Eight students from the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein, South Africa, are visiting Cornell as part of a two-week program to promote race reconciliation in the African country.

We sit with Karen Chi-Chi Lin '13, who spent her summer building a schoolhouse in South Africa. 

Culminating a week of events in celebration of International Women's Day, members of the Cornell and Ithaca community came together to honor local women's accomplishments.

Sam Sveen, creator and single member of Elsa and the awesomeAWESOMES, misunderstood my first question, “Are you a junior?” to be “Are you a genius?” His answer: “Yes. I’d like to think I’m a genius … but wouldn’t we all? I actually have an acoustic song titled, ‘I’d like to think I’m a genius.’”

I’ll let you decide for yourselves whether Sam is a true genius or not, but I certainly think that someone who can make the world’s most boring question into something far more interesting and fun at least has genius potential. Regardless, even if Sam doesn’t quite make the genius cut, there’s no denying that he’s awesome. In fact, make that awesome awesome.

Sun: So I have to ask you one more boring question. Where are you from?

CARLETONVILLE, South Africa (AP) — The last of 3,200 gold miners trapped for more than 24 hours in a deep shaft were brought safely to the surface Thursday night, ending one of South Africa's biggest rescue operations, mining officials said.

The final workers emerged just after 9 p.m., singing and dancing, according to the Harmony Gold Mining Co. No casualties were reported.

A pressurized air pipe snapped at the mine near Johannesburg and tumbled down a shaft Wednesday, causing extensive damage to an elevator and stranding the miners.

The rescue operation had dragged on longer than expected. Some of those stranded more than a mile underground had gone down Tuesday for the night shift.