In case you missed it, the world is going to hell in a handbasket, and this time, the chaos will be televised. Peace in the Middle East remains a pipe dream as innocent Palestinians and Israelis perish in a continuing cycle of violence and retaliation. The war in Ukraine, too, rages on with no resolution … [Read more…]
There seems to be many questions and confusion concerning my last column, “The Godless University,” including a particular guest column in response to the piece, “Stay Godless.” Before clearing up any concerns about my original piece, it would be wise to first address the title of this new column. It is a play on the … [Read more…]
To the editor: The article regarding the recent Students for Justice in Palestine vigil on campus reminds me of the saying, “with friends like these, who needs enemies?” If SJP cared about Palestinian values, they would condemn Hamas’s intentional slaughter of innocent civilians rather than suggest that Palestinians’ “right to resistance” includes gang-raping women and burning … [Read more…]
At this time of national tragedy for Israel I, as a longtime Jewish faculty member and as a human being, feel strong and impassioned sympathy and empathy for innocent victims of barbarous Hamas terrorists who murdered and kidnapped defenseless people including babies, small children and elderly people. I respect the frustrations of the Palestinian people … [Read more…]
Terror against the most innocent and vulnerable — at the hands of a group committed only to fire and fury and zero constructive aims for their own people — is never an acceptable answer to cases of political or territorial disagreements. In a civilized world, political or religious ideologies, legitimate or otherwise, can never, under … [Read more…]
Life is full of challenges and unexpected hardships. More often than not, we find ourselves failing. Failure is relative, we each individually have our understanding of what it means to us. One thing is abundantly clear, however: The word failure is often spoken of with a negative connotation. Why do we have to fail, though? … [Read more…]
I get it, you’ve read a lot of articles this month about the Make Cornell Pay movement. You heard about the draft settlement last week and the strike on Monday, and maybe you even knew about the council vote on Wednesday. Regardless, you may or may not agree that Cornell ought to pay Ithaca more … [Read more…]
When it comes to sexual assault, plausible deniability is essential to keeping the peace at academic institutions. Inconvenient truths get shoved to the side in deference to maintaining academic achievement, social networks and professional reputation. Victims resort to silence in an unsupportive institutional framework. And this isn’t the fault of the University, per se. Administration … [Read more…]
You could go back to any time period and narrow in on the same conclusion: The people are living in uncertain and dangerous times. The COVID-19 pandemic has left us questioning our safety more than ever; violent crimes continue to remain elevated compared to 2019. In analyzing crime in the context of college campuses, there … [Read more…]
To the editor: Cornell University has the immense privilege of being exempt from property taxes. It enjoys this privilege due to New York State law’s treatment of nonprofit organizations, the underlying purpose of which is to help sustain institutions that will serve the public interest. The tax exemption is a public subsidy to Cornell to … [Read more…]