If you’re like me, you’re splitting much of your free time between applying to summer internships and hoping that you get one. If you’re above me, you’ve already locked your summer or even post-graduation plans down, freeing up your next three semesters for a fun and stress-free education. But as we buckle down and put our energy into securing our futures, we should remember that our futures will exist in the context of a broader society. These are not ordinary times we are living in. President Trump’s contempt for democratic institutions has always been obvious, but he has been truly unleashed following his disgraceful acquittal in the Senate.
Three years have demonstrated the extent of Donald Trump’s moral depravity, personal instability and disregard for our constitution and rule of law. But the impeachment investigation has proven beyond a reasonable doubt the nefarious lengths to which he has gone and will, go to steal a second term in office. Trump’s shameless willingness to cheat paired with his considerable advantage in the electoral college highlight the necessity of selecting a Democratic candidate who will defeat the president by the widest possible margins and in the most important places. For the energy of his supporters, the diversity of his movement and the infallibility of his character, Bernie Sanders is best suited to lead the Democratic Party to victory. There have generally been two schools of thought regarding the surest Democratic path to the White House.
Last week, Democrats swept into complete control of the Virginia state government. This momentous success comes a year after governor Ralph Northam (D-Va.) faced calls for resignation for a now-infamous racist image in his medical school yearbook. The next-in-line for the governorship had Northam resigned was Democratic Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax, who faced two sexual assault allegations. Should both men have stepped down without replacement, Attorney General Mark Herring, also a Democrat, would have assumed the office of the executive, but he too admitted to wearing blackface decades ago. The Democratic Party, which has been on a continual rise in Virginia for years, confronted the possibility that the mass resignation of their leadership would elevate Republican Kirk Cox, Speaker of the Virginia House, to the office of the governor.
Renters across the country face a particular set of burdens unique in how close they are to home. Tenants face difficulty maintaining their homes, as they rely on landlords to carry out refurbishment and repairs, which the landlords have little incentive to do in a timely fashion. Secondly, not owning one’s house naturally creates instability, as there is little guarantee of where to call home from one year to the next. Finally, the rent is too damn high. In Ithaca, a striking 73% of households are renters, compared to 44% nationwide.
Anti-establishment is an attractive buzzword in politics. Donald Trump clinched the GOP nomination and the Oval Office by contrasting himself to a stuffy old guard. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.) led an unexpectedly successful primary challenge to Hillary Clinton in 2016, riding on a joint platform of progressive politics and being a second option. Backlash against perceived institutional meddling in 2016 drove the DNC to throw open its doors for the 2020 nomination contest. But coming from outside of the political establishment is not a credential.
To the surprise of many, entrepreneur Andrew Yang has so far outpaced numerous veteran politicians in the Democratic presidential primary, bringing in an impressive third-quarter fundraising haul of $10 million dollars and polling at 10 percent among college students. Yang has risen to prominence largely on his plan to institute a universal basic income of $1,000 per month to every American adult. But another of his plans, Human-Centered Capitalism, may be among the most important ideas brought into presidential politics since Bill Clinton’s attempt at health care reform. More a bold aspiration than a policy proposal, the plan, in summary, is to shift our perspective of national success away from metrics of financial and economic progress, and toward measurement of “maximizing human well-being and fulfillment.” Rather than touting a growing GDP or soaring stock market as proof of progress, Yang seeks to understand our achievement as a society in terms of “median income and standard of living, health-adjusted life expectancy, mental health, childhood success rates, social and economic mobility, absence of substance abuse and others.”
This type of thinking is attractive in a country that, by current criteria, seems to be doing better each year. A decade into a stretch of unprecedented job growth, unemployment is at a historic low, and the country has a record number of job openings. Wages are finally climbing and GDP continues to grow.
Cornell will lose a giant this week. In only a few days, Steve Squyres ’78, Ph.D. ’81, James A. Weeks Professor of Physical Sciences, will depart from the helm of the astronomy department to assume the role of chief scientist at Blue Origin, a space exploration company. Having led NASA’s Mars exploration efforts, Squyres continued to teach at Cornell for over 40 years. His classes garnered acclaim among students, with Arts & Sciences Dean Ray Jayawardhana said, “He brought Mars to campus and gave us all a chance to see another world close-up. His infectious enthusiasm for exploration will continue to stimulate planetary scientists at Cornell for years to come.” Squyres’ years of service to the University and his dedication to the dual pursuits of discovery and its emotional conveyance have made Cornell history.
The concentrated wealth at Cornell University is palpable. Large donations, legacy status and well-connected private schools all work in tandem to ensure that over 10 percent of students hail from the wealthiest one percent of families. The trade-off between this history and admissions equity is generally justified with the understanding that the wealth these families bring in — both through full-tuition payments and donations — does a great service to Cornell as a whole, and its low-income students in particular.
In his op-ed last semester, Rory Walsh ’21 said of the money coming in from the families of wealthy students, “If not for their contributions, Cornell would likely be less accessible for low-income students.” The administration hails large donations as “provid[ing] critical, permanent support for faculty, students and programs.” They are correct: The funding derived from these students and their families both improves and makes possible the educational experiences of thousands of Cornell students, and allows for the development of public-oriented research and development, the benefits of which are undeniable. Still, this is a poor bargain — not for Cornell, but for the broader education system in America. The system of legacy and donor priority in admissions ought to be discontinued.
