This week’s post features Zach Waller ’12, Lucia Rafanelli ’13 and Campus Editor Dennis Shiraev ’12.
Why Prospective Conservative Ivy Leaguers Should Come To Cornell
Dennis: Cornell’s political climate is definitely anti-conservative, but this is true of just about every institution of higher education. Prospective students should know that despite its inevitable liberal bias, Cornell still boasts a rich intellectual environment where opinions are always heard and viewpoints are often changed. You’ll make some of your best friends at Cornell during heated dormitory political debates at the beginning of the year, and it’s pretty fun being part of the political minority on campus. Plus, with great campus organizations like the Cornell Republicans and the Cornell Review, you’ll have no trouble finding like-minded people who share in your radical conservative opinions!
Zach: While it is true that Cornell tends to be quite liberal, people often overestimate just how liberal Cornell actually is. Yes, Cornell may seem liberal to any given bystander, but that is only because the liberal students tend to be the loudest. For example, at the beginning of the year I became good friends with seven other kids living on my floor. Three of them were liberal (two of them quite vocal about it), while the others were more reserved. Over the course of the year, I gradually found out the political ideologies of the others- they were all conservative, with the exception of one. Of the eight of us there were five conservatives and one liberal. As “Un-Ivy” as this may sound, once we all came out of the political closet there were no rich intellectual debates. Instead, we resorted to our fifth grade inner-selves (like most politicians) and let the teasing and name-calling rip. Although I do relish the occasional intellectual debate regarding politics, it is far more fun take it to your liberal friends’ level and have an elementary school level fight with people who got 2400’s on their SAT’s.
Lucia: Cornell is an Ivy, so liberalism is bound to abound, but that’s not a bad thing. It’s great to be surrounded by people with lots of different worldviews, even (in fact I would say especially) if they disagree with yours. As long as people are willing to accept others with different opinions, and to engage in legitimate, intellectual debates/discussions about their political differences, being surrounded by political diversity is the best way to learn about the merits and pitfalls of your own views and others’. Further, this is the kind of environment I have encountered at Cornell: not one in which I have been marginalized and cast aside as a conservative, but rather one in which I have been encouraged to express, debate, and defend my opinions.
Cornell Coach Donahue Leaves for BC
Dennis: If this were hockey or lacrosse, it would be a different story. But let’s face it: our basketball team does not play in a highly competitive conference. Donahue was deciding between staying as a big fish in a small pond, or moving to a much larger pond. He brought us a Sweet Sixteen run, and we gave him an ACC coaching position. I think that’s a fair trade.
Zach: As a transfer student from Boston College I have really mixed feelings about this. As much as I would have loved for Donahue to have stayed here at Cornell, it really was his time to go. He worked on our program for ten years. The joke of the Ivy League when he came here, he finished out his tenure strong with back to back to back Ivy League championships and NCAA Tournament appearances. With nine graduating seniors, next year will probably be a bit of a rebuilding year for the Red. Donahue knew that if there was a time to move on to bigger and better things, this was it. Unfortunately, this year’s Cornell team was about as good as an Ivy League team can get. At Boston College Donahue will become part of a program that will do anything for him (trust me, they are sick of not being an annual ACC contender) if it means being able to consistently hang in there with ACC rivals Duke and UNC.
Lucia: All good things must come to an end, I suppose. Although it seems a shame that Donahue must leave just as Cornell basketball finishes a season during which they excelled beyond expectations, bringing Big Red its first ever Sweet Sixteen appearance, this is the kind of thing sports teams deal with on a regular basis. In high school, college, or professional sports, loss of players, coaches, and staff is far from an unheard of phenomenon. Without a doubt Cornell basketball will be able to weather Donahue’s departure.
Justice Stevens Retires From the Court
Dennis: Stevens was the most liberal justice on the Supreme Court, so 1) Obama’s nomination is not going to shift the balance of the court, and 2) Obama would be hard pressed to nominate somebody who has a more liberal track record than Stevens. I predict that the confirmation processes will go smoothly this summer. Look for the next big fight to be over Ginsburg/Thomas’ successor.
Zach: No real story here. Liberal retires, other liberal appoints new liberal to first liberal’s spot.
Lucia: This isn’t an obvious source of great political contention. Justice Stevens was a liberal, and he will likely be replaced by a liberal. Thus, it doesn’t seem that the court will be shifted dramatically left or right by his resignation.
