It seems that many students here at Cornell don’t know very much about Cornell’s history at all. It’s made especially obvious when we have presentations such as the one presented by Ms. Keating at this semester’s first Rose Cafe talk. I am confident in saying much of the information we heard about was new to most of us. I was not even aware of the size of the rare manuscripts library, even though I had walked around in the library itself and seen the exhibits. Ms. Keating made a comment about how not many people are aware of how much we could do with the archives, and I wonder if it would help to publicize the facilities within the libraries more on campus.

We even learned of connections between Flora Rose, Martha van Rensselaer, and Eleanor Roosevelt, which was a very captivating story especially as presented passionately by Ms. Keating. I think it would help a great deal if information on the history of Cornell were presented to new students, connecting them to the history of the place and also familiarizing them with the legacies of those who came before them. From the letters and speeches of these important figures in Cornell’s (and the United States’) history, it seems that there are a lot of passionate sentiments not being heard. I’d like to see the rare manuscripts library expand its outreach further through the Cornell community to first build up its image to Cornell’s own students, and then continue to expand with the support of our community behind it.