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LIEBERMAN | Funny Girl

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The funniest people I know are women, which might seem strange given how overwhelmingly male the profession of comedy seems to be. The top ten highest paid comedians in 2017 were nine men and one woman — Amy Schumer, who also happens to be exceedingly white and exceedingly problematic. Performers at the White House Correspondents Dinners, keeping with this trend, have been historically male as well. Not to say that funny women haven’t graced the stage; recently we had Wanda Sykes, Cecily Strong and, this year, Michelle Wolf. So, we are getting somewhere in terms of equality.

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White House Honors Prison Education Director

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Robert Scott, executive director of the Cornell Prison Education Program, was recognized as one of 10 White House “Champions for Change” on Wednesday for his work with the Cornell Prison Education Program. Scott joined CPEP as executive director in 2013 and since then he said the program has expanded significantly. “When I arrived in 2013, we were at one correctional facility in Auburn, NY; today we’re at three correctional facilities, and by the end of the upcoming year, we’ll be in another one,” Scott said. “Basically, four prisons within a one-hour drive of Cornell’s campus.”
Scott said a key factor in this change has been his vision to expand CPEP through collaboration within the community, rather than Cornell alone. “At a moment when there is receptivity to new initiatives in prison higher education, Rob stands out as a model of a leader who approaches his work with limitless energy and with complete integrity,” said Mary Katzenstein, american studies and government, a member of the CPEP advisory board.