By ryan April 2, 2001
President Hunter R. Rawlings III delivered his “State of the University” address to eighty members of his most-feared “lobbyists” this weekend in the Statler ballroom. Rawlings told the President’s Council of Cornell Women (PCCW) Friday that he used to dread the annual membership meeting of this fundraising and advisory organization. After all, in the past ten years, the PCCW has wielded its fair share of lobbying power. The group has given more than $36 million to Cornell, in addition to 120 grants to students between 1991 and 2000, according to numbers compiled by Toby Kleban Levine ’64, the outgoing chair of the PCCW. In early 2000, for instance, the PCCW was instrumental in bringing then- First Lady Hillary Clinton to speak on women’s health care issues. “Cornell is a very hot university right now,” Rawlings told his audience over dinner. “We’ve had an outstanding number of applicants. The yield rate has also jumped.” With the John S. Knight Writing Program earning Cornell the rank of “College of the Year” from Time Magazine and the Princeton Review, Rawlings also reported that eight universities have adopted a similar system. “We are pleased that we are able to help Princeton with their undergraduate curriculum,” he said. Rawlings noted renovations to facilities on the Arts Quad, pointing to Lincoln and Bailey halls. “I will be able to go to Bailey Hall and fit in the seats,” Rawlings said. The president’s announcement that the Class Halls will be knocked down was met with applause. To which he responded, “We have already a long line of alumni standing in line to [operate] the wrecking ball.” In her introduction of Rawlings, Levine touched on four of the PCCW’s goals for the year. “The first of our goals is to increase the number of tenured faculty,” she said. “All the colleges are competing often for the same few candidates. Sometimes we’re not successful, but it’s not for lack of trying.” The group’s second goal was related to securing extended child daycare for female faculty. “There is not a child daycare center in Tompkins County which stays open past 5:30,” Levine said. This goal coincided with one of Rawlings’ goals to increase the number of female faculty members; the president singled out the Johnson School of Management — with three new women professors — and the College of Engineering as two weak areas which have made strides. Another one of Levine’s goals was raising money. “We’ve done very very well here. Our leadership fund … has reached every goal set for it,” she said. At $582,437, the campaign is “little more than half-way” toward reaching its goal of $750,000, she noted. In addition, the PCCW has contributed $75,000 to the women’s softball field. Archived article by Beth Herskovits
By ryan April 2, 2001
Environmental protection, human rights and homelessness were just some of the issues that were discussed at the fifth annual Public Service Leadership Conference on Saturday in Ives Hall. In a series of discussion panels with members of the community, government and public service boards, students had the opportunity to discuss ways in which they can make a difference locally. Students and residents of Ithaca and surrounding areas attended three “breakout sessions,” consisting of discussion panels on issues facing the Ithaca community. Each panelist gave a brief overview of his or her organization and answered questions about specific projects. The conference also featured a performance by Ordinary People, a Cornell anti-oppression acting group. The keynote address by Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-125) stressed the importance of volunteer projects in continuing some of the programs and services that may be cut by the Bush administration in its budget proposal. “Volunteerism is something that we have been doing in this country for a long, long time. Many of the essential services in this city are provided by volunteers. Your work is needed, your abilities are needed, and you can do a lot to help the entire community,” Hinchey said. Michael Chahinian ’02, an organizer of the leadership conference, felt that the conference was successful in helping students to find and organize their own community service projects. “We hope that people will gain an awareness that many major global issues like hunger, homelessness, human rights and illiteracy are prevalent in their community and that they can network with various community leaders involved in these fields,” Chahinian said. In a session titled “Assessing Community Needs,” panelists discussed the issue of a living wage for workers — the amount of income that it takes to live and support a family in an area. This issue was stressed because of its importance to the region’s economy. “Cornell is, by far, the largest employer in the three-county area. They set the wage rate for the entire region. So, this campaign for a living wage is very important, not only to Cornell workers, but to the entire community,” said Amy Bonn, a member of United Way of Tompkins County. In encouraging more campus organizations to join the living wage campaign, Susanne Davis, member of the Tompkins County Board of Representatives, encouraged more groups to work on projects like the securing of a living wage. “Although it may seem redundant when three different groups embark on similar projects, they are often working with three different populations. It is important that they each work on their respective populations because what works for population one will not necessarily work for population two,” Davis said. Addressing the issue of homelessness in Ithaca, a panel touched on techniques to make students’ community service efforts go further. According to the panelists, the most successful projects are usually personal hygiene drives and soliciting small donations of money. Chris Pothier, a volunteer for Loaves and Fishes of Ithaca, explained that beginning this year, there is going to be a limit on federal welfare. After five years, welfare recipients must either start working at a job or go to a safety net. The safety net will cover only certain necessities and will be considerably less money than welfare provides. “This is sort of a harsh reality for some people that have been on welfare for many years. It is very hard to get back into the workforce when you’ve been out of it for so long,” Pothier said. Although students have been very successful in collecting items in food drives, one panelist believed that the actual benefit of this type of project is not that great. According to Natasha Ribeiro, the operation frontline coordinator of Food Bank of the Southern Tier said that although a person donating a box of cereal that cost three dollars will help feed one family, that same three dollars could have been spent by the agency to buy two bulk cases of cereal that would feed many families. Human rights was also an issue that drew a lot of attention from the conference attendees. Panelists from organizations such as Human Rights Commission, Refugee Assistance Program and Challenge Industries described the positive effect students have had on some of the less-fortunate members of the community. “One thing that students can bring to human services organizations in Ithaca is personal relationships with people. This is one thing that staff members may not be able to give because they don’t have the time,” said Marty Gold, a member of Challenge Industries. Archived article by Seth Harris