Dear Uncle Ezra - Questions for Thursday, November 3, 2011

Uncle,

Much like our professors care about us, we care about our professors. I have a professor who I believe is the nicest person on the entire planet, and sometimes I think there is something going on. He comes in with injuries fairly often and while I wish him well and a speedy recovery, I don't think it's normal to always be hurt. Would it be overstepping my boundaries if I tell someone? If not, who would I tell? I certainly don't want to get him in trouble, but I do worry. Again, this is one of the best professors ever and I would feel terrible if anything bad happened.

Dear Concerned Student,

Part of being a member of a Caring Community is noticing when another community member, including a professor, might need help. So no – you are not overstepping your boundaries in telling someone about your concerns at all. A good starting point might be Cornell’s Faculty and Staff Assistance Program. You can call, confidentially, and share your concerns with one of the counselors. The number is 255-2673. In no way would your professor “get in trouble” – in fact, you may help your professor get some needed support. Thank you for noticing and caring!

Uncle Ezra

Dear Uncle Ezra,

Why are there no real grocery stores on or close to campus? This is my first year not living in a dorm with a regular meal plan, and it's extremely difficult to buy healthy food without a car. I know that there are great supermarkets in the area - Tops and Wegemans - but the bus is not an ideal way to buy a large amount of groceries. It's an hour for transportation, minimum, and then you have to carry heavy bags full of defrosting food from the bus stop back home. Why doesn't Cornell increase the food offerings in Bear Necessities or Jansen's?

The supermarkets are crowded practically 24/7, so I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to get business. Furthermore, it would be a great way to encourage healthy eating for students. Thanks, Your hungry nephew

Dear Hungry Nephew,

Grocery stores require space that we don’t have at Cornell, and they require a completely different business model than meal plan dining rooms and small cafes. A full-scale grocery store would not be an area where we would want to compete with our surrounding community.

There are two smaller grocery stores near campus that you might not know about. Jason’s Grocery & Deli located at 301 College Avenue features a large variety of grocery items. Additionally, Green Star Co-op Market, at 701 West Buffalo Street focuses on healthy foods and local producers. Cornell Dining has three convenience stores on campus, and it sounds as if you have been to Bear Necessities and Jansen’s Market. Each offers a large variety of grocery items, beverages, frozen and refrigerated foods, and an extensive line of snacks and goodies, in addition to health and beauty aids. Cornell Dining continually updates the product lines in these stores, but if there’s something specific you’d like to see stocked, send an email to Cornell Dining at the following: ha18@cornell.edu Cornell

Dining recently added a meal plan for students living off campus that you may be interested in. Cornell Dining’s Off-Campus Value Meal plan costs $690 per semester and is available to students who do not live in Campus Life Housing and are not enrolled in a meal plan. The Off-Campus Value Meal Plan features: · 45 meals during designated service periods in the ten residential dining rooms (including 104West! additional charges apply for Shabbat, holiday and special meals without a reservation at 104West! except Passover week for which additional charges apply.) · $150 in Big Red Bucks each semester · 4 bonus meals (to be used for guests) per semester Although this meal plan was just introduced, it has become very popular with students living off campus.

I hope this is information is helpful.

Uncle Ezra

Dear Uncle Ezra,

Do the seven banners in Jansen's Dining Room in Hans Bethe correspond to the seven undergraduate colleges? If that's the case what is the significance of the pineapple in (what I assume to be) the logo of the School of Hotel Administration?

Dear Wonderer,

The seven banners in Jansen's Dining Room in Hans Bethe do correspond to the seven undergraduate colleges: College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, College of Architecture Art and Planning, College of Arts and Sciences, College of Engineering, School of Hotel Administration, College of Human Ecology, and the School of Industrial and Labor Relations.

The logo for the School of Hotel Administration is the pineapple and it is significant because the pineapple is in fact the universal symbol for hospitality. In the 18th century pineapple motifs were carved above doorways and gates to symbolize a warm welcome to guests in the home. This tradition was copied from the Native Americans, who would hang pineapples above the entry way to their homes to welcome guests.

Uncle Ezra

DUE,

I will be graduating this coming semester and love Ithaca so much that I will be staying! I was curious to know what "benefits" alumni have in Cornell. More specifically, can we use RedRover and take out books from the libary system?

Thanks!

Nephew

Dear 14850 Nephew,

The benefits to alumni living in Ithaca are many, which explains why Ithaca has the 6th most Cornellians of any region around the world (7,000+). Not only do many alumni stick around after graduation, but each year brings countless alumni back to Ithaca for a variety of reasons (grad school, job, to raise a family, retirement, etc.).

Besides all the phenomenal cultural, intellectual, and recreational activities offered by Ithaca, local residents have access to countless lectures, concerts, and campus events all year round. It's like all the best parts of being a Cornell student, but without all the classes, exams, and homework. Now you can catch up some of those "161 Things to Do Before You Graduate."

With a NetID, you still have access to RedRover, and alumni have various library privileges as well (see: http://alumni.library.cornell.edu/askalibrarian.html).

You can also get involved in alumni groups like the Cornell Alumni Association of the Ithaca Area, which hosts events throughout the year. And being in Ithaca also makes travel to big alumni weekends like Homecoming and Reunion a lot more convenient!

Uncle Ezra

Dear Uncle Ezra: Why is there no heat in Low Rise 7?? And when will we stop freezing??!

Dear Student,

When you sent this question, the heating system in Low Rise 7 was temporarily disabled due to technical issues that Facilities staff members were working to fix. Very shortly afterwards you should have felt the heat come back on again.

In the future, please If you think the heat in your building or in your room isn’t working, please submit a maintenance request directly to Facilities by visiting housing.cornell.edu and clicking “Place a Maintenance Request” in the left-hand menu bar.

Uncle Ezra

Uncle Ezra,

I have been told that my fiance's great grandfather, Henry (or Heinrich) Mente was an instructor of German and acrobats at Cornell in the late 19th century. Do you have any info about him and his work at Cornell and in Ithaca?

Thanks, Karin

Hi Karin,

As far as I can tell, there were two people named Henry Mente in
Ithaca around the turn of the century, a father and son. The elder
Henry, a Civil War veteran who had immigrated from Germany, died in
1906. I found an obituary of the elder Henry in the Ithaca Daily News,
and the death of the younger Henry in 1926 was covered by The Cornell
Daily Sun (http://cdsun.library.cornell.edu/cgi-bin/newscornell ?a=d&srpos=1&cl=search&d=CDS19261009.2.6.5).
However, neither of the obituaries mention a Cornell connection or
anything about acrobatics or gymnastics. There doesn't appear to be
anything in the Cornell library catalog or faculty necrology either,
but it's certainly possible that one of them had an informal role with
the university.

A Google search reveals a family tree document that includes the Mente
family and indicates that the elder Mente was the gymnast, citing his
death certificate and other records.

Thanks to Corey Ryan Earle for the research on the Mente Family.

Uncle Ezra

Dear Uncle Ezra,

I am a senior living in college town in a 7 bedroom apartment. We signed our least last October not knowing that only one of our bathrooms works. Since we have moved in, we have had infestations of spiders, slugs, and crickets. Every time the residents in the apartment above us take a shower, our ceiling leaks brown water. We have continuously complained to our landlord, but instead of fixing our problems he has threatened us and made sexist and racist remarks to us. We have gone to both the Cornell Off Campus housing department and the town of Ithaca and nothing has been done. We have written a letter of complaint to the landlord that was CC'd to both Cornell and the Off Campus house department and Ithaca but still, we only have 1 toilet and 1 shower in an unventilated bathroom for 7 girls. What do you recommend we do?

Thanks,

A Desperate Senior

Dear Desperate Senior, I spoke with the Off-Campus Housing Office regarding your current situation. Please feel free to come to the office (531WSH) again for more information and referrals as there are a few resources you may utilize. They suggested the following: · Make a formal complaint to Ithaca Building Department (ibd@cityofithaca.org )requesting an inspector comes to the property · Make a formal complaint to Mike Danaher (Michael.Danaher@ag.ny.gov), the NYS Assistant Attorney General in Binghamton. · The Tompkins County Community Dispute Resolution Center is a local mediation organization that can help you and your landlord. They have a referral forms in the office. · To continue to documenting all interactions with the landlord and the ongoing issues and take photos as it would be in your best interest you.

Uncle Ezra

Dear Uncle Ezra,

Although I am enjoying my freedom and being away from home, there is something I am really missing: my dog. I won't be going home until winter break and I think I would be happier being reunited with my dog than with my parents. That being said, I am considering getting a pet to have on campus. I really want a snake. What disciplinary action would be taken against me if I were to be found with a snake in a residence hall?

Dear Pet Enthusiast,

According to the Campus Life Center, under policy 2.8 on "Pets on Campus" it states that no pets are allowed in residence halls with the exception of small fish in a tank no larger than 10 gallons. There are a couple of other exceptions such as guide dogs and any animals used for research and approved by a specific program within the university.

The repercussions of breaking this policy will be up to your residence hall director. Most typically it will consist of some sort of ticket or fine, as well as payment for any damages caused by the ownership of the pet. You can find more information on this topic by reading through the policy here: http://www.dfa.cornell.edu/cms/treasurer/policyoffi ce/policies/volumes/facilities/upload/vol2_8.pdf.

Uncle Ezra

Hello dearest uncle,

I know that you're probably being inundated by new students asking questions about where they can find Hughes Dining and how to deal with naked roommates, but hopefully you can find a few minutes to help out an alum with a bit of a financial crisis on his hands.

I just graduated this past May, and while I'm on the job hunt, I've been living with my parents. Since I started my freshman year, I haven't spent a whole lot of time here, between working away from home and people-watching between classes in Libe, but now that I've been at home for three months, it's become increasingly apparent that my family is slowly going under financially.

With two parents in relatively low-paying jobs, one child in college, and another who will be graduating from high school soon, we seem to be stuck in the huge rut known colloquially as the lower middle class. Between bills, mortgage payments, a single family vehicle that was repossessed a few years ago (which seems to somehow have more owed on it now than its purchase price?) and an upcoming surgery that will put one of my parents on short-term disability, life is already tough enough.

But the real problem here is that our house is literally crumbling around us. The roof is leaking, the bathrooms are falling apart, and with poor air sealing and an almost complete absence of insulation, the utility bills (even with the thermostat set at a shivery 63 during the winter) are through the roof. I'm doing what I can, but Ez, even with my Cornell BS, I don't have the skills necessary to fix things properly and we certainly don't have the money to hire somebody else. What the heck are you supposed to do when the repair bill on your house is more than it's worth, and your parents are too proud to ask for help?

So here's where you come in. I know, in theory at least, that there are programs to help out people like my family. But without some advocate or NPO to tell me where to look, I'm completely lost. You have an awesome network of people at your disposal, and I am sorely in need of some Uncle-tastic advice.

Thanks so much,

Still Treading Water

Dear Still Treading Water,

I don't know what is availble in your area, but if you were here in Ithaca you would contact the Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services. There might be an organiaztion like them, near you. You might want to call them to see if they have a listing of resources in other communities, http://ithacanhs.org/.

You are not alone. The Occupy Wall Street folks are making it clear to everyone that the middle class in America is eroding in this ecomomy and the people in the suburbs are likely to be struggling financially more than ever before.

Uncle Ezra