INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880
The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 135, No. 17
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2018
n
ITHACA, NEW YORK
16 Pages – Free
News
Arts
Sports
Weather
Congressional Candidate
Hometown
Moving Forward
Mostly Cloudy HIGH: 65º LOW: 53º
Tracy Mitrano J.D. ’95 will be hosting a open town hall in Downtown Ithaca on Friday, Sept. 28. | Page 3
Cayuga Sound rocks Stewart Park.
Football hopes to see tangible progress this weekend as they face Sacred Heart at home. | Page 16
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Community Program A&S Dean Sits Down With Sun Ray Jayawardhana shares passion for astrophysics and collaborative learning Combines Mentorship, Dance and Literacy By ANNE SNABES
Sun Assistant News Editor
Arts and Sciences dean and astrophysicist Ray Jayawardhana’s interest in astronomy started when, as a boy of about four years, his father told him about people walking on the moon. He said that at that age, the idea that “there’s something in the sky and you could walk on it” was “kind of mind-blowing.” His interest “traces back to that early sort of sense of adventure and sense of kind of being just incredibly wowed by the idea that people could travel to and walk on something in the sky,” he said. He added that, over time, that “excitement about a sense of adventure” developed into a “curiosity and interest and fascination” with the universe. The Sun sat down with Jayawardhana, who became the Harold Tanner Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences on Sept. 1, to learn more about his background and his views. Jayawardhana takes the helm of the arts college during a rigorous discussion on its curriculum. The Arts and Sciences’ Curriculum Review Committee came out with recommendations in the spring, and one idea was to
shorten the college’s language requirement to one non-introductory course or two classes of at least three credits each in the same language. Jayawardhana said this recommendation was discussed and debated in the spring, and the newest version of the proposal, which took into consideration “a lot of this feedback,” does not include the change to the language requirement. The new version, however, still allows students to use sign language to fulfill the requirement. Another element of the curriculum committee’s recommendations is to institute a pre-major advising seminar for first-year students. Jayawardhana said that a pilot version of the seminar is currently being taken by 500 students. “This is just a personal viewpoint — I do think that these seminars allow students to engage with faculty early on during their time here, and because they’re meeting with the same faculty over a certain period of time, they have a chance to get to know the faculty member and develop a mentoring relationship that, at least for some of them, lasts beyond the seminar,” he said. When asked about his opinion regarding the “human difference” requirement that the curriculum committee proposed, he said his See DEAN page 4 COURTESY OF CORNELL UNIVERSITY
Close Up: Daniel Schwarz Recounts His Travel Abroad and Teaching Experiences By ALEXIS OH
only as a student and an intellectu- ern literature in the first half of 20th century. The al but also as a human class has grown and being.” Ask a college student about a changed over the Studying in posttime that changed their life, and war Europe, Schwarz years, starting as a they will cite their study abroad found himself experilarge class of over experience. Prof. Daniel Schwarz, encing a unique histor150 students to a English — who this year celebrat- ical moment firsthand. smaller course with ed 50 years at Cornell — is no enrollment current“The shadow of different. World War II and the ly capped at 30 stuIn his junior year of his under- Holocaust was very dents. Schwarz said graduate studies at Union College much in Europe. I had he finds the smaller in the early 1960s, Schwarz studied a great historical sense format more intiabroad in Edinburgh for one year, at that point. I began mate, as he is able PROF. SCHWARZ a time he called a “turning point” to think of the world in to sit with students in his life. a much larger sense and around a table and “I think being in a different I thought about what I wanted to engage with them one on one. environment gives you the chance do in that world.” “I have a mantra when I teach,” His “passion Schwarz said. “It’s called ‘always for teaching the text,’ which means close read“The shadow of World War II and the grew gradually,” ing, and ‘always historicize,’ which Holocaust was very much in Europe. I had and he knew by means put those books in context.” the end of his In the class, Schwarz and his a great historical sense at that point.” senior year that students examine “the way the Prof. Daniel Schwarz he wanted to literature changes and evolves in pursue a Ph.D. response to historical circumstancSince 1972, es” and “the process by which a to look at yourself more objectively Schwarz has been teaching English text shapes the reader.” and see what you really like to do,” 3500: The High Modernist See SCHWARZ page 5 he said. “I got a sense of myself not Tradition, a course about modSun Staff Writer
Ballet and Books was created to serve local children By VIVIAN FAN and MAGDA SMITH Sun Staff Writer & Sun Contributor
develop self-confidence. The first students were enrolled in Fall 2017. “I have grown up with a strong passion for dance, but I’m also extremely interested in medicine and public health,” Bailes said. “I wanted to combine these two interests.” Before coming to Cornell, Bailes took a gap year in Ecuador where she taught English and ballet to local children. After this experience opened her interest in edu-
Every Saturday, 30 kids from the Ithaca community gather at Southside Community Center to combine dancing and reading with the help of older mentors in the community. Entering its second year, Ballet & Books, a program founded by students from Cornell and Ithaca College, serves local children by fusing dance and reading into fun lessons and providing one-on-one mentorships with older students in the community. This literacy and dance mentorship program brings in different mentors from all over Ithaca, including Cornell, Ithaca College, and Ithaca high school students, and pair them with local children for reading activities. Talia Bailes COURTESY OF MICHELLE JARCHO ’20 ’20, founder of Life learning | Every Saturday, 30 local Ballet & Books, children participate in the Ballet & Books program. began planning the program in Spring 2017 cation and literacy issues, she with the help of Kevin Swann, worked with a physician the a student at Ithaca College, following summer, researching Michelle Jarcho ’20 and Liz emergent literacy. Larsen ’20. The program’s “Emergent literacy refers to purpose is to combat literacy the skills children gain before issues and foster a welcoming community where children can See BALLET page 4
COURTESY OF KEVIN SWANN
Passion | By creating Ballet & Books, Talia Bailes ’20 was able to combine her passions for public health, emergent literacy and dance.