INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880
The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 136, No. 18
MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2019
n
12 Pages – Free
ITHACA, NEW YORK
Homecoming Weekend Dedications
Commemorative Plaques Give Belated Recognition to Key C.U. 1960s Events Willard Straight Hall Takeover April 19, 1969
Cornell Residential Club Fire April 5, 1967
By AMINA KILPATRCK
By MEGHNA MAHARISHI
Sun News Editor
Sun Staff Writer
“I’ll be damned “We are if my children have to march for me,” flawed. And sang the choir at our leaders are the beginning of the homecoming weekflawed. And end dedication. our leaders are This year marked the 50th destined of the to periodically anniversary Willard Straight fail us for Hall Takeover that on April 19, reasons as old ended 1969. Now, the as time.” hall will be marked with a permanent Zachary Carter ’72 plaque. The tribute will occupy the space opposite a commemoration of Willard Straight 1901 in the breezeway entering the building. Currently, there is a facsimile is in place as the permanent plaque, which is cast in bronze, is not ready yet. The plaque reads: “Cornell was one of the centers of student protest and activism in the 1960s against the Vietnam War and the denial of civil rights in the United States. In April 1969, over a hundred Black students occupied this building for thirty-three hours, bringing to Cornell the national Civil Rights Movement’s struggle for racial and social justice. After a peaceful, negotiated ending to the building
On April 5, 1967, a fire erupted in the Cornell Heights Residential Club, killing nine Cornellians. Fifty-two years after the horrific incident, the University dedicated a memorial to the victims at a ceremony outside of Sage Chapel on Thursday. “For too long, all of you have felt unheard and your memories unacknowledged,” Cornell President Martha Pollack said in a speech at the event. “No one can take away the pain of what you experienced. But what we can do is hear your stories and become accustomed, become the custodians of your memories with this memorial, which will remain here in the heart of campus for as long as the University stands.” A plaque now stands outside “I think it’s of Sage Chapel, good that the engraved with the names of the nine [University] did victims, which this. I think it’s reads: “Their famsad that after ilies, friends, classmates, colleagues, 50 years, and the entire Cornell communi- they still can't ty promise to never apologize forget them.” or take The fire broke out at around 4 a.m. responsibility.” in the basement of the Cornell Heights Joshua Freeman ’69 Residential Club —
ABOVE: MEGHNA MAHARISHI / SUN STAFF WRITER; BELOW: AMINA KILPATRICK / SUN NEWS EDITOR
Remembrance | Cornell honored two events in its storied history with commemorative plaques this past week. Above: The residential club fire plaque is located behind Sage Chapel. Below: The Takeover plaque will be located in the Willard Straight Hall breezeway.
See TAKEOVER page 5
See FIRE page 4
Gordon Caplan ’88 Sentenced to One Month in Prison The sentence also includes community service, fine for paying $75,000 to boost his daughter’s ACT scores By MARYAM ZAFAR Sun City Editor
Nearly eleven months ago, Gordon Caplan ’88 wired his first payment of $25,000 to a fake charity under the impression that his money would quietly bump his daughter’s ACT score. Today, a federal judge sentenced him to one month in prison, 250 hours of community service and a fine of $50,000 — less than the total $75,000 he shelled
out last year. The Cornell alumnus and now-disgraced international lawyer didn’t contest the case, pleading guilty to the charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud. “I’m really sorry for my daughter, who I love more than anything in the world. She knew nothing about this. She hasn’t even applied to college yet,” Caplan said about his daughter, who is
now in her senior year, the New Haven Register reported. The former government major was the fourth parent sentenced, and the third sentenced by Judge Indira Talwani in the U.S. District Court in Boston. Other See CAPLAN page 4
SABRINA XIE / SUN DESIGN EDITOR