The Keyword Bar IV

27 05 2009

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Yeah, it’s a cop out. I’ll do a more substantial entry in the next day or two. After that, I’ll be 800 miles from Ithaca for my summer work, so updates might be sparse in June and July.

1. “collegetown terrace apartments architect” (5-22-09)

Well, let’s look at the May 26, 2009 Ithaca planning board agenda:

 

The applicant proposes to construct rental housing aimed at students with approximately 1,260 bedrooms (a net gain of 625 bedrooms) in new and existing apartment buildings on a contiguous site of approximately 16.4 acres. The proposed new building design calls for seven new structures, six of which will be 65’ wide with three stories of apartments and up to two levels of parking at grade or below. Site development will require the demolition of all existing buildings and associated structures, roadways, vegetation, and landscaping on the project site, with the exception of those buildings within the East Hill Historic District. The project is on the R-3A and P-1 Zoning Districts and a portion the site is in the East Hill Historic District. This is Type I Action under both the City of Ithaca Environmental Quality Review Ordinance (174-6 (B)(1)(d), (h)[2], [3] & [4] & (k), (n), & (3) ) and the State Environmental Quality Review Act (617(b)(5)(iii) and is subject to environmental review. An Environmental Impact Statement is anticipated for this project.

Collegetown Terrace Apartments, East State Street, Trowbridge and Wolf LLP, Applicant for Owner, Collegetown Terrace Apartments LLP (c/o John Novarr). Intent to Declare Lead Agency.

In case anyone’s wondering, the board agenda is largely the same as last month, with the addition of two proposed duplexs in the city, and the 121 Oak Avenue Project, which was initially proposed for C-Town before the moratorium went into effect, and is now once again being considered. Offhand, I believe that calls for a three-story, six-unit apartment building.

Trowbridge and Wolf, as mentioned previously, does most of its work for educational and healthcare facilities, as well as forays into urban planning and trail design [1]. Since the closest thing they’ve done to a residential project is Cornell West Campus (which design-wise you either like or hate, and I fall into the latter), it’ll be worth looking at the renderings when they’re released.

2. “direction to teagle hall from anabel taylor” (5-23-09)

Oh, I love graduation season. For the record, the direction would be almost directly east. I’ll admit, it was kinda sad to see some of my senior friends bid their farewells to the place far above Cayuga, but it’s just one more chapter in the history of Cornell. As Skorton said in his speech to the seniors, “we’re counting on you” [2].

3. “cornell gates hall” (5-8-09)

Yes, it has been a while since we last checked in on that. It’s still in the concept phases, i.e. needs more money. [3]

4. “cornell agr hazing” (5-1-09)

Maybe. If there’s three things that always seem to get hits for this blog, they are “suicide”, “hazing” and “average <engineering, aem, hotel…> gpa”. It might reflect poorly, but I don’t feel strongly about it either way, I just think that those topics are the things that people go to the internet for because they tend to be sensitive issues, so people seek anonymity by looking online. Just my two cents.

5. “can i be in 2 frats at the same time” (5-14-09)

Back in the day, yes. In the older days of the late 19th century and early 20th century, many a “college man” could call himself a member of two social fraternities, as well as multiple honoraries and service fraternities. However, the practice was largely shut down by the 1920s and 1930s, as many national organizations wrote additions to their bylaws prohibiting co-membership with other social organizations. Most hononaries and service groups still allow for membership in multiple organizations, as long as they don’t directly interfere with one another’s purpose of activities (ex. you can’t be a member of two business fraternities, but being a member of a professional, a service, and a social is okay).

6. “is a c+ a bad grade cornell” (5-10-09)

Depends on the course, I’d think. Everyone has their own challenges and difficulties in a course, so if you worked your tail off for a C+, then that’s just how it plays out, and you do the best you can, even if it isn’t the best grade in class. Don’t know what else to say.

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[1]http://www.twla.com/projects/

[2]http://www.cornell.edu/president/speeches/20090524-convocation-address.cfm

[3]http://www.pdc.cornell.edu/project_management/project_management_projects.cfm





Off-Topic: The Keyword Bar III

31 03 2009

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Another fun off-topic entry where I get to comment on some of the more interesting searches that picked up this blog. Otherwise known as my excuse for an entry because I’m in a busy period.

1. “ithaca death hotel ezra cornell” 3/29/09

Technically, I’ve never posted much on this because I’ve never been able to verify it. Story goes that two hotel students experimenting with drugs decided to climb out onto a building ledge and see if they could fly during Hotel Ezra Cornell. Makes for a great story if you’re in to that macabre sort of thing. The incident was supposed to have happened sometime in the 1980s.

2. “cornell’s s—-t s——-s ithacating” 3/26/09

Long story short, I received a face-to-face warning to take down a certain entry. I know it keeps triggering fruitless searches, but it makes for a fun story that I caused them to get their panties all in a bunch over a blog entry.

3. “bradfield hall eighth floor cornell” 3/26/09

Is nothing special. For those who have yet to venture through the upper floors of Bradfield, the building in entirely lined with brick with lab and work rooms coming off each side. Also worth noting is that with the exception of the first floor, men’s rooms are on odd floors and ladies on even floors. This was due to a budget cut during its design phases.

4. “kdr pledge pin” 3/23/09

Little blue shield-style badges with a red diagonal stripe saying “KDR” in gold print.  There’s actually an entire website dedicated to that sort of thing: http://www.fratpin.com.

5. “”green cafe” ithaca new korean” 3/22/09

Yes, I’m just as aware of it as the rest of you. This restaurant opened at 300 College Avenue this past week. It’s owned by Charles Park and modeled after his flagship cafe in Manhattan[1]. I myself don’t plan on spending 7.50 for a sandwich (not to dissuade anyone else of course), but if someone wants to share reviews, by all means go ahead.

I think this is the first time in several years all four corners have been competely occupied. The least time may have been when Sam Gould’s Collegetown Store (NE corner – now the Ciaschi Building), a dilapidated oversized apartment house (NW corner – now Starbucks), a convenience store (SE corner – Kraftee’s) and a BoA branch (Green Cafe) occupied the corners in the mid 1980s.

On that note, the Starbucks building is owned by Avramis Real Estate, which has built or completely remodeled several properties in the past few years [400 College, 227 Linden, 319 College – 2]. I  suspect that with the lifting of the moratorium next month, the Collegetown Liquor Store or M&T Bank property, both Avramis properties, will be next in line for redevelopment.

6. “john rancich and his new projects 2009” 3/18/2009

Which one, the wind farm in Enfield [3], or Carrowmoor? Man’s got a lot of stuff planned for little ol’ Tompkins County.

7. “delta kappa epsilon branding” 3/17/2009

Um…possibly? This blog devotes no resources to the discussion of pledging procedures. A search on google brings up a very informative article about branding by multicultural fraternities and sororities.

I have lost count how many sorority ritual hits I’ve received about Kappa Delta’s “dagger”, or Alpha Phi’s secret words, or Sigma Kappa’s “blood ritual”.

8. “ithacating in cayuga heights” 3/11/09

Really? I know the name’s a little wordy, but I didn’t think it was that hard to remember. I guess that’s because I’m the one writing it.

Taking a look at the top search terms now…out of about 21,000 or so hits since Ithacating was launched last June…

“Corten steel (506 hits)” and “corten (485 hits)”. Nearly 1,000 hits for a type of steel I only mention for the sole fact that it’s the steel used on the exterior of Uris Hall. “ithacating” comes in third with 117 hits.

Meanwhile, “sigma chi cornell” claims the most hits out of any Greek chapter, with 76 hits. I think my own chapter has had maybe 10. A good number of greek searches are actually meant for RPI, Penn State and the University of Toronto. But, I only cover Cornell, with a little bit of Ithaca College. Sorry!

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[1]http://cornellsun.com/node/36278

 [2]http://avramisrealestate.com/index.htm

[3]http://www.theithacajournal.com/article/20080816/NEWS01/808160327





Off-Topic: The Keyword Bar, Second Edition

30 11 2008

Sometimes, the search engine keywords that bring people here are better than any entry I could come up with.

[1] kappa delta dagger during initiation (11-24-08 ); “pi kappa alpha” ritual salt (11-22-08 )

Really now? Here’s a tip: secret rituals aren’t likely to be found online. Here’s another tip: blogs will save your search terms.

[2]sit on grass (11-26-08 )

Yes, I think we all enjoy doing that in the warmer months. But I honestly have no idea how it would be part of a blog, let alone this one.

[3]should i join sigma chi or sae cornell (11-26-08 )

Not my realm of expertise. This blog strives to maintain neutrality. Also, would you honestly trust any information that you find online? This is as bad as the fraterntity rankings that someone put on the Cornell forum at College Confidental (which I won’t link to, because it goes against my commitment to neutrality).

[4] corten steel (206 times)

Okay, I referenced this but once, when I was talking about Uris Hall. Now this blog has become a magnet for queries about “corten stell”, the most popular search item, “corten” (#2, at 70 hits), and cor-ten (#7, at 26 hits).

[5] delta chi cornell (21 hits).

Reasonably, searching for cornell and a given fraternity or sorority is sure to bring up this site somewhere within the search. Delta Chi seems to be the most popular search of the bunch, followed by Chi Psi (20 hits) and Sigma Chi (17 hits) respectively (identified by the keywords “cornell ‘fraternity name'”). Perhaps a little bit to my disappointment, I’ve never seen my own fraternity come up in a search yet, one of maybe five that I’ve yet to see in my keyword bar history. The most popular sorority is Alpha Omicron Pi, with only 9 hits.

[6]natural resources sucks cornell (11-08-2008 )

Funny, I know three or four natty rys majors who would say otherwise. I’m sorry to hear that.

[7]olivia tjaden (11-10-2008 )

If you’re going to do a search, know what you’re searching. Granted, there’s the extremely remote possiblity someone was searching for an olivia tjaden and not Olive Tjaden 25’, but that’s about as likely as a car driving through my window.

[8]cornell off campus house for rent my fat (11-12-2008 )

Fill in the blank? Any takers? Does the search bar have a space limit, because if it does, that’s a real shame for this person.

[9]have lost hope in cornell’s greek system (11-13-2008 )

Speaks for itself.

[10] cornell nastys (11-18-08 )

Plus one point for using the colloquial term of a popular Cornell dining facility. Minus five for failing to spell “nasties” correctly. This becomes even more ironic when you consider the news tidbit on Metaezra concerning the Cornell student who can’t spell.





Off-Topic: Q & A

23 08 2008

I’m taking it easy with this post, since I was directing cars on the Balch Lawn for a large portion of the day (welcome freshmen, to what could be the best four years of your life!). Occasionally in the search bar, someone types in a question. Let’s take a look at what people want to know.

1. “llenroc kicked off campus”

Ans: To my knowledge, this has not happened in recent history.

2. “dke secrets fraternity initiation 60’s”

Ans: If they were secrets, chances are that information isn’t going to be readily accessible, so how it would even be on the internet or in libe documents is beyond me. Many fraternities operate with some clandestine functions, but in my experience, it’s less in terms of cloak-and-dagger and more because it makes pledging and private functions all the more interesting. Case in point, the fraternity of Phi Kappa Psi advertises secrets concerning spatial geometry on its website [1].

3. “new restaurants ithaca”

Ans: Well, Bistro Fry in Collegetwon has been replaced with Jack’s Collegetown Grill. And a couple buildings down from the State Street Diner is a new restaurant called “Fine Line Bistro”. TBP opens up a new location on the Commons next month, and a second restaurant will be moving into what used to be the used bookstore on the Commons. Olivia’s has also permanently closed. Fair enough?

4. “sigma nu kicked off campus cornell”

Also, not in any recent history. What is up with people thinking so many fraternities have been kicked off campus?

5. “why people love cornell university”

Yes, this was an actual question. However, I don’t feel I can provide an adequate answer. This isn’t because I haven’t enjoyed my time here; I’ve found Cornell to be a rewarding and stimulating experience, if a little academically frustrating at times. But everyone has their own reasons for loving Cornell. And unless I could somehow compile all the answer together in one long list, than I really can’t provide a full answer to that question. We all have our own reasons for loving the institution that is Cornell.

6. ” cornell fraternity fall rush 2008″

Haven’t heard anything about it. Registration is linked from the OFSA (Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs) website. Traditionally, fewer fraternities participate in the fall rush, which is primarily transfer students along with a few curious upperclassmen. However, the fall rush has been decsribed as more intimate by some of its proponents, in the sense that you get to know rushees better. I’m sure if you send an e-mail to the OFSA or IFC folks, they’ll be able to fill you in on which houses are doing rush and any other details you should know. Oh, and there might be a promotional pamphlet going out for fall rush at some time soon.

7.””anna comstock hall” latino”

Well, yes, yes it is. Originally built in 1924 as a combination of faculty and graduate housing, Anna Comstock Hall was programmed as the Latino Living Center in the fall of 1994. This was after a peaceful occupation of Day Hall from November 19-22, 1993, where several events that strongly concerned members of the school’s Hispanic population caused them to stage a demonstration and a sit-in on the building to voice their concerns [2]. Day Hall is a frequent target for occupation anyway (do a google search on Redbud Woods for another example).

8. “ithaca college cornell tension”

Really? There must not be a whole lot of it. If anything, it’s because Cornell’s larger and in the Ivy League, so they tend to steal attention away from IC. But as for tension, there’s not much from what I’ve heard. But we also don’t mingle too often, with the exception for some muscial and theater groups, and Cornell staffers with ICTV.

9. “cascadilla dorm + asylum”

For the last time, NO. Casca was built for the original purpose of a water sanitarium, but never even functioned as such. Old Ezra was a major investor who took the building for his own uses when it appeared the sanitarium project would never get off the ground. That was back in 1866.

10.  “cornell living above ctb”

Dunno what that must be like. A little loud at times, I would guess. Anyone care to give a more accurate description from their own experience?

[1]http://www.phikappapsi-cornell.org/141-tour-mystery.asp

[2]http://cornellsun.com/node/26269





Off Topic: The Keyword Bar

3 08 2008

So, one of the nice little extras included with WordPress is that they offer you a glance at what searches, googled or otherwise, brought up an entry from a blog. So, I find it a source of some amusement to see the search items people uses to find Ithacating in Cornell Heights.  

~Some of the entries are questions; for some unknown, and ultimately fruitless, reason, these are usually questions from pre-frosh concerning rooms:

“pictures doubles donlon”, “floor plan of clara dickson hall cornell”, “balch hall holes in walls”, etc.

I’m not sneaking into freshman dorms just to take photos, mind you. I’m a little sketchy, but not enough to do that.

~Also popular searches seem to be “cornell” and construction is some form. for example:

“cornell milstein hall”, “milstein hall cornell to be completed”, “gates hall cornell”, “corten architecture”, “cornell construction projects university”, “cornell does keeton have a dining hall”, etc.

To answer the last one, that is in fact a yes.

~Since I like to delve into the Greek System and it’s history, many of the searches are named of fraternities and sororities. But then there’s some eyebrow-raising ones:

“powerful, historical fraternities”, “dos and don’t of the alpha sigma phi”, “psi upsilon cornell kicked off campus” “homosexual ___ ___ ___”, etc…

The homosexual one seemed to be an attempt to find where there were gay men at certain Cornell fraternities. An interesting idea, but one that violates the privacy of others, and therefore not subject to this blog. I edited out the names out of respect.

~Lastly, and maybe the one that makes me squirm a little: “ithacating in cornell heights” seems to be coming up a fair amount. It’s odd to see people actually seeking this blog out.