Dear Ag Quad Inhabitant,

It sounds like you’re longing for something a bit more agricultural — maybe some nice turf grass and plantings — to replace that offensive parking lot?  Sorry to be the bearer of bad news— so Your Uncle will leave that chore to Jessie Dimick, Assistant to the University Architect, who says:

“Although the new Forest Home Drive Parking Garage opens approximately May 9, 2011, the site of the Ag quad parking lot will become the new home for The Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management.  Later this summer work will begin to renovate Warren Hall.  The Dyson School will vacate Warren Hall and move into modular office buildings that will be positioned on the Ag quad parking lot.  The modular buildings are expected remain on the Ag quad site for approximately 5 years.”

Thanks, Jessie, for that task.  And congratulations to your crew for bringing an architecturally interesting building to campus.  With all that Llenroc (you-know-whose-name spelled backwards) stone, it hardly looks like a parking garage.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Alum PhD,

Surprisingly, for a scholarly place like Cornell —with a history of distinguished Great Seals, Emblems, Insignia, Crests (and an occasional clunker, like the “JCPenny” cube) — there has been scant scholarship regarding the most visible manifestation of what we, as an institution, think we’re all about. 

Sometime around 2004, when the red cube was provoking more than a few second thoughts (“Is this a bill from a department store in my mail, or something important from Cornell?”) University communicators in Day Hall researched the logo history.  In their report, “History of Cornell Marks,” they said this about the 1929 remake:

” Emblem is designed. It includes, around the shield (which was by then drawn most often with a flat top edge in lieu of the three-point scallop), a circular border that contains the name of the university and its founder. (The circular border is sometimes shown with a wavy outer edge, which implies the look of the melted edge of a seal stamped in wax.) From this point onward, this newer, more complex version of the emblem is referred to as the “University Emblem,” and the original University Emblem is referred to as the University Shield or the University Crest. (These name references are colloquial in nature; no official change in name of the university marks seems to have been made by the trustees.) This Emblem remained in use for several decades.”

Thanks for that history to Linda Mikula, who is one of those University communicators today. And to Clive Howard, one of the University’s top graphic artists, who was involved in the redesign of the current logo (So how come no one can read my famous ‘”Any person . . . any study” slogan in that little book in the logo anymore?) for explaining the “engraver’s marks.” Clive thinks you’re right, that sometimes the emblem had to be rendered in black-and-white. “Yes, to my understanding the dots and lines on the original shield were a way of representing colors, and technically are not part of the logo,” he says.

Contact Linda Mikula at University Communications http://univcomm.cornell.edu/ for the full text of “History of Cornell Marks.”  (She can also speculate why the Big Red Bear is sometimes portrayed with a fiercely competitive grimace, and other times with a mildly bemused look.) 

Your Uncle notes that logos come and go. The real and enduring “manifestations of what we, as an institution, think we’re all about” are the Cornell graduates — out there, everywhere, making the world a better place.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Sporcle Player,

Asking politely (“Where are you from? I love your accent!”) is a great way to meet new people—and learn more trivia.  Like the difference between the Commonwealth of Dominica, where people speak English and Creole on a 750-square-mile island they share with lots of birds. As distinguished from the Dominican Republic, where Spanish-speakers share the much larger island of Hispaniola with the people of the Republic of Haiti.

Of course Your Uncle didn’t know all this (except the D.R.-Haiti island part) until he looked it up on Wikipedia, which also says of the people of Dominica:  “The demonym  ‘Dominican’ in English, same as that for the Dominican Republic but unlike the Dominican Republic, in which the stress is on the first ‘i’, the stress is on the second ‘i’ “ for residents of the Commonwealth of Dominica.

Then Your Uncle had to look up “demonym” which turns out to be a name for a resident of a locality, as derived from the name of the particular locality.  That would make us locals “Ithacans.” Please don’t make fun of our accent.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Recycler,

You are in luck.  Ithaca is the city of all things alternative and sustainable. 

The eCenter is a program committed to enhancing our community, economy and environment through the reuse of electronics and computer technology.  Contact them or visit at:

eCenter
Finger Lakes ReUse
Triphammer Mall
2255 N. Triphammer Rd .
Ithaca, NY 14850
(607) 257-9699

Items We Accept:

Computer Related Equipment: Computers, Monitors ($5 acceptance fee for CRTs -- Read Our Policies), Laptops, Printers/Scanners, Wires, Cables, Hubs, Routers, Audio/Visual Equipment, Circuit Boards, Copiers, Fax Machines, Network Equipment

Home Electronics: DVD Players, CD Players, TVs**, VCRs, Cell Phones, Game Consoles, PDAs, Telecommunication Devices, Electronic Games, Calculators, Clocks

Business Electronics: Office Electronics, Medical Electronics, Bank Equipment, Scientific Equipment (not glass)

Items We Do Not Accept:

Floor Model Copy Machines, Cracked CRT or LCD Monitors, Non-Working TVs, TVs over 27'' (unless LCD/LED).

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Non-graduating Seniors,

Your Uncle checked with the Student Activities Office, where Jennifer Davis says:

“Graduating seniors may invite non-seniors to many events, but some events are exclusively for seniors only.  The senior week schedule typically is released the week before Spring Break.  Check with a senior as to what events you may attend when the schedule comes out.  Enjoy!”

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Parent,

Suspecting it costs more than two dollars to collect a two-dollar Bursar bill (with no extra charge for annoying tuition-paying parents) Your Uncle sent this query straight to the University Bursar, Peter E. Olcott, who knows about cost-effective “ebills” and a lot of other things.  Here’s the scoop from the Bursar:

“We’re always sorry to hear when our students and parents are frustrated as our office tries to provide information and communications to avoid these types of situations. In regards to our monthly billing, that was a business decision made many years ago so that students received timely invoices and the university received timely payments.  Billing information is on our website, bursar.cornell.edu, and is reviewed during new student orientation. As well, students and other payers (such as parents) receive a monthly email stating the ebill is available to view and the payment due date. The invoice also states payments made after the due date will receive a finance charge.”

Then Bursar Olcott goes on to say, “It’s difficult to say without knowing the details what the situation is for the outside scholarship. I would suggest the student start by contacting the donor and find out why the check is not arriving at the beginning of each semester. Outside scholarship checks are processed and credited to the student’s bursar account by the financial aid office, but the financial aid office can’t process payments they haven’t received, so the student needs to be proactive in resolving the situation. I would also add that both the bursar’s office and the financial aid office place a high priority on student service and work together every day to resolve issues, but I also understand the frustration these situations cause for all involved.”

Anyway, thanks, Dear Parent, for making Your Uncle aware of these problems.  Please write back if things get resolved — and especially if they don’t.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Puzzled,

A more tangible graduation wish (how about a nice red convertible?) might be easier than discovering the identities of campus spray-paint “artists.”  They exist somewhere between freedom-of-expression and campus codes that forbid defacing University property. 

There is an application process for students who wish to make art in public places (the Arts Quad, for instance) but cutting a stencil, buying a dollar-store can of paint, and making extra work for the University’s maintenance crews (who have to scrub these things off historic stonework) is not part of the process.

Sorry, end of lecture (almost) but Your Uncle is not amused by spray-painted images of Marilyn Monroe, cannabis leaves, bronco-riding cowboys or (in a much earlier era) Che Guevara.  Buddha probably isn’t laughing either.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Student,

As all colleges are different and so are individual circumstances, I suggest that you see someone in your college's academic Advising Office.  They will not only be able to help you deal with the course you are doing poorly in, but help you plan for next semester.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Book Seller,

Two possibilites come to mind: EBay or Craig's List; good luck.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Anxious Niece,

Sorry to take so long answering your question — here’s hoping you have that coveted invitation letter by now. 

In the A&S Dean’s Office, Tuyen Dang reports that the first round of 2011 Phi Beta Kappa letters were sent on January 17^th to the student’s home addresses.  There will be another round of invitations after the end of the spring semester.

Uncle Ezra