Recent Contributions from Adi Kochavi

Student Lending Bill Passes in Congress

Adi Kochavi — Thu, 01 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

In an effort to avert a potential student-lending crisis, the House of Representatives passed the HR 5715 bill on April 17, to guarantee students and their parents continued access to federal student loan programs.

According to The Chronicle of Higher Education, “More than 50 lenders have left [the] program in recent weeks, amid a credit crunch that has rippled across the financial sector, making many types of lending less profitable.”

Students, Profs Discuss Diversity

Adi Kochavi — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400

“The system set up by the university to solve diversity-related issues is doing exactly what it was designed to do — nothing. Diversity kills us every day, every moment,” said Prof. Belisa Gonzales, a professor at Ithaca College at Diversity Kills Me, a dinner discussion yesterday evening. The event examined issues of diversity at Cornell and Ithaca College.

“Universities don’t want to diversify, they want to sell diversity to prospective students,” she said.

The evening opened with a brief review of a history of discrimination in the U.S., given by Prof. Alan Gomez, city and regional planning. The focus of the discussion then shifted to the students as they were challenged by Gomez to think of what diversity is and whom it is for.

Hotelies Study in Singapore

Adi Kochavi — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 01:00:00 -0400

Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and Cornell teamed up in November 2004 to establish a joint Master’s of Management in Hospitality program, which has been open to students from across the globe since July 2006. The program, which is based in Nanyang’s campus in Singapore, brings together Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration and NTU’s Business School, both world-renowned leaders in their respective fields.

“The Cornell University School of Hotel Administration recognized early the potential for the growth of the broad-ranged hospitality industry in Asia,” explained Dr. Judy Siguaw, Dean of Cornell-Nanyang Institute of Hospitality Management. “SHA knew that it wanted a presence in that part of the world.”

Study: Gender Affects Comfort Food Choice

Adi Kochavi — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Most individuals can think of at least one favorite comfort food. A study by Cornell’s Food and Brand Lab shows these choices may actually be determined not only by taste, but also by gender.

Researcher Brian Wansink, director of the Cornell Food and Brand Lab, explained in his book Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think, the correlation between gender differences and comfort food preferences.

“When we gave people a long list of comfort foods and asked them to circle the ones they personally found comforting, men and women might as well have been from Mars and Venus,” Wansink wrote in the book.

C.U. Joins Consortium to Obtain Sustainable Products

Adi Kochavi — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Cornell recently joined forces with five fellow Tompkins County institutions and municipalities to form the Finger Lakes Environmentally Preferred Procurement Consortium. This “green” consortium is the first of its kind in the state of New York.

The main purpose of the consortium is to help negotiate pricing for environmentally friendly products, according to The Ithaca Journal.

“The biggest thing now is the price difference. In many cases the sustainable and recyclable products are 30 to 40 percent more expensive than their non-sustainable counterparts. We want to get the best prices and become competitive with other markets,” said Edmund Wilson, manager of Cornell procurement services.

C.U. in Qatar to Graduate First Students

Adi Kochavi — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500

This is the first in a series of articles examining Cornell’s involvement in global academic initiatives.

This May, the inaugural class of physicians at Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar will be the first class to graduate from an American university’s M.D. program outside of the U.S.

WCMC-Q, which was founded in 2001 through a partnership between Cornell and the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, will graduate 16 students. Each year, the class sizes have been steadily increasing.

Activists Host Teach-Ins to Discuss Global Warming Threat

Adi Kochavi — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500

“Focus the Nation,” organized by environmental action groups KyotoNOW! and the Sustainability Hub, concluded yesterday after two days of teach-ins and panel discussions about global warming. The event was an attempt to increase awareness and campus advocacy.

According to the University, the two-day event consisted of four parts. The first part involved a webcast, “The Two Percent Solution,” which educated the audience about the necessity of a reduction in carbon dioxide levels. Viewers of the webcast were then able to participate in the second part of the event, an online poll called “Choose Your Future,” which allowed participants to vote for the best solution to reduce emissions.

Cornell EMS Deploys Mass Casualty Incident Unit

Adi Kochavi — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Cornell’s Emergency Medical Service has recently announced the deployment of a new mass casualty incident, or “MCI,” unit. According to a University press release, this MCI unit is the largest collection of triage, medical supplies, command, logistical and long-term support of any emergency response agency in Tompkins County.

This new unit was purchased in conjunction with the Office of Risk Management and Insurance, which has been in close cooperation with CUEMS to better prepare campus for any potential emergencies.

Cornellians Find Resident Advisor Jobs Rewarding

Adi Kochavi — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Among the many on-campus jobs offered to Cornell students is the popular Resident Adviser position. Resident Advisers live in the undergraduate dorm buildings on campus and are considered resident hall community leaders, a position that involves both fun and responsibility.

“I call it the best job on campus. As with any job there are some drawbacks but, in all, it’s fun and exciting, and you get to work with some really great people,” said Alex Kantrowitz ’10, an R.A. in Cascadilla Hall.

“Every R.A. will tell you that the best part of the job is the people you work with and meet along the way. I’d agree with that statement, especially when it comes to the fourth floor of Cascadilla, best floor in all the land.”

New N.Y. License Policy Drives Debate

Adi Kochavi — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0400

The national debate over illegal immigration splashed across the pages of New York newspapers last month following a policy change made by Governor Eliot Spitzer (D-N.Y.). This new policy, which grants New York State driver’s licenses to individuals without regard to their immigration status, has set the stage for the recent heated political debate.

According to The New York Times, the Department of Motor Vehicles will be accepting a current foreign passport as proof of identity without also requiring a valid year-long visa or other document indicating legal immigration.

Students at Risk For Identity Theft

Adi Kochavi — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400

If you are between the ages of 18 and 25 the Federal Trade Commission estimates your chances of identity theft to be as high as one in three. Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in America, and it’s hitting college campuses around the country.

According to the Department of Justice, identity theft and identity fraud refer to all types of crime in which someone wrongfully obtains and uses another person's personal data in some way that involves fraud or deception, typically for economic gain. Victims of identity theft can then be charged with criminal offenses like DUIs and bench warrants, medical bills, fraudulent cell phone bills and credit card bills.

City of Ithaca Leads U.S. International eBay Sales

Adi Kochavi — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400

While Ithaca may not be the most bustling town in the world, it has certainly been quite active lately, at least on the World Wide Web. An eBay study done earlier this year found that eBay sellers in the Ithaca area had the most international sales of any U.S. ZIP code.

Based on the online marketplace’s data, the majority of Ithaca’s international sales in the first three months of the year were to Canada. Other nations across the globe purchasing from the City include the United Kingdom, Australia, Russia, French Polynesia and several others.

According to Jim Griffith, dean of eBay education, the results of the study were primarily per capita and were not skewed by demographics.

Cornell, U. Maryland Students Support Sustainability

Adi Kochavi — Thu, 03 May 2007 01:00:00 -0400

Article body:

A proposal to charge students at the University of Maryland — College Park a small fee to purchase clean energy received overwhelming support from the undergraduate community.

Student leaders at UMD are hoping that the University administration will implement this fee by 2008 or 2009. The proposed fee would start at $4 and increase by $2 every year to reach a maximum price of $12.

Speaker Stresses Need For Unity Within Islam

Adi Kochavi — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 01:22:18 -0400

Article body:

Chairman of the Nawawi Foundation Dr. Umar F. Abd-Allah came to speak at Cornell last Friday about the role of American-Muslim culture in today’s world. Abd-Allah’s speech was the keynote address of Islam Awareness Week 2007.

C.U. Gets Charter for Honor Society

Adi Kochavi — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 02:35:55 -0400

Article body:

Last night Chaplain Khalid Latif strove to redefine Islam in terms of tolerance and diversity at a time when many link the word “Islam” with “radical” and “terrorist”

The lecture, entitled “An Islamic Perspective on Social Justice and Human Rights,” was part of Cornell’s annual Islamic Appreciation Week.

C.U. Prof’s Autism Study Draws Parent Criticism

Adi Kochavi — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 01:40:33 -0400

Article body:

Charles H. Dyson Professor of Management Michael Waldman’s theory suggesting that watching television may trigger autism in young children received both praise and backlash when it was published in The Wall Street Journal on Feb. 27. The article revealed the results of Waldman’s research as well as the work of Prof. Sean Nicholson, policy analysis and management, and postdoctoral associate Nodir Adilov, both of whom worked with Waldman.

Competition Goes ‘Green’

Adi Kochavi — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 01:00:00 -0400

Deckhead:

C.U. organizations promote sustainability in business

Article body:

Two Cornell organizations, the Mutual Investment Club of Cornell and the Sustainability Enterprises Association, are joining to launch the Sustainable Investment Challenge, a creative investment competition. SIC, an interdisciplinary competition, brings the concept of environmental-consciousness in business and industry to college campuses in the form of a hands-on contest.

S.A. Resolution Calls for Free HIV Test at Gannett

Adi Kochavi — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 01:41:43 -0500

Correction appended. See below.

The Student Assembly recently began a campaign to bring free HIV testing back to Cornell. Gannett Health Services had offered this testing for free until the fall of 2005, when cuts in the New York State funding forced the price up to $25 per Elisa (HIV) test.

On Feb. 22, the Student Assembly passed Resolution 29, marking the first step toward success in bringing free HIV tests to the Cornell campus. In addition to the unanimous passage in the Student Assembly, this resolution was also unanimously passed by the University Assembly.

Speaker Discusses Problems of Ethiopian Jews

Adi Kochavi — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 01:28:57 -0500

Article body:

Cornell’s black and Jewish communities came together yesterday to host Batia Eyob, the director of the Israel Association for Ethiopian Jews, who spoke on the role of Ethiopian Jews in Israeli society.