Uncategorized

C.U. Earmarks Break From Nat’l Trend

By |

Cornell seems to be defying the national trend of increased earmarks for academic research, which was highlighted in a report published last month by The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Earmarks are provisions in federal appropriations bills that dedicate money to specific pet projects of members of Congress.
For the 2008 fiscal year, Congress appropriated over $2.1 million dollars in federal earmarks that will directly benefit Cornell research, according to the University’s Office of Federal Government Relations.
This figure is significantly less than the amount the University received five and 10 years ago, at nearly $7 million and $4 million respectively, according to The Chronicle.

Uncategorized

Louie’s Lunch Truck Robbed at Gunpoint

By |

A 25-year-old man allegedly robbed Louie’s Lunch food truck at gunpoint around 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday night, according to the Ithaca Police Department and one of the victims.
Shane M. Jacobs, of Hector, N.Y. was arrested and charged with robbery in the second degree, the IPD said yesterday.
Parker Imrie ’07, who works at Louie’s Lunch as a cook several days a week, said he was on the phone with truck owner Ron Beck when his co-worker told him that the truck was being robbed.

Uncategorized

Financial Aid Policy May Increase Diversity

By |

The new financial aid policy at Cornell — announced last month as several of the University’s peer institutions made similar changes — will have an impact on the University’s ability to recruit and enroll minority students, according to Avis Robinson, founder of the Washington Metropolitan Scholars program.
Washington Metropolitan Scholars is a non-profit organization that helps African-American high school seniors gain admittance to elite universities and finance their education. Cornell works with the program and regularly accepts its students.

Uncategorized

Student Journal Focuses on International Politics

By |

The Cornell International Affairs Review released the inaugural issue last semester, seeking to fill what it considers to be a void in the level of foreign policy discourse at Cornell. The scholarly journal aims to spark academic debate and eventually serve as an influential voice in international policy making.
The publication features articles ranging in topics from the challenges facing Europe to China’s influence in Africa to an assessment of NAFTA. The first issue of the journal — which plans to be published biannually — featured an equally varied group of contributors that included French Cabinet Minister Michel Barnier, as well as international scholars and Cornell undergraduate students.

Uncategorized

Cornell Allows for Disclosure of Student Files

By |

Cornell explicitly asserted in a policy change adopted last year that it may release student educational records to the parents of most undergraduate students without prior consent. This employs a provision of federal privacy law unused by most other universities.
The new policy changes the way the University implements the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act, permitting the University to disclose records of students who are over 18 to parents if the student is claimed as a dependent on the parents’ federal tax forms.

Uncategorized

Ithacan Will Likely Be a N.Y. Democratic Superdelegate

By |

As the battle between Senators Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.) over convention delegates becomes increasingly close, party superdelegates could, for the first time in recent elections, play a deciding role in selecting the Democratic nominee for president. One of those superdelegates will likely be a local voice from Tompkins County.
Irene Stein, a Town of Ithaca resident and chair of the Tompkins Democratic Committee, will likely be designated by the state party in May as one of New York’s 45 superdelegates to the convention.
Stein, who has been a superdelegate for the past two presidential elections, said this year’s nominating contest is the most exciting and promising for Democrats.

Uncategorized

Eyes on the Primaries: Paul, Keyes Still Going

By |

Correction Appended

As voters head to the polls on Tuesday, they will face one of the most open fields of candidates in recent history. On the Republican ticket, voters will see two lesser-known candidates — a libertarian-leaning congressman who is engaging supporters in unprecedented ways online, and a former assistant secretary of state who did some of his undergraduate work at Cornell during Vietnam War protests.

Uncategorized

Alum Sues Cornell Chronicle

By |

A former student has filed a million-dollar defamation lawsuit against Cornell stemming from an archived Cornell Chronicle news report that describes burglary and larceny charges he faced while attending the University.
Kevin Vanginderen ’83, a practicing California lawyer, filed a complaint in San Diego County Superior Court last October for libel and public disclosure of private facts against Cornell resulting in “loss of reputation” and “mental anguish”.
The lawsuit seeks to hold Cornell liable for making libelous and private information about Vanginderen prominently available nearly 24 years after the article was published in print form.

Uncategorized

Environmental Study to Examine Milstein

By |

The physical appearance and visual impact of the proposed Milstein Hall are among the issues that Cornell may have to evaluate as part of an environmental impact study for the project.
The City of Ithaca’s Planning and Development Board is working with Cornell to determine the scope of the environmental impact study that the University must complete to move the Milstein Hall project forward.
Last night, at the board’s public scoping session, Prof. Martin Hatch, music, a resident of the Town of Dryden, voiced concern about Milstein Hall becoming an “environmental sore spot” that does not fit in with the surrounding buildings.
He urged the board to value the public good over “the fulfillment of architectural ego.”

Uncategorized

Slope Day Set to Receive By-Line GPSA Funding

By |

As both the Student Assembly and the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly finalize budgeting their respective student activity fees for the 2008-2010 funding cycle, the Slope Day Programming Board (SDPB) will be allocated more money from the S.A. and will likely receive by-line funding from the GPSA for the first time.
GPSA by-line funding for the annual spring celebration has been the source of some controversy between undergraduate and graduate student leaders over the past few years.
“I want [Slope Day] to be a by-line funded group of the grad students because Slope Day is supposed to be a community event,” said Liz Rapoport ’09, chair of the SDPB.