If the verbal visionaries of Cornell’s nearly 105-year history of writing stood on each other’s shoulders; Nabokov as a base, cursing in Russian, Vonnegut next to him, muttering to himself about the absurdity of it, Pynchon above them, with a foot on each deltoid, shakily supporting Morrison, and so on — you’d have a ladder of literary giants to rival the clock tower. Even then, despite this towering tradition, the adrenaline-and-laughter inducing irreverence and innovation of Junot Díaz, MFA ’95, displayed to the delight of many in the Cornell community last week, would be enough, sure as Ithaca is cold, to make Uncle Ezra roll over in his grave and call for a pen. The Dominican-born author returned to campus Feb.

You would think that being selected as a New York Times columnist would spur you to churn out some of the highest-quality prose you could muster. It was surprising, then, when Bill Kristol, founder of the Weekly Standard and scion of the right-wing punditocracy, blessed the Gray Lady’s Op-Ed pages with possibly the worst writing it’d ever seen. Kristol, no stranger to the argumentative essay or the persuasive piece, regularly gave his name to columns that were shoddily structured, shabbily researched and just plain boring; it seemed at times as if the veteran polemicist were doing little more than filtering propaganda into the backside of the front section.

On Nov. 4, Cornell’s campus was buzzing with energetic students pledging support for President Barack Obama’s message of change and transparency in government. Now, after only a month in office, many of these students are noticing some cracks in those maxims as controversies develop around nominees for cabinet and regulatory positions in his administration.

Since his victory in November, four of Obama’s appointees withdrew their names from consideration. One ap­pointee dealt with in­tense controversy prior to his nomination and countless more are being held up in the confirmation process mainly by Republicans — a serious blow to the bipartisan theme of his campaign.

I hate the fact that I feel the need to defend the legitimacy of my ideas to you before I have typed a single, substantive sentence, but I’m afraid that such is the nature of the current discourse surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Discourse and discussion have become polarized into what feels like two distinct groups: those that support the state of Israel, and those that support the humanitarian Palestinian cause.

It’s lonely to be a person who feels like he can relate to both Israelis and Palestinians in the wake of the newest cycle of violence in the conflict. It’s even more frustrating to read columns that are painfully shallow in depth and unnuanced in their treatment of the recent hostilities.

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.A standing "O": Students pack Bailey Hall to capacity yesterday to watch Obama's inaugural speech live.

It has been months since fireworks were set off in Collegetown to celebrate Obama’s election, but the excitement remained for some.

President Barack Obama announced the appointment of four members to his science and technology team, a group charged with crafting science policy regarding the life sciences, the environment, health and technology.

“It’s about ensuring that facts and evidence are never twisted or obscured by politics or ideology. It’s about listening to what our scientists have to say, even when it’s inconvenient,” Obama stated on his website. The newly elected president emphasized that government officials must provide necessary resources to scientists and work hand-in-hand with them to design effective legislation.

On Friday afternoon, New York State Sen. George Winner (R-53rd) dined with members of the Cornell community and discussed issues relevant to both the University and the state.

The senator’s visit was the last in a series of informal lunch meetings hosted by the Office of Government Relations with local politicians running for reelection. The lunches have allowed politicians to get in touch with the Cornell community, which plays a role of “great importance” in Upstate New York, according to Winner.

Next Tuesday, America will elect the next president of the United States and new members of the 111th Congress. Perhaps more than ever scientific issues are at the forefront of the political battleground. The interaction of science and politics exists at all levels from the elementary classroom, to the university laboratory, to the halls of congress, to the oval office.

Cornell and its faculty have long made significant contributions to not only science but scientific policy as well. They have also seen their research affected by policy, and thus have a lot to say about this relationship — its past and present circumstances, and what the future may bring.

By Laura Martin

On most occasions, it is best to ignore Rush Limbaugh. Any publicity, good or bad, is publicity for a man that makes his millions by vying for our attention. But occasionally, Limbaugh goes too far.