LETTER TO THE EDITOR | The Encampment is a Repeat of History

To the Editor: 

Re: “Students Stage Pro-Palestine Encampment on the Arts Quad” (news, April 25)

35 years ago I was involved in another divestment movement at Cornell — that of divesting from South Africa’s Apartheid regime. It was my first experience of political activism, and much of what is happening now appears to be repeating what happened then albeit with an added element of racial/ethnic tension. We built a shantytown on the Main Quad, held protests in front of various buildings, invaded the President’s office and disrupted a Board of Trustees meeting. Did it influence Cornell’s investment policy? To this day, I do not know.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: On Human Rights

Not a day passes without Israel escalating its assault on the Palestinian people. The 2018 Nation State Law has drawn mass outrage from Palestinians and ethno-religious minorities such as the Druze and Coptic Christians and Israeli Jews. Despite the law’s virtual confirmation of Israel as a racialized apartheid state, the United States has been steadfast in their support for the occupying regime. Since Israel’s origin, the state has dispossessed countless Palestinians through violent means, starting with the 1948 al-Nakba (“The Catastrophe”) in which nearly a million indigenous Palestinians were forcibly expelled from their homes or otherwise murdered by Zionist militias. The U.S. shares a common history with Israel as a fellow settler-colonial project rooted in genocide, making the countries’ current close relationship unsurprising.

Grandson of Nelson Mandela to Speak on 100th Anniversary of Revolutionary’s Birth

Drawing lessons directly from the South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, Ndaba Mandela will speak at 5 p.m. on Oct. 12 in Kennedy Hall’s Call Auditorium to commemorate the 100th anniversary of his grandfather Nelson Mandela’s birth. Zachary J. Shulman ’87, J.D. ’90, director of Entrepreneurship at Cornell, said that attendees of
the event can expect to learn about Ndaba’s efforts to promote economic development in Africa through entrepreneurship. Shulman said that Ndaba will also speak about his desire to partner with programs and institutions outside of Africa, such as Cornell University. “He’s clearly going to bring a lot of energy and excitement,” Shulman said.

Student Spotlight: Elsa and the awesomeAWESOMES

Sam Sveen, creator and single member of Elsa and the awesomeAWESOMES, misunderstood my first question, “Are you a junior?” to be “Are you a genius?” His answer: “Yes. I’d like to think I’m a genius … but wouldn’t we all? I actually have an acoustic song titled, ‘I’d like to think I’m a genius.’”
I’ll let you decide for yourselves whether Sam is a true genius or not, but I certainly think that someone who can make the world’s most boring question into something far more interesting and fun at least has genius potential. Regardless, even if Sam doesn’t quite make the genius cut, there’s no denying that he’s awesome. In fact, make that awesome awesome.

Sun: So I have to ask you one more boring question. Where are you from?