The Corne¬ Daily Sun
‘I Am Not Antisemitic’: Kehlani Speaks Out After University Rescinds Invitation to Headline Slope Day
By ANGELINA TANG Sun Assistant News Editor
April 28 — Cornell revoked Kehlani’s invitation to headline Slope Day over what President Michael Kotlikoff labeled “antisemitic, anti-Israel sentiments.” A few days after the April 23 announcement, the R&B singer rebuked Kotlikoff’s classification.
“I am not antisemitic, nor anti-Jew,” Kehlani said in a video posted to her Instagram on Saturday. “I am anti-genocide. I am anti the actions of the Israeli government, I am anti the extermination of an entire people, I am anti the bombing of innocent children, men, women — that’s what I’m anti.”
This is not the first time she has faced criticism for her beliefs. “This keeps
coming up as a means to silence me, as a means to stop things that are happening in my career, as a means to change the course of my life, and I just don’t believe that,” Kehlani said.
In the caption of the video, Kehlani explicitly referred to Cornell’s cancellation of her performance. “If you want to cancel me from opportunity, stand on it being because of your zionism. don’t make it anti-jew,” she wrote.
Kehlani wrote in the caption that following her Slope Day invitation being rescinded, “there are attempts at other cancellations on top of the cancellations i’ve already experienced over the past year.”
Kehlani was announced on April 10 as the headliner of Slope Day, the annual end-of-year concert held on Libe Slope after the last day of classes. Student and parent dissatisfaction arose in the weeks that followed over Kehlani’s anti-Israel sentiments on her social media.
In a video posted to X expressing her discontent with other music industry members for not speaking out in favor of Palestine, Kehlani said, “It’s f*ck Israel, it’s f*ck Zionism and it’s also f*ck a lot of y’all too.”
Kehlani’s beliefs also appear in her performances. Her “Next 2 U” music video — which was released in June 2024 — begins with the message “Long Live the Intifada,” in addition to featuring
dancers in keffiyehs waving Palestinian flags. The word intifada is often associated with two Palestinian uprisings.
A week after Kehlani’s announcement as headliner, at an April 17 Student Assembly meeting, Kotlikoff criticized the choice of the outspokenly anti-Israel performer but stated that “it’s too late to secure another performer.”
Following Kotlikoff’s statements, pro-Israel group Cornellians for Israel launched a petition and GoFundMe to replace Kehlani’s headliner position. In an Instagram post promoting the petition, CFI called Kehlani “antisemitic” and pointed out how her opposition to Zionism “is a call to eradicate a core aspect of Jewish … identity.”
Soon after CFI’s campaign began, Kotlikoff held a meeting on April 22, which was promoted to several pro-Israel and historically Jewish Greek Life organizations. At the meeting, administrators discussed potential options for Slope Day moving forward and student dissatisfaction with Kehlani.
Shortly after, Kotlikoff announced in an April 23 email that Kehlani’s invitation to headline Slope Day was rescinded. A replacement headliner has not been announced at the time of publication.
Tang can be reached at atang@cornellsun.com.
Tree Current Cornell Students See SEVIS Records Restored
Te Trump administration walks back revocations of over 1800 student visas and termination of student records
By EVERETT CHAMBALA Sun Contributor
April 28 — The Trump administration announced on Friday that it would walk back the revocation of over 1800 student visas, reversing a monthslong campaign that targeted international students for removal. These walk-backs include the restoration of Student and Exchange Visitor Information System records for three Cornell students.
This announcement comes amid widespread student visa revocations and terminations of over 1,840 SEVIS records from over 240 colleges and universities across the United States, according to an Inside Higher Ed tracker.
17 current and former Cornell students were among this number. The University revealed on April 16 that 17 SEVIS records were terminated by federal authorities, with at least four of the students reporting visa revocations.
Now, the Trump administration’s policy reversal could spell the reinstatement of SEVIS records for these affected students.
SEVIS records are a web-based system maintained by the Department of Homeland Security which tracks student visa status. When a SEVIS record is terminated based on a status violation, students lose their visa and must leave the country immediately or face penalty, including potential deportation.
In a statement to The Sun, Wendy Wolford, vice president of International Affairs, said that three of the nine current students with terminated SEVIS records have so far had their records reinstated, “ensuring their ability to continue their education in the U.S.” The University also responded saying they “do not know” if any students have had their visas restored.
Tricia McLaughlin, a Homeland Security Department spokeswoman, told the New York Times that “We have not reversed course on a single visa revocation. Instead, “What we did is restore SEVIS access for people who had not had their visa revoked.”
Angelina
Singer speaks | Kehlani released a statement on Instagram regarding her anti-Israel perspective in response to her Slope Day headliner invitation being rescinded.
COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Records reversed | The University revealed on April 16 that 17 SEVIS records were terminated by federal authorities, with at least four of the students reporting visa revocations.
KARLIE MCGANN / SUN PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
A LISTING OF FREE CAMPUS EVENTS
Cynthia Dwork
Gordon McKay Professor of
LECTURE 1: Differential Privacy and the US Census
Monday, May 5, 2025—3:45-4:45pm
LECTURE 2: Algorithmic Fairness to Outcome Indistinguishability
Tuesday, May 6, 2025—11:45-12:45pm
LECTURE 3: Springboards
Wednesday, May 7, 2025—1:30pm Monday-Wednesday, May 5-7
SUNBURSTS: Flinging Into Spring
From Last Lecture to lacrosse records, campus has been abuzz in the last few weeks until Summer recess
By SUN PHOTOGRAPHY DEPARTMENT
SLOPE STUDIES | Students study, nap and relax on Libe Slope ahead of a long week of prelims and finals preparation.
CENTENNIAL | Hotel Ezra Cornell, a weekend-long event in which Hotel Administration students run The Statler Hotel, celebrated its 100th anniversary on Thursday.
FIRST (LAST) LECTURE | Outgoing men’s hockey coach Mike Schafer ’86 gave his “Last Lecture” to Cornellians on Wednesday evening.
NUMBER ONE | No. 1-ranked Cornell men’s lacrosse took down Dartmouth on Saturday, clinching the Ivy League regular season championship.
SENIOR SEASON | With spring finally in the air, graduating seniors took time to get grad photos in their caps and gowns, snapping a few selfies along the way.
SERVER DERBY | Students took to Ho Plaza for the annual Server Derby, in which HEC participants ran down Ho Plaza balancing bowls of soup.
CAPACITY | Schafer’s highly anticipated talk filled a Baker Laboratory lecture hall, with around 500 members of the Cornell community tuning in.
HISTORY MADE | Senior attackman CJ Kirst broke the National Collegiate Athletic Association all-time scoring record with his 226th goal in the final game of the regular season.
Aerien Huang / Sun Staf Photographer Photo
Stephan Menasche / Sun Assistant Photography Editor
Matthew Korniczky / Sun Assistant Photography Editor
Timmy Xi / Sun Staf Photographer
Sophia Romanov Imber / Sun Staf Photographer
Stephan Menasche / Sun Assistant Photography Editor
Aerien Huang / Sun Staf Photographer
Timmy Xi / Sun Staf Photographer
Kotlikof Joins More Tan 230 Higher Education Leaders in Signing Letter Against Trump’s ‘Political Interference’
By SOFIA LOAYZA and KRISTIE TO Sun Senior Writers
April 24 — President Michael Kotlikoff signed a statement condemning the federal government’s political interference in universities as “endangering American higher education” this week.
The letter, published by the American Association of Colleges and Universities, was signed by 238 higher education leaders — including all Ivy League presidents except Dartmouth College.
In the letter, Kotlikoff and other signatories call for “constructive engagement” between higher education institutions and the federal government, urging the government to halt actions threatening academic freedom, research and the security of international students.
“We are open to constructive reform and do not oppose legitimate government oversight,” the letter reads. “However, we must oppose undue government intrusion in the lives of those who learn, live, and work on our campuses.”
The letter emphasizes the diversity of American higher education institutions, ranging from research universities to community colleges, affirming their right to self-determine admissions and curricula. A shared commitment to academic freedom and open inquiry is highlighted within the letter.
Kotlikoff’s endorsement marks a notable shift following months of mounting tension between universities and the federal government. Kotlikoff has previously been criticized for a cautious approach, notably pledging to “follow the law” in response to federal guidance regarding a since-relaxed executive order to end “racial preferences” in admissions, institutional programming and hiring.
Kotlikoff’s signature signals alignment with institutions taking a collective stand against the Trump administration, and it follows Cornell joining two major lawsuits against the federal government regarding grant cuts in the past months.
Cornell’s Acknowledgement of Deportation on Campuses
In the AAC&U statement, Kotlikoff and other signatories also addressed threats of deportation on university campuses, writing that such threats are stifling academic discourse.
“Our colleges and universities share a commitment to serve as centers of open inquiry where, in their pursuit of truth, faculty, students, and staff are free to exchange ideas and opinions across a full range of viewpoints without fear of retribution, censorship, or deportation,” the statement read.
Cornell reported that 17 current and former students had their SEVIS records terminated, out of which four had their visas revoked since President Donald Trump took office in January.
On March 31, international Ph.D. student Momodou Taal self-deported after being asked to turn himself in to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement following a weeks-long struggle with the federal government that began when he sued the Trump administration.
“American institutions of higher learning have in common the essential freedom to determine, on academic grounds, whom to admit and what is taught, how, and by whom,” the letter reads.
To continue reading this article, please visit www. cornellsun.com.
Sofa Loayza and Kristie To can be reached at sloayza@cornellsun.com and kto@cornellsun.com.
Cornell Law Professor Calls University Funding Freeze ‘Illegal,’ Highlighting Due Process Violations
By EMMA GALGANO Sun Senior Writer
April 23 — Legal concerns over the freezing of over $1 billion in federal research funding at Cornell have escalated, with Prof. Michael Dorf, law, calling the actions “illegal” for bypassing statutory due process protections in the ongoing civil rights investigation.
Following the funding freeze, a Trump administration official confirmed to CNN that the pause was undertaken in connection with “several ongoing, credible, and concerning Title VI investigations.”
Currently, there are at least two Title VI investigations into Cornell. In November 2023, the U.S Department of Education announced that Cornell was being investigated for potential violations of Title VI, related to reports of antisemitic or anti-Muslim harassment. This came after Cornell received national attention twice: when Prof. Russell Rickford, history, called the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel “exhilarating” and when Patrick Dai ’24 posted antisemitic threats to Jewish students in an online chatboard.
The ED announced another Title VI investigation on March 14 for Cornell and 44 other schools’ relationship with The Ph.D. Project — a small project that helps students seeking business school degrees, but “limits eligibility based on the race of participants,” according to the ED.
Dorf has openly criticized the Trump administration’s actions, say-
ing at a Thursday rally for academic freedom, that “the Trump administration has complied with zero requirements.”
Referencing his article for The Chronicle of Higher Education, Dorf explained that federal law requires a thorough, program-specific review of any alleged civil rights violations before funding can be cut.
Title 42, Section 2000-d-1 of Title VI mandates that recipients be granted a hearing, limits cuts to the specific program found to be noncompliant and allows for voluntary correction before any funding is withdrawn.
It also requires agencies to notify Congress and wait at least 30 days before taking action.
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 forbids discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin in any program or activity that receives federal funding. A Title VI investigation is an examination by the ED of whether an entity receiving federal funding has engaged in such discrimination.
“If there were a thorough investigation and it concluded that the University had not done its part to combat antisemitism — or any other kind of illicit bias — that would be perfectly permissible,” Dorf said. “In that case, the federal government would be required to ensure the University complies with civil rights obligations.”
Dorf argued that the problem with the Trump administration’s actions is that they are not following proper procedures and that they “mistakenly”
view a lot of protected student speech as tolerating antisemitism.
“I say that as a Jewish faculty member, and I am appalled by the government’s pretextual use of antisemitism,” Dorf said.
Cornell was also one of 60 universities sent letters from the ED on March 10, warning that they would see enforcement actions should they not “fulfill their obligations … to protect Jewish students on campus.”
Dorf also voiced concern about what he views as a deeper motive behind the Trump administration’s actions, suggesting it is part of “an effort to destroy higher education.” He highlighted how politicians in the Trump administration, like Vice President J.D. Vance, view universities as “bastions of liberal thought.”
Additionally, Dorf offered a possible explanation for why Trump might be focusing on elite universities.
“One possibility is that he wants to make an example,” he said. “If he can do it to the most powerful universities, that will make everybody else afraid, and they’ll preemptively comply.”
He added that the move may also appeal to a populist base. “It strikes an anti-elite tone, which is a sort of standard populist move,” Dorf said, noting the irony that “Trump himself will boast about the fact that he went to Wharton or that his uncle was a professor at [the Massachusetts Institute of Technology].”
Emma Galgano can be reached at egalgano@cornellsun.com.
How the Money Moves: Funding a New Headliner a Week Before Slope Day
By ISABELLA HANSON and ANGELINA TANG Sun News Editor and Sun Assistant News Editor
April 24 After President Michael Kotlikoff rescinded Kehlani’s invitation as Slope Day headliner two weeks before the concert, the administration is now seeking to find and fund a new headliner, according to the email announcement.
Kotlikoff’s announcement to remove the slope day headliner follows student and parent dissatisfaction regarding Kehlani’s anti-Israel rhetoric on social media.
In a meeting with concerned students on Tuesday about Slope Day before the announcement, Kotlikoff was asked about whether or not the University would consider changing headlining artists. To this, he noted the “practical issue” with selecting another artist — the lack of time until Slope Day, which is set to take place on May 7.
“We would need to get the best, most popular artist and most representative artist that we can get and secure them. Basically, everybody is booked, you know, already,” Kotlikoff said at the meeting. “So I would love to go through a very inclusive process, etc. The reality is … if we do this, we would get the best performer we could get.”
At the April 17 Student Assembly Meeting, Kotlikoff said that the original selection of Kehlani as headliner was a “student-run decision,” in which the Slope Day Programming Board “surveyed the student body” and chose artists based on their “popularity” in the survey and the “available resources” that they had.
SDPB is responsible for securing talent and organizing Slope Day alongside Student & Campus Life. Early in the semester, SDPB distributed a preliminary survey to the student body to assist in the artist selection process. Based on the first survey’s results, a second one was sent out
to gather more information.
According to his Wednesday statement, Kotlikoff spoke to SDPB and intends to ”work together to revise the process for researching and selecting performers for this important annual event.”
SDPB’s funding originates from the Student Assembly, who increased the SDPB budget from $315,000 to $715,000 for the 2023-24 academic year. In 2024, SDPB allocated $350,000 to talent. This budget has remained increased for the 2025 performance, in accordance with a rise in the Student Activity Fee.
In December 2023, the Assembly passed Resolution 39, which increased the SAF from $310 to $424 for the 2024-2026 byline cycle. The increase was spread out over the two school years, so the SAF was $384 per student for the 2024-2025 school year. According to the resolution, the mandatory SAF “shall be used to fund participation in and viewing of activities and programs that benefit the Cornell community.”
In an interview with The Sun, Assembly President Zora deRham ’27 confirmed that Slope Day is funded through the Student Activity Fee, which is allocated by the Assembly on a twoyear cycle.
“Every student is charged for the SAF and it is part of the package of payments [with tuition],” deRham said.
The SAF is a pool of funds that all Cornell undergraduates pay into in order to fund Cornell’s undergraduate byline organizations, including the Student Activities Funding Commission, SDPB and the Cornell University Emergency Medical Service.
To continue reading this article, please visit www.cornellsun.com.
Isabella Hanson can be reached at ihanson@ cornellsun.com, and Angelina Tang can be reached at atang@cornellsun.com.
In His ‘Last Lecture,’ Schafer Refects on His Many Years of Coaching
By JANE McNALLY Sun Senior Editor
April 24 — “People always worry about things you can’t control. Always,” said outgoing men’s hockey head coach Mike Schafer ’86. “And if you find that wisdom to know the difference between what you can control and what you can’t, you’ll live a happier life.”
For 30 years, Schafer’s main obligations on the Hill were to lace up his skates, blow a whistle and coach hockey. For most of his life, hockey has been at the forefront. Just a few weeks ago, Schafer coached his final hockey game at Cornell and will soon retire after a decorated career.
“When I talk to our players and I talk to our alumni, talk to fundraisers, talk to different groups … I’m the expert in that area of hockey and Cornell hockey, so it makes it a lot easier,” Schafer said. “But to really think about what you’d say in your last lecture and try to piece that all together with all the different things that you try to teach your players throughout the course of a four-year career, is kind of intimidating.”
The “Last Lecture” series awarded Schafer an opportunity to bestow his departing wisdom upon curious Cornellians. The initiative offers notable figures at Cornell a chance to explore themes and messages that aren’t likely to be taught in a classroom. For Schafer, this was also his “first lecture,” he noted with a laugh.
On Wednesday evening in front of a packed lecture hall in Baker Laboratory, Schafer centered his thoughts around what makes a prosperous team culture, and how that culture can be applied away from the rink. His recipe has proven successful over Schafer’s three decades of experi-
ence, culminating in 561 wins, three ECAC regular season championships, seven ECAC tournament championships, 15 NCAA tournament appearances and one Frozen Four.
Many members of Schafer’s 30th and final team were in attendance for the lecture, as were numerous student athletes representing various Cornell Varsity teams, including women’s hockey, women’s soccer, field hockey, volleyball, men’s lacrosse and track and field, among others.
In all, Schafer’s lecture prompted the 496-person lecture hall to be filled to capacity, with attendees hailing from all backgrounds.
“When you guys go to Lynah Rink, it’s not because you probably knew a lot about hockey. It’s because it’s an event, right?” Schafer said. “It’s to go there and cheer on your University and cheer on your school, and have pride.”
Schafer opened up about his upbringing as a first-generation college student growing up in the small town of Durham, Ontario. He noted that his upbringing as the youngest of nine children, and his relationships with his parents, fueled the team culture he initially established when he began coaching at Cornell full-time in 1995.
“I tell our team all the time — you either love to win or you hate to lose, but there’s always something that really motivates you in your life. And for me, it was my mother, who told me, ‘You can’t do it,’” Schafer said. “So [my motivation] is to prove people wrong. Always has been, and it always will.”
To continue reading this article, please visit www.cornellsun.com.
Jane McNally can be reached at jmcnally@ cornellsun.com.
What Was Said at Kotlikof’s ‘Conversation With Students’
Te conversation was held shortly before Kehlani’s invitation to headline Slope Day was rescinded
By DOROTHY-FRANCE MILLER and SOPHIA KOMAN Sun Managing Editor and Sun Staff Writer
April 24 — The day before President Michael Kotlikoff rescinded Slope Day headliner Kehlani’s invite to perform, top administrators promoted an event to several pro-Israel and historically Jewish Greek Life organizations to meet with concerned students. At the meeting, administrators discussed potential options for the concert, protocols for political activity at Slope Day and student reactions to the controversial headliner.
R&B singer Kehlani was set to perform at Slope Day, the annual campus-sponsored concert on Libe Slope following the last day of classes. On Wednesday morning, Kotlikoff announced that he rescinded the artist’s invite in an email to the campus community. When Kehlani was first named as headliner, dissatisfaction surfaced as students and parents discovered the artist’s social media presence, with one Cornellians for Israel post citing her “anti-Israel rhetoric.”
At the meeting — described in the advertising of the event as a “conversation with students” — Provost Kavita Bala revealed that “[Kotlikoff] will make the decision over the next 24 hours.” This contrasted Kotlikoff’s statement that it
was “too late to secure another performer that will be acceptable or appropriate for Slope Day” at a Thursday Student Assembly meeting in response to concerns raised by students and parents regarding her anti-Israel rhetoric and social media presence.
At Thursday’s Student Assembly meeting, Kotlikoff explained that a contract was made with Kehlani that made it clear that if there were any “political events at the performance,” all compensation would be forfeited.
Throughout the meeting, students asked about the University’s intended plans regarding the concert. Kotlikoff noted that the “practical issue” with selecting another artist is the lack of time until Slope Day, which is set to take place on May 7.
“We would need to get the best, most popular artist and most representative artist that we can get and secure them. Basically, everybody is booked, you know, already,” Kotlikoff said. “So I would love to go through a very inclusive process, etc. The reality is … if we do this, we would get the best performer we could get.”
Kotlikoff explained that while the administration was considering removing Kehlani from the lineup, they were not primarily considering cancelling Slope Day.
“If we were to cancel Kehlani, that doesn’t mean we would cancel Slope Day,” Kotlikoff said. “What we would do if we did that is, as I said, try and get the best artist we could get to replace Kehlani. I think that’s the A solution, rather [than] the B solution, [which] is an alternative concert.”
When asked about steps that would be taken to prevent political activity at Slope Day, Dean of Students Marla Love first pointed to the already existing safety rules for prohibited items at Slope Day — none of which explicitly relate to political activities.
Love clarified that the need for additional safety measures is evaluated up until the day of large events like Slope Day and takes into account expressed concerns “to make sure that we’re moving forward with an event that’s safe for everyone that’s participating.”
To continue reading this article, please visit www.cornellsun.com.
Dorothy France-Miller can be reached at dfrancemiller@cornellsun.com, and Sophia Koman can be reached at skoman@cornellsun.com.
Students speak | President Michael Kotlikoff met with about 70 concerned students.
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An Open Letter to Cornellians for Israel: A Plea for Moral Consistency
Having learned from President Michael Kotlikoff’s email about the decision to cancel Kehlani — whom I hadn’t heard of before April 23 — as this year’s Slope Day headliner, I wanted to better understand the opposition to her invitation. Te Cornell Daily Sun linked to the petition that Cornellians for Israel had circulated. According to Te Sun, the petition claimed that Kehlani’s public calls for “intifada” and to “dismantle Israel” made “Jewish students feel unsafe.” But the link only thanks the signatories to the petition for their part in the group’s success in disinviting Kehlani — the petition’s content has vanished.
I have no personal stake in Slope Day or Kehlani’s performance. But I do want to urge your group to hold yourselves to a consistent standard. If your objection to Kehlani was that her anti-Israel position would have made you “feel unsafe” during her performance, then give a thought to what makes your fellow Cornellians feel unsafe.
For my part, I will say this: With the federal government squeezing our university financially as punishment for unspecified antisemitism and civil rights violations, threatening to destroy fundamental research and set back academic careers, your misrepresentation of political opposition to Israel and the Israeli government as “antisemitic” and an “attack directed against a core part of Jewish identity,” makes me, and I imagine many others, “feel unsafe.”
I openly oppose the government of India, my country of origin, and its unjustified territorial claims in Kashmir, but it would be rank misrepresentation to say that I’m anti-Indian. It would conflate opposition to a government with hatred of a people. When we allow misrepresentations to carry the day, we not only feel, but are, less safe.
Striving to make every Cornellian feel safe is a worthy goal and more power to you if you can uphold that standard. What no one can stomach, however, is a double standard.
Rachana Kamtekar, Bryce and Edith M. Bowmar Professor in Humanistic Studies and a Professor of Philosophy and Classics
Ezra Galperin
Ezra Galperin is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences. His fortnightly column, Ezra’s Cornell, discusses campus politics and how they are affected by the wider political climate.
Slope
Day’s Real Problem
When the Slope Day Programming Board announced Kehlani as this year’s headliner, the reaction on campus was swift: Nearly everyone I spoke to seemed to agree that Kehlani was a poor choice. Some students pointed out that she isn’t as high-profile as previous headliners, such as Kendrick Lamar and Drake. Others have felt that her music doesn’t fit the typical energy of Slope Day.
But beyond the debates over genre and star power lay a deeper, more disturbing issue — one that goes far beyond music and raises serious questions about how this decision was made in the first place.
Kehlani is an antisemite, plain and simple. That is not a claim I make lightly based on a careless repost or cherry-picked quotes. I’m pointing to her music video praising the intifadas, a series of terrorist attacks which took the lives of nearly 1,000 Israelis. I’m pointing to her Instagram story posts calling Zionists — who make up the vast majority of the world’s Jews — “scum of the earth” and declaring “long live the resistance in all of its forms,” justifying the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas massacres against Israeli civilians.
Thankfully, in response to outcry from students, alumni and many others, Kehlani’s performance has been canceled and will likely be replaced. But the deeper question remains: How did this happen in the first place? And when it was revealed, why did it take so much public outcry for action to be taken?
My question to the Slope Day Programming Board, the student body and the administration is simple: Did you know about Kehlani’s hate? I’m not asking if you oppose terrorism. I already assume that you do. You don’t have to tell me that you don’t think Zionists are the “scum of the earth.” I already assume you don’t. You don’t have
Letter to the Editor
to tell me that you think the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks were wrong. I already assume that you do. But why are you unaware that Kehlani, a person with 16 million Instagram followers, disagrees with your instinct to not glorify terrorism and demean most of the world’s Jewish population?
I’m not accusing the Programming Board or President Michael Kotlikoff of antisemitism. Once this controversy came to light, Kotlikoff announced steps to ensure that future Slope Day performers are more thoroughly vetted. I am sure those steps will be effective. But why are they only being taken now? A basic Google search, such as “Kehlani politics,” quickly reveals her problematic history, including materials published before the Cornell controversy. Why was this check neglected?
And perhaps even more concerning: Why does it take digging to find this information at all? As of this writing, Kehlani’s top search results lead to her Instagram, her music and her Wikipedia page. The only pages that have surfaced regarding her politics at the top of her results are those that emerged after Cornellians for Israel and others reacted to her selection as the Slope Day headliner, something that may not have been necessary had the Programming Board conducted a more comprehensive search. At the same time, a more comprehensive search should not have been required; however, uncovering Kehlani’s antisemitic comments seemed to require one. Nevertheless, this is not the case for every celebrity. A Google search for Kanye West (Ye), for example, will immediately bring up his Hitler-praising remarks. With Kehlani, it’s buried beneath playlists and PR. What does that say about how we treat antisemitism, depending on where it comes from?
To continue reading, visit www.cornellsun.com.
Why Cornellians for Israel Petitioned Against Kehlani
Dear Professor Kamtekar, We are the Cornellians for Israel Executive Board. Allow us to be clear about why we petitioned against Kehlani: It is not because she supports the Palestinian people, nor that she has criticized the war in Gaza — it’s that she calls for violence against Jews. You defend Kehlani’s rhetoric as “political opposition to Israel and the Israeli government.” However, Kehlani’s beliefs extend past political opposition: Kehlani posted on her Instagram “DISMANTLE ISRAEL” and posted a map of the region that eliminates Israel. You argue your disapproval of the Indian government does not make you anti-Indian. Criticizing a government is political discourse; calling for the eradication of a nation is not.
In a story on her Instagram Kehlani shared a post calling Zionists “evil” and added her own thoughts, writing, “the scum of the earth. You’re the scum of the earth… go to hell.” Zionism is the belief that the Jewish people have the right to self-determination in their ancestral homeland. Seeing as the vast majority of Jews identify as Zionists, Kehlani’s comment goes past political activism and becomes directly hateful towards individuals on our campus.
Kehlani’s calls for violence against Jews are inseparable from her music. Her “Next 2 U” music video begins with the statement “LONG LIVE THE INTIFADA.” Te direct translation of the word intifada is “uprising or rebellion” but it specifically refers to two violent uprisings that targeted Israeli citizens — stabbing and bombing families in cafes, civilians on buses, students in schools — simply for being citizens of the only Jewish state. Her statement is not political criticism, it is a dangerous endorsement of violence, terror and hatred.
We would not feel safe attending Slope Day with a headliner who calls for the destruction of the Jewish people and Israel, the only Jewish state, both on social media and in her music. Tere is no “double standard” — a Slope Day artist who calls for the destruction
of any people should be unacceptable.
As President Kotlikoff wrote in a statement, Slope Day is a “high-profile event that reaches the entire campus… and … every person should feel included at the signature social event of the year.” When political speakers who hold all kinds of opinions are invited to campus, their events are not meant for all students and don’t claim to promote unity and celebration of campus life.
Our community took a few courses of action to advocate for ourselves: We spoke to President Kotlikoff, laid out our concerns and shared a petition. We have not called for violence or taken violent action. To imply that our advocacy is responsible for a federal investigation into antisemitism on campus is illogical. It is inconsistent and unfair to scapegoat students raising concerns about a singer who calls for violence against Jews.
It is a double standard to call us out for making you “feel unsafe” by raising our concerns about Kehlani, when in fact, you wrote an opinion piece defending students for unauthorized use of university property during the encampment and said nothing when our campus was vandalized multiple times in the name of “supporting Palestine.”
In regard to your comment that “the petition’s content has vanished,” we closed the petition form when the school announced that they rescinded Kehlani’s invitation to perform, as we did not require additional signatories. Here is the petition statement for additional clarity. We find it inappropriate to publicly call out a student group without any prior outreach to gain more information. No Cornell professor should take it lightly when any student says they feel unsafe.
You say you have “no personal stake in Slope Day or Kehlani’s performance.” We do. We hope to have a fun, memorable and apolitical Slope Day together with the entire Cornell community.
Cornellians
SUNder Review: Who Gets the Mic?
Not all music brings harmony. Some Cornellians believe the administration struck the right chord in cancelling Kehlani. Others question whether Cornell’s commitment to free speech extends only to those who sing the right tune. In today’s issue, guest writers and Sun columnists take sides on the Slope Day debate.
Yihun Stith
Yihun Stith is a junior studying Computer Science and Government. His biweekly column, Stand Up, Fight Back explores the political structures and power dynamics that shape life at Cornell. Trough analysis, critique, and calls to action, the column challenges Cornellians to engage with the world beyond the campus bubble and to fght for a more just and accountable university.
Institutional Neutrality (Unless
It’s Palestine)
With only two weeks until Slope Day — Cornell’s biggest event of the year — Kotlikoff rescinded Kehlani’s invitation as the headliner. Kotlikoff justifies this with claims Kehlani has “espoused antisemitic, anti-Israel sentiments in performances, videos, and on social media.” This stands completely contradictory to Cornell’s supposed “institutional neutrality” and commitment to “debate and dissent,” which Kotlikoff has cited ceaselessly all year.
Zionism, a political ideology founded by thinkers like Theodore Herzl, seeks the establishment of a Jewish state in present-day Israel and the Occupied Palestinian territories. Zionism became popularized against the background of historic persecution of Jewish people in Europe and the horrors of the Holocaust. While initially understandable as a response, Zionism in practice required the displacement of native Palestinian populations who already resided there. Zionism has resulted in the forced removal of over 700,000 Palestinians in 1948, the 76-year illegal occupation of Gaza and the development of an apartheid state. Therefore, the means necessary for Zionism to be enacted were and are, to this day, inherently genocidal. Consistent escalation in Israel’s colonization efforts has culminated in Israel’s ongoing genocide of Palestinians. Israel’s brutal 18-month siege has displaced 2 million people, forced over 1.8 million Palestinians to suffer from extreme hunger, directly killed at least 50,000 Palestinians, injured 100,000 more, rendered the majority of hospitals defunct and destroyed every university in Gaza.
To be anti-Zionist, therefore, is an opposition to the genocidal, colonial tactics required to establish a new state on the mass graves of Palestinians. Kehlani’s fierce words against Zionism have been misconstrued as antisemitic by many, including Kotlikoff. Criticism of Zionism does not fall under hate speech but under protected free speech. Kotlikoff’s decision to rescind Kehlani’s invitation is not stopping “hateful views” but simply suppressing pro-Palestinian views. However, in practice, Cornell is not even against inviting prominent figures who express hateful views. For example, in the fall of 2023, Cornell Republicans invited Michael Knowles, who has spewed hate speech against multiple minority groups. For example, Knowles once said “for the good of society…transgenderism must be eradicated from public life entirely.” Were the concerns of Cornell’s LGBTQ community taken seriously by the Cornell Administration? Obviously, not. Kotlikoff began his presidency last year with an interview in which he explained the University’s stance on so-called “institutional neutrality.” Kotlikoff stated that a university “expresses different points
of view. It allows the freedom for those points of view to be expressed. For a president or provost to make statements that then crowd out those other opinions — I just don’t think it’s appropriate.” The rescinding of Kehlani’s invitation is a clear betrayal of one of Kotlikoff’s alleged core values. He’s abusing his authority to silence and condemn pro-Palestinian free speech in an attempt to appease a small minority of students. We must understand, however, that this is not a one-time betrayal of his values; it’s the clearest revelation that Cornell’s stance on “institutional neutrality” is nothing but a facade.
In 2022, former Cornell President Martha Pollack wrote that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was “deplorable” and “unprovoked.” According to the International Court of Justice, Russia’s invasion violates international law. Furthermore, the prevailing sentiment among the student body was in support of Ukraine. Pollack was making a fair moral judgement. But when over 5,000 undergraduate students supported calling for a ceasefire and the ICJ ruled Israel was committing an “illegal occupation” and “plausible genocide,” Cornell refused to criticize Israel. To obfuscate this clear hypocrisy, Cornell suddenly began to “value” institutional neutrality. Can an institution truly remain neutral if it profits directly from weapon manufacturers? Can neutrality exist when the University’s Vice President of Communications publicly labels protesters as “antisemitic” for chanting “intifada,” an Arabic word in this context meaning “shaking off occupation?” Is neutrality credible when Cornell’s president dismisses a class about Gaza as “radical, factually inaccurate, and biased”? Cornell’s complicity in and bias towards Israel’s genocide runs deeper: the Chair of the Board of Trustees, Kraig Kayser, serves as a director of a weapons manufacturer; Cornell maintains close collaborations with the Technion–Israel Institute of Technology; the university benefits financially through partnerships with arms companies; and it receives significant donations to its explicitly Zionist organizations. Even if institutional neutrality were somehow achievable, Cornell has demonstrably failed to do so.
Cornell’s commitment to neutrality was never meant to promote free speech. Cornell’s posturing as neutral is a tactical decision to suppress growing discontent on campus, and more specifically, suppress pro-Palestinian free speech. Cornell’s claim of institutional neutrality is a facade, selectively applied to silence dissent while protecting its own financial interests. By silencing pro-Palestinian speech and shielding its deep ties to war and death, the university reveals its true stance: not neutrality, not protecting students, but complicity.
Catherine M. Appert
reached at cma249@ cornell.edu.
Te Sound of Silence: On Music, Politics and Belonging at Cornell
In his Wednesday morning email announcing his cancellation of Kehlani’s Slope Day performance, University President Michael Kotlikof reminded us that “Cornell is an institution ... where every person should feel included.” Kotlikof’s words echo familiar campus slogans, ranging from large-scale projects like “Belonging at Cornell” to the untiring rehearsal of the founder’s motto, “any person, any study.” Tis week, we are once again reminded that at Cornell, diference is to be seen and not heard; to be visually included in the university’s strategic self-image but quickly silenced when it challenges the status quo.
Before cancelling Kehlani’s performance altogether, Kotlikof bragged about modifying her contract so as to ensure an event “without politics.” It doesn’t take an Ivy League music professor, however, to observe that music is never wholly free of the political. Around the world, music’s performative structures of inclusion and exclusion shape national belonging, bolster military action, forge religious connections and mold personal and group identities. Music acts in these ways not only via the symbolic and representational qualities of its lyrical and musical elements but also — and indeed, more so — through its capacity for forging and strengthening human connection. Although often seemingly apolitical in terms of its lyrics, popular music in particular has been a space of contestation in which counter publics and movements coalesce.
Music is political and powerfully so; no surprise, then, that Kotlikof’s censoring of popular music falls comfortably in line with policies espoused by leaders such as Hitler, Mussolini and Franco, who alternately harnessed the globally popular jazz music of their time to their own ends or condemned it as dangerously degenerate due to its audible Blackness and its many Jewish performers.
Enter Kehlani, a Black American, non-bi-
David A. Bateman
nary, lesbian artist whose mixed heritage includes Native American and Filipino roots. Kehlani’s very existence, their very presence on stage, is in itself always already political. Teir soulful R&B is steeped in inextricable genealogies of Black music and struggle, saturated in the sounds of oppression and survival, of life and of joy and of movement as resistance, of civil rights anthems and Black power rifs. White Americans have long consumed this music while denying basic humanity to Black people. Meanwhile, the US government has instrumentalized Black music in service of international dominion, from the Cold War jazz ambassadors to the 21st-century projects of hip-hop diplomacy in Muslim-majority countries. Te idea that Cornell students should expect to enjoy Black music without even the possibility of discomfort, in other words, is nothing new. With no extant record of the alleged antisemitism Kotlikof cites as an excuse to disinvite Kehlani, we are left not with inclusion but with exclusion, an artist barred from performing in retaliation for her record of acknowledging the human rights of Palestinians and others living and dying under settler colonial violence. Who, in fact, does Kotlikof’s “unity” ultimately encompass? Is it the nonbinary and trans students watching as Cornell capitulates to federal edicts around gender afrming care? Or the Black students whose very presence on elite campuses is routinely challenged in national discourse as unearned and stolen from white and Asian American students? Or the indigenous students who listen to formulaic land acknowledgements in lecture halls situated on the unceded lands of the Gayogohó:no? One thing is certain: It is not the students watching as their families in Palestine and its refugee diaspora are murdered with weapons funded and developed by their own university while their peers dance and drink to music “without politics.”
David A. Bateman is an Associate Professor in the Government Department and in the Brooks School of Public Policy.
Te Incredibly Shrinking University
It was with sadness and embarrassment that I read Te Sun’s article, “Kotlikof Criticizes Kehlani’s Slope Day Headline.”
Te issue, it seems, is that R&B singer Kehlani has political views.
And we, as a university, are now in the business of looking into whether we can cancel engagements with people based on their having such views. How else can we interpret President Kotlikof’s regret, that “We found out about the social media of this performer roughly three weeks ago” and that “it’s too late to secure another performer that will be acceptable or appropriate for Slope Day”?
Private universities’ disinviting people based on their political views is probably legal. New York State Human Rights Law prohibits such denial of facilities on several bases, but not political views. And Cornell is, for most legal purposes, a private institution, so First Amendment protections don’t apply as robustly as they would in public institutions.
But the vision of the university revealed by this decision is of a diminished and petty institution.
To continue reading, visit www.cornellsun.com.
Catherine M. Appert is an Associate Professor of Music and Sound Studies and on the graduate faculty in Africana studies, feminist, gender and sexuality studies and anthropology. She can be
SC I ENCE & TECH
When Fashion Meets Engineering: The Story of Maia Hirsch
By VALENTINE KIM Sun Staff Writer
What happens when you love both fashion and engineering? Maia Hirsch ’24 was prompted with this question during her undergraduate years at Technion-Israel Institute of Technology.
Hirsch had a natural passion for fashion as she loved clothing from a young age. Her love for science sprung when she moved to the US to attend middle school. Due to a language barrier, Hirsch found more interest and ease in STEM subjects that had less involvement of language. This focus on math and science at an early age connected to her college years, where she pursued a degree in engineering.
While her university was located in Israel, Hirsch had to attend classes virtually from her house in Miami due to the COVID-19 lockdowns. Fortunately, the remote setting of her classes allowed her to work during the day, when she decided to explore other interests in her life besides engineering.
“I got an internship with a fashion designer in Miami. At night, I was an engineer and during the day, I was working as a fashion designer,” Hirsch said.
After continuing this unique combination of class and work for a while, Hirsch was faced with a dilemma — she loved both engineering and fashion. Instead of choosing one area, however, Hirsch decided to integrate both areas.
“I loved creating clothes. But I realized that the fashion industry had not changed much in the last hundred years, contrary to the brilliant advancement in technology,” Hirsch said.
While there were upgrades in materials and quality of garments throughout the years, the structure of clothing items has remained the same. Instead of functional upgrades, the fashion industry focused on becoming more luxurious or more affordable. In fact, fashion trends rotate in a cycle where one form of style, such as wide-fit, goes out of style and then makes comebacks. Hirsch believes that an integration of engineering into garments will not only upgrade the functionality of clothes, but also give birth to a new paradigm in the fashion industry.
Hirsch was able to secure a summer internship at Cornell with Prof. Cara Nuñez, where she worked on wearable sensors.
“I fell in love with robotics and wearable technology,” Hirsch said.
After graduating from her home institution, she decided that Cornell would be a suitable place to spend her next few years. Specifically, Hirsch decided that she wanted to pursue a Ph.D. in the field.
Hirsch is set to start her Ph.D. program on haptic sensors and wearable technology in fall 2025. She is currently participating in projects involving vests that give haptic feedback to users for various purposes. One of the ways that the haptic feedback is utilized is by simulating a virtual hug.
“We thought about lowering the level of depression among college students because they leave their home very quickly and
abruptly and might find themselves in a position where they want to be hugged by their parents,” Hirsch explained.
The potential and possible routes that the projects can take are unlimited. Hirsch presented her ‘blooming dress’ at the New York Fashion Week 2025 — a dress that responds to handshakes and blooms like a real flower based on the hand movement of the user. Hirsch claims that this dress symbolizes the connection and understanding created between people when they greet each other.
On a personal level, Hirsch is also determined to help young girls pursue their dreams in the field of STEM. As a woman in STEM herself, Hirsch understands the struggles of young women in the field. While she says was not outwardly discriminated against for her gender, the lack of female presence and role models may feel intimidating to girls just starting out. After finding her passion in technology and fashion and making progress, Hirsch started to voice out her support for girls through interviews with the First Lady of Panama and individual coaching for girls who need help.
In the future, Hirsch is open to improving clothes across all fields, even clothing worn outside of Earth.
“I find it extremely interesting to try to make life-support systems in space be more comfortable and fashionable for astronauts,” Hirsch said.
Details on all personal projects of Hirsch and her research can be found on her website. Valentine Kim can be reached at vbk3@cornell. edu.
Max Owens Pursues His Passion for Innovation as the Founder and CEO of MAVRIK
By LEAH CHANG Sun Contributor
Starting his own self-flying passenger vehicle company at just 15 years old, Max Owens has fully devoted himself to building his business in Long Beach, California. What started out as a passion project quickly transformed into a fully functioning aircraft when his original prototype successfully took flight right before leaving for his freshman year at Cornell in 2022.
After receiving an offer of $1.4 million at the start of his junior year in the College of Engineering, Owens realized that keeping up with the pace meant leaving Cornell to pursue MAVRIK.
Taking Flight
From turning his own room into a maker space to learning how to program at 11 years old,
Owens’ fascination with building things started young.
Originally nicknamed Max’s Aerial Vehicle, Owens began work on the project a couple of years later. Inspired by the meaning of the word maverick, to be “unorthodox,” he combined the Top Gun reference and the name MAVRIK was born.
Getting his ideas off the ground began with dedicating a year to designing the fuselage, or the main body of the drone. Demonstrating a proof of concept and attracting attention from others, this vital component helped raise $30,000 to cover frame welding and electronic expenses. To support this foundational piece, another year was spent towards building and programming. Described as a “scaled-up version” of a drone, the original prototype was a fully electric vertical takeoff and landing passenger vehicle.
Owens additionally spends his time pitching MAVRIK to investors who, despite having initial concerns around technicalities and feasibility, have expressed interest in supporting the business.
This project is essentially centered around the concept of moving individuals and large items to different places at a low cost. Although there has been lots of innovation in the machinery, the application of this technology has been around for a long time.
Owens believes modern technology is capable of making urban air mobility a reality, though a range of safety worries must still be addressed. The Federal Aviation Administration does not make it easy to get certified, especially for large-scale use. Many companies such as Joby Aviation and Archer struggle to financially support certification, especially when they do not receive the desired end result after millions of dollars are spent.
At Cornell, Owens recalled fond memories of connections he has made with other students. In addition to recreational sports, he valued his time with the Baja Racing project team, where collaborating with a tightknit group of fellow innovators served as an eye-opening experience to diverse creativity.
As MAVRIK took flight, balancing school became increasingly difficult, and Owens found himself shifting his focus towards the project. Whether he was in class or on vacation, Owens was constantly working on MAVRIK — writing emails, connecting people, designing and solving internal decision-making challenges.
“MAVRIK is something I love to do,” Owens said. “It’s something that’s always on my mind,
I’m always solving a problem that pertains to MAVRIK.”
Looking to the Future
Since moving out to the West Coast, Owens has found ways to integrate work for the company throughout his daily life, while still making time for other things he enjoys such as hanging out with friends and skateboarding. The transition has also allowed him to take on more employees, including some fulltime Cornellians.
“Bringing on a lot of my incredibly impressive and hardworking friends to work on [MAVRIK] with me just makes it that much more fun and engaging and easy to integrate into my daily routine,” Owens said.
With MAVRIK as his main focus now, Owens’ goal for the upcoming prototype is to move towards a hybrid power system. Converting from electric to hybrid not only aids in expanding fuel use capabilities amongst wider audiences, but extends flying range dramatically by a factor of six.
While this next vehicle can still carry individuals, it now also accommodates cargo and unusually shaped items. Shifting from a passenger-centric design, it has evolved into a more versatile, multipurpose form of transportation. The customer base has shifted from the exploration market to the federal level with the Department of Defense for disaster relief and for search and rescue. Whether it is Amazon delivery boxes, food for disaster relief or supplies for wildfires, the company is looking to take a more realistic, achievable and faster go-to-market approach.
Originally aiming to revolutionize travel, Owens remains confident that his plans are
still on course, though he recognizes that strategic pivots are necessary to make his vision more attainable. The eVTOL market has surged over the past decade, and the once-futuristic idea of flying cars now seems increasingly feasible.
When looking to the new age of transportation, his firsthand experience with Los Angeles traffic is an everyday concern that calls for moving travel to the sky. Acknowledging the safety factor is key, and acquiring more flight hours with cargo will potentially result in more proven and tested security to move towards passenger-focused vehicles, according to Owens. With the rise in congestion, emergency responders suffer from timing complications during life-threatening situations. MAVRIK seeks to approach travel as sustainably moving straight from one place to another by flying and landing rather than relying on the road.
To read the rest of this story, please visit www.cornellsun.com.
Eclectic engineering | Hirsch blends creativity with technical expertise to help redefine both fashion and engineering.
COURTESY OF ISABELLE SHERMAN
Transforming transportation | Owens uses his skills in engineering and entrepreneurship to continue pushing boundaries with his transporation company, MAVRIK.
COURTESY OF MAX OWENS
The Corne¬ Daily Sun
Te Reality of a Fresh Start in College
By Martha Dolan
Martha Dolan is a first-year in the College of Agriculture and Lfe Sciences. She can be reached at mmd289@cornell.edu.
As someone who grew up in the same small town in Upstate New York my entire life, coming to Cornell was a huge culture shock. I went from the population of my town being around the same size as my residency hall. Growing up and knowing the same group of people from kindergarten onward shaped my life in a way that I cannot begin to describe. I felt as if my identity was primarily sculpted when I was very young, and everyone had me pretty much figured out.
When I graduated high school and prepared to come to college, a whirlwind of emotions and possibilities occupied my mind. I came to the realization that — for the first time in my life — I would be going to a new place, where nobody would know me. I had never had to adjust to a new lifestyle outside of my hometown before, and the thought simultaneously excited me and terrified me.
In high school, I felt as if I had my entire life figured out. I knew what I wanted to do for a career and I had an established friend group. I had fallen into a comfortable routine and rhythm, because I never knew anything else. However, the idea that I could completely reinvent myself when coming to college greatly intrigued me. I had the potential to change my style, personality and hobbies. I spent the summer planning who I wanted to be. I bought new clothes, perfected my Instagram account and made Pinterest boards to plan out my “college aesthetic.”
Leaving my hometown for the first time was uncomfortable, and it forced me out of the
shell that I had felt so secure in while growing up. When I first arrived at college, I had the opportunity to evaluate who I truly was and diverge from the traits that seemed so obvious to me in high school. I remember sitting in my dorm room during the first week of college and feeling lost. I sent a video to my best friend from home explaining that nobody here knows me. No one knew my name, my history, my character. It was a daunting feeling at first — I had to start from scratch. There was a constant feeling of pressure to meet new people, join as many clubs as I could and excel in my classes. In a way, I felt the need to constantly prove myself. College was supposed to be the place where I made lifelong friends, explored my passions and became the version of myself that I always wanted to be. Regardless of how determined I was to achieve these quintessential college goals, the pressure proved to be unnecessary and stressful. I recognized that all of these ambitions that I had placed at such a high importance in my mind would come in their own time. I had to take a step back and let go of these expectations. Only when I did that did I start to fully enjoy college. While I wasn’t sure what to expect when coming to a place where I essentially had to start over, I learned more about myself than I initially anticipated. I found friends that truly understood me — not the version of me that I thought I wanted to reinvent. I became more independent and learned to make decisions without second guessing myself or seeking approval from
others. I started listening to music and bands I had never heard of just because the people who live across the hall from me listen to them. I’ve even started to make my bed every morning — something that I never did in high school. These subtle shifts in my life have been transformative in my college experience so far, as they continue to shape my identity.
Of course, some key el ments of my life have remained the same. I still take my coffee without sugar, still sleep with the same stuffed animal and still wear the same perfume every day because it reminds me of home. These small details that have remained constant remind me that life is always changing, whether that be my environment or the people I surround myself with. I’ve learned that even when life is in a state of limbo around me, that doesn’t necessarily mean that I have to change with it. Sure, I’ll evolve and the changes will come naturally, but who I am at my core will stay the same.
To the incoming Class of 2029: Don’t put so much pressure on yourself to revamp your entire life or personality before arriving at college. It’s okay to not know your major or who your best friends are immediately. However, you should be open to stripping away the layers of your life that you’ve outgrown, and adding aspects that make you feel more genuine to yourself. While I certainly did not reinvent myself in the way I thought I would, I’ve changed in ways that make me feel like a more authentic version of myself, which seems like an accomplishment in itself.
A Declassifed Student Assembly Guide
By Vanessa Long
Vanessa Long is a first-year in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. She can be reached at vvl22@cornell.edu.
The transition into college incites a mix of feelings and fresh experiences that make the first semester feel like a blur. Cramming fun into a rigorous academic environment leaves little room for much else. Hangouts become study dates, and dinner transforms into a hangout. Then suddenly, in the midst of acclimating, Instagram stories flood with students asking for your vote to become a Representative in the Student Assembly. Soon after comes a barrage of emails reminding students about elections and voting deadlines. As you scroll through another email listing candidates and campaign blurbs, you realize you don’t even know what the Student Assembly is — or what it does.
Don’t worry; you’re not alone. Many first-years enter Cornell with only a vague “synopsis” of what the Student Assembly is supposed to be. We’re left wondering about the assembly’s true impact and the significance of our votes. This lack of understanding is a problem, especially because the election for the four Freshman Representative positions takes place during the fall semester. How can we make informed choices when we’re unclear about the institution we’re voting for?
Just like I once binge-watched Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide to prepare for middle school, dive into my Declassified Student Assembly Guide to get a better sense of what this governing body is — and what it does for Cornellians.
1. The General Overview
The Student Assembly (SA) is one of several governing boards that serve as advisory bodies to Cornell University’s administration. What makes the SA unique is that it’s made up entirely of undergraduates who present student concerns directly to university leadership. Among its most notable roles: discussing and passing resolutions that can be shared with the University President and creating a proposal on how to distribute the Student Activity Fund, which supports many campus organizations and clubs. The University President and Board of Trustees ultimately approve these proposals.
Other governing bodies at Cornell include the Employee Assembly, Graduate and Professional Student Assembly, University Assembly, Faculty Senate, and Constituent-Elected Trustees. The SA’s specific jurisdiction includes working with the Office of the Dean of Students and the Department of Campus Life, as well as managing the placement of the Student Activity Fee. This fee funds a wide range of groups, from the Cornell Concert Commission to the Cornell University Programming Board.
2. Positions
When election season rolls around, it can feel overwhelming to keep track of all the candidates — and it’s no wonder. The Student Assembly has 47 total positions, although only 37 are voting members. Positions include representatives for each of Cornell’s undergraduate colleges, four Freshman Representatives, five Vice Presidents (each serving different student groups), a Transfer Representative, and a First-Generation Student Representative. There are also Liaisons for International Students, Minority Students, and LGBTQ+ students, plus 16 members of the Executive Committee.
The inconsistency between the number of positions and voting members is largely due to the fact that many executive committee members hold multiple roles, and some positions are ex officio (meaning they don’t vote). Seven people currently hold more than one position. It’s a lot — but each seat aims to ensure that different student voices are heard.
3. Committees
The Student Assembly operates 17 standing committees, each advocating for specific aspects of student life and university policy. These committees include the Academic Policy Committee, Diversity Committee, Environmental Committee, Student Health Advisory Committee, and the Office of Ethics Committee, among others.
One notable committee is the Student Assembly Infrastructure Fund Commission (SAIFC), which allocates money collected from the Student Assembly Infrastructure Fund (SAIF) to projects aimed at improving campus facilities. This year, SAIFC allocated $61,000 to student-proposed infrastructure improvements.
Past projects funded through SAIF include the “Coat Hooks” initiative (2016), where hooks were installed on bathroom stall doors where they were missing, and the “Lighting on the Slope” project (2017), which added four lamp posts to the south end of Libe Slope to improve nighttime safety.
4. Elections
The SA holds elections twice a year — once in the fall and again in the spring. During the spring election cycle, the ballot includes major leadership positions like President and Executive Vice President, most College Representatives, At-Large and Community Representatives, and Representatives for various minority and special interest groups (International Students, Minority Students, Women’s Issues, Student Workers, Students with Disabilities, and LGBTQIA+ students). Spring elections also fill the undergraduate seats on the University Assembly. Not all colleges elect representatives every spring. For example, the Brooks School of Public Policy, College of Architecture, Art and Planning (AAP), and the College of Human Ecology did not have positions up for election this spring. Even so, 27 positions were filled during this election. The number of open positions varies each semester based on turnover and terms.
5. Resolutions
The central function of the Student Assembly is the discussion of resolutions and whether or not they should be approved by the assembly or brought to the President’s attention. On the Office of the Assemblies website, you can find a list of past Student Assembly resolutions and their outcomes. One successful initiative resulting from the Student Assembly is the allocation of $4,000 from the Student Assembly Reserve to provide a shuttle service to Syracuse and Ithaca airports during finals week, a resolution Acknowledged by the President. Once a resolution has been adopted by the Student Assembly and sent to the President, there are five possible outcomes: acknowledgment, deferment, return, acceptance and rejection. The President’s acknowledgment of a resolution means that the administration accepts the resolution without comment; a return means that the resolution has been sent back to the assembly with comments or edits. Rejection, acceptance, and deferment are self-explanatory outcomes.
Due to the advisory nature of the Student Assembly, some resolutions proposed and adopted by the assembly can still be rejected by the University President. One such resolution was titled “Vending Self-Care Supplies,” which was an initiative aimed at placing vending machines stocked with non-prescription medications (pain relievers, allergy meds, band-aids, etc.), sexual health supplies and Narcan in every dorm and social housing.
6. How to Get Involved
If this guide piqued your interest and you’re inspired to be more involved in the governing body that is the Student Assembly, attend weekly meetings every Thursday from 4:45 - 6:30 pm in the Willard Straight Hall Memorial Room. If attending in person is a struggle, the assembly also records the proceedings on Zoom. Their last meeting for the 2024-2025 academic year is on Thursday, May 1, 2025. The Student Assembly, albeit infrequently, publicly posts its meeting minutes on its webpage on the university’s Office of the Assemblies website. The assembly keeps students informed through its bi-weekly Student Assembly Newsletter, which provides links to information about upcoming meetings, agendas and recently adopted or pending resolutions awaiting assembly approval.
MARTHA
With Second Term Secured, Student Assembly
President Zora deRham ’27 Outlines Vision for Future
By JASON CHOI Sun Contributor
Apr. 29 — Facing a second term in office, Student Assembly President Zora deRham ’27 described her vision to connect the Student Assembly with student concerns.
deRham beat out three other candidates with a campaign focused on institutional knowledge. Reflecting on her win, deRham said, “I’m definitely honored that Cornellians have chosen to place their trust in me again and give me a little bit more time to … effect some change.”
The sophomore is from Connecticut and studies agricultural sciences. She first secured her seat on the Assembly in fall 2023 when she was elected as a freshman representative. deRham inherited what she described as “an Assembly that had a long history of infighting” and credited her “greatest accomplishment so far” with changing that tone.
“Hands-down, my greatest accomplishment so far has been maintaining a much more collegial Assembly … [that is] communicative,” deRham said, noting renewed ties with peer organizations through the State University of New York and the on-campus Residence Hall Association.
Looking ahead, deRham’s most outspoken pledge is to restore meal swipe access to Trillium Dining Hall — an amenity removed around the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to deRham. The Assembly passed Resolution 31 in February, urging Cornell Dining to offer a meal
swipe option and provide pre-boxed meals to pick up at Trillium.
President Michael Kotlikoff formally acknowledged the resolution in early April and committed Cornell Dining “to exploring the feasibility of an additional pickup location for meals to-go on central campus.”
“Trillium meal swipes affect so many students,” deRham said. “I … campaigned on it when I ran for freshman representative, and I intend to keep pushing Cornell Dining until we have a green light.”
She expects negotiations to run through 2026, working with the Assembly’s Dining Services Committee, athletics administration and other on-campus parties to bring “a real show of force” to the bargaining table.
deRham also turned her attention to the Assembly’s chronic voter turnout problem.
“We hover at under 10-percent voter turnout, [but] a lot of our peer schools are closer to twenty to twenty-five percent,” deRham said, referencing other SUNY campuses. “Even if that changed the outcome, I think that’s healthier for the Assembly and for the school to have higher engagement in the elections.”
To reach that mark, deRham outlined her plan to revive ice-cream-social pop-ups, build a semester-long calendar of outreach events and require every Assembly member to complete constituent engagement projects as mandated by the charter. deRham also expressed interest in revamping a bi-weekly newsletter and a more active social-media
Christian Flournoy
presence to reconnect the Assembly to its constituents.
When asked about pressing issues facing students, deRham highlighted rising costs on campus as another component of her overarching agenda to address with the administration.
“The everyday out-of-pocket expenses of being a student at Cornell just don’t make sense relative to our peer schools,” deRham said. “They harm the student spirit when there’s always something to pay for, whether it’s a meal at Trillium or laundry in the dorm, parking … [or] gyms — there’s so many things that fall into this out-of-pocket expense bubble.”
With a byline funding cycle worth over $6 million approaching, deRham said that she will work with the incoming vice president of finance to alert student organizations “months in advance” about documentation requirements, easing all parties involved into what deRham called an otherwise tedious and difficult process.
To continue reading this article, please visit www. cornellsun.com.
Jason
can be reached at jc3697@cornell.
’27 Plans to Maximize Student Voices as Executive Vice President of the Student Assembly
By SOPHIA RILEY SIM
Contributor
Apr. 29 — Heading into his second year of being on the Student Assembly executive board, Christian Flournoy ’27 said that there are two ideals he envisions for his term as executive vice president: “[maximizing] the student voice” and “ensuring community representation.”
Flournoy was announced as the next executive vice president for the Assembly on Wednesday, April 25, beating out three competitors in a narrow race. He currently serves as the vice president for diversity and inclusion for the Assembly, sitting on its executive board.
Flournoy is pursuing the pre-medical path and noted a passion for promoting student health and wellbeing. Amid a string of campus tragedies in the Fall 2024 semester, Flournoy co-sponsored a resolution to set a precedent for offering campus-wide restorative days in response to student deaths and sexual assault Crime Alerts. He now looks to expand services that help students manage stressors they face on campus.
“There’s a lot of great ideas, and I want to make sure that the Student Assembly is able to help with that whether that is putting something out on our newsletter — mentioning stuff about mental health — or if it’s trying to think about how we are funding certain initiatives,” Flournoy said regarding his approach to promoting student well being.
Flournoy plans to work with the re-elected Assembly President, Zora deRham ’27, to maximize student voices. “We’re both involved with a lot of different things on campus. We hear from a lot of different parts of our constituency, and I think that’s
important when we’re talking about resolutions that we want to pass,” he said. Flournoy is a student-athlete who is a part of the sprint football team as well as the secretary of Cornell’s Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity.
Another way Flournoy wants to hear from the student body is by “emphasizing the importance of liaisons.” Flournoy explained how organizations on campus have liaisons that can attend and speak at Assembly meetings to advocate for their community and seek change. In his time as E.V.P., he wants to expand the utilization of liaisons to “come to the meeting every week and hear what’s going on” so that he’s able to “talk to these different organizations.”
Along with being a resource for the student body, Flournoy said that he sees himself as a resource for the new members of the Assembly as well. He wants to be a mentor who guides first-time members into their roles, including how to write resolutions and “figuring out certain people that they need to go talk to.”
When asked about specific issues that need to be addressed for next year, Flournoy said that he plans to tackle funding for byline organizations, especially in light of federal funding cuts at the University.
“I think that there’s going to be a lot of questions that people have,” Flournoy said regarding the impacts of federal funding. “I want to be able to have the answers to those, and if not, have the answers to who will.”
To continue reading this article, please visit www.cornellsun.com.
2025-2027 Student-Elected Trustee Candidates Speak at Election Forum
Apr. 24 — Six students are campaigning for the undergraduate student-elected trustee position on the Cornell Board of Trustees. This year’s candidates, who seek to replace incumbent J.P. Swenson ’25, are Marco Martini ’27, Lani Lin-Kissick ’28, David Diao ’27, Reid Schwartz ’27, Keten Abebe ’27 and Christian Flournoy ’27.
Elections began on Wednesday and will run until Monday, April 28. The biannually elected position runs for two years, and the chosen representative will become the undergraduate population’s voice on the Board of Trustees, one of Cornell’s top decision-making bodies.
On Monday, The Sun held the 2025 Student-Elected Trustee Candidate Forum moderated by Julia Senzon ’26, the Editor-in-Chief of the Cornell Daily Sun, to understand their policy stances and qualifications.
Communication Between Students and Trustees
One point all candidates expressed concerns about was the communication, or lack thereof, between the student body and the Board of Trustees.
Abebe, a sophomore in the Brooks School of Public Policy, added that beyond communication, visibility and making the student trustee role more visible and approachable to the Cornell student body are likewise necessary.
“I know a lot of students don’t even know that a student trustee position exists, and they don’t know who to contact when they have something that’s impacting them, or they want to voice their opinion, or they want to express their vision,” Abebe said. “So showing students that you do exist and that you care, and [are] not only reaching out to them, but being accessible to them, I think, is really, really important.”
Similarly, Schwartz, a sophomore in the College of Human Ecology, also stressed the importance of ongoing communication between students and trustees to ensure that there is a “constant flow of communication and sentiment from the students to the trustees.”
Flournoy, a sophomore in the College of Human Ecology, also advocated the importance of creating more direct connections between the Board of Trustees and the student body, encouraging trustees to attend student events to better understand the issues students face.
“It is so invaluable for trustees themselves to actually come to campus, be among the students that they were once themselves and really hear what’s actually going on,” Flournoy said. “Because often there’s even a chance that they might even hear an issue that they can personally relate to, [something] that was an issue when they were here as well.”
Martini, a sophomore in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations, believes that the “most effective way to deal with how students are thinking, how they’re feeling, is just face-to-face interactions.”
To continue reading this article, please visit www.cornellsun.com.
Sun
deRahm’s Dining Initiative | President Zora deRahm ’27 plans to prioritize restoring Trillium meal swipes and increasing the Assembly’a voter turnout.
KARLIEMCGANN / SUN PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
Christian conquers | Christian Flournoy ’27 enters his second term on the Student Assembly executive board.
KARLIE MCGANN / SUN PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR
By MICHAEL FERREIRA Sun Contributor
Michael Ferreira can be reached at mm3447@cornell.edu.
Sophia Riley Sim can be reached at sas723@cornell.edu.
Choi
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Fantastic Fungi Fanatics Offers Homebase for Mushroom Community
By VARSHA BHARGAVA Sun News Editor
April 23 — Elusive little brown mushrooms scatter Ithaca’s forest floors, waiting to be discovered by the Fantastic Fungi Fanatics as the weather warms and mushroom-hunting season recommences.
FFF, Cornell’s mushroom club, hosts hikes through Ithaca’s woods in the fall and the spring, during which the mushroom enthusiasts forage for assorted fungi like morels, chicken-of-the-woods, poisonous destroying angels and jack-o’-lantern mushrooms. In the in-between months, FFF gathers to nibble on warm mushroom dishes sourced from Wegmans and grow their own mushrooms from spawn.
“Every time I went out [into the woods], it’d be a new adventure.”
Tommy Victor ’25
As a hub for fungi exploration, FFF encompasses students from all backgrounds — from plant science students to Cornellians who just think mushrooms look cool.
Clad in mushroom-themed garb, former club president Tommy Victor ’25 told The Sun that he appreciates the “fantasy”-like experience of mushroom-hunting, and enjoys sharing it with others.
“What originally got me into mushrooms was the scavenger hunt aspect of it,” Victor said. “Every time I went out [into the woods], it’d be a new adventure.”
When he hit campus as a first-year student in fall 2021, Victor searched for a mushroom commu-
nity, but his hunt was fruitless. Though Cornell had a mushroom club in the past, it did not survive the COVID-19 pandemic, Victor said.
“Fungi
do so many roles in nature, but we often don’t really think about it because most of a fungus’s life cycle is completely underground.”
Tommy Victor ’25
Determined to bring back the mushroom community and find people to hunt mushrooms with, Victor reignited the club.
Barely 10 people showed up for FFF’s first few meetings — most were friends of Victor’s and other executive board members. Now, the club has achieved record turnouts of 40-plus attendees hailing from all corners of campus.
Victor shared that celebrating fungi is important and often overlooked.
Current co-presidents Jilud Trivisvavet ’26 and Sophia Caporusso ’26 echoed his sentiment and said that hosting a space for fungi appreciation is meaningful for the growing area of mycology.
“Fungi do so many roles in nature, but we often don’t really think about it because most of a fungus’s life cycle is completely underground,” Victor said.
Fungi hold a lot of potential for scientific discovery, Trivisvavet said, and he wants to encourage a greater understanding for the “incredibly necessary” major kingdom of life.
Currently, the redcapped mushroom with white polka dots — the fly amanita mushroom — pervades the media. Trivisvavet hopes to dismantle the limited fungi
Inside the Cornell Jazz Ensemble and Its Performance With Legend Vincent Herring
By ZEINAB FARAJ Sun Asisstant Sports Editor
April 29 — The Cornell jazz ensemble is a group of 21 student musicians who practice and perform alongside Prof. Paul Merrill, music. Each semester, the largest ensemble in the Ivy League puts together shows for Cornell students to attend for free.
On April 19, the Cornell Jazz ensemble put on a spring performance as they played 11 songs with alto and soprano saxophonist, Vincent Herring.
The Sun spoke to Herring, Merrill and other members of the band in order to gain insight on this successful group as well as their experiences performing alongside a jazz legend.
Experience at Ensemble
representation by exposing people to their many shapes and colors. His favorite mushroom — the chicken-of-the-woods — is bright orange.
The beech orange, Caporusso’s favorite fungus, is also bright orange. Caporusso’s goal is to make the field of fungal science “a little less niche and a whole lot more inclusive” by getting students involved through FFF.
Adding playfulness to campus as an unconventional club is also important for Caporusso. In addition to guest lecturers and mushroom identification lessons, she said that the executive board encourages camaraderie within the club and a genuine curiosity for the funky fungi kingdom.
“In such a serious academic environment, sometimes you need a little bit of silly.”
Sophia Caporusso ’26
“In such a serious academic environment, sometimes you need a little bit of silly,” Caporusso said.
As a niche group on campus, Trivisvavet hopes to foster a stronger community for the fungi enthusiasts. He noted the strength of the birding community and culture at Cornell, and said he wants to build the same hearth for fungi appreciation.
“I hope [FFF members] can at least feel a little bit of joy of being able to go out into nature, seeing something they recognize and feel proud that they can do that,” Trivisvavet said. “Even if it’s just the level of, ‘Hey mom, look at that — I know what that thing is.’”
Varsha Bhargava can be reached at vbhargava@cornellsun.com.
Many members of the band stated that they have seen the difference between the collegiate and high school level of play during their time at Cornell.
“Coming to [Cornell] university and a band like this where everyone is so invested into creating such a good product at the end and creating incredible art at the end — it’s an unreal experience,” said Ezra Seckin ’28.
To join the band, there is an audition process that all interested students must complete in August. If prospects are able to impress with their auditions, they can join the band and also gain access to individualized lessons with instructors and professors.
The students were required to study the song “Bouncing with Bud” for their auditions, along with other special instructions about improvisations, sight-readings, rhythmic accuracy, intonation and style. No one student auditions alone, nor do all the same instruments audition at the same time. Instead, Merrill has auditionees from different sections audition together to see how they sound together. For example, an auditionee from guitar, piano, drums and bass were placed together according to Nathan Choi ’28.
This year, after auditions, the band is made up of five saxophonists, five trumpet players, five trombone players, a guitarist, a pianist, two bass players, a drummer and a vocalist.
According to their website, Cornell University Jazz is made up of four parts that students take part in — a classroom-style practice, improvisation and history components, student clubs for specific interest, and individualized practices and different scale performances in front of large audiences.
Students in the ensemble are enrolled in MUSIC 4615: Jazz Ensemble, where they rehearse twice a week and have two to four different performances in a semester. They are able to gain academic
credit for their practices and participation in the band. On top of these mandated four hours, the band sometimes meets for extra practices to fine-tune their pieces. This combination of courses, practices and performances is what makes the band “able to click and have chemistry together,” said Turner Aldrich ’26.
“During my solo performance, the band was able to match my vibe and I think we have so much chemistry together,” Aldrich said. “Improvisation is just a different way for me to communicate with my bandmates.”
Performing with Vincent Herring
The ensemble, headed by Merrill, puts on concerts throughout the semester. This specific concert opened with the jazz ensemble playing five songs together. Then, after a short intermission, Herring took the stage and performed six songs alongside the student musicians, including two he wrote.
During the first song of the second set, “Del Sasser,” Merrill jumped in from conducting to perform a solo on the trumpet alongside Herring and his students.
“The reason why I played is because Vincent said, ‘Paul why don’t you play too,’ and I can’t say no to him,” Merrill said. “Anytime I get to stand alongside my students and make music, it’s always special.”
Herring is a renowned jazz saxophonist and music instructor. He has been playing the saxophone since he was 11 and started studying music at 16 years old at California State University, Chico. He currently teaches at William Paterson University and the Manhattan School of Music, and he is featured in over 20 albums and 250 songs. This past spring, Herring practiced with the student musicians and offered a master class to assist with specific questions the students had.
“It is pleasurable for me to play alongside this ensemble,” Herring said. “Coming to Cornell is always enjoyable because the quality of the students and the musicians [is] good, and Paul [Merrill] always does a great job picking the music. So as long as I am welcome, I will always come back.”
During the concert, Merrill recognized nine senior student musicians, awarding them blue and black cords to wear at graduation — the blue symbolizing the blues music genre, and the black honoring the African American artists who were instrumental in the development and popularization of jazz and blues music.
To continue reading, please visit www. cornellsun.com.
Zeinab Faraj can be reached at zfaraj@cornellsun.com.
Marvelous mushrooms | Fantastic Fungi Fanatics, Cornell’s mushroom club, offers a homebase for the mushroom loving community.
VARSHA BHARGAVA / SUN NEWS EDITOR
Jamming jazz | The Cornell Jazz Ensemble performed at Bailey Hall in style along with jazz legend Vincent Herring.
Setting Records and Succeeding: Meet Senior Gymnast Sydney Beers
By ZEINAB FARAJ Sun Assistant Sports Editor
April 28 — With twenty years of gymnastics experience, senior gymnast Sydney Beers has made an unforgettable impression on the gymnastics program at Cornell — rewriting record books and leading her team to success.
As the senior looks to the Hill for the last time, The Sun sat down with Beers and discussed her historic career.
Early Gymnastics and Committing to Cornell
At two years old, Beers started her gymnastics career through Mommy and Me gymnastics classes. Over time, she said she was eventually placed on a team where she started as a Level 4 gymnast, and she worked her way up to Level 10 in the eighth grade. Beers also said she always knew that she wanted to do gymnastics in college — specifically at a Division I program.
“I wasn’t sure exactly what school I wanted to go to, so I reached out to every Division I gymnastics program in the country,” Beers said. “That’s how I ended up committing to Cornell. I spoke to [head coach Melanie Hall] for a couple weeks, and she eventually offered me a spot on the Cornell gymnastics team.”
“I wasn’t sure exactly what school I wanted to go to, so I reached out to every Division I gymnastics program in the country.”
Sydney Beers ’25
Beers committed to Cornell in September 2021. She said that the combination of strong Cornell athletics, academics and Hall’s coaching contributed the most to her decision. Beers also said she wanted to attend physician’s assistant school, which led her to ultimately commit to Cornell.
“I knew I’d get a great education to help me with my chances of going to a great PA school,” Beers said. Rewriting the Record Books at Cornell
Beers enrolled in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences as a Biological Sciences major with a concentration in Neurobiology and Behavior. She started competing in gymnastics meets for the Red starting her freshman year and was dubbed an allaround gymnast — meaning she competed in the four events at a meet.
One of the differences she noted between club
and collegiate gymnastics was the lifting schedule she had in college.
“I had only lifted a couple times prior to getting to college, but once I got here and we started going to team lifts, I automatically fell in love with it,” Beers said. “I’ve always been strong, but I didn’t realize how strong I was till I got into the weight room here.”
“I’ve
always been strong, but I didn’t realize how strong I was till I got into the weight room here.”
Sydney Beers ’25
Beers said she works closely with the assistant director of strength and conditioning, Erika Rogan. She also spent a summer in Ithaca before her senior year, training her bench and squat personal records.
Beers currently holds the Cornell women’s weightlifting record of a 355-pound squat and 240-pound bench.
On the gymnastics side, Beers said it was her goal to beat the all-around record since her freshman year. She achieved this goal in her junior year at home against Centenary College on March 10, 2024, with a score of 39.275.
Led by Beers, the team also set a new program record team score of 195.025 across the four events.
“I always knew I was capable of doing it as long as I hit all four events to the best of my ability, and I was finally able to do that in the same meet that we broke the school program team record,” Beers said. “It was a really exciting day for Cornell gymnastics.”
“It was a really exciting day for Cornell gymastics.”
Sydney Beers ’25
Notably, Beers is listed in the top five spots for the Cornell All-Around Records. In 2022, Beers achieved a score of 39.125. Then, in three separate competitions in 2024, Beers filled out the first, second and fourth places for the record book with scores of 39.275, 39.225 and 39.150 respectively.
On February 14, 2024, during the Long Island University quad meet, Beers earned a 9.900 floor score that put her in a four-way tie for first place on the Cornell Vault Records, and she also grabbed another four-way tie for second place on the Cornell
Floor Records with a score of 9.900. What Next?
Beers has also served as a team captain for two consecutive years. She says she works by “leading by example” and setting a positive tone for the team to follow.
“I try to lead by example and make sure that everyone’s practicing to the best of their abilities and show the team that anything is possible as long as you’re doing the right recovery and the right amount of training on your body,” Beers said.
While Beers does not plan on pursuing gymnastics post-graduation, she said she will continue weightlifting because it is something she deeply enjoyed. She hopes to coach gymnastics and watch her younger sister, Taylor Beers, who has committed to the University of New Hampshire to continue gymnastics at the Division I level.
“Gymnastics has become a part of who I am,” Beers said. “I grew up in the gym … “It has taught me some valuable life lessons like committing yourself to something, discipline and time management.”
Zeinab Faraj can be reached at zfaraj@cornellsun.com.
Beers on bars | Beers ’25 looks to the uneven bars moments before her event.
LEILANI BURKE / SUN SENIOR EDITOR
Sydney’s show | Sydney Beers ’25 on the floor exercise at the women’s gymnastics meet against Penn in Newman Arena on Feb. 2.
Student Artist Spotlight: Liv Licursi
MELISSA MOON ARTS ASSISTANT EDITOR
The more people I meet at this school, the more awed I am by the dedication and passion that overflows in each and every one. All that zeal is embodied in Liv Licursi ’25, director, producer and performer extraordinaire. It’s difficult to decide where to begin discussing her achievements — Licursi really can and does do everything. She’s a whirlwind of a person, bubbling over with conviction that shines through in all of her projects. On April 14, I was lucky enough to snag an hour of her busy life to talk about her work.
Funnily enough, despite her deep and apparent commitment to the arts, Licursi isn’t majoring or minoring in PMA. Instead, she’ll be graduating this year from the School of Industrial and Labor Relations. “I’ve taken more classes than are required [for the PMA minor], but I don’t have the minor because I don’t have the two classes you’re supposed to take,” Licursi shared, laughing. “But the knowledge that I’ve gained from my classes in ILR is very important for the things I’m doing now … just people skills that you learn the basis for in ILR. I don’t regret that that’s my major.” In fact, she started out even further from the arts than ILR, spending the first year of her college journey studying biochemistry at Wilkes Honors College in Florida. “I knew exactly who I was when I was ten
years old, but I popped out of high school a completely different person than I was supposed to be.” Despite having done theater in elementary school, it never seemed like a feasible life path, so Licursi swerved hard into the sterile and acceptable. “I love storytelling and that’s always been my thing. I was trying to find ways into it and nothing really stuck, but I was working within the confines of what my family would allow.”
Living in Florida, what Licursi termed “a desert for arts and culture,” highlighted how much she needed a creative outlet in her life. At Cornell, everything fell into place. A major outside the arts certainly hasn’t stopped Licursi from becoming the artist incarnate. She runs Cornell Students Create, a club that is “focused on fostering community for student artists on campus.” Upon arriving at Cornell, Licursi found the university’s creatives “literally and physically and metaphorically isolated on campus” and resolved to remedy the issue by her graduation. This mission included reviving the Melodramatics Theatre Company, Cornell’s student-run theater organization. “Melos has been around since 2004, but the recession and COVID-19 were big hits for it. It wasn’t at its full potential when I got here. It was a mess. I just saw that there was a gaping hole.” But with Licursi’s iron will, no task was insurmountable. “I spend a lot of my time and effort getting people together. If there’s one thing I can do, it’s bring the right people together for a project.”
All that passion stems from a desire to do good in the world. I could try to paraphrase the reasoning behind that drive, but I think Licursi herself said it best: “Theater and storytelling are medicine for the soul. It’s a vessel through which people can connect with pent up stuff. This is why I do it. It’s that outlet in our busy lives that we need. Theater has the power of — after years of people suppressing stuff about being unhappy in their lives — forcing people to be present and mindful. That kind of presence can force you to reckon with parts of your life that you might want to change or that you’ve been suppressing. You’re sitting shoulder to shoulder with people who you might think differently from and are having this cathartic experience with. The human in theater is what’s important. There’s no way you can replace that. There are some things that you need live people doing something spectacular for.”
Licursi is a genuine creative and so, so deserving of every success she achieves. Moving forward, she’ll be directing, producing and acting in The Family Copoli, an original musical written by a Cornell PhD student and departmental project from 2023. Like everything Licursi does, it’s scathingly relevant, and they’re taking it to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe at the end of the summer. “I want to do everything in my lifetime: produce, perform, direct. It’s hard to do all the things at once. Which is funny, because I’m doing all three in Copoli. … I see it all as a big
mosaic of life. Play one objective at a time. What opportunities are in front of me? I’m just gonna trust the process.”
Of course, I found it hard to conceptualize how anyone could put themself out there and do so much at once, so well. Licursi’s advice? “You just have to tear down your insecurity. People get excited when you’re excited.” Truly, her message seems to resonate with people. She’s brought together artists on campus and isn’t planning on stopping as she heads shining into the future. Licursi’s mission is to change lives, and I, for one, fully believe that she will. As a final note before she departed, Licursi smiled and said, “If my statistics professor is reading this, hopefully he understands where I’ve been.”
Melissa Moon is a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences. She can be reached at mmoon@cornellsun.com.
Lorde Returns With “What Was Tat”
PAULINA DELGADO ARTS & CULTURE CONTRIBUTOR
After nearly four agonizing years without new releases from Lorde, she returned this past Wednesday, April 23, with her much anticipated single “What Was That.” She’d been teasing new music for a long time now and it all came to a cathartic conclusion with her new hit, making waves as it reached No. 1 on the U.S. Spotify charts this weekend!
Avid followers of Lorde, such as myself, know that she hasn’t been very active since her Solar Power Tour concluded in April 2023. She would only occasionally post a cryptic photo dump on her Instagram, often containing hints to the aesthetics of what was to come — and of course, when she redefined girlhood in her iconic feature in Charli xcx’s “girl so confusing ft. lorde,” which gave us — or maybe just me — the most quotable song in history with lines such as: “Let’s work it out on the remix,” “Girl, you walk like a bitch” and “Forgot that inside the icon there’s still a young girl from Essex.”
The rollout for “What Was That” was unexpected and exciting; she began by posting a 15 second clip of the chorus to her TikTok on April 9, two
weeks before the song officially dropped. This singular clip made headlines, as Lorde was not only back to making music, but also back to making music that was reminiscent of her critically acclaimed album Melodrama. The snippet of the chorus (which went triple platinum on my headphones in the weeks leading up to the full song dropping) contained the lyrics “Since I was 17, I gave you everything / Now we wake from a dream, well baby, What Was That?” As soon as I heard Lorde talk about being seventeen again, I knew this song was going to be synonymous with some of my favorite songs of hers off Melodrama, where she reflects on young love to a killer synth. She officially announced the song’s release on April 16, a week before the single dropped, in a post sharing the cover art, cryptically captioning it “My new song What Was That. Out soon.”
The anticipation for “What Was That” culminated in an insanely huge and chaotic crowd gathering at Washington Square Park, where Lorde had posted requesting to meet at 7 p.m., implying a “impromptu concert” of sorts for the song. She drew in such massive crowds that the “release party” had to
be cancelled after the NYPD demanded that the crowds disperse. Unsurprisingly, the masses remained and got to enjoy Lorde making an appearance two hours later, where she debuted her single, to be released the next night.
The mere fact that her simple Instagram story post drew to the park just proved that the world craved Lorde’s return and every single one of her fans was on the edge of their seats to hear what she was dropping next. One impromptu park release party later, “What Was That” finally dropped alongside a low-budget music video following Lorde around NYC in her headphones as she struts through the streets (arguably the best way to listen to this song.)
Amid my Wednesday readings, the clock struck midnight and I dropped everything to tune in. I proceeded to loop the song for hours, watching the music video, interpreting the lyrics and dancing to the synthy chorus over and over again.
I will always love a good synth; this is especially the case in Lorde’s unbeatable Melodrama album, where songs such as “Supercut” and “Sober” find their perfect tone in a glorious and emotional synth. I think I liked “What
Was That” so much right off the bat because it shares many similarities with my all-time favorite Lorde track “Hard Feelings,” which contains a similar narrative theme of “post-breakup coping” and a hard synthy instrumental bit that miraculously achieves the same emotional response and weight of Lorde’s genius hard-hitting lyricism.
“What Was That” opens with a somber tone and a dissonant piano, locating you in a sphere of the heavy surroundings that define her emotional turmoil post-breakup: “I wear smoke like a wedding veil / Make a meal I won’t eat / Step out into the street, alone in a sea, it comes over me.” It hits her — she’s sad because she misses the relationship. She reflects on that distinct sensation of falling fast in love and, ultimately, falling apart just as fast. The chorus uses words like “dream/ haze” and a “waking” from those illusions that are now driving her to question what the relationship was and what they were even doing. If you aren’t already convinced by Lorde’s imagery, she follows the chorus with the second verse, describing a night out with her friends where she’s distracted and blankly “staring,” her mind is so wound up
in making sense of her relationship that she diverts from the party and “faces reality” (a classic “party 4 u” moment, if you will). What follows are the most heartbreaking and raw lyrical moments in the track: “You had to know this was happening, you weren’t feeling my heat / When I’m in the blue light, down at Baby’s All Right, I face reality / I try to let whatever has to pass through me pass through / But this is staying a while, I know it might not let me go.” After the final chorus, Lorde ends with lyricism reminiscent of her 2017 hit “Green Light,” flowing in and out of trying to move on, while also grappling with the hurt and confusion of an abrupt breakup: “When I’m in the blue light, I can make it alright / Baby, what was that?”
In “What Was That” Lorde faces the emotional whiplash of what once was, continuing a thematic thread that ties her new sound with the beloved Melodrama -esque narrative. She came to save the recently deceased post-soul crushing situationship crowd and we should thank her for it because truly… What was that?
is a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences. She can be reached at pmd99@cornell.edu.
Paulina Delgado
COURTESY OF ANGIE GUO
Honoring Past Glory: Billy Idol’s Dream Into It
By ALESSANDRA GIRAGOS Arts & Culture Contributor
On April 25, nearly a decade after Billy Idol’s last album release, Idol released Dream Into It , joined by rock vocalists Avril Lavigne, Joan Jett and Alison Mosshart. Impressed that he’s kept up the spiky, bleachblonde hair for this long, and being a Billy Idol dabbler, I was eager to listen. Join me as we welcome the punk rock legend back into the music scene.
The opening track and the album’s title, “Dream Into It,” is full of Idol’s familiar reverberations and synergy. With the first verse’s lyrics, “once when I was younger, back when I knew hunger,” the song sets the tone for the album with its reminiscence of his earlier years. Perhaps speaking to his debauchery and reckless 20s and 30s, he complicates his timely reflection with the line, “the records spin as the soundtrack to my sins,” hinting at a later self-awareness Idol will reach as the album continues. It must be said, however, that the opener, in which he ascribes his success to his ability to imagine, feels a bit tongue-in-cheek, almost as though it’s being sung through Idol’s iconic sneer.
Ripped away from the familiar timbres of rock-pop, the second track, “77,” opens with Avril Lavigne’s pointed soprano, punctuating Billy Idol’s vocals, which run an octave below. The music is
Music in Motion: “Keyboard Energies” ARTS & CULTURE
Walking into the dim interior of Barnes Hall auditorium on a rainy Friday evening felt almost like stepping into a sacred place. The vaulted arches overhead, reddish-brown brick walls and soft purple curtains framing the stage created an atmosphere of quiet reverence. The pre-performance blue light spilling from the music stands bathed the instruments — harpsichords, clavichords, clavinets and synthesizers — in an otherworldly glow. As I looked around, I noticed people of all ages sitting and talking excitedly about what was to come. Mosaic windows surrounded the room, their colorful patterns enhancing the ethereal atmosphere of the space. As I found my seat, I felt a similar buzz of anticipation building inside me.
The concert, titled Elemental Energies at the Keyboard , was part of the larger “Keyboard Energies” symposium and promised an evening unlike any other — a program tracing both musical elements and the electrification of New York State through sound. My professor, Professor Moseley, had told my class about the performance he would be a part of ahead of time, describing it as
uncannily similar to Lavigne’s solo work, feeling more like the featured artist was Idol himself. That being said, the lyrics immerse the listener in his antics. The track describes running amidst the gangs and greasers in the evolving punk community, declaring that they’d “fight back like 77!” While Lavigne was not yet alive to see it, 1977 undoubtedly marked a revolutionary year for punk rock, in which the movement gained mainstream cultural impact. Idol himself was, at that time, part of rock band Generation X, in the midst of releasing their self-titled debut album.
The track “Too Much Fun,” feeling more like his own once again, is chalk-full of reflections on his mischief. Although playful at times — he clarifies that although he crashed his motorcycle, he “didn’t die!” — the song gets at the significance of the album itself. In declaring, “I’m not leaving until I say I’m done,” he claims his unshakable place in rock.
The fourth track on the album, and probably my favorite one, “John Wayne,” opens with Alison Mosshart’s cool, crooning vocals, offering a refreshing, slow build to the powerful track. Just as with Lavigne, Billy Idol seemingly offers the floor to the featured vocalist, paying homage to her unique, indierock style.
Moving on to the track I had most looked forward to, “Wildside,” featuring rock icon Joan Jett. Venturing back into pop, I can’t say that this
track really scratched the itch I had to hear the two rugged vocalists collaborate. In my opinion, the distortion effect on Jett’s voice softens her vocal’s signature edge, and I might be slightly biased towards Jett, but I wish he’d given her the space in the track to bring her grit as he did with the two other featured artists. At least the lyrics, in which the musicians speak to their wild side, ring true. If you don’t believe me, just take a look at his feature on the Behind the Music series.
The sixth track, “People I Love,” rushes in with anticipating percussion and a rising guitar line. Although feeling at first disingenuous and simple with the line, “I see you’re disappointed I left school to start a punk rock band,” Idol goes on to explore the interesting dynamic between feeling inherently inadequate in the eyes of those he loves, while also continuing to let them down. This track’s lyrics brought forth a storyline beyond “the good old days” that I was waiting to hear.
Although, oddly enough, the initial guitar riff feels a bit Lavigneinspired, in Idol’s next track, “Gimme the Weight,” he finally sobers to his surroundings steeped in self awareness. In listing the scope of his reckless abandon, he sheds a new, remorseful light on his behavior, and speaks of a love with the power to cut through the excess of his lifestyle.
These sentiments culminate in the following track, “I’m Your Hero.”
Although suspecting a hint of egotism based on the song’s name alone, Idol pleasantly surprised me, offering the listener a further picture of surviving love. Through his lyrics, ”In your eyes, I’m brand new, I am pure. … I’m reborn,” he praises the space to exist free from his contentious reputation in his lover’s eyes.
Billy Idol closes his album with “Still Dancing,” a testament to his persistence and success, a hard fight both on and off the stage. Something in the meter and intensity of the chorus’ “yeah, yeah, yeah” reminds me of his earlier works — think “Rebel Yell.” Quite topical to the substance of the song itself, much like in “77,” Idol goes on to describe the Brixton scene of his glory days. He describes the transition into his stage persona through his name change, best put in the words of his mother, “[making] himself an idol, because he didn’t think he’d ever be one.”
Although falling into the consumer-focused category of ‘corporate rock’ at times, in his rallying album, Billy Idol offers meaningful introspection into his hedonistic past — more than I can say I’ve seen from other ’70s rock musicians — and reasserts himself as a seasoned rocker, still as vibrant and electric as he was some 40 odd years ago.
a rare collaboration across styles, eras and instruments. Cornell faculty and graduate students, alongside guest performers from the Ithaca community, would guide us through a wide range of compositions from J.S. and C.P.E. Bach to György Ligeti, Anne Louise Brillon de Jouy, Richard Wagner, David Borden, Jasmine Edison, Dane Rudhyar and Ryuichi Sakamoto.
I was immediately snapped out of my thoughts when applause broke out as the first set of performers entered the stage, swiftly yet elegantly taking their places. I opened the program notes I’d been given at the beginning, eager to read more about each composer, each piece and the historical and thematic threads connecting them all. Even before the performance had begun, it was clear that an enormous amount of work and thought had gone into shaping the evening. As the performers settled at their instruments, whether standing or sitting, the show started with a calm, quiet sound, almost as if the wind itself were blowing through the space. The first half of the show focused on elements as sources of energy. The music began delicately, like a soft test of the air, with performers exchanging subtle glances when counting, making sure everyone was in sync. Another thing I noticed was the arrangement of where
the performers stood or sat — some facing the audience directly, some turned to the side, and even a few with their backs toward us. I found it interesting how, despite the unusual positioning, they still played beautifully in sync, my eyes darting from person to person as I played a game with myself, trying to spot a specific performer and see if I could single out their instrument by listening carefully enough.
Color played a major role throughout the performance. The stage lights shifted from deep blues to pinks, greens and sharp reds, subtly suggesting the elemental forces behind each piece. The theme of electricity was not introduced all at once but slowly threaded into the experience.
During the intermission, the room buzzed with conversation. Groups clustered together, discussing what they had just heard. There was a contagious excitement in the air, the kind that happens when an audience senses they’re witnessing something rare — a carefully constructed experience that could only happen here and now. When the second half began, the music took on a dramatically different energy. The focus shifted to instruments that had been transformed by electricity. In these moments, history fell apart: centuries-old instru -
ments and modern machines breathed together.
The evening ended with an unforgettable final piece. A low, steady pulse began to rise from the speakers, resembling a heartbeat. As the performers let the final notes drift away, the lights dimmed one by one until the room was plunged into darkness. We were left sitting in that final, vibrating silence — aware of our own heartbeats, of the electric buzz still hanging in the air. This wasn’t just a concert. It was an experience of sound and light, tradition and innovation, breath and electricity — an immersive journey through time and energy that left the audience not just entertained but transformed. I couldn’t help but smile as I spotted my professor on stage, speaking as he and the other performers received a standing ovation. After hearing him often talk about the department’s events in class, it was rewarding to see that energy firsthand — a reminder that what we study isn’t just theory but a living, breathing practice, carried out with real passion and artistry.
Mikayla Tetteh-Martey is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences. She can be reached at mkt62@cornell.edu.
Alessandra Giragos is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences. She can be reached at asg287@ cornell.edu.
By MIKAYLA TETTEH-MARTEY Arts & Culture Contributor
Men’s Lacrosse Ends Season With Senior Day Win
After two goals against Big Green, Kirst stands alone with NCAA record
era | The team celebrated 16 seniors, including some of the Red’s most impactful athletes, with a win that secured top seed in the league tournament.
By WILLIAM CAWLEY Sun Staff Writer
Men’s lacrosse entered its clash against Dartmouth with a lot on the line. Cornell needed to defend its senior day ceremony, protect its No.1 rank in the media polls and launch senior attackman CJ Kirst into the record books as the player with the highest career goals in NCAA history.
In the end, Cornell (12-1, 6-0 Ivy) defended its home field from the Big Green (8-5, 2-4 Ivy) and won 10-8.
“If I were to draw it up it couldn’t be any better. Michael Long is someone I’ve been playing with since sophomore year of high school, so we’ve been through a lot together.”
CJ Kirst
On the first possession of the game, Kirst cut in front of the goal and got the ball from fellow senior and long-time attack partner Michael Long. Kirst shot and scored his 225th career goal, leaving him as the sole record holder for career goals in NCAA lacrosse.
“If I were to draw it up it couldn’t be any better,” Kirst said. “Michael Long is someone I’ve been playing with since sophomore year of high school, so we’ve been through a lot together. I know our parents are pretty happy about it too.”
Kirst’s goal was followed by another senior, midfielder Andrew Dalton, finding the back of the net before Dartmouth made its first two tallies of the game to tie it up.
Sophomore midfielder TJ Lamb put the Red back on top with a low to high rip. He was followed with a goal from sophomore attackman Ryan Goldstein.
After Dartmouth scored one of its own, sophomore midfielder Ryan Waldman slipped on the wet turf and spilled the ball. He won possession back for Cornell after laying a massive hit along the sideline, but Goldstein could not finish the play.
Dartmouth then took the lead. Kirst scored number 226 with an on-the-run shot with his weak hand while the shot clock was winding down. Dalton scored again, and the Red ended the half with a 6-5 lead.
Dartmouth goalkeeper Mason Morel made two great saves to start the second half, and the Big Green tied the game again. Sophomore Luke Gilmartin then took a two minute, non-releasable penalty for a hit to the head, but the Red killed off the chance. Kirst stole the ball on a Dartmouth clear, which left the net wide open for sophomore midfielder Willem Firth to put the Red back up. Junior faceoff Jack Cascadden took the ensuing faceoff and scored Cornell’s second goal in five seconds.
The teams entered the game’s final stanza with Cornell in the lead 8-6.
Dartmouth clawed one back before Golstein slipped one by the Dartmouth goalkeeper. Senior midfielder Hugh Kelleher was next, giving the Red its first comfortable lead of the game.
A hit by senior long stick midfielder Walker Wallace in the final two minutes gave the Red possession and allowed them to kill most of the remaining time.
With just 22 seconds remaining on the clock, Colin McGill buried a behind-theback shot for the Big Green, but Cornell held on to come away with a 10-8 senior day win.
“We grew up with those guys [the seniors]. I got this job when I was 26 and those guys were freshmen,” said head coach Connor Buczek ’15 MBA ’17, fighting back tears. “It’s going to be tough to say bye to them.”
In Cornell’s lowest scoring game of the year, its defense was an essential compo-
nent to victory.
“Wyatt [Knust], one of the better goalies to go against every single day… [Jason] Singer, the guy has been able to guard number one attackmen on every team,” Kirst said, praising the team’s defenders. “Brendan Staub, he’s done a tremendous job all year… Matt Dooley is the voice down there who is screaming left and right.”
Morel stood on his head, ending with a 58 percent save percentage against the highest-scoring offense in the country. Senior goalkeeper Wyatt Knust saved 6 of 14 shots on goal for a 43 percent save percentage.
“Their goalie was excellent … [he] made a lot of really good point blank saves,” Buczek said.
Goldstein led the team with five points. The Dartmouth defense performed very well, allowing nobody to score more than two goals and limiting Kirst to just two shots on goal, though he scored on both opportunities.
“Being able to do it on senior day with my best friends truly meant a lot,” Kirst said of setting the record.
Cornell was dominant on faceoffs, winning 73 percent. Cascadden won 12 of 18 and Melkonian won all four of his draws.
Next weekend Cornell will host the Ivy League Tournament at Schoellkopf Field.
The Red will face fourth-seeded Yale in the first semifinal on Friday, which starts at 4 p.m.
William Cawley can be reached at wcawley@cornellsun.com.
Te Tournament Playing Field
Starting Friday, the top four teams in the Ivy League will battle for an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament and the status as top of one of the country’s most competitive conferences. Cornell will kick off the festivities against Yale, and a match between Princeton and Harvard will follow later in the afternoon. The semifinal winners will duke it out in the championship at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Semifinal 1: No.1 Cornell vs. No.4 Yale
Yale enters the tournament as the lowest seed among the four contenders, while the Red is now in its sixth week at the top of the national media polls. With the Bulldogs coming off a 18-7 loss at Princeton, Yale will have to put up an outstanding fight to come out victorious against a team that has the momentum of a broken NCAA record and chart-topping regular season.
The March 22 meeting between the pair ended in a 19-14 win for the Red. Machado Rodriguez has been strong on the faceoff for the Bulldogs, but he’ll have to contend with junior Jack Cascadden, who has been hitting his stride.
Semifinal 2: No.2 Princeton vs. No.3 Harvard
Both Princeton and Harvard have the makings of a team capable of a deep postseason run, but the Tigers’ outstanding season has put them second only to Cornell in the polls. With brick wall goalkeeper Ryan Croddick leading a defense which held four Ivy opponents to less than 9 goals and offensive weapon Coulter Mackesy surpassin 50 points on the season, Princeton will be a tough nut to crack. The Crimson, including Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week Logan Ip, will look to avenge a 13-11 loss to the Tigers earlier in the season.
Alexis Rogers can be reached at arogers@cornellsun.com.
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TIMMY XI / SUN STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER