Funding Freeze
President Michael Kotlikoff said that Cornell has not gotten an officialnotification of the funding cuts at a Tursday Student Assembly meeting. | Page 4
Greener Paul Sellew ’80 created an organization to sustainably grow lettuce with hydroponic agriculture.
By ANJELINA GONZALEZ Sun Senior Writer
April 18 — After the April 10 announcement that Kehlani was selected to headline Slope Day, President Michael Kotlikoff responded to mounting concerns at the Thursday Student Assembly meeting by stating, “It’s too late to secure another performer.”
The soulful R&B singer is set to perform on Slope Day, the annual campus-sponsored concert on Libe Slope after the last day of classes. In the week following the announcement, dissatisfaction has surfaced as students and parents have learned of the artists’ active political, specifically pro-Palestine, presence on social media.
Kolitkoff shared steps the administration had already taken to limit the artists’ political impact on campus, including a clause in her contract.
“We also altered that contract to make it clear that if there are any political events at the performance, there is full forfeit of the whole compensation,” Kotlikoff said. “We assured ourselves to the extent [possible] that this will be a successful event … without politics.”
Kehlani’s “Next 2 U” music video, released in June 2024, opens with a message that flashes “Long
Live the Intifada.” The word “intifada” literally translates to “to shake off” in Arabic. The word intifada is often associated with two Palestinian uprisings.
The First Intifada took place in the late 1980s and consisted mostly of nonviolent protests such as boycotts and demonstrations. However, this period was also marked by less frequent armed attacks by Palestinians. Israel’s military response led to steep fatalities.
This led to the Second Intifada, which took place in the early 2000s. This upris ing was incredibly deadly and is remem bered for the slew of suicide bombings by Palestinians against Israeli civilians, including in buses and in restaurants. 4,300 died as a result of this uprising.
The music video features a Palestinian flag in the background for the second half, and the background dancers wear keffiyahs and wave Palestinian flags. The video, which has over 2.4 million views on YouTube, came just weeks after the singer posted strong political views against Israel on X.
“It’s f*ck Israel, it’s f*ck Zionism, and it’s also f*ck a lot of y’all too,” the singer said in a video expressing
By SOPHIA KOMAN Sun Contributor
April 22 — Cornellians for Israel launched a petition against the selection of Kehlani as this year’s Slope Day headliner, stating that the use of “her platform to publicly call for the ‘intifada’ and to ‘dismantle Israel’” makes Jewish students feel unsafe. The petition, which has reached over 5,200 signatures in four days, calls on the University to create “an alternative experience.”
Kehlani was announced as the Slope Day headliner on April 10 and since then has faced backlash. Addressing the Student Assembly on Thursday, President Michael Kotlikoff criticized Kehlani’s Slope Day headline but said that it was “too late to secure another performer.”
The petition expressed Jewish students’ anger and safety concerns about attending Slope Day with Kehlani because of her views that “actively call for violence.” It called on the University administration to select a different artist to perform at Slope Day. The petition is open until Wednesday at 11:59 p.m.
“By giving a platform to a performer who has actively utilized her following to spread hateful messaging, you have turned this year’s Slope Day into a place that no longer supports ‘any person,’” the petition states.
Kehlani is outspoken about her pro-Palestinian beliefs online. Her music video “Next 2 U,” released in June 2024, features dancers in keffiyehs waving Palestinian flags. In a separate video expressing her discontent with other music industry members for not speaking out in favor of Palestine she said, “It’s f*ck Israel, it’s f*ck Zionism, and it’s also f*ck a lot of y’all too.”
A joint Instagram post with CFI, Alums for Campus Fairness, StandWithUs Campus and Stand With Us also cited screenshots of Kehlani’s Instagram which she referred to Zionists as the “scum of the earth” and said they should “go to hell.”
The post called Kehlani “antisemitic” and pointed to her “history of promoting anti-Israel rhetoric and disinformation.”
“We’re calling on the university to refund our student activities fee or choose a different performer,” the Instagram post states.
Yael Schranz ’26, treasurer for CFI and executive board member, expressed her frustration with Kehlani being selected as the headliner.
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discontent with other music industry members not speaking up on behalf of Palestine.
In a Tiny Desk Concert performance in July 2024, Kehlani took a moment to share her support for Palestine again.
“I want to take a second to say free Palestine, free Congo, free Sudan, free Yemen, free Hawai‘i,” Kehlani said. “Beyond an end to the ceasefire, we need an end to the occupation.”
The artist’s statements about the conflict have been met with backlash from some Cornell parents in the Cornell University Parents Group on Facebook. One user wrote, “Given the threatened loss of $1 billion for anti-[Semitism], who at Cornell thought it would be a good idea to hire Kehlani for
The New York Times broke the news of Cornell facing $1 billion in federal
funding cuts on April 8. At the Thursday Student Assembly meeting, Kotlikoff said that the University still has “not gotten formal notification” of — and by extension, the reason for — the funding freeze.
Kotlikoff stated that the University was unaware of Kehlani’s political views when beginning negotiations for her to perform in October, but now it is “too late.”
“We found out about the social media of this performer roughly three weeks ago,” Kotlikoff said. “It’s too late to secure another performer that will be acceptable or appropriate for Slope Day.”
Kehlani’s performance follows a year of campus tensions surrounding the conflict in the Middle East and administrative crackdown on expressive activity.
Within the last month, 17 protestors were arrested or detained for protesting during a panel titled “Pathways to Peace,” featuring four speakers on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Five of 13 detained protestors declined their conditional case dismissals in Ithaca City Court on April 10.
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Anjelina Gonzalez can be reached at agonzalez@cowrnellsun.com.
By BENJAMIN LEYNSE and JEREMIAH JUNG Sun News Editor and Assistant News Editor
April 20 — Nearly 250 faculty and students gathered on Ho Plaza to protest escalating federal attacks against higher education institutions on Thursday, joining over 75 universities across the country for the National Day of Action for Higher Ed — a coordinated protest which, according to its website, aims “to renew [the] vision of higher education as an autonomous public good.”
Cornell’s rally, titled “Hands
Off Higher Ed,” was organized by Cornell’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors and CU Out Loud — a new group aiming to build coalitions of support across the University in response to the Trump administration. Thursday’s event featured speeches from seven faculty members throughout the University each criticizing federal cuts to Cornell’s research funding and the threat to the integrity of academic institutions.
The demonstration comes on the heels of $1 billion in federal contracts being frozen at
Cornell. According to President Michael Kotlikoff at a Thursday Student Assembly meeting, the University has still “not gotten formal notification” about the funding freeze. However, Cornell has still received at least 75 stopwork orders halting research projects across the University.
Prof. Alyssa Apsel, electrical and computer engineering, told the crowd at Thursday’s rally that the department of electrical and computer engineering received several stop-work orders even though there were “no politics infused in any” of the targeted projects. Apsel described how these temporary orders will have serious long term effects.
“Our graduate programs, particularly in math and science and engineering … will not exist without federal research dollars,” Apsel said. “What this administration is doing is not just eliminating today’s research, it’s eliminating tomorrow’s.”
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Wednesday, April 30
Was 1869 Mendeleev’s “Crucial Year”?— Or Henry Guerlac in St. Petersburg
5-6:30pm, Guerlac Room, A.D. White House
Invasive Species: A Collaborative Exhibit
All day, Mann Library, Gallery, Second Floor
Bangla Conversation Hour 3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m., Stimson Hall, G25
BOOM: Bits On Our Minds –Student Showcase 4 p.m. – 6 p.m., Duffield Hall
Phi Beta Kappa Distinguished Lecture: Maria Cristina Garcia 4:30 p.m. – 6 p.m., Goldwin Smith Hall, G76
If God Exists, What Then? 5:30 p.m. – 7 p.m., Myron Taylor Hall, Room 182 Today
Tomorrow
Farmers’ Market at Cornell 11 a.m - 2 p.m., Ag Quad
Annual Service of Remembrance 4:30 p.m. – 5:15 p.m., Sage Chapel
Cornell Concert Series: Roomful of Teeth
7:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m., Bailey Hall
As the semester winds to a close, Cornellians had a chance this week to enjoy warmer weather and blooming trees and fowers all over campus.
By SUN PHOTOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT
SWINGING INTO SPRING | A student reads under a shady area near The Cornell Store.
By AVERY WANG Sun Senior Writer
April 18 — As Cornell sees an over $1 billion funding cut from the Trump administration and at least four student visa revocations, President Michael Kotlikoff and Dean of Students Marla Love addressed the Student Assembly at its Thursday meeting.
Funding Cuts
Kotlikoff said that the University still has “not gotten formal notification” of the funding freeze at the Assembly meeting, over a week after The New York Times broke the news of the cuts on April 8, based on information from U.S. officials.
The University received over 75 stop-work orders from the Department of Defense on Monday related to Cornell research “that is profoundly significant to American national defense, cybersecurity, and health,” according to an April 8 University statement. Kotlikoff explained on Thursday that the University is continuing to review work-stop orders issued by the federal government and is currently discussing the withdrawal of some research grants with its executive sponsors.
Kotlikoff also provided updates on ongoing discussions about raising the federal tax on University endowments, which is currently at 1.4 percent of Cornell’s over $10.7 billion endowment. He stated that the administration is working to educate people about the endowment tax and “minimize the impact” for universities.
“We are in the midst of a group of somewhat unprecedented threats to the University, to universities in general, but certainly including Cornell,” Kotlikoff said.
Resolution 37: Protecting Immigrant Students
The president responded to Resolution 37: Protecting Immigrant Students on Monday, rejecting several of the Assembly’s suggestions and pointing to existing resources for international students.
At Thursday’s meeting, Kotlikoff offered more context for his formal response.
Amid concerns for the safety of international students following numerous executive orders issued
by the Trump administration, Resolution 37 proposed implementing an annual mandatory “Know Your Rights” training for all Cornell students, faculty and staff. The training outlines how to respond to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other external law enforcement officials’ requests for affiliates’ information.
“We have not mandated that training for everyone in the University,” Kotlikoff said. “We don’t feel that that’s the right way to go about that … — to mandate something [or] to penalize somebody if they don’t do it. But we have provided that opportunity for anybody who needs that information.”
Resolution 37 also proposed implementing the Welcome Corps on Campus, which utilizes higher education as a resource for U.S. resettlement and a pathway to U.S. citizenship. The WCC also operates under the U.S. Department of State for refugees through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program.
Kotlikoff did not address the WCC in his written response, Executive Vice President Adam Vinson ’25 pointed out in the question section.
Kotlikoff said he would “like to understand more” about the program before considering it.
‘Cornell Follows the Law’ Kotlikoff clarified his assertion that “Cornell follows the law” in a Feb. 21 University statement that addressed community concerns about changing federal guidelines and regulations to research programs, National Institutes for Health funding and diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
At Thursday’s meeting, Kotlikoff distinguished between Cornell obeying “the law” and “what someone asserts is the law,” stating that the University will “stand up to … and oppose” directives that are illegal or “go beyond our understanding of what the law is. “
“People assumed that that meant that we would comply with any assertion,” Kotlikoff said. “That’s not really what I said. We will obey the law. That’s not what someone asserts is the law.”
By KATE TURK Sun Assistant News Editor
April 17 — President Michael Kotlikoff acknowledged Student Assembly Resolution 37: “Protecting Immigrant Students” on Monday, while rejecting several of the Assembly’s suggestions and pointing to existing resources for international students.
Resolution 37, which sought to increase protections for immigrant students, passed in the Assembly on March 6 in a room crowded with more than 100 community members gathered to show support for the resolution.
In his acknowledgement of the resolution, President Kotlikoff rejected several demands, including implementing mandatory “Know Your Rights” training for all students, faculty and staff, designating certain campus buildings, namely religious spaces, as “exempt” from ICE activity and providing legal assistance to international students facing visa revocations.
The resolution and its acknowledgment from Kotlikoff come amid rising concerns over the safety of international students in the wake of executive orders from the Trump administration. These orders have been the basis for numerous ICE arrests of immigrant students and revocations of student visas across college campuses, including grad-
By WESLEY ROGERS
uate student Momodou Taal, who was told to surrender himself to ICE custody in the middle of a legal battle with the administration.
“Cornell is committed to supporting our immigrant and international community, and to helping mitigate the impact of the ongoing changes to the federal landscape,” wrote Kotlikoff.
“Cornell is committed to supporting our immigrant and international community, and to helping mitigate the impact of the ongoing changes to the federal landscape.”
President Kotlikoff
In his response, Kotlikoff said that “Know Your Rights” training is, and will continue to be made available, but, “as a general rule, Cornell avoids adding mandatory training for all students, staff, and faculty for whom the information may not be required.”
Further, Kotlikoff explained that the University does not represent individuals in personal legal matters, but directed students to the DACA and undocumented student support office and several immigration clinics run by the Law School.
Kotlikoff also referenced several existing University-run websites, including the Executive Order website, the immigration advice and resources website and international services page.
Adam Vinson ’25, executive vice president of the Assembly and co-sponsor of the resolution, acknowledged the administration’s existing protections for students and expressed hope that it would be enough in a statement sent to The Sun.
“Kotlikoff’s response detailed the many actions that the University is taking to protect international, immigrant, and DACA students,” Vinson wrote. “Those actions are good. However, time will tell whether that alone will be enough.”
The resolution also urged the administration to avoid issuing suspensions to international students that could threaten their visa status. Kotlikoff responded that a student’s immigration status was “not a relevant factor” when considering sanctions and that the University will continue to abide by the Student Code of Conduct.
We proposed additional protections and were told that it wasn’t necessary. I hope we are wrong,” Vinson wrote.
By MAX TROIANO Sun Senior Writer
April 21 — Over 500 people gathered in Dewitt Park downtown Saturday for a protest against the Trump administration.
The event was part of a National Day of Action organized across the country by the grassroots 50501 movement, and sought to draw support from a broad array of causes. It featured speeches from professors and political figures to a crowd assembled in the park, many of whom held signs criticizing Elon Musk or expressing solidarity with federal workers.
A poster for the Ithaca event advertised support for “social security, medicare and medicaid, Ukraine, Palestine, immigration rights, LGBTQ rights, voting rights, and everything this administration is destroying.”
The rally included speeches by its organizer, Angelica Pazmino-Schell ’25, former Alderperson and current Common Council candidate Jorge DeFendini ’22, Common Council candidate Hannah Shvets ’27 and Prof. Kenneth Roberts, government.
At times, it was difficult to make out what speakers were saying over the wind, drizzle, and cars honking in support, but the crowd often responded with enthusiastic support.
Prof. Alyssa Apsel, electrical and computer engineering, emphasized the importance of defending science and technology research in a speech to the crowd.
“I feel like I have to be [here], because this is existential. This is about us, this is about my kids, this is about generations of scientists,” Apsel said. “We’re risking a lot. Our programs, my entire life’s work, is at risk here, but I’m willing to do it because this is existential. And we will continue to fight.”
A representative of Assemblymember Anna Kelles (D-125th District) read a statement from her about resistance and respect for the
environment on Earth Day.
“It is our responsibility to say, ‘I notice,’” the representative said. “To see and to name the dismantling of our system of higher education, the systematic dismantling of critical thinking, we will not be quiet. We are not sheep — we are lions, and we will not be silenced.”
This was the first protest organized by Pazmino-Schell ’25, a student studying engineering. She said she has attended many protests but only decided to organize this one when she learned Ithaca didn’t have an event planned for the National Day of Action.
By JEREMIAH JUNG Sun Assistant News Editor
April 19 — The Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of Cornell employees in Cunningham et. al. v. Cornell University on Thursday, delivering an opinion that will make it significantly easier for workers to sue employers for retirement plan violations under federal law.
More than 30,000 Cornell employees sued the University last Fall, alleging that it violated the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. The plaintiffs claimed that the University mismanaged their 403(b) retirement plans by paying excessive fees to service providers, Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America-College Retirement Equities Fund, Fidelity Investments and by failing to monitor investment performance.
In the opinion authored by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the Court held that workers don’t need to prove harm or anticipate every legal excuse their employer might use. Instead, they just have to “plausibly allege” that a prohibited transaction occurred under ERISA, which lowers the barrier for employees to get their cases past the initial stage and into court.
The Court also clarified that ERISA’s exemptions, which allow certain otherwise-prohibited transactions if they meet conditions such as being necessary and reasonably priced, are affirmative defenses. This means that fiduciaries, not employees, must raise and prove them later
in the legal process.
Sotomayor noted in her opinion that requiring plaintiffs to disprove hundreds of statutory and regulatory exemptions “would be impractical,” especially considering relevant information is typically held by fiduciaries.
While Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh had expressed concern about opening the door to “burdensome” and “meritless” lawsuits, the opinion pointed to existing procedural tools, like Rule 11 sanctions and discovery limits, as sufficient safeguards.
Rule 11 ensures lawyers file claims in good faith, allowing courts to sanction those who bring baseless or abusive lawsuits, while discovery limits prevent the fact-gathering stage of trials from going on for too long.
Justice Samuel Alito wrote a separate concurring opinion expressing concern about the practical consequences of the Court’s decision. Joined by Justices Clarence Thomas and Kavanaugh, he noted that universities often hire outside firms to manage their retirement plans, making those firms “parties of interest” under ERISA. This could turn regular plan management procedures into legal issues unless an exemption applies.
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Jeremiah Jung can be reached at jwjung@cornellsun.com.
“I decided that I had to [organize] it because I felt that representation from Ithaca was important, especially with what’s going on with colleges,” she said.
Pazmino-Schell was in contact with Indivisible Tompkins, a local branch of the national anti-Trump activist organization Indivisible, who she said chose not to organize an event so soon after the national Hands Off! protest on April 5, which was the largest rally in Ithaca since the Women’s March in January 2017. She is also the founder of What You Can Do Now, which provides information on events, opportunities and resources for political
activism.
Pazmino-Schell added that she hoped to accommodate a wide ideological spread and bring the protest movement together.
“People are there for one reason — under multiple flags, but for one reason, right? To resist what’s happening in the administration,” she said. “I think liberals and Democrats in general have much more diverse viewpoints than a lot of Republicans, so I think that bringing that energy to the protest would be a great idea.”
Shvets, a candidate for the Common Council’s Fifth Ward, agreed that it was good to see people from different backgrounds in attendance.
“I really like to see people I haven’t seen before,” Shvets said. “A lot of the events we go to, there [are] very specific organizations, which I think is great, but it’s also amazing to see people from all sorts of groups because it shows that we’re all united against this and we have real energy in Ithaca.”
Attendees came from a variety of ages and backgrounds. Ithaca College sophomore Daniel Edelman said it was the first protest he had attended in years.
“I feel like this administration is doing a bunch of stuff that’s alienating our country from our allies, removing the rights from our citizens, and it’s just not good,” Edelman said.
After about an hour of speeches, the National Day of Action protest ended and many attendees made their way to the Ithaca Commons, where Ithaca’s annual Earth Day Festival was underway.
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Max Troiano can be reached at mtroiano@cornellsun.com.
143rd Editorial Board
JULIA SENZON ’26
Editor in Chief
ERIC HAN ’26
Associate Editor
SOPHIA DASSER ’28
Opinion Editor
ILANA LIVSHITS ’27
Assistant Opinion Editor
AUDREY IM ’26
Business Manager
SOPHIA TORRES 26
Marketing Manager
SYDNEY LEVINTON ’27
Arts & Culture Editor
JAMES PALM ’27
Assistant Arts & Culture Editor
JENNA LEDLEY ’27
Assistant Arts & Culture Editor
MELISSA MOON ’28
Assistant Arts & Culture Editor
SOPHIA ROMANOV IMBER ’28
Assistant Arts & Culture Editor
KAITLYN BELL ’28
Lifestyle Editor
MAIA MEHRING ’27
Lifestyle Editor
KARLIE MCGANN ’27
Photography Editor
MATTHEW KORNICZKY ’28
Assistant Photography Editor
STEPHAN MENASCHE ’28
Assistant Photography Editor
MIRELLA BERKOWITZ ’27
Multimedia Editor
HANNIA AREVALO ’27
Graphics Editor
JADE DUBUCHE ’27
Social Media Editor
HUNTER PETMECKY ’28
Layout Editor
RENA GEULA ’28
Layout Editor
Letter to the Editor
DOROTHY FRANCE-MILLER ’27
Managing Editor
MATTHEW KIVIAT ’27
Assistant Managing Editor
VERA SUN ’27
Advertising Manager
ALEX LIEW ’27
Human Resources Manager
BENJAMIN LEYNSE ’27
News Editor
VARSHA BHARGAVA ’27
News Editor
ISABELLA HANSON ’27
News Editor
CEREESE QUSBA ’27
News Editor
REEM NASRALLAH ’28
Assistant News Editor
ANGELINA TANG ’28
Assistant News Editor
KATE TURK ’27
Assistant News Editor
GABRIEL MUÑOZ ’26
City Editor
JANE HAVILAND ’28
Features Editor
JEREMIAH JUNG ’28
Assistant News Editor
KAITLIN CHUNG ’26
Science Editor
MARISSA GAUT ’27
Science Editor
ALEXIS ROGERS ’28
Sports Editor
ZEINAB FARAJ ’28
Assistant Sports Editor
DYLAN GRAFF ’28
Assistant Sports Editor
SIMRAN LABORE ’27
Weather Editor
ALLISON HECHT ’26
Newsletter Editor
Editor’s Note: Te following letter was submitted to the editor on April 16 2025 and was released on April 17 2025 to the Cornell Board of Trustees and general Cornell community.
Tis is an open letter signed by more than 500 Cornell faculty members. On this National Day of Action for Higher Education, we join colleagues from 14 universities around the country who have signed similar letters. Here at Cornell, there will be a rally today at 5 pm on Ho Plaza. We hope faculty, staf and students will join us in calling on the Cornell administration to stand up to attacks on higher education.
Dear Members of the Cornell Board of Trustees,
Ongoing attacks on American universities threaten bedrock principles of a democratic society, including rights of free expression, association and inquiry. In light of this unprecedented assault, we urge Cornell’s leadership to do three things:
1. Continue to publicly condemn attacks on universities.
2. Legally contest and refuse to comply with unlawful demands that threaten academic freedom and university self-governance. Freedom from political interference has allowed American universities to lead the world in scientifc, medical and artistic innovation, as well as humanistic and social scientifc research, from which our entire country benefts.
3. Work with other universities and Cornell’s own alumni networks to mount a coordinated opposition to these anti-democratic attacks.
Signed,
Peter Katzenstein, Walter S. Carpenter Professor, Jr. of International Studies; President of the American Political Science Association (2008-09)
Michael Dorf, Robert S. Stevens Professor of Law
Tim Ryan, Tri-Institutional Professor Weill Cornell Medicine
Rachel Beatty Riedl, Peggy J. Koenig ‘78 Director of the Brooks Center on Global Democracy; Government Department and Brooks School of Public Policy
Philip Lewis, Professor Emeritus of Romance Studies and former vice-president of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
Roald Hofmann, Frank H. T. Rhodes Professor of Humane Letters Emeritus and Nobel Laureate in Chemistry
please visit: www.cornellsun.com.
Anurag Agrawal is the James A. Perkins Professor of Environmental Studies in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. He is a feld biologist and studies the Ecology and Evolution of Botany and Entomology. His column Candor and Chlorophyll runs weekly this semester. He can be reached at profaagrawal@cornellsun.com.
Ihave nothing new to teach the world; candor and chlorophyll are as old as the hills. In my unextraordinary life, I’ve had the opportunity to be at one of the world’s great institutions of “higher” learning — one which afords me the opportunity to fuel a love for plants and the animals that eat them. As an ecology professor at Cornell, I’ve had the privilege of witnessing this ‘animal vegetarian lifestyle’ up close, a world brimming with evolutionary quirks and modern-day challenges. My aim in this column is to share the pleasure and responsibility of discovery. Why plants? It’s a question I’ve often pondered. Perhaps it was a lucky alignment of passion and profession. Or maybe, like a seed fnding fertile ground, I could have taken root in any number of felds. Regardless, a childhood steeped in vegetables, fertile gardens and the call of the outdoors undoubtedly sowed the initial interest. Te diversity of spices, the architecture of leaves and persistent mysteries — these continue to captivate me. And then there’s the fundamental truth, often overlooked: Plants are the silent powerhouses of our planet, converting sunlight, water and carbon dioxide into the very energy that sustains all life. Sharing this wonder is energizing in itself. After all, isn’t a deeper understanding of ourselves and our environment what we all ultimately seek? Candor, to me, is a cornerstone of academic responsibility. It means questioning assumptions, crafting clear narratives and striving for what is real, right or — at the very least — well-reasoned. Humans excel at
justifcation, a trait that often blinds us to alternative perspectives. Recognizing this tendency, refection becomes paramount. In this column, expect unfnished thoughts — honest explorations acknowledging the limits of my own understanding. While I have principles, ideas and aspirations, my views are evolving. I invite you to join this ongoing process of discovery.
Te seeds of this column were sown in an unexpected event: the curious theft of some botanical specimens, which sparked refections on loss and our relationship with the natural world. From there, my thoughts branched out, exploring the distinctions between humans and other animals, and the shared experience of a changing climate and shifting seasons. Te urgent need for biodiversity conservation has long been a driving force, leading me to ponder the precarious state of monarch butterfies and the complex interplay of science and policy within the Endangered Species Act. More recently, I’ve been grappling with the concept of ‘resistance’ — those actions we feel compelled to take but fnd ourselves unable to. Inspiration for these explorations comes from the keen minds of Cornell students, the wisdom of elders and, of course, the quiet resilience of plants themselves.
So, as we embark on this journey together, expect a healthy dose of candor, seasoned with the ever-present wonder of chlorophyll. Spring’s arrival feels like a ftting moment to begin this exploration. I’m grateful you’ve decided to take this walk in the woods with me.
Henry Schechter ’26 is a senior editor on the 143rd Editorial Board and was the opinion editor on the 142nd Editorial Board. He is a Government and American Studies major in the College of Arts & Sciences and an incoming J.D. candidate at Cornell Law School. His fortnightly column Onward focuses on politics, history and how they come together in Ithaca. He can be reached at schechter@cornellsun.com.
Iam an only child, so I don’t have any experience with siblings. But on Monday, the Ivy League’s academic big brother, Harvard University, did what I expect any parent would want an older sibling to do. Tey set an example.
Just before spring break, I wrote urging the Cornell administration to work with the rest of the Ivy League and other schools in challenging the actions of the Trump administration. Since then, Cornell has seen $1 billion in funding frozen by the federal government.
What schools like Cornell need is substantive messaging that takes a frm, public stance against the threats to academic freedom. One way Trump’s populism mobilizes the public against higher education is by painting a picture of elite universities as enemy institutions that profer dangerous ideas and represent “woke” ideology. In reality, they’re sandboxes for ideas to make society a better place. Challenging that perception requires loud, vocal support for the good work universities like our own do for society: innovations in spacefight, advancement of artifcial intelligence and developments in novel cancer treatments among other public goods.
Tat kind of highly public, vocal, individualized advocacy about the benefts of research universities requires some real guts. And taking the frst step towards it is understandably difcult. Last week, a senior Cornell administrator framed it to me as a classic collective action problem. And they were exactly correct.
A collective action problem — familiar to any Cornellian in an economics or government class — is a situation in which a group shares a goal, but individual members hesitate to act, hoping others will. Put simply: why stick your neck out when someone else will do it for you?
In our case, high-level research universities broadly share the goal of defending academic freedom but fear the retribution associated with taking a stand. Te administrator I talked to described this as the threat of being taken hostage. No school wants to take the frst step. Textbook collective action problem: group interest, individual paralysis.
How do you overcome the paralysis? You need a frst mover: a respected individual who takes that gutsy frst step and absorbs the uncertainty of action. Maybe the risks aren’t as bad as everyone’s making them out to be, but they’ll never know until someone acts. Once that dam breaks, momentum can build.
On Monday, Harvard University took that frst step. President Alan Garber rebuked the Trump administration’s demands on his university. Tey included leadership, hiring and admissions reforms; student discipline adjustments; viewpoint rebalancing within the faculty; and government monitoring. None of these changes are in line with the institution of academic freedom. So Harvard rightly charted a frm course, stating their “University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights” in the face of government demands.
Now, the collective action problem shifts from cooperation to momentum. Te snowball has begun to roll and it’s time for it to grow. Institutions like our own should take the cue from Harvard and join the fght.
On Monday, before seeing the news from Harvard, Cornell dipped its toes into the shallow end of resistance. In the relatively safe legal sphere, Cornell banded together with land-grant universities, the Association of American Universities and a variety of strong public and private schools to sue the Department of Energy over the cuts to indirect costs for DOE-sponsored research grants. Tis was a frst sign of a resistant attitude from Cornell.
Now that they have seen Harvard take the frst step, Cornell’s administration should ratchet the pressure up a notch and join the fray of vocal opposition against the Trump administration from the highest levels of academia.
It was only natural for America’s most prestigious university to set the tone in fghting challenges to academic freedom. Harvard is the older sibling of the Ivy League, and we need to follow them into the heat of opposition. Collective action is no longer an excuse. We can’t leave our big brother to fght alone.
Jan Burzlaff
Jan Burzlaf is a Postdoctoral Associate in the Program for Jewish Studies. Ofce Hours (Open Door Edition) is his weekly dispatch to the Cornell community — a professor’s refections on teaching, learning, and the small moments that make a campus feel human. He can be reached at profburzlaf@cornellsun.com.
As we near the final stretch of the semester, the trees are finally blooming, yes — but so are the inboxes. Graded papers, returned exams and prelim results morph into final reminders. Feedback is flying, and with it comes a surge of quiet reckoning. Students are calculating paths forward. Faculty are bracing for the final push. And amid all this movement lies one of the most delicate, unpredictable and easily misunderstood parts of university life: feedback. Last fall, a student came to office hours looking uneasy. They had just received their first paper back. “I saw your comments,” they said, pausing. “I know it probably means I’m not cut out for this.” It didn’t. My comments — about structure, clarity and argument — were meant to help refine their ideas, not reject them. But I knew what they were hearing, because I have heard it in my own head. In the quiet space between what a professor writes and what a student reads, a whole story can form. Often, it’s a harsher one than either side intends. That’s the strange thing about feedback: It’s meant to be a bridge, but it can feel like a verdict. I distinctly remember a moment from my last year of college at the Sorbonne. I had spent weeks on a history paper — researching, drafting, revising late into the night. I turned it in with that nervous feeling of having done something that mattered to me. When the professor — someone I still admire deeply for her intellect — returned the papers in front of everyone, she made a sharp comment to each student as she handed them back. Then she got to mine. Without looking at me, she dropped it on the table and said, “I never give an 18 out of 20 (equivalent to an A+). Now I had to.”
It was meant as praise. And yet I felt exposed, like I’d broken a rule I didn’t know existed. Once I started teaching myself, I came to understand that this was an entrenched ritual of French academia — public criticism is considered more formative than private encouragement, and praise is often viewed with suspicion. But in that moment, what stayed with me was the tone. Feedback, even when it’s positive, can distort when it’s not delivered with care. So here’s something I need to say clearly: Feedback is not a final judgment, but an invitation. And more often than not, it’s written with far more hope than students imagine.
From the professor’s side, feedback is often written at odd hours — between classes, while traveling or late at night with a mug of tea (I only recently kicked a nasty Coke Zero habit). It tries to balance encouragement with honesty, clarity with kindness. We want to help, but words often arrive detached from tone or context. And by the time a student reads them, they’re sitting alone, trying to translate what it all means for them. Not all feedback is well-crafted: Sometimes we miss the mark. But most of the time, we write those comments hop-
ing you’ll see what we saw: the potential, the idea just beneath the surface, the sentence that almost worked and could still open something up.
Over time, I’ve learned — slowly, imperfectly — that feedback isn’t just an academic tool, but an emotional exchange. Many not only hear what is said; they also hear what they already fear. And professors, though we rarely admit it, carry fears too — that our comments will come across as careless, or too sharp, or too vague to be useful. And there are even deeper emotional layers. Students who are the first in their families to attend college, or those navigating feelings of impostor syndrome, may experience even well-meaning suggestions as confirmation that they don’t belong. That’s why transparency, warmth and follow-up matter — not just in how we assess work, but in how we talk about it.
Research backs this up. A meta-analysis of over 800 educational studies found that feedback — when done well — has one of the strongest impacts on learning. The average effect size? An astonishing 0.73. That means feedback, more than almost any other intervention, can make a real difference.
That’s also why professors benefit from feedback. This time of the academic year is a good time to ask: What has worked, and what has not? What would help you all learn better? Students notice when we listen. And when we model how to receive critique without defensiveness, we teach more than content — we teach how to learn.
That exchange, when done thoughtfully, can be transformational. It’s a reminder that feedback is not just something we give but something we practice. And it never really ends. Most of what I do now, as a professor, is shaped by feedback — from peer reviewers and editors to colleagues. I revise lectures, rewrite articles and get turned down, more often than not. My colleague Johannes Haushofer, now a professor in the Department of Economics and the Brooks School of Public Policy, published a “CV of Failures” back in 2016 — a move that was, at the time, revolutionary. Much of my own job has been a process of learning not to take rejection personally — of realizing that it’s not me being rejected, but an argument not fully spelled out, a sentence that didn’t land, a framing that needs more work. As a student, I thought feedback had a finish line. As a professor, I now know that it does not. It is a feature of how ideas grow. We teach that, too, when we invite revision, when we admit that learning is iterative. Feedback, at its best, is a conversation. If you’ve received feedback that hurt, I hope you’ll bring it in. Not just the paragraph or the comment — but the feeling: the uncertainty, the disappointment, the sense of being quietly crushed. Sometimes the best conversations start there. After all, feedback is not the end of the story: It’s only the beginning.
Francis Xavier Jaso is a freshman studying Government and Economics in the College of Arts & Sciences. His fortnightly column A Contrarian’s Calamity defes normative, dysfunctional campus discourse in the name of reason, hedonism and most notably, satire. He can be reached at faso@cornellsun.com.
Be Whoever You Want. Just Don’t Be a VP (For Now).
Wake up. Check Outlook. Parse the Slack chat. And “cofee chat” — whatever that means — a dorky freshman. He’s eager, bright-eyed and convinced that a fve-minute exchange with a disinterested upperclassman is the key to breaking into [insert acronym here]. But alas, he too will succumb to the institutional perils that Cornell fagrantly permits.
Tis scholastic phenomenon, to some extent, is appealing, but to less myopic thinkers, appalling. And it is especially peculiar that, while our institutions bicker at the government over inconspicuous funding (relative to endowment money aplenty), it is then when they pay no mind to the erosion of their principles, all whilst extending Student and Campus Life funding. But so be it: Viva Cornell’s most popular, albeit dreadful, extracurricular activity: Careerism.
Tis parasitic entity, one that has infected every facet of student life, has effectively warped the purpose of higher education into something resembling a Tiger Mother’s hellscape. Attend the frst session of ClubFest, and you’ll fnd that at least half of the organizations exist purely as gilded drinking groups or, in the instance of a national organization, diverge from central doctrine. Consulting clubs, pre-law fraternities, investment banking societies — whatever makes your wallet tingle — still attract woeful subjects, despite their decreasing relevance in the national labor market. Getting into some of these groups requires a multi-round interview process, complete with technical or outright absurdist questions, case studies, and a general willingness to forsake intellectual fervor in favor of being “marketable.”
Te University loves this. Self-sustained coalitions churn out the typical six-fgure starting salary candidates, most of whom will sufer from anterior pelvic tilt and pupil strain over mere months, a trade-of neither I nor Gwenyth Paltrow would dare subject to. But those who do afrm the university’s supposed funding methodology: that near-guaranteed, promisingly afuent alumni will inevitably drop their share in the ofertory, largely without excessive mobilization or campaigning.
Only nostalgia can accurately depict the days when American universities were sanctuaries for intellectual exploration, for debates about Kant (or “c*nt”) over cheap Napa wines and the occasional ill-advised foray into universalism.
Higher education is a $90,000-a-year investment, and students are under hot pressure to secure a return on that investment. Yet, as if we had not established ourselves over our peers in secondary, a convoluted, elite-instituted monopoly on academia, ideology and labor divides us further.
English majors spend half their time justifying their existence. “What are you going to do with that?” is the immediate response to any major that isn’t tied to fnance, bioengineering or tech.
Despite our Ivy pedigree and university-touted idealism, the school has
seemingly secured more hefty returns on equities and trades than it has on moral and spiritual cultivation. Tat centuries-old “promise” of virtue endowed not by a Carnegian employer, but attained through equal doses of self-cultivation and efacing — a guarantee that HR need not contemplate their candidate’s moral aptitude nor critical thinking, but merely their Microsoft certifcations and GPA. And alas, the numbers agree, with the popular CIS accounting for a whopping 17% of all undergraduates — because god forbid you waste four years learning something that is not monetizable.
And it isn’t just Cornell. A recent article in Te Atlantic described how students at elite universities are struggling to engage with literature beyond their assigned course readings. Making matters worse, many arrive at college like daughters in boxes, viewing themselves in the same sense they had prior to college: vying for interests that are not their own.
Now, we ought not be fully averse to these themes: ambition is not the enemy. Tere is nothing inherently wrong with wanting a solid job at Palantir working on LLMs that target refugees, or reaping cash from credit reliant Americans. We have to keep this lifestyle going somehow, no? But when the pursuit of employment eclipses the pursuit of knowledge, something vital, something human, is lost.
A university is meant to be a place of continual discovery, where students engage with ideas not because they’re proftable but because they’re frankly cool. Liberal education is not intended to produce instantaneous fnancial utility; it’s about learning how to think, how to question, how to exist in the world with a mind that fetters to the whim of market fuctuations, or how many hours the suit must work overtime in the hope of Chipotle, or better yet, late drinks at Delmonico’s.
So what’s the solution? Let’s start with reclaiming education as an end in and of itself. It entails embracing the humanities, not as a gen-ed, but as a pursuit that seeks to frame our current contexts with those of old; to evolve with, not against, technology. It means taking classes that don’t translate seamlessly into Workday expectations. It is joining clubs for fun rather than for a vacuous LinkedIn accolade.
It means, simply put, being a student. If you weren’t told to be whoever you want by mother dearest, allow me to be the one to do so. Be a social justice warrior; a haughty international student with three metropolises in their bio; a frst-generation student unsure about her major, but destined to carry herself to the top regardless of shifts in interest. Te corporate world isn’t going anywhere. But scholarship, introspection and even Hideaway? Tose remotely disappear the moment you trade curiosity for the cloister.
So relax; open a novel, put that Clairo on — and get yourself a beer while you’re at it.
By TANIA HAO Sun Contributor
Just inside the entrance to the CALS Zone in Mann Library, between the gray trash can and blue recycling bin, sits an unassuming white bin — one of many that can be found across campus.
These bins are part of the Society for Natural Resources Conservation’s TerraCycle initiative. TerraCycle is a private US-based company that helps individuals and organizations recycle items that cannot be recycled through traditional municipal recycling programs, such as plastic packaging and wrappers.
As a student organization at Cornell, SNRC takes part in several recycling programs from TerraCycle, aimed at reducing campus waste and providing non-traditional recycling options for students.
“We bring this program on campus so that students have a way to dispose of their items without it ending up in the landfill. We produce so much waste, and its fate can be changed just because you put it in a different bin.”
Rania Wanandi ‘26
Among various recycling initiatives, SNRC participates in TerraCycle’s paid Zero Waste Boxes, specialized containers for collecting specific types of waste that are then sent to TerraCycle for recycling. TerraCycle repurposes this waste into raw plastic material, which is then reused
by other corporations, according to the company’s website.
SNRC’s TerraCycle program accepts a variety of conventionally non-recyclable waste, including plastic wrappers, toothbrushes and cleaning supplies. People can dispose of accepted waste in any of SNRC’s TerraCycle bins across Cornell, including Martha’s Cafe, Noyes Community Recreation Center and Robert Purcell Community Center. Anabel’s Grocery has also partnered with SNRC to obtain a plastic packaging box to manage the waste generated by daily bulk deliveries.
Rania Wanandi ’26 is SNRC’s president and the TerraCycle program coordinator. “We bring this program on campus so that students have a way to dispose of their items without it ending up in the landfill,” Wanandi said. “It’s a great way to change your waste stream. We produce so much waste on the daily basis, and its fate can be changed just because you put it in a different bin.”
On a bi-weekly basis, Wanandi and the other members of SNRC’s TerraCycle team retrieve any waste left in the TerraCycle bins across campus. They organize the different types of waste into the corresponding Zero Waste Boxes stored at SNRC’s headquarters and send them to TerraCycle for recycling.
For Wanandi, an who studies environment and sustainability, waste management has always been an area of passion. “I actually got into environmental science because of interest in plastic waste,” she said. “But where I’m from, you can’t really do anything with plastic waste. A lot of this filmy plastic, they don’t accept it in recycling centers.”
Getting involved with TerraCycle, though, opened a door for Wanandi. “There’s a way that I can send this somewhere else and repurpose it so that it just doesn’t end up in a landfill,” she said. “That was a really rewarding way to change the way that I treat my waste.”
Wanandi and fellow E&S major
Trisha Bhujle ‘26 noticed that they became more mindful of their own everyday waste while managing TerraCycle. “It’s made me realize just how many wrappers I generate all by myself,” Bhujle said. “If you multiply that by the number of students on campus, imagine how much is being generated.”
“I think that’s just a testament of when you pick up something and you care about it, and you try to spread it around, it can really proliferate.”
Rania Wanandi ‘26
Based on their own experiences, Bhujle and Wanandi are optimistic about the potential of TerraCycle to change students’ waste habits. “I think that’s just a testament of when you pick up something and you care about it, and you try to spread it around, it can really proliferate,” Wanandi said.
Students can get involved in a variety of different ways, including joining SNRC and helping to sort TerraCycle materials, disposing of accepted waste in TerraCycle bins or just spreading awareness about the program to their peers.
Ultimately, the goal is to raise awareness about proper waste disposal. “Even though this is maybe a drop in the ocean, I still think that we are taking action, and we still have that potential to make change,” Wanandi said. “It isn’t perfect, and ideally, we would be able to stop things from the source, I think it’s a really realistic solution now that we can implement today.”
Tania Hao can be reached at th696@cornell.edu.
By SOFIA ECHANIZ Sun Contributor
“It’s a big clock!” said Cornell alumnus and Little Leaf Farms founder and CEO Paul Sellew ’80. Life at Little Leaf Farms is rhythmic, a meticulously controlled environmental system following a precisely timed and executed loop.
Sellew started Little Leaf Farms, a hydroponic packaged lettuce farm in Devens, MA, in 2015. Its greenhouses integrate engineering and plant science to provide a fresh product and solution for soil degradation, food waste , and changing climates.
Sellew was immersed in the agricultural business from a young age, growing up on his family’s ornamental farm in Connecticut. From 1976 to 1980, he pursued a B.S. in horticulture atin Cornell’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.
During this time, the late Professor Emeritus Louis “Lou” Albright, biological and environmental engineering, sparked a vision for Sellew that would shape his career. Albright’s work in peri-urban agriculture inspired Sellew to found Little Leaf Farms to return hydroponically grown leafy greens to the perimeters of urban markets.
Through this venture, Sellew
has worked to create a regional, self-sustaining food system while delighting customers with better-quality, fresher food. Little Leaf is the country’s number one brand of packaged lettuce sustainably grown through controlled environment agriculture, forging new territory in hydroponics and sustainable agriculture.
This is especially important considering that, globally, agricultural soils are becoming infertile and scientists estimate that the world’s remaining topsoil will disappear within the next 60 years. Sellew views hydroponics as a solution to this problem, providing a reliable, continuous, and controlled food supply while immediately reducing agriculture’s ecological footprint.
Merging engineering with horticulture, Sellew has constructed 30 acres of hydroponic greenhouses. A timed gutter system cycles lettuce through 24 days of its life stages, adjusting for space, light, and nutrient concentration as it grows.
The lettuce is grown in a soilless substrate made up of peat moss and wood fibre. A peak and valley glass roof harnesses natural sunlight for photosynthesis. This roof intercepts rainwater and funnels it down through downspouts, which double as foundational
structures.
Unused water is captured, filtered, cooled, cleaned, and replenished with nutrients before being returned to the greenhouse for use. The result: 90% less water and 30 times more yield than conventional terrestrial agriculture, and a 99% germination rate.
“Nature is my air conditioner,” said Sellew. The greenhouse is designed to work symbiotically with nature, harnessing natural airflow to stabilize rising temperatures from the greenhouse effect. Ladybugs work as organic pesticides, while synthetic beehives foster the neighboring ecosystem’s resilience and ensure healthy pollination interactions with the lettuce.
Little Leaf Farms’ hydroponic strategy, focus on efficiency, and commitment to sustainability throughout the lettuce’s life cycle has eliminated food waste. While one-third of the food produced in the US is wasted, 100% of Little Leaf Farms’ lettuce reaches packaging. The product is cut and delivered to stores within 24 hours. According to Sellew, “freshness translates directly into reduced food waste.”
Growing crops in a water-based, nutrient-rich solution, hydroponic farming allows companies to overcome soil degradation and bring
fresh produce to west-coast dependent areas 365 days a year. Little Leaf Farms’ greenhouses maintain a temperature of 70°F year-round, providing optimal conditions for regions facing harsh climate fluctuations.
One of the hydroponic industry’s biggest criticisms is its energy consumption, which requires supplementary lighting when natural sunlight is not readily available. While not entirely independent of artificial energy, Little Leaf Farms sources 40% of its electricity from on-site renewable energy. Still, Sellew argues, “I have a lower carbon footprint on my lettuce in Massachusetts than the product
grown on the West Coast.” Sellew sees his horticultural experience as foundational to his entrepreneurial success and credits his management and employee team’s commitment to day-to-day execution.
His long-term vision is to become “the number one package salad brand in the United States.” His advice to Cornellians aspiring to careers in sustainable entrepreneurship? “Don’t be afraid of failure. Go for it.”
Sofa Echaniz can be reached at ske34@cornell.edu.
By Ruhi Datar
Ruhi Datar is a first-year in the College of Arts and Sciences. She can be reached at rrd56@cornell.edu.
Just before I hit “accept” on my college commitment to Cornell, a million thoughts consumed my head — the grueling academics, the dining hall food, finding a roommate. But, above all, I was most concerned about the state of my closet.
For as long as I can remember, my wardrobe has been more than just clothes and hangers. It’s how I express myself while preparing for the day ahead. So, as excited as I was to begin this next chapter at Cornell, I couldn’t help but panic just a little at the idea of fitting my entire identity into half of a tiny dorm room closet. What would I do with all my winter coats? Could I bring more than one pair of boots? Would I have to sacrifice my favorite sweaters in favor of “practicality”? And what about the shoes, the bags, the scarves I swore I’d never part with?
At first, I was in denial. I thought, “I’ll make it work.” But the more I looked up dorm tours and room dimensions, the more I realized: something had to change. Downsizing wasn’t inevitable — it was essential.
But here’s the good news: maximizing closet space isn’t about giving up style, it’s about using all the right strategies. Lucky for you, after a semester of trial and error, I have compiled a list of tips and tricks that I wish someone had passed along to me before my pre-move-in freak out. I have come to discover that a cramped living space does not have to cramp your style.
1.Take Inventory — and Be Brutally Honest.
Before even attempt-
ing to start packing for your new closet, the first and most important step is to take inventory of your wardrobe. This means looking at every single item and asking yourself: Do I really wear this? Do I feel good wearing it? It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking, Well, I might need this one day… but the truth is, space is limited, and you’ll thank yourself later for being decisive now. In the weeks before move-in, I made a point of noticing what I actually wore. That ruffled blouse I kept saying I’d wear “next week” never left its hanger. Meanwhile, my Levi’s Baggy Dad Jeans and my favorite hoodie were always in rotation. So I packed those — and left the rest behind. If something held sentimental value but wasn’t practical, I reminded myself that I could grab it the next time I went home. This process not only helped me curate a more thoughtful closet, it also made getting dressed way easier. You won’t miss what you don’t wear.
2. Double Up on Hangers
One of the fastest ways to save space in a dorm is by doubling (or tripling!) up on your hangers. After moving in, I quickly realized my biggest enemy to saving space was bulky winter clothing. Coats, jackets and chunky knits eat up a ridiculous amount of room — and in Ithaca’s cold weather, not bringing them isn’t an option. My solution was simple: maximize the vertical space I had by layering multiple garments on one hanger. I grouped similar items together — like a few tanks or t-shirts — so I could find things quickly without digging. Kate Sahin ’28 said
that she likes to utilize multi-layered hangers so that she can fit a large amount of clothes while minimizing the amount of hanger space taken.
3. Roll, Don’t Fold
When you’re working with tight quarters, every inch counts, especially when it comes to space. That’s where the rolling method comes in. Inika Mehta ’28 explained that rolling your clothes rather than folding them allows you to fit way more in a drawer while still being able to see each item clearly. She likes to fold her jeans, sweatpants and pajamas to maximize her storage space. It also helps prevent wrinkles, which is key when your only ironing option is the rusty iron in the laundry room that you’re hesitant to use.
4. Utilize Every Nook and Cranny
Your closet isn’t the only place for clothes. When you’re living in a dorm, using the space under your bed can make all the difference, especially because the drawers already provided have so little space. I got drawers for under my bed from Cornell’s Dump and Run for under $10, and they’ve been one of my smartest purchases.
5. Make Your Walls Work
When your closet and drawers are bursting at the seams, don’t forget about your walls. Vertical wall space is one of the most underused areas in a dorm room, and a few simple hooks can go a long way. I use large Command hooks all over my side of the room to hang scarves, bags and belts that I wear often.
RUHI DATAR / LIFESTYLE STAFF WRITER
By Sneha Singhi
Sneha Singhi is a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences. She can be reached at ss3298@cornell.edu.
Dear Incoming First-Years,
As the semester reaches its end, I have to come to terms with something that I’ve been putting off for a while now: the beginning of the end. My senior year.
As I look back on my time at Cornell, I am filled with a lot of mixed feelings; this school taught me things that I never thought I would learn. And, the actual education is just a tiny part of it. A part of me is filled with happiness and gratitude for all the lifelong lessons I’ve learned, people I’ve met, experiences that have changed me to be a stronger person. But, a part of me is also filled with regret. There are many things that I wish I did differently in college — decisions I made that almost ruined my life. But at the end of all of that, Cornell has taught me lessons that have changed me to my core.
I think of myself as someone who is trying to rise from the ashes; in the beginning of my college experience, I lost myself and what makes me special. I fell into a dark place and was at my absolute lowest last semester. I’d never wish that kind of experience on anyone. Yet, some wise people once told me that you can only rise when you fall. And that is my motto for the rest of my college experience.
As someone who romanticized college in my senior year of high school, my heart was broken as to how it turned out. But, I’m trying to move on. And by doing so, I hope to give all my underclassmen and incoming first-years some advice, so here we go.
1. Choose classes based on your genuine interests — not on what someone tells you to do.
Cornell is famous for its wide variety of classes, with options ranging from ice cream making to wine tasting. In your freshman year, explore! Take courses that sound fun, random or even a little weird. That’s how you discover what lights a fire in you.
There’s so much pressure to treat college like a race — pick your major early, load up on requirements and stay “on track.” But what does that even mean? You’re never behind if you’re learning about yourself along the way. And while Cornell’s grade deflation is real, I believe that when you’re motivated by interest instead of fear, you end up doing better. Passion creates momentum. Even if you don’t get the grade you hoped for, at least you walk away with knowledge, perspective and maybe even a new curiosity unlocked. You won’t get many chances in life to learn just for the sake of it. Don’t waste that opportunity.
2. Grades are not everything.
Every one of us came to Cornell with incredible academic achievements — that’s why we’re here. But suddenly, you’re surrounded by students who’ve founded nonprofits, published research and started businesses. It’s easy to feel like you’re falling behind or not enough to begin with.
Comparison becomes second nature here, but it’s also one of the most toxic habits you can fall into. I’ve learned that your GPA isn’t the only thing that defines you, even if it feels that way sometimes. Your character, work ethic, relationships and the risks you take to grow matter just as much — if not more. That’s not to say academics don’t matter. But sacrificing your mental health, sleep or joy for a perfect GPA isn’t worth it. The pressure will always be there, but give yourself grace. You’re allowed to have off days. You’re allowed to focus on learning, not just performing.
3. Don’t go too crazy with your newfound freedom.
College feels like a different world — you’re in
charge of everything. No one tells you when to eat, sleep or study. It’s your first taste of adulthood. And that freedom can get to your head. Especially for students from a school like Cornell, where most of us were nerds in high school, the idea of partying and going out can become a little overwhelming. And while there’s nothing wrong with having fun, don’t lose sight of why you’re here. College isn’t all about fun, despite what the stereotype says. It’s about discovering who you are and laying the foundation for your future. Sometimes that means choosing work over parties and prioritizing school. Fun will always come. College won’t.
4. Be able to say no.
This might sound obvious, but it’s harder than you think. When you’re new, you want people to like you. You want to make long-lasting friends who you’ll laugh with 30 years from now. Because of this, you might find yourself in situations that don’t feel right. I remember one night freshman year, when my new friends wanted to go out, but I had an essay due. I didn’t want to seem boring, so I rushed the paper and went out. The party was average. The essay? Not great. Looking back, it wasn’t worth it. Saying no doesn’t make you boring. It means you respect your own time and energy. People who truly care about you will understand that. And if they don’t? They probably aren’t worth keeping around.
5. Don’t waste time on people who don’t value you.
When you’re constantly surrounded by people, it’s easy to want to be “good” with everyone, maybe even friends with everyone. But in that process, you might start putting more effort into relationships than others are giving back. That goes for friendships, relationships, situationships, etc. And because of that, some people may take advantage of you. It’s important to remember your worth and not waste energy on people who don’t genuinely care about you. There are thousands of students at Cornell. You will find your people, even if it’s not in your freshman or sophomore year. You might meet them when you least expect it. But trust that there are people out there who will value you fully, for who you are.
6. Try everything — even if it scares you.
College is one of the few times in life when you’re surrounded by thousands of opportunities: clubs, classes, research, dance troupes, business competitions, acapella groups, cultural shows. Say yes to things you’ve never done before. Take risks. Be awkward. Be a beginner. I used to be scared of looking dumb or out of place, but some of my best memories came from the moments I threw myself into something new. You don’t need to be good at something to try it. You don’t need to stick with everything you sign up for. But you owe it to yourself to at least see what’s out there. Some of the experiences that will shape you the most won’t be in a classroom or library. They’ll be in the unexpected adventures — the random info sessions, the club you didn’t plan to join, the new friend you met by accident. Try everything. You’ll surprise yourself. These are the six lessons I wish I’d known and now live by. I’m grateful for Cornell, even through the hardest parts. Getting through them while still showing up for myself is something I’ll carry with pride long after I leave this place.
With love,
A Rising Senior Who’s Still Figuring It Out
By SHUBHA GAUTAM Sun Senior Writer
April 21 — Operating out of the third floor of Ithaca’s First Presbyterian Church, Open Doors English teaches English as a second language to adults through beginner, intermediate and advanced level classes taught four days a week.
ODE serves students who speak 29 different languages, and just within the last year they have enrolled over 260 new students “regardless of their personal circumstances or ability to pay,” according to a March 27 press release from the organization.
Hilary Boyer, co-director of ODE, said the organization grew out of a wish to “serve everybody that needed [ESL services] in the community.”
Previously, Boyer and five of the eight current educators and administrators at ODE worked as ESL teachers at the Tompkins-Seneca-Tioga Board of Cooperative Educational Services.
During the 2018-2019 school year, however, TST BOCES limited ESL enrollment to students planning to enter the workforce. According to Boyer, educators felt this decision unfairly left out students without legal permission to work, such as asylum-seekers who must wait 180 days after their initial asylum application to receive a work permit and students with young children.
Boyer and her fellow teachers decided to start a volunteer ESL program open to everyone, which ran for a semester before being officially established as
ODE in Fall of 2019. With an umbrella 501(c)3 status from the Center for Transformative Action, ODE runs off community donations and grants, according to Boyer.
The First Presbyterian Church voted to end their lease to TST BOCES and rent their third floor classrooms to ODE in 2019. Ever since, the organization has operated out of the church.
“You want to help, but there’s not a lot to say, right?”
Joshua Orkin
Currently, Boyer said ODE hosts six classes of six different levels — two beginner, two intermediate and two advanced — and focuses on teaching practical skills applicable to everyday life in Ithaca.
“Even starting in level one, [we] help [students] learn ... the vocabulary [for] going to the grocery store and doctor,” Boyer said. “Then we bring in people from the outside, or we take students out for [events], so they can learn about the community. It’s so important for students to not just be in our classrooms, but to get comfortable using their English in the outside world.”
In class, Boyer said students have learned about Ithaca ReUse, how maple syrup is made, the U.S. measles outbreak, winter driving, banking and how to navigate speaking with the police, along with other locally relevant topics. To
her, it’s important for students to not only learn English but feel comfortable as part of the Ithaca community.
Educators, such as Joshua Orkin, are also encouraged to integrate what they believe is missing from the curriculum into their teaching. Orkin does this by starting off his advanced classes with an open-ended, philosophical question. Students are encouraged to discuss the question in pairs, forcing them to actively listen to their partner and then summarize their opinions, Orkin said.
Additionally, Orkin hosted a faux job for his class, having students create fake businesses and then interview potential “applicants” from the level four and five classes. While also being a creative activity, students were able to practice being on either side of the job interview process.
Whether someone is experiencing grief or trauma due to personal or political reasons, Orkin said ODE provides a distraction.
“You want to help, but there’s not a lot to say, right?” Orkin said. “Even when you’re both native speakers, words don’t help that much. So sometimes we provide a distraction or a way to something small and tangible and productive that they can do with their day.”
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Shubha Gautam can be reached at sgautam@cornellsun.com
By EMMA COHEN Sun Staff Writer
April 16 — Following the loss of Ithaca’s only year-round homeless shelter, Tompkins County is working to fill the gap for the years ahead.
The county opened a temporary Code Blue shelter this winter that closed on Tuesday. Now, the DSS will provide Code Blue sheltering through Temporary Housing Assistance services. In the wake of the prior year-round shelter, Tompkins County is developing a long-term facility aiming to serve about 100 adults experiencing homelessness and to provide direct, on-site services.
Tompkins County announced a longterm plan in November to repurpose a property at 227 Cherry St. in Ithaca as a long-term homeless shelter facility, intended to open in 2026.
Tompkins County Legislator Mike Sigler (6th District) has served for over a decade and is currently representing Lansing. The former antique store on site will be torn down to make room for a new structure with several different floors,
according to Sigler. The plan aims to bring services “directly to the population,” Sigler said. “If you walk in, we’re going to give you a warm place to sleep, clean up a little bit and then hopefully get you into some services, get you into the system, so that we can put you on a path that will lead you out of homelessness permanently.”
Until November, the St. John’s Community Services shelter operated as the only year-round emergency homeless shelter in Ithaca. Tompkins County utilized SJCS services for Code Blue sheltering during the winter, Sigler said.
Code Blue sheltering is a service mandated by New York state during temperatures lower than 32 degrees Fahrenheit with wind chill. When SJCS could no longer provide these services due to “staff capacity issues,” the county “needed to move very quickly,” Sigler said.
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By ANGELINA TANG Sun Asisstant News Editor
April 18 — Rain or shine, admitted students from the Class of 2029 flocked to Ithaca from around the globe to attend Cornell Days and learn about the University on Saturday and Sunday.
Cornell Days is an annual event lasting multiple weekends in April, during which tours and various events are held across campus to teach admitted students about the school. One final Cornell Day will be held on Sunday, April 27.
This year, Cornell admitted 5,824 students to the class of 2029 from over 100 countries across the globe. In light of Cornell Days, The Sun spoke with some incoming students who have already committed to attending Cornell in the fall.
Why Choose The Hill?
Cornell offers unique programs that fit the specific needs of incoming students. Jackson De Guzman ’29 is an incoming public policy major from Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania. He wrote to The Sun that he applied to Cornell because “the Brooks School is a cutting-edge policy program with strong connections to [Washington,] D.C.”
De Guzman also appreciated that since Cornell has so many colleges, the Brooks School is “a small school within a bigger university, so I get the perks of both small and big schools.”
Others fell in love with Cornell through their high school programming. Michael Chen ’29 from Taiwan attended the Cornell International Debate Camp, a one-week summer camp, twice in 2023 and 2024, where he enjoyed participating in a “dynamic discussion atmosphere” with people from around the world, he said.
“That was my first realization of how diversity is very important,” Chen said. “In Taiwan, … everyone had the same beliefs.”
Others took a less conventional road to Cornell. Samara Cooper ’29 from Eugene, Oregon, was matched with Cornell through QuestBridge’s National College Match program.
QuestBridge is a non-profit organization that provides a community for and supports low-income students. Cooper received a full-ride scholarship to Cornell, room and board included.
“As a low-income student, I really never thought that I would get into an Ivy League school,” Cooper said. “So not only having Cornell as an option but also receiving it with a full ride, … it was a no brainer [to commit].”
Students are looking forward to their time at Cornell for a variety of reasons. Student organizations are a source of excitement for many. Cooper is especially looking forward to joining the Mock Trial Association, and Chen is looking forward to exploring the Cornell Speech and Debate Program to continue his interest in debate, which brought him to this campus.
De Guzman is interested in organizations involved in political protests and organization at Cornell.
“Figuring out how to organize communities towards shared interests is a big part of the political process,” De Guzman said.
Curiosity at CU
Students still have some unanswered questions about Cornell. Chen was interested in finance internships and the timeframe for obtaining one. Kashmir Tai ’27, who majors in economics, has been
By ANJELINA
April 21 — More than 600 students across various Christian organizations and local churches gathered on Sunday at 7 p.m. in Statler Auditorium for an evening of Easter worship, part of the semesterly inter-fellowship worship, Ignite.
Ignite holds an event designed to bring together Christians every semester. This semester’s worship event included an evening of live music, prayer and personal testimonies to celebrate Easter.
Nicole Chen ’27, president of Ignite, led the event. Chen is affiliated with the campus ministry Cru, where she leads a community group and a smaller discipleship group.
Chen discussed how she approached planning the event, emphasizing the importance of including various perspectives.
“Just inviting people into the planning process,” Chen said. “Inviting different members from different fellowships into the planning process, and using our spiritual gifts that God has gifted us with to make this entire night.”
Promotion for the Easter event began on April 10, with the night’s worship set list announced on April 14. The night’s itinerary included 14 songs between readings of scripture from Psalms, Mark, Luke, Matthew and John.
The event also reintroduced per-
sonal testimonies to its structure this semester, featuring Emmaus Road member Taylor Lee ’25.
Last semester, the Ignite team removed personal testimonies from its usual structure to allocate more time for community prayer and worship in light of a Cornell sophomore’s death and a report of a sexual assault and drugging at a fraternity in a week of tragic events.
During her testimony, Lee shared a heartfelt story about her relationship with God, her desire for close relationships and the loss of her younger sister due to cerebral palsy. She detailed an account of a past dream that came to the forefront of her mind when her sister was in hospice. In the dream, Lee’s sister was smiling and able to walk.
“I suddenly looked at her, not with sadness over what the current circumstance was, but with joy as I thought about how if God does ultimately call her, then this image from the dream will be her reality so soon,” Lee said.
Lee’s testimony came at the night’s midpoint and was followed by group prayer and continued worship.
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accepted for a finance internship for the summer of 2026. She shared advice about preparing early for the internship application process.
“Each year, the recruiting timeline gets earlier and earlier,” she wrote to The Sun. “This means that I need to prepare early, as early as starting in September [for summer internships].”
She also wrote about the importance of “networking” and researching market trends during the application process to prepare for interviews.
Cornell Career Services also offers support for finding internships, conducting interviews and writing resumes.
Additionally, Cooper was curious about the resources for low-income students at Cornell. The Centers for Student Equity, Empowerment, and Belonging include First Generation & Low-Income Student Support, which provides a number of resources such as the Access Fund.
Furthermore, during the Fall 2024 semester, the Student Assembly funded shuttle buses — free of charge for all Cornell students — to the Ithaca and Syracuse airports during finals week under Resolution 11.
The First Generation & Low-Income Student Support Center did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.
De Guzman was interested in how to obtain part-time employment as a student and what getting a job is like. On-campus job listings are generally posted to Workday, a job searching platform.
Winnie Chan ’28 is a former Cornell Dining employee who worked as a cashier and barista at Novick’s Café in the Fall 2024 semester. She wrote to The Sun about her experience with getting a job on campus.
“I applied for and got two on-campus positions across different semesters,” Chan wrote. “Depending on the job, the application process can vary in how time-consuming or competitive it is.”
However, Chan encouraged interested students to apply, explaining that employment “was a great way for me to step out of my comfort zone and meet new people!”
“So not only having Cornell as an option but also receiving it with a full ride, ... it was a no brainer [to commit].”
Samara Cooper ’29
As spring rolls to an end, Cornell finds itself amid a tense political climate. The University recently saw 75 stop-work orders from the U.S. Department of Defense. The New York Times reported that the federal government froze over $1 billion in funding for Cornell, although Cornell administrators said they lack the information to confirm that amount. The campus has also seen a number of protests and student arrests over the past year.
Despite this, students expressed their continued willingness to attend Cornell.
“I think hard times are the times that define societies and how we respond to these problems, how we choose to stand up and fight. There’s a lot of opportunity for good that comes out when there’s a lot of tension,” De Guzman said. “So I wouldn’t say that I’m necessarily excited for it, but I don’t think I’m afraid of it either.”
By HOPE THOMAS, JASON CHOI, SOPHIA RILEY SIM and EMMA SPINDLER Sun Staff Writer and Contributors
April 21 — Cornell students have the opportunity to choose who will serve as the next student-elected trustee on the Board of Trustees for the next two years. Voting opens on Wednesday and students can cast their online ballot until midnight on April 28.
This year, six candidates are running to be the next student-elected trustee to replace incumbent, J.P. Swenson ’25.
Marco Martini ’27 Wants To Focus on Improving the Physical, Emotional WellBeing of Cornellians By Hope Thomas
As a representative in the ILR Student Government Association, second year Air Force ROTC cadet and personal trainer at the Cornell Fitness Centers, Marco Martini ’27 hopes to use his experiences to demonstrate responsibility and leadership as the student-elected trustee.
“Being a cadet in the Air Force ROTC program, we’re all about building leaders and building effective communication,” Martini said in an interview with The Sun. “I think those are two key character traits that could help me immensely [in] this position.”
Martini explained in his candidate bio that his role as an Admissions Student Ambassador has given him “firsthand experience engaging with students, faculty, and administration to improve Cornell’s outreach and inclusivity.”
Martini’s main focus is creating a healthier Cornell community relating to physical well-being. Martini said in his bio that he wants to improve Cornell’s fitness facilities, and improve accessibility and allow for “expanded facilities, better equipment, and extended hours.”
Lani Lin-Kissick ’28 Wants To Protect Students, Advocating For Their Needs
By Hope Thomas
As a member of the Student Assembly’s environmental committee, and part of the Superintendent’s Advisory Council on Sustainability in her local community in Prince William County, Virginia, Lani LinKissick ’28 says she has always wanted to be a leader in representing various student body groups.
Her passions most strongly align with spreading more awareness towards the envi-
ronment and how our surroundings influence everything else around us.
“I think as my passion for the environment has grown and changed over the years, especially since coming to Cornell, that’s really expanded a lot into human rights … of just seeing how everything’s connected,” Lin-Kissick said.
Lin-Kissick explained in her candidate bio that she is proud of being a “lead organizer” for Student Assembly Resolution 20 “Climate Renewal Vows” with Cornell on Fire to create multiple environmental policy recommendations for the University. As a student-elected trustee, Lin-Kissick wants to help use University resources to create a more sustainable environment.
Christian Flournoy ’27 Aims to Bridge Students, Trustees through Focus Groups and Advocacy
By Jason Choi
Christian Flournoy ’27, a Student Assembly undergraduate representative at-large and vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion, is running for student-elected trustee on a platform of empathetic leadership and direct communication. A student studying human biology, health and society on the pre-med track, Flournoy also brings experience as an athlete on Cornell’s sprint football team and as the secretary for Cornell’s Alpha Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.
Flournoy, who is also running for Student Assembly president and executive vice president, said he is motivated by a simple goal: ensuring that every Cornell student feels heard at the highest levels of University governance. To remain rooted in campus sentiment, he plans to convene focus groups drawn from student organizations, athletic teams and Greek life chapters to “gather ground-level perspectives and bring them directly to the board,” he said.
Beyond structured meetings, Flournoy stressed his open-door approach. “I honestly hope that all students just ask me, ‘What do you want to learn from us?’” he said. “If you have a concern, I’m the person you’re supposed to go to, to let the Board of Trustees know — that’s my role.”
Flournoy points to his service on the expressive activity policy committee — where he worked to rewrite campus speech guidelines — and his role serving on the Student Health Advisory Committee as proof of his
ability to navigate complex processes. “Being an empathetic leader means making sure people are represented,” he said. “I’ve learned how boards function, how to bring resolutions forward and how to lead meetings.”
Reid Schwartz ’27 Plans to Leverage Networks to Expand Accessibility, Accountability By Jason Choi
Reid Schwartz ’27, a sophomore studying nutritional sciences on the pre-med track, is running for student-elected trustee on a promise to amplify student voices and improve access to campus resources. As President-elect of the Cornell Ski & Snowboard Club, Vice President of Cornell Chabad and Social Chair of the pre-health honor society Alpha Epsilon Delta, Schwartz expressed he can draw on diverse constituencies across campus.
“I realized this position creates a direct link from students to the board,” Schwartz said. “I’d be honored to represent every corner of our community.”
Schwartz plans to make himself widely available both online and in-person and to work through his networks in student-run clubs, sports teams and Greek life to collect varied feedback from the student populace. Accentuating direct, one-to-one communication, Schwartz explained, “I want to be on the ground and hear directly from students.”
Schwartz also emphasized boosting the accessibility of dining options as a central part of his campaign. Pushing for more meal-swipe locations on central campus and providing flexible external vendor options is one of the solutions that Schwartz suggested.
Empowerment and Accountability: David Diao ’27 Highlights the Need for Transparency in Student-Trustee Campaign By
Emma Spindler
With firsthand experience in Cornell’s governance system, David Diao ’27 is running for student-elected trustee to restore trust between students and the administration, push for institutional transparency and make student voices impossible to ignore.
Diao, a student studying public policy in the Brooks School of Public Policy, previously served on the Student Assembly as a freshman representative. There, he sat on the appropriations committee and co-authored a report on student wages and cost of living. He also served on the Tompkins Consolidated
Area Transit advisory board, advocating for more student-responsive transportation systems, and currently sits on the UniversityROTC relationships committee, where he works closely with faculty on policy recommendations.
According to Diao, three major themes have emerged in conversations with students: restrictive housing and dining policies, a lack of support for student-led community building and minimal University responsiveness to student concerns –– a sign of what he calls a “systemic breakdown in shared governance.”
Diao also emphasized concerns about affordability. He criticized Cornell’s dining plan requirements, especially for students with dietary restrictions, and the University’s policy mandating sophomores to live on campus.
By Sophia Riley Sim
With her experience as a Brooks School of Public Policy student ambassador and Vice President of the Black Ivy Pre Law Society, Keten Abebe ’27 aims to be the voice that bridges the gap between Cornell students and the administration.
Abebe’s leadership opportunities have allowed her to “make sure that students felt seen, so their ideas weren’t just heard, but they actually came to fruition.”
As a first-generation college student and immigrant, Abebe said she understands being underrepresented on campus. “Being able to shed light on those voices that might feel unheard is really important,” Abebe said.
One of Abebe’s ideas is to establish monthly town hall meetings where students can openly discuss issues they are facing, to inform her conversations with administrators. Abebe is also adamant about creating dialogue through one-on-one meetings for students who may be less comfortable sharing their experiences publicly. She plans to utilize the feedback she receives from the student body to keep herself, and thus the administration, accountable in addressing relevant student needs.
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Hope Tomas, Jason Choi, Sophia Riley Sim and Emma Spindler can be reached at ht496@cornell.edu, jc3697@ cornell.edu, sas723@cornell.edu and es2272@cornell. edu.
CHARLOTTE FEEHAN ARTS & CULTURE CONTRIBUTOR
The word “Bhangra” literally translates to the phrase “intoxicated with joy.” I interacted with a direct product of that joy on April 19 when I sat down for a conversation with three dancers on Cornell Bhangra’s 35-member team: President Shriya Bansal ’25, Rishima Kasi ’25, and Tanirika Choudhry ’28. According to its members, Bhangra is a traditional folk dance with origins in the Punjab state of India. Originally performed to celebrate the harvest, the “high-energy and joyous dance form” is group-oriented with the purpose of expressing vibrant “love and friendship between people.”
Reflective of the dance style they perform, seniors Bansal and Kasi likened the friendships they’ve made over the past four years to familial bonds. “Joining this team freshman fall was probably the best decision I made throughout my college experience … Everyone welcomed me with open arms and that truly is the definition of a family. No matter what, you always have 35 people who genuinely love you and would do so much for everyone on the team,” Kasi said. Even for new members like Choudhry, the weeks-long process of integrating with the team and learning about foundational elements of Bhangra exposed her to a “sense of community” she’ll carry with her for the next three years.
Choudhry particularly spoke of her transition from classical dance to Bhangra on a co-ed, collegiate team. For Choudhry, who had always been curious about Bhangra, Cornell’s team was the perfect opportunity to “translate [her] past dance experience while also learning something entirely new.” During new members’ first semester, captains and associate captains spend approximately six to seven hours a week training dancers of
varying experience levels before they can start practicing with upperclassmen. “Many people who join the team are new to Bhangra, so it’s a lot of learning and adjusting. For me personally, classical differs a bit from Bhangra, so adjusting the way that I dance and incorporating new skills has definitely been a learning curve and it’s something I’m constantly improving on,” said Choudhry. Come late October, new members have their first opportunity to perform on-stage during Diya Jale, a community-wide dance and music event.
Alongside widespread national recognition, most notably during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2023, Cornell Bhangra is a well-established fixture within the dance community, averaging about two to three competitions per semester. For many members, it’s a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity to perform competitively since the team holds internal auditions for a select number of positions on the national stage. However, the entirety of Cornell Bhangra always has the opportunity to travel to competitions together to show support for their friends. “For one of our recent comps in Cleveland, the entire team went. We only had ten people on comp stage, but there were like twenty other people also going and it was a lot of fun. We all drove up together and stopped at Niagara Falls on the way down,” said Choudhry.
Beyond the enthusiastic dedication of its members, perhaps Cornell Bhangra’s most impressive accomplishment is PAO. Going on its 22nd year, PAO is the largest Bhangra exhibition in the nation, not to mention the largest annual event hosted in the city of Ithaca. Bhangra teams from all over the country fly or drive to Ithaca each year to showcase their choreography and signature dance style. “Since we have teams flying in from around the country, it’s really cool to interact with new people and see the way that they interpret Bhangra and the way that they choreograph. Every choreo is
a reflection of the team and what aspect of Bhangra, whether traditional or modern, they choose to integrate,” said Kasi. As for Cornell Bhangra’s take on the dance form, “it really depends on the captains every year since they determine the choreo,” said Bansal. “Since my freshman year we’ve had a very modern take on the music we put in our mix, the types of dance moves we do and the types of segments we do. However this year, our captain actually took a traditional turn on things, so the music and the moves that we were doing were more of a folk style.”
Hosting PAO is no small feat. As president, Bansal and fellow executive members are at the forefront of numerous tasks and responsibilities that need to be accounted for so that the event can take place. “It’s the smallest things, like figuring out what we’re going to order the teams for lunch on the Saturday before the show, to the bigger things like booking venues, finding teams and figuring out registration packets,” she described. Naturally, though, “PAO is a huge bonding experience for the team because everyone gets to perform and we let the underclassmen take charge [of choreography] to let them see what it’s like to run a mini team.” Amidst a quickly approaching finals season and end to the school year, the entirety of Cornell Bhangra comes together in the days leading up to PAO, practicing into the early hours of the morning before the big day.
PAO XXII will take place on May 3 and all proceeds will be donated to Ithaca Welcomes Refugees (IWR). The passion, dedication and intoxicating joy that Cornell Bhangra’s members impressed upon me this weekend was more than enough to guarantee my attendance. I encourage you to take my word for it and do the same.
They know their age and they act like it! On the evening of Apr. 18, the living room of Phi Delta Theta transformed into something reminiscent of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: neon lights ricocheting off electric guitars, a crowd of students screaming and dancing the night away and a lineup of rock bands blasting covers swinging from Wheatus to Chappell Roan. Amidst the sonic perfection, each student-formed group had the opportunity to shine one after another: Safe in Sound, No Banana, Paragon, The Skinks and Skanks, and Toaster Bath Death.
From opening with punk to closing with alternative metal, Cornell’s local bands delivered a vibrant and eclectic mix of classic and contemporary rock, blending the timelessness of well-loved guitar riffs with the sheer campy joy of Gen Z’s musical nostalgia. The vibe was unapologetically kitschy, and much needed after the academic week we’ve all just had. Think high school garage band meets downtown dive bar, but polished in the best way. One of my favorite experiences was seeing how Kornell’s performance of “Pink Pony Club” by Chappell Roan, dubbed their “silly song,” turned out to be one of the night’s most memorable highlights. Who would’ve expected a glitter-soaked pop anthem about chasing dreams and defying norms to re-electrify the crowd in the latter segment of the show?
I fortunately had the opportunity to talk to Josh Yiu, a guitarist and singer for Kornell, about the unique experience of getting to write and perform in front of a real audience. “I’ve been writing and
performing since last year,” Yiu told me. “It’s a great way to meet people, and it’s a lot of fun.” And fun it was. From the first drumbeat to the final chord, the band held nothing back, reminding us all why live music still matters — especially when it’s in support of something meaningful. The event wasn’t just a frat party disguised as a concert, it was a benefit show for the Live Like Lou Foundation, a nonprofit that focuses on ALS research and supports families affected by it. Phi Delta Theta hosted the event to raise both funds and awareness. “It’s great being part of this kind of event because it’s for a good cause,” Josh added, “and it gets a lot more publicity through Greek life.” That fusion of philanthropy and college community is exactly what makes events like these stand out in the typical sea of campus programming. Here, Greek life was more than just a backdrop — it was an amplifier, cranking the volume on young voices. Performance wasn’t about ego or spotlight, but expression and connection. There’s something undeniably powerful about live music — it’s one of the few experiences that can instantly turn strangers into friends and a simple backyard into a moment worth remembering. Less than an hour into the show, half the room was skanking in sync like in the celebratory ending sequence of a 2000s romcom. At a time when so much of college life can feel filtered through screens or siloed into cliques, events like this one remind us of the irreplaceable value of being present. The missed notes turned into inside jokes, the communal energy of a crowd pulsing to the same beat, none of it can be replicated on a playlist; it’s raw and real. More importantly, live music in a community setting like this creates space for vulnerability and
joy to coexist. It allows artists to share their work without a pedestal, in the middle of the crowd, to foster a more inviting and engaging type of performance that gives attendees a chance to contribute just by showing up and being open.
This form of participation builds more fulfilling events and a stronger campus culture. When music becomes a shared language, suddenly we’re all speaking the same one — even if just for a few songs. That sentiment rang true well past the event’s 11 p.m. close. Even after the amps were unplugged, there were still hoards of people buzzing from adrenaline. By the end, one thing was clear: our campus is saturated equally with heart as much as talent and ambition, and that’s a key factor to why Friday’s fundraising concert hit all the right notes.
By LESLIE MONTER-CASIO Arts & Culture Contributor
In a world where mainstream music is often detached from politics or cultural identity, artists like Xiuhtezcatl Martínez offer a powerful alternative. A hip-hop singer/songwriter with Mexica — an Indigenous people of Mexico — heritage, Xiuhtezcatl profoundly redefines what it means to be an artist in the American music industry as he blends English, Spanish and Nahuatl (the Indigenous language of the Mexica) in his music while highlighting the issues Indigenous communities across Mexico and the United States face.
Xiuhtezcatl’s music works to represent the ongoing struggle Indigenous people face as they attempt to reconcile their Indigenous identity within a Western society that was born from the violent displacement and erasure of Indigenous cultures and voices from all aspects of society, including the arts. By intentionally incorporating Nahuatl in his music, Xiuhtezcatl seeks to disrupt the Colonial Western idea that Indigenous heritage is a shameful thing that must be hidden from the public eye.
This can most easily be seen in his recent track “SÍGUEME,” in which he
raps, “Feel the strength that my land transmits / It is the inheritance that my grandmothers left / I want to return to where we are from.” Xiuhtezcatl’s lyrics are simultaneously a response to the historical and ongoing removal of Indigenous peoples from their lands and a call to Indigenous youth listening to imagine a radical future in which Indigenous culture is honored and the connections Indigenous people hold to their land is protected. The accompanying music video deepens this message as it features recurring imagery of water as a dual symbol of exploitation and rebirth for Indigenous communities. Historically, Colonial Western governments have sought to oppress and to control Indigenous communities by stripping them of reliable access to clean running water, often resulting in the degradation of Indigenous lands, sovereignty and growth. However, through his music video for “SÍGUEME,” Xiuhtezcatl instead seeks to portray water as a source of healing and rebirth for Indigenous people — emphasizing its role as a literal and spiritual life-giving force.
It’s important to note that this reclamation of Indigenous identity and language is not unique to Xiuhtezcatl, rather he is a part of a growing movement of Indigenous artists in the Western music
industry who are using their art as a tool of resistance against cultural erasure. For example, take Sara Curruchich, a Guatemalan singer-songwriter who performs in both Spanish and Kaqchikel Mayan, whose music challenges the efforts of Western society to historicize Indigenous people and identity. Rooted in themes of survival, generational healing and dignity, Curruchich’s music makes a powerful statement to those listening: the Mayan people are — not were — alive and thriving, they are not simply a relic of the past you read about in a history book but rather an evolving population that demands respect.
See also the work of Ketrafe, an artist seeking to revive Mapuche (an Indigenous people of Chile) culture by singing solely in Mapudungun. In Chile, whose constitution is the one of few in Latin America that refuses to recognize its Indigenous population and history, speaking Mapudungun is grounds for governmental persecution and as a result now less than a quarter of Mapuche people can speak it fluently. Ketrafe’s music works to show Chilean society that despite the attempts of their government to silence and erase them from history, the Mapuche are very much still alive and remain as preservers and promoters of Mapudungun. Beyond that,
Ketrafe seeks to offer his music as an avenue for younger generations to reconnect with their Indigenous heritage and language.
Lastly, see Renata Flores, a Peruvian hip-hop artist who was featured in Xiuhtezcatl’s “Sígueme.” Flores’ debut album Isqun, which is primarily sung in Quechua, was created against the backdrop of Indigenous communities in Peru still grappling with the aftermath of the Peruvian Civil War, which lasted into the early 2000s. During the Civil War, Indigenous communities in Peru were specifically targeted — over 75 percent of those killed were native Quechua speakers. In a country where speaking Quechua was once effectively a death sentence, Flores now reclaims the language through her art while also highlighting the issue of gender based violence against Indigenous women in Peru. For Flores, her Indigenous heritage is a factor that cannot be detached from what she creates, but rather is integral to her artistic expression.
Together these Indigenous artists form a powerful force in the Western music industry as they work to remind the world that Indigenous languages and peoples are not relics of the past, but rather are living, evolving and vital presences in contemporary media. When Xiuhtezcatl
sings in Nahuatl, it is not for the aesthetic, rather it is to reclaim a voice often stolen from indigenous peoples who have been forced to bear witness to their languages being wrongly associated with poverty, backwardness and illiteracy by Western society. Xiuhtezcatl’s music is a part of a larger movement to seek to encourage Indigenous youth to resist efforts from American society to water down their culture in order to make it more digestible and to imagine a future in which Indigenous identity is celebrated and present in all forms of life and media. His call is simple but profound: “Follow me where we are going — we carry the map in our hands.” And increasingly, the world is listening.
Leslie Monter-Casio is a freshman in the College of Engineering. They can be reached at lm953@cornell.edu.
By NADIRAH VANDER LINDEN Arts and Culture Contributor
There was a time when aesthetics ruled the internet, and Tumblr was the battleground. This playlist is not only a direct throwback but a spiritual sequel. Each of these tracks carries the residue of that era: lush, moody, chaotic and deeply online.
1. Phantogram: ‘Fall in Love”
2. Big Data and Joywave: “Dangerous”
3. Lorde: “The Love Club”
4. Crystal Castles: “Suffocation”
5. Santigold: “Disparate Youth”
6. Washed Out: “Feel It All Around”
7. Arctic Monkeys: “Fluorescent Adolescent”
8. Grimes: “Genesis”
9. Phantogram: “When I’m Small”
10. Sky Ferreira: “Everything Is Embarrassing”
11. Three Days Grace: “I Hate Everything About You”
12. XXYYXX: “About You”
By WILLIAM CAWLEY Sun Staff Writer
Men’s lacrosse (11-1, 5-0 Ivy) faced a formidable opponent in the Harvard Crimson (9-3, 3-2), its sixth match against an opponent ranked in the top 15 at the time of the game. This was the final away game of the season for the Red, the last of seven.
Cornell came out on top, by a score of 20-12, defending its No.1 ranking for the fourth consecutive week.
Cornell hit the ground running, scoring five straight to open the game. Senior attackman Michael Long drew first blood, followed by sophomore midfielder Willem Firth, who snuck a last-ditch effort past the Harvard goalkeeper with the shot clock winding down.
Sophomore attackman Ryan Goldstein scored two in the first quarter and Firth added another before the period ended with Cornell in a 5-1 advantage.
Harvard scored twice early in the second quarter, but junior faceoff Jack
By MATTHEW LEONARD Sun Staff Writer
Cascadden went straight to the goal off of the resulting faceoff and scored. The Crimson scored again before junior long stick midfielder Eddie Rayhill scored his first career goal, right off of another Cascadden faceoff win.
Harvard tallied again, followed by junior midfielder Brian Luzzi scoring for Cornell. Then, senior attackman CJ Kirst added another remarkable accolade to his season by three uninterrupted goals for a natural hat trick. He did this in just 41 seconds.
Harvard outscored Cornell 3-1 before halftime. The lone Cornell goal came from Firth on a man up opportunity, a situation he has thrived in the past two seasons.
The Crimson scored three straight to start the second half, bringing the Cornell lead down to one with the score at 12-11. Cornell was not fazed, and the Red rattled off eight in a row, the goals coming from seven different players.
The last goal of the run came from Kirst, who snuck behind his defender and scored his 224th career goal. Kirst
is now tied for the all-time NCAA record.
Harvard found the back of the net for a moral victory goal, and the final horn sounded to finalize a 20-12 win for Cornell.
With the victory, the Red secured the top ranking in the Ivy League for the regular-season and the right to host the conference tournament.
Kirst was outstanding for the Red. He tied the all-time scoring record with his five goals, collecting a natural hat trick along the way. Also starring on attack was Goldstein, who collected six points and Firth, who scored four goals from his role in the midfield.
Cascadden had a tremendous day against a group of Harvard faceoffs that have struggled all season. Cascadden won 23 of 29 draws, good for a dominant 79 percent faceoff win percentage. He also scored a goal.
Though he collected no points, ground balls or caused turnovers, senior defenseman Jayson Singer shut down Sam King, Harvard’s Tewaaraton nominee and one of the best attack-
men in the nation. Singer allowed King just one goal, tied for his lowest mark on the season.
Senior goalkeeper Wyatt Knust, who has been consistent all season, was solid again. He stopped 12 of 24 shots on goal for a 50 percent save percentage.
The Red will close the regular season by hosting Dartmouth, where Kirst will attempt to break the national career scoring record.
Dartmouth, who has long been the punching bag of Ivy League lacrosse, is having a good season, avoiding last place in the Ivy League for the first time since 2010. Unfortunately, they will not be able to secure their first winning record in conference play since 2005 even with a win next week.
The game will take place at Schoellkopf field on Saturday, April 26 at 12 p.m. Coverage will be available on ESPN+.
William Cawley can be reached at wcawley@ cornellsun.com.
In its penultimate game of the season on April 19, the Red (9-5, 3-3 Ivy) went down the road to Philadelphia to play conference rivals No. 16/18 University of Pennsylvania (8-5, 4-2 Ivy).
The Red came into the match hoping for a victory that would seemingly secure Ivy League Tournament qualification, but would end up falling short in a tough 18-10 loss against the Quakers.
The game started off evenly matched, with each
team exchanging blows early into the game. However, five unanswered goals late in the first quarter would quickly shift the momentum in favor of the Quakers.
Head coach Jenny Graap ’86 said it is important to come into games “a little bit more strongly.”
“We lost a string of draw controls which put Penn in the driver’s seat, and they were able to grab the momentum and put some goals in the back of the net,” Graap said. However, just as the Red has seemingly done all season, it refused to go down without a fight. With time
slowly winding down, the Red went on a dominant 5-0 run, proving it is not a team to dismiss.
“I do think our team shows a lot of resiliency and a lot of guns,” Graap said. “They’re a great group to coach because they are invested. Right until the bitter end, they’re going for it.”
The presence of the Red’s young core was also evident late into the game, with multiple underclassmen having respectable performances. Freshman midfielders Lexie Tully and Holly Newman, along with sophomore midfielder Cameron Traveis, scored a combined four goals
throughout the game.
“Holly Newman, coming in late in the game, off the bench and scoring two goals … was really impressive.”
Graap said. “And then we needed an eight-meter shot; Cameron Traveis scored on an eight-meter shot. I think Lexie Tully scored on an eight-meter shot. It’s nice to see young players getting in and making a mark.”
Even with the Red’s strong final push, the Quakers would be able to secure the victory. While it was an unfortunate loss, all focus is on next week’s matchup against No. 6 Yale University, where a win would guarantee the
Red a spot in the Ivy League Tournament.
“It’s do or die time,” Graap said. “This is it. It’s gonna come down to Yale or Cornell, and the winner of this game is the team that’s going to go to the postseason. It feels like a strong position to be in, knowing that your fate is in your hands.”
For its most important match of the season, the Red will travel to New Haven to face Yale at 12 p.m. on April 26. The game can be streamed live on ESPN+.
Matthew Leonard can be reached at mbl229@cornell.edu.