INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880
The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 131, No. 130
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 2015
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ITHACA, NEW YORK
16 Pages – Free
News
Science
Sports
Weather
World Traveler
New Addition
Float On
Showers HIGH: 52º LOW: 30º
Albert Podell ’58 pens a memoir sharing his adventures in all 196 countries of the world. | Page 3
Cornell’s Wilson Synchrotron Laboratory welcomes a new particle accelerator module.
The women’s rowing team beat out Penn for the Class of ’89 Points Plague.
| Page 8
| Page 16
Construction on Gannett Health Services Ramps Up
K.K. YU / SUN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
By EMILY FRIEDMAN Sun Staff Writer
Gannett Health Services has made adjustments to its operations in response to the start of construction on its $55 million expansion and renovation project, which began March 30 and is planned for completion in the fall of 2017. According to Nianne VanFleet, associate director for operations at Gannett, the construction will affect Gannett’s operations “signifSee CONSTRUCTION page 4
Breaking ground | Construction workers prepare a temporary Libe Slope roadway yesterday to provide an alternate route for vehicle access during the construction of the Gannett Health Services addition.
U.A.Urges Divestment From Fossil Fuels By CHRISTOPHER BYRNS Sun Staff Writer
The University Assembly passed a resolution calling for the Board of Trustees to divest its endowment from fossil fuel companies at its meeting Tuesday. Passing by a vote of 11 in favor, four against, and one abstention, the vote makes the University Assembly the fourth Cornell assembly to support divestment and marks a reversal from a vote last year against fossil fuel divestment. Having now passed the U.A., the
Assembly will send a copy of the resolu- recommendation.” One of the sponsors of the resolution, tion to President David Skorton, who, U.A. member and according to Vice S.A. President Sarah Chair Matthew “I’m pleased that we Balik ’15, expressed Battaglia ’16, will voted yes. I think it’s a her hope that the have “thirty days to get back to us or to big stride from where we Cornell community will continue to suprequest an extension.” were last year.” port the effort toward “From there he divestment as the supcan either accept it, Sarah Balik ’15 porters continue to refer it back for work with the adminchanges, or decline it,” Battaglia said. “As the University istration and the Board of Trustees. Assembly has no formal legislative See DIVESTMENT page 4 authority over the endowment it is just a
Dr. Ben Carson Speaks at C.U. Call Auditorium filled for potential presidential candidate By ANDREW LORD Sun Staff Writer
ALEJANDRO HERNANDEZ / SUN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
The doctor is in | Dr. Ben Carson speaks about his childhood and U.S. politics Tuesday.
Dr. Ben Carson — a retired, world-renowned pediatric surgeon who said he is currently considering a run for president of the United States — spoke to a packed Kennedy Hall on Tuesday, at an event sponsored by the Cornell Republicans. In his talk, titled “The Change We Need,” Carson addressed an array of topics, including his childhood dreams of becoming a doctor, issues he said exist with the current state of social welfare
and potential solutions regarding the U.S. national debt. Carson said his renowned success as a neurosurgeon began with a “childhood dream.” “As a youngster, my dream was to be a doctor,” he said. “I never went through the fireman [phase] or the policeman [phase], I just wanted to be a doctor. I loved everything that had to do with medicine and even liked going to the doctor’s office … I was kind of a strange kid.” Carson said being able to appreciate how “wisdom” emerges can be a valuable
asset to a powerful nation like the United States. “It’s possible for people themselves to learn a lot from looking at both the triumphs and the mistakes that other people make … societies also can learn, and even nations can learn,” he said. In March, Carson made national headlines after he said homosexuality is a “choice” because people “go into prison straight — and when they come out, they’re gay” during a CNN interview with television journalist Chris Cuomo. Carson later See CARSON page 5
FROM DAY HALL
Skorton, Murphy Respond to Last Week’s Stewart Avenue Fire Editor’s Note: On Tuesday, President David Skorton and Vice President for Student and Academic Services Susan Murphy ’73 Ph.D. ’94 issued a statement regarding the Stewart Avenue fire that occurred April 14. ◆◆◆◆
Dear Cornell Community: On behalf of the entire Cornell University community, we express our sympathy and support for the 44 students, two staff members and two members of the Ithaca community who were displaced early last Tuesday morning by the fire on the 400 block of Stewart Avenue. Nineteen people lost all of their possessions. Fortunately, nobody was injured when the fire destroyed the Chapter House and an apartment building, but as the days pass, we must not forget the emotional impact of such an experience and the sudden disruption of the residents’ lives at a critical point in the semester. Our thanks go to the first responders and crisis managers who were on the scene almost immediately. We also are so grateful for the outpouring of assistance from individuals and organizations in the Cornell and Ithaca communities, including staff from the Red Cross who helped everyone displaced. Their compassionate actions have taken many forms to help meet immediate and more extended needs, including establishing ways to make monetary donations, as reported in the Cornell Chronicle See FIRE page 5