By ryan October 23, 2000
Another Student Assembly meeting concluded last Thursday, one characteristically free of outbursts and partisan contests. Following the meeting, however, tension boiled over for one Assembly member, and a debate that never took place on the Memorial Room floor that day emerged before several onlookers outside the meeting room instead. “These kinds of things happen after every S.A. meeting,” said David Mahon ’01, student-elected trustee, of the seemingly typical exchange. Then the ensuing argument between James Lamb, Jr. ’03, representative at-large and several Cornell Republicans escalated into something more. Lamb and the Republicans debated resolution 14, a proposal calling for a definition of the S.A. executive archivist’s role during Assembly meetings. “Nothing out of the ordinary happened at the meeting,” said Derrick Zandpour ’02, international representative. But then after the meeting, “[Lamb] started to get rather aggravated about [the resolution], pointing his finger at me.” Shouts followed, and Lamb threw a Snapple bottle in Zandpour’s direction, pieces of glass hitting him as the bottle smashed, according to Zandpour. “If people weren’t there to stop him, it could have gotten a lot worse,” Zandpour added. Mike Kalogiannis ’01, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences representative, then called the Cornell University Police Department, and the police — at Zandpour’s request — directed investigation of the incident to the University Judicial Administrator (J.A.). “I don’t think James would have ever laid a finger on Derrick — or anyone,” Mahon said. “That’s just beyond reason.” Still, the tense relationship between Lamb and the Cornell Republicans, Mahon noted, dates back to last year when Lamb became frustrated during an Assembly meeting. He stormed out of the meeting and returned, punching his fist through a pane of glass. This time, once again, Lamb was allegedly at the center of another controversial moment. “I saw [Jennifer Fang, the S.A. archivist] crying, because of other S.A. members acting as if her humanity wasn’t important to them,” Lamb said. “When I was faced with those tears, that was when I lost it.” As the event’s fallout emerged, inevitably affecting the S.A. by association, Assembly members have tried distancing the body from the incident. “We are waiting for the J.A. to take action,” said Michael L. Bronstein ’02, S.A. vice president for public relations. “It’s a shame,” Bronstein added, “because the body this year has been a very different body than it ever has been.” However, “I think this year’s S.A. will be able to preserve decorum,” he said, noting that the incident took place outside of the Assembly’s meeting, not inside. The resolution — authored by Zandpour and two other S.A. members — states that the archivist “must remain unbiased and neutral, publicly expressing no viewpoint on any issue before the Assembly.” “That, as far as I can tell, impedes on [Fang’s] right to speaking,” Lamb said, noting that her perspective — that of a minority — should be particularly valuable during discussions of the recent bias-related incidents. Lamb added that despite the orderly nature of the S.A., “there is a lot of animosity that isn’t being expressed publicly.” The resolution, he said, revolves not around the position of executive archivist, but around Fang — who holds the position — and Lamb himself, who is politically and personally close with Fang. “Yeah, it is personal,” Lamb said. “I honestly can’t see it as anything else.” Fang could not be reached for comment last night. Bronstein defended what he believes to be the true intentions of the resolution. “We felt that it was appropriate to change … the position,” Bronstein said, noting a past Assembly effort to remove the position altogether. “He thinks it’s a personal thing aimed at him and his girlfriend, [Fang].” This week, resolution 14 comes up for debate in the Assembly, and the agenda calls for a vote as well. “I am hoping that the S.A. does not try to cover this [incident] up and takes some kind of responsibility for this,” Zandpour said, recalling the incident involving Lamb a year ago. But many S.A. officials hope the incident does not alter the perception of a new Assembly, a departure from the tumultuous nature of the previous Assembly. S.A. President Uzo Asonye ’02 said he would not address the incident publicly during the next Assembly meeting, although an executive session will be held to discuss it. “From gavel to gavel, I maintain order in our meetings,” he said, but Asonye added what takes place after meetings is beyond his control. “I’ve made it very clear throughout this year that I am not going to tolerate any shenanigans,” Asonye said. Asonye has not discussed the incident with either Lamb or Zandpour. Neither has there been any official S.A. discussion regarding Lamb’s removal from the body due to his actions. “The only way that I know that you can do it is to recall [Lamb’s] election,” Bronstein said. Recalling an S.A. member would require about 2000 signatures from the student body just to be initiated. If that removal effort was successful, Lee Rudofsky ’01, would step into Lamb’s position on the Assembly. Hoping that resolution 14 is postponed pending the conclusion of the J.A. investigation, Lamb offered a look towards next week’s meeting. If the resolution were to be passed, he said, then “I would probably at that point resign.”Archived article by Matthew Hirsch
By ryan October 23, 2000
Four members of the Cornell Coalition for Animal Defense spent their weekend camped in cages on Ho Plaza to protest experiments on primates they believe are cruel and unnecessary. CCAD hoped their demonstration would raise awareness among students about animal rights and scientific research at Cornell. Not only did the protesters fear for the safety of animals involved in scientific research, they also worried that students do not know enough about research projects conducted at Cornell that use animals as test subjects. “I’m doing this because it’s upsetting how little most Cornell students know about what happens right here,” Clair Whittet ’04 said from her cage. The four students began their stint in the cages on Friday afternoon, and planned to emerge from the cages early this morning. They also committed themselves to a three-day juice fast to bring further attention to their cause. CCAD, formerly known as Cornell Students for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, staged a similar demonstration last year. For that demonstration, two members sat in cages on Ho Plaza for a weekend. “Last year accomplished a lot just by showing people what’s going on,” said CCAD President Timothy Slate ’01. At that demonstration, CCAD members also asked passers-by to sign a petition, as they did this past weekend, to show their support for CCAD and the animal rights cause. Demonstrators particularly objected to the research of Prof. Peter W. Nathanielsz, animal physiology. According to CCAD treasurer Angela Ohrstrom ’03, the group based many of its objections to Nathanielsz’s research on an abstract of one of his projects, “TRH [thyrotopin releasing hormone] and Glucocorticoid Actions on the Fetal Lung,” which, according to the abstract, uses “nonhuman primates.” “The students protest regularly,” Nathanielsz said. Nathanielsz defended his research, citing honors he has received from the Royal College of Obstetricians and — this past year — from the American Maternal-Fetal Medicine Society. “They know the work is heavily funded by the NIH [National Institute of Health],” Nathanielsz said, adding that the NIH has funded his research for over 25 years. “Despite the fact that the students say our work is of no value, the people who count in the medical world seem to think it is,” Nathanielsz concluded. CCAD based many of its objections to the professor’s research on anecdotal evidence, since no members of the CCAD have been inside Nathanielsz’s lab. “We’ve tried to go and talk to him, but the police have escorted us away,” Slate said. According to Slate, the incident, in which CCAD members went to the Veterinary Research Tower to present a petition, took place last year. “I’ve never been able to speak with him [Nathanielsz] personally,” Slate said. “Via e-mail, he’s told us … he’s not in charge of [who is allowed into] his lab.” “The very fact they won’t let us in makes these experiments very suspicious,” Ohrstrom said. “I would like to see how these animals are treated. Are they kept in darkness or light, together or apart? … These procedures seem like they would be very painful,” Ohrstrom said. CCAD members on Ho Plaza this weekend, whether in cages or not, agreed that they hoped their demonstration would raise student awareness about animal experiments conducted at the University. “I hope this will encourage people to question more what happens [in research labs],” Whittet said. “You picked a nice weekend for it,” a passer-by on Ho Plaza said.Archived article by Maggie Frank