INDEPENDENT SINCE 1880
The Corne¬ Daily Sun Vol. 140, No. 24
8 Pages – Free
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2023 n ITHACA, NEW YORK
News
Dining
Science
Weather
Voting for Unionization
Mystery Latte
Daylight Savings
Partly cloudy
Graduate students voted this week on whether they wished to be represented by a union, citing unjust conditions. | Page 3
Daniela Rojas '25 recounts a mystery drink she received from a barista at Green Dragon Cafe. | Page 5
A Cornell professor explains how the body's circadian rhythm reacts to changes caused by daylight savings. | Page 8
HIGH: 57º LOW: 39º
Ithacans Cast Votes for Common Council, Mayor By NEWS DEPARTMENT
Cantelmo Grad Elected Mayor of Ithaca Robert Cantelmo grad (D), a current alderperson for the Fifth Ward, won the mayoral seat against Janis Kelly ’71, which will make him the first mayor to work with a city manager — a position that will take on the dayto-day implementation of regulations within the city. Cantelmo previously told The Sun he would use his position to act as a policy driver and community builder, especially as the role of the mayor’s official capacities are reduced, illustrated by the more than 50 percent salary decrease compared to his predecessor Mayor Laura Lewis (D). “What’s really important now for Ithaca is that the mayor will be freed up to be the political leader and the policy driver for the city,” Cantelmo said. “That requires the mayor adopting the persona of coalition building, of listener, of policy and subject matter expert, and really digging into the issues that are facing the community.” As mayor, Cantelmo said he hopes to prioritize completing the goals of the Ithaca Green New Deal and reimagining public safety efforts. He also believes Ithaca has a housing crisis that requires continuous efforts to
adequately address. As a representative for the Fifth Ward, Cantelmo worked to codify Ithaca as an abortion sanctuary city, which secured a new amendment and article in the city code to declare Ithaca a safe place for reproductive rights. He also helped establish a pay transparency law — over a year before the statewide transparency law took effect — to help workers understand their income opportunities and potential pay discrimination. Even though Cantelmo had a decade-long career in the nonprofit sector in Washington D.C. prior to moving to Ithaca and is finishing his Ph.D. in government, he said his aspirations remain on engaging in local politics. “I love the idea of raising my kids in this community. I love the idea of being settled, having seen them grow up with their friends, of giving them that stability,” Cantelmo previously told The Sun. “I really love the [research], but my passion is absolutely public service in my community. And I look forward to being able to provide that stability in my family for staying in a community that’s given a lot to us already.” Cantelmo’s term will end on Dec. 31, 2027. See RESULTS page 3
JULIA NAGEL / SUN PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Local races | A student casts their vote at the Alice Cook House polling location on Tuesday, Nov. 7.
Kuehl '24 Runs Unexpectedly Mother Divulges Dai's By JONATHAN MONG Sun News Editor
In what was previously an uncontested race, Jorge DeFendini ’22 (D-Fourth Ward) now finds his position on the Common Council in doubt following a write-in campaign by Cornell Student Assembly President Patrick Kuehl ’24. As of 11:10 p.m. on Nov. 8, DeFendini has 28 votes and all write-in candidates have 12 votes. Thirty-eight affidavit ballots and absentee ballots received after Friday, Nov. 3 have yet to be counted, according to the Tompkins County Board of Elections, which also informed The Sun that the votes for spe-
cific write-in candidates will not be tabulated until Wednesday, Nov. 15. DeFendini said he learned about Kuehl’s candidacy — which did not have any public online presence — on election night. Kuehl also did not speak to media organizations prior to Wednesday, Nov. 8. Kuehl told The Sun in an email that he chose to run because of his and other Ithacans’ dissatisfaction with the Solidarity Slate, of which DeFendini is part. “I had no intention of running initially, but as it became clear to me that there were no other options at the current time, I agreed to be the candi-
date knowing that my future in Ithaca is uncertain; I have made that abundantly clear to both those involved with the campaign and the community members I have talked to throughout this process,” Kuehl wrote. “I believe that no person should run unopposed, ideas should be challenged and the people should be given a choice. If there is no opposition, there is no accountability to make the world a better place.” The Solidarity Slate is a group of three democratic socialist candidates who share a platform that aims to center racial justice, improve access to See KUEHL page 4
JULIA NAGEL / SUN PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Surprise candidate | S.A. President Patrick Kuehl '24 launched a surprise write-in candidacy for Ward 4.
Mental Health Struggles
By SOFIA RUBINSON, JULIA SENZON and MARIAN CABALLO Sun Managing Editor and Sun News Editors
About a week after Patrick Dai ’24 was placed into custody for posting antisemitic threats on an online Cornell forum, including one that threatened a mass shooting at the University’s kosher dining hall, his mother Bing Liu described his persistent mental health struggles in an interview with Rochester’s Democrat and Chronicle. Liu said that Dai’s actions may have been influenced by his use of medications to address serious depression and anxiety. His mother told the paper that her son would frequently return to their house in Pittsford, New York during the weekends due to his “worsening depression” and that he was home on the weekend the threats were posted online. She drove him back to campus on Monday, Oct. 30, the same day that Gov. Kathy Hochul visited campus to condemn the threats and assure students that the law enforcement would find the perpetrator promptly. Liu referenced a now-deleted post titled “I am sorry it was my fault alone” posted on the evening of Oct. 29. Federal prosecutors did not identify this post as belonging to Dai in court documents, but Dai’s mother said his defense team revealed the post to her in a package of evidence after Dai’s initial court appearance last Wednesday. According to Liu, the language included in the post sounded more like her son. “Apologies. There is no room for divisive statements in person or online,”
the post stated. “Shameful, calling for violence against people solely because of a cruel war a thousand miles away. Even more shameful because there is no excuse for the targeting of innocent civilians, much less my classmates.” The post continued: “I spent a few hours reflecting alone today. I asked myself ‘What could have led me up to this point?’ ... ‘If I had gotten more mental counseling would it have been better?’ But there is no excuse. No amount of depression or loneliness or isolation is an excuse for terror or terroristic threats.” The Sun was unable to verify if the apology post was written by Dai. The federal criminal complaint against Dai filed on Tuesday, Oct. 31 referenced 10 antisemitic posts but did not identify the apology message as belonging to Dai. All posts referenced in the federal complaint, however, were written prior to the apology post, with the last cited post from 3:16 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 29. The forum used to spread these messages, Greekrank, does not require a login and all messages are posted anonymously. According to court documents, the IP information associated with multiple antisemitic posts from Oct. 28 and Oct. 29 were traced to Pittsford, while another post from Oct. 26 was traced to a different IP address that was geo-located to Ithaca. To continue reading this article, please visit www.cornellsun.com. Sofia Rubinson, Julia Senzon and Marian Caballo can be reached at news-editor@cornellsun.com.