A Not-So-Perfect Winter Break

By wpengine | January 24, 2003

I admit it. I stayed at home almost all of Winter Break, watching way too much T.V., and filling out way too few job applications. Hey it’s my last Winter Break ever, I’ll never be able to do absolutely nothing for five weeks until I retire. But with this time, I was able to research valuable information on the state of today’s media, especially the variety in commercials between the 10 a.m. and 12 p.m. SportsCenters. Aside from the SportsCenter promos, good ads were few and far between.

However, the most irksome came about halfway through the break. You know it — it’s the Sports Illustrated one selling the commemorative football and book chronicling the Buckeyes 2002 season. “It was the perfect end of the perfect season…”

Wait just a minute … perfect? I don’t know what game those so called sports reporters were watching, but I wouldn’t call it perfect. Actually I’d call Ohio State damn lucky to have gotten that interference call in overtime, giving it a first down and four more chances to score a touchdown.

If it were perfect, wouldn’t have Craig Krenzel, Ohio State’s quarterback, completed all of his passes without those two interceptions. And does one ever have to punt in a perfect game? I don’t know about defense, but ceding 24 points even if it is to Ken Dorsey and Miami in two overtimes isn’t quite a Mary Poppins or Don Larson in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series standard of perfection.

And just why is a game that goes into overtime deemed a great game. There have been many horrible games that have extended past regulation that should have been relieved much sooner. Case in point: the Cornell-Brown football game this year in which the Red won 10-7. It was just painful to see the combined 12 turnovers, even those at the end of the cold rainy day. The only good thing was the delicious hot cocoa and chocolate chip cookies in the antiquated press box.

However, the institution of the shootout in college hockey is always exciting. During the Everblades College Classic over Dec. 29-30 Ohio State (the Buckeyes again!) and Massachusetts remained tied after the third period. Instead of playing 20-minute overtime periods, as was the case last year when Cornell and Northern Michigan fought a double-overtime marathon that the Red lost 4-3, they had a five-minute overtime period followed by a shootout. Even though the game has been recorded as a tie, the shootout was the highlight of the game. Hell there were more good scoring chances in those four minutes than in the game prior to that point. That shootout was one of the few high points for me during that weekend.

Finally to my mom, with whom I shared a less than perfect weekend in Fort Myers:

Not only did Cornell lose twice, our flights were delayed, we were verbally abused by UMass hockey players, sacrificed our lives while walking to our hotel room, ate only at sports bars (and not the vegetarian friendly types), and had a Suburban run over our rental car. This brings me to my point — the announcement and posting on the jumbotron at Teco Arena, “Marcie Angel from N.Y., please move your car,” was there because the aforementioned Suburban was resting on our parked Dodge Stratus, and couldn’t pull away from the gargantuan dent it gauged into our bumper. Marcie Angel did nothing wrong except not having the prescience to see that our little rental car was fodder for that oversized SUV. Hope you feel redeemed, Mom.

Archived article by Amanda Angel

C.U. Medical Amnesty Gives Students Break

By wpengine January 27, 2003

When an emergency erupts involving underage students and alcohol, Cornell University officials are encouraging students to put the health of their peers above their fears of punishment. University officials initiated the Medical Amnesty Protocol (MAP) last fall with the support of students and faculty in an effort to reduce the harmful consequences of alcohol related emergencies on campus. Medical Amnesty is not extended to Collegetown or other off-campus locations, although the Ithaca Police Department is aware of the policy and may choose to exercise it, according to Judicial Administrator Mary Beth Grant JD ’88. “Over the past few decades at colleges across the country, there have been an increasing number of alcohol related injuries and death,” said Jessica Skrebes ’04, student representative for the Policies and Behavioral Accountability Committee of the President’s Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs (PABAC), the team that developed the protocol. “The purpose of the MAP is to increase the likelihood that students will call for medical help whenever someone has alcohol poisoning,” said Tim Marchell, director of alcohol policy initiatives at Gannett: Cornell University Health Services. According to Marchell, some students avoid calling for help in alcohol-related medical emergencies out of fear they will suffer judicial consequences for underage possession of alcohol or disorderly conduct. “Since alcohol poisoning can be fatal, we wanted to reduce the barriers to people calling for assistance,” he said. The person who calls for help is not subject to judicial charges of underage possession, provision of alcohol to an underage person or disorderly conduct, according to Marchell. “We’re not going to get you in trouble for doing the right thing,” Grant said. If the incident occurs at an on campus event, the host of the organization is expected to call for help, and his or her action will “mitigate any judicial charges that might arise against the organization for Campus Code of Conduct violations that may have been committed,” Marchell said. “By contrast, if no one calls for help, it’s considered an aggravating circumstance and may affect the judicial resolution if any Code violations occurred at the time.” The MAP also excuses an individual who receives medical attention related to alcohol consumption from judicial action if he or she completes a required follow-up visit at Gannet, according to Grant. “The University’s primary concern is for the health and safety of students, and [the University] aims to reduce the risk that someone will get severely intoxicated again,” Marchell said. Grant noted that while an individual receiving amnesty is issued a warning rather than a written reprimand and is excused from having to meet with the Judicial Administrator, the MAP still mandates education for the person who has had too much to drink. The individual receiving amnesty is required to attend a follow-up session at Gannett but is not required to pay for Gannett’s services, Grant said. Marchell noted that last year the Cayuga Medical Center treated 80 students for alcohol related emergencies, excluding the students treated on Slope Day. “With the MAP, we may see a short term increase in the number of cases seen at Cayuga Medical Center, but in the long run, we’d like to see those numbers drop as students realize the risks of getting severely intoxicated,” Marchell said. The concept for the protocol started in the fall of 2001 when Renaissance, a grassroots student advocacy group, pushed for the development and implementation of a medical amnesty clause, according to Justin McEvily ’03, co-president of Renaissance and the student representative for PABAC. “Through informal surveys, it came to light that the student body was in favor of such an initiative, so Renaissance added this sentiment to the already growing supportive voice of some administrators and health promotion staff who were exploring the possibility of implementing such a policy,” McEvily said. Though the MAP supports the University’s goal to keep students safe and healthy, some students were concerned that “the MAP might be perceived as condoning underage drinking, but there’s a tension we chose to live with between our commitment to enforce the policy and the need to get people medical help,” Marchell explained. Though the MAP exempts an individual receiving medical emergency attention for alcohol related emergencies upon completion of Gannett’s follow-up service, the MAP does not excuse all aspects of underage drinking. The MAP is designed to address the harmful consequences of intoxication or injury related to consuming alcohol, but “it does not provide exemption from more serious charges, such as an assault that may be related to drinking or the possession of fake identification,” Marchell said.Archived article by Janet Liao
S.A. Passes Gender Equality Resolution

By wpengine January 27, 2003

The Student Assembly (S.A.) last Thursday joined 160 countries in passing a resolution calling for the end of discrimination against women. The Convention on Eliminating Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), a sort of international treaty that details a women’s bill of rights, was initially adopted by the United Nations (U.N.) General Assembly in 1979. Over 160 countries have ratified the CEDAW, which, according to the U.N.’s Division for the Advancement of Women Web site, “defines what constitutes discrimination against women and sets up an agenda for national action to end such discrimination.” Countries that accept the Convention commit themselves to promoting legal gender equality, outlawing discrimination against women and establishing institutional legal measures to protect women, according to the Web site. “The U.S. is the only industrialized country that has not ratified the treaty,” said Max Eisenburger ’05, president of Cornell Amnesty International. Eisenburger, who drafted the S.A.’s resolution, was the main catalyst in getting it introduced and passed. “The goal, primarily, was to raise awareness on campus, to politicize the campus, because a lot of people don’t know that the U.S. didn’t ratify [CEDAW],” Eisenburger said. The S.A. had several motivations for its resolution. “First, and foremost the Student Assembly is bringing public light to an issue that is long overdue — the ratification by the United States of the United Nation’s treaty. Our passage will hopefully spark debate and encourage other campus leaders from around the country to pass similar resolutions,” said S.A. President Noah Doyle ’03. In order for the U.S. to ratify the Convention, it will have to be passed by the Senate. Although the international treaty has existed since 1979, it has only come up for discussion in the full Senate once in 1994. Last year, the CEDAW passed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for the second time, and it is expected to be up for vote again in early 2003. “When [ratification of the treaty] was up for vote in 1994, it was near the end of the session, and a small group of Republicans stonewalled the treaty by filibustering,” Eisenburger said. Major American proponents of the treaty, such as Amnesty International and the National Organization of Women, are pressuring liberal Senators to make sure the treaty is passed the next time it comes up for a vote. In addition to raising awareness on campus about the issue, Cornell Amnesty International and the S.A. created the resolution to “urge the Senate, especially Senators Clinton and Schumer (D-N.Y.), to advocate for the treaty to be introduced, discussed and ultimately passed,” Eisenburger said. Erica Kagan ’05, LGBQT liaison to the S.A. and chair of the Assembly’s committee on women’s issues, added that the S.A. intends to “get the other university assemblies to pass [the resolution] — and in the next few weeks, bring it to our senators.” Additionally, “a copy of this resolution will be sent to President Rawlings. We encourage President Rawlings to join us in support of this resolution and hope our President will encourage Cornell’s Government Affairs Department to lobby our elected representatives in support of CEDAW’s passage,” Doyle said. Kagan and the women’s committee worked with Eisenburger to ensure that the resolution was passed by the S.A. “The agenda of the women’s committee is based on whatever people want us to do,” Kagan said. “As a relatively new committee [this resolution] is an awesome thing to start the committee off with.” Many students said they appreciate the S.A.’s action in its role of representing students. “I think the Student Assembly is making an important statement to our senators. It is important to have this resolution passed because discrimination is a big part of our society. It doesn’t make sense that we are the only industrialized country that hasn’t passed it, putting us in ranks with Iran and Somalia,” said Asmi Shah ’05. “Even though there have been a lot of improvements in women’s rights in the last 100 years or so, things still aren’t where they need to be and the Senate needs to recognize and acknowledge this.” Although Erica Frank ’03 said she felt that it is important for the U.S. to ratify the treaty, she said, “I think it’s a nice thing to do but I don’t really think that it can have much of an effect. I also think it would be nicer if the S.A. worried more about what’s going on at Cornell.” Archived article by Aliza Wasserman