Dear Uncle Ezra - Questions for Thursday, July 9, 1998

Dear Readers,
Uncle Ezra is on vacation for the Summer.  The questions below were received earlier in the year.  See the main "Dear Uncle Ezra"
page for details.

Dear Uncle Ezra,
SOMETHING HAS BEEN PLAGUING ME FOR A LONG TIME...
        Have you ever noticed those green pole-like things that stick out of the ground at various points all around Ithaca? They are in Cayuga Heights, Collegetown, downtown, etc. They are wider on the bottom and get skinnier near the top.  About half-way up, they have a closed, locked box on one side and a hole with a round grating over it on the other. ALL OF THEM ARE GREEN. My friends and I have hypothesized that they were once giant whistles that called people to work at Ithaca Gun. Or maybe they are gas vents for the sewer (but they sure don't smell). Or maybe they are alien probes. Uncle Ezra, you may have never seen these before, but once they are pointed out to you, you'd be surprised how many places you see them. Help me before I die without knowing the truth.

                                                                  Unsigned

Dear Plagued by Pole-like Probes,
Those are some mighty creative hypotheses! You've stumped my best experts at Maintenance Management...which is saying a lot. They guess these "poles" are vents on the natural gas system to prevent over-pressuring the system, but they can find out for sure if you give us an exact location of one or two. (If one of my contacts is abducted by aliens while researching this, can I hold you liable?)

Uncle Ezra

Dear Bugs,
Food Science Professor Joe Regenstein (JMR9@Cornell.edu) says they've been bred specifically to be small and sweet. A mere morsel for a rabbit like you, no doubt, but delicious nonetheless.

Uncle Ezra

Hey Ez-
I am the one who wrote to you about the pesky squirrels at Balch Hall (6/18/98 Q05), and frankly, your advice was not the best. The situation I feared JUST HAPPENED to the girl down the hall. We called the service center, and were told that there was nothing they could do since "housekeeping had left for the day." We asked about the RHD and on-call maintenance workers, CU police, and animal control and were basically told, "umm, sorry, but there's nothing we can do." In the end, we went in with the girl next door's hockey stick and got it out of the window. It was a potentially dangerous situation (hey -- you've seen the squirrels that eat out of the garbage cans. Who knows if they're rabid?), and no one would help us. I am very disappointed in the lack of support in this situation. At the very least, the person we spoke to should have sent an RA up

--A squirrel hater and chaser

Dear Squirrel Hater and Chaser,
At least you came up with a creative solution to a less-than-perfect situation! Peggy Beach, the Associate Director of Campus Life who helped with the previous answer, says she's sorry to hear that you had such problems and that Campus Life staff weren't very helpful. She will be sure to forward your letter to appropriate staff.

Uncle Ezra

DUE,
1) This actually might be a two-parter, so bear with me. First off, why is there a separate governing body for Africana and Latino fraternities/sororities. It seems to me that if an organization is going to exist on this campus as a social institution, and wear Greek letters, it should be subject to the same rules as IFC fraternities. The reason that I'm asking is that I have seen the groups of pledges that have to walk around in step, with the same clothing, with some kind of cadence, all the while keeping contact with the person in front of them and ignoring everyone around them. I won't even get into the people who are branded.  Call me crazy, but doesn't this constitute hazing? I know that if my house did this to our pledges, especially in public, we would be punished immediately.  Why should these houses have different rules, simply because they classify themselves as Africana/Latino? Shouldn't Cornell have some kind of higher jurisdiction to prevent this kind of abuse of its students?
        2) Why does the IFC judiciary committee have such ridiculous rules? They have no semblance of a fair judicial system, allowing such things as heresay and circumstantial evidence in prosecuting houses for offenses. They put the burden of proof on the defendant, making them prove that they did not commit an offense, rather than forcing the "prosecution" to prove that the offense was committed.

                                                                   Thanks,

                                                            Confused Greek

Dear Confused Greek,
I checked with Felicia Hunt, Director of Chapter Services for Fraternity and Sorority Affairs (537 Willard Straight Hall; 255-3346; fah5@cornell.edu):  Felicia reiterated that all hazing on campus, regardless of the student group or organization, is against University policy and State law.  These policies and laws are enforced in every case when a Greek organization is caught using an inappropriate pledge program.  Greek organizations which are members of the Africana and Latino/a Greek Leadership Council are subject to these same policies and laws.  Felicia says her office is working with these fraternities and sororities to help them understand which of their activities might constitute hazing.  If you would like a copy of the policies, you can pick up one in 537 Willard Straight.
        Felicia addressed your concerns about the IFC Judiciary Board by saying that seven chapter presidents meet every Monday to review cases that have been referred to the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs.  Each case is discussed by the Board and members of the chapter against whom charges were filed.  After discussion, the Board deliberates and comes to a resolution regarding the specific allegations.  This semester, some cases were thrown out; some chapters were given community service; and five chapters were put on social probation.
        If you have further concerns, it might be best to let Felicia or Randy Stevens (539 Willard Straight; 255-2310; rss4@cornell.edu) hear directly from you.
        Thanks for the information, Felicia!

Uncle Ezra

dear uncle ezra
i must say i'm very impressed by all your wonderful facts, so here's a question... can you tell me what the deal is with the trains ( i think they're trains) that storm by ithaca around 3:30 am. they are SO LOUD. their whistles sound like ships(boat horns) and they wake me up every single night. how come i don't hear them other than at 3 am??? Can you make them stop????

Unsigned

Dear Roused Early,
That's one whopper of a serenade, especially if you can't get back to sleep afterwards!  Because trains are such an inconvenience to downtown traffic -- including hospital-bound ambulances -- railway company staff at Conrail make an effort whenever possible to schedule the trains' passage through town during off hours.  When they do pass through town, the trains traverse some heavily peopled areas and need to give warning of their approach...hence, that sound you've come to dread.  No doubt at 3am you hear the whistle more clearly precisely because everything else is so quiet, so that there's no muffling effect from other noises.
        Q11 in the 5/9/95 "Dear Uncle Ezra" posting will give you some
more information about these trains.  But you don't need information so much as you need some sleep!  A "white noise" such as an electric fan can effectively screen out such background sounds.  Ear plugs also

Uncle Ezra

Hi again Uncle Ezra,
I found the locations of two of these perplexing green things. One of them is at the intersection of Highland and Wycoff (next to TKE, I think) and another one is at the intersection of Highland, Upland,and a third road (right across from Cayuga Heights Elem. School). There is another one in college town, on the street that Little Joe's is on (downhill from Little Joe's).
Thanks for your help!

Unsigned

Dear Plagued by Poles,
Andy Andersen (hfa2@Cornell.edu) graciously took his lunch break to explore the Highland Wycoff location on your behalf. As he thought, the green piping is owned by NYSE+G, which is stamped on the lock on the control box. He's 98 percent sure it's a system blowoff to prevent an over-pressuring of the gas system, and he has a call in to NYSE+G staff to make sure. If he hears back anything other than that, I'll let you know!

Uncle Ezra