Register by April 1 to receive a reduced registration fee for the Pedal for Pets bike-a-thon on April 27.
Join the student chapter of the American Veterinary Medical Association on a 30- or 50-mile bike ride throughout Ithaca and neighboring communities. The race supports the Patient Assistance Fund at the Cornell University Hospital for Animals. The Patient Assistance Fund helps clients with economic need cover medical and surgical costs for their animal companions.
The Plantations’ Mundy Wildflower Garden has the most variety of early-blooming wildflowers in the area and is a must see in early spring. To celebrate National Poetry Month this April, graduate student Emily Oliver matched her favorite poems to many of the garden’s wildflowers. Look for signs throughout the garden providing a number to call for information about each plant and a poem recited by the author.
Catch some of Cornell’s brightest science and engineering students at BOOM (Bits On Our Minds) April 3.
The 16th annual student research showcase features projects ranging from a Wikipedia-based “6 Degrees of Bacon” game to software that reads human emotion.
Also: a light bulb that emulates the changing intensity of the sun over the course of the day and year; robot planes, robot submarines and more pedestrian robots; a smartphone app to help you keep track of the time spent on tasks; and lots of games and grown-up toys.
Starting today, you can vote for the image you think best represents Cornell. Go to the College of Arts and Sciences’ Facebook page, Instagram, Tumblr or Twitter to participate in “battles” as photos move through brackets in four categories: events, buildings, icons and nature.
At least 60 Cornell students have committed to leave their phones at home, ignore social media, engage in face-to-face interaction and reevaluate their relationship with technology, April 10-12.
They are taking part in CU [dis]connect, a student-run “social experiment” intended to combat the detachment from others technology use can foster. Student groups will host events in collaboration with CU [dis]connect, enabling students to gather as a community.
“I was frustrated with some of the behavior I observed in my peers,” said Rudy Gerson ’15, a College Scholar in the College of Arts and Sciences who organized the event. “I would be mid-conversation with a friend, and he’d check his phone. At a bar, it was strange to see people checking Facebook or texting, when there were so many new faces to engage with right there around them. In class too, I even felt the urge to check my phone, which essentially tuned me out completely from the professor and the material. I hope people will come to realize that they can be happier and liberated without constant connectivity.”
CU [dis]connect events will include an “Ask Big Questions” group dialogue, a screening of “Connected, the Film” and a barbecue for participants. Sign up at the above link.
The Daily Beast, in its listing of 25 schools and programs “that offer unique benefits that can be overlooked when the numbers are crunched,” cites Cornell for emotional health:
“Mental health has become an increasingly important issue on college campuses, especially as high-profile suicides have attracted national attention. Cornell is no stranger to the unfortunate attention; for years it has been dubbed the ‘suicide school’ thanks to very public incidences involving the campuses’ gorges. But for more than a decade the school has been working toward creating and implementing a model for student mental-health care. Dubbed Cornell Minds Matter, the program aims to destigmatize mental-health issues, raise awareness and educate students through weekly events and presentations.
“‘One of the major results is that students are much more sensitive to other students’ needs,’” says Casey Carr, assistant dean of students. Carr says the university’s faculty and staff handbook for dealing with students in distress has served as a framework for other universities. Cornell also refined its approach to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act to allow administrators and campus officials to warn parents of mental-health problems in some instances without student consent.”
Fiber Science & Apparel Design students Megan Rodrigues ‘15 and Lily Wolens ‘15 are among finalists in the national City Bag Challenge by Stitch Collective. A New York City-based luxury accessory line founded by Loni Edwards ‘06, Stitch Collective accepts sketches from up-and-coming designers, chooses finalists for public voting, and produces the winning bag.
Students in FSAD 2660: Product Development, taught by Susan Ashdown, the Helen G. Canoyer Professor, sketched handbags and entered them into Stitch Collective’s national competition for an accessory practical enough for city adventures and stylish enough for the cosmopolitan lifestyle.
A short documentary on how Cornell’s AguaClara engineering research team is bringing clean water to Honduras was commissioned by AguaClara’s Honduran partner, the nonprofit Agua Para El Pueblo. The 9-minute video, with English subtitles, describes AguaClara’s impact on rural communities that now have access to safe, clean drinking water.
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Community Matters, Cornell People, Created@Cornell | Tagged: Pedal for Pets | 
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Posted by George Lowery
