By wpengine
Like many chalkings throughout Cornell’s campus, these are bright and colorful. They were meant to attract attention and turn heads. But the messages written on the front walls of Sibley Hall don’t advertise tryouts or meetings. “AAP is HERE TO STAY!,” proclaimed one message. “COLLEGE OF AAP is here and will be here,” declared another. And so on. Students in the College of Architecture, Art and Planning are widely opposed to the proposal advanced this summer by President Hunter R. Rawlings III and Provost Carolyn A. (Biddy) Martin to dissolve the University’s smallest college. Rawlings and Martin cited a lack of “intellectual and academic integration” as the key motivation, mentioning also in a memo sent to college department chairs on July 15 that the dissolution “could thereby realize administrative and budgetary savings.” If enacted, the proposal would move the departments in the architecture college to existing colleges in the University. “I’ve talked to several dozen students in all three [departments], and I haven’t encountered one single person who would consider [the proposal],” said Ben Rockey-Harris ’04, the representative of the architecture college on the Student Assembly (S.A.) and a city and regional planning major. “I think it’s a terrible idea, and I think it’s too bad that [Rawlings] seems so obsessed with the idea. The departments don’t fit anywhere else,” he added. Rockey-Harris cited an excellent student-to-faculty ratio, a unity within the college and cohesive departments as advantages to the architecture college. “It was very sneaky of the administration to pull this over the summer,” he added. Niall Atkinson grad, a member of the History of Architecture and Urbanism Society, agrees. “It doesn’t sound like a particularly good idea,” he said, noting that all three departments are “studio-based disciplines, which makes sense to keep them together.” Other students see even more disadvantages of dissolving the college. “I think personally it’s a bad idea,” said Jermaine Gause ’04, a minority representative on the S.A. and a city and regional planning major. “The name [of the architecture college] is really well-known in the real world.” Gause also worried that student organizations in the college would dissolve if the proposal were to be approved. “Just the historical background of the school and although it’s a small school, it’s like family, you know everybody,” Gause said. Despite the unrest following the proposal’s announcement, some students have acknowledged the efforts and viewpoints of administrators within the college. Orlando Soria ’04, a fine arts major, acknowledged Dean Porus Olpadwala’s efforts to keep students informed. Soria was also willing to consider the points made by Rawlings and Martin. “I think the argument is a really valid one,” he said. “Personally, I would like to know how my department would fare in another college.” “[The Department of Art] really should be with more design- and art-related fields,” Soria added. He also wondered whether the organizational problem was indicative of a larger one at Cornell. “It being the smallest college, it sounds better to “streamline things,” Atkinson added. Resolution Students met yesterday at 5 p.m. to discuss the proposal with Olpadwala and others in the college. Thursday’s S.A. meeting will hear a resolution against the proposal, and Rockey-Harris hopes to “put students on whatever committees are formed” to advise future developments. The final decision will go before the Board of Trustees in January.Archived article by Andy Guess
By wpengine
Andrew M. Cuomo, suffering in pre-primary election polls, dropped out of the New York state gubernatorial race yesterday afternoon, endorsing his fellow democratic candidate, state Comptroller H. Carl McCall. Choosing to avoid last-minute negative campaigning tactics and articulating his desire to act in the best interest of his party, Cuomo withdrew from the race. “I will not close a gap in the election by opening one in the body politic,” he told The New York Times yesterday. Cornell Democrats, whose members’ support was split between McCall and Cuomo leading up to the primary, expressed various reactions to Cuomo’s decision. The majority, however, appeared to agree that Cuomo had made a wise decision in withdrawing from the race and also supported his choice to endorse McCall’s campaign. “[I am] glad to see that Andrew made the right decision,” said Jamison Moore ’04, president of Cornell Democrats. “We all wish him well but we are glad to see that McCall will have an unobstructed path to the governor’s mansion. We are confident that he can beat Pataki and we know that Andrew will be behind him one-hundred percent.” Other political activists on campus had similar opinions. “I think that today’s announcement was the right way to exit the race, and that it will help to unite Democrats in the general election,” said Jason Conn ’03, director of Cornell Students for Cuomo. “I was disappointed to see Secretary Cuomo drop out of the race but after seeing the recent polls, I was not surprised,” said Conn. Citing the difficulties Cuomo faced throughout his campaign, Prof. Ronald Ehrenberg, labor economics said, “His campaign didn’t take off…He figured he was going to lose big or he was going to conduct a really nasty campaign.” Ehrenberg, who introduced Cuomo in an April campaign stop, supported Cuomo’s decision to end his gubernatorial campaign. “I think what he did was the prudent thing to do and that there will be another day for him,” Ehrenberg commented. Some students, however, believed that Cuomo’s resignation was overdue and that, by resigning a week before the primary, he had hurt his party’s chance of taking the governor’s race. “[Had Cuomo resigned earlier], the party would have been unified under one candidate,” said Josh Ross ’03, chairperson of Students for McCall. “Instead, we have a lot of healing to do in a little under a week before the primary.” Whether they initially supported Cuomo or McCall though, campus democratic leaders are now backing McCall in his race for gubernatorial office and are encouraging other democrats on campus to do the same. “At the end of last semester, Cuomo was leading McCall in the polls. I think that this [event] is an indication of McCall’s growing base of support,” said Conn. “Cornell students should make sure to vote in the general election. I think it will turn into a close race.”Archived article by Ellen Miller