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The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 130, No. 15
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2013
!
ITHACA, NEW YORK
20 Pages – Free
News
Arts
Sports
Weather
Rankings Galore
Ithaca Music Scene
Solid Performance
Showers HIGH: 55 LOW: 37
Cornell slipped one spot from last year, ranking 16th in the U.S. News & World Report last week. | Page 3
Darra Loganzo ’17 reviews a concert at I.C. featuring Screaming Females, Speedy Ortiz and Brick Mower. | Page 16
Men’s tennis team freshmen showed promising performances in an Invitational this weekend. | Page 20
Ithacans Protest U.S. Involvement in Syria ‘Bombing Syria aids al-Qaeda,’ one sign reads By TYLER ALICEA Sun Senior Writer
Carrying various signs bearing phrases such as “Let’s stop killing one another” and “Bombing Syria aids al-Qaeda,” approximately 50 Ithacans marched down Cayuga Street Friday protesting the possibility of the United States using military action against Syria. The U.S. threatened to take part in a military strike against Syria after Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad allegedly authorized a chemical attack Aug.21 that resulted in the death of 1,400 civilians, according to the Associated Press. President Barack Obama said he was send troops to Syria, but decided to defer
seeking congressional approval for a strike to consider a Russian proposal to destroy Syria’s chemical weapons, the AP reported. “This delay will allow warmongerers and defense contractors more time to organize for war just as it will allow more time for defenders of peace and amnesty to organize against it,” said Shakti Moksha, the event’s organizer, on the rally’s Facebook page. The protesters met in Dewitt Park before walking to the Public Library. Chanting “We are unstoppable. Another world is possible,” protesters marched down Cayuga St., attracting the attention of passersby. Some residents yelled agreement for the cause, while dri-
SHAILEE SHAH / SUN PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Declaring their stance | Ithacans participate in a march expressing opposition to military action in Syria Friday. vers gave their endorsements by honking their horns as they drove down the street. Once the protesters arrived at
Porchland
the library, they stood on the corner of Green St. and Cayuga St., where they gave short speeches, read poetry and sang songs to other protest-
By AIMEE CHO
SHAILEE SHAH / SUN PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Students and Ithaca residents came out to watch performances on porches Sunday — including this one featuring The Gunpoets, a hip hop band based in Ithaca.
IFD Tackles Two Simultaneous Fires Firefighters ‘spread thin’ fighting fires, dept.says By JINJOO LEE
The Ithaca Fire Department was “spread thin” Saturday with two fires simultaneously breaking out in the city, according to a press release from IFD. According to the press release, a Ford pickup truck caught on
See SYRIA page 4
SWAG Looks at Causes of Low Black Male Graduation problems are all factors,” Kendrick Coq ’15, SWAG copresident, said. “We’ve been African-American male stu- working with the African dents may be graduating at a American Research Task Force to lower rate compared to their peers compile data on effective retendue to a lack of mentorship, mo- tion strategies and see how the ney issues and family problems, administration can help.” according to research conducted Thaddeus Talbot ’15, SWAG by the African American Research co-president, said SWAG has Task Force and Scholars Working “interviewed students on campus, Ambitiously to Graduate. and they said the lack of role For the Cornell class that models and black faculty is a facentered in 2003, tor.” 75 percent of Renee Alex“We found that lack of Af rican-Amer ander ’74, assomentorship, money ican male stuciate dean of issues and family dents graduated students and within six years. problems are all factors.” director of inFor the class that tercultural proKendrick Coq ’15 entered in 2007, grams, agreed, that graduation saying that Corrate rose to 83 percent. nell has a limited number of SWAG, a student-run organi- African-American professors. zation that works to increase the “The University is assertively graduation rate of African- recruiting and working to retain American male students through faculty and staff of color. Some of academic enrichment, profession- the factors that we work harder to al development and community mitigate are geographical location building, is continuing the and competition from our peer research it started last year to institutions,” Alexander said. determine what prevents some “Some people find it hard to African American male students adjust to our remote setting in from graduating. central New York State. When “We found that lack of mentorship, money issues and family See SWAG page 5 Sun Contributor
Sun News Editor
ers and those walking past them. World leaders who initially
fire on Route 13 near Dey Street at 11:33 a.m. The driver and the passenger of the truck noticed smoke coming from the dashboard of the vehicle and pulled over on Route 13 — out of the traffic on Dey St. — and took their possessions out of the truck before it fully caught on fire. While the fire crew responded
to the truck fire, a second call came from Highland Place on East Hill. A dryer had caught fire on the top floor of a three-story apartment. Both fires were “placed under control” and no injuries were reported, according to the press See FIRE page 4