Peterson Meets With CIPAC, Talks Human Rights

By wpengine | October 31, 2003

Carolyn Peterson (D-4th Ward), the Democratic nominee in the Ithaca mayoral race, visited Cornell’s campus yesterday to discuss processes and strategies involved in local political activism with the Cornell Israel Public Affairs Committee.

CIPAC, a campuswide pro-Israel organization, is currently lobbying the City of Ithaca to pass a resolution supporting the peaceful existence of the Israeli state and condemning the violent acts of terrorism occurring in the Middle East. Eighteen cities across the country, including Reno, Nev., Berkeley, Calif. and Knoxville, Tenn., have already passed such resolutions. The resolution calls upon the U.S. Conference of Mayors to condemn these acts of terrorism, it calls upon the Palestinian leadership to act aggressively to prevent terrorism and calls on both parties to continue negotiations as the way to resolve the ongoing conflict.

Peterson, who has served on the Ithaca Common Council for 10 years, addressed CIPAC as an authority on the city and its political operational procedures.

During her hourlong appearance, Peterson provided insight regarding political action methods and processes in Ithaca; shared her disdain for local hate- and bias-related offenses, noting action she has taken against such incidents; and specifically articulated her support for the state of Israel and contempt for terrorist acts taking place in the Middle East as a result of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Peterson began by underscoring Ithaca’s history of publicly positioning itself as a community with respect to human rights-related issues, specifically alluding to this year’s antiwar resolution and a statement against the USA PATRIOT Act, both passed in recent years by the Common Council. However, she also warned members of CIPAC that, if passed, the pro-Israel resolution may be amended as the council sees fit. Because both a specific council committee and the entire contingency of the council have the ability to act on any resolution proposed, members of the city government reserve the right to amend any resolution that they pass as they see fit.

“When a resolution goes through the city government, it may not always come out the same way it came in,” she said. “There are almost always rewrites.”

Peterson, who identifies herself as a strong opponent of bias-related crimes, communicated her commitment to human rights-related issues in a position paper that she sent in response to CIPAC’s pro-Israel resolution proposal.

“It is essential in the area of human rights to remain constantly vigilant and to not tolerate violence and prejudice,” she said.

Additionally, Peterson articulated her pro-Israel sentiments, her condemnation of terrorist acts and her belief that the city should pass a resolution condemning terrorism in Israel.

“A resolution condemning terrorism in Israel and urging both parties to resolve the conflict, to me, is an extension of the city’s own Bias-Motivated Crimes Law [Article V, Chapter 215] which was passed in 2000 and reaffirmed in 2002,” Peterson said. “The reaffirmation, on which I voted ‘aye,’ in part includes a resolve that reads, ‘Common Council unequivocally condemns all forms of bias-related intolerance and violence.’ Therefore, the resolution that CIPAC has forwarded is one that I could support.”

Republican mayoral candidate Lt. John Beau Saul ’97 offered no response to CIPAC’s request for a position paper.

Extending this invitation to Peterson is one of many efforts that CIPAC has made in recent months to encourage student political activism. Earlier in the semester, CIPAC helped facilitate a campuswide voter registration effort, hoping to see a high student turnout for the mayoral election day next Tuesday.

CIPAC executive board members appreciate Peterson’s commitment to community affairs and human rights-related issues.

“It’s awesome that we have such a receptive leader in [Peterson],” said Ari Nathan Stern ’05, CIPAC senior vice president. “CIPAC is proud of the strong position that she has taken on the resolution. We are happy that she has been willing to push its legislation in the Common Council and we look forward to getting this resolution passed.”

Peterson received the Democratic nomination for mayor in September’s primary. The City of Ithaca mayoral election will take place on Tuesday.

Archived article by Ellen Miller

Budget Cuts Affect Tuition

By wpengine November 3, 2003

The inauguration of a new president has marked the beginning of a new chapter in Cornell history. The fate of important issues which directly impact students, however, such as tuition, academic programs and the availability of classes outside one’s college cannot be genuinely determined until New York State releases its new budget — a lengthy process that usually begins in January. Because budget cuts over the past years have dramatically impacted Cornell’s statutory colleges and indirectly affected the endowed colleges, both the University and its various colleges have begun implementing new strategies to curb costs. Unfortunately for students, the traditional way the financial burdens have been relieved has been through tuition increases. Budget cuts have a “direct impact on tuition because the cost of education is not static,” said Patsy Brannon, dean of the College of Human Ecology. “We have had unmet inflation needs for facilities, [such as] the library … all of which affect the cost of education.” Robert Smith, associate dean for Academic Affairs in the School of Industrial Relations, concurred, saying that a reduction in state funding has “made [ILR] more dependent on tuition.” In addition, many of the alternative methods originally used by the statutory colleges to relieve the financial burden have become slowly exhausted or not affective enough. “We have in some cases used the limited reserves we had,” Brannon said. “We have [also] decreased the number of our faculty and staff, that is a very real decrease, approximately 15 percent.” ILR has also suffered some reduction in staff, primarily in “the ILR extension area the last couple of years,” Smith said. Also, according to Brannon, certain academic programs such as the Undergraduate Social Work program in the human ecology college have been eliminated due to budget constraints. “During [such] constraints there are losses in academic opportunities,” Brannon added, which “drives the rate at which tuition increases.” Net tuition at the statutory schools has also been increased in a second, more indirect, manner. “There is an unwritten rule that the state schools should admit 70 percent in-state students and 30 percent out-of-state students,” said Mark Wysocki, earth and atmospheric sciences. However, many of the statutory schools have recently begun making efforts to attract more out-of-state students. “We have been looking very carefully at what is the appropriate balance between in-state and out-of-state students [and] we are moving to 60 percent in-state and 40 percent out-of-state,” Brannon said. ILR has also made efforts to increase the number of out-of-state students enrolled. “We are marketing more out of state so we have more out-of-state students applying,” Smith said. Smith made it clear, however, that despite efforts to increase out-of-state enrollment, a student’s state residence does not affect the likelihood of admittance. “We don’t really look at state residence when we look at a folder,” Smith explained. Besides efforts to increase income through tuition, many of the statutory schools have employed other revenue raising techniques more typical of endowed colleges. For example, as the availability of federal and state research money has declined over the years, “contract colleges have become more successful in [obtaining] competitive grants for research,” said Francille Firebaugh, vice provost for Land Grant Affairs. Each of the colleges has made efforts to increase endowment money and financial support from research institutions and companies not directly affiliated with Cornell. “We have been working very hard on enhancing revenue from the endowments and gifts that provide us [with] very important budget relief,” Brannon said. “We now have to look even more intensely than before to support our research and outreach extension,” he added. In addition to increasing tuition and searching for financial support, the statutory colleges have been forced to review the number of classes they allow their students to take outside of the school. Though the number differs from college to college, “students in Ag can take 55 credits outside of CALS and if a student takes 55 of those credits in Arts, the Ag school then has to pay Arts at the end of the semester for each of those credits,” Wysocki said. The same rule applies to all the colleges. Thus, “colleges try to get most of their students to take classes in their own college, and if they are lucky … they bring in students from the other colleges,” Wysocki added. Historically, “the state helps us with paying the endowed side for courses that students in the [statutory] colleges take in the endowed [colleges],” Firebaugh said. However, “that amount [has] continued to be flat and less as the years go on.” Changes in the number of classes that students in the statutory colleges are allowed to take in the endowed colleges would also alter the financial situation of the endowed colleges. For example, “if CALS were to reduce the number to 20, the Engineering and Arts schools would lose money since many students in AG currently take classes in those [endowed] schools,” Wysocki said. Nonetheless, Firebaugh assured students that the financial difficulties surrounding the situation will not be passed on. “We have not penalized students for that and Cornell as a whole always keeps students from being affected.” The endowed colleges are also affected by state budget fluctuations in more direct ways. “State support affects financial aid and Bundy aid, a program that provides dollars per degree granted at private institutions in New York,” said Carolyn Ainslie, vice president of Planning and Budget. Despite the difficulties, efforts to increase revenue for all the colleges have also been made at the University level through state lobbying. “We work closely with SUNY in trying to increase Cornell’s fair share of the pie,” said Ainslie. “We actually meet with members of the legislature and the government’s office,” Ainslie added. Furthermore, “we have been talking about a strategy: trying to work with other institutions of higher education to try to lobby together on these issues.” The Department of Government Affairs created by President Lehman over the summer is the primary division responsible for lobbying members of the legislature. Interim Vice President Steven Johnson describes the lobbying as “a continuous process of being involved with the legislature and being sure that the state agency people know what is being done with state dollars that we have received … lobbying kind of goes on year-round.” For now, the University is running on the 2003 budget; “the governor proposes the [new] budget in January,” Johnson said. Until then, many of the colleges “have been trying to look ahead and plan on certainly not an increasing state budget,” Firebaugh said.Archived article by David Andrade
Group Protests Bush's Forestry Bills, Policies

By wpengine November 3, 2003

Last Friday, visitors to the Agriculture Quad were greeted by tombstones, scarecrows and a masked chainsaw-wielding madman. Indeed, the scene was not far from traditional Halloween activities, except for the fact that this display of seasonal festivities was a protest against the Healthy Forest Initiative. “Using Halloween is a fun way of highlighting the White House’s egregious forest policies,” explained Garrett Meigs ’04, referring to the Bush-proposed initiative, which he says is hiding corporate logging interests behind the veil of public safety. The event, held by the Society for Natural Resources Conservation, was part of the National Forest Protection Alliance’s National Day of Action. About forty similar events were held across the nation in schools, forest service offices and outside senators’ offices. National organization of the event began about a month ago, explained Stephanie Juice ’04, president of the SNRC. “[Locally,] we started planning a week ago, making a lot of stuff last night,” Juice said. She also explained the society’s problem with the bill. “When you look at the bill, it’s not protecting communities, it’s not cleaning out scrub. It’s not always right around communities.” The bill, which Meigs said passed through the Senate Thursday with vote of 80 to 14, was presented as a means to prevent forest fires such as the one currently ravaging parts of California. Meigs, however, contends the real aim of the bill is to open up previously protected forests to commercial interests. “Some [fire prevention] legislation should be passed. There has been some progressive fire legislation proposed, but the Bush administration is blocking it in favor of this corporate legislation,” said Meigs. The group of approximately 15 protesters handed out flyers, buttons, talked to passersby about the importance of forest conservation and restoration. “It’s your role as a citizen to get your voice heard,” Juice said. “I think it’s important to get the word out because it’s public land.” Nate Smith ’06 said he was swayed by the society’s appeals. “There’s a lot of clubs like this at Cornell, but I think this is one that shows a lot of promise and is actually making some progress,” Smith said. Zach Grant ’07 said he felt reaching students like Smith was the whole reason for the protest. “We’re trying to educate people about forestry and give them a better understanding of legislation that’s being passed,” he explained. When asked about tthe Healthy Forest Initiative, he said, “It definitely sounds like it doesn’t support sustainable forestry. There’s a lot of corruption and deception. It claims to save healthy forests and homes but it doesn’t.” The society also claims the initiative would hurt New York as well. “Bush’s bad forest policy affects all national forests, including our own Finger Lakes national forests,” Meigs said. The society has been involved in other campaigns around campus as well. In addition to tabling as often as they can on Ho Plaza to raise general forest conservation awareness, the group started a “Tree Free Cornell” campaign two years ago. Contrary to what its name suggests, the campaign actually seeks to save trees. “The main goal is to have Cornell University converted to 100 percent post-consumer waste, and the University to institutionalize 100 percent post-consumer recycled paper,” explained Meigs. In the two years since the program started, 25 percent of the campus has converted to 100 percent post-consumer recycled waste. The society attributed this partly to the administration’s cooperation and openness to change. “[President Lehman]’s very supportive,” explained Meigs. He added the society hopes to convert the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences to 100 percent post-consumer recycled waste soon. To end the protest, several protesters dressed as trees lined up. Meigs, playing the part of a slick logging executive, stage whispered to Grant, who had donned a President Bush mask, “Look at this unhealthy forest!” Grant replied, “Yeah, yeah! Unhealthy forest!” and proceeded to slash apart the maples and oaks, a scary sight indeed.Archived article by Michael Morisy