05-05-20 entire issue hi res

2 The Cornell Daily Sun Special Issue | Tuesday, May 5, 2020

The Cornell Daily Sun Special Issue | Tuesday, May 5, 2020 3

News

Students React With Confusion to Class Closure

By SARAH SKINNER and GIRISHA ARORA Sun Senior Editor and Sun Senior Writer

This story was originally published on March 11.

“OMG. I was ready for it, until I wasn’t ready for it.”

Jack Tracey’s ’20 initial reaction mirrored how many other students responded to the Tuesday afternoon news that Cornell’s last five weeks of spring classes move online, a decision in line with other institutions across the country in response to the spreading COVID-19 outbreak.

Before the University suspended classes and urged students to immediately return to home on Friday, some seniors like Tracey thought they would have their last-ever day of classes at Cornell on March 27.

As students digested the implications, they expressed concerns about the financial burden and logistics, mixed reactions about the timing of the announcement and thoughts about the actual feasibility of online classes.

Should I Stay or Should I Go? Currently, 46 percent of students live on campus.

Students who wish to stay in Cornell housing after spring break will have to petition the University on a case-by-case basis. All undergraduate students are expected to leave, but plans by the administration to enforce the decision on students living off campus remain unclear.

According to the University’s statement, dining halls will remain open to accommodate students in Ithaca, but there will be “severely limited on-campus activities.”

Most students interviewed by The Sun Tuesday evening who live off campus said they probably would not leave Ithaca due to the financial and logistical burden it would cause.

For senior students such as Tracey who have now spent the better part of four years living away from their “permanent” homes, this decision has set off an “identity crisis.”

“I live here. More than half of my life is established in an apartment in Ithaca,” Tracey said. “Sure, I have a defined ‘permanent home,’ but my shit’s here. So it’s like, where’s home?”

Akanksha Jain ’20 has concerns about returning home to Singapore, and said her first thought when she opened the email was concern for fellow international students.

“For Americans it sucks, but there’s ways to get around it,” she said. Jain said she will likely end up staying in Ithaca or with family elsewhere in the U.S. The Office of Global Learning sent an email to international students around 12:30 a.m. Wednesday morning, reassuring them that if they cannot easily return home, the campus residence and dining halls will be open through the rest of the semester.

While some students’ homes are thousands of miles away, others are only traveling a few blocks to follow Cornell’s advice — such as Madeline Turner ’23, whose family lives in Ithaca. Despite living only minutes from her professors, all her classes will be online.

“I’m gonna be like in my room, in my childhood bedroom, by myself,” Turner said.

Academic Challenges Arise First-Year Spring Admit Lia Sokol ’23 said that — having spent only a few months attending Cornell classes — she wasn’t ready to transition online, and worried about non-lecture components such as office hours. She also expressed concerns about her transcript, and whether Cornell would denote the semester’s special circumstances on her permanent record.

“I can’t imagine I’ll get the same experience or grades or anything that I would have gotten if I were here,” Sokol said.

President Martha E. Pollack recognized this disruptive effect of transitioning online in her announcement email to the student body, but urged students and faculty to abide by the new measures to protect the community, especially those who are most vulnerable.

“We are asking students to miss out on the enormous value of face-to-face instruction and on the camaraderie of their peers,” Pollack wrote, but stressed the health concerns involved in the choice.

Faculty are currently transitioning lectures online, but

Seven Days at Cornell

How the coronavirus changed campus in one week

By MADELINE ROSENBERG Sun Assistant New Editor

This story was originally published on March 17.

Cornellians lounged from hammocks that swooped between Libe Slope trees on Monday, as they soaked up rare March 60 degree weather. Engineers scribbled out problem sets from beneath Arts Quad tree trunks in the middle of prelim season. Student Assembly candidates squared off in an evening debate. Snow piles that collected on the edges of walkways were thawing, and “No Winter Maintenance” signs began to disappear from campus.

Monday’s weather brought scenes from an end-of-semester May afternoon, as students emerged from winter hibernation. But Tuesday’s news brought what felt like the semester’s end.

President Martha E. Pollack’s Tuesday, March 10 email sent shock waves into student and faculty inboxes, as Cornell became the latest university to slash in-person classes and urge students to return to their permanent residencies after spring break, amid the novel coronavirus outbreak that had not yet touched Tompkins County.

Students screamed and sobbed in shock: They had

two months, then two weeks.

The novel coronavirus that had already shuttered University of Washington and Stanford University appeared as though it would spare a New York university tucked between gorges and trees — even after Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.) declared a state of emergency that previous Saturday.

Students who had previously fretted about their spring break plans now grappled with a new reality: What would Zoom discussion sections look like? How would architecture students construct physical models online? Would seniors who missed their swim tests freshman year still have to complete the requirement?

Commencement also became a question mark for seniors who learned they would squeeze senior spring into a remaining two weeks. First-year students cleared the Bear Necessities shelves on Tuesday evening and frantically emptied out their Big Red Bucks — just as a portion of them entered the housing lottery and selected next year’s on-campus dorms at the beginning of the week.

A slew of events dissolved, from Cornell Fashion Collective to a cappella concerts, after months of See SEVEN DAYS page 8

BORIS TSANG / SUN PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

Shocked and confused | Students pass through Ho Plaza on March 13, after President Martha E. Pollack suspended classes and urged students to return home two months early.

students are concerned about how classes with hands-on work or a practical component are going to be affected.

“Engineering courses are not very well suited for online.

We rely on office hours and TAs and in-person collaboration — writing a lot,” said Tilka Persaud ’21, who studies chemical engineering.

Persaud is disappointed that she will miss her lab for the rest of the spring, joking that she’ll probably have to read a handbook on valves to substitute the time she would have spent there instead.

Changing Reality While some students appreciated that the University made the decision two weeks before spring break — other schools made similar moves with less than a week’s notice — others questioned the need to cancel at all.

“It’s just weird. It went from like zero to getting kicked off campus in a span of two or three days,” said Collette Schissel ’20.

While the Cornell administration has expressed hopes to hold some commencement activities, students mourned the loss of big-ticket spring events such as Dragon Days, Senior Days and a March Denzel Curry featuring Rico Nasty concert.

As of early Wednesday, a GroupMe called “martha can’t make us leave” had over 2,400 members. The group included memes about the COVID-19 outbreak, plans for an alternate Slope Day and groups events including “Tag at Kroch [Library]” and “Purge.”

“Senior year is supposed to be like your most fun semester … and now it kind of feels like you’re missing out on that, which kind of sucks,” said Ely Giroux ’20. “I’m gonna try and just continue business as usual as much as I can, but obviously we’re gonna have to make some concessions, sort of trying to preserve safety for people.”

Louis Chuang ’23 contributed reporting to this article.

Sarah Skinner can be reached at sskinner@cornellsun.com.

Girisha Arora can be reached at garora@cornellsun.com.

The Corne¬ Daily Sun INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880 Editor in Chief

Maryam Zafar ’21

ALL DEPARTMENTS

Business Manager

Joybeer Datta Gupta ’21

(607) 273-3606

Business: For questions regarding advertising, classifieds, subscriptions or delivery problems, please call from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday-Friday.

News: To report breaking news or story ideas, please call after 5 p.m., SundayThursday.

SEND A FAX VISIT THE OFFICE THE SUN ONLINE E-MAIL

(607) 273-0746 139 W. State Street, Ithaca, N.Y. www.cornellsun.com sunmailbox@cornellsun.com

Postal Information: The Cornell Daily Sun (USPS 132680 ISSN 1095-8169) is published by THE CORNELL DAILY SUN, a New York corporation, 139 W. State St., Ithaca, N.Y. 14850. The Sun is published Monday, Tuesday and Thursday during the academic year, and every weekday online. Four special issues — one for Cornell Days in April, one for seniors in May, one for alumni in June and one for incoming freshmen in July — make for a total of 91 print issues per year. Subscriptions are: $86.00 for fall term, $86.00 for spring term and $172.00 for both terms if paid in advance. Standard postage paid at Ithaca, New York.

See note in this box in the March 26 issue for info about the early end of regular print publication this spring.

Postmaster: Send address changes to The Cornell Daily Sun, 139 W. State St., Ithaca, N.Y. 14850.

4 The Cornell Daily Sun Special Issue | Tuesday, May 5, 2020

News

Restaurants in Collegetown Bagels Opens Up Collegetown Lay ‘Pay What You Can’ Kitchen Off 500 Workers

By SHRUTI JUNEJA Sun Senior Writer

This story was originally published on March 25.

By SARIKA KANNAN Sun Staff Writer

This story was originally published on April 6.

Souvlaki House was supposed to celebrate its 50th anniversary this year.

Instead, the Collegetown Greek-Italian favorite shut down on April 6 for more than two weeks to sanitize the restaurant, so it would be safe before continuing operations as take-out only.

The restaurant’s business has dropped 85 to 90 percent, according to Souvlaki House owner Chris Rabavilas. This is the first time the eatery has shut down for safety-related reasons since its inception in 1970.

“We live in 2020, something like [this] comes around and it seems like we don’t know what to do,” Rabavilas said. “We were not ready.”

Souvlaki House is one of the more than 50 Collegetown businesses that are scrambling to stay afloat, as statewide regulations restrict them to takeout-only operations to reduce the coronavirus’ spread. While some Collegetown restaurants reduced their hours and employees, others closed indefinitely.

TAL DOTAN AND ALEC GIUFURTA / So far, Souvlaki House has laid off only a SUN STAFF WRITER AND SUN handful of staff and continues to pay its employees SENIOR EDITOR as much as possible. However, other Collegetown eateries have already cut paychecks, forcing their staff to file for unemployment benefits.

Collegetown Bagels furloughed almost 400 employees across its five locations after Ithaca became a “ghost town,” said co-owner Gregar Brous. While the employees are encouraged to return when business picks up again, they are not required to.

“We’re asking people to come back to their jobs after this is over,” Brous said. “Their jobs are guaranteed back with the same benefits.”

In the meantime, Brous’ unemployed staff is filing for insurance benefits. A few CTB employees were stationed at some locations to help unemployed staff navigate the process of signing up. New York State waived the seven-day waiting period for receiving benefits for those out of work due to a slew of COVID-19 closures.

Since there are rapid changes in business and state regulations, Brous and the three other owners keep in touch throughout the day to assess how to move forward. He said they have already reduced store hours to “afford to have people staffing it.”

Brous said on March 25 he thinks the five still-operating CTB See LAYOFFS page 8

Normally a bustling business filled with energy and laughter, the storefront of local staple Collegetown Bagels is now eerily quiet, closed as a result of a state mandate ordering all restaurants to switch to takeout-only service.

But despite the shock of suddenly lost customers, CTB has taken action in a time of crisis, partnering with national organization World Central Kitchen to open a community kitchen at its 301 E. State Street downtown location “in an effort to keep the vulnerable members of our community well-fed,” according to a press release.

“We have a lot of capacity to produce. Right now, we don’t have the demand. So if we’re able to give that food away to people who need it, that’s what we want to do,” said Gregar Brous, CTB owner. “If we have food, I’d rather give it to people than see it rot.”

The community kitchen — which opened on March 23 — is operating on a “pay what you can” basis, with customers able to pick up to two items per day from a selection of pre-packaged soups, salads, sandwiches and entrees. People can also “pay it forward,” either in person or online, to help provide meals for those who need them.

“My feeling is that in a very short amount of time, the people that need food, and don’t have it or don’t have money to access it, is going to grow exponentially and fast,” Brous said. “We need to figure out ways as a community to mobilize and to work together to set up systems of how to

get food to people in the greatest time of need.”

In 2017, 13.4 percent of people and 17.2 percent of children in Tompkins County were food insecure, according to nonprofit Feeding America — a situation almost certainly to be exasperated as unemployment spikes.

In addition to picking up food inside the store, Brous said that at 4 p.m. each day, CTB brings down food from its other locations and puts it outside on tables for people to grab and go. Furthermore, everything is 10 percent off for hospitality industry members. Brous said that the decision to open a community kitchen was based on “the care and love we have for our local community.”

“They’ve kept us in business for all these years, and we would like to give back in any way that we possibly can,” Brous said. “Clearly this is going to be an extremely not just stressful, but needy time for a lot of people.”

To aid their efforts in running the community kitchen, CTB reached out to World Central Kitchen, a non-profit based in Washington, D.C. that aims to address poverty and hunger around the world. As a community partner of the organization, CTB now receives advice on practices and networking support from the organization.

On the sustainability of CTB’s efforts, Brous said, “We can’t go on forever, but we’re going to go on for as long as we can. It seems like our practices of yesterday are old news, and our practices of tomorrow, we haven’t even thought about yet.”

Madeline Rosenberg ’23 contributed reporting.

Shruti Juneja can be reached at sjuneja@cornellsun.com.

Ithaca City School District Makes, Delivers Meals for Families in Need Staff work under social-distancing guidelines

By ASHA PATT Sun Staff Writer

This story was originallypublished on April 1.

Standing six feet apart in an empty school kitchen, seven staffers spend their days preparing thousands of meals for students stuck at home as a result of the shutdown of schools caused by coronavirus.

On March 13, with the threat of the pandemic looming over New York, the Ithaca City School District was forced to close all schools — asking its 5,464 students to stay at home.

Following the closures, Superintendent Luvelle Brown assured the community that, in addition to providing technical support and virtual learning, the district would provide food service to students.

Beth Krauss, food service direc-

tor for the district, was already one step ahead. Four days before the first school breakfast was delivered, she had a plan in place to provide students with meals, ensuring a smooth transition amid the chaos of nationwide shutdowns.

“The waiver was put in with the state [and] the food was already delivered. We had food in-house, ready to go,” Krauss said.

As of March 24, all meals are now delivered to students’ homes.

Krauss estimates that the district now delivers approximately 1,600 lunches and 1,000 breakfasts each day, despite the small number of cafeteria staff.

“We only have seven people preparing lunches because of social distancing in the kitchen,” Krauss explained. “We take temperatures.

They are sanitizing with a timer, so every time the timer goes off, every half hour to an hour they completely sanitize light switches, door handles, any surface that they’re working on.”

Once the meals are prepared and put in coolers, a team of 10 bus drivers deliver the meals to 686 homes scattered throughout Ithaca. Each bus driver is paired with a kitchen staff member who delivers each meal to the door. Families are instructed not to meet the delivery person at the door.

In order to receive meals, families fill out a weekly order form for each child. Breakfast meals consist of milk, juice, graham crackers and a different cereal each day. For lunch, students can choose either a sandwich or the daily lunch option, accompanied by fruit, milk and sometimes salad.

“The food service staff, the clerk staff, the transportation staff, they really have to work together to pull this all off,” Krauss said. “They’re just awesome [for] doing it.”

Asha Patt can be reached at apatt@cornellsun.com.

The Cornell Daily Sun Special Issue | Tuesday, May 5, 2020 5

News

Students React to Extended Opt-In S/U Grading

By MEGHNA MAHARISHI

in S/U until after finals — organizers saw Kotlikoff’s announcement as a victory.

“Collectively, we are all satisfied and happy This article was originally published on April 6. with the decision, that they decided to extend the deadline to opt-in for S/U,” said Sareh Facebook profiles adorned with “Universal Ghadersohi ’21. “We believe that it allows Pass” filters and contentious squabbles over more flexibility and it accounts for unforeseechanging to a universal S/U grading scheme able circumstances, and that the goal of the occupied Cornell’s student body for weeks. campaign was to ensure everyone’s voice was The issue even made its way up to the Student heard and accounted for.”

Kotlikoff’s announcement came after the Assembly and Faculty Senate.

Now, the grading debate has effectively S.A. passed a universal S/U resolution whereas ended, leaving some students disappointed a similar resolution failed to pass the Faculty Senate, signifying a compromise between the and others satisfied with the outcome.

On Sunday, Provost Michael Kotlikoff diverging votes.

Some didn’t see Cornell’s announced that opt-in new grading policy as a S/U would be extended to May 12, the last day of “I’m both disappointed compromise.

“I am both disappointed classes. Universal S/U was and shocked.” and shocked,” said Cindy no longer a viable option Dou ’19 grad. “I didn’t for the spring semester.

Cindy Dou grad know this could be worse, Tomás Reuning ’21, but the provost and vice the Student Assembly provost made it worse.”

LGBTQ+ liaison at-large, The provost also wrote in an email to was frustrated with the University’s decision the Cornell community that transcripts will to not adopt universal S/U. “I am disgusted,” Reuning said in a message include “a notation that explains the anomato The Sun. “This institution disgusts me. I lies associated with the spring 2020 semester.”

At the Faculty Senate meeting, Prof. Risa genuinely regret choosing to come to Cornell.”

Reuning had previously written a blis- Lieberwitz, labor relations, law and history, tering email to the Faculty Senate, after it argued that the validity of grades given this voted against a universal S/U resolution on semester would be diluted due to the unprecThursday. In the email, Reuning wrote, “A edented circumstances surrounding them. record 10 million Americans applied for However, some students expressed a need to unemployment this week. It is a privilege to keep grades for graduate school programs or have been able to sit there and discuss some- to maintain external merit-based scholarships.

Alex Gutierrez ’20 advocated for an optthing as frivolous as grades in the midst of a in option after experiencing a slew of health global crisis.”

On the other hand, Big Red Choice — issues in past semesters that hindered her abila movement that supported extended opt- ity to academically perform at her best. With Sun Assistant Managing Editor

the latest decision, Gutierrez said that there were pros and cons to both grading schemes.

“By taking away the semester, that would really do a disservice to the students who did not start at Cornell with the right footing,” Gutierrez said. “However, I will admit that it is a disadvantage for students that do come from a low income background, a minority background and are extremely affected by the pandemic currently.”

Other students derided the University’s decision on Twitter.

Roland St. Michel ’22 said he mentally prepared himself for this outcome.

“I was kind of expecting it,” St. Michel said. “After the senate vote, it was kind of like, ‘Alright, this is what’s going to go through, nine times out of 10, probably’ … Either way, I’m going to have to deal with whatever decision gets made.”

One of the biggest points of contention during these past few weeks was if such a grading system was the most beneficial for low-income students who may not have proper internet access to online classes or resources.

On Facebook and Reddit, students who identified as low-income or first-generation argued over which grading policy would benefit them the most, with some saying that they had a lack of resources at home and others saying they needed the grades for a GPA boost after an uneasy start to college. Students with difficult home situations also told The Sun contrasting viewpoints on the issue.

There was no consensus.

Both Big Red Choice and Big Red Pass believed that their campaigns benefitted Cornell’s most disadvantaged students.

“It was always about just providing a voice for students who believe in different ways

of solving this super nuanced and complex issue,” said Big Red Choice organizer Amelia Ng ’21.

“We started this movement with the interests of students and we end it with the students in mind,” said Big Red Pass founder and organizer Ahmed Elsammak ’21. “I really apologize to the people who trusted this movement to accomplish eliminating letter grades this semester. These are real people who will be harmed by not having a universal grading system.”

Despite the divisive discourse over grading, both campaigns repeatedly expressed no ill will toward one another after Kotlikoff’s announcement.

“I have no malice or resentment or anything against people who supported Big Red Choice, Elsammak said. “I think many of them really did believe that an opt-in policy is the best way to protect marginalized students.

I’m not going to pretend that I really didn’t disagree with their arguments or think that they were wrong.”

“We do empathize with Big Red Pass and their cause,” Ng said. “Our formation was never about competing with [Big Red Choice]. It was never us versus them.”

As classes have now resumed on Zoom, students have mostly come to terms with extended opt-in S/U. “We kind of need to start classes back up, just to actually have a semester,” St. Michel said. “I do wish that the grading decision was posted more than a day before, but at least it wasn’t posted on the day of.”

Meghna Maharishi can be reached at mmaharishi@cornellsun.com.

As Classes Approach, Faculty Senate Rejects Universal S/U

By TAMARA KAMIS Sun Staff Writer

This article was originally published on April 3.

The Faculty Senate voted to keep A’s and B’s in the spring semester’s grading policy on Thursday.

On Wednesday, the senate met via Zoom to discuss grading policy options and academic integrity.

Once voting ended Thursday noon, it was announced shortly after that the universal S/U proposal failed.

The controversial vote signified that as tension rises between supporters and critics of a universal S/U grading policy, faculty are nearly split on whether letter grading is fair.

Other Ivy League universities have passed various universal pass/ fail policies, including Harvard University, Columbia University and Dartmouth College. Yale University, Brown University, Princeton University and the University of Pennsylvania do not have a universal pass/fail policy.

Faculty members raised questions on student agency, implications on graduate school admissions, employer requirements and the needs of marginalized students.

Ultimately, 46 voted for universal S/U, 62 voted against and three abstained.

At the meeting, some faculty members seemed skeptical of stigmas attached to opt-in S/U grading, which swayed the vote in favor of retaining the University’s current system.

“The arguments in favor of a universal S/U, the only thing people brought up that they thought was substantive that an S would be perceived as lesser than a grade,” said Prof. David Delchamps, electrical and computer engineering, at the meeting. “That imputes an awful lot of pigheaded-ness or

thickheaded-ness or myopia on the assessors or perceivers.”

Students involved in the Big Red Pass movement — in favor of a consistent grading scheme — have repeatedly said that students would be reluctant to take classes S/U due to fear of seeming academically less capable than their peers.

The Big Red Choice movement — advocates of students’ ability to choose their grading option — did not directly comment on the vote on social media.

However, the vote drew the ire of some students, as many — scattered away from campus — took to social media to criticize the outcome.

After news of the vote broke, it set off a contentious debate on whether the Faculty Senate made the right decision.

Some supported the Faculty Senate decision, including one Reddit user, who wrote “People have been complaining that it “stigmatizes” people who do S/U and puts a ‘burden’ on them. How is it a stigma when so many people are going to be taking courses S/U from multiple universities? How is it a ‘burden’ when the explanation is so simple — COVID-19?”

Other redditors were disappointed, and expressed concern that keeping the current grading policy would harm students who were infected with COVID-19.

“I understand the rationale behind letter grading, but it screws over anyone who contracts the virus or has a family member contract it,” another Reddit user wrote.

Tomás Reuning ’21, the Student Assembly LGBTQ+ liaison at-large, wrote a scathing email to the Faculty Senate after the vote, which was then posted on Facebook.

“We are in the middle of a pandemic and the beginning of a major economic depression,” Reuning wrote. “Grades should be the least

of our concerns.”

Courses taken S/U do not factor into GPA calculations, but will now count toward graduation requirements.

Prof. Neema Kudva, architecture, art and planning, presented arguments for and against various grading policy options, beginning with the University’s current policy of providing an extended opt-in policy for S/U grading for all classes until April 21. “[The current opt-in policy] doesn’t disadvantage any student that has a merit-based scholarship, that needs a GPA, and it also allays concerns students about admissions to competitive graduate programs,” Kudva said.

Kudva also posited that the current grading system may unfairly burden students who are disadvantaged by taking classes off-campus.

“This is an unusual, fast-changing, difficult time which constrains student agency, and there are many difficult home situations,” she said, who pointed out that alternatives to the current scheme could include universal S/U and universal P/F. Some students with difficult home situations have expressed support for the Big Red Choice movement to The Sun because they wanted to maintain grades to keep scholarships or raise their GPAs after a rocky start to college.

Lisa Nishii, vice provost for undergraduate education, updated the faculty on potential changes to graduate school requirements for grades — a major concern raised by the Big Red Pass movement, which has argued that admission committees would disfavorably view classes taken optionally S/U. According to Nishii, some graduate schools originally announced that they would only accept pass/ fail grades if it was due to university policy.

“This fueled a fury, because

ASHLEY HE / SUN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Grading | The Faculty Senate hosted its last in-person meeting on March 11

before transitioning to Zoom meetings. At its first Zoom meeting, the Faculty Senate debated the merits of universal S/U grading on April 1.

those most hard hit by the pandemic would be penalized either for opting for an S/U and maybe seeming weak, or opting for a letter grade and not earning a good letter grade,” Nishii said.

However, according to Nishii, some graduate schools have since revised the policy, and conditions are in flux.

According to the resolution, signed by over 50 faculty members, the current opt-in policy fails to accommodate “students experiencing personal and economic hardships such as family job losses, illness, childcare obligations and lack of access to internet technology or difficulty participating from distant time zones.”

During the meeting, Prof. Risa Lieberwitz, labor relations, law and history, questioned the quality of online instruction for certain topics, arguing that not all courses are suitable for virtual learning, which could impact their validity.

“Some courses will simply be inferior in the way they are delivered. Online is unsuitable for certain courses, and we are doing this in a hurry,” Lieberwitz said.

After the meeting concluded, faculty voted online. In contrast to the Faculty Senate’s decision, the S.A. passed a resolution in support of a universal grading policy in a 16-7-2 vote at an emergency virtual meeting on Tuesday. The S.A. vote, along with the Faculty Senate one, will now make their way to the administration. It is unclear when the administration will announce a final decision on the matter.

On Facebook, Big Red Pass lamented the outcome of the Faculty Senate vote.

“We were deeply saddened by this, especially following the strong support demonstrated by the Student Assembly days earlier,” the group wrote. “But things are moving far too quickly to put much weight on this outcome.”

While the Faculty Senate made its decision, the grading debate is far from settled. Big Red Pass and Big Red Choice are now encouraging their supporters to email administrators, and classes will resume Monday.

Tamara Kamis can be reached at tkamis@cornellsun.com.

6 The Cornell Daily Sun Special Issue | Tuesday, May 5, 2020

News

News

The Cornell Daily Sun Special Issue | Tuesday, May 5, 2020 7

8 The Cornell Daily Sun Special Issue | Tuesday, May 5, 2020

News

The Cornell Daily Sun Special Issue | Tuesday, May 5, 2020 9

News

CORONAVIRUS TIMELINE

By KATHRYN STAMM

JANUARY Students return to campus from winter break as the threat of coronavirus looms abroad — the University maintains that “there is no need to panic.”

Sun News Editor

COVID-19 FRONT PAGES INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880 INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880

THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 2020 THURSDAY, MARCH 12, 2020

n n

12 Pages — Free 12 Pages — Free

ITHACA, NEW YORK ITHACA, NEW YORK

Vol. 136, No. 68

MONDAY, MARCH 16, 2020

n

11

China reports its first death from an illness caused by the virus.

Cornell became the latest university to announce that it Cornell became latestbreak, university to announce that it would go digital afterthe spring following a wave of colleges would go digital break, followingclasses a wavedue of colleges nationwide that after havespring canceled in-person to the nationwide that have canceled in-person classes due to the

COVID-19 Coverage From This Weekend

COVID-19 outbreak.

COVID-19 outbreak.

The sudden closures represent an unprecedented decision in The sudden representtheanseriousness unprecedented in Cornell’s historyclosures — reflecting of andecision epidemic Cornell’s reflecting seriousness of an epidemic that, in justhistory a week,—spiraled fromthea handful of cases to hundreds that, in just a week, spiraled from a handful of cases to hundreds

BORIS TSANG / SUN PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

See ADMINISTRATION page 5 See ADMINISTRATION page 5

COVID-19 Hits Tompkins County

On Saturday, the Tompkins County Health Departmet released in a health advisory that an individual in Tompkins County has tested positive for the COVID-19 disease. The individual, a member of the Ithaca College community, is in mandatory isolation. Along with this case, 52 others are under quarantine and 15 await test results.

- See Page 5

A slope day | Students lounge on Libe Slope on Friday following the announcement that classes were canceled until April.

‘Fairly unchartered waters’

Cornell Suspends Classes For First Time in History

New York State Calls State of Emergency

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the federal, New York State and Tompkins County governments have all called a state of emergency. In Tompkins Couny, secondary education schools have been closed until April 13. Peer institutions Ithaca College, Syracuse University and SUNY Cortland have instituted virtual classes.

- To read the full story visit www.cornellsun.com

By JOHNATHAN STIMPSON and MEGHNA MAHARISHI

view with The Sun. With COVID-19 spreading seemingly unabated — the number of confirmed cases spiked 30 percent overJust as students booked flights and bus tickets, they night to 421 in New York State — Cornell officials said faced the latest COVID-19 pandemic shock on Friday the accelerated timeline was necessary to give students morning when President Martha E. Pollack canceled the chance to begin making travel plans. classes until April 6.

“The greatest shift that I was feeling was the Uncertainty now permeates Cornell’s concern … travel, [which] is becoming campus, as students have now been told more difficult, certainly downstate, in to leave as soon as possible.

New York,” said Sharon McMullen, The surprise announcement Assistant Vice President of Student reflects a looming concern that the and Campus Life for Health and current outbreak will worsen by Well-being. spring break. Vice President for The practical logistics of askStudent and Campus Life Ryan ing over 13,000 students to vacate Lombardi conceded that “in all campus is one that leaves a host of likelihood it’s going to show up in unsolved questions. the county if it hasn’t already.”

Lombardi had sent out an email Even though Tompkins County to students living on-campus earlisaid that there were still no confirmed er in the week, asking them to fill cases in a Friday afternoon press conferout a form for housing accommodations. ence, Tompkins County administrator Jason COURTESY OF THE CENTERS While the form’s deadline has been extended Molino declared a state of emergency, shutter- FOR DISEASE CONTROL to Sunday, Lombardi said that the majoriing local schools. ty of students who filled out the survey said “As you look across the country right now, we’re in fairly unchartered waters,” Lombardi said in an interSee PRECAUTION page 4 Sun Managing Editor and Sun Assistant Managing Editor

20

The U.S. reports its first positive case of the coronavirus.

Students Students Confused, Confused, Frustrated Frustrated

By SARAH SKINNER AND

By SARAH SKINNER AND GIRISHA ARORA GIRISHA Sun Senior ARORA Writers Sun Senior Writers

“OMG. I was ready for it, “OMG. I was for it, until I wasn’t readyready for it.” until I wasn’t ready ’20 for it.”

Jack Tracey’s initial Jack mirrored Tracey’s that ’20of initial reaction many reaction mirrored of many other students to that the Tuesday other students the Cornell’s Tuesday afternoon newstothat afternoon news that Cornell’s

last five weeks of spring classlast would five weeks of springonline, classes be moved would be moved aes decision in line withonline, other a decision in line the withcountry other institutions across institutions country in response across to thethespreading in response outbreak. to the spreading COVID-19 COVID-19 With the outbreak.

University urging With the University students to stay in theirurging “perstudents stay inafter theirspring “permanent” tohomes manent”forhomes break, some after seniorsspring like break, for some seniors like

Tracey, their last day of classes Tracey, theirever lastwill daybe of March classes at Cornell at Cornell ever will be March 27.

27.As students digested the As studentsthey digested the implications, expressed implications, concerns aboutthey the expressed financial concerns and about the financial burden logistics, mixed burden and mixed reactions aboutlogistics, the timing of reactions about the timing of See STUDENTS page 3 See STUDENTS page 3

CAMERON CAMERON/ POLLACK POLLACK / SUN FILE PHOTO SUN FILE PHOTO

Moving out | Students are Moving out | Students are expected to leave campus expected to leave campus before the beginning of before the beginning of Cornell’s spring break on Cornell’s spring break on March 27. Classes will March 27. Classes will transition to online formats transition to online formats by the end of the break. by the end of the break.

Student Abroad Contracts COVID-19

By SEAN O’CONNELL

A Cornell student studying abroad A Cornell student studying abroad in Spain tested positive for COVIDin Spain positive for COVID19, and istested currently recuperating in a 19, and hospital. is currently recuperating in a Madrid Madrid hospital.

The student, who preferred to The anonymous student, who preferred to remain for fear he would remain anonymous he would face negative stigma for afterfear returning to faceU.S., negative stigmahisafter returning to the discussed experience with the U.S., discussed his experience with COVID-19 in an email to The Sun. COVID-19 an days emailintothe Thehospital Sun. “The firstinfew “The few days in the the student, hospital were the first toughest,” wrote were the toughest,” wrote the student,

who initially suffered from a high who and initially suffered from a high fever cough. fever andstudent cough.first came down with The The on student first3 came downtowith a fever March and went the a fever onUniversitario March 3 and went to the Hospital Madrid, where Hospital Universitario where he was diagnosed with Madrid, bronchitis and he was diagnosed and sent home.

Two with days bronchitis later, he went sent home. Two days later, he went

back for a checkup after his fever — back for a checkup after fever — which at one point hit 104hisdegrees — which onedown. pointDuring hit 104this degrees — did notatgo second did not During second visit, he go wasdown. diagnosed withthis pneumovisit,and he hospitalized. was diagnosed with pneumonia nia and hospitalized.

See CORONAVIRUS page 3 See CORONAVIRUS page 3

Sun Senior Editor

It’s a tale of two Cornells: There are parties, bars and profane bedsheets; but also panic, hasty departures and those self-quarantining after studying abroad. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, some students are scrambling for plans to self-quarantine while others defy social distancing.

On Saturday, daytime yard parties — colloquially known as “darties” — dotted Collegetown, including one at the East Seneca Street annex of a Cornell organization. Hanging

from the house’s balcony was a bedsheet-turned-banner, spray-painted to read “I’m not fucking leaving,” just a day after President Martha E. Pollack’s announcement to cancel classes starting Friday at 5 p.m.

Vice President for Student and Campus Life Ryan Lombardi condemned these parties in a Sunday afternoon email, writing, “Some students – particularly those living off campus in Collegetown – have chosen to use the suspension of classes to host or attend large parties,” he wrote.

“Hosting or attending a large party is exactly the opposite of what you

30

THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2020

n

BORIS TSANG / SUN PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

Students Scramble to Box Belongings

Weill Cornell Maintains Some Activity

Weill Cornell Medicine, while also transitioning classes to virtual instruction, has kept some of its operations open for the time being, such as their main residence hall or hands-on clinical activities.

This differs from other institutions in the New York City area, as other medical schools in the area have shut down all operations.

- To read the full story visit www.cornellsun.com

See PARTY page 5

12 Pages — Free

ITHACA, NEW YORK

The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 136, No. 73

THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2020

n

Arrests Follow Stabbing

Three charged with attempted robbery

By SEAN O’CONNELL Sun News Editor

Three suspects were arrested on Monday in relation to a stabbing on the intersection of West Avenue and South Avenue on Sunday evening, according to the Ithaca Police Department.

Three of the four suspects, Tahajjuddin Abdur-Rashid, Thomas Payton-Harp and an unnamed 16 year old, were charged with attempted robbery in the first degree and gang assault in the second degree.

The four suspects approached the student on the

intersection at approximately 7:42 p.m. One of the suspects demanded that the student give up his phone and wallet. The victim fled and was chased by one of the suspects, who then stabbed him in the See STABBING page 3

8 Pages – Free

ITHACA, NEW YORK

Message to Our Readers Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, this unfortunately will be our last issue printed of the spring semester. We will resume our regular printing schedule when classes resume in August.

In the meantime, readers can continue to stay informed of Ithaca and Cornell news at cornellsun.com, where The Sun will continue its commitment online.

We hope all stay well during this difficult time, and encourage readers with questions or concerns to reach out at editor@cornellsun.com.

CORONAVIRUS UPDATES

31

By ALEK MEHTA Sun Staff Writer

HARRY DANG / SUN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

By MADELINE ROSENBERG

and “No Winter Maintenance” signs began to disappear from campus.

Monday’s weather brought scenes from an end-of-semester May afternoon, as students emerged from winter hibernation.

But Tuesday’s news brought what felt like the semester’s end.

President Martha E. Pollack’s Tuesday email sent shock waves into student and faculty inboxes, as Cornell became the latest university to slash in-person classes

Sun Assistant News Editor

Cornellians lounged from hammocks that swooped between Libe Slope trees on Monday, as they soaked up rare March 60 degree weather. Engineers scribbled out problem sets from beneath Arts Quad tree trunks in the middle of prelim season. Student Assembly candidates squared off in an evening debate. Snow piles that collected on the edges of walkways were thawing,

and urge students to return to their permanent residencies after spring break, amid the novel coronavirus outbreak that had not yet touched Tompkins County.

Students screamed and sobbed in shock: They had two months, then two weeks.

The novel coronavirus that had already shuttered the University of Washington and Stanford appeared as though it would spare a New York university tucked See SEVEN DAYS page 4

NYS Restaurants Now Limited Students Create To Serving Take-Out Menu Spreadsheet as Local Safety Net

By ARI DUBOW Sun City Editor

The newly named COVID-19 outbreak worsens internationally. The U.S. begins to brace for impact. On campus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tests two students with coronavirus symptoms: They both test negative.

By OLIVIA WEINBERG

Across the state, movie theaters, gyms and casinos are shut down, restaurants and bars are limited to takeout service, and crowds above 50 people are banned.

These restrictions — announced by Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.) in a morning press conference on March 16 — are the newest measures the state is taking in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Connecticut and New Jersey instated identical restrictions.

See RESTAURANTS page 11 CAMERON POLLACK / SUN FILE PHOTO

Moving out | Ithaca’s Restaurant Row near the Ithaca Commons will be heavily affected by New York State’s decision to limit restaurant operations to take-out food. Left: A summer scene on the Commons.

Sun Assistant News Editor

Amid the tumult resulting from Cornell’s March 13 announcement to suspend classes , students created their own safety net through a spreadsheet that features resources ranging from housing to transportation and even plant sitting.

Over 200 students and faculty members have entered their contact information onto the sheet, which was gener-

With the spread of COVID-19 affecting communities across the nation –– and recently even Cornell’s campus itself –– a wide range of academic departments are doing what they can to help during the pandemic.

Labs in the College of Veterinary Medicine — run by Profs.

Brian VanderVen and David Russell, microbiology and immunology — have donated over 600 respirator

masks to Cayuga Medical Center amid a national shortage of protective medical gear.

Va n d e r Ven explained that they had started stockpiling

Rebate Promise On Room, Board Fees Is Unresolved

By TAL DOTAN and OLIVIA WEINBERG Sun Staff Writer & Sun Assistant News Editor

With in-person classes canceled, the on-campus student population dwindling and dorm rooms vacated, Cornell families have been left wondering how the administration

us.”

The lab is still exploring ways of helping Cayuga Medical beyond its initial donation, according to VanderVen. For instance, longer-term, faculty across Cornell’s immunology department are looking at “new ways to diagnose and treat coronavirus,” he said.

Other University labs have been asked to donate supplies in the fight against COVID-19, including one run

by Prof. Maureen Hanson, molecular biology, whose lab donated 3,000 pairs of nitrile gloves to be distributed as necessary by the Tompkins County Health Department.

After hearing about the nationwide mask shortage, Prof. C.C. Chu, fiber science and apparel design, emailed colleagues with an idea.

“I thought, ‘we have a design component to the department, maybe they See DEPARTMENTS page 3

will handle promised rebates on room and board fees.

With thousands of on-campus students moving out months earlier than anticipated, Ryan Lombardi,

The Philippines announces the first coronavirus death outside China.

24

The Trump administration requests $1.25 billion from Congress for a coronavirus response.

29

The U.S. reports its first coronavirus death.

BORIS TSANG / SUN PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

You can’t touch this! | The Touchdown statue by Teagle Hall sports an N95 respirator on March 17. A shortage of masks and other supplies to fight the pandemic has spurred Cornell labs to donate to the cause.

See FEES page 3

Sun Senior Editors

As COVID-19 has

people retreating indoors and vacating public spaces, political operations have been forced to rethink their blueprints.

The Sun checked in with the two candidates for New York’s 23rd Congressional district — Tom Reed (R-N.Y.) and Tracy

Mitrano J.D. ’95 — to see how they are continuing their strides both on Capitol Hill and the virtual campaign trail.

BORIS TSANG / SUN PHOTO EDITOR & CAMERON POLLACK SUN FILE PHOTO

Rematch | Rep. Tom Reed and Tracy Mitrano J.D. ’95 are conducting a rematch campaign for the 23rd N.Y. House seat.

The Incumbent: Rep. Tom Reed

Amid an international pandemic, the news of two United States House Representatives contracting COVID-19 brought the crisis a little closer to ‘home’ — Capitol Hill — for Reed.

Now back in the 23rd district, Reed explained how legislating during the course of the COVID-19

pandemic has struck, in a time otherwise marked by polarization, a radically different tone — a bipartisan one.

Reed, a rank-and-file House Republican, is the co-chair of the House Problem Solvers Caucus, a bipartisan working group of around 50 representatives looking for See HOUSE page 3

MARCH 26

1

New York State reports its first case of COVID-19.

MARCH 1-9: COVID-19 hits New York and the U.S. ramps up its response. Cornell students studying abroad in Italy return home, the first domino indicating that the semester will not continue as normal.

Amid International Coronavirus Outbreak, Even a Cold Can Cause Panic

CAPS’ Study Abroad Cancellation Leads Students to Scramble, Change Study Plans FEB. 11

As Coronavirus Escalates, Widespread Cancellations Hamper Spring Break Plans

10

MARCH 10-12: The University announces it will close classrooms after spring break. Spring sports are canceled, faculty prepare to move their classes online and students pack and scramble to say goodbyes.

The Sun publishes its final print edition of the semester, moving publication fully online.

26

MARCH 18-31: Attention shifts from the frantic reaction to longer-term needs, including testing options, economic implications, prioritizing social distancing and a contentious debate on grading.

APRIL Classes resume with Cornellians scattered across the globe. No part of life, on or off campus, is left unchanged.

The campus looks forward to an online summer and an unknown fall semester, with no end in sight for the pandemic.

The pandemic has sickened more than 1 million people in 171 countries across six continents.

2

Classes resume — virtually.

6

MARCH 9

Cornell to Close Classrooms in Unprecedented Step, Though Questions Remain MARCH 1O

‘Martha Can’t Make Us Leave’: Students React With Confusion, Frustration to Class Closure

A patient transferred to Cayuga Medical Center from New York City dies, marking the first reported COVID-19 death in Tompkins County.

10

The University postpones fall 2020 pre-enrollment to June.

20

Cornell waives SAT/ACT requirements for 2020-2021 applicants — the first in the Ivy League to do so.

22

Pollack warns that layoffs are likely as the University’s campuses face millions of dollars in losses.

22

MARCH 10

In an Unexpected Announcement, President Pollack Suspends All Classes, Effective at 5 p.m.

MARCH 13

As Classes Approach, Faculty Senate Rejects Push for Universal S/U APRIL 3

“Do not return after spring break,” the University urges.

26

NOTABLE HEADLINES

MARCH Nationally and on campus, Cornellians start to feel the effects of COVID-19: Those abroad return to Ithaca, the administration cuts the semester short and students make their ways home.

The United States officially becomes the country hardest hit by the pandemic.

House N.Y.-23 Candidates Adapt to Coronavirus Pandemic

By AMANDA H. CRONIN and ALEC GIUFURTA

See SPREADSHEET page 3

MARCH 19

masks earlier in the year, fearing that a future supply-chain problem could result in a lack of necessary protection for those in the lab.

However, the lab ultimately found alternate ways of protecting themselves and donated the masks to physicians on the front lines.

“We certainly could still use them,” VanderVen said. ”But the clinicians are going to need them more than

JAN. 27

4

14

FROM VACCINE DEVELOPMENT TO MASK DONATIONS, C.U. DEPARTMENTS HELP WAGE CORONAVIRUS FIGHT

The Trump administration restricts travel from China.

FEBRUARY

Tompkins County reports its first case of COVID-19.

INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880

INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880

The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 136, No. 70

MARCH 13-17: Just three days later, Pollack sends a second message: Leave, now. Around Ithaca, the community reels from the new normal.

With the announcement on Friday that Cornell classes were suspended for the rest of the month, students rushed to pack up and go home. In order to do so, they looked for boxed storage, which became overwhelmed with the unexpected demand at the time, causing large backups in stores like Collegetown’s UPS, shown above.

- See Page 5

should be doing in this moment,” he continued.

Social distancing, a popular defense to the COVID-19 contagion recommended by experts, is what prompted Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.) to cap bars and restaurants to 50 percent capacity.

In a GroupMe called “martha can’t make us leave,” with over 2,000 student members, the conflict these parties posed to social distancing was on full display –– revolving around the Catherine Street Block Party sched-

MARCH 16

MARCH 12

The World Health Organization declares a global health emergency.

Campus Reacts to Cancellations

From first-year students concluding their rookie year on campus, to international students considering for a second time if they depart from the U.S. and go home, to workers in Ithaca responding to recent economic changes, people from the Cornell community and greater Ithaca area react to Cornell’s decision to cancel classes.

- See Page 3

Despite Safety Warnings, Students Party On

By ALEC GIUFURTA

By SEAN O’CONNELL Sun News Editor Sun News Editor

13

12 Pages – Free

ITHACA, NEW YORK

HANNAH ROSENBERG / SUN ASSISTANT PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

Citing Citing Outbreak, Outbreak, Admin Admin Cancels Cancels Classes Classes

By JOHNATHAN STIMPSON and MEGHNA MAHARISHI

President Donald Trump declares a national emergency.

The Corne¬ Daily Sun

‘This ‘This is is really really an an extraordinary extraordinary situation situation for for us’ us’

By and Managing MEGHNAEditor MAHARISHI Sun JOHNATHAN Managing Editor STIMPSON and Sun Assistant Sun Managing Editor and Sun Assistant Managing Editor

13

INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880

The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 136, No. 67 Vol. 136, No. 67

“De-densify the campus,” President Martha E. Pollack writes to Cornellians.

Cornell Nets $12.8 Million From Coronavirus Relief Bill As Pollack Warns Of Mounting Deficit, Likely Layoffs APRIL 23

WHAT NOW?: As the semester ends, conditions change rapidly and most questions remain unanswered: When will this end? How will we know when to reopen the country? Will we be on campus in the fall?

A&E

10 | Tuesday, May 5, 2020 | The Corne¬ Daily Sun Special Issue

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT An Interview With Cornell Fashion Collective Designer Jillian Lawler How COVID-19 cancelled the CFC Show and forced the designer to adapt

By DANIEL MORAN

year, and that was kind of taken away from us.

When I heard that CFC was canceled, it felt like everything was crashing. I was a mess, but my mom came to the rescue because we had the venue, we paid everyone and we couldn’t get our money back. My mom talked to one of my models’ moms, and she was like, designers in Milan are doing these private showings where they have a few selected people and they do their runway show and they have a little party after. But it’s a small event just so they can keep coronavirus at bay and still be safe, but still be able to show their designs to people. She called me after five minutes and said, “Jillian, we have an idea. I talked to your sister. She loves it too. We’re going to have a private fashion show at Argos.” This was four days before the show that this happened. She just took the reins of the whole situation because I was a mess.

My mom and my model’s mom saved the day, and Argos Warehouse was amazing. I was afraid that the whole day I would feel so stressed and after the private viewing I would still not feel complete. But after I showed everything, it was like a weight coming off my shoulders, and it felt really good and almost equivalent to how I would feel after a CFC show, so I’m really grateful for what happened.

Sun Assistant Arts Editor

This article was originally published on March 24.

Daniel Moran ’21: What was the theme of your collection?

Jillian Lawler ’20: The title of my collection was Opulence, and I was inspired by my time abroad. I studied abroad last semester at the London College of Fashion. Since I was in London, I got to travel a lot — my line was actually inspired by my time in Italy. I was just walking around and was inspired by the architecture and nature.

Mainly it was the ivy that was growing on the vistas — I really liked the daintiness of it but also that it was so strong and could break through the brick and the woodwork, which stood the test of time. The beauty and the toughness of Italy and the flowers were my main sources of inspiration.

COURTESY OF HEATHER AINSWORTH

D.M. ’21: How did that manifest itself in your design?

J.L. ’20: I come from a female empowerment background because I went to an all-girls school for 10 years, so in all of my collections and designs having that as a core value has stayed with me and makes them cohesive. I really do believe that the dresses I create are there to make women feel empowered, strong and commanding, just like the structures and architecture of Italy.

I had a CFC afterparty at Argos Warehouse after the private showing of my collection, I heard two of my models talk to their friends, saying “The clothing that Jillian put me in, I’ve never felt that way before in a garment.

I’ve never felt that powerful or confident as in Jillian’s stuff when I wore it, and when I stepped into it, it just made me feel like I could conquer the world.”

That was really touching — I was crying then, and I’m tearing up now.

Sophia O’Neill ’20, she was one of my models and is one of my sisters in my sorority, came up to me and told me that modeling for me was the best experience and that I made her believe that she could do anything because of me — because of what I created and what I put her in. That’s the epitome of what I strive for as a designer — to make women feel empowered, elevated and beautiful, like a modern chic warrior.

D.M. ’21: How has devoting your energy to this collection gone?

J.L. ’20: This semester, I left home in January, and I was here in Ithaca and I was just sewing, sewing, sewing since the beginning of the semester.

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

D.M. ’21: Was it a completely different type of feeling for you, showing at an environment like Argos compared to Barton Hall?

COURTESY OF CHRIS KITCHEN

I arranged my whole schedule from freshman year to be okay with not taking a lot of classes. This semester, I’m taking 12 credits, because I knew that senior year CFC is a big priority.

I made sure that all my credits lined up so that the last semester of my senior year I would be able to focus on CFC and work until 4:00 AM and still not be worried about the classes I’m taking.

Really from freshman year, you think about senior year. It’s kind of crazy, but that’s what we do as fashion majors.

D.M. ’21: Once CFC was cancelled, what inspired you to do your own

private showing?

J.L. ’20: I was always going to have a big CFC after party at the Argos warehouse. There was only going to be 76 people there, just to celebrate us and the fact that CFC’s over. That’s a big milestone in every senior designer’s career because from freshman year to second semester senior year, you have to make a lot of sacrifices. You can’t go out to parties that much because you’re in studio and you have to design. So for me, Saturday, March 14th was the golden date where I could finally do everything I wanted to since freshman

J.L. ’20: At Argos I felt a relief but also a community; I felt so supported and loved there. People were there to see me and they knew what CFC meant to me. A lot of my friends have been through eery CFC fashion show with me. They all know how much work it takes and how passionate I am about my major. So when I finished that fashion show there, I felt so loved and so, so supported and so thankful that I have created the lasting friendships that I did at Cornell. It was a bittersweet moment because I knew that this would be the last goodbye.

Usually after a CFC fashion show, when there’s thousands of people, I feel relief because it’s over and I feel really happy that people got to see what I created. Even though this was a smaller event, I felt a sense of complete satisfaction.

Daniel Moran is a junior in the College of Human Ecology. He currently serves as the assistant arts editor on The Sun’s board. He can be reached at dmoran@cornellsun.com.

A&E Music That Got Us Through Quarantine

“Dear April” and “Cayendo,” Frank Ocean In this time of isolation we have ample time for contemplation, and Frank Ocean has blessed us with the perfect soundtrack for the moment, releasing two brooding, dreamy singles, “Cayendo” and “Dear April.” Both tracks first debuted at Ocean’s New York City night club back in October, but now are available on streaming services in stripped down, acoustic versions.

Reminiscent of 2016’s Blonde, these songs distill the feeling of sitting at the edge of your bed, head in your hands, staring straight into the void.

What could be more perfect for a moment when the whole world seems to be cracking open?

— Anna Canny ’21 After Hours, The Weeknd The Weeknd’s After Hours shows clear excellence in its production, lyricisms and story-telling qualities, placing it amongst his greatest work to date. Despite his despairing, unlucky patterns of misplaced love, he channels these feelings into his craft, producing spectacular work for global streamers and fans. The Weeknd’s work is showing definite progression and advancement in how he approaches this industry, providing the unequivocal groundwork for exceptional and high-grade quality content for music listeners everywhere. — Tyler Brown ’22 The New Abnormal, The Strokes The Strokes have certified once again that their signature sound is going nowhere fast, and have simultaneously proven that they are readily able to experiment with their music as well. The New Abnormal will please both those looking into the past and those looking to the future. The Strokes are successful in preserving their massive legacy of lightning tunes once more and they continue to defibrillate the rock genre before it can ever slip away. — Cory Koehler ’21 Hold Space For Me, Orion Sun Orion Sun’s songs don’t just hold, but carve a special space out for her tales of love, nostalgia and loss. The tangibility of what she feels and has felt transcends her story and acknowledges ours, holding a space for us too. The empathy of Hold Space For Me makes it a timely listen, given the immediacy of our desire for a different reality. While we long for a different future and hold tight to the victories and fallings of the past, Orion Sun’s voice is here to guide us through it all. — Cecilia Lu ’22

Fetch The Bolt Cutters, Fiona Apple From beginning to end, Fetch the Bolt Cutters pushes the limits and stuns in the process. It looks deep into the psyche and it displays the human soul in a raw defiance to conventions of the pop music industry. It is a fiercely individual triumph and, I predict, one of the best albums 2020 has to offer. — Anna Canny ’21

Tuesday, May 5, 2020 | The Corne¬ Daily Sun Special Issue | 11

Cornell Artists Cope With Crisis replaced with an early set strike. As they took down their sets, Wolfe said she “was more than a bit of a mess.”

As Cornell students received the Wolfe is planning on pursuing a news about an early departure from career in theater management and campus in March, artists, and therecompletes her degree in American fore arts writers, were still working.

Studies this semester. For Wolfe, the We still nervously attended theater energy that defines theater comes from productions, went to Cornell Cinema being in the room together. “Because and worked on art, film and music of social distancing, the whole concept projects and theses. As students began is on hold for the foreseeable future,” to process that their semester and she says. world were drastically changing, they Wolfe foresees that theaters will be turned to creating and discussing art among the last activities to reopen as for solace, distraction and connection. whatever new normal unfolds. Wading The cancellation of the B.F.A. into the job market, she says, feels seniors’ thesis shows inspired Cecilia “like I’m in the middle of a lake withLu ’22 to create a series of interout a paddle to go anywhere.” views to allow BFA seniors to showIn the meantime, Wolfe is working case their work despite their physical through online classes, including PMA distance from galleries.

4505: Playwriting II, for Lu conversed with Sarah which she is working on COURTESY OF OVERFLOW Zhang ’20, for example, a full-length play. “All I spoke to Will Demaria ’20 want to do is work on the about their shared passion play,” she said, “but then I for printmaking, a mediremember that I have to do um difficult to engage with other homework.” outside of Tjaden Hall’s The play, she says, is facilities. Without access to not just homework: It studios and gallery spaces, melds together her personfine art students demandal, artistic, academic and ed a partial tuition refund professional goals. She says on April 2 via a change. it’s this blending of aspiraorg petition. In an email tion that makes it so devresponding to the petition, astating that theater is on AAP Dean Yoon wrote: hold right now. “It’s hard “Cornell cannot return (or when so much stuff that rebate) your tuition.” you based your life around Among Cornell’s artists can’t happen.” who also face a challengBelle McDonald ’22, ing transition regarding who is pursuing an art hisadapting their work to life tory major with fine arts, in quarantine are Cornell’s visual studies and media Overflow’s second album Mainline Revelations is available on musicians. In an interstudies minors, has taken Spotify and Apple Music. view with The Sun arts her class and personal art department, vocalist Milo projects with her home Reynolds-Dominguez ’20 discussed Almost two weeks later, during the to south central Connecticut. She’s the positive influence Cornell’s in-per- three-week break from classes, they enrolled in ART 2601: Introduction to son music community has on men- dove into their music making, com- Photography and Art 3203: Painting tal health. The sense of community pleting a song a day until they found Film this semester, and both classes built within a choir, Dominguez said, themselves with a completed album have been taken from the darkroom is unparalleled. To have 50 people — an album that they had expected to and studio to the internet. Without onstage, all on the same page, builds release at the end of the summer. the studio spaces, she isn’t able to a sense of unity and is difficult to repThe original plan was to release complete large canvas oil paintings licate online. Reynolds-Dominguez’s singles over the next few months, but like she had been working on back on thesis required a live ensemble, so they instead they decided to release it April campus. Instead, she’s working mostly had to get creative by recording all of 3. “I could’ve built up the hype, but with watercolors and acrylics on paper, the piece’s vocals with their own voice. decided: ‘What’s the point,’” Robinson which are feasible to work with in her Arts writers continued to write and said, sharing how they were excited to childhood bedroom. shed light on Cornell’s in-person arts put out work that better reflects how McDonald said she is “excited community as they prepared to quar- they’ve grown over the last six months. about experimenting again” back in antine. On March 18 — the middle of Not everything’s changed: Overflow her room, where she learned to paint the mad dash off of campus — Ruby is working on a song with a handful of with acrylics, but that it is stressful to Que ’20 found a haunting similarity artists, but the process is largely the submit work produced in these condibetween reality and fiction in a review same as normal: “Collabs are often in tions for grades. of the dystopian student production of different places anyway.”

McDonald’s work often has an The Nether. Que wrote: “The notions Asking themselves “all my shows are environmental theme, but she said the of love and desire are taken to unchart- gone, how can I progress?,” Overflow political statements she usually incored territories, if not redefined altogeth- has also used the time provided by a porated aren’t coalescing right now. er… When the world, or at the very break in classes to work on admin- Instead she’s “capturing this feeling of least the world as we know it, ends, istrative tasks, like developing a new stasis.” where do we go to seek basic human website and filming a music video At a Cornell Orchestra Zoom needs? How do we connect with each with Celestino Pottinger ’20. “Corona session that McDonald attended, comother emotionally, if at all?” made me a more legitimate artist,” poser Gabriela Lena Frank posed a “You’ll have to find an activity for Robinson said, speaking about their question that McDonald continues the whole family to enjoy,” writes new website and mailing list through to wonder about: How will music Anna Canny ’21 in her article “The which they are working on audience and art, and the way in which they Art of Picking a Family Movie.” growth and development. bring people together, change due to Immersion in stories helps ground A member and former president COVID-19? us, and life in quarantine is centered of Cog Dog Theatre Troupe, Sydney We might come out of quarantine around media. In her review of stu- Wolfe ’20, was just wrapping up her with bodies of art documenting the dent group Cog Dog’s mid-March per- last major production with the Troupe grief, fear and boredom of this period. formances, Emma Leynse ’23 wrote: when the news that classes were can- We might be eager to share and process “There was something very compelling celed went out. She wrote and directed together, with newfound appreciation about watching the characters struggle a 10-minute play, “Sylvia II,” for Cog for collaboration. This period could through life on stage as the world Dog’s Smorgasbord of several short spark mass love of art, while fighting around us descends into a pandemic. plays and monologues. for its institutional value compared to Life must go on. As the producers said Smorgasbord was performed once, S.T.E.M. fields — we’ll see. at the start of the play, “The show will on the night of March 13, while thougo on.” sands of students were packing and Emma Plowe can be reached at But shows haven’t been going on. making plans to leave campus. Their eplowe@cornellsun.com. Katie Sims can Theaters, museums and all kinds of two Saturday shows were canceled, and be reached at ksims@cornellsun.com.

By EMMA PLOWE and KATIE SIMS Sun Arts Editor and Arts Columnist

arts venues are shut down temporarily or have been forced to shut down permanently. The American public sphere is almost unrecognizable in its emptiness. What is art culture without public, in person interaction?

Now that the context of students’ work has changed, the artists are exploring new creative paths in art.

Nicholas Robinson ’21, who is known on stage as Overflow, performed last on March 13, with the dance group Breakfree HipHop hours after an email announced that all classes were being canceled until after Spring Break. Robinson had worked hard to book a string of shows over the rest of the semester, which were all canceled. They said it was “pretty devastating.”

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

12 The Cornell Daily Sun Special Issue | Tuesday, May 5, 2020

SCIENCE

Science

Cornellians Fighting COVID-19

Who Is Dr. Anthony Fauci?

How Dr. Anthony Fauci M.D. ’66 became America’s most trusted disease expert

By EMMA ROSENBAUM Sun Science Editor

This story was originally published on March 23.

When Dr. Anthony Fauci did not appear at a White House news conference on March 18, “Where is Dr. Fauci” began trending on Twitter — proving to many that Fauci has become one of the U.S.’s most trusted voices in the fight against the progressing COVID-19 pandemic.

The head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force and “the most influential man in American public health” is also a Cornell alumnus.

Fauci received his medical degree from Weill Cornell Medicine in 1966, ranking first in his class. Two years after graduation, he began working for the National Institute of Public Health as a clinical associate, and eventually became the director in 1984.

In this role, Fauci was at the forefront of the AIDS epidemic that hit the U.S. in the 1980s. While urging the federal government to increase funding for AIDS research and treatment, Fauci spearheaded the development of combination drug treatments — when different types of drugs are prescribed so the virus is less likely to become resistant to all of them simultaneously — that increased the lifespan of HIV-positive individuals.

Fauci is currently developing an HIV vaccine to completely eradicate the disease.

During the SARS outbreak in 2003, Fauci and his team began

isolating the virus and developing a vaccine. The SARS outbreak was successfully contained within four months. He has also led government efforts to prevent the spread of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic and the Ebola outbreak in 2014.

“Fauci once again is playing an absolutely critical role in the face of an epidemic in this country,” said Chris Schaffer, biomedical engineering. Schaffer worked as a science policy advisor for Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and now teaches the class Biomedical Engineering 4440 Science Policy.

Since the initial outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, Fauci has served as a national expert on combating the disease. Appearing at press conferences alongside President Donald Trump and other White House officials, Fauci doesn’t sugarcoat the extent of the crisis.

“When you’re dealing with an emerging infectious diseases outbreak, you are always behind where you think you are,” Fauci said at a news conference on March 16.

Through various media appearances, Fauci’s main role in the outbreak has b e e n educating the pub-

ERIN SCHAFF / THE NEW YORK TIMES

lic on how the virus spreads and ways to prevent the spread from person to person, as well as being involved in the initial stages of developing a vaccine.

“He’s helped us understand that if we feel like we’re overreacting, that probably means we’re still behind the curve... that’s an excellent way of trying to help someone get their head around the idea of exponential growth,” Schaffer said.

Fauci and the White House Coronavirus Task Force established a set of guidelines on March 16, outlining how Americans can slow the spread of the virus in their communities. These guidelines encourage those that feel ill or have underlying medical problems to stay home and urge the general public to practice social distancing and good hygiene.

Fauci also garnered media attention for the way he publicly contradicts the president at news conferences about the pandemic.

“He’s negotiated this fine line between being able to consistently and reliably state what he believes the science is telling us we need to do and what we need to prepare for, while at the same time correcting statements that are made within seconds of [the president’s] statements,” Schaffer said. “He’s done it in such a way that he hasn’t pissed the president off.”

The NIAID director has received multiple accolades for his work in public health, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2007 and the Weill Alumni Award of Distinction in 1992.

“He’s fearless, candid, and able to translate what he understands from the science into actions that we should take... he’ll be responsible for saving tens of thousands of lives if not more,” Schaffer said. “I can’t imagine a better person to look to for answers.”

Emma Rosenbaum can be reached at erosenbaum@cornellsun.com.

MORE From Ithaca to Albany: How Cornell’s Melissa SCIENCE DeRosa Is Leading New York’s COVID Response SPOTLIGHTS

By ANIL OZA

Sun Science Editor

This article was originally published on April 30.

While Dr. Anthony Fauci MD ’66 leads the national response to the COVID-19 pandemic, another Cornell alumni, Melissa DeRosa ’04 MPA ’09, is spearheading New York’s response to the outbreak.

Throughout the past several weeks, a common sight on the televisions of most New Yorkers has been Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s (D-N.Y.) providing updates on the extent of the statewide outbreak and any policy changes during his daily briefings. Sitting six feet to Cuomo’s left at all of these briefings is DeRosa.

Currently, DeRosa serves as the secretary to the governor.

However, this role is not merely NATHANIEL BROOKS / THE NEW YORK TIMES

an administrative role. The secretary is a top aide to the governor, and is the most powerful unelected position in state government.

At 34 years old, DeRosa is the youngest person to occupy the position in New York, and is the only woman to do so.

DeRosa’s involvement in state politics began at an early age, when she helped her father campaign for former Rep. Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) in Albany.

DeRosa continued to be involved with politics through her father, who worked as a lobbyist in Albany. She eventually found her way to Cornell, where she pursued a degree in public administration in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations, according to Cornell Alumni Magazine.

During her time as an undergraduate, DeRosa spent a summer in Washington D.C., working in the office of former Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.). DeRosa continued her education at Cornell, earning a master’s degree from the Institute for Public Affairs with a focus in government, politics and policy.

While in graduate school, DeRosa was a member of Pi Alpha Alpha, the global honor society of public affairs and administration.

As secretary to the governor, DeRosa is responsible for manag-

ing the governor’s responsibilities as well as meeting with local legislators, officials, policy advisers and other experts to brief the governor. During her time in Cuomo’s office, she has been instrumental in pushing forward the $15 minimum wage and paid family leave policies.

The tall task of managing the U.S.’s fourth most populous state has grown exponentially in the past weeks as the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in New York State has skyrocketed and the state has become a global epicenter of the outbreak.

As of Wednesday night, New York has over 300,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases.

“We’ve dealt with snow storms, flooding, and hurricanes in New York, but those were all static events,” DeRosa said in an interview with ELLE. “This is the first situation the world has had to endure that is as ongoing, and as constant for an indefinite period of time as the coronavirus pandemic is.”

Throughout the ever changing circumstances, Cuomo and DeRosa have aimed for maximum transparency, keeping the public updated with their daily television briefings. To keep up with the rapidly evolving situation, DeRosa starts her mornings at 3:45 a.m., deciphering the various reports that detail the latest updates before reporting to Cuomo to work on the talking points for the day’s briefing.

DeRosa has specifically managed the state’s dealing with restaurant closures and voting via absentee ballot. The young aide is currently leading the governor’s communication strategy on the

state’s response to the virus.

Most recently, DeRosa has led the state’s Maternity Task Force and provided recommendations for serving pregnant women across the state during the pandemic. Cuomo took up the recommendations and issued an executive order on April 29, opening more birthing sites to provide patients more options for delivery locations, prolonging the amount of time a partner can accompany the mother post-delivery and establishing doulas as essential support during labor.

Before taking up the role of secretary to the governor, DeRosa worked in several positions in Cuomo’s office. She joined the team in 2013, as the communications director and strategic adviser. She held this position for two years, before she was promoted to chief of staff in 2015 and subsequently, secretary in 2017.

The secretary to the governor worked for New York State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman and former President Barack Obama’s political action organization, “Organizing for America” before joining Cuomo’s office.

“This crisis is a challenge on a scale unseen before and it tests us on every level: public health, economic stability and our basic human nature,” Cuomo said in an email to ELLE. “I need the best minds to meet the challenge and Melissa is invaluable not just to me — as a counsel, strategist, sounding board, and policy maker — but equally to the State and the entire team she leads.”

Anil Oza can be reached at aoza@cornellsun.com.

COURTESY OF WEILL CORNELL MEDICINE

DR. DAVID PRICE Dr. David Price was on the front lines of the response to COVID-19 as a pulmonology fellow at Weill Cornell, overseeing patients who needed ventilation in the intensive care unit.

Price also held a Zoom call in which he provided practical tips and dispelled rumors surrounding COVID-19, a recording that garnered over 5 million views.

COURTESY OF THE COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

PROFS KIM WEEDEN & BEN CORNWELL Universities were quickly forced to close campuses and transition to online classes in February, and now are contemplating the best course of action come fall semester. Professors Kim Weeden and Ben Cornwell created a model that could help inform how universities could best reopen in the fall.

Opinion

The Cornell Daily Sun Special Issue | Tuesday, May 5, 2020 13

14 The Cornell Daily Sun Special Issue | Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Opinion

The Cornell Daily Sun Special Issue | Tuesday, May 5, 2020 15

Opinion

During the Pandemic, We Grieve With Distance

Paris Ghazi La Vie en Prose Paris Ghazi is a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences. She can be reached at pghazi@cornellsun.com.

This column was originally published on March 26.

I

never thought that when grief would knock on my door, I wouldn’t welcome any visitors. I never thought that when the day I lost a loved one arrived, I would stand six feet away from my Baba as he announced to me the passing of his own Baba in our hometown in Iran. I never thought that when my Baba needed me most, he would ask me to step away from him because my embrace could sentence him with the same, cruel virus that took his father. The thing about grief in the time of social distancing is that it is felt in distance too.

On Tuesday morning, I woke up with a hunger for a lick-your-fingers after a peanut butter jelly sandwich kind of sweetness. In quarantine, I have never felt so crushed by how young I am, so cognizant of a fleeting youth divided into everything that came before coronavirus and everything that will come after. Yet, that morning I yearned so badly to just be a kid again.

Wrapped in nostalgia, I paired my craving with my newfound time and took my intention into the kitchen to make my own blackberry jam. I danced, stretched in the sunshine streaming through my kitchen window, stirred the saccharine beauty before me, squeezed fresh lemon juice into its welcoming heat. The acid seared into cracks on my hands from washing them down to dry flesh with each passing day in isolation. But these stings only warmed me up for the stab wound to come when I would leave the kitchen and find Baba curled on the couch, phone clutched to his heart, our door open to the kind of company that is never invited but waiting to intrude — grief.

Tuesday was a day in the history of our lives that neither Baba nor I will ever forget. Familial generations shifted, heartache of unearthly proportion pulsed through every person we love, changing each of our lives forever. And we didn’t even leave our living room.

Yet, Monday and Sunday and any day that came before in this quarantine and all that have come since looked a lot like Tuesday. The air in our home decays, but we remain caged in these four white walls. The outside world changes, but we remain here. Our tomorrow will probably look like today.

OLIVIA WEINBERG / SUN ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

Sure, this is the first time I’ve sat across from grief.

But something about pandemic tells me this conversation I’m having with it isn’t how we were supposed to meet. I don’t know what to make of closure when in my family’s darkest hour, we cannot congregate and lean on each other’s shoulders in a funeral for the living to celebrate the dead. I don’t know what to make of “everything happens for a reason” when the person I owe my opportunities and comforts to was buried in an unmarked plot next to other contagious bodies claimed by the coronavirus as his children watched from their car windows. I don’t know how moving on fits into this kind of grief when the living, mourning our lost loved one, are equally occupied with wondering if their pain is only going to give power to their fever, cough and upheaval that has brought nations to their knees. I’m scared that this grief has many faces, and tomorrow, another may come knocking.

But I hold on to the fact that there is still truth to acceptance because when Wednesday arrived, something else did knock on our door. My roommate sent a bouquet of white roses to our home. An unseen face dropped them on our front steps and sauntered off.

Baba ordered me to bring them in, leave them by the front door because we didn’t know what lethal hands may have touched them and told me to wash my own.

We read the note of condolences and stared at the ornate vase. And six feet apart, we broke. We broke because in a world where flowers could be alien carriers, they were also the only material arrival from the outside world to show us that this heaviness in our hearts isn’t cabin fever induced blues. One minute our grief was remote, the next there were flowers in our living room. Those flowers were sent for a purpose, and that purpose was confirmation that the grief is real and the loss must be too. The roses were beautiful and they were fresh and they were real. And they entered our home.

On Wednesday, I took the jam from the fridge and finally made that peanut butter jelly sandwich. It was more tart than dulcet, delighting in it took effort, and it tasted more of a mediocre stab at a New York Times Cooking jam recipe than a flash of pleasant childhood.

I followed the recipe to a T, and my dad reports that the jam actually tastes great. I just don’t think being a kid is what I want anymore. What I long for is a different kind of sweetness — a hug, perhaps.

Grief barged through our door, but I don’t feel like the story of how it arrived for my family is some immigrant’s tale that can only be understood by an audience well acquainted with the borders that the loss happened in. I am haunted by the reproducibility of our grief in

I never thought that when grief would knock on my door, I wouldn’t welcome any visitors. our neighbor’s home. For the first time, hailing from a different nation than my neighbors may not mean that the language of our tragedies is different. I am haunted by the fear that in these times celebrating a different culture only means that our home could be on an accelerated timeline, dealing with that intruder that may arrive next door soon. I always wondered what it would feel like to share the traditions near to my heart, honor the people now gone who defined it, hear about the heroes of other’s families and melt the borders of culture and country between me and a neighbor. This isn’t the way I wanted to find out.

The day will come when we will welcome flowers into our homes, and they will enter for better reasons.

On that day, we will smell the roses, feel their petals, adorn our tables and window sills with them. They will not be signifiers of death. They will breathe life into our healthy lungs. The day will come when a walk will be taken for no other reason than to sync our heartbeats to motion outdoors, not because it is the only means of escape. The day will come when blackberry jam will taste sweet again. Maybe it will even taste as sweet as the blackberries from my grandfather’s farm, berries that he would surprise his grandkids with on those days when the reason Baba would yell at me to not touch my face and dust my pants was because I would stain them with the blood of the berries, not because my touch could kill. That day will come. Until then, we will admire the flowers by the door where they were left, take that walk to escape anyway, spread the bland jam on our staling bread and write words even if there is no solace in them.

That day will come.

OLIVIA WEINBERG / SUN ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

Dear Grandpa, So it seems I didn’t know you well enough.

Adapting to celebrating your life in the same four corners that I learned it ended has meant whirling through a million and one emotions every day before arriving at the same conclusion come sun down: We never got to be the friends we wanted to be. Time, two cultures, an ocean plus a few continents and one pandemic separated you from me.

I learn of the neighbor, leader, handyman, brother, photographer, farmer and extraordinary human being that you were to your family and to strangers in bits of conversations I overhear my father have on the phone about you every day. But these are just stories that belong to others that I hold on to — as if I was there when you apparently planted acres upon acres of pistachio trees last year. It takes nearly 10 years for one pistachio tree to reach its optimal production. I am sorry that the nature you revered and the land you celebrated was capable of spreading a virus that ensured you wouldn’t enjoy that fruit in a decade.

As I cycle through episodes of your life that I wasn’t present for, I return periodically to bits of words we did exchange. Seeing you always meant summer and family and melting time in the Iranian desert town you called home. After meals as we sunk into our food comas or during afternoon tea and snack breaks you’d show off the little bit of German that you knew to me. I never told you this, but those short moments by the air conditioner as you counted to 20 and said greetings in languages you learned from trading with foreign businesspeople ingrained in me your love for learning languages. I never told you this, but you convinced me to take a semester of German in college. I was pretty terrible at it, but I think between your eins, zwei, drei and my vier, fünf, sechs we would have made one whole beginner learner. These lazy afternoons would end with you telling me about all the places you wanted me to take you to when you visited the U.S. one day, and how we’d tour Europe and go test our German together — one day.

Grandpa, in 10 years I will go to our home, and I will visit the pistachio trees when they are in full force. I will devour the pistachios and thank the land and the labor that made them. I will know that such a miracle of a moment and a fruit was your doing.

You left a gift that I can look forward to opening in a decade, and something about the vitality you unfurled into your every day tells me there are more gifts like that I don’t know of yet. I hope you know that your way out of the world is the least memorable thing about you. Grandpa, tomorrow I will wake up in the same home that I learned you left this world in, and I will bask in the memories you left me with as I pore over adventure books about places you wanted to see. I will practice more German as I sneak another date fruit from the trees in your backyard that you sent boxes of to the U.S. so that we could always be filled with the sweetness of our family and our home.

I will know that such a miracle of a moment and a fruit was your doing.

— P.G.

16 The Cornell Daily Sun Special Issue | Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Opinion

To Hear Remembered Chimes: Love During the Pandemic O fates that shape the lives of men, Vouchsafe that I, Before I die, May tread “The Hill” again!

John Sullivan Baker Regards to Davy John Sullivan Baker is a senior in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations. He can be reached at jsullivanbaker@cornellsun.com.

This column was originally published on March 21.

A

s the rapids roared below us and the suspension bridge swayed in a Fall Creek February gale, she laughed with me (and at me) the way she’d done countless times before. She reminded me of the legend that says you’ll die if you kiss on the bridge. She made some crack about the smell of the Thai bubble tea on my breath. And she said something about how I shouldn’t hate her for not liking boba.

Though I don’t remember her exact words, I vividly remember mine. “No,” I told her without thinking, “I love you.”

Uh oh, I thought as I braced myself for her response, I just went really far. Our fledgling relationship, like the virus that would soon challenge it, had overwhelmed us in the course of just a couple short weeks, so my four words were nothing if not premature. As a senior, I’ve spent enough time playing the commitment-free Cornell game, but she’s a sophomore who only recently found her stride on East Hill and did not expect to face down an “I love you” midway through her college career.

She stopped and stared at me. “What? What did you just say? Did you mean that? What did you mean?”

Having expected this reaction, I mumbled a few excuses, grabbed my bubble tea and told her we should just keep walking; I wanted to get off the swaying bridge. And though I tried to act like nothing was wrong, she knew her response had hurt me. She tried to hug me, and she assured me she’d get to where I was one day But she didn’t say, “I love you too.”

So I worried that my risky words would be too much, that they’d make her pull back and slow our relationship’s pace. But nearly four years at this place have taught me that caution is often unwise. What is Cornell without risk?

What is life in the ivory tower without bold leaps into the unknown? What is college without the shocking satisfaction that accompanies the triumphs you never thought you’d create for yourself?

In the following days, I pushed past my initial embarrassment and fear, and I continued to tell her I loved her — even though she didn’t say it back. I hoped my leap would end in triumph for us both. But would she get to where I was?

I thought I would have until May to deepen our bonds above Cayuga’s waters. But little did I know, my relationship with her, and my relationship with the campus that has served as our foundation, would soon be tested by an even more profound uncertainty.

Two weeks later, I would take her to the airport, where she struggled to hold back tears before I left her in a terrifyingly-sterile terminal ruled by faceless, mask-clad agents. The following day, I would depart Cornell for the last time as a student, not knowing when I would see her or my treasured campus again.

But I would soon find some comfort in a message left by Cornellians before us. As I walked the Slope — reeling from her departure but absorbing one final stunning sunset — I glanced at the base of the clock tower to find ten haunting words from an old Cornell song that’s drifted into obscurity:

The song is a painful read from quarantine.

Collegetown’s crowds of “eager ones” have all but fled. We seniors expected two more months of “golden dreams.”

We planned to let ourselves down slowly, taking in the final “springtime suns” as we steeled ourselves for the leap to true adulthood. Now that the virus has erased those plans, which we’ve shared with nearly every other class of Cornellians before us, our love must “burn clear in distant land,” even if we’re woefully unprepared for this long distance relationship.

But “The Hill” is a powerful testament to the indelibly transformative nature of the Cornell experience. Our time here will live on as long as we do. We’ll hang on to the treasured memories the song so eloquently captures; we’ll feel this place’s imprint on our character and identity, and, if we’re determined, we’ll “tread ‘The Hill’ again.” In times like these, it’s hard to remember that we can still hang on, that our bond with this place, and to the people who have made it home, will endure.

Just as Cornell will always remain with us, we will always remain with Cornell. Fellow Cornell Daily Sun columnist Michael Johns ’20, with whom I’ve been lucky to share many of the highs and lows of my Ithacan odyssey, noted in a heart-wrenching recent column that “all of life’s acts are simultaneously permanent and irrevocable, echoing through time as small contributions to the history of this great institution.”

With the woman I love, I listen intently to the echoes of Cornell past.

The first night she kissed me, she said we needed to walk the Beebe Lake trail just as Ruth Bader ’54 and Marty Ginsburg ’53 had done in their time. Initially, we put off our walk, thinking we’d find time before my departure from campus in May — which seemed eons away as we pushed through a frigid Ithaca February. But when we learned, just on the edge of spring, that my time at Cornell would end far sooner than we could have ever expected, I knew what we had to do.

That night, we stumbled to the edge of the Slope to what we know as The Bench — bequeathed in 1892 to the future generations that would tread the crest of the hill. Its inscription, anchored in space yet broadcast across time, is known by countless Cornellians who have strived, suffered and triumphed against the arch of heaven: To those who shall sit here rejoicing, To those who shall sit here mourning, Sympathy and greeting; So have we done in our time.

These words at our backs, we mourned alongside a faceless multitude of Cornellians who, in John’s words, still are, and will forever be, finding solace in its sympathy and greeting, and after a few minutes of intergenerational solidarity, we gathered the strength to follow in the footsteps of the Ginsburgs.

At the edge of the lake, where she made us sit facing the bright lights of the midnight campus, we wallowed in each other’s grief. We reaffirmed our commitment to our relationship beyond the quarantine, and we took in the solemn beauty of a campus from which we’d soon be ripped. We never made it all the way around the lake, as the Ginsburgs surely did.

Like Marty, I’ll leave the Cornellian I love behind for law school hundreds of miles away. Like Ruth, she will remain

in Ithaca, and so many of the uniquely-Cornell experiences I had hoped to share with her will be packed into hurried weekend visits.

And when I think about what this place has in store for the person I’m leaving behind, I feel a sense of jealousy, since I wish I could have two more years on East Hill. But my jealousy is drowned out by my excitement for her future.

For two more years, she’ll be awestruck by the power of the waterfalls that wend their way to placid Cayuga Lake.

For two more years, she’ll stop to admire golden sunsets over the bustling town. For two more years, she’ll learn to lead, to endure, and to fail with grace. For two more years, she’ll experience the thrill of Ithaca’s first snowfall. For two more years, she’ll embrace the delirium of neverending Collegetown nights. For two more years, God will find her between Sage Chapel’s sturdy brick walls. For two more years, A.D. White’s majestic library will inspire her to seize — in her trademark style — all that she seeks from this place.

Early this semester, before we’d taken the leap beyond friendship, I decided a relationship with her was the last thing I wanted from Cornell. A mutual friend nearly laughed me off when I told him, remarking that I’d find plenty of women if I attended a law school I’d been admitted to in New York. He didn’t get that I was looking for someone who had also, in the words of the famous poem, “set out for Ithaka.” He didn’t realize I sought someone who shared the experience of life between Fall Creek and Cascadilla. He didn’t understand that I wanted to weave this campus into the fabric of a relationship.

Maybe I’m being overly sentimental, since my feelings for this place might fade with distance. Or maybe I’m being too optimistic in the face of our indefinite separation. But I am thrilled to have had this fragment of a semester to build something exceptional, and I want Cornell to serve as a foundation for our future in the same way it’s been a foundation for so much else in my life. We have quickly learned that when you fall in love here, Ithaca’s majesty magnifies your emotions, which color dreamlike memories you replay over and over.

Late one night, at some point between the moment on the suspension bridge and the haze of our final week, she looked at me and said, “I think I love you.” Since then, she hasn’t hesitated to say the words that once took her by surprise. And as I think about what’s to come, it comforts me to know the Ginsburgs made it with one foot planted in Ithaca and another in a faraway law library. Though we lack their brilliance, we hope we share their grit and we hope we can sustain the sort of ironclad commitment they forged in Ithaca.

Cornell’s first set of chimes, bequeathed to our institution by wealthy heiress Jenny McGraw Fiske, were inscribed with verses from Canto 106 of Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s wistfully mournful poem “In Memoriam,” and when the Victorian poet laureate learned that his words had been “wrought upon” the young university’s bells, he wrote McGraw Fiske a short letter. He said he “thought that possibley [sic] it might not be ungrateful to you to receive these lines from the author in his autograph.” So he transcribed a stanza.

Ring in the valiant man and free, The larger heart, the kindlier hand; Ring out the darkness of the land, Ring in the Christ that is to be.

Over our years as alumni–and certainly over the next few trying months — my love and I will wake at night and think we hear remembered chimes, ringing out the darkness and ringing in the Christ that is to be.

I wake at night and think I hear remembered chimes.

The song continues, And mem’ry brings in visions clear Enchanted times.

Beneath green elms with branches bowed, In springtime suns, Or touching elbows in a crowd Of eager ones.

Again, I’m hurrying past the tow’rs Or with the teams, Or spending precious idling hours in golden dreams.

O Cornell, Of the kindly heart, The friendly hand, My love burns clear for you in distant land!

OLIVIA WEINBERG / SUN ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

The Cornell Daily Sun Special Issue | Tuesday, May 5, 2020 17

Opinion Letter to the Editor

Letter to the Editor

Cornell, don’t put grad workers in danger amidst the coronavirus

Dear Cornell, from a senior To the Editor:

As of March 22, Cornell’s grounds department staff were told that they are not expected to report to work. They were asked to be available for emergencies. These provisions will be reassesed weekly.

The grounds department staff will be paid and given opportunities to do remote work tasks.

“We are a strong community and one in which we support each other.”

This was the phrase that most caught my eye in the email sent on March 10 to the Cornell community regarding the disappointing changes coming about as a result of coronavirus. These changes are devastating to many of us, especially seniors. It struck me as tonally discordant for that phrase to slip out of an email that otherwise insensitively detailed the steps Cornell will be taking to wash its hands of any future outbreak without explaining much in terms of rationale.

While I’m sure there is a rationale, I want to take a moment to highlight the confusions we have as a student body, the intense disappointment we had in learning this news and how important it is to consider, very carefully, what exactly future versions of these decisions will mean for us, especially seniors graduating in May. We have many questions, mostly concerning the thought process behind the decision. If there aren’t any cases in Ithaca yet, why should we leave campus to return to other parts of the world that are either already dealing with COVID-19 on a much larger scale or are just as likely to have cases pop up soon? If concerns over students’ safety is at the heart of this, shouldn’t we strongly encourage students not to leave, no matter what, and only require that students who absolutely must leave not return? It is impossible to know when and at what rate coronavirus will spread across the country. It is understandable to cancel large group gatherings and educational experiences off campus. But encouraging people to leave entirely seems like a knee-jerk reaction, with an explanation that doesn’t seem to be rooted in a desire to protect our community members.

I am sure there are answers to our questions. I want to be clear that I do not at all doubt the competence of those in charge. However, having learned a bit about community engagement from my urban studies degree, I will say with confidence that telling us a “team of leaders” consulted with “experts” is not remotely convincing. We are Cornell students. And we’re your community members. If we’re going to receive crushing news — for example, that we need to leave the place we’ve worked so hard to get to and grown so much within, especially right before we finish — we need a proper explanation.

If we consider ourselves a “community,” we should not make decisions like a corporation. Students have not come here for business reasons — hundreds of thousands of dollars in exchange for putting a line on our resumes would be a terrible transaction. It is, for us, and purportedly to you, a community, and one that many of us have put ourselves and our families into deep financial debt and logistical strain to be a part of. But, just for the sake of argument, let us consider Cornell as a corporation, and thus also consider the financially absurd situation forced on students by that corporation’s decision.

As we’re all aware, the prospect of virtual education is laughable. We did not spend tuition dollars for recorded lectures from our professors, especially in the modern era when the best lectures in the world can be found online for free. Our reasons for doing business with Cornell go far beyond what online learning can achieve.

We paid all this money to brush shoulders with the nation’s brightest.

We worked this hard to have access to the 19th largest research library in the United States. We traveled this far to discuss film in our theaters, to experiment in our labs, to design in our studios, to debate in our seminars.

And what happens to people who have paid for housing and food already? They have to petition to be sheltered and fed? What about students who return to spaces that are housing insecure or food insecure?

What happens to them? We understand the risk involved with people living together in dense spaces, and the complications regarding Tompkins County’s limited healthcare infrastructure and how these factors would influence the decision that was made. But just being told to leave seems wildly insensitive, and more the method of choice for a corporation to cover its rear end than a “community” to make a decision that takes all of its members into account. This verdict has put my low-income, housing-insecure and work-study friends at great risk. The email absolutely should have detailed avenues and resources to help those individuals. To put the burden on students by asking them to petition to stay in the place they’ve already secured seems absurd.

However, the point of writing this was not to simply enumerate the ways in which the announcement left us confused and saddened. I mean only to highlight that there are elements of this that seem rash, and that vastly undervalue what Cornell means for students, especially undergraduate seniors who are on the precipice of reaping the rewards of doing our absolute best in school since we were small children. And in highlighting them, I write this to encourage the decision makers in high places to consider, very carefully, what the events planned for May mean for this community.

These last months are just about everything to us. Our friendships, our futures, our final projects — as a community, these last months hold our most important rituals, events and memories, ones we’ve looked forward to for years and that our families would do anything to share with us. We want nothing more than to say goodbye properly.

Final performances, sporting events and club socials are already gone for many seniors just because of the decision already made. In the time since the email hit our inboxes, I’ve heard dozens of stories of the things lost due to this decision that mean much more than credit hours or a diploma ever will. I encourage students, and especially seniors, to share those stories.

But most of all I beg this administration to think very carefully about its crucial next decisions, to incorporate community members into making those decisions and to share with community members precisely why decisions are made, with sensitivity to the fact that we, especially seniors, have never been more proud to be at Cornell and have never been more excited for what is to come in these final months far above Cayuga’s waters.

Gretchen Kirchgessner

Nathan Revor ’20

To the Editor: We, members of the Cornell Graduate Student Union, commend Cornell Administration for taking preemptive effort to minimize risk due to COVID-19. Provided that the campus shutdown is executed in a way that accommodates for undergraduates who depend on their housing, employment or other necessities through the University, this is a step towards protecting some of the most vulnerable members of our community. That said, graduate workers are expected to remain on campus and do their jobs, and we continue to advocate for working conditions that are safe and fair.

Firstly, we urge the Graduate School to ensure that teaching assistants who are expected to convert courses to a virtual format on short notice are given the proper IT resources and training to do so effectively, and the students taking those courses are insured to have sufficient access to computers and internet. Failure to do so would shortchange the students who have dedicated energy and money to take these courses and may unfairly impact evaluations.

Additionally, CGSU has received multiple disconcerting reports from grads (who wish to remain anonymous) of some academic advisors, primarily those in experimental laboratories, leveraging this crisis to exploit graduate workers. Afraid that the campus may completely shut down if the virus worsens, grads have been urged to work long hours such that ‘progress will not be lost’ if the lab must close, and risk their relationship with their supervisor (and possibly their job, the security of which overwhelmingly rests in the hands of the supervisor) if they refuse.

The long taxing hours and lack of sleep are not only unfair working conditions, but they may increase vulnerability to illnesses like COVID-19, undermining the very point of a potential shutdown. Some have been told that if they become quarantined, the two weeks spent out of the lab will come out of their own paychecks. Whether this is even something within an advisor’s power is beside the question — and grads should never be forced into no-win situations where they must choose between risking their good professional standing or their health and financial stability. Again, this isn’t conjecture — it is already happening, and it must come to an end.

This is a failure of priority — the health and safety of workers should come before the lab’s output, which itself is impacted negatively if the grads performing it are tired and stressed. It can be seen as another instance of how the conditions of our employment have been designed for an ‘ideal, average’ graduate student: A young, healthy, financially stable person with no dependents, is not at risk of a “serious case” of COVID-19 and who’s willing and able to put the quantity of work they produce before everything else. This is an inept description of the graduate student body, and it erases the myriad of ways in which both the virus and the ways our manager’s respond to this virus can seriously impact our lives. We urge the graduate school to provide a promise of job and stipend security, even if a grad worker is unable to complete research tasks due to infection or quarantine.

As a union, we are here for all grads, to support you and advocate for your needs. If professional fallout from COVID-19 is unfairly affecting you or someone you know, please reach out to us. To be clear, we believe this behavior is far from the norm – many supervisors are truly trying to accommodate for their student’s health. If you are one of these supervisors and know a colleague who is exploiting their students, we urge you to stop them immediately. And if you are worrying over the productivity of your lab this spring semester, consider the health and wellbeing of your workers first, and, instead, help us face this crisis together with solidarity and mutual support.

Ethan Ritz grad Jacy Tacket grad Nathan Sitaraman grad David Blatter grad Cornell Graduate Students United Organising Committee Members

Letter to the Editor

Essential employee?

To the Editor: “Essential Employee.” As I stand here on SUN ASS OLIVIA ISTA campus with my rake in hand, these words are in the NT N WEINB EWS ERG / EDIT front of my mind: What am I doing? It’s not snow season, it’s OR not mow season. Everyone around us is going home and being offered alternative work methods while we are out here preparing for a commencement that may not happen, for a reunion week that might be canceled.

If we are so essential, why does it also appear that we are expendable? If our health and safety are at risk why are we accepting that risk for spring clean-up tasks? Some of us feel differently. Some are less concerned than others. Those of us who are very concerned are afraid of the risks we are taking. Working alongside people who are not taking extra precautions is potentially dangerous.

Cornell has taken steps to safeguard students, professors, faculty and sports fans but have left the rest of us here to carry on as usual, as if we do not have the same burdens as the rest.

We too have children at home without child care. We too are worried about getting sick and spreading it to our loved ones. Cornell could close campus and send us home, pay the ones who are alright with it the extra overtime to be available for emergencies.

Send us the message that our lives have value. Cornell can be part of the solution in this strange time, or they can continue to contribute to the problem.

18 The Cornell Daily Sun Special Issue | Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Sports

‘We Never Thought It Would Actually Happen’ Ivy League announces cancellation of all spring sports amid growing coronavirus outbreak

By RAPHY GENDLER and LUKE PICHINI Sun Senior Editor and Sun Assistant Sports Editor

This story was originally published on March 11.

The Ivy League announced on Wednesday that all spring athletic practices and competitions are canceled through the remainder of the academic year amid further developments in the outbreak of COVID-19.

“My initial reaction, the reaction of the whole team, was just — it was just shock,” said Jonathan Zacharias, a sophomore pitcher on the baseball team.

Becca Jordan, a junior on the sailing team, expressed her shock at the news.

“We knew that it was a possibility and we joked about it for a few days, but we never thought it would actually happen,” Jordan said. “Honestly, at practice, the seniors were like, ‘what if this is our last time ever putting on our pinnies as college athletes?’”

After spending her semester abroad in the fall, the announcement was difficult for Jordan, who was excited about the upcoming season.

“It was a big decision to go abroad and be away from the team, but I was so excited to get back,” Jordan said.

“Getting ready and gearing up for nationals at the end of spring was really exciting … but I know that I am in a way better position than the seniors because I still have another year. It’s not like my entire career is gone.” Both Jordan and Zacharias expressed remorse for the seniors, who saw their collegiate careers come to an unexpected end.

“We had a great group of seniors this year with a ton of leadership,” Zacharias said.

“Many of them were working their way back from injuries, so the fact that they put all that time into rehabbing and to [have the season] cut short like this is kind of hard — all of our hearts go out to the seniors.”

“Our seniors were up for pretty big awards, and that might fall through,” Jordan said. “We’ve just tried to put our sadness away and be there for them and do whatever they need. We’ve all been hanging out a lot BORIS TSANG / SUN PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR today, and we’re all trying to A sudden end | Though it was ultimately bound to happen, the cancellation of all spring sports spend time together.” one Wednesday afternoon came as a shock to many — particularly the athletes.

Men’s lacrosse had a 5-0 record and recently ascended to the No. 2 ranking in are to each other and how much we all care about each national polls. The team was scheduled to face No. 6 Yale other,” Jordan said. on Saturday in its first Ivy game. Multiple spokespeople Christina Bulkeley ’21 contributed reporting to this article. from the team declined to comment.

While the news has been difficult, it has brought the Raphy Gendler can be reached at rgendler@cornellsun.com. teams closer together.

“If there’s any silver lining, it shows how important we Luke Pichini can be reached at lpichini@cornellsun.com.

Editor’s Corner

NCAA Cancels Hockey A Heartbreaking Reminder Tournaments, Cutting Of Student Athletes’ Strength Teams’ Seasons Short T This column was originally published on March 16.

By CHRISTINA BULKELEY and RAPHY GENDLER Sun Sports Editor and Sun Senior Editor

This story was originally published on March 16.

The 2019-20 seasons for Cornell’s hockey teams and their fans were filled with hope that, finally — after 50 years of waiting — this was the year.

As the teams ascended to the No. 1 spots in the national rankings, dominated opponents and cruised into the playoffs, the excitement only grew that 2020 might be a year to remember in Ithaca, that the drought might come to an end: Cornell women’s hockey has never won a national championship. The men haven’t done it since 1970.

But no postseason trophies will be presented and no national championship banners hung. Instead, both teams will forever wonder what could have been.

Cornell’s No. 1 hockey teams’ championship dreams came to an abrupt end on Thursday when the NCAA canceled all its national tournaments. It capped a wild two days of cancelations across the world of sports.

In addition to ending the hockey seasons in heartbreaking fashion for Cornell’s skaters and hockey fans — and ending the careers of the team’s seniors — the COVID-19 outbreak led to the cancelation of all spring sports in the Ivy League.

The NCAA is expected to grant a fifth year of eligibility for spring athletes. But it remains to be seen how the canceled seasons will impact the Ivy League and Cornell’s teams directly.

Shortly after ECAC Hockey and four other conferences canceled the remainder of their men’s conference tournaments, the NCAA followed suit. The NCAA had already announced measures to limit attendance Wednesday in response to concerns over COVID-19.

Both the men’s and women’s hockey teams have been atop the national polls for multiple weeks. The women were scheduled to play Mercyhurst in the NCAA Tournament on Saturday. The men’s team

was a near lock for a No. 1 seed in the national tournament.

In addition to the end of the hockey season, the eight Cornell wrestlers that had earned bids to the NCAA Tournament will also see their seasons end with no opportunity to secure a national title. Six of them had qualified automatically in the EIWA Championships, while two more had received at-large bids.

Thursday’s announcement came as the latest installment in a series of college sports’ reaction to the spread of the novel coronavirus. In canceling all spring sports on Wednesday, the Ivy League left it up to the discretion of individual institutions whether to allow winter sports teams to compete in the postseason. But not long after — after the cancelation of conference tournaments across the country, most notably in men’s and women’s basketball — the NCAA announced that its tournaments wouldn’t take place.

The cancellation came amid news that Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League were suspending their seasons after the National Basketball Association did so on Wednesday.

The early end to the season marks the end of Cornell hockey careers for the Red’s seniors. On the men’s team, Jeff Malott, Yanni Kaldis and Noah Bauld have played their last games in carnelian and white. For the women, Kristin O’Neill, Amy Curlew, Jaime Bourbonnais, Micah Zandee-Hart, Paige Lewis and Grace Graham have also had their last go-around as members of the Red. With the imminent graduation of captains Kristin O’Neill and Micah ZandeeHart in addition to a top defenseman in Bourbonnais and the rest of that large and integral senior class, this season might have been Cornell women’s hockey’s best opportunity in several years — and maybe program history — to win a national title.

Christina Bulkeley can be reached at cbulkeley@cornellsun.com. Raphy Gendler can be reached at rgendler@cornellsun.com.

he sudden shift from pre- March Madness excitement to a sportsless spring — heartbreaking for players and fans around the country — is nobody’s top concern right now. The NCAA and pro sports leagues are 100 percent right to shut down.

But here in Ithaca, my heart breaks for the hundreds of Cornell student athletes who will forever be left to wonder what might have come of the spring of 2020, whose collegiate careers were flipped upside down by a crisis that seemed so distant just a few days ago.

Ivy League student athletes are smart, driven kids at the near or absolute top of their sports. They give everything to represent Cornell and wear their colors with pride.

Their dedication and drive — to make it back from injury, to win a national championship, to be there for their teammates — ending up unable to yield results would’ve been unimaginable a few days ago.

The vast majority of Cornell’s student athletes aren’t going to sign million-dollar contracts, play in prime time on national television or sign big shoe contracts. These athletes work tirelessly for the love of the game, for their teammates and for Cornell.

It’s a shame that these athletes — especially graduating seniors who may have taken the field, court, diamond and ice for the last time — won’t get a proper send-off.

Cornell’s No. 1 ranked hockey teams will get a lot of love. And they deserve all that appreciation, and more, for their tremendous seasons that won’t end in bids for national championships.

A lot of hearts will break for Cornell’s No. 2 men’s lacrosse team, which looked poised for another stellar season.

Many fans will be thinking of the eight Cornell wrestlers who won’t be able to compete in this year’s national championships.

In addition to all these athletes, we’d all do well to spend a moment appreciating and thanking Cornellians

on softball, baseball, sailing, rowing, gymnastics, squash, track and field, tennis and golf teams, who don’t draw thousands of fans and don’t get national media attention, but who pour their everything into their teams.

These student athletes represent so much of what it means to be a Cornellian: working for one another, proudly donning the red ‘C’ and wearing the “blue collar Ivy” chip on their shoulders.

I don’t claim to really know what it’s like to balance Division I sports with Ivy League academics or how it feels to be in your late teens and early 20s and be at the top of your sport. But I do know that as a sportswriter at The Sun, one of the things I enjoy most is talking to student athletes and seeing firsthand the passion and drive that go into representing our University.

Sports aren’t the only thing, and they’re certainly not the most important thing right now. But for these students, some of the hardest-working and most driven at Cornell, their sport is everything. That they won’t be able to work toward a title, finish their senior seasons or spend a spring with their teams is heartbreaking, and a reminder of how central a role sports play in our lives.

When we get through this outbreak — and we will — sports will be there for us to escape life for a while and enjoy the heartbreak, triumph, trials and victories that only sports can bring.

In the meantime, here’s an idea: If you’re up for it, and want to send Cornell student athletes — especially graduating seniors — your appreciation, send me an email at rgendler@ cornellsun.com. Address it to whomever you please and say whatever’s on your mind. I’ll try to get your messages to the athletes, and if I can’t, I’ll put them on social media or in a story at cornellsun.com for fans, athletes and Cornellians to see.

Raphy Gendler is a junior in the ILR School. He is a senior editor on the 138th editorial board. He can be reached at rgendler@cornellsun.com.

The Cornell Daily Sun Special Issue | Tuesday, May 5, 2020 19

A Salute to The Sun posal. It provided critical information unavailable on social media or through the University’s emails and news releases. The Sun thus became a vital resource for Cornellians and Ithacans. Online readership spiked to nearly 70,000 visitors a day, and from mid-March to midApril The Sun recorded more than half a million visitors.

s we all know too well, the coronavirus pandemic has caused tens of thousands of deaths around the country, and sickened many more. The virus hit particularly hard in the greater New York City area, home to many Cornellians — students, parents, employees and alumni. We extend our condolences to those who have been grievously affected by the pandemic.

A

s The Sun has reported, the virus and the lockdowns imposed extreme hardship on virtually all In addition, Cornell’s campus shutdown and switch to online courses upended the lives of students, parents, fac- Cornell institutions and Ithaca businesses. The Sun itulty, local businesses, and even incoming freshmen, who self was no exception. Nearly a dozen staffers have got their acceptance notices in the midst of it all. It was, fallen ill, and others have seen illness strike their families. Some editors continued and remains, an uncertain and stressful time. People throughto work even while sick. out the community were clamStaffers working from home oring for information and were spread across 11 time guidance as the situation zones, further complicating Arrrests ts Fo Follllow St Stabbin ing Messaggee to Our Readers Three charged with attempted robbery changed daily. reporting and editing logistics. Still, The Sun managed e are proud to say to put out a daily coronavirus that our young colnewsletter in addition to its CORONA AV A VIRUS V IRUS UPDA UPDA AT TES TES leagues, the editors and staff regular online schedule.

FRROM VAACCINE DEVELOPMENT E TO MA ASK DONATIONS, of The Cornell Daily Sun, E P WA AGE CO ORONAVIR I US FIIGHT C.U. DEPAARTMENTS HELP We salute The Sun’s editors chose not to shut down. They

A

INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880

The Corne¬ Daaily Sun

Vol. 136, No. 73

By SEAN O’CONNELL Sun News Editor

W

Three suspects we were arrested on Monday in relation to a stabbing on the intersection of We West Avenue an and South Av Avenue on Sunday ay evening, ac according to the Ithaca P Poolice Department.

Three of the fo four suspects, Tahaj ajjuddin Abdur-Ra Rashid, Thomas Pay ayton-Harp r and an unnamed 1 6 year old, were charged with attempted robbery in the first degree and gang assault in the second degree.

The four suspects approached the student on the

By ALEK MEHTA

Sun Staff Writer

intersection at approximately 7:42 p.m. One of the suspects demanded that the student give up his phone and wallet. The victim fled and was chased by one of the suspects, who then stabbed him in the See STABBING page 3

masks to Caayyuga Medicaall Center amid a national shortage of protective medical gear. d

8 Pages – Free

ITHACA, NEW YYORK

THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2020

Due to thee global COVID-19 pandemic, this unfortunately will be our last issue printed of the spring semester. We will resume our regular printing scchedule when classes resume in August.

In the meeantime, readers can continue to stay informed of Ithaca and Corneell news at cornellsun.com, where The Sun will continue its commitmeent online.

We hope aall stay well during this difficult time, and encourage readers with questtions or concerns to reach out at editor@cornellsun.com.

masks earlier in the year, ffeearing that a future supply-chain prroblem could result in a lack of necessary protection ffoor h h lb

us.”

The lab is still exploring waayys of helping Cayuga Medical beyond its inild n, according to V VaanderV Veen. , longer-term, ffaaculty across mmunologgyy department are “new waayys to diagnose and virus,” he said.

University labs haavve been onate supplies in the fight VID-19 , including one run aureen Hanson, molecular ose lab donated 3 ,0 0 0 pairs ves to be distributed as neceT Toompkins County Heaallth . aring about the nationwide age, Proff.. C.C. Chu, fiber apparel design, emailed colh an idea. ht, ‘we have a design comhe department, maayybe they

and staff. Their performance and dedication have been in the finest traditions of journalism. With Rebate Proomise On Room, Board the media under attack by Fees Is Unnresolved politicians and taken for granted by many readers in the Internet age, The Sun’s staff have in this criHouse NY N.YY.Y-.-23 N. 23 Candidates Ca Adapt A to Corona Cooronavirus Pandemic P sis demonstrated to the greater Cornell community, including students’ families back home, the value of strong, independent and committed journalists.

As confusion reigned on campus, The Sun kept producing in-depth reporting on the key issues affecting stuhey should be proud of themselves. We are cerdents: from dorm rent rebates to summer internships tainly proud of them. We show it by donating to to business closings to a rejected pass-fail grading pro- support them, and we invite all Sun readers to join us. geared up instead. Under daunting conditions The Sun continued to publish important stories day after day.

When students were abruptly ordered to leave town in early March, Sun editors published two more weeks of print editions and worked around the clock to figure out how to keep publishing online with its staff scattered across the country and around the world.

Wiith the spread of CO W affecting communities acros tion – – and recently even campus iitselflf –– a wide id ran ademic departments are do they can to help during the Labs in the College of inary Medicine — run by Brian V VaanderV Veen and Daavv sell, microbiology and immu — have donated over 600 re

EPARTMENTS page 3

By TAL DOTAN and OLIVIA WEINBERG

UN PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

t touch this! | The

Sun Staff Writer & Sun Assistant News Editor

With in-person classes canc Wi the on-caam mpus student popula dwindling and dorm rooms v ed, Cornell faam milies haavve been wondering how the administra wo

By AMANDA H. CRONIN and ALEC GIUFURTA

Sun Senior Editors

As COV VIID-1 9

has

own statue by Teagle Hall t s a n N 9 5 re s p i r a t o r o n ch 17. A shortage of masks other supplies to fight the d e m i c h a s s p u r re d C o r n e l l o donate to the cause.

EES page 3 See FE

people retreating indoors and vacating public spaces, politicaall operations have been forcedd to rethink their blueprints.

The Sun checked in with the two candidates ffoor New Y Yoork’s 2 3 rd Congressionaall district — T Toom Reed (R-N.Y Re Y..) and Tr Tracy

Mitrano J.D. ’9 5 — to see how they are continnuing their strides both on Capitol Hill and the vir v tual campaign trail.

BORIS TSANG / SUN PHOTO EDITOR R& CAMERON POLLACK SUN FILE PHOTTO

Rematch | Rep . TToom

Reed an d TTrracy Mitran o J.D. ’95 are con ductin g a rematch camp aig n for thhe 23rd N.YY.. House seat.

The Incumbent: Rep. Tom Reed

Amid an international pandemic, the news of al two United Staattes House Representaattives contracting Re COV VIID-1 9 brought the crisis a little closer to ‘home’ — Capitol Hill — ffoor R Reeed.

Now back in the 2 3 rd district, R Reeed explained how legislating during the course of the COV VIID-1 9

pandemic has struck, in a time otherwise marked by polarization, a radicaallly different tone — a bipartisan one.

Reed, a rank-and-file Re House R Reepublican, is the co-chaaiir of the House Problem Solvers Caucus, a bipartisan working group of around 50 representatives looking ffoor See HOUSE page 3

T

The Cornell Daily Sun Alumni Association he CDSAA is a 501-c-3 organization consisting of thousands of Cornell graduates who over the years have worked on The Sun, which is editorially independent from Cornell and receives no financial support from the University. The Alumni Association raises money to help fund The Sun’s operations, conducts journalism workshops, mentors Sun staffers, and offers career advice to students. Like many news organizations today,The Sun can no longer subsist on advertising revenues alone and needs outside funding from alumni, friends and readers.If you value The Sun as an independent voice for the Cornell and Ithaca community, now and in the future, we encourage you to Support the Sun through a tax-deductible contribution to the CDSAA. To donate please visit http://www.alumnirecords.org/CDSAA, or mail a check to The Cornell Daily Sun Alumni Association, P.O. Box 876, Ithaca, NY 14851-0876.

T

CHUCK SENNET ’74, board member STAN CHESS ’69, CDSAA president & board member MICHAEL LINHORST ’12, board member JAY BRANEGAN ’72, vice president DINEEN PASHOUKOS WASYLIK ’94, board member BOB PLATT ’73, secretary JOHN SCHROEDER ’74, board member & alumni advisor KATHY FRANKOVIC ’68, treasurer