2014 Homecoming Ad Supplement Inside INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880
The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 131, No. 37
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2014
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ITHACA, NEW YORK
16 Pages – Free
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Jake Forken ’16 argues that weed legalization will increase throughout the country. | Page 7
Kaitlyn Tiffany ’15 reviews The Skeleton Twins, calling Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig the “perfect team.” | Page 8
The Cornell men’s soccer team won against Colgate in a match Tuesday. | Page 16
Alumni Seek Answers About 1967 Fire
Over 20 survivors request University, government to reinvestigate blaze that killed nine Cornellians By TYLER ALICEA Sun Managing Editor
It was arson, they argue. A group of alumni consisting of former six-year-Ph.D. students — participants of an accelerated program at Cornell in the 1960s — and curious Cornellians claim that a fire at “All I know the Cornell is that he is Heights Residential Club in April out there 1967 that killed and that he eight students wants to kill and one professor me. I don’t was started by a student arsonist. know his Official name and he accounts of the doesn’t blaze say that the cause of the fire is know me.” unknown, From a June 8, although some speculation over 1967 Sun column by Marvin what caused the fire followed L. Marshak ’67 immediately after the death of the nine individuals; The New York Times reported on May 31, 1967, that both the district attorney and the Ithaca fire chief at the time thought arson was a possibility.
Yet despite suspicions of arson, no one was charged for the April 5, 1967 fire. Within the next two months, two additional fires would break out at residences containing the six-year-Ph.D. students, known at the time as “Fuds” — a fire broke out at the Watermargin Cooperative on May 23 and another at the 211 Eddy St. on May 30 or 31. Following the fires, Cornell would reevaluate its fire safety measures, with the Board of Trustees allocating $750,000 in June 1967 for an “accelerated life safety program,” The Sun reported a year after the “Res Club” fire. Looking for Answers
More than 40 years later, a group of over 20 survivors — who believe they have found some of the answers to one of the biggest life-taking tragedies at the University — are now asking Cornell to investigate the incident, according to documents sent to
The Sun. In a series of documents and letters — signed by H. William Fogle, Jr. ’70 — sent to The Sun, the To m p k i n s
JOHN L. CECILIA / SUN FILE PHOTO
‘Tragic debacle’ | Above: The Sun published an extra County District Attorney and the Phoenix Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Fogle argues that based on discussions with survivors of the See RES CLUB page 4
edition on the day of the Residential Club fire, which occurred in the pre-dawn hours of April 5, 1967, and claimed the lives of eight students and one professor. Left: A Sun photograph depicts broken windows and debris in the aftermath of the fire; this original 1967 physical print of the photo shows placement and sizing instructions for use by the printing press work crew.
Citing Ebola,Cornell Rawlings: Cornell Is‘Complicated’ Mandates Restrictions By ANNIE BUI
Sun News Editor
Students, faculty, staff prohibited from traveling to certain West African nations By AIMEE CHO Sun Senior Writer
In light of the recent global Ebola outbreak, the University has placed restrictions on travel to West Africa, the University said in an email sent to Cornellians Thursday evening. The University guidelines prevent students, faculty and staff from traveling for study abroad, research, internships, service, conferences, presentations, teaching, performances, recruiting or athletic competitions in the West African
nations under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention travel warnings. Currently, those nations include Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, according to the University. The message to all students was authored by Fredrik Logevall, vice provost for international affairs, Janet CorsonRikert, associate vice president for campus health- and director of Gannett Health Services, and Craig McAllister, director See EBOLA page 4
President Emeritus Hunter R. Rawlings III described Cornell as a “complicated” university, citing challenges he faced as an administrator dealing with student life and research at the University, during a lecture Thursday. Rawlings, who spoke to students in American Studies 2003: Creating Contemporary Cornell, said when he first arrived at Cornell in 1995, he noticed that Cornell was “really complicated.” “Cornell was a school with private colleges, but was also New York State’s land-grant university,” he said. “Many universities don’t have this duality of [being] private, but also [being] the state’s land-grant school.” Yet before becoming the
10th president of Cornell, Rawlings said he never intended to become an administrator, adding that he “without any doubt” thought he was going to be a professor for the rest of his life. “It’s a strange thing that I ALEJANDRO HERNANDEZ / SUN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
got into university administration,” he said. “I never intended to; [it was not] my career path.” However, Rawlings said that after serving on committees See RAWLINGS page 5
Presidential | President Emeritus Hunter R. Rawlings III speaks to students in American Studies 2003: Creating Contemporary Cornell.