By wpengine February 27, 2002
Joshua Goldman ’02 will not face the same post-graduation anxiety many seniors will experience in the coming weeks. As a recipient of a highly contested Marshall Scholarship, Goldman knows he will be spending the next two years studying in the United Kingdom. Up to 40 Marshall scholarships are awarded annually to college seniors to study for two academic years in Great Britain all expenses paid. “I am elated,” Goldman said. “At times I thought I had a really good shot at winning, but by the time I heard, it was totally unexpected.” This year, 12 Cornellians submitted Marshall Scholarship applications. In a typical year, the commission chooses winners from 800 to 1,000 applications. Goldman applied for the scholarship in the fall of 2001 by submitting a three-page application, a personal statement and a proposed academic program. Once Goldman had gathered these materials, he submitted it to the Cornell endorsement committee, consisting of 18 faculty members, many of whom are past Marshall or Rhodes Scholars. After interviews and extensive review of application materials, the Committee endorsed Goldman along with nine other Cornell students. Goldman was then flown to San Francisco for an interview at the British Consul General’s residence. “We talked quite a bit about science and scientific ethics and eventually wound our way toward moral philosophy, which wasn’t exactly my forte in the discussion,” Goldman said. “It came out all right in the end, and I was offered the scholarship by phone,” Goldman said. “I was happy to accept on the spot.” “I knew he would get it,” said Prof. Robert H. Lieberman, physics. “I can’t think of anyone more deserving,” he added. Goldman, a Cornell Presidential Research Scholar, former president for the Society of Physics Students and former vice president of Kappa Delta Rho fraternity, will spend his first year at Cambridge University studying applied mathematics and theoretical physics. The following year, he plans to study at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, for a master’s degree in condensed matter physics. “I’m certainly interested in science policy and scientific writing, but I also enjoy teaching so it seems like I would lean toward academia after graduate school,” he said. “My interests may well change by the time I get to that point though,” he added. Goldman is also excited at the prospect of frequent travels throughout Great Britain and Europe. “The cultural and social elements of being a Marshall Scholar will be at least as important and probably even more fun,” he said. “I expect great things of Josh in the world. He intellectually holds his own; I admire him,” said Lieberman. The Marshall Scholarship program was founded by an Act of Parliament in 1953 as a gesture of thanks for American support during World War II. Goldman is Cornell’s 28th recipient of the scholarship since 1962. The previous two winners of the scholarship were Alexander Ru ’00 and David Roberts ’99. “The response from fellow Cornellians has been the most gratifying,” Goldman said. “Students and faculty alike are genuinely excited for me, making me truly feel like I’ve done well not just for myself and my family, but also for Cornell.” Archived article by Marc Zawel
By wpengine February 27, 2002
The three umbrella Greek organizations at Cornell, the Interfraternal Council (IFC), the Panhellenic Association, and the Multicultural Greek Letter Council (MGLC) together represent one-third of the student body. While the organizations collaborate on projects, they maintain unique identities. On campus for over 100 years, the Panhellenic Association oversees Cornell’s 13 national Panhellenic Sororities. Lindsay Williams ’03, President of the Panhellenic Association, said, “[The Panhellenic Association] oversees the social events of the sororities to make sure they keep in line with Cornell Regulations as well as National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) policy.” The Panhellenic Association fills many roles in the Greek community in addition to their main role of supervising the individual chapters. “Essentially, we coordinate philanthropic events in the sororities as well as in the overall Greek system,” Williams said. “We provide educational possibilities for our Greek women.” These educational opportunities include the Delta Series, a series of lectures on women’s health issues, and alcohol awareness classes. The fraternities’ counterpart to the Panhellenic Association, the IFC also fills many roles. According to President Jason Conn ’03, the IFC’s main purpose is “to oversee all aspects of fraternity life at Cornell.” Conn said that currently the organization is focusing on the issue of hazing, a controversial topic. “Because the IFC fraternities are very visible, because they are the center of the social scene on campus, a lot of our issues are more visible,” he said. In addition, the fraternities in the IFC organize philanthropic functions, with houses co-sponsoring events. Similar in function to the IFC and Panhellenic Association, the MGLC oversees the multicultural fraternities and sororities on campus that are not in the IFC or Panhellenic. Although much younger than its sibling organizations, the MGLC’s influence and membership is continually increasing. As declared in its mission statement, the MGLC serves a variety of functions, including promoting unity among its members and providing a support system for the various chapters on campus. The MGLC also focuses on community service, minority issues and promotion of multicultural Greek life. The MGLC has expanded from four groups in 1998 to its current 14 groups. “The MGLC is probably [Cornell’s] fastest growing council,” said Nelson. “That’s a trend nationally because there are more students on predominately white campuses like Cornell coming from diverse backgrounds …. There’s more of a desire for that kind of community.” Several of the MGLC’s participating chapters are the Alpha chapters, or first chapters, of their fraternities or sororities. “This is a founding place for many of the multicultural fraternities and sororities all over the United States,” said Matthew Rivera ’04, MGLC President. Despite their similarities, the three Greek organizations have some basic differences, especially in structure. “Government and structure for Panhellenic is very different from the IFC and the MGLC,” explained Nelson. Unlike the IFC and the MGLC, the Panhellenic Association must obey laws passed by the NPC, their national association. “[The sororities are] more consistent from campus to campus because the rules are the same,” said Nelson, comparing the NPC to the IFC. In contrast to the Panhellenic, the IFC can follow suggestions made by the National Interfraternal Conference, but is under no obligation to do so. The MGLC does not have a national organization. In addition to structural differences, each organization differs in size. While both the IFC and Panhellenic represent about the same number of Cornell students, the IFC oversees more chapters. With about 100 members, the MGLC includes far fewer chapters and members than both the IFC and Panhellenic Association. Currently, the leaders of the individual organizations are striving to build a spirit of cooperation. “I think the other thing that’s really good [is that] we’ve formed a tri-council coalition,” said Nelson. “The three councils work jointly for special events that benefit the whole system.” These events include the A.D. White Leadership Conference, the End of Year Celebration, faculty appreciation events, and various philanthropic functions. With the leaders of each organization meeting monthly, the three councils make an effort to maintain close contact with each other. “We’ve got really good, open lines of communication,” said Rivera. Cooperation between councils yields results, according to the leaders. “I think working together more and more as [the Tri-Council has] these past few years is a huge accomplishment in and of itself,” said Williams. According to Conn, the organizations’ strength lies in numbers. “The strongest aspect is when we pool our resources and the number of students we represent,” he said. “It’s a very powerful group.” But perhaps the groups’ common goal provides the heart of their alliance. “I think that one of the reasons why we work so easily together … [is that] within the three councils we work for the same goal of making the Greek system a strong and positive force on campus,” said Conn.Archived article by Shannon Brescher