Recent Contributions from Venus Wu

Ithaca Looks to Update Infrastructure on the Commons

Venus Wu — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0500

While the jagged sidewalks and century-old pipeline add to the historic charm of the Commons, these outdated facilities are also a major area of concern. Last night, the Ithaca Common Council held a special meeting to discuss a $250,000 Commons Upgrade Project, which would appoint a professional design company to plan an overhaul for the Commons’s infrastructure.

The plan will be comprehensive, targeting a wide range of problem areas in the Commons including broken sidewalks, old public utilities and outdated fire facilities.

Joann Cornish, acting planning director, stressed that the project will only remain in the scope of planning and investigation.

“We are not committed to build anything,” Cornish said.

Ithaca Chooses New Police Chief

Venus Wu — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Edward Vallely was officially named the new police chief of the Ithaca Police Department last night after the Common Council’s unanimous vote confirmed the mayor’s appointment. Vallely, who is the current acting police chief, will oversee a $10 million budget and more than 100 employees, according to the Ithaca Journal.

The selection process began last October after Police Chief Lauren Signer unexpectedly announced her retirement. A search committee — which included Common Council members and representatives from the Community Police Board — then submitted a list of finalists to Mayor Carolyn Peterson. The two finalists for the job, Vallely and Deputy Police Chief John Barber, were internal candidates.

Student Groups Struggle With ‘Severe’ Shortage of Practice Space

Venus Wu — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0500

It is 10:30 p.m and while many students slowly drag their feet home after a long day’s work, some others, carrying drum sticks or hockey pads, set off in the opposite direction to begin practice sessions.

Many students, staff and alumni alike have voiced concern over a “severe” shortage of and “dire need” for sports and performing arts facilities on campus.

“The issue is that the University gives priority to classes, athletic teams and other academic or University sponsored meetings and events above student groups. Student groups get last priority for reservations, often leaving them to meet at night,” explained Elyse Feldman ’09, vice president of public relations of the Student Assembly Finance Commission.

Risley Kitchen Fire Causes Evacuation

Venus Wu — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0500

At about 10:30 p.m. on Thursday, a small fire broke out in the third floor kitchen of Risley Hall, keeping its residents from their rooms for about three hours. No serious damage was done, as the fire was quickly put out by Devin Conathan ’08, who received first to second degree burns on his left hand.

“I walked by the kitchen and saw a four-foot flame coming out of a pan in the stove,” Conathan said.

Upon seeing the fire, Conathan was “a little scared,” but he maintained his calm and put out the flame with a fire extinguisher.

The resident who set off the fire by leaving an oiled pan on the stove unattended apologized to the entire Risley community through an e-mail later that night.

Presidency Not Only Issue: Ballot Measures Reassessed

Venus Wu — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0500

On Nov. 4, voting was a particularly arduous task in Colorado. Apart from choosing the next president of the United States, as well as Senators and House Representatives, Coloradans were also asked to vote on a grand total of 14 ballot measures.

Across the nation, 153 ballot initiatives were presented to voters in this year’s election. Apart from Colorado, the ballots of a few other states were also crowded with up to 12 questions. While it is possible that voters may get worn out by the seemingly never-ending list of questions, Prof. Josh Chafetz, law, believes voters can still make sensible choices.

Election Excitement Grips C.U., Ithaca

Venus Wu — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Obamania erupted in Collegetown just after 11 p.m. as Barack Obama was declared the next president of the United States. People poured out of bars and crowded the streets as they soaked in the historic moment.

“It’s crazy, oh my God,” Leslie Tseng ’10 said. “Everyone is running up and down Dryden Road, yelling ‘Barack Obama’ and setting off fireworks.”

It was a time of unbridled celebration across campus.

“After McCain conceded, everyone was on cell phones, smiling and screaming. Everyone was really happy and the atmosphere was great,” Claudia Mattos ’11 said.Obamania

Tom Wolfe Talks Journalism at I.C.

Venus Wu — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Donned in a pale-cream suit and a shiny white tie, the forerunner of new journalism Tom Wolfe addressed an enthusiastic audience of at least 500 in Ithaca College last night.

“He is a legend and a true hero of American journalism,” said Dianne Lynch, dean of Ithaca College’s Roy H. Park School of Communications in her introduction. “Like Mark Twain, he’s a signifier and chronicler of our times.”

‘Bot’ Epidemic Infects Campus

Venus Wu — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0400

More than 1,000 Windows computers at Cornell fell victim to a widespread “bot” infection, the Cornell Information Technologies Security Office announced Friday evening through a University-wide e-mail alert.

A bot is a piece of malicious software, or “malware,” that can automatically perform various tasks that may range from downloading more malware to stealing passwords to attacking non-Cornell internet websites or servers.

None of the infected computers have shown observable change that can be seen by the user, according to Wyman Miles, manager of security engineering at the CIT security office. He explained that the lack of symptoms was probably a “deliberate attempt by the malware authors to conceal an infection for as long as possible.”

Still on Campus?

Venus Wu — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0400

We have all been on a rollercoaster ride of prelims, quizzes, essays and problem sets for a few long weeks. Now we can all take a breather and catch up with some sleep (9.25 hours anyone?) before the cycle resumes again.

But for those who try to restore your physical wellbeing and mental sanity in Ithaca, you may find the following helpful:

Meal plans will take a break as well after lunch on Saturday. Don’t worry — they will be back for dinner on Tuesday.

On West, Jansen’s at Bethe House will be closed at 2 p.m. today while Alice Cook Dining will be closed at 8 p.m. tonight. Carl Becker Dining will close at 2 p.m. on Saturday. All three dining rooms will reopen at 5 p.m. on Tuesday.

Former Lehman Bros. Director Speaks of Wall Street’s Decline

Venus Wu — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0400

The Wall Street financial catastrophe that has shaken the world was analyzed and explained yesterday in “The Financial Crisis: Implications for Washington, Wall Street and Main Street,” a panel discussion hosted by the Cornell International Affairs Review.

Three panelists dissected the causes and implications of the crisis from the perspectives of finance, economics and politics to an audience of about 220, filling Goldwin Smith’s Hollis Auditorium.

“This is a crisis. It is not obvious to many people, but this is not just a Wall Street problem, but also a Main Street problem,” said Prof. David Easley, economics, one of the three panelists.

C.U. Democrats Have Mixed Opinions On Debates

Venus Wu — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0400

It was almost 9 p.m. on Friday and the countdown had started.

About 35 members of the Cornell Democrats huddled in a small living room in Ravenwood Apartments and passed around home-made Obama cupcakes while counting down the minutes to the first presidential debate in Mississippi.

When the faces of Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) finally appeared, all chattering in the room died down, and all eyes were fixed on the screen.

Obama’s attacks on McCain, whether on flawed tax codes or on the invasion of Iraq, were met with approving nods, a raised fist in the air and a few high-fives.

Cornell Receives $35 Million Gift to Enhance University Faculty

Venus Wu — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 15:07:14 -0400

This afternoon, President David Skorton officially announced a gift of $35 million dollars made to the University by Andrew and Ann Tisch. Andrew, a member of the Board of Trustees, graduated in 1971.

The endowment will be used to establish the Tisch University Professorships, which aim to preserve and expand University faculty by offering more competitive salaries and supporting graduate research.

The fund comes at a time when universities nationwide are struggling to attract the most renowned scholars, especially mid-career professors.

Interim Provost David Harris, who will be responsible for allocating the funds, found it a “welcome relief.”

C.U. Endowment Spending Likely Unaffected by Legislative Proposal

Venus Wu — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0400

With recent debates in Washington over whether universities should be legally forced to spend more of their endowments, one cannot help but wonder how Cornell utilizes its $5.4 billion endowment, the 18th largest in the nation.

Under law, Cornell is not allowed to spend the principal value of the endowment, but can spend a portion of investment returns.

Nearly all of the $5.4 billion is invested, and after adjusting for inflation, a portion of investment returns are spent. This amount, called the payout, has been 5.1 percent of the value of the endowment on average over the past 10 years.

This figure is slightly higher than the five-percent minimum payout rate that legislation proposed last February by Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.).

Panel Discussion Held for Georgia

Venus Wu — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Cornellians are often said to be living in the “10 square miles surrounded by reality” that is Ithaca. Yesterday afternoon, however, the Guerlac Room in A.D. White House was packed with students attending a panel discussion called “A New Cold War? The Crisis in Georgia and Its Implications for East-West Relations.”

In the event organized by the Cornell International Affairs Review, Prof. Valerie Bunce, government, joined Georgian author and political figure Irakli Kakabadze and spoke to about 100 people. About 20 members of the audience stood at the entrances of the small room throughout the two-hour discussion.

PeopleSoft Hinders Review of Aid Applications

Venus Wu — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0400

12 days after classes started, about 750 students’ financial aid applications are still being processed due to complications from the implementation of PeopleSoft. PeopleSoft replaced JustTheFacts software and now manages students’ personal, academic, bursar and financial aid information.

“PeopleSoft is certainly the major factor in the delay,” Doris Davis, associate provost for admissions and enrollment, stated in an email. She cited late student applications as another cause.

“We want to encourage students who are in urgent situations to come to the Office of Financial Aid and speak to a financial aid counselor,” she added.

University Bids Farewell To Provost Biddy Martin

Venus Wu — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 00:00:00 -0400

As a gift to the outgoing provost, President David Skorton proclaimed that the dining room in the A.D. White House would now be called the “Carolyn ‘Biddy’ Martin Room.”

The announcement was made yesterday at a special event, where about 150 staff, faculty, students and alumni gathered under a large, white tent on Bailey Hall plaza to bid farewell to Martin, now chancellor of University Wisconsin-Madison, her alma mater.

“A.D. White House is where I have spent some of my best times at Cornell. It is one of the most beautiful and important houses on campus. And to have something related to the humanities named after me means the world to me,” said Martin.

Prof’s Online Video Library Licensed to Start-Up Company

Venus Wu — Thu, 01 May 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Getting the busy CEOs of Citigroup, Nike Inc. or PepsiCo to come to a Cornell classroom is an arduous task. A near-substitute, however, is made possible with eClips, a free and open online collection of nearly 11,000 video clips of interviews and presentations by business experts.

eClips was initiated more than a decade ago by Prof. Deborah Streeter, applied economics and management. Designed for classroom use, most of the clips are only a few minutes long and can be integrated into PowerPoint presentations. The free and open website now boasts users in more than 1,200 universities in over 75 countries.

Recently, Streeter announced that the online video library has been licensed to a startup company called eClipsNet, LLC.

Profs Receive $25M Grant

Venus Wu — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Two Cornell professors won a $25 million grant for a new interdisciplinary scientific research and education center at Cornell, announced the Global Research Partnership of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology yesterday.

The KAUST-Cornell University Center for Research and Education will be co-led by Prof. Emmanuel Giannelis, materials science and engineering, and Prof. Lynden Archer, chemical and biolomolecular engineering, the Marjorie L. Hart Professor of Engineering. Giannelis and Archer’s proposal is selected as one of the four winners among the 41 initial applications submitted in late 2007.

Graduate and Professional Student Assembly Elects New Executive Board

Venus Wu — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400

New officers of the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly were elected on Monday during the final GPSA meeting of the academic year in the Big Red Barn Graduate Student Center.

Michelle Leinfelder grad, the current executive vice-president, was elected president of the new executive board. She identified three main goals of the new GPSA executive board: to continue working on the Graduate Committee Initiative, to represent the voices of graduate and professional students and to make sure that the administration understands the immediate needs for a graduate student center.

Campus Dining May Be Linked to Stomach Flu

Venus Wu — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Imagine spending a painfully long day in a claustrophobic bathroom stall while your friends are enjoying the April sunshine. Last week, a higher than average number of Cornell students had to go through the unfortunate experience of “stomach flu,” or gastroenteritis.

According to Gannett Health Services, 55 students reported symptoms of gastroenteritis between April 13 and 19. These students suffered from nausea, vomiting, diarrhea or a combination of the symptoms. Although the number is much higher than the average number of 20 to 25 cases per week, it is “not unusual,” according to Nianne VanFleet, Gannett’s associate director for nursing and clinical services.

Tension in Asia Provokes Response from Ithacans

Venus Wu — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0400

This is the second of a two-part series examining how local Tibetans are responding to the violence between China and Tibet.

A quick Google search for “Free Tibet” generates more than 8 million results. How some Chinese and Tibetans interpret this catchphrase, however, may be fundamentally different as Tibet refers to completely different border outlines for Chinese and Tibetans.

“This is a major confusion,” said Palden Oshoe, president of the Tibetan Association of Ithaca.

Ithaca is home to a small yet active community of about 50 Tibetans, and Cornell hosts more than 700 students and academic staff members from China.

Local Tibetans Respond to Violence in Native Country

Venus Wu — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0400

This is the first of a two-part series examining how local Tibetans are responding to the violence between China and Tibet.

The thick black fumes and deafening clamors of political turmoil may be halfway across the globe, but the recent outbreak of violence in Tibet hits home for many in Ithaca.

Palden Oshoe, a Tibetan who lives in Ithaca, has not called his eldest siblings in Tibet, Western China since news of the riots broke.

“They were in southern Tibet where there is not much riot. But to call them would be a risk, because [the Chinese] are keeping track of every call coming in,” Oshoe said.

Ithaca is home to about 50 Tibetans, including Tibetan Buddhist monks in the Namgyal Monastery, the North American seat of Dalai Lama.

Nobel Peace Prize Winner Lectures on Landmine Issues

Venus Wu — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Last night, Nobel Peace Prize Co-Laureate Rae McGrath delivered a public lecture about indiscriminate weapons and civil society’s role in prohibiting them.

“What I’m going to talk to you about relates to the experience of hundreds and thousands of people, perhaps millions of people around the world. To some extent I will be speaking on behalf of some of those people who can’t speak for themselves,” said McGrath at the beginning of the lecture, which was held in Goldwin Smith Hall.

University to Replace Bear Access Software

Venus Wu — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Bear Access, which has served the University for more than 10 years, will soon become a part of Cornell’s history.

After Spring Break, Bear Access will be completely replaced by PeopleSoft, a web-based administrative system that is used in more than a thousand schools. The current Just the Facts will not be available between March 11 and March 23. Starting March 23, students will access their personal, academic, bursar and financial aid information via PeopleSoft. This new system will also facilitate future pre-enrollment from April onwards.

“[With Bear Access,] the most common complaint is that you can’t use it on a Macintosh,” said Griffin Wilson ’10, who works at the Cornell Information Technologies help desk.

S.A. Candidates Debate Assembly’s Future

Venus Wu — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500

The visibility and publicity of the Student Assembly remained its central concern as S.A. candidates gathered yesterday evening in a two-hour long forum.

24 undergraduates are running for 18 seats in this year’s S.A election. Online voting will begin next Tuesday, and the results will be announced that Friday.

The forum, which was held in Robert Purcell Community Center, was led by S.A.’s Director of Elections Mark Coombs ’08, who is also a Sun columnist. When he asked candidates what the S.A. should improve upon, most candidates agreed that the S.A. needed to increase its publicity and reach out to the students it represents.

“Our brand recognition is not as strong as it should be,” said Gregory Mezey ’09. “The S.A. as a brand … needs to be revitalized.”

Undergraduate Tuition Up Despite Capital Campaign

Venus Wu — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Amidst the hype surrounding Cornell’s recently announced financial aid initiative and the progress of the Capital Campaign, few undergraduates realize that they will be paying more for tuition next year.

According to a press release, the tuition for undergraduate students at the endowed colleges will rise by 4.9 percent, from $34,600 to $36,300.Percentage Tuition Increase At Cornell, Other Ivies This, along with the 4 percent increase in housing and dining fees, will result in an overall 4.7 percent hike in all fees from $46,021 to $48,194.

Pre-Enrollment Site Hacked by Students

Venus Wu — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Last semester, as most Cornellians raced to submit their pre-enrollment choices online at 6:30 a.m. sharp, a few students might have already reached the finish line before the starting gun was fired.

According to a student who works at the Cornell Information Technologies help desk, at least 10 students in the past two years have successfully hacked into the Just The Facts desktop application to pre-enroll themselves in classes before the 6:30 a.m. starting time.

Most of the people interviewed — due to their roles in the incident or their positions at CIT — wished to remain anonymous.

The main source and two others who have graduated claim that the school was aware of the hacking. One alumnus expressed his surprise at the persistence of the JTF application’s loophole.

C.U. Ornithologist Honored

Venus Wu — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Tim Gallagher, editor in chief of Cornell’s award-winning Living Bird magazine, has recently been named one of the 50 most influential Britons in America by the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph.

“It was a complete shock. It’s almost only in Britain that they’ll put a bird watcher on the list,” laughed Gallagher, who works in the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology.

However, Gallagher is no ordinary bird watcher. He is one of the first people to see and identify the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, a bird that was thought to be extinct in the 1940s. The 2004 rediscovery of the bird in Arkansas has raised public awareness of the conservation of Bottomland Hardwood Forests in the South, where the bird’s population has decreased by more than 80 percent in the last 200 years.

Fewer Enroll in Non-Abroad C.U. Study Programs

Venus Wu — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0500

Although internship, externship and co-op opportunities in Ithaca are limited, current trends show that fewer students opt for Cornell’s non-abroad programs in some of the largest cities in America. Less than half of the Cornell in Washington Program is currently filled for Spring 2008. Only one student applied to work in Albany through the Capital Semester Program next semester. The Engineering Co-op Program also has seen a slight decrease in the number of applicants over the past few years.

“This semester [CIW is] under-enrolled … we can’t explain it,” said Linda Johnson, executive director of CIW.

Brighter Comet Now Visible to Naked Eye

Venus Wu — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0500

Correction appended. See below.

Since its discovery in 1892, Comet Holmes has not drawn much attention. However, the comet’s recent “explosion” on Oct. 23 has increased its brightness more than half a million times. The comet has now become the latest sensation among amateur and professional astronomers at Cornell and worldwide.

The comet, which was previously invisible to the unaided eye, can now be easily seen.

“It is visible in the constellation of Perseus, which rises in the Northeast in early evening. It’s very high in the North sky at around midnight, and it forms a nice triangle with two of the brightest stars in Perseus,” said Michael Roman ’06, radiophysics and space research.

Minority Studies Project Receives Grant

Venus Wu — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Increasing diversity in American colleges may seem like a dream goal, but with a $630,000 renewal grant, Prof. Satya Mohanty, English, a founder of The Future of Minority Studies Research Project, is closer to achieving it.

FMS has received a three-year, $630,000 renewal grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation last June. The Project is a research network that includes about 300 scholars studying minority issues.

Speaker Offers Advice On Mental Health Issues

Venus Wu — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 00:00:00 -0400

Walking around Cornell’s campus, it is easy to see hundreds of smiling students who seem perfectly happy. According to Ross Szabo of Campuspeak Inc., however, there may be a lot more going on behind their sunny dispositions.

Szabo’s presentation, “What Happy Faces Are Hiding: Talking About Depression” focused on removing the common stigmas associated with mental health problems and the importance of communication as treatment.

“80 to 90 percent of people who seek help (on mental health problems) can go back to normal life,” Szabo said in his presentation delivered in The Straight.

Prof Continues Campaign Against Sleep Deprivation

Venus Wu — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400

It is (almost) a universally acknowledged truth that a Cornell University student must be in want of sleep.

Prof. Maas would have preferred the word “need” over “want.”

“Unfortunately, the treating of sleep as a luxury, as opposed to a necessity, is born out of ignorance,” said Prof. James Maas Ph.D. ’66, psychology, who lectures more than 1,300 students every year on the importance of sleep in his PSYCH 101 class.

The current generation of Cornellians are more sleep-deprived than ever, and they are nowhere near getting the ideal 9.25 hours of sleep. “When I started on faculty in 1964 … people got around seven hours. Now the average is 6.1 hours per night at Cornell,” said Maas.

Language Courses Suffer Crowding

Venus Wu — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400

For many students, getting a place in certain language courses last August may have been more difficult than actually learning the language itself. As instruction began, however, and students shopped around for courses, most of the long waitlists disappeared.

The present availability of open spots is in sharp contrast to the scenario at the beginning of the semester, when frustrated students failed to get into the sessions of their choice. In the first few days of fall semester classes, the waitlist for JAPAN101: Elementary Japanese contained 58 names; 45 hopeful students were in line for CHIN101: Elementary Standard Chinese Mandarin.

Website Offers Students Textbook Rental Option

Venus Wu — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400

The recent launch of a book rental website hopes to provide an alternative to textbook shopping for college students across the country.

Apart from the Cornell Store, Kraftees and various popular online bookstores, students can choose to rent textbooks from BookRenter.com, which is partnered with Amazon.com. According to BookRenter, depending on the book and rental period, students may be able to save up to 75 percent off the retail price on textbooks.

TCAT Adjusts Routes, Revamps Website

Venus Wu — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 00:00:00 -0400

It is 10 p.m. on a Wednesday night. Do you know where your TCAT bus is? If you’re new to Cornell, there is a chance that you do not. Whether it was a trip to the Commons or a quick run to the mall, some students have had unfortunate experiences with the bus service that frequents the Ithaca area.

Although many students find TCAT bus service generally acceptable, they share a few common complaints, most notably in the confusing website and infrequent service.

TCAT promises several new improvements, however.

“We should be having a new website in a couple to three weeks. It will be more interactive. I hope people will find it more user-friendly,” said James Bratton, marketing and communications manager of TCAT.

Poet Discusses International Identity

Venus Wu — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0400

The Fall 2007 Reading Series made a fresh start yesterday as more than 200 people attended a poetry reading by poet Willie Perdomo. In just an hour, the PEN America Beyond Margins Award winner read aloud more than ten poems on the struggle of cultural identity, Hurricane Katrina and his favorite four letter word — love.

“Perdomo writes poetry in the context of a particular life and historical moment,” said Prof. Stephanie Vaughn, director of the creative writing program and organizer of the Reading Series.