Dear JRS,
I'm sorry it took so long to find an answer for you. I tried looking for Esperantists on campus, but there is no recognized group that speaks the language. Only 1 or 2 people in Modern Languages and Linguistics had ever heard of Esperanto, and neither Tompkins County Information and Referral nor Cornell Information and Referral could locate any practicing Esperantists for you. Olin Library has some information on Esperanto, but not on groups who wish to practice speaking it.
        As you probably know, it was invented 100 years ago by Dr. L.L. Zamenhof, a Polish Oculist. His goal was to create a language with none of the nationalistic baggage of English, French, German or other natural languages. As you've found, it is a simple language to learn, and rather fun, once you find people to speak it with.
        There is an International Esperanto Congress every year. Last year's was held in Beijing. This year it took place in Warsaw. In addition to the informa- tion you already have, you may want to look in the December 1986 edition of "The Atlantic" which contains an article on the Beijing congress, written by James Fallows.
        Other information about Esperanto is available in Olin Library, and from science fiction author Harry Harrison, who insists that it will be the galactic trading language. His suggestion, from the notes at the back of "The Stainless Steel Rat for President" is to write to:   ESPERANTO, P.O. Box 1129, El Cerrito, CA 94530.
        If there are any practicing Esperantists on campus who wish to get together to form a conversational group, you might try placing a PERSONAL in the Cornell Daily Sun.  If any interest develops, you could form a new student organization through Unions and Activities, or even offer a course through Cornell's Experimental College, coordinated by U&A. If Harrison is right, you may help bring Cornell into the galactic empire.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Pained,
If it's any comfort, you're not the only one who would like a softer touch.  A similiar question and response were posted on October 1, 1987 (OCT87, p.24).  In brief, the toilet paper is rough because the University buys in bulk from the lowest bidder.  You can guess how the Irving Paper Company keeps their costs down ... it's not by being easy on people. Until (and unless) the University switches to another supplier, there's not likely to be any change in this area.  If you can't bear the thought of continued discomfort, you might try an approach some international travelers have adopted - bring your own.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Readers,
The following letter from Jerry Wilcox, Director of the International Students & Scholars Office, continues the correspondence started on p. 136 of DEC87.  The subject was "Flustered and Foreign's" difficulties in obtaining an I-so form.


        "Thanks for sharing the consumer complaint about the visa eligibility forms.  In nearly every newsletter we send out to the non-immigrant population, we point out that F-1 visa holders must have their form I-20 signed before departure at least annually.  If this person is not receiving our newsletter, they should contact us immediately so we can make the address update.
        "I cannot defend the treatment the student received at the Registrar's office, but our two offices always coordinate so that someone is available to sign the I-20's.  I suspect (and I hope - UE) the student the complaintant describes was sent to our office and one of us signed the form." --Jerry Wilcox




        I don't know if this helps.  It's not unusual for administrators and offices to "spread the word" through newsletters without the intended receipients "getting the message."  The ISSO newsletters are attractive and well-written (they always send me copies), but students are barraged with so much information that it's easy to miss important notices.  Do you have any suggestions?  Jerry would be pleased to hear your ideas.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear ABC,
You raise a good question.  I'm sure the Financial Aid Office did not create this policy to punish hard-working students, but I was not sure what their reason was.  Therefore, I passed your letter on to Don Saleh, the Director of Financial Aid.  His response follows:


        "This policy is obviously not a popular one. It is not only unpopular with students, but with employers and with the financial and student employment staff. The idea of telling students who are working to help support themselves and/or add to their educational experience that they must limit earnings is contrary to what we all believe in.
        "The reason we have this policy is that the Federal government requires us to monitor all earnings (both work study and non-work study) for all students who receive certain types of Federal financial aid. After a student has earned all they are "allowed" to earn we are required to halt their campus employment. There are a number of different options and decisions within the Federal policy and we try to extend a student's employment elegibility as long as we can. However, we are frequently faced with a situation where we must tell a student that they can no longer work on campus.
        "On the good news side, there is a ray of hope that we will not be required to do this monitoring of non-work study employment next year. The reason that we may not have to is as technical as the reason that do have to. We have asked the Dept. of Education in Washington to respond to the issue and should know soon."     --Don Saleh
        There you have it...bad news / good news.  Students may think that taxes are the Federal government's only impact, but not so: they limit your earnings, too.  Remember to register to vote; it's an election year.  Uncle Ezra

Uncle Ezra   

Dear MHA,
Thanks for the pointer.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear Freezing,
According to CCS consultant Irv Wiswall, you can use CUINFO not only to ask your question, but (once you know how) to find the answer as well.  If you issue the command CUINFO COMPUTING TYMNET, you will see displayed a list of all local TYMNET telephone numbers in the U.S.  The Washington, D.C. numbers are on page 19.  I hope Washington is (was?) warmer.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear New Jerseyite,
Thanks for passing on that shortcut.  My only excuse for forgetting it is that I have an 88-year-old grandmother who lives near the intersection of I-81 & I-80 who I always visit when traveling south.  My apologies to anyone who went needlessly out of their way.

Uncle Ezra   

Dear MXF,
Rather than speculate, I went straight to the source - Dean David Drinkwater himself!  He was happy to write the following response:


        "I have no intention of foresaking higher education forever -- in fact I have little intention of doing anything forever -- but I am interested in working with younger students because of my interest in education and growth as it occurs throughout life.  I hope to bring some small measure of coherence to the compartmentalisation and discontinuity in education. I certainly look forward to shaping an educational community for which I am primarily responsible.  I am not averse to an increase in salary.  I will miss Cornell and Ithaca.  I am excited about the challenges that await me: an educational community that supports service, recognizes the importance of reflection, and understands that it must always refine and redefine its purpose.  I hope to retain full contact with my many Ithaca friends but know that both I -- and they -- must work on that."  --David Drinkwater
        As a colleague, I can assure you that we all will miss David.  He gave tirelessly to help improve the Cornell environment.  He's a tough act to follow.

Uncle Ezra