Uncategorized

Cornell Updates Bursar Software

By |

Starting this semester, all students are required to pay an annual fee of $10 to use CornellCard regardless of whether or not they actively use their accounts. Previously, students were only required to pay the fee if they used the card.
The Bursar’s office will implement a new PeopleSoft software application next semester that is not compatible with CornellCard. PeopleSoft will enable the administration to use an “integrated suite of administrative applications” that is more economically efficient for the University, according to the a University press release.

Uncategorized

Trail to Be Built Along Cayuga Lake

By |

Cayuga Lake, one of Ithaca’s noted attractions, may soon be a little easier to visit as the City of Ithaca is building a waterfront trail along its southern end. The trail is being built in three phases: phase one was completed in 2002, but phase two has faced delays as it entails crossing the property of local residents and Cornell Uni­versity.
The original path of the trail brought it close to the John Collyer Boat House, home to Cornell’s crew teams.
“We’ve been working closely with the designers and the City,” said University Planner Mina Amundsen.
According to Amundsen, negotiations have been progressing smoothly, and the trail will not interfere with the rowing teams.

Uncategorized

College Leaders Knock Rankings

By |

The debate over college rankings took off earlier this year, when an article in The Washington Post revealed that U.S. News and World Report was using an arbitrary average SAT score to rank Sarah Lawrence College after the school stopped requiring SAT scores from its applicants.
On Sept. 7, 19 presidents of top liberal arts colleges signed a statement that discouraged the use of college rankings. Colleges that signed the statement aimed to reduce bias in the admissions process.
The statement read, “We commit not to mention … rankings in any of our new publications.”

Uncategorized

C.U. Experiment Station Celebrates 125 Years

By |

Though it is thousands of miles away from the hot, muggy farmlands of Hawaii, a small research station 50 miles away from Ithaca in Geneva, N.Y., was instrumental in saving the island’s papaya industry.
According to Prof. Tony Shelton, entomology, several years ago, Cornell’s New York State Agricultural Experiment Station located in Geneva saved the industry through its development of a transgenic papaya.
While many undergraduate students may be unfamiliar with NYSAES, it is certainly not new to Cornell. The station was founded in 1882, but in 1923 it became part of Cornell and is now a part of College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. It is closely affiliated with the University’s Agricultural Experiment Station here in Ithaca.

Uncategorized

Cornell U. Study Reveals Students’ Trust in Google

By |

According to a recent study completed at Cornell, students “trust Google’s positioning more than their rational judgments.” The study revealed that students are biased towards links that appear first when using a search engine such as Google.
The study obtained information through the use of “eye tracking,” where a small camera captures the reflection off a subject’s cornea to determine the position of the eye on the computer screen. According to Prof. Geri Gay, communication, co-author of the study, researchers were then able to know exactly what each subject looked at and for how long.
Twenty two Cornell undergraduates were randomly selected to participate in the study, and each was given 10 questions to find the answers to on Google.

Uncategorized

Sustainability Center Aims to Unite C.U. Researchers

By |

The City of Ithaca has a history of being passionate about living sustainably, as evidenced by the presence of various environmental groups and rallying around issues such as Redbud Woods and recently, the Cayuga Lake Cooling Project.
Cornell is adding to the efforts by creating the Cornell Center for a Sustainable Future to integrate research efforts dealing with sustainability across and beyond the Cornell community. The need for the center arose in part as a response to President David Skorton’s signing of the President’s Climate Commitment to a climate-neutral campus last year.
Prof. Frank DiSalvo, physical science, alluded to the growing concern regarding sustainability in the past few years, both locally and globally. DiSalvo serves as interim head of the center.