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Memorial to Honor Kau ’12

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Nicholas James Peter Kau ’12 passed away on Jan. 10 shortly before returning to school from winter break. Kau was a student in the College of Arts and Sciences and lived in Bauer Hall on North Campus.
Hailing from New York City’s Upper West Side, Kau attended Park Avenue Christian and Trinity School before coming to Cornell. According to an obituary in The New York Times, Kau’s loved ones “rejoice with the utmost pride in his life — pride in his intelligence, kindness and poise; pride in his beauty, vigor and laughter.”
Kau was also described as an “uproarious comic,” “master Shakespearean” and “irrepressible.” His friends continue to post on his Facebook profile wall, recounting memories and leaving words of love and hope.

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Tompkins County Continues to Distribute Sterile Syringes

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There were 177,262 individuals infected with HIV/AIDS in New York as of 2006, according to the most recent data made available by the Kaiser State Health Facts website. 27,645 of these individuals were living in upstate New York. In an effort to combat the transmission of HIV, along with other blood-borne diseases, the Southern Tier AIDS Program and Tompkins County Prevention Point syringe exchange program continue to stand by their harm reduction philosophy, providing sterile syringes and information to the public.

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Cornell Further Caps Loans For New Financial Aid Plan

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Despite the recent economic downturn, Cornell announced its plan to increase need-based financial aid to students and families. The plan, following a financial aid initiative announced last January, will allow many Cornell students to graduate debt-free and will relieve some of the enormous economic burden placed on lower to middle class income bracket families.
“In the current volatile and difficult economic circumstances, many current and prospective college students and their families are concerned about the affordability of a university education. Particularly at this unsettling time, Cornell University must open its doors even wider,” President David Skorton stated in a press release.

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Groups Educate to Prevent Another Syphilis Outbreak

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In the wake of reporting the nine syphilis cases identified in Tompkins County last April, Gannett Student Health Services, Tompkins County Department of Health, Planned Parenthood of the Southern Finger Lakes, Ithaca College and Tompkins Cortland Community College joined forces to provide testing, education and materials surrounding this often overlooked sexually transmitted disease.

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C.U. and DEC Discover Whales By N.Y. Harbor

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Imagine looking out from the Statue of Liberty and seeing not only the New York City harbor, but also one of the most endangered mammals living today. We now know that this is a possibility, as researchers from the Bioacoustics Research Program at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) have, for the first time, recorded the presence of the northern right whale, along with four other species, in the water.
According to Chris Clark, the director of the Bioacoustics Research Program at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, the study found the presence of sei whales, blue whales, minke whales, humpback whales and northern right whales in clusters by New York Harbor between JFK airport and New Jersey.

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TCAT Buses Extend 50¢ Fare

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In a continuing effort to reduce Cornell’s carbon footprint and to increase ridership, TCAT busses has extended the $0.50 off-peak fare through Oct. 31.
The pilot program, reducing the off-peak price from $1.50 to $0.50, was approved by the TCAT Board of Directors and enacted at the beginning of July. According to Rich McDaniel, chair of TCAT Board of Directors, the pilot has already increased ridership during the off-peak hours by an average of 37 percent.
“TCAT is on track to carry well over 3 million riders in 2008,” said James Bratton, TCAT communications & marketing manager. [img_assist|nid=31600|title=Cheap ride|desc=TCAT decided to keep its $0.50 rates during off-peak hours until the end of October.|link=node|align=left|width=|height=0]

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Students Push for Safe Ride Initiative Launch Next Fall

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2.1 million college students drive under the influence of alcohol each year. In response to this staggering statistic and other safety concerns, students at Cornell are taking steps to start a safe ride program, which will provide students with free transportation at night.
The program should be up and running by Fall ’09.
Sanjiv Tata ’09, president of the Residential Student Congress and sponsor of Resolution 18, which pushes for the creation of a safe ride program and was presented in the Student Assembly, explained that the “safe rides” will be run by trained student volunteers. Three to four vans, coordinated by a central dispatch, will pick up students and take them back to their residences between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. Thursdays through Saturdays.

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Profs Granted $1 Million for Research

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The Hartwell Foundation — which provides funds for translational biomedical research aimed at helping children — recently issued three grants and a fellowship to Cornell researchers. These funds, totaling $1 million, make Cornell the first research university to receive three faculty grants simultaneously from the foundation.

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Common Council Fails to Approve Transfer of University Ave.

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On Wednesday, the Common Council Com­mittee failed to pass a memorandum in a 5-2 vote that would have called for Ithaca to give up the public right of way easement to University Avenue in exchange for Cornell’s promise to repair the road at full cost. Alderwomen Maria Coles (D-1st), who was expected to vote in favor of the resolution, was absent during the vote. Alderwoman Nancy Schuler (D-4th) and Mary Tomlan (D-3rd) voted against the resolution, citing reservations about Milstein’s design and unanswered questions, respectively. University Avenue is estimated to require $2 million in repairs. Ithaca and Cornell have disagreed for over 20 years as to who is financially responsible for its maintenance.

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Former Univ. Trustee Chair Weiss ’57 Dies

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Stephen H. Weiss ’57, former chairman of the Cornell Board of Trustees and first chair of the Weill Cornell Board of Overseers, passed away Wednesday at the age of 72.
Weiss served on Cornell’s Board of Trustees from 1973 to1997 and was chairman from 1989 to1997.
Weiss graduated from Cornell with a Bachelor of Arts degree. In 1959, he began working in the field of investment management, spending 11 years with A.G. Becker and Co. He also co-founded Weiss, Peck & Greer, an investment management firm, where he served as chief executive officer and chairman of the executive committee until 2001. His latest endeavor was serving as managing director and senior portfolio manager of Neuberger Berman LLC, an investment advisory firm.