Tuesday, March 18, 2003

by Charlie Buffie
Gazette News Reporter

As students returned to classes in the Dupont building on Monday, they were
greeted with a novel development in the construction of the new science
center.  However, this surprise was not the grand opening of the
much-anticipated Commons area and sushi bar, but rather a new detour around
more sprawling construction and a curiously still-unfinished Commons space.

The Commons area, a lounge space in between the Cornell science library and
the rest of the new science center, was originally scheduled to be complete
and open to the community after spring break.  According to Rachel Merz,
Biology Professor and consultant on the new science center construction
project, the official opening of the Commons area has been delayed
approximately seven to ten days, with the area likely to be open by April
1st.  Merz explained, “It is […] not the major building systems that have
held things up,[but rather] a variety of architectural details [like] the
final finish on some metal surfaces and the replacement of some fritted
glass that arrived with blemishes.”

Merz also divulged that the delay was partly due to problems coordinating
the final details of the sushi bar and the catering space in the Commons
that will house it.  According to Merz, negotiations with a number of
possible vendors are currently being conducted, and that new menu items will
be introduced gradually at the bar.  “It’s my sense that it will take a
little trial and error to see what items are successful,” Merz said.

Despite this slight delay in the opening of the area, things are now
progressing smoothly.  According to Merz, state and local inspections of the
facility have already begun and will continue this week.  As these
inspections are completed and passed, the Commons area facility will be
turned over to the College officially so that cleaning and installation of
furniture in the space can commence.

by Roxanne Yaghoubi
Gazette News Reporter

From June 2002 to February 2003, a group of alumni were busy preparing a
report on consensus and its role within the college community. Formally
called the Alumni Task Group on Consensual Decision Making and headed by Jed
Rakoff ’64, the group arose out of a series of meetings in the fall of 2001.

The meetings took place between College President Al Bloom, President of the
Alumni Council Rich Truitt ’66, members of the Board of Managers, and
several representatives of Mind the Light – an organization that was formed
after the athletic cuts of 2000. One of the major concerns arising out of
these cuts was that the Board of Managers did not use consensus when making
its decision.

Consensual decision making is grounded in the Quaker Tradition and
traditionally does not include voting. Instead the participants in the
debate must be willing to listen to all sides of the issue and then come to
an agreement on the issue which everyone could support.

The Alumni Task Group thus spent several months reseraching the history and
uses of consensus. Particularly it focused on the College’s decisions
regarding divesture from South Africa and the revision of the Honors
Program. In both of these instances, the Board of Managers had been able to
use consensual decision making in order to resolve the issue.

In its report, the Alumni Task Group points to several reasons, including
strong leadership, effective use of committees and an orientation for new
board members, as to why the consensual decision making process worked in
these instances.

The task group presented its report to the Board during its meeting on
February 28, 2003. The Board then approved the report, and its findings on
consensus, in a minute issued on March 1, 2003. The report was then made
available to the public.

Seniors Sarah Drescher and Rob Peterson won the annual University of
Virginia debate tournament this past weekend.  Confronting a team with
debaters from MIT and William & Mary in the final round, the Swat squad
succesfully debated the resolution “The US would be better off if handguns
had never been legal,” earning a 6-5 decision of the judges and audience.
In addition, Peterson was named the second-place speaker while Drescher
finished seventh overall.  Sonya Hoo ’05 also fared well at the tourney,
winning eighth-place team honors with her partner from Princeton.

The victory came just one weekend after Drescher and Peterson finished in
second-place at a University of Maryland – Baltimore County tournament.  It
was also a strong tournament for individual speakers as Peterson was named
the fifth-place speaker and David Bing ’03 took ninth-place overall.

Drescher and Peterson, the fourth-ranked team in the American Parliamentary
Debate Association, have now won two tournaments this season and have been
runners-up at three others.

*****

Holi Celebration
Parrish Beach, 1:00 p.m.

Fashion Focus Group
Kohlberg 115, 4:00 p.m.

German Film Series
Kohlberg 328, 7:00 p.m.

Maurianne Adams Discussion – Sponsored by Lang Center
Scheuer Room – Kohlberg, 7:30 p.m.

Tango Dance Lessons
Upper Tarble, 9:00 p.m.

Good Schools PA Meeting
Parrish Parlors – West, 10:00 p.m.

Student Council Meeting
CRC – Parrish 2nd, 10:30 p.m.

——

Today:
Baseball hosts University of the Sciences, 3:30 p.m.
Softball at Widener, 4:00 p.m.

Tomorrow:
Baseball hosts Neumann, 3:15 p.m.
Men’s lacrosse hosts Gettysburg, 3:30 p.m.
Women’s tennis hosts Muhlenberg, 3:30 p.m.

*****

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Only the mediocre are always at their best.”
–Jean Giraudoux

*****
.
Interested in reporting or writing for the Gazette?
Got a news or sports tip for us?
Just want to tell us what you think?