INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880
The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 128, No. 140
THURSDAY, MAY 3, 2012 CHRIS PHARE / SUN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
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ITHACA, NEW YORK
24 Pages – Free
Job Prospects Brighter For Recent C.U.Grads By AKANE OTANI Sun News Editor
Sweating it out | More than 40 protesters stage a sit-in outside President David Skorton’s office Wednesday in opposition to the University’s relationship with the FLA.
Skorton Tells FLA Activists To End ‘Hyperbolic Claims’ By SYLVIA RUSNAK
The most recent graduates of Cornell appear to have entered a less bleak labor market than Cornellians in previous years: For the third consecutive year since 2008, the University saw an increase in the number of students who reported finding employment within six months after their graduation. According to data recently obtained
MEDIAN SALARIES
See FLA page 5
See JOBS page 4
CORNELL GRADUATES
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Sun Staff Writer
Spurning a call from President David Skorton to stop its “demands for action” and “hyperbolic claims,” a student group dedicated to achieving Cornell’s disaffiliation from the Fair Labor Association protested outside of Skorton’s office for two hours on Wednesday. “When you issue ‘demands for action’ and make hyperbolic claims, it undermines the very relationship you, my administrative colleagues and I have worked so hard to establish,” Skorton wrote in a letter Monday to the Sweatfree Cornell Coalition, that was obtained by The Sun. “I hope that you will agree that thoughtfulness and partnership … are the only ways together we will reach our shared goal: the protection of workers’ rights.” Still, the SCC, conducted a sit-in on Wednesday in Day Hall. Their mission: to convince Skorton to sever ties with “We are asking the University why after the FLA, an organization that attempts to bring together mula decade of the FLA silencing workers’ tiple interested parties to improve working conditions and voices, we continue to pay the FLA and protect worker’s rights worldto lend our name to the organization.” wide. The SCC claims the FLA’s code of conduct does not align Casey Sweeney ’13 with the University’s labor standards. “We’re asking the University why after a decade of the FLA silencing workers’ voices, we continue to pay the FLA and to lend our name to the organization,” said Casey Sweeney ’13, a member of CSAS. On March 13, the University Assembly passed a resolution recommending that “the University cancel its affiliation with and financial support of the FLA until the FLA, once notified of the University’s concerns and expectations, corrects the policies and practices” that do not adhere to the University’s code of conduct for labor practices. In response to concerns raised by the UA and the SCC, Skorton sent a letter on March 21 to Auret Van Heerden, president and chief executive officer of the FLA, in which he warned that “Cornell’s future affiliation with the FLA will be determined by the FLA’s will-
OF
from Cornell Career Services, 53.5 percent of the Class of 2011 had a job six months after graduating, compared to 50 percent in the Class of 2009 — showing perhaps the first signs of recovery from the worst recession since the Great Depression. The news may come as a relief to those preparing to walk across the stage after the economy swallowed up 7.9 million jobs with the stock market
$48,000
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$44,000 2007
2008
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Students Defend Study Drug Use By KERRY CLOSE
By JOSEPH NICZKY
With the installation of nets on seven campus and city bridge sites set to begin this summer, the University will hire a contractor for the project within the next month, according to Associate University Architect Andrew Magré ’91. The University has received all necessary approvals for constructing the nets, Magré said. The only
remaining steps before work can begin, in addition to hiring a contractor, is determining the best way to install the nets –– which involves deciding which bridge to first work on and the order of installing the nets on other bridges. Six of the nets will be built under the bridges; a seventh will be built around the Suspension Bridge. In January, Cornell announced its intention to See BARRIERS page 5
2011
News Alien Encounter?
Cornell researchers recently identified three Earth-like planents, all of which, they said, could host life. | Page 3
Opinion
Sun News Editor
Three of a Kind
It was several days before spring break, right in the middle of prelim season — a stressful time that forces many Cornellians to resort to all-night study sessions and drastic measures to stay awake. Henry ’14 was no exception. Henry, a biology major on the pre-med track, was finishing a “hell week” in terms of schoolwork: He had just completed two exams and was facing a difficult organSee STUDY DRUGS page 6
University Prepares for Summer Net Construction Sun Senior Writer
2010
Mona G. explains the necessary criteria for requesting and partaking in a threesome. | Page 9
Dining Love for Lot 10
The Sun reviews Lot 10 Kitchen and Lounge, the new restuarant on South Cayuga Street in the Commons. | Page 11
Arts Stoked for Summer
Sarah Angell ’13 previews music festivals taking place around the country this summer. | Page 10
Sports No Horsing Around
Bronwyn Scrivens ’12 and Georgiana de Rham ’15 will compete at the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association’s national tournament. | Page 24
Weather COURTESY OF THE CITY OF ITHACA
Prep for nets | After selecting a contractor, Cornell will remove fences from Cornell and City owned bridges and install means-restriction nets.
Showers HIGH: 70 LOW: 59