PHOTO | Why Join Photo?

SCIENCE | Why Join Science?

Science Editor Marissa Gaut reflects on how covering research and innovation at Cornell sparks curiosity, builds versatile writing skills and invites students to join the Science section to share groundbreaking stories with the campus and beyond.

NEWS | Why Join News?

News Editor Varsha Bhargava shares how her first interview with Provost Kavita Bala sparked her love for reporting and explains why students should join the News section to tell the stories that shape campus life.

BURZLAFF | The Unseen Labor on Campus

In his reflection on "small encounters," Professor Jan Burzlaff gives thanks to the many campus workers whose labor underpins the Cornell community.

JASO | Hunt, or Be Hunted

Opinion Columnist Francis Jaso’s A Contrarian’s Calamity begins its second installment in the wake of political bloodthirst. After the assasination of Charlie Kirk, Cornell is forced to face its dismal history of expression and the consequences that we succumb to when speech is substituted with bullets. 

ROMANOV IMBER | On Charlie Kirk’s Death

After the initial wave of discourse on the death of political activist Charlie Kirk, Assistant Arts Editor Sophia Romanov Imber '28 calls for a careful analysis of misconceptions on both sides of the aisle.

BURZLAFF | On Detours and Doubts

Opinion Columnist Jan Burzlaff challenges the myths that students must have their academic paths fully planned or begin flawlessly, instead emphasizing that uncertainty, early stumbles, and detours are inherent to the learning process and often lead to the most meaningful intellectual and personal growth.

ABOU-ALFA | Cornell's Best Dining Hall

HARNEY | Trump’s Henchman is Done Defying Court Orders: Now He Issues Them.

Liam Harney discusses the dangerous confirmation of Emil Bove III to the Third Circuit and the specter of a judiciary subservient to President Trump. 

GROSS | The Research University has Reached its Limit

Columnist Sophie Gross '27 argues that the recent funding cuts in research labs and universities across has exposed "some of the greatest weaknesses of the American research university model". She explains the problem with relying on federal funding in the first place: "Research must be paid for by someone, and that someone will only pay for research that they deem valuable."

STITH | News Analysis: The Corporate University at Work

Senior Yihun Stith leads the Opinion’s section’s first News Analysis piece on the recent release of police footage. He highlights Cornell’s doublespeak on free expression, arguing the administration's rhetoric of “debate and dissent” collapses into risk-management. Stith questions whether Cornell can ever be an open forum while operating as a corporate university first and teaching institution second. 

SCHECHTER | Cornell Can’t Write the Rules of this Game

Columnist Henry Schechter, in response to Yihun Stith’s recent column, defends Cornell’s lobbying as pragmatic rather than a betrayal, arguing that strategic engagement is necessary, so long as the University protects its core values.

STITH | Cornell's Secret Summer Affair

Senior Yihun Stith pulls back the curtain on Cornell’s quiet compliance with Trump, arguing that beneath the rhetoric of “shared values” lies a record of lobbying, complicity, and betrayal. Stith asks what it will finally take for Cornell to stand up to power instead of courting it.

AGRAWAL | Embrace Your Inner Fool?

Professor Agrawal confesses he’s a professional fool, one whose greatest successes (and most embarrassing failures) were built on magnificent delusions. In this welcome to the Class of 2029, he makes the surprising case that a little self-deception might be the most honest tool we have.

BURZLAFF | On Beginning Again

Columnist and Professor Jan Burzlaff provides hope for the upcoming semester. You're not navigating it alone.

DEMERS | ITHAKA

In his senior column, 142nd Masthead photography editor Ming DeMers takes inspiration from C.P. Cavafy's "Ithaka" to guide the reader through a tour of the most memorable locations of his Cornell experience.

ELMORE | Cheers to Everyone We Will Ever Meet

Sex on Thursday Columnist Grace Elmore relates her own graduation to a quote from Bill Nye: “Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don’t.” Her senior column looks forward to carrying her Cornell experience into the future.