It isn’t everyday that I  feel like a character is a Nicholas Cage movie.  Walking through the Kroch Rare Manuscripts Room in Olin Library, it was as if I was in National Treasure.  Like Benjamin Gates, I felt an innate need to discover the hidden treasures.

As we celebrate the 150th anniversary of Cornell, it’s interesting to reflect back on what also was occurring around that time too. I’m no history buff but when the 13th amendment was established, Ezra and Andy were also championing Cornell University to State Congress. I never would’ve guessed that our campus’s history and nation’s history were simultaneously occurring.  Each shaping the others legacy.

Right now, Cornell has an exhibit titled “Gods and Scholars.” This exhibit is all about teaching religion at a secular university. “Heathens on the hill” was often how Cornell was referred to because we were established as a secular school. But Cornell’s “secular status” has little to do with atheism and everything to do with our openness to all religions.  

When the tour guide gave us a private tour of some of Cornell’s most valuable primary sources, I was excited to feel and see the history. I think as students, we often neglect to see history for its value. We forget to reflect. And I believe that through reflection we can grow and ultimately growth brings us closer to the truth. So as I saw truth up close, I was surprised to see that truth is often skewed.  While I am not national treasure hunter, I do have a mission to discover truths on this campus. While my truths have little to do with primary documents, I will continue to reflect and seek truth and acknowledge the bias that may be present.