INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880
The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 135, No. 11
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2018
n
ITHACA, NEW YORK
16 Pages – Free
News
Arts
Sports
Weather
Death of Democracy
Passerby
Fresh Start
Afternoon Thunderstorms HIGH: 81º LOW: 67º
Harvard professor Daniel Ziblatt talked about his book How Democracies Die at a Wednesday lecture. | Page 3
Maggie O’Keefe ’19 has painted intimate, human portraits in her exhibit.
Football looks to kick off its first winning season since 2005 this weekend in Delaware. | Page 16
| Page 9
Polo Coach Resigns Amid Misconduct Investigation Eldredge ’81 apologized in 2007 for ‘offensive remark’ By DYLAN McDEVITT Sun Sports Editor
David Eldredge ’81, the decorated coach who led Cornell’s polo teams for the last 33 years, has retired amid an investigation into claims of “potential past misconduct,” the University confirmed on Wednesday evening.
tion followed complaints from players that Eldredge used a slur in a team meeting and drank from a beer while driving students, according to interviews with three former men’s polo players and a letter obtained by The Sun. Reached at a barn across from his house on Wednesday night, Eldredge confirmed to The Sun that he was investigated in 2007 and said he had been cleared of any wrongdoing. “Cleared, as in cleared, as in not guilty, as in cleared,” he said, wearing a Cornell polo hat and T-shirt. “I would not have been able to remain coach for the next 12 years had anything, you know, come of that.” That investigation began on March 9, 2007 and concluded several months later, according to a letter Eldredge sent to former polo player Daniel Crespo ’08, in which the coach apologized for making an “offensive remark” at a team meeting. Eldredge wrote that he was “instructed to not contact” Crespo until after Cornell’s investigation had ended. “Because of that, it is only now, when the investigation is completed, that I am able to apologize to you for the offensive remark I made in a men’s varsity team meeting in the 2005-2006 Cornell Polo season,” Eldredge wrote in the
“I would not have been able to remain coach for the next 12 years had anything ... come of that [2007 investigation].” David Eldredge ’81 “Allegations of potential past misconduct by Mr. Eldredge have been brought to Cornell’s attention,” said John Carberry, a Cornell spokesperson, in a statement to The Sun. “They will be reviewed thoroughly, and all actions considered appropriate will be taken once that process is complete.” Cornell declined to say what reported misconduct will be reviewed as part of its investigation, but the University looked into allegations against Eldredge more than a decade ago and briefly placed him on leave in 2007. That investiga-
COURTESY OF CORNELL UNIVERSITY
Reined In | David Eldredge ’81 has retired and Cornell said it is investigating “allegations of potential past misconduct.”
letter, which was sent to Crespo sometime after the end of the 2007 spring semester. Crespo told The Sun that during that meeting at the Oxley Equestrian Center in the fall of 2006, Eldredge used See ELDREDGE page 4
CGSU Regroups, Plans ‘Winnable Campaign’ By BREANNE FLEER
recognition election is a long-term goal, CGSU intends to focus on other initiatives until then. “We want to grow the union. Cornell Graduate Students United outlined plans for new Eventually we’d like to win a rec“winnable” campaigns for the ognition election, but in the meansemester following the loss of time we want to act like a union, and we think that their certification there’s things that in the graduate we can do that will assistant union rechave tangible effects ognition election on grad workers’ in March 2017 at lives in the meantheir Wednesday time,” he said. “And meeting. so right now we’re CGSU lost the sort of directing our election by 74 votes focus toward those in an election that initiatives.” saw an approximate Attendees at 80 percent turnWednesday’s meetout among eligible ing proposed and graduate student RITZ GRAD discussed ideas to assistants, The Sun previously reported. The vote total tackle issues ranging from mental was 941 votes against unionization health to transportation services to holds on registration. and 867 votes in favor. In the area of mental health, CGSU is barred from filing a petition for another union recog- David Blatter grad, chair of the Legal Affairs Committee, presentnition election until May 25. Henry Kunerth grad, chair ed some results of a recent menof the communications and out- tal health survey distributed by reach committee, told The Sun See CGSU page 4 that while winning another union Sun News Editor
COURTESY OF CORNELL UNIVERSITY
New north | The above conceptual rendering depicts the new sophomore housing site to be constructed as part of the proposed North Campus residential expansion. Ithaca and Cornell community members are concerned about the proposal to use fracked natural gas as the project’s primary energy source.
Renovations Cause Community Worry By ANNE SNABES Sun Assistant News Editor
Architects representing the University defended the decision to power the new North Campus expansion with natural gas at an Ithaca Planning and Economic Development Committee meeting on Wednesday. The North Campus Residential Expansion will construct two new housing sites on North Campus, giving housing to an additional 1,200 freshmen and 800 sophomores, The Sun previously reported. These new dorms, like North Campus currently, will be powered by Cornell’s Combined Heat and
Power Plant, which relies on natural gas. Natural gas is composed mostly of methane, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Kathryn Wolf of Trowbridge Wolf Michaels Landscape Architects spoke about Cornell’s project at the meeting and described how the power plant works. She said the gas passes through a combustion turbine, which produces electricity that “powers the campus.” She said this process “throws off waste heat,” which is captured to produce steam, and that steam heats Cornell. In addition, the University uses lake-source cooling to cool the campus. See NORTH CAMPUS page 4