Opinion

FROM THE EDITOR: Make The Sun Shine

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Bittersweet. As we transition into another changing of the seasons on The Hill, we open our arms to an entire new class of bright minds with untapped potential. A whole new journey packed with transformative experiences and endless growth is beginning for thousands of new students and we at The Sun are ready to experience it alongside you. We are thankful to our now graduated staff, editors and business associates who helped carry The Sun through their tenure and left it burning as bright as ever. But we are ready to keep burning bright.

Opinion

FROM THE EDITOR: It’s Always Sunny in Ithaca

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This past Saturday, The Sun took on the hefty task of electing its newest editorial board, the 137th. As a board, we are excited to take off where the 136th left off and are inspired to forge our own paths. It is such a privilege for us to continue the 139-year legacy that is The Sun and the thousands of individuals who have supported our institution. Last year’s board took The Sun mobile with the launch of its app. It was accompanied by continued growth from our web and design teams and we saw a greater push for graphics, sketches and interactivity with our audience.

Letters From

FROM THE EDITOR: Once More Unto the Breach

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To fully describe my past year at The Sun would require more space and more profanity than I am comfortable with or able to use here. All of the stresses and pressures of doing good journalism, the late nights, emotional stories, unforgiving deadlines and a critical readership, are compounded infinitely for student journalists. We live with, eat with, sleep with and study with the very subjects of our reporting — there is no escape for us from this paper’s impact — all while balancing our responsibilities as full-time students at a university not known for its easiness. It is enough to try even the most seasoned practitioners. But I cannot imagine a group of students handling those challenges with more grace, poise and talent than the members of the 136th Editorial Board.

Opinion

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR | Let the Games Begin!

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Cornellians have a thing for pretentious names. We call our midterms “prelims,” our hills “slopes,” and our everything bagels “Long Island.” When it comes to stupid names, we at The Cornell Daily Sun are no better — and I’m not just talking about those times when design editor Emma Williams ’19 would sarcastically call me “Supreme Leader” in her emails. No, the pretentious name to which we are most attached is “compet.”
What is compet? The exact etymology is, like too much at Cornell, shrouded in mystery, but if you look closely, you’ll notice it bears a striking resemblance to the word “compete” with the second “e” lopped off. Coincidentally, compet is the time during which staffers at The Sun compete against each other for editorships.

Opinion

FROM THE EDITOR: Nothing to Kvetch About Here

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Today is the final day of print publication this semester for The Cornell Daily Sun. Though we will continue to publish occasional stories online over the next month and half, the good folks at 139 W State Street have begun to shift their focus away from hard-hitting journalism and toward — God willing — passing their finals. But fear not, reader. On January 21, The Sun will rise once more from its winter slumber, replenished by latkes, Christmas hams, and various other winter foods of choice, and ready to shine its light on Ithaca again. This semester, The Sun proved again the need for quality, independent journalism on college campuses.

Letters From

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR | Be Independent: Join The Sun

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From the Editor:

Something crazy happened this past summer. Thousands and thousands of Cornellians — one-quarter of all undergraduates — got up and left Ithaca, likely for good. And yet, last Friday, thousands and thousands of new students rushed to fill those vacant spots, ensuring that, at least for one more year, Cornell will remain at full force. Here at The Sun, we too said goodbye to a sterling senior class, of editors, writers, photographers, designers, business associates and more. But unlike our friends at the admissions office, however, we don’t have the benefit of being on the Common App.

Letters From

FROM THE EDITOR: Same Sun, New Day

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Last Saturday, the staff of The Cornell Daily Sun met to elect its 136th Editorial Board. As it was with the thousands of editors whose names graced this page before us, our mission is to provide the most comprehensive coverage, detailed analysis, and thoughtful commentary on the events and issues that matter most to Cornell and her community. It is an honor to play a small role in continuing this tradition of journalistic excellence, and I am elated to do so with the amazing group that is the 136th board. In 1981, at the dawn of The Sun’s second century, Editor in Chief Steven Billmyer ’83 wrote that the yearly changing of the boards was “The Sun’s most powerful asset allowing the editors a flexibility — one commercial papers cannot match — to produce a paper that better reflects this dynamic community.”

As The Sun continues to confront the challenges of 21st century journalism, Billmyer’s words ring more true than ever. Each successive generation of editors reinvigorates The Sun, ensuring that we always remain intimately connected to our audience and our environment.

Letters From

FROM THE EDITOR: Keep Shining, Cornell

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What a year. We saw milestones like the much-anticipated opening of Cornell Tech, the ascension of our men’s hockey team to No. 1 in the nation, and the inauguration of Cornell’s 14th president. We witnessed an assault in Collegetown, the dismissal of Cornell’s oldest a cappella group for hazing, and the sudden resignation of the dean of the business college. These events, good and bad, make up the Cornell narrative, and it is our duty to make sure you, our readers, stay informed.

Featured in Category

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Consider Youth Tobacco Risk When Voting For Tobacco-Free Campus Referendum

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To the Editor:

As Cornell students debate and vote on the campus-wide referendum to create a tobacco-free campus, they may want to review recent legislation from the Tompkins County Legislature. On May 2, 2017, the Tompkins County Legislature adopted a local law raising the legal age to 21 for tobacco sale and purchase. The County Legislature held hearings on the proposed local law and collected information about the impact of the proposed law. A study which appeared in the 2015 Institute of Medicine included a projection that if the minimum age was raised to 21, then the tobacco use initiation rate would decrease by a little over 15% for people ages 18 to 20. The study also projects that 30 years in the future that by raising the age “would result in approximately 223,000 fewer premature deaths, and 4.2 million fewer years of life lost among those born in the first 20 years of this century.”

Letters From

From the Editor: There’s a place for you at The Sun

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Dear Readers:

Cornell is no stranger to big changes. Heading into the fall semester, Cornellians eagerly anticipate President Martha Pollack’s inauguration, the opening of Cornell Tech in New York City, a proliferation of Uber and Lyft rides, and many more exciting developments. This is only the beginning of a gradual but significant growth of the University and its impact around the world. Yet there is still much to improve about the world around us, as demonstrated by unhappy events that have transpired in our country this year. The violence and racial antagonism at Charlottesville.