The Cornell Daily Sun (https://cornellsun.com/author/demassadelgado/)
The confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett raises speculation that the Trump administration is attempting to utilize the Supreme Court as a political instrument if the election outcome does not favor him.
We’ve written about making dining halls safer for those with allergies, discarding iClickers, discrimination at an alumni conference and lofty student election campaign promises. After eight columns, a slew of emails — both accordant and contentious — and letters to the editor, we now see writing in a whole new light. Those that Facebook has nominated as The Sun’s “Top Fans” keep us on our toes. As columnists, we read other columns religiously, follow campus politics and the latest with President Martha Pollack, and stay up to date with the manifold events that have unfolded on campus this year: the introduction of American Sign Language, the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, the 50th anniversary of the Willard Straight Takeover and various movements for climate justice, housing and mental health reform. It was not until we became columnists that we realized why student organizing matters in addressing the intersection of campus interests and identities.
How did we all get to Cornell University? Top grades. A towering G.P.A. Add in a little bit of philanthropy. Insert one or two “exotic” experiences. Throw in a unique talent, bonus points for medal-winning debate, athletics or chess ability.
Unlike its fellow Ivy League peers, Cornell stands alone as the only university to have a student in its Board of Trustees, which is composed of 64 voting members. We elect two trustees, a graduate and an undergraduate student, for two-year terms.
Once elected, each member signs a non-disclosure agreement. What this means is that board discussions, reasoning for decisions and the way in which each member votes is confidential. Take what you will from the justification for NDAs by current student-elected trustees Dustin Liu ’19 and Manisha Munasinghe grad, who in their Sun column said, “[The NDA] allows Board members to honestly discuss problems, bounce new and innovative ideas off of each other and safeguard the University’s long term strategies and plans in order to remain competitive with our peer institutions.”
Unlike the Student Assembly or other governing bodies on campus, the student-elected trustee holds a unique apportionment of power: The student-elected trustee wields more power and less accountability. This year’s election season has kicked into full swing.
On its surface, the appointment of President Martha Pollack to IBM’s board of directors — effective Feb. 1 — seems to be a boon for Cornell’s foothold in New York City’s tech industry. However, with the added obligation of satisfying IBM shareholders, the implications of our university president participating in corporate board service are worth exploring. For more than a half-century, IBM has had a presence in New York City where its headquarters for the Watson artificial intelligence and cloud computing divisions are situated. It comes as no surprise, then, that IBM and Cornell Tech have a history of partnering on technological ventures.