Ranting and Raving

By wpengine | October 4, 2002

It’s time for that first prelim of the year — I took mine last night — so that means that coherent thoughts are hard to come by. But the Sports Editor demands I write a column! What should I do? Well, I guess I’ll just ramble this week.

Leading off…

Maybe it’s just me, but I think that what people had to go through to get men’s hockey season tickets would technically be counted as hazing by the University.

Let’s see … sleep deprivation, forcing people to be places at certain times, putting students in an overheated, foul-smelling room for 24 hours — all to join that glorious fraternity of season-ticket holders. But don’t get me wrong, I’d do it all again to get tickets.

Wouldn’t it be nice if Cornell cancelled classes for a football game? Unbelievably, that happened yesterday and today down at Florida State. FSU scheduled a Thursday night game against Clemson and then, when it realized that 80,000 fans descending on campus might disrupt classes, cancelled instruction!

I realize that some schools place the athletic endeavors of their student-athletes above their education. But when a school puts the football teamabove all classes, that’s just wrong.

I was impressed when I talked to senior quarterback Mick Razzano. I’m glad he’s a nice guy. He’d be real intimidating if he weren’t friendly — he’s jacked and tattooed. All he would have had to do was make a sudden noise and move towards me quickly, and I would have jumped.

Did anyone notice that the part of Trillium between the deli and the grill that used to be called “Beggar’s Bowl” was renamed to “Smoke ‘N Bowl”? Areyou kidding? Was the name “Bong Hits” taken?

What was up with the bizarre formation the footballteam used against Yale in extra-point situations? It lined the offensive line up to the left of the ball and used some sort of decoy with the kicker. I’ve never seen anything like it, and it didn’t even work — all three times it tried the gimmick. And what is a “snap infraction” anyway?

Maybe it’s just me, but when I found out that Nelly’s given first name is Cornell, I felt a sense of school pride. So what if it has nothing to do with our University? I don’t know any rappers out there named Harvard or Penn.

When I was a freshman and my parents brought me to Cornell, my dad ran into men’s hockey head coach Mike Schafer ’86 on the first day I was here. My dad told Schafer that I was a hockey player and came away from the conversation suggesting that I try out for the team. Now, I can skate forwards and backwards and stop and all, but I’m a crappy hockey player. I play in a men’s league downtown. I can’t hang with the club team, let alone the varsity. But I love the sport.

So I think if I could get on the ice with the men’s hockey team, that would be one of the coolest things to happen to me in my four years here. Just 15 minutes of a practice, that’s all I ask. Coach Schafer, can you make this happen?

Hey, Bear Lodge, I thought you were supposed to be a sports bar and grill. So what’s up with being closed on a Sunday afternoon? I wanted to watch my Eagles stomp the Texans and get lunch and a beer while I was at it. Sunday afternoon is prime time for sports bars…not to mention that you have a sign in your window saying you show the football games on Sunday.

And speaking of pro football, I’d like to point out that in this very column four weeks ago, I picked the Rams not to win their division, a prediction several people told me was silly. Well, they’re 0-4 now, and they just lost Kurt Warner for eight weeks. Now, I regret picking them to even take the wild card.

Hope you enjoyed the unrelated paragraphs. I’ll be back in two weeks, refreshed from Fall Break and ready to put together one logical column.

Archived article by Alex Fineman

City Council Passes Anti-War Resolution

By wpengine October 7, 2002

The Common Council of Ithaca unanimously passed a resolution urging its United States congressional representatives to vote against any measure that would engage the country in a pre-emptive war with Iraq last Wednesday. Ithaca is only the second city in the country to pass such a resolution in opposition to warfare. The local council in Santa Cruz, the first city to do so, passed a similar measure last week. Opposition The resolution, addressed to Congressional representative Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.) and Sens. Hilary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), articulated a series of arguments in opposition to any U.S.-initiated combat in the Middle East. Among other arguments, the resolution argued that there has been no proven linkage between the events of Sept. 11 and the government of Iraq, that there has been no proof of Iraq’s immediate threat to the U.S. and that war with Iraq will endanger both American soldiers and Iraqi civilians. In addition, it cited former United Nations chief weapons inspector Scott Ritter’s disagreement with President Bush regarding Iraq’s possession of dangerous weapons of mass destruction. Urgency The resolution states, “whereas, many knowledgeable individuals, including former U.N. chief weapons inspector Ritter, have disputed the President’s contention that Iraq possesses weapons of mass destruction that could be a danger to the United States — Common Council urges the city’s representatives in Congress … to vote against any resolution in Congress that would allow the President to declare war on Iraq.” According to Common Council Member Susan Blumenthal ’78, (D-3rd Ward), the resolution represented the domestic and international concerns of Ithaca’s 30,000 residents. “We don’t think there is any evidence that war is appropriate at this point,” she said. “As elected officials, we have a unique responsibility to represent the concerns of the people we represent.” While the resolution itself cannot prevent any measures for pre-emptive warfare, members of the council and supporting local residents are making this gesture to try to influence their U.S. congress members’ votes. “[This resolution] suggests that elected officials in small cities [like Ithaca] think that pre-emptive war is a bad idea,” said Prof. Isaac Kramnick, government. “It should send a message to Sens. Clinton and Schumer.” According to Kramnick, however, local anti-war resolutions will make a greater impact in large numbers. “[The resolution] can only have an effect if more communities follow suit and if the representatives respond,” he said. While creators of the resolution certainly seek to impact U.S. relations with the Middle East, they also hope that it will impact Ithaca’s local and collegiate community as well. “One of the goals was to try and elevate discussions in the community. Certainly the Cornell community is a part of that,” Blumenthal said. In the meantime, Blumenthal and her colleagues hope that Ithaca’s Congressional representation will give consideration to the resolution’s message. “We hope that our senators and congress members will give serious thought to the points we made and that pre-emptive, unilateral war should not be taken on at this time,” she said. Other governing bodies in the area have also recently considered drafting similar resolutions to congressional representatives. The Ithaca Town Board considered preparing a formal opposition to the war but finally decided that the matter was beyond their jurisdiction, as reported by The Ithaca Journal. The Tompkins County Board of Representatives also contemplated drafting an anti-war document but then voted against adding it as an item to their agenda. Archived article by Ellen Miller
Residents Turn Out for Apple Harvest Festival

By wpengine October 7, 2002

A variety of food, entertainment and demonstrations attracted hundreds of patrons to the Ithaca Commons this past weekend to celebrate the annual Apple Harvest Festival. Vendors lined the sidewalks selling homemade food and clothing, artisans displayed their creations, and booths gave children the opportunity to make crafts. Demonstrators protested a pre-emptive strike against Iraq during part of the festival on Saturday. Participants could choose from a wide variety of cuisine, from the traditional festival foods of gyros and elephant ears to items following the theme of the event, like apple cider, apple butter and apple pie. Commerce Business went well at the festival, according to Lew Ward, a resident of Smithville Flats. Ward’s booth represented his family business, producing and selling maple syrup. “We come here every year,” Ward said. For other vendors, like Gail Mazourek of Newfield, this was their first time at the festival. Mazourek opened a booth where she featured her artwork, rocks painted as animals and other objects. Interest in Mazourek’s creations has been excellent, she said. “Several pieces an hour have sold,” she added. She began her hobby over a year ago to raise money for a scholarship fund she established after the death of her 21-year-old son, Rudolph. The fund provides $500 a year to a student at Alfred State University. “On a scale of one to 10, this [festival] is a nine, and that’s only because it’s a little chilly,” Mazourek said. The festivities turned somber on Saturday, when about 100 protesters walked silently through the Commons holding placards with slogans like, “No War in Iraq.” Many of the demonstrators dressed all in black and passed out leaflets stating their position. “This is to inform people about what is happening,” said Yvonne Fisher, a protester and Ithaca resident. The protesters staged what Fischer described as a “die-in,” which is a “long-standing technique for protest.” After walking amongst the crowd and vendors, the demonstrators found an open area in one section of the Commons, where they “died” by lying down on the ground with their signs. The protesters held signs with different ages and genders to symbolize the various victims of war, according to Fisher. “This is to show the seriousness of what war brings,” said Jannie Burns, another Ithaca resident. Burns voiced her opinion on why she opposes a pre-emptive strike against Iraq. “I think we need to think outside of the box,” Burns said. “I think this is about oil and about revenge for the Bush family.” The protesters hoped to encourage spectators to contact their elected representatives and to sign petitions. “We are not trying to be confrontational,” Burns said. “Hopefully, we can get people to act on this.” In addition to the protest and the many vendors attracting pedestrians, several performers, including a cappella groups and belly dancers, provided entertainment for the crowd gathered in the center of the Commons One musical group, Sons of Pitches, performed on Saturday afternoon. The group first performed at the Apple Harvest Festival last year, and this year the group promoted their new CD, With a “P”, whose album cover features a picture of the group singing at last year’s event. All of the members of Sons of Pitches attended Ithaca College, and have now embarked on tours throughout New York State and New England. Earlier this year, they performed at the State Theater in Ithaca. “What we like most about this kind of thing,” said group member Ross Mizrahi, “is getting right down into the crowd. Ithaca is a great place to do that.” Along with the entertainment and other diversions, several members of the Cornell community spent their Saturday volunteering at the festival. Members of the Student Assembly (S.A.) helped with preparations for the festival, blowing up balloons and hanging banners. Members also assisted in a pumpkin painting booth and in setting up the area used by performers. This was the S.A.’s second planned community service activity of the year. The group has scheduled a different service project every month in place of one of their weekly meetings. This was also the first activity following the induction of five new representatives who consist of three freshmen, one transfer student, and a replacement representative for the School of Hotel Administration. “This was a great way to get to know all of our new people,” said Katie Howell ’04, vice president for public relations for the S.A. The S.A. volunteers coordinated their efforts at the Apple Harvest Festival with On-Site Volunteer Services, a student organization that promotes volunteering at Cornell and in Ithaca. “On-Site provides a great service to the Cornell community and I only hope more student groups take advantage of all the resources they have to offer,” said Noah Doyle ’03, president of the S.A.Archived article by Mackenzie Damon