Only In Connecticut

Land of Corruption. "Again" is the key word here.

Ken Dryden '70 Returns To Cornell

Also Jeremy Schaap '91 and Bill Bradley.

ITHACA, N.Y. – Two legendary athletes-turned-politicians – Bill Bradley, Princeton ’65, and Ken Dryden, Cornell ’70 – will discuss “Lives on the Run: Sports, Service & Leadership” at Cornell University on Sept. 10. Jeremy Schaap, Cornell ’91 and Emmy award-winning ESPN sportswriter and host, will moderate the event.

The evening’s sponsors are Sigma Phi Society’s James Norris Oliphant Distinguished Speakers Fellowship and Lawrence Tanenbaum, Cornell ’68. The event will be held at 7:30 p.m. at Cornell’s Bailey Hall. Free tickets are available to the public at Willard Straight Ticket Office and Ticket Center Ithaca beginning August 26.

Oilers Fans Like That Nash Is Staying

One of the contributing factors to Riley Nash's decision to stay at Cornell for his junior year was probably the stance of the Oilers organization. When Ricky Olczyk spoke at Cornell last year, he stressed that the Oilers would not pressure Nash to leave college early. And it wasn't like Nash had such an amazing season last year (for example, top 10 in the NCAA in goals) that it seemed like he was ready for the next level.

The Oilers prospect blogs have been chiming in on the news that Nash is staying, and the reactions have generally been positive. Most of these guys tend to belittle the college game, but they like what they see with Nash. The 10 pounds he gained over the summer demonstrate that he's serious about getting himself ready for the pro game.

It's an interesting take and one that is rare from a hockey player, but then everything we know about Nash suggests that he's not a typical hockey player. The choice of Cornell was suggestive, and the quotes we've heard, both from Nash himself and from scouts following him suggest both intelligence and an unusual level of independent thought.

It almost certainly looks like Nash will be gone before his senior year, since both fellow star forward Colin Greening and Nash's older brother, Brendon, will be graduating. Nash turns 21 next May, and I don't see him staying in Ithaca another year after that.

Every Cornell hockey fan dreams of the team winning a national championship during his or her time on the Hill. The fans around for '03 certainly thought that was their year, and the '05 and '06 teams came inches away from a Frozen Four. With the team the Red have coming back, '10 looks like the best chance Cornell will have during my time as an undergrad.

New Hockey Season Ticket Policy To Be Announced

It's a little different from what Athletics has opted for the previous three years, but it's a step in the right direction. The new policy reinstates a key element of the classic first-come-first-served "line" which was lost in the changes of recent years: a way to ensure that the most dedicated fans receive tickets. Look out for more information early next week.

Safety Publication "The Hockey News" Ranks Hockey Jerseys

Cornell is placed dead last in the ECAC, behind some far worse jerseys. These include Princeton's terrible horizontal orange stripe and Brown's diagonal lettering.

Their one line comment about the Big Red's sweater: "At least Colgate had numbers on front."

Maybe I'm just a traditionalist when it comes to hockey jerseys, but I've always liked the simplicity of Cornell and Dartmouth (#6) jerseys.

THN loses their credibility in this department when they rank RIT's jerseys first in the 10-team AHA. It might be tough to tell from the picture on the site, but RIT players look like skating jack-o' lanters when they take the ice in their road uniforms.

On the plus side, THN ranked Cornell #1 in the ECAC last season when they judged team logos.

When does the season start?

(The Hockey News)

Cornell Avoids GQ's "Douchiest Colleges" List

Thankfully, we were spared the wrath of GQ editors in their first-ever list of America's 25 "douchiest" colleges.

Some of our Ivy peers were not so lucky.

#3 Princeton
Home of: The Eating-Club Douche
Affectations: They invented affectations!
A peek inside: Most Ivy Leaguers try (unconvincingly) not to mention which college they went to. Not at Princeton.
In ten years, will be: Our boss.
Favorite pickup lines: "Hey, didn't I see you at the Cap & Gown Club?" "Hi. My father invaded Cuba."
How to get in: "There is no formula for what makes the best Princeton student. In one year, we may be looking for that talented oboist* to fill out the woodwind section of the orchestra, while another year we may be focused on finding a well-rounded field-hockey player."—cass cliatt, director of media relations
*Seriously, what is it about elite universities and the oboe?
Honorable-mention eating-club institutions: A basketball school in Durham, a university in New Haven, a college in Cambridge.

Harvard was #4, and Duke came in at #2 with Brown at #1.

Sometimes with these lists, I'm not sure whether Cornell is left off because someone actually likes us, or because we just don't come to mind when people think of elite schools.

(GQ)

The "Greek"-Cornell Connection

I'll admit, with a little embarrassment, that I enjoy watching ABC Family's show "Greek," which is about fraternity and sorority life at a fictitious university. Sure, it won't win any awards for writing or acting (although I think Spencer Grammar is outstanding), but the show's ability to capture the dynamics of Greek life is what makes me watch. As a former president, myself, I can relate to the relationship between Cappie and Evan, the challenges of running a house, and other situations which the show brings to life.

Today's Sun has an interview by Justine Fields with Cornell alum Jessica O'Toole '94, who happens to be one of the show's writers. We learn that some of the parts of the show are based on O'Toole's experiences at Cornell:

Sun: It seems you haven’t lost your Cornell roots as there are some clear ties to Cornell in the show, like the alma mater. So are any of these are actually drawn from Cornell?

J.O.: Yes, because we wrote the lyrics to that song. And yes, of course I still remember the Cornell alma mater. Well, I remember the first couple of lines and the tune of it. But yeah, that’s totally true.

Sun: Are there other subtle Cornell references that you’ve put in there?

J.O.: Of course things that I remember always come into the show. We have the Amphor Society, which is the secret society, and I remember that one from Cornell. I’m scared to even talk about it because I know it’s a secret society.

O'Toole was not in a sorority, herself, but her husband is a fraternity man and her writing partner was in a sorority at UVA.

The third season of "Greek" begins on Monday night.

(Cornell Daily Sun)

Greening and Nash Return For Another Year

Ithaca Journal:

Exhale, fans of Cornell men's hockey. Riley Nash and Colin Greening -- the Big Red's top two points leaders from last season -- are back on East Hill and enrolled in school.

It was unclear whether Nash, a first-round draft pick by the Edmonton Oilers in 2007, and Greening, a seventh-round pick by the Ottawa Senators in 2004, would return to Cornell or elect to play pro hockey.

"Just kind of over the course of the summer I decided that coming back would be the best fit for me," said Nash, who will begin his junior year today. "I just thought another year here would be more advantageous than going to play for a pro team."

As I've suspected for a while, Greening admitted that academics played a major role in his decision. From my limited interactions with him, Greening always seemed more focused on classes and earning a degree than did some of the other members of the team.

On an interesting note, Nash stated that Cornell's light schedule helped persuade him to stay. His logic was that a minor league hockey season has more games, so there's a good chance he'd lose some of the extra weight he put on over the summer because he wouldn't have as much time to work out. With fewer games, that's more time he can spend in the gym. This should be a nice kick in the face to those in the hockey community who argue that top prospects should leave college early because the lighter schedule hinders development. Sometimes it's more beneficial to bulk up.

Nash says that Cornell has a legitimate chance to win a national title. I think we at least have a good shot at making the Frozen Four. Let's go red.

Ted Kennedy

I'll save the longer eulogies for other commentators, but Kennedy's reputation seemed always to embody a political paradox. On the one hand, he was constantly vilified by those on the right for his steadfast liberal views, but he also had a lot of success in reaching across the aisle to pass significant legislation.

It looks like Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV), who has served 50 years in the Senate, is pushing to name the health care bill after Kennedy. As some in the liberal blogosphere have pointed out, let's hope it's a bill that Kennedy would be proud of.

Today, I came across Kennedy's 1980 Democratic National Convention speech. Here's part of it:

Finally, we cannot have a fair prosperity in isolation from a fair society. So I will continue to stand for a national health insurance. We must -- We must not surrender -- We must not surrender to the relentless medical inflation that can bankrupt almost anyone and that may soon break the budgets of government at every level. Let us insist on real controls over what doctors and hospitals can charge, and let us resolve that the state of a family's health shall never depend on the size of a family's wealth.

Colin McEnroe Back On The Air

Back in January, I lamented the end of Colin McEnroe's radio show on WTIC. Now, it looks like he'll be back on the air on the FM dial:

WNPR announced today the return of Colin McEnroe to Connecticut’s airwaves. The Colin McEnroe Show launches its 13-week ‘Pilot’ run on Monday, August 31, 2009 in the 1PM to 2PM time slot. The show will be a bit of a departure from Colin’s previous WTIC-am radio show and will attempt to emulate his newspaper columns and magazine essays.

This is great news for Connecticut residents, and as always, CT readers can check out Colin's blog on the sidebar on the right of the page.

Dallas News: Sawada Should Make Team

Beat reporter Mike Heika likes Ray Sawada's '08 chances of making the Stars' roster:

Sawada will have to earn his spot.

But if you're drawing up the lines right now, it seems pretty easy to put him in as the fourth line right wing next to Brian Sutherby. That would give you two players who have size, grit and still can play defense and possibly score a goal or two on the fourth line.

And that seems like a pretty good situation...both for Sawada and for the Stars.

Sawada has been interviewed twice for the Sun's 10 Questions feature, once as a senior and once when he was called up to the NHL:

Sun: When you were playing with the Stars, was there any one moment when it kind of just hit you: ‘wow, I’m in the NHL right now’?

R.S.: In my first game I was just so worried about being in position and doing the right thing out there. Then I felt it by the third period –– I was sitting on the bench and we had a power play, so I knew I wasn’t going on the ice. I was just sitting there and looked down at my jersey and I was like ‘Holy crap! I’m wearing a Dallas Stars jersey.’ I look at the team we are playing, and it’s the Edmonton Oilers. I look up in the stands, and I see how many people are there. Then I look to my left and Mike Modano is sitting right beside me, and that’s when I was just like ‘Wow — I’m playing my first game in the NHL.’ That’s when it really hit me, I think.

(Dallas News)

Laing Kennedy Retires

Laing Kennedy '63, who was an All-American goalie at Cornell, is retiring from his job as athletic director at Kent State.

Kennedy was hired at KSU in 1994 after 11 years in a similar position at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. During his tenure at Cornell, the university celebrated nine national championship teams, 36 Ivy League championship teams and 102 All-Americans.

(Akron Beacon Journal)

Cornell Prof. Defends Stimulus In NYT

Robert H. Frank has a well-written column in today's business section:

The recent state and local spending cuts are a major setback to the stimulus program, which many economists have argued was much too small to begin with. A small minority disagrees but has not offered persuasive arguments.

The downturn threatens every goal we care about. Doing everything possible to limit state and local spending cuts will help end it faster.

(NYT)

Greeks Grow Their Own

One of those stories one doesn't read every day:

A busted water pipe may lead to a drug bust after the discovery of a small marijuana-growing operation inside a Cornell University fraternity house.

Ithaca firefighters found a half-dozen marijuana plants Tuesday afternoon while investigating a broken water pipe at the Sigma Nu fraternity house on Willard Way, Ithaca Police officials said. Officers seized the plants and though they've identified a person of interest, they aren't releasing his name.

Some good publicity for the Greek system to start off the school year.

(Ithaca Journal)

A Big Red Fraud

Driving to Ithaca on Wednesday, I saw these words on a sign by the side of Route 79 near Lisle.

I didn't feel like stopping to read the rest of the sign, but an Ithaca Journal article from back in June filled me in:

An unusual billboard along Route 79 east of Ithaca is drawing attention with the words, "A Big Red fraud."

Bill Gehm, a partner in LR Gehm, LLC, a manufacturer of milking equipment based in Lisle, filed a lawsuit against Cornell University last summer, alleging that the university is disseminating false information about one of its products... The sign includes a Web site about his conflict with Cornell, stemming from a study in which Cornell researchers claimed his product doesn't do what he says it does.

Gehm originally put up the billboard for graduation weekend, turned it around to get traffic leaving Ithaca, and now has it back facing the westbound traffic as it heads from Whitney Point to Ithaca.

I don't know enough about the dairy science to understand what's going on, but it's fun to see some lively anti-Cornell activity in the area. I think these feelings are too often confined to local council meetings, comments in the Ithaca Journal, or discussions between townies, none of which reach any Cornell students. I don't think most students realize that there are people in the community (besides their landlords or the police, maybe) who don't think Cornell is the greatest thing to happen to upstate since the Erie Canal.

Aside from the billboard, there aren't any hugely exciting changes to Cornell or Ithaca. The whole area between the suspension bridge, Thurston Ave., White Hall, and Libe Slope is an ugly construction zone. To facilitate handicapped access to Lincoln Hall (which was previously from now-closed University Ave.), some of the Arts Quad pedestrian pathways were widened to allow for cars to drive across the quad from the Johnson Museum to Lincoln. The result is that the north part of the Arts Quad looks more like a suburban driveway and less like the Arts Quad I know and love.

Freshman move-in day seemed to go smoothly, at least from where I was working in Dickson and Jameson. It's interesting to see how the freshmen arrive each year. The familiar mixture of excitement and nerves, the parents fretting about every detail, the clothes chosen for the first impressions of college. One family -- five of them -- flew from LAX into Buffalo and rented two cars to drive everything to Ithaca. 2013 seems far away, but I suppose 2010 seemed that way to my class at the time.

[Ithaca Journal (subscription only)]

Grad Students Sent To TC3 To Learn English

This seems like a pretty good arrangement and hopefully it'll result in more people having TAs who are able to communicate with undergraduate students. It doesn't matter how brilliant your Economics TA is if you can't understand anything he says.

A program at Tompkins Cortland Community College will serve Cornell University graduate students who need to improve their English language proficiency this year.

The TC3 program will provide students with skills in speaking, reading and writing English, as well as helping them to understand American culture and to bolster their success in the university environment, according to a statement released by Cornell.

In the article, Cornell says that around 40 percent of its graduate students come from other countries. I guess this is a crash course in Americanism.

(Ithaca Journal)

Remaking The Campus Tour

The New York Times has an interesting article today about college tours. Some colleges have decided to start having their tour guides walk forwards, not backwards:

For as long as high school seniors have been visiting colleges, it seems, there have been tour guides walking backward in front of them, breathlessly reciting statistics from a script while, hopefully, avoiding tree roots and other hazards.

Not so at Hendrix College, a liberal arts institution outside Little Rock, Ark. It is one of several dozen colleges and universities that are increasingly directing their tour guides to turn around and walk forward, and to purge their memories of all those dates from the college’s history in favor of personal anecdotes and frequent breaks for give-and-take.

From one of my favorite study areas in Uris, I have a good view of tour guides leading their flocks around Central Campus. Shouting so loudly that I can hear every word three floors up and through a glass window, they awkwardly lope backwards as teenagers and their parents shuffle along behind them.

In fraternity recruitment workshops, we're told that it's more beneficial to tell personal stories about the house than to recite facts about our founding fathers or the history of our chapter. No one cares if one of your alumni designed a building on campus, but they'll remember a funny story about when you drank too much and did something stupid. Maybe this fact doesn't put Greek life in its best light, but it's true.

Towards the end, the Times article acknowledges that the walking forward schools are still in the minority:

Which is not to say that walking backward does not have its virtues.

At Franklin & Marshall in Lancaster, Pa., Emily Pavlos, a senior, says she would be unable to show her tour groups everything the college wanted them to see in the 90 minutes allotted without walking backward.

“Making eye contact with them while I’m walking also helps me make a connection with the parents,” Ms. Pavlos added.

I don't expect Cornell to make any changes to its campus tours, particularly since some of the groups have 25-30 people in them. (Compare to the 5 people in the Times photo.) But it's something to think about.

Thanks DB

When You Can Choose Any Book

Since 2001, Cornell has requested that all incoming freshmen read a particular book, which is then discussed during Orientation Week as part of the New Student Reading Project. Book selections have ranged from classics like The Great Gatsby (my year) and The Grapes of Wrath (this year) to the awful choice of the unreadable and overly specific Lincoln At Gettysburg last year.

When you ask thousands of people to read a common book, you should choose something that most people will find interesting, and also something that will lend itself easily to discussion. The reading project is one of those rare times, like Slope Day and convocation, when a lot of the Cornell community comes together for a common event.

Don't ruin it by making it all about politics!

(And I say this as a liberal Government major.)

When last year's student leaders chose a partisan political operative, David Plouffe, to speak at this past spring's convocation, I argued that "bringing in someone as highly political and partisan as Plouffe spoils what would otherwise be a rare opportunity to bring the Cornell community together."

Which brings me to today's Ithaca Journal article announcing that in the inaugural year of the freshman reading project over at Ithaca College, everyone is reading President Obama's memoir, Dreams From My Father.

Again, like the choice of Plouffe, the choice of Obama's book interjects politics into an event which should really be about community cohesiveness and intellectual stimulation.

If last year's convocation committee had wanted to bring someone to speak about the promise of the future, or the rewards of hard work, there were many options besides Plouffe. If IC administrators had wanted to choose a book to develop ideas about race and identity, there were plenty of choices which would not have had the contemporary political baggage of Obama's book.

In both of these cases, the purpose of the event becomes hijacked by politics, and the opportunity for unity and high debate is diminished.

I asked in February that readers "imagine if five years ago the [convocation] committee had brought Karl Rove to speak, yet attempted to mollify a rabid student body by promising that Rove wouldn't focus solely on politics."

Similarly, imagine if John McCain had won last fall's election and IC had chosen Faith of My Fathers in order to discuss heroism and familial ties.

In both cases, I imagine there would be quite an uproar from liberal staff and students.

I fear that college administrators, seeking to grab students' interest by tying everything into contemporary politics, squander valuable opportunities for students to put aside individual political views and consider serious ideas.

(Ithaca Journal/Previous)

Is Cornell's Summer Vacation Too Short?

Yes. (Duh.)

But is Cornell's summer break shorter than those of other universities?

Let's do a little research. Looking at the other Ivies plus Duke (which is similar in many ways to Cornell), our neighbor IC, and two area "state" schools (UConn and Binghamton), we find that Cornell's short vacation is trumped only by Harvard's.



Why is Cornell's break so short?

1. Cornell compensates by having an abnormally long, 5-week winter break. This allows the university to save on heating costs by turning down the heat in the dorms, and also to have plenty of time to run a 3-week winter program which doesn't even begin until after January 1. This schedule also allows for a class-free week in January for Greek recruitment.

2. Cornell, even with its long exam period, doesn't end much later than the other schools. But it starts earlier. Our first day of class is August 27. No other Ivy school starts before September, with five Ivies starting after September 7.

3. Cornell's summer break seems even shorter for many students because of New Student Orientation. Freshmen will be heading up with their families around August 20, and thousands of returning students either have commitments during Orientation Week or simply head up to enjoy a week of partying.

Why should summer vacation be extended?

There are plenty of things for Cornell students to do during the summer, but few things to do during the winter break. A longer summer break would enable students to work an extra week, and students would not have to rush so much to begin internships which start in May. Comparatively, it's difficult for a college student to get a job for four weeks over Winter Break, so most Cornell students end up doing nothing with their extra week.

This spring's end date of May 15 was actually early by Cornell's standards. Next year we finish on May 21, and it's May 20 the year after. In comparison, Yale also ended on May 15 this year but will end on May 11 and May 10 the next two years.

How can summer vacation be extended?

To use this coming year's calendar as an example, Cornell could begin its 3-week winter session on Monday, December 28, instead of the following week. The session would then end on January 15, enabling classes to begin on Monday, January 18. Rush week would begin one week early, on January 11. Fast forward to May, and students are done on May 14, not May 21.

Of course, I'm glossing over the logistical nightmares of the scheduling process. It might be difficult to start a 3-week winter session between Christmas and New Year's, and I'm sure Cornell likes saving on heating. Finally, it takes a while to make changes to the academic calendar. (Labor Day was established as a federal holiday in 1894 but it will not be observed at Cornell until 2010).

Cornell In The News...For Interns

Part II

The New York Times has an article today about summer interns who work for free -- how they work long hours and lose money. This situation probably sounds familiar to a lot of Cornell students:

Libby M____ is soon to be a junior studying fashion design at Cornell University. This summer, she landed a full-time unpaid internship at Liz Claiborne.

“I need to make any kind of contacts,” Ms. M____ said. “In fashion, nobody pays.”

Living in a School of the Visual Arts dorm at Ludlow and Delancey Streets — $1,800 a month, split three ways — Ms. M____, 20, fetches garments and measures fabric 40 hours a week.

For income, she said, she replies to about five Craigslist “talent gig” postings a day, with most turning out to be scams.

As someone who has worked (essentially) unpaid internships the last two summers, I think these positions are completely unfair. Companies know that college students want to do something that will help them get a job after they graduate. So much so that they'll work a full-time job, which probably includes some secretarial duties, for nothing. They just want to get their foot in the door, put something on their resume, and walk away with a nice letter of recommendation.

The employer, on the other hand, gets an eager worker for a whole summer, without having to pay for wages, insurance, or anything else. Seems like a pretty good deal.

The problem is that many students cannot afford to work as an unpaid intern. These jobs are often in cities such as New York or Washington with high rent and a high cost of living. (Libby's rent actually seems cheap; I paid more than double that to live in DC.) And while there are some college programs (such as Cornell's Meinig program) which help to offset summer expenses, most students do not have access to grants or other sources of funding.

The result is a widening of the class divide. The children of wealthy parents can afford to take unpaid internships, which then translate to better jobs after college. Poorer students cannot afford to take unpaid internships, so they are at a disadvantage when it comes to job searching.

Of course, there are exceptions to this rule. Many wealthy parents insist that their children earn income during the summer, and there are poorer families who are willing to make sacrifices so children can take an important internship.

What's the solution? For one, companies, organizations, and even the U.S. government should sign a resolution to pay their interns at least minimum wage. In many places, this will not cover the cost of living, but students will not find themselves in as much of a whole.

Second, universities should make more funding available to students for summer internships. How about a program at Cornell in which rising juniors and seniors with at least a 3.6 GPA can receive $3,000 to cover summer expenses if they take an unpaid internship? Sure, it costs money, but it seems like a pretty worthwhile cause.

Maybe the people on the Review blog will object to my characterization of internship opportunities in class-based terms, but it'd be great to see some people at Cornell start to get fired up about this.

Update: Dennis from the Review responds here.

Cornell In The News...For Facebook Stalking

Part I of today's special feature, "Cornell Students In The News."

I originally wasn't planning to write about this AP wire story, but then it got picked up by Yahoo, MSNBC, and a slew of newspapers across the country. Even my crappy local paper in Connecticut ran it on page 3.

The lead:

ALBANY, N.Y. – Alice C____ was surprised by her boyfriend's new Facebook profile picture a few weeks ago: He was kissing another girl on the cheek.

The picture was up only briefly. And she figures it was just a friend. But she plans to discuss it with him when they're back together this fall at Cornell University.

"We trust each other. Deep down, I know nothing is going on. But when you first see it, it's like `Oh my goodness! What's going on here?'" says the college student from Westchester County, N.Y.

It's always nice to see Cornell students quoted in articles, and it was good that the AP reporter knew where to look for Cornell students: Westchester County!

On a more serious note, although the article doesn't specifically mention this, I think Facebook has made us more distrustful of other people. Sure, they said they were too tired to do anything, but what about these Facebook pictures which look like they were taken that night? Or what about those awkward times when you send someone a Facebook message, and they don't respond for a few days, but you know they've been online because they've been updating their status or writing on other peoples' walls?

Facebook gives us a way to check up on our girlfriends and boyfriends, to make sure that their Facebook pictures and statuses match what they told us they were doing. I don't think this is a good thing.

Cornell Vet School To Admit 33% Larger Class

The move is expected to reduce the shortage of large-animal vets in the state:

Cornell Univerity's [sic] College of Veterinary Medicine plans to expand the size of its 2012 incoming class of students by 30 for a total of 120, fifteen of which will be for students interested in large-animal medicine.

"We have many, many more applicants than we can accept," said Michael Kotlikoff, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine, one of the State University of New York land grant colleges at Cornell University. The college will also work with the undergraduate College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell to recruit students interested in large-animal medicine.

(Albany Times-Onion)

INCH Profiles Blake Gallagher

Along with Evan Barlow, Gallagher was one of the forwards who stepped up down the stretch and helped Cornell make the NCAA Regional Final.

Inside College Hockey:

The Bigger Picture: Talk about a gamer, this is a guy who played through a high ankle sprain during the postseason and worked himself into the Cornell lineup in a playoff series against Rensselaer, the ECAC Hockey Championship Weekend in Albany and the Midwest Regional in Grand Rapids. His contributions helped Cornell keep some consistency among its top six forwards, but the Big Red will need three good scoring lines to remain near the top of an increasingly good ECAC Hockey league.

Cornell head coach Mike Schafer on Gallagher’s versatility: “We were kind of forced to play him on the right wing because of his injury but we found out that he liked to play that side. We expect that he will be one of the top forwards in ECAC Hockey this year.”

(INCH/YouTube)

Cornell Alum Died In Hudson River Crash

The pilot of the plane, Steven Altman, was a Cornell engineer, class of 1971.

Last Saturday, Altman collided with a tourist helicopter above the Hudson River, killing 3 aboard his plane and 6 aboard the helicopter.

No Brother Connection With Pokuloks

Over the past few years, Cornell hockey has distinguished itself by having a preponderance of siblings on the roster. We've had the Abbots, McRaes, Nashes, Kennedys, and Devins. Incoming freshman Chris Moulson is the younger brother of former captain Matt Moulson.

But we seem to have missed out on the Pokulok family. Older brother Sasha Pokulok was a first-round NHL draft pick and only stayed at Cornell for two injury-tainted seasons.

His younger brother will play this season for ECAC rival Clarkson:

The younger brother of former Cornell all-star Sasha Pokulok, Nikhola Grenier-Pokulok (5/9/90) is an impressive addition to the Clarkson roster after a strong season at Northwood Prep. A native of Vaudreuil-Dorion, QUE, Grenier-Pokulok, will be one of the biggest players in the Knights’ line-up as a 6-5, 220-pound blueliner. “Nik has very good size and plays a physical game. He is more of a stay-at-home defenseman, but has the ability to do some things offensively. He will provide us with an intimidating presence on the blueline. We certainly expect Nik to come in and make a strong impact in ECAC Hockey.”

I'm sure Cornell went after him, particularly considering his family connection, size, and defensive mentality. Maybe Sasha didn't enjoy his time on East Hill and recommended that Nik go somewhere else?

NHL.com Says Nash Is Staying

Yet another source, this time NHL.com, reports that Riley Nash is likely to stay:

Riley Nash -- A 6-1, 175-pound center, Nash is leaning toward returning to Cornell for his junior season. The 2007 first-round pick (No. 21) is said to possess a very good, if not flashy, offensive game, falling somewhere between the persona of a defensively sound second-line player and a checker with some puck-handling flair.

In July, Nash attended the Oilers prospects camp. I knew that the attendees spent one afternoon doing military training at a Canadian army base, but I hadn't known this had happened to Nash:

The session included simulated shooting practice, a parachute jump, and rappelling down a 100-foot wall -- an exercise that got the better of prospect Riley Nash, who ended up suspended upside down nearly 100 feet off the ground.

"I didn't let any rope out, so I went end-over," said Nash. "Everyone started laughing, so I knew I wasn't in too much trouble."

I guess Schafer doesn't have the guys spend too much time on the Lindseth Climbing Wall in Bartels.

Previous: Nash Is Staying, Nash Is Staying

(NHL)

Lynah Faithful Celebrate Demise of UAH Hockey?

In a decision which might spell the end of the University of Alabama in Huntsville's Division I hockey program, the CCHA today denied the school's application for admission. UAH's current conference, the CHA, is disbanding after next season. The CHA's other three members, Robert Morris, Bemidji State, and Niagara, have been accepted into other conferences.

It's unclear why the CCHA denied UAH's application, but member schools might have balked at the cost of traveling to Huntsville for road games. Unlike the ECAC, however, the CCHA schedules teams to play in one location each weekend, meaning that travel would have been fairly simple.

While UAH isn't a hockey powerhouse, it had some decent results last season. Although it only won five games, UAH defeated Harvard in a holiday tournament and beat Yale in New Haven. In comparison, Cornell lost to Yale all three times last year and split the Harvard series. UAH also had to contend with a tough travel schedule of 18 road games and 10 home games. UAH last made the NCAA tournament in 2007, when they took No. 1 seeded Notre Dame to double overtime.

The New York Times had an article in March about how Huntsville was becoming a thriving hockey community, fueled by an influx of northern, hockey-playing professionals into the area. The lack of a Division I program in town might slow their growth of youth hockey programs.

The point of this post, or at least the Cornell connection, is to draw attention to the graphic used by the College Hockey News:


The background appears to be a gleeful Section B of Cornell's own Lynah Rink, waving goodbye to an opposing player heading off to the penalty box. I can't find any reason for Cornell fans to be happy about today's news, but maybe CHN knows something I don't. (Was Casey Jones about to accept the head coaching job at Huntsville?) Personally, I always thought it was cool to have a D-I hockey team in Alabama, so I hope they find a home.

(USCHO/CHN)
Via eLynah

Obscure Cornell Reference of the Day

Makerere University, the largest college in Uganda, has an endowment fund named after A.D. White.

Why? Perhaps because the Ugandan academic who helped set up Makerere's endowment currently teaches at SUNY Binghamton.

I have more that one endowtures; the Albert Schweitzer (Professor in the Humanities, State University of New York, USA), Andrew D. White (Professor-at-Large Emeritus, Cornell University, USA) and Albert Luthuli (Professor-at-Large, University of Jos, Nigeria) endowtures.

NewVision (Uganda)

Five Years After Boiardi, Preventing Future Deaths

ABC News has a lengthy article today about the most risky high school sports, and they use former Cornell lacrosse player George Boiardi's tragic 2004 death as an example:

After Cornell University defenseman George Boiardi was struck in the chest with a lacrosse ball in the closing minutes of a 2004 collegiate game, he collapsed to the turf, and his heart stopped. The shot he blocked had killed him.

It was literally a million-to-one shot, if not more unlikely. But in a sport as fast-growing as lacrosse, an event that uncommon will happen multiple times at the college and high school level, says a new study.

The article indicates that the cause of Boiardi's death, commotio cordis, is treatable. In 2008, two players were stricken with commotio cordis but were able to survive with the help of defibrillators.

U.S. Lacrosse, in conjunction with medical professionals, has been working to develop a chest protector which will prevent future deaths.

As evidenced by the popular "21 Run" and the #21 jerseys which dot the stands at Cornell sporting events, Boiardi was a good guy. We should be doing all we can to protect our athletes.

(ABC News)

Safety School?

In this year's Forbes ranking of "America's Best Colleges," Cornell is 207th.

That's behind both Cornell College and Ithaca College, and plenty of schools I've never heard of.

Why do these rankings matter? Maybe I should transfer to Union (26th) or Colgate (29th) before I receive my worthless Cornell degree next May.

(Forbes / eLynah)

Update on David McKee Case

There hasn't been anything about former Cornell goalie Dave McKee in the Sun or Journal recently (or any paper for that matter), so I did a little digging.

It appears that McKee's July 10 hearing was continued (.pdf) until September 4. That is the new pre-trial hearing date. If the case goes to trial, it will begin on December 8. Deputy District Attorney Nicole Nicholson is prosecuting the case.

(On a side note, Orange County is a lot less backed up than the DC Courts System. We were scheduling trials for April 2010.)

I can't find any account of what happened on the July 10 date.

McKee is still free on the $100,000 bond and he faces a maximum of 8 years in state prison if convicted of the two charges.

Get Ready For Libe Meadow

So says the Chronicle:

To cut mowing costs and naturalize campus landscapes, planners have let the grass below the Johnson Art Museum grow into meadow.

The movement towards environmental sustainability has given Cornell a convenient cover. Instead of reducing maintenance expenditures as a response to a shrinking endowment, Cornell can simply say it is trying to make the campus "greener."

As Cornell becomes more sustainable -- and cuts costs -- Cornellians will see fewer lawns and more meadows on campus, longer grass and more green roofs and functional plantings.

Of course, there's no need to mow areas of campus which are rarely walked upon, but I'm concerned about what this means for winter maintenance. Will there be even less clearing of snow off sidewalks because it's better for the environment to avoid using snowblowers or plows? It doesn't make a huge difference to me whether the area below the Johnson Museum is lawn or meadow, but snow cleaning can make the difference between an easy (if frigid) walk to class and a hazardous slide down the stairs by the suspension bridge.

(Chronicle)

Cornell Coaches To Speak About Success

Ithaca Journal:

Six successful Cornell University coaches will speak about success, how it differs from winning and measuring victory from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 19 at Schoellkopf field house on the Cornell campus.

How successful have these coaches been, at least in the winning department? Records from the last two seasons in parentheses:

Mike Schafer, men's hockey (41-24-7)
Jeff Tambroni, men's lacrosse (24-8)
Dayna Smith, women's basketball (30-25)
Steve Donahue, men's basketball (43-16)
Jim Knowles, football (9-11)

The Cornell-Birther Connection

I knew it had to be there someplace...

Profile of Orly Taitz, the practicing lawyer, dentist, and real estate agent from California who has become the leader of the movement which questions President Obama's citizenship:

Her chance to get to America—a place her father had always told her was full of opportunities to reap the rewards of hard work—came in 1987, when one of her mother’s fellow schoolteachers offered to set her up with a software engineer named Yosef Taitz who was visiting from California; on their second date, she said, he proposed, and she accepted. (They got married in Las Vegas.)

Taitz opened a dental practice, which now has offices in the upper-middle-class Orange County enclaves of Mission Viejo and Rancho Santa Margarita, and got a law degree by correspondence from William Howard Taft University; meantime, the pair had three sons, the eldest of whom is now a student at Cornell University.

Splitting Big Red Hairs

I blogged on Monday about the Sun's most recent incarnation of the "161 Things Every Cornellian Should Do." I've done 45, my current roommate has accomplished 51, and Dennis over at the Review blog checks in with 27.

But are we even counting the same way? Should we only be permitted to check something off if we've literally accomplished what the list says, or does it count if we've done something in the spirit of the task?

Let's look at a few examples.

o 32. Go to a Shabbat dinner at 104 West (CornellCard it)

What if you've been to dinner but haven't CornellCarded it?

o 120. Meet Bill Nye ’77, “The Science Guy,” and give him a hug

What if you didn't hug Bill Nye?

o 122. Go on a road trip to Canada, flirt with the border patrol, smuggle booze back

I regret to say that I did not flirt with either border patrol agent on our alcohol-filled road trip to Canada in March. Should I get credit?

You get the idea. I would have 5-10 more items checked off if I counted loosely, but I tried to stick to the literal descriptions.

The list was clearly not written by someone heading to law school.

Cornell Loses Another Administrator

...to the University of South Carolina:

The University of South Carolina has filled a key research leadership post with a veteran Ivy League researcher and administrator.

Stephen Kresovich, vice provost for life sciences and professor at Cornell University, has been named vice president for research and graduate education at USC, effective Oct. 1, the university announced last week.

Kresovich was in charge of science research at Cornell:

In 2005, Dr. Kresovich became the Vice Provost for Life Sciences. In this position he is responsible for providing university-wide leadership for Cornell's New Life Sciences Initiative and supports research and educational activities based on Cornell's comprehensive investments in the life sciences. In 2007, Dr. Kresovich served temporarily as the Interim Vice Provost for Research with oversight and advocacy responsibilities for all of Cornell's research efforts.

Combined with the departures of the CALS Dean and the University Registrar, this has been an active summer of personnel shakeups.

(Charleston Business Journal)

Sun Updates "161 Things..." List

For the freshman orientation issue, the Daily Sun has updated its list of "161 Things Every Cornellian Should Do." The list has become a common means to judge how much a student has accomplished at Cornell. Several of my friends have ripped the list out of the newspaper, taped it to their walls, and ceremoniously checked off activities as they've accomplished them.

I've only done 45 of the 161 things. Does this make me a bad Cornellian? Maybe, but I still think I've accomplished a good amount in my first three years on the hill.

Also for the freshman issue, the Sun compiled a thorough season preview of 33 intercollegiate and club sports. I criticize the Sun a lot on this blog, but this was an impressive look ahead to the upcoming season and I hope it's a sign of good things to come.

(Cornell Daily Sun)

Architect Of 21+ Calls It A Mistake

Dr. Morris Chafetz served on the presidential commission 25 years ago which recommended raising the drinking age to 21, but he now believes this was a mistake:

"Legal Age 21 has not worked," Chafetz says [in an upcoming] piece. "To be sure, drunk driving fatalities are lower now than they were in 1982. But they are lower in all age groups. And they have declined just as much in Canada, where the age is 18 or 19, as they have in the United States."

Last August, President Skorton declined to sign on to the Amethyst Initiative, which is a movement among university presidents to open debate about the drinking age.

As I sit just shy of my own twenty-first birthday, the drinking age has never seemed more arbitrary or unfair.

I interact daily with friends who have been granted security clearances to handle sensitive government information. They, as did I, passed background checks before we were trusted to work this summer. Other friends spent a semester abroad, and were able to drink there, but returned to the U.S. as a minor. I even served for one year as president of my fraternity, and my duties included overseeing a couple of hundred inebriated party-goers every few weeks, in addition to the alcohol consumption of my own brothers. I am ready to apply to graduate schools and begin my adult life.

Why should young people who are trusted to serve in the armed forces, handle top-secret information, and oversee other drinkers, not allowed to drink, themselves?

I don't think many people are advocating that high school students should be able to drink. It seems like 19 would be an appropriate drinking age. There are very few 19-year-olds who still attend high school, and it's an age when citizens are considered adults in practically every other area.

Unfortunately, President Obama stated last year that he has no desire to lower the drinking age:

Obama told [Army veteran] Johnson he sympathized, but that setting the legal drinking age at 21 had helped reduce drunken driving incidents and should remain.

(LA Times/AP)

Which To Cut, Activities or Academics?

The answer, according to a forthcoming paper by Cornell researchers, may be academics:

The research findings of Cornell University graduate student Douglas Webber and Ronald Ehrenberg, director of the Cornell Higher Education Research Institute, show a higher positive correlation between graduation rates and spending on student services - including things like student organizations, additional educational tools, and health and registrar services - than between graduation rates and instructional or research spending.

By this logic, Cornell should cut academic-related expenditures before cutting student services. This finding would support the cause of SA members and others who scrambled to ensure that Slope Day would receive full funding this spring, while largely doing nothing as some academic programs and the Physical Sciences Library were axed.

I don't think many people at Cornell are too concerned about graduation rates, except maybe for the hockey coaching staff. Richard Vedder, head of the Center for College Affordability and Productivity, makes this point by massaging our egos a little:

"This to me shows there are tradeoffs," he said. "[With research], you may be paying a cost in terms of hurting student services to the point of decreasing graduation rates. For the Cornells it doesn't matter, but at the State College of Last Resort, it does.... I'm just putting more emphasis on it than they are."

Thank you to the author of the article, the current Daily Sun managing editor, for keeping that line in there.

Month of July Round Up

I had some fun digging up voter registration records for Cornell administrators, and I remain stunned that University Ave. will be closed for 105 more weeks.

To save money, President Skorton is riding the bus to New York, while registrar David Yeh was traded to the Saudis for $5 million.

Ithaca is no longer gorges, since some local residents think Cornell's Lake Source Cooling project is lowering Cayuga Lake's water quality, while truckloads of garbage parade down Route 79.

The hockey season is less than three months away. It looks like Riley Nash will be staying for his junior season, but I've come to realize that Cornell hockey isn't a big-time sport. Some hockey alumni are doing better than others.

In a lengthy and likely boring post, I discussed the different standards for hazing at the Air Force Academy and Cornell.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who on Friday addressed for a whole five minutes an auditorium packed with interns who had waited over an hour to hear her speak (but I'm not bitter), declared "I love Cornell" and launched into a heartfelt rendition of "Evening Song."

Dave the Zamboni Guy Is Still Retired

The Daily Sun has pulled Dave Nulle out of retirement so they can write about his retirement.

MetaEzra on May 6, 2009:

We have the inside scoop from reader EP that David Nulle, also known as 'Dave the Zamboni Guy' has chosen to accept the University's buy-out package and retire from his duties at Lynah Rink.

I blogged about Dave's retirement later that day. Dave formally retired in May.

The Cornell Daily Sun on August 1, 2009:

Longtime Cornell Zamboni Driver Accepts University Retirement Package

The Sun article has some background information on "Cornell's most memorable Zamboni driver." But the strangest part of the article is this quote from one hockey fan. Can anyone understand what he's trying to say?

“The thing that I really liked about [Nulle] was that most people remembered him because he dressed up at the hockey games, but that wasn’t it.”

Princeton Review Rankings Roundup

Mark Palmer, a wrestling blogger, looks at what the Princeton Review's latest rankings have to say about this past year's top 5 wrestling programs:

#5. Cornell University. The Ivy League school located in Ithaca, New York found itself listed as a Best Northeastern School... and ranked highly on some highly desirable lists: #6 for "Best College Library", #9 for "Best Campus Food" (a serious problem for college wrestlers striving to make weight), and #15 for "Best Career Services."

About This Blog

This is a blog about Cornell, its hockey team, and its city, with occasional posts about politics and other topics.

I have been a Cornell hockey fanatic since 2002, a Cornell undergraduate since 2006, and a Cornell-interest blogger since 2008. I'm originally from Connecticut -- not Greenwich, but as Nancy Pfotenhauer would say, "Real Connecticut" -- and I've spent the last two summers in Washington, D.C.

I don't have any inside information or connections, and I do my best to source and fact-check everything I post. The views expressed on this blog are my own, and do not represent the opinions of any campus organization or publication.

I can be reached at stuckinthefastlane@gmail.com