Dear Study-ent,

Studying is what we do this time of year up on the hill.  You swim in the lake and you study at Cornell.  And Cornell does offer some diverse study ecologies.  You are very perceptive - surroundings can affect how you retain knowledge.  Each student should find the best place to be able to concentrate and thinkk and (sigh) memorize.  Don't forget the mneumonics!

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Hard Working Bear,

What a wonderful service you bears provide, whether it is the crazy bear antics and candy you distribute at hockey games, your appearances at many varied Cornell events, or the cozy hug you give to children of all ages! Your note is a reminder of the many wonderful things that make this campus special. Cornell would not have the same vibrancy if it were not for students performing daily chime concerts, raising money for good causes and speaking out on Ho Plaza, or fuzzy bears to lend playfulness to the Cornell athletic contests. You are indeed a treasure, and one that we must not take for granted.

You are also experiencing first hand, through rallying and coordinating other bears, negotiating with the SAFC and dealing with the scarcity of funds, and navigating a bureaucratic system, the trials and tribulations of leadership. Though challenging, and sometimes frustrating, these are invaluable skills that will stay with you as you navigate the world beyond Cornell. As a student organization there are resources through the Student Activities Office (SAO) to help support you (and future bears) through these leadership challenges. During the fall, the SAO hosts a leadership conference for the leaders of registered student organizations. Staff in the SAO would by happy to speak with you about some of the specific challenges that you are facing if you make an appointment to see them. While every organization is unique, with more than 500 registered student organizations each year, the SAO staff has probably encountered many of the challenges that you are now facing. Given your relationship balanced between Athletics and student activities, perhaps you can look to leaders of student organizations with a similar structure for guidance (or at least to vent with) such as the Marching Band, or some of the active club sports like Rugby, Sailing or Skiing. Search the SAO database for officer's names at http://www.sao.cornell.edu/SO/.

And to all of our readers out there, if you are interested in becoming a Big Red Bear please email Matt Coats at mc238@cornell.edu for more information! Good luck bears, we don't want to see you go into hibernation or worse yet, extinction!

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Interested,

A good place to start your research is http://www.adherents.com/adhloc/Wh_85.html.  Most interesting of the many stats is that 85% of the Delewarans are Christian, 1.3% are Jewish, they state 0 are Buddhist or Agnostic, 800 are NeoPagan (.1%) and there is one "church" of KKK and 3 of White Supremascists.  I hope you find the other stats you need on that or related pages. 

Uncle Ezra   

Dear JYA,

Thanks for your feedback.  We are slowly but surely de-bugging our new system.  And included in this process is involving a design person who can help us with the colors and contrast issues that have bothered many readers.  We will also look into the archive deeming issue.  I hope things are going well for you out there in the land of the orange and palm trees growing while you are dreaming of a white... season. Are you? "May your days be sunny and bright, and may all your [winter breaks] be white" if you are a skiier or fireside chatter.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Alum,

You may not have also caught this answer to a similar letter,  so I''ll copy it here for you:  First, it is a common but incorrect belief that folks at Cornell are "targeted" with spam.  In truth, the messages received by folks at Cornell are also sent to tens of thousands of users in and outside of the Cornell community.  Clever "search and replace" programs insert elements of the recipients e-mail addresses to give the appearance of customization. The technique is not much different from using a mail merge to make a form letter look like it was sent to you personally, when it fact, it was sent to many recipients.

Regarding how folks from Cornell get on e-mail direct marketing lists, the ways are numerous. I should immediately clarify that Cornell does not sell or distribute its directory.  This is also a common myth.  The fact is that e-mail marketers sell, share, and publish lists among many retailers.  Conducting any business, including completing web surveys or ordering products on-line, can introduce an individuals e-mail address to direct marketers.

Cornell is taking an aggressive stance on the amount of unsolicited commercial e-mail sent to members of the university community.  We already use SpamShield, a product which blocks large numbers of messages sent in a single batch.  We also block entire senders who are known to originate spam. In Spring 2003, we will introduce PerlMX, which will further act to filter spam at the server level. You can read moreabout PerlMX in the following press release:
http://www.cit.cornell.edu/computer/news/featurestoc/perlmx.html.

Until then, individual users should continue to delete the unsolicited commercial mail that they receive. Individuals are strongly cautioned never to reply directly to unsolicited commercial mail.  There are additional steps, and cautions, here:
http://www.cit.cornell.edu/computer/security/emailtips.html.

Users can also set up filters, following the instructions here:
http://www.cit.cornell.edu/computer/email/eudora/spam.html.

Lastly, if a user would like to complain to the Internet Service Provider sending the spam, we publish instructions and offer assistance.  The instructions are on-line at the website below. Assistance is available by contacting <abuse@cornell.edu>.
http://www.cit.cornell.edu/computer/responsible-use/report-other.html
http://www.cit.cornell.edu/computer/responsible-use/#junk-mail

I am unhappy to say that even Uncle Ezra gets spammed, but it in no way keeps me from looking for your legiitmate communications and keeping the human interactions alive and well.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Pained,

It's on our list!  Our web-elves are hammering away at it, so stay tuned for revisions.  Two cents are very much appreciated, they keep us growing.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Kenny,

The original letters are suppressed in cases like this. The writer wishes to remain anonymous and so does not leave an email address. Therefore, responses are posted online. Often, details are omitted or altered so that individuals are not recognizeable. Quite often, situations are common enough that many people see themselves in a letter such as this one, dealing with dating, mating and disucussing differences. It is possible to write to DUE and receive a private response without online posting. In this case,
the writer gives an email but requests DO NOT POST. Thank you for your care and concern. This writer did ask to have the answer posted.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear anon,

It is possible to suppress entire entries from publication in the on-line and printed directories.  Unfortunately, our current systems do not allow for "line-item" suppression of single items, like local addresses.

Students who would like to suppress their information should contact the Office of the University Registrar.  Student data is suppressed upon request, and there are no grounds or explanations required.

Faculty and staff who would like to suppress their information should contact the Office of Human Resources. Because collaboration and communication are essential among members of the professional community, it is expected that faculty and staff will be listed in the directory.  However, extenuating circumstances may require an individual's contact information to be removed from publication. Faculty and staff should be prepared to describe their individual situation when requesting directory suppression. I hope this helps you.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear goodword,

CIT is always interested in receiving feedback from the folks who use it's facilities.  Try offering this feedback on the software available in the public computing facilities to:
LABFEEDBACK-L@cornell.edu. They also send you this info:

Students in science and engineering and statistics or
math often use word-processing programs apart from Microsoft Word in order to write papers which contain many equations.  These programs (TeX and LaTeX) produce DVI and then postscript output.  In order to print the output, there is a free program called GSView which is a graphical viewer for the program Ghostscript, used to see and print the postscript files, or to create PDF files from the postscript output.  These programs are provided free by the University of Wisconsin.

More information on GSView is available here:
http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~ghost/gsview/
and on Ghostscript is here:
http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~ghost/doc/AFPL/index.htm
The two work together.  These two programs are not currently available in the CIT labs.

"I second this users request.  It would be a very good thing
for many students if these programs were in the labs." they say.  The ACCEL center in the second floor of Carpenter library provides GSView as do many graduate-students-only department labs in science, math and engineering, but as these programs are widely used by a large segment of research students, it would be very helpful to have them in all the CIT labs. GSView and Ghostscript are essential for many students in the creation of scientific or mathematical research papers and dissertations.

You are the eyes and the ears helping us continuously improve!

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Credit Union Curious,

The Cornell Fingerlakes Credit Union (CFCU) first opened in October 1953 in the basement of Bailey Hall, to serve Cornell faculty and staff. Over the years, they added various affiliates to their membership including Cornell graduate student and undergraduate student workers, Geneva Experiment Station employees and others. CFCU continued to expand, and began to include other small employee credit unions in the community including Ithaca College and NCR. It is during this time that they changed to a state charter, and their name changed from the Cornell Federal Credit Union to the Cornell Fingerlakes Credit Union. The new name reflected the broader membership in the credit union, but still included the original and largest membership, Cornell employees and their families.

After almost 50 years, CFCU will soon be moving from the basement of Bailey Hall to the Cornell Store (that's what all the construction is by the Ho Plaza entrance to the Store). For more information about CFCU including membership, visit their web page at http://www.cornellfcu.com/index_flash.html or stop by any of their branches!

Uncle Ezra   

Dear NSWA,

Good to hear from you again! Sometimes you can look at something for so long that even the most egregious mistake goes unnoticed. This is why having an extra pair of eyes proof read your work is so beneficial. And why the reports of conscientious passersby, like you, are so helpful! I referred your question to Bartt Smith (bas4@cornell.edu) a staff member in Transportation Services and the campus sign czar. He was not aware of this faulty arrow but appreciated the information and will look into it. If you see any other sign incongruities, you now know who to contact. And many thanks to you and your co-worker for your keen eyes! Keep up the good work!

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Light seeker,

I know the tree you mean, and I've wondered how someone manages to attach those lights so high in that tree.  Is it the fire chief's home, or does it belong to a climber with ropes and safety skills?  Your guess is as good as mine on any of these or your questions.  The hill is so full of so many lights, I don't think this tree would help or hinder land-marking.  Perhaps someone is saving money this year, or has lost the feeling that has led them to light up in past years. Not to make light of it, but the only way to know for sure is go carolling there and ask them.  O Tannenbaum ...

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Student,

Good for you for identifying what you are feeling and trying to get some information on what is happening. Although the feelings can be uncomfortable, at best, it helps to have a name and know how to get some help.  First of all, the term  "nervous breakdown, is used so often that it seems to have lost some of it's clinical meaning.  Generally, it means that a person has lost the ability to function due to extreme anxiety or depression.  Human beings are capable of enduring a lot of stress,
and can be very anxious and/or very depressed and still be able to carry on in some or all of their daily activities.  It seems more helpful to respond to the specific symptoms someone is experiencing.  You mention that you sometimes feel that you and everything around you are going really fast.  This sounds like anxiety, and maybe even a bit of a panic attack, where one's heart begins to race, which can happen under stress.  But it is hard to know  "what is happening to you" without knowing more details about what other symptoms  you have.  It might be good to speak to a physician ( do you have one here or at home?), or come in to see a counselor at CAPS to just address the stress, and say more about some of the symptoms you experience when you are under stress. I hope this is helpful.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Concerned,

Alzheimers is a tragic disease that strikes even the seemingly younger among us.  As for yourself, temper your concern.  Memory does become slower and harder to access as you age past 40, and stress can impact retrieval at any age. Many people will find they remember a name in a few minutes which indicates it is still there and accessible.  It's a matter of the wheels grinding more slowly.

As for your father, there are some things you can do.  Good memory for "older events" is common in people of his age. Events from childhood are often crystal clear. Read about Alzheimers at http://www.alzheimers.org/ or http://www.alz.org/. If your dad has a trusted General Practitioner, that would be a good place to go for medical follow-up.  There are few doctors specializing in gerontology, so a referral would depend on where you live. The best referral source would be your County or State Office of the Aging or Senior Citizens Council.   There may be caseworkers who would make a home visit for assessment. Support groups for sufferers as well as for caretakers can be very helpful.

Research has shown that keeping our memories active can be the best innoculation against cognitive decline.  Call your dad and visit as often as you can.  Encourage him to keep active with friends or groups.  Does he play cards or have a hobby or special interest?  If there is a family in his neighborhood with young children, try to encourage a relationship that will keep him laughing.  Could he read to them once a week or so?  Although our aging parents don't want to accumulate more "things," gifting your dad with a puzzle or book of puzzles or magazine subscription in an area of his interest can keep him thinking. Memory books are most helpful for those in advanced stages of Alzhemiers.  A simple photo album with pictures of family members, friends and familiar places can be kept in a prominent location.  Visitors can use the book to stimulate conversation. Don't we all love to look through pictures?!

Cornell University chemists reported in the January 1998 issue of the German journal "Naturwissenschaften", their findings that "the pheromone trail laid down by an Aphaenogaster rudis ant to help the ant and its recruited nest mates find their way back to prey they plan to kill -- contains a chemical now undergoing clinical trials as a possible Alzheimer's disease treatment.

"Anabaseine, whose chemical analog GTS-21 stimulates the nicotine receptor sites in the brains of Alzheimer's patients and helps reduce memory loss, is one of four components found in secretions from the poison glands of A. rudis ants, a common species in the Northeast United States.

"However, this doesn't mean we should grow ants to treat Alzheimer's patients," said Athula B. Attygalle, senior research associate in the Cornell Institute for Research in Chemical Ecology (CIRCE) laboratory of Professor Jerrold Meinwald as well as director of the Mass Spectrometry Facility in Cornell's Department of Chemistry. "Synthetic versions of anabaseine can be made much more easily for medicinal purposes. We're interested in these neurotoxins because they're found in 'lower' animals, such as marine worms and ants, and even plants, and they seem to have an effect on the human brain."  Read more at http://www.antcolony.org/0204.htm.  And support the research if you can.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Presidentially Curious,

All of the Cornell presidents have had a strong academic background receiving undergraduate and post-graduate degrees in field from history to science, classics to business. They have been professors at Cornell or other universities and many held administrative positions such as dean, department chair, or vice president, prior to their becoming president of Cornell. Here are a few details about our nine presidents before becoming president at Cornell; it is interesting how people and places have at times intertwined!

-Andrew D. White, Pres. 1866-1885: born 1832, in Homer, NY; history professor at U. of Michigan; NYS Senator

-Charles K. Adams, Pres. 1885-1892: born 1935, in Derby, VT; only had an elementary school education until age 21; studied at U. of Michigan under A. D. White also professor there

-Jacob G. Schurman, Pres. 1892-1920: born 1854 in Freetown, Prince Edward Island; studied in Nova Scotia, Scotland, England, and Germany; professor of Christian ethics and moral philosophy at Cornell and head of the Susan Linn Sage School of Philosophy at Cornell

-Livingston Farrand, Pres. 1921-1937: born 1867 in Newark, NJ; received MD degree; psychology and anthropology professor at Columbia University; strong interest in public health; Director of the Anti-Tuberculosis Commission and Chairman of the Central Committee of the American Red Cross

-Edmund E. Day, Pres. 1837-1949: born 1883 in Manchester, NH; professor of economics at Harvard and later U. of Michigan; also organizer and first dean of the School of Business Administration, and Dean of the University at Michigan

-Deane W. Malott, Pres. 1951-1963: born 1898, Abilene, KS; professor and dean of the Harvard Business School, Vice President of the Hawaiian Pineapple Company; Chancellor of the U. of Kansas

-James Perkins, Pres. 1963-1969: born 1911 Philadelphia, PA; professor of political science and assistant director of the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton; Vice President of Swarthmore College; Vice President of the Carnegie Corporation of NY and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching

-Dale R. Corson, Pres. 1969-1977: born 1914 Pittsburg, KS; on staff at Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory; at Cornell was professor of physics, department chair, Dean of College of Engineering and Provost

-Frank H.T. Rhodes, Pres. 1977-1995: born1926, Warwickshire, England; professor of geology, department head. And dean of the faculty of science at University of Wales; professor, dean of the College of Literature, Science and the Arts, and vice president for academic affairs at U. of Michigan

-Hunter R. Rawlings III, Pres. 1995-2003: born 1945 in Norfolk, VA; classics professor, department chair, vice president for academic affairs and research, and dean of the system graduate school at U. of Colorado; president and professor of classics at U. of Iowa

And on names, can you match these middle names with the appropriate Cornell president? Dickson, Kendall, Gould, Ezra, Waldo, Raymond, Harold Trevor, Ripley (Answer: they are in the order of the presidents).

According to the University Archivist, Elaine Engst, there is not a comprehensive book about the life and careers of the Cornell presidents. For those who are interested in more CU presidential details, the Rare and Manuscripts Collection has biographical folders on each of the presidents. But this would require a trip to Cornell and the University Archives. An option for someone off campus would be Morris Bishop's A History of Cornell; available online from the Cornell Store at http://www.store.cornell.edu/ or at Amazon.com. However, the book, copyright 1962, only includes history up through President Malott and deals more specifically with the president's leadership and actions during their time at Cornell. Perhaps there is a thesis topic in all of this?

Welcome to our incoming President, Jeffrey S. Lehman, currently dean of the University of Michigan Law School !(http://www.news.cornell.edu/releases/Dec02/president.html).

Uncle Ezra