THE CORNELL DAILY SUN | Graduation Issue 2013 9
FOUR YEARS AT CORNELL
FALL 2009 & SPRING 2010
TimeLine 9.11.2012 CORNELL RAMPS UP RESPONSE TO SWINE FLU AFTER STUDENT’S DEATH: More than 1,700 Cornell students were diagnosed with probable H1N1 influenza during the academic year, prompting a University-wide response to the global pandemic. Warren Schor’s ’11 died on Sept. 11 due to complications relating to H1N1 — the first H1N1-related fatality in Tompkins County. Aside from Gannett’s efforts to contain the virus, Cornell’s athletics department eliminated the annual “camp out” for hockey tickets, and the Interfraternity Council put a temporary
moratorium on fraternity parties to limit person-to-person contact. REASSIGNMENT OF UJAMAA DIRECTOR CAUSES OUTCRY: Controversy erupted when Ken Glover, residential housing director of Ujamaa Residential College, was abruptly reassigned to another position. The student response highlighted growing unrest surrounding the University’s review of program houses on campus. In October, the group Students for Ken Glover, staged a march in support of Glover at the Homecoming Parade. Later that month,
more than 100 students and community members participated in a silent protest outside the a trustee meeting to share their concerns over suppression of minority voices on campus. CORNELL LOOKS WITHIN AS DEFICIT LOOMS: With Cornell’s current budget deficit still totaling more than $135 million, the University was forced to seriously reconsider its future. “Reimagining Cornell” — an effort the University touted as “one of the most comprehensive self-examinations” in its 144-year history — became the University’s strategic
plan that top administrators hoped would set Cornell on stable financial footing. 1.21.10 CAMPUS MOURNS LOSS OF THREE STUDENTS: Three Cornell students died over winter break 2010. Adam Frey ’11, a member of the Cornell wrestling team died after a two-year battle with testicular cancer; Clayton DeFisher ’11, a Biology major and Hunter Rawlings scholar, died at a New Year’s party from cardiac arrest. Oliver Schaufelberger ’11, a guide in Outdoor Odyssey and brother of the Kappa Delta Ro fraternity died in his home in Lebanon, New Jersey. 2.2.10 CORNELL FEELS EFFECTS OF BUDGET CUTS: With the University’s strategic planning process moving toward completion, the Department of Theatre, Film and Dance was the first of the semester to feel the effects of the cuts when it was told to prepare for its funding to be slashed by $2 million, about one third of its budget. The Russian department was also threatened, with the Russian major being redistributed to the comparative literature department. 4.20.10 GRAD STUDENT CONVICTED OF WIFE’S MURDER: A court returned a guilty verdict on each of the three felony charges against former Cornell graduate student Blazej Kot. Kot was convicted of second-degree murder for fatally stabbing his wife Caroline Coffey, a student at Cornell’s Veterinary School, whose body was found on a wooded trail in Taughannock Falls State Park.
MEGHAN HESS / SUN FILE PHOTO
‘They used to call me Piggy’ | As the swine flu pandemic reached its peak at the beginning of September, a pig’s head was found on a stake in the Arts Quad alongside a Lord of the Flies quote.
Suicides Stun Campus; Cornell Installs Fences The Cornell community was shaken in Spring 2010 after three students jumped from campus bridges between February and March. The highly public suicides attracted national media attention as all eyes turned on Cornell and the stunned campus grappled with what happened. In total, six students committed suicide and five others died from other causes during the 2009-2010 academic year. The University responded immediately after the third death in mid-March by placing 24-hour security guards on all bridges on and near campus. The guards, who remained in place until students left for spring break, were assigned to keep watch over the bridges. By the time spring break ended, the City of Ithaca and Cornell agreed to construct temporary chain-link fences along the sides of seven bridges. University officials maintained that the fences were a short-term solution to prevent further tragedy while longer-term solutions were being devised. The fences, however, stirred a debate that has stayed strong ever since. Some members of the community protested the fences’ obstruction of the gorges’ natural beauty, while others emphasized their potential life-saving benefits. The chain-link fences were eventually replaced by non-reflective black fences. Beginning in the summer of 2012, Ithaca and Cornell are
planning to install nets under most campus bridges, which will permanently replace the fences. Other immediate responses to the deaths included the expansion of mental health outreach services, personal check-ins on all students living on campus, a “Lift Your Spirits” event on the Arts Quad, and extended hours for counseling services. After the third suicide, which took place in mid-March, the University’s messages to the community struck a much more personal and urgent tone than previous announcements of student deaths. “Your well being is the foundation on which your success is built. You are not alone,” Skorton said in an e-mail to the community on March 12, 2010. “If you learn anything at Cornell, please learn to ask for help. It is a sign of wisdom and strength.” The suicides brought back discussions of Cornell’s grim reputation as a “suicide school.” Though the University’s suicide rate, despite the events of spring 2010, is slightly below the national average, many began to question whether Cornell takes enough proactive measures to prevent student tragedies. Improving the “culture of Cornell” became a common initiative among Student Assembly members and other student groups.
UNIVERSITY AND ITHACA SOUND OFF ON HYDROFRACKING: Technological innovations, including the development of new gas extraction capabilities like horizontal drilling and hydraulic-fracturing, known as “hydrofracking,” spawned interest in the Marcellus Shale — which extends into Tompkins County. With the prospect of a large-scale gas drilling project in Ithaca, Cornellians and Ithacans alike voiced concern about such a project’s potential environmental and health impacts.