INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880
The Corne¬ Daily Sun E LECTION GUIDE MONDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2016
Some Students Seek Alternative to Clinton orTrump
Cornellians disagree: is a vote cast for a third party candidate wasted or principled?
said. “There is no reason for this notion to change until minor parties become competitive.” Still, Bateman stressed that citizens often see their votes as a chance to send a clear message to politicians about how With the two most disliked candidates in American histhey hope the political climate will change. Casting a ballot tory heading the Democratic and Republican tickets, many for a third party can thus be considered voters are electing to vote third party, a protest vote, expressing disillusionrebuffing accusations that they are “If you mean what are the odds that your vote will be decisive in ment with establishment candidates. throwing their votes away. “Being decisive is not the only reaIn some ways, the Cornell Repub- winning the state for you candidate, then almost all votes are wasted.” son we vote, or else very few people licans have been examples of this moveProf. Alexander Bateman would vote,” Bateman said. “As good ment: the group broke party lines to citizens we have responsibilities to endorse Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson over the Republican nominee on Sep. 4. Almost ment, said the value of such a vote depends on what you engage in politics, to try and reshape the terms of politics in a direction that we believe in, and to be true to our foundaimmediately after this decision, the New York Federation of hope to achieve with it. “If you mean what are the odds that your vote will be tional individual and collective commitments.” College Republicans revoked the chapter’s credentials, chastisCornell Republicans Chair Olivia Corn ’19 said that ing the organization for supporting another party’s candidate. decisive in winning the state for your candidate, then almost While the Cornell Republicans were eventually reinstat- all votes are wasted — whether they are for major or minor ed after a change in the federation’s leadership, their story is party candidates, but even more so for the latter,” Bateman See THIRD PARTY page E3 By JAMIL RAHMAN
Sun Staff Writer
in many ways indicative of the vitriolic debate about the necessity of party loyalty that has plagued both the country and Ithaca’s campus. While many in the two-party system decry a third-party pick as a wasted vote, Prof. Alexander Bateman, govern-
Local Race Adopts National Nastiness Prof: Republican By DREW MUSTO Sun Staff Writer
This election season, presidential candidates Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton seem to have tossed aside civility in favor of hostility, from leveling threats of incarceration to exchanging accusations of dishonesty, criminal activity and sexual assault. The race for Ithaca con-
Fight for Ithaca | Mayor Svante Myrick ’09 has repeatedly condemned Congressman Tom Reed for his treatment of minorities. MICHAEL LI SUN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
gressman shows this political mudslinging has not been confined to D.C. Fighting Words
Incumbent Congressman Tom Reed (R-N.Y.) and Democratic challenger Navy Captain John Plumb have frequently employed hostile rhetoric as they vie to represent Ithaca in the House of Representatives. Plumb, along with prominent Ithaca and Cornell Democrats, has laced his rhetoric with no-holds-barred attacks on Reed, calling him “literally one of the worst people in the United States Congress” at a Democratic Unity Rally at Cornell Thursday.
“His entire campaign is based on name-calling, smears and, frankly, I’ll just say ‘lies,’” Plumb said.
“His entire campaign is based on name-calling, smears and frankly, I’ll just say ‘lies.’” John Plumb Mayor Svante Myrick ’09 — who officially endorsed Plumb on Oct. 15 — further condemned Reed for his anti-progressive voting record. “Every time that Tom Reed has had a chance to stand up for women, minorities and refugees, he’s chosen instead to throw them under the bus for political purposes,” Myrick said. For many local Democrats, Reed’s continued support for Trump is another source of ire. The Republican was one of the first congressman to endorse his party’s nominee in March. See CONGRESS page E4
Presence Dwindling On Cornell’s Campus By SHAFAY MUNIR
Sun Staff Writer
The receding Republican party on campus may one day receive “no votes at all” from Cornellians, according to a study conducted by Prof. Richard Bensel, government. During a media cycle in which many assertions declared as facts have proved patently false, Bensel — who has analyzed patterns in Cornell voting patterns since 1868 — asserts that a deluge of unreliable information has pushed elite universities dramatically leftward. Evolving Political Climate
In a study entitled, “Can Madison’s Constitution Survive our Polarized Politics?” Bensel argues that the degeneration of the public sphere has made rational debate more difficult. He highlights the repercussions of a changing partisan dialogue by analyzing a score of factors. The swath of Bensel’s conclusions are substantiated by his data on Cornell’s voting history. The research stretches from the post-Civil War milieu See VOTING PATTERNS regular paper page 1
THANKS,
2016 ELECTION GUIDE | NEWS
Cornellians, professors anticipate president’s legacy, praising Obama’s policy and poise By HENRY KANENGISER
AL DRAGO / THE NEW YORK TIMES
OBAMA
Humphreys, communication. Humphreys cites the “tons of videos that are being circulated on social media As his second term comes to a close, platforms,” including his appearances on amidst a divisive presidential race that late night shows, as an effective way grows more vitriolic by the day, President Obama has reached out to younger voters. Barack Obama’s popularity has surged to These innovative communication tactics surpass 50 percent. have likely acted to bolder his popularity, Some Americans, like Prof. Jodi Humphreys said. Cohen, communications, attribute “When he makes these adorable, increased enthusiasm for the 44th presi- funny, self-deprecating videos about his dent to the contrast he poses to the two inability to use Snapchat, it’s hard not to Policy Progress Cohen agreed with this assessment, saymajor presidential party candidates now like that about him,” Humphreys said. Obama’s popularity with younger vot- ing the 2016 campaign has led citizens to vying for his seat in the oval office. “I’m sure they’re interrelated.” ers can be attributed not only to targeted criticize moral deficiencies in the two can“Although he has had an incredible She added that his use of social media media outreach, but also the resonance of didates that did not plague Obama during force against him during his presidency, has been instrumental to his attempt to his policy positions, according to Cohen. either his campaigns or presidency. he does not, and has never, evoked the get young voters to the polls this fall. “He opposed the Keystone XL pipeline, “In contrast to the polarizing and uncivil disgust that this year’s candidates do,” “I think [his social media outreach is] and he would like all community colleges rhetoric of campaign candidates, pundits, Cohen said. “Even his political foes will a really important way that he is both to be free,” Cohen cited, as examples of and surrogates, Obama is presented as measay he is not a bad man, rather [that] his explicitly and implicitly engaging with policies popular among college students. sured and thoughtful,” she said. decision making is naive and incompe- the public to remind them about the Gunjan Hooja ’17, vice president of the tent.” Democratic ticket,” she said. Cornell Democrats, voiced gratitude for Obama’s Legacy Decades after Respondents praised Obama and Young Voters President Frankin both personal qualities and While some citzens may have only Delanor Roosevelt “Obama’s words effectively evoke civil, rather than political achievements as warmed to the president recently, institued his “fireside polarizing, public discussion on important issues.” contributors to Obama’s Obama’s approval rating among young chats,” Obama’s invigostatus as such a popular Prof. Jodi Cohen voters has always been higher than his rated use of social media president. Several students average favorability ratings, reaching as allows him to connect agreed that his legacy will high as 72 percent last month. directly with Americans, making him at the economic stability Obama worked to only grow brighter in hindsight, implying As “the first presidential candidate to once a figure of authority and a person- restore at the outset of his presidency, after history will remember his term favorably. utilize both mobile and social media,” al communicator. inheriting the economic crisis of 2008. Kowalewski noted that the historical role Obama has tactically communicated Humphreys noted that the president’s “He’s brought the economy almost to a Obama assumed as the United States’ first with this young demographic in new use of new media has “allowed him to point where I feel confident going into the African American president enabled a more ways from the days of his 2008 campaign seem quite intimate with many people job market,” Hooja said. “People don’t inclusive system of government, one growonward, according to Prof. Lee while maintaining his authority figure.” give him enough credit where credit is ing increasingly accessible to all Americans. due.” “I think what Barack Obama has done Jordan Berger ’17, the president of the with the Democratic Party is shift it in a Student Assembly, said she believes more inclusive direction,” Kowalewski Obama has left a positive legacy in the noted. “He has knocked down some of the policy areas that matter most to her. biggest impediments to higher office for Recalling her work experience in the people of all backgrounds.” White House Office of Public Particularly for those who grew up and Engagement, Berger said. “I realized how were first introduced to the political realm committed President Obama was to help- during his presidency, Obama has proved ing the disability community which is an influential figure, defining the presidial very important to me.” position for many young citizens. However, not all emphasized Obama’s “I became interested in politics during positive policy legacy. Prof. M. Elizabeth the 2008 presidential election,” Hooja Sanders, government, expressed concern about the outcome of Obama’s expansion “I think what Barack Obama of American foreign conflict. “[Obama’s] legacy is really problemat- has done with the Democratic ic, because he has extended the bad things party is shift it in a more that George [W.] Bush did — the executive orders, a war [in Libya], greatly inclusive direction.” extending drone strikes,” she said. Sanders also noted that, while in this Kevin Kowalewski ’17 election cycle the prospect of Russian engagement in cyberwarfare has entered into national dialogue, the American peo- said. “Especially with coming of age and ple have largely turned a blind eye to getting interested in politics, his adminisObama’s role in enablingg cyber warfare. tration was definitely influential.” “What we ignore when we make those Cohen predicted that Obama will be criticisms of the Russians is that …. remembered well for his ability to bring Obama started cyberwarfare,” she said. unite people with dignified and compassionate rhetoric. She said it will be impossible to forget 2016 Election Ultimately, the 2016 campaign has moving manner in which Obama has spoalso been responsible for the rise in ken on issues of national significance, citObama’s approval ratings among mem- ing as an example the speech he made in bers of the general populace, according to response to George Zimmerman’s acquitKevin Kowalewski ’17, president of the tal in the shooting of Treyvon Martin. “Obama’s words effectively evoke Cornell Democrats. “Due to the negative nature of this civil, rather than polarizing, public diselection, both Trump and Clinton both cussion on important issues,” Cohen have high unfavorable ratings,” he said. “I said. “Democracy depends on it.” DOUG MILLS / THE NEW YORK TIMES think Americans are becoming almost One last dance | As a bitter and controversial presidential race draws to a close, many nostalgic for the Obama presidency, even Henry Kanengiser can be reached at before it’s over.” young voters say they are already nostalgic for Obama’s presidency. hkanengiser@cornellsun.com. Sun Staff Writer
Page E2 | THE CORNELL DAILY SUN | Monday, November 7, 2016
2016 ELECTION GUIDE | NEWS
HasTrump Killed the Republican Party? By SO HYUNG KIM Sun Staff Writer
Trump’s candidacy has been unprecedented in American history, his campaign breaking almost every political boundary and norm. While he has certainly left a mark on the American electoral system, many believe Trump has also fundamentally changed the Republican party, leaving some to question whether — win or lose — the party of Lincoln will recover after Nov. 8. Rising Through the Ranks
Several Cornell professors and students tell different stories of the roots and implications of Trump’s rise through GOP ranks. Their analysis diverges on whether the candidate has corrupted the Republican party or merely carried conservatives’ policy and rhetoric to their logical conclusions. Pointing to his “buffoonish” rhetoric, Prof. David Bateman, government, said Trump has “tarnished the [Republican] brand by making it more his own.” He implied this change in tenor could have a lasting impact on the Republican Party. “The major problems are going to be how they can start stepping back from the rhetoric they’ve been engaging in for so long,” Bateman said. Racial Rhetoric
But before we can understand what the Republican Party is going to look like in the future, we must understand the historical precedent that has made Trump’s candidacy possible, according to Prof. Kevin Gaines, history. “Trump is just the logical outcome of longstanding GOP tactics of race baiting, like trying to stereotype African Americans as welfare recipients,” Gaines said. “Even though Trump is completely in his own universe in terms of bad behaviors, he is an extension of [the racial polarization policies] other GOP politicians have used.” This “racial dog-whistle politics” started with Nixon’s “southern strategy” in 1968 that used racially coded rhetoric to attract the disaffected white democrats after the Civil Rights Act was passed, Gaines explained. “Ronald Reagan also used racial stereotyping to attack the notion that the government actually helped people,” Gaines said. “He would talk about ‘welfare queens’ and ‘young bucks,’ and while he was not talking about black people explici t l y, the
myth of African American welfare dependency undermined support for social spending for all.” Since Reagan, this type of racially coded messaging continued in campaign television ads that “openly catered to white resentment of African American progress,” Gaines said. This racist and anti-immigrant rhetoric culminated in Trump’s vitriolic campaign today. A Party Divided
The nomination of Trump as the Republican candidate reflects the disappointment of many voters with the mainstream party, which will not dissipate anytime soon, according to Prof. Diane Rubenstein. “I don’t think the populist wing is going to go away,” Rubenstein said. “Trump supporters found their voice and the people who were unhappy with the conventional Republican Party really did get energized.” The party now faces its biggest challenge: internal rebellion and division. As a radical populist branch of the party overtook the whole, the 2016 election has left many Republicans torn between party loyalty and classical conservative principles. “There are two aspects of the Republican Party,” Rubenstein said. “There’s the aspect that’s more populist and more radical right, but you have, on the other hand, the moderate members, what we think of as the traditional Republicans, and they are primarily proponents of small government.” Many believe that the Republican party will struggle to emerge from this conflict unified. Cornell Republicans Chair Olivia Corn ’19 said, “It’s going to be a very divided party and there’s going to be a lot of tension ... I think the future of the Republican party is going to end up splitting into those who supported Trump and those who didn’t support him.” GOP ‘Identity Crisis’
This internal division could manifest itself as a crossparty problem as well, if well-educated upper class whites become Democrats, according to Bateman. However, he said he imagines that “hyper-nationalist” rhetoric could keep this constituency from fleeing in droves. “[The Republican Party] has been playing this rhetoric, and I think they will double-down on hypernationalism that is deeply opposed to multiculturalism and they will double-down on policy that’s probably not going to win them Hispanics or African-American voters,” Bateman said. “But it might stop the hemorrhaging of the well-educated upper class whites.” Agreeing that many minority groups have been alienated from the Republican Party by this election, Austin McLaughlin ’18, executive director of Cornell Republicans, expressed concern about what this shift in
electorate means for the future of the party. “The Republican Party needed to align with the Hispanic voters for this election cycle,” McLaughlin said. “I think the greatest shame of this election is that Trump has forever alienated the Hispanic voters who would’ve initially voted Republicans. Without this base, I don’t know if the Republicans are going to be able to win.” In addition to racial and ethnic minorities, the Republican Party must also pay closer attention to maintaining its female base, according to Rubenstein. “I think that women have felt for some time not in sync with the policies of the Republican Party, so I think this has just driven a further wedge,” Rubenstein said. “I think for women, this perhaps may be one of the final nails on the coffin.” Gaines and Rubenstein agreed that the GOP will have to redefine itself in the coming years to appeal to this shifting electorate, including upper class whites, minorities and women. “The GOP is in an identity crisis right now,” Gaines said. “They’re going to have to decide who they’re going to be moving forward. Are they going to become a home for racism, anti-Semitism, the so-called ‘alt-right’?” Looking Ahead
Despite the challenges the Republican party will face in the coming years, many agree that its immediate future is not as bleak as this election may indicate. This election could also be a wake-up call, urging the Republican Party to make extensive policy changes that will benefit party in the long run, according to Irvin McCullouch ’19, a member of the Cornell Republicans executive board. “If Donald Trump loses, the Republican Party is going to realize very violently that we should not have [nominated] Donald Trump,” McCullouch said. “Either way, I think that we’ll head toward more progressive stances on immigration, like amnesty, and corporate tax rates, and I think that this will be a very good thing for the Republican Party.” Given this realization, this year’s election could mark the juncture of “considerable reconfiguration of the party coalitions,” Bateman said. On Nov. 9, regardless of who is set to occupy the Oval Office, Republicans must pick up the pieces that began to shatter the moment Trump stepped out of his tower. So Hyung Kim be reached at sohyungkim@ cornellsun.com.
Party in panic | Professors discuss the Republican Party’s future, as its support among minority groups wanes. THE NEW YORK TIMES
Cornell Dems:Vote for Clinton‘OnlyWay to DefeatTrump’ THIRD PARTY
Continued from page E1
although she is not generally in favor of voting third party, she was displeased with the binary choices on the ballot this election. “The third-party candidates differ because they have not experienced the scandals of Hillary Clinton and they do
not have the behavioral issues of Donald Trump,” Corn said. “Everyone should vote for the candidate that best represents them.” Agreeing with Corn, Cornell Republicans Executive Director Austin McLaughlin ’18 stressed the value of voting for candidates whose policies best align with personal preferences. “Voting third-party is considered
‘throwing away a vote’ because the nature of the first-past-the-post system in the United States encourages two parties to rise to the top and discourages third parties,” McLaughlin said. “There is something to be said for voting your conscience, both as a protest vote and as one based in principles, instead of voting for the lesser of two evils.”
Page E3 | THE CORNELL DAILY SUN | Monday, November 7, 2016
The Cornell Democrats by contrast, strongly support Clinton and feel differently about third party voting in this election, citing the dangers of helping Trump ascend to the White House. “A vote for Clinton is the only way to defeat Trump, and the only way to move our country forward,” said Kevin See THIRD PARTY page E4
2016 ELECTION GUIDE | NEWS
Reed, Plumb Both Right of Progressive Ithaca CONGRESS
MICHAEL LI / SUN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Continued from page E1
“Tom Reed has been dangerously ideological, and I think that’s no more apparent than in his early support of Donald Trump,” said Kevin Kowaleski ’17, president of Cornell Democrats. “He has stood by him this whole campaign as Trump has attacked Mexicans, women, Muslims and Khizr Khan.” Reed’s campaign has also employed vitriol when attacking Plumb, using a campaign website entitled, “Stop D.C. John Plumb for Congress.” This kind of name-calling mirrors Trump’s tactics: as the Republican nominee knocks “Crooked Hillary,” Reed attacks “D.C. Plumb.” “[Plumb’s] loyalty to the D.C. Democratic establishment helped him move into Obama’s Defense Department and ... is what swayed Nancy Pelosi to handpick him to run for New York’s 23rd District,” the site reads. The site also attacks Plumb for spending time in D.C. at the Pentagon and the National Security Council, criticizing his emphasis on national, rather than local issues. Plumb acknowledged this service at the rally but said he is not ashamed of it. “I am absolutely proud of that service, and him trying to tarnish that is just a slimey move he has to do because he really can’t stand on his results for the district,” Plumb said. He added that allegations of his disloyalty to New York crossed a personal line, sharing an anecdote about his deployment to the Middle East in 2007, during which his photo “hung on the wall” of the Randolph, New York post office. “Why? Because that’s where I’m from, and that’s my home, and that’s where everybody who is deployed to the wars, that’s where your picture hangs until you come home,” he said, choking up. “And if you don’t come home, it’s where they send your body.” Plumb has used Reed’s “disrespect” of his military service to argue that Reed is unfit to be a congressman. “He’s also disrespecting the other 50,000 veterans in this district, and he’s disrespecting every other veteran in this country, but he will say anything he can say to stay elected,” Plumb said. An ‘Extreme Ithaca Liberal’
One of Reed’s attacks has enraged Ithaca Democrats more than any other. In 2014, his campaign criticized then-challenger Martha Robertson ’75 (D-Ithaca), calling her a “far-out Ithaca liberal” trying to push an “extreme Ithaca liberal agenda,” according to The Ithaca Journal. Labeling the ad “one more horrible way that Congressman Reed has decided to conduct campaigns and stay in power,” Plumb stressed that Reed’s word choice demeans one of his largest constituencies. In defense, Reed said the comment was meant to attack an ideology, not the people who hold it. “What we’re talking about with the ‘extreme Ithaca liberal’ identification is that it is a philosophy that I don’t subscribe to,” Reed said. “We just don’t believe that
Order in the House | Ithacan Democrats, including congressional candidate John Plumb, attend a Get Out the Vote rally in Goldwin Smith on Nov. 3.
extreme ideology is appropriate for the future of the country.” Yet Plumb too has had limited success among voters who contributed to the campaign that helped win Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) 62 percent of the Democratic vote — one of the highest in the state — in the primary, The Sun previously reported. “I feel that neither [Reed nor Plumb] is offering the true change our nation needs, but Plumb would be better for our district,” said Donald Bazley, a former volunteer for the Ithaca and Tompkins County for Bernie Sanders Campaign. “Even if he does not stand for the major
“[Reed is] disrespecting every other veteran in this country, but he will say anything he can say to stay elected.” John Plumb changes I feel our nation needs to make, he is at least a step in the right direction.” Theresa Alt — a member of the Ithaca Branch of the Democratic Socialists of America for Bernie Sanders — echoed Bazley’s concerns, saying that while she cannot speak for the other members of the DSA, she “find[s] his positions very mixed.” “As an organization we are concentrating on affordable housing and issues of policing and jail,” she said. “Plumb’s website addresses neither of these, although they could be national as well as local questions.” Yet Kowalewski said he believes Plumb’s moderate stances are not a problem, given that the district as a whole is not as liberal as Ithaca — especially when compared to Reed, whom Kowalewski said he believes represents only the conservative part of the district. “I think what we see with Tom Reed is when you start disregarding one half of the district just because they don’t
totally agree with you, you have someone who is not fully representing our voices,” Kowalewski said. Myrick agreed, saying Plumb is a viable alternative to Reed for both Ithacans and all citizens in the district. “I think that we recognize the district that we live in is not as progressive as Ithaca is,” Myrick said. “While John Plumb might be not as progressive as your typical Ithacan, he certainly is far more progressive than Tom Reed. He will represent our interests far better than Tom Reed will.” Progressive Values
Plumb has agreed with Myrick and Kowalewski, stressing that many of his positions — like campaign finance reform and the use of science to inform policy — are compatible with progressive values. Plumb, who holds a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering from the University of Colorado at Boulder, has also emphasized the importance of addressing climate change in his platform. “We’re the United States of America. ... We can fix anything we want if we put our mind to it,” he said. “But we can’t get that done when you have people like Congressman Tom Reed in Congress standing up for big oil and getting in the way of Congress.” Decrying money in politics, he argued that politicians like Reed — who receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations from interests outside the district — fail to fight for their constituents. He noted that while Reed has raised more funds from campaign donations, Plumb has received donations from a greater number of district residents, “actual people that can actually vote.” “[Special interests] fund [Reed’s] campaign; he does deals for them, and guess what, we get the short end of the stick,” Plumb said. “Well, I’m sick of that, and it’s one of the reasons I’m running and it’s one of the reasons there’s so much frustration in the country right now.” Drew Musto can be reached at dmusto@cornellsun.com.
‘Disenchanted’ Students Loyal to Ideas,Not Parties THIRD PARTY
Lee Adler, Industrial and Labor Relations. “Politics really stinks just now, espeKowalewski ’17, president of Cornell cially at the national level,” Adler said. Democrats. “Both major parties are responsible for He discourages Cornellians creating this mess, as they have from voting for third party canfailed the American people by “Politics really stinks just now, didates, even if they will not be refusing to pass laws that better casting their ballots in a swing especially at the national level. Both distribute our wealth and pursue state. foolish wars while neglecting the “While a third-party vote in needs of average working major parties are responsible.” New York may not affect the Americans.” Prof. Lee Adler electoral college, it will narrow Nate Baker ’17, a member of Trump’s margin of defeat in the the Cornell Political Union, added national popular vote,” he said. that the polarized politics have led “We need to show that we decisively ing them both “distinctly flawed.” many young people to become frusreject Trump’s assault on our electoral However, the disenchantment many trated with the state of the system. process and his despicable record of people feel with mainstream candi“Growing up in the era of gridlock bigotry. In this effort, every single vote dates is understandable in today’s has disenchanted many young voters for Clinton matters.” political climate, according to Prof. from tradition party affiliation,” Baker Continued from page E3
In addition to voting for a main candidate for strategic purposes, Kowalewski argued against voting for Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson or Green Party candidate Jill Stein, call-
Page E4 | THE CORNELL DAILY SUN | Monday, November 7, 2016
said. “We don’t feel loyal to a party, but rather to values, to candidates, and to ideology.” As third party candidates gain traction with young people across the country — according to a Quinnipiac University poll, 60 percent of millennials said that they would consider voting third party — mainstream parties may be forced to shift in order to accommodate voters who are loyal to ideas rather than party lines. While Cornell Democrats and Republicans were ultimately able to present united fronts in this election, the trends suggest this stability may only be temporary. Jamil Rahman can be reached at jrahman@cornellsun.com.
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The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 133, No. 33
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2016 ! ITHACA, NEW YORK
12 Pages – Free
News
Arts
Sports
Weather
In Good Spirits
Promising Piano
Starting Slowly
Sunny HIGH: 60º LOW: 37º
A new liquor store, Ithaca Wine and Spirits, has opened in Collegetown.
Tyran Grillo grad reviews Tamara Stafanovich’s performance at Barnes Hall.
| Page 3
| Page 8
Cornell men’s hockey tied Dartmouth and lost to Harvard in its first weekend of ECAC games. | Page 12
Proposed C-Town Project TargetsVisiting Faculty New complex would provide studios, two-bedroom units to short-term staff members,researchers By RONNI MOK Sun Staff Writer
By 2018, there may be a new townhouse project in Collegetown: a 67-unit complex located at 119-125 College Avenue. But unlike many other Collegetown residences, the expected tenants will not be Cornell students. As of the Oct. 25 Ithaca Planning and Development Board meeting, the city is still discussing this project, according to The Ithaca Voice. To make way for the complex, Novar-Mackesey Property Management — the agency proposing the new building — would need to remove three boarding houses dating back to the 19th century. With units ranging from studios to two-bedroom apartments, the apartment’s intended tenants are shortterm visiting faculty members and researchers rather than students, The Voice reported. The complex is targeted at a very specific subset of See HOUSING page 5
COURTESY OF ITHACA PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT BOARD
Home sweet home | The City of Ithaca Planning and Development Board discussed constructing the above proposed Collegetown residence for visiting faculty members and researchers at its Oct. 25 meeting.
Study Shows Cornell’s Liberal Shift Ithaca Common Council VOTING PATTERNS
ratings, also moving away from unbiContinued from page E1 ased truth. This degradation of facts has of 1868 — during a calm that saw an placed media outlets and universities almost even split between the major at odds, and the resulting leftward two parties — to more recent history, shift of colleges has served to repel as students voted en masse for the Republicans, who find university Democratic Party for the past 44 campuses increasingly hostile environyears. ments. Throughout the 20th centu“The current issue is that ry, Cornell underwent steady “The current issue is that universities are universities are avidly advocatchanges, transforming from a ing political positions that have largely Republican to generally avidly advocating political positions that little confirmable evidence, have little confirmable evidence.” Democratic campus, according which undercuts their legitimato Bensel’s study. The 1964 cy as ‘the keeper of reason’ in Prof. Richard Bensel Goldwater-Johnson election the public sphere,” he said. acted as a political turning point “This, along with the breakup in this trend. In his study, Bensel found that in of facts-based national media, has Prof. Emeritus Isaac Kramnick, recent years, academia has begun to converged into a push for news government, said the subsequent conflate progressivism with scientific sources with hostile relations towards political flip was primarily a means of evidence, taking positions on social elite universities.” protest: from the 1960s to the 1980s, issues that are then presented as facts. Bensel concluded that this conan aversion to global conflict led stu- At the same time, media outlets have tentious relationship triggers a “rejecdents to empathize with the “sensationalized” content to bolster tion of facts,” manifesting in controversial claims about climate change and social science, confusing an History of Cornell Voting Trends already angst-filled electorate. “[This lack of public confidence] Democratic directly conflicts with the hard-lined social causes universities advocate for,” he said. “This dynamic has become self-sustaining, and a real problem.” His data shows that the Republican party’s presence on campus has been steadily decreasing — in the last 20 years, the total number of votes for Republican candidates equaled the Republican number of votes President Barack Obama received in 2012. One day, Benzel predicted, Republicans “may receive no votes at all” at elite univerDATA COURTESY OF PROF. RICHARD BENSEL sities. Dwindling numbers | Trends indicate that the Republican party may one day Percentage of Voters
Democratic party. “The Cornell community was forever politicized during the turmoil that swept through universities in the 1960s,” Kramnick said. “Cornell was a major site for campus anti-Vietnam war protest and the student body has remained solidly center-left in succeeding decades.”
receive no votes from Cornellians, according to Prof. Richard Bensel, government.
See VOTING PATTERNS page 4
Approves Tax Decrease
Next year, Ithacans will see their property tax rates reach a 14-year low thanks to Mayor Svante Myrick’s ’09 budget, which the Ithaca Common Council approved last Wednesday. Despite the tax decrease, the city will actually yield MYRICK ’09 more tax revenue — $22,195,764, as opposed to last year’s, $21,765,380 — due to its rising property tax base. “We are seeing the benefits of increased development in the City of Ithaca,” Myrick said at the Oct. 3 Common Council meeting. Another point of pride for the mayor is that under his budget, over half of one- and two-family households will pay less in Ithaca property taxes in 2017 than they did in 2016. The median change in city taxes for such homes is a decrease of $2.85, or 0.2 percent. A federal grant to fund four new firefighter positions for two years — a gift that amounts to $640,015 — also played a small part in allowing the mayor to decrease property taxes. Property taxes provide the city’s largest source of income, followed by sales taxes. The mayor said he anticipates sales tax revenue to increase next year but noted that the volatility of the economy inhibits accurate forecasting of this number. “The economy remains unsettled and continues to have an uncertain impact on the 2016 and 2017 sales tax activity,” he said in the budget proposal. Myrick’s budget specifically sets aside $1,000,000 for various street reconstruction projects and new public jobs, including a planner position in the city’s zoning department. — Compiled by Drew Musto
2 THE CORNELL DAILY SUN | Monday, November 7, 2016
Daybook
DAYBOOK
Monday, November 7, 2016
A LISTING OF FREE CAMPUS EVENTS
Presentation: Interviewing for a Position In the Design and Visual Arts 4:45 p.m., Stepped Auditorium, Milstein Hall
Tomorrow Health, Economics and PAM Seminar: Graduated Driver Licensing and Teen Fertility Noon - 1 p.m., G87 Martha Van Rennselaer Hall After 10,000 Years, Is It Time for Barley to Go Naked? 12:20 - 1:10 p.m., 135 Emerson Hall Ethical Leadership in Global Companies... And in Presidents 3 - 4 p.m., B08 Sage Hall Biomedical Sciences Seminar Series — Elaine Wilson 4 - 5 p.m., Auditorium KG70, Klarman Hall Computational Sustainability Virtual Seminar 4 - 5 p.m., 340 Gates Hall Reading Cy Twombly: Poetry in Paint 4:30 p.m., 107 Olin Library PHOTO COURTSEY OF MANN LIBRARY
Collective cognition | Prof. Anita Williams Woolley (inset), Tepper School of Business, Carnegie Mellon, presents her discovery that a group’s “collective intellgence” doesn’t depend on individual members’ intellgence, in 102 Mann Library today.
Today
Realism, Fantasy, and the Representation of Muslims In The Contemporary Film Qawwali 12:15 - 1:15 p.m., G08 Uris Hall
Latino Day Laborers in Post-Katrina New Orleans: Constructing Racial Identities 4:30 - 5:30 p.m., 381 Ives Hall No Land Screening With Director 5 - 6:15 p.m., Willard Straight Hall
Surviving Long-Term Changes in the Environment: Natural Plasticity in Plant Systems And in Plant Science Programs 11 a.m. - noon, 401 Warren Hall
My Population Is Screwed. Will Genetic Rescue Help? 12:20 - 1:20 p.m., A106 Corson/Mudd Hall
Panel About Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention 6:30 - 7:30 p.m., The Tatkon Center
Climate Change Solutions 11:15 a.m., Bailey Hall
Why Are Some Teams Smarter Than Others? 1:30 - 2:45 p.m., 102 Mann Library
A True Believer Screening with Director 7:15 - 9 p.m., B11 Kimball Hall
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THE CORNELL DAILY SUN | Monday, November 7, 2016 3
NEWS
New C-Town Liquor Shop Sees ‘Explosion’of Interest By ANDREW KIM Sun Contributor
The Cornell and Ithaca community can now enjoy a wide variety of domestic and foreign brands of liquor at Ithaca Wine and Spirits, a new store that opened on Oct. 29. at 327 Eddy St. in Collegetown. Owner George Papachryssanthou — an Ithaca native who grew up on Eddy St. — explained that the store was inspired by his time visiting some of the best restaurants in New York City. Papachryssanthou, who has been involved with his family’s restaurant business for “This is our livelihood, years, said he hopes so you are putting us at Ithaca Wine and Spirits will provide the risk by trying to use a community with an fake ID.” opportunity to learn more about wine. George Papachryssanthou “We have been planning this business for about five years,” he said. “We love the customer interaction, and we wanted to bring a personable experience to the wine business.” Papachryssanthou added that he named the store Ithaca Wine and Spirits “to be inclusive of the whole community, not just the Cornell community.” “You are going to come in and you are going to find something from everywhere,” he said. “Wines in this store are reflective of the ownership.” Although Papachryssanthou said he hopes the store will continue to serve the community with high-quality products and shopping experience, he acknowledged the dangers inherent in operating a liquor store near a college campus. Underage students attempting to use fake ID’s in his store are a “huge liability,” giving him “a huge responsibility,” he said. Even though the Ithaca Wine and Spirits staff are trained and equipped to spot false identifications, Papachryssanthou said he hopes potential customers will wait until their 21st
CAMERON POLLACK / SUN PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Bottoms up | Owner George Papachryssanthou said he hopes Ithaca Wine and Spirits will appeal to the entire Ithaca community. birthdays to make their first shopping experience at Ithaca Wine and Spirits both safe and memorable. “We put a lot of capital to opening this store,” he said. “This is our livelihood, so you are putting us at risk by trying to use a fake ID.” Despite its recent opening, the store has already attracted customers both in and outside the Cornell community. “It’s pretty exciting to have a place to go to other than Northside Wine and Spirits for quality products,” said Michael Major ’17. “It’s somewhere that I could walk to, other than Collegetown liquor, which has much more limited selections.”
Jake Markowicz, an Ithaca resident, said he is “really excited” about the store’s opening because it will help Ithaca out “by attracting different types of people to the world of wine and spirits.” Papachryssanthou added that customers so far have ranged from students to Cornell staff. “We’ve had professors come, staff has visited, and they all seem to be very excited that we are open,” Papachryssanthou said. “So we want our explosion to continue within that Cornell community.” Andrew Kim can be reached at ak2447@cornell.edu.
Profs Weigh in on Wartime Atrocities in Syria,Yemen Say United States involvement has played role in exacerbating Middle East conflict By NICHOLAS BOGEL-BURROUGHS Sun Staff Writer
The ongoing atrocities in Syria and Yemen have been complicated by international involvement, according to panelists at a forum in Myron Taylor Hall Friday. Moderated by Prof. Aziz Rana, law, the forum allowed five professors from Cornell’s government, law and history departments to discuss whether some actions constitute war crimes and outline what — if anything — the international community can do to punish those responsible. “The only thing that’s going to
improve the situation — and this seems like a dire thing to say — is if the U.S. gives the [Syrian] rebels more assistance or just withdraws assistance entirely,” said Prof. Jens Ohlin, law, associate dean for academic affairs, adding that the current assistance from the U.S. was just upholding a “stalemate.” Prof. Elyse Semerdjian, Middle Eastern history, Whitman College, said “wordsmithing” by Syrian government forces and Russia has made the Syrian conflict more difficult for people to understand. “The regime is really trying to use this language of looking out for civilians, but also invoking these terms of ‘human
shields’ and ‘terrorists,’” Semerdjian said. She cited the regime’s use of ‘cessation of hostilities’ rather than ‘ceasefire’ as an example. Semerdjian also spoke about efforts by the Syrian government and Russia to allow rebels and civilians to leave through “humanitarian corridors.” These efforts have been largely unsuccessful, according to The New York Times. “Civilians are having trouble leaving even when they’re offered safe passage,” Semerdjian said, adding that there are snipers and other dangers along the pathways. Prof. Mostafa Minawi, history — who is also the director of the Ottoman and
Going the distance
KARSTEN MORAN / THE NEW YORK TIMES
Runners near the end of the New York City Marathon in Central Park Sunday.
Turkish Studies Initiative — showed attendees a map of the Middle East, but stressed that one country was missing.
“The one nation that is deeply involved in all these conflicts ... is the U.S.” Prof. Mostafa Minawi “The one nation that is deeply involved in all of these conflicts that doesn’t show up on this map, of course, is the U.S.,” Minawi said. “The U.S. has been so involved in [the Yemeni] conflict that there has been talk of the U.S. having to be careful about not being directly involved in war crimes if there is a tribunal.” Panelists agreed that the United States is at least partially responsible for portions of the Syrian conflict — such as the rise of the group that calls itself the Islamic State — but were uncertain about whether the United States could be held legally responsible for war crimes in Yemen because of its aid to Saudi Arabia. “ISIS was originally an insurgency in Iraq after Saddam Hussein was toppled, and then that gave birth to ISIS,” Ohlin said, using an acronym for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. “So the U.S.’s fingerprints are unfortunately all over the situation there.” While Ohlin said the United States clearly bears some responsibility for the rise of terrorist groups in the Middle East, he said he was less sure about what role the international community could play in ending the conflict. The International Criminal Court would almost certainly not be able to hear a case on possible war crimes See MIDDLE EAST page 4
4 THE CORNELL DAILY SUN | Monday, November 7, 2016
NEWS
Profs:U.S.Partially to Blame for Syria Conflict MIDDLE EAST
Continued from page 3
because Russia has veto power on the United Nations Security Council, according to Ohlin. “I am hopeful that those responsible for the worst crimes in Syria will be brought to justice,” Ohlin said. “But I don’t see that process playing a major role in actually bringing the armed conflict to an end.” If the Syrian rebels emerge from the war and create a sustainable government, Ohlin said, they could prosecute members of the former government through a newly-created justice system. “But that would only be after rebels won the war, took control over country [and began a] movement for accountability for wartime atrocities,” he said. International law, he added, is not “a magic bullet to end the war.” Prof. Matthew Evangelista, history and political science, also “What did Russia do? It pointed out that war crimes currently occurring in Syria are compaid the fines. That’s parable to those in the conflict what it had to do for between Russia and Chechnya in violating the right to life.” the 1990s. During that conflict, the interProf. Matthew Evangelista national community witnessed “everything we’ve seen in Syria: kidnappings, torture, indiscriminate killing and bombing of civilian areas,” Evangelista said. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Assad has the legal right, according to international law, to suppress an armed rebellion, Evangelista said. Russia is also legally permitted to aid the Syrian government if aid is requested. “Indiscriminate violence” against civilians violates the laws of war, but the consequences of these violations may be scant, he said. He added that the consequences of Russia’s 250 human rights violations during the Chechnya conflict were solely monetary. “What did Russia do? It paid the fines,” Evangelista said. “That’s what it had to do for violating the right to life — it paid fines for the families of victims.” “Russia and the Syrian regime, I think, are going to go scot-free,” he added. “And it’s very sad to say that.” Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs can be reached at nbogel-burroughs@cornellsun.com.
Cornell Repubs Aim to Restore Balanced Politics VOTING PATTERNS
and push boundaries,” Hartman said. With revanchism out of the Students React question, many Republicans at Bensel’s findings surprised Cornell aim to restore balance many students, who said they between the two political parassumed Cornell had been his- ties and encourage a wider torically liberal. Thomas range of political opinions on Hartman ’19, who identified as campus, according to Cornell a Republican, lamented how Republican Chair Olivia Corn isolated college students have ‘19. become from the rest of the “There are 11 academic country. departments, including the gov“In the ernment landslide department, “How are we supposed to 1984 elecwhich are tion where create a diversity of thought generally Reagan took censorious to if our current milieu is an nearly every conservastate, it echo chamber?” tives, and seems almost replete with Olivia Corn ’19 preternatural liberal prothat Cornell fessors,” students still Corn said. voted overwhelmingly against “How are we supposed to create him, while in 2012, after a slow a diversity of thought if our currecovery and social stagnation, rent milieu is an echo chamber?” Obama still hit 85 percent,” he Conceding that there is an said. “It is definitely strange and extremely high threshold for a seems erroneous.” return to political balance at Hartman proposed that this Cornell, Bensel said “only time pattern reflects a millennial can tell” if voting patterns will movement left, as young voters continue to drift leftward, or if move to challenge authority a conservative coalition could and status quo political posi- one day return to prominence tions. on campus. “Honestly, at the end of the day, it’s probably just a millen- Shafay Munir can be reached at nial norm to vote progressive, smunir@cornellsun.com. Continued from page 1
THE CORNELL DAILY SUN | Monday, November 7, 2016 5
NEWS
Students: New Project‘Should Still Be Open to Students’
Say Collegetown housing remains a concern, University should prioritize student housing HOUSING
Continued from page 1
Cornellians, and its facilities are expected to cater to those needs. For example, there will not be any on-site parking, because tenants are expected to walk or take the bus to campus, according to the site plan. Eileen Hayes ’20 said the new apartment complex would be “very convenient” for visiting faculty, providing them with a “more stable and dependable place to live.” “I would say it could potentially take away from locations for students to live,
It’s up to us. reduce reuse conserve protect recycle
but I myself have not had a hard time finding a place to live in Collegetown, given that I will be signing a lease this month for my sophomore year,” Hayes said. “For other students, however, it could a much more difficult thing to do. In that case, the apartment complex should still be open to students.” Irene Byun ’19 agreed, saying the complex would be “good for professors” since some apartments in Collegetown are “very loud and [professors] probably would not appreciate that.” “I don’t really feel like this really affects me,” Byun said. “[Students] can always live somewhere else; there are dif-
ferent options.” This August saw the completion of three large apartment buildings and an addition of nearly 200 bedrooms for housing in Collegetown, but off-campus housing remains a concern for students. “[The proposed building] seems pretty inefficient unless the visiting faculty is staying for months,” Andrew Kozma ’17 said. “Why wouldn’t they build the complex for undergraduates?” Jonvi Rollins ’20 shared the same concern, saying the University’s priority should be making sure property management companies understand the “press-
ing need for better student housing.” “My floor still has a couple of transfer students living in the lounge,” he said. “Guaranteed housing shouldn’t mean that you have to share a lounge with four other people for more than half of a semester. The needs of visiting faculty should not be placed over the needs of students, especially not at an overenrolled school.” Novarr-Mackesey Property Management did not respond to requests for comment. Ronni Mok can be reached at rmok@cornellsun.com.
OPINION
The Corne¬ Daily Sun
Eric Schulman | Schulman’s Schtick
Your Vote Can Make a Difference
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Editorial
Capt. John Plumb for Congress TOMORROW, MILLIONS OF AMERICANS WILL VOTE. A significant number of Cornellians are casting absentee ballots for their home state (and for those who haven’t yet, this is a gentle reminder to get those in soon), but students registered in Ithaca will vote in a congressional election that has become as contentious as the Clinton-Trump face-off. Democratic challenger Navy Captain John Plumb is vying with incumbent Congressman Tom Reed (R-N.Y.) to represent New York’s 23rd congressional district in the House of Representatives. Although the vitriol hurled by both campaigns is alarming, Plumb has proven the stronger contender with a platform that would actually support New York residents. One of the first congressmen to endorse Republican nominee Donald Trump, Reed has continually supported misguided, if not dangerous, policies. He currently holds an “A” rating from the National Rifle Association and opposed the NY SAFE Act, a gun regulation law that bans ammunition sales over the internet and requires ammunition vendors to conduct background checks. Even after the June 12 mass shooting and hate crime in Orlando, Reed refused to acknowledge gun regulation problems and blamed the incident on “radical Islamic” terrorism. Plumb, on the other hand, has taken a more reasonable approach to gun control: although a shotgun owner himself, he believes that Congress should work towards bipartisan solutions to keep weapons away from criminals and mentally ill and has called for more thorough background checks. On other issues, Reed similarly misses the mark: he is “unapologetically prolife,” has fought to suspend federal funding for Planned Parenthood, voted to extend the PATRIOT Act’s roving wiretaps in 2011, voted to shut down the government alongside Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in a failed attempt to defund the Affordable Care Act and has received nearly 60 percent of his campaign funds from special interests and PACs. In April, he presented the REDUCE Act, which would have mandated that colleges with endowments greater than one billion dollars use 25 percent of its returns for financial aid — a policy criticized by late President Elizabeth Garrett and Cornell administrators for “cheat[ing] future generations of educational programs.” Ultimately, Reed is a part of dysfunctional Washington that has failed to act in constituents’ best interests. It is time for a new face. John Plumb, who has run on a much more balanced platform — one that includes support for women’s reproductive rights, a nuanced opposition on fracking and firm resistance of monied interests in politics. Although he has never held public office, Plumb has served as a Navy officer and in the U.S. Senate and National Security Council and will provide a much-needed ability to compromise and execute bipartisan projects. After months of negative campaigning, this community needs someone who will bring results, not just empty talk.
O
riginally, I did not want to write about the election because both presidential candidates are depressing. One candidate is clearly the lesser of two evils, but both candidates will only widen racial and economic divides in this country. I changed my mind though because many people have misconceptions about the race and its consequences. Although both major party presidential candidates will only polarize our system further, we can still improve our system tomorrow by voting. Plenty of politicians are running for town council, state assembly, the House and the Senate on exciting platforms designed to bring us together. By influencing the outcomes of these race, you can improve our system because in some sense, local elections are more important than the presidential race. People overestimate the extent that the president can change the country and underestimate the importance of local politics. Don’t misunderstand me — the chief executive is a powerful individual. But, our government was designed with checks and balances. Sustained, radical changes to our political system start at the local level and pervade their way through the national government. Don’t believe me? There is a long history of radical change starting locally before taking the national stage: the labor movement, civil rights and the anti-war movement. People underestimate local politicians’ ability to cooperate because they assume their national alliances, political parties, are an unchanging, ideological affair. In reality, political parties are practical arrangements devised so people from different places with similar goals can cooperate in the national government. There are many examples of parties changing to reflect local interests. The populist Democrats became progressives to win offices in the Republican dominated urban north. Republicans had a progressive history, but became conservatives when northern Democrats alienated white southern voters during the civil rights move-
ment. This isn’t first time people are disillusioned with the system’s ability to change. People called the 1880s and ’90s “the gilded age” because the government was so ineffective. But, people’s frustration brought local level change, which culminated in national reforms for labor and consumers. We designed our system so changes come from the ground up which takes time and causes impatience. Historically speaking however, our system changes — especially when people are dissatisfied with national politics. The beauty of the democratic process, is how it is dynamic, yet stable. Let me emphasize that it is dynamic. People’s disillusionment eventually changes the government. We are already seeing it this election cycle — states that are solidly affiliated with certain political parties in the electoral college are switching. Historically this accompanies parties changing their platforms to reflect people’s frustrations. Republicans flipped the Carolinas and southern states on the electoral map when they became conservatives. Democrats broke into Massachusetts and other Republican strongholds in the election of 1912 by embracing progressivism. The changes coming in the electoral map make your vote that much more important; when the electoral map is reshuffled and political parties change their stances so local politicians can cooperate to bring national reform. So, don’t misunderstand me — the presidential contest is important. But local level politics are just as important. The beauty our system is that change starts with the people, even if it takes time. There is a reason many have fought to protect our system. So, if there’s one thing I have to say it’s this: get out there and vote! That’s my schtick and I’m sticking to it. Stay tuned next time for my last column this semester. Eric Schulman is a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences. He may be reached at eschulman@cornellsun.com. Schulman’s Schtick appears alternate Mondays this semester.
EXERCISE YOUR VOICE AND VOTE IN THE 2016 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IF YOU ARE A REGISTERED VOTER, YOU CAN VISIT HTTPS:// VOTERLOOKUP.ELECTIONS.STATE.NY.US/VOTERSEARCH.ASPX TO FIND OUT WHERE TO GO. For those residing in Ithaca: The following polling locations are open from 6 a.m. until 9 p.m. tomorrow:
FIRST WARD: Districts 1 and 2: Lehman Alternative Community School at 111 Chestnut St. District 3: Titus Towers II at 798 S. Plain St. District 4: South Hill School at 520 Hudson St. SECOND WARD: Districts 1 and 3: GIAC at 301 W. Court St. District 2: Titus Towers II at 798 S. Plain St. District 4: TC Public Library at 101 E Green St. THIRD WARD: Districts 1, 2 and 3: Belle Sherman Annex at Cornell St. FOURTH WARD: District 1: St. Luke Lutheran Church at 109 Oak Ave. FIFTH WARD: District 1 and 2: Fall Creek School at King and Aurora St. District 1 and 2: Alice Cook House at Stewart and University Ave.
THE CORNELL DAILY SUN | Monday, November 7, 2016 7
OPINION
Pegah Moradi | All Jokes Aside
I
In Defense of Intolerance
recently mentioned Facebook-unfriending a Trump supporter from my high school in a tweet (Can you imagine a bigger millennial stereotype?). One of my former classmates tweeted back, “you unfriended someone just because they had a different political opinion than you?” His statement reminds me a lot of those sappy social media posts about unity in the face of division. You’ve seen them, or something like them: a Facebook photo of a car that has both a Trump and a Clinton sticker captioned, “My husband and I don’t always agree, but we don’t let politics get in the way of our impassioned lovemaking! Don’t let the media fool you!! We can disagree as a nation and still all be intimately in love with one another. #ONELOVE #HUMANRACE” followed by the “couple with heart” and American flag emojis. It seems like a proper time to invoke what I like to call Vallandigham’s Law, named (by me) after Clement Vallandigham, the primary leader of the anti-war Copperheads during the American Civil War. Vallandigham’s Law dictates that for every Instagram photo of a Hijabi woman being egged, there exists a Facebook status about two neighbors with opposing political lawn signs breaking bread at their community barbeque. The former is meant to demonstrate the vitriol surrounding politics; the latter, to demonstrate the goodness that still exists in spite of it. In other words, public responses to presidential campaigns consist of a tug-of-war of polarized rhetoric and feel-good anti-polarization stories.
Macropolitics cannot be separated from micropolitics. There’s a tough line to toe here: how do you reconcile beliefs that are deeply offensive to you, and still maintain politesse with those who hold those beliefs? How do you uphold the ideals of capital-D Discourse in a democracy, yet exhibit intolerance for the most repugnant of beliefs? There’s this fundamental understanding in political discourse that when all this (whatever “this” is) is said and done, we’re all going to be pals. According to this general perception, the most respectable partisans and ideologues are those who are able to set their differences aside and interact as human beings, rather than as ideological antipodes. There’s a huge underlying assumption in this attitude, and in the aforementioned cutesy Facebook posts: that somehow ideology can be separated from the individual. This assumption is dubious. True, you are more than the sum of your political beliefs, but your political ideology is deeply rooted in your predispositions and your personal history. Similarly, your personal behavior is deeply affected by your political beliefs. The relationship between individual and ideology is anything but alienated. It’s connected. It’s circular. Macropolitics cannot be separated from micropolitics. There’s a tough line to toe here: how do you reconcile beliefs that are deeply offensive to you, and still maintain politesse with those who hold those beliefs? How do you uphold the ideals of capital-D Discourse in a democracy, yet exhibit intolerance for the most repugnant of beliefs? I think it’s easier to have this sort of happy, friendly Discourse when mainstream politics is simply people with differing means of protecting similar values. Today, I don’t think that definition fits. Honestly, I am no longer asking myself these questions of how to tolerate vulgar rhetoric, because I have decided to tolerate it no longer. Yes, I should be tolerant of other beliefs, especially when they differ from mine. After all, I expect the same tolerance from others. However, I don’t think I’m obligated to provide the same tolerance when a belief is rooted in a fundamentally malicious value. To give an extreme example, if someone says, “I hate Black people,” I will not respond with “Wow! That’s such an interesting and fresh perspective. I love Discourse and talking to people with different ideologies.” Instead, I will lose respect for that individual, because the individual is inseparable from their hazardous belief. We are no longer children who are excused from our statements and beliefs because we “don’t know any better.” We are adults, and we should be held accountable for our opinions. It’s difficult for me to admit to intolerance. While writing this, I’m reminded of a Dalai Lama quote that says, “In the practice of tolerance, one’s enemy is the best teacher.” I’m also reminded of comedian W. Kamau Bell having a meal with a member of the KKK in order to understand where their malice stems from, in order to humanize this hateful group. It’s strange; I’m ordinarily all about listening and empathy even when others are so profoundly against my beliefs. But at this point, I’m not sure if this sort of tolerance is effective. I think a more applicable quote is one from Gilbert K. Chesterton: “Tolerance is the virtue of the man without convictions. So, yes, I did, and continue to criticize people in my personal life for their political beliefs, because now these beliefs have become personally offensive to me. These are comments excusing sexual violence against women, excusing the mass profiling of Muslim-Americans, excusing authoritarianism, excusing blatant racism. I am generally tolerant of differing opinions, but I cannot be tolerant of this. I have to draw the line somewhere. This is it. Pegah Moradi is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences. She may be reached at pmoradi@cornellsun.com. All Jokes Aside appears alternate Mondays this semester.
Web
Comment of the day
“To me the word Plantations implies a place that grows plants for sale, such as sugarcane, cotton or sorghum. Plantations certainly doesn’t sound scientific. I think Botanic or Botanical sounds more scientific and more prestigious while also implying a beautiful aesthetic park like experience.”
Dan Greenberg Re: “C.U. Repubs: Plantations Renaming ‘Oversensitive,’ Will Set Precedent,” News November 5, 2016
Jacqueline Groskaufmanis | The Dissent
I
She’s With Us
have a lot of questions at the alternative, we need Hillary from her campaign that read “We’re getting desperate, end of this election cycle. more than she needs us. Clinton already has money, Jacqueline,” “I need you, Why did immigration and “Please become such an intense focal power and a legacy. She could Jacqueline” point this year? Why doesn’t walk away right now and still believe!” I’m not joking, these Hillary bring up the progress of have a more incredible career are verbatim subject lines that the current economy more? than 99 percent of people who someone at her campaign Who decided that Trump’s son ever set foot in Washington chose. The desperation in the should have any kind of pres- D.C. But here she is, taking Hillary camp’s efforts, while not ence on Twitter? At times, I’ve constant harassment, smiling, unusual for a campaign that’s questioned why Hillary wanted shimmying and refusing to this close to election day, to run again at all. I know that quit; there’s something that I doesn’t match up to her qualifisounds crazy; it’s the presiden- find so interesting and cations, or to the fact that her opponent has relatively no cy, of course she wants it. admirable about that. At the first presidential experience or political compeNumerous SNL skits play on just how much she wants it. I debate, the image of a qualified, tence. By almost all definitions also understand she’d be mak- well-prepared woman fighting of the word, Clinton is ing history, that the position as hard against a less qualified, overqualified and a better U.S. president is one of the aggressive male opponent choice than Trump. Still, we most powerful in the world and brought up a theme that is all find ourselves highly uncertain that Clinton has specific, moti- too familiar to many women. of what tomorrow’s outcome vating visions for the future of Political pundits who searched will be. Earlier this week I read a the U.S. But Clinton has for grounds on which to critialready made history, has plenty cize Hillary said that she was story in the Washington Post of power and, since the age of too cold and calculated, which about a woman who was born 15, has been getting results and loosely translates to “she pre- before women gained the right to vote, making who cast changes in an early the world After seeing an intelligent woman take on a ballot for around her. belligerent bully in front of millions of critical H i l l a r y. Just watch ing the response Americans, I started to see why Clinton — and Rhere a dstory she’s given a face in multiple many women like her — endure garbage fire put and a debates in campaigns and hammer away to break more perresponse to s o n a l Tr u m p ’s glass ceilings. account repetitive of history claim that behind she’s done “nothing.” At the end of the pared a lot for this and knows the question of why Hillary is day, she doesn’t need another her stuff, but we weren’t really willing to put herself out there, impressive job title to be an feeling that vibe.” It also trans- and make herself so vulnerable incredibly successful and lates into a sad portrayal of how in her quest to act as a public accomplished woman. So why power and capability are viewed servant. In all of the commowhen a woman possesses them, tion, the scandal and the outrun? You can say what you want but that’s a whole different con- rage of this election, I (and about Hillary, but she’s smart. versation. This debate, the 39 many others) seldom get the No matter how many times times Trump interrupted her, chance to really pause and Donald Trump suggests that and the post-debate commen- appreciate what might happen her 30 years of public service tary on her red pantsuit put tomorrow. “History made” isn’t were empty or bad experience, things into focus. After seeing just a slogan, it’s a possibility. her track record speaks in an intelligent woman take on a To be this close is exciting, defense of itself. Yet here she is, belligerent bully in front of mil- whether she wins or not. If women, and Americans in with her face printed on shirts lions of critical Americans, I that say “Trump that B*tch!,” started to see why Clinton — general, have to be represented having Republican politicians and many women like her — by someone, I’m glad it’s likely joke about people using their endure garbage fire campaigns to be Clinton, who’s tough as “second amendment rights to and hammer away to break nails and smart as hell. Or to take care of her” and dabbing glass ceilings. They do this put it in the words of her own on Ellen to secure the young because this is what they have opponent, “She’s a fighter, she vote. She’s done everything to do, and because this is the doesn’t quit, she doesn’t give up, short of literally jump through environment they must endure and I consider that to be a very hoops in order to mobilize sup- to achieve their potential. I’m good trait.” For once during port from the American people, glad there are women like this campaign, I agree with which, to me, seems ridiculous Hillary who can take the heat, Donald Trump. considering the fact that if this and who are more than capable were a normal job with a nor- of performing the positions Jacqueline Groskaufmanis is a sophomore mal hiring process, America- they pursue. Whether other in the College of Arts and Sciences. She the-employer would basically women support them or not, may be reached at be begging her to work for us. It trailblazers like Clinton pave jgroskaufmanis@cornellsun.com. The Dissent appears alternate Mondays this seems, at this time, that with the way for all of us. I get about 15 emails a day semester. Trump as our only realistic
A&E
8 | The Corne¬ Daily Sun | Monday, November 7, 2016
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT More Tricks Than Treats?:
Pianist Tamara Stefamovich at Barnes BY TYRAN GRILLO Sun Staff Writer
Toward proving that “solo piano” is a misnomer, I might present Friday night’s recital by Tamara Stefanovich as my Exhibit A. Stefanovich knows that the piano is more than a single entity, that the trials of other composers and performers before — if not also echoes of those after — graft their own wires into its evolving circuitry. Not only did she seem to make reference to these histories, but also created an alternative one of her own. Her program was a formidable one. Titled “35 Études,” it brought together knuckle-busting pieces of varying temperament. By way of Frédéric Chopin’s “Étude in F minor (Op. 25, No. 2),” Stefanovich lured us onto her virtuosic terrain with something familiar before dismantling expectations through all that followed, as Claude Debussy’s wistful “Étude No. 6” (a deconstruction of the Chopin) came tumbling in. On its heels were the “12 Études, Op. 33,” of Karol Szymanowski, whose aphoristic exoticism wore its age well, and in which Stefanovich’s hands were veritable spiders, each finger a leg catching its own strand of web. If Szymanowski’s were self-enclosed thought spirals, then the 10 Études of Danish composer Hans Abrahamsen were open-ended intonations. Beautiful, restless expanse shared space with occasional bursts of complexity, such as a brilliant, abortive “Boogie Woogie.” Though Stefanovich billed the program’s closing selections from György Ligeti’s 18 Études as the “Mount Everest” of the genre, to my ears the Abrahamsen towered over all, for everything subsequent to it navigated a down-
M
ward slope into pedantry. Some of it was the music’s fault, more tiresome as the night wore on. as in dedications by two friends of the pianist: Vassos Beyond that, however, were the pieces themselves, many Nicolau and Steingrimur Rohloff. The former’s etudinal of them drawn at key intersections of development in 20thcompass was in desperate need of century music, and conserecalibration, as its due north quently toeing the line was nowhere to be discerned, between accessibility and while the latter’s rhythmic showimpenetrability. And therein case felt like a cheap imitation of lay the rub. It was difficult to Steve Reich, a conscious inspiraknow how to react to this tion. Despite their evocative texmusic, which, if Stefanovich’s tures, the sounds were not at all copious lecturing was any inviting. Stefanovich seemed to indication, was far more play them for herself, as coninteresting from a musicolofirmed by the half-cocked smile gist’s standpoint than from a she sported throughout their listener’s. The end result was, performance. at least for me, more of a Even the brilliant Olivier player- than user-friendly Messiaen felt ill-represented, for experience. Greater than the the first of his Quatres etudes de music, however, was the privrhythme was over and done with ilege of seeing Stefanovich in less time than it took play it in such close quarters. Stefanovich to preface it with a In her presence, incorporalongwinded explanation of its tion and integration become merits. Which brings me to my vastly different concepts at COURTESY OF CORNELL CONCERT COMMISSION biggest issue with the perforher fingertips, by contact of mance: between every piece Stefanovich ladled explanation which one became spatial and the other temporal. Sadly, after explanation over the audience, as if to dictate how we without the opportunity to build our own vessels of intershould be listening to modern and contemporary classical pretation, we were left to swim when the currents overmusic. It was like giving away the ending to a film before turned us as she paddled onward. screening it. The simile is a conscious one, for her playing was so intensely visual — indeed, a synesthete’s dream come Tyran Grillo is a graduate student at Cornell University. He can be true — that it made learning about it beforehand all the reached at tcg32@cornell.edu.
Reno 911!: When Police Play the Fool
aybe the oddest thing about the television show Reno (blackmailing, bribery and beatings are common). Each is dan911! was how little work needed to be put in for a gerously reckless and helplessly moronic, often to the detriment mid-2000s cable TV stint to become something of innocent bystanders. On occasion, the police department’s unique and inventive. The show was founded mostly on a col- shenanigans turn darkly fatal. Among cop shows, though, this particular program lection of whims by alumni of the infamous mid ’90s sketch comedy troupe The State, specifically Thomas Lennon, Robert becomes important when you look at how few police shows Ben Garant and Kerri Kenney-Silver, whose endeavor Viva level any form of critique or humor at the Variety had ended shortly beforehand on Comedy Central. police themselves. Sure, Brooklyn Nine-Nine Simply put, it’s a fake cop documentary about the Reno Nevada has some decent moments and a few lovable Sheriff’s Department, only the police aren’t depicted as heroes. hooligans, but even then, the police remain the heroes, the ones standing on the moral Instead, they’re portrayed as magnificent buffoons. After some initial attempts to package it as sketch comedy, high ground. Few mainstream shows, if any, depict the Reno 911! turned into a show based almost completely on ensemble improvisation. This framework would remain one of American police force as they are seen by a the more iconic qualities of the show throughout its six-year, substantial portion of Americans. They refuse 88-episode-long run. Originally intended as a comedic com- to show the police as a community of panion to the show Cops, the Fox network — who aired Cops enforcers who view themselves in opposition — passed on the show mainly because of its overall weirdness, to the community-at-large, as a group whose but also in part to a pilot scene in which two men, a cop and a job becomes not to protect the citizenry but to suspect, kiss. However, Reno 911!’s absurdity and supposed safeguard their own personal interests (one “edginess” were also its greatest charms, and just because Fox need only look at the Justice Department’s wouldn’t take a risk on a cheaply made mockumentary didn’t multiple diagnoses on police departments mean the show was lost forever. Two years after Fox withdrew, nationwide, including Ferguson’s, to see a confirmation of this Comedy Central signed truth). With each on. police procedurThe primary source al, they stay on of Reno 911!’s humor the side of justice and safety. And derives from the idiocy they always have been on TV, since and incompetency of the the days of Adam-12 and Dragnet. officers themselves. They Even if it’s intentions weren’t fail in their attempts to Appearances explicitly political or critical, Reno extort and harass citizens, 911! counters this history by makthey draw their guns at ing cops the butt of the joke. Not the drop of a hat and they constantly become the victims of their own ineptitude. only that, it confronts matters other cop shows shy away from, Although composed of a wide variety of characters, no single and it does so with a dark sense of humor. Now the show’s officer is a stranger to the show’s absurd brand of fantastic fail- brand of comedy, which derives mostly from the irreverent ure. They are all, in their own ways, quite shitty people. Some improv conducted between the actors, wasn’t dissimilar to many are racist; some are misogynist; some are greedy; some are all of the racier, raunchier cable comedies that thrived in the 2000s. that and more. The criminals outsmart them rather easily, either Sure, at its best it was much smarter and sharper than somethrough simple distractions — playing off the officers’ flaws and thing like South Park and its nihilistic pseudo-realism was more prejudices — or with bizarre forms of trickery and deception. entertaining than Jackass. But like many dark comedies, it didThe cops often display a disturbing leniency with the law n’t possess a particular moral compass or politics. Let’s just say I
Stephen Meisel
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
wouldn’t go so far as to label it satire. Yet what brings it beyond the status of Family Guy-esque bro humor, whose only possible “they-make-fun-of-everyone” defense wore thin some time ago, is the fact that all this darkness comes to us with a uniform and a badge. It’s dark comedy in a very specific environment, with a purpose and position. The best laughs come at the expense of the police, who never seem competent or wellintentioned. Not to mention that criminals often revenge themselves against police brutality and maltreatment in fantastical, satisfying ways. In a time when the role of the American police force has come under such scrutiny, few television programs decide to address these issues from this perspective. Brooklyn NineNine, a skillful show in its own right, sticks to the tried-andtrue dynamics of workplace comedy. Other cop dramas are rinse and repeat. While I would never say that Reno 911! COURTESY OF MTV made any type of bold critique, at least it examined police violence and failure without the sex appeal and mood lighting. It never amounted to a political show, but it definitely used its mockumentary style and its absurd comedy in ways that, in the chaotic discourse of political correctness, could be interpreted as political. Most of all, though, it did these things before they even became relevant. The show was remarkably precocious and probably would’ve caused more controversy now than when it had originally aired. But the good often die young, etc. And all we can do now is hope that maybe a little inspiration will be taken, here and there, from a show too good for its time and too risky for any other. Stephen Meisel is a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences. He can be reached at smeisel@cornellsun.com. Appearances runs alternate Mondays this semester.
COMICS AND PUZZLES
Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis
ACROSS 1 Encircled by 5 Note from the boss 9 Strolls through the shallows 14 Calf-length skirt 15 Words while anteing 16 Make a speech 17 High school infatuation 19 Wash lightly 20 Slowpoke in a shell 21 Worker’s allowance for illness 23 Tide table term 26 U.K. flying squad 27 Detriment to air quality 30 A few hours for doing whatever 36 Prune, as a branch 37 Colombian metropolis 38 Capital of Morocco 39 Not a close game, a headline for which may include the end of 17-, 30-, 46- or 63-Across 43 Runway gait 44 Taunting remark 45 Bobby of hockey 46 Rich coffee lightener 49 “The __ the limit!” 50 One hovering around the flowers 51 Future atty.’s exam 53 Ground beef dish 58 Coffeehouse flavor 62 Quarterback’s “Snap the ball at the second ‘hut’” 63 One of two Senate “enforcers” 66 Tall story? 67 Ohio border lake 68 Roof overhang 69 Place for road trip luggage 70 Amount owed 71 Scott who sued for his freedom DOWN 1 Lbs. and oz., e.g.
2 Personal bearing 3 Bit of brainwork 4 “Fine” eating experience 5 Former Russian space station 6 Grounded Aussie bird 7 “Swing and a __, strike one” 8 Available for the job 9 Company employees, as a group 10 Like the Mojave 11 “The X-Files” agent Scully 12 Crafts website 13 Experiences with one’s eyes 18 MLB’s Indians, on scoreboards 22 Litter box user 24 Slightly 25 Paperwork accumulation 27 Walk through puddles 28 __ Carlo 29 Met performance 31 Gnatlike insect 32 Kit__: candy bar 33 Former Apple laptop
34 Comedy’s Cable Guy 35 Galactic distances: Abbr. 37 Urban distance unit 40 Toyota RAV4, e.g. 41 Lab vessel 42 PCs, originally 47 Top corp. officer 48 Gathered from the field 49 Stuck in a hold
52 Acker of “Person of Interest” 53 Castle protector 54 __’acte 55 Westernmost Aleutian island 56 Jacob or Esau 57 Taxi meter figure 59 Scorch 60 50-Across home 61 Made fun of 64 Make fun of 65 Vietnamese New Year
ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:
xwordeditor@aol.com
11/07/16
Sun Sudoku
THE CORNELL DAILY SUN | Monday, November 7, 2016 9
Puzzle #438
THUMPITY-THUMPITY-THUMP
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Fill in the empty cells, one number in each, so that each column, row, and region contains the numbers 1-9 exactly once. Each number in the solution therefore occurs only once in each of the three “directions,” hence the “single numbers” implied by the puzzle’s name. (Rules from wikipedia.org/wiki /Sudoku)
Standard Rate: $3.60 per day for first 15
words, 38 cents per day per word thereafter. Five or more consecutive insertions, $3.35 per day for first 15 words, 36 cents per day per word thereafter.
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15 words, 39 cents per day per word thereafter. Five or more consecutive insertions, $5.20 per day for first 15 words, 37 cents per day per word thereafter. The Sun is responsible for only one day makegood on ads.
273-3606 classifieds@cornellsun.com
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SPORTS
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C.U. Fails to Overcome 4-1 Harvard Deficit M. HOCKEY
Continued from page 12
skilled players time and space, which they had on their first two goals, they make you pay and that’s what happened tonight.” Cornell had its own consistent point-getter of the night, too. Freshman defenseman Yanni Kaldis finished the night with an assist on all three of the Red’s goals. In an already-depleted blue line, Kaldis’ play — especially on the power play — is a welcome sight to the coaching staff. “He sees the ice extremely well and keeps the seams on the power play and that’s what he did,” Syer said of the freshman. “Obviously he got the puck moving there on the first goal that [junior forward] Trevor [Yates] scored. Certainly [sophomore forward Anthony] Angello’s goal was a great goal. [Kaldis] didn’t hold it, moved it right away to him so Angello could one-time it. He did almost the same exact thing but on the opposite side of the ice on the third goal.” Dartmouth was a similar game in terms of the Red’s pattern of play. The Red gave up six power plays to the Green, three of which came in the first period. However, the Red successfully killed off all six disadvantages and the team’s only goal came shorthanded. Sophomore forward Mitch Vanderlaan’s unassisted goal found its way through a screened Devin Buffalo and was his second goal in as many games. Syer credits penalty killing success to an enhanced preparation during practices. “We spent a lot of time practicing on it, just with the way that the game is being called,” he said. “I think there is an awareness and an alertness amongst our team. We had some great clears both nights and most important, some outstanding blocks. You need those. If you keep pucks in front of you, you get a chance to clear. We need those blocks for sure.” Special teams has undoubtably become a centerpiece in the college hockey world, given that games have been more strictly officiated. Through three games this season, Cornell has given up 16 power plays and has been awarded 17 of its own. At this point last year, those numbers were nine and 11, respectively. Cornell’s power play went zerofor-five against Dartmouth, but it cashed in on three-of-six opportunities at Harvard. “[I liked] the puck movement,” Syer said about power plays against Harvard. “All the guys on both units that we used tonight got the puck moving very quickly and that’s what led to them having success rather than them holding onto the puck.” So far it does not seem that the team’s confidence has dimmed in three games. In both games this weekend, Cornell had the opportunity to come out on top, but their flurries of opportunities came too late and a one-point weekend was the result. To read the rest of this article, please visit cornellsun.com. Zach Silver can be reached at zsilver@cornellsun.com.
THE CORNELL DAILY SUN | Monday, November 7, 2016 11
SPORTS
SPRINT FOOTBALL
Sprint Loses Last Game of Year By BENNETT GROSS Sun Staff Writer
With the CSFL title already out of reach, Cornell sprint football came up short against Franklin Pierce, falling to the Ravens, 24-17, in its final game of the season. The Red (2-5), plagued by injuries all season, was without senior quarterback Rob Pannullo for much of the game, and was forced to start sophomore Connor Ostrander under center against the Ravens (4-3). “We were looking to win this one for the seniors,” Ostrander said. “It meant a lot for them, especially Pannullo because he couldn’t play. We were just trying to play as a team in honor of the seniors.” Franklin Pierce got on the scoreboard first, but the Red blocked the Ravens’ extra-point attempt. Cornell cut the lead to three after freshman kicker Ben Finkelstein kicked a 30-yard field goal. Later in the second quarter, Franklin Pierce extended its lead to nine after the team scored a touchdown but failed in its two-point conversion attempt. The Red scored its first touchdown of the game when Ostrander found junior wide receiver Ryman Seeley for a 13-yard pass, which ended with Seeley powering through three defenders, and reaching the ball into the end zone. Franklin Pierce found the end zone once more in the first half with 16 seconds left in the second quarter, after their drive was extended when the referees ruled that Ravens’ running back Kobie Smith did not fumble the ball in the Cornell red zone, much to the dismay of the Cornell coaching staff. For the third consecutive time, the Red special teams unit was able to thwart a Ravens’ point after attempt. Franklin Pierce took an 18-10 lead into halftime. After Franklin Pierce’s fourth touchdown of the night, co-head coach Bart Guccia was forced to insert Pannullo to run the Cornell offense folOLIVER KLIEWE / lowing Ostrander’s SUN SENIOR PHOTOGRAPHER fumble and two interceptions to Closing time | With a begin the second 2-5 record, the Red finhalf for the Red. ishes the 2016 season Additionally, tied for sixth in the senior running back eight-team CSFL.
Kevin Nathanson fumbled on Cornell’s third possession of the second half. “It was definitely a tough game,” Ostrander said. “A lot of the tipped balls, for example, we couldn’t control, but we had to bounce back from those mistakes.” Despite injuries to his throwing shoulder and left knee Pannullo was cleared to play in his final college football game, but he had noticeably limited mobility, and he was grimacing after “It was a tough way to each deep pass end the year, but this is a he threw. After two step in the right direction inefficient drives and multiple heading into next season.” hard hits with Ryman Seeley Pannullo at the helm, Guccia turned back to Ostrander to lead the Red to its third victory of the season. On Cornell’s next drive, Ostrander tossed a 39yard strike to Seeley, and Nathanson capped off the series with a four-yard scamper to keep the Red within a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter. The Red got the ball back after forcing a quick three-and-out, starting with the ball near midfield. Ostrander moved the ball effectively with runs of his own, but he was also burning precious seconds at the same time. After a costly Seeley drop, Ostrander found Nathanson for a 14-yard gain, but he was penalized when the referees ruled that he had stepped out of bounds before catching the ball, resulting in the loss of down. On fourth-and-one with under 1:30 remaining, a flag was thrown due to a false start on the Red offensive line. On Cornell’s last play of the game, Ostrander was rushed and hit as he threw, lobbing the ball in the direction of Seeley, who was unable to come up with the reception. To read the rest of this article, please visit cornellsun.com. Bennett Gross can be reached at bgross@cornellsun.com.
Dartmouth Overtakes Red In Fourth Quarter for Win FOOTBALL
Continued from page 12
came down to “one guy mak[ing] a mistake [or] not fill[ing] a gap.” The rush defense cannot shoulder all the blame for Saturday’s loss, however. A late turnover killed all momentum the Red had and gifted Dartmouth its gamewinning drive. Following strong passing from Banks to senior captain and tight end Matt Sullivan, sophomore running back Chris Walker fumbled the ball as the Red approached the Green’s red zone. On the ensuing drive, Dartmouth quarterback Jack Heneghan overthrew his receiver on what would have been a sure touchdown; the junior went on to march his team down the field. He found Charles Mack in the endzone for the go-ahead score. This loss comes on the heels of a players-only meeting following the demoralizing loss to Princeton, which was meant to “refocus” the team with three Ivy games remaining.
Archer said he saw a different team on the field during practice. The head coach said he believes that change in mentality was evident in Saturday’s game, despite the end result. “I think these guys just reminded themselves who they are and to go out there and play,” Archer said. “I think the majority of them were playing so hard and just selling out every single time in practice and in games, I think that that catches up with you.” The Red still has two games left to “keep going,” and they come against Columbia — the only team Cornell was victorious over in 2014 and 2015— and Penn — who was shutout by the Tigers on the road . “I’m really proud of the kids. I’m so disappointed today, but I know these guys,” Archer said. “We’re going to keep reminding them of that because they’re good players, unbelievable kids and we’re going to keep going.” Zach Silver can be reached at zsilver@cornellsun.com.
Sports
The Corne¬ Daily Sun
MONDAY NOVEMBER 7, 2016
12
FOOTBALL
Green’s Late Touchdowns Send C.U. to 17-13 Loss
With Cornell leading 13-3, Dartmouth orchestrates comeback,sending Red to fifth-straight loss By ZACH SILVER Sun Assistant Sports Editor
Before Saturday’s meeting, the Red and Green have faced off on the gridiron 99 times in a rivalry dating back to 1900. In the centennial meeting in Ithaca, Dartmouth captured its 59th win of the series in a come-from-behind 17-13 win. Following a field goal on the game’s opening drive, Cornell led for the entire game, but Dartmouth capitalized on a late Cornell turnover to score the go-ahead touchdown. The Green clamped down on the Red to secure its first Ivy win of the season. “It just stings today because the game was out there to be won,” said head coach David Archer ’05. “We didn’t deserve to win, we didn’t do enough to come away with the victory.” Cornell’s offense — only able to muster a single touchdown against Princeton last weekend — began Saturday’s
“We have a good, quick offense where we can get the ball contest much more crisp and synchronized. In two straight drives to open the game, sophomore quarterback Dalton out quick,” the quarterback said. “It’s effective and we like it Banks led his squad to consecutive red zone trips that result- and that was our plan: to keep rolling with it. In the second half they made a few adjustments so we had to throw it ed in field goals. “We had two awesome drives right out the gate, but there down field a little bit, but overall that was our game plan.” Archer added that film showed the are a few little things we wish we could short passing game was the best have back,” Banks said. “It was tough to DARTMOUTH @ CORNELL approach for moving the offense down see that happen twice but we were still the field. getting points on the board. We have to “Every week we try to take what they keep driving the ball and moving the Game: 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH FINAL give and [the opportunity of short ball] ball, and the touchdowns will come.” Dartmouth 0 3 0 14 17 is certainly something we saw on film,” The opening drive was highlighted by Cornell 6 0 7 0 14 he said. short passes from Banks. Since the losing Banks would go on to finish the day skid began, Banks had trouble finding his receivers, often opting for the high-risk, high-reward 28 for 43 for 216 passing yards. For the first time since the long balls. However, against Dartmouth, Banks went 16 for Red’s 27-13 Homecoming win over Yale, Banks was not intercepted all game. 23, with only one pass for over 10 yards. “Everything was rolling,” Banks added. “We were moving the chains and that’s just how we have to keep going. I was confident going into this one like I am every game.” However, interceptions on the other side of the ball have been a major positive for the Red this season. After a zeroturnovers performance against Princeton, senior safety Justin Solomon added to Cornell’s league-leading interception total with his third of the year. Game in and game out, it has typically been the Green’s pass offense that takes center stage, but Cornell’s secondary held Dartmouth’s league-leading pass offense to 226 yards, below their average of 258 yards per game. Yet, with its passing game limited, the Green did its damage on the ground. On 42 attempts, Dartmouth’s rushers amassed a total of 179 yards, with Miles Smith accounting for 119 and the Green’s first touchdown. “We knew they were going to try and run the ball on us,” said junior linebacker Kurt Frimel. “We knew the power play was going to be big for them and that they were going to throw the ball — they have a good core of receivers. They are a very well coached team, so we were kind of expecting that sort of balanced attack.” Frimel also said some of the problems in the run defense
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ADRIAN BOTEANU / SUN PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Switching it up | Unlike previous games, sophomore quarterback Dalton Banks relied on short passes in Saturday’s loss to the Green.
See FOOTBALL page 11
MEN’S HOCKEY
In First ECAC Games, Red Ties Dartmouth, Falls to Harvard Against both Ivy foes, the team dug itself a ditch too deep to climb out of with sluggish play to begin each game. In Hanover Before the season got underway, senior N.H., Cornell was able to fight off poor play captain and forward Jake Weidner knew the early to secure a tie in a rink associate head road-heavy start to the season would be a coach Ben Syer called “not the easiest place challenge, but seemed somewhat excited to play in.” But at Harvard’s Bright-Landry Hockey about the opportunity to bond with his teammates — and especially the new fresh- Center — coined ‘Lynah East’ due to a consistently strong showing men — so early in the of Cornell fans — the year. Red could not overcome “Personally I love the CORNELL @ DARTMOUTH early struggles, allowing road,” Weidner said the Crimson to capture a before the season-open1ST 2ND 3RD FINAL hard-fought victory in ing 3-2 loss at Game: 0 1 1 the historic rivalry. Merrimack. “[It’s a Dartmouth 0 1 0 0 1 “They feel like it’s chance] to build the Cornell another home game,” team and get guys to Syer said of the Cornell know each other. I don’t CORNELL @ HARVARD fan presence in think it’s going to be an Cambridge. “Just from issue for us. I think guys the get-go, when they are just really excited to Game: 1ST 2ND 3RD FINAL announced our starting get going.” Harvard 2 2 0 4 lineups, the newspapers Team bonding is an Cornell 3 0 2 1 were out and you can feel element hard to measure that presence. I think it with numbers, so for now, game results is all that’s available is to goes a long way for our guys — they certainmeasure success of Cornell’s young 2016-17 ly enjoyed that.” The dominant play from Harvard’s campaign. A 1-1 tie with Dartmouth and 43 loss at Harvard this past weekend give Lewis Zerter-Gossage was the story line for another glimpse into the status of a group the Crimson. The sophomore netted three head coach Mike Schafer ’86 has called “so of Harvard’s goals, including the eventual game-winner as the second period began to far away from being a polished team.” By ZACH SILVER
Sun Assistant Sports Editor
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wind down. Linemate Ryan Donato added a goal and provided the assists on all of ZerterGossage’s goals. Along with Alexander Kerfoot, Harvard’s top line proved too much for the Red to handle. It seemed that each time Cornell was poised to surmount sustained pressure,
Harvard’s premier line was back up the ice and giving hell to senior goalie Mitch Gillam. “I think that line was outstanding. That whole line really got things going,” Syer said. “They obviously really gel and show some See M. HOCKEY page 11
CAMERON POLLACK / SUN PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Shorthanded score | Mitch Vanderlaan’s man-down goal briefly put Cornell in the lead, but Dartmouth scored the equalizer and the Red settled for a tie in its first ECAC game.
2016 ELECTION GUIDE | SCIENCE
FACE OFF: Science and Innovation in the Oval Office DONALD TRUMP
In a 2012 tweet, Donald Trump called climate change a hoax perpetuated by the Chinese. Emphasizing her contrasting stance, standing on the DNC stage in July, Hillary Clinton empathetically proclaimed, “I believe in science!” The next president will play a pivotal in shaping United States’ climate policies, making decisions fundamental to both the future of our nation and life on this planet. The Sun juxtaposes the two candidates’ views on contentious scientific issues:
HILLARY CLINTON
CLIMATE CHANGE
Trump seems to remain skeptical of human-caused climate change and has made few public comments on the issue. In one Sciencedebate.org interview, he said that “much needed to be investigated” into the matter, and offered various alternatives like clean water, disease and food production as potential areas for financial resource allocation. However, he has offered no rigid policy proposals.
Clinton, agreeing with the overwhelming majority of the scientific community, believes that climate change, as caused by humans, is a threat to the future of the planet. She intends to combat climate change by launching a $60 billion clean energy initiative, investing heavily in clean energy infrastructure and research and reducing tax subsidies to oil and gas companies.
CYBER SECURITY
When she was asked about her position on cyber security in the second presidential debate, Clinton admitted that “cyber warfare will be one of the biggest challenges facing the next president.” She that she intends to build upon the Obama Administration’s Cybersecurity National Action Plan and “foster the conditions required for long-term improvements in our approach to cybersecurity." Current initiatives outlined by the plan include modernizing the government’s IT and empowering americans to secure their online accounts. She also has said she supports collaboration between the public and private sectors for innovation in cybersecurity.
In the second presidential debate, Trump said “The security aspect of cyber is very, very tough. And maybe it's hardly doable.” He admitted that cybersecurity is a difficult issue to handle, criticized the current administration, but did not provide any potential solutions.
STEM EDUCATION
Trump has not taken a stance on STEM education specifically, and told Scientific American that “there are STEM programs already in existence,” indicating a lack of interest in building or refining additional programs. However, he is a harsh critic of the Common Core and aims to scrap it as president as it is a “disaster.” It is unclear what will replace it, because Trump offers no alternatives.
Trump has presented contradictory views on this issue. “I love NASA. I love what it represents, I love what it stands for,” he said at a campaign event in New Hampshire last year. He said believes that a strong space program can help kindle students’ interest in science. However, he also told Aerospace America in May that military and defense would be higher priorities in his presidency, saying space exploration can be considered when all U.S. citizens are gainfully employed.
SPACE
Clinton is a strong proponent of STEM education for K-12 students and stresses how critical this education is for the “nation’s success and to reducing economic and social inequality.” She said intends to build upon the Obama administration’s “Computer Science for All” initiative, and increase the number of computer science teachers by an additional 50,000 teachers in the next decade.
Clinton has said she proud of the achievements the U.S. space program has made and aims to build on their progress as president. In an interview with Sciencedebate.org, she said she will work to ensure that “NASA has the leadership, funding and operational flexibility necessary” it needs for innovation within the industry. In addition, she wants to keep U.S. focus on the red planet and hopes to “advance our ability to make human exploration of Mars a reality.”
Prof. Bruce Monger
T
President Trump Would Impede‘Climate Action’
he mainstream news media, and the two major party presidential candidate themselves, have largely ignored the issue climate change this election cycle. However, if an interested voter were to take the time to compare their positions, they would find that the candidates hold starkly different views on the issue climate change and climate change policy. I present here the basic difference between the two candidate with regard to climate change and follow with my opinion on what is at stake with this election. Mr. Trump denies the basic science of human-caused global warming. He wants to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris COP-21 agreement that is intended to reduce global carbon emissions and limit global warming to a level intended to keep human societies stable. He wants to promote coal and other fossil carbon energy sources and does not want to incentivize an orderly transition to a renewable energy economy. Secretary Clinton, on the other hand, understands that scientific results have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt (i.e., with a statistical certainty of 95 percent) that humans are largely responsible for the
observed global warming. Secretary Clinton wants to move the U.S. away from coal and would incentivize renewable energy production. Secretary Clinton has a stated goal for U.S. electricity generation to run on 50 percent renewable energy by the end of her first term. None of this goes nearly
“Mr. Trump denies the basic science of human-caused global warming.” Prof. Bruce Monger far enough to limit global warming to a safe level, but it still presents a stark contrast to the proposed policies of Mr. Trump. We have precious little time left to limit global warming to 2°C and avoid major destabilization to human society. The Paris COP-21 consensus statement signed by every leader of every nation on earth confirmed last year that we must limit global warming to 2°C and to accomplish this goal we must transition the energy system of the entire planet be to zero net carbon emissions by mid-century (i.e., in just 34
years). The consensus statement also expresses the aspiration, for the sake of island nations, to limit global warming to 1.5°C which would require taking the global energy system to net zero carbon emissions in 13 years. These basic facts underlie the reasoning that prompted Cornell to establish the goal of reaching zero net carbon emissions for the Ithaca campus by 2035. The decisions we make today with regards to global carbon emissions will affect not only the lives of this generation, but also the lives of generations spanning the next 10,000 years. When CO2 is emitted to the atmosphere, half is taken up by the ocean and land and the remaining half stays in the atmosphere for 10,000 years. There is CO 2 in the atmosphere today that was created when the very first forest was cleared by ancient farmers and when the very first internal combustion engine was cranked to life at the beginning of the last century. Previous generations have steadily added CO 2 to the atmosphere and the cumulative additions have inexorably brought humanity to a critical decision point. We have a very small amount fossil carbon left to burn before crossing the 2°C warming threshold. We
must begin immediately to taper carbon emissions and reach zero emission by midcentury. And then we must remain at net zero emission for all the rest of time if we want to avoid crossing the 2°C warming threshold – it is as simply as that. Of all the generations that have ever lived on this earth, it is this generation that will make the final decision to cross or not to cross the 2°C warming threshold. And because CO 2 stays in the atmosphere for 10,000 years, this generation’s decision will be felt by people for, essentially, all the rest of human existence on earth. This generation will either be celebrated or vilified for the rest of human history depending on what we do with carbon emis-
sion over the next 20-30 years. I for one prefer to be celebrated for the rest of human history rather than vilified! A Trump presidency will substantially delay action on getting us to net zero emissions and we are definitely out of time. We cannot delay our start to renewable energy another 4 or 8 years and still keep global warming below 2°C. It is certainly not my place to tell anyone how to vote. All I can do is show people the connections and ask them to choose wisely and in accord with what they think is best for the world. Go vote tomorrow — and vote wisely. Dr. Bruce Monger is an Earth and Atmospherics Sciences professor in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
2016 Election Guide Staff EDITOR IN CHIEF MANAGING EDITOR
Sofia Hu ’17 Phoebe Keller ’18
SUPPLEMENT EDITORS Zach Silver ’19 Josh Girsky ’19 Stephanie Yan ’18 Paulina Glass ’18 Madeline Cohen ’18 Divyansha Sehgal ’18 PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR Cameron Pollack ’18 DESIGN DESKERS Melody Li ’17 Weihong Rong ’17 Brian LaPlaca ’18 Megan Roche ’19 Emma Williams ’19
Page E5 | THE CORNELL DAILY SUN | Monday, November 7, 2016
2016 ELECTION GUIDE | OPINION
Professors Sound Off on 2016 Election TOM P EPINSKY, GOVERNMENT
E NZO TRAVERSO ,
This is the most important U.S. election of the past half century. Mr. Trump is unqualified to serve as president, and his candidacy has given voice to something dark in U.S. politics. Current forecasting models give Secretary Clinton a consistent albeit modest lead over her opponent. But even in the event of a Clinton victory, the country faces an incipient political, perhaps even constitutional crisis if partisanship continues to paralyze Washington. As the norms that undergird effective government fall by the wayside, both parties have incentives to use obstructionist tactics in their quest to please vocal elements in their electoral bases. As an American, I am horrified at the possibility of a Trump presidency. As a scholar of global politics, I am worried about the disruptive global effects of a partisan stalemate under either administration. These effects will be felt globally, with long term consequences that are nearly impossible to identify. The only smart move for both parties, if they care about American interests, is to establish once again a bipartisan compromise that enables American government to function. It is now up to the American voter and American political elites to make this happen.
R ACHEL WEIL , HISTORY In 1989, Trump called for five black teenagers convicted of raping the Central Park jogger to be put to death. On October 7, Trump reasserted his belief in their guilt, despite their exoneration by DNA evidence. Hours later, the grope tape surfaced. There’s a connection. The demonization of black men as rapists has been used to justify white men’s claim to possess and protect women. That claim is implicit in Trump’s belief that he is entitled to grab p*****s, AND in the chivalrous indignation white male politicians express on behalf of their wives and their daughters when they repudiate Trump’s behavior (though not his candidacy). And it underpins the latest attacks on reproductive rights. Much as I want to talk about the “real” issues — climate change, immigration, jobs, Syria, Russia — it feels like this election is about the control by white men over women’s bodies.
K EVIN K. G AINES , AFRICANA STUDIES A Trump victory will result in political and economic chaos, shocking many Americans at how easily decades of political reforms and social progress can be reversed. A Trump administration, aided by a GOP-controlled Congress, will complete the unraveling of the liberal-democratic order of the United States already teetering, as President Obama put it, during the campaign. Far-right opponents of civil liberties, voting rights, immigration, reproductive rights, the rule of law, and due process will pursue extreme policies. The prospect of civil disorder and political violence against racial and religious minorities, women, LGBTQ people, and dissenters is real. A Hillary Clinton victory will slow the far-right wing assault on civil liberties and liberal-democratic norms (such as the peaceful transfer of power). Without a democratic majority in Congress, Clinton will face implacable opposition from Congress and right-wing controlled media to any Supreme Court appointments and her moderate agenda of incremental reform on the economy, health care, criminal justice and climate change. But the prospects for progressive social movements are far better under a Clinton administration than under a neo-fascist Trump administration.
O REN FALK , HISTORY Donald Trump, many say, endangers democracy. But democracy is just one form of government in a sovereign state; Trump in fact threatens not just this specific form but the institution of the state itself. His conduct bears the marks of medieval feuding, a type of politics characteristic of stateless societies: individuals vie not for control of office but for unbridled personal advancement, disregarding cost to the polity. Feuds rest on three foundations: gift-giving to secure allies (“I give to everybody. When they call, I give”), insistence on one’s own honor (“Look at these hands, are they small hands?”) coupled with dishonoring one’s rivals (“Such a nasty woman!”) and, of course, vengeance (“Every one of these liars will be sued once the election is over”). Trump makes instrumental use of the state to bludgeon personal rivals; and, in embracing his feuding logic, about half the electorate has given up on the logic of state. Afraid of living in a dictatorship? Try a feuding society instead. Good luck!
ROMANCE STUDIES
Donald Trump outrageously exhibits his authoritarianism, sexism and racism. His demagogic propositions and his style have a fascistic taste, but fascism is not reducible to the personality of a leader and behind him there is no fascist movement. Trump is a deplorable TV star, much more reminiscent of Berlusconi than Mussolini. His pretention to oppose the establishment is even more paradoxical because he is the nominee of the GOP, a historical pillar of the establishment itself. Trump’s “program” eclectically merges protectionism and neoliberalism. Classical fascism championed a strong state; he defends individualism. He embodies a xenophobic and reactionary vision of Americanism: the avenger bringing arms, the resentment of a White population that does not accept becoming a minority in a country of immigrants. Trump is a fascist without fascism, but his campaign is a foretaste of what American fascism could look like. This is why we need to stop him.
D URBA G HOSH, HISTORY Whether a nation or community is judged to be modern often depends on how women are treated — do women have equal status to men? Are they treated fairly by the law? Can they serve as leaders? Americans have long been advocates for women elsewhere: as Hillary Rodham Clinton famously declared in Beijing in 1995 at the United Nations Fourth World Congress on Women, “human rights are women’s rights, and women’s rights are human rights.” Ironically, Americans are heirs of the world’s longest and continuous democratic tradition and yet we have not elected a woman president after 240 years of nationhood. Much younger democracies, such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and most recently, Taiwan have achieved this important benchmark of inclusionary citizenship. This election cycle, let’s elect a woman to the highest office in our nation and show the world that we are truly modern and progressive.
M ARIA L ORENA C OOK , INDUSTRIAL & LABOR RELATIONS
For millions of undocumented immigrants and their families, the outcome of this election will mean the difference between a chance at a future or the end of a dream. On one side, the Trump campaign supports a “deportation task force,” an end to programs that protect undocumented youth from deportation, and an expanded role for states in immigration enforcement. On the other side, Clinton and the Democrats call for legalization of millions of undocumented immigrants, support Obama’s executive actions providing deportation relief for undocumented youth and parents of U.S. citizens and legal immigrants, and condemn immigration roundups. In the end Congress makes immigration law, so the makeup of the House and Senate will be key. Perhaps a President Trump would not be able to act on his campaign rhetoric, and a President Clinton might adopt the more cautious stance on immigration she has exhibited in the past. But the president still sets the tone and the agenda and makes key appointments. On immigration, the difference between the candidates in this election remains a stark one.
M ARIA C RISTINA G ARCIA , HISTORY
The 2016 election is critical to U.S. refugee policy. We have a proud history of accommodating refugees — four million since the end of the Second World War. We also have an international responsibility to assist those displaced by war, revolution, and persecution. As generous as our policy has been, the true burden of accommodating refugees is born by the countries that border areas of crisis, and Americans can do more to ease the pressure on these countries. Today, refugees are the most carefully vetted immigrants/travellers to the United States. Denying vulnerable populations the chance to make a case for refugee status (or asylum) in the United States because of their religious faith, their sexuality, or the region of the world they come from goes against everything our nation claims to stand for.
Page E6 | THE CORNELL DAILY SUN | Monday, November 7, 2016
2016 ELECTION GUIDE | OPINION Prof. William A. Jacobson
HEY, IT’S THE 2016
What’s the Law Got to Do With It?
I
’ve been asked to comment on the role of lawrelated issues in the election, specifically a Supreme Court vacancy and allegations of illegal conduct against each candidate. A Supreme Court vacancy is a pretty perfect ideological issue. This election, however, has not been as ideological as might have been predicted two years ago. We have two big government candidates, though they differ in how to use that big government. So it’s not surprising that Supreme Court nominations have not been the central issue. That’s not to say the Supreme Court isn’t important to the ideological component of each party. Since the current vacancy is to fill the seat of the late conservative superstar Antonin Scalia, the balance of the Court is at risk. The prospect of a liberal shift on the Court that may last a generation has been a prime argument why some ideological conservatives make the case for Trump even if they are against his non-conservative policies or personal issues. On the liberal side, the concern seems to be notso-much the Scalia replacement, but the longerterm concern that a President Trump would be able to fill additional vacancies in the next four years. That prospect is particularly threatening to the proabortion faction of the Democratic Party, which is pretty much most of the Democratic Party. So the concern is there, and it has motivated the Democratic base — but not as much as had the vacancy been to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Other legal issues have far outweighed concerns about the Supreme Court, particularly allegations of illegal conduct by the candidates themselves. On the Trump front, the 2005 Access Hollywood video showed Trump bragging about conduct that arguably constituted non-consensual sexual touching (though the issue of “consent” is not fully fleshed out in the recorded comments). Coupled with a slew of women coming forward after the release of the tape accusing Trump of similar con-
duct, the video has been the single most damaging event for Trump in the entire campaign. We’ll find out in a day if it cost Trump the election. Other legal issues, such as Trump University, at most have been background noise. On the Hillary front, email has been the predominant legal issue. Her exclusive use of private email for State Department business has developed into concerns over the use of a private server to store and transmit classified information. While the FBI Director made a public statement in July stating the FBI would not recommend charges, that resolution came as a surprise given the Director’s summary of the evidence which led many to conclude charges were warranted. That issue might have died down except for two developments. First, WikiLeaks released emails from John Podesta’s account indicating possible favorable treatment by Hillary and the State Department for donors to the Clinton Foundation. That pay-forplay scandal in itself is dominating the headlines these last few days, and brings back on the table the entire issue of whether the private server and email account were for the purpose of concealing illegal conduct at the Foundation. Second, the discovery that Clinton confidant Huma Abedin’s emails were on the computer of her disgraced husband Anthony Weiner has reignited the FBI investigation. The public announcement of the reopening of the investigation just 11 days before the election has changed the race, and put Trump within striking distance. So, the expected legal issue of the Supreme Court has not played as big a role as anticipated. It has been the other legal issues — Trump’s conduct towards women, Hillary’s private server, and the Clinton Foundation — that have driven the campaign.
S
WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE “Bad Hombres” would have disqualified any other candidate in history.
intelligent wolf-beings taking over my little brother’s lacrosse practice fields for their Satanic rituals.
— C.P. NO JOKE People who brag about sexually assaulting women should be punished by our national laws, not shaping the future of them.
— S.C.
HOPPIN’ MAD Sometimes I sit here thinking about this election, and it just pisses me off. Fetty Wap didn’t lose an eye for this.
WE’VE BROKEN MITT ROMNEY Somewhere in the mountains of Utah, in a very expensive ski condo, Mitt watches his ex, Paul Ryan, have a flirtatious “will they, won’t they” tryst with the Republican nominee he despises. Mitt softly weeps. He wipes his tears with a slice of plain cheese pizza and calls John Kasich to ask if it’s all really going to be okay. We all miss you, Mitt.
— J.R.
— P.G.
William A. Jacobson is Clinical Professor of Law at Cornell Law School and director of the Securities Law Clinic.
Prof. M. Elizabeth Sanders
Looking Beyond Labels
o genuine was elite surprise in the fall of 2015 that responses were at first preoccupied with the choice of words to describe the Democratic challenger and the ascendant Republican candidate. Sanders was an old fashioned socialist who’d sneaked into the Senate Democratic caucus, somewhat reminiscent of Huey Long or Eugene Debs. Trump was harder to label, but the favorites were (and still are) demagogue, racist, fascist. Party elites and intellectuals were determined to delegitimate both outsiders. Despite their best efforts, Trump is now the Republican candidate for president and though Sanders was crushed by the Democratic machine, his devoted and angry followers are essential to Hillary Clinton’s victory. For academics, who may suddenly realize with a bit of discomfort that they themselves are part of the establishment the Sanders and Trump factions are rebelling against, comprehension of the meaning of this election remains elusive. Sanders is safely marginalized (it is assumed), and it remains only to defeat the monster Trump who personifies all that is vile in American politics, and allow the establishment’s Hillary Clinton to resume her rightful place on the center-left side of the governing class where identity politics can be championed without any risk of real reform or, heaven forbid, redistribution. If we don’t progress beyond this perspective, if we refuse to learn what’s really going on in this remarkable political time, we will not be able to construct solutions, and our polity will be much the worse for that. Despite the vast differences in their personalities and prior careers, Sanders and Trump represent the economically vulnerable and the downwardly mobile Americans who have not benefitted from the techy globalization project of cosmopolitan elites. They have been offered no side-payments for the suffering imposed on them by their rulers. The trade adjustment assistance originally conceived to help the working class cope with the painful transformations of “free trade” treaties has shrunk to pitifully tiny amounts. Students to whom the Clintons preached “Go to college if you want to cross our bridge to the high-tech future,” find themselves burdened with
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION. AND WE — THE SUN’S EDITORS AND COLUMNISTS — ARE MAD AS HELL. EVERYBODY IS LOSING THEIR MINDS. AND SO IT’S TIME TO ...
debt and living at home to save rent money. Academics talk a lot about inequality, but when the unequal rise up in politics, they are met with epithets that justify refusing to take their grievances seriously (like “racist,” or — as DNC emails described Sanders, “dufus”). My guess is that very few Trump supporters are racists, that they back Trump despite finding him appalling, because with Sanders out of the picture he is the only anti-establishment game in town. They may qualify as experiencing “racial resentment” or “gender resentment” because they are going in the opposite direction from African Americans, Hispanics, Asians and educated women; they are going down, not up. Counties dense with Trump supporters register lower income growth, higher drug use, higher suicide rates, and lower life expectancies than those dense with Clinton supporters. Many in the Clinton camp seem to believe that those dismal experiences merit no sympathy because white working class men used to enjoy the benefits of white male privilege; they are just getting their just deserts. This attitude is not only uncharitable (to put it mildly), but dangerous. If we are really worried about fascism reemerging around the world, we might think twice about declaring those losing out to globalization “deplorables” unworthy of any positive government attention, and get to work after the election creating a new deal for the working and middle classes. Elites cannot be counted on to deliver this change without powerful movements working for it. And THAT huge task will require that the working and lower middle classes combine across racial lines to defeat deadly and biased policing, elitist trade agreements that aim to increase corporate incomes and defeat public regulation, and education costs increasingly out of reach for half the country. There was once a biracial movement in this country to restructure American politics and society. It championed civil rights, economic rights, and a more level playing field throughout. It was called Populism. Time to try it again? M. Elizabeth Sanders is a professor in the government department in the College of Arts and Sciences.
— M.C.
A POEM Trump assaults women, This haiku is all it takes to show he’s unfit. — A.H.
A POEM, PART TWO Seems this is over Sorta feels like lukewarm soup All downhill from here. — A.J.
HYPOCRISY When people think it’s funny to lambast Trump, then turn around and quietly congratulate themselves for being marginally better.
THE AMERICAN PEOPLE HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF THE DAMN EMAILS Why is the Trump email listserv so hard to unsubscribe from?
— A.B.
— C.P.
WORSE THAN MOZZARELLA STICKS Voting in this election is a lot like going to Nasties: the options are sub-par, the wait has been too long, and there’s a 50 percent chance that what I end up with will make me queasy.
A POEM, PART THREE “I’m voting for Gary,” a man wrote in his memo. “I agree, he’s the best,” a second man echoed. But I turned around and said to the men, “Does he still not know about Aleppo?”
— P.R.
— W.W.
PARTY ANIMALS The Republicans have an elephant and the Democrats have a donkey — why doesn’t Gary Johnson get an animal?
SERIOUSLY But actually, what is Aleppo? — J.G.
— P.K. LET’S GET BACK TO THE REAL ISSUES PLEASE Not enough attention to the real issue in the election: hyper-
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I JUST WANT TO BE YOUR FRIEND Donald Trump makes me mad. I don’t have anything specific in mind, just his general being greatly upsets me. — E.W.
2016 ELECTION GUIDE | SPORTS
Tackling Trump: Weber on Life Beyond Football By ZACH SILVER Sun Assistant Sports Editor
When senior captain and linebacker Jackson Weber stepped on Cornell’s campus freshman year, he had two goals: become a leader of the football team and take advantage of Cornell’s renowned government department. When he is not busy leading the Red to more wins this year than the past two season combined, Weber can be found in bowels of Uris or Olin, writing his senior thesis on the American election process. He can also be found working in the offices of John Plumb, who is currently vying to unseat Ithaca’s Congressman Tom Reed (R-N.Y.). Weber says his work on communications and finance for Plumb’s campaign has been “awesome … [working] for an extraordinary guy.” Reed — a three-term incumbent of the 23rd district and one of the first congressmen to endorse Republican nominee Donald Trump — is currently polling ahead of Plumb, but the Democratic candidate is mounting a strong fight against the incumbent. Before his time working for Plumb, Weber left his mark on his home state of Wisconsin by interning for Ron Kind (D-Wisc.) in Washington, D.C. When 2016 rolled around, Weber was able to work on a presidential campaign in Hillary Clinton’s Madison office as a
COURTESY OF JACKSON WEBER ’17
Hardly working | Weber has always been interested in politics; in his home state he worked on Ron Kind’s congressional campaign.
Milwaukee — as “very white, very affluent.” He said the lessons he learned from his more disadvantaged teammates, who came to his high school through joint enrollment programs, shaped his liberal views. “I became really close with those teammates and very actively wanted to learn more about the challenges that affected them and their day-to-day lives and see how much different their lives were from me for a variety of different factors,” Weber said. “It doesn’t necessarily have to be a partisan issue but just learning about the lives of others and being open and being empathetic I think drove some of my more liberal positions.” This is not to say that Cornell is a school with a homogenous ideology. Especially on the football team, there are a wide variety of political opinions present, COURTESY OF JACKSON WEBER ’17 according to Weber. With her | The senior captain entered the realm of “We talk politics a lot, national politics in 2016, when he signed on to work for some guys more than others,” Weber said. “It’s certainly Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. something where guys aren’t communications intern. afraid to have any conversation while on “I learned a lot and met a lot of really the team.” awesome people at the office, but also While politics tends to be a divisive people who are involved with politics topic, Weber actually believes the dissentaround the state,” Weber said of his time ing opinions among team members have with the Clinton campaign. “I have improved chemistry. known for a little bit that I want to get “Having those conversations and involved in some capacity in politics and being open with each other and learnin public policy.” ing where people are coming from and Although politics was always an inter- what is important to them will ultiest in the back of his mind, it was a cur- mately make us stronger as a team,” rent events class in high school that solid- he said. ified government as one of Weber’s true Weber said realizing the differpassions. ences in upbringings of his team“I would say my real political waken- mates allows him to form more ing was during my sophomore year of cohesive bonds with his fellow high school,” he said. “[My teacher] was football players, plenty of whom a huge influence on my life and really hail from more conservative housetaught me how to begin to think critical- holds than Weber’s. ly, to be an active participant in the world “If you can take that step and be around me and not just be a bystander.” a little more understanding and knowledgable about who a guy is * * * It is no secret that many Cornellians and where he comes from and what lean left on policy issues. Weber said he makes him tick,” Weber said, “then believes his liberal tendencies stem in within football that will make us more some ways from his other biggest passion successful.” outside of politics: football. * * * Weber characterized his hometown of Outside of the 2016 election, one of Whitefish Bay — a small village outside the most hotly contested political topics
this year has been national anthem protests among NFL teams, led by San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Across the country, individual players and entire teams took a stand for Black Lives Matter in different ways. Weber noted that there was even talk of Cornell football staging its own demonstration in solidarity with the protest. “It wasn’t terribly controversial within our team,” the linebacker said. “There were also discussions on if our team wanted to do anything like that and we have not. Guys on our team aren’t really afraid to have these conversations that might be tough.” Throughout the sporting world, many argue about whether athletes should be obligated to use their fame to incite social change or to remain focused on the game. Seeing athletes like LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony expand what it means to be an athlete and speak on important topics impacting society has inspired Weber. As one of Cornell’s premier athletes, Weber has also made a name for himself outside of sports. He has served as president o f
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Cornell’s Student-Athlete Advisory Council, contributed to the Roosevelt Institute — a political think tank — and is a member of the Cornell Political Union on top of football practices and his laborious senior thesis. While football is Weber’s current, he believes his future lies outside the sports world. He plans to go to law school down the road and perhaps get involved in political campaigns himself. Before he can do that, he knows that Cornell has provided him with the tools to make his mark world around him. “Deciding to come to Cornell was the best decision I ever made,” a sentimental Weber said. “I knew coming in that this place was going to be an incredible experience athletically, academically and socially. I wanted to take advantage of this opportunity as best I can … and learn not just in the classroom but outside the classroom about this community and about the world.” Zach Silver ca be reached at zsilver@cornellsun.com.
Bonding with Bill | As a communications intern, Weber got an inside look into the Clinton’s race to reclaim the White House.
COURTESY OF JACKSON WEBER ’17