Today I participated in the west campus/rose house tour. I was able to explore Noyes recreation center, the War Memorial room in Lyon hall, and the “secret” tunnel connecting Becker and Rose House. I additionally was lucky enough to learn plenty of history presented by Professor Blalock on Cornell. I learned that Ezra Cornell did not have past a 3rd grade education and that he was involved in the transmission of the first ever telegraph. These are all very interesting, neat things that had I not attended the tour I likely would not have known.

What I realized post-tour was that there is so much about Cornell that students don’t know. Students generally don’t realize all the history surrounding them on Cornell’s campus or all the secrets that surround them. There is so much around Cornell that will surprise students if they learned it. What this event made me realize is that even beyond tours, there are so many other resources available to teach students about Cornell. Whether a student talks to a professor, historian or even an alumni, there are people surrounding us everywhere who have stories to tell about Cornell’s history. And if students were more open to learning about Cornell’s history, there is so much more we could learn about our school!