College and COVID-19: What it’s Like to be a Student at Cornell University During the Pandemic
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- Written by Sydney Ablert
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If someone had told me two months ago that I would still be living on campus almost four weeks after my move-in date, I would have never believed them. I am a sophomore at Cornell University who came to Ithaca this semester excited to learn and reunite with my friends, but apprehensive about the administration’s plans to handle the COVID-19 outbreak. I set my expectations quite low, preparing to be sent home earlier than the proposed end to the semester, and allowing myself to get comfortable with the idea that I would probably contract Covid at some point during my time on campus. However, my experience thus far has counteracted my initial concerns.
Life at Cornell is quite different from previous semesters. I take all of my classes remotely, so I rarely ever travel to central campus. This holds true for many students, but some have opted to take one or two classes in-person. Although I have yet to attend an in-person class, I have heard they comply with all safety guidelines.
My social life is different from last year, but not necessarily in a negative way. I live in a sorority house with thirty girls, which is much more lively than dorm life was last year. The freshmen living in dorms are struggling to socialize due to campus rules that limit gatherings to ten people or less. While my meal plan is provided by my house chef, the freshmen go to dining halls and must reserve eating times.
While I do miss the walks to class and studying at the library, I am making the most of the semester. I have been spending a lot more time outdoors, exploring venues around Ithaca, such as the nearby gorges, Ithaca Farmers’ Market, and a drive-in movie theater. I am holding onto the final warm weeks in Ithaca before it is too cold to do any outdoor activities.
Four weeks into my sophomore year, I am much more confident that I will be able to complete the semester in Ithaca. My school has a steady plan in place for containing Covid cases. I am tested for coronavirus twice a week, and anyone who tests positive is put into isolation immediately. As of yesterday, the administration announced that we are operating at a “green” status, which means “cases are rare and transmission is controlled.” That being said, every school is handling the virus differently. Other colleges and universities with a different system in place may be experiencing more cases. I can only speak for what I know from my own school’s plan, and my outlook on the virus should not be generalized for colleges and universities as a whole. Still, I feel safer that I thought I would on campus. My friends, classmates and I have been extremely safe and responsible, keeping gatherings to a minimum and practicing social distancing whenever possible. I am nervous to see how the semester will play out from here, but I am feeling more optimistic than ever before.
Sydney Albert is a 2018 graduate of Scarsdale High School and is now a sophomore in the School of Industrial Relations at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY.
Thank You from the Scarsdale Citizen's Non-Partisan Party Slate of Trustees
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
- Hits: 1995
Justin Arest, Lena Crandall and Randy WhitestoneThis letter was written by Justin Arest, Lena Crandall and Randy Whitestone, who were elected to serve as Scarsdale Village Trustees on Tuesday September 15, 2020.
Dear Neighbors,
We are heartened by the overwhelming support shown for the Scarsdale Citizen's Non-Partisan Party slate of Trustees. You not only chose us, you also chose to support a non-partisan process that has served our community well for over 100 years.
In 1911, community-minded individuals made an affirmative and proactive decision to remove partisan politics from Scarsdale. Taxes, property rights, roads, water quality, personal safety, aesthetics, etc. were all just as important then as they are now. But, Scarsdale realized that hard-working and dedicated resident volunteers could better and more effectively address these often complex issues without partisanship that can distort and distract.
We are blessed to live in a community that is committed to bettering itself and dealing with change by being tolerant, inclusive, and kind. We all live here because we want what’s best for our families.
While we appreciate and are honored by the overwhelming support received in this contested election, please know that we will never take you for granted. And, whether or not you voted for us, we take the responsibility to represent everyone in Scarsdale seriously. We hope you stay involved. While we occupy visible roles, Scarsdale is truly based on the school’s motto non sibi, “not for oneself, alone.” Intelligent, dedicated and selfless Scarsdalians work every day without public attention to keep our village the special place we call home. If you are already volunteering, thank you. If you are new or have not had a chance to participate, please join us! Search the Village website www.scarsdale.com or call Village Hall (914)722-1100 with questions. Enter “volunteer” in the homepage search bar to learn more. Share your thoughts, ideas and criticisms. Challenge our facts and assumptions in a constructive and solutions-oriented manner. Talk to any of us on the Village Board or in Village Hall so we can best serve Scarsdale now and into the future.
You can e-mail [email protected] with a copy to [email protected] to get your thoughts on the public record for our next meeting. You can also e-mail any of us directly at our first initial and last [email protected].
We are your neighbors and public servants. We share your desire for a better future for our community. Together, we are that much stronger.
Many thanks to the dedicated Campaign Committee led by Dara Gruenberg and Jon Mark for ensuring we always ran a fair, respectful and honest campaign. Thank you to the campaign volunteers and our families who have supported us tirelessly. We appreciated the open discussion of ideas during the campaign and wish the other candidates well.
Finally, thank you to Village Clerk Donna Conkling and her team, the poll workers, Scarsdale Police and DPW who all worked together to make it safe and relatively easy for everyone to exercise their right to vote in this time of Covid. It's exactly this kind of teamwork behind the scenes that supports the wheels of our democracy. Now, let's get to work. We have a lot to do – together.
Sincerely,
Justin Arest, Lena Crandall, and Randy Whitestone
Letters to the Editor: Why I’m Voting for Row B - Arest, Crandall, Whitestone - for Village Trustees
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
- Hits: 2601
Ron SchulhofThis letter was written by Ron Schulhof:
Justin Arest, Lena Crandall, and Randy Whitestone, the CNC-nominated candidates for Village Trustee, are my choice for the Village Board of Trustees. I have worked with Justin and Lena for many years and have gotten to know Randy since he was nominated. They are hard-working, dedicated, selfless community volunteers and proven leaders. Once again, we have a contested election, so it is important that residents know that the Row B candidates have time and again taken action to do what is best for our community.
Justin and Lena bring a breadth and depth of experience from their first terms as trustees on the Village Board. They work collaboratively with Village staff and other trustees, deliberate issues thoughtfully, and have brought positive change to our community. Randy has been a longstanding volunteer in our community and will bring his professional background in finance and communications to the Village Board.
Much of the work Justin, Lena and the entire Village Board have accomplished is very visible in our day to day lives. This includes the Dine the Dale initiative, ensuring the pool opened this summer in a safe way, working collaboratively with the School Board on projects such as Butler Field and split tax payments, and maintaining a high level of services throughout the Spring when the Village had to run at limited staffing capacity.
There is also a tremendous amount of hard work done by the Board week in and week out that benefits our community, but that may not get as much notice. Justin, Lena, and the Board do this type of work without fanfare or accolade. Just a few examples include the replacement of senior village staff as long-tenured staff members have retired, making structural staffing changes in order to save money and improve Village services, spending countless hours developing prudent budgets and planning for financial adjustments where needed. Justin and Lena have continually looked for ways to make our community even better, and time and again have done so.
As part of my experience as a Scarsdale volunteer, I have served on the Citizens Nominating Committee, which is the elected body in Scarsdale, made up of residents from each neighborhood, to nominate a slate of candidates. I am happy to see the CNC continue to nominate excellent candidates for Village trustee. I hope you will join me in voting to support Row B - Justin Arest, Lena Crandall, and Randy Whitestone - for trustee in the Village election on September 15.
Ron Schulhof
Springdale Road
Michelle Sterling
Please Vote Row B - Arest, Crandall and Whitestone
I strongly support the slate of Justin Arest, Lena Crandall and Randy Whitestone. As a local volunteer myself, I have seen Arest and Crandall in action over the past two years on the Board of Trustees, and even before as local volunteers active in numerous town volunteer positions. Randy Whitestone has also been an active town volunteer over his many years as a resident. Arest, Crandall and Whitestone are intelligent, thoughtful, caring and hard-working residents that continue to give their time and expertise to build on the strengths of this community.
I have had the pleasure of working with both of these trustees on several sustainability initiatives such as the implementation of Scarsdale’s Food Scrap Recycling Program, the LED streetlight conversion and our ongoing project of working to ensure that our Village properties are maintained organically and without toxic chemicals. Working with Trustees Crandall and Arest, I can say that they always listen, consider the facts, and involve our Village volunteers in order to get to the best results for our community.
This year’s election is contested. So it is important that our residents vote, and know who they are voting for and how they got there. Thankfully our town has a non-partisan system, which means that we nominate candidates not based on political affiliation or personal agendas, but based on who they are as people and how they will represent our entire community. Arest and Crandall have shown us great character and achievements during the last two years and I am confident that the entire Row B slate of candidates will continue to do so going forward.
Please Vote for Row B - Arest, Crandall, and Whitestone - on September 15 at the Scarsdale Congregational Church.
Michelle Sterling
Brayton Road
Residents Complain About Unauthorized Emails from the Voters Choice Party
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- Written by Joanne Wallenstein
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We received a few letters today about the unauthorised use of email addresses by the Voters Choice Party. A candidate for Village Trustee, running on the Voters Choice Party slate, filed a FOIL request for the entire list of 4,318 names from the Village of Scarsdale.
TheVillage released the list to the candidate on Friday, and today residents are receiving emails, despite the fact that the candidate signed an affadavit claiming that he would not use the list for solicitations.
Here are the letters we received today:
From Jeanette Warner
I was very offended to receive an email from the Voters Choice Party today. I signed up with Scarsdale Village for the “Notify Me” system because I wanted to receive information about emergencies, storms, road closures, sanitation schedules, recreation opportunities and more. And it has been an invaluable communication tool as shown following the recent storms and resulting power outages.
However, I agreed to receive Village emails and alerts not political solicitations.
Whether or not the release of the emails to the Voters Choice Party was required under the FOIL law, or not, I consider the VCP’s obtaining and use this confidential information in violation of the terms of my consent to the Village to be the ultimate expression of their bad faith by their misuse of what should be my confidential information.
This action has convinced me not to support any of their candidates in the Village elections tomorrow.
J Warner
From Curtis Parker
As you predicted in your post from Saturday, I received an email from the VCP this morning. I've never subscribed to anything from them, so it must have come from the email addresses released from the Village. Curiously, though, when I clicked on the "why did I get this?" link at the bottom of the email, it told me that I had opted into receiving their emails via their website (see below). This is patently false. If they even have a website I do not believe I have ever visited it, much less signed up for their distribution list.
Curtis R. Parker
Letter: Political Signs on Village Owned Property are an Eyesore
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- Written by Lee Fischman
- Hits: 4116
This letter to the editor was written by Lee Fischman: You may have noticed that Berg, Selvaggio and Cohen election signs are now seemingly ubiquitous across Village properties. In 2018, Berg sued the Village for the right to place signs in the Village right of way. The judge issued a preliminary injunction and temporary restraining order, stating,
"It is ORDERED that Defendants are enjoined from enforcing the provisions of Section 256-1... with respect to posting political lawn signs in the Village of Scarsdale right of way in front of private homes,"
Banning the Village from removing signs in front of private homes seemed reasonable, and the Village is not removing any signage until the suit is settled. But Berg, Selvaggio and Cohen are exploiting and exceeding the restraining order by placing vast numbers of signs not in front of supporters' homes, but on wholly owned Village property.
The taxpayer owns Village properties. That's us. Having political signage placed on Village properties' right of way is akin to appropriating our endorsement. I did not give Berg, Selvaggio and Cohen permission to advertise in front of taxpayer property and neither did the judge. In the midst of summer greenery they also are a public eyesore. In fact, the Supreme Court agreed with the right to prohibit signs regardless of purpose in Los Angeles v. Vincent: "The problem addressed by this ordinance -- the visual assault on the citizens of Los Angeles presented by an accumulation of signs posted on public property -- constitutes a significant substantive evil within the City's power to prohibit."
Berg, Selvaggio and Cohen's action, whether direct or by delegation, is a provocation, a gamble that there is no downside to exceeding the judge's injunction. If you too disapprove of this widespread appropriation of community property, and want to send a message that papering it with election signs should not be future practice, you can register your displeasure with your vote.
Lee Fischman
