Two of the biggest upheavals in Cornell’s recent history, the 1969 Straight takeover and the pandemic shutdown in 2020, were separated by 51 years. But they shared one thing in common — the Cornell Sun was there to provide students, faculty and others with timely information on those momentous events.
I was a newly-minted freshman member of the Sun news board when black students seized the Straight on the eve of Parents Weekend, throwing the campus into turmoil. As rumors swirled and tensions flared, Sun staffers rushed to cover the story from all angles. Then of course there was no online edition and the print paper appeared only five days a week. But The Sun pulled out all the stops to publish a special weekend edition, and continued with extensive coverage as the crisis unfolded in the following days and weeks.
In keeping campus up-to-date during the fast-changing situation, The Sun performed a vital function in squelching rumors, providing accurate information on the actions of the occupying students, university administrators and the police, and giving voice to the students, faculty and activists reacting to events. By providing unbiased, accurate reportage, I believe The Sun helped prevent a volatile situation from spinning out of control.
Five decades later, I happened to be in Ithaca on March 13, 2020, when the administration, with no warning, cancelled classes and told students to go home because of COVID-19. Chaos and confusion reigned. With everyone looking for answers, The Sun scrambled to provide them. Editor-in-Chief Maryam Zafar '21, who had assumed the job just a week before, rallied her troops, who were soon spread across eight time zones, to keep working the phones and provide regular online updates on the University’s ever-fluctuating plans and COVID protocols.
The Sun’s online traffic soared to unprecedented levels as parents, staff, students and incoming students struggled to learn what was happening with classes, exams, graduation, admission, dorm assignments, employment, room and board payments, and all the rest. Again, the Sun proved to be a key resource for Cornellians. I mention this history not to brag on The Sun (or, not just to brag on The Sun), but to highlight the importance of the traditional media in providing reliable, fact-checked reporting about major events. These broadcast and print outlets once provided a common platform for debate which was spirited, contentious, but civil. As the late New York Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan famously said, "Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.”
Today, of course, that doesn’t seem to be true. The traditional media — the networks, the newspapers, including my former employers, the Chicago Tribune and TIME — have been largely displaced by a cacophony of online information sources of dubious reliability: social media, bloggers, partisan websites, etc. People now gravitate to the “news” they want to hear, and everyone is working from a different set of alleged “facts.” Over time, this has led to the distrust of institutions, harsh partisanship and polarization in society today.
Of course, many of the traditional media outlets — including The Sun — have moved online, too. They best still have top-notch editors and reporters who work hard every day to provide high-quality, balanced journalism. The trouble is that audiences are so locked into their different silos that most never hear what the mainstream media is saying. The only thing to do, I say to my old friends and colleagues in the business — and to my young friends in The Sun — is keep doing quality work you can be proud of and the audiences will find you.
Jay Branegan '72
Associate Editor
The Cornell Daily Sun is interested in publishing a broad and diverse set of content from the Cornell and greater Ithaca community. We want to hear what you have to say about this topic or any of our pieces. Here are some guidelines on how to submit. And here’s our email: associate-editor@cornellsun.com.
