Killing Two Birds With One Stone

By wpengine | November 13, 2001

The men’s soccer team’s (7-4-3, 1-3-3 Ivy) run at an NCAA tournament berth continues tonight when Cornell takes on Hartwick (11-7-0, 2-3-0 ASC) in the biggest game of the season for both teams. The Red is ranked second in the New York region, but the Hawks are right behind at number three. The second team in the region will likely receive an at-large bid to the tournament, since top-seeded St. John’s could receive an automatic bid as Big East champ.

“If we win the next two, I would say that a tournament bid is likely,” head coach Bryan Scales predicted.

After tonight’s game, the final piece of the schedule falls in place on Saturday against Binghamton. Scales went on to say that a split will take away any serious chance at a postseason spot.

In addition to the postseason implications of the match, Cornell has a few bones to pick with Hartwick. The Hawks left last year’s contest between the two schools with a 7-2 victory in Oneonta, and the Red will be seeking redemption.

Scales has an additional motive to show Hartwick a solid performance — he played his college soccer for the Hawks.

Cornell will be more than happy to play host to this year’s contest. The Red sports a 5-1-1 record at Berman Field. Among those five wins are the team’s three biggest offensive games of the season.

However, Hartwick will not lay down easily for Cornell. It is a fast team that plays disciplined soccer. Rob Catana, who recorded a hat trick last year, returns for the Hawks as does first-team all ASC defender Matt Strode and second-teamers Jonathan Westmaas, Michael McGivney and Neil McLean.

Since both teams are out of the hunt for an NCAA bid, the contest will probably shatter the loser’s playoff hopes.

“It’s a huge game for us,” Scales said. “There’s only 48 teams out of 200 that get invited to the national tournament, and so for this group, as young as it is, to be in it at this stage of the game is an exciting thing for all of us.”

Cornell has turned around what seemed to be a disappointing season in the past two weeks, going 3-0-1 after seeing its record fall to .500 on October 26. The hot streak continued Saturday afternoon with an exciting 3-1 comeback victory against Columbia (6-6-3, 3-3-1 Ivy). The win was the first Ivy win for the Red, but more importantly, it strengthened Cornell’s chances at landing a spot in the national tournament.

“We weren’t really looking at [Columbia] as an Ivy League game,” Scales explained. “For us, it was a regional game. These guys know the importance of all of these games from now on in, because we’re not going to win the league. We have to devote all of our energy to winning the rest of our games for the tournament.”

Senior Matt Eldridge’s first career goal came at the best possible time for the Red — with 11 minutes left against the Lions and the score tied at one goal apiece. He followed his own shot and fired the rebound into the net from 25 yards out.

The Lions got on the board first, when Craig Smart put a shot on net. Thorstein Gestsson slipped the rebound past junior goalkeeper Doug Allan, giving Columbia the lead just 1:09 into the game. Gestsson’s goal was his second of the weekend after returning from a three-game injury layoff.

Later in the first half, Red senior Ted Papadopoulos evened the score when he took a crossing pass from sophomore Ian Pilarski and beat Columbia goalie Mike Ewers.

Eldridge’s goal at 78:37 put Cornell ahead, and also helped the senior earn Cornell Air Force ROTC Athlete of the Week honors. Thirty-two seconds after Eldridge gave the Red the lead with his goal, freshman Steve Reuter added an insurance goal, scoring on a breakaway.

“I thought that it was a pretty convincing performance,” Scales said. “We gave up the first goal in the first minute, but I thought from then on in, for the rest of that 89 minutes, we were clearly the team that was on top, the better team.”

Reuter’s goal chased Ewers, who made just three saves while surrendering all of Cornell’s tallies. He was replaced by freshman Dean Arnaoutakis, who made his first career appearance but did not have the opportunity to make a save during his 10:51 of action.

The loss ended the Lions’ season on a three-game losing streak. Columbia went into Saturday’s game trying to rebound from a 2-1 overtime loss to Hartwick.

Archived article by Alex Fineman

C.U. Suspends Hiring of New Staff Members

By wpengine November 14, 2001

In response to the economic dip following the Sept. 11 events, President Hunter R. Rawlings III announced yesterday a University-wide hiring freeze. The University has suspended all non-student and non-academic staff hiring until at least June 30, 2002. “The national economic downturn and the aftermath of the events of Sept. 11 have sent shock waves throughout our nation and abroad,” Rawlings said. “We are not unmindful of the external forces that have already affected and will continue to affect our work. … The economic slowdown that was already well under way prior to Sept. 11 has had an impact on the size of the University’s endowment.” According to Rawlings, the 7.8 percent drop in the absolute value of the endowment as of the end of the last fiscal year was the largest decline the University has seen in 20 years. This decrease mirrors the nation-wide downward economic trend, which could increase the need for financial aid and reduce the ability to fund programs on campus. “Thanks to the prudent payout policy the university has implemented for many years, there is no need for an immediate reduction in the payout level to participating colleges and programs across the campus,” Rawlings said. Rawlings, however, did state that the sudden drop in tax revenues and the necessary redirection of funds toward public safety, public health and infrastructure redevelopment could negatively affect Cornell in the years to come. The University will make exceptions in the freeze for positions that are essential to an organization’s function or to safety. In addition, job offers already made will not be retracted. Rawlings has appointed a Workforce Planning Team to assess the University’s current state of affairs and assist in decision-making. The team of deans and administrators has met three times and will continue to meet throughout the year. According to Henrik N. Dullea ’61, vice provost for University relations, the team was instrumental in issuing yesterday’s memorandum and is making strides toward achieving a more efficient budget. “The team will be looking at different areas across the colleges to see if we can be as effective as possible with limited resources,” Dullea said. Susan Henry, the Ronald P. Lynch dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) and a member of the Workforce Planning Team, stated in a previous interview with The Sun that to combat a restricted budget CALS would have to turn to areas other than the state for funding. “In the long term, we can have a good effect in this college by raising money like the endowed colleges,” Henry said. “We anticipate a tight budget until New York City makes a recovery. … We might have to look conservatively at new programs and hiring.” Despite a limited budget, Rawlings ensured that faculty hiring will be exempted from the freeze. Faculty salary, according to Dullea, will also not be affected, because Cornell wants to “continue to recruit and retain the best possible faculty.” Dullea also stated that because most of Cornell’s staff hiring is internal, the Ithaca community is not likely to experience a job shortage or other financial rebounds. Although the University is uncertain of how many jobs will be left open, substantial savings are expected. “We are looking for ways to gain efficiency over time, which presumably means having a smaller staff or getting more productive results from the same number of people,” said Walter Cohen, vice provost and member of the Workforce Planning Team. According to Cohen, the freeze is only a temporary solution; reorganizing staff positions will in the long run reduce the costs. With the ebb and flow in the University’s staff hiring processes interrupted, Cornell will be able to catch its financial breath by not filling positions that are voluntarily vacated. “I think [the freeze] is a real opportunity for all of us to look carefully at what we are doing in our respective areas to see if we can [do things] more efficiently,” Dullea said. “Some things we are doing might not need to be done and might not be as high a priority.” The Workforce Planning Team anticipates a preliminary solution to some of the University’s present financial issues, but expects progress to emerge slowly, even after the freeze is no longer in effect. “We are looking toward more difficult economic times because the state government funds us and they are in trouble now, so we will have to be a little more prudent,” said Cohen. “We are not in a crisis, but we are under a bit of pressure. I would predict the freeze will work, but workforce planning is the challenge for the long term.” Archived article by Rachel Einschlag
S.A. Requests Release of Budgets

By wpengine November 14, 2001

The controversy surrounding the funding of the Cornell Women’s Resource Center’s director continued yesterday after Student Assembly (S.A.) President Uzo Asonye ’02 formally requested that the budgets of the offices of Student and Academic Services and Dean of Students be released to students. Asonye wrote on behalf of the S.A. to Susan Murphy ’73, vice president of student and academic services, and Kent Hubbell, dean of students, yesterday about an S.A. resolution passed on Nov. 9, which “authorizes the S.A. president to formally request the budgets of the Offices of Student and Academic Services and Dean of Students,” according to the letter. The Cornell Women’s Resource Center (CWRC) has been a part of Cornell’s campus since the 1970s and provides an 800-book lending library, support services, a literary magazine and programming for women. The Student Assembly (S.A.) has paid the $30,000 salary of the CWRC’s director since 1998 from the student activity fund, which cos each student four dollars annually. The S.A. has agreed to continue to help pay for the programming costs of the CWRC — approximately one dollar per student — but is urging the administration to pay the salary of the center’s director, Kelly Connison. Asonye ’02 said that the CWRC is “one of the most important things at Cornell,” and that funding for its director is absolutely necessary. He noted the reason that the S.A. is requesting the budgets is “so that we can point out sources where money can be shifted and reallocated. … [T]here definitely should be student input.” Asonye said that by finding places where the budget can be changed, the administration should be able to find the money to support Connison’s salary. He also stated that the University hiring freeze shouldn’t affect any decisions about the fate of the CWRC. In a statement yesterday, President Hunter R. Rawlings III said that the economic status of the country, compounded by the Sept. 11 events, has caused a drop in the absolute value of the University’s endowment. In response, he is “directing the implementation of a university-wide hiring freeze” on all non-academic and non-student positions effective immediately and lasting until at least June 30, 2002. Asonye said that the hiring freeze shouldn’t have an effect because the S.A. is already funding the position for two years, from August 2000 to July 2002. If the freeze ends on June 30, 2002, as stated, Asonye said, “the administration wouldn’t take over [funding the CWRC] until August of 2002.” Asonye noted that the University’s financial problems should further encourage the administration to fund Connison’s salary. “In times of financial turbulence … you show what you really appreciate,” Asonye said. More support for Connison came in an open letter to Murphy and Hubbell which ran Monday in The Sun. Twenty-five organizations signed their support. The letter urged the University to “ensure the stability of the resource center by funding the salary of the full-time director, who continuously spearheads initiatives long after graduating students leave.” Alexandra Sanchez ’03, president of the Cornell Democrats, said that endorsement of the letter was a unanimous decision among members of the organization. “Being a very pro-women political organization, we definitely support everything the CWRC stands for,” Sanchez said. According to Sanchez, the contribution made by the CWRC to the Cornell campus is “vital,” and she called the request for funding Connison’s salary “logical and compelling.” Omega Phi Beta sorority also signed the letter supporting University funding of the CWRC. “The resource center has always been an ally, especially to sororities,” said June Jimenez ’02, president of Omega Phi Beta. Jimenez said that the CWRC is “invaluable” because it gives women a place to safely express themselves at Cornell. Dean Hubbell said that the support for funding the director of the CWRC has been recognized by the administration. “All of these e-mails brought home the point that people are interested in having the women’s resource center,” he said. According to Hubbell, the administration is “taking it all into consideration” and will look at the possibility of funding the CWRC. “We have to understand how it fits into what we do on this campus.” Murphy has stated that the administration is discussing the situation, but has not taken a stance on the issue. Murphy declined to comment on the letter sent by the S.A. Connie Wong ’02, co-president of the CWRC, said that support by other organizations has been greatly appreciated. “It’s an amazing response by the Cornell community. It shows we have support among the students at Cornell.” Wong said that members of the CWRC have been talking to student organizations and asking for support from them for the past week. “Everyday we’re adding more,” she said. Wong also supported S.A.’s request of administration’s budget. “It’s very hard for students to believe that they can’t pull the money from somewhere,” Wong said.Archived article by Kate Cooper