- Freshman tells Assembly about housing crisis during open microphone
- Representatives debate U.S.-China Friendship Day resolution
- Reform of the referendum process is on the way
After a hiatus for winter break, the Willard Straight Dispatches are back!
This week’s Student Assembly meeting kicked off with “explosive” testimony during “open-microphone,” a portion of the meeting where community members can make remarks.
A freshman explained to representatives that a heater and pipe burst in Low Rise 7, causing his suitemates’ belongings to be damaged. The student claimed that the university was not flexible in providing alternative accommodation, nor has it offered compensation for damaged items.
Freshman representative Pedro Da Silveira told fellow Assembly members that he saw videos of the damage and said it was an “unacceptable situation.” College of Agriculture & Life Sciences Representative Adele Williams commended the student for speaking out and offered to forward the contact information for the Student Helping Students fund, which provides emergency financial assistance.
Vice President for Student & Campus Life Ryan Lombardi also spoke to the Assembly, saying that similar incidents have occurred on campus, due to wildly fluctuating temperatures. He offered to expedite the offering of alternative accommodation, as well as adding money to laundry cards. Lombardi gave an update to the Assembly in an email to Assembly president Anuli Ononye at the end of the meeting.
This is not the first time students have reported problems with campus housing. The Cornell Daily Sun reported that students in the newly-opened Ganędagǫ Hall have seen mice in their rooms. Residents of the recently built North Campus Residential Expansion dormitories have also complained about water leakage and limited social interaction, due to the buildings’ structure.
After several nominations were announced, International Students Liaison At-Large JohnJohn Jiang and three other representatives introduced Resolution 42, which would create U.S.-China Friendship Day on February 21, commemorating the 50th anniversary of former president Richard Nixon’s visit to the People’s Republic of China.
According to Jiang, the resolution also calls on the Assembly to send a letter, which could be optionally signed by members of the Student Assembly, to the current P.R.C. ambassador to the United States. Jiang emphasized that this resolution does not ask Cornell to take sides in a political debate. Assembly Vice President of Internal Operations Joseph Mullen, another co-sponsor of the resolution, said that it would show friendship to Chinese students on-campus. Mullen further emphasized that harmonious and positive engagement between the U.S. and China should be promoted.
Several representatives seemed skeptical about sending a letter to the P.R.C. ambassador. School of Industrial and Labor Relations representative Nicole Overton asked why recognition of the contributions of Chinese international students required the Assembly to send the letter. Freshman representative Andrew Juan also expressed his concerns as a Taiwanese American and said that the resolution seems performative.
Other representatives questioned the date of the proposed U.S.-China Friendship Day. Rep. Cady expressed concerns that the holiday would conflict with the President’s Day federal holiday. LGBTQIA+ Liaison At-Large Dillon Eisman also supported a change of date for the proposed holiday. The resolution was overwhelmingly tabled.
Rep. Mullen then introduced Resolution 43, which would amend the Charter and By-Laws to reform the referendum process. Mullen’s changes would include changing the thresholds needed to bring a referendum, as well as aligning the times of referendums with regularly scheduled Assembly elections.
College of Arts and Sciences representative Everest Yan was concerned that aligning referendums with Fall and Spring elections would hamper petitioning efforts at the start of the semester. Undesignated At-Large Representative Lucas Smith wondered whether the proposed changes would make referendums easier or harder to initiate. This resolution was also tabled.
