INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880
The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 132, No. 38
MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2015
!
ITHACA, NEW YORK
12 Pages – Free
News
Arts
Sports
Weather
Day of Action
Climbing Up
Coming Up Short
Rain HIGH: 55º LOW: 45º
Over 20 labor unions of graduate students host events to raise awareness about their cause. | Page 3
The Kitchen Theatre’s The Mountaintop is both “sobering” and “optimistic,” says Nick Swan ’19. | Page 6
The football team loses 31-6 against Sacred Heart on Saturday.
Lawyers Make Opening Statements In First Day of Cayea Murder Trial
| Page 12
JASON BEN NATHAN / SUN SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER
Defense argues Cayea‘did not intentionally’cause death of Jones’15
By TALIA JUBAS
However, defense attorney Matthew Van Houten said he believes “intent is the central issue in this case.” “There is no question about how Shannon Jones died, there The murder trial of Benjamin Cayea began Friday morning, is no question that Ben Cayea caused her death,” Van Houten with both sides presenting their opening statements at the told the jury. “What is in dispute, and what we will present to Tompkins County Courthouse. The 33-year-old Cayea is you, is that Ben did not intentionally cause Shannon’s death.” accused of strangling his girlfriend Shannon Jones ’15 on Van Houten urged the jury to overlook the assumptions and Thanksgiving last year, and was indicted on charges presumptions that had been presented. of murder in the second degree in December. “Prosecution wants you to believe this is a simAfter Judge Joseph Cassidy, the judge presiding ple case, that it’s a black and white case, that there’s over the trial, reminded the jury — comprised of eight no grey areas. Well, that just isn’t true,” he said. men and four women — that opening statements are Van Houten said he plans to probe the comnot testimony and should not be considered as eviplexities of the relationship between Jones and dence, Assistant District Attorney for Tompkins Cayea, suggesting that “maybe the human beings County Diane Lama opened for the prosecution. involved in this case are more complicated than “‘I lost my shit, and I killed my girlfriend.’ most human beings.” Those were the words of the defendant Though he assured the jury that this was not Benjamin Cayea on Nov. 27, 2014, just several “for the purpose of trashing her [Shannon] or tarhours after he strangled and suffocated 23-yearnishing her reputation,” noting that Cayea is CAYEA old Shannon Jones to death,” she said. strongly opposed to attacking Jones’ character. According to Lama, Jones died of asphyxiation. Van Houten maintained that “the truth is the truth,” and that “The evidence will show that when the defendant strangled these contextual details “are factors in what ultimately hapand suffocated Shannon throughout that entire process, until pened in the case.” her heart stopped beating, he had only one intent, and that Talia Jubas can be reached at tjubas@cornellsun.com. intent was to cause her death,” Lama said.
Sun Senior Writer
Students Vape in Face of Uncertain Health Effects By JOSEPHINE CHU Sun Staff Writer
Despite the unknown side effects of electronic cigarette usage on one’s health, many Cornell students report the use of personal vaporizers — a
particular type of e-cigarette — as both a positive way to curb nicotine addictions and as a fun social activity. The Food and Drug Administration defines e-cigarettes as “battery-operated products designed to deliver nicotine,
CAMERON POLLACK / SUN SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER
Smoke break | Students sit on steps by Olin Library, talking to each other and smoking cigarettes. The areas near the entrances to Olin and Uris Libraries are popular smoking haunts.
flavor and other chemicals.” effects experienced while trying Vaporizers, or vapes, work to quit cold turkey,” Piepenby heating e-cigarette liquid, burg said. “It’s kind of fun, consisting of propylene glycol, really cool and super cheap, vegetable glycerin, nicotine especially if you’re a pack-a-day and food grade flasmoker in a state vors into an aerolike New York.” “It’s kind of Although many sol that the user users originally beinhales, according fun and using e-cigato Spencer Re ’18. super cheap, gan rettes as a way to E-cigarette liquid or e-juice usually especially if help quit smoking, other users report ecomes in units of you’re a cigarette use for rezero, three, six, 12, pack-a-day creational purposes. 24 and 32 mil“Doing smoke ligrams of nicotine smoker in a tricks with friends per milliliter. state like without the added For those using of addiction is vapes as a smokNew York.” risk a cool bonding ing-cessation experience,” Ayindevice, the various Maëlle de Crear ’18 said. e-juices help reguPiepenburg ’18 According to late one’s intake of Crear, people who nicotine and the different flavors ranging from use e-cigarettes for fun usually “cotton candy” to “crunchy choose e-juices with very little peanut butter” satisfy one’s to zero milligrams of nicotine. Anya Skor ’18 said the sweet-tooth, according to variety of flavors, lack of Maëlle Piepenburg ’18. As someone who recently tobacco and convenience of emade the switch from chain cigarettes makes them more smoker to “cloud-chaser,” appealing. “I think e-cigs are generalPiepenburg said she is happier ly regarded as the healthier and healthier now. “Vaping, quite simply, satis- option when compared to fies your nicotine craving without any of the horrible side See E-CIGS page 4
Can you keep a secret? | Frank Warren shares a postcard with a secret written on it in Bailey Hall Friday.
‘The Most Trusted Stranger’ Shares Blog’s Beginnings By JOSH GIRSKY Sun Staff Writer
Known as the “the most trusted stranger in America,” Frank Warren — creator of the popular blog PostSecret — spoke at Bailey Hall Friday about how he got people from all over the world to send him their secrets and even shared a few with the audience. Warren started PostSecret in 2004 in Washington, D.C. as a community art project where he handed out postcards to strangers and asked them to send in their secrets anonymously so that he could post them on his website. His site, which went viral in a short period of time, has received over 500 million hits from people looking at secrets from all over the world. “I knew that if I could really earn the trust of strangers to share their deepest secrets with me, [it would be] something really special,” Warren said. “I didn’t expect that almost instantly, millions of people would respond to it so strongly. I’m just glad to be a part of it and I feel very fortunate that people do trust me with those deep confessions that seem to offer relief to the person sharing and inspiration to the person reading.” Warren reflected on the early days of PostSecret, saying that every Sunday, he would post the secrets he received for that week. “It wasn’t too much longer after I started handing out the postcards that this crazy idea stopped feeling so crazy,” he said. Warren said the secrets he receives are varying. While some he shared with the audience were met with laughter — such as “I feel guilty when I take elevators for one floor so I limp when I get out” — others were much more serious. Written on the back of a photograph of a broken bedroom door, one secret said, “The holes are from when my mom tried knocking down my door so she could continue beating me.” See POSTSECRET page 4