Author Archives: Julissa Marie Andrade

A Furry Study Break

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This past week, I went to pet young puppies in the Rose Commons Room, which was one of the most relaxing events I have ever been too. After a stressful week of final classes and the impending doom of finals, it was nice to see sweet, energetic, and happy young labs. It was awesome to hear how the dogs are trained to help people, and how effective they can be in doing this. I learned that these dogs have been trained to help the visually impaired in ways that I never thought of. In addition, there is a new program in which the dogs can predict when autistic children are in a dangerous situation — when they are about to run away. Not only was it relaxing and fun to see these dogs, but it was inspiring to hear how much they help people every day.

 

 

Good Eats

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I never realized how much thought and planning went into feeding the college students here at Cornell University but this was emphasized after Chef Daniel and Paul Muscente explained some of the initiatives and day-to-day efforts that go into Cornell Dining’s program.

One thing that really impressed me was the fact that they were actively seeking any input from the students, and that they were extremely receptive to prior suggestions. One student thought it would be advantageous to put the cookies far away from the fruits because they were easy to grab on the way out. I immediately saw Chef Daniel write down the suggestion. This past week, I noticed that the cookie plate moved. It was clear that Chef Daniel and Mr. Muscante are invested in the students. Moreover, it was important to me to hear how willing they were to work with students with allergies, given that I have several.

 

I am happy to know that I am in good hands when it comes to my food. These two people made it obvious that the food is high quality, fresh, and tasting good.

 

The Paradox of Technology

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While watching the beautiful documentary Fragile Legacy, I noticed an interesting theme that spoke to an interesting paradox of technology. First, these beautiful glass figures represent the meticulous craftsmanship of the people that worked endlessly to create a near perfect replica of the sea critters. This was in the 1800s however, and they were stored away and forgotten for some time. Then, when they were rediscovered, they were able to be restored using today’s technologies to repair them to what they once were. Thus, technology saves us this time.

 

However, humanity’s use of technology has become detrimental to the environment, causing global temperatures and carbon dioxide levels to rapidly increase, warming the oceans, and directly damaging marine ecosystems. Clearly this is a negative side effect of living in the modern world.

 

On the other hand, we have developed ways to encourage the regrowth of the marine systems we damaged, which mitigates the issue a bit. There are Marine Protected Areas that allow sea creatures to refresh their populations and continue to live undisturbed.  Moreover, using advanced technology, a scientist was able to diagnose the reason for the depletion of starfish quickly. This diagnosis would not have been possible without the sophisticated tools scientists use today.

Yet, we still continue to pollute the environment with no regard for the long-term consequences. It is easier to find the root of the problem and attempt to resolve it. There has to be some sort of widespread change, which has become clear to me after taking oceanography, and attending some of the Rose House events.

Modern technology creates a paradox in which it is detrimental to humanity as a whole, while at the same time facilitating us in making large leaps. Perhaps, as an economist would suggest, some of these particular detriments to humanity may warrant a cost-benefit analysis.

The Vast Power of a Political Machine

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A week after I saw the film Street Fight directed by Marshall Curry I still sit here astonished that incumbent Sharpe James won the election against Cory Booker. This movie certainrly spoke to the power of the political machine, and brought to reality the tactics of intimidation that seem unreal unless they are seen. Through the examination of both political campaigns, the construction of a city government and its weaknesses are brought to the forefront.

Booker seemed extremely committed to reaching out to the community and being present in order to experience in the issues and understand how to remedy them. I think that it was interesting to see the  things that fear of losing led Sharpe James to do. He spent a lot of time on camera telling blatant lies. After seeing this film I wondered how widespread this issue is among the city governments in the United States. Marshall Curry mentioned that he received a lot of letters saying that people all around the world claim to have experienced very similar stories surrounding their local governments.

 

In documenting this long, suspenseful race, Curry captured a story that was suspenseful, and exposed the staying power of the political machine.

Small Change

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Shanjun Li, Greg Poe, and David Wolfe shared their knowledge about environmental issues and climate change. One of the most striking things to me was how they viewed environmental pollution. In essence, pollution is viewed through an economic lens as an “externality.” As such, it needs to be regulated in order to find the best possible amount of pollution. I never thought about it in the way of cost benefit analysis.

 

It is difficult to incite action from the people with regard to environmental issues, considering everyone sees them as far away in the future. Few know that they can take small, every day action in order to improve the over all conditions of the world. I sat there wondering what I could possibly do to help the environment right now, and then realized that with this kind of mentality nothing will be done. The panel was enlightening to me because it gave me the message that something must be done and this starts on an individual level.

Confronting the Past

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Not many people knew that we are living on Cayuga land. Not many people know that the University was built at the expense of indigenous people. Even worse, many refuse to acknowledge this ugly past.

 

Professor Cheyfitz spoke of the destructive ways that the United States government sanctioned the horrific destruction of Indians and their culture. First, the Trail of Tears in 1838 was massive genocide that aimed to clear the way for the United States expansion and resulted in the deaths of thousands of people. Then, The Dawes Severalty Act of 1887 split up communal land, tearing apart established communities and their way of life. They also kidnapped children and forced them into boarding schools. Then, they systematically destroyed their culture by cutting their hair, banning them from speaking their native languages, and removing their Indian names at these schools.

 

Indians are still socioeconomically disadvantaged today, which became very clear to me after Professor Cheyfitz’s talk. This is the legacy of colonialism and assimilation that continues to taint the United States, and it still not been rectified. The deep, entrenched systemic issues that function to marginalize the Indian peoples have a long history, and in various overt and subversive ways, still exist today. The next time I set foot in a new place, I will wonder whom it belongs to, how it became that way, and why that is. History should not be erased, and academic institutions should critically consider the roles they played in the erasure and theft of land the Indian people endured.

When The Art Comes to You

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refugeesa

I’d only been to a few art shows in my life, and have always kept a distance from thinking about pieces in depth. I always felt like an observer who couldn’t quite understand what was going on; someone that could never quite “get it.” I was happy to find out that the Rose Dining Hall was receiving a small collection to keep around for a while.  Walking in on that Wednesday night, I was surprised when I saw a piece at the that caught my attention and held it for some time.

 

Refugees by Nicholas Carbonaro struck me as a powerful piece. In it, three faces are frozen in time and connected with a cloth-like material.  Two of them lean on each other while another is upside down. The faces are solemn, perhaps in deep thought -a moment of respite. The artist mentioned that he crafted this to represent the permanent connection with family can provide solace in a situation as treacherous as a refugee’s. Looking at the piece I felt intrigued by it, wondering what stories contributed to its construction. I think it would have been interesting to have other pieces with this theme shown. For now I’ll stare in wonder during the few weeks it gets to live in our dining hall.