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Dragon Day Disappointment
Last week, Dragon Day was met with a rude surprise on behalf of the New York State government.
According to the Cornell Daily Sun, new regulations established by the State Department of Environmental Conservation mandate that only wood and agricultural products can be burned. Thus the Engineers could not burn the Dragon, which the architects constructed using paint and glue.
Instead, students burned a contrived "nest" built of wood and hay.
A fifth year architecture student told the Sun that the Dragon was behind 10 feet of police tape. He said, "I wish it wasn't as regulated as it was this year. It used to be a lot freer in the past."
Both the state and the administration bear responsibility for unrightfully taming the Dragon. Any rational observer could tell you that New York State did not design the regulation to destroy a century-old university tradition. Instead, it enacted the measure to control large firms from consistently burning large amounts of toxic waste.
The Dragon's survival serves as another example of the inflexibility of bureaucracy. State regulators should have included some exemptions or allowed for a waiver process, but instead, they blindly forced their hand without regard for individual communities.
New York's bureaucratic machinery might be a lost cause, and the administration is making itself look like it is as well. Provost Fuchs or President Skorton could have easily accessed the highest levels of the state government to obtain permission for students to burn the Dragon like they always have. Instead, students only heard cheerleading from Provost Fuchs who said, "The students and the staff are enjoying it" and that "this year ['s dragon] looks like one of the best."
Students know the influence Cornell has on state government, just look at the photos of Skorton glad-handing Governor Patterson late last year. Maybe he should have used that relationship to preserve a university tradition.
The Cornell Police and the administration should protect the student's personal safety on Dragon Day; after all, the event involves a blazing inferno. But the university should start standing for itself and its traditions, instead of kowtowing to irrelevant regulations.
According to the Cornell Daily Sun, new regulations established by the State Department of Environmental Conservation mandate that only wood and agricultural products can be burned. Thus the Engineers could not burn the Dragon, which the architects constructed using paint and glue.
Instead, students burned a contrived "nest" built of wood and hay.
A fifth year architecture student told the Sun that the Dragon was behind 10 feet of police tape. He said, "I wish it wasn't as regulated as it was this year. It used to be a lot freer in the past."
Both the state and the administration bear responsibility for unrightfully taming the Dragon. Any rational observer could tell you that New York State did not design the regulation to destroy a century-old university tradition. Instead, it enacted the measure to control large firms from consistently burning large amounts of toxic waste.
The Dragon's survival serves as another example of the inflexibility of bureaucracy. State regulators should have included some exemptions or allowed for a waiver process, but instead, they blindly forced their hand without regard for individual communities.
New York's bureaucratic machinery might be a lost cause, and the administration is making itself look like it is as well. Provost Fuchs or President Skorton could have easily accessed the highest levels of the state government to obtain permission for students to burn the Dragon like they always have. Instead, students only heard cheerleading from Provost Fuchs who said, "The students and the staff are enjoying it" and that "this year ['s dragon] looks like one of the best."
Students know the influence Cornell has on state government, just look at the photos of Skorton glad-handing Governor Patterson late last year. Maybe he should have used that relationship to preserve a university tradition.
The Cornell Police and the administration should protect the student's personal safety on Dragon Day; after all, the event involves a blazing inferno. But the university should start standing for itself and its traditions, instead of kowtowing to irrelevant regulations.
Jordan Fabian, Editor-At-Large - Tuesday, March 24, 2009
WVBR SOAPBOX ARCHIVE
~Burgergate: the media food-fight (Fri 11/13)
~WVBR News Presents: The Student Trustees (Sun 4/12)
~Student Trustee Candidates Speak Out in Forum (Tue 4/7)
~WVBR Interviews Slope Day's Pat Maloney (Fri 3/27)
~Dragon Day Disappointment (Tue 3/24)
~WVBR News Endorses Chris Basil and Nikki Junewicz For S... (Mon 3/2)
~Why We Endorsed a Candidate (Mon 3/2)
~Marijuana Legalization (Wed 2/11) 1 Comment
~The Media Aids Terrorists (Tue 2/10)
~No Mo' Gitmo, Oh-Oh (Tue 1/27) 1 Comment
~Skorton's Murky Tenure (Thu 12/4)
~State of the Republican Party? A-OK! (Tue 11/18) 1 Comment
~What To Do About NBA Basketball (Fri 11/14)
~Marijuana Mandate in Massachusetts (Tue 10/28)
~Teunure Denied Based on Political Viewpoint or
Someth... (Tue 10/21)
~No Honorary Degrees, Says Faculty
Senate (Mon 10/20)
~Sam Levine, Once Again, On the Presdiential Election (Fri 10/17)
~GM foods soapbox (Wed 10/15)
~Stem Cell Soapbox (Wed 10/15)
~Education Soapbox (Wed 10/8)
~Sarah Palin Soapbox (Wed 10/8)
~Sam Levine on The VP Debate (Fri 10/3)
~BBC's Blatant Bias Rebuffs Climate Change Challengers (Tue 9/30)
~Sam Levine on Sarah Palin (Fri 9/26)
~McCain is Able (Tue 9/23)
~The Cornell Review's Response to the
SA (Tue 9/16)
~Sam Levine on Racism (Fri 9/12)
~A Legacy of Political Hunters (Tue 9/9)
~Sam Levine on Palin/McCain (Fri 9/5)
~Sam Levine on His Senior Thesis (Fri 9/5)
~WVBR News Presents: The Student Trustees (Sun 4/12)
~Student Trustee Candidates Speak Out in Forum (Tue 4/7)
~WVBR Interviews Slope Day's Pat Maloney (Fri 3/27)
~Dragon Day Disappointment (Tue 3/24)
~WVBR News Endorses Chris Basil and Nikki Junewicz For S... (Mon 3/2)
~Why We Endorsed a Candidate (Mon 3/2)
~Marijuana Legalization (Wed 2/11) 1 Comment
~The Media Aids Terrorists (Tue 2/10)
~No Mo' Gitmo, Oh-Oh (Tue 1/27) 1 Comment
~Skorton's Murky Tenure (Thu 12/4)
~State of the Republican Party? A-OK! (Tue 11/18) 1 Comment
~What To Do About NBA Basketball (Fri 11/14)
~Marijuana Mandate in Massachusetts (Tue 10/28)
~Teunure Denied Based on Political Viewpoint or
Someth... (Tue 10/21)
~No Honorary Degrees, Says Faculty
Senate (Mon 10/20)
~Sam Levine, Once Again, On the Presdiential Election (Fri 10/17)
~GM foods soapbox (Wed 10/15)
~Stem Cell Soapbox (Wed 10/15)
~Education Soapbox (Wed 10/8)
~Sarah Palin Soapbox (Wed 10/8)
~Sam Levine on The VP Debate (Fri 10/3)
~BBC's Blatant Bias Rebuffs Climate Change Challengers (Tue 9/30)
~Sam Levine on Sarah Palin (Fri 9/26)
~McCain is Able (Tue 9/23)
~The Cornell Review's Response to the
SA (Tue 9/16)
~Sam Levine on Racism (Fri 9/12)
~A Legacy of Political Hunters (Tue 9/9)
~Sam Levine on Palin/McCain (Fri 9/5)
~Sam Levine on His Senior Thesis (Fri 9/5)
