Pros
Speaking as a graduate student I can say that Cornell is a place with very knowledgeable and respected professors. While the interactions between advisers and students greatly depends on the professor style of work (some work shoulder to shoulder with their students, and others rarely visiting the laboratories) it is easy to meet and discuss problems with faculty that are not directly connected with your research. This is due to the policy of "Open doors" that Cornell encourages. The interactions between different departments are quite fluent and the sharing of ideas is considerably facilitated. In general the staff is very supportive towards the students and helps overcome problems outside the academics.
Cons
Considerable workload given to the graduate students.