Soundbites

Here is a sampling of quotations from Cornell University faculty, students and staff that have appeared recently in the national and international news media:

"James Madison ... conducted the opening dialogue of the American government by himself."

--President Hunter Rawlings, commenting on the fourth president on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of his birth, on "The Newshour with Jim Lehrer," March 22.

"People who want to live in a rural, comparatively isolated community have to realize that it may be harder for them to see Broadway plays. They have fresh air instead."

--Alfred Kahn, professor emeritus of economics, arguing that takeoff and landing slots at overcrowded LaGuardia Airport should be auctioned off to improve efficiency, even if it means nonstop flights to and from Ithaca would be cut back, in The New York Times, March 20.

"Genesis appears as a piece of political propaganda ... to justify the monarchy in general, and the kingship of David and Solomon in particular."

--Gary A. Rendsburg, Paul and Berthe Hendrix Memorial Professor of Jewish Studies, in an article about scholarly views of the Biblical King David and his historical role, in the March 19 edition of U.S. News & World Report.

"The commitment of colleges to admitting students regardless of their families' income has eroded as we have moved further in ... headlong competition."

--President Hunter Rawlings, discussing efforts by selective universities to maintain a commitment to need-based financial aid for students, in The Chronicle of Higher Education, March 16.

"When the government tells you how to achieve the desired result, you usually get a mess. It's better for them to penalize you for not getting a result, and let you figure out how to solve the problem."

--Robert Frank, the Goldwin Smith Professor of Economics, discussing how government should try to enact workplace reform and safety, in The New York Times March 13.

"Kids need to feel confident that if they come forward, their friends will be helped, and not just punished. Schools need to make sure every kid hears that message."

--James Garbarino, professor of human development, in an article in USA Weekend, March 2-4, about a recent school shooting in California.

"If a young daughter is dating, her parents may be concerned about her choice of partner or what she is doing with him. Presumably, their concern leads to arguments. That would be my guess."

--Kara Joyner, assistant professor of human development, discussing why her study of young adolescents found that young teens who are romantically involved have higher rates of depression than girls who are not involved, on AP Online, Feb. 14; also in Los Angeles Times, Feb. 13.

"The virtual world is clean and efficient, but its existence depends upon our wasteful and resource-starved physical world. Call me old-fashioned, but as long as cars run on gasoline and computers, in effect, run on coal and oil, we need to keep our techno-triumphalism in check and get to work on a real solution."

--Josh Glasstetter, a senior student majoring in political science, weighing in on the "New Economy" in an op-ed in the San Francisco Chronicle, Feb. 5.