Author Archives: Braxton Guinn

Many In Need, Disgustingly Few Willing To Assist

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On Wednesday November 11th I joined other Cornell students in a talk lead by Professor Holly Case at the weekly Becker-Rose Café. The topic: the Syrian refugee crisis in Europe. I had been hesitant to attend, seeing it is a topic I to this day follow very closely, but I am glad I did, for she brought with her personal accounts and photographs from her visit to Hungary earlier in the fall.

She spoke of the country’s far-right Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán, and the propaganda campaign he and his party have been using in an attempt to steer the general Hungarian population to fear the influx of refugees. The Two Tailed Dog Party and their comedic response to billboards tied to the campaign would be hilarious, if it weren’t for the circumstances; including slogans such as “Please excuse our empty country, we’ve gone to England!,” in response to the government’s, which included “If You Come To Hungary, Do Not Take The Jobs Of Hungarians.”

Among the most interesting things I learned from Professor Case’s talk was the support groups for volunteers. It was eyeopening for me to hear of volunteers, individuals I have always seen as positive, it-gets-better kind of people, creating groups to support one another when they found themselves in various states of depression over a situation many began to feel had no happy ending. I personally almost broke down, and heaven knows I have become an expert at suppressing and hiding emotions, when she mentioned how refugees had recently started taking and even requesting Bibles offered by missionary groups offering aid, though they had previously never cared for the book, because they had heard countries were only letting in Christian refugees, and they wanted to be sure to have something to identify them as such, just to seek safe haven.

The talk was quite honestly among the worst possible events I could have attended this semester, I already have far too many depressive issues to deal with, especially seeing it was on a topic I had, and still do, consider myself well versed in. That said, it was fascinating to hear Professor Case’s first hand accounts, even though I found myself most constantly on the verge of tears.

Puppies!

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For college students there’s no time more stressful than finals week. What better way than too relax than play with pets? Being away from home makes such time near impossible. It was a nice study break to spend time with dogs from Guiding Eyes, to learn more about the organization and the selection and training criteria that are required for the service dogs they raise and train.

I was particularly interested in the utilization of the dogs in helping mitigate autistic children’s bolting behavior. A representative of the organization explained how the dogs, being coupled by a belt worn by the child and a handle on the dog’s harness, are trained to act as an anchor when children that exhibit such behavior bolt. It had never occurred to me that a service animal could be trained to add a layer of safety for autistic toddlers and small children; previously associating them exclusively with the visually impaired or for emotional support.

Coffee!

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I have never given much thought to my coffee. As long as it contains caffeine, I’m happy. On Saturday November 14th I attended a coffee presentation and tasting by Gimme! Coffee. Previously my only exposure to the details of coffee making was a rather unexpected encounter with a barista while traveling, while in Ithaca I consistently order the same drink for simplicity.

I was appreciative of how open the presenters were to questions; which ranged from how coffee was decaffeinated to the push for more sustainable crops. We tasted three or four different types of coffee, from beans we were able to examine before they were ground. I was particular interested in the company’s push for sustainably grown and fair traded beans. Such practices increase the quality of life for their suppliers and minimize the impact coffee plantations have on such biologically diverse forests, though also inevitably add costs to the final product, which, given their success, their customers are willing to accept.

Another point of interest was the processing of the beans from plant to cup. The presenters guided us through each stage of processing; from picking and washing, to roasting and grinding, all while explaining how variations at different stages change the characteristics of the final product. I hadn’t realized how particular artisanal coffee was from the plant to the cup, which made the experience pretty eye opening, seeing, as previously stated, I’m content as long as its not decaffeinated.

Sustainable Dining

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Early on in the semester it was near impossible to notice the rationing of meat that was occurring in West Campus dinning halls. I had figured it had to do with limiting the consumption of meats, in favor of less environmentally impactful vegetable crops, but before Wednesday’s Café that was no more than an assumption on my part. This was one of several topics that were brought up on November 4th by, or to, Rose House Chef  Daniel Czebiniak, and Associate Director of Cornell West Campus Dining Paul Muscente.

Muscente explained that the reduction in sizes, and amounts (regulated by student employees, not your typical all-you-can-eat style) were part of a larger push to “bring vegetables to the center of the plate” and moving proteins to the side in an attempt to encourage Cornellians to eat healthier, and to help curb the environmental impact of the operation while reducing food waste. On the topic of food waste, I found it comforting that Chef Daniel consistently watches the excess food coming off the plate belt, noting what student’s aren’t eating, and taking that into consideration when ordering produce and planning future meals.

I can only imagine how difficult it is to coordinate a dining system like West Campus’s, where everyone living there has an unlimited meal plan and therefore can easily and without consequence move from one dining hall to another. This was brought up by Muscente after a comment was made that one of the other dining halls on West was loosing money, and that dining was trying to entice students to go there in an attempt to try to level out the number of students per night across the five dining halls. The Associate Director stated that though the reasoning behind the statement was false, they do wish to see each dining hall seeing an equivalent number of visits, but that doesn’t always happen, and the houses bring that into account when determining menus, and the amount of portions cooked on particular nights. He brought up Rose’s popular Taco Tuesdays as an example, saying that in response to a large number of students flocking to Rose on that evening, other houses may decide to reduce the amount of food they produce that evening, so there is less waste at the end of the day.

I found Czebiniak and Muscente to be very receptive of student’s questions, comments, and recommendations, and felt they made a genuine effort to make sure a particular student was satisfied with the response they received before moving on to others. I believe it reiterated how central students are to Dining’s success, and they do take seriously student’s comments and suggestions.

Treasures of Cornell

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Prior to October 30th I hadn’t spent much time in Kroch Library, home of the university’s Rare and Manuscript Collection. I had visited once before, briefly for a video presentation for a First-Year Writing Seminar, but didn’t have the time to view the collections, or appreciate its vast variety of unique objects.

The library’s location is telling of its significance, the three story underground complex is accessed through the adjacent Olin Library, and houses a climate-controlled vault to store the forever aging collection when it is not being exhibited, or used in research. We had the opportunity to view some of the objects that spend most of their time in the dark. Presented in front of us were cuneiform tablets, Shakespeare’s First Folio, drafts of Charlotte’s Web, and the unique signature of Sitting Bull.

I see myself returning soon to browse through the current Gods and Scholars: Studying Religion at a Secular University exhibit, which showcases religious materials Cornell has collected over the years. Though as a group we only saw it in passing, our guide made clear that though the university was founded as a nonsectarian institution, by no means was religion barred from the school, which has accepted with open arms students with a diverse range of religious beliefs for 150 years.

How do you get your food?

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I grew up on a relatively small ranch in Central Texas. It was mostly a family affair, and we would call on family friends or nearby ranchers when additional help was needed. We never found ourselfs in the position of hiring undocumented workers, but it was not uncommon for us to work alongside a few while helping nearby ranchers and family friends. The general tone was that it was a little risky hiring them, but we were in a location where Border Patrol rarely trotted through (I have still yet to see seen a single CBP vehicle in town), that they are hard workers, truth worthy, and in need of work.

For the September 30th Café, Justine Vanden Heuvel and Mary Jo Dudley gave a talk that focused on migrant workers. Heuvel spoke a bit on the viticulture of the region, but the conversation quickly focused on Heuvel’s area of expertise, undocumented farm workers. Unfortunately much of the talk and discussion involved topics I was well versed in. What I did find surprising however, and what made the experience an overall positive one for me, was the reactions of other students, figuring out what they didn’t know, what they found surprising. Much of the time the speaker would say something and I would just be sitting there thinking (pardon my language) “Yeah…no s*%t!” but I soon realized that my friend, and others around us, were taken aback, and that’s when it really hit me that most everyone in the room had never experienced working on a farm, or with undocumented workers, or for that matter had not previously read of the issue.

The talk was eye opening in the way that it made me realize that, though I recognize everyone in attendance came from diverse backgrounds, how little they knew of their food supply. I was also greatly interested in the outreach programs Ms. Dudley mentioned, and am very interested in getting involved if and when time allows.

On The Native Peoples of Ithaca

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Unfortunately, I learned very little of Native Americans in primary and secondary school. Around my Freshman year of high school I began to read of the native peoples that once called the land that is now the ranch my family currently lives and works on in Central Texas home, after stumbling upon an arrowhead and only ever receiving “The Indians” upon asking who made it. Only after some days at the local library and the county court house did I finally receive my answer,  that it was most likely either Apache, or Comanche in origin, very different from the Cayuga and Iroquois people that called what is now Ithaca home.

Since being at Cornell, I have heard next to nothing of the natives of the area. I attempted to take an American Indian Studies course last fall, but couldn’t after scheduling conflicts, it wasn’t a priority of mine, and maybe it should have been.

Professor Eric Cheyfitz’s Café talk opened my eyes to the native peoples of the area, and certainly rekindled a flame of interest that has been in the back of my mind. Though I had previous knowledge of most of the major topics and events he discussed at the national level, I was blown away at how much my knowledge in the subject was lacking.

What I found most interesting in his talk were the Supreme Court and their bold, yet contradictory, rulings regarding the rights of native peoples in what was then an expanding country, and how blatant federal and state governments at the time were actively endorsing the extermination of native people.