INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880
The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 131, No. 92
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2015
!
ITHACA, NEW YORK
16 Pages – Free
Opinion
Arts
Sports
Weather
Mouth-Watering
The Oscar Goes to ...
Ivy Rivals
Partly Cloudy HIGH: 7º LOW: -8º
Yuedan Chen grad whets our appetite through an exploration of molecular gastronomy. | Page 7
The Sun’s arts writers make predicitons for this year’s Academy Awards.
Men’s basketball prepares to face off against Yale and Brown this weekend.
| Page 8
| Page 16
Health Fee Protesters Gather for Teach-In By PHOEBE KELLER Sun Staff Writer
Students gathered in Ives Hall Thursday to participate in a student-led “Health Fee Teach-In,” which sought to expand the scope of grievances regarding the new manda-
tory $350 health fee to broader issues of student engagement. Daniel Marshall ’15 — who co-led the teach-in with Zakiya Williams Wells ’16 and Keanu Stryker ’16 — opened the event by stating that all students should be entitled to decision-making power, affordable education
CONNOR ARCHARD / SUN SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
and the respect of administrators — changes he called “radical departures from world we live in.” Marshall said President David Skorton and other administrators handled the announcement of the fee poorly, citing a lack of transparency and a leaked email sent by S.A. President Sarah Balik ’15 which urged Student Assembly members to keep information about the fee confidential. “Students have been patiently waiting for administrators to release more information,” Marshall said. “This email shows that there was a lot of manipula“I’m not going to tion behind the scenes respect Skorton if and that there was a concerted effort to he talks down to withhold information me. I’m not going to from students.” respect someone just Stryker addressed widespread complaints because of their title.” from Cornellians who Keanu Stryker ’16 have called the occupation of Day Hall ineffective and disrespectful. He said he and others have met with Skorton before on a variety of issues and did not find the meetings productive. “We get the same thing every time,” he said. “Condescending, patronizing talk. I’m not going to respect Skorton if he talks down to me. I don’t think someone deserves my respect just because of their title.”
Teach-in | Students gather in Ives Hall for a Fight the Fee teach-in, protesting the new $350 health fee, on Thursday.
See FEE page 4
Four New MOOCs Will S.A.Sheds Light on Coal Divestment Be Offered Next Year By CHRISTOPHER BYRNS
Sun Staff Writer
By SUN STAFF
Cornell will expand its offering of massive open-online courses next year with four new classes, ranging from subjects such as the science and politics of genetically modified organisms to engineering simulations, the University announced Thursday. One of the courses, which will focus on shark biodiversity and conservation, will be taught by faculty and staff members from the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology as well as Prof. Ian Tibbetts, biology, University of Queensland. A course on the debate surrounding Genetically Modified Organisisms will take on multiple perspectives, from political and economic to health and environmental, according to a University press release. Faculty members from across multiple departments will introduce students “how to connect their personal values to positions based on evidence.” Computational fluid dynamics and solid mechanics are topics
that will be covered in an introductory course to engineering simulations, which will also feature guest lecturers from the industry, according to the release. The fourth course that will arrive next year is geared toward the business-oriented mind, for it will focus on principles of mergers and acquisitions. Because the new courses will be developed in the upcoming months, none of them have official titles yet, according to the release. They were chosen by the Online Learning Development Group, which Laura Brown, senior vice provost for undergraduate education helms. The courses will be offered in collaboration with MOOC provider edX, according to the University. Although the courses may be audited at no cost, those who wish to receive a ‘Verified Certificate of Achievement,’ are subject to a minimum fee, according to the edX website. The Sun’s News Department can be reached at news@cornellsun.com.
The Student Assembly passed a resolution Thursday shedding light on the University’s decision to remove coal holdings from its endowment portfolio seven years ago and encouraging the administration to avoid reinvesting in coal, citing environmental concerns. According to Emma Johnston ’16, Arts and Sciences representative for the S.A. and resolution co-sponsor, the passage of this resolution marks “a big step for financial transparency.”
While Cornell has not divested from all companies who use coal indirectly, the resolution says that Cornell Chief Investment Officer A.J. Edwards has verified that the University endowment currently does not have any direct investments in companies engaged in coal extraction. “[Cornell’s] investment officers decided that they were going to take all of the direct holdings in coal out of the financial endowment,” Johnston said. “We haven’t had any direct See DIVESTMENT page 5
KELLY YANG / SUN NEWS PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Public access | The Student Assembly meets to discuss the student health fee and coal divestment in the Willard Straight Hall Memorial Room Thursday.