Dear Reader,

I guess I would have to say that it was all my (Ezra Cornell) doing. When I first passed through Ithaca, at the age of seven, I was on my way to Geneva to visit my own uncle.   I remember that day, standing at the foot of East Hill looking down into the valley of Ithaca and thinking how beautiful the city looked from a distance and how amazing Cayuga Lake was.  I had never seen anything larger than a millpond before that day.

Later, after I moved to Ithaca, I bought the land that in now Cornell University and ran it as a farm for many years.

Then in 1865, I stood with Andrew White, Alonzo Cornell and Frances Miles Finch at the top of the hill looking for a location for the university. I said, "Young gentleman, you appear to be considering the location of half a dozen buildings, whereas some of you will live to see our campus occupied by fifty buildings and swarming with thousands of students."  They asked where I would build.  I swung my arms north and south and said, "Here, on this line extending from Cascadilla to Fall Creek.  We shall need every acre for the future necessary purposes of the university."

My companions complained that this site was inaccessible, far from the village, rough, gullied and roadless.  But I, Ezra Cornell, got my way and at my direction they drove the first stakes to mark building # 1.  

Since my memory is a bit weak these days, I gathered my info from that wonderful book, "A History of Cornell", by Morris Bishop.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Stuck,

Sorry, but athletics, in conjunction with the student body, rarely arranges for a bus to a particular contest unless it is for a Syracuse game or NCAA tournament game. Any bus going from Campus to Campus and then train to Yale? Hope this is a viable option.

Another possibility is to check with one of the Cornell Ride Boards to see if someone is going who could give you are ride, http://cuinfo.cornell.edu/Student/RideBoard/.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Student,

As you know, Cornell is made up of seven undergraduate colleges.  Each sets their own priorities and rules. Each school at Cornell offers different things to their students.  If you would like to explore the idea of having Humanities or Arts and Sciences give students a stipend for printing you can contact them to make a request, but during these tight financial times, I doubt you would get very far.  It might be worth investing in a printer of your own to cut costs.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Neph,

They aren't listed because they are not official Cornell Dining eateries.  They are part of the Statler and Hotel School.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Curious Cornellian,

Certain questions should never be asked after class, in those precious moments when the smarty-pants types rush forward to shine, and the truly befuddled math students seek clarification on that day’s lesson.  Like, “Will that assigned reading really be on the prelim?”

Probably more acceptable, even flattering, would be: “Are you at all related to the pioneering mechanical-engineering educator, Robert Henry Thurston (1839-1903); director of Sibley College here at Cornell (after stints at Stevens and at the U.S. Naval Academy); founding president of the ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers); inventor of the Autographic Recording Testing Machine; the trend-setter who brought laboratory-based scientific research to the engineering practice e.g. steam engines and boilers,  thermodynamics, materials, friction, and energetics?”

The point is, never ever hesitate to pose meaningful questions directly to any of your professors.  You might back hear from William “Bill” Thurston, the Jacob Gould Professor of Mathematics: “We may be related, but if so we're not closely related. Sent from my iPad”

All the more reason to ask those questions in person, student-to-prof, after class or during office hours.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Student,

All undergraduate residences will close for Winter Break on Saturday, December 17 at 2:00pm, with the exception of Holland International Living Center, which stays open for its international residents. According to the terms and conditions for your housing contract, those who remain in their room or apartment past that time – without having received prior permission for a late departure – are charged $36 per hour for the time they remain in their residence.

If you are unable to depart from your residence by 2:00pm on December 17, you will have the opportunity to contact your Residence Hall Director, House Assistant Dean, or Graduate Residence Manager ahead of time to request permission for a late departure. Requests are handled on a case-by-case basis, but priority is given to international students whose travel plans are limited by flight schedules; those who are approved for a late departure are charged $36 per night for the time they stay in university housing. If Cornell cannot provide you with accommodations beyond December 17, your RHD, HAD, or GRF can provide you with a list of nearby hotels/motels so you can reserve lodging until you’re able to go home.

Uncle Ezra   

Dera Niece,

Yes, contact the school that you are interested and ask what you need to do to apply.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Romantic,

Ah, peonies are one of my favorite flowers.  But they are a spring flower so I think it would be near impossible to find any during fall in upstate New York.  But there are many flowers sold at markets throughout Ithaca that might also suit your fancy.

If you want to buy plants or flowers on campus, your best bet is Hortus Forum.  They often have plant and flower sales, http://www.rso.cornell.edu/hortusforum/Pages/Plant%20Sales.htm.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Student,

Cornell has recently geared up to help undergraduate students get involved in research early in their academic career.Here is a site that will tell you everything that you need to know to get started no matter what college or major you are in at Cornell,  http://www.research.cornell.edu/undergrad/.

Good luck and have fun!

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Alum,

The University Calendar has been subject to changes throughout Cornell's history and is currently undergoing yet another review. Changes to the calendar are perhaps one of the biggest juggling acts that university officials are tasked with, with a change at one end of the calendar affecting dates throughout the year. And nearly every change invokes the wrath of faculty, students, or staff for one reason or another.

With the exception of the major calendar changes during the war years of the 1910s and 1940s, Cornell's commencement was in mid-June for most of the twentieth century. It shifted to early June in the late 1960s when a study week was added to each semester, landing on June 1st for the Centennial Commencement in 1968 (which moved the ceremonies from Barton Hall to the Arts Quad for that year). Until the change, summers ended with Labor Day weekend, and classes began in mid-September.

In the early 1970s, the University Senate switched to an "early start, early finish" system, with a May 26th Commencement in 1972. The 1972-73 school year was the first to have registration before Labor Day and final exams before Christmas. Before that year, Christmas break split the end of classes and the start of final exams in January, instead of acting as a break between semesters.

The day of the week for Commencement ceremonies has changed a number of times, generally landing on a Monday until a switch to Sunday in the early 1980s.

Uncle Ezra