keenan Weatherford — Tue, 26 May 2009 00:00:00 -0400

When freshman midfielder Roy Lang scored to put the men's lacrosse team up 9-6 with 5:37 left in the NCAA finals, it seemed like things were going too smoothly against defending national champion Orange. It had been a close, hard-fought game, but the Red was getting all the breaks — Syracuse attackman Stephen Keogh's goal in the fourth quarter was waved off because of a nearly imperceptible crease violation, Cornell was drawing penalties to keep possessions going and the team's senior goalie Jake Myers was at the top of his game, holding Orange attackmen Kenny Nims and Keogh to just one score in four shots on goal.

At Convocation, Plouffe Urges Graduates to Strike Balance Between Work and Family

Lucy Li — Mon, 25 May 2009 00:00:00 -0400

After four memory-filled years, members of the class of 2009 — as well as their friends and family — gathered on a sunny Saturday afternoon at Schoellkopf Field to mark the conclusion of their days high above Cayuga's waters.

“Our final days at Cornell are much like the first ones: confusing, overwhelming, and filled with uncertainty of what’s to come,” said C.J. Slicklen ’09, convocation chair and opening speaker. “We take comfort knowing that just as in orientation, we as a class are having the same feelings.”

Cornell Can't Hang On as Syracuse Mounts Comeback For the Ages

Sun Staff — Sun, 24 May 2009 14:30:00 -0400

[SIDEBAR]

Cornell had the lead from beginning to end until Syracuse senior attackman Kenny Nims scored at the end of a circus play with four seconds remaining in regulation to tie the game at 9. The Red was attempting a clear but the Syracuse ride forced the turnover and several looping passes later, Nims fired a low shot past Cornell senior goalie Jake Myers from point-blank range to force overtime.

Cornell won the face-off in overtime but a quick turnover led to a goal by Syracuse's Cody Jamieson, who was academically ineligible for most of the season but made a huge impact in his few games with the team. Jamieson's goal handed Syracuse the 10-9 overtime win.

With Championship on the Line, M. Lax Hopes for Revenge Against Syracuse

Keenan Weatherford — Sun, 24 May 2009 00:00:00 -0400

The men’s lacrosse team’s 2009 season came full circle when it upset top seed Virginia for a chance to play in the national championship game against No. 2 seed Syracuse. The Red shocked the Cavaliers, 15-6, by playing intelligent team defense and, above all, controlling possession and showing discipline on offense. Those talents, however, weren’t always in the 2009 team’s repertoire — they appeared out of necessity after the Red’s 15-10 loss to the same Orange squad that will take the field on Monday looking for its second consecutive (11th overall) national title.

Ithaca's Longtime ABC Café to Close Next Month

Amanda Joe — Sat, 23 May 2009 00:00:00 -0400

After serving vegetarian and traditional fare, as well as desserts and coffee, to the local community for nearly 30 years, the Apple Blossom Café, better known as the ABC Café, will close on June 21.

Ken Hallett, owner of the café that is located on Stewart Avenue, said that the business cannot afford the rent and received an eviction notice from its landlord.

“I have been doing this for 28 years and as the owner, I can’t do it anymore. I have to be the general manager and head chef at same time and run the business, so I need a change of pace,” Hallett said. “I tried to sell the business a few months back because the longtime lease was up in December, but we never completed the sale and it went into debt [that is] too much to climb out of.”

Cornell Shocks Virginia 15-6, Earns Spot in Championship Game

Sun Staff — Sat, 23 May 2009 00:00:00 -0400

The men's lacrosse team brought a disciplined, hard-nosed approach in the first 30 minutes of its semifinal matchup against the Cavaliers, and rode rookie attackman Rob Pannell to an 8-2 lead at halftime. The Ivy League Rookie of the Year has two goals and two assists in the first half. Junior attackman Ryan Hurley, who had shooting problems his past few games, has two goals and an assist and looks sharp around the cage.

Virginia goalie Adam Ghitelman, the hottest goalie in the tournament to date, had trouble stopping shots and Virginia's defenders have been caught "ball-watching," allowing Cornell's cutting offensive players to take advantage of poor off-ball coverage.