News

Mentors Honor Garrett at Inauguration Dinner

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Hundreds of Cornellians, dignitaries and friends of President Elizabeth Garrett gathered in Barton Hall on to honor her at the inauguration dinner Thursday evening. Nearly 550 attended the event, mingling during a reception before being seated at the dinner, where Garrett’s mentors spoke highly of her accomplishments. After a performance from Cornell Bhangra, Board of Trustees Chair Robert Harrison ’76 addressed the crowd, praising Garrett for bringing “together the perfect blend of academic accomplishment, public service and the experience” needed for running Cornell. “President Garrett, we wish you good health, good judgment and bold vision. Go Big Red and welcome to Cornell,” he offered in a toast.

News

Elizabeth Garrett Outlines Vision at 13th Inauguration

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Hundreds of students, faculty, University dignitaries, alumni and staff filled the Arts Quad on Friday morning for the installation ceremony of Cornell’s 13th president, Elizabeth Garrett. The ceremony began with a performance by Yamatai — Cornell’s taiko drumming group— immediately followed by the procession of the undergraduate and graduate colleges and professors. Former Cornell presidents Frank Rhodes, Jeffrey Lehman ’77 and David Skorton were in attendance, as well as Kathleen Hochul, New York Lieutenant Governor and representatives from 84 universities and colleges across the globe. Directly before Garrett’s speech. Robert Harrison ’76, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, gave an introductory speech and led the Investiture of The President, a formal presentation of symbols related to the president’s responsibilities.

Editorials

EDITORIAL: A Bold Vision for Cornell

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Throughout the course of the Homecoming and Inauguration weekend, President Elizabeth Garrett repeatedly reaffirmed her stances on the future of Cornell. While she continued to outline her focus on faculty and academia, areas that she has brought up as prioritizing since arriving at Cornell, Garrett also unveiled her stances on a number of other issues facing Cornell and the rest of higher education moving forward. We believe the points made by the newly-inaugurated president this weekend represent a bold vision for the future of Cornell and are optimistic about what her presidency will do for the University. Garrett, who provided small hints as to what her priorities are for both the coming year and the future of the University up until this weekend, began to outline her platform Thursday evening during her inaugural dinner. She stressed that Cornell “stands in a crucial point in its history of higher education,” and that seizing the moment is imperative.

News

INAUGURATION | Presidential Treats: A Dairy Bar Tradition

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(Brittney Chew / Sun News Photography Editor)
Two new ice cream flavors are coming to Cornell Dairy for Homecoming Weekend, in honor of President Elizabeth Garrett’s official inauguration and Touchdown the unofficial mascot. Cornell Dairy hosted a student-voted contest online and on campus this September to choose a name for the new flavor dedicated to Garrett’s inauguration. The contest yielded “24 Garrett Swirl” as the winner, beating out rivals “Garrett’s Chocolate Bar Association” and “Cornelle Chocolate Chunk.”
The flavor will be revealed today at the Cornell Community Picnic taking place on the Ag Quad from noon to 2 p.m., immediately following the 10 a.m. inauguration ceremony. Samples will be available to the public. In addition to 24 Garrett Swirl, Homecoming attendees will be able to sample a new Touchdown-themed flavor on Saturday morning at Teagle Hall, when President Garrett reveals the new Class of 1915 plaza and Touchdown statue.

Uncategorized

Historic Obama Inauguration Captivates C.U.

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Students across campus witnessed the momentous inauguration of Barack Obama yesterday through live broadcasts inside and outside of the classroom. Although yesterday marked the first day of class for many courses, some were cancelled or dismissed early so students could watch the first transition of power in eight years. In other cases, professors traded their PowerPoint slideshows for live streams of the ceremony.[img_assist|nid=34264|title=A standing “O”|desc=Students pack Bailey Hall to capacity yesterday to watch Obama’s inaugural speech live.|link=node|align=right|width=|height=0]
It has been months since fireworks were set off in Collegetown to celebrate Obama’s election, but the excitement remained for some.

Uncategorized

Barack Obama Inaugurated as 44th U.S. President

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Stepping into history, Barack Hussein Obama grasped the reins of power as America’s first black president on Tuesday, declaring the nation must choose “hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord” to overcome the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.
In frigid temperatures, an exuberant crowd of more than a million packed the National Mall and parade route to celebrate Obama’s inauguration in a high-noon ceremony. Waving and cheering in jubilation, they stretched from the inaugural platform at the U.S. Capitol toward the Lincoln Memorial in the distance.

Uncategorized

International Students Weigh in on Obama

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When Barack Obama was declared the next president of the United States, his promise of hope and change enthralled people beyond American borders.
Months later, at the eve of Obama’s inauguration, many international students at Cornell expressed their “cautious optimism” over the next president of the United States.
At the Holland International Living Center, where a crowd gathered in November to watch Election Night unfold, a resident noted that he has never met any international student at Cornell who supported the Republican candidate, John McCain. Many residents generally welcomed Obama’s presidency, but they also remarked that people’s expectations on Obama could be too high.

Uncategorized

Students Join Crowd in Washington to Ring in Obama

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Today is a day for new beginnings. As the Cornell community comes back to life with the start of spring semester, an estimated 2 million people from all around the country and the world descend on our nation’s capital to celebrate another beginning — the inauguration of the 44th president, Barack Obama. Over 100 of this throng will be Cornellians, looking to take part in the making of lifetime memories and of history.

Uncategorized

Waxing Poetic

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January 20, 2008 may go down in history as the day we swore in our first black president, but there’s a good chance that today will mark another important historic milestone: namely, the largest crowd to ever hear a poem.
That’s right: with official predictions of inauguration-gawkers numbering in the millions, there will be a record-breaking quantity of ears around to take in the words of Elizabeth Alexander, an African-American professor of literature at Yale and Pulitzer Prize-nominated poet who has been tapped by Obama to read a special poem. Sharing the stage with other artistic luminaries like Yo-Yo Ma and Aretha Franklin, Alexander will have a chance to capture the ceremony’s theme, “A New Birth of Freedom,” in a few pithy lines.

Uncategorized

Inaugural Chic

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Gossip on Michelle Obamas inauguration dress is running wild. Her fashion tastes are being combed over in more detail than Kate Moss’s or Angelina Jolie’s. We all want to know: will Michelle be another Jackie O, elegantly clad in her own design? Or, like Laura Bush and Hillary Clinton, will Michelle opt for a local designer — potentially at the expense of true chic? Hillary’s purple, sparkling Star Trek-esque dress from 1993 fell flat. Her second shot (after deferring to Oscar de la Renta) — a champagne sheath — was more in her own style (a predecessor to myriad colored pantsuits from her 2008 campaign).