This is one student takeover that administrators don't mind. Students in the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration will be given the keys to Cornell's Statler Hotel this weekend to operate the 150-room property on their own from April 19-21.

Friday through Sunday, Hotel School students will have the final word in all areas of hotel operations, from room service to food and beverage management, as they accommodate an extremely discerning clientele -- executives in the hospitality industry. During this time, the Statler Hotel goes through a transformation. All signs, logos and other decorations that for 362 days a year read "Statler Hotel" are changed to read "Hotel Ezra Cornell."

"Hotel Ezra Cornell allows students to get an ownership perspective on managing all facets of hotel operations," said Jeffrey Blumer, a senior from Deer Park, N.Y., who is the hotel's managing director for the weekend. But there's another benefit, he noted, and that's being able to schmooze with industry leaders. "It's a networking opportunity, absolutely."

Blumer said students will have ample time in which to meet executives. "Java Jive," billed as a Saturday afternoon coffee hour, is actually an opportunity for students to sell themselves. "This is when students, instead of asking someone if they need more wine, will be able to talk at length with our guests," he said.

This year's theme for Hotel Ezra Cornell (HEC) is "Hospitality and All That Jazz." The weekend opens Friday afternoon with "Bugle Bead," a cocktail party presented by graduate students. Jazz music in the lobby will welcome guests and set the mood for the weekend. This year, HEC is giving guests a choice for dinner: They may savor the sounds and tastes of Brazil in "Sabor Do Brazil" or swing to the sounds of the Roaring Twenties at "Moondance." Saturday's highlights feature the unveiling of a book detailing the Hotel School's history. Entertainment includes a fashion show and banquet and an after-hours celebration with guest artist The James River Movement, from New Orleans.

The weekend's educational programming will focus on issues of ethics and diversity. William Fisher, executive vice president of the National Restaurant Association, will moderate a panel exploring ethical concerns of the hospitality industry. The National Society of Minorities in Hospitality will explore diversity and minority recruitment issues. Cornell alumnus Kenneth Blanchard, author of The One-Minute Manager, will talk about motivating people.

Hotel Ezra Cornell, named for the university's founding father, began 71 years ago as a way of demonstrating to the hospitality industry the importance of hotel administration as a formal field of study. The project so impressed E.M. Statler that he donated the money that built the Statler Hotel.

More than 300 hospitality industry executives are expected to check-in to Hotel Ezra Cornell for the weekend.