9-19-23 entire issue hi res

The Corne¬ Daily Sun

Cornell Ranks 12th Best University, Ties Columbia

By SOFIA RUBINSON Sun Managing Editor

Cornell University was named the 12th best university nationally, according to the 2024 Best National Universities rankings published Monday, Sept. 18 by the U.S. News and World Report.

The University rose five places after being ranked the 17th best university in the nation by last year’s report. As of the last report, Cornell was ranked the best university in New York State after Columbia University fell from No. 2 to No. 18.

Cornell now ties Columbia and the University of Chicago for 12th best, with the two Ivy League universities ranking the best in New York State.

The University appears to have benefited from the U.S. News and World Report’s new formula for calculating rankings, which places greater emphasis on graduation rates for students who received need-based Pell grants and retention. The rankings this year also added metrics tied to first-generation college students and to whether recent graduates were earning more than people who had completed only a high school degree.

Cornell was also ranked the 20th best value college

Rally Targets Cornell's Contribution to Ithaca

By SOFIA RUBINSON and GABRIEL MUÑOZ Sun Managing Editor and Sun News Editor

The Ithaca Democratic Socialists of America held a rally and march on Monday, Sept. 18 calling on Cornell to contribute higher payments in lieu of taxes to the City of Ithaca, following an informal agreement reached between Ithaca Mayor Laura Lewis and Cornell President Martha Pollack on Thursday for Cornell to pay $4 million annually to the City.

“Only a week after leaving the negotiation tables, Cornell came back with an increased offer — which means our organizing is working,” said Kayla Matos, the Democratic candidate for Ithaca’s 1st Ward, in a speech at the rally. “Cornell needs [to pay more to] the City that we all, including them, call home. We need to see more than the $4 mil-

lion they are currently offering, and we need to see shorter-term contracts. Our city needs to be able to revisit these contracts more frequently and work as partners with Cornell University to uplift our city and support our residents.”

Signed in 1995, Cornell has a Memorandum of Understanding with the City of Ithaca to pay $1.6 million annually in PILOT contributions. With this agreement expiring in June 2024, the City and Cornell had four negotiation sessions from April to August to discuss a future MOU. On Sept. 7, Lewis released a statement condemning the University for stalling the negotiation process after offering the City $3.15 million annually.

“Despite a good faith effort to negotiate an amount compatible with the City’s needs, Cornell ultimately failed to offer a financial commitment

— the highest ranking New York school in this category — which takes into account a school’s academic quality and the 2022-2023 net cost of attendance for out-of-state students who receive average levels of need-based financial aid.

In more specific categories, Cornell was ranked the best college for veterans, the sixth best undergraduate computer science program, eighth in undergraduate business programs and 10th best in undergraduate engineering programs.

Sofa Rubinson can be reached at srubinson@cornellsun.com.

New Admissions Advice Released

Cornell aims to admit more students in underserved communities

By SOFIA RUBINSON Sun Managing Editor

The University’s Presidential Task Force on Undergraduate Admissions released a set of recommendations to improve Cornell’s admissions process on Sept. 14, culminating the efforts of a task force that was convened by President Martha Pollack in November 2022. The recommendations include increasing efforts to identify prospective students from underserved communities and developing a team to research and implement machine learning algorithms into the admissions process in a limited capacity.

“It’s our responsibility, every few years, to look at our admissions processes and make sure that they’re working well and they’re achieving our goals,” Pollack told The Sun in May 2023. “And our goals, of course, are to admit a class that is extremely academically strong, that will thrive here, that will go out and carry our mission into the world. But we are also, of course, interested in diversity of all kinds.”

mentation on a wide range of actions. In terms of recruiting students to apply to the University, the report recommends identifying students who contain the following attributes and life experiences “that have been identified as enriching the educational experience in the classroom,” according to the report.

Academic achievement, and achievement in other areas

Inquiry: intellectual rigor, passion, curiosity, creativity, exploration

Distance traveled: overcoming obstacles or barriers; experience working part time; overcoming feelings of isolation or disempowerment, headwinds, invisibility, struggles

“It’s our responsibility, every few years, to look at our admissions processes and make sure that they’re working well.”

The report was developed by the 15 members of the task force, composed of faculty with expertise in a range of disciplines including behavioral research, household finance, data science, mathematics and income inequality. The task force consulted with experts from the University of Southern California, the University of Florida, the University of Michigan, Harvard University and the Common App, in addition to Cornell’s admissions officers and financial aid office staff, to generate their findings.

The recommendations encourage immediate imple-

Persistence: grit, resilience, perseverance, focus

Community orientation: demonstrating kindness, compassion, teamwork focus, impact, pride in culture or heritage, situational awareness, service, engagement Leadership: influential, trend-setter, lights up room

Knowledge of and appreciation for Cornell’s unique history and mission

The task force also recommended the addition of an essay question that asks applicants about how they would advance the University’s core mission and core values. Specifically, the task force drafted a prompt that asks applicants to describe how their life experiences, particularly within a community, will enrich Cornell’s “any person” ethos.

Rafaela Uzan '25 shares the story of New York Times journalist Joyce Maynard.

President Martha Pollack

Daybook

Tuesday, September 19, 2023

A LISTING OF FREE CAMPUS EVENTS

Today

Behavioral Economics Workshop: Kwabena Donkor

11:40 a.m. - 1:10 p.m., 156 Statler Hall

Building Pathways: The Student Athlete Experience Noon - 1 p.m., Hall of Fame, Schoellkopf

Exploring Bird Migration: Your Questions Answered Noon - 1 p.m., Virtual

Parenting in the Digital Age: Social Media, Tech and Our Kids Noon - 1 p.m., Virtual

What Remains: Documentary Work and Analysis of Terror, Extrajudicial Killings and Community

12:20 p.m. - 1:10 p.m., G08 Uris Hall

MAE Colloquium: Prof. Xiaolin Zheng

1:30 p.m., B11 Kimball Hall

The Political Landscape of DEIB and its Implications in Higher Education

1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m., Virtual

W.E. Cornell: Role Model Conversation

4 p.m. - 5 p.m., Virtual

Humanities Scholars Program Info Session

4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m., 101 A.D. White House

Health Professions 2025 Application Cycle Kick Off Meeting

4:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m., Virtual

American Studies Program Fall Welcome Reception

4:30 p.m. - 6 p.m., 404 Morrill Hall

Who Was Fritz Kittel?

4:30 p.m., 258 Goldwin Smith Hall

Moral Psychology Speaker Series, Featuring Prof. Audun Dahl, Psychology

4:45 p.m. - 5:45 p.m., 150 Warren Hall

St. George, Cultures of Slavery and the Salvation of Souls in the Medieval Mediterranean

4:45 p.m., G22 Goldwin Smith Hall

Independent Since 1880

one for incoming freshmen in July — make for a total of 61 issues this academic year. Subscriptions are: $60.00 for fall term, $60.00 for spring term and $120.00 for both terms if paid in advance. Standard postage paid at Ithaca, New York. Postmaster: Send address changes to The Cornell Daily Sun, 139 W. State St., Ithaca, N.Y. 14850.

Program Provides Professional Aid

By SOPHIA TORRES Sun Staff Writer

When Chayil Hyland ’25, a first-generation student, was admitted to Cornell, she was required to attend Cornell’s Pre-Collegiate Summer Scholars Program — an invitation-based residential program where incoming students take summer session courses and are prepared to transition to Cornell. But despite participating in PSSP, she said she struggled to find adequate resources as a college student.

“I felt in PSSP that I did not really belong at Cornell, and I was not worthy of being here since my acceptance was conditional on me attending the program. I wondered ‘Am I smart enough?’ ‘Is Cornell a good fit for me?’” Hyland said. “I also struggled to find resources that could support me in my struggle.”

This year, Hyland is attempting to ease the transition to college life for other first-generation students as a mentor for the inaugural cohort of the Accelerator Scholars Program, which provides first-generation business students with various networking opportunities and specialized skills training.

The program is run through the S.C. Johnson College in partnership with Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. — a global investment company. ASP has a mentor-mentee system in which KKR representatives mentor upperclassmen in the program while the upperclassmen mentor first-year students and sophomores.

To be a part of the program, students must be

in either the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management or the Nolan School of Hotel Administration, and they must be first-generation students as defined by Cornell, meaning that neither parent nor guardian completed a four-year college degree. They also must be selected into the program through an application process.

There are currently 69 underclassmen mentees in the program, along with their upperclassmen mentors, according to Prof. Michelle Duguid M.S. ’05 Ph.D. ’08, business, who also serves as the associate dean of diversity, inclusion and belonging at the S.C. Johnson College.

“[The program serves as a] pot of mentorship and networking. We have sessions and ‘lunch and learns’ about executive presence, network negotiations and things like that to fill in the [knowledge] gap [first-generation students face],” Duguid said. “[Within the curriculum,] we’re going to have different skills training, we’re going to bring in speakers and there’s definitely going to be some sort of trip to KKR for some interview prep.”

Duguid also said that one of the key reasons the S.C. Johnson College chose to launch ASP is because PSSP only provides support for students over the summer. Students are selected to PSSP by college offices based on high school experiences, test scores, intended studies and personal backgrounds, according to the Cornell Chronicle.

“One of the things that came up from our admissions team, who works closely with diverse students, is that [PSSP] is a really great program where freshmen and

Rally Demands Cornell to Pay More

Organizers urges Ithaca Common Counsel to reject $4 million deal

reflective of its leading role in the community,” Lewis wrote in the statement. “This is a lost opportunity for Cornell to invest in and garner the support of its community.”

However, on Sept. 14 Lewis and Pollack released a joint statement expressing they reached an agreement of $4 million annually over 21 years, contingent on approval from the Ithaca Common Council and Cornell Board of Trustees. Just a week later, Lewis expressed gratitude for the City’s offer.

“This new agreement will further strengthen our critical relationship and partnership for the long-term, for the benefit of the people of the City,” Lewis and Pollack wrote.

But the agreement was not viewed favorably by everyone. The Ithaca DSA is calling on the Common Council to table or reject the current deal in favor of a larger financial commitment from the University with a shorter contract time.

“[Cornell] needs to pay substantially more, and they need to agree to a shorter contract length because we’re partners — the City of Ithaca and Cornell

S.A. Confrms Activity Fee Eligibility Among Student Organizations

By MELANIE SCHWARTZ Sun Contributor

Rocco DeLorenzo ’24, the vice president of finance of the Student Assembly, presented the 20242026 eligibility requirements for student organizations to obtain funding through the Student Activity Fee at a Student Assembly meeting on Thursday. This SAF appears on each undergraduate’s bursar bill to fund Cornell’s many byline organizations.

their members’ names. The S.A. enacted the resolution to address concerns about outing members of the Cornell LGBTQ+ community.

University,” said Alderperson Jorge DeFendini ’22 in an interview with The Sun. “You don’t tell your partner: ‘Talk to me again in 20 years.’ You talk about what you can do right now. And right now they are telling us to go away.”

With around 70 students, faculty and community members in attendance, the rally included chants for the University to provide “Big Red Bucks,” a reference to Cornell’s debit dining dollars, for City priorities such as the bus system and potholes. Ralliers also chanted, “Martha, Martha, this ain’t fair, time for you to pay your share.”

After circling Ho Plaza, the organizers proceeded to College Avenue where they stopped at the entrance to the University, blocking traffic. Multiple organizers delivered speeches criticizing the University and calling for the Common Council to reject the current deal at Wednesday’s meeting.

Alderperson Tiffany Kumar ’24 spoke to The Sun about the upcoming Common Council meeting and said the deal does not have enough votes to pass. She feels the Common Council was not given proper time to review the memorandum because they are discussing a new initiative to

manage homeless encampments on city property that comes after months of negotiations.

“I am pretty confident that even if we don’t have a vote to say no [on Cornell’s proposed PILOT contributions], we definitely have the votes to table it,” Kumar said, “Everybody on council is pretty confused as to why we only have five days before the vote from when we heard about the deal.”

Wednesday’s Common Council meeting will prove consequential as to whether negotiations stall again. Despite Mayor Lewis’ support, multiple alderpersons expressed intentions to vote against the agreement.

“Cornell needs to pay up,” said Nick Wilson ’26, a student organizer who occupied Day Hall over Cornell’s partnership with Starbucks in May. “Cornell’s great because Ithaca’s supplies a wonderful community and a neighborhood for us to exist in, and we’re responsible to hold up our end of that bargain.”

Henry Fernandez ’27 and Marisa Aratingi ’27 contributed reporting.

The S.A. sets the fee to support student organizations’ programming. Every two years, each byline organization requests a specific allocation, ranging from 50 cents to $22 from each student’s SAF. The fee varies every two years as each organization’s allocations change. They meet with the appropriations committee to explain their reasoning, and the committee then decides to lower or raise their allocation funding.

To receive funding, the organization must be student-run and student-directed. Each year there are certain organizations eligible to apply and others that have applied in the past. DeLorenzo went through the organizations that previously applied but did not apply yet this year, or applied but were missing an eligibility requirement and explained whether or not the organization would be able to participate.

For example, The Takton Center for New Students applied, but DeLorenzo indicated they were not completely student-directed and thus may not qualify for the funding. However, the Center involves student engagement through its leadership structure, such as orientation leaders and student employees. DeLorenzo suggested accepting their application while advocating for more student involvement at the center.

Environmental Collaborative, which received 50 cents in their last allocation for the 20222024 cycle, decided not to pursue an application this year and, instead, be an organization under the Student Activities Funding Commission.

This year, organizations must submit a list of members’ names to complete the application and verify membership. On Sept. 7, the S.A. passed Resolution 16 exempting Haven, the Cornell LGBTQ+ student union, from disclosing

After discussing the SAF, the members of the S.A. discussed how they could increase student engagement by increasing voter turnout with the S.A. and encouraging more students to run for S.A. positions. In May, 15.6 percent of students voted in the election. Three students ran for the spot of President and two candidates for Vice President.

The S.A. also passed Resolution 19: Election Rules, stating that students interested in running for a position in the S.A. must have a paper petition rather than an online petition. This would include a physical copy of the signatures. Rahul Verma ’24, S.A. director of elections, sponsored the resolution and explained that petitions led to “more engagement with constituents from colleges when this was an in-person faction.”

The resolution also lowers the required number of signatures from 75 to 25 for certain seats, which include college representative, transfer representative and freshmen representative, making it easier to run for a position.

S.A. President Patrick Kuehl ’24 said that he opposes petitions altogether as a requirement for running.

“[Petitions] decrease engagement overall,” Kuehl said. “The real test if someone wants to be on S.A. or not is not petition signatures, but running an election.”

Kuehl said that petitions lure people away because they require extra work that is not necessary for running for a position. He expressed belief that getting rid of petitions would ultimately engage more people and that petitions are antidemocratic.

Kuehl proposed that the S.A. get rid of petitions entirely and amend the resolution to not require petitions to run for an S.A. position. His amendment to the resolution failed.

Resolution 19 ultimately passed in its original form, changing the election rules to require paper petitions and only 25 votes for specific seats.

Dollar discussion | Members review budget eligibility requirements for student organizations during a Student Assembly meeting.

Faculty Senate Discusses Generative AI Implications

By MATTHEW KIVIAT Sun Staff Writer

The Cornell Faculty Senate discussed the impact of generative artificial intelligence — models that utilize machine learning to create new and original content — on the ways students and faculty engage in course material during its first meeting of the academic year on Wednesday.

The discussion was led by Prof. Steven Jackson, information science, science and technology studies, who also serves as the Vice-Provost for Academic Innovation, and Rob Vanderlan ’88, executive director for the Center for Teaching Innovation.

Jackson discussed a University report regarding generative artificial intelligence in education and pedagogy, which was released this past summer after a committee was assembled — chaired by Prof. Kavita Bala, computer science, who is also Dean of Cornell Bowers Computing and Information Science, and Prof. Alexander Colvin Ph.D. ’99, industrial and labor relations, who is also Dean of the college. The committee was created last spring to develop guidelines for using GAI at Cornell.

Jackson stressed the importance of the report, noting

it was “one of the first of its kind,” with many universities pointing to it to develop their own resources, policies, and recommendations about the future of GAI models.

The report recommends that faculty adopt one of three different approaches to address the concerns of GAI based on their courses.

— in helping faculty navigate the complexities of the GAI issue.

“[We’ve] created web resources that we’re actually quite proud of; pages on academic integrity, on accessibility, on assignment design, which includes a lot of sample language you can use in your syllabus and with your assignments,” Vanderlan said. “Everyday CTI runs Zoom drop-in hours. You can just stop in, bring an assignment, bring questions, bring concerns.”

While there are many ethical concerns about the usage of GAI tools in a classroom setting, especially with its usage on assignments and algorithmic bias, the report lays out a framework for the potential benefits that this technology can bring to campus.

Faculty should either prohibit the use of GAI where it can interfere with students’ developing a foundational understanding of course material, allow the use of GAI with attribution as a useful resource, or use it as a way to elevate creative thinking or help students with disparate abilities and needs, the report stated.

Vanderlan referenced the importance of the CTI — a group that assists faculty in the development of curricula

Specifically, the report highlights the customized learning experience that GAI can provide students, while also recognizing the potential harms of the technology.

To continue reading this article, please visit www.cornellsun.com.

Admissions Proposal Released

ADMISSIONS

First-Gen Business Mentorship Program Assists Professionally

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come in the summer, but then once they all head into their own schools and colleges, they feel a little lost, and they become the only one, and maybe there should be a program that kind of bridges that gap,” Duguid said.

Hyland feels ASP is necessary because many first-generation students enter the S.C. Johnson College with disadvantages, including a lack of connections. She feels that the new program addresses first-generation students’ concerns in a way that PSSP lacks.

“It would have been nice to have someone to guide me as I was scared coming into Cornell after [PSSP],” Hyland said. “The mentorship program emphasizes belonging and fosters encouragement. I like that it gives me the opportunity to connect with students who may have gone through the same struggles as me and to not make the same mistakes as I did.”

Maream Adous ’26, a student in the Dyson School, is one of the program’s current underclassmen mentees. For her, the program has been beneficial in developing her aca-

demic and professional skills and fostering a tight-knit community of mentors.

“The program gives me a sense of direction regarding both classes and career expectations. I enjoy having a mentor who has walked the same walk as me and can empathize with both the personal and academic struggles of being a first-generation student,” Adous said. “All the mentors are very approachable and genuinely care about their mentees. I feel very comfortable talking about my experiences and concerns because most students can relate.”

Hyland said that ASP provides first-generation students with a valuable head start.

“Most people in the hotel school come from backgrounds that are wealthy in connections and opportunities, and it may not be the case for many of the mentors such as myself and mentees,” Hyland said. “The program introduces [students] to a broad network that not only can guide them to follow their passions and connect them to the right people early on, but these networks care about the well-being of all individuals.”

According to the Cornell Chronicle, this recommendation is already being implemented.

In terms of utilizing data analytics and machine learning, the report recommends “responsible ways” of using the technology in the recruitment and admissions process.

For example, the report stated that data science can be used to provide estimations of financial aid applicants may receive by only using data imputed on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid about family income and family composition. Data techniques may also be implemented to identify and reach students and counselors from high schools that historically have not engaged with Cornell.

In the admissions process, the report recommends utilizing data science to help staff prioritize their time as they parse through the large increase in applications that Cornell, as well as peer institutions, have received in recent years. Data science may also be implemented to identify applicants with specific characteristics by mining through primary and supplemental essays, as well as letters of recommendation, for “information that reflects the University’s admissions principles.”

“It is important to note that [data science] tools can play a valuable role in helping prepare and manage the application pool but are not suitable for recommending or predicting admissions decisions, which remain the sole purview of human staff,” the report stated.

In order to ensure student body diversity, especially after the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action admissions policies, the report recommends targeting high schools that historically have sent few students to Cornell. Currently, the University admits and enrolls students from a static set of “feeder high schools,” or schools from which 30 or more total applications for fall

admission were received across 2020, 2021 and 2022.

“Just over half of all undergraduate applications and nearly 80 percent of matriculants came from one of 1,450 feeder high schools out of over 23,000 high schools in the United States,” the report stated. “We must further diversify our applicant pool by developing strategic partnerships with high schools in underserved communities from which we historically have not received many, if any, applications.”

Although not mentioned in the task force report, a recent New York Times report found that 50 percent of Cornell students had parents whose income ranked in the top 10 percent of income earners, with 11 percent of students yielding from families earning in the top 1 percent of family incomes, as of 2015.

The task force recommended targeting “non-feeder” high schools by recruiting from schools that are geographically close to Cornell in order to build an initial critical mass, and then extending that base nationally over time. The report also suggested the University build relationships with community-based organizations, such as Thrive Scholars — a group that “provide[s] high-achieving students of color from economically under-resourced communities the opportunities they need to thrive at top colleges” — to identify prospective students.

“I’m grateful for the work of the task force, and especially for the breadth and depth of their outreach and their thoughtful deliberations,” Pollack told The Chronicle. “Provost Kotlikoff and Lisa Nishii, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and Interim Vice Provost for Enrollment, will begin implementing a broad-ranging set of best practices and guidelines which will help us build exceptional future classes of Cornellians.”

Artificial academia | The Faculty Senate discussed the impact of artificial intelligence on higher education.

JULIA NAGEL / SUN PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

“[We’ve] created web resources that we’re actually quite proud of; pages on academic integrity, on accessibility, on assignment design...”

Rob Vanderlan ’88

Sophia Torres Lugo can be reached at storesslugo@cornellsun.com.

Matthew Kiviat can be reached at mlk256@cornell.edu.

Sofa Rubinson can be reached at srubinson@cornellsun.com.

Joyce Maynard’s Remarkable Resilience

RAFAELA UZAN STAFF WRITER

New Haven, Guatemala, California. Joyce Maynard has lived in many places, and she doesn’t need much. As long as she has her laptop and can work on her writing, she feels at home, she explained to me over Zoom in July 2023. Maynard, whose long and prolific career as a writer began in 1972 when she was a student at Yale University, is, on the day we connect, working from her New Hampshire summer cabin. She is revising her upcoming novel, the sequel to Count the Ways (2021), an arduous and all-consuming endeavor.

“You’re literally the first person I’ve spoken to today,” she says, as we begin our conversation.

Writing is something Maynard does every day, not out of obligation, like “going to the gym,” she jokes, but rather, she explains, as “an ongoing conversation with [her]self.” Writing is also something Maynard has done for most of her life. Her childhood home was essentially a “writing bootcamp.” Growing up, she would read her stories out loud to her parents, and together, over tea and cookies, they would workshop them, discussing everything from metaphors and rhythm to syntax and punctuation.

Maynard began publishing her work at a young age, and as a first-year student at Yale, she wrote a cover story for The New York Times Magazine , entitled “An 18-Year-Old Looks Back on Life.” With this essay, she was propelled to national prominence and deemed the voice of America’s youth.

Since then, Joyce Maynard has been a journalist at The New York Times and a nationally syndicated columnist. She’s also written 12 novels (two of which have been adapted into films), as well as numerous works of non-fiction. Despite these impressive achievements, the first thing that comes up when one searches Maynard’s name online is that of J.D. Salinger, a man with whom she had a relationship when she was 18 years old. He was 53. After Maynard’s New York Times Magazine article came out, she received a letter from Salinger, and they quickly began corresponding. Soon after, she had dropped out of college and moved in with him. Less than a year later, while they were vacationing in Florida with Salinger’s son and daughter

(who was only a few years younger than Maynard), Salinger gave Maynard 50 dollars and sent her away. Maynard tells this deeply disturbing story in her 1998 memoir At Home in the World , which I read this summer, and which prompted my conversation with her. When it was first published, At Home in the World received significant pushback, and Maynard was blacklisted by the American literary world. In writing about Salinger, she had not only violated the privacy of a notorious recluse who abhorred the media, but she had also gone after a “god” of American literature — a term she uses herself during our interview.

Maynard was called an opportunist, a leech and even a predator.

In a scathing op-ed, New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd accused her of using a powerful man to advance her career. After publishing her memoir, Maynard struggled to find editors, and people boycotted her events.

She recalls a talk at Columbia University, where only a handful of students showed up — their professor had discouraged them from attending. But beyond shaming Maynard for simply telling her story, critics also reduced her book to her shortlived relationship with J.D. Salinger, failing to appreciate the memoir’s complexity, richness and core message.

Indeed, At Home in the World is far from a Salinger tell-all. It’s an honest, moving and thought-provoking comingof-age story. Maynard writes about growing up in the 60s, her father’s struggles with alcoholism and her longing

for an all-American family. She also describes many universal experiences, like first love, motherhood and the loss of a parent, in a way that is both deeply personal and relatable. She does not hesitate to delve into more taboo topics as well, like her decision to have an abortion or her struggles with eating disorders.

Undoubtedly, Salinger is an important character in At Home in the World , for he was a crucial figure in Maynard’s life. In this book he appears to be quite eccentric, manipulative and extremely overbearing. He only ate raw

in her life encouraged — or at least never discouraged — her to choose Salinger over her education and her career. Her mother even made her an A-line dress for her first meeting with the famous author.

food, did not believe in modern medicine and, turns out, also wrote letters to several other young women. The scene where he forces Maynard to perform oral sex is particularly damning — however, he is not painted as a villain per se. As a reader, I was actually often frustrated by Maynard herself: Why are you dropping out of Yale? Why are you quitting your internship at The New York Times to go live with him? I wanted to shout at her! As a young, twenty-first century student with similar journalistic aspirations as college-aged Maynard, I found these decisions incomprehensible. Strikingly, the adults

All in all, At Home in the World is not a takedown of a powerful man, but rather the story of a young woman who falls head over heels for the wrong person — in her own words, “a predatory man with a taste for teenagers.” It is the story of a woman who made a decision (a mistake, I would personally argue), which society will not let her live down, even 50 years later. Because of her eight months with Salinger, Maynard will always be associated with him, and this strikes me as incredibly unfair. In an interview for Jezebel , Maynard predicted that her short-lived relationship with Salinger would be the opening of her obituary. What also seems very unfair is the fact that Maynard was punished, but Salinger wasn’t. He was not held accountable for what he did, while she was ostracized for simply telling the truth, at a time when our culture was still very reluctant to hear and believe women. When I ask Maynard if she thinks there would be a different reaction today, she answers with a definite yes, but she also tells me that the MeToo movement is not retroactive. Women who come forward today are taken seriously, but her fate was cast long ago.

And yet, in our conversation, Maynard does not dwell on these issues too much. She is not reluctant to talk about Salinger but seems more inclined to discuss other topics. She is particularly eager to give me writing advice:

“Don’t shut your own self down,” she counsels, and “Name your obsessions; let them be the engine that fuels your work.” She conveys to me her passion for helping women tell their own stories and her experience teaching writing workshops: “I am not nearly as strict as my mother was with me,” she says, only half-jokingly. We touch on her decision to enroll at Yale again in 2018, as a 60-something year old sophomore (our generation was a bit too politically correct for her taste). She tells me that it is always a joy for her to connect with young readers, especially college students, possibly because her college years were all but traditional. She brings up her travels, her love for Guatemala and her recent stay in Paris.

Towards the end of our conversation, I return to the topic of Salinger and ask Maynard about cancel culture: Wasn’t she essentially canceled after the publication of her memoir? Should we cancel Salinger? Maynard answers with a firm no. She is fervently against cancel culture and insists that it is crucial to separate artists from their work. She does tell me that she is surprised that Salinger is still widely read in schools: “There are much better books for young people to read,” she says. Maynard also admits that she was not expecting such a strong reaction to her memoir, which she attributes to her inherent naivety. It was “absolutely crushing,” she acknowledges.

Despite it all, she kept going. Some people might have been deterred by such vitriol, but Maynard “wanted to show them that [she was] still here, still writing,” she tells me. Her resilience is remarkable, and although she discloses that she has a bit of a chip on her shoulder, I find that there is an undeniable confidence to Maynard. “I don’t care what people say about me anymore,” she declares, as we near the end of our discussion. “Do I feel shame for my life? No!” she adds, boisterously.

After a little under 90 minutes, Maynard has to go back to her writing. She tells me to stay in touch and to remain endlessly curious. When I end the Zoom call, one thing is obvious to me: Maynard is not only at home in the world, but profoundly and inspiringly at peace with it, too.

Rafaela Uzan is a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences. She can be reached at rau22@cornell.edu.

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Armand Chancellor

Armand Chancellor is a third year student in the Brooks School of Public Policy. His fortnightly column Te Rostrum focuses on the interaction of politics and culture at Cornell. He can be reached at achancellor@cornellsun.com.

Te Godless University

You probably do not remember the opening scene of the movie God’s Not Dead — made by Pinnacle Peak Pictures, a Christian production company. In the scene, a philosophy professor stands before his new class of students and quotes the German thinker Friedrich Nietzche's famous thesis, “God is dead.” The professor then tries to get each student to agree with the statement so the class does not have to waste time thinking about God. A Christian student then refuses to comply with the professor, and the rest of the movie ensues. I recommend watching the movie — I enjoyed it — but alas this is not a film review.

While the opening scene is certainly dramatic, and many would even say unrealistic, it actually depicts a more pernicious reality for the modern Christian and education in general. The reality is that the modern university has accepted the premise that God is dead, but not in some flashy way like writing it on a chalkboard or with much fanfare; they just act according to the premise. Despite this acceptance, if the university system announced that it would proceed in accordance with the framework of God being dead, it would be met with a surreal amount of backlash. While the country may no longer be as Christian as when the Pilgrims first arrived, 7 in 10 Americans still identify as Christians. The university may want to be a city on a hill, free from the dogma of religion but the rest of the country sees that city more like Mordor than something to emulate.

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To avoid this backlash from the modern sciences and humanities, including philosophy, just avoid the topic of God altogether. I am on my third philosophy course here at Cornell and have taken courses on morality and am currently enrolled in a course on social and political philosophy; I do not believe I have observed the idea of God being discussed in course materials, unless snickers from moral relativists count. God has been phased out of the university, regulated to Sage Chapel and some rooms in Anabel Taylor Hall, kept far from where the real intellectual pursuits occur. If a student finally decides to ask how a certain idea relates back to any religion, the question is usually followed by an awkward period of silence. Since God has been taken out of the university, most in academia do not even spend time contemplating how certain ideas interact with belief in God.

People may not see the new Godless university as a problem. Pondering how any idea interacts with religious beliefs would be as ridiculous as asking how an idea relates to a flying spaghetti monster. Their answer is that both the religious belief and belief in the flying spaghetti monster are irrational. While that is an easy answer to give, it opens up a large can of assumed premises that have no logical grounding. If the world is completely natural, what makes things such as logic and reasoning objective, since those things do not seem natural and seemingly have no existence outside of the human mind? Even if you limit logic and reasoning to a democratic model — things that are logical will make sense to a majority of mankind — that standard religion would be rational, and atheism irrational. 83.7

percent of the world’s population identifies as religious; an overwhelming majority. And not only are a majority of all humans religious, but a majority of all humans identify with an Abrahamic religion — with Christianity being a plurality, at 31.5 percent of the world. But I digress — this particular column is not about apologetics, maybe a later one.

Not teaching God in the university is a disservice to all students and their education. It is impossible to fully understand philosophy or even science, especially not their history, without being able to understand a religious worldview. A humanities which ignores God ignores the most deeply held beliefs and motivations of mankind. Sciences like physics and astronomy were studied by early intellectuals like Sir Isaac Newton because they thought the universe was created by an intelligent designer and therefore could be studied and understood. Even scientists like Einstein, who was not religious, believed in a form of deism — that there is a God but that God does not interfere in human affairs.

And for those who may claim that since a majority of people are religious then there is no need to teach religion, that is false. There are many in the university system completely oblivious to religious thought and, even worse, have blatantly false views on things such as Christianity, which is a core component of much of Western thought, which the modern university system is mostly founded on. Last semester on West Campus, I overheard a conversation where a student claimed that the New Testament in the Bible included blood accusations. These hideous accusations are nowhere to be found in the Bible and would certainly be a surprise to the writers of the New Testament, as all of them but one were Jewish themselves.

This column is not calling for universities to post the Ten Commandments in classrooms or have students recite psalms each morning. But universities have a responsibility not to leave students with a God-shaped hole in their education and an inability to understand history and most of their fellow citizens. Even if the university thinks that God is dead, it should not become Godless.

God has been phased out of the university, regulated to Sage Chapel and some rooms in Anabel Taylor Hall, kept far from where the real intellectual pursuits occur.

Sundoku

Fill in the empty cells, one number in each, so that each column, row, and region contains the numbers 1-9 exactly once. Each number in the solution therefore occurs only once in each of the three “directions,” hence the “single numbers” implied by the puzzle’s name.

(Rules from wikipedia.org/wiki/ Sudoku)

Puzzle 100

CAKE

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Red Takes Down Lehigh in Season Opener

By GRAYSON RUHL Sun Sports Editor

Coming off its best season since 2011, football returned to action this Saturday, Sept. 16, when it traveled to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania to take on Lehigh. The Red jumped out to a 17 point lead early and never looked back, forcing two turnovers in the second half and winning its opening game, 23-20.

The Red (1-0) finished 5-5 last year — its first .500 campaign since 2011. Cornell swept its nonconference schedule — including a 19-15 win at home against Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks (1-2) was coming off a win against Merrimack on Saturday, Sept. 9.

Cornell started the game with the ball after Lehigh deferred. The Red could not

minutes of the game. The Red quickly got the ball back, and a 21-yard punt return by sophomore wide receiver Davon Kiser set Cornell up with solid field position on its own 45.

It was on its second drive that the Cornell offense, led by junior quarterback Jameson Wang, began to show its strength. The Red needed just two plays to score –– starting with an 18-yard back shoulder catch by senior wide receiver Nicholas Laboy to put Cornell in Lehigh territory.

On the next play, Wang found Kiser over the middle for a 37-yard touchdown. The drive took 46 seconds, and the Red was quickly leading, 7-0.

Wang was unstoppable in the first half, going 13 for 17 with 226 yards. After a couple of three-and-outs from the Mountain Hawks, Wang started off a drive from the Cornell 10 by finding Kiser once again, this time burning the Lehigh defense for a 68-yard pass.

Two plays later, the Cornell quarterback found sophomore wide receiver Parker Woodring on the right sideline, who made a diving catch in the end zone to put the Red up by two touchdowns. The Red went 90 yards on three plays, taking up just a minute-and-a-half of game time to lead, 14-0.

missed a 30-yard field goal attempt.

Kennedy had another opportunity just a few minutes later, after the stout Cornell defense forced another three-andout. Mixing the rush and the pass, the Red drove 47 yards before stalling on the Lehigh 15. Kennedy drilled the 32-yard field goal attempt, giving Cornell a 17-0 lead.

With just over a minute left in the half, the Lehigh offense began to come to life. After failing to convert a first down on its first five drives, the Mountain Hawks moved the ball 65 yards on seven plays, culminating in a two-yard touchdown rush. Despite controlling the game for the majority of the first half, the Red went to the locker room up just 10, 17-7.

Coming back for the second half, the Cornell defense continued to shine. After allowing one first down, senior cornerback Paul Lewis III got a sack on third down to force a punt.

After a series of three-and-outs, the Mountain Hawks began to drive midway through the third quarter. Nevertheless, with the ball on the Cornell 47, the Red’s defense stepped up, as senior linebacker Holt Fletcher came up with an interception following a tip off the hands of a Lehigh receiver.

Taking the snap from the Mountain Hawks’ 40, Wang once again ran it himself, finding open space in the middle of the field and thundering 35 yards to create an instant goal-to-go opportunity. However, after three plays, the Red found itself with a 4th-and-goal from the Lehigh 1. Opting to go for it, Wang attempted a sneak, but was stood up by the Mountain Hawk defense.

Backed up into its own end zone and looking to generate offense at the end of the third quarter, Lehigh was able to get a first down, and with it some breathing room. But on the first play of the fourth quarter, the pass went off the hands of a Mountain Hawk receiver, was tipped up again by a Cornell defender before being secured by Fletcher for his second interception of the day.

Faced with an immediate scoring opportunity, Wang picked up a first down with his legs. Working inside the red zone, the Cornell offense stalled, and Kennedy connected on his second field goal of the day to give the Red a 13-point lead, 20-7.

put anything together on its opening drive, getting one first down before being forced to punt.

The Cornell defense was dominant throughout the first half, not allowing Lehigh to get a first down for the first 29

Cornell entered the second quarter with a comfortable lead and the ball, driving in Lehigh territory. Despite running 17 plays and eating up nearly 10 minutes of game clock, the Red was unable to score, as senior kicker/punter Jackson Kennedy

Looking to capitalize on the turnover, Wang began to show his ability as a dualthreat. The Cornell quarterback rushed twice to pick up a first down before finding Kiser on the sideline for a 10-yard grab to put the Red in Lehigh territory.

The Lehigh offense, which had shown no sparks outside of the late first half touchdown drive, began to heat up midway through the fourth. The Mountain Hawks put together a 14-play, 65-yard drive, capped off by a four-yard touchdown rush from quarterback Brayten Silbor. Just like that, it was a one-possession game.

To read the rest of this story, please visit www.cornellsun.com.

Grayson Ruhl can be reached at gruhl@cornellsun.com

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